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@@ -1,39 +1,4 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3), by Richard Dowling - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3) - A Romance - -Author: Richard Dowling - -Release Date: May 20, 2013 [EBook #42750] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEMPEST-DRIVEN (VOL. I OF 3) *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42750 *** Transcriber's Notes: @@ -3034,7 +2999,7 @@ heart, or head, or lungs, or aorta might give way, causing death. He had never known a case of death from spasmodic asthma, pure and simple. -He was, of course, familiar with chloroform as an anaesthetic. He had +He was, of course, familiar with chloroform as an anæsthetic. He had once seen a case of poisoning by chloroform. That case was accidental. Chloroform was frequently used as a palliative in severe cases of asthma. A small quantity sprinkled on a napkin or @@ -4382,359 +4347,4 @@ him---- Alfred, what's the matter? He has fainted!" End of Project Gutenberg's Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3), by Richard Dowling -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEMPEST-DRIVEN (VOL. I OF 3) *** - -***** This file should be named 42750.txt or 42750.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/5/42750/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3) - A Romance - -Author: Richard Dowling - -Release Date: May 20, 2013 [EBook #42750] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEMPEST-DRIVEN (VOL. I OF 3) *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - - 1. Page scan source: - http://archive.org/details/tempestdrivenrom01dowl - (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - - - - - - TEMPEST-DRIVEN - - - - - - TEMPEST-DRIVEN - - A Romance. - - - - - BY - - RICHARD DOWLING, - - AUTHOR OF "THE MYSTERY OF KILLARD," "THE WEIRD SISTERS," - "THE SPORT OF FATE," "UNDER ST. PAUL'S," "THE DUKE'S SWEETHEART," - "SWEET INISFAIL," "THE HIDDEN FLAME," ETC. - - - - - _IN THREE VOLUMES_. - - VOL. I. - - - - - - LONDON: - TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8 CATHERINE ST., STRAND. - 1886. - - [_All rights reserved_.] - - - - - - - CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, - CRYSTAL PLACE PRESS. - - - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - -IN THE DEAD OF THE NIGHT. - - - CHAPTER II. - -FOUL PLAY? - - - CHAPTER III. - -HINTS OF EARLY HISTORY. - - - CHAPTER IV. - -SEEKING HELP. - - - CHAPTER V. - -PRINGLE UNANSWERED. - - - CHAPTER VI. - -HER SUDDEN RESOLVE. - - - CHAPTER VII. - -LIGHT AFTER DARKNESS. - - - CHAPTER VIII. - -MR. DAVENPORT'S ACCOUNT OF THE MATTER. - - - CHAPTER IX. - -"WHICH OF US IS MAD?" - - - CHAPTER X. - -THE ELDER PRINGLE SPEAKS. - - - CHAPTER XI. - -"MRS. DAVENPORT WAS CALLED." - - - CHAPTER XII. - -ANOTHER WITNESS. - - - CHAPTER XIII. - -BLAKE'S EVIDENCE. - - - CHAPTER XIV. - -ALFRED PAULTON'S WALK. - - - CHAPTER XV. - -"I SHALL BE READY FOR MY DEATH WHEN THEY ARE READY FOR IT!" - - - CHAPTER XVI. - -THE VERDICT. - - - CHAPTER XVII. - -JERRY O'BRIEN'S PROPHECY. - - - - - - - TEMPEST-TOSSED - - - - - CHAPTER I. - - IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. - - -It was pitch dark, and long past midnight. The last train from the -City had just steamed out of Herne Hill railway station. The air was -clear and crisp. Under foot the ground was dry and firm with February -frost. All the shops in the neighbourhood had long since been shut. -Few lights burned in the fronts of private houses. The Dulwich Road -was deserted, and looked dreary and forlorn under its tall, skeleton, -motionless, silent trees. There was not a sound abroad save the -gradually-dying rumble of the train, and the footfalls and voices of -the few people who had alighted from it. Little by little these -sounds died away, and the stillness was as great as in the pulseless -heart of a calm at sea. - -Alfred Paulton had arrived by the last train. He was twenty-eight -years of age, of middle height, and fair complexion. He lived in Half -Moon Lane, and after saying good-night to some acquaintances who came -out in the train with him, turned under the railway viaduct at Herne -Hill, and walked in the direction of his home. He was in no hurry, -for he knew his father and mother and sisters had gone to bed long -ago. He had his latch-key, and should let himself in. His ulster -covered him comfortably from neck to heel. He had supped pleasantly -with a few friends at his club, the Robin Hood, and earlier in the -day finished, a very agreeable transaction with his solicitor, and -now had in his pocket a handsome bundle of notes. - -As he walked he swung his stick, and hummed in a whisper a few bars -from the favourite air of a comic opera which he had been to hear -that evening. - -Suddenly he started. As he was directly opposite the door of a house, -standing back a few yards from the road, the door opened noisily, and -he heard a woman's voice in a tone of piteous entreaty exclaim: - -"Oh, what shall I do--what shall I do?" - -Alfred Paulton drew up and listened. For a while all was silent. - -He looked over the paling, which was just as high as his chin. In the -doorway of the house stood the figure of a woman against the light of -a lamp on a table in the hall. The leafless boughs of the intervening -shrubs prevented his getting an uninterrupted view, but he could in a -brief glance gather a good deal. - -The figure was that of a woman neither tall nor short, neither stout -nor thin. She was evidently not a servant. She wore an ordinary -indoor costume, and had nothing on her head. Although she had -scarcely moved since the opening of the door, he came to the -conclusion she was of alert and active habit. He judged her to be -neither old nor young. Her hair shone raven-black in the lamplight. -The illumined cheek was finely modelled, dark in hue--that of a -brunette. She leaned forward into the darkness, and peered right and -left, moving her head but slightly as she did so. Something glittered -in the starlight at her throat and at her girdle. Her hands were held -behind her to balance the forward inclination of her body. On her -fingers jewels sparkled in the lamplight of the hall behind her. - -All this he saw at a glance. He was perplexed, and did not know how -to act. It was scarcely fair in him to stand there eaves-dropping, as -it were. If he moved now she would hear him, and know he had seen her -and had stopped to listen. If he spoke he might alarm her. - -Up to the moment the door opened and she appeared and called out, he -believed this house to be empty. It had been vacant for a long time. -Now he recollected having heard that it was let at last, and that the -new tenant was expected to arrive this day. The place was called -Crescent House. He had heard talk about the new-comers at the -breakfast-table that morning; but nothing seemed known of them except -that they came from a distance and were well off. - -The woman in the doorway now straightened herself, raised both hands -to her forehead, and moaned out in a lower and more despairing tone -her former words: - -"Oh, what shall I do--what shall I do?" - -He could hesitate no longer. It was plain she was in a sore strait. -He coughed, advanced to the gate, and, putting his hand on the latch, -said: - -"I beg your pardon. Is there anything wrong?" - -She started back a pace into the hall. In doing so her full face met -the lamplight for a moment. It was a very beautiful face, full of -terror. - -"Do not be alarmed," he said softly; "I was passing when you opened -the door, and I heard you speak. Is there anything wrong? Anything I -can do for you?" - -She seemed reassured, and stepped once more to the threshold, and -said, in a quick, low voice: - -"I am a stranger here. I came to this house only to-day. I am alone -with my husband in the house, and he has been seized by sudden -illness. I do not know where to find a doctor, even if I could leave -the house, and I cannot go away from my husband." - -"In what way can I be of use? Pray command me." - -He tried to open the gate, but failed. - -She perceived his efforts to open the gate, and once more withdrew a -pace into the hall, crying in alarm: - -"No, no; you must not come in! If you wish to help me, go for the -nearest doctor. Go at once. Do not stand there. In heaven's name, do -not lose a moment! Go, I implore you." - -She clasped her hands, and held them out towards him in entreaty. - -"As you wish," he said. "I shall not be many minutes." - -He turned and ran back towards the railway station. Dr. Santley, the -family physician of the Paultons, lived close by, and Alfred Paulton -resolved to summon him, although he might not be exactly the nearest -medical man. Time would be gained rather than lost by going for him, -as Santley would come at once without waiting for explanations--that -is, if he were at home. - -On his way he had little space to think, the time being short and the -pace quick. He was more lucky than he had hoped, for he almost ran -over the man he sought at the gate of his house. - -"Oh, doctor," he cried, almost breathless, "I am so glad to meet you -up and dressed! I want you, if you will be good enough to come with -me at once." - -"Mr. Paulton, I'm sorry. What is the matter? I have just come back -from another unexpected patient. - -"It's no one at our place, thank goodness! It's some one at Crescent -House. I don't even know the name." - -By this time both men were walking rapidly towards Half Moon Lane. - -Dr. Santley was a tall, slender man, with full black beard and -moustaches. He had a quiet, gentle, responsible manner, and rarely -smiled. As the two strode on together, Alfred Paulton described the -scene in which he had just taken part. When he had finished, his -companion said: - -"Ah, I saw the vans at the door to-day; but surely they cannot have -got a big house like that straight in so short a time. Here we are." - -They had arrived at the spot where a few minutes before the younger -man had stood and spoken to the strange woman in the doorway. The -door was now not open. - -Paulton rattled noisily at the gate, and then waited a while. There -was no answer. He looked at the windows of the house; none was -lighted up. Light shone in the fan-sash over the door. - -"You cannot have mistaken the house in the dark?" asked Dr. Santley, -suppressing a yawn. - -"Impossible! It was the only house to be let. It is Crescent House, -and you yourself saw the furniture going in to-day." - -Again he rattled the gate, this time as loudly as he could. - -At length the door of the house was opened slowly, and against the -light of the lamp the same figure as Paulton had seen before was -revealed. Again the woman stood still on the threshold and leaned out -into the darkness. This time she at once turned her face towards the -gate. - -Before either of the men had time to speak, she said in a calm, low, -penetrating voice: - -"Is the doctor there? - -"Yes," answered both in a breath. - -"I will open the gate in a moment." - -With a firm, swift step she left the doorway and trod the gravelled -path leading to the gate. She did not hesitate or fumble at the -latch. In a few seconds the gate swung open. - -"This is Dr. Santley; he is our family physician. He and I live close -by. May I offer you my card? I and my family will, I am sure, feel -delighted to be of any service to you," said Paulton, raising his -hat. - -"Stay," she said. "Will you both come in? I am terrified. I do not -know what has happened. I hope you are not too late." - -Her words were measured and her tone calm. Although the trees -overhead were leafless, where she stood was dark, and neither of the -men could see her clearly. - -Without further words she led the way back to the house. The two men -followed in silence. When they entered the hall she turned round in -the full light of the lamp, and, stretching out her right arm towards -the first door on the left, said: - -"In that room. I shall wait for you. There is no other light. Take -this lamp." - -Paulton now saw her fully. She was dark, almost swarthy. There was no -colour in her cheek. Her forehead was small and compact. Her eyebrows -and hair jet, glossy. Her eyes were dark, large, a little sunken, -brilliant, and full of suppressed fire. The nose was slightly -aquiline. The only relief to the dark hue of the face and the black -of the eyebrows, hair, and eyes, was afforded by the full, red, ripe -lips. And all the features, the forehead, the nose, the chin, the -mouth, the cheeks, were finely modelled. The face was commanding, -imperial, triumphant. It was as set and firm as marble. It was the -face of an empress born to lead her legions to victory--of a woman in -whom courage was a matter of course, who regarded obedience to her -wish as a spontaneous offering. She had the immortality of -indestructible will in her face, the weight of irresistible -determination. - -With the face ended the heroic aspect of the woman. - -At her throat blazed the diamonds of a brooch large as the palm of -her hand. On her fingers glittered a dozen diamond rings. The belt -round her waist was fastened with a diamond clasp. The diamonds at -her throat held an orange-coloured silk scarf. The rest of her dress -was dead black, close-fitting to the figure, and full of folds below -the waist. The arms were bare half-way from the elbow to the wrist. -The figure, the arms, the hands were subduingly soft and feminine. -The arms and wrists were round, the hands exquisitely delicate, with -fine taper fingers, the bust a miracle of rich symmetry. - -It was the head of Boadicea on the figure of Rosamond. - -Dr. Santley took up the lamp from the hall table and entered the room -she had indicated. Paulton paused for a moment in doubt as to whether -he should go or stay. The hall lay now in comparative darkness; there -was no light except what came through the open door of the front -room. - -"Follow him." - -It was her voice. - -Paulton obeyed. As he got inside the doorposts he turned round and -looked back into the hall. He could make out nothing but the glitter -of the diamonds at her throat, in her girdle, on her fingers. They -were stars against the darkness of her dress, as the stars abroad in -heaven against the sightless robe of night. - -The room in which Dr. Santley and Paulton found themselves was in the -greatest disorder. In one corner lay the carpet rolled up, in another -the hearth-rug, fender, fire-irons, and coal-scuttle. All along the -right side stood a row of chairs, one inverted on another. Pictures -rested on the floor with their faces against the wall; the gaselier -sprawled close by the window; the leaves of the dining-table were set -against the folding-doors at the back. The drawers and pillars of the -sideboard were hard by, the top and back of it stretched upward into -the gloom of a deep recess; several boxes and canvas packages -littered the floor. Two knights in plate-armour reclined one at each -corner of the chimney-piece; easy-chairs were wedged in among -amorphous bundles wrapped in Indian matting; rods and poles protruded -from under legs of chairs, under bales heaped upon one another. A -small table, face down upon another, held its slender legs up in air. -Some fire still smouldered in the grate; the fire must have been -large not long ago, for the room was still warm. - -In the centre of the room stood the dining-table, reduced to its -smallest dimensions. On this were spread the remains of a simple -supper. Close by the table stood a couch, and on the couch appeared -the figure of a man. - -The figure was sitting up in the arm of the couch, the legs rested on -the couch, the head drooped forward; the chin and lower part of the -face were buried in the thick, long, grizzled beard that flowed down -over the chest. - -Dr. Santley stepped up to the couch on which the figure lay, and -having placed the lamp upon the table close at hand, began his -examination. It did not take long. After a few minutes he turned to -Paulton, and, pointing to the figure, shook his head. - -"Well?" asked the young man below his breath. - -The doctor went up to him and whispered in his ear: - -"Dead some time." - -Paulton looked round apprehensively at the door, and whispered back: - -"How will she take it?" - -The doctor shook his head. - -Both men stood staring at one another. - -Suddenly both started; they heard a footfall behind them. Some one -had entered the room. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - FOUL PLAY? - - -The two men turned quickly round. The light of the lamp fell on the -black dress of the woman and sparkled on her diamonds. Her arms hung -down by her side. Both hands were clenched. She advanced with a -steady, slow step, her eyes firmly fixed on Dr. Santley's face. She -did not glance at Paulton. She did not glance at the couch. - -"You were long," she said, in a slow, constrained voice, "and I came -in to know." - -She rested the tips of the fingers of one hand on the table and kept -her eyes fixed on the doctor. - -"I think," said Santley, placing himself between her and the couch, -"that it would be better if we went into some other room." - -"We cannot; this must serve. All the other rooms are locked up, -except my bed room, and my husband has the keys." - -Her voice did not falter. - -"Has Mr. ----, your husband, been long ill?" - -"My husband's name is Louis Davenport. He has been ill a long -time--years. He has been suffering from spasmodic asthma. I can -gather from your manner that there is no hope." - -Her voice was firm and clear. No feature moved but the beautiful, -flexible mouth, of which the lips were as full of colour as ever. - -"May I beg of you to be seated?" Dr. Santley left the position he had -occupied and handed her a chair. She sank on it without speaking. She -rested one of her arms on the table. He went on: "Mrs. Davenport, I -am afraid the worst must be faced." - -"The worst!" she cried, rising and looking wildly at him, her voice -now coming in a terrified whisper from between her lips, which at the -moment lost their colour. "The worst! What do you mean by the worst? -What do you know of the worst?" - -Her face showed intense eagerness, mingled with intense fear. - -"I am very sorry to be obliged to give you bad news." - -"And it is?" with still greater eagerness and fear. - -"That Mr. Davenport will not recover." - -"That he is dead?" leaning forward on the back of her chair towards -him. - -"Unhappily, yes." - -"Of his old disease?" - -She still kept her eyes on Santley's face. - -"Perhaps. Did he complain to-night?" - -"Yes; he said he was too ill to think of lying down." - -"He used, no doubt, to inhale chloroform when the spasms were bad?" - -"Always." - -"Yes, I got the smell of chloroform. Well, one of these spasms may -have been too severe; and now you know the worst, Mrs. Davenport." - -She sat down on her chair and seemed about to faint. There was wine -on the table. Santley poured some into a glass and made her drink it. -After a while she became composed, and the look of eagerness and -dread disappeared wholly from her face, and the red returned to her -lips. - -She was the first to speak. Her voice had regained all its old, firm -serenity. Her face was calm and commanding. She looked, once more as -though neither the onslaught of battle nor the wreck of worlds could -disturb her. - -"You, sir," she said, once more addressing Santley, "I have to thank -for your promptness in coming at this hour to one whom you never even -heard of before. And"--turning to Paulton--"I have to thank you most -sincerely for your kindness in summoning the doctor for me in my -extremity." - -Each man protested he had in this matter done no more than his duty, -and both said they sympathised with her in the awful calamity which -had fallen upon her. - -She bowed her head in acknowledgment of their kind-hearted speeches, -and went on: - -"I am, I may say, alone in the world and without a friend in London. -I am now, or shall be when you go, alone in this house. I do not know -what is to be done in a case of this kind. For a long time I have -been aware my husband might die at any moment. But now that this has -happened, I find myself as unprepared for it as though the -possibility of his death had never before entered my mind. I would -therefore ask you to add to the favours you have already conferred by -telling me what I ought to do in the morning." - -She spoke in the most measured and deliberate way. It was plain she -did not want to excite compassion. Her manner went so far as to imply -that she would resent expressions of condolence. She seemed to wish -the two men would regard her simply as an inexperienced woman -confronted by an unexpected difficulty, and that they would confine -themselves to the business aspect of the affair. - -Santley and Paulton looked at one another inquiringly. - -"It will be impossible for you to stay by yourself in this house -to-night," said Paulton, who was completely subjugated by her regal -beauty, her sudden misfortune, and her forlorn plight. - -"But what am I to do?" she asked, turning to him. "It is too late or -too early to look for ordinary help; and if I could get a person to -come and stay with me, this place is not fit to receive any one." - -Paulton was overwhelmed by this speech and the contemplation of the -scene before him. Here was the most superb woman he had ever seen in -his life alone in this house of chaos by night with the dead body of -her husband, who had spoken to her but a few hours ago. She could not -live here by herself till daylight. It would drive her mad, or would -kill her. It would be little short of murder to leave her as she was. -He could see plainly that her present calmness was artificial, and -that when the need for self-restraint caused by the presence of two -strangers was removed, she would break down utterly, collapse--in all -likelihood die. He knew that when highly strung natures break down at -all they break down more completely than any others. Then he knew -that his father and mother were the most kind-hearted and neighbourly -people alive, and that if they only heard of the hideous position in -which this woman was, they would hasten to her assistance. No doubt -the hour--it must now be past two--was most awkward; but if it was -awkward for the succourer, how much more awkward for any one in need -of help. - -All this ran through his mind in a moment. He resolved to act; then -he spoke: - -"Mrs. Davenport, my father and mother live close by, only a few -houses off. I am sure they will be greatly pleased and take it as a -kindness if you will come up there to-night. I could send down the -coachman to stay here. He is a most good-natured and trustworthy -man." - -Dr. Santley gave Paulton a peculiar look, of which the latter could -make nothing. - -"What!" she said. "At such an hour! I could not think of it." - -"I can assure you," persisted Paulton, "it will not cause any -inconvenience. My mother does not in the least mind getting up. I am -perfectly certain both my father and mother would be greatly -displeased with me if I did not do everything in my power to induce -you to come." - -He glanced at Santley for encouragement, and again found the -incomprehensible expression on the doctor's face. - -She seemed to hesitate. She looked down at her soft, round arm lying -on the table. - -"It is most considerate of you to make me such an offer, and if I -felt perfectly sure your mother would not regard it as a very -inconvenient intrusion, I should be disposed to accept it." - -"Believe me, Mrs. Davenport, I am not exaggerating in the slightest -degree when I say that my mother would be displeased with me if I -omitted any argument likely to influence you. I appeal to Dr. -Santley. He will tell you that my mother is most sympathetic. What do -you say, doctor?" - -"I am sure I know of no one of kindlier nature than Mrs. Paulton," -said the doctor. - -The face of Santley was now expressionless, the eyes of Mrs. -Davenport were fixed on him. - -"I will go," she said, and rose. She walked slowly down the side of -the table until she reached the elbow of the couch. She bent over the -drooped head, kissed the forward-leaning forehead, and then went back -to the door, and as she left the room said: "I shall be ready -immediately. I do not like to go upstairs. I have a cloak and bonnet -in the hall. Please bring the light here a moment." - -"Will you wait until I come back?" said Paulton to Santley, -as he passed him by carrying the lamp. "I will not be more than -half-an-hour." - -"I'll wait for you," said the doctor. - -In a few seconds Paulton replaced the lamp on the table, and then -Mrs. Davenport and he left the house. - -As soon as the sound of their footfalls had died away, the doctor -once more approached the recumbent figure. - -"I wish," he thought, "Paulton had not been so enthusiastic in his -invitation. As a rule, spasmodic asthma does not kill directly. A -little chloroform is not a bad thing in spasmodic asthma; but too -much chloroform is a bad thing, and there has been too much here. -Why, it's all over the beard, and shirt, and waistcoat! She looks as -if she could do anything. I hope this is not a case of foul play." - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - HINTS OF EARLY HISTORY. - - -Alfred Paulton had not said too much of the kindliness of his father -and mother. He left Mrs. Davenport in the drawing-room and knocked at -his mother's door, and explained to both father and mother what had -occurred, and the step he had taken in the matter. After expressions -of surprise and horror at the tragedy at Crescent House, both -applauded his action. Mrs. Paulton then told him to go down to the -guest and say that she would follow him in a few minutes. - -When he got back to the drawing-room he found the widow where he had -left her. She was sitting in an easy-chair, her elbow resting on a -table, her head on her hand. She raised her head as he entered. -Otherwise she did not move. - -"My mother is delighted you have come," he said. "She will be here in -a few minutes. I see the fire has gone out. I hope you do not feel -the place very cold?" - -She looked at him with a stony stare. Her brows were slightly raised, -but around her eyes the lids were strangely contracted. The -expression of the whole face was that of one who suffered pain, but -was not giving attention to the pain. When she spoke, her voice was -dry and hard. - -"It is most kind of your mother to interest and trouble herself about -a perfect stranger. I do not feel cold, thank you." - -The contraction round the eyes relaxed. A look of intelligence -alarmed came into her eyes, and she asked, in a husky voice: - -"Do you know anything of cases such as this? I mean, do you know -anything of the law in such cases?" - -"The law!" he said, "the law! In what way do you mean?" - -"Oh," she cried, covering her face with her hands, "it is dreadful to -think of--horrible! Can you not tell me," she pleaded, "if--if it -will be necessary to have an----" - -She paused and looked at him beseechingly. - -"An inquest?" - -"Yes." - -"Certainly not," he answered promptly. With this beautiful woman -before him it was shocking to think of the ordeal and details of an -inquest. "Mr. Davenport was suffering from a disease of long -standing; it had been particularly bad to-night, and a violent -paroxysm overcame him. My friend, Dr. Santley, will make it right, -and you will be spared all pain that can possibly be diverted from -you." - -"Thank you," she said, feebly; and she threw herself back in her -chair. - -Nothing further was said until Mrs. Paulton entered the room. The -young man introduced Mrs. Davenport to his mother; then he left to -rouse the coachman for the purpose of sitting up at Crescent House. -As soon as Paulton had arranged this, he hastened back to Dr. -Santley. - -"I came as quickly as I could, doctor. That poor woman is in a -dreadful state of mind; she looks to me as if she were losing her -reason." - -"H'm," said the doctor, who was sitting on a chair by the lamp on the -table, and had been reading a newspaper he had happened to have in -his pocket. He seemed thoughtful or sleepy; Paulton was not a man of -nice observation. - -"Poor thing!" said the latter, compassionately; "she is not only in -great grief for the loss of her husband, but was very uneasy about -the suddenness of his death." - -"No wonder," said the doctor drily. - -The younger man sat down on a chair and regarded his companion with -surprise. He had known the other for years, and had always taken him -for a simple, sympathetic man. His tone now was one of cynical -distrust, although distrust of what Paulton could not even guess. He -leant forward and peered into Santley's face. - -"I told her to make her mind quite easy on the score of the future. -You understand what I mean?" - -"She does not want an inquest?" - -"Precisely." - -"That is unfortunate, for I will not certify." - -"What!" cried Paulton, leaning still farther forward, "you will not -certify as to the cause of death? What do you mean?" - -He shivered, and looked apprehensively at the body reclining on the -couch. - -"I don't know what the cause of death was." - -"She said spasmodic asthma." - -"A disease that very, very rarely kills." - -"I thought that, on the contrary, it was most fatal." - -"No. In a paroxysm of coughing, something in the head or chest may -give way, but asthma itself does not kill." - -An uneasy expression came into the young man's face, and, looking -straight into the doctor's eyes, he said: - -"And in this case what do you think killed?" - -"It is impossible to say until after the inquest. I found on the -floor this"--he held a bottle up in his hand. "It is a two-ounce -bottle, empty; it contained chloroform. There is chloroform spilt all -over the beard, shirt, and waistcoat." - -"But perhaps the chloroform was administered for the relief of the -dead man?" - -"Perhaps so," said Santley, rising; "we shall find out all at -the inquest. I'm off to bed now. Let nothing be stirred here. -Good-night." - -As Dr. Santley turned away from the gate of Crescent House, Paulton's -coachman came up and the young man was relieved. He walked home -straight and went to bed. - -It was past four by this time, and after the excitement of the night -there was little chance of the young man closing his eyes. His life -up to this had been barren of adventure, and here was he now plunged -into the middle of an affair which would be town talk in twenty-four -hours. It was quite plain to him, from Santley's manner, that the -latter did not think the man had died a natural death, and it was -almost as plain he did not think it was a case of accidental -poisoning or suicide. Gradually, as time went by, it seemed to narrow -itself down to one question: Did or did not that superb woman----? -But no; the mere question was a hideous libel! He wished he could go -to sleep; but sleep would not come. He tossed and tumbled until he -felt feverish. In the heat and hurry of events a few hours old he had -not had time for thought; now he had time for thought, but he did not -want to think. True, he had no personal interest in that silent room -out of which he had stepped a little while ago, but it haunted him, -and lay before his imagination, lighted up with a fierce light which -made every object in it stand out with painful sharpness. - -While the actions of which he had been a spectator were going on at -Crescent House, all had been confusion, chaos. Now every object was -firmly defined by a hard, rigid line; every sound had a metallic -ring; every motion went forward with mathematical deliberateness and -precision. And over this scene of rigid forms and circumspect -movement presided the woman, whose dark and lofty beauty had filled -him with amazed reverence. - -Murder! Could it be that murder had been done? There could be no -doubt Santley thought so. Murder done by whom? Ugh! How he wished he -had had nothing to do with that house; and yet, it was a privilege -even to have seen her, to have heard her voice, to have done her a -slight service. Above all, it was consoling to think she was now -under this roof. If a fool knew how his thoughts were running now, -that fool might think he was in love with this woman. In love! -Monstrous! He would as soon think of falling in love with a sunset, a -melody, a poem. - -Oh, if he could only sleep! Why should he trouble himself about this -matter? Santley said there would be an inquest. That would be trouble -enough for him in all conscience. He, of course, would have to -appear, although he scarcely knew how his evidence could be material. - -It must be near six o'clock now. There was no good in staying in bed -any longer; he would get up and go out for a walk. It was dawn, he -felt feverish, and the air would refresh him. - -He set off at a quick pace. The breeze was raw and cold. He felt -physically invigorated, but his mental unrest had not abated. Do what -he would he could not banish the scene of the night from his mind--he -could not get rid of the awful suspicion Santley's words had given -rise to. Over and over he told himself that even the doctor had not -explicitly formulated that suspicion. Over and over again that -suspicion would intrude upon his thoughts. - -He did not return to the house until breakfast-time. At the -suggestion of Mrs. Paulton, Mrs. Davenport was breakfasting in her -own room, as she was tired and shaken. Alfred had to go over the -whole story once more for his father, but he was careful not to say a -word of the terrible hint thrown out by Santley. - -The moment breakfast was over he left home, and, without having made -up his mind as to whither he was going, found himself in front of -Santley's house just as the doctor was stepping into his brougham -bound for his morning visits. - -"I say, doctor," he said, getting up close to the other, "what you -let fall about that unfortunate affair at Crescent House kept me -awake all night. You really don't think there has been anything -wrong?" - -Santley shook his head gravely as he got into his brougham, saying: - -"I don't know, Mr. Paulton; I can't say. But I am sorry you mixed -yourself up with the affair more than was absolutely necessary." - -This was but poor comfort to the young man. He found it impossible to -believe any evil of that marvellous-looking woman. If there was -anything in what Santley said it plainly pointed at her; for were not -she and her husband the only people in the house? - -He did not care to go home. He could not meet that woman while even -the hint of such a suspicion was in his head. He did not suspect her; -but the suspicion had been spoken to him, it was sounding in his -ears, and he could not bring himself to stand face to face with her -and hear that murmur. He told himself this was an absurd condition of -mind; but he could not help it. What was she to him, or he to her, -that he should thus give way to such feelings? She was a beautiful, a -surprisingly beautiful woman to whom he had rendered a slight -service, shown a little kindness. That was all. - -He wandered aimlessly about for an hour, and finally went into town. -Dulwich was intolerable to him. At Victoria railway station he took a -hansom and drove to the Robin Hood Club. It was now between eleven -and twelve. The club had not been long open, and there were only -three members in the place. One of these happened to be Jerry -O'Brien, a young Irishman, an intimate friend of Paulton, reputed to -be clever, and known to be indolent. To him Paulton told the story of -Crescent House, and what Dr. Santley had hinted at. - -Up to this Jerry O'Brien had given little close attention to the -story. He was smoking in a huge easy-chair with eyes half shut. The -idea that a woman had poisoned her husband roused even him to -attention, and as Paulton had finished his story he began to ask -questions. - -"And so this doctor of yours won't certify to the cause of death, and -thinks your goddess may have had a hand in it!" - -"Yes. Isn't it horrible?" - -"What is your goddess like?" - -"Dark and most lovely. A noble kind of beauty." - -"Good figure?" - -"Perfect." - -"Did you hear her name?" - -"Yes; Davenport." - -Jerry O'Brien blew the smoke of his cigar away with a whistle. - -"Is she English?" - -"No. I think Scotch." - -"Possibly Irish?" - -"Ay, she may be Irish." - -"And her husband was an elderly man, with a greyish full beard and -chronic asthma?" - -"Yes. Do you know them?" - -"By heavens, I do! And I think I know, if there has been foul play, -who cheated." - -"Who? Not she?" - -"Not she directly, any way, but Tom Blake, the biggest scoundrel -Ireland has turned out for years and years, and an old lover of hers. -I saw him in Piccadilly to-day. He looked as if he was meditating -murder. Poor old Davenport!--I knew him well. He was a simple man. -She must have told Blake of the lonely house. Your doctor is right. -There is reason for suspicion, and I'll be at the inquest. You will, -of course?" - -"Unfortunately, yes." - -"Then I promise you will hear an interesting story." - -Paulton shuddered. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - SEEKING HELP. - - -Young Paulton felt anything but relieved or cheered by Jerry -O'Brien's words. He began now to feel it would have been wiser if he -had not meddled in this affair. It was quite true his father and -mother were the kindest couple in England; but, like most other -middle-class elderly people, they were careful about appearances and -preferred a smooth and easy way of life to one of surprises and -startling situations. - -And now were they--owing to his hasty action of the night -before--brought into immediate contact with an inquest and a story, -which might turn out to be a scandal, which might have for its core -an infamous crime. This other man, this Blake, of whom Jerry O'Brien -spoke in such unmeasured terms, might, if he appeared upon the stage, -complicate matters infinitely. - -Besides, although he had taken elaborate care to tell himself he was -in no danger of falling in love with Mrs. Davenport, that did not -make it desirable a former and disreputable admirer should be in the -neighbourhood. But, after all, Jerry O'Brien's surmises might be -quite baseless. This old admirer might have ceased to admire--might -never in all his life have been within miles of Half Moon Lane, the -Crescent House. - -At present what was he to do with himself? There was a kind of -treason in leaving all the burden of the situation on the shoulders -of his father and mother. He did not know anything about inquests -beyond what he had gathered now and then from reading a summarised -report in a newspaper. If it was mean to keep away from his father -and mother, what could he think of leaving this newly-made widow -derelict? And yet what about this old lover? Confound the whole -thing! Now he was heartily sorry he had bound himself up in it. - -And yet when he thought of her he charged himself with cowardice for -flinching. - -"Look here, O'Brien," he said at length, "what ought I to do?" - -"Do!" cried O'Brien scornfully; "why, get out of it as fast as ever -you can. I hope you're not such a fool as to mix yourself and your -family any more up in this miserable matter." - -Alfred shook his head gravely. - -"I can't retreat now. I have promised to see her out of the -trouble----" - -"And a pretty chance you have of seeing her out of the trouble! My -belief is that every hour will make matters only worse." - -"Do be reasonable and try and help me. You know I would depend on you -more than on any other man living. I can't go home and turn this -woman out of doors, and you ought to be able to understand that I -don't like to confess to the old people I have been hasty or unwise. -Don't desert me, O'Brien." - -The other got out of his chair with a growl, and began pacing up and -down the smoking-room of the club. O'Brien had private reasons of his -own for wishing to keep friendly with Alfred Paulton. Jerry knew no -pleasanter house in all London to spend a long evening in than the -Paultons', and he knew no nicer girl in all London than Madge -Paulton, Alfred's younger sister. But these facts were both reasons -for his impatience with his friend. He felt a firm conviction the -adventure of the night before would have no gratifying sequel. The -sight of Tom Blake, taken in conjunction with Paulton's story, was -enough to make any prudent man cautious. And here now was Alfred, -plunged headlong into one of the most disagreeable experiences which -could befall a quiet-going citizen. It was too bad, but there was no -cure for the thing. It would certainly be rather mean of Alfred to -retire from the position in which he had voluntarily placed himself -with this woman. O'Brien could not abandon his friend any more than -his friend could abandon this woman. - -He stopped in his walk, and said, abruptly: - -"The first thing is to get a solicitor. Do you know of one?" - -"There's Spencer, my own man, or there's my father's." - -"And a nice pair they'd make in a case of this kind. Your father's -man wouldn't touch it with a forty-foot ladder, and Spencer would get -every one connected with the matter locked up. No, you want a man -that's accustomed to the work. He must be as sharp as bayonets and as -persevering. I would not attach so much importance to this point, -only that I know Tom Blake is about. I feel you are standing on a -mine, and may be blown sky-high any moment. I have it! You must get -Pringle--Pringle, of Pringle, Pringle, and Co. Young Pringle is the -very man for you, and he's a good sort too. Come on, and I'll -introduce you to him." - -The two friends left the club and proceeded at once to the office of -Pringle, Pringle, and Co. Here they were fortunate in finding the -younger Pringle, and at their service. - -He was a low-sized, stoutish, horsey-looking, clean-shaven man of -about thirty-five, in very tight-fitting clothes. He bade the two -visitors be seated, and then listened with exemplary patience to -Paulton's story. When it was finished, he crossed his legs and -reflected for a few moments. - -"I see," he said--"I see. Supposing Mrs. Davenport is willing I -should appear for her, I think all will be right. Of course, it would -be nonsense to pretend to believe that a thing of this kind is -agreeable. It is not. Things of this kind are awkward and painful; -but that is all. I feel fully persuaded, beyond the inconvenience of -appearing as a witness, Mrs. Davenport will suffer none. Your doctor -must be mad, I should say, Mr. Paulton. You don't think he could be -induced to certify?" - -"I am perfectly sure he won't. I have known him some years, and he is -a man of great determination," said Paulton. - -"Well, we must only try and do the best we can. Has the deceased any -relatives--blood relatives, I mean?" - -"I don't know," said Paulton. - -"Yes, he has a brother, who lives in the south of Ireland," answered -O'Brien. "Mr. Davenport was somewhat peculiar in his thoughts and -habits, but his brother is an oddity." - -"Ah, that is not fortunate. No doubt he will want to know all about -this unlucky affair. - -"And now, O'Brien, it is your turn. I want you to tell me all you -know about this other man, Blake." - -"Well, I'll tell you all I know about the whole thing," said Jerry -O'Brien. - -"Ay, do," said the solicitor, settling himself comfortably in his -elbow chair. - -"The man who is dead, Louis Davenport, was a native of the -south of Ireland, County Waterford, to be exact. His wife is about -thirty-four, and he must have been about sixty when he died. She, -too, is Irish; her maiden name was Butler. She comes of a good Cork -family--the Butlers of Scrouthea. They were as poor as church mice. -Davenport was rich, and had money, not land; and Marion Butler was a -beauty, as my friend Paulton has told you. - -"About ten years ago, when Louis Davenport was elderly, and Marion -Butler no longer very young, he proposed to her father for her. The -father was delighted, for Davenport promised all sorts of comfortable -things about money; but when the matter was spoken of to Miss Butler, -they found a difficulty had to be faced, for Mr. Tom Blake stood in -the way. - -"This Tom Blake is and was one of the most hopeless scamps in Europe. -He is now about thirty-eight years of age, and has deserved hanging -for every year of his life. He was in the army, to start with; he was -kicked out of it. He tried the Turf for a while, until he was kicked -out of that too. Then he turned his hand to card-sharping. What he's -doing now, I don't know, except he may have gone in for a little -murder. He's quite capable of it, I assure you, Pringle--quite -capable of it." - -"And you say this Miss Butler had a strong predilection for this -objectionable man?" - -"It amounted to nothing short of infatuation. As the account of the -matter reached me, she was assured by people who were quite -disinterested that he was a thorough scamp. They might as well have -saved their breath. She would listen to all they had to say, and -simply shake her head." - -"And how did they in the end over come this infatuation?" - -"They never overcame it at all. They got her to marry Davenport by -appealing to the baseness of Blake's nature. Some friends of mine -were very intimate with the Butlers at that time, and I heard the -whole history of his abominable conduct. He was then in great -extremities for money, and took a sum down to leave the country and -hold no communication with her. That's the sort of man Tom Blake is." - -"But surely this woman whom he treated so vilely cannot care for him -still--cannot have any regard for such a scurvy knave?" - -"I don't know how matters have gone of late. I have been out of their -tracks for some time. If he has any influence now it may rest on -fear, not fascination. I am quite sure if there is anything wrong, he -is at the bottom of it. I have been in London for months now, and -never saw him or heard of him. Is it a mere coincidence that I should -come across him just as I hear this story from Paulton?" - -"It is strange. I presume Mrs. Davenport is childless?" - -"Yes. And as far as I know she is now absolutely alone in the world, -if you do not count this brother-in-law, with whom she never got on -well." - -"I'll go out to Dulwich with you myself now. I think that will be the -best thing." - -The three men rose and walked to Ludgate Hill railway station. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - PRINGLE UNANSWERED. - - -When the three men arrived at Dulwich, they went straight to -Carlingford House, where Mr. Paulton lived. The owner was in. Some -years ago he had retired from business in the City, and now -interested himself in local affairs, his garden, his horses, and -reading. He was bluff, white-haired, stout, brief of speech, -straightforward, kindly. He was not quite sixty yet, notwithstanding -his white hair. - -Just as they got into the house he was crossing the hall. He paused, -and held out his hand cordially to Jerry O'Brien. - -"What lucky wind has blown you here at such an hour?" he cried. "You -are just too late for luncheon; but I dare say they'll be able to -find something for you and Alfred, and----" - -He now became aware the third man was a stranger, and stopped. - -Young Paulton introduced the solicitor, and then all four went into a -little library on the right hand side of the hall. Alfred felt -acutely the difficulty of his position, and he found himself -completely at a loss to explain the situation to his father. Then it -occurred to him to appeal to O'Brien for help. - -"Jerry," said he, "tell the governor all about it." - -The old man looked apprehensively from one to the other. There was -evidently something wrong. - -"Out with it whatever it is, my lad," said he to O'Brien, and, -without further delay, Jerry began. When he had finished, the old man -seemed thunderstruck. It was incredible that he should ever be -brought into contact with such people, and such a history. He had sat -down in an easy-chair, and now he felt he had not the strength to get -out of it. He looked blankly around at the three figures and the -bookcases and the walls, as if he were awaiting contradiction from -animate or inanimate objects. But no one spoke, and nothing occurred -to reassure him. - -At last the solicitor came forward with, "You know, sir, we have -really nothing whatever to go on yet. Dr. Santley's dissatisfaction -and the lady's shrinking from an inquiry, and the presence of this -man Blake in London may all point to nothing--end in nothing. I have -come out here to clear up the whole thing, and I have no doubt that -if I might be favoured with half-an-hour's conversation with Mrs. -Davenport all our uneasiness would disappear." - -A look of hope came into Mr. Paulton's face. He rose, and, -approaching the solicitor, said: "I wish you would see her and bring -us good news. She is keeping her room, but I think she will come down -to the drawing-room if Mrs. Paulton asks her. You would greatly -oblige me if you would see her. I wouldn't be mixed up with a case of -that kind for any consideration." - -"I shall be only too happy to do anything I can in your interest, -which is, I presume, identical with that of the afflicted lady. The -first step to be taken is to ascertain through Mrs. Paulton if Mrs. -Davenport will see me." - -"I'll go immediately." Mr. Paulton moved towards the door. - -"A moment, sir. Don't you think that if Mrs. Davenport will see me it -would be as well Mrs. Paulton said a few words of preparation. Such -as, for instance, that in cases of this kind it was always desirable -to have advice, and to allow some one to act instead of the -principal; as owing to the distress attendant on loss one is little -able to look after matters of detail. If Mrs. Paulton would be good -enough she might say that you thought I might be of some slight use. -Anything of that kind Mrs. Paulton might say would prevent my coming -too suddenly on the widow." - -"Quite so. I am glad you mentioned it. I shall do exactly as you -suggest. I shall be back as soon as I can." He hurried out of the -room. - -In less than a quarter of an hour he returned, rubbing his hands. It -was plain by his appearance that he had been successful. Yes; Mrs. -Davenport was in the drawing-room, and would see Mr. Pringle. - -He went up, was introduced by Mrs. Paulton, who then retired, leaving -client and lawyer together. - -The lady had sent up to Crescent House for a change of clothes, and -now appeared in a plain, black dress, with sleeves of ordinary -length, and without the orange scarf or the diamonds at her throat or -girdle. She motioned him to a seat, and then took one herself. - -What Alfred said had prepared him for something out of the common, -but for nothing like what he now saw. He was prepared to meet a -beautiful woman in need of his help--he found a regal woman who might -perhaps condescend to give him orders. Her face was absolutely -without colour, save the full red lips, the dark impenetrable eyes, -and the black eyebrows. But the modelling of the face was superb, and -the carriage of the head magnificent. And yet he was conscious of -something that detracted from, or contradicted the imperial grandeur -of the head. There was no splendour in the pose of the figure. In the -arms, and figure, and gait, there was an air of patient, suppliant -dutifulness, that seemed to plead for love and protection. - -"Mrs. Paulton has explained to me," she said, in a low, soft voice, -"that it is better I should have some one to advise me in the present -circumstances, and that you have been good enough, Mr. Pringle, to -allow me to look to you for the help I need." - -She spoke with great precision and delicacy of tone. It was a -flattery to hear her utter one's name. - -He answered in a low voice. His voice never before seemed so harsh in -his own ears. "It is well for you to have advice. You may rely upon -my doing all I can for you." - -It was simply monstrous to associate this woman with the idea of -crime. Attorney and man of the world though he was, he could not be -persuaded into such a ridiculous belief. O'Brien must be a fool. Or -no, it wasn't O'Brien--it was Paulton's doctor who had the honour of -broaching that absurdity. - -"I am quite sure of that. And the first thing I want to ask you about -is, when I shall need your advice?--for I know absolutely nothing -about such things. Mr. Davenport has a brother living; I suppose he -had better be telegraphed for?" - -"Yes. He must be telegraphed for at once." - -"Then I suppose the--funeral must be arranged for immediately?" - -"Yes. Then, as you are aware, a few legal formalities have to be gone -through before that." - -"What are they?" - -"Have you not been told?" - -"No. Pray tell me." - -"Well, the sad event took place so suddenly that a certain form has -to be observed. In this case it will be the merest form." - -"Some sort of certificate has to be got, I dare say?" - -"Well, yes; if you put it in that way." - -"And what must I do?" - -"You say you know nothing of such matters as we are now talking -about. The first advice I have to give you is, that you must repose -full confidence in me. Remember, I am bound by a rule of my -profession to respect any confidence you may place in me. I shall -have to ask you questions which would be impertinent from any one but -your legal adviser. Mind, all this is merely to save you annoyance -hereafter. Will you trust me with the history of last night?" - -"I will--as far as I may," faintly. - -"I have heard something of last night. I will not trouble you with -any inquiries that I do not consider absolutely necessary. You and -Mr. Davenport arrived together yesterday evening, and came on to your -new house close by, your furniture having preceded you by only a few -hours, so that the house was all in disorder?" - -"Yes." - -"And you came unaccompanied by any servant; may I ask you why was -this?" - -"Mr. Davenport had peculiar notions about never moving servants from -one house to another. He insisted on getting new servants when we -changed." - -"So that it was at his desire you came unattended?" - -"Certainly. Only it was too late when we arrived, we should have got -some one to help us." - -"And was Mr. Davenport in his usual health when you reached Crescent -House?" - -"No. His asthma was worse, but not very much worse. When it was bad -he could not lie down. My room was the only one in order, and he said -he would rest on the couch for the night. I left him at about eleven, -but did not go to bed, as I was not quite easy about him, and thought -I'd come down and put some coal on the fire later. I fell asleep in a -chair, and when I went down I found all was over." - -"He had a large quantity of chloroform by him?" - -"Yes; a two-ounce bottle, almost full." - -"And he was in the habit of using chloroform when the spasms were -bad?" - -"Yes; but what do you mean? You are perplexing and terrifying me. -Pray speak plainly to me." - -"I shall very soon be done. Remember, I told you I should ask no -question that was not absolutely essential. Now, from the time you -and Mr. Davenport entered that house, and until Mr. Paulton and the -doctor entered it, had any other person access to it?" - -She grasped the edge of the table near her. She trembled as in an -ague. Her lips grew as pallid as her brow. She did not speak. - -"Remember, anything you communicate is privileged, and will not find -its way abroad through me. I am trying to get the means of protecting -you. Of course you are fully at liberty to refuse to answer me now; -but all questions will have to be answered at the inquest." - -"Inquest!" she whispered, in a voice of abject terror. She rose to -her feet and stood swaying to and fro, one hand still grasping the -table. "Inquest! Mr. Paulton said there would be no inquest. There -_shall_ be no inquest." - -"The bottle was found _empty_." - -"Oh, Heaven, take away my life from me!" - -"Was Blake in the house that night?" - -She took her hand from the table and stood still a moment, looking -upward. Then slowly she raised both her arms aloft, and cried: - -"Hear Thou my prayer!" - -She stood a while motionless. After a moment she said, in a firm -voice: - -"No mercy!" - -She dropped her arms to her side, bowed slowly to him, and then with -erect head and a firm step walked out of the room. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - HER SUDDEN RESOLVE. - - -For some time after Mrs. Davenport left the drawing-room, young -Pringle stood motionless, with his hand resting on the back of a -chair. The scene had taken him completely by surprise. At the -beginning of it he had made up his mind, or rather his emotions had -so wrought upon him, he determined she had no reprehensible -connection with the event of the night before. - -He had implored her to confide in him, and she had given him her -confidence up to a certain point. Then she not only refused to trust -him any more, but behaved in such an extraordinary way as to lay -herself open to the gravest suspicions. If she had at the end of -their interview fallen down in a faint, he could have formed an -opinion of the case--an opinion which would not have been very -favourable to her, but still something definite. But the manner of -her leaving the room seemed to throw a new light, or rather cast a -new kind of shadow on the case. - -He had better go down at once and inform Mr. Paulton of what had -occurred. - -He left the drawing-room and returned to the library. In as few words -as possible he told the owner of the house that he feared there was -no chance of avoiding the unpleasantness of an inquest. Mr. Paulton -then asked what the lady had said, but Pringle explained he could not -divulge it. He made no comment whatever. - -The old man breathed heavily, and looked about helplessly when the -solicitor had finished. - -The two young men returned his look, but there was no comforting -assurance in their gaze. - -Alfred Paulton was now profoundly impressed with a sense of the -unpleasantness into which he had drawn the whole family. - -"I am very sorry, sir," said he, addressing his father, "that I have -been the cause of all this worry. Of course I had not the least idea -last night that anything of this kind was likely to arise. If I had, -I should never have acted as I did." - -"It is most unfortunate," said the father. - -"Well," broke in Jerry O'Brien, "there's no use now in crying over -spilt milk. What we have to ask ourselves is: How can it be best -faced--eh, Pringle? Isn't that the practical question?" - -"I think so," said the solicitor. "For my part I find myself in -rather an awkward position. Mrs. Davenport's interests and yours, Mr. -Paulton, can scarcely be said to be any longer identical. I cannot -advise both. Besides, Mr. Paulton, you have a solicitor of your own. -My position is uncomfortable--scarcely professional." - -"My father's solicitor would be little or no use in this case, Mr. -Pringle," said Alfred. "That is the reason we came to you." - -"Mr. Pringle," said the father, "pray do not throw us over. If you -do, I shall not know where to turn. Can you not show us any way out -of this unhappy situation?" - -"Of course," said Pringle, "you must put up with the consequences of -facts up to this moment. What I suppose you to be asking me is--How -can further consequences be avoided, or can they be avoided at all?" - -"Precisely," said Mr. Paulton. "Can they be avoided at all?--and if -so, how?" - -"Well, as you offered the hospitality of your roof to Mrs. Davenport, -and she has accepted it, you can't say to her, or even show to her, -that you wish her to go----" - -"Quite impossible," interrupted Alfred. - -"But might I not say--that supposing she will see me again--a thing I -doubt very much--it would be most desirable for her to move into -town, so that she might be near me and I near her?" - -"That would not be a bad plan," said Mr. Paulton, looking at his son -and O'Brien for confirmation. "What do you think, boys?" - -"I don't see what better can be done," said O'Brien, answering for -the two. - -He answered quickly, for he was half afraid that Alfred had not even -yet made up his mind as to the desirability of her leaving the house. - -"The great difficulty is that time is short, and I don't think I -could intrude upon her again to-day. We had quite a scene upstairs. -Judging from the state of agitation in which she left me, I should -imagine she will not see any one on business during the remainder of -the day." - -At that moment the door of the library opened and Mrs. Davenport -stepped into the room. She was in her walking dress. - -All the men rose and stood looking at her silently. Mr. Paulton was -the first to recover his presence of mind, and offered her a chair. - -She came over quietly to where he stood, bowing slightly as she -moved. - -"I hope I do not disturb you, gentlemen," she said, in a gentle voice -and with a wan smile. - -"Not in the least," said Mr. Paulton. "Will you not take a chair?" - -"Thank you, no. I am going out." - -"Going out! May not some one go for you--one of my daughters or one -of the servants?" - -"You are very good; but I must go myself. I have just been explaining -to Mrs. Paulton. I have come, Mr. Paulton, to thank you for your -great kindness to me, a complete stranger. Believe me, I shall never -forget it--never as long as I live. If a friend in need is a friend -indeed, you have been a great friend; for I never wanted a friend -more than I did this morning. I have come to thank you and to say -good-bye." - -"Good-bye!" he cried in astonishment. "Why should you leave us?" - -His surprise was not feigned. - -"Since you were kind enough to give me shelter, a serious difference -has arisen in my position. When I came into your house I believed -that there would be no unusual trouble about my poor husband's death. -Now I understand in that I was mistaken. It would be monstrous on my -part to involve you, Mr. Paulton, in any way in this unpleasantness, -and it will be best for me to be alone." - -She spoke with perfect composure, and Pringle could scarcely believe -that this calm, collected woman, with the wan smile and resigned air, -was the one who, a little while ago, had spoken impassioned words of -despair. - -Mr. Paulton was disturbed by this sudden and unexpected prospect of -deliverance. There could be no doubt of the woman's sincerity. Here -she was, without a suggestion from any one, offering to take the very -step he desired. It was necessary to say something, and kind-hearted -as he was, a polite lie was a sin utterly beneath him. He felt -extremely awkward. - -"Since you consider it useful to your own interest that you should -go, I will say nothing against your leaving us." - -"Allow me, Mrs. Davenport, to say that I think it will be better for -you to be in London than here. I can then see you at any moment -without delay," joined in Pringle. - -When she heard his voice she turned to him. A shadow passed across -her face. When he ceased speaking, she merely bowed. Turning her -glance once more on Mr. Paulton, she went on: - -"I have explained matters to Mrs. Paulton, and said good-bye to her. -Your daughters are out, but your wife has promised me to say good-bye -to them for me; and now there remains for me to say good-bye to only -you and your son." - -She held out her hand. - -The host suffered a revulsion of feeling now that he heard her say -good-bye, and saw her hold out her hand to him. It was hard to -picture this beautiful woman alone in London, with her new woe. As -long as she was an abstraction, as long as she was upstairs, and he -regarded her as simply the source of notoriety if not of scandal, it -was easy to wish her away at any inconvenience to herself or cost to -him. But here she was now anticipating his wishes, doing precisely as -he had most desired--about to launch herself alone on the vast ocean -of London without a friend, and that, too, at the very time when she -was most in need of friendly countenance and protection. It was too -bad--much too bad. - -He took her Land, and said, with perfect sincerity now: - -"I am really sorry to say good-bye to you--really sorry you must go. -I would like to be of any service to you I can. Will you, as a -favour, promise me, if I can in any way assist you, you will let me -know?" - -"I will, indeed, Mr. Paulton. I am most grateful to you, and I am -sure you would do anything you could for me; but"--she paused and -sighed--"I am greatly afraid no one can do much to help me now. I -must make up my mind to bear what cannot be avoided--to bear it -bravely." - -The tone in which these words were uttered and the smile which -accompanied them were worse than any tears. - -"But," said Mr. Paulton, still keeping the hand she had given him, -"do you not think you had better wait a little, until evening, even -if no longer?" - -"I am greatly obliged to you. But what is to be gained by delay? -Nothing." - -"Well, but where do you propose going? What hotel do you intend -staying at?" - -"I know one," she answered, wearily, as she withdrew her hand gently -from his. "It does not matter which or where." - -"But you are not taking anything with you! You cannot go merely as -you are!" - -"I fear I must. I cannot take anything out of that awful house--no, -never"--with a shudder. "All the things that are now there are like -my dead husband--dead to me for ever. I can get what I need in -London." - -"At all events, you must not go alone. You must allow some one to -escort you. I am certain my son would be delighted to take you -wherever you may wish to go." - -"It would give me great pleasure," said Alfred eagerly. - -"You are both, I know, too good and kind to mistake for -ungraciousness the refusal which I must give to your offer. I have no -alternative but to go alone." - -"Mrs. Davenport," said Pringle, "I am going to town at once. May I -hope you will allow me to see you as far as either Ludgate Hill or -Victoria? I am afraid that my want of caution when speaking to you a -few minutes ago upstairs may have betrayed me into saying or implying -more than I really should. We could talk a little more on the way -in." - -"With your permission, I will go by myself. Farewell;" and, with a -bow that included all, she left the room. - -They saw her walk through the little garden, open the gate, and reach -the road. Then they lost sight of her. - -For a long while no one spoke. Mr. Paulton broke the silence. "I'm -very sorry." He did not say for what; he scarcely knew for what. - -"She's a wonderful woman," said Jerry O'Brien. "I am not surprised at -her not speaking to me. She bowed to me as much as to say she knew -me. I often met her before, but never saw her in any humour like -this. Why, in the name of all that's mysterious, would she not allow -any one to go with her? It could not do her any harm for either you -or Pringle or Alfred to go with her." - -"That struck me as most strange," said Mr. Paulton. - -"We are all friends here," said Pringle. "It doesn't seem strange to -me. It seems foolish, though. If they want her they can catch her -abroad as well as in England." - -"Abroad!" said Mr. Paulton, in perplexity. "Surely she is not going -abroad before the funeral of her husband. No woman would think of -leaving the country before her husband is buried." - -"Under certain circumstances, a woman might if _an inquest_ was to -precede the burial." - -"Oh, I see." - -"Now, gentlemen, I think we ought to be able to guess why she would -have no luggage, no escort. She is going to disguise herself and fly -to the Continent." - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - LIGHT AFTER DARKNESS. - - -When Mrs. Davenport left Paulton she walked straight to Herne Hill -railway station. She asked when the next train would start for -Victoria, and having learned there would be one in ten minutes, she -took a ticket for that terminus, and then sat down on one of the -seats on the platform. - -It was cold, raw, dull, rainless February weather, and she was -lightly clad, but she did not mind that. Her thoughts were turned -inward, and she had but a dimly reflected idea of things surrounding -her. - -When the train steamed into the station, she rose in a quick but -mechanical way, and took her seat in an empty compartment. Upon -arriving at Victoria, she left the train in the same quick, -mechanical way, got into a cab, and drove to a house in Jermyn -Street. Having engaged a bed-room and sitting-room here, she sat down -at once and wrote a letter. - -As soon as the letter was finished she left the house, dropped the -letter into the first post-pillar, and then ascended to the middle -section of Regent Street. She visited several shops, bought many -things, and ordered many more. When this was done she paused, -seemingly at a loss. - -"My letter," she thought, "will not be there until night. In the -meantime, what shall I do?" She walked slowly down Regent Street. At -last she started. "How stupid," she thought, "I have been not to -telegraph! If I had telegraphed I could have had an answer in an -hour." - -She hastened forward, asked a policeman where the nearest telegraph -office was, and on arriving there despatched a message. Then she went -back to Jermyn Street, and, laying aside her bonnet and mantle, -waited. - -In an hour and a half a reply came. It ran: - - -"_I shall be with you almost as soon as this_." - - -When she read the message she got up and walked about the room in a -state of great excitement. It was now dark, and the gas had not yet -been lighted in the room. As she paced up and down she wrung her -hands and moaned. After a while she became calmer, but still -continued walking up and down. She had eaten nothing that day, yet -she felt no want of food. In fact, when the servant, upon her return, -suggested that she had better order dinner, she had refused to do so -with a shudder. She knew she should need for the coming interview all -her strength, but she could not bear the notion of food. She had not -slept during the whole night, yet she felt no want of sleep. - -"I feel," she thought, "as though my sorrows were immortal, and that -I shall require earthly succour no more." - -She had not long to wait in solitude. A hansom drove up to the door, -a man jumped out, and in a few minutes he was ushered into the room. -He found her still in the dark, leaning on the mantelshelf. - -"Marion," he said--"are you here, Marion?" - -"Yes," she answered, "I am here." - -"I cannot see you, it is so dark." - -"It is very dark. It never has been darker in all my life, and you -know it." - -"Will you not shake hands with me and order lights?" - -"Neither. What is to be said can best be said in the dark. It is in -the nature of darkness itself. Sit down. I prefer to stand; I wish -you to sit. Sit down." - -His eyes were now becoming accustomed to the obscurity. He found a -chair, and sat down. - -"Are you alone?" he asked, looking up at where she stood, motionless, -by the mantelpiece. - -"_Absolutely_," she answered, in a cold, hard voice. "And you know -it." - -"How could I know it? I got your telegram, and came at once. Marion, -you are speaking to me in a tone I am unused to from you." - -"Ay," she said, "I am unused to my own voice in its present tone. I -am risking much for you, and you do not deserve that I should risk -anything for you." - -"Marion," he cried, half-rising, "you have not left him? You have not -resolved to throw your fate in with mine at last? Marion, my darling! -Marion, let me come to you." - -"Stay where you are," she said, in a tone of perplexity, and with a -shudder. "If you move from that chair, it must only be for the door. -Remember this once for all." - -"You are very hard, Marion--very hard. It is a long day since we met, -and now you will not even give me your hand. You would give your hand -to the most ordinary friend you have: think of what we were once." - -His voice had a firm, manly, straightforward ring in it, and withal -an undertone of passionate entreaty. - -"I have thought too much of what has been once. I have thought too -much of what was between you and me long ago. I have another matter -to think of to-night." - -"And what is that, Marion?" - -"I have to think of last night." - -He uttered a cry of surprise and half rose from his chair. - -"Did you know I was there? I thought you were asleep. He said you -were. Did he tell you I was there?" - -She paused a moment and made a powerful effort to control herself. -When she spoke, her voice was unsteady, and showed that a violent -conflict was going on in her breast. - -"He told me nothing," she said. "I have sent for you in order that -you may tell me all. Now go on. All, remember." - -"All?" he asked. "I would rather not tell you all. I never told you a -lie yet." - -"All," she said--"all, or go." - -He shifted uneasily for a few minutes on his chair, and then spoke: - -"Well, Marion, since you will have it all, you shall. I am no better -than ever I was. I leave it to you to say if I could, being only -human, be much worse. You might have made a different man of me once. -You wouldn't. Let that pass." - -"Yes, let that pass, and let it pass quickly. I did not sell you for -a sum of money." - -Her voice was scornful. - -"No, you did not. You did better. You sold yourself for a sum of -money. Shall we cry truce?" - -"Yes; go on." - -"I've been a good deal on the Continent. I've been doing a great many -things I should not do. Amongst others, I have been gambling; and, -worst of all, I have lost. There are many excuses for a man gambling. -There is no excuse for a man losing. Well, I got cleaned out, and I -came home--I mean I went back to Ireland. - -"Naturally I faced south. Naturally I went on to Waterford. Naturally -I found myself in Kilcash." - -She made a gesture of dissent. But it was too dark for him to see. -She said: "Most unwise and most unnatural." - -"It may have been unwise, but it was most natural. What can be more -natural than that a man should go where his heart---- But if I say -any more in this strain, you will be angry?" - -"Most assuredly," - -"Well, when I got to Kilcash, I kept my ears open, and soon I heard -that you were about to leave Kilcash House and take a house in or -near London. I inquired still further, found out the day you were to -leave, and got the address of the house you had taken. I came on to -London. - -"I arrived here the night before last. I knew you could not be in -your new house until late in the day. I wanted to call most -particularly. There was not an hour to be lost. It was neck or -nothing with me. I resolved to call at Crescent House that very -night, and I did." - -"You did?" she said, in a voice like a terrified echo. - -"You knew I was there. He told you?" - -"No; go on. Go on, I say. You did not ask for me?" - -"No. I wanted to see him." - -"It was close to eleven, or after it then?" - -"After it." - -"And you wanted to see him at such an hour, and you knew he was an -invalid?" she said, scornfully. - -"I was an invalid myself." - -"You! What was the matter with you?"--again that tone of scorn. - -"A worse disease than his--poverty." - -"What!" she cried, leaving the mantelpiece, and going a step towards -him in the dark. "I thought you got the price of your--of _me_ -before." - -"Marion, you are unjust--cruelly unjust. When I called on your -husband last night, it was not to _beg_ or to try and get money from -him, because of anything in which you or I ever took part. I had a -claim with which you have no connection, and the nature of which I -will not divulge to you. He may if he likes." - -"He never will," she said, with something between a laugh and a sob. - -"So be it. It may be all the better the matter should never be spoken -of. But to proceed. I knocked and he let me in. He explained that you -were gone to bed, and that he and you were alone in the house. He was -very polite, for he had an idea of why I came--or rather of the card -of introduction, so to speak, that I brought with me. He made me take -a chair, told me he was not well enough to lie down, as he had one of -his bad attacks of asthma, though by no means a very bad one, and we -had a pleasant general conversation for half-an-hour or so." - -"Pleasant conversation!" she cried, falling back to her old position -at the chimney-piece. - -"Yes, I assure you it was quite a pleasant conversation. He told me -all the incidents of your journey over from Ireland, and I amused him -with my experiences on the Continent." - -"This is too ghastly," she said. "Do not tell me any more about it. -Did he give you--what you came for?" - -"Oh, yes, or part of it." - -"And then?" she asked, in a hard, constrained voice. - -"And then after a few more words I stood up and said good-bye, left -the house, and came back to town." - -"Wait," she said. "I will give you another chance. Sit where you are. -I shall be back in a few minutes." - -"In the dark?" he asked. - -"Yes. Is there anything in the dark that frightens you?" - -"No," he answered; "but it is stupid to sit in the dark alone." - -"Perhaps when I am gone you may not be quite alone. You may have -memories for company." - -There was great meaning in her voice. - -He said merely "Perhaps," and she was gone. - -While she was away he sat perfectly still. There was little or no -light from the dull low fire, and as the blinds were down and -curtains drawn, none reached the room from the street. - -In a few minutes he heard the door open and some one enter. She came -to her old position by the chimney-piece and said: - -"Now, if you can find a match, you may light the gas." - -He had wax cigar-lights in his pocket. He struck one, and in a moment -the gas flared up. He looked at her, and cried, starting back: - -"Merciful heavens, Marion, what masquerade is this!" - -"No masquerade," she said calmly, scrutinizing him. "These are my -widow's weeds come from the mourning warehouse a few minutes ago. -They say you ought to be prepared to see me in them." - -"I--I!--prepared to see you in widow's weeds! Is Davenport dead?" - -"Women whose husbands are living do not wear such things as these. -They say you ought to be prepared to see me dressed as I am now." - -She touched the streamers of her cap and pointed to the crape of her -dress. - -"What do you mean by saying _they_ say I ought to be prepared for -this? Who are _they?_--and what do you mean?" - -"As I left the room a moment ago, a servant brought me this note. -Read it." - -He took the note and read it first quickly, a second time slowly. -Then, letting it fall from his grasp, he threw his hands above his -head, and crying out, "Oh, God!" fell back on a chair. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - MR. DAVENPORT'S ACCOUNT OF THE MATTER. - - -Shortly after Mrs. Davenport left Carlingford House, Half Moon Lane, -that afternoon, a supplementary luncheon was announced, and the four -men went into the dining-room. - -Mr. Paulton had already lunched with the family, but he wished to be -with the others; so he sat down at the table with them, and broke a -biscuit and half-filled a glass with sherry. Jerry O'Brien and -Pringle were in no humour for trifling with food; they were both -downright hungry. Alfred ate mechanically, and was much pre-occupied. -The talk, therefore, for a quarter of an hour, was slight, -fragmentary, as though by some agreement: no one referred to what had -just occurred in the library, or to anything else connected with -Crescent House. Young Pringle felt that although there must be and -are extremely interesting tragedies in the world, luncheon, when one -is hungry, was a matter not to be neglected. He had more than once in -a criminal court eaten sandwiches and drunk sherry in the interval -for luncheon, with the moral certainty that his client, who had been -temporarily removed from the dock, would be sentenced to death before -the Court rose, and hanged before that day four weeks. - -Here were a cold rabbit pie, cold ham, and excellent sherry, -well-baked, fine white bread, and nicknacks, and no particular reason -for hurry--no fear of hearing "Silence" called out while one was but -half-finished. The day was dull, but there was an ample fire burning -brightly in the grate, the chair was soft and well-designed, so why -should he bother himself for another quarter of an hour? - -It was very easy for him to hold his tongue and to assure himself -that he need not bother himself just now about Mrs. Davenport and her -unpleasant predicament; but her predicament would not be banished, -and every now and then some incident of either the drawing-room or -library interview would rush into his mind with all the unexpected -suddenness of that unwelcome cry of "Silence!" in the middle of -luncheon at a criminal trial. - -Upon the whole, that luncheon was not as calm or as successful as -young Pringle meant it to be. He had never seen any one at all like -Mrs. Davenport before, and he could make little or nothing of her. He -now began to think that he had talked flippantly when he said she was -certainly about to leave the country. Reviewing all he had seen and -heard, he came to the conclusion that the safest thing for him to -assume at present was--nothing. At length he spoke, addressing Alfred -and Jerry O'Brien: - -"Although Mrs. Davenport did not say anything to the effect when -leaving, I suppose I had better act for her--until I hear something -to the contrary." - -Jerry O'Brien glanced at Alfred, and saw what he wished to say, but -held back from speaking, because of the trouble his hasty action of -the night before had brought about. Therefore Jerry made himself -spokesman for his friend. - -"Of course, Pringle, you go on acting for her, on her behalf. She has -left this house finally now, and is not likely to cause any new -unpleasantness here. Whether Mrs. Davenport is to blame or not, she -can't be left alone and unaided in such a strait as this. What do you -say, Mr. Paulton?" - -"I am quite of your opinion, O'Brien. Now that she is out of the -house I would be disposed to do anything I could for her. It's -different now from what it was an hour ago. Go on, Mr. Pringle; and I -most sincerely hope she may come out of the inquiry without the -shadow of blame." - -"I sincerely hope so," said Pringle, rising. Luncheon was over by -this time. "Now, the first thing I should like, is to have a look at -the place--at this Crescent House, as you call it." - -Alfred and O'Brien got up, and in a few minutes the three found -themselves in the hall of that house. The police were already there. - -Pringle told the officers who he was and then proceeded to make -inquiries. The following was the state of affairs at that time: - -The inspector had been there about an hour. He had made an elaborate, -but not exhaustive search in the room. The body was in the position -it had been found in. An empty two-ounce bottle had been discovered -on the floor. This was the bottle. It was labelled chloroform, smelt -of chloroform, and had no cork in it. A cork which fitted it, and -which also smelt, although faintly, of chloroform, had been found on -the table close by the body. - -In the pockets of the deceased had been discovered a number of -letters, a small sum of money, and a pocket-book. This was the -pocket-book. It was thin, and covered with Russia leather; it was -old, and had been but little used. It contained several addresses, -and on the first leaf was written a date of eleven years ago. It was -more than likely this date corresponded with that on which the book -became the property of deceased. - -Most of the memoranda in that book could have no bearing on the -present case, as most of them had evidently been made long ago. The -last entry but one was dated in what was believed to be the -handwriting of the deceased. It was made more than two years ago. -After this last entry but one, a leaf was missing. A leaf had -evidently been torn out--and clumsily torn out, too--for a jagged -portion of the leaf remained behind. - -Then came the last entry of all. This was also apparently in the -handwriting of deceased. The writing was in pencil, and very shaky, -and for a long time could not be deciphered. It was headed "Crescent -House." The domicile fixed the date, for the night before was the -only occasion on which Mr. Davenport crossed the threshold of that -house. He had not even seen the house before renting it, but took it -on the representation of an agent. The words on this page were: - - -"_Pretended death. Blake gone. He emptied chloroform on me--held me -down. Can't stir. Dying_." - - -After reading this the three men stood aghast for a while. They -looked at one another. They looked at the inspector. The inspector -shook his head. - -"There's hangman's work here," he said; and he was about to turn -away, when a sudden thought struck Pringle. He said to the inspector: - -"I beg your pardon. Does that pocket-book contain any London address -of Mr. Davenport?" - -"I don't know," said the inspector; "and I am afraid I have already -shown you too much." - -"I'd be very much obliged to you if you'd see. I represent Mrs. -Davenport in this matter, and at the moment I don't know where to -find her. She omitted to give me her address when she left me this -afternoon. I want to write to her, and if you find any London address -of Mr. Davenport, I'll chance directing my letter there. That can do -no harm to any one." - -The inspector hesitated, but at length opened the pocket-book, and -after a search, said: - -"There's an address here at Jermyn Street; but it's six years old." - -"Never mind," said Pringle; "I'll risk it. What is it?" - -The inspector read it out, and Pringle took it down. - -Pringle, Alfred Paulton, and Jerry O'Brien were about to leave the -room, when the first turned to the inspector, and said: - -"By-the-way, you did not find the page that has been torn out of the -pocket-book?" - -"No," said the inspector, nodding his head significantly; "but -there's evidence enough on what we _did_ find to hang a score of -men." - -The three then walked to Herne Hill railway station, and took tickets -for Ludgate. At the latter place Pringle left the two friends and -went back to his office. - -Here he sat down and wrote the following letter: - - - "Lincoln's Inn Fields, E.C. - "Feb. --, 18--. - -"Dear Madam, - -"By accident I got this address, and will chance writing you here in -the hope this note may reach you. - -"I have been to Crescent House. A pocket-book of the late Mr. -Davenport has been found. It contains the following entry in the -handwriting of deceased: 'Pretended death. Blake gone. He emptied the -chloroform on me--held me down. Can't stir. Dying.' - -"Awaiting your further instructions, - - "I am, dear Madam, - - "Yours faithfully, - - "Richard Pringle." - - -This was the note which Mrs. Davenport handed Thomas Blake as she -stood over him in her fresh widow's weeds the night after her -husband's death. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - "WHICH OF US IS MAD?" - - -The morning after the interview between Mrs. Davenport and Tom Blake -in Jermyn Street, there were paragraphs about Mr. Davenport's death -in the daily papers. These paragraphs were almost colourless, and -barely suggested any cause for uneasiness. They all wound up by -saying that the inquest would be held next day. - -That afternoon Richard Pringle called on chance at the house in -Jermyn Street, and found Mrs. Davenport at home. She received -him in a dreamy, half-conscious way, and answered listlessly the -common-place questions he put to her. Before seeing her he had made -up his mind not to refer to the scene which had taken place between -them yesterday. He was firmly convinced she would not give him her -full confidence, and that to seek to get at the bottom of the affair -would be only to court obstruction. From her manner he assumed she -wished nothing to be said of what had taken place in the Paultons' -drawing-room at Dulwich. He began by trying to prepare her for the -inquest. She shuddered slightly when he used that word, and yet -seemed but indifferently alive to the importance of the situation. -She answered in monosyllables, and contented herself mostly with -merely bowing her head in token that she attended to what he said. - -No material advantage could be gained by speaking of the former -interview between them. He had drawn his own conclusions from it, and -it was abundantly clear to him she wished that interview ignored. Now -that he was once more under the spell of her presence, he felt his -interest in her case rekindle, and the charm of her beauty -reasserting itself. - -One thing, however, must be spoken of. It was absolutely necessary he -should say something of the note he had written her last evening. He -waited for a pause, or rather caused a pause in the conversation, for -she volunteered nothing. - -"Having found this Jermyn Street address in the pocket-book of Mr. -Davenport, I sent a few lines to you yesterday evening in the hope -they might reach you. Did you get them?" - -This question seemed to arouse her attention. She clasped her hands -in her lap, and, turning her face fully towards him, answered: - -"Yes; I got your note and the extract from the pocket-book also." - -She seemed perfectly cool and collected. - -"It would be well if you would tell me anything you know about that -entry on the leaf of the pocket-book. It has a terrible significance -in the case." - -Her calmness now astonished him. He had the evening before been -prepared for an explosion. He had expected to find her completely -broken down, or in a state of high nervous excitement to-day. Up to -this she had been listless; now she was attentive and mute. Her face -looked paler than yesterday, but he could not say whether this was -owing to its own loss of colour or to the effect of the white cap or -the crape round her throat. He waited a moment with a view to giving -weight to his next question. It was: - -"With regard to the memorandum made by Mr. Davenport, is there -anything you would like to say to me? In the face of that memorandum, -you of course know that Mr. Blake's presence will be essential at -the--inquiry." - -"I suppose so," she said, unmoved. She replied to the latter part of -his speech first. "With regard to the entry in his pocket-book, it is -right you should know that my late husband was at one time subject to -hallucinations, delusions." - -"And you think this writing of his may have been the result of a -delusion or hallucination?" - -"It is quite possible; I can explain it in no other way." - -"Oh, this is a great relief! I did not know he was subject to -hallucinations. This is a most important fact. What was the nature of -the delusion under which he suffered?" - -Up to this point Pringle had felt in despair. Now his interest and -courage rose. - -"He fancied people had formed a conspiracy against him, and that -their design was to rob him first and then murder him." - -Her enunciation was particularly distinct, her face impassible. - -"This is most vital," he said. "Indeed it may explain much that now -sorely needs explanation. You no doubt often had the opportunity of -seeing him labouring under these ailments?" - -"No--never. He has not had an attack since we were married." - -"Well, we must only do the best we can. Do you know if there is -anything like insanity in his family?" - -Pringle felt no little disappointment that she could not personally -testify to the disease; but he was resolved to make the most of it. - -"I am not aware that there is anything which could be called insanity -in the family. His brother is decidedly odd, and Mr. Davenport was -odd at times. For instance, as I told you, he would never bring old -servants into a new house. There were other little traits--some -theories he had about betting on horses, and which I do not -understand, but which I have been told were at least fanciful." - -Pringle's curiosity was aroused. Outside his profession the thing in -which he took most interest was horse-racing. - -"I am not sure that it can be of any consequence; but if you could -remember it, I should like to know what that peculiarity in betting -was." - -"I am not quite sure," she said; "but I have an indistinct -recollection he made it a rule never to bet on any horse the name of -which began with a letter lower down in the alphabet than 'N.'" - -"Ah!" said the young solicitor, in a tone of surprise and reflection. -He resolved to look this matter up when he got back to the office. He -was still curious. "And may I ask if you know whether he found the -system a good one? If he found it to fail oftener than to succeed, -and still kept to it, one might put the persistency down to mental -obliquity." - -Although he said this in a confident tone, the words were no sooner -uttered than he began to doubt their justice, for he had known many -men who adhered to a system which had nine times out of ten betrayed -them. - -"I cannot tell you. I do not know." - -"If he betted heavily, you would have been likely to hear whether he -won or lost. Of course when I say heavily, I don't mean that he ran -any danger of crippling himself. But he must have been elated when he -won and dejected when he lost?" - -"No. He did not bet heavily. He never seemed to care whether he won -or lost. It was the system which he prized, and not the wager." - -Young Pringle thought this was a sure sign of a disordered mind; but -he kept the opinion to himself, as he considered it more a matter of -private than professional interest. He said: - -"I suppose Mr. Davenport could not have been in financial -embarrassment owing to any betting transactions?" - -"I am certain he was not." - -"Or from any other cause?" - -"I am sure he was not." - -"This may be of the greatest value. I beg of you to believe I am -asking this question solely with a view to your interest." - -He paused and looked earnestly at her for permission to go on. - -She bowed. - -"Have you any reason to think that the unfortunate event which has -occurred might have been brought about by his own act?" - -She moved her hands nervously in her lap. - -"I am not sure that I understand you." - -"There is nothing in your mind which could lead you to suppose he has -committed suicide?" - -She shuddered visibly and answered in a constrained whisper: - -"Nothing--nothing whatever." - -"Well, Mrs. Davenport, it will be absolutely necessary for us, in the -face of the memorandum made on the leaf of his pocket-book, to have -some theory of what took place. Can you suggest any theory?" - -He spoke gravely, impressively. His personal interest in her was -again growing stronger than his professional interest in what he now -regarded as her defence. He swore to himself that he would use not -only all his skill as an advocate, but all his faculties as a man to -extricate this beautiful woman from the horrible position in which he -found her, and to assuage as much as might be the pains she would -have to endure. Under the overwhelming spell of her rich comeliness, -and in front of the evidence afforded by her presence here this -afternoon, he reproached himself bitterly for the suspicion he had -uttered the day before as to her fleeing from the country. It was -brutal of him to think of such a thing then, and still more brutal of -him to speak his thoughts. - -She did not reply to his last question at once. She looked at him -steadily, without flinching, but remained silent. - -He spoke again, this time earnestly, almost passionately: - -"Mrs. Davenport, if you give me any theory to go on, I promise you, -upon my word of honour as a man, to make the most I can of it. I'll -leave no stone unturned to put things in their best light. I'll work -without ceasing; I'll do nothing else, think of nothing else until I -see you through this ordeal. I will not ask you again for any -confidence you wish to withhold from me. But if out of justice to -yourself you will not, out of justice to me you _must_ give me -something to go on. You _must_ give me at least a theory." - -He spoke to her eagerly, fiercely, and held out his hands towards her -in supplication. - -She dropped her eyes a moment as if to collect her thoughts, and then -looking straight into his face once more, said with a slight tremor -in her voice: - -"I have a theory; but I am afraid it is not one that will meet with -your approval." - -"If it is the best you can give me, trust me to do the best that can -be done with it. But, for heaven's sake, give me the best one you -can. Give me a chance. All I want is a chance to show you my -devotion--to your interests." - -He felt he was being carried away by the irresistible magic of her -eyes. He paused after the word "devotion," and spoke the final phrase -of his speech in a less fervent tone, to modify by matter and manner -what had gone before. - -"There is," she said, unclasping and then clasping her hands again, -"but one theory possible in the case. As I told you a moment ago, Mr. -Davenport was at one period of his life subject to delusions----" - -"Pardon me," interrupted Pringle; "you said awhile ago that you had -no experience of your own as to this infirmity. I assume we shall be -able to produce evidence to prove that?" - -"Undoubtedly there will be evidence." - -"May I ask from whom we are to expect this evidence? Mr. Davenport's -brother? He knows all about it, I suppose?" - -"No, not Mr. Davenport's brother. I am not sure that Mr. Edward -Davenport ever knew anything about it." - -"That is unfortunate, since, so far as I understand, Mr. Edward -Davenport is the late Mr. Davenport's only surviving relative." - -"He is. But at the time when Mr. Davenport had those seizures he was -abroad, on the Continent. For many years of his life Mr. Davenport -did not live in the United Kingdoms. When I first knew him he had -just come home after travelling for a long time in America and -Europe. Although I am not quite sure, I think up to a very short time -before I met him he had been out of the country most of his life. He -was not very communicative about the past, or indeed on any subject. -It was while he was staying for a time in Florence he had these -attacks of hallucination----" - -"And the evidence we can command is that of an eye-witness?" broke in -Pringle. - -"Certainly." - -"The inquest will be to-morrow. May I not have the name of the -witness? There is no time to be lost. In fact, this evidence, this -extremely important evidence, comes very late. I am sorry I did not -hear of it before. But we must do the best we can with it." - -He spoke in a voice of deep concern. - -"There was a reason why you did not hear of this evidence earlier. -You asked me to give you my theory, Had I not better do so before -going into other matters?" - -She raised her clasped hands slightly from her lap in faint protest. - -"I beg your pardon for interrupting you. By all means let me have the -theory first. My anxiety betrayed me into asking questions which -ought to have been deferred." - -He was filled with admiration of this woman who could keep so closely -to the point, and with shame for himself for his unthrifty straying -from it. - -"As you are no doubt aware, chloroform affects different people in -different ways. A little of it will kill some people; a large -quantity will scarcely affect others. Many under its influence become -delirious and rave. At certain periods, while under the power of -chloroform, one may be relieved of pain, conscious of surrounding -things, capable of moving, and yet delirious. The theory I would -suggest is that Mr. Davenport inhaled some chloroform to ease a spasm -of asthma, that he became delirious, that he had a return of his old -hallucination, then wrote what was found on the leaf torn from the -book, and while endeavouring to administer a second dose to himself, -spilled the contents of the bottle over his beard and chest." - -Her words came in as calm and measured a way as though she were -speaking on an abstract subject to an indifferent audience. - -As she went on, Pringle's admiration gave way to amazement. A -scientific witness could not be more unmoved. Was it possible this -superb woman opposite him had been explaining to him in these cold, -measured accents her way of accounting for the death of a husband who -had been alive and without any immediate danger of death a couple of -days ago, and who had since died a death which was, to say the least -of it, provocative of inquiry? - -He leaned back in his chair, sighed thoughtfully, and knit his brows. -He cleared his throat once or twice to speak, but remained silent. He -felt dull and heavy, as though something oppressed his chest. - -"That is my theory--the only possible theory," she said, leaning -forward and looking quietly into his face, without any change in the -expression of her own. - -He shook himself slightly, looked perplexed, not satisfied. At last -he spoke: - -"And what evidence have we in support of this supposition?" - -She leaned back in her chair and whispered, "None." - -He started, sat up, and looked at her keenly. He drew down his brows -over his eyes as though the light hurt him. - -"I am afraid," said he, "such a theory would not stand without most -substantial testimony. No jury would give a satisfactory verdict on a -mere statement such as that, for, you see, there are the last words -written by the deceased." Until this moment he had not used that -cold, formless word "deceased" to her. But he felt now that he was -regarding the matter in a purely professional way, and that so was -she. In a moment he continued, laying impressively significant -emphasis on his words: "How are we to explain the fact of Mr. Blake's -name appearing on that piece of paper?" - -"Mr. Blake," she said, half-closing her eyes as though she was weary, -"was the last person he saw before his death, and, when the delirium -came upon him, he naturally introduced the name of Mr. Blake as being -that of the person most immediate to his memory." - -"What!" cried Pringle, starting up off his chair and leaning towards -her, "Do we admit he was there?" - -He could scarcely contain himself for astonishment. He looked at her -as though he expected to find her transformed into the person of -Blake himself. - -"Undoubtedly," she said, opening her eyes slowly and looking up at -him. "Mr. Blake was there a little while before Mr. Davenport died." - -Pringle groaned, ran his fingers excitedly through his hair, and -began pacing the room up and down hastily. - -After a dozen turns, he stopped in front of her chair. - -"When did you learn that your late husband had had hallucinations?" - -"Last night." - -"Last night only! Who told you?" - -"Mr. Blake." - -"Mr. Blake!--Mr. Blake! And who saw your husband when he was -suffering from these hallucinations?" - -"Mr. Blake." - -"And is he the witness we have as to the hallucinations?" - -"Yes." - -"Merciful heavens! Which of us is mad? Where did you meet this -Blake?" - -"I wrote to him to come here, and he came." - -"_You wrote him to come here!_ Heaven help you--heaven help you! It -is you who are mad." - -And he hastened out of the room. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - - THE ELDER PRINGLE SPEAKS. - - -When Richard Pringle reached the street, he set off at a rapid walk -for Lincoln's Inn Fields. His thoughts and feelings were too much -disturbed for reasoning. The dialogue of the past hour hurried -through his brain in an incoherent, inconsequential mass. In the -intense excitement of the last few minutes, he had told her she was -mad, and he almost believed it. He had known from the previous day -that Blake had been at Crescent House on the night of Mr. Davenport's -death. He had most plainly, most impressively given her to understand -that he knew it. She must have seen plainly then he attached most -disastrous importance to that visit of her former lover. Since then -the leaf torn out of the pocket-book had been discovered. On that -leaf appeared a deliberate accusation of murder in the handwriting of -the dead man against Blake. That, in all reason, was sufficiently -serious; but worse followed. She had the day after her husband's -death asked this man Blake to visit her! - -From Blake she had, Pringle felt not the least doubt, adopted that -elaborate and childish theory of the fatal event. Blake had told her -in that interview a thing neither she nor his brother had ever known -before--namely, that the deceased man had at one time, and to Blake's -personal knowledge, suffered from mental aberration of a kind which -would exactly explain away that damnatory writing on the paper--if -any one could believe Blake's story! The whole affair was simply -monstrous. If he viewed the matter from a purely professional point -of view, he would have been heartily sorry he ever connected himself -with it. But he could not regard the case solely as a matter between -client and solicitor. He was under the spell of this woman, and he -could not, if he would, and he would not if he could, escape. Only -one thing was clear to his mind now, and that took the form of -muttered words: - -"_There will be business for the hangman in this affair_." - -When he arrived at the office he found his father in, and having -locked the door of the private room, he communicated to the old man -the substance of the interview which had just been brought to a -close. - -His father listened to the recital with the most circumstantial -patience. When the son had finished his tale, and wound up with the -opinion that some one was going to swing for the matter, the father, -to the son's unspeakable astonishment, looked up cheerfully, and -said: - -"I am not at all sure of that, Dick--not at all." - -"Bless my soul, father, where do you see the way out of it?" - -"I can't say," said the elder man, "that I see my way out of it; but -I am sure _they_ do. Just run over the facts briefly: This woman was -formerly in love with Blake; Blake is bought off by old Davenport, -and Davenport marries the beauty. After years, the married couple -come to London, and put up by themselves in a detached house. That -night the old lover visits the house, and shortly after he leaves, -the wife raises an alarm, and the husband is found dead. The doctor -called in is not fully satisfied, and hints that the man has been -killed by chloroform--a drug frequently used by deceased. The widow -finds shelter in a neighbour's house. While there, she is given to -understand by her attorney that it is supposed her old lover was in -the house within a short time of the death, and that death is -believed to have arisen from choloroform, not asthma. Upon this she -displays great emotion, and declines to give any further information. -She leaves the neighbour's house that afternoon, and goes to a house -in which she stayed about six years ago when in London with her -husband. From that house she sends for her old lover, and has an -interview with him. Meantime a document is found in the handwriting -of deceased, saying her old lover has poisoned him (deceased). Her -solicitor sends a copy of this document to her. Next day solicitor -calls upon her, and finds her quite calm. She explains her theory of -her husband's death, and attributes the document mentioned to -hallucination, from which she alleges deceased suffered earlier in -life, and that death was the result of accidentally spilling the -chloroform by deceased. That's the case, as far as I can make it out. -Am I right, Dick?" - -"Yes, sir--quite right." - -"At the first glance it's a strong case." - -"Did you ever, short of eye-witnesses, see a stronger?" - -"I've seen a lot of cases in my time--a lot of cases. Wait a bit, -Dick, until we have another look at it. A motive lies on the very -surface; nothing could be plainer than the motive implied by the -case. It is: the old lover poisons the husband in order that the -woman may be free to marry him. A money motive may turn up later on; -if we may find that the widow is rich. Dick, I am getting to be an -old man now, and I give you one piece of advice, lest I may forget -it: _Always_ suspect a case where the motive is glaringly obvious. -Now, the two survivors in this affair are people of good education, -good position and intelligence, are they not?" - -"Most assuredly, sir." - -"Neither of the two is an idiot?" - -"I am greatly afraid, father, that the lady's reason is affected." - -"Observe, Dick, I did not ask you whether both are sane or mad. But -is either of them an _idiot_--_a drivelling idiot_--whom you would -not leave alone in a room where there was a fire or a razor?" - -"No, no! They are both, as far as I know--I never saw him--rational -on the surface, anyway. But I fear the strain has been too much for -Mrs. Davenport." - -"Never mind about that. She may for my purpose be as mad as she -likes, so long as she is not a drivelling idiot. Now, supposing -either of them had committed the crime of murder in this case, do you -suppose that until drivelling idiocy had been fully established in -one or the other, either of them would behave in such a childish way -as you describe? Why, it would shame any Bedlamite in Europe for rank -silliness! The man who tried to cool a red-hot poker in a barrel of -gunpowder would be only a little rash compared with either of these -two, if, as you seem to suppose, either is responsible for the dead -man's death." - -The younger man's face brightened. - -"Then you think, sir, there is still good reason to hope?" - -"I am sure there is no reason to do anything else. This Mrs. -Davenport, at your first interview, trusts you fully up to a certain -point, and then suddenly refuses to give you any more confidence. At -your second interview she gives you all, and more than all, the -confidence you require. What has wrought that change? She has seen -the old lover. She is acting upon his advice. She has given you a -great deal of confidence, but she has not told you everything. She is -keeping back the most important piece of all." - -"What is that?" - -"The line of his and her defence. He will, of course, be -professionally represented at the inquest. There will be some one -there for him, anyhow. I am firmly convinced he has an unanswerable -and startling defence. If I were you I should take every precaution I -could for the protection of my client; but I feel fully assured _he_ -will clear up the whole case. Now run away. I've got in another -batch of those Millington deeds, and I want to get through them by -dinner-time. Will you be home to dinner?" - -"I don't think so, sir. I'll run out to Dulwich and see if there is -anything new." - -When young Pringle found himself at Dulwich he went to Carlingford -House; for he knew that the folk there, especially Alfred, would be -anxious to hear the news, and this analysis of the case by his father -had put him in good heart. - -The day was fine and mild for the season. As he entered the garden of -Carlingford House, he saw, through a tall wicket gateway, two elderly -men walking in the grounds at the rear. One of these he recognised as -Mr. Paulton; the other was a stranger to him. - -He passed through the wicket gateway into the back garden. Just as he -did so the two men faced fully round, and Mr. Paulton cried out, as -he hastened towards the solicitor: - -"Mr. Pringle, you are the very man we want. We were this minute -talking of you. Mr. Davenport, this is Mr. Pringle, who has kindly -consented, at our request, to act in this unhappy affair as solicitor -for Mrs. Davenport." - -"Sir," said the dead man's brother, bowing low, "I am very glad to -make your acquaintance. I hope you find yourself in the enjoyment of -good health." - -"I am quite well, thank you," said Pringle, somewhat taken aback by -the old-fashioned formality of the other. - -The man who stood in front of him was a square-made, thick-set, -low-sized man of close on sixty years of age. His hair was black and -long and lank, profusely oiled, and hung down on the collar of his -coat and shoulders. He did not wear beard, whiskers, or moustaches. -His complexion was a lifeless sallow; his skin wrinkled, his nose -aquiline, and narrow at the top; his mouth weak and uncertain, with -thin, bloodless lips; his gait half-mincing, half-pompous; his voice -half-suave, half-raucous. His eyes were large and prominent, and of a -filmy, hazel colour. As Pringle looked at the new-comer, he thought: -"If he weren't so broad, he'd look like a dyspeptic mummy." - -"I have just finished telling Mr. Davenport all I heard about this -sad affair, and I suppose you, Mr. Pringle, can now add something to -where I left off? Mr. Davenport is most anxious to know everything." - -Young Pringle had then for the second time to go over the main -features of what had taken place since he was at Dulwich last. Of -course he was much more reticent than he had been with his father, -and repeated nothing of what had passed between Mrs. Davenport and -himself. It was Jerry O'Brien who had first introduced Blake's name -into the case. Mr. Paulton had told Mr. Davenport all he knew, -without adopting the precaution of finding out how the brother of the -dead man felt towards the widow. - -Pringle had therefore no hesitation in saying that he had seen Mrs. -Davenport, and that she, of course, would be present at the inquest -to-morrow. He also said he had heard Thomas Blake would be present. -He told Mr. Davenport that if he wished to call upon the widow, her -address was at his disposal. - -Mr. Davenport drew himself up hurriedly, and looking furiously at -Pringle from head to foot, as though the solicitor was the cause of -all the misfortunes, cried, while his lips, hands, and legs were -trembling: - -"_I--I go near her!_ Are you mad, young sir? Have you taken leave of -your senses, or are you jeering at me? I go near my brother's -murderess! Do you take me for a conspirator too? Do you think I am -another Blake? I pity you, sir. An attorney, quotha! A man of your -trade ought to have some little discrimination. You are for her, -young sir! Look you: If justice can be had on this earth, by any and -all means in my power these two shall hang side by side on the same -gibbet, and keep the company of each other on the road to hell, and -in hell everlastingly;" and, foaming at the mouth, he dashed away -from the astonished pair and rushed into the house. - -The inquest was to be held next day at noon. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - - "MRS. DAVENPORT WAS CALLED." - - -The remainder of that afternoon and the early part of next day were -devoted by young Pringle to arranging details for the inquest. He -would have attached but little importance to the wild words and -manner of Mr. Edward Davenport if there had not been other very -strong elements, of suspicion in the case. There was matter for more -than grave suspicion--there was matter for absolute alarm. The theory -for the defence set up by Mrs. Davenport was puerile in the extreme, -and yet he could not make any other fit in with the admitted facts of -the case. Upon deliberate consideration, he thought less of his -father's exposition than he had at first. His father might be right, -but his father's conviction went no further than a supposititious -negative. In logic one could not prove a negative; in law there was -no prohibition. An overwhelming _alibi_ would insure an acquittal, -but an _alibi_ was impossible in this case; and by what other means -was it possible to establish a negative? - -He was anxious to ascertain one thing: Would Blake be arrested before -or during the inquest? He made inquiries, and found that, although -Blake's address was known and detectives were watching him, no arrest -would be made before the coroner had taken some evidence. Pringle had -no interest in Blake beyond the extent to which he affected Mrs. -Davenport's case. But that was a great deal. If Blake's mouth were -shut, Mrs. Davenport's defence would, he thought, be simpler. - -The day of the inquest Pringle went to Jermyn Street, and took Mrs. -Davenport to Dulwich. She was taciturn the whole way, and said she -had nothing to add to what she had communicated yesterday. She hardly -spoke a word the whole way from Jermyn Street to Herne Hill. -Pringle's spirits became more depressed as they journeyed together, -but he had made up his mind to fight the case out to the last. - -The inquest was to be held at the "Wolfdog Inn," and when Pringle and -Mrs. Davenport arrived there, a large crowd had already assembled, -although the proceedings would not begin for some time. Pringle had -engaged a private room for Mrs. Davenport, and to it she retired -immediately on their arrival. - -It was evident from the manner of those assembled in and near the -"Wolf-dog," that the approaching inquiry was regarded with great -interest, and that popular feeling was aroused against the newly-made -widow. - -Mrs. Davenport had entered by a back way, and had not been observed -by the loungers. No one in the crowd knew her; but, of course, if she -had passed through it, she would have been recognised instantly by -her fresh weeds. - -For a while young Pringle stood on the steps of the inn, and the -broken snatches of conversation which he overheard did not help to -cheer or inspirit him: he would have taken little or no heed of the -idle talk floating in and out of the door had he felt merely a -professional interest in this woman; but he had just left her; he had -been with her for nearly an hour, and although few words had passed -between them in that time, the spell of her physical beauty had -reasserted itself, and his chivalry was up in arms for her. - -While Pringle was standing on the steps of the inn, Dr. Santley and -Alfred Paulton came up. They had walked with one another from Half -Moon Lane. - -"Well," said the latter, addressing Pringle, "any good news?" - -The solicitor shook his head and answered: - -"Nothing fresh." - -"I thought," said Paulton, in a tone of disappointment, "that Jerry -O'Brien would be with you. Is he not come? He said he would be here -to-day." - -"I have not seen him," said Pringle. "I came out with Mrs. Davenport. -She is upstairs in a private room. Do you know anything of Blake? -Have you met him on the way?" - -"Perhaps," said Dr. Santley grimly, "he is cultivating the -acquaintance of the police." - -The speakers had moved out of earshot of the crowd. - -"No," said Pringle, "I have ascertained that he will not be touched -until after this day's work, anyway." - -As the solicitor ceased speaking, two other men approached. They, -too, were walking together; but as they drew near the "Wolfdog," one -of them moved off to the right, and went towards the inn door; the -other held on towards the three men. The latter was Jerry O'Brien. -When he came up with the little group, and had shaken hands with -them, Pringle asked: - -"Who was that you were with as you came up the road?" - -"What! Don't you all know him? Why, who could it be but Tom Blake?" - -Significant looks passed between the three men. Paulton was the first -to speak: - -"You don't mean to say, Jerry, that you have----" - -"Indeed I have. I met him on the platform at Victoria, and we came -out in the same compartment together." - -Jerry O'Brien seemed as much astonished at what he had done as his -friends. - -"But," urged Paulton, "you gave him the worst of characters the day -before yesterday, and said he had something to do with this awful -affair. Since then things have grown blacker against him, and yet you -don't cut him! You come out here arm-in-arm with him to the very -inquest where you say he will have to answer the ugliest questions -which can be put to a man!" - -"I bar only one thing in what you have said, Alfred. I did _not_ walk -out with him arm-in-arm. I met him quite accidentally at Victoria. I -told you I should be here at the inquest. I was on my way here. I no -more expected to see him than the man in the moon. He pounced on me -suddenly, and rushed me. As a rule, I can take care of myself, but I -admit I am no match for Blake. I am not sure I ever met his match. -Look here, Pringle; I know you're a first-rate fellow at your work. -You're not as old as you might be, but you're one of the best men in -England for this kind of a job. However, if you have to tackle Tom -Blake, he'll give you as much as you want." - -Jerry O'Brien spoke with heightened colour, and in a tone of intense -irritation. - -This opinion was not unwelcome to Pringle's ears, for he knew that, -no matter how big a scoundrel Blake might be, he would say nothing to -inculpate Mrs. Davenport. - -"What is this Blake's manner?" asked Pringle. - -"Perfectly self-possessed, cool and audacious." - -"Is he venturesome? - -"He'd play for his boots or his shirt, and then for his skin." - -"Do you think, O'Brien, he'll get out of this with a whole skin?" - -"He may, for you are not his lawyer," said O'Brien, with a laugh. - -"It is an old form of joke," said the attorney, with a smile. "Do you -know if he has got legal assistance?" - -"Legal assistance!" cried O'Brien, scornfully. "Not he. He laughed -when telling me some fellows said he ought to get legal assistance. -Why, my dear Pringle, he'd give the best of you thirty out of a -hundred, and win the game by making you give misses. When is this -thing to begin?" - -"Presently. Have you any notion of what he is going to say at the -inquest?" - -"I asked him. I told him the paper found in the handwriting of the -deceased would be very awkward." - -"What did he say?" - -"That it looked very awkward, no doubt; but that many people got into -awkward positions and got out of them again." - -"I asked him had he been summoned as a witness, and he said naturally -he had, as he was the last person who saw the dead man alive." - -"By Jove, O'Brien! Go on." - -"I asked him how he thought the death occurred. He said that was -beyond him to say. He had no doubt it was accidental, and that the -memorandum on the piece of paper written under the influence of -delirium might be an idea created by chloroform, or while suffering -from a relapse of the old disease which seized him at Florence years -ago." - -"The same story identically. Did he say anything more?" - -"Yes. I asked him did anything unpleasant occur between himself and -Mr. Davenport that night?" - -"What did he say to that?" eagerly asked the attorney. - -"He looked at me doubtfully for a moment. 'O'Brien,' he said, 'you -know more about this than the outside public. You are interested in -it?' I said I was interested in it very indirectly. 'Very well, -then,' said he, 'I'm going to the inquest. You come with me and then -you shall hear the truth as far as I know it.'" - -"This put me in a queer fix. I had not up to this told him I was on -my way to this place. I could not keep the fact any longer to myself, -so I told him I expected to find friends here, nothing more; and I -asked him if I might communicate the substance of what he had said to -them. He gave me full liberty. After all this, you will see I could -not very well shake him off. When we got here he shook himself off. -Mrs. Davenport's name was never mentioned by either of us. He did not -show the least curiosity when I said I took an indirect interest in -the case." - -A few minutes after this the four men moved into the inn, and the -coroner having arrived, the jury were sworn, and after returning from -Crescent House, the business of taking evidence began. - -After formal identification of the body by Mr. Edward Davenport, the -witness examined was Alfred Paulton. He told his story simply and -briefly, and answered the questions of the coroner and jury with -precision. When what may be regarded as the examination-in-chief was -over, Mr. Bertram Spencer, legal representative of Mr. Edward -Davenport, put a few questions through the coroner. Paulton's replies -were in effect: - -No, he had never seen Mr. Davenport alive. When Dr. Santley and he -entered the room where Mr. Davenport lay, deceased was then dead. At -least, so he believed. He had no acquaintance with the effects of -chloroform. He had never been in the room with a dead person before. -Mrs. Davenport, upon his invitation, accompanied him to his father's -house, also in Half Moon Lane. Paulton was asked a few more -questions, but nothing new came out. - -Dr. Santley was then examined. He stated that Mr. Paulton called him -on the morning of the death. That he went immediately, as he happened -to be dressed and disengaged at the time. He found Mr. Davenport -quite dead. He thought life had been extinct for an hour or so; it -was impossible to say accurately. The body was not cold. He was -familiar with cases of spasmodic asthma. Practically it never killed -directly; that is, one never died of the spasm. In a spasm, the -heart, or head, or lungs, or aorta might give way, causing death. He -had never known a case of death from spasmodic asthma, pure and -simple. - -He was, of course, familiar with chloroform as an anæsthetic. He had -once seen a case of poisoning by chloroform. That case was -accidental. Chloroform was frequently used as a palliative in severe -cases of asthma. A small quantity sprinkled on a napkin or -handkerchief and held close to the nose and mouth very often afforded -temporary relief. This treatment had no effect on the disease beyond -mitigating the violence or putting an end to the spasm. Chloroform -should always be administered with great care, as it had frequently -been known to cause death. In the present case he found no napkin or -handkerchief lying near the body. In administering chloroform for -spasmodic asthma, the usual way was to fold a napkin so that when -open it would resemble rudely a funnel. Into the sharper end of the -funnel the chloroform was dropped, and then the mouth and nose of the -patient thrust into the more open end. The handkerchief of deceased -showed no trace of being used in the administration of chloroform, -nor did either of the napkins found in the room. There was a very -strong smell of chloroform about the place, and a large, a very large -quantity had been spilled over the beard and shirt and waistcoat of -deceased. The bottle produced was what was known as a two-ounce -bottle. The full of it, or half the full of it would, if sprinkled -over the shirt and beard and waistcoat, in all likelihood cause -death, provided the natural course of the vapour upwards towards the -mouth and nostrils was not interfered with. He could form no certain -opinion as to the cause of death. He had declined to certify because -he did not know. He would prefer giving no opinion. The brain, or -aorta, or heart might have given way without displaying any external -symptom. If the lungs had yielded, there would no doubt have been an -outward sign. In deaths by chloroform he was not acquainted with any -infallible outward sign. A _post-mortem_ examination would, he -thought, determine the cause of death. - -A few questions were then put on behalf of Mrs. Davenport. The case -of poisoning by chloroform which had come directly under his notice -was unquestionably accidental. A man who suffered acutely from -neuralgia was in the habit of using chloroform to allay pain. He was -found dead in his bed one morning with an empty bottle, which had -contained an ounce of the drug, by the side of his face and partly -under the clothes. It was possible, but very unlikely, that in the -present case the bottle might have been accidentally emptied by -deceased. Chloroform was denser than water, and would not run out of -such a bottle very quickly. It was most unlikely that any man in -possession of his senses would allow an ounce and a half of that -fluid to escape from such a bottle and fall on his beard and chest. -Assuming he was recumbent at the time, he would be obliged to hold -the bottle on a level with his eyes in order to pour the spirit on -his beard, and he would have to hold the bottle in that position for -an appreciable time. In his opinion, the poison had not got on -deceased accidentally. - -Up to this point the questions had all been put through the coroner. -Now Pringle suggested that it would be for the convenience of all -concerned if he himself might, by favour of the coroner, directly -interrogate the witness. This was agreed to, the coroner, before -proceeding any further, giving notice that no further evidence would -be taken that day, and that as soon as Dr. Santley's evidence was -concluded, the inquiry would be adjourned pending the result of the -_post-mortem_ examination. - -At this announcement Mr. Pringle expressed the greatest surprise. He -had been curious to learn why the medical evidence had been gone into -so early in the case. But knowing the coroner always acted with the -greatest tact and judgment, he had made no remark at the time. For -his part, he believed such a course, if followed, would be found very -inconvenient. - -Mrs. Davenport, in whose interest he was watching the case, was -particularly anxious to be examined to-day, as she felt the strain of -expectation in such an ordeal very great. - -The coroner said if Mrs. Davenport was anxious to be examined he -should be happy to take her evidence. - -In that case Mr. Pringle begged as a favour that he might be allowed -to reserve the few questions he had to ask Dr. Santley until after -Mrs. Davenport had been examined. To this also, after a little show -of resistance, the coroner acceded. - -Pringle had resolved to have her evidence taken to-day at any risk. -Several reasons urged him to this determination. It would look -better, or, rather, less bad, in the eyes of the public to state that -in a week's time her strength would be diminished by waiting and -anxiety; and to get her examined thus, after the point at which the -coroner had intended practically to close the evidence for that day -would, he felt certain, tend to mitigate the rigours of the -examination. - -Mrs. Davenport was called. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - - ANOTHER WITNESS. - - -There was a slight commotion in the dingy-room when this woman with -the lovely figure and beautiful head and face entered. The coroner -straightened himself and looked at her under his spectacles. The jury -leaned forward and stared, and the few members of the general public -who had succeeded in gaining admission to the room strained their -necks and shuffled their feet. - -She advanced quietly to the table at which the coroner sat, with the -jury on his right, and having thrown back her thick widow's veil and -ungloved her right hand, took the Book and kissed it when the proper -moment for doing so arrived. The coroner pointed to a chair, and told -her she might be seated. She simply bowed and remained standing. - -She was pale, rigid, collected. The coroner busied himself with the -pens, ink, and paper before him for a little while, and then asked -her to tell them all she knew of the night and event under -consideration. - -When she spoke her voice was clear and firm--as free from emotion as -though she was repeating an old task by rote. The earlier portions of -what she said may be partly omitted, for they have been already -related to Alfred Paulton and Richard Pringle. For the sake of -conciseness, the remainder of the evidence taken that day will, in -the case of each witness, follow the order of events in narrative -form, and not the order of events as given by the witnesses. - -"She and her husband arrived at Crescent House the night he died. He -was not so well as usual, but she had known the asthma more -troublesome. They had supper together. He ate more sparingly than -usual. They were alone in the house. He decided upon resting on the -couch all night. No room but her sleeping room was in anything like -order. She was tired after the journey. They had come from Chester -that day. Her husband suggested she should go to bed. At about ten -o'clock she went to her room, but resolved not to lie down yet, as -she was anxious about her husband, and resolved to see him once more, -and put more coal on the fire before retiring finally. She sat down -in a chair, and, being overcome with fatigue and drowsiness, fell -asleep. She had no means of telling exactly when she fell asleep, but -she thought she must have been about twenty minutes in her room -before she grew unconscious. - -"Close to midnight she awoke with a start. It must have been the -opening of the dining-room door that aroused her. She had left her -bed-room door ajar, and the carpets not being down, sounds were -exaggerated and travelled far. - -"She listened and heard voices--the voices of two people, two men. -She knew the two voices. One was that of her husband--the other that -of Mr. Thomas Blake. Both voices seemed friendly, but she did not -catch the words. Shortly after she heard Mr. Blake distinctly say -'Good-night,' and her husband answer 'Good-night, Blake.' She was -quite positive these were the words spoken, and that the tones were -friendly--yes, she was prepared to swear, cordial. Then she heard a -man's footstep on the uncarpeted boards of the hall, and in a moment -the front door was closed. - -"Some time elapsed before she went down--half-an-hour, or perhaps a -little more. She had a reason for not going down immediately. From -the time the front door was shut until she went down she had not -heard a sound, not the faintest sound, in the house. A slight noise -arising in the dining-room, where she had left Mr. Davenport, would -be inaudible to her; but she felt almost certain no one could in that -interval of time enter or leave the house without her hearing him. - -"At twenty minutes past twelve she descended and crept cautiously -into the dining-room, wishing not to disturb her husband if he should -be sleeping. Her husband was reclining on the couch in very nearly -the same attitude she had left him; it was such as he always took -when his cough prevented his lying down. - -"She believed he was sleeping, and stood gazing at him for a few -seconds. Then, becoming uneasy, she did not know why, she called him -several times, and failing to arouse him with her voice, she placed -her hand on his shoulder. She now became grievously alarmed, for he -had always been a remarkably light sleeper. She listened for his -breathing, but could hear nothing. - -"After a few moments she became terrified, desperate, and, going to -the front door, opened it and attracted the attention of Mr. Paulton, -who in a short time brought Dr. Santley, who said he was dead. - -"Yes; she identified that bottle. It was the one in which her husband -used to keep chloroform. He had the bottle always by him. When she -left him to go to her room that night two hours earlier the bottle -was more than three-quarters full of chloroform, and the cork was in -it. Thirty or forty drops was the quantity her husband generally used -at a time. He always spilled the chloroform into a napkin formed into -a rude resemblance of a cornucopia, and then inhaled it. To her -knowledge, he never used the drug internally, nor in any way but that -described. - -"I have known Mr. Thomas Blake for many years. We were once secretly -engaged to be married, but my father broke the matter off, and I -married Mr. Davenport, who was much older than I--twenty-five or -twenty-six years older. When Mr. Blake was a very young man he met -Mr. Davenport abroad, so my late husband told me. It was Mr. Blake -introduced my late husband to me. At that time Mr. Blake and I were -secretly engaged. After this engagement was known to my father and -broken off by him, as far as his forbidding me to see Mr. Blake, I -still communicated with Mr. Blake and received letters from him. -These were surreptitious communications. - -"Mr. Davenport then proposed to me and I refused him. Shortly after -this I received a letter from Mr. Blake, saying there was no use in -our continuing to hope we should one day be married, as neither of us -had any money or the chance of getting any, and consequently we ought -to make up our minds to resign ourselves to fate. Shortly after this -Mr. Davenport proposed to me again and I accepted him. We were -married a few months later, and have most of the time since then -resided at Mr. Davenport's place near Kilcash, in the county of -Waterford. - -"The terms upon which Mr. Blake gave me up will be told you by -himself. I had nothing to do with that bargain. After an absence of a -little time from Ireland, Mr. Blake came back and stayed occasionally -in Kilcash, close to which my husband's house was. I saw little of -Mr. Blake. My husband met him now and then. In those days I believe -Mr. Blake gave me up solely for the reason mentioned in the letter of -which I have spoken. Subsequently I found out other considerations -had been working in Mr. Blake's mind. - -"My marriage with Mr. Davenport was not a love-match. A variety of -reasons urged me into marrying him. Among these reasons I cannot -count love. I have diligently, conscientiously done my duty by him -for ten years. I never pretended or professed to love him. I -respected his moral code, but his social and intellectual faculties -did not impress, did not interest me, and certainly did not gain my -esteem. We lived in peace and comfort. He never once quarrelled with -me--I never with him. - -"I said I had a reason for not going down immediately after Mr. Blake -left the house the other night. My reason was that generally after a -visit from Mr. Blake, Mr. Davenport was unpleasantly excited with, as -I even then thought, a lingering feeling of jealousy. At such times -he never said anything harsh or unpleasant of Mr. Blake or of myself, -but he was certain to become feverishly angry with some one or other; -and believing that after such a journey, and with so bad a cough, it -would be injurious to him to excite himself unduly, I kept back -awhile. - -"I had the strongest possible objection to having this unhappy -occurrence made the object of official inquiry or public comment. I -would not have spoken as I have since I came in here for any other -consideration in the world than my inability to tell anything that is -not true. - -"I would not swear anything that was not true to save my life; no, -nor to save the life of any one living or any one who has lived. You -ask me did I not perjure myself when I swore at the altar to love my -late husband. I say I did not. When I took that oath I meant to -keep it. I meant to try and love him with all my--I will not say -heart--with all my reason, if such an expression may be allowed. I -was fully honest when I took the oath. When you do all you can to -carry out your promise, and yet fail in the end, there is no flaw. -One cannot control the inevitable. - -"Now that all is known, all my recent life laid bare, who is the -richer? Does any one wonder I had no liking to expose what has been -told of since I came into this place? You, Mr. Edward Davenport, -have, in the moment of her sorest trial, done all you could to injure -the character of your brother's wife. You had not the courage to -attack her openly when she was a widow, but must shamble and crouch -behind a hireling advocate--a creature who would pocket as clean the -gold of any one even more leprous than himself." - -And before the coroner could collect himself, or stay her by gesture, -she had swept out of the room. - -From beginning to end her voice had never altered in pitch. The -concluding words were spoken in the same manner as those of the -opening. Hence when the import of her final words began to reach the -minds of the hearers, she had finished, and was in the act of leaving -the room. Her words "shamble" and "crouch" were peculiarly applicable -to Edward Davenport at the time, for no sooner did she begin her -reference to him than she pointed him out, and he instinctively -shrank behind his solicitor, to whom he had been prompting questions -most offensive. - -When the murmur which followed the disappearance of Mrs. Davenport -had subsided, and the coroner had somewhat recovered from his -astonishment, Thomas Blake stood up, stepped forward to the table, -and, laying his hand on it, said: - -"I am the last person who saw Mr. Louis Davenport alive. I desire to -be examined." - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - BLAKE'S EVIDENCE. - - -When Blake stood up and tendered his testimony, a murmur of ugly -import ran through the room. In all there were not more than fifty -people present, but the fifty were typical of the general public, and -already feeling ran high against Blake. - -He looked around contemptuously, defiantly. At one moment it seemed -as though he was about to laugh outright. The public can endure -anything better than derision. The murmur grew to a groan. Silence -was called in a tyrannical tone. The coroner pushed his spectacles up -on his forehead, and regarded Blake steadfastly for a few seconds. - -A square-built man, of medium height, stood before the judge. His -hair was short, crisp, grizzled. He wore his hat jauntily in front of -his waistcoat, and had an eye-glass fixed in his left eye. In the -hand which held his hat he carried a stout oak stick. His hat was a -soft felt one; his clothes light, coarse tweed, of pepper-and-salt -colour. His brow was firm, low, and handsome; his complexion florid, -the colour of his eyes bright blue. He wore no hair on his face but -heavy, grizzled moustachios. His boots were patent leather. He was -ungloved. - -The coroner, an old and venerable-looking man, viewed Blake with -anything but favour. - -"Do I understand you to say, sir, that you are the person who saw -deceased last before his death?" - -This was said in a grave, monitory-tone. - -"So I believe," said Blake, lightly; "and as I am most anxious to -tell all I know, I should like to be examined before the -adjournment." - -"I had determined to take no more evidence to-day than would warrant -me in adjourning until a _post-mortem_ examination could be made." - -"Well, if you examine me, it may save the police trouble." - -The coroner looked at the inspector who was watching the case, and -then at Pringle and Bertram Spencer, who were watching the case for -the widow and brother of the deceased. The inspector looked down and -smiled; Pringle looked up at the ceiling in unpleasant doubt; but -Spencer, who represented Mr. Edward Davenport, was urgent that Blake -should be heard. The public were also anxious Blake should be -examined. The public were athirst for blood or scandal. In this case -the public was unwashed and evil-visaged. Even the jury, who were not -there by choice, had a forbidding, ghoul-like, and clayey look. The -coroner was scrupulously clean. He was blanched and ghostly. Alfred -Paulton looked like one suffering from a hideous nightmare. The -inspector was grim, sardonic, rigid; the coroner's clerk sullen and -sleepy, and seemed to think the last thing which in fairness ought to -trouble a coroner's clerk was a coroner's inquest. - -In that dull, saddened room, lit by the wan February light, the only -bright-looking figure or face was that of Thomas Blake, upon whom -rested a strong suspicion of murder. - -After some talk and thought, the coroner resolved to take Thomas -Blake's evidence, and having cautioned the witness, which made the -witness smile in a way that provoked the public, he took down Blake's -version of the story. Again it will be most convenient to throw the -evidence into the form of uninterrupted narrative: - -"I am now thirty-six years of age. I have known the late Mr. -Davenport for many years. I knew him abroad before I met him in -Ireland. It was in Florence that I met him first. I was introduced to -him by an American gentleman, a sculptor by profession. I saw a good -deal of Mr. Davenport when I was in Florence. I am now speaking of -eleven or twelve years ago. While I was on friendly terms with him in -that city his mind was affected. He suffered from a delusion that -there was a conspiracy to kill and rob him. He usually at that time -carried valuable jewels and considerable sums of money on his person. -I often advised him to give up that habit, but my words for some time -produced no effect on him. Then, all at once, they seemed to operate, -and he turned on me and said, with great fury, that if there were -danger to his property or person he had no one to fear but me. - -"At that time I was a needy man, and I had borrowed money of him, -which I have never repaid. That is so. During the time Mr. Davenport -was ill--was suffering from this delusion or suspicion--I was -constantly with him. I do not think he disclosed to any one but me -the delusions or suspicions he was under. When he recovered he made -me swear most solemnly I would never tell a soul. Then he lent me, -or, if you prefer it, gave me, more money, and left Florence, and I -lost sight of him until I met him in Ireland. - -"I do not consider my conduct in that matter dishonourable. I had -done him a service by minding him and keeping his malady private, and -he gave me money for my services. Yes, and for my silence, if you -like. - -"I do not know whether my conduct would be considered gentlemanly. I -am not here to give an opinion, but to state facts. If an opinion of -gentlemanly conduct is required, why not have an attorney's clerk -from the purlieus of Lincoln's Inn Fields as an expert? I beg your -pardon, sir, I should not have used such words, but I heard that -question suggested by Mr. Davenport. - -"I did not again see the late Mr. Davenport on the Continent. The -next time we met was in Ireland. Yes; at that time I was paying -attentions to Mrs. Davenport, who was then Miss Butler. When the -deceased came on the scene, Miss Butler and I were secretly engaged -to one another--engaged to one another without the knowledge of Miss -Butler's father. I was then practically without means or the -reasonable expectation of getting any; but, then, few young men in -such a position are very particular as to whether the expectation is -reasonable or not. If they expect, that is enough for them." - -Then the witness gave evidence in the same line as that of the widow. -While this part of the inquiry was progressing, a light rain began to -fall. The evidence of Blake went on: - -"It was I who broke off the engagement between Miss Butler and -myself. By the time that occurred, Mr. Butler had discovered the -existence of the private engagement. He was very indignant, and -forbade me his house. This was at Scrouthea, Mr. Butler's place in -the county of Cork. - -"I took no notice of Mr. Butler's prohibition. I communicated with -Miss Butler as often as I thought fit and could find an opportunity. -But at this time I began to feel there would be no chance of our ever -marrying. The opposition of Mr. Butler continued undiminished. Mr. -Davenport did not cease to importune, and at that time I lost the -last money I had in the world on a horse. - -"It was not purely matters of prudence that made me desist in my -suit. I saw now quite plainly there was no use in my continuing to -hope. Persistence would only waste the lives of both of us. All this -time Mr. Davenport and I were on speaking terms. I was in no fear of -his supplanting me in the affections of Miss Butler, and he was in -abject fear of me. - -"His fear of me arose from the power I had of telling of the seizure -to which I had seen him subjected in Florence. Like all men who are a -little odd, his great aversion was from being thought odd, and the -notion of any one suspecting him of insanity filled him with absolute -horror. - -"To be brief, I told him I had lost the last shilling I had in the -world, and that consequently I had made up my mind Miss Butler and I -could never more be anything else but friends, and that I would leave -the country if I had the means. He asked me to say nothing about what -I had seen in Florence, shook me by the hand, and lent or gave me a -thousand pounds. With that thousand pounds I went out of the country. -Before leaving, I wrote to Miss Butler saying all must be at an end -between us because of my poverty, arising from my loss on the Turf. - -"How much did I lose on the horse? Let me see. All I had. How much -was that? Let me see again. About seven hundred and fifty pounds." - -"But when Mr. Davenport had given you the thousand pounds, you were -better off than before the race. Why, then, did you renounce Miss -Butler?" - -"Yes, no doubt, I was even better off; but do you think I could -honourably employ this man's money in taking away from him the woman -he loved?" - -"And do you think it was honourable for you to give her up, and take -hush money from your rival?" - -"I am here, as I said before, to state facts, not to give opinions. -When gentlemen want opinions, they hire lawyers to give them." - -"You gave up the lady to whom you were engaged, and black-mailed your -friend for a thousand pounds?" - -"I give up the facts to you. It is the duty of the attorney to -embellish them. I am not, Mr. Coroner, bound to answer questions -which are simply rhetorical." - -The coroner merely shook his head, and the evidence went on: - -"From the day I bade Mr. Davenport good-bye in Ireland, ten years -ago, until the day of his death, I often saw Mr. Davenport, and spoke -to him." - -"And you heard from him? You received communications from him?" - -"Yes." - -"And money?" - -"Yes, from time to time I received money from him by letter." - -"Was that money black-mail?" - -"I wrote him saying I was in want of money, and he sent me money -accompanied by friendly letters. You are at liberty to call it what -you like. If you search his papers, no doubt you will find my letters -to him. I did not keep copies of them, nor did I keep his replies. - -"Yes; I had an object in calling on him the night he died. I had -heard he was in London, or coming to London, and I got the address in -Dulwich. I had business with him. It was to get more money from him. -You may say 'extract more money from him' if you like. - -"I knocked at the door. He opened it himself. He complained of his -asthma, said there was no servant in the house, and that Mrs. -Davenport had gone to bed. He asked me to go into the dining-room, -which I found as has been described, and we sat and chatted for some -time in a most agreeable manner. We talked of indifferent things. Of -course we spoke of Mrs. Davenport. He said, in talking of her, that -although theirs had not been a love-match, they had got on -wonderfully well together, and that he was quite happy, and he -believed she was contented. He asked how long I purposed staying in -London, and I said only a few days. Then he invited me to call on -Mrs. Davenport and himself when they were in better trim----" - -"What--what is that you say?" shouted Mr. Edward Davenport, starting -to his feet and gesticulating wildly. "It's perjury--wilful and -corrupt perjury!" - -It was with the greatest difficulty Bertram Spencer could prevail -upon his client to resume his seat and keep silent. After a while -Blake was allowed to continue his evidence: - -"I promised to come the next evening but one, and he said that would -suit them admirably. Then he smiled and said he was sure this was not -merely a visit of ceremony, and that he supposed I would allow him to -be of any use I chose. I told him he was quite right, that I had no -money, and that two hundred pounds would be of the greatest service -to me at that moment. He said he had not so much by him, but that he -would give me a hundred now and another hundred when I called the -next day but one. 'That will be,' said he, 'the 19th of February.' He -added that he'd make a memorandum of it, and he did so in the -pocket-book which has been produced here by the police. After that -nothing passed but 'Good-nights' on both sides, and then I went away, -closing the front door after me." - -Here reference was made to the pocket-book, but no such entry as that -described could be found. There was no such entry in the book. - -Then, having cautioned the witness again, the coroner said two leaves -of the book had been torn out, one of which had been found. On the -leaf found appeared words of the gravest import. They were: - -"_Pretended death. Blake gone. He emptied chloroform over me--held me -down. Can't stir. Dying_." - -Could witness give any explanation of this? - -"No; I can give no explanation of that writing. It is perfectly -untrue. When I left the presence of the man now dead he seemed to be -in as good health as his asthma would allow. My only way of -accounting for what followed is that, after my leaving, he -administered some chloroform to himself. This disturbed his reason, -and he suffered from a return of the old delusion he had suffered in -Florence----" - -"And of which you are the only living person who knows, or ever did -know, anything?" - -"Yes." - -"And further?" - -"And further, that while suffering under this delusion, and being -greatly excited and rendered tremulous by it, he accidentally spilled -the remainder of the chloroform over himself." - -"He did not show any suicidal tendency, or say anything of suicide -while you were present?" - -"No; on the contrary, he seemed in very good spirits, and spoke quite -cheerfully of the future. By-the-way, I forgot to mention one saying -of his. When asking me to come and see Mrs. Davenport and himself on -the 19th, he said, 'You know I am not afraid of a rival now. We are -none of us as young as we were ten years ago, and if you have kept -single with the notion of marrying a rich widow--she will be rich, -Blake--you will have a weary time to wait; for asthma gives a long -lease to life." - -Here the inquiry was adjourned for four days in order to give time -for the _post-mortem_ examination. - -As the people began to leave their places, Richard Pringle whispered -to Jerry O'Brien: - -"That man Blake has put his head into the halter and kicked away the -barrel from under his feet." - -When Pringle and O'Brien got out of that room in the "Wolfdog," they -looked everywhere for Alfred Paulton. He was not to be found. He had -disappeared, leaving no word or trace behind him. - -As Blake left the inn, two men, dressed like stable-helpers, came up -to him and said they arrested him on suspicion of being concerned in -the murder of the late Mr. Louis Davenport. - -The rain was now falling in torrents. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - ALFRED PAULTON'S WALK. - - -It was now pitch dark. The rain rushed downward through the still air -in overwhelming sheets. Through the leafless trees it fell with a -shrill, constant hiss. On the open road it beat with a loud dull -rolling sound, sometimes like the dull murmur of distant traffic, -sometimes like, the distant roar of a mighty concourse of people. - -Out beyond the lamps of the town there was not a glimmer of light -to be seen anywhere. If one turned one's face upwards, the source -of the rain seemed not to be more than a few feet overhead. If one -turned one's face to the ground, a thick heavy vapour, born of the -shattered drops, rose warm against one's mouth and eyes. There -was no noise abroad but that of the incessant deluge. If it had -abated or increased, one would have thought it was the result of a -thunder-storm. But it did not alter in character or decree. It was a -constant torrent, not a fitful flood. - -It was between six and seven o'clock when Alfred Paulton found -himself walking on a lonely road under this fierce downpour. How he -got there he did not know. He had a confused memory of what had taken -place within the past few hours. He had no clue whatever to where he -now was. He had no more than a blurred image of the scene in that -low, dingy, ill-lighted room at the "Wolfdog Inn." Even when Mrs. -Davenport was giving evidence his attention had been but feebly -aroused. He had felt drowsy, jaded. He then told himself that it -would be much better for him to go home and have some rest and sleep. -He had been without proper sleep for three nights. He had been too -much excited to get to sleep soundly, and when for a time he fell -into an uneasy doze, he had awakened with a shudder and a start from -some dire form of nightmare, in which familiar forms and faces had -been cruelly jumbled in hideous events. - -But on this unknown road, and now, after wandering he knew not how -long, all at once he was smitten with a sharp impression of his -present situation. He moved his eyes this way and that in quick -anxiety. It is not possible to say he looked in the sense that -looking takes in objects by means of sight. He could hear and feel -the rain, and smell the heavy damp vapour rising from the ground, -from the flooded road at his feet. But if sight had been painlessly -taken from him at that moment, he would have been unconscious of -loss. - -A feeling of desolation and infrangible solitude came upon him. - -He paused in his walk and listened. His ears caught nothing but the -muffled hiss of the rain through the air, the angry-beat of it among -the leafless trees, and the slashing singing of it on the flooded -ground. The effect of it was an awful combination of the darkness of -the grave, an inviolate solitude, and a deluge lacking merciful power -to overwhelm. - -He would have greeted any companion with joy. The society of the -humblest beast, the most abject man, would have cheered him almost -beyond the bounds of reason. - -The completeness of his isolation was not due merely to external -forces combined with physical and mental exhaustion. The hollow -spaces of his imagination were filled with ghostly hints of an -unendurable crime. In the caverns of his thought was no pageant of -people or of things. No words or echoes of words sounded through the -dim, unexplorable vaults. Everywhere within there was the look of -sacrilege by bloodshed, the faint unendurable replication of dying -groans. The marks of a red hand were on all the walls, the last moans -of a murdered man filled the concave gloom. - -He had heard that man Blake give his evidence freely, almost -jauntily. He had seen that other man lying dead in the disordered -room. As he had listened to the evidence of Blake, he had felt the -air about his head grow cold with awe, while his whole frame froze -with terror. All the people in the room where that accursed tale was -told believed instinctively that this man, talking with such odious -glibness, was a perjurer and an assassin. - -Ugh! It was horrible--too horrible for a sane human being to dwell -upon! He would give all he had in the world to be able to banish the -memory of the past few days from his mind. But a curse had fallen -upon him, and now no other event of all his life would stay with him -for one brief minute to keep him away from this awful scene. - -When in that room where the inquest was held he had felt very cold. -Now he was hot, uncomfortably hot. This was strange; for there he had -been under cover, and there had been a fire in the room. Here not -only was he in the open air, but under a fierce downpour of rain. -Indeed it was one of the greatest storms of rain he had ever been out -in. The rain was useful in one way--it would cool him. - -Ah, that was much better! To take off his hat and let the cool rain -beat on his bare head was a luxury--a delicious luxury. It was indeed -a luxury such as he had wished for in vain a little while ago; for it -not only took away the great, unaccountable heat from which he would -otherwise have suffered most severely, but, better a thousandfold, it -kept his mind from running on the events of a few days back, and this -day in particular. The effect of rain falling on his bare head was to -banish thought from the brain, and give the brain rest. - -What an extraordinary thing the brain was! Awhile ago he had been -able to recall hardly any of the circumstances of the inquest; then -they all rushed into his mind, causing him great disquietude; and now -the mere falling of rain on his uncovered head had put him into a -wholesome and almost pleasant state of mind! - -The heat was gradually getting less. Yes, there could be no mistake -about that. A few minutes since it seemed as though it would take -hours to reduce the temperature to the degree it had already reached. -Keeping the hat off was no longer necessary. In fact, it was no -longer comfortable to go uncovered. He would put on his hat. - -He was wet through now--thoroughly wet. He must have been soaked -before that great heat came upon him. It was very extraordinary that -he should feel so hot while the water was absolutely running down -under his clothes. - -Ah, a chill now! Unmistakably a chill, and he could see no sign of -human habitation anywhere--no place which could afford him shelter. -In fact, he could make nothing whatever out except the rain, and that -was revealed to him by the sense of touch, not by the sense of sight. -How cold the rain was, too! He had never felt rain so cold. The air -must then be twenty degrees colder than it had been a few minutes -ago. He had never until now experienced so sudden a fall of -temperature. - -He was shivering, too. His teeth were chattering. How delighted he -would be to find any kind of shelter, and a good fire to warm himself -at! This was very lonely and wretched. He was hardly able to walk -now, and yet with his present chill anything was better than to -stand. The thought of sitting down was out of the question. No one -but a madman would sit down in such rain, and with clothes soaked -through. He had been miserably wrong to uncover his head for so long -a time. To that foolish act must be attributed this chill. Ugh! he -was barely able to stagger along. This was the most dismal night he -had ever passed in all his life. - -But uncovering his head to the rain was not the only foolish thing he -had done this night. Had he not wandered sillily along some roads--he -knew not where--until he had lost his way? Now he was far from -lamplight--where he knew not; whither to turn he could not decide if -he had a choice. At present he every now and then ran up against the -hedge, and this was the only thing which told him he was walking on a -road. - -He wondered what o'clock it was. When did he leave that dreadful room -where the inquest had been held? He could not tell, but it was the -moment Blake's evidence was over. The moment Blake moved from the -table at which the coroner sat, he had stolen away, and, he thought, -run a good while, until he was out of breath. How long that was since -he could not tell--could not guess. - -Merciful Heavens! Suppose the night was yet young--suppose it was now -no more than midnight, or eleven, or ten o'clock--what was to become -of him? There would be no daylight until close to seven. Could it be -that he would have to wander on thus for eight or ten hours more? The -thought was absurd. He should drop down of exhaustion, of cold, long -before that time. - -Cold! Why, what could be the meaning of this? Already the feeling of -cold was passing away, and he felt quite warm--very hot. This was an -improvement on the sensation a little while ago. - -No matter whether he felt hot or cold now, this day had done him -one invaluable service. It had cured him of any romantic feeling he -had had for that strangely beautiful woman. Now all that had happened -in that room where the inquest had been held came back vividly to -him. Murder had been done, and there could be no doubt in the mind -of any reasonable man that Blake had done the awful deed, and that -she---- No, no; he mustn't think that even now. It was plain, at all -events, that Blake had once been loved by her, and there was nothing -to show that she was now indifferent to Blake. Had she not supported -his absurd theory respecting the death of the man who had been -murdered? - -The heat was becoming bad again--worse than ever. His head was -burning. It felt as though a cap of tight-fitting metal pressed upon -it. The cold of a little time back was hard to endure, but it seemed -a positive pleasure compared with this awful sensation of bursting at -the temples. He must have relief some way, any way, no matter at what -cost in the future. - -Off with the hat again. The rain did not cool so quickly or so -effectually, but it afforded great alleviation. There was no positive -sense of pleasure from it now--only a dulling, deadening of a feeling -which was not exactly pain, but gave rise to a helpless, lethargic -state of brain. - -His limbs were heavier than they had yet seemed, and he had great -difficulty in persuading himself that the water which rose no higher -than an inch on the road was not tenacious mud half a foot deep. - -Keep on thus for several hours! Impossible! One might as well expect -to walk for the same time on red-hot ploughshares. - -Oh, he felt sick and weary beyond endurance! No light to be -seen--nothing whatever visible. And along this road no succour was -likely to come, while the rain poured down as though a second -destruction of earth by water was at hand. - -What!--cold again so soon! Distracting! Maddening! - -Ah, this was fever--fever of some awful kind--and no help at hand. He -could not keep on another hour. Bah!--not half-an-hour. - -Merciful heavens, what was this? Lights and the sounds of horses and -the shouts of men! - -He felt himself knocked down. With a prodigious effort he staggered -to his feet and cried out: - -"Help!--for heavens sake, help!" - -Succour had arrived at the last moment. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - - "I SHALL BE READY FOR MY DEATH WHEN - THEY ARE READY FOR IT!" - - -That evening, when Richard Pringle ascertained Alfred Paulton had -left the "Wolfdog Inn," he came to the conclusion that he had -hastened home with an account of the day's proceedings. He resolved -to go and seek Mrs. Davenport at once. - -He had ordered a carriage to be in readiness to take her and him back -to London. Since she had finished giving her evidence, she had -remained in the private room upstairs. The rain was now falling -heavily. - -As the solicitor stood on the doorstep under the portico bidding -Jerry O'Brien good-evening, he saw the two men, who looked like -stable-helpers, go up to Tom Blake and speak to him. He had noticed -these men during the day, and when he saw them speak to Blake, he -knew what their business with him was. - -On a motion from one of the two, a cab drew up a little way from the -door of the inn. Tom Blake and the two men got into it, and the cab -drove off. Then Pringle went back into the inn, spoke a few words to -the police inspector, and sent up word to Mrs. Davenport that he and -the carriage were ready. - -In a few minutes she came down, looking as calm and impassible as -ever. With some commonplace remarks about the rain, he handed her in, -and then took his seat beside her. - -For a while they drove in perfect silence. She broke it by asking -what had occurred since she left the room downstairs. - -He briefly told her the substance of Blake's evidence, softening down -the sentimental portions as far as they had relation to herself, but -setting forth fully and fairly the salient points of his history. - -She listened without a word. She had heard the coroner say the -inquiry would not close that day. She therefore knew nothing final -was to be decided immediately. But although Pringle knew she was -aware of this, he was surprised that upon his ending she said -nothing, made no comment, seemed but sparingly interested, although -she listened with attention. At last he thought best to volunteer -something. - -"I am afraid," he said, "that although we may be able to corroborate -every word of Mr. Blake's, as far as facts are concerned, his -hypothesis will not have much influence with the jury." - -"Why?" - -"Did you know Mr. Blake got money from Mr. Davenport on the very -night of the 17th?" - -In the darkness of the carriage here, he was free from the spell of -her beauty, and spoke in a purely professional tone. - -"I did," she answered. "Mr. Blake told me." - -"That admission took me by surprise. It would greatly facilitate the -discharge of my duty towards you if you would even _now_ take me a -little more fully into your confidence." - -"There is nothing farther to tell--nothing further to conceal," she -said, in a slow, emotionless voice. - -He threw himself back, and did not speak at once. At length he moved -uneasily in his place, and said, after deliberation: - -"I appealed to you once, and cautioned you several times. I may now -tell you, as a matter of certainty, not as a matter of my own -personal opinion, but of ascertained fact, that the theory of what I -_must_ now call the defence will not stand a trial, and that a trial -there will be." - -"I have nothing to add," she said, in an unmoved tone. - -"Up to this I have not told you the most unpleasant, the most -significant and alarming fact of all." - -"What is that?"--in the same voice. - -"I hope you will try and face the horrible position with fortitude. I -spoke of a trial as now inevitable." - -"You mean something more than this inquest?"--in the same tone, but a -little more deliberately. - -"Yes. This is only an inquiry into the place, time, and cause of -death. No one is on trial for a crime as yet." - -"You mean"--without any variation in accent--"that some one will be -tried for the murder of my late husband?" - -He was silent. - -She put her next question in a perfectly cold and steady manner: - -"You mean that I will be tried for the murder of my late husband?" - -"Great heavens--no!" he cried, throwing himself forward with a -violent start. "Who put such a monstrous thought into your head?" - -Although the thought had frequently occurred to him, from her lips, -and now, it came to him with a powerful shock. - -"You." - -"I--I put such a thought into your head! Mrs. Davenport, you cannot -mean what you say? It is too dreadful!" - -"I will not say you ever put the thought in as precise words as I -have used; but at our first meeting it was in your mind, and at our -first meeting it entered my mind that you considered it at all events -possible that I might be tried for the murder of my husband. You need -not be afraid of shocking me. Nothing can shock me now. What is the -important fact you are keeping back? I wish to know it at once." - -"Mr. Blake has been arrested this evening. He was arrested as he left -the 'Wolfdog Inn.'" - -"Is that all?" - -"All! Why, it is a matter of life and death with him, as things now -look. He must have been mad to give the evidence he did to-day." - -"And when am I to be arrested? Or perhaps I am already arrested, and -the driver is a policeman?" - -"No, no. Nor is there, as far as I can see, a likelihood of anything -so horrible taking place." - -"Neither the trial nor the scaffold would have the least horror for -me now, I shall be ready for my death when they are ready for it. -This is my place--for the present, at all events." - -They had arrived in Jermyn Street, and she alighted. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - THE VERDICT. - - -It was a strange room, large and bright and fresh. The air of it was -cool without being cold. After all, was it a strange room? Had he not -seen it, or something like it, before! But perhaps it was in a dream -he had seen that other room. A dream? Much of what had been resembled -a dream. Did not all the past look like a dream? How was one to know -whether the past had been dream or reality? He could not say. At all -events, he was too tired to decide any difficult question. He would -go to sleep now--at least he would shut his eyes. That bright, cold -glitter of winter sunlight pained his eyes. - -If before falling asleep, and while his eyes were thus closed and his -body at rest, he could get a drink of cool, sweet water, how -deliciously refreshing it would be! - -How hot he was! It wasn't an agreeable kind of heat, but a dull, -dead, smouldering heat that parched his skin, his tongue, his bones, -his marrow. - -Why, it was hotter than it had been last night on the road! - -On the road! Last night! What did all that mean? Oh, he was too tired -to think any more. Let him try to rest--to sleep. - -Dusk. Yes, there could be no doubt the daylight was fading. At this -time of the year the days were short. He had been asleep some time, -for the last thing he remembered was that it was full daylight. He -was then in some difficulty as to this room. He was under the -impression it was a strange room. Could a more absurd idea enter the -mind of man? Is it possible he could not identify his own bed-room? -What would come next? What should he forget next? His own name, no -doubt. - -The thirst continued. It was even greater than it had been. He could -get water if he went to the dressing-table. But, strange as it might -seem, he had the greatest desire to go to the table and drink the -water, but not the will. How was that? Why did he not spring out of -bed and quench his thirst? - -It was easy to think of springing out of bed, but quite impossible to -do anything of the kind. Why, he could not move his feet or hands -with ease. Ah, yes, it was quite plain! He had been ill--very ill. -That would account for all--for the confusion in awaking, the thirst, -the weakness. How long had he been ill, and what had ailed him? - -This thirst was no longer tolerable. He must drink. - -"Water!" - -How thin and weak his voice sounded! It was almost ridiculous. If -anything could ever again be ridiculous, his voice was. But nothing -could ever again be ridiculous. Everything was serious and dull, and -would so continue from that time forward. It was strange no one came. -If he had been ill they would hardly leave him alone. He must try -again. - -"Water!" - -Instantly a figure stood between his eyes and the fading light in the -window. - -"You are better, Alfred?" - -"Yes, Madge. Water." - -His sister poured out some, and handed him the glass. He drank with -avidity, and felt refreshed. - -"I have been very ill, Madge?" - -"Yes, Alfred; but you will be all right in a short time, now that you -have begun to mend. So Dr. Santley says." - -Dr. Santley! Ah, that name set memory afoot. He lay pondering, still -unable to see distinctly the matters he wished. - -"How long have I been ill, Madge?" - -"Several days." - -"I have been unconscious?" - -"Yes. But you are sure to be quite well in a little time." - -"I am not anxious about the future. I am trying to recall the past." - -"You are not to speak much, and you are on no account to excite -yourself." - -"I must be in possession of the facts of the past before I can rest. -Tell me what has happened--what happened just before I fell ill? I -have had fever, and been delirious." - -"You have; but you must keep quiet, or I shall go away." - -"I must know what took place before my illness, if I am to be at -ease. There was some trouble about the law--some inquiry. What was -it?" - -"Dr. Santley has forbidden me to speak of that matter. You have been -very ill, and your recovery depends on your keeping from excitement." - -"I must know. I shall become delirious again if you do not tell me." - -"My dear, dear Alfred, I cannot--I must not. You don't fancy for a -moment I am going to help you back into illness! You shall know all -in a little time; and now I must run away and tell father and mother -and Edith of the good change in you." - -"Send Edith to me, or mother. Either will tell me." - -"You are not to see any one but me to-day until Dr. Santley comes. -There's a dear fellow--rest content until I come back to you. Already -you have talked too much." - -She left the room in spite of his cry of protest and entreaty. - -In a slow, hopeless, helpless way his mind began working again. -Little by little some figures of the past reappeared, but not the -central one, the main incident. He knew an event of eminent -unpleasantness had occurred, and he knew it did not concern any -member of his own family. He knew it did not concern himself closely, -and yet that he had a profound interest in it. Santley was mixed up -with it in one way or another, but how he could not tell. The law had -been invoked; but in what manner or in whose regard was concealed -from him. He had a faint memory of a crowded room. Only one figure -stood out boldly, and that Tom Blake's. He knew his name, and could -describe him with minute accuracy; but why this man and his name were -so clearly defined in his recollection he could not tell. Around -Blake shone a fierce light; but whence it came or why it was there he -could not say. He felt Blake had to do with the legal matter; but in -what relation or capacity he could not determine. - -At length he resolved to give up trying to solve the riddle, and to -go to sleep again. It seemed better to go asleep and forget -everything than to lie awake remembering imperfectly. - -A shaded lamp was burning in the room when he again awoke. His mind -was now more vigorous and clear. Still there was great confusion and -uncertainty. He called, and his sister Madge got up and came to him -with a basin of arrowroot. She told him that Dr. Santley had called -and seen him while he slept, and that he was going on very well -indeed, but that there was no use in his asking questions; and, in -fact, that he was not to talk at all, but rest perfectly quiet, take -his food and go to sleep again--sleep and food being his chief needs -now. - -Young Paulton protested and expostulated, but in vain; so he was left -in the same state of vague uncertainty which he was in when he awoke. - -Next morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, all that had been lost -came back to him in a flash. Nothing was wanting. The repose of the -night and the food had invigorated his brain, and allowed it to fill -in the gaps which existed the night before. - -Madge was not in the room when he awoke. The moment she came back he -said: - -"My memory was quite cloudy yesterday; it is as clear as ever it was -to-day. I now remember everything. I can recall my walk in the rain. -How long have I been ill?" - -"This is the sixth day." - -"The sixth day! Good heavens! Six days! Then the inquest is over?" - -"Yes. You must not talk much or excite yourself at all. You may, -however, talk a little more than yesterday, for you are getting on -famously." - -"For goodness' sake, tell me about the inquest, and don't talk of me -and my health. No, I won't taste breakfast until you tell me. What -was the verdict?" - -"Dr. Santley said you might be answered questions to-day if you -promised not to excite yourself. Do you promise to keep calm, -Alfred?" - -"Oh, yes. Go on." - -"The verdict was that he committed suicide while of unsound mind." - -"Suicide while of unsound mind! Are you sure?" - -"Oh, perfectly." - -"Does Santley know the verdict?" - -"Of course." - -"And what does he say?" - -"That it is the most extraordinary case he ever read or heard of." - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - - JERRY O'BRIEN'S PROPHECY. - - -When Dr. Santley called that day, he found his patient in a state of -agitation. Madge Paulton had given her brother an outline of the -proceedings at the second sitting of the inquest; but she could not -tell him all, and she considered it would be injudicious, to say the -least of it, to read a report of the trial aloud to him until she got -permission from the doctor. Besides, the report was gruesome and full -of technicalities. - -No sooner had Dr. Santley entered the sick room than Alfred began a -string of impatient and somewhat incoherent questions; so Santley -thought it better to allay the excitement at the expense of a little -fatigue to his patient, still he absolutely forbade the long report -to be read to him. - -"But," said the doctor, "there is a leading article in the paper, and -the middle paragraph of that gives briefly an account of the case -from the point at which the enthralling interest begins. You may read -that aloud to your brother, Miss Paulton, and then I insist upon his -remaining almost silent for the remainder of the day." - -When Santley was gone, Madge fetched the newspaper, and read aloud: - -"We now reach the most extraordinary point in this extraordinary -case. The evidence here is sufficient to convince the most -incredulous. Beyond all doubt, when Mr. Blake left the house there -was nothing unusual the matter with the deceased unfortunate -gentleman. After that it would seem that he must have had an attack -of the old mania respecting which Mr. Blake gave evidence. While -under this morbid influence he must have conceived the idea of -committing suicide, for he wrote on one leaf of his pocket-book these -words: - -"'_I will not endure this any longer. They have conspired to rob and -murder me. But I will evade them for good. In ten seconds more I -shall empty the chloroform on my beard. In twenty minutes I shall be -dead_.---Louis Davenport.' - -"This is unmistakably in the handwriting of the deceased. The piece -of paper on which it is written corresponds with a blank in Mr. -Davenport's pocket-book. The writing was done with a metal pencil, -and the paper is remarkably tough. When he had finished the writing, -he carried out his threat of spilling the chloroform over his beard -and waistcoat. Between this and the time during which the drug began -to exercise its fatal influence he must have changed his mind, not, -indeed, as regards suicide, but as regards his confession; for he -swallowed the piece of paper on which the confession was written, and -wrote on another leaf in the same book these words: - - -"'_Pretended death. Blake gone. He emptied chloroform on me. Can't -stir. Dying_.' - - -"At the _post-mortem_ examination the former paper was produced. It -had been masticated and swallowed. The other leaf of the pocket-book -had been found in the waistcoat-pocket of deceased. The certainty of -the former leaf having been written first rests on the fact that the -latter leaf has on it a faint but sufficient trace of the writing on -the former, the degree of force used in writing the longer -communication being sufficient to mark the leaf following. The -_post-mortem_ clearly proved that chloroform was the cause of death." - -This was astonishing news. By it not only was all shadow of suspicion -removed from Mrs. Davenport, but Blake was vindicated. The stories -told by Mrs. Davenport and Blake had been confirmed in the most -amazing and unexpected manner. It seemed little short, if at all -short, of a miracle. This strange account of deceased's mental -illness in Florence was true. Who placed any value whatever on it -when it was given by Blake on oath? It then seemed nothing better -than an audacious and unnecessary lie. It had turned Alfred sick -while he listened to it. As he heard that self-possessed, aggressive -man give evidence, he felt the toils closing round the unhappy woman. -Now, in all likelihood, these toils had for ever vanished into air, -and Mrs. Davenport was as free from suspicion of complicity in her -husband's murder as though the two had never in all their lives met. - -He asked his sister if she knew anything about Mrs. Davenport. Madge -had an idea that Mrs. Davenport was still staying at Jermyn Street. -Young Paulton asked nothing about Blake. He was not concerned about -him. - -It was very hard to be obliged to lie inactive here while---- He -paused to think. While what? That question staggered him. The -interest in the inquest was all over, and no other trial was likely -to arise out of the matter. Accident had for a while connected him -with some affairs of Mrs. Davenport, and now that accident was at an -end. There was no longer any chance of his being of use to her. -Nothing could be more natural than that she had forgotten him by this -time. In the excitement and heat of that ordeal there was nothing -more likely than that she should forget him absolutely. - -But the case was different with him. He could not forget her. He -could never forget her--no, not if he lived a hundred years. Were -they destined to meet never again? That was a dreary question to ask -and have to leave unanswered, while he lay weak and powerless here. - -He should get well no doubt in time, but this in time was such a -weary, dead, tedious thing. It would be infinitely depressing and -irksome to have to live here day after day pulling up strength. How -was it possible for him to recover if his mind were haunted by doubts -and anxieties? - -Doubts about what? Anxieties about whom? He was not in love with this -woman. The notion of being in love with her was absurd. He had seen -her but on three occasions, and then the meetings had been brief and -full of anything but tenderness. He had heard and thought much of her -in the few days since their first meeting. He should never forget -their first meeting. Could he ever blot out from his memory the regal -beauty and pose of her as she stood in that dreary hall and pointed -out the room in which her husband lay dead? Ah, well, nothing could -come of such thinking now! - -He wondered where was Blake at this moment, while he lay there on his -back looking at the thin light of the February day. However, there -was nothing for it but to submit. He was too weak to stand. He must -try and rest contented for a while. But Dr. Santley did not think he -would be able to move about for a month, and even then not much, as -the weather would be greatly against him. - -He was this day allowed to see his family for a little while. Before -his father left the room he had got his promise to call at Jermyn -Street and make inquiries. Next evening his father came up to his -room. He had called at Jermyn Street, and seen Mrs. Davenport. She -was quite well: was sorry to hear Alfred had been ill. Mr. Pringle -had told her. Her plans were not quite settled, but she thought she -should leave London for the Continent in a few days. She did not say -what part of the Continent she purposed going to. That was all. - -The person outside the family whom Alfred wished to see first was -Jerry O'Brien; and, for reasons of friendliness towards Alfred, and -of something a good deal more than friendliness towards Madge -Paulton, Jerry was not slow to come. - -The younger Paultons were not remarkable for beauty. The father was -much better-looking than the son--the mother than either of the -daughters. Father and mother were both decidedly good-looking. Alfred -was of the average size of man, upright, well-made, healthy-looking -when in health, fresh-coloured, with light hair and beard touched -here and there with red, full blue eyes, long nose, white, broad -forehead, and useful, large, well-formed hands. He was good-tempered, -easygoing, affectionate; but when once roused or awakened, he was -impetuous, headlong, and anything but clear-headed. - -Edith, the elder sister, was short, plump, saucy, often pert, -blue-eyed, brown-haired, resolute, aggressive at times, sprightly, -short-nosed, with small feet and hands, and no mean opinion of herself, -inclined to be discontented, and to under-estimate others. - -Madge was tall, thin, dull-complexioned, quiet, unselfish, -undemonstrative, good-natured, brown-eyed, and not good-looking by -any means. Her amiability was extraordinary, her sympathy vast. Jerry -O'Brien was not a lady's man. He held that sort of person in -contempt. But of one thing he was quite sure--that he was disposed, -anxious, to be one lady's man, and that lady was Madge Paulton. - -As soon as Alfred and Jerry were alone, the former began making -inquiries about Mrs. Davenport. - -"She's in Jermyn Street yet," said Jerry. "I saw her this morning as -I came along. I don't think they have let Blake out of gaol yet. It's -a pity they ever should do so. I don't think there could be any act -of Christian charity more acceptable to heaven than to hang him. I'd -do it myself with pleasure if I could manage it without touching the -blackguard's neck. The gallows never lost such a chance as this was. -Why, during the first day of the inquest I could hear them knocking -the nails into a gibbet, and now, or in a day or two, he will be a -free man. It's a horrible shame!" - -"I don t care about him. I want to hear something of her." - -"Oh, you do--do you? Not quite cured yet. Well, I'll tell you my -opinion. She has announced her intention of going to the Continent. -She will wait until he is discharged, and then be off with -him---- Alfred, what's the matter? He has fainted!" - - - - - END OF VOL. I. - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * - CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS. - - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3), by Richard Dowling - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEMPEST-DRIVEN (VOL. I OF 3) *** - -***** This file should be named 42750-8.txt or 42750-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/5/42750/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3) - A Romance - -Author: Richard Dowling - -Release Date: May 20, 2013 [EBook #42750] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEMPEST-DRIVEN (VOL. I OF 3) *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - - - - - -</pre> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 42750 ***</div> <br> <br> @@ -3136,7 +3100,7 @@ heart, or head, or lungs, or aorta might give way, causing death. He had never known a case of death from spasmodic asthma, pure and simple.</p> -<p class="normal">He was, of course, familiar with chloroform as an anæsthetic. He had +<p class="normal">He was, of course, familiar with chloroform as an anæsthetic. He had once seen a case of poisoning by chloroform. That case was accidental. Chloroform was frequently used as a palliative in severe cases of asthma. A small quantity sprinkled on a napkin or @@ -4477,380 +4441,7 @@ him---- Alfred, what's the matter? He has fainted!"</p> <br> <br> - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Tempest-Driven (Vol. I of 3), by Richard Dowling - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TEMPEST-DRIVEN (VOL. I OF 3) *** - -***** This file should be named 42750-h.htm or 42750-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/7/5/42750/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Web Archive (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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