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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f57db35 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55511 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55511) diff --git a/old/55511-8.txt b/old/55511-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 70515d6..0000000 --- a/old/55511-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13315 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Silver Bullet, by Fergus Hume - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Silver Bullet - -Author: Fergus Hume - -Release Date: September 8, 2017 [EBook #55511] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILVER BULLET *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Hathi Trust (The Ohio State University) - - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - 1. Page scan source: - https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435001496009; - (The Ohio State University) - - - - - - -THE SILVER BULLET - - - - - - ---------------------------- -BY THE SAME AUTHOR - -THE SILENT HOUSE IN PIMLICO -THE BISHOP'S SECRET -THE CRIMSON CRYPTOGRAM -THE GOLDEN WANG-HO -THE TURNPIKE HOUSE -A TRAITOR IN LONDON -WOMAN--THE SPHINX -THE JADE EYE - ----------------------------- -John Long, Publisher, London - - - - - - -THE SILVER BULLET - - -BY -FERGUS HUME - - - -London -John Long -13 & 14 Norris Street, Haymarket - - - - - - -THE SILVER BULLET - - - - -CHAPTER I -THE HOUSE IN THE PINE WOOD - - -"We had better lie down and die," said Robin peevishly. "I can't go a -step further," and to emphasise his words he deliberately sat. - -"Infernal little duffer," growled Herrick. "Huh! Might have guessed -you would Joyce." He threw himself down beside his companion and -continued grumbling. "You have tobacco, a fine night, and a heather -couch of the finest, yet you talk as though the world were coming to -an end." - -"I'm sure this moor never will," sighed Joyce, reminded of his -cigarettes, "we have been trudging it since eight in the morning, yet -it still stretches to the back-of-beyond. Hai!" - -The pedestrians were pronouncedly isolated. A moonless sky thickly -jewelled with stars, arched over a treeless moor, far-stretching as -the plain of Shinar. In the luminous summer twilight, the eye could -see for a moderate distance, but to no clearly defined horizon; and -the verge of sight was limited by vague shadows, hardly definite -enough to be mists. - -The moor exhaled the noonday heats in thin white vapour, which shut -out from the external world those who nestled to its bosom. A sense of -solitude, the brooding silence, the formless surroundings, and above -all, the insistence of the infinite, would have appealed on ordinary -occasions to the poetical and superstitious side of Robin's nature. -But at the moment, his nerves were uppermost. He was worn-out, -fractious as a child, and in his helplessness could have cried like -one. Herrick knew his friend's frail physique and inherited neurosis: -therefore he forebore to make bad worse by ill advised sympathy. -Judiciously waiting until Joyce had in some degree soothed himself -with tobacco, he talked of the common-place. - -"Nine o'clock," said he peering at his watch; "thirteen hour's -walking. Nothing to me Robin, but a goodish stretch to you. However we -are within hail of civilization, and in England. A few miles further -we'll pick up a village of sorts no doubt. One would think you were -exploiting Africa the way you howl." - -He spoke thus callously, in order to brace his friend; but Joyce -resented the tone with that exaggerated sense of injury peculiar to -the neurotic. "I am no Hercules like you Jim," he protested sullenly; -"all your finer feelings have been blunted by beef and beer. You can't -feel things as I do. Also," continued Robin still more querulously, -"it seems to have escaped your memory, that I returned only last night -from a two day's visit to Town." - -"If you _will_ break up your holiday into fragments, you must not -expect to receive the benefit its enjoyment as a whole would give you. -It was jolly enough last week sauntering through the Midlands, till -you larked up to London, and fagged yourself with its detestable -civilization." - -Joyce threw aside his cigarette and nervously began to roll another. -"It was no lark which took me up Jim. The letter that came to the -Southberry Inn was about--her business." - -"Sorry old man. I keep forgetting your troubles. Heat and the want of -food make me savage. We'll rest here for a time, and then push on. Not -that a night in the open would matter to me." - -Joyce made no reply but lying full length on the dry herbage, stared -at the scintillating sky. At his elbow, Herrick, cross-legged like a -fakir, gave himself up to the enjoyment of a disreputable pipe. The -more highly-strung man considered the circumstances which had placed -him where he was. - -Two months previously, Robin Joyce had lost his mother, to whom he had -been devotedly attached: and the consequent grief had made a wreck of -him. For weeks he had shut himself up in the flat once brightened by -her presence to luxuriate in woe. He possessed in a large degree that -instinct for martyrdom, latent in many people, which searches for -sorrow, as a more joyous nature hunts for pleasure. The blow of Mrs. -Joyce's death had fallen unexpectedly, but it brought home to Robin, -the knowledge--strange as it may sound--that a mental pleasure can be -plucked from misfortune. He locked himself in his room, wept much, and -ate little; neglected his business of contributor to several -newspapers, and his personal appearance. Thus the pain of his loss -merged itself in that delight of self-mortification, which must have -been experienced by the hermits of the Thebiad. Not entirely from -religious motives was the desert made populous with hermits in the -days of Cyril and Hypatia. - -Herrick did not realize this transcendental indulgence, nor would he -have understood it, had he done so. Emphatically a sane man, he would -have deemed it a weakness degrading to the will, if not a species of -lunacy. As it was, he merely saw that Robin yielded to an unrestrained -grief detrimental to his health, and insisted upon carrying him off -for a spell in the open air. With less trouble than he anticipated, -Robin's consent was obtained. The mourner threw himself with ardour -into the scheme, selected the county of Berks as the most inviting for -a ramble; and when fairly started, showed a power of endurance amazing -in one so frail. - -Jim however being a doctor, was less astonished than a layman would -have been. He knew that in Joyce a tremendous nerve power dominated -the feebler muscular force, and that the man would go on like a -blood-horse until he dropped from sheer exhaustion. The collapse on -the moor did not surprise him. He only wondered that Robin had held -out for so many days. - -"But I wish you had not gone to London," said Herrick pursuing aloud -this train of thought. - -"I had to go," replied Joyce not troubling to query the remark. "The -lawyer wrote about my poor mother's property. In my sorrow, I had -neglected to look after it, but at Southberry Junction feeling better, -thanks to your open air cure, I thought it wise to attend to the -matter." - -Then Joyce went on to state with much detail, how he had caught the -Paddington express at Marleigh--their last stopping place--and had -seen his lawyer. The business took some time to settle; but it -resulted in the knowledge that Joyce found himself possessed of five -hundred a year in Consols. "Also the flat and the furniture," said -Robin, "so I am not so badly off. I can devote myself wholly to novels -now, and shall not have to rack my brains for newspaper articles." - -Herrick nodded over a newly-filled pipe. "Did you sleep at the flat?" - -"No, I went up on Tuesday as you know, and slept that night at the -Hull Hotel, a small house in one of the Strand side streets. Last -night, I joined you at Southberry." - -"And it is now Thursday," said Herrick laughing. "How particular you -are as to detail Robin. Well, Southberry is a goodish way behind us -now and Saxham is our next resting place. Feel better?" - -"Yes, thanks. In another quarter of an hour, I shall make the attempt -to reach Saxham. But we are so late, I fear no bed----" - -"Oh, that's alright. We can wake the landlord, I calculate we have only -three miles." - -"Quite enough too. By the way Jim, what did you do, when I left you?" - -In the semi-darkness Herrick chuckled. "Fell in love!" said he. - -"H'm! You lost no time about it. And she?" - -"A daughter of the gods, divinely tall; dark hair, creamy skin, -sea-blue eyes the figure and gait of Diana, and--" - -"More of the Celt than the Greek," interrupted Joyce, "blue eyes, -black hair, that is the Irish type. Where did you see her?" - -"In Southberry Church, talking to a puny curate, who did not deserve -such a companion. Oh, Robin, her voice! like an Eolian harp." - -"It must possess a variety of tones then Jim. Did she see you?" - -Herrick nodded and laughed again. "She looked and blushed. Beauty drew -me with a single hair, therefore I thrilled responsive. Love at first -sight Robin. Heigh-ho! never again shall I see this Helen of -Marleigh." - -"Live in hope," said Joyce, springing to his feet. "Allons, mon ami." - -The more leisurely Herrick rose, markedly surprised at this sudden -recuperation. "Wonderful man. One minute you are dying, the next -skipping like a two year old. Hysterical all the same," he added as -Joyce laughed. - -"Those three miles," explained the other feverishly, "I feel that I -have to walk them, and my determination is braced to breaking point." - -"That means you'll collapse half way," retorted the doctor unstrapping -his knapsack. "Light a match. Valerian for you my man." - -Robin made no objection. He knew the value of Valerian for those -unruly nerves of his, at present vibrating like so many harp-strings, -twangled by an unskilful player. His small white face looked smaller -and whiter than ever in the faint light of the match; but his great -black eyes flamed like wind-blown torches. The contrast of Herrick's -sun-tanned Saxon looks, struck him as almost ludicrous. Joyce needed -no mirror to assure him of his appearance at the moment. He knew only -too well how he aged on the eve of a nerve storm. For the present it -was averted by the valerian; but he knew and so did Herrick, that -sooner or later it would surely come. - -"We must get on as fast as possible," said Herrick, the knapsack again -on his broad back. "Food, drink, rest; you need all three. Forward!" - -For some time they walked on in silence. Robin was so small, Dr. Jim -so large, that they looked like the giant and dwarf of the old fairy -tale on their travels. But in this case it was the giant who did all -the work. Joyce was a pampered, lazy, irresponsible child, in the -direct line of descent from Harold Skimpole. If Jim Herrick must be -likened to another hero of romance, Amyas Leigh was his prototype. - -The shadows melted before them, and closed in behind, and still there -was nothing but plain and mist. At the end of two miles a dark bulk -like a thunder-cloud, loomed before them. It stretched directly across -their path. "Bogey," laughed Robin. - -"A wood," said the more prosaic Jim, "this moor is fringed with -pine-woods: remember the forest we passed through this morning." - -"In the cheerful sunshine," shuddered Joyce. "I don't like woodlands -by night. The fairies are about and goblins of the worst. Ha! Yonder -the lantern of Puck. Oberon holds revel in the wood." - -"Puck must be putting a girdle round the earth then Robin," said -Herrick and stared at the white starry light, which beamed above the -trees. - -"Hecate's torch," cried Joyce, "a meeting of witches," and he began to -chant the gruesome rhymes of the sisterhood, as Macbeth heard them. -"The scene is a blasted heath too," said he. - -By this time the moon was rising, and silver shafts struck inward to -the heart of the pines. The aerial light vanished behind the leafy -screen, as the travellers came to a halt on the verge of the -undergrowth. - -"We must get through," said Dr. Jim, "or if you like Robin, we can -skirt round. Saxham village is just beyond I fancy." - -"Let us choose the bee-line," murmured Joyce. "I want a bed and a meal -as soon as possible. This part of the world is unknown to me. You -lead." - -"I don't know it myself. However here's a path. We'll follow it to the -light. That comes from a tower of sorts. Too high up for a house." - -With Herrick as pioneer, they plunged into the wood, following a -winding path. In the gloom, their heads came into contact with boughs -and tree-trunks but occasionally the moon made radiant the secret -recesses, and revealed unexpected openings. The path sometimes passed -across a glade, on the sward of which Joyce declared he saw the -fairies dancing: and anon plunged into a cimmerian gloom suggestive of -the underworld. No wind swung the heavy pine-boughs; the wild -creatures of the wood gave no sign, made no stir: yet the explorers -heard a low persistent swish-swurr-swish, like the murmur of a dying -breeze. It came from no particular direction, but droned on all sides -without pause, without change of note. Herrick heard Robin's -hysterical sob, as the insistent sound bored into his brain. He would -have made some remark; but at the moment they emerged into a open -space of considerable size. Here, ringed by pines, loomed a vast grey -house, with a slim tower. In that tower burned the steady light -outshining even the moon's lustre. But what was more remarkable still, -was the illumination of the mansion. Every window radiated white fire. - -"Queer," said Robin halting on the verge of the wood, "not even a -fence or a wall: a path or an outhouse. One would think that this was -an inferior Aladdin's palace dropped here by some negligent genii. All -ablaze too," he added wonderingly; "the owner must be giving a ball." - -"No signs of guests anyhow," returned Herrick as puzzled as his -companion. "H'm! Queer thing to find Versailles in a pine wood. -However it may afford us a bed and a supper." - -It was certainly strange. The circle of trees stopped short of the -building at fifty yards. On all sides stretched an expanse of shorn -and well-kept turf, pathless as the sea. In its midst the mansion was -dropped--as Joyce aptly put it--unexpectedly. A two-storey Tudor -building, with battlements, and mullioned windows, terraces and -flights of shallow steps: the whole weather-worn and grey in the -moonlight, over-grown with ivy, and distinctly ruinous. The -dilapidated state of the house, contrasted in a rather sinister manner -with the perfectly-kept lawn. Also another curious contrast, was the -tower. This tacked on to the western corner, stood like a lean white -ghost, watching over its earthly habitation. Its gleaming stone-work -and sharp outlines showed that it had been built within the last -decade. A distinct anachronism, which marred the quaint antiquity of -the mediæval mansion. - -"He must be an astrologer," said Joyce referring to the owner, "or it -may be that the tower is an inland pharos, to guide travellers across -that pathless moor. A horrible place," he muttered. - -"Why horrible?" asked Dr. Jim as they crossed the lawn. - -Robin shuddered, and cast a backward glance. "I can hardly explain. -But to my mind, there is something sinister in this lonely mansion, -ablaze with light, yet devoid of inhabitants." - -"We have yet to find out if that is the case Robin. Hullo! the door is -open," and in the strong moonlight they looked wonderingly at each -other. - -The heavy door--oak, clamped with iron--was slightly ajar. Herrick -bent upon consummating the adventure, pushed it slightly open. They -beheld a large hall with a tesselated pavement, and stately columns. -Between these last stood black oak high-backed chairs upholstered in -red velvet: also statues of Greek gods and goddesses, holding aloft -opaque globes, radiant with light. A vast marble staircase with wide -and shallow steps, sloped upwards, and on either side of this, from -the height of the landing fell scarlet velvet curtains, shutting in -the hall. The whiteness of the marble, the crimson of the draperies, -the brilliance of the light; these sumptuous furnishings amazed the -dusty pedestrians. It was as though, on a lonely prairie, one should -step suddenly into the splendours of the Vatican. - -"The palace of the Sleeping Beauty," whispered the awe-struck Robin. -"Who can say romance is dead, when one can stumble upon such an -adventure." - -Herrick shared Robin's perplexity: but of a more practical nature, he -addressed himself less to the romance than to the reality. Seeing no -one, hearing nothing, he touched an ivory button, that glimmered a -white spot beside the door. Immediately a silvery succession of -sounds, shrilled through the--apparently--lonely house. "Electric -bells, electric light. The hermit of this establishment is -up-to-date." - -"He is also deaf, and has no servants," said Joyce impatiently after a -few minutes had passed. "Has a Borgian banquet taken place here? The -guests seem to be dead. Hai! the whole thing is damnable." - -"Don't let yourself go," said the doctor roughly squeezing the little -man's arm, "wait and see the upshot." - -Again and again they rang the bell, and themselves heard its -imperative summons: but no one appeared. Then they took their courage -in both hands, and stepped into the house. Passing through the crimson -curtains, they found themselves in a wide corridor enamelled green, -with velvet carpet and more light-bearing statues. On either side were -doors draped with emerald silk. Herrick led the way through one of -these, for Joyce, rendered timorous by the adventure would not take -the initiative. - -In the first room, an oval table was set out for a solitary meal. The -linen was bleached as the Alpine snow, the silver antique, the crystal -exquisite, the porcelain worth its weight in gold. An iridescent glass -vase in the centre was filled with flowers, but these drooped, -withered and brown. The bread also was stale, the fruits were -shrivelled from their early freshness. Magnificently furnished and -draped, the room glowed in splendour, under innumerable electric -lights. But the intruders had eyes only for that sumptuous table, with -its air of desolation, and its place set for one. Anything more -sinister can scarcely be conceived. - -"No one has sat down to this meal," said Herrick lifting the covers of -the silver dishes, "it has stood here for hours, if not for days. Let -us see if we can find the creature for whom it was intended." - -"Perhaps you expect to find the Beast that loved Beauty, since you -call him a creature," said Robin hysterically. "Here is wine." - -Dr. Jim went to the sideboard, whereon were ranged decanters of -Venetian glass containing many different vintages. Passing over these -he selected a pint bottle of champagne. "We must make free of our -position," he said, unwiring this, "afterwards we can apologise." - -"Ugh!" cried Robin as the cork popped with a staccato sound in the -silence. "How gruesome; give me a glass at once Jim." - -"I don't know if it is good for you in your present state," replied -the doctor brimming a goblet, "however the whole adventure is so -queer, that an attack of nerves is excusable. Drink up." - -Robin did so, and was joined by Jim. They finished the bottle, and -felt exhilarated, and more ready to face the unknown. Again Herrick -led the way to further explorations. Adjacent to the dining-room, they -discovered a small kitchen, white-tiled and completely furnished. "Our -hermit cooks for himself," declared Dr. Jim, eying the utensils of -polished copper. "This is not a servant's kitchen: also it is off the -dining-room." - -Robin made no reply, but followed his friend, his large eyes becoming -larger at every fresh discovery. They entered a drawing-room filled -with splendid furniture, silver knick-knacks, costly china, and -Eastern hangings of great price. There was a library stored with books -in magnificent bindings, and with tables piled with latter-day -magazines, novels and newspapers. "Our hermit keeps himself abreast of -the world," commented Jim. - -Then came a picture gallery, but this was on a second storey and -lighted from the roof. Treasures of art ancient and modern glowed here -under the radiance of the light, which illuminated every room. A -smoking-room fashioned like a ship's cabin: a Japanese apartment, -crammed with the lacquer work, and stiff embroideries of Yeddo and -Yokahama; a shooting gallery; a bowling alley; a music room, -containing a magnificent Erard. Finally a dozen bedrooms furnished -with taste and luxury. To crown all they discovered a gymnasium fitted -up completely even to foils and boxing gloves: and a huge bathroom. -This last was throughout of white marble, with a square pool of water -in the centre. "What a pond to bathe in!" cried Jim enviously, for he -was hot and dusty. "Our hermit is an ancient Roman; he understands how -to enjoy life. Come along Robin!" - -But by this time they had explored almost the whole of the wonderful -house. There remained the back premises, but on entering, they found -nothing but darkness and dirt, squalor and coldness. The hermit's -attention to his mansion stopped short at the servant's door. "And I -don't believe he has any servants," declared Joyce. "How the deuce -does he keep all this clean?" - -The doctor shook his head. He hardly knew what to say. The situation -was beyond him. A palace in the wilderness, with an open door inviting -thieves! Crammed with treasures, brilliant with light, uninhabited, -deserted. Was there ever anything so wonderful? He had to pinch -himself to make sure that he was awake. "We have got into the world of -the fourth dimension: the fairy-land of the Arabian Nights. What do -you think Joyce?" - -"I think we had better climb up to the tower," said Robin with unusual -common sense, "It is the only place we have left unexplored. There is -a light there too; Aladdin may be aloft." - -Herrick shook his head. "He would have heard the bell. However come -along. We must find someone." - -With some difficulty they discovered the staircase leading to the -tower. It was narrow but straight, and not so steep as might have been -expected. At the top Herrick--leading as usual--was confronted by a -closed door of plain deal. It was not locked however, and having -knocked without receiving a reply he opened it. Joyce at his heels -peeped over his shoulder and beheld a small square room with windows -on all four sides, and a large central globe burning in the ceiling. -In contrast to the rest of the house, this room was absolutely bare. -Blank walls, Chinese matting on the floor, a camp bedstead in one -corner, a deal table without a covering in another, and two cane -chairs. No anchorite could have had a more ascetic cell. - -Herrick took in the scene at a glance, took in also, its--to -him--central feature, the body of a man lying face downwards, near the -bed. Joyce saw the corpse also, and remained at the door, shaking and -white. - -"Murder or suicide?" Jim asked himself as he turned over the dead. - -That, which had once been a man, was in evening dress. In the finest -of linen and jewellery, the most immaculate of clothes, it lay under -the scrutinising eye of Dr. Herrick. A lean evil face, with a hook -nose, scanty grey hair cut short and a long moustache carefully -trimmed. The left hand gripped a revolver; the shirt front over the -heart was covered with blood, and a stream, coagulated and black, -streaked the matting. - -"In God's name?" cried Joyce not daring to enter, "what is it?" - -"It was once the owner of this house I suppose," said Herrick grimly. -"Now, it is a piece of carrion. Suicide apparently. Dead over -twenty-four hours. Shot through the heart. A steady hand to do that. -H'm, left-handed too. Is it suicide, or murder? Here's a damnable -discovery to cap the adventure," said Dr. Jim gravely. - -From the doorway came a gasp, a tittering laugh. Jim had just time to -spring forward when Joyce lunged into his arms. The long expected -nerve-storm had come at last. - - - - -CHAPTER II -DE MORTUIS NIL NISI MALUM - -"And sunsets fire, the Saxham spire, -My guide post unto heaven." - - -So sang midway in the last century a local poet, who died long since -and passed, poems and all, into oblivion. But the famous spire in its -copper sheathing still catches the sunlight, and glows in the centre -of Saxham, a veritable pillar of fire. Those natives who have -emigrated, enlisted as soldiers, taken situations in London and -elsewhere, shipped before the mast, as some have done, always remember -church and spire. The children recall its ruddy blaze when they read -Exodus. - -Saxham was not a large place. It might have contained a couple of -hundred inhabitants, probably less, and these principally agricultural -labourers. They worked on the farms and estates which dotted the vast -alluvial plain stretching to Beorminster. As the city, like that one -mentioned in the Bible, is set upon a hill, the twin towers of the -cathedral and Bishop Gandolf's spire can easily be seen from Saxham. -But the villagers prefer their own spire and their own parson, rarely -venturing the three miles to Beorminster. Those who do go, always -return to their beloved hamlet, more convinced than ever as to the -superiority of their birthplace. A sturdy stubborn set of rustics, -these men and women of Saxham. - -The topography of the country as set down in Herrick's map, showed -that Saxham was almost the centre of the district, taking Beorminster -as the real navel. The great plain was covered with many such hamlets, -each clustering round its parent church; but Saxham was the nearest to -the city. Far away on the other side was smoky Irongrip the -manufacturing town; almost in sight of Marleigh and Heathcroft. Then -sixteen miles across Southberry Heath (which Herrick and Joyce had so -wearily trodden on the previous night) Southberry Junction roared with -perpetual traffic for here, the great main line tapped the local -railways which converged from all points. The pine-woods, sheltering -Saxham from the chill winds of the moor, also barred it from the -outside world, as Southberry was considered to be. Saxham, with its -neighbouring hamlets, claimed to belong solely to Beorminster. The -folk would have called themselves autochthonous, had they known of -such a word and its meaning. - -The plan of the village was simple. In its centre was a genuine -village green, with a quincunx of immemorial elms. From this ran four -streets through the mass of houses, until they passed beyond them -altogether and out into the country. On one side stands St. Edith's -church in a nest of trees; on the other 'The Carr Arms' an inn of -undoubted antiquity. The remaining two sides are occupied by rows of -mediæval-looking houses, inhabited by those whom Saxham calls "the -best people," by which is meant the tradesmen. There was no doctor or -lawyer and the rector representing the gentry in the village itself, -dwelt on its outskirts. The country people lived outside the village -on their estates and visited it only on business; and as there were no -Radicals in Saxham, these were looked upon as more than mortal. - -Under the red tiled roof of 'The Carr Arms,' Robin Joyce was still -sleeping the next morning when the green was filled with excited -people talking of the murder--so they called it. The events of the -previous night had so shaken the nerve of the little man, that it was -all Herrick could do to get him out of that ghastly mansion, and down -to the inn. Dr. Jim, rousing the landlord, had told his story and -after seeing Robin to bed, had turned in himself. What did it matter -to him, that the great house was still ablaze in the pine-wood, still -filled with precious things, and its doors and windows open to -thieves? He was too tired almost to think, and the moment his head was -on the pillow, he fell into a heavy dreamless slumber, which lasted -until ten the next morning. - -From this much-needed rest, he was awakened by Napper, the landlord, a -burly man, with a ruddy face suggestive of beef and beer in large -quantities. In no very pleasant humour, Jim sat up, to demand with a -growl and an adjective what was wanted. On being informed that Mr. -Inspector Bridge of Beorminster waited to see him, the events of the -night came back on his still drowsy brain with a rush. Thoroughly -awakened, he promised to be down in half an hour, and forthwith -tumbled into the largest cold bath Napper could provide. After a -douche, and ten minutes' gymnastics, the Doctor hurried into a clean -shirt and his homespun suit. While he dressed he meditated on the fact -that Napper had lost no time in telling the police what had happened. -In a few minutes he looked into Robin's bedroom, and finding his -companion still in an exhausted slumber, he went downstairs alone, to -face the officer. - -Inspector Bridge was a tall lean man with a serious face, and--what -was surprising taken in conjunction with his funereal looks--a jocular -manner. The man's humour lurked in his eyes--a grey pair of twinklers, -which belied the turned-down corners of his mouth. His movements were -slow, his tone was brisk and businesslike. Rather a contradictory -personality Herrick thought, and concluded that Bridge resembled -nothing so much as an undertaker out for a holiday. His profession -would thus account for the solemnity and slowness, and the holiday -explain his brisk jocularity. - -This incongruous officer considered the young man with a pursed-up -mouth and a humorsome eye. He saw that Herrick was a gentleman, and -this opinion being confirmed--in the Inspector's mind--by the sight of -a signet ring, he treated him with more deference than he had been -prepared to show. Napper's report of the pedestrians had led Bridge to -infer that they were of the genus "tramp." - -"Good morning sir," began the Inspector genially. "I have come to see -you about this murder of Colonel Carr. My card--Mr.--Mr.--" - -"Dr. Herrick," said Jim, glancing at what he profanely called the -official ticket. "Have you breakfasted Mr. Inspector? If not, or if -you have--it really doesn't really matter--take the meal with me. I -must eat before I can talk." - -Bridge was only too willing, and Herrick went up several degrees in -his good opinion. "Napper can cater excellently," said he rubbing his -hands. "I have often tested his hospitality." - -Dr. Jim privately thought that the Inspector was not averse to -testing anyone's hospitality: but the man seemed decent enough, and -Herrick was sufficiently worldly-wise to make himself agreeable to -Jack-in-Office. In another half hour the two were seated in a pleasant -parlour before a well-spread table. Bridge performed wonders in the -way of eating. How he could remain lean with such an appetite, was a -wonder to Jim. But the doctor himself was not far behind, and between -the two of them, they swept the table clean. Then Herrick lighted his -pipe, ensconced himself in a chintz-covered arm-chair near the window, -and prepared to answer the Inspector's questions before asking several -of his own. - -At the out-set Bridge detailed, all that had been done up to that -moment. Three policemen were looking after "The Pines" (so was the -house called), and guarding the dead; a doctor was expected from -Beorminster to inspect the body; the Coroner to attend to the inquest; -and the relatives of the deceased had been notified. Then Mr. -Inspector put Herrick through a stiff examination, and took down all -he said. When the officer was quite satisfied and his note-book was -full, Jim proceeded to make enquiries on his own account. The -strangeness of the whole affair, roused his curiosity, and--as Bridge -pleasantly observed,--he showed marked symptoms of "detective fever." -This was the first time Jim had stumbled across the disease. - -"The dead man was called Colonel Carr?" asked Dr. Herrick, crossing -his legs. - -The Inspector nodded. "A well-known county name," said he, "Wilfred -Lloyd Carr. You can see it in Burke's Landed Gentry. But what you will -not see," added Bridge with a dry cough, "is the name he was known by -hereabouts,--wicked Colonel Carr sir. That is what every man woman and -child called him, not without reason Doctor." - -"H'm! It does sound as though he had a bad reputation." - -"Bad sir," echoed the Inspector not without pride, "a regular out and -out rip. But that he belonged to the gentry, he would have been -through my hands I can tell you. And to think of him being murdered. I -ain't astonished, no I ain't astonished. He was too wicked to die in -his bed as the Christian he wasn't." - -"Why do you say he was murdered?" asked Jim alertly. "The revolver was -in his hand. Looks like suicide to me,--at the first glance of -course." - -Bridge laughed grimly and shook his head. "Colonel Carr was the last -man in the world to take his own life sir,--too much afraid of the -burning pit for that. I examined the body this morning, and I -say--murder. Certainly my examination was cursory. But if he had shot -himself through the heart, the linen over it would have been scorched. -There is no mark of powder not even a singe. No sir, that shot was -fired at a long range. If you did not alter the position of the body -Dr. Herrick, I should say that the shot had been fired from the door." - -"I did not alter the position of the body Mr. Inspector. I merely -turned it over, and replaced it. H'm! murder you say. And the assassin -placed the revolver in the dead hand to hint at suicide. Clever man or -woman Mr. Inspector. Which?" - -"Lord knows," replied Bridge rubbing his grey hair. "The Colonel had -heaps and heaps of enemies I can tell you. Whether man or woman, I do -not know. But I'll tell you one thing Dr. Herrick, whosoever fired the -shot knew the Colonel excellently well." - -"I see what you mean. The assassin knew that his victim was -left-handed." - -"Right sir. You've hit it. Now," added Bridge meditatively, "could it -have been Frisco?" - -"Frisco. Who is he or her?" - -"Frisco was the servant of Colonel Carr," explained the Inspector, -"and as great a mystery as his master; San Francisco, he called -himself, and that I take it is the name of a town. The wicked Colonel -shortened it to Frisco for short. Yes! Frisco might have killed him!" - -"If you would only give me a concise biography of Carr, I should be -less in the dark Mr. Inspector." - -"Oh, you'll hear plenty of stories about him,--none of them creditable. -But to put all you need know at present into a nut-shell, I can only -say that the wicked Colonel returned here from foreign parts ten years -ago. He built that tower, and shut himself up to live the life of a -recluse. He brought Frisco with him, and the two inhabited that house -all alone. No one thought of going near it." - -"Ah! That is why the crime was not discovered earlier." - -"Certainly Doctor. The milkman, the baker, and the butcher, were -always instructed to leave their goods in a porch at the side of the -house. In that porch," added Bridge, "we have found two days -provisions. To-day is Friday, last night when you discovered the body -was Thursday, and the provisions for that day and Wednesday were -untouched." - -"H'm! So Carr was alive on Tuesday!" - -"I believe doctor, that he was murdered on Tuesday night. According to -Napper, Frisco, was drinking here on that evening, and spoke ill of -his master. Carr must have been alive then. If Frisco killed him, he -would leave Saxham on Tuesday night, therefore the provisions for -Wednesday and Thursday would not be taken in." - -"Did not the baker and the rest suspect anything, when they found two -day's provisions untouched?" - -"Lord bless you, no sir," said Bridge jovially. "The wicked Colonel -was that queer, that nothing he did seemed strange." - -"Well!" said Jim after a pause. "From what you tell me, it seems -likely that this man Frisco knows something of the murder, if he did -not commit it himself. Can't you find him?" - -"There is no sign of the man sir." - -"What about his appearance?" - -"A stout sailor, that's what he looked like," said Bridge reflecting, -"red hair and blue eyes, an American way of speaking, and a cross on -his forehead right above the nose." - -"A cross! What do you mean?" - -"A scar sir; a criss-cross slash with a knife. Frisco said he got it -in South America. But I don't rightly know how. Frisco could be secret -if he liked, even in his cups, and he could drink rum by the bucket." - -"Have you set the detectives after him?" - -"Not yet. I am waiting until the inquest is held. It takes place -to-day at 'The Pines.' You will be there Dr. Herrick, and your -friend?" - -"Certainly. But my friend can tell you no more than I can. If I were -you though Mr. Inspector, I should certainly seek out this Frisco man -at once. What is his real name?" - -"I don't know nor anyone else sir. He was a mystery I tell you. As to -looking him up, I like to do things in an orderly manner. First the -inquest and all the available evidence sir. Then we shall see." - -Herrick shrugged his broad shoulders. It was not his business to -instruct Bridge, but it seemed to him foolish to delay hunting for -this mysterious Frisco. The man might be innocent, but on the face of -it there appeared to be a strong suspicion against him. Men do not -disappear without some reason; and as Frisco was gone, leaving a dead -body behind him, it looked as though terror had winged his heels. His -reasons could resolve themselves into only one of two things. Either -he had murdered his master himself, and had fled to avoid the -consequences, or he knew who had committed the crime and, intimidated -by the assassin, had made himself scarce. - -While Herrick was turning over the situation in his own mind, a knock -came to the door, immediately afterwards a girl entered. She was a -slip of a thing, who looked about nineteen, slim and well-set up. Her -face was oval and thin, and burnt red by wind and sun. Herrick had -never before seen hair of such a glorious red; it resembled ruddy -gold, and was wreathed in burnished coils round her well-shaped head. -This young lady had eyes of a sapphire blue, and a firm-set mouth. -Dressed in a navy serge plainly made, with a linen collar, a brown -leathern belt, and gauntlet gloves, she looked trig and neat. A girl -likely to be passed over in a crowd until one looked into her -wonderful eyes. The soul that looked out of them proved she was a -woman of no common intelligence. Her manner was refined and well-bred. -She was remarkably cool, and after a shrewd glance at Herrick, -addressed herself to the Inspector. - -"I beg your pardon for interrupting you," she said in a brisk but not -unmusical voice, "this inquest Mr. Inspector?" - -"It takes place at 'The Pines' this afternoon Miss Endicotte," replied -Bridge who seemed to know her well. "But surely Miss you will not -attend." - -"Certainly Mr. Bridge. I do the copy for the Chronicle. Besides, poor -Colonel Carr was my friend, and I want to hear the truth about his -death." - -Herrick looked sharply at the only person he had heard speak -sympathetically of the dead man. "There lives some soul of good in all -things evil," he quoted, and a flash of the girl's teeth showed that -she perfectly understood. - -"Oh, I know that everyone speaks ill of the Colonel," said she a trifle -sadly, "he was bad enough, no doubt. Yet, your quotation applies to -him more than the gossip about him would lead you to suppose." Here -she glanced at Bridge. Not so much to emphasise the fact that he -talked ill of the dead, as to invite an introduction. Bridge was quick -to see her real meaning. - -"This is Dr. Herrick, who found the body," said he, "and this lady, -doctor is Miss Bess Endicotte, who reports for the Beorminster Weekly -Chronicle." - -Jim was a trifle surprised and disappointed to find that this charming -young lady occupied such a position, though why he should have been -either he could not explain even to himself. However he bowed with a -smile, and received the same courtesies in return. Miss Endicotte's -eyes rested approvingly on his splendid figure. "This is what I call a -man," they seemed to say, but with her tongue she uttered quite -different sentiments. - -"I am glad to meet you Dr. Herrick," she said gracefully, "you must -tell me all about your discovery,--that is, you do not mind my making -copy out of you." - -"Not at all," responded Herrick eagerly, "I am accustomed to be made -copy of. My friend Mr. Joyce, who is at present upstairs asleep, is a -literary man. I am quite hand and glove with the guild I assure you." - -"In that case we must be friends," said Miss Endicotte frankly. "Mr. -Joyce was with you last night?" - -"Unfortunate yes Miss Endicotte. He is a nervous man, and not strong. -I am sorry to say that the terrible sight upset him. All the good I -hoped he would obtain from this walking tour has disappeared." - -"Are you on a walking tour?" asked Bridge who was putting on his cap. - -"Yes! For the last fortnight we have been tramping over the country. -The last place we stopped at was Southberry. Then we crossed the Heath -to stumble on this disagreeable adventure. Why do you smile Miss -Endicotte?" - -The girl flushed a trifle. "I have heard of you!" - -"Of me," Jim stared, "but I am not known in this part of the country -my dear lady. Have we met before? Somehow, your face seems familiar?" - -"It would be more familiar were I two inches taller and had dark -hair," said Miss Endicotte with an amused look, "if you will stare -at"-- - -"Ah!" interrupted Jim eagerly, "I remember now. The lady I saw talking -to the little curate in Southberry church!"-- - -"Was my sister," replied the girl. "When you mentioned Southberry, I -remembered that she mentioned how you stared at her, and described -your appearance. Then I recognised you." - -"I hope your sister did not think me rude," said Jim rather confused, -"but the fact is, she is so--" - -"I know," interrupted Miss Bess composedly. "Ida is accustomed to -admiration. But this is not business," she added turning to Bridge, -"Well what's to be done now Mr. Inspector?" - -"Nothing can be done until the inquest is held," he replied going -towards the door. "But I recommend you Miss Bess, to interview this -gentleman. He can tell you much that will be of interest to your -readers." - -The Inspector slipped out with a laugh, and Miss Endicotte turned her -sparkling eyes on Dr. Herrick. "I hope you won't think me a nuisance," -she said, hesitating, "but if you could."-- - -"Only too pleased," said Jim placing a chair. "What is it you wish to -know Miss Endicotte?" - -"All about yourself and your friend, and the walking tour, and the -discovery." Thus far she rattled on blithely, but then flushed, and -stammered. "Please do not think me rude," she murmured, "in my present -capacity I am simply a machine for the Beormister Chronicle. If you do -not wish to tell me anything--" - -"I have not the slightest objection," replied Jim laughing. "Do you -object to my smoking? I can answer your questions better if I smoke." - -"Please do," cried Miss Endicotte eagerly. "I am used to it. My -brother Frank is never without a pipe in his mouth." - -"Your brother and I should get on well together then," said Herrick -artfully, not that he wanted to meet the brother so much as the -beauty-sister of Southberry Church, "however--this interview!" - -Miss Bess--as the Inspector called her, pulled out a pocket-book, and -became the reporter at once. She was versed in her profession and put -the shrewdest of questions. All the same she appeared to be nervous at -times, and Herrick guessed that it was the innately refined woman -struggling with the necessary obstrusiveness of the bread-winner. -However he did his best to put her at her ease, and told his story as -concisely as possible. - -"My name is James Calthorpe Herrick," he said. "I am a doctor, -supposed to be practising in West Kensington, London. My friend Joyce -was one of my patients--is I should say. He lost his mother and fell -ill--by the way you need not put that down Miss Endicotte. All you -need let your readers know is, that Mr. Joyce and myself have been on -a walking tour, and stumbled--as I said before, on the Pines, and the -body." After which statement Herrick detailed the arrival at the -lighted house, the exploration and the discovery. - -Miss Endicotte put all this down, and promised to amplify it in such a -manner that it would not trench upon Herrick's private affairs. Then -he asked the girl about Colonel Carr. She was rather reticent on the -subject. - -"I do not feel that I am justified in speaking of the matter," she -said shaking her head, "all I can say is that Colonel Carr was better -than his reputation. From what I can gather he was murdered. Well, he -expected to be--that is--" she broke off and flushed. - -"He expected to be murdered!" Herrick looked keenly at her. - -"Hush," said Miss Endicotte with a glance at the door. "I have no -right to say that. It is a long story, and not very clear. If you -remain in Saxham, if we become better acquainted, I might--how long do -you stay?" - -"It all depends upon my friend," replied Herrick his curiosity at -fever-heat with these hints, "he is ill I am afraid. I must go up and -see him now. We shall meet again I hope." - -"I think so. I shall be at the inquest. And you?" - -"Of course. I must give evidence. Joyce also if he is well enough. By -the way Bridge mentioned some relatives of Carr's. Who are they?" - -"Mrs. Marsh and her son," said the girl with some reluctance, "they -live in the Bishop's Close at Beorminster. It will be a great shock to -them, although they were not on good terms with the Colonel." - -"Will they be at the inquest?" - -"Mr. Marsh will be there but his mother is very ill. She caught cold a -day or two ago, and is now in bed with a sharp attack of pneumonia." - -"Troubles never come singly," said Herrick sententiously, "by the way, -the suspicions of Bridge about Frisco?--" - -"I am sure he is innocent," cried Miss Endicotte flushing. "Frisco was -bad, but he loved the Colonel. He would not have killed him. I--I--" -she suddenly shook her head, checked herself, and walked out of the -room. Herrick stared. Was it possible that this charming girl knew the -truth? - - - - -CHAPTER III -THE VERDICT OF THE JURY - - -Robin woke calmer after his rest. The nervous excitement had passed -away, but the reaction had left him as weak as a child. He looked -shrivelled up and pale when Herrick saw him. At once the doctor sat -down to feel the little man's pulse, which was slow and faint. - -"You must stay in bed to-day," ordered the doctor replacing his watch. -"I shall send you up some strong soup. Sleep as much as you can, that -is the best thing to pull you round." - -"Should I not get up to look after this business with you?" - -"There is no need. The police have taken charge of the Case. Your -evidence is exactly the same as mine, so I shall represent you at the -Inquest." - -"Is there to be an inquest?" asked Joyce with languid interest. - -"Certainly! This afternoon at the house. From what Inspector Bridge -told me it would seem that Colonel Carr was shot on Tuesday night." - -"Is the dead man's name Colonel Carr?" - -"Yes! Wicked Colonel Carr. From all accounts he was one of the worst." - -"Why did he commit suicide?" - -"He did not, if Bridge is to be believed. He insists that the man was -shot--perhaps by his servant, who has vanished. However we shall hear -all that is to be heard this afternoon." - -A colour crept into the wan cheek of Joyce. "I should like to get up -and hear all about it," said he, "there might be material for a -story." - -"You can hear details later on. At present you must stay in bed, until -we return to Town." - -"What about our walking tour?" - -"I have decided to cut that short," replied the doctor, "this -adventure has given me a distaste for the trip. In a day or so, when -you are rested we will return to London. My practice is small but I -must attend to it." - -"And what about me Jim?" - -"Well!" reflected Herrick, "you are now well enough off not to make -work an imperative necessity. I think you should go abroad for a time, -and do nothing, until you are quite yourself. Explore Italy or Spain, -and don't do a stroke of work. Change of scene and company will make -you your old self again in a short time." - -"Never, never!" moaned Joyce. "I shall never get over her death." - -"Nonsense! Don't give way Robin. You must be a man--" - -"It was so sudden," pleaded Robin piteously. - -"I know. Didn't I attend her! But apoplexy always ends suddenly. Your -mother was a stout woman and took no exercise. That fit might have -been expected; I warned her often. You know I am sorry for your loss -Robin; but sorrow will not bring back the dead. You have your part to -play in the world, so you must put this grief behind you. If I talk a -little brutally, you must excuse me. To a man of your temperament, -sympathy is the worst thing possible." - -In Herrick's hands Joyce was more or less of a child, so he -submitted--rather against his will--to remain in bed, while his friend -went forth to hear the news. As might have been guessed Robin employed -his solitude in gloating over his sorrow. This weakness he did not -dare to reveal to Jim, fearing lest he should be lectured again. -Still, he could not but acknowledge to himself that Herrick's advice -was sensible. - -Meantime the doctor made a tour of the village. The villagers, -swarming like bees in the excitement of the moment, recognised a -stranger, and guessed that this was one of the two gentlemen said to -have discovered the body. Hence Herrick found himself the subject of -considerable curiosity, but was not molested or accosted in any way, -until he met with a clergyman. This was on the outskirts of the -village, where a gorse-covered common stretched up to the pine wood -surrounding the house of Colonel Carr. The parson seemed to have been -wandering on the waste land, for he appeared suddenly at Herrick's -elbow like a ghost. Probably he had seen the stranger coming and had -just stepped out from behind a bush. - -"You are Dr. Herrick?" he asked nervously. - -Jim signified that he was. "I am, addressing the vicar?" he hazarded. - -"The rector," corrected the other. "I am Mr. Pentland Corn. You will -excuse my breaking in on your meditations," he continued, "but I -guessed that you were the finder of the body of our late lamented -friend." - -"Humph! From all I have heard, there is very little lamentation over -the Colonel's death." - -"Scandal and evil tongues," replied Mr. Corn rather tautologically, -"Carr had his good points." - -"That is what Miss Endicotte says." - -"Indeed! I was not aware that you knew Miss Endicotte?" - -"She came to the inn this morning to see Inspector Bridge about -this--" - -"Wait!" said the Revd. Pentland in a hurry, "some mistake. Miss Bess -is the journalist. Her elder sister Miss Ida is the head of the -family. The nominal head I should say, since Miss Bess manages -everything." - -The rector smiled as he spoke, and Herrick on account of that smile -took rather a fancy to him. The Revd. Pentland Corn--wonderful -name--was something under forty; and looked more like a soldier than a -parson. He had a smart soldierly figure, wore a moustache, and his -hair cropped close. But for his clothes, Herrick would have taken him -for a military man. He looked pale, there were dark circles under his -eyes, and he seemed to be labouring under considerable stress of -emotion. Perhaps the death of Carr had been too much for him. Yet -after the first remark he shirked the subject and talked of the -Endicottes. - -"That is the proper name of the family," said Corn hurriedly, "a very -old family in these parts. But Miss Bess calls her collective brothers -and sisters 'The Biff's.'" - -Dr. Jim smiled. There seemed to be something fascinating about the -name, something characteristic of the girl he had met at the inn. "The -Biff's," he repeated laughing outright, "and how is that derived from -the high sounding name of Endicotte?" - -"It is not derived from that at all Dr. Herrick. It is simply the -initials of the family. There are five of them. Bess, Ida, Frank, Flo, -and Sidney." - -"I see; Biff's! Ha! Ha, how amusing. Do they live near here?" - -"A quarter of a mile away, at the back of my house. Sidney is my pupil -and a strange boy he is. But I have no business to tell all these -things to a stranger," added Corn in confusion. - -"Anything you say to me is perfectly safe," replied Herrick -pleasantly. "I think Miss Bess a clever young lady." - -"And as good as she is clever." - -"A great friend of the late Colonel's I believe," said Jim. - -Pentland Corn moistened his dry lips. "He was kind to her," was his -reply delivered in a faint voice. "You will excuse my emotion Dr. -Herrick but I am rather shaken by this death. Usually we are free from -crime, and for this to happen in my parish! It is terrible. - -"You knew Colonel Carr well?" - -"Very well. I tried to win him from his evil ways. But he was cut off -in the midst of his sin. Oh, it is awful. Yet I liked him. He was a -good friend to me on one occasion. The reason I stopped you, was to -ask if you met anyone in the house last night." - -"No one. Myself and my friend hunted all over it. The servant bolted, -I have been told." - -"Frisco has certainly disappeared," responded Corn looking at the -ground, "but I do not think he is the guilty person. He was devoted to -the Colonel." - -"Then why did he run away?" - -"Ah! who can say! There was a mystery in Colonel Carr's life Mr. -Herrick, which I fear will never be cleared up. You will be at the -Inquest?" - -"Yes. It takes place at three this afternoon. And you sir?" - -"No! I shall not be there. I cannot bear to--but that is neither here -nor there," broke off Corn hurriedly, "tell me, was the house alight?" - -"Every room was lighted. It blazed like a palace in the wood." - -"Colonel Carr's whim. He surrounded himself with the most beautiful -things and installed the electric light. Water power you know," added -the rector rather inconsequently. "I expect the wheel was going -constantly for the two days before the body was discovered." - -Herrick recollected the murmur in the wood, and now guessed that it -came from the waterfall, which turned the wheel for the dynamos. There -was no doubt that Colonel Carr surrounded himself with every comfort. -"Did he ever have guests to stay with him?" he asked. - -The rector made a gesture of surprise. "If you had known Colonel Carr -you would not ask such a question. He hated his fellow-mortals." - -"Then why had he so many bedrooms?" - -"I cannot tell you. But I am certain that he never had anyone to stay -in the house. I have been in it once or twice myself, and Miss Bess -has paid a visit. But no other person has ever entered." - -"Humph! Quite a mystery. What about Marsh?" - -"Ah I expect you heard of him from Miss Bess. He is a great friend of -the Biffs. Stephen Marsh will inherit the Colonel's property I -expect." - -"What relation was he to Carr?" - -"His nephew. But the two never spoke. They hated each other." - -"Mrs. Marsh then is the Colonel's sister?" - -"Oh, dear me no. The present Mrs. Marsh is only step-mother to Stephen. -A violent terrible woman with Italian blood in her veins. It was she I -think who put Stephen against his uncle." - -"She is very ill I hear. Pneumonia." - -"Dear me," said Corn startled, "why she was at my house on Tuesday! -But it was raining when Stephen came for her. I expect she got a chill -then." - -"No doubt. At all events she is seriously ill now I understand." - -"Ha!" said the rector and looked down again. "I wonder if any doctor -will attend her. She has quarrelled with them all. Well, there is no -more to be said Dr. Herrick. By the way, if I have talked freely, you -must excuse me for doing so. I have a reason. Some day I hope to tell -it to you. Are you stopping here for long?" - -"A day or so. I am on a walking tour with my friend Mr. Joyce. We -return shortly to London. Good-day Mr. Corn." - -"Good-day," replied the rector raising his hat, and slipped away into -the gorse bushes like a ghost. - -Herrick walked on somewhat puzzled. What was the meaning of this frank -speech, to a stranger. The parson looked smarter and more of a man of -the world than many serious minded people would have approved of. Yet -he had talked, to say the least of it, in a most indiscreet manner. -Moreover he had promised (quite unnecessarily) to explain his reason -for doing so to the doctor. What did it all mean? "Does he know -something, as well as Miss Bess?" thought Herrick returning to the -inn. "Both of them seem to have a better opinion of Colonel Carr, than -the rest of the people. Humph! I seem to be surrounded by mysteries -here. Well. We shall see what the inquest will do." - -Robin proved more fractious than Herrick expected. He was most anxious -to be present at the inquest: but in the end over-ruled by the -stronger will of his friend, he consented to remain where he was. The -doctor walked by himself to the Pines, and was received by Inspector -Bridge who introduced him to the Coroner, and to Dr. Tiler, who had -examined the body. After some discussion, Bridge collected a jury of -mixed villagers and Beorminster citizens. After these had inspected -the body, the witnesses were called. - -Herrick gave evidence of his discovery, of the position of the body, -and of the condition of the house. He was followed by Tiler, who -declared that in his opinion Carr had been shot on Tuesday night -(going by the condition of the body). He flouted the idea of suicide. - -"The shirt-front was neither blackened nor singed," said Tiler, "and -it would have been had the deceased fired the revolver at so close a -range. He was shot through the heart, and as I believe, by someone who -stood at the door. It seems to me, that he was standing by the bed, -and heard a footstep on the stairs. At once he turned, only to meet -the levelled revolver. The shot passed through his heart and imbedded -itself in the opposite wall. Again, there are three other shots in -different parts of the body. One in the neck, another in the abdomen, -and a third in the right leg. But the shot that killed the deceased -was the the first that went through the heart." - -"How do you know that such a shot was the first?" asked the Coroner. - -"From an examination of the wounds," replied Tiler, "the remaining -three shots were fired when the man was down. - -"And dead!" said the Coroner aghast. - -"Certainly. The deceased must have died almost instantaneously." - -A thrill of horror passed through those present at the idea, that the -assassin had fired three more shots at the dead body. There was -something horrible about the wreaking of such vengeance. And vengeance -it must have been, for Bridge proved that no robbery had taken place. - -But the most interesting part of Bridge's evidence was yet to come. He -produced the revolver found in the hand of the dead man. All six -chambers proved to be loaded. Therefore it would not have been this -weapon which had been used. The idea of suicide was out of the -question. - -"Also gentlemen," continued the Inspector, "the first shot was fired -with a different weapon to that employed to fire the other three. The -bullet which passed through the heart and embedded itself in the wall, -has been extracted. Here it is. The other three shots were found in -the body and in the floor. Here they are." - -The pieces of evidence thus produced were placed before the jury. The -first bullet was round--of the old-fashioned kind fired from a -muzzle-loading pistol. The remaining three were conical in shape, and -of the most modern manufacture. Plainly then two pistols had been -used. One of an antique pattern to fire the first shot--the shot which -killed the Colonel: and the other a revolver of the most modern type. -And this latter had been merely employed to make a target of the dead -body. "Finally," said Bridge after explaining all this, "the third -pistol--or rather revolver found in the hand of the deceased, was not -fired at all. The chambers are loaded--there is no smoke-stain on -the barrels. It was simply put into the left hand of the dead to -hint at suicide. The person who did so, knew that Colonel Carr was -left-handed, but in his agitation forgot that the six chambers were -loaded. In fact he defeated his own scheme." - -This evidence was surprising enough. Why should the assassin use two -pistols, when one would have sufficed? "And?" asked the Coroner, "why -do you say 'he' Mr. Inspector? Do you then think that the guilty -person is a man?" - -"I don't think a woman would have committed so brutal a murder," said -Bridge bluntly. "She would have been satisfied with killing the man, -and not have proceeded to mutilate the body. Also the idea of putting -a revolver into the hand of the dead would not occur to a woman." - -"There I differ from you Mr. Inspector," contradicted the Coroner, "a -woman might do such a thing, and it is more likely a woman would -forget in her agitation that the revolver was loaded, than would a man -in the like circumstances." - -Inspector and Coroner argued out this point. At length Bridge losing -his temper stated that he believed Frisco shot his master and called -Napper as a witness. - -The landlord stated that on Tuesday night at six o'clock Frisco had -been drinking rum at the Carr Arms. He seemed to be angry with his -master whom he alleged had treated him badly. As he left the inn, -about seven o'clock, he said, "let him take care, or he won't live -long." At the time Napper thought it was merely a drunken threat; but -in the face of the death and Frisco's flight he thought that the man -was guilty. Of course the Coroner, who had lost his temper with -Bridge, told Napper that he did not want his opinion, but simply his -evidence. There was further trouble about this remark, in which the -Inspector got the worst of it. - -A final witness was Stephen Marsh. He was a tall slight young man with -bowed shoulders, and a pensive face. He stated that he had called on -the evening of the murder for his mother at the rectory. She had been -up at "The Pines" in the afternoon, and as she drove home told him, -that Colonel Carr had expressed his intention of living for many a -long day. - -Coroner. "Why is Mrs. Marsh not here to give evidence?" - -Marsh. "My mother is seriously ill in bed and could not come." - -Coroner. "Her evidence must be taken. Did she say how the conversation -came about to induce the deceased to make such a speech." - -Marsh. "Yes! My mother wanted the Colonel to lend her some money. He -refused. She said that he might as well, as when he died the estate -would come to me. It was then that my uncle expressed his -determination to live for many a long day. I merely give this evidence -to show that my uncle had no thought of committing suicide." - -Coroner. "Have you seen your uncle lately?" - -Marsh. "No! Not for six months. We were not on good terms." - -Coroner. "How was it then that Mrs. Marsh called to see him on the -afternoon of the murder?" - -Marsh. "She was determined to go. I asked her not to, but she -insisted." - -At this reply there came a smile upon the faces of those of the jury -who lived at Beorminster. Afterwards Herrick learned that Mrs. Marsh -was well known as possessed of a violent temper, and there was no -doubt (as some one remarked) that she had given the Colonel a good -talking to. - -However the evidence of Marsh did not point to who had killed Carr. At -the time there was no more available evidence. Bridge insisted that -Frisco was guilty. He had left the house in the clothes he stood up -in, evidently driven forth in a panic. He had made inquiries, and had -heard from the police at Southberry, that Frisco--or a person -answering to the description of Frisco--had gone to London by the -morning train. At this moment Herrick asked to be allowed to give -further evidence. He had just recollected that he had seen such a man -as was described. - -"I was stopping at Southberry," said Herrick, "waiting for my friend -Mr. Joyce who had gone to London. He went up on Tuesday morning. I was -stopping at an inn near the railway station. I got up early--about -seven--to send a wire to my house in London. I had to go to the -telegraph office at the station. On the platform I saw a stout man -with a soft hat pulled over his face. He was dressed in a blue serge -suit with a red tie, and looked like a sailor. I waited until the -London train went, and saw him get into a third class carriage." - -Coroner. "How is it Dr. Herrick that you recollect this only now?" - -"Because I never thought of the matter before. Since Inspector Bridge -has given a description of the dress and especially the red tie. I am -sure the man was Frisco. I did not see his face." - -The Coroner was displeased with this evidence, and said so. In fact he -was a disagreeable man, with a strong animus against Bridge. As there -was no more evidence, he summed up, trying to prove that Frisco could -have had nothing to do with the murder. However the jury were of a -different opinion and more sensible, so they brought in a verdict of -wilful murder against Frisco. This made the Coroner ill-tempered again -and he left "The Pines" in a great rage. However the verdict was -given, the inquest was at an end, and the jury left the house. - -Stephen Marsh as the nearest relative of the dead man, asked Bridge to -allow the three policeman to remain in the house, as he had to return -to his mother. Bridge consented, and then Marsh went up to Herrick who -was standing in the hall. - -"Doctor," said he, "will you come with me to Beorminster? I want you -to attend my mother." - -Herrick stared. "She has a doctor already has she not Mr. Marsh?" - -Marsh shook his head. "No," he replied in a low voice "no Beorminster -doctor will attend her. Please come sir. She is so ill." - -Although he was partly prepared for this explanation, Herrick could -not help staring. What had Mrs. Marsh done that the medical fraternity -at Beorminster should boycott her in this way? "You are quite sure -that no one will attend her?" he asked incredulously. - -"Perfectly. She has quarrelled with all the doctors. I am very lucky -to find you Dr. Herrick, or I should be obliged to send to London or -to Southberry. And we are so poor, that the expense would be too much -for us. You will come I hope." - -Jim liked the young man's face. It was soft and mild, but remarkably -handsome in a dark way. He could quite understand from such a face -that a woman of imperious temper such as Mrs. Marsh appeared to be, -could dominate and bully her step-son. If fact Stephen gave Herrick -the impression of being crushed. It seemed to be Herrick's fate to -meet with people who needed to be bolstered up,--witness Robin Joyce. -Also he had a shrewd suspicion that the Revd. Pentland Corn was of the -weak type. The proverb says that some men come into the world booted -and spurred others saddled and bridled. Herrick was of the former -type, and these three weaklings of the latter. However, in spite of -his strong will, and dominating character, Jim had a kind heart. He -therefore consented to do Marsh the favour he asked. - -"But I must go first to the inn," he said, "my friend is there, and I -must see after him." - -"I'll wait for you," said Stephen, "but pray do not be long. I think -my mother is dying." - -"Nonsense," said Dr. Jim cheerily, "I'll pull her round. Never give -way." - -Marsh put out his hand and shook Jim's. "I have wanted a friend for -many a long day," he said. "I believe I have found one in you." - -"That's all right Marsh," and so Jim took a second burden on his -shoulder. - - - - -CHAPTER IV -AT BEORMINSTER - - -On their way to the inn, Herrick and his companion, met Bess -Endicotte. She looked angry and her eyes sparkled as she advanced -towards the two men. - -"Isn't it a shame?" she said rapidly, "that verdict I mean. I don't -believe that Frisco killed the Colonel." - -"If he did not there was no reason why he should have run away," -replied Marsh. - -"Well!" cried Miss Endicotte indignantly, "I did not expect to hear, -you say that Stephen. You know as well as I do that the Colonel always -said that Frisco was in the same danger as he was himself." - -"What danger was that?" asked Herrick sharply. - -Bess hesitated, and seemed to regret that she had let her tongue wag -so freely, but Marsh answered for her. "We do not know what it was," -he said simply, "but my uncle always hinted that he had enemies. -Frisco knew his secrets; we did not." - -"And if that is the case why should Frisco kill him?" retorted Bess. -"However what is done can't be undone. I suppose Frisco will be -arrested!" - -"They'll have to catch him first," said Dr. Jim a trifle grimly, "and -as the man has got away so rapidly, and is now lost in the wilderness -of London, I expect they will have some difficulty in doing that." - -"You are sure it was Frisco you saw at Southberry?" - -"Well I did not see his face. But the clothes of the man at the -station were the same in all respects as those described by Napper." - -"I've put everything down," said Miss Endicotte, "and now I am going -home to Biffstead to put the article into shape. But I do not believe -that Frisco is guilty. Who is, I do not pretend to know; but I intend -to find out." - -"What the police fail to do, you cannot Bess," said Stephen wagging -his head, "but we must not wait. Dr. Herrick is coming with me to -Beorminster." - -"I'm so glad," cried the girl. "It is a shame none of the doctors -seeing your mother! How lucky that Dr. Herrick is here. I shall see -you again doctor shan't I! I have much to say to you." - -"I shall call on you with pleasure," said Jim gravely shaking hands. -"At Biffstead I suppose?" - -Both Stephen and Bess laughed. "Oh, that is only my joke," said she, "I -call our family the Biffs and the house Biffstead. The Grange is where -we live. Anyone will point out the place. Come when you can." - -As the two men resumed their walk, Herrick could not forbear -expressing himself about Bess. "What a clever girl she is," said he, -"those eyes of hers twinkle like stars when she grows excited. You -know the family do you not Marsh?" - -"I have known them all my life. We played together as children. Ida is -my greatest friend." - -Herrick glanced a little jealously at the young man. "I saw her by -chance at Southberry," he said carelessly, "she is very beautiful." - -"Very, but not so clever as Bess. Bess is the head and tail and middle -of the family. Were it not for her, it would go to pieces. But here we -are at the inn. I'll wait for you here Herrick." - -"I won't be long," said the doctor, and ran up the stairs. - -As might be guessed Robin the selfish was by no means pleased to be -left alone. He did not want Jim to go to Beorminster, not even -although the call was so imperative. "What shall I do without you?" he -asked. - -"You will go to sleep," replied Herrick calmly, "now no nonsense -Joyce. I have promised to see Mrs. Marsh and I must keep my word." - -"How long will you be?" - -"It all depends upon the state in which I find Mrs. Marsh. If she is -very ill I may stay all night. Good-bye Robin." - -"Good-bye," returned the little man a trifle sulkily, "there is far -too much of the good Samaritan about you Jim." - -"You never think of that in relation to yourself," said Herrick with a -laugh. "I hope to be back this evening. Make yourself comfortable." - -As he ran down to rejoin Marsh, he could not help contrasting the two -natures of Stephen and Robin. It is true that he had not had much -experience of Marsh; but from what he had seen of him, he judged that -he was of a grateful, kindly disposition. Joyce on the other hand, -although he looked upon Jim as his best friend, was selfish to the -core. Herrick from long association, and because he had plucked him -back on one occasion from the grave, was attached to him. But he -oftentimes acknowledged that were not Robin an interesting "case" from -a medical point of view, as he undoubtedly was, he could not stand -much of him. Still he had been so long the little man's friend, that -he could not tear himself away from old associations. Nevertheless -Robin's yoke was beginning to gall, and Herrick was glad to get a day -away from his society. Friendship is a tender plant, and nothing kills -it sooner than selfishness. But Robin in his peevish self-satisfaction -had not the sense to see that. - -"Do you mind going by the bus?" asked Marsh with a flush. "I am not -rich enough to afford a cart of any sort." - -"I am quite used to public conveyances," said Herrick gaily, "and as -to your being poor, the dark days are over now." - -"I suppose so," replied Marsh thankfully, "at least my uncle always -told me that I was to be his heir, although we quarrelled so much. I -have to take the name of Carr, and fulfil certain duties. I do not -know what they are, but I shall do them if only to get the money. I do -so want to be rich. Ah here is the bus." - -"What about the will?" asked Herrick as they climbed up to the roof of -the clumsy conveyance, "pardon me, perhaps I should not ask you." - -"I do not mind in the least," said Stephen, "indeed I am glad to find -that you take an interest in me. I have had a lonely life. The Biffs -are my only friends. By the way who told you about the Biffs?" - -Herrick described his meeting with Pentland Corn, and the conversation -that had ensued. "He was remarkably confidential," said Herrick. - -"That is strange," said Marsh thoughtfully. "He usually keeps his -mouth very much closed. However," he added in a lighter tone, "we can -talk of him again. At present, we will speak of the will. I have -written to my uncle's solicitors informing them of his terrible death. -I expect to hear from them to-morrow or the next day--perhaps later." - -"Who are your uncle's lawyers--or rather I should say yours?" - -"Frith and Frith!" - -"Of Steel Lane. Cheapside?" asked Herrick in a tone of surprise. - -"Yes! Do you know them?" - -"I know of them. They are the solicitors of my friend Joyce!" - -"That is strange," said Marsh gaily, "the world is very small after -all is it not. But I am forgetting my mother," he added sadly. - -"I was told that Mrs. Marsh was your step-mother." - -"So she is; but we get on very well together. She is devoted to me. I -expect you have heard of her violent temper." - -"Well I have," said Herrick hesitating, "it seems to be well known, if -you will excuse my saying so." - -"Oh, it's Town talk," replied Stephen with a vexed flush, "but she is -really a good dear woman, and her own worst enemy. Since my father's -death five years ago she has been my best friend. Once she nursed me -through a most serious illness. There are worse women in the world -than my step-mother Herrick, as you will find. She is a noble-looking -woman, and I am glad to be rich if only for her sake. She is fond of -luxury, but for my sake has borne poverty. And we have been very, very -poor," finished Stephen with a sigh. - -Every word the young man uttered revealed his good heart. Jim was -pleased to find such an unsophisticated youth for once in his life. -The young men he knew were usually old before their time, and took a -pride in being so. But Marsh talked with such candour, that Herrick -saw he was as simple as the day. "You are a good fellow Marsh," said -Jim. "I am glad to have met you." - -"I echo your compliment," said the other, "but here we are at -Beorminster. I hope my mother is no worse." - -The vehicle stopped at the foot of the hill upon which the cathedral -was built. Herrick followed his companion up a winding street, as -steep as those at Malta, and after a breathless climb found himself in -the great square. The vast fabric of the cathedral rose black against -a saffron sky, and the bells were ringing for the evening service. -Stephen led the way towards a far corner of the square, and turned -into a dingy side street sloping down the other side of the hill. -Stopping at a tall narrow house three doors down, he admitted himself -by means of his latch-key and conducted his companion into a dark -passage. A woman with a candle held high above her head appeared at -the end. She was very old, with white hair and fierce black eyes, a -foreigner, as Herrick guessed. - -"How is my mother, Petronella?" asked Stephen hurriedly. - -"Eh Gran' Dio, bad, very bad Signor," replied the old Italian, "she -die if no doctor come!" - -"I have brought one, Petronella." - -"Thanks be to the saints!" cried Petronella. "This way Signor Dottore. -My signora is up the stair. Piano! Piano. She is bad so bad. Piano!" - -Herrick suppressed a laugh. The "Piano! Piano" of Petronella reminded -him of the opening chorus in the Barber of Seville. However he -recovered his grave air when introduced into the bedroom of Mrs. -Marsh. A few minutes examination convinced him that she was extremely -ill. Her pulse was rapid, she was in a high fever, and her face looked -scarlet. Still she was conscious, and when the doctor had finished -with her for the time being she beckoned to her step-son. - -"The death--the examination?" she asked hoarsely. - -"The jury have brought in a verdict of wilful murder against Frisco." - -In spite of the pain she was suffering Mrs. Marsh sank back on her -pillow with a smile. "I always thought that man would kill Carr some -day" she muttered. "Who is the doctor Stephen?" - -Marsh detailed all he knew about Herrick while that gentleman was -giving directions to Petronella. His step-mother listened attentively, -and nodded when he finished. "I am glad he had the decency to come," -she said. "These wretches here should be punished by the law. I don't -want to die now there is a chance of being comfortable for the rest of -my life." - -"You must not talk Mrs. Marsh," said Herrick coming to her bedside, -"and I think your son had better go downstairs." - -"Am I very ill?" asked the woman. - -"Oh, you are not so bad as you might be," replied Jim cheerfully, "do -not excite yourself, obey my directions, and you will be all right -shortly." - -"I suffer such pains," moaned Mrs. Marsh, "I can get no sleep. -Chloral." - -"What's that?" asked Herrick sharply. - -"Chloral or morphia. Give me something to soothe the pain." - -"I'll see to it," said the doctor cheerfully, and looked at the -handsome face of his patient. He saw that she was a highly-strung -woman, and from the word she had used he guessed that she was in the -habit of taking chloral to induce sleep. Mrs. Marsh was the kind of -person who would end her days in a mad-house, if not soothed by -artificial means. From the passionate expression in her eyes, the -wrinkles on her face, her impatient gestures, Herrick saw that she had -absolutely no control over her temper. Perhaps the rumours he had -heard of her influenced such a judgment; but afterwards he found that -he was absolutely right. The outbursts of rage to which Mrs. Marsh was -subject were little removed from madness. The only person who could -deal with her was Petronella, who (as Herrick learned) had been her -nurse, and knew how to manage and humour her. - -"I shall stay here all night," he said to the Italian, after certain -remedies had been applied. "Make up a bed for me somewhere and send -out to the chemist for this prescription to be made up." - -It was late when Jim descended. He found Stephen waiting for him at -the foot of the stairs, and was conducted by him into a small bare -room, sparsely furnished with two arm chairs, a few 'books and a table -covered with writing materials. Herrick rather tired, threw himself -into one of the chairs, and informed Stephen that he would stay the -night. - -"Is my mother so ill?" asked the young man anxiously. - -"Pretty bad, but I have seen worse cases. Don't you trouble yourself -Marsh. I'll do the best I can to save her life." - -"Save her life," echoed Stephen sadly. "Ah, what a terrible thing it -will be if she dies now, when wealth is coming. She always wanted to -be rich and now--life is very cruel." - -"That depends upon the way you look at it," said Jim. "Give me some -supper Marsh, and a whisky. I feel rather played out." - -The meal was waiting in a poverty-stricken looking dining-room. Jim -saw that the pauperism of the Marshes was no fiction. They were -evidently terribly poor. Certainly the Colonel had done nothing to -alleviate their distress. "He would not give us a penny," said Stephen -after supper, and when they were smoking in the small room which -proved to be the young man's special sanctum. "All the time he kept -telling me that I was his heir, but refused to help my mother and me. -I do not want to speak evil of the dead" added Stephen, "but Colonel -Carr--" he shook his head. - -By this time Herrick had seen his patient sinking into a sleep, and -leaving Petronella to call him should anything go wrong, was prepared -for a little conversation. He utilised the time by asking Marsh about -himself and his uncle. The young man answered him with the utmost -frankness, and indeed seemed glad to have a friend in whom he could -confide. - -"My father was a gentleman farmer," he said, "but he attended more to -pleasure than to business. While out hunting, he saved the life of -Miss Carr the Colonel's sister. Afterwards she married him. I was -their only child, for my mother died when I was born. My father lost -all his money from reckless living, and went abroad for economy. In -Italy he met my step-mother, who is the daughter of an English consul -by an Italian mother. He met her in a little town on the Adriatic -coast. Her father was dead and she was alone save for Petronella. It -was her intention to become a singer; but she fell in love with my -father. He brought her home to Beorminster, along with Petronella, who -would not leave her. With what remained of his money, my father bought -this house. Five years ago he died, leaving my mother two hundred a -year. With this freehold and that income we have managed to scrape -along. I was educated at Bedford, and afterwards went to Oxford. My -father said that though he could give me no money, he could at least -afford me a decent education. I believe he pinched himself to do so. -Mrs. Marsh helped me; for she has always been good to me. I was -twenty-one years old when my father died, and after the funeral I -wanted to go to London and become a journalist. Mrs. Marsh however -would not hear of this. She insisted that I was the Colonel's heir and -that I should wait till he died.----" - -"Ah!" interrupted Herrick shaking his head, "bad thing waiting for -dead men's shoes." - -"Do you think it was my wish to do so?" protested Stephen -passionately. "I should much have preferred to earn my own living, and -fight my way in London. I have some talent as a poet and a writer, and -I was prepared to battle with the world like other people. But Mrs. -Marsh made me stop with her. I am twenty-six years of age now, and I -have done nothing. I write poetry and send it to the American -magazines, also a few prose articles. These keep me supplied with -pocket-money. It was Bess who put me on to the New York papers. There, -the editors are more open to new talent." - -"And the Colonel refused to help you?" - -"Always. But I never asked him. I hated that man," said Marsh between -his teeth. "I never went near his house. At times my mother called to -see him. She always fought viciously with him, and I think he liked -her for that. Most people were afraid of him, and he admired her for -standing up to him. Colonel Carr thought me a fool and a weakling -because I stayed with Mrs. Marsh instead of going out into the world. -But I ask you Herrick, what else could I have done? Mrs. Marsh had -always been good to me; she sacrificed much so that I might be well -educated, so the least I could do was to stop with her. Again and -again I wanted her to come with me to London; but she always refused." - -"I understand," said Jim, filling his pipe, "she wished to keep an eye -on the Colonel." - -"I think so. Carr always said that I was to be his heir. He has no -relative but me, and he was reported to be wealthy." - -"I should think so Marsh. That house is filled with treasure! Did he -inherit his money?" - -Stephen looked up alertly. "Ah, now you are touching on the secret of -Carr's life," he said with some excitement. "His father died ruined, -and left him nothing but 'The Pines' with a few acres of farm, and -corn-land. Do you know how old Colonel Carr was, doctor?" - -"No! I saw him only after his death. Not very old I should say." - -"Just sixty," replied Stephen, "and into his life he crammed enough -wickedness to fill a century. He was twenty when his father died, and -in the army. By gambling and speculating he supported himself, and -left his sister, my mother, in that old ruined house. Afterwards he -left the army--cashiered for cheating at cards, and led a hand to -mouth existence. But he would never sell 'The Pines,' however hard up -he was. He stopped there on occasions, and played the devil all round. -I can't tell you how bad he was. It is the common-talk of the -countryside. He was called Mad Carr, and Wicked Carr." - -"Colonel Carr?" put in Herrick. - -"No! he was only a captain when he left the army at the age of thirty. -I believe he called himself Colonel when he returned ten years ago." - -"From what quarter of the world?" - -Marsh shook his head. "I cannot tell you," said he slowly, "for twenty -years Carr vanished from England. My mother was left behind in the old -house, and afterwards married my father. She should have made a better -match, but she had little money, and the reputation of her brother did -her no good. However she married my father, and afterwards died when I -was born. That was the end of her. The Colonel left his lawyers to -look after the property, and remained away. I always heard that it was -in South America he picked up his money. At all events he returned -here ten years ago with plenty of cash. The first thing he did was to -put the house in order, and fill it with splendid furniture. He -engaged a staff of servants, and wanted to entertain. At first the -people were disposed to be friendly, but he went on worse than ever, -and everybody cut him. In a rage he sent away all the servants and -only kept Frisco." - -"Did Frisco come back with him from South America?" - -"Yes! But whether it was South America or North I cannot say. Frisco -could hold his tongue when he chose. However Carr turned his back on -the country people, and went on worse than ever. He was said to be mad -but I think it was mere devilment myself. One queer thing he did--no! -Two queer things." - -"The building of the tower was one," said Herrick shrewdly. - -Marsh nodded. "And the other mad act was the throwing down of the -walls and fences round the Pines." - -Dr. Jim looked puzzled. "Humph," said he, "I noticed that the house -had no fences round it. One came upon it suddenly, as if it had been -dropped from the skies. Carr threw down the walls, to show that he was -not afraid. On the other hand he must have built that tower to show -that he was." - -"I do not understand what you mean?" - -"Why? It is not difficult if you remember what you said to me when we -met that girl. You hinted that Carr was afraid of something in which -Frisco was concerned. Well then; evidently his first attitude was one -of defiance towards this fear. Afterwards he thought better of it and -built the tower. A man would not leave that splendid house to sleep in -a bare room at the top of a tower unless he was afraid." - -"I think you are right," said Stephen musingly, "but I don't know what -he was afraid of. It was the third year after he returned that he -built the tower, and he was in such a hurry to get it done, that he -had the men working at it by night. You know he has a magnificent -system of electricity round about 'The Pines.' Well, the lights were -on night after night until the tower was finished, and relays of -workmen replaced one another. The whole county wondered at the way -Carr went on." - -"He gave no explanation?" - -"No! He saw no one, but shut himself up like a hermit. Frisco attended -to the house, and cooked the Colonel's meals. But I think Carr often -cooked for himself. He was fond of cooking. For eight years he never -went outside that house." - -"Humph! That accounts for the gymnasium, the bowling alley, and the -shooting gallery. What about his business?" - -"He did it all my means of letter. Frith and Frith sent down a clerk -occasionally. Carr was a clever man of business, and invested his -money in good securities. So my mother said. She used to beard him in -his den." - -"And the clergyman, Corn?" - -"Yes! He called also to try and reform the Colonel, but he did not -succeed. A good fellow Corn, but weak. Can hold his tongue though." - -"On the contrary he talked a good deal to me." - -"So you said," muttered Stephen. "I wonder what he meant by that?" - -"Did he know the secret of Carr's life?" - -"Not that I know of. Corn always kept his mouth shut as I said. Why he -should have talked openly to you I can't say?" - -"It seems to me that there are mysteries on all sides," said Herrick -with a shrug. "Miss Bess used to visit Carr you say?" - -"She did once or twice; but I shall leave her to tell you of her -visits and her opinion of her host." - -"Marsh!" said Dr. Jim after a pause. "Have you any idea who murdered -Carr?" - -"No! Not the remotest. Unless it was Frisco." - -"On the face of it, one would think so. Why did Frisco run away?" - -Stephen rubbed his chin. "I think we must ask Bess," said he -thoughtfully, "if anyone knows what is at the back of all this it is -Bess Endicotte." - - - - -CHAPTER V -THE THEORY OF MRS. MARSH - - -For the next week or so, Herrick had his hands full. Mrs. Marsh grew -rapidly worse, and several times nearly slipped through his fingers. -But the doctor's skill, Petronella's nursing, and above all the -indomitable determination of Mrs. Marsh not to die, enabled her to -turn the corner. She became much better, but still suffered from -racking pains. At times Herrick gave her morphia, but did so -sparingly. From Petronella he learned that she had taken chloral for -years past, and feared that if she gained a taste for morphia she -might take to it instead of the weaker drug. For Stephen's sake, Jim -could not let that happen. - -Never had Herrick had so unruly a patient. He did not wonder that she -had quarrelled with all the Beorminster doctors. The wonder was that -she had a friend left. Her temper was ungovernable, and she fought -Herrick on every point that did not chime in with her inclinations. In -spite of the fact that he was attending her out of sheer kindness, and -had intimated to Stephen that he expected no fee, Mrs. Marsh abused -him virulently whenever she felt so inclined. But then she abused -everyone, even Petronella, who was her slave. As to Stephen, devoted -as he was to her, she could not find words bad enough for him -sometimes. He was a fool, a ninny, a milksop, he lived upon her -charity, etc., etc. Yet there were times when the young man was all -that was good in her eyes. Even Herrick came in for his share of -praise at odd moments. - -"Gran' Dio!" Petronella would say to Herrick after some tussel, "was -there ever such a diavola as the Padrona?" - -"The old Italian woman had taken a great fancy to Dr. Jim. He was good -to her mistress whom she idolized, he was kind to Petronella herself, -and could speak her language. He had once made a tour of Europe for -three years with a young dipsomaniac and had contrived to pick up -three or four tongues, which he spoke remarkably correctly. Spanish, -French, German, Italian, Dr. Jim knew them all and could both read and -write them with wonderful accuracy. In the eyes of Petronella he was a -marvellous man, and she often talked to him on subjects which she -would not discuss with anyone else. - -"Do not be angry with the padrona Signor Dottore," she said sometimes, -"it is the blood of the Michelotto family. Eh, the Michelotti were -wicked!" - -"Like Colonel Carr? Eh, Petronella?" - -"Signor Dottore, the Colonel was an angel of light to the wicked -Michelotti. The padrona is the last of them, and it is not wonder she -is angry. Per Bacco," added Petronella who could swear on occasions, -"see this casa--a fitting casa for the last of the grand signori." - -"But it is all right now Petronella. As soon as your signora can be -removed we shall take her to The Pines. - -"That is a fine casa if you like!" Petronella spat, and shook her -white elf-locks. "It will bring no luck. Eh Signor, but that man had -the evil eye. Once I went with the padrona to see him. He overlooked -me although I made horns, and I hurt my foot. If my padrona goes to -that casa she will die." - -Herrick shrugged his shoulders, and did not argue. There was no means -of persuading Petronella out of the spite she had taken to The Pines. -It was now the property of Stephen Marsh. The senior partner of Frith -and Frith had come down personally with the will. This left Stephen -the house, on condition that he pulled down the tower. Furthermore the -personal property of the late Colonel, amounting to eight thousand a -year well invested, was given to the young man on a still more curious -condition. - -"You are to have a special vault constructed in Saxham churchyard," -said Mr. Frith, "it is to be built of stone and lined with sheet iron. -The body of our late client is to be put in there, and you alone are -to hold the key of the door. Once a month you are to enter the vault -and see that the body is safe. If you do this for a year then the -property becomes yours absolutely. If you miss going once, the money -goes to--Frisco." - -"To Frisco--the Colonel's servant!" said Stephen in surprise, "and by -that name Mr. Frith?" - -"Yes! It is legal enough. But the man evidently murdered his master, -and has gone away to avoid consequences, I do not think you will be -troubled by him. Also Mr. Marsh--or rather Mr. Carr since you have to -take the name--you can avert all chance of this man getting the money -by visiting the vault monthly for a year." - -Here was another mystery. Why the money should have been left to -Frisco no one could guess. Stephen often talked it over with Herrick, -but could come to no conclusion. However he set to work to carry out -the terms of the will. A body of workmen were employed to take down -the tower; and Mr. Corn was seen about the construction of a new -vault. Evidently the Colonel did not consider that his remains would -be safe in the ancestral burial-place. In spite of all secrecy, the -countryside came to know of this strange provision of Carr's will, -and it was said that he wanted to make sure that his body would not be -carried off by the devil to whom he had sold himself. In fact the -general opinion was, that some night the remains would be carried off -like those of the old woman of Berkley. The villagers grew confused -over the matter, and did not distinguish between the body and soul. - -While Mrs. Marsh was slowly getting better, and Stephen was attending -to the carrying-out of the will, Dr. Jim remained at Saxham, or rather -for the sake of his patient he lived at Beorminster, paying occasional -visits to the village. Robin had long since returned to London, and -had left in much anger at Jim's refusal to accompany him. - -"You have found a new friend," he said angrily, "and I must go to the -wall. I do call it unfair Jim." - -"My dear Robin, I cannot be your shadow. You are quite well able to -look after yourself now. I took you for this walking tour, to do you -good. Now you are in excellent health. I must remain here until Mrs. -Marsh is quite well. Remember if I go she has no doctor to attend -her." - -"I can't do without you," persisted Robin. "You have such an influence -over me that I am lost if you are away." - -"You must take up your life on your own shoulders," replied Herrick -impatiently; "it is no use relying on other people. But if you feel -that I am so indispensable to you, why not stay here? You have money, -no ties, and can do your work here better than in London." - -"I want to go back to town. If I stay here I shall not see much of -you. Marsh is your friend now." - -"I like Marsh. He is a good fellow, and I can make something of him. I -suppose Robin you think I am after his money; but you know me better -than that. The three hundred a year I have is enough for me. I was -never a man for luxury." - -"I never thought or hinted such a thing," said Joyce with a blush. -"Well, if you like to stay here Jim, I'll return to London, and we can -meet when you return. I suppose you'll be back some time,--that is if -Miss Endicotte will let you go." - -"Nonsense," replied Dr. Jim, "she has no thought of me. I like her -very much but in my present state of poverty I could not ask her to be -my wife." - -Joyce said nothing more, but the next week took his leave. He was much -missed in Saxham where his bright talk and merry face had made him a -general favourite. The Biff's especially were sorry. Bess had -foregathered with Joyce on the common ground of literature, and she -lamented when he departed. - -"Why can't you stay here?" she said in her blunt way, "you can work -better in the country." - -"No, Miss Bess. I am like Charles Lamb; London is my home. I cannot get -enough of the divine fire in this tame locality." - -"There is nothing tame about it," cried Bess fired with indignation. - -Joyce laughed. "Not to you perhaps; but I prefer London myself. -However, I hope you will let me come down and see you at times. And we -can correspond. And if you have any manuscripts you think well of, -send them to me. I will see what I can do with them." - -This arrangement was made, and Robin, taking a friendly leave of Jim -went back to his West Kensington fiat. He wrote frequently at first, -but after a time his letters became rarer. Herrick was sorry, but on -the whole somewhat relieved to be rid of such a burden. For Robin was -one of those people who are delightful to meet and terrible to live -with. Had he been ill or in trouble the conscientious Jim would have -stayed with him. But since he had been particularly well after that -attack of nerves when the body was discovered, there was no necessity -for Herrick to martyrise himself further. - -And besides Jim had fallen seriously in love with Ida Endicotte. When -Mrs. Marsh was fairly on the road to recovery, Stephen had taken Jim -over to Saxham and introduced him to the Biffs. They lived in a -tumbledown house of considerable size, down a deep and leafy lane. At -one time the Endicottes had been great folks, but the late Mr. -Endicotte who had married the daughter of an Earl, had squandered the -revenues of the family. His wife Lady Arabella had died of sheer -worry, and Mr. Endicotte had found himself alone with five children -and an impoverished estate. - -For a time he did his best to keep things together, but ultimately -died--as it was said--of a broken heart. It seemed probable that the -five children would go on the parish. "What a fall for the haughty -Endicotte." - -It was at this juncture that Lord Gartham stepped in. He was an Irish -peer, and poor himself, but he could not see his sister's children -entirely penniless. Ida the eldest was twenty-four when her father -died; Bess, had reached the age of twenty-three; and Sidney the -youngest, was sixteen. The five Endicottes were all handsome, and had -high spirits; but poorer than the proverbial church mouse. What was to -be done? - -"We'll earn our own livings," said Bess who was the most energetic of -the five. "Ida can look after the house, Frank can manage the farm; -and Sidney can go to school, and I shall ask Mr. Arch to take me on to -the Weekly Chronicle." - -"But my dear child!" expostulated the Earl. - -"What does it matter?" cried Bess. "We are the Endicottes whatever we -may do. Everybody knows who we are and what we are. There is nothing -disgraceful in earning one's own living Uncle Gar!" - -The Earl--rather a helpless person--who had never done a stroke of -honest work in his life, was rather surprised at the energy of Bess. -However her scheme recommended itself to his favour since there was -absolutely no other way of settling the matter. In one way and -another, Lord Gartham paid off the debts by selling some of the land, -and arranged that the united five should have a small income which -they would have to increase as best they could. Thus it was that the -Endicottes found themselves with their ancestral home, a small farm, -two hundred a year, and the world before them. - -They were all young and hearty so they thought very little of the -matter. Bess obtained a post on the Weekly Chronicle at Beorminster, -Ida looked after the house, and Frank managed the farm. Flo was put to -a Beorminster school, whence she returned once a week to Saxham, and -Sidney studied under Mr. Corn who expressed a desire to take him. The -countryside all approved of this independent spirit, and made much of -the Biffs. - -When the Colonel died, this had been going on for three years. Ida was -still unmarried, as she had refused several offers. "I cannot leave -the children," she said, and people were divided as to the wisdom of -this attitude. Some said it was right; but the majority agreed that it -was a pity such a beautiful girl should develop into an old maid. But -the fact is no one knew Ida's secret. She was in love with Stephen, -and although they had never spoken on the subject they understood one -another very well. Hitherto Stephen's poverty had prevented his -speaking openly. Now the inheritance of eight thousand a year had -altered all that, and he intended to ask Ida to be his wife on the -very earliest opportunity. - -It was a pity Jim did not know of this. He had fallen in love with -Ida, and as she was always pleasant to him, it never crossed his mind -that her heart was engaged. Open on most points with his new friend, -Stephen out of delicacy for Ida was reticent about his love. So Jim -continued to live in a Fool's Paradise, and not even the sharp-eyed -Joyce had been able to able to enlighten him. - -Certainly Mrs. Marsh had spoken to Jim on the subject. She wanted -Stephen to marry Miss Endicotte, But Dr. Herrick thought that was -merely her own desire, and did not think there was anything serious -between the young people. Nor could Mrs. Marsh inform him of more than -the fact that they liked one another, and that it was the desire of -her heart to see them married. - -One day when Stephen was at Saxham, Mrs. Marsh had a long talk with -the doctor in which he saw more of her stormy character, than had ever -been shown to him before. She could sit up in bed now, and wearied of -the society of Petronella, frequently asked Herrick to stay beside -her. - -"You are one of the few sensible men I have met," she said, drawing -her black brows together. "Come and talk. I want you to tell me what -you think of Stephen." - -"What can I think but that he is the best of fellows," replied Jim -taking a chair by the beside. - -"H'm! That sounds like the 'weakest of men,' Stephen I mean. You are -strong enough in every way. That is why I want you to look after -Stephen." - -"How do you mean look after him Mrs. Marsh." The widow mused for a time -before replying. "He is a good-hearted fool," she said at last, "and -with his sweet nature is likely to be imposed upon in this world. Now -he is rich and scoundrels will prey on him. I want you to see he comes -to no harm." - -"But I have to return to London," remonstrated Jim, rather taken aback -by the responsibility thrust upon him. "I am not a rich man Mrs. -Marsh, and I must look after my practice." - -"I can arrange all that," she replied sharply. "You are a good man Dr. -Herrick. I can see that; and I'm no fool. All your influence over -Stephen will be for good. I can get him to offer you some inducement -to stay beside him--at all events until he is married." - -"Until he is married?" echoed Jim puzzled. "Has he any intention of -getting married?" - -"Not that I know of. He is too much wrapped up in his poetry. But I -wish him to marry Ida Endicotte. She is a well-born girl and a good -woman. I think she will make Stephen an excellent wife. She likes -him." - -Jim felt the blood flush in his face. "Liking is not love," he said in -a rather irritated tone. - -Mrs. Marsh pulled the curtains aside so that the light fell on the -face of the young man. Then after a scrutiny she gave a short laugh. -"So that is it, is it?" she said. "You are in love with the girl!" - -"I never said so Mrs. Marsh." - -"Pshaw! You can't blind me. I am a woman. Come. You are in love." - -Herrick shrugged his broad shoulders. "I do not see why I should deny -it," he said coldly, "I am in love with Miss Endicotte; but so far as -I can judge she is not in love with me. - -"I don't think she is in love with anyone," replied Mrs. Marsh, "but I -have not seen enough of her to judge. If I could only see them -together, I could tell. She likes Stephen though. But here I am -chained to this bed and cannot get out to attend to matters of -importance. Humph!" she eyed Herrick steadily, "so you are in love -with her! Well! it has been the desire of my life to see Stephen -married to Ida, but for all that, I want you to stay. Stephen shall -give you a thousand a year to stay." - -"My dear Mrs. Marsh!" - -"Now don't contradict me or you will put me out of temper. And you -know what that means. I ask you to stop, to show my regard for you. -Many another woman would get you out of the way rather than see her -pet scheme interfered with. I am not that sort of narrow-minded -person. You shall have your chance along with Stephen. If she loves -you, marry her in God's name and let's have done with the matter. If -however she prefers my poor Stephen--sweet-hearted fool that he -is--you must promise me not to put any obstacle in the way of the -marriage." - -"If Miss Endicotte prefers your step-son I certainly should not think -of objecting Mrs. Marsh," said Herrick stiffly. "Your remark is rather -unnecessary." - -"I don't think it is," retorted the widow, "you are a gentleman, I -know. But you are also a human being, and when love comes into the -question there are few things a man will not do, or a woman for the -matter of that!" She clenched her thin hand that laid outside the -coverlet, and her face darkened. "I know! I know," she muttered -between her teeth, "who should know but I who have suffered? Give me -something to drink doctor. My throat is dry with talking." - -"I think I had better leave you," said Herrick after her thirst was -assuaged, "you are wearying yourself." - -"Don't go," cried Mrs. Marsh abruptly, "I have much to say of -importance. I may not be here long to say it." - -"Nonsense, Mrs. Marsh. You are getting better,--much better." - -"All the same I may die; one never knows," said the widow gloomily. - -Herrick laughed at these forebodings. "What!" said he trying to joke -her out of so morbid a mood, "have you enemies, like Carr?" - -"Anyone who came into contact with Carr was bound to have enemies," -said Mrs. Marsh bitterly. "He was a devil if ever there was one. -However this is not to the point," she went on impatiently, "I want -to know if you will stay with Stephen for a thousand a year?" - -"It is a tempting offer to a poor man like myself," said Herrick with -some hesitation, "but until Stephen himself asks me to stay, I cannot -promise. He may not wish----" - -"Oh, that is all right Dr. Herrick. Stephen knows that you are his best -friend. I want you to take him in hand and make a man of him. He is -too fond of poring over books; too careless of his physical health. -Make him ride, and golf, and all the rest of it. I have been a fool -keeping him so much beside me. But I love the boy, and that was my -woman's weakness. Now he is rich, teach him how to use his riches and -be happy." - -"You have most influence over him" said Herrick still hesitating. - -"I have had too much and not for the best" was her gloomy reply, "no; -you are the teacher he wants. Besides who knows what may happen to -me?" - -Herrick looked at her uneasily. Again she had hinted at something of -danger to herself. "I wish you would be plain with me," he said. - -"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Marsh with a frown. - -"I think you can guess," retorted the doctor. "You hint at your dying; -so far as I know there is not the least likelihood of your doing so -unless you take an overdose of that chloral which I am always advising -you to leave off. Have you some enemy who is likely to----" - -"No!" replied Mrs. Marsh with unnecessary violence, "I have no enemy. -But I feel--I have a presentiment--that I am not long for this world. -As an Italian you know I am bound to be superstitious." - -"I should think the English part of your blood would revolt against -such morbid nonsense. Again I say you are not plain with me." - -"I am. How dare you talk to me so!" cried Mrs. Marsh furiously. "You -are the one man I have met in this world of fools, other than that -dead devil Carr. If I made a confidant of anyone it would be of you. -But so far as I personally am concerned there is nothing to say. But -Stephen--" she hesitated and fell to plucking restlessly at the -coverlet. - -"Well! You wish me to be his bear-leader? If he is willing, I am -willing. A thousand a year is not to be despised. Moreover my -conscience is perfectly clear as regards Miss Endicotte." - -"I understand. If she loves you, marry her by all means! If Stephen is -her choice, you must promise----" - -"I promise nothing," said Herrick impatiently walking to and fro, -"there is no necessity to promise. I am a man of honour. If Stephen -and Miss Endicotte love one another I am the last man in the world to -step between them. You know that." - -"If I didn't I should not ask you to stop and look after him," said -Mrs. Marsh cynically. "However, you complained of my want of -confidence. I am going to amend that. Do you know why I want you to -stay with Stephen." - -"To make a man of him--so you said." - -"That certainly, but it is something of an excuse. I also want -you--and this is the main reason--to guard him." - -"Against whom? What are you hinting at?" asked Herrick sharply. - -"At Frisco," was the unexpected reply. "Oh, you may look astonished, -but if you remember the will?--well?" - -"The will," repeated Dr. Jim, "I see what you mean. The money goes to -Frisco if Stephen should neglect to visit the vault monthly for a -year. What of that?" - -"This much. Frisco killed Colonel Carr. Oh, I am sure of it! If not, -why did he fly? Besides there is no one else I can think of who had an -interest in Carr's death. I do not know what secrets he had, but what -there were Frisco knew. That was why Carr left the money to him -failing Stephen." - -"Nonsense. If Frisco possessed Colonel Carr's secrets he could have -blackmailed him without the necessity of murder." - -"Ah, you don't know," said Mrs. Marsh mysteriously. "I have heard -Frisco and Carr quarrel. It is my belief--if you remember Napper's -evidence that they quarrelled on the night of the murder. They must -have fought a duel, which is just what two devils like them would do. -Frisco killed his master before he could fire a shot. That is why all -the chambers of the revolver were found loaded. Well, Frisco has had -to fly; but he will not give up his chance of getting the money. No! -He will," here Mrs. Marsh bent forward to whisper, "he will try and -maim or kill Stephen so that he may not fulfil the conditions of the -will--and visit the vault. Then Frisco will claim the money. I have -thought this all out while lying here." - -"It is ingenious," replied Herrick, "but you forget that if Frisco -shows himself, he will be arrested. That stops his attempting to harm -Stephen." - -Mrs. Marsh shook her head. "You do not know Frisco; I do," she said: -and not another word could Herrick extract from her. - - - - -CHAPTER VI -"THE CHANGELING" - - -While the tower at "The Pines" was being pulled down, Stephen paid -frequent visits to Saxham. Sometimes Dr. Herrick went with him, and -together they would go through that wonderful house. Marsh had never -before been inside it, and he was amazed at the luxury. His life had -been so simple, so deprived of all beauty, that his artistic -temperament had been starved from lack of nutriment. Highly gifted -with the imaginative faculty, possessed of a keen perception of -loveliness, Stephen revelled in the beautiful things which filled -every corner of the house. - -"You will have to get a wife to share it all," said Herrick one day -after his conversation with Mrs. Marsh. He looked keenly at the young -man as he spoke. - -Stephen however betrayed no emotion. "I suppose I shall have to marry -some day," he said coolly. "If I were to die without children my -cousin would get the property." - -"I did not know you had a cousin?" said Herrick, rather astonished. - -"I believe so. A distant cousin, although I have never seen him. My -mother can tell you all about him. It seems that Colonel Carr's father -had a younger brother who was turned out by his father. He went to -America and married there. Then he died leaving a widow and a -daughter. The widow died and the daughter married some one in the -States. I do not know the name but my mother may. I believe there is a -son, but whether he is in America or in England I cannot say." - -"Humph!" said Jim, "very interesting. I must ask your mother about -this. If you secure the property by complying with the conditions of -the will, it will be yours entirely. Even if you do not marry, you -will be able to leave it to whomsoever you please." - -"I should leave it to my cousin, whatever his name is," said Stephen -in a careless tone. "It seems to me that he has the right to enjoy it -after me, since he is of the Carr blood." - -"Always provided you do not marry and have children!" - -"Of course. But there is time enough to think of marriage. I want my -mother to be sole mistress of this beautiful place for a time. She has -had such a dose of poverty that I should like her to taste luxury." - -"You are not in love then?" asked Herrick in a jocular tone. - -"I don't know!" this time Stephen flushed. "I'll tell you when I am. -Meantime let me enjoy the present. I'll soon have this tower down and -the house put to rights. Then my mother can come. I hope you will stay -also Herrick," he added rather anxiously. "I don't want to lose my -friend you know." - -"It all depends," replied Jim with a flush. He was thinking of Ida. "I -will remain until your mother is quite well. You may be sure of that." - -Nothing more was said at the time. Herrick could not be certain that -Stephen was in love with Ida or that the girl had set her heart on -Marsh. They were excellent friends, but in spite of Herrick's lynx eye -he could not learn if they understood one another. As a matter of fact -they did; but neither of them wished to hurry matters. Both felt that -Mrs. Marsh would have to be consulted before anything was settled, and -therefore waited until she recovered her health and was established at -"The Pines." - -Mrs. Marsh slowly regained her strength, and almost dispensed with -Herrick's attendance. She never recurred to the subject of Ida or of -Frisco after that one interview, although Herrick several times tried -to make her speak. Evidently she knew something about the man--perhaps -had heard the Colonel speak of him. But whatever it was she kept her -own counsel. There was no need that she should do otherwise. Perhaps -if Frisco had made his appearance she might have been induced to speak -out, but the ex-sailor (as Herrick learned he was) had vanished -completely. He was traced to Paddington station, and after that all -sign of the trail was lost. Like a rain drop he had disappeared into -the mighty sea of London life, and in spite of all offers of reward -not a hint could be gained of his whereabouts. - -It was generally considered that he was the criminal, most people -holding that he had shot the Colonel unawares. Napper's evidence went -to prove that the two men were on bad terms with one another, and -probably Frisco excited by rum and a sense of his wrongs, whatever -these might be, had returned to "The Pines" with the intention of -righting himself. No one entertained the idea of a duel having been -fought. Only Mrs. Marsh gave Frisco that grace. Herrick considered her -theory a feasible one, and felt that it was confirmed by the fact of -the revolver found in the dead man's hand being loaded. If Frisco had -fired first, the Colonel would have fallen with his weapon -undischarged, and this would account for the six chambers being -filled. But what it would not account for was the fact of one bullet -being different to the remaining three. That was a puzzle, and Dr. Jim -could in nowise arrive at the solution of the problem, although he -thought over it a great deal. - -Bess Endicotte was the only person who insisted on Frisco's innocence. -She declared that the man was too devoted to his master to kill him, -and that there could be no reason for the crime. This she explained to -Herrick a week after the interview with Mrs. Marsh. Both Herrick and -Marsh had come over to Biffstead to spend the afternoon, intending to -return to Beorminster by the last bus, somewhere about ten o'clock. It -was characteristic of Stephen's simple habits that he still went to -and fro by the public vehicle, although he could now have afforded a -cart, a horse, a bicycle, or even (had he so chosen) a motor-car. But -before taking full advantage of his new position and of his wealth, he -wanted his mother to be well enough to direct matters. She had held -him in subjection for so many years, that he hesitated to do anything -without her approval. So Herrick and Stephen came to Saxham by the -bus, or used their legs. For the sake of his health Herrick made Marsh -walk as much as possible. The man was visionary and it was necessary -to shake him into something like practical life by exercise. - -On arriving at the Grange, the two young men, found the whole family -at home. There was Ida tall and beautiful who welcomed the visitors in -her usual placid way. She was of the Junoesque type, stately and -maternal, moving like a large goddess amongst minor mortals. Bess, who -was all alert and vivacious, was accustomed to make fun of Ida's -stately ways. "The Sacred White Cow," said Bess folding her hands, and -when Ida remonstrated pointed out that the term meant no disrespect. -"Juno was called ox-eyed, and I'm sure the cow is a most beautiful -animal," said she inconsequently. "Why should a comparison to a useful -animal be taken as an insult? If I said you were like a fawn, or a -stag, or a swan, you would be quite pleased. But because I call you a -lovely snowy cow--you _are_ a beautiful cow," broke off Bess with a -shrug, "the sacred white cow. There!" - -"Really Bess, you are getting more dreadful every day," cried Ida -helplessly, "please don't call me this horrid name when Stephen and -Dr. Herrick come." - -"Dr. Herrick would understand; he is a scholar. However I won't call -you anything but Juno--will that do?" - -"I should prefer to be called by my proper name!" - -Bess made a mouth but yielded the point. She was devotedly fond of -Ida, and always said that her beauty would raise the family into -affluence once more. "My _brains_ may do something," she said, "but -Ida's looks will attract all the men of wealth and position." - -"I do not want any of them," protested Ida with a blush. "Do let me -see after my own future, Bess darling." - -Undeniably Bess was the cleverest of the family. She was so bright and -quick, and possessed of such indomitable perseverance, that she easily -exercised a despotic sway over the weaker vessels. Ida looked after -the house, but Bess was the real head who paid the bills, and bullied -the tradesmen, and saw that everything was in order. Even Frank gave -way before her. But Frank was rather like Ida in the matter of bovine -simplicity. He was a big handsome fellow, never out of temper. When he -was not looking after the farm he strolled in the fields, and searched -into the secret workings of Nature. Sometimes he wrote articles for -the papers and magazines. A Gilbert White of the Parish of Saxham, -that is what Frank Endicotte was. Some of his articles had even been -accepted in London, and when he could be induced to write, he usually -made a few guineas. But Frank was lazy, and it needed all the scolding -of Bess to make him do his duty in the way of literary work. So far as -the farm went he was never idle, as he loved an open air-life, and -took a genuine interest in stock, top drainage and crops. - -Florence, who was now home on her weekly holiday, bounced out on Dr. -Jim and Stephen as they came up the avenue. She was a girl in her -teens, more like Bess than any of the rest, and bubbled over with -animal spirits. This was her last quarter at school, and now her hair -was turned up and she had arrived at the dignity of long frocks. But -at heart she was still a schoolgirl, and on this especial day had let -down her long hair much to the dismay of Ida who was nothing if not -conventional. - -"Oh, Stephen!" she cried clasping him by the arm. "I am so glad you -have come. Frank is writing, Bess is typing, and Ida is making a new -dress. I have no one to amuse me." - -"Where is the Changeling?" asked Stephen laughing. - -"Sidney! Oh, he has a holiday, and has gone over to see 'The Pines.' -You know how fond he is of going there. He was the only one of us that -was not afraid of the Colonel." - -"I don't think Bess was." - -"No. It would take an army to frighten Bess. How are you Dr. Herrick? -I am rude not to have spoken to you before. Come inside, and wake us -all up. I am sure this place is like the palace of the Sleeping -Beauty." - -"Suppose we go over to 'The Pines' and have afternoon tea in one of -the rooms," suggested Stephen. "There is no food there, but we can -take what we want from here, and have a picnic." - -"Jolly!" cried Flo the schoolgirl, "there are kettles and tea-pots -and all the rest of the things we want at 'The Pines' I suppose?" - -"The house is remarkably well furnished," said Herrick laughing. "It -is a good idea; three o'clock. We had better go at once." - -The others entered into the scheme with avidity, and thus it was that -Herrick found himself walking beside Bess to "The Pines." Not without -a pang had he relinquished Ida to his friend; but bearing in mind the -confidence reposed in him by Mrs. Marsh, he desired to act as fairly -as possible. Besides he was growing fond of Bess. She was such a -bright companion, and so clever. At first she was disinclined to speak -of the Colonel and Frisco, but gradually became more outspoken. In his -quiet way Herrick had a wonderful gift of making people talk. "I -wouldn't say it to any one but you Dr. Jim," said Bess--for so she now -called him, "but there is something about you that makes me believe in -you. I think you must have a kind of daemonic influence like Goethe." - -"I am sympathetic if that is what you mean," said Jim. "I took to you -immediately I saw you in the inn parlour." - -Bess blushed a little through her tanned skin, and cast a keen look at -the big man. Somehow Herrick was conscious of that look, and wondered -what it was for. Perhaps with a woman's quickness Bess divined that he -admired Ida and did not approve of it. However she was too clever to -say anything if such was the case, but went on to talk of Colonel Carr -and Frisco. - -"I liked Frisco," she said in her quick decisive way, "he was a bad -man and some of the things he told me he had done were really -dreadful; but somehow he was attractive. Much better than the -Colonel." - -"I thought you liked the Colonel," said Jim with a side glance. - -"Well you see it was this way," replied the girl laughing. "I was -rather bold in introducing myself to him, and he was so kind that I -forgave him his bad reputation." - -"How was it you met him?" - -"I wanted some copy for the Chronicle and did not know what to write -about. Something had to be done, so I kept my ears open for an idea. -Ida happened to mention something about 'The Pines,' so I thought it -would be nice to see all the wonderful furniture that was in the -house. Would you believe it," she added lightly, "I went straight to -'The Pines' and asked to see Colonel Carr? At first he refused, but I -was so persistent that he let me come in. I told him frankly what I -wanted and how hard up I was for an article. He was so taken back by -my assurance that he said I could describe 'The Pines,' provided I did -so under a fictitious name. Then he took me all over the house -himself; gave me tea in the big drawing-room and sent me off. I got a -good article out of what he showed me, but of course I said that it -was a description of a millionaire's palace in Park Lane. Nobody -believed that. I think the Colonel guessed they wouldn't. He just let -me write the article to make the people's mouths water with telling -about things he would not let them see." - -"A nice Christian spirit!" remarked Jim grimly. "Ah! but you must -remember that he was treated very badly by the country people when he -came back from America." - -"Oh! Then America was the place of his exile?" - -"So Frisco said; Mexico and Peru. The two had many adventures and used -to tell me about them. I made up several stories out of the material I -got from them." - -"You called to see the Colonel again then?" - -"Why not! He was always polite, and I wasn't a bit afraid of him. Oh, -I know he had a dreadful reputation, but he was never rude to me. Poor -man," said Bess letting her eyes rest pensively on the house which -they were now approaching, "I think he was very weary of living -alone." - -"Were the Colonel and Frisco good friends?" - -"The very best. Frisco adored the Colonel, who had saved his life. -Both of them seem rather afraid of---" here Bess was silent. - -"Of what?" - -"I hardly know. But they hinted at some enemy who would kill the pair -of them if he discovered their whereabouts. That was what Frisco meant -at the public-house, when he hinted about his master not living long. -If Frisco had given information, the enemy would have killed the -Colonel." - -"I wonder if Frisco did, and then went away to escape the -consequences?" - -"No!" said Bess thoughtfully. "Frisco would have been killed also. I -think myself that the enemy found out the Colonel and murdered him; -then Frisco ran away to save his own life." - -"Humph! That is one way of looking at the matter. Did you hear if any -stranger was seen in the neighbourhood on the night of the murder?" - -Bess looked quickly at her companion. "No," she said with some -hesitation. "I never heard of anyone. Besides it would have come out -in the evidence." - -"You have no idea who killed the man?" - -"Certainly not. If I knew I should tell. There was something--I'll -tell you that later." - -"Tell it to me now!" - -"I can't do that until I get my facts together," said Bess firmly, -"Look here Dr. Jim, I intend to find out the truth about this mystery. -From something the Colonel let drop, I believe it is concerned with -the money he came back with." - -"From South America?" - -"Or from North America," replied Miss Endicotte musingly, "I am not -quite clear. But I'll ask you to help me when I get my facts -together." - -"You rouse my curiosity. Tell me now what you----" - -"I said no and I mean no," retorted Bess setting her mouth firmly. -"You will be here for some time yet. If you go away I shall write to -you. I am sure we shall find out who killed the Colonel, and I am -equally sure that Frisco is not the man." - -"Well. Have it your own way. Tell me one thing. How is it the Colonel -was so anxious about the preservation of his body?" - -"Ah! Now you are asking more than I can tell you." - -"You know though," said Jim looking at her sharply. - -"I think--I am not sure. Wait, Dr. Jim. In good time you shall know -all that I know. This is a romance in real life." - -"A tragedy rather," said Herrick grimly, "mind you keep your promise." - -"You can be sure I shall keep it," said Bess nodding and for the time -being the matter ended. But Jim was considerably puzzled. How she -could have got hold of information of which the police knew nothing -was difficult to say. All the same he had more confidence in the -brains of Bess than in those of Inspector Bridge. - -As it was Saturday afternoon, the workmen had knocked off for the day. -By this time the tower was half demolished, and curious it looked in -its dilapidated state, with the pile of débris round about its base. -The visitors looked at it for some time, then went into the house. In -the kitchen off the dining-room they found an old woman who agreed to -boil the kettle for them. After some deliberation they fixed on the -library as the best place for the meal. On entering they found a boy -reading in the corner under the window. - -"You here Sidney?" said Ida amazed. "How can you come here without -asking Stephen's permission?" - -"Stephen doesn't mind I'm sure," replied Sidney with a smile, and -Stephen assured him that he was welcome. While the others were talking -and admiring the place Dr. Jim stood looking at the boy who was -leaning back on the sofa taken up with his own thoughts. There was -something peculiar about Sidney Endicotte, which procured him the name -of the Changeling. This was given to him in fun by Bess; but many -people in the village really believed that he was half a fairy if not -a whole one. This reputation rose from the fact that the lad possessed -that gift which in Scotland is called the second sight. No one in -Saxham who saw Master Sidney's large blue eyes fixed upon him or her -but turned pale. In Italy he would have been credited with the Evil -eye, and indeed old Petronella always crossed herself when she chanced -to meet him. Once or twice Sidney had foretold the death of those who -had afterwards died. Thus he had an uncanny reputation. - -He was a small thin boy looking much older than his years. Although -he was but sixteen, yet on occasions he looked quite twenty. Pale, -thin-faced, with large blue eyes, and a curious insistent gaze, he -sometimes made even his own family feel uncomfortable. Then he had -such peculiar habits. At night he was generally wakeful, and he slept -much in the day-time particularly in cold weather. Sometimes he would -slip out of his bedroom by the window and remain away for hours. When -questioned where he had been he used vaguely to answer "In the wood." -The doctors who had seen him could make nothing of him. He was healthy -in his own way, his head was clear, and Corn reported that he learned -rapidly. But about him hung a glamour not of this world. He might have -been a male Kilmeny who had returned from fairy-land. Bess sometimes -called him Thomas the Rhymer. When she did so Sidney would nod and -laugh in so strange a way, that Bess herself grew frightened, and -dropped the name. - -"How do you feel to-day Sidney?" asked Jim sitting down beside the -boy. - -"Not very well," he replied vaguely. "I feel that I am not myself. I -came here to read myself to sleep." - -"Why did you want to do that?" - -"Because I could go away then. I always do when I feel like this." - -"Like what?" Jim was puzzled. The boy was by no means mad, yet he -talked in a manner quite beyond the comprehension of a sane person. -Jim had never met anyone like him before and was much taken up with -the oddity of the case from a medical point of view. - -"I can't explain; you would not understand," said Sidney. "Please -leave me alone, Dr. Herrick." - -At this moment Bess called to Jim from the other side of the room and -he hurried across to her. Sidney remained vaguely staring into -nothingness. After a time his eyes closed and he looked as though he -were fast asleep. The others gathered round the tea table, and -prepared to eat. Bess would not allow her brother to be awakened. - -"It makes him ill if he is roused suddenly," she said. "He will wake -up himself and be all right." - -"It doesn't look to me like a natural sleep," said Jim anxiously. "How -pale he is! Don't you think----" - -"No," said Ida sharply, "I agree with Bess. Sidney had better be left -alone. He gets into these states at times. Let us have tea. I am so -hungry, and it's past five." - -"A quarter past," said Stephen glancing at his watch. - -They began to eat and drink, laughing and enjoying themselves. No one -took any notice of Sidney, and even Jim's attention was distracted. -The boy remained on the sofa, leaning back, white as snow, and drawing -long deep breaths. He looked like a dead person. - -After a time the conversation languished. The tea was done, the food -was finished, and they talked about packing up to go. "Poor Sidney's -tea is quite cold," said Ida. "I really think we might wake him now. -Oh, he is coming to himself. Wake up Sidney, and have some tea. It is -nearly six and we must be getting home." - -The boy's face had now a delicate pink tinge on it, and he seemed more -himself than he had been when he fell asleep. For a moment he was -silent. Then he looked slowly round at those who were present, until -his blue eyes fixed themselves calmly on Stephen. - -"Mr. Marsh!" he said quietly, "you had better go home. Your mother is -dead." - -Ida gave a cry and Stephen turned pale. Bess alone retained sufficient -presence of mind to cross over to the boy and shake him, "Sidney, what -do you mean by saying such a horrible thing." - -"It is true," replied the boy quietly, "Mrs. Marsh is dead. I have -just seen her. She died at half-past five. Go home Stephen." - -Without a word Marsh rushed from the room. He knew of Sidney's -prophecies, and dreaded lest this one should be true. He made for -Beorminster as fast as he could go, and was met by Petronella. - -"My padrona is dead!" said the old woman. - - - - -CHAPTER VII -A NINE DAYS' WONDER - - -Petronella made the terrible announcement with ominous calmness. Then, -when she saw Stephen staring at her open-mouthed, her wild southern -nature could no longer be controlled. With a choking sob, she flung -her apron over her head, and began to lament loudly for her dear -padrona. Her voice ascended shrilling in a long wail, like that of the -Corsican vocieri. Luckily there were few people in the street, and the -sound was scarcely noticed; it was simply thought that the excitable -Italian woman was in one of her tantrums. And Beorminster was used to -Petronella's fits of rage. Stephen caught her suddenly and dragging -her inside by main force closed the door. - -Before Petronella could recover her breath for another howl, she found -herself on one of the dining-room chairs with Marsh standing over her. -The young man was so shaken that he could hardly speak. The prophecy -of Sidney, the hurried journey to Beorminster on a grocer's cart which -he had met near Saxham, and now the terrible confirmation of the -death; these things shook him to the soul. He hardly recognised his -own voice. "Tell me everything that happened," he said slowly, "do not -make any mistake. I must know all." - -Petronella crossed herself. "Holy Virgin," she muttered, "his eyes are -like coals." Then after a muffled wail, she burst out into rapid -Italian which Stephen understood easily from his habit of talking to -her and to Mrs. Marsh. - -"After you left at mid-day Signor Stephano, the padrona tried to get a -little sleep. When the postman came at two o'clock, he brought one -letter for her. I took it up, and woke her. Then I went out of the -room. In a quarter of an hour the Signora called me. She looked white, -so white. The letter was before her. She told me to give her the -chloral as she wanted to sleep. I asked her if she had bad news in the -letter. She said no, but that she felt suddenly sick. I gave her the -medicine in the little bottle, and went away. She took some I think, -for when I went up again an hour later she was asleep. I went again -and again--she was still asleep. Then I took up her tea, and wanted to -waken her. Gran' Dio--she was dead--dead!" - -"What time was that Petronella?" - -"At half past five Signor, the hour when I always take up the -Signora's tea. Oh, she is dead and I nursed her. Cursed be it that I -live still." - -While the old woman wailed on, Stephen shuddered. The hour was that -which Sidney had named. "Are you sure she died at that time?" he -asked. - -"Quite sure Signor Stephano. When I went in before she was only -asleep; I saw her breathing. I was up at a quarter past five and she -still breathed, and had a colour in her poor cheek. When I set down -the tray I turned to see that she was quite still, her face pale as -snow. I put my hand to her heart. She was dead. Ah Dio mio, she must -have passed away when I entered the room. I heard a sigh at the door," -said Petronella beginning to embellish. "It was her spirit that -passed. What could I do but open the window to let the soul go free? -Ah Holy Virgin!" and the old woman crossed herself again. - -By this time Stephen had somewhat recovered his composure. Without a -word he went up to the room. Petronella had drawn a sheet over the -dead. He drew it down gently, and saw the waxen face beneath. Every -wrinkle had been smoothed away, and there rested a peaceful expression -on that once stormy countenance. As Marsh stood tearlessly looking at -the dead, he heard a light step enter the room. Herrick appeared, -almost as pale as the dead woman. After a glance at the corpse, he -recognised that all was over, and looked at Marsh with a shudder. - -"Yes!" whispered the young man replying to the unspoken thought, "at -half past five o'clock!" - -Herrick shuddered again and drew the sheet over the dead face. Then he -took Stephen by the arm and led him downstairs into the study. There -he left him in a chair and went into the dining-room, whence he -returned with a decanter and two glasses. Pouring out two stiff -glasses of brandy he forced Stephen to drink one, and took the other -himself. Both were in need of the stimulant, for the event had shaken -them considerably. - -By and bye Marsh laid down his head on the table and wept quietly. He -had been devoted to the dead woman and was all unstrung. Moreover the -uncanny way in which the first announcement of the death had been -made, shocked him deeply. Herrick went out to see Petronella. He found -her in the death chamber. A genuine Romanist, she had placed candles -round the bed, and a crucifix on the breast of the dead, On her knees -she was praying aloud. Seeing that all had been done that could be -done, Herrick returned to the study. Stephen was calmer, and inclined -to talk. - -"It was half past five as Sidney said," he said in a low voice. "Oh, -Herrick what does it mean?" - -"I do not know," said the usually sceptically doctor, "After you had -gone, I asked the boy how he knew. He said that while asleep he had -dreamed--so he put it--that he was standing in your mother's bedroom. -She was dying in a stupor, and he saw the breath gradually leave her -body. He also said that he saw her spirit after she was dead. But of -course that must be nonsense." - -"After what he said I can believe anything" said Marsh, "what else?" - -"Well," said Jim uncomfortably, "he described the bedroom exactly. Was -he ever in it Stephen?" - -"No; certainly not. And he described it?" - -"Exactly; and as being in the state in which it now is. He said that -Petronella came in at the door with a tray and placed it beside the -bed. She then put her hand on your mother's heart and found that she -was dead. Afterwards she opened the window. Why--what--Stephen?" - -"My God!" cried the young man now ghastly white. "That is exactly what -Petronella told me she did. Oh, oh!" and he fainted. Herrick scarcely -wondered at it; he felt deadly sick himself and it needed another -glass of brandy before he could recover himself sufficiently to attend -to the unconscious man. - -Next day the news was known all over Beorminster; and Sidney's -prophecy also. The Endicotte family would fain have kept it to -themselves; but Sidney himself had spread the news. For on the way -home and before the rumour could have reached Saxham,--which it did -not until late that night--he told several people of Mrs. Marsh's -death and the hour at which it had occurred. So the report spread, and -that night Saxham, accustomed to Sidney's second sight, was in a -ferment. Many believed, others doubted, and the upshot was that a few -enquirers went over to Beorminster whence they rushed back with a -confirmation of the news. Mrs. Marsh was dead, and moreover she had -passed away at half past five. Up till a late hour that night nothing -was talked about but this wonderful boy, and next morning a crowd -collected about "The Grange" hoping to catch a glimpse of him. - -Ida was very angry at Sidney's indiscretion and told him so. He took -it all placidly. "Why should I not say that Mrs. Marsh was dead?" he -asked. "She _is_ dead; and she died at the time I said." - -"But how did you know, Sidney dear?" asked the perplexed sister. "When -I was on the sofa in the library I dreamed that I was in her room, I -saw her die, and the white spirit get out of her body. The spirit -pointed to a bottle on the table beside the bed, and then I forgot all -till I woke on the sofa and saw Stephen looking at me. Then I told him -to go home. There is nothing strange about it Ida. You know I can see -things." - -Ida shuddered and ran away to tell Bess that Sidney was a most -uncomfortable person to talk to. The boy stayed indoors at the request -of Bess all the morning, and then slipped off in the afternoon to go -to his favourite haunt in the pine wood. When he came into the village -the next day, he refused to talk of his dream or vision or whatever it -might be called, and seemed quite cross when it was referred to. From -that day Sidney was shunned as though he had the plague. Everyone was -afraid of being told too much about themselves or their relations. -This troubled the boy very little. He went on living in his usual -dreamy way, and had no more visions for a time. Even at Biffstead he -was regarded as something dangerous. But there by tacit consent the -subject was dropped. - -What Dr. Jim thought of all this, it was difficult to say. Sidney's -prophecy was thrown into the background so far as he was concerned by -the discovery that Mrs. Marsh had died from an overdose of chloral. -He had always warned her that she might make a mistake, and apparently -she had done so at last. But when Petronella told him of the letter he -changed his mind. What if she had committed suicide? He recollected -her vague allusions to enemies, and her persistent declaration that -she might not live long. At once he set about hunting for the letter, -Petronella helping him. But it was not to be discovered although they -searched high and low. At last, Herrick spied ashes in the fireless -grate, and found that some paper had been burnt, without doubt the -letter Mrs. Marsh had received. - -"Was there a fire in the grate on the day Mrs. Marsh died?" he asked. - -"No, Signor Dottore. The grate was empty." - -"Of course. I need not have asked. This flimsy stuff would have been -swept away with the ashes. Humph! She must have got up and burnt the -letter, and then--Well, we must wait for the inquest." - -It was Herrick who attended to all the details of the funeral, as -Marsh was completely bewildered by the sudden catastrophe. The inquest -resulted in a verdict that Mrs. Marsh had died from an overdose of -chloral, but no one hinted at suicide. As Dr. Jim gave evidence of her -use of the drug to alleviate pain and obtain sleep, it was concluded -that she had miscalculated the dose. Even Stephen believed that this -was the case, for Herrick said nothing of his suspicions. What -Petronella thought Dr. Jim could not find out. She was as secret as -the grave. - -Mrs. Marsh was buried in the family vault of the Carr's at Saxham. A -large number of people came to the funeral, not because the dead woman -had been popular, but that they wished to attend the rites of a person -whose death had been foretold in so curious a manner. In the vault, -the coffin was laid beside that of the late Colonel, and Herrick -shuddered as he thought of these enemies lying side by side. -Certainly, when the new vault was ready the body of the Colonel would -be removed to it, in accordance with the terms of the will. But it -would be some time before this was completed, and meantime Carr's body -remained in the old sepulchre. Pending its removal, Stephen had had a -new iron door put on the old vault, and kept the key to himself. It -was quite safe in his pocket, and he never parted from it. - -After the funeral Herrick made several attempts to discover something -about the letter delivered to Mrs. Marsh on the day of her death, -although he was careful not to hint that it had any connection with -her sudden end. But although he questioned the postman and the postal -authorities, he could gain very little satisfaction. It was a plain -envelope stamped--so far as could be remembered--with the London -post-mark. "Humph!" said Dr. Jim to himself when he acquired this -information. "Frisco is in London. I wonder if he wrote that letter?" - -However it was little use conjecturing. Mrs. Marsh was dead and had -taken her secret and the secret of Colonel Carr along with her into -the next world. Herrick put the idea out of his head, as he had much -to do in considering his future position. Three or four days after the -funeral he was alone with Stephen in the Beorminster house, and there -spoke to the young man about his movements. - -"I must return to London Marsh," he said. "I can do no more good here; -and I must attend to my practice." - -"No," replied Stephen quickly, "you must not leave me like this -Herrick. I have grown used to you as a companion. I like you more than -any man I ever met, and without you I should be lost. You must stay -with me. Is your practice a large one?" - -"On the contrary it is very small. I have been established in West -Kensington only for two years. If I had not a small income of my own I -should starve." - -"Well you must come to me. I hope you will Herrick. I am rich, and I -can allow you a good income--say a thousand a year." - -"That is generous of you Marsh. Did your mother speak of this to you?" - -"No! she did not. Why do you ask?" - -"Because she wanted me to stay with you, and proposed the same -amount." - -"I am glad," cried Stephen his face lighting up. "I can do this much -at least for her memory. So she wished you to remain with me? You will -of course. I cannot do without you." - -Herrick smoked in silence for a few minutes. "A man in my position has -no right to turn his back on such good fortune. All the same Marsh, if -I did not like you personally; if I did not think I could earn my -income by helping you, I would not take the position." - -"Then you will do so?" cried Stephen stretching out his hand. - -The doctor grasped it heartily in token of acceptance. "But I am not -without scruples as to taking such a large amount of money," said he. -"I make only a couple of hundred a year by my practice. You rate me at -a high value." - -"Not too high for the good you will do me," said Marsh heartily. "I -have been a different man since you came into my life. You have shown -me how to look at things in a broader spirit. I am less morbid than I -was. No, Herrick. I have eight thousand a year, and you shall have the -sum I name." - -"Very good. I am delighted. But for what period? You see Marsh, some -day you will marry, and then you will find in your wife the companion -necessary to your existence; you will not want me. I think we had -better make an agreement for three years. By that time I shall have -done you all the good I can; you will be used to your position. And," -continued Jim looking into the young man's eyes, "you will be looking -for a wife." - -Stephen nodded. "Three years then," he said, "if you want a document, -the lawyers can draw it up. As to marrying, I dare say I shall marry. -Already I have"--here he broke off abruptly, "there are some things a -man cannot talk about even to his best friend. Let the subject of love -and marriage be tabooed between us Herrick." - -"Certainly!" replied the doctor rather stiffly, "I have no wish to -force your confidence Marsh." - -"It's not that; but--I have an idea in my head. It may come to -nothing. On the other hand--well," he dismissed it with a wave of his -hand, "time enough to talk about it when it ripens. Let us change the -subject." - -In the face of this unwillingness on the part of Marsh, Herrick was -obliged to do as he was asked. He wondered if Stephen really loved Ida -Endicotte or whether it was Bess who attracted him. Time alone would -reveal the truth, so Herrick for the moment thought no more about the -matter. He had engaged himself to look after Stephen, and at once set -to work to earn his income. The subject was introduced by Marsh. - -"I think you and I ought to go abroad for a year or two," he said -restlessly. "I feel that both Beorminster and Saxham are distasteful -to me for a time. I have arranged to let Petronella live here, on a -small income. I thought she would like to return to Italy, but she -begged me to allow her to stay here for a time. I asked her to go to -'The Pines' but she refused. So here she must stay, and you and I -Herrick?----" - -"We will go up to London for a couple of weeks," said Herrick -promptly. - -"But I want to go further afield and for a longer time." - -"Have you forgotten the terms of the will?" put in Dr. Jim. "You must -pay a monthly visit to that vault, or the money goes to Frisco!" - -Stephen nodded somewhat grimly. "I should have remembered," said he, -"yes! I cannot travel until the year is at an end. But even if it so -happened that I did not go to the vault and lost the money, I do not -think that Frisco would return to claim it." - -"Well I don't know," replied Herrick musingly, "after all we cannot be -certain that Frisco killed his master. He may re-appear and explain -his flight and prove his innocence. On the face of it, it would seem -he is guilty but the evidence is all circumstantial. Better stick to -the terms of the will, and not give him the chance of claiming the -money." - -"Very good Herrick. Then we will go up to London, and you can take me -to tailors and all the other tradesmen whose goods I may need. I want -you to educate me Dr. Jim. You have had a varied experience of the -world and I have not. I am a country mouse, and you the Town one." - -"At thirty-five I must have had some experience Marsh. Yes! I have -travelled in my time. I have been round Europe with a man I was trying -to reclaim from strong drink----" - -"Did you succeed?" - -"Partly," replied the doctor with a shrug, "he is a fairly decent -member of society now. Nothing to boast of. Well Marsh, I have also -been doctor on a liner to the East. Finally I went with an expedition -into the interior of Africa. Now I am settled in the dull quarter of -West Kensington, and often wish I could be off again on the long -trail. Civilised life is too respectable for me." - -"When the year is out we will go on the long trail together." - -"Well," said Herrick, "an exploration of our planet will do you no -harm. Later on you can settle down and be comfortable with a wife--I -beg your pardon I am trenching on forbidden ground. However Marsh I am -glad things are so arranged. It is a bit of good luck for me." - -"And for me also Herrick. You can do me nothing but good." - -"I hope so," said Herrick cheerfully "the first thing I intend to do -is to take you out into the open air. You must hunt and shoot and golf -and swim, and get yourself into a state of physical perfection. Your -mind is all right. I like your poems, and you have it in you to do -great things Marsh. But first of all you must attend to the body." - -"I have neglected these things," said Stephen straightening himself, -"but my life was so narrow, that I did not look after myself as a man -should. Besides to tell you the truth Herrick I am so much of the -student, that out-of-door life never attracted me." - -"That is because you have never had a companion to interest you in the -life," said Herrick smiling. "Now, I am devoted to athletic sports of -all kinds. If I can infect you with my enthusiasm you will soon be -able to take the deepest interest in them yourself. Not that I was -fortunate enough to succeed with Joyce," finished Dr. Jim with a -shrug. - -"Ah, your friend who was staying at the Carr Arms? I never met him." - -"You will when we go to town. He is not a bad little chap but his -brain is too large for his body, Besides which he is neurotic, and -intensely trying at times. I don't suppose I should have cured him -altogether, but I could have made him twice the man he was, had he -only taken my advice. But Robin was always as obstinate as a mule. He -lives into himself and for himself. There is no hope for a man like -that." - -"I hope you will succeed with me Herrick." - -"I am certain to succeed with you. In the first place your nerves are -not diseased: in the second you are less selfish, and thirdly you are -sensible enough to see sense--and that last is not given to many men. -Well, we have had a long talk Marsh, so we had better go to bed, and -begin our new life to-morrow." - -It was three days after this that the two went up to London. Herrick -called at Biffstead, and told Bess about his new relations with -Stephen. She expressed herself greatly pleased. "You will do him no -end of good," she said, "physical exercise is what he needs. He in -making good use of his money," she added emphatically. - -"You have too good an opinion of me, Miss Bess." - -The girl laughed, and blushed. In her heart she liked Herrick greatly. -He was so big, so strong, so sensible--exactly the sort of man she -admired. Frank, her brother resembled him in many ways, but he was not -so worldly-wise, nor perhaps so clever. However she was too much the -woman to make a direct reply to Herrick's speech, and changed the -subject. "When you come back we must have our talk," she said. -"Meantime I shall give you something to go on with in London. Do you -know anything about cryptographs Dr. Jim?" - -"No. I have looked into the subject once or twice, but I never did -much good at it. Why?" Bess went to her desk and fished out a bit of -paper. "I want you to see if you can solve this," she said. "I have -done my best and failed. It is a piece of paper I picked up in the -Colonel's house when he was alive. I am sure it has to do with his -secret, whatever that might be. Else why should it be in secret -writing?" - -Herrick took the paper she held out. It was a yellow kind of Chinese -paper, tough, and wrinkled. On it was written in red ink the -following, - -"S.g.d. K.Z.R.S. V.z.q.m.h.f. S.h.k.k. 1.5.I.t.k.x. S.i.d.n. -C.d.z.s.g. T.m.k.d.r.r.----" - -This jumble of letters made Herrick stare. He could make nothing of -them. Yet here, no doubt, was the secret of Colonel Carr! Perhaps if -the writing could be read, the reason of his death might be explained, -even the name of the assassin might be given. Bess watched him -eagerly. - -"What do you think of it?" she asked. - -"I daresay it may help us," Herrick said doubtfully, "if the Colonel -had a secret?" - -"_If_ he had," cried Bess emphatically. "I _know_ he had!" - -"Then it may be contained in this mixture of letters. You have failed, -you say? Well Miss Bess, I don't know that I shall succeed. However I -will try. You will let me have this?" - -"If you will take the very greatest care of it. I have a copy to be -sure; but that is the original." - -"I'll bring it back to you safe and sound in two weeks." - -"You will be back then?" she asked with a quick flush. - -"Certainly. I shall arrange about my practice and return for good." - -Bess looked down. "I am glad," she said in a low tone; then thinking -she might have said too much she smiled in his face. "Of course I am -glad," she cried gaily, "are we not pledged to find out who killed the -Colonel?" - - - - -CHAPTER VIII -A CURIOUS DISCOVERY - - -It was now quite two months since the death of Colonel Carr, and all -this time Robin had been in London. He had written to Herrick telling -him he felt so much better that he would not go abroad. "I have a new -idea for a novel," wrote Joyce, "and now that I have the leisure, I -intend to throw myself heart and soul into it. I still keep on my -flat." Herrick therefore determined that his first visit should be to -the little man. - -Stephen and the doctor took up their abode in the Guelph Hotel in -Jermyn Street. It was the first time the young man had been in London, -and the novelty and excitement of town life, did much to dispel the -grief he felt for the death of his step-mother. It was not that he -regretted her the less, but he was sensible enough to see that it was -foolish to weep over an irremediable misfortune. He therefore took -Herrick's advice and threw himself with ardour into fitting himself -out with a complete ward-robe for the first time in his life. The -doctor took him to the best West-End shops, instructed him in the -topography of the fashionable locality, and when Stephen was fairly -set going, found time to attend to his own business. - -He first went to his house in West Kensington, and saw that it was all -right. Then he called upon the young practitioner who had nursed his -practice while he was away, and made him an offer to sell it. The -young doctor who had only lately started in the district was overjoyed -at the chance as Jim had got together a fair number of patients. -Herrick made the terms of purchase as light as possible, and spread -the payment over a considerable time. Dr. Grant asked two days for -consideration, as being poor it was necessary he should see his way -how to pay the money. At once Jim consented to this, and after -finishing this necessary business, he went off to Robin's flat. The -arrangement and discussion with Grant had taken up the best part of -the afternoon, and it was close upon seven when Herrick found time to -see his friend. At first he hesitated, and half made up his mind to -put it off until the next day. But as he was in the neighbourhood, he -finally decided to go, and sent a wire to Marsh that he would not be -home until ten o'clock. He intended to ask Joyce for a meal, making -sure that he would be welcome. Yet strange to say, Robin was not so -hearty as Herrick expected. Perhaps he had not got over his anger at -the desertion of the doctor; but after his last letter Jim could not -think that such was the case. In spite of their severance, Herrick -still wished to keep an eye on Robin knowing that he was foolish in -many ways. Therefore when Joyce showed a disposition not to invite him -to stay, Herrick at once determined that he would remain. There was a -reason at the back of this confusion, and Herrick in the interests of -a weak man, resolved to find out what it might be. Seeing that he was -bent on remaining, Robin made the best of what he evidently considered -a bad job, and became more of his old self. - -"You are not looking so well, as your letter led me to hope Robin," -said Herrick, when the two were smoking in the study. - -"I am in the best of health," said Robin quickly. "But of course I -have been working hard at my book, and that takes it out of a chap." - -"Read me some of the chapters," said Herrick, who once had been a kind -of literary adviser to the author. - -Robin shook his head uneasily. "Not until the book is done," he -said. "I want you to get an impression as a whole. This will be my -master-piece. Besides," he added glancing at the clock, "we might be -interrupted. At half past seven a friend of mine is coming to dinner." - -"I hope my unexpected coming will not upset your arrangements Joyce?" - -"Of course not--how can you think so?" said Robin with an air of -constraint that did not escape Herrick. "You are always welcome. Will -you stop the night? I can put you up." - -"No! I must get back to Marsh. I am his companion and doctor for the -time being. A very good billet I assure you Robin." - -"What about your practice?" asked Joyce. - -"I am now selling it to Grant. It is such a small practice that it is -not worth my while to stick to it as against an assured income of a -thousand a year." - -"Is that what Marsh gives you?" - -"Yes! I do not mind telling you Robin as you are such an old friend. -But do not mention this to anyone else. I stay with Marsh for three -years. In this way I shall be able to save money and buy a practice in -a better part of the town. It is a wonderful bit of luck." - -"It is indeed, and I congratulate you," replied Robin cheerfully and -shaking his friend by the hand. "Marsh must be well off to be able to -afford your companionship at that price." - -"Yes! He has been left about eight thousand a year more or less by -Colonel Carr, his late uncle. But that is his business Robin. We will -not talk about it." - -"Have they yet found out who killed Colonel Carr?" - -"Not yet. Of course it is supposed that Frisco killed him; but the man -has disappeared. When he is caught we shall know the truth. You read -the case Robin. What do you think?" - -"It seems as though that man were guilty," replied Joyce slowly, "but -I am not prepared to offer an opinion. The fact is I am so busy with -my book that I have put all these horrors out of my head. By the way, -what about your Southberry Helen?" - -"Miss Endicotte? Oh, I have seen a good deal of her." - -"And you are still in love?" - -"Not very passionately perhaps. But I think a respectable affection is -better to marry upon than a wild romantic adoration that will not -resist the wear and tear of life. I hope some day if Miss Endicotte -will allow me, to marry her--that is when I have a good practice. But -if another man more worthy of her comes along, why--" - -"Ardent lover!" laughed Joyce. "If you really felt any passion you -would not contemplate with equanimity the idea of an intruder. I -believe you like that little journalistic girl better." - -A kind of dull anger stirred in the doctor's breast at hearing Bess so -flippantly alluded to. But he saw that Joyce did not mean any harm, so -turned off the remark with a laugh. "She is a charming young lady -Robin. But she is better as a comrade than she would be as a wife." - -"A comrade is what you want," said Joyce shrewdly. "Your luke-warm -affection will not win you the love of a woman." - -"Perhaps not. However we shall see," Herrick was annoyed, for he felt -there was some truth in this remark. He was glad when a ring came to -the door and interrupted a conversation which was rapidly getting -unpleasant to him. "There's your friend. Who is he?" - -"A Mexican called Don Manuel Santiago." - -"Humph! It it not often one foregathers with that nationality in -London. Where did you meet him?" - -"At the Apollo Club, Johnstone introduced me to him. Here he is. I -think you will like him." - -Herrick was not so sure. He had met with Mexicans on their native -heath and did not like the breed. However as the man was the guest of -Joyce, he felt compelled to behave at least politely. All the same -knowing Robin's weakness in picking up doubtful acquaintances, he -determined to be observant of the Mexican. - -"Dr. Herrick, Don Manuel Santiago. And this Señor, is my very best -friend." - -The little dark man clicked his heels together, foreign fashion, and -bowed politely. Herrick looked at him from head to foot in one swift -glance, and made up his mind that the man was a rogue, an adventurer, -if nothing worse. He was not tall, and he was very lean. His face was -swarthy; he had a hook nose, a black moustache, and a pair of restless -shifty dark eyes. Accurately dressed in an evening suit, he wore too -much jewellery. Yet for all this he did not look vulgar. There was a -somewhat dangerous air about him. Herrick watching his face intently -made up his mind that Don Manuel was a half caste Indian. - -"I am pleased to meet you Señor," said Don Manuel in good English but -with a foreign accent. "Dr. Herrick? Ah! I know the name." - -"Indeed!" said Dr. Jim, looking surprised. Robin also shared his -astonishment, and expressed it. - -"Why, Santiago you did not tell me you knew Herrick!" said he, as they -took their seats at table. - -"Did I not?" replied the Don carelessly. "Ah! that was no doubt -because his name was never mentioned between us. But if I am not -mistaken," said he addressing himself directly to Jim, "you were -concerned in that strange case of my friend Colonel Carr." - -Herrick almost bounded from his seat. That here of all places and in -so unexpected a way, he should meet with a stranger who knew Carr, was -like fiction. Had the incident occurred in a novel, he would have put -it down as a freak of imagination on the author's part. Yet the thing -had happened in real life and to himself. "Was Carr a friend of -yours?" he asked. - -"Twelve years and more ago," replied Santiago quietly, "we knew one -another intimately in Mexico." - -"Mexico!" muttered Herrick, recalling what Bess had said about -Frisco's tales of North and South America, "not in Peru?" - -"We went to Peru together--on an expedition." - -"What sort of an expedition?" asked Joyce eagerly. - -"To make our fortunes. That is the sort of expedition we all are bound -to undertake." - -Herrick thought of Colonel Carr's money. Was he on the point of -learning sufficient of the man's wild life in the Americas, to reveal -what his secret was? "Did you succeed?" he asked. - -"I did not--the Colonel did. Afterwards he returned to England, and I -lost sight of him. When I came over six months ago, I heard of him, -and intended to pay him a visit. But I put it off and off and -off--until--" he made a rapid gesture, "poor Carr! His was a sad end." - -"An unexpected one," said Herrick fixing his eyes on the man. "Did you -know his servant, Frisco?" - -"No!" replied Manuel calmly. "Frisco was after my time, or before it; -I forget which." - -Somehow Herrick felt instinctively that this was a lie. According to -Bess the ex-sailor had been with Carr throughout his wandering life. -It was incredible that if such was the case (and Jim preferred to -believe Frisco rather than Santiago)--that Frisco should not have gone -on to Peru. He would be needed on an expedition such as Manuel spoke -of. - -"Were you treasure-hunting" asked Jim. - -Don Manuel nodded "Yes! The Peruvians buried a lot of gold and jewels, -at the time of the Conquest. Carr got wind of a hiding place from some -one--an Indian I believe, and induced me to go with him to Peru. I was -doing nothing at the time, so I went." - -"Carr found the treasure?" - -"I believe so. Colonel Carr was rich was he not?" - -"Very rich," chimed in Joyce. "Do you remember Herrick, how astonished -we were at the magnificence of that house?" - -"I remember," said Herrick curtly. The interruption did not please -him, as he wanted particularly to hear what Santiago had to say. "But -Señor Manuel, if you started on this search together, how was it that -you do not know for certain if Colonel Carr was successful?" - -Don Manuel's face grew black and his eyes flashed. "If you would know -the reason Señor, Colonel Carr was a devil!" - -"Ha!" said Herrick with a short laugh. "That is no news." - -"We shared the expenses of the expedition, we were to share the -profits; but Carr treated me shamefully. The treasure was said to be -concealed beyond Cuzco--where it does not matter. I know, but I do not -intend to tell. I fell ill at the first stage of the journey after we -left Cuzco and were amongst the mountains. What did Carr do? He left -me to the care of the Indians, and pushed on himself. That was the -last I saw of the devil. For two years I was held captive amongst the -Indians and barely escaped with my life. I hunted for Carr when I got -to Callao; but he had disappeared. I traced him to Mexico. He vanished -from Vera Cruz. I was worn out and ill. I went back to my own family, -and all these years I thought nothing about the Colonel. But chance -brought me to England, and chance led me to hear where Colonel Carr -was settled. As I said I would have seen him to reproach him for his -treachery, but----" Don Manuel shrugged--"he is dead. That is the -end." - -"A strange story, and not creditable to Carr," said Herrick wondering -if all this was a lie. "Who was it told you where Colonel Carr lived?" - -"I did not," said Joyce on whose face Jim's eyes rested for a moment. -"I knew nothing of this until this moment." - -"Where I heard the name Señor, can be of little interest to you," said -the Don with a sneer. "It was in London. I tell you no more." - -"I do not want you to tell me anything," retorted Herrick the blood -rushing to his face. "So far, I am interested in your story, but if -you choose to be silent, you are at liberty to do so." - -"Pardon," said Manuel humbly, "I did not intend to provoke your -anger," but as he spoke there was a nasty glitter in his eyes, "I -cannot tell you who gave me the information without breaking -confidence with a friend." - -Herrick grunted, but he said nothing. Santiago was evidently a -dangerous little devil. For all he knew the Mexican might have had -something to do with the murder. Of all strange circumstances that -Herrick had stumbled upon this surely was the strangest! To find the -man who knew of the past of Colonel Carr, in the company of Robin -Joyce. - -As the meal was now at an end, the three adjourned to the study where -they began to smoke. Herrick had his pipe, Joyce a cigarette, and -Manuel produced one of those long lean Mexican cigars, that only a -hardened smoker can enjoy. As he bent forward over the spirit lamp, -Jim saw by the touch of grey on his temples and the wrinkles down -the side of his neck that the man was much older than he had -thought. At the first glance Santiago looked--if you wanted to be -disagreeable--say thirty-five. Herrick was now sure he was over fifty. -But the man was in wonderfully good condition. Having noticed him at -the table Jim saw that he was both abstemious and temperate. - -For some reason not apparent, Manuel desired to ingratiate himself -with Herrick, and tried by picturesque talk to banish the disagreeable -impression he had made by his last remark. He told the most wonderful -stories of his adventures by land and sea. According to his own -account he had lived a life of hair-breadth escapes. South America he -knew from Quito to the Horn, and had explored the unknown portions at -the risk of his life. He had been captive to Indians, he had been -tortured--Herrick noted that his left ear was missing--and he had been -almost frozen while ascending Chimborazo. Then he had hunted for -treasure, fought for it with knives when it was found, and by his own -confession had more than one death to his account. All this he told in -vivid picturesque language and with a wonderful command of the English -tongue. Herrick complimented him on his capabilities as a linguist. - -"Oh, I know seven or eight languages," said Manuel boastfully "not to -speak of Indian dialects. I have been all over Europe. Yes, Señor, when -I made money--and I have made a great deal--I came always to Europe to -spend it. That I did royally. Oh, they know me in every capital. Of all, -give me Vienna. Oh, Señor, I am known on the Prater." - -"And to the police no doubt," thought Herrick; but for his own private -reasons did not give vent to this opinion. He said aloud, "I suppose -Don Manuel, you were not surprised to hear of Colonel Carr's death." - -Santiago flashed a quick glance at the imperturbable countenance of -the doctor. "Oh, but I was," said he "to escape all the dangers of the -tropics, and then to die in a quiet little English village. Strange! -To be sure though," added Manuel with another glance, "he brought his -murderer with him. And Frisco was capable of anything!" - -"Oh!" put in Herrick sharply, "I thought you did not know Frisco!" - -"Nor did I Señor," said Santiago covering his mistake with wonderful -swiftness "but I heard of him. He was a devil worse than Carr, if that -can be possible. They were attached to one another but quarrelled--Oh, -yes, Señor I assure you they quarrelled. Once over a game of cards, Carr -slashed Frisco across the face." - -"Oh, that was it, was it?" murmured Herrick as he recalled the -criss-cross slash on Frisco's face which had been described to him. "A -queer couple. What was Frisco's real name?" - -"I do not know," snapped Manuel with a surprising curtness considering -his late voluble talk. Shortly he took his leave, with a politely -expressed hope that he would meet Herrick again. When the Mexican was -gone, Joyce turned eagerly to his friend and asked what he thought of -him. "If you want to know my real opinion, he is a thorough little -blackguard. Cut him Robin, or you will get into trouble." - -"I don't see why I should. He is a decent fellow. His only vice is -gambling. He would sell his shirt to gamble." - -"Humph! Looks a card-sharper. Where does he gamble principally?" - -"In a club down in Pimlico,--the Parrot Club. Very few people know -about it. But the play is very high?" - -"Oh. So you met Santiago there," said Herrick lazily. - -But Joyce saw the trap and avoided it. "No! I told you I met him at -the Apollo Club--that is respectable enough I hope? And Archy -Johnstone introduced him to me. He is decent, isn't he?" - -"Oh, I have nothing to say," replied Herrick with a yawn, putting on -his coat, "only, if that man gets you into trouble don't blame me. He -will probably induce you to gamble and all your new income of five -hundred a year will go once and for all." - -A peculiar expression swept across Joyce's face and he opened and shut -his hands nervously. However he held his tongue, and having said -good-night Herrick went away, sorry to see that his friend was in such -bad company. He regarded Don Manuel as a rook and Joyce as a pigeon. -But he knew the little man well enough to know that his interference -was vain. Joyce could be as obstinate as a mule at times. - -When he got back to the Guelph Hotel it was close on eleven. All the -same Stephen was sitting up for him over a meditative pipe. The sight -of his honest handsome face was quite a relief to Herrick after the -crafty looks of Manuel. And truth to tell, Joyce had fallen also in -Herrick's estimation; for as a man he could not compare with Marsh. -Not for the first time Dr. Jim began to think there was something sly -and evil about Robin. Hitherto, he had been too much taken up with the -man's nerves to think much of his moral character. But after this long -absence he saw plainly that Joyce was deteriorating rapidly. The -company he had been in this very night proved it, if there were any -truth in the saying that birds of a feather flock together. - -"Hullo Stephen!" said Herrick taking off his coat, "why did you not go -to bed man? Sitting up all alone, like a maid on the Eve of St. -Agnes." - -"I did not want to go to bed until you came home," said Stephen, "you -know I always like a chat. Have some whisky?" - -"Thanks. Shove over the tobacco-jar. Well Marsh, I have arranged about -the sale of my practice. It's all right." - -"I am delighted. You are sure you do not mind giving it up?" - -"Not for a thousand a year," replied Herrick with a laugh. "I never -made so much in all my medical life. Not to mention the delights of -your society. What have you been doing?" - -"Shopping mostly. Then I called in on Frith and Frith to talk about -business. I heard of your friend Joyce there." - -"The deuce you did!" said Jim wheeling round. "I have just been dining -with him, and I do not think he is improved. Frith and Frith are his -lawyers I know. How did his name crop up?" - -"In the course of my talk about the Colonel's business." - -Herrick stared. "What do you mean?" he asked roughly. - -"Well, you will be rather astonished," continued Marsh lighting his -pipe, "but the fact is Colonel Carr allowed Mrs. Joyce, the mother of -your friend an income of five hundred a year." - -"No!" said Herrick, and thought that this was just the sum Robin said -he had been left by his mother's will. - -"Yes! Why, I do not know. Nor could Frith tell me. The Colonel never -called to see Mrs. Joyce; he never wrote her a letter. But he directed -Frith to pay her an annuity of five hundred pounds." - -"An annuity? Then it ceased at her death?" - -"Of course. The son gets nothing. The reason Frith mentioned it, was -that he wished to know if I had found anything amongst my uncle's -papers likely to show why the annuity had been paid, and whether it -ought to be continued to the son." - -"Queer!" said Herrick. He remembered that Robin had told him that he -had interviewed the lawyers and had been informed of his income. Why -had Robin told a lie? "I suppose," said the doctor after a pause, -"that Frith did not take it upon himself to promise Joyce the -continuance of this annuity?" - -"Certainly not," replied Stephen, "he had no right. Of course I told -him that I knew nothing about the matter and would not pay anything to -Joyce. Still--as he is your friend?--" - -"Never mind that. I don't want you to pay him anything. Did Joyce call -to see Frith do you know?" - -"A week after his mother's death. He has not been since. They told him -then that he need not expect any more money." - -"A week after his mother's death," related the doctor "and it was two -months later we were on that walking tour! Did not Joyce call to see -Frith somewhere about the twenty-fourth of July?" - -"No! It was towards the end of April he called. He has not been near -them since. You look rather pale, Herrick." - -"It's nothing," replied the doctor. "I have had rather a turn, that's -all." - - - - -CHAPTER IX -HERRICK IS SUSPICIOUS - - -Dr. Jim slept very little that night. He was turning over in his mind -Joyce's strange conduct. Now that he remembered, Robin had been very -particular as to the details of his whereabouts. He had gone to Town -on a Tuesday leaving Herrick at the Southberry Railway Inn. According -to his story he had seen Frith and Frith the same afternoon, and again -the next morning. The intervening night he had slept at the Hull Hotel -in a side Street off the Strand. Then on Wednesday afternoon, he had -rejoined Dr. Jim at Southberry and on Thursday morning had started to -cross the Heath. It was on that same night, that the two had -discovered the body of Colonel Carr. So far Herrick had believed this -story. - -But now, the fact that he had not called on the lawyers had put a -different complexion on the affair. Also his statement concerning the -money left to him was proved--by the evidence of the solicitors who -paid the annuity--to be a lie. Robin therefore had not been so deeply -plunged in grief as he appeared to be, when he could call a few days -after his mother's death to see if he was to inherit the money. -Herrick considered that probably when alone in the flat he had found -some paper stating that the five hundred a year terminated at his -mother's death, and had gone to Frith and Frith in order to ascertain -if this were true. Besides his mother might have told him this on her -deathbed. But what else had she told him? Colonel Carr was not the man -to pay out money for nothing. Mrs. Joyce must have had some hold over -him. - -However the main point, and that which vexed Dr. Jim most, was the -fact that Robin had not called on the solicitors, as he said he had -done. At Southberry he had received a letter calling him up to town. -Jim had not read the letter, but since Robin had told him the contents -he never doubted that it was from the firm of Frith. If he had not -called on them, why was the letter sent, and where was he during the -two days he was in Town? Herrick reckoned back the dates. It was -Thursday the twenty-sixth of July when they arrived at Saxham. Robin -had gone to Town on the twenty-fourth, and on that same night Colonel -Carr (according to the medical evidence) had been shot. - -"Good Heavens!" said Jim when this came into his mind, "can it be -possible that Joyce killed the man? There is no reason why he should. -I am a suspicious fool. He was in London even though he did not call -on the solicitors. There is no proof that he was at Saxham. He said -himself when he went through the Pine wood that he did not know the -country." - -Then Jim recollected that it was Robin who had selected the route for -the walking tour. Could it be possible that he knew of the existence -of the House in the Pine Wood, and had designedly led Herrick that way -in order that the murder should be discovered, and suspicion averted -from himself? "No! No!" Cried Jim tossing and turning, "he could not -have contrived so damnable a scheme. Besides he slept at the Hull -Hotel." - -In this way he kept arguing out the situation, but by the morning he -had come to no conclusion. The evidence against Robin was not strong -enough. But while shaving Dr. Jim made up his mind to call on Frith -and Frith, and also to look in at the Hull Hotel. Nevertheless -whatever he found, he resolved to hold his tongue so far as Robin was -concerned. Joyce was far too intimate with Don Manuel to please -Herrick. And Don Manuel, as the doctor remembered professed a hatred -of Carr. He also might have something to do with the matter. - -"Stephen" said Herrick at breakfast, "I want you to look after -yourself again to-day. I have business to do." - -"All right," replied Marsh, "I can amuse myself. There is The National -Gallery to see; and the Tower, and Westminster Abbey. I should only -bore you taking you to these places." - -"I am never bored in your company," said Jim absently, his thoughts -intent on what he had to do, "but I shall be at your service -to-morrow. - -"You have to see about your practice I suppose Herrick?" - -"Yes. Also some other business. How long do you want to stay in Town?" - -"A week is enough for the present," replied Marsh, "we came for two, -did we not? I have got all the clothes, I need. They will be ready by -the end of this week; then we can go back. You want to return?" - -"Yes! I have an idea in my head. Later on I will tell it to you." -Marsh turned to ask what Herrick meant but seeing that his friend was -taken up with his own thoughts, he said nothing. After breakfast Jim -left Marsh to look over the morning paper, and went out. - -The first place he sought out was the lawyer's office. Mr. Frith the -junior partner received him, all the more readily, when he heard the -name. On the previous day, Stephen had been enthusiastic on the -subject of his new friend. Frith junior took to Jim at once. - -"I am glad to see you," he said pushing forward a chair, "Mr. -Marsh-Carr told us all about you. I am glad he has had the good sense -to select you as a companion. He needs shaking up." - -"Marsh is a good fellow," replied Jim, "and anything I can do to make -a man of him shall be done. But the material is there, Mr. Frith." - -"Yes! But that step-mother of his did a great deal to ruin him. He -could not call his soul his own. I do not think her death is much to -be regretted," finished Frith with a dry smile. - -"She was rather stormy, but I think she really loved her step-son. -What are you smiling at?" - -"I was recalling one or two interviews I had with the lady in -question," said the young lawyer. "She was, as you say, stormy. Even -the Colonel was afraid of her, so he sent her up to us." - -"What did she come about?" - -"An annuity for herself and an income for her son, the present owner -of the estate. Colonel Carr refused to allow her one penny. He said -that he had made his will in favour of Stephen Marsh, and that both he -and Mrs. Marsh could wait until his death. I tried hard to persuade -him to allow her something but he refused. Mrs. Marsh used to come up -and make scenes in this office. Stormy!" chuckled Frith. "I should -think she was." - -"What was your opinion of Colonel Carr?" - -"Well," drawled the lawyer with a quick glance, "that is rather a -leading question. The man is dead, and he was a good client to us. But -speaking as man to man and in confidence doctor, I think he was the -greatest scoundrel in the Three Kingdoms." - -"That's rather strong Mr. Frith." - -"Yet it falls short of the truth Dr. Herrick. However the man is dead, -so we may leave him at rest. He met with a terrible death, and his own -familiar friend put an end to him. The Colonel had not much human -feeling but when dying he must have felt a pang at the thought that -the only creature he had been kind to was putting him out of the way." - -"Humph!" said Jim using his favourite ejaculation, "do you believe -that Frisco did kill him?" - -"I do not know anyone else who could have done so. And if he did not, -why did he run away? Why does he keep hidden? Yes, Dr. Herrick, I think -the crime can be safely put down to his account. Queer man too," added -Frith reflectively, "he was slangy and a good bit of a brute, yet -there was something of the gentleman about him. He could speak good -English when he chose, which was not often." - -"The Colonel brought him from South America?" - -"Did he now?" said Frith sharply, "I never knew that before. Frisco at -times came up about Carr's business but he was careful to say nothing -about himself. He seemed fond of his master. That is why it is so -strange he should have killed him. But then we know that the collie, -which is the most faithful of dogs, goes mad at times and attacks his -master. I expect it was something of the same kind with Frisco." - -"Do you know how the Colonel made his money?" asked Herrick. - -"No! nor does anyone else that I know of. I am certain of one thing, -that it was made in some shady way. Carr was an out and out bad lot. A -kind of Captain Kidd." - -"Strange that you should mention his name in conjunction with Kidd. He -had a treasure likewise, had he not?" - -"What do you mean by 'had a treasure likewise?'" - -Herrick considered a minute before replying. As a rule he was not a -man given to loose speaking, and preferred to do his own work without -the assistance of any one. But he saw that Frith was a shrewd and -capable man, and that in case of need, his advice was not to be -despised. So far as Joyce was concerned, Jim did not intend to say -anything at present, as he was not yet sure of his ground and even had -he been sure, he would have hesitated to betray his friend, however -guilty he might be. Concerning Don Manuel, he had no such scruples, so -he then and there told the lawyer all that had passed at the flat. -Frith listened attentively, but seemed in no way astonished. - -"It is the sort of thing one would expect from Carr," he said. "The -man was a bad lot, and I daresay if we knew all the details of that -expedition we should find it less innocent than this Mexican has -depicted. Still, leaving the man amongst the Indians was bad enough. -So that was how he made his money. I always knew it was not made in -any respectable way." - -"Few fortunes are," said Herrick dryly. - -"That is true; but some methods may be more damnable than others, as -in this case. Carr I know went away many years ago, as poor as a rat. -I have heard my father speak of him. He came back ten years ago with -no end of money. We helped him to invest it. As the income is eight -thousand a year Dr. Herrick, you may guess what the principal amounted -to. Treasure-hunting sounds innocent enough, even romantic, but in -Carr's hands I can guess what a piece of rascality it was. The man -could not run straight. If there was a possibility of going the wrong -way, he took that in preference to following the right path." - -"Still," said Herrick approaching the main object of his visit, "the -man had some good points. For instance, he was charitable to Mrs. -Joyce." - -"Of West Kensington?" said Frith with a stare. "How did you know about -her." - -"Joyce is a friend of mine. I was with him on a walking-tour when he -received your letter asking him to call." - -"Nonsense. We never wrote the man a letter in our lives!" - -"Not on or about the twenty-third of July?" - -"No! I am positive. I should have known. It is true that he called to -see us a few days after his mother's death, about the annuity which -Carr ordered to be paid to Mrs. Joyce. He wanted to know if he would -have it also. We communicated with Colonel Carr, who replied in his -characteristic way that Joyce could go to the devil. Afterwards Joyce -called a second time and we told him the message." - -"The second time was on the twenty-fourth of July?" - -"No! It was towards the end of April. We have not seen him since, nor, -as I say, have we written him any letter." - -This concise explanation showed Herrick that Robin for reasons of his -own had told a deliberate lie. Whatever he had come to London about, -it was not to see the Solicitors as he had alleged to Herrick. Dr. Jim -pulled his moustache reflectively. "Why was an annuity paid to Mrs. -Joyce?" - -"I don't know," replied Frith, "and even if I did, it would be a -breach of professional etiquette to tell you. A year after the Colonel -came back to England--about nine years ago--he ordered my father to -send a monthly cheque to Mrs. Joyce at an address at Hampstead. She -sent a receipt every time, but she never came to see us, and we had -absolutely nothing to do with her. When she changed her address, which -she did several times, she notified the fact and we sent her allowance -to the new place. That is all I know of the annuity. And as I say the -Colonel stopped it when she died. What it was for, I don't know. The -Colonel was dark in many ways." - -"He was evidently a most dangerous person," said, Herrick rising to -take his leave. "However he has received the reward of his crimes. By -the way I suppose all the business of Marsh is in your hands?" - -"Yes! It is all in order. The Colonel was a most methodical man, and -left his estate in the best of conditions. We are now arranging for -letters patent for this change of name. Our client has arranged to -call himself Marsh-Carr. I suppose he did not like the idea of Carr -alone." - -"Can you wonder at it considering the reputation of the name?" - -"No! not a very nice name to give one's wife," laughed Frith rising. -"Well good-bye Dr. Herrick. I am glad to have seen you, and still more -glad to think that our client has so excellent a friend at his elbow." - -Herrick laughed at this praise and departed, very pleased that he had -been received in so friendly a way. He fancied at one time that Frith -might have looked upon him as an interloper, and it was a great -compliment to him, that these shrewd lawyers should be so satisfied -with Stephen's choice of a friend. - -From the city Herrick went to the Strand in search of the Hull Hotel. -He was now very doubtful of Robin's honesty. If the man had lied in -one thing he would in another. Jim was quite prepared to find that -Joyce was not known at the Strand public-house, but in this instance -he proved to be wrong. Directed by a friendly policeman, he soon found -the place. It was a small pot-house of anything but a reputable -appearance. Herrick stepped inside, and was confronted by a stout -woman with a squint. In answer to his inquiry for the landlord, she -announced that the house belonged to her, and demanded his business. -Herrick seeing the necessity for caution went about his task in an -artful way. - -"There was a friend of mine who stayed here on the night of the -twenty-fourth of July last," he said. "He wrote to me from this place -on that date, and as I have received no letter since, I have come to -inquire if he is still to be found here?" - -"What is his name sir?" - -"Mr. Robin Joyce." - -"Don't know it," grunted the landlady. "Robin Joyce," she rubbed her -nose, and then shouted. "Tilda! Do you know a party as stayed here -called Robin Joyce? Look up the books--twenty-fourth July." - -A smart-looking girl dressed in a tawdry manner made her appearance -and requested her mother (the stout lady was her mother it appeared) -not to make such a noise. Then she addressed herself to Herrick. "I -need not look at the books sir. I remember Mr. Robin Joyce quite well. -A little man is he not--clean-shaven--with rather long hair and big, -big black eyes. Nervous manner sir." - -"That is him," replied Herrick thankful to hear that his friend was -known at the address he had given. "He slept here on the night of the -twenty-fourth of July." - -"Beg your pardon sir, but he did nothing of the sort. He came here -after mid-day with a black bag and engaged a room. Then he went out -almost at once, promising to be back to dinner. It was ordered, but he -never came. No sir, I did not see him until mid-day next morning." - -"You are certain he did not sleep here on that night." - -"Quite certain sir. You remember mother, he told both of us when he -came back that he had been staying with a friend." - -"Yes! I remember now. Then he paid his bill and went away, to catch a -train, he said." - -"The Paddington train," put in the daughter. "I heard him tell the -cabby to drive to Paddington." - -Herrick thanked the two women for their information, and asked if Mr. -Joyce had been there since. Both were positive he had not. "I saw him -only once sir and he did not sleep here," were the last words of the -daughter. So Herrick departed fully convinced that Robin had told him -a second lie. Naturally the little man never thought that anything -would happen likely to induce Herrick to make enquires. Nor would such -have been the case, but for Stephen's remark about the annuity. - -"The question now," said Herrick to himself, "is whether he was at -Saxham on that night. If I can prove that--" he shook his head, and -acknowledged that things were beginning to look black against Joyce. - -For the moment he almost made up his mind to go at once to West -Kensington and tell Joyce the whole story, demanding at the same time -an explanation of these--apparently unnecessary lies. But on second -thoughts he resolved to wait until he could make certain that Joyce -had gone down to Saxham. Robin would probably take the afternoon train -to Beorminster. In that case however he would have had to change at -Southberry Junction and as Herrick was at the Junction he might not -risk doing so. There was Heathcroft of course. That was six miles from -Saxham, and could be reached by another line. He might have gone that -way and walked the six miles. "But I cannot say anything for certain -until I make enquiries," thought Herrick and so resolved to wait until -he returned to "The Pines" with Marsh. - -The next two or three days Herrick spent with Stephen. Not a word did -he say about the business he had been employed upon. He did not even -speak of Joyce, tried not to think of him, but gave himself up to the -enjoyment of the moment. Owing to his recent bereavement Stephen would -not go to any theatre, but the two managed to find amusement in -exploring London. With the greatest good humour, Herrick permitted -himself to be dragged to the Tower, the Abbey, and to several other -places which Stephen had already visited. Also there was much shopping -to do, clothes to be tried on, and all kinds of fascinating things to -be bought. Stephen purchased a selection of presents for the Biffs, -and made Herrick help him to choose them. They arranged to go back at -the week's end, when "The Pines" would be ready to receive them. - -"I expect it is all in order by this time," said Stephen, "and Ida -promised to see after the servants for me. Bess is superintending the -whole business. I have told her to do exactly as she pleases, and -there is nothing she likes better. We shall find the place in -apple-pie order when we go back." - -"Why do you not marry Miss Bess?" said Herrick laughing. - -"I like Bess very much, but she is not the wife for me," said Stephen -seriously. "Ida is better suited to me." - -Herrick felt a pang of jealousy. What chance had he against this -wealthy favourite of fortune. Then he rebuked himself for the -ungrateful feeling and swore if he saw the least love existing between -Marsh and Ida that he would at once crush down his own passion. As yet -(as he had told Joyce) it was not very strong; but in the sunshine of -Ida's beauty and charm, it might easily assume gigantic proportions. -If it did, and Stephen loved her, why then good-bye to his income. For -Herrick felt that under the circumstances the situation would be so -unbearable that he would be forced to leave Saxham. If Stephen would -only say definitely if he loved the girl Herrick would know how to -act. At present he was quite in the dark. Still until he could be -quite sure he judged it wiser to hold himself well in hand. - -Later on it occurred to him that he would see Joyce and ask him to -come down to Saxham. If he had really committed the murder (and of -this there was as yet no proof) he would naturally refuse to come. On -the other hand he might dare as much. However, on the whole as straws -show which way the wind blows and he knew what a nervous man Joyce -was, Herrick thought he would be able to decide by his manner if he -really had any dislike to Saxham. - -He therefore one afternoon went to West Kensington. By this time he -had settled with Grant about his practice, and arranged the manner of -payment. His sole business was with Robin, and he went at once to the -Mansions. The servant said that Mr. Joyce was absent, but was expected -in soon, and that another gentleman was waiting in the drawing-room to -see him. Herrick had his suspicions at once, and was not at all -surprised to meet the smiling face of Don Manuel Santiago. - -"Ah, you have come to see our friend," said the Mexican, shaking -Herrick's hand in the most hearty manner. "I also. He will be back -shortly." - -"How are you Don Manuel?" said Herrick politely. "Well, I hope?" - -The speech was obvious, but the fact is Herrick was observing the -Mexican from under his eyelids. When Santiago thought himself -unobserved he stole glances at his visitor. Apparently he neither -liked nor trusted Herrick. The doctor wondered what bond bound Robin -and this scamp together. Joyce was a scamp also and worse if his visit -to Saxham could be proved. Manuel answered the inquiry with a careless -speech and a puzzled look, evidently wondering why it was made. After -a time he began to walk restlessly about the room exclaiming that he -wanted a cigarette, and he had exhausted his own. Herrick politely -offered his case, as he wanted to put the Mexican at his ease and get -him to speak, in the hope of learning something from him, but Don -Manuel refused the offer. - -"I smoke only my own particular kind," he said, "ah! now I remember. I -left some in Joyce's study. I will go and look for them. Will you come -also, Señor? We had better smoke in the study. Joyce does not like the -smoke in this room--" he cast a look round and shrugged, "this ugly -room," said Don Manuel spitefully. - -Herrick followed rather because he wished to keep this shifty creature -in sight than because he wanted to smoke. Manuel went to the writing -table and shifted the papers about. He searched the mantelpiece, and -then casting his eyes on a tobacco cabinette walked towards that. - -"He had found them and put them in there," said Manuel and pulled open -several drawers. - -The Cabinet was at Herrick's elbow, and he could see into all the -drawers as the Mexican opened them. In the lowest drawer was a pistol. -Don Manuel took it out. - -"A strange place to keep a revolver," he said. "No, it is not a -revolver what can it be--so large--so clumsy, Señor?" - -Herrick took the weapon handed to him while Manuel continued his -search for the cigarettes. A frightful suspicion flashed into his mind -as he saw the old-fashioned weapon in the Mexican's hand. He -remembered that the death wound had been inflicted by a roughly cast -bullet, and that at the inquest it was said such had been fired from -an antique pistol. Here was the very thing in his hand--an old pistol, -silver-mounted, and clumsy in the extreme. The muzzle was large, and -could well fire the big bullet that had passed through the heart of -Carr to bury itself in the opposite wall. And this was in Joyce's -house. Herrick felt sick. - -Manuel turned to him with a shrug. "There are no cigarettes here," he -said, "Joyce has smoked them. Señor you look ill--pale." - -"It is nothing," replied Herrick, replacing the weapon in the cabinet -"I am subject to attacks of faintness. I think Don Manuel, that you -had better say nothing, to Joyce about our finding that pistol. He -might not like us to be prying into his cabinet." - -"As you please," said Santiago with a shrug, "but Joyce would never be -angry with me. What is the pistol Señor?" - -"Oh, some old-fashioned weapon that Joyce brought in a curiosity shop -very probably," replied the doctor carelessly, "it certainly is not -the kind of thing one would use." - -"No," replied Don Manuel equally carelessly, "an ugly thing. I will -say nothing. A cigarette? Señor, I will take one of yours. Ah, there -is my dear friend Joyce." - -While the Mexican was lighting the cigarette Robin entered, and -greeted Herrick rather stiffly. It was all Jim could do to bring -himself to shake hands with the man he now believed to be a criminal. -Yet in spite of all he had learned, in spite of the discovery of the -old-fashioned pistol, he could not yet bring himself quite to believe -in Robin's guilt. He still hoped for the best, and talked easily -enough. - -"How pale you are Jim," said Joyce abruptly, "what is the matter?" - -"I am so much a countryman now, that London does not agree with me." - -Joyce laughed at the joke. "I prefer London myself." - -"That is a pity," said Herrick, "for I am returning to Saxham -to-morrow, and I want you to come down for a few days next week." - -"I shall be delighted," replied Robin at once. "I can put up at The -Carr Arms. I do not know Marsh you know." - -"I daresay when he meets you he will ask you to stay at 'The Pines,'" -said Herrick, "but you will come down Robin? I have seen so little of -you, and I do not want our friendship to end so abruptly." - -"Certainly. I will come with pleasure," replied Joyce so warmly that -Herrick's heart smote him for his treachery. But when he remembered -how Joyce had deceived him, how he had led him to the very house in -which to all appearance--he had committed a crime, the doctor's heart -grew hard and he was quite prepared to play his part and trap this -man. He was now beginning to regard Robin as a little reptile -extremely dangerous who needed to be crushed. - -"I shall come next week," said Joyce gaily, "and if Marsh likes me, he -may as you say, ask me to 'The Pines.' You might come also Manuel." - -"Perhaps, if I have a day to spare," said the Mexican. "I should like -to see the place where my dear friend Carr died." - -He glanced at Herrick as he spoke, but the doctor was not attending to -him and did not see the look. Tea was being brought in, and Herrick -wanted to get away at once. He felt that knowing what he did, he could -never break bread with Robin again. He fervently hoped that the man -was innocent, but things looked black. - -"I must go now Robin," said Herrick hurriedly, "remember you _must_ -come." - -"I promise. Won't you have tea?" - -"No thanks; Marsh expects me. Good-bye until we meet at Saxham. Don -Manuel, Adieu!" - -"Till we meet at Saxham," said the ready foreigner, and Herrick -hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Not till he was in the -train did he remember that he should have been wise enough to have -secured the pistol as evidence. - -"But he may not be guilty after all," said Jim hopefully. His heart -told him that he was wrong. The circumstantial evidence was too -strong. - - - - -CHAPTER X -THE SECRET WRITINGS - - -Dr. Jim could not conceal from himself, that he was rather jumping at -conclusions with regard to the guilt of Joyce. The man had -deliberately lied about his visit to Frith, and had not slept at the -Hull Hotel, as he had stated. Herrick could not account for Robin's -movements on the night of the twenty-fourth of July, and on that same -night Colonel Carr had met with his death. Then again, Robin was -connected indirectly with Carr through his mother, although there was -nothing to show the relations which had existed between the Colonel -and Mrs. Joyce. Finally Joyce was in possession of an old-fashioned -weapon, firing a round bullet of the antiquated sort. And Carr had -been killed with just such a bullet. This was all the evidence Jim -could find which was likely to inculpate Robin. - -On the other hand there was no reason why Joyce should not be able to -defend himself. He certainly could not explain away the lies he had -told Herrick about the visit to the solicitors, and the pretended -income, but he might be able to account for his doings on the night of -the twenty-fourth, and for the possession of the pistol. After all he -had shown no hesitation in accepting Herrick's invitation to Saxham. -If he were guilty he would be afraid to venture there lest he should -be met by some one who had seen him on the night of the murder in the -vicinity of "The Pines." His determination to come to Saxham looked -like innocence, and Jim granted as much. - -The most important link to be discovered in the chain of evidence, was -the way in which Robin (if guilty) had come to Saxham. Owing to the -presence of Herrick at Southberry, he would not have risked going by -that line, seeing that he had to change at the junction. The other -line branched off from the main trunk, before it reached Southberry -and touched at Heathcroft, six miles from Saxham. Herrick made up his -mind that when he got to Saxham, he would go to Heathcroft to make -inquiries. If he could prove that Robin had alighted at that station, -there would no longer be any doubt of his guilt. No doubt Joyce, if he -had come to Heathcroft, had disguised himself, but he might not think -of increasing his stature by artificial means, and he was so -exceptionally small that even the most casual observer would remark -upon it. - -"I shall give him every opportunity of defending himself," thought -Herrick. "If I find that he came to Heathcroft, he will have to -account to me for his doings. I must know the truth, or else part with -him as a friend for ever." Then the doctor thought with a qualm, that -if he did learn the truth, the parting might be more complete than he -imagined. If Joyce were indeed guilty he would find himself in a -dilemma, as to whether he should hold his tongue or denounce the man -he had been so friendly with. It would not be a pleasant position. - -It was when he was in the train that Herrick thought of this. With -Stephen he was returning to Saxham, and the two had provided -themselves with newspapers and magazines to beguile the tedium of the -journey. For some time Herrick had been concealed behind the Daily -Telegraph, pretending to read. But in reality he had been thinking -over the case of Robin Joyce. Marsh was in good spirits, and inclined -to talk. So Dr. Jim yielded, for after all his thoughts were anything -but pleasant. - -"You are glad to go back to Saxham Stephen?" he said. - -Marsh-Carr (as he must now be called) nodded and smiled. "Very glad," -he said. "I find a little of London goes a long way. I want to be in -my own country amongst my own friends." - -"You will have a large circle soon Stephen. When you are settled at -'The Pines,' all the county will call. They will be delighted that in -that beautiful house, there will be some one they can know. You must -make the Carr family once more important in the county." - -"I am afraid I am not ambitious," said Stephen, "my nature is a -somewhat retiring one, I fancy. I shall attend to my estates and write -poetry." - -"You have no desire to go into parliament?" - -"Not the least. Books and friends; those are what I want. Of course I -shall try and do good in my own way, but I do not wish to take part in -public life. There will be plenty for me to do in a small way -Herrick." - -"I think you are right," responded Herrick soberly, "and you have had -such a wretched life hitherto, that it is but fair you should have a -few years of enjoyment. But you must travel for a time before you -settle down." - -"I shall be pleased to. But of course as you know I shall not be able -to leave Saxham until the end of a year. I want to be certain of -holding the property. I wonder why my uncle left instructions that a -new vault should be built, and should be visited; and why for a year?" - -"I cannot understand myself," replied Herrick, "your uncle was a man -of mystery. But I have learned something of his past Stephen," and -Herrick related his meeting with Don Manuel and what he had been told -about the doings of Carr in South America. - -Stephen looked uneasy and grave. "I hope this money was obtained in -quite a proper way," he said, "otherwise I should be afraid to use it. -If it is what the gipsies call red money--that is obtained by -bloodshed, I would rather give it up. For it can bring only a curse." - -"I do not think you need trouble on that score," replied Jim with a -shrug. "Heaven knows that Carr was not scrupulous, but with regard to -the fortune he brought home, if it was taken from some treasure -chamber of those Inca monarchs, the spoil was legitimate enough. If I -came across such a treasure I should have no hesitation in taking it. -The worst feature of the expedition was the leaving of Santiago with -the Indians, but as he is still alive, no harm has been done." - -"Do you think I ought to give him some money?" asked Stephen. - -"Certainly not," was Herrick's emphatic reply. "In the first place we -do not know that the story is true; in the second place I am convinced -that the Mexican is a scoundrel, and in the third, it is not your -place to impoverish yourself for the sake of other people." - -"I wish I could find out the story of my uncle's life!" - -"Well! Don Manuel is probably coming down to Saxham on a sentimental -pilgrimage to see the grave of a man he detested. He may tell you all -he knows if you question him." - -"Probably he will tell me a very pretty story," said Stephen dryly, -"but will it be true. I do not want the Arabian Nights." - -Herrick shrugged his shoulders. "I should not care to take Santiago's -word myself," he said, "still amongst his lies there may be some grain -of truth. But where the real truth will be found is in that secret -writing which Bess gave to me." - -"Bess!" cried Marsh-Carr with a smile. - -Dr. Jim coloured and apologised. "A slip of the tongue," he said, "I -hear you talk of Bess so frequently that I am apt to fall into the -same habit. But this writing," he added hurriedly to avoid further -explanation, "as you know, we can make nothing of it. Yet if we could -read it, something tangible might be discovered." - -"I really do not see why I should trouble at all about my uncle's -villainies," said Marsh-Carr rather impatiently, "the estate is mine -now, and I want to enjoy it without worrying my conscience. Of course -I do worry. As to the writing, there is a cryptogram in the -'Telegraph' which resembles the paper you showed me. Here it is, in -the Agony Column." - -Herrick took the newspaper, and looked at the paragraph indicated by -Stephen. The jumble of letters did indeed resemble that on the piece -of Chinese paper. In print the cryptogram was as follows:--Eqhrbn: -Gxcd: Ozqj: Bnqmdq; 15, Nbsnadq: Rodzj: Sn: Aktd: Bknsgdr: Vghsd: Gzs: -Fknur: Rgndr: Dzqqr: Lnmdx. - -Dr. Jim read this over twice, then took out the Chinese paper and -compared the two cryptograms. "I believe the secret writing is the -same," he said with some excitement. "See Stephen, in each there are -figures, and in each the figures are the same. Fifteen. I believe that -this was inserted by some one who knew Carr. It may be from Frisco -communicating with a third person about the murder." - -"True enough;" replied Stephen, "yet it might merely be a -coincidence." - -"If the figures were not the same I might think so. But that in both -there should be fifteen is strange, to say the least of it." - -"Perhaps thirty is the key to the cipher." - -"It might be so," said Herrick studying the 'Telegraph,' "but I am -hanged if I can see how to apply it. Oh, that Edgar Allen Poe were at -hand! He could unravel any cipher in ten minutes. The man had a -marvellous gift in that way." - -"I once read a book on cipher-writing," said Marsh-Carr after a pause, -"it said that to unravel a line of secret writing, it was best to -search for the character that represented 'E,' since that letter is -used more frequently than any other in the English language." - -"There you lay a finger on the weak spot," said Jim quickly, "This -cipher may be written in Spanish for all I know." - -"Why in Spanish particularly?" - -"Because if it applied to Colonel Carr and his doings, that is the -most likely language he would use, other than English. He was mostly -in Mexico and Peru, if Manuel is to be believed, and there Spanish is -spoken as you know, Stephen. This may be a writing in that tongue." - -"Well Herrick, you know Spanish, so you might,--" - -"Yes, I might," interrupted Dr. Jim sarcastically, "if I were -acquainted with secret writing. But this is Dutch to me and worse, for -I have some knowledge of Dutch and absolutely none of this. Let us try -your "E" idea Stephen, and see what we make of it. The Chinese paper -cipher is the shortest. We will count the letter that is most -frequent, and call it 'E.' Something may come of the attempt." Herrick -counted and Stephen checked his reckoning. "Four 'D's,'" said Jim. -"Five 'K's.' Three 'Z's:' and Three 'R's.'. Humph! Seems to me that -'K' is the predominating letter, and once it comes 'K.K' which might -stand for double 'E.' Well we'll call it 'E.'" - -"But here are two 'R's' together," said Stephen. "That might stand -also for double 'E.'" - -"Yes! But you forget that there are five 'K's' to three 'R's.' We -agreed to call the letter which predominated 'E.'" - -"All right. Fire away, and see what you make of it." - -For the next hour the two men with pencil and paper, did their best to -extort sense from the jumble of letters on this basis. At the end of -the time they were both out of temper, and had not succeeded in -obtaining even one reasonable word. - -"Hang it!" said Stephen throwing his paper to the other end of the -carriage. "I don't believe it makes sense at all!" - -"Nonsense," replied Herrick wiping his face, "it is sure to make -sense. All ciphers do. And I daresay this is an easy one. The easiest -are usually the most difficult to unravel. That is an epigram -Stephen." - -Stephen had taken up the paper again and was studying the cipher. -"Fifteen I.T.K.X." he said musingly, "the figures and the letters run -together here." - -"So they do in the Telegraph cipher," said Herrick, and read out, -"Fifteen N.b.s.n.a.d.q. What of that?" - -"I thought it might be a date," said Marsh-Carr apologetically. - -Dr. Jim laughed. "It might--on the other hand it might not." - -"You forget the figures are concealed the same as the letters," said -Stephen. - -"How do we know that," retorted the doctor. "Fifteen may be the key to -the cipher. You may count one, or count five: or add the two together -and count six: or subtract the two and count four. Then again you may -have to count from left to right or right to left. And after all the -cipher may be in Spanish, or English or in the Indian tongue for the -matter of that; Carr was mixed up with the South American Indians you -know. We'll never discover it Stephen. But I tell you what," added Jim -struck with a sudden thought, "this Mexican devil may know what it -means!" - -"In that case he must have put it in the paper," said Stephen, "he -knew Carr and the cipher was used by Carr. What is more likely----" - -Herrick frowned. "There is some conspiracy on," he muttered. "I do not -see what it all means. We must learn what these ciphers mean Stephen. -It is a serious matter. Do you think the key might be found amongst -your uncle's papers?" - -"He left no papers," replied Stephen, "I have looked." - -Dr. Jim shook his head. The thing was beyond him. He replaced the -Chinese paper in his pocket-book, and cut out the notice in the -Telegraph. "I say Stephen," he said while thus employed, "did your -uncle take in the 'Daily Telegraph?'" - -"Yes! He used to pass it on to Bess when he had done with it." - -"There you see!" cried Jim triumphantly, "another link. This cipher -has been put in the newspaper your uncle usually read. Oh, be sure it -has to do with his business--perhaps with his death. Well, we shall -see." - -Nothing more was said about the matter, as the two were a trifle -exhausted by their efforts to read the ciphers. When the train arrived -at the Beorminster Station, they were met by Frank Endicotte, who came -towards them in a state of excitement usually foreign to his nature. - -"Glad to see you fellows back," said Frank shaking hands. "Bess got -the wire you sent Steve, and insisted that I should meet you here. I -have brought a cart, borrowed it from Pentland Corn. He wanted his -groom to come too, but there was not enough room for four. Got much -luggage?" - -"No! Only a couple of portmanteaux. The heavy baggage is coming on by -a goods train," laughed Stephen. "I have been buying up the whole of -London! I say Frank how are the Biffs?" - -"All right," replied Frank as they put up the portmanteaux on the -dog-cart. "Up you get Steve. Will you drive, or you Herrick?" - -"No!" replied the doctor grimly, "you have undertaken the -responsibility of that horse. If I kill it, Corn will blame me. Drive -yourself. I'll stick on behind." - -"No! No," protested Stephen, "get up in front Herrick." - -"Certainly not. The Lord of the Manor of Saxham must have the first -place." He swung himself up to the back seat, "send her along Frank." - -In a few minutes they were rattling home along the Southberry road, -and Frank was telling Marsh-Carr all that had been done at 'The -Pines.' It seemed that Bess and Ida had engaged a moderate staff of -servants, the most indispensable that is; as they left the choice of -the others to Stephen. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom, -food had been got in, and a good dinner awaited the travellers. "Bess, -Ida and I are coming over later on," explained Frank, "we want to hear -of your adventures." - -"I am afraid we have none," said Marsh-Carr with a laugh. - -Herrick said nothing. He was thinking, if he told all he had -discovered and talked about his suspicions, he might create a -sensation. However the time was not yet ripe to take the Biffs into -his confidence. Bess was the one he would consult if necessary. - -Frank deposited them at "The Pines" and then drove away to the Rectory -to restore the cart. Stephen found the house in admirable order, and a -good dinner waiting for him and his friend in the dining-room. Herrick -felt rather a qualm as he sat down, remembering that ghastly meal -which had waited for the dead Colonel. However he was too healthy a -man to give way to such morbid fancies, and made an excellent meal. -Afterwards he and Stephen had coffee in the library, and as the -evening was chilly, Marsh-Carr ordered a fire to be lighted. In a -state of comfort they sat in comfortable arm-chairs smoking -luxuriously. Hitherto Stephen had smoked only cigarettes, but lately, -by the advice of his doctor, had begun pipe-smoking. After a time, he -found it much more satisfying than the cigarettes. - -"I suppose they will be here soon," said Stephen glancing at his -watch. - -Herrick grunted. Truth to tell he felt so comfortable that he did not -want to be disturbed. There was a good deal of the bachelor about -Herrick. However, just as Stephen replaced his watch, one of the new -footmen announced the Biffs; not by that name certainly. "Mr. -Endicotte, the Misses Endicotte," said Phillips. He had been in the -service of the Bishop of Beorminster and prided himself on knowing the -manners of good society. - -"Well," said Bess when the first greeting was over and they were all -seated comfortably round the fire, "what do you think of the house?" - -"It is splendid," said Stephen, "I have to thank you and Ida heartily. -But I won't stop short at thanks." And then the presents were -produced. They took the form of jewellery and both the girls were -delighted. - -"Oh, lovely! lovely," cried Ida looking at the emerald ring which -Stephen had placed on her finger. "I do so love jewels!" As she spoke -she caught the eye of Marsh-Carr fixed significantly on her, and -blushed. She knew very well why the ring had been bought although -Stephen had not placed it on the engagement finger. - -Herrick did not notice this by-play which might have enlightened him. -He was busy talking to Frank about the new gun which he was examining. -Frank had always wanted a gun and was in the seventh heaven of -delight. Bess also was pleased with a bangle. But she would rather -have had books. However she did not say so, as she did not wish -Stephen to think she was disappointed. "I have something for Flo and -Sidney, but those can wait," said Stephen. - -Frank was so taken up with his new gun, that Stephen devoted himself -to Ida. Herrick was thus thrown into the society of Bess, who asked -him if he had solved the cryptogram. "No, I have not," he replied, "and -here is another of the same sort which appeared in the Telegraph of -to-day." - -Bess glanced at it with interest. "I have seen something like that -before," she said thoughtfully, "several times a cipher like that has -been in the Telegraph. I never thought it had anything to do with the -Colonel." - -"I am sure it had," said Herrick eagerly. "Have you the cuttings?" - -"No; I did not think it was necessary to keep them. They all appeared -within the last year." - -"Humph," said Herrick, "I'll send for a file of the newspaper. But -this cipher? I wish we could read it. I believe it has some connection -with Carr's death, or at all events with the secret of his life." - -"I can't make it out," said Bess looking at the cutting and the scrap -of Chinese paper, "unless--" she hesitated. - -"Well, unless what?" - -"I was talking to Frisco one day," said Bess, "he had been drinking -rum as usual and was rather drunk. The Colonel had sent him to the -post-office for the letters and he held one in his hand the only one -which had come that day. It was about three months ago, shortly after -I picked up the piece of Chinese paper. This one," she shook it at -Herrick. - -"I understand. Go on!" - -"I noticed that the envelope of the letter Frisco carried was of the -same paper." - -"Ha!" cried the doctor, "this is interesting. Yes?" - -"Frisco was shaking the letter--waving it over his head, and singing. -I stopped to tell him he ought to be ashamed of himself being in such -a state, when he knew perfectly well how to behave." - -"One minute," interrupted Herrick remembering what Frith had said "was -this Frisco a gentleman?" - -"Yes and No," replied Bess. "He had a refined way of speaking in spite -of the frightful American slang he used. At times when he was quite -sober he would speak to me in the most refined way. At other times he -was just awful." - -"A large fat man was he not?" - -"Yes. Immensely stout: but his face was rather handsome. He was about -the same age as the Colonel. There was something attractive about -Frisco," finished Bess with a sigh, "he was his own worst enemy." - -"Well, about this letter?" - -"He was waving it and singing. I met him in the pine wood, where I had -been to look for Sidney. I told him that he might lose it since he was -so drunk. He laughed and said no one could read it. He knew the letter -by the envelope." - -"Ha!" said Herrick, "by the Chinese paper! It is noticeable. Well?" - -"I asked him what he meant? He laughed again, and went away singing, -'Move on One! Move on One!' I took no notice of the words at the time, -but as he had a cipher letter in his hand I have often wondered if he -applied the words to the cipher." - -"Move one on!" repeated Herrick excitedly, and glanced at the Chinese -paper cipher. "Humph! Stephen thought that fifteen I.T.K.X. might be a -date. If this cipher has to do with the murder----" - -"A date!" interrupted Bess eagerly, "well! Colonel Carr was murdered -in July. Dr. Jim, in the word July there are four letters, and----" - -"I see what you mean. And here are four letters I.T.K.X.: also the -number fifteen." - -"Move on one," said Bess repeating the cry of Frisco, "that is take -the next figures to one and five." - -"Two, six," said Herrick, "by heaven that must mean the twenty-sixth! -Move on one of these four letters. I stands or J, T, for U, K for L, -and X in place of Y. July," cried Herrick dashing down the pen. "Here -is the solution of the cryptogram." - -"The twenty-sixth of July," repeated Bess, "and the Colonel was -murdered on the twenty-fourth. I do not see the connection." - -"We have not worked out the whole cipher yet," said Dr. Jim, "here, -take a pen and write down the alphabet." Bess did this as rapidly as -possible as she saw what the doctor meant. "Now place A under B, B -under C, and so on to the end of the alphabet." - -"Bess did this also, 'I can put Z under no letter,' she said." - -"Yes you can. Z goes under A, I have heard of this cipher. It is -written with misleading letters. You simply take the next letter for -the one that is down. Come, we will apply the result to these -ciphers." - -This is what they got. In the Chinese paper cipher:-- - -"The last warning. Till 26 July. Then death. Unless----" - -And in the printed cipher of the 'Daily Telegraph':-- - -"Frisco. Hyde Park Corner. 26 October. Speak to blue clothes, white -hat, gloves, shoes. Carr's money." - - - - -CHAPTER XI -SETTLING DOWN - - -The cipher was so simple that Herrick wondered that he had not solved -it before. It merely consisted of the alphabet arranged in two lines -as follows:-- - -A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J.K.L.M.N.O.P.Q.R.S.T.U.V.W.X.Y.Z. -Z,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y, - -The cipher was written by using the second line as though it were the -first. All that had to be done was to write out the alphabet as above, -and use the first line in place of the second. Nothing could be more -ingenious, or--when it was known--more simple. But for all that, -Herrick would not have found the key, had he not recollected Stephen's -remark that the number fifteen might be a date, and had not Bess -related Frisco's apparently meaningless words. - -However here was the reading of the riddle. Colonel Carr had been -warned to do a certain thing, and was threatened with death if he did -not do it. He was given up to the twenty-sixth of July, but the -punishment, vengeance, or whatever it was had been executed on the -twenty-fourth. Jim could see no reason for this anticipation of the -cipher letter. - -As to the cryptogram in the agony Column of the "Daily Telegraph," it -would seem that someone knew that Frisco was in London and wished to -see him about Carr's money. This rather bore out Herrick's belief that -there was a conspiracy in progress to rob Stephen of his inherited -wealth. Was Captain Manuel striking in the dark? Or had Robin Joyce -anything to do with the matter? Herrick asked himself these questions, -but he did not seek an answer from Bess. Until he was absolutely -sure of Robin's guilt he did not wish to say a word. And if he -told Bess about Santiago, he would have to reveal what Joyce\ -had--presumably--done. At all events the mere mention of Santiago's -name and where he met him would invite questions regarding Joyce. - -"If I were you Dr. Jim," said Bess the next day, when they met to talk -over their discovery, "I should go up to London and wait at Hyde Park -Corner. It will be easy for you to see a person dressed as noticeably -as the man who put in the cipher intends to be. I should think a navy -blue serge with white hat, gloves, and boots would attract attention. -You can then see if the person meets Frisco, and, and----" - -"And give Frisco in charge," finished Herrick. - -"No," said Miss Endicotte decisively, "I should not do that. At -present public opinion and circumstantial evidence is so much against -Frisco, that he would not have a fair trial. If he did murder Colonel -Carr, which I don't believe--you can prove it by watching him. See -where he and the man who meets him are going, follow on, and be guided -by circumstances how to act. Have you any idea who put this in?" - -Dr. Jim suspected Don Manuel, but he did not think it wise to say so. -"I really cannot be sure," said he shirking the question, "of course -we are all in the dark about this business. Again I notice that no -time is mentioned in the cipher." - -"Oh! I can understand that," replied Bess producing a slip of paper -from her pocket, "when I got home last night I looked through the file -of the 'Daily Telegraph' given to me by Colonel Carr. I thought there -might be a third cipher. See, here it is. It appeared about the -beginning of August." - -Herrick looked at the third cipher. It was worded exactly the same as -the one that had appeared in the newspaper at the later date, save -that in it the hour of three o'clock was mentioned as the time of -meeting. - -"Humph!" said Dr. Jim, "I wonder if Frisco obeyed this first request?" - -"I am sure he did," answered Bess readily, "if he had not, the time of -meeting would be put into the second. No, Dr. Jim. It is because the -person who wants to meet Frisco met him the first time, that he has -omitted the hour. He knows that Frisco will be there at three o'clock -if he comes at all. You go up and see what you can do." - -"It is now the twenty-second," said Herrick after a moment. "All -right, I'll go up. But I should say nothing of all this to Stephen." - -"Nor to anyone," replied Bess warmly, "let us work out the thing -ourselves and put an end to the conspiracy. I am sure it is one," she -added, "for you see Carr's money is mentioned. I hope poor Stephen -will not be murdered next!" - -"I hope not," said Herrick rather gloomily. He was recalling what Mrs. -Marsh had said to him about Frisco and of a possible danger to her -step-son. "At all events I shall look after him carefully. But all -this seems to show that Frisco is not the good man you thought him." - -"It does look bad for Frisco," admitted Bess dejectedly, "still he may -be able to explain if he can only summon up courage to take his trial. -I should not like to be mistaken in Frisco. There was something I -liked about him." - -"Well, I'll go up to town and watch," said Herrick. "By the way, my -friend Joyce is coming down here next week to stay for a time." - -"I am so glad," said Bess eagerly. "I saw only a glimpse of him last -time. He is an author, and we shall have so much to talk about." - -Herrick was rather annoyed by her enthusiasm. He did not like the idea -of Joyce whom he suspected, being too great a friend of this girl's. -Yet when he came to think over the matter, his annoyance was -ridiculous. He was jealous of Stephen with Ida, and now irritated at -the prospect of Bess getting on well with Robin. "I do not love the -two of them," said Herrick to himself with a vexed laugh, "yet I like -both. At all events if Joyce does come down, I'll keep them apart as -much as possible. I must know the truth about Joyce before I let him -again into my circle of friends. In any case he is a liar if no -worse." - -This was an unsatisfactory frame of mind in which to renew a -friendship. But Jim had no such intention. Finding that Robin had told -him two deliberate falsehoods, he made up his mind that all was at an -end between them. Herrick had a very high opinion of the sacredness of -friendship, and was in addition as Dr. Johnson said "a good hater." He -either liked a man greatly or disliked him immensely. With the utmost -calmness he went to work to get his quondam friend by his side in -order to learn the truth. If Joyce had murdered Carr, if he was mixed -up with Frisco and Don Manuel in a conspiracy against Stephen, there -was no punishment he did not deserve. But although Herrick was hard, -he was also just. Every chance would be given to Joyce to prove his -innocence. And if in the end he proved to be guilty, Jim knew in his -heart of hearts that he would let him go free. Much as he might -deserve the punishment of the law, Jim felt that for the sake of their -old friendship he could not be the one to hand him over to Justice. - -It must not be thought that Herrick took his discovery calmly. He -suffered greatly on learning the worthlessness of the man he had so -trusted. He had saved Robin's life by nursing him through a dangerous -illness, and had been attracted by his ambition to become a great -novelist. He had also tried to make a man of him by strengthening his -will and mending his nerves, being sorry for the tortured creature. -But since the man was so inherently bad Herrick sternly cut himself -off from him. He waited only to be certain of the worst to cast Robin -out of his life. But until he was certain, he gave him the benefit of -the doubt. It was a painful position, but Jim set his teeth and stuck -to it. - -The journey to town was a complete failure. Herrick watched at Hyde -Park Corner all day, and thereby incurred the unjust suspicions of the -police. But he saw neither the eccentrically-dressed individual, who -had described himself in the cipher, nor the ex-sailor, whom he hoped -to recognise by his monstrous stoutness, and if chance offered, by the -scar on his forehead. Neither one of them came to the rendezvous, so -Dr. Jim returned to Saxham a sadder but not a wiser man. Bess consoled -him. - -"They must have got some suspicion that they were being watched," she -said, "sooner or later another of these ciphers will appear in the -paper and you will have a chance of catching them." - -"Humph!" said Jim disbelieving, "if they are suspicious, they will make -some other arrangements for you see, they must have guessed that in -some way I had solved the cipher. It is all darkness and mystery," -said Herrick vexedly. "For the time being at all events I intend to -put it out of my head." - -This he did and with considerable success. There was much to do at -"The Pines" and with its new master. The estate had to be put in -order, more servants had to be engaged with the assistance of Ida, and -the walls and fences had to be put up again. Also the new vault was -rapidly approaching completion and Stephen hoped to have his uncle's -body removed into it before Christmas. In the meantime he did not -neglect to go monthly and even weekly to the family sepulchre to see -that all was safe. As yet nothing had been disturbed. Stephen began to -think that the necessity of protecting the body of the wicked Colonel -was all moonshine. But Herrick knew better. He still believed in the -existence of a conspiracy, and kept his eyes and ears open. It was -well in these days, that Marsh-Carr had so watchful a guardian. - -Joyce arrived at the Carr Arms with Don Manuel, and the two made -themselves very agreeable, Herrick did not approve of their calling at -Biffstead, but he either had to quarrel openly with them, or tolerate -the acquaintance, as a row would have spoilt his plans and perhaps (if -his suspicions were correct) exposed Stephen to danger. Herrick held -his peace and made himself agreeable. Indeed neither Robin nor -Santiago had any idea that he was their enemy, so well did he play his -part. Dr. Jim hated to wear a mask, but much could be done by guile, -and nothing at all could be gained by force, so he consented to do -violence to his usually open nature. - -Meantime he devoted himself to educating Stephen out-of-doors. Horses -were bought and the two rode daily. Herrick taught Stephen how to -swim, to fence, to box, and to golf. Indeed the Biffs also took to -golfing, for Herrick obtained permission to lay out part of the heath -as a links. Then the young men and maidens of the county came to play -and Saxham became quite busy. Even the Beorminster people contrived to -learn the game, and the clerical society there curates, dean, and even -the canons played with zest and judgment. Herrick as the original -starter of the game was voted an acquisition to the county and made -much of. He and Stephen were asked everywhere and as the weeks went by -Marsh-Carr became a different man. He lost his air of shyness, became -straighter in the back, spent less time poring over books and more in -the open air. Needless to say he was warmly attached to the doctor, -and it was now "Jim and Steve" between them. And the Biffs approved of -the friendship. - -Since he had lost the friendship of Robin, Herrick paid more attention -to Ida. He never paused to analyse his feelings towards her, and -foolishly believed that he loved her. She knew better and smiled at -the attentions paid to her by Dr. Jim. Herrick was no wiser than his -neighbours when it came to a question of sex, and because he admired -Ida thought that she was the only woman in the world for him. He had -never been in love before and mistook the affection he felt for a -beautiful and kind-hearted girl for the genuine passion spoken of by -poets. If it was, Jim did not think it was so bad as they made out. He -had not himself felt the wound, so he jested at the scars of others. -Ida was amused at the dear, large, stupid creature and played the rôle -of Omphale to his Hercules, but she knew quite well when to pull him -up. When his attentions became too pressing she did so in her own -quiet way. Strange to say Stephen did not notice his friend's folly, -or if he did, he made no remark. - -One day the Biffs took afternoon tea in the pine-wood round the -mansion. Stephen and Herrick were there, the Biffs themselves, and Don -Manuel with Robin. The latter was much excited and chattered on in a -merry way which amused everyone save Herrick, who looked at him rather -sourly. Bess was too attentive to Joyce to please the doctor. - -"Come and sit by me Mr. Joyce," she said making a place beside her -when they sat on the grass for tea. "You shall feed me." - -"Ah, what a privilege!" put in Santiago and Bess frowned. She did not -like the Spaniard. - -"I am so hungry," announced Robin. "Jim, you sit over there by Miss -Endicotte, and Mr. Marsh can sit beside Miss Flo." - -Santiago placed himself beside Sidney who at once got up and walked -away to the other side of the circle. Sidney hated the Mexican, and -openly said as much. There was a bad feeling about him, said Sidney, -and he sometimes shivered and turned pale when in Don Manuel's -company. The Mexican did not seem annoyed. He understood Sidney better -than did the others. Or he said he did and explained his reasons to -Herrick. The doctor laughed at him when these were explained and -declined to argue such nonsense. At this Don Manuel smiled but did not -take offence. He had his own reasons for remaining on friendly terms -with Jim. - -"How pleasant it is here," said Bess looking at the green boughs -overhead, "so solitary! One would think we were miles away in the -country." - -"So we are," said Robin amidst a general laugh. "How many more miles -do you want us to be Miss Bess?" - -The girl laughed herself. "You know what I mean perfectly well. Of -course nothing could be more absolutely rural than this, but Saxham is -the same. What I meant to say is that no human habitation can be seen -hereabouts." - -"No. The tower has disappeared;" said Stephen gravely, "it used to be -visible from here. Just over those two pines." - -Santiago chimed in. "Ah, that is where my poor friend met with his -death! I wonder you are not afraid to live in the house, Señor." - -"Why should he be afraid?" put in Ida rather indignantly. "Ghosts are -not pleasant things," said the Mexican with a shrug. - -"Do you mean to say that the wicked Colonel walks?" asked Robin. - -"You are talking nonsense," said Herrick who was beginning to find the -conversation disagreeable, and in the presence of Stephen, not in good -taste. "There are no such things as ghosts, and the room in which -Colonel Carr died has been demolished. If you talk like this the -ignorant country people will be inventing some legend." - -Sidney who had been listening to all this very quietly looking first -at one speaker and then at the other, let his grave blue eyes fall -upon the doctor. "How do you know that there are no such things as -ghosts?" he demanded. "There are. I have seen them myself." - -Everybody shuddered, and Santiago looked at the boy with a curious -smile. - -"Where have you seen a ghost?" asked Herrick quietly. - -"In this wood, in the village churchyard; all kinds of shapes and -forms. They do not frighten me. Only bad people are frightened. You -would be," he added looking at Santiago. - -"Yes," responded that gentleman, "you are quite right. I am glad I -have not your gift of seeing things." - -"You laugh at it I suppose?" - -"Pardon me, I know too much about it to laugh." - -"The tower," said Sidney suddenly turning to Stephen. "I know you can -see it from here. Often and often I have sat in the darkness under -yonder tree and watched the shapes in the light that streamed from the -windows. All bad shapes--all wicked spirits," said Sidney. "The -Colonel was so wicked that nothing good would come near him." - -Ida thought that this conversation had gone quite far enough, and when -Herrick glanced at her interposed, "Sidney you are talking nonsense!" - -The boy got up in a kind of cold rage. "Always nonsense," said he, -"because you are all blind and stupid." And he walked away. - -"Is he mad?" said Robin, his mouth open. - -Bess was about to contradict him rather indignantly when Santiago -interposed. "He is far from mad," said he, "but he has a wonderful -gift, denied to us who are of common clay. Of course the doctor does -not believe in this. He is a materialist." - -"No, I am not," replied Herrick rather nettled, "but I do not believe -in things that cannot be proved by the senses." - -"I said you were a materialist," replied Santiago, and refused to -speak further. It was on another occasion and when no one was present -that Jim renewed the conversation. - -Meanwhile the doctor was angry at the attention paid by Joyce to Bess. -The little man had now known her some weeks and had taken a violent -fancy to her. He haunted her like a shadow, and she did not seem to -dislike it. Herrick did, but as he had no right to interfere he was -obliged to look on in silence. More than ever he regretted his folly -in inducing Robin to come down to Saxham. Not for all the schemes in -the world would he have Bess Endicotte lose her heart to Joyce. Until -this day such an idea had never entered his head: but now he saw more -clearly. Bess was distinctly pleased with Robin's attentions. Should -she really get to care for him (and Robin was attractive when he -liked) Herrick knew that he would be forced to interfere. Even if he -had to denounce Joyce to the law, he would put an end to such a -possibility. He could not even see the two together without annoyance, -and rose abruptly to walk away. - -As he went in the direction of the heath, and by almost the same path -as he and Joyce had come on that terrible night, he heard a light step -behind and turned to see Ida. She looked more lovely than ever, for -having followed him rapidly her face was somewhat flushed. Just as he -was on the edge of the heath she laid her hand on his arm. A thrill -ran through the strong frame of the doctor. He thought this was love. -But indeed any man would have felt as much had Ida Endicotte touched -him. - -She was beautiful, and moreover had a magnetic attraction, which drew -the most sullen under her charm. How much more then Herrick, who -frankly acknowledged that she was--what he rather obviously called--an -angel. - -"Don't follow him Dr. Jim," she said breathlessly. "Believe me, he is -better alone. I know his moods." - -"Are you talking of Sidney?" asked Herrick in surprise. - -"Yes! I thought you followed him," she cast a look across the moor -where the slender figure of the boy could just be seen disappearing on -the horizon. "How fast he walks. Here, there, and everywhere, like a -ghost!" - -"I did not follow Sidney," said Herrick gravely, "but I see that I -must take the boy in hand. His brain is too excitable." - -"You don't think he is mad," said Ida turning pale. "I assure you that -he is very shrewd in many ways, and looks after himself thoroughly. -But he was always a delicate boy with strange habits." - -"He is a poet," said Herrick decisively, "that is why he 'sees things' -as he puts it. His imagination and brain power are too strong for his -weak body. If he went in for exercise and took pleasure in sport he -would soon lose these unhealthy phantasies. They would pass away in -verse." - -"Do you think he ought to go to a public school?" - -"Certainly not. The boy is too peculiar; too rare a spirit. The other -boys would not understand him, and he would be as unhappy as Coleridge -and Lamb. No! He needs looking after privately. I like Corn, but he -does not understand the boy. Let me see to it, Miss Endicotte." - -"Indeed," faltered Ida, "I should be very glad. We are all very fond -of Sidney; but he is peculiar as you say. And you have done wonders -with Stephen. I can see that." - -"I have only induced him to take an interest in healthy things," said -Herrick, "the rest follows as a matter of course. But I am glad you -are pleased. You know that I am anxious to please you--Ida." - -Miss Endicotte blushed and drew back with a look of surprise. Then she -seemed to make up her mind, and instead of leaving him as seemed to be -her original intention, she walked on beside him towards the moor. -"You are very kind," she said simply. - -"You are not angry at my calling you Ida?" - -"Not at all. I call you Dr. Jim. You seem to be a kind of brother to -us all. I am glad that Stephen has so good a friend." - -"But I do not want to be a brother," said Jim in a deep voice, trying -to take her hand. "You must understand--" She drew her hand away -quietly. "I do understand," she said in low tones. "But I beg of you -not to go on talking like this." - -"But Ida--you must have seen. I love you." - -"No! You do not love me, Dr. Jim," she laid her hand on his shoulder, -and looked gravely into his flushed face. "If you had really been in -love with me, I should not have waited. You saw how I turned to go and -changed my mind. That was because I wish to put matters right between -us." - -"I do not understand Ida." - -"I know you don't and that is why you speak. If you were in love with -me Dr. Jim, you would know that I am in love with someone else." - -"In love with someone else? Not--not Stephen?" - -"Yes! Stephen, and he loves me. Oh, you look astonished. I said you -did not know what love meant. Had you really felt the passion you -believe you feel, you would have guessed. You like me because we get -on well together; because you think I am pretty." Here she blushed and -laughed. "I am talking foolishly I fear. But what I mean to say is -that it is only Ida Endicotte you love, not the real woman. If you -did; if your heart was filled with a true passion, you would have seen -that Stephen and I understand one another. - -"Has he asked you to--" stammered Herrick. - -"There was no need that he should ask," replied Ida. "I am quite -content to wait until he speaks, because I know. And he knows that I -know. That is true love Dr. Jim. We do not need mere words." - -Jim looked down rather shamefaced. Ida took him by the arm and forced -him to face her. "Confess," she said with a laughing face, "you are -not quite brokenhearted that I will not marry you?" - -"No!" replied Jim rather astonished at the calmness of his feelings. -"I can't say I feel suicidal." - -Ida shrugged her queenly shoulders. "You see," was her remark, "what I -said was true. You do not love the true woman. No, Dr. Jim," she put -her hand into his, "I am glad we have had this talk. The moon can -never be yours, so do not cry for it. When you are really and truly in -love, you will feel very different to what you do now I assure you." - -Jim more himself, laughed. "Where did you learn all this lore?" - -"Mother Nature taught it to me," laughed Ida. "I needed no teaching. I -knew years ago that Stephen and I were born for one another. Yet we -have always been merely friends; nothing more. He has not even said to -me as much as you have done. We understand, both of us. That is why I -have refused so many good offers. Other people could not understand, -not even Bess, clever as she is, but I knew, so did Stephen. It is for -this reason I refuse you Dr. Jim. Not that you have asked me," she -finished laughing. - -Jim laughed too, for he was now once more at his ease with her. "I -have been making a fool of myself," he said, "and you are a dear good -woman to take me in such a spirit. I suppose it was not really love -after all." - -"My dear Dr. Jim, you do not even know the meaning of the word. But if -I had chosen you would have learned it. Do you know," she added with -another laugh, "you remind me of the cook, who was of that 'appy -disposition that she could marry anyone? You had better be careful Dr. -Jim, for any clever woman who let you believe she loved you could -become Mrs. Herrick!" - -"I do not think so," said Jim grimly. - -"I do, and I am sure of it. Well, I have been a traitress to my sex -and have warned you. I could say something more but I shall leave you -to find it out." - -"Find what out?" - -"Ah that is part of the finding. You are a great big stupid wise man -Dr. Jim, and I love you for your folly. But some day you will be -happy. You do not understand what I mean at present. Don't try to -understand. It will come upon you unexpectedly. And now," she held out -her hand like a queen, "we are friends; we are brother and sister." - -"Brother, and sister Ida," said Jim kissing that white hand. This time -he did not feel the slightest thrill. "You are right," he cried rather -vexed. "I do not know what love is." - -"But you will some day, and soon. I see it coming." Thus spoke Ida, -and refused to explain herself further. But Jim understood her--dimly. - - - - -CHAPTER XII -SECOND-SIGHT - - -Herrick was much happier now that his relations with Ida were properly -adjusted. He recognised how true was her woman's instinct which had -gone at once to the root of the matter. He had never truly loved her, -as a woman demands to be loved. The very fact that he had been blind -to her feeling for Stephen showed that what he had mistaken for true -passion--if it could be so called--was wholly false. He had been -attracted by her beauty, by her kindly spirit, by that sympathy which -every genuine woman can give to a man whom she finds pleasant company; -but of the sacred feeling, which is named love, yet which has no name, -he had not felt one thrill. With feminine cleverness she had taken his -gimcrack passion in the right way, and had shown him in the kindest of -words, how poor a thing it really was. There was no ill feeling in his -heart now that he had lost her. He could regard her as a dear friend, -and even be glad that she should marry Stephen. - -So far Herrick was quite content. Yet there was a vague yearning in -his breast for companionship, and sympathy. Certainly he had both from -Stephen; but Stephen was a man, and could not be to him what a woman -could be. Herrick had lived a life, so active and full of interest -that he had never found time to think of love or of womankind. Now -that there was--so to speak a pause in his life--the vacuum thus -created required to be filled up in some way. For man, was woman -created, and Jim was simply yearning (although in his materialistic -blindness he did not know it) for the other part of himself. Ida had -hinted that what he wanted would come to him; yet so blind was Jim, -that he could not see the advancing vision. He looked to all four -points of the horizon, and saw--nothing. It was a wonder to him in -after years that it had been so with him. But it was but that dense -gloom which heralds the dawn. And the glory of day was at hand. - -In this unsatisfactory mood, wanting something yet not knowing what it -was that he wanted, Jim was anything but a pleasant companion. -Formerly he had been serenely strong, never out of temper, and always -sufficient in himself to himself. Now he was easily irritated, he -smoked more than was good for him, he looked upon his fellow mortals -with jaundiced eyes. In vain he rode, he boxed, he fenced, he swam, he -took long tramps into the country. External Nature could do nothing -for him. The secret of his redemption was within him, yet he did not -know how to learn it. Poor Jim! Those dark days took much of his pride -from him. He learned then how poor a thing is man; how dependent upon -forces which although within himself he is unable through weakness or -through ignorance to control. - -One form of Herrick's unrest took the shape of being almost openly -rude to Robin. The little man was in the habit of haunting Biffstead. -He was by this time desperately in love with Bess, and took no pains -to conceal his feelings. Manuel encouraged it, for the Mexican was his -confidant. Robin would have told Herrick had the doctor shown any -sympathetic disposition to listen. But Jim avoided him on all -occasions. Perhaps Robin guessed the cause, for he let sleeping dogs -lie, and never asked what it was that had come between them. He knew -that it would be wiser for him to leave Saxham, yet so deeply was he -in love that he could not tear himself away from so dangerous a -neighbourhood. - -Jim felt that if he spoke to Robin he might say too much, so he -sounded Manuel on the subject of their leaving. He wished both men to -go, conspiracy or no conspiracy. The mystery of the affair was -beginning to exasperate Jim, and as has been said before he was not in -his usual good-tempered frame of mind. - -One day he encountered Santiago on the common. The Mexican was in good -spirits and expressed his pleasure at the meeting. The doctor nodded -grimly, but did not return the compliment. "When are you two going -away?" he asked. Manuel looked up at the hard tone and saw at once -that Jim had made up his mind to be disagreeable. But the Mexican was -not lacking in courage and had no thought of retreating. "I do not -quite understand what you mean Señor," he said with coldness. - -"I am talking of you and Joyce. When are you going?" - -"When it suits me to leave, Señor. I have every right to stop here if I -so choose, and I do choose. As to Joyce, you had better ask him -yourself." - -Jim saw that he had taken the wrong tone with the man and by a great -effort of will became more friendly. "You need not be angry Santiago," -he said. "I only ask because I see that Joyce is attracted by Miss -Bess Endicotte. That is wrong." - -"Eh!" Santiago shrugged his shoulders, "Why should it be wrong? She is -a most charming lady and your friend Joyce loves her." - -"Ridiculous! He can never marry her," said Herrick angrily. - -"There is no reason why he should not. Of course it is none of my -business, Señor, and I fail to see why you should speak to me about -it." - -"See here, Don Manuel. I speak to you because I know that Robin has -come under the power of your will. You do what you like with him, and -I want you to take him away. He must not ask Miss Bess to marry him, -for the very simple reason that he has no income and no position. Such -a marriage would be a bad one for the girl." - -"Are you in----" - -"Drop that!" cried Herrick so fiercely that the Mexican was cowed. "I -am responsible for Joyce and for you also, seeing that I asked you -both to come here. You must go away." - -"So far as Joyce is concerned I shall use the influence you are -pleased to talk about to get him to leave. As for myself, the Rev. -Pentland Corn has asked me to stop with him for a week or so; I have -accepted." - -"Pentland Corn!" said Herrick surprised. "What can there be in common -between the rector and you?" - -"Oh, I know that I am a bad man," replied the Mexican smoothly, "but -perhaps this priest may improve me. I believe he did his best with -Colonel Carr; but with me he may not fail. We are friends--great -friends. - -"I do not understand," muttered Herrick eyeing the man curiously. - -"Is there any need you should?" retorted Don Manuel working himself -into a rage. "Señor, I do not understand that you talk to me so." - -"That's all right," replied Jim coolly. He did not want to quarrel -with the man as yet. "We need not lose our tempers like schoolboys. -You can stay a century with Corn for all I care! But Joyce----" - -"If I have any influence with him he shall go." - -"Very good. I would have spoken to him myself, but your influence over -him is stronger than mine." - -Santiago shrugged his shoulders. "You ascribe to me more power than I -possess," said he, "I do not wish to obtain influence over any one. To -me Joyce is a pleasant friend, nothing more. When I go back to London -probably I shall see little of him. And I return to Mexico in two -months." - -Herrick was pleased to hear this. If there was any conspiracy, and Don -Manuel was mixed up in it, the thing would at all events come to a -head within eight weeks. It was time it did, for Herrick was weary of -fighting with shadows. Once he had something definite before him he -could fight; and a vague threat in the Mexican's tone assured him that -he would not have long to wait. - -As he had no excuse for leaving Don Manuel the doctor was forced to -return to the village with him. On the way they passed Sidney, who was -walking towards the moor. Herrick called to the boy, who merely waved -his hand and passed on. Jim noticed that his face was singularly -colourless, of a hue resembling that which it had assumed when he had -slept on the library sofa prior to his announcement of Mrs. Marsh's -death. - -"How ill that boy looks!" muttered Herrick. - -"Pardon me," interposed Manuel, "he is not ill. But he is in that -frame of mind which will bring him into contact with spiritual -intelligences." - -"How do you know?" - -"By his rapt look and his fixed eye. That boy Dr. Herrick, is -clairvoyant." - -Herrick was angry at once. "You are talking the jargon of the -spiritualists," he said roughly, "all trickery and fraud." - -"Believe me nothing of the sort Señor. I myself have seen the most -extraordinary things." - -Herrick looked at him with a disdainful smile. "I know you are not a -good man Santiago, nor do you wish to be thought one. But I credited -you with more intelligence than to believe in hallucinations." - -Don Manuel not at all offended laughed. "True I am not a good man," he -said, "and more is the pity. I am afraid to go where that lad can -go--into the astral plane. You do not understand? No! you are as I -said before, a materialistic being. But I am not a fool Dr. Herrick, -and I can tell you that I know something of the psychic faculty. In -Mexico I have seen the most wonderful things." - -"Tell me all about it," said Jim humouring the man, "I am a sceptic -you know. All the spiritualism I have ever seen is humbug." - -"This of which I talk is not spiritualism," rejoined Manuel coldly, -"it is the occult science. What is the good of my explaining anything -to you? You would only laugh, you cannot see, you never will see. The -prison of the flesh is too strong for you to break through." - -"I am a healthy man if that is what you mean," retorted Jim, "but -about this boy? He is queer, I admit." - -"Ah you can see that!" said Manuel sarcastically. "I congratulate you. -Eh! he foretold the death of Mrs. Marsh. Is it not so?" - -"Yes! But that was a coincidence." - -"Of course. These things are always coincidences--to you. But to me it -is a proof that the boy can enter the astral plane. He does not know -what it is; he is not instructed but he can go." - -"I don't know what it is myself." - -"It is another world that is all around us," said Manuel waving his -hand, "it interweaves itself into our world but having only limited -senses we cannot see it. That boy has senses finer than ours and he -can see. If you gave him a crystal, a blob of ink, any shining surface -with depth, he would see the most wonderful things. Have you read -Zanoni, Señor?" - -"Bulwer Lytton's romance? Yes." - -"Of course you call it a romance; but there is much truth in it. Well, -it is useless for me to explain, besides I am not a good man, and to -tell you all I _should_ be good. That boy however? You want to make -him like yourself. Well then make him eat plenty of meat, and take -exercise, make him fat, place him amongst boys who will laugh at him, -and he will be like the rest of the world. He will not lose his power -altogether. It will come to him at odd moments. But he will not be the -dreamer you see him, no! and he will not be able to see." - -"I have thought of that myself," said Herrick lazily, "the boy is -half-starved and queer--a poet in temperament. I will take him in -hand, and----" - -"And make him like yourself. Did I not say so?" Manuel paused, then -laughed. "To-night if I am not mistaken he will astonish you," he -said. "I know the look he had on his face. Something is in the air. He -sees it he will tell you about it, and you will laugh." - -"Tell me about what?" - -"I do not know; I am not clairvoyant. Wait and see," and Manuel turning -on his heel went into the Carr Arms which they had approached during -their conversation. Herrick looked after him with a smile of contempt. -"A charlatan!" he muttered, "and I thought he was only a villain. -Humph! I do not think one need be afraid of him--now." - -All the same in spite of his openly expressed scepticism, the -conversation haunted him. He determined to keep Sidney in his company -and see if anything happened. Herrick scoffed at the things Manuel had -been talking about, yet he could not deny that the incident of the -prophecy of Mrs. Marsh's death was very remarkable. Indeed Jim -shuddered as he wondered if this uncanny boy was about to prophesy -something similar. However he put the gruesome thought out of his -mind, and went to Biffstead. Here he met Joyce coming out of the gate. -The little man looked quite joyous, and greeted Herrick gaily. - -"Are you just going in? I was coming to you. Miss Endicotte asked me -to take a message to you." - -"What is it?" said Herrick forcing himself to be civil. It was most -important that he should not quarrel with Robin at present. He hated -himself because he was obliged to wear this mask; but the -circumstances of the case and the interests of Stephen required it. - -"Miss Endicotte wants you and Marsh-Carr to come to dinner. She has -asked me also. I am going back to dress." - -"And to invite Don Manuel I suppose," sneered Herrick. - -"No," replied Joyce simply. He either did not notice the sneer, or -wished it to appear that he had not perceived it. "Manuel dines with -Pentland Corn to-night." - -"I hear he is going to stay with him." - -"Yes, Corn and he have taken to one another." - -"Curious they should, and not creditable to Corn," said Herrick and -went inside, leaving Joyce staring after him. - -The little man frowned, and his face assumed a most unpleasant -expression. "I wonder if he knows anything?" he thought biting his -fingers. "He is quite different to what he used to be. I don't care. I -can hold my own," and with this defiant declaration he marched away -holding his head in the air. Certainly Dr. Jim was not wrong in -suspecting Robin to be other than he seemed. - -"Then you won't come to dinner?" said Ida when Herrick presented -himself. "What a pity! Bess _will_ be disappointed." - -"I think not," replied Herrick dryly. "I understand Joyce is coming. -But that is neither here nor there, I shall tell Stephen that you want -him and so shall be left alone in the house. Will you send over Sidney -to dine with me. I want him particularly." - -"But he is only a boy. He will bore you." - -"On the contrary, I find him a very interesting study. You know I -promised to take him in hand. Well, I want to have a talk with him." - -"I am sure it is very good of you to take so much trouble Dr. Jim," -said Ida gratefully. "Certainly; I will send him when he returns from -the moor. He went out for a walk. And you will tell Stephen to come -over?" - -"Yes, as soon as I get back. He has been writing poetry all the day, -and needs to be taken out of himself. I am very glad you have asked -him." - -Herrick bowed himself out and returned to "The Pines." Of course -Stephen was delighted at the idea of a dinner with Ida, but did not -want to leave his friend alone. "That's all right," said Herrick. -"Sidney is coming to keep me company." - -Stephen shuddered. "Then I am glad I am going away," he said, "that -boy is most uncomfortable--so uncanny." - -"You will certainly find more pleasure in Miss Endicotte's society!" -laughed Herrick. Stephen laughed too and looked sharply at his friend. -But true to his reticent nature he said nothing. - -In due time Marsh-Carr departed and Sidney arrived. The boy had more -colour in his cheeks, and his eyes had lost the fixed expression -noticed by Don Manuel. He and Dr. Jim were on friendly terms and -Sidney was pleased that he had been asked to dine. All the same he -made a bad meal. The dinner was excellent but the boy restricted -himself to the plainest of the dishes and very little of them. He did -not touch meat but seemed to prefer vegetables. Herrick noticed this -abstinence. - -"You will never grow strong if you don't eat beef, Sidney," he said -with a smile, "all English boys should eat beef." - -"I never liked it," replied the boy abruptly. "I do not like any meat; -it is disagreeable to me." - -"And you never touch wine I notice." - -"No. I once drank a glass of beer. Ugh!" Sidney made a wry face and -shuddered at the recollection. "How can people like such things." - -"What do you live on then?" asked Herrick. - -"Fruit, vegetables and plain water. I do not often touch tea." - -"Don't you think that is unhealthy?" - -"No, I feel alright Dr. Jim. I am never ill. Ida is always fussing -over me, but I am much stronger than I look." - -"Appearances are deceptive then," said Herrick dryly, and rose to go -to the library. "I suppose you do not smoke Sidney, you are too young -to indulge in that. Perhaps you do though?" - -"I never smoke, I never will. I suppose I am different from other -boys, but all the things they like to do I dislike." - -Herrick thought that this was the queerest lad he had ever met, but -for the moment he dropped the subject. After a time he began to talk -sport to see if Sidney would take any interest in it. The boy answered -politely but was obviously bored. Not even the account of a tiger hunt -with which Herrick strove to rouse him, had any effect. The doctor -more puzzled than ever, and recollecting what Santiago had said, -changed the tone of the conversation. He spoke of the fakirs in India, -of their self-mortifications, and the visions they asserted they had. -This was strange conversation for a boy of sixteen, but then Sidney -was a freak. He woke up upon this topic, and began to talk brightly. -His face became animated, a look of interest came into his eyes, and -he talked in a way so far above his years that Herrick was astounded. - -"I seem to know India," said Sidney, "often times I see pictures of in -it my mind. The bright blue skies, the brilliant vegetation, the -queerly-dressed people. And the long range of mountains," he continued -as in a dream, "peaks of snow against a cold sky. Those must be the -Himalaya Mountains." - -"You have read about India," said Herrick, "and so it has impressed -itself on your mind." - -"No! I know more about the country than I have read. It is just as if -I had once lived there." - -Dr. Jim had a smattering of the theory of reincarnation. He did not -believe in it, but on questioning Sidney he really began to believe -that the boy must have been in India in some former life. Else how did -this country-bred youth know about the gorgeous east. He said things -which he could not possibly have read in books. For two hours Herrick -drew him out on the subject and was fairly astounded at the mind which -laid itself out before his gaze. Later on Sidney began to grow -restless and again his eyes took on that fixed look. Rising he walked -up and down the library. Dr. Jim asked what was the matter. - -"I'm going to see something," said Sidney in a most matter of fact -tone, "the feeling is always the same. I feel as if I were not myself; -as if I did not belong to my body." - -"Do you want to sleep?" asked Herrick anxiously and with a thrill. - -"No, I feel particularly wide awake. I wish Stephen were back!" - -Dr. Jim sat up alertly. "Why do you wish that?" - -"There is something bad going to happen to him. I feel that he--he is -in danger. I don't know," Sidney passed his thin hand across his eyes, -"there is a dark cloud, but bad,--bad." - -Herrick felt half inclined to go with Sidney to Biffstead and walk -home with Marsh-Carr. But he was ashamed to give way to what seemed a -foolish impulse. He laughed at the boy, and began to question him on -other subjects. "You are fond of wandering about at night?" he said. - -"I go to the Pine wood very often," replied Sidney still uneasy, "it -is so amusing to watch them." - -"Them? Who?--What are you talking about?" - -"I suppose you would call them fairies," said the boy, "they are real -people to me. Little men and women, so busy about their work." - -Herrick stared. This sounded like the ravings of a lunatic. "There are -no such things as fairies," he said roughly. - -"I have seen them," replied Sidney obstinately, "but we will not talk -of them Dr. Jim. You would not believe me if I told you what I have -seen." - -"See here Sydney," said Herrick after a pause, "I believe you do see -things in a way. You have a most vivid imagination and a strong poetic -temperament. The way in which you described India shows me that. I -believe you think of these queer things so much that you make yourself -see them--a kind of hallucination. If you ate meat and took to sport, -these unhealthy visions would pass away." - -"I daresay," replied Sidney indifferently. He apparently did not wish -to argue the matter. But he held to his own opinion nevertheless. -There were a few moments of silence, then the boy exclaimed. "It is -coming nearer--the danger to Stephen. Dr. Jim! Let us go to Biffstead. -I am sure there is danger." - -Herrick the materialist however, would not give way on this point. He -thought it would be weak for him to yield to the boy's folly. -"Nonsense," he said roughly. "You are giving way to your imagination. -Nothing can happen to Stephen. If there is danger," he added in a -joking manner, to make Sidney ashamed of himself, "why don't you go to -sleep and see what it is? There is the sofa." - -"No! I feel wide awake, and yet I feel--I feel," Sidney clenched his -hand. - -Herrick reflected for a moment. Santiago had said that the boy was -clairvoyant, and could see visions in any shining surface or in a blob -of ink. There was a large silver ink pot on the table. More as a joke -than in earnest, Herrick pushed this across to Sidney. "Look there and -see what is the matter," he said. - -Sidney looked offended. "If you do not believe me, you need not -laugh," he declared. "I shall go to Biffstead myself. It is eleven -o'clock. Quite time I was home." - -"No! No! Look in the ink first," said Herrick, now much more in -earnest. He really wished to see if the vivid imagination of the boy -would see a picture in the black pool. "Have you ever looked into a -crystal Sidney." - -"No, I can see things without looking into anything." - -"When you are asleep? Vivid dreams?" - -"Perhaps," said the boy quietly, "but in the dark I can--no matter. Do -not let us talk Dr. Jim. You only laugh at me and I want to go home." - -"To warn Stephen?" said Herrick angrily. - -"Yes," retorted Sidney doggedly, "to warn Stephen. He is in danger." - -"Well I'll go with you Sidney. It seems that you must be humoured. -But to oblige me, see if you can discern the Arabian Nights in the -ink-pot. I am sure you will see Stephen seated quietly in your -drawing-room talking to your sisters, with Joyce." - -Very unwillingly Sidney did what he was asked. He knew that Herrick -was laughing at him, and was particularly sensitive to ridicule. With -a look of reproach which made Dr. Jim feel rather ashamed the boy drew -the big silver ink-pot towards him and stared into the black oval. The -chimes of the clock striking eleven had just died away and there was -an absolute silence, broken only by the faint crackle of the fire. All -the lights in the room had been turned off early in the evening at the -request of Sidney himself. The boy disliked the full blaze. Only on -the writing-table was a green-shaded lamp, and close to this:--but in -such a position that the light did not fall into the ink-well, stood -the silver pot. Herrick half vexed with himself for encouraging this -folly, watched the boy quietly from an arm-chair. Sidney bent over the -ink and stared into it hard. After a minute or two Herrick saw a -quiver pass through the boy's frame. "What is it Sidney?" - -"I see the drawing-room at Biffstead," said Sidney quietly, "but -Stephen is not there! Mr. Joyce is talking to Ida and Bess." - -Herrick laughed. "What nonsense! Stephen is certainly there. If he is -not, had you not better look for him?" - -"I see him now," continued Sidney taking no notice of the ridicule. -"He is walking in the churchyard." - -"Rubbish!" declared the sceptic in the arm-chair, "what should take -Stephen to the churchyard at this time of the night? It is not on his -way home." - -"He _is_ in the churchyard," insisted Sidney, "there he walks amongst -the tombstones. He is going to the new vault. For a time he looks at -it." - -"How can you see that when the night is dark?" cried Herrick rising, -"there is no moon. Come away Sidney, this is bad for you." - -"Wait! Wait!" said the boy hastily, "the danger, the danger. Stephen -has left the new vault; he has gone to the old one. He is being -followed, by a man in a dark cloak. The man has a big stick. He -comes behind Stephen he--he--stop! stop!" the boy almost screamed. -"No!--don't hit him! Do not hit him. Stephen! Help." - -"Sidney," cried Herrick, catching the boy by the arm and now -thoroughly frightened "don't go on in this silly fashion." - -"I tell you the man has struck Stephen," said Sidney passionately, "he -is lying by the old vault unconscious from a blow on the head. The man -has gone. I don't know where. Let me go, Mr. Herrick. Stephen is--" - -Sidney wrenched himself away from Herrick and went staggering towards -the door with his hands held out. Dr. Jim followed him to stop him -from leaving the house in this state. But the boy gained the hall -before he did. Once there and he seemed to gather strength. He caught -up his cap and pulling open the massive door passed outside. Herrick -taken by surprise did not wait to put on his own cap. He went after -the lad bare-headed thinking he had been seized with a fit of madness. -In spite of the darkness of the night he followed on Sidney's heels so -closely that he was enabled to keep him in sight. Jim wondered where -he was going, being still sceptical of harm to Stephen. - -Sidney passed swiftly beyond the belt of pines and down the lane which -led to Biffstead. "He is going home," thought Herrick with relief. - -But the lad did not go home. He turned off sharp to the left, and -entered the churchyard through a side lane. Herrick, now awestruck at -his strange experience which he did not understand, ran after him -stumbling over the graves. Sidney never fell. He passed swiftly to the -old vault of the Carrs. Beside it was a dark body on the ground. - -"Stephen! Stephen!" cried the lad, and then sank exhausted beside the -body. - -Herrick came up thunderstruck at that cry, struck a match and held it -close to the ground beside the face of the unconscious man. He started -back with an irrepressible cry and let the match fall. It was Stephen -Marsh-Carr who was lying there, and he was bleeding from a wound on -the back of the head. And beside him, also unconscious, lay the lad -who had foreseen the accident. - -"Or crime," said Herrick aloud in a shaky voice, "this is the work of -Frisco." - - - - -CHAPTER XIII -THE WOOING OF ROBIN JOYCE - - -Bewildered as Herrick was by the strangeness of this discovery, he had -nerve enough to pull himself together and go for assistance. In spite -of the lateness of the hour, the Carr Arms was full of labourers -drinking and smoking. A number of these came at once to the churchyard -when they heard of the accident--for so Herrick put it---and Stephen -was carried to his house. Herrick had ascertained before seeking -assistance that his friend still lived. Meanwhile Sidney had revived, -but was in a drowsy state. "I want to go home," he said. Herrick after -whispering him to say nothing of the vision seen in the ink-pot, sent -him to Biffstead in charge of the landlord Napper. Then he accompanied -the body of his friend to "The Pines." Herrick could not help thinking -of it as the body though he knew Stephen still lived. But it was quite -probable that he would be an actual corpse before the dawn. - -"Mr. Marsh-Carr has met with an accident," was the explanation of the -doctor to his helpers, and they went away. But they knew very well -that it was no accident, and moreover the presence of Sidney besides -the body hinted that another wonderful event had taken place. - -"Master Sidney said that his mother was dead," remarked the wiseacres, -"and he has found the dead body of Mr. Marsh himself now!" - -"He is not dead," said others. - -"Ah! But he will die. Master Sidney, never makes a mistake." And by -the next morning a legend had been circulated that the uncanny boy, -had foretold the death of the new Squire. When those who called at -'The Pines' heard that Marsh-Carr had lived through the night, they -were quite disappointed. It seemed a reflection on Master Sidney. Yet -the boy had held his tongue and no one knew really what had happened. -In default of the truth then, they took refuge in a fable. There was -absolutely no authority for what was said, but Sidney had been found -unconscious beside the unconscious Squire. That was enough material -out of which to form a wonderful story, and it lost nothing in the -telling. - -Meanwhile, Herrick fulfilled his duties of medical attendant to his -friend, smiling grimly the while, that the need should come so -comparatively early in their acquaintance. He had known Marsh-Carr but -a little over five months. The meeting had taken place in July and it -was now near Christmas. The doctor examined the wound on the back of -the head. It was a nasty jagged cut, evidently made by some blunt -instrument. "A big stick as the boy said, no doubt," mused Herrick as -he plastered and bathed and bound it up. "Stephen is stunned for the -time being, but I do not think that the brain is injured. His head is -pretty hard. Frisco had good intentions, but not sufficient judgment -to strike hard." For of course it was Frisco who had done this. Dr. -Jim remembered what Mrs. Marsh had said and regretted that she had -passed away without informing him more fully of what she knew about -Frisco. That the ex-sailor should dare to come down to the scene of -his first crime in order to commit a second (for at the moment Herrick -credited Frisco rather than Joyce with the Carr murder) was wonderful -enough, but his reason must be more wonderful still. It was impossible -that he should be able to get the fortune even if he put Stephen out -of the way, for he was a proven murderer, and if he showed himself -would be at once arrested. Certainly he might explain all suspicions -away, but that was doubtful in the face of such strong evidence. Yet, -apparently he had made up his mind to remove Stephen, and get the -money. - -"But he won't if I can help it," muttered Herrick, "the beast. I'll -carry Stephen to the vault myself so that the terms of the monthly -visit may be fulfilled. Not that I don't think he will be on his feet -sooner than Frisco expects. The job had been badly done." - -He sent in a message to Beorminster by a groom, telling Bridge of the -new outrage and advising a search to be made for Frisco. Then the -patient having been attended to and the would-be assassin recommended -to the attention of the police, Dr. Jim could do nothing more. He sat -before the library fire and smoked, thinking deeply the while. - -"I wonder if Joyce attempted this murder," he thought. "There is -something queer about this stopping here. But that boy said Joyce was -at Biffstead talking to his sisters, if I believe one part of that -vision--and I am bound to do that--I must believe the other. Not Joyce -then, but there is Don Manuel, he is connected with Robin in some -underhand way. Besides, he professed to hate Carr, to regret the loss -of the treasure. It might be he, if he has been with Corn all the -night well and good--if not, he will have to account to me for his -time. I do not believe in the little reptile." - -His meditations were ended by a sleepy servant who announced Ida, Bess -and Frank. With them came Joyce wide-eyed with wonder; but so far as -Dr. Jim could see there was no sign of terror or of guilt on his face, -and Robin was not the man to conceal his feelings. - -"Napper brought home Sidney and told us of this dreadful thing," said -Bess who seemed the most collected of the party. "Is he--is he--" - -"No, he is not dead nor do I think he will die. The blow was badly -aimed." - -"Who could have done it?" asked Frank frowning. - -"I have my own opinion, but I prefer not to express it at present," -said the doctor somewhat curtly. - -"I want you to take me to him doctor," said Ida looking at him with -imploring eyes. "Let me watch beside him." - -"You can do no good Miss Endicotte," replied Herrick, "better let me -look after him. To-morrow you can come over and watch if you like. I -think he will recover consciousness before the dawn." - -"Thank God for that!" cried Ida devoutly and then she wept. The strain -on her had been very great and she was glad of the relief of tears. - -"Have you looked for the man who did this?" asked Joyce. - -"I have sent a message to the police at Beorminster," said Herrick -without looking at him. "You can do no good Joyce; better go back to -the inn. By the way your friend Santiago?" - -"He has been with Corn all the night," said Frank, "we met them coming -here. They had just heard the news, but Bess persuaded them to stay -away thinking they would only bother you." - -"I think it is best to keep the house as quiet as possible. Has Sidney -said anything?" he asked looking at the sisters. - -Ida clasped her hands in terror. "Did Sidney say this would happen?" - -"Yes. He looked into yonder ink-pot and foretold the assault. I cannot -understand the thing myself, but we can talk of it to-morrow. In the -meantime, all of you hold your tongues about Sidney." - -This they all promised to do and now being more at rest in their minds -about Stephen, they went away. Herrick drew Bess aside at the door. -"Come over with Ida to-morrow morning," he muttered, "I want to speak -to you." - -She nodded and ran after the rest who were disappearing into the -darkness. Herrick with a frown returned to the library. "It was not -Joyce," he muttered, "it was not Manuel. After all it _must_ be -Frisco. Well, if the police are clever they will catch him before he -can leave the district. Ha! I'll send a message to Southberry, it was -that way he escaped last time." - -Herrick hastily wrote out an explanation. He did not need to add a -description of Frisco as the hand-bills had sufficiently described -him. This he sent off with another groom, then went to pass the night -beside the bed of his patient. All that night Stephen lay as still as -a corpse. - -It was towards morning when he moved and showed signs of returning -consciousness. Herrick was assiduous in his attendance, and success -crowned his efforts. Gradually Stephen came to himself, with a dull -pain in his head, weak, but quite himself. "Where--where am I?" were -his first stammering words. - -"In your own house," said Herrick quickly, "don't talk my dear chap; -you have had an accident." - -"I remember," muttered Stephen, "at the vault, a blow,--yes, and--" - -"Be quiet," said Herrick sternly, "you must not talk I tell you!" And -after another attempt Stephen obeyed. Shortly he fell asleep. Herrick -drew a long breath. The worst was over. For once the villany of Frisco -had failed in its object. - -Several people called that morning, amongst others Mr. Corn. The -clergyman did not look well, and hurriedly asked after the sufferer. -"I hope he is better," he said, "a terrible affair Dr. Herrick!" - -"A cowardly crime!" said Herrick sharply. "However we can talk of that -when Marsh gets better. Meantime Mr. Corn, will you tell me if Don -Manuel was at your house last night?" - -"Dear me, yes," replied Corn surprised. "He came to dinner, and stayed -with me up till midnight. I was walking with him to the Carr Arms, -when we met the Miss Endicottes who told us of this terrible business. -Why do you ask me the question Dr. Herrick?" - -"I have no special reason," replied Herrick mendaciously, "save that -being in a sense responsible for the visit of Santiago to this place, -I wish to warn you that I know nothing about him." - -"Have you anything to say against his character?" asked the rector -sharply. - -"No! I know nothing about him. All I can say is that I do not like the -man, and I think he is a bad lot. If you like to tell him this Mr. -Corn you are at liberty to do so." - -"I am not the man to make mischief," said Corn hotly, "so far as I can -see Don Manuel appears to me to be perfectly respectable. If he is -not, I can look after myself Dr. Herrick." - -"I beg your pardon," said Herrick ceremoniously, "I did not wish to -infer that you could not. All I have to say is that Mr. Marsh is -better, and that in a week he will be about." - -Pentland Corn murmured something about being pleased, and took his -departure. Herrick did not quite know what to make of the rector. He -was a good preacher, a kind-hearted man, and in his own way, clever. -But he seemed to be weak, and usually had a haggard look on his face -for which there was no apparent reason. Sometimes he went away to the -sea-side for his health and invariably returned looking worse than -ever. Altogether the man was a mystery, and Herrick could not make out -what was at the back of his timidity, and his restless behaviour. "I -seem to be surrounded with mysteries," said Herrick to himself. "I -wonder if I shall ever get to the bottom of any one of them. If I do, -the rest will easily be unravelled. I suspect the whole lot are of a -piece." - -Ida came that morning, and Bess. This latter young lady waited in the -library while Herrick took up Ida to the room of Stephen. She had -insisted upon going up to watch beside him. "It is my right you know," -she said to Dr. Jim, and he silently admitted that it was. - -Stephen had just opened his eyes when they entered. He tried to speak, -but Ida placed her hand on his mouth and Herrick frowned. Marsh -obediently held his tongue, and Ida sat by his bedside. However the -patient managed to kiss Ida's hand. Then Herrick went down to see -Bess, warning Ida that Stephen was not to speak. Marsh did make -another attempt but Miss Endicotte would not allow it. "The doctor -says you are to be quiet. If you say a word I shall go away." - -"The ring?" murmured Stephen, looking at her. - -She knew what he meant. Drawing the emerald ring he had brought her -from town off the finger it was on, she put it on the engagement -finger. - -"Will that please your lordship?" said Ida gaily, but the tears were -in her eyes. Stephen looked again. Thus was the situation adjusted -between them without words. They were engaged to be married. Stephen -fell asleep again holding the hand of his promised wife. Both were -happy. - -Meantime Bess and Herrick were in consultation. Herrick told the girl -what Mrs. Marsh had said about Frisco, and how Stephen had been struck -down from behind. "So it looks to me," he said, "as though this man -were trying to get the money." - -"It does," admitted Bess reflectively, "but why should Frisco do all -these dreadful things to get the fortune? If he had Colonel Carr in -his power he need not have killed him; nor need he now try and get -Stephen out of the way. I don't understand it. However, as you have -told the police both at Beorminster and Southberry, I am sure the man -will be caught. I hope so I'm sure." - -"Ah! Then you champion Frisco no longer?" - -"No, if it were really he who attempted to murder Stephen I hope he -will be caught and punished. All the same I do not think he killed -Colonel Carr." - -"What can be your reason for saying so?" - -Bess hesitated. "Some time ago I promised to tell you something about -the Colonel," she said. "I will do so in a week from to-day." - -"Why not now?" - -She shook her head. "Please do not ask me, but as far as this assault -on Stephen goes, I am quite with you about Frisco. I hope he will be -caught and punished." - -"You are a strange girl," said Dr. Jim, "and a mystery like the rest." - -"Who are the rest?" asked Bess smiling. - -"Well," replied Jim after a pause, "Mrs. Marsh was one, you are -another and Pentland Corn is a third--" - -"Pentland Corn!" she echoed turning pale, "you don't suspect him of--" - -"I don't suspect him of anything, but I do not understand why he is so -intimate with that Mexican." - -Bess opened her mouth to make a remark, then she changed her mind. "I -can say nothing now," she said abruptly, "later on. Ida is with -Stephen. Oh, well, I need not wait. I must go into Beorminster. They -will be asking for news of this for the paper. I might hear something -about Frisco there. If I do I shall let you know. Good-bye!" and -before Herrick could stop her she was off like a swallow. - -Evidently Bess knew something about Corn which she did want to admit -at present. Herrick wondered what it could be. Surely she did not -think the clergyman had liked Carr so much that he was working for the -discovery of his murderer. "But she is doing some detective business -on her own account," thought Jim rather vexed. "She will get into -trouble if she does not take care. I wish she would let me know what -she is up to. I'll wait a week, no longer. After that, she must speak -out." - -But before the week was ended, accident brought about a confession -from Bess which Dr. Jim was far from expecting. It arose out of the -wooing of Robin Joyce. Whether Manuel had used his influence or not to -induce Joyce to leave Saxham, it is impossible to say. If he had, one -would have thought that Robin would have resented the interference of -his former friend Herrick. But several times during the week he met -Dr. Jim, yet made no sign that Santiago had told him of the doctor's -wish. He continued to haunt Biffstead and Dr. Jim hardly ever went -there without meeting Robin coming or going. This did not make Jim any -the more amiable. - -The accident to Stephen caused great excitement in the country. Bridge -came over to see the squire and to interview Dr. Jim. But nothing came -of his talk or--so-called vigilance. The police both at Southberry and -Beorminster failed to find any trace of Frisco, although the railway -stations were watched carefully. Thanks to Herrick's prompt action, it -was impossible that the man could have left the district without the -knowledge of the police, yet he was not even seen. Bridge went to -Heathcroft, but failed to learn that anyone resembling the ex-sailor -had boarded a train at that station. To all appearances Frisco had not -been in the neighbourhood. Yet if Frisco was not the culprit, who was? - -Herrick knew that Joyce had been at Biffstead on the evening of the -assault. According to the evidence of Corn, Don Manuel had been at the -rectory till midnight. As the assault on Stephen took place shortly -after eleven both these men must be held guiltless. Stephen himself -could give no help. He had left the Biffs at a quarter to eleven, with -the intention of coming straight back to "The Pines." Then as the -night was fine, he thought he would go and have a look at the vault. -He went into the churchyard and after seeing the new vault went on to -the old one. While looking at it, he received a blow at the back of -his head and remembered no more until he found himself in bed with -Herrick bending over him. He had heard no footsteps behind him. The -blow had been struck in the most unexpected manner, and he had been -taken completely by surprise. - -All this puzzled Herrick greatly. However, he determined to wait for -another week to hear what Bess had to say. She might tell him -something tangible, likely to lead to an explanation of these -mysteries. But even if she did not Dr. Jim made up his mind to move in -the matter. He would first have a talk with Robin and learn if he had -anything to do with the death. He would have to explain away the -evidence of the old-fashioned pistol being in his possession. It might -not have been the weapon used; on the other hand, Herrick felt -convinced in his own mind that it was. To unravel the puzzle -therefore, Robin was the man he intended to begin with. He was -assisted to make a start by the folly of Joyce himself, and this -incidentally brought about the confession of Bess. - -One afternoon towards the end of the week Herrick went to Biffstead. -Ida was at "The Pines" with Stephen, and Bess was alone. Hearing this, -Herrick volunteered to fetch her, and started off. As he approached -the house he heard the voice of the girl raised in anger. She appeared -at the French window of the drawing-room which looked out on the front -of the house, and seemed in a state of alarm. The moment she saw him -she passed rapidly through the window and caught him by the arm. At -the same moment Robin, greatly excited, appeared at the window. - -"Come back! Come back, Miss Bess. I did not mean it," he said. - -"What is the matter?" asked Dr. Jim astonished. - -"Come inside," panted Bess, "that man! I want you to thrash him. Oh, -the coward!" - -Dr. Jim took Bess by the arm and drew her into the room. Robin winced -and shrank aside as the doctor entered. Bess had evidently been typing -at her worktable, for it was drawn near the window, and some -manuscript lay open on the table. Before this stood a chair, and near -it was another chair in which to all appearances Robin Joyce had been -seated. - -"Now then!" said Herrick, when he had placed the girl in her chair, -"what does this mean?" - -"Nothing," said Robin very pale but trying to speak calmly. "Only that -I asked Miss Endicotte to be my wife, and she refused." - -"Quite right," flashed out Herrick angrily. "What right have you to -ask her to be your wife?" - -Before Robin could answer (not that he showed any inclination to do -so) Bess started to her feet. "Yes!" she said indignantly. "He did ask -me to be his wife and because I refused to marry him, he threatened -me." - -"Threatened you," Herrick turned on Joyce with a dangerous look. - -"No! No!" implored Robin very white, "forget what I said. I did not -mean any harm. I shall go away." - -Herrick seized him by the wrist. "You will do nothing of the sort," he -said quietly. "You must wait until I have heard all about this." - -"Robin winced again and looked cowed. His lips were dry, his face was -pale, and he cast an imploring look upon Bess. The girl returned that -look with one of defiance and addressed herself to Herrick. - -"Do you know what that little coward has accused me of?" she cried -fiercely. "He said that I murdered Colonel Carr!" - -Dr. Jim laughed. The accusation was so absurd that he could not help -laughing. "Of course the man is mad," he said briefly. - -"I did _not_ say that you had murdered Colonel Carr," cried Robin. "I -only said that you were near the house at the time of the murder." - -"Ah!" cried Herrick turning on the little wretch, "and how do you know -that Mr. Joyce? Come. Out with it." - -"He said he saw me," put in Bess. - -"I did see you," said Robin making a clean breast of it. "You were -near the house and for all I know----" - -"So you _did_ come to Saxham on that night," interrupted Herrick. "Oh, -you liar! You went to see Frith and Frith; you slept at the Hull -Hotel, did you? And all the time you were down here! I believe you -killed Colonel Carr yourself." - -"I swear I did not," shrieked Robin, "she did if anyone." - -"Don't you dare to say that again," cried Bess, "you are telling a -lie." - -"Were you not on the lawn in front of the house?" asked Robin. - -"Yes, I was, and I can account for my presence to Dr. Herrick--not to -you--little toad that you are," cried the angry girl. "Send him away," -she added turning to Jim, "and I'll tell you all." - -"Go back to the Carr Arms," said Herrick to Joyce sternly, "and wait -for me there. If you try to run away, I shall have you arrested." - -"You cannot arrest me," blustered Robin looking desperately afraid. - -"I can. I have evidence you know nothing about. Go!" - -Robin seemed inclined to dispute the order, but when Herrick made a -step in his direction he caught up his hat and fled through the -window. "He will run away," said Bess. - -"Let him try," remarked Herrick grimly, "I can have him arrested at -once and I will. Insult you, did he--the hound!" - -"It was my own fault for being so kind to him," cried Bess excitedly, -"as if I cared for him. It was only because he was a writer that I let -him come and see me so often. But I shall not have anything more to do -with him. He sent me a manuscript. I shall send it back. Where is it? -and she began to pull out the drawers in the writing-table. - -"Don't get excited Bess," said Jim using her Christian name in his -hurry. "I will put it alright." - -But Bess in a rage kept turning over the papers and scattering them on -the floor in her search for the manuscript. Suddenly she tossed aside -a pile of writing-paper in the left-hand drawer. Underneath was an old -fashioned pistol. She looked at it in astonishment. "Where did that -come from?" she asked in dismay, taking it up. - -Herrick took it from her. He recognised it at once. It was the very -pistol that Manuel had shown him in Joyce's flat. - -"What does it mean?" asked Bess quite amazed at the discovery. - -"It means that Joyce is even more of a hound than I thought he was." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV -THE CONFESSION OF BESS - - -Bess Endicotte stared at Herrick where he stood with a black look on -his face, and the clumsy weapon in his hand. "And I'll see Bridge -about it," he was saying, "the bullet's still at the police office. If -it fits this----" he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. - -"What?" cried Bess finding her tongue, and asking the question with a -shiver. "Is that the pistol with which----" here her voice died away -in her throat. "It can't be," she whispered. - -Herrick looked at her in his turn, and slipped the pistol into his -pocket. "I know what you are thinking about," he said quietly, "but -the pistol will do you no harm. I have seen it before. You are all -right Bess." - -"All right!" she echoed and drawing her brows together. "What do you -mean?" - -"Why, what should I mean, but that Joyce slipped this devilish piece -of evidence into the table drawer, just to accuse you of----" - -She bounded to her feet, grasping the idea for the first time. "He did -that, did he?" she cried her head flung back, her eyes angry. "Oh!" -she stamped, "what should be done to such a man! And you can sit -quietly there Dr. Jim." - -"Because I want to hear your story. After this, you must tell me all -you know; all you have heard. As for Joyce," his mouth twisted, "leave -him to me. He will not get off easily I promise you." - -"To put the pistol there, that I----" she broke off again, and looked -at him in a scared manner. "Did _he_ kill Carr?" she asked. - -"That I can't say--yet. To kill the man he must have had some strong -motive. I have yet to learn the motive strong or weak that would make -Joyce risk his neck. He is careful of his neck too," explained Dr. -Jim. "I have a mind to break it." - -"And why?" asked Bess round-eyed. She had never seen the good-tempered -doctor in such a rage. - -"I wonder you can't guess," remarked Herrick cooling down. With a gasp -Bess drew back. Their eyes met. A sudden crimson flushed her face, and -she turned it away. "Yes," said Herrick taking her hand, "and I only -knew it myself a moment ago." - -"What are you talking about?" cried the girl snatching her hand away. - -"I am talking of you and myself. Ida said that it would come all of a -sudden, and she was right, here it is, and I have been looking in the -wrong place for it these many months." - -Bess knew perfectly well what he meant, but she made a show of not -understanding. "I think we are talking nonsense," she said. "There is -much to be done, if what you say about the pistol is true." - -"Yes," said Herrick again, "as you say there is much to be done. The -other thing can stand over for a time. You know well enough; but it -suits you to hold me at arm's length. Woman's way I suppose. Well," he -brisked up and his voice took a sharper tone, "let us get to business. -This rascal tried to inculpate you in the crime. He shall have the -finest thrashing he ever had. The pistol I can explain away. I have -seen it in his house, and I can guess that he slipped it into that -drawer so as to make his case against you the stronger. He thought if -he accused you and could back his accusation with evidence that you -would never dare to refuse him--the mean hound!" - -"Indeed it would never have come to that," said the girl proudly. "I -am not the woman to be won by threats. He did accuse me of the murder, -and I defied him to do his worst. I suppose if you had not come, he -would have shown me the pistol next. The mean scoundrel!" she clenched -her fist, "beat him well Dr. Jim." - -"What a blood-thirsty person it is," laughed Jim, "but upon my word -you know, this is the strangest of wooings." - -"Never mind that," said Bess drawing back, "we can talk later of such -things. But my position is anything but a pleasant one. That little -man will make trouble." - -"If he does not, his Mexican friend will. They are a proper pair of -scamps. However I am equal to both of them. Leave Joyce to me. I know -all about him; but about yourself, nothing. Joyce--I take it--accuses -you of being near 'The Pines' on the night of the murder." - -"And at the hour," said Bess quickly. "This is what I have been trying -to make up my mind to tell you all the week. The necessity of doing so -has come earlier than I expected, but I shall explain myself now." She -came to a stop and looked at him questioningly. "Of course you know I -had nothing to do with the crime itself?" - -"I am sure of that," said Herrick heartily. "But I think you know who -did it. Come now, confess!" - -"You are mistaken," cried Bess. "All I know is that Frisco is -innocent." - -"Have you proof of this?" - -"The proof of my own eyes; I saw him at the door of the house when the -shots were being fired." - -"You heard the shots?" - -"Three of them. The fourth I did not hear." - -"Humph! About what hour was this?" - -"Between nine and ten." - -"And what were you doing out at that hour?" - -Bess paused. "I had better tell you all from the beginning," she said -slowly, "then you can judge for yourself. I have told no one as yet. -It was too terrible, and--" she hesitated, "I had other reasons for -silence. Yet if Frisco had been tried for his life, I should have come -forward in spite of all. He is perfectly innocent. I can prove it." - -"Strange," muttered Herrick taking a seat. "Well, let us hear." - -"What about that horrid Joyce?" - -"I'll attend to him later. He will stay at the inn until I come. That -is, if he is really innocent. Of course if he tries to bolt, I shall -know he is guilty, and have him arrested. Oh, Joyce knows me, and will -act accordingly. Never mind him. Go on with your story." - -"It is not much of a story," said Bess. "You know the habit that -Sidney has of going to the Pine Wood?" - -"To see the fairies? Yes, he told me all about that." - -"Well, on the night of the murder, he went away as usual. It came on -to rain and Ida was in a great state. She thought he would catch his -death of cold--he is so delicate you know. I said I would go and look -for him, and about nine o'clock I set out. I knew he would be in the -Pine woods. It was raining and I wrapped a long cloak about me. He was -not in the wood, although I searched everywhere with a lantern. Then I -came out of the wood by mistake right on to the Colonel's lawn. The -light was burning in the tower, and the whole of the house was -illuminated." - -"Just as I saw it," muttered Herrick. "Yes?" - -"I crossed the lawn to come home, when I heard three shots fired one -after the other in the tower. I heard them plainly. I turned with a -start; but the Colonel had done so many queer things that I thought he -was only shooting to amuse himself." - -"It never struck you that it was murder?" - -"No! If the Colonel had not been so eccentric I might have suspected, -but nothing ever surprised me in that house. I waited for a moment. -There were no more shots. I looked towards the house and there I saw -Frisco standing in the doorway. I saw him quite plainly." - -"That was some time after hearing the shots?" - -"Indeed no. It was immediately after the first shot. When the other -two were fired I saw him there. I thought that he might see me, and as -I did not want Colonel Carr to think I had been spying round his house -at so late an hour, I ran home as fast as I could. Sidney had arrived -before me. I said nothing about the shots, and went to bed. When I -heard how you had discovered the body, I knew that I had heard the -shots fired by the murderer. But I knew also that when Frisco was -missing he was not guilty. So that was why I defended him. I could not -speak plainer could I?" - -"Well, I see no reason why you should not have told the story you tell -me now." - -"If Frisco had been arrested I should have. But you know," here Bess -looked down, "can you not understand Dr. Jim? The people round about -here are sad scandalmongers. Because I called on Colonel Carr to get -an article as I told you, people said that I was fast." - -"The brutes!" cried Herrick firing up. "Well then, you can understand -that if it had become known that I was near Colonel Carr's house so -late at night, there would have been more talk. I really don't know -what they would have said. So I said nothing not even to Ida. Of -course I could have told them that I went out to get Sidney--but--" -Bess shrugged her shoulders, "you know how spiteful people are. No! -After consideration I thought it best to hold my tongue." - -"But you might have told me," said Herrick. - -"I was afraid to," faltered Bess. - -"You foolish child, as though I should not have understood!" - -"Well," she said with a sigh of relief, "I am glad I have told you -now." - -"So am I, as it has brought Joyce to the rope's end. How did he say he -saw you on that night?" - -"He was in the Pine Wood; on the verge of the lawn." - -"And for what reason?" - -"He did not tell me; nor did I ask him. You see," said Bess, "I was so -angry that he should accuse me of shooting the Colonel, that I gave -him no time to explain. Then you came, and--you know the rest." - -"Humph! Well, Joyce shall explain to me his reasons for coming to -Saxham. Of course I knew that he was here on that night." - -"You knew?" said Miss Endicotte much astonished. "_How_ could you -know." - -"The information came to me by accident more or less," replied Herrick -and forthwith he explained, how Stephen's remark as to Robin's income -had led him to examine into the doings of the little man on that -night. "And," continued the doctor, "I went to Heathcroft station. -There I learned that a little man muffled up in a great coat (he had -the excuse of the rain, but it really was a disguise) had arrived at -Heathcroft by the seven o'clock train from London." - -"But Heathcroft is six miles from this place." - -"So Joyce knew. Therefore he was thoughtful enough to bring his -bicycle with him. Oh, he came here right enough--to see the Colonel I -suppose." - -"To murder him?" - -"I really can't be sure of that Bess. You see Carr, for some reason we -do not know, allowed Mrs. Joyce an income of five hundred a year. -Robin wanted this to be continued to him. The solicitors told him that -Carr refused it. Therefore I can only think that he came down to try -and persuade Carr to be more generous. But," added Herrick with -emphasis, "I hardly think that for such a reason Joyce would commit a -murder. He hasn't the pluck." - -"That may be," replied Bess thoughtfully, "but it seems to me that if -he did not, he took a great deal of unnecessary trouble to conceal his -movements from you. Besides which, he led you directly to the house, -where he knew--at all events I think so--that the body would be -found." - -"It is certainly strange, and looks as though his movements had been -premeditated. It was Joyce who selected the country for the walking -tour. Yet so far as I know he was never in these parts before. And I -am bound to say that it was I who led the way to 'The Pines' on that -night." - -"I daresay. He was too clever to take the initiative. But he no doubt -made suggestions." - -"Yes, he did that. Well, I must get the truth out of the man himself. -He must account to me for the possession of that pistol, and for his -being in the Pine wood on the night of the murder. I wonder he gave -himself away like he did." - -Bess curled her lip. "He did not intend it," she said, "he thought -that if he frightened me I would consent to marry him to save my own -skin and then hold my tongue about his presence at Saxham. Oh! all his -calculations were carefully made, you may be sure Dr. Jim. It was only -because he mistook my character that they were upset." - -Herrick nodded. "There is Don Manuel of course," he said. - -"The Mexican! What about him?" - -"Well, I wonder if he has anything to do with this. It is strange that -he should be so friendly with Joyce, or with Corn too for the matter -of that. Joyce said that a mutual friend of his and mine introduced -him to Santiago. I took the trouble to write to that friend--a man -called Johnstone, and I learned that Johnstone had never seen or heard -of Don Manuel, nor had the Mexican ever been to the Apollo Club where, -according to Robin the introduction took place. Where they met, and -why they met, I have yet to find out. Luckily I have now enough -evidence to force my dear friend Joyce to be candid. And I shall not -spare him," said Herrick with a grim smile. "He is a liar and a -scoundrel. I never was so mistaken in a man before. I prided myself -upon reading character. It seems that I am not so clever as I -thought." - -"No doubt there is something between them, since they are so -intimate," was the reply of Miss Endicotte, "but whether it has to do -with the murder I do not know. Did Señor Santiago know Colonel Carr?" - -"In South America, and hated him like poison. It seems they both went -on a treasure-hunting expedition in Peru." - -"Treasure-hunting! Peru. Ah I remember, that was the expedition Frisco -used to talk about." - -"Was Frisco with the Colonel there?" - -"Yes. He let drop hints that he and the Colonel had found treasure in -Peru, and that they had lost themselves. Of course I do not know the -whole story. But from what Frisco said I know it was in that way -Colonel Carr obtained his wealth." - -"What a liar that Manuel is!" said Herrick. "He denied that he had -ever seen Frisco, According to Manuel only he and Carr were on the -expedition. Santiago fell ill, and Carr left him amongst the Indians. -He was held in captivity for two years, and when he got back to -civilisation Carr had vanished with the treasure. He--I am speaking of -the Mexican--arrived in England six months ago--in search of Colonel -Carr no doubt." - -"I wonder if he killed him?" - -"He might have, and yet I do not know. Revenge is a poor thing when no -substantial benefit is to be derived. Santiago wants wealth. He would -have managed the affair in a different way." - -"But remember the warnings!" - -"Three of them. Yes! That is the kind of way Santiago would go to -work. Try and frighten Carr into parting with a substantial amount. -But I do not think that he would kill the goose with the golden -eggs--at all events until he was in possession of some of the eggs. -No, I can't think the Mexican is guilty." - -"Then Joyce must have done it." - -"Perhaps. But he is such a coward." - -"If not either of those two, who is it?" asked Bess. "Not Frisco?" - -Herrick looked at her, "I am not so sure," he said coolly, "you see -the alibi you provide for Frisco does not touch the subject. You saw -the man at the door when three shots were fired. Well, if you remember -at the inquest it was proved--as much as it could be proved--that -those three shots were fired at a dead body. Therefore when you heard -them the man was already dead. Why should Frisco not have done it and -then come down leaving his accomplice to do what he liked." - -"I see what you mean," said Bess, "it was the bullet that killed the -Colonel--the old fashioned bullet--" - -"Fired from this if I am not mistaken," went on Herrick producing the -pistol. - -"You can't be sure of that. And admitting that it is so, how did the -pistol come into possession of Joyce, if Frisco used it?" - -"I am in the dark there," said Herrick vexedly. "I must get the truth -out of Joyce. Time to see him now," and he glanced at his watch. "As -to the pistol I'll see Bridge and find out if the bullet fits." - -Bess held out her hand. "Let me do that," she said, "while you are -watching Joyce and the Mexican I can attend to that matter." - -"Do you think you will be able?" hesitated Herrick. - -"I am certain I can. Besides I want to have some part in the discovery -of the truth." - -The doctor handed her the pistol. He knew that she was a clever girl, -and would not undertake a thing unless she could execute it -thoroughly. "You and I can do the detective business together," he -said. "I will look after Joyce and Santiago and Frisco if I can find -him; your part will be to trace the pistol and to see if the bullet -fits. You can manage Bridge?" - -"Easily," replied Bess, putting the pistol away, "he is so conceited -that a little flattery goes a long way with him." - -"Don't let him meddle in this matter. He will only spoil it. I know -what to do. Leave it to me." - -Dr. Jim took up his hat to go. Suddenly he recollected a point he had -not yet discussed and sat down again. "About Pentland Corn," said he, -"what do you think of him Bess?" - -"He is a good man," she replied promptly, "but he is weak. I am sure -there is nothing wrong about him." - -"Yet why should he make such a friend of Santiago?" - -"I do not know. Shall I ask him?" - -"He would not tell you the truth if you did. He has his own secrets." - -Bess nodded. "But I do not believe they are bad secrets," she said, -"the rector is a man with a past--a sad past. Did you know he was a -soldier before he became a parson?" - -"No," replied Dr. Jim, "and yet I always thought he had a martial air -about him. Why did he leave the army?" - -"He said he had a call. No!" added Bess hastily seeing the doctor's -lip curl, "I do not think he is a hypocrite. He is most devout." - -"Humph! I do not believe much in that emotional religion," said Jim -with a shake of his head, "a call had he, and left the army for that? -I should like to hear a more feasible story. He was a friend of -Colonel Carr's?" - -"Yes, he was the only person the Colonel saw, and he used to go very -often to 'The Pines.' But I do not think he did Colonel Carr much -good." - -"On the contrary it is probable that the Colonel did a weak man like -that a good deal of harm," Herrick stopped; then said suddenly. "He -knows something about this murder?" - -"What makes you think so?" said Bess startled. - -"Well! He did not come to the inquest, and seeing that he was the -parson of the parish and a great friend of the dead man I think that -strange myself. Also when I met him in the morning after the murder he -talked nonsense, sheer nonsense, and was in a sort of hysterical -condition." - -"That might have been because of the shock," replied Bess -thoughtfully, "I know one thing at least about Mr. Corn. He will not -look upon a corpse." - -"Why not?" - -"I don't know, nor does anyone else. The parishioners are sometimes -annoyed because he will not come and see their dead. Mr. Corn will -pray with a dying person but he will not look on a dead one." - -"Humph! And he was a soldier!" said Herrick. "I must look into this." - -"You have quite enough to do at present I think. I will see to the -pistol, and you can go now to Joyce." - -"Then we can meet and compare notes. And Bess, we understand one -another?" - -Miss Endicotte flushed. "I wish you would not talk nonsense," she -cried, "there are other and more important things to think of." - -Dr. Jim would have protested, but she re-entered the house, and left -him to his own thoughts. These were pleasant in spite of the discovery -of Robin's iniquities. Jim now saw that he had been in love with Bess -without knowing it. The shock of Joyce's wooing had brought about the -discovery. "And what a fool I have been not to see it before!" said -Dr. Jim. "No wonder they say Love is blind," and he whistled -light-heartedly. - - - - -CHAPTER XV -ROBIN JOYCE EXPLAINS HIMSELF - - -Whether it was the charm of the girl's society based upon his new -discovery, or the interest of the conversation from a detective's -point of view, that detained Herrick with her for over two hours, it -is impossible to say. Probably Dr. Jim could not have given a -satisfactory answer himself. But as he hurried along the road to the -Carr Arms he acknowledged that he had been dilatory, for in two hours -Robin could have got away from Saxham. But Dr. Jim did not think he -would go. Robin was a child in many ways, and was not quick in making -plans. Besides, he would be bewildered by the sudden revelation of his -rascality and for the moment he would not be able to think of his own -safety. Or at least if he did think, he would be unable to make any -plans. Also--and of this Herrick was certain--he had very little money -to come and go on. - -"No," thought the doctor, as he swung into the village green, "Robin -knows better than to give me the slip. He would be afraid that I would -show him no mercy when I caught him up. Probably he will make out some -story and implore me for the sake of our past friendship to be silent. -If he tells me the whole truth and if he did not actually kill Carr, I -might--but then he insulted Bess, and tried to get her into danger." -The doctor clenched his fist and frowned. "I'll give him a thrashing -at all events. There is a bad time coming for you Robin my man." - -The prognostications of Dr. Jim proved to be correct. Joyce had not -attempted flight. He was waiting in his sitting-room for the coming of -the doctor, and he looked horribly frightened. Herrick could have -found it in his heart to be sorry for the wretched little creature -with his white haggard face and staring eyes; but he remembered what -was at stake, and made up his mind to be stern even to the verge of -brutality. For all he knew this treacherous little scoundrel might -have hinted to the outside world that Bess was involved in the murder -of Carr. If he had done this, Herrick considered that nothing would be -too bad for him. It was in a very stern frame of mind that Dr. Jim sat -down opposite his former friend. Robin winced at the regard of those -once kind eyes. He felt like a rabbit in the presence of a -boa-constrictor. "Well!" said Jim grimly eying the miserable wretch, -"and what have you to say for yourself?" - -"Nothing!" returned Robin sullenly. "I am afraid I shall not be -satisfied with that Joyce. You will have to tell me the whole of your -doings, from first to last." - -"I have done nothing so very wrong Jim--" - -"One moment," interposed Herrick, "I think you had better call me by -my last name. We are not friends now you know." - -"Will, I call you Dr. Herrick," said Robin with a small sneer. - -"I think it might be better--sir," drawled Herrick, and the contempt -in his tone made the self-satisfied Joyce wince. - -"If I had done anything wrong I should not have waited to see you." - -"That's a lie," replied the plain-spoken Jim. "You know me better than -that. Had you bolted I should have had the police on your track before -night-fall. You know me, as I said before. Your only chance is to make -a clean breast of this damnable business." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Don't bandy words with me Joyce. It won't do. You are in a cleft -stick and no amount of wriggling will serve you. If you want a lead -here is one. You told me at Southberry that you went up up see Frith -and Frith." - -"So I did.--" - -"Oh, Lord!" cried Herrick in a tone of disgust "will you never be done -with your petty falsehoods. I know that you have not seen the -solicitors for some months--certainly not on the twenty-fourth of -July. Frith told me how you tried to get your mother's annuity -transferred to yourself. Come now! Don't play the fool with me. You -did not sleep at the Hull hotel?" - -"How do you know that?" - -"Because I went there. And I know also that you alighted from the -seven train at Heathcroft station, and rode on your bicycle to -Saxham--'I don't know for what purpose, unless it was to kill the -Colonel." - -"No! No!" this time Joyce was really afraid. "I did not kill him!" - -"That remains to be proved. What about that pistol you slipped into -the drawer of Bess Endicotte's writing-table--now, you are about to -lie again! It won't do;---it won't do. The truth, you rat of a man." - -"Don't call names," muttered Joyce weakly. - -"I beg your pardon. I will not call you any more names. Let us conduct -this conversation calmly. But you have to tell me the whole truth, -or---" - -"Well," said Joyce defiantly, "and if I refuse? What then." - -"I will hand you over to the Beorminster police." - -"You have no evidence--" - -"I have more than you think of. You ass," said Herrick in a cold rage, -"for the sake of our past friendship I have been sparing you all these -weeks. I got you down here in the hope that you would be man enough to -come forward and confess your follies. I do not say crimes, for you -have not pluck enough to commit the smallest. But you kept your own -counsel, and thought you were pulling wool over my eyes. I have seen -through all these weeks. And now you insult the woman I love, and--" - -Robin jumped up in a childish rage. "You don't love her--you won't -marry her," he panted. "I won't have it!" - -"Sit down," commanded Herrick sternly, "you have nothing to say in the -matter. Leave Miss Endicotte's name out of it. We have had enough of -this nonsense. Confess what you have done." - -"I won't," Joyce set his teeth. - -"Very good. Then I shall send for the police." - -"You dare not." - -"Ah! You think so." Herrick rose and walked towards the bell. Joyce -anticipated him and stood in his path with flashing eyes. Herrick -laughed. "Are you about to measure your strength against mine?" he -said. - -Before he could speak further the little man had flung himself at his -throat like a wild beast. Strong as Herrick was, the abnormal nerve -force of Joyce made him no mean antagonist. But the contest was -unequal, and at last Herrick lifted Joyce above his head, shook him' -as a terrier does a rat, and pitched him headlong into a chair, where -the creature, helpless, and overborne, sat gnashing his teeth and -glaring. For the moment Herrick thought he was mad. "Have you had -enough?" asked the doctor recovering his breath, "if not I am quite -willing to administer the thrashing you so richly deserve." - -Joyce still glared and stamped in impotent rage. Then he suddenly -burst into tears and hid his face in his hands. "You great brute," he -wailed, "you might spare me!" - -"Spare you!" echoed Herrick contemptuously, "and did you think of -sparing that poor girl, whom you were trying to blackmail into -marriage! You may thank your stars Joyce that you have to deal with a -man who knows you as I do. If it had been another man, they would have -left you half dead on the floor. You shall have justice from me, never -fear." - -Robin still continued to sob, and huddled up in the big chair looked -scarcely as large as a child. "I feel ill--ill--horribly ill." - -"You'll feel much worse before I've done with you," said the -relentless Herrick, "sit up and talk rationally. All this won't do -with me. You have tried all your tricks, they are of no avail. Here -are pen ink and paper. I intend to take down all you say, and you will -sign the statement." - -"I'll see you to the devil first," cried Joyce sitting up tear-stained -and dishevelled but with an evil look in his eyes. - -"You will do exactly as you are bid," replied Herrick selecting a pen, -"now begin, and tell no lies. I have information of which you know -nothing, and if I catch you tripping--well you know what to expect." - -Joyce saw that he was helpless. He had tried defiance, force, tears, -and was now at the end of his resources. Herrick pitilessly held to -his point. Seeing that there was no help for it, the little scamp -dried his eyes, arranged his coat and hardened himself into a -reasonable frame of mind. "You have the whip hand," he said sullenly, -"so I must give in." - -"I think that is very wise of you. After all you might have known that -such play-acting would not impose upon me. Now you are to tell me all -you did at Saxham on that night and why you came down. I shall -probably ask you a few questions to which I shall require truthful -answers. And remember what I said. I know more about your doings than -you give me credit for. I can tell if you speak the truth or not. Now -go on." - -Dr. Jim squared his elbows and settled himself to write. Joyce cast -one look at the door as though he meditated flight. But he knew that -such a dash for liberty would result in his incarceration in prison so -he abandoned it and sullenly began to talk. - -"I did come down to Saxham on the twenty-fourth," he confessed. - -"I thought so. And your story of seeing Frith and Frith was a lie." - -"Yes! I did not want you to know." - -"Not only that, but you wished to make use of me. I was to prove your -alibi, Eh? You chose this country for our walking tour on purpose?" - -"I planned the whole thing," said Joyce shamelessly and with something -of pleasure in his own cleverness. "You think yourself clever Herrick, -but I, whom you have always despised, have made a tool of you." - -"Up to a point you have no doubt. But there is a proverb about playing -with edged tools, you seem to have forgotten. As to your saying that I -despise you I never did so, until I found out--never mind how--that -you had told me a lie about going to London from Southberry." - -"It was my own business." - -"And I was to be your tool, as you have just said. Go on." - -Joyce thought for a moment. "As I have done nothing so very wrong," he -said, "there is no reason why I should not tell you everything from -the beginning. I suppose you will admit that." - -"No reason at all. Go on." - -"Very good. Well then until my mother died I had no idea of her -position--nor," added Joyce, "have I any very clear idea now. She left -a paper behind her which explained much, but not all. I will show it -to you when you come up to London." - -"Thank you; I will remind you of that promise." - -Robin scowled and continued. "My mother said that between a certain -Colonel Carr and herself there existed a business arrangement that she -should receive five hundred a year for her life. The arrangement was -made by my dead father for services rendered to Colonel Carr." - -"What were those services?" - -"That is one of the things I do not know. The paper said nothing about -them. The five hundred a year was to be paid to my mother and when she -died it was to stop. So you see that in place of having an income as I -thought I was left a pauper. My mother had saved some money--about -three hundred pounds. I am living on that now. I was in despair, and I -went to the solicitors who pay the annuity to ask if Colonel Carr -would continue it. They wrote to the Colonel and he refused. - -"I know that," said Herrick smoothly, "Frith told me." - -"You seem to have meddled a good deal in my business," sneered Joyce. -"Well, I was again in despair, as I saw nothing before me but a life -of hard work. I read over the paper again. My mother said in it that -Carr was a dangerous man, but that he had enemies, who threatened to -kill him. She advised me to see him, but to take all precautions -against my visit being known to anyone. - -"Why?" asked Dr. Jim, "I see no reason." - -"Nor did I," responded Robin with a shrug; he was now quite himself -again and seemed to enjoy the telling of the story. "She hinted -however that if Colonel Carr ever died by violence--and she was sure -he would--I might be accused of the crime if I went to see him. She -said that it was dangerous to be in his company for that reason." - -"It seems to me a very ridiculous reason." - -"I thought it was. All the same as she knew more about the matter than -I did, I thought it best to adopt her suggestion. I wished to see Carr -and ask him to continue the annuity. But I wished to see him secretly -so that if he was murdered--as my mother hinted--I should not be -dragged into the matter. For that reason I made the plans you blame. - -"And were a fool to do so," said Dr. Jim vigorously, "why in the name -of heaven did you not tell me all this? I should have come and seen -Carr with you openly. I should not have been afraid of being -implicated in a crime, though the man were murdered half a dozen times -over. The secret means you took to avert suspicion falling on you, -have only resulted in your being suspected--at least by me." - -"I thought you did not suspect me?" said Joyce snappishly. - -"Not of the crime, for I know what a coward you are. But you know -something about it. Still, if the police knew all I do, you would find -yourself in Queer Street. Again I say that in your desire to avert -suspicion from yourself, you have brought it upon your head. However I -think the reason given in the paper you speak of ridiculous. Go on. -What of your plans? How were they carried out?" - -"I first looked up a map of the country to see where Carr lived. Then -as you had proposed a walking tour, I induced you to take the route -which ran right across Carr's place. I thought if anything occurred -you could prove that I was with you." - -"But did you expect the man to be murdered while we were on our tour?" - -"I did not know what might happen. As it was I knew the man was dead -when I rejoined you at Southberry. But my idea was to see him, and -then to pass afterwards with you through the village. When I set out -on the walking tour I never thought he would be murdered." - -"It was, to say the least, strange that Carr should meet with his -death at so critical a moment to you," said Herrick doubtfully, "he -had lived safely for ten years." - -"It was chance I suppose. At all events I did not kill him as you seem -to suppose. I simply wished to see him about the annuity. When I left -you at Southberry and went to London on the plea of seeing Frith and -Frith, I left my bag at the Hull Hotel to provide a second alibi. I -intended to get down and see Carr, then be back and sleep at the Hull -Hotel on that night. It was the murder that threw me out." - -Herrick laughed. "And it was the murder against which you were taking -all these precautions. How ironical! Well?" - -"I went to my flat and got my bicycle, and I wrapped myself up in my -great-coat. Then I went down to Saxham by the Heathcroft line. I -alighted there at seven o'clock; had something to eat at the railway -bar, and then rode on my bicycle to Saxham. I found the house from the -map and waited in the pine woods before I could make up my mind to go -in and seek for an interview." - -"At what time did you hide in the Pine Woods?" - -"Between eight and nine o'clock. While there I heard a single shot. It -frightened me. But I did not think that it was murder. No," said Robin -to himself with a shiver, "I did not think it was murder." - -"That would be the death shot," said Herrick, "seeing that Miss Bess -heard the other three." - -"I heard them also. But that was after nine." - -"And all this time you remained near the house?" - -"No! I went on to the other side of the Pine wood keeping the tower in -sight. I saw a girl with a lantern searching the wood. She passed near -where I lay and I saw her plainly. That is how I recognised her." - -"And why did you accuse her?" - -"I thought she might have had something to do with the crime," said -Joyce sullenly, "you must confess it was queer to see a girl in the -woods at that hour. If she was innocent why should she have been about -the house so late?" - -"Don't you dare to hint that she is not innocent," cried Herrick -violently. "She went to look for her brother Sidney. She heard the -shots too. Did you see Frisco at the door of the house?" - -"No! It was some time after I lost sight of Miss Bess that I heard the -shots, I thought she might have fired them. I waited till ten o'clock, -and then thought I would go and see what was the matter. I walked -through the wood, and entered the house. It was all alight and quite -deserted, just as we found it. As I had heard the shots in the tower I -climbed up. At the top I saw what you and I saw--the dead body of the -Colonel. He was quite dead. I was afraid, for the very thing I dreaded -had come to pass. I saw how wise was my mother's advice, and being -afraid lest someone should come and I should be arrested for the crime -I went away. I got my bicycle which I had left in the Pine wood and -rode back to Heathcroft. I found the last train gone, so I could not -get back to the Hull Hotel. I feared to sleep in any inn lest the -police, when the crime was discovered, should make search for -strangers. I passed the night in a wood, then rode on at dawn to a -station beyond Heathcroft, where I got a cup of coffee at the bar of -the station. Then I took the train back to London, went to the Hull -Hotel, and said that I had passed the night with a friend. Afterwards -I caught the Southberry train and rejoined you. That is all." - -"A very pretty story!" remarked Herrick grimly, "then you were anxious -to push on across the moor that we might find the body together?" - -"Not exactly; I thought it would be already found when we arrived. -However when I saw the house blazing I knew that nothing had been -disturbed. We went in and--you know----" - -"I know that you took a fit of hysteria," said Herrick. "I thought it -was fatigue, but now I understand it was because you were playing a -part. This is all very well, how do I know you did not kill the man?" - -"I did not; I swear I did not," cried Joyce with a shiver. - -"What about that pistol?" - -"That has nothing to do with the murder." - -"Was it not the weapon that was used?" - -"Not that I know of." - -"Where did you get it?" - -Joyce hesitated and wriggled. "I do not see why you should ask me?" - -"Don't you indeed," said Herrick grimly, "I see a very good reason. -Carr was shot through the heart with a bullet that might very well fit -that ancient weapon." - -"How do you know that I put it into the drawer at 'The Grange?'" - -"Are you going to lie about that? It won't do Joyce. I saw that -pistol at your flat,--in your tobacco cabinet." - -Joyce turned white. He had been quite prepared to lie, but this -information showed him how futile that would be. "How did you find it -in there?" he asked. - -"Oh, I wasn't poking and prying. Manuel hunting for cigarettes showed -it to me. He dropped across it by accident." - -Joyce sprang to his feet. "The liar, oh, the liar!" he cried. "Manuel! -why he knew it was in the cabinet." - -"And he placed it there, Eh!" - -"I never said so!" muttered Robin passing his tongue over his dry -lips. - -"Oh, but I can see it it your face. Evidently Manuel played upon you -the same trick you intended to play upon Bess. A nice pair, upon my -soul!" Herrick paused for a moment. "What has Manuel to do with this?" - -"Nothing, that I know of," retorted Joyce sullenly. "He brought me the -pistol, but refused to say where he got it. He knows something of this -matter I think." - -"I am very certain he does. However, I'll speak to him. Where is he?" - -"He went over to Beorminster this afternoon. - -"Very good I'll see him when he comes back. By the way, you told me a -lie about him, Johnstone did not introduce you at the Apollo Club." - -Joyce shrugged his shoulders. "Since you know so much you might as -well know more," he said coolly. "I met Manuel at the Pimlico gambling -club. We played together and became friends. Oddly enough, he knew all -about Carr. That drew us together. We talked a good deal about the -business, and I told him what I told you. But he is a scoundrel," said -Joyce gritting his teeth, "he wants to make out that I shot Carr with -that pistol, and showed it to you in my flat to inculpate me." - -"Which was what you proposed to do with that girl!" - -"I did," said Robin sullenly. "I wanted to marry her; and I made my -plans so that she should not dare to refuse." - -Herrick rose to his feet. "Joyce," said he calmly, "I had intended to -give you a thrashing; but you are such a miserable wretch that if I -man-handled you I should probably kill you. You can go free for me. -But you shall leave this place by the five o'clock train from -Beorminster. I'll see to it myself." - -"I thought you would," sneered Joyce, "so I have packed my clothes. -And what are you going to do next?" - -"Keep an eye on you. Go back to your flat. If you try to run I'll have -you arrested. Do not think because I send you to London that you will -be beyond the reach of my arm. You and Manuel are plotting to get this -money of Stephen Marsh." - -"I am not, whatever Santiago may be doing. He got everything out of me -and told me nothing in return. Save that he knew Carr and hated him I -do not know anything. I don't believe that the pistol is the one used -in the murder. Santiago probably read about an old-fashioned weapon -being used, and knowing that I was down here on the night put that -pistol----" - -"Yes! Yes, I see all that. You see what a scoundrel you have taken up -with! Upon my word Joyce, you had better have stuck to me." - -"It is too late now," said Robin with something of a sob, "you'll -never trust me again." - -"Never," replied Herrick calmly, "I have not yet got to the bottom of -this business. But I believe you are the tool rather than the -accomplice of this Mexican. However I will deal with him. You go to -London, and hold yourself in readiness for my orders." - -"I'll be even with Santiago yet for his treachery," said Robin rising. - -"That you can settle between yourselves. Hullo, don't go yet. Sign -this paper. I have written down all you told me." - -"I won't sign." - -"You will, and at once. I will be the witness. If you don't I will not -protect you in any way." - -"You won't let me get into trouble?" said Joyce taking the pen. - -"Not if what you have told me is true. Sign." - -So Joyce signed and Herrick witnessed the document. The doctor placed -it in his pocket and then ordered a trap from Napper. After Joyce had -paid his bill, the doctor drove him to Beorminster. The five o'clock -train was on the point of departure, but he just managed to catch it. -As he flung himself into a carriage he held out his hand to Herrick. - -"No," replied Jim coldly, "we have done with all that. And no tricks, -or you'll get the worst of it." - -"I'll go straight to my flat," said Joyce sulkily, and as the train -steamed out of the station he cursed his former friend. - -He would have cursed him still more if he had seen what he did next. -The doctor went to the telegraph office, and wrote out a wire -describing Joyce's face, clothes, figure, and all: also set down the -train by which he would arrive at Paddington. This he sent to a firm -of private detectives with whom he had already done business. "There," -said Herrick with a grim smile when the wire was despatched, "Joyce -will be watched from the moment he gets to town. Any tricks, and--" -the doctor laughed. - -Apparently he did not yet trust the little man in spite of his -confession. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI -BESS THE DETECTIVE - - -In this way Saxham was purged of one undesirable person. Herrick was -pleased that he had acted with such promptitude. Bess would no longer -be vexed by the odious attentions of the little scamp who had -tormented her. Dr. Jim smiled to think how much of the jealous rival -there was about his dealings with his quondam friend. He now -recognised that Bess was the woman he desired for his wife. Nor did he -think she would refuse to become Mrs. Herrick when he could give her a -home worthy of her. Had she disliked his attentions, she would not -have permitted even the strange hour's wooing, which was all they had -of love, since Jim had found his heart. He laughed at the -recollection. - -"To talk of love between intervals of detective analysis," he thought -as he walked back to Saxham, having sent on Napper's cart by the -groom, "is a strange way of wooing one's wife, and the last kind I -expected to indulge in. But Bess enjoyed it I fancy. I must recompense -myself in a more leisurely way, when this business is at an end." - -On arriving at Saxham, the doctor called in at the Carr Arms to see -Don Manuel. He wanted to hear from the man himself if he had really -given the pistol to Joyce, and if so how it had come into his -possession. It might be that he had bought it in order to incriminate -Robin--although at present Herrick could see no very good reason for -such incrimination--on the other hand the pistol might be the -veritable weapon used to shoot Carr. But that could be proved only by -the test of the bullet, and he would have to wait until Bess saw -Bridge about that. In some way Herrick felt convinced that Santiago -was connected with the crime. He had known and hated Carr; he was far -too intimate with Joyce for mere friendship, and he showed too great a -desire to remain in the parish. That he should have in some way gained -possession of the real pistol was not unlikely. "And it might be that -he used it himself," said Dr. Jim as he entered the inn, "although I -should think he would have used a more modern weapon for choice?" - -"On speaking to Napper about the Mexican a shock awaited him. The -landlord expressed the broadest surprise that Mr. Joyce had not told -Dr. Herrick of Santiago's departure. The Mexican had gone to London by -an early train. Herrick swore beneath his breath, feeling that he had -been outwitted. - -"When Mr. Joyce came back here this afternoon did he see Don Manuel?" - -"Aye sir, that he did. The foreigner was waiting for him, and they -talked for an hour. After that Don Manuel came down with his trunk--he -had but one, doctor, and drove in to catch an earlier train." - -"To Beorminster?" asked Herrick. - -"No sir. To Heathcroft. He paid his bill alright though. But I was -astonished Mr. Joyce left us so suddenly. There is nothing wrong I -hope." - -"By no means," replied Herrick with a carelessness he was far from -feeling. "I believe Don Manuel had to go up on business, and asked Mr. -Joyce to join him later." - -"Will they be coming here again sir?" asked Napper, and on receiving a -reply in the negative expressed his regret. "They didn't pay much, but -they was sure," said the worthy landlord. - -"Did you hear Señor Santiago say _where_ he was going?" asked Herrick. -But this the landlord could not tell him. - -Dr. Jim walked away annoyed that he had been taken in. He felt that -Robin had been tutored to play his part by the cleverer scoundrel. No -doubt Robin had told the Mexican of his intrusion into the case, and -Santiago had taken alarm. He knew well enough that Dr. Jim would -recognise the pistol, and that he would force Robin to say where he -had obtained it. Evidently Don Manuel thought it would be better for -him to disappear than to face an examination. Yet he could have told -Joyce to make up some story about the pistol so that he might not be -brought into it. The whole business was part of the conspiracy. Don -Manuel was in it, Robin also, and Herrick felt that the firm of Joyce -and Santiago had been one too many for him. - -All the same he remembered that he had set a watch on Joyce. If the -scamp tried to hide, or went to any place to meet Manuel, he would be -followed. "I shall go up to Town to-morrow," said Herrick on his way -to 'The Pines.' "Wherever Joyce has gone, there Manuel will be. I -shall run both to earth and learn what all this means by questioning -them in each other's company. They won't trick me a second time! Well, -I have done enough detective work for the day. I'll think of something -else." - -Stephen was now so far on the road to recovery, that he was able to -leave his room. He had seen little of Jim lately, but he did not miss -him, thanks to the constant attendance of Ida. Marsh-Carr was as -devoted a friend as ever to Herrick, he still believed him the -cleverest and best of men, but now his whole heart was filled with the -image of Ida. The two were constantly together, and the girl had had -no small share in nursing back her promised husband to health. The -wound in the head had mended and the blow had left no effect behind it -beyond an occasional head-ache. - -Stephen never gave his assailant a thought. He quite forgot Carr's -tragic death, and all the strange circumstances which had brought -about his change of fortune. At times he even ceased to remember his -step-mother, much as he had loved her. All his thoughts were for Ida, -and with her he passed hours planning their future. They never talked -of the past, and noticing this, Herrick forebore to tell his friend -that he was still working to discover the murderer of Colonel Carr, -and striving to baffle a possible conspiracy that had for its aim, the -loss to Stephen not only of the Carr fortune, but possibly also of his -life. Jim felt quite competent to deal with the matter himself, and -did not think it necessary to spoil Marsh-Carr's love-making with such -common-place things. Therefore he remained in ignorance of Herrick's -doings. - -"How late you are," said Stephen who was already dressed for dinner. -"I have been anxiously expecting you this last hour!" - -"I had to go into Beorminster," said Herrick carelessly. "Joyce has -been called up to town and I went to see the last of him." - -"I am glad he has gone," Stephen said gravely. "I don't like him. I -think he is false. As for the Mexican---" he shrugged his shoulders. - -Herrick, who was pouring himself a glass of sherry as an appetizer -turned with a laugh. "The Mexican is a bad lot sure enough," he said. -"As to Joyce he is more of a fool than a knave." - -"I forgot that he was your friend." - -"You do quite right to use the past tense Steve. He _was_ my friend, -but he is so no longer." Herrick laughed again and sipped his sherry. -"I have taken you for a change." - -"You know well that I will never fail you," said Stephen warmly. "No. -I suppose we shall remain good friends till you marry. Then you will -forget me, and think only of your wife." - -"You know better than that Jim. Besides Ida is fond of you." - -"I know. I was fond of Ida too at one time--that was before she was -engaged to you. But I have not played you false Steve." - -"You are telling me old news," replied Marsh-Carr smiling. "I saw that -you were in love with Ida." - -"No. I was never in love. I thought I was, but my love was a snare and -a delusion. But you thought so did you? Were you not jealous?" - -"Not at all. I knew that Ida was mine, and I trusted her--you too." - -"Wonderful man!" said Herrick looking into the fire. "Well you did -right to trust us both. We are merely friends now. Indeed I know we -never were anything else. I was blind; but she was not. However I am -glad that you two are engaged. You will be happy." - -"And when am I to congratulate you?" - -"At this very minute if you like. Is it Bess you are talking of?" - -Stephen sat up on the sofa looking astonished. "Yes," he said, "Ida -saw that she was in love with you--" - -"Ida is a clever woman. She prophesied my love would come suddenly. -Bess has not yet formally consented to be my wife; but I think it will -be all right." - -"I am more than delighted. We shall be brothers-in-law. And you will -always stay here Jim?" - -"Living on you my dear fellow? No, I shall start practice again in -Town, when I have got together sufficient money. Then when I am doing -fairly well Bess shall come to me and supplement my income by writing -novels in the intervals of looking after the house." - -"Herrick you must not go away. You promised." - -"Until you were married. But be of good cheer Steve, I won't leave you -until everything is right." Dr. Jim said these last words with a -significance which was lost on his listener. - -"I thought that your friend Joyce--" - -"Oh! he never had a chance. I was a fool to let him hang after Bess. -However I found out to-day what she was to me, so it is all right -now." - -"Bess and Ida are coming over this evening with Frank." - -"All the better. I can make my proposal in due form. By the way Steve -I am going up Town to-morrow if you can spare me." - -"Certainly. But it is not to make arrangements to leave me is it?" - -"I should think not! I shall never go till you tell me Steve. No, I am -going to see about some business of my own. Well I must dress. I hope -you have a good dinner for me. I am very hungry." - -"You think of nothing but eating," said Stephen with a laugh. - -The dinner gave every satisfaction even to Herrick who was somewhat -fastidious. But Ida had seen that a good cook was engaged, and the two -men had nothing to complain of. Dinner over, Herrick supported Stephen -into the library, and placed him on the sofa. Then he sat beside him -and they smoked over their coffee and cognac. "But you must go to bed -at half past ten," said Herrick sternly. - -"What a tyrant you are Jim. Hark, there are the girls." - -They came in looking charming, and in the best of spirits. It needed -but a glance for Dr. Jim to see that Bess had said nothing about Joyce -to her brother or sister. What a wise little woman she was! When Ida -and Frank had seated themselves beside Stephen, Jim drew her into a -remote corner of the room. - -"You said nothing about our adventure of to-day," he whispered. - -"No," she replied in the same tone, "I thought it best not to. And Mr. -Joyce?" - -"You will not be troubled with him again. He has gone to town. I do -not think he will come back. Santiago has gone also." - -"What about his threat against me?" - -"That is alright. I have his confession in my pocket." - -"Did he kill Colonel Carr?" - -"No! I have not yet solved that problem. But do not let us talk of -these unpleasant things any more Bess. To-morrow you shall know all. -In the meantime make yourself agreeable to me and tell me how much you -love me. Come now. After this afternoon you cannot deny----" - -"I neither deny nor affirm," said Bess her face one glow of -scarlet--but that might have been the fire---"you were not in earnest -to-day." - -"Indeed I was. Can't you see that I love you with my whole heart and -soul! I never knew until to-day how much I did love you." - -"I thought it was Ida?" faltered Bess. - -"I thought so too for a period of madness. But I know now that I was -mistaken. We are the best of friends as you can see. But you have not -replied to my question." - -"What do you want me to say?" - -"That I am the dearest man in the world, and that you have loved me -for ever so long. Come now?" - -"It is true," said Bess sinking her voice. "I have loved you. I do -love you and I am thankful to be your wife." - -"I am a poor doctor remember." - -"I love you for yourself, not for any money you may have." - -"Faith," said Herrick, "that is lucky for me! Come here. Behind this -screen--there now." - -"Oh! Dr. Jim--No--Very well. Jim, without the doctor. Do not go on -like this. We are not alone." - -"Will you come into another room?" teased Jim. - -"Certainly not. Jim what are you doing?" - -"Leading you into the world," said Herrick laughing. Bess laughed also -and blushed when Jim led her before the three astonished people who -looked at them in amazement. "Lady and gentlemen," said Dr. Jim, "do -you know who this is?" - -"Bess I suppose," said the stupid brother. - -"And more than that," cried Ida rising to take her sister in her arms, -"oh! Bess darling, I am so glad." - -"Hurrah!" cried Stephen and pinched Frank's arm. - -That youth was still dense, although the truth was staring him in the -face. He looked at the two girls almost weeping with pleasure in one -another's arms; at the laughing faces of Herrick and Stephen. Still he -did not understand, not having yet experienced the love of woman. - -"You are stupid Frank," cried Ida, "can't you see?" - -"Can't you see," said Herrick gripping Frank's arm. "What a blind -brother-in-law I shall have." - -"Oh!" Frank's eyes opened wide. "Are you to marry Bess?" Herrick -nodded. "And Stephen takes Ida?" the engaged couple laughed. "Well," -said Frank, "that is two of them gone, and who is to look after -Biffstead?" - -"Flo of course," said Stephen. - -"As if she could! Bess is the top, tail, and bottom of the house." - -"That she is," cried Ida hugging her sister, "and I am jealous of Jim -taking her away from us!" Then she gave Herrick a roguish glance. "Was -I not right?" she asked. - -"Perfectly right," he replied, and drew Bess down on the seat beside -him. Ida went as by instinct to Stephen. Only the miserable Frank was -left out in the cold, and said so. The quartette laughed heartlessly. - -There was not a happier party in the whole three kingdoms than that -seated before the fire in the house of wicked Colonel Carr. If the -shade of the old man had been present in the room, he must--or rather -_It_ must have sighed enviously at the sight of such happiness. Not -during his reign had such truth and honour and clean delight prevailed -in the old house. It was a merry evening. "Memory of the Golden Age," -said Jim. - -The next morning Dr. Herrick re-entered the work-a-day world. He -walked over to Biffstead and found Bess just setting out for -Beorminster on her bicycle. "You can leave that," he said after a kiss -had been exchanged, "I will drive you over to Beorminster in the cart. -I told the groom to put in the horse and bring it round here." - -"You are going to Town?" asked Bess. - -"Yes! On the track of those two scamps. You are going to see Bridge -about that bullet?" - -"Yes! I have the pistol in my pocket," she replied showing it. - -"Very good. Can you drive the cart back?" - -"Of course I can. Drive? Who ever heard of asking a country girl such -a question. You do not know my accomplishments Jim." - -"I know that you are the dearest and sweetest and most sensible girl -in the whole wide world. But I say we won't take the groom. In the -first place I want you all to myself. In the second, I must tell you -all that took place when I interviewed Joyce yesterday." - -Bess, needless to say thought this a capital plan, so when the groom -brought round the cart he was sent away. He saw the pair drive towards -the village and there was a broad grin on his face. He knew very well -what they were to one another. In some mysterious way the news had got -to the servants' hall and had been well discussed that very morning. -The lovers drove into Beorminster and talked in the most matter of -fact way about the conspiracy. Their heads were so close together that -one would have thought they were exchanging the tenderest confidences. -In place of that the detective fever was raging in both their breasts, -and they were like a couple of Scotland Yard officials. - -Then Herrick took a last farewell, promised to return in the course of -a few days, and caught the express. When the train disappeared round -the curve Bess went back to the cart and drove it to some stables -where she put it up. Afterwards she went into the lower part of -Beorminster where Mr. Inspector Bridge had his office. He happened to -be in and brightened up when he saw her. Bridge had a great opinion of -the younger Miss Endicotte. - -"What good wind brings you here Miss?" he asked. - -"Ah!" said Bess solemnly, "that requires some telling Mr. Inspector. -It is about this pistol?" and she produced it from her pocket. - -"Pistol!" echoed Bridge puzzled, "ah! it is the pistol of the Carr -case?" - -"That is what I want to find out," said Miss Endicotte who had her -story all ready to tell, and had discussed its details with Dr. Jim -during the drive. "I found this the other day in the Pine wood near -Colonel Carr's house. It is a clumsy old-fashioned thing; but I -remembered what was said about the bullet being old-fashioned also. -Now I want you to see if the bullet fits the muzzle of this." - -"H'm!" said Bridge with his most important air and looking down the -muzzle, "so you found this pistol in the grass--and near the house? -Perhaps--I say perhaps mind you Miss Bess-this might be the weapon we -have been looking for so long. Is there a name on the butt?" - -"No," said Bess promptly, "you only find that in novels. There is not -so much as a scratch on the handle." - -"An old weapon," observed Bridge wagging his head ponderously and -irritating Bess to a frenzy with his platitudes. "Well, we must see if -the bullet--Ha! yes, the bullet. Now where is it?" - -Bridge went hunting over some shelves, and then he took to excavating -in drawers--opened a safe, dug under dusty piles of papers, and -suddenly produced (Bess never saw from where) a small box in which -something rattled. When he opened this there were three conical -bullets and one fat round one. "Ah," cried Bess, "there it is. Try! -please try Mr. Inspector." - -"All in good time Miss," said the aggravating Bridge, and dropped the -bullet into the muzzle. It disappeared, and he nodded solemnly. "It is -the pistol," he said, "you have made a valuable discovery Miss. If -there was only a name or initials on the handle," he sighed. - -Bess was not attending to him. She took the pistol and dropped out the -bullet; then rammed it home again, and nodded in her turn. "There is -no doubt of it," she said, "this the pistol that shot Colonel Carr." - -"Will you leave it with me Miss?" asked Bridge, "I might find out -something likely to lead to the detection of the assassin." - -Bess laughed delightedly. From that last phrase she knew that -Inspector Bridge had been reading detective fiction of the worst. She -knew also that the pistol would afford no clue to the truth until it -was in capable hands. Therefore as she thought it would be safer in -the Beorminster police office than in the untidy house of Biffstead -where everybody was always turning over everybody else's drawers she -consented that Bridge should take charge of it. The Inspector with an -important air put away the pistol in his safe. He was about to replace -the box, when he noticed that Bess had the round bullet in her hand. - -"Come Miss give it back?" he said. "Belongs to the Crown that does." - -"A queer bullet," murmured Bess, "made in a mould. Here is the seam. I -do not believe it is lead. It is too hard for lead. Have you a -pen-knife Mr. Inspector? Ah," she seized one lying on the desk, "this -will do. I don't believe this is lead." - -"Nonsense," said Bridge crossly, "all bullets are made of lead." - -"This is not," cried Bess who was scratching away vigorously. "See how -hard it is. And the scratches shine. Inspector Bridge," she said in a -solemn tone, "I believe this is silver." - -"It can't be." The Inspector took it up and examined it in his turn. -What Bess said was true. The bullet was hard, not soft as lead should -be, and moreover it was hard to scratch, and the little scraping she -had given it glittered in parts just like silver. "It might be," -murmured Bridge. - -"There is a silversmith just round the corner," said Bess in great -excitement. "Do come and let him see it. I want to know for certain -that it is silver." - -"I do not know what good that will do Miss Bess. If it is silver that -will not help us to catch Frisco any the sooner." - -"No! but you can't think what discoveries you might make if you knew -it was silver for certain. I know how you can put things together, and -a piece of evidence like this--oh I am sure you could do a lot with -it." - -Bridge in his own heart did not very well see what he could do. But he -was not proof against flattery as the artful Bess well knew, so he -went round the corner with her to a convenient jeweller's and offered -him the bullet. "Will you please to tell me what this is?" he said in -his most official tone. "Do not destroy it Mr. Blinks, or deform it in -any way. It is the property of the Crown. All the Crown wants to know -is the metal of which this is formed." - -Mr. Blinks was much impressed with this speech. Promising to be -careful he took the bullet into the next room--into his workshop and -there performed some trick of the trade. When he returned he handed -the bullet to Bridge very little altered. "It is of silver, Mr. -Bridge," he said. - -"All of silver?" asked Bridge while Bess tried to suppress her -excitement. - -"All of silver Mr. Bridge. It has been cast in a mould. Probably a cup -or a silver plate has been melted down. What is it Mr. Inspector?" - -"The property of the Crown," replied Bridge solemnly and departed. -When in the office he locked up the bullet and looked at Bess. "I -really do not see how this discovery can help me," he said. - -"Think over it Mr. Inspector. You will be certain to hit upon some -link." - -But Bess herself was as far away from the truth as the Inspector. As -she drove back to Saxham, she wondered how it came about that the -bullet which had killed Carr was cast in silver, and to this she could -find no answer. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII -UNEXPECTED EVIDENCE - - -The surprising discovery that the bullet was of silver, elevated the -crime from the common-place to the romantic. That an old-fashioned -weapon should have been used in these days when firearms have reached -such a pitch of perfection, was remarkable enough, but that the -assassin should have reverted to the superstitions of the Middle Ages -for his missile, was almost beyond belief. In spite of her quick -brain, Bess could not come to any decision. Failing a discussion with -Dr. Jim she resolved to leave the vexed question at rest. - -All the same she did not pause in her detective work. Having followed -up one clue, until it ended--for the time being--in nothing, she -hunted about for another. So far she had made two discoveries. The -pistol which Joyce declared he had received from Don Manuel was -certainly the weapon with which the murder had been committed; and the -bullet was of silver. But this knowledge resulted in nothing. -Certainly it cast a strong suspicion on the Mexican; but that part of -the puzzle Bess felt she could safely leave to Herrick. So far as her -particular business was concerned she could do no more, until she -heard her colleague's report. Pending this, she began to work in a -different direction. It occurred to her that she had never questioned -Sidney about his doings in the Pine wood on the night of the murder. -Possibly he might be able to supply some clue to the mystery. - -"He was in the habit of watching the tower," said Bess to herself, "he -said as much on that day when we had the picnic. I wonder if he saw -anything suspicious on that night; then he might have seen that horrid -little Joyce, or perhaps Frisco. I'll see what he knows." - -Sidney was not an easy person to question. His fantasies of thought, -had been laughed at so frequently, the truth of his statements so -often denied, that he had grown reticent. What he saw, what he heard, -he kept to himself, and not even his own family could get him to -explain himself on occasions when they really desired information. The -boy mooned about in a dreamy state of mind, saying little beyond the -merest common places and for the most part lived in that world of -fantasy which was anathema-maranatha to the people around him. He was -like a wild animal, shy, timid, and intensely suspicious. - -Bess thought that he might be more open with her, when he was--so to -speak--in his native wilds. She therefore watched her opportunity, and -followed him to one of his favourite haunts in the pine wood, where it -fringed the moor. Here one afternoon, she found him seated in a -secluded glade beside one of those remarkable circles, which the -country people call fairy rings. So steadily was he gazing at this in -the half-light which filtered through the overhead boughs, that he did -not notice her approach. To be sure she trod softly and used the same -precaution as she would have done when approaching the haunt of some -timid animal. - -Sidney had always been a puzzle to everyone, but Bess understood him -better than most people. Besides she had discussed him frequently with -Santiago, and was inclined to take the Mexican's view of the boy's -peculiarities. Remembering the oft-quoted saying of Hamlet. Bess was -less sceptical than those around her. She could' not see why Sidney -should not possess the power of seeing,--what in the generally -accepted sense is called the unseen. Considering what the lad had -foretold with regard to the death of Mrs. Marsh and the accident to -her step-son, it was impossible to say that Sidney was either a fool -or a madman. There was some reason for his fantasies--so-called: and -Bess regarded him with a certain amount of awe. She could not -understand him; but she granted that he was a rare spirit, far removed -from the common-place mortal. - -"Well Thomas the Rhymer," said Bess gaily, when her shadow fell on the -fairy-ring, "are you looking for the Queen of Elf-land?" - -It was characteristic of Sidney that he was never taken by surprise. -At the sound of her voice he neither started nor expressed any anger. -All he did was to raise his serious eyes to her face, and observe -quietly, "I knew you were coming, Bess dear." - -She threw herself down beside him and nodded towards the fairy-ring. -"Did they tell you?" she asked in low tone, and in all good faith. - -"No, Bess. This is not the time for the little people to be abroad. I -was only looking at their dancing-ground." - -"Have you seen them here?" - -"Often," replied Sidney with conviction, "small naked folk who dance -and sing and play on queer instruments. They know that I see them; but -they are not angry." - -"I believe you are a fairy yourself Sidney." - -"No. I have a soul--what you call a soul--and the fairies have none. -They are only the creatures who attend to the works of Nature; her -servants. I can see them because--" here Sidney broke off, "it is no -use my telling you Bess, you would not understand." - -Bess quite admitted this. She could not understand. All the same she -did not tell her brother that he was a fool as many people would have -done. She simply nodded, and passed the subject by. Her errand was to -find out what Sidney had seen in the actual world. After the manner of -her sex she approached the matter by a side-issue. "Sidney dear," said -she, "do you know that Mr. Joyce has gone away to London?" - -"No! I did not," replied Sidney gravely, "but I am very glad he has -gone. A bad man Bess, and he would have done you harm." - -"How? What do you mean." Sidney passed his hand across his face. "I -cannot explain," he said in a troubled voice, "you see Bess, bad -people carry about with them a bad atmosphere. That Mexican was very -wicked; Joyce not so bad. Both of them made me feel quite ill. Did you -never see how I refused to sit beside them? Well, that was because -they gave me such pain. Not physical pain but a kind of uncomfortable -feeling, which I can't put into words." - -"In what an old-fashioned way you talk Sidney," said Bess puzzled, -"one would think you were a hundred." - -"I know more than I say. Corn did not teach me everything I know! - -"Tell me Sidney. Do you like Mr. Corn?" - -"I do--in a way. He is not bad, but he is weak. With good people he is -good, with bad people he is bad. I am glad that Don Manuel has gone to -Town. He was doing Mr. Corn a lot of harm. But if I told you what I -know of these things you would only laugh at me." - -"No, I would not Sidney," said his sister earnestly, "I am sure that -you are so sensitive that you feel these influences you talk about." - -"Sensitive," echoed Sidney, "yes! I suppose that is what you would -call it. You have come here to ask me a question?" he said abruptly. - -"How do you know that?" she demanded, then seeing him shrug his thin -shoulders, she admitted the truth of what he said. "I want to ask you -who you saw in the Pine wood on the night when Colonel Carr was -killed?" - -Sidney thought for a moment, then raised his eyes towards the gap in -the trees formerly blocked by the tower. "I saw a lot of red mist -about the tower," he said, "that was anger. I saw too--" he shook his -head impatiently. "It is not these things you wish to know Bess?" - -"I want to know who killed Colonel Carr?" - -"I can't tell you Bess. If I knew I should tell. But I don't. On that -night I came here, looking for things---" said Sidney with a -side-glance to see if she were laughing, "and although I felt that -there was a bad influence about the house, I never went near it. I -kept away and wandered on to the moor. That is why you missed me, when -you came to look for me. I did not mind the rain. But I saw your -lantern, and thought you would be anxious, so I returned home. Then -you came back yourself." - -"Yes. That is all true. But tell me Sidney, did you see Mr. Joyce in -the wood or on the moor?" - -"No. I did not see him. Stephen was the only person I saw." - -Bess started violently. "Stephen," she said, "surely you must be -mistaken." - -"No," replied the boy indifferently, "why should I be mistaken? You -know I can see in the dark like a cat. Before I saw your lantern, I -had seen Stephen on the lawn looking at the tower. I do not know what -time it was, so don't ask me. You are always so particular about -time," said Sidney peevishly, "as though it mattered." - -Bess reflected. It was strange that Stephen should have been in the -vicinity of the house on that night and yet have escaped her notice. -But she remembered that being intent upon looking for her brother that -she had not even seen Joyce, although he was lurking in the bushes at -her elbow. True she had caught a glimpse of Frisco. But that was when -she consciously looked at the door. It was possible that Sidney might -have come across Stephen. "Did you speak to him?" she asked. - -"No. Why should I have spoken to him?" - -"Did he go into the house?" - -"Not that I saw Bess. He was looking up at the tower, standing on the -lawn by the trees. I went away to the other side of the wood, and out -on to the moor. That is all I know." - -"But Sidney, did you see Frisco crossing the moor?" - -"I did not. When I saw your lantern I went home. I wish you would stop -asking me questions," he cried irritably, "you make my head ache." - -After this speech, he relapsed into one of his silent fits, and Bess -could not get him to speak. Knowing from experience that Sidney was -hopeless when in this mood, she left him still by the fairy ring, and -took her way back to Biffstead. The house was empty, as Ida had gone -to Beorminster to see Flo, and Frank was attending to the farm. - -Bess sat down and wondered what could be the meaning of Stephen's -presence at "The Pines" on that night. She knew that he had come over -from Beorminster to escort his mother home. But then Mrs. Marsh had -been with Mr. Corn the whole evening, and there was no reason why -Stephen should have gone out of his way to visit "The Pines." It was -in the afternoon that Mrs. Marsh had seen the Colonel, and Stephen -must have known that she would not be at the great house after nine -o'clock. This, Bess, calculating by her own movements, was the hour at -which Sidney had seen him. He was looking up at the tower too, so -Sidney said. "But he can't have had anything to do with it," she -thought restlessly, "he disliked the Colonel, but he didn't--no, I -won't even think of it! Such a thing if true, would kill Ida. Yet I -must find out from Stephen himself why he was in the wood on that -night." - -She reflected. At this hour Stephen would be alone. Why should she not -go over and see him. In one way or another she could tell him about -the pistol and the silver bullet and see from the expression of his -face if he knew anything about either. It was incredible that Stephen -should have fired the shot. He was the Colonel's heir; but even to -gain the money he certainly was too good a man to commit a crime. Yet -if what Sidney said was true, Stephen had been on the lawn about the -time Colonel Carr was shot. He must know something about the matter. - -"I'll see him," said Bess putting on her hat again. "I shall not be -able to sleep a wink until I know what he has to say." - -In another half hour she was in the library where Stephen was -established on the sofa. He looked thin, and rather worried, but his -face brightened when he saw her. "This is good of you Bess," he said -stretching out his hand, "I am all alone; Herrick is in Town; Ida at -Beorminster. Not a soul to speak to. Draw that chair close to the -fire. Shall I ring for tea?" - -"It is too early yet," she said reassured by this bright talk. It was -incredible that a man who spoke so lightly should have a black crime -on his soul. "I just want to chatter for a bit; I am so tired of my -own company." - -"So am I. Well you talk about Jim, and I'll discourse about Ida. We -shall be quite happy. By the way, when will Ida be back?" - -"About dinner time. She will come over and see you afterwards." - -"I wish she would come to dinner here," said Stephen, "you also and -Frank and Sidney. I miss Jim horribly, and it is no fun eating a long -solemn meal alone. Upon my word Bess, I sometimes long for the days -when Petronella's macaroni could be eaten hurriedly, and without this -formality. I would rather have a book than a footman about the table." - -"What a mixed way of talking," said Bess pensively, "you _have_ a book -on the table as a rule, I suppose you are glad all the same that you -have the Colonel's money?" - -"Of course I am," said Stephen frankly, "it enables me to marry Ida. I -was so afraid lest she should marry someone else before I came into my -kingdom. But I could not ask her to be my wife when I was a pauper -could I Bess? She's a rare jewel that requires a rich setting." - -"I don't think Ida values money so much as all that," said Bess -gravely. "She would have married you without a sixpence. But I am glad -all the same that the money came to you so soon. It is nice to be -rich." - -"So it is," admitted Stephen gladly. "I can buy whatever books I like." - -Bess laughed at this speech. "I am afraid you will grow into a -bookworm." - -"No. Jim has got me out of bad habits in that respect. At one time I -did nothing but read. Now I ride and swim and box and fence and -shoot----" - -Bess started at the last word. It gave her the opening she desired. -"Are you a good shot?" she asked. - -"I was always a good shot," said Stephen coolly, "that is, with a -pistol. I never handled a gun until I came here." - -"I did not know you had ever handled a pistol either?" - -"Oh yes, I did. Young Capron gave me permission to shoot rabbits on his -estate ages ago. I could not afford to buy a gun, but I did manage to -get enough money to screw out a revolver--and a very good one. I -believe it was brought here from Beorminster, unless Petronella -overlooked it. But I have not used it for over a year. Rabbit shooting -with a pistol is not much fun especially when one is alone." - -"I should like to see the pistol," said Bess, after a pause. - -"Go over then to the box behind that screen," said Stephen, "if it is -anywhere it will be in there. There are all sorts of odds and ends, -rag tag and bobtail of my former existence." - -Bess did as she was told and walked slowly over and behind the large -gilded screen which stood in a far corner of the library. Here, pushed -to one side, was a moderately sized box, the lid of which was open. -She found in it a few books, many manuscripts, pens, an inkstand, and -all the paraphernalia of a writing table. These she enumerated aloud. - -"I know," said Stephen from the sofa, "those are the the contents of -my study. I expect Petronella threw all the things into that trunk. -The pistol is bound to be there--in a small mahogany-box. I always -kept it on the mantelpiece of my study. Be careful if you find it -Bess. All six chambers are loaded." - -After some search Bess came across just such a box, and opened it to -find a neat little revolver of the most modern pattern. She carried -this, box and all, to a table near the sofa. Again Stephen warned her -that the weapon was loaded. "I kept it loaded because my mother was -always afraid of thieves poor soul," he said, "though heaven knows -there was little enough to steal in that dismal house of ours! What is -it Bess?" - -"There are only three chambers loaded," said Bess thickly. In a flash -she remembered the three shots fired into the dead body--and the -conical shape of the bullets. Those in the weapon she held were -conical in shape. - -"Nonsense," said Stephen nervously. "I always kept the whole six -loaded. You must be making a mistake," he took the revolver from her -and examined it closely. "You are right," he said with a long breath. -"Three of them _are_ empty." - -As he spoke he looked up apparently with indifference. When his eye -caught hers he saw something in her expression which made him start -and flush crimson. For a moment they looked at one another. Then -Stephen swung himself up to a sitting position and laid the pistol on -the side table. "Why do you look at me like that Bess?" he asked in a -hurried tone. - -For a minute she did not reply. But she felt that she must know the -truth, and burst out hurriedly "Stephen! You were on the lawn on the -night your uncle was killed!" - -The young man started to his feet, and then fell back again on the -sofa white, and amazed. "How do know?" he stuttered. - -"Sidney saw you. He told me. Oh, Stephen,--three chambers of your -revolver empty--three shots at----" she felt suffocated and could not -continue. - -"Wait! Wait" Stephen put his hand to his head. It felt confused. His -face was of a deep purple. Bess thought that he would have a fit and -blamed herself for having blurted out her suspicions. - -"Wait! Wait" muttered Marsh-Carr again as she moved towards the bell -to summon assistance. He sat down on the sofa, his face in his hands, -rocking himself to and fro. Then he heaved a deep sigh, and looked up -at her white haggard face. "You will not tell Ida," he said. - -With her hands twisted in her hair Bess stepped back. She suppressed a -shriek. "Stephen!" she cried hoarsely "You did not--you----" - -"I did not murder him. No," replied the young man harshly. "He was -already dead when I fired those three shots." - -"Then it was you who?--" - -"It was I," cried Stephen, rising to his feet with a fierce look, "and -you are going to denounce me, I suppose!" - -"No! No! how can you think I would do such a thing? But Ida, poor -Ida!" - -"You must not tell her," cried Stephen grasping her wrist until she -winced with the pain. "Do what you like, but say nothing to Ida. I -would rather break off our engagement on another plea than that she -should know." - -The pain of the twist he gave her arm brought Bess back to a more -normal state of mind. She pulled herself together, and sat down. -"Stephen," she said slowly, "no one but you and I will share this -secret. Can you swear to me that Colonel Carr was already dead when -you fired those shots? I want the truth!" - -"He was already dead," said Marsh-Carr sitting down quietly, "did you -not hear the medical evidence at the inquest? It was the bullet which -killed him. My shots were fired at a carcase." - -"Why did you do such a horrible thing?" wailed Bess. "Because I was -mad for the time being," said Stephen gloomily, "I will tell you all -if you are strong enough to hear it." - -"After what I know, I am strong enough to hear anything. Oh! To think -that you should have behaved in so barbarous a manner." - -Stephen winced. "It was barbarous I confess," said he, "but I was mad -for the time being. After all you must not be too hard on me. I did -not kill my respected uncle," he sneered. - -Bess shivered. She had never before seen this side of Stephen's -character, and the new experience was unpleasant. It even stirred her -into unconsidered indignation. "Since you went up that tower with a -revolver, you must have intended to kill the man," she said. - -"Perhaps I did, perhaps I did not," he answered in a most brazen -manner, "but the plain truth is that I wanted to frighten him. - -"And did you think a revolver would frighten a man who had faced death -fifty and a hundred times?" said Bess with scorn. She recalled to her -memory several episodes Carr had told her of his American doings; she -well knew the dare-devilry latent in the man. - -"Carr was old, and had lost his nerve. I counted upon that. I never -intended to kill him. When I went up the tower the work had been done -for me already." - -"And who did it?" - -"I do not know," said Stephen earnestly, "upon my soul Bess I do not -know--the man was dead when I saw him. It was sheer rage that made me -fire those three shots. The brute that is in me, as it is in every -man, came to the surface. But of the real murderer I saw no trace. I -did not see Frisco whom I take to be the man." - -"It was not Frisco," flashed out Bess, "However," she continued sick -at heart, "you had better tell me how it came about." - -"Partly through my love for Ida, partly through my mother," said -Marsh-Carr gloomily. "It came to my mother's ears that the Colonel -intended to disinherit me. I suppose Frisco got the upper hand and -induced him to alter his will--that is if he did alter it which I -doubt." - -"Of course he did not Stephen. If he had left the money to anyone else -you would not be here." - -"I am not so sure about that," replied the young man savagely. "Frisco -might have taken the second will from the corpse. At all events I know -that Frith and Frith drafted no new will. If it was drawn the Colonel -must have drawn it himself. However Frisco let out in one of his -drunken fits at Beorminster that Carr intended to cut me off. My -mother heard the news and came home in a frenzy of rage. It was for -that reason she called on Carr on the afternoon you know of. The -twenty-fourth was it not? She intended to argue him into a better -frame of mind. He only laughed at her and said he would leave his -money as pleased him. She told me the next day. But Carr was dead -then." - -"What made you decide to frighten him?" - -"Am I not telling you!" said Stephen impatiently. "When my mother went -to Saxham I knew she would fail. A woman could not deal with a devil -like my beloved uncle. I determined to see what I could do with a -revolver. I would have fought a duel with him to keep my rights," said -the young man fiercely, "but I would not have killed him in cold -blood. No, indeed." - -"Well go on," said Bess, "I want to know all." - -"There is little to tell," said Marsh-Carr. "I was going to Saxham to -fetch home my mother who was at the rectory. I thought I would visit -'The Pines' and see the Colonel. I did so, some time before nine." - -"Ah! it was about that hour Sidney saw you." - -"I daresay. I stood on the lawn looking at the tower, and could not -make up my mind to enter the house. It was all ablaze with lights, and -quite deserted." - -"No," said Bess recalling her own experience. "I heard you fire the -shots and saw Frisco at the door. He was drunk and hanging on to the -post." - -"You heard me fire the shots. I did not know you were about?" - -"I was then. I had gone to look for Sidney. But you see Frisco--" - -"It was Frisco," said Stephen vehemently. "I tell you Carr was dead -when I went up, lying face downward. If Frisco was at the door, he was -just clearing out after killing the man. He knew that he would be -arrested." - -"But he must have heard the shots?" - -"Then he knew that someone had discovered the body which would make -him run for it all the more quickly. However to make a long story -short I fired the three shots you know of, and then returned to my -mother at the rectory. I said nothing about the matter, as I had not -killed Carr. If Frisco is not the murderer I do not know who is. That -is all I can tell you Bess, you see I am not such a guilty wretch as -you thought." - -"I know that," said Bess impetuously, "If you were I should insist -upon your leaving Ida. To fire at the dead was savage, but, as I know -the man must have been dead at the time--the medical evidence proves -that, I will say nothing. Why did you not tell me of this before?" - -"What use would it have been?" said Stephen raising his eyebrows, "I -cannot tell you anything likely to lead to the capture of the -assassin, and beside it is not a pleasant thing to tell about myself. -I should not have told you now, but that you have been one too many -for me. I should have re-loaded the three chambers of that revolver. -But I forgot and put it away thinking all six were loaded. I should be -ashamed to let Jim or Ida know that I had been such a beast." - -"I shall say nothing to them," said Bess coldly, "but I am -disappointed in you Stephen." - -"I know," said the young man humbly, "I should have had more -self-control. But you will not turn your back on me for this Bess?" - -"No. All the same I can't feel as I did towards you. Let me go away -and think Stephen. And--put away that revolver." - -Marsh-Carr nodded, and slipped the weapon into his pocket. But he made -no attempt to detain Bess. She went away with a sore heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII -PART OF THE TRUTH - - -While Bess was thus employed, her colleague had his hands full in -London. On arriving at Paddington, Herrick drove directly to the West -Kensington Flat. It was closed, and the porter explained that Mr. -Joyce had been away for some weeks. - -"Ah, that is a pity," said Dr. Jim with a grim smile. "I wished to see -him most particularly." - -"I expect him back shortly sir," said the man. - -"Ah! Has he written to fix the date of his return?" - -"Not yet sir. But Mr. Joyce never remains away more than a month or -two." - -"He may change his habits this time." - -"I don't think so sir. Shall I tell him you called sir?" - -"No. You need not go so far as that. When he comes home just send a -wire to that address. And this for yourself." - -The porter, a venal creature in uniform, looked at the half sovereign -and the address of the Guelph Hotel in Jermyn Street. He promised -faithfully to send a wire the moment Mr. Joyce returned, and Dr. Jim -went away, very well satisfied that he had done right in having Robin -watched. "Damned little scoundrel!" growled Herrick. "What is the use -of sparing him? But that he is in the hands of a stronger villain, I -would lay him by the heels straight off. But I shall deal with -Santiago this time. I expect he and Joyce are plotting together in -some hole." - -In another hour Herrick was climbing a flight of dingy stairs in the -neighbourhood of the Strand. He stopped at the second landing and -before a door, which bore the name of Kidd, Belcher & Co, Private -Inquiry Office. On entering he was confronted by a dirty undersized -boy. Kidd was absent on business, but Belcher was in, and on giving -his card, Dr. Jim was shown into the next room. Here at a table near -the window sat a man. That is he stood on two legs, he was neatly -dressed, and he talked in a prim precise voice. But going by his face -he was a ferret. The long face and nose, the broad forehead and small -receding chin, and above all the red-rimmed eyes without eyebrows or -eyelashes. All this made him look very much like a ferret. And his -nature was also of the beast. He was a sly, silent, cunning tracker, -relentless when once he had hunted down his prey. A dangerous man, a -deadly man, who had elected to place himself on the side of the law, -as offering the better price. Had he chosen to be one of the great -criminal profession, Mr. Belcher would have been a dangerous opponent -to the police. Luckily he found that honesty paid better than roguery, -therefore he was at the disposal of Dr. Jim, for the watching of -Santiago and Joyce. He talked freely on this point. "It's all right -sir," he said in his whispering voice and arranging his neat white -tie. "Kidd caught him at the Paddington station, and followed him to -Pimlico." - -"Oh, he is in Pimlico is he?" - -"Watched by three boys, and Kidd himself. Four kids I call them," said -Mr. Belcher with a silent laugh. "You see sir that Mexican gent -prefers to live at Pimlico because it is near the Gambling Club. We -need not mention names sir, as I have an interest in that club and -don't want the police to know of it. I hunt with the hounds and run -with the fox you see," and Belcher gave another of his silent laughs. - -"Humph!" said Jim taking no notice of the joke, "so Joyce is at -Santiago's lodgings is he?" - -"Drove straight therefrom Paddington, and has not been out of doors -since. The Don has been sir. He never thinks you are after _him_." - -"I fancy he has rather a contempt for my brains," said Jim. "However -we shall see about that. I'll go to those lodgings." - -"Would you mind telling me what the Mexican has done sir?" - -"I would mind very much Mr. Belcher. When I want to tell you my -business you won't have to help me. It is a private matter. But later -on there may be something in it likely to pay you. At present all I -want you to do is to keep an eye on Joyce and Santiago. I will pay you -well for it." - -"Yes sir, thank you, sir. Excuse my curiosity. Quite professional." - -"No doubt; but you will make more money by asking no questions. If -things are as I suspect with these two it will put a lot of cash into -your pockets. Meanwhile, hold your tongue." - -"Very good Dr. Herrick," said the ferret meekly, "so long as you know -your business, I don't need to teach it to you. But you know our firm. -We are straight." - -"So long as you are paid. Otherwise you prefer to keep gambling -saloons unknown to the police. Oh, never fear man, I shall say nothing. -By the way, lend me a revolver:" - -"Ha!" said the ferret with sudden interest, "is it as bad as that?" - -"I think so. One at least of the two will show fight, and it won't be -the man you followed from Paddington. You had better come with me -Belcher. I want to know if the coast is clear. If the two catch sight -of me from the window, they may clear out. While I am talking to them, -you and Kidd can remain outside. If you hear a shot, rush up with the -nearest policeman. But I won't fire unless I am driven to it." - -"Going to shoot one of them Dr. Herrick?" said Belcher producing a -very serviceable weapon which Jim slipped into his breast pocket. - -"Not unless either one draws on me. It is the Mexican I fear. But it -is the more likely I shall only fire the revolver by way of a signal. -You know what you have to do?" - -"Yes sir," said the ferret with something of admiration in his -whisper, "you ought to have been in our profession doctor. You provide -against every chance." - -"Except sudden death," laughed Jim as they went down the dingy stairs, -"I have a tough article to deal with in that Santiago. Do you know -anything about him Belcher." - -The ferret shook his head and waved a neat umbrella to a passing -hansom. "Not much sir," he replied, "he's been in England over six -months, and always in the same lodgings. He has money but not too much -of it. I got to know him at the club, and he gambled so high and won -so much that I made it my business to look after him. But I could find -out nothing to get the whip hand of him, sir." - -"Mr. Joyce goes to your club also?" - -"Yes sir. I told you so when you called to see me first. I knew the -name at once. Kidd knows him too, but he doesn't know Kidd. That was -why I sent Kidd to Paddington. He's a fool, sir." - -"True enough," replied Herrick dryly, "but even a fool can become -dangerous in the hands of an unscrupulous scoundrel like Santiago. Oh, -I do not know anything against him," added Herrick seeing the ferret's -eyes twinkle. "I am only going by the little I do know." - -"Not enough to jail him I suppose, sir?" - -"Not yet, but there might be soon," replied Jim, glancing sideways at -his neat companion. He well knew that Belcher and Kidd liked to know -secrets in order to extort blackmail. A dangerous pair; but Jim knew -how to deal with them. They were rather afraid of Jim. He knew too -much. - -Herrick had become acquainted with the ferret through having saved the -life of his small daughter, and as this child was the apple of the -man's eye, he adored Jim and was in the habit of speaking to him more -freely than he otherwise would have done. Therefore Jim got to know -more about the Private Inquiry Firm than was altogether wise. However, -he could keep his mouth shut, and, as at present, he sometimes found -the pair useful. But the connection was not a pleasant one, even so, -and Herrick was wont to comfort himself with the reflection that when -dirty work has to be done, no man can be nice in the choice of his -instruments. - -Directed by the ferret, the cab stopped at the corner of a Pimlico -street in a quiet neighbourhood. There he left the doctor in the cab, -and went along to reconnoitre. In ten minutes he came back. - -"The Mexican has gone out," said Belcher, "he has been away an hour. -But Joyce is in the sitting-room. Kidd saw his face two or three times -at the window. If you creep along the street under the house he won't -be able to see you." - -"Right you are," said Dr. Jim climbing down, and paying off the -cab--lavishly because he did not want a disturbance, "you wait -outside both of you and keep an eye on the policeman. When you hear a -shot"-- - -"You needn't tell me twice Dr. Herrick," said Belcher, his professional -pride wounded. "Off you go sir, I'll stop hereabouts and whistle if -the Mexican comes along. He doesn't know my real business." - -"Jim nodded, and walked along to number forty-three, where--as Belcher -told him Santiago had rooms on the first floor. On the opposite side -of the street he saw Kidd with a green shade and picturesquely attired -in rags, playing the part of a pavement artist. At the end of the -street three or four boys were playing marbles. No one would suspect -that either man or boys were spies. Jim fingered his revolver, and -rang the bell. - -"I want to see Mr. Joyce," he said to the slattern who opened the -door, "my name is Nuttall, and I come from Don Manuel Santiago." - -The slattern suspecting nothing from this calm address conducted Jim -up the stairs. She opened a door and gave the message to Robin. -Herrick heard his voice telling her to show in Mr. Nuttall, and he -guessed from the sound of it that Joyce was uneasy. The slattern -pushed Jim to the door and then dropped down stairs rapidly. She -wanted to get back to her novel, for her mistress was away for the -afternoon. - -"Well Joyce and how are you?" - -Robin gave a kind of squeal like that of a trapped animal, and fell -back into the chair from which he had risen to welcome Mr. Nuttall. -His face grew white, his jaw dropped, and he collapsed into a limp -heap. Fright so paralysed his tongue that he could not speak. Jim -smiled politely and closed the door. Then he took a chair opposite to -the wretched creature. - -"You are a proper little scoundrel," he said in withering tones, "I am -sorry to see you brought so low as this, Joyce." - -"What do you want?" cried Robin flaming into sudden fury. "Have you -not humiliated me enough, but that you must come after me----" - -"To find you in hiding with Don Manuel. Go easy Joyce, and keep a -civil tongue in your head." - -"I'd like to kill you," he muttered, his face distorted with fury. - -"I have no doubt you would, and I have also small doubt but that your -friend Santiago will try." - -"Do you want to see him?" - -"And you. Yes. You told me such lies at Saxham, coached by Don Manuel -I suppose, that I wish to talk to the two of you together." - -"If you don't leave this place I will call the police." - -"Do so by all means. I shall give you in charge when they appear. Come -Joyce, don't be a fool! You have to sit down and do what I tell you." - -Joyce resumed his seat and bit his fingers. "Santiago will kill you," -he muttered viciously. "I hope he will!" - -"Thank you; I see pity is wasted on a reptile like you. But see here," -said Jim with sudden fierceness. "I am prepared for you and for the -Mexican also. I have only to fire this," he showed the revolver "and -the detectives who are waiting will come up." - -"Detectives!" cried Joyce white as snow and trembling. - -"Yes, you fool. I gave you every chance to clear yourself. You abused -my leniency, and plotted with Santiago to cheat me. This time you will -not get off so easy. I wonder how you will like being in the dock on a -charge of conspiracy." - -"It's--it's--it's a lie!" - -"It's the truth, and you know it. You and Santiago wish to get the -money left by Colonel Carr. You tried to murder Stephen in the -churchyard." - -"It was not I," gasped Robin shaking with fright, "I was with the Miss -Endicottes all the time." - -"Oh, I know that your accomplice is the bolder villain. It was he--" -here Herrick made a shot in the dark, "--it was Santiago who struck -Marsh." - -"I know he did," sobbed Joyce falling into the trap, "but I--" - -"Never mind about yourself," said Jim exulting in having extorted this -piece of information, "tell me what there is between Santiago and Corn -that made him force the parson to tell a lie in order to prove his -alibi. Corn said that Manuel was with him all the evening. You know -that is false. Manuel went out and struck Stephen Marsh." - -"I don't know what power Santiago has over Corn," said Robin wiping -his eyes, "he never told me; but he has some. He treats me like a dog, -and I can't call my soul my own." - -"You poor little rat!" said Herrick with a certain pity. "Then the -best thing you can do is to come back to me, and tell me all you know -about this scoundrel." - -"No! No!" whimpered Joyce, "he would kill me." - -"Not he! I shall know how to save you, and if you do not tell," said -Dr. Jim in a sharp tone, "I'll have you arrested as being concerned in -this murder of Colonel Carr." - -"I am innocent; you know I am innocent!" - -"I know nothing of the sort," replied Herrick unexpectedly. "I have -your word for it, and your confession of your doings on that night. -But there is quite enough in that confession--signed by yourself, -mind--to justify your being arrested on suspicion of having committed -the crime. Do you think a jury would believe in your story, especially -as I can prove that the pistol with which--as I verily believe--the -crime was committed was in your possession?" - -"I got it from Santiago." - -"So you said, and yet at the time you told me, it was out of my power -to question the man. You knew that he had gone up to Town by the -Heathcroft line, and you did not tell me." - -"I was afraid. He forced me to hold my tongue." - -"You had better be a little more afraid of me. I can do you more -mischief than Don Manuel is likely to do. He will have sufficient to -do to look after himself. But I knew what a slippery little devil you -were Joyce, and so I had you watched from the moment you disembarked -at the Paddington station. You can't move a step now without my -knowledge. So you need not try to give me the slip again." - -By this time Joyce was in a state of collapse. He saw that Herrick had -been too clever for him. Between his fear of Santiago and his fear of -Herrick he was in a pitiable state of mind. Dr. Jim felt sorry for the -miserable creature in spite of the contempt which his conduct -righteously provoked. "I'll tell you what I can," said Joyce after a -pause. - -"I think you are wise. You expect Santiago back soon?" - -"At five o'clock." - -"It is a quarter past four now," said Herrick glancing at his watch. -"I will wait for him." - -"He is dangerous," said Joyce alarmed, and rising from his chair. - -"So am I. It is not a man like me who is afraid of a Mexican Greaser, -Mr. Joyce. Don't go near that window. You'll be making signals to your -friend. I don't trust you." - -"On my honour--" began Joyce returning to his seat. - -"You haven't got any. Now then, why did Santiago try to get Marsh -killed?" - -"He did not want to kill him. He only desired that he should be -disabled and prevented from going to the vault." - -Herrick whistled. "Ah, he has been looking up the will at Doctor's -Commons. Well, and what does he expect to gain by the money going to -Frisco? The man is in communication with him I suppose?" - -"No," said Joyce sulkily, "he is in communication with me." - -"The devil!" Herrick sprang to his feet. "So _you_ put that cipher in -the paper, asking Frisco to meet you at Hyde Park Corner." - -"Yes I did. I put in the first and the second." - -"Who taught you the cipher? It was one that Colonel Carr knew." - -"Santiago taught it to me." - -"Ah! Now we are getting at the truth," said Herrick, "and where did -you meet Santiago may I ask? No lie this time, please?" - -"I met him at the gambling club in this district." - -"Oh, you did. I never knew that gambling was a vice of yours. It seems -one never does know a man. I thought better of you. Well, and for what -reason did Santiago tell you about this cipher." - -"I knew him before I went on the walking tour with you. When I came -back to London I went to the club and saw him there. He talked about -the murder of Carr and had seen my name as one of the men who found -the body. In one way and another he got everything out of me." - -"The story you told me?" - -"Yes! He made me tell everything." - -"Clever man," said Herrick with a nod, "but of course you are so weak -poor soul, that you would tell everything. I now see how this man got -you into his power. Well, and why did he teach you the cipher." - -"It seems he knew Frisco--" - -"Oh! He denied that. I knew that was a lie; but no matter." - -"I said that Frisco was in London, and that I should like to find him. -I wanted to know if Frisco had really killed Colonel Carr." - -"Oh!" Herrick shrugged his shoulders, "and were on simple enough to -think that Frisco would tell you?" - -"He did tell me--" - -"That he was innocent of course?" - -"Yes. That he was innocent. But if he had told me that he was guilty I -could not have betrayed him." - -"Humph!" said Dr. Jim with a sharp glance, "you are getting more -mysterious every moment. Well, so you put in that cipher--the -first--by the direction of the Mexican? - -"Yes. And met Frisco at Hyde Park Corner. I also put in the second -when I wanted to see Frisco again. He wouldn't give me his address, -but said if I wanted to see him I was to communicate by the cipher. I -did not meet him the second time, because I saw you waiting to catch -us." - -"Ah! That was clever of you." - -"Of you too," said Joyce, "how did you learn the cipher?" - -"That is my business. Be civil," said Dr. Jim sharply, "go on. You saw -this man you say, and he told you he was innocent, which is a lie. I -suppose Santiago saw him also?" - -"Yes. We were all three in my flat." - -"Nice party," said Dr. Jim sarcastically, "and you made up this -conspiracy between the lot of you?" - -"Yes! We wanted Marsh to lose the money." - -"I do not see where the advantage would come in," said Dr. Jim -reflectively, "the money would go to Frisco certainly, but he could -not benefit, without running the risk of arrest." - -"He was not to appear at all in the matter," explained Joyce. "When -the money came to him, he was to feign death and make a will leaving -the fortune to me; I was to share it with him and Santiago." - -Herrick stared. The conspiracy was more complete than he had thought, -and very cunning too. "Upon my word that is clever," he said in a tone -half of jest and half admiration, "although I do not exactly see how -the law would look at the matter. Frisco wanted for murder--to feign -death--fortune left to you--money to be shared between the presumed -corpse and the two plotters left alive. Why! it's like a melodrama. -You would have had some difficulty in proving the death of Frisco -though." - -"Oh, Santiago was going to manage that," said Joyce with confidence. - -"I am sure he would, even to going the length of making a real corpse -of the man after the will was signed." - -Joyce jumped up and began to walk up and down much agitated. "No," he -said, "bad as you think me Herrick, I should never have consented to -Frisco being put out of the way. The death would have been proved -without that. Frisco would have received his share of the money. He -would have gone free. I would rather die myself than that anything -should happen to Frisco. Yes, you may look; I would." - -Dr. Jim shrugged his shoulders. "Your conscience has grown very tender -all of a sudden, that you should desire to shield a scoundrel. Is -Frisco a relative of yours that you should be so careful of his skin?" - -Joyce dropped into his seat and looked straight at the doctor. "Frisco -is my father," he said deliberately. - -Dr. Jim jumped up in his turn and stared down at the pinched white -face. He could scarcely believe his ears. "Your father?" he gasped, -"is this another part of your conspiracy?" - -"It is the truth," said Joyce simply, so simply that Herrick was -convinced that for once he was telling no lie. "When he met me and -came to my flat, he told me he was my father. I did not believe him, -but he soon convinced me by showing me my mother's letters. - -"Addressed to him where?" - -"Colonel Carr's." - -"Oh!" Herrick dropped back into his chair, "so this accounts for the -annuity! What is your father's real name?" - -"Joyce! The same as mine. He was Colonel Carr's Cousin." - -Herrick was amazed, and remembered what he had heard about the uncle -of the wicked Colonel. "Carr's father turned a son out of doors," he -muttered "the son went to America and married. He had one daughter--" - -"My mother. She was the Carr's cousin, not my father's. I am getting -confused," murmured Joyce feeling his head. - -"In that case you are cousin to Stephen Marsh?" - -"Yes. And I should have the money, since my grandfather was the -brother of Colonel Carr. That was why I conspired, as you call it. -That was why my father and Santiago tried to help me to get my rights. -What do you think of it now Herrick?" - -"I think that you went the wrong way to work," said Jim, "that is if -you are telling me the truth,--which I doubt." - -"It is the truth," cried Joyce clenching his fist, "if you do not -believe me," he added listening for a moment, "here is one who will -tell you." - -"Santiago!" said Herrick rising to be ready for emergencies. - -"Yes! He is coming up the stair now." - -At that moment there was a shrill whistle outside, Belcher's signal. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX -DON MANUEL'S RECOLLECTIONS - - -Santiago entered the room quite unsuspiciously. His step was light, -his eyes were bright, and he had evidently been successfully plotting -some new and lucrative villainy. In a moment his astonished eyes -lighted upon Herrick, standing tall and smiling on the hearth-rug. A -Spanish oath of the coarsest slipped from his mouth, and he looked -about as evil as a man can look who knows that the game is up. However -he was plucky enough to show fight. He even attempted bluff. - -"What are you doing in my rooms Señor?" he demanded in Spanish. "If -you----" - -"Don't you think we had better keep to English?" said Herrick blandly. -"I know you speak it so well, and of course we have our mutual friend -Joyce to consider. You are surprised to see me. Natural, very -natural." - -Joyce sat in his chair silent and white. He was too frightened to open -his mouth for he knew something of Don Manuel's rages, and dreaded the -tornado which would ensue when the Mexican learned how Herrick had -been told everything by his weak-kneed coadjutor. For a moment -Santiago (still in ignorance as to the true state of affairs), ground -his teeth. Then by an effort of will he recovered his smile, and to -all appearances his usual temper. "You will excuse me if I spoke -rudely Señor," he said with a polite how, "it is not my custom. But I -am rather taken aback at meeting you here. I do not remember having -asked you to come." - -"That's all right," replied Jim cheerfully. He did not sit down, for -Santiago was still on his feet. And one can use a revolver better when -standing. "I heard that you had been suddenly called to Town -yesterday. I therefore made it my business to follow." - -"Very kind of you," said Santiago slipping his hand into his breast -pocket, an action which was imitated by Herrick, "but how did you find -out my address? I never gave it to you." - -"An oversight on your part my dear Don Manuel," replied Jim politely -but watchful of the man's slightest action, "but the fact is my friend -Joyce left Beorminster yesterday as you know--that was after his talk -with you I believe. I thought that it was possible you might ask him -to stop with you for a day or so in place of returning to his own -home. Therefore I telegraphed to town asking certain friends of mine -to keep a watch on him and--you." - -"What am I to understood from all this Señor?" - -"This much. That your game is up. Joyce has told me much; I have -waited to see if you will tell me more." - -Don Manuel cast a black look at Robin who began to 'whimper. "I could -not help it," he said, "it's all over. I had to tell him." - -"You told him what?" demanded the Mexican livid with rage. - -"All about the conspiracy--Frisco, and a few other--ah, would -you"--for Don Manuel had whipped out his revolver. Herrick was just as -quick and the two men faced one another. Robin gave a shriek like a -frightened woman. The sight was an unpleasant one. - -"For God's sake!" cried Joyce wringing his hands. - -"One moment before you fire Señor," said Herrick coolly, "I would have -you know that the firing of a single shot will bring up the police." -Santiago dropped his revolver with a start. "The police," he muttered; -then after a pause he returned his weapon to his pocket. "You can do -the same Señor," he said calmly. - -"I don't think we shall have much use for them," said Herrick putting -away his weapon and sitting down. "I think we may talk now that these -preliminaries are ended. Will you not be seated Señor Manuel." - -"In my own house!" exclaimed the Spaniard between his teeth but sat -nevertheless. - -"Quite so; I have to ask you pardon for that. But you see my friend, I -must stand if you do, and I am tired. You might use that pretty little -weapon in your pocket." - -"I may do so yet," said Santiago with an ugly look. - -"Possibly. All the same I would point out that your intention has its -disadvantages. In the first place I am a good and a quick shot. In the -second as my shot or yours would summon the police, you might get into -trouble." - -"The police can do nothing to me." - -"If you attempt to kill me I think they can do a lot. We are not in -Mexico now, Señor Santiago. Come, let us talk sensibly. I am sure you -must see that I am in a position to dictate my own terms. You will not -find them hard I assure you always provided--" - -"Provided what?" - -"That you did not murder Colonel Carr. If you did, I fear--I fear I -shall be obliged to hand you over to the police. We have a prejudice -against people being killed in this country, Don Manuel." - -"Oh, curse your fine speeches!" growled the Don. "I did not kill Carr -if that is what you are driving at." He paused and cast a look at -Joyce. "I see that you have got the better of me. If that -white-livered cur had held his tongue--however I must make the best of -a bad job. Come, if I answer your questions freely and frankly will -you promise not to inform the police of what I tell you?" - -"No, I can't promise that. If you know where Frisco is you must tell -me. I want to have that man hanged." Joyce started up with a cry. "I -am sorry Robin, if he is your father, but as he is a murderer also he -must--" - -"One moment," interposed Santiago coolly, "Frisco is no murderer." - -"Indeed? Then, as you were in possession of the pistol with which -Colonel Carr was shot, perhaps you can tell me who used it. That is," -said Herrick significantly, "if you did not use it yourself." - -"I don't use weapons of that sort," said Santiago scornfully, "besides -it was my game to frighten Carr, not to kill him." - -"I see. It was you who sent those warnings in cipher." - -"You know that do you. Yes, it was I, and to make Carr afraid. He had -few good nights after he got those warnings I know." - -"They were all bluff?" - -"So far as I was concerned," replied Santiago easily, "but had I -chosen they could have been sent in deadly earnest." - -"I do not understand." - -"I do not think you will until I explain. But first I must be assured -of my own safety before I speak." - -"Well," said Dr. Jim pulling out his pipe, "its this way you see. I -want to get to the bottom of this conspiracy. Also to learn who killed -Carr. I could have you arrested on a charge of trying to kill Marsh," -here the Mexican muttered a curse on Robin's head and the little man -winced. "But if you will prove to me that you did not kill Carr and -tell me the whole truth, why I will let you go back to Mexico -unharmed." - -"And if I refuse?" demanded Don Manuel. "In that case I'll call up the -police and give you and Joyce in charge for conspiracy and assault -with intent to kill." - -"I did not wish to kill him," protested Manuel, "I only wanted to -prevent him going to the vault." - -"And so allow the money to pass to Frisco," put in Herrick, "very -clever. I know all about that. Tell me something new." - -"If I had only been here before you intimidated this--" - -"You would have done as he has done," said Herrick; then changing his -tone, he spoke sharply. "We are wasting time. Tell me all I want to -know; answer my questions, and you shall go free, save that I shall -have you watched until the true murderer of Colonel Carr has been -found. If you refuse you shall be arrested forthwith." - -"And if I were to shoot you?" cried Santiago savagely half rising. -"You would be hanged, or else you would have to end your own life. -Don't I tell you the sound of the shot will bring up the men I have -had posted?" - -Santiago reflected for a moment, then he took out his revolver and -tossed it carelessly on to the table. "You are the stronger Señor. I -give in. Allow me to roll a cigarette, and I will answer all your -questions. I am not afraid, for I can swear by the Holy Mother that I -did not kill Carr and--" added Santiago with a gay laugh, "I rather -regret I did not." - -"Come," said Herrick lighting his pipe, "the story. In the first place -where did you meet Colonel Carr?" - -"In Mexico about twenty years ago. You would not think it to look at -me. But I am not young, Señor Herrick." - -"Did you meet Frisco at the same time?" - -"Joyce's father? I did." - -"Wait a moment," said Robin, "I wanted to tell Herrick the precise -relationship between myself and Colonel Carr, but I grew confused. Was -not my mother his niece? I forget. I am so muddled." - -"No. It is this way. The uncle of Colonel Carr, a younger brother of -his father was turned out of doors by the grandfather. He went to the -States and married. He died leaving a widow and daughter. The widow -died and the daughter married an American. Your father was the son, -and he married your mother. You are their son. Therefore you were a -kind of third or fourth cousin to Carr. Your father Frisco was a -second cousin. I think it is this way, but," Santiago shrugged his -shoulders "your English relationships are so very confusing." - -"Cousins will do," said Herrick. "Did Carr know that Frisco--we will -continue to call him so as it is rather confusing--did Carr I say, -know that Frisco was his second cousin?" - -"Yes! For that reason he allowed Mrs. Joyce an annuity of five hundred -a year." - -"Why was it not continued to our friend here?" - -Don Manuel laughed. "I think the Colonel and Frisco had quarrelled by -then, and Carr had told him to look after his own brat." - -"How dare you?" cried Robin jumping up. - -"My friend, I repeat what the Colonel said. That is all." - -Herrick interposed. "Did Mrs. Joyce know that Frisco was with Carr?" - -"Oh, dear me no. She thought she was a widow." - -"That is true," said Robin gloomily, "my mother always said that my -father had died in America. I could not believe that Frisco was my -father until he convinced me." - -"I think we both convinced you," said the Mexican with a laugh, "but -it strikes me Dr. Herrick that we are beginning the story at the wrong -end. Let me tell it in my own way. It will be much clearer." - -"I hope it will be true." - -"Oh, as to that I have no reason to conceal anything now," said Don -Manuel with a shrug, "you may as well know all. The money is lost and -I shall return to Mexico as poor as I set out. Well?" - -"Tell the story in your own way," growled Herrick disliking the -coolness of the man yet half admiring his nerve. "Well then," said -Santiago placing a cigarette in his mouth and crossing his legs, "it -is this way. Twenty years ago I met Colonel Carr. He was in the war -between Chili and Peru, and a brave soldier he was. A brute also. -There was nothing he would not do to get money. He had left his home a -pauper, and he swore he would go back a millionaire. But when the war -was at an end, he had not got the fortune he wanted. It was about that -time that Frisco fell in with Carr." - -"And Frisco introduced himself as a cousin?" - -"Just that," said Santiago briskly. "They soon found out the -relationship. Joyce--I am speaking of your father my friend," this in -an aside to Robin, "Joyce came from San Francisco, so the Colonel one -day being drunk, called him Frisco--the name stuck to him. After that -they were what you English call pals, and hung round Lima trying to -make money. I was in the army then and saw much of them. Frisco was as -anxious as Carr to be rich. He said he had left a wife and son in -California." - -"That was you Robin," put in Herrick much interested. - -"Yes. That was Robin," said Don Manuel with a sour glance at the -little man whom he had not yet forgiven for his cowardly confession. -"Well Señor, the two tried to make money and could not. Then they -heard of the treasures buried by the Indians when Pizarro conquered -Peru. They went off to Cuzco; afterwards up into the mountains. For -some months they were gone. One day they came back to Lima to see me, -ragged and poor. They had caught an Indian who knew of a large -treasure in gold and jewels. He told them where it was hidden, and -gave them a plan." - -"But I thought the Indians would not tell," said Herrick, who knew -something of the country of which Santiago was speaking. - -"This one did," said the Mexican with a smile, "they tortured him with -a red-hot gun barrel. Don't look so astonished Señor. Indians are not -much above the beasts, and I told you Carr was a devil. They tortured -him till he gave them the plan. Carr was afraid of losing it, so he -made Frisco tattoo it on his breast, and then burnt the original -plan." - -"Ah!" Herrick started to his feet, "I see now why Carr wanted his body -watched for a year! At the end of that time the plan--' - -"Would not be recognisable," finished Santiago quietly. "Exactly so, -Señor. Carr knew from the ciphers I sent him that I was in the country -and would in some way try to get a sight of that plan. For that, he -shut himself up in the tower, and"---- - -"Wait a bit," said Herrick, "he built that tower when he came home ten -years ago. Your coming did not make him build it." - -"He knew that someone would come and try to kill him," said Don Manuel -coolly, "but I am telling the end before the beginning. Let me go on. -Well, Dr. Herrick, as I said, Colonel Carr had that plan tattooed on -his breast. He would not show it to me, but wanted me to join in an -expedition to get the treasure. I got the money and fitted out the -expedition. We started off to Cuzco, then up the Apurimac and on the -mountains. I told you something of this before Señor. On the way they -betrayed me into the hands of some Indians, and went on themselves. I -cursed my fate when I learned their treachery. I was held captive for -two, three years. To revenge myself on Carr I told the Indians how he -had found the treasure. They were furious, and sent out men to protect -it. But Carr fought them and got away to the coast with a quantity of -jewels, and gold. He went to the States, and afterwards came on to -England where he settled down at 'The Pines.' But at Lima he was twice -nearly assassinated, and knew that the Indians had appointed some of -their more civilised countrymen to follow and kill him and to cut the -plan of the hiding-place out of his flesh. He knew also that these -appointed would follow him across the water to the ends of the earth. -But he managed to give them the slip, and never thought that in an -obscure country village he would be in danger. All the same he built -the tower that he might keep himself safe while asleep." - -"And are you one of these emissaries?" asked Herrick. Santiago shook -his head. "I might have been had I so chosen," said he, "but I -wanted a share of the money myself, or at all events a plan of the -hiding-place, that I might search for it." - -"How did you hear all this, when you were a captive?" - -"I did not--then. It was when I got back to Lima that I heard. I could -not learn where Carr had gone. I did not know even if Carr was his -real name. I hunted for him both in North and South America, but he -had so cleverly concealed his trail that I could not trace him. Then I -was ill for a long time after the privations I had suffered amongst -the Indians. It was only within the last year that I discovered the -whereabouts of Carr. I then came to England to frighten him. So I sent -those cipher warnings. I wanted a share of the money' or the plan. -Carr refused to give me either." - -"Ah! you saw him then?" - -"No! he wrote me a letter defying me to do my worst. Of course he -thought that I was one of those appointed to kill him. That was why he -lived in the Tower, and arranged that his body should be watched after -his death. Dead or alive you see he was determined that I should get -nothing." - -"You came down to Saxham to break into the vault?" suggested Herrick. -"No, I should have done so, had I not hit upon this other plan--what -you call the conspiracy. But I thought that through this little fool I -might get the money. I deserve it more than Stephen Marsh." - -There was silence for a few minutes. Santiago was regretting the -downfall of his hopes. Robin was wondering about his own future, and -Dr. Jim reflected on the strange story which had been told to him. -"Did you never go down to Saxham?" he asked. "Oh, yes, Señor," replied -the Mexican airily "on the night when Colonel Carr was murdered, I was -at the rectory." - -"With Pentland Corn," said Herrick, "then you knew him before?" - -"I know him better than anyone in his parish knows him," said -Santiago, "he is a gambler. Often he leaves his Church to come to the -Pimlico Club and gamble. It was there that I met him. He was the -friend I spoke of when I first saw you, Señor Herrick--the friend who -told me about Colonel Carr. As I had the secret of this padre I used -him as an intermediator between myself and Carr." - -Herrick was surprised to hear this about Corn, and could easily see -how the unfortunate man had been kept under the thumb of this -adventurer. "You are certainly skilful in finding tools," said he -dryly and with a glance at the silent Joyce. "So you were at the -rectory on that night? How can I be sure that you were not at 'The -Pines?'" - -"Oh! You want to accuse me of the murder!" said Don Manuel rather -amused. "I assure you I did not kill Carr. It was not my aim to do so. -I wished to get the money without danger from your laws. To be plain -Señor, I went to Pentland Corn, to see if he could bribe or force -Frisco into betraying Carr into my hands. I came to Beorminster by a -late train, and went to Saxham by the public coach. About nine I came -to the rectory. The Reverend Corn was out, but I waited for him." - -"He could not have been out," said Herrick. "Mrs. Marsh was with him, -and her son had come to fetch her." - -"You are right except as to the time, Señor. Mrs. Marsh had gone by -nine, and her son also. Corn came back and said that he had taken them -to the public conveyance. He was pale, and looked haggard. I told him -he lied. He lost his nerve and threw on the table a pistol--" - -"Ha! The pistol you gave to Joyce?" - -"The same," replied Santiago coolly, "the weapon with which Carr was -murdered." - -"Do you mean to say that Corn killed the Colonel?" cried Herrick -starting to his feet. "It is a lie. I do not believe it." - -"Then why ask me to tell you the truth. It was Corn who killed Carr. -He was a gambler, and deeply in the Colonel's debt. Those visits he -paid to 'The Pines' were not to convert Carr as he alleged, but to -gamble with him. He lost much money to Carr. The Colonel threatened if -he did not pay, to denounce him. Corn knew that he would lose his -position, if this was done. He knew also that Carr was a threatened -man; I had told him. It then occurred to him to kill Carr, and he -thought that the suspicion might be shifted on to those who had lost -the treasure. Thus his secret and himself would be safe." - -"It is incredible!" said Herrick, and even Joyce looked amazed. "It is -true," replied the Mexican. "Of course if you will not believe me I -really cannot help it. I know that Corn is guilty. He told me so -himself, and I took from him the pistol by way of proof. Being thus in -my power, I forced him to do my bidding. You can see now, how he -declared that I had not left him on the night Señor Marsh was -assaulted. It was I who struck him, and Corn by my directions proved -the alibi. That is the whole story Señor. Is there anything else you -want to know?" - -"The whereabouts of Frisco?" - -"Ah I can't tell you that. Frisco trusts no one, not even me. When -Joyce or myself want to see him, we have to put a cipher into the -'Telegraph.'" - -"Then you must do so now; I want to see the man." - -"Why? He is innocent." - -"So you say. But I have yet to be convinced of Pentland Corn's guilt." - -Joyce jumped to his feet. "I am sure my father is innocent," he cried, -"but I will get him to see you if you like." - -"I think it would be better," said Herrick dryly and took up his hat. - -"One moment, Señor," said Santiago quietly, "how do we stand?" - -"I shall do nothing until I see Corn, and learn if he really killed -Carr as you say. In the meantime Joyce can go back to his flat, and -you can remain here Don Manuel. You are perfectly safe from the -police." - -"But you will have us watched?" - -"Certainly," said Herrick with a nod, "you see I cannot trust you. -Besides I want you to write down all you have told me, and sign it. I -have Joyce's confession. I want yours." - -"I will do so with pleasure," replied the Mexican after a pause, "I -have done nothing against your law." - -"Nothing, except try to kill Marsh." - -"Oh! you have promised to hold me guiltless of that." - -"True enough. You are safe so far as that is concerned. There is -honour amongst thieves, Señor Manuel. I have come lately so much into -contact with people like you and Joyce, that I feel rather a bad lot -myself." - -The Mexican drew himself up and his eyes glittered. "Señor, you shall -answer me for those words. I am a gentleman, and I challenge you to a -duel. You dare not refuse." - -"We'll see about that, when this matter of Carr's death is settled, -Don Manuel. Meantime, remember that every move you make, I shall know -of and baffle." - -Santiago shrugged his shoulders. "The fine scheme is ended," he said, -"this little fool has spoilt all. I will do what you wish Señor, since -you are too strong for me." - -"Very good. And Joyce, you must get your father to see me." - -"If I can," muttered Robin with a glance of hatred. - -"You must," answered Herrick going to the door. "Good-bye gentlemen, I -shall leave you to settle your own affairs now." And he went out -laughing. - - - - -CHAPTER XX -THE REVD. PENTLAND CORN - - -Herrick did not take all that Santiago had said for gospel truth. The -Mexican was too clever and too bold a man to give in so tamely, seeing -what was at stake. For the moment he had recognised that he was -powerless, and had surrendered until such time as he could recover his -position. Dr. Jim could have stopped all his machinations, by having -him arrested for the assault on Stephen. But he did not wish to bring -the police into the matter at present. In the first place so many lies -had been told about the Case, there were so many things to be -explained, that he was not sure of his ground. And for the sake of -Stephen he did not wish to create a scandal. Colonel Carr's reputation -was quite bad enough without making it worse. - -Therefore the only thing that Jim could do was to have the two scamps -watched. Certainly they might warn Frisco to clear out; but whatever -Santiago did, Herrick felt sure that Joyce would not counsel such a -course. The little man knew well enough that his safety depended upon -Herrick, and would do nothing which might jeopardise his safety. The -Mexican might plot and plan; but Joyce would certainly obey orders. -Also, they could do little if closely watched. Herrick then gave his -orders to Kidd and Belcher, and returned the next day to Saxham. - -"If anything important occurs," he said to the ferret, "you can wire -me." - -"But we are in the dark," protested Belcher, "if you would only---" - -"No, Belcher," interrupted Jim sharply, "we settled all that before. -All you have to do, is to see if either of these men tries to leave -the country, or if they meet a man who looks like a sailor. Then you -can wire me. I shall come up to town at once and deal with the matter -myself." - -"What might be the sailor's name?" - -"It might be anything," replied Herrick dryly. "It won't do Belcher. -You are not to know my aims until I choose to let you know. If you -will not work for me on these terms, just say so and I'll get some -one else." - -"I'll do whatever you like Dr. Herrick," said the ferret submissively, -and went away to fulfil his duties devoured with curiosity. In spite -of his regard for Dr. Jim, the man wanted to make money out of him. He -therefore determined to learn all he could about Joyce and the -Mexican, and treat with them on his own account if he gained any -knowledge likely to be useful from a blackmailing point of view. The -ferret and his partner were rogues in grain. They did not even keep -faithful to their employer, or to each other for the matter of that. -"Honour amongst thieves" was not a proverb practised in the Strand -office. - -Herrick had another talk with Joyce before he returned to Saxham. The -little man had gone back to his flat. Having him all to himself, and -the yoke of Don Manuel being to some extent broken, Dr. Jim was able -to deal more easily with him. He promised the poor fool, that if he -remained faithful and did not intrigue any more with his father or the -Mexican, that he should be given a new chance of leading a clean -existence. Indeed Herrick spoke so seriously that he reduced Joyce to -tears, and to many protestations that henceforward he would be all -that was good. It was not improbable that he would mend. He had had a -severe lesson, and had narrowly escaped getting into the clutches of -the law. With a less kindly man than Herrick, his position would -indeed would have been a serious one. He therefore appreciated the -kindness accorded to him--or said he did--and Jim departed satisfied -that so far as Robin was concerned, he had nullified the schemes of -Santiago. In this way he hoped to take the heart out of the conspiracy -against Stephen and Stephen's money. - -"The next person to deal with is Corn," he said to himself as he got -into the train, "he is another fool if not worse, as Manuel told me. I -seem to have dealt with nothing but fools and scoundrels ever since I -started out on that unhappy walking tour. Colonel Carr was evil in his -life, and he has left an evil influence behind him." - -Later on Dr. Jim reproached himself for blaming the walking-tour. If -it had brought him into trouble it had also given him a promise of -future happiness. But for that walk he would never have met Bess. -After all his anxiety in London Herrick wanted to have a quiet hour -with the girl who was the light of his eyes. Jim did not call her -this, for he was not a romantic person; but he felt he would like to -be with her. And he was anxious to know what she had discovered about -the pistol. Bess had not sent him a report as she had promised, and -Herrick concluded that she had discovered nothing worth the sending. -All the same he wished to see her at once. But he put off the happy -hour. There was business to be done before pleasure could be taken. - -It was after nine o'clock before Herrick arrived at the Beorminster -Station. He had not sent for the cart, as he did not wish Stephen to -know of his arrival at present. Dr. Jim had made up his mind to call -in and get the truth out of the clergyman before returning to "The -Pines." Therefore, determined to get his plans into thorough order, -Jim left his portmanteau at Beorminster to be sent on the next morning -and himself walked to Saxham. - -In due time he arrived at the rectory, and was shown into the rector's -study, where he found the man himself. The Revd. Pentland looked -nervous at this untimely visit, and more so as he saw that Dr. Jim was -not in evening dress and must therefore have come straight from town. -Corn's conscience was uneasy, and every untoward event fluttered his -nerves. However he composed himself with a strong effort, and asked -Herrick to be seated. - -"You have just come from town I see," he observed with a nervous -glance. - -"Yes! And I want particularly to have a chat with you before going to -'The Pines,' and on a painful subject, Mr. Corn." - -The rector shivered, and turned even paler than usual. "Is there -anything wrong?" he asked faintly. "Let me know the worst at once." - -"Why should you expect any worst Mr. Corn?" - -The man shook his head and passed a handkerchief across his dry lips. -"I want to know the worst," he said again, without heeding the -question. "I can see by your face that there is something wrong which -concerns me." - -Herrick gave a short laugh. "Upon my word you are a singularly -indiscreet man Mr. Corn," he said, "you give yourself away right and -left. When I met you first of all, you behaved in a foolish manner. -Now you are very little better. You are a clergyman and a gentleman -with an assured position. Why don't you assume the defensive and ask -what I mean by such speeches as I have made--as I am now making!" - -"Because I would have to tell you all about myself sooner or later," -said Corn in a low voice. "You are a strong man, and I want to confide -in someone like yourself. I am not strong. I was--once--but something -happened," he sighed and nodded, "a terrible thing happened." - -Herrick wondered if he was about to confess to the murder. However he -did not wish to hurry the confession, which he saw Corn was on the -point of making. He wondered that such a smart and soldierly-looking -man should own himself to be so weak. "I am quite at your service," he -said coldly, "and for my own part Mr. Corn I do not think you have -used either myself or Mr. Marsh over well." - -"In what way?" This time Corn really did look amazed. - -"You told a lie to shield Don Manuel. It was the Mexican who struck -that blow at my friend, and you knew it. How could you a gentleman, -and a clergyman stoop to shield a would-be murderer." - -Corn rose to his feet and braced himself to a great effort. "You are -right," he said frankly, "but I was compelled to such a course." - -Herrick nodded. "I know. I have heard all from Santiago." - -Corn recoiled. "He told you," he grasped sitting down. - -"Yes. He told me how he had you in his power; how he forced you to lie -for him. I made him tell me the truth; now I wished to hear the -confirmation of this story from you." - -"It is true; it is true!" cried Corn desperately. "If he told you that -I was a gambler, that I owed money--it is true----" - -"I don t mean that so much," said Herrick sharply, "as to the -accusation he makes against you of having murdered Colonel Carr." - -The clergyman, who had been leaning his head on his arms in an agony -of grief, looked up suddenly with a bewildered stare. "Santiago said -that about me?" he demanded. - -"It is not true?" - -"It is the foulest lie he ever spoke!" cried Corn with indignation. "I -am bad in many ways Dr. Herrick--yet I have my excuses, as you shall -hear. But as to murdering Carr, I did nothing of the sort." - -"How was it then that Don Manuel obtained from you the pistol with -which the crime was committed?" - -Corn looked round the room, and went to the door. Opening this he -looked out for a moment to see that the coast was clear. Then he shut -it locked it and came back to the fire-place looking more like a ghost -than ever. "I picked it up," he said in a whisper, "yes, on the lawn -of 'The Pines.' I knew that Colonel Carr had been shot with it. But I -dare not tell." - -"Why not? Were you afraid of being inculpated?" - -"No." Corn hesitated and wiped his face. "I must tell you," he said -with a gasp, "there is no help for it! This secret has weighed on my -soul until I can bear it no longer. It was a woman who shot Carr." - -Herrick rose slowly hardly believing his ears. "A woman?" he echoed. - -Corn nodded and whispered again, "Mrs. Marsh," he said. - -"That," said Herrick, "is a lie." - -"It is the truth; I swear it is the truth. She shot Carr because he -was about to disinherit her son. If you will sit down I will tell you -all I know. I am glad that it has come to this," panted Corn wiping -his forehead, "I am glad that I can tell you. The secret has nearly -killed me." - -"Did you tell Santiago?" asked Dr. Jim seated again and much -bewildered. - -"No, I told no one. Santiago on the evidence of that pistol really -believed that I was guilty. But it is a lie--a lie, and he used it to -force me to hide his wickedness. I protested my innocence; but he -would never believe me. And that because I refused to say who was -guilty." - -Herrick placed his hands on the shoulders of the agitated man and -forced him into the chair. "Come," said he in a more friendly tone, -"you are not so weak or so bad as I thought Corn. You took the blame -on yourself. Oh, I know you protested your innocence to Santiago; -still he would always think you guilty. He is not the man to believe -that any human being would shield another. Why did you shield Mrs. -Marsh?" - -"For her son's sake," said Corn, "and for the sake of Ida Endicotte." - -Herrick stared. "What has she got to do with it?" - -"I love her," said Corn in a low voice shading his eyes with the palm -of his hand, "but she told me that her whole life was wrapped up in -Stephen's. If he knew that his mother had killed Carr, he is quixotic -enough to throw up the whole fortune out of shame. Then he would not -be able to marry Ida and her heart would be broken. It is for this -reason that I held my peace." - -"Yet you let Stephen be assaulted," said Herrick, "his death would -have ruined the life of Ida just the same." - -"I did not know about the assault until after it was committed," said -Corn quickly, "then Santiago--but I cannot tell you the story in -scraps like this. Better let me tell you all about myself, and what -led to my present weakness. Then you will appreciate what I have gone -through." - -Herrick nodded, "it is best so. Go on. You can safely confide in me, -Corn. I only retain the right to use such information as may clear up -the mystery of this murder." - -Corn seized his arm. "You will not tell about Mrs. Marsh?" he panted. - -"Not without consulting you. Be certain Corn that I am too true a -friend to Stephen, to do anything harmful to him. But there is much at -stake and I must be allowed to use my own judgment. You can rely on -me." - -"I am sure of that," said the clergyman in admiration, "you are a -strong-willed man. I was strong myself once--in a way. But my -crime----" - -"Crime! I thought you had not killed Carr." - -"No," said Corn in a low voice, "But I have the blood of a fellow -creature on my hands for all that," and he buried his face in his -hands. - -"I judge no man," said Herrick after a pause, "but do not tell me -anything that may render it difficult for me to keep sacred your -confidence." - -"Oh, there is nothing you need fear from that," replied Corn drearily. -"It was an accident. Wait till I recover myself." - -The man took a turn up and down the room. After five minutes he -resumed his seat and spoke composedly. "My name is not Corn," he -began, "Langham is my name--Francis Langham. I was in the army." - -"So Bess Endicotte said," nodded Herrick. - -Corn smiled faintly. "Yes! I let that slip one day, when she was -talking of my looking like a soldier. But she does not know my real -name. No one does save the Bishop who gave me this living. Ah! he was -a good man. He is dead now. But I have to thank him for saving my -reason and my life." - -"How was that?" asked Herrick settling himself. - -"I was quartered in the West Indies," said Corn after a pause, "and I -there had a friend, who joined about the same time as I did. I need -not tell you his name or the number of my regiment. All you need know -is the simple story of my misery. My friend and I were always -together; they called us David and Jonathan in the regiment. Well," -here Corn nerved himself to a tremendous effort, "we were out shooting -ducks. We were parted amongst the reeds on the borders of the lake. I -thought I saw the brown back of a duck through some reeds. Without -thinking I fired, and--I killed my friend! Oh, my God!" - -When the man's head went down on the table, Herrick clasped him by the -shoulder. He was profoundly moved by the miserable story, and could -well understand how a once strong man had been changed by this tragic -deed into a weak, tremulous, creature. He did not say a word of -comfort. It would have been useless. After a time Corn recovered -himself and continued in a dull hard voice. - -"There was an inquiry. I was exonerated from all blame. But I knew -that I had killed my friend, that I had the blood of a fellow creature -on my hands. I left my regiment and sent in my papers. Under another -name I returned to England. All my relations were dead save my uncle -the Bishop. He tried to calm me. I would not be calm. I would have -committed suicide but that I felt that it was my duty to suffer for my -crime." - -"Not a crime," interposed Herrick gently "an accident." - -"Yes! It was. Yet I can't help--but no matter. I took to gambling to -drown my remorse and grief. I had never touched cards before. They -became a passion with me. Other men take to drink,---I to cards. But -all in vain. When the excitement of the game was over--in the morning, -then my misery came back. I went to my uncle. He implored me to find -peace in the bosom of the church, for he did not look upon me as the -guilty wretch I was. I consented. As Pentland Corn I studied for the -church. I became a priest,--a curate and worked in the slums of the -East End. I left off gambling, and felt more at ease, thinking I was -expiating my folly. In an evil hour--after years of hard work--my -uncle gave me this living. I took it. Shortly afterwards he died. Then -I realised the folly of accepting a charge where I had time to brood. -The past came back to me, and--I took to gambling again. - -"That was weak Corn," said Herrick decisively. - -"I know it was--but I was in a manner driven to it. There was little -work to do here. Society had no attractions for me. So then I had -long--long hours of agony. I wanted to forget the past, and"---- - -"You should have gone back to the East End." - -Corn nodded. "I should have done many things," said he bitterly, "but -that accident had taken all the manhood out of me. I drifted--drifted. -Well to make a long story short, I took to going away to London at -times to indulge in gambling and forget my sorrow." - -"I know. And you went to that club in Pimlico." - -"I did. Santiago told you that I suppose. I met him there. In an -incautious moment I told him about Colonel Carr. Then I heard of the -grudge he bore against him." - -"Do you know the story of that expedition?" - -"Most of it. I warned Colonel Carr against his enemy. He laughed, -feeling safe in his tower. Then learning that I was fond of cards, -Carr made me play with him. It was said that I went to 'The Pines' to -convert the man. It was to gamble--so low had I sunk." - -Herrick shook his head. But he was so sorry for the man that he could -not blame him for his folly. Corn resumed. - -"Night after night I gambled there. Also I went to London, and met Don -Manuel at the Pimlico club. So, the life went on. And now for the -story of that night." Here Corn drew his chair closer to that of his -listener, and continued his revelation in a whisper. - -"I knew Mrs. Marsh very well and saw much of her," he said, "she was a -very violent and terrible woman." - -"I know that," said Herrick remembering his own experiences. - -"Oftentimes I tried to check her wrath. She would call and see Carr, -and they always fought when they met. I think Carr enjoyed tormenting -her, for he never forbade her visits. He was a wicked man, Herrick." - -"One of the worst, judging from his reputation." - -"Yet he had his good points. He helped me with money to pay my -gambling debts not twice, but thrice." - -"Did he know your story?" - -"No, I could not tell it to him, he would only have laughed at my -remorse. It would have seemed foolish to him. He thought that I was -simply a profligate clergyman, and liked me for that very reason, Oh, -I do not defend myself Herrick; I sank low, very low, but my excuse -must be the sorrow of my life. It took all the courage and self -respect out of me. But after this I shall give up this charge and -return to the East-End. There I will work hard and forget my folly, my -sorrow. The gambling will lose its hold over me then." - -"I think you will be wise. Go on." - -"Well, on that day of the murder Mrs. March came to me in a rage. -She had heard through Frisco--he had spoken in one of his drunken -fits--that Carr was going to disinherit her son. She went to see him -from this house. I tried to stop her; but she would go. They had a -furious quarrel in the afternoon, and Mrs. Marsh swore that she would -kill Carr if he disinherited Stephen." - -"She did not kill him in the afternoon?" - -"No. Because he was alive after five o'clock. Someone saw him at the -window of the tower. Well, Mrs. Marsh dined with me. After dinner she -worked herself into a rage. Carr had laughed at her on that afternoon, -and had said that he would do what he liked with his money. In fact -from all she told me, he treated her like a brute; he was one you know -Herrick," and Jim nodded, remembering the torture of the Indian. - -"Stephen was to come for her," said the rector wearily; the telling of -this story fatigued him. "Somewhere about nine o'clock she was to meet -him at the Carr Arms, and take the bus back to Beorminster. After -eight she went out. It was so early that I wanted her to stop. She -refused. At nine Stephen arrived. He could not find his mother. She -was not at the Carr Arms. I then guessed that she had gone to see Carr -again. In my fear lest she might do something dreadful I blurted out -my suspicions. At once Stephen understood what I meant. He went -himself to 'The Pines;' I waited for some time. Then I was in such a -state that I followed. The house was all ablaze, but I heard nothing. -This was about half past nine or a quarter to ten. I went up as far as -the door. On the steps I picked up that pistol--which I guessed had -been used by Mrs. Marsh. I slipped it into my pocket. Then I returned -home. I went also to the Carr Arms and learned that Stephen and his -mother had caught the bus some time after nine o'clock, I tried to -think that Mrs. Marsh had not shot the man. I returned here to think -it out. Santiago was waiting for me. He had come by the last bus from -Beorminster, and had been waiting since nine. In fact he came just -after I went after Stephen. It was really a quarter past nine when he -came." - -"Do you think he had been to 'The Pines?' asked Herrick keenly. - -"I do not know. But you can learn that from the busman who drove him -here. I did not inquire myself. He had come to get me to take him to -see Carr. I refused, and without thinking I threw the pistol on the -table. I was much agitated, and he saw that. He got out of me that I -had been to 'The Pines.' After looking at the pistol he said he would -go to 'The Pines' himself. I refused to let him go. After a time I -gave him some money and persuaded him to go. I drove him to Heathcroft -station in my cart. He took the pistol with him. I did not notice that -he had done so. In a day or two when the murder became known he wrote -and accused me of being the criminal. I denied it. But he had read the -report of the death and how the wound had been inflicted by an -old-fashioned weapon. When he came here with Joyce he insisted that I -was guilty. I said that I was not but would say nothing about Mrs. -Marsh. It was this knowledge that he used to make me hold my tongue -about the assault on Stephen. What could I do Herrick?" said Corn -piteously. "Appearances were against me. Santiago could prove that I -had the pistol. I had been to 'The Pines,' and I owed Colonel Carr -money. Also there was my own story. Had I been arrested, all would -have come out. No! I had to do what Santiago told me." - -"Humph!" said Jim, "I can see your dilemma. And what about Mrs. Marsh? -Did Stephen suspect her?" - -"No. He told me that he had gone to 'The Pines' and looked at the -house. He saw nothing and heard nothing. He therefore returned to the -Carr Arms, and found his mother waiting for him. She said that he had -missed her, and evidently invented a story which satisfied him. No -Herrick, I do not think Stephen suspected his step-mother. But she -shot the Colonel I am sure. She left my house in a rage and she -several times threatened to kill him. Then she was not at the Carr -Arms. After nine the man was shot." - -Herrick nodded. "Did you ask Mrs. Marsh to explain?" - -"No! She fell ill if you remember, and took to her bed. I could not -bring myself to see her. I therefore held my tongue, and I should have -continued to do so but that Don Manuel threatened me. Therefore I -determined to tell you all when I could. What you heard from him is in -the main true. But I did not kill Carr. The blood of one human being -on my hands is enough. Do you despise me Herrick?" - -Dr. Jim rose and took the hand of the unhappy man. "My friend, I pity -you from the bottom of my soul. If you had only found some one to -advise you, all this trouble would not have occurred." - -"That is true. But my uncle who knew the story of my misery was dead. -I shrank from telling anyone. But when I got to know you and saw how -strong and self-reliant you were, and recognised also the goodness of -your heart I felt that I could safely confide in you, You will not -tell anyone what I have told you?" - -"Need you ask me that!" said Herrick with a hearty shake of the hand. -"Of course your secret is safe with me." - -"And about Mrs. Marsh?" - -"I shall see into that," said Herrick gravely. "Remember Santiago is a -dangerous man. I do not know what trouble he may yet cause. If -necessary I must use what you have told me about the crime. But you -may be sure that for Stephen's sake and for yours, I shall be -circumspect in my dealings with the matter. As for you, my friend, -wait here until this mystery is quite solved; then go back to the East -End, or to the Wild Lands as a missionary." - -"Yes," said Corn with a sigh, "I know. Only in that way shall I find -rest." - -The two men shook hands and parted very good friends. Corn returned to -his study intensely relieved by the sympathy, and by the fact that he -had some one to share his secret. Herrick walked home to "The Pines" -wondering at the perplexity of the case. He thought less of Corn than -of Mrs. Marsh. Suddenly he stopped. - -"I see," he said to himself, "this was why Mrs. Marsh poisoned herself -with an overdose of chloral. Poor woman!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXI -ANOTHER MYSTERY - - -The first thing that struck Dr. Jim the next day, was an alteration in -the demeanour of his friend. When Herrick arrived at "The Pines" after -his visit to Corn, the Squire had already retired to bed, and was -asleep, so the servant said. Not wishing to disturb him, Jim had -supper all to himself, and went to his own room after a brisk walk on -the terrace. It struck him as curious that Stephen did not come down -to breakfast the next morning as he was now comparatively well. On -asking for the Squire he was informed that Marsh-Carr had gone out for -a walk. Herrick therefore had another lonely meal, wondering the while -what had taken Stephen out so early. The young man did not return till -late in the afternoon, and then excused himself by stating that he had -been to see Petronella at Beorminster. - -"She is still in that dull house," said Marsh-Carr gloomily, "although -I think she is tired of it and wants to go to her own country. But she -refuses to go all the same." - -"What is her reason?" asked Herrick sharply. - -"I can't get it out of her. She says my mother left a message with -her." - -"For you, I suppose? Well why doesn't she deliver it and get away." - -"The message is for you Herrick." - -Dr. Jim stared. "For me!" he cried. "Why, what possible message can -your poor mother have left for me?" - -"I really do not know," replied Stephen indifferently, "you had better -see Petronella and ask her. She is looking very ill and if she stays -much longer in that damp house she will die." - -"All right," replied Herrick coolly, "I'll look her up some time. I -daresay the message is only one asking me to look after you." - -So Dr. Jim said, but in his heart he was wondering if the dead woman -had left behind her any confession of her crime. She might have done -so. Yet if she had poisoned herself to escape the consequences, it -would have been foolish of her to incriminate herself. Herrick -resolved to see Petronella at the first opportunity and learn what it -was that she had to tell him. If there were any really important -message it was strange that the old Italian had not delivered it long -ago. He had seen her frequently and there had been ample opportunity -for her to fulfil her mistress' dying wish. However Herrick put this -out of his mind for the moment and turned his attention to Stephen. -"You are not looking well Steve," he said gravely, "your face is -white, you have dark rings round your eyes, and a haggard look as -though you had not slept all night." - -"I am not yet quite myself," said Marsh-Carr in a far more irritable -tone than Herrick had ever heard him use before. - -"I can see that, and being someone else has not improved your temper. -I hope I have not offended you by going to town Steve?" - -"Certainly not. How can you think so?" - -"Well," said Dr. Jim looking at him, "it struck me that you have been -trying to avoid me lately. If you are tired of me Steve, you need only -say so, and I'll pack up and go." - -"No, I'm hanged if you will," said the Squire vigorously. "I can't do -without you. I have been worried a trifle and it has told on my -present state of health. I'll be all right in a day or so." - -"Is there anything I can help you with?" - -"No. It is a private matter, and concerns myself only." - -In the face of this intimation Herrick could not press his inquiries -and began to speak on other subjects, Stephen replying more or less -absently. As soon as he could he withdrew to his own room, saying he -wanted to lie down. Herrick did not seek to detain him, but shook his -head. "Something is wrong and he won't tell me what it is," he -thought, "I wonder if Santiago has been tampering with him in any way. -Perhaps Bess may know the reason for this change. I'll see her at -once." - -But the extraordinary thing was that he found Bess changed also. He -had left her bright and merry, anxious to probe the secret of Colonel -Carr's death. He returned to find her nervous, ill at ease, and -disinclined to continue her detective investigations. - -"I don't think we shall arrive at anything," she said when Herrick -pressed her. "I spoke to Inspector Bridge and he can do nothing. He is -a professional, and if he fails, how can we hope to succeed?" - -"Inspector Bridge is a conceited ass," replied Dr. Jim gravely. "He -knows absolutely nothing. I know more than he does." - -"Did you see the Mexican and Mr. Joyce?" asked Bess. - -"I saw them and I spoke to them, and I have found out something which -I need not tell you just now. It would be useless to do so. I must -search out the matter for myself, and when I succeed you shall know." - -Bess sighed. "I do not mind in the least," she said mournfully. "I -have ceased to take an interest in the matter. If Frisco did not kill -Colonel Carr I do not know who did." - -"Humph! You are changeable, like all women," said Dr. Jim rather -puzzled by her attitude, yet never guessing its cause. "By the way, -did you find out anything about that pistol?" - -"Yes." Bess thought she might as well tell him, as he would certainly -learn the truth sooner or later from Bridge. "The bullet fits the -barrel. - -"I thought so," said Jim. "It is the weapon which was used." - -"Yes," answered Bess; then after a pause. "I made another discovery." - -"Oh, you did? And about what, my dear?" - -"The bullet which was used. It is of silver." - -"Of silver? What do you mean? Isn't it lead?" - -Bess laughed rather irritably. "If it was of lead how could it be -silver?" she asked and then went on to tell how the jeweller had -examined the missile. "Isn't it curious?" she said. - -Herrick nodded absently. His eyes were fixed on the ground and he was -trying to think of the reason Mrs. Marsh could have had for using so -expensive a bullet. Certainly the weapon was old-fashioned and she -would have to manufacture the bullets for herself. But why use silver -in preference to lead, or pewter? In an ordinary household the supply -of the last two metals was likely to be more plentiful than the first. -This was a problem, but one of so trifling a nature that Herrick -dismissed it almost immediately. He turned his attention to Bess. - -"What have you and Stephen been doing with yourselves?" he asked. - -Bess started violently and changed colour at once. "Nothing Jim," she -said stiffly, "why do you ask?" - -"Well, you both look ill. Stephen is avoiding me, and you are as -silent as an owl." - -"Not so stupid I hope," said Bess with a laugh. At this moment Ida -entered the room, and nothing more was said. But Ida also complained -of Stephen's health. "I wish you would make him stay in bed Dr. Jim," -she said, "I am certain that he has got up too soon and is not strong -enough to go about. Look how pale he is, and silent. I can't get a -word out of him." - -Herrick nodded. "I am not pleased myself Ida. This comes of my running -away to Town. I'll exert my authority." - -He spoke to Stephen and urged him to lie up for a few days. The young -man obeyed meekly enough, and this very meekness made Herrick uneasy. -He would rather that Stephen had shown fight. But the Squire remained -in bed, took what was given him, and hardly ever opened his mouth. Ida -was in despair; Herrick was puzzled, and the two met to discuss the -situation. - -"When did he change like this?" asked Dr. Jim. - -"I think it was the day after you left," replied Ida tearfully, "I -went to Beorminster to see Flo, and left him quite bright. When I met -him again, he was dull, and quiet, and white. Yet Bess was with him -while I was away, so he should not have missed me so much." - -"Oh!" said Jim with sudden interest, "so Bess was with him, was she? -H'm! It strikes me that Bess herself is not so bright as she might -be." - -"Indeed you are right there," said Miss Endicotte, "she is sad and -silent just like Stephen. Or else she is so gay that I think she is -too excited. She cries for the least thing, and laughs without any -cause." - -"Humph! Sounds like hysteria to me. Yet Bess is not given that way." - -"Of course not," said Ida repelling the suggestion hastily, "she is a -strong, healthy, sensible girl and above such weakness. But as you say -she and Stephen have both changed. I think," here Ida hesitated and -looked down. It amazed Herrick when she looked up to see that her eyes -were filled with tears. He could not understand it all. - -"My dear girl what is the matter?" he exclaimed irritably, "are you -ill also. The devil has broken loose here since my departure." - -"I--I--can't--help it," sobbed Ida, "I thought that Bess and Stephen -might--might like one another." - -"Of course they do Ida. Why shouldn't they?" - -"You don't understand what I mean. I wonder if they were in love with -one another and regret their engagements." - -Herrick burst into such a hearty fit of laughter that she was cheered. -"I never heard such nonsense in my life!" he said. "Where is your -women's wit Ida? Why, Bess loves me devotedly I am certain. As for -Stephen, he adores the very ground you walk on. No! It's not that my -dear girl." - -"Then what can it be?" asked Ida drying her tears. - -"I shall question Bess until I find out," said Herrick grimly. "You -have no idea how I can torture people with cross examination." - -True to his idea, Dr. Jim sought out Bess. He came across her in the -Pine wood beside the fairy circle. Her eyes were cast on the ground -and she looked despondent. When she saw Herrick she made as if to go -away. - -Dr. Jim felt wounded. "Bess! Don't you want to see me." - -"Of course I do," she said brightly, "only, I'm not very well." - -"Neither is Stephen," said Dr. Jim, and he saw by her start that the -remark made her nervous. "Have you two quarrelled?" - -"No! we have not; we are great friends." - -"Are you in love with one another then?" - -Bess grew crimson and stamped. "How dare you say such a thing as that -even in jest?" she said. "What would Ida say if she heard it." - -"It was Ida's own idea," replied Herrick with a smile, "seeing you two -so glum, she fancied that you regretted your engagements and wanted to -marry one another. Just say if this is the case Bess and Ida and I -will console each other! That would be only fair, you know!" - -The first smile that Herrick had seen on her face since his return -dimpled the cheek of Bess. "I never heard such nonsense. I like -Stephen, but you are the man I love. You stupid Jim; you know that!" - -"I am not quite sure if I do," said Jim gravely; "in love there should -be complete confidence." - -"Surely there is, between us," said Bess nervously. - -"You can't look me in the face and repeat that." - -Bess made the attempt, and failed. "It is nothing!" she said -obstinately. - -"There _is_ something however," said Dr. Jim sternly, "you and Stephen -have some secret between you which is making you both ill. What is -it?" - -"I can't tell you Jim." - -"Then there _is_ a secret?" - -"I won't be questioned like this!" cried Bess with angry evasion. - -Herrick took her by the arm and forced her to look into his face. "My -dear girl," he said, "I am to be your husband, and you must obey and -consult me in all things. If you are playing with fire, I must know. -Do you not trust me Bess?" - -"Yes. But the secret is not my own." - -"In that case I won't press you for an explanation," he said relaxing -his grip, "you are a foolish girl to have any secrets from one who -loves you. But I suppose you have given your word not to tell?" - -"Yes. I cannot break my word." - -Herrick nodded. "I do not ask you to. The secret of Stephen shall be -respected. I do not even ask you if it has to do with the murder of -his uncle. There is no need to ask." - -Bess looked at him irresolutely, her face scarlet. Then without a word -she went slowly away. Herrick looked after her and nodded to himself. -"I believe she has found out something about Mrs. Marsh, and has told -Stephen; that would account for their melancholy and for the secret -which she says exists between them. I shall ask Stephen." - -That same afternoon Herrick went back to "The Pines" and into the -bedroom of Marsh-Carr. The young man was lying staring at the ceiling. -He seemed listless and worn-out. When Jim entered he turned his face -towards the wall so as to avoid his friend's eyes. Herrick pretended -to take no notice although he was cut to the heart by the avoidance of -his gaze. He was very fond of Stephen, and mourned over this thing -which had come between them. However it was necessary to take extreme -measures if the situation was to be improved. - -"Steve," said Herrick formulating a plan, "I can't eat alone any -longer, you must come down to dinner to-night." - -"I can't," said Stephen in a muffled tone, "I am too ill." - -"I know you are. Life and brightness and my society are what you need. -I was wrong to send you to bed. As your doctor I now order you to get -up." - -Stephen turned sulky. "I don't want to." - -"You do not know what is good for you my friend," said Herrick coolly, -"I shall expect to find you dressed and down to dinner at eight. After -a good meal you will be more like your old self." - -In this way after much coaxing, scolding, ordering and threatening Jim -got the young man to get up and dress. Marsh-Carr did so reluctantly -enough, for he was desperately afraid of betraying the secret he had -told Bess, to the sharp eyes of Herrick. However he was really tired -himself of being alone. This seclusion could not be kept up for ever, -and it was as well to make a beginning and get back into the old -routine. He therefore dressed with some care after a bath, and came -down into the drawing-room looking much better. Herrick was standing -on the hearth-rug, big and masterful. "Here you are at last," he said, -"just in time for a glass of sherry." - -Stephen protested, but Herrick insisted. "You want something to make -you eat after being in bed all day. This sherry and bitters will do -for a medicine. I want you to eat and drink well to-night Steve. You -must get colour into your cheek and fire into your eye. What will Ida -say if I attend to you so badly?" - -Stephen drank the sherry and felt better. Then they went to eat a -capital dinner and Dr. Jim saw that his friend tasted every dish. He -also made him drink champagne, and talked the whole time in a lively -way that was' infectious. By the time dinner was over Stephen felt -positively happy. Then came cigars, coffee, and cognac, in the -library. - -"Now Steve, don't you feel better?" said Herrick when they were seated -vis-à-vis beside a blazing fire. - -"Yes," replied the Squire and looking round the gorgeously-coloured -room, at the evidence of wealth and luxury spread out on every hand. -"I feel immensely better. I suppose I shall pick up soon." - -"If you follow the advice I shall leave with you, I think you will," -said Herrick with intention and stared at the fire. - -"What do you mean Jim? You don't intend to--" - -"Ah, but I do though Steve. I cannot stay with anyone who does not -trust me wholly. I want to be your friend. Your step-mother asked me -to look after you. I promised to do what I could, but unless you give -me your unreserved confidence, it is useless for me to remain." - -Stephen rose agitated and began to pace the room. "I trust you in -every way Jim; you know I do." - -"I know nothing of the sort Steve. You trust Bess though." - -"Ah! She has told you?" cried Marsh-Carr angrily. - -"No! she has told me nothing. But I am not a fool Steve and I have -eyes in my head. I saw that she was as sad as you, and by putting two -and two together I became certain that there was something between you -to make both sad. Bess would not tell me anything, nor did I ask her. -She is a loyal little woman. Still from her manner I guessed there was -a secret. I am certain," added Herrick looking steadily at his friend, -"that such a secret can only have to do with the death of your uncle. -Now, as I am looking after this case you must tell me what you know. -If you do not, I shall throw up the matter and leave you. I must be -trusted all in all, or not at all, my friend." - -While Herrick was speaking Stephen had sat down. He changed from red -to white from white to red again and his breathing became short and -hard. He saw that Herrick was in earnest, and that he would either -have to tell or lose his friend. In a tumult of anxiety he rose again -and began to pace the room. "You put me to a hard test," he cried. - -"Perhaps I do," replied Dr. Jim calmly, "but it is to prove your -friendship and your manhood. Tell me the truth." - -"You will despise me if I do," said Marsh-Carr thoughtlessly and -regretted the words almost as soon as they had left his mouth. - -Herrick appeared unmoved although he was inwardly surprised. "I do not -think anything you could say or do would make me despise you," he said -in his calmest tone. "I know you too well to think you would do -anything dishonourable. Come what is it?" - -But Stephen still remained silent, his eyes on the ground, He was -debating whether he would go on or not. Herrick saw his hesitation and -guessed its cause. "You have got over the worst now," he said -soothingly. "Come along, Steve. Sit down and tell me." - -"No," replied Stephen hoarsely, "I prefer to stand up." Then suddenly. -"It was I who fired those three shots into the body of my uncle." - -"Was it?" said Herrick quietly. "And why did you do that." - -"Because I was mad at the time?" - -"Had you not better tell me the whole affair? Then I shall be in a -position to judge of your madness." - -Stephen was amazed at the calm way in which his friend took the -intelligence. However he had gone so far that there was nothing left -to do but to confess all as he had confessed to Bess. In a hurried -manner the young man repeated the tale, and informed Herrick how Bess -had found out the truth by means of the revolver. "And now you must -despise me" was his final remark. He sunk into his chair with a groan. - -Herrick paused for a moment to think. Then he carefully lighted his -pipe. "I do not despise you by any manner of means," he said calmly, -"but I must admit that I think you are quixotic." - -The word--to Stephen's mind was so inapplicable to the situation that -he looked up astonished, scarcely believing his ears. "Quixotic!" he -repeated. "I do not quite see." - -"Well," said Herrick nodding, "you see Mrs. Marsh is dead, so no harm -can be done to her. It is good of you to screen her memory--" - -"Stop! Stop! What do you mean Herrick?" cried the Squire much -agitated. - -"I mean that you have taken this guilt on your head to screen your -step-mother's memory." - -Stephen paused. Then he looked up resolutely. "Yes," he said, "I may -tell you, if I tell no one else. It was my mother who fired those -shots. Bess found out about my pistol which my mother used, so I took -the blame on myself." - -"You chivalrous ass!" said Herrick with a growl, "and you've been -fretting over this? Why didn't you save time by telling me before?" - -"I thought--I thought--" - -"Never mind what you thought. After you came to seek your mother at -the rectory, and did not find her, what did you do?" - -Stephen stared. "How do you know that I did not find her there?" he -asked. - -"I know more than you think. Tell me all that you saw?" - -"I saw nothing," replied Stephen. "Corn said that my mother had gone -to the Carr Arms. I could not find her there. I fancied in one of her -rages, she might have gone up to 'The Pines.' I went there but saw -nothing. Then I came back to the Carr Arms and found my mother. She -said I had missed her. I thought she spoke the truth. I never -questioned her even after I heard of Carr's death. It never entered my -head that she had killed the man." - -"Then how did you guess?" - -"It came into my head like a flash when Bess said that my revolver was -empty in three chambers. I was certain that when I put it away the -whole six were loaded. Even as Bess spoke it entered my mind that my -mother must have taken the revolver, and have gone up after she left -the rectory a second time, to threaten the Colonel. She must have -found him dead and then have fired the three shots into his body. Then -she replaced the revolver. I never thought of looking at it. It was -brought here along with some other things and it was only when -Bess--" - -"I see," nodded Dr. Jim, "now look here Steve, had your mother another -pistol--an old-fashioned horse pistol?" - -"No, I am sure she had not. At least, I never saw her with one. It was -with such a pistol that Carr was shot. Good heavens Herrick, you do -not mean to say that my mother killed the man." - -"Well; I have heard your account and I have heard the account of Corn. -I do not know how to reconcile the two." - -"Corn--Corn the rector? What has he to do with it?" - -"A good deal. So have Joyce and Santiago and others. See here Steve, I -have been searching for evidence in this case for a long time. To -spare you I said nothing, but now that your step-mother has been -brought into the matter it is but right you should know. Sit down. I -will tell you a long and interesting story." - -Rather dazed, Stephen did as he was told. Then Dr. Jim related all -that he had learned, bringing the narrative down to the end of his -interview with the Revd. Pentland Corn. "Now what do you think?" he -asked when the whole story was told. - -"I do not know what to think. My mother--I can't believe that she -would--would." - -"It does seem strange," said Herrick, "but I tell you what. It is my -opinion that this message Petronella will deliver, will tell the -truth." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII -A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD - - -The old Italian woman looked very ill. Her form was shrunken, her face -thin and white, her eyes unnaturally large. Evidently the misty -climate of the midlands chilled her to the bone. She had developed a -hacking cough, and shook with ague when the east wind tormented -Beorminster. Herrick was shocked at the change which had taken place -in her appearance during these few short weeks. Apparently Petronella -was not long for this world. But the near approach of death did not -appal her; she was terribly lonely, now that her mistress was gone. - -"Signor Dottore," she croaked when Herrick made his appearance, "you -have come to see me. That is good. But you will not cure me. No. I am -dead Signor. Dio mio! what does it matter?" and she ended with a -characteristic shrug, punctuated with a cough. - -"Indeed you do look ill Petronella," said Dr. Jim sympathetically. "I -must ask the Squire to send over someone to look after you." - -"No," replied the old woman obstinately, "I am well here. And it will -not be for long signor. Soon shall I be in my beautiful Italy." - -"At least, come over to 'The Pines' Petronella. You will be better -attended to there, and it is warmer." - -But Petronella crossed herself with pious horror. "Go to that devil -casa Signor! Not me. He had the evil eye, that man who died. Si -Signor. I went one day with the padrona, and he swore at me. I had an -accident the next day. Cospetto; a jettatura that Signor. But come in, -come in, Signor Dottore. This is the best room," she led Herrick into -what had once been the drawing-room. "Un bicchiére de Chianti Signor. -Signor Stefan sent me some Chianti." - -"No thank you Petronella," replied Herrick sitting down on a dusty -seat, "I want to have a chat with you. We will talk in your own -language if you like." - -"Ah no, Signor, I speak the English well, thanks be to the saints. My -padrona was fond of speaking the English. So, we will talk Signor -Dottore." - -Herrick acquiesced with a shrug. He was quite prepared to talk any -language she chose provided he got what he wanted. He was not very -certain how to go about the matter. Petronella was a shy bird, and -inclined to be obstinate. He felt his way in a round-about fashion, so -as to take her by surprise. - -"You will be glad to get back to Italy Petronella?" - -"Si! Si. To the little town by the Adriatic. There I was born Signor, -and there will I die--if I die not here. Ah Dio!" - -"You are in pain I fear?" - -Petronella shrugged her lean shoulders "I am always in pain," she -said, "my legs and body--all pain. But the padrona left me something -to take thanks be to her, povera signora, and the pain goes." - -"Not chloral, I hope?" - -"Si Signor. A little bottle of chloral. I take not much, only when I -am bad, so bad. Then the pain goes." - -"Be careful what you do Petronella. Remember your mistress died from -taking too much." - -"I shall be careful," muttered the old woman, "eh Dio mio! what does -it matter if I die? All alone in this big house, and Signor Stefano -away." - -"You saw him the other day he told me," said Dr. Jim carefully -approaching his business, "he told me you had some message for me." - -Petronella nodded and screwed up her thin lips. "Only when he is in -danger Signor. Not now. He is too well." - -"What do you mean Petronella?" asked Herrick puzzled by her nods. - -"Signor Dottore," said Petronella standing very straight, "my padrona -before she died called to me. She gave me a large letter, and told me -to give it to the Signor Dottore when Signor Stefano was in danger." - -"Oh!" Herrick's eyes flashed. He had always wondered how it was that -Mrs. Marsh had died without making any sign. After the conversation -she had had with him he quite expected that she would have left him a -farewell message. It appeared that she had done so, but that the -letter had been withheld by Petronella, according to instructions. -"When did she write this Petronella? You said nothing about it at the -time." - -"No. I did what I was told to do Signor. Ecco Signor Dottore, it was -in this way. After my padrona got the letter from the postman in the -middle of the day, she was very angry and afraid." - -"Afraid! Why was she afraid?" - -"Chi lo sa," shrugged Petronella, "she said nothing to me. But she -told me to bring pen and ink and paper. All the afternoon she was -writing. Eh, how she did write! Then she put all the writing into an -envelope Signor, and wrote our name on it. She told me to give it to -the Signor Dottore when Signor Stefano was in danger. She said the -Signor Dottore was a good man." I give it to you Signor, but not now; -"No," and Petronella closing her mouth firmly shook her aged head. - -"I think you had better give it to me this very minute Petronella," -said Herrick rising, "for Signor Stefano is in very great danger -indeed!" - -"As how Signor Dottore?" - -"He may be accused of murdering his uncle, Colonel Carr!" - -"Eh Dio mio!" crowed the old women. "Did I not say that the dead man -had the evil eye! Did I not tell the Signora that evil would come to -the young Signor from this death?" She caught Herrick's arm and fixed -her glittering eyes on his face. "You swear to me that this is true -what you say? Signor Stefano is in danger. Eh? Eh?" - -"I swear he is Petronella," replied Herrick earnestly, "and this -packet you talk of may save him." - -"Ah si! Well do I know Signor Dottore that is so. My padrona said that -it told how the danger could be set aside. You understand. In this -letter Signor, there is a strange story." - -"Do you now what it is Petronella?" - -"No, Signor Dottore. The padrona did not tell me. But she said it was -a strange story. And to be read when my young Signor was in danger. I -will go and bring it. La! La! La! It is danger. Dio mio! That wicked -Signor who is dead--birbanti--ladroni. The evil eye--the evil eye." - -Coughing as she went the old woman hobbled out of the room. Dr. Jim -sat still wondering if he was about to learn the truth at last. If -Pentland Corn was to be believed, Mrs. Marsh had been at "The Pines" -about the hour when the crime had been committed. Herrick did not now -believe that she had killed the man herself, as she had been possessed -of the modern revolver with which the three shots had been fired. It -was impossible to imagine that she had fired one shot with an -old-fashioned weapon, and had then reverted to the use of the new -revolver. No! The first shot,--the death shot had been fired by some -one else, possibly by Frisco. Mrs. Marsh had met the assassin in the -house, but for reasons of her own had not divulged the name. - -Also judging from her conversation she had known a great deal about -Carr and Frisco, especially about the latter, seeing that she had -warned Jim that Frisco might attempt to kill Stephen. As a matter of -fact although the man had not struck the blow himself, he had guided -the hand of Santiago to strike it. Herrick wondered if Mrs. Marsh -would say anything about the Mexican. "At all events I shall know the -truth at last," he said. "After reading this letter, the mystery will -be one no longer. But why did Mrs. Marsh delay such important -information all this time?" - -This was a question he could not answer. He was still puzzling over it -when Petronella entered the room carrying a large blue envelope, -sealed with the Carr crest. This she handed to Herrick with much -ceremony. "There is my trust Signor," she croaked, "bear witness by -all the saints that I gave it only when the young Signor was in -danger." - -"That is all right Petronella. I shall read it here. Will you stay?" - -"No, Signor Dottore. I do not want to hear the secrets of my padrona. -I go to make myself a meal Signor. You stay here and read. A glass of -wine Signor Dottore. Eh, pour l'amor di Dio, un bicchiére de Chianti?" - -Herrick politely refused the attention, and Petronella went grumbling -out of the room. She was a hospitable old soul, and liked the doctor. -When he was alone in that dismal, deserted, apartment, he drew up his -chair close to the window and opened the envelope. Five or six sheets -of closely-written paper fell out; also a typewritten letter. After a -glance at this last, Dr. Jim smoothed out the paper and began to read. -The story---as it might be called--commenced abruptly. This -impetuosity was extremely characteristic of Mrs. Marsh. After a glance -round the room Dr. Jim settled to read. The manuscript was as -follows:-- - -"I am a wicked woman and an evil woman. There you see Mr. Herrick I -place my character before you in 'the first line. I know you are no -fool, or I should not make such a confession. But when you read these -pages I shall be in my grave, so what you say or think does not -matter. If these pages are made public, there will be blame enough -from other people. To save my boy they must be made public. I can -foresee that he 'will be accused of the murder of that beast Carr. I -swear that he is innocent. He knows nothing. From the grave I send out -my voice to defend him. And you are a clever man Herrick. The defence -of my poor boy I confide to you. If you do not do your best I swear to -haunt you if it be possible for the dead to return. But after all, you -are too sensible to be frightened by this 'talk. Let me get to the -facts of the case. Those will interest you more than the ravings of a -dying woman. So I begin:--" - -"I have said that Colonel Carr was a beast. I repeat 'it. He was a -cruel tiger. Rolling in wealth, he refused 'to give me any money. Yet -he knew that I was accustomed to luxury, and that Stephen was his -nephew. No wonder I hated the man. Again and again I implored 'him -almost on my knees to allow me sufficient to live on. He always -refused with his sneering laugh. Often I wonder that I did not kill -him. Yet he had one good point. He had loved his sister, and out of -love for her memory, he made Stephen his heir. He also caused him to -be educated, but when that was done, he refused to 'allow him an -income to live like a gentleman. I hated Carr for that. Even if he had -not allowed me money, still his own sister's child should not have -felt the pinch of poverty. I love Stephen. He is a kind, good boy, and -has put up with my vile temper all these years. Now that he is rich I -hope he will marry Ida (if she does not 'prefer you, and I do not -think that is likely), and live the happy life of a country gentleman. -My blessings on them both. - -"To come to the point which I know you want to reach. On the night of -Carr's murder I was at the rectory. It came to my ears through some -words dropped by Frisco when he was intoxicated, that Carr intended to -disinherit my son. Whom he intended to favour I do not know, nor do I -care. But I could not stand meekly by and see the lad robbed of what -was righteously his own. I went into Saxham that afternoon to see Carr -and to remonstrate against his committing the monstrous injustice he -contemplated. He saw me with the greatest coolness and behaved quite -in accordance with his character. In vain did I point out that Stephen -was the sole living representative of his blood, and was entitled by -law to the property. Carr said that he had another relative living; a -cousin descended from an uncle of his, who had been turned out of -doors by his grandfather. This uncle had married in America, and had -died, leaving a daughter who married a Yankee. It was the son of this -daughter to whom Carr referred as his cousin. Furthermore he declared -that his cousin had a son about the age of my Stephen. I asked him if -he intended to leave the property to this cousin and his brat. But -this he denied. He said that he had made the money himself and would -leave it to whomsoever he pleased. In a word he defied me. I was -helpless. I could do nothing, and that afternoon I left 'The Pines' -mad with rage, after a threat to kill Carr. Needless to say he laughed -at my threat. - -"Why did I not kill him then you will ask? Because I wanted to give -the man one last chance. I warned him that I would shoot him if he -persisted in his injustice. I said that I would return that evening -for my answer. Then I went to the rectory and had dinner with Pentland -Corn. - -"Here, my dear Herrick, I may state that I had brought a pistol with -me--or rather a revolver. It belonged to Stephen who at one time had a -craze for shooting. The revolver was put away in its case, which was -on the mantelpiece of his study. I remembered that it was there, and -on looking I found that all six chambers were loaded. I knew that -Stephen never troubled about the weapon, so I took it with me to 'The -Pines.' But on that afternoon I did not use it. Carr, I said to -myself, should have his chance. - -"Stephen was to come to the rectory for me about nine. Some time -before that I told Corn that I would go to the Carr Arms to meet -Stephen, but I intended to go to 'The Pines;' Corn never suspected my -intention. I went quickly up to 'The Pines' shortly before nine. I -found no one in the lower part of the house. Frisco, I suppose was -sleeping off his drunken fit, as I heard from Napper that he had been -drinking in the afternoon and had uttered threats against his master. -I knew that if anywhere, Carr would be in the Tower. The table was -laid out for dinner, but he was not in the dining-room. I went -upstairs, and found him in the tower chamber. He was in evening dress -lying dead with his face downward. I turned him over, and saw that he -had been shot through the heart. At once I guessed that Frisco had -carried out his threat and had murdered the Colonel. But I thought -Carr might have altered his will before dying. I was quite mad with -rage, thinking he had cheated me. Then I did what you will consider a -terrible and a barbarous thing. I fired three shots into his dead -body. I suppose it was wicked of me, seeing that the man was dead. But -I am Italian as you know, and I was mad with fury at the thought of -how this he had treated me. The only revenge I could take was to -have my share in his death, so I fired three times. It did me good, -and I came away much calmer. I see you raise your eyebrows in -horror, my virtuous Herrick! Ah bah! you are English, and cold-blooded -as a frog. I am Italian, and I did what I did. I have no other excuse -to make. - -"I was only a few minutes in the tower chamber. Then I came down to -get away lest I should be accused of the crime. At the door below I -met Frisco. He had his hat and coat on, and a small bundle in his -hand. I said, 'You have killed him. He lies dead upstairs.' Frisco -denied that he was guilty, and referred to my three shots. I -explained, and told him he could call up the whole countryside to -hear what I had done. At the same time I warned him that as I had -found the Colonel dead I would accuse him of the murder. Frisco -repeated that he had not killed him, but said he might have done so -later on, Carr had treated him so badly. He was entitled to the money: -he was a relative of Carr's. I saw at once that this was the cousin, -and said so. Frisco did not deny it. He told me he would have to go -away as he might be accused of the murder, and could not afford to -remain and face the matter out. But he warned me that if Stephen took -the property he would find means to get rid of Stephen. I laughed at -him: but I was afraid. Frisco was almost as big a brute as his master -and cousin. Then seized with a sudden panic, he ran out of the house -and into the Pine wood. I left also, and got down to the Carr Arms, -where afterwards Stephen came for me. I told him that I had 'been -there all the time but that he must have missed me. - -"That is the truth as regards the events of that night. I found Carr -dead, and in anger I fired those three shots. Who killed the man I do -not know. I am inclined to believe it was Frisco in spite of his -protestations of innocence. But you know how he ran away. He went to -London, and from London he wrote to me. I enclose his letter. - -"The next few days and the murder was known. I said nothing. I -replaced the revolver in its case; I persuaded Stephen that I had not -been to 'The Pines' on that night, and he believed me. Then he became -possessed of the property, on certain conditions. I breathed freely. -Carr had not had the time to make a new will, and my boy was safe." - -"So far, so good, then came the bolt from the blue. I received the -enclosed letter from Frisco, in which he threatened to write to the -police and denounce me. If he does this I am lost. It will be -difficult for me to defend myself. The evidence against me, if the -matter is looked into, will be too strong. But you can see that for -yourself Herrick, so I need not be more explicit. Under these -circumstances and to save Stephen I have made up my mind to die. If -the truth about my visit came to light, even although I were proved -guiltless of the murder, Stephen is quite foolish enough to give up -the money. He is a good boy but weak,--quixotic. The only way I can -save him--and myself also for that matter--is to die. - -"I am not afraid; I have had such a wretched life that I do not think -things will be worse in the next world. Besides the chloral, against -the abuse of which you are always warning me, affords me a chance of -slipping quietly and painlessly out of a world that is much too hard -for me. If I die, Stephen will be safe, for Frisco can do nothing. His -threats will fall harmless on the dead. The man is dangerous though. -He might try to murder Stephen. I gave you a hint of that Herrick. But -I know you are clever and so long as you are with my boy I do not fear -for him in that way. - -"Yet as regards the rest. It is possible that Frisco may denounce -Stephen as guilty of murder. Stephen told me he went to 'The Pines,' -that night to see if I had gone up there. Some one may have seen him. -Then I used his revolver. That would also be evidence against him, and -even if I destroyed the weapon that would still be evidence against -him. While I live I dare not tell the whole truth. Therefore I make -this confession and I shall give it to Petronella. She will deliver it -to you when danger threatens Stephen. From the contents of this you -will know how to act, so as to thwart Frisco. Stephen is innocent, and -I verily believe that Frisco is guilty in spite of his denial. - -"I can die in peace now, for I know when this confession is in your -hands that Stephen will be safe. I trust to your head and to your -heart, Herrick. I am sure you will not fail me. No doubt you think I -am going to extremes in dying. That may be. But I am sick of this -life. Even if I lived I should have nothing but trouble. Besides my -poor Stephen has had quite enough of me. I hope he will marry Ida and -be happy. Were I to live and remain with them I should spoil their -happiness. What would a sour old woman do with two such lovers? Well -Herrick I am about to seal this up and then I shall take a dose of -chloral--an overdose. Thus my death will appear to be an accident. -The world will think so. I wonder if you will? You also may be -deceived. But I think you will be clever enough to doubt the accident, -for you know I am not the woman to be careless. - -"Do not show this to Stephen unless you are absolutely compelled. I -love the boy and I want him to think the best of the woman who is -gone. So no more. Good-bye to you, my dear Herrick. You have been a -good friend to me. Continue to be so to my boy. And also if you have -any religion (which I doubt) pray for the soul of Bianca Marsh!" - -"And here I sign my name for the last time. - -"BIANCA MARSH." - - -When Herrick finished this extraordinary document, he laid it down -with a sigh for the memory of the wrong-headed impulsive woman who had -written it. She had acted foolishly, but for the best. And since the -poor soul had gone to her account Herrick could not find it in his -heart to blame her. After a pause he took up the typewritten letter. - -It was typed in purple ink, was without date or address, and even the -signature of Frisco was in print. It ran as follows:-- - -"If you do not make your son do justice to me and to my 'son, I will -write and tell the police that you murdered Colonel Carr. I must have -half the money left by Carr allowed to me by arrangement. You can -answer my letter by an advertisement in the Daily Telegraph. Then I -will write to you and make arrangements. All I want to know now is -whether you will insist upon your son giving the money, or face the -disgrace of being arrested for the murder. I have a witness who can -prove your presence in the house. If necessary I will come forward and -give myself up. I can save myself and condemn you. Choose. I shall -look every morning in the paper. - FRISCO." - - -Herrick read this precious letter over twice. He wondered that it was -typed instead of written, not that he did not see the reason for this, -but that he wondered how a hunted fugitive like Frisco could procure a -machine. Then the truth flashed into his mind. - -"Robin," said Herrick rolling up the papers, "Frisco met him, went to -his chambers, and disclosed the fact that he was his father. Ha! -Between the two of them they wrote this letter so as to frighten Mrs. -Marsh into giving them the money through her influence over Stephen. -Robin typed the letter and sent it. The little scamp. He did not tell -me that. Humph! I shall go again to town and see him. Then Frisco must -be produced from his hiding-place. Robin can and shall do that." - -This was all very well, but still the mystery of Carr's death was -unsolved. Mrs. Marsh was innocent. She declared Frisco to be guilty. -On the face of it, he was. But Herrick had his doubts. The case was -getting more difficult at every fresh discovery. For the first time he -mistrusted his own powers of dealing with the matter. - -"I must consult Stephen and Bess," said Dr. Jim, and left the house. -In his pocket was the confession of the late Mrs. Marsh. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII -THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS - - -For the next twenty-four hours, Dr. Jim kept his counsel. He said -sufficient to set Stephen's mind at rest about his mother, but did not -tell the whole story or show the confession which he had obtained from -Petronella. He wanted to turn matters over in his own mind before -doing this. The fact is Jim was getting a little weary of the whole -affair. Every new piece of evidence that came to light seemed only to -complicate it. He had felt sure that the paper left by Mrs. Marsh -would solve the mystery; but although it told much it did not reveal -all. She declared in a half-hearted sort of way that Frisco was -guilty. But she gave no proofs; the man in that hurried conversation -at the door, had denied the charge, and beyond the fact of his flight -there was no evidence against him. It occurred to Jim that the best -thing to do would be to drop the matter altogether. It seemed useless -to follow such a will-o-the-wisp. - -"Still I do not like to do this on my own responsibility," he thought -after much consideration, "it will be best for me to lay all the facts -before Bess and Stephen, and go by what they say. If they want to go -on with it, well and good. If not, I shall end it at once." - -With this idea, a most sensible one under the circumstances. Herrick -called a council of war. Bess came over from Biffstead, and met -Stephen and Jim in the library by appointment. There Herrick again -told the whole story of his dealings with the matter, and ended up by -placing Mrs. Marsh's letter and its enclosure before them. When the -Squire and Bess had read the documents, and were in possession of all -the facts connected with the murder of Colonel Carr, Herrick made a -speech to them on that basis. - -"It seems to me," he said, "that it is foolish going on with this -matter. From all that I can see Frisco is the guilty man. But he has -disappeared, and I do not think it is worth while hunting him down. To -hang him for the murder of a scoundrel like Carr--I beg your pardon -Steve but your late uncle was a scoundrel--will be no gratification to -any of us. Moreover if he were caught and tried, this letter might -have to be produced. I think it best to stop short at this point." - -Before Stephen could give his opinion, Bess interrupted him, to dwell, -after the custom of a woman, on a minor point. "You foolish boy," she -said in reproachful tones. "I see that you took the blame of your -mother's doings on yourself. That was stupid. You might have trusted -me!" - -"My dear Bess, I could not blacken her memory, even to you. - -"Perhaps not; but I should have understood. Now that I think of it," -she added, "I wonder that I was so foolish as to believe you. It was -entirely opposed to your nature to fire at a dead man." - -Stephen winced. "Do not say anything more about it Bess," he said, -"she did that. Let the matter rest there. And now about continuing the -search. I agree with Jim;--it is best to do nothing more." - -"I am not so sure of that," replied Bess obstinately, "you see -Santiago may still try and get the money." - -"No," said Jim positively, "I do not think so. He has been found out. -His conspiracy is at an end. He knows that any further move on his -part will meet with failure. Believe me, he will return to Mexico, and -give up fighting. The wisest thing he can do." - -"What about Joyce?" asked Marsh-Carr. "He is worse than useless. Take -away Don Manuel, and Joyce is lost. He has neither the pluck nor the -intelligence to carry through a plot on his own account." - -"But his father Frisco may use him as an instrument." - -"Frisco has to clear himself first. Joyce knows if he does anything -with his father that, I can have him arrested. Rather than that should -happen I believe he would give up Frisco to justice." - -Bess shuddered. "His own father!" she exclaimed. - -"Oh! as to that, you can hardly blame Joyce if he does not feel -particularly filial. His father has done nothing for him. Besides -Joyce senior deserted his wife, and Robin was devoted to his mother. It -is one of the best traits in his otherwise poor character. No, Bess, I -think if Robin came to chose between his own skin and that of Frisco, -his father would be the one to suffer. Robin believes in everyone for -himself." - -"He is a wicked little wretch!" - -"He is and he is not. Weak rather than wicked. His scheme to mix you -up in the murder by means of that pistol was invented by the Mexican. -Joyce only did as he was told." - -"But in that case," said Stephen looking up, "I do not see what -Santiago had to gain. Robin wanted Bess to marry him. He wanted to -inveigle her into the case so that she might not refuse out of fear. -But what would that matter to Santiago. Her marriage with Joyce would -not have helped on his schemes." - -"True enough," said Herrick musingly, "but I daresay it was Frisco who -suggested the marriage. He wanted to get the money through his son, -and perhaps thought he would get more if he put off Robin with Bess." - -Miss Endicotte reddened. "Thank you for nothing Jim," she said -indignantly, "I was evidently to be a pawn in the game." - -"It seems to me that we have all been pawns," said Jim grimly, "just -consider the mistakes that have been made while we have been searching -for the true assassin of Colonel Carr." - -Bess laughed. "First of all I was suspected," she said. - -"Oh, no; that was only a half-hearted attempt on the part of Frisco and -his precious son. There was no real evidence to implicate you Bess. I -think--speaking for myself--that I first suspected Robin Joyce. It was -your remark about his income Stephen, that aroused my suspicions. Well -the chain runs as follows," and Herrick ticked off on his fingers, -"Joyce first on the authority--mainly--of the pistol. He said he got -it from the Don so I suspected Manuel. He proved his innocence, and -accused Pentland Corn. I saw him and he told me he had picked up the -pistol on the lawn of this house. It was his belief that Mrs. Marsh -was guilty." - -"And myself?" said Stephen with a smile. - -"No, you were like Bess and came into the matter on your own account. -I never believed you had anything to do with the affair. But your -step-mother is the last whom I believed might have something to do with -it. Certainly she had; but from her letter we know she didn't kill the -man. And here we come to a dead stop." - -"What about Frisco?" said Marsh-Carr. - -"I believe he is the guilty person," said Dr. Jim positively, "are you -going to defend him, Bess?" - -The girl looked troubled. "I admit that matters look black against -him," she said slowly. "He threatened the Colonel; he was alone in the -house with him, and Mrs. Marsh found him ready to fly. On the other -hand there is something to be said in his favour. Evidently he should -have had a share in this treasure. For some reason the Colonel would -not give it to him during his life, and only afforded him a chance of -getting it after Stephen's death--" - -"Not even then," interrupted Herrick "for if Stephen had fulfilled the -conditions of the will, the fortune would become his absolutely and he -would be able to will it away." - -"Then I can't understand it," said Bess, "unless Frisco knew of this -unjust will--for that it is, if he helped to get the treasure--and -murdered the Colonel out of revenge." - -"I believe he did," said Stephen. - -"No!" put in Dr. Jim briskly, "I do not agree with you. It is my -opinion that what Mrs. Marsh said to me before she died was the right -view." - -"What was that?" - -"Frisco and the Colonel fought a duel. I believe that Frisco came back -from the inn drunk and filled with fury against the Colonel. It might -have been, that through the visit to Mrs. Marsh in the afternoon he -had found out all about the will. The Colonel probably defied him, and -then Frisco would suggest a duel. He fired first and the Colonel fell -with his still loaded weapon in his hand." - -"That is all theory," said Bess still defending the ex-sailor, "but -you seem to forget Jim that the death shot was fired with that clumsy -pistol. If there had been a duel Frisco would have had at least as -good a weapon as the Colonel. There are plenty of revolvers of the new -pattern in the gun-room. I am sure Frisco would not have placed -himself at such a disadvantage. And again the silver bullet. Why -should Frisco have used that?" - -Dr. Jim rubbed his head with a vexed air. "I am afraid you are right -Bess," he said, "a duel is out of the question. I can't see anything -ahead. So far as I am concerned, I give up trying to solve the -riddle." - -"So do I," said Marsh-Carr, "I know now that my poor mother did not -kill the man, so that is all I care about. Let the matter rest -Herrick. You can send Santiago to Mexico I suppose?" - -"Yes, but I think he will want some money." - -"Give him what he wants and let him go." - -"I think that will be best, and as for Joyce I'll see that he keeps -quiet." - -Bess struck in. "What about Frisco?" - -"He must look after himself," said Dr. Jim, "innocent or guilty we can -do nothing with him so long as he remains in hiding." - -"But you can find him?" - -"Through Joyce. Yes, I can. But on the whole I prefer to let sleeping -dogs lie. No, Bess. The whole thing is ended. Now come the peaceful -times. It is necessary to cultivate our garden, as says Voltaire." - -Stephen laughed. "I think so too," said he, "for my part I intend to -put the whole matter out of my head and arrange with Ida as to the -date of our marriage. As my poor mother has died so lately, we can -have a quiet wedding; but married I shall be and as soon as I can." - -"Why?" asked Bess. - -"In the first place I want Ida to be my wife because I love her -dearly, and in the second I want to marry her and make my will after -the marriage in her favour." - -"Why can't you make it now?" - -"It would not be legal. Marriage invalidates a will." - -Herrick who had been thinking, looked up with bright eyes. "Stephen," -he said, "you are afraid of Frisco." - -"Yes, I am. He may try and murder me to get the money, so by marrying -Ida and leaving it to her, I shall put the matter out of his power. -Once he gets to know that the money has gone from him for ever, he may -leave me alone. He tried through Santiago to kill me once, and failed. -He may not fail the second time." - -"There is something in that," said Herrick, and then the council of -war--as Bess called it--broke up. The final decision of the three was -to let the case stand where it was. They washed their hands of the -whole affair. - -For the next fortnight there was absolute peace. Stephen and Ida -arranged to be married in two months, and Dr. Jim began to talk of his -future with Bess. Jim did not want to live with Stephen after the -marriage, and yet he could not leave him, without forfeiting his -income. Of course Stephen insisted that Herrick should take a certain -sum a year, until he got on his feet, but Jim would not consent to -this. "I can't take money I do not work for," he said decisively, "if -you will lend me a small sum, I'll go back to London and start a -practice in a new place. I expect it will be a long time before I am -able to marry Bess. But she will wait for me." - -Bess expressed herself favourably on this point. She would wait for -Jim till her hair grew gray, and meantime she could manage Biffstead -for Frank, after Ida was settled at "The Pines." Neither Stephen nor -Ida could do anything with this obstinate couple, and they gave up the -attempt in despair. "But I think it is an infernal shame your leaving -me in the lurch," said Stephen, "remember what my mother said!" - -"Oh, I intend to see you through the year, in case Frisco should -attempt to stop your visits to the vault," replied Jim. "But after -that I must go and carve out my own fortune." - -"Well, who knows what may happen by then," said Marsh-Carr. He was -determined in some way to benefit Jim. "I'll have to force the money -on the fellow' he grumbled to Ida. - -"Bess is just as obstinate," she sighed, "however they will be with us -for some months yet. Wait and see, Stephen." - -Herrick meanwhile was priding himself that all was at an end. He wrote -to Joyce stating that he intended to do nothing, and also let Santiago -know his decision. From neither did he receive an answer. But this he -did not mind. "They are powerless to do harm," he said to Bess. - -And indeed he never expected to hear of the pair again. But one -morning Bess came to him with the Daily Telegraph and pointed out in -silence a cipher message in the agony column. It was worded similarly -to that put in before, and asked Frisco to meet the inserter at Hyde -Park Corner at three o'clock in two days. "Humph!" said Jim -meditatively, "Robin wants to see his father again!" - -"What will you do Jim?" asked Bess anxiously. - -"Nothing. Why should I?" - -"If Robin meets his father they will plot against Stephen." - -"They can't do anything but physical harm, and I am always with him." - -But Bess was not to be put off in this way. "I really think you should -write to Mr. Joyce about it Jim." - -"He will not answer." - -"Perhaps not. But he will see that you have your eye on him." - -"True enough. I'll see to it, Bess." - -Jim fully intended to do so, but foolishly put off the matter for a -few hours. He wrote to Joyce only on the day before the appointed -meeting, and on the next day received a telegram, to the effect that it -was not Joyce who had inserted the cipher nor, so said the wire, had -Don Manuel. - -"What the devil does this mean?" said Jim to himself. "Is it a lie, or -a truth? If a lie, Manuel and Joyce are plotting. If true, someone -else is taking a hand in the game. I'll see Bess." - -The advice of Bess was that Jim should go up to Town without delay. "I -am sure there is some mischief brewing," she said, "you had better go -up by this afternoon's train." - -"No," said Jim after a pause, "I'll see Steve first. He must know all -about this before I go. In fact I think I'll take him with me." - -"But he has gone away for the day," said Bess, "you know he went out -cycling with Ida. He won't be back all day. You have no time to lose." - -"I'll wait until he comes back," said Herrick. "I tell you what Bess; -this may be a scheme to get me away from Stephen, in order that they -may try and hurt him during my absence. After that assault of Manuel's -I'm never easy in my mind away from the boy. I can't leave him here. -If I go up to Town he must come with me." - -Bess was struck by this view of the matter. There might be something -in it, she thought. The consequence was that Herrick waited the return -of Stephen and arranged to go up to town with him the next morning. -All the same Stephen laughed at Dr. Jim. "You are a a perfect old -woman about me!" he said. "I can look after myself!" - -"I am sure you can deal with honourable foes," said Jim, "but here -there is every probability you may be struck in the dark." - -Stephen shrugged his shoulders. "Very well Jim. You know best. We can -go to town by the mid-day express, to-morrow." - -But before they left "The Pines," they received a surprise. In the -Times newspaper which usually arrived shortly after eleven, Stephen -found some news which surprised him. He went at once in search of Dr. -Jim and found him buttoning his gloves on the door-step waiting for -the cart to come round. "What do you think of that Herrick?" said the -Squire. - -"The devil!" said Dr. Jim, and well he might. There was a paragraph in -the paper to the effect that the man called Frisco who was wanted for -the murder of Colonel Carr of Saxham, had been captured on the -preceding day. No further details were given, but what Herrick read -was quite sufficient. He dropped the paper and stared at Stephen. - -"Shall we need go up to Town now?" asked the Squire. - -"Yes! We must catch this train. Here comes the cart; I shall go and -see Joyce at his flat. He may know what this means." - -"What about Bess?" asked Stephen. - -"We have no time to talk over the matter with her now. She will see -the news in the 'Telegraph.' We can send her a wire from Beorminster -station, not to worry herself. Jump in Steve." - -In a few minutes they were driving hard for the cathedral city. At the -station Herrick sent the proposed wire to Biffstead, and they caught -the express. "We shall be in town for a few days over this," said -Herrick when they were comfortably settled, "I think I can see." - -"See what?" asked Marsh-Carr. "What it means. This is the revenge of -that blackguard Santiago for losing the money." - -"Do you think he put in the cipher?" - -"I am sure he did, and gave information to the police meantime. No -doubt when Frisco arrived at the rendezvous thinking to meet his son -he was arrested by officers in plain clothes. I have not much sympathy -for Frisco, who, I fear, is a bad lot. All the same it is hard that he -should be tripped up in his stride by that brute of a Greaser." - -"It might be so. I wonder if Don Manuel has stayed to see the matter -out. It is the kind of thing he would like to do." - -"Oh, I am sure of that Steve. All the same he wants to look after his -own skin. When Frisco is tried, he will tell all he knows about the -Mexican's doings out of revenge. Santiago can't face an inquiry as you -know. His assault on you, is enough to get him into serious trouble. -No, my friend; Don Manuel has done his mischief and cleared out. By -this time he is on his way to the new world. Beast!" muttered Herrick -between his teeth, "I should like to make it hot for him!" - -On arriving in Town Herrick sent Stephen with the luggage to the hotel -in Jermyn Street and himself drove off to West Kensington. He learned -from the porter that Joyce was in, and ran upstairs. In a few minutes -he was seated in the little man's drawing-room listening to his -reproaches. - -"I did not think you would sell me like this Herrick!" said Robin -wringing his hands in his usual womanish way, "whatever I may have -done to you, you should have kept faith with me. You always pretended -to be so superior." - -"Ah! Did I?" said Herrick calmly but a trifle bewildered at these -accusations. "And now perhaps you will tell me what I have done." - -"You know well enough. You put that cipher in the paper and betrayed -my unfortunate father. I did not think it of you." - -"He was arrested at Hyde Park Corner?" - -"Yes. At three o'clock yesterday. Of course he thought that I put the -cipher in and came to meet me. But why do I tell you all this. You are -perfectly well aware of the success of your treachery." - -Herrick shrugged his shoulders. At the present moment he did not think -it necessary to correct the man. "How about your friend Santiago?" - -"I wish he was here to punish you!" cried Joyce venomously, "he was -quite as clever as you Herrick. But you waited till he sailed, before -plotting to capture my father." - -"So the Don has sailed? When did he go?" - -"Four days since," replied Robin dropping into a chair, "as if you -didn't know! Why do you come here to exult over me?" - -"Because I wish to tell you that you are wrong in thinking I put that -cipher in the paper. As I wrote to you from Saxham I decided to let -the matter rest. Whether your father was guilty or innocent I did not -care so long as you and he left Marsh alone. The man who put that into -the paper was Santiago." - -"I do not believe it." - -Herrick shrugged his shoulders. "As you please; but it is true for all -that. I know the cipher, but I give you my word I did not insert it. -You knew the cipher, and I am sure you did not use it to betray your -father. The only other person who knew it was the Don, and he has left -this last sting behind him out of revenge for losing the money." - -Robin shook his head. "I might believe that," he said, "if I did not -know it was you." - -"But I tell you it was not!" cried Jim impatiently. - -"It was. It was. Those private detectives who worked for you told me -all about it. You told them to have my father arrested." - -"Belcher and Kidd!" cried Herrick jumping up. - -"Ah, you know the name. Yes. They gave notice to the police and had my -poor father taken. I guessed it was their work and through you." - -Dr. Jim stood for a moment in a brown study. He saw well enough what -had occurred. The ferret had made use of Santiago to find out the -business, and knowing of the reward had made use of the information -extorted from Santiago. "I expect they let him leave England on -condition that he told them the business and helped them to trap -Frisco by means of the cipher. The scoundrels!" - -"Well," said Robin "what are you going to do now?" - -"I am going to see Belcher and Kidd," said Herrick, "and I tell you -Robin that your friend Santiago has done all this. I have had no hand -in it." - -"But why should Santiago--" - -"You had better ask your father that," said Herrick. "I suspect he has -no cause to love that Mexican! You can believe me or not Robin. But -the truth is the truth. I have not played you false." - -Robin shook his head. He still doubted. Dr. Jim tried no longer to -convince him, but left the flat to have it out with the treacherous -firm he had employed. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV -THE STORY OF FRISCO - - -It was not until Herrick was well on his way back to the centre -of the Town, that he remembered his omission to ask Robin about the -typewritten letter. But after all, it did not matter. He knew -perfectly well that Joyce had typed it at his father's dictation, and -the denial or admission of the little man would make no difference. -Things had got past that point. - -"I must see Belcher and Kidd," said Herrick to himself, "and learn -exactly how Santiago managed the business. Then I'll give Frith a look -in. I must find some way of speaking to Frisco. Now that he is driven -into a corner, he may tell the truth--that is, if it is not likely to -hang him." - -When he arrived at the Strand office of the private inquiry firm, he -was received by Kidd. Belcher, it appeared, had gone out for the day -on business. Kidd was a heavy man with a red face, and a pair of -leering grey eyes. Dr. Jim could put up with the ferret but Kidd he -detested. However, as Kidd was the only representative of the firm -present, he tackled him, and with no light hand, for Jim was in a -royal rage at the way he had been tricked by this cunning pair of -rascals. - -"What is this I hear about the arrest of the man Frisco?" he asked. - -"Just this doctor," replied Kidd in his heavy voice but civilly enough -"Don Manuel Santiago gave Belcher the tip how Frisco could be trapped, -and as me and him wanted to earn the reward, we fixed the matter up." - -"Against my wish," retorted Dr. Jim, "did I not say, that you were not -to meddle in the matter?" - -"And why shouldn't we get the reward if we could sir?" - -"I had my own reasons that Frisco should be left at large. You have -spoilt a plan of mine, and likely as not have caught the wrong man." - -"As to that sir," said Kidd doggedly, "I don't know. But right or -wrong we've caught the man and claim the reward." - -"It is offered by Mr. Stephen Marsh-Carr," said Herrick coolly, "and -the matter is in my hands. It is just as likely as not that I may stop -Mr. Marsh-Carr from paying you one penny. You had better have done my -business properly Kidd." - -"We did do it properly," said Kidd in a surly tone. - -"I don't think so. It was my wish that the Mexican should be watched. -You have let him leave the country." - -"I didn't," protested Kidd, who would have been insolent but that he -was afraid of losing the reward, "that was Belcher's game." - -"Belcher's price for receiving instructions how to trap Frisco," -scoffed Herrick. "Do you think I don't know that Santiago taught the -cipher to your damned partner." - -"You might be civil Dr. Herrick." - -"I shall be what I please. You were engaged by me to do certain -business, and you have done it badly. Had I wanted Frisco caught I -should have told you. Now just you let me know, how it all came -about." - -"What about the reward sir?" - -"I'll see to that. You fools--to go against me like this. I can do -your business considerable damage by telling the way you have tricked -me." - -"Oh, sir! you won't do that," growled Kidd now thoroughly frightened. - -"It all depends upon how you conduct yourself. The harm is done, but I -must know how Santiago managed the business." - -"It was this way sir," replied the cowed Kidd. "Belcher watched the -foreign cove sir, and kept out of sight. But the Don knew him from -going to the gambling club." - -"Ah! that's another matter I can spoil for you Kidd. I know too much -of your shady business for you to play the fool with me. Go on man." - -It took Kidd all he knew, to keep his temper under this speech. But he -knew that Dr. Herrick would do what he had threatened if he was not -implicitly obeyed. Had Jim been a smaller man, Kidd might have tried -conclusion with his fists; but he knew Herrick too well, -to attempt such folly. Once upon a time Kidd had seen the doctor -thrash a larger and much heavier man. From that day, he resolved never -to have a fight with a man so versed in the noble art as this -high-tempered gentleman. - -"Well sir," he continued in a sulky growl, "it was this way. Santiago -spotted Belcher, and asked him what he was up to. Belcher would not -tell, but in the end, the Don got the truth out of him. Then he said -that if Belcher and me could catch Frisco we could get a bigger sum of -money, than by watching him. Belcher was always anxious to know what -was at the back of all this. When he heard it was the Carr murder -case, he saw it was a big thing for him and me. So he said he would -let the Don go, if he helped him to catch Frisco. Then the Don showed -us the cipher--he wrote it out himself, and put it in the newspaper. -Frisco came to the place, and me and Belcher had a detective and a -warrant. We caught him easy. He is now in quod sir." - -"And Santiago is on the high seas on his way to Mexico. You are a -precious pair of scoundrels Kidd. Why did you tell Mr. Joyce that I -had managed all this business?" - -"It was the Don as asked us to do that sir." - -"To make trouble I suppose," said Herrick rising, "you send Belcher to -see me at the Guelph hotel this evening. I have something to say to -him." - -"Take care sir. The ferret ain't an easy man to tackle." - -Herrick paused at the door and looked the big man up and down. -"Confound your insolence," he said, "do you think you or that rat can -stand up against me. I can ruin you both if I choose, and stop your -getting that reward. As for Belcher, if he is impudent I'll wring his -neck." - -"I am sorry we did it sir." - -"You may well be," was Herrick's grim reply. - -"But I ain't going to be bullied by anyone," said Kidd with sudden -anger. - -"That is quite enough my man," replied Dr. Jim opening the door and -speaking quietly, "if you try that game, you'll get the worst of it." - -Kidd looked dangerous for a moment, but after a glance into the eyes -of his proposed antagonist he cooled down considerably. He knew -perfectly well, that Herrick could smash him. Moreover the calm -courage of Herrick quelled his brute passion. Dr. Jim waited for a -time, then departed leaving Kidd growling and cursing in impotent -rage. - -"A dangerous ruffian," thought Herrick as he went into the Strand, -"but I think he and Belcher know me too well to play the fool." - -For the moment he intended to go back to the Guelph Hotel and see -Stephen; but on reflection drove to the solicitors. It was necessary -that he should interview Frisco, and Frith would be the man most -likely to obtain for him the permission to do so. The lawyer was in, -and expressed his pleasure at the capture of Colonel Carr's assassin. - -"As to that, I am not certain," said Herrick lightly, "I want to hear -what he has to say Frith, and you must get me permission to see the -man." - -"Don't you think he killed Carr?" asked Frith. - -"On the face of it, I do," replied Herrick, "all the same there have -been so many surprises in this case that I am prepared for more. -Besides, I am rather mad over the business," and he told Frith how he -had been tricked by Belcher and his partner. - -"Couple of scoundrels," said Frith nodding, "it's not the first dirty -trick they have played. Don't you engage them again Dr. Herrick. I'll -find men who are more to be trusted." - -"I hope to heaven that I won't have occasion to employ any more -private detectives. I tell you what Frith, ever since I have engaged -in this affair I feel as though I had been bathing in dirty water. But -that I promised Mrs. Marsh to protect her son, I should not have done -it." - -"You seem to have gone pretty exhaustively into the business," said -Frith after he had heard the whole story, "for an amateur you have -managed remarkably well." - -Herrick laughed, "I have made mistakes I admit. But then, as you say, -I am only an amateur and not the detective of fiction. He never makes -mistakes. I wish he had had this case to deal with. However the thing -is nearly at an end, thank goodness." - -"It will end with the hanging of Frisco." - -"Who knows. He may have some other story to tell." - -"You may be sure he will swear that he is innocent," said Frith. "Very -likely," responded Herrick, "and the queer thing is Frith that he may -really be innocent." - -"It looks to me, from what you have told me, as though he were -guilty." - -"Oh, as to that, I've thought several people guilty and have always -found out that I am wrong, when they came to explain. However, I want -to see this man and hear what he has to say. Can you manage it?" - -"I'll see what I can do. You are at the Guelph Hotel ain't you? Very -good. I'll see to it. I might come along and call on Marsh-Carr." - -"I should, if I were you," replied Dr. Jim with a laugh, "always be -attentive to your clients Frith." - -Leaving the solicitor to arrange matters, Herrick went back to the -Hotel and dinner with Stephen. He told him all that he had done, and -the Squire was much interested. "I hope it is coming to an end -though," he said. "I have had about enough of this sort of thing." - -"Think of me," said Jim with a shrug. - -"Oh, you have behaved like a brick Jim. I do not know how to thank -you." - -"Bosh my dear chap. There is no question of thanks between you and -myself. I promised your mother to see you through, and I intend to -keep my word." - -"And you won't let me make things right for you," grumbled Stephen. - -"Wait till everything is squared up, then we will see. I may ask you -to be my banker after all. Well Steve, Santiago has gone away, so you -are relieved of at least one of your enemies. Joyce can do nothing -without his father, and that gentleman is in gaol." - -"Will you want me to go with you to-morrow?" - -"No, prefer to see him alone. I'll get more out of him in that way. I -wonder what I'll hear this time. However let us think no more of the -matter just now. We might take a turn down to see the Earl's Court -Exhibition. There's always something going on there. It's not exactly -like a theatre Steve or I should not ask you to go. But you must be -cheered up somehow. We can't stay in this dismal hotel all the evening -talking about a criminal." - -Stephen assented, as he always did to whatever Herrick proposed. They -went to the exhibition and spent a pleasant evening. When they -returned Dr. Jim retired straightway to bed, "I shall have a lot of -talking to do to-morrow so I must get as much rest as I possibly can," -said he. - -In some mysterious way, Frith obtained the required permission, and -Herrick found himself introduced into a small cell, where Frisco sat -on his bed in a gloomy frame of mind. After exchanging a few words -with the warder, Frith got the man to go away leaving Herrick and -Frisco alone. - -"So you are Dr. Herrick," remarked Frisco calmly, "I am glad to meet -you." - -He spoke in a rather refined voice, and did not at all look like the -truculent ruffian Herrick had expected to meet. He was no longer fat, -but had quite a shapely figure. Also his face had lost the redness of -incessant drinking. Misfortune had sobered and improved the man. He -was plainly dressed in a suit of black serge, which as he afterwards -informed Herrick had been supplied by his son. But even if he had -been still more changed Dr. Jim would have recognised him from the -cries-cross scar on his forehead. Frisco saw him looking at it, and -smiled. - -"The Colonel's handiwork," said he quietly. "He marked me with a bowie -in Los Angelos one drunken evening. But I gave him as good as he gave -me Dr. Herrick. He lost a finger." And Frisco fell to whistling at the -pleasing recollection. There was no doubt about the man being a -scoundrel. Herrick felt his way carefully. - -"How did you know me?" he asked abruptly. - -Frisco smiled, "I heard the man who came with you, call you by your -name. As for the rest, of course Robin has told me all about you. You -are a clever man Dr. Herrick, and I think a kind one. If you had not -been, you would not have burdened yourself with that miserable rat I -have the misfortune to call my son. All the same," added Frisco with a -scowl. "You trapped me in rather a shabby way." - -"Ah! That is one reason why I came to see you," said Herrick coolly, -"I did not trap you at all. No one was more surprised than I at the -news of your arrest. It was Santiago who put that cipher in the paper -and told the police about you. And Santiago is beyond your reach on -the high seas. So you see that I am not so mean, as you thought me." - -"That's it," said Frisco, "you always fought fair and I could not -understand your playing low down like this. So it was the greaser was -it? By Heaven! when I catch him--" Frisco doubled his arm. "It's time -he was out of the world," said Frisco, "a beating's too easy. I'll go -west for him." - -"How do you mean you'll go west?" asked Herrick thinking of the man's -position which was--apparently--considerably within the shadow of the -gallows. - -Frisco looked at him with a careless laugh. He understood, "Oh, I've -been in worse holes than this," he said, "why once in California the -rope was round my neck for horse-stealing. Carr got me out of that -mess." - -"You were a great friend of Carr's?" - -"Why," said the man slowly, "he was my cousin you know, and we had the -same blood in us--the bad Carr blood. How I ever came to have such a -brat of a Methodist parson for a son I can't make out. Got it from his -mother I suppose, she was always a whimpering devil. - -"I didn't come here to discuss your son and wife Joyce----" - -"Frisco's my name for the time being," said the man coolly, "when I -get across the pond again I'll take to a more Christian one." - -"Humph! You won't have an easy time getting out of this scrape." - -"Well no, you're about right there Herrick. You don't mind me dropping -the Mister I hope. I feel friendly to you. You're about the only man -of the whole lot. Stephen isn't a bad chap; but if he hadn't had you -beside him, I'd have got that money. Well I'm to be tried for my life. -What are you going to do Herrick?" - -"Something quixotic," replied the doctor, "Robin has no money, neither -have you, so I am going to supply you with a solicitor and see you -through. If you are guilty I wish to see you hanged, if innocent free. -All the same," said Herrick frankly, "I tell you candidly Frisco, that -I don't think it fair to hang you for the killing of a brute like -Carr." - -Frisco stared at Dr. Jim in a hard unwinking manner, but he was -visibly moved. "You're a white man Doc," said he, "and I'm a bad lot. -All the same if you don't mind--" he held out his hand. - -"I'll take that only on one condition," said Herrick, "that you tell -me you are innocent of murder." - -Frisco drew back his hand, and recovered his hard manner. "You bet I'm -not," he said, "that is where Carr had the pull over me. There are two -Towns in South America I daren't go near--" he burst out laughing. "So -you won't shake hands," said he "well I don't blame you. I am a bad -lot--but Carr was a damned sight worse sonny. You can take that from -me." - -"We are wasting time I think," said Herrick coldly, "I want to help -you if I can. You shall have a lawyer, to defend you. But I want to -ask you as man to man:--Did you shoot Carr?" - -Frisco thought for a moment stroking his chin. "Well there's not many -men I'd tell my mind to but you are one. I did not kill Carr." - -"Then who did?" - -"I'll tell you in a few minutes. But you let me reel out my yarn -first." - -"I know most of it from Robin and Santiago." - -"You don't know all," replied Frisco quietly "I've been with Carr -these twenty years and more. He was a devil and treated me like a dog. -I helped him to get that treasure and he cheated me of my share of -it." - -"I shouldn't think you were the man to be cheated." - -"Not in an ordinary way, you bet. But the Colonel had the bulge on me -I guess. He could have handed me over to the authorities in San -Francisco for a murder. Oh! don't look scared Herrick. I'm not going -to own up to all my crimes. I have committed heaps though." - -"Oh, damn your beastly talk," said Herrick angrily, for the -shamelessness of the man made him sick, "just tell me about that -night." - -"All in good time sonny," said the unmoved Frisco, "I stayed with the -Colonel and let him keep my money because I did not want my wife to -know I was alive. She was a good woman and I treated her like a brute. -That was one reason. The second was because of my own skin. I did not -want to be hanged, and Carr could have hanged me any day. The third -reason," and here Frisco looked curiously at Herrick, "you'll hardly -believe the third reason. But it was a kind of tenderness for Carr. -Somehow, devil as he was, I liked him. Never met a man I cottoned to -more. He saved my life, I saved his, we fought with knives and with -fists, and played the devil with one another all round. Yet somehow we -stuck together, and never went back on one another. Rum thing wasn't -it Herrick." - -"Honour amongst thieves," said Dr. Jim with a shrug. "You bet that's -it," retorted Frisco. "So you can see Herrick that I was not the sort -of man to put Carr out of the way. I got drunk, so did he but we held -together in that blamed house always waiting for death." - -"Ah! The Indians, I suppose." - -"Santiago told you that I guess," said the man. "Yes, there was some -half Spanish half Indian greasers in Lima that would have followed us -to the end of the world had they spotted our whereabouts. Santiago was -one, but he wished for the money on his own hook and didn't split. -Well Carr is dead so he is safe enough, but if I'm not hanged I guess -Santiago will let out on me. Then I'll have a time getting away." - -"Was it on account of this fear that Carr built the tower." - -Frisco nodded. "You've hit it. Queer chap Carr, a mixture of bravado -and fear. He threw down all the fences and walls and left the doors of -the house open every night just to show he was not afraid. All the -same he never slept but in that tower. I didn't. If any of the -greasers had come, they'd have knifed me easy enough. Well Carr went -under before his time but by the hand he least expected." - -"Who was it?" asked Herrick impatiently. - -"Well," drawled the ruffian "it wasn't Mrs. Marsh. We had a talk--" - -"I know all about that. I also saw the letter you wrote her." - -"Oh, you did. She kept that as an ace. Robin typed it on his blamed -machine for me. I wanted to get the money quietly, but the old lady -went under in time and spoilt my game there." - -"She killed herself," said Herrick curtly. - -"Did she now," said Frisco in admiration, "she was a screamer of a -woman--not like my wife. Killed herself. Lord," he chuckled. - -"Go on with your story." - -"It is a story isn't it. Well I guess it was this way. I let Carr keep -the money, when he was alive on the understanding that it was all left -to me. He made a will in my favour, and then, the devil made a later -one giving the money to Stephen with a reversion to me if his bones -weren't looked after." - -"I know," said Herrick coolly, "and you tried to have Stephen -disabled." - -"Right you are; and the blamed Santiago bungled the affair. If I had -been on the spot--well that's all done with. About the will. Mrs. -Marsh came and kicked up a row about the will in favour of her son -saying the Colonel was going to alter it. She picked up something of -that from me when I had a cargo aboard. But I never knew till after -she came, how Carr was tricking me. When she went--and she did curse -him--I had a row with Carr. He told me the kind of will he'd made. We -had almost a stand up fight. He brought in the murder business about -me as usual, and I knuckled under as usual. Then I went off to drink -rum at the Carr Arms." - -"Yes, and to threaten the Colonel." - -"Oh! that wasn't on my own account. All I meant was that if I gave the -tip to the Lima greasers, Carr would be knifed. That fool Napper -thought I meant to do the job myself. Well sir I came back and lay -down to sleep off the rum. Carr got his own dinner, and then dressed -himself up as he always did. Blamed foolishness I always called it. -Cooking your dinner and then wearing a starched shirt to eat it. Pah!" -Frisco spat. - -"He wanted to keep his self-respect I suppose." - -"He had no occasion for an article of that sort Herrick. Self-respect -and Carr!--well I should smile. However, I was asleep. When I was -pulling round sober, and thinking of getting up to eat, I heard a -shot. Oh! I am too used to the sound of shooting not to know it when I -hear it. I wondered if Carr was in the shooting gallery. After a -time--twenty minutes maybe I got up and went into the gallery. No one -there. I went up to the tower after visiting the dining-room. I found -the Colonel dead. I was in a fright I can tell you. In a flash I saw -that my neck was in the rope. I had threatened the Colonel and they'd -think I'd killed him. Also I was wanted in Frisco and South America -and half a hundred places. My name would come out may-be (but I am not -afraid of that now Herrick) and I would be turned off as sure as a -gun. I went downstairs and drank some wine. In the house--and coming -down from a room under the one in which Carr lay shot--I saw someone. -As he came down the tower steps, it is my opinion he shot the Colonel. -If it wasn't him I don't know who could have done it." - -"And who was it you say?" - -"Why! don't jump Herrick. It was Sidney Endicotte." - -Herrick stared. "That lad never killed the Colonel," he said. - -"Then who did?" asked Frisco impatiently, "that boy just hated Carr. I -never could make out why, and he was half-witted besides. Then there -was the pistol I read about in the papers. It is just the kind of -weapon a boy of that sort might pick up cheap in a shop of sorts. A -man like me would have used a Derringer. No, I'm sure that boy shot -him. He came right upon me, as cool as you like and says, 'He's quite -dead.'" - -"Did he say that?" - -I swear he did, "He's quite dead," says Sidney, "then before I -could get my breath he went out into the night, and I lost him. - -"Why did you not follow?" - -"I had to think of my own safety. It was no use my accusing a boy and -a half idiot you see. No one would believe he'd killed Carr when I was -in the house--and with my blamed past. I just went to the back to make -up a bundle and clear out. While I was packing I heard three shots, -and jumped for the door. Lord I was in a fright." - -"It was Mrs. Marsh." - -"Yes. She came down looking like a tigress, and said I'd killed Carr. -I was at the door with my bundle. I denied it, and said I'd make it -hot for her. She said I'd better look after myself and cleared. I -didn't wait you may be sure, for in spite of her firing the shots I -didn't know but what she'd rouse the village. So I went straight -across the moor and caught the train at Southberry. Here I've been -hidden in London ever since. I had money. When that ran out I dropped -across that cipher in the paper, and met my fool of a son. Then--well -you know the rest." - -"It's a strange story," said Herrick much distressed. It did not seem -at all unlikely, but that Sidney had killed the Colonel. - -"It's a true one. Well, what are you going to do." - -"I shall see this boy, and find out if what you say is true." - -"Oh! I expect he's such an idiot that he'll think he's done something -fine and own up. But that my neck is in danger, I would not split on -Sidney. But they'll only shut him up in an asylum. They would hang me, -so of two evils I choose the least. Are you off Herrick?" - -"Yes, I'll see if this is true, and get you a lawyer." - -"Thanks old man. You're a good sort. So-long," and Frisco quite calm -waved his hand as Dr. Jim left the cell. He did not seem to be in the -least afraid, and evidently thought his release was a foregone -conclusion. A dangerous cool-headed ruffian was Frisco. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV -SIDNEY SPEAKS OUT - - -After that interview with Frisco, Dr. Jim took Stephen straight off to -Saxham. There was nothing left for him to do in Town. Frisco was in -prison and safe enough. Joyce shut himself up in his flat, and would -not even reply to the note Herrick wrote him. Belcher--for obvious -reasons had not called at the Guelph Hotel,--and with his partner was -keeping out of the doctor's way. Jim saw Frith for a brief few -minutes, instructed him to see after the defence of Frisco, and then -drove to Paddington where Marsh-Carr awaited him. By favour of the -guard and five shillings they secured a smoking carriage to -themselves. When the train was fairly out of the town, and whizzed -through a desolate winter country, Dr. Herrick looked at Stephen. - -"What do you think of it all?" he asked lighting his pipe. - -"This story of Frisco's?" - -"Yes. It's a living truth. I can see by your face that you wish to -believe the man a liar. He is, but not in this instance. What he says -is absolutely true. I saw his eyes when he spoke. The tongue may lie, -but a man's eyes--" Jim shook his head. - -"But it can't be true," cried Stephen looking white and worried, "good -heaven's Jim, if Sidney really shot Carr, think of the disgrace to Ida -and Bess. Ourselves! I don't mind that. But these poor girls." - -"Well," said Jim after a pause, "you see it's not so bad as it might -be. I am sure you must know of the estimation Sidney is held in, round -about Saxham. If it comes out that he shot the Colonel, no one will -express any surprise. It's no slur on the girls, Steve. Sidney is -looked upon as something beyond the pale of humanity." - -"What will they do with him?" asked Stephen anxiously. - -"If he really did commit the crime, he will be placed in an asylum. -The boy is too queer to be judged by ordinary standards. Frisco -cleared out although he knew Sidney had killed Carr, because he -thought no one would believe the boy had done it. The suspicion -certainly would have rested on Frisco. He would have been wiser to -have given himself up. But for the reasons I told you of--the same -reasons that kept him quiet under the Colonel's unjust appropriation -of his property---Frisco preferred to cut. He is wiser, now that he -has had time to reflect over the matter. His devilries in the Americas -were done under other names, and as Joyce he will not be wanted in San -Francisco. I daresay if he had not been caught he would have given -himself up in the long run. It was the Don he was afraid of. Now the -Don is away, Frisco is convinced he will be set free." - -"He must stand his trial?" - -"Certainly. I have told Frith to see after him. But his defence will -be that Sidney killed the man. There is no way of averting that. The -question in my mind," said Herrick looking at Marsh-Carr "is, whether -the boy really did do so." - -"Have you any doubt on the subject?" asked Stephen eagerly. "I have a -great many doubts," replied Jim dryly, "and until the person who -really murdered Carr confesses, I shall continue to doubt. You see -Steve, ever since I took up this matter I have been following up false -trails. Every person I have stumbled upon, and to whose guilt the -evidence at the time procurable, pointed, has laid the blame on some -one else, who in turn has passed on the guilt to another party. I -suspected Joyce. He accused Santiago. The Don said Pentland Corn was -guilty. Corn declared that Mrs. Marsh had fired the shot. Now we know -from accurate evidence that all these persons are innocent. Frisco was -suspected from the very first. He is caught and swears--truly enough -according to his own belief, that the boy murdered the Colonel. How do -I know but what Sidney may be able to prove his innocence, and accuse -someone else. The chain may go on endlessly so far as I can see." - -"I understand the difficulty," replied Stephen wearily, "but I cannot -for the life of me see why Sidney should kill the man." - -"There comes in the queer character of the boy," said Herrick "he -detested the Colonel--said he was a bad man. He might have got into -his head in some way or another that such a man was better out of the -world. If so, he would make no more account of killing Carr than he -would of putting a fly out of existence. Indeed he would rather spare -the fly, for I have noticed that he is tender to all that breathes." - -"But would he keep quiet over the matter?" - -"I think so. Sidney was never the boy to talk. Then there is the -pistol Stephen. That is an old-fashioned weapon that a boy might buy -in Beorminster for a few pence, or he might have found it in the -lumber room of the Grange--there are many of these ancient firearms to -be found in the houses of old families. If Sidney dropped across such -a weapon he might have then concluded to kill Carr. You see, from the -account of Frisco, that he came down the Tower stairs and said, quite -calmly, that the Colonel was dead. He may just as calmly admit to me -or to you that he killed the man." - -"Mad! Mad!" groaned Marsh-Carr, "he must be mad." - -"No. That does not follow. The boy is strange. There are things about -him which I cannot explain. So far as I can see Sidney does not come -within the range of science. That foretelling of your mother's death, -and his extraordinary statement that you were in danger, puzzled me -beyond words. I must believe, because I am convinced by the evidence -of my own senses. All the same I cannot explain or understand. There -are laws of Nature with which we are unacquainted. I believe that this -boy comes under some unknown laws. You cannot account for the actions -of such a person. The boy would do things which we should call wrong, -yet he would see no harm in doing them. If he is guilty, he will be -put away in an asylum. At the same time I am sure he is perfectly -sane." - -"I am puzzled myself about him," admitted Stephen, "and he is a most -uncomfortable boy to have about one. Still I have always found him -upright and honourable. I have never known him to tell a lie. But he -must know all about this case and how Frisco has been accused." - -"I'm not so sure of that. Sidney lives with his head in the clouds. He -perhaps has heard that Frisco has been accused, but, as the man does -not now come across his path, he never thinks of any possible danger -to him. Again Stephen, that silver bullet is queer." - -"How do you mean queer?" - -"Well you know the mediæval superstition that a warlock can be killed -only by a silver bullet. A thing of that sort, is exactly what would -appeal to the dreamy nature of Sidney. He is something of a mystic -himself remember. He might have taken it into his head, that Carr was -a warlock who had dealings with the devil"-- - -"I am sure he would have every reason to think so," said Marsh-Carr, -"if any man was hand in glove with Satan, my uncle was that man." - -"You see what you say yourself. Then Sidney thinking in a less sane -fashion on the same subject might have considered it his duty to -deliver the world from such a wizard. He would certainly then use a -silver bullet, thinking (according to the mediæval superstition) that -the man could not be killed by ordinary lead." - -"It's all theory," said Stephen gloomily, "and fantastic at that." - -"As you say--all theory and fantastic," admitted Herrick, "but you -must remember that we are dealing with a fantastic nature. But we must -see this boy and question him when we get home." - -"He will deny everything." - -"On the contrary if I know anything of the boy, he will calmly admit -what he has done." - -"You will not tell Bess or Ida?" - -"That would be unwise. We must be certain of Sidney first. We shall -say nothing to-night, but get Sidney to come over to 'The Pines' on -the morrow and ask him frankly if he killed Carr." - -"Bess is sure to ask you about Frisco," said Stephen. - -"Oh, I can baffle her curiosity," replied Herrick. "I shall tell her -nothing about my visit to the man. All about his arrest she can know." - -"I think it will be better to hold our tongues altogether Jim. Ida is -getting worried by this incessant mystery, although she knows very -little." - -"I'm sure I don't wonder. I'm worried myself. However, we must learn -what we can from Sidney. I hope to Heaven the lad is innocent, but if -he is not, I don't look upon him in the light of an ordinary criminal. -He is a freak of nature. Were I put into the witness-box I could not -say on my oath that he is mad." - -"Let us drop the subject," said Stephen who looked haggard, "I am -getting nervous and anxious." - -Jim acquiesced in this sensible view and the two betook themselves to -the magazines and newspapers. Until they arrived at Beorminster, they -said little to one another, and even then were--for them--taciturn. A -groom and cart awaited them, and they drove to Saxham in silence. It -did not do to talk of Sidney with a servant at their elbows. But -curiously enough the groom had news for Stephen, which brought in the -name of Sidney. - -"Please sir, that Italian woman----" - -"What's the matter with her?" asked Herrick who was driving. - -"She is very ill sir, and it is said she will die." - -"Die!" echoed Stephen in surprise. - -"She was not bad enough for that when I saw her last. What do you -think Herrick?" - -"She looked very sick certainly, but so far as I can judge was in no -immediate danger of death. Who says this Parry?" - -The groom sunk his voice to a whisper, and seemed nervous, "Master -Sidney," he said. - -Both men looked round at this. Then at each other. Herrick was the -first to break the silence. "When did Master Sidney say that Parry?" - -"Yesterday sir. Mr. Napper, he met him in Beorminster in the Cathedral -Square about four o'clock. He asked him joking-like where he was -going. Master Sidney said, just as quiet as he does speak sir, that he -was going to see the Italian woman die. Napper was that taken aback -you could have knocked him down with a feather sir. Then Master Sidney -said she would die in two days, which I take to mean sir, that she'll -go off to-morrow. And I'm sure she will sir," added Parry with -conviction. - -"Is this story known Parry?" asked his master rather vexed. - -"No sir. Napper went at once to see Miss Endicotte when he came back -to Saxham. She asked him to say nothing about it, but he had already -told Phelps the gardener sir. Then Phelps told us all sir, but we have -said nothing outside about it." - -"See you don't then," said Stephen sharply, "the first of my servants -who says a word will be discharged, mind that Parry." - -The groom touched his hat and relapsed into silence. "Where is Master -Sidney now Parry?" asked Herrick after a pause. - -"At the house in Beorminster sir. He has been there all night. Miss -Endicotte went over, but she could not get him away. He says he must -stay there until the Italian woman dies sir." - -"Humph! You need say no more Parry," and the doctor drove on in -silence. But Marsh-Carr knew from the way he urged the mare, how -perturbed he was over this information. Stephen was upset himself. -There was something disquieting about everything in connection with -Sidney. - -After dinner at "The Pines," Herrick made Stephen lie down, as he was -yet far from strong, and walked across to Biffstead. Here he saw the -two girls and Frank, who were very much troubled by this latest freak -of their brother. - -"I don't know what to do with him," said Frank, "I went over and -insisted he should come home. I took him by the shoulder to force him -out of the house, but he got in such a passion that I thought he would -have a fit. So I left him until you came back." - -"You go over and get him away Jim," implored Ida, "you have more -influence over him than anyone else. I have gone and Bess also, but he -will not come. We can't carry him back by main force and make a -scandal." - -"I'll go," said Herrick, "but I did not know that I had any influence -with him. He is a lad one can do nothing with. How does the old woman -take his telling her she is about to die." - -"She is quite calm. Evidently she thinks Sidney is a kind of prophet. -He is telling her not to be afraid and talking the queerest things to -her. I am sure Sidney is mad," sobbed Ida, "he will be shut up in an -asylum someday." - -Herrick said nothing. The poor girl little knew how truly she spoke. -If Sidney had indeed killed Carr, he would certainly be shut up. -Considering his extraordinary character, perhaps this would be all the -better for his friends and relatives, if not for himself. "I will go -over in the morning," said Herrick on reflection, "he may be more -reasonable in the morning. I am beginning to understand him a little." - -"I'm sure I don't," said Ida, and Frank echoed her opinion. This was -natural enough. No man is a hero to his relatives. - -All this time Bess said nothing. While Jim was away, she had worried -much over her brother's freak, but now that the doctor had returned -she was satisfied that all would be well. Herrick exercised over Bess, -the same influence he did over most people he came into contact with. -Stephen and the girls, were both more than ordinarily intelligent, but -they deferred to Jim in a most remarkable manner. If any one could -manage Sidney, Bess felt that Herrick was the man. Jim was not so -certain himself. The boy had never come under his influence, and in -his own calm way held his own against everyone. - -"What about Frisco?" asked Bess who had followed Herrick down the -avenue, "has he really been arrested?" - -Dr. Jim nodded. "Santiago betrayed him to some private Inquiry Agents -I employed," he said, "a mean shabby piece of work Bess. Joyce put it -down to me. I assured him that I had nothing to do with the matter, -but he refused to believe me." - -"He is so mean himself, that he cannot believe any good of other -people," said Bess scornfully, "what is to be done now about Frisco?" - -"I am thinking," replied her lover evasively, "when I have come to a -conclusion I'll tell you Bess. But I fancy the end is in sight." - -"I hope so," sighed the girl. "I am so tired of this anxiety." - -"Shortly you will have no more, dear," and Jim took her in his arms to -kiss her good-bye, "the night is dark, but the dawn is breaking." - -Next morning Dr. Herrick walked over to Beorminster. He left Stephen -at home although the Squire wanted to come also. "No," said Jim, "it -is best for me to speak to the boy alone, I'll get more out of him." -And Stephen recognised that this was the more sensible course. - -It was eleven o'clock when Herrick rapped at the door of the -Beorminster house. It was opened by Sidney, who looked calm and -complacent as usual. "I heard you had come back Dr. Jim," he said. - -"Did your prophetic instinct tell you that?" asked Herrick testily. - -The boy was so difficult to understand that he could not help feeling -annoyed. A' man over thirty does not like treating a lad of sixteen as -his equal. Yet Sidney somehow compelled that respect. - -"No," replied he sweetly. "I am very stupid about some things. When a -thought comes to me, it comes. I cannot call it." - -"Then the thought came to you that Petronella would die?" - -"She will die Dr. Jim. Two days ago I felt that she would die. So I -came over to see her. She was afraid of death, till I talked to her. -Now she is quite peaceful. She does not fear." - -"Are you afraid of death Sidney?" - -"Why should I be? I know." - -"You know what?" - -"That there is nothing to be afraid of." The boy spoke quite serenely -and without any suggestion of pose. He had conducted Herrick to the -dining-room and the two were seated opposite one another. On the table -were the remains of Sidney's breakfast,--a glass of milk, some fruit -and a loaf of bread. "I had to get these myself," he said, "Petronella -is in bed in Mrs. Marsh's room. She is very ill." - -"I knew she was ill some time ago," replied Herrick trying to assert -himself, "but I think I can cure her." - -"She will not live," said Sidney, staring in the most unwinking manner -at Dr. Jim. "She will die before sunset. I know." - -"Can you explain how you do know?" asked the doctor roughly. - -This time it was the boy who was puzzled, "I can't," he said. "I feel -that Petronella will die. I can say no more than that." - -Herrick groaned. It was useless to try and understand this -extraordinary lad. Evidently he did not understand himself. Yet his -former prophecies had come to pass so absolutely, that Dr. Jim could -not help thinking that this last would come true also. However, this -was not the business about which he had come. "Sidney," he said after -a pause, "do you know that Frisco, who used to be with Colonel Carr, -has been arrested?" - -"I heard Bess say so." - -"What do you think of it?" - -"I never thought of it at all. He is in no danger, Dr. Jim. It was not -Frisco who killed Colonel Carr." - -"How do you know that?" asked Herrick startled. Was the boy about to -confess that he was guilty. - -"I was in the house just after Colonel Carr was killed." - -"Oh! Then you did not shoot him yourself?" Sidney frowned, but -appeared very little disturbed. - -"Why should I have killed him?" he said calmly. "Colonel Carr was a -wicked man. I told him he would die by violence some day. But he only -laughed at me. He thought I was mad or a fool. You do also, Dr. Jim." - -"I don't know what to think," said Jim angrily; "I never met anyone -like you before, Sidney. If I had not some knowledge that the things -you say come true I should think you were pretending. A boy like you -ought to be whipped." - -"That is what the Colonel said," replied Sidney quietly. "But tell me, -Dr. Jim, did you really think I had killed him?" - -"I did not. But Frisco says you did." - -"If he believed that, he would not have run away," said Sidney -shrewdly. - -"Well come to the point. Who murdered the Colonel?" - -"Petronella," said Sidney. - -Herrick rose up with a look of surprise. Astonished as he was he could -hardly help laughing. This statement bore out his speech to Stephen. -He had said that Sidney would accuse someone else. Now it only -remained for Petronella to shift the blame on to the shoulders of a -third party. "I do not believe that," said Herrick, "why should -Petronella kill Carr?" - -"You had better come up and hear what she has to say Dr. Jim." - -"In a moment. But tell me how you know--through your instinct?" - -Sidney shook his head. "No. That feeling only comes at times," he -said. "I do not pretend to know everything. I said so before. I don't -know why you should look on me as queer Dr. Jim," he continued -plaintively, "it is not my fault if things come into my head. When -they do, I sometimes tell people, but not always. I don't like being -laughed at." - -"You're a queer fish," muttered Dr. Jim, annoyed by this human problem -he could not understand. "I should like you to be examined by a -committee of doctors." - -"They would not understand Dr. Jim, and I can't explain. But you want -to hear how I knew. Well on the night Colonel Carr was killed I went -to the Pine wood after seven o'clock." - -"Had you any premonition that he would be murdered?" - -"No. I had no feeling of any kind. I was in the wood for some time. At -half past seven I felt hungry, but I did not want to go to Biffstead -as I knew Ida would try and keep me in. It was raining, but I did not -mind that. I like the open air where I can breathe. A house makes me -choke." - -"I understand. Go on." - -"As I was hungry I thought I would go and get something from Colonel -Carr. I sometimes went to see him, though I did not like him. He was -always kind to me, although I think he was afraid. Well I went into -the house just before eight." - -"You said half past seven just now." - -"I did not go in at once," said the boy, with a gesture of irritation; -"do not interrupt me, Dr. Jim. I went to the dining-room and found the -dinner on the table, but the Colonel was not there. I took a piece of -bread and some water. While I was eating I heard a shot. I wondered -what it was." - -"You did not feel that murder was been committed?" - -"No. Why should I have felt? I Just wondered what the shot might be. -After a bit I went out into the hall to see if the Colonel had come -in. I thought he might be out. I saw Petronella run through the hall -and out into the night. I wondered what she was doing there, and -followed her, but I lost her as she went through the woods. Then I -walked about for a time, up till nine. I thought again about the shot -and went back to the house. I went up the tower and saw Colonel Carr -lying dead, so I knew Petronella had killed him. I came down the----" - -"How was it you did not meet Frisco, who had gone up to see the -Colonel?" - -"I heard someone coming and went into a lower room. I thought it might -be Petronella coming back. I saw it was Frisco and saw him come down -again. Then I came and said to him 'He is quite dead,' and went out. -After that I went on the moor. Then some time afterwards I heard three -more shots. I saw Bess and her lantern and went home." - -"Why did you say nothing of all this before?" asked Herrick. "There -was no reason. If Frisco had been caught before, I should have told -you. But he had got away, and I did not think it was right to tell -about Petronella. Colonel Carr was a wicked man, and he deserved to be -killed. He did a lot of harm," said Sidney, with a shudder. - -"How comes it you tell me now, Sidney?" - -"Because Bess told me Frisco had been arrested. He is wicked too, but -I did not want him to be hanged for shooting Carr, as I knew that he -was innocent. I came over to see Petronella, for I had a feeling that -she would die, and I wanted to know from herself before she died if -she was guilty. She denied it at first, but I said I would not go away -until she told me all. That was why I stayed all night. She tried to -run away. I said I would tell the police." - -"That was unlike you Sidney." - -"No, it wasn't," replied the boy positively, "I knew that Petronella -was the one who shot Carr. If she did not confess, Frisco would be -hanged--" - -"You never thought you might be accused?" - -"No. I did not do it," replied Sidney calmly, "why should I be -accused?" - -Herrick sighed impatiently. The boy could not, or would not, -understand, "I suppose then Petronella confessed in the end." - -"Yes. I made her write it down that she killed Carr. It is in Italian -but I do not know the language. You must see that it is all right Dr. -Jim. I did that because I thought she might die before you arrived. -But now that you are here, come up and see her. I will go for -Inspector Bridge." - -Dr. Jim was aghast. Here was Sidney in a new character. "Why for -Bridge?" - -"He must hear her confession," said Sidney putting on his hat. -"Perhaps she has written down something different in the Italian. I -will give you the paper when I come back. But I must go for Bridge," -and Sidney, before Herrick could say a word, was out of the room. Dr. -Jim heard the front door close behind the boy. - -"There is not much insanity about this act," muttered Herrick to -himself, I shall see Petronella at once, he smiled grimly, "I wonder -who she will accuse," he said. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI -THE TRUTH - - -In the room where Mrs. Marsh had died, and in the same bed, lay the -old Italian woman dying also. She was sitting up, with a red woollen -shawl wrapped round her bony shoulders, and her lean hands told her -rosary. Whatever views Sidney might have instilled into her regarding -life beyond the grave, Petronella still remained within the fold of -Peter. She was muttering prayer after prayer with feverish haste and -the black beads slipped quickly from between her fingers. - -The room was dusty, dark and untidy. Near the bed was a bottle of -Chianti and some bread, but the flask was full and the loaf untouched. -Petronella was past earthly food. Herrick saw the mark of death on her -yellow face. She seemed pleased to see him and not at all afraid. -Receiving him with a chuckle, she interpreted the look in his eyes. - -"So he has told you, that young Signor," she said in her own tongue, -"ah! I thought he would. It was time--but too late Signor Dottore--too -late for the prison. I go into Purgatory. Ten pounds for masses -Signor. You will see that they are said. Then I may get into Paradise -to rest. I need rest. All my life I have worked hard. The Good God -will not be hard on poor old Petronella." - -Dr. Jim took a chair by the bedside, and felt her pulse. "You need -nourishing food Petronella," he said soothingly, "a cup of soup now--" - -"Eh! Eh Signor Dottore that 'will not help me. I am dying. You do not -know. I have never told you. Cancer Signor--a bad cancer. I shall -die." - -"I may be able to--" - -"No, I do not want that. They would put me in prison. Let me die. The -young Signor said I would die. It is foolish to live. I will go to my -Padrona and explain." - -"Then you did shoot the Colonel, Petronella?" - -"Si! Si!" the old woman coughed, "he was a devil-man. He was cruel to -my padrona, to the young Signor. Also he had the evil eye. Hard to -kill. Oh, yes," she chuckled, "but the silver bullet--ah yes the silver -bullet." Dr. Jim looked at her in silence. He wondered that he had not -suspected Petronella before. After Bess had told him about the bullet, -he had been certain that the person who had fired the shot, was of a -superstitious nature. Mrs. Marsh being Italian might have thought of -the same thing. But she was educated, and above such folly. -Petronella, a woman of the people with feudal instincts, had clung to -that wild belief of the Middle Ages. She was the one person of Dr. -Jim's acquaintances, who would have dreamed of such a thing, and her, -he had not suspected. - -"Why did you use a silver bullet Petronella?" - -"Eh! the man was a diavolo--a witch creature--he had the evil eye. Did -I not meet with an accident after he had over-looked me. It was better -he should die, rather than live to ruin the Signora. A silver bullet. -Only in that way Signor can those aided by the devil perish. I am not -sorry. No. It was a good deed. The young Signor said so." - -"All the same Petronella I must tell you that Frisco is accused of -this murder. He is in prison. It is unfair that he should suffer for -what you have done, so you must make confession." - -"I have done so Signor Dottore. I wrote with my own hand in my own -language, that I Petronella had slain this devil-man with a silver -bullet." - -"Even so," said Herrick, "but I want to write down your confession -myself. You can sign it and the police officer can witness it. Thus, -will the man who is in prison for your crime be saved." - -"The police," echoed Petronella, "ah, I knew they would come. But they -will not put me in prison Signor. I die. I die, and that soon. Eh! as -you will. You have been good to me. I will do what you want. Yonder in -the corner Signor--the padrona's ink and pen--also the paper. Write -down what I say, and I will sign. What does it matter now I die." - -Dr. Jim found the materials and placing them on the little round table -looked at Petronella. She nodded and muttered a prayer, then began to -speak in her usual rapid manner. She spoke in Italian, but Dr. Jim for -the benefit of Bridge translated it into English. Luckily Herrick was -an excellent linguist and found no difficulty in doing this. - -"Signor," began Petronella, "it happened in this way. I was at the -house of that devil-man with the Signora--oh a long time ago. The -padrona went to ask him for money. He refused, the cursed robber,--and -we were so poor--so poor. My signora the last of a great race, poor. -Gran' Dio. It was evil that she should be poor. But the devil-man -would give not one lira. Ah no! He kept all. I was angered, because of -my padrona. I saw on the table a cup of silver, and that I took." - -"You stole the cup?" - -"Why not. My padrona was poor. That devil-man saw me, he struck -me--yes, even me Petronella a free Italian. And he over-looked me with -his evil eye. I shuddered. I knew that I would have an accident. And -the next day I hurt myself. Ah the wicked wretch. I gave back the cup, -as he made me. But when we went down the stairs I took another of -silver. This time he saw me not, and I carried it here under my -shawl." - -"What did Mrs. Marsh say?" - -"My padrona was angry. But I did not care. I did not sell the silver -cup as she was angered, but I kept it, yes, for the silver bullet--" - -Herrick looked up from his writing. "Had you made up your mind then to -kill Colonel Carr?" he asked. - -"No, not then. I should have liked to: because he cast on me the evil -eye. Ah Dio mio I made horns, but it was no use. I had an accident. No -Signor Dottore I did not wish to kill him then--very much. Later on -when the will--the will--" - -"Did you know about the will?" - -"Si! Si! It was that Frisco told me. I was in the market. He also, and -he had the wine in him. He talked foolishly, and said that his Signor -would make another will leaving all the money to him. I saw that my -poor padrona and the young Signor Stefano would be ruined. I came back -and told the Signora. She was angered. Then she said she would go to -see this devil-man. Signor," here Petronella clutched Herrick by the -wrist, "I knew that my padrona had a temper. She could rage. I feared -what she might do. I watched---eh! yes, I watched. She was to dine -with the padre at Saxham, and then see the wicked Signor." - -"Did you not know she would see him in the afternoon?" - -"No! She said she would go about nine and see him. That after his -dinner he would be in a good temper and might not do this wrong. -Signor, I saw that she took with her a pistol." - -"The revolver of Mr. Marsh?" - -"Si! Si! She took it from the case in the room of the young Signor -Stefano. I saw her. I knew that if the devil-man laughed at her she -would kill him. Yes. She would." - -"No, Petronella," said Dr. Jim soothingly, "she only meant to frighten -him. So she said in the letter you gave me." - -"No Signor," replied the old woman indignantly, "the daughter of the -Micholotti would not be so weak. She would have killed him." - -"Upon my soul," muttered Herrick, "I believe she would." - -"I was in great alarm Signor," went on Petronella. "I thought if she -did so, that she would be put in prison. It was terrible to think so. -I was angered against the devil-man. He had struck me; he had looked -upon me with the evil eye. Now he would tempt my Signora to kill him -and so be put in prison. I saw that all would be lost. Then I said to -myself, to me Petronella, that I would kill him alone." - -The old woman drew herself up in bed, and looked majestic as she -spoke. Herrick was profoundly sorry for her. She had carried her -feudal instinct to excess, and so had jeopardised her life for the -sake of her mistress. He understood well how she had been urged to -this. The blow, the evil eye, the possibility of her young master -being ruined by another will, and above all, the chance that her -Signora might kill the man herself--a fiery faithful creature like -Petronella could not let such things be. As she said, she made up her -mind to kill Carr, before Mrs. Marsh could see him. Where she made the -mistake was, that she thought her mistress would see the man at night. -As a matter of fact she did, but already had seen him in the day. -Perhaps Mrs. Marsh guessed what Petronella might do, and she had told -a falsehood about the time of calling at "The Pines." - -"When the Signora departed," said Petronella, rocking to and fro, for -she was in pain, "I got my pistol. Si, Signor, it was the pistol of my -husband. He fought for the King when we freed Italy. I too, was in the -war. I shot many--oh many. He showed me; I was not afraid to shoot." - -"This piece of information showed Herrick how it was Carr had been -shot through the heart. Petronella, having been in the Italian war of -liberation, knew how to handle firearms. Probably she was an -excellent markswoman. The shooting of Carr proved her to be so. - -"I had bullets," said Petronella, "but they were of lead. I knew that -the devil man protected by the Wicked One, could not be slain by only -a leaden bullet. I wanted a silver one. Ah Gran' Dio! there was no -silver in this house. Then I thought of the cup I had taken. I got it -and melted it down over a big fire. I made three bullets in the mould -of my husband. I took his powder flask, but it was empty. The young -Signor Stefano had powder in his room--I stole it. Then I loaded the -pistol and set it aside till the night." - -"Where was Mr. Marsh all this time?" asked Herrick. - -"He was in the house in the afternoon, and went to eat with a friend -of his, Signor Barker--" - -"The newspaper editor," said Dr. Jim. He remembered that this was the -man who looked after the Beorminster Chronicle and took an interest in -Stephen's poetry, "he dined with him?" - -"Si Signor, and said he would not be back till late. He was to bring -home the Signora from Saxham. I was all alone and I saw what I could -do." - -"And what did you do Petronella?" - -"I hid the pistol in my shawl and walked to Saxham. I got there before -eight. I went to the big house, I found it empty. I climbed the stair -where I knew the devil man would be in the tower. He was standing by -his bed dressed to eat. He took up a pistol but let it down when he -saw it was only old Petronella." - -"You mean he still held the pistol?" - -"Yes. I waited for a moment as he stared at me, and then shot him. I -aimed for the heart," said Petronella hugging her knees. "The silver -bullet went through the heart. Oh, my husband showed me how to shoot -Signor." - -"What did you do then?" - -"I made sure the devil-man was dead. He fell on his face. Then I went -down the stairs. I saw someone, I did not know who it was. But the -young Signor told me he was there. I ran through the pine wood, and he -followed, I hid behind a tree, and then after a time I got home. No -one knew that I had been out, and when the Signora and the young -Signor Stefano came back I said nothing. The Signora looked white. She -said nothing to me but I knew that she had seen the devil-man. What -did I care. She could not kill him again. That is all Signor." - -"You lost the pistol?" - -"I lost my husband's pistol," said Petronella precisely, "it dropped -from my pocket when I ran, I did not care. No one would know that it -belonged to me. Then I heard Frisco had gone. I was glad. They would -not think I had killed the devil man." - -"Didn't Mrs. Marsh suspect?" - -"My signora? No. She said nothing. I was certain she had fired the -other three shots for I know my signora. Also I looked at the revolver -in the case when she put it back." - -"If Frisco had been arrested at once would you have spoken out?" - -"No. Frisco was a bad man too. I would be glad if they put him in -prison." - -"Why do you tell now then?" - -"The young Signor made me tell. Ah! he is a terrible young Signor. He -makes me afraid. He said I would die, and that I must tell at once or -he would speak to the police. Well I have told and I die. Have you all -down Signor. I will sign. Ah! Dio mio!" she started up in bed, "the -police." - -It was indeed Bridge who entered with a red face and astonished eyes. -He was followed by Sidney looking calm, just as though the Inspector -had not been scolding him all the way because he had not told about -Petronella before. But it took someone stronger than Inspector Bridge -to frighten Sidney. For a moment the Inspector stared at the bed, and -at his prisoner as he regarded the old woman. Then he spoke to Dr. -Jim. - -"This is an extraordinary thing sir," he said slowly. - -"Very," assented Herrick, "I only knew of it myself an hour ago." - -"I thought this young gentleman was telling me a lie." - -"It is the truth," said Petronella pointing to Herrick, "the Signor -has written all down. Here, see me sign my name, and you can say I -signed it." - -Inspector Bridge wanted to talk, but Dr. Jim made him a sign to be -silent. The old woman was sinking fast and there was no time to be -lost. With great difficulty she signed her name. Herrick and Bridge -appended their signatures, and all was over. - -"This will set Frisco free," said Bridge, "and now I must see about -getting a warrant out for this woman." - -"It is too late," said Dr. Jim, "she is dying." - -"She won't die," said Bridge with a disdainful smile, "all this is -done to cheat the law. I have a policeman downstairs. He shall come up -and watch her, while I go for a warrant of arrest." - -"She will die before sunset," said Sidney calmly, and went to the old -women. He took her hand. "Good bye Petronella. You will be happy soon. -You know what is to be done." - -"Si Si. I know. I am happy. I will go to my husband," said Petronella. -Then she looked at Dr. Jim with a worn smile. "I did it for my -signora," she said, "you can go. You can do me no good now." - -Herrick saw that well enough. However he went to see if he could get a -nurse to heat some soup, and revive the woman. To be sure it was -little use bringing her back to health and strength just to hang her. -But Dr. Jim acted for the best. He went out with Sidney and the -Inspector, leaving two policemen in charge. Bridge had the confession -in his pocket, and intended to go up to town to deliver it into the -hands of the proper authorities. Frisco had to be released seeing that -he was innocent. "And I always thought he was," said Bridge lying in -the most shameless manner. - -Sidney looked after the man with a queer smile when he went away. "He -is only wasting time," said the boy. - -"We may keep the old woman alive till to-morrow," said Herrick. - -Sidney shook his head. "She will die before sunset," he said. - -Out of sheer perversity Dr. Jim wanted to thwart this prophecy. He saw -that bad as Petronella was, she could be kept alive by stimulants, and -this he intended to do, if only to baffle this extraordinary boy. For -once in a way, he wished to prove Sidney in the wrong. The boy perhaps -guessed his intentions, for he smiled again, and then said abruptly, -that he was going back to Saxham. - -"Will you tell them what has happened?" asked Herrick. - -"No," replied Sidney, after a pause, "I am not fond of talking. You -can tell them if you like." - -"Very good," said Dr. Jim coolly, "then you ask Ida, Frank, and Bess -to be at 'The Pines' about five o'clock. I shall return by that time -and then everything can be explained. Thank heaven we know the truth -at last. It is about time the matter came to an end. Will you be at -'The Pines' also?" - -"I am going to have a long sleep," said Sidney. "I feel very tired." - -He turned away with a nod, and Herrick stared after him. Jim was a -doctor of the most advanced school, he had studied much, he was quick -in seeing things, and on the whole prided himself on his knowledge. -But he could make nothing of Sidney. The boy and his ways were beyond -him altogether. Sidney would have baffled a committee of Doctors. - -Herrick searched for a nurse and found one speedily, for he knew where -to go. He brought her back to the house, and set her to heat some -soup. Then he gave various directions, sent out for certain medicine, -and did what he could to revive the strength of the old woman. Bridge -allowed Petronella to have the bedroom to herself, but he kept the two -policemen in the house and got out his warrant. Nothing was known in -the town about the matter, as Bridge wished to wait until all was in -order before telling the public. He foresaw that glory would accrue to -him by the story he intended to tell. He had resolved to give Sidney -and Herrick no more credit than he could help. Dr. Jim guessed as much -when he heard Bridge talking. But he was rather pleased than -otherwise. He did not want this latest freak of the uncanny changeling -to be talked about. Besides, Bridge amused him. He was so very human -in his love of praise. - -His philanthropic work being ended, Herrick walked back to Saxham. He -reached 'The Pines' some time after five, and already found the -assembled party impatiently expecting his arrival. Sidney, it -appeared, had just said sufficient to pique the curiosity of his -family. He hinted that some untoward event had occurred with which -Herrick was connected, but refused to say what it was. Then he had -retired to bed in full daylight, and announced that he was going to -sleep for twenty-four hours. What was to be done with such a boy. - -"He grows more eccentric every day," sighed Ida. - -Stephen laughed, "Oh! his eccentricities are harmless enough. That is -if---" here he caught Herrick's eye and hesitated. He did not know but -what Sidney might have confessed the crime of which Frisco accused -him. - -"Oh! that's all right," said Jim cheerily. - -"What is?" asked Bess, wondering at the sudden relief expressed on -Stephen's face. "Jim, you have something to tell us." - -"Yes. Something very important--about the murder." - -"The murder of Carr," cried Frank astonished. "Oh! I thought that was -done with long ago." - -"On the contrary," said Dr. Jim, "I have been working at it all these -months trying to learn the truth. Stephen and Bess have been helping -me." - -"Well," said Ida, looking from her lover to the doctor, "I do call it -mean. I should have been told." - -"It would only have worried you, dear," said the Squire. - -"But what is the difficulty?" cried Frank puzzled. "Frisco killed the -Colonel. There was no secret about that." - -"Frisco did not kill Carr," said Herrick, "the jury were wrong, so -were we all. It was Petronella who shot the man." - -Stephen jumped up, as Bess uttered a cry of amazement. "Petronella," -he stammered. "Thank God! Sidney did not do it. - -"Sidney!" cried Bess and Ida in a breath. - -Herrick hurriedly explained. "Frisco accused Sidney because he was in -the house at the time of the murder. That was when you were looking -for him, Bess. Do you remember?" - -"I should think so," she cried. "No wonder I could not find him. But -Petronella. Was the pistol hers and the silver bullet?" - -"What are you talking about, Bess dear?" - -"Let me explain," said Dr. Jim, before Bess could answer Ida, "it is a -long story and I think you will find it interesting." And then Herrick -told the whole complicated case from the time he and Joyce found the -dead body of Colonel Carr in the Tower which now no longer existed. He -was frequently interrupted with exclamations of horror from Ida, and -of rage from Frank. When he ended, the latter jumped up. "If I meet -that little wretch, Joyce, again," said Frank, "I'll break every bone -in his body. The idea of trying to mix up Bess in the matter." - -"He has received a worse punishment than a thrashing," said Stephen, -"I think you can leave him to the punishment of destiny, Frank." - -A babel of voices ensued. Everyone was talking at once, and for fully -an hour they discussed the case in all its bearings. - -"I suppose Frisco will be released now," said Bess triumphantly. "I -knew that he was innocent. I said so all along." - -"All the same he is a bad lot," remarked Herrick, "the less we have to -do with him the better." - -"I don't think he'll come down here again in a hurry," said Marsh-Carr -thankfully, "and Santiago has sailed for Mexico. Thus we are rid of -the whole gang. Hullo! What's that?" It was a violent ringing at the -door, and Herrick started to his feet, looking perturbed. "I hope -nothing is wrong now," he said. "I am getting so nervous with all -this, that I am always expecting the worst of tidings." - -As he spoke, the footman ushered in Inspector Bridge, in a state of -excitement. The man could hardly speak, and was scarlet in the face -with suppressed rage and alarm. "I beg your pardon," he said to the -company; "but this woman--Petronella----" - -"What is the matter?" asked Dr. Jim. - -"She is dead." - -All looked at one another. - -"And before sunset," remarked Herrick, thinking of Sidney. "How did it -happen, Bridge?" - -"She had a bottle of chloral under her pillow, and while the nurse's -back was turned, she drank it. I was called, too late. She is as dead -as a door-nail, and has spoilt a most beautiful case." - -Leaving the others to discuss the matter with Bridge, Herrick hastily -excused himself. He ran across to Biffstead, and up into Sidney's -bedroom. The boy was sleeping quietly, but Dr. Jim woke him promptly. - -"I say," he cried, shaking the boy's shoulder, "she is dead." - -"Petronella," said Sidney drowsily, "I know she is. I said she would -die before sunset." - -"You told her to take that chloral." - -"No," said Sidney in a sleepy manner, "she wanted to take it before -she confessed, but I stopped her. But she was bound to die; I said she -might get out of the world more easily if she took it. I daresay she -died quietly--in a sleep." - -"You have behaved shamefully," cried Herrick wrathfully. - -"No. She was bound to die in any case. Why should she not die as she -pleased? Go away, Dr. Jim, I want to sleep," and Sidney closed his -eyes. - -Herrick, in the face of this calmness, was helpless, so he departed. -The boy had baffled him to the very end. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII -A FINAL SURPRISE - - -In this way the trouble left as a legacy by the wicked Colonel came to -an end. Frisco was duly tried, and on the confession of Petronella he -was acquitted. A very meagre report of the proceedings appeared in the -newspapers. In taking down the confession Herrick had not inserted the -fact of Mrs. Marsh's connection with the matter. Frisco said nothing -to his counsel about the three shots fired after the Colonel was dead. -Therefore the name of Stephen's step-mother was spared the disgrace of -her mad impulsive act. For obvious reasons the most interesting part -of the case was left untold, and the public never knew the -complications that had ensued in searching for the assassin. Frisco -was tried briefly, was acquitted, and when set free he disappeared. -Where he went no one knew, and no one cared. - -By the advice of Dr. Jim, Stephen paid to Belcher and Kidd the reward -that he had promised for the capture of Frisco. Herrick was afraid -that if it was not paid that the two might search into the matter more -particularly than would be agreeable to the feelings of Marsh-Carr. -Stephen saw this danger himself, and gladly sent a cheque for the -money. But Belcher and Kidd will get no more business from Dr. -Herrick. - -"And I hope I'll never come into connection with detective business -again," said Herrick earnestly, "it is all very well to read about: -but in real life it is not so pleasant. However we have done with it -all." - -Certainly he was done with the case, but not entirely with Frisco. One -day the ex-sailor arrived at Saxham, and asked to see Mr. Marsh-Carr. -At the time Stephen was indoors, and luckily for him Dr. Herrick had -not gone out. When the name of Frisco was given the two looked at one -another in surprise. They had hoped never to hear it again. - -"Shall I see him, Jim?" asked Stephen doubtfully. - -"Certainly. I shall see him also," replied Herrick, "he can have come -here for no good purpose. But I would rather have him as an open enemy -than striking in the dark." - -The consequence of this speech was that Frisco was shown into the -library. He was glad to see Marsh-Carr and visibly annoyed to find -that the doctor was present. - -"My business is private," said Frisco. - -"You must tell it to me in the presence of, Dr. Herrick," said -Stephen, scenting trouble; "I do nothing without his advice." - -"Worse luck," growled Frisco, and sat down with a scowl. - -Herrick laughed. "You do not seem pleased that you have escaped the -gallows, Frisco," he said, "or perhaps you are sorry the criminal did -not turn out to be Sidney Endicotte." - -"I don't care a fig who it was so long as it wasn't me," replied the -ex-sailor. "Huh! fancy Carr being shot by an old hag after going -through all the dangers he did. I always thought he'd have a mean -end." - -"This is beside the point," said Stephen, "as I suppose you did not -not come here to criticise my uncle, you had better tell me your -business." - -"It's not pleasant business," said Frisco coolly. - -"So I should expect, seeing that you have come about it," said the -Squire; "however, I shall be pleased to hear what it is." - -Frisco took a paper out of his pocket. - -"I don't think you will," said he; "I have here, Mr. Marsh-Carr, the -last will of the Colonel." - -Stephen started to his feet and turned pale. Herrick, who had been -listening intently, struck in: "I suppose it leaves all the money to -you, Mr. Joyce-Frisco?" - -"No," growled Frisco, "and you needn't Señor. It's a good will for -you if it's true what Robin says." - -"And what does Robin say?" - -"That you are to marry Miss Bess." - -"That is perfectly true," replied Herrick coolly, "but I do not see -what she has to do with your business." - -"You will soon Dr. Herrick. The money is left to her." - -"What," cried Stephen loudly, "Carr has left his money to Bess?" - -"You bet. Here's the will," and Frisco threw it across the table. "He -said she was the only man amongst the lot of you. See how honest I am -Herrick. I want to make you a rich man 'cause you stood by me in -trouble I never forget a pal, not me." - -Meantime Stephen and Jim were looking over the paper. "Why," cried -Herrick bursting into a laugh, "it's not worth the paper it's written -on. Here is the Colonel's signature, but there are no witnesses." - -"Ah! you see that do you," said Frisco with a chuckle, "that's so. But -I tell you that if my milksop had married the girl--my fool-son Robin -I mean--there would have been witnesses, and the will would have been -proved in law." - -"I daresay," said Stephen who sat down again with a recovered colour, -"well, even if this will had have been genuine I should not have -minded. There is no one I would give the money to sooner than Dr. -Herrick. - -"Stuff and nonsense!" cried Jim, although he reddened with pleasure at -this tribute of friendship, "as if I or Bess would have taken a penny -of it. Oh! I see what your game was Frisco. You wanted Robin to marry -Bess, and then you would have got witnesses to this will, and taken -the money from Stephen. Is that so?" - -"That is so," rejoined Frisco leaning back, "as the fool could not get -the girl, I tried the other plan of stopping Marsh going to the vault. -That failed because of you Dr. Herrick. If it had not been for you I'd -have had that money." - -"You confess your villainies very coolly," said Marsh-Carr sharply, -"do you know that I can lay you by the heels for that assault." - -"Oh, no you can't. T'was Santiago struck you. You can't prove that I -had anything to do with it. And," said Frisco impudently, "you would -not if you could. Remember, I held my tongue about----" - -"Yes! Yes," said Stephen hastily, "it was good of you to say nothing -about my unhappy mother. I am so far indebted to you--" - -"Ah! that's just what I've come about." - -"What do you mean?" asked Jim sharply. - -"Lord! Doc, you ain't half sharp enough. I want the Squire here to -give me a thousand pounds to start afresh. I and Robin are going back -to the States, and we want something to begin life on." - -"That is only fair," put in Stephen eagerly, "I am----" - -"Wait a bit," said Jim, "let us hear on what grounds Frisco asks you -to do this." - -Frisco was quite ready to show grounds. "Well in the first place I -held my tongue about Mrs. Marsh firing at the dead body." - -"Yes. I owe you something for that," said Stephen flushing and -wincing. - -"In the second," said Frisco raising his finger. "I brought you that -will unwitnessed so that you can still keep the money. If Robin had -got the girl I shouldn't have done that. My name as one witness and -Santiago as another, and where would you be?" - -"Santiago was never in this house," said Herrick, "and a will has to -be signed when the testator and the witnesses are together." - -"Oh, I'd have arranged all that. My own signature you could not -dispute as I was Carr's right-hand man. I'd have paid Santiago half a -year's income to sign. He'd have done it like a shot. And the will -would have stood any test then." - -"That is true enough," said Herrick reflectively, "so long as the -Colonel's signature was right the rest was easy. Where did you get -this will?" - -"It was on his table. He must have been fooling with it when the old -woman Petronella shot him. It was about this will that Mrs. Marsh made -such a fuss, only she thought the money was to be left to me." - -"Ah! You let that out yourself." - -"Being drunk," said Frisco with a laugh, "well I took away the will -and afterwards thought to use it, by marrying Robin to Bess Endicotte. -But you see Mr. Marsh," he added turning to Stephen, "I did not have -the witnesses names put, so you keep the money instead of handing it -over to Miss Bess." - -"Whether he had done so or not," cried Dr. Jim hotly, "Bess would not -have taken it. The money is rightfully Stephen's." - -"Ah! That brings me to the third point," said Frisco unmoved, "I -worked for that money. I went through hot and cold and danger to get -it. Half of it should have been mine. But Carr had the whip hand of -me, so I'm out of it. Now gentlemen, I know where that câche is. If -you'll give me a thousand to fit out an expedition we'll cry quits. I -and Robin are going to get more treasure. Carr didn't take away the -lot." - -"But remember that the Indians are warned," said Herrick, "they have -very likely removed the rest of the jewels." - -"That's what I've got to find out," said Frisco, "and Robin is coming -along with me to be made a man of. Well, these three points, Mr. -Marsh, are clear enough. I ought to have half the money, but as you -have the upper hand, I ask a thousand pounds--as my right." - -"I certainly think you are entitled to that much," said Stephen, "what -do you say, Herrick?" - -"I'm with you, Steve. Give him the money." - -Frisco chuckled while Stephen wrote out a cheque for the amount. When -the ex-sailor placed it in his pocket he stood up to go. "Well, -gentlemen," he said, with some sort of emotion, "I thank you for this -treatment. You are both white men. I have behaved badly, but this -makes all square. I can tell you one thing, Mr. Marsh, that you will -have no further trouble about the money. Even if the Indians knew, -they would do nothing to you, now that Carr has gone. As to the plan, -I daresay his body by this time is--well no matter. I go out of your -life gentlemen, so does Robin--to be made a man of. There remains -Santiago. He won't trouble you. I'm going to shoot him when I drop -across him in Mexico." - -"You can do what you like there, Frisco. I daresay another crime won't -matter much to you." - -"It wouldn't be a crime but an act of justice. He played me a dirty -trick, Dr. Herrick. However, I'm off. You won't shake hands so I don't -offer. So long gentlemen both," said Frisco walking towards the door, -"and may you live long and be happy. As to that devil Carr--" Frisco -spat and then departed. They never saw him again. - -A year later information came through a newspaper, stating the fate of -an expedition that had gone into the interior of Peru. The Indians of -the Cordilleras had attacked the camp and the three white men who led -the expedition were killed. Their names were Joyce, alias Frisco, his -son Robin, and a Mexican called Santiago. - -"Poor Robin," said Herrick when he read this to his wife, "he was a -mean little scoundrel, but I'm sorry that he came to such an end. As -to Santiago, Frisco must have made it up with him and taken him to -look after the treasure. Well, the whole three are dead. Let us forget -them." - -But this is anticipating. On the evening of the day when Frisco -appeared, Stephen announced to the assembled Biffs that Dr. Herrick -intended to accept half the income of the wicked Colonel with the -permission of Bess. Jim was on his feet at once. "Come," he cried, -very red, "I intend to do nothing of the sort. What rubbish are you -talking, Steve." - -"I only ask Bess to read this paper," said Stephen and gave Bess the -incomplete will. - -"Ah! true," replied Herrick, "it is only fair that she should decide -for herself. But I'll have no part in the matter." - -"The Colonel going to leave his money to me," cried Bess, "well I -never heard such nonsense Stephen. As if I would take a penny from -you, or Ida." - -"I told you so," cried Dr. Jim triumphantly, "I knew Bess would think -the same as I. Hurrah! Bess, kiss me." - -"Is this a proper will, Steve?" asked Ida looking at the paper. - -"No. Frisco brought it here to-day to cause trouble. But as you see -there are no witnesses, so it is not valid." - -"And yet you want to offer me half the money." - -"Take it, Bess," cried Ida, "I am sure Stephen and I can live well on -four thousand a year." - -"I won't," said Bess, "these were the Colonel's intentions--very kind -I'm sure. But even if the will were legal I should not accept. Jim, am -I not right?" - -"Perfectly right, darling. You and I will make our own way." - -"It's all nonsense," said Stephen, "you must take some money. It is -only fair that the Colonel's intentions should be respected in some -way." - -There was a great deal of argument. Finally Bess and Dr. Herrick -agreed to take one thousand a year for life. "There," said Ida kissing -her sister, "I hope that is all right." - -"And now Jim will go away," said Stephen gloomily. - -"Not until the year's end, and until the money is firmly in your -possession," was the reply of the doctor, "remember you have some -months' visits to pay to that vault. Even though Frisco has gone we -must carry out the will." - -"And at the end of the year?" - -"I'll establish myself in practice somewhere," said Dr. Herrick, -"perhaps in Beorminster so as to be near you. Bess can then go on -writing for the 'Weekly Chronicle.'" - -"Indeed, I shall write a novel," cried Bess, "I want a London fame." - -And so it was settled. For a year Herrick remained at "The Pines" with -the Squire. Then there was a double wedding. Ida and Stephen came back -to live in the Wicked Colonel's house, and Dr. Herrick and his bride -established himself in a comfortable mansion in Beorminster. He became -immensely popular, and also having married into a county family, he -was much sought after by the county invalids. Frank and Sidney were -left at Biffstead and Flo came home to keep house for them. - -The Rev. Pentland Corn gave up his charge of the Parish, and went out -to the East as a missionary. No one could understand the reason for -this folly--as they called it--save Herrick. He understood only too -well, and his was the last hand Pentland Corn clasped when he left -England for India. His place was taken by a young and amiable rector, -who will probably marry Flo Endicotte. Then Frank will have to keep -the house himself or marry in self-defence. - -As to Sidney, the queer boy. Herrick took that young gentleman in hand -and tried to make him a healthy man. He made him ride, shoot, swim, -and indulge in all manner of out-of-door sports. At first Sidney -rebelled, but as he was really fond of Herrick he began to take kindly -to the regime. The consequence was he became more of a boy in a few -months, and actually began to eat meat. Herrick watched over him with -the greatest care and gradually Sidney lost his unpleasant faculty of -"seeing things." He went to college, and there he now is, becoming -rapidly more of a normal person. Once he met with a Theosophist who -told him, after hearing his story, that he had sunk the spirit in the -flesh and blamed Herrick severely. In fact, this gentleman took a -journey to Saxham to see and expostulate with Herrick on the -wickedness of debasing the psychic gifts of the boy. - -"I would rather see him a healthy man," said the doctor impatiently, -"in what you say there may be a good deal. But the boy is now in -better health and easier to live with." - -"Ah! you do not deserve to have such a person in the family," said the -theosophist, "but your work will not endure for ever. You have made -Mr. Endicotte eat meat, and materialised him. But in a few years he -will recover his gift. It will be stronger than ever." - -"Then I hope he won't come here," said Herrick, "I have every respect -for persons so gifted, but I don't like them. To have one at your -elbow, who sees into the future and foretells death, and is always -seeing creatures of the air is horrible." - -"You are a sceptic, Dr. Herrick." - -"No. I think there are many things of which we know nothing--I mean in -regard to what we talk about. But for my part I want to do my duty in -this life and leave all these occult things to people who like them. I -should like my brother-in-law to act likewise. However, he is in good -health now, and I should be sorry to see him relapse into the state he -was when I first met him." - -Thereupon the Theosophist sighed and departed. All the same he is -keeping a watch over Sidney, and should the boy again develope the -clairvoyant faculty, he will be made better use of, by those who -understand. - -And then a happy day came when in Stephen's arms was placed a boy. -Bess Herrick placed him therein. "Do you know who this is?" she asked. - -"My son and heir," replied Stephen, bending over the infant, "what -else, or who else should he be?" - -"The first the very first really innocent creature who has been in -this house for close upon a century." - -"That is complimentary to us all Bess," said her husband who had -entered the room, "but what if he is?" - -Bess looked solemn. "I think he is the guardian angel of Ida and -Steve, to keep away the evil spirit of Colonel Carr." - -"Come now Bess, you are not like Sidney. You have not seen----?" - -"I have seen nothing Jim. But the village people are already making a -legend about the Wicked Colonel. They say he walks. I hope, now that -this innocent child is here, that they will leave off inventing such -horrid things. I don't want 'The Pines' to have the reputation of -being haunted. And you know how stories grow, Jim." - -"I know this," replied Dr. Herrick, "that Carr was murdered in a room -which has vanished into thin air. If his ghost walks anywhere it must -be in the Pine wood. There is no call for him to haunt this place." - -Some one repeated this saying of Herrick's, and what he had said in -jest was spoken of in earnest. In a few months it was commonly -reported that the Wicked Colonel had been seen in the Pine wood, -surrounded with a red glow, significant of the habitation his spirit, -for its sins, dwelt in. In vain more sensible people laughed at this -tale. It came to be firmly believed in, and it was said that when any -misfortune was about to befall the Marsh-Carr family, that the shade -of the Colonel appeared. - -"It is the penalty of greatness," said Dr. Jim to Stephen, "a county -family is not really respectable until it has its private ghost." - -And in this way Wicked Colonel Carr became a tradition. - - - -THE END - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Silver Bullet, by Fergus Hume - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILVER BULLET *** - -***** This file should be named 55511-8.txt or 55511-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/1/55511/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Hathi Trust (The Ohio State University) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/55511-8.zip b/old/55511-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b73c54e..0000000 --- a/old/55511-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/55511-h.zip b/old/55511-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e606bf8..0000000 --- a/old/55511-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/55511-h/55511-h.htm b/old/55511-h/55511-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 3453d02..0000000 --- a/old/55511-h/55511-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13501 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> -<html> -<head> -<title>The Silver Bullet</title> - -<meta name="Author" content="Fergus Hume"> - -<meta name="Publisher" content="John Long"> -<meta name="Date" content="1903"> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> -<style type="text/css"> -body {margin-left:10%; - margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF; - text-align: justify} - - -p.normal {text-indent:.25in; text-align: justify;} - -p.right {text-align:right; margin-right:20%;} -p.center {text-align: center;} -p.continue {text-indent: 0in; margin-top:9pt;} - -h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 {text-align: center;} - - -.t0 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:0em; margin-right:0em;} -.t1 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:1em; margin-right:0em;} -.t2 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:2em; margin-right:0em;} -.t3 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:3em; margin-right:0em;} -.t4 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:4em; margin-right:0em;} -.t5 {margin-top:0px; margin-bottom:0px; margin-left:5em; margin-right:0em;} - - -span.sc {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:110%;} -span.sc2 {font-variant: small-caps; font-size:90%;} - -hr.W10 {width:10%; color:black; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt} - -hr.W20 {width:20%; color:black; margin-top:12pt; margin-bottom:12pt} - -hr.W50 {width:50%; color:black;} -hr.W90 {width:90%; color:black;} - -p.hang1 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:-3em;} -p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} - -</style> - -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Silver Bullet, by Fergus Hume - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Silver Bullet - -Author: Fergus Hume - -Release Date: September 8, 2017 [EBook #55511] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILVER BULLET *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Hathi Trust (The Ohio State University) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Notes:<br> -1. Page scan source:<br> -https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435001496009;<br> -(The Ohio State University)</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>THE SILVER BULLET</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<hr class="W90"> -<p class="center"><span class="sc">By the Same Author</span></p> -<div style="margin-left:25%; text-align:left; font-size:10pt; font-weight:bold"> - -<br> -<p>THE SILENT HOUSE IN PIMLICO</p> -<p>THE BISHOP'S SECRET</p> -<p>THE CRIMSON CRYPTOGRAM</p> -<p>THE GOLDEN WANG-HO</p> -<p>THE TURNPIKE HOUSE</p> -<p>A TRAITOR IN LONDON</p> -<p>WOMAN--THE SPHINX</p> -<p>THE JADE EYE</p> -<br> -</div> -<hr class="W90"> -<p class="center">John Long, Publisher, London</p> - - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>THE SILVER BULLET</h3> -<br> -<br> -<h5>BY</h5> -<h4>FERGUS HUME</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>London<br> -<span style="font-size:larger">John Long</span><br> -13 & 14 Norris Street, Haymarket</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> - -<table cellpadding="10" style="width:90%; margin-left:5%; font-weight:bold"> -<colgroup><col style="width:20%; vertical-align:top; text-align:right"><col style="width:80%; vertical-align:top; text-align:left"></colgroup> -<tr> -<td colspan="2"><h3>CONTENTS</h3></td> -</tr><tr> -<td>CHAPTER.</td> -<td> </td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_01" href="#div1_01">I.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The House in the Pine Wood</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_02" href="#div1_02">II.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">De Mortuis Nil Nisi Malum</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_03" href="#div1_03">III.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Verdict of the Jury</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_04" href="#div1_04">IV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">At Beorminster</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_05" href="#div1_05">V.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Theory of Mrs. Marsh</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_06" href="#div1_06">VI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">"The Changeling"</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_07" href="#div1_07">VII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Nine Days' Wonder</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_08" href="#div1_08">VIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Curious Discovery</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_09" href="#div1_09">IX.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Herrick Is Suspicious</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_10" href="#div1_10">X.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Secret Writings</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_11" href="#div1_11">XI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Settling Down</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_12" href="#div1_12">XII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Second-Sight</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_13" href="#div1_13">XIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Wooing of Robin Joyce</span></td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_14" href="#div1_14">XIV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Confession Of Bess</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_15" href="#div1_15">XV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Robin Joyce Explains Himself</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_16" href="#div1_16">XVI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Bess the Detective</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_17" href="#div1_17">XVII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Unexpected Evidence</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_18" href="#div1_18">XVIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Part of the Truth</span>.</td> - -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_19" href="#div1_19">XIX.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Don Manuel's Recollections</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_20" href="#div1_20">XX.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Revd. Pentland Corn</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_21" href="#div1_21">XXI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Another Mystery</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_22" href="#div1_22">XXII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Message from the Dead</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_23" href="#div1_23">XXIII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Unexpected Happens</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_24" href="#div1_24">XXIV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Story Of Frisco</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_25" href="#div1_25">XXV.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">Sidney Speaks Out</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_26" href="#div1_26">XXVI.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">The Truth</span>.</td> -</tr><tr> -<td><a name="div1Ref_27" href="#div1_27">XXVII.</a></td> -<td><span class="sc">A Final Surprise</span>.</td> -</tr></table> - - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>THE SILVER BULLET</h3> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_01" href="#div1Ref_01">CHAPTER I</a></h4> -<h5>THE HOUSE IN THE PINE WOOD</h5> -<br> - -<p>"We had better lie down and die," said Robin peevishly. "I can't go a -step further," and to emphasise his words he deliberately sat.</p> - -<p>"Infernal little duffer," growled Herrick. "Huh! Might have guessed -you would Joyce." He threw himself down beside his companion and -continued grumbling. "You have tobacco, a fine night, and a heather -couch of the finest, yet you talk as though the world were coming to -an end."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure this moor never will," sighed Joyce, reminded of his -cigarettes, "we have been trudging it since eight in the morning, yet -it still stretches to the back-of-beyond. Hai!"</p> - -<p>The pedestrians were pronouncedly isolated. A moonless sky thickly -jewelled with stars, arched over a treeless moor, far-stretching as -the plain of Shinar. In the luminous summer twilight, the eye could -see for a moderate distance, but to no clearly defined horizon; and -the verge of sight was limited by vague shadows, hardly definite -enough to be mists.</p> - -<p>The moor exhaled the noonday heats in thin white vapour, which shut -out from the external world those who nestled to its bosom. A sense of -solitude, the brooding silence, the formless surroundings, and above -all, the insistence of the infinite, would have appealed on ordinary -occasions to the poetical and superstitious side of Robin's nature. -But at the moment, his nerves were uppermost. He was worn-out, -fractious as a child, and in his helplessness could have cried like -one. Herrick knew his friend's frail physique and inherited neurosis: -therefore he forebore to make bad worse by ill advised sympathy. -Judiciously waiting until Joyce had in some degree soothed himself -with tobacco, he talked of the common-place.</p> - -<p>"Nine o'clock," said he peering at his watch; "thirteen hour's -walking. Nothing to me Robin, but a goodish stretch to you. However we -are within hail of civilization, and in England. A few miles further -we'll pick up a village of sorts no doubt. One would think you were -exploiting Africa the way you howl."</p> - -<p>He spoke thus callously, in order to brace his friend; but Joyce -resented the tone with that exaggerated sense of injury peculiar to -the neurotic. "I am no Hercules like you Jim," he protested sullenly; -"all your finer feelings have been blunted by beef and beer. You can't -feel things as I do. Also," continued Robin still more querulously, -"it seems to have escaped your memory, that I returned only last night -from a two day's visit to Town."</p> - -<p>"If you _will_ break up your holiday into fragments, you must not -expect to receive the benefit its enjoyment as a whole would give you. -It was jolly enough last week sauntering through the Midlands, till -you larked up to London, and fagged yourself with its detestable -civilization."</p> - -<p>Joyce threw aside his cigarette and nervously began to roll another. -"It was no lark which took me up Jim. The letter that came to the -Southberry Inn was about--her business."</p> - -<p>"Sorry old man. I keep forgetting your troubles. Heat and the want of -food make me savage. We'll rest here for a time, and then push on. Not -that a night in the open would matter to me."</p> - -<p>Joyce made no reply but lying full length on the dry herbage, stared -at the scintillating sky. At his elbow, Herrick, cross-legged like a -fakir, gave himself up to the enjoyment of a disreputable pipe. The -more highly-strung man considered the circumstances which had placed -him where he was.</p> - -<p>Two months previously, Robin Joyce had lost his mother, to whom he had -been devotedly attached: and the consequent grief had made a wreck of -him. For weeks he had shut himself up in the flat once brightened by -her presence to luxuriate in woe. He possessed in a large degree that -instinct for martyrdom, latent in many people, which searches for -sorrow, as a more joyous nature hunts for pleasure. The blow of Mrs. -Joyce's death had fallen unexpectedly, but it brought home to Robin, -the knowledge--strange as it may sound--that a mental pleasure can be -plucked from misfortune. He locked himself in his room, wept much, and -ate little; neglected his business of contributor to several -newspapers, and his personal appearance. Thus the pain of his loss -merged itself in that delight of self-mortification, which must have -been experienced by the hermits of the Thebiad. Not entirely from -religious motives was the desert made populous with hermits in the -days of Cyril and Hypatia.</p> - -<p>Herrick did not realize this transcendental indulgence, nor would he -have understood it, had he done so. Emphatically a sane man, he would -have deemed it a weakness degrading to the will, if not a species of -lunacy. As it was, he merely saw that Robin yielded to an unrestrained -grief detrimental to his health, and insisted upon carrying him off -for a spell in the open air. With less trouble than he anticipated, -Robin's consent was obtained. The mourner threw himself with ardour -into the scheme, selected the county of Berks as the most inviting for -a ramble; and when fairly started, showed a power of endurance amazing -in one so frail.</p> - -<p>Jim however being a doctor, was less astonished than a layman would -have been. He knew that in Joyce a tremendous nerve power dominated -the feebler muscular force, and that the man would go on like a -blood-horse until he dropped from sheer exhaustion. The collapse on -the moor did not surprise him. He only wondered that Robin had held -out for so many days.</p> - -<p>"But I wish you had not gone to London," said Herrick pursuing aloud -this train of thought.</p> - -<p>"I had to go," replied Joyce not troubling to query the remark. "The -lawyer wrote about my poor mother's property. In my sorrow, I had -neglected to look after it, but at Southberry Junction feeling better, -thanks to your open air cure, I thought it wise to attend to the -matter."</p> - -<p>Then Joyce went on to state with much detail, how he had caught the -Paddington express at Marleigh--their last stopping place--and had -seen his lawyer. The business took some time to settle; but it -resulted in the knowledge that Joyce found himself possessed of five -hundred a year in Consols. "Also the flat and the furniture," said -Robin, "so I am not so badly off. I can devote myself wholly to novels -now, and shall not have to rack my brains for newspaper articles."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded over a newly-filled pipe. "Did you sleep at the flat?"</p> - -<p>"No, I went up on Tuesday as you know, and slept that night at the -Hull Hotel, a small house in one of the Strand side streets. Last -night, I joined you at Southberry."</p> - -<p>"And it is now Thursday," said Herrick laughing. "How particular you -are as to detail Robin. Well, Southberry is a goodish way behind us -now and Saxham is our next resting place. Feel better?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, thanks. In another quarter of an hour, I shall make the attempt -to reach Saxham. But we are so late, I fear no bed----"</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's alright. We can wake the landlord, I calculate we have only -three miles."</p> - -<p>"Quite enough too. By the way Jim, what did you do, when I left you?"</p> - -<p>In the semi-darkness Herrick chuckled. "Fell in love!" said he.</p> - -<p>"H'm! You lost no time about it. And she?"</p> - -<p>"A daughter of the gods, divinely tall; dark hair, creamy skin, -sea-blue eyes the figure and gait of Diana, and--"</p> - -<p>"More of the Celt than the Greek," interrupted Joyce, "blue eyes, -black hair, that is the Irish type. Where did you see her?"</p> - -<p>"In Southberry Church, talking to a puny curate, who did not deserve -such a companion. Oh, Robin, her voice! like an Eolian harp."</p> - -<p>"It must possess a variety of tones then Jim. Did she see you?"</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded and laughed again. "She looked and blushed. Beauty drew -me with a single hair, therefore I thrilled responsive. Love at first -sight Robin. Heigh-ho! never again shall I see this Helen of -Marleigh."</p> - -<p>"Live in hope," said Joyce, springing to his feet. "Allons, mon ami."</p> - -<p>The more leisurely Herrick rose, markedly surprised at this sudden -recuperation. "Wonderful man. One minute you are dying, the next -skipping like a two year old. Hysterical all the same," he added as -Joyce laughed.</p> - -<p>"Those three miles," explained the other feverishly, "I feel that I -have to walk them, and my determination is braced to breaking point."</p> - -<p>"That means you'll collapse half way," retorted the doctor unstrapping -his knapsack. "Light a match. Valerian for you my man."</p> - -<p>Robin made no objection. He knew the value of Valerian for those -unruly nerves of his, at present vibrating like so many harp-strings, -twangled by an unskilful player. His small white face looked smaller -and whiter than ever in the faint light of the match; but his great -black eyes flamed like wind-blown torches. The contrast of Herrick's -sun-tanned Saxon looks, struck him as almost ludicrous. Joyce needed -no mirror to assure him of his appearance at the moment. He knew only -too well how he aged on the eve of a nerve storm. For the present it -was averted by the valerian; but he knew and so did Herrick, that -sooner or later it would surely come.</p> - -<p>"We must get on as fast as possible," said Herrick, the knapsack again -on his broad back. "Food, drink, rest; you need all three. Forward!"</p> - -<p>For some time they walked on in silence. Robin was so small, Dr. Jim -so large, that they looked like the giant and dwarf of the old fairy -tale on their travels. But in this case it was the giant who did all -the work. Joyce was a pampered, lazy, irresponsible child, in the -direct line of descent from Harold Skimpole. If Jim Herrick must be -likened to another hero of romance, Amyas Leigh was his prototype.</p> - -<p>The shadows melted before them, and closed in behind, and still there -was nothing but plain and mist. At the end of two miles a dark bulk -like a thunder-cloud, loomed before them. It stretched directly across -their path. "Bogey," laughed Robin.</p> - -<p>"A wood," said the more prosaic Jim, "this moor is fringed with -pine-woods: remember the forest we passed through this morning."</p> - -<p>"In the cheerful sunshine," shuddered Joyce. "I don't like woodlands -by night. The fairies are about and goblins of the worst. Ha! Yonder -the lantern of Puck. Oberon holds revel in the wood."</p> - -<p>"Puck must be putting a girdle round the earth then Robin," said -Herrick and stared at the white starry light, which beamed above the -trees.</p> - -<p>"Hecate's torch," cried Joyce, "a meeting of witches," and he began to -chant the gruesome rhymes of the sisterhood, as Macbeth heard them. -"The scene is a blasted heath too," said he.</p> - -<p>By this time the moon was rising, and silver shafts struck inward to -the heart of the pines. The aerial light vanished behind the leafy -screen, as the travellers came to a halt on the verge of the -undergrowth.</p> - -<p>"We must get through," said Dr. Jim, "or if you like Robin, we can -skirt round. Saxham village is just beyond I fancy."</p> - -<p>"Let us choose the bee-line," murmured Joyce. "I want a bed and a meal -as soon as possible. This part of the world is unknown to me. You -lead."</p> - -<p>"I don't know it myself. However here's a path. We'll follow it to the -light. That comes from a tower of sorts. Too high up for a house."</p> - -<p>With Herrick as pioneer, they plunged into the wood, following a -winding path. In the gloom, their heads came into contact with boughs -and tree-trunks but occasionally the moon made radiant the secret -recesses, and revealed unexpected openings. The path sometimes passed -across a glade, on the sward of which Joyce declared he saw the -fairies dancing: and anon plunged into a cimmerian gloom suggestive of -the underworld. No wind swung the heavy pine-boughs; the wild -creatures of the wood gave no sign, made no stir: yet the explorers -heard a low persistent swish-swurr-swish, like the murmur of a dying -breeze. It came from no particular direction, but droned on all sides -without pause, without change of note. Herrick heard Robin's -hysterical sob, as the insistent sound bored into his brain. He would -have made some remark; but at the moment they emerged into a open -space of considerable size. Here, ringed by pines, loomed a vast grey -house, with a slim tower. In that tower burned the steady light -outshining even the moon's lustre. But what was more remarkable still, -was the illumination of the mansion. Every window radiated white fire.</p> - -<p>"Queer," said Robin halting on the verge of the wood, "not even a -fence or a wall: a path or an outhouse. One would think that this was -an inferior Aladdin's palace dropped here by some negligent genii. All -ablaze too," he added wonderingly; "the owner must be giving a ball."</p> - -<p>"No signs of guests anyhow," returned Herrick as puzzled as his -companion. "H'm! Queer thing to find Versailles in a pine wood. -However it may afford us a bed and a supper."</p> - -<p>It was certainly strange. The circle of trees stopped short of the -building at fifty yards. On all sides stretched an expanse of shorn -and well-kept turf, pathless as the sea. In its midst the mansion was -dropped--as Joyce aptly put it--unexpectedly. A two-storey Tudor -building, with battlements, and mullioned windows, terraces and -flights of shallow steps: the whole weather-worn and grey in the -moonlight, over-grown with ivy, and distinctly ruinous. The -dilapidated state of the house, contrasted in a rather sinister manner -with the perfectly-kept lawn. Also another curious contrast, was the -tower. This tacked on to the western corner, stood like a lean white -ghost, watching over its earthly habitation. Its gleaming stone-work -and sharp outlines showed that it had been built within the last -decade. A distinct anachronism, which marred the quaint antiquity of -the mediæval mansion.</p> - -<p>"He must be an astrologer," said Joyce referring to the owner, "or it -may be that the tower is an inland pharos, to guide travellers across -that pathless moor. A horrible place," he muttered.</p> - -<p>"Why horrible?" asked Dr. Jim as they crossed the lawn.</p> - -<p>Robin shuddered, and cast a backward glance. "I can hardly explain. -But to my mind, there is something sinister in this lonely mansion, -ablaze with light, yet devoid of inhabitants."</p> - -<p>"We have yet to find out if that is the case Robin. Hullo! the door is -open," and in the strong moonlight they looked wonderingly at each -other.</p> - -<p>The heavy door--oak, clamped with iron--was slightly ajar. Herrick -bent upon consummating the adventure, pushed it slightly open. They -beheld a large hall with a tesselated pavement, and stately columns. -Between these last stood black oak high-backed chairs upholstered in -red velvet: also statues of Greek gods and goddesses, holding aloft -opaque globes, radiant with light. A vast marble staircase with wide -and shallow steps, sloped upwards, and on either side of this, from -the height of the landing fell scarlet velvet curtains, shutting in -the hall. The whiteness of the marble, the crimson of the draperies, -the brilliance of the light; these sumptuous furnishings amazed the -dusty pedestrians. It was as though, on a lonely prairie, one should -step suddenly into the splendours of the Vatican.</p> - -<p>"The palace of the Sleeping Beauty," whispered the awe-struck Robin. -"Who can say romance is dead, when one can stumble upon such an -adventure."</p> - -<p>Herrick shared Robin's perplexity: but of a more practical nature, he -addressed himself less to the romance than to the reality. Seeing no -one, hearing nothing, he touched an ivory button, that glimmered a -white spot beside the door. Immediately a silvery succession of -sounds, shrilled through the--apparently--lonely house. "Electric -bells, electric light. The hermit of this establishment is -up-to-date."</p> - -<p>"He is also deaf, and has no servants," said Joyce impatiently after a -few minutes had passed. "Has a Borgian banquet taken place here? The -guests seem to be dead. Hai! the whole thing is damnable."</p> - -<p>"Don't let yourself go," said the doctor roughly squeezing the little -man's arm, "wait and see the upshot."</p> - -<p>Again and again they rang the bell, and themselves heard its -imperative summons: but no one appeared. Then they took their courage -in both hands, and stepped into the house. Passing through the crimson -curtains, they found themselves in a wide corridor enamelled green, -with velvet carpet and more light-bearing statues. On either side were -doors draped with emerald silk. Herrick led the way through one of -these, for Joyce, rendered timorous by the adventure would not take -the initiative.</p> - -<p>In the first room, an oval table was set out for a solitary meal. The -linen was bleached as the Alpine snow, the silver antique, the crystal -exquisite, the porcelain worth its weight in gold. An iridescent glass -vase in the centre was filled with flowers, but these drooped, -withered and brown. The bread also was stale, the fruits were -shrivelled from their early freshness. Magnificently furnished and -draped, the room glowed in splendour, under innumerable electric -lights. But the intruders had eyes only for that sumptuous table, with -its air of desolation, and its place set for one. Anything more -sinister can scarcely be conceived.</p> - -<p>"No one has sat down to this meal," said Herrick lifting the covers of -the silver dishes, "it has stood here for hours, if not for days. Let -us see if we can find the creature for whom it was intended."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps you expect to find the Beast that loved Beauty, since you -call him a creature," said Robin hysterically. "Here is wine."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim went to the sideboard, whereon were ranged decanters of -Venetian glass containing many different vintages. Passing over these -he selected a pint bottle of champagne. "We must make free of our -position," he said, unwiring this, "afterwards we can apologise."</p> - -<p>"Ugh!" cried Robin as the cork popped with a staccato sound in the -silence. "How gruesome; give me a glass at once Jim."</p> - -<p>"I don't know if it is good for you in your present state," replied -the doctor brimming a goblet, "however the whole adventure is so -queer, that an attack of nerves is excusable. Drink up."</p> - -<p>Robin did so, and was joined by Jim. They finished the bottle, and -felt exhilarated, and more ready to face the unknown. Again Herrick -led the way to further explorations. Adjacent to the dining-room, they -discovered a small kitchen, white-tiled and completely furnished. "Our -hermit cooks for himself," declared Dr. Jim, eying the utensils of -polished copper. "This is not a servant's kitchen: also it is off the -dining-room."</p> - -<p>Robin made no reply, but followed his friend, his large eyes becoming -larger at every fresh discovery. They entered a drawing-room filled -with splendid furniture, silver knick-knacks, costly china, and -Eastern hangings of great price. There was a library stored with books -in magnificent bindings, and with tables piled with latter-day -magazines, novels and newspapers. "Our hermit keeps himself abreast of -the world," commented Jim.</p> - -<p>Then came a picture gallery, but this was on a second storey and -lighted from the roof. Treasures of art ancient and modern glowed here -under the radiance of the light, which illuminated every room. A -smoking-room fashioned like a ship's cabin: a Japanese apartment, -crammed with the lacquer work, and stiff embroideries of Yeddo and -Yokahama; a shooting gallery; a bowling alley; a music room, -containing a magnificent Erard. Finally a dozen bedrooms furnished -with taste and luxury. To crown all they discovered a gymnasium fitted -up completely even to foils and boxing gloves: and a huge bathroom. -This last was throughout of white marble, with a square pool of water -in the centre. "What a pond to bathe in!" cried Jim enviously, for he -was hot and dusty. "Our hermit is an ancient Roman; he understands how -to enjoy life. Come along Robin!"</p> - -<p>But by this time they had explored almost the whole of the wonderful -house. There remained the back premises, but on entering, they found -nothing but darkness and dirt, squalor and coldness. The hermit's -attention to his mansion stopped short at the servant's door. "And I -don't believe he has any servants," declared Joyce. "How the deuce -does he keep all this clean?"</p> - -<p>The doctor shook his head. He hardly knew what to say. The situation -was beyond him. A palace in the wilderness, with an open door inviting -thieves! Crammed with treasures, brilliant with light, uninhabited, -deserted. Was there ever anything so wonderful? He had to pinch -himself to make sure that he was awake. "We have got into the world of -the fourth dimension: the fairy-land of the Arabian Nights. What do -you think Joyce?"</p> - -<p>"I think we had better climb up to the tower," said Robin with unusual -common sense, "It is the only place we have left unexplored. There is -a light there too; Aladdin may be aloft."</p> - -<p>Herrick shook his head. "He would have heard the bell. However come -along. We must find someone."</p> - -<p>With some difficulty they discovered the staircase leading to the -tower. It was narrow but straight, and not so steep as might have been -expected. At the top Herrick--leading as usual--was confronted by a -closed door of plain deal. It was not locked however, and having -knocked without receiving a reply he opened it. Joyce at his heels -peeped over his shoulder and beheld a small square room with windows -on all four sides, and a large central globe burning in the ceiling. -In contrast to the rest of the house, this room was absolutely bare. -Blank walls, Chinese matting on the floor, a camp bedstead in one -corner, a deal table without a covering in another, and two cane -chairs. No anchorite could have had a more ascetic cell.</p> - -<p>Herrick took in the scene at a glance, took in also, its--to -him--central feature, the body of a man lying face downwards, near the -bed. Joyce saw the corpse also, and remained at the door, shaking and -white.</p> - -<p>"Murder or suicide?" Jim asked himself as he turned over the dead.</p> - -<p>That, which had once been a man, was in evening dress. In the finest -of linen and jewellery, the most immaculate of clothes, it lay under -the scrutinising eye of Dr. Herrick. A lean evil face, with a hook -nose, scanty grey hair cut short and a long moustache carefully -trimmed. The left hand gripped a revolver; the shirt front over the -heart was covered with blood, and a stream, coagulated and black, -streaked the matting.</p> - -<p>"In God's name?" cried Joyce not daring to enter, "what is it?"</p> - -<p>"It was once the owner of this house I suppose," said Herrick grimly. -"Now, it is a piece of carrion. Suicide apparently. Dead over -twenty-four hours. Shot through the heart. A steady hand to do that. -H'm, left-handed too. Is it suicide, or murder? Here's a damnable -discovery to cap the adventure," said Dr. Jim gravely.</p> - -<p>From the doorway came a gasp, a tittering laugh. Jim had just time to -spring forward when Joyce lunged into his arms. The long expected -nerve-storm had come at last.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_02" href="#div1Ref_02">CHAPTER II</a></h4> -<h5>DE MORTUIS NIL NISI MALUM</h5> -<br> - -<p style="margin-left:20%;font-size:smaller">"And sunsets fire, the Saxham spire,<br> -My guide post unto heaven."</p> - -<br> -<p>So sang midway in the last century a local poet, who died long since -and passed, poems and all, into oblivion. But the famous spire in its -copper sheathing still catches the sunlight, and glows in the centre -of Saxham, a veritable pillar of fire. Those natives who have -emigrated, enlisted as soldiers, taken situations in London and -elsewhere, shipped before the mast, as some have done, always remember -church and spire. The children recall its ruddy blaze when they read -Exodus.</p> - -<p>Saxham was not a large place. It might have contained a couple of -hundred inhabitants, probably less, and these principally agricultural -labourers. They worked on the farms and estates which dotted the vast -alluvial plain stretching to Beorminster. As the city, like that one -mentioned in the Bible, is set upon a hill, the twin towers of the -cathedral and Bishop Gandolf's spire can easily be seen from Saxham. -But the villagers prefer their own spire and their own parson, rarely -venturing the three miles to Beorminster. Those who do go, always -return to their beloved hamlet, more convinced than ever as to the -superiority of their birthplace. A sturdy stubborn set of rustics, -these men and women of Saxham.</p> - -<p>The topography of the country as set down in Herrick's map, showed -that Saxham was almost the centre of the district, taking Beorminster -as the real navel. The great plain was covered with many such hamlets, -each clustering round its parent church; but Saxham was the nearest to -the city. Far away on the other side was smoky Irongrip the -manufacturing town; almost in sight of Marleigh and Heathcroft. Then -sixteen miles across Southberry Heath (which Herrick and Joyce had so -wearily trodden on the previous night) Southberry Junction roared with -perpetual traffic for here, the great main line tapped the local -railways which converged from all points. The pine-woods, sheltering -Saxham from the chill winds of the moor, also barred it from the -outside world, as Southberry was considered to be. Saxham, with its -neighbouring hamlets, claimed to belong solely to Beorminster. The -folk would have called themselves autochthonous, had they known of -such a word and its meaning.</p> - -<p>The plan of the village was simple. In its centre was a genuine -village green, with a quincunx of immemorial elms. From this ran four -streets through the mass of houses, until they passed beyond them -altogether and out into the country. On one side stands St. Edith's -church in a nest of trees; on the other 'The Carr Arms' an inn of -undoubted antiquity. The remaining two sides are occupied by rows of -mediæval-looking houses, inhabited by those whom Saxham calls "the -best people," by which is meant the tradesmen. There was no doctor or -lawyer and the rector representing the gentry in the village itself, -dwelt on its outskirts. The country people lived outside the village -on their estates and visited it only on business; and as there were no -Radicals in Saxham, these were looked upon as more than mortal.</p> - -<p>Under the red tiled roof of 'The Carr Arms,' Robin Joyce was still -sleeping the next morning when the green was filled with excited -people talking of the murder--so they called it. The events of the -previous night had so shaken the nerve of the little man, that it was -all Herrick could do to get him out of that ghastly mansion, and down -to the inn. Dr. Jim, rousing the landlord, had told his story and -after seeing Robin to bed, had turned in himself. What did it matter -to him, that the great house was still ablaze in the pine-wood, still -filled with precious things, and its doors and windows open to -thieves? He was too tired almost to think, and the moment his head was -on the pillow, he fell into a heavy dreamless slumber, which lasted -until ten the next morning.</p> - -<p>From this much-needed rest, he was awakened by Napper, the landlord, a -burly man, with a ruddy face suggestive of beef and beer in large -quantities. In no very pleasant humour, Jim sat up, to demand with a -growl and an adjective what was wanted. On being informed that Mr. -Inspector Bridge of Beorminster waited to see him, the events of the -night came back on his still drowsy brain with a rush. Thoroughly -awakened, he promised to be down in half an hour, and forthwith -tumbled into the largest cold bath Napper could provide. After a -douche, and ten minutes' gymnastics, the Doctor hurried into a clean -shirt and his homespun suit. While he dressed he meditated on the fact -that Napper had lost no time in telling the police what had happened. -In a few minutes he looked into Robin's bedroom, and finding his -companion still in an exhausted slumber, he went downstairs alone, to -face the officer.</p> - -<p>Inspector Bridge was a tall lean man with a serious face, and--what -was surprising taken in conjunction with his funereal looks--a jocular -manner. The man's humour lurked in his eyes--a grey pair of twinklers, -which belied the turned-down corners of his mouth. His movements were -slow, his tone was brisk and businesslike. Rather a contradictory -personality Herrick thought, and concluded that Bridge resembled -nothing so much as an undertaker out for a holiday. His profession -would thus account for the solemnity and slowness, and the holiday -explain his brisk jocularity.</p> - -<p>This incongruous officer considered the young man with a pursed-up -mouth and a humorsome eye. He saw that Herrick was a gentleman, and -this opinion being confirmed--in the Inspector's mind--by the sight of -a signet ring, he treated him with more deference than he had been -prepared to show. Napper's report of the pedestrians had led Bridge to -infer that they were of the genus "tramp."</p> - -<p>"Good morning sir," began the Inspector genially. "I have come to see -you about this murder of Colonel Carr. My card--Mr.--Mr.--"</p> - -<p>"Dr. Herrick," said Jim, glancing at what he profanely called the -official ticket. "Have you breakfasted Mr. Inspector? If not, or if -you have--it really doesn't really matter--take the meal with me. I -must eat before I can talk."</p> - -<p>Bridge was only too willing, and Herrick went up several degrees in -his good opinion. "Napper can cater excellently," said he rubbing his -hands. "I have often tested his hospitality."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim privately thought that the Inspector was not averse to -testing anyone's hospitality: but the man seemed decent enough, and -Herrick was sufficiently worldly-wise to make himself agreeable to -Jack-in-Office. In another half hour the two were seated in a pleasant -parlour before a well-spread table. Bridge performed wonders in the -way of eating. How he could remain lean with such an appetite, was a -wonder to Jim. But the doctor himself was not far behind, and between -the two of them, they swept the table clean. Then Herrick lighted his -pipe, ensconced himself in a chintz-covered arm-chair near the window, -and prepared to answer the Inspector's questions before asking several -of his own.</p> - -<p>At the out-set Bridge detailed, all that had been done up to that -moment. Three policemen were looking after "The Pines" (so was the -house called), and guarding the dead; a doctor was expected from -Beorminster to inspect the body; the Coroner to attend to the inquest; -and the relatives of the deceased had been notified. Then Mr. -Inspector put Herrick through a stiff examination, and took down all -he said. When the officer was quite satisfied and his note-book was -full, Jim proceeded to make enquiries on his own account. The -strangeness of the whole affair, roused his curiosity, and--as Bridge -pleasantly observed,--he showed marked symptoms of "detective fever." -This was the first time Jim had stumbled across the disease.</p> - -<p>"The dead man was called Colonel Carr?" asked Dr. Herrick, crossing -his legs.</p> - -<p>The Inspector nodded. "A well-known county name," said he, "Wilfred -Lloyd Carr. You can see it in Burke's Landed Gentry. But what you will -not see," added Bridge with a dry cough, "is the name he was known by -hereabouts,--wicked Colonel Carr sir. That is what every man woman and -child called him, not without reason Doctor."</p> - -<p>"H'm! It does sound as though he had a bad reputation."</p> - -<p>"Bad sir," echoed the Inspector not without pride, "a regular out and -out rip. But that he belonged to the gentry, he would have been -through my hands I can tell you. And to think of him being murdered. I -ain't astonished, no I ain't astonished. He was too wicked to die in -his bed as the Christian he wasn't."</p> - -<p>"Why do you say he was murdered?" asked Jim alertly. "The revolver was -in his hand. Looks like suicide to me,--at the first glance of -course."</p> - -<p>Bridge laughed grimly and shook his head. "Colonel Carr was the last -man in the world to take his own life sir,--too much afraid of the -burning pit for that. I examined the body this morning, and I -say--murder. Certainly my examination was cursory. But if he had shot -himself through the heart, the linen over it would have been scorched. -There is no mark of powder not even a singe. No sir, that shot was -fired at a long range. If you did not alter the position of the body -Dr. Herrick, I should say that the shot had been fired from the door."</p> - -<p>"I did not alter the position of the body Mr. Inspector. I merely -turned it over, and replaced it. H'm! murder you say. And the assassin -placed the revolver in the dead hand to hint at suicide. Clever man or -woman Mr. Inspector. Which?"</p> - -<p>"Lord knows," replied Bridge rubbing his grey hair. "The Colonel had -heaps and heaps of enemies I can tell you. Whether man or woman, I do -not know. But I'll tell you one thing Dr. Herrick, whosoever fired the -shot knew the Colonel excellently well."</p> - -<p>"I see what you mean. The assassin knew that his victim was -left-handed."</p> - -<p>"Right sir. You've hit it. Now," added Bridge meditatively, "could it -have been Frisco?"</p> - -<p>"Frisco. Who is he or her?"</p> - -<p>"Frisco was the servant of Colonel Carr," explained the Inspector, -"and as great a mystery as his master; San Francisco, he called -himself, and that I take it is the name of a town. The wicked Colonel -shortened it to Frisco for short. Yes! Frisco might have killed him!"</p> - -<p>"If you would only give me a concise biography of Carr, I should be -less in the dark Mr. Inspector."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you'll hear plenty of stories about him,--none of them creditable. -But to put all you need know at present into a nut-shell, I can only -say that the wicked Colonel returned here from foreign parts ten years -ago. He built that tower, and shut himself up to live the life of a -recluse. He brought Frisco with him, and the two inhabited that house -all alone. No one thought of going near it."</p> - -<p>"Ah! That is why the crime was not discovered earlier."</p> - -<p>"Certainly Doctor. The milkman, the baker, and the butcher, were -always instructed to leave their goods in a porch at the side of the -house. In that porch," added Bridge, "we have found two days -provisions. To-day is Friday, last night when you discovered the body -was Thursday, and the provisions for that day and Wednesday were -untouched."</p> - -<p>"H'm! So Carr was alive on Tuesday!"</p> - -<p>"I believe doctor, that he was murdered on Tuesday night. According to -Napper, Frisco, was drinking here on that evening, and spoke ill of -his master. Carr must have been alive then. If Frisco killed him, he -would leave Saxham on Tuesday night, therefore the provisions for -Wednesday and Thursday would not be taken in."</p> - -<p>"Did not the baker and the rest suspect anything, when they found two -day's provisions untouched?"</p> - -<p>"Lord bless you, no sir," said Bridge jovially. "The wicked Colonel -was that queer, that nothing he did seemed strange."</p> - -<p>"Well!" said Jim after a pause. "From what you tell me, it seems -likely that this man Frisco knows something of the murder, if he did -not commit it himself. Can't you find him?"</p> - -<p>"There is no sign of the man sir."</p> - -<p>"What about his appearance?"</p> - -<p>"A stout sailor, that's what he looked like," said Bridge reflecting, -"red hair and blue eyes, an American way of speaking, and a cross on -his forehead right above the nose."</p> - -<p>"A cross! What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"A scar sir; a criss-cross slash with a knife. Frisco said he got it -in South America. But I don't rightly know how. Frisco could be secret -if he liked, even in his cups, and he could drink rum by the bucket."</p> - -<p>"Have you set the detectives after him?"</p> - -<p>"Not yet. I am waiting until the inquest is held. It takes place -to-day at 'The Pines.' You will be there Dr. Herrick, and your -friend?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly. But my friend can tell you no more than I can. If I were -you though Mr. Inspector, I should certainly seek out this Frisco man -at once. What is his real name?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know nor anyone else sir. He was a mystery I tell you. As to -looking him up, I like to do things in an orderly manner. First the -inquest and all the available evidence sir. Then we shall see."</p> - -<p>Herrick shrugged his broad shoulders. It was not his business to -instruct Bridge, but it seemed to him foolish to delay hunting for -this mysterious Frisco. The man might be innocent, but on the face of -it there appeared to be a strong suspicion against him. Men do not -disappear without some reason; and as Frisco was gone, leaving a dead -body behind him, it looked as though terror had winged his heels. His -reasons could resolve themselves into only one of two things. Either -he had murdered his master himself, and had fled to avoid the -consequences, or he knew who had committed the crime and, intimidated -by the assassin, had made himself scarce.</p> - -<p>While Herrick was turning over the situation in his own mind, a knock -came to the door, immediately afterwards a girl entered. She was a -slip of a thing, who looked about nineteen, slim and well-set up. Her -face was oval and thin, and burnt red by wind and sun. Herrick had -never before seen hair of such a glorious red; it resembled ruddy -gold, and was wreathed in burnished coils round her well-shaped head. -This young lady had eyes of a sapphire blue, and a firm-set mouth. -Dressed in a navy serge plainly made, with a linen collar, a brown -leathern belt, and gauntlet gloves, she looked trig and neat. A girl -likely to be passed over in a crowd until one looked into her -wonderful eyes. The soul that looked out of them proved she was a -woman of no common intelligence. Her manner was refined and well-bred. -She was remarkably cool, and after a shrewd glance at Herrick, -addressed herself to the Inspector.</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon for interrupting you," she said in a brisk but not -unmusical voice, "this inquest Mr. Inspector?"</p> - -<p>"It takes place at 'The Pines' this afternoon Miss Endicotte," replied -Bridge who seemed to know her well. "But surely Miss you will not -attend."</p> - -<p>"Certainly Mr. Bridge. I do the copy for the Chronicle. Besides, poor -Colonel Carr was my friend, and I want to hear the truth about his -death."</p> - -<p>Herrick looked sharply at the only person he had heard speak -sympathetically of the dead man. "There lives some soul of good in all -things evil," he quoted, and a flash of the girl's teeth showed that -she perfectly understood.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I know that everyone speaks ill of the Colonel," said she a trifle -sadly, "he was bad enough, no doubt. Yet, your quotation applies to -him more than the gossip about him would lead you to suppose." Here -she glanced at Bridge. Not so much to emphasise the fact that he -talked ill of the dead, as to invite an introduction. Bridge was quick -to see her real meaning.</p> - -<p>"This is Dr. Herrick, who found the body," said he, "and this lady, -doctor is Miss Bess Endicotte, who reports for the Beorminster Weekly -Chronicle."</p> - -<p>Jim was a trifle surprised and disappointed to find that this charming -young lady occupied such a position, though why he should have been -either he could not explain even to himself. However he bowed with a -smile, and received the same courtesies in return. Miss Endicotte's -eyes rested approvingly on his splendid figure. "This is what I call a -man," they seemed to say, but with her tongue she uttered quite -different sentiments.</p> - -<p>"I am glad to meet you Dr. Herrick," she said gracefully, "you must -tell me all about your discovery,--that is, you do not mind my making -copy out of you."</p> - -<p>"Not at all," responded Herrick eagerly, "I am accustomed to be made -copy of. My friend Mr. Joyce, who is at present upstairs asleep, is a -literary man. I am quite hand and glove with the guild I assure you."</p> - -<p>"In that case we must be friends," said Miss Endicotte frankly. "Mr. -Joyce was with you last night?"</p> - -<p>"Unfortunate yes Miss Endicotte. He is a nervous man, and not strong. -I am sorry to say that the terrible sight upset him. All the good I -hoped he would obtain from this walking tour has disappeared."</p> - -<p>"Are you on a walking tour?" asked Bridge who was putting on his cap.</p> - -<p>"Yes! For the last fortnight we have been tramping over the country. -The last place we stopped at was Southberry. Then we crossed the Heath -to stumble on this disagreeable adventure. Why do you smile Miss -Endicotte?"</p> - -<p>The girl flushed a trifle. "I have heard of you!"</p> - -<p>"Of me," Jim stared, "but I am not known in this part of the country -my dear lady. Have we met before? Somehow, your face seems familiar?"</p> - -<p>"It would be more familiar were I two inches taller and had dark -hair," said Miss Endicotte with an amused look, "if you will stare -at"--</p> - -<p>"Ah!" interrupted Jim eagerly, "I remember now. The lady I saw talking -to the little curate in Southberry church!"--</p> - -<p>"Was my sister," replied the girl. "When you mentioned Southberry, I -remembered that she mentioned how you stared at her, and described -your appearance. Then I recognised you."</p> - -<p>"I hope your sister did not think me rude," said Jim rather confused, -"but the fact is, she is so--"</p> - -<p>"I know," interrupted Miss Bess composedly. "Ida is accustomed to -admiration. But this is not business," she added turning to Bridge, -"Well what's to be done now Mr. Inspector?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing can be done until the inquest is held," he replied going -towards the door. "But I recommend you Miss Bess, to interview this -gentleman. He can tell you much that will be of interest to your -readers."</p> - -<p>The Inspector slipped out with a laugh, and Miss Endicotte turned her -sparkling eyes on Dr. Herrick. "I hope you won't think me a nuisance," -she said, hesitating, "but if you could."--</p> - -<p>"Only too pleased," said Jim placing a chair. "What is it you wish to -know Miss Endicotte?"</p> - -<p>"All about yourself and your friend, and the walking tour, and the -discovery." Thus far she rattled on blithely, but then flushed, and -stammered. "Please do not think me rude," she murmured, "in my present -capacity I am simply a machine for the Beormister Chronicle. If you do -not wish to tell me anything--"</p> - -<p>"I have not the slightest objection," replied Jim laughing. "Do you -object to my smoking? I can answer your questions better if I smoke."</p> - -<p>"Please do," cried Miss Endicotte eagerly. "I am used to it. My -brother Frank is never without a pipe in his mouth."</p> - -<p>"Your brother and I should get on well together then," said Herrick -artfully, not that he wanted to meet the brother so much as the -beauty-sister of Southberry Church, "however--this interview!"</p> - -<p>Miss Bess--as the Inspector called her, pulled out a pocket-book, and -became the reporter at once. She was versed in her profession and put -the shrewdest of questions. All the same she appeared to be nervous at -times, and Herrick guessed that it was the innately refined woman -struggling with the necessary obstrusiveness of the bread-winner. -However he did his best to put her at her ease, and told his story as -concisely as possible.</p> - -<p>"My name is James Calthorpe Herrick," he said. "I am a doctor, -supposed to be practising in West Kensington, London. My friend Joyce -was one of my patients--is I should say. He lost his mother and fell -ill--by the way you need not put that down Miss Endicotte. All you -need let your readers know is, that Mr. Joyce and myself have been on -a walking tour, and stumbled--as I said before, on the Pines, and the -body." After which statement Herrick detailed the arrival at the -lighted house, the exploration and the discovery.</p> - -<p>Miss Endicotte put all this down, and promised to amplify it in such a -manner that it would not trench upon Herrick's private affairs. Then -he asked the girl about Colonel Carr. She was rather reticent on the -subject.</p> - -<p>"I do not feel that I am justified in speaking of the matter," she -said shaking her head, "all I can say is that Colonel Carr was better -than his reputation. From what I can gather he was murdered. Well, he -expected to be--that is--" she broke off and flushed.</p> - -<p>"He expected to be murdered!" Herrick looked keenly at her.</p> - -<p>"Hush," said Miss Endicotte with a glance at the door. "I have no -right to say that. It is a long story, and not very clear. If you -remain in Saxham, if we become better acquainted, I might--how long do -you stay?"</p> - -<p>"It all depends upon my friend," replied Herrick his curiosity at -fever-heat with these hints, "he is ill I am afraid. I must go up and -see him now. We shall meet again I hope."</p> - -<p>"I think so. I shall be at the inquest. And you?"</p> - -<p>"Of course. I must give evidence. Joyce also if he is well enough. By -the way Bridge mentioned some relatives of Carr's. Who are they?"</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Marsh and her son," said the girl with some reluctance, "they -live in the Bishop's Close at Beorminster. It will be a great shock to -them, although they were not on good terms with the Colonel."</p> - -<p>"Will they be at the inquest?"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Marsh will be there but his mother is very ill. She caught cold a -day or two ago, and is now in bed with a sharp attack of pneumonia."</p> - -<p>"Troubles never come singly," said Herrick sententiously, "by the way, -the suspicions of Bridge about Frisco?--"</p> - -<p>"I am sure he is innocent," cried Miss Endicotte flushing. "Frisco was -bad, but he loved the Colonel. He would not have killed him. I--I--" -she suddenly shook her head, checked herself, and walked out of the -room. Herrick stared. Was it possible that this charming girl knew the -truth?</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_03" href="#div1Ref_03">CHAPTER III</a></h4> -<h5>THE VERDICT OF THE JURY</h5> -<br> - -<p>Robin woke calmer after his rest. The nervous excitement had passed -away, but the reaction had left him as weak as a child. He looked -shrivelled up and pale when Herrick saw him. At once the doctor sat -down to feel the little man's pulse, which was slow and faint.</p> - -<p>"You must stay in bed to-day," ordered the doctor replacing his watch. -"I shall send you up some strong soup. Sleep as much as you can, that -is the best thing to pull you round."</p> - -<p>"Should I not get up to look after this business with you?"</p> - -<p>"There is no need. The police have taken charge of the Case. Your -evidence is exactly the same as mine, so I shall represent you at the -Inquest."</p> - -<p>"Is there to be an inquest?" asked Joyce with languid interest.</p> - -<p>"Certainly! This afternoon at the house. From what Inspector Bridge -told me it would seem that Colonel Carr was shot on Tuesday night."</p> - -<p>"Is the dead man's name Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! Wicked Colonel Carr. From all accounts he was one of the worst."</p> - -<p>"Why did he commit suicide?"</p> - -<p>"He did not, if Bridge is to be believed. He insists that the man was -shot--perhaps by his servant, who has vanished. However we shall hear -all that is to be heard this afternoon."</p> - -<p>A colour crept into the wan cheek of Joyce. "I should like to get up -and hear all about it," said he, "there might be material for a -story."</p> - -<p>"You can hear details later on. At present you must stay in bed, until -we return to Town."</p> - -<p>"What about our walking tour?"</p> - -<p>"I have decided to cut that short," replied the doctor, "this -adventure has given me a distaste for the trip. In a day or so, when -you are rested we will return to London. My practice is small but I -must attend to it."</p> - -<p>"And what about me Jim?"</p> - -<p>"Well!" reflected Herrick, "you are now well enough off not to make -work an imperative necessity. I think you should go abroad for a time, -and do nothing, until you are quite yourself. Explore Italy or Spain, -and don't do a stroke of work. Change of scene and company will make -you your old self again in a short time."</p> - -<p>"Never, never!" moaned Joyce. "I shall never get over her death."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense! Don't give way Robin. You must be a man--"</p> - -<p>"It was so sudden," pleaded Robin piteously.</p> - -<p>"I know. Didn't I attend her! But apoplexy always ends suddenly. Your -mother was a stout woman and took no exercise. That fit might have -been expected; I warned her often. You know I am sorry for your loss -Robin; but sorrow will not bring back the dead. You have your part to -play in the world, so you must put this grief behind you. If I talk a -little brutally, you must excuse me. To a man of your temperament, -sympathy is the worst thing possible."</p> - -<p>In Herrick's hands Joyce was more or less of a child, so he -submitted--rather against his will--to remain in bed, while his friend -went forth to hear the news. As might have been guessed Robin employed -his solitude in gloating over his sorrow. This weakness he did not -dare to reveal to Jim, fearing lest he should be lectured again. -Still, he could not but acknowledge to himself that Herrick's advice -was sensible.</p> - -<p>Meantime the doctor made a tour of the village. The villagers, -swarming like bees in the excitement of the moment, recognised a -stranger, and guessed that this was one of the two gentlemen said to -have discovered the body. Hence Herrick found himself the subject of -considerable curiosity, but was not molested or accosted in any way, -until he met with a clergyman. This was on the outskirts of the -village, where a gorse-covered common stretched up to the pine wood -surrounding the house of Colonel Carr. The parson seemed to have been -wandering on the waste land, for he appeared suddenly at Herrick's -elbow like a ghost. Probably he had seen the stranger coming and had -just stepped out from behind a bush.</p> - -<p>"You are Dr. Herrick?" he asked nervously.</p> - -<p>Jim signified that he was. "I am, addressing the vicar?" he hazarded.</p> - -<p>"The rector," corrected the other. "I am Mr. Pentland Corn. You will -excuse my breaking in on your meditations," he continued, "but I -guessed that you were the finder of the body of our late lamented -friend."</p> - -<p>"Humph! From all I have heard, there is very little lamentation over -the Colonel's death."</p> - -<p>"Scandal and evil tongues," replied Mr. Corn rather tautologically, -"Carr had his good points."</p> - -<p>"That is what Miss Endicotte says."</p> - -<p>"Indeed! I was not aware that you knew Miss Endicotte?"</p> - -<p>"She came to the inn this morning to see Inspector Bridge about -this--"</p> - -<p>"Wait!" said the Revd. Pentland in a hurry, "some mistake. Miss Bess -is the journalist. Her elder sister Miss Ida is the head of the -family. The nominal head I should say, since Miss Bess manages -everything."</p> - -<p>The rector smiled as he spoke, and Herrick on account of that smile -took rather a fancy to him. The Revd. Pentland Corn--wonderful -name--was something under forty; and looked more like a soldier than a -parson. He had a smart soldierly figure, wore a moustache, and his -hair cropped close. But for his clothes, Herrick would have taken him -for a military man. He looked pale, there were dark circles under his -eyes, and he seemed to be labouring under considerable stress of -emotion. Perhaps the death of Carr had been too much for him. Yet -after the first remark he shirked the subject and talked of the -Endicottes.</p> - -<p>"That is the proper name of the family," said Corn hurriedly, "a very -old family in these parts. But Miss Bess calls her collective brothers -and sisters 'The Biff's.'"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim smiled. There seemed to be something fascinating about the -name, something characteristic of the girl he had met at the inn. "The -Biff's," he repeated laughing outright, "and how is that derived from -the high sounding name of Endicotte?"</p> - -<p>"It is not derived from that at all Dr. Herrick. It is simply the -initials of the family. There are five of them. Bess, Ida, Frank, Flo, -and Sidney."</p> - -<p>"I see; Biff's! Ha! Ha, how amusing. Do they live near here?"</p> - -<p>"A quarter of a mile away, at the back of my house. Sidney is my pupil -and a strange boy he is. But I have no business to tell all these -things to a stranger," added Corn in confusion.</p> - -<p>"Anything you say to me is perfectly safe," replied Herrick -pleasantly. "I think Miss Bess a clever young lady."</p> - -<p>"And as good as she is clever."</p> - -<p>"A great friend of the late Colonel's I believe," said Jim.</p> - -<p>Pentland Corn moistened his dry lips. "He was kind to her," was his -reply delivered in a faint voice. "You will excuse my emotion Dr. -Herrick but I am rather shaken by this death. Usually we are free from -crime, and for this to happen in my parish! It is terrible.</p> - -<p>"You knew Colonel Carr well?"</p> - -<p>"Very well. I tried to win him from his evil ways. But he was cut off -in the midst of his sin. Oh, it is awful. Yet I liked him. He was a -good friend to me on one occasion. The reason I stopped you, was to -ask if you met anyone in the house last night."</p> - -<p>"No one. Myself and my friend hunted all over it. The servant bolted, -I have been told."</p> - -<p>"Frisco has certainly disappeared," responded Corn looking at the -ground, "but I do not think he is the guilty person. He was devoted to -the Colonel."</p> - -<p>"Then why did he run away?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! who can say! There was a mystery in Colonel Carr's life Mr. -Herrick, which I fear will never be cleared up. You will be at the -Inquest?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. It takes place at three this afternoon. And you sir?"</p> - -<p>"No! I shall not be there. I cannot bear to--but that is neither here -nor there," broke off Corn hurriedly, "tell me, was the house alight?"</p> - -<p>"Every room was lighted. It blazed like a palace in the wood."</p> - -<p>"Colonel Carr's whim. He surrounded himself with the most beautiful -things and installed the electric light. Water power you know," added -the rector rather inconsequently. "I expect the wheel was going -constantly for the two days before the body was discovered."</p> - -<p>Herrick recollected the murmur in the wood, and now guessed that it -came from the waterfall, which turned the wheel for the dynamos. There -was no doubt that Colonel Carr surrounded himself with every comfort. -"Did he ever have guests to stay with him?" he asked.</p> - -<p>The rector made a gesture of surprise. "If you had known Colonel Carr -you would not ask such a question. He hated his fellow-mortals."</p> - -<p>"Then why had he so many bedrooms?"</p> - -<p>"I cannot tell you. But I am certain that he never had anyone to stay -in the house. I have been in it once or twice myself, and Miss Bess -has paid a visit. But no other person has ever entered."</p> - -<p>"Humph! Quite a mystery. What about Marsh?"</p> - -<p>"Ah I expect you heard of him from Miss Bess. He is a great friend of -the Biffs. Stephen Marsh will inherit the Colonel's property I -expect."</p> - -<p>"What relation was he to Carr?"</p> - -<p>"His nephew. But the two never spoke. They hated each other."</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Marsh then is the Colonel's sister?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear me no. The present Mrs. Marsh is only step-mother to Stephen. -A violent terrible woman with Italian blood in her veins. It was she I -think who put Stephen against his uncle."</p> - -<p>"She is very ill I hear. Pneumonia."</p> - -<p>"Dear me," said Corn startled, "why she was at my house on Tuesday! -But it was raining when Stephen came for her. I expect she got a chill -then."</p> - -<p>"No doubt. At all events she is seriously ill now I understand."</p> - -<p>"Ha!" said the rector and looked down again. "I wonder if any doctor -will attend her. She has quarrelled with them all. Well, there is no -more to be said Dr. Herrick. By the way, if I have talked freely, you -must excuse me for doing so. I have a reason. Some day I hope to tell -it to you. Are you stopping here for long?"</p> - -<p>"A day or so. I am on a walking tour with my friend Mr. Joyce. We -return shortly to London. Good-day Mr. Corn."</p> - -<p>"Good-day," replied the rector raising his hat, and slipped away into -the gorse bushes like a ghost.</p> - -<p>Herrick walked on somewhat puzzled. What was the meaning of this frank -speech, to a stranger. The parson looked smarter and more of a man of -the world than many serious minded people would have approved of. Yet -he had talked, to say the least of it, in a most indiscreet manner. -Moreover he had promised (quite unnecessarily) to explain his reason -for doing so to the doctor. What did it all mean? "Does he know -something, as well as Miss Bess?" thought Herrick returning to the -inn. "Both of them seem to have a better opinion of Colonel Carr, than -the rest of the people. Humph! I seem to be surrounded by mysteries -here. Well. We shall see what the inquest will do."</p> - -<p>Robin proved more fractious than Herrick expected. He was most anxious -to be present at the inquest: but in the end over-ruled by the -stronger will of his friend, he consented to remain where he was. The -doctor walked by himself to the Pines, and was received by Inspector -Bridge who introduced him to the Coroner, and to Dr. Tiler, who had -examined the body. After some discussion, Bridge collected a jury of -mixed villagers and Beorminster citizens. After these had inspected -the body, the witnesses were called.</p> - -<p>Herrick gave evidence of his discovery, of the position of the body, -and of the condition of the house. He was followed by Tiler, who -declared that in his opinion Carr had been shot on Tuesday night -(going by the condition of the body). He flouted the idea of suicide.</p> - -<p>"The shirt-front was neither blackened nor singed," said Tiler, "and -it would have been had the deceased fired the revolver at so close a -range. He was shot through the heart, and as I believe, by someone who -stood at the door. It seems to me, that he was standing by the bed, -and heard a footstep on the stairs. At once he turned, only to meet -the levelled revolver. The shot passed through his heart and imbedded -itself in the opposite wall. Again, there are three other shots in -different parts of the body. One in the neck, another in the abdomen, -and a third in the right leg. But the shot that killed the deceased -was the the first that went through the heart."</p> - -<p>"How do you know that such a shot was the first?" asked the Coroner.</p> - -<p>"From an examination of the wounds," replied Tiler, "the remaining -three shots were fired when the man was down.</p> - -<p>"And dead!" said the Coroner aghast.</p> - -<p>"Certainly. The deceased must have died almost instantaneously."</p> - -<p>A thrill of horror passed through those present at the idea, that the -assassin had fired three more shots at the dead body. There was -something horrible about the wreaking of such vengeance. And vengeance -it must have been, for Bridge proved that no robbery had taken place.</p> - -<p>But the most interesting part of Bridge's evidence was yet to come. He -produced the revolver found in the hand of the dead man. All six -chambers proved to be loaded. Therefore it would not have been this -weapon which had been used. The idea of suicide was out of the -question.</p> - -<p>"Also gentlemen," continued the Inspector, "the first shot was fired -with a different weapon to that employed to fire the other three. The -bullet which passed through the heart and embedded itself in the wall, -has been extracted. Here it is. The other three shots were found in -the body and in the floor. Here they are."</p> - -<p>The pieces of evidence thus produced were placed before the jury. The -first bullet was round--of the old-fashioned kind fired from a -muzzle-loading pistol. The remaining three were conical in shape, and -of the most modern manufacture. Plainly then two pistols had been -used. One of an antique pattern to fire the first shot--the shot which -killed the Colonel: and the other a revolver of the most modern type. -And this latter had been merely employed to make a target of the dead -body. "Finally," said Bridge after explaining all this, "the third -pistol--or rather revolver found in the hand of the deceased, was not -fired at all. The chambers are loaded--there is no smoke-stain on -the barrels. It was simply put into the left hand of the dead to -hint at suicide. The person who did so, knew that Colonel Carr was -left-handed, but in his agitation forgot that the six chambers were -loaded. In fact he defeated his own scheme."</p> - -<p>This evidence was surprising enough. Why should the assassin use two -pistols, when one would have sufficed? "And?" asked the Coroner, "why -do you say 'he' Mr. Inspector? Do you then think that the guilty -person is a man?"</p> - -<p>"I don't think a woman would have committed so brutal a murder," said -Bridge bluntly. "She would have been satisfied with killing the man, -and not have proceeded to mutilate the body. Also the idea of putting -a revolver into the hand of the dead would not occur to a woman."</p> - -<p>"There I differ from you Mr. Inspector," contradicted the Coroner, "a -woman might do such a thing, and it is more likely a woman would -forget in her agitation that the revolver was loaded, than would a man -in the like circumstances."</p> - -<p>Inspector and Coroner argued out this point. At length Bridge losing -his temper stated that he believed Frisco shot his master and called -Napper as a witness.</p> - -<p>The landlord stated that on Tuesday night at six o'clock Frisco had -been drinking rum at the Carr Arms. He seemed to be angry with his -master whom he alleged had treated him badly. As he left the inn, -about seven o'clock, he said, "let him take care, or he won't live -long." At the time Napper thought it was merely a drunken threat; but -in the face of the death and Frisco's flight he thought that the man -was guilty. Of course the Coroner, who had lost his temper with -Bridge, told Napper that he did not want his opinion, but simply his -evidence. There was further trouble about this remark, in which the -Inspector got the worst of it.</p> - -<p>A final witness was Stephen Marsh. He was a tall slight young man with -bowed shoulders, and a pensive face. He stated that he had called on -the evening of the murder for his mother at the rectory. She had been -up at "The Pines" in the afternoon, and as she drove home told him, -that Colonel Carr had expressed his intention of living for many a -long day.</p> - -<p>Coroner. "Why is Mrs. Marsh not here to give evidence?"</p> - -<p>Marsh. "My mother is seriously ill in bed and could not come."</p> - -<p>Coroner. "Her evidence must be taken. Did she say how the conversation -came about to induce the deceased to make such a speech."</p> - -<p>Marsh. "Yes! My mother wanted the Colonel to lend her some money. He -refused. She said that he might as well, as when he died the estate -would come to me. It was then that my uncle expressed his -determination to live for many a long day. I merely give this evidence -to show that my uncle had no thought of committing suicide."</p> - -<p>Coroner. "Have you seen your uncle lately?"</p> - -<p>Marsh. "No! Not for six months. We were not on good terms."</p> - -<p>Coroner. "How was it then that Mrs. Marsh called to see him on the -afternoon of the murder?"</p> - -<p>Marsh. "She was determined to go. I asked her not to, but she -insisted."</p> - -<p>At this reply there came a smile upon the faces of those of the jury -who lived at Beorminster. Afterwards Herrick learned that Mrs. Marsh -was well known as possessed of a violent temper, and there was no -doubt (as some one remarked) that she had given the Colonel a good -talking to.</p> - -<p>However the evidence of Marsh did not point to who had killed Carr. At -the time there was no more available evidence. Bridge insisted that -Frisco was guilty. He had left the house in the clothes he stood up -in, evidently driven forth in a panic. He had made inquiries, and had -heard from the police at Southberry, that Frisco--or a person -answering to the description of Frisco--had gone to London by the -morning train. At this moment Herrick asked to be allowed to give -further evidence. He had just recollected that he had seen such a man -as was described.</p> - -<p>"I was stopping at Southberry," said Herrick, "waiting for my friend -Mr. Joyce who had gone to London. He went up on Tuesday morning. I was -stopping at an inn near the railway station. I got up early--about -seven--to send a wire to my house in London. I had to go to the -telegraph office at the station. On the platform I saw a stout man -with a soft hat pulled over his face. He was dressed in a blue serge -suit with a red tie, and looked like a sailor. I waited until the -London train went, and saw him get into a third class carriage."</p> - -<p>Coroner. "How is it Dr. Herrick that you recollect this only now?"</p> - -<p>"Because I never thought of the matter before. Since Inspector Bridge -has given a description of the dress and especially the red tie. I am -sure the man was Frisco. I did not see his face."</p> - -<p>The Coroner was displeased with this evidence, and said so. In fact he -was a disagreeable man, with a strong animus against Bridge. As there -was no more evidence, he summed up, trying to prove that Frisco could -have had nothing to do with the murder. However the jury were of a -different opinion and more sensible, so they brought in a verdict of -wilful murder against Frisco. This made the Coroner ill-tempered again -and he left "The Pines" in a great rage. However the verdict was -given, the inquest was at an end, and the jury left the house.</p> - -<p>Stephen Marsh as the nearest relative of the dead man, asked Bridge to -allow the three policeman to remain in the house, as he had to return -to his mother. Bridge consented, and then Marsh went up to Herrick who -was standing in the hall.</p> - -<p>"Doctor," said he, "will you come with me to Beorminster? I want you -to attend my mother."</p> - -<p>Herrick stared. "She has a doctor already has she not Mr. Marsh?"</p> - -<p>Marsh shook his head. "No," he replied in a low voice "no Beorminster -doctor will attend her. Please come sir. She is so ill."</p> - -<p>Although he was partly prepared for this explanation, Herrick could -not help staring. What had Mrs. Marsh done that the medical fraternity -at Beorminster should boycott her in this way? "You are quite sure -that no one will attend her?" he asked incredulously.</p> - -<p>"Perfectly. She has quarrelled with all the doctors. I am very lucky -to find you Dr. Herrick, or I should be obliged to send to London or -to Southberry. And we are so poor, that the expense would be too much -for us. You will come I hope."</p> - -<p>Jim liked the young man's face. It was soft and mild, but remarkably -handsome in a dark way. He could quite understand from such a face -that a woman of imperious temper such as Mrs. Marsh appeared to be, -could dominate and bully her step-son. If fact Stephen gave Herrick -the impression of being crushed. It seemed to be Herrick's fate to -meet with people who needed to be bolstered up,--witness Robin Joyce. -Also he had a shrewd suspicion that the Revd. Pentland Corn was of the -weak type. The proverb says that some men come into the world booted -and spurred others saddled and bridled. Herrick was of the former -type, and these three weaklings of the latter. However, in spite of -his strong will, and dominating character, Jim had a kind heart. He -therefore consented to do Marsh the favour he asked.</p> - -<p>"But I must go first to the inn," he said, "my friend is there, and I -must see after him."</p> - -<p>"I'll wait for you," said Stephen, "but pray do not be long. I think -my mother is dying."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense," said Dr. Jim cheerily, "I'll pull her round. Never give -way."</p> - -<p>Marsh put out his hand and shook Jim's. "I have wanted a friend for -many a long day," he said. "I believe I have found one in you."</p> - -<p>"That's all right Marsh," and so Jim took a second burden on his -shoulder.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_04" href="#div1Ref_04">CHAPTER IV</a></h4> -<h5>AT BEORMINSTER</h5> -<br> - -<p>On their way to the inn, Herrick and his companion, met Bess -Endicotte. She looked angry and her eyes sparkled as she advanced -towards the two men.</p> - -<p>"Isn't it a shame?" she said rapidly, "that verdict I mean. I don't -believe that Frisco killed the Colonel."</p> - -<p>"If he did not there was no reason why he should have run away," -replied Marsh.</p> - -<p>"Well!" cried Miss Endicotte indignantly, "I did not expect to hear, -you say that Stephen. You know as well as I do that the Colonel always -said that Frisco was in the same danger as he was himself."</p> - -<p>"What danger was that?" asked Herrick sharply.</p> - -<p>Bess hesitated, and seemed to regret that she had let her tongue wag -so freely, but Marsh answered for her. "We do not know what it was," -he said simply, "but my uncle always hinted that he had enemies. -Frisco knew his secrets; we did not."</p> - -<p>"And if that is the case why should Frisco kill him?" retorted Bess. -"However what is done can't be undone. I suppose Frisco will be -arrested!"</p> - -<p>"They'll have to catch him first," said Dr. Jim a trifle grimly, "and -as the man has got away so rapidly, and is now lost in the wilderness -of London, I expect they will have some difficulty in doing that."</p> - -<p>"You are sure it was Frisco you saw at Southberry?"</p> - -<p>"Well I did not see his face. But the clothes of the man at the -station were the same in all respects as those described by Napper."</p> - -<p>"I've put everything down," said Miss Endicotte, "and now I am going -home to Biffstead to put the article into shape. But I do not believe -that Frisco is guilty. Who is, I do not pretend to know; but I intend -to find out."</p> - -<p>"What the police fail to do, you cannot Bess," said Stephen wagging -his head, "but we must not wait. Dr. Herrick is coming with me to -Beorminster."</p> - -<p>"I'm so glad," cried the girl. "It is a shame none of the doctors -seeing your mother! How lucky that Dr. Herrick is here. I shall see -you again doctor shan't I! I have much to say to you."</p> - -<p>"I shall call on you with pleasure," said Jim gravely shaking hands. -"At Biffstead I suppose?"</p> - -<p>Both Stephen and Bess laughed. "Oh, that is only my joke," said she, "I -call our family the Biffs and the house Biffstead. The Grange is where -we live. Anyone will point out the place. Come when you can."</p> - -<p>As the two men resumed their walk, Herrick could not forbear -expressing himself about Bess. "What a clever girl she is," said he, -"those eyes of hers twinkle like stars when she grows excited. You -know the family do you not Marsh?"</p> - -<p>"I have known them all my life. We played together as children. Ida is -my greatest friend."</p> - -<p>Herrick glanced a little jealously at the young man. "I saw her by -chance at Southberry," he said carelessly, "she is very beautiful."</p> - -<p>"Very, but not so clever as Bess. Bess is the head and tail and middle -of the family. Were it not for her, it would go to pieces. But here we -are at the inn. I'll wait for you here Herrick."</p> - -<p>"I won't be long," said the doctor, and ran up the stairs.</p> - -<p>As might be guessed Robin the selfish was by no means pleased to be -left alone. He did not want Jim to go to Beorminster, not even -although the call was so imperative. "What shall I do without you?" he -asked.</p> - -<p>"You will go to sleep," replied Herrick calmly, "now no nonsense -Joyce. I have promised to see Mrs. Marsh and I must keep my word."</p> - -<p>"How long will you be?"</p> - -<p>"It all depends upon the state in which I find Mrs. Marsh. If she is -very ill I may stay all night. Good-bye Robin."</p> - -<p>"Good-bye," returned the little man a trifle sulkily, "there is far -too much of the good Samaritan about you Jim."</p> - -<p>"You never think of that in relation to yourself," said Herrick with a -laugh. "I hope to be back this evening. Make yourself comfortable."</p> - -<p>As he ran down to rejoin Marsh, he could not help contrasting the two -natures of Stephen and Robin. It is true that he had not had much -experience of Marsh; but from what he had seen of him, he judged that -he was of a grateful, kindly disposition. Joyce on the other hand, -although he looked upon Jim as his best friend, was selfish to the -core. Herrick from long association, and because he had plucked him -back on one occasion from the grave, was attached to him. But he -oftentimes acknowledged that were not Robin an interesting "case" from -a medical point of view, as he undoubtedly was, he could not stand -much of him. Still he had been so long the little man's friend, that -he could not tear himself away from old associations. Nevertheless -Robin's yoke was beginning to gall, and Herrick was glad to get a day -away from his society. Friendship is a tender plant, and nothing kills -it sooner than selfishness. But Robin in his peevish self-satisfaction -had not the sense to see that.</p> - -<p>"Do you mind going by the bus?" asked Marsh with a flush. "I am not -rich enough to afford a cart of any sort."</p> - -<p>"I am quite used to public conveyances," said Herrick gaily, "and as -to your being poor, the dark days are over now."</p> - -<p>"I suppose so," replied Marsh thankfully, "at least my uncle always -told me that I was to be his heir, although we quarrelled so much. I -have to take the name of Carr, and fulfil certain duties. I do not -know what they are, but I shall do them if only to get the money. I do -so want to be rich. Ah here is the bus."</p> - -<p>"What about the will?" asked Herrick as they climbed up to the roof of -the clumsy conveyance, "pardon me, perhaps I should not ask you."</p> - -<p>"I do not mind in the least," said Stephen, "indeed I am glad to find -that you take an interest in me. I have had a lonely life. The Biffs -are my only friends. By the way who told you about the Biffs?"</p> - -<p>Herrick described his meeting with Pentland Corn, and the conversation -that had ensued. "He was remarkably confidential," said Herrick.</p> - -<p>"That is strange," said Marsh thoughtfully. "He usually keeps his -mouth very much closed. However," he added in a lighter tone, "we can -talk of him again. At present, we will speak of the will. I have -written to my uncle's solicitors informing them of his terrible death. -I expect to hear from them to-morrow or the next day--perhaps later."</p> - -<p>"Who are your uncle's lawyers--or rather I should say yours?"</p> - -<p>"Frith and Frith!"</p> - -<p>"Of Steel Lane. Cheapside?" asked Herrick in a tone of surprise.</p> - -<p>"Yes! Do you know them?"</p> - -<p>"I know of them. They are the solicitors of my friend Joyce!"</p> - -<p>"That is strange," said Marsh gaily, "the world is very small after -all is it not. But I am forgetting my mother," he added sadly.</p> - -<p>"I was told that Mrs. Marsh was your step-mother."</p> - -<p>"So she is; but we get on very well together. She is devoted to me. I -expect you have heard of her violent temper."</p> - -<p>"Well I have," said Herrick hesitating, "it seems to be well known, if -you will excuse my saying so."</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's Town talk," replied Stephen with a vexed flush, "but she is -really a good dear woman, and her own worst enemy. Since my father's -death five years ago she has been my best friend. Once she nursed me -through a most serious illness. There are worse women in the world -than my step-mother Herrick, as you will find. She is a noble-looking -woman, and I am glad to be rich if only for her sake. She is fond of -luxury, but for my sake has borne poverty. And we have been very, very -poor," finished Stephen with a sigh.</p> - -<p>Every word the young man uttered revealed his good heart. Jim was -pleased to find such an unsophisticated youth for once in his life. -The young men he knew were usually old before their time, and took a -pride in being so. But Marsh talked with such candour, that Herrick -saw he was as simple as the day. "You are a good fellow Marsh," said -Jim. "I am glad to have met you."</p> - -<p>"I echo your compliment," said the other, "but here we are at -Beorminster. I hope my mother is no worse."</p> - -<p>The vehicle stopped at the foot of the hill upon which the cathedral -was built. Herrick followed his companion up a winding street, as -steep as those at Malta, and after a breathless climb found himself in -the great square. The vast fabric of the cathedral rose black against -a saffron sky, and the bells were ringing for the evening service. -Stephen led the way towards a far corner of the square, and turned -into a dingy side street sloping down the other side of the hill. -Stopping at a tall narrow house three doors down, he admitted himself -by means of his latch-key and conducted his companion into a dark -passage. A woman with a candle held high above her head appeared at -the end. She was very old, with white hair and fierce black eyes, a -foreigner, as Herrick guessed.</p> - -<p>"How is my mother, Petronella?" asked Stephen hurriedly.</p> - -<p>"Eh Gran' Dio, bad, very bad Signor," replied the old Italian, "she -die if no doctor come!"</p> - -<p>"I have brought one, Petronella."</p> - -<p>"Thanks be to the saints!" cried Petronella. "This way Signor Dottore. -My signora is up the stair. Piano! Piano. She is bad so bad. Piano!"</p> - -<p>Herrick suppressed a laugh. The "Piano! Piano" of Petronella reminded -him of the opening chorus in the Barber of Seville. However he -recovered his grave air when introduced into the bedroom of Mrs. -Marsh. A few minutes examination convinced him that she was extremely -ill. Her pulse was rapid, she was in a high fever, and her face looked -scarlet. Still she was conscious, and when the doctor had finished -with her for the time being she beckoned to her step-son.</p> - -<p>"The death--the examination?" she asked hoarsely.</p> - -<p>"The jury have brought in a verdict of wilful murder against Frisco."</p> - -<p>In spite of the pain she was suffering Mrs. Marsh sank back on her -pillow with a smile. "I always thought that man would kill Carr some -day" she muttered. "Who is the doctor Stephen?"</p> - -<p>Marsh detailed all he knew about Herrick while that gentleman was -giving directions to Petronella. His step-mother listened attentively, -and nodded when he finished. "I am glad he had the decency to come," -she said. "These wretches here should be punished by the law. I don't -want to die now there is a chance of being comfortable for the rest of -my life."</p> - -<p>"You must not talk Mrs. Marsh," said Herrick coming to her bedside, -"and I think your son had better go downstairs."</p> - -<p>"Am I very ill?" asked the woman.</p> - -<p>"Oh, you are not so bad as you might be," replied Jim cheerfully, "do -not excite yourself, obey my directions, and you will be all right -shortly."</p> - -<p>"I suffer such pains," moaned Mrs. Marsh, "I can get no sleep. -Chloral."</p> - -<p>"What's that?" asked Herrick sharply.</p> - -<p>"Chloral or morphia. Give me something to soothe the pain."</p> - -<p>"I'll see to it," said the doctor cheerfully, and looked at the -handsome face of his patient. He saw that she was a highly-strung -woman, and from the word she had used he guessed that she was in the -habit of taking chloral to induce sleep. Mrs. Marsh was the kind of -person who would end her days in a mad-house, if not soothed by -artificial means. From the passionate expression in her eyes, the -wrinkles on her face, her impatient gestures, Herrick saw that she had -absolutely no control over her temper. Perhaps the rumours he had -heard of her influenced such a judgment; but afterwards he found that -he was absolutely right. The outbursts of rage to which Mrs. Marsh was -subject were little removed from madness. The only person who could -deal with her was Petronella, who (as Herrick learned) had been her -nurse, and knew how to manage and humour her.</p> - -<p>"I shall stay here all night," he said to the Italian, after certain -remedies had been applied. "Make up a bed for me somewhere and send -out to the chemist for this prescription to be made up."</p> - -<p>It was late when Jim descended. He found Stephen waiting for him at -the foot of the stairs, and was conducted by him into a small bare -room, sparsely furnished with two arm chairs, a few 'books and a table -covered with writing materials. Herrick rather tired, threw himself -into one of the chairs, and informed Stephen that he would stay the -night.</p> - -<p>"Is my mother so ill?" asked the young man anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Pretty bad, but I have seen worse cases. Don't you trouble yourself -Marsh. I'll do the best I can to save her life."</p> - -<p>"Save her life," echoed Stephen sadly. "Ah, what a terrible thing it -will be if she dies now, when wealth is coming. She always wanted to -be rich and now--life is very cruel."</p> - -<p>"That depends upon the way you look at it," said Jim. "Give me some -supper Marsh, and a whisky. I feel rather played out."</p> - -<p>The meal was waiting in a poverty-stricken looking dining-room. Jim -saw that the pauperism of the Marshes was no fiction. They were -evidently terribly poor. Certainly the Colonel had done nothing to -alleviate their distress. "He would not give us a penny," said Stephen -after supper, and when they were smoking in the small room which -proved to be the young man's special sanctum. "All the time he kept -telling me that I was his heir, but refused to help my mother and me. -I do not want to speak evil of the dead" added Stephen, "but Colonel -Carr--" he shook his head.</p> - -<p>By this time Herrick had seen his patient sinking into a sleep, and -leaving Petronella to call him should anything go wrong, was prepared -for a little conversation. He utilised the time by asking Marsh about -himself and his uncle. The young man answered him with the utmost -frankness, and indeed seemed glad to have a friend in whom he could -confide.</p> - -<p>"My father was a gentleman farmer," he said, "but he attended more to -pleasure than to business. While out hunting, he saved the life of -Miss Carr the Colonel's sister. Afterwards she married him. I was -their only child, for my mother died when I was born. My father lost -all his money from reckless living, and went abroad for economy. In -Italy he met my step-mother, who is the daughter of an English consul -by an Italian mother. He met her in a little town on the Adriatic -coast. Her father was dead and she was alone save for Petronella. It -was her intention to become a singer; but she fell in love with my -father. He brought her home to Beorminster, along with Petronella, who -would not leave her. With what remained of his money, my father bought -this house. Five years ago he died, leaving my mother two hundred a -year. With this freehold and that income we have managed to scrape -along. I was educated at Bedford, and afterwards went to Oxford. My -father said that though he could give me no money, he could at least -afford me a decent education. I believe he pinched himself to do so. -Mrs. Marsh helped me; for she has always been good to me. I was -twenty-one years old when my father died, and after the funeral I -wanted to go to London and become a journalist. Mrs. Marsh however -would not hear of this. She insisted that I was the Colonel's heir and -that I should wait till he died.----"</p> - -<p>"Ah!" interrupted Herrick shaking his head, "bad thing waiting for -dead men's shoes."</p> - -<p>"Do you think it was my wish to do so?" protested Stephen -passionately. "I should much have preferred to earn my own living, and -fight my way in London. I have some talent as a poet and a writer, and -I was prepared to battle with the world like other people. But Mrs. -Marsh made me stop with her. I am twenty-six years of age now, and I -have done nothing. I write poetry and send it to the American -magazines, also a few prose articles. These keep me supplied with -pocket-money. It was Bess who put me on to the New York papers. There, -the editors are more open to new talent."</p> - -<p>"And the Colonel refused to help you?"</p> - -<p>"Always. But I never asked him. I hated that man," said Marsh between -his teeth. "I never went near his house. At times my mother called to -see him. She always fought viciously with him, and I think he liked -her for that. Most people were afraid of him, and he admired her for -standing up to him. Colonel Carr thought me a fool and a weakling -because I stayed with Mrs. Marsh instead of going out into the world. -But I ask you Herrick, what else could I have done? Mrs. Marsh had -always been good to me; she sacrificed much so that I might be well -educated, so the least I could do was to stop with her. Again and -again I wanted her to come with me to London; but she always refused."</p> - -<p>"I understand," said Jim, filling his pipe, "she wished to keep an eye -on the Colonel."</p> - -<p>"I think so. Carr always said that I was to be his heir. He has no -relative but me, and he was reported to be wealthy."</p> - -<p>"I should think so Marsh. That house is filled with treasure! Did he -inherit his money?"</p> - -<p>Stephen looked up alertly. "Ah, now you are touching on the secret of -Carr's life," he said with some excitement. "His father died ruined, -and left him nothing but 'The Pines' with a few acres of farm, and -corn-land. Do you know how old Colonel Carr was, doctor?"</p> - -<p>"No! I saw him only after his death. Not very old I should say."</p> - -<p>"Just sixty," replied Stephen, "and into his life he crammed enough -wickedness to fill a century. He was twenty when his father died, and -in the army. By gambling and speculating he supported himself, and -left his sister, my mother, in that old ruined house. Afterwards he -left the army--cashiered for cheating at cards, and led a hand to -mouth existence. But he would never sell 'The Pines,' however hard up -he was. He stopped there on occasions, and played the devil all round. -I can't tell you how bad he was. It is the common-talk of the -countryside. He was called Mad Carr, and Wicked Carr."</p> - -<p>"Colonel Carr?" put in Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No! he was only a captain when he left the army at the age of thirty. -I believe he called himself Colonel when he returned ten years ago."</p> - -<p>"From what quarter of the world?"</p> - -<p>Marsh shook his head. "I cannot tell you," said he slowly, "for twenty -years Carr vanished from England. My mother was left behind in the old -house, and afterwards married my father. She should have made a better -match, but she had little money, and the reputation of her brother did -her no good. However she married my father, and afterwards died when I -was born. That was the end of her. The Colonel left his lawyers to -look after the property, and remained away. I always heard that it was -in South America he picked up his money. At all events he returned -here ten years ago with plenty of cash. The first thing he did was to -put the house in order, and fill it with splendid furniture. He -engaged a staff of servants, and wanted to entertain. At first the -people were disposed to be friendly, but he went on worse than ever, -and everybody cut him. In a rage he sent away all the servants and -only kept Frisco."</p> - -<p>"Did Frisco come back with him from South America?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! But whether it was South America or North I cannot say. Frisco -could hold his tongue when he chose. However Carr turned his back on -the country people, and went on worse than ever. He was said to be mad -but I think it was mere devilment myself. One queer thing he did--no! -Two queer things."</p> - -<p>"The building of the tower was one," said Herrick shrewdly.</p> - -<p>Marsh nodded. "And the other mad act was the throwing down of the -walls and fences round the Pines."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim looked puzzled. "Humph," said he, "I noticed that the house -had no fences round it. One came upon it suddenly, as if it had been -dropped from the skies. Carr threw down the walls, to show that he was -not afraid. On the other hand he must have built that tower to show -that he was."</p> - -<p>"I do not understand what you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Why? It is not difficult if you remember what you said to me when we -met that girl. You hinted that Carr was afraid of something in which -Frisco was concerned. Well then; evidently his first attitude was one -of defiance towards this fear. Afterwards he thought better of it and -built the tower. A man would not leave that splendid house to sleep in -a bare room at the top of a tower unless he was afraid."</p> - -<p>"I think you are right," said Stephen musingly, "but I don't know what -he was afraid of. It was the third year after he returned that he -built the tower, and he was in such a hurry to get it done, that he -had the men working at it by night. You know he has a magnificent -system of electricity round about 'The Pines.' Well, the lights were -on night after night until the tower was finished, and relays of -workmen replaced one another. The whole county wondered at the way -Carr went on."</p> - -<p>"He gave no explanation?"</p> - -<p>"No! He saw no one, but shut himself up like a hermit. Frisco attended -to the house, and cooked the Colonel's meals. But I think Carr often -cooked for himself. He was fond of cooking. For eight years he never -went outside that house."</p> - -<p>"Humph! That accounts for the gymnasium, the bowling alley, and the -shooting gallery. What about his business?"</p> - -<p>"He did it all my means of letter. Frith and Frith sent down a clerk -occasionally. Carr was a clever man of business, and invested his -money in good securities. So my mother said. She used to beard him in -his den."</p> - -<p>"And the clergyman, Corn?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! He called also to try and reform the Colonel, but he did not -succeed. A good fellow Corn, but weak. Can hold his tongue though."</p> - -<p>"On the contrary he talked a good deal to me."</p> - -<p>"So you said," muttered Stephen. "I wonder what he meant by that?"</p> - -<p>"Did he know the secret of Carr's life?"</p> - -<p>"Not that I know of. Corn always kept his mouth shut as I said. Why he -should have talked openly to you I can't say?"</p> - -<p>"It seems to me that there are mysteries on all sides," said Herrick -with a shrug. "Miss Bess used to visit Carr you say?"</p> - -<p>"She did once or twice; but I shall leave her to tell you of her -visits and her opinion of her host."</p> - -<p>"Marsh!" said Dr. Jim after a pause. "Have you any idea who murdered -Carr?"</p> - -<p>"No! Not the remotest. Unless it was Frisco."</p> - -<p>"On the face of it, one would think so. Why did Frisco run away?"</p> - -<p>Stephen rubbed his chin. "I think we must ask Bess," said he -thoughtfully, "if anyone knows what is at the back of all this it is -Bess Endicotte."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_05" href="#div1Ref_05">CHAPTER V</a></h4> -<h5>THE THEORY OF MRS. MARSH</h5> -<br> - -<p>For the next week or so, Herrick had his hands full. Mrs. Marsh grew -rapidly worse, and several times nearly slipped through his fingers. -But the doctor's skill, Petronella's nursing, and above all the -indomitable determination of Mrs. Marsh not to die, enabled her to -turn the corner. She became much better, but still suffered from -racking pains. At times Herrick gave her morphia, but did so -sparingly. From Petronella he learned that she had taken chloral for -years past, and feared that if she gained a taste for morphia she -might take to it instead of the weaker drug. For Stephen's sake, Jim -could not let that happen.</p> - -<p>Never had Herrick had so unruly a patient. He did not wonder that she -had quarrelled with all the Beorminster doctors. The wonder was that -she had a friend left. Her temper was ungovernable, and she fought -Herrick on every point that did not chime in with her inclinations. In -spite of the fact that he was attending her out of sheer kindness, and -had intimated to Stephen that he expected no fee, Mrs. Marsh abused -him virulently whenever she felt so inclined. But then she abused -everyone, even Petronella, who was her slave. As to Stephen, devoted -as he was to her, she could not find words bad enough for him -sometimes. He was a fool, a ninny, a milksop, he lived upon her -charity, etc., etc. Yet there were times when the young man was all -that was good in her eyes. Even Herrick came in for his share of -praise at odd moments.</p> - -<p>"Gran' Dio!" Petronella would say to Herrick after some tussel, "was -there ever such a diavola as the Padrona?"</p> - -<p>"The old Italian woman had taken a great fancy to Dr. Jim. He was good -to her mistress whom she idolized, he was kind to Petronella herself, -and could speak her language. He had once made a tour of Europe for -three years with a young dipsomaniac and had contrived to pick up -three or four tongues, which he spoke remarkably correctly. Spanish, -French, German, Italian, Dr. Jim knew them all and could both read and -write them with wonderful accuracy. In the eyes of Petronella he was a -marvellous man, and she often talked to him on subjects which she -would not discuss with anyone else.</p> - -<p>"Do not be angry with the padrona Signor Dottore," she said sometimes, -"it is the blood of the Michelotto family. Eh, the Michelotti were -wicked!"</p> - -<p>"Like Colonel Carr? Eh, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Signor Dottore, the Colonel was an angel of light to the wicked -Michelotti. The padrona is the last of them, and it is not wonder she -is angry. Per Bacco," added Petronella who could swear on occasions, -"see this casa--a fitting casa for the last of the grand signori."</p> - -<p>"But it is all right now Petronella. As soon as your signora can be -removed we shall take her to The Pines.</p> - -<p>"That is a fine casa if you like!" Petronella spat, and shook her -white elf-locks. "It will bring no luck. Eh Signor, but that man had -the evil eye. Once I went with the padrona to see him. He overlooked -me although I made horns, and I hurt my foot. If my padrona goes to -that casa she will die."</p> - -<p>Herrick shrugged his shoulders, and did not argue. There was no means -of persuading Petronella out of the spite she had taken to The Pines. -It was now the property of Stephen Marsh. The senior partner of Frith -and Frith had come down personally with the will. This left Stephen -the house, on condition that he pulled down the tower. Furthermore the -personal property of the late Colonel, amounting to eight thousand a -year well invested, was given to the young man on a still more curious -condition.</p> - -<p>"You are to have a special vault constructed in Saxham churchyard," -said Mr. Frith, "it is to be built of stone and lined with sheet iron. -The body of our late client is to be put in there, and you alone are -to hold the key of the door. Once a month you are to enter the vault -and see that the body is safe. If you do this for a year then the -property becomes yours absolutely. If you miss going once, the money -goes to--Frisco."</p> - -<p>"To Frisco--the Colonel's servant!" said Stephen in surprise, "and by -that name Mr. Frith?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! It is legal enough. But the man evidently murdered his master, -and has gone away to avoid consequences, I do not think you will be -troubled by him. Also Mr. Marsh--or rather Mr. Carr since you have to -take the name--you can avert all chance of this man getting the money -by visiting the vault monthly for a year."</p> - -<p>Here was another mystery. Why the money should have been left to -Frisco no one could guess. Stephen often talked it over with Herrick, -but could come to no conclusion. However he set to work to carry out -the terms of the will. A body of workmen were employed to take down -the tower; and Mr. Corn was seen about the construction of a new -vault. Evidently the Colonel did not consider that his remains would -be safe in the ancestral burial-place. In spite of all secrecy, the -countryside came to know of this strange provision of Carr's will, -and it was said that he wanted to make sure that his body would not be -carried off by the devil to whom he had sold himself. In fact the -general opinion was, that some night the remains would be carried off -like those of the old woman of Berkley. The villagers grew confused -over the matter, and did not distinguish between the body and soul.</p> - -<p>While Mrs. Marsh was slowly getting better, and Stephen was attending -to the carrying-out of the will, Dr. Jim remained at Saxham, or rather -for the sake of his patient he lived at Beorminster, paying occasional -visits to the village. Robin had long since returned to London, and -had left in much anger at Jim's refusal to accompany him.</p> - -<p>"You have found a new friend," he said angrily, "and I must go to the -wall. I do call it unfair Jim."</p> - -<p>"My dear Robin, I cannot be your shadow. You are quite well able to -look after yourself now. I took you for this walking tour, to do you -good. Now you are in excellent health. I must remain here until Mrs. -Marsh is quite well. Remember if I go she has no doctor to attend -her."</p> - -<p>"I can't do without you," persisted Robin. "You have such an influence -over me that I am lost if you are away."</p> - -<p>"You must take up your life on your own shoulders," replied Herrick -impatiently; "it is no use relying on other people. But if you feel -that I am so indispensable to you, why not stay here? You have money, -no ties, and can do your work here better than in London."</p> - -<p>"I want to go back to town. If I stay here I shall not see much of -you. Marsh is your friend now."</p> - -<p>"I like Marsh. He is a good fellow, and I can make something of him. I -suppose Robin you think I am after his money; but you know me better -than that. The three hundred a year I have is enough for me. I was -never a man for luxury."</p> - -<p>"I never thought or hinted such a thing," said Joyce with a blush. -"Well, if you like to stay here Jim, I'll return to London, and we can -meet when you return. I suppose you'll be back some time,--that is if -Miss Endicotte will let you go."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense," replied Dr. Jim, "she has no thought of me. I like her -very much but in my present state of poverty I could not ask her to be -my wife."</p> - -<p>Joyce said nothing more, but the next week took his leave. He was much -missed in Saxham where his bright talk and merry face had made him a -general favourite. The Biff's especially were sorry. Bess had -foregathered with Joyce on the common ground of literature, and she -lamented when he departed.</p> - -<p>"Why can't you stay here?" she said in her blunt way, "you can work -better in the country."</p> - -<p>"No, Miss Bess. I am like Charles Lamb; London is my home. I cannot get -enough of the divine fire in this tame locality."</p> - -<p>"There is nothing tame about it," cried Bess fired with indignation.</p> - -<p>Joyce laughed. "Not to you perhaps; but I prefer London myself. -However, I hope you will let me come down and see you at times. And we -can correspond. And if you have any manuscripts you think well of, -send them to me. I will see what I can do with them."</p> - -<p>This arrangement was made, and Robin, taking a friendly leave of Jim -went back to his West Kensington fiat. He wrote frequently at first, -but after a time his letters became rarer. Herrick was sorry, but on -the whole somewhat relieved to be rid of such a burden. For Robin was -one of those people who are delightful to meet and terrible to live -with. Had he been ill or in trouble the conscientious Jim would have -stayed with him. But since he had been particularly well after that -attack of nerves when the body was discovered, there was no necessity -for Herrick to martyrise himself further.</p> - -<p>And besides Jim had fallen seriously in love with Ida Endicotte. When -Mrs. Marsh was fairly on the road to recovery, Stephen had taken Jim -over to Saxham and introduced him to the Biffs. They lived in a -tumbledown house of considerable size, down a deep and leafy lane. At -one time the Endicottes had been great folks, but the late Mr. -Endicotte who had married the daughter of an Earl, had squandered the -revenues of the family. His wife Lady Arabella had died of sheer -worry, and Mr. Endicotte had found himself alone with five children -and an impoverished estate.</p> - -<p>For a time he did his best to keep things together, but ultimately -died--as it was said--of a broken heart. It seemed probable that the -five children would go on the parish. "What a fall for the haughty -Endicotte."</p> - -<p>It was at this juncture that Lord Gartham stepped in. He was an Irish -peer, and poor himself, but he could not see his sister's children -entirely penniless. Ida the eldest was twenty-four when her father -died; Bess, had reached the age of twenty-three; and Sidney the -youngest, was sixteen. The five Endicottes were all handsome, and had -high spirits; but poorer than the proverbial church mouse. What was to -be done?</p> - -<p>"We'll earn our own livings," said Bess who was the most energetic of -the five. "Ida can look after the house, Frank can manage the farm; -and Sidney can go to school, and I shall ask Mr. Arch to take me on to -the Weekly Chronicle."</p> - -<p>"But my dear child!" expostulated the Earl.</p> - -<p>"What does it matter?" cried Bess. "We are the Endicottes whatever we -may do. Everybody knows who we are and what we are. There is nothing -disgraceful in earning one's own living Uncle Gar!"</p> - -<p>The Earl--rather a helpless person--who had never done a stroke of -honest work in his life, was rather surprised at the energy of Bess. -However her scheme recommended itself to his favour since there was -absolutely no other way of settling the matter. In one way and -another, Lord Gartham paid off the debts by selling some of the land, -and arranged that the united five should have a small income which -they would have to increase as best they could. Thus it was that the -Endicottes found themselves with their ancestral home, a small farm, -two hundred a year, and the world before them.</p> - -<p>They were all young and hearty so they thought very little of the -matter. Bess obtained a post on the Weekly Chronicle at Beorminster, -Ida looked after the house, and Frank managed the farm. Flo was put to -a Beorminster school, whence she returned once a week to Saxham, and -Sidney studied under Mr. Corn who expressed a desire to take him. The -countryside all approved of this independent spirit, and made much of -the Biffs.</p> - -<p>When the Colonel died, this had been going on for three years. Ida was -still unmarried, as she had refused several offers. "I cannot leave -the children," she said, and people were divided as to the wisdom of -this attitude. Some said it was right; but the majority agreed that it -was a pity such a beautiful girl should develop into an old maid. But -the fact is no one knew Ida's secret. She was in love with Stephen, -and although they had never spoken on the subject they understood one -another very well. Hitherto Stephen's poverty had prevented his -speaking openly. Now the inheritance of eight thousand a year had -altered all that, and he intended to ask Ida to be his wife on the -very earliest opportunity.</p> - -<p>It was a pity Jim did not know of this. He had fallen in love with -Ida, and as she was always pleasant to him, it never crossed his mind -that her heart was engaged. Open on most points with his new friend, -Stephen out of delicacy for Ida was reticent about his love. So Jim -continued to live in a Fool's Paradise, and not even the sharp-eyed -Joyce had been able to able to enlighten him.</p> - -<p>Certainly Mrs. Marsh had spoken to Jim on the subject. She wanted -Stephen to marry Miss Endicotte, But Dr. Herrick thought that was -merely her own desire, and did not think there was anything serious -between the young people. Nor could Mrs. Marsh inform him of more than -the fact that they liked one another, and that it was the desire of -her heart to see them married.</p> - -<p>One day when Stephen was at Saxham, Mrs. Marsh had a long talk with -the doctor in which he saw more of her stormy character, than had ever -been shown to him before. She could sit up in bed now, and wearied of -the society of Petronella, frequently asked Herrick to stay beside -her.</p> - -<p>"You are one of the few sensible men I have met," she said, drawing -her black brows together. "Come and talk. I want you to tell me what -you think of Stephen."</p> - -<p>"What can I think but that he is the best of fellows," replied Jim -taking a chair by the beside.</p> - -<p>"H'm! That sounds like the 'weakest of men,' Stephen I mean. You are -strong enough in every way. That is why I want you to look after -Stephen."</p> - -<p>"How do you mean look after him Mrs. Marsh." The widow mused for a time -before replying. "He is a good-hearted fool," she said at last, "and -with his sweet nature is likely to be imposed upon in this world. Now -he is rich and scoundrels will prey on him. I want you to see he comes -to no harm."</p> - -<p>"But I have to return to London," remonstrated Jim, rather taken aback -by the responsibility thrust upon him. "I am not a rich man Mrs. -Marsh, and I must look after my practice."</p> - -<p>"I can arrange all that," she replied sharply. "You are a good man Dr. -Herrick. I can see that; and I'm no fool. All your influence over -Stephen will be for good. I can get him to offer you some inducement -to stay beside him--at all events until he is married."</p> - -<p>"Until he is married?" echoed Jim puzzled. "Has he any intention of -getting married?"</p> - -<p>"Not that I know of. He is too much wrapped up in his poetry. But I -wish him to marry Ida Endicotte. She is a well-born girl and a good -woman. I think she will make Stephen an excellent wife. She likes -him."</p> - -<p>Jim felt the blood flush in his face. "Liking is not love," he said in -a rather irritated tone.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Marsh pulled the curtains aside so that the light fell on the -face of the young man. Then after a scrutiny she gave a short laugh. -"So that is it, is it?" she said. "You are in love with the girl!"</p> - -<p>"I never said so Mrs. Marsh."</p> - -<p>"Pshaw! You can't blind me. I am a woman. Come. You are in love."</p> - -<p>Herrick shrugged his broad shoulders. "I do not see why I should deny -it," he said coldly, "I am in love with Miss Endicotte; but so far as -I can judge she is not in love with me.</p> - -<p>"I don't think she is in love with anyone," replied Mrs. Marsh, "but I -have not seen enough of her to judge. If I could only see them -together, I could tell. She likes Stephen though. But here I am -chained to this bed and cannot get out to attend to matters of -importance. Humph!" she eyed Herrick steadily, "so you are in love -with her! Well! it has been the desire of my life to see Stephen -married to Ida, but for all that, I want you to stay. Stephen shall -give you a thousand a year to stay."</p> - -<p>"My dear Mrs. Marsh!"</p> - -<p>"Now don't contradict me or you will put me out of temper. And you -know what that means. I ask you to stop, to show my regard for you. -Many another woman would get you out of the way rather than see her -pet scheme interfered with. I am not that sort of narrow-minded -person. You shall have your chance along with Stephen. If she loves -you, marry her in God's name and let's have done with the matter. If -however she prefers my poor Stephen--sweet-hearted fool that he -is--you must promise me not to put any obstacle in the way of the -marriage."</p> - -<p>"If Miss Endicotte prefers your step-son I certainly should not think -of objecting Mrs. Marsh," said Herrick stiffly. "Your remark is rather -unnecessary."</p> - -<p>"I don't think it is," retorted the widow, "you are a gentleman, I -know. But you are also a human being, and when love comes into the -question there are few things a man will not do, or a woman for the -matter of that!" She clenched her thin hand that laid outside the -coverlet, and her face darkened. "I know! I know," she muttered -between her teeth, "who should know but I who have suffered? Give me -something to drink doctor. My throat is dry with talking."</p> - -<p>"I think I had better leave you," said Herrick after her thirst was -assuaged, "you are wearying yourself."</p> - -<p>"Don't go," cried Mrs. Marsh abruptly, "I have much to say of -importance. I may not be here long to say it."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense, Mrs. Marsh. You are getting better,--much better."</p> - -<p>"All the same I may die; one never knows," said the widow gloomily.</p> - -<p>Herrick laughed at these forebodings. "What!" said he trying to joke -her out of so morbid a mood, "have you enemies, like Carr?"</p> - -<p>"Anyone who came into contact with Carr was bound to have enemies," -said Mrs. Marsh bitterly. "He was a devil if ever there was one. -However this is not to the point," she went on impatiently, "I want -to know if you will stay with Stephen for a thousand a year?"</p> - -<p>"It is a tempting offer to a poor man like myself," said Herrick with -some hesitation, "but until Stephen himself asks me to stay, I cannot -promise. He may not wish----"</p> - -<p>"Oh, that is all right Dr. Herrick. Stephen knows that you are his best -friend. I want you to take him in hand and make a man of him. He is -too fond of poring over books; too careless of his physical health. -Make him ride, and golf, and all the rest of it. I have been a fool -keeping him so much beside me. But I love the boy, and that was my -woman's weakness. Now he is rich, teach him how to use his riches and -be happy."</p> - -<p>"You have most influence over him" said Herrick still hesitating.</p> - -<p>"I have had too much and not for the best" was her gloomy reply, "no; -you are the teacher he wants. Besides who knows what may happen to -me?"</p> - -<p>Herrick looked at her uneasily. Again she had hinted at something of -danger to herself. "I wish you would be plain with me," he said.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Marsh with a frown.</p> - -<p>"I think you can guess," retorted the doctor. "You hint at your dying; -so far as I know there is not the least likelihood of your doing so -unless you take an overdose of that chloral which I am always advising -you to leave off. Have you some enemy who is likely to----"</p> - -<p>"No!" replied Mrs. Marsh with unnecessary violence, "I have no enemy. -But I feel--I have a presentiment--that I am not long for this world. -As an Italian you know I am bound to be superstitious."</p> - -<p>"I should think the English part of your blood would revolt against -such morbid nonsense. Again I say you are not plain with me."</p> - -<p>"I am. How dare you talk to me so!" cried Mrs. Marsh furiously. "You -are the one man I have met in this world of fools, other than that -dead devil Carr. If I made a confidant of anyone it would be of you. -But so far as I personally am concerned there is nothing to say. But -Stephen--" she hesitated and fell to plucking restlessly at the -coverlet.</p> - -<p>"Well! You wish me to be his bear-leader? If he is willing, I am -willing. A thousand a year is not to be despised. Moreover my -conscience is perfectly clear as regards Miss Endicotte."</p> - -<p>"I understand. If she loves you, marry her by all means! If Stephen is -her choice, you must promise----"</p> - -<p>"I promise nothing," said Herrick impatiently walking to and fro, -"there is no necessity to promise. I am a man of honour. If Stephen -and Miss Endicotte love one another I am the last man in the world to -step between them. You know that."</p> - -<p>"If I didn't I should not ask you to stop and look after him," said -Mrs. Marsh cynically. "However, you complained of my want of -confidence. I am going to amend that. Do you know why I want you to -stay with Stephen."</p> - -<p>"To make a man of him--so you said."</p> - -<p>"That certainly, but it is something of an excuse. I also want -you--and this is the main reason--to guard him."</p> - -<p>"Against whom? What are you hinting at?" asked Herrick sharply.</p> - -<p>"At Frisco," was the unexpected reply. "Oh, you may look astonished, -but if you remember the will?--well?"</p> - -<p>"The will," repeated Dr. Jim, "I see what you mean. The money goes to -Frisco if Stephen should neglect to visit the vault monthly for a -year. What of that?"</p> - -<p>"This much. Frisco killed Colonel Carr. Oh, I am sure of it! If not, -why did he fly? Besides there is no one else I can think of who had an -interest in Carr's death. I do not know what secrets he had, but what -there were Frisco knew. That was why Carr left the money to him -failing Stephen."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense. If Frisco possessed Colonel Carr's secrets he could have -blackmailed him without the necessity of murder."</p> - -<p>"Ah, you don't know," said Mrs. Marsh mysteriously. "I have heard -Frisco and Carr quarrel. It is my belief--if you remember Napper's -evidence that they quarrelled on the night of the murder. They must -have fought a duel, which is just what two devils like them would do. -Frisco killed his master before he could fire a shot. That is why all -the chambers of the revolver were found loaded. Well, Frisco has had -to fly; but he will not give up his chance of getting the money. No! -He will," here Mrs. Marsh bent forward to whisper, "he will try and -maim or kill Stephen so that he may not fulfil the conditions of the -will--and visit the vault. Then Frisco will claim the money. I have -thought this all out while lying here."</p> - -<p>"It is ingenious," replied Herrick, "but you forget that if Frisco -shows himself, he will be arrested. That stops his attempting to harm -Stephen."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Marsh shook her head. "You do not know Frisco; I do," she said: -and not another word could Herrick extract from her.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_06" href="#div1Ref_06">CHAPTER VI</a></h4> -<h5>"THE CHANGELING"</h5> -<br> - -<p>While the tower at "The Pines" was being pulled down, Stephen paid -frequent visits to Saxham. Sometimes Dr. Herrick went with him, and -together they would go through that wonderful house. Marsh had never -before been inside it, and he was amazed at the luxury. His life had -been so simple, so deprived of all beauty, that his artistic -temperament had been starved from lack of nutriment. Highly gifted -with the imaginative faculty, possessed of a keen perception of -loveliness, Stephen revelled in the beautiful things which filled -every corner of the house.</p> - -<p>"You will have to get a wife to share it all," said Herrick one day -after his conversation with Mrs. Marsh. He looked keenly at the young -man as he spoke.</p> - -<p>Stephen however betrayed no emotion. "I suppose I shall have to marry -some day," he said coolly. "If I were to die without children my -cousin would get the property."</p> - -<p>"I did not know you had a cousin?" said Herrick, rather astonished.</p> - -<p>"I believe so. A distant cousin, although I have never seen him. My -mother can tell you all about him. It seems that Colonel Carr's father -had a younger brother who was turned out by his father. He went to -America and married there. Then he died leaving a widow and a -daughter. The widow died and the daughter married some one in the -States. I do not know the name but my mother may. I believe there is a -son, but whether he is in America or in England I cannot say."</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Jim, "very interesting. I must ask your mother about -this. If you secure the property by complying with the conditions of -the will, it will be yours entirely. Even if you do not marry, you -will be able to leave it to whomsoever you please."</p> - -<p>"I should leave it to my cousin, whatever his name is," said Stephen -in a careless tone. "It seems to me that he has the right to enjoy it -after me, since he is of the Carr blood."</p> - -<p>"Always provided you do not marry and have children!"</p> - -<p>"Of course. But there is time enough to think of marriage. I want my -mother to be sole mistress of this beautiful place for a time. She has -had such a dose of poverty that I should like her to taste luxury."</p> - -<p>"You are not in love then?" asked Herrick in a jocular tone.</p> - -<p>"I don't know!" this time Stephen flushed. "I'll tell you when I am. -Meantime let me enjoy the present. I'll soon have this tower down and -the house put to rights. Then my mother can come. I hope you will stay -also Herrick," he added rather anxiously. "I don't want to lose my -friend you know."</p> - -<p>"It all depends," replied Jim with a flush. He was thinking of Ida. "I -will remain until your mother is quite well. You may be sure of that."</p> - -<p>Nothing more was said at the time. Herrick could not be certain that -Stephen was in love with Ida or that the girl had set her heart on -Marsh. They were excellent friends, but in spite of Herrick's lynx eye -he could not learn if they understood one another. As a matter of fact -they did; but neither of them wished to hurry matters. Both felt that -Mrs. Marsh would have to be consulted before anything was settled, and -therefore waited until she recovered her health and was established at -"The Pines."</p> - -<p>Mrs. Marsh slowly regained her strength, and almost dispensed with -Herrick's attendance. She never recurred to the subject of Ida or of -Frisco after that one interview, although Herrick several times tried -to make her speak. Evidently she knew something about the man--perhaps -had heard the Colonel speak of him. But whatever it was she kept her -own counsel. There was no need that she should do otherwise. Perhaps -if Frisco had made his appearance she might have been induced to speak -out, but the ex-sailor (as Herrick learned he was) had vanished -completely. He was traced to Paddington station, and after that all -sign of the trail was lost. Like a rain drop he had disappeared into -the mighty sea of London life, and in spite of all offers of reward -not a hint could be gained of his whereabouts.</p> - -<p>It was generally considered that he was the criminal, most people -holding that he had shot the Colonel unawares. Napper's evidence went -to prove that the two men were on bad terms with one another, and -probably Frisco excited by rum and a sense of his wrongs, whatever -these might be, had returned to "The Pines" with the intention of -righting himself. No one entertained the idea of a duel having been -fought. Only Mrs. Marsh gave Frisco that grace. Herrick considered her -theory a feasible one, and felt that it was confirmed by the fact of -the revolver found in the dead man's hand being loaded. If Frisco had -fired first, the Colonel would have fallen with his weapon -undischarged, and this would account for the six chambers being -filled. But what it would not account for was the fact of one bullet -being different to the remaining three. That was a puzzle, and Dr. Jim -could in nowise arrive at the solution of the problem, although he -thought over it a great deal.</p> - -<p>Bess Endicotte was the only person who insisted on Frisco's innocence. -She declared that the man was too devoted to his master to kill him, -and that there could be no reason for the crime. This she explained to -Herrick a week after the interview with Mrs. Marsh. Both Herrick and -Marsh had come over to Biffstead to spend the afternoon, intending to -return to Beorminster by the last bus, somewhere about ten o'clock. It -was characteristic of Stephen's simple habits that he still went to -and fro by the public vehicle, although he could now have afforded a -cart, a horse, a bicycle, or even (had he so chosen) a motor-car. But -before taking full advantage of his new position and of his wealth, he -wanted his mother to be well enough to direct matters. She had held -him in subjection for so many years, that he hesitated to do anything -without her approval. So Herrick and Stephen came to Saxham by the -bus, or used their legs. For the sake of his health Herrick made Marsh -walk as much as possible. The man was visionary and it was necessary -to shake him into something like practical life by exercise.</p> - -<p>On arriving at the Grange, the two young men, found the whole family -at home. There was Ida tall and beautiful who welcomed the visitors in -her usual placid way. She was of the Junoesque type, stately and -maternal, moving like a large goddess amongst minor mortals. Bess, who -was all alert and vivacious, was accustomed to make fun of Ida's -stately ways. "The Sacred White Cow," said Bess folding her hands, and -when Ida remonstrated pointed out that the term meant no disrespect. -"Juno was called ox-eyed, and I'm sure the cow is a most beautiful -animal," said she inconsequently. "Why should a comparison to a useful -animal be taken as an insult? If I said you were like a fawn, or a -stag, or a swan, you would be quite pleased. But because I call you a -lovely snowy cow--you _are_ a beautiful cow," broke off Bess with a -shrug, "the sacred white cow. There!"</p> - -<p>"Really Bess, you are getting more dreadful every day," cried Ida -helplessly, "please don't call me this horrid name when Stephen and -Dr. Herrick come."</p> - -<p>"Dr. Herrick would understand; he is a scholar. However I won't call -you anything but Juno--will that do?"</p> - -<p>"I should prefer to be called by my proper name!"</p> - -<p>Bess made a mouth but yielded the point. She was devotedly fond of -Ida, and always said that her beauty would raise the family into -affluence once more. "My _brains_ may do something," she said, "but -Ida's looks will attract all the men of wealth and position."</p> - -<p>"I do not want any of them," protested Ida with a blush. "Do let me -see after my own future, Bess darling."</p> - -<p>Undeniably Bess was the cleverest of the family. She was so bright and -quick, and possessed of such indomitable perseverance, that she easily -exercised a despotic sway over the weaker vessels. Ida looked after -the house, but Bess was the real head who paid the bills, and bullied -the tradesmen, and saw that everything was in order. Even Frank gave -way before her. But Frank was rather like Ida in the matter of bovine -simplicity. He was a big handsome fellow, never out of temper. When he -was not looking after the farm he strolled in the fields, and searched -into the secret workings of Nature. Sometimes he wrote articles for -the papers and magazines. A Gilbert White of the Parish of Saxham, -that is what Frank Endicotte was. Some of his articles had even been -accepted in London, and when he could be induced to write, he usually -made a few guineas. But Frank was lazy, and it needed all the scolding -of Bess to make him do his duty in the way of literary work. So far as -the farm went he was never idle, as he loved an open air-life, and -took a genuine interest in stock, top drainage and crops.</p> - -<p>Florence, who was now home on her weekly holiday, bounced out on Dr. -Jim and Stephen as they came up the avenue. She was a girl in her -teens, more like Bess than any of the rest, and bubbled over with -animal spirits. This was her last quarter at school, and now her hair -was turned up and she had arrived at the dignity of long frocks. But -at heart she was still a schoolgirl, and on this especial day had let -down her long hair much to the dismay of Ida who was nothing if not -conventional.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Stephen!" she cried clasping him by the arm. "I am so glad you -have come. Frank is writing, Bess is typing, and Ida is making a new -dress. I have no one to amuse me."</p> - -<p>"Where is the Changeling?" asked Stephen laughing.</p> - -<p>"Sidney! Oh, he has a holiday, and has gone over to see 'The Pines.' -You know how fond he is of going there. He was the only one of us that -was not afraid of the Colonel."</p> - -<p>"I don't think Bess was."</p> - -<p>"No. It would take an army to frighten Bess. How are you Dr. Herrick? -I am rude not to have spoken to you before. Come inside, and wake us -all up. I am sure this place is like the palace of the Sleeping -Beauty."</p> - -<p>"Suppose we go over to 'The Pines' and have afternoon tea in one of -the rooms," suggested Stephen. "There is no food there, but we can -take what we want from here, and have a picnic."</p> - -<p>"Jolly!" cried Flo the schoolgirl, "there are kettles and tea-pots -and all the rest of the things we want at 'The Pines' I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"The house is remarkably well furnished," said Herrick laughing. "It -is a good idea; three o'clock. We had better go at once."</p> - -<p>The others entered into the scheme with avidity, and thus it was that -Herrick found himself walking beside Bess to "The Pines." Not without -a pang had he relinquished Ida to his friend; but bearing in mind the -confidence reposed in him by Mrs. Marsh, he desired to act as fairly -as possible. Besides he was growing fond of Bess. She was such a -bright companion, and so clever. At first she was disinclined to speak -of the Colonel and Frisco, but gradually became more outspoken. In his -quiet way Herrick had a wonderful gift of making people talk. "I -wouldn't say it to any one but you Dr. Jim," said Bess--for so she now -called him, "but there is something about you that makes me believe in -you. I think you must have a kind of daemonic influence like Goethe."</p> - -<p>"I am sympathetic if that is what you mean," said Jim. "I took to you -immediately I saw you in the inn parlour."</p> - -<p>Bess blushed a little through her tanned skin, and cast a keen look at -the big man. Somehow Herrick was conscious of that look, and wondered -what it was for. Perhaps with a woman's quickness Bess divined that he -admired Ida and did not approve of it. However she was too clever to -say anything if such was the case, but went on to talk of Colonel Carr -and Frisco.</p> - -<p>"I liked Frisco," she said in her quick decisive way, "he was a bad -man and some of the things he told me he had done were really -dreadful; but somehow he was attractive. Much better than the -Colonel."</p> - -<p>"I thought you liked the Colonel," said Jim with a side glance.</p> - -<p>"Well you see it was this way," replied the girl laughing. "I was -rather bold in introducing myself to him, and he was so kind that I -forgave him his bad reputation."</p> - -<p>"How was it you met him?"</p> - -<p>"I wanted some copy for the Chronicle and did not know what to write -about. Something had to be done, so I kept my ears open for an idea. -Ida happened to mention something about 'The Pines,' so I thought it -would be nice to see all the wonderful furniture that was in the -house. Would you believe it," she added lightly, "I went straight to -'The Pines' and asked to see Colonel Carr? At first he refused, but I -was so persistent that he let me come in. I told him frankly what I -wanted and how hard up I was for an article. He was so taken back by -my assurance that he said I could describe 'The Pines,' provided I did -so under a fictitious name. Then he took me all over the house -himself; gave me tea in the big drawing-room and sent me off. I got a -good article out of what he showed me, but of course I said that it -was a description of a millionaire's palace in Park Lane. Nobody -believed that. I think the Colonel guessed they wouldn't. He just let -me write the article to make the people's mouths water with telling -about things he would not let them see."</p> - -<p>"A nice Christian spirit!" remarked Jim grimly. "Ah! but you must -remember that he was treated very badly by the country people when he -came back from America."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Then America was the place of his exile?"</p> - -<p>"So Frisco said; Mexico and Peru. The two had many adventures and used -to tell me about them. I made up several stories out of the material I -got from them."</p> - -<p>"You called to see the Colonel again then?"</p> - -<p>"Why not! He was always polite, and I wasn't a bit afraid of him. Oh, -I know he had a dreadful reputation, but he was never rude to me. Poor -man," said Bess letting her eyes rest pensively on the house which -they were now approaching, "I think he was very weary of living -alone."</p> - -<p>"Were the Colonel and Frisco good friends?"</p> - -<p>"The very best. Frisco adored the Colonel, who had saved his life. -Both of them seem rather afraid of---" here Bess was silent.</p> - -<p>"Of what?"</p> - -<p>"I hardly know. But they hinted at some enemy who would kill the pair -of them if he discovered their whereabouts. That was what Frisco meant -at the public-house, when he hinted about his master not living long. -If Frisco had given information, the enemy would have killed the -Colonel."</p> - -<p>"I wonder if Frisco did, and then went away to escape the -consequences?"</p> - -<p>"No!" said Bess thoughtfully. "Frisco would have been killed also. I -think myself that the enemy found out the Colonel and murdered him; -then Frisco ran away to save his own life."</p> - -<p>"Humph! That is one way of looking at the matter. Did you hear if any -stranger was seen in the neighbourhood on the night of the murder?"</p> - -<p>Bess looked quickly at her companion. "No," she said with some -hesitation. "I never heard of anyone. Besides it would have come out -in the evidence."</p> - -<p>"You have no idea who killed the man?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly not. If I knew I should tell. There was something--I'll -tell you that later."</p> - -<p>"Tell it to me now!"</p> - -<p>"I can't do that until I get my facts together," said Bess firmly, -"Look here Dr. Jim, I intend to find out the truth about this mystery. -From something the Colonel let drop, I believe it is concerned with -the money he came back with."</p> - -<p>"From South America?"</p> - -<p>"Or from North America," replied Miss Endicotte musingly, "I am not -quite clear. But I'll ask you to help me when I get my facts -together."</p> - -<p>"You rouse my curiosity. Tell me now what you----"</p> - -<p>"I said no and I mean no," retorted Bess setting her mouth firmly. -"You will be here for some time yet. If you go away I shall write to -you. I am sure we shall find out who killed the Colonel, and I am -equally sure that Frisco is not the man."</p> - -<p>"Well. Have it your own way. Tell me one thing. How is it the Colonel -was so anxious about the preservation of his body?"</p> - -<p>"Ah! Now you are asking more than I can tell you."</p> - -<p>"You know though," said Jim looking at her sharply.</p> - -<p>"I think--I am not sure. Wait, Dr. Jim. In good time you shall know -all that I know. This is a romance in real life."</p> - -<p>"A tragedy rather," said Herrick grimly, "mind you keep your promise."</p> - -<p>"You can be sure I shall keep it," said Bess nodding and for the time -being the matter ended. But Jim was considerably puzzled. How she -could have got hold of information of which the police knew nothing -was difficult to say. All the same he had more confidence in the -brains of Bess than in those of Inspector Bridge.</p> - -<p>As it was Saturday afternoon, the workmen had knocked off for the day. -By this time the tower was half demolished, and curious it looked in -its dilapidated state, with the pile of débris round about its base. -The visitors looked at it for some time, then went into the house. In -the kitchen off the dining-room they found an old woman who agreed to -boil the kettle for them. After some deliberation they fixed on the -library as the best place for the meal. On entering they found a boy -reading in the corner under the window.</p> - -<p>"You here Sidney?" said Ida amazed. "How can you come here without -asking Stephen's permission?"</p> - -<p>"Stephen doesn't mind I'm sure," replied Sidney with a smile, and -Stephen assured him that he was welcome. While the others were talking -and admiring the place Dr. Jim stood looking at the boy who was -leaning back on the sofa taken up with his own thoughts. There was -something peculiar about Sidney Endicotte, which procured him the name -of the Changeling. This was given to him in fun by Bess; but many -people in the village really believed that he was half a fairy if not -a whole one. This reputation rose from the fact that the lad possessed -that gift which in Scotland is called the second sight. No one in -Saxham who saw Master Sidney's large blue eyes fixed upon him or her -but turned pale. In Italy he would have been credited with the Evil -eye, and indeed old Petronella always crossed herself when she chanced -to meet him. Once or twice Sidney had foretold the death of those who -had afterwards died. Thus he had an uncanny reputation.</p> - -<p>He was a small thin boy looking much older than his years. Although -he was but sixteen, yet on occasions he looked quite twenty. Pale, -thin-faced, with large blue eyes, and a curious insistent gaze, he -sometimes made even his own family feel uncomfortable. Then he had -such peculiar habits. At night he was generally wakeful, and he slept -much in the day-time particularly in cold weather. Sometimes he would -slip out of his bedroom by the window and remain away for hours. When -questioned where he had been he used vaguely to answer "In the wood." -The doctors who had seen him could make nothing of him. He was healthy -in his own way, his head was clear, and Corn reported that he learned -rapidly. But about him hung a glamour not of this world. He might have -been a male Kilmeny who had returned from fairy-land. Bess sometimes -called him Thomas the Rhymer. When she did so Sidney would nod and -laugh in so strange a way, that Bess herself grew frightened, and -dropped the name.</p> - -<p>"How do you feel to-day Sidney?" asked Jim sitting down beside the -boy.</p> - -<p>"Not very well," he replied vaguely. "I feel that I am not myself. I -came here to read myself to sleep."</p> - -<p>"Why did you want to do that?"</p> - -<p>"Because I could go away then. I always do when I feel like this."</p> - -<p>"Like what?" Jim was puzzled. The boy was by no means mad, yet he -talked in a manner quite beyond the comprehension of a sane person. -Jim had never met anyone like him before and was much taken up with -the oddity of the case from a medical point of view.</p> - -<p>"I can't explain; you would not understand," said Sidney. "Please -leave me alone, Dr. Herrick."</p> - -<p>At this moment Bess called to Jim from the other side of the room and -he hurried across to her. Sidney remained vaguely staring into -nothingness. After a time his eyes closed and he looked as though he -were fast asleep. The others gathered round the tea table, and -prepared to eat. Bess would not allow her brother to be awakened.</p> - -<p>"It makes him ill if he is roused suddenly," she said. "He will wake -up himself and be all right."</p> - -<p>"It doesn't look to me like a natural sleep," said Jim anxiously. "How -pale he is! Don't you think----"</p> - -<p>"No," said Ida sharply, "I agree with Bess. Sidney had better be left -alone. He gets into these states at times. Let us have tea. I am so -hungry, and it's past five."</p> - -<p>"A quarter past," said Stephen glancing at his watch.</p> - -<p>They began to eat and drink, laughing and enjoying themselves. No one -took any notice of Sidney, and even Jim's attention was distracted. -The boy remained on the sofa, leaning back, white as snow, and drawing -long deep breaths. He looked like a dead person.</p> - -<p>After a time the conversation languished. The tea was done, the food -was finished, and they talked about packing up to go. "Poor Sidney's -tea is quite cold," said Ida. "I really think we might wake him now. -Oh, he is coming to himself. Wake up Sidney, and have some tea. It is -nearly six and we must be getting home."</p> - -<p>The boy's face had now a delicate pink tinge on it, and he seemed more -himself than he had been when he fell asleep. For a moment he was -silent. Then he looked slowly round at those who were present, until -his blue eyes fixed themselves calmly on Stephen.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Marsh!" he said quietly, "you had better go home. Your mother is -dead."</p> - -<p>Ida gave a cry and Stephen turned pale. Bess alone retained sufficient -presence of mind to cross over to the boy and shake him, "Sidney, what -do you mean by saying such a horrible thing."</p> - -<p>"It is true," replied the boy quietly, "Mrs. Marsh is dead. I have -just seen her. She died at half-past five. Go home Stephen."</p> - -<p>Without a word Marsh rushed from the room. He knew of Sidney's -prophecies, and dreaded lest this one should be true. He made for -Beorminster as fast as he could go, and was met by Petronella.</p> - -<p>"My padrona is dead!" said the old woman.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_07" href="#div1Ref_07">CHAPTER VII</a></h4> -<h5>A NINE DAYS' WONDER</h5> -<br> - -<p>Petronella made the terrible announcement with ominous calmness. Then, -when she saw Stephen staring at her open-mouthed, her wild southern -nature could no longer be controlled. With a choking sob, she flung -her apron over her head, and began to lament loudly for her dear -padrona. Her voice ascended shrilling in a long wail, like that of the -Corsican vocieri. Luckily there were few people in the street, and the -sound was scarcely noticed; it was simply thought that the excitable -Italian woman was in one of her tantrums. And Beorminster was used to -Petronella's fits of rage. Stephen caught her suddenly and dragging -her inside by main force closed the door.</p> - -<p>Before Petronella could recover her breath for another howl, she found -herself on one of the dining-room chairs with Marsh standing over her. -The young man was so shaken that he could hardly speak. The prophecy -of Sidney, the hurried journey to Beorminster on a grocer's cart which -he had met near Saxham, and now the terrible confirmation of the -death; these things shook him to the soul. He hardly recognised his -own voice. "Tell me everything that happened," he said slowly, "do not -make any mistake. I must know all."</p> - -<p>Petronella crossed herself. "Holy Virgin," she muttered, "his eyes are -like coals." Then after a muffled wail, she burst out into rapid -Italian which Stephen understood easily from his habit of talking to -her and to Mrs. Marsh.</p> - -<p>"After you left at mid-day Signor Stephano, the padrona tried to get a -little sleep. When the postman came at two o'clock, he brought one -letter for her. I took it up, and woke her. Then I went out of the -room. In a quarter of an hour the Signora called me. She looked white, -so white. The letter was before her. She told me to give her the -chloral as she wanted to sleep. I asked her if she had bad news in the -letter. She said no, but that she felt suddenly sick. I gave her the -medicine in the little bottle, and went away. She took some I think, -for when I went up again an hour later she was asleep. I went again -and again--she was still asleep. Then I took up her tea, and wanted to -waken her. Gran' Dio--she was dead--dead!"</p> - -<p>"What time was that Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"At half past five Signor, the hour when I always take up the -Signora's tea. Oh, she is dead and I nursed her. Cursed be it that I -live still."</p> - -<p>While the old woman wailed on, Stephen shuddered. The hour was that -which Sidney had named. "Are you sure she died at that time?" he -asked.</p> - -<p>"Quite sure Signor Stephano. When I went in before she was only -asleep; I saw her breathing. I was up at a quarter past five and she -still breathed, and had a colour in her poor cheek. When I set down -the tray I turned to see that she was quite still, her face pale as -snow. I put my hand to her heart. She was dead. Ah Dio mio, she must -have passed away when I entered the room. I heard a sigh at the door," -said Petronella beginning to embellish. "It was her spirit that -passed. What could I do but open the window to let the soul go free? -Ah Holy Virgin!" and the old woman crossed herself again.</p> - -<p>By this time Stephen had somewhat recovered his composure. Without a -word he went up to the room. Petronella had drawn a sheet over the -dead. He drew it down gently, and saw the waxen face beneath. Every -wrinkle had been smoothed away, and there rested a peaceful expression -on that once stormy countenance. As Marsh stood tearlessly looking at -the dead, he heard a light step enter the room. Herrick appeared, -almost as pale as the dead woman. After a glance at the corpse, he -recognised that all was over, and looked at Marsh with a shudder.</p> - -<p>"Yes!" whispered the young man replying to the unspoken thought, "at -half past five o'clock!"</p> - -<p>Herrick shuddered again and drew the sheet over the dead face. Then he -took Stephen by the arm and led him downstairs into the study. There -he left him in a chair and went into the dining-room, whence he -returned with a decanter and two glasses. Pouring out two stiff -glasses of brandy he forced Stephen to drink one, and took the other -himself. Both were in need of the stimulant, for the event had shaken -them considerably.</p> - -<p>By and bye Marsh laid down his head on the table and wept quietly. He -had been devoted to the dead woman and was all unstrung. Moreover the -uncanny way in which the first announcement of the death had been -made, shocked him deeply. Herrick went out to see Petronella. He found -her in the death chamber. A genuine Romanist, she had placed candles -round the bed, and a crucifix on the breast of the dead, On her knees -she was praying aloud. Seeing that all had been done that could be -done, Herrick returned to the study. Stephen was calmer, and inclined -to talk.</p> - -<p>"It was half past five as Sidney said," he said in a low voice. "Oh, -Herrick what does it mean?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know," said the usually sceptically doctor, "After you had -gone, I asked the boy how he knew. He said that while asleep he had -dreamed--so he put it--that he was standing in your mother's bedroom. -She was dying in a stupor, and he saw the breath gradually leave her -body. He also said that he saw her spirit after she was dead. But of -course that must be nonsense."</p> - -<p>"After what he said I can believe anything" said Marsh, "what else?"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Jim uncomfortably, "he described the bedroom exactly. Was -he ever in it Stephen?"</p> - -<p>"No; certainly not. And he described it?"</p> - -<p>"Exactly; and as being in the state in which it now is. He said that -Petronella came in at the door with a tray and placed it beside the -bed. She then put her hand on your mother's heart and found that she -was dead. Afterwards she opened the window. Why--what--Stephen?"</p> - -<p>"My God!" cried the young man now ghastly white. "That is exactly what -Petronella told me she did. Oh, oh!" and he fainted. Herrick scarcely -wondered at it; he felt deadly sick himself and it needed another -glass of brandy before he could recover himself sufficiently to attend -to the unconscious man.</p> - -<p>Next day the news was known all over Beorminster; and Sidney's -prophecy also. The Endicotte family would fain have kept it to -themselves; but Sidney himself had spread the news. For on the way -home and before the rumour could have reached Saxham,--which it did -not until late that night--he told several people of Mrs. Marsh's -death and the hour at which it had occurred. So the report spread, and -that night Saxham, accustomed to Sidney's second sight, was in a -ferment. Many believed, others doubted, and the upshot was that a few -enquirers went over to Beorminster whence they rushed back with a -confirmation of the news. Mrs. Marsh was dead, and moreover she had -passed away at half past five. Up till a late hour that night nothing -was talked about but this wonderful boy, and next morning a crowd -collected about "The Grange" hoping to catch a glimpse of him.</p> - -<p>Ida was very angry at Sidney's indiscretion and told him so. He took -it all placidly. "Why should I not say that Mrs. Marsh was dead?" he -asked. "She _is_ dead; and she died at the time I said."</p> - -<p>"But how did you know, Sidney dear?" asked the perplexed sister. "When -I was on the sofa in the library I dreamed that I was in her room, I -saw her die, and the white spirit get out of her body. The spirit -pointed to a bottle on the table beside the bed, and then I forgot all -till I woke on the sofa and saw Stephen looking at me. Then I told him -to go home. There is nothing strange about it Ida. You know I can see -things."</p> - -<p>Ida shuddered and ran away to tell Bess that Sidney was a most -uncomfortable person to talk to. The boy stayed indoors at the request -of Bess all the morning, and then slipped off in the afternoon to go -to his favourite haunt in the pine wood. When he came into the village -the next day, he refused to talk of his dream or vision or whatever it -might be called, and seemed quite cross when it was referred to. From -that day Sidney was shunned as though he had the plague. Everyone was -afraid of being told too much about themselves or their relations. -This troubled the boy very little. He went on living in his usual -dreamy way, and had no more visions for a time. Even at Biffstead he -was regarded as something dangerous. But there by tacit consent the -subject was dropped.</p> - -<p>What Dr. Jim thought of all this, it was difficult to say. Sidney's -prophecy was thrown into the background so far as he was concerned by -the discovery that Mrs. Marsh had died from an overdose of chloral. -He had always warned her that she might make a mistake, and apparently -she had done so at last. But when Petronella told him of the letter he -changed his mind. What if she had committed suicide? He recollected -her vague allusions to enemies, and her persistent declaration that -she might not live long. At once he set about hunting for the letter, -Petronella helping him. But it was not to be discovered although they -searched high and low. At last, Herrick spied ashes in the fireless -grate, and found that some paper had been burnt, without doubt the -letter Mrs. Marsh had received.</p> - -<p>"Was there a fire in the grate on the day Mrs. Marsh died?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"No, Signor Dottore. The grate was empty."</p> - -<p>"Of course. I need not have asked. This flimsy stuff would have been -swept away with the ashes. Humph! She must have got up and burnt the -letter, and then--Well, we must wait for the inquest."</p> - -<p>It was Herrick who attended to all the details of the funeral, as -Marsh was completely bewildered by the sudden catastrophe. The inquest -resulted in a verdict that Mrs. Marsh had died from an overdose of -chloral, but no one hinted at suicide. As Dr. Jim gave evidence of her -use of the drug to alleviate pain and obtain sleep, it was concluded -that she had miscalculated the dose. Even Stephen believed that this -was the case, for Herrick said nothing of his suspicions. What -Petronella thought Dr. Jim could not find out. She was as secret as -the grave.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Marsh was buried in the family vault of the Carr's at Saxham. A -large number of people came to the funeral, not because the dead woman -had been popular, but that they wished to attend the rites of a person -whose death had been foretold in so curious a manner. In the vault, -the coffin was laid beside that of the late Colonel, and Herrick -shuddered as he thought of these enemies lying side by side. -Certainly, when the new vault was ready the body of the Colonel would -be removed to it, in accordance with the terms of the will. But it -would be some time before this was completed, and meantime Carr's body -remained in the old sepulchre. Pending its removal, Stephen had had a -new iron door put on the old vault, and kept the key to himself. It -was quite safe in his pocket, and he never parted from it.</p> - -<p>After the funeral Herrick made several attempts to discover something -about the letter delivered to Mrs. Marsh on the day of her death, -although he was careful not to hint that it had any connection with -her sudden end. But although he questioned the postman and the postal -authorities, he could gain very little satisfaction. It was a plain -envelope stamped--so far as could be remembered--with the London -post-mark. "Humph!" said Dr. Jim to himself when he acquired this -information. "Frisco is in London. I wonder if he wrote that letter?"</p> - -<p>However it was little use conjecturing. Mrs. Marsh was dead and had -taken her secret and the secret of Colonel Carr along with her into -the next world. Herrick put the idea out of his head, as he had much -to do in considering his future position. Three or four days after the -funeral he was alone with Stephen in the Beorminster house, and there -spoke to the young man about his movements.</p> - -<p>"I must return to London Marsh," he said. "I can do no more good here; -and I must attend to my practice."</p> - -<p>"No," replied Stephen quickly, "you must not leave me like this -Herrick. I have grown used to you as a companion. I like you more than -any man I ever met, and without you I should be lost. You must stay -with me. Is your practice a large one?"</p> - -<p>"On the contrary it is very small. I have been established in West -Kensington only for two years. If I had not a small income of my own I -should starve."</p> - -<p>"Well you must come to me. I hope you will Herrick. I am rich, and I -can allow you a good income--say a thousand a year."</p> - -<p>"That is generous of you Marsh. Did your mother speak of this to you?"</p> - -<p>"No! she did not. Why do you ask?"</p> - -<p>"Because she wanted me to stay with you, and proposed the same -amount."</p> - -<p>"I am glad," cried Stephen his face lighting up. "I can do this much -at least for her memory. So she wished you to remain with me? You will -of course. I cannot do without you."</p> - -<p>Herrick smoked in silence for a few minutes. "A man in my position has -no right to turn his back on such good fortune. All the same Marsh, if -I did not like you personally; if I did not think I could earn my -income by helping you, I would not take the position."</p> - -<p>"Then you will do so?" cried Stephen stretching out his hand.</p> - -<p>The doctor grasped it heartily in token of acceptance. "But I am not -without scruples as to taking such a large amount of money," said he. -"I make only a couple of hundred a year by my practice. You rate me at -a high value."</p> - -<p>"Not too high for the good you will do me," said Marsh heartily. "I -have been a different man since you came into my life. You have shown -me how to look at things in a broader spirit. I am less morbid than I -was. No, Herrick. I have eight thousand a year, and you shall have the -sum I name."</p> - -<p>"Very good. I am delighted. But for what period? You see Marsh, some -day you will marry, and then you will find in your wife the companion -necessary to your existence; you will not want me. I think we had -better make an agreement for three years. By that time I shall have -done you all the good I can; you will be used to your position. And," -continued Jim looking into the young man's eyes, "you will be looking -for a wife."</p> - -<p>Stephen nodded. "Three years then," he said, "if you want a document, -the lawyers can draw it up. As to marrying, I dare say I shall marry. -Already I have"--here he broke off abruptly, "there are some things a -man cannot talk about even to his best friend. Let the subject of love -and marriage be tabooed between us Herrick."</p> - -<p>"Certainly!" replied the doctor rather stiffly, "I have no wish to -force your confidence Marsh."</p> - -<p>"It's not that; but--I have an idea in my head. It may come to -nothing. On the other hand--well," he dismissed it with a wave of his -hand, "time enough to talk about it when it ripens. Let us change the -subject."</p> - -<p>In the face of this unwillingness on the part of Marsh, Herrick was -obliged to do as he was asked. He wondered if Stephen really loved Ida -Endicotte or whether it was Bess who attracted him. Time alone would -reveal the truth, so Herrick for the moment thought no more about the -matter. He had engaged himself to look after Stephen, and at once set -to work to earn his income. The subject was introduced by Marsh.</p> - -<p>"I think you and I ought to go abroad for a year or two," he said -restlessly. "I feel that both Beorminster and Saxham are distasteful -to me for a time. I have arranged to let Petronella live here, on a -small income. I thought she would like to return to Italy, but she -begged me to allow her to stay here for a time. I asked her to go to -'The Pines' but she refused. So here she must stay, and you and I -Herrick?----"</p> - -<p>"We will go up to London for a couple of weeks," said Herrick -promptly.</p> - -<p>"But I want to go further afield and for a longer time."</p> - -<p>"Have you forgotten the terms of the will?" put in Dr. Jim. "You must -pay a monthly visit to that vault, or the money goes to Frisco!"</p> - -<p>Stephen nodded somewhat grimly. "I should have remembered," said he, -"yes! I cannot travel until the year is at an end. But even if it so -happened that I did not go to the vault and lost the money, I do not -think that Frisco would return to claim it."</p> - -<p>"Well I don't know," replied Herrick musingly, "after all we cannot be -certain that Frisco killed his master. He may re-appear and explain -his flight and prove his innocence. On the face of it, it would seem -he is guilty but the evidence is all circumstantial. Better stick to -the terms of the will, and not give him the chance of claiming the -money."</p> - -<p>"Very good Herrick. Then we will go up to London, and you can take me -to tailors and all the other tradesmen whose goods I may need. I want -you to educate me Dr. Jim. You have had a varied experience of the -world and I have not. I am a country mouse, and you the Town one."</p> - -<p>"At thirty-five I must have had some experience Marsh. Yes! I have -travelled in my time. I have been round Europe with a man I was trying -to reclaim from strong drink----"</p> - -<p>"Did you succeed?"</p> - -<p>"Partly," replied the doctor with a shrug, "he is a fairly decent -member of society now. Nothing to boast of. Well Marsh, I have also -been doctor on a liner to the East. Finally I went with an expedition -into the interior of Africa. Now I am settled in the dull quarter of -West Kensington, and often wish I could be off again on the long -trail. Civilised life is too respectable for me."</p> - -<p>"When the year is out we will go on the long trail together."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Herrick, "an exploration of our planet will do you no -harm. Later on you can settle down and be comfortable with a wife--I -beg your pardon I am trenching on forbidden ground. However Marsh I am -glad things are so arranged. It is a bit of good luck for me."</p> - -<p>"And for me also Herrick. You can do me nothing but good."</p> - -<p>"I hope so," said Herrick cheerfully "the first thing I intend to do -is to take you out into the open air. You must hunt and shoot and golf -and swim, and get yourself into a state of physical perfection. Your -mind is all right. I like your poems, and you have it in you to do -great things Marsh. But first of all you must attend to the body."</p> - -<p>"I have neglected these things," said Stephen straightening himself, -"but my life was so narrow, that I did not look after myself as a man -should. Besides to tell you the truth Herrick I am so much of the -student, that out-of-door life never attracted me."</p> - -<p>"That is because you have never had a companion to interest you in the -life," said Herrick smiling. "Now, I am devoted to athletic sports of -all kinds. If I can infect you with my enthusiasm you will soon be -able to take the deepest interest in them yourself. Not that I was -fortunate enough to succeed with Joyce," finished Dr. Jim with a -shrug.</p> - -<p>"Ah, your friend who was staying at the Carr Arms? I never met him."</p> - -<p>"You will when we go to town. He is not a bad little chap but his -brain is too large for his body, Besides which he is neurotic, and -intensely trying at times. I don't suppose I should have cured him -altogether, but I could have made him twice the man he was, had he -only taken my advice. But Robin was always as obstinate as a mule. He -lives into himself and for himself. There is no hope for a man like -that."</p> - -<p>"I hope you will succeed with me Herrick."</p> - -<p>"I am certain to succeed with you. In the first place your nerves are -not diseased: in the second you are less selfish, and thirdly you are -sensible enough to see sense--and that last is not given to many men. -Well, we have had a long talk Marsh, so we had better go to bed, and -begin our new life to-morrow."</p> - -<p>It was three days after this that the two went up to London. Herrick -called at Biffstead, and told Bess about his new relations with -Stephen. She expressed herself greatly pleased. "You will do him no -end of good," she said, "physical exercise is what he needs. He in -making good use of his money," she added emphatically.</p> - -<p>"You have too good an opinion of me, Miss Bess."</p> - -<p>The girl laughed, and blushed. In her heart she liked Herrick greatly. -He was so big, so strong, so sensible--exactly the sort of man she -admired. Frank, her brother resembled him in many ways, but he was not -so worldly-wise, nor perhaps so clever. However she was too much the -woman to make a direct reply to Herrick's speech, and changed the -subject. "When you come back we must have our talk," she said. -"Meantime I shall give you something to go on with in London. Do you -know anything about cryptographs Dr. Jim?"</p> - -<p>"No. I have looked into the subject once or twice, but I never did -much good at it. Why?" Bess went to her desk and fished out a bit of -paper. "I want you to see if you can solve this," she said. "I have -done my best and failed. It is a piece of paper I picked up in the -Colonel's house when he was alive. I am sure it has to do with his -secret, whatever that might be. Else why should it be in secret -writing?"</p> - -<p>Herrick took the paper she held out. It was a yellow kind of Chinese -paper, tough, and wrinkled. On it was written in red ink the -following,</p> - -<p>"S.g.d. K.Z.R.S. V.z.q.m.h.f. S.h.k.k. 1.5.I.t.k.x. S.i.d.n. -C.d.z.s.g. T.m.k.d.r.r.----"</p> - -<p>This jumble of letters made Herrick stare. He could make nothing of -them. Yet here, no doubt, was the secret of Colonel Carr! Perhaps if -the writing could be read, the reason of his death might be explained, -even the name of the assassin might be given. Bess watched him -eagerly.</p> - -<p>"What do you think of it?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I daresay it may help us," Herrick said doubtfully, "if the Colonel -had a secret?"</p> - -<p>"_If_ he had," cried Bess emphatically. "I _know_ he had!"</p> - -<p>"Then it may be contained in this mixture of letters. You have failed, -you say? Well Miss Bess, I don't know that I shall succeed. However I -will try. You will let me have this?"</p> - -<p>"If you will take the very greatest care of it. I have a copy to be -sure; but that is the original."</p> - -<p>"I'll bring it back to you safe and sound in two weeks."</p> - -<p>"You will be back then?" she asked with a quick flush.</p> - -<p>"Certainly. I shall arrange about my practice and return for good."</p> - -<p>Bess looked down. "I am glad," she said in a low tone; then thinking -she might have said too much she smiled in his face. "Of course I am -glad," she cried gaily, "are we not pledged to find out who killed the -Colonel?"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_08" href="#div1Ref_08">CHAPTER VIII</a></h4> -<h5>A CURIOUS DISCOVERY</h5> -<br> - -<p>It was now quite two months since the death of Colonel Carr, and all -this time Robin had been in London. He had written to Herrick telling -him he felt so much better that he would not go abroad. "I have a new -idea for a novel," wrote Joyce, "and now that I have the leisure, I -intend to throw myself heart and soul into it. I still keep on my -flat." Herrick therefore determined that his first visit should be to -the little man.</p> - -<p>Stephen and the doctor took up their abode in the Guelph Hotel in -Jermyn Street. It was the first time the young man had been in London, -and the novelty and excitement of town life, did much to dispel the -grief he felt for the death of his step-mother. It was not that he -regretted her the less, but he was sensible enough to see that it was -foolish to weep over an irremediable misfortune. He therefore took -Herrick's advice and threw himself with ardour into fitting himself -out with a complete ward-robe for the first time in his life. The -doctor took him to the best West-End shops, instructed him in the -topography of the fashionable locality, and when Stephen was fairly -set going, found time to attend to his own business.</p> - -<p>He first went to his house in West Kensington, and saw that it was all -right. Then he called upon the young practitioner who had nursed his -practice while he was away, and made him an offer to sell it. The -young doctor who had only lately started in the district was overjoyed -at the chance as Jim had got together a fair number of patients. -Herrick made the terms of purchase as light as possible, and spread -the payment over a considerable time. Dr. Grant asked two days for -consideration, as being poor it was necessary he should see his way -how to pay the money. At once Jim consented to this, and after -finishing this necessary business, he went off to Robin's flat. The -arrangement and discussion with Grant had taken up the best part of -the afternoon, and it was close upon seven when Herrick found time to -see his friend. At first he hesitated, and half made up his mind to -put it off until the next day. But as he was in the neighbourhood, he -finally decided to go, and sent a wire to Marsh that he would not be -home until ten o'clock. He intended to ask Joyce for a meal, making -sure that he would be welcome. Yet strange to say, Robin was not so -hearty as Herrick expected. Perhaps he had not got over his anger at -the desertion of the doctor; but after his last letter Jim could not -think that such was the case. In spite of their severance, Herrick -still wished to keep an eye on Robin knowing that he was foolish in -many ways. Therefore when Joyce showed a disposition not to invite him -to stay, Herrick at once determined that he would remain. There was a -reason at the back of this confusion, and Herrick in the interests of -a weak man, resolved to find out what it might be. Seeing that he was -bent on remaining, Robin made the best of what he evidently considered -a bad job, and became more of his old self.</p> - -<p>"You are not looking so well, as your letter led me to hope Robin," -said Herrick, when the two were smoking in the study.</p> - -<p>"I am in the best of health," said Robin quickly. "But of course I -have been working hard at my book, and that takes it out of a chap."</p> - -<p>"Read me some of the chapters," said Herrick, who once had been a kind -of literary adviser to the author.</p> - -<p>Robin shook his head uneasily. "Not until the book is done," he -said. "I want you to get an impression as a whole. This will be my -master-piece. Besides," he added glancing at the clock, "we might be -interrupted. At half past seven a friend of mine is coming to dinner."</p> - -<p>"I hope my unexpected coming will not upset your arrangements Joyce?"</p> - -<p>"Of course not--how can you think so?" said Robin with an air of -constraint that did not escape Herrick. "You are always welcome. Will -you stop the night? I can put you up."</p> - -<p>"No! I must get back to Marsh. I am his companion and doctor for the -time being. A very good billet I assure you Robin."</p> - -<p>"What about your practice?" asked Joyce.</p> - -<p>"I am now selling it to Grant. It is such a small practice that it is -not worth my while to stick to it as against an assured income of a -thousand a year."</p> - -<p>"Is that what Marsh gives you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I do not mind telling you Robin as you are such an old friend. -But do not mention this to anyone else. I stay with Marsh for three -years. In this way I shall be able to save money and buy a practice in -a better part of the town. It is a wonderful bit of luck."</p> - -<p>"It is indeed, and I congratulate you," replied Robin cheerfully and -shaking his friend by the hand. "Marsh must be well off to be able to -afford your companionship at that price."</p> - -<p>"Yes! He has been left about eight thousand a year more or less by -Colonel Carr, his late uncle. But that is his business Robin. We will -not talk about it."</p> - -<p>"Have they yet found out who killed Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"Not yet. Of course it is supposed that Frisco killed him; but the man -has disappeared. When he is caught we shall know the truth. You read -the case Robin. What do you think?"</p> - -<p>"It seems as though that man were guilty," replied Joyce slowly, "but -I am not prepared to offer an opinion. The fact is I am so busy with -my book that I have put all these horrors out of my head. By the way, -what about your Southberry Helen?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Endicotte? Oh, I have seen a good deal of her."</p> - -<p>"And you are still in love?"</p> - -<p>"Not very passionately perhaps. But I think a respectable affection is -better to marry upon than a wild romantic adoration that will not -resist the wear and tear of life. I hope some day if Miss Endicotte -will allow me, to marry her--that is when I have a good practice. But -if another man more worthy of her comes along, why--"</p> - -<p>"Ardent lover!" laughed Joyce. "If you really felt any passion you -would not contemplate with equanimity the idea of an intruder. I -believe you like that little journalistic girl better."</p> - -<p>A kind of dull anger stirred in the doctor's breast at hearing Bess so -flippantly alluded to. But he saw that Joyce did not mean any harm, so -turned off the remark with a laugh. "She is a charming young lady -Robin. But she is better as a comrade than she would be as a wife."</p> - -<p>"A comrade is what you want," said Joyce shrewdly. "Your luke-warm -affection will not win you the love of a woman."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps not. However we shall see," Herrick was annoyed, for he felt -there was some truth in this remark. He was glad when a ring came to -the door and interrupted a conversation which was rapidly getting -unpleasant to him. "There's your friend. Who is he?"</p> - -<p>"A Mexican called Don Manuel Santiago."</p> - -<p>"Humph! It it not often one foregathers with that nationality in -London. Where did you meet him?"</p> - -<p>"At the Apollo Club, Johnstone introduced me to him. Here he is. I -think you will like him."</p> - -<p>Herrick was not so sure. He had met with Mexicans on their native -heath and did not like the breed. However as the man was the guest of -Joyce, he felt compelled to behave at least politely. All the same -knowing Robin's weakness in picking up doubtful acquaintances, he -determined to be observant of the Mexican.</p> - -<p>"Dr. Herrick, Don Manuel Santiago. And this Señor, is my very best -friend."</p> - -<p>The little dark man clicked his heels together, foreign fashion, and -bowed politely. Herrick looked at him from head to foot in one swift -glance, and made up his mind that the man was a rogue, an adventurer, -if nothing worse. He was not tall, and he was very lean. His face was -swarthy; he had a hook nose, a black moustache, and a pair of restless -shifty dark eyes. Accurately dressed in an evening suit, he wore too -much jewellery. Yet for all this he did not look vulgar. There was a -somewhat dangerous air about him. Herrick watching his face intently -made up his mind that Don Manuel was a half caste Indian.</p> - -<p>"I am pleased to meet you Señor," said Don Manuel in good English but -with a foreign accent. "Dr. Herrick? Ah! I know the name."</p> - -<p>"Indeed!" said Dr. Jim, looking surprised. Robin also shared his -astonishment, and expressed it.</p> - -<p>"Why, Santiago you did not tell me you knew Herrick!" said he, as they -took their seats at table.</p> - -<p>"Did I not?" replied the Don carelessly. "Ah! that was no doubt -because his name was never mentioned between us. But if I am not -mistaken," said he addressing himself directly to Jim, "you were -concerned in that strange case of my friend Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>Herrick almost bounded from his seat. That here of all places and in -so unexpected a way, he should meet with a stranger who knew Carr, was -like fiction. Had the incident occurred in a novel, he would have put -it down as a freak of imagination on the author's part. Yet the thing -had happened in real life and to himself. "Was Carr a friend of -yours?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Twelve years and more ago," replied Santiago quietly, "we knew one -another intimately in Mexico."</p> - -<p>"Mexico!" muttered Herrick, recalling what Bess had said about -Frisco's tales of North and South America, "not in Peru?"</p> - -<p>"We went to Peru together--on an expedition."</p> - -<p>"What sort of an expedition?" asked Joyce eagerly.</p> - -<p>"To make our fortunes. That is the sort of expedition we all are bound -to undertake."</p> - -<p>Herrick thought of Colonel Carr's money. Was he on the point of -learning sufficient of the man's wild life in the Americas, to reveal -what his secret was? "Did you succeed?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"I did not--the Colonel did. Afterwards he returned to England, and I -lost sight of him. When I came over six months ago, I heard of him, -and intended to pay him a visit. But I put it off and off and -off--until--" he made a rapid gesture, "poor Carr! His was a sad end."</p> - -<p>"An unexpected one," said Herrick fixing his eyes on the man. "Did you -know his servant, Frisco?"</p> - -<p>"No!" replied Manuel calmly. "Frisco was after my time, or before it; -I forget which."</p> - -<p>Somehow Herrick felt instinctively that this was a lie. According to -Bess the ex-sailor had been with Carr throughout his wandering life. -It was incredible that if such was the case (and Jim preferred to -believe Frisco rather than Santiago)--that Frisco should not have gone -on to Peru. He would be needed on an expedition such as Manuel spoke -of.</p> - -<p>"Were you treasure-hunting" asked Jim.</p> - -<p>Don Manuel nodded "Yes! The Peruvians buried a lot of gold and jewels, -at the time of the Conquest. Carr got wind of a hiding place from some -one--an Indian I believe, and induced me to go with him to Peru. I was -doing nothing at the time, so I went."</p> - -<p>"Carr found the treasure?"</p> - -<p>"I believe so. Colonel Carr was rich was he not?"</p> - -<p>"Very rich," chimed in Joyce. "Do you remember Herrick, how astonished -we were at the magnificence of that house?"</p> - -<p>"I remember," said Herrick curtly. The interruption did not please -him, as he wanted particularly to hear what Santiago had to say. "But -Señor Manuel, if you started on this search together, how was it that -you do not know for certain if Colonel Carr was successful?"</p> - -<p>Don Manuel's face grew black and his eyes flashed. "If you would know -the reason Señor, Colonel Carr was a devil!"</p> - -<p>"Ha!" said Herrick with a short laugh. "That is no news."</p> - -<p>"We shared the expenses of the expedition, we were to share the -profits; but Carr treated me shamefully. The treasure was said to be -concealed beyond Cuzco--where it does not matter. I know, but I do not -intend to tell. I fell ill at the first stage of the journey after we -left Cuzco and were amongst the mountains. What did Carr do? He left -me to the care of the Indians, and pushed on himself. That was the -last I saw of the devil. For two years I was held captive amongst the -Indians and barely escaped with my life. I hunted for Carr when I got -to Callao; but he had disappeared. I traced him to Mexico. He vanished -from Vera Cruz. I was worn out and ill. I went back to my own family, -and all these years I thought nothing about the Colonel. But chance -brought me to England, and chance led me to hear where Colonel Carr -was settled. As I said I would have seen him to reproach him for his -treachery, but----" Don Manuel shrugged--"he is dead. That is the -end."</p> - -<p>"A strange story, and not creditable to Carr," said Herrick wondering -if all this was a lie. "Who was it told you where Colonel Carr lived?"</p> - -<p>"I did not," said Joyce on whose face Jim's eyes rested for a moment. -"I knew nothing of this until this moment."</p> - -<p>"Where I heard the name Señor, can be of little interest to you," said -the Don with a sneer. "It was in London. I tell you no more."</p> - -<p>"I do not want you to tell me anything," retorted Herrick the blood -rushing to his face. "So far, I am interested in your story, but if -you choose to be silent, you are at liberty to do so."</p> - -<p>"Pardon," said Manuel humbly, "I did not intend to provoke your -anger," but as he spoke there was a nasty glitter in his eyes, "I -cannot tell you who gave me the information without breaking -confidence with a friend."</p> - -<p>Herrick grunted, but he said nothing. Santiago was evidently a -dangerous little devil. For all he knew the Mexican might have had -something to do with the murder. Of all strange circumstances that -Herrick had stumbled upon this surely was the strangest! To find the -man who knew of the past of Colonel Carr, in the company of Robin -Joyce.</p> - -<p>As the meal was now at an end, the three adjourned to the study where -they began to smoke. Herrick had his pipe, Joyce a cigarette, and -Manuel produced one of those long lean Mexican cigars, that only a -hardened smoker can enjoy. As he bent forward over the spirit lamp, -Jim saw by the touch of grey on his temples and the wrinkles down -the side of his neck that the man was much older than he had -thought. At the first glance Santiago looked--if you wanted to be -disagreeable--say thirty-five. Herrick was now sure he was over fifty. -But the man was in wonderfully good condition. Having noticed him at -the table Jim saw that he was both abstemious and temperate.</p> - -<p>For some reason not apparent, Manuel desired to ingratiate himself -with Herrick, and tried by picturesque talk to banish the disagreeable -impression he had made by his last remark. He told the most wonderful -stories of his adventures by land and sea. According to his own -account he had lived a life of hair-breadth escapes. South America he -knew from Quito to the Horn, and had explored the unknown portions at -the risk of his life. He had been captive to Indians, he had been -tortured--Herrick noted that his left ear was missing--and he had been -almost frozen while ascending Chimborazo. Then he had hunted for -treasure, fought for it with knives when it was found, and by his own -confession had more than one death to his account. All this he told in -vivid picturesque language and with a wonderful command of the English -tongue. Herrick complimented him on his capabilities as a linguist.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I know seven or eight languages," said Manuel boastfully "not to -speak of Indian dialects. I have been all over Europe. Yes, Señor, when -I made money--and I have made a great deal--I came always to Europe to -spend it. That I did royally. Oh, they know me in every capital. Of all, -give me Vienna. Oh, Señor, I am known on the Prater."</p> - -<p>"And to the police no doubt," thought Herrick; but for his own private -reasons did not give vent to this opinion. He said aloud, "I suppose -Don Manuel, you were not surprised to hear of Colonel Carr's death."</p> - -<p>Santiago flashed a quick glance at the imperturbable countenance of -the doctor. "Oh, but I was," said he "to escape all the dangers of the -tropics, and then to die in a quiet little English village. Strange! -To be sure though," added Manuel with another glance, "he brought his -murderer with him. And Frisco was capable of anything!"</p> - -<p>"Oh!" put in Herrick sharply, "I thought you did not know Frisco!"</p> - -<p>"Nor did I Señor," said Santiago covering his mistake with wonderful -swiftness "but I heard of him. He was a devil worse than Carr, if that -can be possible. They were attached to one another but quarrelled--Oh, -yes, Señor I assure you they quarrelled. Once over a game of cards, Carr -slashed Frisco across the face."</p> - -<p>"Oh, that was it, was it?" murmured Herrick as he recalled the -criss-cross slash on Frisco's face which had been described to him. "A -queer couple. What was Frisco's real name?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know," snapped Manuel with a surprising curtness considering -his late voluble talk. Shortly he took his leave, with a politely -expressed hope that he would meet Herrick again. When the Mexican was -gone, Joyce turned eagerly to his friend and asked what he thought of -him. "If you want to know my real opinion, he is a thorough little -blackguard. Cut him Robin, or you will get into trouble."</p> - -<p>"I don't see why I should. He is a decent fellow. His only vice is -gambling. He would sell his shirt to gamble."</p> - -<p>"Humph! Looks a card-sharper. Where does he gamble principally?"</p> - -<p>"In a club down in Pimlico,--the Parrot Club. Very few people know -about it. But the play is very high?"</p> - -<p>"Oh. So you met Santiago there," said Herrick lazily.</p> - -<p>But Joyce saw the trap and avoided it. "No! I told you I met him at -the Apollo Club--that is respectable enough I hope? And Archy -Johnstone introduced him to me. He is decent, isn't he?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I have nothing to say," replied Herrick with a yawn, putting on -his coat, "only, if that man gets you into trouble don't blame me. He -will probably induce you to gamble and all your new income of five -hundred a year will go once and for all."</p> - -<p>A peculiar expression swept across Joyce's face and he opened and shut -his hands nervously. However he held his tongue, and having said -good-night Herrick went away, sorry to see that his friend was in such -bad company. He regarded Don Manuel as a rook and Joyce as a pigeon. -But he knew the little man well enough to know that his interference -was vain. Joyce could be as obstinate as a mule at times.</p> - -<p>When he got back to the Guelph Hotel it was close on eleven. All the -same Stephen was sitting up for him over a meditative pipe. The sight -of his honest handsome face was quite a relief to Herrick after the -crafty looks of Manuel. And truth to tell, Joyce had fallen also in -Herrick's estimation; for as a man he could not compare with Marsh. -Not for the first time Dr. Jim began to think there was something sly -and evil about Robin. Hitherto, he had been too much taken up with the -man's nerves to think much of his moral character. But after this long -absence he saw plainly that Joyce was deteriorating rapidly. The -company he had been in this very night proved it, if there were any -truth in the saying that birds of a feather flock together.</p> - -<p>"Hullo Stephen!" said Herrick taking off his coat, "why did you not go -to bed man? Sitting up all alone, like a maid on the Eve of St. -Agnes."</p> - -<p>"I did not want to go to bed until you came home," said Stephen, "you -know I always like a chat. Have some whisky?"</p> - -<p>"Thanks. Shove over the tobacco-jar. Well Marsh, I have arranged about -the sale of my practice. It's all right."</p> - -<p>"I am delighted. You are sure you do not mind giving it up?"</p> - -<p>"Not for a thousand a year," replied Herrick with a laugh. "I never -made so much in all my medical life. Not to mention the delights of -your society. What have you been doing?"</p> - -<p>"Shopping mostly. Then I called in on Frith and Frith to talk about -business. I heard of your friend Joyce there."</p> - -<p>"The deuce you did!" said Jim wheeling round. "I have just been dining -with him, and I do not think he is improved. Frith and Frith are his -lawyers I know. How did his name crop up?"</p> - -<p>"In the course of my talk about the Colonel's business."</p> - -<p>Herrick stared. "What do you mean?" he asked roughly.</p> - -<p>"Well, you will be rather astonished," continued Marsh lighting his -pipe, "but the fact is Colonel Carr allowed Mrs. Joyce, the mother of -your friend an income of five hundred a year."</p> - -<p>"No!" said Herrick, and thought that this was just the sum Robin said -he had been left by his mother's will.</p> - -<p>"Yes! Why, I do not know. Nor could Frith tell me. The Colonel never -called to see Mrs. Joyce; he never wrote her a letter. But he directed -Frith to pay her an annuity of five hundred pounds."</p> - -<p>"An annuity? Then it ceased at her death?"</p> - -<p>"Of course. The son gets nothing. The reason Frith mentioned it, was -that he wished to know if I had found anything amongst my uncle's -papers likely to show why the annuity had been paid, and whether it -ought to be continued to the son."</p> - -<p>"Queer!" said Herrick. He remembered that Robin had told him that he -had interviewed the lawyers and had been informed of his income. Why -had Robin told a lie? "I suppose," said the doctor after a pause, -"that Frith did not take it upon himself to promise Joyce the -continuance of this annuity?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly not," replied Stephen, "he had no right. Of course I told -him that I knew nothing about the matter and would not pay anything to -Joyce. Still--as he is your friend?--"</p> - -<p>"Never mind that. I don't want you to pay him anything. Did Joyce call -to see Frith do you know?"</p> - -<p>"A week after his mother's death. He has not been since. They told him -then that he need not expect any more money."</p> - -<p>"A week after his mother's death," related the doctor "and it was two -months later we were on that walking tour! Did not Joyce call to see -Frith somewhere about the twenty-fourth of July?"</p> - -<p>"No! It was towards the end of April he called. He has not been near -them since. You look rather pale, Herrick."</p> - -<p>"It's nothing," replied the doctor. "I have had rather a turn, that's -all."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_09" href="#div1Ref_09">CHAPTER IX</a></h4> -<h5>HERRICK IS SUSPICIOUS</h5> -<br> - -<p>Dr. Jim slept very little that night. He was turning over in his mind -Joyce's strange conduct. Now that he remembered, Robin had been very -particular as to the details of his whereabouts. He had gone to Town -on a Tuesday leaving Herrick at the Southberry Railway Inn. According -to his story he had seen Frith and Frith the same afternoon, and again -the next morning. The intervening night he had slept at the Hull Hotel -in a side Street off the Strand. Then on Wednesday afternoon, he had -rejoined Dr. Jim at Southberry and on Thursday morning had started to -cross the Heath. It was on that same night, that the two had -discovered the body of Colonel Carr. So far Herrick had believed this -story.</p> - -<p>But now, the fact that he had not called on the lawyers had put a -different complexion on the affair. Also his statement concerning the -money left to him was proved--by the evidence of the solicitors who -paid the annuity--to be a lie. Robin therefore had not been so deeply -plunged in grief as he appeared to be, when he could call a few days -after his mother's death to see if he was to inherit the money. -Herrick considered that probably when alone in the flat he had found -some paper stating that the five hundred a year terminated at his -mother's death, and had gone to Frith and Frith in order to ascertain -if this were true. Besides his mother might have told him this on her -deathbed. But what else had she told him? Colonel Carr was not the man -to pay out money for nothing. Mrs. Joyce must have had some hold over -him.</p> - -<p>However the main point, and that which vexed Dr. Jim most, was the -fact that Robin had not called on the solicitors, as he said he had -done. At Southberry he had received a letter calling him up to town. -Jim had not read the letter, but since Robin had told him the contents -he never doubted that it was from the firm of Frith. If he had not -called on them, why was the letter sent, and where was he during the -two days he was in Town? Herrick reckoned back the dates. It was -Thursday the twenty-sixth of July when they arrived at Saxham. Robin -had gone to Town on the twenty-fourth, and on that same night Colonel -Carr (according to the medical evidence) had been shot.</p> - -<p>"Good Heavens!" said Jim when this came into his mind, "can it be -possible that Joyce killed the man? There is no reason why he should. -I am a suspicious fool. He was in London even though he did not call -on the solicitors. There is no proof that he was at Saxham. He said -himself when he went through the Pine wood that he did not know the -country."</p> - -<p>Then Jim recollected that it was Robin who had selected the route for -the walking tour. Could it be possible that he knew of the existence -of the House in the Pine Wood, and had designedly led Herrick that way -in order that the murder should be discovered, and suspicion averted -from himself? "No! No!" Cried Jim tossing and turning, "he could not -have contrived so damnable a scheme. Besides he slept at the Hull -Hotel."</p> - -<p>In this way he kept arguing out the situation, but by the morning he -had come to no conclusion. The evidence against Robin was not strong -enough. But while shaving Dr. Jim made up his mind to call on Frith -and Frith, and also to look in at the Hull Hotel. Nevertheless -whatever he found, he resolved to hold his tongue so far as Robin was -concerned. Joyce was far too intimate with Don Manuel to please -Herrick. And Don Manuel, as the doctor remembered professed a hatred -of Carr. He also might have something to do with the matter.</p> - -<p>"Stephen" said Herrick at breakfast, "I want you to look after -yourself again to-day. I have business to do."</p> - -<p>"All right," replied Marsh, "I can amuse myself. There is The National -Gallery to see; and the Tower, and Westminster Abbey. I should only -bore you taking you to these places."</p> - -<p>"I am never bored in your company," said Jim absently, his thoughts -intent on what he had to do, "but I shall be at your service -to-morrow.</p> - -<p>"You have to see about your practice I suppose Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Also some other business. How long do you want to stay in Town?"</p> - -<p>"A week is enough for the present," replied Marsh, "we came for two, -did we not? I have got all the clothes, I need. They will be ready by -the end of this week; then we can go back. You want to return?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I have an idea in my head. Later on I will tell it to you." -Marsh turned to ask what Herrick meant but seeing that his friend was -taken up with his own thoughts, he said nothing. After breakfast Jim -left Marsh to look over the morning paper, and went out.</p> - -<p>The first place he sought out was the lawyer's office. Mr. Frith the -junior partner received him, all the more readily, when he heard the -name. On the previous day, Stephen had been enthusiastic on the -subject of his new friend. Frith junior took to Jim at once.</p> - -<p>"I am glad to see you," he said pushing forward a chair, "Mr. -Marsh-Carr told us all about you. I am glad he has had the good sense -to select you as a companion. He needs shaking up."</p> - -<p>"Marsh is a good fellow," replied Jim, "and anything I can do to make -a man of him shall be done. But the material is there, Mr. Frith."</p> - -<p>"Yes! But that step-mother of his did a great deal to ruin him. He -could not call his soul his own. I do not think her death is much to -be regretted," finished Frith with a dry smile.</p> - -<p>"She was rather stormy, but I think she really loved her step-son. -What are you smiling at?"</p> - -<p>"I was recalling one or two interviews I had with the lady in -question," said the young lawyer. "She was, as you say, stormy. Even -the Colonel was afraid of her, so he sent her up to us."</p> - -<p>"What did she come about?"</p> - -<p>"An annuity for herself and an income for her son, the present owner -of the estate. Colonel Carr refused to allow her one penny. He said -that he had made his will in favour of Stephen Marsh, and that both he -and Mrs. Marsh could wait until his death. I tried hard to persuade -him to allow her something but he refused. Mrs. Marsh used to come up -and make scenes in this office. Stormy!" chuckled Frith. "I should -think she was."</p> - -<p>"What was your opinion of Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"Well," drawled the lawyer with a quick glance, "that is rather a -leading question. The man is dead, and he was a good client to us. But -speaking as man to man and in confidence doctor, I think he was the -greatest scoundrel in the Three Kingdoms."</p> - -<p>"That's rather strong Mr. Frith."</p> - -<p>"Yet it falls short of the truth Dr. Herrick. However the man is dead, -so we may leave him at rest. He met with a terrible death, and his own -familiar friend put an end to him. The Colonel had not much human -feeling but when dying he must have felt a pang at the thought that -the only creature he had been kind to was putting him out of the way."</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Jim using his favourite ejaculation, "do you believe -that Frisco did kill him?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know anyone else who could have done so. And if he did not, -why did he run away? Why does he keep hidden? Yes, Dr. Herrick, I think -the crime can be safely put down to his account. Queer man too," added -Frith reflectively, "he was slangy and a good bit of a brute, yet -there was something of the gentleman about him. He could speak good -English when he chose, which was not often."</p> - -<p>"The Colonel brought him from South America?"</p> - -<p>"Did he now?" said Frith sharply, "I never knew that before. Frisco at -times came up about Carr's business but he was careful to say nothing -about himself. He seemed fond of his master. That is why it is so -strange he should have killed him. But then we know that the collie, -which is the most faithful of dogs, goes mad at times and attacks his -master. I expect it was something of the same kind with Frisco."</p> - -<p>"Do you know how the Colonel made his money?" asked Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No! nor does anyone else that I know of. I am certain of one thing, -that it was made in some shady way. Carr was an out and out bad lot. A -kind of Captain Kidd."</p> - -<p>"Strange that you should mention his name in conjunction with Kidd. He -had a treasure likewise, had he not?"</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by 'had a treasure likewise?'"</p> - -<p>Herrick considered a minute before replying. As a rule he was not a -man given to loose speaking, and preferred to do his own work without -the assistance of any one. But he saw that Frith was a shrewd and -capable man, and that in case of need, his advice was not to be -despised. So far as Joyce was concerned, Jim did not intend to say -anything at present, as he was not yet sure of his ground and even had -he been sure, he would have hesitated to betray his friend, however -guilty he might be. Concerning Don Manuel, he had no such scruples, so -he then and there told the lawyer all that had passed at the flat. -Frith listened attentively, but seemed in no way astonished.</p> - -<p>"It is the sort of thing one would expect from Carr," he said. "The -man was a bad lot, and I daresay if we knew all the details of that -expedition we should find it less innocent than this Mexican has -depicted. Still, leaving the man amongst the Indians was bad enough. -So that was how he made his money. I always knew it was not made in -any respectable way."</p> - -<p>"Few fortunes are," said Herrick dryly.</p> - -<p>"That is true; but some methods may be more damnable than others, as -in this case. Carr I know went away many years ago, as poor as a rat. -I have heard my father speak of him. He came back ten years ago with -no end of money. We helped him to invest it. As the income is eight -thousand a year Dr. Herrick, you may guess what the principal amounted -to. Treasure-hunting sounds innocent enough, even romantic, but in -Carr's hands I can guess what a piece of rascality it was. The man -could not run straight. If there was a possibility of going the wrong -way, he took that in preference to following the right path."</p> - -<p>"Still," said Herrick approaching the main object of his visit, "the -man had some good points. For instance, he was charitable to Mrs. -Joyce."</p> - -<p>"Of West Kensington?" said Frith with a stare. "How did you know about -her."</p> - -<p>"Joyce is a friend of mine. I was with him on a walking-tour when he -received your letter asking him to call."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense. We never wrote the man a letter in our lives!"</p> - -<p>"Not on or about the twenty-third of July?"</p> - -<p>"No! I am positive. I should have known. It is true that he called to -see us a few days after his mother's death, about the annuity which -Carr ordered to be paid to Mrs. Joyce. He wanted to know if he would -have it also. We communicated with Colonel Carr, who replied in his -characteristic way that Joyce could go to the devil. Afterwards Joyce -called a second time and we told him the message."</p> - -<p>"The second time was on the twenty-fourth of July?"</p> - -<p>"No! It was towards the end of April. We have not seen him since, nor, -as I say, have we written him any letter."</p> - -<p>This concise explanation showed Herrick that Robin for reasons of his -own had told a deliberate lie. Whatever he had come to London about, -it was not to see the Solicitors as he had alleged to Herrick. Dr. Jim -pulled his moustache reflectively. "Why was an annuity paid to Mrs. -Joyce?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," replied Frith, "and even if I did, it would be a -breach of professional etiquette to tell you. A year after the Colonel -came back to England--about nine years ago--he ordered my father to -send a monthly cheque to Mrs. Joyce at an address at Hampstead. She -sent a receipt every time, but she never came to see us, and we had -absolutely nothing to do with her. When she changed her address, which -she did several times, she notified the fact and we sent her allowance -to the new place. That is all I know of the annuity. And as I say the -Colonel stopped it when she died. What it was for, I don't know. The -Colonel was dark in many ways."</p> - -<p>"He was evidently a most dangerous person," said, Herrick rising to -take his leave. "However he has received the reward of his crimes. By -the way I suppose all the business of Marsh is in your hands?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! It is all in order. The Colonel was a most methodical man, and -left his estate in the best of conditions. We are now arranging for -letters patent for this change of name. Our client has arranged to -call himself Marsh-Carr. I suppose he did not like the idea of Carr -alone."</p> - -<p>"Can you wonder at it considering the reputation of the name?"</p> - -<p>"No! not a very nice name to give one's wife," laughed Frith rising. -"Well good-bye Dr. Herrick. I am glad to have seen you, and still more -glad to think that our client has so excellent a friend at his elbow."</p> - -<p>Herrick laughed at this praise and departed, very pleased that he had -been received in so friendly a way. He fancied at one time that Frith -might have looked upon him as an interloper, and it was a great -compliment to him, that these shrewd lawyers should be so satisfied -with Stephen's choice of a friend.</p> - -<p>From the city Herrick went to the Strand in search of the Hull Hotel. -He was now very doubtful of Robin's honesty. If the man had lied in -one thing he would in another. Jim was quite prepared to find that -Joyce was not known at the Strand public-house, but in this instance -he proved to be wrong. Directed by a friendly policeman, he soon found -the place. It was a small pot-house of anything but a reputable -appearance. Herrick stepped inside, and was confronted by a stout -woman with a squint. In answer to his inquiry for the landlord, she -announced that the house belonged to her, and demanded his business. -Herrick seeing the necessity for caution went about his task in an -artful way.</p> - -<p>"There was a friend of mine who stayed here on the night of the -twenty-fourth of July last," he said. "He wrote to me from this place -on that date, and as I have received no letter since, I have come to -inquire if he is still to be found here?"</p> - -<p>"What is his name sir?"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Robin Joyce."</p> - -<p>"Don't know it," grunted the landlady. "Robin Joyce," she rubbed her -nose, and then shouted. "Tilda! Do you know a party as stayed here -called Robin Joyce? Look up the books--twenty-fourth July."</p> - -<p>A smart-looking girl dressed in a tawdry manner made her appearance -and requested her mother (the stout lady was her mother it appeared) -not to make such a noise. Then she addressed herself to Herrick. "I -need not look at the books sir. I remember Mr. Robin Joyce quite well. -A little man is he not--clean-shaven--with rather long hair and big, -big black eyes. Nervous manner sir."</p> - -<p>"That is him," replied Herrick thankful to hear that his friend was -known at the address he had given. "He slept here on the night of the -twenty-fourth of July."</p> - -<p>"Beg your pardon sir, but he did nothing of the sort. He came here -after mid-day with a black bag and engaged a room. Then he went out -almost at once, promising to be back to dinner. It was ordered, but he -never came. No sir, I did not see him until mid-day next morning."</p> - -<p>"You are certain he did not sleep here on that night."</p> - -<p>"Quite certain sir. You remember mother, he told both of us when he -came back that he had been staying with a friend."</p> - -<p>"Yes! I remember now. Then he paid his bill and went away, to catch a -train, he said."</p> - -<p>"The Paddington train," put in the daughter. "I heard him tell the -cabby to drive to Paddington."</p> - -<p>Herrick thanked the two women for their information, and asked if Mr. -Joyce had been there since. Both were positive he had not. "I saw him -only once sir and he did not sleep here," were the last words of the -daughter. So Herrick departed fully convinced that Robin had told him -a second lie. Naturally the little man never thought that anything -would happen likely to induce Herrick to make enquires. Nor would such -have been the case, but for Stephen's remark about the annuity.</p> - -<p>"The question now," said Herrick to himself, "is whether he was at -Saxham on that night. If I can prove that--" he shook his head, and -acknowledged that things were beginning to look black against Joyce.</p> - -<p>For the moment he almost made up his mind to go at once to West -Kensington and tell Joyce the whole story, demanding at the same time -an explanation of these--apparently unnecessary lies. But on second -thoughts he resolved to wait until he could make certain that Joyce -had gone down to Saxham. Robin would probably take the afternoon train -to Beorminster. In that case however he would have had to change at -Southberry Junction and as Herrick was at the Junction he might not -risk doing so. There was Heathcroft of course. That was six miles from -Saxham, and could be reached by another line. He might have gone that -way and walked the six miles. "But I cannot say anything for certain -until I make enquiries," thought Herrick and so resolved to wait until -he returned to "The Pines" with Marsh.</p> - -<p>The next two or three days Herrick spent with Stephen. Not a word did -he say about the business he had been employed upon. He did not even -speak of Joyce, tried not to think of him, but gave himself up to the -enjoyment of the moment. Owing to his recent bereavement Stephen would -not go to any theatre, but the two managed to find amusement in -exploring London. With the greatest good humour, Herrick permitted -himself to be dragged to the Tower, the Abbey, and to several other -places which Stephen had already visited. Also there was much shopping -to do, clothes to be tried on, and all kinds of fascinating things to -be bought. Stephen purchased a selection of presents for the Biffs, -and made Herrick help him to choose them. They arranged to go back at -the week's end, when "The Pines" would be ready to receive them.</p> - -<p>"I expect it is all in order by this time," said Stephen, "and Ida -promised to see after the servants for me. Bess is superintending the -whole business. I have told her to do exactly as she pleases, and -there is nothing she likes better. We shall find the place in -apple-pie order when we go back."</p> - -<p>"Why do you not marry Miss Bess?" said Herrick laughing.</p> - -<p>"I like Bess very much, but she is not the wife for me," said Stephen -seriously. "Ida is better suited to me."</p> - -<p>Herrick felt a pang of jealousy. What chance had he against this -wealthy favourite of fortune. Then he rebuked himself for the -ungrateful feeling and swore if he saw the least love existing between -Marsh and Ida that he would at once crush down his own passion. As yet -(as he had told Joyce) it was not very strong; but in the sunshine of -Ida's beauty and charm, it might easily assume gigantic proportions. -If it did, and Stephen loved her, why then good-bye to his income. For -Herrick felt that under the circumstances the situation would be so -unbearable that he would be forced to leave Saxham. If Stephen would -only say definitely if he loved the girl Herrick would know how to -act. At present he was quite in the dark. Still until he could be -quite sure he judged it wiser to hold himself well in hand.</p> - -<p>Later on it occurred to him that he would see Joyce and ask him to -come down to Saxham. If he had really committed the murder (and of -this there was as yet no proof) he would naturally refuse to come. On -the other hand he might dare as much. However, on the whole as straws -show which way the wind blows and he knew what a nervous man Joyce -was, Herrick thought he would be able to decide by his manner if he -really had any dislike to Saxham.</p> - -<p>He therefore one afternoon went to West Kensington. By this time he -had settled with Grant about his practice, and arranged the manner of -payment. His sole business was with Robin, and he went at once to the -Mansions. The servant said that Mr. Joyce was absent, but was expected -in soon, and that another gentleman was waiting in the drawing-room to -see him. Herrick had his suspicions at once, and was not at all -surprised to meet the smiling face of Don Manuel Santiago.</p> - -<p>"Ah, you have come to see our friend," said the Mexican, shaking -Herrick's hand in the most hearty manner. "I also. He will be back -shortly."</p> - -<p>"How are you Don Manuel?" said Herrick politely. "Well, I hope?"</p> - -<p>The speech was obvious, but the fact is Herrick was observing the -Mexican from under his eyelids. When Santiago thought himself -unobserved he stole glances at his visitor. Apparently he neither -liked nor trusted Herrick. The doctor wondered what bond bound Robin -and this scamp together. Joyce was a scamp also and worse if his visit -to Saxham could be proved. Manuel answered the inquiry with a careless -speech and a puzzled look, evidently wondering why it was made. After -a time he began to walk restlessly about the room exclaiming that he -wanted a cigarette, and he had exhausted his own. Herrick politely -offered his case, as he wanted to put the Mexican at his ease and get -him to speak, in the hope of learning something from him, but Don -Manuel refused the offer.</p> - -<p>"I smoke only my own particular kind," he said, "ah! now I remember. I -left some in Joyce's study. I will go and look for them. Will you come -also, Señor? We had better smoke in the study. Joyce does not like the -smoke in this room--" he cast a look round and shrugged, "this ugly -room," said Don Manuel spitefully.</p> - -<p>Herrick followed rather because he wished to keep this shifty creature -in sight than because he wanted to smoke. Manuel went to the writing -table and shifted the papers about. He searched the mantelpiece, and -then casting his eyes on a tobacco cabinette walked towards that.</p> - -<p>"He had found them and put them in there," said Manuel and pulled open -several drawers.</p> - -<p>The Cabinet was at Herrick's elbow, and he could see into all the -drawers as the Mexican opened them. In the lowest drawer was a pistol. -Don Manuel took it out.</p> - -<p>"A strange place to keep a revolver," he said. "No, it is not a -revolver what can it be--so large--so clumsy, Señor?"</p> - -<p>Herrick took the weapon handed to him while Manuel continued his -search for the cigarettes. A frightful suspicion flashed into his mind -as he saw the old-fashioned weapon in the Mexican's hand. He -remembered that the death wound had been inflicted by a roughly cast -bullet, and that at the inquest it was said such had been fired from -an antique pistol. Here was the very thing in his hand--an old pistol, -silver-mounted, and clumsy in the extreme. The muzzle was large, and -could well fire the big bullet that had passed through the heart of -Carr to bury itself in the opposite wall. And this was in Joyce's -house. Herrick felt sick.</p> - -<p>Manuel turned to him with a shrug. "There are no cigarettes here," he -said, "Joyce has smoked them. Señor you look ill--pale."</p> - -<p>"It is nothing," replied Herrick, replacing the weapon in the cabinet -"I am subject to attacks of faintness. I think Don Manuel, that you -had better say nothing, to Joyce about our finding that pistol. He -might not like us to be prying into his cabinet."</p> - -<p>"As you please," said Santiago with a shrug, "but Joyce would never be -angry with me. What is the pistol Señor?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, some old-fashioned weapon that Joyce brought in a curiosity shop -very probably," replied the doctor carelessly, "it certainly is not -the kind of thing one would use."</p> - -<p>"No," replied Don Manuel equally carelessly, "an ugly thing. I will -say nothing. A cigarette? Señor, I will take one of yours. Ah, there -is my dear friend Joyce."</p> - -<p>While the Mexican was lighting the cigarette Robin entered, and -greeted Herrick rather stiffly. It was all Jim could do to bring -himself to shake hands with the man he now believed to be a criminal. -Yet in spite of all he had learned, in spite of the discovery of the -old-fashioned pistol, he could not yet bring himself quite to believe -in Robin's guilt. He still hoped for the best, and talked easily -enough.</p> - -<p>"How pale you are Jim," said Joyce abruptly, "what is the matter?"</p> - -<p>"I am so much a countryman now, that London does not agree with me."</p> - -<p>Joyce laughed at the joke. "I prefer London myself."</p> - -<p>"That is a pity," said Herrick, "for I am returning to Saxham -to-morrow, and I want you to come down for a few days next week."</p> - -<p>"I shall be delighted," replied Robin at once. "I can put up at The -Carr Arms. I do not know Marsh you know."</p> - -<p>"I daresay when he meets you he will ask you to stay at 'The Pines,'" -said Herrick, "but you will come down Robin? I have seen so little of -you, and I do not want our friendship to end so abruptly."</p> - -<p>"Certainly. I will come with pleasure," replied Joyce so warmly that -Herrick's heart smote him for his treachery. But when he remembered -how Joyce had deceived him, how he had led him to the very house in -which to all appearance--he had committed a crime, the doctor's heart -grew hard and he was quite prepared to play his part and trap this -man. He was now beginning to regard Robin as a little reptile -extremely dangerous who needed to be crushed.</p> - -<p>"I shall come next week," said Joyce gaily, "and if Marsh likes me, he -may as you say, ask me to 'The Pines.' You might come also Manuel."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps, if I have a day to spare," said the Mexican. "I should like -to see the place where my dear friend Carr died."</p> - -<p>He glanced at Herrick as he spoke, but the doctor was not attending to -him and did not see the look. Tea was being brought in, and Herrick -wanted to get away at once. He felt that knowing what he did, he could -never break bread with Robin again. He fervently hoped that the man -was innocent, but things looked black.</p> - -<p>"I must go now Robin," said Herrick hurriedly, "remember you _must_ -come."</p> - -<p>"I promise. Won't you have tea?"</p> - -<p>"No thanks; Marsh expects me. Good-bye until we meet at Saxham. Don -Manuel, Adieu!"</p> - -<p>"Till we meet at Saxham," said the ready foreigner, and Herrick -hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Not till he was in the -train did he remember that he should have been wise enough to have -secured the pistol as evidence.</p> - -<p>"But he may not be guilty after all," said Jim hopefully. His heart -told him that he was wrong. The circumstantial evidence was too -strong.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_10" href="#div1Ref_10">CHAPTER X</a></h4> -<h5>THE SECRET WRITINGS</h5> -<br> - -<p>Dr. Jim could not conceal from himself, that he was rather jumping at -conclusions with regard to the guilt of Joyce. The man had -deliberately lied about his visit to Frith, and had not slept at the -Hull Hotel, as he had stated. Herrick could not account for Robin's -movements on the night of the twenty-fourth of July, and on that same -night Colonel Carr had met with his death. Then again, Robin was -connected indirectly with Carr through his mother, although there was -nothing to show the relations which had existed between the Colonel -and Mrs. Joyce. Finally Joyce was in possession of an old-fashioned -weapon, firing a round bullet of the antiquated sort. And Carr had -been killed with just such a bullet. This was all the evidence Jim -could find which was likely to inculpate Robin.</p> - -<p>On the other hand there was no reason why Joyce should not be able to -defend himself. He certainly could not explain away the lies he had -told Herrick about the visit to the solicitors, and the pretended -income, but he might be able to account for his doings on the night of -the twenty-fourth, and for the possession of the pistol. After all he -had shown no hesitation in accepting Herrick's invitation to Saxham. -If he were guilty he would be afraid to venture there lest he should -be met by some one who had seen him on the night of the murder in the -vicinity of "The Pines." His determination to come to Saxham looked -like innocence, and Jim granted as much.</p> - -<p>The most important link to be discovered in the chain of evidence, was -the way in which Robin (if guilty) had come to Saxham. Owing to the -presence of Herrick at Southberry, he would not have risked going by -that line, seeing that he had to change at the junction. The other -line branched off from the main trunk, before it reached Southberry -and touched at Heathcroft, six miles from Saxham. Herrick made up his -mind that when he got to Saxham, he would go to Heathcroft to make -inquiries. If he could prove that Robin had alighted at that station, -there would no longer be any doubt of his guilt. No doubt Joyce, if he -had come to Heathcroft, had disguised himself, but he might not think -of increasing his stature by artificial means, and he was so -exceptionally small that even the most casual observer would remark -upon it.</p> - -<p>"I shall give him every opportunity of defending himself," thought -Herrick. "If I find that he came to Heathcroft, he will have to -account to me for his doings. I must know the truth, or else part with -him as a friend for ever." Then the doctor thought with a qualm, that -if he did learn the truth, the parting might be more complete than he -imagined. If Joyce were indeed guilty he would find himself in a -dilemma, as to whether he should hold his tongue or denounce the man -he had been so friendly with. It would not be a pleasant position.</p> - -<p>It was when he was in the train that Herrick thought of this. With -Stephen he was returning to Saxham, and the two had provided -themselves with newspapers and magazines to beguile the tedium of the -journey. For some time Herrick had been concealed behind the Daily -Telegraph, pretending to read. But in reality he had been thinking -over the case of Robin Joyce. Marsh was in good spirits, and inclined -to talk. So Dr. Jim yielded, for after all his thoughts were anything -but pleasant.</p> - -<p>"You are glad to go back to Saxham Stephen?" he said.</p> - -<p>Marsh-Carr (as he must now be called) nodded and smiled. "Very glad," -he said. "I find a little of London goes a long way. I want to be in -my own country amongst my own friends."</p> - -<p>"You will have a large circle soon Stephen. When you are settled at -'The Pines,' all the county will call. They will be delighted that in -that beautiful house, there will be some one they can know. You must -make the Carr family once more important in the county."</p> - -<p>"I am afraid I am not ambitious," said Stephen, "my nature is a -somewhat retiring one, I fancy. I shall attend to my estates and write -poetry."</p> - -<p>"You have no desire to go into parliament?"</p> - -<p>"Not the least. Books and friends; those are what I want. Of course I -shall try and do good in my own way, but I do not wish to take part in -public life. There will be plenty for me to do in a small way -Herrick."</p> - -<p>"I think you are right," responded Herrick soberly, "and you have had -such a wretched life hitherto, that it is but fair you should have a -few years of enjoyment. But you must travel for a time before you -settle down."</p> - -<p>"I shall be pleased to. But of course as you know I shall not be able -to leave Saxham until the end of a year. I want to be certain of -holding the property. I wonder why my uncle left instructions that a -new vault should be built, and should be visited; and why for a year?"</p> - -<p>"I cannot understand myself," replied Herrick, "your uncle was a man -of mystery. But I have learned something of his past Stephen," and -Herrick related his meeting with Don Manuel and what he had been told -about the doings of Carr in South America.</p> - -<p>Stephen looked uneasy and grave. "I hope this money was obtained in -quite a proper way," he said, "otherwise I should be afraid to use it. -If it is what the gipsies call red money--that is obtained by -bloodshed, I would rather give it up. For it can bring only a curse."</p> - -<p>"I do not think you need trouble on that score," replied Jim with a -shrug. "Heaven knows that Carr was not scrupulous, but with regard to -the fortune he brought home, if it was taken from some treasure -chamber of those Inca monarchs, the spoil was legitimate enough. If I -came across such a treasure I should have no hesitation in taking it. -The worst feature of the expedition was the leaving of Santiago with -the Indians, but as he is still alive, no harm has been done."</p> - -<p>"Do you think I ought to give him some money?" asked Stephen.</p> - -<p>"Certainly not," was Herrick's emphatic reply. "In the first place we -do not know that the story is true; in the second place I am convinced -that the Mexican is a scoundrel, and in the third, it is not your -place to impoverish yourself for the sake of other people."</p> - -<p>"I wish I could find out the story of my uncle's life!"</p> - -<p>"Well! Don Manuel is probably coming down to Saxham on a sentimental -pilgrimage to see the grave of a man he detested. He may tell you all -he knows if you question him."</p> - -<p>"Probably he will tell me a very pretty story," said Stephen dryly, -"but will it be true. I do not want the Arabian Nights."</p> - -<p>Herrick shrugged his shoulders. "I should not care to take Santiago's -word myself," he said, "still amongst his lies there may be some grain -of truth. But where the real truth will be found is in that secret -writing which Bess gave to me."</p> - -<p>"Bess!" cried Marsh-Carr with a smile.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim coloured and apologised. "A slip of the tongue," he said, "I -hear you talk of Bess so frequently that I am apt to fall into the -same habit. But this writing," he added hurriedly to avoid further -explanation, "as you know, we can make nothing of it. Yet if we could -read it, something tangible might be discovered."</p> - -<p>"I really do not see why I should trouble at all about my uncle's -villainies," said Marsh-Carr rather impatiently, "the estate is mine -now, and I want to enjoy it without worrying my conscience. Of course -I do worry. As to the writing, there is a cryptogram in the -'Telegraph' which resembles the paper you showed me. Here it is, in -the Agony Column."</p> - -<p>Herrick took the newspaper, and looked at the paragraph indicated by -Stephen. The jumble of letters did indeed resemble that on the piece -of Chinese paper. In print the cryptogram was as follows:--Eqhrbn: -Gxcd: Ozqj: Bnqmdq; 15, Nbsnadq: Rodzj: Sn: Aktd: Bknsgdr: Vghsd: Gzs: -Fknur: Rgndr: Dzqqr: Lnmdx.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim read this over twice, then took out the Chinese paper and -compared the two cryptograms. "I believe the secret writing is the -same," he said with some excitement. "See Stephen, in each there are -figures, and in each the figures are the same. Fifteen. I believe that -this was inserted by some one who knew Carr. It may be from Frisco -communicating with a third person about the murder."</p> - -<p>"True enough;" replied Stephen, "yet it might merely be a -coincidence."</p> - -<p>"If the figures were not the same I might think so. But that in both -there should be fifteen is strange, to say the least of it."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps thirty is the key to the cipher."</p> - -<p>"It might be so," said Herrick studying the 'Telegraph,' "but I am -hanged if I can see how to apply it. Oh, that Edgar Allen Poe were at -hand! He could unravel any cipher in ten minutes. The man had a -marvellous gift in that way."</p> - -<p>"I once read a book on cipher-writing," said Marsh-Carr after a pause, -"it said that to unravel a line of secret writing, it was best to -search for the character that represented 'E,' since that letter is -used more frequently than any other in the English language."</p> - -<p>"There you lay a finger on the weak spot," said Jim quickly, "This -cipher may be written in Spanish for all I know."</p> - -<p>"Why in Spanish particularly?"</p> - -<p>"Because if it applied to Colonel Carr and his doings, that is the -most likely language he would use, other than English. He was mostly -in Mexico and Peru, if Manuel is to be believed, and there Spanish is -spoken as you know, Stephen. This may be a writing in that tongue."</p> - -<p>"Well Herrick, you know Spanish, so you might,--"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I might," interrupted Dr. Jim sarcastically, "if I were -acquainted with secret writing. But this is Dutch to me and worse, for -I have some knowledge of Dutch and absolutely none of this. Let us try -your "E" idea Stephen, and see what we make of it. The Chinese paper -cipher is the shortest. We will count the letter that is most -frequent, and call it 'E.' Something may come of the attempt." Herrick -counted and Stephen checked his reckoning. "Four 'D's,'" said Jim. -"Five 'K's.' Three 'Z's:' and Three 'R's.'. Humph! Seems to me that -'K' is the predominating letter, and once it comes 'K.K' which might -stand for double 'E.' Well we'll call it 'E.'"</p> - -<p>"But here are two 'R's' together," said Stephen. "That might stand -also for double 'E.'"</p> - -<p>"Yes! But you forget that there are five 'K's' to three 'R's.' We -agreed to call the letter which predominated 'E.'"</p> - -<p>"All right. Fire away, and see what you make of it."</p> - -<p>For the next hour the two men with pencil and paper, did their best to -extort sense from the jumble of letters on this basis. At the end of -the time they were both out of temper, and had not succeeded in -obtaining even one reasonable word.</p> - -<p>"Hang it!" said Stephen throwing his paper to the other end of the -carriage. "I don't believe it makes sense at all!"</p> - -<p>"Nonsense," replied Herrick wiping his face, "it is sure to make -sense. All ciphers do. And I daresay this is an easy one. The easiest -are usually the most difficult to unravel. That is an epigram -Stephen."</p> - -<p>Stephen had taken up the paper again and was studying the cipher. -"Fifteen I.T.K.X." he said musingly, "the figures and the letters run -together here."</p> - -<p>"So they do in the Telegraph cipher," said Herrick, and read out, -"Fifteen N.b.s.n.a.d.q. What of that?"</p> - -<p>"I thought it might be a date," said Marsh-Carr apologetically.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim laughed. "It might--on the other hand it might not."</p> - -<p>"You forget the figures are concealed the same as the letters," said -Stephen.</p> - -<p>"How do we know that," retorted the doctor. "Fifteen may be the key to -the cipher. You may count one, or count five: or add the two together -and count six: or subtract the two and count four. Then again you may -have to count from left to right or right to left. And after all the -cipher may be in Spanish, or English or in the Indian tongue for the -matter of that; Carr was mixed up with the South American Indians you -know. We'll never discover it Stephen. But I tell you what," added Jim -struck with a sudden thought, "this Mexican devil may know what it -means!"</p> - -<p>"In that case he must have put it in the paper," said Stephen, "he -knew Carr and the cipher was used by Carr. What is more likely----"</p> - -<p>Herrick frowned. "There is some conspiracy on," he muttered. "I do not -see what it all means. We must learn what these ciphers mean Stephen. -It is a serious matter. Do you think the key might be found amongst -your uncle's papers?"</p> - -<p>"He left no papers," replied Stephen, "I have looked."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim shook his head. The thing was beyond him. He replaced the -Chinese paper in his pocket-book, and cut out the notice in the -Telegraph. "I say Stephen," he said while thus employed, "did your -uncle take in the 'Daily Telegraph?'"</p> - -<p>"Yes! He used to pass it on to Bess when he had done with it."</p> - -<p>"There you see!" cried Jim triumphantly, "another link. This cipher -has been put in the newspaper your uncle usually read. Oh, be sure it -has to do with his business--perhaps with his death. Well, we shall -see."</p> - -<p>Nothing more was said about the matter, as the two were a trifle -exhausted by their efforts to read the ciphers. When the train arrived -at the Beorminster Station, they were met by Frank Endicotte, who came -towards them in a state of excitement usually foreign to his nature.</p> - -<p>"Glad to see you fellows back," said Frank shaking hands. "Bess got -the wire you sent Steve, and insisted that I should meet you here. I -have brought a cart, borrowed it from Pentland Corn. He wanted his -groom to come too, but there was not enough room for four. Got much -luggage?"</p> - -<p>"No! Only a couple of portmanteaux. The heavy baggage is coming on by -a goods train," laughed Stephen. "I have been buying up the whole of -London! I say Frank how are the Biffs?"</p> - -<p>"All right," replied Frank as they put up the portmanteaux on the -dog-cart. "Up you get Steve. Will you drive, or you Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"No!" replied the doctor grimly, "you have undertaken the -responsibility of that horse. If I kill it, Corn will blame me. Drive -yourself. I'll stick on behind."</p> - -<p>"No! No," protested Stephen, "get up in front Herrick."</p> - -<p>"Certainly not. The Lord of the Manor of Saxham must have the first -place." He swung himself up to the back seat, "send her along Frank."</p> - -<p>In a few minutes they were rattling home along the Southberry road, -and Frank was telling Marsh-Carr all that had been done at 'The -Pines.' It seemed that Bess and Ida had engaged a moderate staff of -servants, the most indispensable that is; as they left the choice of -the others to Stephen. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom, -food had been got in, and a good dinner awaited the travellers. "Bess, -Ida and I are coming over later on," explained Frank, "we want to hear -of your adventures."</p> - -<p>"I am afraid we have none," said Marsh-Carr with a laugh.</p> - -<p>Herrick said nothing. He was thinking, if he told all he had -discovered and talked about his suspicions, he might create a -sensation. However the time was not yet ripe to take the Biffs into -his confidence. Bess was the one he would consult if necessary.</p> - -<p>Frank deposited them at "The Pines" and then drove away to the Rectory -to restore the cart. Stephen found the house in admirable order, and a -good dinner waiting for him and his friend in the dining-room. Herrick -felt rather a qualm as he sat down, remembering that ghastly meal -which had waited for the dead Colonel. However he was too healthy a -man to give way to such morbid fancies, and made an excellent meal. -Afterwards he and Stephen had coffee in the library, and as the -evening was chilly, Marsh-Carr ordered a fire to be lighted. In a -state of comfort they sat in comfortable arm-chairs smoking -luxuriously. Hitherto Stephen had smoked only cigarettes, but lately, -by the advice of his doctor, had begun pipe-smoking. After a time, he -found it much more satisfying than the cigarettes.</p> - -<p>"I suppose they will be here soon," said Stephen glancing at his -watch.</p> - -<p>Herrick grunted. Truth to tell he felt so comfortable that he did not -want to be disturbed. There was a good deal of the bachelor about -Herrick. However, just as Stephen replaced his watch, one of the new -footmen announced the Biffs; not by that name certainly. "Mr. -Endicotte, the Misses Endicotte," said Phillips. He had been in the -service of the Bishop of Beorminster and prided himself on knowing the -manners of good society.</p> - -<p>"Well," said Bess when the first greeting was over and they were all -seated comfortably round the fire, "what do you think of the house?"</p> - -<p>"It is splendid," said Stephen, "I have to thank you and Ida heartily. -But I won't stop short at thanks." And then the presents were -produced. They took the form of jewellery and both the girls were -delighted.</p> - -<p>"Oh, lovely! lovely," cried Ida looking at the emerald ring which -Stephen had placed on her finger. "I do so love jewels!" As she spoke -she caught the eye of Marsh-Carr fixed significantly on her, and -blushed. She knew very well why the ring had been bought although -Stephen had not placed it on the engagement finger.</p> - -<p>Herrick did not notice this by-play which might have enlightened him. -He was busy talking to Frank about the new gun which he was examining. -Frank had always wanted a gun and was in the seventh heaven of -delight. Bess also was pleased with a bangle. But she would rather -have had books. However she did not say so, as she did not wish -Stephen to think she was disappointed. "I have something for Flo and -Sidney, but those can wait," said Stephen.</p> - -<p>Frank was so taken up with his new gun, that Stephen devoted himself -to Ida. Herrick was thus thrown into the society of Bess, who asked -him if he had solved the cryptogram. "No, I have not," he replied, "and -here is another of the same sort which appeared in the Telegraph of -to-day."</p> - -<p>Bess glanced at it with interest. "I have seen something like that -before," she said thoughtfully, "several times a cipher like that has -been in the Telegraph. I never thought it had anything to do with the -Colonel."</p> - -<p>"I am sure it had," said Herrick eagerly. "Have you the cuttings?"</p> - -<p>"No; I did not think it was necessary to keep them. They all appeared -within the last year."</p> - -<p>"Humph," said Herrick, "I'll send for a file of the newspaper. But -this cipher? I wish we could read it. I believe it has some connection -with Carr's death, or at all events with the secret of his life."</p> - -<p>"I can't make it out," said Bess looking at the cutting and the scrap -of Chinese paper, "unless--" she hesitated.</p> - -<p>"Well, unless what?"</p> - -<p>"I was talking to Frisco one day," said Bess, "he had been drinking -rum as usual and was rather drunk. The Colonel had sent him to the -post-office for the letters and he held one in his hand the only one -which had come that day. It was about three months ago, shortly after -I picked up the piece of Chinese paper. This one," she shook it at -Herrick.</p> - -<p>"I understand. Go on!"</p> - -<p>"I noticed that the envelope of the letter Frisco carried was of the -same paper."</p> - -<p>"Ha!" cried the doctor, "this is interesting. Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Frisco was shaking the letter--waving it over his head, and singing. -I stopped to tell him he ought to be ashamed of himself being in such -a state, when he knew perfectly well how to behave."</p> - -<p>"One minute," interrupted Herrick remembering what Frith had said "was -this Frisco a gentleman?"</p> - -<p>"Yes and No," replied Bess. "He had a refined way of speaking in spite -of the frightful American slang he used. At times when he was quite -sober he would speak to me in the most refined way. At other times he -was just awful."</p> - -<p>"A large fat man was he not?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Immensely stout: but his face was rather handsome. He was about -the same age as the Colonel. There was something attractive about -Frisco," finished Bess with a sigh, "he was his own worst enemy."</p> - -<p>"Well, about this letter?"</p> - -<p>"He was waving it and singing. I met him in the pine wood, where I had -been to look for Sidney. I told him that he might lose it since he was -so drunk. He laughed and said no one could read it. He knew the letter -by the envelope."</p> - -<p>"Ha!" said Herrick, "by the Chinese paper! It is noticeable. Well?"</p> - -<p>"I asked him what he meant? He laughed again, and went away singing, -'Move on One! Move on One!' I took no notice of the words at the time, -but as he had a cipher letter in his hand I have often wondered if he -applied the words to the cipher."</p> - -<p>"Move one on!" repeated Herrick excitedly, and glanced at the Chinese -paper cipher. "Humph! Stephen thought that fifteen I.T.K.X. might be a -date. If this cipher has to do with the murder----"</p> - -<p>"A date!" interrupted Bess eagerly, "well! Colonel Carr was murdered -in July. Dr. Jim, in the word July there are four letters, and----"</p> - -<p>"I see what you mean. And here are four letters I.T.K.X.: also the -number fifteen."</p> - -<p>"Move on one," said Bess repeating the cry of Frisco, "that is take -the next figures to one and five."</p> - -<p>"Two, six," said Herrick, "by heaven that must mean the twenty-sixth! -Move on one of these four letters. I stands or J, T, for U, K for L, -and X in place of Y. July," cried Herrick dashing down the pen. "Here -is the solution of the cryptogram."</p> - -<p>"The twenty-sixth of July," repeated Bess, "and the Colonel was -murdered on the twenty-fourth. I do not see the connection."</p> - -<p>"We have not worked out the whole cipher yet," said Dr. Jim, "here, -take a pen and write down the alphabet." Bess did this as rapidly as -possible as she saw what the doctor meant. "Now place A under B, B -under C, and so on to the end of the alphabet."</p> - -<p>"Bess did this also, 'I can put Z under no letter,' she said."</p> - -<p>"Yes you can. Z goes under A, I have heard of this cipher. It is -written with misleading letters. You simply take the next letter for -the one that is down. Come, we will apply the result to these -ciphers."</p> - -<p>This is what they got. In the Chinese paper cipher:--</p> - -<p>"The last warning. Till 26 July. Then death. Unless----"</p> - -<p>And in the printed cipher of the 'Daily Telegraph':--</p> - -<p>"Frisco. Hyde Park Corner. 26 October. Speak to blue clothes, white -hat, gloves, shoes. Carr's money."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_11" href="#div1Ref_11">CHAPTER XI</a></h4> -<h5>SETTLING DOWN</h5> -<br> - -<p>The cipher was so simple that Herrick wondered that he had not solved -it before. It merely consisted of the alphabet arranged in two lines -as follows:--</p> - -<p>A.B.C.D.E.F.G.H.I.J.K.L.M.N.O.P.Q.R.S.T.U.V.W.X.Y.Z. -Z,A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,</p> - -<p>The cipher was written by using the second line as though it were the -first. All that had to be done was to write out the alphabet as above, -and use the first line in place of the second. Nothing could be more -ingenious, or--when it was known--more simple. But for all that, -Herrick would not have found the key, had he not recollected Stephen's -remark that the number fifteen might be a date, and had not Bess -related Frisco's apparently meaningless words.</p> - -<p>However here was the reading of the riddle. Colonel Carr had been -warned to do a certain thing, and was threatened with death if he did -not do it. He was given up to the twenty-sixth of July, but the -punishment, vengeance, or whatever it was had been executed on the -twenty-fourth. Jim could see no reason for this anticipation of the -cipher letter.</p> - -<p>As to the cryptogram in the agony Column of the "Daily Telegraph," it -would seem that someone knew that Frisco was in London and wished to -see him about Carr's money. This rather bore out Herrick's belief that -there was a conspiracy in progress to rob Stephen of his inherited -wealth. Was Captain Manuel striking in the dark? Or had Robin Joyce -anything to do with the matter? Herrick asked himself these questions, -but he did not seek an answer from Bess. Until he was absolutely -sure of Robin's guilt he did not wish to say a word. And if he -told Bess about Santiago, he would have to reveal what Joyce\ -had--presumably--done. At all events the mere mention of Santiago's -name and where he met him would invite questions regarding Joyce.</p> - -<p>"If I were you Dr. Jim," said Bess the next day, when they met to talk -over their discovery, "I should go up to London and wait at Hyde Park -Corner. It will be easy for you to see a person dressed as noticeably -as the man who put in the cipher intends to be. I should think a navy -blue serge with white hat, gloves, and boots would attract attention. -You can then see if the person meets Frisco, and, and----"</p> - -<p>"And give Frisco in charge," finished Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No," said Miss Endicotte decisively, "I should not do that. At -present public opinion and circumstantial evidence is so much against -Frisco, that he would not have a fair trial. If he did murder Colonel -Carr, which I don't believe--you can prove it by watching him. See -where he and the man who meets him are going, follow on, and be guided -by circumstances how to act. Have you any idea who put this in?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim suspected Don Manuel, but he did not think it wise to say so. -"I really cannot be sure," said he shirking the question, "of course -we are all in the dark about this business. Again I notice that no -time is mentioned in the cipher."</p> - -<p>"Oh! I can understand that," replied Bess producing a slip of paper -from her pocket, "when I got home last night I looked through the file -of the 'Daily Telegraph' given to me by Colonel Carr. I thought there -might be a third cipher. See, here it is. It appeared about the -beginning of August."</p> - -<p>Herrick looked at the third cipher. It was worded exactly the same as -the one that had appeared in the newspaper at the later date, save -that in it the hour of three o'clock was mentioned as the time of -meeting.</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Dr. Jim, "I wonder if Frisco obeyed this first request?"</p> - -<p>"I am sure he did," answered Bess readily, "if he had not, the time of -meeting would be put into the second. No, Dr. Jim. It is because the -person who wants to meet Frisco met him the first time, that he has -omitted the hour. He knows that Frisco will be there at three o'clock -if he comes at all. You go up and see what you can do."</p> - -<p>"It is now the twenty-second," said Herrick after a moment. "All -right, I'll go up. But I should say nothing of all this to Stephen."</p> - -<p>"Nor to anyone," replied Bess warmly, "let us work out the thing -ourselves and put an end to the conspiracy. I am sure it is one," she -added, "for you see Carr's money is mentioned. I hope poor Stephen -will not be murdered next!"</p> - -<p>"I hope not," said Herrick rather gloomily. He was recalling what Mrs. -Marsh had said to him about Frisco and of a possible danger to her -step-son. "At all events I shall look after him carefully. But all -this seems to show that Frisco is not the good man you thought him."</p> - -<p>"It does look bad for Frisco," admitted Bess dejectedly, "still he may -be able to explain if he can only summon up courage to take his trial. -I should not like to be mistaken in Frisco. There was something I -liked about him."</p> - -<p>"Well, I'll go up to town and watch," said Herrick. "By the way, my -friend Joyce is coming down here next week to stay for a time."</p> - -<p>"I am so glad," said Bess eagerly. "I saw only a glimpse of him last -time. He is an author, and we shall have so much to talk about."</p> - -<p>Herrick was rather annoyed by her enthusiasm. He did not like the idea -of Joyce whom he suspected, being too great a friend of this girl's. -Yet when he came to think over the matter, his annoyance was -ridiculous. He was jealous of Stephen with Ida, and now irritated at -the prospect of Bess getting on well with Robin. "I do not love the -two of them," said Herrick to himself with a vexed laugh, "yet I like -both. At all events if Joyce does come down, I'll keep them apart as -much as possible. I must know the truth about Joyce before I let him -again into my circle of friends. In any case he is a liar if no -worse."</p> - -<p>This was an unsatisfactory frame of mind in which to renew a -friendship. But Jim had no such intention. Finding that Robin had told -him two deliberate falsehoods, he made up his mind that all was at an -end between them. Herrick had a very high opinion of the sacredness of -friendship, and was in addition as Dr. Johnson said "a good hater." He -either liked a man greatly or disliked him immensely. With the utmost -calmness he went to work to get his quondam friend by his side in -order to learn the truth. If Joyce had murdered Carr, if he was mixed -up with Frisco and Don Manuel in a conspiracy against Stephen, there -was no punishment he did not deserve. But although Herrick was hard, -he was also just. Every chance would be given to Joyce to prove his -innocence. And if in the end he proved to be guilty, Jim knew in his -heart of hearts that he would let him go free. Much as he might -deserve the punishment of the law, Jim felt that for the sake of their -old friendship he could not be the one to hand him over to Justice.</p> - -<p>It must not be thought that Herrick took his discovery calmly. He -suffered greatly on learning the worthlessness of the man he had so -trusted. He had saved Robin's life by nursing him through a dangerous -illness, and had been attracted by his ambition to become a great -novelist. He had also tried to make a man of him by strengthening his -will and mending his nerves, being sorry for the tortured creature. -But since the man was so inherently bad Herrick sternly cut himself -off from him. He waited only to be certain of the worst to cast Robin -out of his life. But until he was certain, he gave him the benefit of -the doubt. It was a painful position, but Jim set his teeth and stuck -to it.</p> - -<p>The journey to town was a complete failure. Herrick watched at Hyde -Park Corner all day, and thereby incurred the unjust suspicions of the -police. But he saw neither the eccentrically-dressed individual, who -had described himself in the cipher, nor the ex-sailor, whom he hoped -to recognise by his monstrous stoutness, and if chance offered, by the -scar on his forehead. Neither one of them came to the rendezvous, so -Dr. Jim returned to Saxham a sadder but not a wiser man. Bess consoled -him.</p> - -<p>"They must have got some suspicion that they were being watched," she -said, "sooner or later another of these ciphers will appear in the -paper and you will have a chance of catching them."</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Jim disbelieving, "if they are suspicious, they will make -some other arrangements for you see, they must have guessed that in -some way I had solved the cipher. It is all darkness and mystery," -said Herrick vexedly. "For the time being at all events I intend to -put it out of my head."</p> - -<p>This he did and with considerable success. There was much to do at -"The Pines" and with its new master. The estate had to be put in -order, more servants had to be engaged with the assistance of Ida, and -the walls and fences had to be put up again. Also the new vault was -rapidly approaching completion and Stephen hoped to have his uncle's -body removed into it before Christmas. In the meantime he did not -neglect to go monthly and even weekly to the family sepulchre to see -that all was safe. As yet nothing had been disturbed. Stephen began to -think that the necessity of protecting the body of the wicked Colonel -was all moonshine. But Herrick knew better. He still believed in the -existence of a conspiracy, and kept his eyes and ears open. It was -well in these days, that Marsh-Carr had so watchful a guardian.</p> - -<p>Joyce arrived at the Carr Arms with Don Manuel, and the two made -themselves very agreeable, Herrick did not approve of their calling at -Biffstead, but he either had to quarrel openly with them, or tolerate -the acquaintance, as a row would have spoilt his plans and perhaps (if -his suspicions were correct) exposed Stephen to danger. Herrick held -his peace and made himself agreeable. Indeed neither Robin nor -Santiago had any idea that he was their enemy, so well did he play his -part. Dr. Jim hated to wear a mask, but much could be done by guile, -and nothing at all could be gained by force, so he consented to do -violence to his usually open nature.</p> - -<p>Meantime he devoted himself to educating Stephen out-of-doors. Horses -were bought and the two rode daily. Herrick taught Stephen how to -swim, to fence, to box, and to golf. Indeed the Biffs also took to -golfing, for Herrick obtained permission to lay out part of the heath -as a links. Then the young men and maidens of the county came to play -and Saxham became quite busy. Even the Beorminster people contrived to -learn the game, and the clerical society there curates, dean, and even -the canons played with zest and judgment. Herrick as the original -starter of the game was voted an acquisition to the county and made -much of. He and Stephen were asked everywhere and as the weeks went by -Marsh-Carr became a different man. He lost his air of shyness, became -straighter in the back, spent less time poring over books and more in -the open air. Needless to say he was warmly attached to the doctor, -and it was now "Jim and Steve" between them. And the Biffs approved of -the friendship.</p> - -<p>Since he had lost the friendship of Robin, Herrick paid more attention -to Ida. He never paused to analyse his feelings towards her, and -foolishly believed that he loved her. She knew better and smiled at -the attentions paid to her by Dr. Jim. Herrick was no wiser than his -neighbours when it came to a question of sex, and because he admired -Ida thought that she was the only woman in the world for him. He had -never been in love before and mistook the affection he felt for a -beautiful and kind-hearted girl for the genuine passion spoken of by -poets. If it was, Jim did not think it was so bad as they made out. He -had not himself felt the wound, so he jested at the scars of others. -Ida was amused at the dear, large, stupid creature and played the rôle -of Omphale to his Hercules, but she knew quite well when to pull him -up. When his attentions became too pressing she did so in her own -quiet way. Strange to say Stephen did not notice his friend's folly, -or if he did, he made no remark.</p> - -<p>One day the Biffs took afternoon tea in the pine-wood round the -mansion. Stephen and Herrick were there, the Biffs themselves, and Don -Manuel with Robin. The latter was much excited and chattered on in a -merry way which amused everyone save Herrick, who looked at him rather -sourly. Bess was too attentive to Joyce to please the doctor.</p> - -<p>"Come and sit by me Mr. Joyce," she said making a place beside her -when they sat on the grass for tea. "You shall feed me."</p> - -<p>"Ah, what a privilege!" put in Santiago and Bess frowned. She did not -like the Spaniard.</p> - -<p>"I am so hungry," announced Robin. "Jim, you sit over there by Miss -Endicotte, and Mr. Marsh can sit beside Miss Flo."</p> - -<p>Santiago placed himself beside Sidney who at once got up and walked -away to the other side of the circle. Sidney hated the Mexican, and -openly said as much. There was a bad feeling about him, said Sidney, -and he sometimes shivered and turned pale when in Don Manuel's -company. The Mexican did not seem annoyed. He understood Sidney better -than did the others. Or he said he did and explained his reasons to -Herrick. The doctor laughed at him when these were explained and -declined to argue such nonsense. At this Don Manuel smiled but did not -take offence. He had his own reasons for remaining on friendly terms -with Jim.</p> - -<p>"How pleasant it is here," said Bess looking at the green boughs -overhead, "so solitary! One would think we were miles away in the -country."</p> - -<p>"So we are," said Robin amidst a general laugh. "How many more miles -do you want us to be Miss Bess?"</p> - -<p>The girl laughed herself. "You know what I mean perfectly well. Of -course nothing could be more absolutely rural than this, but Saxham is -the same. What I meant to say is that no human habitation can be seen -hereabouts."</p> - -<p>"No. The tower has disappeared;" said Stephen gravely, "it used to be -visible from here. Just over those two pines."</p> - -<p>Santiago chimed in. "Ah, that is where my poor friend met with his -death! I wonder you are not afraid to live in the house, Señor."</p> - -<p>"Why should he be afraid?" put in Ida rather indignantly. "Ghosts are -not pleasant things," said the Mexican with a shrug.</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say that the wicked Colonel walks?" asked Robin.</p> - -<p>"You are talking nonsense," said Herrick who was beginning to find the -conversation disagreeable, and in the presence of Stephen, not in good -taste. "There are no such things as ghosts, and the room in which -Colonel Carr died has been demolished. If you talk like this the -ignorant country people will be inventing some legend."</p> - -<p>Sidney who had been listening to all this very quietly looking first -at one speaker and then at the other, let his grave blue eyes fall -upon the doctor. "How do you know that there are no such things as -ghosts?" he demanded. "There are. I have seen them myself."</p> - -<p>Everybody shuddered, and Santiago looked at the boy with a curious -smile.</p> - -<p>"Where have you seen a ghost?" asked Herrick quietly.</p> - -<p>"In this wood, in the village churchyard; all kinds of shapes and -forms. They do not frighten me. Only bad people are frightened. You -would be," he added looking at Santiago.</p> - -<p>"Yes," responded that gentleman, "you are quite right. I am glad I -have not your gift of seeing things."</p> - -<p>"You laugh at it I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Pardon me, I know too much about it to laugh."</p> - -<p>"The tower," said Sidney suddenly turning to Stephen. "I know you can -see it from here. Often and often I have sat in the darkness under -yonder tree and watched the shapes in the light that streamed from the -windows. All bad shapes--all wicked spirits," said Sidney. "The -Colonel was so wicked that nothing good would come near him."</p> - -<p>Ida thought that this conversation had gone quite far enough, and when -Herrick glanced at her interposed, "Sidney you are talking nonsense!"</p> - -<p>The boy got up in a kind of cold rage. "Always nonsense," said he, -"because you are all blind and stupid." And he walked away.</p> - -<p>"Is he mad?" said Robin, his mouth open.</p> - -<p>Bess was about to contradict him rather indignantly when Santiago -interposed. "He is far from mad," said he, "but he has a wonderful -gift, denied to us who are of common clay. Of course the doctor does -not believe in this. He is a materialist."</p> - -<p>"No, I am not," replied Herrick rather nettled, "but I do not believe -in things that cannot be proved by the senses."</p> - -<p>"I said you were a materialist," replied Santiago, and refused to -speak further. It was on another occasion and when no one was present -that Jim renewed the conversation.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the doctor was angry at the attention paid by Joyce to Bess. -The little man had now known her some weeks and had taken a violent -fancy to her. He haunted her like a shadow, and she did not seem to -dislike it. Herrick did, but as he had no right to interfere he was -obliged to look on in silence. More than ever he regretted his folly -in inducing Robin to come down to Saxham. Not for all the schemes in -the world would he have Bess Endicotte lose her heart to Joyce. Until -this day such an idea had never entered his head: but now he saw more -clearly. Bess was distinctly pleased with Robin's attentions. Should -she really get to care for him (and Robin was attractive when he -liked) Herrick knew that he would be forced to interfere. Even if he -had to denounce Joyce to the law, he would put an end to such a -possibility. He could not even see the two together without annoyance, -and rose abruptly to walk away.</p> - -<p>As he went in the direction of the heath, and by almost the same path -as he and Joyce had come on that terrible night, he heard a light step -behind and turned to see Ida. She looked more lovely than ever, for -having followed him rapidly her face was somewhat flushed. Just as he -was on the edge of the heath she laid her hand on his arm. A thrill -ran through the strong frame of the doctor. He thought this was love. -But indeed any man would have felt as much had Ida Endicotte touched -him.</p> - -<p>She was beautiful, and moreover had a magnetic attraction, which drew -the most sullen under her charm. How much more then Herrick, who -frankly acknowledged that she was--what he rather obviously called--an -angel.</p> - -<p>"Don't follow him Dr. Jim," she said breathlessly. "Believe me, he is -better alone. I know his moods."</p> - -<p>"Are you talking of Sidney?" asked Herrick in surprise.</p> - -<p>"Yes! I thought you followed him," she cast a look across the moor -where the slender figure of the boy could just be seen disappearing on -the horizon. "How fast he walks. Here, there, and everywhere, like a -ghost!"</p> - -<p>"I did not follow Sidney," said Herrick gravely, "but I see that I -must take the boy in hand. His brain is too excitable."</p> - -<p>"You don't think he is mad," said Ida turning pale. "I assure you that -he is very shrewd in many ways, and looks after himself thoroughly. -But he was always a delicate boy with strange habits."</p> - -<p>"He is a poet," said Herrick decisively, "that is why he 'sees things' -as he puts it. His imagination and brain power are too strong for his -weak body. If he went in for exercise and took pleasure in sport he -would soon lose these unhealthy phantasies. They would pass away in -verse."</p> - -<p>"Do you think he ought to go to a public school?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly not. The boy is too peculiar; too rare a spirit. The other -boys would not understand him, and he would be as unhappy as Coleridge -and Lamb. No! He needs looking after privately. I like Corn, but he -does not understand the boy. Let me see to it, Miss Endicotte."</p> - -<p>"Indeed," faltered Ida, "I should be very glad. We are all very fond -of Sidney; but he is peculiar as you say. And you have done wonders -with Stephen. I can see that."</p> - -<p>"I have only induced him to take an interest in healthy things," said -Herrick, "the rest follows as a matter of course. But I am glad you -are pleased. You know that I am anxious to please you--Ida."</p> - -<p>Miss Endicotte blushed and drew back with a look of surprise. Then she -seemed to make up her mind, and instead of leaving him as seemed to be -her original intention, she walked on beside him towards the moor. -"You are very kind," she said simply.</p> - -<p>"You are not angry at my calling you Ida?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all. I call you Dr. Jim. You seem to be a kind of brother to -us all. I am glad that Stephen has so good a friend."</p> - -<p>"But I do not want to be a brother," said Jim in a deep voice, trying -to take her hand. "You must understand--" She drew her hand away -quietly. "I do understand," she said in low tones. "But I beg of you -not to go on talking like this."</p> - -<p>"But Ida--you must have seen. I love you."</p> - -<p>"No! You do not love me, Dr. Jim," she laid her hand on his shoulder, -and looked gravely into his flushed face. "If you had really been in -love with me, I should not have waited. You saw how I turned to go and -changed my mind. That was because I wish to put matters right between -us."</p> - -<p>"I do not understand Ida."</p> - -<p>"I know you don't and that is why you speak. If you were in love with -me Dr. Jim, you would know that I am in love with someone else."</p> - -<p>"In love with someone else? Not--not Stephen?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! Stephen, and he loves me. Oh, you look astonished. I said you -did not know what love meant. Had you really felt the passion you -believe you feel, you would have guessed. You like me because we get -on well together; because you think I am pretty." Here she blushed and -laughed. "I am talking foolishly I fear. But what I mean to say is -that it is only Ida Endicotte you love, not the real woman. If you -did; if your heart was filled with a true passion, you would have seen -that Stephen and I understand one another.</p> - -<p>"Has he asked you to--" stammered Herrick.</p> - -<p>"There was no need that he should ask," replied Ida. "I am quite -content to wait until he speaks, because I know. And he knows that I -know. That is true love Dr. Jim. We do not need mere words."</p> - -<p>Jim looked down rather shamefaced. Ida took him by the arm and forced -him to face her. "Confess," she said with a laughing face, "you are -not quite brokenhearted that I will not marry you?"</p> - -<p>"No!" replied Jim rather astonished at the calmness of his feelings. -"I can't say I feel suicidal."</p> - -<p>Ida shrugged her queenly shoulders. "You see," was her remark, "what I -said was true. You do not love the true woman. No, Dr. Jim," she put -her hand into his, "I am glad we have had this talk. The moon can -never be yours, so do not cry for it. When you are really and truly in -love, you will feel very different to what you do now I assure you."</p> - -<p>Jim more himself, laughed. "Where did you learn all this lore?"</p> - -<p>"Mother Nature taught it to me," laughed Ida. "I needed no teaching. I -knew years ago that Stephen and I were born for one another. Yet we -have always been merely friends; nothing more. He has not even said to -me as much as you have done. We understand, both of us. That is why I -have refused so many good offers. Other people could not understand, -not even Bess, clever as she is, but I knew, so did Stephen. It is for -this reason I refuse you Dr. Jim. Not that you have asked me," she -finished laughing.</p> - -<p>Jim laughed too, for he was now once more at his ease with her. "I -have been making a fool of myself," he said, "and you are a dear good -woman to take me in such a spirit. I suppose it was not really love -after all."</p> - -<p>"My dear Dr. Jim, you do not even know the meaning of the word. But if -I had chosen you would have learned it. Do you know," she added with -another laugh, "you remind me of the cook, who was of that 'appy -disposition that she could marry anyone? You had better be careful Dr. -Jim, for any clever woman who let you believe she loved you could -become Mrs. Herrick!"</p> - -<p>"I do not think so," said Jim grimly.</p> - -<p>"I do, and I am sure of it. Well, I have been a traitress to my sex -and have warned you. I could say something more but I shall leave you -to find it out."</p> - -<p>"Find what out?"</p> - -<p>"Ah that is part of the finding. You are a great big stupid wise man -Dr. Jim, and I love you for your folly. But some day you will be -happy. You do not understand what I mean at present. Don't try to -understand. It will come upon you unexpectedly. And now," she held out -her hand like a queen, "we are friends; we are brother and sister."</p> - -<p>"Brother, and sister Ida," said Jim kissing that white hand. This time -he did not feel the slightest thrill. "You are right," he cried rather -vexed. "I do not know what love is."</p> - -<p>"But you will some day, and soon. I see it coming." Thus spoke Ida, -and refused to explain herself further. But Jim understood her--dimly.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_12" href="#div1Ref_12">CHAPTER XII</a></h4> -<h5>SECOND-SIGHT</h5> -<br> - -<p>Herrick was much happier now that his relations with Ida were properly -adjusted. He recognised how true was her woman's instinct which had -gone at once to the root of the matter. He had never truly loved her, -as a woman demands to be loved. The very fact that he had been blind -to her feeling for Stephen showed that what he had mistaken for true -passion--if it could be so called--was wholly false. He had been -attracted by her beauty, by her kindly spirit, by that sympathy which -every genuine woman can give to a man whom she finds pleasant company; -but of the sacred feeling, which is named love, yet which has no name, -he had not felt one thrill. With feminine cleverness she had taken his -gimcrack passion in the right way, and had shown him in the kindest of -words, how poor a thing it really was. There was no ill feeling in his -heart now that he had lost her. He could regard her as a dear friend, -and even be glad that she should marry Stephen.</p> - -<p>So far Herrick was quite content. Yet there was a vague yearning in -his breast for companionship, and sympathy. Certainly he had both from -Stephen; but Stephen was a man, and could not be to him what a woman -could be. Herrick had lived a life, so active and full of interest -that he had never found time to think of love or of womankind. Now -that there was--so to speak a pause in his life--the vacuum thus -created required to be filled up in some way. For man, was woman -created, and Jim was simply yearning (although in his materialistic -blindness he did not know it) for the other part of himself. Ida had -hinted that what he wanted would come to him; yet so blind was Jim, -that he could not see the advancing vision. He looked to all four -points of the horizon, and saw--nothing. It was a wonder to him in -after years that it had been so with him. But it was but that dense -gloom which heralds the dawn. And the glory of day was at hand.</p> - -<p>In this unsatisfactory mood, wanting something yet not knowing what it -was that he wanted, Jim was anything but a pleasant companion. -Formerly he had been serenely strong, never out of temper, and always -sufficient in himself to himself. Now he was easily irritated, he -smoked more than was good for him, he looked upon his fellow mortals -with jaundiced eyes. In vain he rode, he boxed, he fenced, he swam, he -took long tramps into the country. External Nature could do nothing -for him. The secret of his redemption was within him, yet he did not -know how to learn it. Poor Jim! Those dark days took much of his pride -from him. He learned then how poor a thing is man; how dependent upon -forces which although within himself he is unable through weakness or -through ignorance to control.</p> - -<p>One form of Herrick's unrest took the shape of being almost openly -rude to Robin. The little man was in the habit of haunting Biffstead. -He was by this time desperately in love with Bess, and took no pains -to conceal his feelings. Manuel encouraged it, for the Mexican was his -confidant. Robin would have told Herrick had the doctor shown any -sympathetic disposition to listen. But Jim avoided him on all -occasions. Perhaps Robin guessed the cause, for he let sleeping dogs -lie, and never asked what it was that had come between them. He knew -that it would be wiser for him to leave Saxham, yet so deeply was he -in love that he could not tear himself away from so dangerous a -neighbourhood.</p> - -<p>Jim felt that if he spoke to Robin he might say too much, so he -sounded Manuel on the subject of their leaving. He wished both men to -go, conspiracy or no conspiracy. The mystery of the affair was -beginning to exasperate Jim, and as has been said before he was not in -his usual good-tempered frame of mind.</p> - -<p>One day he encountered Santiago on the common. The Mexican was in good -spirits and expressed his pleasure at the meeting. The doctor nodded -grimly, but did not return the compliment. "When are you two going -away?" he asked. Manuel looked up at the hard tone and saw at once -that Jim had made up his mind to be disagreeable. But the Mexican was -not lacking in courage and had no thought of retreating. "I do not -quite understand what you mean Señor," he said with coldness.</p> - -<p>"I am talking of you and Joyce. When are you going?"</p> - -<p>"When it suits me to leave, Señor. I have every right to stop here if I -so choose, and I do choose. As to Joyce, you had better ask him -yourself."</p> - -<p>Jim saw that he had taken the wrong tone with the man and by a great -effort of will became more friendly. "You need not be angry Santiago," -he said. "I only ask because I see that Joyce is attracted by Miss -Bess Endicotte. That is wrong."</p> - -<p>"Eh!" Santiago shrugged his shoulders, "Why should it be wrong? She is -a most charming lady and your friend Joyce loves her."</p> - -<p>"Ridiculous! He can never marry her," said Herrick angrily.</p> - -<p>"There is no reason why he should not. Of course it is none of my -business, Señor, and I fail to see why you should speak to me about -it."</p> - -<p>"See here, Don Manuel. I speak to you because I know that Robin has -come under the power of your will. You do what you like with him, and -I want you to take him away. He must not ask Miss Bess to marry him, -for the very simple reason that he has no income and no position. Such -a marriage would be a bad one for the girl."</p> - -<p>"Are you in----"</p> - -<p>"Drop that!" cried Herrick so fiercely that the Mexican was cowed. "I -am responsible for Joyce and for you also, seeing that I asked you -both to come here. You must go away."</p> - -<p>"So far as Joyce is concerned I shall use the influence you are -pleased to talk about to get him to leave. As for myself, the Rev. -Pentland Corn has asked me to stop with him for a week or so; I have -accepted."</p> - -<p>"Pentland Corn!" said Herrick surprised. "What can there be in common -between the rector and you?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I know that I am a bad man," replied the Mexican smoothly, "but -perhaps this priest may improve me. I believe he did his best with -Colonel Carr; but with me he may not fail. We are friends--great -friends.</p> - -<p>"I do not understand," muttered Herrick eyeing the man curiously.</p> - -<p>"Is there any need you should?" retorted Don Manuel working himself -into a rage. "Señor, I do not understand that you talk to me so."</p> - -<p>"That's all right," replied Jim coolly. He did not want to quarrel -with the man as yet. "We need not lose our tempers like schoolboys. -You can stay a century with Corn for all I care! But Joyce----"</p> - -<p>"If I have any influence with him he shall go."</p> - -<p>"Very good. I would have spoken to him myself, but your influence over -him is stronger than mine."</p> - -<p>Santiago shrugged his shoulders. "You ascribe to me more power than I -possess," said he, "I do not wish to obtain influence over any one. To -me Joyce is a pleasant friend, nothing more. When I go back to London -probably I shall see little of him. And I return to Mexico in two -months."</p> - -<p>Herrick was pleased to hear this. If there was any conspiracy, and Don -Manuel was mixed up in it, the thing would at all events come to a -head within eight weeks. It was time it did, for Herrick was weary of -fighting with shadows. Once he had something definite before him he -could fight; and a vague threat in the Mexican's tone assured him that -he would not have long to wait.</p> - -<p>As he had no excuse for leaving Don Manuel the doctor was forced to -return to the village with him. On the way they passed Sidney, who was -walking towards the moor. Herrick called to the boy, who merely waved -his hand and passed on. Jim noticed that his face was singularly -colourless, of a hue resembling that which it had assumed when he had -slept on the library sofa prior to his announcement of Mrs. Marsh's -death.</p> - -<p>"How ill that boy looks!" muttered Herrick.</p> - -<p>"Pardon me," interposed Manuel, "he is not ill. But he is in that -frame of mind which will bring him into contact with spiritual -intelligences."</p> - -<p>"How do you know?"</p> - -<p>"By his rapt look and his fixed eye. That boy Dr. Herrick, is -clairvoyant."</p> - -<p>Herrick was angry at once. "You are talking the jargon of the -spiritualists," he said roughly, "all trickery and fraud."</p> - -<p>"Believe me nothing of the sort Señor. I myself have seen the most -extraordinary things."</p> - -<p>Herrick looked at him with a disdainful smile. "I know you are not a -good man Santiago, nor do you wish to be thought one. But I credited -you with more intelligence than to believe in hallucinations."</p> - -<p>Don Manuel not at all offended laughed. "True I am not a good man," he -said, "and more is the pity. I am afraid to go where that lad can -go--into the astral plane. You do not understand? No! you are as I -said before, a materialistic being. But I am not a fool Dr. Herrick, -and I can tell you that I know something of the psychic faculty. In -Mexico I have seen the most wonderful things."</p> - -<p>"Tell me all about it," said Jim humouring the man, "I am a sceptic -you know. All the spiritualism I have ever seen is humbug."</p> - -<p>"This of which I talk is not spiritualism," rejoined Manuel coldly, -"it is the occult science. What is the good of my explaining anything -to you? You would only laugh, you cannot see, you never will see. The -prison of the flesh is too strong for you to break through."</p> - -<p>"I am a healthy man if that is what you mean," retorted Jim, "but -about this boy? He is queer, I admit."</p> - -<p>"Ah you can see that!" said Manuel sarcastically. "I congratulate you. -Eh! he foretold the death of Mrs. Marsh. Is it not so?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! But that was a coincidence."</p> - -<p>"Of course. These things are always coincidences--to you. But to me it -is a proof that the boy can enter the astral plane. He does not know -what it is; he is not instructed but he can go."</p> - -<p>"I don't know what it is myself."</p> - -<p>"It is another world that is all around us," said Manuel waving his -hand, "it interweaves itself into our world but having only limited -senses we cannot see it. That boy has senses finer than ours and he -can see. If you gave him a crystal, a blob of ink, any shining surface -with depth, he would see the most wonderful things. Have you read -Zanoni, Señor?"</p> - -<p>"Bulwer Lytton's romance? Yes."</p> - -<p>"Of course you call it a romance; but there is much truth in it. Well, -it is useless for me to explain, besides I am not a good man, and to -tell you all I _should_ be good. That boy however? You want to make -him like yourself. Well then make him eat plenty of meat, and take -exercise, make him fat, place him amongst boys who will laugh at him, -and he will be like the rest of the world. He will not lose his power -altogether. It will come to him at odd moments. But he will not be the -dreamer you see him, no! and he will not be able to see."</p> - -<p>"I have thought of that myself," said Herrick lazily, "the boy is -half-starved and queer--a poet in temperament. I will take him in -hand, and----"</p> - -<p>"And make him like yourself. Did I not say so?" Manuel paused, then -laughed. "To-night if I am not mistaken he will astonish you," he -said. "I know the look he had on his face. Something is in the air. He -sees it he will tell you about it, and you will laugh."</p> - -<p>"Tell me about what?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know; I am not clairvoyant. Wait and see," and Manuel turning -on his heel went into the Carr Arms which they had approached during -their conversation. Herrick looked after him with a smile of contempt. -"A charlatan!" he muttered, "and I thought he was only a villain. -Humph! I do not think one need be afraid of him--now."</p> - -<p>All the same in spite of his openly expressed scepticism, the -conversation haunted him. He determined to keep Sidney in his company -and see if anything happened. Herrick scoffed at the things Manuel had -been talking about, yet he could not deny that the incident of the -prophecy of Mrs. Marsh's death was very remarkable. Indeed Jim -shuddered as he wondered if this uncanny boy was about to prophesy -something similar. However he put the gruesome thought out of his -mind, and went to Biffstead. Here he met Joyce coming out of the gate. -The little man looked quite joyous, and greeted Herrick gaily.</p> - -<p>"Are you just going in? I was coming to you. Miss Endicotte asked me -to take a message to you."</p> - -<p>"What is it?" said Herrick forcing himself to be civil. It was most -important that he should not quarrel with Robin at present. He hated -himself because he was obliged to wear this mask; but the -circumstances of the case and the interests of Stephen required it.</p> - -<p>"Miss Endicotte wants you and Marsh-Carr to come to dinner. She has -asked me also. I am going back to dress."</p> - -<p>"And to invite Don Manuel I suppose," sneered Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No," replied Joyce simply. He either did not notice the sneer, or -wished it to appear that he had not perceived it. "Manuel dines with -Pentland Corn to-night."</p> - -<p>"I hear he is going to stay with him."</p> - -<p>"Yes, Corn and he have taken to one another."</p> - -<p>"Curious they should, and not creditable to Corn," said Herrick and -went inside, leaving Joyce staring after him.</p> - -<p>The little man frowned, and his face assumed a most unpleasant -expression. "I wonder if he knows anything?" he thought biting his -fingers. "He is quite different to what he used to be. I don't care. I -can hold my own," and with this defiant declaration he marched away -holding his head in the air. Certainly Dr. Jim was not wrong in -suspecting Robin to be other than he seemed.</p> - -<p>"Then you won't come to dinner?" said Ida when Herrick presented -himself. "What a pity! Bess _will_ be disappointed."</p> - -<p>"I think not," replied Herrick dryly. "I understand Joyce is coming. -But that is neither here nor there, I shall tell Stephen that you want -him and so shall be left alone in the house. Will you send over Sidney -to dine with me. I want him particularly."</p> - -<p>"But he is only a boy. He will bore you."</p> - -<p>"On the contrary, I find him a very interesting study. You know I -promised to take him in hand. Well, I want to have a talk with him."</p> - -<p>"I am sure it is very good of you to take so much trouble Dr. Jim," -said Ida gratefully. "Certainly; I will send him when he returns from -the moor. He went out for a walk. And you will tell Stephen to come -over?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, as soon as I get back. He has been writing poetry all the day, -and needs to be taken out of himself. I am very glad you have asked -him."</p> - -<p>Herrick bowed himself out and returned to "The Pines." Of course -Stephen was delighted at the idea of a dinner with Ida, but did not -want to leave his friend alone. "That's all right," said Herrick. -"Sidney is coming to keep me company."</p> - -<p>Stephen shuddered. "Then I am glad I am going away," he said, "that -boy is most uncomfortable--so uncanny."</p> - -<p>"You will certainly find more pleasure in Miss Endicotte's society!" -laughed Herrick. Stephen laughed too and looked sharply at his friend. -But true to his reticent nature he said nothing.</p> - -<p>In due time Marsh-Carr departed and Sidney arrived. The boy had more -colour in his cheeks, and his eyes had lost the fixed expression -noticed by Don Manuel. He and Dr. Jim were on friendly terms and -Sidney was pleased that he had been asked to dine. All the same he -made a bad meal. The dinner was excellent but the boy restricted -himself to the plainest of the dishes and very little of them. He did -not touch meat but seemed to prefer vegetables. Herrick noticed this -abstinence.</p> - -<p>"You will never grow strong if you don't eat beef, Sidney," he said -with a smile, "all English boys should eat beef."</p> - -<p>"I never liked it," replied the boy abruptly. "I do not like any meat; -it is disagreeable to me."</p> - -<p>"And you never touch wine I notice."</p> - -<p>"No. I once drank a glass of beer. Ugh!" Sidney made a wry face and -shuddered at the recollection. "How can people like such things."</p> - -<p>"What do you live on then?" asked Herrick.</p> - -<p>"Fruit, vegetables and plain water. I do not often touch tea."</p> - -<p>"Don't you think that is unhealthy?"</p> - -<p>"No, I feel alright Dr. Jim. I am never ill. Ida is always fussing -over me, but I am much stronger than I look."</p> - -<p>"Appearances are deceptive then," said Herrick dryly, and rose to go -to the library. "I suppose you do not smoke Sidney, you are too young -to indulge in that. Perhaps you do though?"</p> - -<p>"I never smoke, I never will. I suppose I am different from other -boys, but all the things they like to do I dislike."</p> - -<p>Herrick thought that this was the queerest lad he had ever met, but -for the moment he dropped the subject. After a time he began to talk -sport to see if Sidney would take any interest in it. The boy answered -politely but was obviously bored. Not even the account of a tiger hunt -with which Herrick strove to rouse him, had any effect. The doctor -more puzzled than ever, and recollecting what Santiago had said, -changed the tone of the conversation. He spoke of the fakirs in India, -of their self-mortifications, and the visions they asserted they had. -This was strange conversation for a boy of sixteen, but then Sidney -was a freak. He woke up upon this topic, and began to talk brightly. -His face became animated, a look of interest came into his eyes, and -he talked in a way so far above his years that Herrick was astounded.</p> - -<p>"I seem to know India," said Sidney, "often times I see pictures of in -it my mind. The bright blue skies, the brilliant vegetation, the -queerly-dressed people. And the long range of mountains," he continued -as in a dream, "peaks of snow against a cold sky. Those must be the -Himalaya Mountains."</p> - -<p>"You have read about India," said Herrick, "and so it has impressed -itself on your mind."</p> - -<p>"No! I know more about the country than I have read. It is just as if -I had once lived there."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim had a smattering of the theory of reincarnation. He did not -believe in it, but on questioning Sidney he really began to believe -that the boy must have been in India in some former life. Else how did -this country-bred youth know about the gorgeous east. He said things -which he could not possibly have read in books. For two hours Herrick -drew him out on the subject and was fairly astounded at the mind which -laid itself out before his gaze. Later on Sidney began to grow -restless and again his eyes took on that fixed look. Rising he walked -up and down the library. Dr. Jim asked what was the matter.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to see something," said Sidney in a most matter of fact -tone, "the feeling is always the same. I feel as if I were not myself; -as if I did not belong to my body."</p> - -<p>"Do you want to sleep?" asked Herrick anxiously and with a thrill.</p> - -<p>"No, I feel particularly wide awake. I wish Stephen were back!"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim sat up alertly. "Why do you wish that?"</p> - -<p>"There is something bad going to happen to him. I feel that he--he is -in danger. I don't know," Sidney passed his thin hand across his eyes, -"there is a dark cloud, but bad,--bad."</p> - -<p>Herrick felt half inclined to go with Sidney to Biffstead and walk -home with Marsh-Carr. But he was ashamed to give way to what seemed a -foolish impulse. He laughed at the boy, and began to question him on -other subjects. "You are fond of wandering about at night?" he said.</p> - -<p>"I go to the Pine wood very often," replied Sidney still uneasy, "it -is so amusing to watch them."</p> - -<p>"Them? Who?--What are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose you would call them fairies," said the boy, "they are real -people to me. Little men and women, so busy about their work."</p> - -<p>Herrick stared. This sounded like the ravings of a lunatic. "There are -no such things as fairies," he said roughly.</p> - -<p>"I have seen them," replied Sidney obstinately, "but we will not talk -of them Dr. Jim. You would not believe me if I told you what I have -seen."</p> - -<p>"See here Sydney," said Herrick after a pause, "I believe you do see -things in a way. You have a most vivid imagination and a strong poetic -temperament. The way in which you described India shows me that. I -believe you think of these queer things so much that you make yourself -see them--a kind of hallucination. If you ate meat and took to sport, -these unhealthy visions would pass away."</p> - -<p>"I daresay," replied Sidney indifferently. He apparently did not wish -to argue the matter. But he held to his own opinion nevertheless. -There were a few moments of silence, then the boy exclaimed. "It is -coming nearer--the danger to Stephen. Dr. Jim! Let us go to Biffstead. -I am sure there is danger."</p> - -<p>Herrick the materialist however, would not give way on this point. He -thought it would be weak for him to yield to the boy's folly. -"Nonsense," he said roughly. "You are giving way to your imagination. -Nothing can happen to Stephen. If there is danger," he added in a -joking manner, to make Sidney ashamed of himself, "why don't you go to -sleep and see what it is? There is the sofa."</p> - -<p>"No! I feel wide awake, and yet I feel--I feel," Sidney clenched his -hand.</p> - -<p>Herrick reflected for a moment. Santiago had said that the boy was -clairvoyant, and could see visions in any shining surface or in a blob -of ink. There was a large silver ink pot on the table. More as a joke -than in earnest, Herrick pushed this across to Sidney. "Look there and -see what is the matter," he said.</p> - -<p>Sidney looked offended. "If you do not believe me, you need not -laugh," he declared. "I shall go to Biffstead myself. It is eleven -o'clock. Quite time I was home."</p> - -<p>"No! No! Look in the ink first," said Herrick, now much more in -earnest. He really wished to see if the vivid imagination of the boy -would see a picture in the black pool. "Have you ever looked into a -crystal Sidney."</p> - -<p>"No, I can see things without looking into anything."</p> - -<p>"When you are asleep? Vivid dreams?"</p> - -<p>"Perhaps," said the boy quietly, "but in the dark I can--no matter. Do -not let us talk Dr. Jim. You only laugh at me and I want to go home."</p> - -<p>"To warn Stephen?" said Herrick angrily.</p> - -<p>"Yes," retorted Sidney doggedly, "to warn Stephen. He is in danger."</p> - -<p>"Well I'll go with you Sidney. It seems that you must be humoured. -But to oblige me, see if you can discern the Arabian Nights in the -ink-pot. I am sure you will see Stephen seated quietly in your -drawing-room talking to your sisters, with Joyce."</p> - -<p>Very unwillingly Sidney did what he was asked. He knew that Herrick -was laughing at him, and was particularly sensitive to ridicule. With -a look of reproach which made Dr. Jim feel rather ashamed the boy drew -the big silver ink-pot towards him and stared into the black oval. The -chimes of the clock striking eleven had just died away and there was -an absolute silence, broken only by the faint crackle of the fire. All -the lights in the room had been turned off early in the evening at the -request of Sidney himself. The boy disliked the full blaze. Only on -the writing-table was a green-shaded lamp, and close to this:--but in -such a position that the light did not fall into the ink-well, stood -the silver pot. Herrick half vexed with himself for encouraging this -folly, watched the boy quietly from an arm-chair. Sidney bent over the -ink and stared into it hard. After a minute or two Herrick saw a -quiver pass through the boy's frame. "What is it Sidney?"</p> - -<p>"I see the drawing-room at Biffstead," said Sidney quietly, "but -Stephen is not there! Mr. Joyce is talking to Ida and Bess."</p> - -<p>Herrick laughed. "What nonsense! Stephen is certainly there. If he is -not, had you not better look for him?"</p> - -<p>"I see him now," continued Sidney taking no notice of the ridicule. -"He is walking in the churchyard."</p> - -<p>"Rubbish!" declared the sceptic in the arm-chair, "what should take -Stephen to the churchyard at this time of the night? It is not on his -way home."</p> - -<p>"He _is_ in the churchyard," insisted Sidney, "there he walks amongst -the tombstones. He is going to the new vault. For a time he looks at -it."</p> - -<p>"How can you see that when the night is dark?" cried Herrick rising, -"there is no moon. Come away Sidney, this is bad for you."</p> - -<p>"Wait! Wait!" said the boy hastily, "the danger, the danger. Stephen -has left the new vault; he has gone to the old one. He is being -followed, by a man in a dark cloak. The man has a big stick. He -comes behind Stephen he--he--stop! stop!" the boy almost screamed. -"No!--don't hit him! Do not hit him. Stephen! Help."</p> - -<p>"Sidney," cried Herrick, catching the boy by the arm and now -thoroughly frightened "don't go on in this silly fashion."</p> - -<p>"I tell you the man has struck Stephen," said Sidney passionately, "he -is lying by the old vault unconscious from a blow on the head. The man -has gone. I don't know where. Let me go, Mr. Herrick. Stephen is--"</p> - -<p>Sidney wrenched himself away from Herrick and went staggering towards -the door with his hands held out. Dr. Jim followed him to stop him -from leaving the house in this state. But the boy gained the hall -before he did. Once there and he seemed to gather strength. He caught -up his cap and pulling open the massive door passed outside. Herrick -taken by surprise did not wait to put on his own cap. He went after -the lad bare-headed thinking he had been seized with a fit of madness. -In spite of the darkness of the night he followed on Sidney's heels so -closely that he was enabled to keep him in sight. Jim wondered where -he was going, being still sceptical of harm to Stephen.</p> - -<p>Sidney passed swiftly beyond the belt of pines and down the lane which -led to Biffstead. "He is going home," thought Herrick with relief.</p> - -<p>But the lad did not go home. He turned off sharp to the left, and -entered the churchyard through a side lane. Herrick, now awestruck at -his strange experience which he did not understand, ran after him -stumbling over the graves. Sidney never fell. He passed swiftly to the -old vault of the Carrs. Beside it was a dark body on the ground.</p> - -<p>"Stephen! Stephen!" cried the lad, and then sank exhausted beside the -body.</p> - -<p>Herrick came up thunderstruck at that cry, struck a match and held it -close to the ground beside the face of the unconscious man. He started -back with an irrepressible cry and let the match fall. It was Stephen -Marsh-Carr who was lying there, and he was bleeding from a wound on -the back of the head. And beside him, also unconscious, lay the lad -who had foreseen the accident.</p> - -<p>"Or crime," said Herrick aloud in a shaky voice, "this is the work of -Frisco."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_13" href="#div1Ref_13">CHAPTER XIII</a></h4> -<h5>THE WOOING OF ROBIN JOYCE</h5> -<br> - -<p>Bewildered as Herrick was by the strangeness of this discovery, he had -nerve enough to pull himself together and go for assistance. In spite -of the lateness of the hour, the Carr Arms was full of labourers -drinking and smoking. A number of these came at once to the churchyard -when they heard of the accident--for so Herrick put it---and Stephen -was carried to his house. Herrick had ascertained before seeking -assistance that his friend still lived. Meanwhile Sidney had revived, -but was in a drowsy state. "I want to go home," he said. Herrick after -whispering him to say nothing of the vision seen in the ink-pot, sent -him to Biffstead in charge of the landlord Napper. Then he accompanied -the body of his friend to "The Pines." Herrick could not help thinking -of it as the body though he knew Stephen still lived. But it was quite -probable that he would be an actual corpse before the dawn.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Marsh-Carr has met with an accident," was the explanation of the -doctor to his helpers, and they went away. But they knew very well -that it was no accident, and moreover the presence of Sidney besides -the body hinted that another wonderful event had taken place.</p> - -<p>"Master Sidney said that his mother was dead," remarked the wiseacres, -"and he has found the dead body of Mr. Marsh himself now!"</p> - -<p>"He is not dead," said others.</p> - -<p>"Ah! But he will die. Master Sidney, never makes a mistake." And by -the next morning a legend had been circulated that the uncanny boy, -had foretold the death of the new Squire. When those who called at -'The Pines' heard that Marsh-Carr had lived through the night, they -were quite disappointed. It seemed a reflection on Master Sidney. Yet -the boy had held his tongue and no one knew really what had happened. -In default of the truth then, they took refuge in a fable. There was -absolutely no authority for what was said, but Sidney had been found -unconscious beside the unconscious Squire. That was enough material -out of which to form a wonderful story, and it lost nothing in the -telling.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, Herrick fulfilled his duties of medical attendant to his -friend, smiling grimly the while, that the need should come so -comparatively early in their acquaintance. He had known Marsh-Carr but -a little over five months. The meeting had taken place in July and it -was now near Christmas. The doctor examined the wound on the back of -the head. It was a nasty jagged cut, evidently made by some blunt -instrument. "A big stick as the boy said, no doubt," mused Herrick as -he plastered and bathed and bound it up. "Stephen is stunned for the -time being, but I do not think that the brain is injured. His head is -pretty hard. Frisco had good intentions, but not sufficient judgment -to strike hard." For of course it was Frisco who had done this. Dr. -Jim remembered what Mrs. Marsh had said and regretted that she had -passed away without informing him more fully of what she knew about -Frisco. That the ex-sailor should dare to come down to the scene of -his first crime in order to commit a second (for at the moment Herrick -credited Frisco rather than Joyce with the Carr murder) was wonderful -enough, but his reason must be more wonderful still. It was impossible -that he should be able to get the fortune even if he put Stephen out -of the way, for he was a proven murderer, and if he showed himself -would be at once arrested. Certainly he might explain all suspicions -away, but that was doubtful in the face of such strong evidence. Yet, -apparently he had made up his mind to remove Stephen, and get the -money.</p> - -<p>"But he won't if I can help it," muttered Herrick, "the beast. I'll -carry Stephen to the vault myself so that the terms of the monthly -visit may be fulfilled. Not that I don't think he will be on his feet -sooner than Frisco expects. The job had been badly done."</p> - -<p>He sent in a message to Beorminster by a groom, telling Bridge of the -new outrage and advising a search to be made for Frisco. Then the -patient having been attended to and the would-be assassin recommended -to the attention of the police, Dr. Jim could do nothing more. He sat -before the library fire and smoked, thinking deeply the while.</p> - -<p>"I wonder if Joyce attempted this murder," he thought. "There is -something queer about this stopping here. But that boy said Joyce was -at Biffstead talking to his sisters, if I believe one part of that -vision--and I am bound to do that--I must believe the other. Not Joyce -then, but there is Don Manuel, he is connected with Robin in some -underhand way. Besides, he professed to hate Carr, to regret the loss -of the treasure. It might be he, if he has been with Corn all the -night well and good--if not, he will have to account to me for his -time. I do not believe in the little reptile."</p> - -<p>His meditations were ended by a sleepy servant who announced Ida, Bess -and Frank. With them came Joyce wide-eyed with wonder; but so far as -Dr. Jim could see there was no sign of terror or of guilt on his face, -and Robin was not the man to conceal his feelings.</p> - -<p>"Napper brought home Sidney and told us of this dreadful thing," said -Bess who seemed the most collected of the party. "Is he--is he--"</p> - -<p>"No, he is not dead nor do I think he will die. The blow was badly -aimed."</p> - -<p>"Who could have done it?" asked Frank frowning.</p> - -<p>"I have my own opinion, but I prefer not to express it at present," -said the doctor somewhat curtly.</p> - -<p>"I want you to take me to him doctor," said Ida looking at him with -imploring eyes. "Let me watch beside him."</p> - -<p>"You can do no good Miss Endicotte," replied Herrick, "better let me -look after him. To-morrow you can come over and watch if you like. I -think he will recover consciousness before the dawn."</p> - -<p>"Thank God for that!" cried Ida devoutly and then she wept. The strain -on her had been very great and she was glad of the relief of tears.</p> - -<p>"Have you looked for the man who did this?" asked Joyce.</p> - -<p>"I have sent a message to the police at Beorminster," said Herrick -without looking at him. "You can do no good Joyce; better go back to -the inn. By the way your friend Santiago?"</p> - -<p>"He has been with Corn all the night," said Frank, "we met them coming -here. They had just heard the news, but Bess persuaded them to stay -away thinking they would only bother you."</p> - -<p>"I think it is best to keep the house as quiet as possible. Has Sidney -said anything?" he asked looking at the sisters.</p> - -<p>Ida clasped her hands in terror. "Did Sidney say this would happen?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. He looked into yonder ink-pot and foretold the assault. I cannot -understand the thing myself, but we can talk of it to-morrow. In the -meantime, all of you hold your tongues about Sidney."</p> - -<p>This they all promised to do and now being more at rest in their minds -about Stephen, they went away. Herrick drew Bess aside at the door. -"Come over with Ida to-morrow morning," he muttered, "I want to speak -to you."</p> - -<p>She nodded and ran after the rest who were disappearing into the -darkness. Herrick with a frown returned to the library. "It was not -Joyce," he muttered, "it was not Manuel. After all it _must_ be -Frisco. Well, if the police are clever they will catch him before he -can leave the district. Ha! I'll send a message to Southberry, it was -that way he escaped last time."</p> - -<p>Herrick hastily wrote out an explanation. He did not need to add a -description of Frisco as the hand-bills had sufficiently described -him. This he sent off with another groom, then went to pass the night -beside the bed of his patient. All that night Stephen lay as still as -a corpse.</p> - -<p>It was towards morning when he moved and showed signs of returning -consciousness. Herrick was assiduous in his attendance, and success -crowned his efforts. Gradually Stephen came to himself, with a dull -pain in his head, weak, but quite himself. "Where--where am I?" were -his first stammering words.</p> - -<p>"In your own house," said Herrick quickly, "don't talk my dear chap; -you have had an accident."</p> - -<p>"I remember," muttered Stephen, "at the vault, a blow,--yes, and--"</p> - -<p>"Be quiet," said Herrick sternly, "you must not talk I tell you!" And -after another attempt Stephen obeyed. Shortly he fell asleep. Herrick -drew a long breath. The worst was over. For once the villany of Frisco -had failed in its object.</p> - -<p>Several people called that morning, amongst others Mr. Corn. The -clergyman did not look well, and hurriedly asked after the sufferer. -"I hope he is better," he said, "a terrible affair Dr. Herrick!"</p> - -<p>"A cowardly crime!" said Herrick sharply. "However we can talk of that -when Marsh gets better. Meantime Mr. Corn, will you tell me if Don -Manuel was at your house last night?"</p> - -<p>"Dear me, yes," replied Corn surprised. "He came to dinner, and stayed -with me up till midnight. I was walking with him to the Carr Arms, -when we met the Miss Endicottes who told us of this terrible business. -Why do you ask me the question Dr. Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"I have no special reason," replied Herrick mendaciously, "save that -being in a sense responsible for the visit of Santiago to this place, -I wish to warn you that I know nothing about him."</p> - -<p>"Have you anything to say against his character?" asked the rector -sharply.</p> - -<p>"No! I know nothing about him. All I can say is that I do not like the -man, and I think he is a bad lot. If you like to tell him this Mr. -Corn you are at liberty to do so."</p> - -<p>"I am not the man to make mischief," said Corn hotly, "so far as I can -see Don Manuel appears to me to be perfectly respectable. If he is -not, I can look after myself Dr. Herrick."</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon," said Herrick ceremoniously, "I did not wish to -infer that you could not. All I have to say is that Mr. Marsh is -better, and that in a week he will be about."</p> - -<p>Pentland Corn murmured something about being pleased, and took his -departure. Herrick did not quite know what to make of the rector. He -was a good preacher, a kind-hearted man, and in his own way, clever. -But he seemed to be weak, and usually had a haggard look on his face -for which there was no apparent reason. Sometimes he went away to the -sea-side for his health and invariably returned looking worse than -ever. Altogether the man was a mystery, and Herrick could not make out -what was at the back of his timidity, and his restless behaviour. "I -seem to be surrounded with mysteries," said Herrick to himself. "I -wonder if I shall ever get to the bottom of any one of them. If I do, -the rest will easily be unravelled. I suspect the whole lot are of a -piece."</p> - -<p>Ida came that morning, and Bess. This latter young lady waited in the -library while Herrick took up Ida to the room of Stephen. She had -insisted upon going up to watch beside him. "It is my right you know," -she said to Dr. Jim, and he silently admitted that it was.</p> - -<p>Stephen had just opened his eyes when they entered. He tried to speak, -but Ida placed her hand on his mouth and Herrick frowned. Marsh -obediently held his tongue, and Ida sat by his bedside. However the -patient managed to kiss Ida's hand. Then Herrick went down to see -Bess, warning Ida that Stephen was not to speak. Marsh did make -another attempt but Miss Endicotte would not allow it. "The doctor -says you are to be quiet. If you say a word I shall go away."</p> - -<p>"The ring?" murmured Stephen, looking at her.</p> - -<p>She knew what he meant. Drawing the emerald ring he had brought her -from town off the finger it was on, she put it on the engagement -finger.</p> - -<p>"Will that please your lordship?" said Ida gaily, but the tears were -in her eyes. Stephen looked again. Thus was the situation adjusted -between them without words. They were engaged to be married. Stephen -fell asleep again holding the hand of his promised wife. Both were -happy.</p> - -<p>Meantime Bess and Herrick were in consultation. Herrick told the girl -what Mrs. Marsh had said about Frisco, and how Stephen had been struck -down from behind. "So it looks to me," he said, "as though this man -were trying to get the money."</p> - -<p>"It does," admitted Bess reflectively, "but why should Frisco do all -these dreadful things to get the fortune? If he had Colonel Carr in -his power he need not have killed him; nor need he now try and get -Stephen out of the way. I don't understand it. However, as you have -told the police both at Beorminster and Southberry, I am sure the man -will be caught. I hope so I'm sure."</p> - -<p>"Ah! Then you champion Frisco no longer?"</p> - -<p>"No, if it were really he who attempted to murder Stephen I hope he -will be caught and punished. All the same I do not think he killed -Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"What can be your reason for saying so?"</p> - -<p>Bess hesitated. "Some time ago I promised to tell you something about -the Colonel," she said. "I will do so in a week from to-day."</p> - -<p>"Why not now?"</p> - -<p>She shook her head. "Please do not ask me, but as far as this assault -on Stephen goes, I am quite with you about Frisco. I hope he will be -caught and punished."</p> - -<p>"You are a strange girl," said Dr. Jim, "and a mystery like the rest."</p> - -<p>"Who are the rest?" asked Bess smiling.</p> - -<p>"Well," replied Jim after a pause, "Mrs. Marsh was one, you are -another and Pentland Corn is a third--"</p> - -<p>"Pentland Corn!" she echoed turning pale, "you don't suspect him of--"</p> - -<p>"I don't suspect him of anything, but I do not understand why he is so -intimate with that Mexican."</p> - -<p>Bess opened her mouth to make a remark, then she changed her mind. "I -can say nothing now," she said abruptly, "later on. Ida is with -Stephen. Oh, well, I need not wait. I must go into Beorminster. They -will be asking for news of this for the paper. I might hear something -about Frisco there. If I do I shall let you know. Good-bye!" and -before Herrick could stop her she was off like a swallow.</p> - -<p>Evidently Bess knew something about Corn which she did want to admit -at present. Herrick wondered what it could be. Surely she did not -think the clergyman had liked Carr so much that he was working for the -discovery of his murderer. "But she is doing some detective business -on her own account," thought Jim rather vexed. "She will get into -trouble if she does not take care. I wish she would let me know what -she is up to. I'll wait a week, no longer. After that, she must speak -out."</p> - -<p>But before the week was ended, accident brought about a confession -from Bess which Dr. Jim was far from expecting. It arose out of the -wooing of Robin Joyce. Whether Manuel had used his influence or not to -induce Joyce to leave Saxham, it is impossible to say. If he had, one -would have thought that Robin would have resented the interference of -his former friend Herrick. But several times during the week he met -Dr. Jim, yet made no sign that Santiago had told him of the doctor's -wish. He continued to haunt Biffstead and Dr. Jim hardly ever went -there without meeting Robin coming or going. This did not make Jim any -the more amiable.</p> - -<p>The accident to Stephen caused great excitement in the country. Bridge -came over to see the squire and to interview Dr. Jim. But nothing came -of his talk or--so-called vigilance. The police both at Southberry and -Beorminster failed to find any trace of Frisco, although the railway -stations were watched carefully. Thanks to Herrick's prompt action, it -was impossible that the man could have left the district without the -knowledge of the police, yet he was not even seen. Bridge went to -Heathcroft, but failed to learn that anyone resembling the ex-sailor -had boarded a train at that station. To all appearances Frisco had not -been in the neighbourhood. Yet if Frisco was not the culprit, who was?</p> - -<p>Herrick knew that Joyce had been at Biffstead on the evening of the -assault. According to the evidence of Corn, Don Manuel had been at the -rectory till midnight. As the assault on Stephen took place shortly -after eleven both these men must be held guiltless. Stephen himself -could give no help. He had left the Biffs at a quarter to eleven, with -the intention of coming straight back to "The Pines." Then as the -night was fine, he thought he would go and have a look at the vault. -He went into the churchyard and after seeing the new vault went on to -the old one. While looking at it, he received a blow at the back of -his head and remembered no more until he found himself in bed with -Herrick bending over him. He had heard no footsteps behind him. The -blow had been struck in the most unexpected manner, and he had been -taken completely by surprise.</p> - -<p>All this puzzled Herrick greatly. However, he determined to wait for -another week to hear what Bess had to say. She might tell him -something tangible, likely to lead to an explanation of these -mysteries. But even if she did not Dr. Jim made up his mind to move in -the matter. He would first have a talk with Robin and learn if he had -anything to do with the death. He would have to explain away the -evidence of the old-fashioned pistol being in his possession. It might -not have been the weapon used; on the other hand, Herrick felt -convinced in his own mind that it was. To unravel the puzzle -therefore, Robin was the man he intended to begin with. He was -assisted to make a start by the folly of Joyce himself, and this -incidentally brought about the confession of Bess.</p> - -<p>One afternoon towards the end of the week Herrick went to Biffstead. -Ida was at "The Pines" with Stephen, and Bess was alone. Hearing this, -Herrick volunteered to fetch her, and started off. As he approached -the house he heard the voice of the girl raised in anger. She appeared -at the French window of the drawing-room which looked out on the front -of the house, and seemed in a state of alarm. The moment she saw him -she passed rapidly through the window and caught him by the arm. At -the same moment Robin, greatly excited, appeared at the window.</p> - -<p>"Come back! Come back, Miss Bess. I did not mean it," he said.</p> - -<p>"What is the matter?" asked Dr. Jim astonished.</p> - -<p>"Come inside," panted Bess, "that man! I want you to thrash him. Oh, -the coward!"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim took Bess by the arm and drew her into the room. Robin winced -and shrank aside as the doctor entered. Bess had evidently been typing -at her worktable, for it was drawn near the window, and some -manuscript lay open on the table. Before this stood a chair, and near -it was another chair in which to all appearances Robin Joyce had been -seated.</p> - -<p>"Now then!" said Herrick, when he had placed the girl in her chair, -"what does this mean?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing," said Robin very pale but trying to speak calmly. "Only that -I asked Miss Endicotte to be my wife, and she refused."</p> - -<p>"Quite right," flashed out Herrick angrily. "What right have you to -ask her to be your wife?"</p> - -<p>Before Robin could answer (not that he showed any inclination to do -so) Bess started to her feet. "Yes!" she said indignantly. "He did ask -me to be his wife and because I refused to marry him, he threatened -me."</p> - -<p>"Threatened you," Herrick turned on Joyce with a dangerous look.</p> - -<p>"No! No!" implored Robin very white, "forget what I said. I did not -mean any harm. I shall go away."</p> - -<p>Herrick seized him by the wrist. "You will do nothing of the sort," he -said quietly. "You must wait until I have heard all about this."</p> - -<p>"Robin winced again and looked cowed. His lips were dry, his face was -pale, and he cast an imploring look upon Bess. The girl returned that -look with one of defiance and addressed herself to Herrick.</p> - -<p>"Do you know what that little coward has accused me of?" she cried -fiercely. "He said that I murdered Colonel Carr!"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim laughed. The accusation was so absurd that he could not help -laughing. "Of course the man is mad," he said briefly.</p> - -<p>"I did _not_ say that you had murdered Colonel Carr," cried Robin. "I -only said that you were near the house at the time of the murder."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" cried Herrick turning on the little wretch, "and how do you know -that Mr. Joyce? Come. Out with it."</p> - -<p>"He said he saw me," put in Bess.</p> - -<p>"I did see you," said Robin making a clean breast of it. "You were -near the house and for all I know----"</p> - -<p>"So you _did_ come to Saxham on that night," interrupted Herrick. "Oh, -you liar! You went to see Frith and Frith; you slept at the Hull -Hotel, did you? And all the time you were down here! I believe you -killed Colonel Carr yourself."</p> - -<p>"I swear I did not," shrieked Robin, "she did if anyone."</p> - -<p>"Don't you dare to say that again," cried Bess, "you are telling a -lie."</p> - -<p>"Were you not on the lawn in front of the house?" asked Robin.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I was, and I can account for my presence to Dr. Herrick--not to -you--little toad that you are," cried the angry girl. "Send him away," -she added turning to Jim, "and I'll tell you all."</p> - -<p>"Go back to the Carr Arms," said Herrick to Joyce sternly, "and wait -for me there. If you try to run away, I shall have you arrested."</p> - -<p>"You cannot arrest me," blustered Robin looking desperately afraid.</p> - -<p>"I can. I have evidence you know nothing about. Go!"</p> - -<p>Robin seemed inclined to dispute the order, but when Herrick made a -step in his direction he caught up his hat and fled through the -window. "He will run away," said Bess.</p> - -<p>"Let him try," remarked Herrick grimly, "I can have him arrested at -once and I will. Insult you, did he--the hound!"</p> - -<p>"It was my own fault for being so kind to him," cried Bess excitedly, -"as if I cared for him. It was only because he was a writer that I let -him come and see me so often. But I shall not have anything more to do -with him. He sent me a manuscript. I shall send it back. Where is it? -and she began to pull out the drawers in the writing-table.</p> - -<p>"Don't get excited Bess," said Jim using her Christian name in his -hurry. "I will put it alright."</p> - -<p>But Bess in a rage kept turning over the papers and scattering them on -the floor in her search for the manuscript. Suddenly she tossed aside -a pile of writing-paper in the left-hand drawer. Underneath was an old -fashioned pistol. She looked at it in astonishment. "Where did that -come from?" she asked in dismay, taking it up.</p> - -<p>Herrick took it from her. He recognised it at once. It was the very -pistol that Manuel had shown him in Joyce's flat.</p> - -<p>"What does it mean?" asked Bess quite amazed at the discovery.</p> - -<p>"It means that Joyce is even more of a hound than I thought he was."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_14" href="#div1Ref_14">CHAPTER XIV</a></h4> -<h5>THE CONFESSION OF BESS</h5> -<br> - -<p>Bess Endicotte stared at Herrick where he stood with a black look on -his face, and the clumsy weapon in his hand. "And I'll see Bridge -about it," he was saying, "the bullet's still at the police office. If -it fits this----" he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.</p> - -<p>"What?" cried Bess finding her tongue, and asking the question with a -shiver. "Is that the pistol with which----" here her voice died away -in her throat. "It can't be," she whispered.</p> - -<p>Herrick looked at her in his turn, and slipped the pistol into his -pocket. "I know what you are thinking about," he said quietly, "but -the pistol will do you no harm. I have seen it before. You are all -right Bess."</p> - -<p>"All right!" she echoed and drawing her brows together. "What do you -mean?"</p> - -<p>"Why, what should I mean, but that Joyce slipped this devilish piece -of evidence into the table drawer, just to accuse you of----"</p> - -<p>She bounded to her feet, grasping the idea for the first time. "He did -that, did he?" she cried her head flung back, her eyes angry. "Oh!" -she stamped, "what should be done to such a man! And you can sit -quietly there Dr. Jim."</p> - -<p>"Because I want to hear your story. After this, you must tell me all -you know; all you have heard. As for Joyce," his mouth twisted, "leave -him to me. He will not get off easily I promise you."</p> - -<p>"To put the pistol there, that I----" she broke off again, and looked -at him in a scared manner. "Did _he_ kill Carr?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"That I can't say--yet. To kill the man he must have had some strong -motive. I have yet to learn the motive strong or weak that would make -Joyce risk his neck. He is careful of his neck too," explained Dr. -Jim. "I have a mind to break it."</p> - -<p>"And why?" asked Bess round-eyed. She had never seen the good-tempered -doctor in such a rage.</p> - -<p>"I wonder you can't guess," remarked Herrick cooling down. With a gasp -Bess drew back. Their eyes met. A sudden crimson flushed her face, and -she turned it away. "Yes," said Herrick taking her hand, "and I only -knew it myself a moment ago."</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about?" cried the girl snatching her hand away.</p> - -<p>"I am talking of you and myself. Ida said that it would come all of a -sudden, and she was right, here it is, and I have been looking in the -wrong place for it these many months."</p> - -<p>Bess knew perfectly well what he meant, but she made a show of not -understanding. "I think we are talking nonsense," she said. "There is -much to be done, if what you say about the pistol is true."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Herrick again, "as you say there is much to be done. The -other thing can stand over for a time. You know well enough; but it -suits you to hold me at arm's length. Woman's way I suppose. Well," he -brisked up and his voice took a sharper tone, "let us get to business. -This rascal tried to inculpate you in the crime. He shall have the -finest thrashing he ever had. The pistol I can explain away. I have -seen it in his house, and I can guess that he slipped it into that -drawer so as to make his case against you the stronger. He thought if -he accused you and could back his accusation with evidence that you -would never dare to refuse him--the mean hound!"</p> - -<p>"Indeed it would never have come to that," said the girl proudly. "I -am not the woman to be won by threats. He did accuse me of the murder, -and I defied him to do his worst. I suppose if you had not come, he -would have shown me the pistol next. The mean scoundrel!" she clenched -her fist, "beat him well Dr. Jim."</p> - -<p>"What a blood-thirsty person it is," laughed Jim, "but upon my word -you know, this is the strangest of wooings."</p> - -<p>"Never mind that," said Bess drawing back, "we can talk later of such -things. But my position is anything but a pleasant one. That little -man will make trouble."</p> - -<p>"If he does not, his Mexican friend will. They are a proper pair of -scamps. However I am equal to both of them. Leave Joyce to me. I know -all about him; but about yourself, nothing. Joyce--I take it--accuses -you of being near 'The Pines' on the night of the murder."</p> - -<p>"And at the hour," said Bess quickly. "This is what I have been trying -to make up my mind to tell you all the week. The necessity of doing so -has come earlier than I expected, but I shall explain myself now." She -came to a stop and looked at him questioningly. "Of course you know I -had nothing to do with the crime itself?"</p> - -<p>"I am sure of that," said Herrick heartily. "But I think you know who -did it. Come now, confess!"</p> - -<p>"You are mistaken," cried Bess. "All I know is that Frisco is -innocent."</p> - -<p>"Have you proof of this?"</p> - -<p>"The proof of my own eyes; I saw him at the door of the house when the -shots were being fired."</p> - -<p>"You heard the shots?"</p> - -<p>"Three of them. The fourth I did not hear."</p> - -<p>"Humph! About what hour was this?"</p> - -<p>"Between nine and ten."</p> - -<p>"And what were you doing out at that hour?"</p> - -<p>Bess paused. "I had better tell you all from the beginning," she said -slowly, "then you can judge for yourself. I have told no one as yet. -It was too terrible, and--" she hesitated, "I had other reasons for -silence. Yet if Frisco had been tried for his life, I should have come -forward in spite of all. He is perfectly innocent. I can prove it."</p> - -<p>"Strange," muttered Herrick taking a seat. "Well, let us hear."</p> - -<p>"What about that horrid Joyce?"</p> - -<p>"I'll attend to him later. He will stay at the inn until I come. That -is, if he is really innocent. Of course if he tries to bolt, I shall -know he is guilty, and have him arrested. Oh, Joyce knows me, and will -act accordingly. Never mind him. Go on with your story."</p> - -<p>"It is not much of a story," said Bess. "You know the habit that -Sidney has of going to the Pine Wood?"</p> - -<p>"To see the fairies? Yes, he told me all about that."</p> - -<p>"Well, on the night of the murder, he went away as usual. It came on -to rain and Ida was in a great state. She thought he would catch his -death of cold--he is so delicate you know. I said I would go and look -for him, and about nine o'clock I set out. I knew he would be in the -Pine woods. It was raining and I wrapped a long cloak about me. He was -not in the wood, although I searched everywhere with a lantern. Then I -came out of the wood by mistake right on to the Colonel's lawn. The -light was burning in the tower, and the whole of the house was -illuminated."</p> - -<p>"Just as I saw it," muttered Herrick. "Yes?"</p> - -<p>"I crossed the lawn to come home, when I heard three shots fired one -after the other in the tower. I heard them plainly. I turned with a -start; but the Colonel had done so many queer things that I thought he -was only shooting to amuse himself."</p> - -<p>"It never struck you that it was murder?"</p> - -<p>"No! If the Colonel had not been so eccentric I might have suspected, -but nothing ever surprised me in that house. I waited for a moment. -There were no more shots. I looked towards the house and there I saw -Frisco standing in the doorway. I saw him quite plainly."</p> - -<p>"That was some time after hearing the shots?"</p> - -<p>"Indeed no. It was immediately after the first shot. When the other -two were fired I saw him there. I thought that he might see me, and as -I did not want Colonel Carr to think I had been spying round his house -at so late an hour, I ran home as fast as I could. Sidney had arrived -before me. I said nothing about the shots, and went to bed. When I -heard how you had discovered the body, I knew that I had heard the -shots fired by the murderer. But I knew also that when Frisco was -missing he was not guilty. So that was why I defended him. I could not -speak plainer could I?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I see no reason why you should not have told the story you tell -me now."</p> - -<p>"If Frisco had been arrested I should have. But you know," here Bess -looked down, "can you not understand Dr. Jim? The people round about -here are sad scandalmongers. Because I called on Colonel Carr to get -an article as I told you, people said that I was fast."</p> - -<p>"The brutes!" cried Herrick firing up. "Well then, you can understand -that if it had become known that I was near Colonel Carr's house so -late at night, there would have been more talk. I really don't know -what they would have said. So I said nothing not even to Ida. Of -course I could have told them that I went out to get Sidney--but--" -Bess shrugged her shoulders, "you know how spiteful people are. No! -After consideration I thought it best to hold my tongue."</p> - -<p>"But you might have told me," said Herrick.</p> - -<p>"I was afraid to," faltered Bess.</p> - -<p>"You foolish child, as though I should not have understood!"</p> - -<p>"Well," she said with a sigh of relief, "I am glad I have told you -now."</p> - -<p>"So am I, as it has brought Joyce to the rope's end. How did he say he -saw you on that night?"</p> - -<p>"He was in the Pine Wood; on the verge of the lawn."</p> - -<p>"And for what reason?"</p> - -<p>"He did not tell me; nor did I ask him. You see," said Bess, "I was so -angry that he should accuse me of shooting the Colonel, that I gave -him no time to explain. Then you came, and--you know the rest."</p> - -<p>"Humph! Well, Joyce shall explain to me his reasons for coming to -Saxham. Of course I knew that he was here on that night."</p> - -<p>"You knew?" said Miss Endicotte much astonished. "_How_ could you -know."</p> - -<p>"The information came to me by accident more or less," replied Herrick -and forthwith he explained, how Stephen's remark as to Robin's income -had led him to examine into the doings of the little man on that -night. "And," continued the doctor, "I went to Heathcroft station. -There I learned that a little man muffled up in a great coat (he had -the excuse of the rain, but it really was a disguise) had arrived at -Heathcroft by the seven o'clock train from London."</p> - -<p>"But Heathcroft is six miles from this place."</p> - -<p>"So Joyce knew. Therefore he was thoughtful enough to bring his -bicycle with him. Oh, he came here right enough--to see the Colonel I -suppose."</p> - -<p>"To murder him?"</p> - -<p>"I really can't be sure of that Bess. You see Carr, for some reason we -do not know, allowed Mrs. Joyce an income of five hundred a year. -Robin wanted this to be continued to him. The solicitors told him that -Carr refused it. Therefore I can only think that he came down to try -and persuade Carr to be more generous. But," added Herrick with -emphasis, "I hardly think that for such a reason Joyce would commit a -murder. He hasn't the pluck."</p> - -<p>"That may be," replied Bess thoughtfully, "but it seems to me that if -he did not, he took a great deal of unnecessary trouble to conceal his -movements from you. Besides which, he led you directly to the house, -where he knew--at all events I think so--that the body would be -found."</p> - -<p>"It is certainly strange, and looks as though his movements had been -premeditated. It was Joyce who selected the country for the walking -tour. Yet so far as I know he was never in these parts before. And I -am bound to say that it was I who led the way to 'The Pines' on that -night."</p> - -<p>"I daresay. He was too clever to take the initiative. But he no doubt -made suggestions."</p> - -<p>"Yes, he did that. Well, I must get the truth out of the man himself. -He must account to me for the possession of that pistol, and for his -being in the Pine wood on the night of the murder. I wonder he gave -himself away like he did."</p> - -<p>Bess curled her lip. "He did not intend it," she said, "he thought -that if he frightened me I would consent to marry him to save my own -skin and then hold my tongue about his presence at Saxham. Oh! all his -calculations were carefully made, you may be sure Dr. Jim. It was only -because he mistook my character that they were upset."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded. "There is Don Manuel of course," he said.</p> - -<p>"The Mexican! What about him?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I wonder if he has anything to do with this. It is strange that -he should be so friendly with Joyce, or with Corn too for the matter -of that. Joyce said that a mutual friend of his and mine introduced -him to Santiago. I took the trouble to write to that friend--a man -called Johnstone, and I learned that Johnstone had never seen or heard -of Don Manuel, nor had the Mexican ever been to the Apollo Club where, -according to Robin the introduction took place. Where they met, and -why they met, I have yet to find out. Luckily I have now enough -evidence to force my dear friend Joyce to be candid. And I shall not -spare him," said Herrick with a grim smile. "He is a liar and a -scoundrel. I never was so mistaken in a man before. I prided myself -upon reading character. It seems that I am not so clever as I -thought."</p> - -<p>"No doubt there is something between them, since they are so -intimate," was the reply of Miss Endicotte, "but whether it has to do -with the murder I do not know. Did Señor Santiago know Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"In South America, and hated him like poison. It seems they both went -on a treasure-hunting expedition in Peru."</p> - -<p>"Treasure-hunting! Peru. Ah I remember, that was the expedition Frisco -used to talk about."</p> - -<p>"Was Frisco with the Colonel there?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. He let drop hints that he and the Colonel had found treasure in -Peru, and that they had lost themselves. Of course I do not know the -whole story. But from what Frisco said I know it was in that way -Colonel Carr obtained his wealth."</p> - -<p>"What a liar that Manuel is!" said Herrick. "He denied that he had -ever seen Frisco, According to Manuel only he and Carr were on the -expedition. Santiago fell ill, and Carr left him amongst the Indians. -He was held in captivity for two years, and when he got back to -civilisation Carr had vanished with the treasure. He--I am speaking of -the Mexican--arrived in England six months ago--in search of Colonel -Carr no doubt."</p> - -<p>"I wonder if he killed him?"</p> - -<p>"He might have, and yet I do not know. Revenge is a poor thing when no -substantial benefit is to be derived. Santiago wants wealth. He would -have managed the affair in a different way."</p> - -<p>"But remember the warnings!"</p> - -<p>"Three of them. Yes! That is the kind of way Santiago would go to -work. Try and frighten Carr into parting with a substantial amount. -But I do not think that he would kill the goose with the golden -eggs--at all events until he was in possession of some of the eggs. -No, I can't think the Mexican is guilty."</p> - -<p>"Then Joyce must have done it."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps. But he is such a coward."</p> - -<p>"If not either of those two, who is it?" asked Bess. "Not Frisco?"</p> - -<p>Herrick looked at her, "I am not so sure," he said coolly, "you see -the alibi you provide for Frisco does not touch the subject. You saw -the man at the door when three shots were fired. Well, if you remember -at the inquest it was proved--as much as it could be proved--that -those three shots were fired at a dead body. Therefore when you heard -them the man was already dead. Why should Frisco not have done it and -then come down leaving his accomplice to do what he liked."</p> - -<p>"I see what you mean," said Bess, "it was the bullet that killed the -Colonel--the old fashioned bullet--"</p> - -<p>"Fired from this if I am not mistaken," went on Herrick producing the -pistol.</p> - -<p>"You can't be sure of that. And admitting that it is so, how did the -pistol come into possession of Joyce, if Frisco used it?"</p> - -<p>"I am in the dark there," said Herrick vexedly. "I must get the truth -out of Joyce. Time to see him now," and he glanced at his watch. "As -to the pistol I'll see Bridge and find out if the bullet fits."</p> - -<p>Bess held out her hand. "Let me do that," she said, "while you are -watching Joyce and the Mexican I can attend to that matter."</p> - -<p>"Do you think you will be able?" hesitated Herrick.</p> - -<p>"I am certain I can. Besides I want to have some part in the discovery -of the truth."</p> - -<p>The doctor handed her the pistol. He knew that she was a clever girl, -and would not undertake a thing unless she could execute it -thoroughly. "You and I can do the detective business together," he -said. "I will look after Joyce and Santiago and Frisco if I can find -him; your part will be to trace the pistol and to see if the bullet -fits. You can manage Bridge?"</p> - -<p>"Easily," replied Bess, putting the pistol away, "he is so conceited -that a little flattery goes a long way with him."</p> - -<p>"Don't let him meddle in this matter. He will only spoil it. I know -what to do. Leave it to me."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim took up his hat to go. Suddenly he recollected a point he had -not yet discussed and sat down again. "About Pentland Corn," said he, -"what do you think of him Bess?"</p> - -<p>"He is a good man," she replied promptly, "but he is weak. I am sure -there is nothing wrong about him."</p> - -<p>"Yet why should he make such a friend of Santiago?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know. Shall I ask him?"</p> - -<p>"He would not tell you the truth if you did. He has his own secrets."</p> - -<p>Bess nodded. "But I do not believe they are bad secrets," she said, -"the rector is a man with a past--a sad past. Did you know he was a -soldier before he became a parson?"</p> - -<p>"No," replied Dr. Jim, "and yet I always thought he had a martial air -about him. Why did he leave the army?"</p> - -<p>"He said he had a call. No!" added Bess hastily seeing the doctor's -lip curl, "I do not think he is a hypocrite. He is most devout."</p> - -<p>"Humph! I do not believe much in that emotional religion," said Jim -with a shake of his head, "a call had he, and left the army for that? -I should like to hear a more feasible story. He was a friend of -Colonel Carr's?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, he was the only person the Colonel saw, and he used to go very -often to 'The Pines.' But I do not think he did Colonel Carr much -good."</p> - -<p>"On the contrary it is probable that the Colonel did a weak man like -that a good deal of harm," Herrick stopped; then said suddenly. "He -knows something about this murder?"</p> - -<p>"What makes you think so?" said Bess startled.</p> - -<p>"Well! He did not come to the inquest, and seeing that he was the -parson of the parish and a great friend of the dead man I think that -strange myself. Also when I met him in the morning after the murder he -talked nonsense, sheer nonsense, and was in a sort of hysterical -condition."</p> - -<p>"That might have been because of the shock," replied Bess -thoughtfully, "I know one thing at least about Mr. Corn. He will not -look upon a corpse."</p> - -<p>"Why not?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know, nor does anyone else. The parishioners are sometimes -annoyed because he will not come and see their dead. Mr. Corn will -pray with a dying person but he will not look on a dead one."</p> - -<p>"Humph! And he was a soldier!" said Herrick. "I must look into this."</p> - -<p>"You have quite enough to do at present I think. I will see to the -pistol, and you can go now to Joyce."</p> - -<p>"Then we can meet and compare notes. And Bess, we understand one -another?"</p> - -<p>Miss Endicotte flushed. "I wish you would not talk nonsense," she -cried, "there are other and more important things to think of."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim would have protested, but she re-entered the house, and left -him to his own thoughts. These were pleasant in spite of the discovery -of Robin's iniquities. Jim now saw that he had been in love with Bess -without knowing it. The shock of Joyce's wooing had brought about the -discovery. "And what a fool I have been not to see it before!" said -Dr. Jim. "No wonder they say Love is blind," and he whistled -light-heartedly.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_15" href="#div1Ref_15">CHAPTER XV</a></h4> -<h5>ROBIN JOYCE EXPLAINS HIMSELF</h5> -<br> - -<p>Whether it was the charm of the girl's society based upon his new -discovery, or the interest of the conversation from a detective's -point of view, that detained Herrick with her for over two hours, it -is impossible to say. Probably Dr. Jim could not have given a -satisfactory answer himself. But as he hurried along the road to the -Carr Arms he acknowledged that he had been dilatory, for in two hours -Robin could have got away from Saxham. But Dr. Jim did not think he -would go. Robin was a child in many ways, and was not quick in making -plans. Besides, he would be bewildered by the sudden revelation of his -rascality and for the moment he would not be able to think of his own -safety. Or at least if he did think, he would be unable to make any -plans. Also--and of this Herrick was certain--he had very little money -to come and go on.</p> - -<p>"No," thought the doctor, as he swung into the village green, "Robin -knows better than to give me the slip. He would be afraid that I would -show him no mercy when I caught him up. Probably he will make out some -story and implore me for the sake of our past friendship to be silent. -If he tells me the whole truth and if he did not actually kill Carr, I -might--but then he insulted Bess, and tried to get her into danger." -The doctor clenched his fist and frowned. "I'll give him a thrashing -at all events. There is a bad time coming for you Robin my man."</p> - -<p>The prognostications of Dr. Jim proved to be correct. Joyce had not -attempted flight. He was waiting in his sitting-room for the coming of -the doctor, and he looked horribly frightened. Herrick could have -found it in his heart to be sorry for the wretched little creature -with his white haggard face and staring eyes; but he remembered what -was at stake, and made up his mind to be stern even to the verge of -brutality. For all he knew this treacherous little scoundrel might -have hinted to the outside world that Bess was involved in the murder -of Carr. If he had done this, Herrick considered that nothing would be -too bad for him. It was in a very stern frame of mind that Dr. Jim sat -down opposite his former friend. Robin winced at the regard of those -once kind eyes. He felt like a rabbit in the presence of a -boa-constrictor. "Well!" said Jim grimly eying the miserable wretch, -"and what have you to say for yourself?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing!" returned Robin sullenly. "I am afraid I shall not be -satisfied with that Joyce. You will have to tell me the whole of your -doings, from first to last."</p> - -<p>"I have done nothing so very wrong Jim--"</p> - -<p>"One moment," interposed Herrick, "I think you had better call me by -my last name. We are not friends now you know."</p> - -<p>"Will, I call you Dr. Herrick," said Robin with a small sneer.</p> - -<p>"I think it might be better--sir," drawled Herrick, and the contempt -in his tone made the self-satisfied Joyce wince.</p> - -<p>"If I had done anything wrong I should not have waited to see you."</p> - -<p>"That's a lie," replied the plain-spoken Jim. "You know me better than -that. Had you bolted I should have had the police on your track before -night-fall. You know me, as I said before. Your only chance is to make -a clean breast of this damnable business."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"Don't bandy words with me Joyce. It won't do. You are in a cleft -stick and no amount of wriggling will serve you. If you want a lead -here is one. You told me at Southberry that you went up up see Frith -and Frith."</p> - -<p>"So I did.--"</p> - -<p>"Oh, Lord!" cried Herrick in a tone of disgust "will you never be done -with your petty falsehoods. I know that you have not seen the -solicitors for some months--certainly not on the twenty-fourth of -July. Frith told me how you tried to get your mother's annuity -transferred to yourself. Come now! Don't play the fool with me. You -did not sleep at the Hull hotel?"</p> - -<p>"How do you know that?"</p> - -<p>"Because I went there. And I know also that you alighted from the -seven train at Heathcroft station, and rode on your bicycle to -Saxham--'I don't know for what purpose, unless it was to kill the -Colonel."</p> - -<p>"No! No!" this time Joyce was really afraid. "I did not kill him!"</p> - -<p>"That remains to be proved. What about that pistol you slipped into -the drawer of Bess Endicotte's writing-table--now, you are about to -lie again! It won't do;---it won't do. The truth, you rat of a man."</p> - -<p>"Don't call names," muttered Joyce weakly.</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon. I will not call you any more names. Let us conduct -this conversation calmly. But you have to tell me the whole truth, -or---"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Joyce defiantly, "and if I refuse? What then."</p> - -<p>"I will hand you over to the Beorminster police."</p> - -<p>"You have no evidence--"</p> - -<p>"I have more than you think of. You ass," said Herrick in a cold rage, -"for the sake of our past friendship I have been sparing you all these -weeks. I got you down here in the hope that you would be man enough to -come forward and confess your follies. I do not say crimes, for you -have not pluck enough to commit the smallest. But you kept your own -counsel, and thought you were pulling wool over my eyes. I have seen -through all these weeks. And now you insult the woman I love, and--"</p> - -<p>Robin jumped up in a childish rage. "You don't love her--you won't -marry her," he panted. "I won't have it!"</p> - -<p>"Sit down," commanded Herrick sternly, "you have nothing to say in the -matter. Leave Miss Endicotte's name out of it. We have had enough of -this nonsense. Confess what you have done."</p> - -<p>"I won't," Joyce set his teeth.</p> - -<p>"Very good. Then I shall send for the police."</p> - -<p>"You dare not."</p> - -<p>"Ah! You think so." Herrick rose and walked towards the bell. Joyce -anticipated him and stood in his path with flashing eyes. Herrick -laughed. "Are you about to measure your strength against mine?" he -said.</p> - -<p>Before he could speak further the little man had flung himself at his -throat like a wild beast. Strong as Herrick was, the abnormal nerve -force of Joyce made him no mean antagonist. But the contest was -unequal, and at last Herrick lifted Joyce above his head, shook him' -as a terrier does a rat, and pitched him headlong into a chair, where -the creature, helpless, and overborne, sat gnashing his teeth and -glaring. For the moment Herrick thought he was mad. "Have you had -enough?" asked the doctor recovering his breath, "if not I am quite -willing to administer the thrashing you so richly deserve."</p> - -<p>Joyce still glared and stamped in impotent rage. Then he suddenly -burst into tears and hid his face in his hands. "You great brute," he -wailed, "you might spare me!"</p> - -<p>"Spare you!" echoed Herrick contemptuously, "and did you think of -sparing that poor girl, whom you were trying to blackmail into -marriage! You may thank your stars Joyce that you have to deal with a -man who knows you as I do. If it had been another man, they would have -left you half dead on the floor. You shall have justice from me, never -fear."</p> - -<p>Robin still continued to sob, and huddled up in the big chair looked -scarcely as large as a child. "I feel ill--ill--horribly ill."</p> - -<p>"You'll feel much worse before I've done with you," said the -relentless Herrick, "sit up and talk rationally. All this won't do -with me. You have tried all your tricks, they are of no avail. Here -are pen ink and paper. I intend to take down all you say, and you will -sign the statement."</p> - -<p>"I'll see you to the devil first," cried Joyce sitting up tear-stained -and dishevelled but with an evil look in his eyes.</p> - -<p>"You will do exactly as you are bid," replied Herrick selecting a pen, -"now begin, and tell no lies. I have information of which you know -nothing, and if I catch you tripping--well you know what to expect."</p> - -<p>Joyce saw that he was helpless. He had tried defiance, force, tears, -and was now at the end of his resources. Herrick pitilessly held to -his point. Seeing that there was no help for it, the little scamp -dried his eyes, arranged his coat and hardened himself into a -reasonable frame of mind. "You have the whip hand," he said sullenly, -"so I must give in."</p> - -<p>"I think that is very wise of you. After all you might have known that -such play-acting would not impose upon me. Now you are to tell me all -you did at Saxham on that night and why you came down. I shall -probably ask you a few questions to which I shall require truthful -answers. And remember what I said. I know more about your doings than -you give me credit for. I can tell if you speak the truth or not. Now -go on."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim squared his elbows and settled himself to write. Joyce cast -one look at the door as though he meditated flight. But he knew that -such a dash for liberty would result in his incarceration in prison so -he abandoned it and sullenly began to talk.</p> - -<p>"I did come down to Saxham on the twenty-fourth," he confessed.</p> - -<p>"I thought so. And your story of seeing Frith and Frith was a lie."</p> - -<p>"Yes! I did not want you to know."</p> - -<p>"Not only that, but you wished to make use of me. I was to prove your -alibi, Eh? You chose this country for our walking tour on purpose?"</p> - -<p>"I planned the whole thing," said Joyce shamelessly and with something -of pleasure in his own cleverness. "You think yourself clever Herrick, -but I, whom you have always despised, have made a tool of you."</p> - -<p>"Up to a point you have no doubt. But there is a proverb about playing -with edged tools, you seem to have forgotten. As to your saying that I -despise you I never did so, until I found out--never mind how--that -you had told me a lie about going to London from Southberry."</p> - -<p>"It was my own business."</p> - -<p>"And I was to be your tool, as you have just said. Go on."</p> - -<p>Joyce thought for a moment. "As I have done nothing so very wrong," he -said, "there is no reason why I should not tell you everything from -the beginning. I suppose you will admit that."</p> - -<p>"No reason at all. Go on."</p> - -<p>"Very good. Well then until my mother died I had no idea of her -position--nor," added Joyce, "have I any very clear idea now. She left -a paper behind her which explained much, but not all. I will show it -to you when you come up to London."</p> - -<p>"Thank you; I will remind you of that promise."</p> - -<p>Robin scowled and continued. "My mother said that between a certain -Colonel Carr and herself there existed a business arrangement that she -should receive five hundred a year for her life. The arrangement was -made by my dead father for services rendered to Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"What were those services?"</p> - -<p>"That is one of the things I do not know. The paper said nothing about -them. The five hundred a year was to be paid to my mother and when she -died it was to stop. So you see that in place of having an income as I -thought I was left a pauper. My mother had saved some money--about -three hundred pounds. I am living on that now. I was in despair, and I -went to the solicitors who pay the annuity to ask if Colonel Carr -would continue it. They wrote to the Colonel and he refused.</p> - -<p>"I know that," said Herrick smoothly, "Frith told me."</p> - -<p>"You seem to have meddled a good deal in my business," sneered Joyce. -"Well, I was again in despair, as I saw nothing before me but a life -of hard work. I read over the paper again. My mother said in it that -Carr was a dangerous man, but that he had enemies, who threatened to -kill him. She advised me to see him, but to take all precautions -against my visit being known to anyone.</p> - -<p>"Why?" asked Dr. Jim, "I see no reason."</p> - -<p>"Nor did I," responded Robin with a shrug; he was now quite himself -again and seemed to enjoy the telling of the story. "She hinted -however that if Colonel Carr ever died by violence--and she was sure -he would--I might be accused of the crime if I went to see him. She -said that it was dangerous to be in his company for that reason."</p> - -<p>"It seems to me a very ridiculous reason."</p> - -<p>"I thought it was. All the same as she knew more about the matter than -I did, I thought it best to adopt her suggestion. I wished to see Carr -and ask him to continue the annuity. But I wished to see him secretly -so that if he was murdered--as my mother hinted--I should not be -dragged into the matter. For that reason I made the plans you blame.</p> - -<p>"And were a fool to do so," said Dr. Jim vigorously, "why in the name -of heaven did you not tell me all this? I should have come and seen -Carr with you openly. I should not have been afraid of being -implicated in a crime, though the man were murdered half a dozen times -over. The secret means you took to avert suspicion falling on you, -have only resulted in your being suspected--at least by me."</p> - -<p>"I thought you did not suspect me?" said Joyce snappishly.</p> - -<p>"Not of the crime, for I know what a coward you are. But you know -something about it. Still, if the police knew all I do, you would find -yourself in Queer Street. Again I say that in your desire to avert -suspicion from yourself, you have brought it upon your head. However I -think the reason given in the paper you speak of ridiculous. Go on. -What of your plans? How were they carried out?"</p> - -<p>"I first looked up a map of the country to see where Carr lived. Then -as you had proposed a walking tour, I induced you to take the route -which ran right across Carr's place. I thought if anything occurred -you could prove that I was with you."</p> - -<p>"But did you expect the man to be murdered while we were on our tour?"</p> - -<p>"I did not know what might happen. As it was I knew the man was dead -when I rejoined you at Southberry. But my idea was to see him, and -then to pass afterwards with you through the village. When I set out -on the walking tour I never thought he would be murdered."</p> - -<p>"It was, to say the least, strange that Carr should meet with his -death at so critical a moment to you," said Herrick doubtfully, "he -had lived safely for ten years."</p> - -<p>"It was chance I suppose. At all events I did not kill him as you seem -to suppose. I simply wished to see him about the annuity. When I left -you at Southberry and went to London on the plea of seeing Frith and -Frith, I left my bag at the Hull Hotel to provide a second alibi. I -intended to get down and see Carr, then be back and sleep at the Hull -Hotel on that night. It was the murder that threw me out."</p> - -<p>Herrick laughed. "And it was the murder against which you were taking -all these precautions. How ironical! Well?"</p> - -<p>"I went to my flat and got my bicycle, and I wrapped myself up in my -great-coat. Then I went down to Saxham by the Heathcroft line. I -alighted there at seven o'clock; had something to eat at the railway -bar, and then rode on my bicycle to Saxham. I found the house from the -map and waited in the pine woods before I could make up my mind to go -in and seek for an interview."</p> - -<p>"At what time did you hide in the Pine Woods?"</p> - -<p>"Between eight and nine o'clock. While there I heard a single shot. It -frightened me. But I did not think that it was murder. No," said Robin -to himself with a shiver, "I did not think it was murder."</p> - -<p>"That would be the death shot," said Herrick, "seeing that Miss Bess -heard the other three."</p> - -<p>"I heard them also. But that was after nine."</p> - -<p>"And all this time you remained near the house?"</p> - -<p>"No! I went on to the other side of the Pine wood keeping the tower in -sight. I saw a girl with a lantern searching the wood. She passed near -where I lay and I saw her plainly. That is how I recognised her."</p> - -<p>"And why did you accuse her?"</p> - -<p>"I thought she might have had something to do with the crime," said -Joyce sullenly, "you must confess it was queer to see a girl in the -woods at that hour. If she was innocent why should she have been about -the house so late?"</p> - -<p>"Don't you dare to hint that she is not innocent," cried Herrick -violently. "She went to look for her brother Sidney. She heard the -shots too. Did you see Frisco at the door of the house?"</p> - -<p>"No! It was some time after I lost sight of Miss Bess that I heard the -shots, I thought she might have fired them. I waited till ten o'clock, -and then thought I would go and see what was the matter. I walked -through the wood, and entered the house. It was all alight and quite -deserted, just as we found it. As I had heard the shots in the tower I -climbed up. At the top I saw what you and I saw--the dead body of the -Colonel. He was quite dead. I was afraid, for the very thing I dreaded -had come to pass. I saw how wise was my mother's advice, and being -afraid lest someone should come and I should be arrested for the crime -I went away. I got my bicycle which I had left in the Pine wood and -rode back to Heathcroft. I found the last train gone, so I could not -get back to the Hull Hotel. I feared to sleep in any inn lest the -police, when the crime was discovered, should make search for -strangers. I passed the night in a wood, then rode on at dawn to a -station beyond Heathcroft, where I got a cup of coffee at the bar of -the station. Then I took the train back to London, went to the Hull -Hotel, and said that I had passed the night with a friend. Afterwards -I caught the Southberry train and rejoined you. That is all."</p> - -<p>"A very pretty story!" remarked Herrick grimly, "then you were anxious -to push on across the moor that we might find the body together?"</p> - -<p>"Not exactly; I thought it would be already found when we arrived. -However when I saw the house blazing I knew that nothing had been -disturbed. We went in and--you know----"</p> - -<p>"I know that you took a fit of hysteria," said Herrick. "I thought it -was fatigue, but now I understand it was because you were playing a -part. This is all very well, how do I know you did not kill the man?"</p> - -<p>"I did not; I swear I did not," cried Joyce with a shiver.</p> - -<p>"What about that pistol?"</p> - -<p>"That has nothing to do with the murder."</p> - -<p>"Was it not the weapon that was used?"</p> - -<p>"Not that I know of."</p> - -<p>"Where did you get it?"</p> - -<p>Joyce hesitated and wriggled. "I do not see why you should ask me?"</p> - -<p>"Don't you indeed," said Herrick grimly, "I see a very good reason. -Carr was shot through the heart with a bullet that might very well fit -that ancient weapon."</p> - -<p>"How do you know that I put it into the drawer at 'The Grange?'"</p> - -<p>"Are you going to lie about that? It won't do Joyce. I saw that -pistol at your flat,--in your tobacco cabinet."</p> - -<p>Joyce turned white. He had been quite prepared to lie, but this -information showed him how futile that would be. "How did you find it -in there?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I wasn't poking and prying. Manuel hunting for cigarettes showed -it to me. He dropped across it by accident."</p> - -<p>Joyce sprang to his feet. "The liar, oh, the liar!" he cried. "Manuel! -why he knew it was in the cabinet."</p> - -<p>"And he placed it there, Eh!"</p> - -<p>"I never said so!" muttered Robin passing his tongue over his dry -lips.</p> - -<p>"Oh, but I can see it it your face. Evidently Manuel played upon you -the same trick you intended to play upon Bess. A nice pair, upon my -soul!" Herrick paused for a moment. "What has Manuel to do with this?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing, that I know of," retorted Joyce sullenly. "He brought me the -pistol, but refused to say where he got it. He knows something of this -matter I think."</p> - -<p>"I am very certain he does. However, I'll speak to him. Where is he?"</p> - -<p>"He went over to Beorminster this afternoon.</p> - -<p>"Very good I'll see him when he comes back. By the way, you told me a -lie about him, Johnstone did not introduce you at the Apollo Club."</p> - -<p>Joyce shrugged his shoulders. "Since you know so much you might as -well know more," he said coolly. "I met Manuel at the Pimlico gambling -club. We played together and became friends. Oddly enough, he knew all -about Carr. That drew us together. We talked a good deal about the -business, and I told him what I told you. But he is a scoundrel," said -Joyce gritting his teeth, "he wants to make out that I shot Carr with -that pistol, and showed it to you in my flat to inculpate me."</p> - -<p>"Which was what you proposed to do with that girl!"</p> - -<p>"I did," said Robin sullenly. "I wanted to marry her; and I made my -plans so that she should not dare to refuse."</p> - -<p>Herrick rose to his feet. "Joyce," said he calmly, "I had intended to -give you a thrashing; but you are such a miserable wretch that if I -man-handled you I should probably kill you. You can go free for me. -But you shall leave this place by the five o'clock train from -Beorminster. I'll see to it myself."</p> - -<p>"I thought you would," sneered Joyce, "so I have packed my clothes. -And what are you going to do next?"</p> - -<p>"Keep an eye on you. Go back to your flat. If you try to run I'll have -you arrested. Do not think because I send you to London that you will -be beyond the reach of my arm. You and Manuel are plotting to get this -money of Stephen Marsh."</p> - -<p>"I am not, whatever Santiago may be doing. He got everything out of me -and told me nothing in return. Save that he knew Carr and hated him I -do not know anything. I don't believe that the pistol is the one used -in the murder. Santiago probably read about an old-fashioned weapon -being used, and knowing that I was down here on the night put that -pistol----"</p> - -<p>"Yes! Yes, I see all that. You see what a scoundrel you have taken up -with! Upon my word Joyce, you had better have stuck to me."</p> - -<p>"It is too late now," said Robin with something of a sob, "you'll -never trust me again."</p> - -<p>"Never," replied Herrick calmly, "I have not yet got to the bottom of -this business. But I believe you are the tool rather than the -accomplice of this Mexican. However I will deal with him. You go to -London, and hold yourself in readiness for my orders."</p> - -<p>"I'll be even with Santiago yet for his treachery," said Robin rising.</p> - -<p>"That you can settle between yourselves. Hullo, don't go yet. Sign -this paper. I have written down all you told me."</p> - -<p>"I won't sign."</p> - -<p>"You will, and at once. I will be the witness. If you don't I will not -protect you in any way."</p> - -<p>"You won't let me get into trouble?" said Joyce taking the pen.</p> - -<p>"Not if what you have told me is true. Sign."</p> - -<p>So Joyce signed and Herrick witnessed the document. The doctor placed -it in his pocket and then ordered a trap from Napper. After Joyce had -paid his bill, the doctor drove him to Beorminster. The five o'clock -train was on the point of departure, but he just managed to catch it. -As he flung himself into a carriage he held out his hand to Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No," replied Jim coldly, "we have done with all that. And no tricks, -or you'll get the worst of it."</p> - -<p>"I'll go straight to my flat," said Joyce sulkily, and as the train -steamed out of the station he cursed his former friend.</p> - -<p>He would have cursed him still more if he had seen what he did next. -The doctor went to the telegraph office, and wrote out a wire -describing Joyce's face, clothes, figure, and all: also set down the -train by which he would arrive at Paddington. This he sent to a firm -of private detectives with whom he had already done business. "There," -said Herrick with a grim smile when the wire was despatched, "Joyce -will be watched from the moment he gets to town. Any tricks, and--" -the doctor laughed.</p> - -<p>Apparently he did not yet trust the little man in spite of his -confession.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_16" href="#div1Ref_16">CHAPTER XVI</a></h4> -<h5>BESS THE DETECTIVE</h5> -<br> - -<p>In this way Saxham was purged of one undesirable person. Herrick was -pleased that he had acted with such promptitude. Bess would no longer -be vexed by the odious attentions of the little scamp who had -tormented her. Dr. Jim smiled to think how much of the jealous rival -there was about his dealings with his quondam friend. He now -recognised that Bess was the woman he desired for his wife. Nor did he -think she would refuse to become Mrs. Herrick when he could give her a -home worthy of her. Had she disliked his attentions, she would not -have permitted even the strange hour's wooing, which was all they had -of love, since Jim had found his heart. He laughed at the -recollection.</p> - -<p>"To talk of love between intervals of detective analysis," he thought -as he walked back to Saxham, having sent on Napper's cart by the -groom, "is a strange way of wooing one's wife, and the last kind I -expected to indulge in. But Bess enjoyed it I fancy. I must recompense -myself in a more leisurely way, when this business is at an end."</p> - -<p>On arriving at Saxham, the doctor called in at the Carr Arms to see -Don Manuel. He wanted to hear from the man himself if he had really -given the pistol to Joyce, and if so how it had come into his -possession. It might be that he had bought it in order to incriminate -Robin--although at present Herrick could see no very good reason for -such incrimination--on the other hand the pistol might be the -veritable weapon used to shoot Carr. But that could be proved only by -the test of the bullet, and he would have to wait until Bess saw -Bridge about that. In some way Herrick felt convinced that Santiago -was connected with the crime. He had known and hated Carr; he was far -too intimate with Joyce for mere friendship, and he showed too great a -desire to remain in the parish. That he should have in some way gained -possession of the real pistol was not unlikely. "And it might be that -he used it himself," said Dr. Jim as he entered the inn, "although I -should think he would have used a more modern weapon for choice?"</p> - -<p>"On speaking to Napper about the Mexican a shock awaited him. The -landlord expressed the broadest surprise that Mr. Joyce had not told -Dr. Herrick of Santiago's departure. The Mexican had gone to London by -an early train. Herrick swore beneath his breath, feeling that he had -been outwitted.</p> - -<p>"When Mr. Joyce came back here this afternoon did he see Don Manuel?"</p> - -<p>"Aye sir, that he did. The foreigner was waiting for him, and they -talked for an hour. After that Don Manuel came down with his trunk--he -had but one, doctor, and drove in to catch an earlier train."</p> - -<p>"To Beorminster?" asked Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No sir. To Heathcroft. He paid his bill alright though. But I was -astonished Mr. Joyce left us so suddenly. There is nothing wrong I -hope."</p> - -<p>"By no means," replied Herrick with a carelessness he was far from -feeling. "I believe Don Manuel had to go up on business, and asked Mr. -Joyce to join him later."</p> - -<p>"Will they be coming here again sir?" asked Napper, and on receiving a -reply in the negative expressed his regret. "They didn't pay much, but -they was sure," said the worthy landlord.</p> - -<p>"Did you hear Señor Santiago say _where_ he was going?" asked Herrick. -But this the landlord could not tell him.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim walked away annoyed that he had been taken in. He felt that -Robin had been tutored to play his part by the cleverer scoundrel. No -doubt Robin had told the Mexican of his intrusion into the case, and -Santiago had taken alarm. He knew well enough that Dr. Jim would -recognise the pistol, and that he would force Robin to say where he -had obtained it. Evidently Don Manuel thought it would be better for -him to disappear than to face an examination. Yet he could have told -Joyce to make up some story about the pistol so that he might not be -brought into it. The whole business was part of the conspiracy. Don -Manuel was in it, Robin also, and Herrick felt that the firm of Joyce -and Santiago had been one too many for him.</p> - -<p>All the same he remembered that he had set a watch on Joyce. If the -scamp tried to hide, or went to any place to meet Manuel, he would be -followed. "I shall go up to Town to-morrow," said Herrick on his way -to 'The Pines.' "Wherever Joyce has gone, there Manuel will be. I -shall run both to earth and learn what all this means by questioning -them in each other's company. They won't trick me a second time! Well, -I have done enough detective work for the day. I'll think of something -else."</p> - -<p>Stephen was now so far on the road to recovery, that he was able to -leave his room. He had seen little of Jim lately, but he did not miss -him, thanks to the constant attendance of Ida. Marsh-Carr was as -devoted a friend as ever to Herrick, he still believed him the -cleverest and best of men, but now his whole heart was filled with the -image of Ida. The two were constantly together, and the girl had had -no small share in nursing back her promised husband to health. The -wound in the head had mended and the blow had left no effect behind it -beyond an occasional head-ache.</p> - -<p>Stephen never gave his assailant a thought. He quite forgot Carr's -tragic death, and all the strange circumstances which had brought -about his change of fortune. At times he even ceased to remember his -step-mother, much as he had loved her. All his thoughts were for Ida, -and with her he passed hours planning their future. They never talked -of the past, and noticing this, Herrick forebore to tell his friend -that he was still working to discover the murderer of Colonel Carr, -and striving to baffle a possible conspiracy that had for its aim, the -loss to Stephen not only of the Carr fortune, but possibly also of his -life. Jim felt quite competent to deal with the matter himself, and -did not think it necessary to spoil Marsh-Carr's love-making with such -common-place things. Therefore he remained in ignorance of Herrick's -doings.</p> - -<p>"How late you are," said Stephen who was already dressed for dinner. -"I have been anxiously expecting you this last hour!"</p> - -<p>"I had to go into Beorminster," said Herrick carelessly. "Joyce has -been called up to town and I went to see the last of him."</p> - -<p>"I am glad he has gone," Stephen said gravely. "I don't like him. I -think he is false. As for the Mexican---" he shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>Herrick, who was pouring himself a glass of sherry as an appetizer -turned with a laugh. "The Mexican is a bad lot sure enough," he said. -"As to Joyce he is more of a fool than a knave."</p> - -<p>"I forgot that he was your friend."</p> - -<p>"You do quite right to use the past tense Steve. He _was_ my friend, -but he is so no longer." Herrick laughed again and sipped his sherry. -"I have taken you for a change."</p> - -<p>"You know well that I will never fail you," said Stephen warmly. "No. -I suppose we shall remain good friends till you marry. Then you will -forget me, and think only of your wife."</p> - -<p>"You know better than that Jim. Besides Ida is fond of you."</p> - -<p>"I know. I was fond of Ida too at one time--that was before she was -engaged to you. But I have not played you false Steve."</p> - -<p>"You are telling me old news," replied Marsh-Carr smiling. "I saw that -you were in love with Ida."</p> - -<p>"No. I was never in love. I thought I was, but my love was a snare and -a delusion. But you thought so did you? Were you not jealous?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all. I knew that Ida was mine, and I trusted her--you too."</p> - -<p>"Wonderful man!" said Herrick looking into the fire. "Well you did -right to trust us both. We are merely friends now. Indeed I know we -never were anything else. I was blind; but she was not. However I am -glad that you two are engaged. You will be happy."</p> - -<p>"And when am I to congratulate you?"</p> - -<p>"At this very minute if you like. Is it Bess you are talking of?"</p> - -<p>Stephen sat up on the sofa looking astonished. "Yes," he said, "Ida -saw that she was in love with you--"</p> - -<p>"Ida is a clever woman. She prophesied my love would come suddenly. -Bess has not yet formally consented to be my wife; but I think it will -be all right."</p> - -<p>"I am more than delighted. We shall be brothers-in-law. And you will -always stay here Jim?"</p> - -<p>"Living on you my dear fellow? No, I shall start practice again in -Town, when I have got together sufficient money. Then when I am doing -fairly well Bess shall come to me and supplement my income by writing -novels in the intervals of looking after the house."</p> - -<p>"Herrick you must not go away. You promised."</p> - -<p>"Until you were married. But be of good cheer Steve, I won't leave you -until everything is right." Dr. Jim said these last words with a -significance which was lost on his listener.</p> - -<p>"I thought that your friend Joyce--"</p> - -<p>"Oh! he never had a chance. I was a fool to let him hang after Bess. -However I found out to-day what she was to me, so it is all right -now."</p> - -<p>"Bess and Ida are coming over this evening with Frank."</p> - -<p>"All the better. I can make my proposal in due form. By the way Steve -I am going up Town to-morrow if you can spare me."</p> - -<p>"Certainly. But it is not to make arrangements to leave me is it?"</p> - -<p>"I should think not! I shall never go till you tell me Steve. No, I am -going to see about some business of my own. Well I must dress. I hope -you have a good dinner for me. I am very hungry."</p> - -<p>"You think of nothing but eating," said Stephen with a laugh.</p> - -<p>The dinner gave every satisfaction even to Herrick who was somewhat -fastidious. But Ida had seen that a good cook was engaged, and the two -men had nothing to complain of. Dinner over, Herrick supported Stephen -into the library, and placed him on the sofa. Then he sat beside him -and they smoked over their coffee and cognac. "But you must go to bed -at half past ten," said Herrick sternly.</p> - -<p>"What a tyrant you are Jim. Hark, there are the girls."</p> - -<p>They came in looking charming, and in the best of spirits. It needed -but a glance for Dr. Jim to see that Bess had said nothing about Joyce -to her brother or sister. What a wise little woman she was! When Ida -and Frank had seated themselves beside Stephen, Jim drew her into a -remote corner of the room.</p> - -<p>"You said nothing about our adventure of to-day," he whispered.</p> - -<p>"No," she replied in the same tone, "I thought it best not to. And Mr. -Joyce?"</p> - -<p>"You will not be troubled with him again. He has gone to town. I do -not think he will come back. Santiago has gone also."</p> - -<p>"What about his threat against me?"</p> - -<p>"That is alright. I have his confession in my pocket."</p> - -<p>"Did he kill Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"No! I have not yet solved that problem. But do not let us talk of -these unpleasant things any more Bess. To-morrow you shall know all. -In the meantime make yourself agreeable to me and tell me how much you -love me. Come now. After this afternoon you cannot deny----"</p> - -<p>"I neither deny nor affirm," said Bess her face one glow of -scarlet--but that might have been the fire---"you were not in earnest -to-day."</p> - -<p>"Indeed I was. Can't you see that I love you with my whole heart and -soul! I never knew until to-day how much I did love you."</p> - -<p>"I thought it was Ida?" faltered Bess.</p> - -<p>"I thought so too for a period of madness. But I know now that I was -mistaken. We are the best of friends as you can see. But you have not -replied to my question."</p> - -<p>"What do you want me to say?"</p> - -<p>"That I am the dearest man in the world, and that you have loved me -for ever so long. Come now?"</p> - -<p>"It is true," said Bess sinking her voice. "I have loved you. I do -love you and I am thankful to be your wife."</p> - -<p>"I am a poor doctor remember."</p> - -<p>"I love you for yourself, not for any money you may have."</p> - -<p>"Faith," said Herrick, "that is lucky for me! Come here. Behind this -screen--there now."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Dr. Jim--No--Very well. Jim, without the doctor. Do not go on -like this. We are not alone."</p> - -<p>"Will you come into another room?" teased Jim.</p> - -<p>"Certainly not. Jim what are you doing?"</p> - -<p>"Leading you into the world," said Herrick laughing. Bess laughed also -and blushed when Jim led her before the three astonished people who -looked at them in amazement. "Lady and gentlemen," said Dr. Jim, "do -you know who this is?"</p> - -<p>"Bess I suppose," said the stupid brother.</p> - -<p>"And more than that," cried Ida rising to take her sister in her arms, -"oh! Bess darling, I am so glad."</p> - -<p>"Hurrah!" cried Stephen and pinched Frank's arm.</p> - -<p>That youth was still dense, although the truth was staring him in the -face. He looked at the two girls almost weeping with pleasure in one -another's arms; at the laughing faces of Herrick and Stephen. Still he -did not understand, not having yet experienced the love of woman.</p> - -<p>"You are stupid Frank," cried Ida, "can't you see?"</p> - -<p>"Can't you see," said Herrick gripping Frank's arm. "What a blind -brother-in-law I shall have."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" Frank's eyes opened wide. "Are you to marry Bess?" Herrick -nodded. "And Stephen takes Ida?" the engaged couple laughed. "Well," -said Frank, "that is two of them gone, and who is to look after -Biffstead?"</p> - -<p>"Flo of course," said Stephen.</p> - -<p>"As if she could! Bess is the top, tail, and bottom of the house."</p> - -<p>"That she is," cried Ida hugging her sister, "and I am jealous of Jim -taking her away from us!" Then she gave Herrick a roguish glance. "Was -I not right?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"Perfectly right," he replied, and drew Bess down on the seat beside -him. Ida went as by instinct to Stephen. Only the miserable Frank was -left out in the cold, and said so. The quartette laughed heartlessly.</p> - -<p>There was not a happier party in the whole three kingdoms than that -seated before the fire in the house of wicked Colonel Carr. If the -shade of the old man had been present in the room, he must--or rather -_It_ must have sighed enviously at the sight of such happiness. Not -during his reign had such truth and honour and clean delight prevailed -in the old house. It was a merry evening. "Memory of the Golden Age," -said Jim.</p> - -<p>The next morning Dr. Herrick re-entered the work-a-day world. He -walked over to Biffstead and found Bess just setting out for -Beorminster on her bicycle. "You can leave that," he said after a kiss -had been exchanged, "I will drive you over to Beorminster in the cart. -I told the groom to put in the horse and bring it round here."</p> - -<p>"You are going to Town?" asked Bess.</p> - -<p>"Yes! On the track of those two scamps. You are going to see Bridge -about that bullet?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! I have the pistol in my pocket," she replied showing it.</p> - -<p>"Very good. Can you drive the cart back?"</p> - -<p>"Of course I can. Drive? Who ever heard of asking a country girl such -a question. You do not know my accomplishments Jim."</p> - -<p>"I know that you are the dearest and sweetest and most sensible girl -in the whole wide world. But I say we won't take the groom. In the -first place I want you all to myself. In the second, I must tell you -all that took place when I interviewed Joyce yesterday."</p> - -<p>Bess, needless to say thought this a capital plan, so when the groom -brought round the cart he was sent away. He saw the pair drive towards -the village and there was a broad grin on his face. He knew very well -what they were to one another. In some mysterious way the news had got -to the servants' hall and had been well discussed that very morning. -The lovers drove into Beorminster and talked in the most matter of -fact way about the conspiracy. Their heads were so close together that -one would have thought they were exchanging the tenderest confidences. -In place of that the detective fever was raging in both their breasts, -and they were like a couple of Scotland Yard officials.</p> - -<p>Then Herrick took a last farewell, promised to return in the course of -a few days, and caught the express. When the train disappeared round -the curve Bess went back to the cart and drove it to some stables -where she put it up. Afterwards she went into the lower part of -Beorminster where Mr. Inspector Bridge had his office. He happened to -be in and brightened up when he saw her. Bridge had a great opinion of -the younger Miss Endicotte.</p> - -<p>"What good wind brings you here Miss?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Ah!" said Bess solemnly, "that requires some telling Mr. Inspector. -It is about this pistol?" and she produced it from her pocket.</p> - -<p>"Pistol!" echoed Bridge puzzled, "ah! it is the pistol of the Carr -case?"</p> - -<p>"That is what I want to find out," said Miss Endicotte who had her -story all ready to tell, and had discussed its details with Dr. Jim -during the drive. "I found this the other day in the Pine wood near -Colonel Carr's house. It is a clumsy old-fashioned thing; but I -remembered what was said about the bullet being old-fashioned also. -Now I want you to see if the bullet fits the muzzle of this."</p> - -<p>"H'm!" said Bridge with his most important air and looking down the -muzzle, "so you found this pistol in the grass--and near the house? -Perhaps--I say perhaps mind you Miss Bess-this might be the weapon we -have been looking for so long. Is there a name on the butt?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Bess promptly, "you only find that in novels. There is not -so much as a scratch on the handle."</p> - -<p>"An old weapon," observed Bridge wagging his head ponderously and -irritating Bess to a frenzy with his platitudes. "Well, we must see if -the bullet--Ha! yes, the bullet. Now where is it?"</p> - -<p>Bridge went hunting over some shelves, and then he took to excavating -in drawers--opened a safe, dug under dusty piles of papers, and -suddenly produced (Bess never saw from where) a small box in which -something rattled. When he opened this there were three conical -bullets and one fat round one. "Ah," cried Bess, "there it is. Try! -please try Mr. Inspector."</p> - -<p>"All in good time Miss," said the aggravating Bridge, and dropped the -bullet into the muzzle. It disappeared, and he nodded solemnly. "It is -the pistol," he said, "you have made a valuable discovery Miss. If -there was only a name or initials on the handle," he sighed.</p> - -<p>Bess was not attending to him. She took the pistol and dropped out the -bullet; then rammed it home again, and nodded in her turn. "There is -no doubt of it," she said, "this the pistol that shot Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"Will you leave it with me Miss?" asked Bridge, "I might find out -something likely to lead to the detection of the assassin."</p> - -<p>Bess laughed delightedly. From that last phrase she knew that -Inspector Bridge had been reading detective fiction of the worst. She -knew also that the pistol would afford no clue to the truth until it -was in capable hands. Therefore as she thought it would be safer in -the Beorminster police office than in the untidy house of Biffstead -where everybody was always turning over everybody else's drawers she -consented that Bridge should take charge of it. The Inspector with an -important air put away the pistol in his safe. He was about to replace -the box, when he noticed that Bess had the round bullet in her hand.</p> - -<p>"Come Miss give it back?" he said. "Belongs to the Crown that does."</p> - -<p>"A queer bullet," murmured Bess, "made in a mould. Here is the seam. I -do not believe it is lead. It is too hard for lead. Have you a -pen-knife Mr. Inspector? Ah," she seized one lying on the desk, "this -will do. I don't believe this is lead."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense," said Bridge crossly, "all bullets are made of lead."</p> - -<p>"This is not," cried Bess who was scratching away vigorously. "See how -hard it is. And the scratches shine. Inspector Bridge," she said in a -solemn tone, "I believe this is silver."</p> - -<p>"It can't be." The Inspector took it up and examined it in his turn. -What Bess said was true. The bullet was hard, not soft as lead should -be, and moreover it was hard to scratch, and the little scraping she -had given it glittered in parts just like silver. "It might be," -murmured Bridge.</p> - -<p>"There is a silversmith just round the corner," said Bess in great -excitement. "Do come and let him see it. I want to know for certain -that it is silver."</p> - -<p>"I do not know what good that will do Miss Bess. If it is silver that -will not help us to catch Frisco any the sooner."</p> - -<p>"No! but you can't think what discoveries you might make if you knew -it was silver for certain. I know how you can put things together, and -a piece of evidence like this--oh I am sure you could do a lot with -it."</p> - -<p>Bridge in his own heart did not very well see what he could do. But he -was not proof against flattery as the artful Bess well knew, so he -went round the corner with her to a convenient jeweller's and offered -him the bullet. "Will you please to tell me what this is?" he said in -his most official tone. "Do not destroy it Mr. Blinks, or deform it in -any way. It is the property of the Crown. All the Crown wants to know -is the metal of which this is formed."</p> - -<p>Mr. Blinks was much impressed with this speech. Promising to be -careful he took the bullet into the next room--into his workshop and -there performed some trick of the trade. When he returned he handed -the bullet to Bridge very little altered. "It is of silver, Mr. -Bridge," he said.</p> - -<p>"All of silver?" asked Bridge while Bess tried to suppress her -excitement.</p> - -<p>"All of silver Mr. Bridge. It has been cast in a mould. Probably a cup -or a silver plate has been melted down. What is it Mr. Inspector?"</p> - -<p>"The property of the Crown," replied Bridge solemnly and departed. -When in the office he locked up the bullet and looked at Bess. "I -really do not see how this discovery can help me," he said.</p> - -<p>"Think over it Mr. Inspector. You will be certain to hit upon some -link."</p> - -<p>But Bess herself was as far away from the truth as the Inspector. As -she drove back to Saxham, she wondered how it came about that the -bullet which had killed Carr was cast in silver, and to this she could -find no answer.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_17" href="#div1Ref_17">CHAPTER XVII</a></h4> -<h5>UNEXPECTED EVIDENCE</h5> -<br> - -<p>The surprising discovery that the bullet was of silver, elevated the -crime from the common-place to the romantic. That an old-fashioned -weapon should have been used in these days when firearms have reached -such a pitch of perfection, was remarkable enough, but that the -assassin should have reverted to the superstitions of the Middle Ages -for his missile, was almost beyond belief. In spite of her quick -brain, Bess could not come to any decision. Failing a discussion with -Dr. Jim she resolved to leave the vexed question at rest.</p> - -<p>All the same she did not pause in her detective work. Having followed -up one clue, until it ended--for the time being--in nothing, she -hunted about for another. So far she had made two discoveries. The -pistol which Joyce declared he had received from Don Manuel was -certainly the weapon with which the murder had been committed; and the -bullet was of silver. But this knowledge resulted in nothing. -Certainly it cast a strong suspicion on the Mexican; but that part of -the puzzle Bess felt she could safely leave to Herrick. So far as her -particular business was concerned she could do no more, until she -heard her colleague's report. Pending this, she began to work in a -different direction. It occurred to her that she had never questioned -Sidney about his doings in the Pine wood on the night of the murder. -Possibly he might be able to supply some clue to the mystery.</p> - -<p>"He was in the habit of watching the tower," said Bess to herself, "he -said as much on that day when we had the picnic. I wonder if he saw -anything suspicious on that night; then he might have seen that horrid -little Joyce, or perhaps Frisco. I'll see what he knows."</p> - -<p>Sidney was not an easy person to question. His fantasies of thought, -had been laughed at so frequently, the truth of his statements so -often denied, that he had grown reticent. What he saw, what he heard, -he kept to himself, and not even his own family could get him to -explain himself on occasions when they really desired information. The -boy mooned about in a dreamy state of mind, saying little beyond the -merest common places and for the most part lived in that world of -fantasy which was anathema-maranatha to the people around him. He was -like a wild animal, shy, timid, and intensely suspicious.</p> - -<p>Bess thought that he might be more open with her, when he was--so to -speak--in his native wilds. She therefore watched her opportunity, and -followed him to one of his favourite haunts in the pine wood, where it -fringed the moor. Here one afternoon, she found him seated in a -secluded glade beside one of those remarkable circles, which the -country people call fairy rings. So steadily was he gazing at this in -the half-light which filtered through the overhead boughs, that he did -not notice her approach. To be sure she trod softly and used the same -precaution as she would have done when approaching the haunt of some -timid animal.</p> - -<p>Sidney had always been a puzzle to everyone, but Bess understood him -better than most people. Besides she had discussed him frequently with -Santiago, and was inclined to take the Mexican's view of the boy's -peculiarities. Remembering the oft-quoted saying of Hamlet. Bess was -less sceptical than those around her. She could' not see why Sidney -should not possess the power of seeing,--what in the generally -accepted sense is called the unseen. Considering what the lad had -foretold with regard to the death of Mrs. Marsh and the accident to -her step-son, it was impossible to say that Sidney was either a fool -or a madman. There was some reason for his fantasies--so-called: and -Bess regarded him with a certain amount of awe. She could not -understand him; but she granted that he was a rare spirit, far removed -from the common-place mortal.</p> - -<p>"Well Thomas the Rhymer," said Bess gaily, when her shadow fell on the -fairy-ring, "are you looking for the Queen of Elf-land?"</p> - -<p>It was characteristic of Sidney that he was never taken by surprise. -At the sound of her voice he neither started nor expressed any anger. -All he did was to raise his serious eyes to her face, and observe -quietly, "I knew you were coming, Bess dear."</p> - -<p>She threw herself down beside him and nodded towards the fairy-ring. -"Did they tell you?" she asked in low tone, and in all good faith.</p> - -<p>"No, Bess. This is not the time for the little people to be abroad. I -was only looking at their dancing-ground."</p> - -<p>"Have you seen them here?"</p> - -<p>"Often," replied Sidney with conviction, "small naked folk who dance -and sing and play on queer instruments. They know that I see them; but -they are not angry."</p> - -<p>"I believe you are a fairy yourself Sidney."</p> - -<p>"No. I have a soul--what you call a soul--and the fairies have none. -They are only the creatures who attend to the works of Nature; her -servants. I can see them because--" here Sidney broke off, "it is no -use my telling you Bess, you would not understand."</p> - -<p>Bess quite admitted this. She could not understand. All the same she -did not tell her brother that he was a fool as many people would have -done. She simply nodded, and passed the subject by. Her errand was to -find out what Sidney had seen in the actual world. After the manner of -her sex she approached the matter by a side-issue. "Sidney dear," said -she, "do you know that Mr. Joyce has gone away to London?"</p> - -<p>"No! I did not," replied Sidney gravely, "but I am very glad he has -gone. A bad man Bess, and he would have done you harm."</p> - -<p>"How? What do you mean." Sidney passed his hand across his face. "I -cannot explain," he said in a troubled voice, "you see Bess, bad -people carry about with them a bad atmosphere. That Mexican was very -wicked; Joyce not so bad. Both of them made me feel quite ill. Did you -never see how I refused to sit beside them? Well, that was because -they gave me such pain. Not physical pain but a kind of uncomfortable -feeling, which I can't put into words."</p> - -<p>"In what an old-fashioned way you talk Sidney," said Bess puzzled, -"one would think you were a hundred."</p> - -<p>"I know more than I say. Corn did not teach me everything I know!</p> - -<p>"Tell me Sidney. Do you like Mr. Corn?"</p> - -<p>"I do--in a way. He is not bad, but he is weak. With good people he is -good, with bad people he is bad. I am glad that Don Manuel has gone to -Town. He was doing Mr. Corn a lot of harm. But if I told you what I -know of these things you would only laugh at me."</p> - -<p>"No, I would not Sidney," said his sister earnestly, "I am sure that -you are so sensitive that you feel these influences you talk about."</p> - -<p>"Sensitive," echoed Sidney, "yes! I suppose that is what you would -call it. You have come here to ask me a question?" he said abruptly.</p> - -<p>"How do you know that?" she demanded, then seeing him shrug his thin -shoulders, she admitted the truth of what he said. "I want to ask you -who you saw in the Pine wood on the night when Colonel Carr was -killed?"</p> - -<p>Sidney thought for a moment, then raised his eyes towards the gap in -the trees formerly blocked by the tower. "I saw a lot of red mist -about the tower," he said, "that was anger. I saw too--" he shook his -head impatiently. "It is not these things you wish to know Bess?"</p> - -<p>"I want to know who killed Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"I can't tell you Bess. If I knew I should tell. But I don't. On that -night I came here, looking for things---" said Sidney with a -side-glance to see if she were laughing, "and although I felt that -there was a bad influence about the house, I never went near it. I -kept away and wandered on to the moor. That is why you missed me, when -you came to look for me. I did not mind the rain. But I saw your -lantern, and thought you would be anxious, so I returned home. Then -you came back yourself."</p> - -<p>"Yes. That is all true. But tell me Sidney, did you see Mr. Joyce in -the wood or on the moor?"</p> - -<p>"No. I did not see him. Stephen was the only person I saw."</p> - -<p>Bess started violently. "Stephen," she said, "surely you must be -mistaken."</p> - -<p>"No," replied the boy indifferently, "why should I be mistaken? You -know I can see in the dark like a cat. Before I saw your lantern, I -had seen Stephen on the lawn looking at the tower. I do not know what -time it was, so don't ask me. You are always so particular about -time," said Sidney peevishly, "as though it mattered."</p> - -<p>Bess reflected. It was strange that Stephen should have been in the -vicinity of the house on that night and yet have escaped her notice. -But she remembered that being intent upon looking for her brother that -she had not even seen Joyce, although he was lurking in the bushes at -her elbow. True she had caught a glimpse of Frisco. But that was when -she consciously looked at the door. It was possible that Sidney might -have come across Stephen. "Did you speak to him?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No. Why should I have spoken to him?"</p> - -<p>"Did he go into the house?"</p> - -<p>"Not that I saw Bess. He was looking up at the tower, standing on the -lawn by the trees. I went away to the other side of the wood, and out -on to the moor. That is all I know."</p> - -<p>"But Sidney, did you see Frisco crossing the moor?"</p> - -<p>"I did not. When I saw your lantern I went home. I wish you would stop -asking me questions," he cried irritably, "you make my head ache."</p> - -<p>After this speech, he relapsed into one of his silent fits, and Bess -could not get him to speak. Knowing from experience that Sidney was -hopeless when in this mood, she left him still by the fairy ring, and -took her way back to Biffstead. The house was empty, as Ida had gone -to Beorminster to see Flo, and Frank was attending to the farm.</p> - -<p>Bess sat down and wondered what could be the meaning of Stephen's -presence at "The Pines" on that night. She knew that he had come over -from Beorminster to escort his mother home. But then Mrs. Marsh had -been with Mr. Corn the whole evening, and there was no reason why -Stephen should have gone out of his way to visit "The Pines." It was -in the afternoon that Mrs. Marsh had seen the Colonel, and Stephen -must have known that she would not be at the great house after nine -o'clock. This, Bess, calculating by her own movements, was the hour at -which Sidney had seen him. He was looking up at the tower too, so -Sidney said. "But he can't have had anything to do with it," she -thought restlessly, "he disliked the Colonel, but he didn't--no, I -won't even think of it! Such a thing if true, would kill Ida. Yet I -must find out from Stephen himself why he was in the wood on that -night."</p> - -<p>She reflected. At this hour Stephen would be alone. Why should she not -go over and see him. In one way or another she could tell him about -the pistol and the silver bullet and see from the expression of his -face if he knew anything about either. It was incredible that Stephen -should have fired the shot. He was the Colonel's heir; but even to -gain the money he certainly was too good a man to commit a crime. Yet -if what Sidney said was true, Stephen had been on the lawn about the -time Colonel Carr was shot. He must know something about the matter.</p> - -<p>"I'll see him," said Bess putting on her hat again. "I shall not be -able to sleep a wink until I know what he has to say."</p> - -<p>In another half hour she was in the library where Stephen was -established on the sofa. He looked thin, and rather worried, but his -face brightened when he saw her. "This is good of you Bess," he said -stretching out his hand, "I am all alone; Herrick is in Town; Ida at -Beorminster. Not a soul to speak to. Draw that chair close to the -fire. Shall I ring for tea?"</p> - -<p>"It is too early yet," she said reassured by this bright talk. It was -incredible that a man who spoke so lightly should have a black crime -on his soul. "I just want to chatter for a bit; I am so tired of my -own company."</p> - -<p>"So am I. Well you talk about Jim, and I'll discourse about Ida. We -shall be quite happy. By the way, when will Ida be back?"</p> - -<p>"About dinner time. She will come over and see you afterwards."</p> - -<p>"I wish she would come to dinner here," said Stephen, "you also and -Frank and Sidney. I miss Jim horribly, and it is no fun eating a long -solemn meal alone. Upon my word Bess, I sometimes long for the days -when Petronella's macaroni could be eaten hurriedly, and without this -formality. I would rather have a book than a footman about the table."</p> - -<p>"What a mixed way of talking," said Bess pensively, "you _have_ a book -on the table as a rule, I suppose you are glad all the same that you -have the Colonel's money?"</p> - -<p>"Of course I am," said Stephen frankly, "it enables me to marry Ida. I -was so afraid lest she should marry someone else before I came into my -kingdom. But I could not ask her to be my wife when I was a pauper -could I Bess? She's a rare jewel that requires a rich setting."</p> - -<p>"I don't think Ida values money so much as all that," said Bess -gravely. "She would have married you without a sixpence. But I am glad -all the same that the money came to you so soon. It is nice to be -rich."</p> - -<p>"So it is," admitted Stephen gladly. "I can buy whatever books I like."</p> - -<p>Bess laughed at this speech. "I am afraid you will grow into a -bookworm."</p> - -<p>"No. Jim has got me out of bad habits in that respect. At one time I -did nothing but read. Now I ride and swim and box and fence and -shoot----"</p> - -<p>Bess started at the last word. It gave her the opening she desired. -"Are you a good shot?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"I was always a good shot," said Stephen coolly, "that is, with a -pistol. I never handled a gun until I came here."</p> - -<p>"I did not know you had ever handled a pistol either?"</p> - -<p>"Oh yes, I did. Young Capron gave me permission to shoot rabbits on his -estate ages ago. I could not afford to buy a gun, but I did manage to -get enough money to screw out a revolver--and a very good one. I -believe it was brought here from Beorminster, unless Petronella -overlooked it. But I have not used it for over a year. Rabbit shooting -with a pistol is not much fun especially when one is alone."</p> - -<p>"I should like to see the pistol," said Bess, after a pause.</p> - -<p>"Go over then to the box behind that screen," said Stephen, "if it is -anywhere it will be in there. There are all sorts of odds and ends, -rag tag and bobtail of my former existence."</p> - -<p>Bess did as she was told and walked slowly over and behind the large -gilded screen which stood in a far corner of the library. Here, pushed -to one side, was a moderately sized box, the lid of which was open. -She found in it a few books, many manuscripts, pens, an inkstand, and -all the paraphernalia of a writing table. These she enumerated aloud.</p> - -<p>"I know," said Stephen from the sofa, "those are the the contents of -my study. I expect Petronella threw all the things into that trunk. -The pistol is bound to be there--in a small mahogany-box. I always -kept it on the mantelpiece of my study. Be careful if you find it -Bess. All six chambers are loaded."</p> - -<p>After some search Bess came across just such a box, and opened it to -find a neat little revolver of the most modern pattern. She carried -this, box and all, to a table near the sofa. Again Stephen warned her -that the weapon was loaded. "I kept it loaded because my mother was -always afraid of thieves poor soul," he said, "though heaven knows -there was little enough to steal in that dismal house of ours! What is -it Bess?"</p> - -<p>"There are only three chambers loaded," said Bess thickly. In a flash -she remembered the three shots fired into the dead body--and the -conical shape of the bullets. Those in the weapon she held were -conical in shape.</p> - -<p>"Nonsense," said Stephen nervously. "I always kept the whole six -loaded. You must be making a mistake," he took the revolver from her -and examined it closely. "You are right," he said with a long breath. -"Three of them _are_ empty."</p> - -<p>As he spoke he looked up apparently with indifference. When his eye -caught hers he saw something in her expression which made him start -and flush crimson. For a moment they looked at one another. Then -Stephen swung himself up to a sitting position and laid the pistol on -the side table. "Why do you look at me like that Bess?" he asked in a -hurried tone.</p> - -<p>For a minute she did not reply. But she felt that she must know the -truth, and burst out hurriedly "Stephen! You were on the lawn on the -night your uncle was killed!"</p> - -<p>The young man started to his feet, and then fell back again on the -sofa white, and amazed. "How do know?" he stuttered.</p> - -<p>"Sidney saw you. He told me. Oh, Stephen,--three chambers of your -revolver empty--three shots at----" she felt suffocated and could not -continue.</p> - -<p>"Wait! Wait" Stephen put his hand to his head. It felt confused. His -face was of a deep purple. Bess thought that he would have a fit and -blamed herself for having blurted out her suspicions.</p> - -<p>"Wait! Wait" muttered Marsh-Carr again as she moved towards the bell -to summon assistance. He sat down on the sofa, his face in his hands, -rocking himself to and fro. Then he heaved a deep sigh, and looked up -at her white haggard face. "You will not tell Ida," he said.</p> - -<p>With her hands twisted in her hair Bess stepped back. She suppressed a -shriek. "Stephen!" she cried hoarsely "You did not--you----"</p> - -<p>"I did not murder him. No," replied the young man harshly. "He was -already dead when I fired those three shots."</p> - -<p>"Then it was you who?--"</p> - -<p>"It was I," cried Stephen, rising to his feet with a fierce look, "and -you are going to denounce me, I suppose!"</p> - -<p>"No! No! how can you think I would do such a thing? But Ida, poor -Ida!"</p> - -<p>"You must not tell her," cried Stephen grasping her wrist until she -winced with the pain. "Do what you like, but say nothing to Ida. I -would rather break off our engagement on another plea than that she -should know."</p> - -<p>The pain of the twist he gave her arm brought Bess back to a more -normal state of mind. She pulled herself together, and sat down. -"Stephen," she said slowly, "no one but you and I will share this -secret. Can you swear to me that Colonel Carr was already dead when -you fired those shots? I want the truth!"</p> - -<p>"He was already dead," said Marsh-Carr sitting down quietly, "did you -not hear the medical evidence at the inquest? It was the bullet which -killed him. My shots were fired at a carcase."</p> - -<p>"Why did you do such a horrible thing?" wailed Bess. "Because I was -mad for the time being," said Stephen gloomily, "I will tell you all -if you are strong enough to hear it."</p> - -<p>"After what I know, I am strong enough to hear anything. Oh! To think -that you should have behaved in so barbarous a manner."</p> - -<p>Stephen winced. "It was barbarous I confess," said he, "but I was mad -for the time being. After all you must not be too hard on me. I did -not kill my respected uncle," he sneered.</p> - -<p>Bess shivered. She had never before seen this side of Stephen's -character, and the new experience was unpleasant. It even stirred her -into unconsidered indignation. "Since you went up that tower with a -revolver, you must have intended to kill the man," she said.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps I did, perhaps I did not," he answered in a most brazen -manner, "but the plain truth is that I wanted to frighten him.</p> - -<p>"And did you think a revolver would frighten a man who had faced death -fifty and a hundred times?" said Bess with scorn. She recalled to her -memory several episodes Carr had told her of his American doings; she -well knew the dare-devilry latent in the man.</p> - -<p>"Carr was old, and had lost his nerve. I counted upon that. I never -intended to kill him. When I went up the tower the work had been done -for me already."</p> - -<p>"And who did it?"</p> - -<p>"I do not know," said Stephen earnestly, "upon my soul Bess I do not -know--the man was dead when I saw him. It was sheer rage that made me -fire those three shots. The brute that is in me, as it is in every -man, came to the surface. But of the real murderer I saw no trace. I -did not see Frisco whom I take to be the man."</p> - -<p>"It was not Frisco," flashed out Bess, "However," she continued sick -at heart, "you had better tell me how it came about."</p> - -<p>"Partly through my love for Ida, partly through my mother," said -Marsh-Carr gloomily. "It came to my mother's ears that the Colonel -intended to disinherit me. I suppose Frisco got the upper hand and -induced him to alter his will--that is if he did alter it which I -doubt."</p> - -<p>"Of course he did not Stephen. If he had left the money to anyone else -you would not be here."</p> - -<p>"I am not so sure about that," replied the young man savagely. "Frisco -might have taken the second will from the corpse. At all events I know -that Frith and Frith drafted no new will. If it was drawn the Colonel -must have drawn it himself. However Frisco let out in one of his -drunken fits at Beorminster that Carr intended to cut me off. My -mother heard the news and came home in a frenzy of rage. It was for -that reason she called on Carr on the afternoon you know of. The -twenty-fourth was it not? She intended to argue him into a better -frame of mind. He only laughed at her and said he would leave his -money as pleased him. She told me the next day. But Carr was dead -then."</p> - -<p>"What made you decide to frighten him?"</p> - -<p>"Am I not telling you!" said Stephen impatiently. "When my mother went -to Saxham I knew she would fail. A woman could not deal with a devil -like my beloved uncle. I determined to see what I could do with a -revolver. I would have fought a duel with him to keep my rights," said -the young man fiercely, "but I would not have killed him in cold -blood. No, indeed."</p> - -<p>"Well go on," said Bess, "I want to know all."</p> - -<p>"There is little to tell," said Marsh-Carr. "I was going to Saxham to -fetch home my mother who was at the rectory. I thought I would visit -'The Pines' and see the Colonel. I did so, some time before nine."</p> - -<p>"Ah! it was about that hour Sidney saw you."</p> - -<p>"I daresay. I stood on the lawn looking at the tower, and could not -make up my mind to enter the house. It was all ablaze with lights, and -quite deserted."</p> - -<p>"No," said Bess recalling her own experience. "I heard you fire the -shots and saw Frisco at the door. He was drunk and hanging on to the -post."</p> - -<p>"You heard me fire the shots. I did not know you were about?"</p> - -<p>"I was then. I had gone to look for Sidney. But you see Frisco--"</p> - -<p>"It was Frisco," said Stephen vehemently. "I tell you Carr was dead -when I went up, lying face downward. If Frisco was at the door, he was -just clearing out after killing the man. He knew that he would be -arrested."</p> - -<p>"But he must have heard the shots?"</p> - -<p>"Then he knew that someone had discovered the body which would make -him run for it all the more quickly. However to make a long story -short I fired the three shots you know of, and then returned to my -mother at the rectory. I said nothing about the matter, as I had not -killed Carr. If Frisco is not the murderer I do not know who is. That -is all I can tell you Bess, you see I am not such a guilty wretch as -you thought."</p> - -<p>"I know that," said Bess impetuously, "If you were I should insist -upon your leaving Ida. To fire at the dead was savage, but, as I know -the man must have been dead at the time--the medical evidence proves -that, I will say nothing. Why did you not tell me of this before?"</p> - -<p>"What use would it have been?" said Stephen raising his eyebrows, "I -cannot tell you anything likely to lead to the capture of the -assassin, and beside it is not a pleasant thing to tell about myself. -I should not have told you now, but that you have been one too many -for me. I should have re-loaded the three chambers of that revolver. -But I forgot and put it away thinking all six were loaded. I should be -ashamed to let Jim or Ida know that I had been such a beast."</p> - -<p>"I shall say nothing to them," said Bess coldly, "but I am -disappointed in you Stephen."</p> - -<p>"I know," said the young man humbly, "I should have had more -self-control. But you will not turn your back on me for this Bess?"</p> - -<p>"No. All the same I can't feel as I did towards you. Let me go away -and think Stephen. And--put away that revolver."</p> - -<p>Marsh-Carr nodded, and slipped the weapon into his pocket. But he made -no attempt to detain Bess. She went away with a sore heart.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_18" href="#div1Ref_18">CHAPTER XVIII</a></h4> -<h5>PART OF THE TRUTH</h5> -<br> - -<p>While Bess was thus employed, her colleague had his hands full in -London. On arriving at Paddington, Herrick drove directly to the West -Kensington Flat. It was closed, and the porter explained that Mr. -Joyce had been away for some weeks.</p> - -<p>"Ah, that is a pity," said Dr. Jim with a grim smile. "I wished to see -him most particularly."</p> - -<p>"I expect him back shortly sir," said the man.</p> - -<p>"Ah! Has he written to fix the date of his return?"</p> - -<p>"Not yet sir. But Mr. Joyce never remains away more than a month or -two."</p> - -<p>"He may change his habits this time."</p> - -<p>"I don't think so sir. Shall I tell him you called sir?"</p> - -<p>"No. You need not go so far as that. When he comes home just send a -wire to that address. And this for yourself."</p> - -<p>The porter, a venal creature in uniform, looked at the half sovereign -and the address of the Guelph Hotel in Jermyn Street. He promised -faithfully to send a wire the moment Mr. Joyce returned, and Dr. Jim -went away, very well satisfied that he had done right in having Robin -watched. "Damned little scoundrel!" growled Herrick. "What is the use -of sparing him? But that he is in the hands of a stronger villain, I -would lay him by the heels straight off. But I shall deal with -Santiago this time. I expect he and Joyce are plotting together in -some hole."</p> - -<p>In another hour Herrick was climbing a flight of dingy stairs in the -neighbourhood of the Strand. He stopped at the second landing and -before a door, which bore the name of Kidd, Belcher & Co, Private -Inquiry Office. On entering he was confronted by a dirty undersized -boy. Kidd was absent on business, but Belcher was in, and on giving -his card, Dr. Jim was shown into the next room. Here at a table near -the window sat a man. That is he stood on two legs, he was neatly -dressed, and he talked in a prim precise voice. But going by his face -he was a ferret. The long face and nose, the broad forehead and small -receding chin, and above all the red-rimmed eyes without eyebrows or -eyelashes. All this made him look very much like a ferret. And his -nature was also of the beast. He was a sly, silent, cunning tracker, -relentless when once he had hunted down his prey. A dangerous man, a -deadly man, who had elected to place himself on the side of the law, -as offering the better price. Had he chosen to be one of the great -criminal profession, Mr. Belcher would have been a dangerous opponent -to the police. Luckily he found that honesty paid better than roguery, -therefore he was at the disposal of Dr. Jim, for the watching of -Santiago and Joyce. He talked freely on this point. "It's all right -sir," he said in his whispering voice and arranging his neat white -tie. "Kidd caught him at the Paddington station, and followed him to -Pimlico."</p> - -<p>"Oh, he is in Pimlico is he?"</p> - -<p>"Watched by three boys, and Kidd himself. Four kids I call them," said -Mr. Belcher with a silent laugh. "You see sir that Mexican gent -prefers to live at Pimlico because it is near the Gambling Club. We -need not mention names sir, as I have an interest in that club and -don't want the police to know of it. I hunt with the hounds and run -with the fox you see," and Belcher gave another of his silent laughs.</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Jim taking no notice of the joke, "so Joyce is at -Santiago's lodgings is he?"</p> - -<p>"Drove straight therefrom Paddington, and has not been out of doors -since. The Don has been sir. He never thinks you are after _him_."</p> - -<p>"I fancy he has rather a contempt for my brains," said Jim. "However -we shall see about that. I'll go to those lodgings."</p> - -<p>"Would you mind telling me what the Mexican has done sir?"</p> - -<p>"I would mind very much Mr. Belcher. When I want to tell you my -business you won't have to help me. It is a private matter. But later -on there may be something in it likely to pay you. At present all I -want you to do is to keep an eye on Joyce and Santiago. I will pay you -well for it."</p> - -<p>"Yes sir, thank you, sir. Excuse my curiosity. Quite professional."</p> - -<p>"No doubt; but you will make more money by asking no questions. If -things are as I suspect with these two it will put a lot of cash into -your pockets. Meanwhile, hold your tongue."</p> - -<p>"Very good Dr. Herrick," said the ferret meekly, "so long as you know -your business, I don't need to teach it to you. But you know our firm. -We are straight."</p> - -<p>"So long as you are paid. Otherwise you prefer to keep gambling -saloons unknown to the police. Oh, never fear man, I shall say nothing. -By the way, lend me a revolver:"</p> - -<p>"Ha!" said the ferret with sudden interest, "is it as bad as that?"</p> - -<p>"I think so. One at least of the two will show fight, and it won't be -the man you followed from Paddington. You had better come with me -Belcher. I want to know if the coast is clear. If the two catch sight -of me from the window, they may clear out. While I am talking to them, -you and Kidd can remain outside. If you hear a shot, rush up with the -nearest policeman. But I won't fire unless I am driven to it."</p> - -<p>"Going to shoot one of them Dr. Herrick?" said Belcher producing a -very serviceable weapon which Jim slipped into his breast pocket.</p> - -<p>"Not unless either one draws on me. It is the Mexican I fear. But it -is the more likely I shall only fire the revolver by way of a signal. -You know what you have to do?"</p> - -<p>"Yes sir," said the ferret with something of admiration in his -whisper, "you ought to have been in our profession doctor. You provide -against every chance."</p> - -<p>"Except sudden death," laughed Jim as they went down the dingy stairs, -"I have a tough article to deal with in that Santiago. Do you know -anything about him Belcher."</p> - -<p>The ferret shook his head and waved a neat umbrella to a passing -hansom. "Not much sir," he replied, "he's been in England over six -months, and always in the same lodgings. He has money but not too much -of it. I got to know him at the club, and he gambled so high and won -so much that I made it my business to look after him. But I could find -out nothing to get the whip hand of him, sir."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Joyce goes to your club also?"</p> - -<p>"Yes sir. I told you so when you called to see me first. I knew the -name at once. Kidd knows him too, but he doesn't know Kidd. That was -why I sent Kidd to Paddington. He's a fool, sir."</p> - -<p>"True enough," replied Herrick dryly, "but even a fool can become -dangerous in the hands of an unscrupulous scoundrel like Santiago. Oh, -I do not know anything against him," added Herrick seeing the ferret's -eyes twinkle. "I am only going by the little I do know."</p> - -<p>"Not enough to jail him I suppose, sir?"</p> - -<p>"Not yet, but there might be soon," replied Jim, glancing sideways at -his neat companion. He well knew that Belcher and Kidd liked to know -secrets in order to extort blackmail. A dangerous pair; but Jim knew -how to deal with them. They were rather afraid of Jim. He knew too -much.</p> - -<p>Herrick had become acquainted with the ferret through having saved the -life of his small daughter, and as this child was the apple of the -man's eye, he adored Jim and was in the habit of speaking to him more -freely than he otherwise would have done. Therefore Jim got to know -more about the Private Inquiry Firm than was altogether wise. However, -he could keep his mouth shut, and, as at present, he sometimes found -the pair useful. But the connection was not a pleasant one, even so, -and Herrick was wont to comfort himself with the reflection that when -dirty work has to be done, no man can be nice in the choice of his -instruments.</p> - -<p>Directed by the ferret, the cab stopped at the corner of a Pimlico -street in a quiet neighbourhood. There he left the doctor in the cab, -and went along to reconnoitre. In ten minutes he came back.</p> - -<p>"The Mexican has gone out," said Belcher, "he has been away an hour. -But Joyce is in the sitting-room. Kidd saw his face two or three times -at the window. If you creep along the street under the house he won't -be able to see you."</p> - -<p>"Right you are," said Dr. Jim climbing down, and paying off the -cab--lavishly because he did not want a disturbance, "you wait -outside both of you and keep an eye on the policeman. When you hear a -shot"--</p> - -<p>"You needn't tell me twice Dr. Herrick," said Belcher, his professional -pride wounded. "Off you go sir, I'll stop hereabouts and whistle if -the Mexican comes along. He doesn't know my real business."</p> - -<p>"Jim nodded, and walked along to number forty-three, where--as Belcher -told him Santiago had rooms on the first floor. On the opposite side -of the street he saw Kidd with a green shade and picturesquely attired -in rags, playing the part of a pavement artist. At the end of the -street three or four boys were playing marbles. No one would suspect -that either man or boys were spies. Jim fingered his revolver, and -rang the bell.</p> - -<p>"I want to see Mr. Joyce," he said to the slattern who opened the -door, "my name is Nuttall, and I come from Don Manuel Santiago."</p> - -<p>The slattern suspecting nothing from this calm address conducted Jim -up the stairs. She opened a door and gave the message to Robin. -Herrick heard his voice telling her to show in Mr. Nuttall, and he -guessed from the sound of it that Joyce was uneasy. The slattern -pushed Jim to the door and then dropped down stairs rapidly. She -wanted to get back to her novel, for her mistress was away for the -afternoon.</p> - -<p>"Well Joyce and how are you?"</p> - -<p>Robin gave a kind of squeal like that of a trapped animal, and fell -back into the chair from which he had risen to welcome Mr. Nuttall. -His face grew white, his jaw dropped, and he collapsed into a limp -heap. Fright so paralysed his tongue that he could not speak. Jim -smiled politely and closed the door. Then he took a chair opposite to -the wretched creature.</p> - -<p>"You are a proper little scoundrel," he said in withering tones, "I am -sorry to see you brought so low as this, Joyce."</p> - -<p>"What do you want?" cried Robin flaming into sudden fury. "Have you -not humiliated me enough, but that you must come after me----"</p> - -<p>"To find you in hiding with Don Manuel. Go easy Joyce, and keep a -civil tongue in your head."</p> - -<p>"I'd like to kill you," he muttered, his face distorted with fury.</p> - -<p>"I have no doubt you would, and I have also small doubt but that your -friend Santiago will try."</p> - -<p>"Do you want to see him?"</p> - -<p>"And you. Yes. You told me such lies at Saxham, coached by Don Manuel -I suppose, that I wish to talk to the two of you together."</p> - -<p>"If you don't leave this place I will call the police."</p> - -<p>"Do so by all means. I shall give you in charge when they appear. Come -Joyce, don't be a fool! You have to sit down and do what I tell you."</p> - -<p>Joyce resumed his seat and bit his fingers. "Santiago will kill you," -he muttered viciously. "I hope he will!"</p> - -<p>"Thank you; I see pity is wasted on a reptile like you. But see here," -said Jim with sudden fierceness. "I am prepared for you and for the -Mexican also. I have only to fire this," he showed the revolver "and -the detectives who are waiting will come up."</p> - -<p>"Detectives!" cried Joyce white as snow and trembling.</p> - -<p>"Yes, you fool. I gave you every chance to clear yourself. You abused -my leniency, and plotted with Santiago to cheat me. This time you will -not get off so easy. I wonder how you will like being in the dock on a -charge of conspiracy."</p> - -<p>"It's--it's--it's a lie!"</p> - -<p>"It's the truth, and you know it. You and Santiago wish to get the -money left by Colonel Carr. You tried to murder Stephen in the -churchyard."</p> - -<p>"It was not I," gasped Robin shaking with fright, "I was with the Miss -Endicottes all the time."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I know that your accomplice is the bolder villain. It was he--" -here Herrick made a shot in the dark, "--it was Santiago who struck -Marsh."</p> - -<p>"I know he did," sobbed Joyce falling into the trap, "but I--"</p> - -<p>"Never mind about yourself," said Jim exulting in having extorted this -piece of information, "tell me what there is between Santiago and Corn -that made him force the parson to tell a lie in order to prove his -alibi. Corn said that Manuel was with him all the evening. You know -that is false. Manuel went out and struck Stephen Marsh."</p> - -<p>"I don't know what power Santiago has over Corn," said Robin wiping -his eyes, "he never told me; but he has some. He treats me like a dog, -and I can't call my soul my own."</p> - -<p>"You poor little rat!" said Herrick with a certain pity. "Then the -best thing you can do is to come back to me, and tell me all you know -about this scoundrel."</p> - -<p>"No! No!" whimpered Joyce, "he would kill me."</p> - -<p>"Not he! I shall know how to save you, and if you do not tell," said -Dr. Jim in a sharp tone, "I'll have you arrested as being concerned in -this murder of Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"I am innocent; you know I am innocent!"</p> - -<p>"I know nothing of the sort," replied Herrick unexpectedly. "I have -your word for it, and your confession of your doings on that night. -But there is quite enough in that confession--signed by yourself, -mind--to justify your being arrested on suspicion of having committed -the crime. Do you think a jury would believe in your story, especially -as I can prove that the pistol with which--as I verily believe--the -crime was committed was in your possession?"</p> - -<p>"I got it from Santiago."</p> - -<p>"So you said, and yet at the time you told me, it was out of my power -to question the man. You knew that he had gone up to Town by the -Heathcroft line, and you did not tell me."</p> - -<p>"I was afraid. He forced me to hold my tongue."</p> - -<p>"You had better be a little more afraid of me. I can do you more -mischief than Don Manuel is likely to do. He will have sufficient to -do to look after himself. But I knew what a slippery little devil you -were Joyce, and so I had you watched from the moment you disembarked -at the Paddington station. You can't move a step now without my -knowledge. So you need not try to give me the slip again."</p> - -<p>By this time Joyce was in a state of collapse. He saw that Herrick had -been too clever for him. Between his fear of Santiago and his fear of -Herrick he was in a pitiable state of mind. Dr. Jim felt sorry for the -miserable creature in spite of the contempt which his conduct -righteously provoked. "I'll tell you what I can," said Joyce after a -pause.</p> - -<p>"I think you are wise. You expect Santiago back soon?"</p> - -<p>"At five o'clock."</p> - -<p>"It is a quarter past four now," said Herrick glancing at his watch. -"I will wait for him."</p> - -<p>"He is dangerous," said Joyce alarmed, and rising from his chair.</p> - -<p>"So am I. It is not a man like me who is afraid of a Mexican Greaser, -Mr. Joyce. Don't go near that window. You'll be making signals to your -friend. I don't trust you."</p> - -<p>"On my honour--" began Joyce returning to his seat.</p> - -<p>"You haven't got any. Now then, why did Santiago try to get Marsh -killed?"</p> - -<p>"He did not want to kill him. He only desired that he should be -disabled and prevented from going to the vault."</p> - -<p>Herrick whistled. "Ah, he has been looking up the will at Doctor's -Commons. Well, and what does he expect to gain by the money going to -Frisco? The man is in communication with him I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"No," said Joyce sulkily, "he is in communication with me."</p> - -<p>"The devil!" Herrick sprang to his feet. "So _you_ put that cipher in -the paper, asking Frisco to meet you at Hyde Park Corner."</p> - -<p>"Yes I did. I put in the first and the second."</p> - -<p>"Who taught you the cipher? It was one that Colonel Carr knew."</p> - -<p>"Santiago taught it to me."</p> - -<p>"Ah! Now we are getting at the truth," said Herrick, "and where did -you meet Santiago may I ask? No lie this time, please?"</p> - -<p>"I met him at the gambling club in this district."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you did. I never knew that gambling was a vice of yours. It seems -one never does know a man. I thought better of you. Well, and for what -reason did Santiago tell you about this cipher."</p> - -<p>"I knew him before I went on the walking tour with you. When I came -back to London I went to the club and saw him there. He talked about -the murder of Carr and had seen my name as one of the men who found -the body. In one way and another he got everything out of me."</p> - -<p>"The story you told me?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! He made me tell everything."</p> - -<p>"Clever man," said Herrick with a nod, "but of course you are so weak -poor soul, that you would tell everything. I now see how this man got -you into his power. Well, and why did he teach you the cipher."</p> - -<p>"It seems he knew Frisco--"</p> - -<p>"Oh! He denied that. I knew that was a lie; but no matter."</p> - -<p>"I said that Frisco was in London, and that I should like to find him. -I wanted to know if Frisco had really killed Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" Herrick shrugged his shoulders, "and were on simple enough to -think that Frisco would tell you?"</p> - -<p>"He did tell me--"</p> - -<p>"That he was innocent of course?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. That he was innocent. But if he had told me that he was guilty I -could not have betrayed him."</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Dr. Jim with a sharp glance, "you are getting more -mysterious every moment. Well, so you put in that cipher--the -first--by the direction of the Mexican?</p> - -<p>"Yes. And met Frisco at Hyde Park Corner. I also put in the second -when I wanted to see Frisco again. He wouldn't give me his address, -but said if I wanted to see him I was to communicate by the cipher. I -did not meet him the second time, because I saw you waiting to catch -us."</p> - -<p>"Ah! That was clever of you."</p> - -<p>"Of you too," said Joyce, "how did you learn the cipher?"</p> - -<p>"That is my business. Be civil," said Dr. Jim sharply, "go on. You saw -this man you say, and he told you he was innocent, which is a lie. I -suppose Santiago saw him also?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. We were all three in my flat."</p> - -<p>"Nice party," said Dr. Jim sarcastically, "and you made up this -conspiracy between the lot of you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! We wanted Marsh to lose the money."</p> - -<p>"I do not see where the advantage would come in," said Dr. Jim -reflectively, "the money would go to Frisco certainly, but he could -not benefit, without running the risk of arrest."</p> - -<p>"He was not to appear at all in the matter," explained Joyce. "When -the money came to him, he was to feign death and make a will leaving -the fortune to me; I was to share it with him and Santiago."</p> - -<p>Herrick stared. The conspiracy was more complete than he had thought, -and very cunning too. "Upon my word that is clever," he said in a tone -half of jest and half admiration, "although I do not exactly see how -the law would look at the matter. Frisco wanted for murder--to feign -death--fortune left to you--money to be shared between the presumed -corpse and the two plotters left alive. Why! it's like a melodrama. -You would have had some difficulty in proving the death of Frisco -though."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Santiago was going to manage that," said Joyce with confidence.</p> - -<p>"I am sure he would, even to going the length of making a real corpse -of the man after the will was signed."</p> - -<p>Joyce jumped up and began to walk up and down much agitated. "No," he -said, "bad as you think me Herrick, I should never have consented to -Frisco being put out of the way. The death would have been proved -without that. Frisco would have received his share of the money. He -would have gone free. I would rather die myself than that anything -should happen to Frisco. Yes, you may look; I would."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim shrugged his shoulders. "Your conscience has grown very tender -all of a sudden, that you should desire to shield a scoundrel. Is -Frisco a relative of yours that you should be so careful of his skin?"</p> - -<p>Joyce dropped into his seat and looked straight at the doctor. "Frisco -is my father," he said deliberately.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim jumped up in his turn and stared down at the pinched white -face. He could scarcely believe his ears. "Your father?" he gasped, -"is this another part of your conspiracy?"</p> - -<p>"It is the truth," said Joyce simply, so simply that Herrick was -convinced that for once he was telling no lie. "When he met me and -came to my flat, he told me he was my father. I did not believe him, -but he soon convinced me by showing me my mother's letters.</p> - -<p>"Addressed to him where?"</p> - -<p>"Colonel Carr's."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" Herrick dropped back into his chair, "so this accounts for the -annuity! What is your father's real name?"</p> - -<p>"Joyce! The same as mine. He was Colonel Carr's Cousin."</p> - -<p>Herrick was amazed, and remembered what he had heard about the uncle -of the wicked Colonel. "Carr's father turned a son out of doors," he -muttered "the son went to America and married. He had one daughter--"</p> - -<p>"My mother. She was the Carr's cousin, not my father's. I am getting -confused," murmured Joyce feeling his head.</p> - -<p>"In that case you are cousin to Stephen Marsh?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. And I should have the money, since my grandfather was the -brother of Colonel Carr. That was why I conspired, as you call it. -That was why my father and Santiago tried to help me to get my rights. -What do you think of it now Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"I think that you went the wrong way to work," said Jim, "that is if -you are telling me the truth,--which I doubt."</p> - -<p>"It is the truth," cried Joyce clenching his fist, "if you do not -believe me," he added listening for a moment, "here is one who will -tell you."</p> - -<p>"Santiago!" said Herrick rising to be ready for emergencies.</p> - -<p>"Yes! He is coming up the stair now."</p> - -<p>At that moment there was a shrill whistle outside, Belcher's signal.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_19" href="#div1Ref_19">CHAPTER XIX</a></h4> -<h5>DON MANUEL'S RECOLLECTIONS</h5> -<br> - -<p>Santiago entered the room quite unsuspiciously. His step was light, -his eyes were bright, and he had evidently been successfully plotting -some new and lucrative villainy. In a moment his astonished eyes -lighted upon Herrick, standing tall and smiling on the hearth-rug. A -Spanish oath of the coarsest slipped from his mouth, and he looked -about as evil as a man can look who knows that the game is up. However -he was plucky enough to show fight. He even attempted bluff.</p> - -<p>"What are you doing in my rooms Señor?" he demanded in Spanish. "If -you----"</p> - -<p>"Don't you think we had better keep to English?" said Herrick blandly. -"I know you speak it so well, and of course we have our mutual friend -Joyce to consider. You are surprised to see me. Natural, very -natural."</p> - -<p>Joyce sat in his chair silent and white. He was too frightened to open -his mouth for he knew something of Don Manuel's rages, and dreaded the -tornado which would ensue when the Mexican learned how Herrick had -been told everything by his weak-kneed coadjutor. For a moment -Santiago (still in ignorance as to the true state of affairs), ground -his teeth. Then by an effort of will he recovered his smile, and to -all appearances his usual temper. "You will excuse me if I spoke -rudely Señor," he said with a polite how, "it is not my custom. But I -am rather taken aback at meeting you here. I do not remember having -asked you to come."</p> - -<p>"That's all right," replied Jim cheerfully. He did not sit down, for -Santiago was still on his feet. And one can use a revolver better when -standing. "I heard that you had been suddenly called to Town -yesterday. I therefore made it my business to follow."</p> - -<p>"Very kind of you," said Santiago slipping his hand into his breast -pocket, an action which was imitated by Herrick, "but how did you find -out my address? I never gave it to you."</p> - -<p>"An oversight on your part my dear Don Manuel," replied Jim politely -but watchful of the man's slightest action, "but the fact is my friend -Joyce left Beorminster yesterday as you know--that was after his talk -with you I believe. I thought that it was possible you might ask him -to stop with you for a day or so in place of returning to his own -home. Therefore I telegraphed to town asking certain friends of mine -to keep a watch on him and--you."</p> - -<p>"What am I to understood from all this Señor?"</p> - -<p>"This much. That your game is up. Joyce has told me much; I have -waited to see if you will tell me more."</p> - -<p>Don Manuel cast a black look at Robin who began to 'whimper. "I could -not help it," he said, "it's all over. I had to tell him."</p> - -<p>"You told him what?" demanded the Mexican livid with rage.</p> - -<p>"All about the conspiracy--Frisco, and a few other--ah, would -you"--for Don Manuel had whipped out his revolver. Herrick was just as -quick and the two men faced one another. Robin gave a shriek like a -frightened woman. The sight was an unpleasant one.</p> - -<p>"For God's sake!" cried Joyce wringing his hands.</p> - -<p>"One moment before you fire Señor," said Herrick coolly, "I would have -you know that the firing of a single shot will bring up the police." -Santiago dropped his revolver with a start. "The police," he muttered; -then after a pause he returned his weapon to his pocket. "You can do -the same Señor," he said calmly.</p> - -<p>"I don't think we shall have much use for them," said Herrick putting -away his weapon and sitting down. "I think we may talk now that these -preliminaries are ended. Will you not be seated Señor Manuel."</p> - -<p>"In my own house!" exclaimed the Spaniard between his teeth but sat -nevertheless.</p> - -<p>"Quite so; I have to ask you pardon for that. But you see my friend, I -must stand if you do, and I am tired. You might use that pretty little -weapon in your pocket."</p> - -<p>"I may do so yet," said Santiago with an ugly look.</p> - -<p>"Possibly. All the same I would point out that your intention has its -disadvantages. In the first place I am a good and a quick shot. In the -second as my shot or yours would summon the police, you might get into -trouble."</p> - -<p>"The police can do nothing to me."</p> - -<p>"If you attempt to kill me I think they can do a lot. We are not in -Mexico now, Señor Santiago. Come, let us talk sensibly. I am sure you -must see that I am in a position to dictate my own terms. You will not -find them hard I assure you always provided--"</p> - -<p>"Provided what?"</p> - -<p>"That you did not murder Colonel Carr. If you did, I fear--I fear I -shall be obliged to hand you over to the police. We have a prejudice -against people being killed in this country, Don Manuel."</p> - -<p>"Oh, curse your fine speeches!" growled the Don. "I did not kill Carr -if that is what you are driving at." He paused and cast a look at -Joyce. "I see that you have got the better of me. If that -white-livered cur had held his tongue--however I must make the best of -a bad job. Come, if I answer your questions freely and frankly will -you promise not to inform the police of what I tell you?"</p> - -<p>"No, I can't promise that. If you know where Frisco is you must tell -me. I want to have that man hanged." Joyce started up with a cry. "I -am sorry Robin, if he is your father, but as he is a murderer also he -must--"</p> - -<p>"One moment," interposed Santiago coolly, "Frisco is no murderer."</p> - -<p>"Indeed? Then, as you were in possession of the pistol with which -Colonel Carr was shot, perhaps you can tell me who used it. That is," -said Herrick significantly, "if you did not use it yourself."</p> - -<p>"I don't use weapons of that sort," said Santiago scornfully, "besides -it was my game to frighten Carr, not to kill him."</p> - -<p>"I see. It was you who sent those warnings in cipher."</p> - -<p>"You know that do you. Yes, it was I, and to make Carr afraid. He had -few good nights after he got those warnings I know."</p> - -<p>"They were all bluff?"</p> - -<p>"So far as I was concerned," replied Santiago easily, "but had I -chosen they could have been sent in deadly earnest."</p> - -<p>"I do not understand."</p> - -<p>"I do not think you will until I explain. But first I must be assured -of my own safety before I speak."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Dr. Jim pulling out his pipe, "its this way you see. I -want to get to the bottom of this conspiracy. Also to learn who killed -Carr. I could have you arrested on a charge of trying to kill Marsh," -here the Mexican muttered a curse on Robin's head and the little man -winced. "But if you will prove to me that you did not kill Carr and -tell me the whole truth, why I will let you go back to Mexico -unharmed."</p> - -<p>"And if I refuse?" demanded Don Manuel. "In that case I'll call up the -police and give you and Joyce in charge for conspiracy and assault -with intent to kill."</p> - -<p>"I did not wish to kill him," protested Manuel, "I only wanted to -prevent him going to the vault."</p> - -<p>"And so allow the money to pass to Frisco," put in Herrick, "very -clever. I know all about that. Tell me something new."</p> - -<p>"If I had only been here before you intimidated this--"</p> - -<p>"You would have done as he has done," said Herrick; then changing his -tone, he spoke sharply. "We are wasting time. Tell me all I want to -know; answer my questions, and you shall go free, save that I shall -have you watched until the true murderer of Colonel Carr has been -found. If you refuse you shall be arrested forthwith."</p> - -<p>"And if I were to shoot you?" cried Santiago savagely half rising. -"You would be hanged, or else you would have to end your own life. -Don't I tell you the sound of the shot will bring up the men I have -had posted?"</p> - -<p>Santiago reflected for a moment, then he took out his revolver and -tossed it carelessly on to the table. "You are the stronger Señor. I -give in. Allow me to roll a cigarette, and I will answer all your -questions. I am not afraid, for I can swear by the Holy Mother that I -did not kill Carr and--" added Santiago with a gay laugh, "I rather -regret I did not."</p> - -<p>"Come," said Herrick lighting his pipe, "the story. In the first place -where did you meet Colonel Carr?"</p> - -<p>"In Mexico about twenty years ago. You would not think it to look at -me. But I am not young, Señor Herrick."</p> - -<p>"Did you meet Frisco at the same time?"</p> - -<p>"Joyce's father? I did."</p> - -<p>"Wait a moment," said Robin, "I wanted to tell Herrick the precise -relationship between myself and Colonel Carr, but I grew confused. Was -not my mother his niece? I forget. I am so muddled."</p> - -<p>"No. It is this way. The uncle of Colonel Carr, a younger brother of -his father was turned out of doors by the grandfather. He went to the -States and married. He died leaving a widow and daughter. The widow -died and the daughter married an American. Your father was the son, -and he married your mother. You are their son. Therefore you were a -kind of third or fourth cousin to Carr. Your father Frisco was a -second cousin. I think it is this way, but," Santiago shrugged his -shoulders "your English relationships are so very confusing."</p> - -<p>"Cousins will do," said Herrick. "Did Carr know that Frisco--we will -continue to call him so as it is rather confusing--did Carr I say, -know that Frisco was his second cousin?"</p> - -<p>"Yes! For that reason he allowed Mrs. Joyce an annuity of five hundred -a year."</p> - -<p>"Why was it not continued to our friend here?"</p> - -<p>Don Manuel laughed. "I think the Colonel and Frisco had quarrelled by -then, and Carr had told him to look after his own brat."</p> - -<p>"How dare you?" cried Robin jumping up.</p> - -<p>"My friend, I repeat what the Colonel said. That is all."</p> - -<p>Herrick interposed. "Did Mrs. Joyce know that Frisco was with Carr?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear me no. She thought she was a widow."</p> - -<p>"That is true," said Robin gloomily, "my mother always said that my -father had died in America. I could not believe that Frisco was my -father until he convinced me."</p> - -<p>"I think we both convinced you," said the Mexican with a laugh, "but -it strikes me Dr. Herrick that we are beginning the story at the wrong -end. Let me tell it in my own way. It will be much clearer."</p> - -<p>"I hope it will be true."</p> - -<p>"Oh, as to that I have no reason to conceal anything now," said Don -Manuel with a shrug, "you may as well know all. The money is lost and -I shall return to Mexico as poor as I set out. Well?"</p> - -<p>"Tell the story in your own way," growled Herrick disliking the -coolness of the man yet half admiring his nerve. "Well then," said -Santiago placing a cigarette in his mouth and crossing his legs, "it -is this way. Twenty years ago I met Colonel Carr. He was in the war -between Chili and Peru, and a brave soldier he was. A brute also. -There was nothing he would not do to get money. He had left his home a -pauper, and he swore he would go back a millionaire. But when the war -was at an end, he had not got the fortune he wanted. It was about that -time that Frisco fell in with Carr."</p> - -<p>"And Frisco introduced himself as a cousin?"</p> - -<p>"Just that," said Santiago briskly. "They soon found out the -relationship. Joyce--I am speaking of your father my friend," this in -an aside to Robin, "Joyce came from San Francisco, so the Colonel one -day being drunk, called him Frisco--the name stuck to him. After that -they were what you English call pals, and hung round Lima trying to -make money. I was in the army then and saw much of them. Frisco was as -anxious as Carr to be rich. He said he had left a wife and son in -California."</p> - -<p>"That was you Robin," put in Herrick much interested.</p> - -<p>"Yes. That was Robin," said Don Manuel with a sour glance at the -little man whom he had not yet forgiven for his cowardly confession. -"Well Señor, the two tried to make money and could not. Then they -heard of the treasures buried by the Indians when Pizarro conquered -Peru. They went off to Cuzco; afterwards up into the mountains. For -some months they were gone. One day they came back to Lima to see me, -ragged and poor. They had caught an Indian who knew of a large -treasure in gold and jewels. He told them where it was hidden, and -gave them a plan."</p> - -<p>"But I thought the Indians would not tell," said Herrick, who knew -something of the country of which Santiago was speaking.</p> - -<p>"This one did," said the Mexican with a smile, "they tortured him with -a red-hot gun barrel. Don't look so astonished Señor. Indians are not -much above the beasts, and I told you Carr was a devil. They tortured -him till he gave them the plan. Carr was afraid of losing it, so he -made Frisco tattoo it on his breast, and then burnt the original -plan."</p> - -<p>"Ah!" Herrick started to his feet, "I see now why Carr wanted his body -watched for a year! At the end of that time the plan--'</p> - -<p>"Would not be recognisable," finished Santiago quietly. "Exactly so, -Señor. Carr knew from the ciphers I sent him that I was in the country -and would in some way try to get a sight of that plan. For that, he -shut himself up in the tower, and"----</p> - -<p>"Wait a bit," said Herrick, "he built that tower when he came home ten -years ago. Your coming did not make him build it."</p> - -<p>"He knew that someone would come and try to kill him," said Don Manuel -coolly, "but I am telling the end before the beginning. Let me go on. -Well, Dr. Herrick, as I said, Colonel Carr had that plan tattooed on -his breast. He would not show it to me, but wanted me to join in an -expedition to get the treasure. I got the money and fitted out the -expedition. We started off to Cuzco, then up the Apurimac and on the -mountains. I told you something of this before Señor. On the way they -betrayed me into the hands of some Indians, and went on themselves. I -cursed my fate when I learned their treachery. I was held captive for -two, three years. To revenge myself on Carr I told the Indians how he -had found the treasure. They were furious, and sent out men to protect -it. But Carr fought them and got away to the coast with a quantity of -jewels, and gold. He went to the States, and afterwards came on to -England where he settled down at 'The Pines.' But at Lima he was twice -nearly assassinated, and knew that the Indians had appointed some of -their more civilised countrymen to follow and kill him and to cut the -plan of the hiding-place out of his flesh. He knew also that these -appointed would follow him across the water to the ends of the earth. -But he managed to give them the slip, and never thought that in an -obscure country village he would be in danger. All the same he built -the tower that he might keep himself safe while asleep."</p> - -<p>"And are you one of these emissaries?" asked Herrick. Santiago shook -his head. "I might have been had I so chosen," said he, "but I -wanted a share of the money myself, or at all events a plan of the -hiding-place, that I might search for it."</p> - -<p>"How did you hear all this, when you were a captive?"</p> - -<p>"I did not--then. It was when I got back to Lima that I heard. I could -not learn where Carr had gone. I did not know even if Carr was his -real name. I hunted for him both in North and South America, but he -had so cleverly concealed his trail that I could not trace him. Then I -was ill for a long time after the privations I had suffered amongst -the Indians. It was only within the last year that I discovered the -whereabouts of Carr. I then came to England to frighten him. So I sent -those cipher warnings. I wanted a share of the money' or the plan. -Carr refused to give me either."</p> - -<p>"Ah! you saw him then?"</p> - -<p>"No! he wrote me a letter defying me to do my worst. Of course he -thought that I was one of those appointed to kill him. That was why he -lived in the Tower, and arranged that his body should be watched after -his death. Dead or alive you see he was determined that I should get -nothing."</p> - -<p>"You came down to Saxham to break into the vault?" suggested Herrick. -"No, I should have done so, had I not hit upon this other plan--what -you call the conspiracy. But I thought that through this little fool I -might get the money. I deserve it more than Stephen Marsh."</p> - -<p>There was silence for a few minutes. Santiago was regretting the -downfall of his hopes. Robin was wondering about his own future, and -Dr. Jim reflected on the strange story which had been told to him. -"Did you never go down to Saxham?" he asked. "Oh, yes, Señor," replied -the Mexican airily "on the night when Colonel Carr was murdered, I was -at the rectory."</p> - -<p>"With Pentland Corn," said Herrick, "then you knew him before?"</p> - -<p>"I know him better than anyone in his parish knows him," said -Santiago, "he is a gambler. Often he leaves his Church to come to the -Pimlico Club and gamble. It was there that I met him. He was the -friend I spoke of when I first saw you, Señor Herrick--the friend who -told me about Colonel Carr. As I had the secret of this padre I used -him as an intermediator between myself and Carr."</p> - -<p>Herrick was surprised to hear this about Corn, and could easily see -how the unfortunate man had been kept under the thumb of this -adventurer. "You are certainly skilful in finding tools," said he -dryly and with a glance at the silent Joyce. "So you were at the -rectory on that night? How can I be sure that you were not at 'The -Pines?'"</p> - -<p>"Oh! You want to accuse me of the murder!" said Don Manuel rather -amused. "I assure you I did not kill Carr. It was not my aim to do so. -I wished to get the money without danger from your laws. To be plain -Señor, I went to Pentland Corn, to see if he could bribe or force -Frisco into betraying Carr into my hands. I came to Beorminster by a -late train, and went to Saxham by the public coach. About nine I came -to the rectory. The Reverend Corn was out, but I waited for him."</p> - -<p>"He could not have been out," said Herrick. "Mrs. Marsh was with him, -and her son had come to fetch her."</p> - -<p>"You are right except as to the time, Señor. Mrs. Marsh had gone by -nine, and her son also. Corn came back and said that he had taken them -to the public conveyance. He was pale, and looked haggard. I told him -he lied. He lost his nerve and threw on the table a pistol--"</p> - -<p>"Ha! The pistol you gave to Joyce?"</p> - -<p>"The same," replied Santiago coolly, "the weapon with which Carr was -murdered."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean to say that Corn killed the Colonel?" cried Herrick -starting to his feet. "It is a lie. I do not believe it."</p> - -<p>"Then why ask me to tell you the truth. It was Corn who killed Carr. -He was a gambler, and deeply in the Colonel's debt. Those visits he -paid to 'The Pines' were not to convert Carr as he alleged, but to -gamble with him. He lost much money to Carr. The Colonel threatened if -he did not pay, to denounce him. Corn knew that he would lose his -position, if this was done. He knew also that Carr was a threatened -man; I had told him. It then occurred to him to kill Carr, and he -thought that the suspicion might be shifted on to those who had lost -the treasure. Thus his secret and himself would be safe."</p> - -<p>"It is incredible!" said Herrick, and even Joyce looked amazed. "It is -true," replied the Mexican. "Of course if you will not believe me I -really cannot help it. I know that Corn is guilty. He told me so -himself, and I took from him the pistol by way of proof. Being thus in -my power, I forced him to do my bidding. You can see now, how he -declared that I had not left him on the night Señor Marsh was -assaulted. It was I who struck him, and Corn by my directions proved -the alibi. That is the whole story Señor. Is there anything else you -want to know?"</p> - -<p>"The whereabouts of Frisco?"</p> - -<p>"Ah I can't tell you that. Frisco trusts no one, not even me. When -Joyce or myself want to see him, we have to put a cipher into the -'Telegraph.'"</p> - -<p>"Then you must do so now; I want to see the man."</p> - -<p>"Why? He is innocent."</p> - -<p>"So you say. But I have yet to be convinced of Pentland Corn's guilt."</p> - -<p>Joyce jumped to his feet. "I am sure my father is innocent," he cried, -"but I will get him to see you if you like."</p> - -<p>"I think it would be better," said Herrick dryly and took up his hat.</p> - -<p>"One moment, Señor," said Santiago quietly, "how do we stand?"</p> - -<p>"I shall do nothing until I see Corn, and learn if he really killed -Carr as you say. In the meantime Joyce can go back to his flat, and -you can remain here Don Manuel. You are perfectly safe from the -police."</p> - -<p>"But you will have us watched?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly," said Herrick with a nod, "you see I cannot trust you. -Besides I want you to write down all you have told me, and sign it. I -have Joyce's confession. I want yours."</p> - -<p>"I will do so with pleasure," replied the Mexican after a pause, "I -have done nothing against your law."</p> - -<p>"Nothing, except try to kill Marsh."</p> - -<p>"Oh! you have promised to hold me guiltless of that."</p> - -<p>"True enough. You are safe so far as that is concerned. There is -honour amongst thieves, Señor Manuel. I have come lately so much into -contact with people like you and Joyce, that I feel rather a bad lot -myself."</p> - -<p>The Mexican drew himself up and his eyes glittered. "Señor, you shall -answer me for those words. I am a gentleman, and I challenge you to a -duel. You dare not refuse."</p> - -<p>"We'll see about that, when this matter of Carr's death is settled, -Don Manuel. Meantime, remember that every move you make, I shall know -of and baffle."</p> - -<p>Santiago shrugged his shoulders. "The fine scheme is ended," he said, -"this little fool has spoilt all. I will do what you wish Señor, since -you are too strong for me."</p> - -<p>"Very good. And Joyce, you must get your father to see me."</p> - -<p>"If I can," muttered Robin with a glance of hatred.</p> - -<p>"You must," answered Herrick going to the door. "Good-bye gentlemen, I -shall leave you to settle your own affairs now." And he went out -laughing.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_20" href="#div1Ref_20">CHAPTER XX</a></h4> -<h5>THE REVD. PENTLAND CORN</h5> -<br> - -<p>Herrick did not take all that Santiago had said for gospel truth. The -Mexican was too clever and too bold a man to give in so tamely, seeing -what was at stake. For the moment he had recognised that he was -powerless, and had surrendered until such time as he could recover his -position. Dr. Jim could have stopped all his machinations, by having -him arrested for the assault on Stephen. But he did not wish to bring -the police into the matter at present. In the first place so many lies -had been told about the Case, there were so many things to be -explained, that he was not sure of his ground. And for the sake of -Stephen he did not wish to create a scandal. Colonel Carr's reputation -was quite bad enough without making it worse.</p> - -<p>Therefore the only thing that Jim could do was to have the two scamps -watched. Certainly they might warn Frisco to clear out; but whatever -Santiago did, Herrick felt sure that Joyce would not counsel such a -course. The little man knew well enough that his safety depended upon -Herrick, and would do nothing which might jeopardise his safety. The -Mexican might plot and plan; but Joyce would certainly obey orders. -Also, they could do little if closely watched. Herrick then gave his -orders to Kidd and Belcher, and returned the next day to Saxham.</p> - -<p>"If anything important occurs," he said to the ferret, "you can wire -me."</p> - -<p>"But we are in the dark," protested Belcher, "if you would only---"</p> - -<p>"No, Belcher," interrupted Jim sharply, "we settled all that before. -All you have to do, is to see if either of these men tries to leave -the country, or if they meet a man who looks like a sailor. Then you -can wire me. I shall come up to town at once and deal with the matter -myself."</p> - -<p>"What might be the sailor's name?"</p> - -<p>"It might be anything," replied Herrick dryly. "It won't do Belcher. -You are not to know my aims until I choose to let you know. If you -will not work for me on these terms, just say so and I'll get some -one else."</p> - -<p>"I'll do whatever you like Dr. Herrick," said the ferret submissively, -and went away to fulfil his duties devoured with curiosity. In spite -of his regard for Dr. Jim, the man wanted to make money out of him. He -therefore determined to learn all he could about Joyce and the -Mexican, and treat with them on his own account if he gained any -knowledge likely to be useful from a blackmailing point of view. The -ferret and his partner were rogues in grain. They did not even keep -faithful to their employer, or to each other for the matter of that. -"Honour amongst thieves" was not a proverb practised in the Strand -office.</p> - -<p>Herrick had another talk with Joyce before he returned to Saxham. The -little man had gone back to his flat. Having him all to himself, and -the yoke of Don Manuel being to some extent broken, Dr. Jim was able -to deal more easily with him. He promised the poor fool, that if he -remained faithful and did not intrigue any more with his father or the -Mexican, that he should be given a new chance of leading a clean -existence. Indeed Herrick spoke so seriously that he reduced Joyce to -tears, and to many protestations that henceforward he would be all -that was good. It was not improbable that he would mend. He had had a -severe lesson, and had narrowly escaped getting into the clutches of -the law. With a less kindly man than Herrick, his position would -indeed would have been a serious one. He therefore appreciated the -kindness accorded to him--or said he did--and Jim departed satisfied -that so far as Robin was concerned, he had nullified the schemes of -Santiago. In this way he hoped to take the heart out of the conspiracy -against Stephen and Stephen's money.</p> - -<p>"The next person to deal with is Corn," he said to himself as he got -into the train, "he is another fool if not worse, as Manuel told me. I -seem to have dealt with nothing but fools and scoundrels ever since I -started out on that unhappy walking tour. Colonel Carr was evil in his -life, and he has left an evil influence behind him."</p> - -<p>Later on Dr. Jim reproached himself for blaming the walking-tour. If -it had brought him into trouble it had also given him a promise of -future happiness. But for that walk he would never have met Bess. -After all his anxiety in London Herrick wanted to have a quiet hour -with the girl who was the light of his eyes. Jim did not call her -this, for he was not a romantic person; but he felt he would like to -be with her. And he was anxious to know what she had discovered about -the pistol. Bess had not sent him a report as she had promised, and -Herrick concluded that she had discovered nothing worth the sending. -All the same he wished to see her at once. But he put off the happy -hour. There was business to be done before pleasure could be taken.</p> - -<p>It was after nine o'clock before Herrick arrived at the Beorminster -Station. He had not sent for the cart, as he did not wish Stephen to -know of his arrival at present. Dr. Jim had made up his mind to call -in and get the truth out of the clergyman before returning to "The -Pines." Therefore, determined to get his plans into thorough order, -Jim left his portmanteau at Beorminster to be sent on the next morning -and himself walked to Saxham.</p> - -<p>In due time he arrived at the rectory, and was shown into the rector's -study, where he found the man himself. The Revd. Pentland looked -nervous at this untimely visit, and more so as he saw that Dr. Jim was -not in evening dress and must therefore have come straight from town. -Corn's conscience was uneasy, and every untoward event fluttered his -nerves. However he composed himself with a strong effort, and asked -Herrick to be seated.</p> - -<p>"You have just come from town I see," he observed with a nervous -glance.</p> - -<p>"Yes! And I want particularly to have a chat with you before going to -'The Pines,' and on a painful subject, Mr. Corn."</p> - -<p>The rector shivered, and turned even paler than usual. "Is there -anything wrong?" he asked faintly. "Let me know the worst at once."</p> - -<p>"Why should you expect any worst Mr. Corn?"</p> - -<p>The man shook his head and passed a handkerchief across his dry lips. -"I want to know the worst," he said again, without heeding the -question. "I can see by your face that there is something wrong which -concerns me."</p> - -<p>Herrick gave a short laugh. "Upon my word you are a singularly -indiscreet man Mr. Corn," he said, "you give yourself away right and -left. When I met you first of all, you behaved in a foolish manner. -Now you are very little better. You are a clergyman and a gentleman -with an assured position. Why don't you assume the defensive and ask -what I mean by such speeches as I have made--as I am now making!"</p> - -<p>"Because I would have to tell you all about myself sooner or later," -said Corn in a low voice. "You are a strong man, and I want to confide -in someone like yourself. I am not strong. I was--once--but something -happened," he sighed and nodded, "a terrible thing happened."</p> - -<p>Herrick wondered if he was about to confess to the murder. However he -did not wish to hurry the confession, which he saw Corn was on the -point of making. He wondered that such a smart and soldierly-looking -man should own himself to be so weak. "I am quite at your service," he -said coldly, "and for my own part Mr. Corn I do not think you have -used either myself or Mr. Marsh over well."</p> - -<p>"In what way?" This time Corn really did look amazed.</p> - -<p>"You told a lie to shield Don Manuel. It was the Mexican who struck -that blow at my friend, and you knew it. How could you a gentleman, -and a clergyman stoop to shield a would-be murderer."</p> - -<p>Corn rose to his feet and braced himself to a great effort. "You are -right," he said frankly, "but I was compelled to such a course."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded. "I know. I have heard all from Santiago."</p> - -<p>Corn recoiled. "He told you," he grasped sitting down.</p> - -<p>"Yes. He told me how he had you in his power; how he forced you to lie -for him. I made him tell me the truth; now I wished to hear the -confirmation of this story from you."</p> - -<p>"It is true; it is true!" cried Corn desperately. "If he told you that -I was a gambler, that I owed money--it is true----"</p> - -<p>"I don t mean that so much," said Herrick sharply, "as to the -accusation he makes against you of having murdered Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>The clergyman, who had been leaning his head on his arms in an agony -of grief, looked up suddenly with a bewildered stare. "Santiago said -that about me?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>"It is not true?"</p> - -<p>"It is the foulest lie he ever spoke!" cried Corn with indignation. "I -am bad in many ways Dr. Herrick--yet I have my excuses, as you shall -hear. But as to murdering Carr, I did nothing of the sort."</p> - -<p>"How was it then that Don Manuel obtained from you the pistol with -which the crime was committed?"</p> - -<p>Corn looked round the room, and went to the door. Opening this he -looked out for a moment to see that the coast was clear. Then he shut -it locked it and came back to the fire-place looking more like a ghost -than ever. "I picked it up," he said in a whisper, "yes, on the lawn -of 'The Pines.' I knew that Colonel Carr had been shot with it. But I -dare not tell."</p> - -<p>"Why not? Were you afraid of being inculpated?"</p> - -<p>"No." Corn hesitated and wiped his face. "I must tell you," he said -with a gasp, "there is no help for it! This secret has weighed on my -soul until I can bear it no longer. It was a woman who shot Carr."</p> - -<p>Herrick rose slowly hardly believing his ears. "A woman?" he echoed.</p> - -<p>Corn nodded and whispered again, "Mrs. Marsh," he said.</p> - -<p>"That," said Herrick, "is a lie."</p> - -<p>"It is the truth; I swear it is the truth. She shot Carr because he -was about to disinherit her son. If you will sit down I will tell you -all I know. I am glad that it has come to this," panted Corn wiping -his forehead, "I am glad that I can tell you. The secret has nearly -killed me."</p> - -<p>"Did you tell Santiago?" asked Dr. Jim seated again and much -bewildered.</p> - -<p>"No, I told no one. Santiago on the evidence of that pistol really -believed that I was guilty. But it is a lie--a lie, and he used it to -force me to hide his wickedness. I protested my innocence; but he -would never believe me. And that because I refused to say who was -guilty."</p> - -<p>Herrick placed his hands on the shoulders of the agitated man and -forced him into the chair. "Come," said he in a more friendly tone, -"you are not so weak or so bad as I thought Corn. You took the blame -on yourself. Oh, I know you protested your innocence to Santiago; -still he would always think you guilty. He is not the man to believe -that any human being would shield another. Why did you shield Mrs. -Marsh?"</p> - -<p>"For her son's sake," said Corn, "and for the sake of Ida Endicotte."</p> - -<p>Herrick stared. "What has she got to do with it?"</p> - -<p>"I love her," said Corn in a low voice shading his eyes with the palm -of his hand, "but she told me that her whole life was wrapped up in -Stephen's. If he knew that his mother had killed Carr, he is quixotic -enough to throw up the whole fortune out of shame. Then he would not -be able to marry Ida and her heart would be broken. It is for this -reason that I held my peace."</p> - -<p>"Yet you let Stephen be assaulted," said Herrick, "his death would -have ruined the life of Ida just the same."</p> - -<p>"I did not know about the assault until after it was committed," said -Corn quickly, "then Santiago--but I cannot tell you the story in -scraps like this. Better let me tell you all about myself, and what -led to my present weakness. Then you will appreciate what I have gone -through."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded, "it is best so. Go on. You can safely confide in me, -Corn. I only retain the right to use such information as may clear up -the mystery of this murder."</p> - -<p>Corn seized his arm. "You will not tell about Mrs. Marsh?" he panted.</p> - -<p>"Not without consulting you. Be certain Corn that I am too true a -friend to Stephen, to do anything harmful to him. But there is much at -stake and I must be allowed to use my own judgment. You can rely on -me."</p> - -<p>"I am sure of that," said the clergyman in admiration, "you are a -strong-willed man. I was strong myself once--in a way. But my -crime----"</p> - -<p>"Crime! I thought you had not killed Carr."</p> - -<p>"No," said Corn in a low voice, "But I have the blood of a fellow -creature on my hands for all that," and he buried his face in his -hands.</p> - -<p>"I judge no man," said Herrick after a pause, "but do not tell me -anything that may render it difficult for me to keep sacred your -confidence."</p> - -<p>"Oh, there is nothing you need fear from that," replied Corn drearily. -"It was an accident. Wait till I recover myself."</p> - -<p>The man took a turn up and down the room. After five minutes he -resumed his seat and spoke composedly. "My name is not Corn," he -began, "Langham is my name--Francis Langham. I was in the army."</p> - -<p>"So Bess Endicotte said," nodded Herrick.</p> - -<p>Corn smiled faintly. "Yes! I let that slip one day, when she was -talking of my looking like a soldier. But she does not know my real -name. No one does save the Bishop who gave me this living. Ah! he was -a good man. He is dead now. But I have to thank him for saving my -reason and my life."</p> - -<p>"How was that?" asked Herrick settling himself.</p> - -<p>"I was quartered in the West Indies," said Corn after a pause, "and I -there had a friend, who joined about the same time as I did. I need -not tell you his name or the number of my regiment. All you need know -is the simple story of my misery. My friend and I were always -together; they called us David and Jonathan in the regiment. Well," -here Corn nerved himself to a tremendous effort, "we were out shooting -ducks. We were parted amongst the reeds on the borders of the lake. I -thought I saw the brown back of a duck through some reeds. Without -thinking I fired, and--I killed my friend! Oh, my God!"</p> - -<p>When the man's head went down on the table, Herrick clasped him by the -shoulder. He was profoundly moved by the miserable story, and could -well understand how a once strong man had been changed by this tragic -deed into a weak, tremulous, creature. He did not say a word of -comfort. It would have been useless. After a time Corn recovered -himself and continued in a dull hard voice.</p> - -<p>"There was an inquiry. I was exonerated from all blame. But I knew -that I had killed my friend, that I had the blood of a fellow creature -on my hands. I left my regiment and sent in my papers. Under another -name I returned to England. All my relations were dead save my uncle -the Bishop. He tried to calm me. I would not be calm. I would have -committed suicide but that I felt that it was my duty to suffer for my -crime."</p> - -<p>"Not a crime," interposed Herrick gently "an accident."</p> - -<p>"Yes! It was. Yet I can't help--but no matter. I took to gambling to -drown my remorse and grief. I had never touched cards before. They -became a passion with me. Other men take to drink,---I to cards. But -all in vain. When the excitement of the game was over--in the morning, -then my misery came back. I went to my uncle. He implored me to find -peace in the bosom of the church, for he did not look upon me as the -guilty wretch I was. I consented. As Pentland Corn I studied for the -church. I became a priest,--a curate and worked in the slums of the -East End. I left off gambling, and felt more at ease, thinking I was -expiating my folly. In an evil hour--after years of hard work--my -uncle gave me this living. I took it. Shortly afterwards he died. Then -I realised the folly of accepting a charge where I had time to brood. -The past came back to me, and--I took to gambling again.</p> - -<p>"That was weak Corn," said Herrick decisively.</p> - -<p>"I know it was--but I was in a manner driven to it. There was little -work to do here. Society had no attractions for me. So then I had -long--long hours of agony. I wanted to forget the past, and"----</p> - -<p>"You should have gone back to the East End."</p> - -<p>Corn nodded. "I should have done many things," said he bitterly, "but -that accident had taken all the manhood out of me. I drifted--drifted. -Well to make a long story short, I took to going away to London at -times to indulge in gambling and forget my sorrow."</p> - -<p>"I know. And you went to that club in Pimlico."</p> - -<p>"I did. Santiago told you that I suppose. I met him there. In an -incautious moment I told him about Colonel Carr. Then I heard of the -grudge he bore against him."</p> - -<p>"Do you know the story of that expedition?"</p> - -<p>"Most of it. I warned Colonel Carr against his enemy. He laughed, -feeling safe in his tower. Then learning that I was fond of cards, -Carr made me play with him. It was said that I went to 'The Pines' to -convert the man. It was to gamble--so low had I sunk."</p> - -<p>Herrick shook his head. But he was so sorry for the man that he could -not blame him for his folly. Corn resumed.</p> - -<p>"Night after night I gambled there. Also I went to London, and met Don -Manuel at the Pimlico club. So, the life went on. And now for the -story of that night." Here Corn drew his chair closer to that of his -listener, and continued his revelation in a whisper.</p> - -<p>"I knew Mrs. Marsh very well and saw much of her," he said, "she was a -very violent and terrible woman."</p> - -<p>"I know that," said Herrick remembering his own experiences.</p> - -<p>"Oftentimes I tried to check her wrath. She would call and see Carr, -and they always fought when they met. I think Carr enjoyed tormenting -her, for he never forbade her visits. He was a wicked man, Herrick."</p> - -<p>"One of the worst, judging from his reputation."</p> - -<p>"Yet he had his good points. He helped me with money to pay my -gambling debts not twice, but thrice."</p> - -<p>"Did he know your story?"</p> - -<p>"No, I could not tell it to him, he would only have laughed at my -remorse. It would have seemed foolish to him. He thought that I was -simply a profligate clergyman, and liked me for that very reason, Oh, -I do not defend myself Herrick; I sank low, very low, but my excuse -must be the sorrow of my life. It took all the courage and self -respect out of me. But after this I shall give up this charge and -return to the East-End. There I will work hard and forget my folly, my -sorrow. The gambling will lose its hold over me then."</p> - -<p>"I think you will be wise. Go on."</p> - -<p>"Well, on that day of the murder Mrs. March came to me in a rage. -She had heard through Frisco--he had spoken in one of his drunken -fits--that Carr was going to disinherit her son. She went to see him -from this house. I tried to stop her; but she would go. They had a -furious quarrel in the afternoon, and Mrs. Marsh swore that she would -kill Carr if he disinherited Stephen."</p> - -<p>"She did not kill him in the afternoon?"</p> - -<p>"No. Because he was alive after five o'clock. Someone saw him at the -window of the tower. Well, Mrs. Marsh dined with me. After dinner she -worked herself into a rage. Carr had laughed at her on that afternoon, -and had said that he would do what he liked with his money. In fact -from all she told me, he treated her like a brute; he was one you know -Herrick," and Jim nodded, remembering the torture of the Indian.</p> - -<p>"Stephen was to come for her," said the rector wearily; the telling of -this story fatigued him. "Somewhere about nine o'clock she was to meet -him at the Carr Arms, and take the bus back to Beorminster. After -eight she went out. It was so early that I wanted her to stop. She -refused. At nine Stephen arrived. He could not find his mother. She -was not at the Carr Arms. I then guessed that she had gone to see Carr -again. In my fear lest she might do something dreadful I blurted out -my suspicions. At once Stephen understood what I meant. He went -himself to 'The Pines;' I waited for some time. Then I was in such a -state that I followed. The house was all ablaze, but I heard nothing. -This was about half past nine or a quarter to ten. I went up as far as -the door. On the steps I picked up that pistol--which I guessed had -been used by Mrs. Marsh. I slipped it into my pocket. Then I returned -home. I went also to the Carr Arms and learned that Stephen and his -mother had caught the bus some time after nine o'clock, I tried to -think that Mrs. Marsh had not shot the man. I returned here to think -it out. Santiago was waiting for me. He had come by the last bus from -Beorminster, and had been waiting since nine. In fact he came just -after I went after Stephen. It was really a quarter past nine when he -came."</p> - -<p>"Do you think he had been to 'The Pines?' asked Herrick keenly.</p> - -<p>"I do not know. But you can learn that from the busman who drove him -here. I did not inquire myself. He had come to get me to take him to -see Carr. I refused, and without thinking I threw the pistol on the -table. I was much agitated, and he saw that. He got out of me that I -had been to 'The Pines.' After looking at the pistol he said he would -go to 'The Pines' himself. I refused to let him go. After a time I -gave him some money and persuaded him to go. I drove him to Heathcroft -station in my cart. He took the pistol with him. I did not notice that -he had done so. In a day or two when the murder became known he wrote -and accused me of being the criminal. I denied it. But he had read the -report of the death and how the wound had been inflicted by an -old-fashioned weapon. When he came here with Joyce he insisted that I -was guilty. I said that I was not but would say nothing about Mrs. -Marsh. It was this knowledge that he used to make me hold my tongue -about the assault on Stephen. What could I do Herrick?" said Corn -piteously. "Appearances were against me. Santiago could prove that I -had the pistol. I had been to 'The Pines,' and I owed Colonel Carr -money. Also there was my own story. Had I been arrested, all would -have come out. No! I had to do what Santiago told me."</p> - -<p>"Humph!" said Jim, "I can see your dilemma. And what about Mrs. Marsh? -Did Stephen suspect her?"</p> - -<p>"No. He told me that he had gone to 'The Pines' and looked at the -house. He saw nothing and heard nothing. He therefore returned to the -Carr Arms, and found his mother waiting for him. She said that he had -missed her, and evidently invented a story which satisfied him. No -Herrick, I do not think Stephen suspected his step-mother. But she -shot the Colonel I am sure. She left my house in a rage and she -several times threatened to kill him. Then she was not at the Carr -Arms. After nine the man was shot."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded. "Did you ask Mrs. Marsh to explain?"</p> - -<p>"No! She fell ill if you remember, and took to her bed. I could not -bring myself to see her. I therefore held my tongue, and I should have -continued to do so but that Don Manuel threatened me. Therefore I -determined to tell you all when I could. What you heard from him is in -the main true. But I did not kill Carr. The blood of one human being -on my hands is enough. Do you despise me Herrick?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim rose and took the hand of the unhappy man. "My friend, I pity -you from the bottom of my soul. If you had only found some one to -advise you, all this trouble would not have occurred."</p> - -<p>"That is true. But my uncle who knew the story of my misery was dead. -I shrank from telling anyone. But when I got to know you and saw how -strong and self-reliant you were, and recognised also the goodness of -your heart I felt that I could safely confide in you, You will not -tell anyone what I have told you?"</p> - -<p>"Need you ask me that!" said Herrick with a hearty shake of the hand. -"Of course your secret is safe with me."</p> - -<p>"And about Mrs. Marsh?"</p> - -<p>"I shall see into that," said Herrick gravely. "Remember Santiago is a -dangerous man. I do not know what trouble he may yet cause. If -necessary I must use what you have told me about the crime. But you -may be sure that for Stephen's sake and for yours, I shall be -circumspect in my dealings with the matter. As for you, my friend, -wait here until this mystery is quite solved; then go back to the East -End, or to the Wild Lands as a missionary."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Corn with a sigh, "I know. Only in that way shall I find -rest."</p> - -<p>The two men shook hands and parted very good friends. Corn returned to -his study intensely relieved by the sympathy, and by the fact that he -had some one to share his secret. Herrick walked home to "The Pines" -wondering at the perplexity of the case. He thought less of Corn than -of Mrs. Marsh. Suddenly he stopped.</p> - -<p>"I see," he said to himself, "this was why Mrs. Marsh poisoned herself -with an overdose of chloral. Poor woman!"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_21" href="#div1Ref_21">CHAPTER XXI</a></h4> -<h5>ANOTHER MYSTERY</h5> -<br> - -<p>The first thing that struck Dr. Jim the next day, was an alteration in -the demeanour of his friend. When Herrick arrived at "The Pines" after -his visit to Corn, the Squire had already retired to bed, and was -asleep, so the servant said. Not wishing to disturb him, Jim had -supper all to himself, and went to his own room after a brisk walk on -the terrace. It struck him as curious that Stephen did not come down -to breakfast the next morning as he was now comparatively well. On -asking for the Squire he was informed that Marsh-Carr had gone out for -a walk. Herrick therefore had another lonely meal, wondering the while -what had taken Stephen out so early. The young man did not return till -late in the afternoon, and then excused himself by stating that he had -been to see Petronella at Beorminster.</p> - -<p>"She is still in that dull house," said Marsh-Carr gloomily, "although -I think she is tired of it and wants to go to her own country. But she -refuses to go all the same."</p> - -<p>"What is her reason?" asked Herrick sharply.</p> - -<p>"I can't get it out of her. She says my mother left a message with -her."</p> - -<p>"For you, I suppose? Well why doesn't she deliver it and get away."</p> - -<p>"The message is for you Herrick."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim stared. "For me!" he cried. "Why, what possible message can -your poor mother have left for me?"</p> - -<p>"I really do not know," replied Stephen indifferently, "you had better -see Petronella and ask her. She is looking very ill and if she stays -much longer in that damp house she will die."</p> - -<p>"All right," replied Herrick coolly, "I'll look her up some time. I -daresay the message is only one asking me to look after you."</p> - -<p>So Dr. Jim said, but in his heart he was wondering if the dead woman -had left behind her any confession of her crime. She might have done -so. Yet if she had poisoned herself to escape the consequences, it -would have been foolish of her to incriminate herself. Herrick -resolved to see Petronella at the first opportunity and learn what it -was that she had to tell him. If there were any really important -message it was strange that the old Italian had not delivered it long -ago. He had seen her frequently and there had been ample opportunity -for her to fulfil her mistress' dying wish. However Herrick put this -out of his mind for the moment and turned his attention to Stephen. -"You are not looking well Steve," he said gravely, "your face is -white, you have dark rings round your eyes, and a haggard look as -though you had not slept all night."</p> - -<p>"I am not yet quite myself," said Marsh-Carr in a far more irritable -tone than Herrick had ever heard him use before.</p> - -<p>"I can see that, and being someone else has not improved your temper. -I hope I have not offended you by going to town Steve?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly not. How can you think so?"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Dr. Jim looking at him, "it struck me that you have been -trying to avoid me lately. If you are tired of me Steve, you need only -say so, and I'll pack up and go."</p> - -<p>"No, I'm hanged if you will," said the Squire vigorously. "I can't do -without you. I have been worried a trifle and it has told on my -present state of health. I'll be all right in a day or so."</p> - -<p>"Is there anything I can help you with?"</p> - -<p>"No. It is a private matter, and concerns myself only."</p> - -<p>In the face of this intimation Herrick could not press his inquiries -and began to speak on other subjects, Stephen replying more or less -absently. As soon as he could he withdrew to his own room, saying he -wanted to lie down. Herrick did not seek to detain him, but shook his -head. "Something is wrong and he won't tell me what it is," he -thought, "I wonder if Santiago has been tampering with him in any way. -Perhaps Bess may know the reason for this change. I'll see her at -once."</p> - -<p>But the extraordinary thing was that he found Bess changed also. He -had left her bright and merry, anxious to probe the secret of Colonel -Carr's death. He returned to find her nervous, ill at ease, and -disinclined to continue her detective investigations.</p> - -<p>"I don't think we shall arrive at anything," she said when Herrick -pressed her. "I spoke to Inspector Bridge and he can do nothing. He is -a professional, and if he fails, how can we hope to succeed?"</p> - -<p>"Inspector Bridge is a conceited ass," replied Dr. Jim gravely. "He -knows absolutely nothing. I know more than he does."</p> - -<p>"Did you see the Mexican and Mr. Joyce?" asked Bess.</p> - -<p>"I saw them and I spoke to them, and I have found out something which -I need not tell you just now. It would be useless to do so. I must -search out the matter for myself, and when I succeed you shall know."</p> - -<p>Bess sighed. "I do not mind in the least," she said mournfully. "I -have ceased to take an interest in the matter. If Frisco did not kill -Colonel Carr I do not know who did."</p> - -<p>"Humph! You are changeable, like all women," said Dr. Jim rather -puzzled by her attitude, yet never guessing its cause. "By the way, -did you find out anything about that pistol?"</p> - -<p>"Yes." Bess thought she might as well tell him, as he would certainly -learn the truth sooner or later from Bridge. "The bullet fits the -barrel.</p> - -<p>"I thought so," said Jim. "It is the weapon which was used."</p> - -<p>"Yes," answered Bess; then after a pause. "I made another discovery."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you did? And about what, my dear?"</p> - -<p>"The bullet which was used. It is of silver."</p> - -<p>"Of silver? What do you mean? Isn't it lead?"</p> - -<p>Bess laughed rather irritably. "If it was of lead how could it be -silver?" she asked and then went on to tell how the jeweller had -examined the missile. "Isn't it curious?" she said.</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded absently. His eyes were fixed on the ground and he was -trying to think of the reason Mrs. Marsh could have had for using so -expensive a bullet. Certainly the weapon was old-fashioned and she -would have to manufacture the bullets for herself. But why use silver -in preference to lead, or pewter? In an ordinary household the supply -of the last two metals was likely to be more plentiful than the first. -This was a problem, but one of so trifling a nature that Herrick -dismissed it almost immediately. He turned his attention to Bess.</p> - -<p>"What have you and Stephen been doing with yourselves?" he asked.</p> - -<p>Bess started violently and changed colour at once. "Nothing Jim," she -said stiffly, "why do you ask?"</p> - -<p>"Well, you both look ill. Stephen is avoiding me, and you are as -silent as an owl."</p> - -<p>"Not so stupid I hope," said Bess with a laugh. At this moment Ida -entered the room, and nothing more was said. But Ida also complained -of Stephen's health. "I wish you would make him stay in bed Dr. Jim," -she said, "I am certain that he has got up too soon and is not strong -enough to go about. Look how pale he is, and silent. I can't get a -word out of him."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded. "I am not pleased myself Ida. This comes of my running -away to Town. I'll exert my authority."</p> - -<p>He spoke to Stephen and urged him to lie up for a few days. The young -man obeyed meekly enough, and this very meekness made Herrick uneasy. -He would rather that Stephen had shown fight. But the Squire remained -in bed, took what was given him, and hardly ever opened his mouth. Ida -was in despair; Herrick was puzzled, and the two met to discuss the -situation.</p> - -<p>"When did he change like this?" asked Dr. Jim.</p> - -<p>"I think it was the day after you left," replied Ida tearfully, "I -went to Beorminster to see Flo, and left him quite bright. When I met -him again, he was dull, and quiet, and white. Yet Bess was with him -while I was away, so he should not have missed me so much."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" said Jim with sudden interest, "so Bess was with him, was she? -H'm! It strikes me that Bess herself is not so bright as she might -be."</p> - -<p>"Indeed you are right there," said Miss Endicotte, "she is sad and -silent just like Stephen. Or else she is so gay that I think she is -too excited. She cries for the least thing, and laughs without any -cause."</p> - -<p>"Humph! Sounds like hysteria to me. Yet Bess is not given that way."</p> - -<p>"Of course not," said Ida repelling the suggestion hastily, "she is a -strong, healthy, sensible girl and above such weakness. But as you say -she and Stephen have both changed. I think," here Ida hesitated and -looked down. It amazed Herrick when she looked up to see that her eyes -were filled with tears. He could not understand it all.</p> - -<p>"My dear girl what is the matter?" he exclaimed irritably, "are you -ill also. The devil has broken loose here since my departure."</p> - -<p>"I--I--can't--help it," sobbed Ida, "I thought that Bess and Stephen -might--might like one another."</p> - -<p>"Of course they do Ida. Why shouldn't they?"</p> - -<p>"You don't understand what I mean. I wonder if they were in love with -one another and regret their engagements."</p> - -<p>Herrick burst into such a hearty fit of laughter that she was cheered. -"I never heard such nonsense in my life!" he said. "Where is your -women's wit Ida? Why, Bess loves me devotedly I am certain. As for -Stephen, he adores the very ground you walk on. No! It's not that my -dear girl."</p> - -<p>"Then what can it be?" asked Ida drying her tears.</p> - -<p>"I shall question Bess until I find out," said Herrick grimly. "You -have no idea how I can torture people with cross examination."</p> - -<p>True to his idea, Dr. Jim sought out Bess. He came across her in the -Pine wood beside the fairy circle. Her eyes were cast on the ground -and she looked despondent. When she saw Herrick she made as if to go -away.</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim felt wounded. "Bess! Don't you want to see me."</p> - -<p>"Of course I do," she said brightly, "only, I'm not very well."</p> - -<p>"Neither is Stephen," said Dr. Jim, and he saw by her start that the -remark made her nervous. "Have you two quarrelled?"</p> - -<p>"No! we have not; we are great friends."</p> - -<p>"Are you in love with one another then?"</p> - -<p>Bess grew crimson and stamped. "How dare you say such a thing as that -even in jest?" she said. "What would Ida say if she heard it."</p> - -<p>"It was Ida's own idea," replied Herrick with a smile, "seeing you two -so glum, she fancied that you regretted your engagements and wanted to -marry one another. Just say if this is the case Bess and Ida and I -will console each other! That would be only fair, you know!"</p> - -<p>The first smile that Herrick had seen on her face since his return -dimpled the cheek of Bess. "I never heard such nonsense. I like -Stephen, but you are the man I love. You stupid Jim; you know that!"</p> - -<p>"I am not quite sure if I do," said Jim gravely; "in love there should -be complete confidence."</p> - -<p>"Surely there is, between us," said Bess nervously.</p> - -<p>"You can't look me in the face and repeat that."</p> - -<p>Bess made the attempt, and failed. "It is nothing!" she said -obstinately.</p> - -<p>"There _is_ something however," said Dr. Jim sternly, "you and Stephen -have some secret between you which is making you both ill. What is -it?"</p> - -<p>"I can't tell you Jim."</p> - -<p>"Then there _is_ a secret?"</p> - -<p>"I won't be questioned like this!" cried Bess with angry evasion.</p> - -<p>Herrick took her by the arm and forced her to look into his face. "My -dear girl," he said, "I am to be your husband, and you must obey and -consult me in all things. If you are playing with fire, I must know. -Do you not trust me Bess?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. But the secret is not my own."</p> - -<p>"In that case I won't press you for an explanation," he said relaxing -his grip, "you are a foolish girl to have any secrets from one who -loves you. But I suppose you have given your word not to tell?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I cannot break my word."</p> - -<p>Herrick nodded. "I do not ask you to. The secret of Stephen shall be -respected. I do not even ask you if it has to do with the murder of -his uncle. There is no need to ask."</p> - -<p>Bess looked at him irresolutely, her face scarlet. Then without a word -she went slowly away. Herrick looked after her and nodded to himself. -"I believe she has found out something about Mrs. Marsh, and has told -Stephen; that would account for their melancholy and for the secret -which she says exists between them. I shall ask Stephen."</p> - -<p>That same afternoon Herrick went back to "The Pines" and into the -bedroom of Marsh-Carr. The young man was lying staring at the ceiling. -He seemed listless and worn-out. When Jim entered he turned his face -towards the wall so as to avoid his friend's eyes. Herrick pretended -to take no notice although he was cut to the heart by the avoidance of -his gaze. He was very fond of Stephen, and mourned over this thing -which had come between them. However it was necessary to take extreme -measures if the situation was to be improved.</p> - -<p>"Steve," said Herrick formulating a plan, "I can't eat alone any -longer, you must come down to dinner to-night."</p> - -<p>"I can't," said Stephen in a muffled tone, "I am too ill."</p> - -<p>"I know you are. Life and brightness and my society are what you need. -I was wrong to send you to bed. As your doctor I now order you to get -up."</p> - -<p>Stephen turned sulky. "I don't want to."</p> - -<p>"You do not know what is good for you my friend," said Herrick coolly, -"I shall expect to find you dressed and down to dinner at eight. After -a good meal you will be more like your old self."</p> - -<p>In this way after much coaxing, scolding, ordering and threatening Jim -got the young man to get up and dress. Marsh-Carr did so reluctantly -enough, for he was desperately afraid of betraying the secret he had -told Bess, to the sharp eyes of Herrick. However he was really tired -himself of being alone. This seclusion could not be kept up for ever, -and it was as well to make a beginning and get back into the old -routine. He therefore dressed with some care after a bath, and came -down into the drawing-room looking much better. Herrick was standing -on the hearth-rug, big and masterful. "Here you are at last," he said, -"just in time for a glass of sherry."</p> - -<p>Stephen protested, but Herrick insisted. "You want something to make -you eat after being in bed all day. This sherry and bitters will do -for a medicine. I want you to eat and drink well to-night Steve. You -must get colour into your cheek and fire into your eye. What will Ida -say if I attend to you so badly?"</p> - -<p>Stephen drank the sherry and felt better. Then they went to eat a -capital dinner and Dr. Jim saw that his friend tasted every dish. He -also made him drink champagne, and talked the whole time in a lively -way that was' infectious. By the time dinner was over Stephen felt -positively happy. Then came cigars, coffee, and cognac, in the -library.</p> - -<p>"Now Steve, don't you feel better?" said Herrick when they were seated -vis-à-vis beside a blazing fire.</p> - -<p>"Yes," replied the Squire and looking round the gorgeously-coloured -room, at the evidence of wealth and luxury spread out on every hand. -"I feel immensely better. I suppose I shall pick up soon."</p> - -<p>"If you follow the advice I shall leave with you, I think you will," -said Herrick with intention and stared at the fire.</p> - -<p>"What do you mean Jim? You don't intend to--"</p> - -<p>"Ah, but I do though Steve. I cannot stay with anyone who does not -trust me wholly. I want to be your friend. Your step-mother asked me -to look after you. I promised to do what I could, but unless you give -me your unreserved confidence, it is useless for me to remain."</p> - -<p>Stephen rose agitated and began to pace the room. "I trust you in -every way Jim; you know I do."</p> - -<p>"I know nothing of the sort Steve. You trust Bess though."</p> - -<p>"Ah! She has told you?" cried Marsh-Carr angrily.</p> - -<p>"No! she has told me nothing. But I am not a fool Steve and I have -eyes in my head. I saw that she was as sad as you, and by putting two -and two together I became certain that there was something between you -to make both sad. Bess would not tell me anything, nor did I ask her. -She is a loyal little woman. Still from her manner I guessed there was -a secret. I am certain," added Herrick looking steadily at his friend, -"that such a secret can only have to do with the death of your uncle. -Now, as I am looking after this case you must tell me what you know. -If you do not, I shall throw up the matter and leave you. I must be -trusted all in all, or not at all, my friend."</p> - -<p>While Herrick was speaking Stephen had sat down. He changed from red -to white from white to red again and his breathing became short and -hard. He saw that Herrick was in earnest, and that he would either -have to tell or lose his friend. In a tumult of anxiety he rose again -and began to pace the room. "You put me to a hard test," he cried.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps I do," replied Dr. Jim calmly, "but it is to prove your -friendship and your manhood. Tell me the truth."</p> - -<p>"You will despise me if I do," said Marsh-Carr thoughtlessly and -regretted the words almost as soon as they had left his mouth.</p> - -<p>Herrick appeared unmoved although he was inwardly surprised. "I do not -think anything you could say or do would make me despise you," he said -in his calmest tone. "I know you too well to think you would do -anything dishonourable. Come what is it?"</p> - -<p>But Stephen still remained silent, his eyes on the ground, He was -debating whether he would go on or not. Herrick saw his hesitation and -guessed its cause. "You have got over the worst now," he said -soothingly. "Come along, Steve. Sit down and tell me."</p> - -<p>"No," replied Stephen hoarsely, "I prefer to stand up." Then suddenly. -"It was I who fired those three shots into the body of my uncle."</p> - -<p>"Was it?" said Herrick quietly. "And why did you do that."</p> - -<p>"Because I was mad at the time?"</p> - -<p>"Had you not better tell me the whole affair? Then I shall be in a -position to judge of your madness."</p> - -<p>Stephen was amazed at the calm way in which his friend took the -intelligence. However he had gone so far that there was nothing left -to do but to confess all as he had confessed to Bess. In a hurried -manner the young man repeated the tale, and informed Herrick how Bess -had found out the truth by means of the revolver. "And now you must -despise me" was his final remark. He sunk into his chair with a groan.</p> - -<p>Herrick paused for a moment to think. Then he carefully lighted his -pipe. "I do not despise you by any manner of means," he said calmly, -"but I must admit that I think you are quixotic."</p> - -<p>The word--to Stephen's mind was so inapplicable to the situation that -he looked up astonished, scarcely believing his ears. "Quixotic!" he -repeated. "I do not quite see."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Herrick nodding, "you see Mrs. Marsh is dead, so no harm -can be done to her. It is good of you to screen her memory--"</p> - -<p>"Stop! Stop! What do you mean Herrick?" cried the Squire much -agitated.</p> - -<p>"I mean that you have taken this guilt on your head to screen your -step-mother's memory."</p> - -<p>Stephen paused. Then he looked up resolutely. "Yes," he said, "I may -tell you, if I tell no one else. It was my mother who fired those -shots. Bess found out about my pistol which my mother used, so I took -the blame on myself."</p> - -<p>"You chivalrous ass!" said Herrick with a growl, "and you've been -fretting over this? Why didn't you save time by telling me before?"</p> - -<p>"I thought--I thought--"</p> - -<p>"Never mind what you thought. After you came to seek your mother at -the rectory, and did not find her, what did you do?"</p> - -<p>Stephen stared. "How do you know that I did not find her there?" he -asked.</p> - -<p>"I know more than you think. Tell me all that you saw?"</p> - -<p>"I saw nothing," replied Stephen. "Corn said that my mother had gone -to the Carr Arms. I could not find her there. I fancied in one of her -rages, she might have gone up to 'The Pines.' I went there but saw -nothing. Then I came back to the Carr Arms and found my mother. She -said I had missed her. I thought she spoke the truth. I never -questioned her even after I heard of Carr's death. It never entered my -head that she had killed the man."</p> - -<p>"Then how did you guess?"</p> - -<p>"It came into my head like a flash when Bess said that my revolver was -empty in three chambers. I was certain that when I put it away the -whole six were loaded. Even as Bess spoke it entered my mind that my -mother must have taken the revolver, and have gone up after she left -the rectory a second time, to threaten the Colonel. She must have -found him dead and then have fired the three shots into his body. Then -she replaced the revolver. I never thought of looking at it. It was -brought here along with some other things and it was only when -Bess--"</p> - -<p>"I see," nodded Dr. Jim, "now look here Steve, had your mother another -pistol--an old-fashioned horse pistol?"</p> - -<p>"No, I am sure she had not. At least, I never saw her with one. It was -with such a pistol that Carr was shot. Good heavens Herrick, you do -not mean to say that my mother killed the man."</p> - -<p>"Well; I have heard your account and I have heard the account of Corn. -I do not know how to reconcile the two."</p> - -<p>"Corn--Corn the rector? What has he to do with it?"</p> - -<p>"A good deal. So have Joyce and Santiago and others. See here Steve, I -have been searching for evidence in this case for a long time. To -spare you I said nothing, but now that your step-mother has been -brought into the matter it is but right you should know. Sit down. I -will tell you a long and interesting story."</p> - -<p>Rather dazed, Stephen did as he was told. Then Dr. Jim related all -that he had learned, bringing the narrative down to the end of his -interview with the Revd. Pentland Corn. "Now what do you think?" he -asked when the whole story was told.</p> - -<p>"I do not know what to think. My mother--I can't believe that she -would--would."</p> - -<p>"It does seem strange," said Herrick, "but I tell you what. It is my -opinion that this message Petronella will deliver, will tell the -truth."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_22" href="#div1Ref_22">CHAPTER XXII</a></h4> -<h5>A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAD</h5> -<br> - -<p>The old Italian woman looked very ill. Her form was shrunken, her face -thin and white, her eyes unnaturally large. Evidently the misty -climate of the midlands chilled her to the bone. She had developed a -hacking cough, and shook with ague when the east wind tormented -Beorminster. Herrick was shocked at the change which had taken place -in her appearance during these few short weeks. Apparently Petronella -was not long for this world. But the near approach of death did not -appal her; she was terribly lonely, now that her mistress was gone.</p> - -<p>"Signor Dottore," she croaked when Herrick made his appearance, "you -have come to see me. That is good. But you will not cure me. No. I am -dead Signor. Dio mio! what does it matter?" and she ended with a -characteristic shrug, punctuated with a cough.</p> - -<p>"Indeed you do look ill Petronella," said Dr. Jim sympathetically. "I -must ask the Squire to send over someone to look after you."</p> - -<p>"No," replied the old woman obstinately, "I am well here. And it will -not be for long signor. Soon shall I be in my beautiful Italy."</p> - -<p>"At least, come over to 'The Pines' Petronella. You will be better -attended to there, and it is warmer."</p> - -<p>But Petronella crossed herself with pious horror. "Go to that devil -casa Signor! Not me. He had the evil eye, that man who died. Si -Signor. I went one day with the padrona, and he swore at me. I had an -accident the next day. Cospetto; a jettatura that Signor. But come in, -come in, Signor Dottore. This is the best room," she led Herrick into -what had once been the drawing-room. "Un bicchiére de Chianti Signor. -Signor Stefan sent me some Chianti."</p> - -<p>"No thank you Petronella," replied Herrick sitting down on a dusty -seat, "I want to have a chat with you. We will talk in your own -language if you like."</p> - -<p>"Ah no, Signor, I speak the English well, thanks be to the saints. My -padrona was fond of speaking the English. So, we will talk Signor -Dottore."</p> - -<p>Herrick acquiesced with a shrug. He was quite prepared to talk any -language she chose provided he got what he wanted. He was not very -certain how to go about the matter. Petronella was a shy bird, and -inclined to be obstinate. He felt his way in a round-about fashion, so -as to take her by surprise.</p> - -<p>"You will be glad to get back to Italy Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Si! Si. To the little town by the Adriatic. There I was born Signor, -and there will I die--if I die not here. Ah Dio!"</p> - -<p>"You are in pain I fear?"</p> - -<p>Petronella shrugged her lean shoulders "I am always in pain," she -said, "my legs and body--all pain. But the padrona left me something -to take thanks be to her, povera signora, and the pain goes."</p> - -<p>"Not chloral, I hope?"</p> - -<p>"Si Signor. A little bottle of chloral. I take not much, only when I -am bad, so bad. Then the pain goes."</p> - -<p>"Be careful what you do Petronella. Remember your mistress died from -taking too much."</p> - -<p>"I shall be careful," muttered the old woman, "eh Dio mio! what does -it matter if I die? All alone in this big house, and Signor Stefano -away."</p> - -<p>"You saw him the other day he told me," said Dr. Jim carefully -approaching his business, "he told me you had some message for me."</p> - -<p>Petronella nodded and screwed up her thin lips. "Only when he is in -danger Signor. Not now. He is too well."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean Petronella?" asked Herrick puzzled by her nods.</p> - -<p>"Signor Dottore," said Petronella standing very straight, "my padrona -before she died called to me. She gave me a large letter, and told me -to give it to the Signor Dottore when Signor Stefano was in danger."</p> - -<p>"Oh!" Herrick's eyes flashed. He had always wondered how it was that -Mrs. Marsh had died without making any sign. After the conversation -she had had with him he quite expected that she would have left him a -farewell message. It appeared that she had done so, but that the -letter had been withheld by Petronella, according to instructions. -"When did she write this Petronella? You said nothing about it at the -time."</p> - -<p>"No. I did what I was told to do Signor. Ecco Signor Dottore, it was -in this way. After my padrona got the letter from the postman in the -middle of the day, she was very angry and afraid."</p> - -<p>"Afraid! Why was she afraid?"</p> - -<p>"Chi lo sa," shrugged Petronella, "she said nothing to me. But she -told me to bring pen and ink and paper. All the afternoon she was -writing. Eh, how she did write! Then she put all the writing into an -envelope Signor, and wrote our name on it. She told me to give it to -the Signor Dottore when Signor Stefano was in danger. She said the -Signor Dottore was a good man." I give it to you Signor, but not now; -"No," and Petronella closing her mouth firmly shook her aged head.</p> - -<p>"I think you had better give it to me this very minute Petronella," -said Herrick rising, "for Signor Stefano is in very great danger -indeed!"</p> - -<p>"As how Signor Dottore?"</p> - -<p>"He may be accused of murdering his uncle, Colonel Carr!"</p> - -<p>"Eh Dio mio!" crowed the old women. "Did I not say that the dead man -had the evil eye! Did I not tell the Signora that evil would come to -the young Signor from this death?" She caught Herrick's arm and fixed -her glittering eyes on his face. "You swear to me that this is true -what you say? Signor Stefano is in danger. Eh? Eh?"</p> - -<p>"I swear he is Petronella," replied Herrick earnestly, "and this -packet you talk of may save him."</p> - -<p>"Ah si! Well do I know Signor Dottore that is so. My padrona said that -it told how the danger could be set aside. You understand. In this -letter Signor, there is a strange story."</p> - -<p>"Do you now what it is Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signor Dottore. The padrona did not tell me. But she said it was -a strange story. And to be read when my young Signor was in danger. I -will go and bring it. La! La! La! It is danger. Dio mio! That wicked -Signor who is dead--birbanti--ladroni. The evil eye--the evil eye."</p> - -<p>Coughing as she went the old woman hobbled out of the room. Dr. Jim -sat still wondering if he was about to learn the truth at last. If -Pentland Corn was to be believed, Mrs. Marsh had been at "The Pines" -about the hour when the crime had been committed. Herrick did not now -believe that she had killed the man herself, as she had been possessed -of the modern revolver with which the three shots had been fired. It -was impossible to imagine that she had fired one shot with an -old-fashioned weapon, and had then reverted to the use of the new -revolver. No! The first shot,--the death shot had been fired by some -one else, possibly by Frisco. Mrs. Marsh had met the assassin in the -house, but for reasons of her own had not divulged the name.</p> - -<p>Also judging from her conversation she had known a great deal about -Carr and Frisco, especially about the latter, seeing that she had -warned Jim that Frisco might attempt to kill Stephen. As a matter of -fact although the man had not struck the blow himself, he had guided -the hand of Santiago to strike it. Herrick wondered if Mrs. Marsh -would say anything about the Mexican. "At all events I shall know the -truth at last," he said. "After reading this letter, the mystery will -be one no longer. But why did Mrs. Marsh delay such important -information all this time?"</p> - -<p>This was a question he could not answer. He was still puzzling over it -when Petronella entered the room carrying a large blue envelope, -sealed with the Carr crest. This she handed to Herrick with much -ceremony. "There is my trust Signor," she croaked, "bear witness by -all the saints that I gave it only when the young Signor was in -danger."</p> - -<p>"That is all right Petronella. I shall read it here. Will you stay?"</p> - -<p>"No, Signor Dottore. I do not want to hear the secrets of my padrona. -I go to make myself a meal Signor. You stay here and read. A glass of -wine Signor Dottore. Eh, pour l'amor di Dio, un bicchiére de Chianti?"</p> - -<p>Herrick politely refused the attention, and Petronella went grumbling -out of the room. She was a hospitable old soul, and liked the doctor. -When he was alone in that dismal, deserted, apartment, he drew up his -chair close to the window and opened the envelope. Five or six sheets -of closely-written paper fell out; also a typewritten letter. After a -glance at this last, Dr. Jim smoothed out the paper and began to read. -The story---as it might be called--commenced abruptly. This -impetuosity was extremely characteristic of Mrs. Marsh. After a glance -round the room Dr. Jim settled to read. The manuscript was as -follows:--</p> - -<p>"I am a wicked woman and an evil woman. There you see Mr. Herrick I -place my character before you in 'the first line. I know you are no -fool, or I should not make such a confession. But when you read these -pages I shall be in my grave, so what you say or think does not -matter. If these pages are made public, there will be blame enough -from other people. To save my boy they must be made public. I can -foresee that he 'will be accused of the murder of that beast Carr. I -swear that he is innocent. He knows nothing. From the grave I send out -my voice to defend him. And you are a clever man Herrick. The defence -of my poor boy I confide to you. If you do not do your best I swear to -haunt you if it be possible for the dead to return. But after all, you -are too sensible to be frightened by this 'talk. Let me get to the -facts of the case. Those will interest you more than the ravings of a -dying woman. So I begin:--"</p> - -<p>"I have said that Colonel Carr was a beast. I repeat 'it. He was a -cruel tiger. Rolling in wealth, he refused 'to give me any money. Yet -he knew that I was accustomed to luxury, and that Stephen was his -nephew. No wonder I hated the man. Again and again I implored 'him -almost on my knees to allow me sufficient to live on. He always -refused with his sneering laugh. Often I wonder that I did not kill -him. Yet he had one good point. He had loved his sister, and out of -love for her memory, he made Stephen his heir. He also caused him to -be educated, but when that was done, he refused to 'allow him an -income to live like a gentleman. I hated Carr for that. Even if he had -not allowed me money, still his own sister's child should not have -felt the pinch of poverty. I love Stephen. He is a kind, good boy, and -has put up with my vile temper all these years. Now that he is rich I -hope he will marry Ida (if she does not 'prefer you, and I do not -think that is likely), and live the happy life of a country gentleman. -My blessings on them both.</p> - -<p>"To come to the point which I know you want to reach. On the night of -Carr's murder I was at the rectory. It came to my ears through some -words dropped by Frisco when he was intoxicated, that Carr intended to -disinherit my son. Whom he intended to favour I do not know, nor do I -care. But I could not stand meekly by and see the lad robbed of what -was righteously his own. I went into Saxham that afternoon to see Carr -and to remonstrate against his committing the monstrous injustice he -contemplated. He saw me with the greatest coolness and behaved quite -in accordance with his character. In vain did I point out that Stephen -was the sole living representative of his blood, and was entitled by -law to the property. Carr said that he had another relative living; a -cousin descended from an uncle of his, who had been turned out of -doors by his grandfather. This uncle had married in America, and had -died, leaving a daughter who married a Yankee. It was the son of this -daughter to whom Carr referred as his cousin. Furthermore he declared -that his cousin had a son about the age of my Stephen. I asked him if -he intended to leave the property to this cousin and his brat. But -this he denied. He said that he had made the money himself and would -leave it to whomsoever he pleased. In a word he defied me. I was -helpless. I could do nothing, and that afternoon I left 'The Pines' -mad with rage, after a threat to kill Carr. Needless to say he laughed -at my threat.</p> - -<p>"Why did I not kill him then you will ask? Because I wanted to give -the man one last chance. I warned him that I would shoot him if he -persisted in his injustice. I said that I would return that evening -for my answer. Then I went to the rectory and had dinner with Pentland -Corn.</p> - -<p>"Here, my dear Herrick, I may state that I had brought a pistol with -me--or rather a revolver. It belonged to Stephen who at one time had a -craze for shooting. The revolver was put away in its case, which was -on the mantelpiece of his study. I remembered that it was there, and -on looking I found that all six chambers were loaded. I knew that -Stephen never troubled about the weapon, so I took it with me to 'The -Pines.' But on that afternoon I did not use it. Carr, I said to -myself, should have his chance.</p> - -<p>"Stephen was to come to the rectory for me about nine. Some time -before that I told Corn that I would go to the Carr Arms to meet -Stephen, but I intended to go to 'The Pines;' Corn never suspected my -intention. I went quickly up to 'The Pines' shortly before nine. I -found no one in the lower part of the house. Frisco, I suppose was -sleeping off his drunken fit, as I heard from Napper that he had been -drinking in the afternoon and had uttered threats against his master. -I knew that if anywhere, Carr would be in the Tower. The table was -laid out for dinner, but he was not in the dining-room. I went -upstairs, and found him in the tower chamber. He was in evening dress -lying dead with his face downward. I turned him over, and saw that he -had been shot through the heart. At once I guessed that Frisco had -carried out his threat and had murdered the Colonel. But I thought -Carr might have altered his will before dying. I was quite mad with -rage, thinking he had cheated me. Then I did what you will consider a -terrible and a barbarous thing. I fired three shots into his dead -body. I suppose it was wicked of me, seeing that the man was dead. But -I am Italian as you know, and I was mad with fury at the thought of -how this he had treated me. The only revenge I could take was to -have my share in his death, so I fired three times. It did me good, -and I came away much calmer. I see you raise your eyebrows in -horror, my virtuous Herrick! Ah bah! you are English, and cold-blooded -as a frog. I am Italian, and I did what I did. I have no other excuse -to make.</p> - -<p>"I was only a few minutes in the tower chamber. Then I came down to -get away lest I should be accused of the crime. At the door below I -met Frisco. He had his hat and coat on, and a small bundle in his -hand. I said, 'You have killed him. He lies dead upstairs.' Frisco -denied that he was guilty, and referred to my three shots. I -explained, and told him he could call up the whole countryside to -hear what I had done. At the same time I warned him that as I had -found the Colonel dead I would accuse him of the murder. Frisco -repeated that he had not killed him, but said he might have done so -later on, Carr had treated him so badly. He was entitled to the money: -he was a relative of Carr's. I saw at once that this was the cousin, -and said so. Frisco did not deny it. He told me he would have to go -away as he might be accused of the murder, and could not afford to -remain and face the matter out. But he warned me that if Stephen took -the property he would find means to get rid of Stephen. I laughed at -him: but I was afraid. Frisco was almost as big a brute as his master -and cousin. Then seized with a sudden panic, he ran out of the house -and into the Pine wood. I left also, and got down to the Carr Arms, -where afterwards Stephen came for me. I told him that I had 'been -there all the time but that he must have missed me.</p> - -<p>"That is the truth as regards the events of that night. I found Carr -dead, and in anger I fired those three shots. Who killed the man I do -not know. I am inclined to believe it was Frisco in spite of his -protestations of innocence. But you know how he ran away. He went to -London, and from London he wrote to me. I enclose his letter.</p> - -<p>"The next few days and the murder was known. I said nothing. I -replaced the revolver in its case; I persuaded Stephen that I had not -been to 'The Pines' on that night, and he believed me. Then he became -possessed of the property, on certain conditions. I breathed freely. -Carr had not had the time to make a new will, and my boy was safe."</p> - -<p>"So far, so good, then came the bolt from the blue. I received the -enclosed letter from Frisco, in which he threatened to write to the -police and denounce me. If he does this I am lost. It will be -difficult for me to defend myself. The evidence against me, if the -matter is looked into, will be too strong. But you can see that for -yourself Herrick, so I need not be more explicit. Under these -circumstances and to save Stephen I have made up my mind to die. If -the truth about my visit came to light, even although I were proved -guiltless of the murder, Stephen is quite foolish enough to give up -the money. He is a good boy but weak,--quixotic. The only way I can -save him--and myself also for that matter--is to die.</p> - -<p>"I am not afraid; I have had such a wretched life that I do not think -things will be worse in the next world. Besides the chloral, against -the abuse of which you are always warning me, affords me a chance of -slipping quietly and painlessly out of a world that is much too hard -for me. If I die, Stephen will be safe, for Frisco can do nothing. His -threats will fall harmless on the dead. The man is dangerous though. -He might try to murder Stephen. I gave you a hint of that Herrick. But -I know you are clever and so long as you are with my boy I do not fear -for him in that way.</p> - -<p>"Yet as regards the rest. It is possible that Frisco may denounce -Stephen as guilty of murder. Stephen told me he went to 'The Pines,' -that night to see if I had gone up there. Some one may have seen him. -Then I used his revolver. That would also be evidence against him, and -even if I destroyed the weapon that would still be evidence against -him. While I live I dare not tell the whole truth. Therefore I make -this confession and I shall give it to Petronella. She will deliver it -to you when danger threatens Stephen. From the contents of this you -will know how to act, so as to thwart Frisco. Stephen is innocent, and -I verily believe that Frisco is guilty in spite of his denial.</p> - -<p>"I can die in peace now, for I know when this confession is in your -hands that Stephen will be safe. I trust to your head and to your -heart, Herrick. I am sure you will not fail me. No doubt you think I -am going to extremes in dying. That may be. But I am sick of this -life. Even if I lived I should have nothing but trouble. Besides my -poor Stephen has had quite enough of me. I hope he will marry Ida and -be happy. Were I to live and remain with them I should spoil their -happiness. What would a sour old woman do with two such lovers? Well -Herrick I am about to seal this up and then I shall take a dose of -chloral--an overdose. Thus my death will appear to be an accident. -The world will think so. I wonder if you will? You also may be -deceived. But I think you will be clever enough to doubt the accident, -for you know I am not the woman to be careless.</p> - -<p>"Do not show this to Stephen unless you are absolutely compelled. I -love the boy and I want him to think the best of the woman who is -gone. So no more. Good-bye to you, my dear Herrick. You have been a -good friend to me. Continue to be so to my boy. And also if you have -any religion (which I doubt) pray for the soul of Bianca Marsh!"</p> -<br> -<p style="text-indent:10%">"And here I sign my name for the last time.</p> - -<p style="text-indent:60%">"<span class="sc">Bianca Marsh.</span>"</p> - -<br> -<p>When Herrick finished this extraordinary document, he laid it down -with a sigh for the memory of the wrong-headed impulsive woman who had -written it. She had acted foolishly, but for the best. And since the -poor soul had gone to her account Herrick could not find it in his -heart to blame her. After a pause he took up the typewritten letter.</p> - -<p>It was typed in purple ink, was without date or address, and even the -signature of Frisco was in print. It ran as follows:--</p> - -<p>"If you do not make your son do justice to me and to my 'son, I will -write and tell the police that you murdered Colonel Carr. I must have -half the money left by Carr allowed to me by arrangement. You can -answer my letter by an advertisement in the Daily Telegraph. Then I -will write to you and make arrangements. All I want to know now is -whether you will insist upon your son giving the money, or face the -disgrace of being arrested for the murder. I have a witness who can -prove your presence in the house. If necessary I will come forward and -give myself up. I can save myself and condemn you. Choose. I shall -look every morning in the paper.</p> -<p style="text-indent:60%"><span class="sc">Frisco</span>."</P> -<br> - -<p>Herrick read this precious letter over twice. He wondered that it was -typed instead of written, not that he did not see the reason for this, -but that he wondered how a hunted fugitive like Frisco could procure a -machine. Then the truth flashed into his mind.</p> - -<p>"Robin," said Herrick rolling up the papers, "Frisco met him, went to -his chambers, and disclosed the fact that he was his father. Ha! -Between the two of them they wrote this letter so as to frighten Mrs. -Marsh into giving them the money through her influence over Stephen. -Robin typed the letter and sent it. The little scamp. He did not tell -me that. Humph! I shall go again to town and see him. Then Frisco must -be produced from his hiding-place. Robin can and shall do that."</p> - -<p>This was all very well, but still the mystery of Carr's death was -unsolved. Mrs. Marsh was innocent. She declared Frisco to be guilty. -On the face of it, he was. But Herrick had his doubts. The case was -getting more difficult at every fresh discovery. For the first time he -mistrusted his own powers of dealing with the matter.</p> - -<p>"I must consult Stephen and Bess," said Dr. Jim, and left the house. -In his pocket was the confession of the late Mrs. Marsh.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_23" href="#div1Ref_23">CHAPTER XXIII</a></h4> -<h5>THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS</h5> -<br> - -<p>For the next twenty-four hours, Dr. Jim kept his counsel. He said -sufficient to set Stephen's mind at rest about his mother, but did not -tell the whole story or show the confession which he had obtained from -Petronella. He wanted to turn matters over in his own mind before -doing this. The fact is Jim was getting a little weary of the whole -affair. Every new piece of evidence that came to light seemed only to -complicate it. He had felt sure that the paper left by Mrs. Marsh -would solve the mystery; but although it told much it did not reveal -all. She declared in a half-hearted sort of way that Frisco was -guilty. But she gave no proofs; the man in that hurried conversation -at the door, had denied the charge, and beyond the fact of his flight -there was no evidence against him. It occurred to Jim that the best -thing to do would be to drop the matter altogether. It seemed useless -to follow such a will-o-the-wisp.</p> - -<p>"Still I do not like to do this on my own responsibility," he thought -after much consideration, "it will be best for me to lay all the facts -before Bess and Stephen, and go by what they say. If they want to go -on with it, well and good. If not, I shall end it at once."</p> - -<p>With this idea, a most sensible one under the circumstances. Herrick -called a council of war. Bess came over from Biffstead, and met -Stephen and Jim in the library by appointment. There Herrick again -told the whole story of his dealings with the matter, and ended up by -placing Mrs. Marsh's letter and its enclosure before them. When the -Squire and Bess had read the documents, and were in possession of all -the facts connected with the murder of Colonel Carr, Herrick made a -speech to them on that basis.</p> - -<p>"It seems to me," he said, "that it is foolish going on with this -matter. From all that I can see Frisco is the guilty man. But he has -disappeared, and I do not think it is worth while hunting him down. To -hang him for the murder of a scoundrel like Carr--I beg your pardon -Steve but your late uncle was a scoundrel--will be no gratification to -any of us. Moreover if he were caught and tried, this letter might -have to be produced. I think it best to stop short at this point."</p> - -<p>Before Stephen could give his opinion, Bess interrupted him, to dwell, -after the custom of a woman, on a minor point. "You foolish boy," she -said in reproachful tones. "I see that you took the blame of your -mother's doings on yourself. That was stupid. You might have trusted -me!"</p> - -<p>"My dear Bess, I could not blacken her memory, even to you.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps not; but I should have understood. Now that I think of it," -she added, "I wonder that I was so foolish as to believe you. It was -entirely opposed to your nature to fire at a dead man."</p> - -<p>Stephen winced. "Do not say anything more about it Bess," he said, -"she did that. Let the matter rest there. And now about continuing the -search. I agree with Jim;--it is best to do nothing more."</p> - -<p>"I am not so sure of that," replied Bess obstinately, "you see -Santiago may still try and get the money."</p> - -<p>"No," said Jim positively, "I do not think so. He has been found out. -His conspiracy is at an end. He knows that any further move on his -part will meet with failure. Believe me, he will return to Mexico, and -give up fighting. The wisest thing he can do."</p> - -<p>"What about Joyce?" asked Marsh-Carr. "He is worse than useless. Take -away Don Manuel, and Joyce is lost. He has neither the pluck nor the -intelligence to carry through a plot on his own account."</p> - -<p>"But his father Frisco may use him as an instrument."</p> - -<p>"Frisco has to clear himself first. Joyce knows if he does anything -with his father that, I can have him arrested. Rather than that should -happen I believe he would give up Frisco to justice."</p> - -<p>Bess shuddered. "His own father!" she exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"Oh! as to that, you can hardly blame Joyce if he does not feel -particularly filial. His father has done nothing for him. Besides -Joyce senior deserted his wife, and Robin was devoted to his mother. It -is one of the best traits in his otherwise poor character. No, Bess, I -think if Robin came to chose between his own skin and that of Frisco, -his father would be the one to suffer. Robin believes in everyone for -himself."</p> - -<p>"He is a wicked little wretch!"</p> - -<p>"He is and he is not. Weak rather than wicked. His scheme to mix you -up in the murder by means of that pistol was invented by the Mexican. -Joyce only did as he was told."</p> - -<p>"But in that case," said Stephen looking up, "I do not see what -Santiago had to gain. Robin wanted Bess to marry him. He wanted to -inveigle her into the case so that she might not refuse out of fear. -But what would that matter to Santiago. Her marriage with Joyce would -not have helped on his schemes."</p> - -<p>"True enough," said Herrick musingly, "but I daresay it was Frisco who -suggested the marriage. He wanted to get the money through his son, -and perhaps thought he would get more if he put off Robin with Bess."</p> - -<p>Miss Endicotte reddened. "Thank you for nothing Jim," she said -indignantly, "I was evidently to be a pawn in the game."</p> - -<p>"It seems to me that we have all been pawns," said Jim grimly, "just -consider the mistakes that have been made while we have been searching -for the true assassin of Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>Bess laughed. "First of all I was suspected," she said.</p> - -<p>"Oh, no; that was only a half-hearted attempt on the part of Frisco and -his precious son. There was no real evidence to implicate you Bess. I -think--speaking for myself--that I first suspected Robin Joyce. It was -your remark about his income Stephen, that aroused my suspicions. Well -the chain runs as follows," and Herrick ticked off on his fingers, -"Joyce first on the authority--mainly--of the pistol. He said he got -it from the Don so I suspected Manuel. He proved his innocence, and -accused Pentland Corn. I saw him and he told me he had picked up the -pistol on the lawn of this house. It was his belief that Mrs. Marsh -was guilty."</p> - -<p>"And myself?" said Stephen with a smile.</p> - -<p>"No, you were like Bess and came into the matter on your own account. -I never believed you had anything to do with the affair. But your -step-mother is the last whom I believed might have something to do with -it. Certainly she had; but from her letter we know she didn't kill the -man. And here we come to a dead stop."</p> - -<p>"What about Frisco?" said Marsh-Carr.</p> - -<p>"I believe he is the guilty person," said Dr. Jim positively, "are you -going to defend him, Bess?"</p> - -<p>The girl looked troubled. "I admit that matters look black against -him," she said slowly. "He threatened the Colonel; he was alone in the -house with him, and Mrs. Marsh found him ready to fly. On the other -hand there is something to be said in his favour. Evidently he should -have had a share in this treasure. For some reason the Colonel would -not give it to him during his life, and only afforded him a chance of -getting it after Stephen's death--"</p> - -<p>"Not even then," interrupted Herrick "for if Stephen had fulfilled the -conditions of the will, the fortune would become his absolutely and he -would be able to will it away."</p> - -<p>"Then I can't understand it," said Bess, "unless Frisco knew of this -unjust will--for that it is, if he helped to get the treasure--and -murdered the Colonel out of revenge."</p> - -<p>"I believe he did," said Stephen.</p> - -<p>"No!" put in Dr. Jim briskly, "I do not agree with you. It is my -opinion that what Mrs. Marsh said to me before she died was the right -view."</p> - -<p>"What was that?"</p> - -<p>"Frisco and the Colonel fought a duel. I believe that Frisco came back -from the inn drunk and filled with fury against the Colonel. It might -have been, that through the visit to Mrs. Marsh in the afternoon he -had found out all about the will. The Colonel probably defied him, and -then Frisco would suggest a duel. He fired first and the Colonel fell -with his still loaded weapon in his hand."</p> - -<p>"That is all theory," said Bess still defending the ex-sailor, "but -you seem to forget Jim that the death shot was fired with that clumsy -pistol. If there had been a duel Frisco would have had at least as -good a weapon as the Colonel. There are plenty of revolvers of the new -pattern in the gun-room. I am sure Frisco would not have placed -himself at such a disadvantage. And again the silver bullet. Why -should Frisco have used that?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim rubbed his head with a vexed air. "I am afraid you are right -Bess," he said, "a duel is out of the question. I can't see anything -ahead. So far as I am concerned, I give up trying to solve the -riddle."</p> - -<p>"So do I," said Marsh-Carr, "I know now that my poor mother did not -kill the man, so that is all I care about. Let the matter rest -Herrick. You can send Santiago to Mexico I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, but I think he will want some money."</p> - -<p>"Give him what he wants and let him go."</p> - -<p>"I think that will be best, and as for Joyce I'll see that he keeps -quiet."</p> - -<p>Bess struck in. "What about Frisco?"</p> - -<p>"He must look after himself," said Dr. Jim, "innocent or guilty we can -do nothing with him so long as he remains in hiding."</p> - -<p>"But you can find him?"</p> - -<p>"Through Joyce. Yes, I can. But on the whole I prefer to let sleeping -dogs lie. No, Bess. The whole thing is ended. Now come the peaceful -times. It is necessary to cultivate our garden, as says Voltaire."</p> - -<p>Stephen laughed. "I think so too," said he, "for my part I intend to -put the whole matter out of my head and arrange with Ida as to the -date of our marriage. As my poor mother has died so lately, we can -have a quiet wedding; but married I shall be and as soon as I can."</p> - -<p>"Why?" asked Bess.</p> - -<p>"In the first place I want Ida to be my wife because I love her -dearly, and in the second I want to marry her and make my will after -the marriage in her favour."</p> - -<p>"Why can't you make it now?"</p> - -<p>"It would not be legal. Marriage invalidates a will."</p> - -<p>Herrick who had been thinking, looked up with bright eyes. "Stephen," -he said, "you are afraid of Frisco."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I am. He may try and murder me to get the money, so by marrying -Ida and leaving it to her, I shall put the matter out of his power. -Once he gets to know that the money has gone from him for ever, he may -leave me alone. He tried through Santiago to kill me once, and failed. -He may not fail the second time."</p> - -<p>"There is something in that," said Herrick, and then the council of -war--as Bess called it--broke up. The final decision of the three was -to let the case stand where it was. They washed their hands of the -whole affair.</p> - -<p>For the next fortnight there was absolute peace. Stephen and Ida -arranged to be married in two months, and Dr. Jim began to talk of his -future with Bess. Jim did not want to live with Stephen after the -marriage, and yet he could not leave him, without forfeiting his -income. Of course Stephen insisted that Herrick should take a certain -sum a year, until he got on his feet, but Jim would not consent to -this. "I can't take money I do not work for," he said decisively, "if -you will lend me a small sum, I'll go back to London and start a -practice in a new place. I expect it will be a long time before I am -able to marry Bess. But she will wait for me."</p> - -<p>Bess expressed herself favourably on this point. She would wait for -Jim till her hair grew gray, and meantime she could manage Biffstead -for Frank, after Ida was settled at "The Pines." Neither Stephen nor -Ida could do anything with this obstinate couple, and they gave up the -attempt in despair. "But I think it is an infernal shame your leaving -me in the lurch," said Stephen, "remember what my mother said!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I intend to see you through the year, in case Frisco should -attempt to stop your visits to the vault," replied Jim. "But after -that I must go and carve out my own fortune."</p> - -<p>"Well, who knows what may happen by then," said Marsh-Carr. He was -determined in some way to benefit Jim. "I'll have to force the money -on the fellow' he grumbled to Ida.</p> - -<p>"Bess is just as obstinate," she sighed, "however they will be with us -for some months yet. Wait and see, Stephen."</p> - -<p>Herrick meanwhile was priding himself that all was at an end. He wrote -to Joyce stating that he intended to do nothing, and also let Santiago -know his decision. From neither did he receive an answer. But this he -did not mind. "They are powerless to do harm," he said to Bess.</p> - -<p>And indeed he never expected to hear of the pair again. But one -morning Bess came to him with the Daily Telegraph and pointed out in -silence a cipher message in the agony column. It was worded similarly -to that put in before, and asked Frisco to meet the inserter at Hyde -Park Corner at three o'clock in two days. "Humph!" said Jim -meditatively, "Robin wants to see his father again!"</p> - -<p>"What will you do Jim?" asked Bess anxiously.</p> - -<p>"Nothing. Why should I?"</p> - -<p>"If Robin meets his father they will plot against Stephen."</p> - -<p>"They can't do anything but physical harm, and I am always with him."</p> - -<p>But Bess was not to be put off in this way. "I really think you should -write to Mr. Joyce about it Jim."</p> - -<p>"He will not answer."</p> - -<p>"Perhaps not. But he will see that you have your eye on him."</p> - -<p>"True enough. I'll see to it, Bess."</p> - -<p>Jim fully intended to do so, but foolishly put off the matter for a -few hours. He wrote to Joyce only on the day before the appointed -meeting, and on the next day received a telegram, to the effect that it -was not Joyce who had inserted the cipher nor, so said the wire, had -Don Manuel.</p> - -<p>"What the devil does this mean?" said Jim to himself. "Is it a lie, or -a truth? If a lie, Manuel and Joyce are plotting. If true, someone -else is taking a hand in the game. I'll see Bess."</p> - -<p>The advice of Bess was that Jim should go up to Town without delay. "I -am sure there is some mischief brewing," she said, "you had better go -up by this afternoon's train."</p> - -<p>"No," said Jim after a pause, "I'll see Steve first. He must know all -about this before I go. In fact I think I'll take him with me."</p> - -<p>"But he has gone away for the day," said Bess, "you know he went out -cycling with Ida. He won't be back all day. You have no time to lose."</p> - -<p>"I'll wait until he comes back," said Herrick. "I tell you what Bess; -this may be a scheme to get me away from Stephen, in order that they -may try and hurt him during my absence. After that assault of Manuel's -I'm never easy in my mind away from the boy. I can't leave him here. -If I go up to Town he must come with me."</p> - -<p>Bess was struck by this view of the matter. There might be something -in it, she thought. The consequence was that Herrick waited the return -of Stephen and arranged to go up to town with him the next morning. -All the same Stephen laughed at Dr. Jim. "You are a a perfect old -woman about me!" he said. "I can look after myself!"</p> - -<p>"I am sure you can deal with honourable foes," said Jim, "but here -there is every probability you may be struck in the dark."</p> - -<p>Stephen shrugged his shoulders. "Very well Jim. You know best. We can -go to town by the mid-day express, to-morrow."</p> - -<p>But before they left "The Pines," they received a surprise. In the -Times newspaper which usually arrived shortly after eleven, Stephen -found some news which surprised him. He went at once in search of Dr. -Jim and found him buttoning his gloves on the door-step waiting for -the cart to come round. "What do you think of that Herrick?" said the -Squire.</p> - -<p>"The devil!" said Dr. Jim, and well he might. There was a paragraph in -the paper to the effect that the man called Frisco who was wanted for -the murder of Colonel Carr of Saxham, had been captured on the -preceding day. No further details were given, but what Herrick read -was quite sufficient. He dropped the paper and stared at Stephen.</p> - -<p>"Shall we need go up to Town now?" asked the Squire.</p> - -<p>"Yes! We must catch this train. Here comes the cart; I shall go and -see Joyce at his flat. He may know what this means."</p> - -<p>"What about Bess?" asked Stephen.</p> - -<p>"We have no time to talk over the matter with her now. She will see -the news in the 'Telegraph.' We can send her a wire from Beorminster -station, not to worry herself. Jump in Steve."</p> - -<p>In a few minutes they were driving hard for the cathedral city. At the -station Herrick sent the proposed wire to Biffstead, and they caught -the express. "We shall be in town for a few days over this," said -Herrick when they were comfortably settled, "I think I can see."</p> - -<p>"See what?" asked Marsh-Carr. "What it means. This is the revenge of -that blackguard Santiago for losing the money."</p> - -<p>"Do you think he put in the cipher?"</p> - -<p>"I am sure he did, and gave information to the police meantime. No -doubt when Frisco arrived at the rendezvous thinking to meet his son -he was arrested by officers in plain clothes. I have not much sympathy -for Frisco, who, I fear, is a bad lot. All the same it is hard that he -should be tripped up in his stride by that brute of a Greaser."</p> - -<p>"It might be so. I wonder if Don Manuel has stayed to see the matter -out. It is the kind of thing he would like to do."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I am sure of that Steve. All the same he wants to look after his -own skin. When Frisco is tried, he will tell all he knows about the -Mexican's doings out of revenge. Santiago can't face an inquiry as you -know. His assault on you, is enough to get him into serious trouble. -No, my friend; Don Manuel has done his mischief and cleared out. By -this time he is on his way to the new world. Beast!" muttered Herrick -between his teeth, "I should like to make it hot for him!"</p> - -<p>On arriving in Town Herrick sent Stephen with the luggage to the hotel -in Jermyn Street and himself drove off to West Kensington. He learned -from the porter that Joyce was in, and ran upstairs. In a few minutes -he was seated in the little man's drawing-room listening to his -reproaches.</p> - -<p>"I did not think you would sell me like this Herrick!" said Robin -wringing his hands in his usual womanish way, "whatever I may have -done to you, you should have kept faith with me. You always pretended -to be so superior."</p> - -<p>"Ah! Did I?" said Herrick calmly but a trifle bewildered at these -accusations. "And now perhaps you will tell me what I have done."</p> - -<p>"You know well enough. You put that cipher in the paper and betrayed -my unfortunate father. I did not think it of you."</p> - -<p>"He was arrested at Hyde Park Corner?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. At three o'clock yesterday. Of course he thought that I put the -cipher in and came to meet me. But why do I tell you all this. You are -perfectly well aware of the success of your treachery."</p> - -<p>Herrick shrugged his shoulders. At the present moment he did not think -it necessary to correct the man. "How about your friend Santiago?"</p> - -<p>"I wish he was here to punish you!" cried Joyce venomously, "he was -quite as clever as you Herrick. But you waited till he sailed, before -plotting to capture my father."</p> - -<p>"So the Don has sailed? When did he go?"</p> - -<p>"Four days since," replied Robin dropping into a chair, "as if you -didn't know! Why do you come here to exult over me?"</p> - -<p>"Because I wish to tell you that you are wrong in thinking I put that -cipher in the paper. As I wrote to you from Saxham I decided to let -the matter rest. Whether your father was guilty or innocent I did not -care so long as you and he left Marsh alone. The man who put that into -the paper was Santiago."</p> - -<p>"I do not believe it."</p> - -<p>Herrick shrugged his shoulders. "As you please; but it is true for all -that. I know the cipher, but I give you my word I did not insert it. -You knew the cipher, and I am sure you did not use it to betray your -father. The only other person who knew it was the Don, and he has left -this last sting behind him out of revenge for losing the money."</p> - -<p>Robin shook his head. "I might believe that," he said, "if I did not -know it was you."</p> - -<p>"But I tell you it was not!" cried Jim impatiently.</p> - -<p>"It was. It was. Those private detectives who worked for you told me -all about it. You told them to have my father arrested."</p> - -<p>"Belcher and Kidd!" cried Herrick jumping up.</p> - -<p>"Ah, you know the name. Yes. They gave notice to the police and had my -poor father taken. I guessed it was their work and through you."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim stood for a moment in a brown study. He saw well enough what -had occurred. The ferret had made use of Santiago to find out the -business, and knowing of the reward had made use of the information -extorted from Santiago. "I expect they let him leave England on -condition that he told them the business and helped them to trap -Frisco by means of the cipher. The scoundrels!"</p> - -<p>"Well," said Robin "what are you going to do now?"</p> - -<p>"I am going to see Belcher and Kidd," said Herrick, "and I tell you -Robin that your friend Santiago has done all this. I have had no hand -in it."</p> - -<p>"But why should Santiago--"</p> - -<p>"You had better ask your father that," said Herrick. "I suspect he has -no cause to love that Mexican! You can believe me or not Robin. But -the truth is the truth. I have not played you false."</p> - -<p>Robin shook his head. He still doubted. Dr. Jim tried no longer to -convince him, but left the flat to have it out with the treacherous -firm he had employed.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_24" href="#div1Ref_24">CHAPTER XXIV</a></h4> -<h5>THE STORY OF FRISCO</h5> -<br> - -<p>It was not until Herrick was well on his way back to the centre -of the Town, that he remembered his omission to ask Robin about the -typewritten letter. But after all, it did not matter. He knew -perfectly well that Joyce had typed it at his father's dictation, and -the denial or admission of the little man would make no difference. -Things had got past that point.</p> - -<p>"I must see Belcher and Kidd," said Herrick to himself, "and learn -exactly how Santiago managed the business. Then I'll give Frith a look -in. I must find some way of speaking to Frisco. Now that he is driven -into a corner, he may tell the truth--that is, if it is not likely to -hang him."</p> - -<p>When he arrived at the Strand office of the private inquiry firm, he -was received by Kidd. Belcher, it appeared, had gone out for the day -on business. Kidd was a heavy man with a red face, and a pair of -leering grey eyes. Dr. Jim could put up with the ferret but Kidd he -detested. However, as Kidd was the only representative of the firm -present, he tackled him, and with no light hand, for Jim was in a -royal rage at the way he had been tricked by this cunning pair of -rascals.</p> - -<p>"What is this I hear about the arrest of the man Frisco?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"Just this doctor," replied Kidd in his heavy voice but civilly enough -"Don Manuel Santiago gave Belcher the tip how Frisco could be trapped, -and as me and him wanted to earn the reward, we fixed the matter up."</p> - -<p>"Against my wish," retorted Dr. Jim, "did I not say, that you were not -to meddle in the matter?"</p> - -<p>"And why shouldn't we get the reward if we could sir?"</p> - -<p>"I had my own reasons that Frisco should be left at large. You have -spoilt a plan of mine, and likely as not have caught the wrong man."</p> - -<p>"As to that sir," said Kidd doggedly, "I don't know. But right or -wrong we've caught the man and claim the reward."</p> - -<p>"It is offered by Mr. Stephen Marsh-Carr," said Herrick coolly, "and -the matter is in my hands. It is just as likely as not that I may stop -Mr. Marsh-Carr from paying you one penny. You had better have done my -business properly Kidd."</p> - -<p>"We did do it properly," said Kidd in a surly tone.</p> - -<p>"I don't think so. It was my wish that the Mexican should be watched. -You have let him leave the country."</p> - -<p>"I didn't," protested Kidd, who would have been insolent but that he -was afraid of losing the reward, "that was Belcher's game."</p> - -<p>"Belcher's price for receiving instructions how to trap Frisco," -scoffed Herrick. "Do you think I don't know that Santiago taught the -cipher to your damned partner."</p> - -<p>"You might be civil Dr. Herrick."</p> - -<p>"I shall be what I please. You were engaged by me to do certain -business, and you have done it badly. Had I wanted Frisco caught I -should have told you. Now just you let me know, how it all came -about."</p> - -<p>"What about the reward sir?"</p> - -<p>"I'll see to that. You fools--to go against me like this. I can do -your business considerable damage by telling the way you have tricked -me."</p> - -<p>"Oh, sir! you won't do that," growled Kidd now thoroughly frightened.</p> - -<p>"It all depends upon how you conduct yourself. The harm is done, but I -must know how Santiago managed the business."</p> - -<p>"It was this way sir," replied the cowed Kidd. "Belcher watched the -foreign cove sir, and kept out of sight. But the Don knew him from -going to the gambling club."</p> - -<p>"Ah! that's another matter I can spoil for you Kidd. I know too much -of your shady business for you to play the fool with me. Go on man."</p> - -<p>It took Kidd all he knew, to keep his temper under this speech. But he -knew that Dr. Herrick would do what he had threatened if he was not -implicitly obeyed. Had Jim been a smaller man, Kidd might have tried -conclusion with his fists; but he knew Herrick too well, -to attempt such folly. Once upon a time Kidd had seen the doctor -thrash a larger and much heavier man. From that day, he resolved never -to have a fight with a man so versed in the noble art as this -high-tempered gentleman.</p> - -<p>"Well sir," he continued in a sulky growl, "it was this way. Santiago -spotted Belcher, and asked him what he was up to. Belcher would not -tell, but in the end, the Don got the truth out of him. Then he said -that if Belcher and me could catch Frisco we could get a bigger sum of -money, than by watching him. Belcher was always anxious to know what -was at the back of all this. When he heard it was the Carr murder -case, he saw it was a big thing for him and me. So he said he would -let the Don go, if he helped him to catch Frisco. Then the Don showed -us the cipher--he wrote it out himself, and put it in the newspaper. -Frisco came to the place, and me and Belcher had a detective and a -warrant. We caught him easy. He is now in quod sir."</p> - -<p>"And Santiago is on the high seas on his way to Mexico. You are a -precious pair of scoundrels Kidd. Why did you tell Mr. Joyce that I -had managed all this business?"</p> - -<p>"It was the Don as asked us to do that sir."</p> - -<p>"To make trouble I suppose," said Herrick rising, "you send Belcher to -see me at the Guelph hotel this evening. I have something to say to -him."</p> - -<p>"Take care sir. The ferret ain't an easy man to tackle."</p> - -<p>Herrick paused at the door and looked the big man up and down. -"Confound your insolence," he said, "do you think you or that rat can -stand up against me. I can ruin you both if I choose, and stop your -getting that reward. As for Belcher, if he is impudent I'll wring his -neck."</p> - -<p>"I am sorry we did it sir."</p> - -<p>"You may well be," was Herrick's grim reply.</p> - -<p>"But I ain't going to be bullied by anyone," said Kidd with sudden -anger.</p> - -<p>"That is quite enough my man," replied Dr. Jim opening the door and -speaking quietly, "if you try that game, you'll get the worst of it."</p> - -<p>Kidd looked dangerous for a moment, but after a glance into the eyes -of his proposed antagonist he cooled down considerably. He knew -perfectly well, that Herrick could smash him. Moreover the calm -courage of Herrick quelled his brute passion. Dr. Jim waited for a -time, then departed leaving Kidd growling and cursing in impotent -rage.</p> - -<p>"A dangerous ruffian," thought Herrick as he went into the Strand, -"but I think he and Belcher know me too well to play the fool."</p> - -<p>For the moment he intended to go back to the Guelph Hotel and see -Stephen; but on reflection drove to the solicitors. It was necessary -that he should interview Frisco, and Frith would be the man most -likely to obtain for him the permission to do so. The lawyer was in, -and expressed his pleasure at the capture of Colonel Carr's assassin.</p> - -<p>"As to that, I am not certain," said Herrick lightly, "I want to hear -what he has to say Frith, and you must get me permission to see the -man."</p> - -<p>"Don't you think he killed Carr?" asked Frith.</p> - -<p>"On the face of it, I do," replied Herrick, "all the same there have -been so many surprises in this case that I am prepared for more. -Besides, I am rather mad over the business," and he told Frith how he -had been tricked by Belcher and his partner.</p> - -<p>"Couple of scoundrels," said Frith nodding, "it's not the first dirty -trick they have played. Don't you engage them again Dr. Herrick. I'll -find men who are more to be trusted."</p> - -<p>"I hope to heaven that I won't have occasion to employ any more -private detectives. I tell you what Frith, ever since I have engaged -in this affair I feel as though I had been bathing in dirty water. But -that I promised Mrs. Marsh to protect her son, I should not have done -it."</p> - -<p>"You seem to have gone pretty exhaustively into the business," said -Frith after he had heard the whole story, "for an amateur you have -managed remarkably well."</p> - -<p>Herrick laughed, "I have made mistakes I admit. But then, as you say, -I am only an amateur and not the detective of fiction. He never makes -mistakes. I wish he had had this case to deal with. However the thing -is nearly at an end, thank goodness."</p> - -<p>"It will end with the hanging of Frisco."</p> - -<p>"Who knows. He may have some other story to tell."</p> - -<p>"You may be sure he will swear that he is innocent," said Frith. "Very -likely," responded Herrick, "and the queer thing is Frith that he may -really be innocent."</p> - -<p>"It looks to me, from what you have told me, as though he were -guilty."</p> - -<p>"Oh, as to that, I've thought several people guilty and have always -found out that I am wrong, when they came to explain. However, I want -to see this man and hear what he has to say. Can you manage it?"</p> - -<p>"I'll see what I can do. You are at the Guelph Hotel ain't you? Very -good. I'll see to it. I might come along and call on Marsh-Carr."</p> - -<p>"I should, if I were you," replied Dr. Jim with a laugh, "always be -attentive to your clients Frith."</p> - -<p>Leaving the solicitor to arrange matters, Herrick went back to the -Hotel and dinner with Stephen. He told him all that he had done, and -the Squire was much interested. "I hope it is coming to an end -though," he said. "I have had about enough of this sort of thing."</p> - -<p>"Think of me," said Jim with a shrug.</p> - -<p>"Oh, you have behaved like a brick Jim. I do not know how to thank -you."</p> - -<p>"Bosh my dear chap. There is no question of thanks between you and -myself. I promised your mother to see you through, and I intend to -keep my word."</p> - -<p>"And you won't let me make things right for you," grumbled Stephen.</p> - -<p>"Wait till everything is squared up, then we will see. I may ask you -to be my banker after all. Well Steve, Santiago has gone away, so you -are relieved of at least one of your enemies. Joyce can do nothing -without his father, and that gentleman is in gaol."</p> - -<p>"Will you want me to go with you to-morrow?"</p> - -<p>"No, prefer to see him alone. I'll get more out of him in that way. I -wonder what I'll hear this time. However let us think no more of the -matter just now. We might take a turn down to see the Earl's Court -Exhibition. There's always something going on there. It's not exactly -like a theatre Steve or I should not ask you to go. But you must be -cheered up somehow. We can't stay in this dismal hotel all the evening -talking about a criminal."</p> - -<p>Stephen assented, as he always did to whatever Herrick proposed. They -went to the exhibition and spent a pleasant evening. When they -returned Dr. Jim retired straightway to bed, "I shall have a lot of -talking to do to-morrow so I must get as much rest as I possibly can," -said he.</p> - -<p>In some mysterious way, Frith obtained the required permission, and -Herrick found himself introduced into a small cell, where Frisco sat -on his bed in a gloomy frame of mind. After exchanging a few words -with the warder, Frith got the man to go away leaving Herrick and -Frisco alone.</p> - -<p>"So you are Dr. Herrick," remarked Frisco calmly, "I am glad to meet -you."</p> - -<p>He spoke in a rather refined voice, and did not at all look like the -truculent ruffian Herrick had expected to meet. He was no longer fat, -but had quite a shapely figure. Also his face had lost the redness of -incessant drinking. Misfortune had sobered and improved the man. He -was plainly dressed in a suit of black serge, which as he afterwards -informed Herrick had been supplied by his son. But even if he had -been still more changed Dr. Jim would have recognised him from the -cries-cross scar on his forehead. Frisco saw him looking at it, and -smiled.</p> - -<p>"The Colonel's handiwork," said he quietly. "He marked me with a bowie -in Los Angelos one drunken evening. But I gave him as good as he gave -me Dr. Herrick. He lost a finger." And Frisco fell to whistling at the -pleasing recollection. There was no doubt about the man being a -scoundrel. Herrick felt his way carefully.</p> - -<p>"How did you know me?" he asked abruptly.</p> - -<p>Frisco smiled, "I heard the man who came with you, call you by your -name. As for the rest, of course Robin has told me all about you. You -are a clever man Dr. Herrick, and I think a kind one. If you had not -been, you would not have burdened yourself with that miserable rat I -have the misfortune to call my son. All the same," added Frisco with a -scowl. "You trapped me in rather a shabby way."</p> - -<p>"Ah! That is one reason why I came to see you," said Herrick coolly, -"I did not trap you at all. No one was more surprised than I at the -news of your arrest. It was Santiago who put that cipher in the paper -and told the police about you. And Santiago is beyond your reach on -the high seas. So you see that I am not so mean, as you thought me."</p> - -<p>"That's it," said Frisco, "you always fought fair and I could not -understand your playing low down like this. So it was the greaser was -it? By Heaven! when I catch him--" Frisco doubled his arm. "It's time -he was out of the world," said Frisco, "a beating's too easy. I'll go -west for him."</p> - -<p>"How do you mean you'll go west?" asked Herrick thinking of the man's -position which was--apparently--considerably within the shadow of the -gallows.</p> - -<p>Frisco looked at him with a careless laugh. He understood, "Oh, I've -been in worse holes than this," he said, "why once in California the -rope was round my neck for horse-stealing. Carr got me out of that -mess."</p> - -<p>"You were a great friend of Carr's?"</p> - -<p>"Why," said the man slowly, "he was my cousin you know, and we had the -same blood in us--the bad Carr blood. How I ever came to have such a -brat of a Methodist parson for a son I can't make out. Got it from his -mother I suppose, she was always a whimpering devil.</p> - -<p>"I didn't come here to discuss your son and wife Joyce----"</p> - -<p>"Frisco's my name for the time being," said the man coolly, "when I -get across the pond again I'll take to a more Christian one."</p> - -<p>"Humph! You won't have an easy time getting out of this scrape."</p> - -<p>"Well no, you're about right there Herrick. You don't mind me dropping -the Mister I hope. I feel friendly to you. You're about the only man -of the whole lot. Stephen isn't a bad chap; but if he hadn't had you -beside him, I'd have got that money. Well I'm to be tried for my life. -What are you going to do Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"Something quixotic," replied the doctor, "Robin has no money, neither -have you, so I am going to supply you with a solicitor and see you -through. If you are guilty I wish to see you hanged, if innocent free. -All the same," said Herrick frankly, "I tell you candidly Frisco, that -I don't think it fair to hang you for the killing of a brute like -Carr."</p> - -<p>Frisco stared at Dr. Jim in a hard unwinking manner, but he was -visibly moved. "You're a white man Doc," said he, "and I'm a bad lot. -All the same if you don't mind--" he held out his hand.</p> - -<p>"I'll take that only on one condition," said Herrick, "that you tell -me you are innocent of murder."</p> - -<p>Frisco drew back his hand, and recovered his hard manner. "You bet I'm -not," he said, "that is where Carr had the pull over me. There are two -Towns in South America I daren't go near--" he burst out laughing. "So -you won't shake hands," said he "well I don't blame you. I am a bad -lot--but Carr was a damned sight worse sonny. You can take that from -me."</p> - -<p>"We are wasting time I think," said Herrick coldly, "I want to help -you if I can. You shall have a lawyer, to defend you. But I want to -ask you as man to man:--Did you shoot Carr?"</p> - -<p>Frisco thought for a moment stroking his chin. "Well there's not many -men I'd tell my mind to but you are one. I did not kill Carr."</p> - -<p>"Then who did?"</p> - -<p>"I'll tell you in a few minutes. But you let me reel out my yarn -first."</p> - -<p>"I know most of it from Robin and Santiago."</p> - -<p>"You don't know all," replied Frisco quietly "I've been with Carr -these twenty years and more. He was a devil and treated me like a dog. -I helped him to get that treasure and he cheated me of my share of -it."</p> - -<p>"I shouldn't think you were the man to be cheated."</p> - -<p>"Not in an ordinary way, you bet. But the Colonel had the bulge on me -I guess. He could have handed me over to the authorities in San -Francisco for a murder. Oh! don't look scared Herrick. I'm not going -to own up to all my crimes. I have committed heaps though."</p> - -<p>"Oh, damn your beastly talk," said Herrick angrily, for the -shamelessness of the man made him sick, "just tell me about that -night."</p> - -<p>"All in good time sonny," said the unmoved Frisco, "I stayed with the -Colonel and let him keep my money because I did not want my wife to -know I was alive. She was a good woman and I treated her like a brute. -That was one reason. The second was because of my own skin. I did not -want to be hanged, and Carr could have hanged me any day. The third -reason," and here Frisco looked curiously at Herrick, "you'll hardly -believe the third reason. But it was a kind of tenderness for Carr. -Somehow, devil as he was, I liked him. Never met a man I cottoned to -more. He saved my life, I saved his, we fought with knives and with -fists, and played the devil with one another all round. Yet somehow we -stuck together, and never went back on one another. Rum thing wasn't -it Herrick."</p> - -<p>"Honour amongst thieves," said Dr. Jim with a shrug. "You bet that's -it," retorted Frisco. "So you can see Herrick that I was not the sort -of man to put Carr out of the way. I got drunk, so did he but we held -together in that blamed house always waiting for death."</p> - -<p>"Ah! The Indians, I suppose."</p> - -<p>"Santiago told you that I guess," said the man. "Yes, there was some -half Spanish half Indian greasers in Lima that would have followed us -to the end of the world had they spotted our whereabouts. Santiago was -one, but he wished for the money on his own hook and didn't split. -Well Carr is dead so he is safe enough, but if I'm not hanged I guess -Santiago will let out on me. Then I'll have a time getting away."</p> - -<p>"Was it on account of this fear that Carr built the tower."</p> - -<p>Frisco nodded. "You've hit it. Queer chap Carr, a mixture of bravado -and fear. He threw down all the fences and walls and left the doors of -the house open every night just to show he was not afraid. All the -same he never slept but in that tower. I didn't. If any of the -greasers had come, they'd have knifed me easy enough. Well Carr went -under before his time but by the hand he least expected."</p> - -<p>"Who was it?" asked Herrick impatiently.</p> - -<p>"Well," drawled the ruffian "it wasn't Mrs. Marsh. We had a talk--"</p> - -<p>"I know all about that. I also saw the letter you wrote her."</p> - -<p>"Oh, you did. She kept that as an ace. Robin typed it on his blamed -machine for me. I wanted to get the money quietly, but the old lady -went under in time and spoilt my game there."</p> - -<p>"She killed herself," said Herrick curtly.</p> - -<p>"Did she now," said Frisco in admiration, "she was a screamer of a -woman--not like my wife. Killed herself. Lord," he chuckled.</p> - -<p>"Go on with your story."</p> - -<p>"It is a story isn't it. Well I guess it was this way. I let Carr keep -the money, when he was alive on the understanding that it was all left -to me. He made a will in my favour, and then, the devil made a later -one giving the money to Stephen with a reversion to me if his bones -weren't looked after."</p> - -<p>"I know," said Herrick coolly, "and you tried to have Stephen -disabled."</p> - -<p>"Right you are; and the blamed Santiago bungled the affair. If I had -been on the spot--well that's all done with. About the will. Mrs. -Marsh came and kicked up a row about the will in favour of her son -saying the Colonel was going to alter it. She picked up something of -that from me when I had a cargo aboard. But I never knew till after -she came, how Carr was tricking me. When she went--and she did curse -him--I had a row with Carr. He told me the kind of will he'd made. We -had almost a stand up fight. He brought in the murder business about -me as usual, and I knuckled under as usual. Then I went off to drink -rum at the Carr Arms."</p> - -<p>"Yes, and to threaten the Colonel."</p> - -<p>"Oh! that wasn't on my own account. All I meant was that if I gave the -tip to the Lima greasers, Carr would be knifed. That fool Napper -thought I meant to do the job myself. Well sir I came back and lay -down to sleep off the rum. Carr got his own dinner, and then dressed -himself up as he always did. Blamed foolishness I always called it. -Cooking your dinner and then wearing a starched shirt to eat it. Pah!" -Frisco spat.</p> - -<p>"He wanted to keep his self-respect I suppose."</p> - -<p>"He had no occasion for an article of that sort Herrick. Self-respect -and Carr!--well I should smile. However, I was asleep. When I was -pulling round sober, and thinking of getting up to eat, I heard a -shot. Oh! I am too used to the sound of shooting not to know it when I -hear it. I wondered if Carr was in the shooting gallery. After a -time--twenty minutes maybe I got up and went into the gallery. No one -there. I went up to the tower after visiting the dining-room. I found -the Colonel dead. I was in a fright I can tell you. In a flash I saw -that my neck was in the rope. I had threatened the Colonel and they'd -think I'd killed him. Also I was wanted in Frisco and South America -and half a hundred places. My name would come out may-be (but I am not -afraid of that now Herrick) and I would be turned off as sure as a -gun. I went downstairs and drank some wine. In the house--and coming -down from a room under the one in which Carr lay shot--I saw someone. -As he came down the tower steps, it is my opinion he shot the Colonel. -If it wasn't him I don't know who could have done it."</p> - -<p>"And who was it you say?"</p> - -<p>"Why! don't jump Herrick. It was Sidney Endicotte."</p> - -<p>Herrick stared. "That lad never killed the Colonel," he said.</p> - -<p>"Then who did?" asked Frisco impatiently, "that boy just hated Carr. I -never could make out why, and he was half-witted besides. Then there -was the pistol I read about in the papers. It is just the kind of -weapon a boy of that sort might pick up cheap in a shop of sorts. A -man like me would have used a Derringer. No, I'm sure that boy shot -him. He came right upon me, as cool as you like and says, 'He's quite -dead.'"</p> - -<p>"Did he say that?"</p> - -<p>I swear he did, "He's quite dead," says Sidney, "then before I -could get my breath he went out into the night, and I lost him.</p> - -<p>"Why did you not follow?"</p> - -<p>"I had to think of my own safety. It was no use my accusing a boy and -a half idiot you see. No one would believe he'd killed Carr when I was -in the house--and with my blamed past. I just went to the back to make -up a bundle and clear out. While I was packing I heard three shots, -and jumped for the door. Lord I was in a fright."</p> - -<p>"It was Mrs. Marsh."</p> - -<p>"Yes. She came down looking like a tigress, and said I'd killed Carr. -I was at the door with my bundle. I denied it, and said I'd make it -hot for her. She said I'd better look after myself and cleared. I -didn't wait you may be sure, for in spite of her firing the shots I -didn't know but what she'd rouse the village. So I went straight -across the moor and caught the train at Southberry. Here I've been -hidden in London ever since. I had money. When that ran out I dropped -across that cipher in the paper, and met my fool of a son. Then--well -you know the rest."</p> - -<p>"It's a strange story," said Herrick much distressed. It did not seem -at all unlikely, but that Sidney had killed the Colonel.</p> - -<p>"It's a true one. Well, what are you going to do."</p> - -<p>"I shall see this boy, and find out if what you say is true."</p> - -<p>"Oh! I expect he's such an idiot that he'll think he's done something -fine and own up. But that my neck is in danger, I would not split on -Sidney. But they'll only shut him up in an asylum. They would hang me, -so of two evils I choose the least. Are you off Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I'll see if this is true, and get you a lawyer."</p> - -<p>"Thanks old man. You're a good sort. So-long," and Frisco quite calm -waved his hand as Dr. Jim left the cell. He did not seem to be in the -least afraid, and evidently thought his release was a foregone -conclusion. A dangerous cool-headed ruffian was Frisco.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_25" href="#div1Ref_25">CHAPTER XXV</a></h4> -<h5>SIDNEY SPEAKS OUT</h5> -<br> - -<p>After that interview with Frisco, Dr. Jim took Stephen straight off to -Saxham. There was nothing left for him to do in Town. Frisco was in -prison and safe enough. Joyce shut himself up in his flat, and would -not even reply to the note Herrick wrote him. Belcher--for obvious -reasons had not called at the Guelph Hotel,--and with his partner was -keeping out of the doctor's way. Jim saw Frith for a brief few -minutes, instructed him to see after the defence of Frisco, and then -drove to Paddington where Marsh-Carr awaited him. By favour of the -guard and five shillings they secured a smoking carriage to -themselves. When the train was fairly out of the town, and whizzed -through a desolate winter country, Dr. Herrick looked at Stephen.</p> - -<p>"What do you think of it all?" he asked lighting his pipe.</p> - -<p>"This story of Frisco's?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. It's a living truth. I can see by your face that you wish to -believe the man a liar. He is, but not in this instance. What he says -is absolutely true. I saw his eyes when he spoke. The tongue may lie, -but a man's eyes--" Jim shook his head.</p> - -<p>"But it can't be true," cried Stephen looking white and worried, "good -heaven's Jim, if Sidney really shot Carr, think of the disgrace to Ida -and Bess. Ourselves! I don't mind that. But these poor girls."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Jim after a pause, "you see it's not so bad as it might -be. I am sure you must know of the estimation Sidney is held in, round -about Saxham. If it comes out that he shot the Colonel, no one will -express any surprise. It's no slur on the girls, Steve. Sidney is -looked upon as something beyond the pale of humanity."</p> - -<p>"What will they do with him?" asked Stephen anxiously.</p> - -<p>"If he really did commit the crime, he will be placed in an asylum. -The boy is too queer to be judged by ordinary standards. Frisco -cleared out although he knew Sidney had killed Carr, because he -thought no one would believe the boy had done it. The suspicion -certainly would have rested on Frisco. He would have been wiser to -have given himself up. But for the reasons I told you of--the same -reasons that kept him quiet under the Colonel's unjust appropriation -of his property---Frisco preferred to cut. He is wiser, now that he -has had time to reflect over the matter. His devilries in the Americas -were done under other names, and as Joyce he will not be wanted in San -Francisco. I daresay if he had not been caught he would have given -himself up in the long run. It was the Don he was afraid of. Now the -Don is away, Frisco is convinced he will be set free."</p> - -<p>"He must stand his trial?"</p> - -<p>"Certainly. I have told Frith to see after him. But his defence will -be that Sidney killed the man. There is no way of averting that. The -question in my mind," said Herrick looking at Marsh-Carr "is, whether -the boy really did do so."</p> - -<p>"Have you any doubt on the subject?" asked Stephen eagerly. "I have a -great many doubts," replied Jim dryly, "and until the person who -really murdered Carr confesses, I shall continue to doubt. You see -Steve, ever since I took up this matter I have been following up false -trails. Every person I have stumbled upon, and to whose guilt the -evidence at the time procurable, pointed, has laid the blame on some -one else, who in turn has passed on the guilt to another party. I -suspected Joyce. He accused Santiago. The Don said Pentland Corn was -guilty. Corn declared that Mrs. Marsh had fired the shot. Now we know -from accurate evidence that all these persons are innocent. Frisco was -suspected from the very first. He is caught and swears--truly enough -according to his own belief, that the boy murdered the Colonel. How do -I know but what Sidney may be able to prove his innocence, and accuse -someone else. The chain may go on endlessly so far as I can see."</p> - -<p>"I understand the difficulty," replied Stephen wearily, "but I cannot -for the life of me see why Sidney should kill the man."</p> - -<p>"There comes in the queer character of the boy," said Herrick "he -detested the Colonel--said he was a bad man. He might have got into -his head in some way or another that such a man was better out of the -world. If so, he would make no more account of killing Carr than he -would of putting a fly out of existence. Indeed he would rather spare -the fly, for I have noticed that he is tender to all that breathes."</p> - -<p>"But would he keep quiet over the matter?"</p> - -<p>"I think so. Sidney was never the boy to talk. Then there is the -pistol Stephen. That is an old-fashioned weapon that a boy might buy -in Beorminster for a few pence, or he might have found it in the -lumber room of the Grange--there are many of these ancient firearms to -be found in the houses of old families. If Sidney dropped across such -a weapon he might have then concluded to kill Carr. You see, from the -account of Frisco, that he came down the Tower stairs and said, quite -calmly, that the Colonel was dead. He may just as calmly admit to me -or to you that he killed the man."</p> - -<p>"Mad! Mad!" groaned Marsh-Carr, "he must be mad."</p> - -<p>"No. That does not follow. The boy is strange. There are things about -him which I cannot explain. So far as I can see Sidney does not come -within the range of science. That foretelling of your mother's death, -and his extraordinary statement that you were in danger, puzzled me -beyond words. I must believe, because I am convinced by the evidence -of my own senses. All the same I cannot explain or understand. There -are laws of Nature with which we are unacquainted. I believe that this -boy comes under some unknown laws. You cannot account for the actions -of such a person. The boy would do things which we should call wrong, -yet he would see no harm in doing them. If he is guilty, he will be -put away in an asylum. At the same time I am sure he is perfectly -sane."</p> - -<p>"I am puzzled myself about him," admitted Stephen, "and he is a most -uncomfortable boy to have about one. Still I have always found him -upright and honourable. I have never known him to tell a lie. But he -must know all about this case and how Frisco has been accused."</p> - -<p>"I'm not so sure of that. Sidney lives with his head in the clouds. He -perhaps has heard that Frisco has been accused, but, as the man does -not now come across his path, he never thinks of any possible danger -to him. Again Stephen, that silver bullet is queer."</p> - -<p>"How do you mean queer?"</p> - -<p>"Well you know the mediæval superstition that a warlock can be killed -only by a silver bullet. A thing of that sort, is exactly what would -appeal to the dreamy nature of Sidney. He is something of a mystic -himself remember. He might have taken it into his head, that Carr was -a warlock who had dealings with the devil"--</p> - -<p>"I am sure he would have every reason to think so," said Marsh-Carr, -"if any man was hand in glove with Satan, my uncle was that man."</p> - -<p>"You see what you say yourself. Then Sidney thinking in a less sane -fashion on the same subject might have considered it his duty to -deliver the world from such a wizard. He would certainly then use a -silver bullet, thinking (according to the mediæval superstition) that -the man could not be killed by ordinary lead."</p> - -<p>"It's all theory," said Stephen gloomily, "and fantastic at that."</p> - -<p>"As you say--all theory and fantastic," admitted Herrick, "but you -must remember that we are dealing with a fantastic nature. But we must -see this boy and question him when we get home."</p> - -<p>"He will deny everything."</p> - -<p>"On the contrary if I know anything of the boy, he will calmly admit -what he has done."</p> - -<p>"You will not tell Bess or Ida?"</p> - -<p>"That would be unwise. We must be certain of Sidney first. We shall -say nothing to-night, but get Sidney to come over to 'The Pines' on -the morrow and ask him frankly if he killed Carr."</p> - -<p>"Bess is sure to ask you about Frisco," said Stephen.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I can baffle her curiosity," replied Herrick. "I shall tell her -nothing about my visit to the man. All about his arrest she can know."</p> - -<p>"I think it will be better to hold our tongues altogether Jim. Ida is -getting worried by this incessant mystery, although she knows very -little."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure I don't wonder. I'm worried myself. However, we must learn -what we can from Sidney. I hope to Heaven the lad is innocent, but if -he is not, I don't look upon him in the light of an ordinary criminal. -He is a freak of nature. Were I put into the witness-box I could not -say on my oath that he is mad."</p> - -<p>"Let us drop the subject," said Stephen who looked haggard, "I am -getting nervous and anxious."</p> - -<p>Jim acquiesced in this sensible view and the two betook themselves to -the magazines and newspapers. Until they arrived at Beorminster, they -said little to one another, and even then were--for them--taciturn. A -groom and cart awaited them, and they drove to Saxham in silence. It -did not do to talk of Sidney with a servant at their elbows. But -curiously enough the groom had news for Stephen, which brought in the -name of Sidney.</p> - -<p>"Please sir, that Italian woman----"</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with her?" asked Herrick who was driving.</p> - -<p>"She is very ill sir, and it is said she will die."</p> - -<p>"Die!" echoed Stephen in surprise.</p> - -<p>"She was not bad enough for that when I saw her last. What do you -think Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"She looked very sick certainly, but so far as I can judge was in no -immediate danger of death. Who says this Parry?"</p> - -<p>The groom sunk his voice to a whisper, and seemed nervous, "Master -Sidney," he said.</p> - -<p>Both men looked round at this. Then at each other. Herrick was the -first to break the silence. "When did Master Sidney say that Parry?"</p> - -<p>"Yesterday sir. Mr. Napper, he met him in Beorminster in the Cathedral -Square about four o'clock. He asked him joking-like where he was -going. Master Sidney said, just as quiet as he does speak sir, that he -was going to see the Italian woman die. Napper was that taken aback -you could have knocked him down with a feather sir. Then Master Sidney -said she would die in two days, which I take to mean sir, that she'll -go off to-morrow. And I'm sure she will sir," added Parry with -conviction.</p> - -<p>"Is this story known Parry?" asked his master rather vexed.</p> - -<p>"No sir. Napper went at once to see Miss Endicotte when he came back -to Saxham. She asked him to say nothing about it, but he had already -told Phelps the gardener sir. Then Phelps told us all sir, but we have -said nothing outside about it."</p> - -<p>"See you don't then," said Stephen sharply, "the first of my servants -who says a word will be discharged, mind that Parry."</p> - -<p>The groom touched his hat and relapsed into silence. "Where is Master -Sidney now Parry?" asked Herrick after a pause.</p> - -<p>"At the house in Beorminster sir. He has been there all night. Miss -Endicotte went over, but she could not get him away. He says he must -stay there until the Italian woman dies sir."</p> - -<p>"Humph! You need say no more Parry," and the doctor drove on in -silence. But Marsh-Carr knew from the way he urged the mare, how -perturbed he was over this information. Stephen was upset himself. -There was something disquieting about everything in connection with -Sidney.</p> - -<p>After dinner at "The Pines," Herrick made Stephen lie down, as he was -yet far from strong, and walked across to Biffstead. Here he saw the -two girls and Frank, who were very much troubled by this latest freak -of their brother.</p> - -<p>"I don't know what to do with him," said Frank, "I went over and -insisted he should come home. I took him by the shoulder to force him -out of the house, but he got in such a passion that I thought he would -have a fit. So I left him until you came back."</p> - -<p>"You go over and get him away Jim," implored Ida, "you have more -influence over him than anyone else. I have gone and Bess also, but he -will not come. We can't carry him back by main force and make a -scandal."</p> - -<p>"I'll go," said Herrick, "but I did not know that I had any influence -with him. He is a lad one can do nothing with. How does the old woman -take his telling her she is about to die."</p> - -<p>"She is quite calm. Evidently she thinks Sidney is a kind of prophet. -He is telling her not to be afraid and talking the queerest things to -her. I am sure Sidney is mad," sobbed Ida, "he will be shut up in an -asylum someday."</p> - -<p>Herrick said nothing. The poor girl little knew how truly she spoke. -If Sidney had indeed killed Carr, he would certainly be shut up. -Considering his extraordinary character, perhaps this would be all the -better for his friends and relatives, if not for himself. "I will go -over in the morning," said Herrick on reflection, "he may be more -reasonable in the morning. I am beginning to understand him a little."</p> - -<p>"I'm sure I don't," said Ida, and Frank echoed her opinion. This was -natural enough. No man is a hero to his relatives.</p> - -<p>All this time Bess said nothing. While Jim was away, she had worried -much over her brother's freak, but now that the doctor had returned -she was satisfied that all would be well. Herrick exercised over Bess, -the same influence he did over most people he came into contact with. -Stephen and the girls, were both more than ordinarily intelligent, but -they deferred to Jim in a most remarkable manner. If any one could -manage Sidney, Bess felt that Herrick was the man. Jim was not so -certain himself. The boy had never come under his influence, and in -his own calm way held his own against everyone.</p> - -<p>"What about Frisco?" asked Bess who had followed Herrick down the -avenue, "has he really been arrested?"</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim nodded. "Santiago betrayed him to some private Inquiry Agents -I employed," he said, "a mean shabby piece of work Bess. Joyce put it -down to me. I assured him that I had nothing to do with the matter, -but he refused to believe me."</p> - -<p>"He is so mean himself, that he cannot believe any good of other -people," said Bess scornfully, "what is to be done now about Frisco?"</p> - -<p>"I am thinking," replied her lover evasively, "when I have come to a -conclusion I'll tell you Bess. But I fancy the end is in sight."</p> - -<p>"I hope so," sighed the girl. "I am so tired of this anxiety."</p> - -<p>"Shortly you will have no more, dear," and Jim took her in his arms to -kiss her good-bye, "the night is dark, but the dawn is breaking."</p> - -<p>Next morning Dr. Herrick walked over to Beorminster. He left Stephen -at home although the Squire wanted to come also. "No," said Jim, "it -is best for me to speak to the boy alone, I'll get more out of him." -And Stephen recognised that this was the more sensible course.</p> - -<p>It was eleven o'clock when Herrick rapped at the door of the -Beorminster house. It was opened by Sidney, who looked calm and -complacent as usual. "I heard you had come back Dr. Jim," he said.</p> - -<p>"Did your prophetic instinct tell you that?" asked Herrick testily.</p> - -<p>The boy was so difficult to understand that he could not help feeling -annoyed. A' man over thirty does not like treating a lad of sixteen as -his equal. Yet Sidney somehow compelled that respect.</p> - -<p>"No," replied he sweetly. "I am very stupid about some things. When a -thought comes to me, it comes. I cannot call it."</p> - -<p>"Then the thought came to you that Petronella would die?"</p> - -<p>"She will die Dr. Jim. Two days ago I felt that she would die. So I -came over to see her. She was afraid of death, till I talked to her. -Now she is quite peaceful. She does not fear."</p> - -<p>"Are you afraid of death Sidney?"</p> - -<p>"Why should I be? I know."</p> - -<p>"You know what?"</p> - -<p>"That there is nothing to be afraid of." The boy spoke quite serenely -and without any suggestion of pose. He had conducted Herrick to the -dining-room and the two were seated opposite one another. On the table -were the remains of Sidney's breakfast,--a glass of milk, some fruit -and a loaf of bread. "I had to get these myself," he said, "Petronella -is in bed in Mrs. Marsh's room. She is very ill."</p> - -<p>"I knew she was ill some time ago," replied Herrick trying to assert -himself, "but I think I can cure her."</p> - -<p>"She will not live," said Sidney, staring in the most unwinking manner -at Dr. Jim. "She will die before sunset. I know."</p> - -<p>"Can you explain how you do know?" asked the doctor roughly.</p> - -<p>This time it was the boy who was puzzled, "I can't," he said. "I feel -that Petronella will die. I can say no more than that."</p> - -<p>Herrick groaned. It was useless to try and understand this -extraordinary lad. Evidently he did not understand himself. Yet his -former prophecies had come to pass so absolutely, that Dr. Jim could -not help thinking that this last would come true also. However, this -was not the business about which he had come. "Sidney," he said after -a pause, "do you know that Frisco, who used to be with Colonel Carr, -has been arrested?"</p> - -<p>"I heard Bess say so."</p> - -<p>"What do you think of it?"</p> - -<p>"I never thought of it at all. He is in no danger, Dr. Jim. It was not -Frisco who killed Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"How do you know that?" asked Herrick startled. Was the boy about to -confess that he was guilty.</p> - -<p>"I was in the house just after Colonel Carr was killed."</p> - -<p>"Oh! Then you did not shoot him yourself?" Sidney frowned, but -appeared very little disturbed.</p> - -<p>"Why should I have killed him?" he said calmly. "Colonel Carr was a -wicked man. I told him he would die by violence some day. But he only -laughed at me. He thought I was mad or a fool. You do also, Dr. Jim."</p> - -<p>"I don't know what to think," said Jim angrily; "I never met anyone -like you before, Sidney. If I had not some knowledge that the things -you say come true I should think you were pretending. A boy like you -ought to be whipped."</p> - -<p>"That is what the Colonel said," replied Sidney quietly. "But tell me, -Dr. Jim, did you really think I had killed him?"</p> - -<p>"I did not. But Frisco says you did."</p> - -<p>"If he believed that, he would not have run away," said Sidney -shrewdly.</p> - -<p>"Well come to the point. Who murdered the Colonel?"</p> - -<p>"Petronella," said Sidney.</p> - -<p>Herrick rose up with a look of surprise. Astonished as he was he could -hardly help laughing. This statement bore out his speech to Stephen. -He had said that Sidney would accuse someone else. Now it only -remained for Petronella to shift the blame on to the shoulders of a -third party. "I do not believe that," said Herrick, "why should -Petronella kill Carr?"</p> - -<p>"You had better come up and hear what she has to say Dr. Jim."</p> - -<p>"In a moment. But tell me how you know--through your instinct?"</p> - -<p>Sidney shook his head. "No. That feeling only comes at times," he -said. "I do not pretend to know everything. I said so before. I don't -know why you should look on me as queer Dr. Jim," he continued -plaintively, "it is not my fault if things come into my head. When -they do, I sometimes tell people, but not always. I don't like being -laughed at."</p> - -<p>"You're a queer fish," muttered Dr. Jim, annoyed by this human problem -he could not understand. "I should like you to be examined by a -committee of doctors."</p> - -<p>"They would not understand Dr. Jim, and I can't explain. But you want -to hear how I knew. Well on the night Colonel Carr was killed I went -to the Pine wood after seven o'clock."</p> - -<p>"Had you any premonition that he would be murdered?"</p> - -<p>"No. I had no feeling of any kind. I was in the wood for some time. At -half past seven I felt hungry, but I did not want to go to Biffstead -as I knew Ida would try and keep me in. It was raining, but I did not -mind that. I like the open air where I can breathe. A house makes me -choke."</p> - -<p>"I understand. Go on."</p> - -<p>"As I was hungry I thought I would go and get something from Colonel -Carr. I sometimes went to see him, though I did not like him. He was -always kind to me, although I think he was afraid. Well I went into -the house just before eight."</p> - -<p>"You said half past seven just now."</p> - -<p>"I did not go in at once," said the boy, with a gesture of irritation; -"do not interrupt me, Dr. Jim. I went to the dining-room and found the -dinner on the table, but the Colonel was not there. I took a piece of -bread and some water. While I was eating I heard a shot. I wondered -what it was."</p> - -<p>"You did not feel that murder was been committed?"</p> - -<p>"No. Why should I have felt? I Just wondered what the shot might be. -After a bit I went out into the hall to see if the Colonel had come -in. I thought he might be out. I saw Petronella run through the hall -and out into the night. I wondered what she was doing there, and -followed her, but I lost her as she went through the woods. Then I -walked about for a time, up till nine. I thought again about the shot -and went back to the house. I went up the tower and saw Colonel Carr -lying dead, so I knew Petronella had killed him. I came down the----"</p> - -<p>"How was it you did not meet Frisco, who had gone up to see the -Colonel?"</p> - -<p>"I heard someone coming and went into a lower room. I thought it might -be Petronella coming back. I saw it was Frisco and saw him come down -again. Then I came and said to him 'He is quite dead,' and went out. -After that I went on the moor. Then some time afterwards I heard three -more shots. I saw Bess and her lantern and went home."</p> - -<p>"Why did you say nothing of all this before?" asked Herrick. "There -was no reason. If Frisco had been caught before, I should have told -you. But he had got away, and I did not think it was right to tell -about Petronella. Colonel Carr was a wicked man, and he deserved to be -killed. He did a lot of harm," said Sidney, with a shudder.</p> - -<p>"How comes it you tell me now, Sidney?"</p> - -<p>"Because Bess told me Frisco had been arrested. He is wicked too, but -I did not want him to be hanged for shooting Carr, as I knew that he -was innocent. I came over to see Petronella, for I had a feeling that -she would die, and I wanted to know from herself before she died if -she was guilty. She denied it at first, but I said I would not go away -until she told me all. That was why I stayed all night. She tried to -run away. I said I would tell the police."</p> - -<p>"That was unlike you Sidney."</p> - -<p>"No, it wasn't," replied the boy positively, "I knew that Petronella -was the one who shot Carr. If she did not confess, Frisco would be -hanged--"</p> - -<p>"You never thought you might be accused?"</p> - -<p>"No. I did not do it," replied Sidney calmly, "why should I be -accused?"</p> - -<p>Herrick sighed impatiently. The boy could not, or would not, -understand, "I suppose then Petronella confessed in the end."</p> - -<p>"Yes. I made her write it down that she killed Carr. It is in Italian -but I do not know the language. You must see that it is all right Dr. -Jim. I did that because I thought she might die before you arrived. -But now that you are here, come up and see her. I will go for -Inspector Bridge."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim was aghast. Here was Sidney in a new character. "Why for -Bridge?"</p> - -<p>"He must hear her confession," said Sidney putting on his hat. -"Perhaps she has written down something different in the Italian. I -will give you the paper when I come back. But I must go for Bridge," -and Sidney, before Herrick could say a word, was out of the room. Dr. -Jim heard the front door close behind the boy.</p> - -<p>"There is not much insanity about this act," muttered Herrick to -himself, I shall see Petronella at once, he smiled grimly, "I wonder -who she will accuse," he said.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_26" href="#div1Ref_26">CHAPTER XXVI</a></h4> -<h5>THE TRUTH</h5> -<br> - -<p>In the room where Mrs. Marsh had died, and in the same bed, lay the -old Italian woman dying also. She was sitting up, with a red woollen -shawl wrapped round her bony shoulders, and her lean hands told her -rosary. Whatever views Sidney might have instilled into her regarding -life beyond the grave, Petronella still remained within the fold of -Peter. She was muttering prayer after prayer with feverish haste and -the black beads slipped quickly from between her fingers.</p> - -<p>The room was dusty, dark and untidy. Near the bed was a bottle of -Chianti and some bread, but the flask was full and the loaf untouched. -Petronella was past earthly food. Herrick saw the mark of death on her -yellow face. She seemed pleased to see him and not at all afraid. -Receiving him with a chuckle, she interpreted the look in his eyes.</p> - -<p>"So he has told you, that young Signor," she said in her own tongue, -"ah! I thought he would. It was time--but too late Signor Dottore--too -late for the prison. I go into Purgatory. Ten pounds for masses -Signor. You will see that they are said. Then I may get into Paradise -to rest. I need rest. All my life I have worked hard. The Good God -will not be hard on poor old Petronella."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim took a chair by the bedside, and felt her pulse. "You need -nourishing food Petronella," he said soothingly, "a cup of soup now--"</p> - -<p>"Eh! Eh Signor Dottore that 'will not help me. I am dying. You do not -know. I have never told you. Cancer Signor--a bad cancer. I shall -die."</p> - -<p>"I may be able to--"</p> - -<p>"No, I do not want that. They would put me in prison. Let me die. The -young Signor said I would die. It is foolish to live. I will go to my -Padrona and explain."</p> - -<p>"Then you did shoot the Colonel, Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Si! Si!" the old woman coughed, "he was a devil-man. He was cruel to -my padrona, to the young Signor. Also he had the evil eye. Hard to -kill. Oh, yes," she chuckled, "but the silver bullet--ah yes the silver -bullet." Dr. Jim looked at her in silence. He wondered that he had not -suspected Petronella before. After Bess had told him about the bullet, -he had been certain that the person who had fired the shot, was of a -superstitious nature. Mrs. Marsh being Italian might have thought of -the same thing. But she was educated, and above such folly. -Petronella, a woman of the people with feudal instincts, had clung to -that wild belief of the Middle Ages. She was the one person of Dr. -Jim's acquaintances, who would have dreamed of such a thing, and her, -he had not suspected.</p> - -<p>"Why did you use a silver bullet Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"Eh! the man was a diavolo--a witch creature--he had the evil eye. Did -I not meet with an accident after he had over-looked me. It was better -he should die, rather than live to ruin the Signora. A silver bullet. -Only in that way Signor can those aided by the devil perish. I am not -sorry. No. It was a good deed. The young Signor said so."</p> - -<p>"All the same Petronella I must tell you that Frisco is accused of -this murder. He is in prison. It is unfair that he should suffer for -what you have done, so you must make confession."</p> - -<p>"I have done so Signor Dottore. I wrote with my own hand in my own -language, that I Petronella had slain this devil-man with a silver -bullet."</p> - -<p>"Even so," said Herrick, "but I want to write down your confession -myself. You can sign it and the police officer can witness it. Thus, -will the man who is in prison for your crime be saved."</p> - -<p>"The police," echoed Petronella, "ah, I knew they would come. But they -will not put me in prison Signor. I die. I die, and that soon. Eh! as -you will. You have been good to me. I will do what you want. Yonder in -the corner Signor--the padrona's ink and pen--also the paper. Write -down what I say, and I will sign. What does it matter now I die."</p> - -<p>Dr. Jim found the materials and placing them on the little round table -looked at Petronella. She nodded and muttered a prayer, then began to -speak in her usual rapid manner. She spoke in Italian, but Dr. Jim for -the benefit of Bridge translated it into English. Luckily Herrick was -an excellent linguist and found no difficulty in doing this.</p> - -<p>"Signor," began Petronella, "it happened in this way. I was at the -house of that devil-man with the Signora--oh a long time ago. The -padrona went to ask him for money. He refused, the cursed robber,--and -we were so poor--so poor. My signora the last of a great race, poor. -Gran' Dio. It was evil that she should be poor. But the devil-man -would give not one lira. Ah no! He kept all. I was angered, because of -my padrona. I saw on the table a cup of silver, and that I took."</p> - -<p>"You stole the cup?"</p> - -<p>"Why not. My padrona was poor. That devil-man saw me, he struck -me--yes, even me Petronella a free Italian. And he over-looked me with -his evil eye. I shuddered. I knew that I would have an accident. And -the next day I hurt myself. Ah the wicked wretch. I gave back the cup, -as he made me. But when we went down the stairs I took another of -silver. This time he saw me not, and I carried it here under my -shawl."</p> - -<p>"What did Mrs. Marsh say?"</p> - -<p>"My padrona was angry. But I did not care. I did not sell the silver -cup as she was angered, but I kept it, yes, for the silver bullet--"</p> - -<p>Herrick looked up from his writing. "Had you made up your mind then to -kill Colonel Carr?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"No, not then. I should have liked to: because he cast on me the evil -eye. Ah Dio mio I made horns, but it was no use. I had an accident. No -Signor Dottore I did not wish to kill him then--very much. Later on -when the will--the will--"</p> - -<p>"Did you know about the will?"</p> - -<p>"Si! Si! It was that Frisco told me. I was in the market. He also, and -he had the wine in him. He talked foolishly, and said that his Signor -would make another will leaving all the money to him. I saw that my -poor padrona and the young Signor Stefano would be ruined. I came back -and told the Signora. She was angered. Then she said she would go to -see this devil-man. Signor," here Petronella clutched Herrick by the -wrist, "I knew that my padrona had a temper. She could rage. I feared -what she might do. I watched---eh! yes, I watched. She was to dine -with the padre at Saxham, and then see the wicked Signor."</p> - -<p>"Did you not know she would see him in the afternoon?"</p> - -<p>"No! She said she would go about nine and see him. That after his -dinner he would be in a good temper and might not do this wrong. -Signor, I saw that she took with her a pistol."</p> - -<p>"The revolver of Mr. Marsh?"</p> - -<p>"Si! Si! She took it from the case in the room of the young Signor -Stefano. I saw her. I knew that if the devil-man laughed at her she -would kill him. Yes. She would."</p> - -<p>"No, Petronella," said Dr. Jim soothingly, "she only meant to frighten -him. So she said in the letter you gave me."</p> - -<p>"No Signor," replied the old woman indignantly, "the daughter of the -Micholotti would not be so weak. She would have killed him."</p> - -<p>"Upon my soul," muttered Herrick, "I believe she would."</p> - -<p>"I was in great alarm Signor," went on Petronella. "I thought if she -did so, that she would be put in prison. It was terrible to think so. -I was angered against the devil-man. He had struck me; he had looked -upon me with the evil eye. Now he would tempt my Signora to kill him -and so be put in prison. I saw that all would be lost. Then I said to -myself, to me Petronella, that I would kill him alone."</p> - -<p>The old woman drew herself up in bed, and looked majestic as she -spoke. Herrick was profoundly sorry for her. She had carried her -feudal instinct to excess, and so had jeopardised her life for the -sake of her mistress. He understood well how she had been urged to -this. The blow, the evil eye, the possibility of her young master -being ruined by another will, and above all, the chance that her -Signora might kill the man herself--a fiery faithful creature like -Petronella could not let such things be. As she said, she made up her -mind to kill Carr, before Mrs. Marsh could see him. Where she made the -mistake was, that she thought her mistress would see the man at night. -As a matter of fact she did, but already had seen him in the day. -Perhaps Mrs. Marsh guessed what Petronella might do, and she had told -a falsehood about the time of calling at "The Pines."</p> - -<p>"When the Signora departed," said Petronella, rocking to and fro, for -she was in pain, "I got my pistol. Si, Signor, it was the pistol of my -husband. He fought for the King when we freed Italy. I too, was in the -war. I shot many--oh many. He showed me; I was not afraid to shoot."</p> - -<p>"This piece of information showed Herrick how it was Carr had been -shot through the heart. Petronella, having been in the Italian war of -liberation, knew how to handle firearms. Probably she was an -excellent markswoman. The shooting of Carr proved her to be so.</p> - -<p>"I had bullets," said Petronella, "but they were of lead. I knew that -the devil man protected by the Wicked One, could not be slain by only -a leaden bullet. I wanted a silver one. Ah Gran' Dio! there was no -silver in this house. Then I thought of the cup I had taken. I got it -and melted it down over a big fire. I made three bullets in the mould -of my husband. I took his powder flask, but it was empty. The young -Signor Stefano had powder in his room--I stole it. Then I loaded the -pistol and set it aside till the night."</p> - -<p>"Where was Mr. Marsh all this time?" asked Herrick.</p> - -<p>"He was in the house in the afternoon, and went to eat with a friend -of his, Signor Barker--"</p> - -<p>"The newspaper editor," said Dr. Jim. He remembered that this was the -man who looked after the Beorminster Chronicle and took an interest in -Stephen's poetry, "he dined with him?"</p> - -<p>"Si Signor, and said he would not be back till late. He was to bring -home the Signora from Saxham. I was all alone and I saw what I could -do."</p> - -<p>"And what did you do Petronella?"</p> - -<p>"I hid the pistol in my shawl and walked to Saxham. I got there before -eight. I went to the big house, I found it empty. I climbed the stair -where I knew the devil man would be in the tower. He was standing by -his bed dressed to eat. He took up a pistol but let it down when he -saw it was only old Petronella."</p> - -<p>"You mean he still held the pistol?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I waited for a moment as he stared at me, and then shot him. I -aimed for the heart," said Petronella hugging her knees. "The silver -bullet went through the heart. Oh, my husband showed me how to shoot -Signor."</p> - -<p>"What did you do then?"</p> - -<p>"I made sure the devil-man was dead. He fell on his face. Then I went -down the stairs. I saw someone, I did not know who it was. But the -young Signor told me he was there. I ran through the pine wood, and he -followed, I hid behind a tree, and then after a time I got home. No -one knew that I had been out, and when the Signora and the young -Signor Stefano came back I said nothing. The Signora looked white. She -said nothing to me but I knew that she had seen the devil-man. What -did I care. She could not kill him again. That is all Signor."</p> - -<p>"You lost the pistol?"</p> - -<p>"I lost my husband's pistol," said Petronella precisely, "it dropped -from my pocket when I ran, I did not care. No one would know that it -belonged to me. Then I heard Frisco had gone. I was glad. They would -not think I had killed the devil man."</p> - -<p>"Didn't Mrs. Marsh suspect?"</p> - -<p>"My signora? No. She said nothing. I was certain she had fired the -other three shots for I know my signora. Also I looked at the revolver -in the case when she put it back."</p> - -<p>"If Frisco had been arrested at once would you have spoken out?"</p> - -<p>"No. Frisco was a bad man too. I would be glad if they put him in -prison."</p> - -<p>"Why do you tell now then?"</p> - -<p>"The young Signor made me tell. Ah! he is a terrible young Signor. He -makes me afraid. He said I would die, and that I must tell at once or -he would speak to the police. Well I have told and I die. Have you all -down Signor. I will sign. Ah! Dio mio!" she started up in bed, "the -police."</p> - -<p>It was indeed Bridge who entered with a red face and astonished eyes. -He was followed by Sidney looking calm, just as though the Inspector -had not been scolding him all the way because he had not told about -Petronella before. But it took someone stronger than Inspector Bridge -to frighten Sidney. For a moment the Inspector stared at the bed, and -at his prisoner as he regarded the old woman. Then he spoke to Dr. -Jim.</p> - -<p>"This is an extraordinary thing sir," he said slowly.</p> - -<p>"Very," assented Herrick, "I only knew of it myself an hour ago."</p> - -<p>"I thought this young gentleman was telling me a lie."</p> - -<p>"It is the truth," said Petronella pointing to Herrick, "the Signor -has written all down. Here, see me sign my name, and you can say I -signed it."</p> - -<p>Inspector Bridge wanted to talk, but Dr. Jim made him a sign to be -silent. The old woman was sinking fast and there was no time to be -lost. With great difficulty she signed her name. Herrick and Bridge -appended their signatures, and all was over.</p> - -<p>"This will set Frisco free," said Bridge, "and now I must see about -getting a warrant out for this woman."</p> - -<p>"It is too late," said Dr. Jim, "she is dying."</p> - -<p>"She won't die," said Bridge with a disdainful smile, "all this is -done to cheat the law. I have a policeman downstairs. He shall come up -and watch her, while I go for a warrant of arrest."</p> - -<p>"She will die before sunset," said Sidney calmly, and went to the old -women. He took her hand. "Good bye Petronella. You will be happy soon. -You know what is to be done."</p> - -<p>"Si Si. I know. I am happy. I will go to my husband," said Petronella. -Then she looked at Dr. Jim with a worn smile. "I did it for my -signora," she said, "you can go. You can do me no good now."</p> - -<p>Herrick saw that well enough. However he went to see if he could get a -nurse to heat some soup, and revive the woman. To be sure it was -little use bringing her back to health and strength just to hang her. -But Dr. Jim acted for the best. He went out with Sidney and the -Inspector, leaving two policemen in charge. Bridge had the confession -in his pocket, and intended to go up to town to deliver it into the -hands of the proper authorities. Frisco had to be released seeing that -he was innocent. "And I always thought he was," said Bridge lying in -the most shameless manner.</p> - -<p>Sidney looked after the man with a queer smile when he went away. "He -is only wasting time," said the boy.</p> - -<p>"We may keep the old woman alive till to-morrow," said Herrick.</p> - -<p>Sidney shook his head. "She will die before sunset," he said.</p> - -<p>Out of sheer perversity Dr. Jim wanted to thwart this prophecy. He saw -that bad as Petronella was, she could be kept alive by stimulants, and -this he intended to do, if only to baffle this extraordinary boy. For -once in a way, he wished to prove Sidney in the wrong. The boy perhaps -guessed his intentions, for he smiled again, and then said abruptly, -that he was going back to Saxham.</p> - -<p>"Will you tell them what has happened?" asked Herrick.</p> - -<p>"No," replied Sidney, after a pause, "I am not fond of talking. You -can tell them if you like."</p> - -<p>"Very good," said Dr. Jim coolly, "then you ask Ida, Frank, and Bess -to be at 'The Pines' about five o'clock. I shall return by that time -and then everything can be explained. Thank heaven we know the truth -at last. It is about time the matter came to an end. Will you be at -'The Pines' also?"</p> - -<p>"I am going to have a long sleep," said Sidney. "I feel very tired."</p> - -<p>He turned away with a nod, and Herrick stared after him. Jim was a -doctor of the most advanced school, he had studied much, he was quick -in seeing things, and on the whole prided himself on his knowledge. -But he could make nothing of Sidney. The boy and his ways were beyond -him altogether. Sidney would have baffled a committee of Doctors.</p> - -<p>Herrick searched for a nurse and found one speedily, for he knew where -to go. He brought her back to the house, and set her to heat some -soup. Then he gave various directions, sent out for certain medicine, -and did what he could to revive the strength of the old woman. Bridge -allowed Petronella to have the bedroom to herself, but he kept the two -policemen in the house and got out his warrant. Nothing was known in -the town about the matter, as Bridge wished to wait until all was in -order before telling the public. He foresaw that glory would accrue to -him by the story he intended to tell. He had resolved to give Sidney -and Herrick no more credit than he could help. Dr. Jim guessed as much -when he heard Bridge talking. But he was rather pleased than -otherwise. He did not want this latest freak of the uncanny changeling -to be talked about. Besides, Bridge amused him. He was so very human -in his love of praise.</p> - -<p>His philanthropic work being ended, Herrick walked back to Saxham. He -reached 'The Pines' some time after five, and already found the -assembled party impatiently expecting his arrival. Sidney, it -appeared, had just said sufficient to pique the curiosity of his -family. He hinted that some untoward event had occurred with which -Herrick was connected, but refused to say what it was. Then he had -retired to bed in full daylight, and announced that he was going to -sleep for twenty-four hours. What was to be done with such a boy.</p> - -<p>"He grows more eccentric every day," sighed Ida.</p> - -<p>Stephen laughed, "Oh! his eccentricities are harmless enough. That is -if---" here he caught Herrick's eye and hesitated. He did not know but -what Sidney might have confessed the crime of which Frisco accused -him.</p> - -<p>"Oh! that's all right," said Jim cheerily.</p> - -<p>"What is?" asked Bess, wondering at the sudden relief expressed on -Stephen's face. "Jim, you have something to tell us."</p> - -<p>"Yes. Something very important--about the murder."</p> - -<p>"The murder of Carr," cried Frank astonished. "Oh! I thought that was -done with long ago."</p> - -<p>"On the contrary," said Dr. Jim, "I have been working at it all these -months trying to learn the truth. Stephen and Bess have been helping -me."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Ida, looking from her lover to the doctor, "I do call it -mean. I should have been told."</p> - -<p>"It would only have worried you, dear," said the Squire.</p> - -<p>"But what is the difficulty?" cried Frank puzzled. "Frisco killed the -Colonel. There was no secret about that."</p> - -<p>"Frisco did not kill Carr," said Herrick, "the jury were wrong, so -were we all. It was Petronella who shot the man."</p> - -<p>Stephen jumped up, as Bess uttered a cry of amazement. "Petronella," -he stammered. "Thank God! Sidney did not do it.</p> - -<p>"Sidney!" cried Bess and Ida in a breath.</p> - -<p>Herrick hurriedly explained. "Frisco accused Sidney because he was in -the house at the time of the murder. That was when you were looking -for him, Bess. Do you remember?"</p> - -<p>"I should think so," she cried. "No wonder I could not find him. But -Petronella. Was the pistol hers and the silver bullet?"</p> - -<p>"What are you talking about, Bess dear?"</p> - -<p>"Let me explain," said Dr. Jim, before Bess could answer Ida, "it is a -long story and I think you will find it interesting." And then Herrick -told the whole complicated case from the time he and Joyce found the -dead body of Colonel Carr in the Tower which now no longer existed. He -was frequently interrupted with exclamations of horror from Ida, and -of rage from Frank. When he ended, the latter jumped up. "If I meet -that little wretch, Joyce, again," said Frank, "I'll break every bone -in his body. The idea of trying to mix up Bess in the matter."</p> - -<p>"He has received a worse punishment than a thrashing," said Stephen, -"I think you can leave him to the punishment of destiny, Frank."</p> - -<p>A babel of voices ensued. Everyone was talking at once, and for fully -an hour they discussed the case in all its bearings.</p> - -<p>"I suppose Frisco will be released now," said Bess triumphantly. "I -knew that he was innocent. I said so all along."</p> - -<p>"All the same he is a bad lot," remarked Herrick, "the less we have to -do with him the better."</p> - -<p>"I don't think he'll come down here again in a hurry," said Marsh-Carr -thankfully, "and Santiago has sailed for Mexico. Thus we are rid of -the whole gang. Hullo! What's that?" It was a violent ringing at the -door, and Herrick started to his feet, looking perturbed. "I hope -nothing is wrong now," he said. "I am getting so nervous with all -this, that I am always expecting the worst of tidings."</p> - -<p>As he spoke, the footman ushered in Inspector Bridge, in a state of -excitement. The man could hardly speak, and was scarlet in the face -with suppressed rage and alarm. "I beg your pardon," he said to the -company; "but this woman--Petronella----"</p> - -<p>"What is the matter?" asked Dr. Jim.</p> - -<p>"She is dead."</p> - -<p>All looked at one another.</p> - -<p>"And before sunset," remarked Herrick, thinking of Sidney. "How did it -happen, Bridge?"</p> - -<p>"She had a bottle of chloral under her pillow, and while the nurse's -back was turned, she drank it. I was called, too late. She is as dead -as a door-nail, and has spoilt a most beautiful case."</p> - -<p>Leaving the others to discuss the matter with Bridge, Herrick hastily -excused himself. He ran across to Biffstead, and up into Sidney's -bedroom. The boy was sleeping quietly, but Dr. Jim woke him promptly.</p> - -<p>"I say," he cried, shaking the boy's shoulder, "she is dead."</p> - -<p>"Petronella," said Sidney drowsily, "I know she is. I said she would -die before sunset."</p> - -<p>"You told her to take that chloral."</p> - -<p>"No," said Sidney in a sleepy manner, "she wanted to take it before -she confessed, but I stopped her. But she was bound to die; I said she -might get out of the world more easily if she took it. I daresay she -died quietly--in a sleep."</p> - -<p>"You have behaved shamefully," cried Herrick wrathfully.</p> - -<p>"No. She was bound to die in any case. Why should she not die as she -pleased? Go away, Dr. Jim, I want to sleep," and Sidney closed his -eyes.</p> - -<p>Herrick, in the face of this calmness, was helpless, so he departed. -The boy had baffled him to the very end.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_27" href="#div1Ref_27">CHAPTER XXVII</a></h4> -<h5>A FINAL SURPRISE</h5> -<br> - -<p>In this way the trouble left as a legacy by the wicked Colonel came to -an end. Frisco was duly tried, and on the confession of Petronella he -was acquitted. A very meagre report of the proceedings appeared in the -newspapers. In taking down the confession Herrick had not inserted the -fact of Mrs. Marsh's connection with the matter. Frisco said nothing -to his counsel about the three shots fired after the Colonel was dead. -Therefore the name of Stephen's step-mother was spared the disgrace of -her mad impulsive act. For obvious reasons the most interesting part -of the case was left untold, and the public never knew the -complications that had ensued in searching for the assassin. Frisco -was tried briefly, was acquitted, and when set free he disappeared. -Where he went no one knew, and no one cared.</p> - -<p>By the advice of Dr. Jim, Stephen paid to Belcher and Kidd the reward -that he had promised for the capture of Frisco. Herrick was afraid -that if it was not paid that the two might search into the matter more -particularly than would be agreeable to the feelings of Marsh-Carr. -Stephen saw this danger himself, and gladly sent a cheque for the -money. But Belcher and Kidd will get no more business from Dr. -Herrick.</p> - -<p>"And I hope I'll never come into connection with detective business -again," said Herrick earnestly, "it is all very well to read about: -but in real life it is not so pleasant. However we have done with it -all."</p> - -<p>Certainly he was done with the case, but not entirely with Frisco. One -day the ex-sailor arrived at Saxham, and asked to see Mr. Marsh-Carr. -At the time Stephen was indoors, and luckily for him Dr. Herrick had -not gone out. When the name of Frisco was given the two looked at one -another in surprise. They had hoped never to hear it again.</p> - -<p>"Shall I see him, Jim?" asked Stephen doubtfully.</p> - -<p>"Certainly. I shall see him also," replied Herrick, "he can have come -here for no good purpose. But I would rather have him as an open enemy -than striking in the dark."</p> - -<p>The consequence of this speech was that Frisco was shown into the -library. He was glad to see Marsh-Carr and visibly annoyed to find -that the doctor was present.</p> - -<p>"My business is private," said Frisco.</p> - -<p>"You must tell it to me in the presence of, Dr. Herrick," said -Stephen, scenting trouble; "I do nothing without his advice."</p> - -<p>"Worse luck," growled Frisco, and sat down with a scowl.</p> - -<p>Herrick laughed. "You do not seem pleased that you have escaped the -gallows, Frisco," he said, "or perhaps you are sorry the criminal did -not turn out to be Sidney Endicotte."</p> - -<p>"I don't care a fig who it was so long as it wasn't me," replied the -ex-sailor. "Huh! fancy Carr being shot by an old hag after going -through all the dangers he did. I always thought he'd have a mean -end."</p> - -<p>"This is beside the point," said Stephen, "as I suppose you did not -not come here to criticise my uncle, you had better tell me your -business."</p> - -<p>"It's not pleasant business," said Frisco coolly.</p> - -<p>"So I should expect, seeing that you have come about it," said the -Squire; "however, I shall be pleased to hear what it is."</p> - -<p>Frisco took a paper out of his pocket.</p> - -<p>"I don't think you will," said he; "I have here, Mr. Marsh-Carr, the -last will of the Colonel."</p> - -<p>Stephen started to his feet and turned pale. Herrick, who had been -listening intently, struck in: "I suppose it leaves all the money to -you, Mr. Joyce-Frisco?"</p> - -<p>"No," growled Frisco, "and you needn't Señor. It's a good will for -you if it's true what Robin says."</p> - -<p>"And what does Robin say?"</p> - -<p>"That you are to marry Miss Bess."</p> - -<p>"That is perfectly true," replied Herrick coolly, "but I do not see -what she has to do with your business."</p> - -<p>"You will soon Dr. Herrick. The money is left to her."</p> - -<p>"What," cried Stephen loudly, "Carr has left his money to Bess?"</p> - -<p>"You bet. Here's the will," and Frisco threw it across the table. "He -said she was the only man amongst the lot of you. See how honest I am -Herrick. I want to make you a rich man 'cause you stood by me in -trouble I never forget a pal, not me."</p> - -<p>Meantime Stephen and Jim were looking over the paper. "Why," cried -Herrick bursting into a laugh, "it's not worth the paper it's written -on. Here is the Colonel's signature, but there are no witnesses."</p> - -<p>"Ah! you see that do you," said Frisco with a chuckle, "that's so. But -I tell you that if my milksop had married the girl--my fool-son Robin -I mean--there would have been witnesses, and the will would have been -proved in law."</p> - -<p>"I daresay," said Stephen who sat down again with a recovered colour, -"well, even if this will had have been genuine I should not have -minded. There is no one I would give the money to sooner than Dr. -Herrick.</p> - -<p>"Stuff and nonsense!" cried Jim, although he reddened with pleasure at -this tribute of friendship, "as if I or Bess would have taken a penny -of it. Oh! I see what your game was Frisco. You wanted Robin to marry -Bess, and then you would have got witnesses to this will, and taken -the money from Stephen. Is that so?"</p> - -<p>"That is so," rejoined Frisco leaning back, "as the fool could not get -the girl, I tried the other plan of stopping Marsh going to the vault. -That failed because of you Dr. Herrick. If it had not been for you I'd -have had that money."</p> - -<p>"You confess your villainies very coolly," said Marsh-Carr sharply, -"do you know that I can lay you by the heels for that assault."</p> - -<p>"Oh, no you can't. T'was Santiago struck you. You can't prove that I -had anything to do with it. And," said Frisco impudently, "you would -not if you could. Remember, I held my tongue about----"</p> - -<p>"Yes! Yes," said Stephen hastily, "it was good of you to say nothing -about my unhappy mother. I am so far indebted to you--"</p> - -<p>"Ah! that's just what I've come about."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" asked Jim sharply.</p> - -<p>"Lord! Doc, you ain't half sharp enough. I want the Squire here to -give me a thousand pounds to start afresh. I and Robin are going back -to the States, and we want something to begin life on."</p> - -<p>"That is only fair," put in Stephen eagerly, "I am----"</p> - -<p>"Wait a bit," said Jim, "let us hear on what grounds Frisco asks you -to do this."</p> - -<p>Frisco was quite ready to show grounds. "Well in the first place I -held my tongue about Mrs. Marsh firing at the dead body."</p> - -<p>"Yes. I owe you something for that," said Stephen flushing and -wincing.</p> - -<p>"In the second," said Frisco raising his finger. "I brought you that -will unwitnessed so that you can still keep the money. If Robin had -got the girl I shouldn't have done that. My name as one witness and -Santiago as another, and where would you be?"</p> - -<p>"Santiago was never in this house," said Herrick, "and a will has to -be signed when the testator and the witnesses are together."</p> - -<p>"Oh, I'd have arranged all that. My own signature you could not -dispute as I was Carr's right-hand man. I'd have paid Santiago half a -year's income to sign. He'd have done it like a shot. And the will -would have stood any test then."</p> - -<p>"That is true enough," said Herrick reflectively, "so long as the -Colonel's signature was right the rest was easy. Where did you get -this will?"</p> - -<p>"It was on his table. He must have been fooling with it when the old -woman Petronella shot him. It was about this will that Mrs. Marsh made -such a fuss, only she thought the money was to be left to me."</p> - -<p>"Ah! You let that out yourself."</p> - -<p>"Being drunk," said Frisco with a laugh, "well I took away the will -and afterwards thought to use it, by marrying Robin to Bess Endicotte. -But you see Mr. Marsh," he added turning to Stephen, "I did not have -the witnesses names put, so you keep the money instead of handing it -over to Miss Bess."</p> - -<p>"Whether he had done so or not," cried Dr. Jim hotly, "Bess would not -have taken it. The money is rightfully Stephen's."</p> - -<p>"Ah! That brings me to the third point," said Frisco unmoved, "I -worked for that money. I went through hot and cold and danger to get -it. Half of it should have been mine. But Carr had the whip hand of -me, so I'm out of it. Now gentlemen, I know where that câche is. If -you'll give me a thousand to fit out an expedition we'll cry quits. I -and Robin are going to get more treasure. Carr didn't take away the -lot."</p> - -<p>"But remember that the Indians are warned," said Herrick, "they have -very likely removed the rest of the jewels."</p> - -<p>"That's what I've got to find out," said Frisco, "and Robin is coming -along with me to be made a man of. Well, these three points, Mr. -Marsh, are clear enough. I ought to have half the money, but as you -have the upper hand, I ask a thousand pounds--as my right."</p> - -<p>"I certainly think you are entitled to that much," said Stephen, "what -do you say, Herrick?"</p> - -<p>"I'm with you, Steve. Give him the money."</p> - -<p>Frisco chuckled while Stephen wrote out a cheque for the amount. When -the ex-sailor placed it in his pocket he stood up to go. "Well, -gentlemen," he said, with some sort of emotion, "I thank you for this -treatment. You are both white men. I have behaved badly, but this -makes all square. I can tell you one thing, Mr. Marsh, that you will -have no further trouble about the money. Even if the Indians knew, -they would do nothing to you, now that Carr has gone. As to the plan, -I daresay his body by this time is--well no matter. I go out of your -life gentlemen, so does Robin--to be made a man of. There remains -Santiago. He won't trouble you. I'm going to shoot him when I drop -across him in Mexico."</p> - -<p>"You can do what you like there, Frisco. I daresay another crime won't -matter much to you."</p> - -<p>"It wouldn't be a crime but an act of justice. He played me a dirty -trick, Dr. Herrick. However, I'm off. You won't shake hands so I don't -offer. So long gentlemen both," said Frisco walking towards the door, -"and may you live long and be happy. As to that devil Carr--" Frisco -spat and then departed. They never saw him again.</p> - -<p>A year later information came through a newspaper, stating the fate of -an expedition that had gone into the interior of Peru. The Indians of -the Cordilleras had attacked the camp and the three white men who led -the expedition were killed. Their names were Joyce, alias Frisco, his -son Robin, and a Mexican called Santiago.</p> - -<p>"Poor Robin," said Herrick when he read this to his wife, "he was a -mean little scoundrel, but I'm sorry that he came to such an end. As -to Santiago, Frisco must have made it up with him and taken him to -look after the treasure. Well, the whole three are dead. Let us forget -them."</p> - -<p>But this is anticipating. On the evening of the day when Frisco -appeared, Stephen announced to the assembled Biffs that Dr. Herrick -intended to accept half the income of the wicked Colonel with the -permission of Bess. Jim was on his feet at once. "Come," he cried, -very red, "I intend to do nothing of the sort. What rubbish are you -talking, Steve."</p> - -<p>"I only ask Bess to read this paper," said Stephen and gave Bess the -incomplete will.</p> - -<p>"Ah! true," replied Herrick, "it is only fair that she should decide -for herself. But I'll have no part in the matter."</p> - -<p>"The Colonel going to leave his money to me," cried Bess, "well I -never heard such nonsense Stephen. As if I would take a penny from -you, or Ida."</p> - -<p>"I told you so," cried Dr. Jim triumphantly, "I knew Bess would think -the same as I. Hurrah! Bess, kiss me."</p> - -<p>"Is this a proper will, Steve?" asked Ida looking at the paper.</p> - -<p>"No. Frisco brought it here to-day to cause trouble. But as you see -there are no witnesses, so it is not valid."</p> - -<p>"And yet you want to offer me half the money."</p> - -<p>"Take it, Bess," cried Ida, "I am sure Stephen and I can live well on -four thousand a year."</p> - -<p>"I won't," said Bess, "these were the Colonel's intentions--very kind -I'm sure. But even if the will were legal I should not accept. Jim, am -I not right?"</p> - -<p>"Perfectly right, darling. You and I will make our own way."</p> - -<p>"It's all nonsense," said Stephen, "you must take some money. It is -only fair that the Colonel's intentions should be respected in some -way."</p> - -<p>There was a great deal of argument. Finally Bess and Dr. Herrick -agreed to take one thousand a year for life. "There," said Ida kissing -her sister, "I hope that is all right."</p> - -<p>"And now Jim will go away," said Stephen gloomily.</p> - -<p>"Not until the year's end, and until the money is firmly in your -possession," was the reply of the doctor, "remember you have some -months' visits to pay to that vault. Even though Frisco has gone we -must carry out the will."</p> - -<p>"And at the end of the year?"</p> - -<p>"I'll establish myself in practice somewhere," said Dr. Herrick, -"perhaps in Beorminster so as to be near you. Bess can then go on -writing for the 'Weekly Chronicle.'"</p> - -<p>"Indeed, I shall write a novel," cried Bess, "I want a London fame."</p> - -<p>And so it was settled. For a year Herrick remained at "The Pines" with -the Squire. Then there was a double wedding. Ida and Stephen came back -to live in the Wicked Colonel's house, and Dr. Herrick and his bride -established himself in a comfortable mansion in Beorminster. He became -immensely popular, and also having married into a county family, he -was much sought after by the county invalids. Frank and Sidney were -left at Biffstead and Flo came home to keep house for them.</p> - -<p>The Rev. Pentland Corn gave up his charge of the Parish, and went out -to the East as a missionary. No one could understand the reason for -this folly--as they called it--save Herrick. He understood only too -well, and his was the last hand Pentland Corn clasped when he left -England for India. His place was taken by a young and amiable rector, -who will probably marry Flo Endicotte. Then Frank will have to keep -the house himself or marry in self-defence.</p> - -<p>As to Sidney, the queer boy. Herrick took that young gentleman in hand -and tried to make him a healthy man. He made him ride, shoot, swim, -and indulge in all manner of out-of-door sports. At first Sidney -rebelled, but as he was really fond of Herrick he began to take kindly -to the regime. The consequence was he became more of a boy in a few -months, and actually began to eat meat. Herrick watched over him with -the greatest care and gradually Sidney lost his unpleasant faculty of -"seeing things." He went to college, and there he now is, becoming -rapidly more of a normal person. Once he met with a Theosophist who -told him, after hearing his story, that he had sunk the spirit in the -flesh and blamed Herrick severely. In fact, this gentleman took a -journey to Saxham to see and expostulate with Herrick on the -wickedness of debasing the psychic gifts of the boy.</p> - -<p>"I would rather see him a healthy man," said the doctor impatiently, -"in what you say there may be a good deal. But the boy is now in -better health and easier to live with."</p> - -<p>"Ah! you do not deserve to have such a person in the family," said the -theosophist, "but your work will not endure for ever. You have made -Mr. Endicotte eat meat, and materialised him. But in a few years he -will recover his gift. It will be stronger than ever."</p> - -<p>"Then I hope he won't come here," said Herrick, "I have every respect -for persons so gifted, but I don't like them. To have one at your -elbow, who sees into the future and foretells death, and is always -seeing creatures of the air is horrible."</p> - -<p>"You are a sceptic, Dr. Herrick."</p> - -<p>"No. I think there are many things of which we know nothing--I mean in -regard to what we talk about. But for my part I want to do my duty in -this life and leave all these occult things to people who like them. I -should like my brother-in-law to act likewise. However, he is in good -health now, and I should be sorry to see him relapse into the state he -was when I first met him."</p> - -<p>Thereupon the Theosophist sighed and departed. All the same he is -keeping a watch over Sidney, and should the boy again develope the -clairvoyant faculty, he will be made better use of, by those who -understand.</p> - -<p>And then a happy day came when in Stephen's arms was placed a boy. -Bess Herrick placed him therein. "Do you know who this is?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"My son and heir," replied Stephen, bending over the infant, "what -else, or who else should he be?"</p> - -<p>"The first the very first really innocent creature who has been in -this house for close upon a century."</p> - -<p>"That is complimentary to us all Bess," said her husband who had -entered the room, "but what if he is?"</p> - -<p>Bess looked solemn. "I think he is the guardian angel of Ida and -Steve, to keep away the evil spirit of Colonel Carr."</p> - -<p>"Come now Bess, you are not like Sidney. You have not seen----?"</p> - -<p>"I have seen nothing Jim. But the village people are already making a -legend about the Wicked Colonel. They say he walks. I hope, now that -this innocent child is here, that they will leave off inventing such -horrid things. I don't want 'The Pines' to have the reputation of -being haunted. And you know how stories grow, Jim."</p> - -<p>"I know this," replied Dr. Herrick, "that Carr was murdered in a room -which has vanished into thin air. If his ghost walks anywhere it must -be in the Pine wood. There is no call for him to haunt this place."</p> - -<p>Some one repeated this saying of Herrick's, and what he had said in -jest was spoken of in earnest. In a few months it was commonly -reported that the Wicked Colonel had been seen in the Pine wood, -surrounded with a red glow, significant of the habitation his spirit, -for its sins, dwelt in. In vain more sensible people laughed at this -tale. It came to be firmly believed in, and it was said that when any -misfortune was about to befall the Marsh-Carr family, that the shade -of the Colonel appeared.</p> - -<p>"It is the penalty of greatness," said Dr. Jim to Stephen, "a county -family is not really respectable until it has its private ghost."</p> - -<p>And in this way Wicked Colonel Carr became a tradition.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>THE END</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> - - - - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Silver Bullet, by Fergus Hume - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILVER BULLET *** - -***** This file should be named 55511-h.htm or 55511-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/5/5/1/55511/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Hathi Trust (The Ohio State University) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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