The house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby East India bankers was one of the richest firms in the city of Londonso rich that it would be quite in vain to endeavour to describe the amount of its wealth It was something fabulous people said The offices were situated in a dingy and narrow thoroughfare leading out of King William Street and were certainly no great things to look at but the cellars below their officeswonderful cellars that stretched far away underneath the church of St Gundolph and were only separated by partywalls from the vaults in which the dead lay buriedwere popularly supposed to be filled with hogsheads of sovereigns bars of bullion built up in stacks like so much firewood and impregnable iron safes crammed to overflowing with bank bills and railway shares government securities family jewels and a hundred other trifles of that kind every one of which was worth a poor mans fortune
The firm of Dunbar had been established very soon after the English first grew powerful in India It was one of the oldest firms in the City and the names of Dunbar and Dunbar painted upon the doorposts and engraved upon shining brass plates on the mahogany doors had never been expunged or altered though time and death had done their work of change amongst the owners of that name
The last heads of the firm had been two brothers Hugh and Percival Dunbar and Percival the younger of these brothers had lately died at eighty years of age leaving his only son Henry Dunbar sole inheritor of his enormous wealth
That wealth consisted of a splendid estate in Warwickshire another estate scarcely less splendid in Yorkshire a noble mansion in Portland Place and threefourths of the bank The junior partner Mr Balderby a goodtempered middleaged man with a large family of daughters and a handsome redbrick mansion on Clapham Common had never possessed more than a fourth share in the business The three other shares had been divided between the two brothers and had lapsed entirely into the hands of Percival upon the death of Hugh
On the evening of the 15th of August 1850 three men sat together in one of the shady offices at the back of the bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane
These three men were Mr Balderby a confidential cashier called Clement Austin and an old clerk a man of about sixtyfive years of age who had been a faithful servant of the firm ever since his boyhood
This mans name was Sampson Wilmot
He was old but he looked much older than he was His hair was white and hung in long thin locks upon the collar of his shabby bottlegreen great coat He wore a great coat although it was the height of summer and most people found the weather insupportably hot His face was wizen and wrinkled his faded blue eyes dim and weaklooking He was feeble and his hands were tremulous with a perpetual nervous motion Already he had been stricken twice with paralysis and he knew that whenever the third stroke came it must be fatal
He was not very much afraid of death however for his life had been a joyless one a monotonous existence of perpetual toil unrelieved by any home joys or social pleasures He was not a bad man for he was honest conscientious industrious and persevering
He lived in a humble lodging in a narrow court near the bank and went twice every Sunday to the church of St Gundolph
When he died he hoped to be buried beneath the flagstones of that City church and to lie cheek by jowl with the gold in the cellars of the bank
The three men were assembled in this gloomy private room after office hours on a sultry August evening in order to consult together upon rather an important subject namely the reception of Henry Dunbar the new head of the firm
This Henry Dunbar had been absent from England for fiveandthirty years and no living creature now employed in the bank except Sampson Wilmot had ever set eyes upon him
He had sailed for Calcutta fiveandthirty years before and had ever since been employed in the offices of the Indian branch of the bank first as clerk afterwards as chief and manager He had been sent to India because of a great error which he had committed in his early youth
He had been guilty of forgery He or rather an accomplice employed by him had forged the acceptance of a young nobleman a brother officer of Henry Dunbars and had circulated forged bills of accommodation to the amount of three thousand pounds
These bills were taken up and duly honoured by the heads of the firm Percival Dunbar gladly paid three thousand pounds as the price of his sons honour That which would have been called a crime in a poorer man was only considered an error in the dashing young cornet of dragoons who had lost money upon the turf and was fain to forge his friends signature rather than become a defaulter
His accomplice the man who had actually manufactured the fictitious signatures was the younger brother of Sampson Wilmot who had been a few months prior to that time engaged as messenger in the bankinghousea young fellow of nineteen little better than a lad a reckless boy easily influenced by the dashing soldier who had need of his services
The billbroker who discounted the bills speedily discovered their fraudulent nature but he knew that the money was safe
Lord Adolphus Vanlorme was a customer of the house of Dunbar and Dunbar the billbrokers knew that his acceptance was a forgery but they knew also that the signature of the drawer Henry Dunbar was genuine
Messrs Dunbar and Dunbar would not care to see the heir of their house in a criminal dock
There had been no hitch therefore no scandal no prosecution The bills were duly honoured but the dashing young officer was compelled to sell his commission and begin life afresh as a junior clerk in the Calcutta bankinghouse
This was a terrible mortification to the highspirited young man
The three men assembled in the quiet room behind the bank on this oppressive August evening were talking together of that old story
I never saw Henry Dunbar Mr Balderby said for as you know Wilmot I didnt come into the firm till ten years after he sailed for India but Ive heard the story hinted at amongst the clerks in the days when I was only a clerk myself
I dont suppose you ever heard the rights of it sir Sampson Wilmot answered fumbling nervously with an old horn snuffbox and a red cotton handkerchief and I doubt if any one knows the rights of that story except me and I can remember it as well as if it all happened yesterdayay that I canbetter than I remember many things that really did happen yesterday
Lets hear the story from you then Sampson Mr Balderby said As Henry Dunbar is coming home in a few days we may as well know the real truth We shall better understand what sort of a man our new chief is
To be sure sir to be sure returned the old clerk Its fiveandthirty years agofiveandthirty years ago this month since it all happened If I hadnt good cause to remember the date because of my own troubles I should remember it for another reason for it was the Waterloo year and city people had been losing and making money like wildfire It was in the year 15 sir and our house had done wonders on Change Mr Henry Dunbar was a very handsome young man in those daysvery handsome very aristocraticlooking rather haughty in his manners to strangers but affable and freespoken to those who happened to take his fancy He was very extravagant in all his ways generous and openhanded with money but passionate and selfwilled Its scarcely strange he should have been so for he was an only child he had neither brother nor sister to interfere with him and his uncle Hugh who was then close upon fifty was a confirmed bachelorso Henry considered himself heir to an enormous fortune
And he began his career by squandering every farthing he could get I suppose said Mr Balderby
He did sir His father was very liberal to him but give him what he would Mr Percival Dunbar could never give his son enough to keep him free of gambling debts and losses on the turf Mr Henrys regiment was quartered at Knightsbridge and the young man was very often at this office in and out in and out sometimes twice and three times a week and I expect that every time he came he came to get money or to ask for it It was in coming here he met my brother who was a handsome laday as handsome and as gentlemanly a lad as the young cornet himself for poor Josephthats my brother gentlemenhad been educated a bit above his station being my mothers favourite son and fifteen years younger than me Mr Henry took a great deal of notice of Joseph and used to talk to him while he was waiting about to see his father or his uncle At last he asked the lad one day if hed like to leave the bank and go and live with him as a sort of confidential servant and amanuensis to write his letters and all that sort of thing I shant treat you altogether as a servant you know Joseph he said but I shall make quite a companion of you and youll go about with me wherever I go Youll find my quarters a great deal pleasanter than this musty old bankinghouse I can tell you Joseph accepted this offer in spite of everything my poor mother and I could say to him He went to live with the cornet in the January of the year in which the fabricated bills were presented at our counter
And when were the bills presented
Not till the following August sir It seems that Mr Henry had lost five or six thousand pounds on the Derby He got what he could out of his father towards paying his losses but he could not get more than three thousand pounds so then he went to Joseph in an awful state of mind declaring that he should be able to get the money in a month or so from his father and that if he could do anything just to preserve his credit for the time and meet the claims of the vulgar City betting fellows who were pressing him he should be able to make all square afterwards Then little by little it came out that he wanted my brother who had a wonderful knack of imitating any bodys handwriting to forge the acceptance of Lord Vanlorme I shall get the bills back into my own hands before they fall due Joe he said its only a little dodge to keep matters sweet for the time being Well gentlemen the poor foolish boy was very fond of his master and he consented to do this wicked thing
Do you believe this to be the first time your brother ever Committed forgery
I do Mr Balderby Remember he was only a lad and I dare say he thought it a fine thing to oblige his generoushearted young master Ive seen him many a time imitate the signature of this firm and other signatures upon a halfsheet of letterpaper for the mere fun of the thing but I dont believe my brother Joseph ever did a dishonest action in his life until he forged those bills He hadnt need have done so for he was only eighteen at the time
Young enough young enough murmured Mr Balderby compassionately
Ay sir very young to be ruined for life That one error that one wicked act was his ruin for though no steps were taken against him he lost his character and never held his head up in an honest situation again He went from bad to worse and three years after Mr Henry sailed for India my brother Joseph Wilmot was convicted with two or three others upon a charge of manufacturing forged Bank of England notes and was transported for life
Indeed exclaimed Mr Balderby a sad storya very sad story I have heard something of it before but never the whole truth Your brother is dead I suppose
I have every reason to believe so sir answered the old clerk producing a red cotton handkerchief and wiping away a couple of tears that were slowly trickling down his poor faded cheeks For the first few years of his time he wrote now and then complaining bitterly of his fate but for fiveandtwenty years Ive never had a line from him I cant doubt that hes dead Poor Josephpoor boypoor boy The misery of all this killed my mother Mr Henry Dunbar committed a great sin when he tempted that lad to wrong and many a cruel sorrow arose out of that sin perhaps to lie heavy at his door some day or other sooner or later sooner or later Im an old man and Ive seen a good deal of the ways of this world and Ive found that retribution seldom fails to overtake those who do wrong
Mr Balderby shrugged his shoulders
I should doubt the force of your philosophy in this case my good Sampson he said Mr Dunbar has had a long immunity from his sins I should scarcely think it likely he would ever be called upon to atone for them
I dont know sir the old clerk answered I dont know that Ive seen retribution come very late very late when the man who committed the sin had well nigh forgotten it Evil trees bear evil fruit Mr Balderby the Scriptures tell us that and take my word for it evil consequences are sure to come from evil deeds
But to return to the story of the forged bills said Mr Austin the cashier looking at his watch as he spoke
He was evidently growing rather impatient of the old clerks rambling talk
To be sure sir to be sure answered Sampson Wilmot Well you see sir one of the bills was brought to our counter and the cashier didnt much like the look of my lords signature and he took the bill to the inspector and the inspector said Pay the money but dont debit it against his lordship About an hour afterwards the inspector carried the bill to Mr Percival Dunbar and directly he set eyes upon it he knew that Lord Vanlormes acceptance was a forgery He sent for me to his room and when I went in he was as white as a sheet poor gentleman He handed me the bill without speaking and when I had looked at it he said
Your brother is at the bottom of this business Sampson Do you remember the halfsheet of paper I found on a blottingpad in the countinghouse one day half a sheet of paper scrawled over with the imitation of two or three signatures I asked who had copied those signatures and your brother came forward and owned to having done it laughing at his own cleverness I told him then that it was a fatal facility a fatal facility and now he has proved the truth of my words by helping my son to turn forger and thief That signature must be honoured though I should have to sacrifice half my fortune to meet the demands upon us Heaven knows to what amount such paper as that may be in circulation There are some forged bills that are as good as genuine documents and the Jew who discounted these knew that If my son comes into the bank this morning send him to me
And did the young man come asked the junior partner
Yes Mr Balderby sir in less than half an hour after I left Mr Percival Dunbars room in comes Mr Henry dashing and swaggering into the place as if it was his own
Will you please step into your fathers room sir I said he wants to see you very particular
The cornets jaw dropped and his face turned ghastly white as I said this but he tried to carry it off with a swagger and followed me into Mr Percival Dunbars room
You neednt leave us Sampson said Mr Hugh who was sitting opposite his brother at the writingtable You may as well hear what I have to say I wish somebody whom I can rely upon to know the truth of this business and I think we may rely upon you
Yes gentlemen I answered you may trust me
Whats the meaning of all this Mr Henry Dunbar asked pretending to look innocent and surprised but it wouldnt do for his lips trembled so that it was painful to watch him Whats the matter he asked
Mr Hugh Dunbar handed him the forged bill
This is whats the matter he said
The young man stammered out something in the endeavour to deny any knowledge of the bill in his hand but his uncle checked him Do not add perjury to the crime you have already committed he said How many of these are in circulation
How many Mr Henry repeated in a faltering voice Yes his uncle answered how manyto what amount Three thousand pounds the cornet replied hanging his head I meant to take them up before they fell due Uncle Hugh he said I did indeed I stood to win a hatful of money upon the Liverpool Summer Meeting and I made sure I should be able to take up those bills but Ive had the devils own luck all this year I never thought those bills would be presented indeed I never did
Henry Dunbar Mr Hugh said very solemnly nine men out of ten who do what you have done think what you say you thought that they shall be able to escape the consequences of their deeds They act under the pressure of circumstances They dont mean to do any wrongthey dont intend to rob any body of a sixpence But that first false step is the starting point upon the road that leads to the gallows and the worst that can happen to a man is for him to succeed in his first crime Happily for you detection has speedily overtaken you Why did you do this
The young man stammered out some rambling excuse about his turf losses debts of honour which he was compelled to pay Then Mr Hugh asked him whether the forged signature was his own doing or the work of any body else The cornet hesitated for a little and then told his uncle the name of his accomplice I thought this was cruel and cowardly He had tempted my brother to do wrong and the least he could have done would have been to try to shield him
One of the messengers was sent to fetch poor Joseph The lad reached the banking house in an hours time and was brought straight into the private room where we had all been sitting in silence waiting for him
He was as pale as his master but he didnt tremble and he had altogether a more determined look than Mr Henry
Mr Hugh Dunbar taxed him with what he had done
Do you deny it Joseph Wilmot he asked
No my brother said looking contemptuously at the cornet If my master has betrayed me I have no wish to deny anything But I dare say he and I will square accounts some day
I am not going to prosecute my nephew Mr Hugh said so of course I shall not prosecute you But I believe that you have been an evil counsellor to this young man and I give you warning that you will get no character from me I respect your brother Sampson and shall retain him in my service in spite of what you have done but I hope never to see your face again You are free to go but have a care how you tamper with other mens signatures for the next time you may not get off so easily
The lad took up his hat and walked slowly towards the door
Gentlemengentlemen I cried have pity upon him Remember he is little more than a boy and whatever he did he did out of love for his master
Mr Hugh shook his head I have no pity he answered sternly his master might never have done wrong but for him
Joseph did not say a word in answer to all this but when his hand was on the handle of the door he turned and looked at Mr Henry Dunbar
Have you nothing to say in my behalf sir he said very quietly I have been very much attached to you sir and I dont want to think badly of you at parting Havent you one word to say in my behalf
Mr Henry made no answer He sat with his head bent forward upon his breast and seemed as if he dare not lift his eyes to his uncles face
No Mr Hugh answered as sternly as before he has nothing to say for you Go and consider this a lucky escape
Joseph turned upon the banker with his face all in a crimson flame and his eyes flashing fire Let him consider it a lucky escape he said pointing to Mr Henry Dunbarlet him consider it a lucky escape if when we next meet he gets off scot free
He was gone before any body could answer him
Then Mr Hugh Dunbar turned to his nephew
As for you he said you have been a spoilt child of fortune and you have not known how to value the good things that Providence has given you You have begun life at the top of the tree and you have chosen to fling your chances into the gutter You must begin again and begin this time upon the lowest step of the ladder You will sell your commission and sail for Calcutta by the next ship that leaves Southampton Today is the 23rd of August and I see by the Shipping Gazette that the Oronoko sails on the 10th of September This will give you little better than a fortnight to make all your arrangements
The young cornet started from his chair as if he had been shot
Sell my commission he cried go to India You dont mean it Uncle Hugh surely you dont mean it Father you will never compel me to do this
Percival Dunbar had never looked at his son since the young man had entered the room He sat with his elbow resting upon the arm of his easychair and his face shaded by his hand and had not once spoken
He did not speak now even when his son appealed to him
Your father has given me full authority to act in this business Mr Hugh Dunbar said I shall never marry Henry and you are my only nephew and my acknowledged heir But I will never leave my wealth to a dishonest or dishonourable man and it remains for you to prove whether you are worthy to inherit it You will have to begin life afresh You have played the man of fashion and your aristocratic associates have led you to the position in which you find yourself today You must turn your back upon the past Henry Of course you are free to choose for yourself Sell your commission go to India and enter the countinghouse of our establishment in Calcutta as a junior clerk or refuse to do so and renounce all hope of succeeding to my fortune or to your fathers
The young man was silent for some minutes then he said sullenly enough
I will go I consider that I have been harshly treated but I will go
And he did go said Mr Balderby
He did sir answered the clerk who had displayed considerable emotion in relating this story of the past He did go sirhe sold his commission and left England by the Oronoko But he never took leave of a living creature and I fully believe that he never in his heart forgave either his father or his uncle He worked his way up as you know sir in the Calcutta countinghouse and by slow degrees rose to be manager of the Indian branch of the business He married in 1831 and he has an only child a daughter who has been brought up in England since her infancy under the care of Mr Percival
Yes answered Mr Balderby I have seen Miss Laura Dunbar at her grandfathers country seat She is a very beautiful girl and Percival Dunbar idolized her But now to return to business my good Sampson I believe you are the only person in this house who has ever seen our present chief Henry Dunbar
I am sir
So far so good He is expected to arrive at Southampton in less than a weeks time and somebody must be there to meet him and receive him After fiveandthirty years absence he will be a perfect stranger in England and will require a business man about him to manage matters for him and take all trouble off his hands These AngloIndians are apt to be indolent you know and he may be all the worse for the fatigues of the overland journey Now as you know him Sampson and as you are an excellent man of business and as active as a boy I should like you to meet him Have you any objection to do this
No sir answered the clerk I have no great love for Mr Henry Dunbar for I can never cease to look upon him as the cause of my poor brother Josephs ruin but I am ready to do what you wish Mr Balderby Its business and Im ready to do anything in the way of business Im only a sort of machine sira machine thats pretty nearly worn out I fancy nowbut as long as I last you can make what use of me you like sir Im ready to do my duty
I am sure of that Sampson
When am I to start for Southampton sir
Well I think youd better go tomorrow Sampson You can leave London by the afternoon train which starts at four oclock You can see to your work here in the morning and reach your destination between seven and eight I leave everything in your hands Miss Laura Dunbar will come up to town to meet her father at the house in Portland Place The poor girl is very anxious to see him as she has not set eyes upon him since she was a child of two years old Strange isnt it the effect of these long separations Laura Dunbar might pass her father in the street without recognizing him and yet her affection for him has been unchanged in all these years
Mr Balderby gave the old clerk a pocketbook containing six fivepound notes
You will want plenty of money he said though of course Mr Dunbar will be well supplied You will tell him that all will be ready for his reception here I really am quite anxious to see the new head of the house I wonder what he is like now By the way its rather a singular circumstance that there is I believe no portrait of Henry Dunbar in existence His picture was painted when he was a young man and exhibited in the Royal Academy but his father didnt think the likeness a good one and sent it back to the artist who promised to alter and improve it Strange to say this artist whose name I forget delayed from day to day performing his promise and at the expiration of a twelvemonth left England for Italy taking the young mans portrait with him amongst a lot of other unframed canvases This artist never returned from Italy and Percival Dunbar could never find out his whereabouts or whether he was dead or alive I have often heard the old man regret that he possessed no likeness of his son Our chief was handsome you say in his youth
Yes sir Sampson Wilmot answered he was very handsometall and fair with bright blue eyes
You have seen Miss Dunbar is she like her father
No sir Her features are altogether different and her expression is more amiable than his
Indeed Well Sampson we wont detain you any longer You understand what you have to do
Yes sir perfectly
Very well then Good night By the bye you will put up at one of the best hotels at Southamptonsay the Dolphinand wait there till the Electra steamer comes in It is by the Electra that Mr Dunbar is to arrive Once more good evening
The old clerk bowed and left the room
Well Austin said Mr Balderby turning to the cashier we may prepare ourselves to meet our new chief very speedily He must know that you and I cannot be entirely ignorant of the story of his youthful peccadilloes and he will scarcely give himself airs to us I should fancy
I dont know that Mr Balderby the cashier answered if I am any judge of human nature Henry Dunbar will hate us because of that very crime of his own knowing that we are in the secret and will be all the more disagreeable and disdainful in his intercourse with us He will carry it off with a high hand depend upon it
CHAPTER II
MARGARETS FATHER
The town of Wandsworth is not a gay place There is an air of oldworld quiet in the oldfashioned street though dashing vehicles drive through it sometimes on their way to Wimbledon or Richmond Park
The sloping roofs the gableends the queer old chimneys the quaint casement windows belong to a bygone age and the traveller coming a stranger to the little town might fancy himself a hundred miles away from boisterous London though he is barely clear of the great citys smoky breath or beyond the hearing of her myriad clamorous tongues
There are lanes and byways leading out of that humble High Street down to the low bank of the river and in one of these a pleasant place enough there is a row of oldfashioned semidetached cottages standing in small gardens and sheltered by sycamores and laburnums from the dust which in dry summer weather lies thick upon the narrow roadway
In one of these cottages a young lady lived with her father a young lady who gave lessons on the pianoforte or taught singing for very small remuneration She wore shabby dresses and was rarely known to have a new bonnet but people respected and admired her notwithstanding and the female inhabitants of Godolphin Cottages who gave her goodday sometimes as she went along the dusty lane with her wellused roll of music in her hand declared that she was a lady bred and born Perhaps the good people who admired Margaret Wentworth would have come nearer the mark if they had said that she was a lady by right divine of her own beautiful nature which had never required to be schooled into grace or gentleness
She had no mother and she had not even the memory of her mother who had died seventeen years before leaving an only child of twelve months old for James Wentworth to keep
But James Wentworth being a scapegrace and a reprobate who lived by means that were a secret from his neighbours had sadly neglected this only child He had neglected her though with every passing year she grew more and more like her dead mother until at last at eighteen years of age she had grown into a beautiful woman with hazelbrown hair and hazel eyes to match
And yet James Wentworth was fond of his only child after a fashion of his own Sometimes he was at home for weeks together a prey to a fit of melancholy under the influence of which he would sit brooding in silence over his daughters humble hearth for hours and days together
At other times he would disappear sometimes for a few days sometimes for weeks and months at a time and during his absence Margaret suffered wearisome agonies of suspense
Sometimes he brought her money sometimes he lived upon her own slender earnings
But use her as he might he was always proud of her and fond of her and she after the way of womankind loved him devotedly and believed him to be the noblest and most brilliant of men
It was no grief to her to toil taking long weary walks and giving tedious lessons for the small stipends which her employers had the conscience to offer her they felt no compunction about bargaining and haggling as to a few pitiful shillings with a music mistress who looked so very poor and seemed so glad to work for their paltry pay The girls chief sorrow was that her father who to her mind was calculated to shine in the highest station the world could give should be a reprobate and a pauper
She told him so sometimes regretfully tenderly as she sat by his side with her arms twined caressingly about his neck And there were times when the strong man would cry aloud over his blighted life and the ruin which had fallen upon his youth
Youre right Madge he said sometimes youre right my girl I ought to have been something better I ought to have been and I might have been perhaps but for one manbut for one baseminded villain whose treachery blasted my character and left me alone in the world to fight against society You dont know what it is Madge to have to fight that battle A man who began life with an honest name and fair prospects before him finds himself cast by one fatal error disgraced and broken on a pitiless world Nameless friendless characterless he has to begin life afresh with every mans hand against him He is the outcast of society The faces that once looked kindly on him turn away from him with a frown The voices that once spoke in his praise are loud in his disfavour Driven from every place where once he found a welcome the ruined wretch hides himself among strangers and tries to sink his hateful identity under a false name He succeeds perhaps for a time and is trusted and being honestly disposed at heart is honest but he cannot long escape from the hateful past No In the day and hour when he is proudest of the new name he has made and the respect he has won for himself some old acquaintance once a friend but now an enemy falls across his pathway He is recognized a cruel voice betrays him Every hope that he had cherished is swept away from him Every good deed that he has done is denounced as the act of a hypocrite Because once sinned he can never do well That is the worlds argument
But not the teaching of the gospel Margaret murmured Remember father who it was that said to the guilty woman Go and sin no more
Ay my girl James Wentworth answered bitterly but the world would have said Hence abandoned creature go and sin afresh for you shall never be suffered to live an honest life or herd with honest people Repent and we will laugh at your penitence as a shallow deception Weep and we will cry out upon your tears Toil and struggle to regain the eminence from which you have fallen and when you have nearly reached the top of that difficult hill we will band ourselves together to hurl you back into the black abyss Thats what the world says to the sinner Margaret my girl I dont know much of the gospel I have never read it since I was a boy and used to read long chapters aloud to my mother on quiet Sunday evenings I can see the little oldfashioned parlour now as I speak of that time I can hear the ticking of the eightday clock and I can see my mothers fond eyes looking up at me every now and then But I dont know much about the gospel now and when you poor child try to read it to me theres some devil rises in my breast and shuts my ears against the words I dont know the gospel but I do know the world The laws of society are inflexible Madge there is no forgiveness for a man who is once found out He may commit any crime in the calendar so long as his crimes are profitable and he is content to share his profits with his neighbours But he mustnt be found out
Upon the 16th of August 1850 the day on which Sampson Wilmot the bankers clerk was to start for Southampton James Wentworth spent the morning in his daughters humble little sittingroom and sat smoking by the open window while Margaret worked beside a table near him
The father sat with his long clay pipe in his mouth watching his daughters fair face as she bent over the work upon her knee
The room was neatly kept but poorly furnished with that oldfashioned spindlelegged furniture which seems peculiar to lodginghouses Yet the little sittingroom had an aspect of simple rustic prettiness which is almost pleasanter to look at than fine furniture There were picturessimple watercolour sketchesand cheap engravings on the walls and a bunch of flowers on the table and between the muslin curtains that shadowed the window you saw the branches of the sycamores waving in the summer wind
James Wentworth had once been a handsome man It was impossible to look at him and not perceive as much as that He might indeed have been handsome still but for the moody defiance in his eyes but for the halfcontemptuous curve of his finelymoulded upper lip
He was about fiftythree years of age and his hair was grey but this grey hair did not impart a look of age to his appearance His erect figure the carriage of his head his dashing nay almost swaggering walk all belonged to a man in the prime of middle age He wore a beard and thick moustache of grizzled auburn His nose was aquiline his forehead high and square his chin massive The form of his head and face denoted force of intellect His long muscular limbs gave evidence of great physical power Even the tones of his voice and his manner of speaking betokened a strength of will that verged upon obstinacy
A dangerous man to offend A relentless and determined man not easily to be diverted from any purpose however long the time between the formation of his resolve and the opportunity of carrying it into execution
As he sat now watching his daughter at her work the shadows of black thoughts darkened his brow and spread a sombre gloom over his face
And yet the picture before him could have scarcely been unpleasing to the most fastidious eye The girls face drooping over her work was very fair The features were delicate and statuesque in their form the large hazel eyes were very beautifulall the more beautiful perhaps because of a soft melancholy that subdued their natural brightness the smooth brown hair rippling upon the white forehead which was low and broad was of a colour which a duchess might have envied or an empress tried to imitate with subtle dyes compounded by court chemists The girls figure tall slender and flexible imparted grace and beauty to a shabby cotton dress and linen collar that many a maidservant would have disdained to wear and the foot visible below the scanty skirt was slim and arched as the foot of an Arab chief
There was something in Margaret Wentworths face some shade of expression vague and transitory in its nature that bore a likeness to her father but the likeness was a very faint one and it was from her mother that the girl had inherited her beauty
She had inherited her mothers nature also but mingled with that soft and womanly disposition there was much of the fathers determination much of the strong mans force of intellect and resolute will
A beautiful womanan amiable woman but a woman whose resentment for a great wrong could be deep and lasting
Madge said James Wentworth throwing his pipe aside and looking full at his daughter I sit and watch you sometimes till I begin to wonder at you You seem contented and most happy though the monotonous life you lead would drive some women mad Have you no ambition girl
Plenty father she answered lifting her eyes from her work and looking at him mournfully plentyfor you
The man shrugged his shoulders and sighed heavily
Its too late for that my girl he said the day is pastthe day is past and goneand the chance gone with it You know how Ive striven and worked and struggled and how Ive seen my poor schemes crushed when I had built them up with more patience than perhaps man ever built before Youve been a good girl Margareta noble girl and youve been true to me alike in joy and sorrowthe joys been little enough beside the sorrow poor childbut youve borne it all youve endured it all Youve been the truest woman that was ever born upon this earth to my thinking but theres one thing in which youve been unlike the rest of your sex
And whats that father
Youve shown no curiosity Youve seen me knocked down and disgraced wherever I tried to get a footing youve seen me try first one trade and then another and fail in every one of them Youve seen me a clerk in a merchants office an actor an author a common labourer working for a daily wage and youve seen ruin overtake me whichever way Ive turned Youve seen all this and suffered from it but youve never asked me why it has been so Youve never sought to discover the secret of my life
The tears welled up to the girls eyes as her father spoke
If I have not done so dear father she answered gently it has been because I knew your secret must be a painful one I have lain awake night after night wondering what was the cause of the blight that has been upon you and all you have done But why should I ask you questions that you could not answer without pain I have heard people say cruel things of you but they have never said them twice in my hearing Her eyes flashed through a veil of tears as she spoke Oh fatherdearest father she cried suddenly throwing aside her work and dropping on her knees beside the mans chair I do not ask for your confidence if it is painful to you to give it I only want your love But believe this fatheralways believe thisthat whether you trust me or not there is nothing upon this earth strong enough to turn my heart from you
She placed her hand in her fathers as she spoke and he grasped it so tightly that her pale face grew crimson with the pain
Are you sure of that Madge he asked bending his head to look more closely in her earnest face
I am quite sure father
Nothing can tear your heart from me
Nothing in this world
What if I am not worthy of your love
I cannot stop to think of that father Love is not mete out in strict proportion to the merits of those we love If it were there would be no difference between love and justice
James Wentworth laughed sneeringly
There is little enough difference as it is perhaps he said theyre both blind Well Madge he added in a more serious tone youre a generousminded noblespirited girl and I believe you do love me I fancy that if you never asked the secret of my life you can guess it pretty closely eh
He looked searchingly at the girls face She hung her head but did not answer him
You can guess the secret cant you Madge Dont be afraid to speak girl
I fear I can guess it father dear she murmured in a low voice
Speak out then
I am afraid the reason you have never prosperedthe reason that so many are against youis that you once did something wrong very long ago when you were young and reckless and scarcely knew the nature of your own act and that now though you are truly penitent and sorry and have long wished to lead an altered life the world wont forget or forgive that old wrong Is it so father
It is Margaret Youve guessed right enough child except that youve omitted one fact The wrong I did was done for the sake of another I was tempted to do it by another I made no profit by it myself and I never hoped to make any But when detection came it was upon me that the disgrace and ruin fell while the man for whom I had done wrongthe man who had made me his toolturned his back upon me and refused to utter one word in my justification though he was in no danger himself and the lightest word from his lips might have saved me That was a hard case wasnt it Madge
Hard cried the girl with her nostrils quivering and her hands clenched it was cruel dastardly infamous
From that day Margaret I was a ruined man The brand of society was upon me The world would not let me live honestly and the love of life was too strong in me to let me face death I tried to live dishonestly and I led a wild rackety daredevil kind of a life amongst men who found they had a skilful tool and knew how to use me They did use me to their hearts content and left me in the lurch when danger came I was arrested for forgery tried found guilty and transported for life Dont flinch girl dont turn so white You must have heard something of this whispered and hinted at often enough before today You may as well know the whole truth I was transported for life Madge and for thirteen years I toiled amongst the wretched guilty slaves in Norfolk Islandthat was the favourite place in those days for such as meand at the end of that time my conduct having been approved of by my gaolers the governor sent for me gave me a goodservice certificate and I went into a countinghouse and served as a clerk But I got a kind of fever in my blood and night and day I only thought of one thing and that was my chance of escape I did escapenever you mind how thats a long storyand I got back to England a free man a free man Madge I thought but the world soon told me another story I was a felon a gaolbird and I was never more to lift my head amongst honest people I couldnt bear it Madge my girl Perhaps a better man might have persevered in spite of all till he conquered the worlds prejudice But I couldnt I sank under my trials and fell lower and lower And for every disgrace that has ever fallen upon mefor every sorrow I have ever sufferedfor every sin I have ever committedI look to one man as the cause
Margaret Wentworth had risen to her feet She stood before her father now pale and breathless with her lips parted and her bosom heaving
Tell me his name father she whispered tell me that mans name
Why do you want to know his name Madge
Never mind why father Tell it to metell it
She stamped her foot in the vehemence of her passion
Tell me his name father she repeated impatiently
His name is Henry Dunbar James Wentworth answered and he is the son of a rich banker I saw his fathers death in the paper last March His uncle died ten years ago and he will inherit the fortunes of both father and uncle The world has smiled upon him He has never suffered for that one false step in life which brought such ruin upon me He will come home from India now I dare say and the world will be under his feet He will be worth a million of money I should fancy curse him If my wishes could be accomplished every guinea he possesses would be a separate scorpion to sting and to torture him
Henry Dunbar whispered Margaret to herselfHenry Dunbar I will not forget that name
CHAPTER III
THE MEETING AT THE RAILWAY STATION
When the hands of the little clock in Margarets sittingroom pointed to five minutes before three James Wentworth rose from his lounging attitude in the easychair and took his hat from a sidetable
Are you going out father the girl asked
Yes Madge Im going up to London It dont do for me to sit still too long Bad thoughts come fast enough at any time but they come fastest when a fellow sits twirling his thumbs Dont look so frightened Madge Im not going to do any harm Im only going to look about me I may fall in with a bit of luck perhaps no matter what if it puts a few shillings into my pocket
Id rather you stayed at home father dear Margaret said gently
I dare say you would child But I tell you I cant I cant sit quiet this afternoon Ive been talking of things that always seem to set my brain on fire No harm shall come of my going away girl I promise you that The worst I shall do is to sit in a tavern parlour drink a glass of ginandwater and read the papers Theres no crime in that is there Madge
His daughter smiled as she tried to arrange the shabby velvet collar of his threadbare coat
No father dear she said and Im sure I always wish you to enjoy yourself But youll come home soon wont you
What do you call soon my lass
Before ten oclock My days work will be all over long before that and Ill try and get something nice for your supper
Very well then Ill be back by ten oclock tonight Theres my hand upon it
He gave Margaret his hand kissed her smooth cheeks took his cane from a corner of the room and then went out
His daughter watched him from the open window as he walked up the narrow lane amongst the groups of children gathered every here and there upon the dusty pathway
Heaven have pity upon him and keep him from sin murmured Margaret Wentworth clasping her hands and with her eyes still following the retreating figure
James Wentworth jingled the money in his waistcoatpocket as he walked towards the railway station He had very little a couple of sixpences and a few halfpence Just about enough to pay for a secondclass return ticket and for his glass of ginandwater at a London tavern
He reached the station three minutes before the train was due and took his ticket
At halfpast three he was in London
But as he was an idle purposeless man without friends to visit or money to spend he was in no hurry to leave the railway station
He hated solitude or quiet and here in this crowded terminus there was life and bustle and variety enough in all conscience and all to be seen for nothing so he strolled backwards and forwards upon the platform watching the busy porters the eager passengers rushing to and fro and meditating as to where he should spend the rest of his afternoon
Byandby he stood against a wooden pillar in a doorway looking at the cabs as one after another they tore up to the station and disgorged their loads
He had witnessed the arrival of a great many different travellers when his attention was suddenly arrested by a little old man wan and wizen and nearsighted feeblelooking but active who alighted from a cab and gave his small blackleather portmanteau into the hands of a porter
This man was Sampson Wilmot the old confidential clerk in the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby
James Wentworth followed the old man and the porter
I wonder if it is he he muttered to himself theres a likenesstheres certainly a likeness But its so many years agoso many yearsI dont suppose I should know him And yet this man recalls him to me somehow Ill keep my eye upon the old fellow at any rate
Sampson Wilmot had arrived at the station about ten minutes before the starting of the train He asked some questions of the porter and left his portmanteau in the mans care while he went to get his ticket
James Wentworth lingered behind and contrived to look at the portmanteau
There was a label pasted on the lid with an address written in a businesslike hand
MR SAMPSON WILMOT PASSENGER TO SOUTHAMPTON
James Wentworth gave a long whistle
I thought as much he muttered I thought I couldnt be mistaken
He went into the ticketoffice where the clerk was standing amongst the crowd waiting to take his ticket
James Wentworth went up close to him and touched him lightly on the shoulder
Sampson Wilmot turned and looked him full in the face He looked but there was no ray of recognition in that look
Do you want me sir he asked with rather a suspicious glance at the reprobates shabby dress
Yes Mr Wilmot I want to speak to you You can come into the waitingroom with me after youve taken your ticket
The clerk stared aghast The tone of this shabbylooking stranger was almost one of command
I dont know you my good sir stammered Sampson I never set eyes upon you before and unless you are a messenger sent after me from the office you must be under a mistake You are a stranger to me
I am no stranger and I am no messenger answered the other Youve got your ticket Thats all right Now you can come with me
He walked into a waitingroom the halfglass doors of which opened out of the office The room was empty for it only wanted five minutes to the starting of the train and the passengers had hurried off to take their seats
James Wentworth took off his hat and brushed his rumpled grey hair from his forehead
Put on your spectacles Sampson Wilmot he said and look hard at me and then tell me if I am a stranger to you
The old clerk obeyed nervously fearfully His tremulous hands could scarcely adjust his spectacles
He looked at the reprobates face for some moments and said nothing But his breath came quicker and his face grew very pale
Ay said James Wentworth look your hardest and deny me if you can It will be only wise to deny me Im no credit to any oneleast of all to a steady respectable old chap like you
JosephJoseph gasped the old clerk is it you Is it really my wretched brother I thought you were dead JosephI thought you were dead and gone
And wished it I dare say the other answered bitterly No Josephno cried Sampson Wilmot Heaven knows I never wished you ill Heaven knows I was always sorry for you and could make excuses for you even when you sank lowest
Thats strange Joseph muttered with a sneer thats very strange If you were so precious fond of me how was it that you stopped in the house of Dunbar and Dunbar If you had had one spark of natural affection for me you could never have eaten their bread
Sampson Wilmot shook his head sorrowfully
Dont be too hard upon me Joseph he said with mild reproachfulness if I hadnt stopped at the bankinghouse your mother might have starved
The reprobate made no answer to this but he turned his face away and sighed
The bell rang for the starting of the train
I must go Sampson cried Give me your address Joseph and I will write to you
Oh yes I dare say answered his brother scornfully no no that wont do Ive found you my rich respectable brother and Ill stick to you Where are you going
To Southampton
What for
To meet Henry Dunbar
Joseph Wilmots face grew livid with rage
The change that came over it was so sudden and so awful in its nature that the old clerk started back as if he had seen a ghost
You are going to meet him said Joseph in a hoarse whisper he is in England then
No but he is expected to arrive almost immediately Why do you look like that Joseph
Why do I look like that cried the younger man have you grown to be such a mere machine such a speaking automaton such a living tool of the men you serve that all human feeling has perished in your breast Bah how should such as you understand what I feel Hark the bells ringingIll come with you
The train was on the point of starting the two men hurried out to the platform
Nono cried Sampson Wilmot as his brother stepped after him into the carriage nono Joseph dont come with medont come with me
I will go with you
But youve no ticket
I can get oneor you can get me one for Ive no moneyat the first station we stop at
They were seated in a secondclass railway carriage by this time The ticketcollector running from carriage to carriage was in too great a hurry to discover that the little bit of pasteboard which Joseph Wilmot exhibited was only a returnticket to Wandsworth There was a brief scramble a banging of doors and Babellike confusion of tongues and then the engine gave its farewell shriek and rushed away
The old clerk looked very uneasily at his younger brothers face The livid pallor had passed away but the stronglymarked eyebrows met in a dark frown
JosephJoseph said Sampson Heaven only knows Im glad to see you after more than thirty years separation and any help I can give you out of my slender means Ill give freelyI will indeed Joseph for the memory of our dear mother if not for love of you and I do love you JosephI do love you very dearly still But Id rather you didnt take this journey with meI would indeed I cant see that any good can come of it
Never you mind what comes of it I want to talk to you Youre a nice affectionate brother to wish to shuffle me off directly after our first meeting I want to talk to you Sampson Wilmot And I want to see him I know how the worlds used me for the last fiveandthirty years I want to see how the same worldsuch a just and merciful world as it ishas treated my tempter and betrayer Henry Dunbar
Sampson Wilmot trembled like a leaf His health had been very feeble ever since the second shock of paralysisthat dire and silent foe whose invisible hand had stricken the old man down as he sat at his desk without one moments warning His health was feeble and the shock of meeting with his brotherthis poor lost disgraced brotherwhom he had for fiveandtwenty years believed to be dead had been almost too much for him Nor was this allunutterable terror took possession of him when he thought of a meeting between Joseph Wilmot and Henry Dunbar The old man could remember his brothers words
Let him consider it a lucky escape if when we next meet he gets off scot free
Sampson Wilmot had prayed night and day that such a meeting might never take place For fiveandthirty years it had been delayed Surely it would not take place now
The old clerk looked nervously at his brothers face
Joseph he murmured Id rather you didnt go with me to Southampton Id rather you didnt meet Mr Dunbar You were very badly treatedcruelly and unjustly treatednobody knows that better than I But its a long time ago Josephits a very very long time ago Bitter feelings die out of a mans breast as the years roll bydont they Joseph Time heals all old wounds and we learn to forgive others as we hope to be forgivendont we Joseph
You may answered the reprobate fiercely I dont
He said no more but sat silent with his arms folded over his breast
He looked straight before him out of the carriagewindow but he saw no more of the pleasant landscapethe fair fields of waving corn with scarlet poppies and deepblue corn flowers bright glimpses of sunlit water and distant villages with grey churchturrets nestling among trees He looked out of the carriagewindow and some of earths pleasantest pictures sped by him but he saw no more of that everchanging prospect than if he had been looking at a blank sheet of paper
Sampson Wilmot sat opposite to him restless and uneasy watching his fierce gloomy countenance
The clerk took a ticket for his brother at the first station the train stopped at But still Joseph was silent
An hour passed by and he had not yet spoken
He had no love for his brother The world had hardened him The consequences of his own sins falling very heavily upon his head had embittered his nature He looked upon the man whom he had once loved and trusted as the primary cause of his disgrace and misery and this thought influenced his opinion of all mankind
He could not believe in the goodness of any man remembering as he did how he had once trusted Henry Dunbar
The brothers were alone in the carriage
Sampson watched the gloomy face opposite to him for some time and then with a weary sigh he drew his handkerchief over his face and sank back in the corner of the carriage But he did not sleep He was agitated and anxious A dizzy faintness had seized upon him and there was a strange buzzing in his ears and unwonted clouds before his dim eyes He tried to speak once or twice but it seemed to him as if he was powerless to form the words that were in his mind
Then his mind began to grow confused The hoarse snorting of the engine sounded monotonously in his ears growing louder and louder with every moment until the noise of it grew hideous and intolerablea perpetual thunder deafening and bewildering him
The train was fast approaching Basingstoke when Joseph Wilmot was suddenly startled from his moody reverie
There was an awful cause for that sudden start that look of horror in the reprobates face
CHAPTER IV
THE STROKE OF DEATH
The old clerk had fallen from his seat and lay in a motionless heap at the bottom of the railway carriage
The third stroke of paralysis had come upon him inevitable no doubt long ago but hastened it may be by that unlookedfor meeting at the Waterloo terminus
Joseph Wilmot knelt beside the stricken man He was a vagabond and an outcast and scenes of horror were not new to him He had seen death under many of its worst aspects and the grim King of Terrors had little terror for him He was hardened steeped in guilt and callous as to the sufferings of others The love which he bore for his daughter was perhaps the last ray of feeling that yet lingered in this mans perverted nature
But he did all he could nevertheless for the unconscious old man He loosened his cravat unfastened his waistcoat and felt for the beating of his heart
That heart did beat very fitfully as if the old clerks weary soul had been making feeble struggles to be released from its frail tabernacle of clay
Better perhaps if this should prove fatal Joseph muttered I should go on alone to meet Henry Dunbar
The train reached Basingstoke Joseph put his head out of the open window and called loudly to a porter
The man came quickly in answer to that impatient summons
My brother is in a fit Joseph cried help me to lift him out of the carriage and then send some one for a doctor
The unconscious form was lifted out in the arms of the two strong men They carried it into the waitingroom and laid it on a sofa
The bell rang and the Southampton train rushed onward without the two travellers
In another moment the whole station was in commotion A gentleman had been seized with paralysis and was dying
The doctor arrived in less than ten minutes He shook his head after examining his patient
Its a bad case said he very bad but we must do our best Is there anybody with this old gentleman
Yes sir the porter answered pointing to Joseph this person is with him
The country surgeon glanced rather suspiciously at Joseph Wilmot He looked a vagabond certainlyevery inch a vagabond a reckless daredevil scoundrel at war with society and defiant of a world he hated
Are youanyrelation to this gentleman the doctor asked hesitatingly
Yes I am his brother
I should recommend his being removed to the nearest hotel I will send a woman to nurse him Do you know if this is the first stroke he has ever had
No I do not
The surgeon looked more suspicious than ever after receiving this answer
Strange he said that you who say you are his brother should not be able to give me information upon that point
Joseph Wilmot answered with an air of carelessness that was almost contemptuous
It is strange he said but many stranger things have happened in this world before now My brother and I havent met for years until we met today
The unconscious man was removed from the railway station to an inn near at handa humble countrified place but clean and orderly Here he was taken to a bedchamber whose oldfashioned latticed windows looked out upon the dusty road
The doctor did all that his skill could devise but he could not restore consciousness to the paralyzed brain The soul was gone already The body lay a form of motionless and senseless clay under the white counterpane and Joseph Wilmot sitting near the foot of the bed watched it with a gloomy face
The woman who was to nurse the sick man came byandby and took her place by the pillow But there was very little for her to do
Is there any hope of his recovering Joseph asked eagerly as the doctor was about to leave the room
I fear notI fear there is no hope
Will it be over soon
Very soon I think I do not believe that he can last more than fourandtwenty hours
The surgeon waited for a few moments after saying this expecting some exclamation of surprise or grief from the dying mans brother but there was none and with a hasty good evening the medical man quitted the room
It was growing dusk and the twilight shadows upon Joseph Wilmots face made it in its sullen gloom darker even than it had been in the railway carriage
Im glad of it Im glad of it he muttered I shall meet Harry Dunbar alone
The bedchamber in which the sick man lay opened out of a little sittingroom Sampsons carpetbag and portmanteau had been left in this sittingroom
Joseph Wilmot searched the pockets in the clothes that had been taken off his brothers senseless form
There was some loose silver and a bunch of keys in the waistcoatpocket and a wellworn leathercovered memorandumbook in the breastpocket of the oldfashioned coat
Joseph took these things into the sittingroom closed the door between the two apartments and then rang for lights
The chambermaid who brought the candles asked if he had dined
Yes he said I dined five hours ago Bring me some brandy
The girl brought a small decanter of spirit and a wineglass set them on the table and left the room Joseph Wilmot followed her to the door and turned the key in the lock
I dont want any intruders he muttered these country people are always inquisitive
He seated himself at the table poured out a glass of brandy drank it and then drew one of the candles towards him
He had put the money the keys and the memorandumbook in one of his own pockets He took out the memorandumbook first and examined it There were five Bank of England notes for five pounds each in one of the pockets and a letter in the other
The letter was directed to Henry Dunbar and sealed with the official seal of the bankinghouse The name of Stephen Balderby was written on the lefthand lower corner of the envelope
So so whispered Joseph Wilmot this is the junior partners letter of welcome to his chief Ill take care of that
He replaced the letter in the pocket of the memorandumbook and then looked at the pencil entries on the different pages
The last entry was the only memorandum that had any interest for him
It consisted of these few words
HD expected to arrive at Southampton Docks on or about the 19th inst per steamer Electra will be met by Miss Laura D at Portland Place
Whos Laura D mused the spy as he closed the memorandumbook His daughter I suppose I remember seeing his marriage in the papers twenty years ago He married well of course Fortune made everything smooth for him He married a lady of rank Curse him
Joseph Wilmot sat for some time with his arms folded upon the table before him brooding brooding brooding with a sinister smile upon his lips and an ominous light in his eyes
A dangerous man alwaysa dangerous man when he was loud reckless brutal violent but most of all dangerous when he was most quiet
Byandby he took the bunch of keys from his pocket knelt down before the portmanteau and examined its contents
There was very little to reward his scrutinyonly a suit of clothes a couple of clean shirts and the necessaries of the clerks simple toilet The carpetbag contained a pair of boots a hatbrush a nightshirt and a faded old chintz dressinggown
Joseph Wilmot rose from his knees after examining these things and softly opened the door between the two rooms There had been no change in the sick chamber The nurse still sat by the head of the bed She looked round at Joseph as he opened the door
No change I suppose he said
No sir none
I am going out for a stroll presently I shall be in again in an hours time
He shut the door again but he did not go out immediately He knelt down once more by the side of the portmanteau and tore off the label with his brothers name upon it He tore a similar label off the carpetbag taking care that no vestige of the clerks name was left behind
When he had done this and thrust the torn labels into his pocket he began to walk up and down the room softly with his arms folded upon his breast
The Electra is expected to arrive on the nineteenth he said in a low thoughtful voice on or about the nineteenth She may arrive either before or after Tomorrow will be the seventeenth If Sampson dies there will be an inquest no doubt a postmortem examination perhaps and I shall be detained till all that is over I shall be detained two or three days at least and in the mean time Henry Dunbar may arrive at Southampton hurry on to London and I may miss the one chance of meeting that man face to face I wont be balked of this meetingI wont be balked Why should I stop here to watch by an unconscious mans deathbed No Fate has thrown Henry Dunbar once more across my pathway and I wont throw my chance away
He took up his hata battered shabbylooking white hat which harmonized well with his vagabond appearanceand went out after stopping for a minute at the bar to tell the landlord that he would be back in an hours time
He went straight to the railway station and made inquiries as to the trains
CHAPTER V
SINKING THE PAST
The train from London to Southampton was due in an hour The clerk who gave Joseph Wilmot this information asked him how his brother was getting on
He is much better Joseph answered I am going on to Southampton to execute some important business he was to have done there I shall come back early tomorrow morning
He walked into the waitingroom and stopped there seated in the same attitude the whole time never stirring never lifting his head from his breast always brooding brooding brooding as he had brooded in the railway carriage as he had brooded in the little parlour of the inn He took his ticket for Southampton as soon as the office was open and then stood on the platform where there were two or three stragglers waiting for the train to come up
It came at last Joseph Wilmot sprang into a secondclass carriage took his seat in the corner with his hat slouched over his eyes which were almost hidden by its dilapidated brim
It was late when he reached Southampton but he seemed to be acquainted with the town and he walked straight to a small publichouse by the riverside almost hidden under the shadow of the town wall
Here he got a bed and here he ascertained that the Electra had not yet arrived
He ate his supper in his own room though he was requested to take it in the public apartment He seemed to shrink from meeting any one or talking to any one and still brooded over his own black thoughts as he had brooded at the railway station in the parlour of the Basingstoke inn in the carriage with his brother Sampson
Whatever his thoughts were they absorbed him so entirely that he seemed like a man who walks in his sleep doing everything mechanically and without knowing what he does
But for all this he was active for he rose very early the next morning He had not had an hours sleep throughout the night but had lain in every variety of restless attitude tossing first on this side and then on that always thinking thinking thinking till the action of his brain became as mechanical as that of any other machine and went on in spite of himself
He went downstairs paid the money for his supper and nights lodging to a sleepy servantgirl and left the house as the churchclock in an oldfashioned square hard by struck eight
He walked straight to the High Street and entered the shop of a tailor and general outfitter It was a stylish establishment and there was a languid young man taking down the shutters who appeared to be the only person on the establishment just at present
He looked superciliously enough at Joseph Wilmot eyeing him lazily from head to foot and yawning as he did so
Youd better make yourself scarce he said our principal never gives anything to tramps
Your principal may give or keep what he likes Joseph answered carelessly I can pay for what I want Call your master down or stay youll do as well I dare say I want a complete rigout from head to heel Do you understand
I shall perhaps when I see the money for it the languid youth answered with a sneer
So youve learned the way of the world already have you my lad said Joseph Wilmot bitterly Then pulling his brothers memorandumbook from his pocket he opened it and took out the little packet of banknotes I suppose you can understand these he said
The languid youth lifted his nose which by its natural conformation betrayed an aspiring character and looked dubiously at his customer
I can understand as they might be flash uns he remarked significantly
Mr Joseph Wilmot growled out an oath and made a plunge at the young shopman
I said as they might be flash the youth remonstrated quite meekly theres no call to fly at me I didnt mean to give no offence
No muttered Mr Wilmot egad youd better not mean it Call your master
The youth retired to obey he was quite subdued and submissive by this time
Joseph Wilmot looked about the shop
The cur forgot the till he muttered I might try my hand at that if He stopped and smiled with a strange deliberate expression not quite agreeable to beholdif I wasnt going to meet Henry Dunbar
There was a fulllength lookingglass in one corner of the shop Joseph Wilmot walked up to it looked at himself for a few moments in silent contemplation and then shook his clenched hand at the reflected image
Youre a vagabond he muttered between his set teeth and you look it Youre an outcast and you look it But who set the mark upon you Whos to blame for all the evil you have done Whose treachery made you what you are Thats the question
The owner of the shop appeared and looked sharply at his customer
Now listen to me Joseph Wilmot said slowly and deliberately Ive been down upon my luck for some time past and Ive just got a bit of money Ive got it honestly mind you and I dont want to be questioned by such a jackanapes as that shopboy of yours
The languid youth folded his arms and endeavoured to look ferocious in his fiery indignation but he drew a little way behind his master as he did so
The proprietor of the shop bowed and smiled
We shall be happy to wait upon you sir he said and I have no doubt we shall be able to give you satisfaction If my shopman has been impertinent
He has interrupted Joseph but I dont want to make any palaver about that Hes like the rest of the world and he thinks if a man wears a shabby coat he must be a scoundrel thats all I forgive him
The languid youth very much in the background and quite sheltered by his master might have been heard murmuring faintly
Oh indeed Forgive indeed Do you really now Thank you for nothing and other sentences of a derisive character
I want a complete rigout continued Joseph Wilmot a new suit of clotheshat boots umbrella a carpetbag halfadozen shirts brush and comb shaving tackle and all the etceteras Now as you may be no more inclined to trust me than that young whippersnapper of yours for all youre so uncommon civil Ill tell you what Ill do I want this beard of mine trimmed and altered Ill go to a barbers and get that done and in the meantime you can make your mind easy about the character of these gentlemen
He handed the tradesman three of the Bank of England notes The man looked at them doubtfully
If you think they aint genuine send em round to one of your neighbours and get em changed Joseph Wilmot said but be quick about it I shall be back here in half an hour
He walked out of the shop leaving the man still staring with the three notes in his hand
The vagabond with his hat slouched over his eyes and big hands in his pockets strolled away from the High Street down to a barbers shop near the docks
Here he had his beard shaved off his ragged moustache trimmed into the most aristocratic shape and his long straggling grey hair cut and arranged according to his own directions
If he had been the vainest of men bent on no higher object in life than the embellishment of his person he could not have been more particular or more difficult to please
When the barber had completed his work Joseph Wilmot washed his face readjusted the hair upon his ample forehead and looked at himself in a little shavingglass that hung against the wall
So far as the mans head and face went the transformation was perfect He was no longer a vagabond He was a respectable handsomelooking gentleman advanced in middle age Not altogether unaristocraticlooking
The very expression of his face was altered The defiant sneer was changed into a haughty smile the sullen scowl was now a thoughtful frown
Whether this change was natural to him and merely brought about by the alteration in his hair and beard or whether it was an assumption of his own was only known to the man himself
He put on his hat still slouching the brim over his eyes paid the barber and went away He walked straight to the docks and made inquiries about the steamer Electra She was not expected to arrive until the next day at the earliest Having satisfied himself upon this point Joseph Wilmot went back to the outfitters to choose his new clothes
This business occupied him for a long time for in this he was as difficult to please as he had been in the matter of his beard and hair No punctilious old bachelor the best and brightest hours of whose life had been devoted to the cares of the toilet could have shown himself more fastidious than this vagabond who had been outatelbows for ten years past and who had worn a felons dress for thirteen years at a stretch in Norfolk Island
But he evinced no bad taste in the selection of a costume He chose no gaudy colours or flashilycut vestments On the contrary the garb he assumed was in perfect keeping with the style of his hair and moustache It was the dress of a middleaged gentleman fashionable but scrupulously simple quiet alike in colour and in cut
When his toilet was complete from his twentyone shilling hat to the polished boots upon his wellshaped feet he left the shady little parlour in which he had changed his clothes and came into the shop with a glove dangling loosely in one ungloved hand and a cane in the other
The tradesman and his shopboy stared aghast
If that turnout had cost you fifty pound sir instead of eighteen pound twelve and elevenpence it would be worth all the money to you for you look like a dook cried the tailor with enthusiasm
Im glad to hear it Mr Wilmot said carelessly He stood before the chevalglass and twirled his moustache as he spoke looking at himself thoughtfully with a smile upon his face Then he took his change from the tailor counted it and dropped the gold and silver into his waistcoatpocket
The mans manner was as much altered as his person He had entered the shop at eight oclock that morning a blackguard as well as a vagabond He left it now a gentleman subdued in voice easy and rather listless in gait haughty and selfpossessed in tone
Oh by the bye he said pausing upon the threshold of the door Ill thank you to bundle all those old things of mine together into a sheet of brown paper tie them up tightly Ill call for them after dark tonight
Having said this very carelessly and indifferently Mr Wilmot left the shop but though he was now as well dressed and as gentlemanlylooking as any man in Southampton he turned into the first bystreet and hurried away from the town to a lonely walk beside the water
He walked along the shore until he came to a village near the river and about a couple of miles from Southampton There he entered a lowroofed little publichouse very quiet and unfrequented ordered some brandy and cold water of a girl who was seated at work behind the bar and then went into the parloura lowceilinged wainscoted room whose walls were adorned here and there with auctioneers announcements of coming sales of live and dead stock farmhouses and farming implements interspersed with railway timetables
Mr Joseph Wilmot had this room all to himself He seated himself by the open window took up a country newspaper and tried to read
But that attempt was a most dismal failure In the first place there was very little in the paper to read and in the second Joseph Wilmot would have been unable to chain his attention to the page upon which his eyes were fixed though all the wisdom of the world had been concentrated upon that one sheet of printed paper
No he could not read He could only think He could only think of this strange chance which had come to him after fiveandthirty weary years He could only think of his probable meeting with Henry Dunbar
He entered the village publichouse at a little after one and he stayed there throughout the rest of the day drinking brandyandwaternot immoderately he was very careful and watchful of himself in that mattertaking a snack of bread and cold meat for his dinner and thinking of Henry Dunbar
In that he never varied let him do what he would
In the railway carriage at the Basingstoke inn at the station through the long sleepless night at the publichouse by the water in the tailors shop even when he was most occupied by the choice of his clothes he had still thought of Henry Dunbar From the time of his meeting the old clerk at the Waterloo terminus he had never ceased to think of Henry Dunbar
He never once thought of his brother not so much even as to wonder whether the stroke had been fatalwhether the old man was yet dead He never thought of his daughter or the anguish his prolonged absence might cause her to suffer
He had put away the past as if it had never been and concentrated all the force of his mind upon the one idea which possessed him like some strong demon
Sometimes a sudden terror seized him
What if Henry Dunbar should have died upon the passage home What if the Electra should bring nothing but a sealed leaden coffin and a corpse embalmed in spirit
No he could not imagine that Fate darkly brooding over these two men throughout half a long lifetime had held them asunder for fiveandthirty years to fling them mysteriously together now
It seemed as if the old clerks philosophy was not so very unsound after all Sooner or latersooner or laterthe day of retribution comes
When it grew dusk Joseph Wilmot left the little inn and walked back to Southampton It was quite dark when he entered the High Street and the tailors shop was closing
I thought youd forgotten your parcel sir the man said Ive had it ready for you ever so long Can I send it any where for you
No thank you Ill take it myself
With the brownpaper parcelwhich was a very bulky oneunder his arm Joseph Wilmot left the tailors shop and walked down to an open pier or quay abutting on the water
On his way along the river shore between the village publichouse and the town of Southampton he had filled his pockets with stones He knelt down now by the edge of the pier and tied all these stones together in an old cotton pockethandkerchief
When he had done this carefully compactly and quickly like a man accustomed to do all sorts of strange things he tied the handkerchief full of stones to the whipcord that bound the brownpaper parcel and dropped both packages into the water
The spot which he had chosen for this purpose was at the extreme end of the pier where the water was deepest
He had done all this cautiously taking care to make sure every now and then that he was unobserved
And when the parcel had sunk he watched the widening circle upon the surface of the water till it died away
So much for James Wentworth and the clothes he wore he said to himself as he walked away
He slept that night at the village inn where he had spent the day and the next morning walked into Southampton
It was a little after nine oclock when he entered the docks and the Electra was visible to the naked eye steaming through the blue water under a cloudless summer sky
CHAPTER VI
CLEMENT AUSTINS DIARY
Today I close a volume of the rough careless imperfect record which I have kept of my life As I run my fingers through the pages of the limp moroccocovered volume I almost wonder at my wasted labourthe random notes jotted down now and then sometimes with long intervals between their dates make such a mass of worthless literature This diarykeeping is a very foolish habit after all Why do I keep this record of a most commonplace existence For my own edification and improvement Scarcely since I very rarely read these uninteresting entries and I very much doubt if posterity will care to know that I went to the office at ten oclock on Wednesday morning that I couldnt get a seat in the omnibus and was compelled to take a Hansom which cost me two shillings that I dined têteà tête with my mother and finished the third volume of Carlyles French Revolution in the course of the evening Is there any use in such a journal as mine Will the celebrated New Zealander that is to be discover the volumes amidst the ruins of Clapham and shall I be quoted as the Pepys of the nineteenth century But then I am by no means as racy as that worldlyminded little government clerk or perhaps it may be that the time in which I live wants the spice and seasoning of that golden age of rascality in which my Lady Castlemains white petticoats were to be seen flaunting in the wind by any frivolousminded lounger who chose to take notes about those garments
After all it is a silly oldfogeyish habit this of diarykeeping and I think the renowned Pepys himself was only a bachelor spoiled Just now however I have something more than cabdrives lost omnibuses and the perusal of a favourite book to jot down inasmuch as my mother and myself have lately had all our accustomed habits in a manner disorganized by the advent of a lady
She is a very young lady being in point of fact, still at a remote distance from an epoch to which she appears to look forward as a grand and enviable period of existence She has not yet entered what she calls her teens and two years must elapse before she can enter them as she is only eleven years old She is the only daughter of my only sister Marian Lester and has been newly imported from Sydney where my sister Marian and her husband have been settled for the last twelve years Miss Elizabeth Lester became a member of our family upon the first of July and has since that time continued to make herself quite at home with my mother and myself She is rather a pretty little girl with very auburn plaits hanging in loops at the back of her head Will the New Zealander and his countrymen care to know the mysteries of juvenile coiffures in the nineteenth century She is a very good little girl and my mother adores her As for myself I am only gradually growing resigned to the fact that I am threeandthirty years of age and the uncle of a bouncing niece who plays variations upon Non più mesta
And Non più mesta brings me to another strange figure in the narrow circle of my acquaintance a figure that had no place in the volume which I have just closed but which in the six weeks interval between my last record and that which I begin today has become almost as familiar as the oldest friends of my youth Non più mestaI hear my niece strumming the notes I know so well in the parlour below my room as I write these lines and the sound of the melody brings before me the image of a sweet pale face and dovelike brown eyes
I never fully realized the number and extent of feminine requirements until a hack cab deposited my niece and her deal travellingcases at our halldoor Miss Elizabeth Lester seemed to want everything that it was possible for the human mind to imagine or desire She had grown during the homeward voyage her frocks were too short her boots were too small her bonnets tumbled off her head and hung forlornly at the back of her neck She wanted parasols and hairbrushes frilled and furbelowed mysteries of muslin and lace copybooks penholders and pomatum a backboard and a pair of gloves drawingpencils dumbbells geological specimens for the illustration of her studies and a hundred other items whose very names are as a strange language to my masculine comprehension and last of all she wanted a musical governess The little girl was supposed to be very tolerably advanced in her study of the piano and my sister was anxious that she should continue that study under the superintendence of a dulyqualified instructress whose terms should be moderate My sister Marian underlined this last condition The buying and making of the new frocks and muslin furbelows seemed almost to absorb my mothers mind and she was fain to delegate to me the duty of finding a musical governess for Miss Lester
I began my task in the simplest possible way by consulting the daily newspapers where I found so many advertisements emanating from ladies who declared themselves proficients in the art of music that I was confused and embarrassed by the wealth of my resources but I took the ladies singly and called upon them in the pleasant summer evenings after office hours sometimes with my mother sometimes alone
It may be that the seal of oldbachelorhood is already set upon me and that I am that odious and hypersensitive creature commonly called a fidget but somehow I could not find a governess whom I really felt inclined to choose for my little Lizzie Some of the ladies were elderly and stern others were young and frivolous some of them were uncertain as to the distribution of the letter h One young lady declared that she was fonder of music than anything in the world Some were a great deal too enthusiastic and were prepared to adore my little niece at a moments notice Many who seemed otherwise eligible demanded a higher rate of remuneration than we were prepared to give So somehow or other the business languished and after the researches of a week we found ourselves no nearer a decision than when first I looked at the advertisements in the Times supplement
Had our resources been reduced we should most likely have been much easier to please but my mother said that as there were so many people to be had we should do well to deliberate before we came to any decision So it happened that when I went out for a walk one evening at the end of the second week in July Miss Lester was still without a governess She was still without a governess but I was tired of catechizing the fair advertisers as to their qualifications and went out on this particular evening for a solitary ramble amongst the quiet Surrey suburbs in any lonely lanes or scraps of commonland where the speculating builder had not yet set his hateful foot It was a lovely evening and I who am so much a Cockney as to believe that a London sunset is one of the grandest spectacles in the universe set my face towards the yellow light in the west and walked across Wandsworth Common where faint wreaths of purple mist were rising from the hollows and a deserted donkey was breaking the twilight stillness with a plaintive braying Wandsworth Common was as lonely this evening as a patch of sand in the centre of Africa and being something of a daydreamer I liked the place because of its stillness and solitude
Something of a dreamer and yet I had so little to dream about My thoughts were pleasant as I walked across the common in the sunset and yet looking back now I wonder what I thought of and what image there was in my mind that could make my fancies pleasant to me I know what I thought of as I went home in the dim light of the newlyrisen moon the pale crescent that glimmered high in a cloudless heaven
I went into the little town of Wandsworth the queer oldfashioned High Street the dear old street which seems to me like a town in a Dutch picture where all the tints are of a sombre brown yet in which there is nevertheless so much light and warmth The lights were beginning to twinkle here and there in the windows and upon this July evening there seemed to be flowers blooming in every casement I loitered idly through the street staring at the shopwindows in utter absence of mind while I thought
What could I have thought of that evening and how was it that I did not think the world blank and empty
While I was looking idly in at one of those shopwindowsit was a fancyshop and stationersa kind of bazaar in its humble waymy eye was attracted by the word Music and on a little card hung in the window I read that a lady would be happy to give lessons on the pianoforte at the residences of her pupils or at her own residence on very moderate terms The word very was underscored I thought it had a pitiful look somehow that underscoring of the adverb and seemed almost an appeal for employment The inscription on the card was in a womans hand and a very pretty handelegant but not illegible firm and yet feminine I was in a very idle frame of mind ready to be driven by any chance wind and I thought I might just as well turn my evening walk to some account by calling upon the proprietress of the card She was not likely to suit my ideas of perfection any more than the other ladies I had seen but I should at least be able to return home with the consciousness of having made another effort to find an instructress for my niece
The address on the card was No 3 Godolphin Cottages I asked the first person I met to direct me to Godolphin Cottages and was told to take the second turning on my right The second turning on my right took me into a kind of lane or byroad where there were some oldfashioned semidetached cottages sheltered by a row of sycamores and shut in by wooden palings I opened the low gate before the third cottage and went into the gardena primlykept little garden with a grassplat and miniature gravelwalks and with a grotto of shells and moss and craggy blocks of stone in a corner Under a laburnumtree there was a green rustic bench and here I found a young lady sitting reading by the dying light She started at the sound of my footsteps on the crisp gravel and rose blushing like one of the cabbageroses that grew near her The blush was all the more becoming to her inasmuch as she was naturally very pale I saw this almost immediately for the bright colour faded out of her face while I was speaking to her
I have come to inquire for a lady who teaches music I said I saw a card just now in the High Street and as I am searching for an instructress for my little niece I took the opportunity of calling But I fear I have chosen an inconvenient time for my visit
I scarcely know why I made this apology since I had omitted to apologize to the other ladies on whom I had ventured to intrude at abnormal hours I fear that I was weak enough to feel bewildered by the pensive loveliness of the face at which I looked and that my confidence ebbed away under the influence of those grave hazel eyes
The face is so beautifulas beautiful now that I have learned the trick of every feature though even now I cannot learn all the varying changes of expression which make it ever new to me as it was that evening when it beamed on me for the first time Shall I describe herthe woman whom I have only known four weeks and who seems to fill all the universe when I think of herand when do I not think of her Shall I describe her for the New Zealander when the best description must fall so far below the bright reality and when the very act of reducing her beauty into hard commonplace words seems in some manner a sacrilege against the sanctity of that beauty Yes I will describe her not for the sake of the New Zealander who may have new and extraordinary ideas as to female loveliness and may require a blue nose or peagreen tresses in the lady he elects as the only type of beautiful womanhood I will describe her because it is sweet to me to dwell upon her image and to translate that dear image no matter how poorly into words Were I a painter I should be like Claude Melnotte and paint no face but hers Were I a poet I should cover reams of paper with wild rhapsodies about her beauty Being only a cashier in a bank I can do nothing but enshrine her in the commonplace pages of my diary
I have said that she is pale Hers is that ivory pallor which sometimes accompanies hazel eyes and hazelbrown hair Her eyes are of that rare hazel that soft golden brown so rarely seen so beautiful wherever they are seen These eyes are unvarying in their colour it is only the expression of them that varies with every emotion but in repose they have a mournful earnestness in their look a pensive gravity that seems to tell of a life in which there has been much shadow The hair parted above the most beautiful brow I ever looked upon is of exactly the same colour as the eyes and has a natural ripple in it For the rest of the features I must refer my New Zealander to the pictures of the old Italian mastersof which I trust he may retain a handsome collectionfor only on the canvases of Signori Raffaello Sanzio dUrbino Titian and the pupils who emulated them will he find that exquisite harmony that purity of form and tender softness of outline which I beheld that summer evening in the features of Margaret Wentworth
Margaret Wentworththat is her name She told it me presently when I had explained to her in some awkward vague manner who I was and how it was I wanted to engage her services Throughout that interview I think I must have been intoxicated by her presence as by some subtle and mysterious influence stronger than the fumes of opium or the juice of lotus flowers I only know that after ten minutes conversation during which she was perfectly selfpossessed I opened the little gardengate again very much embarrassed by the latch on one hand and my hat on the other and went back out of that little paradise of twenty feet square into the dusty lane
I went home in triumph to my mother and told her that I had succeeded at last in engaging a lady who was in every way suitable and that she was coming the following morning at eleven oclock to give her first lesson But I was somewhat embarrassed when my mother asked if I had heard the lady play if I had inquired her terms if I had asked for references as to respectability capability and so forth
I was fain to confess with much confusion that I had not done any one of these things And then my mother asked me why in that case did I consider the lady suitablewhich question increased my embarrassment by tenfold I could not say that I had engaged her because her eyes were hazel and her hair of the same colour nor could I declare that I had judged of her proficiency as a teacher of the piano by the exquisite line of her pencilled eyebrows So in this dilemma I had recourse to a piece of jesuitry of which I was not a little proud I told my dear mother that Miss Wentworths head was from a phrenological point of view magnificent and that the organs of time and tune were developed to an unusual degree
I was almost ashamed of myself when my mother rewarded this falsehood by a kiss declaring that I was a dear clever boy and such a judge of character and that she would rather confide in a stranger upon the strength of my instinct than upon any inferior persons experience
After this I could only trust to the chance of Miss Wentworths proficiency and when I went home from the city upon the following afternoon my mind was far less occupied with the business events of the day than with abstruse speculations at to the probabilities with regard to that young ladys skill upon the pianoforte It was with an air of supreme carelessness that I asked my mother whether she had been pleased with Miss Wentworth
Pleased with her cried the good soul why she plays magnificently Clement Such a touch such brilliancy In my young days it was only concertplayers who played like that but nowadays girls of eighteen and twenty sit down and dash away at the keys like a professor I think youll be charmed with her ClemIm afraid I blushed as my mother said this had I not been charmed with her alreadywhen you hear her play for she has expression as well as brilliancy She is passionately fond of music I know not because she went into any ridiculous sentimental raptures about it as some girls do but because her eyes lighted up when she told me what a happiness her piano had been to her ever since she was a child She gave a little sigh after saying that and I fancied poor girl that she had perhaps known very little other happiness
And her terms mother I said
Oh you dear commercial Clem always thinking of terms cried my mother
Heaven bless her innocent heart I had asked that sordid question only to hide the unreasoning gladness of my heart What was it to me that this hazeleyed girl was engaged to teach my little niece Non più mesta what was it to me that my breast should be all of a sudden filled with a tumult of glad emotions and thus shrink from any encounter with my mothers honest eyes
Well Clem the terms are almost ridiculously moderate my mother said presently Theres only one thing thats at all inconvenient that is to say not to me but Im afraid youll think it an objection
I eagerly asked the nature of this objection Was there some cold chill of disappointment in store for me after all
Well you see Clem said my mother with some little hesitation Miss Wentworth is engaged almost all through the day as her pupils live at long distances from one another and she has to waste a good deal of time in going backwards and forwards so the only time she can possibly give Lizzie is either very early in the morning or rather late in the evening Now I should prefer the evening as I should like to hear the dear childs lessons but the question is would you object to the noise of the piano while you are at home
Would I object Would I object to the music of the spheres In spite of the grand capabilities for falsehood and hypocrisy which had been developed in my nature since the previous evening it was as much as I could do to answer my mothers question deliberately to the effect that I didnt think I should mind the musiclessons much
Youll be out generally you know Clem my mother said
Yes I replied of course if I found the music in any way a nuisance
Coming home from the City the next day I felt like a schoolboy who turns his back upon all the hardships of his life on some sunny summer holiday The rattling Hansom seemed a fairy car that was bearing me in triumph through a region of brightness and splendour The sunlit suburban roads were enchanted glades and I think I should have been scarcely surprised to see Aladdins jewelled fruit hanging on the trees in the villa gardens or the gigantic wings of Sinbads roc overshadowing the hills of Sydenham A wonderful transformation had changed the earth to fairy land and it was in vain that I fought against the subtle influence in the air around me
Oh was I in love was I really in love at last with a young lady whose face I had only looked upon eightandforty hours before Was I who had flirted with the Miss Balderbys and half lost my heart to Lucy Sedwicke the surgeons sister and corresponded for nearly a year with Clara Carpenter with the sanction of both our houses and everything en règle only to be jilted ignominiously for the sake of an evangelical curatewas I who had railed at the foolish passionI have one of Miss Carpenters long tresses in the desk on which I am writing sealed in a sheet of letterpaper with Swifts savage inscription Only a womans hair on the coverwas I caught at last by a pair of hazel eyes and a Raffaellesque profile Were the wings that had fluttered in so many flames burnt and maimed by the first breath of this new fire I was ashamed of my silly fancy in one moment and proud of my love in the next I was ten years younger all of a sudden and my heart was all aglow with chivalrous devotion for this beautiful stranger I reasoned with myself and ridiculed my madness and yet yielded like the veriest craven to the sweet intoxication I gave the driver of the Hansom five shillings Had I not a right to pay him a trifle extra for driving me through fairyland
What had we for dinner that day I have a vague idea that I ate cherry tart and roast veal fried soles boiled custard and anchovy sauce all mixed together I know that the meal seemed to endure for the abnormal period of halfadozen hours or so and yet it was only seven oclock when we adjourned to the drawingroom and Miss Wentworth was not due until halfpast seven My niece was all in a flutter of expectation and ran out of the drawingroom window every now and then to see if the new governess was coming She need not have had that trouble poor child had I been inclined to give her information since from the chair in which I had seated myself to read the evening papers I could see the road along which Miss Wentworth must come My eyes wandered very often from the page before me and fixed themselves upon this dusty suburban road and presently I saw a parasol rather a shabby one and then a slender figure coming quickly towards our gate and then the face which I am weak enough to think the most beautiful face in Christendom
Since then Miss Wentworth has come three times a week and somehow or other I have never found myself in any way bored by Non più mesta or even the major and minor scales which as interpreted by a juvenile performer are not especially enthralling to the ear of the ordinary listener I read my books or papers or stroll upon the lawn while the lesson is going on and every now and then I hear MargaretsI really must write of her as Margaret it is such a nuisance to write Miss Wentworthpretty voice explaining the importance of a steady position of the wrist or the dexterous turning over or under of a thumb or something equally interesting And then when the lesson is concluded my mother rouses herself from her afterdinner nap and asks Margaret to take a cup of tea and even insists on her accepting that feminine hospitality And then we sit talking in the tender summer dusk or in the subdued light of a shaded lamp on the piano We talk of books and it is wonderful to me to find how Margarets tastes and opinions coincide with mine Miss Carpenter was stupid about books and used to call Carlyle nonsensical and never really enjoyed Dickens half as much as she pretended I have lent Margaret some of my books and a little shower of withered roseleaves dropped from the pages of Wilhelm Meister after she had returned me the volume I have put them in an envelope and sealed it I may as well burn Miss Carpenters hair by the way
Though it is only a month since the evening on which I saw the card in the window at Wandsworth Margaret and I seem to be old friends After a year Miss Carpenter and I were as far as everfarther than ever perhapsfrom understanding each other but with Margaret I need no words to tell me that I am understood A look a smile a movement of the graceful head is a more eloquent answer than the most elaborate of Miss Carpenters rhapsodies She was one of those girls whom her friends call gushing and she called Byron a love and Shelley an angel but if you tried her with a stanza that hasnt been done to death in Gems of Verse or Strings of Poetic Pearls or Drawingroom Table Lyrics she couldnt tell whether you were quoting Byron or Ben Jonson But with MargaretMargaretsweet name If it were not that I live in perpetual terror of the day when the dilettante New Zealander will edit this manuscript I think I should write that lovely name over and over again for a page or so If the New Zealander should exercise his editorial discretion and delete my raptures it wouldnt matter but I might furnish him with the text for an elaborate disquisition on the manners and customs of English lovers Let me be reasonable about my dear love if I can My dear lovedo I dare to call her that already when for anything I know to the contrary there may be another evangelical curate in the background
We seem to be old friends and yet I know so little of her She shuns all allusion to her home or her past history Now and then she has spoken of her father always tenderly but always with a sigh and I fancy that a deepening shadow steals over her face when she mentions that name
Friendly as we are I can never induce her to let me see her home though my mother has suggested that I should do so She is accustomed to go about by herself she says after dark as well as in the daytime She seems as fearless as a modern Una and that would indeed be a savage beast which could molest such a pure and lovely creature
CHAPTER VII
AFTER FIVEANDTHIRTY YEARS
Joseph Wilmot waited patiently enough in all outward seeming for the arrival of the steamer Everybody was respectful to him now paying deference to his altered guise and he went where he liked without question or hindrance
There were several people waiting for passengers who were expected to arrive by the Electra and the coming of the steamer was hailed by a feeble cheer from the bystanders grouped about the landingplace
The passengers began to come on shore at about eleven oclock There were a good many children and English nursemaids three or four militarylooking men dressed in loose garments of grey and nankeen colour several ladies all more or less sunburnt a couple of ayahs three menservants and an aristocraticlooking man of about fiftyfive dressed unlike the rest of the travellers in fine broadcloth with a blacksatin cravat a gold pin a carefully brushed hat and varnished boots
His clothes in fact were very much of the same fashion as those which Joseph Wilmot had chosen for himself
This man was Henry Dunbar tall and broadchested with grey hair and moustache and with a haughty smile upon his handsome face
Joseph Wilmot stood among the little crowd motionless as a statue watching his old betrayer
Not much changed he murmured very little changed Proud and selfish and cruel thenproud and selfish and cruel now He has grown older and stouter and greyer but he is the same man he was fiveandthirty years ago I can see it all in his face
He advanced as Henry Dunbar landed and approached the AngloIndian
Mr Dunbar I believe he said removing his hat
Yes I am Mr Dunbar
I have been sent from the office in St Gundolph Lane sir returned Joseph I have a letter for you from Mr Balderby I came to meet you and to be of service to you
Henry Dunbar looked at him doubtfully
You are not one of the clerks in St Gundolph Lane he said
No Mr Dunbar
I thought as much you dont look like a clerk but who are you then
I will tell you presently sir I am a substitute for another person who was taken ill upon the road But there is no time to speak of that now I came to be of use to you Shall I see after your luggage
Yes I shall be glad if you will do so
You have a servant with you Mr Dunbar
No my valet was taken ill at Malta and I left him behind
Indeed exclaimed Joseph Wilmot that was a misfortune
A sudden flash of light sparkled in his eyes as he spoke
Yes it was devilish provoking Youll find the luggage packed and directed to Portland Place be so good as to see that it is sent off immediately by the speediest route There is a portmanteau in my cabin and my travellingdesk I require those with me All the rest can go on
I will see to it sir
Thank you you are very good At what hotel are you staying
I have not been to any hotel yet I only arrived this morning The Electra was not expected until tomorrow
I will go on to the Dolphin then returned Mr Dunbar and I shall be glad if you will follow me directly you have attended to the luggage I want to get to London tonight if possible
Henry Dunbar walked away holding his head high in the air and swinging his cane as he went Ha was one of those men who most confidently believe in their own merits The sin he had committed in his youth sat very lightly upon his conscience If he thought about that old story at all it was only to remember that he had been very badly used by his father and his Uncle Hugh
And the poor wretch who had helped himthe clever brightfaced highspirited lad who had acted as his tool and accomplicewas as completely forgotten as if he had never existed
Mr Dunbar was ushered into a great sunny sittingroom at the Dolphin a vast desert of Brussels carpet with little islands of chairs and tables scattered here and there He ordered a bottle of sodawater sank into an easychair and took up the Times newspaper
But presently he threw it down impatiently and took his watch from his waistcoatpocket
Attached to the watch there was a locket of chased yellow gold Henry Dunbar opened this locket which contained the miniature of a beautiful girl with fair rippling hair as bright as burnished gold and limpid blue eyes
My poor little Laura he murmured I wonder whether she will be glad to see me She was a mere baby when she left India It isnt likely shell remember me But I hope she may be glad of my coming backI hope she may be glad
He put the locket again in its place and took a letter from his breastpocket It was directed in a womans hand and the envelope was surrounded by a deep border of black
If theres any faith to be put in this she will be glad to have me home at last Henry Dunbar said as he drew the letter out of its envelope
He read one passage softly to himself
If anything can console me for the loss of my dear grandfather it is the thought that you will come back at last and that I shall see you once more You can never know dearest father what a bitter sorrow this cruel separation has been to me It has seemed so hard that we who are so rich should have been parted as we have been while poor children have their fathers with them Money seems such a small thing when it cannot bring us the presence of those we love And I do love you dear papa truly and devotedly though I cannot even remember your face and have not so much as a picture of you to recall you to my recollection
The letter was a very long one and Henry Dunbar was still reading it when Joseph Wilmot came into the room
The AngloIndian crushed the letter into his pocket and looked up languidly
Have you seen to all that he asked
Yes Mr Dunbar the luggage has been sent off
Joseph Wilmot had not yet removed his hat He had rather an undecided manner and walked once or twice up and down the room stopping now and then and then walking on again in an unsettled way like a man who has some purpose in his mind yet is oppressed by a feverish irresolution as to the performance of that purpose
But Mr Dunbar took no notice of this He sat with the newspaper in his hand and did not deign to lift his eyes to his companion after that first brief question He was accustomed to be waited upon and to look upon the people who served him as beings of an inferior class and he had no idea of troubling himself about this gentlemanlylooking clerk from St Gundolph Lane
Joseph Wilmot stopped suddenly upon the other side of the table near which Mr Dunbar sat and laying his hand upon it said quietly
You asked me just now who I was Mr Dunbar
The banker looked up at him with haughty indifference
Did I Oh yea I remember and you told me you came from the office That is quite enough
Pardon me Mr Dunbar it is not quite enough You are mistaken I did not say I came from the office in St Gundolph Lane I told you on the contrary that I came here as a substitute for another person who was ordered to meet you
Indeed That is pretty much the same thing You seem a very agreeable fellow and will no doubt be quite as useful as the original person could have been It was very civil of Mr Balderby to send some one to meet mevery civil indeed
The AngloIndians head sank back upon the morocco cushion of the easychair and he looked languidly at his companion with halfclosed eyes
Joseph Wilmot removed his hat
I dont think youve looked at me very closely have you Mr Dunbar he said
Have I looked at you closely exclaimed the banker My good fellow what do you mean
Look me full in the face Mr Dunbar and tell me if you see anything there that reminds you of the past
Henry Dunbar started
He opened his eyes widely enough this time and started at the handsome face before him It was as handsome as his own and almost as aristocraticlooking For Nature has odd caprices now and then and had made very little distinction between the banker who was worth half a million and the runaway convict who was not worth sixpence
Have I met you before he said In India
No Mr Dunbar not in India You know that as well as I do Carry your mind farther back Carry it back to the time before you went to India
What then
Do you remember losing a heap of money on the Derby and being in so desperate a frame of mind that you took the holsterpistols down from their place above the chimneypiece in your barrack sittingroom and threatened to blow your brains out Do you remember in your despair appealing to a lad who served you and who loved you better perhaps than a brother would have loved you though he was your inferior by birth and station and the son of a poor hardworking woman Do you remember entreating this boywho had a knack of counterfeiting other peoples signatures but who had never used his talent for any guilty purpose until that hour so help me Heavento aid you in a scheme by which your creditors were to be kept quiet till you could get the money to pay them Do you remember all this Yes I see you dothe answer is written on your face and you remember meJoseph Wilmot
He struck his hand upon his breast and stood with his eyes fixed upon the others face They had a strange expression in them those eyesa sort of hungry eager look as if the very sight of his old foe was a kind of food that went some way towards satisfying this mans vengeful fury
I do remember you Henry Dunbar said slowly He had turned deadly pale and cold drops of sweat had broken out upon his forehead he wiped them away with his perfumed cambric handkerchief as he spoke
You do remember me the other man repeated with no change in the expression of his face
I do and believe me I am heartily sorry for the past I dare say you fancy I acted cruelly towards you on that wretched day in St Gundolph Lane but I really could scarcely act otherwise I was so harassed and tormented by my own position that I could not be expected to get myself deeper into the mire by interceding for you However now that I am my own master I can make it up to you Rely upon it my good fellow Ill atone for the past
Atone for the past cried Joseph Wilmot Can you make me an honest man or a respectable member of society Can you remove the stamp of the felon from me and win for me the position I might have held in this hard world but for you Can you give me back the fiveandthirty blighted years of my life and take the blight from them Can you heal my mothers broken heartbroken long ago by my disgrace Can you give me back the dead Or can you give me pleasant memories or peaceful thoughts or the hope of Gods forgiveness No no you can give me none of these
Mr Henry Dunbar was essentially a man of the world He was not a passionate man He was a gentlemanly creature very seldom demonstrative in his manner and he wished to take life pleasantly
He was utterly selfish and heartless But as he was very rich people readily overlooked such small failings as selfishness and want of heart and were loud in praise of the graces of his manner and the elegance of his person
My dear Wilmot he said in no wise startled by the vehemence of his companion all that is so much sentimental talk Of course I cant give you back the past The past was your own and you might have fashioned it as you pleased If you went wrong you have no right to throw the blame of your wrongdoing upon me Pray dont talk about broken hearts and blighted lives and all that sort of thing Im a man of the world and I can appreciate the exact value of that kind of twaddle I am sorry for the scrape I got you into and am ready to do anything reasonable to atone for that old business I cant give you back the past but I can give you that for which most men are ready to barter past present and futureI can give you money
How much asked Joseph Wilmot with a halfsuppressed fierceness in his manner
Humph murmured the AngloIndian pulling his grey moustaches with a reflective air Let me see what would satisfy you now my good fellow
I leave that for you to decide
Very well then I suppose youd be quite contented if I were to buy you a small annuity that would keep you straight with the world for the rest of your life Say fifty pounds a year
Fifty pounds a year Joseph Wilmot repeated He had quite conquered that fierceness of expression by this time and spoke very quietly Fifty pounds a yeara pound a week
Yes
Ill accept your offer Mr Dunbar A pound a week That will enable me to liveto live as labouring men live in some hovel or other and will insure me bread every day I have a daughter a very beautiful girl about the same age as your daughter and of course shell share my income with me and will have as much cause to bless your generosity as I shall have
Its a bargain then asked the East Indian languidly
Oh yes its a bargain You have estates in Warwickshire and Yorkshire a house in Portland Place and half a million of money but of course all those things are necessary to you I shall havethanks to your generosity and as an atonement for all the shame and misery the want and peril and disgrace which I have suffered for fiveandthirty yearsa pound a week secured to me for the rest of my life A thousand thanks Mr Dunbar You are your own self still I find the same master I loved when I was a boy and I accept your generous offer
He laughed as he finished speaking loudly but not heartilyrather strangely perhaps but Mr Dunbar did not trouble himself to notice any such insignificant fact as the merriment of his old valet
Now we have done with all these heroics he said perhaps youll be good enough to order luncheon for me
CHAPTER VIII
THE FIRST STAGE ON THE JOURNEY HOME
Joseph Wilmot obeyed his old master and ordered a very excellent luncheon which was served in the best style of the Dolphin and a sojourn at the Dolphin is almost a recompense for the pains and penalties of the voyage home from India Mr Dunbar from the sublime height of his own grandeur stooped to be very friendly with his old valet and insisted upon Josephs sitting down with him at the wellspread table But although the AngloIndian did ample justice to the luncheon and washed down a spatchcock and a lobstersalad with several glasses of iced Moselle the reprobate ate and drank very little and sat for the best part of the time crumbling his bread in a strange absent manner and watching his companions face He only spoke when his old master addressed him and then in a constrained halfmechanical way which might have excited the wonder of any one less supremely indifferent than Henry Dunbar to the feelings of his fellowcreatures
The AngloIndian finished his luncheon left the table and walked to the window but Joseph Wilmot still sat with a full glass before him The sparkling bubbles had vanished from the clear amber wine but although Moselle at halfaguinea a bottle could scarcely have been a very common beverage to the exconvict he seemed to have no appreciation of the vintage He sat with his head bent and his elbow on his knee brooding brooding brooding
Henry Dunbar amused himself for about ten minutes looking out at the busy streetthe brightest airiest lightest prettiest High Street in all England perhaps and then turned away from the window and looked at his old valet He had been accustomed fiveandthirty years ago to be familiar with the man and to make a confidant and companion of him and he fell into the same manner now naturally as if the fiveandthirty years had never been as if Joseph Wilmot had never been wronged by him He fell into the old way and treated his companion with that haughty affability which a monarch may be supposed to exhibit towards his prime favourite
Drink your wine Wilmot he exclaimed dont sit meditating there as if you were a great speculator brooding over the stagnation of the moneymarket I want bright looks man to welcome me back to my native country Ive seen dark faces enough out yonder and I want to see smiling and pleasanter faces here You look as black as if you had committed a murder or were plotting one
The Outcast smiled
Ive so much reason to look cheerful havent I he said in the same tone he had used when he had declared his acceptance of the bankers bounty Ive such a pleasant life before me and such agreeable recollections to look back upon A mans memory seems to me like a book of pictures that he must be continually looking at whether he will or not and if the pictures are horrible if he shudders as he looks at them if the sight of them is worse than the pain of death to him he must look nevertheless I read a story the other dayat least my girl was reading it to me poor child she tries to soften me with these things sometimesand the man who wrote the story said it was well for the most miserable of us to pray Lord keep my memory green But what if the memory is a record of crime Mr Dunbar Can we pray that those memories may be kept green Wouldnt it be better to pray that our brains and hearts may wither leaving us no power to look back upon the past If I could have forgotten the wrong you did me fiveandthirty years ago I might have been a different man but I couldnt forget it Every day and every hour I have remembered it My memory is as fresh today as it was fourandthirty years ago when my wrongs were only a twelvemonth old
Joseph Wilmot had said all this almost as if he yielded to an uncontrollable impulse and spoke because he must speak rather than from the desire to upbraid Henry Dunbar He had not looked at the AngloIndian he had not changed his attitude he had spoken with his head still bent and his eyes fixed upon the ground
Mr Dunbar had gone back to the window and had resumed his contemplation of the street but he turned round with a gesture of angry impatience as Joseph Wilmot finished speaking
Now listen to me Wilmot he said If the firm in St Gundolph Lane sent you down here to annoy and insult me directly I set foot upon British ground they have chosen a very nice way of testifying their respect for their chief and they have made a mistake which they shall repent having made sooner or later If you came here upon your own account with a view to terrify me or to extort money from me you have made a mistake If you think to make a fool of me by any maudlin sentimentality you make a still greater mistake I give you fair warning If you expect any advantage from me you must make yourself agreeable to me I am a rich man and know how to recompense those who please me but I will not be bored or tormented by any man alive least of all by you If you choose to make yourself useful you can stay if you dont choose to do so the sooner you leave this room the better for yourself if you wish to escape the humiliation of being turned out by the waiter
At the end of this speech Joseph Wilmot looked up for the first time He was very pale and there were strange hard lines about his compressed lips and a new light in his eyes
I am a poor weak fool he said quietly very weak and very foolish when I think there can be anything in that old story to touch your heart Mr Dunbar I will not offend you again believe me I have not led a very sober life of late years Ive had a touch of delirium tremens and my nerves are not as strong as they used to be but Ill not annoy you again Im quite ready to make myself useful in any way you may require
Get me a timetable then and lets see about the trains I dont want to stay in Southampton all day
Joseph Wilmot rang and ordered the timetable Henry Dunbar studied it
There is no express before ten oclock at night he said and I dont care about travelling by a slow train What am I to do with myself in the interim
He was silent for a few moments turning over the leaves of Bradshaws Guide and thinking
How far is it from here to Winchester he asked presently
Ten miles or thereabouts I believe Joseph answered
Ten miles Very well then Wilmot Ill tell you what Ill do Ive a friend in the neighbourhood of Winchester an old college companion a man who has a fine estate in Hampshire and a house near St Cross If youll order a carriage and pair to be got ready immediately well drive over to Winchester Ill go and see my old friend Michael Marston well dine at the George and go up to London by the express which leaves Winchester at a quarter past ten Go and order the carriage and lose no time about it thats a good fellow
Half an hour after this the two men left Southampton in an open carriage with the bankers portmanteau dressingcase and despatchbox and Joseph Wilmots carpetbag It was three oclock when the carriage drove away from the entrance of the Dolphin Hotel it wanted five minutes to four when Mr Dunbar and his companion entered the handsome hall of the George
Throughout the drive the banker had been in very excellent spirits smoking cheroots and admiring the lovely English landscape the spreading pastures the glimpses of woodland the hills beyond the grey cathedral city purple in the distance
He had talked a good deal making himself very familiar with his humble friend But he had not talked so much or so loudly as Joseph Wilmot All gloomy memories seemed to have melted away from this mans mind His former moody silence had been succeeded by a manner that was almost unnaturally gay A close observer would have detected that his laugh was a little forced his loudest merriment wanting in geniality but Henry Dunbar was not a close observer People in Calcutta who courted and admired the rich banker had been wont to praise the aristocratic ease of his manner which was not often disturbed by any vulgar demonstration of his own emotions and very rarely ruffled by any sympathy with the joys or pity for the sorrows of his fellowcreatures
His companions ready wit and knowledge of the worldthe very worst part of the world unhappilyamused the languid AngloIndian and by the time the travellers reached Winchester they were on excellent terms with each other Joseph Wilmot was thoroughly at home with his patron and as the two men were dressed in the same fashion and had pretty much the same nonchalance of manner it would have been very difficult for a stranger to have discovered which was the servant and which the master
One of them ordered dinner for eight oclock the best dinner the house could provide The luggage was taken up to a private room and the two men walked away from the hotel arminarm
They walked under the shadow of a low stone colonnade and then turned aside by the marketplace and made their way into the precincts of the cathedral There are quaint old courtyards and shadowy quadrangles hereabouts there are pleasant gardens where the flowers seem to grow brighter in the sanctified shade than other flowers that flaunt in the unhallowed sunshine There are low oldfashioned houses with Tudor windows and ponderous porches grey gables crowned with yellow stonemoss high gardenwalls queer nooks and corners deep windowseats in painted oriels great oaken beams supporting low dark ceilings heavy clusters of chimneys half borne down by the weight of the ivy that clings about them and over all the shadow of the great cathedral broods like a sheltering wing preserving the cool quiet of these cosy sanctuaries
Beyond this holy shelter fair pastures stretch away to the feet of the grassy hills and a winding stream of water wanders in and out now hiding in dim groves of spreading elms now creeping from the darkness with a murmuring voice and stealthy gliding motion to change its very nature and become the noisiest brook that ever babbled over sunlit pebbles on its way to the blue sea
In one of the grey stone quadrangles close under the cathedral wall the two men still arminarm stopped to make an inquiry about Mr Michael Marston of the Ferns St Cross
Alas Ben Bolt it is a fine thing to sail away to foreign shores and prosper there but it is not so pleasant to come home and hear that Alice is dead and buried that of all your old companions there is only one left to greet you and that even the brook which rippled through your boyish dreams as you lay asleep amongst the rushes on its brink has dried up for ever
Mr Michael Marston had been dead more than ten years His widow an elderly lady was still living at the Ferns
This was the information which the two men obtained from a verger whom they found prowling about the quadrangle Very little was said One of the men asked the necessary questions But neither of them expressed either regret or surprise
They walked away silently still arminarm towards the shady groves and spreading pastures beyond the cathedral precincts
The verger who was elderly and slow called after them in a feeble voice as they went away
Maybe youd like to see the cathedral gentlemen its well worth seeing
But he received no answer The two men were out of hearing or did not care to reply to him
Well take a stroll towards St Cross and get an appetite for dinner Mr Dunbar said as he and his companion walked along a pathway under the shadow of a mossgrown wall across a patch of meadowland and away into the holy quiet of a grove
A serene stillness reigned beneath the shelter of the spreading branches The winding streamlet rippled along amidst wild flowers and trembling rushes the ground beneath the feet of these two idle wanderers was a soft bed of moss and rarelytrodden grass
It was a lonely place this grove for it lay between the meadows and the highroad Feeble old pensioners from St Cross came here sometimes but not often Enthusiastic disciples of old Izaak Walton now and then invaded the holy quiet of the place but not often The loveliest spots on earth are those where man seldom comes
This spot was most lovely because of its solitude Only the gentle waving of the leaves the long melodious note of a lonely bird and the low whisper of the streamlet broke the silence
The two men went into the grove arminarm One of them was talking the other listening and smoking a cigar as he listened They went into the long arcade beneath the overarching trees and the sombre shadows closed about them and hid them from the world
CHAPTER IX
HOW HENRY DUNBAR WAITED DINNER
The old verger was still pottering about the grey quadrangle sunning himself in such glimpses of the glorious light as found their way into that shadowy place when one of the two gentlemen who had spoken to him returned He was smoking a cigar and swinging his goldheaded cane lightly as he came along
You may as well show me the cathedral he said to the verger I shouldnt like to leave Winchester without having seen it that is to say without having seen it again I was here forty years ago when I was a boy but I have been in India fiveandthirty years and have seen nothing but Pagan temples
And very beautiful them Pagan places be sir baint they the old man asked as he unlocked a low door leading into one of the side aisles of the cathedral
Oh yes very magnificent of course But as I was not a soldier and had no opportunity of handling any of the magnificence in the way of diamonds and so forth I didnt particularly care about them
They were in the shadowy aisle by this time and Mr Dunbar was looking about him with his hat in his hand
You didnt go on to the Ferns then sir said the verger
No I sent my servant on to inquire if the old lady is at home If I find that she is I shall sleep in Winchester tonight and drive over tomorrow morning to see her Her husband was a very old friend of mine How far is it from here to the Ferns
A matter of two mile sir
Mr Dunbar looked at his watch
Then my man ought to be back in an hours time he said I told him to come on to me here I left him halfway between here and St Cross
Is that other gentleman your servant sir asked the verger with unmitigated surprise
Yes that gentleman as you call him is or rather was my confidential servant He is a clever fellow and I make a companion of him Now if you please we will see the chapels
Mr Dunbar evidently desired to put a stop to the garrulous inclinations of the verger
He walked through the aisle with a careless easy step and with his head erect looking about him as he went along but presently while the verger was busy unlocking the door of one of the chapels Mr Dunbar suddenly reeled like a drunken man and then dropped heavily upon an oaken bench near the chapeldoor
The verger turned to look at him and found him wiping the perspiration from his forehead with his perfumed silk handkerchief
Dont be alarmed he said smiling at the mans scared face my Indian habits have unfitted me for any exertion The walk in the broiling afternoon sun has knocked me up or perhaps the wine I drank at Southampton may have had something to do with it he added with a laugh
The verger ventured to laugh too and the laughter of the two men echoed harshly through the solemn place
For more than an hour Mr Dunbar amused himself by inspecting the cathedral He was eager to see everything and to know the meaning of everything He peered into every nook and corner going from monument to monument with the patient talkative old verger at his heels asking questions about every thing he saw trying to decipher halfobliterated inscriptions upon longforgotten tombs sounding the praises of William of Wykeham admiring the splendid shrines the sanctified relics of the past with the delight of a scholar and an antiquarian
The old verger thought that he had never had so pleasant a task as that of exhibiting his beloved cathedral to this delightful gentleman just returned from India and ready to admire everything belonging to his native land
The verger was still better pleased when Mr Dunbar gave him half a sovereign as the reward for his afternoons trouble
Thank you sir and kindly to be sure the old man cackled gratefully Its very seldom as I get gold for my trouble sir Ive shown this cathedral to a dook sir but the dook didnt treat me as liberal as this here sir
Mr Dunbar smiled
Perhaps not he said the duke mightnt have been as rich a man as I am in spite of his dukedom
No to be sure sir the old man answered looking admiringly at the banker and sighing plaintively Its well to be rich sir it is indeed and when one have twelve grandchildren and a bedridden wife one finds it hard sir one do indeed
Perhaps the verger had faint hopes of another half sovereign from this very rich gentleman
But Mr Dunbar seated himself upon a bench near the low doorway by which he had entered the cathedral and looked at his watch
The verger looked at the watch too it was a hundredguinea chronometer a masterpiece of Bensons workmanship and Mr Dunbars arms were emblazoned upon the back There was a locket attached to the massive gold chain the locket which contained Laura Dunbars miniature
Seven oclock exclaimed the banker my servant ought to be here by this time
So he ought sir said the verger who was ready to agree to anything Mr Dunbar might say if he had only to go to the Ferns sir he might have been back by this time easy
Ill smoke a cheroot while I wait for him the banker said passing out into the quadrangle hes sure to come to this door to look for meI gave him particular orders to do so
Henry Dunbar finished his cheroot and another and the cathedral clock chimed the threequarters after seven but Joseph Wilmot had not come back from the Ferns The verger waited upon his patrons pleasure and lingered in attendance upon him though he would fain have gone home to his tea which in the common course he would have taken at five oclock
Really this is too bad cried the banker as the clock chimed the threequarters Wilmot knows that I dine at eight and that I expect him to dine with me I think I have a right to a little more consideration from him I shall go back to the George Perhaps youll be good enough to wait here and tell him to follow me
Mr Dunbar went away still muttering and the verger gave up all thoughts of his tea and waited conscientiously He waited till the cathedral clock struck nine and the stars were bright in the dark blue heaven above him but he waited in vain Joseph Wilmot had not come back from the Ferns
The banker returned to the George A small round table was set in a pleasant room on the first floor a bright array of glass and silver glittered under the light of five waxcandles in a silver candelabrum and the waiter was beginning to be nervous about the fish
You may countermand the dinner Mr Dunbar said with evident vexation I shall not dine till Mr Wilmot who is my old confidential servantmy friend I may sayreturns
Has he gone far sir
To the Ferns about a mile beyond St Cross I shall wait dinner for him Put a couple of candles on that writingtable and bring me my desk
The waiter obeyed he placed a pair of tall waxcandles upon the table and then brought the desk or rather despatchbox which had cost forty pounds and was provided with every possible convenience for a business man and every elegant luxury that the most extravagant traveller could desire It was like everything else about this man it bore upon it the stamp of almost limitless wealth
Mr Dunbar took a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked his despatchbox He was some little time doing this as he had a difficulty in finding the right key He looked up and smiled at the waiter who was still hovering about anxious to be useful
I must have taken too much Moselle at luncheon today he said laughing or at least my enemies might say so if they were to see me puzzled to find the key of my own desk
He had opened the box by this time and was examining one of the numerous packets of papers which were arranged in very methodical order carefully tied together and neatly endorsed
I am to put off the dinner then sir asked the waiter
Certainly I shall wait for my friend however long he may be Im not particularly hungry for I took a very substantial luncheon at Southampton Ill ring the bell if I change my mind
The waiter departed with a sigh and Henry Dunbar was left alone with the contents of the open despatchbox spread out on the table before him under the light of the tall waxcandles
For nearly two hours he sat in the same attitude examining the papers one after the other and resorting them
Mr Dunbar must have been possessed of the very spirit of order and precision for although the papers had been neatly arranged before he resorted every one of them tying up the packets afresh reading letter after letter and making pencil memoranda in his pocketbook as he did so
He betrayed none of the impatience which is natural to a man who is kept waiting by another He was so completely absorbed by his occupation that he perhaps had forgotten all about the missing man but at nine oclock he closed and locked the despatchbox jumped up from his seat and rang the bell
I am beginning to feel alarmed about my friend he said will you ask the landlord to come to me
Mr Dunbar went to the window and looked out while the waiter was gone upon this errand The High Street was very quiet a lamp glimmered here and there and the pavements were white in the moonlight The footstep of a passerby sounded in the quiet street almost as it might have sounded in the solemn cathedral aisle
The landlord came to wait upon his guest
Can I be of any service to you sir he asked respectfully
You can be of very great service to me if you can find my friend I am really getting alarmed about him
Mr Dunbar went on to say how he had parted with the missing man in the grove on the way to St Cross with the understanding that Wilmot was to go on to the Ferns and rejoin his old master in the cathedral He explained who Joseph Wilmot was and in what relation he stood towards him
I dont suppose there is any real cause for anxiety the banker said in conclusion Wilmot owned to me that he had not been leading a sober life of late years He may have dropped into some roadside publichouse and be sitting boozing amongst a lot of country fellows at this moment Its really too bad of him
The landlord shook his head
It is indeed sir but I hope you wont wait dinner any longer sir
No no you can send up the dinner Im afraid I shall scarcely do justice to your cooks achievements for I took a very substantial luncheon at Southampton
The landlord brought in the silver souptureen with his own hands and uncorked a bottle of still hock which Mr Dunbar had selected from the winelist There was something in the bankers manner that declared him to be a person of no small importance and the proprietor of the George wished to do him honour
Mr Dunbar had spoken the truth as to his appetite for his dinner He took a few spoonfuls of soup he ate two or three mouthfuls of fish and then pushed away his plate
Its no use he said rising suddenly and walking to the window I am really uneasy about this fellows absence
He walked up and down the room two or three times and then walked back to the open window The August night was hot and still the shadows of the queer old gabled roofs were sharply defined upon the moonlit pavement The quaint cross the low stone colonnade the solemn towers of the cathedral gave an ancient aspect to the quiet city
The cathedral clock chimed the halfhour after nine while Mr Dunbar stood at the open window looking out into the street
I shall sleep here tonight he said presently without turning to look at the landlord who was standing behind him I shall not leave Winchester without this fellow Wilmot It is really too bad of him to treat me in this manner It is really very much too bad of him taking into consideration the position in which he stands towards me
The banker spoke with the offended tone of a proud and selfish man who feels that he has been outraged by his inferior The landlord of the George murmured a few stereotyped phrases expressive of his sympathy with the wrongs of Henry Dunbar and his entire reprobation of the missing mans conduct
No I shall not go to London tonight Mr Dunbar said though my daughter my only child whom I have not seen for sixteen years is waiting for me at my town house I shall not leave Winchester without Joseph Wilmot
Im sure its very good of you sir the landlord murmured its very kind of you to think so much of thisahemperson
He had hesitated a little before the last word for although Mr Dunbar spoke of Joseph Wilmot as his inferior and dependant the landlord of the George remembered that the missing man had looked quite as much a gentleman as his companion
The landlord still lingered in attendance upon Mr Dunbar The dishes upon the table were still hidden under the glistening silver covers
Surely such an unsatisfactory dinner had never before been served at the George Hotel
I am getting seriously uncomfortable about this man Mr Dunbar exclaimed at last Can you send a messenger to the Ferns to ask if he has been seen there
Certainly sir One of the lads in the stable shall get a horse ready and ride over there directly Will you write a note to Mrs Marston sir
A note No Mrs Marston is a stranger to me My old friend Michael Marston did not marry until after I left England A message will do just as well The lad has only to ask if any messenger from Mr Dunbar has called at the Ferns and if so at what time he was there and at what hour he left Thats all I want to know Which way will the boy go through the meadows or by the high road
By the high road sir theres only a footpath across the meadows The shortest way to the Ferns is the pathway through the grove between here and St Cross but you can only walk that way for theres gates and stiles and such like
Yes I know it was there I parted from my servantfrom this man Wilmot
Its a pretty spot sir but very lonely at night lonely enough in the day for the matter of that
Yes it seems so Send your messenger off at once theres a good fellow Joseph Wilmot may be sitting drinking in the servants hall at the Ferns
The landlord went away to do his guests bidding
Mr Dunbar flung himself into a low easychair and took up a newspaper But he did not read a line upon the page before him He was in that unsettled frame of mind which is common to the least nervous persons when they are kept waiting kept in suspense by some unaccountable event The absence of Joseph Wilmot became every moment more unaccountable and his old master made no attempt to conceal his uneasiness The newspaper dropped out of his hand and he sat with his face turned towards the door listening
He sat thus for more than an hour and at the end of that time the landlord came to him
Well exclaimed Henry Dunbar
The lad has come back sir No messenger from you or any one else has called at the Ferns this afternoon
Mr Dunbar started suddenly to his feet and stared at the landlord He paused for a few moments watching the mans face with a thoughtful countenance Then he said slowly and deliberately
I am afraid that something has happened
The landlord fidgeted with his ponderous watchchain and shrugged his shoulders with a dubious gesture
Well it is strange sir to say the least of it But you dont think that
He looked at Henry Dunbar as if scarcely knowing how to finish his sentence
I dont know what to think exclaimed the banker Remember I am almost as much a stranger in this country as if I had never set foot on British soil before today This man may have played me a trick and gone off for some purpose of his own though I dont know what purpose He could have best served his own interests by staying with me On the other hand something may have happened to him And yet what can have happened to him
The landlord suggested that the missing man might have fallen down in a fit or might have loitered somewhere or other until after dark and then lost his way and wandered into a millstream There was many a deep bit of water between Winchester Cathedral and the Ferns the landlord said
Let a search be made at daybreak tomorrow morning exclaimed Mr Dunbar I dont care what it costs me but I am determined this business shall be cleared up before I leave Winchester Let every inch of ground between this and the Ferns be searched at daybreak tomorrow morning let
He did not finish the sentence for there was a sudden clamour of voices and trampling and hubbub in the hall below The landlord opened the door and went out upon the broad landingplace followed by Mr Dunbar
The hall below was crowded by the servants of the place and by eager strangers who had pressed in from outside and the two men standing at the top of the stairs heard a hoarse murmur which seemed all in one voice though it was in reality a blending of many voices and which grew louder and louder until it swelled into the awful word Murder
Henry Dunbar heard it and understood it for his handsome face grew of a bluish white like snow in the moonlight and he leaned his hand upon the oaken balustrade
The landlord passed his guest and ran down the stairs It was no time for ceremony
He came back again in less than five minutes looking almost as pale as Mr Dunbar
Im afraid your friendyour servantis found sir he said
You dont mean that he is
Im afraid it is so sir It seems that two Irish reapers coming from Farmer Matfields five mile beyond St Cross stumbled against a man lying in a little streamlet under the trees
Under the trees Where
In the very place where you parted from this Mr Wilmot sir
Good God Well
The man was dead sir quite dead They carried him to the Foresters Arms sir as that was the nearest place to where they found him and theres been a doctor sent for and a deal of fuss but the doctorMr Cricklewood a very respectable gentleman sirsays that the man had been lying in the water hours and hours and that the murder had been done hours and hours ago
The murder cried Henry Dunbar but he may not have been murdered His death may have been accidental He wandered into the water perhaps
Oh no sir its not that He wasnt drowned for the water where he was found wasnt three foot deep He had been strangled sir strangled with a runningnoose of rope strangled from behind sir for the slipknot was pulled tight at the back of his neck Mr Cricklewood the surgeons in the hall below if youd like to see him and he knows all about it It seems from what the two Irishmen say that the body was dragged into the water by the rope There was the track of where it had been dragged along the grass Im sure sir Im very sorry such an awful thing should have happened to thethe person who attended you here
Mr Dunbar had need of sympathy His white face was turned towards the landlords fixed in a blank stare He had not seemed to listen to the mans account of the crime that had been committed and yet he had evidently heard everything for he said presently in slow thick accents
Strangledand the body dragged downto the water Whowho couldhave done it
Ah thats the question indeed sir It must all have been done for the sake of a bit of money I suppose for there was an empty pocketbook found by the waters edge There are always tramps and suchlike about the country at this time of year and some of them will commit almost any crime for the sake of a few pounds I rememberah as long ago as forty years and morewhen I was a bit of a boy in pinafores there was a gentleman murdered on the Twyford road and they did say
But Mr Dunbar was in no humour to listen to the landlords reminiscences He interrupted the mans story with a longdrawn sigh
Is there anything I can do What am I to do he said Is there anything I can do
Nothing sir until tomorrow The inquest will be held tomorrow I suppose
Yesyes to be sure Therell be an inquest
An inquest Oh yes sir of course there will answered the landlord
Remember that I am a stranger to English habits I dont know what steps ought to be taken in such a case as this Should there not be some attempt made to findthethe murderer
Yes sir Ive no doubt the constables are on the lookout already Therell be every effort made depend upon it but Im really afraid this is a case in which the murderer will escape from justice
Why so
Because you see sir the man has had plenty of time to get off and unless hes a fool he must be far away from here by this time and then what is there to trace him bythats to say unless you could identify the money or watch and chain or what not which the murdered man had about him
Mr Dunbar shook his head
I dont even know whether he wore a watch and chain he said I only met him this morning I have no idea what money he may have had about him
Would you like to see the doctor sirMr Cricklewood
Yesnoyou have told me all that there is to tell I suppose
Yes sir
I shall go to bed Im thoroughly upset by all this Stay Is it a settled thing that this man who has been found murdered is the person who accompanied me to this house today
Oh yes sir theres no doubt about that One of our people went down to the Foresters Arms out of curiosity as you may say and he recognized the murdered man directly as the very gentleman that came into this house with you sir at four oclock today
Mr Dunbar retired to the apartment that had been prepared for him It was a spacious and handsome chamber the best room in the hotel and one of the waiters attended upon the rich man
As youve been accustomed to have your valet about you youll find it awkward sir the landlord had said so Ill send Henry to wait upon you
This Henry who was a smart active young fellow unpacked Mr Dunbars portmanteau unlocked his dressingcase and spread the goldtopped crystal bottles and shaving apparatus upon the dressingtable
Mr Dunbar sat in an easychair before the lookingglass staring thoughtfully at the reflection of his own face pale in the light of the tall waxcandles
He got up early the next morning and before breakfasting he despatched a telegraphic message to the bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane
It was from Henry Maddison Dunbar to William Balderby and it consisted of these words
Pray come to me directly at the George Winchester A very awful event has happened and I am in great trouble and perplexity Bring a lawyer with you Let my daughter know that I shall not come to London for some days
All this time the body of the murdered man lay on a long table in a darkened chamber at the Foresters Arms
The rigid outline of the corpse was plainly visible under the linen sheet that shrouded it but the door of the dread chamber was locked and no one was to enter until the coming of the coroner
Meanwhile the Foresters Arms did more business than had been done there in the same space of time within the memory of man People went in and out in and out all through the long morning little groups clustered together in the bar discoursing in solemn undertones and other groups straggled on the seemed as if every living creature in Winchester was talking of the murder that had been done in the grove near St Cross
Henry Dunbar sat in his own room waiting for an answer to the telegraphic message
CHAPTER X
LAURA DUNBAR
While these things had been happening between London and Southampton Laura Dunbar the bankers daughter had been anxiously waiting the coming of her father
She resembled her mother Lady Louisa Dunbar the youngest daughter of the Earl of Grantwick a very beautiful and aristocratic woman She had met Mr Dunbar in India after the death of her first husband a young captain in a cavalry regiment who had been killed in an encounter with the Sikhs a year after his marriage leaving his young widow with an infant daughter a helpless baby of six weeks old
The poor highborn Lady Louisa Macmahon was left most desolate and miserable after the death of her first husband She was very poor and she knew that her relations in England were very little better off than herself She was almost as helpless as her sixweeks old baby she was heartbroken by the loss of the handsome young Irishman whom she had fondly loved and ill and broken down by her sorrows she lingered in Calcutta subsisting upon her pension and too weak to undertake the perils of the voyage home
It was at this time that poor widowed Lady Louisa met Henry Dunbar the rich banker She came in contact with him on account of some money arrangements of her dead husbands who had always banked with Dunbar and Dunbar and Henry then getting on for forty years of age had fallen desperately in love with the beautiful young widow
There is no need for me to dwell upon the history of this courtship Lady Louisa married the rich man eighteen months after her first husbands death Little Dorothea Macmahon was sent to England with a native nurse and placed under the care of her maternal relatives and Henry Dunbars beautiful wife became queen of the best society in the city of palaces by the right of her own rank and her husbands wealth
Henry Dunbar loved her desperately as even a selfish man can sometimes love for once in his life
But Lady Louisa never truly returned the millionaires affection She was haunted by the memory of her first and purest love she was tortured by remorseful thoughts about the fatherless child who had been so ruthlessly banished from her Henry Dunbar was a jealous man and he grudged the love which his wife bore to his dead rivals child It was by his contrivance the girl had been sent from India
Lady Louisa Dunbar held her place in Calcutta society for two years But in the very hour when her social position was most brilliant her beauty in the full splendour of its prime she died so suddenly that the fashionables of Calcutta were discussing the promised splendour of a ball for which Lady Louisa had issued her invitations when the tidings of her death spread like wildfire through the cityHenry Dunbar was a widower He might have married again had he pleased to do so The proudest beauty in Calcutta would have been glad to become the wife of the sole heir of that dingy bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane
There was a good deal of excitement upon this subject in the matrimonial market for two or three years after Lady Louisas death A good many young ladies were expressly imported from England by anxious papas and mammas with a view to the capture of the wealthy widower
But though Griseldas yellow hair fell down to her waist in glossy rippling curls that shone like molten gold though Amandas black eyes glittered like the stars in a midnight sky though the dashing Georgina was more graceful than Diana the gentle Lavinia more beautiful than VenusMr Dunbar went among them without pleasure and left them without regret
The charms of all these ladies concentrated in the person of one perfect woman would have had no witchery for the banker His heart was dead He had given all the truth all the passion of which his nature was capable to the one woman who had possessed the power to charm him
To seek to win love from him was about as hopeless as it would have been to ask alms of a man whose purse was empty The bright young English beauties found this out by and by and devoted themselves to other speculations in the matrimonial market
Henry Dunbar sent his little girl his only child to England He parted with her not because of his indifference but rather by reason of his idolatry It was the only unselfish act of his life this parting with his child and yet even in this there was selfishness
It would be sweet to me to keep her here he thought but then if the climate should kill her if I should lose her as I lost her mother I will send her away from me now that she may be my blessing byandby when I return to England after my fathers death
Henry Dunbar had sworn when he left the office in St Gundolph Lane after the discovery of the forgery that he would never look upon his fathers face againand he kept his oath
This was the father to whose coming Laura Dunbar looked forward with eager anxiety with a heart overflowing with tender womanly love
She was a very beautiful girl so beautiful that her presence was like the sunlight and made the meanest place splendid There was a queenliness in her beauty which she inherited from her mothers highborn race But though her beauty was queenlike it was not imperious There was no conscious pride in her aspect no cold hauteur in her everchanging face She was such a woman as might have sat by the side of an English king to plead for all trembling petitioners kneeling on the steps of the throne She would have been only in her fitting place beneath the shadow of a regal canopy for in soul as well as in aspect she was worthy to be a queen She was like some tall white lily unconsciously beautiful unconsciously grand and the meanest natures kindled with a faint glow of poetry when they came in contact with her
She had been spoiled by an adoring nurse a devoted governess masters who had fallen madly in love with their pupil and servants who were ready to worship their young mistress Yes according to the common acceptation of the term she had been spoiled she had been allowed to have her own way in everything to go hither and thither free as the butterflies in her carefully tended garden to scatter her money right and left to be imposed upon and cheated by every wandering vagabond who found his way to her gates to ride and hunt and driveto do as she liked in short And I am fain to say that the consequence of all this foolish and reprehensible indulgence had been to make the young heiress of Maudesley Abbey the most fascinating woman in all Warwickshire
She was a little capricious just a trifle wayward I will confess But then that trifling waywardness gave just the spice that was wanting to this grand young lily The white lilies are never more beautiful than when they wave capriciously in the summer wind and if Laura Dunbar was a little passionate when you tried to thwart her and if her great blue eyes at such times had a trick of lighting up with sudden fire in them like a burst of lurid sunlight through a summer stormcloud there were plenty of gentlemen in Warwickshire ready to swear that the sight of those lightningflashes of womanly anger was well worth the penalty of incurring Miss Dunbars displeasure
She was only eighteen and had not yet come out But she had seen a great deal of society for it had been the delight of her grandfather to have her perpetually with him
She travelled from Maudesley Abbey to Portland Place in the company of her nursea certain Elizabeth Madden who had been Lady Louisas own maid before her marriage with Captain Macmahon and who was devotedly attached to the motherless girl
But Mrs Madden was not Laura Dunbars only companion upon this occasion She was accompanied by her halfsister Dora Macmahon who of late years had almost lived at the Abbey much to the delight of Laura Nor was the little party without an escort for Arthur Lovell the son of the principal solicitor in the town of Shorncliffe near Maudesley Abbey attended Miss Dunbar to London
This young man had been a very great favourite with Percival Dunbar and had been a constant visitor at the Abbey Before the old man died he told Arthur Lovell to act in everything as Lauras friend and legal adviser and the young lawyer was very enthusiastic in behalf of his beautiful client Why should I seek to make a mystery of this gentlemans feelings He loved her He loved this girl who by reason of her fathers wealth was as far removed from him as if she had been a duchess He paid a terrible penalty for every happy hour every delicious day of simple and innocent enjoyment that he had spent at Maudesley Abbey for he loved Laura Dunbar and he feared that his love was hopeless
It was hopeless in the present at any rate for although he was handsome clever highspirited and honourable a gentleman in the noblest sense of that noble word he was no fit husband for the daughter of Henry Dunbar He was an only son and he was heir to a very comfortable little fortune but he knew that the millionaire would have laughed him to scorn had he dared to make proposals for Lauras hand
But was his love hopeless in the future That was the question which he perpetually asked himself
He was proud and ambitious He knew that he was clever he could not help knowing this though he was entirely without conceit A government appointment in India had been offered to him through the intervention of a nobleman a friend of his fathers This appointment would afford the chance of a noble career to a man who knew how to seize the golden opportunity which mediocrity neglects but which genius makes the steppingstone to greatness
The nobleman who made the offer to Arthur Lovell had written to say that there was no necessity for an immediate decision If Arthur accepted the appointment he would not be obliged to leave England until the end of a twelvemonth as the vacancy would not occur before that time
In the meanwhile Lord Herriston wrote to the solicitor your son can think the matter over my dear Lovell and make his decision with all due deliberation
Arthur Lovell had already made that decision
I will go to India he said for if ever I am to win Laura Dunbar I must succeed in life But before I go I will tell her that I love her If she returns my love my struggles will be sweet to me for they will be made for her sake If she does not
He did not finish the sentence even in his own mind He could not bear to think that it was possible he might hear his deathknell from the lips he worshipped He had gladly seized upon the opportunity afforded by this visit to the town house
I will speak to her before her father returns he thought she will speak the truth to me now fearlessly for it is her nature to be fearless and candid as a child But his coming may change her She is fond of him and will be ruled by him Heaven grant he may rule her wisely and gently
On the 17th of August Laura and Mrs Madden arrived in Portland Place
Arthur Lovell parted with his beautiful client at the railway station and drove off to the hotel at which he was in the habit of staying He called upon Miss Dunbar on the 18th but found that she was out shopping with Mrs Madden He called again on the morning of the 19th that bright sunny August morning on which the body of the murdered man lay in the darkened chamber at Winchester
It was only ten oclock when the young lawyer made his appearance in the pleasant morningroom occupied by Laura Dunbar whenever she stayed in Portland Place The breakfast equipage was still upon the table in the centre of the room Mrs Madden who was companion housekeeper and confidential maid to her charming young mistress was officiating at the breakfasttable Dora Macmahon was sitting near her with an open book by the side of her breakfastcup and Miss Laura Dunbar was lounging in a low easychair near a broad window that opened into a conservatory filled with exotics that made the air heavy with their almost overpowering perfume
She rose as Arthur Lovell came into the room and she looked more like a lily than ever in her long loose morningdress of soft semidiaphanous muslin Her thick auburn hair was twisted into a diadem that crowned her broad white forehead and added a couple of inches to her height She held out her little ringed hand and the jewels on the white fingers scintillated in the sunlight
I am so glad to see you Mr Lovell she said Dora and I have been miserable havent we Dora London is as dull as a desert I went for a drive yesterday and the Ladys Mile is as lonely as the Great Sahara There are plenty of theatres open and there was a concert at one of the operahouses last night but that disagreeable Elizabeth wouldnt allow me to go to any one of those entertainments Grandpapa would have taken me Dear grandpapa went everywhere with me
Mrs Madden shook her head solemnly
Your granpa would have gone after you to the remotest end of this world Miss Laura if youd so much as held your finger up to beckon of him Your granpa spiled you Miss Laura A pretty thing it would have been if your pa had come all the way from India to find his only daughter gallivanting at a theaytre
Miss Dunbar looked at her old nurse with an arch smile She was very lovely when she smiled she was very lovely when she frowned She was most beautiful always Arthur Lovell thought
But I shouldnt have been gallivanting you dear old Madden she cried with a joyous silver laugh that was like the ripple of a cascade under a sunny sky I should only have been sitting quietly in a private box with my rapid precious aggravating darling old nurse to keep watch and ward over me Besides how could papa be angry with me upon the first day of his coming home
Mrs Madden shook her head again even more solemnly than before
I dont know about that Miss Laura You mustnt expect to find Mr Dunbar like your granpa
A sudden cloud fell upon the girls lovely face
Why Elizabeth she said you dont mean that papa will be unkind to me
I dont know your pa Miss Laura I never set eyes upon Mr Dunbar in my life But the Indian servant that brought you over when you was but a bit of a baby said that your pa was proud and passionate and that even your poor mar which he loved her better than any livin creature upon this earth was almost afraid of him
The smile had quite vanished from Laura Dunbars face by this time and the blue eyes filled suddenly with tears
Oh what shall I do if my father is unkind to me she said piteously I have so looked forward to his coming home I have counted the very days and if he is unkind to meif he does not love me
She covered her face with her hands and turned away her head Laura exclaimed Arthur Lovell addressing her for the first time by her Christian name how could any one help loving you How
He stopped half ashamed of his passionate enthusiasm In those few words he had revealed the secret of his heart but Laura Dunbar was too innocent to understand the meaning of those eager words
Mrs Madden understood them perfectly and she smiled approvingly at the young man
Arthur Lovell was a great favourite with Laura Dunbars nurse She knew that he adored her young mistress and she looked upon him as a model of all that is noble and chivalrous
She began to fidget with the silver teacanisters and then looked significantly at Dora Macmahon But Miss Macmahon did not understand that significant glance Her dark eyesand she had very beautiful eyes with a grave halfpensive softness in their sombre depthswere fixed upon the two young faces in the sunny window the girls face clouded with a look of sorrowful perplexity the young mans face eloquent with tender meaning Dora Macmahons colour went and came as she looked at that earnest countenance and the fingers which were absently turning the leaves of her book were faintly tremulous
Your new bonnets come home this morning Miss Dora Elizabeth Madden said rather sharply Perhaps youd like to come upstairs and have a look at it
My new bonnet murmured Dora vaguely
La yes miss the new bonnet you bought in Regent Street only yesterday afternoon I never did see such a forgetful woolgathering young lady in all my life as you are this blessed morning Miss Dora
The absentminded young lady rose suddenly bewildered by Mrs Maddens animated desire for an inspection of the bonnet But she very willingly left the room with Lauras old nurse who was accustomed to have her mandates obeyed even by the wayward heiress of Maudesley Abbey and Laura was left alone with the young lawyer
Miss Dunbar had seated herself once more in the low easychair by the window She sat with her elbow resting on the cushioned arm of the chair and her head supported by her hand Her eyes were fixed and looked straight before her with a thoughtful gaze that was strange to her for her nature was as joyous as that of a bird whose music fills all the wide heaven with one rejoicing psalm
Arthur Lovell drew his chair nearer to the thoughtful girl
Laura he said why are you so silent I never saw you so serious before except after your grandfathers death
I am thinking of my father she answered in a low tremulous voice that was broken by her tears I am thinking that perhaps he will not love me
Not love you Laura who could help loving you Oh if I daredif I could ventureI must speak Laura Dunbar My whole life hangs upon the issue and I will speak I am not a poor man Laura but you are so divided from the rest of the world by your fathers wealth that I have feared to speak I have feared to tell you that which you might have discovered for yourself had you not been as innocent as your own pet doves in the dovecote at Maudesley
The girl looked at him with wondering eyes that were still wet with unshed tears
I love you Laura I love you The world would call me beneath you in station now but I am a man and I have a mans ambitiona strong mans iron will Everything is possible to him who has sworn to conquer and for your sake Laura for your love I should overcome obstacles that to another man might be invincible I am going to India Laura I am going to carve my way to fame and fortune for fame and fortune are slaves that come at the brave mans bidding they are only masters when the coward calls them Remember my beloved one this wealth that now stands between you and me may not always be yours Your father is not an old man he may marry again and have a son to inherit his wealth Would to Heaven Laura that it might be so But be that as it may I despair of nothing if I dare hope for your love Oh Laura dearest one word to tell me that I may hope Remember how happy we have been together little children playing with flowers and butterflies in the gardens at Maudesley boy and girl rambling handinhand beside the wandering Avon man and woman standing in mournful silence by your grandfathers deathbed The past is a bond of union betwixt us Laura Look back at all those happy days and give me one word my darlingone word to tell me that you love me
Laura Dunbar looked up at him with a sweet smile and laid her soft white hand in his
I do love you Arthur she said as dearly as I should have loved my brother had I ever known a brothers love
The young man bowed his head in silence When he looked up Laura Dunbar saw that he was very pale
You only love me as a brother Laura
How else should I love you she asked innocently
Arthur Lovell looked at her with a mournful smile a tender smile that was exquisitely beautiful for it was the look of a man who is prepared to resign his own happiness for the sake of her he loves
Enough Laura he said quietly I have received my sentence You do not love me dearest you have yet to suffer lifes great fever
She clasped her hands and looked at him beseechingly
You are not angry with me Arthur she said
Angry with you my sweet one
And you will still love me
Yes Laura with all a brothers devotion And if ever you have need of my services you shall find what it is to have a faithful friend who holds his life at small value beside your happiness
He said no more for there was the sound of carriagewheels below the window and then a loud doubleknock at the halldoor
Laura started to her feet and her bright face grew pale
My father has come she exclaimed
But it was not her father It was Mr Balderby who had just come from St Gundolph Lane where he had received Henry Dunbars telegraphic despatch
Every vestige of colour faded out of Lauras face as she recognized the junior partner of the bankinghouse
Something has happened to my father she cried
No no Miss Dunbar exclaimed Mr Balderby anxious to reassure her Your father has arrived in England safely and is well as I believe He is staying at Winchester and he has telegraphed to me to go to him there immediately
Something has happened then
Yes but not to Mr Dunbar individually so far as I can make out by the telegraphic message I was to come to you here Miss Dunbar to tell you not to expect your papa for some few days and then I am to go on to Winchester taking a lawyer with me
A lawyer exclaimed Laura
Yes I am going to Lincolns Inn immediately to Messrs Walford and Walford our own solicitors
Let Mr Lovell go with you cried Miss Dunbar he always acted as poor grandpapas solicitor Let him go with you
Yes Mr Balderby exclaimed the young man I beg you to allow me to accompany you I shall be very glad to be of service to Mr Dunbar
Mr Balderby hesitated for a few moments
Well I really dont see why you shouldnt go if you wish to do so he said presently Mr Dunbar says he wants a lawyer he doesnt name any particular lawyer We shall save time by your going for we shall be able to catch the eleven oclock express
He looked at his watch
Theres not a moment to lose Good morning Miss Dunbar Well take care of your papa and bring him to you in triumph Come Lovell
Arthur Lovell shook hands with Laura murmured a few words in her ear and hurried away with Mr Balderby
She had spoken the deathknell of his dearest hopes He had seen his sentence in her innocent face but he loved her still
There was something in her virginal candour her bright young loveliness that touched the noblest chords of his heart He loved her with a chivalrous devotion which after all is as natural to the breast of a young Englishman in these modern days miscalled degenerate as when the spotless knight King Arthur loved and wooed his queen
CHAPTER XI
THE INQUEST
The coroners inquest which had been appointed to take place at noon that day was postponed until three oclock in the afternoon in compliance with the earnest request of Henry Dunbar
When ever was the earnest request of a millionaire refused
The coroner who was a fussy little man very readily acceded to Mr Dunbars entreaties
I am a stranger in England the AngloIndian said I was never in my life present at an inquest The murdered man was connected with me He was last seen in my company It is vitally necessary that I should have a legal adviser to watch the proceedings on my behalf Who knows what dark suspicions may arise affecting my name and honour
The banker made this remark in the presence of four or five of the jurymen the coroner and Mr Cricklewood the surgeon who had been called in to examine the body of the man supposed to have been murdered Every one of those gentlemen protested loudly and indignantly against the idea of the bare possibility that any suspicion or the shadow of a suspicion could attach to such a man as Mr Dunbar
They knew nothing of him of course except that he was Henry Dunbar chief of the rich bankinghouse of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby and that he was a millionaire
Was it likely that a millionaire would commit a murder
When had a millionaire ever been known to commit a murder Never of course
The AngloIndian sat in his private sittingroom at the George Hotel writing and examining his papersperpetually writing perpetually sorting and resorting those packets of letters in the despatchboxwhile he waited for the coming of Mr Balderby
The postponement of the coroners inquest was a very good thing for the landlord of the Foresters Arms People went in and out and loitered about the premises and lounged in the bar drinking and talking all the morning and the theme of every conversation was the murder that had been done in the grove on the way to St Cross
Mr Balderby and Arthur Lovell arrived at the George a few minutes before two oclock They were shown at once into the apartment in which Henry Dunbar sat waiting for them
Arthur Lovell had been thinking of Laura and Lauras father throughout the journey from London He had wondered as he got nearer and nearer to Winchester what would be his first impression respecting Mr Dunbar
That first impression was not a good oneno it was not a good one Mr Dunbar was a handsome mana very handsome mantall and aristocraticlooking with a certain haughty pace in his manner that harmonized well with his good looks But in spite of all this the impression which he made upon the mind of Arthur Lovell was not an agreeable one
The young lawyer had heard the story of the forgery vaguely hinted at by those who were familiar with the history of the Dunbar family and he had heard that the early life of Henry Dunbar had been that of a selfish spendthrift
Perhaps this may have had some influence upon his feelings in this his first meeting with the father of the woman he loved
Henry Dunbar told the story of the murder The two men were inexpressibly shocked by this story
But where is Sampson Wilmot exclaimed Mr Balderby It was he whom I sent to meet you knowing that he was the only person in the office who remembered you or whom you remembered
Sampson was taken ill upon the way according to his brothers story Mr Dunbar answered Joseph left the poor old man somewhere upon the road
He did not say where
No and strange to say I forgot to ask him the question The poor fellow amused me by old memories of the past on the road between Southampton and this place and we therefore talked very little of the present
Sampson must be very ill exclaimed Mr Balderby or he would certainly have returned to St Gundolph Lane to tell me what had taken place
Mr Dunbar smiled
If he was too ill to go on to Southampton he would of course be too ill to return to London he said with supreme indifference
Mr Balderby who was a goodhearted man was distressed at the idea of Sampson Wilmots desolation an old man stricken with sudden illness and abandoned to strangers
Arthur Lovell was silent he sat a little way apart from the two others watching Henry Dunbar
At three oclock the inquest commenced The witnesses summoned were the two Irishmen Patrick Hennessy and Philip Murtock who had found the body in the stream near St Cross Mr Cricklewood the surgeon the verger who had seen and spoken to the two men and who had afterwards shown the cathedral to Mr Dunbar the landlord of the George and the waiter who had received the travellers and had taken Mr Dunbars orders for the dinner and Henry Dunbar himself
There were a great many people in the room for by this time the tidings of the murder had spread far and wide There were influential people present amongst others Sir Arden Westhorpe one of the county magistrates resident at Winchester Arthur Lovell Mr Balderby and the AngloIndian sat in a little group apart from the rest
The jurymen were ranged upon either side of a long mahogany table The coroner sat at the top
But before the examination of the witnesses was commenced the jurymen were conducted into that dismal chamber where the dead man lay upon one of the long taproom tables Arthur Lovell went with them and Mr Cricklewood the surgeon proceeded to examine the corpse so as to enable him to give evidence respecting the cause of death
The face of the dead man was distorted and blackened by the agony of strangulation The coroner and the jurymen looked at that dead face with wondering awestricken glances Sometimes a cruel stab that goes straight home to the heart will leave the face of the murdered as calm as the face of a sleeping child
But in this case it was not so The horrible stamp of assassination was branded upon that rigid brow Horror surprise and the dread agony of sudden death were all blended in the expression of the face
The jurymen talked a little to one another in scarcely audible whispers asked a few questions of the surgeon and then walked softly from the darkened room
The facts of the case were very simple and speedily elicited But whatever the truth of that awful story might be there was nothing that threw any light upon the mystery
Arthur Lovell watching the case in the interests of Mr Dunbar asked several questions of the witnesses Henry Dunbar was himself the first person examined He gave a very simple and intelligible account of all that had taken place from the moment of his landing at Southampton
I found the deceased waiting to receive me when I landed he said He told me that he came as a substitute for another person I did not know him at firstthat is to say I did not recognize him as the valet who had been in my service prior to my leaving England fiveandthirty years ago But he made himself known to me afterwards and he told me that he had met his brother in London on the sixteenth of this month and had travelled with him part of the way to Southampton He also told me that on the way to Southampton his brother Sampson Wilmot a much older man than the deceased was taken ill and that the two men then parted company
Mr Dunbar had said all this with perfect selfpossession and with great deliberation He was so very selfpossessed so very deliberate that it seemed almost as if he had been reciting something which he had learned by heart
Arthur Lovell watching him very intently saw this and wondered at it It is very usual for a witness even the most indifferent witness giving evidence about some trifling matter to be confused to falter and hesitate and contradict himself embarrassed by the strangeness of his position But Henry Dunbar was in nowise discomposed by the awful nature of the event which had happened He was pale but his firmlyset lips his erect carriage the determined glance of his eyes bore witness to the strength of his nerves and the power of his intellect
The man must be made of iron Arthur Lovell thought to himself He is either a very great man or a very wicked one I almost fear to ask myself which
Where did the deceased Joseph Wilmot say he left his brother Sampson Mr Dunbar asked the coroner
I do not remember
The coroner scratched his chin thoughtfully
That is rather awkward he said the evidence of this man Sampson might throw some light upon this most mysterious event
Mr Dunbar then told the rest of his story
He spoke of the luncheon at Southampton the journey from Southampton to Winchester the afternoon stroll down to the meadows near St Cross
Can you tell us the exact spot at which you parted with the deceased asked the coroner
No Mr Dunbar answered you must bear in mind that I am a stranger in England I have not been in this neighbourhood since I was a boy My old schoolfellow Michael Marston married and settled at the Ferns during my absence in India I found at Southampton that I should have a few hours on my hands before I could travel express for London and I came to this place on purpose to see my old friend I was very much disappointed to find that he was dead But I thought that I would call upon his widow from whom I should no doubt hear the history of my poor friends last moments I went with Joseph Wilmot through the cathedral yard and down towards St Cross The verger saw us and spoke to us as we went by
The verger who was standing amongst the other witnesses waiting to be examined here exclaimed
Ay that I did sir I remember it well
At what time did you leave the George
At a little after four oclock
Where did you go then
I went answered Mr Dunbar boldly into the grove with the deceased arminarm We walked together about a quarter of a mile under the trees and I had intended to go on to the Ferns to call upon Michael Marstons widow but my habits of late years have been sedentary the heat of the day and the walk together were too much for me I sent Joseph Wilmot on to the Ferns with a message for Mrs Marston asking at what hour she could conveniently receive me today and I returned to the cathedral Joseph Wilmot was to deliver his message at the Ferns and rejoin me in the cathedral
He was to return to the cathedral
Yes
But why should he not have returned to the George Hotel Why should you wait for him at the cathedral
Arthur Lovell listened with a strange expression upon his face If Henry Dunbar was pale Henry Dunbars legal adviser was still more so The jurymen stared aghast at the coroner as if they had been awestricken by his impertinence towards the chief partner of the great bankinghouse of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby How dared hea man with an income of five hundred a year at the mosthow dared he discredit or question any assertion made by Henry Dunbar
The AngloIndian smiled a little contemptuously He stood in a careless attitude playing with the golden trinkets at his watchchain with the hot August sunshine streaming upon his face from a bare unshaded window opposite him But he did not attempt to escape that almost blinding glare He stood facing the sunlight facing the gaze of the coroner and the jurymen the scrutinizing glance of Arthur Lovell Unabashed and nonchalant as if he had been standing in a ballroom the hero of the hour the admired of all who looked upon him Mr Dunbar stood before the coroner and jury and told the broken history of his old servants death
Yes Mr Lovell thought again as he watched the rich mans face his nerves must be made of iron
CHAPTER XII
ARRESTED
The coroner repeated his question
Why did you tell the deceased to join you at the cathedral Mr Dunbar
Merely because it suited my humour at the time to do so answered the AngloIndian coolly We had been very friendly together and I had a fancy for going over the cathedral I thought that Wilmot might return from the Ferns in time to go over some portion of the edifice with me He was a very intelligent fellow and I liked his society
But the journey to the Ferns and back would have occupied some time
Perhaps so answered Mr Dunbar I did not know the distance to the Ferns and I did not make any calculation as to time I merely said to the deceased I shall go back and look at the cathedral and I will wait for you there I said this and I told him to be as quick as he could
That was all that passed between you
It was I then returned to the cathedral
And you waited there for the deceased
I did I waited until close upon the hour at which I had ordered dinner at the George
There was a pause during which the coroner looked very thoughtful
I am compelled to ask you one more question Mr Dunbar he said presently hesitating a little as he spoke
I am ready to answer any questions you may wish to ask Mr Dunbar replied very quietly
Were you upon friendly terms with the deceased
I have just told you so We were on excellent terms I found him an agreeable companion His manners were those of a gentleman I dont know how he had picked up his education but he certainly had contrived to educate himself some how or other
I understand you were friendly together at the time of his death but prior to that time
Mr Dunbar smiled
I have been in India fiveandthirty years he said
Precisely But before your departure for India had you any misunderstanding any serious quarrel with the deceased
Mr Dunbars face flushed suddenly and his brows contracted as if even his selfpossession were not proof against the unpleasant memories of the past
No he said with determination I never quarrelled with him
There had been no cause of quarrel between you
I dont understand your question I have told you that I never quarrelled with him
Perhaps not but there might have been some hidden animosity some smothered feeling stronger than any openlyexpressed anger hidden in your breast Was there any such feeling
Not on my part
Was there any such feeling on the part of the deceased
Mr Dunbar looked furtively at William Balderby The junior partners eyelids dropped under that stolen glance
It was clear that he knew the story of the forged bills
Had the coroner for Winchester been a clever man he would have followed that glance of Mr Dunbars and would have understood that the junior partner knew something about the antecedents of the dead man But the coroner was not a very close observer and Mr Dunbars eager glance escaped him altogether
Yes answered the AngloIndian Joseph Wilmot had a grudge against me before I sailed for Calcutta but we settled all that at Southampton and I promised to allow him an annuity
You promised him an annuity
Yesnot a very large oneonly fifty pounds a year but he was quite satisfied with that promise
He had some claim upon you then
No he had no claim whatever upon me replied Mr Dunbar haughtily
Of course it could be scarcely pleasant for a millionaire to be crossquestioned in this manner by an impertinent Hampshire coroner
The jurymen sympathized with the banker
The coroner looked rather puzzled
If the deceased had no claim upon you why did you promise him an annuity he asked after a pause
I made that promise for the sake of auld lang syne answered Mr Dunbar Joseph Wilmot was a favourite servant of mine fiveandthirty years ago We were young men together I believe that he had at one time a very sincere affection for me I know that I always liked him
How long were you in the grove with the deceased
Not more than ten minutes
And you cannot describe the spot where you left him
Not very easily I could point it out perhaps if I were taken there
What time elapsed between your leaving the cathedral yard with the deceased and your returning to it without him
Perhaps half an hour
Not longer
No I do not imagine that it can have been longer
Thank you Mr Dunbar that will do for the present said the coroner
The banker returned to his seat
Arthur Lovell still watching him saw that his strong white hand trembled a little as his fingers trifled with those glittering toys hanging to his watchchain
The verger was the next person examined
He described how he had been loitering in the yard of the cathedral as the two men passed across it He told how they had gone by arminarm laughing and talking together
Which of them was talking as they passed you asked the coroner
Mr Dunbar
Could you hear what he was saying
No sir I could hear his voice but I couldnt hear the words
What time elapsed between Mr Dunbar and the deceased leaving the cathedral yard and Mr Dunbar returning alone
The verger scratched his head and looked doubtfully at Henry Dunbar
That gentleman was looking straight before him and seemed quite unconscious of the vergers glance
I cant quite exactly say how long it was sir the old man answered after a pause
Why cant you say exactly
Because you see sir I didnt keep no particular count of the time and I shouldnt like to tell a falsehood
You must not tell a falsehood We want the truth and nothing but the truth
I know sir but you see I am an old man and my memory is not as good as it used to be I think Mr Dunbar was away an hour
Arthur Lovell gave an involuntary start Every one of the jurymen looked suddenly at Mr Dunbar
But the AngloIndian did not flinch He was looking at the verger now with a quiet steady gaze which seemed that of a man who had nothing to fear and who was serene and undisturbed by reason of his innocence
We dont want to know what you think the coroner said you must tell us only what you are certain of
Then Im not certain sir
You are not certain that Mr Dunbar was absent for an hour
Not quite certain sir
But very nearly certain Is that so
Yes sir Im very nearly certain You see sir when the two gentlemen went through the yard the cathedral clock was chiming the quarter after four I remember that And when Mr Dunbar came back I was just going away to my tea and I seldom go to my tea until its gone five
But supposing it to have struck five when Mr Dunbar returned that would only make it three quarters of an hour after the time at which he went through the yard supposing him to have gone through as you say at the quarter past four
The verger scratched his head again
Id been loiterin about yesterday afternoon sir he said and I was a bit late thinkin of my tea
And you believe therefore that Mr Dunbar was absent for an hour
Yes sir an houror more
An hour or more
Yes sir
He was absent more than an hour do you mean to say that
It might have been more sir I didnt keep no particular count of the time
Arthur Lovell had taken out his pocketbook and was making notes of the vergers evidence
The old man went on to describe his having shown Mr Dunbar all over the cathedral He made no mention of that sudden faintness which had seized upon the AngloIndian at the door of one of the chapels but he described the rich mans manner as having been affable in the extreme He told how Henry Dunbar had loitered at the door of the cathedral and afterwards lingered in the quadrangle waiting for the coming of his servant He told all this with many encomiums upon the rich mans pleasant manner
The next and perhaps the most important witnesses were the two labourers Philip Murtock and Patrick Hennessy who had found the body of the murdered man
Patrick Hennessy was sent out of the room while Murtock gave his evidence but the evidence of the two men tallied in every particular
They were Irishmen reapers and were returning from a harvest supper at a farm five miles from St Cross upon the previous evening One of them had knelt down upon the edge of the stream to get a drink of water in the crown of his felt hat and had been horrified by seeing the face of the dead man looking up at him in the moonlight through the shallow water that barely covered it The two men had dragged the body out of the streamlet and Philip Murtock had watched beside it while Patrick Hennessy had gone to seek assistance
The dead mans clothes had been stripped from him with the exception of his trousers and boots and the other part of his body was bare There was a revolting brutality in this fact It seemed that the murderer had stripped his victim for the sake of the clothes which he had worn There could be little doubt therefore that the murder had been committed for the greed of gain and not from any motive of revenge
Arthur Lovell breathed more freely until this moment his mind had been racked in agonizing doubts Dark suspicions had been working in his breast He had been tortured by the idea that the AngloIndian had murdered his old servant in order to remove out of his way the chief witness of the crime of his youth
But if this had been so the murderer would never have lingered upon the scene of his crime in order to strip the clothes from his victims body
No the deed had doubtless been done by some savage wretch some lost and ignorant creature hardened by a long life of crime and preying like a wild beast upon his fellowmen
Such murders are done in the world Blood has been shed for the sake of some prize so small so paltry that it has been difficult for men to believe that one human being could destroy another for such an object
Heaven have pity upon the wretch so lost as to be separated from his fellowcreatures by reason of the vileness of his nature Heaven strengthen the hands of those who seek to spread Christian enlightenment and education through the land for it is only those blessings that will thin the crowded prison wards and rob the gallows of its victims
The robbery of the dead mans clothes and such property as he might have had about him at the time of his death gave a new aspect to the murder in the eyes of Arthur Lovell The case was clear and plain now and the young mans duty was no longer loathsome to him for he no longer suspected Henry Dunbar
The constabulary had already been busy the spot upon which the murder had been committed and the neighbourhood of that spot had been diligently searched But no vestige of the dead mans garments had been found
The medical mans evidence was very brief He stated that when he arrived at the Foresters Arms he found the deceased quite dead and that he appeared to have been dead some hours that from the bruises and marks on the throat and neck some contusions on the back of the head and other appearances on the body which witness minutely described he said there were indications of a struggle having taken place between deceased and some other person or persons that the man had been thrown or had fallen down violently and that death had ultimately been caused by strangling and suffocation
The coroner questioned the surgeon very closely as to how long he thought the murdered man had been dead The medical man declined to give any positive statement on this point he could only say that when he was called in the body was cold and that the deceased might have been dead three hoursor he might have been dead five hours It was impossible to form an opinion with regard to the exact time at which death had taken place
The evidence of the waiter and the landlord of the George only went to show that the two men had arrived at the hotel together that they had appeared in very high spirits and on excellent terms with each other that Mr Dunbar had shown very great concern and anxiety about the absence of his companion and had declined to eat his dinner until nine oclock
This closed the evidence and the jury retired
They were absent about a quarter of an hour and then returned a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown
Henry Dunbar Arthur Lovell and Mr Balderby went back to the hotel It was past six oclock when the coroners inquest was concluded and the three men sat down to dinner together at seven
That dinnerparty was not a pleasant one there was a feeling of oppression upon the minds of the three men The awful event of the previous day cast its dreadful shadow upon them They could not talk freely of this subjectfor it was too ghastly a theme for discussionand to talk of any other seemed almost impossible
Arthur Lovell had observed with surprise that Henry Dunbar had not once spoken of his daughter And yet this was scarcely strange the utterance of that name might have jarred upon the fathers feelings at such a time as this
You will write to Miss Dunbar tonight will you not sir the young man said at last I fear that she will have been very anxious about you all this day She was alarmed by your message to Mr Balderby
I shall not write said the banker for I hope to see my daughter tonight
You will leave Winchester this evening then
Yes by the 1015 express I should have travelled by that train yesterday evening but for this terrible event
Arthur Lovell looked rather astonished at this
You are surprised said Mr Dunbar
I thought perhaps that you might stayuntil
Until what asked the AngloIndian everything is finished is it not The inquest was concluded today I shall leave full directions for the burial of this poor fellow and an ample sum for his funeral expenses I spoke to the coroner upon that subject this afternoon What more can I do
Nothing certainly answered Arthur Lovell with rather a hesitating manner but I thought under the peculiar circumstances it might be better that you should remain upon the spot if possible until some steps shall have been taken for the finding of the murderer
He did not like to give utterance to the thought that was in his mind for he was thinking that some people would perhaps suspect Mr Dunbar himself and that it might be well for him to remain upon the scene of the murder until that suspicion should be done away with by the arrest of the real murderer
The banker shook his head
I very much doubt the discovery of the guilty man he said what is there to hinder his escape
Everything answered Arthur Lovell warmly First the stupidity of guilt the blind besotted folly which so often betrays the murderer It is not the commission of a crime only that is horrible think of the hideous state of the criminals mind after the deed is done And it is at that time immediately after the crime has been perpetrated when the breast of the murderer is like a raging hell it is at that time that he is called upon to be most circumspectto keep guard upon his every look his smallest word his most trivial actionfor he knows that every look and action is watched that every word is greedily listened to by men who are eager to bring his guilt home to him by hungry men wrestling for his conviction as a result that will bring them a golden reward by practised men who have studied the philosophy of crime and who by reason of their peculiar skill are able to read dark meanings in words and looks that to other people are like a strange language He knows that the scent of blood is in the air and that the bloodhounds are at their loathsome work He knows this and at such a time he is called upon to face the world with a bold front and so to fashion his words and looks that he shall deceive the secret watchers He is never alone The servant who waits upon him or the railway guard who shows him to his seat in the firstclass carriage the porter who carries his luggage or the sailor who looks at him scrutinizingly as he breathes the fresh seaair upon the deck of that ship which is to carry him to a secure hidingplaceany one of these may be a disguised detective and at any moment the bolt may fall he may feel the light hand upon his shoulder and know that he is a doomed man Who can wonder then that a criminal is generally a coward and that he betrays himself by some blind folly of his own
The young man had been carried away by his subject and had spoken with a strange energy
Mr Dunbar laughed aloud at the lawyers enthusiasm
You should have been a barrister Mr Lovell he said that would have been a capital opening for your speech as counsel for the crown I can see the wretched criminal shivering in the dock cowering under that burst of forensic eloquence
Henry Dunbar laughed heartily as he finished speaking and then threw himself back in his easychair and passed his handkerchief across his handsome forehead as it was his habit to do occasionally
In this case I think the criminal will be most likely arrested Arthur Lovell continued still dwelling upon the subject of the murder he will be traced by those clothes He will endeavour to sell them of course and as he is most likely some wretchedly ignorant boor he will very probably try to sell them within a few miles of the scene of the crime
I hope he will be found said Mr Balderby filling his glass with claret as he spoke I never heard any good of this man Wilmot and indeed I believe he went to the bad altogether after you left England Mr Dunbar
Indeed
Yes answered the junior partner looking rather nervously at his chief he committed forgery I believe fabricated forged bank notes or something of that kind and was transported for life I heard but I suppose he got a remission of his sentence or something of that kind and returned to England
I had no idea of this said Mr Dunbar
He did not tell you then
Oh no it was scarcely likely that he should tell me
Very little more was said upon the subject just then At nine oclock Mr Dunbar left the room to see to the packing of his things at a little before ten the three gentlemen drove away from the George Hotel on their way to the station
They reached the station at five minutes past ten the train was not due until a quarter past
Mr Balderby went to the office to procure the three tickets Henry Dunbar and Arthur Lovell walked arminarm up and down the platform
As the bell for the uptrain was ringing a man came suddenly upon the platform and looked about him
He recognized the banker walked straight up to him and taking off his hat addressed Mr Dunbar respectfully
I am sorry to detain you sir he said but I have a warrant to prevent you leaving Winchester
What do you mean
I hold a warrant for your apprehension sir
From whom
From Sir Arden Westhorpe our chief county magistrate and I am to take you before him immediately sir
Upon what charge cried Arthur Lovell
Upon suspicion of having been concerned in the murder of Joseph Wilmot
The millionaire drew himself up haughtily and looked at the constable with a proud smile
This is too absurd he said but I am quite ready to go with you Be good enough to telegraph to my daughter Mr Lovell he added turning to the young man tell her that circumstances over which I have no control will detain me in Winchester for a week Take care not to alarm her
Everybody about the station had collected on the platform and made a circle about Mr Dunbar They stood a little aloof from him looking at him with respectful interest altogether different from the eager clamorous curiosity with which they would have regarded any ordinary man suspected of the same crime
He was suspected but he could not be guilty Why should a millionaire commit a murder The motives that might influence other men could have had no weight with him
The bystanders repeated this to one another as they followed Mr Dunbar and his custodian from the station loudly indignant against the minions of the law
Mr Dunbar the constable and Mr Balderby drove straight to the magistrates house
The junior partner offered any amount of bail for his chief but the AngloIndian motioned him to silence with a haughty gesture
I thank you Mr Balderby he said proudly but I will not accept my liberty on sufferance Sir Arden Westhorpe has chosen to arrest me and I shall abide the issue of that arrest
It was in vain that the junior partner protested against this Henry Dunbar was inflexible
I hope and I venture to believe that you are as innocent as I am myself of this horrible crime Mr Dunbar the baronet said kindly and I sympathize with you in this very terrible position But upon the information laid before me I consider it my duty to detain you until the matter shall have been further investigated You were the last person seen with the deceased
And for that reason it is supposed that I strangled my old servant for the sake of his clothes cried Mr Dunbar bitterly I am a stranger in England but if that is your English law I am not sorry that the best part of my life has been passed in India However I am perfectly willing to submit to any examination that may be considered necessary to the furtherance of justice
So upon the second night of his arrival in England Henry Dunbar chief of the wealthy house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby slept in Winchester gaol
CHAPTER XIII
THE PRISONER IS REMANDED
Mr Dunbar was brought before Sir Arden Westhorpe at ten oclock on the morning after his arrest The witnesses who had given evidence at the inquest were again summoned andwith the exception of the verger and Mr Dunbar who was now a prisonergave the same evidence or evidence to the same effect
Arthur Lovell again watched the proceedings in the interest of Lauras father and crossexamined some of the witnesses
But very little new evidence was elicited The empty pocketbook which had been found a few paces from the body was produced The rope by which the murdered man had been strangled was also produced and examined
It was a common rope rather slender and about a yard and a half in length It was made into a running noose that had been drawn tightly round the neck of the victim
Had the victim been a strong man he might perhaps have resisted the attack and might have prevented his assailant tightening the fatal knot but the surgeon bore witness that the dead man though tall and stalwartlooking had not been strong
It was a strange murder a bloodless murder a deed that must have been done by a man of unfaltering resolution and iron nerve for it must have been the work of a moment in which the victims first cry of surprise was stifled ere it was half uttered
The chief witness upon this day was the verger and it was in consequence of certain remarks dropped by him that Henry Dunbar had been arrested
Upon the afternoon of the inquest this official had found himself a person of considerable importance He was surrounded by eager gossips greedy to hear anything he might have to tell upon the subject of the murder and amongst those who listened to his talk was one of the constablesa sharp clearheaded fellowwho was on the watch for any hint that might point to the secret of Joseph Wilmots death The verger in describing the events of the previous afternoon spoke of that one fact which he had omitted to refer to before the coroner He spoke of the sudden faintness which had come over Mr Dunbar
Poor gentleman he said I dont think I ever see the like of anything as come over him so sudden He walked along the aisle with his head up dashing and millingtarylike but all in a minute he reeled as if hed been dead drunk and he would have fell if there hadnt been a bench handy Down he dropped upon that bench like a stone and when I turned round to look at him the drops of perspiration was rollin down his forehead like beads I never see such a face in my life as ghastlylike as if hed seen a ghost But he was laughin and smilin the next minute and it was only the heat of the weather he says
Its odd as a gentleman thats just come home from India should complain of the heat on such a day as yesterday said one of the bystanders
This was the substance of the evidence that the verger gave before Sir Arden Westhorpe This with the evidence of a boy who had met the deceased and Henry Dunbar close to the spot where the body was found was the only evidence against the rich man
To the mind of Sir Arden Westhorpe the agitation displayed by Henry Dunbar in the cathedral was a very strong point yet what more possible than that the AngloIndian should have been seized with a momentary giddiness He was not a young man and though his broad chest square shoulders and long muscular arms betokened strength that natural vigour might have been impaired by the effects of a warm climate
There were new witnesses upon this day people who testified to having been in the neighbourhood of the grove and in the grove itself upon that fatal afternoon and evening
Other labourers besides the two Irishmen had passed beneath the shadow of the trees in the moonlight Idle pedestrians had strolled through the grove in the still twilight not one of these had seen Joseph Wilmot nor had there been heard any cry of anguish or wild shrieks of terror
One man deposed to having met a roughlooking fellow halfgipsy halfhawker in the grove between seven and eight oclock
Arthur Lovell questioned this person as to the appearance and manner of the man he had met
But the witness declared that there was nothing peculiar in the mans manner He had not seemed confused or excited or hurried or frightened He was a coarsefeatured sunburnt ruffianlylooking fellow and that was all
Mr Balderby was examined and swore to the splendid position which Henry Dunbar occupied as chief of the house in St Gundolph Lane and then the examination was adjourned and the prisoner remanded although Arthur Lovell contended that there was no evidence to justify his detention
Mr Dunbar still protested against any offer of bail he again declared that he would rather remain in prison than accept his liberty on sufferance and go out into the world a suspected man
I will never leave Winchester Gaol he said until I leave it with my character cleared in the eyes of every living creature
He had been treated with the greatest respect by the prison officials and had been provided with comfortable apartments Arthur Lovell and Mr Balderby were admitted to him whenever he chose to receive them
Meanwhile every voice in Winchester was loud in indignation against those who had caused the detention of the millionaire
Here was an English gentleman a man whose wealth was something fabulous newly returned from India eager to embrace his only child and before he had done more than set his foot upon his native soil he was seized upon by obstinate and pigheaded officials and thrown into a prison
Arthur Lovell worked nobly in the service of Lauras father He did not particularly like the man though he wished to like him but he believed him to be innocent of the dreadful crime imputed to him and he was determined to make that innocence clear to the eyes of other people
For this purpose he urged on the police upon the track of the strange man the roughlooking hawker who had been seen in the grove on the day of the murder
He himself left Winchester upon another errand He went away with the determination of discovering the sick man Sampson Wilmot The old clerks evidence might be most important in such a case as this as he would perhaps be able to throw much light upon the antecedents and associations of the dead man
The young lawyer travelled along the line stopping at every station At Basingstoke he was informed that an old man travelling with his brother had been taken ill and that he had since died An inquest had been held upon his remains some days before and he had been buried by the parish
It was upon the 21st of August that Arthur Lovell visited Basingstoke The people at the village inn told him that the old man had died at two oclock upon the morning of the 17th only a few hours after his brothers desertion of him He had never spoken after the final stroke of paralysis
There was nothing to be learned here therefore Death had closed the lips of this witness
But even if Sampson Wilmot had lived to speak what could he have told The dead mans antecedents could have thrown little light upon the way in which he had met his death It was a common murder after all a murder that had been done for the sake of the victims little property a silver watch perhaps a few sovereigns a coat waistcoat and shirt
The only evidence that tended in the least to implicate Henry Dunbar was the fact that he had been the last person seen in company with the dead man and the discrepancy between his assertion and that of the verger respecting the time during which he had been absent from the cathedral yard
No magistrate in his senses would commit the AngloIndian for trial upon such evidence as this
CHAPTER XIV
MARGARETS JOURNEY
While these things were taking place at Winchester Margaret waited for the coming of her father She waited until her heart grew sick but still she did not despair of his return He had promised to come back to her by ten oclock upon the evening of the 16th but he was not a man who always kept his promises He had often left her in the same manner and had stayed away for days and weeks together
There was nothing extraordinary therefore in his absence and if the girls heart grew sick it was not with the fear that her father would not return to her but with the thought of what dishonest work he might be engaged in during his absence
She knew now that he led a dishonest life His own lips had told her the cruel truth She would no longer be able to defend him when people spoke against him Henceforth she must only plead for him
The poor girl had been proud of her father reprobate though he was she had been proud of his gentlemanly bearing his cleverness his air of superiority over other men of his station and the thought of his acknowledged guilt stung her to the heart She pitied him and she tried to make excuses for him in her own mind and with every thought of the penniless reprobate there was intermingled the memory of the wrong that had been done him by Henry Dunbar
If my father has been guilty that man is answerable for his guilt she thought perpetually
Meanwhile she waited Heaven only knows how anxiously for her fathers coming A week passed and another week began and still he did not come but she was not alarmed for his personal safety she was only anxious about him and she expected his return every day every hour But he did not come
And all this time with her mind racked by anxious thoughts the girl went about the weary duties of her daily life Her thoughts might wander away into vague speculations about her fathers absence while she sat by her pupils side but her eyes never wandered from the fingers it was her duty to watch Her life had been a hard one and she was better able to hide her sorrows and anxieties than any one to whom such a burden had been a novelty So very few people suspected that there was anything amiss with the grave young musicmistress
One person did see the vague change in her manner but that person was Clement Austin who had already grown skilled in reading the varying expressions of her face and who saw now that she was changed She listened to him when he talked to her of the books or the music she loved but her face never lighted up now with a bright look of pleasure and he heard her sigh now and then as she gave her lesson
He asked her once if there was anything in which his services or his mothers could be of any assistance to her but she thanked him for the kindness of his offer and told him No there was nothing in which he could help her
But I am sure there is something on your mind Pray do not think me intrusive or impertinent for saying so but I am sure of it
Margaret only shook her head
I am mistaken then said Clement interrogatively
You are indeed I have no special trouble I am only a little uneasy about my father who has been away from home for the last week or two But there is nothing strange in that he is often away Only I am apt to be foolishly anxious about him He will scold me when he comes home and hears that I have been so
Upon the evening of the 27th August Margaret gave her accustomed lesson and lingered a little as usual after the lesson talking to Mrs Austin who had taken a wonderful fancy to her granddaughters musicmistress and to Clement who somehow or other had discontinued his summer evening walks of late more especially on those occasions on which his niece took he musiclesson They talked of all manner of things and it was scarcely strange that amongst other topics they should come by andby to the Winchester murder
By the bye Miss Wentworth exclaimed Mrs Austin breaking in upon Clements disquisition on his favourite Carlyles HeroWorship I suppose youve heard about this dreadful murder that is making such a sensation
A dreadful murderno Mrs Austin I rarely hear anything of that kind for the person with whom I lodge is old and deaf She troubles herself very little about what is going on in the world and I never read the newspapers myself
Indeed said Mrs Austin well my dear you really surprise me I thought this dreadful business had made such a sensation on account of the great Mr Dunbar being mixed up in it
Mr Dunbar cried Margaret looking at the speaker with dilated eyes
Yes my dear Mr Dunbar the rich banker I have been very much interested in the matter because my son is employed in Mr Dunbars bank It seems that an old servant a confidential valet of Mr Dunbars has been murdered at Winchester and at first Mr Dunbar himself was suspected of the crimethough of course that was utterly ridiculous for what motive could he possibly have had for murdering his old servant However he has been suspected and some stupid country magistrate actually had him arrested There was an examination about a week ago which was adjourned until today We shant know the result of it till tomorrow
Margaret sat listening to these words with a face that was as white as the face of the dead
Clement Austin saw the sudden change that had come over her countenance
Mother he said you should not talk of these things before Miss Wentworth you have made her look quite ill Remember she may not be so strongminded as you are
No no gasped Margaret in a choking voice IIwish to hear of this Tell me Mrs Austin what was the name of the murdered man
Joseph Wilmot
Joseph Wilmot repeated Margaret slowly She had always known her father by the name of James Wentworth but what more likely than that Wilmot was his real name She had good reason to suspect that Wentworth was a false one
Ill lend you a newspaper Mrs Austin said goodnaturedly if you really want to learn the particulars of this murder
I do if you please
Mrs Austin took a weekly paper from amongst some others that were scattered upon a sidetable She folded up this paper and handed it to Margaret
Give Miss Wentworth a glass of wine mother exclaimed Clement Austin Im sure all this talk about the murder has upset her
No no indeed Margaret answered I would rather not take anything I want to get home quickly Good evening Mrs Austin
She tried to say something more but her voice failed her She had been in the habit of shaking hands with Mrs Austin and Clement when she left them and the cashier had always accompanied her to the gate and had sometimes lingered with her there in the dusk prolonging some conversation that had been begun in the drawingroom but tonight she hurried from the room before the widow could remonstrate with her Clement followed her into the hall
Miss Wentworth he said I know that something has agitated you Pray return to the drawingroom and stop with us until you are more composed
Nonono
Let me see you home then
Oh no no she cried as the young man barred her passage to the door for pitys sake dont detain me Mr Austin dont detain me or follow me
She passed by him and hurried out of the house He followed her to the gate and watched her disappear in the twilight and then went back to the drawingroom sighing heavily as he went
I have no right to follow her against her own wish he said to himself She has given me no right to interfere with her or to think of her for the matter of that
He threw himself into a chair and took up a newspaper but he did not read halfadozen lines He sat with his eyes fixed upon the page before him thinking of Margaret Wentworth
Poor girl he said to himself presently poor lonely girl She is too pure and beautiful for the hard struggles of this world
Margaret Wentworth walked rapidly along the road that led her back to Wandsworth She held the folded newspaper clutched tightly against her breast It was her deathwarrant perhaps She never paused or slackened her pace until she reached the lane leading down to the water
She opened the gate of the simple cottagegardenthere was no need of bolts or locks for the fortification of Godolphin Cottagesand went up to her own little sittingroomthe room in which her father had told her the secret of his lifethe room in which she had sworn to remember the Henry Dunbar All was dark and quiet in the house for the mistress of it was elderlyand oldfashioned in her ways and Margaret was accustomed to wait upon herself when she came home after nightfall
She struck a lucifer lighted her candle and sat down with the newspaper in her hand She unfolded it and examined the pages She was not long finding what she wanted
The Winchester Murder Latest Particulars
Margaret Wentworth read that horrible story She read the newspaper record of the cruel deed that had been donetwiceslowly and deliberately Her eyes were tearless and there was a desperate courage at her heart that miserable agonized heart which seemed like a block of ice in her breast
I swore to remember the name of Henry Dunbar she said in a low sombre voice I have good reason to remember it now
From the first she had no doubt in her mindfrom the very first she had but one idea and that idea was a conviction Her father had been murdered by his old master The man Joseph Wilmot was her father the murderer was Henry Dunbar The newspaper record told how the murdered man had according to his own account met his brother at the Waterloo station upon the afternoon of the 16th of August That was the very afternoon upon which James Wentworth had left his daughter to go to London by rail
He had met his old master the man who had so bitterly injured him the coldhearted scoundrel who had so cruelly betrayed him He had been violent perhaps and had threatened Henry Dunbar and thenthen the rich man treacherous and coldhearted in his age as in his youth had beguiled his old valet by a pretended friendship had lured him into a lonely place and had there murdered him in order that all the wicked secrets of the past might be buried with his victim
As to the robbery of the clothesthe rifling of the pocketbookthat of course was only a part of Henry Dunbars deep laid scheme
The girl folded the paper and put it in her breast It was a strange document to lie against that virginal bosom and the breast beneath it ached with a sick cold pain that was like the pain of death
Margaret took up her candle and went into a neatlykept little room at the back of the housethe room in which her father had always slept when he stayed in that house
There was an old box a battered and dilapidated hairtrunk with a worn rope knotted about it The girl knelt down before the box and put her candle on a chair beside it Then with her slender fingers she tried to unfasten the knots that secured the cord This task was not an easy one and her fingers ached before she had done But she succeeded at last and lifted the lid of the trunk
There were worn and shabby garments tumbled and dusty that had been thrown pellmell into the box there were broken meerschaumpipes old newspapers pale with age and with passages here and there marked by thick strokes in faded ink A faint effluvium that arose from the mass of dilapidated rubbishthe weeds which the great ocean Time casts up upon the shore of the presenttestified to the neighbourhood of mice and scattered about the bottom of the box amongst loose shreds of tobaccobroken lumps of petrified cavendishand scraps of paper there were a few letters
Margaret gathered together these letters and examined them Three of themvery old faded and flabbywere directed to Joseph Wilmot care of the Governor of Norfolk Island in a prim clerklike hand
It was an ominous address Margaret Wentworth bowed her head upon her knees and sobbed aloud
He had been very wicked and had need of a long life of penitence she thought but he has been murdered by Henry Dunbar
There was no shadow of doubt now in her mind She had in her own hand the conclusive proof of the identity between Joseph Wilmot and her father and to her this seemed quite enough to prove that Henry Dunbar was the murderer of his old servant He had injured the man and it was in the mans power to do him injury He had resolved therefore to get rid of this old accomplice this dangerous witness of the past
This was how Margaret reasoned That the crime committed in the quiet grove near St Cross was an everyday deed done for the most pitiful and sordid motives that can tempt a man to shed his brothers blood never for a moment entered into her thoughts Other people might think this in their ignorance of the story of the past
At daybreak the next morning she left the house after giving a very brief explanation of her departure to the old woman with whom she lodged She took the first train to Winchester and reached the station two hours before noon She had her whole stock of money with her but nothing else Her own wants her own necessities had no place in her thoughts Her errand was a fearful one for she went to tell so much as she knew of the story of the past and to bear witness against Henry Dunbar
The railway official to whom she addressed herself at the Winchester station treated her with civility and goodnature The pale beauty of her pensive face won her friends wherever she went It is very hard upon pugnosed merit and redhaired virtue that a Grecian profile or raven tresses should be such an excellent letter of introduction but unhappily human nature is weak and while beauty appeals straight to the eye of the frivolous merit requires to be appreciated by the wise
If there is anything I can do for you miss the railway official said politely I shall be very happy Im sure
I want to know about the murder the girl answered in a low tremulous voice the murder that was committed
Yes miss to be sure Everybody in Winchester is talking about it a most mysterious event But cried the official brightening suddenly you aint a witness miss are you You dont know anything abouteh
He was quite excited at the bare idea that this pretty girl had something to say about the murder and that he might have the privilege of introducing her to his fellowcitizens To know anybody who knew anything about Joseph Wilmots murder was to occupy a post of some distinction in Winchester just now
Yes Margaret said I want to give evidence against Henry Dunbar
The railway official started and stared aghast
Evidence against Mr Dunbar miss he said why Mr Henry Dunbar was dismissed from custody only yesterday afternoon and is going up to town by the express this night and everybody in Winchester is full of the shameful way in which he has been treated Why as far as that goes there was no more ground for suspecting Mr Dunbarnot that has come out yet at any ratethan there is for suspecting me And the porter snapped his fingers contemptuously But if you know anything against Mr Dunbar why of course that alters the case and its yer bounden dooty miss to go before the magistrate directlyminute and make yer statement
The porter could hardly refrain from smacking his lips with an air of relish as he said this Distinction had come to him unsought
Wait a minute miss he said Ill go and ask lief to take you round to the magistrates Youll never find your way by yourself The next up isnt till 127I can be spared
The porter ran away presented himself to a higher official told his story and obtained a brief leave of absence Then he returned to Margaret
Now miss he said if youll come along with me Ill take you to Sir Arden Westhorpes house Sir Arden is the gentleman that has taken so much trouble with this case
On the way through the backstreets of the quiet city the porter would fain have extracted from Margaret all that she had to tell But the girl would reveal nothing she only said that she wanted to bear witness against Henry Dunbar
The porter upon the other hand was very communicative He told his companion what had happened at the adjourned examination
There was a deal of applause in the court when Mr Dunbar was told he might consider himself free said the porter but Sir Arden checked it there was no need for clapping of hands he says or for anything but sorrow that such a wicked deed had been done and that the cruel wretch as did it should escape A young man as was in the court told me that them was Sir Ardens exack words
They had reached Sir Ardens house by this time It was a very handsome house though it stood in a back sweet and a grave manservant in a linen jacket admitted Margaret into the oakpanelled hall
She might have had some difficulty perhaps in seeing Sir Arden had not the railway porter immediately declared her business But the name of the murdered man was a passport and she was ushered at once into a low room which was lined with bookshelves and opened into an oldfashioned garden
Here Sir Arden Westhorpe the magistrate sat at a table writing He was an elderly man with grey hair and whiskers and with rather a stern expression of countenance Rut he was a good and a just man and though Henry Dunbar had been the emperor of half Europe instead of an AngloIndian banker Sir Arden would have committed him for trial had he seen just cause for so doing
Margaret was in nowise abashed by the presence of the magistrate She had but one thought in her mind the thought of her fathers wrongs and she could have spoken freely in the presence of a king
I hope I am not too late sir she said I hear that Mr Dunbar has been discharged from custody I hope I am not too late to bear witness against him
The magistrate looked up with an expression of surprise That will depend upon circumstances he said that is to say upon the nature of the statement which you may have to make
The magistrate summoned his clerk from an adjoining room and then took down the girls information
But he shook his head doubtfully when Margaret had told him all she had to tell That which to the impulsive girl seemed proof positive of Henry Dunbars guilt was very little when written down in a businesslike manner by Sir Arden Westhorpes clerk
You know your unhappy father to have been injured by Mr Dunbar and you think he may have been in the possession of secrets of a damaging nature to that gentleman but you do not know what those secrets were My poor girl I cannot possibly move in this business upon such evidence as this The police are at work This matter will not be allowed to pass off without the closest investigation believe me I shall take care to have your statement placed in the hands of the detective officer who is entrusted with the conduct of this affair We must waitwe must wait I cannot bring myself to believe that Henry Dunbar has been guilty of this fearful crime He is rich enough to have bribed your father to keep silence if he had any reason to fear what he might say Money is a very powerful agent and can buy almost anything It is rarely that a man with almost unlimited wealth at his command finds himself compelled to commit an act of violence
The magistrate read aloud Margaret Wilmots deposition and the girl signed it in the presence of the clerk she signed it with her fathers real name the name that she had never written before that day
Then having given the magistrate the address of her Wandsworth lodging she bade him good morning and went out into the unfamiliar street
Nothing that Sir Arden Westhorpe had said had in any way weakened her rooted conviction of Henry Dunbars guilt She still believed that he was the murderer of her father
She walked for some distance without knowing where she went then suddenly she stopped her face flushed her eyes grew bright and an ominous smile lit up her countenance
I will go to Henry Dunbar she said to herself since the law will not help me I will go to my fathers murderer Surely he will tremble when he knows that his victim left a daughter who will rest neither night nor day until she sees justice done
Sir Arden had mentioned the hotel at which Henry Dunbar was staying so Margaret asked the first passerby to direct her to the George
She found a waiter lounging in the doorway of the hotel
I want to see Mr Dunbar she said
The man looked at her with considerable surprise
I dont think its likely Mr Dunbar will see you miss he said but Ill take your name up if you wish it
I shall be much obliged if you will do so
Certainly miss If youll please to sit down in the hall Ill go to Mr Dunbar immediately Your name is
My name is Margaret Wilmot
The waiter started as if he had been shot
Wilmot he exclaimed any relation to
I am the daughter of Joseph Wilmot answered Margaret quietly You can tell Mr Dunbar so if you please
Yes miss I will miss Bless my soul you really might knock me down with a feather miss Mr Dunbar cant possibly refuse to see you I should think miss
The waiter went upstairs looking back at Margaret as he went He seemed to think that the daughter of the murdered man ought to be in some way or other different from other young women
CHAPTER XV
BAFFLED
Mr Dunbar was sitting in a luxurious easychair with a newspaper lying across his knee Mr Balderby had returned to London upon the previous evening but Arthur Lovell still remained with the AngloIndian
Henry Dunbar was a good deal the worse for the close confinement which he had suffered since his arrival in the cathedral city Everybody who looked at him saw the change which the last ten days had made in his appearance He was very pale there were dark purple rings about his eyes the eyes themselves were unnaturally bright and the mouththat telltale feature over whose expression no man has perfect controlbetrayed that the banker had suffered
Arthur Lovell had been indefatigable in the service of his client not from any love towards the man but always influenced more or less by the reflection that Henry Dunbar was Lauras father and that to serve Henry Dunbar was in some manner to serve the woman he loved
Mr Dunbar had only been discharged from custody upon the previous evening after a long and wearisome examination and crossexamination of the witnesses who had given evidence at the coroners inquest and that additional testimony upon which the magistrate had issued his warrant He had slept till late and had only just finished breakfast when the waiter entered with Margarets message
A young person wishes to see you sir he said respectfully
A young person exclaimed Mr Dunbar impatiently I cant see any one What should any young person want with me
She wants to see you particularly sir she says her name is WilmotMargaret Wilmot and that she is the daughter of
The sickly pallor of Mr Dunbars face changed to an awful livid hue and Arthur Lovell looking at his client at this moment saw the change
It was the first time he had seen any evidence of fear either in the face or manner of Henry Dunbar
I will not see her exclaimed Mr Dunbar I never heard Wilmot speak of any daughter This woman is some impudent impostor who wants to extort money out of me I will not see her let her be sent about her business
The waiter hesitated
She is a very respectablelooking person sir he said she doesnt look anything like an impostor
Perhaps not answered Mr Dunbar haughtily but she is an impostor for all that Joseph Wilmot had no daughter to my knowledge Pray do not let me be disturbed about this business I have suffered quite enough already on account of this mans death
He sank back in his chair and took up his newspaper as he finished speaking His face was completely hidden behind the newspaper
Shall I go and speak to this girl asked Arthur Lovell On no account The girl is an impostor Let her be sent about her business
The waiter left the room
Pardon me Mr Dunbar said the young lawyer but if you will allow me to make a suggestion as your legal adviser in this business I would really recommend you to see this girl
Why
Because the people in a place like this are notorious gossips and scandalmongers If you refuse to see this person who at any rate calls herself Joseph Wilmots daughter they may say
They may say what asked Henry Dunbar
They may say that it is because you have some special reason for not seeing her
Indeed Mr Lovell Then I am to put myself out of the wayafter being fagged and harassed to death already about this businessand am to see every adventuress who chooses to trade upon the name of the murdered man in order to stop the mouths of the good people of Winchester I beg to tell you my dear sir that I am utterly indifferent to anything that may be said of me and that I shall only study my own ease and comfort If people choose to think that Henry Dunbar is the murderer of his old servant they are welcome to their opinion I shall not trouble myself to set them right
The waiter reentered the room as Mr Dunbar finished speaking
The young person says that she must see you sir the man said She says that if you refuse to see her she will wait at the door of this house until you leave it My master has spoken to her sir but its no use shes the most determined young woman I ever saw
Mr Dunbars face was still hidden by the newspaper There was a little pause before he replied
Lovell he said at last perhaps you had better go and see this person You can find out if she is really related to that unhappy man Here is my purse You can let her have any money you think proper If she is the daughter of that wretched man I should of course wish her to be well provided for I will thank you to tell her that Lovell Tell her that I am willing to settle an annuity upon her always on condition that she does not intrude herself upon me But remember whatever I give is contingent upon her own good conduct and must not in any way be taken as a bribe If she chooses to think and speak ill of me she is free to do so I have no fear of her nor of any one else
Arthur Lovell took the millionaires purse and went down stairs with the waiter He found Margaret sitting in the hall There was no impatience no violence in her manner but there was a steady fixed resolute look in her white face The young lawyer felt that this girl would not be easily put off by any denial of Mr Dunbar
He ushered Margaret into a private sittingroom leading out of the hall and then closed the door behind him The disappointed waiter lingered upon the doormat but the George is a wellbuilt house and that waiter lingered in vain
You want to see Mr Dunbar he said
Yes sir
He is very much fatigued by yesterdays business and he declines to see you What is your motive for being so eager to see him
I will tell that to Mr Dunbar himself
You are really the daughter of Joseph Wilmot Mr Dunbar seems to doubt the fact of his having had a daughter
Perhaps so Mr Dunbar may have been unaware of my existence until this moment I did not know until last night what had happened
She stopped for a moment halfstifled by a hysterical sob which she could not repress but she very quickly regained her selfcontrol and continued slowly and deliberately looking earnestly in the young mans face with her clear brown eyes I did not know until last night that my fathers name was Wilmot he had called himself by a false namebut last night after hearing of thethemurderthe horrible word seemed to suffocate her but she still went bravely onI searched a box of my fathers and found this
She took from her pocket the letter directed to Norfolk Island and handed it to the lawyer
Read it she said you will see then how my father had been wronged by Henry Dunbar
Arthur Lovell unfolded the worn and faded letter It had been written fiveandtwenty years before by Sampson Wilmot Margaret pointed to one passage on the second page
Your bitterness against Henry Dunbar is very painful to me my dear Joseph yet I cannot but feel that your hatred against my employers son is only natural I know that he was the first cause of your ruin and that but for him your lot in life might have been very different Try to forgive him try to forget him even if you cannot forgive Do not talk of revenge The revelation of that secret which you hold respecting the forged bills would bring disgrace not only upon him but upon his father and his uncle They are both good and honourable men and I think that shame would kill them Remember this and keep the secret of that painful story
Arthur Lovells face grew terribly grave as he read these lines He had heard the story of the forgery hinted at but he had never heard its details He had looked upon it as a cruel scandal which had perhaps arisen out of some trifling error some unpaid debt of honour some foolish gambling transaction in the early youth of Henry Dunbar
But here in the handwriting of the dead clerk here was the evidence of that old story Those few lines in Sampson Wilmots letter suggested a motive
The young lawyer dropped into a chair and sat for some minutes silently poring over the clerks letter He did not like Henry Dunbar His generous young heart which had yearned towards Lauras father had sunk in his breast with a dull chill feeling of disappointment at his first meeting with the rich man
Still after carefully sifting the evidence of the coroners inquest he had come to the conclusion that Henry Dunbar was innocent of Joseph Wilmots death He had carefully weighed every scrap of evidence against the AngloIndian and had deliberately arrived at this conclusion
But now he looked at everything in a new light The clerks letter suggested a motive perhaps an adequate motive The two men had gone down together into that silent grove the servant had threatened his patron they had quarrelled and
No the murder could scarcely have happened in this way The assassin had been armed with the cruel rope and had crept stealthily behind his victim It was not a common murder the rope and the slipknot the treacherous running noose hinted darkly at Oriental experiences somewhat in this fashion might a murderous Thug have assailed his unconscious victim
But then on the other hand there was one circumstance that always remained in Henry Dunbars favourthat circumstance was the robbery of the dead mans clothes The AngloIndian might very well have rifled the pocketbook and left it empty upon the scene of the murder in order to throw the officers of justice upon a wrong scent That would have been only the work of a few moments
But was it probablewas it even possiblethat the murderer would have lingered in broad daylight with every chance against him long enough to strip off the garments of his victim in order still more effectually to hoodwink suspicion Was it not a great deal more likely that Joseph Wilmot had spent the afternoon drinking in the taproom of some roadside publichouse and had rambled back into the grove after dark to meet his death at the hands of some everyday assassin bent only upon plunder
All these thoughts passed through Arthur Lovells mind as he sat with Sampsons faded letter in his hands Margaret Wilmot watched him with eager scrutinizing eyes She saw doubt perplexity horror indecision all struggling in his handsome face
But the lawyer felt that it was his duty to act and to act in the interests of his client whatever vaguelyhideous doubts might arise in his own breast Nothing but his conviction of Henry Dunbars guilt could justify him in deserting his client He was not convinced he was only horrorstricken by the first whisper of doubt
Mr Dunbar declines to see you he said to Margaret and I do not really see what good could possibly arise out of an interview between you In the meantime if you are in any way distressedand you must most likely need assistance at such a time as thishe is quite ready to help you and he is also ready to give you permanent help if you require it
He opened Henry Dunbars purse as he spoke but the girl rose and looked at him with icy disdain in her fixed white face
I would sooner crawl from door to door begging my bread of the hardest strangers in this cruel worldI would sooner die from the lingering agonies of starvationthan I would accept help from Henry Dunbar No power on earth will ever induce me to take a sixpence from that mans hand
Why not
You know why not I can see that knowledge in your face Tell Mr Dunbar that I will wait at the door of this house till he comes out to speak to me I will wait until I drop down dead
Arthur Lovell went back to his client and told him what the girl said
Mr Dunbar was walking up and down the room with his head bent moodily upon his breast
By heavens he cried angrily I will have this girl removed by the police if
He stopped abruptly and his head sank once more upon his breast
I would most earnestly advise you to see her pleaded Arthur Lovell if she goes away in her present frame of mind she may spread a horrible scandal against you Your refusing to see her will confirm the suspicions which
What cried Henry Dunbar does she dare to suspect me
I fear so
Has she said as much
Not in actual words But her manner betrayed her suspicions You must not wonder if this girl is unreasonable Her fathers miserable fate must have been a terrible blow to her
Did you offer her money
I did
And she
She refused it
Mr Dunbar winced as if the announcement of the girls refusal had stung him to the quick
Since it must be so he said I will see this importunate woman But not today Today I must and will have rest Tell her to come to me tomorrow morning at ten oclock I will see her then
Arthur Lovell carried this message to Margaret
The girl looked at him with an earnest questioning glance
You are not deceiving me she said
No indeed
Mr Dunbar said that
He did
Then I will go away But do not let Henry Dunbar try to deceive me for I will follow him to the end of the world I care very little where I go in my search for the man who murdered my father
She went slowly away She went down into the cathedral yard across which the murdered man had gone arminarm with his companion Some boys loitering about at the entrance to the meadows answered all her questions and took her to the spot upon which the body had been found
It was a dull misty day and there was a low wind wailing amongst the wet branches of the old trees The raindrops from the fading leaves fell into the streamlet from whose shallow waters the dead mans face had looked up to the moonlit sky
Later in the afternoon Margaret found her way to a cemetery outside the town where under a newlymade mound of turf the murdered man lay
A great many people had been to see this grave and had been very much disappointed at finding it in no way different from other graves
Already the good citizens of Winchester had begun to hint that the grove near St Cross was haunted and there was a vague report to the effect that the dead man had been seen there walking in the twilight
Punctual to the very striking of the clock Margaret Wilmot presented herself at the George at the time appointed by Mr Dunbar
She had passed a wretched night at a humble inn a little way put of the town and had been dreaming all night of her meeting with Mr Dunbar In those troubled dreams she had met the rich man perpetually now in one place now in another but always in the most unlikely places yet she had never seen his face She had tried to see it but by some strange devilry or other peculiar to the incidents of a dream it had been always hidden from her
The same waiter was lounging in the same attitude at the door of the hotel He looked up with an expression of surprise as Margaret approached him
Youve not gone then miss he exclaimed
Gone No I have waited to see Mr Dunbar
Well thats queer said the waiter did he tell you hed see you
Yes he promised to see me at ten oclock this morning
Thats uncommon queer
Why so asked Margaret eagerly
Because Mr Dunbar and that young gent as was with him went away bag and baggage by last nights express
Margaret Wilmot gave no utterance to either surprise or indignation She walked quietly away and went once more to the house of Sir Arden Westhorpe She told him what had occurred and her statement was written down and signed as upon the previous day
Mr Dunbar murdered my father she said after this had been done and hes afraid to see me
The magistrate shook his head gravely
No no my dear he said you must not say that I cannot allow you to make such an assertion as that Circumstantial evidence often points to an innocent person If Mr Dunbar had been in any way concerned in this matter he would have made a point of seeing you in order to set your suspicions at rest His declining to see you is only the act of a selfish man who has already suffered very great inconvenience from this business and who dreads the scandal of some tragical scene
CHAPTER XVI
IS IT LOVE OR FEAR
Henry Dunbar and Arthur Lovell slept at the same hotel upon the night of their journey from Winchester to London for the banker refused to disturb his daughter by presenting himself at the house in Portland Place after midnight
In this at least he showed himself a considerate father
Arthur Lovell had made every effort in his power to dissuade the banker from leaving Winchester upon that night and thus breaking the promise that he had made to Margaret Wilmot Henry Dunbar was resolute and the young lawyer had no alternative If his client chose to do a dishonourable thing in spite of all that the young man could say against it of course it was no business of his For his own part Arthur Lovell was only too glad to get back to London for Laura Dunbar was there and wherever she was there was Paradise in the opinion of this foolish young man
Early upon the morning after their arrival in London Henry Dunbar and the young lawyer breakfasted together in their sittingroom at the hotel It was a bright morning and even London looked pleasant in the sunshine Henry Dunbar stood in the window looking out into the street below while the breakfast was being placed upon the table The hotel was situated in a new street at the West End
You find London very much altered I dare say Mr Dunbar said Arthur Lovell as he unfolded the morning paper
How do you mean altered asked the banker absently
I mean that after so long an absence you must find great improvements This street for instanceit has not been built six years
Oh yes I remember There were fields upon this spot when I went to India
They sat down to breakfast Henry Dunbar was absentminded and ate very little When he had drunk a cup of tea he took out the locket containing Lauras miniature and sat silently contemplating it
Byandby he unfastened the locket from the chain and handed it across the table to Arthur Lovell
My daughter is very beautiful if she is like that said the banker do you consider it a good likeness
The young lawyer looked at the portrait with a tender smile Yes he said thoughtfully it is very like heronly
Only what
The picture is not lovely enough
Indeed and yet it is very beautiful Laura resembles her mother who was a lovely woman
But I have heard your father say that the lower part of Miss Dunbars facethe mouth and chinreminded him of yours I must own Mr Dunbar that I cannot see the likeness
I dare say not the banker answered carelessly you must allow something for the passage of time my dear Lovell and the wear and tear of a life in Calcutta I dare say my mouth and chin are rather harder and sterner in their character than Lauras
There was nothing more said upon the subject of the likeness byandby Mr Dunbar got up took his hat and went towards the door
You will come with me Lovell he said
Oh no Mr Dunbar I would not wish to intrude upon you at such a time The first interview between a father and daughter after a separation of so many years is almost sacred in its character I
Pshaw Mr Lovell I did not think a solicitors son would be weak enough to indulge in any silly sentimentality I shall be very glad to see my daughter and I understand from her letters that she will be pleased to see me That is all At the same time as you know Laura much better than I do you may as well come with me
Mr Dunbars looks belied the carelessness of his words His face was deadly pale and there was a singularly rigid expression about his mouth
Laura had received no notice of her fathers coming She was sitting at the same window by which she had sat when Arthur Lovell asked her to be his wife She was sitting in the same low luxurious easychair with the hothouse flowers behind her and a huge Newfoundland doga faithful attendant that she had brought from Maudesley Abbeylying at her feet
The door of Miss Dunbars morningroom was open and upon the broad landingplace outside the apartment the banker stopped suddenly and laid his hand upon the gilded balustrade For a moment it seemed almost as if he would have fallen but he leaned heavily upon the bronze scrollwork of the banister and bit his lower lip fiercely with his strong white teeth Arthur Lovell was not displeased to perceive this agitation for he had been wounded by the careless manner in which Henry Dunbar had spoken of his beautiful daughter Now it was evident that the bankers indifference had only been assumed as a mask beneath which the strong man had tried to conceal the intensity of his feelings
The two men lingered upon the landingplace for a few minutes while Mr Dunbar looked about him and endeavoured to control his agitation Everything here was new to him for neither the house in Portland Place nor Maudesley Abbey had been in the possession of the Dunbar family more than twenty years
The millionaire contemplated his possessions Even upon that landingplace there was no lack of evidence of wealth A Persian carpet covered the centre of the floor and beyond its fringed margin a tessellated pavement of coloured marbles took new and brighter hues from the slanting rays of sunlight that streamed in through a wide stainedglass window upon the staircase Great Dresden vases of exotics stood on pedestals of malachite and gold and a trailing curtain of purple velvet hung halfway across the entrance to a long suite of drawingroomsa glistening vista of light and splendour
Mr Dunbar pushed open the door and stood upon the threshold of his daughters chamber Laura started to her feet
Papapapa she cried I thought that you would come today
She ran to him and fell upon his breast halfweeping halflaughing The Newfoundland dog crept up to Mr Dunbar with his head down he sniffed at the heels of the millionaire and then looked slowly upward at the mans face with sombre sulkylooking eyes and began to growl ominously
Take your dog away Laura cried Mr Dunbar angrily
It happened thus that the very first words Henry Dunbar said to his daughter were uttered in a tone of anger The girl drew herself away from him and looked up almost piteously in her fathers face That face was as pale as death but cold stern and impassible Laura Dunbar shivered as she looked at it She had been a spoiled child a pampered idolized beauty and had never heard anything but words of love and tenderness Her lips quivered and the tears came into her eyes
Come away Pluto she said to the dog papa does not want us
She took the great flapping ears of the animal in her two hands and led him out of the room The dog went with his young mistress submissively enough but he looked back at the last moment to growl at Mr Dunbar
Laura left the Newfoundland on the landingplace and went back to her father She flung herself for the second time into the bankers arms
Darling papa she cried impetuously my dog shall never growl at you again Dear papa tell me you are glad to come home to your poor girl You would tell me so if you knew how dearly I love you
She lifted up her lips and kissed Henry Dunbars impassible face But she recoiled from him for the second time with a shudder and a longdrawn shivering sigh The lips of the millionaire were as cold as ice
Papa she cried how cold you are Im afraid that you are ill
He was ill Arthur Lovell who stood quietly watching the meeting between the father and daughter saw a change come over his clients face and wheeled forward an armchair just in time for Henry Dunbar to fall into it as heavily as a log of wood
The banker had fainted For the second time since the murder in the grove near St Cross he had betrayed violent and sudden emotion This time the emotion was stronger than his will and altogether overcame him
Arthur Lovell laid the insensible man flat upon his back on the carpet Laura rushed to fetch water and aromatic vinegar from her dressingroom and in five minutes Mr Dunbar opened his eyes and looked about him with a wild halfterrified expression in his face For a moment he glared fiercely at the anxious countenance of Laura who knelt beside him then his whole frame was shaken by a convulsive trembling and his teeth chattered violently But this lasted only for a few moments He overcame it grinding his teeth and clenching his strong hands and then staggered heavily to his feet
I am subject to these fainting fits he said with a wan sickly smile upon his white face and I dreaded this interview on that account I knew that it would be too much for me
He seated himself upon the low sofa which Laura had pushed towards him resting his elbows on his knees and hiding his face in his hands Miss Dunbar placed herself beside her father and wound her arm about his neck
Poor papa she murmured softly I am so sorry our meeting has agitated you like this and to think that I should have fancied you cold and unkind to me at the very time when your silent emotion was an evidence of your love
Arthur Lovell had gone through the open window into the conservatory but he could hear the girl talking to her father His face was very grave and the same shadow that had clouded it once during the course of the coroners inquest rested upon it now
An evidence of his love Heaven grant this may be love he thought to himself but to me it seems a great deal more like fear
CHAPTER XVII
THE BROKEN PICTURE
Arthur Lovell stopped at Portland Place for the rest of the day and dined with the banker and his daughter in the evening The dinnerparty was a very cheerful one as far as Mr Dunbar and his daughter were concerned for Laura was in very high spirits on account of her fathers return and Dora Macmahon joined pleasantly in the conversation The banker had welcomed his dead wifes elder daughter with a speech which if a little studied in its tone was at any rate very kind in its meaning
I shall always be glad to see you with my poor motherless girl he said and if you can make your home altogether with us you shall never have cause to remember that you are less nearly allied to me than Laura herself
When he met Arthur and the two girls at the dinnertable Henry Dunbar had quite recovered from the agitation of the morning and talked gaily of the future He alluded now and then to his Indian reminiscences but did not dwell long upon this subject His mind seemed full of plans for his future life He would do this that and the other at Maudesley Abbey in Yorkshire and in Portland Place He had the air of a man who fully appreciates the power of wealth and is prepared to enjoy all that wealth can give him He drank a good deal of wine during the course of the dinner and his spirits rose with every glass
But in spite of his hosts gaiety Arthur Lovell was ill at ease Do what he would he could not shake off the memory of the meeting between the father and daughter Henry Dunbars deadly pallorthat wild scared look in his eyes as they slowly reopened and glared upon Lauras anxious facewere ever present to the young lawyers mind
Why was this man frightened of his beautiful childfor that it was fear and not love which had blanched Henry Dunbars face the lawyer felt positive Why was this father frightened of his own daughter unless
Unless what
Only one horrible and ghastly suggestion presented itself to Arthur Lovells mind Henry Dunbar was the murderer of his old valet and the consciousness of guilt had paralyzed him at the first touch of his daughters innocent lips
But oh how terrible if this were truehow terrible to think that Laura Dunbar was henceforth to live in daily and hourly association with a traitor and an assassin
I have promised to love her for ever though my love is hopeless and to serve her faithfully if ever she should need of my devotion Arthur Lovell thought as he sat silent at the dinnertable while Henry Dunbar and his daughter talked together gaily
The lawyer watched his client now with intense anxiety and it seemed to him that there was something feverish and unnatural in the bankers gaiety Laura and her stepsister left the room soon after dinner and the two men remained alone at the long ponderouslooking dinnertable on which the sparkling diamondcut decanters and Sèvres dessertdishes looked like tiny vases of light and colour on a dreary waste of polished mahogany
I shall go to Maudesley Abbey tomorrow Henry Dunbar said I want rest and solitude after all this trouble and excitement and Laura tells me that she infinitely prefers Maudesley to London Do you think of returning to Warwickshire Mr Lovell
Oh yes immediately My father expected my return a week ago I only came up to town to act as Miss Dunbars escort
Indeed that was very kind of you You have known my daughter for a long time I understand by her letters
Yes We were children together I was a great deal at the Abbey in old Mr Dunbars time
And you will still be more often there in my time I hope Henry Dunbar answered courteously I fancy I could venture to make a pretty correct guess at a certain secret of yours my dear Lovell Unless I am very much mistaken you have a more than ordinary regard for my daughter
Arthur Lovell was silent his heart beat violently and he looked the banker unflinchingly in the face but he did not speak he only bent his head in answer to the rich mans questions
I have guessed rightly then said Mr Dunbar
Yes sir I love Miss Dunbar as truly as ever a man loved the woman of his choice but
But what She is the daughter of a millionaire and you fear her fathers disapproval of your pretensions eh
No Mr Dunbar If your daughter loved me as truly as I love her I would marry her in spite of youin spite of the world and carve my own way to fortune But such a blessing as Laura Dunbars love is not for me I have spoken to her and
She has rejected you
She has
Pshaw girls of her age are as changeable as the winds of heaven Do not despair Mr Lovell and as far as my consent goes you may have it tomorrow if you like You are young goodlooking clever agreeable what more in the name of feminine frivolity can a girl want You will find no stupid prejudices in me Mr Lovell I should like to see you married to my daughter for I believe you love her very sincerely You have my good will I assure you There is my hand upon it
He held out his hand as he spoke and Arthur Lovell took it a little reluctantly perhaps but with as good a grace as he could
I thank you sir he said for your good will and
He tried to say something more but the words died away upon his lips The horrible fear which had taken possession of his breast after the scene of the morning weighed upon him like the burden that seems to lie upon the sleepers breast throughout the strange agony of nightmare Do what he would he could not free himself from the weight of this dreadful doubt Mr Dunbars words seemed to emanate from the kind and generous breast of a good man but on the other hand might it not be possible that the banker wished to get rid of his daughter
He had betrayed fear in her presence that morning and now he was eager to give her hand to the first suitor who presented himself ineligible as that suitor was in a worldly point of view Might it not be that the girls innocent society was oppressive to her father and that he wished therefore to shuffle her off upon a new protector
I shall be very busy this evening Mr Lovell said Henry Dunbar presently for I must look over some papers I have amongst the luggage that was sent on here from Southampton When you are tired of the diningroom you will be able to find the two girls and amuse yourself in their society I have no doubt
Mr Dunbar rang the bell It was answered by an elderly manservant out of livery
What have you done with the luggage that was sent from Southampton asked the banker
It has all been placed in old Mr Dunbars bedroom sir the man answered
Very well let lights be carried there and let the portmanteaus and packingcases be unstrapped and opened
He handed a bunch of keys to the servant and followed the man out of the room In the hall he stopped suddenly arrested by the sound of a womans voice
The entrancehall of the house in Portland Place was divided into two compartments separated from each other by foldingdoors the upper panels of which were of ground glass There was a porters chair in the outer division of the hall and a bronzed lamp hung from the domed ceiling
The doors between the inner and outer hall were ajar and the voice which Henry Dunbar heard was that of a woman speaking to the porter
I am Joseph Wilmots daughter the woman said Mr Dunbar promised that he would see me at Winchester he broke his word and left Winchester without seeing me but he shall see me sooner or later for I will follow him wherever he goes until I look into his face and say that which I have to say to him
The girl did not speak loudly or violently There was a quiet earnestness in her voice an earnestness and steadiness of tone which expressed more determination than any noisy or passionate utterance could have done
Good gracious me young woman exclaimed the porter do you think as Im goin to send such a rampagin kind of a message as that to Mr Dunbar Why it would be as much as my place is worth to do it Go along about your business miss and dont you preshume to come to such a house as this durin gentlefolks dinnerhours another time Why Id sooner take a message to one of the tigers in the Joologicalgardings at feedin time than Id intrude upon such a gentleman as Mr Dunbar when hes sittin over his claret
Mr Dunbar stopped to listen to this conversation then he went back into the diningroom and beckoned to the servant who was waiting to precede him upstairs
Bring me pen ink and paper he said
The man wheeled a writingtable towards the banker Henry Dunbar sat down and wrote the following lines in the firm aristocratic handwriting that was so familiar to the chief clerks in the bankinghouse
The young person who calls herself Joseph Wilmots daughter is informed that Mr Dunbar declines to see her now or at any future time He is perfectly inflexible upon this point and the young person will do well to abandon the system of annoyance which she is at present pursuing Should she fail to do so a statement of her conduct will be submitted to the police and prompt measures taken to secure Mr Dunbars freedom from persecution Herewith Mr Dunbar forwards the young person a sum of money which will enable her to live for some time with ease and independence Further remittances will be sent to her at short intervals if she conducts herself with propriety and refrains from attempting any annoyance against Mr Dunbar
Portland Place August 30 1850
The banker took out his chequebook wrote a cheque for fifty pounds and folded it in the note which he had just written then he rang the bell and gave the note to the elderly manservant who waited upon him
Let that be taken to the young person in the hall he said
Mr Dunbar followed the servant to the diningroom door and stood upon the threshold listening He heard the man speak to Margaret Wilmot as he delivered the letter and then he heard the crackling of the envelope as the girl tore it open
There was a pause during which the listener waited with an anxious expression on his face
He had not to wait long Margaret spoke presently in a clear ringing voice that vibrated through the hall
Tell your master she said that I will die of starvation sooner than I would accept bread from his hand You can tell him what I did with his generous gift
There was another brief pause and then in the hushed stillness of the house Henry Dunbar heard a light shower of torn paper flutter down upon the polished marble floor Then he heard the great door of the house close upon Joseph Wilmots daughter
The millionaire covered his face with his hands and gave a long sigh but he lifted his head presently shrugged his shoulders with an impatient gesture and went slowly up the lighted staircase
The suite of apartments that had been occupied by Percival Dunbar comprised the greater part of the second floor of the house in Portland Place There was a spacious bedchamber a comfortable study a dressingroom bathroom and antechamber The furniture was handsome but of a ponderous style and in spite of their splendour the rooms had a gloomy look Everything about them was dark and heavy The house was an old one and the five windows fronting the street were long and narrow with deep oaken seats in the recesses between the heavy shutters The walls were covered with a dark green paper that looked like cloth The footsteps of the occupant were muffled by the rich thickness of the sombre Turkey carpet The voluminous curtains that sheltered the windows and shrouded the carved rosewood fourpost bed were of a dark green which looked black in the dim light
The massive chairs and tables were of black oak with cushions of green velvet A few valuable cabinet pictures by the old masters set in deep frames of ebony and gold hung at wide distances upon the wall There was the head of an ecclesiastic cut from a large picture by Spagnoletti a Venetian senator by Tintoretto the Adoration of the Magi by Caravaggio An ivory crucifix was the only object upon the high oldfashioned chimneypiece
A pair of waxcandles in antique silver candlesticks burned upon a writingtable near the fireplace and made a spot of light in the gloomy bedchamber All Henry Dunbars luggage had been placed in this room There were packingcases and portmanteaus of almost every size and shape and they had all been opened by a manservant who was kneeling by the last when the banker entered the room
You will sleep here tonight sir I presume the servant said interrogatively as he prepared to quit the apartment Mrs Parkyn thought it best to prepare these rooms for your occupation
Henry Dunbar looked thoughtfully round the spacious chamber
Is there no other place in which I can sleep he asked These rooms are horribly gloomy
There is a spare room upon the floor above this sir
Very well let the spare room be got ready for me I have a good many arrangements to make and shall be late Will you require assistance sir
No Let the room upstairs be prepared Is it immediately above this
Yes sir
Good I shall know how to find it then No one need sit up for me Let Miss Dunbar be told that I shall not see her again tonight and that I shall start for Maudesley in the course of tomorrow She can make her arrangements accordingly You understand
Yes sir
Then you can go Remember I do not wish to be disturbed again tonight
You will want nothing more sir
Nothing
The man retired Henry Dunbar followed him to the door listened to his receding footsteps in the corridor and upon the staircase and then turned the key in the lock He went back to the centre of the room and kneeling down before one of the open portmanteaus took out every article which it contained slowly removing the things one by one and throwing most of them into a heap upon the floor He went through this operation with the contents of all the boxes throwing the clothes upon the floor and carrying the papers to the writingtable where he piled them up in a great mass This business occupied a very long time and the hands of an antique clock upon a bracket in a corner of the room pointed to midnight when the banker seated himself at the table and began to arrange and sort his papers
This operation lasted for several hours The candles were burnt down and the flames flickered slowly out in the silver sockets Mr Dunbar went to one of the windows drew back the greencloth curtain unbarred the heavy shutters and let the grey morning light into the room But he still went on with his work reading faded documents tying up old papers making notes upon the backs of letters and other notes in his own memorandumbook very much as he had done at the Winchester Hotel The broad sunlight streamed in upon the sombre colours of the Turkey carpet the sound of wheels was in the street below when the bankers work was finished By that time he had arranged all the papers with unusual precision and replaced them in one of the portmanteaus but he left the clothes in a careless heap upon the floor just as they had fallen when he first threw them out of the boxes
Mr Dunbar did one thing more before he left the room Amongst the papers which he had arranged upon the writingtable there was a small square morocco case containing a photograph done upon glass He took this picture out of the case dropped it upon the polished oaken floor beyond the margin of the carpet and ground the glass into atoms with the heavy heel of his boot But even then he was not content with his work of destruction for he stamped upon the tiny fragments until there was nothing left of the picture but a handful of sparkling dust He scattered this about with his foot dropped the empty morocco case into his pocket and went upstairs in the morning sunlight
It was past six oclock and Mr Dunbar heard the voices of the womenservants upon the back staircase as he went to his room He threw himself dressed as he was upon the bed and fell into a heavy slumber
At three oclock the same day Mr Dunbar left London for Maudesley Abbey accompanied by his daughter Dora Macmahon and Arthur Lovell
CHAPTER XVIII
THREE WHO SUSPECT
No further discovery was made respecting the murder that had been committed in the grove between Winchester and St Cross The police made every effort to find the murderer but without result A large reward was offered by the government for the apprehension of the guilty man and a still larger reward was offered by Mr Dunbar who declared that his own honour and good name were in a manner involved in the discovery of the real murderer
The one clue by which the police hoped to trace the footsteps of the assassin was the booty which his crime had secured to him the contents of the pocketbook that had been rifled and the clothes which had been stripped from the corpse of the victim By means of the clue which these things might afford the detective police hoped to reach the guilty man But they hoped in vain Every pawnbrokers shop in Winchester and in every town within a certain radius of Winchester was searched but without effect No clothes at all resembling those that had been seen upon the person of the dead man had been pledged within forty miles of the cathedral city The police grew hopeless at last The reward was a large one but the darkness of the mystery seemed impenetrable and little by little people left off talking of the murder By slow degrees the gossips resigned themselves to the idea that the secret of Joseph Wilmots death was to remain a secret for ever Two or three sensation leaders appeared in some of the morning papers urging the bloodhounds of the law to do their work and taunting the members of the detective force with supineness and stupidity I dare say the social leaderwriters were rather hardup for subjects at this stagnant autumnal period and were scarcely sorry for the mysterious death of the man in the grove The public grumbled a little when there was no new paragraph in the papers about that dreadful Winchester murder but the ninedays period during which the English public cares to wonder elapsed and nothing had been done Other murders were committed as brutal in their nature as the murder in the grove and the world which rarely stops long to lament for the dead began to think of other things Joseph Wilmot was forgotten
A month passed very quietly at Maudesley Abbey Henry Dunbar took his place in the county as a person of importance lights blazed in the splendid rooms carriages drove in and out of the great gates in the park and all the landed gentry within twenty miles of the abbey came to pay their respects to the millionaire who had newly returned from India He did not particularly encourage peoples visits but he submitted himself to such festivities as his daughter declared to be necessary and did the honours of his house with a certain haughty grandeur which was a little stiff and formal as compared to the easy friendly grace of his highbred visitors People shrugged their shoulders and hinted that there was something of the roturier in Mr Dunbar but they freely acknowledged that he was a fine handsomelooking fellow and that his daughter was an angel rendered still more angelic by the earthly advantage of half a million or so for her marriageportion
Meanwhile Margaret Wilmot lived alone in her simple countrified lodging and thought sadly enough of the father whom she had lost
He had not been a good father but she had loved him nevertheless She had pitied him for his sorrows and the wrongs that had been done him She had loved him for those feeble traces of a better nature that had been dimly visible in his character
He had not been always a cheat and reprobate the girl thought as she sat pondering upon her fathers fate He never would have been dishonest but for Henry Dunbar
She remembered with bitter feelings the aspect of the rich mans house in Portland Place She had caught a glimpse of its splendour upon the night after her return from Winchester Through the narrow opening between the foldingdoors she had seen the pictures and the statues glimmering in the lamplight of the inner hall She had seen in that brief moment a bright confusion of hothouse flowers and trailing satin curtains gilded mouldings and frescoed panels the first few shallow steps of a marble staircase the filigreework of the bronze balustrade
Only for one moment had she peeped wonderingly into the splendid interior of Henry Dunbars mansion but the objects seen in that one brief glance had stamped themselves upon the girls memory
He is rich she thought and they say that wealth can buy all the best things upon this earth But after all there are few real things that it can purchase It can buy flattery and simulated love and sham devotion but it cannot buy one genuine heartthrob one thrill of true feeling All the wealth of this world cannot buy peace for Henry Dunbar or forgetfulness So long as I live he shall be made to remember If his own guilty conscience can suffer him to forget it shall be my task to recall the past I promised my dead father that I would remember the name of Henry Dunbar I have had good reason to remember it
Margaret Wilmot was not quite alone in her sorrow There was one person who sympathized with her with an earnest and pure desire to help her in her sorrow This person was Clement Austin the cashier in St Gundolphs Lane the man who had fallen headoverheels in love with the pretty musicmistress but who felt half ashamed of his sudden and unreasoning affection
I have always ridiculed what people call love at sight he thought surely I am not so silly as to have been bewitched by hazel eyes and a straight nose Perhaps after all I only take an interest in this girl because she is so beautiful and so lonely and because of the kind of mystery there seems to be about her life
Never for one moment had Clement Austin suspected that this mystery involved anything discreditable to Margaret herself The girls sad face seemed softly luminous with the tender light of pure and holy thoughts The veriest churl could scarcely have associated vice or falsehood with such a lovely and harmonious image
Since her return from Winchester since the failure of her second attempt to see Henry Dunbar her life had pursued its wonted course and she went so quietly about her daily duties that it was only by the settled sadness of her face the subdued gravity of her manner that people became aware of some heavy grief that had newly fallen upon her
Clement Austin had watched her far too closely not to understand her better than other people He had noticed the change in her costume when she put on simple inexpensive mourning for her dead father and he ventured to express his regret for the loss which she had experienced She told him with a gentle sorrowful accent in her voice that she had lately lost some one who was very dear to her and that the loss had been unexpected and was very bitter to bear But she told him no more and he was too well bred to intrude upon her grief by any further question
But though he refrained from saying more upon this occasion the cashier brooded long and deeply upon the conduct of his nieces musicmistress and one chilly September evening when Miss Wentworth was not expected at Clapham he walked across Wandsworth Common and went straight to the lane in which Godolphin Cottages sheltered themselves under the shadow of the sycamores
Margaret had very few intervals of idleness and there was a kind of melancholy relief to her in such an evening as this on which she was free to think of her dead father and the strange story of his death She was standing at the low wooden gate opening into the little garden below the window of her room in the deepening twilight of this September evening It was late in the month the leaves were falling from the trees and drifting with a rustling sound along the dusty roadway
The girl stood with her elbow resting upon the top of the gate and a dark shawl covering her head and shoulders She was tired and unhappy and she stood in a melancholy attitude looking with sad eyes towards the glimpse of the river at the bottom of the lane So entirely was she absorbed by her own gloomy thoughts that she did not hear a footstep approaching from the other end of the lane she did not look up until a mans voice said in subdued tones
Good evening Miss Wentworth are you not afraid of catching cold I hope your shawl is thick for the dews are falling and here near the river there is a damp mist on these autumn nights
The speaker was Clement Austin
Margaret Wilmot looked up at him and a pensive smile stole over her face Yes it was something to be spoken to so kindly in that deep manly voice The world had seemed so blank since her fathers death such utter desolation had descended upon her since her miserable journey to Winchester and her useless visit to Portland Place for since that time she had shrunk away from people wrapped in her own sorrow separated from the commonplace world by the exceptional nature of her misery It was something to this poor girl to hear thoughtful and considerate words and the unbidden tears clouded her eyes
As yet she had spoken openly of her trouble to no living creature since that night upon which she had attempted to gain admission to Mr Dunbars house She was still known in the neighbourhood as Margaret Wentworth She had put on mourning and she had told the few people about the place where she lived of her fathers death but she had told no one the manner of that death She had shared her gloomy secret with neither friends nor counsellors and had borne her dismal burden alone It was for this reason that Clement Austins friendly voice raised an unwonted emotion in her breast The desolate girl remembered that night upon which she had first heard of the murder and she remembered the sympathy that Mr Austin had evinced on that occasion
My mother has been quite anxious about you Miss Wentworth said Clement Austin She has noticed such a change in your manner for the last month or five weeks though you are as kind as ever to my little niece who makes wonderful progress under your care But my mother cannot be indifferent to your own feelings and she and I have both perceived the change I fear there is some great trouble on your mind and I would give muchah Miss Wentworth you cannot guess how muchif I could be of help to you in any time of grief or trouble You seemed very much agitated by the news of that shocking murder at Winchester I have been thinking it all over since and I cannot help fancying that the change in your manner dated from the evening on which my mother told you that dreadful story It struck me that you must therefore in some way or other be interested in the fate of the murdered man Even beyond this it might be possible that if you knew this Joseph Wilmot you might be able to throw some light upon his antecedents and thus give a clue to the assassin Little by little this idea has crept into my mind and tonight I resolved to come to you and ask you the direct question as to whether you were in any way related to this unhappy man
At first Margaret Wilmots only answer was a choking sob but she grew calmer presently and said in a low voice
Yes you have guessed rightly Mr Austin I was related to that most unhappy man I will tell you everything but not here she added looking back at the cottage windows in which lights were glimmering the people about me are inquisitive and I dont want to be overheard
She wrapped her shawl more closely round her and went out of the little garden She walked by Clements side down to the pathway by the river which was lonely enough at this time of the night
Here she told him her story She carefully suppressed all vehement emotion and in few and simple words related the story of her life
Joseph Wilmot was my father she said Perhaps he may not have been what the world calls a good father but I know that he loved me and he was very dear to me My mother was the daughter of a gentleman a postcaptain in the Royal Navy whose name was Talbot She met my father at the house of a lady from whom she used to receive musiclessons She did not know who he was or what he was She only knew that he called himself James Wentworth but he loved her and she returned his affection She was very younga mere child who had not long emerged from a boardingschooland she married my poor father in defiance of the advice of her friends She ran away from her home one morning was married by stealth in an obscure little church in the City and then went home with my father to confess what she had done Her father never forgave her for that secret marriage He swore that he would never look upon her face after that day and he never did until he saw it in her coffin At my mothers death Captain Talbots heart was touched he came for the first time to my fathers house and offered to take me away with him and to have me brought up amongst his younger children But my father refused to allow this He grieved passionately for my poor mother though I have heard him say that he had much to regret in his conduct towards her But I can scarcely remember that sad time From that period our life became a wandering and wretched one Sometimes for a little while we seemed better off My father got some employment he worked steadily and we lived amongst respectable people But soonah cruelly soonthe new chance of an honest life was taken away from him His employers heard something a breath a whisper perhaps but it was enough He was not a man to be trusted He promised well so far he had kept his promise but there was a risk in employing him My father never met any good Christian who was willing to run that risk in the hope of saving a human soul My father never met any one noble enough to stretch out his hand to the outcast and say I know that you have done wrong I know that you are without a character but I will forget the blot upon the past and help you to achieve redemption in the future If my father had met such a friend such a benefactor all might have been different
Then Margaret Wilmot related the substance of the last conversation between herself and her father She told Clement Austin what her father had said about Henry Dunbar and she showed him the letter which was directed to Norfolk Islandthat letter in which the old clerk alluded to the power that his brother possessed over his late master She also told Mr Austin how Henry Dunbar had avoided her at Winchester and in Portland Place and of the letter which he had written to hera letter in which he had tried to bribe her to silence
Since that night she added I have received two anonymous enclosurestwo envelopes containing notes to the amount of a hundred pounds with the words From a True Friend written across the flap of the envelope I returned both the enclosures for I knew whence they had come I returned them in two envelopes directed to Henry Dunbar at the office in St Gundolphs Lane
Clement Austin listened with a grave face All this certainly seemed to hint at the guilt of Mr Dunbar No clue pointing to any other person had been as yet discovered though the police had been indefatigable in their search
Mr Austin was silent for some minutes then he said quietly
I am very glad you have confided in me Miss Wilmot and believe me you shall not find me slow to help you whenever my services can be of any avail If you will come and drink tea with my mother at eight oclock tomorrow evening I will be at home and we can talk this matter over seriously My mother is a clever woman and I know that she has a most sincere regard for you You will trust her will you not
Willingly with my whole heart
You will find her a true friend
They had returned to the little gardengate by this time Clement Austin stretched out his hand
Good night Miss Wilmot
Good night
Margaret opened the gate and went into the garden Mr Austin walked slowly homewards past pleasant cottages nestling in suburban gardens and pretentious villas with campanello towers and gothic porches The lighted windows shone out upon the darkness Here and there he heard the sound of a piano or a girlish voice stealing softly out upon the cool night air
The sight of pleasant homes made the cashier think very mournfully of the girl he had just left
Poor desolate girl he thought poor lonely orphan girl But he thought still more about that which he had heard of Henry Dunbar and the evidence against the rich man seemed to grow in importance as he reflected upon it It was not one thing but many things that hinted at the guilt of the millionaire
The secret possessed and no doubt traded upon by Joseph Wilmot Mr Dunbars agitation in the cathedral his determined refusal to see the murdered mans daughter his attempt to bribe herthese were strong points and by the time Clement Austin reached home helike Margaret Wilmot and like Arthur Lovellsuspected the millionaire So now there were three people who believed Mr Dunbar to be the murderer of his old servant
CHAPTER XIX
LAURA DUNBARS DISAPPOINTMENT
Arthur Lovell went often to Maudesley Abbey Henry Dunbar welcomed him freely and the young man had not the power to resist temptation He went to his doom as the foolish moth flies to the candle He went he saw Laura Dunbar and spent hour after hour in her society for his presence was always agreeable to the impetuous girl To her he seemed indeed that which he had promised to be a brotherkind devoted affectionate but no more He was endeared to Laura by the memory of a happy childhood She was grateful to him and she loved him but only as she would have loved him had he been indeed her brother Whatever deeper feeling lay beneath the playful gaiety of her manner had yet to be awakened
So day after day the young man bowed down before the goddess of his life and was happyah fatally happyin her society He forgot everything except the beautiful face that smiled on him He forgot even those dark doubts which he had felt as to the secret of the Winchester murder
Perhaps he would scarcely have forgotten the suspicions that had entered his mind after the first interview between the banker and his daughter had he seen much of Henry Dunbar But he saw very little of the master of Maudesley Abbey The rich man took possession of the suite of apartments that had been prepared for him and rarely left his own rooms except to wander alone amongst the shady avenues of the park or to ride out upon the powerful horse he had chosen from the stud purchased by Percival Dunbar
This horse was a magnificent creature the colt of a thoroughbred sire but of a stronger and larger build than a purely thoroughbred animal He was a chestnut horse with a coat that shone like satin and not a white hair about him His nose was small his eyes large his ears and neck long He had all the points which an Arab prizes in his favourite barb
To this horse Henry Dunbar became singularly attached He had a loose box built on purpose for the animal in a private garden adjoining his own dressingroom which Like the rest of his apartments was situated upon the groundfloor of the abbey Mr Dunbars groom slept in a part of the house near this loose box and horse and man were at the service of the banker at any hour of the day or night
Henry Dunbar generally rode either early in the morning or in the grey twilight after his dinnerhour He was a proud man and he was not a sociable man When the county gentry came to welcome him to England he received them and thanked them for their courtesy But there was something in his manner that repelled rather than invited friendship He gave one great dinnerparty soon after his arrival at Maudesley a ball at which Laura floated about in a cloud of white gauze and with diamonds in her hair and a breakfast and morning concert on the lawn in compliance with the urgent entreaties of the same young lady But when invitations came flooding in upon Mr Dunbar he declined them one after another on the ground of his weak health Laura might go where she liked always provided that she went under the care of a suitable chaperone but the banker declared that the state of his health altogether unfitted him for society His constitution had been much impaired he said by his long residence in Calcutta And yet he looked a strong man Tall broadchested and powerful it was very difficult to perceive in Henry Dunbars appearance any one of the usual evidences of illhealth He was very pale but that unchanging pallor was the only sign of the malady from which he suffered
He rose early rode for a couple of hours upon his chestnut horse Dragon and then breakfasted After breakfast he sat in his luxurious sittingroom sometimes reading sometimes writing sometimes sitting for hours together brooding silently over the low embers in the roomy fireplace At six oclock he dined still keeping to his own roomfor he was not well enough to dine with his daughter he said and he sat alone late into the night drinking heavily according to the report current in the servants hall
He was respected and he was feared in his household but he was not liked His silent and reserved manner had a gloomy influence upon the servants who came in contact with him and they compared him very disadvantageously with his predecessor Percival Dunbar the genial kind old master who had always had a cheerful friendly word for every one of his dependants from the stately housekeeper in rustling silken robes to the smallest boy employed in the stables
No the new master of the abbey was not liked Day after day he lived secluded and alone At first his daughter had broken in upon his solitude and with bright caressing ways had tried to win him from his loneliness but she found that all her efforts to do this were worse than useless they were even disagreeable to her father and by degrees her light footstep was heard less and less often in that lonely wing of the house where Henry Dunbar had taken up his abode
Maudesley Abbey was a large and rambling old mansion which had been built in halfadozen different reigns The most ancient part of the building was that very northern wing which Mr Dunbar had chosen for himself Here the architecture belonged to the early Plantagenet era the stone walls were thick and massive the lancetheaded windows were long and narrow and the arms of the early benefactors of the monastery were emblazoned here and there upon the richly stained glass The walls were covered with faded tapestry from which grim faces scowled upon the lonely inhabitant of the chambers The groined ceiling was of oak that had grown black with age The windows of Mr Dunbars bedroom and dressingroom opened into a cloistered court beneath whose solemn shadow the hooded monks had slowly paced in days that were long gone The centre of this quadrangular court had been made into a garden where tall hollyhocks and prim dahlias flaunted in the autumn sunshine And within this cloistered courtway Mr Dunbar had erected the loose box for his favourite horse
The southern wing of Maudesley Abbey owed its origin to a much later period The windows and fireplaces at this end of the house were in the Tudor style the polished oak wainscoting was very beautiful the rooms were smaller and snugger than the tapestried chambers occupied by the banker Venetian glasses and old crystal chandeliers glimmered and glittered against the sombre woodwork and elegant modern furniture contrasted pleasantly with the Elizabethan casements and carved oaken chimneypieces Everything that unlimited wealth can do to make a house beautiful had been done for this part of the mansion by Percival Dunbar and had been done with considerable success The doting grandfather had taken a delight in beautifying the apartments occupied by his girlish companion and Miss Dunbar had walked upon velvet pile and slept beneath the shadow of satin curtains from a very early period of her existence
She was used to luxury and elegance she was accustomed to be surrounded by all that is refined and beautiful but she had that inexhaustible power of enjoyment which is perhaps one of the brightest gifts of a fresh young nature and she did not grow tired of the pleasant home that had been made for her Laura Dunbar was a pampered child of fortune but there are some natures that it seems very difficult to spoil and I think hers must have been one of these
She knew no weariness of the rolling hours To her the world seemed a paradise of beauty Remember she had never seen real misery she had never endured that sick feeling of despair which creeps over the most callous of us when we discover the amount of hopeless misery that is and has been and is to be for ever and ever upon this weary earth She had seen sick cottagers and orphan children and desolate widows in her pilgrimages amongst the dwellings of the poor but she had always been able to relieve these afflicted ones and to comfort them more or less
It is the sight of sorrows which we cannot alleviate that sends a palpable stab home to our hearts and for a time almost sickens us with a universe which cannot go upon its course without such miseries as these
To Laura Dunbar the world was still entirely beautiful for the darker secrets of life had not been revealed to her
Only once had affliction come near her and then it had come in a calm and solemn shape in the death of an old man who ended a good and prosperous life peacefully upon the breast of his beloved granddaughter
Perhaps her first real trouble came to her now in the bitter disappointment which had succeeded her fathers return to England Heaven only knows with what a tender yearning the girl had looked forward to Henry Dunbars return They had been separated for the best part of her brief lifetime but what of that He would love her all the more tenderly because of those long years during which they had been divided She meant to be the same to her father that she had been to her grandfathera loving companion a ministering angel
But it was never to be Her father by a hundred tacit signs rejected her affection He had shunned her presence from the first and she had grown now to shun him She told Arthur Lovell of this unlookedfor sorrow
Of all the things I ever thought of Arthur this never entered my head she said in a low pensive voice as she stood one evening in the deep embrasure of the Tudor window looking thoughtfully out at the widespreading lawn where the shadows of the low cedar branches made patches of darkness on the moonlit surface of the grass I thought that papa might fall ill on the voyage home and die and that the ship for whose safe course I prayed night and day might bring me nothing but the sacred remains of the dead I have thought this Arthur and I have lain awake at night torturing myself with the thought till my mind has grown so full of the dark picture that I have seen the little cabin in the cruel restless ship and my father lying helpless on a narrow bed with only strangers to watch his deathhour I cannot tell you how many different things I have feared but I never never thought that he would not love me I have even thought that it was just possible he might be unlike my grandfather and a little unkind to me sometimes when I vexed or troubled him but I thought his heart would be true to me through all and that even in his harshest moments he would love me dearly for the sake of my dead mother
Her voice broke and she sobbed aloud but the man who stood by her side had no word of comfort to say to her Her complaint awoke that old suspicion which had lately slumbered in his breastthe horrible fear that Mr Dunbar was guilty of the murder of his old servant
The young lawyer was bound to say something however It was too cruel to stand by and utter no word of comfort to this sobbing girl
Laura dear Laura he said this is foolish believe me You must have patience and still hope for the best How can your father do otherwise than love you when he grows to know you well You may have expected too much of him Remember that people who have lived long in the East Indies are apt to become cold and languid in their manners When Mr Dunbar has seen more of you when he has become better accustomed to your society
That he will never be Laura answered impetuously How can he ever know me better when he scrupulously avoids me Sometimes whole days pass during which I do not see him Then I summon up courage and go to his dreary rooms He receives me graciously enough and treats me with politeness With politeness when I am yearning for his affection and I linger a little perhaps asking him about his health and trying to get more at home in his presence But there is always a nervous restlessness in his manner which tells meoh too plainlythat my presence is unwelcome to him So I go away at last half heartbroken I remember now how cold and brief his letters from India always seemed but then he need to excuse himself to me on account of the hurry of business and he seldom finished his letter without saying that he looked joyfully forward to our meeting It was very cruel of him to deceive me
Arthur Lovell was a sorry comforter From the first he had tried in vain to like Henry Dunbar Since that strange scene in Portland Place he had suspected the banker of a foul and treacherous murderthat worst and darkest crime which for ever separates a man from the sympathy of his fellowmen and brands him as an accursed and abhorred creature beyond the pale of human compassion Ah how blessed is that Divine and illimitable compassion which can find pity for those whom sinful man rejects
CHAPTER XX
NEW HOPES MAY BLOOM
Jocelyns Rock was ten miles from Maudesley Abbey and only one mile from the town of Shorncliffe It was a noble place and had been in the possession of the same family ever since the days of the Plantagenets
The house stood upon a rocky cliff beneath which rushed a cascade that leapt from crag to crag and fell into the bosom of a deep stream that formed an arm of the river Avon This cascade was forty feet below the edge of the cliff upon which the mansion stood
It was not a very large house for most of the older part of it had fallen into ruin long ago and the ruined towers and shattered walls had been cleared away but it was a noble mansion notwithstanding
One octagonal tower with a battlemented roof still stood almost as firmly as it had stood in the days of the early Plantagenets when rebel soldiers had tried the strength of their batteringrams against the grim stone walls The house was built entirely of stone the Gothic porch was ponderous as the porch of a church Within all was splendour but splendour that was very different from the modern elegance that was to be seen in the rooms of Maudesley Abbey
At Jocelyns Rock the stamp of age was upon every decoration on every ornament Squaretopped helmets that had been hacked by the scimitars of Saracen kings spiked chamfronts that had been worn by the fiery barbs of haughty English crusaders fluted armour from Milan hung against the blackened wainscoting in the shadowy hall Scottish hackbuts primitive arquebuses that had done service on Bosworth field Homeric bucklers and brazen greaves javelins crossbows steelpointed lances and twohanded swords were in symmetrical design upon the dark and polished panels while here and there hung the antlers of a giant reddeer or the skin of a fox in testimony to the triumphs of longdeparted sportsmen of the house of Jocelyn
It was a noble old house Princes of the blood royal had sat in the ponderous carved oakchairs A queen had slept in the statebed in the bluesatin chamber Loyal Jocelyns fighting for their king against lowborn Roundhead soldiers had hidden themselves in the spacious chimneys or had fled for their lives along the secret passages behind the tapestry There were old pictures and jewelled drinkingcups that deadandgone Jocelyns had collected in the sunny land of the Medicis There were costly toys of fragile Sèvres china that had been received by one of the earls from the hand of the lovely Pompadour herself in the days when the manufacturers of Sèvres only worked for their king and were liable to fall a sacrifice to their art and their loyalty by the inhalation of arsenicated vapours There was golden plate that a king had given to his proud young favourite in those feudal days when favourites were powerful in England There was scarcely any object of value in the mansion that had not a special history attached to it redounding to the honour and glory of the ancient house of Jocelyn
And this splendid dwellingplace rendered almost sacred by legendary associations and historical recollections was now the property of a certain Sir Philip Jocelyna dashing young baronet who had been endowed by nature with a handsome face frank fearless eyes that generally had a smile in them and the kind of manly figure which the late Mr GPR James was wont to designate stalwart and who was moreover a crack shot a reckless crosscountrygoing rider and a very tolerable amateur artist
Sir Philip Jocelyn was not what is usually called an intellectual man He was more warmly interested in a steeplechase on Shorncliffe Common than in a pamphlet on political economy even though Mr Stuart Mill should himself be the author of the brochure He thought John Scott a greater man than Maculloch and Manton the gunmaker only second to Dr Jenner as a benefactor of his race He found the works of the late Mr Apperly more entertaining than the last new Idyl from the pen of the Laureate and was rather at a loss for smalltalk when he found his feminine neighbour at a dinnertable was deeply darkly beautifully blue But the young baronet was by no means a fool notwithstanding these sportsmanlike proclivities The Jocelyns had been hard riders for halfadozen centuries or so and crack shots ever since the invention of firearms Sir Philip was a sportsman but he did not hunt in dreams and he was prepared to hold his wife a great deal higher than his horse whenever he should win that pleasant addition to his household As yet he had thought very little of the future Lady Jocelyn He had a vague idea that he should marry as the rest of the Jocelyns had married and that he should live happily with his wife as his ancestors had lived with their wives with the exception of one dreadful man called Hildebrande Jocelyn who at some remote and mediaeval period had been supposed to throw his liege lady out of an oriel window that overhung the waterfall upon the strength of an unfounded suspicion and who afterwards according to the legend dug or rather scooped for himself a cave out of the cliffside with no better tools than his own fingernails which he never cut after the unfortunate ladys foul murder The legend went on further to state that the white wraith of the innocent victim might be seen on a certain night in the year rising out of the misty spray of the waterfall but as nobody except one very weakwitted female Jocelyn had ever seen the vision the inhabitants of the house upon the crag had taken so little heed of the legend that the date of the anniversary had come at last to be forgotten
Sir Philip Jocelyn thought that he should marry some of these days and in the meantime troubled himself very little about the pretty daughters of country gentlemen whom he met now and again at races and archerymeetings and flowershows and dinnerparties and huntingballs in the queer old townhall at Shorncliffe He was heartwhole and looking out at life from the oriel window of his dressingroom whence he saw nothing but his own land neatly enclosed in a ringfence he thought the world about which some people made such dismal howling was upon the whole an extremely pleasant place containing very little that a fellow need complain of He built himself a paintingroom at Jocelyns Rock andwhistled to himself for the hour together as he stood before the easel painting scenes in the huntingfield or Arab horsemen whom he had met on the great flat sandy plains beyond Cairo or brownfaced boys or bright Italian peasantgirls all sorts of pleasant objects under cloudless skies of ultramarine with streaks of orange and vermilion to represent the sunset He was not a great painter nor indeed was there any element of greatness in his nature but he painted as recklessly as he rode his subjects were bright and cheerful and his pictures were altogether of the order which unsophisticated people admire and call pretty
He was a very cheerful young man and perhaps that cheerfulness was the greatest charm he possessed He was a man in whom no force of fashion or companionship would ever engender the peevish blaséness so much affected by modern youth Did he dance Of course he did and he adored dancing Did he sing Well he did his best and had a fine volume of rich bass voice that sounded remarkably well on the water after a dinner at the Star and Garter in that dim dewy hour when the willow shadowed Thames is as a southern lake and the slow dip of the oars is in itself a kind of melody Had he been much abroad Yes and he gloried in the Continent the dear old inconvenient inns and the extortionate landlords and the insatiable commissionaireshe revelled in the commissionaires and the dear drowsy slow trains with an absurd guard who talks an unintelligible patois and the other man who always loses ones luggage Delicious And the dear little peasantgirls with white caps who are so divinely pretty when you see them in the distance under a sunny meridian sky and are so charming in coloured chalk upon tinted paper but such miracles of ugliness comparatively speaking when you behold them at close quarters And the dear jingling diligences with very little harness to speak of but any quantity of old rope and the bad wines and the dust and the cathedrals and the beggars and the trenteetquarante tables and in short everything Sir Philip Jocelyn spoke of the universe as a young husband talks of his wife and was never tired of her beauty or impatient of her faults
The poor about Jocelyns Rock idolized the young lord of the soil The poor like happy people if there is nothing insolent in their happiness Philip was rich and he distributed his wealth right royally he was happy and he shared his happiness as freely as he shared his wealth He would divide a case of choice Manillas with a bedridden pensioner in the Union or carry a bottle of the Jocelyn Madeirathe celebrated Madeira with the brown sealin the pocket of his shootingcoat to deliver it into the horny hands of some hardworking mother who was burdened with a sick child He would sit for an hour together telling an agricultural labourer of the queer farming he had seen abroad and he had stood godfatherby proxyto half the yellowheaded urchins within ten miles radius of Jocelyns Bock No taint of vice or dissipation had ever sullied the brightness of his pleasant life No wretched country girl had ever cursed his name before she cast herself into the sullen waters of a lonely millstream People loved him and he deserved their love and was worthy of their respect He had taken no high honours at Oxford but the sternest officials smiled when they spoke of him and recalled the boyish follies that were associated with his name a sickly bedmaker had been pensioned for life by him and the tradesmen who had served him testified to his merits as a prompt and liberal paymaster I do not think that in all his life Philip Jocelyn had ever directly or indirectly caused a pang of pain or sorrow to any human being unless it was indeed to a churlish heiratlaw who may have looked with a somewhat evil eye upon the young mans vigorous and healthful aspect which gave little hope to his possible successor
The heiratlaw would have gnashed his teeth in impotent rage had he known the crisis which came to pass in the baronets life a short time after Mr Dunbars return from India a crisis very common to youth and very lightly regarded by youth but a solemn and a fearful crisis notwithstanding
The master of Jocelyns Rock fell in love All the poetry of his nature all the best feelings the purest attributes of an imperfect character concentrated themselves into one passion Sir Philip Jocelyn fell in love The arch magician waved his wand and all the universe was transformed into fairyland a lovely Paradise a modern Eden radiant with the reflected light that it received from the face of a woman I almost hesitate to tell this old old story over againthis perpetual story of love at first sight
It is very beautiful this sudden love which is born of one glance at the wonderful face that has been created to bewitch us but I doubt if it is not after all the baser form of the great passion The love that begins with esteem that slowly grows out of our knowledge of the loved one is surely the purer and holier type of affection
This love whose gradual birth we rarely watch or recognizethis love that steals on us like the calm dawning of the eastern light strikes to a deeper root and grows into a grander tree than that fair sudden growth that marvellous farshooting butterflyblossoming orchid called love at first sight The glorious exotic flower may be wanting but the strong root lies deeply hidden in the heart
The man who loves at first sight generally falls in love with the violet blue of a pair of tender eyes the delicate outline of a Grecian nose The man who loves the woman he has known and watched loves her because he believes her to be the purest and truest of her sex
To this last love is faith He cannot doubt the woman he adores for he adores her because he believes and has proved her to be above all doubt We may fairly conjecture that Othellos passion for the simple Venetian damsel was love at first sight He loved Desdemona because she was pretty and looked at him with sweet maidenly glances of pity when he told those prosy stories of hiswith full travellers license no doubtover Brabantios mahogany
The tawnyvisaged general loved the old mans daughter because he admired her and not because he knew her and so by and bye on the strength of a few foul hints from a scoundrel he is ready to believe this gentle pitiful girl the basest and most abandoned of women
Hamlet would not so have acted had it been his fate to marry the woman he loved Depend upon it the Danish prince had watched Ophelia closely and knew all the ins and outs of that young ladys temper and had laid conversational traps for her occasionally I dare say trying to entice her into some bit of toadyism that should betray any latent taint of falsehood inherited from poor timeserving Polonius The Prince of Denmark would have been rather a fidgety husband perhaps but he would never have had recourse to a murderous bolster at the instigation of a lowborn knave
Unhappily some women are apt to prefer passionate blustering Othello to sentimental and metaphysical Hamlet The foolish creatures are carried away by noise and clamour and most believe him who protests the loudest
Philip Jocelyn and Laura Dunbar met at that dinnerparty which the millionaire gave to his friends in celebration of his return They met again at the ball where Laura waltzed with Philip the young man had learned to waltz upon the other side of the Alps and Miss Dunbar preferred him to any other of her partners At the fête champêtre they met again and had their future lives revealed to them by a theatricallooking gipsy imported from London for the occasion whose arch prophecies brought lovely blushes into Lauras cheeks and afforded Philip an excellent opportunity for admiring the effect of darkbrown eyelashes drooping over darkblue eyes They met again and again now at a steeplechase now at a dinnerparty where Laura appeared with some friendly chaperon and the baronet fell in love with the bankers beautiful daughter
He loved her truly and devotedly after his own madheaded fashion He was a true Jocelynimpetuous madheaded daring and from the time of those festivities at Maudesley Abbey he only dreamed and thought of Laura Dunbar From that hour he haunted the neighbourhood of Maudesley Abbey There was a bridlepath through the park to a little village called Lisford and if that primitive Warwickshire village had been the most attractive place upon this earth Sir Philip could scarcely have visited it oftener than he did
Heaven knows what charm he found in the shady slumberous old street the low stone marketplace with rusty iron gates surmounted by the Jocelyn escutcheon The grass grew in the quiet quadrangle the square churchtower was half hidden by the sheltering ivy the gabled cottageroofs were lopsided with age It was scarcely a place to offer any very great attraction to the lord of Jocelyn Rock in all the glory of his early manhood and yet Philip Jocelyn went there three times a week upon an average during the period that succeeded the ball and morning concert at Maudesley Abbey
The shortest way from Jocelyns Bock to Lisford was by the high road but Philip Jocelyn did not care to go by the shortest way He preferred to take that pleasant bridlepath through Maudesley Park that delicious grassy arcade where the overarching branches of the old elms made a shadowy twilight only broken now and then by sudden patches of yellow sunshine where the feathery ferns trembled with every low whisper of the autumn breeze where there was a faint perfume of pine wood where every here and there between the lower branches of the trees there was a blue glimmer of still waterpools halfhidden under flat green leaves of wild aquatic plants where there was a solemn stillness that reminded one of the holy quiet of a church and where Sir Philip Jocelyn had every chance of meeting with Laura Dunbar
He met her there very often Not alone for Dora Macmahon was sometimes with her and the faithful Elizabeth Madden was always at hand to play propriety and to keep a sharp eye upon the interests of her young mistress But then it happened unfortunately that the faithful Elizabeth was very stout and rather asthmatic and though Miss Dunbar could not have had a more devoted duenna she might certainly have had a more active one And it also happened that Miss Macmahon having received several practical illustrations of the old adage with regard to the disadvantage of a party of three persons as compared to a party of two persons fell into the habit of carrying her books with her and would sit and read in some shady nook near the abbey while Laura wandered into the wilder regions of the park
Beneath the shelter of the overarching elms amidst the rustling of the trembling ferns Laura Dunbar and Philip Jocelyn met very often during that bright autumnal weather Their meetings were purely accidental of course as such meetings always are but they were not the less pleasant because of their uncertainty
They were all the more pleasant perhaps There was that delicious fever of suspense which kept both young eager hearts in a constant glow There were Lauras sudden blushes which made her wonderful beauty doubly wonderful There was Philip Jocelyns start of glad astonishment and the bright sparkle in his darkbrown eyes as he saw the slender queenly figure approaching him under the shadow of the trees How beautiful she looked with the folds of her dress trailing over the dewy grass and a flickering halo of sunlight tremulous upon her diadem of golden hair Sometimes she wore a coquettish little hat with a turnedup brim and a peacocks plume sometimes a broadleaved hat of yellow straw with floating ribbon and a bunch of feathery grasses perched bewitchingly upon the brim She had the dog Pluto with her always and generally a volume of some new novel under her arm I am ashamed to be obliged to confess that this young heiress was very frivolous and liked reading novels better than improving her mind by the perusal of grave histories or by the study of the natural sciences She spent day after day in happy idlenessreading sketching playing singing talking sometimes gaily sometimes seriously to her faithful old nurse or to Dora or to Arthur Lovell as the case might be She had a thoroughbred horse that had been given to her by her grandfather but she very rarely rode him beyond the grounds for Dora Macmahon was no horsewoman having been brought up by a prim aunt of her dead mothers who looked upon riding as an unfeminine accomplishment and Miss Dunbar had therefore no better companion for her rides than a greyhaired old groom who had ridden behind Percival Dunbar for forty years or so
Philip Jocelyn generally went to Lisford upon horseback but when as so often happened he met Miss Dunbar and her companion strolling amongst the old elms it was his habit to get off his horse and to walk by Lauras side leading the animal by the bridle Sometimes he found the two young ladies sitting on campstools at the foot of one of the trees sketching effects of light and shadow in the deep glades around them On such occasions the baronet used to tie his horse to the lower branch of an old elm and taking his stand behind Miss Dunbar would amuse himself by giving her a lesson in perspective with occasional hints to Miss Macmahon who as the young man remarked drew so much better than her sister that she really required very little assistance
Byandby this began to be an acknowledged thing Special hours were appointed for these artistic studies and Philip Jocelyn ceased to go to Lisford at all contenting himself with passing almost every fine morning under the elms at Maudesley He found that he had a very intelligent pupil in the bankers daughter but I think if Miss Dunbar had been less intelligent her instructor would have had patience with her and would have still found his best delight beneath the shadow of those dear old elms
What words can paint the equal pleasure of giving and receiving those lessons in the art which was loved alike by pupil and master but which was so small an element in the happiness of those woodland meetings What words can describe Lauras pleading face when she found that the shadow of a ruined castle wouldnt agree with the castle itself or that a row of poplars in the distance insisted on taking that direction which our transatlantic brothers call slantindicular And then the cutting of pencils and crumbling of bread and searching for mislaid scraps of Indiarubber and mixing of watercolours and adjusting of palettes on the prettiest thumb in Christendom or the planting a sheaf of brushes in the dearest little hand that ever trembled when it met the tenderly timid touch of an amateur drawingmasters fingersall these little offices so commonplace and wearisome when a hardworked and poorlypaid professor performs them for thirty or forty clamorous girls on a burning summer afternoon in a great dustflavoured schoolroom with bare curtainless windows were in this case more delicious than any words of mine can tell
But September and October are autumnal months and their brightest sunshine is after all only a deceptive radiance when compared to the full glory of July The weather grew too cold for the drawinglessons under the elms and there could be no more appointments made between Miss Dunbar and her enthusiastic instructor
I cant have my young lady ketch cold Sir Philip for all the perspectives in the world said the faithful Elizabeth I spoke to her par about it only the other day but lor you may just as well speak to a post as to Mr Dunbar If Miss Laura comes out in the park now she must wrap herself up warm and walk fast and not go getting the cold shivers for the sake of drawing a parcel of stumps of trees and suchlike tomfoolery
Mrs Madden made this observation in rather an unpleasant tone of voice one morning when the baronet pleaded for another drawinglesson The truth of the matter was that Elizabeth Madden felt some slight pangs of conscience with regard to her own part in this sudden friendship which had arisen between Laura Dunbar and Philip Jocelyn She felt that she had been rather remiss in her duties as duenna and was angry with herself But stronger than this feeling of selfreproach was her indignation against Sir Philip
Why did he not immediately make an offer of his hand to Laura Dunbar
Mrs Madden had expected the young mans proposal every day for the last few weeks every day she had been doomed to disappointment And yet she was perfectly convinced that Philip Jocelyn loved her young mistress The sharp eyes of the matron had fathomed the young mans sentiments long before Laura Dunbar dared to whisper to herself that she was beloved Why then did he not propose Who could be a more fitting bride for the lord of Jocelyns Rock than queenly Laura Dunbar with her splendid dower of wealth and beauty
Full of these ambitious hopes Elizabeth Madden had played her part of duenna with such discretion as to give the young people plenty of opportunity for sweet halfwhispered converse for murmured confidences soft and low as the cooing of turtledoves But in all these conversations no word hinting at an offer of marriage had dropped from the lips of Philip Jocelyn
He was so happy with Laura so happy in those pleasant meetings under the Maudesley elms that no thought of anything so commonplace as a stereotyped proposal of marriage had a place in his mind
Did he love her Of course he did more dearly than he had ever before loved any human creature except that tender and gentle being whose image vaguely beautiful was so intermingled with the dreams and realities of his childhood in that dim period in which it is difficult to distinguish the shadows of the night from the events of the daythat pale and lovely creature whom he had but just learned to call mother when she faded out of his life for ever
It was only when the weather grew too cold for outofdoor drawing lessons that Sir Philip began to think that it was time to contemplate the very serious business of a proposal He would have to speak to the banker and all that sort of thing of course the baronet thought as he sat by the fire in the oakpanelled breakfastroom at the Rock pulling his thick moustaches reflectively and staring at the red embers on the open hearth The young man idolized Laura but he did not particularly affect the society of Henry Dunbar The millionaire was very courteous very conciliating but there was something in his stiff politeness his studied smile his deliberate speech something entirely vague and indefinable which had the same chilly effect upon Sir Philips friendliness as a cold cellar has on delicateflavoured port The subtle aroma vanished under that dismal influence
Hes her father and Id kneel down like the little boys in the streets and clean his boots if he wanted them cleaned because he is her father thought the young man and yet somehow or other I cant get on with him
No between the AngloIndian banker and Sir Philip Jocelyn there was no sympathy They had no tastes in common or let me rather say Henry Dunbar revealed no taste in common with those of the young man whose highest hope in life was to be his soninlaw The frankhearted young country gentleman tried in vain to conciliate him or to advance from the cold outwork of ceremonious acquaintanceship into the inner stronghold of friendly intercourse
But when Sir Philip after much hesitation and deliberation presented himself one morning in the bankers tapestried sittingroom and unburdened his heart to that gentlemanstopping every now and then to stare at the makers name imprinted upon the lining of his hat as if that name had been a magical symbol whence he drew certain auguries by which he governed his speechMr Dunbar was especially gracious Would he honour Sir Philip by entrusting his daughters happiness to his keeping would he bestow upon Sir Philip the inestimable blessing of that dear hand Why of course he would provided always that Laura wished it In such a matter as this Lauras decision should be supreme He never had contemplated interfering in his daughters bestowal of her affections so long as they were not wasted upon an unworthy object He wished her to marry whom she pleased provided that she married an honest man
Mr Dunbar gave a weary kind of sigh as he said this but the sigh was habitual to him and he apologized for and explained it sometimes by reference to his liver which was disordered by fiveandthirty years in an Indian climate
I wish Laura to marry he said I shall be glad when she has secured the protection of a good husband
Sir Phillip Jocelyn sprang up with his face all aglow with rapture and would fain have seized the bankers hand in token of his gratitude but Henry Dunbar waved him off with an authoritative gesture
Good morning Sir Philip he said I am very poor company and I shall be glad to be alone with the Times You young men dont appreciate the Times You want your newspapers filled with prizefighting and boatracing and the last gossip from the Corner Youll find Miss Dunbar in the blue drawingroom Speak to her as soon as you please and let me know the result of the interview
It is not often that the heiress of a million or thereabouts is quite so readily disposed of Sir Philip Jocelyn walked on air as he quitted the bankers apartments
Who ever would have thought that he was such a delicious old brick he thought I expected any quantity of cold water and instead of that he sends me straight to my darling with carte blanche to go in and win if I can If I can Suppose Laura doesnt love me after all Suppose shes only a beautiful coquette who likes to see men go mad for love of her And yet I wont think that I wont be downhearted I wont believe shes anything but what she seemsan angel of purity and truth
But spite of his belief in Lauras truth the young baronets courage was very low when he went into the blue drawingroom and found Miss Dunbar seated in a deep embayed window with the sunshine lighting up her hair and gleaming amongst the folds of her violet silk dress She had been drawing but her sketching apparatus lay idle on the little table by her side and one listless hand hung down upon her dress with a pencil held loosely between the slender fingers She was looking straight before her out upon the sunlit lawn all gorgeous with flaunting autumn flowers and there was something dreamy not to say pensive in the attitude of her drooping head
But she started presently at the sound of that manly footstep the pencil dropped from between her idle fingers and she rose and turned towards the intruder The beautiful face was in shadow as she turned away from the window but no shadow could hide its sudden brightness the happy radiance which lit up that candid countenance as Miss Dunbar recognized her visitor
The lover thought that one look more precious than Jocelyns Rock and a baronetcy that dated from the days of Englands first Stuartsthat one glorious smile which melted away in a moment and gave place to bright maidenly blushes fresh and beautiful as the dewy heart of an oldfashioned cabbagerose gathered at sunrise
That one smile was enough Philip Jocelyn was no coxcomb but he knew all at once that he was beloved and that very few words were needed A great many were said nevertheless and I do not think two happier people ever sat side by side in the late autumn sunshine than those two who lingered in the deep embayed window till the sun was low in the rosy western sky and told Philip Jocelyn that his visit to Maudesley Abbey had very much exceeded the limits of a morning call
So Philip Jocelyn was accepted Early the next morning he called again upon Mr Dunbar and begged that an early date might be chosen for the wedding The banker assented willingly enough to the proposition
Let the marriage take place in the first week in November he said I am tired of living at Maudesley and I want to get away to the Continent Of course I must remain here to be present at my daughters wedding
Philip Jocelyn was only too glad to receive this permission to hurry the day of the ceremonial He went at once to Laura and told her what Mr Dunbar had said Mrs Madden was indignant at this unceremonious manner of arranging matters
Wheres my young ladys trussaw to be got at a moments notice I should like to know A deal you gentlemen know about such things Its no use talking my lord there aint a dressmaker livin as would undertake the weddingclothes for baronets lady in little better than a month
But Mrs Maddens objections were speedily overruled To tell the truth the honesthearted creature was very much pleased to find that her young lady was going to be a baronets wife after all She forgot all about her old favourite Arthur Lovell and set herself to work to expedite that most important matter of the weddinggarments A man came down express from Howell and Jamess to Maudesley Abbey with a bundle of patterns and silks and velvets gauzes and laces and almost every costly fabric that was made were ordered for Miss Dunbars equipment Westend dressmakers were communicated with A French milliner who looked like a lady of fashion arrived one morning at Maudesley Abbey and for a couple of hours poor Laura had to endure the slow agony of trying on while Mrs Madden and Dora Macmahon discussed all the colours in the rainbow and a great many new shades and combinations of colour invented by aspiring French chemists
CHAPTER XXI
A NEW LIFE
For the first time in her life Margaret Wilmot knew what it was to have friends real and earnest friends who interested themselves in her welfare and were bent upon securing her happiness and I must admit that in this particular case there was something more than friendshipsomething holier and higher in its characterthe pure and unselfish love of an honourable man
Clement Austin the cashier at Dunbar Dunbar and Balderbys AngloIndian bankinghouse had fallen in love with the modest hazeleyed musicmistress and had set himself to work to watch her and to find out all about her long before he was conscious of the real nature of his feelings
He had begun by pitying her He had pitied her because of her hard life her loneliness her beauty which doubtless exposed her to many dangers that would have been spared to a plain woman
Now when a man allows himself to pity a very pretty girl he places himself on a moral tightrope and he must be a moral Blondin if he expects to walk with any safety upon the narrow line which alone divides him from the great abyss called love
There are not many Blondins either physical or intellectual and the consequence is that nine out of ten of the gentlemen who place themselves in this perilous position find the narrow line very slippery and before they have gone twenty paces plunge overboard plump to the very bottom of the abyss and are over head and ears in love before they know where they are
Clement Austin fell in love with Margaret Wilmot and his tender regard his respectful devotion were very new and sweet to the lonely girl It would have been strange then under such circumstances if his love had been hopeless
He was in no very great hurry to declare himself for he had a powerful ally in his mother who adored her son and would have allowed him to bring home a young negress or a North American squaw to the maternal hearth if such a bride had been necessary to his happiness
Mrs Austin very speedily discovered her sons secret for he had taken little pains to conceal his feelings from the indulgent mother who had been his confidante ever since his first boyish loves at a Clapham seminary within whose sacred walls he had been admitted on Tuesdays and Fridays to learn dancing in the delightful society of fiveandthirty young ladies
Mrs Austin confessed that she would rather her son had chosen some damsel who could lay claim to greater worldly advantages than those possessed by the young musicmistress but when Clement looked disappointed the good souls heart melted all in a moment and she declared that if Margaret was only as good as she was pretty and truly attached to her dear noblehearted boy she Mrs Austin would ask no more
It happened fortunately that she knew nothing of Joseph Wilmots antecedents or of the letter addressed to Norfolk Island or perhaps she might have made very strong objections to a match between her son and a young lady whose father had spent a considerable part of his life in a penal settlement
We will tell my mother nothing of the past Miss Wilmot Clement Austin said except that which concerns yourself alone Let the history of your unhappy fathers life remain a secret between you and me My mother is very fond of you I should be sorry therefore if she heard anything to shock her prejudices I wish her to love you better every day
Clement Austin had his wish for the kindhearted widow grew every day more and more attached to Margaret Wilmot She discovered that the girl had more than an ordinary talent for music and she proposed that Margaret should take a prettily furnished firstfloor in a pleasantlooking detached house half cottage half villa at Clapham and at once set to work as a teacher of the piano
I can get you plenty of pupils my dear Mrs Austin said for I have lived here more than thirty yearsever since Clements birth in factand I know almost everybody in the neighbourhood You have only to teach upon moderate terms and the people will be glad to send their children to you I shall give a little evening party on purpose that my friend may hear you play
So Mrs Austin gave her evening party and Margaret appeared in a simple blacksilk dress that had been in her wardrobe for a long time and which would have seemed very shabby in the glaring light of day The wearer of it looked very pretty and elegant however by the light of Mrs Austins waxcandles and the aristocracy of Clapham remarked that the young person whom Mrs Austin and her son had taken up was really rather nicelooking
But when Margaret played and sang people were charmed in spite of themselves She had a superb contralto voice rich deep and melodious and she played with brilliancy and what is much rarer with expression
Mrs Austin going backwards and forwards amongst her guests to ascertain the current of opinions found that her protégées success was an accomplished fact before the evening was over
Margaret took the new apartments in the course of the week and before a fortnight had passed she had secured more than a dozen pupils who gave her ample employment for her time and who enabled her to earn more than enough for her simple wants
Every Sunday she dined with Mrs Austin Clement had persuaded his mother to make this arrangement a settled thing although as yet he had said nothing of his growing love for Margaret
Those Sundays were pleasant days to Clement and the girl whom he hoped to win for his wife
The comfortable elegance of Mrs Austins drawingroom the peaceful quiet of the Sabbathevening when the curtains were drawn before the baywindow and the shaded lamp brought into the room the intellectual conversation the pleasant talk about new books and music all were new and delightful to Margaret
This was her first experience of a home a real home in which there was nothing but union and content no overshadowing fear no horrible unspoken dread no halfguessed secrets always gnawing at the heart But in all this new comfort Margaret Wilmot had not forgotten Henry Dunbar She had not ceased to believe him guilty of her fathers murder Calm and gentle in her outward demeanour she kept her secret buried in her breast and asked for no sympathy
Clement Austin had given her his best attention his best advice but it all amounted to nothing The different scraps of evidence that hinted at Henry Dunbars guilt were not strong enough to condemn him The cashier communicated with the detective police who had been watching the case but they only shook their heads gravely and dismissed him with their thanks for his information There was nothing in what he had to tell them that could implicate Mr Dunbar
A gentleman with a million of money doesnt put himself in the power of the hangman unless hes very hard pushed said the detective The motives what you must look to in these cases sir Now wheres Mr Dunbars motive for murdering this man Wilmot
The secret that Joseph Wilmot possessed
Bah my dear sir Henry Dunbar could afford to buy all the secrets that ever were kept Secrets are like every other sort of article theyre only kept to sell Good morning
After this Clement Austin told Margaret that he could be of no use to her The dead man must rest in his grave there was little hope that the mystery of his fate would ever be fathomed by human intelligence
But Margaret Wilmot did not cease to remember Mr Dunbar She only waited
One resolution was always uppermost in her mind even when she was happiest with her new friends She would see Henry Dunbar In spite of his obstinate determination to avoid an interview with her she would see him and then when she had gained her purpose and stood face to face with him she would boldly denounce him as her fathers murderer If then he did not flinch or falter if she saw innocence in his face she would cease to doubt him she would be content to believe that Joseph Wilmot had met his untimely death from a strangers hand
CHAPTER XXII
THE STEEPLECHASE
After considerable discussion it was settled that Laura Dunbars wedding should take place upon the 7th of November It was to be a very quiet wedding The banker had especially impressed that condition upon his daughter His health was entirely broken and he would assist in no splendid ceremonial to which half the county would be invited If Laura wanted bridesmaids she might have Dora Macmahon and any particular friend who lived in the neighbourhood There was to be no fuss no publicity Marriage was a very solemn business Mr Dunbar said and it would be as well for his daughter to be undisturbed by any pomp or gaiety on her weddingday So the marriage was appointed to take place on the 7th and the arrangements were to be as simple as the circumstances of the bride would admit Sir Philip was quite willing that it should be so He was much too happy to take objection to any such small matters He only wanted the sacred words to be spoken which made Laura Dunbar his own for ever and for ever He wanted to take her away to the southern regions where he had travelled so gaily in his careless bachelor days where he would be so supremely happy now with his bright young bride by his side Fortune who certainly spoils some of her children had been especially beneficent to this young man She had given him so many of her best gifts and had bestowed upon him over and above the power to enjoy her favours
It happened that the 6th of November was a day which some time since Philip Jocelyn would have considered the most important if not the happiest day of the year It was the date of the Shorncliffe steeplechases and the baronet had engaged himself early in the preceding spring to ride his thoroughbred mare Guinevere for a certain silver cup subscribed for by the officers stationed at the Shorncliffe barracks
Philip Jocelyn looked forward to this race with a peculiar interest for it was to be the last he would ever ridethe very last he had given this solemn promise to Laura who had in vain tried to persuade him against even this race She was brave enough upon ordinary occasions but she loved her betrothed husband too dearly to be brave on this
I know its very foolish of me Philip she said but I cant help being frightened I cant help thinking of all the accidents Ive ever heard of or read of Ive dreamt of the race ever so many times Philip Oh if you would only give it up for my sake
My darling my pet is there anything I would not do for your sake that I could do in honour But I cant do this Laura dearest You see Im all right myself and the mares in splendid conditionwell you saw her take her trial gallop the other morning and you must know shes a flyer so I wont talk about her My name was entered for this race six months ago you know dear and there are lots of small farmers and country people who have speculated their money on me and theyd all lose poor fellows if I hung back at the last You dont know what playorpay bets are Laura dear Theres nothing in the world I wouldnt do for your sake but my backers are poor people and I cant put them in a hole I must ride Laura and ride to win too
Miss Dunbar knew what this last phrase meant and she conjured up the image of her lover flying across country on that fiery chestnut mare whose reputation was familiar to almost every man woman and child in Warwickshire but whatever her fears might be she was obliged to be satisfied with her lovers promise that this should be his last steeplechase
The day came at last a pale November day mild but not sunny The sky was all of one equal grey tint and seemed to hang only a little way above the earth The caps and jackets of the gentleman riders made spots of colour against that uniform grey sky and the dresses of the ladies in the humble wooden structure which did duty as a grand stand brightened the level landscape
The course formed a long oval and extended over three or four meadows and crossed a country lane It was a tolerably flat course but the leaps though roughly constructed were rather formidable Laura had been over all the ground with her lover on the previous day and had looked fearfully at the high ragged hedges and the broad ditches of muddy water But Philip only made light of her fears and told her the leaps were nothing scarcely worthy of the chestnut mares powers
The course was not crowded but there was a considerable sprinkling of spectators on each side of the ropesoldiers from the Shorncliffe barracks country people and loiterers of all kinds There were a couple of drags crowded with the officers and their friends who clustered in all manner of perilous positions on the roof and consumed unlimited champagne bitter beer and lobstersalad in the pauses between the races A single line of carriages extended for some little distance opposite the grand stand The scene was gay and pleasant as a raceground always must be even though it were in the wildest regions of the New World but it was very quiet as compared to Epsom Downs or the open heath at Ascot
Conspicuous amongst the vehicles there was a close carriage drawn by a pair of magnificent baysan equipage which was only splendid in the perfection of its appointments It was a clarence with dark subduedlooking panels only ornamented by a vermilion crest The liveries of the servants were almost the simplest upon the course but the powdered heads of the men and an indescribable something in their style distinguished them from the countrybred coachmen and hobbledehoy pages in attendance on the other carriages
Almost every one on the course knew that crest of an armed hand clasping a battleaxe and knew that it belonged to Henry Dunbar The banker appeared so very seldom in public that there was always a kind of curiosity about him when he did show himself and between the races people who were strolling upon the ground contrived to approach very near the carriage in which the master of Maudesley Abbey sat wrapped in Cashmere shawls and halfhidden under a great fur rug in legitimate Indian fashion
He had consented to appear upon the racecourse in compliance with his daughters most urgent entreaties She wanted him to be near her She had some vague idea that he might be useful in the event of any accident happening to Philip Jocelyn He might help her It would be some consolation some support to have him with her He might be able to do something Her father had yielded to her entreaties with a very tolerable grace and he was here but having conceded so much he seemed to have done all that his frigid nature was capable of doing He took no interest in the business of the day but lounged far back in the carriage and complained very much of the cold
The vehicle had been drawn close up to the boundary of the course and Laura sat at the open window pale and anxious straining her eyes towards the weighinghouse and the paddock the little bit of enclosed ground where the horses were saddled She could see the gentleman riders going in and out and the one rider on whose safety her happiness depended muffled in his greatcoat and very busy and animated amongst his grooms and helpers Everybody knew who Miss Dunbar was and that she was going to be married to the young baronet and people looked with interest at that pale face keeping such anxious watch at the carriagewindow I am speaking now of the simple country people for whom a race meant a days pleasure There were people on the other side of the course who cared very little for Miss Dunbar or her anxiety who would have cared as little if the handsome young baronet had rolled upon the sward crushed to death under the weight of his chestnut mare so long as they themselves were winners by the event In the little enclosure below the grand stand the betting menthat strange fraternity which appears on every racecourse from BerwickonTweed to the LandsEnd from the banks of the Shannon to the smooth meads of pleasant Normandywere gathered thick and the talk was loud about Sir Philip and his competitors
Among the men who were ready to lay against anything and were most unpleasantly vociferous in the declaration of their readiness there was one man who was well known to the humbler class of bookmen with whom he associated who was known to speculate upon very small capital but who had never been known as a defaulter The knowing ones declared this man worthy to rank high amongst the best of them but no one knew where he lived or what he was He was rarely known to miss a race and he was conspicuous amongst the crowd in those mysterious purlieus where the plebeian bookmen who are unworthy to enter the sacred precincts of Tattersalls mostly do congregate in utter defiance of the police No one had ever heard the name of this man but in default of any more particular cognomen they had christened him the Major because in his curt manners his closely buttonedup coat tightlystrapped trousers and heavy moustache there was a certain military flavour which had given rise to the rumour that the unknown had in some remote period been one of the defenders of his country Whether he had enlisted as a private and had been boughtoff by his friends whether he had borne the rank of an officer and had sold his commission or had been cashiered or had deserted or had been drummedout of his regimentno one pretended to say People called him the Major and wherever he appeared the Major made himself conspicuous by means of a very tall white hat with a broad black crape band round it
He was tall himself and the hat made him seem taller His clothes were very shabby with that peculiar shiny shabbiness which makes a man look as if he had been oiled all over and then rubbed into a high state of polish He wore a greenishbrown greatcoat with a poodle collar and was supposed to have worn the same for the last ten years Round his neck be the weather ever so sultry he wore a comforter of rusty worsted that had once been scarlet and above this comforter appeared his nose which was a prominent aquiline Nobody ever saw much more of the Major than his nose and his moustache His hat came low down over his forehead which was itself low and a pair of beetle brows of a dense purpleblack were faintly visible in the shadow of the brim He never took off his hat in the presence of his fellowmen and as he never encountered the fair sex except in the person of the barmaid at a sporting public he was not called upon to unbonnet himself in ceremonious obeisance to lovely woman He was eminently a mysterious man and seemed to enjoy himself in the midst of the cloud of mystery which surrounded him
The Major had inspected the starters for the great event of the day and had sharply scrutinized the gentleman riders as they went in and out of the paddock He was so well satisfied with the look of Sir Philip Jocelyn and the chestnut mare Guinevere that he contented himself with laying the odds against all the other horses and allowed the baronet and the chestnut to run for him He asked a few questions presently about Sir Philip who had taken off his greatcoat by this time and appeared in all the glory of a scarlet satin jacket and a black velvet cap A Warwickshire farmer who had found his way in among the knowing ones informed the Major that Sir Philip Jocelyn was going to be married to Miss Dunbar only daughter and sole heiress of the great Mr Dunbar
The great Mr Dunbar The Major usually so imperturbable gave a little start at the mention of the bankers name
What Mr Dunbar he asked
The banker Him as come home from the Indies last August
The Major gave a long low whistle but he asked no further question of the farmer He had a memorandumbook in his handa greasy and grimylooking little volume whose pages he was wont to study profoundly from time to time and in which he jotted down all manner of queer hieroglyphics with half an inch of fat leadpencil He relapsed into the contemplation of this book now but he muttered to himself ever and anon in undertones and his mutterings had relation to Henry Dunbar
Its him he muttered thats lucky I read all about that Winchester business in the Sunday papers Ive got it all at my fingersends and I dont see why I shouldnt make a trifle out of it I dont see why I shouldnt win a little money upon Henry Dunbar Ill have a look at my gentleman presently when the race is over
The bell rang and the seven starters went off with a rush four abreast and three behind Sir Philip was among the four foremost riders keeping the chestnut well in hand and biding his time very quietly This was his last race and he had set his heart upon winning Laura leaned out of the carriagewindow pale and breathless with a powerful raceglass in her hand She watched the riders as they swept round the curve in the course Then they disappeared and the few minutes during which they were out of sight seemed an age to that anxious watcher The people run away to see them take the double leap in the lane and then come trooping back again panting and eager as three of the riders appear again round another bend of the course
The scarlet leads this time The honest country people hurrah for the master of Jocelyns Rock Have they not put their money upon him and are they not proud of himproud of his handsome face which amid all its easy goodnature has a certain dash of hauteur that befits one who has a sprinkling of the blood of Saxon kings in his veins proud of his generous heart which beats with a thousand kindly impulses towards his fellowmen They shout aloud as he flies past them the long stride of the chestnut skimming over the ground and spattering fragments of torn grass and ploughedup earth about him as he goes Laura sees the scarlet jacket rise for a moment against the low grey sky and then fly onward and that is about all she sees of the dreaded leap which she had looked at in fear and trembling the day before Her heart is still beating with a strange vague terror when her lover rides quietly past the stand and the people about her cry out that the race has been nobly won The other riders come in very slowly and are oppressed by that indescribable air of sheepishness which is peculiar to gentleman jockeys when they do not win
The girls eyes fill suddenly with tears and she leans back in the carriage glad to hide her happy face from the crowd
Ten minutes afterwards Sir Philip Jocelyn came across the course with a great silvergilt cup in his arms and surrounded by an admiring throng amongst whom he had just emptied his purse
Ive brought you the cup Laura and I want you to be pleased with my victory Its the last triumph of my bachelor days you know darling
Three cheers for Miss Dunbar shouted some adventurous spirit among the crowd about the baronet
In the next moment the cry was taken up and two or three hundred voices joined in a loud hurrah for the bankers daughter The poor girl drew back into the carriage blushing and frightened
Dont mind them Laura dear Sir Philip said they mean well you know and they look upon me as public property Hadnt you better give them a bow Mr Dunbar he added in an undertone to the banker Itll please them I know
Mr Dunbar frowned but he bent forward for a moment and leaning his head a little way out of the window made a stately acknowledgment of the peoples enthusiasm As he did so his eyes met those of the Major who had crossed the course with Sir Philip and his admirers and who was staring straight before him at the bankers carriage Henry Dunbar drew back immediately after making that very brief salute to the populace Tell them to drive home Sir Philip he said The people mean well I dare say but I hate these popular demonstrations Theres something to be done about the settlements bythebye youd better dine at the Abbey this evening John Lovell will be there to meet you
The carriage drove away and though the Major pushed his way through the crowd pretty rapidly he was too late to witness its departure He was in a very good temper however for he had won what his companions called a hatful of money on the steeplechase and he stood to win on other races that were to come off that afternoon During the interval that elapsed before the next race he talked to a sociable bystander about Sir Philip Jocelyn and the young lady he was going to marry He ascertained that the wedding was to take place the next morning and at Lisford church
In that case thought the Major as he went back to the ring I shall sleep at Lisford tonight I shall make Lisford my quarters for the present and I shall follow up Henry Dunbar
CHAPTER XXIII
THE BRIDE THAT THE RAIN RAINS ON
There was no sunshine upon Laura Dunbars wedding morning The wintry sky was low and dark as if the heavens had been coming gradually down to crush this wicked earth The damp fog the slow drizzling rain shut out the fair landscape upon which the bankers daughter had been wont to look from the pleasant cushioned seat in the deep baywindow of her dressingroom
The broad lawn was soddened by that perpetual rain The incessant raindrops dripped from the low branches of the black spreading cedars of Lebanon the smooth beads of water ran off the shining laurelleaves the rhododendrons the feathery furze the glistening arbutuseverything was obscured by that cruel rain
The water gushed out of the quaint dragons mouths ranged along the parapet of the Abbey roof it dripped from every stone coping and abutment from windowledge and porch from gableend and sheltering ivy The rain was everywhere and the incessant pitterpatter of the drops beating against the windows of the Abbey made a dismal sound scarcely less unpleasant to hear than the perpetual lamentation of the winds which today had the sound of human voices now moaning drearily with a long low wailing murmur now shrieking in the shrilly tones of an angry vixen
Laura Dunbar gave a long discontented sigh as she seated herself at her favourite baywindow and looked out at the dripping trees upon the lawn below
She was a petted heiress remember and the world had gone so smoothly with her hitherto that perhaps she scarcely endured calamity or contradiction with so good a grace as she might have done had she been a little nearer perfection She was hardly better than a child as yet with all a childs ignorant hopefulness and blind trust in the unknown future She was a pampered child and she expected to have life made very smooth for her
What a horribly dismal morning Miss Dunbar exclaimed Did you ever see anything like it Elizabeth
Mrs Madden was bustling about arranging her young mistresss breakfast upon a little table near the blazing fire Laura had just emerged from her bath room and had put on a loose dressinggown of wadded blue silk prior to the grand ceremonial of the wedding toilet which was not to take place until after breakfast
I think Miss Dunbar looked lovelier in this déshabille than many a bride in her lace and orangeblossoms The girls long golden hair wet from the bath hung in rippling confusion about her fresh young face Two little feet carelessly thrust into blue morocco slippers peeped out from amongst the folds of Miss Dunbars dressinggown and one coquettish scarlet heel tapped impatiently upon the floor as the young lady watched that provoking rain
What a wretched morning she said
Well Miss Laura it is rather wet replied Mrs Madden in a conciliating tone
Rather wet echoed Laura with an air of vexation I should think it was rather wet indeed Its miserably wet its horribly wet To think that the frost should have lasted very nearly three weeks and then must needs break up on my wedding morning Did ever anybody know anything so provoking
Lor Miss Laura rejoined the sympathetic Madden theres all manner of provoking things allus happenin in this blessed wicked rampagious world of ours only such young ladies as you dont often come across em Talk of being born with a silver spoon in your mouth Miss Laura I do think as you must have come into this mortal spear with a whole service of gold plate And dont you fret your precious heart my blessed Miss Laura if the rain is contrairy I dare say the clerk of the weather is one of them rampagin radicals thats allus a goin on about the bloated aristocracy and hes done it a purpose to aggeravate you But whats a little rain more or less to you Miss Laura when youve got more carriages to ride in than if you was a princess in a fairy tale which I think the Princess Baltroubadore or whatever her hard name was in the story of Aladdin must have had no carriage whatever or she wouldnt have gone walkin to the baths Never you mind the rain Miss Laura
But its a bad omen isnt it Elizabeth asked Laura Dunbar I seem to remember some old rhyme about the bride that the sun shines on and the bride that the rain rains on
Laws Miss Laura you dont mean to say as youd bemean yourself by taking any heed of such low rubbish as that exclaimed Mrs Madden why such stupid rhymes as them are only made for vulgar people that have the banns put up in the parish church A deal it matters to such as you Miss Laura if all the cats and dogs as ever was come down out of the heavens this blessed day
But though honesthearted Elizabeth Madden did her best to comfort her young mistress after her own simple fashion she was not herself altogether satisfied
The low brooding sky the dark and murky atmosphere and that monotonous rain would have gone far to depress the spirits of the gayest reveller in all the universe
In spite of ourselves we are the slaves of atmospheric influences and we cannot feel very lighthearted or happy upon black wintry days when the lowering heavens seem to frown upon our hopes when in the darkening of the earthly prospect we fancy that we see a shadowy curtain closing round an unknown future
Laura felt something of this for she said byandby half impatiently half mournfully
What is the matter with me Elizabeth Has all the world changed since yesterday When I drove home with papa after the races yesterday everything upon earth seemed so bright and beautiful Such an overpowering sense of joy was in my heart that I could scarcely believe it was winter and that it was only the fading November sunshine that lit up the sky All my future life seemed spread before me like an endless series of beautiful picturespictures in which I could see Philip and myself always together always happy Today today oh how different everything is exclaimed Laura with a little shudder The sky that shuts in the lawn yonder seems to shut in my life with it I cant look forward If I was going to be parted from Philip today instead of married to him I dont think I could feel more miserable than I feel now Why is it Elizabeth dear
My goodness gracious me cried Mrs Madden how should I tell my precious pet You talk just like a poetrybook and how can I answer you unless I was another poetrybook Come and have your breakfast do thats a dear sweet love and try a newlaid egg Newlaid eggs is good for the spirits my poppet
Laura Dunbar seated herself in the comfortable armchair between the fireplace and the little breakfasttable She made a sort of pretence at eating just to please her old nurse who fidgeted about the room now stopping by Lauras chair and urging her to take this that or the other now running to the dressingtable to make some new arrangement about the allimportant weddingtoilet now looking out of the window and perjuring her simple soul by declaring that itnamely the winter skywas going to clear up
Its breaking up above the elms yonder Miss Laura Elizabeth said theres a bit of blue peepin through the clouds leastways if it aint quite blue its a much lighter black than the rest of the sky and thats something Eat a bit of Perrigorge pie or a thin wafer of a slice off that Strasbog am Miss Laura do now Youll be ready to drop with feelin faint when you get to the altarrails if you persist on bein married on a empty stummick Miss Laura Its a moriel impossible as you can look your best my precious love if you enter the church in a state of starvation just like one of them respectable beggars wot pins a piece of paper on their weskits with I AM HUNGRY wrote upon it in large hand and stands at the foot of one of the bridges on the Surrey side of the water And I shouldnt think as you would wish to look like that Miss Laura on your weddingday I shouldnt if I was goin to be own wife to a baronet
Laura Dunbar took very little notice of her nurses rambling discourse and I am fain to confess that upon this occasion Mrs Madden talked rather more for the sake of talking than from any overflow of animal spirits
The good creature felt the influence of the cold wet cheerless morning quite as keenly as her mistress Mrs Madden was superstitious as most ignorant and simpleminded people generally are more or less Superstition is after all only a dim unconscious poetry which is latent in most natures except in such very hard practical minds as are incapable of believing in anythingnot even in Heaven itself
Dora Macmahon came in presently looking very pretty in blue silk and white lace She looked very happy in spite of the bad weather and Miss Dunbar suffered herself to be comforted by her halfsister The two girls sat at the table by the fire and breakfasted or pretended to breakfast together Who could really attend to the common business of eating and drinking on such a day as this
Ive just been to see Lizzie and Ellen Dora said presently they wouldnt come in here till they were dressed and theyve had their hair screwed up in hairpins all night to make it wave and now its a wet day their hair wont wave after all and their maids going to pinch it with the fireironsthe tongs I suppose
Miss Macmahon had brown hair with a natural ripple in it and could afford to laugh at beauty that was obliged to adorn itself by means of hairpins and tongs
Lizzie and Ellen were the daughters of a Major Melville and the special friends of Miss Dunbar They had come to Maudesley to act as her bridesmaids according to that favourite promise which young ladies so often make to each other and so very often break
Laura did not appear to take much interest in the Miss Melvilles hair She was very meditative about something but her meditations must have been of a pleasant nature for there was a smile upon her face
Dora she said byandby do you know Ive been thinking about something
About what dear
Dont you know that old saying about one wedding making many
Dora Macmahon blushed
What of that Laura dear she asked very innocently
Ive been thinking that perhaps another wedding may follow mine Oh Dora I cant help saying it I should be so happy if Arthur Lovell and you were to marry
Miss Macmahon blushed a much deeper red than before
Oh Laura she said thats quite impossible
But Miss Dunbar shook her head
I shall live in the hope of it notwithstanding she said I love Arthur almost as muchor perhaps quite as much as if he were my brotherso it isnt strange that I should wish to see him married to my sister
The two girls might have sat talking for some time longer but they were interrupted by Miss Dunbars old nurse who never for a moment lost sight of the serious business of the day
Its all very well for you to sit there jabber jabber jabber Miss Dora exclaimed the unceremonious Elizabeth youre dressed all but your bonnet Youve only just to pop that on and there you are But my young lady isnt half dressed yet And now come along Miss Laura and have your hair done if you mean to have any backhair at all today Its past nine oclock and youre to be at the church at eleven
And papa is to give me away murmured Laura in a low voice as she seated herself before the dressingtable I wish he loved me better
Perhaps if he loved you too well hed keep you instead of giving you away Miss Laura observed Mrs Madden with evident enjoyment of her own wit and I dont suppose youd care about that would you miss Hold your head still thats a precious darling and dont you trouble yourself about anything except looking your very best this day
CHAPTER XXIV
THE UNBIDDEN GUEST WHO CAME TO LAURA DUNBARS WEDDING
The wedding was to take place in Lisford churchthat pretty quaint old church of which I have already spoken
The wandering Avon flowed through this rustic churchyard along a winding channel fringed by tall trembling rushes There was a wooden bridge across the river and there were two opposite entrances to the churchyard Pedestrians who chose the shortest route between Lisford and Shorncliffe went in at one gate and out at another which opened on to the highroad
The worthy inhabitants of Lisford were almost as much distressed by the unpromising aspect of the sky as Laura Dunbar and her faithful nurse themselves New bonnets had been specially prepared for this festive occasion Chrysanthemums and dahlias gaylooking Chinaasters and all the lingering flowers that light up the early winter landscape had been collected to strew the pathway beneath the brides pretty feet All the brightest evergreens in the Lisford gardens had been gathered as a fitting sacrifice for the young lady from the Abbey
Laura Dunbars frank goodnature and reckless generosity were well remembered upon this occasion and every creature in Lisford was bent upon doing her honour
But this aggravating rain balked everybody What was the use of throwing wet dahlias and flabby chrysanthemums into the puddles through which the bride must tread heiress though she was How miserable would be the aspect of two rows of damp charity children with red noses and no pockethandkerchiefs The rector himself had a cold in his head and would be obliged to omit all the ns and ms in the marriage service
In short everybody felt that the Abbey wedding was destined to be more or less a failure It seemed very hard that the chief partner in the firm of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby could not with all his wealth buy a little glimmer of sunshine to light up his daughters wedding It grew so dark and foggy towards eleven oclock that a dozen or so of waxcandles were hastily stuck about the neighbourhood of the altar in order that the bride and bridegroom might be able each of them to see the person that he or she was taking for better or worse
Yes the dismal weather made everything dismal in unison with itself A wet wedding is like a wet picnic The most heroic nature gives way before its utter desolation the wit of the party forgets his best anecdote the funny man breaks down in the climactic verse of his great buffo song there is no brightness in the eyes of the beauty there is neither sparkle nor flavour in the champagne though the grapes thereof have been grown in the vineyards of Widow Cliquot herself
There are some things that are more powerful than emperors and the atmosphere is one of them Alexander might conquer nations in very sport but I question whether he could have resisted the influence of a wet day
Of all the people who were to assist at Sir Philip Jocelyns wedding perhaps the father of the bride was the person who seemed least affected by that drizzling rain that hopelesslyblack sky
If Henry Dunbar was grave and silent today why that was nothing new for he was always grave and silent If the bankers manner was stern and moody today that stern moodiness was habitual to him and there was no need to blame the murky heavens for any change in his temper He sat by the broad fireplace watching the burning coals and waiting until he should be summoned to take his place by his daughters side in the carriage that was to convey them both to Lisford church and he did not utter one word of complaint about that aggravating weather
He looked very handsome very aristocratic with his grey moustache carefully trimmed and a white camellia in his buttonhole Nevertheless when he came out into the hall byandby with a set smile upon his face like a man who is going to act a part in a play Laura Dunbar recoiled from him with an involuntary shiver as she had done upon the day of her first meeting with him in Portland Place
But he offered her his hand and she laid the tips of her fingers in his broad palm and went with him to the carriage Ask God to bless me upon this day papa the girl said in a low tender voice as these two people took their places side by side in the roomy chariot
Laura Dunbar laid her hand caressingly upon the bankers shoulder as she spoke It was not a time for reticence it was not an occasion upon which to be put off by any girlish fear of this stern silent man
Ask God to bless me father dearest the soft tremulous voice pleaded for the sake of my dead mother
She tried to see his face but she could not His head was turned away and he was busy making some alteration in the adjustment of the carriagewindow The chariot had cost nearly three hundred pounds and was very well built but there was something wrong about the window nevertheless if one might judge by the difficulty which Mr Dunbar had in settling it to his satisfaction
He spoke presently in a very earnest voice but with his head still turned away from Laura
I hope God will bless you my dear he said and that He will have pity upon your enemies
This last wish was more Christianlike than natural since fathers do not usually implore compassion for the enemies of their children
But Laura Dunbar did not trouble herself to think about this She only knew that her father had called down Heavens blessing upon her and that his manner had betrayed such agitation as could of course only spring from one cause namely his affection for his daughter
She threw herself into his arms with a radiant smile and putting up her hands drew his face round and pressed her lips to his
But as on the day in Portland Place a chill crept through her veins as she felt the deadly coldness of her fathers hands lifted to push her gently from him
It is a common thing for AngloIndians to be quiet and reserved in their manners and strongly adverse to all demonstrations of this kind Laura remembered this and made excuses to herself for her fathers coldness
The rain was still falling as the carriage stopped at the churchyard There were only three carriages in this brief bridal train for Mr Dunbar had insisted that there should be no grandeur no display
The two Miss Melvilles Dora Macmahon and Arthur Lovell rode in the same carriage Major Melvilles daughters looked very pale and cold in their whiteandblue dresses and the northeaster had tweaked their noses which were rather sharp and pointed in style They would have looked pretty enough poor girls had the wedding taken place in summertime but they had not that splendid exceptional beauty which can defy all changes of temperature and which is alike glorious whether clad in abject rags or robed in velvet and ermine
The carriages reached the little gate of Lisford churchyard Philip Jocelyn came out of the porch and down the narrow pathway leading to the gate
The drizzling rain descended on him though he was a baronet and though he came bareheaded to receive his bride
I think the Lisford beadle who was a sound Tory of the old school almost wondered that the heavens themselves should be audacious enough to wet the uncovered head of the lord of Jocelyns Rock
But it went on raining nevertheless
Times has changed sir said the beadle to an idlelooking stranger who was standing near him I have read in a history of Warwickshire that when Algernon Jocelyn was married to Dame Margery Milward widow to Sir Stephen Milward knight in Charles the Firsts time there was a clothofgold canopy from the gate yonder to this porch here and two moving turrets of basketwork each of em drawn by four horses and filled with forty poor children crowned with roses lookin out of the turret winders and scatterin scented waters on the crowd and there was a banquet sir served up at noon that day at Jocelyns Rock with six peacocks brought to table with their tails spread and a pie served in a gold dish with live doves in it every feather of em steeped in the rarest perfume which they was intended to sprinkle over the company as they flew about here and there Butwould you believe in such a radical spirit pervadin the animal creationevery one of them doves flew straight out of the winder and went and scattered their perfumes on the poor folks outside Theres no such weddins as that nowadays sir said the old beadle with a groan As I often say to my old missus I dont believe as ever England has held up its head since the day when Charles the Martyr lost hisn
Laura Dunbar went up the narrow pathway by her fathers side but Philip Jocelyn walked upon her left hand and the crowd had enough to do to stare at bride and bridegroom
The baronets face which was always a handsome one looked splendid in the light of his happiness People disputed as to whether the bride or bridegroom was handsomest and Laura forgot all about the wet weather as she laid her light hand on Philip Jocelyns arm
The churchyard was densely crowded in the neighbourhood of the pathway along which the bride and bridegroom walked In spite of the miserable weather in defiance of Mr Dunbars desire that the wedding should be a quiet one people had come from a very long distance in order to see the millionaires beautiful daughter married to the master of Jocelyns Rock
Amongst the spectators who had come to witness Miss Dunbars wedding was the tall gentleman in the high white hat who was known in sporting circles as the Major and who had exhibited so much interest when the name of Henry Dunbar was mentioned on the Shorncliffe racecourse The Major had been very lucky in his speculations on the Shorncliffe races and had gone straight away from the course to the village of Lisford where he took up his abode at the Hose and Crown a brightlooking hostelry where a traveller could have his steak or his chop done to a turn in one of the cosiest kitchens in all Warwickshire The Major was very reserved upon the subject of his sporting operations when he found himself among unprofessional people and upon such occasions though he would now and then condescend to lay the odds against anything with some unconscious agriculturalist or village tradesman his innocence with regard to all turf matters was positively refreshing
He was a traveller in Birmingham jewellery he told the land lady of the quiet little inn and was on his way to that busy commercial centre to procure a fresh supply of glass emeralds and a score or so of gigantic rubies with crinkled tinsel behind them The Major usually somewhat silent and morose contrived to make himself very agreeable to the jovial frequenters of the comfortable little public parlour of the Rose and Crown
He took his dinner and his supper in that cosy apartment and he sat there all the evening listening to and joining in the conversation of the Lisfordians and drinking sixpennorths of ginandwater with the air of a man who could consume a hogshead of the juice of the juniperberry without experiencing any evil consequences therefrom He ate and drank like a man of iron and his glittering black eyes kept perpetual watch upon the faces of the simple country people and his eager ears drank in every word that was spoken Of course a great deal was said about the event of the next morning Everybody had something to say about Miss Dunbar and her wealthy father who lived so lonely and secluded at the Abbey and whose ways were altogether so different from those of his father before him
The Major listened to every syllable and only edgedin a word or two now and then when the conversation flagged or when there was a chance of the subject being changed
By this means he contrived to keep the Lisfordians constant to one topic all the evening and that topic was the manners and customs of Henry Dunbar
Very early on the morning of the wedding the Major made his appearance in the churchyard As for the incessant rain that was nothing to him he was used to it and moreover the wet weather gave him a good excuse for buttoning his coat to the chin and turning the poodle collar over his big red ears
He found the door of the church ajar early though it was and going in softly he came upon the Tory beadle and some damp charity children
The Major contrived to engage the Tory beadle in conversation which was not very difficult seeing that the aforesaid beadle was always ready to avail himself of any opportunity of hearing his own voice Of course the loquacious beadle talked chiefly of Sir Philip Jocelyn and the bankers daughter and again the sporting gentleman from London heard of Henry Dunbars riches
I have heerd as Mr Dunbar is the richest man in Europe exceptin the Hemperore of Roosia and Baron Rothschild the beadle said but I dont know anythink more than that hes got a deal more money than he knows what to do with seein that he passes the best part of his days sittin over the fire in his own room or ridin out after dark on horseback if report speaks correct
I tell you what Ill do said the Major as I am in Lisfordand to be candid with you Lisfords about the dullest place it was ever my bad luck to visitwhy Ill stay and have a look at this wedding I suppose you can put me into a quiet pew back yonder in the shadow where I can see all thats going on without any of your fine folks seeing me eh
As the Major emphasized this question by dropping halfacrown into the beadles hand that official answered it very promptly
Ill put you into the comfortablest pew you ever sat in answered the official
You might do that easily muttered the sporting gentleman below his breath for theres not many pews or churches either that Ive ever sat in
The Major took his place in a corner of the church whence there was a very good view of the altar where the feeble flames of the waxcandles made little splashes of yellow light in the fog
The fog got thicker and thicker in the church as the hour for the marriage ceremony drew nearer and nearer and the light of the waxcandles grew brighter as the atmosphere became more murky
The Major sat patiently in his pew with his arms folded upon the ledge where the prayerbooks in the corner of the seats were wont to rest during divine service He planted his bristly chin upon his folded arms and closed his eyes in a kind of dogsleep
But in this sleep he could hear everything going on He heard the hobnailed soles of the charity children pattering upon the floor of the church he heard the sharp rustling of the evergreens and wet flowers under the childrens figures and he could hear the deep voice of Philip Jocelyn talking to the clergyman in the porch as he waited the arrival of the carriages from Maudesley Abbey
The carriages arrived at last and presently the weddingtrain came up the narrow aisle and took their places about the altarrails Henry Dunbar stood behind his daughter with his face in shadow
The marriageservice was commenced The Majors eyes were wide open now Those sharp eager black eyes took notice of everything They rested now upon the bride now upon the bridegroom now upon the faces of the rector and his curate
Sometimes those glittering eyes strove to pierce the gloom and to see the other faces the faces that were farther away from the flickering yellow light of the waxcandles but the gloom was not to be pierced even by the sharpest eyes
The Major could only see four facesthe faces of the bride and bridegroom the rector and his curate But byandby when one of the clergymen asked the familiar questionWho giveth this woman to be married to this man Henry Dunbar came forward into the light of the waxcandles and gave the appointed answer
The Majors folded arms dropped off the ledge as if they had been suddenly paralyzed He sat breathing hard and quick and staring at Mr Dunbar
Henry Dunbar he muttered to himself presentlyHenry Dunbar
Mr Dunbar did not again retire into the shadow He remained during the rest of the ceremony standing where the light shone full upon his handsome face
When all was over and the bride and bridegroom had signed their names in the vestry before admiring witnesses the sporting gentleman rose and walked softly out of the pew and along one of the obscure sideaisles
The weddingparty passed out of the churchporch The Major followed slowly
Philip Jocelyn and his bride went straight to the carriage that was to convey them back to the Abbey
Dora Macmahon and the two pale Bridesmaids with areophane bonnets that had become hopelessly limp from exposure to that cruel rain took their places in the second carriage They were accompanied by Arthur Lovell whom they looked upon with no very great favour for he had been silent and melancholy throughout the drive from Maudesley Abbey to Lisford Church and had stared at them with vacant indifference while handing them out of the carriage with a mechanical kind of politeness that was almost insulting
The two first carriages drove away from the churchyardgate and the mud upon the highroad splashed the closed windows of the vehicles as the wheels went round
The third carriage waited for Henry Dunbar and the crowd in the churchyard waited to see him get into it
He had his foot upon the lowest step and his hand upon the door when the Major went up to him and tapped him lightly upon the shoulder
The spectators recoiled aghast with indignant astonishment
How dared this shabbylooking man with clumsy boots that were queer about the heels and a mangy fur collar like the skin of an invalid French poodle to his threadbare coathow in the name of all that is audacious dared such a low person as this lay his dirty fingers upon the sacred shoulder of Henry Dunbar of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderbys bankinghouse St Gundolph Lane City
The millionaire turned and grew as ashy pale at sight of the shabby stranger as he could have done if the sheeted dead had risen from one of the graves near at hand But he uttered no exclamation of horror or surprise He only shrank haughtily away from the Majors touch as if there had been some infection to be dreaded from those dirty fingertips
May I be permitted to know your motive for this intrusion sir the banker asked in a cold repellent voice looking the shabby intruder full in the eyes as he spoke
There was something so resolute so defiant in the rich mans gaze that it is a wonder the poor man did not shrink from encountering it
But he did not he gave back look for look
Dont say youve forgotten me Mr Dunbar he said dont say youve forgotten a very old acquaintance
This was spoken after a pause in which the two men had looked at each other as earnestly as if each had been trying to read the inmost secrets of the others soul
Dont say youve forgotten me Mr Dunbar repeated the Major
Henry Dunbar smiled It was a forced smile perhaps but at any rate it was a smile
I have a great many acquaintances he said and I fancy you must have gone down in the world since I knew you if I may judge from appearances
The bystanders who had listened to every word began to murmur among themselves Yes indeed they should rather think soif ever this shabby stranger had known Mr Dunbar and if he was not altogether an impostor he must have been a very different sort of person at the time of his acquaintance with the millionaire
When and where did I know you asked Henry Dunbar with his eyes still looking straight into the eyes of the other man
Oh a long time agoa very long way off
Perhaps it wassomewhere in Indiaup the country said the banker very slowly
Yes it was in Indiaup the country answered the other
Then you wont find me slow to befriend you said Mr Dunbar I am always glad to be of service to any of my Indian acquaintanceseven when the world has treated them badly Get into my carriage and Ill drive you home I shall be able to talk to you byandby when all this wedding business is over
The two men seated themselves side by side upon the spring cushions of the bankers luxurious carriage and the vehicle drove rapidly away leaving the spectators in a rapture of admiration at Henry Dunbars condescension to his shabby Indian acquaintance
CHAPTER XXV
AFTER THE WEDDING
The banker and the man who was called the Major talked to each other earnestly enough throughout the short drive between Lisford churchyard and Maudesley Abbey but they spoke in low confidential whispers and their conversation was interlarded by all manner of strange phrases the queer outlandish words were Hindostanee no doubt and were by no means easy to comprehend
As the carriage drove up to the grand entrance of the Abbey the stranger looked out through the mudspattered window
A fine place he exclaimed a splendid place
What am I to call you here muttered Mr Dunbar as he got out of the carriage
You may call me anything as long as you do not call me when the soup is cold Ive a twopair back in the neighbourhood of St Martins Lane and Im known there as Mr Vavasor But Im not particular to a shade Call me anything that begins with a V Its as well to stick to one initial on account of ones linen
From the very small amount of linen exhibited in the Majors toilette a malicious person might have imagined that such a thing as a shirt was a luxury not included in that gentlemans wardrobe
Call me Vernon he said Vernon is a good name You may as well call me Major Vernon My friends at the Cornernot the Piccadilly corner but the corner of the waste ground at the back of Field Lanehave done me the honour to give me the rank of Major and I dont see why I shouldnt retain the distinction My proclivities are entirely aristocratic I have no power of assimilation with the canaille This is the sort of thing that suits me Here I am in my element
Mr Dunbar had led his shabby acquaintance into the low tapestried room in which he usually sat The Major rubbed his hands with a gesture of enjoyment as he looked at the evidences of wealth that were heedlessly scattered about the apartment He gave a long sigh of satisfaction as he dropped with a sudden plump upon the spring cushion of an easychair on one side of the fireplace
Now listen to me said Mr Dunbar I cant afford to talk to you this morning I have other duties to perform When theyre over Ill come and talk to you In the meantime you may sit here as long as you like and have what you please to eat or drink
Well I dont mind the wing of a fowl and a bottle of Burgundy Its a long time since Ive tasted Burgundy Chambertin or Clos de Vougeot at twelve bob a bottlethats the sort of tipple I rather flatter myselfeh
Henry Dunbar drew himself up with a slight shudder as if repelled and disgusted by the mans vulgarity
What do you want of me he asked Remember that I am waited for I am quite ready to serve youfor the sake of auld lang syne
Yes answered the Major with a sneer its so pleasant to remember auld lang syne
Well asked Mr Dunbar impatiently what is it you want of me
A bottle of Burgundythe best you have in your cellarsomething to eat andthat which a poor man generally asks of his rich friendshis fortunate friendsMONEY
You shall not find me illiberal towards you Ill come back byandby and write you a cheque
Youll make it a thumping one
Ill make it as much as you want
Thats the sort of thing There always was something princely and magnificent about you Mr Dunbar
You shall not have any reason to complain answered the banker very coldly
Youll send me the lunch
Yes You can hold your tongue I suppose You wont talk to the servant who waits upon you
Has your friend the manners of a gentleman or has he not Hasnt he had the eminent advantage of a collegiate educationI may say a prolongued course of collegiate study But look here since youre so afraid of my putting my foot in it suppose I go back to Lisford now and I can return to you tonight after dark Our business will keep I want a long talk and a quiet talk but I must suit my convenience to yours Its the deeyuty of the poorrr dependant to wait upon the perleasure of his patron exclaimed Major Vernon in the studied tones of the villain in a melodrama
Henry Dunbar gave a sigh of relief
Yes that will be much better he said I can talk to you comfortably after dinner
Tata then old boy Oh reservoir as we say in the classics
Major Vernon extended a brawny hand of rather doubtful purity The millionaire touched the broad palm with the tips of his gloved fingers
Goodbye he said I shall expect you at nine oclock You know your way out
He opened the door as he spoke and pointed through a vista of two or three adjoining rooms to the hall It was rather a broad hint The Major pulled the poodle collar still higher above his ears and went out with only his nose exposed to the influence of the atmosphere
Henry Dunbar shut the door and walked to one of the windows He leaned his forehead against the glass and looked out watching the tall figure of the Major as he walked rapidly along the broad carriagedrive that skirted the lawn
The banker watched his shabby acquaintance until Major Vernon was quite out of sight Then he went back to the fireplace dropped heavily into his chair and gave a long groan It was not a sigh it was a groana groan that seemed to come from a bosom that was rent by all the agony of despair
This decides it he muttered to himself Yes this decides it Ive seen it for a long time coming to a crisis But this settles everything
He got up passed his hand across his forehead and over his eyelids like a man who had just been awakened from a long sleep and then went to play his part in the grand business of the day
There is a very wide difference between the feelings of the poor adventurerwho by some lucky accident is enabled to pounce upon a rich friendand the sentiments of the wealthy victim who is pounced upon Nothing could present a stronger contrast than the manner of Henry Dunbar the banker and the gentleman who had elected to be called Major Vernon Whereas Mr Dunbar seemed plunged into the uttermost depths of despair by the sudden appearance of his old acquaintance the worthy Major exhibited a delight that was almost uproarious in its manifestation
It was not until he found himself in a very lonely part of the park where there were no other witnesses than the timid deer lurking here and there under the poor shelter of a clump of leafless elmsit was not till Major Vernon felt himself quite alone that he gave way to the full exuberance of his spirits
Its a goldmine he cried rubbing his hands its a regular California
He executed a grim caper in his delight and the scared deer fled away from the neighbourhood of his path perhaps they took him for some modern gnome dancing wild dances in the wet woodland He laughed aloud with a hollow fiendishsounding laugh and then clapped his hands together till the noise of his brawny palms echoed in the rustic silence
Henry Dunbar he said to himself Henry Dunbar Hell be a milch cownothing but a milch cow If he stopped suddenly and the triumphant grin upon his face changed to a thoughtful expression If he doesnt run away he said standing quite still and rubbing his chin slowly with the palm of his hand What if he should give me the slip He might do that
But after a moments pause he laughed aloud again and walked on briskly
No hell not do that he said it wont serve his turn to run away
While Major Vernon went back to Lisford Henry Dunbar took his seat at the breakfasttable with Laura Lady Jocelyn by his side
There was very little more gaiety at the weddingbreakfast than there had been at the wedding Everything was very elegant very subdued and aristocratic Silent footmen glided noiselessly backwards and forwards behind the chairs of the guests champagne Moselle hock and Burgundy sparkled in shallow glasses that were shaped like the broad leaf of a waterlily Dresdenchina shepherdesses in the centre of the oval table held up their chintzpatterned aprons filled with some forced strawberries that had cost about halfacrown apiece Smirking shepherds supported openwork baskets laden with tiny Algerian apples China oranges and big purple hothouse grapes
The bride and bridegroom were very happy but theirs was a subdued and quiet happiness that had little influence upon those around them The weddingbreakfast was a very silent meal for the face of the giver of the feast was as gloomy as the sky above Maudesley Abbey and every now and then in awkward pauses of the conversation the pattering of the incessant raindrops sounded upon the windows
At last the breakfast was finished A knife had been cunningly inserted in the outerwall of the splendid cake and a few morsels of the rich interior which looked like a kind of portable DayandMartin had been eaten by one of the bridesmaids Laura Jocelyn rose and left the table attended by the three young ladies
Elizabeth Madden was waiting in the brides dressingroom with Lady Jocelyns travellingdress laid in state upon a big sofa She kissed her young Miss and cried over her a little before she was equal to begin the business of the toilette and then the voices of the bridesmaids broke loose and there was a pleasant buzz of congratulation which beguiled the time while Laura was exchanging her bridal costume for a long rustling dress of dovecoloured silk a purplevelvet cloak trimmed and lined with sable and a miraculous fabric of palepink areophane and starry jasmineblossoms which the Parisian milliner facetiously entitled a bonnet
She went down stairs presently in this rich attire looking like a Russian empress in all the glory of her youth and beauty The travellingcarriage was standing at the door Arthur Lovell and Mr Dunbar were in the hall with the two clergymen Laura went up to her father to bid him goodbye
It will be a long time before we see each other again papa dear she said in tones that were only loud enough for Mr Dunbar to hear say God bless you once more before I go
Her head was on his breast and her face lifted up towards his own as she said this
The banker looked straight before him with a forced smile upon his face that was little more than a nervous contraction of the muscles about the lips
I will give you something better than my blessing Laura he said aloud I have given you no weddingpresent yet but I have not forgotten The gift I mean to present to you will take some time to prepare I shall give you the handsomest diamondnecklace that was ever made in England I shall buy the diamonds myself and have them set according to my own design
The bridesmaids gave a little murmur of delight
Laura pressed the speakers cold hand
I dont want any diamonds papa she whispered I only want your love
Mr Dunbar did not make any response to that entreating whisper There was no time for any answer perhaps for the bride and bridegroom had to catch an appointed train at Shorncliffe station which was to take them on the first stage of their Continental journey and in the bustle and confusion of their hurried departure the banker had no opportunity of saying anything more to his daughter But he stood in the Gothic porch watching the departing carriage with a kind of mournful tenderness in his face
I hope that she will be happy he muttered to himself as he went back to the house Heaven knows I hope she may be happy
He did not stop to make any ceremonious adieu to his guests but walked straight to his own apartments People were accustomed to his strange manners and were very indulgent towards his foibles
Arthur Lovell and the three bridesmaids lingered a little in the blue drawingroom The Melvilles were to drive home to their fathers house in the afternoon and Dora Macmahon was going with them She was to stay at their fathers house a few weeks and was then to go back to her aunt in Scotland
But I am to pay my darling Laura an early visit at Jocelyns Rock she said when Arthur made some inquiry about her arrangements that has been all settled
The ladies and the young lawyer took an afternoon tea together before they left Maudesley and were altogether very sociable not to say merry It was upon this occasion that Arthur Lovell for the first time in his life observed that Dora Macmahon had very beautiful brown eyes and rippling brown hair and the sweetest smile he had ever seenexcept in one lovely face which was like the splendour of the noonday sun and seemed to extinguish all lesser lights
The carriage was announced at last and Mr Lovell had enough to do in attending to the three young ladies and the stowing away of all those bonnetboxes and shawls and travellingbags and desks and dressingcases and odd volumes of books and umbrellas parasols and sketchingportfolios which are the peculiar attributes of all female travellers And then when all was finished and he had bowed for the last time in acknowledgment of those friendly becks and wreathed smiles which greeted him from the carriagewindow till it disappeared in the curve of the avenue Arthur Lovell walked slowly home thinking of the business of the day
Laura was lost to him for ever The dreadful grief which had so long brooded darkly over his life had come down upon him at last and the pang had not been so insupportable as he had expected it to be
I never had any hope he thought to himself as he walked along the soddened road between the gates of Maudesley and the old town that lay before him I never really hoped that Laura Dunbar would be my wife
John Lovells house was one of the best in the town of Shorncliffe It was a queer old house with a sloping roof and gableends of solid oak adorned here and there by grim devices carved by a skilful hand It was a large house but low and straggling and unpretending in its exterior The red light of a fire was shining in a wainscoted chamber half sittingroom half library The crimson curtains were not yet drawn across the diamondpaned window Arthur Lovell looked into the room as he passed and saw his father sitting by the fire with a newspaper at his feet
There was no need to bolt doors against thieves and vagabonds in such a quiet town as Shorncliffe Arthur Lovell turned the handle of the street door and went in The door of his fathers sittingroom was ajar and the lawyer heard his sons step in the hall
Is that you Arthur he asked
Yes father the young man answered going into the room
I want to speak to you very particularly I suppose this wedding at Maudesley Abbey has put all serious business out of your head
What serious business father
Have you forgotten Lord Herristons offer
The offer of the appointment in India Oh no father I have not forgotten only
Only what
I have not been able to decide
As he spoke Arthur Lovell thought of Laura Dunbar No she was Laura Jocelyn now It was a hard thing for the young man to think of her by that new name Would it not be better for him to go awayto put immeasurable distance between himself and the woman he had loved so dearly Would it not be better and wiser to go away And yet what if by so doing he turned his back upon another chance of happiness What if a lesser star than that which had gone down in the darkness might now be rising dim and distant in the pale grey sky
There is no reason that I should decide in a hurry the young man said presently Lord Herriston told you that I might take twelve months to think about his offer
He did answered John Lovell but half of the time is gone and Ive had a letter from Lord Herriston by this afternoons post He wants your decision immediately for a connection of his own has applied to him for the appointment He still holds to his promise and will give you the preference but you must make up your mind at once
Do you wish me to go to India father
Do I wish you to go to India Of course not my dear boy unless your own ambition takes you there Remember you are an only son You have no occasion to leave this place You will inherit a very good practice and a comfortable fortune I thought you were ambitious and that Shorncliffe was too narrow a sphere for your ambition or else I should never have entertained any idea of this Indian appointment
And you will not be sorry if I remain in England
Sorry No indeed I shall be very glad Do you suppose when a man has only one son a handsome clever highminded young fellow whose presence is like sunshine in his fathers gloomy old housedo you think the father wants to get rid of the lad If you do think so you must have a very small idea of parental affection
Then Ill refuse the appointment father
God bless you my boy exclaimed the lawyer
The letter to Lord Herriston was written that night and Arthur Lovell resigned himself to a perpetual residence in that quiet town within a mile of which the towers of Jocelyns Rock crowned the tall cliff above the rushing waters of the Avon
Mr Dunbar had given all necessary directions for the reception of his shabby friend
The Major was ushered at once to the tapestried room where the banker was still sitting at the dinnertable He had that meal laid upon a round table near the fire and the room looked a very picture of comfort and luxury as Major Vernon went into it fresh from the black foggy night and the leafless avenue where the bare trunks of the elms looked like gigantic shadows looming through the obscurity
The Majors eyes were almost dazzled by the brightness of that pleasant chamber This man was a reprobate but he had begun life as a gentleman He remembered such a room as this long ago across a dreary gulf of forty illspent years The sight of this room brought back the memory of a pretty lamplit parlour with an old man sitting in a highbacked easychair a genial matron bending over her work two fairfaced girls a favourite mastiff stretched full length upon the hearth and last of all a young man at home from college yawning over a sporting newspaper weary to death of all the simple innocent delights of home sick of the companionship of gentle sisters the love of a fond mother and wishing to be back again at the old uproarious wineparties the drunken orgies the cardplaying and prizefighting the extravagance and debauchery of the bad set in which he was a chief
The Major gave a profound sigh as he looked round the room But the melancholy shadow on his face changed into a grim smile as he glanced from the tapestried walls and curtained window with a great Indian jar of hothouse flowers standing upon an inlaid table before it and filling the room with a faint perfume of jasmine and almond to the figure of Henry Dunbar
Its comfortable said Major Vernon to say the least of it its very comfortable And with a balance of half a million or so at ones bankers or in ones own bankwhich is better still perhapsone is not so badly off eh Mr Dunbar
Sit down and eat one of those birds answered the banker Ill talk to you byandby
The Major obeyed his friend he unwound three or four yards of dingy woollen stuff from his scraggy throat turned down the poodle collar pulled his chair close to the table squared his brows and began business He made very light of a brace of partridges and a bottle of sparkling Moselle
When the table had been cleared and the two men left alone together Major Vernon stretched his long legs upon the hearthrug plunged his hands deep down in his trousers pockets and gave a sigh of satisfaction
And now said Mr Dunbar filling his glass from the starry crystal claretjug what is it that you want to say to me Stephen Vallance or Major Vernon or whatever ridiculous name you may call yourselfwhat is it youve got to say
Ill tell you that in a very few words answered the Major quietly I want to talk to you about the man who was murdered at Winchester some months ago
The bankers hand lost its steadiness the neck of the claretjug knocked against the thin lip of the glass and shivered it into halfadozen pieces
Youll spill your wine said Major Vernon Im very sorry for you if your nerves are no better than that
When Major Vernon that night left his friend he carried away with him halfadozen cheques for different amounts making in all two thousand pounds upon that private bankingaccount which Mr Dunbar kept for himself in the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby
It was after midnight when the banker opened the halldoor and passed out with the Major upon the broad stone flags under the Gothic porch There was no rain now but it was very dark and the northeasterly winds were blowing amongst the leafless branches of giant oaks and elms
Shall you present those cheques yourself Henry Dunbar asked as the two men were about to part
Yes I think so
Dress yourself decently then before you do so said the banker theyd wonder what dealings you and I could have together if you were to show yourself in St Gundolph Lane in your present costume
My friend is proud exclaimed the Major with a mock tragic accent he is proud and he despises his humble dependant
Good night said Mr Dunbar rather abruptly its past twelve oclock and Im tired
To be sure Youre tired Do youdo yousleep well asked Major Vernon in a whisper There was no mock solemnity in his tone now
The banker turned away from him with a muttered oath The light of a lamp suspended from the groined roof of the porch shone upon the two mens faces Henry Dunbars countenance was overclouded by a black frown and was by no means agreeable to look upon but the grinning face of the Major the thin lips wreathed into a malicious smile the small black eyes glittering with a sinister light looked like the face of a Mephistopheles
Good night repeated the banker turning his back upon his friend and about to reenter the house
Major Vernon laid his bony fingers upon Henry Dunbars shoulder and stopped him before he could cross the threshold
Youve given me two thou he said thats liberal enough to start with but Im an old man Im tired of the life of a vagabond and I want to live like a gentlemannot as you do of course thats out of the question it isnt everybody that has the good luck to be a millionaire like Henry Dunbar but I want a bottle of claret with my dinner a good coat upon my back and a fivepound note in my pocket constantly You must do as much as that for me eh dear boy
I dont refuse to do it do I asked Henry Dunbar impatiently I should think what youve got in your pocket already is a pretty good beginning
My dear fellow its a stupendous beginning exclaimed Major Vernon its a princely beginning its a Napoleonic beginning But that two thou isnt meant for a blind is it Its not to be the beginning middle and the end Youre not going to do the gentle bolteh
What do you mean
Youre not going to run away Youre not going to renounce the pomps and vanities of this wicked world and make an early expedition across the herringpondeh friend of my soul
Why should I run away asked Henry Dunbar sternly
Thats the very thing I say myself dear boy Why should you A wise man doesnt run away from landed estates and fine houses and half a million of money But when you broke that claretglass after dinner it struck me somehow that you wereshall I venture the wordrather nervous Nervous people do all manner of things Give me your word that youre not going to bolt and Im satisfied
I tell you I have no such idea in my mind Mr Dunbar answered with increasing impatience Will that do
It will dear boy Your hand upon it What a cold hand youve got Take care of yourself and once moregood night
Youre going to London
Yesto cash the cheques and make a few business arrangements
Mr Dunbar bolted the great door as the footsteps of his friend the Major died away upon the gravelled walk which had been quickly dried by the frosty wind The banker had dismissed his servants at ten oclock that night so there was nobody to wait upon him or to watch him when he went back to the tapestried room
He sat by the low fire for a little time thinking with a settled gloom upon his face and drinking Burgundy out of a tumbler Then he went to bed and the light of the nightlamp shining upon his face as he slept showed it distorted by strange shadows that were not altogether the shadows of the draperies above his head
Major Vernon walked briskly down the long avenue leading to the lodgegates
Two thou is comfortable he muttered to himself very satisfactory for a first goin at the golddiggins but I shall expect my California to produce a little more than that before we close the shaft and retire upon the profits of the speculation I think my friend is safeI dont think hell run away But I shall keep my eye upon him nevertheless The human eye is a great institution and I shall watch my friend
In spite of a natural eagerness to transform those oblong slips of paperthe cheques signed with the wellknown name of Henry Dunbarinto the still more convenient and flimsy paper circulating medium dispensed by the Old Lady in Threadneedle Street or the yellow coinage of the realm Major Vernon did not seem in any very great hurry to leave Lisford
A great many of the Lisfordians had seen the shabby stranger take his seat in Henry Dunbars carriage side by side with the great banker This fact became universally known throughout the parish of Lisford and two neighbouring parishes before the shadows of night came down upon the day of Laura Dunbars wedding and the Major was respected accordingly
He was shabby certainly queerabout the heels of his boots and very mangy with regard to the poodle collar His hat was more shiny than was consistent with the hatmanufacturing interest His bony hands were red and bare and only one miserable mockery of a glove dangled between his thumb and finger as he swaggered along the village street
But he had been seen riding in Henry Dunbars carriage and from that moment he had become invested with a romantic interest He was a reduced gentleman who had seen better days or he was a miser perhapsan eccentric individual who wore shabby boots and shiny hats for his own love and pleasure
People paid respect therefore to the stranger at the Rose and Crown and touched their hats to him as he went in and out and were glad to answer any questions he chose to put to them as he loitered about the village He contrived to find out a good deal in this way about things in general and the habits of Henry Dunbar in particular The banker had given his shabby acquaintance a handful of sovereigns for present use as well as the cheques and the Major was able to live upon the best the Rose and Crown could afford and pay liberally for all he consumed
I find the Warwickshire air agree with me remarkably well he said to the landlord as he sat at breakfast in the barparlour upon the second day after his interview with Henry Dunbar and if you know of any snug little box in the neighbourhood that would suit a lonely old bachelor with a comfortable income and nobody to help him spend it why I really should have a very great inclination to take it and furnish it
The landlord scratched his head and reflected for a few minutes Then he slapped his leg with a sounding and triumphant slap
I know the very thing as would suit you Major Vernon he saidthe Major had assumed the name of Vernon as agreed upon between himself and Henry Dunbarthe very thing repeated the landlord you might say it had been made to order like Theres a sale comes off next Thursday Mr Grogson the Shorncliffe auctioneer will sell at eleven oclock precisely the furniture and lease of the snuggest little box in these partsWoodbine Cottage its calleda sweet pretty little place as was the property of old Admiral Manders The admiral died in the house and having been a bachelor and his money having gone to distant relatives the lease and furniture of the cottage will be sold But I should think added the landlord gravely looking rather doubtfully at his guest as he spoke I should think the lease and furniture pictures and plate will fetch a matter of eight hundred to a thousand pound and perhaps you mightnt care to go to that
The landlord could not refrain from glancing furtively at the white and shining aspect of the cloth that covered the sharp knees of his customer which were exactly under his eyes as the two men sat opposite to each other beside the snug little round table
You mightnt care to go to that price he repeated as he helped himself to about threequarters of a pound of cold ham
The Major lifted his bristly eyebrows with a contemptuous twitch
If the cottage suits me he said I dont mind a thousand for it Todays SaturdayI shall run up to town tomorrow or Monday morning to settle a bit of business Ive got on hand and come back here in time to attend the sale
My wife and me was thinkin of goin sir the landlord answered with unwonted reverence in his voice and if it was agreeable we could drive you over in a fourwheel shay Woodbine Cottage is about a mile and a half from here and little better than a mile from Maudesley Abbey Theres a copper coalscuttle of the old admirals as my wife has got rather a fancy for But praps if you was to make a hoffer previous to the sale the property might be disposed of as it stands by private contrack
Ill see about that answered Major Vernon Ill stroll over to Shorncliffe this morning and look in upon Mr GrogsonGrogson I think you said was the auctioneers name
Yes sir Peter Grogson and very much looked up to be is and a warm man folks do say His offices is in Shorncliffe High Street sir next door but two from Mr Lovells the solicitors and not more than halfadozen yards from St Gwendolines Church
Major Vernon as he now chose to call himself walked from Lisford to Shorncliffe He was a very good walker and indeed had become pretty well used to pedestrian exercise in the course of long weary trampings from one racecourse to another when he was so far down on his luck as to be unable to pay his railway fare The frost had set in for the first time this year so the roads were dry and hard once more and the sound of horses hoofs and rolling wheels the jingling of bells the occasional barking of a noisy sheepdog and sturdy labourers voices calling to each other on the highroad travelled far in the thin frosty air
The town of Shorncliffe was very quiet today for it was only on marketdays that there was much life or bustle in the queer old streets and Major Vernon found no hindrance to the business that had brought him from Lisford
He went straight to Mr Grogson the auctioneer and from that gentleman heard all particulars respecting the pending sale at Woodbine Cottage The Major offered to take the lease at a fair price and the furniture as it stood by valuation
All I want is a comfortable little place that I can jump into without any trouble to myself Major Vernon said with the air of a man of the world I like to take life easily If you can honestly recommend the place as worth seven or eight hundred pounds Im willing to pay that money for it down on the nail Ill take it at your valuation if the present owners are agreeable to sell it on those terms and Ill pay a deposit of a couple of hundred or so on Tuesday afternoon to show that my proposition is a bona fide one
A little more was said and then Mr Grogson pledged himself to act for the best in the interests of Major Vernon consistently with his allegiance to the present owners of the property
The auctioneer had been at first a little doubtful of this tall shabby stranger in the napless dirtywhite beaver and the mangy poodle collar but the offer of a deposit of two hundred pounds or so gave a different aspect to the case There are always eccentric people in the world and appearances are very apt to be deceptive There was a confident air about the Major which seemed like that of a man with a balance at his bankers
The Major went back to the Rose and Crown ate a comfortable little dinner which he had ordered before setting out for Shorncliffe paid his bill and made all arrangements for starting by the first train for London on the following morning It was nearly ten oclock by the time he had done this but late as it was Major Vernon put on his hat turned his poodle collar up about his ears and went out into Lisford High Street
There was scarcely one glimmer of light in the street as the Major walked along it He took the road leading to Maudesley Abbey and walked at a brisk pace heedless of the snow which was still falling thick and fast
He was covered from head to foot with snow when he stopped before the stone porch and rang a bell that made a clanging noise in the stillness of the night He looked like some grim white statue that had descended from its pedestal to stalk hither and thither in the darkness
The servant who opened the door yawned undisguisedly in the face of his masters friend
Tell Mr Dunbar that I shall be glad to speak to him for a few minutes the Major said making as if he would have passed into the hall
Mr Dunbar left the habbey uppards of a hour ago the footman answered with supreme hauteur but he left a message for you in case you was to come The period of his habsence is huncertain and if you wants to kermoonicate with him you was to please to wait till he come back
Major Vernon pushed aside the servant and strode into the hall The doors were open and through two or three intermediate rooms the Major saw the tapestried chamber dark and empty
There was no doubt that Henry Dunbar had given him the slipfor the time at least but did the banker mean mischief was there any deep design in this sudden departurethat was the question
Ill write to your master the Major said after a pause whats his London address
Mr Dunbar left no address
Humph Thats no matter I can write to him at the bank Good night
Major Vernon stalked away through the snow The footman made no response to his parting civility but stood watching him for a few moments and then closed the door with a bang
Hif thats a spessermin of your Hinjun acquaintances I dont think much of Hinjur or Hinjun serciety But what can you expect of a nation as insults the gentleman who waits behind his employers chair at table by callin him a kittenmuncher
CHAPTER XXVI
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BACK PARLOUR OF THE BANKINGHOUSE
Henry Dunbar arrived in London a couple of hours after Mr Vernon left the Abbey He went straight to the Clarendon Hotel He had no servant with him and his luggage consisted only of a portmanteau a dressingcase and a despatchbox the same despatchbox whose contents he had so carefully studied at the Winchester hotel upon the night of the murder in the grove
The day after his arrival was Sunday and all that day the banker occupied himself in reading a moroccobound manuscript volume which he took from the despatchbox
There was a black fog upon this November day and the atmosphere out of doors was cold and bleak But the room in which Henry Dunbar sat looked the very picture of comfort and elegance
He had drawn his chair close to the fire and on a table near his elbow were arranged the open despatchbox a tall crystal jug of Burgundy with a gobletshaped glass on a salver and a case of cigars
Until long after dark that evening Henry Dunbar sat by the fire smoking and drinking and reading the manuscript volume He only paused now and then to take pencilnotes of its contents in a little memorandumbook which he carried in the breastpocket of his coat
It was not till seven oclock when the liveried servant who waited upon him came to inform him that his dinner was served in an adjoining chamber that Mr Dunbar rose from his seat and put away the book in the despatchbox He laid down the volume on the table while he replaced other papers in the box and it fell open at the first page On that first page was written in Henry Dunbars bold legible hand
Journal of my life in India from my arrival in 1815 until my departure in 1850
This was the book the banker had been studying all that winters day
At twelve oclock the next day he ordered a brougham and was driven to the bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane This was the first time that Henry Dunbar had visited the house in St Gundolph Lane since his return from India
Those who knew the history of the present chief partner of the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby were in nowise astonished by this fact They knew that as a young man Henry Dunbar had contracted the tastes and habits of an aristocrat and that if he had afterwards developed into a clever and successful man of business it was only by reason of the force of circumstances which had thrust him into a position that he hated
It was by no means wonderful then that after becoming possessor of the united fortunes of his father and his uncle Henry Dunbar should keep aloof from a place that had always been obnoxious to him The business had gone on without him very well during his absence and it went on without him now for his place in India had been assumed by a very clever man who for twenty years had acted as cashier in the Calcutta house
It may be that the banker had an unpleasant recollection of his last visit to St Gundolph Lane upon the day when the existence of the forged bills was discovered by Percival and Hugh Dunbar All the width of thirtyfive years between the present hour and that day might not be wide enough to separate the memory of the past from the thoughts which were busy this morning in the mind of Henry Dunbar
Be it as it might Mr Dunbars reflections this day were evidently not of a pleasant nature He was very pale as he rode citywards in the comfortable brougham from the Clarendon and his face had a stern fixed look like a man who has nerved himself to meet some crisis which he knows is near at hand
There was a stoppage upon Ludgate Hill Great wooden barricades and mountains of uprooted pavingstones amidst which sturdy navigators disported themselves with spades and pickaxes and wheelbarrows full of rubbish blocked the way so the brougham turned into Farringdon Street and went up Snow Hill and under the grim black walls of dreadful Newgate
The vehicle travelled very slowly for the traffic was concentrated in this quarter by reason of the stoppage on Ludgate Hill and Mr Dunbar was able to contemplate at his leisure the black prisonwalls and the men and women selling dogscollars under their dismal shadows
It may be that the bankers face grew a shade paler after that contemplation The corners of his mouth twitched nervously as he got out of the carriage before the mahogany doors of the bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane But he drew a long breath and held his head proudly erect as he pushed open the doors and went in
Never since the day of the discovery of the forged bills had that man entered the bankinghouse Dark thoughts came back upon his mind and the shadows deepened on his face as he gave one rapid glance round the familiar office
He walked straight towards the private parlour in which that wellremembered scene had occurred fiveandthirty years ago But before he arrived at the door leading from the public offices to the back of the house he was stopped by a gentlemanlylooking man who came forward from a desk in some shadowy region and intercepted the stranger
This man was Clement Austin the cashier
Do you wish to see Mr Balderby sir he asked
Yes I have an appointment with him at one oclock My name is Dunbar
The cashier bowed and opened the door The banker passed across the threshold which he had not crossed for fiveandthirty years until today
But as Mr Dunbar went towards the familiar parlour at the back of the bankinghouse he stopped for a minute and looked at the cashier
Clement Austin was scarcely less pale than Henry Dunbar himself He had heard of the bankers intended visit to St Gundolph Lane and had looked forward with strange anxiety to a meeting with the man whom Margaret Wilmot declared to be the murderer of her father Now that the meeting had come to pass he looked at Henry Dunbar with an earnest scrutinizing gaze as if he would fain have discovered the secret of the mans guilt or innocence in his countenance
The bankers face was pale and grave and stern but Clement Austin knew that for Henry Dunbar there were very humiliating and unpleasant circumstances connected with the offices in St Gundolph Lane and it was scarcely to be expected that a man would come smiling into a place out of which he had gone fiveandthirty years before a disgraced and degraded creature
For a few moments the two men paused in the passage between the public offices and the private parlour looking at each other
The bankers gaze never flinched during that encounter It is taken as a strong proof of a mans innocence that he should look you full in the face with a steadfast gaze when you look at him with suspicion plainly visible in your eyes but would he not be the poorest villain if he shirked that encounter of glances when he knows full surely that he is in that moment put to the test It is rather innocence whose eyelids drop when you peer too closely into its eyes for innocence is appalled by the stern accusing glances which it is unprepared to meet Guilt stares you boldly in the face for guilt is hardened and defiant and has this one grand superiority over innocencethat it is prepared for the worst
Clement Austin opened the door of Mr Balderbys parlour Mr Dunbar went in unannounced The cashier closed the parlourdoor and returned to his desk in the public office
The junior partner was sitting at an office table near the fire writing but he rose as the banker entered the room and went forward to meet him
You are very punctual Mr Dunbar he said
Yes I am generally punctual
The two men shook hands and Mr Balderby wheeled forward a moroccocovered armchair for his senior partner and then took his seat opposite to him with only the small office table between them
It may seem late in the day to bid you welcome to the bank Mr Dunbar said the junior partner but I do so neverthelessmost heartily
There was a flatness in the accent in which these two last words were spoken which was like the sound of a false coin when it falls dead upon a counter and proclaims itself spurious
Henry Dunbar did not return his partners greeting He was looking round the room and remembering the day upon which he had last seen it There was very little alteration in the appearance of the dismal city chamber There was the same wireblind before the window the same solitary tree leafless in the narrow courtyard without The moroccocovered armchairs had been recovered perhaps during that fiveandthirty years but if so the covering had grown shabby again Even the Turkey carpet was in the very stage of dusky dinginess that had distinguished the carpet on which Henry Dunbar had stood fiveandthirty years before
I received your letter announcing your journey to London and your desire for a private interview on Saturday afternoon Mr Balderby said after a pause I have made arrangements to assure our being undisturbed so long as you may remain here If you wish to make any investigation of the affairs of the house I
Mr Dunbar waved his hand with a deprecatory air
Nothing is farther from my thoughts than any such design he said No Mr Balderby I have only been a man of business because all chance of another career which I infinitely preferred was closed upon me fiveandthirty years ago I am quite content to be a sleepingpartner in the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby For ten years prior to my fathers death he took no active part in the business The house got on very well without his aid it will get on equally well without mine The business that brings me to London is an entirely personal matter I am a rich man but I dont exactly know how rich I am and I want to realize rather a large sum of money
Mr Balderby bowed but his eyebrows went up a little as if he found it impossible to control some slight evidence of his surprise
Previous to my daughters marriage I settled upon her the house in Portland Place and the Yorkshire property She will have all my money when I die and as Sir Philip Jocelyn is a rich man she will perhaps be one of the wealthiest women in England So far so good Neither Laura nor her husband will have any reason for dissatisfaction But this is not quite enough Mr Balderby I am not a demonstrative man and I have never made any great fuss about my love for my daughter but I do love her nevertheless
Mr Dunbar spoke very slowly here and stopped once or twice to pass his handkerchief across his forehead as he had done in the hotel at Winchester
We AngloIndians have rather a magnificent way of doing things Mr Balderby he continued when we take it into our heads to do them at all I want to give my daughter a diamondnecklace as a wedding present and I want it to be such as an Eastern prince or a Rothschild might offer to his only child You understand
Oh perfectly answered Mr Balderby I shall be most happy to be of any use to you in the matter
All I want is a large sum of money at my command I may go rather recklessly to work and make a large investment in this necklace it will be something for Lady Jocelyn to bequeath to her children You and John Lovell of Shorncliffe were the executors to my fathers will You signed an order for the transfer of my fathers money to my account some time in last September
I did in concurrence with Mr Lovell
Precisely Lovell wrote me a letter to that effect My father kept two accounts here I believea deposit and a drawing account
He did
And those two accounts have gone on since my return in the same manner as during his lifetime
Precisely The income which Mr Percival Dunbar set aside for his own use was seven thousand a year He rarely spent as much as that sometimes he spent less than half The balance of this income and his double share in the profits of the business went to the credit of his deposit account and various sums have been withdrawn from time to time and duly invested under his order
Perhaps you can let me see the ledgers containing those two accounts
Most certainly
Mr Balderby touched the spring of a handbell upon his table
Ask Mr Austin to bring the daily balance and deposit accounts ledgers he said to the person who answered his summons
Clement Austin appeared five minutes afterwards carrying two ponderous moroccobound volumes
Mr Balderby opened both ledgers and placed them before his senior partner Henry Dunbar looked at the deposit account His eyes ran eagerly down the long row of figures before him until they came to the sum total Then his chest heaved and he drew a long breath like a man who feels almost stifled by some internal oppression
The last figures in the page were these
137926l 17s 2d
One hundred and thirtyseven thousand nine hundred and twentysix pounds seventeen shillings and twopence The twopence seemed a ridiculous anticlimax but businessmen are necessarily as exact in figures as calculatingmachines
How is this money invested asked Henry Dunbar pointing to the page His fingers trembled a little as he did so and he dropped his hand suddenly upon the ledger
Theres fifty thousand in India stock Mr Balderby answered as indifferently as if fifty thousand pounds more or less was scarcely worth speaking of and theres fiveandtwenty in railway debentures Great Western Most of the remainder is floating in Exchequer bills
Then you can realize the Exchequer bills
Mr Balderby winced as if some one had trodden upon one of his corns He was a banker heart and soul and he did not at all relish the idea of any withdrawal of the banks resources however firm that establishment might stand
Its rather a large amount of capital to withdraw from the business he said rubbing his chin thoughtfully
I suppose the bank can afford it Mr Dunbar exclaimed with a tone of surprise
Oh yes the bank can afford it well enough Our calls are sometimes heavy Lord Yarsfielda very old customertalks of buying an estate in Wales he may come down upon us at any moment for a very stiff sum of money However the capital is yours Mr Dunbar and youve a right to dispose of it as you please The Exchequer bills shall be realized immediately
Good and if you can dispose of the railway bonds to advantage you may do so
You think of spending
I think of reinvesting the money I have an offer of an estate north of the metropolis which I think will realize cent per cent a few years hence but that is an after consideration At present we have only to do with the diamondnecklace for my daughter I shall buy the diamonds myself direct from the merchantimporters You will hold yourself ready after Wednesday well say to cash some very heavy cheques on my account
Certainly Mr Dunbar
Then I think that is really all I have to say I shall be happy to see you at the Clarendon if you will dine with me any evening that you are disengaged
There was very little heartiness in the tone of this invitation and Mr Balderby perfectly understood that it was only a formula which Mr Dunbar felt himself called upon to go through The junior partner murmured his acknowledgment of Henry Dunbars politeness and then the two men talked together for a few minutes on indifferent subjects
Five minutes afterwards Mr Dunbar rose to leave the room He went into the passage between Mr Balderbys parlour and the public offices of the bank This passage was very dark but the offices were well lighted by lofty plateglass windows Between the end of the passage and the outer doors of the bank Henry Dunbar saw the figure of a woman sitting near one of the desks and talking to Clement Austin
The banker stopped suddenly and went back to the parlour
He looked about him a little absently as he reentered the room
I thought I brought a cane he said
I think not replied Mr Balderby rising from before his desk I dont remember seeing one in your hand
Ah then I suppose I was mistaken
He still lingered in the parlour putting on his gloves very slowly and looking out of the window into the dismal backyard where there was a dingy little wooden door set deep in the stone wall
While the banker loitered near the window Clement Austin came into the room to show some document to the junior partner Henry Dunbar turned round as the cashier was about to leave the parlour
I saw a woman just now talking to you in the office Thats not very businesslike is it Mr Austin Who is the woman
She is a young lady sir
A young lady
Yes sir
What brings her here
The cashier hesitated for a moment before he replied Shewishes to see you Mr Dunbar he said after that brief pause
What is her namewhowho is she
Her name is WilmotMargaret Wilmot
I know no such person answered the banker haughtily but looking nervously at the halfopened door as he spoke
Shut that door sir he said impatiently to the cashier the draught from the passage is strong enough to cut a man in two Who is this Margaret Wilmot
The daughter of that unfortunate man Joseph Wilmot who was cruelly murdered at Winchester answered the cashier very gravely
He looked Henry Dunbar full in the face as he spoke
The banker returned his look as unflinchingly as he had done before and spoke in a hard unfaltering voice as he answered Tell this person Margaret Wilmot that I refuse to see her today as I refused to see her in Portland Place and as I refused to see her at Winchester he said deliberately Tell her that I shall always refuse to see her whenever or wherever she makes an attack upon me I have suffered enough already on account of that hideous business at Winchester and I shall most resolutely defend myself from any further persecution This young person can have no possible motive for wishing to see me If she is poor and wants money of me I am ready and willing to assist her I have already offered to do soI can do no more But if she is in distress
She is not in distress Mr Dunbar interrupted Clement Austin She has friends who love her well enough to shield her from that
Indeed and you are one of those friends I suppose Mr Austin
I am
Prove your friendship then by teaching Margaret Wilmot that she has a friend and not an enemy in me If you areas I suspect from your mannersomething more than a friend if you love her and she returns your love marry her and she shall have a dowry that no gentlemans wife need be ashamed to bring to her husband
There was no anger no impatience in the bankers voice now but a tone of deep feeling Clement Austin locked at him astonished by the change in his manner
Henry Dunbar saw the look and it seemed as if he endeavoured to answer it
You have no need to be surprised that I shrink from seeing Margaret Wilmot he said Cannot you understand that my nerves may be none of the strongest and that I cannot endure the idea of an interview with this girl who no doubt by her persistent pursuit of me suspects me of her fathers murder I am an old man and I have been thirtyfive years in India My health is shattered and I have a horror of all tragic scenes I have not yet recovered from the shock of that horrible business at Winchester Go and tell Margaret Wilmot this tell her that I will be her true friend if she will accept that friendship but that I will not see her until she has learned to think better of me
There was something very straightforward very simple in all this For a time at least Clement Austins mind wavered Margaret was perhaps wrong after all and Henry Dunbar might be an innocent man
It was Clement who had informed Margaret of Mr Dunbars expected presence here upon this day and it was on the strength of that information that the girl had come to St Gundolph Lane with the determination of seeing the man whom she believed to be the murderer of her father
Clement returned to the office where he had left Margaret in order to repeat to her Mr Dunbars message
No sooner had the door of the parlour closed upon the cashier than Henry Dunbar turned abruptly to his junior partner
There is a door leading from the yard into a court that connects St Gundolph Lane with another lane at the back he said is there not
He pointed to the dark little yard outside the window as he spoke
Yes there is a door I believe
Is it locked
No it is seldom locked till four oclock the clerks use it sometimes when they go in and out
Then I shall go out that way said Mr Dunbar who was almost breathless in his haste You can send the carriage back to the Clarendon byandby I dont want to see that girl Good morning
He hurried out of the parlour and into a passage leading to the yard followed by Mr Balderby who wondered at his senior partners excitement The door in the yard was not locked Henry Dunbar opened it went out into the court and closed the door behind him
So for the third time he escaped from an interview with Margaret Wilmot
CHAPTER XXVII
CLEMENT AUSTINS WOOING
For the third time Margaret Wilmot was disappointed in the hope of seeing Henry Dunbar Clement Austin had on the previous evening told her of the bankers intended visit to the office in St Gundolph Lane and the young musicmistress had made hasty arrangements for the postponement of her usual duties in order that she might go to the City to see Henry Dunbar
He will not dare to refuse you Clement Austin said for he must know that such a refusal would excite suspicion in the minds of the people about him
He must have known that at Winchester and yet he avoided me there answered Margaret Wilmot he must have known it when he refused to see me in Portland Place He will refuse to see me today if I ask for an interview with him My only chance will be the chance of an accidental meeting with Him Do you think that you can arrange this for me Mr Austin
Clement Austin readily promised to bring about an apparently accidental meeting between Margaret and Mr Dunbar and this is how it was that Joseph Wilmots daughter had waited in the office in St Gundolph Lane She had arrived only five minutes after Mr Dunbar entered the bankinghouse and she waited very patiently very resolutely in the hope that when Henry Dunbar returned to his carriage she might snatch the opportunity of speaking to him of seeing his face and discovering whether he was guilty or not
She clung to the idea that some indefinable expression of his countenance would reveal the fact of his guilt or innocence But she could not dispossess herself of the belief that he was guilty What other reason could there be for his persistent avoidance of her
But for the third time she was baffled and she went home very despondently haunted by the image of her dead father while Henry Dunbar went back to the Clarendon in a common hack cab which he picked up in Cornhill
Margaret Wilmot found one of her pupils waiting in the pretty little parlour in the cottage at Clapham and she was obliged to sit down to the piano and listen to a fantasia very badly played keeping sharp watch upon the pupils fingers for an hour or so before she was free to think her own thoughts
Margaret was very glad when the lesson was over The pupil was a very vivacious young lady who called her musicmistress dear and would have been glad to waste half an hour or so in an animated conversation about the last new style in bonnets or the shape of the fashionable winter mantle or the popular novel of the month But Margarets pale face seemed a mute appeal for compassion so Miss Lamberton drew on her gloves settled her bonnet before the glass over the mantelpiece and tripped away
Margaret sat by the little round table with an open book before her But she could not read though the volume was one that had been lent her by Clement and though she took a peculiar pleasure in reading any book that was a favourite of his She did not read she only sat with her eyes fixed and her face very pale in the dim light of two candles that flickered in the draught from the window
She was aroused from her despondent reverie by a double knock at the door below and presently the neat little maidservant ushered Mr Austin into the room
Margaret started up a little confused at the advent of this unexpected visitor It was the first time that Clement had ever called upon her alone He had often been her guest but until tonight he had always come under his mothers wing to see the pretty musicmistress
I am afraid I startled you Miss Wilmot he said
Oh no not at all answered Margaret I was sitting here quite idle thinking
Thinking of your failure of today I suppose
Yes
There was a pause during which Margaret seated herself once more by the little table while Clement Austin walked up and down the room thinking
Presently he stopped suddenly with his elbow leaning upon the corner of the mantelpiece opposite Margaret and looked down at the girls thoughtful face She had blushed when the cashier first entered the room but she was very pale now
Margaret said Clement Austinit was the first time he had called his mothers protégée by her Christian name and the girl looked up at him with a surprised expressionMargaret that which happened today makes me think that your conviction is only the horrible truth and that Henry Dunbar the sole surviving kinsman of those two men whom I learnt to honour and revere long ago when I was a mere boy is indeed guilty of your fathers death If so the cause of justice demands that this mans crime should be brought to light I am something of Shakspeares opinion I cannot but believe that murder will out somehow or other sooner or later But I think that in this business the police have been culpably supine It seems as if they feared to handle the case to closely lest the clue they followed should lead them to Henry Dunbar
You think they have been bribed
No I dont think that There seems to be a popular belief all over the world that a man with a million of money can do no wrong I dont believe the police have been culpable they have only been fainthearted They have suffered themselves to be discouraged by the difficulties of the case Other crimes have been committed other work has arisen for them to do and they have been obliged to abandon an investigation which seemed hopeless This is how criminals escapethis is how murderers are suffered to be at large not because discovery is impossible but because it can only be effected by a slow and wearisome process in which so few men have courage to persevere While the country is ringing with the record of a great crimewhile the murderer is on his guard night and day waking and sleepingthe police watch and work but byandby when the crime is half forgottenwhen security has made the criminal carelesswhen the chances of detection are tenfoldthe police have grown tired and there is no eye to watch the guilty mans movements I know nothing of the science of detection Margaret but I believe that Henry Dunbar was the murderer of your father and I will do my uttermost with Gods help to bring this crime home to him
The girls eyes flashed with a proud light as Clement Austin finished speaking
Will you do this she said will you bring to light the mystery of my fathers death Will you bring punishment upon his murderer It seems a horrible thing perhaps for a woman to wish detection to overtake any man however base but surely it would be more horrible if I were content to let my fathers murder remain unavenged My poor father If he had been a good man I do not think it would grieve me so much to remember his cruel death but he was not a good manhe was not a good man
Let him have been what he may Margaret his murderer shall not go unpunished if I can aid the cause of justice said Clement Austin But it was not to say this alone that I came here tonight Margaret I have something more to say to you
There was a tenderness in the cashiers voice as he said these last words that brought the blushes back to Margarets pale cheeks
You know that I love you Margaret Clement said in a low earnest voice you must know that I love you or if you do not it is because there is no sympathy between us and in that case my love is indeed hopeless I have loved you from the first dearyes from the very first summer twilight in which I saw your pale pensive face in the dusky little garden at Wandsworth The tender interest which I then felt in you was the first mysterious dawn of love though I in my infinite wisdom put it down to an artistic admiration for your peculiar beauty It was love Margaret and it has grown and strengthened in my heart ever since that summer evening until it leads me here tonight to tell you all and to ask you if there is any hope Ah Margaret you must have known my love all along You would have banished me had you felt that my love was hopeless you could not have been so cruel as to deceive me
Margaret looked up at her lover with a frightened face Had she done wrong then to be happy in his society if she did not love himif she did not love him But surely this sudden thrill of triumph and delight which filled her breast as Clement spoke to her must be in some degree akin to love
Yes she loved him but the bright things of this world were not for her Love and Duty fought for the mastery of her pure Soul and Duty was the conqueror
Oh Clement she said do you forget who I am Do you forget that letter which I showed you long ago a letter addressed to my father when he was a transported felon suffering the penalty of his crime Do you forget who I am and the taint that is in my blood the disgrace that stains my name I am proud to think that you have loved me Clement Austin but I am no fitting wife for you
You are a noble truehearted woman Margaret and as such you are a fitting wife for a king Besides I am not such a grandee that I need look for high lineage in the wife of my choice I am only a working man content to accept a salary for my services and looking forward byandby to a junior partnership in the house I serve Margaret my mother loves you and she knows that you are the woman I seek to win as my wife Forget the taint upon your dead fathers name as freely as I forget it dearest and only answer me one question Is my love hopeless
I will never consent to be your wife Mr Austin Margaret answered in a low voice
Because you do not love me
Because I will never cause you to blush for the history of your wifes girlhood
That is no answer to my question Margaret said Clement Austin seating himself by her side and taking both her hands in his I must ask you to look me full in the face Miss Wilmot he added laughingly drawing her towards him as he spoke for I begin to fancy youre addicted to prevarication Look me in the face Madge darling and tell me that you love me
But the blushing face would not be turned towards his own Margarets head was still averted
Dont ask me she pleaded dont ask me The day would come when you would regret your choice I could not endure that It would be too bitter You have been very kind to me and it would be a poor return for your kindness if
If you were to make me unutterably happy eh Margaret I think it would be only a proper act of gratitude Havent I run all over Clapham Brixton and Wandsworthto say nothing of an occasional incursion upon Putneyin order to procure you halfadozen pupils And the very first favour I demand of you which is only the gift of this clever little hand you have the audacity to refuse me pointblank
He waited for a few moments in the hope that Margaret would say something but her face was still averted and the trembling hand which Mr Austin was holding struggled to release itself from his grasp
Margaret he said very gravely perhaps I have been foolish and presumptuous in this business In that case I fully deserve to be disappointed however bitter the disappointment may be If I have been wrong Margaret if I have been deceived by your sweet smile your gentle words for pitys sake tell me that it is so and I will forgive you for having involuntarily deceived me and will try to cure myself of my folly But I will not leave this room I will not abandon the dear hope that has brought me here tonight until you tell me plainly that you do not love me Speak Margaret and speak fearlessly
But Margaret was still silent only in the silence Clement Austin heard a low sobbing sound
Margaret darling you are crying Ah I know now that you love me and I will not leave this room except as your plighted husband
Heaven help me murmured Joseph Wilmots daughter Heaven lead me right for I do love you Clement with all my heart
CHAPTER XXVIII
BUYING DIAMONDS
Mr Dunbar did not waste much time before he began the grand business which had brought him to Londonthat is to say the purchase of such a collection of diamonds as compose a necklace second only to that which brought poor hoodwinked Cardinal de Rohan and the unlucky daughter of the Caesars into such a morass of trouble and slander
Early upon the morning after his visit to the bank Mr Dunbar went out very plainly dressed and hailed the first empty cab that he saw in Piccadilly
He ordered the cabman to drive straight to a street leading out of Holborn a very quietlooking street where you could buy diamonds enough to set up all the jewellers in the Palais Royale and the Rue de la Paix and where if you were so whimsical as to wish to transform a service of plate into white soup at a moments notice you might indulge your fancy in establishments of unblemished respectability
The gold and silver refiners the diamondmerchants and wholesale jewellers in this quiet street were a very superior class of people and you might dispose of a handful of gold chains and bangles without any fear that one or two of them would find their way into the operators sleeve during the process of weighing The great Mr Krusible who thrust the last inch of an Eastern potentates sceptre into the meltingpot with the sole of his foot as the detectives entered his establishment in search of the missing bauble and walked lame for six months afterwards lived somewhere in the depths of the city and far away from this dulllooking Holborn street and would have despised the even tenor of life and the moderate profits of a business in this neighbourhood
Mr Dunbar left his cab at the Holborn end of the street and walked slowly along the pavement till he came to a very dingylooking parlourwindow which might have belonged to A lawyers office but for some gilded letters on the wire blind which in a very pale and faded inscription gave notice that the parlour belonged to Mr Isaac Hartgold diamondmerchant A grimy brass plate on the door of the house bore another inscription to the same effect and it was at this door that Mr Dunbar stopped
He rang a bell and was admitted immediately by a very sharplooking boy who ushered him into the parlour where ha saw a mahogany counter a pair of small brass scales a horsehaircushioned officestool considerably the worse for wear and a couple of very formidablelooking iron safes deeply imbedded in the wall behind the counter There was a desk near the window at which a gentleman with very black hair and whiskers was seated busily engaged in some abstruse calculations between a pair of open ledgers
He got off his high seat as Mr Dunbar entered and looked rather suspiciously at the banker I suppose the habit of selling diamonds had made him rather suspicious of every one Henry Dunbar wore a fashionable greatcoat with loose open cuffs and it was towards these loose cuffs that Mr Hartgolds eyes wandered with rapid and rather uneasy glances He was apt to look doubtfully at gentlemen with roomy coatsleeves or ladies with longhaired muffs or fringed parasols Unset diamonds are an eminently portable species of property and you might carry a tolerably valuable collection of them in the folds of the smallest parasol that ever faded under the summer sunshine in the Ladys Mile
I want to buy a collection of diamonds for a necklace Mr Dunbar said as coolly as if he had been talking of a set of silver spoons and I want the necklace to be something out of the common I should order it of Garrard or Emanuel but I have a fancy for buying the diamonds upon paper and having them made up after a design of my own Can you supply me with what I want
How much do you want You may have what some people would call a necklace for a thousand pounds or you may have one thatll cost you twenty thousand How far do you mean to go
I am prepared to spend something between fifty and eighty thousand pounds
The diamond merchant pursed up his lips reflectively You are aware that in these sort of transactions ready money is indispensable he said
Oh yes I am quite aware of that Mr Dunbar answered coolly
He took out his cardcase as he spoke and handed one of his cards to Mr Isaac Hartgold Any cheques signed by that name he said will be duly honoured in St Gundolph Lane
Mr Hartgold bent his head reverentially to the representative of a million of money He in common with every business man in London was thoroughly familiar with the names of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby
I dont know that I can supply you with fifty thousand pounds worth of such diamonds as you may require at a moments notice he said but I can procure them for you in a day or two if that will do
That will do very well This is Tuesday suppose I give you till Thursday
The stones shall be ready for you by Thursday sir
Very good I will call for them on Thursday morning In the meantime in order that you may understand that the transaction is a bonâ fide one Ill write a cheque for ten thousand payable to your order on account of diamonds to be purchased by me I have my chequebook in my pocket Oblige me with pen and ink
Mr Hartgold murmured something to the effect that such a proceeding was altogether unnecessary but he brought Mr Dunbar his office inkstand and looked on with an approving twinkle of his eyes while the banker wrote the cheque in that slow formal hand peculiar to him It made things very smooth and comfortable Mr Hartgold thought to say the least of it
And now sir with regard to the design of the necklace said the merchant when he had folded the cheque and put it into his waistcoatpocket I suppose youve some idea that youd like to carry out and youd wish perhaps to see a few specimens
He unlocked one of the iron safes as he spoke and brought out a lot of little paper packets which were folded in a peculiar fashion and which he opened with very gingerly fingers
I suppose youd like some tallowdrops sir he said Tallowdrops workin better than anything for a necklace
What in Heavens name are tallowdrops
Mr Hartgold took up a diamond with a pair of pincers and exhibited it to the banker
Thats a tallowdrop sir he said Its something of a heartshaped stone you see but we call it a tallowdrop because its very much the shape of a drop of tallow Youd like large stones of course though they eat into a great deal of money There are diamonds that are known all over Europe diamonds that have been in the possession of royalty and are as well known as the family theyve belonged to The Duke of Brunswick has pretty well cleared the market of that sort of stuff but still they are to be had if youve a fancy for anything of that kind
Mr Dunbar shook his head
I dont want anything of that sort he said the day may come when my daughter or my daughters descendants may be obliged to realize the jewels Im a commercial man and I want eighty thousand pounds worth of diamonds that shall be worth the money I give for them to break up and sell again I should wish you to choose diamonds of moderate size but not small worth on an average forty or fifty pounds apiece well say
I shall have to be very particular about matching them in colour said Mr Hartgold as theyre for a necklace The banker shrugged his shoulders
Dont trouble yourself about the necklace he said rather impatiently I tell you again Im a commercial man and what I want is good value for my money
And you shall have it sir answered the diamondmerchant briskly
Very well then in that case I think we understand each other and theres no occasion for me to stop here any longer Youll have eighty thousand pounds worth of diamonds at thereabouts ready for me when I call here on Thursday morning You can cash that cheque in the meantime and ascertain with whom you have to deal Good morning
He left the diamondmerchant wondering at his sang froid and returned to the cab which had been waiting for him all this time
He was just going to step into it when a hand touched him lightly on the shoulder and turning sharply and angrily round he recognized the gentleman who called himself Major Vernon But the Major was by no means the shabby stranger who had watched the marriage of Philip Jocelyn and Laura Dunbar in Lisford Church Major Vernon had risen resplendent as the phoenix from the ashes of his old clothes
The poodle collar was gone the dilapidated boots had been exchanged for stout watertight Wellingtons the napless dirty white hat had given place to a magnificent beaver with a broad trim curled at the sides Major Vernon was positively splendid He was as much wrapped up as ever but his wrappings now were of a gorgeous not to say gaudy description His thick greatcoat was of a dark olivegreen and the collar turned up over his ears was of a shinylooking brown fur which to the confiding mind of the populace is known as imitation sable Inside this fur collar the Major wore a shawlpatterned scarf of all the colours in the prismatic scale across which his nose lacked its usual brilliancy of hue by force of contrast Major Vernon had a very big cigar in his mouth and a very big cane in his hand and the quiet City men turned to look at him as he stood upon the pavement talking to Henry Dunbar
The banker writhed under the touch of his Indian acquaintance
What do you want with me he asked in low angry tones why do you follow me about to play the spy upon me and stop me in the public street Havent I done enough for you Aint you satisfied with what I have done
Yes dear boy answered the Major perfectly satisfied more than satisfiedfor the present But your future favoursas those low fellows the butchers and bakers have itare respectfully requested for yours truly Let me get into the cab with you Mr HD and take me back to the casa and give me a comfortable little bit of perrogg I havent lost my aristocratic taste for seven courses and an elegant succession of still fine sparkling wines though during the last few years Ive been rather frequently constrained to accept the shadowy hospitality of his grace of Humphrey Nante dinari nante manjare as we say in the Classics which I translate No credit at the butchers or the bakers
For Heavens sake stop that abominable slang said Henry Dunbar impatiently
It annoys you dear friend eh Well Ive known the time whenBut no matter let what is broken so remain as the poet observes which is only an elegant way of saying Let bygones be bygones And so youve been buying diamonds dear boy
Who told you so
You did when you came out of Mr Isaac Hartgolds establishment I happened to be passing the door as you went in and I happened to be passing the door again as you came out
And playing the spy upon me
Not at all dear boy It was merely a coincidence I assure you I called at the bank yesterday cashed my cheques ascertained your address called at the Clarendon this morning was told youd that minute gone out looked down Albemarle Street there you were sure enough saw you get into a cab got into anothera Hansom and faster than yourscame behind you to the corner of this street
You followed me said Henry Dunbar bitterly
Dont call it following dear friend because thats low Accident brought me into this neighbourhood at the very hour you were coming into this neighbourhood If you want to quarrel with anything quarrel with the doctrine of chances not with me
Henry Dunbar turned away with a sulky gesture His friend watched him with very much the same malicious grin that had distorted his face under the lamplit porch at Maudesley The Major looked like a vulgarminded Mephistopheles there was not even the divinity of hell about him
And so youve been buying diamonds he repeated presently after a considerable pause
Yes I have I am buying them for a necklace for my daughter
You are so dotingly fond of your daughter said the Major with a leer
It is necessary that I should give her a present
Precisely and you wont even trust the business to a jeweller you insist on doing it all yourself
I shall do it for less money than a jeweller
Oh of course answered Major Vernon the motives as clear as daylight
He was silent for a few minutes then he laid his hand heavily upon his companions shoulder put his lips close to the bankers ear and said in a loud voice for it was not easy for him to make himself heard above the jolting of the cab
Henry Dunbar youre a very clever fellow and I dare say you think yourself a great deal sharper than I am but by Heaven if you try any tricks with me youll find yourself mistaken You must buy me an annuity Do you understand Before you move right or left or say your souls your own you must buy me an annuity
The banker shook off his companions hand and turned round upon him pale stern and defiant
Take care Stephen Vallance he said take care how you threaten me I should have thought you knew me of old and would be wise enough to keep a civil tongue in your head with me As for what you ask I shall do it or I shall let it aloneas I think fit If I do it I shall take my own time about it not yours
Youre not afraid of me then asked the other recoiling a little and much more subdued in his tone
No
You are very bold
Perhaps I am Do you remember the old story of some people who had a goose that laid golden eggs They were greedy and in their besotted avarice they killed the goose But they have not gone down to posterity as examples of wisdom No Vallance Im not afraid of you
Mr Vallance leaned back in the cab biting his nails savagely and thinking It seemed as if he was trying to find an answer for Mr Dunbars speech but if so he must have failed for he was silent for the rest of the drive and when he got out of the vehicle byandby before the door of the Clarendon his manner bore an undignified resemblance to that of a halfbred cur who carries his tail between his legs
Good afternoon Major Vernon the banker said carelessly as a liveried servant opened the door of the hotel I shall be very much engaged during the few days I am likely to remain in town and shall be unable to afford myself the pleasure of your society
The Major stared aghast at this cool dismissal
Oh he murmured vaguely thats it is it Well of course you know whats best for yourselfso good afternoon
The door closed upon Major Vernon alias Mr Stephen Vallance while he was still staring straight before him in utter inability to realize his position But he drew his cashmere shawl still higher up about his ears took out a gaudy scarletmorocco cigarcase lighted another big cigar and then strolled slowly down the quiet Westend street with his bushy eyebrows contracted into a thoughtful frown
Cool he muttered between his closed lips very cool to say the least of it Some people would call it audacious But the story of the goose with the golden eggs is one of childhoods simple lessons that were obliged to remember in afterlife And to think that the Government of this country should have the audacity to offer a measly hundred pounds or so for the discovery of a great crime The shabbiness of the legislature must answer for it if criminals remain at large My friends a deep one a cursedly deep one but I shall keep my eye upon him My faith is strong in time as the poet observes My friend carries it with a high hand at present but the day may come when he may want me and if ever he does want me egad he shall pay me my own price and it shall be rather a stiff one into the bargain
CHAPTER XXIX
GOING AWAY
At one oclock on the appointed Thursday morning Mr Dunbar presented himself in the diamondmerchants office Henry Dunbar was not alone He had called in St Gundolph Lane and asked Mr Balderby to go with him to inspect the diamonds he had bought for his daughter
The junior partner opened his eyes to the widest extent as the brilliants were displayed before him and declared that big seniors generosity was something more than princely
But perhaps Mr Balderby did not feel so entirely delighted two or three hours afterwards when Mr Isaac Hartgold presented himself before the counter in St Gundolph Lane whence he departed some time afterwards carrying away with him seventyfive thousand eight hundred pounds in BankofEngland notes
Henry Dunbar walked away from the neighbourhood of Holborn with his coat buttoned tightly across his broad chest and nearly eighty thousand pounds worth of property hidden away in his breastpockets He did not go straight back to the Clarendon but pierced his way across Smithfield and into a busy smoky street where he stopped byandby at a dingylooking curriers shop
He went in and selected a couple of chamois skins very thick and strong At another shop he bought some large needles halfadozen skeins of stout waxed thread a pair of large scissors a couple of strong steel buckles and a tailors thimble When he had made these purchases he hailed the first empty cab that passed him and went back to his hotel
He dined drank the best part of a bottle of Burgundy and then ordered a cup of strong tea to be taken to his dressingroom He had fires in his bedroom and dressingroom every night Tonight he retired very early dismissed the servant who attended upon him and locked the door of the outer room the only door communicating with the corridor of the hotel
He drank a cup of tea bathed his head with cold water and then sat down at a writingtable near the fire
But he was not going to write he pushed aside the writingmaterials and took his purchases of the afternoon from his pocket He spread the chamois leather out upon the table and cut the skins into two long strips about a foot broad He measured these round his waist and then began to stitch them together slowly and laboriously
The work was not easy and it took the banker a very long time to complete it to his own satisfaction It was past twelve oclock when he had stitched both sides and one end of the double chamoisleather belt the other end he left open
When he had completed the two sides and the end that was closed he took four or five little canvasbags from his pocket Every one of these canvasbags was full of loose diamonds
A thrill of rapture ran through the bankers veins as he plunged his fingers in amongst the glittering stones He filled his hands with the bright gems and let them run from one hand to the other like streams of liquid light Then very slowly and carefully he began to drop the diamonds into the open end of the chamoisleather belt
When he had dropped a few into the belt he stitched the leather across and across quiltingin the stones This work took him so long that it was four oclock in the morning when he had quilted the last diamond into the belt He gave a long sigh of relief as he threw the waste scraps of leather upon the top of the low fire and watched them slowly smoulder away into black ashes Then he put the chamoisleather belt under his pillow and went to bed
Henry Dunbar went back to Maudesley Abbey by the express on the morning after the day on which he had completed his purchase of the diamonds He wore the chamoisleather belt buckled tightly round his waist next to his inner shirt and was able to defy the swellmob had those gentry been aware of the treasures which he carried about with him
He wrote from Warwickshire to one of the best and most fashionable jewellers at the West End and requested that a person who was thoroughly skilled in his business might be sent down to Maudesley Abbey duly furnished with drawings of the newest designs in diamond necklaces earrings c
But when the jewellers agent came two or three days afterwards Mr Dunbar could find no design that suited him and the man returned to London without having received an order and without having even seen the brilliants which the banker had bought
Tell your employer that I will retain two or three of these designs Mr Dunbar said selecting the drawings as he spoke and if upon consideration I find that one of them will suit me I will communicate with your establishment If not I shall take the diamonds to Paris and get them made up there
The jeweller ventured to suggest the inferiority of Parisian workmanship as compared with that of a firstrate English establishment but Mr Dunbar did not condescend to pay any attention to the young mans remonstrance
I shall write to your employer in due course he said coldly Good morning
Major Vernon had returned to the Rose and Crown at Lisford The deed which transferred to him the possession of Woodbine Cottage was speedily executed and he took up his abode there His establishment was composed of the old housekeeper who had waited on the deceased admiral and a young manofallwork who was nephew to the housekeeper and who had also been in the service of the late owner of the cottage
From his new abode Mr Vernon was able to keep a tolerably sharp lookout upon the two great houses in his neighbourhoodMaudesley Abbey and Jocelyns Rock Country people know everything about their neighbours and Mrs Manders the housekeeper had means of communication with both the Abbey and the Rock for she had a niece who was underhousemaid in the service of Henry Dunbar and a grandson who was a helper in Sir Philip Jocelyns stables Nothing could have better pleased the new inhabitant of Woodbine Cottage who was speedily on excellent terms with his housekeeper
From her he heard that a jewellers assistant had been to Maudesley and had submitted a portfolio of designs to the millionaire
Which they do say Mrs Manders continued that Mr Dunbar had laid out nigh upon halfamillion of money in diamonds and that he is going to give his daughter Lady Jocelyn a set of jewels such as the Queen upon her throne never set eyes on But Mr Dunbar is rare and difficult to please it seems for the young man from the jewellers he says to Mrs Grumbleton at the western lodge he says Your master is not easy to satisfy maam he says from which Mrs Grumbleton gathers that he had not took a order from Mr Dunbar
Major Vernon whistled softly to himself when Mrs Manders retired after having imparted this piece of information
Youre a clever fellow dear friend he muttered as he lighted his cigar youre a stupendous fellow dear boy but your friend can see through less transparent blinds than this diamond business Its well plannedits neat to say the least of it And youve my best wishes dear boy butyou must pay for themyou must pay for them Henry Dunbar
This little conversation between the new tenant of Woodbine Cottage and his housekeeper occurred on the very evening on which Major Vernon took possession of his new abode The next day was Sundaya cold wintry Sunday for the snow had been falling all through the last three days and nights and lay deep on the ground hiding the low thatched roofs and making feathery festoons about the leafless branches until Lisford looked like a village upon the top of a twelfthcake While the Sabbathbells were ringing in the frosty atmosphere Major Vernon opened the low white gate of his pleasant little garden and went out upon the highroad
But not towards the church Major Vernon was not going to church on this bright winters morning He went the other way tramping through the snow towards the eastern gate of Maudesley Park He went in by the low iron gate for there was a bridlepath by this part of the parkthat very bridlepath by which Philip Jocelyn had ridden to Lisford so often in the autumn weather
Major Vernon struck across this path following the tracks of late footsteps in the deep snow and thus took the nearest way to the Abbey There he found all very quiet The supercilious footman who admitted him to the hall seemed doubtful whether he should admit him any farther
Mr Dunbar are hup he said and have breakfasted to the best of my knowledge which the breakfast ekewpage have not yet been removed
So much the better Major Vernon answered coolly You may bring up some fresh coffee John for I havent made much of a breakfast myself and if youll tell the cook to devil the thigh of a turkey with plenty of cayennepepper and a squeeze of lemon I shall be obliged You neednt trouble yourself I know my way
The Major opened the door leading to Mr Dunbars apartments and walked without ceremony into the tapestried chamber where he found the banker sitting near a table upon which a silver coffee service a Dresden cup and saucer and two or three covered dishes gave evidence that Mr Dunbar had been breakfasting Cold meats raised pies and other comestibles were laid out upon the carvedoak sideboard
The Major paused upon the threshold of the chamber and gravely contemplated his friend
Its comfortable he exclaimed to say the least of it its very comfortable dear boy
The dear boy did not look particularly pleased as he lifted his eyes to his visitors face
I thought you were in London he said
Which shows how very little you trouble yourself about the concerns of your neighbours answered Major Vernon for if you had condescended to inquire about the movements of your humble friend you would have been told that he had bought a comfortable little property in the neighbourhood and settled down to do the respectable country gentleman for the remainder of his natural lifealways supposing that the liberality of his honoured friend enables him to do the thing decently
Do you mean to say that you have bought property in this neighbourhood
Yes I am leasehold proprietor of Woodbine Cottage near Lisford and Shorncliffe
And you mean to settle in Warwickshire
I do
Henry Dunbar smiled to himself as his friend said this
Youre welcome to do so he said as far as I am concerned
The Major looked at him sharply
Your sentiments are liberality itself my dear friend But I must respectfully remind you that the expenses attendant upon taking possession of my humble abode have been very heavy In plain English the two thou which you so liberally advanced as the first instalment of future bounties has melted like snow in a rapid thaw I want another two thou friend of my youth and patron of my later years Whats a thousand or so more or less to the senior partner in the house of D D and B Make it two five this time and your petitioner will ever pray c c c Make it two five Prince of Maudesley
There is no need for me to record the interview between these two men It was rather a long one for in congenial companionship Major Vernon had plenty to say for himself it was only when he felt himself out of his element and unappreciated that the Major wrapped himself in the dignity of silence at in some mystic mantle and retired for the time being from the outer world
He did not leave Maudesley Abbey until he had succeeded in the object of his visit and he carried away in his pocketbook cheques to the amount of two thousand five hundred pounds
I flatter myself I was just in the nick of time the Major thought as he walked back to Woodbine Cottage for as sure as my names what it is my friend means a bolt He means a bolt and the money Ive had today is the last I shall ever receive from that quarter
Almost immediately after Major Vernons departure Henry Dunbar rang the bell for the servant who acted as his valet whenever he required the services of one which was not often
I shall start for Paris tonight Jeffreys he said to this man I want to see what the French jewellers can do before I trust Lady Jocelyns necklace into the hands of English workmen Im not well and I want change of air and scene so I shall start for Paris tonight Pack a small portmanteau with everything thats indispensable but pack nothing unnecessary
Am I to go with you sir the man asked
Henry Dunbar looked at his watch and seemed to reflect upon this question some moments before he answered
How do the uptrains go on a Sunday he asked
Theres an express from the north stops at Rugby at six oclock sir You might meet that if you left Shorncliffe by the 435 train
I could do that answered the banker its only three oclock Pack my portmanteau at once Jeffreys and order the carriage to be ready for me at a quarter to four No I wont take you to Paris with me You can follow me in a day or two with some more things
Yes sir
There was no such thing as bustle and confusion in a household organized like that of Mr Dunbar The valet packed his masters portmanteau and dressingcase the carriage came round to the graveldrive before the porch at the appointed moment and five minutes afterwards Mr Dunbar came out into the hall with his greatcoat closely buttoned over his broad chest and a leopardskin travellingrug flung across his shoulder
Round his waist he wore the chamoisleather belt which he had made with his own hands at the Clarendon Hotel This belt had never quitted him since the night upon which he made it The carriage conveyed him to the Shorncliffe station He got out and went upon the platform Although it was not yet five oclock the wintry light was fading in the grey sky and in the railway station it was already dark There were lamps here and there but they only made separate splotches of light in the dusky atmosphere
Henry Dunbar walked slowly up and down the platform He was so deeply absorbed by his own thoughts that he was quite startled presently when a young man came close behind him and addressed him eagerly
Mr Dunbar he said Mr Dunbar
The banker turned sharply round and recognized Arthur Lovell
Ah my dear Lovell is that you You quite startled me
Are you going by the next train I was so anxious to see you
Why so
Because theres some one here who very much wishes to see you quite an old friend of yours he says Who do you think it is
I dont know I cant guessIve so many old friends I cant see any one Lovell Im very ill I saw a physician while I was in London and he told me that my heart is diseased and that if I wish to live I must avoid any agitation any sudden emotion as I would avoid a deadly poison Who is it that wants to see me
Lord Herriston the great AngloIndian statesman He is a friend of my fathers and he has been very kind to meindeed he offered me an appointment which I found it wisest to decline He talked a great deal about you when my father told him that youd settled at Maudesley and would have driven over to see you if he could have managed to spare the time without losing his train Youll see him wont you
Where is he
Here in the stationin the waitingroom He has been visiting in Warwickshire and he lunched with my father en passant he is going to Derby and hes waiting for the downtrain to take him on to the main line Youll come and see him
Yes I shall be very glad I
Henry Dunbar stopped suddenly with his hand upon his side The bell had been ringing while Lovell and the banker had stood upon the platform talking The train came into the station at this moment
I shant be able to see Lord Herriston tonight Mr Dunbar said hurriedly I must go by this train or I shall lose a day Goodbye Lovell Make my best compliments to Herriston tell him I have been very ill Goodbye
Your portmanteaus in the carriage sir the servant said pointing to the open door of a firstclass compartment Henry Dunbar got into the carriage At the moment of his doing so an elderly gentleman came out of the waitingroom
Is this my train Lovell he asked
No my Lord Mr Dunbar is here he goes by this train Youll have time to speak to him
The train was moving Lord Herriston was an active old fellow He ran along the platform looking into the carriages But the old mans sight was not as good as his legs were he looked eagerly into the carriagewindows but he only saw a confusion of flickering lamplight and strange faces and newspapers unfurled in the hands of wakeful travellers and the heads of sleepy passengers rolling and jolting against the padded sides of the carriage
My eyes are not what they used to be he said with a goodtempered laugh when he went back to Arthur Lovell I didnt succeed in getting a glimpse of my old friend Henry Dunbar
CHAPTER XXX
STOPPED UPON THE WAY
Mr Dunbar leant back in the corner of his comfortable seat with his eyes closed But he was not asleep he was only thinking and every now and then he bent forward and looked out of the window into the darkness of the night He could only distinguish the faint outline of the landscape as the train swept on upon its way past low meadows where the snow lay white and stainless unsullied by a passing footfall and scanty patches of woodland where the hardy firs looked black against the glittering whiteness of the ground
The country was all so much alike under its thick shroud of snow that Mr Dunbar tried in vain to distinguish any landmarks upon the way
The train by which he travelled stopped at every station and though the journey between Shorncliffe and Rugby was only to last an hour it seemed almost interminable to this impatient traveller who was eager to stand upon the deck of Messrs s electric steamers to feel the icy spray dashing into his face and to see the town of Dover shining like a flaming crescent against the darkness of the night and the Calais lights in the distance rising up behind the black edge of the sea
The banker looked at his watch and made a calculation about the time It was now a quarter past five the train was to reach Rugby at ten minutes to six at six the London express left Rugby at a quarter to eight it reached London at halfpast eight the Dover mail would leave London Bridge station and at halfpast seven or thereabouts next morning Henry Dunbar would be rattling through the streets of Paris
And then Was his journey to end in that brilliant city or was he to go farther That was a question whose answer was hidden in the travellers own breast He had not shown himself a communicative man at the best of times and tonight he looked like a man whose soul is weighed down by the burden of a purpose which must be achieved at any cost of personal sacrifice
He could not hear the names of the stations He only heard those guttural and inarticulate sounds which railway officials roar out upon the darkness of the night to the bewilderment of helpless travellers His inability to distinguish the names of the stations annoyed him The delay attendant upon every fresh stoppage worried him as if the pause had been the weary interval of an hour He sat with his watch in his hand for every now and then he was seized with a sudden terror that the train had fallen out of its regular pace and was crawling slowly along the rails
What if it should not reach Rugby until after the London express had left the station
Mr Dunbar asked one of his fellowtravellers if this train was always punctual
Yes the gentleman answered coolly I believe it is generally pretty regular But I dont know how the snow may affect the engine There have been accidents in some parts of the country
In consequence of the depth of snow
Yes I understand so
It was about ten minutes after this brief conversation and within a quarter of an hour of the time at which the train was due at Rugby when the carriage which had rocked a good deal from the first began to oscillate very violently One meagre little elderly traveller turned rather pale and looked nervously at his fellowpassengers but the young man who had spoken to Henry Dunbar and a baldheaded commerciallooking gentleman opposite to him went on reading their newspapers as coolly as if the rocking of the carriage had been no more perilous than the lullaby motion of an infants cradle guided by a mothers gentle foot
Mr Dunbar never took his eyes from the dial of his watch So the nervous traveller found no response to his look of terror
He sat quietly for a minute or so and then lowered the window near him and let in a rush of icy wind whereat the baldheaded commercial gentleman turned upon him rather fiercely and asked him what he was about and if he wanted to give them all inflammation of the lungs by letting in an atmosphere that was two degrees below zero But the little elderly gentleman scarcely heard this remonstrance his head was out of the window and he was looking eagerly Rugbywards along the line
Im afraid theres something wrong he said drawing in his head for a moment and looking with a scared white face at his fellowpassengers Im really afraid theres something wrong Were eight minutes behind our time and I see the dangersignal up yonder and the line seems blocked up with snow and I really fear
He looked out again and then drew in his head very suddenly
Theres something coming he cried theres an engine coming
He never finished his sentence There was a horrible smashing tearing grinding noise that was louder than thunder and more hideous than the crashing of cannon against the wooden walls of a brave ship
That horrible sound was followed by a yell almost as horrible and then there was nothing but death and terror and darkness and anguish and bewilderment masses of shattered woodwork and iron heaped in direful confusion upon the bloodstained snow human groans stifled under the wrecks of shivered carriages the cries of mothers whose children had been flung out of their arms into the very jaws of death the piteous wail of children who clung warm and living to the breasts of dead mothers martyred in that moment of destruction husbands parted from their wives wives shrieking for their husbands and amidst all brave men with white faces hurrying here and there with lamps in their hands halfmaimed and wounded some of them but forgetful of themselves in their care for the helpless wretches round them
The express going northwards had run into the train from Shorncliffe which had come upon the main line just nine minutes too late
One by one the dead and wounded were earned away from the great heap of ruins one by one the prostrate forms were borne away by quiet bearers who did their duty calmly and fearlessly in that hideous scene of havoc and confusion The great object to be achieved was the immediate clearance of the line and the sound of pickaxes and shovels almost drowned those other dreadful sounds the piteous moans of sufferers who were so little hurt as to be conscious of their sufferings
The train from Shorncliffe had been completely smashed The northern express had suffered much less but the enginedriver had been killed and several of the passengers severely injured
Henry Dunbar was amongst those who were carried away helpless and to all appearance lifeless from the ruin of the Shorncliffe train
One of the bankers legs was broken and he had received A blow upon the head which had rendered him immediately unconscious
But there were cases much worse than that of the banker the surgeon who examined the sufferers said that Mr Dunbar might recover from his injuries in two or three months if he was carefully treated The fracture of the leg was very simple and if the limb was skilfully set there would not be the least fear of contraction
Halfadozen surgeons were busy in one of the waitingrooms at the Rugby station whither the sufferers had been conveyed and one of them took possession of the banker
Mr Dunbars cardcase had been found in the breastpocket of his overcoat and a great many people in the waitingroom knew that the gentleman with the white lace and grey moustache lying so quietly upon one of the broad sofas was no less a personage than Henry Dunbar of Maudesley Abbey and St Gundolph Lane The surgeon knew it and thought his good angel had sent this particular patient across his pathway
He made immediate arrangements for bearing off Mr Dunbar to the nearest hotel he sent for his assistant and in a quarter of an hours time the millionaire was restored to consciousness and opened his eyes upon the eager faces of two medical gentlemen and upon a room that was strange to him
The banker looked about him with an expression of perplexity and then asked where he was He knew nothing of the accident itself and he had quite lost the recollection of all that had occurred immediately before the accident or indeed from the time of his leaving Maudesley Abbey
It was only little by little that the memory of the events of that day returned to him He had wanted to leave Maudesley he had wanted to go abroadto go upon a journeythat was no new purpose in his mind Had he actually set out upon that journey Yes surely he must have started upon it but what had happened then
He asked the surgeon what had happened and why it was that he found himself in that strange place
Mr Daphney the Rugby surgeon told his patient all about the accident in such a bland pleasant way that anybody might have thought the collision of a couple of engines rather an agreeable little episode in a mans life
But we are doing admirably sir Mr Daphney concluded nothing could be more desirable than the way in which we are going on and when our leg has been set and weve taken a cooling draught we shall be quite comfortable for the night I really never saw a cleaner fracturenever I can assure you
But Mr Dunbar raised himself into a sitting position in spite of the remonstrances of his medical attendant and looked anxiously about him
You say this place is Rugby he asked moodily
Yes this is Rugby answered the surgeon smiling and rubbing his hands almost as if he would have said Now isnt that delightful Yes this is the Queens Hotel Rugby and Im sure that every attention which the proprietor Mr
I must get away from this place tonight said Mr Dunbar interrupting the surgeon rather unceremoniously
Tonight my dear sir cried Mr Daphney impossibleutterly impossiblesuicide on your part my dear sir if you attempted it and murder upon mine if I allowed you to carry out such an idea You will be a prisoner here for a month or so sir I regret to say but we shall do all in our power to make your sojourn agreeable
The surgeon could not help looking cheerful as he made this announcement but seeing a very black and ominous expression upon the face of his patient he contrived to modify the radiance of his own countenance
Our first proceeding sir must be to straighten this poor leg he said soothingly We shall place the leg in a cradle from the thigh downwards but I wont trouble you with technical details I doubt if we shall be justified in setting the leg tonight we must reduce the swelling before we can venture upon any important step A cooling lotion applied with linen cloths must be kept on all night I have made arrangements for a nurse and my assistant will also remain here all night to supervise her movements
The banker groaned aloud
I want to get to London he said I must get to London
The surgeon and his assistant removed Mr Dunbars clothes His trousers had to be cut away from his broken leg before anything could be done Mr Daphney removed his patients coat and waistcoat but the linen shirt was left and the chamoisleather belt worn by the banker was under this shirt next to and over a waistcoat of scarlet flannel
I wear a leather belt next my flannel waistcoat Mr Dunbar said as the two men were undressing him I dont wish it to be removed
He fainted away presently for his leg was very painful and on reviving from his fainting fit he looked very suspiciously at his attendants and put his hand to the buckle of his belt in order to make himself sure that it had not been tampered with
All through the long feverish restless night he lay pondering over this miserable interruption of his journey while the sicknurse and the surgeons assistant alternately slopped cooling lotions about his wretched broken leg
To think that this should happen he muttered to himself every now and then Amongst all the things Ive ever dreaded I never thought of this
His leg was set in the course of the next day and in the evening he had a long conversation with the surgeon
This time Henry Dunbar did not speak so much of his anxiety to get away upon the second stage of his continental journey His servant Jeffreys arrived at Rugby in the course of the day for the news of the accident had reached Maudesley Abbey and it was known that Mr Dunbar had been a sufferer
Tonight Henry Dunbar only spoke of the misery of being in a strange house
I want to get back to Maudesley he said If you can manage to take me there Mr Daphney and look after me until Ive got over the effects of this accident I shall be very happy to make you any compensation you please for whatever loss your absence from Rugby might entail upon you
This was a very diplomatic speech Mr Dunbar knew that the surgeon would not care to let so rich a patient out of his hands but he fancied that Mr Daphney would have no objection to carrying his patient in triumph to Maudesley Abbey to the admiration of the unprofessional public and to the aggravation of rival medical men
He was not mistaken in his estimate of human nature At the end of the week he had succeeded in persuading the surgeon to agree to his removal and upon the second Monday after the railway accident Henry Dunbar was placed in a compartment which was specially prepared for him in the Shorncliffe train and was conveyed from Shorncliffe station to Maudesley Abbey without undergoing any change of position upon the road and very carefully tended throughout the journey by Mr Daphney and Jeffreys the valet
They wheeled Mr Dunbars bed into his favourite tapestried chamber and laid him there to drag out long dreary days and nights waiting till his broken bones should unite and he should be free to go whither he pleased He was not a very patient sufferer he bore the pain well enough but he chafed perpetually against the delay and every morning he asked the surgeon the same question
When shall I be strong enough to walk about
CHAPTER XXXI
CLEMENT AUSTIN MAKES A SACRIFICE
Margaret Wilmot had promised to become the wife of the man she loved but she had given that promise very reluctantly and only upon one condition The condition was that before her marriage with Clement Austin took place the mystery of her fathers death should be cleared up for ever
I cannot be your wife so long as the secret of that cruel deed remains unknown she said to Clement It seems to me as if I have already been wickedly neglectful of a solemn duty Who had my father to love him and remember him in all the world but me and who should avenge his death if I do not He was an outcast from society and people think it a very small thing that after having led a reckless life he should die a cruel death If Henry Dunbar the rich banker had been murdered the police would never have rested until the assassin had been discovered But who cares what became of Joseph Wilmot except his daughter His death makes no blank in the world except to meexcept to me
Clement Austin did not forget his promise to do his uttermost towards the discovery of the bankers guilt He believed that Henry Dunbar was the murderer of his old servant and he had believed it ever since that day upon which the banker stole like a detected thief out of the house in St Gundolph Lane
It was just possible that Henry Dunbar might avoid Joseph Wilmots daughter from a natural horror of the events connected with his return to England but that the banker should resort to a cowardly stratagem to escape from an interview with the girl could scarcely be accounted for except by the fact of his guilt
He had an insurmountable terror of seeing this girl because he was the murderer of her father
The longer Clement Austin deliberated upon this business the more certainly he came to that one terrible conclusion Henry Dunbar was guilty He would gladly have thought otherwise and he would have been very happy had he been able to tell Margaret Wilmot that the mystery of her fathers death was a mystery that would never be solved upon this earth but he could not do so he could only bow his head before the awful necessity that urged him on to take his part in this drama of crimethe part of an avenger
But a cashier in a London bank has very little time to play any part in lifes history except that quiet rôle which seems chiefly to consist in locking and unlocking iron safes peering furtively into mysterious ledgers and shovelling about new sovereigns as coolly as if they were Wallsend or ClayCross coals
Clement Austins life was not an easy one and he had no time to turn amateur detective even in the service of the woman ha loved
He had no time to turn amateur detective so long as he remained at the bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane
But could he remain there That question arose in his mind and took a very serious form Was it possible to remain in that house when he believed the principal member of it to be one of the most infamous of men
No it was quite impossible for him to remain in his present situation So long as he took a salary from Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby he was in a manner under obligation to Henry Dunbar He could not remain in this mans service and yet at the same time play the spy upon his actions and work heart and soul to drag the dreadful secret of his life into the light of day
Thus it was that towards the close of the week in which Henry Dunbar for the first time after his return from India visited the bankingoffices Clement Austin handed a formal notice of resignation to Mr Balderby The cashier could not immediately resign his situation but was compelled to give his employers a months notice of the withdrawal of his services
A thunderbolt falling upon the moroccocovered writingtable in Mr Balderbys private parlour could scarcely have been more astonishing to the junior partner than this letter which Clement Austin handed him very quietly and very respectfully
There were many reasons why Clement Austin should remain in the bankinghouse His father had lived for thirty years and had eventually died in the employment of Dunbar and Dunbar He had been a great favourite with the brothers and Clement had been admitted into the house as a boy and had received much notice from Percival More than this he had every chance of being admitted ere long to a junior partnership upon very easy terms which junior partnership would of course be the highroad to a great fortune
Mr Balderby sat with the letter open in his hands staring at the lines before him as if he was scarcely able to comprehend their purport
Do you mean this Austin he said at last
Yes sir Circumstances over which I have no control compel me to offer you my resignation
Have you quarrelled with anybody in the office Has anything occurred in the house that has made you uncomfortable
No indeed Mr Balderby I am very comfortable in my position
The junior partner leaned back in his chair and stared at the cashier as if he had been trying to detect the traces of incipient insanity in the young mans countenance
You are comfortable in your position and yet youOh I suppose the real truth of the matter is that you have heard of something better and you are ready to give us the goby in order to improve your own circumstances said Mr Balderby with a tone of pique though I really dont see how you can very well be better off anywhere than you are here he added thoughtfully
You do me wrong sir when you think that I could willingly leave you for my own advantage Clement answered quietly I have no better engagement nor have I even a prospect of any engagement
You havent exclaimed the junior partner and yet you throw away such a chance as only falls to the lot of one man in a thousand I dont particularly care about guessing riddles Mr Austin perhaps youll be kind enough to tell me frankly why you want to leave us
I regret to say that it is impossible for me to do so sir replied the cashier my motive for leaving this house which is a kind of second home to me is no frivolous one believe me I have weighed well the step I am about to take and I am quite aware that I sacrifice very excellent prospects in throwing up my present situation But the reason of my resignation must remain a secret for the present at least If ever the day comes when I am able to explain my conduct I believe that you will give me your hand and say to me Clement Austin you only did your duty
Clement said Mr Balderby you are an excellent fellow but you certainly must have got some romantic crotchet in your head or you could never have thought of writing such a letter as this Are you going to be married Is that your reason for leaving us Have you fascinated some wealthy heiress and are you going to retire into splendid slavery
No sir I am engaged to be married but the lady whom I hope to call my wife is poor and I have every necessity to be a working man for the rest of my life
Well then my dear fellow its a riddle and as I said before Im not good at guessing enigmas There my boy go home and sleep upon this and come back to me tomorrow morning and tell me to throw this stupid letter in the firethats the wisest thing you can do Good night
But in spite of all that Mr Balderby could say Clement Austin steadily adhered to his resolution He worked early and late during the month in which he remained at his post preparing the ledgers balancing accounts and making things straight and easy for the new cashier He told Margaret Wilmot of what he had done but he did not tell her the extent of the sacrifice which he had made for her sake She was the only person who knew the real motive of his conduct for to his mother he said very little more than he had said to Mr Balderby
I shall be able to tell you my motives for leaving the bankinghouse at some future time dear mother he said until that time I can only entreat you to trust me and to believe that I have acted for the best
I do believe it my dear answered the widow cheerfully when did you ever do anything that wasnt wise and good
Her only son Clement was the god of this simple womans idolatry and if he had seen fit to turn her out of doors and ask her to beg by his side in the streets of the city I doubt if she would not have imagined some hidden wisdom lurking at the bottom of his apparently irrational proceedings So she made no objection to his abandoning his desk in the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby
We shall be poorer I suppose Clem Mrs Austin said but thats very little consequence for your dear father left me so comfortably off that I can very well afford to keep house for my only son and I shall have you more at home dear and that will indeed be happiness
But Clement told his mother that he had some very important business on hand just then which would occupy him a good deal and indeed the first step necessary would be a journey to Shorncliffe in Warwickshire
Why thats where you went to school Clem
Yes mother
And its near Mr Percival Dunbaror at least Mr Dunbars country house
Yes mother answered Clement Now the business in which I am engaged isis rather of a difficult nature and I want legal help My old schoolfellow Arthur Lovell who is as good a fellow as ever breathed has been educated for the law and is now a solicitor He lives at Shorncliffe with his father John Lovell who is also a solicitor and a man of some standing in the county I shall run down to Shorncliffe see my old friend and get has advice and if youll bring Margaret down for a few days change of air well stop at the dear old Reindeer where you used to come mother when I was at school and where you used to give me such jolly dinners in the days when a good dinner was a treat to a hungry schoolboy
Mrs Austin smiled at her son she smiled tenderly as she remembered his bright boyhood Mothers with only sons are not very strongminded Had Clement proposed a trip to the moon she would scarcely have known how to refuse him her company on the expedition
She shivered a little and looked rather doubtfully from the blazing fire which lit up the cozy drawingroom to the cold grey sky outside the window
The beginning of January isnt the pleasantest time in the year for a trip into the country Clem dear she said but I should certainly be very lonely at home without you And as to poor Madge of course it would be a great treat to her to get away from her pupils and have a peep at the genuine country even though there isnt a single leaf upon the trees So I suppose I must say yes But do tell me all about this business theres a dear good boy
Unfortunately the dear good boy was obliged to tell his mother that the business in question was like his motive for resigning his situation a profound secret and that it must remain so for some time to come
Wait dear mother he said you shall know all about it byandby Believe me when I tell you that its not a very pleasant business he added with a sigh
Its not unpleasant for you I hope Clement
It isnt pleasant for any one who is concerned in it mother answered the young man thoughtfully its altogether a miserable business but Im not concerned in it as a principal you know dear mother and when its all over we shall only look back upon it as the passing of a black cloud over our lives and you will say that I have done my duty Dearest mother dont look so puzzled added Clement this matter must remain a secret for the present Only wait and trust me
I will my dear boy Mrs Austin said presently I will trust you with all my heart for I know how good you are But I dont like secrets Clem secrets always make me uncomfortable
No more was said upon this subject and it was arranged byandby that Mrs Austin and Margaret should prepare to start for Warwickshire at the beginning of the following week when Clement would be freed from all engagements to Messrs Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby
Margaret had waited very patiently for this time in which Clement would be free to give her all his help in that awful task which lay before herthe discovery of Henry Dunbars guilt
You will go to Shorncliffe with my mother Clement Austin said upon the evening after his conversation with the widow you will go with her Madge ostensibly upon a little pleasure trip Once there we shall be able to contrive an interview with Mr Dunbar He is a prisoner at Maudesley Abbey laid up by the effect of his accident the other day but not too ill to see people Balderby says therefore I should think we may be able to plan an interview between you and him You still hold to your original purpose You wish to see Henry Dunbar
Yes answered Margaret thoughtfully I want to see him I want to look straight into the face of the man whom I believe to be my fathers murderer I dont know why it is but this purpose has been uppermost in my mind ever since I heard of that dreadful journey to Winchester ever since I first knew that my father had been murdered while travelling with Henry Dunbar It might as you have said be wiser to watch and wait and to avoid all chance of alarming this man But I cant be wise I want to see him I want to look in his face and see if his eyes can meet mine
You shall see him then dear girl A womans instinct is sometimes worth more than a mans wisdom You shall see Henry Dunbar I know that my old schoolfellow Arthur Lovell will help me with all his heart and soul I have called again upon the ScotlandYard people and I gave them a minute description of the scene in St Gundolph Lane but they only shrugged their shoulders and said the circumstances looked queer but were not strong enough to act upon If any body can help us Arthur Lovell can for he was present at the inquest and all further examination of the witnesses at Winchester
If Margaret Wilmot and Clement Austin had been going upon any other errand than that which took them to Warwickshire the journey to Shorncliffe might have been very pleasant to them
To Margaret this comfortable journey in the cushioned corner of a firstclass carriage respectfully waited upon by the man she loved possessed at least the charm of novelty Her journeys hitherto had been long wearisome pilgrimages in draughty thirdclass carriages with noisy company and in an atmosphere pervaded by a powerful effluvium of various kinds of alcohol
Her life had been a very hard one darkened by the everbrooding shadow of disgrace It was new to her to sit quietly looking out at the low meadows and glimmering whitewalled villas the patches of sparse woodland the distant villages the glimpses of rippling water shining in the wintry sun It was new to her to be loved by people whose minds were unembittered by the baneful memories of wrong and crime It was new to her to hear gentle voices sweet Christianlike words it was new to her to breathe the bright atmosphere that surrounds those who lead a virtuous Godfearing life
But there is little sunshine without its attendant shadow The shadow upon Margarets life now was the shadow of that coming taskthat horrible work which must be donebefore she could be free to thank God for His mercies and to be happy
The London train reached Shorncliffe early in the afternoon Clement Austin hired a roomy old fly and carried off his companions to the Reindeer
The Reindeer was a comfortable oldfashioned hotel It had been a very grand place in the coachingdays and you entered the hostelry by a broad and ponderous archway under which Highflyers and Electrics had driven triumphantly in the days that were for ever gone
The house was a roomy old place with long corridors and wide staircases noble staircases with broad slippery oaken banisters and shallow steps The rooms were grand and big with bow windows so spotless in their cleanness that they had rather a cold effect on a January day and were apt to inspire in the vulgar mind the fancy that a little dirt or smoke would look warmer and more comfortable Certainly if the Reindeer had a fault it was that it was too clean Everything was actually slippery with cleanness from the newlycalendered chintz that covered the sofa and the chaircushions to the copper coalscuttle that glittered by the side of the dazzling brass fender There were faint odours of soft soap in the bedchambers which no amount of dried lavender could overcome There was an effluvium of vitriol about all the brasswork and there was a good deal of brasswork in the Reindeer and if one species of decoration is more conducive to shivering than another it certainly is brasswork in a state of high polish
There was no dish ever devised by mortal cook which the sojourner at the Reindeer could not have according to the preliminary statement of the landlord but with whatever ambitious design the sojourner began to talk about dinner it always ended somehow or other by his ordering a chicken a little bit of boiled bacon a dish of cutlets and a tart There were days upon which divers species of fish were to be had in Shorncliffe but the sojourner at the Reindeer rarely happened to hit upon one of those days
Clement Austin installed Margaret and the widow in a sittingroom which would have comfortably accommodated about forty people There was a bowwindow quite large enough for the requirements of a small family and Mrs Austin settled herself there while the landlord was struggling with a refractory fire and pretending not to know that the grate was damp
Clement went through the usual fiction of deliberation as to what he should have for dinner and of course ended with the perennial chicken and cutlets
I havent the fine appetite I had fifteen years ago Mr Gilwood he said to the landlord when my mother yonder who hasnt grown fifteen days older in all those fifteen yearsbless her dear motherly heartused to come down to see me at the academy in the Lisford Road and give me a dinner in this dear old room I thought your cutlets the most ethereal morsels ever dished by mortal cook Mr Gilwood and this room the best place in all the world You know Mr LovellMr Arthur Lovell
Yes sir and a very nice young gentleman he is
Hes settled in Shorncliffe I suppose
Well I believe he is sir There was some talk of his going out to India in a Government appointment sir or something of that sort but Im given to understand that its all off now and that Mr Arthur is to go into partnership with his father and a very clever young lawyer he is Ive been told
So much the better answered Clement for I want to consult him upon a little matter of business Goodbye mother Take care of Madge and make yourselves as comfortable as you can I think the fire will burn now Mr Gilwood I shant be away above an hour I dare say and then Ill come and take you for a walk before dinner God bless you my poor Madge Clement whispered as Margaret followed him to the door of the room and looked wistfully after him as he went down the staircase
Mrs Austin had once cherished ambitious views with regard to her sons matrimonial prospects but she had freely given them up when she found that he had set his heart upon winning Margaret Wilmot for his wife The good mother had made this sacrifice willingly and without complaint as she would have made any other sacrifice for her dearlybeloved only son and she found the reward of her devotion for Margaret this penniless friendless girl had become very dear to hera real daughter not in law but bound by the sweet ties of gratitude and affection
And I was such a silly old creature my dear the widow said to Margaret as they sat in the bowwindow looking out into the quiet street I was so worldlyminded that I wanted Clement to marry a rich woman so that I might have some stuckup daughterinlaw who would despise her husbands mother and estrange my boy from me and make my old age miserable Thats what I wanted Madge and what I might have had perhaps if Clem hadnt been wiser than his silly old mother And thanks to him Ive got the sweetest truest brightest girl that ever lived though you are not as bright as usual today Madge Mrs Austin added thoughtfully You havent smiled once this morning my dear and you seem as if youd something on your mind
Ive been thinking of my poor father Margaret answered quietly
To be sure my dear and I might have known as much my poor tenderhearted lamb I know how unhappy those thoughts always make you
Clement Austin had not been at Shorncliffe for three years He had visited Maudesley Abbey several times during the lifetime of Percival Dunbar for he had been a favourite with the old man and he had been four years at a boardingschool kept by a clergyman of the Church of England in a fine old brick mansion on the Lisford Road
The town of Shorncliffe was therefore familiar to Mr Austin and he looked neither to the right nor to the left as he walked towards the archway of St Gwendolines Church near which Mr Lovells house was situated
He found Arthur at home and very delighted to see his old schoolfellow The two young men went into a little panelled room looting into the garden a cosy little room which Arthur Lovell called his study and here they sat together for upwards of an hour discussing the circumstances of the murder at Winchester and the conduct of Mr Dunbar since that event
In the course of that interview Clement Austin plainly perceived that Arthur Lovell had come to the same conclusion as himself though the young lawyer was slow to express his opinion
I cannot bear to think it he said I know Laura Dunbarthat is to say Lady Jocelynand it is too horrible to me to imagine that her father is guilty of this crime What would be that innocent girls feelings if it should be so and if her fathers guilt should be brought home to him
Yes it would be very terrible for Lady Jocelyn no doubt Clement answered but that consideration must not hinder the course of justice I think this mans position has served him as a shield from the very first People have thought it next to impossible that Henry Dunbar could be guilty of a crime while they would have been ready enough to suspect some penniless vagabond of any iniquity
Arthur Lovell told Clement that the banker was still at Maudesley bound a prisoner by his broken leg which was going on favourably enough but very slowly
Mr Dunbar had expressed a wish to go abroad in spite of his broken leg and had only desisted from his design of being conveyed somehow or other from place to place when he was told that any such imprudence might result in permanent lameness
Keep yourself quiet and submit to the necessities of your accident and youll recover quickly the surgeon told his patient Try to hurry the work of nature and youll have cause to repent your impatience for the remainder of your life
So Henry Dunbar had been obliged to submit himself to the decrees of Fate and to lie day after day and night after night upon his bed in the tapestried chamber staring at the fire or the figure of his valet and attendant nodding in the easychair by the hearth or listening to the cinders falling from the grate and the moaning of the winter wind amongst the bare branches of the elms
The banker was getting better and stronger every day Arthur Lovell said His attendants were able to remove him from one chamber to another a pair of crutches had been made for him but he had not yet been able to make his first feeble trial of them He was fain to content himself with being carried to an easychair to sit for a few hours wrapped in blankets with the leopardskin rug about his legs No man could have been more completely a prisoner than this man had become by the result of the fatal accident near Rugby
Providence has thrown him into my power Margaret said when Clement repeated to her the information which he had received from Arthur LovellProvidence has thrown this man into my power for he can no longer escape and surrounded by his own servants he will scarcely dare to refuse to see me he will surely never be so unwise as to betray his terror of me
And if he does refuse
If he does Ill invent some stratagem by which I may see him But he will not refuse When he finds that I am so resolute as to follow him here he will not refuse to see me
This conversation took place during a brief walk which the lovers took in the wintry dusk while Mrs Austin nodded by the fire in that comfortable halfhour which precedes dinner
CHAPTER XXXII
WHAT HAPPENED AT MAUDESLEY ABBEY
Early the next day Clement Austin walked to Maudesley Abbey in order to procure all the information likely to facilitate Margaret Wilmots grand purpose He stopped at the gate of the principal lodge The woman who kept it was an old servant of the Dunbar family and had known Clement Austin in Percival Dunbars lifetime She gave him a hearty welcome and he had no difficulty whatever in setting her tongue in motion upon the subject of Henry Dunbar
She told him a great deal she told him that the present owner of the Abbey never had been liked and never would be liked for his stern and gloomy manner was so unlike his fathers easy affable goodnature that people were always drawing comparisons between the dead man and the living
This in a few words is the substance of what the worthy woman said in a good many words Mrs Grumbleton gave Clement all the information he required as to the bankers daily movements at the present time Henry Dunbar was now in the habit of rising about two oclock in the day at which time he was assisted from his bedroom to his sittingroom where he remained until seven or eight oclock in the evening He had no visitors except the surgeon Mr Daphney who lived in the Abbey and a gentleman called Vernon who had bought Woodbine Cottage near Lisford and who now and then was admitted to Mr Dunbars sittingroom
This was all Clement Austin wanted to know Surely it might be possible with a little clever management to throw the banker completely off his guard and to bring about the longdelayed interview between him and Margaret Wilmot
Clement returned to the Reindeer had a brief conversation with Margaret and made all arrangements
At four oclock that afternoon Miss Wilmot and her lover left the Reindeer in a fly at a quarter to five the fly stopped at the lodgegates
I will walk to the house Margaret said my coming will attract less notice But I may be detained for some time Clement Pray dont wait for me Your dear mother will be alarmed if you are very long absent Go back to her and send the fly for me byandby
Nonsense Madge I shall wait for you however long you may be Do you think my heart is not as much engaged in anything that may influence your fate as even your own can be I wont go with you to the Abbey for it will be as well that Henry Dunbar should remain in ignorance of my presence in the neighbourhood I will walk up and down the road here and wait for you
But you may have to wait so long Clement
No matter how long I can wait patiently but I could not endure to go home and leave you Madge
They were standing before the great iron gates as Clement said this He pressed Margarets cold hand he could feel how cold it was even through her glove and then rang the bell She looked at him as the gate was opened she turned and looked at him with a strangely earnest gaze as she crossed the boundary of Henry Dunbars domain and then walked slowly along the broad avenue
That last look had shown Clement Austin a pale resolute face something like the countenance of a fair young martyr going quietly to the stake
He walked away from the gates and they shut behind him with a loud clanging noise Then he went back to them and watched Margarets figure growing dim and distant in the gathering dusk as she approached the Abbey A faint glow of crimson firelight reddened the graveldrive before the windows of Mr Dunbars apartments and there was a footman airing himself under the shadow of the porch with a glimmer of light shining out of the hall behind him
I do not suppose I shall have to wait very long for my poor girl Clement thought as he left the gates and walked briskly up and down the road Henry Dunbar is a resolute man he will refuse to see her today as he refused before
Margaret found the footman lolling against the clustered pillars of the gothic porch staring thoughtfully at the low evening light yellow and red behind the brown trunks of the elms and picking his teeth with a gold toothpick
The sight of the open halldoor and this languid footman lolling in the porch suddenly inspired Margaret Wilmot with a new idea Would it not be possible to slip quietly past this man and walk straight to the apartments of Mr Dunbar unquestioned uninterrupted
Clement had pointed out to her the windows of the rooms occupied by the banker They were on the lefthand side of the entrancehall It would be impossible for her to mistake the door leading to them It was dusk and she was very plainly dressed with a black straw bonnet and a veil over her face Surely she might deceive this languid footman by affecting to be some hangeron of the household which of course was a large one
In that case she had no right to present herself at the front door certainly but then before the languid footman could recover from the first shock of indignation at her impertinence she might slip past him and reach the door leading to those apartments in which the banker hid himself and his guilt
Margaret lingered a little in the avenue watching for a favourable opportunity in which she might hazard this attempt She waited five minutes or so
The curve of the avenue screened her in some wise from the man in the porch who never happened to roll his languid eyes towards the spot where she was standing
A flight of rooks came scudding through the sky presently very much excited and cawing and screeching as if they had been an ornithological fire brigade hurrying to extinguish the flames of some distant rookery
The footman who was suffering acutely from the complaint of not knowing what to do with himself came out of the porch and stood in the middle of the gravelled drive with his back towards Margaret staring at the birds as they flew westward
This was her opportunity The girl hurried to the door with a light step so light upon the smooth solid gravel that the footman heard nothing until she was on the broad stone step under the porch when the fluttering of her skirt as it brushed against the pillars roused him from a species of trance or reverie
He turned sharply round as upon a pivot and stared aghast at the retreating figure under the porch
Hi you there young woman he exclaimed without stirring from his post where are you going to Whats the meaning of your coming to this door Are you aware that theres such a place as a servants all and a servants hentrance
But the languid retainer was too late Margarets hand was upon the massive knob of the door upon the left side of the hall before the footman had put this last indignant question
He listened for an apologetic murmur from the young woman but hearing none concluded that she had found her way to the servants hall where she had most likely some business or other with one of the female members of the household
A dressmaker I dessay the footman thought Those gals spend all their earnings in finery and fallals instead of behaving like respectable young women and saving up their money against they can go into the public line with the man of their choice
He yawned and went on staring at the rooks without troubling himself any further about the impertinent young person who had dared to present herself at the grand entrance
Margaret opened the door and went into the room next the hall
It was a handsome apartment lined with books from the floor to the ceiling but it was quite empty and there was no fire burning in the grate The girl put up her veil and looked about her She was very very pale now and trembled violently but she controlled her agitation by a great effort and went slowly on to the next room
The second room was empty like the first but the door between it and the next chamber was wide open and Margaret saw the firelight shining upon the faded tapestry and reflected in the sombre depths of the polished oak furniture She heard the low sound of the light ashes falling on the hearth and the shorting breath of a dog
She knew that the man she sought and had so long sought without avail was in that room Alone for there was no murmur of voices no sound of any one moving in the apartment That hour to which Margaret Wilmot had looked as the great crisis of her life had come and her courage failed her all at once and her heart sank in her breast on the very threshold of the chamber in which she was to stand face to face with Henry Dunbar
The murderer of my father she thought the man whose influence blighted my fathers life and made him what he was The man through whose reckless sin my father lived a life that left him oh how sadly unprepared to die The man who knowing this sent his victim before an offended God without so much warning as would have given him time to think one prayer I am going to meet that man face to face
Her breath came in faint gasps and the firelit chamber swam before her eyes as she crossed the threshold of that door and went into the room where Henry Dunbar was sitting alone before the low fire
He was wrapped in crimson draperies of thick woollen stuff and the leopardskin railway rug was muffled about his knees A dog of the bulldog breed was lying asleep at the bankers feet halfhidden in the folds of the leopardskin Henry Dunbars head was bent over the fire and his eyes were closed in a kind of dozing sleep as Margaret Wilmot went into the room
There was an empty chair opposite to that in which the banker sat an oldfashioned carved oakchair with a high back and crimsonmorocco cushions Margaret went softly up to this chair and laid her hand upon the oaken framework Her footsteps made no sound on the thick Turkey carpet the banker never stirred from his doze and even the dog at his feet slept on
Mr Dunbar cried Margaret in a clear resolute voice awake it is I Margaret Wilmot the daughter of the man who was murdered in the grove near Winchester
The dog awoke and snapped at her The man lifted his head and looked at her Even the fire seemed roused by the sound of her voice for a little jet of vivid light leaped up out of the smouldering log and lighted the scared face of the banker
Clement Austin had promised Margaret to wait for her and to wait patiently and he meant to keep his promise But there are some limits even to the patience of a lover though he were the veriest knighterrant who was ever eager to shiver a lance or hack the edge of a battleaxe for love of his liege lady When you have nothing to do but to walk up and down a few yards of hard dusty highroad upon a bleak evening in January an hour more or less is of considerable importance Five oclock struck about ten minutes after Margaret Wilmot had entered the park and Clement thought to himself that even if Margaret were successful in obtaining an interview with the banker that interview would be over before six But the faint strokes of Lisfordchurch clock died away upon the cold evening wind and Clement was still pacing up and down and the fly was still waiting the horse comfortable enough with a rug upon his back and his nose in a bag of oats the man walking up and down by the side of the vehicle slapping his gloved hands across his shoulders every now and then to keep himself warm In that long hour between six and seven Clement Austins patience wore itself almost threadbare It is one thing to ride into the lists on a prancing steed caparisoned with embroidered trappings worked by the fair hands of your ladylove and with the trumpets braying and the populace shouting and the Queen of beauty smiling sweet approval of your prowess but it is quite another thing to walk up and down a dusty country road with the wind biting like some ravenous animal at the tip of your nose and no more consciousness of your legs and arms than if you were a Miss Biffin
By the time seven oclock struck Clement Austins patience had given up the ghost and to impatience had succeeded a vague sense of alarm Margaret Wilmot had gone to force herself into this mans presence in spite of his reiterated refusal to see her What ifwhat if goaded by her persistence maddened by the consciousness of his own guilt he should attempt any violence
Oh no no that was quite impossible If this man was guilty his crime had been deliberately planned and executed with such a diabolical cunning that he had been able so far to escape detection In his own house surrounded by prying servants he would never dare to assail this girl by so much as a harsh word
But notwithstanding this Clement was determined to wait no longer He would go to the Abbey at once and ascertain the cause of Margarets delay He rang the bell went into the park and ran along the avenue to the perch Lights were shining in Mr Dunbars windows but the great halldoor was closely shut
The languid footman came in answer to Clements summons
There is a young lady here Clement said breathlessly a young ladywith Mr Dunbar
Ho is that hall asked the footman satirically I thought Shorncliffe townall was afire at the very least from the way you rung There was a young pusson with Mr Dunbar above a hour ago if thats what you mean
Above an hour ago cried Clement Austin heedless of the mans impertinence in his own growing anxiety do you mean to say that the young lady has left
She have left above a hour ago
She went away from this house an hour ago
More than a hour ago
Impossible Clement said impossible
It may be so answered the footman who was of an ironical turn of mind but I let her out with my own hands and I saw her go out with my own eyes notwithstanding
The man shut the door before Clement had recovered from his surprise and left him standing in the porch bewildered though he scarcely knew why frightened though he scarcely knew what he feared
CHAPTER XXXIII
MARGARETS RETURN
For some minutes Clement Austin lingered in the porch at Maudesley Abbey utterly at a loss as to what he should do next
Margaret had left the Abbey an hour ago according to the footmans statement but in that case where had she gone Clement had been walking up and down the road before the iron gates of the park and they had not been opened once during the hours in which he had waited outside them Margaret could not have left the park therefore by the principal entrance If she had gone away at all she must have gone out by one of the smaller gatesby the lodgegate upon the Lisford Road perhaps and thus back to Shorncliffe
But then why in Heavens name had Margaret set out to walk home when the fly was waiting for her at the gates when her lover was also waiting for her full of anxiety to know the result of the step she had taken
She forgot that I was waiting for her perhaps Clement thought to himself She may have forgotten all about me in the fearful excitement of this nights work
The young man was by no means pleased by this idea
Margaret can love me very little in that case he said to himself My first thought in any great crisis of my life would be to go to her and tell her all that had happened to me
There were no less than four different means of exit from the park Clement Austin knew this and he knew that it would take him upwards of two hours to go to all four of them
Ill make inquiries at the gate upon the Lisford Road he said to himself and if I find Margaret has left by that way I can get the fly round there and pick her up between this and Shorncliffe Poor girl in her ignorance of this neighbourhood she has no idea of the distance she will have to walk
Mr Austin could not help feeling vexed by Margarets conduct but he did all he could to save the girl from the fatigue she was likely to entail upon herself through her own folly He ran to the lodge upon the Lisford Road and asked the woman who kept it if a lady had gone out about an hour before
The woman told him that a young lady had gone out an hour and a half before
This was enough Clement ran across the park to the western entrance got into the fly and told the man to drive back to Shorncliffe by the Lisford Road as fast as he could go and to look out on the way for the young lady whom he had driven to Maudesley Abbey that afternoon
You watch the left side of the road Ill watch the right Clement said
The driver was cold and cross but he was anxious to get back to Shorncliffe and he drove very fast
Clement sat with the window down and the frosty wind blowing full upon his face as he looted out for Margaret
But he reached Shorncliffe without having overtaken her and the fly crawled under the ponderous archway beneath which the dashing mailcoaches had rolled in the days that were for ever gone
She must have got home before me the cashier thought I shall find her upstairs with my mother
He went up to the large room with the bowwindow The table in the centre of the room was laid for dinner and Mrs Austin was nodding in a great armchair near the fire with the county newspaper in her lap The waxcandles were lighted the crimson curtains were drawn before the bowwindow and the room looked altogether very comfortable but there was no Margaret
The widow started up at the sound of the opening of the door and her sons hurried footsteps
Why Clement she cried how late you are I seem to have been sitting dozing here for full two hours and the fire has been replenished three times since the cloth was laid for dinner What have you been doing my dear boy
Clement looked about him before he answered
Yes I am very late mother I know he said but wheres Margaret
Mrs Austin stared aghast at her sons question
Why Margaret is with you is she not she exclaimed
No mother I expected to find her here
Did you leave her then
No not exactly that is to say I
Clement did not finish the sentence He walked slowly up and down the room thinking whilst his mother watched him very anxiously
My dear Clement Mrs Austin exclaimed at last you really quite alarm me You set out this afternoon upon some mysterious expedition with Margaret and though I ask you both where you are going you both refuse to satisfy my very natural curiosity and look as solemn as if you were about to attend a funeral Then after ordering dinner for seven oclock you keep it waiting nearly two hours and you come in without Margaret and seem alarmed at not seeing net here What does it all mean Clement
I cannot tell you mother
What is this business of today then a part of your secret
It is answered the cashier I can only say again what I said before mothertrust me
The widow sighed and shrugged her shoulders with a deprecating gesture
I suppose I must be satisfied Clem she said But this is the first time theres ever been anything like a mystery between you and me
It is mother and I hope it may be the last
The elderly waiter who remembered the coaching days and pretended to believe that the Reindeer was not an institution of the past came in presently with the first course
It happened to be one of those days on which fish was to be had in Shorncliffe and the first course consisted of a pair of very small soles and a large cruetstand The waiter removed the cover with as lofty a flourish as if the small soles had been the noblest turbot that ever made the glory of an aldermannic feast
Clement seated himself at the dinnertable in deference to his mother and went through the ceremony of dinner but he scarcely ate half a dozen mouthfuls His ears were strained to hear the sound of Margarets footstep in the corridor without and he rejected the waiters fishsauces in a manner that almost wounded the feelings of that functionary His mind was racked by anxiety about the missing girl
Had he passed her on the road No that was very improbable for he had kept so sharp a watch upon the lonely highway that it was more than unlikely the familiar figure of her whom he looked for could have escaped his eager eyes Had Mr Dunbar detained her at Maudesley Abbey against her will No no that was quite impossible for the footman had distinctly declared that he had seen his masters visitor leave the house and the footmans manner had been innocence itself
The dinnertable was cleared byandby and Mrs Austin produced some coloured wools and a pair of ivory knittingneedles and set to work very quietly by the light of the tall waxcandles but even she was beginning to be uneasy at the absence of hot sons betrothed wife
My dear Clement she said at last Im really growing quite uneasy about Madge How is it that you left her
Clement did not answer this question but he got up and took his hat from a sidetable near the door
Im uneasy about her absence too mother he said Ill go and look for her
He was leaving the room but his mother called to him
Clement she cried you surely wont go out without your greatcoatupon such a bitter night as this too
But Mr Austin did not stop to listen to his mothers remonstrance he hurried out into the corridor and shut the door of the room behind him He wanted to run away and look for Margaret though he did not know how or where to seek for her Quiescence had become intolerable to him It was utterly impossible that he should sit calmly by the fire waiting for the coming of the girl he loved
He was hurrying along the corridor but he stopped abruptly for a wellknown figure appeared upon the broad landing at the top of the stairs There was an archway at the end of the corridor and a lamp hung under the archway By the light of this lamp Clement Austin saw Margaret Wilmot coming towards him slowly as if she dragged herself along by a painful effort and would have been well content to sink upon the carpeted floor and lie there helpless and inert
Clement ran to meet her with his face lighted up by that intense delight which a man feels when some intolerable fear is suddenly lifted off his mind
Margaret he cried thank God you have returned Oh my dear if you only knew what misery your conduct has caused me
He held out his arms but to his unutterable surprise the girl recoiled from him She recoiled from him with a look of horror and shrank against the wall as if her chief desire was to avoid the slightest contact with her lover
Clement was startled by the blank whiteness of her face the fixed stare of her dilated eyes The January wind had blown her hair about her forehead in loose disordered tresses her shawl and dress were wet with melted snow but the cashier scarcely looked at these He only saw her face his gaze was fascinated by the girls awful pallor and the strange expression of her eyes
My darling he said come into the parlour My mother has been almost as much alarmed as I have been Come Margaret my poor girl I can see that this interview has been too much for you Come dear
Once more he approached her and again she shrank away from him dragging herself along against the wall and with her eyes still fixed in the same deathlike stare
Dont speak to me Clement Austin she cried dont approach me There is contamination in me I am no fit associate for an honest man Dont come near me
He would have gone to her to clasp her in his arms and comfort her with soothing tender words but there was something in her eyes that held him at bay as if he had been rooted to the spot on which he stood
Margaret he cried
He followed her but she still recoiled from him and as he held out his hand to grasp her wrist she slipped by him suddenly and rushed away towards the other end of the corridor
Clement followed her but she opened a door at the end of the passage and went into Mrs Austins room The cashier heard the key turned hurriedly in the lock and he knew that Margaret Wilmot had locked herself in The room in which she slept was inside that occupied by Mrs Austin
Clement stood for some moments almost paralyzed by what had happened Had he done wrong in seeking to bring about this interview between Margaret Wilmot and Henry Dunbar He began to think that he had been most culpable This impulsive and sensitive girl had seen her fathers assassin and the horror of the meeting had been too much for her impressionable nature and had produced for the time at least a fearful effect upon her overwrought brain
I must appeal to my mother Clement thought she alone can give me any help in this business
He hurried back to the sittingroom and found his mother still watching the rapid movements of her ivory knittingneedles The Reindeer was a wellbuilt house solid and oldfashioned and listeners lurking in the long passages had small chance of reaping much reward for their pains unless they found a friendly keyhole
Mrs Austin looked up with an expression of surprise as her son reentered the room
I thought you had gone to look for Margaret she said
There was no occasion to do so mother she has returned
Thank Heaven for that I have been quite alarmed by her strange absence
So have I mother but I am still more alarmed by her manner now that she has returned I asked you just now to trust me mother said Clement very gravely It is my turn now to confide in you The business in which Margaret has been engaged this evening was of a most painful natureso painful that I am scarcely surprised by the effect that it has produced on her sensitive mind I want you to go to her mother I want you to comfort my poor girl She has locked herself in her own room but she will admit you no doubt Go to her dear mother and try and quiet her excitement while I go for a medical man
You think she is ill then Clement
I dont know that mother but such violent emotion as she has evidently endured might produce brainfever Ill go and look for a doctor
Clement hurried down to the hall of the hotel while his mother went to seek Margaret He found the landlord who directed him to the favourite Shorncliffe medical man
Luckily Mr Vincent the surgeon was at home He received Clement very cordially put on his hat without five minutes delay and accompanied Margarets lover back to the Reindeer
It is a case of mental excitement Clement said There may be no necessity for medical treatment but I shall feel more comfortable when you have seen this poor girl
Clement conducted Mr Vincent to the sittingroom which was empty
Ill go and see how Miss Wilmot is now the cashier said The doctor gave a scarcely perceptible start as he heard that name of Wilmot The murder of Joseph Wilmot had formed the subject of many a long discussion amongst the townspeople at Shorncliffe and the familiar name struck the surgeons ear
But what of that thought Mr Vincent The name is not such a very uncommon one
Clement went to his mothers room and knocked softly at the door The widow came out to him presently
How is she now Clement asked
I can scarcely tell you Her manner frightens me She is lying on her bed as motionless as if she were a corpse and with her eyes fixed upon the blank wall opposite to her When I speak to her she does not answer me by so much as a look but if I go near her she shivers and gives a long shuddering sigh What does it all mean Clement
Heaven knows mother I can only tell you that she has gone through a meeting which was certainly calculated to have considerable effect upon her mind But I had no idea that the effect would be anything like this Can the doctor come
Yes he had better come at once
Clement returned to the sittingroom and remained there while Mr Vincent went to see Margaret To Poor Clement it seemed as if the surgeon was absent nearly an hour so intolerable was the anguish of that interval of suspense
At last however the creaking footstep of the medical man sounded in the corridor Clement hurried to the door to meet him
Well he cried eagerly
Mr Vincent shook his head
It is a case in which my services can be of very little avail he said the young lady is suffering from some mental uneasiness which she refuses to communicate to her friends If you could get her to talk to you she would no doubt be very much benefited If she were an ordinary person she would cry and the relief of tears would have a most advantageous effect upon her mind Our patient is by no means an ordinary person She has a very strong will
Margaret has a strong will exclaimed Clement with a look of surprise why she is gentleness itself
Very likely but she has a will of iron nevertheless I implored her to speak to me just now the tone of her voice would have helped to some slight diagnosis of her state but I might as well have implored a statue She only shook her head slowly and she never once looked at me However I will send her a sedative draught which had better be taken immediately and Ill look round in the morning
Mr Vincent left the Reindeer and Clement went to his mothers room That loving mother was ready to sympathize with every trouble that affected her only son She came out of Margarets room and went to meet Clement
Is she still the same mother he asked
Yes quite the same Would you like to see her
Very much
Mrs Austin and her son went into the adjoining chamber Margaret was lying dressed in the damp draggled gown which she had worn that afternoon upon the outside of the bed The dull stony look of her face filled Clements mind with an awful terror He began to fear that she was going mad
He sat down upon a chair close by the bed and watched her for some moments in silence while his mother stood by scarcely less anxious than himself
Margarets arm hung loosely by her side as lifeless in its attitude as if it had belonged to the dead Clement took the slender hand in his Lie had expected to find it dry and burning with feverish heat but to his surprise it was cold as ice
Margaret he said in a low earnest voice you know how dearly I have loved and do love you you know how entirely my happiness depends upon yours surely my dear one you will not refuseyou cannot be so cruel as to keep your sorrow a secret from him who has so good a right to share it Speak to me my darling Remember what suffering you are inflicting upon me by this cruel silence
At last the hazel eyes lost their fixed look and wandered for a moment to Clement Austins face
Have pity upon me the girl said in a hoarse unnatural voice have compassion upon me for I need mans mercy as well as the mercy of God Have some pity upon me Clement Austin and leave me I will talk to you tomorrow
You will tell me all that has happened
I will talk to you tomorrow answered Margaret looking at her lover with a white inflexible face but leave me now leave me or I will run out of this room and away from this house I shall go mad if I am not left alone
Clement Austin rose from his seat near the bedside
I am going Margaret he said in a tone of wounded feeling but I leave you with a heavy heart I did not think there would ever come a time in which you would reject my sympathy
I will talk to you tomorrow Margaret said for the second time
She spoke in a strange mechanical way as if this had been a set speech which she had arranged for herself
Clement stood looking at her for some little time but there was no change either in her face or attitude and the young man went slowly and sorrowfully from the room
I leave her in your hands mother he said I know how tender and true a friend she has in you I leave her in your care under Providence May Heaven have pity upon her and me
CHAPTER XXXIV
FAREWELL
Margaret submitted to take the sedative draught sent by the medical man She submitted at Mrs Austins request but it seemed as if she scarcely understood why the medicine was offered to her She was like a sleepwalker whose brain is peopled by the creatures of a dream and who has no consciousness of the substantial realities that surround him
The draught Mr Vincent had spoken of as a sedative turned out to be a very powerful opiate and Margaret sank into a profound slumber about a quarter of an hour after taking the medicine
Mrs Austin went to Clement to carry him these good tidings
I shall sit up two or three hours and see how the poor girl goes on Clement the widow said but I hope youll go to bed I know all this excitement has worn you out
No mother I feel no sense of fatigue
But you will try to get some rest to please me See dear boy its already nearly twelve oclock
Yes if you wish it mother Ill go to my room Mr Austin answered quickly
His room was near those occupied by his mother and Margaret much nearer than the sittingroom He bade Mrs Austin good night and left her but he had no thought of going to bed or even trying to sleep He went to his own room and walked up and down going out into the corridor every now and then to listen at the door of his mothers chamber
He heard nothing Some time between two and three oclock Mrs Austin opened the door of her room and found her son lingering in the corridor
Is she still asleep mother he asked
Yes and she is sleeping very calmly I am going to bed now pray try to get some sleep yourself Clem
I will mother
Clement returned to his room He was thankful as he thought that sleep would bring tranquillity and relief to Margarets overwrought brain He went to bed and fell asleep for he was exhausted by the fatigue of the day and the anxiety of the night Poor Clement fell asleep and dreamt that he met Margaret Wilmot by moonlight in the park around Maudesley Abbey walking with a DEAD MAN whose face was strange to him This was the last of many dreams all more or less grotesque or horrible but none so vivid or distinct as this The end of the vision woke Clement with a sudden shock and he opened his eyes upon the cold morning light which seemed especially cold in this chamber at the Reindeer where the paper on the walls was of the palest grey and every curtain or drapery of a spotless white
Clement lost no time over his toilet He looked at his watch while dressing and found that it was between seven and eight It wanted a quarter to eight when he left his room and went to his mothers door to inquire about Margaret He knocked softly but there was no answer then he tried the door and finding it unlocked opened it a few inches with a cautious hand and listened to his mothers regular breathing
She is asleep poor soul he thought I wont disturb her for she must want rest after sitting up half last night
Clement closed the door as noiselessly as he had opened it and then went slowly to the sittingroom There was a struggling fire in the shining grate and the indefatigable waiter who refused to believe in the extinction of mailcoaches had laid the breakfast apparatusfrostylooking whiteandblue cups and saucers on a snowy cloth a cutglass creamjug that looked as if it had been made out of ice and a brazen urn in the last stage of polish The breakfast service was harmoniously adapted to the season and eminently calculated to produce a fit of shivering in the sojourner at the Reindeer
But Clement Austin did not bestow so much as one glance upon the breakfasttable He hurried to the bowwindow where Margaret Wilmot was sitting neatly dressed in her morning garments with her shawl on and her bonnet lying on a chair near her
Margaret exclaimed Clement as he approached the place where Joseph Wilmots daughter was sitting my dear Margaret why did you get up so early this morning when you so much need rest
The girl rose and looked at her lover with a grave and quiet earnestness of expression but her face was quite as colourless as it had been upon the previous night and her lips trembled a little as she spoke to Clement
I have had sufficient rest she said in a low tremulous voice I got up early becausebecauseI am going away
Her two hands had been hanging loosely amongst the fringes of her shawl she lifted them now and linked her fingers together with a convulsive motion but she never withdrew her eyes from Clements face and her glance never faltered as she looked at him
Going away Margaret the cashier cried going awaytodaythis morning
Yes by the halfpast nine oclock train
Margaret you must be mad to talk of such a thing
No the girl answered slowly that is the strangest thing of allI am not mad I am going away ClementMr Austin I wished to avoid seeing you I meant to have written to you to tell you
To tell me what Margaret asked Clement Is it I who am going mad or am I dreaming all this
It is no dream Mr Austin My letter would have only told you the truth I am going away from here because I can never be your wife
You can never be my wife Why not Margaret
I cannot tell you the reason
But you shall tell me Margaret cried Clement passionately I will accept no sentence such as this until I know the reason for pronouncing it I will suffer no imaginary barrier to stand between you and me There is some mystery some mystification in all this Margaret some womans fancy which a few words of explanation would set at rest Margaret my pearl do you think I will consent to lose you so lightly My own dear love do you know me so little as to think that I will part with you My love is a stronger passion than you think Madge and the bondage you accepted when you promised to be my wife is a bondage that cannot so easily be shaken off
Margaret watched her lovers face with melancholy tearless eyes
Fate is stronger than love Clement she said mournfully I can never be your wife
Why not
For a reason which you can never know
Margaret I will not submit
You must submit the girl said holding up her hand as if to stop her lovers passionate words You must submit Clement This world seems very hard sometimes so hard that in a dreadful interval of dull despair the heavens are hidden from us and we cannot recognize the Eternal wisdom guiding the hand that afflicts us My life seems very hard to me today Clement Do not try to make it harder I am a most unhappy woman and in all the world there is only one favour you can grant me Let me go away unquestioned and blot my image from your heart for ever when I am gone
I will never consent to let you go Clement Austin answered resolutely You are mine by right of your own most sacred promise Margaret No womanish folly shall part us
Heaven knows it is no womans folly that parts us Clement the girl answered in a plaintive tremulous voice
What is it then Margaret
I can never tell you
You will change your mind
Never
She looked at him with an air of quiet resolution stamped upon her colourless face
Clement remembered what the doctor had said of his patients iron will Was it possible that Mr Vincent had been right Was this gentle girls resolution to overrule a strong mans passionate vehemence
What is it that can part us Margaret Mr Austin cried What is it You saw Mr Dunbar yesterday
The girl shuddered and over her colourless face there came a livid shade which was more deathlike than the marble whiteness that had preceded it
Yes Margaret Wilmot said after a pause I wasvery fortunate I gained admission toMr Dunbars rooms
And you spoke to him
Yes
Did your interview with him confirm or dissipate your suspicions Do you still believe that Henry Dunbar murdered your unhappy father
No answered Margaret resolutely I do not
You do not The bankers manner convinced you of his innocence then
I do not believe that Henry Dunbar murdered mymy unhappy father
It is impossible to describe the tone of anguish with which Margaret spoke those last three words
But something transpired in that interview at Maudesley Abbey Margaret Henry Dunbar told you somethingperhaps something about your dead fathersome disgraceful secret which you never heard before and you think that the shame of that secret is a burden which I would fear to carry You mistake my nature Margaret and you commit a cruel treason against my love Be my wife dear one and if malicious people should point to you and say Clement Austins wife is the daughter of a thief and a forger I would give them back scorn for scorn and tell them that I honour my wife for virtues that have been sometimes missing in the consort of an emperor
For the first time that morning Margarets eyes grew dim but she brushed away the gathering tears with a rapid movement of her trembling hand
You are a good man Clement Austin she said and Iwish that I were better worthy of you You are a good man but you are very cruel to me today Have pity upon me and let me go
She drew a pretty little watch from her waist and looked at the dial Then suddenly remembering that the watch had been Clements gift she took the slender chain from her neck and handed them both to him
You gave me these when I was your betrothed wife Mr Austin I have no right to keep them now
She spoke very mournfully but poor Clement was only mortal He was a good man as Margaret had just declared but unhappily good men are apt to fly into passions as well as their inferiors in the scale of morality
Clement Austin threw the pretty little Genevese toy upon the floor and ground it to atoms under the heel of his boot
You are cruel and unjust Mr Austin Margaret said
I am a man Miss Wilmot Clement answered bitterly and I have the feelings of a man When the woman I have loved and believed in turns upon me and coolly tells me that she means to break my heart without so much as deigning to give me a reason for her conduct I am not so much a gentleman as to be able to smile politely and request her to please herself
The cashier turned away from Margaret and walked two at three times up and down the room He was in a passion but grief and indignation were so intermingled in his breast that he scarcely knew which was uppermost But grief and love allied themselves presently and together were much too strong for indignation
Clement Austin went back to the window Margaret was standing where he had left her but she had put on her bonnet and gloves and was quite ready to leave the house
Margaret said Mr Austin trying to take her hand but she drew herself away from him almost as she had shrunk from him in the corridor on the previous night Margaret once for all listen to me I love you and I believe you love me If this is true no obstacle on earth shall part us so long as we live There is only one condition upon which I will let you go this day
What is that condition
Tell me that I have been fooled by my own egotism I am twelve years older than you Margaret and there is nothing very romantic or interesting either in myself or my worldly position Tell me that you do not love me I am a proud man I will not sue in formâ pauperis If you do not love me Margaret you are free to go
Margaret bowed her head and moved slowly towards the door
You are goingMiss Wilmot
Yes I am going Farewell Mr Austin
Clement caught the retreating girl by her wrist
You shall not go thus Margaret Wilmot he cried passionatelynot thus You shall speak to me You shall speak plainly You shall speak the truth You do not love me
No I do not love you
It was all a farce thena delusionit was all falsehood and trickery from first to last When you smiled at me your smile was a mockery when you blushed your blushes were the simulated blushes of a professed coquette Every tender word you have ever spoken to meevery tremulous cadence in your low voiceevery tearful look in the eyes that have seemed so truthfulallit has altogether been falsealtogether a delusiona
The strong man covered his face with his hands and sobbed aloud Margaret watched him with tearless eyes her lips were convulsively contracted but there was no other evidence of emotion in her face
Why did you do this Margaret Clement asked at last in a heartrending voice why did you do this cruel thing
I will tell you why the girl answered slowly and deliberately I will tell you why Mr Austin and then I shall seem utterly despicable in your eyes and it will be a very easy thing for you to blot my image from your heart I was a poor desolate girl and I was worse than poor and desolate for the stain of my fathers shameful history blackened my name It was a fine thing for such as me to win the love of an honest mana gentlemanwho could shelter me from all the troubles of life and give me a stainless name and an honourable place in society I was the daughter of a returned convict an outcast and your love offered me a splendid chance of redemption from the black depths of disgrace and misery in which I lived I was only mortal Clement Austin what was there in my blood that should make me noble or good or strong to stand against temptation I seized upon the one chance of my miserable life I plotted to win your love Step by step I lured you on until you offered to make me your wife That was my end and aim I triumphed and for a time enjoyed my success and the advantages that it brought me But I suppose the worst sinners have some kind of conscience Mine was awakened last night and I resolved to spare you the misery of being married to a woman who comes of such a race as that from which I spring
Nothing could be more callous than the manner with which Margaret Wilmot had made this speech Her tones had never faltered She had spoken slowly pausing before every fresh sentence but she had spoken like a wretched creature whose withered heart was almost incapable of womanly emotion Clement Austin looked at her with a blank wondering stare
Oh great heavens he cried at last how could I think it possible that any man could be as cruelly deceived as I have been by this woman
I may go now Mr Austin said Margaret
Yes you may go nowyou who once were the woman I loved you who have thrown away the beautiful mask I believed in and revealed to me the face of a skeleton you who have lifted the silver veil of imagination to show me the hideous ghastliness of reality Go Margaret Wilmot and may Heaven forgive you
Do you forgive me Mr Austin
Not yet I will pray God to make me strong enough to forgive you
Farewell Clement
If my readers have seen Manfred at Drury Lane let them remember the tone in which Miss Rose Leclercq breathed her last farewell to Mr Phelps and they will know how Margaret Wilmot pronounced this mournful wordloves funeral bell
Farewell Clement
One word Miss Wilmot cried Mr Austin I have loved you too much in the past ever to become indifferent to your fate Where are you going
To London
To your old apartments at Clapham
Oh no no
Have you moneymoney enough to last you for some time
Yes I have saved money
If you should be in want of help will you let me help you
Willingly Mr Austin I am not too proud to accept your help in the hour of my need
You will write to me then at my mothers or you will write to my mother herself if ever you require assistance I shall tell my mother nothing of what has passed between us this day except that we have parted You are going by the halfpast nine oclock train you say Miss Wilmot
Clement had only spoken the truth when he said that he was a proud man He asked this question in the same businesslike tone in which he might have addressed a lady who was quite indifferent to him
Yes Mr Austin
I will order a fly for you then You have five minutes to spare And I will send one of the waiters to the station so that you may have no trouble about your luggage
Clement rang the bell and gave the necessary orders Then he bowed gravely to Margaret and wished her good morning as she left the room
And this is how Margaret Wilmot parted from Clement Austin
CHAPTER XXXV
A DISCOVERY AT THE LUXEMBOURG
While Henry Dunbar sat in his lonely room at Maudesley Abbey held prisoner by his broken leg and waiting anxiously for the hour in which he should be allowed the privilege of taking his first experimental promenade upon crutches Sir Philip Jocelyn and his beautiful young wife drove together on the crowded boulevards of the French capital
They had been southward and had returned to the gayest capital in all the world at the time when that capital is at its best and brightest They had returned to Paris for the early new year and as this year happened fortunately to be ushered into existence by a sharp frost and a bright sunny sky the boulevards were not the black rivers of mud and slush that they are apt to be in the first days of the infantine year Prince Louis Napoleon Buonaparte was only First President as yet and Paris was by no means the wonderful city of endless boulevards and palatial edifices that it has since grown to be under the master hand which rules and beautifies it as a lover adorns his mistress But it was not the less the most charming city in the universe and Philip Jocelyn and his wife were as happy as two children in this paradise of brick and mortar
They suited each other so well they were never tired of each others society or at a standstill for want of something to say to each other They were rather frivolous perhaps but a little frivolity may be pardoned in two people who were so very young and so entirely happy Sir Philip may have been a little too much devoted to horses and dogs and Laura may have been a shade too enthusiastic upon the subject of new bonnets and the jewellery in the Rue de la Paix But if they idled a little just now in this delicious honeymoontime when it was so sweet to be together always from morning till night driving in a sleigh with jingling bells upon the snowy roads in the Bois sitting on the balcony at Meurices at night looking down into the long lamplit street and the misty gardens where the trees were leafless and black against the dark blue sky they meant to do their duty and be useful to their fellowcreatures when they were settled at Jocelyns Rock Sir Philip had halfadozen schemes for free schools and model cottages with ovens that would bake everything in the world and chimneys that would never smoke And Laura had her own pet plans Was she not an heiress and therefore specially sent into the world to give happiness to people who had been born without that pleasant appendage of a silver spoon in their infantine mouths She meant to be scrupulously conscientious in the administration of her talents and sometimes at church on a Sunday when the sermon was particularly awakening she mentally debated the serious question as to whether new bonnets and a pair of Jouvins gloves daily were not sinful but I think she decided that the new bonnets and gloves were on the whole a pardonable weakness as being good for trade
The Warwickshire baronet knew a good many people in Paris and he and his bride received a very enthusiastic welcome from these old friends who pronounced that Miladi Jocelyn was charmante and la belle des belles and that Sir Jocelyn was the most fortunate of men in having discovered this gay lighthearted girl amongst the prudish and pragmatical meess of the brumeuse Angleterre
Laura made herself very much at home with her Parisian acquaintance and in the grand house in the Rue Lepelletier many a glass was turned full upon the beautiful English bride with the chevelure doré and the violet blue eyes
One morning Laura told her husband with a gay laugh that she was going to victimize him but he was to promise to be patient and bear with her for once in a way
What is it you want me to do my darling
I want you to give me a long day in the Luxembourg I want to see all the picturesthe modern pictures especially I remember all the Rubenses at the Louvre for I saw them three years ago when I was staying in Paris with grandpapa I like the modern pictures best Philip and I want you to tell me all about the artists and what I ought to admire and all that sort of thing
Sir Philip never refused his wife anything so he said yes and Laura ran away to her dressingroom like a schoolgirl who has been pleading for a holiday and has won her cause She returned in a little more than ten minutes in the freshest toilette all pale shimmering blue like the spring sky with pearlgrey gloves and boots and parasol and a bonnet that seemed made of azure butterflies
It was drawing towards the close of this delightful honeymoon tour and it was a bright sunshiny morning early in February but February in Paris is sometimes better than April in London
Philip Jocelyns work that morning was by no means light for Laura was fond of pictures in a frivolous amateurish kind of way and she ran from one canvas to another like a fickleminded bee that is bewildered by the myriad blossoms of a boundless parterre But she fixed upon a picture which she said she preferred to anything she had seen in the gallery
Philip Jocelyn was examining some pictures on the other side of the room when his wife made this discovery She hurried to him immediately and led him off to look at the picture It was a peasantgirls head very exquisitely painted by a modern artist and the baronet approved his wifes taste
How I wish you could get me a copy of that picture Philip Laura said entreatingly I should so like one to hang in my morningroom at Jocelyns Rock I wonder who painted that lovely face
There was a young artist hard at work at his easel copying a large devotional subject that hung near the picture Laura admired Sir Philip asked this gentleman if he knew the name of the artist who had painted the peasantgirl
Ah but yes monsieur the painter answered with animated politeness it is the work of one of my friends a young Englishman of a renown almost universal in Paris
And his name monsieur
He calls himself KerstallFrederick Kerstall he is the son of an old monsieur who calls himself also Kerstall and who had much of celebrity in England it is many years
Kerstall exclaimed Laura suddenly Mr Kerstall why it was a Mr Kerstall who painted papas portrait I have heard grandpapa say so again and again and he took it away to Italy with him promising to bring it back to London when he returned after a year or two of study And oh Philip I should so like to see this old Mr Kerstall because you know he may have kept papas portrait until this very day and I should so like to have a picture of my father as he was when he was young and before the troubles of a long life altered him Laura said rather mournfully
She turned to the French artist presently and asked him where the elder Mr Kerstall lived and if there was any possibility of seeing him
The painter shrugged up his shoulders and pursed up his mouth thoughtfully
But madame he said this Monsieur Kerstalls father is very old and he has ceased to paint it is a long time They have said that he is even a little imbecile that he does not remember himself of the most common events of his life But there are some others who say that his memory has not altogether failed and that he is still enough harshly critical towards the works of others
The Frenchman might have run on much longer upon this subject but Laura was too impatient to be polite She interrupted him by asking for Mr Kerstalls address
The artist took out one of his own cards and wrote the required address in pencil
It is in the neighbourhood of Notre Dame madame in the Rue Cailoux over the office of a Parisian journal he said as he handed the card to Laura I dont think you will have any difficulty in finding the house
Laura thanked the French artist and then took her husbands arm and walked away with him
I dont care about looking at any more pictures today Philip she said but oh I do wish you would take me to this Mr Kerstalls studio at once You will be doing me such a favour Philip if youll say yes
When did I ever say no to anything you asked me Laura Well go to Mr Kerstall immediately if you like But why are you so anxious to see this old portrait of your father my dear
Because I want to see what he was before he went to India I want to see what he was when he was bright and young before the world had hardened him Ah Philip since we have known and loved each other it seems to me as if I had no thought or care for any one in all this wide world except yourself But before that time I was very unhappy about my father I had expected that he would be so fond of me I had so built upon his return to England thinking that we should be nearer and dearer to each other than any father and daughter ever were before I had thought all this Philip night after night I had dreamt the same dreamthe bright happy dream in which my father came home to me the fond foolish dream in which I felt his strong arms folded round me and his true heart beating against my own But when he did come at last it seemed to me as if this father was a man of stone his white fixed face repelled me his cold hard voice turned my blood to ice I was frightened of him Philip I was frightened of my own father and little by little we grew to shun each other till at last we met like strangers or something worse than strangers for I have seen my father look at me with an expression of absolute horror in his stern cruel eyes Can you wonder then that I want to see what he was in his youth I shall learn to love him perhaps if I can see the smiling image of his lost youth
Laura said all this in a very low voice as she walked with her husband through the garden of the Luxembourg She walked very fast for she was as eager as a child who is intent upon some scheme of pleasure
CHAPTER XXXVI
LOOKING FOR THE PORTRAIT
The Rue Cailoux was a very quiet little streeta narrow winding street with tall shabbylooking houses and untidylittle greengrocers shops peeping out here and there
The pavement suggested the idea that there had just been an outbreak of the populace and that the stones had been ruthlessly torn up to serve in the construction of barricades and only very carelessly put down again It was a street which seemed to have been built with a view to achieving the largest amount of inconvenience out of a minimum of materials and looked at in this light the Rue Cailoux was a triumph it was a street in which Parisian drivers clacked their whips to a running accompaniment of imprecations it was a street in which you met dirty porters carrying six feet of highlybaked bread and shrill old women with wonderful bandanas bound about their grisly heads but above all it was a street in which you were so shaken and jostled and bumped and startled by the ups and downs of the pavement that you had very little leisure to notice the distinctive features of the neighbourhood
The house in which Mr Kerstall the English artist lived was a gloomylooking building with a dingy archway beneath which Sir Philip Jocelyn and his wife alighted
There was a door under this archway and there was a yard beyond it with the door of another house opening upon it and ranges of black curtainless windows looking down upon it and an air of dried herbs greenstuff chickens in the moulting stage and old women generally pervading it The door which belonged to Mr Kerstalls house or rather the house in which Mr Kerstall lived in common with a colony of unknown number and various avocations was open and Sir Philip and his wife went into the hall
There was no such thing as a porter or portress but a stray old woman hovering under the archway informed Philip Jocelyn that Mr Kerstall was to be found on the second story So Laura and her husband ascended the stairs which were bare of any covering except dirt and went on mounting through comparative darkness past the office of the Parisian journal till they came to a very dingy black door
Philip knocked and after a considerable interval the door was opened by another old woman tidier and cleaner than the old women who pervaded the yard but looking very like a near relation to those ladies
Philip inquired in French for the senior Mr Kerstall and the old woman told him very much through her nose that Mr Kerstall father saw no one but that Mr Kerstall son was at his service
Philip Jocelyn said that in that case he would be glad to see Mr Kerstall junior upon which the old woman ushered the baronet and his wife into a saloon distinguished by an air of faded splendour and in which the French clocks and ormolu candelabras were in the proportion of two to one to the chairs and tables
Sir Philip gave his card to the old woman and she carried it into the adjoining chamber whence there issued a gush of tobaccosmoke as the door between the two rooms was opened and then shut again
In less than three minutes by the minutehand of the only one of the ormolu clocks which made any pretence of going the door was opened again and a burlylooking middleaged gentleman with a very black beard and a dirty holland blouse all smeared with smudges of oilcolour appeared upon the threshold of the adjoining chamber surrounded by a cloud of tobaccosmokelike a heathen deity or a goodtemperedlooking African genie newly escaped from his bottle
This was Mr Kerstall junior He introduced himself to Sir Philip and waited to hear what that gentleman required of him
Philip Jocelyn explained his business and told the painter how more than fiveandthirty years before the portrait of Henry Dunbar only son of Percival Dunbar the great banker had been painted by Mr Michael Kerstall at that time a fashionable artist
Fiveandthirty years ago said the painter pulling thoughtfully at his beard fiveandthirty years ago thats a very long time my lord and Im afraid its not likely my father will remember the circumstance for I regret to say that he is slow to remember the events of a few days past His memory has been failing a long time You wish to know the fate of this portrait of Mr Dunbar I think you said
Laura answered this question although it had been addressed to her husband
Yes we want to see the picture if possible she said Mr Dunbar is my father and there is no other portrait of him in existence I do so want to see this one and to obtain possession of it if it is possible for me to do so
And you are of opinion that my father took the picture to Italy with him when he left England more than fiveandthirty years ago
Yes Ive heard my grandfather say so He lost sight of Mr Kerstall and could never obtain any tidings of the picture But I hope that late as it is we may be more fortunate now You do not think the picture has been destroyed do you Laura asked eagerly
Well the artist answered doubtfully I should be inclined to fear that the portrait may have been painted out and yet by the bye as the picture belonged by right to Mr Percival Dunbar and not to my father that circumstance may have preserved it uninjured through all these years My father has a heap of unframed canvases inches thick in dust and littering every corner of his room Mr Dunbars portrait may be amongst them
Oh I should be so very much obliged if you would allow me to examine those pictures said Laura
You think you would recognize the portrait
Yes surely I could not fail to do so I know my fathers face so well as it is that I must certainly have some knowledge of it as it was fiveandthirty years ago however much he may have altered in the interval Pray Mr Kerstall oblige me by letting me see the pictures
I should be very churlish were I to refuse to do so the painter answered goodnaturedly I will just go and see if my father is able to receive visitors He has been a voluntary exile from England for the last fiveandthirty years so I fear he will have forgotten the name of Dunbar but he may by chance be able to give us some slight assistance
Mr Kerstall left his visitors for about ten minutes and at the end of that time he returned to say that his father was quite ready to receive Sir Philip and Lady Jocelyn
I mentioned the name of Dunbar to him the painter said but he remembers nothing He has been painting a little this morning and is in very high spirits about his work It pleases him to handle the brushes though his hand is terribly shaky and he can scarcely hold the palette
The artist led the way to a large room comfortably but plainly furnished and heated to a pitch of suffocation by a stove There was a bed in a curtained alcove at the end of the apartment an easel stood near the large window and the proprietor of the chamber sat in a cushioned armchair close to the suffocating stove
Michael Kerstall was an old man who looked even older than he was He was a picturesquelooking old man with long white hair dropping down over his coatcollar and a blackvelvet skullcap upon his head He was a cheerful old man and life seemed very pleasant to him for Frenchmen have a habit of honouring their fathers and mothers and Mr Frederick Kerstall was a naturalized citizen of the French republic
The old man nodded and smiled and chuckled as Sir Philip and Laura were presented to him and pointed with a courtly grace to the chairs which his son set for his guests
You want to see my pictures sir Ah yes to be sure to be sure The modern school of painting sir is something marvellous to an old man sir an old man who remembers Sir Thomas Lawrenceay sir I had the honour to know him intimately No preRaphaelite theories in those days sir no figures cut of coloured pasteboard and glued on to the canvas no green trees and vermilion draperies and chocolatecoloured streaks across an ultramarine background sir and Im told the young people call that a sky No pointed chins and angular knees and elbows and frizzy red hairred sir and as frizzy as a blackamoorsand Im told the young people call that female beauty No sir nothing of that sort in my day There was a French painter in my day sir called David and there was an English painter in my day called Lawrence and they painted ladies and gentlemen sir and they instituted a gentlemanly school sir And you put a crimson curtain behind your subject and you put a brannew hat or a roll of paper in his right hand and you thrust his left hand in his waistcoatthe best black satin sir with strong light in the textureand you made your subject look like a gentleman Yes sir if he was a chimneysweep when he went into your studio he went out of it a gentleman
The old man would have gone on talking for any length of time for preRaphaelitism was his favourite antipathy and the blackbearded gentleman standing behind his chair was an enthusiastic member of the preRaphaelite brotherhood
Mr Kerstall senior seemed so thoroughly in possession of all his faculties while he held forth upon modern art that Laura began to hope his memory could scarcely be so much impaired as his son had represented it to be
When you painted portraits in England Mr Kerstall she said before you went to Italy you painted a likeness of my father Henry Dunbar who was then a young man Do you remember that circumstance
Laura asked this question very hopefully but to her surprise Mr Kerstall took no notice whatever of her inquiry but went rambling on about the degeneracy of modern art
I am told there is a young man called Millais sir and another young man called Holman Hunt sirpositive boys sir actually very little more than boys sir and Im given to understand sir that when these young mens works are exhibited at the Royal Academy in London sir people crowd round them and go raving mad about them while a gentlemanly portrait of a county member with a Corinthian pillar and a crimson curtain gets no more attention than if it was a bishops halflength of black canvas I am told so sir and I am obliged to believe it sir
Poor Laura listened very impatiently to all this talk about painters and their pictures But Mr Kerstall the younger perceived her anxiety and came to her relief
Lady Jocelyn would very much like to see the pictures you have scattered about in this room my dear father he said if you have no objection to our turning them over
The old man chuckled and nodded
Youll find em gentlemanly he said youll find em all more or less gentlemanly
Youre sure you dont remember painting the portrait of a Mr Dunbar Mr Kerstall the younger said bending over his fathers chair as he spoke Try again fathertry to rememberHenry Dunbar the son of Percival Dunbar the great banker
Mr Kerstall senior who never left off smiling nodded and chuckled and scratched his head and seemed to plunge into a depth of profound thought
Laura began to hope again
I remember painting Sir Jasper Rivington who was Lord Mayor in the yearbless my heart how the dates do slip out of my mind to be sureI remember painting him in his robes too yes sirby gad sir his official robes Hed liked me to have painted him looking out of the window of his statecoach sir bowing to the populace on Ludgate Hill with the dome of St Pauls in the background but I told him the notion wasnt practicable sir I told him it couldnt be done sir I
Laura looked despairingly at Mr Kerstall the younger
May we see the pictures she asked I am sure that I shall recognize my fathers portrait if by any chance it should be amongst them
We will set to work at once then the artist said briskly Were going to look at your pictures father
Unframed canvases and unfinished sketches on millboard were lying about the room in every direction piled against the wall heaped on sidetables and stowed out of the way upon shelves and everywhere the dust lay thick upon them
It was quite a chamber of horrors Mr Kerstall the younger said gaily for it was here that he banished his own failures his sketches for his pictures that were to be painted upon some future occasion carelesslydrawn groups that he meant some day to improve upon finished pictures that he had been unable to sell and all the other useless litter of an artists studio
There were a great many dingy performances of Mr Kerstall senior very classical and extremely uninteresting studies from the life grey and chalky and muscular with here and there a knottylooking foot or a lumpy arm in the most unpleasant phases of foreshortening There were a good many portraits gentlemanly to the last degree but poor Laura looked in vain for the face she wanted to seethe hard cold face as she fancied it must have been in youth
There were portraits of elderly ladies with stately headgear and simpering young ladies with innocent shortwaisted bodices and flowers held gracefully in their whitemuslin draperies there were portraits of stern clerical grandees and parliamentary noncelebrities with popular bills rolled up in their hands ready to be laid upon the speakers table and with a tight look about the lips that seemed to say the member was prepared to carry his motion or perish on the floor of the House
There were only a few portraits of young men of military aspect looking fiercely over regulation stocks and with forked lightning and little pyramids of cannonballs in the background
Laura sighed heavily at last for amongst all these portraits there was not one which in the least possible degree recalled the hard handsome face with which she was familiar
Im afraid my fathers picture has been lost or destroyed she said mournfully
But Mr Kerstall would not allow this
I have said that it was Lauras peculiar privilege to bewitch everybody with whom she came in contact and to transform them for the nonce into her willing slaves eager to go through fire and water in the service of this beautiful creature whose eyes and hair were like blue skies and golden sunshine and carried light and summer wherever they went
The blackbearded artist in the paintsmeared holland blouse was in no manner proof against Lady Jocelyns fascinations
He had wellnigh suffocated himself with dust halfadozen times already in her service and was ready to inhale as much more dust if she desired him so to do
We wont give it up just yet Lady Jocelyn he said cheerfully theres a couple of shelves still to examine Suppose we try shelf number one and see if we can find Mr Henry Dunbar up there
Mr Kerstall junior mounted upon a chair and brought down another heap of canvases dirtier than any previous collection He brought these to a table by the side of his fathers easel and one by one he wiped them clean with a large ragged silk handkerchief and then placed them on the easel
The easel stood in the full light of the broad window The day was bright and clear and there was no lack of light therefore upon the portraits
Mr Kerstall senior began to be quite interested in his sons proceedings and contemplated the younger mans operations with a perpetual chuckling and nodding of the head that were expressive of unmitigated satisfaction
Yes theyre gentlemanly the old man mumbled nobody can deny that theyre gentlemanly They may make a cabal against me in Trafalgar Square and decline to hang em but they cant say my pictures are ungentlemanly No no Take a basin of water and a sponge Fred and wash the dust off It pleases me to see em againyes by gad sir it pleases me to see em again
Mr Frederick Kerstall obeyed his father and the pictures brightened wonderfully under the influence of a damp sponge It was rather a slow operation but Laura was bent upon seeing every picture and Philip Jocelyn waited patiently enough until the inspection should be concluded
The old man brightened up as much as his paintings and began presently to call out the names of the subjects
The member for SloptonontheTees he said as his son placed a portrait on the easel that was a presentation picture but the subscriptions were never paid up and the committee left the portrait upon my hands I dont remember the name of the member because my memory isnt quite so good as it used to be but the borough was SloptonontheTeesSloptonyes yes I remember that
The younger Kerstall took away the member for Slopton and put another picture on the easel But this was like the rest the pictured face bore no trace of resemblance to that face for which Laura was looking
I remember him too the old man cried with a triumphant chuckle He was an officer in the EastIndia Companys service I remember him a dashing young fellow he was too He had the picture painted for his mother paid me a third of the money at the first sitting never paid me a sixpence afterwards and went off to India promising to send me a bill of exchange for the balance by the next mail but I never heard any more of him
Mr Kerstall removed the Indian officer and substituted another portrait
Sir Philip who was sitting near the window looking on rather listlessly cried
What a handsome face
It was a handsome facea bright young face which smiled haughty defiance at the worlda splendid face with perhaps a shade of insolence in the curve of the upper lip sharply denned under a thick auburn moustache with pointed ends that curled fiercely upwards It was such a face as might have belonged to the favourite of a powerful king the face of the Cinq Mars on the very summit of his giddy eminence with a hundred pairs of boots in his dressingroom and quiet Cardinal Richelieu watching silently for the day of his doom English Buckingham may have worn the same insolent smile upon his lips the same bright triumph in his glance when he walked up to the throne of Louis the Just with the pearls and diamonds dropping from his garments as he went along and with forbidden love beaming on him out of Austrian Annes blue eyes It was such a face as could only belong to some high favourite of fortune defiant of all mankind in the consciousness of his own supreme advantages
But Laura Jocelyn shook her head as she looked at the picture
I begin to despair of finding my fathers portrait she said I have seen nothing at all like it yet
The old man lifted up his bony hand and pointed to the picture on the easel
Thats the best thing I ever did he said the very best thing I ever did It was exhibited in the Academy sixandthirty years agoyes by gad sir sixandthirty years ago and the papers mentioned it very favourably sir but the man who commissioned it sent it back to me for alteration The expression of the face didnt please him but he paid me two hundred guineas for the picture so I had no reason to complain and if Id remained in England the connection might have been advantageous to me for they were rich city people sirenormously wealthysomething in the bankingline and the name the namelet me seelet me see
The old man tapped his forehead thoughtfully
I remember he added presently it was a great name in the Cityit was a wellknown nameDunDunbarDunbar
Why father that was the very name I was asking you about half an hour ago
I dont remember your asking me any such thing the old man answered rather snappishly but I do know that the picture on that easel is the portrait of Mr Dunbars only son
Mr Kerstall the younger looked at Laura Jocelyn full expecting to see her face beaming with satisfaction but to his own surprise she looked more disappointed than ever
Your poor fathers memory deceives him she said in a low voice that is not my fathers portrait
No said Philip Jocelyn that was never the likeness of Henry Dunbar
Mr Frederick Kerstall shrugged his shoulders
I told you as much he murmured confidentially I told you my poor fathers memory was gone Would you like to see the rest of the pictures
Oh yes if you do not mind all this trouble
Mr Kerstall brought down another heap of unframed canvases from shelf number two Some of these were fancy heads and some sketches for grand historical pictures There were only about four portraits and not one of them bore the faintest likeness to the face that Laura wanted to see
The old man chuckled as his son exhibited the pictures and every now and then volunteered some scrap of information about these various works of art to which his son listened patiently and respectfully
So at last the inspection was ended The baronet and his wife thanked the artist very warmly for his politeness and Philip gave him a commission for a replica of the picture which Laura had admired in the Luxembourg Mr Frederick Kerstall conducted his guests down the dingy staircase and saw them to the hired carriage that was waiting under the archway
And this was all that came of Laura Jocelyns search for her fathers portrait
CHAPTER XXXVII
MARGARETS LETTER
Life seemed very blank to Clement Austin when he returned to London a day or two after Margaret Wilmots departure from the Reindeer He told his mother that he and his betrothed had parted but he would tell no more
I have been cruelly disappointed mother and the subject is very bitter to me he said and Mrs Austin had not the courage to ask any further questions
I suppose I must be satisfied Clement she said It seems to me as if we had been living lately in an atmosphere of enigmas But I can afford to be contented Clement so long as I have you with me
Clement went back to London His life seemed to have altogether slipped away from him and he felt like an old man who has lost all the bright chances of existence the hope of domestic happiness and a pleasant home the opportunity of a useful career and an honoured name and who has nothing more to do but to wait patiently till the slow current of his empty life drops into the sea of death
I feel so old mother he said sometimes I feel so old
To a man who has been accustomed to be busy there is no affliction so intolerable as idleness
Clement Austin felt this and yet he had no heart to begin life again though tempting offers came to him from great commercial houses whose chiefs were eager to secure the wellknown cashier of Messrs Dunbar Dunbar and Balderbys establishment
Poor Clement could not go into the world yet His disappointment had been too bitter and he had no heart to go out amongst hard men of business and begin life again He wasted hour after hour and day after day in gloomy thoughts about the past What a dupe he had been what a shallow miserable fool for he had believed as firmly in Margaret Wilmots truth as he had believed in the blue sky above his head
One day a new idea flashed into Clement Austins mind an idea which placed Margaret Wilmots character even in a worse light than that in which she had revealed herself in her own confession
There could be only one reason for the sudden change in her sentiments about Henry Dunbar the millionaire had bribed her to silence This girl who seemed the very incarnation of purity and candour had her price perhaps as well as other people and Henry Dunbar had bought the silence of his victims daughter
It was the knowledge of this business that made her shrink away from me that night when she told me that she was a contaminated creature unfit to be the associate of an honest man Oh Margaret Margaret poverty must indeed be a bitter school if it has prepared you for such degradation as this
The longer Clement thought of the subject the more certainly he arrived at the conclusion that Margaret Wilmot had been either bribed or frightened into silence by Henry Dunbar It might be that the banker had terrified this unhappy girl by some awful threat that had preyed upon her mind and driven her from the man who loved her whom she loved perhaps in spite of those heartless words which she had spoken in the bitter hour of their parting
Clement could not thoroughly believe in the baseness of the woman he had trusted Again and again he went over the same ground trying to find some lurking circumstance no matter how unlikely in its nature which should explain and justify Margarets conduct
Sometimes in his dreams he saw the familiar face looking at him with pensive halfreproachful glances and then a dark figure that was strange to him came between him and that gentle shadow and thrust the vision away with a ruthless hand At last by dint of going over the ground again and again always pleading Margarets cause against the stern witness of cruel facts Clement came to look upon the girls innocence as a settled thing
There was falsehood and treachery in the business but Margaret Wilmot was neither false nor treacherous There was a mystery and Henry Dunbar was at the bottom of it
It seems as if the spirit of the murdered man troubled our lives and cried to us for vengeance Clement thought There will be no peace for us until the secret of the deed done in the grove near Winchester has been brought to light
This thought working night and day in Clement Austins brain gave rise to a fixed resolve Before he went back to the quiet routine of life he set himself a task to accomplish and that task was the solution of the Winchester mystery
On the very day after this resolution took a definite form Clement received a letter from Margaret Wilmot The sight of the wellknown writing gave him a shock of mingled surprise and hope and his fingers were faintly tremulous as they tore open the envelope The letter was carefully worded and very brief
You are a good man Mr Austin Margaret wrote and though you have reason to despise me I do not think you will refuse to receive my testimony in favour of another who has been falsely suspected of a terrible crime and who has need of justification Henry Dunbar was not the murderer of my father As Heaven is my witness this is the truth and I know it to be the truth Let this knowledge content you and allow the secret of the murder to remain for ever a mystery upon earth God knows the truth and has doubtless punished the wretched sinner who was guilty of that crime as He punishes every other sinner sooner or later in the course of His ineffable wisdom Leave the sinner wherever he may be hidden to the judgment of God which penetrates every hidingplace and forget that you have ever known me or my miserable story
MARGARET WILMOT
Even this letter did not shake Clement Austins resolution
No Margaret he thought even your pleading shall not turn me from my purpose Besides how can I tell in what manner this letter may have been written It may have been written at Henry Dunbars dictation and under coercion Be it as it may the mystery of the Winchester murder shall be set at rest if patience or intelligence can solve the enigma No mystery shall separate me from the woman I love
Clement put Margarets letter in his pocket and went straight to Scotland Yard where he obtained an introduction to a businesslikelooking man short and stoutly built with closecropped hair very little shirtcollar a shabby black satin stock and a coat buttoned tightly across the chest He was a man whose appearance was something between the aspect of a shabbygenteel halfpay captain and an unlucky stockbroker but Clement liked the steady light of his small grey eyes and the decided expression of his thin lips and prominent chin
The detective business happened to be rather dull just now There was nothing stirring but a BankofEngland forgery case and Mr Carter informed Clement that there were more cats in Scotland Yard than could find mice to kill Under these circumstances Mr Carter was able to enter into Clements views and sequestrate himself for a short period for the more deliberate investigation of the Winchester business
Ill look up a file of newspapers and run my eye over the details of the case said the detective I was away in Glasgow hunting up the particulars of the great Scotchplaid robberies all last summer and I cant say I remember much of what was done in the Wilmot business Mr Dunbar himself offered a reward for the apprehension of the guilty party didnt he
Yes but that might be a blind
Oh of course it might but then on the other hand it mightnt You must always look at these sort of things from every point of view Start with a conviction of the mans guilt and youll go hunting up evidence to bolster that conviction My plan is to begin at the beginning learn the alphabet of the case and work up into the syntax and prosody
I should like to help you in this business Clement Austin said for I have a vital interest in the issue of the case
Youre rather more likely to hinder than help sir Mr Carter answered with a smile but youre welcome to have a finger in the pie if you like as long as youll engage to hold your tongue when I tell you
Clement promised to be the very spirit of discretion The detective called upon him two days after the interview at Scotland Yard
Ive readup the Wilmot case sir Mr Carter said and I think the next best thing I can do is to see the scene of the murder I shall start for Winchester tomorrow morning
Then Ill go with you Clement said promptly
So be it Mr Austin You may as well bring your chequebook while youre about it for this sort of thing is apt to come rather expensive
CHAPTER XXXVIII
NOTES FROM A JOURNAL KEPT BY CLEMENT AUSTIN DURING HIS JOURNEY TO WINCHESTER
If I had been a happy man with no great trouble weighing upon my mind and giving its own dull colour to every event of my life I think I might have been considerably entertained by the society of Mr Carter the detective The man had an enthusiastic love of his profession and if there is anything degrading in the office that degradation had in no way affected him It may be that Mr Carters knowledge of his own usefulness was sufficient to preserve his selfrespect If in the course of his duty he had unpleasant things to do if he had to affect friendly acquaintanceship with the man whom he was hunting to the gallows if he was called upon to wormout chance clues to guilty secrets in the careless confidence that grows out of a friendly glass if at times he had to stoop to acts which in other men would be branded as shameful and treacherous he knew that he did his duty and that society could not hold together unless some such men as himselfclearheaded brave resolute and unscrupulous in the performance of unpleasant workwere willing to act as watchdogs for the protection of the general fold and to the terror of savage and marauding beasts
Mr Carter told me a great deal of his experience during our journey down to Winchester I listened to him and understood what he said to me but I could not take any interest in his conversation I could not remember anything or think of anything except the mystery which separates me from the woman I love
The more I think of this the stronger becomes my conviction that I have not been the dupe of a heartless or mercenary woman Margaret has not acted as a free agent She has paid the penalty of her determination to force herself into the presence of Henry Dunbar By some inexplicable means by some masterpiece of villany and cunning this man has induced his victims daughter to become the champion of his innocence instead of the denouncer of his guilt
There must be some hopeless entanglement some cruel involvement by reason of which Margaret is compelled to falsify her nature and sacrifice her own happiness as well as mine When she left me that day at Shorncliffe she suffered as cruelly as I could suffer I know now that it was so But I was blinded then by pride and anger I was conscious of nothing but my own wrongs
Three times in the course of my journey from London to Winchester I have taken Margarets strange letter from my pocketbook and have read the familiar lines with the idea of putting entire confidence in my companion and placing the letter in his hands But in order to do this I must tell him the story of my love and my disappointment and I cannot bring myself to do that It may be that this man could discover hidden meanings in Margarets wordsmeanings that are utterly dark to me I suppose the science of detection includes the power to guess at thoughts that lurk behind expressions which are simple enough in themselves
We got into Winchester at twelve oclock in the day and Mr Carter proposed that we should come straight to the George Hotel at which house Henry Dunbar stayed after the murder in the grove
We cant do better than put up at the hotel where the suspected party was stopping at the time of the event were looking up Mr Carter said to me as we strolled away from the station after giving our small amount of luggage into the care of a porter we shall pick up all manner of information in a promiscuous way if were staying in the house little bits that will seem nothing at all till you put them all together and begin at the beginning and read them off the right way Now Mr Austin theres a few words I must say before we begin business for youre an amateur at this kind of work and its just possible that with the best intentions you may go and spoil my game Now Ive undertaken this affair and I want to go through with it conscientiously under which circumstances Im obliged to be candid Are you willing to act under orders
I told Mr Carter that I was perfectly willing to obey his orders in everything so long as what I did helped the purposes of our journey
Thats all square and pleasant he answered so now for it First and foremost you and me are two gentlemen that have got more time than we know what to do with and more money than we know how to spend Weve heard a great deal about the fishing round Winchester and weve come down to spend an idle week or so and have a look about the place against next summer and if we like the looks of the place why we shall come and spend the summer months at the George where we find the accommodation in general and say the fried soles or the mockturtle in particular better than at any hotel in the three kingdoms Thats number one and that places us at once on the footing of good customers who are likely to be better customers This will square the landlord and the waiters and theres nothing they can tell us that they wont tell us willingly So much for the first place Now point number two is that we know nothing whatever of the man that was murdered We know Mr Dunbar because hes a great man a public character and all that sort of thing We did see something about the murder in the papers but didnt take any interest in it This will draw out the landlord or the waiters as the case may be and we shall get the history of the murder with all that was said and done and thought and suspected and hinted and whispered about it When the landlord and the waiters have talked about it a good deal we begin to warm up and take a kind of morbid interest in the business and then little by little I put in my questions and keep on putting em till every bit of information upon this particular subject is picked away as clean as the meat thats torn off a bone by a hungry dog Now youd like to help me in this business I dare say Mr Austin and if you would I think I can hit upon a plan by which you might make yourself uncommonly useful
I told my companion that I was very anxious to give him any help I could afford however insignificant that help might be
Then Ill tell you what you can do I shant go at the subject we want to talk about at once because if I did I should betray my interest in the business and spoil my game not that anybody would try to thwart me you understand if they knew that I was detective officer Henry Carter of Scotland Yard Theyd be all on the qui vive directly they found out who I was and what I was after and theyd try to help me Thats what theyd do and Tom would tell me this and Dick would explain that and Harry would remember the other and among them theyd contrive to muddle the clearest head that ever worked a difficult problem in criminal Euclid My game is to keep myself dark and get all the light I can from other people I shant ask any leading question but I shall wait quietly till the murder of Joseph Wilmot crops up in the conversation and I dont suppose I shall have to wait long Your business will be easy enough Youll have letters to write you will and as soon as ever you hear me and the landlord or me and the waiter as the case may be working round to the murder youll take out your desk and begin to write
You want me to take notes of the conversation I said
Youve hit it You wont appear to take any interest in the talk about Henry Dunbar and the murder of his valet Youll be altogether wrapped up in those letters of yours which must be written before the London post goes out but youll contrive to write down every word thats said by the people at the George bearing upon the business were hunting up Never mind my questions dont write them down for theyre of no account Write down the answers as plain as you can Theyll come all of a heap or anyhow but thats no matter Itll be my business to sort em and put em shipshape afterwards You just keep your mouth shut and take notes Mr Austin thats all youve got to do
I promised to do this to the best of my ability We were close to the George by this time and I could not help thinking of that bright summers day upon which Henry Dunbar and his victim had driven into Winchester on the first stage of a journey which one of them was never to finish The conviction of the bankers guilt had so grown upon me since that scene in St Gundolph Lane that I thought of the man now almost as if he had been fairly tried and deliberately found guilty It surprised me when the detective talked of his guilt as open to question and yet to be proved In my mind Henry Dunbar stood selfcondemned by the evidence of his own conduct as the murderer of his old servant Joseph Wilmot
The weather was bleak and windy and there were very few wanderers in the hilly High Street of Winchester We were received with very courteous welcome at the George and were conducted to a comfortable sittingroom upon the firstfloor with windows looking out upon the street Two bedrooms in the vicinity of the sittingroom were assigned to us I ordered dinner for six oclock having ascertained that hour to be agreeable to Mr Carter who was slowly removing his wrappings and looking deliberately at every separate article in the room as if he fancied there might be some scrap of information to be picked up from a windowblind or a coalscuttle or lurking mysteries hidden in a sideboarddrawer I have no doubt the habit of observation was so strong upon this man that he observed the most insignificant things involuntarily
It was a very dull unpleasant day and I was glad to draw my chair to the fire and make myself comfortable while the waiter went to fetch a bottle of sodawater and sixpennorth of best French for my companion who was walking about the room with his hands in his pockets and his grizzled eyebrows knotted together
The reward which Government had offered for the arrest of Joseph Wilmots murderer was the legitimate price usually bidden for the head of an assassin The Government had offered to pay one hundred pounds to any person or persons who should give such information as would lead to the apprehension of the guilty party or parties I had promised Mr Carter that I would give him another hundred pounds on my own account if he succeeded in solving the mystery of Joseph Wilmots death The reward at stake was therefore two hundred pounds and this was a pretty high stake Mr Carter told me as the detective business went I had given him my written engagement to pay the hundred pounds upon the day of the murderers arrest and I was very well able to do so without fear of being compelled to ask help of my mother for I had saved upwards of a thousand pounds during my twelve years service in the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby
I saw from Mr Carters countenance that he was thinking and thinking very earnestly He drank the sodawater and brandy but he said nothing to the waiter who brought him that popular beverage When the man was gone he came and planted himself opposite to me upon the hearthrug
Im going to talk to you very seriously sir he said
I assured him that I was quite ready to listen to anything he might have to say
When you employ a detective officer sir he began dont employ a man you cant put entire confidence in If you cant trust him dont have anything to do with him for if he isnt to be trusted with the dearest family secret that ever was kept sacred by an honest man why hes a scoundrel and youre much better off without his help But when youve got a man that has been recommended to you by those who know him trust him and dont be afraid to trust him dont confide in him by halves dont tell him one part of your story and keep the other half hidden from him because you see working in the twilight isnt much more profitable than working in the dark Now why do I say this to you Mr Austin You know as well as I do I say it because I know you havent trusted me
I have told you all that was absolutely necessary for you to know I said
Not a bit of it sir Its absolutely necessary for me to know everything that is if you want me to succeed in the business Im engaged upon Youre afraid to give me your confidence out and out without reserve Lor bless your innocence sir in my profession a man learns the use of his eyes and when once hes learnt how to use them it aint easy for him to keep them shut I know as well as you do that youre hiding something from me youre keeping something back though youve half a mind to trust me You took out a letter three times while we wore sitting opposite to each other in the railway carriage and you read the letter and every now and then while you were reading it you looked up at me with a hesitating youwouldandyouwouldnt sort of look You thought I was looking out of the window all the time and so I was being uncommonly interested in the cornfields we were passing just then so flat and stumpy and picturesque they looked but lor Mr Austin if I couldnt look out of the window and watch you at the same time I shouldnt be worth my salt to you or any one else I saw plain enough that you had half a mind to show me that letter and it wasnt very difficult to guess that the letter had some bearing upon the business that has brought us to Winchester
Mr Carter paused and settled himself comfortably against the corner of the chimneypiece I was not surprised that he should have read my thoughts in the railway carriage I pondered the matter seriously He was right in the main no doubt but how could I tell a detective officer my dearest secretthe sad story of my only love
Trust me Mr Austin my companion said if you want me to be of use to you trust me thoroughly The very thing you are hiding from me may be the clue I most want to get hold of
I dont think that I said However I have every reason to believe you to be an honest conscientious fellow and I will trust you I dare say you wonder why I am so much interested in this business
Well to tell the honest truth sir it does seem rather out of the common to see an independent gentleman like you taking all this trouble to find out the rights and wrongs of a murder committed going on for a twelvemonth ago unless youre any relation of the murdered man and even if youre that youre very unlike the common run of relations for they generally take such things quieter than anybody else answered Mr Carter
I told the detective that I had never seen the murdered man in the course of my life and had never heard his name until after the murder
Well sir then all I can say is I dont understand your motive returned Mr Carter
Well Carter I think youre a good fellow and Ill trust you I said but in order to do that I must tell you a long story and whats worse still a lovestory
I felt that I blushed a little as I said this and was ashamed of the false shame that brought that missish glow into my cheeks Mr Carter perceived my embarrassment and was kind enough to encourage me
Dont you be afraid of telling the story because its a sentimental one he said Lor bless you Ive heard plenty of lovestories There aint many bits of business come our way but what if you sift em to the bottom you find a petticoat You remember the Oriental bloke that always asked Who is she when he heard of a fight or a fire or a mad bull broke loose or any trifling calamity of that sort because according to his views a female was at the bottom of everything bad that ever happened upon this earth Well sir if that Oriental potentate had lived in our times and been brought up to the detective line Im blest if he need have changed his opinions So dont you be ashamed of telling a lovestory sir I was in love myself once though I do seem such a dry old chip and I married the woman I loved too and she was a pretty little country girl as fresh and innocent as the daisies in her fathers paddocks and to this day she dont know what my business really is She thinks Im something in the City bless her dear little heart
This touch of sentiment in Mr Carters conversation was quite unaffected and I felt all the more inclined to trust him after this little revelation of his domestic life I told him the story of my acquaintance with Margaret very briefly giving him only the necessary details I told him of the girls several efforts to see Henry Dunbar and the bankers persistent avoidance of her I told him then of our journey to Shorncliffe and Margarets strange conduct after her interview with the man she had been so eager to see
The telling of this though I told it briefly occupied nearly an hour Mr Carter sat opposite me all the time listening intently staring at me with one fixed unvarying stare and fingering musical passages upon his knees with slow cautious motions of his fingers and thumbs But I could see that he was not listening only he was pondering and reasoning upon what I told him When I had finished my story he remained silent for some minutes but he still stared at me with the same relentless and stony gaze and he still fingered his knees following up his right hand with his left as slowly and deliberately as if he had been composing a fugue after the manner of Mendelssohn
And up to the time of that interview at Maudesley Abbey Miss Wilmot had stuck to the idea that Henry Dunbar was the murderer of her father he said at last
Most resolutely
And after that interview the young lady changed her opinion all of a sudden and would have it that the banker was innocent asked Mr Carter
Yes when Margaret returned from Maudesley Abbey she declared her conviction of Henry Dunbars innocence
And she refused to fulfil her engagement with you
She did
The detective left off fingering fugues upon his knees and began to scratch his head slowly pushing his hand up and down amongst his irongrey hair and staring at me I saw now that this stony glare was only the fixed expression of Mr Carters face when he was thinking profoundly and that the relentlessness of his gaze had very little relation to the object at which he gazed
I watched his face as he pondered in the hope of seeing some sudden mental illumination light up his stolid countenance but I watched in vain I saw that he was at fault I saw that Margaret Wilmots conduct was quite as inexplicable to him as it had been to me
Mr Dunbars a very rich man he said at last and money generally goes a good way in these cases There was a political party Sir Robert somebodybut not Sir Robert Peelwho said Every man has his price Now do you think it possible that Miss Wilmot would take a bribe and hold her tongue
Do I think that she would take money from the man she suspected as the murderer of her fatherthe man she knew to have been the enemy of her father No I answered resolutely I am certain that she is incapable of any such baseness The idea that she had been bribed flashed across me in the first bitterness of my anger but even then I dismissed it as incredible Now that I can think coolly of the business I know that such an alternative is impossible If Margaret Wilmot has been influenced by Henry Dunbar it is upon her terror that he has acted Heaven knows how he may have threatened her The man who could lure his old servant into a lonely wood and there murder himthe man who neither early nor late had one touch of pity for the tool and accomplice of his youthful crimenot one lingering spark of compassion for the humble friend who sacrificed an honest name in order to serve his masterwould have little compunction in torturing a friendless girl who dared to come before him in the character of an accuser
But you say that Miss Wilmot was resolute and highspirited Is she a likely person to be governed by her terror of Mr Dunbar What threat could he use to terrify her
I shook my head hopelessly
I am as ignorant as you are I said but I have strong reason to believe that Margaret Wilmot was under the influence of some great terror when she returned from Maudesley Abbey
What reason asked Mr Carter
Her manner was sufficient evidence that she had been frightened Her face was as white as a sheet of paper when I met her and she trembled and shrank away from me as if even my presence was horrible to her
Could you manage to repeat what she said that night and the next morning
It was not very pleasant to me to reopen my wounds for the benefit of Mr Carter the detective but it would have been absurd to thwart the man when he was working in my interests I loved Margaret too well to forget anything she ever said to me even in our happiest and most careless hours and I had special reason to remember that cruel farewell interview and the strange scene in the corridor at the Reindeer on the night of her return from Maudesley Abbey I went over all this ground again therefore for Mr Carters edification and told him word for word all that Margaret had said to me When I had finished he relapsed once more into a reverie during which I sat listening to the ticking of an eightday clock in the passage outside our sittingroom and the occasional tramp of a passing footstep on the pavement below our windows
Theres only one thing strikes me very particular in all youve told me the detective said byandby when I had grown tired of watching him and had suffered my thoughts to wander back to the happy time in which Margaret and I had loved and trusted each other theres only one thing strikes me in all the young lady said to you and that is these wordsThere is contamination in my touch Miss Wilmot says to you I am unfit to be the associate of an honest man Miss Wilmot says to you Now that looks as if she had been bought over somehow or other by Mr Dunbar Ive turned it over in my mind every way and however I reckon it up thats about what it comes to The young woman was bought over and she was ashamed of herself for being bought over
I told Mr Carter that I could never bring myself to believe this
Perhaps not sir but it may be gospel truth for all that Theres no other way I can account for the young womans carryings on If Mr Dunbar was innocent and had contrived somehow or other to convince the young woman of his innocence why shed have come to you free and open and would have said My dear Ive made a mistake about Mr Dunbar and Im very sorry for it but we must look somewhere else for my poor pas murderer But what does the young woman do She goes and scrapes herself along the passagewall and shudders and shivers and says Im a wretch dont touch medont come near me Its just like a woman to take the bribe and then be sorry for having taken it
I said nothing in answer to this It was inexpressibly obnoxious to me to hear my poor Margaret spoken of as a young woman by my businesslike companion But there was no possibility of keeping any veil over the sacred mysteries of my heart I wanted Mr Carters help For the present Margaret was lost to me and my only hope of penetrating the hidden cause of her conduct lay in Mr Carters power to solve the dark enigma of Joseph Wilmots death
Oh by the bye exclaimed the detective there was a letter wasnt there
He held out his hand as I searched for the letter in my pocketbook What a greedy inquisitivelooking palm it seemed and how I hated Mr Henry Carter detective officer at that particular moment
I gave him the letter and I did not groan aloud as I handed it to him He read it slowly once twice three timeshalfadozen times I think in allpushing the fingers of his left hand through his hair as he read and frowning at the paper before him It was while he was reading the letter for the last time that I saw a sudden glimmer of light in his hard eyes and a halfsmile playing round his thin lips
Well I said interrogatively as he gave me back the letter
Well sir the young ladyMr Carter called Margaret a young lady this time and I could not help thinking that her letter had revealed her to him as something different from the ordinary class of female popularly described as a young womanthe young lady was in earnest when she wrote that letter sir he said it wasnt written under dictation and she wasnt bribed to write it Theres heart in it sir if I may be allowed the expression theres a womans heart in that letter and when a womans heart is once allowed scope a womans brains shrivel up like so much tinder I put this letter to that speech in the corridor at the Reindeer Mr Austin and out of those two twos I verily believe I can make the queerest four that was ever reckoned up by a firstclass detective
A faint flush which looked like a glow of pleasure kindled all over Mr Carters sallow face as he spoke and he got up and walked about the room not slowly or thoughtfully but with a brisk eager tread that was new to me I could see that his spirits had risen a great many degrees since the reading of the letter
You have got some clue I said you see your way
He turned round and checked my eager curiosity by a warning gesture of his uplifted hand
Dont be in a hurry sir he said gravely when you lose your way of a dark night in a swampy country and see a light ahead dont begin to clap your hands and cry hooray till you know what kind of light it is It may be a Jackolantern or it may be the identical lamp over the door of the house youre bound for You leave this business to me Mr Austin and dont you go jumping at conclusions Ill work it out quietly and when Ive worked it out Ill tell you what I think of it And now suppose we take a stroll through the cathedralyard and have a look at the place where the body was found
How shall we find out the exact spot I asked while I was putting on my hat and overcoat
Any passerby will point it out Mr Carter answered they dont have a popular murder in the neighbourhood of Winchester every day and when they do I make not the least doubt they know how to appreciate the advantage You may depend upon it the place is pretty well known
It was nearly five oclock by this time We went down the slippery oakstaircase and out into the quiet street A bleak wind was blowing down from the hills and the rooks nests high up in the branches of the old trees about the cathedral were rocking like that legendary cradle in the treetop I had never been in Winchester before and I was pleased with the quaint old houses the towering cathedral the flat meadows and winding streams of water rippled by the wind I was soothed somehow or other by the peculiar quiet of the scene and I could not help thinking that if a mans life was destined to be miserable Winchester would be a nice place for him to be miserable in A dreamy drowsy forgotten city where the only changes of the slow day would be the varying chimes of the cathedral clock the different tones of the cathedral bells
Mr Carter had studied every scrap of evidence connected with the murder of Joseph Wilmot He pointed out the door at which Henry Dunbar had gone into the cathedral the pathway which the two men had taken as they went towards the grove We followed this pathway and walked to the very place in which the murdered man had been found
A lad who was fishing in one of the meadows near the grove went with us to show us the exact spot It was between an elm and a beech
Theres not many beeches in the grove the lad said and this is the biggest of them So that its easy enough for any one to pick out the spot It was very dry weather last August at the time of the murder and the water wasnt above half as deep as it is now
Is it the same depth every where Mr Carter asked
Oh dear no the boy said thats what makes these streams so dangerous for bathing theyre shallow enough in some places but theres all manner of holes about and unless youre a good swimmer youd better not try it on
Mr Carter gave the boy sixpence and dismissed him We strolled a little farther on and then turned and went back towards the cathedral My companion was very silent and I could see that he was still thinking The change that had taken place in his manner after he had read Margarets letter had inspired me with new confidence in him and I was better able to await the working out of events Little by little the solemn nature of the business in which I was engaged grew and gathered force in my mind and I felt that I had something more to do than to solve the mystery of Margarets conduct to myself I had to perform a duty to society by giving my uttermost help towards the discovery of Joseph Wilmots murderer
If the heartless assassin of this wretched man was suffered to live and prosper to hold up his head as the master of Maudesley Abbey the chief partner in a great City firm that had borne an honourable name for a century and a half a kind of premium was offered to crime in high places If Henry Dunbar had been some miserable starving creature who in a fit of mad fury against the inequalities of life had lifted his gaunt arm to slay his prosperous brother for the sake of breaddetectives would have dogged his sneaking steps and watched his guilty face and hovered round and about him till they tracked him to his doom But because in this case the man to whom suspicion pointed had the supreme virtues comprised in a million of money Justice wore her thickest bandage and the officials who are so clever in tracking a lowborn wretch to the gallows held aloof and said respectfully Henry Dunbar is too great a man to be guilty of a diabolical crime
These thoughts filled my mind as I walked back to the George Hotel with Mr Carter
It was halfpast six when we entered the house and we had kept dinner waiting half an hour much to the regret of the most courteous of waiters who expressed intense anxiety about the condition of the fish
As the man hovered about us at dinner I expected every moment that Mr Carter would lead up to the only topic which had any interest either for himself or me But he was slow to do this he talked of the town the last assizes the state of the country the weather the prosperity of the troutfishing seasoneverything except the murder of Joseph Wilmot It was only after dinner when some petrified specimens of dessert in the shape of almonds and raisins figs and biscuits had been arranged on the table that any serious business began The preliminary skirmishing had not been without its purpose however for the waiter had been warmed into a communicative and confidential mood and was now ready to tell us anything he knew
I delegated all our arrangements to my companion and it was something wonderful to see Mr Carter lolling in his armchair with what he called the winecart in his hand deliberating between a fortytwo port light and elegant and a fortyfive port tawny and rich bouquet
I think we may as well try number fifteen he said handing the list of wines to the waiter after due consideration and decant it carefully whatever you do I hope your cellar isnt cold
Oh no sir masters very careful of his cellar sir
The waiter went away impressed with the idea that he had to deal with a couple of connoisseurs
Youve got those letters to write before ten oclock eh Mr Austin said the detective as the waiter reentered the room with a decanter on a silver salver
I understood the hint and accordingly took my travellingdesk to a sidetable near the fireplace Mr Carter handed me one of the waxcandles and I sat down before the little table unlocked my desk and began to write a few lines to my mother while the detective smacked his lips and knowingly deliberated over his first glass of port
Very decent quality of wine he said very decent Do you know where your master got it eh No you dont Ah bottled it himself I suppose I thought he might have got it at the WarrenCourt sale the other day at the other end of the county Fill a glass for yourself waiter and put the decanter down by the fender the wines rather cold By the bye I heard your wines very well spoken of the other day by a person of some importance tooof considerable importance I may say
Indeed sir murmured the waiter who was standing at a respectful distance from the table and was sipping his wine with deferential slowness
Yes I heard your house spoken of by no less a person than Mr Dunbar the great banker
The waiter pricked up his ears I pushed aside the letter to my mother and waited with a blank sheet of paper before me
That was a strange affair by the bye said Mr Carter Fill yourself another glass of wine waiter my friend here doesnt drink port and if you dont help me to put away that bottle I shall take too much Were you examined at the inquest on Joseph Wilmot
No sir answered the waiter eagerly I were not sir and they do say as we ought every one of us to have been examined for you see theres little facks as one person will notice and as another wont notice and it isnt a mans place to come forward with every little trivial thing you see sir but if little trivial things was drawn out of one and another they might help you see sir
There could be no end gained by taking notes of this reply so I amused myself by making a good nib to my pen while I waited for something better worth jotting down
Some of your people were examined I suppose said Mr Carter
Oh yes sir answered the waiter master he were examined to begin with and then Brigmawl the headwaiter he give his evidence but lor sir without unfriendliness to William Brigmawl which me and Brigmawl have been fellowservants these eleven year our headwaiter is that wrapped up in hisself and his own cravats and shirtfronts and gold studs and Albert chain that hed scarcely take notice of an earthquake swallering up half the world before his eyes unless the muck and dirt of that earthquake was to spoil his clothes William Brigmawl has been headwaiter in this house nigh upon thirty year and beyond a stately way of bangingto a carriagedoor or showing visitors to their rooms or poking a fire and a kind of knack of leading on timid people to order expensive wines I really dont see Brigmawls great merit But as to Brigmawl at an inquest hes about as much good as the Pope of Rome
But why was Brigmawl examined in preference to any one else
Because he was supposed to know more of the business than any of us being as it was him that took the order for the dinner But me and Eliza Jane the underchambermaid was in the hall at the very moment when the two gentlemen came in
You saw them both then
Yes sir as plain as I now see you And you might have knocked me down with a feather when I was told afterwards that the one who was murdered was nothing more than a valet
Youre not getting on very fast with your letters said Mr Carter looking over his shoulder at me
I had written nothing yet and I understood this as a hint to begin I wrote down the waiters last remark
Why were you so surprised to find he was a valet Mr Carter asked of the waiter
Because you see sir he had the look of a gentleman the man answered an outandout gentleman It wasnt that he held his head higher than Mr Dunbar or that he was better dressedfor Mr Dunbars clothes looked the newest and best but he had a kind of languid dontcareish way that seems to be peculiar to firstclass gentlemen
What sort of a looking man was he
Paler than Mr Dunbar and thinner built and fairer
I jotted down the waiters remarks but I could not help thinking that this talk about the murdered mans manner and appearance was about as useless as anything could be
Paler and thinner than Mr Dunbar repeated the detective paler and thinner eh This was one thing you noticed but what was it now that you could have said at the inquest if you had been called as a witness
Well sir Ill tell you Its a small matter and Ive mentioned it many a time both to William Brigmawl and to others but they talk me down and say I was mistaken and Eliza Jane being a silly giggling hussey cant bear me out in what I say But I do most solemnly declare that I speak the truth and am not deceived When the two gentlemenwhich gentlemen they both was to look atcame into our hall the one that was murdered had his coat buttoned tight across his chest except one button and through the space left by that one button I saw the glitter of a gold chain
Well what then
The other gentleman Mr Dunbar had his coat open as he got out of the carriage and I saw as plain as ever I saw anything that he had no goldchain But two minutes after he had come into the hall and while he was ordering dinner he took and bottoned his coat Well sir when he came in after visiting the cathedral his coat was partially unbuttoned and I saw that he wore a goldchain and unless I am very much mistaken the same goldchain that I had seen peeping out of the breast of the murdered man I could almost have sworn to that chain because of the colour of the gold which was a particular deep yaller It was only afterwards that these things came back to my mind and I certainly thought them very strange
Was there anything else
Nothing except what Brigmawl dropped out one night at supper some weeks after the inquest about his having noticed Mr Dunbar opening his desk while he was waiting for Joseph Wilmot to come home to dinner and Brigmawl do say now that it aint a bit of use that Mr Dunbar do what he would couldnt find the key of his own desk for ever so long
He was confused I suppose and his hands trembled eh asked the detective
No sir according to what Brigmawl said Mr Dunbar seemed as cool and collected as if he was made of iron But he kept trying first one key and then another for ever so long before he could find the right one
Did he now that was queer
But I hope you wont think anything of what Ive let drop sir said the waiter hastily Im sure I wouldnt say any thing disrespectful against Mr Dunbar but you asked me what I saw sir and I have told you candid and
My good fellow youre perfectly safe in talking to me the detective answered heartily Suppose you bring us a little strong tea and clear away this dessert and if youve anything more to tell us you can say it while youre pouring out the tea Theres so much connected with these sort of things that never gets into the papers that really its quite interesting to hear of em from an eyewitness
The waiter went away pleased and reassured after clearing the table very slowly I was impatient to hear what Mr Carter had gathered from the mans talk
Well he said unless Im very much mistaken I think Ive got my friend the master of Maudesley Abbey
You do but how so I asked That talk about the goldchain having changed hands must be utterly absurd What should Henry Dunbar want with Joseph Wilmots watch and chain
Ah youre right there answered Mr Carter What should Henry Dunbar want with Joseph Wilmots gold chain Thats one question Why should Joseph Wilmots daughter be so anxious to screen Henry Dunbar now that she has seen him for the first time since the murder Theres another question for you Find the answer for it if you can
I told the detective that he seemed bent upon mystifying me and that he certainly succeeded to his hearts content
Mr Carter laughed a triumphant little laugh
Never you mind sir he said you leave it to me and you watch it well sir Itll work out very neatly unless Im altogether wrong Wait for the end Mr Austin and wait patiently Do you know what I shall do tomorrow
I havent the faintest idea
I shall waste no more time in asking questions I shall have the water near the scene of the murder dragged I shall try and find the clothes that were stripped off the man who was murdered last August
CHAPTER XXXIX
CLEMENT AUSTINS JOURNAL CONTINUED
The rest of the evening passed quietly enough Mr Carter drank his strong tea and then asked my permission to go out and smoke a couple of cigars in the High Street He went and I finished my letter to my mother There was a full moon but it was obscured every now and then by the black clouds that drifted across it I went out myself to post the letter and I was glad to feel the cool breeze blowing the hair away from my forehead for the excitement of the day had given me a nervous headache
I posted my letter in a narrow street near the hotel As I turned away from the postoffice to go back to the High Street I was startled by the apparition of a girlish figure upon the other side of the streeta figure so like Margarets that its presence in that street filled me with a vague sense of fear as if the slender figure with garments fluttering in the wind had been a phantom
Of course I attributed this feeling to its right cause which was doubtless neither more nor less than the overexcited state of my own brain But I was determined to set the matter quite at rest so I hurried across the way and went close up to the young lady whose face was completely hidden by a thick veil
Miss WilmotMargaret I said
I had thought it impossible that Margaret should be in Winchester and I was only right it seemed for the young lady drew herself away from me abruptly and walked across the road as if she mistook my error in addressing her for an intentional insult I watched her as she walked rapidly along the narrow street until she turned sharply away at a corner and disappeared When I first saw her as I stood by the postoffice the moonlight had shone full upon her As she went away the moon was hidden by a fleecy grey cloud and the street was wrapped in shadow Thus it was only for a few moments that I distinctly saw the outline of her figure Her face I did not see at all
I went back to the hotel and sat by the fire trying to read a newspaper but unable to chain my thoughts to the page Mr Carter came in a little before eleven oclock He was in very high spirits and drank a tumbler of steaming brandyandwater with great gusto But question him how I might I could get nothing from him except that he meant to have a search made for the dead mans clothes
I asked him why he wanted them and what advantage would be gained by the finding of them but he only nodded his head significantly and told me to wait
Today has been most wretcheda day of miserable discoveries and yet not altogether miserable for the one grand discovery of the day has justified my faith in the woman I love
The morning was cold and wet There was not a ray of sunshine in the dense grey sky and the flat landscape beyond the cathedral seemed almost blotted out by the drizzling rain only the hills grand and changeless towered above the mists and made the landmarks of the soddened country
We took an early and hasty breakfast Quiet and businesslike as the detectives manner was even today I could see that he was excited He took nothing but a cup of strong tea and a few mouthfuls of dry toast and then put on his coat and hat
Im going down to the chief quarters of the county constabulary he said I shall be obliged to tell the truth about my business down there because I want every facility for what Im going to do If youd like to see the water dragged you can meet me at twelve oclock in the grove Youll find me superintending the work
It was about halfpast eight when Mr Carter left me The time hung very heavily on my hands between that time and eleven oclock At eleven I put on my hat and overcoat and went out into the rain
I found my friend the detective standing in one of the smaller entrances of the cathedral in very earnest conversation with an old man As Mr Carter gave me no token of recognition I understood that he did not want me to interrupt his companions talk so I walked slowly on by the same pathway along which we had gone on the previous afternoon the same pathway by which the murdered man had gone to his death
I had not walked half a mile before I was joined by the detective
I gave you the office just now he said because I thought if you spoke to me that old chap would leave off talking and I might miss something that was on the tip of his tongue
Did he tell you much
No hes the man who gave his evidence at the inquest He gave me a minute description of Henry Dunbars watch and chain The watch didnt open quite in the usual manner and the gentleman was rather awkward in opening it my friend the verger tells me He was awkward with the key of his desk He seems to have had a fit of awkwardness that day
You think that he was guilty and that he was confused and agitated by the hideous business he had been concerned in
Mr Carter looked at me with a very queer smile on his face
Youre improving Mr Austin he said youd make a firstclass detective in next to no time
I felt rather doubtful as to the meaning of this compliment for there was something very like irony in Mr Carters tone
Ill tell you what I think he said stopping presently and taking me by the buttonhole I think that I know why the murdered mans coat waistcoat and shirt were stripped off him
I begged the detective to tell me what he thought upon this subject but he refused to do so
Wait and see he said if Im right youll soon find out what I mean if Im wrong Ill keep my thoughts to myself Im an old hand and I dont want to be found out in a mistake
I said no more after this The disappearance of the murdered mans clothes had always appeared to me the only circumstance that was irreconcilable with the idea of Henry Dunbars guilt That some brutal wretch who stained his soul with blood for the sake of his victims poor possessions should strip off the clothes of the dead and make a market even out of them was probable enough But that Henry Dunbar the wealthy hyperrefined AngloIndian should linger over the body of his valet and offer needless profanation to the dead was something incredible and not to be accounted for by any theory whatever
This was the one point which from first to last had completely baffled me
We found the man with the drags waiting for us under the dripping trees Mr Carter had revealed himself to the constabulary as one of the chief luminaries of Scotland Yard and if he had wanted to dig up the foundations of the cathedral they would scarcely have ventured to interfere with his design One of the constables was lounging by the waters edge watching the men as they prepared for business
I have no need to write a minute record of that miserable day I know that I walked up and down up and down backwards and forwards upon the soddened grass from noon till sundown always thinking that I would go away presently always lingering a little longer hindered by the fancy that Mr Carters search was on the point of being successful I know that for hour after hour the grating sound of the iron drags grinding on the gravelly bed of the stream sounded in my tired ears and yet there was no result I know that rusty scraps of wornout hardware dead bodies of cats and dogs old shoes laden with pebbles rank entanglements of vegetable corruption and all manner of likely and unlikely rubbish were dragged out of the stream and thrown aside upon the bank
The detective grew dirtier and slimier and wetter as the day wore on but still he did not lose heart
Ill have every inch of the bed of the stream and every hidden hole in the bottom dragged ten times over before Ill give it up he said to me when he came to me at dusk with some brandy that had been brought by a boy who had been fetching beer more or less all the afternoon
When it grew dark the men lighted a couple of flaring resinous torches which Mr Carter had sent for towards dusk and worked by the patches of fitful light which these torches threw upon the water I still walked up and down under the dripping trees in the darkness as I had walked in the light and once when I was farthest from the red glare of the torches a strange fancy took possession of me In amongst the dim branches of the trees I thought I saw something moving something that reminded me of the figure I had seen opposite the postoffice on the previous night
I ran in amongst the trees and as I did so the figure seemed to me to recede and disappear a faint rustling of a womans dress sounded in my ears or seemed so to sound as the figure melted from my sight But again I had good reason to attribute these fancies to the state of my own brain after that long day of anxiety and suspense
At last when I was completely worn out by my weary day Mr Carter came to me
Theyre found he cried Weve found em Weve found the murdered mans clothes Theyve been drifted away into one of the deepest holes there is and the rats have been gnawing at em But please Providence we shall find what we want Im not much of a churchgoer but I do believe theres a Providence that lies in wait for wicked men and catches the very cleverest of them when they least expect it
I had never seen Mr Carter so much excited as he seemed now His face was flushed and his nostrils quivered nervously
I followed him to the spot where the constable and two men who had been dragging the stream were gathered round a bundle of wet rubbish lying on the ground
Mr Carter knelt down before this bundle which was covered with trailing weeds and moss and slime and the constable stooped over him with a flaming torch in his hand
These are somebodys clothes sure enough the detective said and unless Im very much mistaken theyre what I want Has anybody got a basket
Yes The boy who had fetched beer had a basket Mr Carter stuffed the slimy bundle into this basket and put his arm through the handle
Youre not going to look em over here then said the local constable with an air of disappointment
No Ill take them straight to my hotel I shall have plenty of light there You can come with me if you like Mr Carter answered
He paid the men who had been at work all day and paid them liberally I suppose for they seemed very well satisfied I had given him money for any expenses such as these for I knew that in a case of this kind every insignificant step entailed the expenditure of money
We walked homewards as rapidly as the miserable state of the path the increasing darkness and the falling rain would allow us to walk The constable walked with us Mr Carter whistled softly to himself as he went along with the basket on his arm The slimy green stuff and muddy water dripped from the bottom of the basket as he carried it
I was still at a loss to understand the reason of his high spirits I was still at a loss to comprehend why he attached so much importance to the finding of the dead mans clothes
It was past eight oclock when we three menthe detecting the Winchester constable and myselfentered our sittingroom at the George Hotel The principal table was laid for dinner and the waiter our friend of the previous evening was hovering about eager to receive us But Mr Carter sent the waiter about his business
Ive got a little matter to settle with this gentleman he said indicating the Winchester constable with a backward jerk of his thumb Ill ring when I want dinner
I saw the waiters eyes open to an abnormal extent as he looked at the constable and I saw a sudden blank apprehension creep over his face as he retired very slowly from the room
Now said Mr Carter well examine the bundle
He pushed away the dinnertable and drew forward a smaller table Then he ran out of the room and returned in about two minutes carrying with him all the towels he had been able to find in my room and his own which were close at hand He spread the towels on the table and then took the slimy bundle from the basket
Bring me the candlesboth the candles he said to the constable
The man held the two waxcandles on the right hand of the detective as he sat before the table I stood on his left hand watching him intently
He touched the ragged and mudstained bundle as carefully as if it had been some living thing Foul riverinsects crept out of the weeds which were so intermingled with the tattered fabrics that it was difficult to distinguish one substance from the other
Mr Carter was right the rats had been at work The outer part of the bundle was a coata cloth coat knawed into tatters by the sharp teeth of waterrats
Inside the coat there was a waistcoat a satin scarf that was little better than a pulp and a shirt that had once been white Inside the white shirt there was a flannel shirt out of which there rolled halfadozen heavy stones These had been used to sink the bundle but were not so heavy as to prevent its drifting into the hole where it had been found
The bundle had been rolled up very tightly and the outer garment was the only one which had been destroyed by the rats The inner garmentthe flannel shirtwas in a very tolerable state of preservation
The detective swept the coat and waistcoat and the pebbles back into the basket and then rolled both of the shirts in a towel and did his best to dry them The constable watched him with open eyes but with no ray of intelligence in his stolid face
Well said Mr Carter there isnt much here is there I dont think I need detain you any longer Youll be wanting your tea I dare say
I didnt think there would be much in them the constable said pointing contemptuously to the wet rags his reverential awe of Scotland Yard had been considerably lessened during that long tiresome day I didnt see your game from the first and I dont see it now But you wanted the things found and youve had em found
Yes and Ive paid for the work being done Mr Carter answered briskly not but what Im thankful to you for giving me your help and I shall esteem it a favour if youll accept a trifle to make up for your lost day Ive made a mistake thats all the wisest of us are liable to be mistaken once in a way
The constable grinned as he took the sovereign which Mr Carter offered him There was something like triumph in the grin of that Winchester constablethe triumph of a country official who was pleased to see a Londoner at fault
I confess that I groaned aloud when the door closed upon the man and I found myself alone with the detective who had seated himself at the little table and was poring over one of the shirts outspread before him
All this days labour and weariness has been so much wasted trouble I said for it seems to have brought us no step nearer to the point we wanted to reach
Hasnt it Mr Austin cried the detective eagerly Do you think I am such a fool as to speak out before the man who has just left this room Do you think Im going to tell him my secret or let him share my gains The business of today has brought us to the very end we want to reach It has brought about the discovery to which Margaret Wilmots letter was the first indicationthe discovery pointed to by every word that man told us last night Why did I want to find the clothes worn by the murdered man Because I knew that those garments must contain a secret or they never would have been stripped from the corpse It aint often that a murderer cares to stop longer than hes obliged by the side of his victim and I knew all along that whoever stripped off those clothes must have had a very strong reason for doing it I have worked this business out by my own lights and Ive been right Look there Mr Austin
He handed me the wet discoloured shirt and pointed with his finger to one particular spot
There amidst the stains of mud and moss I saw something which was distinct and different from them A name neatly worked in dark crimson threada Christian and surname in full
How do you make that out Mr Carter asked looking We full in the face
Neither I nor any rational creature upon this earth able to read English characters could have well made out that name otherwise than I made it out
It was the name of Henry Dunbar
You see it all now dont you said Mr Carter thats why the clothes were stripped off the body and hidden at the bottom of the stream where the water seemed deepest thats why the watch and chain changed hands thats why the man who came back to this house after the murder was slow to select the key of the desk You understand now why it was so difficult for Margaret Wilmot to obtain access to the man at Maudesley Abbey and why when she had once seen that man she tried to shield him from inquiry and pursuit When she told you that Henry Dunbar was innocent of her fathers murder she only told you the truth The man who was murdered was Henry Dunbar the man who murdered him was
I could hear no more The blood surged up to my head and I staggered back and dropped into a chair
When I came to myself I found the detective splashing cold water in my face When I came to myself and was able to think steadily of what had happened I had but one feeling in my mind and that was pity unutterable pity for the woman I loved
Mr Carter carried the bundle of clothes to his own room and returned byandby bringing his portmanteau with him He put the portmanteau in a corner near the fireplace
Ive locked the clothes safely in that he said and I dont mean to let it out of my sight till its lodged in very safe hands That mark upon Henry Dunbars shirt will hang his murderer
There may have been some mistake I said the clothes marked with the name of Henry Dunbar may not have really belonged to Henry Dunbar He may have given those clothes to his old valet
Thats not likely sir for the old valet only met him at Southampton two or three hours before the murder was committed No I can see it all now Its the strangest case that ever came to my knowledge but its simple enough when youve got the right clue to it There was no probable motive which could induce Henry Dunbar the very pink of respectability and sole owner of a million of money to run the risk of the gallows there were very strong reasons why Joseph Wilmot a vagabond and a returned criminal should murder his late master if by so doing he could take the dead mans place and slip from the position of an outcast and a penniless reprobate into that of chief partner in the house of Dunbar and Company It was a bold game to hazard and it must have been a fearfully perilous and difficult game to play and the man has played it well to have escaped suspicion so long His daughters conscientious scruples have betrayed him
Yes Mr Carter spoke the truth Margarets refusal to fulfil her engagement had set in motion the machinery by means of which the secret of this foul murder had been discovered
I thought of the strange revelation still so new to me until my brain grew dazed How had it been done How had it been managed The man whom I had seen and spoken with was not Henry Dunbar then but Joseph Wilmot the murderer of his masterthe treacherous and deliberate assassin of the man he had gone to meet and welcome after his fiveandthirty years absence from England
But surely such a conspiracy must be impossible I said byandby I have seen letters in St Gundolph Lane letters in Henry Dunbars hand since last August
Thats very likely sir the detective answered coolly I turned up Joseph Wilmots own history while I was making myself acquainted with the details of this murder He was transported thirty years ago for forgery he made a bold attempt at escape but he was caught in the act and removed to Norfolk Island He was one of the cleverest chaps at counterfeiting any mans handwriting that was ever tried at the Old Bailey He was known as one of the most daring scoundrels that ever stepped on board a convictship a clever villain and a bold one but not without some touches of good in him Im told At Norfolk Island he worked so hard and behaved so well that he got set free before he had served half his time He came back to England and was seen about London and was suspected of being concerned in all manner of criminal offences from cardsharping to coining but nothing was ever brought home to him I believe he tried to make an honest living but couldnt the brand of the gaolbird was upon him and if he ever did get a chance it was taken away from him before the sincerity of any apparent reformation had been tested This is his history and the history of many other men like him
And Margaret was the daughter of this man An inexpressible feeling of melancholy took possession of me as I thought of this I understood everything now This noble girl had heroically put away from her the one chance of bright and happy life rather than bring upon her husband the foul taint of her fathers crime I could understand all now I looked back at the white face rigid in its speechless agony the fixed dilated eyes and I pictured to myself the horror of that scene at Maudesley Abbey when the father and daughter stood opposite to each other and Margaret Wilmot discovered why the murderer had persistently hidden himself from her
The mystery of my betrothed wifes renunciation of my love had been solved but the discovery was so hideous that I looked back now and regretted the time of my ignorance and uncertainty Would it not have been better for me if I had let Margaret Wilmot go her own way and carry out her sublime scheme of selfsacrifice Would it not have been better to leave the dark secret of the murder for ever hidden from all but that one dread Avenger whose judgments reach the sinner in his remotest hidingplace and follow him to the grave Would it not have been better to do this
No my own heart told me the argument was false and cowardly So long as man deals with his fellowman so long as laws endure for the protection of the helpless and the punishment of the wicked the course of justice must know no hindrance from any personal consideration
If Margaret Wilmots father had done this hateful deed he must pay the penalty of his crime though the broken heart of his innocent daughter was a sacrifice to his iniquity If by a strange fatality I who so dearly loved this girl had urged on the coming of this fatal day I had only been a blind instrument in the mighty hand of Providence and I had no cause to regret the revelation of the truth
There was only one thing left me The world would shrink away perhaps from the murderers daughter but I who had seen her nature proved in the fiery furnace of affliction knew what a priceless pearl Heaven had given me in this woman whose name must henceforward sound vile in the ears of honest men and I did not recoil from the horror of my poor girls history
If it has been my destiny to bring this great sorrow upon her I thought it shall be my duty to make her future safe and happy
But would Margaret ever consent to be my wife if she discovered that I had been the means of bringing about the discovery of her fathers crime
This was not a pleasant thought and it was uppermost in my mind while I sat opposite to the detective who ate a very hearty dinner and whose air of suppressed high spirits was intolerable to me
Success is the very wine of life and it was scarcely strange that Mr Carter should feel pleased at having succeeded in finding a clue to the mystery that had so completely baffled his colleagues So long as I had believed in Henry Dunbars guilt I had felt no compunction as to the task I was engaged in I had even caught something of the detectives excitement in the chase But now now that I knew the shame and anguish which our discovery must inevitably entail upon the woman I loved my heart sank within me and I hated Mr Carter for his ardent enjoyment of his triumph
You dont mind travelling by the mailtrain do you Mr Austin the detective said presently
Not particularly but why do you ask me
Because I shall leave Winchester by the mail tonight
What for
To get as fast as I can to Maudesley Abbey where I shall have the honour of arresting Mr Joseph Wilmot
So soon I shuddered at the rapid course of justice when once a criminal mystery is revealed
But what if you should be mistaken What if Joseph Wilmot was the victim and not the murderer
In that case I shall soon discover my mistake If the man at Maudesley Abbey is Henry Dunbar there must be plenty of people able to identify him
But Henry Dunbar has been away fiveandthirty years
He has but people dont think much of the distance between England and Calcutta nowadays There must be people in England now who knew the banker in India Im going down to the resident magistrate Mr Austin the man who had Henry Dunbar or the supposed Henry Dunbar arrested last August I shall leave the clothes in his care for Joseph Wilmot will be tried at the Winchester assizes The mail leaves Winchester at a quarter before eleven added Mr Carter looking at his watch as he spoke so I havent much time to lose
He took the bundle from the portmanteau wrapped it in a sheet of brown paper which the waiter had brought him a few minutes before and hurried away I sat alone brooding over the fire and trying to reason upon the events of the day
The waiter was moving softly about the room but though I saw him look at me wistfully once or twice he did not speak to me until he was about to leave the room when he told me that there was a letter on the mantelpiece a letter which had come by the evening post
The letter had been staring me in the face all the evening but in my abstraction I had never noticed it
It was from my mother I opened it when the waiter had left me and read the following lines
MY DEAREST CLEMI was very glad to get your letter this morning announcing your safe arrival at Winchester I dare say I am a foolish old woman but I always begin to think of railway collisions and all manner of possible and impossible calamities directly you leave me on ever so short a journey
I was very much surprised yesterday morning by a visit from Margaret Wilmot I was very cool to her at first for though you never told me why your engagement to her was so abruptly broken off I could not but think she was in some manner to blame since I knew you too well my darling boy to believe you capable of inconstancy or unkindness I thought therefore that her visit was very illtimed and I let her see that my feelings towards her were entirely changed
But oh Clement when I saw the alteration in that unhappy girl my heart melted all at once and I could not speak to her coldly or unkindly I never saw such a change in any one before She is altered from a pretty girl into a pale haggard woman Her manners are as much changed as her personal appearance She had a feverish restlessness that fidgeted me out of my life and her limbs trembled every now and then while she was speaking and her words seemed to die away as she tried to utter them She wanted to see you she said and when I told her that you were out of town she seemed terribly distressed But afterwards when she had questioned me a good deal and I told her that you had gone to Winchester she started suddenly to her feet and began to tremble from head to foot
I rang for wine and made her take some She did not refuse to take it on the contrary she drank the wine quite eagerly and said I hope it will give me strength I am so feeble so miserably weak and feeble and I want to be strong I persuaded her to stop and rest but she wouldnt listen to me She wanted to go back to London she said she wanted to be in London by a particular time Do what I would I could not detain her She took my hands and pressed them to her poor pale lips and then hurried away so changed from the bright Margaret of the past that a dreadful thought took possession of my mind and I began to fear that she was mad
The letter went on to speak of other things but I could not think of anything but my mothers description of Margarets visit I understood her agitation at hearing of my journey to Winchester She knew that only one motive could lead me to that place I knew now that the familiar figure I had seen in the moonlit street and in the dusky grove was no phantasm of my overexcited brain I knew now that it was the figure of the noblehearted woman I lovedthe figure of the heroic daughter who had followed me to Winchester and dogged my footsteps in the vain effort to stand between her father and the penalty of his crime
As I had been watched in the street on the previous night I had been watched tonight in the grove The rustling dress the shadowy figure melting in the obscurity of the rainblotted landscape had belonged to Margaret Wilmot
Mr Carter came in while I was still pondering over my mothers letter
Im off he said briskly Will you settle the bill Mr Austin I suppose youd like to be with me to the end of this business Youll go down to Maudesley Abbey with me wont you
No I said I will have no farther hand in this matter Do your duty Mr Carter and the reward I promised shall be faithfully paid to you If Joseph Wilmot was the treacherous murderer of his old master he must pay the penalty of his crime I have neither the power nor the wish to shield him But he is the father of the woman I love It is not for me to help in hunting him to the gallows
Mr Carter looked very grave
To be sure sir he said I recollect now Ive been so wrapt up in this business that I forgot the difference it would make to you but many a good girl has had a bad father you know sir and
I put up my hand to stop him
Nothing that can possibly happen will lessen my esteem for Miss Wilmot I said That point admits of no discussion
I took out my pocketbook gave the detective money for his expenses and wished him good night
When he had left me I went out into the High Street The rain was over and the moon was shining in a cloudless sky Heaven knows how I should have met Margaret Wilmot had chance thrown her in my way tonight But my mind was filled with her image and I walked about the quiet town expecting at every turn in the street at every approaching footstep sounding on the pavement to see the figure I had seen last night But go where I would I saw no sign of her so I came back to the hotel at last to sit alone by the dull fire and write this record of my days work
While Clement Austin sat in the lonely sittingroom at the George Inn with his rapid pen scratching along the paper before him a woman walked up and down the lamplit platform at Rugby waiting for the branch train which was to take her on to Shorncliffe
This woman was Margaret Wilmotthe haggard trembling girl whose altered manner had so terrified simplehearted Mrs Austin
But she did not tremble now She had pushed her thick black veil away from her face and though no vestige of healthy colour had come back to her cheeks or lips her features had a set look of steadfast resolution and her eyes looked straight before her like the eyes of a person who has one special purpose in view and will not swerve or falter until that purpose has been carried out
There was only one elderly gentleman in the firstclass carriage in which Margaret Wilmot took her seat when the branch train for Shorncliffe was ready and as this one fellowpassenger slept throughout the journey with his face covered by an expansive silk handkerchief Margaret was left free to think her own thoughts
The girl was scarcely less quiet than her slumbering companion she sat in one changeless attitude with her hands clasped together in her lap and her eyes always looking straight forward as they had looked when she walked upon the platform Once she put her hand mechanically to the belt of her dress and then shook her head with a sigh as she drew it away
How long the time seems she said how long and I have no watch now and I cant tell how late it is If they should be there before me If they should be travelling by this train No thats impossible I know that neither Clement nor the man that was with him left Winchester by the train that took me to London But if they should telegraph to London or Shorncliffe
She began to tremble at the thought of this possibility If that grand wonder of science the electric telegraph should be made use of by the men she dreaded she would be too late upon the errand she was going on
The mail train stopped at Shorncliffe while she was thinking of this fatal possibility She got out and asked one of the porters to get her a fly but the man shook his head
Theres no flies to be had at this time of night miss he said civilly enough Where do you want to go
She dared not tell him her destination secresy was essential to the fulfilment of her purpose
I can walk she said I am not going very far She left the station before the man could ask her any further questions and went out into the moonlit country road on which the station abutted She went through the town of Shorncliffe where the diamond casements were all darkened for the night and under the gloomy archway past the dark shadows which the ponderous castletowers flung across the rippling water She left the town and went out upon the lonely country road through patches of moonlight and shadow fearless in her selfabnegation with only one thought in her mind Would she be in time
She was very tired when she came at last to the iron gates at the principal entrance of Maudesley Park She had heard Clement Austin speak of a bridlepath through the park to Lisford and he had told her that this bridlepath was approached by a gate in the parkfence upwards of a mile from the principal lodge
She walked along by this fence looking for the gate
She found it at last a little low wooden gate painted white and only fastened by a latch Beyond the gate there was a pathway winding in and out among the trunks of the great elms across the dry grass
Margaret Wilmot followed this winding path slowly and doubtfully till she came to the margin of a vast open lawn Upon the other side of this lawn she saw the dark frontage of Maudesley Abbey and three tall lighted windows gleaming through the night
CHAPTER XL
FLIGHT
The man who called himself Henry Dunbar was lying on the tapestried cushions of a carved oaken couch that stood before the fire in his spacious sittingroom He lay there listening to the March wind roaring in the broad chimney and watching the blazing coals and the crackling logs of wood
It was three oclock in the morning now and the servants had left the room at midnight but the sick man had ordered a huge fire to be made upa fire that promised to last for some hours
The master of Maudesley Abbey was in no way improved by his long imprisonment His complexion had faded to a dull leaden hue his cheeks were sunken his eyes looked unnaturally large and unnaturally bright Long hours of loneliness long sleepless nights and thoughts that from every diverging point for ever narrowed inwards to one hideous centre had done their work of him The man lying opposite the fire tonight looked ten years older than the man who gave his evidence so boldly and clearly before the coroners jury at Winchester
The crutchesthey were made of some light polished wood and were triumphs of art in their wayleaned against a table close to the couch and within reach to the mans hand He had learned to walk about the rooms and on the graveldrive before the Abbey with these crutches and had even learned to do without them for he was now able to set the lamed foot upon the ground and to walk a few paces pretty steadily with no better support than that of his cane but as yet he walked slowly and doubtfully in spite of his impatience to be about once more
Heaven knows how many different thoughts were busy in his restless brain that night Strange memories came back to him as he lay staring at the red chasms and craggy steeps in the firememories of a time so long gone by that all the personages of that period seemed to him like the characters in a book or the figures in a picture He saw their faces and he remembered how they had looked at him and among these other faces he saw the many semblances which his own had worn
O God how that face had changed The bright frank boyish countenance looking eagerly out upon a world that seemed so pleasant the young mans hopeful smile and thenand then the hard face that grew harder with the lapse of years the smile that took no radiance from a light within the frown that blackened as the soul grew darker He saw all these and still for ever amid a thousand distracting ideas his thoughts which were beyond his own volition concentrated in the one plaguespot of his life and held him there fixed as a wretch bound hand and foot upon the rack
If I could only get away from this place he said to himself if I could get away it would all be different Change of scene activity hurrying from place to place in new countries and amongst strange people would have the usual influence upon me That memory would pass away then as other memories have passed only to be recalled now and then in a dream or conjured up by some chance allusion dropped from the lips of strangers some coincidence of resemblance in a scene or face or tone or look That memory cannot be so much worse than the rest that it should be ineffaceable where they have been effaced But while I stay here here in this dismal room where the dropping of the ashes on the hearth the ticking of the clock upon the chimneypiece are like that torture I have read of somewherethe drop of water falling at intervals upon the victims forehead until the anguish of its monotony drives him raving madwhile I stay here there is no hope of forgetfulness no possibility of peace I saw him last night and the night before last and the night before that I see him always when I go to sleep smiling at me as he smiled when we went into the grove I can hear his voice and the words he said every syllable of those insignificant words selfish murmurs about the probability of his being fatigued in that long walk the possibility that it would have been better to hire a fly and to have driven by the roadbah What was he that I should be sorry for him Am I sorry for him No I am sorry for myself and for the torture which I have created for myself O God I can see him now as he looked up at me out of the water The motion of the stream gave a look of life to his face and I almost thought he was still alive and I had never done that deed
These were the pleasant fireside thoughts with which the master of Maudesley Abbey beguiled the hours of his convalescence Heaven keep our memories green exclaims the poet novelist and Heaven preserve us from such deeds as make our memories hideous to us
From such a reverie as this the master of Maudesley Abbey was suddenly aroused by the sound of a light knocking against one of the windows of his roomthe window nearest him as he lay on the couch
He started and lifted himself into a sitting posture
Who is there he cried impatiently
He was frightened and clasped his two hands upon his forehead trying to think who the late visitant could be Why should any one come to him at such an hour unlessunless it was discovered There could be no other justification for such an intrusion
His breath came short and thick as he thought of this Had it come at last then that awful moment which he had dreamed of so many timesthat hideous crisis which he had imagined under so many different aspects Had it come at last like thisquietly in the dead of the night without one moments warningbefore he had prepared himself to escape it or hardened himself to meet it Had it come now The man thought all this while he listened with his chest heaving his breath coming in hoarse gasps waiting for the reply to his question
There was no reply except the knocking which grew louder and more hurried
If there can be expression in the tapping of a hand against a pane of glass there was expression in that handthe expression of entreaty rather than of demand as it seemed to that white and terrorstricken listener
His heart gave a great throb like a prisoner who leaps away from the fetters that have been newly loosened
What a fool I have been he thought If it was that there would be knocking and ringing at the halldoor instead of that cautious summons I suppose that fellow Vallance has got into some kind of trouble and has come in the dead of the night to hound me for money It would be only like him to do it He knows he must be admitted let him come when he may
The invalid gave a groan as he thought this He got up and walked to the window leaning upon his cane as he went
The knocking still sounded He was close to the window and he heard something besides the knockinga womans voice not loud but peculiarly audible by reason of its earnestness
Let me in for pitys sake let me in
The man standing at the window knew that voice only too well only too well It was the voice of the girl who had so persistently followed him who had only lately succeeded in seeing him He drew back the bolts that fastened the long French window opened it and admitted Margaret Wilmot
Margaret he cried what in Heavens name brings you here at such an hour as this
Danger answered the girl breathlessly Danger to you I have been running and the words seem to choke me as I speak Theres not a moment to be lost not one moment They will be here directly they cannot fail to be here directly I felt as if they had been close behind me all the waythey may have been so There is not a momentnot one moment
She stopped with her hands clasped upon her breast She was incoherent in her excitement and knew that she was so and struggled to express herself clearly
Oh father she exclaimed lifting her hands to her head and pushing the loose tangled hair away from her face I have tried to save youI have tried to save you But sometimes I think that is not to be It may be Gods mercy that you should be taken and your wretched daughter can die with you
She fell upon her knees suddenly in a kind of delirium and lifted up her clasped hands
O God have mercy upon him she cried As I prayed in this room beforeas I have prayed every hour since that dreadful timeI pray again tonight Have mercy upon him and give him a penitent heart and wash away his sin What is the penalty he may suffer here compared to that Thou canst inflict hereafter Let the chastisement of man fall upon him so as Thou wilt accept his repentance
Margaret said Joseph Wilmot grasping the girls arm are you praying that I may be hung Have you come here to do that Get up and tell me what is the matter
Margaret Wilmot rose from her knees shuddering and looking straight before her trying to be calmtrying to collect her thoughts
Father she said I have never known one hours peaceful sleep since the night I left this room For the last three nights I have not slept at all I have been travelling walking from place to place until I could drop on the floor at your feet I want to tell youbut the wordsthe wordswont comesomehow
She pointed to her dry lips which moved but made no sound There was a bottle of brandy and a glass on the table near the couch Joseph Wilmot was seldom without that companion He snatched up the bottle and glass poured out some of the brandy and placed it between his daughters lips She drank the spirit eagerly She would have drunk living fire if by so doing she could have gained strength to complete her task
You must leave this house directly she gasped You must go abroad anywhere so long as you are safe out of the way They will be here to look for youHeaven only knows how soon
They Who
Clement Austin and a mana detective
Clement Austinyour loveryour confederate You have betrayed me Margaret
I cried the girl looking at her father
There was something sublime in the tone of that one wordsomething superb in the girls face as her eyes met the haggard gaze of the murderer
Forgive me my girl No no you wouldnt do that even to a loathsome wretch like me
But you will go awayyou will escape from them
Why should I be afraid of them Let them come when they please they have no proof against me
No proof Oh father you dont knowyou dont know They have been to Winchester I heard from Clements mother that he had gone there and I went after him and found out where he wasat the inn where you stayed where you refused to see meand that there was a man with him I waited about the streets and at night I saw them both the man and Clement Oh father I knew they could have only one purpose in coming to that place I saw them at night and the next day I watched againwaiting about the street and hiding myself under porches or in shops when there was any chance of my being seen I saw Clement leave the George and take the way towards the cathedral I went to the cathedralyard afterwards and saw the strange man talking in a doorway with an old man I loitered about the cathedralyard and saw the man that was with Clement go away down by the meadows towards the grove to the place where
She stopped and trembled so violently that she was unable to speak
Joseph Wilmot filled the glass with brandy for the second time and put it to his daughters lips
She drank about a teaspoonful and then went on speaking very rapidly and in broken sentences
I followed the man keeping a good way behind so that he might not see that he was followed He went straight down to the very place wherethe murder was done Clement was there and three men They were there under the trees and they were dragging the water
Dragging the water Oh my God why were they doing that cried the man dropping suddenly on the chair nearest to him and with his face livid
For the first time since Margaret had entered the room terror took possession of him Until now he had listened attentively anxiously but the ghastly look of fear and horror was new upon his face He had defied discovery There was only one thing that could be used against himthe bundle of clothes the marked garments of the murdered manthose fatal garments which he had been unable to destroy which he had only been able to hide These things alone could give evidence against him but who should think of searching for these things Again and again he had thought of the bundle at the bottom of the stream only to laugh at the wondrous science of discovery which had slunk back baffled by so slight a mystery only to fancy the waterrats gnawing the dead mans garments and all the oose and slime creeping in and out amongst the folds until the rotting rags became a very part of the rank riverweeds that crawled and tangled round them
He had thought this and the knowledge that strangers had been busy on that spot dragging the waterthe dreadful water that had so often flowed through his dreamswith not one but a thousand dead faces looking up and grinning at him through the streamthe tidings that a search had been made there came upon him like a thunderbolt
Why did they drag the water he cried again
His daughter was standing at a little distance from him She had never gone close up to him and she had receded a littleinvoluntarily as a woman shrinks away from some animal she is frightened ofwhenever he had approached her He knew thisyes amidst every other conflicting thought this man was conscious that his daughter avoided him
They dragged the water Margaret said I walked aboutthat placeunder the elmsall the dayonly one daybut it seemed to last for ever and ever I was obliged to hide myselfand to keep at a distance for Clement was there all day but as it grew dusk I ventured nearer and found out what they were doing and that they had not found what they were searching for but I did not know yet what it was they wanted to find
But they found it gasped the girls father did they find it Come to that
Yes they found it byandby A bundle of rags a boy told mea boy who had been about with the men all daya bundle of rags it looked like he said but he heard the constable say that those rags were the clothes that had belonged to the murdered man
What then What next
I waited to hear no more father I ran all the way to Winchester to the stationI was in time for a train which brought me to LondonI came on by the mail to Rugbyand
Yes yes I knowand you are a brave girl a noble girl Ah my poor Margaret I dont think I should have hated that man so much if it hadnt been for the thought of youyour lonely girlhoodyour hopeless joyless existenceand all through himall through the man who ruined me at the outset of my life But I wont talkI darent talk they have found the clothes they know that the man who was murdered was Henry Dunbarthey will be herelet me thinklet me think how I can get away
He clasped both his hands upon his head as if by force of their iron grip he could steady his mind and clear away the confusion of his brain
From the first day on which he had taken possession of the dead mans property until this moment he had lived in perpetual terror of the crisis which had now arrived There was no possible form or manner in which he had not imagined the situation There was no preparation in his power to make that he had left unmade But he had hoped to anticipate the dreaded hour He had planned his flight and meant to have left Maudesley Abbey for ever in the first hour that found him capable of travelling He had planned his flight and had started on that wintry afternoon when the Sabbath bells had a muffled sound as their solemn peals floated across the snowhe had started on his journey with the intention of never again returning to Maudesley Abbey He had meant to leave England and wander far away through all manner of unfrequented districts choosing places that were most difficult of approach and least affected by English travellers
He had meant to do this and had calculated that his conduct would be at the worst considered eccentric or perhaps it would be thought scarcely unnatural in a lonely man whose only child had married into a higher sphere than his own He had meant to do this and byandby when he had been lost sight of by the world to hide himself under a new name and a new nationality so that if ever by some strange fatality by some awful interposition of Providence the secret of Henry Dunbars death should come to light the murderer would be as entirely removed from human knowledge as if the grave had closed over him and hidden him for ever
This is the course that Joseph Wilmot had planned for himself There had been plenty of time for him to think and plot in the long nights that he had spent in those splendid roomsthose noble chambers whose grandeur had been more hideous to him than the blank walls of a condemned cell whose atmosphere had seemed more suffocating than the foetid vapours of a fevertainted den in St Giless The passionate revengeful yearning of a man who has been cruelly injured and betrayed the common greed of wealth engendered out of povertys slow torture had arisen rampant in this mans breast at the sight of Henry Dunbar By one hideous deed both passions were gratified and Joseph Wilmot the bankmessenger the confidential valet the forger the convict the ticketofleave man the penniless reprobate became master of a million of money
Yes he had done this He had entered Winchester upon that August afternoon with a few sovereigns and a handful of silver in his pocket and with a life of poverty and degradation before him He had left the same town chief partner in the firm of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby and sole owner of Maudesley Abbey the Yorkshire estates and the house in Portland Place
Surely this was the very triumph of crime a masterstroke of villany But had the villain ever known one moments happiness since the commission of that deedone moments peaceone moments freedom from a slow torturing anguish that was like the gnawing of a ravenous beast for ever preying on his entrails The author of the OpiumEater suffered so cruelly from some internal agony that he grew at last to fancy there was indeed some living creature inside him for ever torturing and tormenting him This doubtless was only the fancy of an invalid but what of that undying serpent called Remorse which coils itself about the heart of the murderer and holds it for ever in a deadly gripnever to beat freely again never to know a painless throb or feel a sweet emotion
In a few minuteswhile the rooks were cawing in the elms and the green leaves fluttering in the drowsy summer air and the blue waters rippling in the sunshine and flecked by the shadowsJoseph Wilmot had done a deed which had given him the richest reward that a murderer ever hoped to win and had so transformed his life so changed the very current of his being that he went away out of that wood not alone but dogged step by step by a gaunt stalking creature a hideous monster that echoed his every breath and followed at his shoulder and clung about him and grappled his throat and weighed him down a horrid thing which had neither shape nor name and yet wore every shape and took every name and was the ghost of the deed that he had done
Joseph Wilmot stood for a few moments with his hands clasped upon his head and then the shadows faded from his face which suddenly became fixed and resolutelooking The first thrill of terror the first shock of surprise were over This man never had been and never could be a coward He was ready now for the worst It may be that he was glad the worst had come He had suffered such unutterable anguish such indescribable tortures during the time in which his guilt had been unsuspected that it may have been a kind of relief to know that his secret was discovered and that he was free to drop the mask
While he paused thinking what he was to do some lucky thought came to him for his face brightened suddenly with a triumphant smile
The horse he said I may ride though I cant walk
He took up his cane and went to the next room where there was a door that opened into the quadrangle in which the master of the Abbey had caused a loose box to be built for his favourite horse Margaret followed her father not closely but at a little distance watching him with anxious wondering eyes
He unfastened the halfglass door opened it and went out into the quadrangular garden the quaint oldfashioned garden where the flowerbeds were primly dotted on the smooth grassplot in the centre of which there was a marble basin and the machinery of a little fountain that had never played within the memory of living man
Go back for the lamp Margaret Joseph Wilmot whispered I must have light
The girl obeyed She had left off trembling now and carried the shaded lamp as steadily as if she had been bent on some simple womanly errand She followed her father into the garden and went with him to the loose box where the horse was to be found
The animal knew his master even in that uncertain light There was gas laid on in the millionaires stables and a low jet had been left burning by the groom
The horse plunged his head about his masters shoulders and shook his mane and reared and disported himself in his delight at seeing his old friend once more and it was only Joseph Wilmots soothing hand and voice that subdued the animals exuberant spirits
Steady boy steady quiet old fellow Joseph said in a whisper
Three or four saddles and bridles hung upon a rack in one corner of the small stable Joseph Wilmot selected the things he wanted and began to saddle the horse supporting himself on his cane as he did so
The groom slept in the house now by his masters orders and there was no one within hearing
The horse was saddled and bridled in five minutes and Joseph Wilmot led him out of the stable followed by Margaret who still carried the lamp There was a low iron gate leading out of the quadrangle into the grounds Joseph led the horse to this gate
Go back and get me my coat he said to Margaret youll go faster than I can Youll find a coat lined with fur on a chair in the bedroom
His daughter obeyed silently and quietly as she had done before The rooms all opened one into the other She saw the bedroom with the tall gloomy bedstead the light of the fire flickering here and there She set the lamp down upon a table in this room and found the furlined coat her father had sent her to fetch There was a purse lying on a dressingtable with sovereigns glittering through the silken network and the girl snatched it up as she hurried away thinking in her innocent simplicity that her father might have nothing but those few sovereigns to help him in his flight She went back to him carrying the bulky overcoat and helped him to put it on in place of the dressinggrown he had been wearing He had taken his hat before going to the stable
Here is your purse father she said thrusting it into his hand there is something in it but Im afraid theres not very much How will you manage for money where you art going
Oh I shall manage very well
He had got into the saddle by this time not without considerable difficulty but though the fresh air made him feel faint and dizzy he felt himself a new man now that the horse was under himthe brave horse the creature that loved him whose powerful stride could carry him almost to the other end of the world as it seemed to Joseph Wilmot in the first triumph of being astride the animal once more He put his hand involuntarily to the belt that was strapped round him as Margaret asked that question about the money
Oh yes he said Ive money enoughI am all right
But where are you going she asked eagerly
The horse was tearing up the wet gravel and making furious champing noises in his impatience of all this delay
I dont know Joseph Wilmot answered that will depend uponI dont know Good night Margaret God bless you I dont suppose He listens to the prayers of such as me If He did it might have been all different long agowhen I tried to be honest
Yes this was true the murderer of Henry Dunbar had once tried to be honest and had prayed God to prosper his honesty but then he only tried to do right in a spasmodic fitful kind of way and expected his prayers to be granted as soon as they were asked and was indignant with a Providence that seemed to be deaf to his entreaties He had always lacked that sublime quality of patience which endures the evil day and calmly breasts the storm
Let me go with you father Margaret said in an entreating voice let me go with you There is nothing in all the world for me except the hope of Gods forgiveness for you I want to be with you I dont want you to be amongst bad men who will harden your heart I want to be with youfar awaywhere
You with me said Joseph Wilmot slowly you wish it
With all my heart
And youre true he cried bending down to grasp his daughters shoulder and look her in the face youre true Margaret ehtrue as steel ready for anything no flinching no quailing or trembling when the danger comes Youve stood a good deal and stood it nobly Can you stand still more eh
For your sake father for your sake yes yes I will brave anything in the world do anything to save you from
She shuddered as she remembered what the danger was that assailed him the horror from which flight alone could save him No no no that could never be endured at any cost at any sacrifice he must be saved from that No strength of womanly fortitude no trust in the mercy of God could even make her resigned as to that
Ill trust you Margaret said Joseph Wilmot loosening his grasp upon the girls shoulder Ill trust you Havent I reason to trust you Didnt I see your mother on the day when she found out what my history was didnt I see the colour fade out of her face till she was whiter than the linen collar round her neck and in the next moment her arms were about me and her honest eyes looking up in my face as she cried I shall never love you less dear theres nothing in this world can make me love you less
He paused for a moment His voice had grown thick and husky but he broke out violently in the next instant
Great Heaven why do I stop talking like this Listen to me Margaret if you want to see the last of me you must find your way somehow or other to Woodbine Cottage near Lisfordon the Lisford Road I think Find your way thereIm going there now and shall be there long before youyou understand
Yes Woodbine Cottage LisfordI shant forget God speed you fatherGod help you
He is the God of sinners thought the wretched girl He gave Cain a long lifetime in which to repent of his sins
Margaret thought this as she stood at the gate listening to the horses hoofs upon the gravel road that wound through the grounds away into the park
She was very very tired but had little sense of her fatigue and her journey was by no means finished yet She did not once look back at Maudesley Abbeythat stately and splendid mansion in which a miserable wretch had acted his part and endured the penalty of his guilt for many wearisome months She went awayhurrying along the lonely pathways with the night breezes blowing her loose hair across her eyes and halfblinding her as she wentto find the gate by which she had entered the park
She went out at this gateway because it was the only point of egress by which she could leave the park without being seen by the keeper of a lodge The dim morning light was grey in the sky before she met any one whom she could ask to direct her to Woodbine Cottage but at last a man came out of a farmyard with a couple of milkpails and directed her to the Lisford Road
It was broad daylight when she reached the little gardengate before Major Vernons abode It was broad daylight and the door leading into the prim little hall was ajar The girl pushed it open and fell into the arms of a man who caught her as she fainted
Poor girl poor child said Joseph Wilmot to think what she has suffered And I thought that she would profit by that crime I thought that she would take the money and be content to leave the mystery unravelled My poor child my poor unhappy child
The man who had murdered Henry Dunbar wept aloud over the white face of his unconscious daughter
Dont lets have any of that fooling cried a harsh voice from the little parlour weve no time to waste on snivelling
CHAPTER XLI
AT MAUDESLEY ABBEY
Mr Carter the detective lost no time about his work but he did not employ the telegraph by which means he might perhaps have expedited the arrest of Henry Dunbars murderer He did not avail himself of the facilities offered by that wonderful electric telegraph which was once facetiously called the rope that hung Tawell the Quaker because in so doing he must have taken the local police into his confidence and he wished to do his work quietly only aided by a companion and humble follower whom he was in the habit of employing
He went up to London by the mailtrain after parting from Clement Austin took a cab at the Waterloo station and drove straight off to the habitation of his humble assistant whom he most unceremoniously roused from his bed But there was no train for Warwickshire before the sixoclock parliamentary and there was a sevenoclock express which would reach Rugby ten minutes after that miserably slow conveyance so Mr Carter naturally elected to sacrifice the ten minutes and travel by the express Meanwhile he took a hearty breakfast which had been hastily prepared by the wife of his friend and follower and explained the nature of the business before them
It must be confessed that in making these explanations to his humble friend Mr Carter employed a tone that implied no little superiority and that the friendliness of his manner was tempered by condescension
The friend was a middleaged and most respectablelooking individual with a turniphued skin relieved by freckles darkred eyes and palered hair He was not a very prepossessing person and had a habit of working about his lips and jaws when he was neither eating nor talking which was far from pleasant to behold He was very much esteemed by Mr Carter nevertheless not so much because he was clever as because he looked so eminently stupid This last characteristic had won for him the sobriquet of Sawney Tom and he was considered worth his weight in sovereigns on certain occasions when a simple country lad or a verdantlooking linendrapers apprentice was required to enact some little part in the detective drama
Youll bring some of your traps with you Sawney said Mr CarterIll take another maam if you please Three minutes and a half this time and let the white set tolerably firm This last remark was addressed to Mrs Sawney Tom or rather Mrs Thomas TibblesSawney Toms name was Tibbleswho was standing by the fire boiling eggs and toasting bread for her husbands patron Youll bring your traps Sawney continued the detective with his mouth full of buttered toast theres no knowing how much trouble this chap may give us because you see a chap that can play the bold game he has played and keep it up for nigh upon a twelvemonth could play any game Theres nothing out that he need look upon as beyond him So though Ive every reason to think we shall take my friend at Maudesley as quietly as ever a child in arms was took out of its cradle still we may as well be prepared for the worst
Mr Tibbles who was of a taciturn disposition and who had been busily chewing nothing while listening to his superior merely gave a jerk of acquiescence in answer to the detectives speech
We start as solicitor and clerk said Mr Carter Youll carry a blue bag Youd better go and dress the times getting on Respectable black and a clean shave you know Sawney Were going to an old gentleman in the neighbourhood of Shorncliffe that wants his will altered all of a hurry having quarrelled with his three daughters thats what were goin to do if anybodys curious about our business
Mr Tibbles nodded and retired to an inner apartment whence he emerged byandby dressed in a shabbygenteel costume of somewhat funereal aspect and with the lower part of his face rasped like a French roll and somewhat resembling that edible in colour
He brought a small portmanteau with him and then departed to fetch a cab in which vehicle the two gentlemen drove away to the EustonSquare station
It was one oclock in the day when they reached the great iron gates of Maudesley Abbey in a fly which they had chartered at Shorncliffe It was one oclock on a bright sunshiny day and the heart of Mr Carter the detective beat high with expectation of a great triumph
He descended from the fly himself in order to question the woman at the lodge
Youd better get out Sawney he said putting his head in at the window in order to speak to his companion I shant take the vehicle into the park Itll be quieter and safer for us to walk up to the house
Mr Tibbles with his bluebag on his arm got out of the fly prepared to attend his superior whithersoever that luminary chose to lead him
The woman at the lodge was not alone a little group of gossips were gathered in the primlyfurnished parlour and the talk was loud and animated
Which I was that took aback like you might have knocked me down with a feather said the proprietress of the little parlour as she went out of the rustic porch to open the gate for Mr Carter and his companion
I want to see Mr Dunbar he said on particular business You can tell him I come from the bankinghouse in St Gundolph Lane Ive got a letter from the junior partner there and Im to deliver it to Mr Dunbar himself
The keeper of the lodge threw up her hands and eyes in token of utter bewilderment
Begging your pardon sir she said but Ive been that upset I dont know scarcely what Im adoing of Mr Dunbar have gone sir and nobody in that house dont know why he went or when he went or where hes gone The manservant as waited on him found the rooms all empty the first thing this morning and the groom as had charge of Mr Dunbars horse and slep at the back of the house not far from the stables fancied as how he heard a trampling last night where the horse was kep but put it down to the animal bein restless on account of the change in the weather and this morning the horse was gone and the gravel all trampled up and Mr Dunbars goldheaded cane which the poor gentleman was still so lame it was as much as he could do to walk from one room to another was lying by the gardengate and how he ever managed to get out and about and saddle his horse and ride away like that without bein ever heard by a creetur nobody hasnt the slightest notion and everybody this morning was distracted like searchin igh and low but not a sign of Mr Dunbar were found nowhere
Mr Carter turned pale and stamped his foot upon the graveldrive Two hundred pounds is a large stake to a poor man and Mr Carters reputation was also trembling in the balance The very man he wanted gonegone away in the dead of the night while all the household was sleeping
But he was lame he cried How about thatthe railway accidentthe broken leg
Yes sir the woman answered eagerly thats the very thing sir which theyre all talkin about it at the house sir and how a poor invalid gentleman what could scarce stir hand or foot should get up in the middle of the night and saddle his own horse and ride away at a rampageous rate which the groom says he have rode rampageous or the gravel wouldnt be tore up as it is And they do say sir as Mr Dunbar must have been took mad all of a sudden and the doctor was in an awful way when he heard it and theres been people riding right and left lookin for him sir And Miss Dunbarleastways Lady Jocelynwas sent for early this morning and shes at the house now sir with her husband Sir Philip and if your business is so very important perhaps youd like to see her
I should answered the detective briskly You stop here Sawney he added aside to his attendant you stop here and pick up what you can Ill go up to the house and see the lady
Mr Carter found the door open and a group of servants clustered in the gothic porch Lady Jocelyn was in Mr Dunbars rooms a footman told him The detective sent this man to ask if Mr Dunbars daughter would receive a stranger from London on most important business
The man came back in five minutes to say yes Lady Jocelyn would see the strange gentleman
The detective was ushered through the two outer rooms leading to that tapestried apartment in which the missing man had spent so many miserable days so many dismal nights He found Laura standing in one of the windows looking out across the smooth lawn looking anxiously out towards the winding graveldrive that led from the principal lodge to the house
She turned away from the window as Mr Carter approached her and passed her hand across her forehead Her eyelids trembled and she had the look of a person whose senses had been dazed by excitement and confusion
Have you come to bring me any news of my father she said I am distracted by this serious calamity
Laura looked imploringly at the detective Something in his grave face frightened her
You have come to tell me of some new trouble she cried
No Miss Dunbarno Lady Jocelyn I have no new trouble to announce to you I have come to this house in search ofof the gentleman who went away last night I must find him at any cost All I want is a little help from you You may trust to me that he shall be found and speedily if he lives
If he lives cried Laura with a sudden terror in her face
Surely you do not imagineyou do not fear that
I imagine nothing Lady Jocelyn My duty is very simple and lies straight before me I must find the missing man
You will find my father said Laura with a puzzled expression Yes I am most anxious that he should be found and ifif you will accept any reward for your efforts I shall be only too glad to give all you can ask But how is it that you happen to come here and to take this interest in my father You come from the bankinghouse I suppose
Yes the detective answered after a pause yes Lady Jocelyn I come from the office in St Gundolph Lane
Mr Carter was silent for some few moments during which his eyes wandered about the apartment in that professional survey which took in every detail from the colour of the curtains and the pattern of the carpets to the tiniest porcelain toy in an antique cabinet on one side of the fireplace The only thing upon which the detectives glance lingered was the lamp which Margaret had extinguished
Im going to ask your ladyship a question said Mr Carter presently looking gravely and almost compassionately at the beautiful face before him youll think me impertinent perhaps but I hope youll believe that Im only a straightforward business man anxious to do my duty in my own line of life and to do it with consideration for all parties You seem very anxious about this missing gentleman may I ask if you are very fond of him Its a strange question I know my ladyor it seems a strange questionbut theres more in the answer than you can guess and I shall be very grateful to you if youll answer it candidly
A faint flush crept over Lauras face and the tears started suddenly to her eyes She turned away from the detective and brushed her handkerchief hastily across those tearful eyes She walked to the window and stood there for a minute or so looking out
Why do you ask me this question she asked rather haughtily
I cannot tell you that my lady at present the detective answered but I give you my word of honour that I have a very good reason for what I do
Very well then I will answer you frankly said Laura turning and looking Mr Carter full in the face I will answer you for I believe that you are an honest man There is very little love between my father and me It is our misfortune perhaps and it may be only natural that it should be so for we were separated from each other for so many years that when at last the day of our meeting came we met like strangers and there was a barrier between us that could never be broken down Heaven knows how anxiously I used to look forward to my fathers return from India and how bitterly I felt the disappointment when I discovered little by little that we should never be to one another what other fathers and daughters who have never known the long bitterness of separation are to each other But pray remember that I do not complain my father has been very good to me very indulgent very generous His last act before the accident which laid him up so long was to take a journey to London on purpose to buy diamonds for a necklace which was to be his wedding present to me I do not speak of this because I care for the jewels but I am pleased to think that in spite of the coldness of his manner my father had some affection for his only child
Mr Carter was not looking at Laura he was staring out of the window and his eyes had that stolid glare with which they had gazed at Clement Austin while the cashier told his story
A diamond necklace he said humphha hayes All this was in an undertone that hummed faintly through the detectives closed teeth A diamondnecklace Youve got the necklace I suppose eh my lady
No the diamonds were bought but they were never made up
The unset diamonds were bought by Mr Dunbar
Yes to an enormous amount I believe While I was in Paris my father wrote to tell me that he meant to delay the making of the necklace until he was well enough to go on the Continent He could see no design in England that at all satisfied him
No I dare say not answered the detective I dare say hed find it rather difficult to please himself in that matter
Laura looked inquiringly at Mr Carter There was something disrespectful not to say ironical in his tone
I thank you heartily for having been so candid with me Lady Jocelyn he said and believe me I shall have your interests at heart throughout this matter I shall go to work immediately and you may rely upon it I shall succeed in finding the missing man
You do not think thatthat under some terrible hallucination the result of his long illnessyou dont think that he has committed suicide
No Lady Jocelyn answered the detective decisively there is nothing further from my thoughts now
Thank Heaven for that
And now my lady may I ask if youll be kind enough to let me see Mr Dunbars valet and to leave me alone with him in these rooms I may pick up something that will help me to find your father By the bye you havent a picture of hima miniature a photograph or anything of that sort eh
No unhappily I have no portrait whatever of my father
Ah that is unlucky but never mind we must contrive to get on without it
Laura rang the bell One of the superb footmen the birds of paradise who consented to glorify the halls and passages of Maudesley Abbey appeared in answer to the summons and went in search of Mr Dunbars own manthe man who had waited on the invalid ever since the accident
Having sent for this person Laura bade the detective good morning and went away through the vista of rooms to the other side of the hall to that bright modernized wing of the house which Percival Dunbar had improved and beautified for the granddaughter he idolized
Mr Dunbars own man was only too glad to be questioned and to have a good opportunity of discoursing upon the event which had caused such excitement and consternation But the detective was not a pleasant person to talk to as he had a knack of cutting people short with a fresh question at the first symptom of rambling and indeed so closely did he keep his companion to the point that a conversation with him was a kind of intellectual hornpipe between a set of fireirons
Under this pressure the valet told all he knew about his masters departure with very little loss of time by reason of discursiveness
Humphhaah yes muttered the detective between his teeth only one friend that was at all intimate with your master and that was a gentleman called Vernon lately come to live at Woodbine Cottage Lisford Road used to come at all hours to see your master was odd in his ways and dressed queer first came on Miss Lauras weddingday was awful shabby then came out quite a swell afterwards and was very free with his money at Lisford Ahhumph Youve heard your master and this gentleman at high wordsat least youve fancied so but the doors being very thick you aint certain It might have been only telling anecdotes Some gentlemen do swear and row like in telling anecdotes Yes to be sure Youve felt a belt round your masters waist when youve been lifting him in and out of bed He wore it under his shirt and was always fidgety in changing his shirt and didnt seem to want you to see the belt You thought it was a galvanic belt or something of that sort You felt it once when you were changing your masters shirt and it was all over little knobs as hard as iron but very small Thats all youve got to say except that youve always fancied your master wasnt quite easy in his mind and you thought that was because of his having been suspected in the first place about the Winchester murder
Mr Carter jotted down some pencilnotes in his pocketbook while making this little summary of his conversation with the valet
Having done this and shut his book he prowled slowly through the sittingroom bedroom and dressingroom looking about him with the servant close at his heels
What clothes did Mr Dunbar wear when he went away
Grey trousers and waistcoat small shepherds plaid and he must have taken a greatcoat lined with Russian sable
A black coat
No the coat was dark blue cloth outside
Mr Carter opened his pocketbook in order to add another memorandum
Trousers and waistcoat shepherds plaid coat dark blue cloth lined with sable How about Mr Dunbars personal appearance eh
The valet gave an elaborate description of his masters looks
Hahumph muttered Mr Carter tall broadshouldered hooknose brown eyes brown hair mixed with grey
The detective put on his hat after making this last memorandum but he paused before the table on which the lamp was still standing
Was this lamp filled last night he asked
Yes sir it was always fresh filled every day
How long does it burn
Ten hours
When was it lighted
A little before seven oclock
Mr Carter removed the glass shade and carried the lamp to the fireplace He held it up over the grate and drained the oil
It must have been burning till past four this morning he said
The valet stared at Mr Carter with something of that reverential horror with which he might have regarded a wizard of the middle ages But Mr Carter was in too much haste to be aware of the mans admiration He had found out all he wanted to know and now there was no time to be lost
He left the Abbey ran back to the lodge found his assistant Mr Tibbles and despatched that gentleman to the Shorncliffe railway station where he was to keep a sharp look out for a lame traveller in a blue cloth coat lined with brown fur If such a traveller appeared Sawney Tom was to stick to him wherever he went but was to leave a note with the stationmaster for his chiefs guidance containing information as to what he had done
CHAPTER XLII
THE HOUSEMAID AT WOODBINE COTTAGE
In less than a quarter of an hour after leaving the gate of Maudesley Park the fly came to a standstill before Woodbine Cottage Mr Carter paid the man and dismissed the vehicle and went alone into the little garden
He rang a bell on one side of the halfglass door and had ample leisure to contemplate the stuffed birds and marine curiosities that adorned the little hall of the cottage before any one came to answer his summons He rang a second time before anyone came but after a delay of about five minutes a young woman appeared with her face tied up in a coloured handkerchief The detective asked to see Major Vernon and the young woman ushered him into a little parlour at the back of the cottage without either delay or hesitation
The occupant of the cottage was sitting in an armchair by the fire There was very little light in the room for the only window looked into a miniature conservatory where there were all manner of prickly and spiky plants of the cactus kind which had been the delight of the late owner of Woodbine Cottage
Mr Carter looked very sharply at the gentleman sitting in the easychair but the closest inspection showed him nothing but a goodlooking man between fifty and sixty years of age with a determinedlooking mouth half shaded by a grey moustache
Ive come to make a few inquiries about a friend of yours Major Vernon the detective said Mr Dunbar of Maudesley Abbey who has been missing since four oclock this morning
The gentleman in the easychair was smoking a meerschaum As Mr Carter said those two words four oclock his teeth made a little clicking noise upon the amber mouthpiece of the pipe
The detective heard the sound slight as it was and drew his inference from it Major Vernon had seen Joseph Wilmot and knew that he had left the Abbey at four oclock and thus gave a little start of surprise when he found that the exact hour was known to others
You know where Mr Dunbar has gone said Mr Carter looking still more sharply at the gentleman in the easychair
On the contrary I was thinking of looking in upon him at the Abbey this evening
Humph murmured the detective then its no use my asking you any questions on the subject
None whatever Henry Dunbar is gone away from the Abbey you say Why I thought he was still under medical supervisioncouldnt move off his sofa except to take a turn upon a pair of crutches
I believe it was so but he has disappeared notwithstanding
What do you mean by disappeared He has gone away I suppose and he was free to go away wasnt he
Oh of course perfectly free
Then I dont so much wonder that he went exclaimed the occupant of the cottage stooping over the fire and knocking the ashes out of his meerschaum Hed been tied by the leg long enough poor devil But how is it youre running about after him as if he was a little boy that had bolted from his precious mother Youre not the surgeon who was attending him
No Im employed by Lady Jocelyn in fact to tell you the honest truth said the detective with a simplicity of manner that was really charming to tell you the honest truth Im neither more nor less than a private detective and I have come down from London direct to look after the missing gentleman You see Lady Jocelyn is afraid the long illness and fever and all that sort of thing may have had a very bad effect upon her poor father and that hes a little bit touched in the upper story perhapsand upon my word added the detective frankly I think this sudden bolt looks very like it In which case I fancy we may look for an attempt at suicide What do you think now Major Vernon as a friend of the missing gentleman eh
The Major smiled
Upon my word he said I dont think youre so very far away from the mark Henry Dunbar has been rather queer in his ways since that railway smash
Just so I suppose you wouldnt have any objection to my looking about your house and round the garden and outbuildings Your friend might hide himself somewhere about your place When once they take an eccentric turn theres no knowing where to have em
Major Vernon shrugged his shoulders
I dont think Dunbars likely to have got into my house without my knowledge he said but you are welcome to examine the place from garret to cellar if thats any satisfaction to you
He rang a bell as he spoke It was answered by the girl whose face was tied up
Ah Betty youve got the toothache again have you A nice excuse for slinking your work eh my girl Thats about the size of your toothache I expect Look here now this gentleman wants to see the house and youre to show him over it and over the garden too if he likesand be quick about it for I want my dinner
The girl curtseyed in an awkward countrified manner and ushered Mr Carter into the hall
Betty roared the master of the house as the girl reached the foot of the stair with the detective Betty come here
She went back to her master and Mr Carter heard a whispered conversation very brief of which the last sentence only was audible
That last sentence ran thus
And if you dont hold your tongue Ill make you pay for it
Ho ho thought the detective Miss Betsy is to hold her tongue is she Well see about that
The girl came back to the hall and led Mr Carter into the two sittingrooms in the front of the house They were small rooms with small furniture They were oldfashioned rooms with low ceilings and queer cupboards nestling in outoftheway holes and corners and Mr Carter had enough work to do in squeezing himself into the interior of these receptacles which all smelt more or less of chandlery and rumthat truly seamanlike spirit having been a favourite beverage with the late inhabitant of the cottage
After examining halfadozen cupboards in the lower regions Mr Carter and his guide ascended to the upper story
The girl called Betsy ushered the detective into a bedroom which she said was her masters and where the occupation of the Major was made manifest by divers articles of apparel lying on the chairs and hanging on the pegs and furthermore by a powerful effluvium of stale tobacco and a collection of pipes and cigarboxes on the chimneypiece
The girl opened the door of an impossiblelooking little cupboard in a corner behind a fourpost bed but instead of inspecting the cupboard Mr Carter made a sudden rush at the door locked it and then put the key in his pocket
No thank you Miss Innocence he said I dont crick my neck or break my back by looking into any more of your cupboards Just you come here
Here was the window before which Mr Carter planted himself
The girl obeyed very quietly She would have been a prettylooking girl but for her toothache or rather but for the coloured handkerchief which muffled the lower part of her face and was tied in a knot at the top of her head As it was Mr Carter could only see that she had pretty brown eyes which shifted left and right as he looked at her
Oh yes youre an artful young hussy and no mistake he said and that toothaches only a judgment upon you What was that your master said to you in the parlour just now eh What was that he told you to hold your tongue about eh
Betty shook her head and began to twist the corner of her apron in her hands
Master didnt say nothing sir she said
Master didnt say nothing Your morals and your grammar are about a match Miss Betsy but youll find yourself rather in the wrong box byandby my young lady when you find yourself committed to prison for perjury which crime in a young female is transportation for life added Mr Carter in an awful tone
Oh sir cried Betty it isnt me its master and he do swear so when hes in his tantrums If the taters isnt done to his likin sir hell grumble about them quite civil at first and then hell work hisself up like and take and throw them at me one by one and his language gets worse with every tater Oh what am I to do sir I darent go against him Id amost sooner be transported if it dont hurt much
Dont hurt much exclaimed Mr Carter why theres a shipload of catoninetails goes out to Van Diemens Land every quarter and reserved specially for young females
Oh Ill tell you all about it sir cried Mr Vernons housemaid sooner than be took up for perjuring Ill tell you everything
I thought so said Mr Carter but it isnt much youve got to tell me Mr Dunbar came here this morning on horseback between five and six
It was ten minutes past six sir and I was opening the shutters
Precisely
And the gentleman came on horseback sir and was nigh upon fainting with the pain of his leg and he sent me to call up master and master helped him off the horse and took the horse to the stable and then the gentleman sat and rested in masters little parlour at the back of the house and then they sent me for a fly and I went to the Rose and Crown at Lisford and fetched a fly and before eight oclock the gentleman went away
Before eight and it was now past three Mr Carter looked at his watch while the girl made her confession
And oh please dont tell master as I told you she said oh please dont sir
There was no time to be lost and yet the detective paused for a minute thinking of what he had just heard
Had the girl told him the truth or was this a story got up to throw him off the scent The girls terror of her master seemed genuine She was crying now real tears that streamed down her pale cheeks and wetted the handkerchief that covered the lower part of her face
I can find out at the Rose and Crown whether anybody did go away in a fly the detective thought
Tell your master Ive searched the place and havent found his friend he said to the girl and that I havent got time to wish him good morning
The detective said this as he went down stairs The girl went into the little rustic porch with him and directed him to the Rose and Crown at Lisford
He ran almost all the way to the little inn for he was growing desperate now with the idea that his man had escaped him
Why he can do anything with such a start he thought to himself And yet theres his lamenessthatll go against him
At the Rose and Crown Mr Carter was informed that a fly had been ordered at seven oclock that morning by a young person from Woodbine Cottage that the vehicle had not long come in and that the driver was somewhere about the stables The driver was summoned at Mr Carters request and from him the detective ascertained that a gentleman wrapped up to the very nose and wearing a coat lined with fur and walking very lame had been taken up by him at Woodbine Cottage This gentleman had ordered the driver to go as fast as he could to Shorncliffe station but on reaching the station it appeared the gentleman was too late for the train he wanted to go by for he came back to the fly limping awful and told the man to drive to Maningsly The driver explained to Mr Carter that Maningsly was a little village three miles from Shorncliffe on a byroad Here the gentleman in the fur coat had alighted at an alehouse where he dined and stopped reading the paper and drinking hot brandyandwater till after one oclock He acted altogether quite the gentleman and paid for the drivers dinner and brandyandwater as well as his own At halfafter one he got into the fly and ordered the man to go back to Shorncliffe station At five minutes after two he alighted at the station where he paid and dismissed the driver
This was all Mr Carter wanted to know
You get a fresh horse harnessed in doublequick time he said and drive me to Shorncliffe station
While the horse and fly were being got ready the detective went into the bar and ordered a glass of steaming brandyandwater He was accustomed to take liquids in a boiling state as the greater part of his existence was spent in hurrying from place to place as he was hurrying now
Sawneys got the chance this time he thought Suppose he was to sell me and go in for the reward
The supposition was not a pleasant one and Mr Carter looked grave for a minute or so but he quickly relapsed into a grim smile
I think Sawney knows me too well for that he said I think Sawney is too well acquainted with me to try that on
The fly came round to the inndoor while Mr Carter reflected upon this He sprang into the vehicle and was driven off to the station
At the Shorncliffe station he found everything very quiet There was no train due for some time yet there was no sign of human life in the ticketoffice or the waitingrooms
There was a porter asleep upon his truck on the platform and there was one solitary young female sitting upon a bench against the wall with her boxes and bundles gathered round her and an umbrella and a pair of clogs on her lap
Upon all the length of the platform there was no sign of Mr Tibbles otherwise Sawney Tom
Mr Carter awoke the porter and sent him to the stationmaster to ask if any letter addressed to Mr Henry Carter had been left in that functionarys care The porter went yawning to make this inquiry and came back byandby still yawning to say that there was such a letter and would the gentleman please step into the stationmasters office to claim and receive it
The note was not a long one nor was it encumbered by any ceremonious phraseology
Gent in furred coat turned up 210 took a ticket for Derby 1 class took ticket for same place self 2 classYrs to commd TT
Mr Carter crumpled up the note and dropped it into his pocket The stationmaster gave him all the information about the trains There was a train for Derby at seven oclock that evening and for the three and a half weary hours that must intervene Mr Carter was left to amuse himself as best he might
Derby he muttered to himself Derby Why he must be going north and what in the name of all thats miraculous takes him that way
CHAPTER XLIII
ON THE TRACK
The railway journey between Shorncliffe and Derby was by no means the most pleasant expedition for a cold spring night with the darkness lying like a black shroud on the flat fields and a melancholy wind howling over those desolate regions across which all nighttrains seem to wend their way I think that flat and darksome land which we look upon out of the window of a railway carriage in the dead of the night must be a weird district conjured into existence by the potent magic of an enchanters wanda dreary desert transported out of Central Africa to make the nightseason hideous and to vanish at cockcrow
Mr Carter never travelled without a railway rug and a pocket brandyflask and sustained by these inward and outward fortifications against the chilling airs of the long night he established himself in a corner of the secondclass carriage and made the best of his situation
Fortunately there was no position of hardship to which the detective was unaccustomed indeed to be rolled up in a railway rug in the corner of a secondclass carriage was to be on a bed of down as compared with some of his experiences He was used to take his nights rest in brief instalments and was snoring comfortably three minutes after the guard had bangedto the door of his carriage
But he was not permitted to enjoy any prolonged rest The door was banged open and a stentorian voice bawled into his ear that hideous announcement which is so fatal to the repose of travellers Change here c c The journey from Shorncliffe to Derby seemed almost entirely to consist of changing here and poor Mr Carter felt as if he had passed a long night in being hustled out of one carriage into another and off one line of railway on to another with all those pauses on draughty platforms which are so refreshing to the wornout traveller who works his weary way across country in the dead of the night
At last however after a journey that seemed interminable by reason of those short naps which always confuse the sleeper a estimate of time the detective found himself at Derby still in the dead of the night for to the railway traveller it is all of night after dark Here he applied immediately to the stationmaster from whom he got another little note directed to him by Mr Tibbles and very much resembling that which he had received at Shorncliffe
All right up to Derby wrote Sawney Tom Gent in furred coat took a ticket through to Hull Have took the same and go on with him directYours to command TT
Mr Carter lost no time after perusing this communication He set to work at once to find out all about the means of following his assistant and the lame traveller
Here he was told that he had a couple of hours to wait for the train that was to take him on to Normanton and at Normanton he would have another hour to wait for the train that was to carry him to Hull
Ah go it do while youre about it he exclaimed bitterly when the railway official had given him this pleasing intelligence Couldnt you make it a little longer When your end and aim lies in driving a man mad the quicker you drive the better I should think
All this was muttered in an undertone not intended for the ear of the railway official It was only a kind of safetyvalve by which the detective let off his superfluous steam
Sawneys got the chance he thought as he paced up and down the platform Sawneys got the trump cards this time and if hes knave enough to play them against me But I dont think hell do that our professions a conservative one and a traitor would have an uncommon good chance of being kicked out of it We should drop him a hint that considering the state of his health we should take it kindly of him if he would hook it or send him some polite message of that kind as the military swells do when they want to get rid of a pal
There were plenty of refreshments to be had at Derby and Mr Carter took a steaming cup of coffee and a formidablelooking pile of sandwiches before retiring to the waitingroom to take what he called a stretch He then engaged the services of a porter who was to call him five minutes before the starting of the Normanton train and was to receive an illegal douceur for that civility
In the waitingroom there was a coke fire very red and hollow and a dim lamp A lady half buried in shawls and surrounded by a little colony of small packages was sitting close to the fire and started out of her sleep to make nervous clutches at her parcels as the detective entered being in that semiconscious state in which the unprotected female is apt to mistake every traveller for a thief
Mr Carter made himself very comfortable on one of the sofas and snored on peacefully until the porter came to rouse him when he sprang up refreshed to continue his journey
Hull Hull he muttered to himself His game will be to get off to Rotterdam or Hamburgh or St Petersburg perhaps any place that theres a vessel ready to take him Hell get on board the first that sails Its a good dodge a very neat dodge and if Sawney hadnt been at the station Mr Joseph Wilmot would have given us the slip as neatly as ever a man did yet But if Mr Thomas Tibbles is true we shall nab him and bring him home as quiet as ever any little boy was took to school by his mar and par If Mr Tibbles is trueand as he dont know too much about the business and dont know anything about the extra reward or the evidence thats turned up at WinchesterI dare say Thomas Tibbles will be true Human nature is a very noble thing mused the detective but Ive always remarked that the tighter you tie human nature down the brighter it comes out
It was morning and the sun was shining when the train that carried Mr Carter steamed slowly into the great station at Hullit was morning and the sun was shining and the birds singing and in the fields about the smoky town there were herds of sweetbreathing cattle sniffing the fresh spring air and labourers plodding to their work and loaded wains of odorous hay and dewy gardenstuff were lumbering along the quiet country roads and the newborn day had altogether the innocent look appropriate to its tender youthwhen the detective stepped out on the platform calm selfcontained and resolute as brisk and businesslike in his manner as any traveller in that train and with no distinctive stamp upon him however slight that marked him as the hunter of a murderer
He looked sharply up and down the platform No Mr Tibbles had not betrayed him That gentleman was standing on the platform watching the passengers step out of the carriages and looking more turnipfaced than usual in the early sunlight He was chewing nothing with more than ordinary energy and Mr Carter who was very familiar with the idiosyncrasies of his assistant knew from that sign that things had gone amiss
Well he said tapping Sawney Tom on the shoulder hes given you the slip Out with it I can see by your face that he has
Well he have then answered Mr Tibbles in an injured tone but if he have you neednt glare at me like that for it aint no fault of mine If you ever follered a lame eeland a lame eel as makes no more of its lameness than if lameness was a advantageyoud know what it is to foller that chap in the furred coat
The detective hooked his arm through that of his assistant and led Mr Tibbles out of the station by a door which opened on a desolate region at the back of that building
Now then said Mr Carter tell me all about it and look sharp
Well I was waitin in the Shorncliffe ticketoffis and about five minutes after two in comes the gent as large as life and I sees him take his ticket and I hears him say Derby on which I waits till hes out of the offis and I takes my own ticket same place Down we comes here with more changes and botheration than ever was and every time we changes carriages which we dont seem to do much else the whole time I spots my gentleman limpin awful and lookin about him suspiciouslike to see if he was watched And of course he werent watchedoh no nothin like it Of all the innercent young men as ever was exposed to the temptations of this wicked world there never was sech a young innercent as that lawyers clerk a carryin a blue bag and a tellin a promiskruous acquaintance loud enough for the gent in the fur coat to hear that hed been telegraphed for by his master which was down beyond Hull on electioneerin business and a cussin of his master promiskruous to the same acquaintance for telegraphin for him to go by sech a train Well we come to Derby and the furry gent he takes a ticket on to Hull and we come to Normanton and the furry gent limps about Normanton station and I sees him comfortable in his carriage and we comes to Hull and I sees him get out on the platform and I sees him into a fly and I hears him give the order Victorier Hotel which by this time its nigh upon ten oclock and dark and windy Well I got up behind the fly and rides a bit and walks a bit keepin the fly in sight until we comes to the Victorier and there stoops down behind and watches my gent hobble into the hotel in awful pain with that lame leg of his judgin the faces he makes and he walks into the coffeeroom and I makes bold to foller him but there never was sech a young innercent as me and I sees my party sittin warmin his poor lame leg and with a carpetbag and railwayrug and sechlike on the table beside him and presently he gets up hobblin worse than ever and goes outside and I hears him makin inquiries about the best way of gettin on to Edinborough by train and I sat quiet not more than three minutes at most becos you see I didnt want to look like follerin him and in three minutes time out I goes makin as sure to find him in the bar as I make sure of your bein close beside me at this moment but when I went outside into the hall and bar and sechlike there wasnt a mortal vestige of that man to be seen but the waiter he tells me as dignified and cool as yer please that the lame gentleman has gone out by the door looking towards the water and has only gone to have a look at the place and get a few cigars and will be back in ten minutes to a chop which is bein cooked for him Well I cuts out by the same door thinkin my lame friend cant be very far but when I gets out on to the quayside there aint a vestige of him and though I cut about here there and everywhere lookin for him until Id nearly walked my legs off in less than half an hours time I didnt see a sign of him and all I could do was to go back to the Victorier and see if hed gone back before me
Well there was his carpetbag and his railwayrug just as hed left em and there was a little table near the fire all laid out snug and comfortable ready for him but there was no more vestige of hisself than there was in the streets where Id been lookin for him and so I went out again with the prespiration streamin down my face and I walked that blessed town till over one oclock this mornin lookin right and left and inquirin at every place where such a gent was likely to try and hide hisself and playing up Mags divarsions which if it was divarsions to Mag was oncommon hard work to me and then I went back to the Victorier and got a nights lodgin and the first thing this mornin I was on my blessed legs again and down at the quay inquirin about vessels and theres nothin likely to sail afore tonight and the vessel as is expected to sail tonight is bound for Copenhagen and dont carry passengers but from the looks of her captain I should say shed carry anythink even to a churchyard full of corpuses if she was paid to do it
Humph a sailingvessel bound for Copenhagen and the captains a villanouslooking fellow you say said the detective in a thoughtful tone
Hes about the villanousest I ever set eyes on answered Mr Tibbles
Well Sawney its a bad job certainly but Ive no doubt youve done your best
Yes I have done my best the assistant answered rather indignantly and considerin the deal of confidence you honoured me with about this here cove I dont see as I could have done hanythink more
Then the best thing you can do is to keep watch here for the starting of the uptrains while I go and keep my eye upon the station at the other side of the water said Mr Carter This journey to Hull may have been just a dodge to throw us off the scent and our man may try and double upon us by going back to London Youll keep all safe here Sawney while I go to the other side of the compass
Mr Carter engaged a fly and made his way to a pier at the end of the town whence a boat took him across the Humber to a station on the Lincolnshire side of the river
Here he ascertained all particulars about the starting of the trains for London and here he kept watch while two or three trains started Then as there was an interval of some hours before the starting of another he recrossed the water and set to work to look for his man
First he loitered about the quays a little taking stock of the idle vessels the big steamers that went to London Antwerp Rotterdam and Hamburgthe little steamers that went short voyages up or down the river and carried troops of Sunday idlers to breezy little villages beside the sea He found out all about these boats their destination and the hours and days on which they were to start and made himself more familiar with the watertraffic of the place in half an hour than another man could have done in a day He also made acquaintance with the vessel that was to sail for Copenhagena black sulkylooking boat christened very appropriately the Crow with a black sulkylooking captain who was lying on a heap of tarpaulin on the deck smoking a pipe in his sleep Mr Carter stood looking over the quay and contemplating this man for some moments with a thoughtful stare
He looks a bad un the detective muttered as he walked away Sawney was right enough there
He went into the town and walked about looking at the jewellers shops with his accustomed rapid glancea glance so furtive that it escaped observationso full of sharp scrutiny that it took in every detail of the object looked at Mr Carter looked at the jewellers till he came to one whose proprietor blended the trade of moneylending with his more aristocratic commerce Here Mr Carter stopped and entered by the little alley within whose sombre shadows the citizens of Hull were wont to skulk ashamed of the errand that betrayed their impecuniosity Mr Carter visited three pawnbrokers and wasted a good deal of time before he made any discovery likely to be of use to him but at the third pawnbrokers he found himself on the right track His manner with these gentlemen was very simple
Im a detective officer he said from Scotland Yard and I have a warrant for the apprehension of a man whos supposed to be hiding in Hull Hes known to have a quantity of unset diamonds in his possessiontheyre not stolen mind you so you neednt be frightened on that score I want to know if such a person has been to you today
The diamonds are all right asked the pawnbroker rather nervously
Quite right I see the man has been here I dont want to know anything about the jewels theyre his own and its not them were after I want to know about him Hes been here I seethe question is what time
Not above half an hour ago A man in a dark blue coat with a fur collar
Yes a man that walks lame
The pawnbroker shook his head
I didnt see that he was lame he said
Ah you didnt notice or he might hide it just while he was in here He sat down I suppose
Yes he was sitting all the time
Of course Thank you thatll do
With this Mr Carter departed much to the relief of the moneylender
The detective looked at his watch and found that it was halfpast one At halfpast three there was a London train to start from the station on the Lincolnshire side of the water The other station was safe so long as Mr Tibbles remained on the watch there so for two hours Mr Carter was free to look about him He went down to the quay and ascertained that no boat had crossed to the Lincolnshire side of the river within the last hour Joseph Wilmot was therefore safe on the Yorkshire side but if so where was he A man wearing a dark blue coat lined with sable and walking very lame must be a conspicuous object wherever he went and yet Mr Carter with all the aid of his experience in the detective line could find no clue to the whereabouts of the man he wanted He spent an hour and a half in walking about the streets prying into all manner of dingy little bars and taprooms in narrow back streets and down by the waterside and then was fain to go across to Lincolnshire once more and watch the departure of the train
Before crossing the river to do this he had taken stock of the Crow and her master and had seen the captain lying in exactly the same attitude as before smoking a dirty black pipe in hie sleep
Mr Carter made a furtive inspection of every creature who went by the uptrain and saw that conveyance safely off before he turned to leave the station After doing this he lost no time in recrossing the water again and landed on the Yorkshire side of the Humber as the clocks of Hull were striking four
He was getting tired by this time but he was not tired of his work He was accustomed to spending his days very much in this manner he was used to taking his sleep in railway carriages and his meals at unusual hours whenever and wherever he could get time to take his food He was getting what ha called peckish now and was just going to the coffeeroom of the Victoria Hotel with the intention of ordering a steak and a glass of brandyandwaterMr Carter never took beer which is a sleepy beverage inimical to that perpetual clearness of intellect necessary to a detectivewhen he changed his mind and walked back to the edge of the quay to prowl along once more with his hands in his pockets looking at the vessels and to take another inspection of the deck and captain of the Crow
I shouldnt wonder if my gentlemans gone and hidden himself down below the hatchway of that boat he thought as he walked slowly along the quayside Ive half a mind to go on board and overhaul her
CHAPTER XLIV
CHASING THE CROW
Mr Carter was so familiar with the spot alongside which the Crow lay at anchor that he made straight for that part of the quay and looked down over the side fully expecting to see the dirty captain still lying on the tarpaulin smoking his dirty pipe
But to his amazement he saw a strange vessel where he expected to see the Crow and in answer to his eager inquiries amongst the idlers on the quay and the other idlers on the boats he was told that the Crow had weighed anchor half an hour ago and was over yonder
The men pointed to a dingy speck out seaward as they gave Mr Carter this informationa speck which they assured him was neither more nor less than the Crow bound for Copenhagen
Mr Carter asked whether she had been expected to sail so soon
No the men told him she was not expected to have sailed till daybreak next morning and there wasnt above twothirds of her cargo aboard her yet
The detective asked if this wasnt rather a queer proceeding
Yes the men said it was queer but the master of the Crow was a queer chap altogether and more than one absconding bankrupt had sailed for furrin parts in the Crow One of the men opined that the master had got a swell cove on board today inasmuch as he had seen such a one hanging about the quayside ten minutes or so before the Crow sailed
Wholl catch her cried Mr Carter which of you will catch her for a couple of sovereigns
The men shook their heads The Crow had got too much of a start they said considering that the wind was in her favour
But theres a chance that the wind may change after dark returned the detective Come my men dont hang back Wholl catch the Crow yonder for a fiver come Wholl catch her for a fipound note
I will cried a burly young fellow in a scarlet guernsey and shiny boots that came nearly to his waist me and my mate will do it wont us Jim
Jim was another burly young fellow in a blue guernsey a fisherman part owner of a little bit of a smack with a brown mainsail The two stalwart young fishermen ran along the quay and one of them dropped down into a boat that was chained to an angle in the quayside where there was a flight of slimy stone steps leading down to the water The other young man ran off to get some of the boats tackle and a couple of shaggy overcoats
Wed best take something to eat and drink sir the young man said as he came running back with these things we may be out all night if we try to catch yon vessel
Mr Carter gave the man a sovereign and told him to get what he thought proper
Youd best have something to cover you besides what youve got on sir the fisherman said youll find it rare and cold on t water after dark
Mr Carter assented to this proposition and hurried off to buy himself a railway rug he had left his own at the railway station in Sawney Toms custody He bought one at a shop near the quay and was back to the steps in ten minutes
The fisherman in the blue guernsey was in the boat which was a stoutbuilt craft in her way The fisherman in the scarlet guernsey made his appearance in less than five minutes carrying a great stone bottle with a tin drinkingcup tied to the neck of it and a rush basket filled with some kind of provision The stone bottle and the basket were speedily stowed away in the bottom of the boat and Mr Carter was invited to descend and take the seat pointed out to him
Can you steer sir one of the men asked
Yes Mr Carter was able to steer There was very little that he had not learned more or less in twenty years knocking about the world
He took the rudder when they had pushed out into the open water the two young men dipped their oars and away the boat shot out towards that seaward horizon on which only the keenest eyes could discover the black speck that represented the Crow
If it should be a sell after all thought Mr Carter and yet thats not likely If he wanted to double on me and get back to London hed have gone by one of the trains weve watched if he wanted to lieby and hide himself in the town he wouldnt have disposed of any of his diamonds yet awhileand then on the other hand why should the Crow have sailed before shed got the whole of her cargo on board Anyhow I think I have been wise to risk it and follow the Crow If this is a wildgoose chase Ive been in wilder than this before today and have caught my man
The little fishing smack behaved bravely when she got out to sea but even with the help of the oars stoutly plied by the two young men they gained no way upon the Crow for the black speck grew fainter and fainter upon the horizonline and at last dropped down behind it altogether
We shall never catch her one of the men said helping himself to a cupful of spirit out of the stonebottle in a sudden access of despondency We shall no more catch t Crow than we shall catch t day before yesterday unless t wind changes
I doubt t wind will change after dark answered the other young man who had applied himself oftener than his companion to the stonebottle and took a more hopeful view of things I doubt but we shall have a change come dark
He was looking out to windward as he spoke He took the rudder out of Mr Carters hands presently and that gentleman rolled himself in his new railway rug and lay down in the bottom of the boat with one of the mens overcoats for a blanket and the other for a pillow and hushed by the monotonous plashing of the water against the keel of the boat fell into a pleasant slumber whose blissfulness was only marred by the gridironlike sensation of the hard boards upon which he was lying
He awoke from this slumber to hear that the wind had changed and that the Pretty Pollythe boat belonging to the two fishermen was called the Pretty Pollywas gaining on the Crow
We shall be alongside of her in an hour one of the men said
Mr Carter shook off the drowsy influence of his long sleep and scrambled to his feet It was bright moonlight and the little boat left a trail of tremulous silver in her wake as she cut through the water Far away upon the horizon there was a faint speck of shimmering white to which one of the young men pointed with his brawny finger It was the dirty mainsail of the Crow bleached into silver whiteness under the light of the moon
Theres scarcely enough wind to puff out a farthing candle one of the young men said I think were safe to catch her
Mr Carter took a cupful of rum at the instigation of one of his companions and prepared himself for the business that lay before him
Of all the hazardous ventures in which the detective had been engaged this was certainly not the least hazardous He was about to venture on board a strange vessel with a captain who bore no good name and with men who most likely closely resembled their master he was about to trust himself among such fellows as these in the hope of capturing a criminal whose chances if once caught were so desperate that he would not be likely to hesitate at any measures by which he might avoid a capture But the detective was not unused to encounters where the odds were against him and he contemplated the chances of being hurled overboard in a handtohand struggle with Joseph Wilmot as calmly as if death by drowning were the legitimate end of a mans existence
Once while standing in the prow of the boat with his face turned steadily towards that speck in the horizon Mr Carter thrust his hand into the breastpocket of his coat where there lurked the newest and neatest thing in revolvers but beyond this action which was almost involuntary he made no sign that he was thinking of the danger before him
The moon grew brighter and brighter in a cloudless sky as the fishingsmack shot through the water while the steady dip of the oars seemed to keep time to a wordless tune In that bright moonlight the sails of the Crow grew whiter and larger with every dip of the oars that were carrying the Pretty Polly so lightly over the blue water
As the boat gained upon the vessel she was following Mr Carter told the two young men his errand and his authority to capture the runaway
I think I may count on your standing by meeh my lads he asked
Yes the young men answered they would stand by him to the death Their spirits seemed to rise with the thought of danger especially as Mr Carter hinted at a possible reward for each of them if they should assist in the capture of the runaway They rowed close under the side of the black and wickedlooking vessel and then Mr Carter standing up in the boat gave a Yoho aboard there that resounded over the great expanse of plashing water
A man with a pipe in his mouth looked over the side
Hilloa whats the row there he demanded fiercely
I want to see the captain
What do you want with him
Thats my business
Another man with a dingy face and another pipe in his mouth looked over the side and took his pipe from between his lips to address the detective
What the do you mean by coming alongside us he cried Get out of the way or we shall run you down
Oh no you wont Mr Spelsand answered one of the young men from the boat youll think twice before you turn rusty with us Dont you remember the time you tried to get off John Bowman the clerk that robbed the Yorkshire Union Assurance Officedont you remember trying to get him off clear and gettin into trouble yourself about it
Mr Spelsand bawled some order to the man at the helm and the vessel veered round suddenly so suddenly that had the two young men in the boat been anything but firstrate watermen they and Mr Carter would have become very intimately acquainted with the briny element around and about them But the young men were very good watermen and they were also familiar with the manners and customs of Captain Spelsand of the Crow so as the blacklooking schooner veered round the little boat shot out into the open water and the two young oarsmen greeted the captains manoeuvre with a ringing peal of laughter
Ill trouble you to layto while I come on board said the detective while the boat bobbed up and down on the water close alongside of the schooner Youve got a gentleman on boarda gentleman whom Ive got a warrant against It cant much matter to him whether I take him now or when he gets to Copenhagen for take him I surely shall but itll matter a good deal to you Captain Spelsand if you resist my authority
The captain hesitated for a little while he gave a few fierce puffs at his dirty pipe
Show us your warrant he said presently in a sulky tone
The detective had started from Scotland Yard in the first instance with an open warrant for the arrest of the supposed murderer He handed this document up to the captain of the Crow and that gentleman who was by no means an adept in the unseamanlike accomplishments of reading and writing turned it over and examined it thoughtfully in the vivid moonlight
He could see that there were a lot of formidablelooking words and flourishes in it and he felt pretty well convinced that it was a genuine document and meant mischief
Youd better come aboard he said you dont want me thats certain
The captain of the Crow said this with an air of sublime resignation and in the next minute the detective was scrambling up the side of the vessel by the aid of a rope flung out by one of the sailors on board the Crow
Mr Carter was followed by one of the fishermen and with that stalwart ally he felt himself equal to any emergency
Ill just throw my eye over your place down below he said if youll hand me a lantern
This request was not complied with very willingly and it was only on a second production of the warrant that Mr Carter obtained the loan of a wretched spluttering wick glimmering in a dirty little oillamp With this feeble light he turned his back upon the lovely moonlight and stumbled down into a lowceilinged cabin darksome and dirty with berths which were as black and dingy and altogether as uninviting as the shelves made to hold coffins in a noisome underground vault
There were three men asleep upon these shelves and Mr Carter examined these three sleepers as coolly as if they had indeed been the coffined inmates of a vault Amongst them he found a man whose face was turned towards the cabinwall but who wore a blue coat and a travellers cap of fur shaped like a Templars helmet and tied down over his ears
The detective seized this gentleman by the fur collar of his coat and shook him roughly
Come Mr Joseph Wilmot he said get up my man Youve given me a fine chase for it but youre nabbed at last
The man scrambled up out of his berth and stood in a stooping attitude for the cabin was not high enough for him staring at Mr Carter
What are you talking of you confounded fool he said What have I got to do with Joseph Wilmot
The detective had never loosed his hand from the fur collar of his prisoners coat The faces of the two men were opposite to each other but only faintly visible in the dim light of the spluttering oillamp The man in the furlined coat showed two rows of wolfish teeth bared to the gums in a malicious grin
What do you mean by waking me out of sleep he asked What do you mean by assaulting and ballyragging me in this way Ill have it out of you for this my fine gentleman Youre a detective officer are youa knowing card of course and youve followed me all the way from Warwickshire and traced me step by step I suppose and taken no end of trouble eh Why didnt you look after the gentleman who stayed at home Why didnt you look after the poor lame gentleman who stayed at Woodbine Cottage Lisford and dressed up his pretty daughter as a housemaid and acted a little play to sell you you precious clever policeofficer in plain clothes Take me with you Mr Detective stop me in going abroad to improve my mind and manners by foreign travel do Mr Detective and wont I have a fine action against you for false imprisonmentthats all
There was something in the mans tone of bravado that stamped it genuine Mr Carter gnashed his teeth together in a silent fury Sold by that hazeleyed housemaid with her face tied up Sent away on a false trail while the criminal got off at his leisure Fooled duped and laughed at after twenty years of hard service It was too bitter
Not Joseph Wilmot muttered Mr Carter not Joseph Wilmot
No more than you are my pippin answered the traveller insolently
The two men were still standing face to face Something in that insolent tone something that brought back the memory of halfforgotten times startled the detective He lifted the lamp suddenly still looking in the travellers face still muttering in the same halfabsent tone Not Joseph Wilmot and brought the light on a level with the other mans eyes
No he cried with a sudden tone of triumph not Joseph Wilmot but Stephen VallanceBlackguard Steeve the forgerthe man who escaped from Norfolk Island after murdering one of the gaolersbeating his brains out with an iron if I remember right Weve had our eye on you for a long time Mr Vallance but youve contrived to give us the slip Yours is an old case yours is but theres a reward to be got for the taking of you for all that So I havent had my long journey for nothing
The detective tried to fasten his other hand on Mr Vallances shoulder but Stephen Vallance struck down that uplifted hand with a heavy blow of his fist and wresting himself from the detectives grasp rushed up the cabinstairs
Mr Carter followed close at his heels
Stop that man he roared to one of the fishermen stop him
I suppose the instinct of selfpreservation inspired Stephen Vallance to make that frantic rush though there was no possible means of escape out of the vessel except into the open boat or the still more open sea As he receded from the advancing detective one of the fishermen sprang towards him from another part of the deck Thus hemmed in by the two and dazzled perhaps by the sudden brilliancy of the moonlight after the darkness of the place below he reeled back against an opening in the side of the vessel lost his balance and fell with a heavy plunge into the water
There was a sudden commotion on the deck a simultaneous shout as the men rushed to the side
Save him cried the detective Hes got a belt stuffed with diamonds round his waist
Mr Carter said this at a venture for he did not know which of the men had the diamond belt
One of the fishermen threw off his shoes and took a header into the water The rest of the men stood by breathless eagerly watching two heads bobbing up and down among the moonlit waves two pairs of arms buffeting with the water The force of the current drifted the two men far away from the schooner
For an interval that seemed a long one all was uncertainty The schooner that had made so little way before seemed now to fly in the faint nightwind At last there was a shout and a head appeared above the water advancing steadily towards the vessel
Ive got him shouted the voice of the fisherman Ive got him by the belt
He came nearer to the vessel striking out vigorously with one arm and holding some burden with the other
When he was close under the side the captain of the Crow flung out a rope but as the fisherman lifted his hand to grasp it he uttered a sudden cry and raised the other hand with a splash out of the water
The belts broke and hes sunk he shouted
The belt had broken A little ripple of light flashed briefly in the moonlight and fell like a shower of spray from a fountain Those glittering drops that looked like fountain spray were some of the diamonds bought by Joseph Wilmot and Stephen Vallance alias Blackguard Steeve alias Major Vernon had gone down to the bottom of the sea never in this mortal life to rise again
CHAPTER XLV
GIVING IT UP
The Pretty Polly went back to the port of KingstonuponHull in the grey morning light carrying Mr Carter very cold and very downheartednot to say humiliatedby his failure To have been hoodwinked by a girl whose devotion to the unhappy wretch she called her father had transformed her into a heroineto have fallen so easily into the trap that had been set for him being all the while profoundly impressed with the sense of his own clevernesswas to say the least of it depressing to the spirits of a firstclass detective
And that fellow Vallance too mused Mr Carter to think that he should go and chuck himself into the water just to spite me Thered have been some credit in taking him back with me I might have made a bit of character out of that But no he goes and tumbles backards into the water rather than let me have any advantage out of him
There was nothing for Mr Carter to do but to go straight back to Lisford and try his luck again with everything against him
Let me get back as fast as I may Joseph Wilmot will have had eightandforty hours start of me he thought and what cant he do in that time if he keeps his wits about him and dont go wild and foolish like as some of em do when theyve got such a chance as this Anyhow Im after him and itll go hard with me if he gives me the slip after all for my bloods up and my characters at stake and Id think no more of crossing the Atlantic after him than Id think of going over Waterloo Bridge
It was a very chill and miserable time of the morning when the Pretty Polly ground her nose against the granite steps of the quay It was a chill and dismal hour of the morning and Mr Carter felt sloppy and dirty and unshaven as he stepped out of the boat and staggered up the slimy stairs He gave the two young fishermen the promised fivepound note and left them very well contented with their nights work inglorious though it had been
There were no vehicles to be had at that early hour of the morning so Mr Carter was fain to walk from the quay to the station where he expected to find Mr Tibbles or to obtain tidings of that gentleman He was not disappointed for although the station wore its dreariest aspect having only just begun to throb with a little spasmodic life in the way of an early goodstrain Mr Carter found his devoted follower prowling in melancholy loneliness amid a wilderness of empty carriages and smokeless engines with the turnip whiteness of his complexion relieved by a red nose
Mr Thomas Tibbles was by no means in the best possible temper in this chill early morning He was slapping his long thin arms across his narrow chest and performing a kind of amateur doubleshuffle with his long flat feet when Mr Carter approached him and he kept up the same shuffling and the same slapping while engaged in conversation with his superior in a disrespectful if not defiant manner
A pretty game youve played me he said in an injured tone You told me to hang about the station and watch the trains and youd come back in the course of the dayyou wouldand wed dine together comfortable at the Station Hotel and a deal you come back and dined together comfortable Oh yes I dont think so very much indeed exclaimed Mr Tibbles vaguely but with the bitterest derision in his voice and manner
Come Sawney dont you go to cut up rough about it said Mr Carter coaxingly
I should like to know whod go and cut up smooth about it answered the indignant Tibbles Why if you could have a hangel in the detective businesswhich luckily you cant for the wings would cut out anything as mean as legs and be the ruin of the purfessionthe temper of that hangel would give way under what Ive gone through Hanging about this windy station which the number of crisscross draughts cuttin in from open doors and winders would lead a hignorant person to believe there was seventeen pints of the compass at the very leasthangin about to watch train after train till there aint anything goin in the way of sarce as yen havent got to stand from the porters or sittin in the coffeeroom of the hotel yonder watchin and listenin for the next train till bein there to keep an appointment with your master is the hollerest of mockeries
Mr Carter took his irate subordinate to the coffeeroom of the Station Hotel where Mr Tibbles had engaged a bed and taken a few hours sleep in the dead interval between the starting of the last train at night and the first in the morning The detective ordered a substantial breakfast with a couple of glasses of pale brandy neat to begin with and Mr Tibbles equanimity was restored under the influence of ham eggs muttoncutlet a broiled sole and a quart or so of boiling coffee
Mr Carter told his assistant very briefly that hed been wasting his time and trouble on a false track and that he should give the matter up Sawney Tom received this announcement with a great deal of champing and working of the jaws and with rather a doubtful expression in his dull red eyes but he accepted the payment which his employer offered him and agreed to depart for London by the ten oclock train
And whatever I do henceforth in this business I do singlehanded Mr Carter said to himself as he turned his back upon his companion
At five oclock that afternoon the detective found himself at the Shorncliffe station where he hired a fly and drove on posthaste to Lisford cottage
The neat little habitation of the late naval commander looked pretty much as Mr Carter had seen it last except that in one of the upper windows there was a billa large paper placardannouncing that this house was to let furnished and that all information respecting the same was to be obtained of Mr Hogson grocer Lisford
Mr Carter gave a long whistle
The birds flown he muttered It wasnt likely hed stop here to be caught
The detective rang the bell once twice three times but there was no answer to the summons He ran round the low gardenfence to the back of the premises where there was a little wooden gate padlocked but so low that he vaulted over it easily and went in amongst the budding currantbushes the neat gravelpaths and strawberrybeds that had been erst so cherished by the naval commander Mr Carter peered in at the back windows of the house and through the little casement he saw a vista of emptiness He listened but there was no sound of voices or footsteps The blinds were undrawn and he could see the bare walls of the rooms the fireless grates and that cold bleakness of aspect peculiar to an untenanted habitation
He gave a low groan
Gone he muttered gone as neat as ever a man went yet
He ran back to the fly and drove to the establishment of Mr Hogson grocer and general dealerthe shop of the village of Lisford
Here Mr Carter was informed that the key of Woodbine Cottage had been given up on the evening of that very day on which he had seen Joseph Wilmot sitting in the little parlour
Yes sir it were the night before the last Mr Hogson said it were the night before last as a young woman wrapped up about the face like and dressed very plain got out of a fly at my door and says she Would you please take charge of this here key and be so kind as to show any one over the cottage as would like to see it which of course the commission is understoodfor my master is leaving for some time on account of having a son just come home from India which is married and settled in Devonshire and my master is going there to see him not having seen him this many a long year She was a very civilspoken young woman and Woodbine Cottage has been good customers to us both with the old tenants and the new so of course I took the key willin to do any service as lay in my power And if youd like to see the cottage sir
Youre very good said Mr Carter with something like a groan No I wont see the cottage tonight What time was it when the fly stopped at your door
Between seven and eight
Between seven and eight Just in time to catch the mail from Rugby Was it one of the RoseandCrown flies dye think
Oh yes the fly belonged to Lisford Im sure of that for Tim Baling was drivin it and wished me goodnight
Mr Carter left the Lisford emporium and ran over to the Rose and Crown where he saw the man who had driven him to Shorncliffe station This man told the detective that he had been fetched in the evening by the same young woman who fetched him in the morning and that he had driven another gentleman who walked lame like the first and had his head and face wrapped up a deal not to Shorncliffe station but to little Petherington station six miles on the Rugby side of Shorncliffe where the gentleman and the young woman who was with him got into a secondclass carriage in the slow train for Rugby The gentleman had said laughing that the young woman was his housemaid and he was taking her up to town on purpose to be married to her He was a very pleasantspoken gentleman the flyman added and paid uncommon liberal
I dare say he did muttered Mr Carter
He gave the man a shilling for his information and went back to the fly that had brought him to the station It was getting on for seven oclock by this time and Joseph Wilmot had had eightandforty hours start of him The detective was quite downhearted now
He went up to London by the same train which he had every reason to suppose had carried Joseph Wilmot and his daughter two nights before and at the Euston terminus he worked very hard on that night and on the following day to trace the missing man But Joseph Wilmot was only a drop in the great ocean of London life The train that was supposed to have brought him to town was a long train coming through from the north Halfadozen lame men with halfadozen young women for their companions might have passed unnoticed in the bustle and confusion of the arrival platform
Mr Carter questioned the guards the ticketcollectors the porters the cabmen but not one among them gave him the least scrap of available information He went to Scotland Yard despairing and laid his case before the authorities there
Theres only one way of having him he said and thats the diamonds From what I can make out he had no money with him and in that case hell be trying to turn some of those diamonds into cash
The following advertisement appeared in the Supplement to the Times for the next day
To Pawnbrokers and OthersA liberal reward will be given to any person affording information that may lead to the apprehension of a tall man walking lame who is known to have a large quantity of unset diamonds in his possession and who most likely has attempted to dispose of the same
But this advertisement remained unanswered
Theyre too clever for us sir Mr Carter remarked to one of the ScotlandYard officials Whoever Joseph Wilmot may have sold those diamonds to has got a good bargain you may depend upon it and means to stick to it The pawnbrokers and others think our advertisement a plant you may depend upon it
CHAPTER XLVI
CLEMENTS STORYBEFORE THE DAWN
I went back to my mothers house a broken and a disappointed man I had solved the mystery of Margarets conduct and at the same time had set a barrier between myself and the woman I loved
Was there any hope that she would ever be my wife Reason told me that there was none In her eyes I must henceforth appear the man who had voluntarily set himself to work to discover her fathers guilt and track him to the gallows
Could she ever again love me with this knowledge in her mind Could she ever again look me in the face and smile at me remembering this The very sound of my name must in future be hateful to her
I knew the strength of my noble girls love for her reprobate father I had seen the force of that affection tested by so many cruel trials I had witnessed my poor girls passionate grief at Joseph Wilmots supposed death and I had seen all the intensity of her anguish when the secret of his existence which was at the same time the secret of his guilt became known to her
She renounced me then rather than renounce that guilty wretch I thought she will hate me now that I have been the means of bringing his most hideous crime to light
Yes the crime was hideousalmost unparalleled in horror The treachery which had lured the victim to his death seemed almost less horrible than the diabolical art which had fixed upon the name of the murdered man the black stigma of a suspected crime
But I knew too well that in all the blackness of his guilt Margaret Wilmot would cling to her father as truly as tenderly as she had clung to him in those early days when the suspicion of his worthlessness had been only a dark shadow for ever brooding between the man and his only child I knew this and I had no hope that she would ever forgive me for my part in the weaving of that strange chain of evidence which made the condemnation of Joseph Wilmot
These were the thoughts that tormented me during the first fortnight after my return from the miserable journey to Winchester these were the thoughts for ever revolving in my tired brain while I waited for tidings from the detective
During all that time it never once occurred to me that there was any chance however remote of Joseph Wilmots escape from his pursuer
I had seen the science of the detective police so invariably triumphant over the bestplanned schemes of the most audacious criminals that I should have consideredhad I ever debated the question which I never didJoseph Wilmots evasion of justice an actual impossibility It was most likely that he would be taken at Maudesley Abbey entirely unprepared in his ignorance of the fatal discovery at Winchester an easy prey to the experienced detective
Indeed I thought that his immediate arrest was almost a certainty and every morning when I took up the papers I expected to see a prominent announcement to the effect that the longundiscovered Winchester mystery was at last solved and that the murderer had been taken by one of the detective police
But the papers gave no tidings of Joseph Wilmot and I was surprised at the end of a weeks time to read the account of a detectives skirmish on board a schooner some miles off Hull which had resulted in the drowning of one Stephen Vallance an old offender The detectives name was given as Henry Carter Were there two Henry Carters in the small band of London detective police or was it possible that my Henry Carter could have given up so profitable a prize as Joseph Wilmot in order to pursue unknown criminals upon the high seas A week after I had read of this mysterious adventure Mr Carter made his appearance at Clapham very grave of aspect and dejected of manner
Its no use sir he said its humiliating to an officer of my standing in the force but Id better confess it freely Ive been sold sirsold by a young woman too which makes it three times as mortifying and a kind of insult to the male sex in general
My heart gave a great throb
Do you mean that Joseph Wilmot has escaped I asked
He has sir as clean as ever a man escaped yet He hasnt left this country not to my belief for Ive been running up and down between the different outports like mad But what of that If he hasnt left the country and if he doesnt mean to leave the country so much the better for him and so much the worse for those that want to catch him Its trying to leave England that brings most of em to grief and Joseph Wilmots an old enough hand to know that Ill wager hes living as quiet and respectable as any gentleman ever lived yet
Mr Carter went on to tell me the whole story of his disappointments and mortifications I could understand all now the moonlit figure in the Winchester street the dusky shadow beneath the dripping branches in the grove I could understand all now my poor girlmy poor brave girl
When I was alone I rendered up my thanks to Heaven for the escape of Joseph Wilmot I had done nothing to impede the course of justice though I had known full well that the punishment of the evildoer would crush the bravest and purest heart that ever beat in an innocent womans bosom I had not dared to attempt any interposition between Joseph Wilmot and the punishment of his crime but I was nevertheless most heartily thankful that Providence had suffered him to escape that hideous earthly doom which is supposed to be the wisest means of ridding society of a wretch
But for the wretch himself surely long years of penitence must make a better expiation of his guilt than that one short agonythose few spasmodic throes which render his death such a pleasant spectacle for a sightseeing populace
I was glad for the sake of the guilty and miserable creature himself that Joseph Wilmot had escaped I was still gladder for the sake of that dear hope which was more to me than any hope on earththe hope of making Margaret my wife
There will be no hideous recollection interwoven with my image now I thought she will forgive me when I tell her the history of my journey to Winchester She will let me take her away from the companionship that must be loathsome to her in spite of her devotion She will let me bring her to a happy home as my cherished wife
I thought this and then in the next moment I feared that Margaret might cling persistently to the dreadful duty of her lifethe duty of shielding and protecting a criminal the duty of teaching a wicked man to repent of his sins
I inserted an advertisement in the Times newspaper assuring Margaret of my unalterable love and devotion which no circumstances could lessen and imploring her to write to me Of course the advertisement was so worded as to give no clue to the identity of the person to whom it was addressed The acutest official in Scotland Yard could have gathered nothing from the lines From C to M so like other appeals made through the same medium
But my advertisement remained unansweredno letter came from Margaret
The weeks and months crept slowly past The story of the evidence of the clothes found at Winchester was made public together with the history of Joseph Wilmots flight and escape The business created a considerable sensation and Lord Herriston himself went down to Winchester to witness the exhumation of the remains of the man who had been buried under the name of Joseph Wilmot
The dead mans face was no longer recognizable Only by induction was the identity of Henry Dunbar ever established but the evidence of the identity was considered conclusive by all who were interested in the question Still I doubt whether in the fabric of circumstantial evidence against Joseph Wilmot legal sophistry could not have discovered some loophole by which the murderer might have escaped the full penalty of his crime
The remains were removed from Winchester to Lisford Church where Percival Dunbar was buried in a vault beneath the chancel The murdered mans coffin was placed beside that of his father and a simple marble tablet recording the untimely death of Henry Dunbar cruelly and treacherously assassinated in a grove near Winchester was erected by order of Lady Jocelyn who was abroad with her husband when the story of her fathers death was revealed to her
The weeks and months crept by The revelation of Joseph Wilmots guilt left me free to return to my old position in the house of Dunbar Dunbar and Balderby But I had no heart to go back to the old business now the hope that had made my commonplace city life so bright seemed for ever broken I was surprised however into a confession of the truth by the goodnatured junior partner who lived near us on Clapham Common and who dropped in sometimes as he went by my mothers gate to while away an idle halfhour in some political discussion
He insisted upon my returning to the office directly he heard the secret of my resignation The business was now entirely his for there had been no one to succeed Henry Dunbar and Mr John Lovell had sold the dead mans interest on behalf of his client Lady Jocelyn I went back to my old post but not to remain long in my old position for a week after my return Mr Balderby made me an offer which I considered as generous as it was flattering and which I ultimately and somewhat reluctantly accepted
By means of this new and most liberal arrangement which demanded from me a very moderate amount of capital I became junior partner in the firm which was now conducted under the names of Dunbar Dunbar Balderby and Austin The double Dunbar was still essential to us though the last of the male Dunbars was dead and buried under the chancel of Lisford Church The old name was the legitimate stamp of our dignity as one of the oldest AngloIndian banking firms in the city of London
My new life was smooth enough and there was so much business to be got through so much responsibility vested in my handsfor Mr Balderby was getting fat and lazy as regarded affairs in the City though untiring in the production of more forced pineapples and hothouse grapes than he could consume or give awaythat I had not much leisure in which to think of the one sorrow of my life A City man may break his heart for disappointed love but he must do it out of business hours if he pretends to be an honourable man for every sorrowful thought which wanders to the loved and lost is a separate treason against the house he serves
Smoking my afterdinner cigar in the narrow pathways and miniature shrubberies of my mothers garden I could venture to think of my lost Margaret and I did think of her and pray for her with as fervent aspirations as ever rose from a mans faithful heart And in the dusky stillness of the evening with the faint odour of dewy flowers round me and distant stars shining dimly in that faroff opal sky against which the branches of the elms looked so black and dense I used to beguile myselfor it may be that the influence of the scene and hour beguiled meinto the thought that my separation from Margaret could be only a temporary one We loved each other so truly And after all what under heaven is stronger than love I thought of my poor girl in some lonely melancholy place hiding with her guilty father in daily companionship with a miserable wretch whose life must be made hideous to himself by the memory of his crime I thought of the selfabnegation the heroic devotion which made Margaret strong enough to endure such an existence as this and out of my belief in the justice of Heaven there grew up in my mind the faith in a happier life in store for my noble girl
My mother supported me in this faith She knew all Margarets story now and she sympathized with my love and admiration for Joseph Wilmots daughter A womans heart must have been something less than womanly if it could have tailed to appreciate my darlings devotion and my mother was about the last of womankind to be wanting in tenderness and compassion for any one who had need of her pity and was worthy of her love
So we both cherished the thought of the absent girl in our minds talking of her constantly on quiet evenings when we sat opposite to each other in the snug lamplit drawingroom unhindered by the presence of guests We did not live by any means a secluded or gloomy life for my mother was fond of pleasant society and I was quite as true to Margaret while associating with agreeable people and hearing cheerful voices buzzing round me as I could have been in a hermitage whose stillness was only broken by the howling of the storm
It was in the dreariest part of the winter which followed Joseph Wilmots escape that an incident occurred which gave me a strangelymingled feeling of pleasure and pain I was sitting one evening in my mothers breakfastparloura little room situated close to the halldoorwhen I heard the ringing of the bell at the gardengate It was nine oclock at night a bitter wintry night in which I should least have expected any visitor So I went on reading my paper while my mother speculated about the matter
Three minutes after the bell had rung our parlourmaid came into the room and placed something on the table before me
A parcel sir she said lingering a little perhaps in the hope that in my eager curiosity I might immediately open the packet and give her an opportunity of satisfying her own desire for information
I put aside my newspaper and looked down at the object before me
Yes it was a parcela small oblong boxabout the size of those pasteboard receptacles which are usually associated with Seidlitz powdersan oblong box neatly packed in white paper secured with several seals and addressed to Clement Austin Esq Willow Bank Clapham
But the hand the dear wellknown hand which had addressed the packetmy blood thrilled through my veins as I recognized the familiar characters
Who brought this parcel I asked starting from my comfortable easychair and going straight out into the hall
The astonished parlourmaid told me that the packet had been given her by a lady a lady who was dressed in black or dark things the girl said and whose face was quite hidden by a thick veil After leaving the small packet this lady got into a cab a few paces from our gate the girl added and the cab had tore off as fast as it could tear
I went out into the open yard and looked despairingly Londonwards There was no vestige of any cab of course there had been ample time for the cab in question to get far beyond reach of pursuit I felt almost maddened with this disappointment and vexation It was Margaret Margaret herself most likely who had come to my door and I had lost the opportunity of seeing her
I stood staring blankly up and down the road for some time and then went back to the parlour where my mother with pardonable weakness had pounced upon the packet and was examining it with eyes opened to their widest extent
It is Margarets hand she exclaimed Oh do opendo please open it directly What on earth can it be
I tore off the white paper covering and revealed just such an object as I had expected to seea box a commonplace pasteboard box tied securely across and across with thin twine I cut the twine and opened the box At the top there was a layer of jewellers wool and on that being removed my mother gave a little shriek of surprise and admiration
The box contained a fortunea fortune in the shape of unset diamonds lying as close together as their nature would admitunset diamonds which glittered and flashed upon us in the lamplight
Inside the lid there was a folded paper upon which the following lines were written in the dear hand the nevertobeforgotten hand
EVERDEAREST CLEMENTThe sad and miserable secret which led to our parting is a secret no longer You know all and you have no doubt forgiven and perhaps in part forgotten the wretched woman to whom your love was once so dear and to whom the memory of your love will ever lie a consolation and a happiness If I dared to pray to you to think pitifully of that most unhappy man whose secret is now known to you I would do so but I cannot hope for so much mercy from men I can only hope it from God who in His supreme wisdom alone can fathom the mysteries of a repentant heart I beg of you to deliver to Lady Jocelyn the diamonds I place in your hands They belong of right to her and I regret to say they only represent apart of the money withdrawn from the funds in the name of Henry Dunbar Goodbye dear and generous friend this it the last you will ever hear of one whose name must sound odious to the ears of honest men Pity me and forget me and may a happier woman be to you that which I can never be MW
This was all Nothing could be firmer than the tone of this letter in spite of its pensive gentleness My poor girl could not be brought to believe that I should hold it no disgrace to make her my wife in spite of the hideous story connected with her name In my vexation and disappointment I appealed once more to the unfailing friend of parted or persecuted lovers the Jupiter of PrintingHouse Square
Margaret I wrote in the advertisement which adorned the second column of the Times Supplement on twenty consecutive occasions I hold you to your old promise and consider the circumstances of our parting as in no manner a release from your old engagement The greatest wrong you can inflict upon me will be inflicted by your desertion C A
This advertisement was as useless as its predecessor I looked in vain for any answer
I lost no time in fulfilling the commission intrusted to me I went down to Shorncliffe and delivered the box of diamonds into the hands of John Lovell the solicitor for Lady Jocelyn was still on the Continent He packed the box in paper and made me seal it with my signetring in the presence of one of his clerks before he put it away in an iron safe near his desk
When this was done and when the Times advertisement had been inserted for the twentieth time without eliciting any reply I gave myself up to a kind of despair about Margaret She had failed to see my advertisement I thought for she would scarcely have been so hardhearted as to leave it unanswered She had failed to see this advertisement as well as the previous appeal made to her through the same medium and she would no doubt fail to see any other I had reason to know that she was or had been in England for she would scarcely have intrusted the diamonds to strange hands but it was only too likely that she had chosen the very eve of her own and her fathers departure for some distant country as the most fitting time at which to leave the valuable parcel with me
Her influence over her father must be complete I thought or he would scarcely have consented to surrender such a treasure as the diamonds He has most likely retained enough to pay the passage out to America for himself and Margaret and my poor darling will wander with her wretched father into some remote corner of the United States where she will be hidden from me for ever
I remembered with unspeakable pain how wide the world was and how easy it would be for the woman I loved to be for ever lost to me
I gave myself up to despair it was not resignation for my life was empty and desolate without Margaret try as I might to carry my burden quietly and put a brave face upon my sorrow Up to the time of Margarets appearance on that bleak winters night I had cherished the hopeor even more than hopethe belief that we should be reunited but after that night the old faith in a happy future crumbled away and the idea that Joseph Wilmots daughter had left England grew little by little into conviction
I should never see her again I fully believed this now There was never to be any more sunshine in my life and there was nothing for me to do but to resign myself to the even tenor of an existence in which the quiet duties of a business career would leave little time for any idle grief or lamentation My sorrow was a part of my life but even those who knew me best failed to fathom the depth of that sorrow To them I seemed only a grave business man devoted to the dry details of a business life
Eighteen months had passed since the bleak winters night on which the box of diamonds had been intrusted to me eighteen months so slow and quiet in their course that I was beginning to feel myself an old man older than many old men inasmuch as I had outlived the wreck of the one bright hope which had made life dear to me It was midsummer time and the countinghouse in St Gundolph Lane and the parlour in whichin virtue of my new positionI had now a right to work seemed peculiarly hot and frowsy dusty and obnoxious My work being especially hard at this time knocked me up and I was compelled under pain of solemn threats from my mothers pet medical attendant to stay at home and take two or three days rest I submitted very unwillingly for however dusty and stifling the atmosphere in St Gundolph Lane might be it was better to be there victorious over my sorrow by means of mans grandest ally in the battle with black careto wit hard workthan to be lying on the sofa in my mothers pleasant drawingroom listening to the cheery click of two knittingneedles and thinking of my wasted life
I submitted however to take the three days holiday and on the second day after a couple of hours penance on the sofa I got up languid and tired still but bent on some employment by which I might escape from the sad monotony of my own thoughts
I think Ill go into the next room and put my papers to rights mother I said
My dear indulgent mother remonstrated I was to rest and keep myself quiet she said and not to worry myself about papers and tiresome things of that kind which appertained only to the office But I had my own way and went into the little room where there were flowers blooming and caged birds singing in the open window
This room was a sort of snuggery half library half breakfastparlour and it was in this room my mother and I had been sitting on the night on which the diamonds had been brought to me
On one side of the fireplace stood my mothers worktable on the other the desk at which I wrote whenever I wrote any letters at homea ponderous oldfashioned office desk with a row of drawers on each side a deep well in the centre and under that a large wastepaper basket full of old envelopes and torn scraps of letters
I wheeled a comfortable chair up to the desk and began my task It was a very long one and involved a great deal of folding sorting and arranging of documents which perhaps were scarcely worth the trouble I took with them At any rate the work kept my fingers employed though my mind still brooded over the old trouble
I sat for nearly three hours for it was a very long time since I had had a days leisure and the accumulation of letters bills and receipts was something very formidable At last all was done the letters and bills endorsed and tied into neat packets that would have done credit to a lawyers office and I flung myself back in my chair with a sigh of relief
But I had not finished my work yet for I drew out the wastepaper basket presently and emptied its contents upon the floor in order that I might make sure of there being no important paper thrown by chance amongst them before I consigned them to be swept away by the housemaid
I tossed over the chaotic fragments the soiled envelopes the circulars of enterprising Clapham tradesmen and all the other rubbish that had accumulated within the last two years The dust floated up to my face and almost blinded me
Yes there was something of consequence amongst the paperssomething at least which I should have held it sacrilegious to consign to Molly the housemaidthe wrapper of the box containing the diamonds the paper wrapper directed in the dear hand I loved the hand of Margaret Wilmot
I must have left the wrapper on the table on the night when I received the box and one of the servants had no doubt put it into the wastepaper basket I picked up the sheet of paper and folded it neatly it was a very small treasure for a lover to preserve perhaps but then I had so few relics of the woman who was to have been my wife
As I folded the paper I looked half in absence of mind at the stamp in the corner It was an oldfashioned sheet of Bath post stamped with the name of the stationer who had sold itJakins Kylmington Kylmington yes I remembered there was a town in Hampshirea kind of wateringplace I believedcalled Kylmington And the paper had been bought thereand if so it was more than likely that Margaret had been there
Could it be so Could it be really possible that in this sheet of paper I had found a clue which would help me to trace my lost love Could it be so The new hope sent a thrill of sudden life and energy through my veins Illworn out knocked up by overwork Who could dare to say I was any thing of the kind I was as strong as Hercules
I put the folded paper in the breastpocket of my coat and took down Bradshaw Dear Bradshaw what an interesting writer you seemed to me on that day Yes Kylmington was in Hampshire three hours and a half from London with due allowance for delays in changing carriages There was a train would convey me from Waterloo to Kylmington that afternoona train that would leave Waterloo at halfpast three
I looked at my watch It was halfpast two I had only an hour for all my preparations and the drive to Waterloo I went to the drawingroom where my mother was still sitting at work near the open window She started when she saw my face for my new hope had given it a strange brightness
Why Clem she said you look as pleased as if youd found some treasure among your papers
I hope I have mother I hope and believe that I have found a clue that will enable me to trace Margaret
You dont mean it
Ive found the name of a town which I believe to be the place where she was staying before she brought those diamonds to me I am going there to try and discover some tidings of her I am going at once Dont look anxious dear mother the journey to Kylmington and the hope that takes me there will do me more good than all the drugs in Mr Bainhams surgery Be my own dear indulgent mother as you have always been and pack me a couple of clean shirts in a portmanteau I shall come back tomorrow night I dare say as Ive only three days leave of absence from the office
My mother who had never in her life refused me anything did not long oppose me today A hansom cab rattled me off to the station and at five minutes before the halfhour I was on the platform with my ticket for Kylmington in my pocket
CHAPTER XLVII
THE DAWN
The clock of Kylmington church which was as much behind any other public timekeeper I had ever encountered as the town of Kylmington was behind any other town I had ever explored struck eight as I opened the little wooden gate of the churchyard and went into the shade of an avenue of stunted sycamores which was supposed to be the chief glory of Kylmington
It was twenty minutes past eight by London time and the summer sun had gone down leaving all the low western sky bathed in vivid yellow light which deepened into crimson as I watched it
I had been more than an hour and a half in Kylmington I had taken some slight refreshment at the principal hotela queer oldfashioned place with a ruinous weedy appearance pervading it and the impress of incurable melancholy stamped on the face of every scrap of rickety furniture and lopsided windowblind I had taken some slight refreshmentto this hour I dont know what it was I ate upon that balmy summer evening so entirely was my mind absorbed by that bright hope which was growing brighter and brighter every moment I had been to the stationers shop which still bore above its window the faded letters of the name Jakins though the last of the Jakinses had long left Kylmington I had been to this shop and from a goodnatured but pensive matron I had heard tidings that made my bright hope a still brighter certainty
I began business by asking if there was any lady in Kylmington who gave lessons in music and singing
Yes Mr Jakinss successor told me there were two musicmistresses in the townone was Madame Carinda who taught at Grove House the fashionable ladies school the other was Miss Wilson whose terms were lower than Madame Carindasthough Madame wasnt a bit a foreigner except by nameand who was much respected in the town Likewise her papa which had been quite the gentleman attending church twice every Sunday as regular as the day came round and being quite a picture of respectability with his venerable piouslooking grey hair
I gave a little start as I heard this
Miss Wilson lived with her papa did she I asked
Yes the woman told me Miss Wilson had lived with her papa till the poor old gentlemans death
Oh he was dead then
Yes Mr Wilson had died in the previous December of a kind of decline fading away like almost unbeknown and being oh so faithfully nursed and cared for by that blessed daughter of his And people did say that he had once been very wealthy and had lost his money in some speculation and the loss of it had preyed upon his mind and he had fallen into a settled melancholy like and was never seen to smile
The woman opened a drawer as she talked to me and after turning over some papers took out a carda card with embossed edges flyspotted and dusty and with a little faded blue ribbon attached to ita card on which there was written in the hand I knew so well an announcement that Miss Wilson of the Hermitage would give instruction in music and singing for a guinea a quarter
I had been about to ask for a description of the young musicmistress but I had no need to do so now
Miss Wilson is the young lady I wish to see I said Will you direct me to the Hermitage I will call there early tomorrow morning
The proprietress of Jakinss who was I dare say something of a matchmaker after the manner of all goodnatured matrons smiled significantly
I know where you could see Miss Wilson nearer than the Hermitage she said and sooner than tomorrow morning She works very hard all daypoor dear delicatelooking young thing but every evening when its tolerably fine she goes to the churchyard Its the only walk Ive ever seen her take since her fathers death She goes past my window regular every night just about when Im shutting up and from my door I can see her open the gate and go into the churchyard Its a doleful walk to take alone at that time of the evening to be sure though some folks think its the pleasantest walk in all Kylmington
It was in consequence of this conversation that I found myself under the shadow of the trees while the Kylmington clock was striking eight
The churchyard was a square flat surrounded on all sides by a low stone wall beyond which the fields sloped down to the mouth of a river that widened into the sea at a little distance from Kylmington but which hereabouts had a very dingy melancholy look when the tide was out as it was tonight
There was no living creature except myself in the churchyard as I came out of the shadow of the trees on to the flat where the grass grew long among the unpretending headstones
I looked at all the newest stones till I came at last to one standing in the obscurest corner of the churchyard almost hidden by the low wall
There was a very brief inscription on this modest headstone but it was enough to tell me whose ashes lay buried under the spot on which I stood
To the Memory of J W Who died December 19 1853 Lord have mercy upon me a sinner
I was still looking at this brief memorial when I heard a womans dress rustling upon the long rank grass and turning suddenly saw my darling coming towards me very pale very pensive but with a kind of seraphic resignation upon her face which made her seem to me more beautiful than I had ever seen her before
She started at seeing me but did not faint She only grew paler than she had been before and pressed her two hands on her breast as if to still the sudden tumult of her heart
I made her take my arm and lean upon it and we walked up and down the narrow path talking until the last low line of light faded out of the dusky sky
All that I could say to her was scarcely enough to shake her resolutionto uproot her conviction that her fathers guilt was an insurmountable barrier between us But when I told her of my broken lifewhen in the earnestness of my pleading she perceived the proof of a constancy that no time could shake I could see that she wavered
I only want you to be happy Clement she said My former life has been such an unhappy one that I tremble at the thought of linking it to yours The shame Clementthink of that How will you answer people when they ask you the name of your wife
I will tell them that she has no name but that which she has honoured by accepting from me I will tell them that she is the noblest and dearest of women and that her history is a story of unparalleled virtue and devotion
I sent a telegraphic message to my mother early the next morning and in the afternoon the dear soul arrived at Kylmington to embrace her future daughter We sat late in the little parlour of the Hermitage a dreary cottage looking out on the flat shore half sand half mud and the low water lying in greenish pools Margaret told us of her fathers penitence
No repentance was ever more sincere Clement she said for she seemed afraid we should doubt the possibility of penitence in such a criminal as Joseph Wilmot My poor fathermy poor wronged unhappy fatheryes wronged Clement you must not forget that you must never forget that in the first instance he was wronged and deeply wronged by the man who was murdered When first we came here his mind brooded upon that and he seemed to look upon what he had done as an ignorant savage would look upon the vengeance which his heathenish creed had taught him to consider a justifiable act of retaliation Little by little I won my poor father away from such thoughts as these till byandby he grew to think of Henry Dunbar as he was when they were young men together linked by a kind of friendship before the forging of the bills and all the trouble that followed He thought of his old master as he knew him first and his heart was softened towards the dead mans memory and from that time his penitence began He was sorry for what he had done No words can describe that sorrow Clement and may you never have to watch as I have watched the anguish of a guilty soul Heaven is very merciful If my father had failed to escape and had been hung he would have died hardened and impenitent God had compassion on him and gave him time to repent
The end of the story
THE EPILOGUE
ADDED BY CLEMENT AUSTIN SEVEN YEARS AFTERWARDS
My wife and I hear sometimes through my old friend Arthur Lovell of the new master and mistress of Maudesley Abbey Sir Philip and Lady Jocelyn who oscillate between the Rock and the Abbey when they are in Warwickshire Lady Jocelyn is a beautiful woman frank generous noblehearted beloved by every creature within twenty miles radius of her home and idolized by her husband The sad history of her fathers death has been softened by the hand of Time and she is happy with her children and her husband in the grand old home that was so long overshadowed by the sinister presence of the false Henry Dunbar
We are very happy No prying eye would ever read in Margarets bright face the sad story of her early life A new existence has begun for her as wife and mother She has little time to think of that miserable past but I think that sound Protestant though she may be in every other article of faith amidst all her prayers those are not the least fervent which she offers up for the guilty soul of her wretched father
We are very happy The secret of my wifes history is hidden in our own breastsa dark chapter in the criminal romance of life never to be revealed upon earth The Winchester murder is forgotten amongst the many other guilty mysteries which are never entirely solved If Joseph Wilmots name is ever mentioned people suggest that he went to America indeed there are people who go farther and say they have seen him in America
My mother keeps house for us and in very nearly seven years experience we have never found any disunion to arise from this arrangement The pretty Clapham villa is gay with the sound of childrens voices and the shrill carol of singing birds and the joyous barking of Skye terriers We have added a nursery wing already to one side of the house and have balanced it on the other by a vinery built after the model of those which adorn the mansion of my senior The Misses Balderby have taken what they call a great fancy to my wife and they swarm over our drawingroom carpets in blue or pink flounces very often on what they call social evenings for a little music I find that a little music is only a synonym with the Misses Balderby for a great deal of noise
I love my wifes playing best though they are kind enough to perform twentypage compositions by Bach and Mendelssohn for my amusement and I am never happier than on those dusky summer evenings when we sit alone together in the shadowy drawingroom and talk to each other while Margarets skilful fingers glide softly over the keys in wandering snatches of melody that melt and die away like the low breath of the summer wind