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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56385 ***
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+     1. Page scan source: https://books.google.com/books?id=0CT7dv6IKAEC
+        (the University of Wisconsin-Madison)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Bell's Indian and Colonial Library
+
+
+
+
+JONAH'S LUCK
+
+
+
+
+
+
+JONAH'S LUCK
+
+
+BY
+FERGUS HUME
+
+AUTHOR OF
+"_The Mystery of a Hansom Cab_," "_The Guilty House_,"
+"_The White Room_," "_The Wooden Hand_,"
+"_The Fatal Song_," "_The Scarlet Bat_,"
+_etc., etc_.
+
+
+
+
+LONDON
+GEORGE BELL AND SONS
+1906
+
+
+_This Edition is issued for circulation in India and the Colonies
+only_.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAP.
+
+I.        THE ADVENTURE OF THE INN
+II.       A RECOGNITION
+III.      CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
+IV.       WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
+V.        HUE AND CRY
+VI.       THE CARAVAN
+VII.      KIND'S OPINIONS
+VIII.     MISS MAUD TEDDER
+IX.       THE SOLICITOR
+X.        THE INQUEST
+XI.       LOVERS
+XII.      THE STRANGE WORD
+XIII.     A MEXICAN BEAUTY
+XIV.      AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL
+XV.       A FRIEND IN NEED
+XVI.      M. GOWRIE'S PLOTTING
+XVII.     MAUD'S INHERITANCE
+XVIII.    A SURPRISING DEFENCE
+XIX.      MRS. MOUNTFORD'S ACCUSATION
+XX.       AT THE "MARSH INN"
+XXI.      ON BOARD THE YACHT
+XXII.     ANOTHER MYSTERY
+XXIII.    AN EXPLANATION
+XXIV.     STARTLING NEWS
+XXV.      THE CAPTAIN'S STORY
+XXVI.     THE BEGINNING OF THE END
+XXVII.    THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+JONAH'S LUCK
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+THE ADVENTURE OF THE INN
+
+
+It was the close of a chilly autumn day; and under a lowering grey sky
+the landscape of river and marsh and low-lying hills looked
+forbiddingly forlorn. White mists veiled the wet earth; the road,
+running between withered hedgerows, was ankle-deep in mud, and the
+stubbled fields held streaks of water between their ploughed ridges.
+Occasionally the pale beams of a weakened sun would break through the
+foggy air: but the fitful light, without warmth or power, only served
+to accentuate the depression of the scene. The most cheerful of men
+would have succumbed to the pessimism of the moment.
+
+As it was, the solitary creature who trudged along the miry highway
+accepted his misery with sulky resignation. At intervals he lifted a
+hopeless face to the darkening clouds: sometimes he peered idly to
+right and left, and twice he halted, breathing heavily, a monument of
+wretchedness. But usually, with his hands in the pockets of a thin
+jacket, and with a bent head, he plodded doggedly onward, bearing
+submissively a situation which he could not mend. In his gait there
+was the hint of the pedestrian who aims at no goal. Without eagerness,
+without resolution, with slack muscles and a blank expression, he
+toiled like a hag-ridden dreamer through those dreary, weary, eerie,
+Essex marshes, a derelict of civilisation.
+
+Yet his face, when revealed by the wan sunshine, appeared young and
+handsome and refined, though sadly worn and lean. The skin, bronzed to
+a clear brown by wind and rain and sunshine, was marred by unexpected
+wrinkles, less the work of time than of care. His closely-clipped hair
+and small moustache exhibited the hue of ripe corn; his eyes possessed
+the fathomless blue of Italian skies; his thin nose, slightly curved,
+his firm chin and set lips revealed character and determination. Also,
+he had the frame of a wiry athlete, the spring-gait of a long-distance
+walker, and the expansive forehead of a student. Such a man should not
+have been ploughing through the mud of a lonely country road, with but
+a threadbare suit of blue serge to protect him from the inclement
+weather. Something was wrong: and none knew that better than the tramp
+himself. But whatever might be the cause of his misery, he kept it in
+his heart, being by nature reticent, and by experience, suspicious.
+
+At sunset the air became darker, the mists thicker, the scene even
+more dreary. Still he laboured onward, but now, for the first time,
+with a hint of resolution in his movements, bracing himself, as it
+were, for a final spurt, to attain a newly-guessed-at end. On the
+right he could hear the lapping of the Thames against its weedy banks,
+on the left a dull dripping of water from leafless boughs, saluted his
+ears. Sometimes there sounded the cry of a belated bird; again would
+come the shrill whistling of trains, and not infrequently the hooting
+of a siren, as steamers passed each other on the blind river. And,
+between pauses, he could hear his own weary breathing, and the
+squelching of the water in his well-worn shoes. None of these sounds
+tended to raise his spirits, which were, at the moment, as low as the
+tide of the unseen stream.
+
+Only when a dim light glimmered through the mists did he show any
+signs of interest in the physical, and then he heaved a sigh of
+relief. A jingle of money came from his right-hand pocket as he moved
+his fingers, and a gleam of satisfaction flitted across his sullen
+face. The light, as he surmised, must come from some cottage, or
+farm-house, or inn, and there he would be able to obtain bed and board
+for the night. It had been his intention to push on to Tarhaven, in
+search of a friend, but the rapid closing in of the night and the
+increasing gloom of the fogs, forced him to spend his last few pence
+in rest and food. The evil of to-day he could no longer endure: the
+morrow would, and must, look after itself--a true beggar's philosophy,
+and what was he but one of the unemployed.
+
+The light became stronger as he drew near, and he found himself
+unexpectedly on the outskirts of what he presumed was a small village,
+and within a yard or so of the inn. The hostel was pretentious, seeing
+that it consisted of two storeys, and yet it was mean in appearance,
+as the walls were merely of whitewashed mud, and the roof of sodden
+grey thatch. Over the low, broad door, flanked by dripping benches,
+appeared a sign advertising, in rude black letters, that the house was
+"The Marsh Inn." Through the windows on either side of the closed
+door, gleamed a ruddy light telling of comfort and warmth within,
+obtainable, doubtless, at a small charge. With his hand on the latch,
+since the entry was free to all comers, stood the tramp, while a
+shrill voice objurated within, without pause or grammar.
+
+"Jus' slip out t' git water, y' bloomin' silly. Pope wants 'is tea,
+bein' took with poetry. I don' keep y' fur show nohow. But thet's fine
+lydies all over: ho yuss. I want y' fur a glarse cupboard, in corse,
+y' lazy Jezebel, 'Eaven forgive me fur bringin' y' int' 'Oly Writ, es
+the parsin torks of."
+
+Before the end of this pleasant admonition the door flew open so
+suddenly that the stranger started back. Past him, shot a girl of
+small stature, with a white, haggard face, firmly closed lips and
+defiant eyes. She was scarcely a woman, and weak in her appearance, so
+the zinc bucket she swung at her side was undeniably too heavy for her
+frail strength. The tramp heard her gasp as she sprang into the mist,
+and with the unconsidered haste of a kindly heart, he followed
+impulsively. Her laboured breathing guided him to a well, encircled
+with rough stone-work and surmounted by an iron wheel. Down dropped
+the jangling bucket, and the girl, breathing with exhaustion, strove
+to bring it to the surface again, weighty with water. The effort
+extorted a low, heart-breaking sob.
+
+"This is too much for you," said the tramp in a refined and pleasant
+voice. "Allow me!" and he fell to work.
+
+The girl started when he spoke, but she did not cry out. Evidently she
+was accustomed to command her feelings. In the mist she could scarcely
+see the face of her assistant, but his voice sounded like that of a
+gentleman, and there lurked a quality in its tones which gave her
+confidence. In a moment or so he had the filled bucket in his grip,
+and was walking towards the inn. At the door the girl silently took
+his burden from him with a nod of thanks, and entered with a word of
+gratitude. And her voice was also refined, by no means the voice of a
+servant. Howsoever this girl came to occupy so menial a position, the
+tramp guessed that she was a gentlewoman. However, he was too weary to
+weave romances about beggarmaids, and was no King Cophetua to do so.
+He sighed and walked in.
+
+The room was small and ancient, with a low ceiling and a gigantic
+fire-place, in which glowed a noble driftwood fire. On either side of
+this stood settles, and in the centre of the room, was an oblong deal
+table, upon which appeared pewter tankards, and clumsy china mugs. The
+floor was sanded, the smoke-panelled walls were decorated with cheap
+hunting pictures, vilely coloured, and with illustrations cut from
+_The Graphic_. Also there was an old horse-hair sofa, of the ugly
+Albert period, a cumbersome chair or two, and spittoons. A dingy
+paraffin lamp dangled from the grimy, whitewashed ceiling, blackening
+it with smoke, and diffusing a dull yellow glare. In fact this
+especial tap-room was of the kind usually to be found by the dozen in
+agricultural districts, unlovely, dirty, cheap, and vulgar, yet
+comfortable enough in an animal way.
+
+On one settle, sat a lean, loosely-knit youth of of twenty, with a
+slack, foolish face, and a drooping underlip, revealing small serrated
+teeth. His hair was long and unbrushed, his clothes were of well-worn
+tweed, extremely untidy, and badly fitting. Book in hand he stared at
+the ceiling, with lack-lustre eyes, oblivious to his surroundings.
+Opposite to him, and watching sneeringly, sat an elderly man, with a
+strong square face, much inflamed with drink. His apparel was
+disreputable, his head bald, and his beard untrimmed. Yet he had the
+thoughtful eyes of a scholar, and his hands, though dirty, were white
+and slender, and eloquently emphasised the fact to the observant, that
+he worked less with them than with his brain. Undoubtedly he had been
+gently reared, and the cause of his falling into this mire, could be
+discerned only too plainly in his red nose and shiny skin, and in the
+affectionate way in which he grasped a glass of what looked like
+water, and which was really gin.
+
+Lastly, the new-comer's eyes wandered to the landlady, and in her he
+beheld the representative Whitechapel virago, so well-known in the
+police-courts of that district. She was tall and lean, fierce in
+looks, vehement of tongue, prodigal of gestures: a slattern in dress
+and a tyrant in manner. Having chased the girl with the bucket into
+the back parts of the house, she strode forward with the swing of a
+grenadier, and the insolence of a bully, to face the new guest.
+
+"An' wot may y' want?" she demanded, harshly scornful.
+
+"Bed and board for the night," replied the tramp, curtly.
+
+"Ho! An' the money? Eh? D'y think I'm a-goin' t'waste five bob."
+
+The man produced two half-crowns.
+
+"A meal now, a bed later, and breakfast at nine in the morning."
+
+"Five, an' praps bad money," muttered the woman, biting one of the
+coins, "sevening y' mean."
+
+"Five shillings is all I mean to give. If you don't," he made a motion
+to take back the money.
+
+The woman, who was really overpaid, closed her broad red hand sharply,
+and nodded contemptuously.
+
+"But y' don't git th' bes' bedroom, thet bein' taiken by a gent, es is
+a gent, an' not a broken down toff. 'Ow do I know es y're
+respectable?"
+
+"I certify," said a grand mellow voice from one settle, "that Mr.
+Angus Herries is well-born and honest!" Then with a sudden plunge into
+the Scottish dialect. "Dinna ding the laddie wi' sic blatter, ye fule
+wumon."
+
+Herries wheeled round at the sound of those trumpet tones, and stared
+at the stout old rascal, who sipped his gin with a knowing leer.
+
+"Gowrie," he gasped, quite taken aback. "Mr. Gowrie."
+
+"Ye've a quick eye, my laddie. Michael Gowrie it is, though ye micht
+ca' me the Reverend Michael Gowrie, an' nae burn the tongue o' ye. Sit
+ye doon, my mon, an' we'll hae a dram togither for the sake o' auld
+lang syne." He hummed the last seven words.
+
+Herries sat on the opposite settle, next to the untidy youth, who cast
+sidelong, disdainful looks on him, but took no further notice.
+
+"I want food rather than drink," said the young man wearily.
+
+"Aye! but drink is the ain an' the tither ye ken."
+
+"Mister," cried the landlady, who had been bottling up her wrath, "I'd
+hev y' know, es m' naime es 'Liza Narby, an' I comes of genteel folk
+in Rotherhithe. Don't y' call me a bloomin' fool. D'ye see?"
+
+"Pardon me," said the Reverend Michael in excellent English. "I did
+not misuse the word 'blooming,' which applies only to young and lovely
+beings of your sex."
+
+"Such es Elspeth," sneered Mrs. Narby, with the venom of an ugly
+woman.
+
+"Haud your tongue, ye limmer," thundered Gowrie, evidently irritated,
+and cast a look at the door, through which the girl had vanished, "or,
+nae mair custom do ye get frae me."
+
+"Ho!" shouted Mrs. Narby, with her arms akimbo, and going at once on
+the warpath, "'spose I kin do without thet any'ow, an'----"
+
+She was about to launch out in true Whitechapel style, when the untidy
+youth intervened listlessly.
+
+"Milton talks of a blooming archangel," said he, addressing the Rev.
+Michael Gowrie.
+
+"Nae in your mither's sense," chuckled the scholar.
+
+But that a bell tinkled somewhere in the back premises, Mrs. Narby
+would have returned to the attack.
+
+"There's thet gent, es come this night," she said, looking at her
+son,--for the untidy youth, held such a relationship towards this
+Amazon. "Go an' see wot he wants, Pope. Whoy, he might take a fancy t'
+y', an' elp publish yer poetry."
+
+"I want no patrons," said Pope rising haughtily. "Genius stands quite
+alone."
+
+All the same, he stalked out of the tap-room quickly, to see why the
+bell had sounded, and was followed by his mother, who was heard
+scolding her servant again. Herries took no notice of these Cockney
+vulgarities, being too weary to enjoy their humour. He stared into the
+glowing fire, while Gowrie chuckled, and finished his gin and water
+with great relish.
+
+"Aye!" he drawled, wiping his coarse red lips with the sleeve of his
+dilapidated coat, "yon's wha ye ca a gowk, or maybe a stirk. Poetry
+quotha; the lad hes nae mair poetry nor ma fut. An' tis a queer thing,
+Herries, that you randy quean deems him a genius, nae less. There's a
+vein o' verse in yon limmer, else she wuldnae hae ca'd her bairn
+Pope."
+
+"After the poet?"
+
+"Tush, laddie. Pope, the wee crooked thing, wes nae a poet. Gi' me
+glorious Robby Bur-rns. Aye, aye, the besom o' a landleddy hes a
+glimmerin' o' the divine. 'Tis queer where the speeritual spark, as ye
+micht say, taks up its abode. I hae a wee bit glimmer maesel, an' I
+thocht ye hed it also, Herries. But ye've come doon, sadly, puir
+saul,--eh,--the looks of ye."
+
+"Drink has nothing to do with them at least," retorted Herries nettled,
+"while to look at you,----"
+
+"Eh, an' what ails me, laddie?"
+
+"Drink! Gin, whisky and suchlike. Ten years ago, you had me as a
+pupil in Edinburgh, and although a minister without a church, you were
+at least respectable. Now----"
+
+"Ye may weel say't, laddie. Drink's the curse o' a' sons o' Adaam. I
+wes a stickit meenister, foreby, and didnae wag ma pow in a pu-pit,
+mair's the peety. Aye, aye," he sighed, "whusky's the deil's broth,
+I'm theenking."
+
+"How did you fall so low?" Angus asked his old preceptor.
+
+"Whusky! Whusky!" said the old reprobate, "tho' I've tacken to gin as
+cheaper. But 'tis weary wark at times, for gin's nae sa quick as it
+micht be, in bringing oot the glorious points o' a mon."
+
+"It doesn't make you drunk enough, I suppose you mean?"
+
+"Joost sae. Ye micht pit it yon way."
+
+"What a mercy you never married, Gowrie."
+
+"Ca' me Meester Gowrie, be decent to your elders, laddie. Marrit, is
+it?" He chuckled again, and cast a strange glance at Herries from out
+his inflamed eyes. "Ou aye, marrit. Weel,--weel,--we're a' son's o
+Adaam, ye ken."
+
+"Then are you----?"
+
+"Hold your tongue, sir," interrupted Gowrie, in fierce English,
+"respect the secret of a gentleman. You an' me's met in a queer gait,"
+he pursued in the homely Scotch, "maister an' pupil, an' baith doon on
+oor hunkers, as ye may say. It's a waefu' warld, I'm theenking."
+
+Herries made no direct reply, being occupied with his thoughts. Ten
+years before he had been a pupil of the Rev. Michael Gowrie in
+Edinburgh, and even then the wreck before him now, had not been noted
+for sobriety. When Herries went to the University, he had lost sight
+of his old preceptor, and was therefore much surprised to meet him in
+these out-of-the-way parts, and in such straits.
+
+"How do you live?" he asked abruptly.
+
+"Well!" said the other in his odd mixture of Scotch and English, "I
+write for the daily press. Nature studies ye ken, laddie. I present
+the warks o' God in decent language tae an ignorant public, as ye
+micht say. It keeps me in drams, though the emoluments are nae what
+they micht be tae a scholar, an' a gentlemon foreby. An' yer ain
+history, laddie? a sad ain I doot not."
+
+"The history of Jonah," said Herries, gloomily.
+
+It was at this moment that the girl returned to spread a half cloth on
+the table. Herries would rather have eaten in a less smoky atmosphere,
+but the girl informed him that the gentleman,--it seemed that his name
+was unknown,--had the best parlour, and one of the bedrooms, so that
+there was but little accommodation.
+
+"Aye, aye," said Gowrie meditatively, "Elspeth is richt. It's here
+I'll sleep maesel. An' what's yon gentlemon daeing here, lassie?"
+
+"I don't know," said Elspeth shortly, and with an averted face.
+
+"He'll hae been benighted, maybe?"
+
+She shook her head.
+
+"He came only an hour ago, well wrapped up in a fur coat, from
+Tarhaven."
+
+"Ye'll ken his name?"
+
+"No. He refused to give his name, but said that he expected to see a
+gentleman here about eight o'clock. Then he has arranged to go before
+breakfast in the morning, and has paid Mrs. Narby beforehand for his
+rooms."
+
+"It's queer," said Gowrie, handling his pipe meditatively, while
+Elspeth left the room to bring in the food for Herries. "Ye see mony
+queer things in sic hooses as these, my mon. Aye, aye, poverty maks us
+acquaint wi' strange bedfellows, as Wully Shakespeare pit it varra
+weel."
+
+Herries did not reply, but sat down to an ill-cooked mutton chop and a
+tankard of very flat ale. Gowrie treated himself to another steaming
+glass of gin and water, talking while his ex-pupil devoured his
+welcome meal. Elspeth wandered in and out of the room on various
+errands. Mrs. Narby, busy in the kitchen, presumably, did not present
+her lovely self, and the poet was also absent, probably being engaged
+in fascinating the unknown gentleman, in the hope of obtaining the
+patronage he seemed to contemn.
+
+"And why are ye here, laddie?" demanded Gowrie, inquisitively.
+
+"I come from Pierside," explained Herries, carelessly, "there I left a
+tramp schooner, on which I had shipped as doctor."
+
+"Aye, aye, that's it. I mind ye studied medicine."
+
+"I have studied everything," said Herries shrugging. "As you know, Mr.
+Gowrie, my parents left me just sufficient to provide me with an
+education, and a few pounds over to start me in life. I got my degree,
+and then began to practice in a London suburb. I failed there, and
+tried another, failed again and tried a third. Then I went on the
+stage, that refuge of the destitute, and could not make that pay.
+Finally I joined a gipsy ship as doctor, and have been frizzling and
+shivering in several parts of the world for years. Since then I have
+fared no better, and my last adventure was in an Arctic sealer. I left
+her, as I said, at Pierside, being unable to stomach the brutality of
+her captain any longer. Now I am on my way to Tarhaven to see an old
+medical friend, who may help me. That is my history, as sad as your
+own, Mr. Gowrie; but," this with a glance at the dissipated face,
+"perhaps more respectable."
+
+"How do you make that out?" asked the other in his best English.
+
+"I have never been a drunkard," said Angus significantly.
+
+"It's no decent tae speak to me yon way," fumed the elder man, wincing.
+
+"Isn't it the truth?
+
+"Weel, ye dinna look varra drunk, I'll say that. Aye, I'll say that."
+
+"I am not talking of myself, Mr. Gowrie, but of you. Any one can see
+how you come to be here."
+
+"Weel, weel," cried the ex-minister testily, "there's nae mair to be
+said. Ma sin's nae yer sin, but I doot ye've a glass hoose of your
+ain. What will ye do now?"
+
+"Go to bed," snapped Herries, rising.
+
+"Wull ye nae stap, and hae a crack?"
+
+"No! I'll see you in the morning."
+
+"Man, I'll be gone early. It's London I'm bound for. Joost sae, tae
+see an eeditor aboot an article on the modest daisy."
+
+The young man shrugged his shoulders again. On another occasion he
+would have been amused at Gowrie's impudence, with his odd changes
+from Scotch to English. But the heart was out of him, and meeting with
+an old friend, even so fallen a one as Mr. Gowrie, he could not help
+breaking out with his troubles. An overcharged heart will speak,
+however reticent may be the nature of its possessor, and after
+fiddling with the door-handle for a few moments, Herries burst out----
+
+"I'm a Jonah, Mr. Gowrie," he cried, almost savagely. "I swear that I
+have done all that a man could do, to earn an honest living, but
+everything has gone wrong with me. I am sober, honest, industrious
+and,--as you said,--clever----"
+
+"Aye," said the sage, "I'll bear testimony to that. Nae mair capable
+laddie ever passed through my varra capable hands."
+
+"Then why am I so unfortunate?" demanded the miserable young man,
+looking up to the ceiling. "I am cursed in some way. Whatever I take
+up, fails. I try and try and try again. I foresee all chances, and
+work desperately. Yet again and again, I fail."
+
+Facing Gowrie, with clenched hands and desperate eyes, Herries neither
+saw nor heard the door into the back parts of the house, open and shut
+suddenly. It was just as though someone, hearing the raised voice, had
+peered out, and then, after a glance, had retired hastily. Gowrie
+looked out of the tail of his eye, but saw nothing, and shook his head
+at his unfortunate pupil.
+
+"It's a weary world," he said with drunken seriousness.
+
+"The world is all right," cried Herries, "it is the infernal folk who
+live in it that make me hate life. Oh," he dashed his hands across
+his eyes. "I could shame my manhood and weep, when I think of my
+sorrow"--here he became aware that Elspeth was in the room gazing at
+him with pitying eyes. A feeling of pride made him close his mouth,
+and with an abrupt gesture of despair, he left the room at a run. The
+girl followed to show him his sleeping-apartment. Old Gowrie remained,
+and cried to Mrs. Narby for a third glass of gin.
+
+"Aye, aye," muttered the old reprobate, "breeth we are an' dust we
+mau' be. Puir laddie, an' sae clever. Aye a lad of pairts. I doot 'tis
+the drink," he wagged his head sadly. "Weel, and why should nae the
+puir wean droon his sorrows in the flowing bowl, the which term Thomas
+Moore applies tae whusky. He's got nae siller an' varra little o' that
+is in ma purse. But maybe he has enow tae help the guid friend whae
+guided his young footsteps. Hech," he rose, and pondered, "maybe if I
+flatter the lad, he may spare a bittock. Drink! aye drink, which
+maketh glad the hairt o' mon. He'll be guid for a shulling at
+daybreak."
+
+In pursuance of this plan, the Rev. Michael Gowrie was shortly on his
+legs, staggering to the bedroom with a stiff jorum of gin and water.
+Mrs. Narby led the way, and pointed out the apartment occupied by
+Herries, with the unnecessary information that the unknown gentleman,
+now in the parlour, would sleep in the next room.
+
+"An' me sleeping in the tap-room," mourned Gowrie. "Is yon gentleman
+in bed, wumon?"
+
+"No. He's still in the parlour," snapped Mrs. Narby, bristling at
+being called a woman. "He's waiting fur 'is friend, as comes at
+eight."
+
+"It'll be haulf an hoor tae eight," said Gowrie consulting a
+yellow-faced watch, not worthy of a pawnbroker's ticket.
+
+"Ow shud I know? Give yer shady toff 'is drink, an' cut."
+
+Gowrie had little difficulty in inducing Herries to swallow the hot
+liquor. The young man was worn out, and when the drink was finished
+his head fell on the pillow like a lump of lead. His kind preceptor
+tucked him in, and cast a longing glance at his pupil's garments,
+lying disorderly on a chair near the bed.
+
+But Mrs. Narby glared grimly at the door, and Gowrie had no chance of
+examining the pockets, as he wished to do. It was with great
+reluctance that he departed with the ogress, while Herries, blind to
+the world, slept heavily, but, alas, not dreamlessly.
+
+His dreams indeed were terrible. For hours and hours he seemed to be
+flying from some dreadful danger. Along a lonely road he sped
+breathless and anguished. After him raced a shadow, which once caught
+up with him, and enveloped him in cold gloom. But out of that Egyptian
+darkness, he was drawn by a firm warm hand, and found himself under a
+glimmering moon, looking into the face of Elspeth. She pointed towards
+the East, and there broke swiftly the cool fresh dawn, at the sight of
+which his terrors vanished. It seemed to the dreamer that he kissed
+the girl, but of this he could not be sure; for the vision dispersed
+into fragments, and he finally fell into the deep slumber of the
+worn-out.
+
+When he awoke it was daylight, and from the position of a faint gleam
+of sunshine, breaking through the still clinging mists, he guessed
+that it was nine o'clock. But Herries cast no second look through the
+window, when he saw what lay on the patchwork quilt. Thereon appeared
+a white bone-handled razor crimson with blood, and he found that one
+sleeve of his woollen shirt was likewise stained red.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+A RECOGNITION
+
+
+After that first startled look, Herries sprang from the bed, anxious
+only, for the moment, to avoid contact with that blood-stained razor.
+But blood also smeared the right arm of his shirt, which he could
+not part with, as he had no other to wear. His hands were clean, the
+bed-quilt was smooth, and the door closed. He could not comprehend
+how the razor and the blood-stains came to be there. Half dazed and
+unable to grasp the meaning of these weird things, he flung open the
+window. It looked down into a small, bleak garden, and into thick
+white mists, behind which lay those weary marshes he had traversed on
+the previous evening. The inn might have been in the Aristophanic
+Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, for all the signs of earth-life that were visible
+in those dismal fogs. Herries, craning his body half out of the
+window, could hear men and women chattering in the street, and at
+times the shrill babble of children. So far as he could see and hear,
+nothing was wrong, yet he felt that something terrible had happened.
+It was at this point that he retreated suddenly from the window, with
+one awesome word beating insistently upon his confused brain.
+
+"Murder!" he cried aloud in the empty room. "Murder!"
+
+He sprang towards the door, clothed only in his shirt, and pulled it
+open with a jerk. Half frenzied with fear and possessed by an agonized
+feeling of terror, he shouted the word down the narrow staircase.
+People below were talking quietly, and moving about on various tasks
+intent, but at the sound of that choking cry, both movements and
+voices resolved themselves into an uncanny pause.
+
+Shortly, the terror-stricken creature clinging to the top railings
+heard heavy footsteps ascending, and aware of his light attire, he
+slipped back into his room and into bed. The footsteps came nearer and
+a rough bearded face peered in at the door. It was that of the
+landlord, of whom he had caught a mere glimpse on the previous night.
+Mrs. Narby was well matched in her help-mate--outwardly at least--for
+he was a bulky, stout animal, with a heavy fist and a violent temper,
+when aroused. But for the most part he was too lethargic to become
+enraged, unless some special event demanded the use of uncontrolled
+passion. At the present moment, his mild face--in repose it was
+strangely mild--exhibited only wonder.
+
+"What are you howling about?" he asked gruffly, and staring with bent
+brows at the white-faced man.
+
+"Murder!" chattered Herries, shivering and sitting up in bed, chin on
+knees, "at least----" he flung the razor towards the man.
+
+Narby, by this time well within the room, deftly caught the article,
+and examined it closely. "Blood!" said he under his breath; then
+looked at Herries, still shivering as with ague. "But y' ain't dead,
+cut yourself maybe, shaving?"
+
+"I have not shaved for two days. I have no razor with me, that is not
+mine. Who has been murdered?" so Herries babbled, confusedly.
+
+"Why, no one," growled the landlord, bristling. "This is a decent inn,
+this is. Do you think we take in folks to cut their throats. You've
+had a nightmare and this razor of yours----"
+
+"It is not mine," passionately interrupted the young man. "I found it
+on the quilt when I woke at nine this morning."
+
+"It's nearly ten by now."
+
+"Then I mistook the time, having no watch. But the blood----"
+
+"It is queer," admitted Narby, meditatively, "but there's no one dead,
+so far as I know. Old Gowrie slept in the tap-room, and went off at
+seven. My wife and Elspeth are alive and busy; Pope, too, ate a good
+breakfast, and there's no sign of a corpse about me."
+
+"What of the gentleman who came last night?"
+
+"He went away at eight, as he arranged, without his breakfast. My wife
+saw him pass through the tap-room in that fur-coat of his, and no
+wonder on such a chilly morning. He never passed the time of
+day--gentry manners in this country, I 'spose."
+
+"Then there's nothing wrong!" cried Herries, more bewildered than ever.
+
+"Not that I know of. Someone's been having a joke with you, though
+who'd play a low-down trick like this is more nor I can tell."
+
+Narby looked at Herries, and Herries stared back at Narby, both
+puzzled, and both bad-tempered. Whosoever had played this poor joke,
+if joke it was, the landlord at least was innocent of the jest. The
+young man shook his head to clear it of cobwebs and signed to the
+other to leave the room, intending to get up and dress. The voice of
+Mrs. Narby in the passage chained him to the bed.
+
+"Wot's he 'ollerin' abaout?" she asked in her vile dialect.
+
+"Had the nightmare," grumbled her spouse, pushing her back as she
+tried to peep in.
+
+"Ho! Then he'd best cut. D'y 'ear,--you," she shouted. "We don't want
+no crazy coves 'ere. Elspeth, go an' mek the front room bed. The gent
+hev gorn, an' th' room mus' be streight in a jiffy."
+
+There was an inaudible reply, as Elspeth's light feet tripped past the
+noisy landlady. Shortly Herries heard her speak, for his bedroom door
+was still ajar, and the worthy couple were discussing his strange cry,
+angrily.
+
+"The door is locked," said Elspeth.
+
+"Nonsense," cried Mrs. Narby, going to the girl. "Wot shud he lock it
+fur, I'd like to knaow, an' 'im gittin' orf th' fust thing in th'
+mornin'? Ho," Herries heard her shake the door violently, "locked it
+is. Blimme, if he ain't gorn with th' key, 'aving locked the bloomin'
+door. I'll have th' lawr of him. Elspeth, git outside, an' up t' th'
+front winder. Them trellises mek quite a ledder."
+
+"I'll do it," said Narby, quickly.
+
+"You're too 'eavy. Ony a light shrimp like Elspeth cud git h'up. I
+don' want my trellises mussed up. Elspeth!"
+
+"I'm afraid." Herries heard the girl say timidly.
+
+"Y' ain't! Wot cause 'ave y' t' be afraid, y' mealy-mouthed, little,
+silly slut. Up y' go, or----" evidently a fist was raised at this
+point.
+
+"She shan't," growled Narby, who seemed to have more decent feeling
+than his wife. "Here, stand aside!"
+
+"If y' break th' door, it means poun's an' poun's," screamed the
+virago. The listening man heard a crash, and an angry ejaculation from
+Mrs. Narby at the destruction of her property. Then came a wild cry
+from Elspeth, an oath from the landlord, and finally a panic-stricken
+silence. With his fears again knocking at his heart, Herries jumped
+up, and hurriedly slipped into his trousers. Scarcely were they on,
+before Narby burst into the room, white-faced and savage. Behind, came
+his wife, bellowing like a fury of the Revolution. Elspeth in the
+meanwhile had fainted in the passage.
+
+"You killed him!" shouted Narby fiercely, running towards Herries, and
+flung him like a feather on the bed.
+
+"Killed--killed--whom?" gasped the young man, bursting into a cold
+perspiration.
+
+"The gent as came last night. He's lying next door with his throat
+slit, you murdering devil!"
+
+"Oh!" shivered Herries, "the razor."
+
+"Your razor!"
+
+"It's not mine. Let me up," and he struggled to rise.
+
+"No. You stop here, until I send for the police. 'Liza!--ah would
+you?"
+
+Herries, realizing his dreadful position, had begun to resist
+violently, and Narby held him down with brawny hands. As the two swung
+in close grips on the bed, there was a tinkling sound, and a shout
+from Mrs. Narby, who was red-faced and furious.
+
+"Th' key,--th' blessed key," she screeched, picking it up from the
+floor, whence it had fallen off the bed. "Oh, the bloomin' Jack th'
+Ripper cove. He's ruined th' cussed 'ouse."
+
+"It's a lie--a lie," breathed Herries, weakly.
+
+Narby, with his knee on the other's chest, laughed grimly. "You'll
+have to prove that to a jury, my lad. The razor,--the key of the next
+room,--the--the--why here," he broke off to snatch at the stained
+shirt-sleeve, "more blood, you reptile," and he shook the young man
+with unrestrained anger.
+
+"'Ow! 'Ow! 'Ow!" Mrs. Narby began to exhibit symptoms of hysteria, "he
+killed the pore gent. Pope,--Pope,--me darlin' boy. 'Elp! 'Elp."
+
+"Let me up," gasped Herries, "you're stifling me."
+
+"I'll leave the hangman to do that, sonny."
+
+"I--I--won't--try to--to--escape."
+
+"You bet you won't," said Narby, in quite an American way, and seeing
+that there was really a chance of the young man becoming insensible
+under over-rough handling, he released his hold. "Dress yourself," he
+said sternly, "but out of this room you don't go, till the police
+come. 'Liza!--I say, 'Liza?"
+
+There was no reply. Mrs. Narby had hurled herself down the stairs and
+they could hear her harsh voice clamouring for her son, and for drink
+to revive her. Shortly the murmur of many voices swelled out.
+Evidently the woman had summoned the neighbours, and Herries shivered
+at the snarl of an enraged mob.
+
+"I never killed the man," he wailed, utterly broken up. "I know
+nothing about him,--I never saw him,--I didn't,----"
+
+"Shut up," snapped Narby roughly, and pushed him back again on to the
+disordered bed. "I've known a man lynched, down 'Frisco way, for less
+than this. I reckon you'll dance at the end of a rope, before the
+month's out. See here," he went to the window, glanced out and
+returned to shake a large and menacing finger, more American in speech
+than ever. "You try an' light out that way, sonny, an' I shoot you
+straight. I keep my Derringer for use, not for show. D'ye see; you
+stop here."
+
+"I am perfectly willing," retorted Herries, now beginning to recover
+his courage, since the worst of the shock was over. "I can easily
+clear my character."
+
+Narby smiled grimly, and shook his head.
+
+"Better say no more," he advised, "what you say, will tell against
+you."
+
+"Surely you don't believe me guilty?"
+
+"You make me tired," said Narby sharply, "you are in the next room to
+a murdered man, you show me a blood-stained razor, and you have blood
+on your shirt, and the key of the next room. Believe you guilty! Well,
+I guess I do. Say your prayers, sonny, for you'll hang as sure as
+you're a living man, which you won't be long," and without another
+word, the burly landlord left the room, locking the door after him.
+
+With an eminently human impulse to seek immediate safety, the prisoner
+ran to the window. But there was no escape that way. He could easily
+drop into the garden, climb over the low fence and fly across the
+marshes, hidden by the kindly mists. But the palings which parted the
+garden from the village street were now lined with curious and
+horrified spectators. Men and women and children stared insistently at
+the mean house, with that fascination begotten of a morbid love of
+crime. No such exciting event had happened in the dull little Essex
+village for many a year,--if indeed ever before; and the whole
+population was agog with excitement. Mrs. Narby was haranguing her
+neighbours, and fiercely pointing at intervals towards the house,
+crying wildly that the inn was ruined. Catching sight of Herries at
+the window, she shook a large fist, and a sea of faces looked upward.
+Then came a howl of execration. From that terrible sound Herries,
+though courageous enough, shrank back, and closed the window in a
+panic. Then he staggered to the bed and lying down tried to reason
+calmly.
+
+The stranger in the next room, whosoever he was, had been murdered.
+The key of that room had been found in this one; also, on the
+bed-quilt had lain the weapon with which, presumably, the dead man's
+throat had been cut. Then there was the damning evidence of the bloody
+sleeve. Herries examined this, and found that the stains streaked
+downward from the elbow, as though someone with reddened fingers had
+drawn them down the woollen fabric. On making this discovery the
+unhappy man regained his feet, scenting a conspiracy. "Some enemy has
+done this," he argued, trying to keep himself cool and composed. "I
+have fallen into a trap. The assassin, after committing the crime,
+must have come deliberately into my room, in order to implicate me in
+the matter. I was sound asleep, so he could easily have smeared my
+sleeve and left the razor and key. But who could have done it, and why
+was it done? I know no one in these parts,--I arrived here alone and
+unknown, and----"
+
+He stopped as a sudden thought flashed through his brain. Michael
+Gowrie knew his name, and Gowrie had come to this very room on the
+previous evening with a glass of toddy. Could it be that Gowrie had
+murdered this unknown man, and had then arranged the snare, so that a
+perfectly innocent being should bear the penalty of his wickedness. It
+was credible, and yet,--from what Herries remembered of the old
+scamp,--Gowrie was not the man to commit so dreadful a deed. In his
+degraded state, the ex-minister would steal at a pinch in order to
+procure money for drink. He would lie glibly; he would blackmail, and
+bear false witness to serve his own ends; but Herries could not think
+even so base a man capable of murder. For one thing he would not have
+the nerve, seeing that drink had shattered his system. No! It would
+not be Gowrie, and yet, if not Gowrie, who could have an interest in
+implicating a stranger in the awful tragedy?
+
+Again, as Herries reflected when his brain became clearer, Mrs. Narby
+said that the gentleman, who had occupied the bedroom next door, had
+departed in his noticeable fur coat at eight o'clock. If it was he who
+had passed through the tap-room, it certainly could not be him, who
+was lying dead in the next room. The affair was puzzling, and not the
+least mysterious thing was that no one in the house knew the dead
+man's name. He had come to see someone and had duly retired to bed;
+next morning he was found dead. If this was the case, who then could
+be the man who had visited him on the previous night? Who was the man
+who had left at eight in the morning, disguised in a fur coat
+belonging to the dead? There could be but one answer. He was the
+assassin.
+
+Again Herries looked out of the window, and saw that two men,--yokels
+apparently,--were guarding it below; he stole to the door, and
+strained his hearing to listen. Many people were coming and going in
+the passage, and he heard the faint murmur of voices. What was going
+on in the death-chamber, he could not think. The partitions of the
+inn, doubtless constructed long ago for smuggling purposes, were
+unusually thick, and even had a man spoken loudly in the next room,
+the listener would have heard nothing but the sound. In that case, as
+he argued, he could not have saved the dead man, even had he been
+awake. Probably the poor wretch's throat had been cut in his sleep.
+And who had killed him? And why had he, Angus Herries, a stranger, a
+wanderer on the face of the earth, been dragged into so hideous an
+affair?
+
+These questions he asked himself constantly, while the slow hours
+dragged onward. The village--Desleigh was its name, as he heard
+later--was a long distance from the nearest town, whence a police
+inspector could be called; and the local constable, without doubt, had
+two or three of such villages to attend to. It was quite four or five
+hours since he had been shut up in his room, and no one had been near
+him. To pass the time, and escape from the terrible thoughts which
+tormented his brain, Herries dressed himself as neatly as he could. On
+leaving Pierside he had taken nothing with him, as his enemy the
+captain had detained all his luggage. He had nothing but the clothes
+he stood up in, and a few shillings,--say ten. On arriving at the
+"Marsh Inn," he had possessed fifteen, but five of these he had given
+for bed and board. He cursed the inn. Had he not halted here, this
+trouble would never have come upon his already over-burdened
+shoulders. And yet, he could not be sure of this. He had always been
+Jonah the unlucky, and Jonah he would remain, so far as his limited
+vision could see, until the end of his life. Throughout five and
+twenty years of existence he had suffered nothing but trouble.
+Everything went wrong with him. This new disaster was all of a piece
+with the rest of the pattern, that was being woven,--against his will,
+it would seem--on the looms of life. He wondered, with a sigh, why God
+permitted so many troubles to befall him, since he could see no good
+reason for their coming to him so persistently. Then out of sheer
+desire to do something, he searched his pockets for the remains of his
+poor fortune.
+
+The ten shillings had vanished. Yet Herries knew that he had counted
+them on the previous evening, immediately before he retired to
+bed, and he had placed them in the right-hand pocket of his
+trousers,--eight shillings and four sixpences. Alarmed at the loss,
+which meant everything to him, he felt in every pocket, looked under
+his pillow, examined the floor, but could find no trace of the money.
+
+"How on earth can I get to Tarhaven?" he asked himself, and then it
+came upon him with a shock, that he was not a free man.
+
+Shortly a soft tap at the door roused him. He told the person who
+knocked to enter, and a key turned in the lock. Elspeth, her face
+white and her eyes red, entered, carrying a tray laden with coarse
+food. This she set down, then impulsively she rushed forward and
+caught his hand.
+
+"You never did it," she panted, eagerly, and staring at him with
+burning eyes. "You never, never did it."
+
+"Of course not. I can prove my innocence. No," he made a gesture of
+despair, as the full terror of his situation rushed upon him, "I say
+that to comfort myself. I am in a perilous position."
+
+"That a kind man such as you are, should do such a thing," the girl
+went on, almost to herself, "it's ridiculous. You helped me with that
+bucket; you would not murder a poor soul in his sleep."
+
+"That I did not. I swear by all that I hold sacred," said Herries,
+grateful for this true sympathy. "But you see how I am placed; you
+know the strong evidence against me."
+
+Elspeth nodded.
+
+"Mr. and Mrs. Narby are talking of it," she whispered, with a
+significant glance at the door, behind which no doubt some one was
+watching. "The police will be here soon. They have sent to Tarhaven,
+for the Inspector and the Doctor."
+
+"What is the time now?"
+
+"It is close upon three o'clock," said Elspeth. "Armour, who is the
+village constable, is on his rounds at some other village, and
+although they have sent out to get him, he cannot be found. But Pope
+has gone by train to Tarhaven to bring the Inspector. I expect he'll
+return every minute. And I cannot stop long; they will miss me. But I
+want to be your friend," she added again catching his hand. "Tell me,
+is there anyone I can send for, who will help you?"
+
+"There is my friend, Dr. James Browne of Tarhaven. I have not seen him
+for a couple of years, but I daresay he'll remember me. Write and ask
+him to come, or perhaps you could procure me writing material."
+
+"No. They," she alluded to the Narby's, "will allow you nothing."
+
+"Then send the letter yourself to Browne, you kind little soul. He may
+say a good word for me."
+
+"Is there no one else?"
+
+Herries' head drooped.
+
+"There is one I should not like to hear of my disgrace," he said,
+faintly.
+
+"Ah!" the girl's dark eyes lighted up with a jealous flame, "and her
+name, Mr. Herries?"
+
+The young man looked surprised.
+
+"How can you guess that I am thinking of a woman?"
+
+"I guess, because--because--oh, you would not understand. What is her
+name? I'll see her if you like," her face grew red as she spoke, and
+had Herries been more experienced in the other sex, he might have seen
+that her feelings towards him, for his simple act of kindness, were
+such as to make her hate anyone doing things for him, save herself.
+
+However, he saw nothing of this, and gave the information with all
+frankness.
+
+"Maud Tedder, she is a cousin of mine, the daughter of Sir Simon
+Tedder, a famous manufacturer you may have heard of."
+
+Elspeth nodded.
+
+"I've seen his name on jam tins and such like," she said rapidly. "He
+has a great house at Tarhaven."
+
+"I know. I have been there once, a couple of years ago. But he
+quarrelled with me, and turned me out."
+
+"Because of Miss--Miss?" she could not say the name.
+
+"Yes! I wanted to marry my cousin. Sir Simon would not let me."
+
+"And she--she----?"
+
+"She obeyed her father, as a daughter should," said Herries bitterly.
+"But I do not know why I talk of these very private affairs to you.
+But if you would----"
+
+"Hush!" Elspeth placed a silencing finger on her lips, "the police."
+
+Hardly had she left the room, when the Inspector--as he evidently was
+from his smart uniform--entered in an abrupt manner. He was a kindly,
+red-faced man, with a military moustache, and an official manner,
+which made him assume a severity which Herries guessed was foreign to
+his nature. Two policemen were visible in the narrow passage as the
+Inspector entered the room, after a word or two with the girl, to
+learn why she had been with the prisoner.
+
+"Your name?" demanded the officer sharply, and taking in Herries'
+looks with a shrewd and observant eye.
+
+"Angus Herries. I am innocent," said the accused man hurriedly, then,
+anxious to exculpate himself, he talked on vehemently, and thereby did
+the worst thing possible. "I do not know the dead man's name, or the
+man himself. I have never seen him. I was fast asleep all the time. I
+found the razor, and----"
+
+"Stop," said the Inspector peremptorily, "anything you say now will be
+used in evidence against you. Hold your tongue, until I am ready to
+examine you, and follow me," and with that he turned his back to march
+out of the room.
+
+Herries saw that it would be as well to be circumspect, and walked
+silently after the representative of the law. The official turned to
+the right and opened the door of the death room at which Narby was
+standing. This was the first time the Inspector had been inside, and
+he wanted Herries to be present to see what effect the sight of his
+supposed victim would have on his nerves. The young man was glad to
+enter. He wished to face the worst at once.
+
+The room was similar to the other, bare, cold-looking, and sparingly
+furnished with the flotsam and jetsam of auction rooms. Everything
+seemed to be disordered, but the bedclothes were smoothed out, and
+thereon lay a stiff figure, covered with a sheet. The police officer
+turned down the sheet and beckoned Herries to approach. The very next
+moment the young man staggered back amazed.
+
+"Great Heavens!" he gasped, thunderstruck, "it is Sir Simon Tedder!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE
+
+
+"Sir Simon Tedder!" Inspector Trent--as the red-faced official was
+called--relaxed his stiffness, so far as to display astonishment. "The
+millionaire, who made his fortune out of jam and pickles; who has a
+house at Tarhaven?"
+
+"Yes!" faltered Herries weakly, and sinking into a chair near the
+door, he covered his shameful face. Trent, seeing tears trickling
+between the nerveless fingers, felt convinced, with the assurance of
+the shortsighted, that his experiment had proved successful. The
+guilty man's self-control had given way at the sight of his victim. So
+thought a jack-in-office, who was unable to see farther than his nose
+by reason of natural and official limitations. But the truth was--and
+a medical man would have surmised it--that Herries, with his long
+tramp, his weakened frame, his despairing outlook, and the surprising
+sight of his relative lying dead by violence, suddenly became as
+unstrung as an hysterical woman. The tears relieved him, and had they
+not broken forth, he would have become insane at the mere thought of
+this terrible disaster falling upon him, after years and years of
+cruel misfortune. He felt, and very naturally, like a tormented rat in
+a trap, and could see no means of escape.
+
+"Sir Simon Tedder," repeated Trent, with a gratified glance at the
+still white face of the dead, "the millionaire," he rolled the
+agreeable word on his tongue. "This will be an important affair!" and
+throwing out his chest, he swelled with triumph at the thought of the
+fame and praise which so notorious a case would bring him. "Why did
+you kill him, young man?"
+
+Herries, ashamed of the momentary weakness, dropped his hands and
+dashed the moisture from his eyes.
+
+"I--did--not--kill--him!" he declared with emphatic slowness.
+
+Trent grew red and indignant at what he conceived to be a shameless
+denial.
+
+"I have heard the landlord's story," he retorted, pompously.
+
+"And have therefore made up your mind, without hearing the other side,
+that I am guilty," said Herries, bitterly. "Is it the custom of the
+English law to hear only the accuser?"
+
+"I am now prepared to listen to the defence," announced Trent,
+hastily, and in spite of the strong evidence, and his own belief, he
+felt sorry for the wreck before him, although red-tapeism condemned
+the too purely human feeling.
+
+Leaving a stolid policeman to guard the door of the death-chamber,
+pending the arrival of the doctor, Trent led his prisoner down the
+stairs, and into the stuffy back-parlour, which Sir Simon had occupied
+on the previous evening. Mrs. Narby glared at the unfortunate man,
+whom she accused of having ruined her inn, and Pope's weak, silly
+face, alive with morbid curiosity, could be seen over the brawny
+maternal shoulder. Herries shuddered. In spite of many misfortunes, he
+had always been popular in his Bohemian world, and it was both new and
+unpleasant for him to see venomous looks cast upon him. Last night he
+had been merely an object of contemptuous interest; now he was like a
+tiger prisoned behind bars, at which everyone looked with dread and
+hatred.
+
+As the short autumnal evening, rendered even more immediate by the
+still prevailing foes, was rapidly closing in, Trent lighted the cheap
+lamp which swung over the round table. The light and the oily smell
+came simultaneously, as both door and window were closed, and the room
+was crowded with frowsy furniture. The atmosphere was sickly and
+malodorous, and Herries never entered a stuffy apartment in after
+years without recalling that hopeless evening, when his misfortunes
+culminated in nothing less than a Waterloo.
+
+The Inspector seated himself at the round table in a magisterial
+manner, and produced a portentous pocket-book. He permitted Herries to
+sit down in an antique arm-chair, slippery with horse-hair, and
+marvellously uncomfortable with an antimacassar of Berlin wool-work.
+Having moistened a pencil with his tongue he proceeded to ask what
+questions occurred to his not over-clever brain.
+
+"What is your name?"
+
+"Angus Herries."
+
+"Your occupation?"
+
+"I am a doctor, a ship's doctor, and I came last night from Pierside,
+where the Arctic sealer 'Nansen' is lying."
+
+"Why did you come to this almost unknown inn?"
+
+"I walked from Pierside, intending to seek a friend at Tarhaven. My
+strength gave way, and I stayed here to eat and sleep."
+
+Trent took down these answers thoughtfully, then looked in what he
+fondly thought was a piercing manner at the suspected man.
+
+"You told me that you did not know the deceased?"
+
+"I did. That is perfectly true. Until you showed me the corpse, I was
+quite ignorant that Sir Simon had been killed. I did not even know
+that he was in this house."
+
+"You knew Sir Simon Tedder then?"
+
+"Yes!" Herries hesitated, then looked boldly at the officer, "I have
+nothing to conceal," he declared loudly, "Sir Simon is my uncle."
+
+Trent looked at the shabby prisoner with great surprise; the reply
+amazed him, as coming from such a tramp.
+
+"It is impossible," he said, sharply. "Sir Simon was wealthy and much
+respected. He would not allow his nephew to go about in rags."
+
+Herries looked sullen.
+
+"My uncle and I quarrelled."
+
+"Oh," said the Inspector in a peculiar tone.
+
+"Do you take that admission as a sign of guilt?" inquired Herries,
+ironically.
+
+"I take it to mean that you had bad feelings towards the deceased."
+
+The prisoner shook his head.
+
+"You are wrong, I had no bad feelings."
+
+"And yet you quarrelled?"
+
+"Violently!"
+
+"Take care. What you say may be used against--" Herries rose with an
+angry gesture.
+
+"An innocent man such as I am does not need to be careful of his
+words," he cried. "My life history is miserable enough certainly, but
+there is no page of which I need be ashamed."
+
+"For an educated man to be in such a plight--."
+
+The prisoner again interrupted.
+
+"Do you know what Jonah's Luck is?
+
+"I know that the person you mention was swallowed by a whale," said
+Trent with dignity. "I am not entirely a heathen."
+
+In spite of his misery Herries could not help smiling.
+
+"I give you the whale," he said sarcastically. "In spite of my sojourn
+in the Arctic regions, I have escaped the gullet of that animal. I
+allude to the prophet's luck. Everything went wrong with him, as it
+has done with me. Do you know what it is, Inspector, to be unlucky--to
+try your hardest to earn bread and a roof in the face of circumstances
+too hard to conquer? Have you ever found doors shut against you? Has
+your family ever regarded you as a hopeless black sheep, because you
+had not the money to wash your wool white? I have been hungry,
+starving, almost without clothes, certainly without fire on freezing
+days. Life has crushed me into the mire, and every struggle I made to
+rise, was met with a fresh blow."
+
+"Such miseries as these," said Dogberry, sapiently, "lead men to
+commit crimes."
+
+"In my case, no," cried Herries, striking the table heavily. "I can
+look any man in the face, as I look into yours now, and can say that I
+am honest, in thought, word, and deed."
+
+His clear blue eyes looked into those of the Inspector, and it
+was the official who first gave way. Turning over the leaves of his
+pocket-book, to disguise the impression which Herries' frankness had
+made on him, he took refuge in irritation, a sure sign that he had no
+feasible reply to make.
+
+"This isn't what we are here to talk about," he said testily. "I wish
+to know what defence you have to make, to the charge brought against
+you by the landlord?"
+
+"What defence?--that I am innocent."
+
+"On what grounds?"
+
+"On the grounds that I never expected to find Sir Simon here, that I
+did not know he was in the house, that I have no grudge against him."
+
+"How do I know that?" asked Trent, cunningly.
+
+"Because I tell you that such is the case," said Herries haughtily,
+"and if you will listen to a short account of my life, you may be able
+to conquer the prejudice against me, which the couple who keep this
+miserable inn have instilled into your breast."
+
+"I am not prejudiced," snapped Trent, nettled, "say what you have to
+say, and let us end this business as speedily as possible."
+
+"I am only too anxious to do so," said Herries coldly and folding his
+arms, still standing. "I am the son of Sir Simon Tedder's only sister.
+He was a hard man, always, and when she married against his will, he
+would never help her. My mother and father both died when I was in my
+teens. They left enough money for me to gain an education and secure a
+doctor's degree. I practised on shore with bad success, and so went to
+sea. I have been away from England for about two years, and since then
+I have never set eyes on my uncle, until you showed me his corpse just
+now."
+
+"When did you see him last?"
+
+"Two years ago. I was doing badly, and called upon him to learn if he
+would help me. He might have done so, but that I was in love with his
+daughter, Maud. I had met her at the house of some friends in
+Edinburgh, and saw her frequently. We loved, and when I saw my uncle I
+told him this. He became angry, and turned me out of the house. By his
+order Maud sent back my letters, and since then I have had nothing to
+do with either of them. Why then, I ask you, should I kill my uncle,
+seeing that I cannot benefit in any way by such a crime? I landed here
+two days ago, unknown and friendless. As I said, I was on my way to
+Tarhaven, to see a friend, when I put up at this accursed inn last
+night."
+
+"Who is your friend?"
+
+"Dr. James Browne of Elgar Avenue, Tarhaven. We were fellow students."
+
+"I know him," said the Inspector, taking down the name. "Can he vouch
+for your respectability?"
+
+Herries smiled bitterly.
+
+"Respectability and myself parted company long ago," said he with a
+shrug, "but Browne knows all that I am telling you now, even to the
+courting of my cousin Maud."
+
+"What did he think of your quarrelling with your uncle?"
+
+"He approved of my leaving the house. As to the quarrel, Browne knows
+that I have a fiery temper."
+
+"Oh," interrupted Trent in his peculiar tone, and thinking that he had
+chanced upon something suspicious. "So you have a fiery temper?"
+
+"Yes," admitted Herries, not dreaming of what such an admission might
+mean to him. "But only when it is aroused by injustice and insults.
+Last night it was not so roused. I went to bed shortly before eight
+o'clock, ignorant, as I have said several times, that my uncle was in
+the house. Had I known that, I would have gone on to Tarhaven, weary
+though I was, rather than have slept under the same roof with a man
+who insulted my mother and myself shamefully."
+
+Trent shook his head.
+
+"All very fine. But the key of Sir Simon's room was found on the floor
+of your bedroom. The razor, with which his throat was cut, was in your
+possession, and there is blood on the sleeve of your shirt."
+
+The young man hastily stripped off his coat, and held the right hand
+sleeve of his shirt under the lamp, close to Trent's eyes.
+
+"There are the smears," he said quietly, "and you will see that they
+are made by fingers dipped in blood having been drawn down the sleeve.
+Could I have done that myself? Also, when I found the razor on my
+quilt when I awoke, I called up the landlord to ask him what it meant.
+I knew nothing of the crime at the time, neither did Narby, as he will
+tell you. Were I guilty, would I have acted in so foolish a manner?"
+
+"Oh yes, you would," said Trent, dictatorially, "criminals are very
+artful, as I have often found."
+
+It was apparently impossible to convince a man so bent upon finding
+proofs of guilt where none existed, so Herries abandoned persuasion
+and turned away with a shrug.
+
+"I have nothing more to say!"
+
+"Yes, you have," insisted Trent, stupidly. "Why did you conceal that
+Sir Simon expected you last night?"
+
+"He did not. He never knew that I was here, or even in England, as we
+had not corresponded since he turned me out of his house at Tarhaven
+two years ago. The maid Elspeth said that Sir Simon expected a
+gentleman. I was not the man."
+
+"You were the only stranger who came last night," said Trent digging
+his pencil thoughtfully into the book.
+
+"No. The expected visitor must have come last night, and have slept
+here. Mr. Narby will tell you that Mrs. Narby saw him pass through the
+tap-room at eight this morning."
+
+"Did he not stop to pay the bill?"
+
+"Mrs. Narby thought that the man was Sir Simon." The Inspector rose
+quickly.
+
+"What?" he asked in an amazed tone.
+
+"I am only telling you what Narby told me, before either of us knew
+that a murder had taken place," said Herries tartly. "He declared
+that his wife had seen the gentleman, who occupied this parlour last
+night,--and he was Sir Simon, as we know--pass through the tap-room at
+eight as he had arranged."
+
+"As he had arranged?"
+
+"Yes. He paid for the rooms, and a meal last night, so I was told."
+
+"But if he was killed, he couldn't have passed out."
+
+"Not unless he was a spirit," said Herries, with a shrug, "but the man
+whom Mrs. Narby took to be Sir Simon, certainly, according to her
+story, had a fur coat on, that belonged to my uncle, the same in which
+he arrived here last night."
+
+Trent wrinkled his brow perplexedly. What Herries said quite upset his
+calculations, and he found himself face to face with a criminal
+mystery, such as had never before come into his official life. The
+accused man, saw his advantage and followed it up.
+
+"Why should not this unknown man have murdered my uncle," he said
+quickly, "and have entered my bedroom to implicate me in the crime?"
+
+"Why should he have done that?"
+
+"I cannot say. But my bedroom door was not locked, and I was fast
+asleep, being quite worn out. The assassin left the razor and the key;
+he drew his bloody fingers down the shirt sleeve of my right arm,
+which probably lay outside the quilt. These are his marks," and
+Herries again shook his stained sleeve in the officer's face.
+
+By this time Trent was more himself, and aggressively official.
+
+"It is not for you to teach me my duty," he said, his self-love
+wounded. "The people who keep this inn must be examined before I can
+come to any conclusion."
+
+"You might also examine Mr. Gowrie," suggested Herries quickly, "that
+is, if you can find him."
+
+"Who is Mr. Gowrie?"
+
+"An old tutor of mine, whom I found in the tap-room last night. He went
+away--to London, I believe--at seven."
+
+"Upon my word, Mr. Herries," said the Inspector sarcastically, "for a
+man, who merely _chanced_ on this inn," he emphasised the word, "you
+seem to have met, not only with relatives, but with friends."
+
+"I met my uncle on his death-bed, and Gowrie in the tap-room," said
+Herries, heatedly. "It is strange, I admit, since I came here so very
+unexpectedly."
+
+"Extremely strange," said Trent, scoffingly. "I don't believe in
+coincidences myself. Every word you say seems to connect you more and
+more with the crime. This Gowrie may have been your accomplice."
+
+"If so, he has left me in the lurch," said Herries, sitting down
+wearily, and with all the fire gone out of him. "There seems to be a
+kind of fatality haunting my steps. Jonah's luck, I expect."
+
+Trent tried to keep up his official dignity, as he went to open the
+door to call Mrs. Narby. But on passing Herries, the young man looked
+so dejected, that he clapped him on the shoulder.
+
+"Cheer up," he said in rather a shamefaced manner, "the evidence is
+very black against you, I admit; but you may be able to clear yourself
+yet."
+
+"Find out the man who passed through the tap-room this morning at
+eight, and my character will be cleared," said Herries.
+
+Rather ashamed of his momentary yielding. Trent opened the door.
+
+"I will thank you not to teach me my duty, sir," he said in a dignified
+manner, and Herries shrugged his shoulders. It was terrible to think
+that his liberty and life, should be in the power of so obvious an
+idiot.
+
+In the presence of Herries, the Inspector examined Mrs. Narby, who
+from being voluble, now became tongue-tied. Mrs. Narby's youth had
+brought her into frequent contact with the Whitechapel police, and she
+knew the value of silence. Everything had to be clawed out of her by
+persistent questioning, and all her answers went to prove that Herries
+was assuredly the guilty person. As her vernacular was vile and harsh,
+it will be as well to give the gist of her evidence in decent English.
+
+Sir Simon Tedder, she said, had arrived about half-past six on the
+previous night, just before Herries came. He said that he wanted
+a parlour and a bedroom, as he was expecting a gentleman to call
+about eight o'clock. But the expected visitor never arrived and Sir
+Simon--he had not given any name, nor had Mrs. Narby asked him for
+one--seemed much annoyed. At ten o'clock he had retired to bed, after
+paying the score, and announced that he would depart, without
+breakfast, at eight in the morning. Mrs. Narby confessed that she saw
+him--as she believed--pass through the tap-room in his fur coat about
+that hour. He said nothing to her, and she said nothing to him, being
+well-pleased with the liberal sum he had paid her. She thought that
+having come to the inn secretly, he wished to preserve his incognito,
+so let him pass out without a word. But at ten o'clock--that is two
+hours later--the real Sir Simon had been found dead in his bed.
+Without doubt, the man who escaped through the tap-room could not have
+been the millionaire.
+
+"But surely," said Trent, who was taking copious notes, "you must have
+guessed that the man who went away was not Sir Simon."
+
+Mrs. Narby placed her stout arms akimbo and raged.
+
+"I never know'd es 'is naime wos Sir Simon, or anythink else," said
+she shrilly. "An' th' gent es parsed through th' tap-room wos tall an'
+stout, same es this Sir Simon y' torks of. He wore the same fur coat
+es Sir Simon wore wen he come inter this very parlour overnight, so
+'ow wos I t' know es the gent es slung 'is 'ook at eight this mornin'
+wasn't th' same es come et harlf-past six in th' evenin'."
+
+"Are you sure it was the same fur coat?"
+
+"Yuss," said Mrs. Narby, stoutly, "there ain't no fur coat lef' in'
+th' bedroom of th' gent es lies a deader. I looked fur it," added the
+landlady defiantly, "es I sawr th' value, an' wanted summat fur my
+bein' ruined by 'im," and she pointed towards Herries.
+
+"I never killed him," muttered Herries, wearily. It seemed scarcely
+worth while to contradict those who seemed certain that he was guilty.
+
+"Ho, but y' did," cried Mrs. Narby, shriller than ever. "Y' wos a pore
+tramp with no money, and thet gent--Sir Simon es y' calls 'im--hed
+'eaps an' 'eaps."
+
+Trent looked up quickly.
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"I took in 'is tea," said Mrs. Narby, nodding vigorously, "an' Pope,
+me son, took in th' toast which the gent ate. He wos settin' at thet
+there table, with a 'eap of notes an' gold beside 'im, and a big
+morrocker pocket-book, int' which he shovelled the money wen he saw
+Pope an' me come in. Look fur the blue pocket-book, Mr. Policeman, an'
+if it's gorn, it's that there cove," she again pointed to Herries, who
+again shook his head, "as 'ave it."
+
+"You can search me," said the accused man, opening his arms.
+
+Trent took him at his word, and ran his hand down the young man's
+sides. But nothing could be found. He then marched him and the
+landlady upstairs and into the bedroom. Herries, with his hands in his
+pockets, sat wearily by the window, while Trent examined the room,
+aided by Mrs. Narby. The lady was extremely active. She pulled the
+clothes from the bed, removed the wardrobe from against the wall, and
+wrenched up the carpet, but all to no purpose. Then while Trent looked
+up the chimney, Mrs. Narby, with surprising activity, scrambled under
+the bed. She emerged in a minute or so, with a smothered exclamation,
+covered with grime and fluff, and held in her large hand a blue
+pocket-book of morocco.
+
+"The money!" cried Trent, darting towards her.
+
+Mrs. Narby shook out the pocket-book triumphantly,--
+
+"Empty," she cried vindictively, "he's the thief an' assassing!" and
+she flung the book at Herries' head.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
+
+
+Mrs. Narby's discovery convinced Inspector Trent that his prisoner was
+guilty. The razor, the key of the dead man's bedroom, the smeared
+sleeve, and the pocket-book, all pointed to Herries as the assassin.
+And to this material evidence could be added several serious
+admissions. After an early denial, Herries had admitted that he knew
+the deceased; he had acknowledged him to be a relative with whom he
+had quarrelled; and he had stated that his temper was fiery; finally,
+the presumed murderer, arriving at an unknown inn on the particular
+night on which Sir Simon had slept there, had occupied the room
+directly adjoining that of his victim. In the face of such strong
+circumstantial evidence, it was scarcely to be wondered at that
+Herries looked upon himself as lost. Weaker proofs had hanged men just
+as innocent.
+
+It was close on five o'clock when Trent came downstairs to see if the
+doctor had arrived. He locked Herries in the bedroom, intending to
+take him personally to Tarhaven prison, when the doctor had examined
+the body. In the meantime there was no chance of Herries escaping.
+From this solitary house, surrounded by marsh and fog, no one, without
+being well acquainted with the neighbourhood (and Herries was a
+stranger), could hope to get away without endangering his life. The
+two yokels still watched under the window, and three or four policemen
+were in and around the house. Trent felt that his valuable prisoner
+was perfectly safe, and went back to the stuffy parlour to examine
+Narby, and to question the landlady about the man called Michael
+Gowrie, to whom Herries had alluded.
+
+The heads of the household being thus employed, Elspeth and Pope
+attended to the many customers who thronged the tap-room. A great
+number of people had been drawn to the inn by an account of the
+tragedy, and as some hours had elapsed since the discovery of the
+body, the news was pretty widely known. Never before in its sordid
+history had the "Marsh Inn" done such a roaring trade, and Pope put
+his poetry and dreaming on one side, to deliver pots of frothing beer
+to thirsty labourers, who lethargically discussed the crime.
+
+Elspeth, looking more miserable and white-faced than ever, moved like
+an unquiet ghost about the room, fulfilling her duties in a mechanical
+way, while her thoughts were busy with the prisoner overhead. With the
+unreasoning affection of a woman, she was sure in her own mind that
+Herries was innocent, not because of what he said, but for the simple
+reason that he had been kind to her. That episode of the bucket, at
+their first meeting, had established a silent understanding between
+the two unlucky people, and each recognised in the other a kindred
+spirit. Never before had Elspeth met with an unsolicited act of
+kindness, and she was prepared to think of the man who rendered it to
+her trodden-down self, as a god. Moreover, the tones of his voice, the
+refinement of his face, the kindly look in his eyes, and perhaps his
+handsome exterior, appealed to her feminine nature. Moving about with
+steady eyes and firm lips, she was wondering all the time how she
+could help her hero to prove his innocence. But there is always one
+who loves and one who is loved. Herries was the latter, for as yet,
+and very naturally, his heart was untouched.
+
+Shortly a picturesque figure entered the crowded tap-room in the
+person of a short, thick-set man, dressed in a coster costume of
+the ornate type. He wore bell-bottomed trousers of grey cloth, a
+short-tailed jacket of the same hue and texture, a yellow waistcoat,
+and a flaming red scarf twisted round his brawny throat. The dress was
+profusedly decorated with buttons, mother-of-pearl buttons, which
+appeared in every place where a button could be sewn on. His brown
+bowler hat was trimmed with a large ostrich feather, and his feet were
+shod with elegant, thin-soled, high-heeled, brown boots, more suited
+to a London Street than to the mud of the Essex marshes. This unusual
+figure--unusual at least in the country--attracted much bovine
+attention, but the man pushed his way towards Elspeth, and saluted her
+by touching his hat and kicking out his right leg, sailor fashion.
+
+"Sweetlips," said Elspeth, looking surprised at seeing him.
+
+"Sweetlips Kind himself," replied the man in a pleasant and rather
+cultivated voice, "just come into this smoky engine house, as the fogs
+make it, with the caravan, and the missus--ill."
+
+"Oh!" Elspeth's voice was full of sympathy, "is Rachel ill?"
+
+"Diphtheria, poor lass, and what's a Cheap-jack like me to do with a
+sick wife in a caravan?" he drew the sleeve of his jacket across his
+kind, shrewd, grey eyes, and must have scratched himself with the many
+buttons. "Is there a doctor about?" he asked huskily.
+
+"The nearest doctor is ten miles away," explained the girl in a
+sympathetic manner. "He comes to Desleigh only on Saturdays."
+
+"Can't wait till then, my girl, the missus may die at any moment, if
+the stuff ain't taken from her throat. It's hard to lose her, after
+all these years of fair and foul weather. I want you to come to her,
+Elspeth, and I'll ride my horse to that doctor, if you'll tell me
+where he is to be found."
+
+"I can't leave the inn just now," said Elspeth, thinking of Herries
+upstairs, depending upon her assistance. "We're in dreadful trouble."
+
+"A pot of beer, please," said Sweetlips, quickly. "What's up?"
+
+"There's been a murder."
+
+"Lor! You don't tell me so."
+
+"Yes. An old gentleman has been killed----"
+
+"And the murderer is shut in a bedroom upstairs," finished Pope with a
+leer.
+
+"He is not the murderer," said the girl indignantly, and turning a
+shade paler. "I don't know who killed Sir Simon Tedder, but I am quite
+sure that Mr. Herries didn't."
+
+"Sir Simon Tedder," said Kind, dropping the pot of beer from his
+mouth. "The millionaire cove? Is he a deader?"
+
+"His throat has been cut," said Pope, eagerly.
+
+"Not by Mr. Herries," retorted Elspeth.
+
+"Lor!" said Kind again, "Why, I've got some of his jam stuff, with the
+name on the tins. Here's a go. I could do a bit of business on this
+here," he went on, his lip trembling, "folk always crowd to places
+where a murder's been committed. But I've Rachel to think of. Come,
+Elspeth," he ended entreatingly, "come to the missus, and lemme go for
+the doctor."
+
+"A doctor will be here soon from Tarhaven to examine the body," said
+Pope filling another pewter.
+
+"The Inspector and the police are in the house, and the doctor is to
+follow."
+
+"Two doctors will be here," corrected Elspeth, struck with a sudden
+thought. "I sent a telegram from the station to Dr. James Browne, who
+is a friend of Mr. Herries."
+
+"You'll get into trouble with the police," Pope warned her.
+
+"What do I care for the police, so long as Mr. Herries is proved
+innocent?" cried the girl passionately. "But if you will wait for a
+short time," she continued, addressing the mournful Cheap-jack, "one
+or the other of the doctors will come soon."
+
+"I hope one of 'em will be in time to save my Rachel," said Kind with
+a sigh. "Lor, what a go it will be if I lose her. She's been the sun
+and the moon to yours truly for years."
+
+Pope sniggered.
+
+"If you're in such a hurry," he said in an unkindly tone, "ask Mr.
+Herries to see your wife. Mr. Gowrie told me that he is a doctor, and
+he's on the spot."
+
+Elspeth's pale cheeks flamed, and she clasped her hands.
+
+"Oh!" she cried, passionately, "do you think the police would let him
+go and see Mrs. Kind."
+
+"Not much," snapped Pope and giggled. "He's got to see Old Ketch."
+
+"Young man," said Sweetlips sternly, "I've knocked down a cove for
+speaking more politely than you do. Not so much of it, do you hear?"
+
+Pope did hear, and being a rank coward, changed colour. After an
+uneasy attempt to assert his dignity, he was quelled by the
+Cheap-jack's stern eye, and moved away hurriedly in response to an
+imaginary call. Kind turned to Elspeth, who was thinking.
+
+"If them two doctors don't come," said he slowly, "an' the police
+won't let this chap, as is accused, see the missus, she's a deader."
+
+Elspeth covered her face for a moment and thought. "Where is your
+caravan?" she asked hurriedly.
+
+Sweetlips pointed a careless thumb over his right shoulder.
+
+"Just outside the village," he replied, "come, an' let us see the
+Inspector chap. He might listen to me, and let Mr. Herries come to see
+the poor missus."
+
+"I fear not, Sweetlips, you don't know the police."
+
+"Don't I, my girl," Kind gave a conscious laugh. "I know them better
+than I do myself, but quite in an honest way, mind you. I've been
+other things than a Cheap-jack in my time. But the missus, the
+missus," he said impatiently, "while I'm talking, she's dying. Come
+and see her, Elspeth."
+
+The girl stood irresolute. She thought of Mrs. Narby's temper, and of
+Mrs. Narby's heavy fist, of Herries upstairs in danger of his life,
+and finally of the poor woman dying in the caravan. Some angel passing
+must have whispered courage to her at the moment, for suddenly her
+cheeks flushed a brave red, her eyes sparkled, and her mouth grew
+firm.
+
+"I'll come," she said quickly, "but first tell me what you had to do
+with the police?"
+
+Kind hesitated, then lowered his lips to the level of her ear--
+
+"I was a detective once," he whispered, hoarsely. "Used to look after
+chaps like this Dr. Herries you talk of, and hang 'em if I could."
+
+"You beast," said Elspeth in low tones, drawing back. "Dr. Herries is
+quite innocent."
+
+"Then let him save the missus, and I'll save him."
+
+"Can you?" she asked, her breast heaving.
+
+"Yes, if he really and truly is innocent."
+
+"He is. I swear he is," she cried passionately. "Wait till I get my
+hat and shawl, and we'll see the Inspector, and afterwards go to Mrs.
+Kind."
+
+"Don't tell this police chap of my being a detective," said Kind, in
+an anxious tone. "I've cut that business; and if folks knew what I had
+been, they wouldn't come and buy things. All the patter in the world
+wouldn't help a Cheap-jack who had once hanged criminals."
+
+"You'll save this one, only he isn't a criminal," said Elspeth, and
+glided away up the stairs, while Kind boldly went towards the parlour
+and knocked. Mrs. Narby opened the door. Sweetlips Kind explained
+himself in a few minutes, and asked that the prisoner, guarded, of
+course, should be permitted to see Mrs. Kind.
+
+"Certainly not," said Trent, sternly, "the prisoner is in his bedroom,
+and there he must remain until he is lodged in gaol."
+
+"But my wife will die," said Kind, faintly.
+
+"I am sorry," replied Trent blandly and uneasily, for his own
+inclination was to permit the visit. "But I cannot exceed my powers."
+
+"Then you won't, sir?"
+
+"If you knew the police, my man, you wouldn't ask that."
+
+"I know the police for the biggest set of fools on earth," cried the
+Cheap-jack passionately. "You'll never hang this man, if I can clear
+his character. I'll save him to spite you, that would let my poor wife
+die, for your cursed red-tape business," and before the astonished
+Trent could express the indignation he felt, Kind was out of the inn,
+waiting in the foggy street for Elspeth. She joined him shortly in a
+state of intense excitement, and heard Kind's openly expressed wrath
+against Trent and his minions.
+
+"Then you'll help Mr. Herries," she said, squeezing his arm.
+
+"_Won't_ I, you bet, I just will," said Kind heartily. "Let us get the
+missus out of danger first, and I'll remember enough of my old
+business to hunt down the real murderer. Always provided," added the
+ex-detective cautiously, "that this man is innocent."
+
+"He is--he is. I'll tell you all about it as we walk to the caravan."
+
+"No, my dear," said Sweetlips gently, "until Rachel is safe, I can't
+think of anything else. Come quickly," he dragged her along into the
+fog, "she may be dead, poor soul. Come!" and the two figures vanished
+in the mist, which was thicker and darker and colder than ever.
+
+The Cheap-jack's evil star must have been in the ascendant at the
+moment, for twenty minutes after he had turned his back on the inn,
+Dr. James Browne of Tarhaven arrived, hotfooted. He came by train to
+the local station, a quarter of a mile distant, and had walked to the
+inn through the fogs. At once, he asked for his friend, and Inspector
+Trent was informed of the fact. He immediately terminated his
+examination of Mr. and Mrs. Narby--from whom he had learned nothing
+new--and had the new-comer shown into the stuffy parlour, to be
+questioned.
+
+"Your name?" demanded the Inspector, curtly official.
+
+"Dr. Browne. I have come from Tarhaven, and wish to see my friend, Mr.
+Herries, who is, I understand, accused of murder."
+
+"Who told you so?"
+
+Browne took a telegram from his breast-pocket, and passed it in
+silence to the officer. It was unsigned and contained but a few words,
+which were as follows: "Angus Herries accused of murder, Marsh Inn,
+Desleigh. Come immediately." When Trent read this, he laid it on the
+table, and scrutinised the doctor, carefully.
+
+Browne was short and stout, and imperative. His hair was red, so was
+his moustache, and short beard, and he had choleric blue eyes.
+Apparently he had a temper, but, recognising the majesty of the law,
+and knowing that it would be needful, for Herries' sake, to stand well
+with its representative, he kept himself in hand. Experience had
+taught him the necessity of being cool at critical moments, and the
+present was critical, if not for himself at least for his friend.
+
+"What do you know of this?" asked Trent, when he had taken in the
+exterior of his visitor.
+
+"As much as you see in that telegram," retorted Browne, pointing to
+the table. "I was a fellow-student of Mr. Herries in Edinburgh, and
+have not seen him for quite two years. I know him well enough to say
+that he is not guilty of murder."
+
+"The evidence is strongly against him."
+
+"Circumstantial evidence has hanged an innocent man before now."
+
+"It will not hang Mr. Herries if he can prove his innocence.
+By-the-way, did you see Dr. Harkness in the train?"
+
+"No. Why do you ask?"
+
+"I sent for him to come here, and examine the body. If he does not
+arrive soon, perhaps you will take his place."
+
+"Certainly, I'll do anything to help Herries."
+
+"I don't see how a post-mortem can help him," retorted Trent. "Sir
+Simon Tedder's throat has been cut."
+
+"Sir Simon Tedder!" Browne started, and looked dismayed.
+
+"You know him?"
+
+"Yes. He is Herries' uncle. I attended him at Tarhaven, where he has a
+house, for an attack of influenza, and tried to make peace between him
+and his nephew."
+
+"Ah!" Trent assumed an air of satisfaction, "then you know that the
+two had quarrelled?"
+
+"I see no reason to conceal the fact that I do know," snapped the
+doctor sharply. "But that was two years ago. Herries went to sea, and
+it is incredible that he should return to murder his uncle."
+
+"Yet you must admit that it is strange, uncle and nephew should both
+have been at this inn?"
+
+"I admit nothing, until I know the facts, Mr. Inspector."
+
+"Here they are. Between ourselves, doctor, I should like to save Mr.
+Herries, who seems to have had a hard time."
+
+"He has, poor soul."
+
+"But," added Trent, cautiously, "it will be difficult to save him in
+the face of the evidence."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+Inspector Trent detailed all that he had learned from the people of
+the inn, and from the prisoner himself. Dr. Browne, with his keen blue
+eyes fastened on the official, listened intently, weighing the
+evidence in silence. Only when Trent ended, did he speak, and then
+curtly.
+
+"You have captured the wrong man."
+
+"Indeed," said Trent sarcastically, "perhaps you can tell me the name
+of the right one."
+
+"Not being omniscient, I cannot. It is for you, Mr. Inspector, to
+learn the name of the man who passed through the tap-room at eight."
+
+"You accuse him?"
+
+"Of course. He is the assassin, and has implicated Herries by placing
+in his room, the razor, the key and the pocket-book. This unknown man
+must have been the one whom Sir Simon expected on the previous night."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Because, by your own showing, Sir Simon could not have known of his
+nephew's presence here. The unknown man did not arrive at the time he
+was expected, but when the inn was closed, he must either have been
+admitted by Sir Simon, and taken to the bedroom, or he must have got
+in by the window."
+
+"The window is on the first floor!"
+
+Browne cast a look upward at the low ceiling.
+
+"I don't think an active man would have any difficulty in climbing."
+
+"There is certainly some trellis work outside,
+against the window of the room Sir Simon occupied," said Trent half to
+himself, "but this is all theoretical."
+
+"So is the evidence against Herries."
+
+"Do you call a razor, a stained shirt, the dead man's pocket-book and
+the key of the dead man's room, theoretical?"
+
+"These things were placed in Herries' room by the assassin to
+implicate him in the crime," said Browne obstinately.
+
+"Why should the unknown man take that trouble?" argued Trent. "He
+could not have known that my prisoner was the nephew of Sir Simon, and
+it would have been easy for him to have left as he did, after--as you
+say--committing the crime, without taking the trouble to throw the
+blame on an innocent man. I don't see what the assassin gains by
+taking such trouble."
+
+"He provided for his own safety, in case his name was discovered."
+
+"But," went on the Inspector, "how do we know that this unknown man
+saw Sir Simon at all?"
+
+"The landlady's evidence makes that clear," replied Browne in a
+decisive way, "she saw him wearing the fur coat of the deceased."
+
+"It might have been the man's own. Fur coats are very much alike."
+
+"There I disagree with you. But presuming this to be the case, have
+you found the fur coat of Sir Simon in his room?"
+
+"No. The landlady searched and could not find it."
+
+"Then its disappearance proves what I say to be true," said Browne in
+a triumphant manner. "What happened is this. The assassin could not
+arrive at the appointed time, and Sir Simon retired to bed. Later the
+man came, and either obtained admittance through the front door opened
+by Sir Simon when all were in bed, or climbed up by the trellis to
+which you allude. The two had a talk and a quarrel, and the visitor
+cut the old man's throat. Then he waited until the morning. Knowing
+how his victim was to leave the inn, he boldly walked out, leaving
+strong evidence against Herries."
+
+"But why?" asked Trent, persistently.
+
+"Oh, I cannot tell you the motive for the commission of the crime, Mr.
+Inspector. You must learn that from the man who passed through the
+tap-room in Sir Simon's fur coat. And I think," added Browne shrewdly,
+"that you will learn, that the assassin implicated Herries to save
+himself, in the event of his being suspected."
+
+"I don't agree with you," said Trent, doggedly, and rose to show that
+the interview was at an end. "Herries is guilty."
+
+"I should have been surprised if you had agreed," retorted Browne.
+"Herries is innocent."
+
+"Question the man yourself then," snapped the Inspector, not in the
+best of tempers. "His suspicious behaviour and lame explanations will
+shake your belief."
+
+"Never," retorted the loyal friend, "I would as soon suspect myself as
+Herries, who is the best, as he is the most unfortunate, fellow in the
+world. What infernal luck he has had."
+
+Trent stiffened his erect figure, and still obstinate, strode out
+of the room, followed by Browne, who looked like a very pugnacious
+bull-terrier. The two proceeded up the narrow stairs, and into the
+passage leading to the two rooms, round which all interest in the
+little hostel centred, since one contained a corpse, and the other,
+the presumed criminal. Policemen guarded each door, and both of them
+reported to Trent, that everything was going well. Taking the key of
+Herries' room from his pocket, Trent opened the door, and entered
+abruptly, as though to catch the prisoner unawares. The room was
+naturally in darkness, as it was now late, and no candle had been
+allowed the suspected man, in case he should set the inn on fire.
+Trent expected to find darkness, but he did not expect to experience a
+chilly clammy feeling, as though he were without, and not within. To
+be plain the bedroom was filled with mist, and a sudden suspicion
+struck the officer.
+
+"Herries--Mr. Herries," he called, and when there was no reply,
+he turned towards Browne in the darkness of the passage. "Bring a
+light--bring a light."
+
+The constable who had guarded the door, more ready than his chief,
+instantly struck a match, and the blue glimmer served somewhat to
+dispel the gloom. As the lucifer flamed up, Trent darted into the
+room, with an oath, and a cry of rage.
+
+"The prisoner has escaped!" It was true. The window was open, the room
+was empty. As he had come out of the mist to that unfortunate inn, so
+had Herries vanished again behind the grey veil, which still hung over
+the marshes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+HUE AND CRY
+
+
+"Gone!" cried Trent, both enraged and amazed. "How did he escape?"
+
+"By the window," replied Dr. Browne, who was not ill-pleased to find
+the room empty, and he struck a second match to make certain, "yes! by
+the window."
+
+"Anyone can see that," retorted the officer, sorely annoyed, for the
+position of affairs reflected no credit on his brains. "Holl!
+Fairburn! What is the meaning of this?"
+
+The two policemen protested that they were not in fault. Fairburn, on
+guard at the door of the death-chamber, exonerated himself by pointing
+out that the corpse, which he had been set to watch, was still in the
+room, while Holl vehemently stated that he had heard no sound likely
+to lead him to believe in an intended escape.
+
+"I did not hear the window being opened," said Holl, decisively.
+
+"Why didn't you station a policeman under the window?" asked Browne,
+while the Inspector fretted and fumed, and wondered inwardly what the
+authorities would say to his negligence.
+
+"Two men--villagers, were posted there," he said angrily. "I'll see
+them at once."
+
+He ran hastily down the stairs, and out of the front door into the
+side garden, where the two men had been stationed. Finding no one
+there, he returned to the tap-room, and discovered the watchers busy
+with pots of beer.
+
+"Why are you not at your posts, men?" he asked in a loud domineering
+voice.
+
+"We got tired," said one bovine agriculturalist, explaining on behalf
+of himself and his friend, "and the damp was giving we the blamed
+rheumatics."
+
+"What the devil does that matter, you fools? You should have remained
+where I placed you."
+
+"You bean't our master," grumbled the spokesman, "and there weren't no
+money given to we."
+
+Trent stamped, but could not gainsay this speech. It was his own
+fault, as he recognised plainly enough, for it was his duty to have
+posted official guards.
+
+"How long have you been here?" he asked.
+
+"Twenty minutes to half an hour," said the yokel, drawing his sleeve
+across his mouth, as he set down an empty pewter. "Bill, here, and me
+'ull go back, if it be as you'll give we money."
+
+"You can save yourself the trouble," retorted Trent sharply, swinging
+round on his heel, "the prisoner has escaped."
+
+Immediately the tap-room was in commotion, and everyone rose in
+consternation. It was not pleasant to think that a murderer was at
+large and in the neighbourhood. Narby, from force of habit, felt for
+his revolver.
+
+"Guess he can't hev gone far," said he, in his nasal American way,
+"th' fog 'ud stop him."
+
+"The fog will save him, more like," said Dr. Browne, quickly. "He'll
+have time to get away before the mists lift. And I'm glad."
+
+"Oh, you are, mister, and for why, may I ask?"
+
+"Because the man is innocent."
+
+"Innercent," shrieked Mrs. Narby shrilly, "an' me findin' the
+pocket-book, and Narby the razor an' key. Wot's yer torkin' of,
+anyhow?"
+
+"Here!" cried Trent, impatiently, "while we chatter, the prisoner is
+escaping. Twenty pounds to the man who finds him."
+
+The yokels needed no further incentive to action. They made a rush for
+the door, and in a few minutes the lands surrounding the village were
+dotted with lanterns, each carried by a man eager to earn the reward.
+Trent remained behind to ask questions.
+
+"Did anyone see the prisoner?" he asked Holl.
+
+The constable saluted sulkily.
+
+"No, sir. You gave orders that no one was to disturb him, and locked
+the door yourself. That girl," he pointed to Elspeth, who was an
+attentive spectator, "came up to see him, and went on her knees at the
+very door itself, that I should let her in. I told her that I could
+not, and that even if I would, the door was locked."
+
+"Did she speak through the door?"
+
+"No, sir, but the prisoner must have heard her asking me to let her
+enter," returned Holl smartly; and having saluted was dismissed
+abruptly.
+
+"Now then," said Trent, beckoning Elspeth to approach, "why did you
+wish to see the prisoner?"
+
+The girl was quite ready with her reply.
+
+"To tell him, that according to his wish I had sent a message to his
+friend in Tarhaven."
+
+"Ah!" cried Browne, nodding his thanks, "that was me. _You_ sent the
+telegram."
+
+"Yes, sir. Mr. Herries said that you would help him."
+
+"I intend to do all I can, my girl, but matters look black against
+him. All the same he is innocent."
+
+"You had no right to send the telegram without telling me," said Trent
+to Elspeth in angry tones.
+
+"Mr. Herries was kind to me," she returned, steadily, "and I was quite
+right in returning his kindness!"
+
+"And Herries was within his rights in asking to see me," said Browne
+sharply. "The poor devil needs a friend, seeing how you have already
+judged him."
+
+"I do not judge him," said Trent, very irritated, "the jury will do
+that, Dr. Browne."
+
+"You'll have to catch your hare first, Mr. Inspector."
+
+Trent would have made an angry reply, and there is no knowing to what
+lengths the quarrel would have proceeded, only that Browne's attitude
+was so sturdy, and his blue eyes so unflinching in their gaze, that
+the Inspector thought it would be best to leave the fiery little
+doctor alone. He was as much in the right, as Trent himself was in the
+wrong. However, the Inspector was determined to vent his wrath on
+someone, and chose Elspeth, who remained in the room, with himself and
+Browne. Everyone else, even Mrs. Narby, was out hunting the miserable
+man, whom they insisted was guilty.
+
+"What do you know of this?" asked Trent. "Tell the truth!"
+
+"I never tell lies," replied the girl quietly. "I know nothing. I went
+up over an hour ago to inform Mr. Herries that I had sent the
+telegram, and the policeman, who has just gone out, would not allow me
+to see him. I then put on my cloak and hat, and came down to go with
+Sweetlips Kind to his caravan."
+
+"Why did you go there?"
+
+"To see his wife, who is dying. If you remember, Mr. Trent----"
+
+"Yes, yes," snapped the Inspector rather ashamed of himself, and
+addressed Browne. "A Cheap-jack came here over an hour ago asking that
+a doctor should be sent to his wife. Your friend Herries is a medical
+man, but of course I could not let him go, and there was no one else."
+
+"Is the woman very ill?" asked Browne, sharply.
+
+"She was, but she is better now," replied Elspeth, "I looked after
+her. It is not a matter of life and death, now."
+
+"In that case, I may as well see the corpse upstairs," said the
+doctor, briskly. "Will you come with me, Mr. Inspector?"
+
+Trent agreed, readily enough, as there was nothing else left for him
+to do. His men and the villagers were out hunting the mists for the
+escaped criminal, and it was useless for him to join in, since his
+presence was required in the death-chamber. He went upstairs with the
+doctor, and Elspeth was left alone. She heaved a sigh of relief when
+they departed, and sat down before the fire to snatch a few moments of
+quiet before her tyrant returned, and to think over the position of
+affairs.
+
+There could be no doubt that she loved this fugitive, for her heart
+ached to think of the peril he was in. The poor girl's life had been a
+hard one, and now at the age of twenty, there did not seem much chance
+of improvement. Overhearing somewhat of the story told by Herries to
+Gowrie, she thought that his bad luck was very much like her own.
+Since her cradle, she had been the victim of misfortune, and nothing
+had gone well with her. Yet, had Elspeth been better fed and better
+dressed, and loved as a girl of her age should be loved, she would
+undoubtedly have bloomed into a pretty damsel. But cares had aged her,
+and want of good food rendered her lean. If Herries was Jonah, she was
+Mrs. Jonah. As this quaint thought came into her mind, she smiled and
+blushed. Much as she would have liked to be Mrs. Jonah, there was
+small chance of her achieving her desire. The man she loved was a
+supposed criminal, flying from justice, and even had his case been
+less desperate, he could not marry her for lack of money. And again,
+even had he possessed money, he would not have made her his wife, as
+he was not in love with her, as she was with him. The future looked
+very dark to this poor Cinderella seated by the fire; and thinking of
+her sorrows, the tears ran down her cheeks, although she had plenty of
+pluck. But the most plucky person gives way at times.
+
+She was aroused from her musings by the entrance of Pope in a state of
+excitement. He carried a lantern, and was covered with mud, his face
+was red, and his eyes flashed brightly. Elspeth started up in alarm
+fearing the worst.
+
+"Have they caught him?" she asked, laying her hand on her breast to
+still the loud beating of her heart.
+
+"Not yet, but they soon will," said the poet. "Everyone is searching
+the marshes all around, and the lanterns are dancing like
+will-o'-the-wisps in the foggy air. I have tried to find him, but I
+cannot. Oh, I hope mother or father will, and then I'll have the
+twenty pounds to publish my poems."
+
+"Would you sell that poor man for twenty pounds, Pope?"
+
+"Why not, Elspeth, if he is guilty?"
+
+"But he is not," declared the girl, vehemently. "You and everyone else
+have made up your minds that Mr. Herries killed Sir Simon. I don't
+believe that he did, and I hope that he has escaped."
+
+"Then if he is innocent, Mr. Gowrie must be guilty."
+
+Elspeth rose angrily, and darting forward, shook the long shambling
+lad furiously.
+
+"How dare you say that?" she cried. "Why should Mr. Gowrie kill Sir
+Simon?"
+
+"Sir Simon had money," stuttered Pope, much ruffled, and backing
+before the small fury who faced him. "He slept in this room, and could
+easily have gone upstairs, when everyone was quiet, to kill Sir Simon.
+
+"He did nothing of the sort, Pope. I know Mr. Gowrie better than you
+do, and he is incapable of such wickedness."
+
+"It was Mr. Gowrie who brought you here, wasn't it, Elspeth?"
+
+"Yes," said the girl listlessly, and all the light died out of her
+eyes, "a year ago."
+
+"I was away at that time," chattered Pope setting down his lantern,
+and producing a cheap cigarette. "Mother placed me in an office; but I
+could not stand so sordid a life," he added with an affected shudder.
+"It was not the life for a poet, so I came back, and here I can write
+glorious verse."
+
+"So you think," said Elspeth, who had read Pope's productions, and
+thought very little of them. "But you would be much better earning
+your own bread and butter, than living on your mother."
+
+"They have brought a genius into the world, and it is their glorious
+duty to support him," said Pope grandiloquently. "When I am Poet
+Laureate, I'll make it up to them."
+
+Elspeth shrugged her spare shoulders and went resignedly about her
+work. It was impossible to make Pope think himself any other but the
+most famous poet in the world, and his conceit amounted to a positive
+mania. Even as Elspeth moved away, the young man commenced to mouth
+one of his bombastic poems, devoid of grammar or sense, and Elspeth
+felt inclined to stop her ears, so vile was the rhythm. This she did
+not do, having a vivid recollection of having suffered at Pope's
+hands, when she had once betrayed disgust. The poet was mild enough
+usually, but when his vanity was touched he grew positively dangerous,
+and went--as the saying goes--baresark. Knowing his eccentricities,
+Elspeth, therefore, paid no attention to the verses, but worked on
+quietly, while Pope, fancying himself a Homer at the least, walked up
+and down declaiming turgid blank verse. Finally, finding that Elspeth
+did not applaud, he stopped and looked at her spitefully.
+
+"Genius is wasted on you, Elspeth."
+
+"Entirely," she answered coolly. "Why didn't you wipe your boots
+before you come in, Pope. They are covered with red mud. You have been
+to the creek at the back of the house."
+
+"Why shouldn't I have gone there?"  asked Pope, with a snarl, and his
+freckled face grew red.
+
+"I don't think Mr. Herries would try to escape in that way."
+
+Pope cooled down, and re-lighted his cheap cigarette.
+
+"Well, he didn't go that way, although I hunted all along the banks,"
+he said. "Have you any idea of where he has gone, Elspeth?"
+
+"If I had, I shouldn't tell you, Pope."
+
+"You must, you are only my mother's servant."
+
+"That is not true, Pope," said the girl, but her eyes flashed angrily
+as she turned on him sharply. "Mr. Gowrie brought me here a year ago,
+and as he could not pay for his board and lodging he left me in pawn,
+so to speak, to your mother. I have been a drudge ever since."
+
+"Well, and what is a drudge but a servant," snapped Pope, cowering
+over the fire to warm his lean hands. "Is Mr. Gowrie any relation to
+you, Elspeth?"
+
+"Yes," she replied with an averted face, "don't ask questions."
+
+"I want to know what your last name is?"
+
+"Then you won't."
+
+"Does my mother know?"
+
+"She does not. She knows me as Elspeth, and that must content her, and
+you together. Why do you wish to know about me?"
+
+Pope leered at her, and his eyes flashed.
+
+"I thought that if you were washed that you might be pretty."
+
+"Well," said Elspeth, unmoved.
+
+"And that I might marry you."
+
+The girl flushed.
+
+"I would sooner kill myself," she cried in a spirited tone. "My life
+is hard enough, but marriage with you"--she shuddered and cast a look
+of loathing at this creature, who dared to present himself as her
+lover.
+
+"Oh, very well, miss," said Pope shrilly, his voice invariably grew
+shrill when he became angry, "I'll tell mother about you, and she'll
+make it hot for you. You piggish drudge," he raged, stamping up and
+down the tap-room, "you ugly cat--you nasty beast, I wouldn't marry
+you, if you were set with diamonds like--like----" he stopped,
+abruptly.
+
+"Like what?" inquired Elspeth sarcastically.
+
+"Like the king's crown," ended the poet lamely, and then his wrath
+died down, as suddenly as it had arisen. "I say, Elspeth, I didn't
+mean what I said. Make me a cup of tea! Do! Do! Do!"
+
+The creature was like a naughty child, and Elspeth made every
+allowance for his nerves. Quarrels of this sort were frequent between
+them, yet Pope in his own half-mad way was in love with Elspeth, and
+when things went awry with him, would always come to be comforted by
+her. This did not make her position any the more easy with Mrs. Narby,
+who was like a tigress with her cub, when Pope was in the question.
+Mean as was the inn, and lowly as was the position of herself and her
+husband, Mrs. Narby would have gone out of her mind with rage at the
+idea of her darling marrying Elspeth. That the girl was indubitably a
+lady, Mrs. Narby never recognised. She looked on Elspeth as a drudge,
+and would have broken her neck sooner than call her daughter-in-law.
+
+To keep Pope quiet, Elspeth made some tea, and the poet retired to his
+favourite settle, there to compose poetry. In a few moments Trent came
+down with Browne, and they went into the parlour. When the poet was
+busy with his verses, and abstractedly sipping the tea, Elspeth crept
+to the door of the parlour, and listened. She blushed at the idea of
+eavesdropping, but in the cause of Herries, she would have dared to do
+a deal more. Unlucky as the hunted man was, he had at least two
+friends, Dr. Browne, and Elspeth, who had no surname.
+
+"Until I make a proper examination I cannot be quite certain," she
+heard the doctor say, "but I think the old man was killed somewhere
+about twelve o'clock last night. Was no cry heard?"
+
+"None," replied Trent. "At least the landlady told me so. And, as the
+bed is covered with blood, I expect that he was attacked when he was
+asleep."
+
+"Probable enough," mused the doctor. "Well, Mr. Inspector, you had
+better get your doctor from Tarhaven, and have the body officially
+examined. I suppose the inquest will take place here?"
+
+"I think it will be best, doctor. I'll send to Sir Simon's house, and
+break the news to his daughter."
+
+"Let me go," urged Browne, "I know her well, and will be able to tell
+her the tragedy in a more gentle way than you would."
+
+"I am not exactly wanting in tact," said Trent annoyed, "and----"
+
+He stopped at hearing a shout outside the inn, and Elspeth had only
+time to glide away from the door and back to the tap-room, before the
+alert Inspector was at the front door. Just as he was about to open
+it, Mrs. Narby entered with a rush, hugging in her arms a bundle of
+cloth.
+
+"I've got it--I've got it," she shouted.
+
+"Got Herries?" asked Trent sharply.
+
+"The fur coat," shouted Mrs. Narby, who was red and perspiring, and
+threw down the coat on the floor. "See--the fur coat--sables, as I'm a
+living woman. That cove es parsed out wore it."
+
+"Sir Simon's coat," said Trent. "What do you think of this, doctor?"
+
+"Much the same as I did before," replied Browne, tartly. "The assassin
+wore this coat to facilitate his escape, and flung it away to prevent
+discovery!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+THE CARAVAN
+
+
+All search for the escaped criminal proved vain. Herries had vanished
+as completely as though the earth had swallowed him up, after the
+fashion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Apparently, he had noted the
+departure of the amateur guards from their post below the window, and
+had seized the chance of getting away unobserved. Certainly he did not
+know the neighbourhood and, in that treacherous marsh-land, ran every
+chance of missing his way in the fogs, to fall into some water-hole.
+But it was better--at least the accused man appeared to have thought
+so--to risk even so stifling a death, rather than face the more
+judicial and merciful one of the gallows. Herries had chosen to fall
+into the hands of God, who knew his innocence, rather than into the
+hands of man, who judged him guilty before trial.
+
+But be this as it may, it was certain that he was gone, for although
+every square inch of land in and around Desleigh village was minutely
+examined, nothing could be found likely to afford a clue to his
+hiding-place--perhaps to his grave. Many of the rustics returned to
+the "Marsh Inn" swearing that the man must be dead.
+
+"In them fogs, and with them dratted water-holes, and him knawing
+nothing," said the yokels, each and severally, "he be dead, surely."
+
+Trent did not agree with popular opinion.
+
+"Herries was half a sailor, and accustomed to fogs," he argued to
+Browne, "in some way he could take care of his skin, and would not run
+away to meet death."
+
+"He ran away to escape death," replied Browne dryly. "However, should
+he come to me, I shall certainly persuade him to surrender."
+
+"The man would be doubly a fool to come to you, and then give himself
+up," said the Inspector energetically.
+
+"Not if he is innocent."
+
+"His flight looks like innocence."
+
+Browne shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Herries evidently lost his head for the moment. When he thinks over
+things he will return to prove that he has nothing to do with the
+crime."
+
+"I doubt his being such a fool," said Trent gloomily. "You have no
+idea of his whereabouts, I suppose?" he ended anxiously.
+
+The irascible little man clenched his ready fists, and answered in a
+voice choked with anger.
+
+"I have been with you all the time, and I told you that I had not seen
+Herries for two years. How then can you ask me, of all people, where
+he has gone? Inspector Trent, are you a clever man, or a----?"
+
+"There! There!" interrupted the other, before the odious word could be
+pronounced. "I made a slight mistake."
+
+"Your mistakes, as you call them, may send Herries to the gallows."
+
+"We have to catch him first," retorted Trent snappishly, and the
+conversation ended for the time being.
+
+Decidedly the Inspector was in the wrong, and no amount of raging or
+arguing on his part would prove him to be right. He had failed to take
+proper precautions to guard the prisoner, and the bird had escaped the
+snare. Thinking again of the social importance of the victim, Trent
+cursed himself for having missed such a chance of improving his
+position. He knew well that the authorities would take no excuse, and
+at the moment, he could do nothing to repair his error. Herries was
+missing, and the whole police force would not be able to find him. Of
+course there might be a chance when the mists lifted, but the question
+was, when would they lift? Not for days perhaps, if the weather-wise
+rustics were to be believed, and thus Herries would have ample time to
+make his way to Pierside, or even into the jaws of the lion at
+Tarhaven, and get on board some outward-bound tramp. Once out of
+England, and Trent's chance of making a sensation, and of getting a
+rise in his salary, would be gone.
+
+He did the best that he could under the circumstances--that is, he
+left a policeman in charge of the cage whence the bird had flown, and
+stationed several in the village itself. The local constable, Armour,
+had not yet shown his face, and Trent was puzzled, as the man was
+bound, during the day, to come to Desleigh. But Armour was not
+visible, so the Inspector did what he could with the men he had
+brought from Tarhaven, judiciously disposing them about the place. It
+might be, he hopefully thought, that one of them might chance upon
+Herries wandering lost and miserable in the fogs. Then he placed the
+written depositions of Mrs. Narby and other witnesses in his pocket
+and started for Tarhaven. Before leaving the inn, however, he inquired
+if Browne was coming also.
+
+"No," said that gentleman shortly. "I shall stop here, and see that
+poor woman in the caravan."
+
+"Not your friend Herries then," asked Trent artfully.
+
+"If Herries returns, I'll send a wire to you at once."
+
+"I can't believe you."
+
+"That is both rude and unnecessary," retorted Browne, the veins
+swelling in his high forehead. "But I quite see that you cannot grasp
+my meaning. It is useless to explain. Good-day," and Browne turned on
+his heel sharply, leaving Trent furious at being thus addressed. The
+hide of your Jack-in-Office is extremely thin.
+
+Left behind, Dr. Browne turned his attention to a meal, after which he
+decided to visit the sick woman in the caravan. In spite of Mrs.
+Narby's masculine exterior, she was feminine enough to have an attack
+of nerves, owing to recent events. Dr. Browne won her gratitude, as
+much as she was able to spare, by prescribing for her, and as he
+announced his intention of stopping at the inn for the night, on the
+chance of meeting again with Herries, the landlady, before retiring to
+bed, gave him the stuffy parlour to eat in, the bedroom of Herries to
+sleep in, and ordered Elspeth to attend on him. Consequently Dr.
+Browne found himself devouring a badly cooked meal in the parlour
+somewhere about six o'clock, and within half an hour of Trent's
+departure.
+
+Elspeth waited on him, and cast furtive glances at him, as she was
+aware that he was her hero's friend, and indeed had heard the doctor
+champion the accused man. Browne, sensitive as a woman to occult
+influences, became aware that she wanted to speak to him, but feared
+to do so, by reason, as he thought, of shyness.
+
+"Well," he said abruptly, when she brought him a cup of coffee.
+
+"Yes, sir," said Elspeth, with a start.
+
+"You wish to speak to me."
+
+"I don't know why you----"
+
+"But I know. You have been watching me closely. You sent the telegram,
+and know that I am Herries' friend. You are his friend likewise, why I
+don't know, and you wish to speak about him."
+
+"I am his friend," said the girl steadily, "because he is the first
+human being who has been kind to me. There is nothing I would not do
+for him."
+
+"Save his life then," said Browne caustically.
+
+"I intend to," retorted Elspeth quickly.
+
+The doctor turned in his chair and looked at her keenly. She was not
+exactly pretty, but there was a delicate and fascinating air about
+her, which meant more than mere physical beauty. Elspeth had "a way
+with her," as the saying goes, and Browne, sensitive, as has been
+said, felt her influence at once.
+
+"Are you a lady masquerading as a servant?" he asked, bending his
+shaggy brows.
+
+"I am a drudge left in pawn by a relation," said the girl, simply.
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"A year ago, I came here with a relative. He had not enough to pay for
+his bed and board, and moreover, wanting to get to London, he did not
+wish to be encumbered with a girl. To settle his bill and get rid of
+me, he left me behind to be Mrs. Narby's servant. She pays me nothing,
+and I do all the work."
+
+"And how long is this slavery to last?"
+
+Elspeth made a gesture of despair.
+
+"I do not know. Until my relative makes sufficient money to take me
+away. I cannot go myself, as I have no money, and only these clothes I
+wear now. Here, at least, I have a bed and food, hard though the
+situation is, so I have made up my mind to stay."
+
+"Who is your relative?"
+
+"I decline to say, just now."
+
+"What is your name?"
+
+"Elspeth!"
+
+"A Scotch name. Elspeth what?"
+
+"I cannot tell you at present," said the girl haughtily.
+
+"Humph!" said Browne, quite puzzled, and also fascinated by this
+odd creature, who was a kind of Titania in domestic service. "You
+are a mystery. Well, it's none of my business. I have always kept
+clear of women, thank God, as they complicate life too much for a
+plain-thinking man. But Herries--what about him?"
+
+"He is innocent."
+
+"I know that, but how do you propose to prove his innocence?"
+
+"Sweetlips Kind can do that--so he says."
+
+"And who is Sweetlips Kind?"
+
+"A Cheap-jack, whom I know very well. He was a----" here Elspeth
+paused and looked hard at the red-faced doctor.
+
+"Go on. I am Herries' friend."
+
+"Well then, Sweetlips Kind was a detective, and says that he will try
+and find the real murderer."
+
+"Why should he take this trouble over Herries?"
+
+"For my sake, because I have been waiting on Mrs. Kind--poor Rachel."
+
+"And why should _you_ take the trouble?"
+
+Elspeth flushed.
+
+"Mr. Herries was kind to me," and she related the incident of the
+bucket.
+
+Browne hemmed and hawed.
+
+"I shall never understand the reason why women exaggerate," said he
+with a shrug, and finishing his coffee. "Herries only did what any man
+would do for a woman."
+
+"So far as this woman is concerned, no man ever did as much," said
+Elspeth dryly.
+
+"Hum! Hum. I say; you are educated."
+
+"Yes. I was at a very good girls' school eighteen months ago."
+
+"What is your age?"
+
+"Nineteen."
+
+"You might be fifty by the way you talk. Well then, you want to help
+Herries, and so do I. Between us, we may best that fool, Trent."
+
+"Sweetlips Kind will do that."
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"In the caravan, attending to Rachel."
+
+Browne rose quickly.
+
+"By the way, I nearly forgot that woman, and she needed immediate
+attention, judging from what you said. I----" he made as to move to
+the door. Elspeth intercepted him.
+
+"Not just now," she said hurriedly, "Rachel is better, and is now
+asleep. I attended to her."
+
+"Pooh, you are not a medical man. I must go, if only out of charity."
+
+What Elspeth would have said must remain a mystery, but she
+apparently was not anxious for the doctor to go on his errand of
+mercy. At all events she did not move away from the door. Just as she
+was about to speak, the door opened slightly, and a head topped by an
+ostrich-feather-trimmed bowler hat was thrust cautiously in.
+
+"Elspeth!"
+
+She turned at the cautious whisper, and opened the door wide.
+
+"Come in, Sweetlips. Dr. Browne was just thinking of seeing your
+wife."
+
+"Dr. Browne," repeated the Cheap-Jack, with a shrewd glance, "and who
+may he be?"
+
+"I am Mr. Herries' friend," explained Browne, rather taken with the
+man's lean, clever face. "He wanted me to come and help him."
+
+"He needs help," muttered Kind, rubbing his bristly chin. "He's in a
+hole if ever a man was."
+
+"Can you get him out of it?"
+
+"I," the Cheap-Jack feigned surprise, "pore cove like me?"
+
+"I told him you were a detective," put in Elspeth.
+
+"Oh my gal, and arter wot I said to----"
+
+"Pooh, pooh," broke in the little doctor good-humouredly, "what is the
+use of doing things by halves? We three want to help an innocent man,
+so it is just as well we should understand one another."
+
+"You are Mr. Herries' friend?" asked Kind, cautiously.
+
+"I'm sure he is," said Elspeth fervently.
+
+"Well then," Kind rolled his hat round and round in his large hands.
+"'Spose we get to business. If you mean well by the cove as is under
+suspicion, take me up to see the corpse's bedroom."
+
+"Why?" asked Browne, somewhat startled by this blunt request.
+
+"I want to have a look at the room, before the peelers disarrange
+things. If the cove in the fur-coat killed Sir Simon, he might have
+left some evidence behind him, which the police overlooked. Now,"
+added Kind, measuring Browne with a keen glance, "you've seen the
+corpse, I've heard, and can get into that room again, by saying as you
+want to do some doctor's work with me to assist. Once let me get in,
+and I'll look round."
+
+Browne made a cup of his hand for his chin, and pondered.
+
+"I can do it," he said at last in a brisk manner, "but will we not go
+and see your wife first?"
+
+"Not just now, Rachel's asleep."
+
+"Alone?"
+
+"In course," said Kind stolidly, "only me and she lives in the cart."
+
+"I'll go and see after her, while you search the bedroom," said
+Elspeth about to leave the room.
+
+"But your missus, my gal?"
+
+"She's in bed, and won't know. Pope will attend to the customers, and
+I'm too useful to him to be betrayed to his mother."
+
+This plan was agreed upon, and Elspeth with a shawl over her head
+slipped out of the inn, with a hasty excuse to Pope. Browne sought out
+the constable left in charge, who had the key of the death-chamber and
+madetapta his request. The man,--Fairburn it was,--knowing that Browne was
+in the confidence of his Inspector, as he thought, made no objection,
+and readily accompanied the two to the room. But he allowed them to
+enter alone, and thought that he was doing his duty by yawning at the
+door, looking up and down the dark passage in a listless manner. Kind
+carried the sole candle which the officer allowed to be taken into the
+room.
+
+The corpse lay quiet and rigid under the sheet, and the feeble candle
+light made the room look quite funereal. To keep up appearances, as
+Fairburn was casting occasional glances from the doorway, Browne
+turned back the sheet and examined the corpse, telling Kind to bring
+water, and towels, and various other things, so as to give him a
+chance of moving unsuspected round the chamber. In this way,
+Sweetlips, by using the keen eyesight with which Nature had endowed
+him, to say nothing of his clever brain, saw a great deal.
+
+"I'll open the window," he said aloud, and went to the dressing-table
+which was immediately before the casement. Here he remained for a
+little time, examining the position of the glass, and the table, both
+of which he noted had been moved. Then he moved round the room,
+apparently still under the doctor's orders to quell the suspicions of
+Fairburn, and when the constable was not looking, stooped to pick
+something off the floor. Near the bed was a small table covered with a
+red cloth, and on this were writing materials, which Kind also
+examined. Finally, he came to the bed, and looked at the corpse, at
+the crimsoned pillow and sheets, and at the heavy rep-curtain which
+draped the couch. A nudge told Browne that Sweetlips had seen all that
+he wished to see, and the two departed.
+
+"It's all right, constable," said Browne, giving the key to the man,
+who yawned on receiving it. "The regular doctor will come to-morrow,
+and you can tell him, if I am not here, that I have seen the corpse
+twice."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Fairburn saluting, and tramped down the passage after
+locking the door, still yawning. Kind was perfectly satisfied that the
+inattentive policeman had guessed nothing of the real reason for the
+visit to the death-chamber. He turned to Browne, who was holding the
+candle.
+
+"What of the room Herries slept in?" he asked in a low voice, and with
+more of the detective's peremptory manner than the Cheap-jack's
+careless ease.
+
+"It is mine to-night," replied the doctor, and opened the door of the
+ adjacent room. "Why do you wish to----?"
+
+"I might find something here also. Wait!"
+
+Taking the candle, he entered the room, and Browne, marvelling at the
+sudden assumption of authority by the man, waited in the passage. He
+was impressed by Kind's resolution, and careful handling of the
+situation, and began to think that here indeed was an ally worth
+having. Even the Cheap-jack's language had changed, and he spoke a
+tongue considerably removed from the slang vernacular which he
+affected as the proprietor of the caravan. When he came out, Browne,
+on fire with curiosity, asked him what discoveries he had made.
+
+"I've found much, but much remains to be found," said Kind, shaking
+his head. "When we reach the caravan, I'll tell you what I think. That
+is----?" he hesitated, looked anxiously at Browne's open face, and
+then abruptly descended the stairs. Elspeth was already in the
+tap-room, and apparently had just returned. On seeing Kind she glided
+up to him, and said something in a low voice. He nodded.
+
+"Rachel is awake," he remarked aloud, turning to the doctor, "'praps
+you'll come along and see her."
+
+"Willingly," answered Browne, starting with alacrity for the door, "so
+long as you'll help my friend, I'll do anything."
+
+"That's all right," said Kind meditatively, and refused to speak
+further. Nor did the doctor worry him with questions. The man seemed
+to be sunk in deep thought, and tramped along the muddy village
+street, apparently turning over his late discoveries,--whatever they
+might be--in his own mind.
+
+It was still misty, and the stars were veiled by the thick white fog,
+so that the night was as dark as the pit. But Kind seemed to know his
+way as well as a swallow flying south, and unhesitatingly steered the
+doctor down the street, and into the outskirts of the village. Here,
+in a sloppy meadow, stood the caravan,--at least Kind by a gesture
+intimated that it was there, for in the pitchy darkness Browne could
+see nothing. The Cheap-jack kept well alongside the fence, and began
+to whistle "Garryowen" in a lively manner. This was evidently a signal
+to warn his wife that he was approaching, so that she might not be
+scared by footsteps. Suddenly Kind turned abruptly away from the
+fence, and Browne, following close at his heels, almost ran his nose
+against the vehicle, which which was Kind's migratory home. It loomed
+up unexpectedly, blacker than the blackness, if that were possible,
+out of the fogs, and the doctor stumbled up the steps, which could be
+discerned by the thread of light which formed a brilliantly bright
+line at the foot of the door. When the door itself opened, which it
+did in response to a triple knock by the Cheap-jack, such a flood of
+light poured out into the foggy gloom, that Browne was dazzled for the
+moment. When he entered, blinking his eyes, and the door was closed,
+he glanced round the interior of the caravan, and his gaze rested
+first on the sick woman, who was lying in a narrow bed at one end.
+Then Browne looked at the person who had opened the door, and
+beheld--Angus Herries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+KIND'S OPINIONS
+
+
+"You!" cried the doctor, staggering back, and scarcely able to believe
+his eyes. "Good Lord, Herries!"
+
+"Yes! Herries," said the accused man, with a swift glance at the door
+to see that it was well-closed. "But don't speak too loud, my dear
+fellow, we never know what ears may be about."
+
+"Oh, we're safe enough here," remarked Kind, who was bending over his
+wife. "What with the mists, and the rain, and the cold, no one will
+venture out this night into so dismal a meadow. That peeler at the inn
+was half asleep when we came away."
+
+"You speak quite different to what you did," said Browne, puzzled.
+
+"I'm a detective for the time being," rejoined Kind, coolly, "and
+recall some of my decent lingo. When I'm a Cheap-jack again, I'll slip
+back into the Whitechapel vernacular. I've been an actor in my time,
+and know how to suit my language to my _rôle_ for the time being," and
+again he bent over his sleeping wife.
+
+"You here," muttered Browne taking Herries' hand, and devouring his
+thin, haggard face with his eyes, "I am glad, and yet----" he shook
+his head in a doubtful way, recalling his promise to Trent.
+
+"You think that I should not have run away?"
+
+"It looks like guilt, Herries."
+
+"What! Do you believe----?"
+
+"Would I take your hand, if I believed that you were guilty?"
+interrupted the doctor sharply. "That I am here, should show you that
+I have the most implicit confidence in your innocence."
+
+"Ah!" said Herries, rather sadly, "but you came to see Mrs. Kind."
+
+"And you wouldn't have come," put in Sweetlips over his shoulder, "if
+Elspeth had not whispered when we came out that Mr. Herries wanted to
+see you."
+
+"You can trust me," said Browne, rather huffily, "and in any case, I
+presume you would not have sacrificed your wife's life to save
+Herries' neck."
+
+"He has saved her," said Kind, looking at the young man with his heart
+in his honest eyes.
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Browne, coming to the bed-side and stooping
+over the woman, who seemed to be in a sound sleep.
+
+"Mr. Herries is a doctor. He came here, and sucked the stuff from her
+throat in the nick of time. But for his bravery, my poor Rachel would
+have been dead." Kind wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket,
+and again looked at Herries. "I'll give my life up to finding the man
+who killed your uncle, so that you may be saved."
+
+"Can you do that?" asked Herries sadly. "It seems to me that the
+evidence is so strong----"
+
+"So it is,--so it is. But I have been searching the death-chamber and
+your room at the inn. I have found other evidence which may be of
+value."
+
+"Oh!" Herries clenched his hands, eagerly, "what is it?"
+
+"One moment," interposed Browne, in a low voice, so as not to disturb
+the patient. "Let us do things in order. What about Mrs. Kind?"
+
+"She's all right, and will be much better when she wakes up," said
+Herries. "The stuff is out of her throat; it's a diphtheritic case."
+
+"What have you done?"
+
+Herries in an undertone rapidly gave details of his treatment, and the
+other doctor approved with nods.
+
+"She would have been dead, but for you," he said, emphatically. "But
+how did you manage to escape?"
+
+"Elspeth!" said Herries, and would have explained, but that Kind
+beckoned them to the far end of the caravan, near the door, and
+pointed to a couple of stools.
+
+"Let us talk low," murmured the ex-detective. "For after all, there
+may be spies about, and besides, I don't want Rachel disturbed."
+
+"Fancy telling that to medical men," laughed Browne, softly.
+
+Kind, relieved in his mind that Rachel's life was safe, smiled also,
+and placed two stools and an old chair close together. When the
+doctors were seated, he got out glasses, and a bottle of whisky, and
+the three had drinks, which, under the circumstances, they very much
+needed. While Kind was preparing his hospitality, Browne glanced round
+the narrow space of the caravan.
+
+It was oblong, with a high roof, and excellently fitted up, something
+after the style of a cabin at sea, that is, with a due regard to
+economy of space. The arched roof and deal walls were painted yellow.
+From the former dangled various articles of merchandise, such as Kind
+sold, and the latter were decorated with pictures cut from various
+papers, and pasted on the wood in every available corner. At one end
+was a door divided into two pieces, so that the upper or lower half
+could be opened at will. Facing this, and placed sideways was the bed,
+or rather the bunk, in which Rachel was sleeping. It was comfortable
+enough, and gay with red curtains. Against one wall was the leaf of a
+table fastened with iron rods, and the other wall supported a cupboard
+in which food was stored. Two hooks immediately above the heads of the
+trio, and near the door, showed that Kind slung a hammock for his own
+sleeping accommodation. The whole place was clean and neat, and Browne
+thought that many people were worse housed than these imitation
+gipsies. They followed the example of the Tartar tribes, and in their
+wheeled dwelling moved about from place to place, at home everywhere,
+and picking up their living in all quarters.
+
+"But," said Browne, thoughtfully sipping his whisky, "if anyone enters
+the caravan, Herries will be discovered."
+
+"We can hide him," said Kind, cunningly.
+
+"Where?" asked the doctor, staring round the confined space. "I don't
+see any hiding-place."
+
+"Nor does anyone else, or it wouldn't be a hiding-place. But we can
+trust you, doctor, and----" Kind stooped and gave a hard twist to one
+of the iron rods which supported the side table. At once the floor of
+the vehicle parted in the middle, and displayed an oblong, shallow
+space where a man, with some discomfort, could lie at full length. "I
+had that made," added the Cheap-jack, "after my own design. I haven't
+been in the detective force for nothing, and thought that it wouldn't
+be a bad idea to have a place where I could hide things from thieves.
+All my best goods were stowed there, but I shifted them when Mr.
+Herries came. While he was being hunted for, far and wide, he was
+lying there as snug as a pig."
+
+"Very ingenious," said Browne, while Kind closed the hiding-place in
+the same manner in which he had opened it, "but I don't know how
+Herries did come here?"
+
+"Elspeth saved me, bless her," said the young man, his blue eyes
+lighting up. "When she heard how ill Mrs. Kind was, and Trent refused
+to let me see her, even under escort, she came out and interviewed my
+friend here," he indicated the Cheap-jack, "and said that she would
+bring me. Then she returned to the inn, and went up to my room to----"
+
+"She didn't see you," interposed Browne, recalling the policeman's
+account of Elspeth weeping at his feet for admission.
+
+"No. That would have given her design away. She pretended to weep and
+knelt down to ask the policeman guarding the door to let her in. Then
+she slipped a note under the door, and went away without suspicion.
+The note said that the two rustics on guard under the window would
+be taken away in half an hour--that I was to drop from the window,
+and go to the fence. There Kind would be waiting to guide me to a
+hiding-place. I expect Elspeth got the two watchers to go into the
+tap-room by promising them drink. When the coast was clear, I opened
+the window softly and dropped. Kind was at the fence, and grasping my
+hand hurried me away in the mist to this place. Here, I first attended
+to Mrs. Kind, and----"
+
+"And saved her life," said the Cheap-jack bursting with gratitude. "He
+sucked the stuff from her throat, doctor. Then I hid him under the
+floor, having first shifted the goods. He came out to see that Rachel
+was getting along all right, and I whistled 'Garryowen' to let him
+know I was coming with you."
+
+"How did you know that I was coming?" Browne asked Herries.
+
+"Elspeth came here to ask me if I would like to see you," explained the
+young man. "Of course I did, as I knew that I could trust you. Then
+she went back, and told Kind, and----"
+
+"Oh, that was what she whispered to you in the tap-room," said the
+doctor, glancing at the Cheap-jack. "H'm! Well, I suppose you may
+trust me, Herries. All the same, I told Trent that if I chanced on you
+I would persuade you to give yourself up and send a wire telling him
+that you had done so."
+
+"Browne, would you betray me?"
+
+"No, of course I wouldn't," snapped the doctor, savagely. "All the
+same, this running away will not do you any good."
+
+"Browne," said Herries, much agitated, "if I had stopped, I would have
+been condemned on the evidence which Trent discovered. That man will
+never let me have a fair trial. He is dead against me."
+
+"Because he can't see further than his nose," retorted the doctor. "He
+is sorry for you in a way, but he seems to have made up his mind that
+you are guilty."
+
+"And that being the case, how can I hope to get free?"
+
+"You can prove----"
+
+"I can prove nothing," interrupted Herries despairingly. "I was in the
+next room, and my uncle was murdered. The razor, the pocket-book and
+the key of Sir Simon's bedroom were in my possession, and stains of
+blood were on my shirt sleeve. In the face of such evidence, how can I
+prove my innocence? I have nothing but my bare word."
+
+"But cannot anyone give evidence in your favour?"
+
+"Michael Gowrie might."
+
+"Humph. I hear that the old scoundrel was at the 'Marsh Inn.' Trent
+told me. I remember him in Edinburgh ages ago. I wonder if he----"
+
+"No," said Herries, emphatically, "Gowrie is an old scamp, but he
+would not commit a crime."
+
+"Well, I don't know. It seems that Sir Simon brought some money with
+him in gold and notes. Gowrie was always a money-grubber."
+
+"Yes, but even he would not have the nerve to cut a man's throat and
+then incriminate me, who had done him no harm."
+
+"A man will do much to get money and to save himself," said the doctor
+sententiously. "What do you think Mr. Kind?"
+
+The Cheap-jack who had been in a brown study, woke up at the direct
+question.
+
+"I have never met the man you call Gowrie," he said, after a
+thoughtful pause, "but he is as innocent as Mr. Herries here."
+
+"How can you be sure of that?"
+
+"Because, from what I discovered in the death-room, I am sure that Sir
+Simon was murdered by the man who passed out in his fur coat, and who
+masqueraded as him to get away."
+
+"What did you discover?" asked Herries, quickly.
+
+"Several things. The window was open----"
+
+"Mrs. Narby might have done that, to air the room," said Herries.
+
+"People don't generally air the room, with a dead body within it,"
+said Kind dryly, "and certainly a close-fisted woman like Mrs. Narby
+would not risk her furniture being spoilt by the incoming mist. No!
+that window was opened by the man who climbed up to murder Sir Simon,
+and as the dressing-table was before it, no one looked until I did."
+
+"How do you know that a man climbed up?"
+
+"How else did the man who escaped in the fur coat--the true
+assassin--enter?" questioned Kind, sharply.
+
+"Sir Simon expected him. He might have gone down to the front door of
+the inn, and let him enter, after all were in bed."
+
+"No. Sir Simon had his own reasons for keeping the appointment with
+this man dark, and knew also that this man Gowrie--as I learned from
+Trent--slept in the tap-room. To have admitted his friend in that way,
+would have aroused the suspicions of Gowrie, and there might have been
+trouble."
+
+"Gowrie might have seen the admission of the stranger, and have been
+bribed to go away," suggested the doctor, who still held to the belief
+that his old tutor was implicated in some way.
+
+"No," said Kind again, "and I'll tell you why. I found a red silk
+handkerchief pinned across the window of Sir Simon's bedroom."
+
+"As a sort of signal. Eh?"
+
+"Yes. From what I have gathered, this is what happened. Sir Simon came
+to the 'Marsh Inn' from Tarhaven to meet someone, who was blackmailing
+him."
+
+"But, Kind," said Herries, quickly, "I knew very little of my uncle
+and did not get on well with him, but he was an honest man, and not
+the kind of person to be blackmailed."
+
+"And I, who knew Sir Simon intimately, as his doctor," added Browne,
+"can add my protest to that assumption. Sir Simon was a
+straightforward man, if a trifle close-fisted. He certainly would not
+lay himself open to blackmail."
+
+"Sir Simon was a millionaire," said Kind in his driest manner, "and
+those sort of people do not invariably make their money honestly."
+
+"My uncle was perfectly honest," insisted Herries resolutely.
+
+"I admire you for sticking up for him," said Kind, sarcastically,
+"especially as he was so hard on you, Mr. Herries. All the same, if it
+was not a case of blackmail, why didn't Sir Simon see this man at his
+own house? Why should he come to a lonely little inn with a large sum
+of money? Why should he be so anxious to see this stranger, that
+having retired he placed a red handkerchief in the window, and put a
+candle behind it by way of a signal? Answer me these questions."
+
+"It _does_ seem strange," muttered Browne, thoughtfully.
+
+"So strange that there can only be one explanation," retorted the
+Cheap-jack decisively. "This man, whomsoever he was, could not get to
+the inn at the appointed time, which was eight o'clock. He came very
+late, before twelve in fact----"
+
+"Why not after twelve?" asked Herries.
+
+"Because, as Dr. Browne here will tell you, the millionaire was
+murdered somewhere about midnight."
+
+"I cannot be quite sure," put in Browne hastily. "I made only a
+superficial examination of the body."
+
+"Well, we'll say midnight, as you cannot be very far out of your
+reckoning."
+
+"I certainly think that either at midnight, or shortly afterwards, Sir
+Simon was killed."
+
+"Then that fixes the time. The stranger must have arrived before
+midnight, as the pair might have had a talk before the murder."
+
+"No," said Browne, quickly, "Sir Simon was, I think, from the orderly
+way in which the bedclothes were placed, murdered in his sleep."
+
+"Good," said Kind quite unruffled, "let us say that. The man climbed
+up to the window, which was left open by Sir Simon with the signal of
+the red handkerchief, and killed the millionaire."
+
+"There is no difficulty about climbing," said Herries thoughtfully,
+"for when Mrs. Narby found that the door was locked she insisted that
+Elspeth should climb up the trellis-work."
+
+"Ah," said Kind with satisfaction, "that makes the mode of entry more
+certain. I have not seen the trellis-work, as I have not visited the
+inn for more than nine months. Mrs. Narby must have had it put up
+later. But the man must have been a light, active fellow to climb up
+so slight a ladder. He got in at the window, for the table was moved
+aside, as if to let him enter,--perhaps by Sir Simon, unless he was
+asleep."
+
+"But why couldn't Sir Simon go to the downstairs front door?"
+
+"I told you," said the Cheap-jack with a gesture of impatience. "He
+wanted to keep the man's visit dark, and knew that Gowrie was in the
+tap-room. Of course all this is theory, but to-morrow I'll examine the
+trellis-work, and if I find it broken, for the lightest and most
+active man might break parts of it, I'll be certain that my theory is
+absolutely true."
+
+"We'll take it as true," said Browne, "well?"
+
+"Well," echoed Kind, reflectively, "the stranger enters, and finds, as
+you say, Sir Simon asleep. He sees the money on the table, or perhaps
+guesses that it is in the pocket-book."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"I found a table with writing materials near the bed," said Kind, "and
+several sheets of paper had been used, as some were torn up. Sir Simon
+had been making calculations. I know that, because some of the torn
+pieces had figures on them. Sir Simon evidently was trying to
+calculate how much or how little he could give his blackmailing
+friend. The man, however, saw the gold, and at once made for it. Sir
+Simon woke, and would have made an outcry. But the stranger seeing him
+awake does not give him time to cry out, but cuts his throat at once."
+
+"How could the stranger see in the dark?" asked Browne, sarcastically.
+
+"You forget," said Kind gravely, "that the candle was on the
+dressing-table. Sir Simon left it there, lighted, to shine through the
+red handkerchief, else what was the use of the handkerchief at all?"
+
+"Yes, yes, I see that," said Herries, eagerly, "go on."
+
+"The deed being done, the stranger waits in the room until daybreak,
+and then, knowing how Sir Simon was to leave the inn, put on the dead
+man's fur coat and boldly walked out with his plunder."
+
+"Why didn't he escape again by the window?"
+
+"Ah, that is one of the things which I wish to find out."
+
+"And what about the incrimination of Herries?" asked the doctor,
+sceptically.
+
+"Do you smoke cigarettes?" asked the Cheap-jack, turning suddenly on
+Herries.
+
+"Yes,--sometimes."
+
+"Did you smoke one at the inn?"
+
+"No. I haven't had a cigarette in my lips for quite three months. I
+hadn't the money to buy them, and so took to a pipe. Why?"
+
+"Then the man who murdered Sir Simon entered the room--your room--to
+incriminate you. After emptying the pocket-book, he took that and the
+razor into your room. You were sound asleep, worn out, as I was told
+by Elspeth----"
+
+"That's quite true, and old Gowrie gave me a glass of toddy to make me
+sleep the sounder."
+
+"Oh," said Kind in a peculiar tone, and considered; after a time he
+went on, but did not say why he had made the exclamation. "Well, then,
+the murderer smeared your shirt sleeve, and left the razor on the bed,
+and the pocket-book under it. Then he retired to the death-room and
+waited till dawn. When ready to go, he locked the door of the room in
+which the dead man lay, and put the key in your room."
+
+"But how do you know that he was in my room at all?" asked Herries,
+somewhat annoyed by all this theory.
+
+Kind asked another question.
+
+"Did Sir Simon smoke?"
+
+"No," said Browne, "he never smoked in his life."
+
+"In that case," Kind fished out the stump of a cigarette, "what do you
+make of that? I found it in your room, Mr. Herries."
+
+The young man took the cigarette, which was burnt down half way, and
+examined it carefully. Then he smelt it.
+
+"Periquette tobacco?" said he thoughtfully, "comes from France,--from
+Algiers,--from----"
+
+"Tangiers," interposed Kind, taking the cigarette, "see,--this
+cigarette is marked 'Tangerian.' I have never seen one like that in
+England. It might have come from France, or from Algiers or Tangiers,
+but one thing we can be certain of, that the murderer came from
+foreign parts only a short time ago. A man doesn't keep cigarettes for
+months, unless he has a large quantity. The murderer may have had a
+quantity, but the chances are that he hadn't. In fact," Kind leaned
+back with the air of a man, who has made up his mind, "I believe that
+the man came from a ship and was a sailor, else why should he have
+displayed such activity in climbing up to a window."
+
+"It's all theory," said Browne, shaking his head disconsolately.
+
+"The cigarette isn't."
+
+"No. All the same, I don't see how you are going to find this man."
+
+"That must be your task, doctor."
+
+"Mine?" Browne jumped up.
+
+"Yes. Mr. Herries must stop here for the present. Later, when I have
+found the man, he can give himself up. You, doctor, know Miss Maud
+Tedder, the daughter of the deceased?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then go and see her at Tarhaven. Ask her questions, for in Sir
+Simon's past life will be found the reason for his murder."
+
+"But if it was blackmail, and I am bound to say that it looks like
+it,--and if the meeting was kept secret, I don't see what Miss Tedder
+will know."
+
+"Ah, I must leave the hunting of the man to your cleverness," said
+Kind. "You have the entry of the house at Tarhaven and can prosecute
+your enquiries without suspicion. I can't do that, but while you are
+working at Tarhaven, I'll search round here, and I daresay I'll learn
+something worth knowing."
+
+Browne nodded.
+
+"I'll do my best," he said. "I'll call and see Miss Tedder to-morrow,
+and question her."
+
+"And tell her," said Herries in a low voice, "that the man who loved
+her is in danger."
+
+"I daresay she'll know that to-night from Trent," said Browne calmly.
+"Do you love her now, Herries?"
+
+"No. She treated me very badly."
+
+"Just what a girl like that would do. She has no heart; she is a penny
+doll, full of whims and fancies, with a passion for rank and fine
+clothes. Humph! She'll be able to indulge now, as she will undoubtedly
+have something like fifty thousand a year. But perhaps, for the sake
+of auld lang syne," he added clapping his friend on the shoulder, "she
+may spend some of the money in saving you."
+
+"I'll do that," said Kind sharply, and with a glance in the direction
+of his still sleeping wife. "Nothing I can do is too much for the man
+who gave me back my Rachel."
+
+"You will stay here, of course?" Browne asked Herries, looking at the
+floor, where the hiding-place was concealed.
+
+"Yes. I am guided by Kind, who thinks it best."
+
+"Meantime, I do," said the Cheap-jack, "later, when we are sure of our
+ground, you can give yourself up. But to surrender now, would be to
+put a rope round your neck. Trent is a blundering ass."
+
+"I quite agree with you," said Browne heartily. "Well, good-bye,
+Herries, I must return to the inn, and to-morrow, I'll see Miss Tedder
+at Tarhaven. And Gowrie?"
+
+"I'll find him," said Kind, quickly, "he certainly may be able to
+help, and he will too. Elspeth will make him!"
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"Elspeth said that she was Gowrie's daughter," said Kind briefly. "The
+man is unknown to me, but Elspeth will find him."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+MISS MAUD TEDDER
+
+
+Tarhaven, as everyone knows, is a town of recent origin. As it is
+within a reasonable distance of the metropolis, and the railway fares
+are not too high, trippers come down every bank-holiday to the number
+of thousands. Likewise, owing to the facilities for reaching London,
+many clerks and business men make their abode there, and the town,
+thanks to improved locomotion, may be called a suburb of the great
+city. And as the streets of Tarhaven are wide, and the houses
+comfortable, and there is always plenty of amusement, the place is
+invariably full of people. There is a floating, as well as a resident
+population, of no small number, consequently Tarhaven is able to rank
+as a seaside resort along with Brighton, Bournemouth, and Scarborough.
+
+On the outskirts of the modern town, Sir Simon Tedder had built a
+palatial mansion, or rather he had added largely to the ancient
+manor-house, which he had purchased from a decayed family, who were
+lords of the place long before Tarhaven sprang into notoriety. The
+town itself grew out of the nucleus of a tiny fishing village below
+the cliffs, and now spread out far into the country, pushing back the
+woods, swallowing up the villages, and turning old highways into
+modern streets with smart shops. The "Moated Hall," Sir Simon kept to
+the ancient name, because there really was a moat, although the same
+was devoid of water, stood on a slight eminence, one mile from
+Tarhaven, in the middle of a well-wooded park, and was as shut in from
+the world as was the palace of the Sleeping Beauty. Restored and added
+to by an artist, the place maintained its old-world air, and resembled
+one of those delightful houses which appear in the middle pages of
+"Country Life." When Dr. Browne entered the grounds through the
+scrolled gilt iron gates, and proceeded up the ancient avenue between
+elms and oaks, and beech-trees and ash-trees, he emerged into the wide
+space in the centre of which, elevated on its mound, rose the antique
+fabric of warm-hued red brick. He acknowledged that it was hard on the
+owner of such magnificence to meet his death in an obscure inn. Sir
+Simon had sprung from nothing, and by his own unaided endeavours had
+attained to this splendour, only--as it would seem,--to finally depart
+this life, in the mire, out of which he had crawled.
+
+"And who knows by what questionable means," mused Browne, as he
+mounted the shallow steps which led to the terrace, and strolled
+leisurely towards the huge iron-bound door. "There may be something in
+Kind's blackmailing idea after all. Pound added to pound in the
+orthodox way would not have bought this fairy palace. Who knows
+through what dark and miry ways Sir Simon walked to arrive at such a
+goal. Well," he pulled the bell, "if the mystery of his death is to be
+solved, we will have to grope in those same ways."
+
+A stately footman, who looked like a disguised bishop, admitted the
+doctor into a large and lofty hall paved with black and white tiles,
+and surrounded with marble copies of celebrated statues. Directly
+before the visitor, on entering the door, rose the antique staircase,
+wide and with shallow steps, splendidly carpeted. On the first
+landing was a huge window of stained glass blazing with crests,
+resplendent,--to use Keats' gorgeous image,--as the wings of a
+tiger-moth. The light filtering through this made a kind of coloured
+ecclesiastical twilight, and accentuated the severe beauty of the
+architecture. But Browne did not linger here long as he knew the place
+well and was more anxious to see the daughter of the house than the
+house itself. The stately footman conducted him to the drawing-room, a
+long, wide, lofty apartment, crowded with expensive furniture, and
+here he remained, while the man went to tell his mistress that her
+visitor was waiting. As the servant was departing, Browne stopped him
+with a word.
+
+"Parker," he said, looking directly at the man, "I suppose Miss Tedder
+knows of this terrible affair."
+
+"Meaning Sir Simon's murder? Yes, sir, she does, sir, and has been
+taking on awful. I doubt if she'll see you, sir."
+
+"Tell her that it is absolutely necessary that I should see her."
+
+Parker bowed his powdered head in a Jovian manner, and made his exit,
+while Browne walked up and down the magnificent room, wondering how he
+could begin a very difficult conversation. He could scarcely put the
+theory of blackmail as crudely as Kind had done, and it was not
+probable that the girl herself would suggest such a motive for the
+murder. Maud Tedder, as Browne knew, was not a thoughtful young lady,
+and he was quite prepared for a scene. He half regretted that he had
+not asked to see Mrs. Mountford, the girl's former governess and
+present chaperon, who was a gloomy, self-possessed female given to
+pessimism, but always perfect mistress of her emotions. However, he
+had no time to consider what should be his first move in this,--so to
+speak,--game of chess, for almost at once, the door flew open
+impetuously, and Maud Tedder ran into the room with outstretched
+hands.
+
+"Oh! doctor, doctor," she cried, emotionally, "I am so glad you have
+come. I do want someone to talk to about poor papa's death. If you
+hadn't come, I should have sent for you,--I should indeed but now that
+you are here," she dragged him to a Louis Quinze sofa, all carving and
+brocade, "we can talk over everything, freely."
+
+"Hasn't Mrs. Mountford----?"
+
+"No, Mrs. Mountford hasn't," interrupted the girl, producing a flimsy
+lace handkerchief, which was more for show than for use. "She does
+nothing but groan. Poor papa dead, oh," she shuddered, "isn't it
+too awful for words? Inspector Trent,--a horrid stiff thing, I
+think,--came last night and told me. I wondered that papa hadn't come
+home, and I fancied that something might have happened, but I never,
+never, never," she was emphatic, "never dreamt that anything so
+terrible as murder had taken place."
+
+So she ran on, not allowing Browne to get a word in edgeways. He sat
+looking at her while she chattered, and acknowledged that although
+this feminine butterfly was extremely pretty, she was scarcely the
+girl to gain the love of a serious-minded young fellow such as he knew
+his old school-friend to be. Maud Tedder was slight and fair-haired
+and delicate, and resembled nothing so much as one of those
+Dresden-china shepherdess ornaments, which are dear to china-maniacs.
+Her complexion was pink and white, her features insignificant, her
+hair insipidly golden, and her eyes pale blue. A very pretty doll to
+come out of a bonbon box, but scarcely the daughter for stern-faced,
+grasping, bullying Sir Simon Tedder, who had won his wealth and
+knighthood by sheer brain-strength.
+
+"What is to be done?" asked Browne, when she gave him a chance of
+asking a question.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Trent said that the inquest would take place to-morrow at the
+'Marsh Inn.' Then poor papa will be buried, and the lawyer--Mr. Ritson
+you know--will tell me what I am to do with the money. As soon as
+everything is settled, I shall go away to Switzerland with Mrs.
+Mountford, and stop there for a few months. I'm a foolish little thing
+and never know what to do, but it seems that I must act in this way.
+Poor papa," and she wiped her eyes with the flimsy handkerchief, and
+shivered.
+
+Browne was surprised at the sensible way in which she talked, and the
+cut and dried programme she had sketched out. He would not have
+credited her with such foresight, as Miss Tedder decidedly took after
+her mother, a frail, brainless beauty of old descent, who had died
+three year previously. But perhaps she had more of her father's brains
+than he had believed, and now that she was in a position to use them,
+had summoned them to her aid. The programme was sufficiently
+reasonable, but Browne noted that she did not say a word about the
+accused man, and with him she had been supposed to be in love over two
+years ago, before he had taken to the sea. At once, Browne, who was
+nothing if not blunt, reminded her of this oversight in his gruff way.
+
+"What about your cousin?"
+
+Maud gave a little scream, and flung herself back into an angle of the
+sofa to cover her eyes with the handkerchief.
+
+"Angus, oh, don't talk about that wretch," she said sobbing, "that he
+should have killed poor papa; it's too terrible."
+
+"He did not kill him," said Browne, rather disgusted by the speech.
+She seemed to judge him without evidence.
+
+"But he is," said Maud sitting up, and flushing a violent red, "I'm
+sure I wish he wasn't, as he really was a nice boy, and I liked him
+very much two years ago. Inspector Trent told me that the razor----"
+
+"I know all about that," interrupted the doctor quickly, "the evidence
+is against Herries. All the same he is innocent."
+
+"I'm sure I hope so. It would be so horrid to have a cousin hanged for
+murder. I don't know that Bruce would marry me if that took place."
+
+"Bruce! Who is Bruce?"
+
+"I thought you had met him," said Miss Tedder, opening her pale blue
+eyes to their widest extent. "Captain Bruce Kyles, who was such a
+great friend of papa's."
+
+"Oh yes," Browne suddenly remembered, "that was the fellow who
+commanded a war-ship belonging to one of those tin-pot South American
+Republics.
+
+"He is an officer in the Indiana Navy, replied Maud, much offended.
+
+"So I believe," rejoined Browne, not at all disturbed. "That shabby
+little Republic down Patagonia way. They've got about five second and
+third-rate ships, I believe, and the Germans propose to wipe them out,
+or annex them."
+
+"I don't know why you should talk of the Indiana Republic as 'them,'
+doctor. It's an 'it' and the Germans won't annex it. Bruce has come
+home to get more war-ships, and papa intended to do business with
+him."
+
+"Did papa intend you should marry him?" asked Browne shrewdly.
+
+Miss Tedder drew up her small person to its full height, which was not
+much.
+
+"I don't know why you should be so familiar, doctor. Of course I look
+on you as a friend, as papa did. All the same, we are not such friends
+as to warrant you----"
+
+"I see, I see," broke in the medical man impatiently. "I am less a
+friend than a doctor: yet I thought that your greeting was a warm
+one, and so perhaps have trespassed unduly. I beg your pardon.
+Sir Simon," he emphasised the title, "approved of your marrying
+this--this--Captain Kyles?
+
+"Oh yes. He saw that I loved him, and Bruce comes of a very old Scotch
+family,--quite as good as our own"--the doctor suppressed a smile.
+"Bruce has rank in Indiana, and some day he might become the President
+of the Republic. Papa intended to announce our engagement shortly, but
+now he is dead and----" she began to sob again.
+
+"Humph! You love this man?"
+
+"With all my heart, although I don't see why you should ask me."
+
+"I beg your pardon once more," said Browne dryly, "but I am the most
+intimate friend of Angus Herries, who is in dire peril, and I
+understood that you loved him."
+
+Miss Tedder let fall her handkerchief to accentuate her denial with
+hard, indignant eyes.
+
+"I never, never did," she said almost shrilly. "Of course I met him in
+Edinburgh, and thought he was good-looking, over two years ago; then
+he was my cousin, and clever. But papa did not approve, and Angus was
+poor, so I----"
+
+"Obeyed your father and threw him over. Eh?"
+
+"It was only a girlish fancy, doctor. I love Bruce, and Bruce is the
+man I intend to marry."
+
+"So as to be Madame la President, I suppose. Well, with your fifty
+thousand a year, I have no doubt that Captain Kyles will be able to
+buy your Republic right out. However, this is none of my business."
+
+"I should think not," said Maud, who looked cross.
+
+"But the peril of Herries is my business. He has escaped, but may be
+captured at any moment. What do you intend to do?"
+
+"Offer one hundred pounds reward!"
+
+Browne jumped up.
+
+"For his capture?"
+
+"Oh!" Maud stuck her fingers in her ears, "I wish you wouldn't shout
+when I'm in such grief. Inspector Trent advised me to offer----"
+
+"One hundred pounds. I wonder he didn't suggest a thousand, as no
+doubt he hopes that the money will go into his pocket. But surely you
+don't want your cousin hanged?"
+
+"No,--of course I don't. But if he is guilty----"
+
+"He is not, I tell you."
+
+"Then who killed papa?"
+
+"A man with whom Sir Simon had an appointment at the 'Marsh Inn,' on
+the night of his death. Listen," and Browne detailed all that he had
+learned, suppressing certain facts that bore on the escape of Herries.
+Seeing that Maud believed her cousin guilty and was in close
+communication with Trent, it would not do to place the safety of
+Herries in her untrustworthy hands.
+
+"Oh! I do hope that what you say is true, and that Angus is not a
+murderer," cried Maud clasping her hands.
+
+"Would I tell a lie?" asked the doctor angrily.
+
+"No. But then you are such a friend of my cousin's that you might
+colour the thing a little."
+
+"And you, who loved the man, who are a relative of the man, ought to
+colour likewise. Instead of that, you offer a reward to hang him."
+
+Terrified by the good doctor's vehemence, Maud broke down sobbing----
+
+"I am sure I want to do what is right," she cried, from behind the
+flimsy handkerchief. "No one would be better pleased than I to think
+that Angus was guiltless."
+
+"You ought to clear his character, and marry him."
+
+"Marry him." Maud's handkerchief dropped in amazement.
+
+"Yes. He is your cousin, and should share in this wealth, which is too
+much for you alone. And then he would make you a much better husband
+than this man Kyles, who comes from no one knows where, and is a rank
+adventurer, if ever I saw one."
+
+"You had better not let Bruce hear you say that," threatened Maud. "He
+is in the house now, With Mrs. Mountford."
+
+"Ah, where the carcass is, there the vultures gather. I would say to
+him what I say to you with the utmost confidence, Miss Tedder. I wish
+to be your friend, and as I am not a marrying man, you can see that I
+have no eye to your money. But you are a young girl and have no one to
+counsel you but Mrs. Mountford, who does not always give good advice.
+You should believe in the innocence of your cousin against all
+evidence, and clear his character, and----"
+
+"And marry him," finished Miss Tedder, tapping her small foot. "No, I
+certainly will not. Anything I can do to save him from the consequence
+of his wickedness----"
+
+"He is not wicked. He is innocent."
+
+"Then let him prove his innocence," she rose with a dignified air
+as if to intimate that the interview was terminated. "But I must do
+what Inspector Trent says. Even though Angus is my cousin, my papa
+is,--rather was,--my papa, and I must offer a reward for the
+apprehension of the murderer."
+
+"Who is Herries?"
+
+"Inspector Trent says so."
+
+"And you believe it. Well," Browne shrugged his shoulders, "if this is
+woman's love, give me man's hate. Did you know that your father had an
+appointment with anyone two nights ago?"
+
+"No. Papa never said anything about it. He went away in the afternoon,
+and said he would return next day. I knew nothing of his whereabouts
+until Inspector Trent came and told me that Angus had killed papa."
+
+Browne shrugged his shoulders again. It seemed impossible to impress
+this butterfly with the fact Herries was innocent. She seemed a
+heartless sort of creature. He took no further trouble to contradict
+her, but went on with his questions.
+
+"Do you know why your father took so large a sum of money with him?"
+
+"No. I did not know that he had taken any money. How much was it?"
+
+"I can't say; but the landlady's son at the 'Marsh Inn' saw a
+considerable sum in gold and notes on the table. That has
+disappeared."
+
+"Along with Angus," sneered Maud.
+
+"I think not. You make out your cousin to be a thief as well as a
+murderer. He is neither. So you know nothing of the reason of your
+father's visit to the 'Marsh Inn?'"
+
+"I didn't even know that he was going there."
+
+"Good-day, then," and Browne turned on his heel. "Stop, doctor," Maud
+ran after him and laid a detaining hand on his arm. "I don't want you
+to think badly of me. I do hope that Angus is not guilty, indeed I do.
+If you know where he is----"
+
+"How should I know?" asked Browne warily.
+
+"Well, I thought you might, as you were at the inn."
+
+"I went there in response to a telegram calling me. I arrived to find
+that Herries had escaped. But presuming that he did communicate with
+me," Browne put it this way to see what she would say, and at the same
+time, to guard Herries, "what do you wish me to tell him?"
+
+"That I will give him a sum of money to leave England."
+
+"And so confess that he is guilty. Thank you for nothing."
+
+Maud clenched her hands and bit her lip.
+
+"I don't mean what you mean," she declared angrily. "If I can prove
+his innocence I should be glad to do so, but I know nothing of my
+father's affairs or what led to his death. Mr. Ritson, the lawyer, may
+know. Ask him, and perhaps he will help you to prove my cousin's
+innocence. But things look black against Angus. Inspector Trent says
+so. It would be wiser if he went away."
+
+"Why do you wish him to go away?"
+
+Maud stamped her foot, "I don't want a cousin of mine to be hanged for
+the murder of my father," she said irritably. "Can't you see how
+unpleasant that would be for me? I am engaged to Bruce, but he is
+proud and haughty. If Angus was hanged, Bruce might refuse to become
+my husband."
+
+"Not while you have fifty thousand a year," said Browne, grimly.
+
+"You don't know Bruce----"
+
+"Not well, as I have only met him once. But at the first glance I saw
+that he was an adventurer. He is the very model of those soldiers of
+fortune who abounded in Europe in the Middle Ages."
+
+"And like them he may carve out a kingdom for himself."
+
+"Doubtless, since money now-a-days is more necessary than a sword to
+procure such a kingdom," retorted Browne. "However, that is your
+affair. What sum will you give Herries, always presuming that he will
+communicate with me?"
+
+"One thousand pounds."
+
+"Did Inspector Trent advise that sum?"
+
+"He advised nothing because he knows nothing. And he says," added the
+girl decisively, "that when the policeman is found, he may be able to
+prove my cousin's guilt."
+
+"What policeman?"
+
+"The constable called Armour, who looks after Desleigh and two other
+villages in the Marshes. He has disappeared."
+
+"Humph! I heard something of that. Trent was expecting him every
+minute, but he never turned up. But I dare say he is on his rounds, as
+his beat is a wide one."
+
+"No, doctor. The Inspector declares that Armour has to visit Desleigh
+village at least once a day. For two days he has been absent, so Mr.
+Trent thinks that----"
+
+"That Herries murdered the policeman as well as your father," Browne
+laughed. "What a mare's nest he has found. Well, Miss Tedder, I wish
+you every joy as the wife of the future president of the Indiana
+Republic!" and he bowed good-day.
+
+This time, the girl did not attempt to stop him, and Browne opened the
+door himself. However, she followed him into the hall.
+
+"I really wish to help Angus," she repeated, "and I am sure Bruce will
+do his best for my sake."
+
+"What has Captain Kyles got to do with the matter?"
+
+"I have asked him to help me to find out who killed my father."
+
+"That is, Captain Kyles is hunting for poor Herries."
+
+"Oh, I don't mean that, but--why, here is Bruce," she turned towards
+the passage that ran beside the stairs, and smiled. "Bruce!"
+
+In response, a tall dark man, with deep-set eyes and a reckless
+bearing, advanced into the hall. He held out a telegram to Miss
+Tedder.
+
+"It has just come from the Inspector," he said, with a stealthy glance
+at the commonplace looks of Dr. Browne.
+
+Maud ran her eye over the paper, and passed it to her visitor.
+
+"That may help either to save or condemn my cousin," she said,
+quickly.
+
+"Armour the policeman has been found, bound hand and foot, in a ditch
+near the river," read Browne. "Humph! What does that mean?"
+
+"I take it to mean that Armour killed Sir Simon," said Kyles in a deep
+voice, and very composedly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+THE SOLICITOR
+
+
+Browne surveyed the buccaneer with some curiosity. He had met him
+twice or thrice, before Sir Simon joined the majority, but beyond a
+casual glance had not taken much notice of the man. Now that he
+learned of Maud Tedder's engagement, he was interested in the
+adventurer, who, by his marriage with the heiress, would become the
+possessor of immense wealth. Also, it would seem that Kyles had
+something to do with Herries' fate, since he could, to all
+appearances, influence that young lady in her judgment. After an
+exhaustive glance, Browne confessed to himself that the scamp--he
+believed him to be a scamp--was an extremely good-looking man, and
+romantic enough to win the heart of an even less sentimental girl than
+Miss Tedder.
+
+Captain Kyles met the gaze of Dr. Browne serenely enough, and
+evidently guessed that he was being weighed in the balance of the
+little doctor's opinion. His personality was perplexing, as he
+appeared to be a cross between a sailor and a soldier, an amphibious
+animal of the "jolly" class. His slim figure was very erect and
+military, yet, when he walked, he had the rolling gait of the
+quarter-deck. His face was immobile, as though his features had been
+drilled into a set expression of perfect blankness; yet his gestures
+were free and easy, as though he possessed the open mind of a
+jack-tar. In looks and bearing he resembled one of those dare-devil
+filibusters who dominated the Spanish Main in far-off days, and in his
+swart complexion, not unlike that of a Spaniard, he proclaimed his
+Highland blood. With his graceful figure, his sparkling dark eyes,
+well-moulded features and drooping black moustache, he looked the
+beau-ideal of a Bow-Bells, Family-Herald hero. That Miss Tedder loved
+this handsome fellow dearly could be seen from the way in which her
+colour came and went and her bosom heaved at the mere sight of him.
+Tragic as had been the circumstances of her father's death--a father
+who had adored her--she appeared to think more of love than of her
+irreparable loss.
+
+The doctor, not being a romantic school-miss, did not approve
+of Captain Kyles, in spite of his alluring exterior. In the
+smartly-dressed, suave, cool person before him, he saw the typical
+adventurer who would win Maud and her thousands a year by sheer
+cajolery mixed with scarcely concealed bullying, and then would
+probably neglect her when the babyish beauty of her looks was gone. At
+the same time, to do him justice, he was surprised and pleased to hear
+Captain Kyles defend the accused, as he was certainly doing in a
+manner, when he accused Armour.
+
+"I should have thought," remarked the doctor, sarcastically, "that
+like everyone else, you would judge my friend Herries as guilty."
+
+Kyles shrugged his square shoulders, and brushed some fluff from the
+breast of his blue serge coat.
+
+"From what Inspector Trent says, it would seem that Herries--that is
+the name, isn't it?--is the criminal," he drawled, and his voice was
+not the least attractive thing about him, "but that makes me believe
+the man to be innocent. Had Herries killed Sir Simon, I fancy he would
+have arranged things better to secure his own safety."
+
+"Perhaps he lost his head," suggested Maud maliciously. "Criminals do,
+you know, even the cleverest."
+
+"Dear!" said Kyles, so grimly that the adjective was robbed of its
+value. "I have told you before, and I tell you again, that your cousin
+is innocent."
+
+"Oh," said Browne quietly, "then you know that Herries is Miss
+Tedder's cousin?"
+
+"I know all the family history," replied Kyles lazily. "As I am to
+marry Miss Tedder, I considered it my duty to learn it.
+
+"It was my place," boomed a heavy, gloomy voice coming from the back
+of the hall, "to inform Captain Kyles of the Tedder history."
+
+The stout and stately female who approached in this dramatic way, was
+Mrs. Mountford, the _ci-devant_ governess who had improved Maud's
+young mind, and who now acted as her somewhat cheerless companion. She
+was of the fleshly type, with a firm jaw and a heavy jowl, and a pair
+of cold grey eyes. The face was that of a hanging judge, and she would
+have looked well in a wig and gown, seated on the Bench. Before that
+stony eye and impassive countenance the most hopeful prisoner would
+have collapsed at once. Invariably arrayed in deepest black, she
+glittered like a starry midnight with jet beads and jet trimmings,
+with bugles and chains and ornaments. She wore jet bracelets to
+match a jet brooch, and jet earrings of the Albert period; lengthy
+earrings, like the jet chain which was wound like a cable round her
+fat neck. Mrs. Mountford only needed a plume of feathers to resemble a
+hearse-horse, and her mere presence darkened the none too cheerful
+hall. Dr. Browne did not like this female mute, for in spite of his
+cynicism, he could be cheerful on occasions, which Mrs. Mountford, in
+mourning for her neighbours' faults, never was. How Maud Tedder,
+light-minded, frivolous and gay, could endure the wet-blanket society
+of this raven was more than the doctor could understand. And he prided
+himself on understanding the feminine character.
+
+"I should have thought that Sir Simon could best have informed Captain
+Kyles of all that there was to be known," he said in reply to the
+gloomy lady, "that is," he added pointedly, "if Sir Simon approved of
+the engagement."
+
+"Of course papa approved," broke in Maud smartly. "Though, as I have
+already said, I don't see what business it is of yours. Did you come
+here to make yourself disagreeable?"
+
+"My child," croaked Mrs. Mountford, in her bass voice, "this is not the
+time or place to say such truths."
+
+"Nor the time for Dr. Browne to make remarks about things which do not
+concern him," snapped the younger lady pertly.
+
+"I beg your pardon," said the doctor ceremoniously, "I have no right
+to interfere----"
+
+"I should think not," cried the irrepressible Maud, and was again
+frowned down by Mrs. Mountford, who seemed to be the mistress of all
+the proprieties.
+
+"I merely came to assure Miss Tedder that her cousin is innocent,"
+finished Dr. Browne, and moved towards the front door.
+
+"So I think," observed the captain, who had taken no part in the war
+of words, "and anything I can do----"
+
+"You can do nothing," cried Miss Tedder, who seemed anxious to place
+her cousin in the dock. "If Angus is to be hanged, he will have to be
+hanged, though it is hard that I should suffer from such a disgrace.
+But papa's murderer must be punished."
+
+"I tell you Herries had nothing to do with the murder," said Dr.
+Browne, violently, and his face becoming suffused with blood. "I
+wonder at your persistence in accusing him."
+
+"I go by what Inspector Trent says, and----"
+
+"See here," remarked the sailor in his lazy drawl, "I don't like to
+see a fellow go to the wall, if I can help him. Miss Tedder," he bowed
+to Maud, "has consented to be my wife, but I do not think that either
+one of us would care to have a relative hanged for a capital offence.
+Besides, to my mind, the evidence is so clear that I believe Herries
+to be guiltless. I shall therefore go along with this gentleman, and
+learn what I can likely to help the poor fellow. Dr. Browne," he bowed
+to the medical man, and in a somewhat foreign fashion by clicking his
+heels together, "I understand, also wishes to prove Mr. Herries'
+innocence."
+
+"I do," said the doctor doggedly, and wondering why the Captain was so
+anxious to assist, "and I intend to."
+
+"In that case," Kyles extended a small and shapely hand, "we may as
+well work together."
+
+Browne took the hand. Indeed, he could do nothing else.
+
+"But I should like to know why you are so certain that Herries is
+innocent?"
+
+"Are _you_ not certain?" inquired Kyles gravely. "Yes, but then I know
+Herries well, and although appearances are dead against him, I----"
+
+"Hold on," remarked the sailor in a somewhat American fashion,
+"it is because appearances are dead against him that I assist.
+Both in the States out West and in Mexico, I was nearly lynched for
+horse-stealing. The evidence was plumb against me, and but that
+good-luck came my way at the eleventh hour, I should have been a
+goner. Can you wonder then that my sympathies are with Herries?"
+
+"I see, you have a fellow feeling."
+
+"You might put it that way."
+
+"The hall," boomed Mrs. Mountford once more, "is scarcely the place to
+discuss these matters."
+
+"I entirely agree with you," said the doctor, with emphasis, "so I
+take my leave. If you have any influence with Miss Tedder, ma'am, I
+advise you to induce her to be less bloodthirsty."
+
+"Me," cried Maud, in a shrill and angry tone, like an infuriated
+mosquito, "me, bloodthirsty?"
+
+"None the worse for that," said her lover genially. "We don't stock a
+cotton-wool civilisation in Indiana."
+
+Browne laughed. He rather liked Kyles, and his abrupt way of dealing
+with Miss Tedder. When they were married, it was easy seen who would
+rule the house, for all Maud's airs and graces and feminine wiles
+seemed to make very little impression on the rover. No doubt, so
+good-looking a fellow had been much run after by the fair sex, and had
+learned how to govern women.
+
+"Good-day, Captain," said the doctor heartily, "I am glad you can see
+further than your nose in this case. I presume I'll meet you at the
+inquest to-morrow?"
+
+"Bruce will take me," said Maud hastily.
+
+"And I," chimed in the mistress of the proprieties, with the toll of
+Big Ben, "will be there to chaperon Miss Tedder."
+
+This being settled, Browne took his departure, and walked down the
+avenue wondering why Maud should be so vindictive towards the man to
+whom she had once been engaged, and that man her very own cousin. He
+could not understand, for there seemed to be no reason that she should
+desire Herries' death, which she certainly seemed to do. Browne asked
+himself whether she dreaded lest Herries should insist upon renewing
+the engagement, when Maud became possessed of her millions, or
+perhaps--as he again thought--the engagement had never been broken. In
+that latter case, since Maud desired to marry Kyles, she might think
+to cut the Gordian knot of an entanglement by sending her cousin to
+the scaffold. But even in such a case, it seemed incredible that she
+should behave so wickedly. Browne had always deemed Maud to be a
+butterfly; now it seemed that she was a tigress. He resolved to lay
+the case before Herries, when next he visited the caravan, and see
+what his opinion was of her behaviour.
+
+The thought of the caravan brought up the image of Kind, who was
+sheltering the fugitive, and, as is often the case, scarcely had the
+name passed through Browne's brain, when he ran up against the man
+himself at the gates of the park. Kind, in his odd dress and chewing a
+blade of grass, was seated on a stone, with his hands in his pockets
+and a pondering expression on his shrewd face.
+
+"Mornin'," he said, rising, as soon as the doctor emerged from the
+park, "beastly weather, ain't it?"
+
+"Did you come here to tell me that?" asked Browne, looking up at the
+leaden-coloured sky in a humorous manner.
+
+"No. I came to see you about this man, Armour, the policeman, who----"
+
+"Yes," interrupted the doctor, strolling towards Tarhaven beside the
+Cheap-jack, "I know all about that."
+
+"Who told you?"
+
+"Well, to be precise, I don't know everything. But while I was talking
+to Miss Tedder, a telegram came from Trent saying that Armour had been
+found, bound, in a ditch."
+
+"Yes, Trent's there, and is making more mistakes than ever. He is
+still hunting for Mr. Herries," ended Kind, with a grin.
+
+"He hasn't found him, I hope?" asked Browne hastily.
+
+Kind turned the blade of grass in his mouth.
+
+"Not much chance of that," said he contemptuously. "Mr. Herries'
+hiding-place is too easy found for Trent to find it. Were I in his
+place," added Kind, wagging his head until the ostrich feather shook
+in his bowler, "the first thing I should do, would be to search the
+caravan."
+
+"Why?" asked Browne puzzled.
+
+"Because it's a likely place. If a man bolted, and came across a
+caravan, he would ask its owner to hide him. But Trent doesn't believe
+that Mr. Herries would be fool enough to hide in so suspicious a
+place. It sounds rum, I know, doctor, but that's human nature."
+
+"You argue something like Captain Bruce Kyles."
+
+"And who may he be?"
+
+"He is a Captain in the Indiana Navy, and that's a Republic in South
+America. I understand that he has come to England to arrange about
+buying new war-ships for the Republic, so in this way he was brought
+into contact with Sir Simon, who speculated in other things beside jam
+and pickles. Consequently, Captain Kyles, who is a romantic-looking
+scoundrel, has induced Miss Tedder to fall in love with him, and will
+undoubtedly become the master of her money."
+
+"And he argued in the same way as I do, doctor?"
+
+"Yes. He declares that the evidence is so plain against Herries that
+he believes the man to be guiltless."
+
+"Oh." Kind gave a shrewd glance at his companion, and became
+meditative. "He argues in that way, does he? It does him credit: no
+fool, I should say. But why," asked Kind, wheeling round, "does he
+take the trouble to defend Mr. Herries?"
+
+"That's what I have been asking myself," said the doctor, dryly.
+
+"Does he know Mr. Herries?"
+
+"No. He has never set eyes on him."
+
+"Queer," murmured the Cheap-jack with his hands in his pockets and his
+eyes on the ground. "I must have a look at this Captain."
+
+"You will see him at the inquest to-morrow, along with Miss Tedder and
+Mrs. Mountford, who is the young lady's companion."
+
+Kind nodded absently, being still occupied with the problem of Kyles'
+unsolicited defence of the accused man.
+
+"Where are you going now, doctor?" he asked, as they neared the town.
+
+"To see Mr. Ritson, the solicitor of Sir Simon. I wish to ask him if
+he has any knowledge of what took Sir Simon to the inn."
+
+"He won't know," rejoined Kind, shaking his head decisively. "If Sir
+Simon had intended to let Mr. Ritson know, he would have made the
+appointment at his office. The 'Marsh Inn,' and his giving no name,
+and carrying a large sum of money, and the kidnapping of Armour, all
+hint at blackmailing."
+
+"The kidnapping of Armour," echoed Browne, stopping short, amazed.
+
+"I forgot, you only know that Armour was found in the ditch," said
+Kind. "A railway porter on the way home this morning found him. He was
+taken to Desleigh where he lives, and Trent was sent for. But I know
+Mrs. Armour, who is an old friend of mine, and I saw Armour before the
+Inspector saw him. Then Trent arrived, and sent that telegram to Miss
+Tedder."
+
+"And what explanation does Armour give?"
+
+"He had gone his rounds and arrived at Desleigh about one in the
+morning. He rested on the bench outside the tap-room door until
+two o'clock, or rather between two and three. Then he says that some
+men,--he could not guess how many,--suddenly came out of the mist and
+gagged him and bound him and wrapped his head in a shawl. They carried
+him to a ditch some distance from the railway station and left him
+there. The poor chap was nearly stifled when he was found, as all the
+time his head was tied up in the shawl."
+
+"But why was he kidnapped?"
+
+"Ah, that is what I want to find out," Kind looked at Browne. "You
+have given me a clue."
+
+"What is the clue?"
+
+"I'll tell you after the inquest," said Kind, turning away: then when
+he was some distance off, he called back. "See Mr. Ritson, doctor, and
+come to the caravan after the inquest."
+
+"But you wanted to see me about----"
+
+"I have seen you," called back Kind, "and have said what I wanted to
+say about Armour."
+
+Browne ran after the man, who still walked on.
+
+"We have come to no conclusion," he panted, for the doctor was
+plethoric.
+
+"I have," said the Cheap-jack. "You have given me a clue, I tell you,
+and I'll explain when we are together with Mr. Herries," and so
+saying, he walked off quickly. Browne, although anxious to question
+him further, had not the breath to follow him, and moreover, saw that
+Kind would answer no more questions at the moment. This being the
+case, he went to seek out Mr. Ritson, wondering greatly why Armour had
+been kidnapped, and wondering still more what clue Kind had obtained
+from him. Browne could recall nothing in his conversation likely to
+afford such a clue.
+
+Mr. Ritson had an office in the High Street of Tarhaven, a most
+imposing office, next door to a bank. There was nothing of the
+pettifogging lawyer about Mr. Ritson's office, as it was all mahogany
+and brass plates and plate-glass windows. Ritson was well-known as the
+legal adviser of half the county, and was supposed to be extremely
+wealthy. He was a tall, thin, severe old gentleman, with silvery white
+hair, and a parchment-hued face, and a dry manner. As a rule, he was
+not given to speaking much, but usually waited to hear what his
+clients had to say, that they might commit themselves. But when Dr.
+Browne, who knew him very well, was admitted into the lofty, airy
+apartment, which was Mr. Ritson's sanctum, he was surprised by the
+warmth and volubility with which the usually silent lawyer greeted
+him.
+
+"I am very glad to see you, doctor," said he, advancing with
+outstretched hands. "Had you not come, I should have sent for you."
+
+"Humph!" said Browne, the cynic, "I seem to have become a person of
+importance. Miss Tedder greeted me in the same way."
+
+"You have seen Miss Tedder?"
+
+"Yes. I should have thought that you would have seen her also."
+
+"About what?" asked Ritson quickly, and returning to his desk.
+
+"About her father's death, and the will and----"
+
+"The will," interrupted Ritson, vehemently, "that is exactly what I
+fear to see her about."
+
+"You fear?"
+
+"Yes, doctor," he caught Browne's button-hole, "some time ago, when we
+were talking of Sir Simon's wealth, you mentioned that you knew his
+nephew."
+
+"Yes. Poor Herries, who is accused of the murder."
+
+"Ah!" Ritson wiped his high bald forehead, although he was usually a
+cold-blooded man, "that's the difficulty. I must speak."
+
+"Speak away," said Browne, more and more surprised.
+
+"In confidence."
+
+"Of course, in confidence," assented the other.
+
+Ritson sat down suddenly, and began to fiddle with his papers, and
+Browne, straddling his legs with his hands behind him, watched. It was
+strange that so quiet a lawyer should be so moved. Certainly the death
+of Sir Simon was very terrible, and naturally Ritson, who had known
+him for years, was startled by the tragedy. But it seemed to the
+doctor that there was something more behind the mere fact of the
+murder,--something having to do with the dead man's will.
+
+"Well?" he said impatiently, while Ritson kept shifting pens and
+sealing-wax, and paperweights, as though he were playing chess.
+
+"Yes, yes," Ritson threw himself back, and thrust his hands into his
+trouser pockets. "I never speak of my clients' affairs to anyone."
+
+"No," nodded Browne, "everyone is aware that you are trustworthy."
+
+"Then you will be surprised that I am about to betray--no, that is not
+the word,--that I am about to forestall the reading of the will made
+last week by the late Sir Simon Tedder."
+
+"Is it necessary?"
+
+"To ease my mind, it is."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Why should Sir Simon make such a will?" said Ritson, almost to
+himself. "I thought that it was strange at the time, but now, when
+this nephew has murdered him, and----"
+
+"Herries did not," cried Browne growing red. "Yes, he did," said
+Ritson determinedly, "and to get the money."
+
+"The money?" Browne leaned forward his hands on the desk, and stared
+into the agitated face of the solicitor.
+
+"The money. Sir Simon has disinherited his daughter in favour of Angus
+Herries, who now has fifty thousand a year."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+THE INQUEST
+
+
+"You must be mistaken," stammered the doctor, staring, as well he
+might, considering the astounding news which he had heard.
+
+"I don't make mistakes either in or out of business," replied Mr.
+Ritson haughtily. "Last week I drew up Sir Simon's will, which was
+short and to the point. In it he disinherited Maud Tedder and left all
+his money and property to his nephew, Angus Herries."
+
+"Good Lord." Browne collapsed into a chair near the desk. He found it
+difficult to believe that Herries the outcast was now Herries the
+millionaire. "Fifty thousand a year," gasped the doctor, his red hair
+almost standing on end. "What will he do with it?"
+
+"Buy his freedom, I expect," said Ritson grimly.
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Well," the lawyer took up a quill pen, and began to play with it.
+"Mr. Herries is certainly entitled to fifty thousand a year, but he
+has to do something to earn it."
+
+"Do what?" asked Browne more and more perplexed.
+
+Ritson bent forward.
+
+"He has to find out who killed Sir Simon, and thereby earn his
+freedom, and the money."
+
+"I am still in the dark. Will you explain?"
+
+"I have told you enough."
+
+"You will have to tell me more," said Browne, determinedly.
+
+"My duty to my dead client----"
+
+"See here," the little doctor jumped up, and slapped his hand down on
+the desk, "there was no need for you to have told me anything, so it
+is too late to talk of your duty to your dead client; but as you have
+told me so much, you must tell me everything."
+
+"Yes," Ritson nodded his silvery-white head, "you are right. I have
+committed a breach of legal etiquette. Miss Tedder should have been
+the first to hear the will, which has to be read after the funeral at
+'The Moated Hall.' But then Mr. Herries, who inherits, should also be
+present, and he is accused of the crime."
+
+"He has escaped the immediate consequences," said Browne, meaningly.
+
+"Do you know where he is?"
+
+"Good Lord, how should I know?" cried Browne explosively. He was not
+quite sure as to the truth of Ritson's statement, and thought that it
+might be a trap to lure Herries from his hiding-place.
+
+"You are a friend of Mr. Herries, and you went to Desleigh, as
+Inspector Trent told me."
+
+"Quite so. But I was with Inspector Trent at the time Herries escaped
+out of the window of his bedroom."
+
+"Then you do not know where he is?"
+
+"No!" said the doctor, lying manfully.
+
+Ritson looked depressed.
+
+"That is a pity," he muttered, "for unless I can see him, I don't know
+how to put things right."
+
+"Explain them to me."
+
+The lawyer turned on his visitor in the twinkling of an eye.
+
+"You do not know where he is?"
+
+Browne was not at all disconcerted, having had one moment in which to
+think of a plausible answer.
+
+"If Herries communicates with anyone it will be with me," he said,
+quietly, "as he knows that I am his firm friend, and believe in his
+innocence."
+
+"You do,--you really do?"
+
+"Certainly. Herries did not even know that his uncle was in the inn,
+and certainly could not have known that he was the heir."
+
+"No, No," Ritson rapped his teeth with the feathered end of the
+quill-pen, "yet the evidence is dead against him."
+
+"I am with you there. All the same," here Browne shamelessly pilfered
+Kyles' ideas, "the evidence is so clear that I believe my friend to be
+innocent."
+
+"Hum! Hum! Hum!" Ritson cleared his throat, and settled his
+old-fashioned black satin scarf, "quite so,--quite so. Then you think,
+doctor," he leaned forward, confidentially, "that this very clear
+evidence was got together to implicate Mr. Herries in a crime of which
+he has no knowledge?"
+
+"I am sure of it. Inspector Trent has given his version, which is
+coloured by the belief that Herries is guilty. Let me tell you the
+other side, Mr. Ritson."
+
+"I am all attention," said the lawyer, placing the tips of his fingers
+together, and looking up at the ceiling. Browne thereupon detailed all
+that he had heard, and seen at the inn. But he did not yet trust
+Ritson so far as to relate how Herries had found a refuge in Kind's
+caravan, nor did he state that Kind himself was an ex-detective, sworn
+to assist the accused man, out of gratitude.
+
+Ritson listened in profound silence, and when the recital was finished
+he did not commit himself to a statement. On the contrary, he again
+began his game of chess with the sealing-wax, pens and paperweights,
+and asked an irrelevant question.
+
+"And you saw Miss Tedder?"
+
+"Yes. She believes, on Trent's authority, that her cousin is guilty."
+
+"Consequently, she is much disturbed," suggested the lawyer.
+
+Browne smiled cynically.
+
+"You place too much faith in human nature, Mr. Ritson. Miss Tedder
+seems most anxious to get her cousin hanged."
+
+"Hey, hey," Ritson sat bolt-upright with his hands on the arms of his
+chair, "say that again, my good sir."
+
+Browne did say it again, and said more. He gave a detailed version of
+the interview, of the coming of the telegram announcing the finding of
+Armour in the ditch, and of the opinion of Captain Bruce Kyles, which
+was so much at variance with Miss Tedder's. Ritson stared hard at the
+little doctor, as he told his tale dramatically, and when it was ended
+he rose and went to look out of the window.
+
+"This is very remarkable," said Ritson, turning from looking at the
+busy High Street to look at Dr. Browne.
+
+"Very!" assented the medical man, saying as little as he could.
+
+"And what is your opinion?" asked Ritson, returning to his seat.
+
+"I have none, save that Herries is innocent."
+
+"Then you don't think," said the lawyer, again playing chess, "that
+Miss Tedder in some way has heard of the will which disinherits her,
+and is anxious to have her cousin hanged so that she may get back the
+money."
+
+"Will she get back the money if he is hanged?" asked Browne artfully.
+
+"Why, yes. I pleaded for the girl. It seems that Maud--I have known
+her from a baby, so I can call her by her Christian name--well then,
+it seems that Maud insisted on marrying Captain Kyles, a man of whom
+Sir Simon did not approve."
+
+"I don't wonder at that; the man is an adventurer."
+
+"So Sir Simon thought. However, his looks--the scamp is certainly
+handsome--captured the affections of Miss Maud, and she declared that
+she would marry him. Sir Simon told her that if she did, he would
+disinherit her. He carried out his threat by leaving all his money to
+the nephew whom he treated so badly. But I pointed out that Maud ought
+to have enough to live on. Sir Simon disagreed, and said that Maud
+should have everything or nothing. Finally, he yielded,--in a way!"
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"He left the money to Herries for life and afterward to Maud. Meantime
+she gets one thousand a year."
+
+"I see. Then you think that Maud wishes to see her cousin hanged so
+that she may inherit the money at once."
+
+Ritson did not reply at once to this question.
+
+"It is difficult to say," he observed, at length. "I cannot make up my
+own mind, and that is why I have consulted you,--why I have violated
+the confidence of my client. It is enough to get me struck off the
+Rolls, and very rightly too."
+
+"Anything you say is safe with me," said Browne, sympathising with the
+lawyer's desire to act rightly.
+
+"You see," continued Ritson, still defending himself, "as the
+circumstances of the case are so dreadful, time is of every value,
+therefore, I thought it best to anticipate, in confidence, of course,
+the reading of the will. What do you advise?"
+
+"Ah, I don't know all the circumstances of the case," said Browne
+cautiously. "What, for example, do you mean by saying that Herries
+would have to buy his freedom with his money?"
+
+"Well," said Ritson, nursing his chin, "if he is guilty----"
+
+"He is not!"
+
+"We will presume for the sake of argument that he is," pursued the
+solicitor. "Well, then, if Mr. Herries is guilty, he will have to
+use his money to get the best lawyer in England to defend him, or
+else----" Ritson hesitated. "I am aware that I am suggesting the
+compounding of a felony," he said nervously, "but Mr. Herries might
+employ this money to escape,--that is, he might bribe people to hold
+their tongues until he is beyond pursuit."
+
+"I don't think Herries would do that," said Browne vigorously; "he
+knows that he is innocent, and will prove his innocence in some way.
+He is not the man to lie idle under such a stigma."
+
+"He is unlucky."
+
+"Very unlucky,--a perfect Jonah, as he is fond of calling himself."
+
+"Well, his luck has turned, seeing he has inherited the money."
+
+"I don't agree with you, Mr. Ritson. He has to remain in hiding,
+because he is accused wrongfully of murder, and again, you told me
+that he does not get the money until he has found out who killed his
+miserable uncle."
+
+"Quite so, but if he does, he will at once prove his entire innocence,
+and gain a fortune. That is good luck."
+
+"Luck which is yet to come. Why did Sir Simon make it a proviso that
+Herries should seek for his assassin? Did he then expect to be
+murdered?"
+
+"Yes, and for that reason, along with the other--Maud's love for
+Captain Kyles--he made the will."
+
+"Did he tell you whom he expected would kill him?"
+
+"No! I asked him, as the proviso was so strange: but he told me as
+little as possible."
+
+"You gained no clue to a possible assassin."
+
+"I did not."
+
+"Is there anything in his past life which made you guess that----?"
+
+Ritson interrupted.
+
+"There is nothing. So far as I know Sir Simon was perfectly safe, and
+there was no reason to think that his life was threatened by anyone.
+Apparently it was, however, since he made such a will. And it is
+stranger still," added the lawyer meditating, "that he should have
+made me write a letter setting forth the fact that he had left the
+money to Herries."
+
+Browne jumped up so quickly that he overturned the chair.
+
+"What?"
+
+"It is as I told you," said Ritson, composedly. "When the will was
+signed and witnessed, he asked me to write a letter."
+
+"Have you a copy?"
+
+"Certainly. I insisted on keeping a copy, although Sir Simon was none
+too pleased. But I refused to sign my name to a letter unless I had a
+copy, especially," added Ritson slowly, "as I did not know to whom the
+letter was written."
+
+"You should not have written it then," snapped Browne, annoyed at
+seeing his hopes of clearing Herries dashed to the ground.
+
+Ritson touched the bell, and when the clerk appeared gave him
+instructions to bring in the letter book. While the boy was absent he
+turned again to Browne.
+
+"You don't know how determined Sir Simon was," he said quietly, "and
+moreover, when you read the letter you will see that there is no
+reason why I should not have written it. He asked for an envelope, and
+addressed the letter himself. My clerk copied it, and brought it in.
+Sir Simon slipped it into an envelope--the one he had directed
+secretly--and went away. That was several days ago, and I have never
+seen Sir Simon since. I never even heard of him until Inspector Trent,
+knowing that I was his lawyer, called to inform me of his lamented
+death, and to invite me, as the late knight's legal adviser, to attend
+the inquest."
+
+"You did not see the address?"
+
+"No. I caught sight of one word however,--quite by accident."
+
+"What was the word?"
+
+"Well," hesitated Ritson fidgetting, "it certainly might throw some
+light on the mystery of his death, although I scarcely think so. But
+to betray a client's business relations is----"
+
+"The affair is too serious to admit of a tender conscience," said
+Browne, imperiously. "Herries is in danger of his life, and I believe
+Maud Tedder knows much more than she chooses to tell. Seeing what her
+attitude is, I am determined to save Herries and prevent her getting
+the money."
+
+"Surely you don't think that Maud knows who killed her father, and is
+deliberately sacrificing her cousin?"
+
+"I don't know what to think," answered Browne impatiently. "We can
+talk of that later. Tell me what word you saw."
+
+"Tarabacca!"
+
+"What does that mean?" asked Browne puzzled.
+
+"I can't tell you. But the word I saw was certainly something like
+that. I can't be sure of the spelling, but it conveyed something like
+tobacco to my mind. Tarabacca," repeated the lawyer, as his clerk
+entered with the letter-book, "it was certainly a name like that."
+
+"Perhaps the name of a town. It sounds like a foreign name."
+
+"It certainly is not the name of any English town," retorted Ritson
+opening the book. "Here you are,--a short letter as you can see."
+
+The little doctor advanced to the desk, and ran his eye over the few
+blotted lines almost illegible on the tissue paper used for copying.
+
+"Dear Sir," he read aloud, "this is to inform you that my client Sir
+Simon Tedder has left all he possesses to his nephew Angus Herries,
+and that he has formally disinherited his daughter Maud Tedder of
+everything save one thousand a year.--Yours obediently, J. Ritson."
+
+"Well," said Ritson, when Browne closed the book. The doctor shook his
+head.
+
+"I cannot understand," he said, helplessly.
+
+"Nor I. What is to be done?"
+
+"There is nothing to be done save to wait. My advice to you, Mr.
+Ritson, is to be silent until the inquest is over. When Herries hears
+of his good fortune, he may give himself up."
+
+"You advise him to do that?" asked Ritson anxiously.
+
+"I certainly do. Good-day. We will meet at the inquest," and Browne,
+in a state of great perplexity left the office.
+
+He certainly was perplexed, as he had never before had such mystery to
+deal with. Browne was a straightforward man, and liked everything to
+be done openly. But the underhand dealings connected with this death
+puzzled him sorely. He could not see his way to any solution, and went
+home to pass a restless night. Again and again did he ask himself
+whether Maud Tedder had anything to do with the crime, and again and
+again did he mutter to himself the strange word "Tarabacca." But to
+neither question did he obtain any answer. When he rose next morning
+to go to Desleigh he looked very weary and red-eyed.
+
+But Browne was not fated to be present at the inquest, for just as he
+was starting he received a message from a very wealthy patient saying
+that she was dangerously ill, and insisting that he should come to her
+at once. The patient was too rich to lose, and moreover was extremely
+irascible, so Browne went to her house, and as she proved really to be
+dangerously ill, he was forced to remain there for the greater part of
+the day. It was quite three o'clock when he found himself leaving the
+Desleigh station to walk along the straight, muddy road which led to
+the now celebrated village.
+
+The weather was much better, for although the sky was still grey and
+sunless, the mists had vanished. Browne, walking smartly towards his
+goal, cast a musing eye on the dismal flats and wide marshy lands
+which environed the village. He wondered how anyone could live in such
+a place, and wondered still more why Sir Simon had come to so dreary a
+locality to meet with his terrible death. As he drew near Desleigh, he
+met an outcoming throng of human beings, of motor cars and bicycles,
+and carts and horses coming towards the station. Apparently the
+inquest was over, and the reporters, and those morbid people attracted
+towards the inn by curiosity, were returning to the railway, that they
+might be taken to their various destinations. A close carriage, with
+the arms of Sir Simon on the panels, drove past at full speed, and
+Browne had no doubt that Maud and her chaperon, along with Captain
+Kyles, were within. He felt sorry that the blinds were down, as he
+wanted to see how Maud looked, and whether her expression was one of
+triumph. He guessed that it was, as he felt pretty certain that the
+verdict of the jury had ticketed Angus Herries as a criminal of the
+worst type. Strange to say, he was so sure of what the verdict was,
+that he did not stop any of the hurrying people to ask questions.
+
+At the entrance to the village, he perceived the sloppy meadow wherein
+stood the gaily coloured caravan of Sweetlips Kind, and he smiled to
+himself to think of what would be said did anyone know that the
+accused man was snugly ensconced under the flooring of the vehicle. He
+then recognised how true it was what Kind had said regarding the
+safety of the hiding-place. No one, much less Trent, suspicious as he
+was, would credit Herries with being such a fool as to remain so near
+the scene of his supposed crime. And therein lay the man's safety. As
+Browne sent a second stealthy glance in the direction of that refuge
+for innocence, he stumbled against a woman who was coming swiftly
+along the road with her shawl up to her eyes. In her blindness, she
+had run up against him.
+
+"Where are you going?--oh it's you, Elspeth."
+
+It was indeed Elspeth. She had run out of the inn, with a shawl over
+her head, and a fringe of this was pressed to her tearful eyes. As the
+doctor spoke, she let the shawl drop, and he saw that her eyes were
+red with weeping, and that her small white face looked smaller and
+whiter than ever.
+
+"Yes, it's me," she said nervously, glancing at the many men and women
+who were hurrying past to the station. "I am going to see Rachel, who
+is still ill. She is alone," this with a meaning glance at the doctor,
+and apparently uttered for the benefit of the public. "Sweetlips is
+drinking at the inn."
+
+"What is the verdict?" asked Browne eagerly, although he knew very
+well what answer he would get.
+
+"The only one that could be given," said Elspeth, leaning against a
+barbed wire fence on the side of the road. "The jury say that Mr.
+Herries murdered Sir Simon. There is a reward offered."
+
+"By Miss Tedder?"
+
+"Yes. She offers five hundred pounds."
+
+"Oh," said Browne, biting his nether lip. He saw in this increase of
+the reward a fresh proof of Maud's vindictive feelings towards her
+cousin. Apparently she was determined to leave him no chance of
+escape, and again Browne wondered, as he had wondered through the long
+night, if Maud Tedder was cognizant of the assassination of her
+father.
+
+"Inspector Trent has been congratulated on the evidence he has
+collected," sobbed Elspeth, "and also he has been blamed for letting
+Mr. Herries escape."
+
+"I don't wonder at it," said Browne, "the wonder is that he should
+have been congratulated at all. I never knew of such a bungling piece
+of work. Herries has not been caught yet?"
+
+"No," neither of them looked toward the caravan as they spoke, "but
+many people intend to stop here, and search the district. There are
+three detectives,--one of them knew Sweetlips."
+
+"Do these detectives believe Herries to be guilty?"
+
+"Oh yes, and they each intend to search for Mr. Herries."
+
+"What do they think of Kind's opinion?"
+
+"He told them that he thought Mr. Herries was guilty," said Elspeth,
+in a meaning tone.
+
+Browne quite understood her. Sweetlips was posing as an enemy to
+Herries, so as to save his life.
+
+"And Kind is also going to try for the reward," said Elspeth with a
+glimmering smile on her lips.
+
+The doctor rubbed his hands and laughed. There was a suggestion of
+comedy in Sweetlips Kind's attitude, notwithstanding that he was
+playing with the issues of life and death. However, he had learned all
+that he wished to learn, since he now knew that the verdict had been
+given adverse to Herries, that the reward had been increased, and that
+the accused man himself was still safe in his hiding-place.
+
+The stream of people and vehicles grew thinner, and it would seem that
+very shortly the village would again be left to its desolation, now
+that the sensation was at an end. Elspeth supplied the doctor with
+more information.
+
+"Sir Simon's body is to be taken to Tarhaven to-night," she said, "and
+he is to be buried in three days. Miss Tedder agrees to give one
+hundred pounds to Mrs. Narby, for the damage done to the inn by the
+murder having been committed there."
+
+The doctor smiled inwardly, thinking of his interview with Ritson, and
+of the small chance Maud Tedder had of paying six hundred pounds.
+However, he did not wish to complicate matters further, by explaining
+the disappointment awaiting the presumed heiress, and merely answered
+the question in the same vein.
+
+"I should think that the crime had increased the popularity of the
+'Marsh Inn,'" said he with some grimness. "Probably Mrs. Narby has
+never had such good customers since she took up the trade. It's an ill
+wind that blows no one any good, Elspeth."
+
+"She has sold out nearly all her liquor," the girl informed him. "And
+as there was scarcely anything to do, she allowed me to come away and
+visit Mrs. Kind. I wish you would come also, doctor. Rachel is still
+weak."
+
+"I'll come," replied Browne, mechanically, as he was keeping his eye
+on a tri-car--Lagonda make--which was slowly surging past them. The
+next minute he swore loudly, for, although there was ample room, the
+chauffeur insisted on crushing both himself and Elspeth against the
+barbed wire fence, with painful results. "Here, confound you," cried
+the doctor irritably. "Look out where you are going."
+
+The occupant--the sole one besides the chauffeur--was a
+dark-complexioned woman in the prime of life, with a haughty face, and
+quite an aristocratic air. She was richly and fashionably dressed in
+some lustreless black material, which she wore with infinite grace.
+From her large, melting, dark eyes, and her olive complexion, together
+with the strange fact that she was smoking a cigarette in public,
+Browne thought that she was a Spaniard--a foreigner at least. But she
+appeared to understand English, for on hearing his none too gentle
+language, she turned her proud face in his direction, and taking the
+cigarette from between her full red lips, flung it fairly in his face.
+Then at a word from her--a foreign word--the car shot forward down the
+road, leaving a vile smell behind. In another minute, the Lagonda was
+speeding towards the station, so rapidly that Browne was unable to
+follow, much as he wanted to. However, he shook his fist, and picked
+up the stump of the cigarette, which had fallen at his feet.
+
+"I wish I had caught sight of the number of that beastly machine,"
+snapped the irascible little man. "I'd bring that woman into court and
+have her fined. Good Lord, to think that this--this," he shook the
+cigarette stump in Elspeth's face,--"should be thrown at me. I wish I
+could,--hullo!" he stopped and examined the cigarette earnestly.
+"Tangerian! Tangerian, as I'm a sinner."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Elspeth, astonished at his expression.
+
+"Mean!" bellowed the doctor, seeing that no one was within earshot,
+"why, I mean that this is a foreign cigarette, unknown in England."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Well! Kind picked up a similarly marked cigarette stump in Herries'
+bedroom, and it was dropped there by the murderer. That woman is,--she
+is,--I say,--stop,--stop!" and Dr. Browne, brandishing his umbrella,
+ran in a wild manner after the vanishing tri-car, shouting like a Red
+Indian on the warpath.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+LOVERS
+
+
+Naturally enough, Elspeth could not understand the hurried explanation
+of the doctor, and could not guess what an important clue the little
+man was following up. For a moment or two, she watched him puffing and
+panting down the dreary road, and then, with a sigh, she entered the
+spongy meadow wherein the caravan was standing. It looked bright and
+gay in its coat of yellow paint, although a portion of it was covered
+with tarpaulin to preserve from rain various brooms and brushes and
+mats and baskets, which dangled on all four sides. The day was still
+fine, but already the sky was darkening with the coming night, and the
+vehicle looked rather lonely in that wide bleak meadow. The horse
+which usually drew the caravan seemed to know this, for it kept as
+close as possible to its perambulating home.
+
+As Elspeth approached, she began to sing "Garryowen," since she was
+unable to whistle, so as to let Herries know that a friend was coming.
+Also when she climbed the steps, she gave the triple knock on the
+door, and waited with a beating heart for a sight of that dearly loved
+face. The door was cautiously opened, and she hastened to breathe her
+own name. Shortly she was within, and the door was again locked.
+Herries stepped across the gaping space of his cramped hiding-place,
+which was open. He usually kept it ready, so as to slip in and cover
+himself with the boards, which he could do by touching the spring, as
+speedily as possible. One never knew what stranger might come to the
+caravan, either in the way of business, or out of curiosity to see
+the sick woman. Rachel herself, looking much better and with a flush
+on her formerly pale cheeks, was sitting up. She received Elspeth
+with a rather knowing laugh, and held out a large hand, covered,
+gipsy-fashion, with silver rings.
+
+"I am glad to see you, my dear," she said in a hearty tone. "I can
+talk now, as my throat is getting rapidly well, thanks to Dr.
+Herries."
+
+"I am not exactly a doctor," said the young man, smiling, "you can
+call me Mr. Herries, the surgeon."
+
+"Oh, you're a doctor right enough," said the proprietress of the
+caravan with a nod. "No one could have cured me so quickly as you have
+done. And Sweetlips will help you, doctor, as you have helped me. See
+if he doesn't. You'll walk a free man yet."
+
+"What is the verdict, Elspeth?" asked Herries, anxiously, "but I need
+not ask," he added, smiling bitterly. "Wilful murder, eh, and Angus
+Herries the murderer? I thought so."
+
+Elspeth nodded, and leaned against the wall of the vehicle, as her
+heart was too full to speak. Mrs. Kind strove to cheer the poor young
+fellow who was dreeing so hard a weird.
+
+"Come, come," she cried, in a hearty, good-humoured voice, "you're no
+worse off than you were before."
+
+"Ah, but I think he is," said Elspeth, clasping her thin hands. "There
+is now a reward of five hundred pounds offered."
+
+Herries started and flushed and bit his lip.
+
+"By whom?"
+
+"Miss Tedder."
+
+"My cousin, by the girl who said that she loved me. After that, after
+that--" he flung himself down on the broken chair, and gnawed his
+fingers.
+
+"She never loved you," said Elspeth with a tremor in her voice, and a
+high colour in her cheeks.
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"I have seen her. A doll, a soulless woman, a selfish girl. She could
+never love a man as a man ought to be loved. Do you think that I would
+have doubted you, that I----" here she became conscious that she was
+revealing her secret, and became violently red.
+
+Mrs. Kind touched Herries' arm.
+
+"I told you so," said she in an undertone. "What do you think now?"
+
+Herries sat mute with loosely clasped hands, and stared at the
+shrinking girl. Elspeth was clinging to the caravan wall, utterly
+confused, and although her face was turned away, she felt that the
+eyes of the man she loved were upon her, striving, as it were, to read
+her very soul. And why should he not, since that soul was clean and
+pure, and ready to give itself to this man, who was under the ban of
+the law. As the knowledge of this came to her, she lifted her head
+proudly and sent a glance in the direction of Herries, which showed
+plainly all she thought, all she was trying to conceal.
+
+"Good God," murmured Herries under his breath, and hid his face in his
+hands. "What have I done to deserve love like this?"
+
+In a flash he comprehended the nobility of the girl, servant though
+she was. He recalled how she had aided him to escape, how she had
+searched out this place of refuge, how her eyes never left his face,
+and how she seemed to hang on his words. Hitherto he had been blind,
+but now in a hundred ways he knew that this poor, shabbily-clothed
+drudge loved him with surpassing strength. He raised his eyes to look
+at her delicate face, at her beautifully poised head, and into her
+wonderful eyes, pools of liquid light, irradiated by purity, and by a
+love half wifely, half maternal. She was Gowrie's daughter, according
+to Kind, but he could see nothing of Gowrie in her. In looks and
+nature and principles she was as far removed from that easy-going old
+sinner, as the earth was from the sun. All that was of her was
+beautiful and gracious. She needed but love and care and artistic
+surroundings to blossom out into a lovely, serene, radiant woman. He
+had been blind not to have seen this before. He had never dreamed that
+she loved him. But Mrs. Kind had opened his eyes to a certain extent,
+being woman enough to read Elspeth's secret. Now the single glance
+from the girl's soulful eyes revealed everything. She loved him,
+adored him, him the outcast, the accused murderer, the man on whom
+Fortune had turned a chilly back.
+
+"I never thought of this," said Herries, raising himself with some
+difficulty, for his tumult of thoughts made him weak. "Elspeth!"
+
+"No!" she flung out her hands, and her face flamed, "say nothing. I
+am--I am--your friend."
+
+"You are the sole woman who has looked at me in such a way," said
+Herries hoarsely, and regardless of the patient, he bent forward
+across the narrow space of the caravan to catch impulsively at
+Elspeth's cold little hands. "I never guessed, I never dreamed of such
+joy, but now, I know, I feel that you love me, as I love you."
+
+Mrs. Kind clapped her hands and laughed with glee.
+
+"It's as good as medicine," she cried, with the ready tears in her
+eyes, "I was right, I was right. I saw--I knew--oh, these men, these
+men, how little they understand us women."
+
+"But it's impossible," murmured Elspeth, snatching away her hands.
+"You cannot love, you--you know nothing about me, you----"
+
+"I know your soul, I have seen it in your eyes. I know that it seems
+strange to you, it does to me," he drew his hand perplexedly across
+his forehead. "I never thought that Romeo and Juliet was true to
+nature; that sudden love, that passionate romance, seemed impossible,
+incredible. I could not believe that true love could be born of a
+single glance. But now I understand, and you have taught me to
+understand. It is the love of soul and soul that springs up thus
+rapidly, like Jonah's gourd, in a night. Jonah, ah, yes, for years I
+have compared myself with that unlucky prophet, for everything has
+gone awry with me, these many days. I looked forward to a miserable
+future similar to the miserable past. This accusation of murder seemed
+to be the climax of bad luck. But now I know that it is but one of
+those evils out of which comes infinite good. You love me: there is no
+more to be said."
+
+"Tit, tit," cried the onlooker from the bed, "there is heaps to be
+said, doctor. Tell her how you love her, how pretty she is, and----"
+
+"I am not pretty," interrupted Elspeth, vehemently, "no one can say
+that, Mrs. Kind."
+
+"You are not pretty," assented Herries gravely, for he guessed that an
+overstrained compliment would make her think him shallow, "but you
+have the beauty of the soul, which shines through your face. It is
+that loveliness, which has caused me to recognize and return your
+love. Maud Tedder attracted me by her beauty, by her external beauty,
+and so the love I had for her--if it could be called love--was not
+lasting. But you, dear,--you," he exclaimed ardently, "it is your soul
+I worship and adore."
+
+"You may be mistaken," stammered Elspeth, "it is so sudden----"
+
+"No more sudden than is your love for me."
+
+"Ah!" she smiled faintly, "but I am a woman and impulsive."
+
+"Does that mean you may be mistaken."
+
+"No. A thousand times no. I love you with all my heart, and nothing
+can lessen or do away with that love."
+
+"Then you would not have me less fond, would you, dear? If I do not
+love you as you love me, then am I but a mere animal, unable to
+recognise the higher things of life. I did not recognise them until
+you looked at me,--until the veil fell from my eyes, and the warmth of
+your affection kindled a flame in my heart. But my soul has spoken to
+your soul, and if we had met and wooed for years, we could get no
+nearer the one to the other, than we are. Ours will be a marriage made
+in heaven,--the ideal heavenly marriage."
+
+"Marriage!" she murmured, confused, "marriage."
+
+"Yes, although I admit that I am a poor husband for you. I have no
+money,--I am under the ban of the law,--my life is full of
+misfortunes. Ah, dearest heart, think how deep must be my love, when I
+asked you to become my wife at this juncture."
+
+"Bless me," cried Mrs. Kind, not following this reasoning, "I should
+think it was the other way about. A chap as loves a maid shouldn't
+drag her down to poverty."
+
+"You are wrong,--you are wrong," said Elspeth, passing swiftly to the
+side of the bunk, "and Mr. Herries is right. Were we both rich, and
+careless of the deeper things of life, which poverty alone can teach,
+then we might marry without knowing each other's souls. But now, when
+we are in the depths, when Fate is doing her worst, when there is no
+earthly gain on either side, now is the time that we know our love is
+heavenly and lasting."
+
+"Then you love me indeed," said Herries coming up to her.
+
+She turned and put out her hands. All that was womanly in her, came to
+the surface in this hour, when both were at the nadir of their
+fortunes.
+
+"I love you," said Elspeth simply, and there was no need to say more,
+as her eyes spoke far more eloquently than did her tongue. "I will be
+your wife, when and where you will."
+
+Herries was not an emotional man, but the tears came into his eyes as
+he bent forward to kiss those virgin lips. This sudden love, so new,
+so wonderful, so heart-inspiring, was so simple in its genesis that
+for the moment he could scarcely think that it was actual fact.
+
+"I ask nothing further of Fortune now," said the young man, and his
+strong voice quavered. "I have gained the love of an angel."
+
+"Ah!" said Mrs. Kind shifting uneasily on her pillow, "that's what all
+men say before marriage, but afterwards----"
+
+"There will be no afterwards," cried Herries impetuously. "The
+beautiful present will be always with us.
+
+"Beautiful present, doctor, and you being hunted down."
+
+"I am not caught yet," said Herries gaily. "For the rest, I can afford
+to wait,--with Elspeth."
+
+"But if you are captured?" she asked, her head resting unresistingly
+on his breast.
+
+"I shall not be captured," said Herries forcibly, "though it may be
+that I shall give myself up."
+
+"Mr. Herries----"
+
+"Angus!"
+
+"Well then, Angus, you would not give yourself up?"
+
+The young man sat down again on the broken chair, and drew the slight
+form of his beloved to his knee.
+
+"Dear," he said gravely, "I have thought over matters in my solitude,
+and I see how wrong I have been in not facing the worst. This flight
+of mine almost admits guilt. If I am innocent, people ask themselves,
+why should I fly?"
+
+"Because appearances were against you," burst out Elspeth. "Because
+you were in the hands of Inspector Trent, who would not give you a
+fair trial. Innocent men have been hanged before, for crimes which
+they did not commit, and if you give yourself up to these policemen
+who are misled by false evidence, you may be hanged."
+
+"No, dear, I will not be hanged. The God who has given me a pure
+woman's love in my hour of deep distress will not forsake me in my
+need. Your love, given unasked, marks the turn of my fortunes; so low
+as I have sunk, even so high will I rise, and you with me. And come
+what may, your heart can never prove false to me."
+
+"Never! Never."
+
+"My," said Mrs. Kind with a sigh, "don't he talk lovely. Sweetlips
+never pattered in this way to me. It's as good as a play, and play it
+is," she added, raising herself anxiously, "don't forget that you have
+to save your life, before you can marry."
+
+"We can be married quietly," said Elspeth.
+
+"It ain't so easy to get tied up," retorted Mrs. Kind, wisely. "That
+doctor now,--his name's in all the papers by this time, and if he
+wanted a licence, or went to put up the banns, he'd be nabbed as soon
+as looked at."
+
+"Oh, Angus." Elspeth's eyes filled with tears.
+
+He drew her tighter to his breast.
+
+"Leave it to me, darling. What Mrs. Kind says is perfectly true, but
+there is a way out of the difficulty. Let me consult Browne and
+Sweetlips, and----"
+
+"Oh," said Elspeth, starting, "Dr. Browne is here. I left him running
+after a motor car."
+
+"What for?"
+
+Elspeth explained the episode of the insult, and what the little
+doctor had said about the cigarette stump. Herries, knowing the theory
+of Kind, became quite excited, as he guessed that if this clue was
+followed up it might lead to serious developments, likely to secure
+his safety.
+
+"But I don't see what a woman can have to do with the murder," he said
+perplexed.
+
+"Leave it to Sweetlips," said Mrs. Kind, seriously. "He's the chap to
+find a needle in a haystack."
+
+"Yes, but a woman of fashion----"
+
+"Ho," snorted Rachel, rubbing her nose, "did you ever know a case
+where there wasn't a woman?" She glanced merrily at Elspeth. "There's
+two in this affair."
+
+"Three," said Elspeth quickly, "you forget Miss Tedder. By offering
+this reward, Angus," she blushed as she shyly pronounced the name, "I
+can see that she wants to hang you. Well then, I will put my wits
+against hers and save her cousin."
+
+"Save your husband that is to be," whispered Herries, fondly.
+
+Elspeth took hold of the lapels of his poor jacket----
+
+"Do you really mean it: do you really mean it?" she asked, earnestly.
+"Think of what I am, as Sweetlips told you,--the daughter of Michael
+Gowrie, who was left in pawn by him, to be a drudge at the 'Marsh
+Inn.'"
+
+"You are a lady,--the lady of my love, and the sweetest woman in the
+wide world."
+
+"Well," said Rachel, staring at Elspeth, while this was being
+whispered into her ears, "if she don't look reglar, slap up, pretty!"
+
+It was true. A lovely pink blush was over-spreading the pale face of
+the girl, a smile of ecstasy parted her lips to show perfectly white
+teeth, and the whole worn weary body seemed to be suddenly rejuvenated
+by the power of the loving word. It was like the sun on a gloomy day
+emerging from behind a cloud,--a promise of that hidden loveliness
+which would reveal itself when she became the wife of the man she had
+dared so much to save.
+
+Mrs. Kind beckoned to the lovers who wooed so boldly in her presence
+and smiled.
+
+"Y' don't know that I'm a gipsy of sorts," she said, taking Herries'
+hand. "Let me read the lines, doctor. I've read Elspeth's before,
+ain't I, ducky? Lor, I read misery and sorrow, and folks as wished her
+harm,--all of 'em to skip when the man came."
+
+"The man?" queried Angus, submitting his palm to the sibyl.
+
+"You're the man. I knew it the moment I saw her blushing like a true
+maid. Aye, here's evil days behind you," she traced the lines with a
+lean brown finger, "evil folk too, and hardship by land and sea. See
+the crosses, deary, in the early part of life,--you've had 'em, oh my
+gentleman, what a time you've had!"
+
+"Jonah's luck," said Herries with a sigh, and to comfort him Elspeth
+raised his disengaged hand to her lips.
+
+"Aye! But luck of that sort is too bad to last. Hard rain don't last
+long, my pretty ones. Bad luck to Elspeth, and bad luck to you, my
+gentleman. Deary," she caught Elspeth's hand, and examined it turn and
+turn about with Herries' palm, "why, here's the coupling, the cross of
+marriage."
+
+"Do you call it a cross?" asked Herries laughingly.
+
+"It's the sign I speak of," said Mrs. Kind, simply. "Here, in your
+hand and her's, on the verge of the criss-cross lines, and all plain
+sailing before!" she dropped their hands and clapped her own. "Dearie
+both, the worst is over. You'll win free, my gentleman, and have money
+galore, and marry the pretty one who held to you in tribulation, as
+she will in wealth. Good health, good luck, and good hearts, and may
+the dear Lord have you both in His keeping."
+
+"Amen to that," said Herries solemnly, "but how can you tell that I am
+to have good fortune?"
+
+"Two 'no's' make a 'yes,' my gentleman. Your bad fortune and hers make
+one good one past believing, when you marry. Duvel!" Mrs. Kind became
+more gipsy-like than ever, as she plied the trade peculiar to the
+gentle Romany. "It's a true dukkeripen, brother," said she, and sank
+back exhausted with the effort.
+
+"Now, you must not talk more," said Herries, covering her up. "As your
+doctor, I should not have allowed you to chatter, when your throat is
+still weak. Elspeth," he turned to the girl, when Mrs. Kind was quiet,
+"go to the inn, and tell Sweetlips to come to me, along with Browne,
+if he is there. I want to hear everything up-to-date and arrange my
+plans."
+
+"Angus," she whispered, imploringly, "you will not give yourself up?"
+
+"Not unless Browne and Sweetlips advise. I place myself in their
+hands. Good-bye, dear."
+
+"Good-bye!"
+
+Elspeth was just receiving his kiss, when a thundering knock came
+rattling at the door. The sick woman raised herself, much startled
+and the lovers sprang apart. "Garryowen" had not been whistled or
+sang, and the triple signal had not been given. This was some
+stranger,--perhaps some enemy. Gathering her wits together, Elspeth
+pointed mutely to the still gaping hiding-place, and Herries lay down
+without a single word. In a twinkling, she had touched the spring and
+the flooring hid him from sight. The knock came again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+THE STRANGE WORD
+
+
+As soon as the noise of the second knock died away sufficiently to
+permit speech, Elspeth raised her voice crossly, with a glance round
+to see that nothing telltale was about.
+
+"All right! All right," she said in angry tones, and opening the door.
+"Who is there? What do you want? Mrs. Kind is ill; don't disturb her."
+
+"It's only me," said Pope Narby, who was standing, long and lean and
+chilly, on the steps. "I've come for you, Elspeth, as mother wants
+you, and she says she'll have the hair out of your head if you don't
+come up sharply. And I want writing-paper for myself. There's none at
+home, or in the shop, so I thought I'd get it here."
+
+"You might have knocked a little more gently," said Elspeth, relieved
+to see that Pope had no suspicions. "Poor Mrs. Kind is so ill."
+
+"You startled me rarely, lad," said the sick woman, taking her cue.
+"And why do you want Elspeth? I can't be left by myself."
+
+"Your husband's at home," explained Pope. "That he isn't," said Mrs.
+Kind grimly.
+
+"I mean he's at my home, drinking, and talking about the inquest."
+
+"Oh! he is," cried the sick woman, with pretended wrath, "then just
+you tell him that I'm all alone, and that if he doesn't come back,
+I'll clip him over the head."
+
+"All right. Come along, Elspeth. Oh wait--the paper?"
+
+Mrs. Kind pointed to a shelf over her head.
+
+"The box is up there, my dearie; the best writing-paper and dirt
+cheap."
+
+Elspeth reached down the box, and spread out the contents, but Mrs.
+Kind, delighted to be in her old element, did the bargaining herself.
+Not that it was much pleasure, as Pope was a fool over money, and gave
+her what she asked. Of course Mrs. Kind was glad enough to despoil the
+fool of his cash, but she would have preferred a hard bargainer.
+However, that pleasure was denied her, and she handed over the paper
+and took the money. Meantime Elspeth, with her shawl over her head,
+waited impatiently for Pope, thinking meanwhile of her poor hunted
+lover, who was being stifled under her feet. She could have knelt and
+kissed the flooring above his head.
+
+"Come along--come along," she said impatiently. Pope shambled
+ungraciously out of the caravan, while she closed the door after them
+both.
+
+"You won't be in such a hurry to get home when you know the tantrum
+mother's in," he grinned.
+
+Elspeth did not vouchsafe a reply, but walked swiftly across the
+splashy meadow, and out on to the muddy road. She was determined in
+her own heart to bear no further insults from Mrs. Narby. The woman
+who was engaged to marry Angus Herries must not submit again to
+outrage. And the knowledge that she had won this wonderful love
+made her feel brave. She was no longer the ill-used drudge, but a
+self-contained, resolute woman, who could fight the whole world for
+the sake of her man; aye, fight the Universe itself.
+
+"I say," babbled Pope, as he shambled homeward beside her, "I wish I
+could get this five hundred pounds, Elspeth."
+
+"Blood money never did anyone good, Pope."
+
+"Yes, but this man is guilty."
+
+"No!" she stopped and pressed her hands against her loudly beating
+heart, "that, I'll never believe."
+
+"But the verdict of the jury."
+
+"It is a mistaken one. And his own cousin, who should defend him, is
+the one to offer that iniquitous reward."
+
+"I say," Pope looked at her curiously through the gathering gloom,
+"you do talk first-rate at times, Elspeth."
+
+"I have been to a good school," she answered shortly.
+
+"You might help me with my poetry," suggested the poet.
+
+"Well, I will, if you'll promise to give up trying to get this
+reward."
+
+"No, I shan't," snarled the uncouth creature. "If I can get that money
+I'll be able to publish my poetry. You don't know how my genius longs
+to spread its wings."
+
+"I know that your genius, as you call it, is perfectly capable of
+hanging an innocent man to get blood-money," she flamed out.
+
+"Everyone has to look after himself," returned Pope sulkily, "and if
+this Mr. Herries is not guilty, who is?"
+
+"That man who escaped in Sir Simon's fur coat."
+
+"Mother's got the coat, and intends to keep it from the police if she
+can," observed Pope complacently. "Dr. Browne just asked to see it
+before I came to fetch you."
+
+"Is Dr. Browne at the inn?"
+
+"Yes. He came in a quarter of an hour ago, all puffing and blowing and
+covered with mud. Now he's talking to Sweetlips Kind, who wants to
+earn the reward. But he shan't, he shan't," cried Pope, clenching his
+lean, hard fist, "I'll get it. I'm going out to-morrow with some bread
+and cheese in my pocket, and will not come back until I find the man
+who killed Sir Simon."
+
+"Then find the man in the fur coat."
+
+"No, it's that Mr. Herries, and I'll ask Armour if he saw him. You
+know Armour's ill in bed, Elspeth. Inspector Trent went to see him
+before he left for Tarhaven. Armour sticks to his story of being
+carried away by men; they were sailors."
+
+"Sailors," echoed Elspeth, stopping short in front of the inn, "how
+does Armour know that?"
+
+"He saw, just for one moment before they muffled his head, that one
+had on a pea-jacket with brass buttons. I heard Inspector Trent say to
+Sweetlips Kind, that he expected they were sailors from Pierside, and
+that he is going over there to-morrow."
+
+"I don't see what sailors have to do with the matter," said Elspeth
+half to herself, and now standing directly before the door.
+
+She must have raised her voice unconsciously, for Mrs. Narby heard her
+words, and flung open the door, with a volley of bad language.
+
+"Come in, come in," yelped the gross landlady. "'Ow do y' do, me fine
+Duchess, stravaging abaut win there's work t' do. I'll pull th'
+bloomin' 'air out of yer 'orrid 'ead."
+
+She made as to do it, but Elspeth slipped under her extended arm, and
+flew into the tap-room.
+
+"Stop," she said in a commanding voice, which drew every eye to her,
+as the infuriated Mrs. Narby flung forward to enjoy her favourite
+pastime. "If you lay a finger on me, I'll give you in charge to the
+policeman who is watching the dead body upstairs."
+
+The landlady was so amazed at the turning of the worm, that she fell
+back against the wall and gasped. Dr. Browne, who was talking in
+undertones to Kind in a corner, looked approvingly at the girl, who
+was thus defying her bully. Narby turned and stared in surprise, as
+he was handing a pewter of beer to a yokel, and every man in the
+tap-room--and it was quite full--waited with bated breath to see what
+the redoubtable landlady would do. She gasped like a cod-fish and
+opened her mouth to speak twice and thrice, only to be quelled by the
+calm gaze of the girl she had tortured for so long.
+
+"I had your permission," went on Elspeth, oblivious of her startled
+audience, "to visit Mrs. Kind, who is seriously ill, and you did not
+mention any time for me to return. I have been your slave and your
+drudge long enough, and to-morrow I intend to leave, if you drive me
+to it, I'll leave to-night."
+
+"You--you--slut," shouted Mrs. Narby, almost too furious to speak.
+
+"Stop calling me names. Mr. Narby, while I remain here, I appeal to
+you for protection."
+
+"She doesn't mean it," said the landlord uneasily. He did not like
+this sudden revolt, and these outspoken speeches, which would damage
+the none-too-good reputation of the inn.
+
+"Ho! Don't she," screamed Mrs. Narby, and darting forward, gave
+Elspeth a swinging slap on the cheek, "an' she means thet too, y'
+hussy. Git back to yer kennel, y'----"
+
+What she would have said, what she would have done, it is impossible
+to say, as she had quite lost her head; but while Elspeth, sick with
+pain and shame, leaned against the wall, Sweetlips Kind caught the
+virago's arm, and swung her round. She scratched his face with a
+volley of bad language, and Narby saw that it was time to interfere.
+
+"'Liza 'Liza! stop," he said in a low, firm voice.
+
+"Lemme go, lemme git at thet--thet----" rage choked her.
+
+"Elspeth will come this night with me to the caravan, said Kind, and
+the girl started, half with joy, half with fear. She would have liked
+to join the vagrant life of the Kinds, which would be better than the
+dog's existence she was leading at the inn; but then Herries was
+there, and Kind did not know that now she was engaged to Herries.
+
+"No, no, it's very good of you, but----"
+
+"She sha'n't go," shouted Mrs. Narby, only restrained by her husband's
+strong arm from falling bodily on Elspeth. "She's mine. Her father
+lef' her in my charge. She daren't go."
+
+"Daren't," echoed the girl, raising her head dauntlessly. "If that is
+what you say, Mrs. Narby, I go now. My father left me here to pay off
+by my work, a miserable week's lodging. I have slaved for an entire
+year, and now I am free to leave." She walked to the door.
+
+"Stop her! Stop her!" cried the landlady, thinking--and very
+rightly--that never again would she get so obedient and willing a
+slave.
+
+"No one dare stop me," said Elspeth, turning at the door, "I leave
+your service at this moment."
+
+"Where are you going on this wet night?" asked Narby gruffly.
+
+"That is my business. And when next you get a servant, I advise you to
+stop your wife from ill-treating her as she has ill-treated me."
+
+"That's hactionable," cried the landlady savagely.
+
+"Make it so, and take me into court. My evidence would do you no good,
+Mrs. Narby."
+
+The virago saw that she had gone too far, and that the sympathies of
+the room were with the frail girl, who thus faced her so boldly. She
+fell back on whimpering. "And arter wot I've done fur 'er. Whoy, 'er
+mother couldn't 'ave----"
+
+She got no further. With a disdainful look, Elspeth pushed open the
+door and went out into the rain, which was now falling fast. Mrs.
+Narby would have followed, but her husband held her back.
+
+"You've done quite enough mischief with your tongue and fist," he said
+in her ear. "Get into the kitchen, or else I'll choke the life out of
+you, you she-demon."
+
+Mrs. Narby stared at him, and then went off into a fit of crying and
+kicking, and grovelling on the floor. Narby lost no time in arguing
+the point, but picked up the struggling, squealing woman, and half
+carried, half dragged her into the back parts of the inn. And all this
+time Pope stared open-mouthed, as much at the daring of Elspeth as at
+the downfall of his hitherto redoubtable mother. And his feelings were
+shared by the company in the tap-room, who had long looked on Mrs.
+Narby as a model virago, who ought to be brought to her bearings.
+
+"I'd best see after that girl," said Sweetlips in a low voice to the
+doctor. "She can't be left to wander about these marshes all night."
+
+"What can you do for her?" questioned Browne, following the Cheap-jack
+to the door.
+
+"She can come with me in the caravan to Colchester. I'm starting for
+that place to-morrow."
+
+"What, will you give up----?"
+
+"Hush. Don't speak so loud. Of course I'm still on the job; but I want
+to place a certain person in safety before moving further in the
+matter."
+
+"I think it would be best for him to give himself up, and stand his
+trial," said Browne quickly, "especially as he has inherited this huge
+fortune."
+
+"He hasn't got it yet," replied Sweetlips, grimly, "nor will he, until
+he clears his character and hangs the assassin of his uncle. Come
+along," they were hurrying up the village street, through the
+drizzling rain, in the direction of the caravan, "we'll lose that
+girl."
+
+"She'll go straight to your wife."
+
+"I daresay she--no, there she is." Kind pointed to a slim, girlish
+figure, which was gliding slowly before them. "I say, Elspeth,
+Elspeth!"
+
+The figure stopped and when the two came up, she paused under a
+villainously bad oil lamp, which cast but a feeble gleam, so dusky was
+the atmosphere with the rain and swiftly coming night.
+
+"I knew you would come," she panted, not having yet got over her
+encounter with Mrs. Narby, "and so I went towards the caravan."
+
+"But ain't y' going there, my girl?" questioned Kind, startled.
+
+"No. I can't stop in the caravan, thank you all the same, Sweetlips,
+you forget that Mr. Herries is there."
+
+"What difference does that make? My missus can play society."
+
+Elspeth drooped her head under the shawl.
+
+"I am engaged to Mr. Herries."
+
+"What?" shouted Browne, catching her by the arm.
+
+"Speak lower," urged Kind, glancing uneasily around, "you never know
+who may be eavesdropping.
+
+"But it's impossible," said the little doctor, sinking his voice. "You
+have only known him for a day or so."
+
+"All the same, he loves me, and I love him."
+
+"Don't be foolish, girl. How can he," Brown was careful not to mention
+Herries' name, "how can he support you, when he hasn't got a penny?
+It's sheer madness."
+
+"You forget the fortune," whispered Sweetlips in the doctor's ear.
+
+"You forget your own words. He has to earn that yet."
+
+"Then allow Elspeth to help him to earn it. She's a sharp girl, and
+already has done him a service. Let the engagement stand until the
+chap gets out of this hobble. Then you can talk."
+
+"All right," grumbled the doctor, "but it's ridiculous."
+
+Meantime Elspeth, feeling that it was impossible to explain her
+changed circumstances to the pair, had turned on her heel, and was
+walking in the opposite direction.
+
+"Where are you going?" asked Kind, gaining on her rapidly with his
+long stride.
+
+"To Armour, the policeman's," she answered in a fatigued tone. "His
+wife is my good friend, and will take me in."
+
+"Hum," murmured the Cheap-jack, "perhaps that will be best--for the
+present at all events. And I want to see Armour myself. Come along,
+doctor. There's work to be done."
+
+Browne followed at once, as he also was anxious to see the kidnapped
+policeman, and learn from his own lips exactly what had taken place.
+But he was not pleased at this fresh entanglement of Herries, since,
+as he thought, the girl would only hamper a man already in
+difficulties. However, he guessed that what Elspeth had said was true
+enough, and that she really was engaged. It is creditable to the
+doctor's understanding that he comprehended how this change in the
+girl's circumstances had enabled her to face the "Marsh Inn" bully.
+"Extraordinary creatures, women," thought this philosopher.
+
+Shortly Elspeth came to a small red-brick cottage standing some little
+distance from the village street and within a tidy garden, well
+cultivated. A light burned in the left-hand window, which showed that
+Armour and his wife were still sitting up. Certainly it was yet early,
+but Browne had thought that the policeman would have been in bed.
+However, the whispered information of Elspeth conveyed to his ear that
+the light shone through the sitting-room window.
+
+"Who is there?" asked Mrs. Armour, opening the door an inch or so.
+
+"I am here," said Elspeth, in a soft voice, "I have had a quarrel with
+Mrs. Narby, and she has turned me out of the inn, or rather I have
+given up my situation. Can you put me up for the night?"
+
+"Surely, surely, oh, my poor girl," said the comely woman, taking the
+shivering, bedraggled girl by the arm, "and who's with ye, Elspeth?"
+
+"Dr. Browne, from Tarhaven, and Sweetlips Kind. They came to see me
+safely here. Good night, doctor. Good night, Sweetlips."
+
+"No, no," said the Cheap-jack, "I'm coming in to see Armour."
+
+"What about?" asked the wife sharply.
+
+"I'll tell him when I get in."
+
+Mrs. Armour hesitated.
+
+"If it's a doctor you have with you," she said at length, opening the
+door wide enough for the trio to enter, "perhaps he'll give my man
+some medicine."
+
+"Certainly," answered Browne briskly, and she led the three into a
+small sitting-room, crowded with old-fashioned furniture. On the
+horse-hair sofa lay Armour in plain clothes, a heavy, sullen-looking
+man, whose head was bound up.
+
+"What's up now?" he asked with the groan of a rebellious Titan.
+
+"Elspeth from the 'Marsh Inn' has come to stop here the night,"
+explained his wife, "and a doctor's here to see you."
+
+"I feel very bad," grumbled the policeman, "my head's aching, where
+them there villains gave me a clump."
+
+"Let me see it," said the doctor, and having moved the lamp, he began
+to undo the bandages with deft fingers.
+
+"Come, Elspeth, me and you'll go to the kitchen. You'll be wanting
+your supper, poor lass. I'm glad ye've come here. Augh, that woman at
+the inn, I'm fair glad you've left her."
+
+"Good night, Sweetlips," said Elspeth again, and in an utterly
+worn-out tone, "you'll see me to-morrow."
+
+"Yes. Come along to the caravan and speak with my missus. She's a rare
+one for managing, is my Rachel."
+
+Mrs. Armour bore off the weary girl, and when the pair were out of the
+room, Kind turned his attention to the policeman, who had stopped his
+groans. Browne had bound up his head, and he confessed that the wound
+felt easier.
+
+"My missus is a good soul," said Armour, "but her fingers is all
+thumbs, drat her."
+
+He looked as though he expected his visitors to take their leave, but
+when Browne sat down and Sweetlips followed suit, the policeman half
+rose from the sofa in astonishment.
+
+"You'll be wanting to see me, gentlemen?"
+
+"Yes," said Kind, making a sign to the doctor to hold his tongue, "I
+want to ask you about this kidnapping."
+
+"What for?" asked Armour, suspiciously.
+
+"This gentleman," Kind indicated the doctor, "is a friend of Mr.
+Herries, who is accused falsely of having killed his uncle, Sir Simon.
+He has asked me to see into the matter."
+
+"But what can a Cheap-jack do?"
+
+"I was not always a Cheap-jack, Armour. Formerly I was in the London
+detective force."
+
+"Were ye now?" Armour's face relaxed. "Then maybe ye could put me on
+to earning this bit of money by telling me where the man we want is
+hanging out."
+
+"I'd rather earn it for myself," said Sweetlips coolly, "but if you'll
+tell me all about this kidnapping, I may be able to make it worth your
+while."
+
+"But I don't see what this, has to do with that?"
+
+"Ah, you can't see far, that's a fact," rejoined the Cheap-jack
+scathingly. "But it's this way. Your kidnapping has to do with the
+murder. The man who killed Sir Simon climbed in at the window
+somewhere about midnight."
+
+"I wasn't there then," said Armour swiftly.
+
+"I know that, or you would have seen him getting in. But he had not
+left by the time you came, and when you sat down on the bench, you
+prevented his escape."
+
+"But, Kind," broke in the doctor, "the assassin departed through the
+tap-room next morning, disguised as his victim."
+
+"That's true enough, but the men who kidnapped Armour may not have
+known that. Probably they were set to keep the coast clear, and when
+Armour blocked the way of escape, they rushed him."
+
+"Aye, that they did," said Armour, forgetting all caution in his
+desire to tell his woes. "I was sitting there with a pipe, quiet-like
+and they came up,--I can't say how many,--with a dash. One thumped me
+in the head, and threw a shawl over me, and--"
+
+"Have you the shawl?" asked Kind.
+
+"Here it be." Armour fished under the sofa and drew forth a yellow
+shawl striped glaringly with scarlet. While Kind examined this, he
+went on with his story. "They carried I away, where, I nivir knowed,
+being half insensible-like. When I come to my senses quite I was lying
+in a muddy ditch, with the shawl still over my head, and bound hand
+and foot like a parcel of goods. Hours and hours passed and then the
+porter come and got me free. And I ask you," cried the policeman, "if
+there was anything in that, as showed I hadn't done my dooty?"
+
+"No," said Browne, to whom the policeman appealed, for Kind was
+turning over every inch of the shawl. "You were the victim of
+circumstances. See here, you needn't say that you have told us
+anything, as I want to assist my friend secretly. Hold your tongue,
+and I'll give you twenty pounds.
+
+"Well, sir," Armour scratched his head, "seems to me, as I may be
+chucked the Force, if my superior officer, Inspector Trent, don't cool
+down. So be it as you'll ask me nothing which will be against my
+dooty----"
+
+Kind rose, threw down the shawl and interrupted. His eyes sparkled and
+Browne was sure that he had made a discovery.
+
+"We ask you nothing more," he said, putting on his hat, "but whether
+you leave the Force or not, you'll get the money. And more, you will
+be doing a kind thing in helping Dr. Browne to clear his friend's
+character."
+
+"But my superior officer ses as this Herries is guilty."
+
+"Your superior officer is several kinds of ass."
+
+"That he be," assented Armour vigorously, "he swore as I'd not kept my
+eyes open. And I ask you, what more could a man do, as was rushed by
+sailors?"
+
+"You are sure they were sailors."
+
+"Well, one of 'em wore a pea-jacket with brass buttons, as I've seen
+sailors wear."
+
+"Were they foreigners?" asked Browne quickly.
+
+"They might ha' bin, but I nivir had no time to see their faces, and
+they nivir did talk to me nohow."
+
+"That's all; good-night," said Sweetlips, walking to the door.
+
+"And you'll bear in mind the twenty pounds," said Armour, letting them
+out into the tidy garden.
+
+"Yes, yes, come some day to Tarhaven. Any one will tell you where Dr.
+James Browne lives. I'll give you the money; only hold your confounded
+tongue."
+
+"Nivir fear, nivir fear," said Armour, and shut the door with a
+chuckle. They left quite a different man behind to the grumbling,
+suspicious creature they had found nursing his wounds on the
+horse-hair sofa.
+
+"Well?" asked Browne, when he and Kind were well on their way to the
+caravan. "What have you found?"
+
+"Do you remember that name 'Tarabacca,' which the lawyer spied on the
+envelope directed by Sir Simon in the office."
+
+"Yes. What of that?"
+
+"It's on the shawl."
+
+"On the shawl?"
+
+"Yes. That's a foreign shawl, and a woman's shawl. Comes from Italy or
+Egypt or Tangiers maybe."
+
+"Kind, you don't think----?"
+
+"Aye, but I do. We're bringing home the crime to that lady in the
+motor car who insulted you. That insult will cost her dear. She smoked
+the same kind of cigarette as I found in Mr. Herries' bedroom, and
+this shawl evidently belongs to her. And the name is the same as that
+on the envelope addressed secretly by Sir Simon Tedder. We're getting
+on, doctor. That woman must be found."
+
+"But you don't think that she killed Sir Simon?"
+
+"Why not? I said that a light, nimble person could have climbed the
+trellis. Why not this lady? However, we'll have a talk to Mr. Herries,
+and tell him all we have found out. He may know if his uncle was
+acquainted with this dark lady."
+
+But Herries did not know. They approached the caravan whistling
+"Garryowen" and gave the signal. Herries was seated by Mrs. Kind's
+bed, and was more than glad to see his friend. Browne related what he
+had discovered, and then Kind followed with the story of the
+policeman's kidnapping. When he mentioned the name on the shawl, the
+doctor harked back, and explained the episode in Ritson's office,
+which he had forgotten to tell in detail. Then it was that the accused
+man started.
+
+"Tarabacca!" he cried, much excited. "Why, that's the name of the
+steam yacht lying alongside my boat at Pierside."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+A MEXICAN BEAUTY
+
+
+Early next morning, Sweetlips Kind was talking to Dr. Browne in the
+consulting-room of the latter at his Tarhaven house. On tracing the
+connection of the mysterious word "Tarabacca" with the shawl which had
+to do with Armour's kidnapping, and which consequently was of a piece
+with the tragic incident of the "Marsh Inn" crime, the Cheap-jack had
+postponed his departure. Eager as he was to leave the dangerous
+neighbourhood of Desleigh, where one and all were on the alert to
+capture Herries, he thought it well to see what sort of crew manned
+the yacht referred to by the accused man. Beyond the fact that the
+oddity of the name had struck him, Herries knew nothing. When the
+Arctic sealer "Nansen" came to Pierside, the yacht was already berthed
+by the wharf, and Herries had left his ship so immediately, owing to
+the persecution of the captain, that he had made no enquiries as to
+the nationality of the strange vessel. Nor, had he remained on board
+the "Nansen," would he have so enquired, since the "Tarabacca" did not
+interest him in the slightest. Now, however, that the yacht's name was
+on the shawl, and a letter had apparently been addressed to someone on
+board by the dead man, the subject became one of vital importance.
+
+Dr. Browne, very hopeful as to the future, had returned to Tarhaven by
+a late train from London, that fortunately stopped for a few moments
+at Desleigh railway station, and had taken leave of Kind with the
+understanding that the Cheap-jack was to proceed next day to Pierside,
+for the purpose of making enquiries about the "Tarabacca." The doctor
+was therefore surprised when Sweetlips arrived, somewhere about nine
+o'clock in the morning to continue the conversation broken off on the
+previous night. He appeared to be in a hurry, and lost no time in
+explaining.
+
+"It's a rum word, is 'Tarabacca'," remarked Kind, when the maid had
+left the two alone in the severe-looking apartment.
+
+Browne nodded.
+
+"It sounds like an Indian word," said he, judiciously. "Why not an
+Indiana word," suggested the Cheap-jack.
+
+"Might belong to South America," agreed the doctor. "There's a sort of
+Peruvian ring about it. Why?"
+
+Kind asked an irrelevant question.
+
+"Do you remember how I said that you had given me a clue, when we met
+outside the gates of the 'Moated Hall' park?"
+
+"Yes. I could not understand. I can recall nothing likely to----"
+
+"Hold on a bit, doctor, I'm going to explain now. That Kyles cove----"
+
+"Who is engaged to Miss Tedder. Well?"
+
+"Kyles," explained Sweetlips, with his keen eyes on the medical man,
+"is an adventurer, and is after Miss Tedder's money, I should say."
+
+"He certainly doesn't seem to be crazy about her."
+
+"No! That sort of chap's only crazy about one person--himself. I
+know--and you know, from Mr. Ritson,--that Sir Simon didn't approve of
+the engagement."
+
+"Yes! Yes! Yes! Go on."
+
+"When you talked of Kyles defending Mr. Herries," continued Kind,
+thinking out his case. "I thought it strange that he should go out of
+his way to help a chap on whom--as you told me, doctor--he had never
+set eyes. I guessed that there must be some reason for that--a reason
+connected with the murder."
+
+"Surely you don't think that Kyles has anything to do with the crime?"
+
+"Don't I, just? That's what I'm driving at. He's a sea-captain, and
+the coves as kidnapped Armour are sailors----"
+
+"Pooh! Pooh! Armour wasn't sure on that point."
+
+"He saw that one was brass-bound," retorted Sweetlips, "and merchant
+officers usually go about in their swagger togs to get the women after
+them. I'm certain that the brass-bound cove was officering a relief
+party of sailors. If my guess is right, that connects Kyles with
+them."
+
+"I don't quite see----"
+
+"Oh, it's all theory, of course, but we've got to grope in the dark
+before we fetch the light, doctor. Kyles is a sailor, and those men
+who captured Armour are sailors. Very good then; the case stands
+something in this way. Sir Simon's only daughter and heiress is
+engaged, against the will of her father, to Kyles, and Sir Simon is
+unexpectedly murdered. Beforehand, evidently expecting to be killed,
+he wrote a secret letter to someone on board a boat called the
+'Tarabacca,' disinheriting his daughter. Tarabacca is, as you think,
+an Indian word. Suppose we learn that it is an Indiana word, we've
+connected Kyles, who is in the service of the Republic, closer with
+the matter. The marked shawl and the secret letter form the connecting
+links, don't you see?"
+
+"Humph," assented Browne, somewhat struck by this lucid reasoning, "of
+course it's all theory. However," he crossed to the book-case, "the
+matter of the name is easily settled. I have an atlas here."
+
+"I doubt if you'll spot it, doctor. However, we can but try."
+
+And the doctor did try. Turning over the pages, until he came to the
+map of South America, he searched the portion, coloured yellow, to the
+far south of the Continent, which represented the tiny republic of
+Indiana. But no name could be found even distantly resembling the one
+they were in search of.
+
+"Hold on," said Browne, as Sweetlips shook his head with a
+disappointed air, "I'll turn up the index. Often names that are not
+set down on the map, are catalogued there." He ran his finger down the
+page. "Ta,--Tag,--Tap,--Tar,--here you are, Kind. Tarabacca, Map 45,
+Lat. 44, Long. 73° 6 E," again he reverted to the map. "Yes. It's
+certainly in Indiana, for here is the Republic in the latitude
+referred to. Tarabacca isn't set down here, but as it's in the same
+latitude, you may depend that it's a town or a lake or a mountain in
+the Indiana Republic, and the yacht's been named after it."
+
+"Which shows that Kyles is connected with the crime."
+
+"Hold on. That woman I saw in the motor car may have done the deed. It
+was a woman's shawl, remember, that was used to stifle Armour. She
+smoked too, and being light, could have climbed the trellis, so
+that----"
+
+"Yes, yes, but there's usually a woman in every case, and where a
+woman is a man is certain to be found. Captain Kyles, on the authority
+of the word, the shawl, and the cigarette, knows this woman and this
+yacht, therefore, he must have something to do with the crime, as she
+has. I believe they are accomplices."
+
+"Why not see Captain Kyles, since he is in Tarhaven?
+
+"What, and have him deny everything? Not me, doctor. I'm not
+sufficiently sure of my facts, sir. I'll go to Pierside on a selling
+excursion, and spy round that yacht. If I can get speech with the
+woman of the Lagonda tri-car, I'll shove the shawl under her eyes----"
+
+"The shawl----?"
+
+"I got it from Armour."
+
+"But he had no right to part with it."
+
+"I daresay," rejoined Kind dryly, "but he fancies that Trent will fire
+him out of the Force, and expecting money from you, on behalf of
+Herries, he is willing to do anything to save his own position."
+
+"Well," said Browne, rising and glancing at his watch, "it's a chance
+that something may come of the matter. If you want me, send along and
+I'll come if I can."
+
+"No. You make some excuse and call at the 'Moated Hall,' so as to keep
+an eye on Kyles and Miss Tedder."
+
+"I don't like spying."
+
+"You'll have to, if you wish to save Mr. Herries. Remember, those
+two--the girl and the Captain--will do a lot to stop Herries from
+inheriting the money."
+
+"He doesn't inherit until he learns who killed his uncle."
+
+"Ah well, he'll have to do that to save his own skin, so he has a
+double motive. So-long, doctor. Keep your eye peeled."
+
+With this somewhat Colonial farewell, the Cheap-jack took his leave,
+and made for the railway station. Fortune favoured him, for he caught
+a train to Pierside within ten minutes, and boarded an empty
+compartment, so that he could think out the complicated case at his
+leisure. Kind's heart beat the quicker, as he remembered that he was
+once more on the warpath, man-hunting. He almost regretted, on
+experiencing the old thrill, that he had given up thief-catching in
+deference to the prejudices of Rachel. But on reflection he came to
+the conclusion that it was better to wander a free man in the country,
+breathing fresh air, than to be tied to an official post in town,
+following criminals through the miry ways of crime. Besides, in his
+unofficial exploitation of the present case--which was about as
+difficult a mystery to unravel as he had ever chanced upon--he had a
+perfectly free hand. He therefore felt in very good spirits, and
+hummed a coon-melody, as he turned over in his pack a few feminine
+articles, which he thought might open the purse of the woman he wished
+to see. For apart from the case, Kind was naturally anxious to make a
+trifle of money, if only to pay his expenses.
+
+Pierside is a busy shipping port, thronged with sailors of all
+nationalities. The streets of the town are narrow, but there is ample
+space by the waterside, where the great docks are crowded with
+shipping. Kind shouldered his pack, and strolled easily down to the
+river banks. At the dock gates he was stopped by an official and
+forbidden to smoke; also his pack was examined to see that he had no
+contraband goods about him. This should have been done when he came
+out and not when he went in, and Sweetlips was rather disgusted at the
+zeal of the customs official in charge. However, the inspection was a
+mere matter of form, and was made by the Jack-in-office just to show
+his authority, so Sweetlips was speedily on his way to the wharf,
+where he was told the "Tarabacca" was lying. Very quickly he found
+her, and stood for a few moments looking at the smart vessel which was
+berthed immediately longside. She was a rakish, dissipated-looking
+craft, gaily painted blue and white, and flew an ensign which he had
+never seen before. It was a red wheel on white ground, and probably
+was the totem of the Indiana Republic. The yacht herself was three
+hundred tons, Lloyd's measurement, schooner-rigged fore and aft, with
+twin screws. Kind was a landsman, but guessed that this graceful,
+piratical-looking craft could slip along at a surprising speed, when
+she wanted to show a pair of clean heels. There was more of the
+blockade-runner than the cargo boat about her.
+
+Nor did the crew inspire Kind with confidence, as they were as dark
+and villainous a set of ruffians as ever shipped along with Captain
+Kidd. Most of them were mixed Spanish-Indian blood, and wore silver
+earrings and picturesque garbs, with the inevitable sheath-knife
+belted at the back. But here and there the Cheap-jack saw fair-haired
+Englishman, and also he espied a red-haired Scotchman, who was
+certainly the engineer, since he came along with an oil-can in his
+hand. Finally Kind caught sight of a small motor-launch, and wondered
+if it had been used to take a portion of this pirate crew down the
+river, to within kidnapping distance of the "Marsh Inn."
+
+However, he did not take long to conclude his examination, and began a
+swift patter as he displayed his goods. The pirates crowded to the
+taffrail, and grinned as his saucy words poured out. They apparently
+did not understand what he was saying, but the gay tints of his goods
+attracted them, and he was invited, in dumb show, on board. Here he
+shortly arrived and spread out his pack, keeping an eye meanwhile on
+everything that was going on. The crew examined beads and gaudy scarfs
+and cheap jewellery, and suchlike things, while Kind made his
+observations. There didn't seem to be much chance of getting
+information from these men, seeing that they were ignorant of English,
+and in desperation. Kind hit on an expedient to force his way into the
+state-room in order to get speech with the lady of the motor car,
+always provided she was on board. To learn her whereabouts he
+addressed an English sailor, who was lounging on the bridge overhead.
+
+"Hi!" cried Kind, giving his hat a cock, "Is there a lady on this here
+ship?"
+
+"What do you want with her?" growled the man, removing his pipe.
+
+"I've got goods to sell."
+
+"She don't want rubbish like that, mate."
+
+"Rubbish be--blessed," cried the Cheap-jack, resolved to make a
+row, and draw the lady from her shell,--now that he knew she was on
+board,--rather than lose his chance. "You come down and I'll show you
+if this is rubbish."
+
+The sailor leaned over the iron railing of the bridge, and jeered.
+
+"You go to--Kingdom come," said he, not using those precise words,
+"give me any of yer lip, and I'll chuck you into the water."
+
+Before he ended, Kind, active as a cat, was swarming up the steps, and
+the astonished sailor found himself shortly grappling with an
+exceedingly active opponent. It was a rash thing to do, as Kind did
+not know the strength of his antagonist, and moreover ran a chance of
+being imprisoned for starting trouble. All the same, he ran the risk,
+and swung and swayed with the now enraged mariner, while the swarthy
+crew hooted and yelled, and stole all the articles they could find in
+the pack. As Kind guessed, the noise brought out a man in authority,
+and also the tall, dark lady who had insulted Browne.
+
+"What's all this?" inquired the officer, looking up at the struggling
+men.
+
+Kind heard the voice, and saw the lady. With an effort he flung his
+antagonist on the deck, and leaped like a kangaroo from the bridge
+down on to the lower deck. The fall was a dangerous one, but Kind
+managed to alight, like a cat, on his feet and almost beside the lady.
+Scrambling up he began to explain.
+
+"I came along to see this lady," he said, taking off his hat, and
+gasping for breath, "and my civil inquiry only met with sauce. I was
+teaching that pirate there some manners."
+
+"Here, get on, you swab," shouted the officer, advancing.
+
+Sweetlips, whose eyes were on all sides, saw that the sailors were
+stealing his property, and bounded for his pack, He arrived just in
+time to knock over a man, who was seizing the red and yellow shawl
+which was his passport to an interview with the lady. With this in his
+hand he ran back, dodging the enraged half-caste he had bowled over.
+
+"Miss,--ma'am," he gasped, flourishing the shawl in the eyes of the
+lady, "I want to see you,--I've come from Desleigh,--I've----"
+
+The lady interrupted to rattle off a speech to the officer in Spanish,
+whereupon that gentleman knocked down the half caste, who had drawn
+his knife and was making for Kind.
+
+"Come here with me," said the lady in English, and swept into the
+cabin, followed by the Cheap-jack, who did not at all like the looks
+of his adversary. He had secured his purpose, but at the risk of being
+knifed when he came ashore.
+
+"Now then," said the lady in excellent English, "have you a message
+for me?"
+
+"No, ma'am, but I found some of your property, and came to return--"
+
+"My property. What do you mean?"
+
+Kind twisted the gaudy shawl in his hands, and pointed out the name on
+the border.
+
+"It's the name of your boat, ma'am," said he with pretended humility,
+"so I thought that it belonged to you."
+
+The woman did not reply at once, but fixed a pair of dark imperious
+eyes on him, as though she would read what was behind his speech. But
+the Cheap-jack was not going to be hypnotised by anyone, and let his
+eyes wander round a spacious and luxuriously furnished cabin.
+
+This unknown lady was evidently rich, for there were evidences of
+wealth on all sides. The walls of grained wood were panelled with
+pictures between the port-holes, the doors of the various berths were
+draped voluminously with rich eastern stuffs; the floor was covered
+with a carpet of royal colours, and the furniture was upholstered in
+gaily-tinted silks. The whole was a blaze of colour, as vividly-hued
+as a rainbow.
+
+Nor was the lady in her royal beauty unworthy of the place. She was
+tall, slim, stately, and bore herself in an imperial manner. Her skin
+was of a deep-olive, and her eyes were dark, large and liquid. What
+with her beautifully-shaped hands and feet, her haughty face, and
+refined features, Kind, accustomed to sum up people, guessed that she
+was a lady of rank, although of what position he could not guess. But
+as his eyes returned to her lovely face, and he saw the piercing gaze
+of her eyes, and how she tried to dominate him, he saw that it would
+be necessary to be on his guard. Again he avoided her intense gaze and
+glanced ostentatiously at the opposite wall, against which stood a
+small ebony table, fretted with gold. On this rested several
+photographs in silver frames. With a start Kind recognised the most
+prominent one as that of Captain Kyles. The lady saw his start and her
+eyes followed his.
+
+"Why do you start?" she asked, sharply.
+
+"I saw that gentleman at the inquest at Desleigh," he answered,
+feeling his way, for he could not quite understand the situation.
+
+"And you saw me there also?" she asked, quickly. "Yes, Madame,--I
+mean,--yes, ma'am."
+
+"I am neither French nor English. My name is Donna Maria Guzman. You
+can address me as Señora. Why have you come here?"
+
+"To restore this," replied Kind, displaying the shawl.
+
+"Where did you find it?"
+
+The Cheap-jack thought that it was necessary to lie. If Armour had
+been abducted by her sailors, it was not likely that she would admit
+such a breach of the law.
+
+"I picked it up on the road to Desleigh station," said he glibly.
+
+"Ah, yes," she replied, with an air of relief, "I fancy it must have
+dropped from my motor car, when I was at the inquest."
+
+So she was lying also. Kind hesitated about speaking further, as he
+did not quite know what to say. He wished to ask her why she had come
+to the inquest, and why she had permitted her sailors to abduct
+Armour. She saved him the trouble of asking the questions by answering
+at least one of them.
+
+"I went to Desleigh," she said, and Kind thought that the speech was
+somewhat unnecessary, "to see if the murderer of Sir Simon Tedder
+would be found."
+
+"Why, ma'am--I mean, Señora?"
+
+"Sir Simon was doing business with me in connection with the Republic
+of Indiana, through--" she glanced at the portrait.
+
+"Through Captain Kyles?" ventured Sweetlips bluntly.
+
+"What do you know of him?" she questioned, with some asperity.
+
+"I saw him at the inquest."
+
+"He was there by my request. This death of Sir Simon has thrown all my
+business into confusion. You seem to be a sharp fellow, and I am
+obliged to you for returning the shawl. It belongs to the ship and was
+marked to prevent its being lost; these shawls are of Indian
+manufacture and are somewhat expensive. My maid marked it."
+
+Again Kind wondered why she should make unnecessary explanations to
+him, seeing that she thought he was merely a hawker, and could not
+possibly guess that he was employed in detective business. She saw
+something of his wonderment in his face.
+
+"I daresay you are surprised at my telling you all this?" she said
+quickly.
+
+"Well, ma'am, I don't see why you should tell me your private
+business, as I am only a poor cove as gets his living hard."
+
+Señora Guzman sat down, and resting her cheek on her hand, looked at
+him thoughtfully.
+
+"You seem to be a sharp fellow," she said again, "and as you have come
+here rather opportunely, I wish to make use of you."
+
+"Yes, ma'am--I mean Señora."
+
+"I'll pay you well," she continued, "on condition that you hold your
+tongue."
+
+"I don't talk much, ma'am."
+
+"That's good. Well then, this death of Sir Simon's has thrown all my
+business into confusion. I said that before. I am the daughter of the
+President of the Republic of Indiana, and I have come on this boat to
+buy ships, as it is probable we may engage in war. Captain Kyles
+commands this boat, and was dealing with Sir Simon. I believe that Sir
+Simon was murdered by an emissary of a political party at variance
+with my father, the President, and----'
+
+"Then this chap Herries is innocent," said Kind, with well-affected
+simplicity.
+
+"Of course he is. I went to see if the inquest would clear his
+character. It did not. I am sorry for the young man, and I wish to
+save him if possible. Do you know where he is?"
+
+"No, Señora. He has vanished."
+
+"I thought you might have seen him," she muttered, with her eyes on
+the carpet and a look of perplexity on her face. "I am placed in a
+very difficult position."
+
+"I'm only a poor cove, ma'am, and can't help you."
+
+"Yes, you can. Find out where Mr. Herries is, and bring him to me. I
+will save him."
+
+"Then you know who killed Sir Simon, ma'am?"
+
+"No. I wish I did," she rose and stretched her arms over her head,
+"but that seems to be a mystery. Still, I can guess this much; that
+someone from Indiana killed him. It's a political murder, so as to
+stop Sir Simon from supplying ships to Indiana."
+
+"But Sir Simon was a jam manufacturer."
+
+"He dealt in other things also. Whenever he saw that he could make
+money he did business. If he had lived--" she stopped and clenched her
+hand. "The position is very difficult."
+
+Kind thought so also. She was frank enough with him; much franker than
+she need have been, especially as she had no guarantee that he would
+not blab all she had said to others. But her speech about Sir Simon's
+dealings with the Republic supplied him with a motive for the
+assassination. Perhaps after all it _was_ a political murder, for the
+emissary of the Republic, who had dropped the cigarette in Herries'
+room, might also smoke that especial brand. But why should Herries
+have been deliberately implicated in the affair? He might find out, if
+he served this lady's ends, since she also was bent upon saving
+Herries, and hanging the real culprit. If the murderer was a political
+adversary, she would certainly be doing a good service to her father.
+
+"What do you wish me to do, Señora?" he asked.
+
+"Search for the real murderer and bring Mr. Herries to me, that is, if
+you can find his whereabouts. I want to get at the truth of this
+matter, so as to explain to my father, who will certainly blame me for
+what has taken place."
+
+"But why should you think that I am able to help you?" asked the
+Cheap-jack with open suspicion.
+
+Donna Maria laughed.
+
+"Oh, I am accustomed to judge men," she said in a light tone, "and
+your ruse to get speech with me was very clever."
+
+Kind was taken aback.
+
+"Do you think that I----?"
+
+"My friend, I am perfectly certain that you quarrelled with those
+sailors to bring me on deck," she responded, "and that being the case,
+I see that you are a man of resource. Serve me, and I pay you well.
+And," she added, bending towards him with a fierce look, "I do not
+fear your talking. If I employ you, I employ others also, and if you
+talk, a knife thrust will soon silence you."
+
+"This is England, and not lawless Indiana," retorted Kind.
+
+"All the same, you have had your warning," replied Señora Guzman in a
+careless tone. "Here," she took out a gold net purse, and produced
+from it a couple of sovereigns, "this is for bringing back the shawl.
+I will pay you well, if you will keep your eyes open, and find this
+missing man. I can do nothing until he tells me what really took place
+on that night."
+
+Kind felt inclined to explain that Herries was perfectly ignorant of
+what had taken place, but he did not wish to let this very vehement
+lady know his real position, and therefore accepted her gratuity with
+thanks. But before withdrawing he wished to learn one thing,--was
+Donna Maria in love with Kyles? He believed she was from the glances
+she threw occasionally at the photograph. If she did love the
+buccaneer, did she know that he was engaged to Miss Maud Tedder? If
+she did not, here would be a chance of putting--as the saying is--a
+spoke in Captain Kyles' wheel. Sweetlips did not doubt but what
+Captain Kyles had something to do with the crime, although to be sure,
+his doubts were founded upon uncertain evidence. He put the matter to
+an immediate test.
+
+"Will I report to Captain Kyles, Señora?" he asked, with simplicity.
+
+"No. Certainly not. Why should you report to Captain Kyles?" she asked
+quickly, and with sudden suspicion.
+
+"Well, ma'am, since he is in command of this----"
+
+"He is the captain, but the political business of Indiana is in my
+hands," said she haughtily, "you know what you have to do, go and do
+it. But if you talk,----" she looked so significantly at him that
+Kind, although not over-imaginative, shivered. It was ill-work dealing
+with this tiger-cat. At first sight, it seemed as though she had
+trusted a man unknown to her, very rashly, but now that he saw she was
+prepared to stick at nothing, to secure any necessary silence, he
+became aware that there was method in her rashness. All the same he
+had not yet learned if she loved Kyles, and ventured again to feel his
+way.
+
+"Well, Señora, I daresay the Captain will be glad enough, not to be
+bothered with me while he's better employed."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Donna Maria, abruptly, and her eyes narrowed
+like those of a cat.
+
+"There was a cove at Desleigh," went on Kind, watching her face, "a
+chap as is a doctor and a friend of Mr. Herries at that, Dr. Browne he
+is, and I did hear him say that the dead man's daughter is engaged to
+marry----"
+
+The lady flew across the room, and grasped Kind's arm fiercely.
+
+"Not to--to----" she could not proceed.
+
+"To Captain Kyles, ma'am."
+
+"It's a lie," she muttered, and her face went white, while her
+lips tightened and her eyes flashed fire. "Do you mean to say that
+anyone--anyone--" she clasped her throat as though she were choking,
+"that anyone dares to--to report this--this engagement?"
+
+"Dr. Browne says Miss Tedder is to marry the Captain, Señora."
+
+Donna Maria's hands clenched themselves, and she spoke more to herself
+than to her companion.
+
+"That would account for--for--but no. He would not be such a villain.
+Besides, there's Manco Capac's treasure, and he loves me,--I am
+certain he loves me. The treasure will tempt him, and--" here she
+became aware that Kind was listening eagerly, and stopped abruptly to
+ask a question. "Will Miss Tedder be rich?" she demanded, calming
+herself with difficulty.
+
+"Yes," replied Kind promptly, and lying advisedly, "she inherits fifty
+thousand a year from her father."
+
+Señora Guzman passed a lace handkerchief across her mouth.
+
+"It's a great deal of money. She is pretty too,--a doll though; not
+like----" she glanced in the near mirror at her splendid face, and
+drew herself up proudly. "Oh," she flung the handkerchief across the
+room, "it's impossible,--quite impossible. Here," she turned on him
+energetically, "you are one who wanders about the country. I saw you
+at the inquest and was told that you so wandered. That is why I have
+been so frank. You may chance on Mr. Herries, bring him to me!"
+
+"But why--why----?"
+
+"If I find you trustworthy I will explain. Now go." Kind went, and was
+glad to go, for his head was whirling.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL
+
+
+Sweetlips Kind returned to Desleigh with his head whirling. He could
+not quite understand Señora Guzman; and Herries, when the conversation
+was reported to him, likewise expressed his inability to comprehend.
+The two men talked the matter over earnestly, and tried to arrive at
+some conclusion, but the whole matter was so enigmatical that they
+could decide upon no course. Finally they concluded that,
+notwithstanding the danger of the neighbourhood to Herries, it would
+be best to wait for a few days, and see what action Donna Maria
+intended to take.
+
+"There's nothing like waiting," said Sweetlips, "if this Spanish
+lady,--or rather this Mexican, as I believe she's a Creole,--if she
+has anything to do with the murder, it is on account of Captain Kyles,
+and should she think him false to her, which he certainly is, she will
+make trouble."
+
+"Do you believe that she sent the sailors to kidnap Armour?" asked
+Herries, who was sorely puzzled, and could see no light.
+
+"Of course she did, since she lied about the shawl. But they may have
+been sent to kidnap a political person who was menacing Sir Simon and
+made a mistake in collaring the policeman."
+
+"But his uniform----"
+
+"Pooh. The night was dark and foggy, Mr. Herries, and Armour wore
+a great coat, which did not look very official. Besides, these
+greasers--foreigners, remember--wouldn't know a policeman from a
+civilian, let alone the fact that they may have thought the political
+person might have disguised himself to get at his prey."
+
+"Why do you say 'his prey?'"
+
+"Because I am inclined to believe that the murder is a political one,
+after all. Sir Simon evidently was mixing himself up with the politics
+of the Indiana Republic to make money over the sale of ships. The
+man he expected was an emissary of the Republic, who got in at the
+window----"
+
+"How would he know the particular window?"
+
+"You forget the signal of the red handkerchief, Mr. Herries. With a
+candle behind it, that would show very plainly. Well, then, this
+political person got into the bedroom and killed Sir Simon. Afterwards
+he went out in the morning disguised as his victim."
+
+"Why did he wait until daylight, and run such a risk."
+
+"Because he would have run a bigger risk by leaving immediately he had
+killed his man. The sailors from the 'Tarabacca' were outside, and if
+he had fallen into their hands he might have been killed himself.
+Señora Guzman is not a woman to stick at a trifle."
+
+"Armour, whom they thought was their man, was not killed."
+
+"Quite so, but probably they learned their mistake, and so left the
+wrong man in the ditch. Then perhaps they returned to watch the inn,
+hoping that the real man might come out. He evidently saw them
+waiting, and so remained until he could escape in the morning."
+
+Herries fingered his chin.
+
+"All very feasible," said he wearily, "but why should I have been
+implicated?"
+
+"Ah! We'll never learn that until we chance upon the assassin."
+
+"And how will we find him?"
+
+"Ah!" Kind shook his head. "You have me there. Señora Guzman knows."
+
+"Are you sure?" demanded Herries, sitting up.
+
+"As sure as anyone can be with so puzzling a woman. Señora Guzman must
+certainly know the members of the political party opposed to her
+father. One or more of those members may have come to England to
+thwart her mission of buying battle-ships, and so may have tampered
+with Sir Simon. Such a person this lady may know, and that was why she
+attended the inquest."
+
+"Then why will she not accuse the right man and save me?"
+
+"She will do so, I really believe, if you will go to her."
+
+Herries shivered.
+
+"No," he said quickly, "I can't trust her. She might give me up to the
+police."
+
+"Well, she might and she might not. I don't pretend to understand. But
+the best thing to do will be to wait developments here. Kyles is still
+at 'Moated Hall' with Miss Tedder----"
+
+"Yes, and they know the truth about the will by this time."
+
+"Hum," murmured Kind, caressing his chin, "I expect so, if the funeral
+has taken place. Sir Simon was to be buried to-day, I fancy."
+
+"Will you make sure, and learn what has taken place? Get Browne to see
+Ritson."
+
+Kind nodded.
+
+"I'll go to Tarhaven to-morrow. Then Elspeth is at Armour's, and can
+remain there for a time. As soon as we know what Señora Guzman intends
+to do, we can go to Colchester in this here caravan, and you'll be
+safe. Trent can hunt about as he likes. He'll never think of looking
+here for you."
+
+"Ah," said Herries, glancing towards the bed, where Mrs. Kind was
+placidly sleeping, "that reminds me. Elspeth brought me a local
+Tarhaven newspaper," he produced it from his pocket. "See," he
+indicated an advertisement, "read that."
+
+Kind did so. It was a paragraph offering a reward of fifty pounds for
+the discovery of Michael Gowrie, and a full description of his
+somewhat noticeable personality was given. If found, he was to be
+brought to the Tarhaven Police Station.
+
+"Ha!" said Kind, laying the paper aside, "Trent is not such a fool as
+I expected. He knows that Gowrie, who slept in the tap-room, may be
+able to give evidence as to what took place on that night."
+
+"Why,--if he slept in the tap-room, and the crime took place up the
+stairs? You know how well-built the walls of the inn are. Any row
+overhead would not be overheard by a sleeping man."
+
+"That is, if Mr. Gowrie was sleeping," said Kind dryly. "That old
+cove's a blackguard, and knows more than we think. Didn't you miss
+some money from your pockets?"
+
+"Yes, but Gowrie----"
+
+"Took it. Of course he did. He knew that you had money, and that you
+would be sound asleep, worn out with your tramp. He, therefore, when
+he fancied you were in deep slumber, must have gone up the stairs and
+turned out your pockets. If he did so, he might have overheard a noise
+or voices in Sir Simon's room. I know enough of Gowrie to be sure that
+he would listen. What he overheard may have warned him to make himself
+scarce. At any rate Trent is well-advised to search for him. I never
+knew that Trent had so much sense."
+
+Here the conversation ended for the time being. Herries remained in
+his hiding-place, and Kind strolled round the neighbourhood selling
+goods, and keeping his eyes open. Armour, contrary to his expectation,
+was not dismissed, and Elspeth stopped with him and his wife, paying
+visits ostensibly to Mrs. Kind, but really to Herries, at the caravan.
+The lovers grew fonder of one another every day, and Elspeth urged
+Herries to leave the neighbourhood, lest he should be captured. But
+this he would not do, as he wanted to find out how Maud Tedder took
+the news that she had been disinherited, and also he desired to learn
+what difference her disinheriting would make to Kyles' affections. If
+he was after the money solely, he would probably break the engagement,
+and return to Señora Guzman, and the "Tarabacca." If, however, he
+really loved the girl, he would undoubtedly try and get Herries hanged
+in order that she should get the fortune. But Kind could learn
+nothing, as after the funeral and the reading of the will, Ritson had
+gone to Paris for a few days, and Miss Tedder went up to London,
+together with Mrs. Mountford and the Captain. Without doubt they had
+gone to see if the will would "hold water," as the saying is, and were
+taking counsel's opinion on the matter. At least that was Sweetlips'
+surmise.
+
+The "Marsh Inn" had settled down to its old ways. Mrs. Narby procured
+a slip of a girl in place of Elspeth, and treated her just as badly.
+Once or twice she met with her former slave in the village and scowled
+viciously, but she neither spoke to her, nor made any assault, which
+Elspeth quite expected her to do, seeing what a virago the landlady
+was. Perhaps the fact that Elspeth boarded at Armour's had to do with
+Mrs. Narby's meekness, for the woman and her husband were highly
+suspicious characters, and were suspected by more than one person of
+smuggling goods. At the back of the inn was a waterway, known as the
+Red Creek, from the colour of the mud on its shores, and here, it was
+reported, boats used to come up from the river laden with contraband
+goods. Armour had often watched but as yet had not been able to
+implicate Mr. and Mrs. Narby in wrongdoing. All the same, the couple
+kept quiet, and did not cross the policeman's path lest ill should
+come of their doing so. It was certain, therefore, that Mrs. Narby's
+avoidance of Elspeth, lay in the fact that she was under Armour's
+roof. And she was very glad of the refuge.
+
+Meanwhile Señora Guzman made no move either to see Sweetlips, or to
+seek out the political assassin. Perhaps she was waiting until such
+time as Kind would produce Herries, and then, when the accused man was
+in her presence, she might have made up her mind to speak out. Several
+times, the two men discussed the advisability of trusting the Mexican
+lady, but Elspeth always insisted that her lover should remain where
+he was until her father should be found.
+
+The girl had got it into her head that Mr. Gowrie would be able to
+produce evidence likely to save Herries from the scaffold, and was
+certain that her father would appear before long. But although she had
+written twice or thrice to the address he had given her in London, the
+old man never replied, and never appeared. It would really seem, as
+Kind sometimes thought, that the old scamp was himself the guilty
+party, and had murdered Sir Simon for the sake of the money.
+
+The papers had been full of the crime, but now that Sir Simon was
+safely buried, and no trace could be found of his assassin, as Herries
+was believed to be, the interest in the case died away to a great
+extent. It was revived somewhat by the advertisements about Michael
+Gowrie, for Trent, not finding the local papers of sufficiently wide
+circulation, had placed notices of the reward in the London journals.
+Every paper in the metropolis seemed to contain an inquiry for Michael
+Gowrie, so that Herries began to think that it was not so much Trent
+who was seeking for the man, as Maud Tedder, guided by the advice of
+Captain Kyles. These two wanted the money and by the will, if Herries
+died, the girl would inherit. It was therefore probable, that,
+thinking Gowrie would be able to substantiate the guilt of Herries,
+Miss Tedder had offered a reward likely to bring the old man on the
+scene. But as the days went by, and no Gowrie appeared, it seemed as
+though the truth would never be made manifest by reason of the absence
+of the chief witness. And Herries was growing very weary of his
+confinement.
+
+One evening, a couple of weeks after the burial of Sir Simon Tedder,
+when the weather was still damp and dreary, Kind suggested for the
+hundredth time the advisability, as he put it, of Herries facing the
+music; in other words, he really thought that the young man should
+give himself up. Mrs. Kind had now quite recovered, and had gone to
+the "Marsh Inn" to do some sewing for Mrs. Narby. The accused man was
+seated in the gap of the hiding-place, ready to lie down and be
+covered up, as soon as any suspicious knock came to the door. Kind
+himself, smoking a short clay pipe, guarded the door, and Elspeth, in
+cloak and hat, sat on the bed. The girl looked ever so much better, in
+spite of her anxiety, as the improved food she was enjoying at Mrs.
+Armour's, and her freedom from being struck and knocked about, enabled
+her to put on flesh. She was really becoming rarely beautiful, and no
+doubt the love which she had gained was helping her to become more
+of a woman and less of a drudge. She looked very different to the
+pale-faced, miserable creature whom Herries had helped on that
+memorable evening, when he had first set foot in that unlucky hotel.
+
+"The case stands this way," said Kind, after a pause, and using his
+little finger as a stopper. "We can't do anything as matters are now.
+I have seen Ritson, and he says so."
+
+"Sweetlips, surely you have not told the lawyer that Angus is here?"
+
+"Not such a fool, my dear. But Ritson returned from Paris to-day, and
+I saw him by chance in the street. We went to his office, and I asked
+him, on, Dr. Browne's behalf, as Mr. Herries' friend, mind you, how
+matters stood."
+
+"Well?" asked Herries anxiously.
+
+"Well!" echoed the Cheap-jack, "he said that Miss Tedder was mad to
+find that she had been disinherited, and was still in London with Mrs.
+Mountford and the Captain, seeing if the will could be upset."
+
+"Has she any money?" demanded Elspeth. "Oh, yes. Her father left her
+one thousand a year to get along on."
+
+"And she is using that to ruin me," said Herries bitterly.
+
+"You can't blame her," retorted Kind quickly, "one thousand a year is
+a drop from fifty thousand. However, she and her lover and Mrs.
+Mountford are in London, so that disposes of them for the present.
+Ritson is holding the property, until such time as Herries turns up to
+claim it."
+
+"I can't claim it until I learn who killed my uncle."
+
+"Quite so, and you can learn that from Señora Guzman."
+
+"Is she still at Pierside?"
+
+"Of course. I sneaked along there the other day and learned that the
+'Tarabacca' was still alongside the wharf. I didn't go down to the
+docks as I thought that greaser I knocked down might knife me. Oh,
+she's there, right enough, and keeps on board most of the time."
+
+"I wonder she doesn't go to London to see Captain Kyles."
+
+"I wonder also, seeing that she believes, as is really the case, that
+Kyles is engaged to Miss Tedder. But perhaps she's got something up
+her sleeve."
+
+"What can it be?" mused Elspeth.
+
+"Well," said Kind, after a pause, "I really think she is waiting until
+I bring Herries to her. You see," she went on, without heeding the
+exclamation of the girl, "she wants to have a yarn with Herries to see
+how she stands."
+
+"In what way?" asked Herries, puzzled.
+
+"Well," drawled Kind, again filling his pipe, "if Señora Guzman knew
+that you get the money if the real assassin of Sir Simon is
+discovered, she would make it her business to tell who he is, because
+in that way she would keep Miss Tedder out of the money, and Kyles,
+whom she loves, from marrying Miss Tedder. So, if you'll take my
+advice, Mr. Herries, you'll slip along to Pierside to-morrow and see
+this lady. It's to her interest not to split on you."
+
+"It sounds like it I confess."
+
+"No, no," said Elspeth, getting off the bed and looking very anxious,
+"it would be wrong to tempt Providence in that way. Better wait until
+my father appears. He must have heard something when he was sleeping
+in the tap-room, and perhaps he'll know the truth."
+
+"Señora Guzman knows the truth also, and she is at hand, while your
+father isn't," retorted the Cheap-jack.
+
+"Are you sure she knows the truth?"
+
+"Certain," replied Kind positively, "she hinted to me that the murder
+was a political one, and if that is the case, which, mind you, I am
+inclined to believe, she will probably know the assassin. Her father
+occupies a difficult position as President of that Republic."
+
+"Hold on," said Herries quickly, "I found out something about the
+Indiana Republic from some of those old newspapers which your wife
+gave me. Have you read them?"
+
+"No. Since giving up thief-catching I have given up reading the
+newspapers, which don't interest me. Rachel doesn't read them either.
+But we buy up old newspapers to tie up the goods in, and sell them
+also as waste paper. Well?"
+
+"Well, then, Mrs. Kind gave me a few dozen of those old papers to wile
+away the time. I found some of a few months ago--nine or ten months to
+be exact--which gave an account of a revolution in Indiana. President
+Guzman was deposed, and fled with his daughter and Captain Kyles,
+whom, it seems, commanded the Navy."
+
+"Humph," said Kind, "in that case, the yarn of buying these war-ships
+is all rubbish."
+
+"No. I don't see that. The President and his daughter may procured
+money, and have come to get ships under the advice of Captain Kyles,
+so as to replace the President over the Republic."
+
+"Might be,--the yacht certainly looked like money. But from what you
+say I should think that Kyles will marry Miss Tedder. It's better to
+get fifty thousand a year in England, than marry the daughter of a
+deposed ruler. If Guzman were still the President, I should say his
+daughter would get the Captain; but as matters stand, I think Kyles is
+making for the Tedder cash, and he'll marry the girl."
+
+"He won't get the money, however," said Elspeth quickly.
+
+"He will, unless Mr. Herries joins forces with Señora Guzman, and
+learns the truth. It's all politics, and she alone can put us on the
+track of the real assassin. See her, Mr. Herries--and at once."
+
+"No, no, wait till my father comes," cried Elspeth. At that moment, by
+one of those odd coincidences, which often occur in life, a trembling
+knock came to the door. In a moment Herries was lying full length, and
+Elspeth had replaced the boards. While she put a chair over the
+hiding-place and sat down shaking with nervous fear, Kind spoke
+gruffly through the door.
+
+"Who's there?" demanded the Cheap-jack.
+
+"Eh, laddie, lat me come ben," whimpered a voice, quaveringly.
+
+"My father," cried Elspeth, jumping up.
+
+Kind opened the door exultingly.
+
+"Enter, Mr. Gowrie," said he jubilantly, "you're just in time."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+A FRIEND IN NEED
+
+
+Elspeth sprang forward to welcome her father. As she had confessed
+once or twice to Herries, she had no great love for him, since he had
+not treated her as he should have done. All the same he was her
+father, and the sole relation she had in the world, so, when she
+beheld him stagger into the caravan, looking more or less a wreck, all
+the woman's heart of her went out to the old reprobate. On his side
+also, Gowrie seemed glad to meet his deserted child, and patted her
+hand, as he sank into the chair vacated by Kind.
+
+Neither the Cheap-jack, nor the girl thought of telling the new-corner
+that Herries was stretched at full length under his gouty feet, as
+they feared lest the greed of money should lead Mr. Gowrie into
+betraying the young man. Herries likewise, recognising the voice, and
+hearing Kind's boisterous welcome, knew that the long-sought-for
+witness was seated overhead, but he also declined to trust himself to
+so slippery a gentleman. He therefore lay still and stiff, listening
+to the conversation, anxious only to hear if his former tutor could
+throw light on the subject of the murder.
+
+"Weel, weel," muttered Gowrie, while his daughter and Kind stared at
+him in silence, "it's a braw welcome ye've given the auld mon. Mae ain
+flesh an' bluid's kinder nor the warld I'm theenking. Aye, aye, and
+there'll be whusky aboot maybe."
+
+Sweetlips, seeing that the old creature was more or less exhausted,
+poured him out a glass of Glenlivet, and while Gowrie smacked his lips
+over the unaccustomed luxury,--for that it was, since he appeared to
+be as poor as the proverbial church mouse,--Elspeth stared at the
+parent she was ordered to love, honour and obey. He did not seem to be
+the sort of father to whom the text applied. His hand shook, as he
+sipped the strong drink, and his white head quivered as though he had
+the palsy. The fringe of silvery hair round his bald head gave him a
+patriarchal appearance, and his beard was one Aaron might have envied,
+so long and venerable had it grown. His clothes were still dirty and
+disreputable, and his face was still inflamed with drink. On the whole
+the Rev. Michael Gowrie looked like a man with whom the world had gone
+badly, and Elspeth shuddered, when she reflected that this wreck had
+the right to call her his daughter. However, she was sorry for him, so
+old and weak did he look, and tended to him silently.
+
+"Will you have some food?"
+
+"Nae, nae, my lassie. It's the gude barley-bree that's needed. A bite
+an hoor or twa later, wud dae me nae hairm, I'm theenking, but we'll
+dae wi' the whusky at preesent. Aye, aye, this is a hoose o' refuge,
+Elspeth. Ye mauna turn yer puir auld faither oot into the confleect o'
+the elements. Ice, snaw, an' rain, all praisin' Providence, forebye,
+it's but rain, ye ken."
+
+"Where do you come from?" asked Kind impatiently, as he had no
+patience with these maunderings.
+
+"Ye may weel ask that. I've been walking up an' doon the arth like
+Satan in Holy Writ, but wi' less success, I'm theenking. Nae siller in
+ma pocket, and a price,--as ye may say,--on the heid o' me."
+
+"You know that you are wanted then," said Elspeth with eagerness.
+
+"Aye, but no for daeing wrang, dear. Losh me," he chuckled, being
+revived by the drink, "there's fame for ye, me being asked for in a'
+the papers o' the three kingdoms.
+
+"How is it you never turned up before?" asked Kind.
+
+"Weel!" said Gowrie, winking one eye and holding out his glass to be
+replenished, "I wisnae very sure it wud be wise tae gang tae those in
+authority. The reward wudnae gang into ma pockets. I lay low in Great
+Babylon, the which ye ken is London, and got ma bite an sup fra the
+few shullings I got----"
+
+"From Mr. Herries' pockets," finished Elspeth. "Father, you acted
+shamefully, robbing Angus."
+
+"Angus is it," snapped the old man, ignoring the accusation, "and for
+why dae ye, ma ain child, ca' him Angus?"
+
+"That's my business," retorted the girl, flushing. Gowrie watched her
+cunningly.
+
+"Aye, aye, young life and young luve, ma dearie. Weel, and shall nae a
+wumon depart fra her faither and be one wi' her husband an'----"
+
+"I never said that!" cried the girl angrily.
+
+"Hoots, lassie, I'm nae blind, foreby yon limmer at the inn tauld me
+ye'd taken a gait o' yer own. An' me," cried Gowrie, raising his voice
+in indignation, "coming tae the inn for a bite and a sup, wi' nae
+siller tae pay, believing my ain child wud wark off the bill."
+
+"She's had enough of that," said Kind roughly, "she was quite right to
+leave. She is stopping with Armour the policeman, and goes with me
+when we leave this place."
+
+"And wi' Herries?"
+
+"We don't know where he is," said Kind smartly, seeing that Elspeth
+hesitated to tell the white fib.
+
+"An' hoo, then, can ye luve him?" demanded Gowrie cunningly.
+
+"I loved him when he slept at the inn," returned the girl, "he helped
+with the bucket; the first person who was ever kind to me."
+
+"Eh, Romeo and Juliet, o' Wully Shakespeare," chuckled Gowrie, "the
+bard wisnae sae far wrang in his gab o' luve at first sight. Wull yon
+lad marry ye, Elspeth, dae ye theenk?"
+
+"What makes you think that we are engaged?" she asked evasively.
+
+"My lassie," said the old man chuckling, "I ken the waiys o' wumon,
+none better. In the Patmos in the weelderness, where I wis hiding, I
+read the papers, and saw aboot yon escape. Thinks I, Elspeth hes mair
+to do wi' this nor meets the eye. Didnae I see the blink of yer een
+when Herries wis chatting in the tap-room. He couldnae ha' escaped by
+himsel. Nae, nae, where there's a mon, there a wumon, sae I joost pit
+twa and twa togither. Aye, he's yer mon, lassie."
+
+Elspeth glanced at Kind, and he at her. The old man had guessed all
+that had taken place by shrewd observation, and they dreaded lest this
+preternatural cunning (for so it seemed) should lead him to guess that
+Herries was quaking under his feet. But his next observation reassured
+them in some measure.
+
+"I'm ganging tae save the lad," said Gowrie, finishing his glass.
+
+"What?" cried his daughter, and Herries suppressed a gasp with
+difficulty. The remark was like a gleam of light in a clouded heaven.
+
+"Aye," pursued Gowrie, leisurely, "ye taunt me, yer ain faither, wi'
+taking a few bit shullings fra the laddie's pocket. It wis the best
+thing that happened tae him, that same, for by daeing what I did, I
+can save the lad. And who's he, my ain pupil, to grudge his auld tutor
+a bit of siller?"
+
+Kind glanced nervously at the floor. He knew that Herries was
+overhearing every word the old reprobate uttered, and dreaded lest he
+should reveal himself prematurely. But Herries held his peace until he
+learned more of Mr. Gowrie's intentions. He did not trust him an inch
+until he could see how the old man proposed to benefit by saving him.
+
+Elspeth, knowing her father of old, had similar thoughts in her brain,
+and spoke her mind pretty freely. What the reprobate had guessed she
+confessed, thinking, that if he knew Herries was her lover, he would
+be more inclined to save him. Sweetlips remained silent, as he was
+anxious to let Gowrie talk, so as to learn exactly what he had up his
+sleeve.
+
+"Father," said the girl, laying her hands on Gowrie's shoulders, "can
+you really save Angus?"
+
+"Yes," said the reverend gentleman, in his best English, "if he will
+be guided by me."
+
+"And what do you expect to get out of this?"
+
+"Ma ain child," said the patriarch, relapsing into Scotch, "dae ye nae
+theenk but what a mon micht dae good wi'out conseedering himsel'?"
+
+"You wouldn't," rejoined Elspeth curtly.
+
+Gowrie wiped a tear from his inflamed eye with a ragged handkerchief,
+and raised his face to heaven.
+
+"Ma ain child," said he in a pathetic tone, "Aye, it's a Lear I am, nae
+less."
+
+"Look here, father," said Elspeth, placing her hands on her hips and
+speaking almost as sourly as Mrs. Narby, whose favourite attitude this
+was. "It's no use your talking like this. You took me from that
+excellent school, where my godfather was educating me, and turned me
+into Mrs. Narby's drudge, just that you might have a place to go to,
+in the 'Marsh Inn,' without paying. I was a child when you last saw
+me, and did what I was told. But love, the love of a good man, has
+changed me into a woman. I have become engaged to Angus, and I helped
+him to escape. He's far away from here, and in a place where you won't
+find him. I have seen him several times since he got away from the
+inn, and we are engaged to be married."
+
+"It warrums ma hairt tae hear ye say so, lassie," mumbled Gowrie, in a
+thankful voice. "Aye, aye, ye'll be able tae gie yer auld faither a
+warrum seat by the hearth."
+
+"We haven't got a hearth," said Elspeth bluntly.
+
+"Aye, but ye'll hae a braw ane, I doot not," said Gowrie cunningly,
+and watched the effect of his remark out of the corner of his wicked
+old eye.
+
+It was Kind who replied, as he was beginning to have an inkling of why
+Mr. Gowrie had put in so opportune an appearance.
+
+"I don't know if you guessed that Elspeth had a hand in Mr. Herries'
+escape," said he, looking steadily at his visitor, "but you came down
+here to see if you could force her to become engaged to Mr. Herries."
+
+"There's nae force required," chuckled Gowrie.
+
+"You didn't know that. God has brought these two unlucky people
+together, I verily believe, so that they may be happy in the long
+run. You guessed,--at least I can't think how you could know in any
+way,--you guessed that Elspeth saved Mr. Herries from immediate
+arrest, and probably, as you say, you saw, when Herries came to the
+inn that Elspeth liked him--"
+
+"Luved him--luved him. Dinna use weak worrds."
+
+"Well then, loved him. You thought to come here and see if Elspeth
+would marry him, and----"
+
+"I went to the inn," cried Gowrie, speaking English, and in a most
+indignant manner. "Mrs. Narby promised to give me house-room always,
+so long as Elspeth worked for her. And I found that Elspeth had
+insulted that most excellent lady, and I was turned out of my
+Patmos,--my refuge in the wilderness. Mrs. Narby sent me here, to your
+house on wheels, saying she was here."
+
+"Well then, I am here. What do you want?"
+
+"Dae ye ken I'm yer faither?" demanded Gowrie wrathfully.
+
+"Only too well," she replied bitterly, "had you not been my father, I
+should never have slaved for Mrs. Narby. But I agree with Sweetlips,
+you came here with some scheme in your head. What is it?"
+
+"I know," said Sweetlips, interposing contemptuously. "He intended to
+get you to find Herries, and ask him to marry you out of gratitude."
+
+"I should never have done that," cried the girl flushing.
+
+"There is no need to, as things have turned out," retorted Kind
+bluntly, "but your father here wants you to marry Mr. Herries."
+
+"Aye, aye," mumbled Gowrie, "I'm gey auld, and ma child,--weeckedly as
+she talks to her puir auld faither, must nae be left wi'oot a
+protector, when I'm in ma lang hame, the which is the grave."
+
+"You have no idea of going to your long home for years," said Kind,
+coolly. "You lay low and did not come forward to save Mr. Herries
+until you saw that it would be to your advantage."
+
+"As how?" asked Gowrie politely, but his face grew red.
+
+"You saw in the newspapers that Herries inherited his uncle's money."
+
+"On condeetions, mind ye," chuckled Gowrie.
+
+"So that is why you have come?" asked Elspeth, angrily.
+
+Gowrie rose to his full height, which was tall enough nearly to touch
+the roof of the caravan, and thrust one hand into the breast of his
+ragged frock-coat in quite a Napoleonic attitude.
+
+"That," he said in his grand mellow voice, and now quite restored to
+his native impudence by the whisky, "that is my reason. Whether I
+guessed that you had assisted Herries to escape or not, matters
+little. I may have guessed from your betraying eyes at the inn that
+you had fallen in love with him at once, or I may not. Let that pass.
+But I am a good father, and it went to my heart to think that one of
+my blood should slave at a poor inn, when she should be occupying a
+lady's position, seeing that she,--I allude to you, Elspeth,--is a
+lady born and bred. I therefore said, when I saw that Herries was
+likely to become a millionaire, I said to myself that it would be as
+well to be his father-in-law. And I charge you, Elspeth, as you are my
+daughter, to marry this man, and keep your father in comfort in his
+old age. 'Honour thy father and thy mother' says the Book of books,
+and do not----"
+
+This episode of the devil quoting scripture to gain his own ends was
+cut short by a choking laugh, which came from under Mr. Gowrie's feet.
+The old man jumped up, as though a bomb was about to explode, and
+Elspeth began to explain.
+
+"It's the dog," she said in a hurried tone. "It's the----"
+
+"No, no," cried Herries' voice from below, and Gowrie, whose nerves
+were weak with drink, jumped again. "Let me out. I'll trust him."
+
+"Whaur the deil have ye pit the mon?" inquired Gowrie, affrightedly.
+
+Kind shrugged his shoulders, and lifted the flooring, after he had
+swept Gowrie to one side. He did not think it was wise of Herries to
+reveal himself to so untrustworthy a personage; but the mischief had
+been done, and shortly Herries, red in the face from suppressed
+laughter, sat up in the gap, wiping the tears from his eyes.
+
+"I couldn't help it," he gasped looking from Elspeth to Kind, and from
+Kind to his old tutor, "to hear that fraud talk about the Bible was
+too much for me."
+
+"Ma ain laddie," cried Gowrie, not at all taken aback, and recovering
+the colour of his shiny skin, which had vanished in his recent alarm,
+"here's one who will help you."
+
+"I know that one is here who won't betray me," said Herries rising and
+taking a seat, "guard the door, Kind. Elspeth, don't look so alarmed;
+it's to your father's advantage to hold his tongue. I should not have
+revealed myself, else."
+
+"Eh," said Gowrie lifting his eyes to heaven, "ma ain pupil taks me
+for a Judas."
+
+"You're quite right," said Herries dryly, "you'd sell me within the
+hour, if you thought you'd make money. But I am of more value to you
+alive than dead, or the rope would be round my neck."
+
+"If my father did that--" gasped Elspeth, clenching her fists.
+
+"Pooh, pooh," interrupted Kind, seeing from the brightness of Herries'
+eye, and the resolution of his look, that he was quite master of the
+situation, "let the Guv'nor speak."
+
+"The Governor?" queried Herries, smiling.
+
+"Yes. I see you've made up your mind to act, so there's no chance of
+my guiding you any further. And I'm glad of it, Guv'nor," added the
+Cheap-jack, heartily, "you have plenty of resolution, and only need to
+exercise it. Now then, we're tiled in all right, so fire ahead and
+find out what this old----"
+
+"I'm the Rev. Michael Gowrie, saving your presence," said that
+gentleman in an aggrieved tone.
+
+"You are whatever pays you best," retorted Kind. "Here, have some more
+whisky, and answer the Guv'nor's questions straight, or I'll wring
+that blessed old neck of yours."
+
+"Elspeth!"
+
+"I agree with Sweetlips, father," said the girl with resolution. "If
+you don't act straightly, I'll accuse you myself of having murdered
+Sir Simon, even though you are my own father."
+
+"I," gasped Gowrie turning pale, all but his nose, which everlastingly
+gleamed a bright crimson, "I murder----?"
+
+"It looks like it," put in Herries, who had been watching the old
+trickster, "you've run your head into the noose, Mr. Gowrie."
+
+"I'm--I'm--innocent, damn ye."
+
+"Very good. Then explain what took place on that night."
+
+"I'll no dae that, until I see ye marrit tae my dochter, she-deil as
+she has been tae her auld faither."
+
+"But how can I marry her in my present position?"
+
+"Eh, ye can leave yon tae me, Angus. I'll ca ye Angus, seence ye're
+tae be bane o' ma bane and flesh o' ma flesh, as it micht be. When I
+can ca' my dochter Mistress Herries, and have the promise of the pair
+o' ye tae gie me enough tae leeve like gentry, I'll save the life o'
+ye,--aye, that I wull."
+
+"And tell us who killed Sir Simon."
+
+"Nae," said Gowrie with real regret, "I canna dae that, for I dinna
+ken wha committed the weecked deed."
+
+"That's a lie," cried Kind.
+
+"It's the truth, sir," said Gowrie in his best English. "For all I
+know Herries here may have killed the man."
+
+"You said that you could save me."
+
+"I did, and I can," said Gowrie, rather disconcerted, "but only if you
+marry Elspeth."
+
+"I don't require your command to marry her," said Herries, taking the
+girl in his arms. "I love your daughter with all my heart and soul, as
+a good true woman. I'll marry whenever I am free."
+
+"Ye'll mairry before that," said Gowrie sharply.
+
+"Can't you trust me?" asked Herries angrily.
+
+"I trust nae one."
+
+"He judges all by himself," said Kind. "Well then, tell us how the
+marriage can take place. You know that Mr. Herries is being searched
+for, and if he gets the banns put up, or procures a special license,
+he will be arrested."
+
+"I know that," snapped Gowrie with a leer, "and I want him to be
+arrested.
+
+"What!" cried Elspeth, placing herself before her father with a look
+of dismay, "would you betray him?"
+
+"No, no," said Herries, beginning to see the drift of the old man's
+plot, "Mr. Gowrie wants to earn the five hundred pounds reward from my
+cousin."
+
+"Aye, I do that, and save you from being hanged also."
+
+"I don't understand," said Elspeth in bewilderment.
+
+"I do," said Kind, quickly, for he also saw what was meant. "I'll take
+Mr. Herries to some less dangerous neighbourhood, where he will not be
+arrested so immediately,--say to some midland town, where the news of
+the murder will scarcely have penetrated. Mr. Herries' name will not
+be so known there, and then I'll get a special license, and you can
+marry him, Elspeth."
+
+"That's it--that's it," cried Gowrie exultingly. "Meanwhile I go to
+Miss Tedder and say that the marriage will take place on a certain day
+in a certain town. She'll tell the police, and you, Angus, will be
+arrested. I'll thus get the reward, which we'll employ to hunt down
+the true assassin, and place you in command of the fifty thousand a
+year," he smacked his lips.
+
+"But Angus may be hanged," cried Elspeth terrified, and clinging to
+her lover.
+
+"Lassie," said Gowrie solemnly, "not a hair of the head of him will be
+hurt. I can exonerate him entirely."
+
+"But how. I don't see----"
+
+"Neither do I," said Herries, looking hard at Gowrie. "All the same,
+I'll trust my future father-in-law, as I am quite sure that he has
+more use for fifty thousand a year than for five hundred all told."
+The reprobate rubbed his dirty hands together and chuckled.
+
+"I'll hae some mair o' the Glenlivet," said he gaily. "Aye, ye neednae
+stint pouring oot the gude drink. This is a joyful occasion. I've
+gotten mae dochter a gude doonsettin', and wull save a desarving
+laddie fra the rope o' doom, deil tak' them as wove the same."
+
+"Will you trust him?" asked Kind aside to Herries, while Gowrie sipped
+his whisky joyously.
+
+"Yes," answered Herries, in the same tone. "He's a clever old sinner,
+and has some scheme in his head whereby to save me. The money I'll
+inherit will make it worth his while. Gowrie," he said, raising his
+voice, "if you pull me through I'll settle one thousand a year on you.
+Honour bright."
+
+"I'll dae it--I'll dae it," the old gentleman smacked his leg. "Losh
+me, there's a power of drink in a thoosand a year. Lave it tae me,
+laddie, and I'll be a faither tae ye. Bless ye, mae bairns, hoo happy
+ye mak me auld hairt."
+
+"Oh, take him away," cried Herries, disgusted with the man.
+
+"No, no," said Kind imperatively, "when he goes it will be with
+Elspeth. If he's alone he may get drinking and let out that you are
+here."
+
+"Nae when a thoosand a year's tae be got," said Gowrie joyously, and
+in his glee began to sing a Scotch ballad in a cracked voice--
+
+
+     "'The day may daw, the cock may craw,
+      But aye we'll taste the barley bree.'
+
+
+"Aye, Robbie Burns, Robbie Burns, weel did ye ken the joys o' life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+MR. GOWRIE'S PLOTTING
+
+
+"Have you found him; have you really, really found him?"
+
+"Aye! He's rin tae earth like a tod, young leddy."
+
+"Oh!" Maud Tedder clapped her hands, and a bright light came into her
+tired-looking eyes. "I'm so glad--I'm so delighted. Now he's caught
+the law will hang him for killing poor pa, and I'll--" she was about
+to add that she would inherit the money, but thought it wiser not to
+reveal her private business too minutely, and ended differently, "I'll
+have done my duty," said Maud Tedder virtuously.
+
+"An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," boomed Mrs. Mountford.
+
+The three, two ladies and one gentleman, were seated in the
+drawing-room of "Moated Hall," enjoying a most interesting
+conversation. Until Herries fulfilled the conditions of the will, and
+came forward to claim his inheritance, Mr. Ritson, as the executor,
+permitted Miss Tedder to dwell in her old home. She had only lately
+returned from London, in company with Mrs. Mountford, and her jaded
+looks may be accounted for by the fact that it had been found
+impossible to upset the will of the late knight. Also there was
+another reason for Maud's drawn face and lack of colour, but this she
+did not impart to Mr. Michael Gowrie.
+
+The old reprobate sat comfortably in the most comfortable chair which
+his eagle eye could have chosen when he entered the room, and he was
+here with the intention of carrying out the little plot entered into
+between himself and Kind and Herries. Ritson was also cognisant of the
+scheme to have Herries arrested after the marriage ceremony, as Kind
+and Gowrie had called to inform him that Herries was ready to give
+himself up.
+
+At that interview with the lawyer, a long conversation had taken
+place, and Ritson had been made acquainted with all that had happened
+from the time that Angus had set foot in the "Marsh Inn." He could
+throw no light on the darkness of the case, even after hearing the
+facts, but approved of Herries surrendering himself to the law, as,
+until he stood his trial, or at least until he appeared before the
+magistrate, nothing, in Mr. Ritson's opinion, could be done. He had
+therefore supplied Gowrie with a trifle of money to procure some new
+clothes, and pay a proper visit to the disinherited heiress. In the
+meantime, Herries, still hiding in the caravan, had departed with Kind
+and Elspeth, chaperoned by Rachel, to a quiet midland town, whereto
+the details of the crime had not yet penetrated with sufficient
+publicity to make the name of Herries notorious. Thus all chance of
+immediate arrest was avoided.
+
+And not only had Ritson, in the interests of his client, the accused
+man, financed Gowrie, but he had provided the money to procure a
+special license for the solemnisation of the marriage. It must be
+confessed that there was some difficulty over the procuring of this
+latter, or at all events, after it had been procured. The clerk had
+given the license readily enough, as he never thought that a hunted
+man would seek to marry. But afterwards it crossed his mind that Angus
+Herries was wanted by the police in connection with the "Marsh Inn"
+murder, and he had forthwith informed Scotland Yard. But a description
+of the man who had procured the license--it was Kind--led to nothing,
+and as the license was given, it was probable that the marriage would
+take place. The only thing to do was to keep a look-out throughout
+England for the church where the ceremony was likely to be performed.
+Inspector Trent was communicated with, and came up to London to make
+personal enquiries, but he could learn nothing likely to trace the man
+who had taken out the license. This was the more difficult, as Kind
+had disguised himself to procure the same, But the fact remained that
+Angus Herries, who stood in the shadow of the gallows, was so little
+impressed by his terrible position that he intended to marry. Trent,
+who was wanting in imagination, could not understand.
+
+Gowrie had also interviewed Trent at Tarhaven, while Kind was getting
+the license, and told a very straightforward story. He had been asleep
+in the tap-room, he said, and had departed at seven in the morning
+according to his intention, as told to the landlady on the previous
+night. He had heard nothing, and had seen nothing, and would have come
+forward before only he had been travelling in the midlands for the
+last few weeks, and had not seen any paper likely to inform him that
+he was being asked for. Having told all he knew, that is, all he chose
+to appear to know, Mr. Gowrie left the Tarhaven police-office stating
+that he would hold himself at the disposition of the police, and would
+be found at any time at the "Marsh Inn," where he had again induced
+Mrs. Narby to take him in. In the face of this plausible story,
+Inspector Trent, whose intellect was none of the brightest, did not
+see how he could arrest Gowrie, and the old reprobate won clear of a
+rather difficult position.
+
+So here he was, in the very citadel of the enemy, arrayed in a
+brand-new broad-cloth suit, with a new tall hat, and a pair of new
+black gloves, to say nothing of highly polished boots, looking as neat
+as a new pin, and enjoying himself immensely; and no wonder, since he
+was telling lies by the yard. Gowrie should certainly have been a
+novelist, as he had a most lavish imagination, and should have put
+into print what he uttered by tongue. At the present moment, in his
+endeavours to entrap Maud Tedder into parting with five hundred
+pounds, he was wasting marketable stuff in a most prodigal fashion. At
+the same time, he was keeping a look-out for Captain Kyles, but as yet
+that buccaneer had not appeared on the scene. The reason of this
+non-appearance, Gowrie learned later.
+
+"Aye, young leddy, he'll hang as high as Haman, I doot not. And wit ye
+say, me'em," this to Mrs. Mountford, "is tae be fund in Deuteronomy or
+the Beuk o' Leviticus, I no mind the which."
+
+"I am glad to see, sir, that you read your Bible."
+
+"It's bread an' life to me," said the sage, lifting his eyes; that is,
+he lifted one in appeal to heaven and kept the other on Maud, who was
+pacing the long room in a state of high excitement. She already saw
+the fortune within her grasp, and was quite prepared to hang her
+cousin, so that she might secure her rightful inheritance.
+
+"And then he'll come back,--he'll come back," she murmured aloud.
+
+"Eh, what's yon?" inquired Gowrie. "Wha wull come back, young leddy?"
+
+"Captain----," she began unthinkingly, then, warned by an ostentatious
+cough from the watchful Mrs. Mountford, she stopped short. "I was
+talking to myself," she said haughtily.
+
+"Hoots, I ken that, but we tell tae oorsel's muckle that we wudna tell
+tae ithers, ye ken."
+
+"Language," groaned Mrs. Mountford, who looked more like an
+undertaker's lady than ever, "was given us to conceal our thoughts."
+
+"Aye, aye, me'em. Ye'll have been takin' a wee bit look at the end o'
+the Dictionary. Jameson's for me," cried the enthusiastic Scotchman,
+"and nane o' yer Johnson's an' Webster's."
+
+Maud shook her head impatiently and came to sit by the old man for the
+purpose of gaining information.
+
+"You have merely told us that you have found Mr. Herries," she said,
+looking at him with her pale blue eyes, and in an inquisitive manner.
+"Where is he?"
+
+"Aye, yen's a lang story," replied Gowrie folding his hands and
+settling himself comfortably, "an' maybe a glass of sherry wine wud
+help me to tell it mair lifelike."
+
+Anxious only to hear the truth, Maud crossed to the bell, and touched
+the ivory button, but Mrs. Mountford groaned.
+
+"What did Lemuel's mother say to him concerning strong drink?" she
+inquired.
+
+But Gowrie, for business purposes, knew his Bible as well as she did,
+if not better.
+
+"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish and wine unto
+those that be of heavy hearts," he quoted.
+
+"Likewise, 'It is not for kings to drink strong wine,'" she snapped.
+
+"Aye, but I'm nae king ye ken, me'em," retorted the old scamp, then
+added under his breath, "Deil tak' the wurnon, she a parfect
+Lamentations o' Jeremy the prophet."
+
+Mrs. Mountford worked no more in the cause of temperance, but sat
+glooming like a thunderstorm in her corner, while Gowrie tasted with
+approval the hot yellow wine, which had been brought almost
+immediately. When he had finished two glasses, he began to relate a
+perfectly mythical story, but none the less interesting, because it
+was invented out of his own clever head.
+
+"I'm a mon o' letters," he began.
+
+"Would you mind talking English?" interrupted Maud.
+
+"Nae, nae, young leddy, ye canna get the pow'r in English that ye can
+in homely Scotch. An' I'm like an Eastern story-teller, aboot tae
+babble o' strange maitters."
+
+"I'll hear them in English, which I know you can speak," said Maud,
+who was as obstinate as Gowrie himself, "or I won't listen at all."
+
+"Then ye'll nae find the mon ye want."
+
+"Oh yes. I'll tell Inspector Trent that you know where he is."
+
+Gowrie did not relish this speech, as Trent entertained some
+suspicions of his honesty, notwithstanding the plausible story he had
+related. Also, he might lose the reward. Therefore he made a virtue of
+necessity, and turned his glib tongue to English.
+
+"I am a man of letters, Miss Tedder," he said smoothly, "and have
+fallen on evil days. To be precise, I have not earned that reputation
+which my talents deserve, consequently my emoluments are not large. At
+one time I was tutor to Angus Herries, your unfortunate cousin, but
+evil-speaking people drove me from the metropolis of the North to
+wander on the earth."
+
+"Proceed," said Mrs. Mountford heavily, and thinking, from the looks
+of the narrator, that strong drink had much to do with his wandering
+on the face of the earth.
+
+"I have wandered far and wide," said this modern Ulysses, "and the
+records of my travels may be found in various journals. I have been
+but badly paid for the same," said the sage sighing, "and it behoves
+me to gain money in some other way," he cast a cunning look at Miss
+Tedder. "I hear there is a reward offered for the man who can find
+Angus Herries?"
+
+"Yes! I am not rich," said Maud coolly, "but I'll willingly pay five
+hundred pounds, which I can do through Mr. Ritson, the lawyer, as soon
+as Mr. Herries is in gaol."
+
+"Aye," murmured Gowrie, maintaining a bland face, "a sprat tae catch a
+mack'ril."
+
+"What's that?" asked Maud, hearing indistinctly.
+
+"Naething--a blessing--a blessing. But to continue," he added,
+reverting to English, "I chanced upon the 'Marsh Inn' while I
+wandered, and there I have stopped frequently. Indeed, my daughter,
+Elspeth, remained at the inn, as a companion to the landlady."
+
+"I was told about her," said Miss Tedder abruptly, "she was a servant,
+I believe."
+
+"Nae, nae, a companion, young leddy. But that's neither here nor
+there, ye ken. Weel--I mean, well, young lady, I stopped at the inn on
+the night your father was murdered, and----"
+
+"We know all about that, sir," boomed Mrs. Mountford, "Inspector Trent
+informed us of what you had told him. In the interests of justice, he
+is keeping Miss Tedder advised of all matters likely to lead to a
+detection of her father's murderer."
+
+"Then I need not go over the same ground again," said Gowrie readily,
+and laughing in his sleeve at the way in which he was deceiving these
+women, who doubtless thought themselves extremely clever, "sufficient
+it is to say, that I was asleep all the night, and departed early in
+the morning ignorant that a crime had been committed. When I returned
+many days later, I found that my daughter, whom I had left in the
+charge of Mrs. Narby----"
+
+"As a servant," interpolated Maud spitefully.
+
+"As a companion," persisted Gowrie obstinately. "I found that she had
+fled with Angus Herries!"
+
+"With my cousin," Maud rose excitedly, "did she know where he was?"
+
+"No," lied the reprobate skilfully, "she saw him at the inn, and then
+he escaped. Afterwards she received a letter from him, written from a
+Buckinghamshire village, asking her to join him."
+
+"And why?" asked Mrs. Mountford curiously.
+
+"Because, it seems, the two loved one another."
+
+"Absurd," cried Maud, her small face working with anger, "why, she
+only saw him once."
+
+"Quite long enough to enable her to love him, and he to love her,"
+said Gowrie, rather pleased to witness this disgust.
+
+"But it's impossible, Angus loved me," she insisted, and a look of
+wounded pride passed over her face.
+
+"So he told me," responded Gowrie dryly, "but that was two years ago.
+He said that he never really loved until he met Elspeth."
+
+"Oh, did he?" cried Miss Tedder in disgust. "Then she won't have him
+for long. He'll be in gaol before many hours pass."
+
+"I hope so," said Gowrie, playing his part extremely well. "I do not
+want my child to become the bride of a criminal."
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Exactly what I say, Miss Tedder. When I found that my daughter had
+fled to Herries in Buckinghamshire----"
+
+"How did you know she was there?"
+
+"I found a letter waiting for me at a London address, telling me that
+she was going to marry Herries."
+
+"Why was not the letter waiting at the inn?"
+
+It was not, for the simple reason that Gowrie was too clever to give
+himself away. Mrs. Narby certainly would not depose that such a letter
+was waiting at the inn, therefore he placed the address at a safe
+distance where the police could not find it.
+
+"I have a home in London, to which my child always writes," said he
+evasively, "and she wrote to me there, after I had found the inn empty
+of my jewel."
+
+"Oh, go on," said Maud, impatient of this high-flown language.
+
+"I then went to Buckinghamshire----"
+
+"To what village do you say?"
+
+"I'll not tell you that until I have your promise in writing to pay me
+the five hundred."
+
+"You shall have it before you leave this room. But you will only get
+the money if Herries, I mean my cousin, is arrested."
+
+"I ask no more," said Gowrie rubbing his hands and chuckling. "If
+Inspector Trent will come with me we can interrupt the marriage
+ceremony, which takes place to-morrow in the village church."
+
+"So soon. And the village?"
+
+"Wait till I have your handwriting," said Gowrie, smartly, "but to
+proceed with the epic. I went to this village, and saw Herries, and my
+daughter. He told me that he was innocent, and that he had procured a
+special license to marry my child. I objected, as I wanted him first
+to clear his name. He says he cannot do that----"
+
+"And no wonder," said Miss Tedder scornfully, "seeing that he is
+guilty of the crime."
+
+"Do you really believe that?"
+
+"Of course I do. Would I want him hanged if I did not believe him
+guilty?"
+
+"Weel," said Gowrie scratching his head, and applying himself again to
+a now nearly empty decanter, "wumen are kittle cattle."
+
+"Not Miss Tedder," chimed in Mrs. Mountford, "she is not one to bear
+false witness."
+
+"Well, then, to make a long story short," said Gowrie beginning to
+feel weary, and finding there was no chance of further strong drink,
+"my pride objected to my daughter wedding a criminal, and I came to
+ask you, Miss Tedder, to pay me the reward and come with me to
+Inspector Trent. To-morrow we can go to this village, and arrest this
+man. And heaven grant," added Gowrie piously, "that we may be in time
+to prevent the marriage."
+
+"Whether Angus is married or not matters very little," said his
+amiable cousin. "I want him tried by jury."
+
+"Weel," chuckled Gowrie becoming Scotch again, now that his story was
+ended. "Ye canna have him tried ony ither way, ye ken. But are ye sure
+that the mon is guilty?"
+
+"Certain. He was at the inn, and so was my father."
+
+"I wis there also, yet I'm innocent," said Gowrie, dryly.
+
+"You had no reason to kill my father, Angus had."
+
+"And what may that be?"
+
+"He knew that he would inherit the money if my father died."
+
+"How did he know that?"
+
+"Captain Kyles told me that he knew."
+
+"An' hoo did Captain Kyles ken?"
+
+"You had better ask him," snapped Maud, who seemed to regret having
+admitted as much, and who had been frowned upon by Mrs. Mountford.
+
+"Is he in the hoose?"
+
+"No. He is in London."
+
+"Nae, nae," chuckled the old man, prepared to throw a bombshell, "I
+ken weel where he is; a chield ca'd Sweetlips Kind tauld me, having
+been to the bit ship of him."
+
+"To the 'Tarabacca?'"
+
+"Aye,--at Pierside. The Captain's on board her, wi' the leddy he's
+gaun tae marry."
+
+Maud jumped up wrathfully.
+
+"He's engaged to me," she cried, and her baby face became convulsed
+with anger.
+
+"Nae, nae, young leddy, Kind tell't me, he wis tae be the joe o' a
+Mexican lady,---o'----"
+
+"Of Donna Maria Guzman," said Miss Tedder angrily; "that is untrue,
+Captain Kyles is to be my husband. Donna Maria is simply the daughter
+of the ex-President of Indiana, and came in the yacht to Pierside to
+do business with my father, and----"
+
+"Maud, Maud," warned Mrs. Mountford, rising quickly, "do not say more
+than is wise."
+
+"I shall say what I think,--that is,--no matter. But it's a lie, a
+lie, Mr. Gowrie. Captain Kyles is engaged to me."
+
+"Aye," said Gowrie presumably to himself, "Angus Herries wull be glad.
+He wantit tae see ye marrit an' oot o' his way."
+
+Maud uttered a cry of anger, which was precisely what Gowrie wanted
+her to do, since his object in making the speech was to inflame her
+against her cousin, as perhaps, as he thought, in her rage she might
+let out what she knew of the crime. But Mrs. Mountford laid her hand
+on the girl's arm as she was about to burst forth into furious speech,
+and after a moment's struggle with herself Miss Tedder rushed from the
+room followed by her governess.
+
+Left alone, Gowrie rang the bell, and ordered another decanter of
+sherry, which was brought, since the servant fancied that Miss Tedder
+must have left instructions. It never struck the man that Gowrie would
+have the impudence to give an order on his own authority. But then he
+did not know the sage. Gowrie sipped the sherry, and chuckled over the
+success of his plot. But he was puzzled to think why Maud should be so
+angered against Angus Herries.
+
+"A wumon scorned, I'm theenking," said Gowrie, meditatively, "she's
+wants tae marry the Captain, and yet hae her cousin deeing for her
+luve. But ye canna hae yer cake and eat it, young madam; nae, nae, I
+ken fine ye canna. I doot this Captain's playing the deil wi' ye, as
+ye played the jade wi' Herries. Weel, Herries wull marry my child, and
+the Captain his Mexican fly-away, and ye'll be left greeting, the
+which is nae mair nor ye deserve."
+
+His meditations were interrupted by the return of Mrs. Mountford with
+a sheet of note-paper. On this Miss Tedder had written a promise that
+she would pay Michael Gowrie five hundred pounds when Herries was safe
+in gaol.
+
+"I'm obleeged tae ye, me'em," said the sage, folding up the precious
+document, "awa' wi' this tae the poleece station, and invite yon
+Jack-in-office tae gang wi' me tae the salubrious village o'
+Anderfield in Bucks."
+
+"Is that the name of the village, sir?"
+
+"Aye. That's the name. Noo I hae the promise o' the siller, ye may ken
+the place where the marriage wull tak place. An' noo," he caught up
+his brand new silk hat, "I mau' be ganging ma ways."
+
+"One moment," said Mrs. Mountford, laying her hand on his arm, "are
+you sure that Captain Kyles is engaged to this Mexican lady?"
+
+"I am as sure as sure, me'em."
+
+"Then he's a villain," cried Mrs. Mountford heavily, "for he told
+Miss Tedder that he loved her alone. But he had better take care, for
+Maud can--she can--"
+
+"Can what?" asked Gowrie, struck by the significance of her tone.
+
+"She can ruin him," said Mrs. Mountford coldly.
+
+"The deil she can."
+
+"If Captain Kyles marries this Donna Maria," said Mrs. Mountford in a
+quiet and deadly tone, "you tell Mr. Herries that I can save him."
+
+Gowrie was so astonished by this speech that he would have asked for
+further information. But Mrs. Mountford, conscious perhaps that she
+had said too much, pushed him out of the room, and shortly he was
+hurrying towards the police-station as fast as his wicked old legs
+could carry him, sorely puzzled as to her meaning.
+
+"Maybe the Captain killed the auld mon," thought Gowrie, "but for why?
+Hoots! there's a deal o' deevilry in this case. Yon lassie wi' the
+bairn's face kens mair aboot the death o' her faither nor she'll say.
+But if this Don Giovanny--and that Kyles is, no less--plays her false,
+a' the fat wull be on the fire. Weel, the mair necessity for me tae
+hurry up wi' the arrest, and get the siller."
+
+Meanwhile, Maud Tedder was shut up in her room, lying on her bed and
+raging as only a woman scorned can rage. Of late she had noted, and
+especially since the death of her father, that Kyles was not so
+attentive as he had been. Now she learned that he was engaged to Donna
+Maria Guzman, when he had explicitly stated to her that he did not
+care for that lady. Apparently it was the money he was after, and this
+thought made the jealous heart of Maud burn within her. She loved
+Kyles, and would have sacrificed a thousand cousins to make him her
+husband. That could be done, she thought, if she recovered her fortune
+by getting Herries hanged. And if he was arrested he certainly would
+be hanged, therefore she was quite willing to give half a year's
+income to bring about this result.
+
+All that day and the next she lay in bed, denying herself to everyone,
+longing for news. Late in the afternoon of the day following Gowrie's
+visit, she received a wire from Anderfield, sent by the old man.
+
+"Herries arrested," ran the wire, "he was already married."
+
+"Married," said Maud to herself, smiling cruelly, "his honeymoon will
+be spent in gaol, and will end on the gallows."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+MAUD'S INHERITANCE
+
+
+There was a lull in the political and social worlds when Herries was
+captured. The newspapers had said all that they could say regarding
+past events, and nothing especial was happening worth prattling about.
+The "Marsh Inn" case, with its strong element of mystery and its spice
+of romance, proved to be a godsend in the way of "copy." Consequently,
+hordes of eager reporters poured into Tarhaven, whither Inspector
+Trent had conducted his prisoner after the arrest at Anderfield in
+Bucks. The facts that Herries was Sir Simon's nephew--for the late
+knight was no unimportant figure in the commercial-millionaire
+world--that he had inherited fifty thousand a year, and that he had
+been taken by the police, when issuing from the village church
+immediately after his marriage, made the whole case immensely
+interesting. Also the mystery of the murder lifted it out of the
+category of ordinary crime. It was well-known that the prisoner
+declared himself to be innocent, and everyone wondered what possible
+defence he could make.
+
+Trent himself did not know, as, by the advice of shrewd-headed Kind,
+the young man preserved an irritating silence, and the Rev. Michael
+Gowrie, wishing to make a dramatic announcement at a dramatic moment,
+kept his own counsel. That Herries might be exonerated never entered
+the Inspector's head for one moment, and he gathered together all
+procurable evidence so as to secure the committal of the prisoner by
+the local magistrate. And as various hints--which might have been
+traced to Gowrie--were given to the public that strange revelations
+might be expected, everyone was on tip-toe with excitement. Sir Simon
+had been a great magnate in Tarhaven, and it was natural that his
+death should arouse the deepest interest. The more so, as it was now
+commonly reported that, far from explaining the facts of the death and
+the motive for what looked like a purposeless crime, the evidence at
+the magisterial trial would probably deepen the mystery.
+
+In their frantic efforts to get at the truth, and narrate
+highly-coloured tales to their readers, several reporters attempted to
+interview Mrs. Herries, formerly Miss Elspeth Gowrie. By the advice of
+Sweetlips, the girl saw one of these enterprising young journalists
+who belonged to a half-penny paper with the very largest circulation
+in the world. Kind instructed her to tell the truth, even to the
+concealment in the caravan, as he thought that, if public sympathy
+could be awakened for the lovers, Herries would stand a better chance
+of acquittal. There was some risk in being thus explicit, as the
+Cheap-jack ran a deadly chance of being arrested as an accomplice
+after the fact. Were Herries condemned he would probably be so
+arrested, and Elspeth along with him. But before instructing Elspeth,
+Sweetlips had privately interviewed the old Scotch tutor, and from him
+had extracted the evidence which, as he averred, would save Herries
+from the gallows at the eleventh hour. Elspeth herself did not know
+what this evidence could be, but the fact that Kind was willing to
+risk his liberty on the strength of it, made her very cheerful, as it
+pointed to the certain discharge of Angus.
+
+When the unvarnished tale came out in _The Morning Planet_, it made
+an undeniable sensation, and Elspeth became the heroine of the hour.
+The sudden love of the girl, the way in which she had proved that
+love by rescuing the man she believed to be innocent from the hands of
+the prejudiced police, the strange wooing in the caravan, and the
+saving of Rachel Kind from a terrible death by the timely arrival of
+Herries,--all these things smacked of romance, and people now began to
+believe, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that Angus Herries
+was innocent. No man so loved could be guilty--no scoundrel could
+awaken such devotion in the heart of a timid, unformed girl. One and
+all, the women, high and low, of the three kingdoms ranged themselves
+on the side of Mrs. Herries, and not a few men followed their lead, as
+was natural. Kind's belief proved to be right. After the publication
+of the statement in _The Morning Planet_, the case became more
+interesting than ever, and everyone sympathised with the unlucky
+married pair.
+
+Dr. Browne invited Gowrie and his daughter to stop at his house, and
+his servants were occupied to the very day of the trial in keeping
+away people from the door. And when Elspeth walked abroad she was
+pointed at, snap-shotted, admired, and discussed in a way, which
+showed that her heroic conduct,--as _The Morning Planet_ called
+it,--had won her a warm place in the heart of the public. In several
+papers her portrait appeared, she was asked to write an account of her
+early life, there was some talk of getting up a subscription on her
+behalf, since it was known that she was horribly poor,--and in every
+way, people showed their sympathy. Mrs. Herries was the lioness of the
+hour, and had she been single would undoubtedly have received many
+offers of marriage. As it was, her devotion to her unfortunate husband
+made her the talk of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
+
+Elspeth did not like this publicity, as she was retiring by nature,
+but she bore it all for the sake of Angus. Undoubtedly it would aid
+him in his defence, and probably would help to save his life. To do
+that she would have sacrificed herself ten times over and in a much
+more terrible way. But further sacrifice was needless, Herries was
+now,--so to speak,--under the protection of the British public, and
+everyone was certain that he would have a fair trial. Many even went
+so far as to say that he would be acquitted, but Inspector Trent
+laughed these prophets to scorn. Herries was guilty,--the evidence
+proved that he was guilty,--and in assisting him to escape, both his
+wife and the Cheap-jack had thwarted the ends of justice. When the
+prisoner was committed for trial, said Trent, he would see about
+arresting Kind, as an accomplice after the fact. But even Trent did
+not dare to hint that Elspeth might be arrested. To put her in prison
+would have provoked a storm from the public which no one in authority
+would risk.
+
+One person was intensely disgusted at the elevation of young Mrs.
+Herries into a heroine, and that was Maud Tedder. On hearing of the
+arrest of her cousin, she had expressed great joy, and in his
+condemnation she saw the chance of recovering her father's property.
+Not only did she want the money, but she also desired to re-capture
+Captain Bruce Kyles; a wary bird, only to be lived by golden grain.
+After he had heard the will read, and had discovered that it could not
+be upset, he had returned to the "Tarabacca" at Pierside, and beyond a
+few cold notes had refrained from paying her any attention. In effect
+he showed that, now she was poor he did not intend to marry her, and
+after Gowrie's hint, Maud was certain that the Captain was engaged to
+Señora Guzman. She had been made a catspaw of, and if Herries was not
+hanged and Kyles re-captured to be her husband, she had fully made up
+her spiteful mind to revenge herself. However, since there were
+difficulties in the way, she called to see Elspeth and propose a
+compromise. It might be, as Maud argued, that Angus would not be
+condemned, especially after the statement of _The Morning Planet_,
+therefore, it was worth while to gain half, if not the whole fortune.
+
+Mrs. Herries was alone in the doctor's drawing-room, a very
+masculine-looking apartment, unworthy of the name. Browne was absent,
+seeing his patients. Kind, who usually haunted the house, was taking
+Rachel round Tarhaven to buy goods for the caravan, and the Reverend
+Michael Gowrie was where he often was, in the nearest public-house,
+drinking at other people's expense, and advertising himself as the
+father of the famous Mrs. Angus Herries. The old man managed to
+procure many cheap drinks in this way, but no one ever got out of him,
+even in his most convivial moments, what evidence he proposed to give
+in order to save his son-in-law.
+
+Elspeth remained within doors for a certain reason. After hearing
+Kind's account of his visit to the "Tarabacca," she became certain
+that Señora Guzman was in possession of facts which might help to
+prove the innocence of her husband. Since Sir Simon had written that
+mysterious letter to someone on the yacht, why not to this Captain
+Kidd in petticoats? Then there was the hint of the treasure--Manco
+Capac's treasure--which Kind professed himself unable to understand.
+And Kyles himself might know something. By awakening the jealousy of
+the Mexican beauty, the truth might be arrived at concerning the
+kidnapping of Armour, and that, as Elspeth argued, was in some way
+connected with the death of Sir Simon Tedder. After all, as Señora
+Guzman had hinted to Kind, it might be simply a political crime, in
+which case, Donna Maria would have the less hesitation in telling the
+plain facts of the assassination. Taking all these facts into
+consideration, Mrs. Herries had written to Señora Guzman asking her to
+call at Tarhaven and have a chat, and the Mexican lady had graciously
+assented to the request. When Miss Tedder's card was brought in
+Elspeth saw in her arrival much more than a mere chance. Providence
+had brought the two women who loved Bruce Kyles into contact, and the
+possible quarrel between the two might result in the truth becoming
+known. Of course Elspeth was groping in the dark, as she did not yet
+see what Maud, or Señora Guzman, or Bruce Kyles, could have to do with
+the murder; but that they had something to do with the death of the
+millionaire she was very certain; and therefore was ready to take
+every advantage of Miss Tedder's visit.
+
+Maud came alone, as she did not wish even Mrs. Mountford to hear what
+she had to say to the woman who had married her cousin. When she
+entered the room, and Elspeth arose to receive her, she stopped short
+in surprise. Was this frail, delicate-looking girl with the white face
+and the pathetic eyes the heroine about whom such a fuss was being
+made? She did not look as though she could plan anything, much less
+carry out a daring scheme; yet it was owing to her that Herries had
+escaped at a critical moment. But Maud, judging by the flesh and not
+by the spirit, looked at the shrinking girl contemptuously, and
+promised herself an easy victory. She sat down with an insolent air,
+and stared hard at her rival.
+
+On her side, Elspeth was eager to see Maud, knowing that Angus had
+once loved her. Mrs. Herries admitted the doll-like prettiness of the
+millionaire's daughter, but could not understand how a man like her
+husband could have loved so soulless a being. Miss Tedder was
+beautifully dressed, and looked extremely pretty; but she certainly
+was not a girl to awaken passion of any sort in a man. In a way,
+Elspeth was as contemptuous of Maud as Maud was of her, and so the two
+commenced their interview with a mutual misunderstanding.
+
+"I am Angus Herries' cousin," said Miss Tedder sharply, sitting bolt
+upright, and keeping her hands in her muff; then when Elspeth simply
+nodded, she added, "And you are his wife?"
+
+Elspeth bowed again.
+
+"Why have you come here?" she asked quietly.
+
+The Dresden-china beauty laughed.
+
+"To see the woman who has taken my leavings," she said insolently.
+
+"You see her," replied Mrs. Herries calmly. "Well?"
+
+This behaviour disconcerted Maud. She would have preferred Elspeth to
+have risen in a royal rage, but the girl was perfectly calm, and would
+supply no fuel for burning.
+
+"I don't think much of you," she snapped, with a hard stare.
+
+"Really? Did you come to tell me this?"
+
+"Partly, and also to congratulate you that Angus will be hanged."
+
+Elspeth started and clasped her hands tightly to prevent herself
+getting into a passion.
+
+"Why do you think that is a matter of congratulation?" she demanded,
+in a choked voice.
+
+"Because he's a beast," burst out Maud, losing her temper in the face
+of this coolness, "he was once engaged to me and treated me
+shamefully."
+
+"No, he did not. He treated you only too kindly."
+
+"What do you know about it?"
+
+"All that Angus could tell me."
+
+"Ah. He had to make his own case good."
+
+"There was no need to with me," said Elspeth coldly, but a spot of
+vivid red burned on each cheek. "I know Angus well."
+
+"But not so well as I do," cried Miss Tedder, anxious to break down
+her companion's composure. "Angus made me love him, and then left me
+all alone. He broke my heart," this with a truly effective sob.
+
+"Rubbish," said Elspeth, rising quickly. "Say that to a man and not to
+another woman. Angus had a passing fancy for you, and you threw him
+over at the bidding of your father."
+
+"He had more than a fancy. He adored me."
+
+"Then why did he leave you?"
+
+"Papa would not let me marry him; but if Angus had remained true to
+me, I should have remained true to him."
+
+"Instead of taking up with Captain Bruce Kyles, I suppose," sneered
+Elspeth, resolved to sting in her turn.
+
+Maud started to her feet in a fury.
+
+"How dare you talk to me like this? You who are no better than a
+servant, and who will soon be a murderer's widow."
+
+"No," cried Mrs. Herries imperatively, and facing the other girl
+boldly, "I intend to save my husband's life."
+
+"You can't do it without me."
+
+"You," Elspeth turned like a tigress on her visitor, "what do you know
+about it?"
+
+Maud felt rather afraid when this fragile girl flashed out in this
+way.
+
+"I know that Angus is guilty," she said obstinately.
+
+"Then how can you save him?"
+
+"I can get some one to give evidence that he is innocent."
+
+"Who?"
+
+"I'll tell you--on conditions."
+
+"Oh, on conditions. And what are they?"
+
+"My father," explained Maud calmly, "left all his money, save a
+miserable thousand a year, to Angus. That is not fair."
+
+"I can offer no opinion on that point," rejoined Elspeth, in an
+equally cool manner. "The will was none of my making. But if you
+wanted to inherit the money, you should have given up this Captain
+Kyles, as your father wished."
+
+"I won't and I didn't. I would rather lose every penny than give up
+Bruce."
+
+"It seems to me that you _have_ lost every penny," said Mrs. Herries
+rather cruelly, "but you have got your lover."
+
+"No, I haven't," cried Maud, her eyes very bright and her cheeks very
+red; then suddenly broke down, "Oh, Elspeth, do help me, or I'll lose
+him altogether. He won't marry me unless I have the money, and I
+haven't got it."
+
+But Elspeth was not going to yield to a few crocodile tears.
+
+"You can get the money when Angus is hanged," she retorted.
+
+Maud dried her eyes viciously.
+
+"Very well," she cried, with a stamp, "you're a hard-hearted girl and
+a beast. I hate and detest you. I came here to save your husband, but
+now he can hang."
+
+"Very good. Now you can go."
+
+But this was not what Miss Tedder wanted.
+
+"See here," she said, becoming business-like, and speaking in a hard
+voice, "if you and Angus will promise to give me half the income, I'll
+save him."
+
+"Can you?"
+
+"You asked that before. Yes, I can."
+
+Elspeth recalled what the other had said a few moments previously.
+
+"By getting someone to declare his innocence," she repeated.
+
+"No," said Maud, coming closer and whispering, "by getting someone to
+plead guilty to the crime."
+
+"What is the name of this someone?"
+
+"I shan't tell you."
+
+"You shall, you must."
+
+"No! If you and Angus sign a paper saying that I am to have half the
+money, then I'll save him."
+
+"By denouncing the real criminal?"
+
+"Oh, I didn't say I knew about that."
+
+"You do. I believe you know the truth; and wish to get Angus hanged
+simply to get this horrible money," and before Maud could evade her
+she caught the girl by her wrist, "you'll tell me the name of the
+assassin before you leave this room."
+
+"Leave me alone," cried Miss Tedder in a cold fury, "how dare you?"
+
+In answer Elspeth gave the wrist such a twist that Maud screamed aloud
+with pain.
+
+"Tell me--tell me."
+
+"You're hurting me. Ow! Ow!"
+
+"Cry away," taunted Elspeth, "I intend to have the truth."
+
+Maud set her teeth and tried to wriggle free. But she might as well
+have attempted to extricate herself from a blacksmith's vice.
+
+"Oh, you are hurting me!"
+
+"I'll break your wrist before I've done. Speak," and Elspeth shook her
+as a terrier does a rat.
+
+"No," Maud fastened her teeth in Elspeth's wrist and received a box on
+the ears. Then she burst out crying and dropped to the floor with Mrs.
+Herries still holding to her prey. "Oh, you are cruel."
+
+Elspeth shook her again, and went on shaking as she spoke. "Tell
+me--tell me."
+
+"I'm not sure," whimpered Miss Tedder, now really frightened of the
+other's blazing eyes. "I can prove nothing."
+
+"You must let me judge of that. Who killed Sir Simon?"
+
+"Will you give me half the money if I tell you?"
+
+"You must ask Angus that. I don't dispose of his property."
+
+Maud began to scream. But it was all of no use. She had ventured into
+the lion's den.
+
+"How ill-bred you are," she sobbed.
+
+"Ah," said Elspeth contemptuously, "you thought to come here and taunt
+me, you thought to find a weakling; but you see," with another
+vigorous shake, "my love for Angus makes me strong. I'm afraid of
+nothing, when he is in danger. You rejoiced to hear that he was
+arrested. Very good, then you shall be the one to release him. Now
+then, out with it,--out with it," and again came the shaking until
+Maud was quite sick. She was terribly afraid of this reckless girl,
+who dared to lay hands on her. There was nothing for it, but to tell
+the truth so far as she knew it.
+
+"Señora Guzman murdered my father," she cried, grovelling.
+
+Mrs. Herries was so surprised that she released her hold, and stepped
+back a pace to see if Maud was speaking truly.
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"Papa wrote a letter to her saying that he would disinherit me if I
+didn't give up Bruce, and asked her to meet him at the 'Marsh Inn' to
+see if she could take Bruce away from me."
+
+"It might be true," murmured Elspeth, recalling that Señora Guzman
+smoked the brand of cigarette found in Herries' room. "But why did she
+kill your father?"
+
+"He took a lot of money with him, and she wanted it to fit out an
+expedition to find Manco Capac's treasure."
+
+"Who told you this?"
+
+"Bruce. He fears her and loves me. There," Maud rose, and smoothed her
+skirts, "I've told you the truth. But you can prove nothing without
+me. Give me half the money and----"
+
+"You shall have half the money if you save Angus," said Elspeth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+A SURPRISING DEFENCE
+
+
+Elspeth lost no time in relating to Kind all that she had heard from
+Maud, and also confessed that she had promised the girl half her
+father's fortune if she saved Angus. Sweetlips was rather annoyed that
+such a promise had been extorted,--which it really had been,--as Miss
+Tedder certainly did not deserve one single penny.
+
+"However," said the Cheap-jack, "YOU made the promise, and not Mr.
+Herries, therefore if he refuses, Miss Tedder can say nothing."
+
+"Angus will do what I want," replied the girl, quickly.
+
+"I know that, but you won't want him to reward iniquity, and--"
+
+"Oh, Maud is not so bad as that."
+
+"She's about as bad as they make 'em," grumbled the ex-detective
+grimly. "To get that money she is quite willing to see her cousin
+hanged, and is only hedging at the last moment, as she fears lest your
+father should save him."
+
+"Do you think my father really can?"
+
+"Yes. I know what he is going to say, and it will settle the matter.
+Therefore Miss Tedder, not having saved Mr. Herries, can expect
+nothing. Moreover, the fortune will not be your husband's until he
+discovers the criminal. Oh, there are many reasons why your forced
+promise to Miss Tedder need not be kept."
+
+"But if she is right in saying that Señora Guzman is the guilty
+person, she will have done everything towards getting the fortune for
+Angus."
+
+"So that she may secure half of it, if he is not hanged. And if he
+escapes, it will be no thanks to her."
+
+"Do you think she is telling the truth?"
+
+"I really can't say," murmured Kind, nursing his chin. "Of course she
+is jealous of Señora Guzman, and would do anything to get her out of
+the way. It seems to me that Captain Bruce Kyles is trifling with both
+these women. Tell me again exactly what Miss Tedder said."
+
+Elspeth thought for a moment.
+
+"She said that her father wrote the letter, which Mr. Ritson mentioned
+to you, to Señora Guzman, asking her to come to the 'Marsh Inn.' She
+came, and Sir Simon proposed to pay her enough money to fit out some
+expedition, on condition that she,--the Señora that is,--took Captain
+Bruce Kyles away from England,--removed him from Maud's path in fact."
+
+"Humph. I remember Señora Guzman's reference to an expedition in
+search of some treasure. It might be, that her real reason in coming
+to England was to get funds. But if this Mexican lady loves Kyles, and
+Sir Simon was willing to pay her for loving him, why did she murder
+him?"
+
+"To get the money, Maud says."
+
+"But she could have got the money in any case," argued Kind, who was
+much perplexed by the present aspect of the affair. "Why commit a
+useless crime? I don't believe she did it."
+
+"But you remember," Elspeth reminded him, "you remember that you found
+the stump of a Tangerian cigarette on the floor of----"
+
+"Yes, yes,--and Señora Guzman smokes that brand. But other people may
+smoke the same sort of cigarettes,--for instance Captain Kyles," and
+Sweetlips looked keenly at Elspeth.
+
+"Do you think that he----?"
+
+"No. Mrs. Mountford, whom I have seen, told me that Captain Kyles was
+with Maud Tedder on the night of the murder. He could not be in two
+places at once, could he? But then that kidnapping--the crew of the
+'Tarabacca' certainly kidnapped Armour under the impression that he
+was some spy,--that looks as though their mistress was in the hotel at
+the time, and they were removing danger from her path. And again,
+Señora Guzman could easily swarm up those light trellis spars under
+the window of the bedroom."
+
+"In petticoats?"
+
+"Pooh. A daring woman like that is quite capable of assuming a
+sailor's dress to carry out her object."
+
+"Then you think she was there--that she is guilty?"
+
+"I think, on the authority of the cigarette stump, that she was in the
+hotel, but I don't say that she is guilty. She did not kill Sir Simon,
+for I can see no motive for her committing the crime."
+
+"Nevertheless," urged Elspeth, "as the cigarette stump was found in my
+husband's bedroom she must have been there."
+
+"Well," drawled the Cheap-jack, with his eyes on the ground, "as I
+said, other people may have smoked such a brand;--one of the officers
+on board, for instance. Kyles is innocent, and I am not prepared to
+say that Señora Guzman is guilty. But she certainly might have
+implicated your husband in the crime by placing the razor on his bed
+and hiding the pocket-book under it. The best thing to do will be to
+question her, and inform her of Miss Tedder's accusation. I thought
+she was coming to see you?"
+
+"So she was,--yesterday, and I expected to see her about the time Maud
+called. However, she never came."
+
+"Humph. She will be at the trial, no doubt. You will see her to-day.
+Then I'll question her. Oh, by the way," Kind came back after taking a
+few steps towards the door, "I have found out from Trent, who is a
+fool and can't keep his own counsel, that Sir Simon drew two thousand
+pounds from his bank the day previous to his death--that is, two
+hundred in gold and the rest in notes. Trent learned this from Ritson,
+who should have told me by the way, and he heard it from the bank
+manager. So you see that the money which the landlady and her son saw
+Sir Simon handling and which filled the blue pocket-book amounted to
+that sum. Now, if we can trace the notes we'll lay hands on the
+criminal."
+
+"Have any of the notes been presented?"
+
+"Not yet. However, the manager has the numbers. Trent makes this
+statement at the hearing to-day before the magistrate. I must get off
+there. And you?"
+
+"I'm coming with my father in half-an-hour."
+
+"You'll come back with your husband to this place shortly," said Kind,
+in an encouraging tone.
+
+"Oh, Sweetlips, do you really think so.
+
+"I am absolutely certain of it," and he departed, leaving Mrs. Herries
+much up-lifted by the good news. She was certain that the Cheap-jack
+spoke the truth, for there was that in his manner which inspired
+confidence.
+
+Elspeth dressed herself very simply to accompany her father to the
+hearing before the magistrate, and indeed, even had she been minded to
+dress more expensively, she could not have done so. Her frock and hat,
+her boots and gloves were all presents from Rachel Kind, in return for
+the nursing, and were of the plainest and cheapest description. Dr.
+Browne, in his impulsive generosity, had wished to give his friend's
+wife a dress, but this Elspeth refused, as she preferred to be
+indebted to no one. And Browne honoured her for the refusal. He was
+beginning to have a better opinion of women since he had known Elspeth
+Herries.
+
+But if the daughter was plainly dressed, the father was resplendent,
+as the old scamp had no scruples in taking money from whomsoever was
+fool enough to give it to him. He was arrayed in purple and fine
+linen, and looked highly prosperous. Gowrie was aware that he was the
+most important figure at the trial, after the prisoner, and resolved
+to take every advantage of the publicity which was, as he said
+himself, thrust upon him. For years, as he also said, he had been
+hiding his light under a bushel, but now there was a chance of his
+shining brilliantly, and he arranged to stick his candle in the most
+conspicuous position. The shrewd old man saw every opportunity of
+making money, and although he hoped that his son-in-law, when freed
+and in possession of the property, would remunerate him for his
+services, still he did not neglect the chance of making a few
+shillings on his own account. And finally, Gowrie dearly loved
+publicity and praise. His progress along the streets with Elspeth was
+like that of a king leading a princess to the altar. His daughter
+wanted a cab, but this Gowrie refused.
+
+"Haud up yer held, ma bairn," said he in his grand mellow voice, "an'
+dinna leuk sae white. This is a gran' day in the annals o' ma hoose,
+an' I gang forth, like David, tae succour the sick, and tae----" here
+Mr. Gowrie, who had been taking various drinks, became somewhat
+incoherent, and Elspeth was glad when he held his tongue, since
+everyone in the street knew who he was, and who she was from the old
+man's loud talking. He was really a dreadful person to have for a
+father. All the same he held the fate of her husband in his hands.
+
+There was a crowd outside the building in which the trial was to take
+place, but a very few people were admitted into the court itself. This
+was done by order of the presiding magistrate, who knew that the
+sympathy of the public was with the prisoner, and who did not wish for
+any manifestations during the proceedings. Trent had assured him that
+Herries would undoubtedly be convicted on the evidence, and the
+magistrate, believing this, guessed that when the young man was
+committed to take his trial at the next Essex sessions, there would be
+a tumult. Therefore, when Elspeth and her father entered the court,
+they found that few were present. But outside could be heard the
+murmur of the mob, who were eagerly waiting to see what would happen.
+
+The proceedings were very much the same as they had been at the "Marsh
+Inn" inquest. Trent made similar statements to those he had made
+before, but supplemented them by adding that Sir Simon had in his
+possession on the night he was murdered the sum of two thousand pounds
+in gold and notes. He stated that the numbers of the notes were in his
+possession, but that as yet none of them had been presented. He
+detailed all that had taken place at the inn on the night the crime
+had been committed,--the arrival of Sir Simon to meet his unknown
+visitor, the subsequent arrival of Herries, who said,--and perhaps
+wrongly, as Trent suggested,--that he did not know that his uncle was
+in the house. Then came the relation of Narby's discovery of the dead
+body, and the evidence found in Herries' room. In fact Inspector Trent
+made out a very good case against the prisoner, and it really looked
+as though nothing could prevent the accused man being committed for
+trial at the Chelmsford sessions.
+
+The same witnesses as had appeared at the inquest were called: Mrs.
+Narby, her husband, her son, and Elspeth. No new facts were elicited,
+and the witnesses, with the exception of Elspeth, stated that they
+were certain the prisoner was guilty. Browne was examined and gave
+evidence as to his examination of the dead body and mentioned the
+probable hour of death. It was all rather dull, as everything had
+appeared before in the papers. Herries, seated in the dock, gazed
+straight before him with a calm face, and every now and then stole a
+glance at Elspeth to gain confidence. She was seated with clasped
+hands in agony, as the evidence was given. In the face of it all, how
+could she hope that her husband would escape.
+
+Trent, recalled by the magistrate, explained that he had not been able
+to find the man who had passed through the tap-room arrayed in Sir
+Simon's fur coat, but mentioned that the coat itself had been
+discovered. The magistrate, who seemed to be an open-minded man,
+thought that this was a favourable sign for the prisoner, as the
+missing man might possible be, and very probably was, the assassin.
+But the lawyer who appeared for the prosecution pointed out that the
+razor and the empty pocket-book had been found in Herries' room. He
+dared the defence to explain how these came to be in the room of the
+prisoner.
+
+It was at this point that Michael Gowrie was called, and then all
+present listened attentively, as this was the most important witness
+of the lot, and assuredly,--according to common report,--would be able
+to save the prisoner. The young lawyer who was acting for Herries
+asked Gowrie a few questions relative to his position, and the reason
+he had been at the "Marsh Inn" on the night in question. Then he asked
+him to tell his story. This Gowrie did in his best English and very
+earnestly. He knew that too much was at stake to commit himself to the
+Scotch dialect, which would not be half understood by those present.
+
+Gowrie's statement, made with considerable impudence, was to the
+effect that Herries, on retiring to bed, was so excited by his
+misfortunes that it was probable he would not sleep. Sorry for the
+young man, Gowrie bethought himself of a small bottle of laudanum
+which he possessed. He considered it his duty to give Herries a dose,
+so that he might sleep.
+
+"That was a dangerous thing to do," said the magistrate, rebukingly.
+
+"It was, sir,--it was," replied the witness, "but Herries might have
+gone off his head had he not obtained the needful rest. I deemed it my
+duty as his old tutor and sincere well-wisher to drop a small quantity
+of the soothing drug into the whisky which I took up to him.
+Therefore, sir, I would point out, that as the prisoner was under the
+influence of the drug, he certainly could not have risen in the night
+to kill the deceased."
+
+"Is there any evidence other than yours, to show that this drug was
+given?" asked the magistrate, looking grave.
+
+Gowrie mentioned Pope Narby, the son of the landlady, and the woman
+herself. Both of these witnesses were recalled, and Pope stated that
+he certainly saw Gowrie drop the laudanum into the whisky,--to make
+the prisoner sleep as he had stated. Mrs. Narby gave evidence as to
+the administration of the drugged liquor, and how readily the prisoner
+had fallen into a deep slumber. Browne was recalled, and stated that
+while under the influence of such a dose of laudanum, the prisoner
+certainly could not have committed the crime, and then Gowrie
+reiterated his statement with added proofs that the drug was so
+administered.
+
+Elspeth listened with joy, believing every word of her father's story.
+Herries believed it also, but knew perfectly well that the drug had
+been administered by Gowrie, not to make him sleep, since he was
+already weary, but to enable the old scamp to rob him. He was on the
+point of stating this, but thought that if he did so, Gowrie would
+probably deny the charge, and such an accusation would complicate
+matters. He therefore held his peace, and waited to see what would
+come of this important piece of evidence.
+
+The magistrate consulted with another official, and Trent was
+recalled. The counsel for the prosecution questioned him and Gowrie
+and the Narbys minutely, but after all, in the end, there was no doubt
+in the minds of anyone that the laudanum had been so administered, and
+that Herries, under the soporific influence, could not have left his
+bed to commit the crime. After some delay, the magistrate therefore
+did what he was forced to do--he acquitted Herries, who left the court
+a free man, much to the joy of Elspeth. When the late prisoner
+appeared outside the court, the news of his acquittal and the reason
+of it had already preceded him, and he was welcomed by the large crowd
+with great joy. With his wife Herries hurried to a cab, intending to
+drive to Browne's house, and many a hand was stretched out to greet
+him. Undoubtedly everyone was pleased that the young man had been
+proved guiltless, and Elspeth, with the tears streaming down her face,
+could do nothing but gaze into the eyes of her husband, who was thus
+at large again.
+
+Followed by shouting crowds, the cab drove to Dr. Browne's abode, but
+Gowrie remained behind as the hero of the hour, and submitted, not
+unwillingly, to the questioning of many reporters, who were anxious to
+hear more. He related what he had said in the court, and protested
+again and again that his only reason for giving the laudanum was to
+make his son-in-law sleep. As there was no reason, on the face of it,
+why he should not be believed, everyone thought that the old man spoke
+the truth, and for once Gowrie enjoyed the sensation of being the lion
+of the hour.
+
+But Herries, much as he was indebted to his father-in-law, was not
+quite satisfied. When Gowrie returned to Browne's house, the young man
+drew him aside and questioned him closely.
+
+"You robbed me of money," said Herries abruptly.
+
+"Only a few shullings, laddie," chuckled Gowrie, "ye wudna hae me tak
+awa ma ain character."
+
+"And you gave me the drug so that you might rob me in safety?"
+
+"Aye," Gowrie rubbed his hands, "joost sae. An' a lucky nicht it wis
+for ye that I did pit the drug intae yon gless."
+
+"You are a scoundrel, Gowrie."
+
+"Eh! This tae yer paw-in-law, an' tae the mon wha saved yer life!"
+
+"You wouldn't have saved my life if I had not married Elspeth," was
+Herries' dry retort.
+
+"Weel, maybe I wudnae hae pit maesel tae sic trouble. Hoots, mon, a
+few shullin' against yer ain neck. It's gey cheap."
+
+The old fellow was so shameless that Herries could say nothing. He
+stopped rebuking a man who could not feel the force of a rebuke, and
+went on another tack.
+
+"When you came up to rob me, did you see or hear anything?"
+
+"Aye, but I winna tell ye what I saw."
+
+"You want to make more money out of it, I expect. Well, if you don't
+tell me, I'll inform the police, and you----"
+
+"Nae, nae, laddie. Dinna dae that. I'll tell ye. I saw a wumon in the
+paussage. Aye, I dinna ken wha she wis, but I saw a petticoat."
+
+"You SAW her?"
+
+"Dinna pin me tae a word, my manny. It wis dark, ye ken, when I wis
+paying ye a veesit, an'----"
+
+"About what time was this. After twelve, or before it?"
+
+"It wis nearer one o'clock in the morn," said Gowrie, after some
+hesitation. "I wanted tae gie the drug time tae dae its marciful work.
+I wis sleepin' in the tap-room, ye ken, aye, and a weary bed I hed,
+laddie. When the clock--deil tak it for keeping me awake--struck the
+haulf-hour, I joost slipped off mae shoon, and crept up tae see ye
+sleepin' like a bairn."
+
+"Had you a light?"
+
+"Nae, nae, I wis nane sae dafty. A' the hoose, es I thocht, wis in
+slumber, and I didnae care tae wauken the puir weary folk. I kenned
+the lie o' the hoose weel enow, and joost crept up the stairs tae yer
+room. The door wisnae closed. I saw tae that when I ganged up wi' yon
+limmer, the Narby wumon. I came in lamb-like, nae wishful to disturb
+ye, and then I struck a match. Ye were sleeping like a bairn," added
+Gowrie pathetically, "an' I thanked my gude thocht for makin' ye
+sleep. Aye, I wis a faither tae ye on that nicht, laddie."
+
+"Well? Well?" questioned Herries impatiently.
+
+"Weel, weel," reiterated Gowrie testily, "I turned oot the pockets of
+yer troosers, and fund less nor I expected. But I wis thankful for
+sma' marcies, and departed wi' the few shullin's, the which,"
+protested Mr. Gowrie, "was scarce the price o' the beneficent drug I
+gie ye tae mak ye sleep."
+
+"To enable you to rob me you mean? Well, you saw----?"
+
+"Naethin'. But I heard the swish o' a wumon's dress departing doon the
+stairs. There, I'll tell ye nae mair. I dinna ken wha the female was.
+Maybe the landlady?"
+
+"Or Señora Guzman," replied Herries, much perplexed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+MRS. MOUNTFORD'S ACCUSATION
+
+
+That same evening, after dinner, Angus and Elspeth sat side by side in
+the severe-looking drawing-room. Their host had been called out
+unexpectedly, after the usual custom of patients, who appear to fall
+ill at the most awkward moments. But in this instance the young couple
+were rather glad that Browne had departed, as they wished to have a
+quiet and confidential talk about their position and their future.
+Hitherto, owing to the attentions of various friends, this had been
+impossible.
+
+Herries looked extremely well in spite of his late exciting
+experiences,--a very different man to the haggard tramp who had
+arrived at the "Marsh Inn," or hotel, as many of the papers called it.
+Mrs. Kind had fed him well during his sojourn in the caravan, and
+while detained in the Tarhaven prison he had been treated kindly. But
+he still wore the threadbare blue serge suit, although Browne had
+supplied him with clean linen, a luxury which Herries much
+appreciated.
+
+Elspeth was different also. In every way she was improved, as her face
+had filled out, and her figure looked less fragile, and her eyes were
+less like those of a hunted deer. Good food and a happy love--for
+happy it was in spite of untoward circumstances--had done much to
+improve the miserable little drudge of the inn. Hand in hand the
+lovers sat, for they were more lovers than ever, and the marriage bond
+was yet new to them. There was only one electric lamp alight and that
+was at the end of the rather large room, therefore Mr. and Mrs.
+Herries sat in comparative twilight. After all the storm and stress of
+the last few weeks, they felt extremely happy and like weary sailors
+who had reached a safe port. Elspeth made some such remark, but Angus
+laughed as he kissed her.
+
+"You dear, silly darling," said the young man, slipping his arm round
+her waist, "we are not in port yet; there is a long voyage before us,
+and a stormy one, before we are safely berthed."
+
+"What do you mean, dear? You are safe."
+
+"My life is and my liberty, but you forget, Elspeth, that I am as poor
+and friendless as ever."
+
+"Not friendless, since you have me."
+
+He pressed her to his breast.
+
+"I count you as more than a friend, as my wife."
+
+"Well then, there is Dr. Browne----"
+
+"He's a trump."
+
+"And Sweetlips Kind."
+
+"The best fellow in the world, save Browne."
+
+"And my father."
+
+Here Herries' eulogies came to a stand-still. He screwed up his face
+and shook his head.
+
+"I am  not so sure that we can call your father a friend, Elspeth."
+
+"Oh, Angus, when he saved your life."
+
+"My dear, I am well aware of that, but his reason was simply a
+pecuniary one. He told me plainly that he would not have put himself
+out had I not married you."
+
+"Ah," said Elspeth somewhat bitterly, "he is only too glad to get rid
+of me. I have always been an encumbrance to him."
+
+"Well, at least, you are now with someone who appreciates you," said
+Angus, kissing her.
+
+"Do you really mean that, Angus? Do you really love me?"
+
+"Darling, is there any need to tell you?"
+
+"Every need," she said vehemently, and with a suspicion of tears in
+her voice, "I have been so lonely all my life. No one has ever loved
+me. I have been kicked about from pillar to post, neglected, starved,
+beaten, scorned. Oh, dearest heart," she looked up passionately into
+his face, "can you wonder that I want you to tell me again and again
+how much you love me."
+
+"I love you,--I love you,--I love you. There, will that do?"
+
+"Again! Again!" she hid her face in his breast, and he bent over her
+till his lips touched her soft hair.
+
+"I love you with all my heart and soul, you are the one woman in the
+wide world to me."
+
+"And I am the only woman, not Maud."
+
+"Maud!" he snapped his fingers, "pouf."
+
+"Ah," said Elspeth jealously, "but you loved her,--you would have
+married her."
+
+"I loved her in the usual way a shallow young man loves. She was pretty
+and coquettish when I was with her in Edinburgh, and her exterior drew
+me. I loved her merely for her beauty, never for her heart and
+beautiful nature, as I love you, dearest. It required months of misery
+to deepen my nature and make me appreciate a true woman, such as you
+are. Ours is one of those rare marriages that is made in heaven. Never
+be jealous of Maud Tedder, my own love; you alone possess my heart."
+
+"I know it, I feel it. All the same,--" she paused.
+
+"All the same----?"
+
+"I want you to tell me again that you love me."
+
+"I love you, little donkey."
+
+Elspeth threw her arms round his neck, and brought his lips down to
+her own.
+
+"I am a donkey--all the same, I am a woman who wants to be loved. I
+_am_ loved," this triumphantly, "but oh, how delicious it is to love
+and to be loved, Angus."
+
+"Elspeth!"
+
+They clasped hands and looked deep into one another's eyes; then the
+reaction came and both burst out laughing.
+
+"We are like a couple of children," said Herries, smiling, "merry
+children."
+
+"Why not? We have been sad for so long."
+
+"And foolish children."
+
+"Ah, my own, we have been too wise in the misery of the world. Look at
+your years of sorrow; look at my years of trouble. We have both been
+unlucky."
+
+"Mr. and Mrs. Jonah," said Angus, with a shrug, "well, darling, I
+think two bad lucks make one good one. Since we have been married the
+luck has changed."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"I am free from a terrible charge, and you are my wife. Henceforth I
+truly believe that we will be the happiest and most fortunate couple
+in the wide world. Two negatives make an affirmative, so why shouldn't
+your bad luck and mine, when joined, as they now are, make one
+superlatively good one? What do you think?"
+
+"I think the same as you. Everything will go well now."
+
+"Hurrah," Angus shook her hands vigorously, "let us build castles in
+the air, and perhaps they will turn into bricks and mortar."
+
+Elspeth caught his spirit, and laughed also.
+
+"Well, then, we will learn who killed your uncle, and then you will
+get fifty thousand a year, upon which," she gave him a comical look,
+"we can manage to exist."
+
+"With due economy," said Herries gravely, "but we must not forget, my
+dearest, that should this great fortune come to us, we will have to
+hold it in trust for less fortunate people. There are many male and
+female Jonahs about, who will have to be helped."
+
+"I quite agree with you; but we must get the money first. Now that you
+are free, Angus, you can search for yourself."
+
+"I intend to; but in what direction can I search?"
+
+Elspeth thought for a few moments.
+
+"I fancy it would be best for you to return to the 'Marsh Inn,' and
+question Mrs. Narby."
+
+"Do you think that she knows the truth?"
+
+"I can't be sure; but she is an observant woman, and if you promise
+her a reward she would tell you of anything suspicious she might have
+seen."
+
+"That's true," then Angus burst into laughter, "I wonder if she'll be
+civil."
+
+"Of course. She must have seen in the papers that you have inherited
+this money, and if you make it worth her while----"
+
+"But I can't until I find out who killed my uncle. Only when the true
+assassin is discovered will I be able to inherit."
+
+"Make it worth Mrs. Narby's while and she will assist you," insisted
+Elspeth. "I am quite sure that the secret of the crime is to be
+discovered at the 'Marsh Inn.'"
+
+"Perhaps Mrs. Narby herself killed my uncle."
+
+"Why do you think that?" asked Mrs. Herries, quite startled.
+
+"Your father acknowledged that when he went up the stairs after
+midnight, to empty my pockets while I was lying in that drugged sleep,
+he heard the swish of a woman's gown in the darkness, going down the
+stairs. That looks as though Mrs. Narby----"
+
+"No," exclaimed Elspeth vehemently, and rising to gesticulate, "I
+really don't think that Mrs. Narby, bad as she is, would commit such a
+crime."
+
+"She might have done so to get that two thousand pounds, and then have
+placed the pocket-book in my room to----"
+
+"No, no, she would rob, and scold, and do many things, but at heart she
+is a coward and would never risk her neck."
+
+"Well, then, perhaps the woman who went down the stairs was Señora
+Guzman."
+
+"I don't see how she could have got into the inn."
+
+"Neither do I," said Herries, scratching his head in perplexity, "and
+I don't see either why she should have killed my uncle. Say that she
+wanted this two thousand in order to fit out an expedition to hunt for
+this Peruvian treasure, my uncle was ready to give it to her, provided
+she removed Kyles from Maud's path."
+
+"Yet Maud accuses her," said Elspeth, equally perplexed.
+
+Angus shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"Of course. Maud is a jealous rival and would hang Señora Guzman at
+once if she could manage to do it. It was strange that Señora Guzman
+was not at the trial to-day."
+
+"Why should she have come?"
+
+"Well, you see, she told Kind that the crime was--as she verily
+believed--a political one, and so she might have been present in order
+to save me, seeing that she must know that I am innocent, and did not
+know what your father was about to say."
+
+"The best thing will be to see her."
+
+"I intend to. I'll go along to Pierside to-morrow, and board that
+yacht. And," added Herries emphatically, "I don't leave it until I
+learn all she knows."
+
+"Do you think Captain Kyles----?"
+
+"No. Mrs. Mountford said that he was with Maud at the 'Moated Hall' on
+the night of the murder. I believe," said Herries, walking up and down
+the room, "that your father knows more than he will admit. He was
+sleeping in the tap-room, and anyone who went up the stairs would have
+to pass through it----"
+
+"Oh, no, Angus----"
+
+"Well, I don't exactly mean that. But your father--who admits to
+having been kept awake by the clock--would have heard anyone who went
+up the stairs. Also, he might have heard anything that went on outside
+the house."
+
+"What went on there?"
+
+"Armour was kidnapped, and the man whom Sir Simon was to see climbed
+in at the window, where stood the candle with the red handkerchief
+before it as a signal. Depend upon it your father knows."
+
+"Where is he now?" asked Elspeth. "We might ask him."
+
+"Pooh. He'll say only so much as suits his book. He went an hour ago
+to see Maud and claim his reward."
+
+"What reward?"
+
+"You know. The five hundred pounds that she offered for my
+apprehension. He caught me, so he can claim it. The payment will make
+a large hole in Maud's reduced income of one thousand a year."
+
+"I promised, if she saved you, Angus, that she should have half the
+fortune of her father."
+
+"I know, but you are released from that promise. Maud did not save me.
+Your father did that. Unless I see some very strong reason I won't
+give Maud a penny."
+
+"We must forgive our enemies," rebuked Elspeth.
+
+"Quite so, but Maud sought my life to further her love-chase. I
+daresay in the end I'll help her, but she must suffer a trifle for her
+wickedness. Hullo, who is this. Browne come back?"
+
+As Herries spoke the door opened, and a bulky gentleman entered, with
+a bulky lady behind him. Then a voice spoke, which was easily
+recognised, and a hand turned on the full glare of the electrics.
+
+"Settin' in the twilight like turtle dooves," said Mr. Gowrie, "blind
+tae th' warld as ye micht say. Aye, young luve,--young luve." While
+the old tutor ran on in this jocular manner, the bulky lady advanced.
+She was clothed in black, and wore a large picture hat trimmed with
+large ostrich feathers. Her advance was like that of a tragedy queen,
+and she waved Gowrie aside, when he attempted to speak.
+
+"Man," she said, grandly, "let me introduce myself. Mrs. Herries!" she
+bowed. "Mr. Herries!" she repeated the performance. "I am Mrs.
+Mountford, the companion of Miss Maud Tedder."
+
+"Yes," said Angus rather coldly, "and may I ask why you have come
+here, Mrs. Mountford?"
+
+"To appeal to you on behalf of your cousin. She has been wrongfully
+dispossessed by her father, and--"
+
+"Pardon me, Mrs. Mountford, but I am unable to enter into this
+question at present. Until I discover who killed my uncle, I am not in
+possession of the property."
+
+"And what if I can help you to discover the assassin?"
+
+"What! You know----?"
+
+"I know nothing, but I have grave suspicions."
+
+"Of whom?"
+
+Mrs. Mountford did not reply immediately. She sank into a chair, and
+arranged herself like a queen. Gowrie stood beside her with folded
+hands and looked at her majestic form satirically. Elspeth sat beside
+Angus, and waited to hear what this formidable looking dame had to
+say.
+
+"I came here with Mr. Gowrie," said the ex-governess, "as he has had
+some difficulty with Miss Tedder."
+
+"Deeficulty do ye ca' it, wumon!" cried Gowrie, who could keep silence
+no longer. "She's nae mair nor a Jeezebel, a Scarlet Wumon o' Babylon,
+takin' ma hardly earned siller frae me. Deeficulty says she, aye, and
+rank cheatin', swindling, embeezling, thieving----"
+
+"Hush," Mrs. Mountford waved her hand, as though rebuking a rebellious
+subject, "be silent. Mr. Herries, this man----"
+
+"Gentlemon, ye bauld limmer. Aye, an a meenister foreby."
+
+"He came to see Miss Tedder to claim his reward for having betrayed
+your hiding-place."
+
+"He has certainly earned it," said Herries, coolly.
+
+"Miss Tedder refuses to encourage this Judas-like conduct, since she
+did not wish to pay the reward unless you were convicted."
+
+"And hanged," ended Angus, laughing. "Why don't you finish the
+sentence, Mrs. Mountford? I am quite aware that my cousin was only too
+anxious to have my neck stretched provided she got the money."
+
+Elspeth would have burst into indignant speech, but Herries laid a
+reproving hand on her arm. Gowrie grumbled.
+
+"Judas ye ca' me, ye jade o' Nineveh, yon great city, and a' for askin'
+for ma ain."
+
+"You betrayed your son-in-law," said Mrs. Mountford.
+
+"Aye, kenning weel I cud save the laddie's neck."
+
+"So Miss Tedder guessed, and so she will not pay the reward."
+
+"I'll county-court the hizzy. Aye, she'll pay doon the siller, or
+jailed she shall be for a bleezin' slut o' Tophet."
+
+"Mr. Herries," the lady in black appealed to Angus, "I must really ask
+you to stop this man talking.
+
+"Well, Mrs. Mountford, you can hardly expect me to do that, when you
+come here calmly to regret that I was not hanged.
+
+"Send her away," said Elspeth angrily.
+
+"Peace," said Mrs. Mountford, with severity; then addressed herself to
+Herries. "Believe me, I regret that Maud should have conducted herself
+in such a way. But love is a short madness, as the Latin Grammar says,
+and Miss Tedder is in love with Captain Kyles. He, I truly believe,
+loves her for the money she once had, and will not return to her side
+unless she recovers her fortune."
+
+"I see," said Angus coolly, "and you come here to ask me to give up
+the fortune so that she may marry Kyles. I must say that is an
+impertinent request."
+
+"Hear me out, Mr. Herries. I love Maud. She has her faults, and she
+has, I admit, behaved badly. All the same she has her good points, and
+you must remember that she was, so to speak, under the thumb of this
+adventurer Kyles. Maud only wished you hanged to save him."
+
+"But Kyles wanted to save _me_," said Herries, puzzled, "at least, Dr.
+Browne told me."
+
+"Ah, that was acting on Captain Kyles' part," said Mrs. Mountford
+contemptuously. "He wanted to see you hanged, so that the question of
+the assassination should be settled. Maud was quite willing that this
+should be so, provided she married him. Ah, Mr. Herries, you must
+forgive Maud. She loves so much."
+
+"Even to hanging me; a nice foundation for a marriage, I must say."
+
+"It is infamous, talking in this way," cried Elspeth, who was white
+with indignation.
+
+"What can ye expect frae a wumon wha wull nae dischairge her lawful
+indebtedness? The fair sex, they ca' ye, the unfair limmers ye are,
+the hail clamjamfarry. Adaam wis respectable beside Eve, the cutty,
+wi' her stolen fruit, and nae clothing."
+
+Herries began to laugh. The extreme humour of Mrs. Mountford, although
+quite unconscious, appealed to him, and the indignation of Gowrie was
+not less amusing. Everyone had his or her own axe to grind, as the
+saying goes, and each was ready to sacrifice everyone and anyone to
+get what he or she wanted. It was a Gilbert and Sullivan opera without
+music.
+
+"Come, Mrs. Mountford," said Angus, suddenly becoming serious, "tell
+me what you want."
+
+"I want you to have Captain Kyles arrested."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because I am quite sure that he murdered Sir Simon."
+
+"Impossible. I understood that you declared he was with Maud at the
+Hall on the night of the murder."
+
+"I said that at Maud's request," confessed Mrs. Mountford, with a
+blush. "Indeed, I have given in too much to her, and for doing so I
+ask your pardon, Mr. Herries."
+
+"You would have let him be hanged," cried Elspeth indignantly.
+
+"No, indeed, no, Mrs. Herries. Had Maud persisted in her mad intention
+of incriminating your husband, I should have come forward at the trial
+to denounce the real murderer--Captain Kyles."
+
+"Can you prove that he is guilty?" asked Angus quickly.
+
+"I can prove nothing. But I know that Sir Simon wrote a letter to
+Captain Kyles at Mr. Ritson's office, asking for a meeting at the
+'Marsh Inn,' and telling him that he had disinherited Maud, because
+she insisted upon marrying him."
+
+"But Maud herself said that the letter was written to Señora Guzman,"
+put in Elspeth.
+
+"Alas, that is merely jealousy, Maud knows that Captain Kyles will
+marry Señora Guzman, failing herself, and so wishes to remove a rival
+from her path. All love, Mrs. Herries, all love."
+
+"Humph," said Angus, "I must say that Maud has a very pretty way of
+getting rid of people. She was willing to hang me; she is willing to
+hang Señora Guzman; and all to marry the man who killed her father. A
+nice person, upon my word."
+
+"A cutty--a slut--a jade!" said Gowrie wrathfully. "Maud doesn't know
+that Captain Kyles killed her father," said Mrs. Mountford, "but she
+knew, as I do, that he was at the inn on the night of the crime."
+
+"He was the gentleman expected by Sir Simon?"
+
+"On the authority of the letter, which Captain Kyles showed to Maud,
+and about which Maud spoke to me--yes."
+
+"Then my cousin must have a shrewd idea that Kyles is guilty," said
+Herries. "However, we can talk of the ethics of Maud later. Where is
+Captain Kyles now? At the Hall?"
+
+"No. He is at the 'Marsh Inn,' stopping there, in fact. He wrote to
+Maud saying that he was putting up there for a week."
+
+"Did he explain his reason?"
+
+"No. He simply said that he was there, and would see her before he
+returned to the 'Tarabacca,' which is still at Pierside."
+
+"With Señora Guzman on board?"
+
+"I suppose so. But I want you, Mr. Herries, to have Captain Kyles
+arrested and his guilt proved. Then you can give Maud a sum of money,
+and I'll take her to the Colonies, there to begin a new life."
+
+"I shall certainly see Kyles, and have him arrested if possible," said
+Herries, "but I am not quite certain about giving Maud money. In the
+first place I am penniless myself----"
+
+"You will be rich when Captain Kyles is condemned."
+
+"Not sufficiently so to pay Maud an income for behaving in so wicked a
+way. I wonder you have the face to ask me, Mrs. Mountford."
+
+"I love her in spite of her faults," pleaded the ex-governess; and
+then her dignity broke down and she began to cry. "I know she is
+wicked and has been led astray by Captain Kyles, but I brought her up
+from the cradle and am attached to----"
+
+"An' muckle creedit does the lassie dae ye," cried Gowrie angrily.
+
+"Mr. Herries," said Mrs. Mountford wiping her eyes and taking no
+notice of the tutor, "what will you do?"
+
+"Nothing at present. I am sorry, Mrs. Mountford, for I recognise your
+good heart, but Maud is too bad. Later we can speak of this. You can
+go, Mrs. Mountford."
+
+The ex-governess, with all her stiffness taken out of her, rose and
+walked limply to the door. Without a word, she vanished, and the three
+left alone, stared at one another. Gowrie opened his mouth. Elspeth
+would have spoken, but Herries, master of the situation, held up his
+hand.
+
+"Not a word from either of you," he said, "Gowrie, you must take up
+your quarters at the 'Marsh Inn,' and let me know what Kyles is up
+to."
+
+"Why not yersel', laddie?"
+
+"He would suspect me, he won't suspect you. You can go to-morrow."
+
+"And what will you do, Angus?" asked Elspeth. "I'll go to Pierside and
+interview Señora Guzman."
+
+"Do you believe that Captain Kyles is guilty, Angus?"
+
+"No, your father heard a woman moving about in the darkness. I would
+not be surprised to learn that the woman was Mrs. Mountford herself. I
+can account in no other way for her preposterous behaviour."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+AT THE "MARSH INN"
+
+
+The Rev. Michael Gowrie was not averse to visiting the "Marsh Inn"
+again, as he was well known there, and posed as a fireside king.
+Certainly Mrs. Narby had refused to receive him again, after
+the desertion of Elspeth, but now that she knew Gowrie was the
+father-in-law of a wealthy man, she would probably change her tune.
+Moreover, the old tutor saw that it was necessary to discover the
+assassin of Sir Simon, if the money was to be fingered by himself. For
+if Herries did not fulfil the conditions of the will, and bring the
+murderer to justice, he could not inherit the fortune, in which case
+Mr. Gowrie would not reap the reward he hoped to gain, for letting
+Elspeth marry the man. The golden apple which Gowrie longed to pluck
+was yet beyond his reach.
+
+Therefore he returned to the "Marsh Inn" the next day, and was sourly
+welcomed by the landlady. Indeed, she still showed a disposition to
+keep him out of doors, but Gowrie having five pounds in his purse,--he
+had procured the same from Browne for business purposes,--flashed his
+gold in her eyes, and spoke largely.
+
+"Ye can gie me the best bedroom an' the parlour," said he, with the
+air of a millionaire. "And see that the cooking be gude, and the drink
+plentiful. The lean days are gane, and noo come in the fat years o'
+merry-making. An aboot time, I'm theenking."
+
+Mrs. Narby was still sore that Elspeth should have defied her, and
+departed. Also she was not pleased that her former drudge should have
+married a man worth fifty thousand a year. Ritson, while informing the
+Press that Herries had got the money, had, for obvious reasons
+suppressed the fact that he had a duty to perform before getting the
+cash. Therefore Mrs. Narby was extremely jealous of Elspeth, and
+nothing would have given her greater pleasure than to have scratched
+her face, and pulled her hair. But Mrs. Herries was beyond the reach
+of her malice, and the father of Mrs. Herries had money galore. It was
+worth while to transfer that money from his pocket into hers. She
+therefore smoothed her sour face, and softened her raucous voice,
+which was as hoarse as the note of a starling. In her desire to
+propitiate Gowrie she even curtseyed.
+
+"I am very glad t' see you, sir," croaked Mrs. Narby, with a greedy
+eye on the gold which Gowrie held in his hand, "jes like ole times,
+ain't it, you an' me? An' ow's yer daughter, me dear friend?"
+
+"Revellin' in silks an' satins an jewels of price," replied Gowrie
+carelessly, "there's naethin' ower gude for the lassie."
+
+"Ho!" yelped Mrs. Narby almost suffocated with rage, "it is a chainge,
+Mr. Gowrie, ain't it? I thought she'd be a gallows widder!"
+
+"Ye're nae paid tae theenk," retorted Gowrie with his grand air, "gae
+spin, ye jade, and bring me th' flowin' bowl,--th' which Tommy Moore
+sang aboot."
+
+"Y' must pay me a'ead."
+
+"An' hoo muckle for the bedroom an' the' parlour?"
+
+"There ain't no parlour. Capting Kyles 'as thet, and th' bedroom es
+the old gent wos a-murdered in. But y' kin 'ave the room es yer
+son-in-law slep' in. Boar' an' lodgin'," added Mrs. Narby glibly, "two
+quid a week, in advance."
+
+"Hoots! Ye're demented, woman. Twa pun', says she, the deil tak her
+for a greedy glede. Nae, nae, ye'll nae pairt a Scotchmon frae his
+siller sae easily. I'll gie ye haulf-a-croon a nicht for ma room and
+pay ma victuals as I gang."
+
+"Capting Kyles guy me three quid," said Mrs. Narby sullenly.
+
+"The mair fule he. Weel, tak it or e'en leave it. I'm nae verra
+carein' tae stap in a butt an' a ben o' this sort. I joost cam' here
+tae show ye I wisnae prood or puffed up by mae prosperity, for th'
+sake o' auld lang syne, as ye micht pit it, and nae lee."
+
+"You can stop at that price by the daiy," said Mrs. Narby, after some
+reflection, "but there's a lot of fellers come 'ere to stop 'cos of
+thet there murder. If I gets a better lodger, out y' goes."
+
+This just suited Gowrie, as he knew that Mrs. Narby was bluffing. No
+one would stop at the "Marsh Inn" while the season was so wet,
+notwithstanding the attraction of the murder. What Captain Kyles was
+doing in such a damp locality he could not think, unless indeed the
+Captain was trying to hide his tracks in the affair of the murder,
+always supposing that he was guilty. Gowrie was not sure of this, in
+spite of Mrs. Mountford's accusation. Nor did he believe the rash
+statement of Herries that Mrs. Mountford herself had committed the
+crime. But if she was innocent and Kyles was not guilty, who had
+killed the old man? This was what Gowrie wished to learn, and he soon
+saw that he had set himself a very difficult task.
+
+"Weel," said he, when Mrs. Narby gave her decision, "we'll close on
+those terrums. I'll tack ma room by the nicht an ma board by the day.
+There's haulf-a-croon in advaunce, an' dinna waste it. Where's yon
+gowk o' a Pope?"
+
+"My son's in Londing, and I'll thenk y' not t' call 'im names," said
+Mrs. Narby hotly. "He's a genius, and 'ave gone to git 'is poetry
+inter print, so there."
+
+"An' wha's gain' tae publish his doggrel?"
+
+"'Imself!" snapped the landlady sulkily.
+
+"An' where's the siller comin' frae?"
+
+Mrs. Narby put her arms akimbo in her favourite attitude and stormed
+in her old style.
+
+"I guve it 'im, d'y' see," she cried furiously, "y' think I carn't do
+wot I likes with m' own? Me an' Narby 'ave come in for a legacy, and
+we're a-goin' t' giv h'up th' inn an' go t' th' Staits, where Narby
+wos reared. Pope's comin' too, arter he 'as 'is verse brought h'out.
+So there, an' I don' want any of yer sauce, though yer are the
+father-in-lawr of thet cove es murdered Sir Simon, es I believe he
+did."
+
+"Wumon!"
+
+"Don't call me naimes, or I'll scretch th' h'eyes h'out o' yer 'ead;
+an' there's Allus callin' in the kitching," and Mrs. Narby hurried
+away, leaving Gowrie full of thought.
+
+He obtained a glass of whisky from Alice, the miserable
+maid-of-all-work, who had stepped into Elspeth's place, and sat down
+on the tap-room settle to smoke and think. Outside the rain was
+falling heavily, and there was the usual grey mist over the marshes.
+But the room was warm, and the fire burned brightly. Mr. Gowrie
+approved of the whisky, and the pipe soothed his nerves, which had
+been rather upset by Mrs. Narby's sudden wrath. With his glass in his
+gouty old hand, and his pipe in his mouth, he sat staring at the
+driftwood fire, thinking a lot, after the fashion of the celebrated
+parrot.
+
+Two things struck him as strange. First, that Mrs. Narby should have
+so suddenly lost her temper with a man whom she apparently desired to
+propitiate; and second, that she--or Narby--should have so
+unexpectedly inherited a legacy. If she really had money it was quite
+natural that she should have let Pope go to London to publish his
+poetry, for the virago adored her son, even though she did not
+understand his writing. But where had Mrs. Narby got that money?
+Gowrie, in his frequent visits, had learned a lot about Narby's past
+life in the States; but he had never heard that the Anglo-American
+expected a legacy. Indeed, Mrs. Narby, on one occasion, had said that
+neither herself nor her husband were bothered with relatives. It was
+queer that the money should come to them so suddenly, and from an
+unknown source. Equally queer that the pair should decide to seek
+America and give up the inn. Certainly the inn had been doing better
+business than ever, since the murder, owing to the morbid curiosity of
+visitors, so it was odd, to say the least of it, that at such a
+moment, a money-making concern should be given up.
+
+"Aye!" meditated Gowrie, sipping his drink, "I mind now. Th' auld mon
+hed siller wi' him, es yon lawyer body tauld Kind. Twa thoosand. Aye!
+A couple o' hundreds in gold, an' one thoosand eight hundred in notes,
+Bank o' England, nae doot. Hoots! they wudnae gang wi' only twa
+hundred in gold, an' they darenae cash the notes. Aye! The ways o'
+transgressors are haird."
+
+These thoughts revealed plainly that Mr. Gowrie suspected Mrs. Narby
+of having killed Sir Simon, either with or without the connivance of
+her husband, in order to get the money. The gold she had used to send
+Pope to London, and doubtless had supplied him with a sum to publish
+his verse; but the notes, owing to the warning of the numbers being
+kept having been given in the newspapers, had not been presented. The
+desire to go at once to the States was thus explained. Mrs. Narby, and
+possibly her husband, were flying from justice. Gowrie was certain
+that she had killed the old man, as he remembered the swish of a
+woman's dress which he had heard in the darkness. There was a sound
+about that which a keen-eared man like himself could not mistake.
+
+"And then she knew that Herries was drugged," thought Gowrie, "and so
+implicated him in the crime by placing the razor on his quilt and
+smearing his sleeve with blood. Then she found the pocket-book under
+the bed, where no doubt she placed it. Those who hide, find. I see now
+that she is guilty--the money carried by Sir Simon was too tempting
+for her. She must have hidden the notes somewhere. If I could only
+find them, I would soon have her in charge."
+
+This being Gowrie's belief, he made up his mind to stop at the inn
+until he could unearth the notes, and meanwhile he kept a jealous
+watch on Mrs. Narby's every action. She became aware of his scrutiny,
+and--strange to say in so masculine a woman--became panic-struck. It
+was with the greatest difficulty that she preserved her composure
+towards him. During the afternoon, and when it was growing dark, she
+broke down entirely.
+
+"Why do you 'ave yer h'eye on me?" she inquired angrily, "I ain't got
+'orns a-growin' h'out of me 'ead, 'ave I?"
+
+"Nae, nae, but ye mind me of a sister o' mine, lang syne deid. She wos
+a sweet lassie."
+
+"Rats," retorted Mrs. Narby, going about her duties as usual, but she
+bridled all the same, being open to a compliment in spite of her
+resemblance to the witches in Macbeth. But after she had shown that
+she knew his eye was on her, Gowrie became much more circumspect, and
+several times later when Mrs. Narby looked, she found that he was not
+staring in her direction. Consequently she recovered her spirits and
+nerve. But Gowrie was on her trail, as she had, to his mind, given
+herself entirely away.
+
+Gowrie sat, genial and warm in the tap-room, talking to anyone who
+came in, and enjoying himself thoroughly. Alice, the maid, served the
+yokels with beer, and Mrs. Narby tore in and out of the room, to keep
+an eye on what was doing. But for the most part she remained in the
+back parts of the house, and Gowrie noticed that her dress was wet,
+and her boots muddy as though she had been out in the rain. More, he
+noted that the mud she left on the tap-room floor was red, and
+remembered that there was earth of this peculiar hue down by the creek
+which ran past the bottom of the back garden attached to the "Marsh
+Inn." Wondering what could take her down there, and suspecting from
+her uneasy glances that she had something to conceal, Gowrie resolved
+to take the first opportunity to spy on her footsteps. But she gave
+him no chance for quite a long time, and then, when the opportunity
+did occur, he was momentarily withdrawn from his purpose by the
+entrance of Captain Bruce Kyles, who strode bluffly into the tap-room,
+looking more like a buccaneer than ever.
+
+"Aye, Captain," said Gowrie genially, "it's you, is it?"
+
+Kyles stared at the fiery-faced old man with narrowing eyes.
+
+"I don't think I've met you before," he remarked. "Maybe, but there's
+mair knows Tom Fool, nor Tom Fool knows, ye ken."
+
+Kyles shrugged his shoulders and was passing on to the parlour, when
+the next remark of Gowrie arrested his steps.
+
+"Aye, ye'll be a freend o' Miss Tedder,--Maud they ca' her, like the
+bonny wench in Tennyson's poem, th' which canna compare wi' Robbie
+Burns."
+
+The Captain wheeled round sharply, and brought his heels together with
+a click. Plainly he was startled by this speech, and not pleased, as
+was evident from the flaming glance he sent in Gowrie's direction.
+
+"I _have_ seen you before," he said abruptly.
+
+"Aye," said Gowrie placidly, but making a shot in the dark, "at mirk
+midnicht, when the fiends o' gory bluid were abroad in this very inn
+nae sae lang ago."
+
+"What the devil do you mean? I never stopped at this inn before."
+
+"Then where did ye see me, sir?"
+
+"In the Court during the trial of young Herries."
+
+"Eh, then ye were there?"
+
+"I was,--though I don't see what it is to you."
+
+"Weel, weel, I wis leukin' for ye, but didnae see ye."
+
+"What did you want with me?" asked Kyles, fiercely.
+
+"Joost tae hae a crack."
+
+"What about?"
+
+"Hoots, it's a lang story, and I'm gey dry."
+
+This was an intimation that the Captain should replenish Mr. Gowrie's
+empty glass, but Kyles did not take the hint. Instead of answering, he
+stared gloomily at the old man, and seemed to be thinking deeply.
+Presently his face cleared, and he stopped pulling his long black
+moustache.
+
+"Later on you can come to my parlour and have a talk," he said,
+brightly, "just now I have to see to something before I sit down to my
+dinner."
+
+"Aye," murmured the old scamp to himself, when Kyles vanished once
+more into the night. "It's a guilty conscience I'm theenking. I wunner
+noo, if the mon wis in the inn, as Mistress Mountford says. She's got
+a liar's eye, has yon limmer, and yet yon hint o' a meetin' at
+midnicht seemed tae startle the black-avised laddie. Will ye walk
+intae mae parlour, says he. Maybe I will, but ye'll nae devour me, ye
+spider. Dods, but there's mair in this nor talk I'm of opeenion. Hech,
+but I'll pit mae best fut foremaist, and get on the windy side o' the
+man. He's nae gangin' tae get the upper hand o' Michael Gowrie,
+Maister o' Arts. I'll joost bide ma time."
+
+This he did, and while waiting for the return of the buccaneer he
+partook largely of whisky, so that in an hour he was in a gloriously
+talkative mood. Kyles did not return, and Gowrie fancied that the
+buccaneer, conscience-stricken, had levanted. This being his belief,
+he waited for another hour, and then, when it was close upon seven
+o'clock, he rose and stretched himself.
+
+"I'll joost tak a dander roond," he informed the casual guests, who
+had dropped in to drink and talk.
+
+"Aye, there's nae mair fervid admirer o' the warks of Nature nor me.
+But I doot if ye puir tillers o' the soil wud unnerstan' the grand
+thochts which come tae me when gazing at the glorious firmament.
+There's a Wully Shakespeare spoiled in me, I doot. Aye, the drink, the
+drink. Auld Nick's broth tae catch unwary mortals."
+
+With this final speech, which was Greek to the staring countrymen, he
+strolled forth by the front door into the street to look at the
+glorious firmament of which he had spoken. But the same was veiled by
+mists, and the night was extremely dark. No one was about the wet
+roads, not even Armour, the policeman; so Gowrie had every opportunity
+of doing that which he intended to do, which was to stroll down to the
+Red Creek, and see, if possible, what Mrs. Narby had been doing there.
+
+It may seem strange that Gowrie should have been so suspicious of the
+landlady, for she had given him little reason to doubt her. But after
+his chat with Herries, and her mention of the legacy, and her panic in
+dodging his eye, he really thought that she had something to conceal.
+Then again the red mud on her boots perplexed him and aroused his
+curiosity. How he proposed to see anything in the dark, it was hard to
+say, as he certainly could not trace the footsteps of the landlady,
+when the night was so gloomy. However, he climbed over the low fence,
+which parted the garden into which Herries had dropped, from the road
+and walked round to the back of the house. The luck held good, for the
+first thing he saw was a lantern dancing like a will-o'-the-wisp at
+the lower ends of the grounds, and just where the creek was, as he
+knew very well.
+
+"It's the wumon hersel'," murmured the spy, feeling his wicked old
+heart beating loudly, "and what's she digging like a ghoul for?"
+
+He saw that she was digging, for on creeping nearer, the feeble light
+of the lantern showed Mrs. Narby delving with a spade on the near
+shore of the creek. So absorbed was she in her work, that she did not
+hear the ponderous footsteps of Gowrie. He dropped to the earth near
+the hedge, and watched, while the rain fell upon him and made him
+shiver despite the whisky he had been drinking. Here he heard the
+lapping of the water, and also, strange to say, a muffled beating,
+some distance away in the fog, which sounded like a giant heart
+throbbing. Mrs. Narby appeared to hear a noise also, for suddenly, it
+would seem, she was stricken again with a panic fear, and flinging
+down her spade, she hurried back to the inn, leaving the lantern on
+the ground. But at the back door she hesitated; then returned hastily
+and removed the light, blowing it out as she went towards the house.
+Gowrie wondered at these strange and guilty proceedings.
+
+"Aye, she's the guilty limmer wha did the deed o' darkness," said he,
+heaving up his huge body from the mud. "Noo, I wonner what's she's
+hiding in the bosom of the univarsal mother. It surely canna be her
+ain son that she's murdered," he shivered at the thought, then
+dismissed it. "Nae, nae, it's her ill-gotten gains, the notes, I'm of
+opeenion. We'll hae a leuk."
+
+The throbbing had stopped, the door of the inn was closed, and there
+was no sign of anyone lurking in the darkness. Gowrie stole forward,
+trying to find the place where Mrs. Narby had been digging. Suddenly
+he stumbled over a pile of fresh-turned earth, and came down on his
+hands. If the notes were hereabouts they would certainly be in a box,
+and with this idea in his head, he groped with his hands in the hole.
+For some time he was unsuccessful, and his hands became caked with
+mud. Again and again he raked the earth, but could feel nothing but
+the red, moist clay. The rain still continued to fall, and he was
+soaked to the skin. All the same, he continued searching, breathing
+heavily, and occasionally muttering to himself in words which
+certainly did not invoke blessings on Mrs. Narby's head.
+
+Unexpectedly a thin beam of electric light shot over his head, and, as
+he started in terror, it was lowered, until he knelt in a stream of
+radiance. It came, as he could dimly see, from a boat on the low
+waters of the creek, which was moving inshore. From the deck he
+certainly could be seen easily, and as he was about to rise and fly,
+he heard an exclamation of surprise and a fierce oath. All at once, a
+man, followed by two others, sprang from the boat, and made for the
+shore. Unnerved with whisky and by this strange experience, Gowrie
+rose to make for the inn, but stumbled and fell again. The next moment
+he was in the grasp of strong rough hands, and in his terror--natural
+enough under the circumstances--he fainted.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+ON BOARD THE YACHT
+
+
+Being old and enfeebled by incessant doses of whisky, Gowrie remained
+unconscious for a long time. How many hours had passed since he had
+been seized in the back garden of the "Marsh Inn," he did not know,
+but when he opened his eyes and came to himself he found that he was
+in a luxuriously furnished room. Later, when his brain became clearer,
+and he was better able to take in his surroundings, he perceived, by
+the decorations of the place, and from a certain heaving sensation
+that he was in the state room of a vessel. From the ornate decorations
+and costly furniture, it looked more like a boudoir than a cabin. Then
+he remembered what Kind had reported concerning the splendours of the
+"Tarabacca," and realised, with some dismay, that he was on board that
+very boat. This belief was confirmed, when he beheld seated before him
+Captain Bruce Kyles in a gold-laced uniform.
+
+As Gowrie struggled into a sitting position,--he had been dropped
+unconscious on the divan running round the cabin,--Kyles, whose
+brilliant black eyes were fixed mockingly on him, laughed in a
+provoking manner. He pointed to a bottle of whisky and a glass, which
+stood on the table.
+
+"Take a drink, Mr. Gowrie," said the Captain, encouragingly, "and
+don't look so terrified. I mean to do you no harm."
+
+"Nae harrum," quavered the old man, trying to steady his shaken
+nerves, "are ye nae ashamed tae treat me sae? What the deil dae ye
+mean?"
+
+"Many things, Mr. Gowrie, and I would point out to you that blustering
+will not improve the situation. You are in my power."
+
+"Aye, but this is a law-abiding country, and----"
+
+"Oh," Captain Kyles shrugged his shoulders, "the law has no power on
+board this craft. I am the law."
+
+"Ye're a Scotchmon, and thereby a subject o' His Mawjesty Edward First
+o' Scotland, for never wull I ca' him Seeventh o' yon kingdom. And as
+a subject o' Edward o' Scotland aforesaid, I command ye tae pit me
+ashore, and pay me siller for moral damages."
+
+"Like old Kruger. Eh?" said Kyles, pleasantly, "you're an old rip, Mr.
+Gowrie, and I'm going to bring you to book."
+
+"In the name of your King----"
+
+"I haven't got one. I'm Scotch by birth and name, cosmopolitan by
+choice. I was the admiral of the Indiana navy, but since the
+revolution, I am a wanderer on the face of the earth."
+
+"Aye," Gowrie unconsciously stretched for the drink, and filled
+himself a full glass, "we're beginning tae unnerstan the seetuation,
+my mon. Yer a gipsy o' sorts."
+
+"A gipsy of the sea."
+
+"An' a black-hearted villain at that."
+
+"You'll find me so if you don't keep a civil tongue in your head, Mr.
+Gowrie. Permit me to remind you that you are drinking my whisky, and
+therefore cannot afford to vilify your host."
+
+"I'm here against ma wull."
+
+"Yes. And here you will stop until you give me certain information
+regarding the murder of Sir Simon Tedder."
+
+"I ken naethin'," said the old man sullenly.
+
+"Aye, but ye ken muckle," mocked Kyles, "I can talk the Scottice
+tongue as well as you, sir. You said at the 'Marsh Inn' that you
+wanted to have a crack, so I brought you here to have it."
+
+"Then ye kidnapped me wi' intention?"
+
+Captain Kyles nodded carelessly, produced a cigarette and swung back
+in his chair as he lighted it.
+
+"From what you hinted at the inn, I saw that you were poking your nose
+into matters which do not concern you."
+
+"Aye, but ma son-in-law----"
+
+"Quite so, Mr. Gowrie. You are playing his hand, and I am swinging on
+my own hook. When I left the tap-room on business promising to return,
+I intended to bring the motor-launch up the creek, and collar you. She
+was lying in the river on the other side of the station, having
+brought me from this ship."
+
+"And am I at Pierside near the wharf?" asked Gowrie, thinking he could
+escape if he was in touch with Mother Earth.
+
+"No. You are on board my yacht, and she is swinging at anchor off
+Tarhaven. If you go on deck you'll be able to see the lights of the
+town a quarter of a mile away."
+
+"I'll gie the alarrum," and Gowrie rose unsteadily. Kyles made a long
+arm and pushed him back on to the divan.
+
+"Sit tight," said Kyles, "and drink your whisky. You'll need it before
+I've done with you."
+
+"Ye mean tae do an auld mon harrum?"
+
+"Not unless the old man is obstinate. See here," Kyles flung away the
+cigarette and placing his arms on the table talked coldly and slowly,
+"after the hint you gave me at the inn, I intended to kidnap you.
+Failing anything else I would have rushed the inn, but you saved me
+the trouble by coming to dig in the garden. Now then, Mr. Gowrie, from
+what I have gathered at the inquest and the trial, and from sources
+which you need not be told about, I always thought you were a proper
+old scoundrel. When we spoke in the inn I knew you at once although it
+suited my book to pretend ignorance. I have long wanted to get a hold
+of you to hear exactly what you saw and heard in the tap-room on the
+night of Sir Simon's murder. But," added the Captain with emphasis, "I
+did not think to find in you the assassin of that old man."
+
+Gowrie's remaining gray hairs rose straight on end, and he gasped.
+
+"Me! Mel Is it o' me ye talk?"
+
+"Of you,--of your very own self, as the children say," retorted Kyles
+coolly. "Look over there."
+
+Gowrie, quite bewildered with the accusation brought against him,
+glanced towards the end of the cabin, which was in semi-darkness.
+Kyles leaning back, switched on an electric, and then the prisoner, as
+he truly was, saw a black tin box of no great size, covered with moist
+red earth.
+
+"You were digging that up," said the Captain. "After your crime you
+buried it on the shore of the Red Creek, and returned to the inn, when
+you thought that all was safe, so as to get the notes."
+
+"Notes!" screeched Gowrie rising in great excitement.
+
+"As if you didn't know," replied the Captain contemptuously. "Yes, the
+notes to the value of one thousand eight hundred pounds, which you
+thieved from the pocket-book of Sir Simon, after you had cut his
+throat."
+
+"That's a lee,--a lee. I'll hae ye in court for libel, nae less."
+
+"Pooh! If you didn't hide the notes, how came you to be digging them
+up? After you fainted I had you bundled on board the launch, and then
+searched for myself. I found that box very speedily, and on opening it
+on the way back here, I discovered the notes. But the gold is gone."
+
+"The gold."
+
+"Two hundred pounds worth. What have you done with it?"
+
+"Naething. I hadnae one shullin' o' they sovereigns."
+
+Kyles rose, and stood over the shrinking old man menacing and dark;
+and with a fierce expression on his swart face.
+
+"Mr. Gowrie," he said very distinctly, "no one knows that you have
+been kidnapped, as no one saw the launch come up the creek. And I dare
+swear that you didn't tell anyone, when you came to look up your
+cache. You are here, in my power, and there's nothing whatever to
+prevent me from dropping you overboard, with a shot at your heels."
+
+Gowrie, now truly frightened, grovelled with a cry of alarm.
+
+"Nae, nae, dinna dae that. I ken naethin' aboot the siller. I never
+saw yon box until the noo, and I have nae set eyes on they notes."
+
+"You liar."
+
+"It's the truth. Ye ca' me a murderer. What then dae ye ca' Mistress
+Narby, wha acted the pairt o' Jael."
+
+"Mrs. Narby?" ejaculated Kyles, with a start and a frown.
+
+"Aye," mumbled Gowrie, "she brocht forth butter in a lordly dish, an
+gie him milk tae drink, foreby it wis a chop an' beer. Then the
+limmer, for want o' a hammer an' a nail, cut the auld mon's windpipe."
+
+"Is this true?" Kyles seized Gowrie by the throat fiercely.
+
+"Augh, augh," choked the tutor, grasping at the hands which clutched
+him, "ask her yersel!"
+
+Captain Kyles loosened his grip, and walked up and down the long
+cabin, while Gowrie drank more liquor to restore his courage. And
+truly he needed all the courage he possessed, for the position he was
+in, terrified him not a little. Kyles was evidently a lawless man, and
+as no one knew that he, Gowrie, had been kidnapped, he could be put
+away in the manner described by the Captain, very easily. Fondling the
+glass, and looking as dismal as a sick monkey, Gowrie shivered and
+quailed at every glance of the Captain's fierce eyes. Finally after a
+short silence Kyles returned to the side of the table opposite to
+Gowrie.
+
+"See here," said he, striking the table with his closed fist, "these
+notes, and that gold belong to me."
+
+"Aye. I ken you wis expected by Sir Simon on that nicht."
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"The lawyer body told Sweetlips Kind how Sir Simon had written a
+letter to you on the 'Tarabacca,' the which is this boat."
+
+"But how did Ritson know that the letter was addressed to me?"
+
+"It's a lang story."
+
+"Then you tell it, or by Heaven, over the side you go. I have too much
+at stake to waste time on your babbling, Mr. Gowrie. I am aware that
+Herries is free, as he deserved to be, for he is innocent. But he and
+that Cheap-jack, and the lawyer, and the doctor, all think that I am
+guilty, and should they discover certain things, I may be arrested."
+
+"Then ye are guilty?" asked Gowrie, shrinking.
+
+"No. Would I have accused you were I guilty? Would the notes have been
+buried in that back garden were I guilty? Use a little common-sense,
+man, and tell me what Herries and Co. are doing. I'm not going to be
+laid by the heels if I can help it, and I want that money," he pointed
+to the box.
+
+"Ye have it,--ye have it."
+
+"And much good it will do me. If it was in gold I would put you in a
+boat and steam away south at once, but those are notes, Mr. Gowrie,
+and the number of every note is in the possession of the police. Did I
+present those notes, I would be----"
+
+"But ye can defend yourself."
+
+"I'm not so sure of that. There are certain circumstances----"
+
+"Then ye were in the inn on that night?"
+
+"Are you here to question me?" said Kyles fiercely. "Just you tell me
+what is doing in this case, so that I know where I stand, or prepare
+to be thrown overboard."
+
+"If I tell ye all, will ye let me go?"
+
+"I might or I might not. But if you speak the truth your life is safe.
+Until I leave these dangerous coasts I may have to keep you prisoner,
+but you will be well treated. Come now," Kyles rapped on the table,
+"tell me all."
+
+Thus compelled, Gowrie, shivering with dread, related all that he knew
+concerning the case, from the time of Herries' arrest, down to his
+digging in the garden in search of what Mrs. Narby had hidden. The
+Captain kept his sinister eyes on the wrinkled old face before him,
+and made sure that the tutor was speaking the truth. Gowrie never
+considered that he might be betraying Herries to the enemy. All he
+wanted was to save his life, and escape from the gaze of those eyes
+which probed into his guilty old soul. When he ended the Captain flung
+himself back in the chair and laughed.
+
+"You old villain," said he sneeringly, "no wonder I intend to keep you
+a prisoner."
+
+"What?" cried Gowrie in dismay.
+
+"For the time being. You have been so ready to betray your son-in-law,
+that you would have no hesitation in betraying me. You will stop
+here."
+
+"For how long, Captain Kyles?"
+
+"Until the murderer of Sir Simon is arrested."
+
+"Mistress Narby?"
+
+"Perhaps. It looks as though the woman was guilty, and yet----" his
+brows wrinkled themselves perplexedly, and he shook his head, "I do
+not quite see how to----" here he fell into a brown study.
+
+"See to do what?" ventured Gowrie.
+
+Kyles turned and smiled.
+
+"That is my business. Do you think Mr. Herries would come and see me
+on board this boat, if I asked him?"
+
+"I'll tack the message ma ain sel," said Gowrie eagerly.
+
+"I dare say you would," replied the Captain dryly, "But it doesn't
+suit my book to let you go on shore; you might make capital out of
+this kidnapping."
+
+"I swear----"
+
+"I wouldn't were I you. It will do no good. Answer me a few questions,
+Mr. Gowrie. Where is Mrs. Narby?"
+
+"At the inn."
+
+"And her husband,--her son?"
+
+"Pope's in London getting his poetry published, but I don't know where
+the husband is."
+
+"Humph. I notice, Mr. Gowrie, that you waver between Scotch and
+English according to the state of your feelings. I assure you that now
+I know what I know, you are quite safe. Take another drink."
+
+Kyles pushed the bottle in the old man's direction.
+
+"And what's more, if I get this money," he glanced towards the box,
+"I'll pay you well for the fright that you have had."
+
+"But hoo can ye get the siller?" asked Gowrie reassured, and again
+filling his glass.
+
+"Herries will give me the equivalent of those notes."
+
+"He canna, Captain."
+
+"What, with fifty thousand a year?"
+
+"He does nae come in for the siller until he finds the murderer o' his
+uncle."
+
+"Well," said Kyles, coolly, "I may be able to help him there."
+
+"Eh mon, dive ye ken wha killed the auld mon?"
+
+"I do," said Kyles, nodding decisively.
+
+"And who?"--Gowrie was devoured by curiosity.
+
+"No, no, Mr. Gowrie. It is not yet the time to play my hand. You are
+of opinion that Mrs. Narby is guilty. Perhaps I struck the blow----"
+
+"You," Gowrie almost shrieked, "and ye own it."
+
+"I would if I wanted to," rejoined Kyles calmly, "only let me get the
+two thousand, which Sir Simon was about to pay me, and which by an
+accursed accident slipped through my fingers, and I don't mind
+confessing anything."
+
+"But the police----?"
+
+"They can't arrest me on board this boat, and when once steam is up,
+the 'Tarabacca' will show a clean pair of heels, until she drops
+anchor in South American waters."
+
+"But there may be an extradition treaty between Indiana Republic and
+Great Britain."
+
+"There is. But I'm not going back to Indiana. The President Señor
+Guzman, who was my friend, has been kicked out, and his enemy is in
+power. Of all his wealth and mine, this yacht only remains. I came to
+England to get money."
+
+"And nae tae purchase war-ships."
+
+"Pooh, that was a blind. However, to make a long story short, Señor
+Guzman is waiting for me and his daughter in a certain spot in South
+America which does not concern you. From that place we start out to
+find the treasure of Manco Capac. But to do so, I wanted money, and
+two thousand is the least I can do with. Indeed," said Kyles biting
+his fingers, "I fancy I'll ask Herries to double the sum. He can
+easily spare it out of fifty thousand a year."
+
+"When he gets the siller."
+
+"He'll get it right enough, after an interview with me," said Kyles
+carelessly, "and now we'll retire, Mr. Gowrie, and I'll inform you of
+my plans to bring Herries on board to-morrow."
+
+"But I thocht he wis on board," said Gowrie perplexed. "When he sent
+me tae spy oot the land at the 'Marsh Inn,' he wis ganging tae
+Pierside to see Señora Guzman. Miss Tedder accuses her o' the crime."
+
+"The devil she does. Then I can tell you it's a lie," cried Kyles, his
+dark face flushing, "Señora Guzman has nothing to do with these
+things. As to Herries,--I daresay he went to Pierside, but this boat
+left there early this morning. However, that makes things easier.
+Señora Guzman will invite him on board, and explain that she is
+entirely innocent."
+
+"And will you confess your guilt, Captain?"
+
+"I never said that I was guilty," retorted Kyles dryly, "don't jump to
+conclusions, Gowrie. Miss Tedder accuses Señora Guzman."
+
+"Aye, and Mistress Mountford accuses you."
+
+"Indeed. And you accuse Mrs. Narby. There's a devilish lot of females
+in this case. Well, Mr. Gowrie, and which person do you think guilty?"
+
+"Mrs. Narby."
+
+"Then you exonerate me."
+
+"Weel," said Gowrie perplexedly, "ye speak sae queerly----"
+
+"Quite so," said Kyles, cutting him short, "you evidently know
+nothing, Mr. Gowrie."
+
+"I tauld ye sae," said the sage triumphantly.
+
+"Did you see anything, when you slept in the tap-room?"
+
+"Naething," said Gowrie in a brazen manner.
+
+"And when you went upstairs, as you confessed at the trial?"
+
+"I didnae confess that. I said that I drugged Herries' drink tae give
+him a sleep."
+
+"Humph. I should scarcely think that you were so philanthropic. But
+you were up the stairs."
+
+"Hoo d'y' ken?" asked Gowrie swiftly.
+
+"Ah, that's my secret. I know more about your movements on that night
+than you think."
+
+"Then you were at the inn; ye climbed in at the window."
+
+"Perhaps," Kyles thought for a moment and then laughed. "Did you hear
+anything?"
+
+"Weel, I heard the swish o' a wumon's dress in the darkness o' the
+stairs. It sounded as going doon."
+
+"Ah. So you _were_ up the stairs and in Herries' room. Robbing him of
+his few shillings."
+
+"Hoo d'y' ken?" asked Gowrie once more. "I believe that you are the
+guilty person."
+
+"Don't put all your money on that, Mr. Gowrie, you might lose.
+However, you'll know all in good time, say when I get that four
+thousand pounds, by exchanging those notes with Herries."
+
+"There's no two thoosand yonder."
+
+"No, I intend to have double as I said. Come now, you write a note to
+Herries asking him to come to-morrow evening to the 'Marsh Inn.' I'll
+meet him there and arrange matters."
+
+"But he'll nae come."
+
+"He will if you write the letter to trap him. Come now."
+
+And Mr. Michael Gowrie had to do what he was told.
+
+"But ye'll gang tae the Pit of Tophet for this," said Mr. Gowrie
+viciously.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+ANOTHER MYSTERY
+
+
+As guessed by Captain Kyles, Herries' visit to Pierside had been
+unproductive of result. On arriving there, he found that the yacht had
+left for an unknown destination, and returned to Tarhaven quite
+certain that Señora Guzman, and the buccaneer had left England for
+good. This was a great disappointment to the young man, as he did not
+see how the mystery of Sir Simon's death was to be explained without
+getting the evidence of the Mexican lady. He came back to tell Browne
+and to consult with Sweetlips Kind.
+
+The doctor recommended patience, and a visit to the "Marsh Inn," so as
+to see what Gowrie was doing. Browne quite believed that the pair
+connected with the "Tarabacca" knew much; but he felt certain that
+Gowrie knew more than he chose to tell. Herries and Browne argued over
+the matter until a late hour, and resumed their talk, when they met at
+breakfast. Then Browne departed to see his patients and Herries went
+to look for Kind.
+
+But the Cheap-jack was not at the humble little place where he and his
+wife had put up during the trial since they had left the caravan at
+Anderfield in Buckinghamshire, and Herries thought that they also had
+gone, leaving him to his own devices. Perhaps they thought that they
+had done enough in return for his saving of Mrs. Kind's life, and he
+could not blame them for looking after their own affairs. For some
+time Herries contemplated walking to the "Moated Hall," and see what
+Maud had to say, but, on reflection, he decided to wait for the return
+of Gowrie from the inn. It might be that something important was
+transpiring there.
+
+Elspeth met him at the door of the doctor's house when he came back to
+luncheon, having practically wasted a morning.
+
+"Angus," she said eagerly, "here are two letters,--one is in papa's
+writing and the other has been written by Sweetlips."
+
+Herries went into the drawing-room and opened the letters. The one
+from Kind was merely a short intimation that he had met Captain Kyles
+early that very morning, and from certain facts which he had learned
+from him, he had gone to London on business. "I'll be back in a couple
+of days," ended the note, "and then will call and tell you all about
+it."
+
+"Good," said Herries, throwing this aside, "then Kyles is still in
+England."
+
+"And in Tarhaven," said Elspeth, who had been reading over his
+shoulder, "I should not be at all surprised, Angus, if he had anchored
+the 'Tarabacca' in this port."
+
+"Nor should I. However we can easily ascertain that fact. Meanwhile
+let us see what your father has been doing," and he opened the second
+letter. While he read it, his wife glanced at the envelope, "I see
+that your father asks me to come to the 'Marsh Inn' this afternoon,"
+said the young man, rapidly reading the few lines, "he has,--so he
+says,--discovered something important."
+
+"Strange," murmured Elspeth to herself, and taking no notice.
+
+"What is strange?"
+
+"This envelope has not the Desleigh post-mark on it."
+
+Herries examined the envelope in his turn.
+
+"It must have been posted in Tarhaven,--it has that post-mark on it at
+all events. I expect your father sent it here by hand to be posted."
+
+"No, there is a stamp on the envelope. If papa intended to send it to
+you by hand, he would not have wasted a stamp."
+
+They both thought this strange, and tried to puzzle out the reason but
+could arrive at no conclusion.
+
+"I'll ask your father what it means when I see him," said Herries,
+placing both letters in his pocket. "What train can I catch, Elspeth?"
+
+An examination of the time table showed that he could not get a train
+to Desleigh for an hour, so meanwhile, Angus ate some luncheon and
+possessed his soul in patience.
+
+"I don't like your going to the 'Marsh Inn,' after what has occurred,
+Angus," said Elspeth, uneasily, "Mrs. Narby will make herself
+disagreeable."
+
+Herries laughed scornfully.
+
+"What does that matter? I am not afraid of Mrs. Narby, or of a dozen
+like her. Besides, I have an idea of how to tame that virago."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"I'll tell her that I intend to bring an action against her for
+telling lies about me."
+
+"But can you?"
+
+"Perhaps I cannot, but the threat will serve to keep Mrs. Narby's
+tongue quiet. By the way, Elspeth, I must look up Armour, while I am
+at Desleigh, and ask if he has moved in the matter of his kidnapping
+by the Tarabacca sailors."
+
+"Oh," said Elspeth suddenly, "I knew that I had something to tell you,
+Angus. Dr. Browne's housekeeper has lived in Tarhaven for the last
+twenty years and knows everyone."
+
+"Really, dear," the young man laughed, "that information doesn't give
+me any pleasure."
+
+"No, but listen. She was a servant at your uncle's place for some
+time, and says that Mrs. Armour was a servant there also."
+
+Herries shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"That is quite possible. All the same, I don't think that it matters
+much. What do you mean?"
+
+"Well," said Mrs. Herries thoughtfully, "Mrs. Armour knows Maud very
+well,--she was her nurse for some time, I believe. I wonder if Armour
+was kidnapped because his wife had been Maud's nurse."
+
+"My dear," Herries took her in his arms, "you see a bird in every
+bush, as this case has got on your nerves. I don't see the least
+connection between Armour's kidnapping, and Mrs. Armour's early
+employment. I agree with Señora Guzman, and believe that the
+kidnapping was a political affair."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"Well, you see, Señora Guzman is the daughter of the ex-President of
+Indiana, and with Kyles, as the commander of their tin-pot navy, she
+came home to get war-ships, so as to regain possession of the Republic
+if possible. Naturally the new President not wanting a civil war, must
+have sent emissaries to thwart this scheme. Sir Simon was mixed up in
+it, and possibly these emissaries would keep an eye on him. One might
+have followed him to the 'Marsh Inn,' and Kyles, who was no doubt
+going to meet Sir Simon there on political business, must have told
+his sailors to get rid of any suspicious-looking person from Indiana.
+Consequently, Armour, by taking up his position near the inn, laid
+himself open to suspicion, and was promptly removed."
+
+"It might be so, but then you know the meeting was to bribe Captain
+Kyles to leave Maud."
+
+"Kyles would not give his sailors the true reason," replied Herries,
+leaving the table. "Good-bye, Elspeth, I'm off."
+
+"Do take care of yourself, darling," she pleaded. "Of course," he
+kissed her, "but you need have no fear; the luck has changed since our
+marriage."
+
+Elspeth felt that this was so, as she stood watching him from the
+window. Assuredly, her heart was light enough, and she had no
+premonition of evil. Perhaps after all, their separate bad lucks had
+combined to form one good one, as Herries fancifully imagined. Yet she
+dreaded to think that anything should happen to destroy the new and
+wonderful life which was now hers, and went to her room to pray
+earnestly that Angus might be successful in his mission.
+
+But what was his mission? Angus did not know very well himself as the
+train steamed towards Desleigh. It seemed to him that he could do very
+little towards elucidating the mystery of his uncle's death. He was
+ignorant of all things, since he had been asleep during the commission
+of the crime. But Gowrie might have learned something, and Herries
+privately suspected that Gowrie had been wide awake all that eventful
+night. Also, since he had been wandering over the house, he might have
+chanced on some suspicious circumstances. At all events, the old man
+had evidently found out something, when he sent so peremptory a note.
+It was, therefore, with great surprise that Herries, on arriving at
+the inn, was met with the news that Gowrie was not within.
+
+"Where is he?" he asked the new maid, Alice, who gave him this
+information in the well-known tap-room.
+
+"I can't tell you, sir," she replied, timidly. "He went out last night
+just before dinner, and never came back."
+
+"Strange," Herries recalled the omitted Desleigh post-mark, and felt
+uneasy. "Can I see Mrs. Narby?"
+
+"Missus have gone to London to see her son."
+
+"And the landlord?"
+
+"He's in London, too, seeing about selling the inn," said Alice,
+glibly.
+
+"Selling the inn?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Master and Missus are going to America."
+
+"The deuce they are," murmured Herries rather perplexed, "Now what
+does that mean? I wish I could find Gowrie. I wonder if he has been
+kidnapped also," he added smiling, and little knew how near he was to
+the truth. "Well, I'd better utilize the time at my disposal and call
+on Armour," and he turned away.
+
+The next words of Alice arrested him.
+
+"Please, sir, won't you see the lady, sir? She's in the parlour
+waiting for you."
+
+"A lady. Who is she?"
+
+"Oh, the most beautiful lady you ever set eyes on. She came here an
+hour ago, and said that she wanted to see you, sir."
+
+"Mr. Herries?"
+
+"Yes, sir, and I know you're Mr. Herries, 'cos I saw you when you was
+arrested for----"
+
+"There--there," interrupted the young man wincing, for he did not like
+to be reminded of that ugly episode. "Take me to the lady. I expect
+it's Señora Guzman, or Maud."
+
+The stuffy parlour looked a duller apartment than ever as Herries
+opened the door and stepped in. He half expected to see Maud, but
+instead faced a tall lady with the look of a queen, who rose and
+smiled as he entered. From the description given by Kind, Angus had no
+doubt but what this was the daughter of the Indiana ex-president.
+
+"How do you do, Mr. Herries?" she said in excellent English. "You are
+surprised to meet me here, instead of your father-in-law."
+
+"What, you know----?"
+
+"I know that Mr. Gowrie wrote you a letter asking you to come to this
+place," said Señora Guzman composedly.
+
+"Then you know where he is?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Can you tell me----?"
+
+"Not at present," she interrupted, "but later you shall know
+everything, Mr. Herries."
+
+"About the murder?" he asked looking at her in a penetrating manner,
+and trying to read her thoughts.
+
+"Certainly. The time is coming, when all that is mysterious will be
+made plain to you. But," added Donna Maria with emphasis, "you will
+have to pay for your knowledge."
+
+"Ah!" Herries was quite cool, "I thought the element of money would
+come into the matter. And how much?"
+
+"Say, four thousand pounds."
+
+Herries laughed.
+
+"My dear lady, I don't possess as many pence."
+
+"Not at present, but you will, when certain information is given to
+you. I have read the papers, Mr. Herries, and I know that you inherit
+fifty thousand a year, on certain conditions."
+
+"Ah, but those conditions were not mentioned in the newspapers."
+
+"Quite so," rejoined Señora Guzman, resuming her seat, "but we learned
+the conditions from another person."
+
+"We?"
+
+"Myself and Captain Kyles."
+
+"I have no wish," said Herries slowly, "to ask impertinent questions,
+madame, but I should like to know if you and Captain Kyles are in
+partnership?"
+
+Señora Guzman laughed in her turn.
+
+"You might put it that way," she said, resting her elbow on the shaky
+round table, and her chin on the back of her locked fingers. "Captain
+Kyles and myself intend to make our fortunes, and then marry."
+
+"But Maud----"
+
+"Maud," she interrupted fiercely, "don't talk to me of that wicked
+girl, or I shall lose my temper. I only hope I won't tell her some
+painful truths, when I see her."
+
+"Are you going to see her?"
+
+"To-day and here," Señora Guzman glanced at a bracelet watch, "in a
+quarter of an hour. I wrote and asked her to come here."
+
+"Why here?"
+
+"Because I want to see her in your presence."
+
+"But you don't mean to say that Maud knows anything of----"
+
+"On the contrary she knows a very great deal, and has acted towards
+you, Mr. Herries, in a most cruel manner."
+
+"Oh, I know that myself. Certainly there are some excuses, seeing that
+she has lost a fortune."
+
+"It was in her power to retain it," replied the Mexican lady coolly,
+"but she _would_ hover round a flame."
+
+"Is the flame Captain Kyles?"
+
+"Why should you think so?"
+
+"Because Maud was engaged to him, and----"
+
+Donna Maria seemed determined to give Herries no chance of finishing a
+single sentence.
+
+"She _was_ engaged, for certain reasons, but Captain Kyles will marry
+no one but me."
+
+"Then don't you think that he has acted very badly towards Maud?"
+
+"What do you think yourself?" she asked, irrelevantly.
+
+Herries thought for a few moments.
+
+"I know that my cousin has not acted well," he said hesitatingly, "all
+the same, this unfortunate engagement with Captain Kyles, and one
+which you admit, Señora, he never intended to fulfil, may have driven
+her into courses, which in more unemotional moments she would not have
+entered into."
+
+"I must say, Mr. Herries, that for a wronged man, you are generous."
+
+"I have had much trouble in my life," said Angus simply, "and it has
+taught me to judge no one."
+
+"I think you are a good man," said Señora Guzman, looking at him in a
+softened manner. "All the better. Captain Kyles and myself will have
+all the more pleasure in placing you in possession of your property."
+
+"Then you know who killed my uncle?"
+
+"I do not, nor indeed does Captain Kyles. Still we can place certain
+evidence at your disposal which will go far towards solving the
+riddle. But the price----"
+
+"I am willing to pay the price."
+
+"Four thousand pounds."
+
+"Five if you wish it," said Herries frankly, "it is a small sum out of
+fifty thousand a year."
+
+Donna Maria looked at him in silence for a moment. Then her proud lip
+quivered, and she burst into tears. Herries was quite distressed when
+she laid her head down on her arms and wept as though her heart would
+break.
+
+"My dear lady----"
+
+"I feel so ashamed," she sobbed, "making it a condition that you
+should pay for what ought to be done without money. You must think
+that I am an adventuress and a bad woman."
+
+"I think nothing," said Herries rather coldly, for he did not know
+what this scene might mean, "because I know nothing."
+
+"Mr. Herries," she said raising her head and wiping her eyes with a
+dainty lace handkerchief, "you must not judge me too hardly. I am the
+daughter of a man who held great power in Indiana, although I am a
+Mexican by birth. I was brought up to riches and honour, and for years
+had everything I could wish for. But an enemy of my father's intrigued
+against him, and in a night he was driven from the Presidential
+palace. My mother was shot during the revolution, and my father and
+myself escaped only with our lives, thanks to the bravery of Captain
+Kyles. We lived in exile for some time, and fortunately escaped in the
+yacht, which had belonged to the Government."
+
+"The 'Tarabacca?'"
+
+"Yes. It is a splendid yacht. It is all that remains of my father's
+wealth, for the new Government confiscated everything. But my father
+learned from an Indian of the whereabouts of a certain treasure in
+Peru, which had been hidden--according to tradition--by Manco Capac,
+who first civilised the Peruvian Indians. To get that treasure entails
+a long and toilsome journey and much money. Leaving my father
+concealed at Lima, Captain Kyles and myself came to this country to
+try and raise some money on Indiana bonds. We wanted the sum of two
+thousand or four thousand pounds, so as to fit out an expedition and
+get this money,--this treasure. Unfortunately the new Indiana
+Government had been beforehand, and we found that the bonds were
+useless. Then an accident introduced us to Sir Simon Tedder, and there
+was a chance that he might assist us."
+
+"But I understood that you came to buy war-ships?"
+
+"That was the excuse we gave out, and for that reason, we have been
+haunted by Indiana emissaries, who would take our lives, if it was
+needful. But we promised Sir Simon a share of the----"
+
+Scarcely had she got this far, when they heard the shrill scream of a
+woman in the tap-room. Herries sprang from his chair, and opened the
+door hurriedly. When he and Señora Guzman walked hastily into the
+tap-room, they found Maud Tedder in the grasp of Armour the policeman,
+who was in plain clothes. Herries flung himself forward, and threw the
+bulky man to one side.
+
+"How dare you touch a lady?" he said, indignantly.
+
+"A lady," said Armour, who had evidently been drinking, "if she's a
+lady, let her pay me for having lost my position in the Force through
+her visit."
+
+"Don't listen to him,--don't listen to him," whispered Maud, pale and
+trembling and clinging to Herries.
+
+"I've been dismissed the Force," complained Armour in a maundering
+tone, "and all on account of that there blamed murder. And she," he
+pointed a stumpy finger at Miss Tedder, "she knows summat about it,
+she does."
+
+"It's a lie," gasped Maud, shaking from head to foot, while the eyes
+of Señora Guzman lighted up and she took an eager step forward.
+
+"Oh," raved the ex-policeman, while Alice lost her head and flew out
+of doors shouting for help, "is it a lie that she," he pointed again
+towards Maud, "that she came to my house, when I was on my rounds and
+made my wife betray me? On the very night of the murder, she was at my
+house, and----"
+
+"I came to see my old nurse," gasped Maud.
+
+"Then what were you doing wandering about Desleigh at midnight. I got
+it out of my missus, I did. And you put them sailors on to me.
+
+"No! No!"
+
+"You did. And I believe," cried Armour, "that you murdered your father
+your very own self."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+AN EXPLANATION
+
+
+Maud uttered a squeak like that of a trapped rabbit, and clung to her
+cousin in a half-fainting condition. The startling accusation of the
+ex-policeman came upon Herries with the force of a bludgeon, and his
+flesh crept as he felt Maud's terrified grasp. What if she were guilty
+after all,--what if she had,--but the thought was too horrible. Bad as
+the girl was in many ways, vain, frivolous, cruel, selfish, she would
+never have killed the father who had loved her so greatly. As it was,
+she vehemently denied the accusation.
+
+"It's a he,--a lie," she murmured, trying to keep from fainting, "oh,
+how dare you, how----" here nature would have her way, and Maud sank
+unconscious on the ground. Armour continued his vociferations, so
+Herries gave the insensible girl to Señora Guzman, who received her
+with reluctance, and caught Armour by the collar.
+
+"Do you know what you are saying?" he demanded, shaking the man in a
+fierce way. "How dare you accuse this young lady of----"
+
+"Well, if she didn't do it, who killed him?" asked the man in a sullen
+tone and beginning to see that he had gone too far. "It wasn't that
+Herries chap."
+
+"I am Herries!"
+
+"You." Armour shook off the grasp and recoiled against the wall.
+
+"Yes! And you have no right to accuse my cousin. She came, as her
+companion, Mrs. Mountford, knew," this was a lie, but Herries wanted
+to save the miserable girl, "to see her old nurse."
+
+"And went out late at night. My wife confessed it."
+
+It was at this moment that Alice returned, followed by Mrs. Armour.
+
+After her first cry for help the servant had thought it best to go for
+the wife. Fortunately there were few people about, and her feeble cry
+had gone unheeded. Also the tap-room was empty, a rare occurrence for
+the time being, so when Alice brought back Mrs. Armour, that woman ran
+into the room, with a white face, dreading lest her husband's tongue,
+loosened by liquor, should have wagged too freely.
+
+"You drunken beast," she said, advancing with brandished arms, "how
+dare you insult my young lady?"
+
+"She killed her father," grumbled Armour, but under his breath, as the
+stern looks of Herries and the presence of his wife cowed him not a
+little.
+
+Mrs. Armour uttered an indignant exclamation and placing her hand on
+his coat-collar dragged him to the door.
+
+"It is quite false, you fool."
+
+"He says that you told him," said Herries to the wife.
+
+Mrs. Armour pushed her husband outside and faced round.
+
+"I told him nothing of the sort. He found out, I don't know how, that
+my young lady was at my house on the night of the murder, and taxed me
+with it. I confessed--like a fool,--that she had been there, and then
+he got it into his head that she set those sailors after him, to get
+him kidnapped. He thinks that he lost his position in the Force
+through her, which is quite wrong."
+
+"Why didn't you come to the inquest and say that Miss Tedder was with
+you on the night?" asked Herries sternly.
+
+"Because she asked me not to. I wouldn't have said a word even to
+Armour, but that he found out. Who are you, sir?"
+
+"I am Miss Tedder's cousin----"
+
+"Who was accused of the murder?" screeched Mrs. Armour in surprise.
+
+"Yes, and if my cousin was here on that night,----"
+
+"She is innocent,--innocent I swear," interrupted the woman, in great
+agitation, "she only came to the inn----"
+
+"Oh. She _was_ here, was she? In the house?"
+
+"No! Yes,--that is. I tell you, sir, she is innocent," cried Mrs.
+Armour at her wits' end. "She only came to see me. I'm her old nurse,
+sir. Don't you believe what Armour says. He's drunk; he doesn't know
+what mischief he is making."
+
+"Miss Tedder was in this house on the night of the murder, about
+midnight."
+
+"She wanted to see her father, and ask him not to take her lover from
+her," sobbed Mrs. Armour putting her apron to her eyes. "Indeed she's
+as innocent as the sun, sir. But I'm ready to confess----"
+
+"Confess nothing," interrupted the young man, "if my cousin has been
+indiscreet--we'll put it that way,--I'll see that nothing comes of the
+matter. But I'll come round and see you later, to hear what you have
+to say. Meanwhile I'll question Miss Tedder."
+
+"Where is she; my lamb?"
+
+"In the parlour with a lady. She has fainted."
+
+"Oh," Mrs. Armour was about to start towards the parlour, when Herries
+stopped her.
+
+"No. Go back to your husband. Take him home, and get him sober. If he
+dares to say another word about Miss Tedder, I shall have him
+arrested."
+
+"Yes, yes, I'll go,--I'll stop him speaking. But oh, sir," Mrs. Armour
+wheeled at the door with clasped hands, "believe me, my young lady is
+innocent."
+
+"Yes, I believe that, but I must hear what she has to say, before
+exonerating her. Now go."
+
+Mrs. Armour fled like a hare, and clutching her husband dragged him
+home, scolding him all the way in a low vehement tone.
+
+"You fool, you fool," she muttered, "you'll ruin me, you'll ruin
+yourself."
+
+"I didn't mean," mumbled Armour, now growing sober and terrified, for
+he really had scanty reason to say what he had said.
+
+"You didn't mean,--you born fool. If this ends in a police court it
+will be the worse for us both. My young lady is innocent, but you
+have placed her in a most dangerous position. You beast, you ass,
+you wretch, but I'll trounce you. I'll take it out of you," and
+half-dragged, half-driven, Armour was brought back to his home.
+
+In the meanwhile Herries gave Alice a shilling to hold her tongue,
+promising her more if she did not speak. "And especially, not to Mrs.
+Narby," said Herries, impressively.
+
+"I'm fly," said the small servant, biting the shilling to see that it
+was a good one. "I don't tell her anything, if I can help. She hammers
+me too hard, sir."
+
+"You poor little devil," said Herries pityingly, "when these things
+are settled we must see if we can get you a good home," and so saying
+he patted the miserable Alice on her head of tangled hair and walked
+into the parlour.
+
+Maud had revived, as Señora Guzman had dashed water on her face with
+no gentle hand, and was now standing at the end of the room, looking
+at her with extreme aversion. Maud herself, with all the spirit
+knocked out of her, was seated at the table with her face hidden in
+her hands, weeping silently. Badly as the girl had behaved, her cousin
+could not help feeling sorry for her, especially, when she raised her
+small, pathetic, childish face. He closed the door, and came forward
+gravely.
+
+"Well, Maud, and what have you to say to this accusation?"
+
+"Nothing,--I'm sure I was very fond of poor pa," she sobbed, looking a
+woeful spectacle with her damp dress and tearful face. "No one was
+more sorry than I was when he was killed."
+
+"You were not sorry for me," Herries could not help remarking.
+
+"I thought you had killed pa."
+
+"What? When you accused Señora Guzman of the crime, to my wife."
+
+The Mexican lady started, and her fine eyes flashed. "You accused me,"
+she said, drawing herself up.
+
+"Yes! and I believe you did it," said Maud, raising her head and
+darting a malignant look at her rival.
+
+For the moment it looked as though Donna Maria would fling herself on
+her enemy, but controlling her temper with a violent effort, she
+laughed coldly.
+
+"Of course such an accusation does not deserve any defence."
+
+"You were in the neighbourhood, you set those men on Armour," cried
+Maud viciously, and rearranging her disordered dress.
+
+"Oh, I don't mind acknowledging that," retorted Señora Guzman with a
+curling lip, "I have nothing to conceal. I accompanied Captain Kyles
+from Pierside in the launch, and remained on board, while he went up
+to see Sir Simon at this inn. Captain Kyles told me that he suspected
+some emissary from the Republic would spy on his movements, and as he
+did not come back I sent up the sailors, and told them to carry away
+anyone who happened to be lurking about the inn at so late an hour.
+They saw Armour the policeman sitting under the window of Sir Simon's
+room, and thinking that he was waiting for Captain Kyles to descend
+in order to kill him,--for they took the policeman for an Indiana
+spy,--they muffled his head in my shawl, and carried him away, to
+leave him in a ditch. Then they returned to the launch which was on
+the river on the other side of the railway line."
+
+Herries nodded. This was exactly the explanation which he had given
+Elspeth, and he was delighted to see how accurate his forecast had
+been. But there was another point which he wished to be cleared up.
+
+"At what time did Captain Kyles return to the launch?"
+
+She shrugged her fine shoulders.
+
+"I must leave Captain Kyles to tell you his own story, Mr. Herries.
+All I wish to do at present, is to show Miss Tedder that I am not
+afraid to confess my movements on that night. It is lucky for her if
+she can do the same."
+
+"I was with Mrs. Armour," said Maud quickly, yet with a passing gleam
+of terror.
+
+"You were in this very house," said Herries sternly, "Mrs. Armour told
+me so."
+
+"Then she was with me. She would not allow me to go alone."
+
+"I'll ask her about that, myself," said Herries sitting down, "in the
+meanwhile you must confess everything you did on that night."
+
+"I shan't," said Maud, setting her baby face in an obstinate frown.
+
+"Then I shall tell the police."
+
+She quivered at this and choked.
+
+"You would tell on me, a woman, your own cousin?"
+
+"You never hesitated to tell about me," said Herries, grimly.
+
+"That's different--you are a man--you can defend yourself, not like
+poor little me. I have enemies," and she scowled at the Mexican lady
+in a most venomous manner.
+
+"I am not afraid," said Señora Guzman sitting down near the door. "You
+would like to kill me with a look, and marry Bruce, but you will not.
+Oh no, he will be my husband."
+
+"He'll be hanged."
+
+"Aha. You will accuse him, Miss Tedder. I make you my compliments on
+your delicate way of making love."
+
+"He loves me, he doesn't love you."
+
+"Oh, but he does, Mademoiselle; you mistake. Bruce is not fond of
+English babies," this with a disdainful look at Maud's childish face,
+twisted with rage and grief.
+
+"Ah, you cat. Wait till I see him face to face. He can't resist me. He
+never loved you--never, never, never."
+
+Señora Guzman laughed again in the most irritating manner.
+
+"You will never see him face to face. We go away, he and I, from this
+land of yours to South America. There we shall be happy."
+
+Maud started to her feet.
+
+"He shan't go, he won't go. I'll tell the police. I'll have him
+hanged. I'll--oh--oh--oh," she appeared to be on the verge of a fit of
+hysterics, when Herries, thinking this scene between the two women had
+gone far enough, caught her by the arms, and hurt her a trifle. The
+pain made her cry out, but it strung her up to overcoming the
+hysteria.
+
+"You brute," said Maud, with a sob, "to strike a woman."
+
+"I did not strike you," said Herries very patiently, "and if I have
+hurt you I beg your pardon. But you had better sit down quietly and
+tell me all you know."
+
+"I shan't."
+
+"Then I can't protect you from the police."
+
+"You will tell?"
+
+"No. On second thoughts I shall not tell, but Armour will. And if he
+does, what is to become of you, Maud?"
+
+She saw her danger and made for the door as though to fly. But Herries
+brought her back.
+
+"Sit down, sit down," he said soothingly. "Believe me, Maud, that
+badly as you have treated me, I am still your friend--your only
+friend."
+
+"And you need a friend," observed Señora Guzman, surveying the girl
+with coldly critical eyes.
+
+"You cat," cried Maud turning on her viciously, then dropped into a
+chair with a sob. "Oh, Heavens, was there ever so unfortunate a
+creature as I am? I've lost my money and my father, and----"
+
+"And your lover."
+
+"Pray be silent, Señora," said Herries, rather disgusted.
+
+"I will not," she retorted fiercely, "why should I be silent, when she
+tried to take my lover from me? She knew that he was engaged to me,
+she knew----!"
+
+"I didn't," sobbed Maud, interrupting swiftly.
+
+"You did. Sir Simon asked me to his house when we came to see him on
+business--we--Bruce and myself. I told you that I was engaged to be
+married. And you,--you tried to get him away."
+
+"And I succeeded," said Maud with dismal triumph, "he made love to me,
+he kissed me."
+
+"I know that. He told me everything."
+
+"What! He--told--you."
+
+"Yes," snapped the Señora, "we wanted money,--heaps of money. Sir
+Simon knew that we didn't want war-ships, but only money for this
+treasure expedition. At first he would lend, then he would not. Then
+since you were so shameless----"
+
+"Señora, Señora," pleaded Herries, quite helpless between these two
+fierce creatures quarrelling over a man.
+
+"I must speak," she cried loudly, and striking the table with her
+gloved hand. "She must be told the truth, for once in her silly, vapid
+life. She dares to pit herself against me,--the daughter of a house
+which has been famous for centuries. She dares to compare her feeble,
+washed-out beauty with mine--with mine. Ah," she raised her arms with
+a proud gesture, "look at me, look at you. I tell you, Bruce would lay
+down his life for me."
+
+"He shall, on the gallows," panted Maud viciously.
+
+"Pah, you little fool," sneered the Mexican woman with scorn, "you
+have been a catspaw to get the money. I told Bruce to make love to
+you, to lead you on, to twist you round his little finger, and all to
+get the money. Was I wrong, seeing how shamelessly you tried to steal
+my lover? No," she answered herself, "I was right. Bruce told Sir
+Simon that he would take you away. Sir Simon forbade you to think of
+Bruce. You persisted, and then he said he would cut you out of his
+will. He wrote a letter to Brace telling him that he had done so, and
+asked him to meet him at this inn, offering to bribe him to give you
+up. You," said Señora Guzman with an insulting laugh, "you, for whom
+Bruce cared nothing. Bruce said that he would take two thousand pounds
+more or less. He hinted as much to Sir Simon, and he came here with
+that amount of money. Then Sir Simon was murdered----"
+
+"By Captain Kyles," cried Maud.
+
+"It is a lie," said the woman striking the table again. "Had he killed
+him he would have had the money and have sailed away. But he did not
+kill him, and so lost the money."
+
+"But I saw Captain Kyles at this inn," said Maud.
+
+"He was here. I told you so, but how came you to see him?"
+
+"I was taking a walk before going to bed. Mrs. Armour was with me. I
+saw Captain Kyles under the window, where the red light shone."
+
+"The red light," said Herries involuntarily.
+
+"Yes I There was a red light in the front room. The window was open
+and Captain Kyles was looking up."
+
+"I understand," said Herries gravely. "Sir Simon hung a red
+handkerchief in front of a candle to serve as a signal. Well?"
+
+"Then I wanted to go up and see my father. Bruce had told me that papa
+wanted to bribe him to give me up, and that he was going to meet him
+at the inn. That was why I came. I came by a late train and went to
+Mrs. Armour, who is my old nurse. I implored her to help me, since she
+knew Mrs. Narby. I wanted to get into the house and throw myself at my
+father's feet and implore him not to send Bruce away. Mrs. Armour
+came, and when we saw Captain Kyles under the window, we stole round
+in the fog to the back door. Mrs. Armour knocked at Mrs. Narby's
+bedroom window at the back in a peculiar way, and Mrs. Narby came to
+the back door. She would not let me in at first, but I offered her
+twenty pounds, which I had brought with me. Then I went into the
+house, and up the stairs in the darkness. I saw a gleam of light under
+the door of the furthest room, and then I heard deep breathing. I grew
+afraid, and ran down the stairs again. I believe there was a man in
+the nearer room, which was in darkness."
+
+"That was Gowrie," said Herries, "he heard the swish of a woman's
+dress. So it was you. And you saw nothing?"
+
+"Nothing. I ran out and asked Mrs. Armour to take me back, and hold
+her tongue. I slept that night at her house, as her husband was away,
+and then went home by an early train. Mrs. Mountford let me into my
+home, and no one knew that I had been away."
+
+"And when you heard that your father had been murdered?"
+
+"I thought Captain Kyles had lost his temper and had killed him."
+
+"Oh. Then you did not believe that it was me, after all."
+
+"No. I never knew that you were in the house. But when I heard that
+you had been arrested, I thought, in any case, that you would be
+hanged, and so joined in the cry against you. I wanted to save Bruce,"
+wailed Maud.
+
+"I see," said Herries, horrified at this callous girl, "so you were
+willing to hang an innocent man, and marry one whom you thought had
+murdered your father."
+
+"Bruce did _not_ murder Sir Simon," put in Señora Guzman vehemently,
+"it is not true. I came here, Mr. Herries, to explain all I could, and
+to ask you to come on board the yacht which is at Tarhaven."
+
+"Will I see Captain Kyles?"
+
+"Yes. He wishes to see you about the money."
+
+"Why should I pay the money?"
+
+"You said you would," said Señora Guzman vehemently, "and you will
+have to do so if you wish to get the fortune."
+
+An evil light suddenly shone in Maud's eyes, as though the devil had
+whispered some delicious thought.
+
+"Let me come also," she said eagerly to Señora Guzman.
+
+"No. We do not want you."
+
+"Then I shall go straight back to Tarhaven and tell the police all
+about myself, and Captain Kyles."
+
+"You are afraid."
+
+"I am not, but," Maud looked cunning and snarled, "I am desperate."
+
+"You shan't come----"
+
+"She shall," said Herries in a peremptory manner. "I want everyone to
+be present at the clearing up of this affair. Not a word, Señora, Miss
+Tedder comes with me, or I don't set foot on the yacht."
+
+Señora Guzman shrugged her shoulders.
+
+"Very good," she said insolently, "Bring her if you like. But I have
+said all, so I will go."
+
+"When shall I come to the yacht?"
+
+"Captain Kyles will let you know," and she vanished.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+STARTLING NEWS
+
+
+Herries brought Maud back to the "Moated Hall," and delivered her into
+the hands of Mrs. Mountford. The girl recovered herself wonderfully on
+the journey, but said very little. All the time in the train she sat
+huddled in her corner of the compartment, and eyed Angus in a most
+spiteful manner. Her cousin saw the look and wondered what was in her
+mind. Had he known he might not have pitied her as he did. As it was,
+he felt truly sorry for the miserable girl. By her own foolishness,
+she had forfeited a fortune, she had been deserted by the man whom she
+had striven to take from another woman, and had lost her father by a
+violent death. Had not Maud troubled her head over the buccaneer's
+good looks, her father would never have made a second will; he would
+never have gone to the "Marsh Inn" to meet his death. For all the
+terrible things that had happened, Maud had only herself to blame. Yet
+she talked of Fate, and bemoaned herself as the most unfortunate
+creature in the world. Many people cheat themselves in the same way.
+
+However, Mrs. Mountford saw that she was really getting ill and that
+her nerves were in a terribly excited state. She, therefore, sent her
+at once to bed when Herries brought her back, and remained alone in
+the drawing-room with the young man.
+
+"I know that Maud went to the 'Marsh Inn' in response to an invitation
+from Señora Guzman," she said gravely, "but I did not expect that you
+would bring her back, Mr. Herries."
+
+"I was there also," he replied, quietly, "I went to meet Mr. Gowrie
+and found Señora Guzman instead. Maud got into trouble."
+
+"With that woman?"
+
+"With Armour, the policeman, who said that Maud had been at Desleigh
+on the night her father was murdered."
+
+Mrs. Mountford turned pale.
+
+"Surely you do not believe that wild statement, Mr. Herries?"
+
+"I have such good authority, Mrs. Mountford, that I must."
+
+"Whose authority?"
+
+"That of Maud herself."
+
+"Unhappy girl. What has she said?"
+
+"I think you know what she said, Mrs. Mountford, since you also knew
+that Maud stopped with Mrs. Armour on that night."
+
+"Mrs. Armour is Maud's old nurse," said the ex-governess with emotion,
+"and Maud went to visit her without my permission."
+
+"Maud said that you helped her."
+
+"No. That is not true. I would not have let Maud out of my sight to
+pay such a visit, and at so late an hour. She certainly told me that
+Sir Simon was to meet Captain Kyles at the 'Marsh Inn,' and then bribe
+him to give her up. She wanted to go to Desleigh and implore her
+father not to act in this way. I said that she was not to go, but she
+slipped out of the house and went. I could do nothing save watch for
+her return and admit her secretly, lest the servants should come to
+know of her mad visit."
+
+"What did she tell you when she returned?" asked Herries, curiously.
+
+"That she had stopped all night with Mrs. Armour."
+
+"She did not inform you that she had been inside the 'Marsh Inn?'"
+
+"No." Mrs. Mountford closed her eyes in horror, "Impossible!"
+
+"It is true. Maud went there to see her father."
+
+"Mr. Herries," Mrs. Mountford rose and grasped the young man's arm, "I
+cannot believe that Maud has anything to do with this crime."
+
+"Why should you believe it?" said Herries, astonished at the emotion
+displayed in her usually solemn face.
+
+"Tell me what you know, and I'll explain."
+
+Herries hesitated, but reflecting that Mrs. Mountford could do no
+harm, and that it was better to have her for a friend than an enemy at
+this juncture, he told all that had taken place at the inn, as he had
+heard it from Maud herself. At the conclusion Mrs. Mountford drew a
+long breath of relief.
+
+"It is better than I expected," she said, nodding, "I must tell you,
+Mr. Herries, to explain for the way in which Maud has acted, that she
+is not quite right in the head."
+
+"Mad!" was the young man's startled exclamation.
+
+"Not exactly mad. She has no moral principles, and if she does not get
+her own way, will not hesitate even at a crime to get it. Her mother,
+a frivolous, foolish woman, who came of a decayed family, was the
+same. Maud at times is not responsible for her actions. Sir Simon was
+devoted to her, and therefore, after Maud's education was finished, he
+kept me here, to look after her."
+
+"I noticed that you had great power over Maud."
+
+"The power of a strong mind over a weak one," said Mrs. Mountford in
+her deep voice, "yet at times Maud is too difficult and cunning even
+for me to manage. You know how she escaped and went to Desleigh. I
+dreaded lest she should meet her father, for then----" Mrs. Mountford
+hesitated.
+
+"Would she have murdered him?"
+
+"Not deliberately. But she would have fallen into a frenzy of rage and
+the first weapon to hand would have been used by her. In these rages,
+she goes, what the Norsemen called baresark, and stops at nothing to
+gain her ends. She loves this Captain Kyles so much that she would do
+anything to become his wife. You know that she was quite ready to
+sacrifice you, Mr. Herries."
+
+"And Señora Guzman also," said the young man, rather startled at what
+he had heard, "since she accuses her wrongfully."
+
+Mrs. Mountford looked gravely at him.
+
+"I believe that Captain Kyles killed Sir Simon," she said decisively,
+"and Señora Guzman may not be so innocent as you imagine. The Captain
+was certainly at the 'Marsh Inn' on that night, since you say Maud saw
+him looking up at the window wherein Sir Simon had placed his signal.
+Also Señora Guzman was in the neighbourhood and had that policeman
+kidnapped."
+
+"All these things look suspicious," assented Herries, "yet, since
+Kyles was willing to give up Maud, for whom he had no affection, and
+since Sir Simon was willing to pay the price, I do not see the motive
+for the commission of the crime."
+
+"It is strange. What does Captain Kyles say himself?"
+
+"I have not seen him yet. To-morrow, however, I am going on board the
+'Tarabacca,' which lies off Tarhaven quay, out-stream, I believe. Then
+Kyles will explain. And Maud is to come with me."
+
+Mrs. Mountford started to her feet.
+
+"Impossible. If she meets Captain Kyles face to face, I don't know
+what would happen."
+
+"I'll look after her," said Herries, who was determined that Maud
+should be brought face to face with her lover, so that everything
+should be cleared up in a proper manner. "I must know the truth, as I
+want to enter into possession of my property. Kyles evidently can tell
+me who killed my uncle, and I am going to see Ritson, as to getting
+four thousand pounds to bribe him into speaking the truth."
+
+"He deserves no money after the way in which he has treated Maud."
+
+"I quite agree with you," responded Herries dryly, "but beggars cannot
+be choosers. Apparently Kyles is the only man who can solve the
+mystery, so he must be paid."
+
+"He will have to acknowledge himself guilty then," said Mrs. Mountford
+obstinately, "in which case he should be arrested."
+
+"Certainly. And I may tell you that I intend to give information to
+Inspector Trent as to my engagement to see Kyles on board the yacht.
+He will come later in the evening, for I believe that the explanation
+will be given to-morrow night. If Kyles is guilty he will be arrested.
+But he won't confess unless he gets the money, so I must enlist the
+services of Ritson to procure it, and take it on board. I can get it
+back if your surmise is correct."
+
+"Well," said Mrs. Mountford coldly, "I presume that will be the best
+way to settle the matter. And Mr. Herries," she added, giving him her
+hand, "I may tell you that I am glad you have got the money. Were Maud
+in possession, I would lose my influence over her, and then God knows
+what would happen to so feather-headed a creature. She would be
+surrounded by flatterers and sycophants, and would waste the money in
+excesses, ending probably in an insane asylum."
+
+"But she is not mad."
+
+"I tell you she is at times," said Mrs. Mountford impatiently. "The
+germs of insanity are in her, and it only needs great emotions to
+develop them into rank lunacy. See what she was prepared to do, in
+order to get Captain Kyles for a husband. She is not safe, she never
+will be safe; and Sir Simon did not want her to marry. No, Mr.
+Herries, you get this money and make good use of it. Maud and myself
+will go abroad and live on her thousand a year."
+
+"You must let me add to that," said Herries shaking her hand in a
+hearty manner. "I believe that you are a good woman."
+
+"I have had great troubles," said Mrs. Mountford, "and troubles make
+us think of others. When you are in possession of that large income,
+Mr. Herries, don't forget the poor and needy. Let your troubles aid
+you to remember the troubles of others."
+
+"You can depend upon that," said Herries, and took his leave feeling a
+profound respect for Mrs. Mountford.
+
+He was not so surprised as he might have been, on hearing of Maud's
+weakness. Several times, when he was courting her in Edinburgh, he
+had noticed how strange her manner was, and how careless she seemed
+to be of other people's feelings. But then he was blinded with
+what he took for love, and had not seen clearly. Now he could judge
+dispassionately, and felt certain,--apart from any personal
+benefit,--that the best thing that could have happened to Maud was the
+loss of the money. To weight so frail and fickle a creature with gold
+would have been to sink her in the ocean of life. He determined to
+allow Mrs. Mountford another thousand a year, for looking after her,
+and then the ex-governess could take the poor girl away to some lonely
+place, where she could quietly live out the rest of her life. In his
+own mind, Herries, with a sudden memory of a striking book, compared
+her to Lady Audley, and recalled how that celebrated heroine had been
+placed in seclusion as dangerous. Maud was just such another childish,
+pretty, cunning, dangerous woman, as that conceived by Miss Braddon.
+
+Having made up his mind how to act towards his unfortunate cousin,
+Herries returned home, and told Browne and Elspeth all that had
+occurred. Both of them were much astonished, and were divided as to
+who was guilty of the crime. Elspeth fancied that Señora Guzman was
+guilty. Browne held that Kyles was the criminal. Herries shook his
+head.
+
+"There's been so many mistakes over this case," he said, "that I am
+afraid to give an opinion. It might have been Mrs. Narby, for all we
+know."
+
+"Mrs. Narby," ejaculated Elspeth, with a gasp. "Mrs. Narby," echoed
+the doctor, his face growing redder than ever.
+
+Herries shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"She looks the kind of woman who would kill anyone, especially for
+money."
+
+"My father knows Mrs. Narby better than anyone else," said Elspeth.
+
+"I should think you knew her well enough, my dear."
+
+"The worst side of her, perhaps."
+
+"Has she any better side? If so, I should be glad to know it. But I
+wish I knew where your father is at present. Señora Guzman is aware of
+his hiding-place, but she won't tell."
+
+"Why is he hiding?" asked Browne, very directly. "Really, I don't
+know. He can't be in any trouble, or he would have said so in his
+letter."
+
+"The letter that was posted at Tarhaven," said Elspeth, who had risen
+from the table, and was thinking deeply. "Angus, I should not be
+surprised to learn that my father was on board the yacht."
+
+"By Jove, it's very probable, Elspeth. Kyles was ashore this morning
+according to Sweetlips, so Gowrie probably gave him the letter to
+post. That was why it did not bear the Desleigh post mark. But why
+should he have boarded the yacht."
+
+No one could answer this very pertinent question, but Browne ventured
+an explanation.
+
+"I believe that all this is a conspiracy to get that four thousand
+pounds. I wouldn't pay Kyles a cent, Herries."
+
+"Then how am I to clear up the mystery of the murder, and get the
+money, Browne? I must make some move, as I can't live here on you all
+the days of my life. Four thousand pounds is worth paying, if by
+Kyles' information I can get fifty thousand a year."
+
+"Quite so, but if Kyles is guilty he won't accuse himself."
+
+"Why not? He won't see me ashore, but on the yacht. He can say what he
+likes and then steam away with the money."
+
+"And you will let him," said Elspeth, indignantly.
+
+"No!" said her husband, putting on his hat, "I'll see Trent
+to-morrow, and inform him of the proposed meeting. After I get
+the truth,--whatever it may be,--out of Kyles, Trent can come on
+board and arrest the guilty person."
+
+"Señora Guzman!" said Elspeth.
+
+"Captain Kyles," ventured Browne, but not very eagerly.
+
+"It may be one or the other, or neither," retorted Herries, "meanwhile
+I'm off."
+
+"To see Inspector Trent?" said Elspeth accompanying him to the door.
+
+"No. I won't see him until I have a note saying what time I am to go
+on board the yacht. I must interview Ritson about the money."
+
+This Herries did, after he had thought well over the position of
+affairs, which was decidedly perplexing. Ritson gasped when he heard
+all that Herries knew, and appeared to take the same view as Browne
+had done.
+
+"I believe that Kyles is guilty," he said, in a profoundly certain
+tone, "and that being the case, why pay him four thousand pounds?"
+
+"He won't confess anything until he gets the money," insisted the
+client, "and if he is guilty Trent can arrest him. Then we can get the
+money back. But will you advance me the cash, Ritson?"
+
+"Yes," said the lawyer without the slightest hesitation. "You have a
+good enough security."
+
+"Be careful, Ritson," warned Herries gravely, "I am not yet in
+possession of the fifty thousand a year, and unless I learn the
+absolute truth, I never may be."
+
+"You'll learn the truth sooner or later. At all events, to get to the
+bottom of the thing, I'm willing to risk four thousand on the matter.
+It's a sprat to catch a mackerel. But you must make it worth my while,
+risking this much, Herries."
+
+"Naturally," said the other, "I never expected you to oblige me without
+asking a percentage. What do you want?"
+
+"I must think it over," said Ritson, rubbing his hands, "but you won't
+find me too expensive. I wish to keep you as a client."
+
+"That you certainly will," said Herries, "as you have been most kind
+during all these troubles. Good-bye. I'll see you to-morrow. Make your
+arrangements and have the money,--in gold of course."
+
+"Humph. Rather a large sum in gold. Better take a cheque."
+
+"My dear man, _I_ don't take the money. Kyles won't be satisfied with
+a cheque which may be stopped."
+
+"Bank notes then?"
+
+"Same objection applies. Kyles is a wary man, and will accept nothing
+but gold."
+
+"Well," sighed Ritson, "we must see what we can do. By the way, are
+you certain that Kyles is guilty?"
+
+"I am not, but you are."
+
+"I'm changing my mind, since you tell me that your father-in-law is on
+board the yacht."
+
+"I only think that he is on board."
+
+"Then if he is perhaps he has fled."
+
+"Fled?" Herries, somewhat startled, returned from the door.
+
+"To escape justice. I shouldn't wonder," added Ritson playing with a
+pen, "to learn that Gowrie was the guilty person."
+
+Herries turned red and hot at the thought of the disgrace to his wife.
+
+"All the more reason that we should see Kyles on the yacht and pay him
+the four thousand. He can take Gowrie to South America. This puts a
+different complexion on the matter, Ritson. I shan't tell Trent to
+come on board now."
+
+Herries, having thus made up his mind, went away. But Ritson
+determined, when he learned the hour of the meeting with Kyles, to
+tell the Inspector. The lawyer knew that if Gowrie was guilty the
+truth would have to be made public in order that Herries should get
+the fortune, and, as he intended to make a good bargain for the loan
+of the four thousand, he did not intend to let any sentimental
+business spoil his chance of getting back the money and interest. If
+Gowrie was guilty, he would be arrested by Trent and taken ashore; Mr.
+and Mrs. Herries would just have to put up with the disgrace. "Fifty
+thousand a year is worth a trifle of mud," thought Ritson.
+
+Meanwhile Herries, quite unaware of Ritson's proposed treachery,
+passed a very bad night. From the flight, as he thought it was, of
+Gowrie, he really began to believe that the old scamp was the guilty
+person after all. Since he had condescended to robbery for a few
+shillings, he probably would not mind throat-cutting for so large a
+sum as two thousand pounds. Angus did not tell Elspeth his idea of the
+old man's guilt, and although she saw that he had something on his
+mind, she could not learn what it was. That her father might have done
+the horrible deed, never entered her mind.
+
+All the next day Herries waited to hear from Kyles. He soon found
+out that the "Tarabacca" was anchored some distance away from the
+shore,--about a quarter of a mile, in fact, and went down to the end
+of the pier to look at her through a glass. She seemed a very pretty
+little craft of the piratical order. Herries was half minded to take a
+boat and board her, but on second thoughts he determined not to be so
+rash. While he was watching he saw a launch put off, and saw also that
+there was a lady in it. Thinking that this was Señora Guzman, he
+waited, and waved his hand. As the boat drew near the pier she
+recognised him, and made the sailors row longside. Herries went down
+the steps, and she gave him a letter.
+
+"I can't stop to talk, Mr. Herries," she said quickly, fearing
+apparently to be asked unnecessary questions. "Read the letter."
+
+While the launch steamed back to the yacht, Herries read the note and
+found that he was expected on board that night at eight o'clock. At
+once he returned to the town, and seeing Ritson, arranged about the
+money, which the lawyer was expecting from town by the five o'clock
+train. Then Herries gave the time and place for the meeting and went
+home again, to await the hour. Ritson put on his hat, and repaired to
+the station. There he remained until the money came to hand in charge
+of a Bank of England messenger, and he saw that it was taken to his
+office. After that the lawyer went to see Trent at the police station,
+and arrange about the arrest of Michael Gowrie.
+
+He found Trent in a great state of agitation with a long telegram in
+his hand. He fairly rushed at the lawyer.
+
+"I am glad to see you," said he. "You were Sir Simon's solicitor, so
+you have the right to know first."
+
+"Know what?"
+
+"That a man presented one of the missing notes. Before he could be
+arrested he slipped away, and the police are hunting for him. He
+was,--he was," said the Inspector solemnly, "Pope Narby."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+THE CAPTAIN'S STORY
+
+
+At half-past seven o'clock that same evening Herries was on the
+fisherman's jetty situated in the lower parts of Tarhaven, and with
+him was his cousin. Both were well wrapped up, as the night was
+bitterly cold. However, the atmosphere was clear, and there shone a
+wintry-looking moon, the light of which was occasionally obscured by
+drifting clouds. Maud looked over the grey choppy sea to an emerald
+star, which indicated the position of the "Tarabacca," and shuddered
+at the idea of venturing out on such an evening. Timid as a rule, only
+her love for Kyles made her resolve to board the ship. Also she had
+another idea in her head, and as she thought of it again, she stole a
+glance at her cousin, which was forebodingly forbidding.
+
+But Herries was looking up towards the town, and wondering why Ritson
+did not come. The lawyer had insisted upon sharing the adventure, and
+on taking charge of the gold.
+
+But the watched pot boiled on this occasion, and very soon a cab drove
+down to the top of the jetty, and Ritson came along, well-muffled up
+in a fur coat, followed by two men carrying a wooden box, which they
+placed in the waiting boat by his directions. Then Herries got in,
+after handing Maud to a seat, and the oarsmen,--there were two, dipped
+their oars into the gleaming water.
+
+"Got it there?" asked Angus, nodding towards the wooden box, as they
+swept clear of the jetty.
+
+"The lead. Yes!" said Ritson with a frown. "You mean the leaden seals,
+don't you?"
+
+"Certainly," replied Herries, seeing that Ritson did not wish either
+the boatmen or Maud to learn the real contents of the wooden box.
+
+"They are very heavy--those seals," continued Ritson with emphasis.
+
+"What seals?" asked Miss Tedder, glancing at the box.
+
+"Official seals connected with the Indiana Republic," answered the
+solicitor promptly. "Captain Kyles is taking them out."
+
+"But I thought that he was not allowed to enter the Republican
+territory again?"
+
+"Oh, he's made all that square. He and Señora Guzman are steaming back
+to Indiana to-morrow," replied Ritson, lying frankly.
+
+"I'll go too," muttered Maud, "that is, if----" she huddled her wraps
+about her and stole a vicious glance at Herries, which passed
+unnoticed in the darkness.
+
+There was not much conversation. Herries was anxiously wondering
+if Gowrie would be accused of committing the crime, and was
+congratulating himself that he had not informed Inspector Trent about
+the meeting on the yacht. He would scarcely have been so easy in his
+mind, had he known that Ritson had arranged with Trent that the police
+should board the "Tarabacca" between nine and ten o'clock, when the
+truth had been told, as it was probable it would be by that time.
+Ritson, on his side, was debating if he would inform Herries that Pope
+Narby had tried to pass one of the notes for which Sir Simon had been
+murdered. The lawyer had no doubt in his own mind but that Pope was
+the culprit, and privately considered himself a fool, for taking four
+thousand pounds in gold on board the yacht to pay Kyles for
+information already received. In fact, he had intended to stop away,
+but Trent had advised him to go, and to hear what Kyles would say.
+Then, even if the money were paid, it could be recovered again by the
+police, when they paid the proposed visit. Kyles did not expect that
+the law would board his nefarious craft on that night, and within a
+couple of hours.
+
+As for Maud, she kept glancing every now and then at her cousin and
+hugging her secret to her breast. She had conceived an idea, by which
+she hoped to get back her fortune and thus secure Kyles. "If I could
+only get him away from that woman," thought Maud, "I would be quite
+happy. And when I have the money----" she glanced again at Herries,
+and laughed softly.
+
+"What is amusing you, Maud?" he asked, rather uneasy at mirth so
+obviously out of place.
+
+"Only my own thoughts," she muttered. "Shall we soon be there?"
+
+Herries nodded. The yacht was only a stone throw away. As he looked,
+the long black form of the launch shot out from behind the ship, and
+steamed at full speed up the Thames, in the direction--as it seemed to
+Herries,--of the waterway which led to the "Marsh Inn."
+
+"That boat can go," he said, wondering what was up.
+
+"Ah, sir, she just can," said one of the boatmen, as the launch sped
+along scattering the white foam from her sides to glisten in the pale
+moonlight. "She's been dodging about these waters for the last month
+or so, racing between Tarhaven and Pierside. She can show a clean pair
+of heels, like the yacht herself."
+
+"Is she quick?"
+
+The boatman chuckled.
+
+"I should just think so. A mate of mine met one of the engineers, a
+Scotch chap, and he said that she could steam hell for leather,
+begging the lady's pardon."
+
+Herries winced. Kyles was extremely unscrupulous, and in a boat of
+great speed, might not hesitate to keep him a prisoner until much more
+than four thousand was paid over. He had only to get up steam and slip
+away in the darkness for South America, and it would be difficult to
+catch him. However, the adventure was begun and had to be finished,
+and Herries, believing that his luck had changed with marriage, hoped
+for the best.
+
+Shortly the boat was longside the yacht, swinging up and down on the
+tide. Kyles was expecting them, and a rope ladder was lowered. Up this
+swarmed Herries who was well used to the sea. Ritson came next, but
+was in a state of terror the whole time owing to the swaying of the
+rope ladder. Lastly, the boatmen assisted Maud up the steep black side
+of the yacht. Kyles, who had made no observation when the two men
+ascended, uttered an exclamation when he saw a woman appear.
+
+"Have you brought your wife, Herries?" he asked, much vexed.
+
+"It's my cousin."
+
+"Your cousin!" said Kyles in tones of dismay.
+
+By this time Maud had scrambled on deck, and was holding out her hand.
+
+"Good evening, Captain Kyles," she said ceremoniously, "you have been
+quite a stranger of late."
+
+"Why--why do you come--come here?" stammered the Captain who was
+considerably taken aback.
+
+Maud laughed in an amused manner.
+
+"To say good-bye," said she, carelessly.
+
+"Humph! I believe that," he retorted and she could hear him grit his
+teeth at her unwelcome presence. At that ominous sound, the girl, who,
+unfortunately for herself, really did love him, turned pale, and laid
+her hand on her heart, as though she there felt a cruel pain, as no
+doubt she did. Kyles stared at her frowning and then turned away with
+a grunt of satisfaction as a wooden box was hoisted on board by the
+two boatmen and a couple of his own sailors.
+
+"You've got it," he said, in a thankful tone.
+
+Herries nodded.
+
+"And this is my solicitor, Mr. Ritson, who advanced the cash and has
+come to see it paid over,--on conditions," added the young man
+significantly.
+
+"Oh, I'll keep my word," said Kyles, looking over the side, "you two
+men below can remain where you are!" Then he turned to three
+truculent-looking sailors, "Don't let them come on board. You know
+what to do when the launch returns."
+
+After giving his orders, he asked the company to come below, and two
+sailors carried the box between them down the brass-bound steps which
+led to the state-room. Herries was surprised at the splendour of the
+cabin, but still more surprised when he saw, seated at the head of the
+long table, a well-known figure sipping whisky and smoking vigorously.
+
+"Aye!" said the voice of the missing sage, "it's me, ma ain sel, Angus,
+taken awa frae a useful existence tae herd wi' tarry men, the which
+ca' themsels sailors, but who are nae mair nor the scum o' the arth.
+But I'll hae an action for false detention if there's law to be had,
+and I chairge you, laddie, tae pay ma fees."
+
+"How the deuce did you come here?" asked Herries, recovering from his
+astonishment.
+
+"I kidnapped him," said Kyles casting down his gold-laced cap, and
+throwing off his oilskin. "Sit down, Miss Tedder."
+
+"Miss Tedder," echoed Maud in tones of reproach. Kyles flushed all
+over his bronzed face, and gave her an angry look, striving meanwhile
+to remain calm. "We can speak, after we have transacted this
+business," he said.
+
+"Call me Maud, then."
+
+"Maud," said the Captain in ironical tones.
+
+"And what is Maud doing here?" asked another voice--a woman's, cold
+and cutting as an east wind.
+
+Maud recognised her rival with a snarl like that of an angry cat, and
+looked defiantly at her. Señora Guzman, in a richly trimmed dinner
+dress, which well became her beauty, was standing at the door of her
+berth, and her face grew pale with wrath, as she gazed at the insolent
+baby face of Miss Tedder.
+
+"You have no right here," said the Mexican lady, "this is my ship."
+
+"Captain Kyles' ship," taunted Maud.
+
+"He is the skipper, and my servant. How dare you thrust yourself here
+uninvited?"
+
+"I brought her, Señora," said Herries, firmly, "and it will be as well
+to postpone any conversation you may wish to have, until we have
+despatched the business we have come about."
+
+The two women glared at one another, and all the men,--even the
+philosophic Gowrie,--felt uneasy at their attitude.
+
+"Dods," he growled, "an' they ca' yon the weaker sex. It's weel that
+the late Mistress Gowrie is unnergrund, for never again wull I trust
+my ain precious sel' tae sic jades as they."
+
+"After the business is ended we can speak," said Señora Guzman, and
+sat down disdainfully.
+
+"I'll be only too glad," snapped Maud likewise sinking down. "You're
+not going to have it all your own way, madam," and after a mutual
+scowl, both fixed their jealous eyes on Kyles, who, for a brave man,
+looked decidedly nervous. He was about to relieve the situation by
+addressing himself to the business in hand, when the silence was
+broken by an exclamation from Herries. The young man had mechanically
+picked up a telegram which was lying on the table, and without
+thinking had read the same. Its contents astonished him not a little.
+
+"I beg your pardon, Kyles," he stammered, still holding the telegram
+with an expression of amazement on his face. "I read this
+inadvertently. It is from Kind, to you."
+
+"Quite so," answered the Captain smoothly, "and you will see that Pope
+Narby presented one of the notes stolen from Sir Simon at a shop, and
+was given in charge. Also that he escaped, and that Kind believed he
+fled at once with his mother to the 'Marsh Inn.' It takes a lengthy
+wire to explain all that, Herries, but I told Kind not to spare
+expense."
+
+"Was this why Kind went up to town?"
+
+"Yes. He met me yesterday ashore, and I gave him my instructions."
+
+"Oh," cried the young man, wonderfully surprised, "and do you mean to
+say that Kind obeyed them?" Kyles pointed to the telegram. "That
+proves it." Ritson picked up the wire and looked at the time. "You got
+this before the news came to Trent," he said sharply.
+
+"Oh," remarked the Captain smiling, "so the police have been informed
+already. I told Kind to let them know in London, guessing that the
+news would be at once forwarded to Tarhaven. My only regret is that
+Pope Narby should have escaped. But we can't foresee everything."
+
+"Aye," remarked Gowrie waving his pipe, "what says glorious Robbie?
+
+
+     'The best laid plans o' mice an' men
+       Gang then wrang.'
+
+
+"I'm nae varra sure o' the context, but there's the sense for ye."
+
+Herries passed a bewildered hand across his brow. "I don't quite
+understand," he observed. "Is Pope Narby the guilty person?"
+
+"Oh, I don't say that," replied the Captain, agreeably.
+
+"It's his limmer o' a mither," cried Gowrie.
+
+"What!" cried Ritson, jumping up with an activity surprising in so
+elderly a lawyer. "Did she----?"
+
+"Here!" interrupted Kyles impatiently, "we'll never get on at this
+rate. Mr. Gowrie, you had better tell what happened at the 'Marsh Inn'
+and I'll take up the story when your knowledge fails."
+
+Gowrie smiled graciously, asking nothing better than to be the central
+figure in the conversation. The three men listened attentively, but
+the two women, still glaring at one another, gave but a careless ear
+to the tale, told in the old tutor's best style and in his best
+English. "For the beenefit o' the lawyer body," explained Gowrie,
+nodding towards Ritson, "him being unacquaint wi' the tongue o' Auld
+Reekie. But baith ye laddies," he indicated Herries and Kyles
+respectively, "ken well the vernacular ye sooked in wi' yer mither's
+milk as it micht be."
+
+"Get on, get on," cried Kyles looking at his watch, "we have not much
+time. I have steam up, and we lift anchor before midnight."
+
+Ritson smiled to himself, thinking that before midnight Captain Kyles
+would probably find himself in Tarhaven prison. However, as Gowrie was
+speaking, he gave his attention to the story, and it astonished him
+not a little.
+
+The sage related all that had taken place at the inn since his arrival
+there, and described with indignation how he had been kidnapped while
+searching for the box buried by Mrs. Narby. In the midst of his
+diatribes, the Captain cut him short.
+
+"I learned from Señora Guzman that Mrs. Narby had gone to see her
+son in London," he explained rapidly, "and got the address from the
+maid-servant of the inn. Mrs. Narby had given her the address and had
+told her to send on any letters. On receiving this information I went
+ashore with one of the notes, which I took from the box. I intended to
+come and see you, Herries, and make an arrangement. But I met Kind by
+chance on the jetty and made the arrangement with him. He agreed to
+take the note to town, and give it to Pope Narby; also to try and
+induce him to pass it, and then give information to the police so that
+Pope might be arrested, and thus the note would be brought under the
+notice of the Scotland Yard authorities."
+
+"But Pope would never have tried to pass a note of that sort, when he
+knew that the authorities had the numbers."
+
+"He did not know that this was one of the stolen notes. Mrs. Narby, I
+presume, went to London to tell him that the box had been found--which
+it was by me, and is now on board,--but he would never connect Kind
+and the stolen notes. Kind presented the note to Pope, who is a fool,
+as a present from Señora Guzman, who admired his poetry. It was for
+fifty pounds, and Pope swallowed the bait. He went out to cash the
+note, as he was short of money. Kind, according to my instructions,
+entered the shop with him, and declared that it was one of the notes
+that had to do with the Tedder murder, and gave Pope in charge."
+
+"But since Kind gave him the note----"
+
+"Oh, Kind could explain that in due time. All he wanted and I wanted,
+was to have that Narby animal arrested. However, Pope lost his head,
+and before the policeman could seize him, he escaped. I think that was
+how the affair happened, and you see from that telegram, that Kind
+believes Pope and his mother have made for the 'Marsh Inn.' I expect
+that they will hastily pack a few things and escape."
+
+"Then Pope Narby killed Sir Simon," said Herries again.
+
+"I can't be certain of that until I see him," said Kyles.
+
+"Then you don't get the four thousand pounds," retorted Ritson.
+
+"I'll have it before midnight," said Kyles glancing again at his
+watch, "for then I sail for--let us say, Indiana. I have so wish that
+you, Mr. Ritson, should put the police on my track. Mr. Herries I can
+trust, but you,--a lawyer."
+
+"Aye, aye," commented Mr. Gowrie, "they lawyer bodies are the bairns
+o' Auld Nicky-Ben. The Faither o' Lies, the Accuser o' the Brethren,
+perverse an' damnable----"
+
+"Don't miscall your best friend, Mr. Gowrie," snapped Ritson. "But we
+are no nearer the end than we were. Perhaps, Captain Kyles, you will
+now make your long deferred explanation."
+
+"Have you the four thousand pounds?" asked Kyles sharply.
+
+"There's the box. But you don't get it until----"
+
+"Open the box, and let me see the money," said Kyles. "How do I know
+but what you will diddle me?"
+
+"You said that you would trust me," put in Herries.
+
+"Yes. I also said that I mistrusted your lawyer. I'll get a
+screw-driver and a hammer. The box must be opened," and Kyles left the
+cabin in a hurry.
+
+"I believe he is guilty himself," exclaimed Ritson striking the table.
+
+"You are wrong," remarked Señora Guzman quietly, "Captain Kyles is
+innocent."
+
+"He isn't," cried Maud, viciously. "I can prove--"
+
+"You can prove nothing."
+
+"I can!"
+
+"You can't, and what is more, you shan't."
+
+The two women, panting and savage, faced one another defiantly.
+However the scene was ended for the time being by the return of Kyles,
+and the box was opened by Ritson, who declined to let the Captain
+tamper with the precious metal. When the lid was thrown back and the
+glitter of sovereigns was displayed, Kyles raised another objection.
+
+"You have some money there," he admitted, "but how do I know that the
+sum amounts to four thousand pounds?"
+
+"Count it," said Ritson curtly.
+
+"That would take too long. Mr. Herries, will you give me your word of
+honour that the sum of four thousand pounds is in that box?"
+
+"Yes, so Ritson assures me."
+
+"Ah," Kyles was suspicious at once, "then _you_ can't say yourself if
+the whole--hark!" he stopped abruptly and held up his finger.
+
+There was a long shrill whistle, evidently from some steamer near at
+hand. Kyles rushed out of the cabin, and Ritson hastily replaced the
+lid on the box, wondering if the police had arrived thus
+inopportunely, and before the revelation had been made. But in any
+case the gold was safe, and he chuckled at the thought of having Kyles
+arrested, and forced to speak the truth in order to save his own neck.
+The buccaneer would not gain possession of the gold after all, for
+which Ritson was profoundly thankful. But his glee was of short
+duration. In five minutes, during which everyone sat pale and
+expectant, Kyles returned. But not alone. With him was Pope Narby,
+white and sick with fear. He shambled in at the heels of the Captain,
+and dropped into a chair.
+
+"Here," said Kyles, waving his hand, "allow me to present to you Mr.
+Pope Narby. He and his mother did return to the 'Marsh Inn' to prepare
+for flight. I sent up the launch, and they have sought safety on board
+this boat. I'll take them to South America. Meanwhile, I can now say,
+Herries, that this," he laid his hand on Pope's arm, "this is the
+murderer of your uncle."
+
+"No, no," howled a high, shrill voice, "I killed 'im," and Mrs. Narby,
+looking like a grey old rat at bay in a trap, rushed into the cabin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+THE BEGINNING OF THE END.
+
+
+Ritson and Herries appeared to be the only members of the company who
+were surprised by Mrs. Narby's announcement. Gowrie, in a state of
+high glee, leaned forward, his elbows on the table, and his pipe in
+his mouth.
+
+"Aye, mistress," said he portentously, "ye're fighting for yer young
+like the milky mither o' the herd, wha horns the rash intruder wha wud
+convart her caulf into veal. The muckle great deil tak ye for a
+leear."
+
+"Gowrie," cried Herries, who was on his feet, "you knew all along!"
+
+"Nae, nae, ye'll nae mack me compromise maesel in yon way. I hed ma
+suspeecions, though no o' her."
+
+"Say plainly," Herries rapped the table, "is Mrs. Narby guilty
+or----?"
+
+"I'm nae varra sure."
+
+"Captain Kyles?" he appealed to the skipper, who stood by Mrs. Narby,
+with folded arms and a grim smile.
+
+"I accuse the son."
+
+"It's a bloomin' lie," panted the landlady, who looked a gruesome
+object, with her grey hair disarranged and her bonnet askew. "It wos
+me who cut th' ole man's 'orrid throat. Pope wouldn't 'urt a fly. I
+did h'it fur the tin, so es t' 'elp Pope t' be a great man."
+
+"You don't seem to be surprised, Señora Guzman," said Herries, looking
+at the composed face of the Mexican lady.
+
+"Captain Kyles told me long ago that Pope Narby was guilty."
+
+"Me! Me! Me!" declared Mrs. Narby with vehemence, and wreathed her old
+arms round the shaking, drooping figure of her miserable son.
+
+"Aye, aye," commented the sage, pointing with the stem of his pipe,
+"mark hoo th' mither-luve rins thro' a' th' wand. Yon's Alfred
+Tennyson, I'm theenkin'."
+
+Herries, who was the person principally interested, seeing that on the
+truth of this statement depended the possession of fifty thousand a
+year, turned to the mother and son.
+
+"Which one of you did it?" he demanded. "I must know for certain."
+
+Pope made no reply, for his tongue clove to the roof of his palate,
+and Mrs. Narby, wiping his damp brow with her handkerchief, replied
+for him.
+
+"I tell you I killed yer bloomin' uncle."
+
+"And I say that Pope Narby did," declared the skipper decisively.
+
+"And I," cried Maud, rising suddenly and stretching out her arm in a
+threatening manner, "I say that Bruce Kyles is the assassin."
+
+Señora Guzman leaned across the table, and pushed Maud back on to the
+divan.
+
+"If you dare to say that, I'll have you thrown overboard. Bruce," she
+addressed the Captain imperiously, "tell them what happened on that
+night. Mr. Herries knows that we came to England to get money for the
+expedition; he knows that you made love to Maud by my order, so that
+Sir Simon should help us; and he has been told that Sir Simon wrote a
+letter saying that this woman," she pointed to the indignant Maud,
+"was disinherited, and that he would meet you at the inn to pay you to
+give her up. Give her up," laughed the lady insultingly, "a woman for
+whom he did not care two straws while I lived to be his wife."
+
+"It's a lie--a lie. Bruce, Bruce, you love me, me only," and Maud
+looked at her quondam lover with agonised appeal.
+
+"I don't love you at all," mumbled the skipper in the most brazen
+manner, and cutting anything but an heroic figure, "you knew that I
+was engaged to Señora Guzman, and yet you wanted me to throw her over
+and be your husband. I never had any intention of marrying you. All I
+wanted was to get money out of your father, and----"
+
+"Oh, cut it short, you hound," interrupted Herries fiercely.
+
+Kyles turned livid.
+
+"You are on my boat, in my power," he said, in a slow and deadly
+manner.
+
+"What do I care for that?" retorted the young man, facing the
+buccaneer with determination. "You have acted like a cur towards my
+cousin."
+
+"No, no," moaned Maud, who persisted in believing that Kyles was
+acting a part, because Señora Guzman was present, "if I had the money
+he would marry me."
+
+"Very good," said Herries. "Captain Kyles, I offer you half the money
+left by my uncle, that is, twenty-five thousand a year, if you will
+marry Maud Tedder."
+
+"Bruce! Bruce!" cried Maud, stretching out her arms, "you consent?"
+
+"Bruce," cried Donna Maria, in her turn, with flashing eyes, "you
+promised me to----"
+
+Kyles interrupted both with an imperious gesture.
+
+"I stick to my one and only love, and that is Maria Guzman," he said
+sharply, but his face was pale. "I have four thousand pounds. With
+that I'll find the treasure and have five millions. Then we'll--but
+that's neither here nor there, Herries," he wheeled round to face that
+most indignant gentleman, "you may think what you like. It is not to
+my interest to kill you or to keep you prisoner. You shall hear all I
+know and then go free. For your opinion of me I don't care that," and
+he snapped his fingers contemptuously.
+
+Herries eyed him with scorn.
+
+"Fewer words would have done, Kyles. I wait to hear what you have to
+say."
+
+"Aye," said the sage gravely, "we're wasting valuable meenutes, an'
+it's dry wark, a' this talk wi'oot the cheerin' cup."
+
+Kyles flushed and winced at the tone of Herries, and cast a glance at
+Mrs. Narby, who was still fondling her miserable, tongue-tied son.
+Then he straightened himself, and his face brightened when his eyes
+rested on the wooden box, which contained the money he had risked so
+much to get. He spoke quietly and to the point.
+
+"Sir Simon," said Captain Kyles, "objected to my marrying his
+daughter, and wanted me to give her up. To gain my own ends, I
+refused. Then he offered to bribe me with one thousand pounds. I
+declined, and said that I would take two thousand."
+
+Herries shrugged his shoulders, but did not look up. Kyles reddened at
+this sign of contempt, and continued more rapidly, as though eager to
+get the shameful tale ended. The rest of the company, even the lively
+Gowrie, held their peace.
+
+"Sir Simon then made his plans. He signed a will disinheriting Maud,
+save for £1,000 a year, and giving the money to you, Herries, provided
+you found out who killed him, and----"
+
+"Why did he do that?"
+
+"Because he was to have an interview with me at a lonely inn, and
+fancied that in a fit of anger I might kill him, or else might get rid
+of him and marry Maud with her money. That was the reason he
+disinherited the girl, and why he put in the proviso about the
+discovery of the murderer, who would, in Sir Simon's opinion, be me."
+
+"I see," said Herries quietly, "Sir Simon wanted to make sure if you
+did kill him that you would not get the benefit of your crime by
+marrying Maud and her money."
+
+"That's it," assented the Captain, "but I need hardly say, that I had
+no idea of killing the old man. When I got his letter, I arranged to
+go to the inn, and receive the two thousand. Then I would have gone
+away. As I was not certain of what time I would be at the inn, Sir
+Simon said that he would put a red light in his bedroom window, and
+that I could climb up, or that he would admit me by the door when
+everyone was in bed."
+
+"I don't see the reason for all these precautions," said Herries, in
+an impatient manner.
+
+"Ah, now you trench on politics. I was being watched by emissaries
+from our Indiana Republic, and ran a chance of being stabbed or shot.
+I had reason to believe that they got wind of my engagement at the
+'Marsh Inn' and would be on the watch. That was why I would not fix
+the exact time for calling on Sir Simon. He expected me earlier, but I
+said that I might be late, so he invented the red handkerchief signal.
+Well, to make a long story short, I went to the 'Marsh Inn' with
+Señora Guzman----"
+
+"That is, he went in the launch," she interrupted quickly. "I remained
+on board the launch, and----"
+
+"Yes, yes," Herries interrupted in his turn, "I know how you sent the
+sailors to see if any Indiana person was about, and how they kidnapped
+Armour by mistake. Well, Captain, you got to the inn--at what time,
+may I ask?"
+
+"Shortly after midnight. I walked through the rain and the fog, with
+my revolver in my hand. I knew where the inn was, as I had been there
+before. I noted the red light in the window----"
+
+"I saw you--I saw you," cried Maud, looking at him eagerly.
+
+"I am aware of that, seeing what took place afterwards."
+
+"It was for your sake," she gasped, with a side glance at Herries.
+
+"What is that, Maud?" asked the young man quietly.
+
+"You'll hear in due time if you will allow me to go on with my story,"
+said Kyles testily. "It's getting late and I wish to get away as soon
+as possible."
+
+"Go on then," said Ritson who was deeply interested.
+
+"I scrambled up to the window which was open. It had been left
+ajar on purpose by Sir Simon. I am not heavy," the Captain cast a
+complacent look at his slim figure, "so I easily clambered up the
+trellis-work----"
+
+"You broke it, you beast," said Mrs. Narby savagely.
+
+"Pooh," rejoined Kyles good-humouredly, "I did very little harm. I
+easily slipped into the room, wondering why Sir Simon was not on the
+look-out. I spoke his name softly. There was no reply, so I came
+gently from behind the dressing table, which had been moved to one
+side, and went to the bed----"
+
+"Was there a light in the room?" asked Ritson eagerly.
+
+"Oh yes, a candle which was placed behind a red handkerchief so as to
+signal the special room I was to climb into. I took the candle, and
+then to my horror saw that Sir Simon was lying dead with his throat
+cut."
+
+"You did it," cried Maud with a sob.
+
+"I did not," cried Kyles savagely, "the man was dead when I entered
+the room. His pocket-book lay on the table along with a razor, and a
+few papers. I could not find the money, else I should have gone away
+in silence. Then I heard a footstep, and concealed myself behind the
+curtains of the bed. The door opened gently, and this creature," he
+pointed to Pope, who shuddered, "crept in softly. He had a bloody
+towel in his hands with which he wiped them, and then began to examine
+the pocket-book. I crept out, and caught him by the throat. He nearly
+fainted."
+
+"You hurt me," moaned Pope at this moment, and his mother fondled him.
+
+"I would have choked you had I had the two thousand pounds safe at
+that time," said Kyles savagely, "to go and murder an old man in his
+sleep."
+
+"I did it--I did it," cried Mrs. Narby like a parrot, and trembling
+violently with mixed emotions of rage and terror.
+
+"That's rubbish, as I can prove. I made Pope confess. He said that he
+had been tempted by the gold and notes, which he had seen in the
+parlour. He crept up the stairs shortly before midnight and cut Sir
+Simon's throat, then he emptied the pocket-book, and took the money to
+his own room downstairs at the back of the house. He had come back,
+when I caught him, to see if he had taken everything. He also told me
+that you, Herries, the nephew of the old man, were in the next room
+asleep."
+
+"How did he know that I was Sir Simon's nephew?"
+
+"He heard your name, and your talk with Gowrie."
+
+"I didn't mention to Gowrie that I was Sir Simon's nephew."
+
+"Aye. I can stake my life on that, laddie."
+
+"I'll explain,--I'll explain," said Kyles impatiently, "however, to
+continue. I promised to say nothing, if Pope went down and brought up
+the money. On that condition I let him go. He went and never returned.
+I waited and waited in that dismal room with the one candle, and the
+corpse on the bed. Then I thought that the red light might attract the
+attention of any Indiana spy who was about, so I put out the light and
+sat in the dark. Pope never came."
+
+"Why not?" asked Herries surprised.
+
+Pope opened his mouth to speak, but his watchful mother put her hand
+over his mouth.
+
+"You never did it, lovey; you know nothink," she said, significantly.
+
+"But I can prove that he did," said Kyles. "Pope did not return," he
+went on quickly, "because he knew that I could not give the alarm
+without incriminating myself, and he intended, if I did, to accuse me
+of killing the old man. I guessed that, and afterwards I made him
+confess that he intended to act in that way. So there I sat in the
+darkness. Then I remembered the papers on the table, and examined them
+to see if Sir Simon had made any mention of the appointment. I found
+my own letter, and confiscated that----"
+
+"How did you see in the dark?" asked Ritson, suspiciously.
+
+"I lighted matches, as I was afraid to relight the candle. Well then,
+I also found a small pocket diary written up to the time Sir Simon
+went to bed. It mentioned that Angus Herries was in the house, and
+sleeping there----"
+
+"How did my uncle know that?" asked Herries much amazed.
+
+"He overheard your voice raised when talking to Gowrie, and peered out
+of the parlour to see who it was. He recognised you----"
+
+"Nae, nae," said Gowrie waving the smoke away from his eyes, "he
+cudnae hae recognised the laddie sae changed wi' weary travels. But
+Angus here talked tae me, his auld tutor, and I spoke his name at
+times. Aye, and I mind me noo, the door of the parlour opened and
+shut, while we hed oor crack."
+
+"I don't remember that," said Angus thoughtfully.
+
+"Aye, but I do, ma laddie. Ye were sae taken up wi' yer tale of
+woe,--and verra sad it wis,--that ye didna hear nor see. But I keeked
+oot o' the tail o' ma ee, and saw,--though tae be sure I didna weel
+ken at the time it wis yer lawfu' uncle. Hed I kenned I micht hae
+touched him for a shullin' or two."
+
+"You evidently robbed Herries instead," said Kyles contemptuously.
+
+"Eh, but that's actionable. I'll hale ye afore the magistrate for yon
+speech. Hoo d'y' ken I wis in Herries' room."
+
+"I heard you muttering to yourself. Your accent betrayed you."
+
+"Well, and wherefore no. I joost looked in tae see that my puir laddie
+wis asleep."
+
+"And you took his money. Pope Narby found that out."
+
+Gowrie turned wrathfully on the culprit.
+
+"D'y' ken yon's a base lee?"
+
+"Here," interrupted Herries, growing weary of all this talk, "get on
+with what you have to say, Captain Kyles. We can settle these minor
+details later. What did you do when Narby did not return?"
+
+"I waited until the morning, then assumed Sir Simon's coat and boldly
+walked out of the inn."
+
+"Why did you wait until the morning?"
+
+"For two reasons. First, I wanted to get the money which Pope had
+taken away, and thought up to the last moment that he would return.
+And second, when I did have a half idea of escaping by the window,
+Armour came and sat down beneath it And there was a third reason,"
+added Kyles, with his eyes on Maud Tedder.
+
+"One moment before you proceed further," said Ritson quickly. "How can
+we believe all this about Pope Narby?"
+
+"There's his confession," said Kyles, taking a packet from his breast
+pocket and throwing it across the table. "I saw him later; he refused
+to give up the money, but I made him sign that confession by
+threatening to arrest him, and----"
+
+"Pope," yelled Mrs. Narby, "oh, you fool, did you sign----?"
+
+"I had to, mother," moaned her son, "and Captain Kyles said he would
+save me by taking me away to America."
+
+"And I'll do that," said Kyles nodding. "Herries, Ritson, you have now
+the truth. That confession repeats all that I have told you, and has
+been signed by Pope Narby, who killed Sir Simon. You can now leave the
+four thousand pounds with me and go ashore. I am off in another hour
+from these waters. But one thing I'll say before I go," he declared,
+"you, Herries, have defended your cousin, and have blamed me for
+treating her as I did. But you have very little reason to decry me,
+and defend her. For it was your cousin who placed the razor and the
+pocket-book in your room and who smeared your shirt with her father's
+blood."
+
+"Maud!" cried Herries, horrified, and started to his feet.
+
+"Yes, I did," she said, with pinched lips and a bloodless face, "I got
+into the inn, as I told you, but I did not run away when I heard Mr.
+Gowrie coming out of the bedroom. I hid, while he went down the
+stairs. Then I ran along to the room, where I saw a gleam of
+light----"
+
+"It came from under the door," explained Kyles, "as I had lighted the
+candle on hearing Gowrie muttering."
+
+"I saw it was Bruce, and he told me all, and also mentioned that Angus
+was sleeping in the next room. To save Bruce, and to get my own money,
+I determined to get Angus hanged for the crime, so I did what Bruce
+said. Papa had left the money to Angus, as he told Bruce, and Bruce
+told me, so I thought that if Angus was hanged the money would come
+back to me. And if you were to die now," added Maud tigerishly, "I
+should have my fortune again, and then my own Bruce would marry me."
+
+Before Herries could exclaim on the iniquity of his cousin's conduct,
+there was a sudden shouting overhead. Kyles started and listened. Down
+the stairs rushed an excited man--he was one of the engineers--who
+cried out that the police were on board.
+
+"The police," cried Herries, astonished.
+
+"The police," echoed Kyles wrathfully. "Did you betray me, Herries?"
+
+"No. I swear that I----"
+
+"I told Trent to come," cried Ritson, much excited, "as I want the
+murderer arrested, and----"
+
+Before he could say anything further, Mrs. Narby was at his throat.
+
+"You 'ang my son," she shrieked, "I'll choke y' furst. Guy up thet
+confession. Pope, come an' elp me."
+
+But Pope, terrified out of his life at his danger, ran up the cabin
+stairs in the vain endeavour to escape, and so fell into the arms of
+Trent himself. Ritson, shaking off the old woman, ran up also, and
+shouted out to Trent to hold the murderer. Kyles followed, and there
+was a general rush. The night was clear with moonlight, and the deck
+was filled with the sailors of the yacht. Trent, with a couple of
+policemen, was on board, and in the boats longside were many others
+who were being kept from getting on deck by some of the crew.
+
+"I arrest everyone on board this ship," cried Trent loudly, "in the
+name of the King----"
+
+"I don't care for King or Kaiser," shouted Kyles, in his turn, "you
+get away and leave that man."
+
+"No, no," cried the lawyer. "Hold him tightly, Trent. He killed Sir
+Simon. I have the confession in my pocket. And the Captain here is an
+accessory after the fact."
+
+"Arrest him," said Trent, pointing to Kyles.
+
+A policeman advanced and was knocked down. This was the signal for a
+general fight. Trent held on to Pope Narby like grim death and the
+miserable creature was whimpering like a soul in pain. The other
+policemen in the boat managed to get on deck, and one who remained
+behind sent off a green rocket, as a sign that assistance was
+required. Apparently Trent, expecting some fighting, had laid his
+plans excellently. On the moonlit deck a mass of men struggled and
+strained, with much noise and clamour. Mrs. Narby fought tooth and
+nail for her son, but he was down under the feet of the Inspector, who
+stood over him with a levelled revolver. Kyles blew his bo'sn's
+whistle, and more and more sailors came tumbling up from below, dark,
+fierce-looking fellows they were, who cared for nothing. The police
+were overpowered gradually, but already more boats were putting off
+from the shore, and there was every chance that Kyles would have to
+yield. He shouted down to the engine room, and gave the signal to
+"stand by."
+
+Trent dragged his prisoner to the side and dropped him into the boat,
+while Mrs. Narby clung to him, biting and scratching. Indeed, but for
+the assistance of Ritson, she would have succeeded in getting her son
+free. What with the yelling and swearing and struggling, the deck was
+like a pandemonium. Having secured at least one prisoner, and seeing
+that there was danger of bloodshed, Trent cried to his men to regain
+the boat. At the same time the yacht began to move, and Kyles, on the
+bridge, was pulling at the whistle, which shrieked shrilly. Herries,
+not wishing to be carried away, for the policemen were tumbling into
+their boat, rushed to the side, where his own boatmen were. He saw the
+boat, and shouted. Just as he did so, and was leaning over at a
+dangerous angle, he was pushed violently from behind, and had just a
+glimpse of Maud's malignant face as she thrust him to his death.
+
+"The money's mine--mine," she cried, clapping her hands.
+
+"And Bruce is mine," said Señora Guzman in her ear, and sent Maud
+Tedder overboard after her victim.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+THE END
+
+
+Some months later, in the spring-time, Mr. and Mrs. Herries were
+seated under their own fig-tree; in other words, they were occupying
+the "Moated Hall." Angus had entered into full possession of his
+property, and was now a country gentleman, popular and wealthy. His
+wife also was much admired, and, her story being known, everyone was
+delighted to make her acquaintance. It had been impossible to keep the
+mysterious tale of the "Marsh Inn" murder out of the newspapers, and
+quite a legend had grown up in connection with it.
+
+Pope Narby was tried for the murder of Sir Simon, and although he
+would fain have denied his guilt, and although his mother would fain
+have taken it on her own shoulders, he was condemned and sentenced to
+be hanged. It was this news which Elspeth and her husband were
+discussing after dinner in the garden.
+
+The night was beautiful and spring-like. There was a glorious moon
+gleaming in a cloudless sky, and everywhere the earth was breaking
+into blossom with the coming of spring. Browne had been dining with
+the young couple, but had been hastily called away to see a patient.
+Angus and his wife were alone, and sat side by side, hand in hand, on
+the terrace of the old hall. Elspeth looked more delicate and ethereal
+than ever in her evening dress, and Herries, immaculately groomed and
+arrayed in purple and fine linen, appeared a very different creature
+to the worn-out tramp who had sought the shelter of the "Marsh Inn."
+He was just talking of this experience.
+
+"I thought that it was the unluckiest thing that ever happened to me,"
+he said, looking fondly at his pretty wife, "but now I know that but
+for my visit there I would never have been where I am. You would not
+have been my wife, Elspeth, nor would I now be drawing fifty thousand
+a year."
+
+"Yet we have seen much misery coming out of the whole business,"
+sighed the girl-wife. "Is it a good thing, Angus, to build up
+happiness on the sorrows of other people?"
+
+"My darling, we did all we could to help others. Their sorrows were
+caused simply by their own wickedness, from which both of us suffered.
+No, Elspeth, I don't think we can blame ourselves in any way. Let us
+recall, for the last time, all that has happened, and then agree to
+forget the sorrowful past."
+
+"Well, then, Angus, let us begin with Pope Narby."
+
+"I rather think we end with him," said Herries, "seeing that the poor
+wretch will be hanged in a few days. The appeal his mother made to the
+Home Secretary has been rejected, and the law will take its course.
+But he certainly deserves his doom. When I was in the court at the
+time he was sentenced, Elspeth, he talked about Eugene Aram, and
+compared himself to that person, saying he had killed Sir Simon to get
+money to become famous."
+
+"Did Mrs. Narby know that he was guilty?"
+
+"Not at the time. But she noticed that he was always down at the Red
+Creek----"
+
+"I noticed that also, from the mud on his boots."
+
+"Well, then, one day she followed him there, and found that he had
+buried the notes and gold in a box. She made him confess all, which he
+did, only he never told her that Captain Kyles had made him sign a
+confession."
+
+"I wonder that Pope was so foolish as to do that."
+
+"He would not have done that had not Kyles promised to save him by
+taking him to South America. Then he thought that he was safe and
+Kyles certainly would have kept his word had not Trent and his
+policemen arrived. I was angry with Ritson for having warned Trent,
+but as events proved it was just as well."
+
+"I thought you intended yourself to warn Trent," said Elspeth.
+
+"So I did, dear, but then, from certain information I learned I
+fancied that your father might be guilty."
+
+"What, papa? Oh no. He would do many wrong things, I know, but
+not----"
+
+"Well," said Herries dryly, "I don't think he'd even stop short of
+murder to get money. But there is no danger of his doing anything of
+that sort now, as he has his five hundred a year. He is coming to see
+us to-night, Elspeth, and then intends to go to-morrow to the North
+there to live always."
+
+"I am glad of that," said the daughter heartily. "Papa is not a good
+man, Angus, and the further away from us he is the better. But do you
+know," she added smiling, "I really thought that papa would have
+married Mrs. Mountford."
+
+"There was not the least chance of that, dear, although he certainly
+admired her. Poor Mrs. Mountford, I am glad I allowed her an annuity
+as she certainly has had a very bad time. She felt the loss of Maud
+very much."
+
+"Why was not Maud saved?" asked Elspeth.
+
+"In all the confusion it was impossible," said Herries earnestly, "for
+I would have saved her myself in spite of her wickedness had I got my
+wits about me. But I struck my head against the side of the yacht,
+when she pushed me over, and the boatmen dragged me quite stunned into
+their boat. Maud was pushed over immediately afterwards by Señora
+Guzman, and----"
+
+"Who can swear to that?"
+
+"Ritson. He saw her do it, and saw Maud push me over. You see, my
+dear, Maud knew that if I died that the money would come to her, and
+that was why she wanted to come with me on the yacht. I saw that she
+had something on her mind, but she would not tell me what it was. And
+no wonder, seeing that it was her design to push me overboard, and get
+the cash. Then she thought that Bruce Kyles would marry her."
+
+"Had she been successful would he have done that?"
+
+"No. He loved Señora Guzman. I think that Kyles behaved very badly.
+However, he has vanished out of our lives with the four thousand----"
+
+"Ah," said Elspeth smiling, "Mr. Ritson has never ceased to mourn for
+the loss of that."
+
+"I think Kyles deserved the money," said Herries, "and Ritson made a
+good thing out of it, when the property came into my possession.
+Without that confession, extorted by Kyles from Pope Narby, we would
+never have got the fortune. But it proved beyond all doubt that Pope
+was guilty, so everything has turned out for the best. I do not grudge
+Kyles the money. He's in South America by now, I expect, hunting for
+that treasure along with Señora Guzman and her father.
+
+"What will they do when they find it?"
+
+"Marry, and then, with heaps of money at their back,--I believe the
+treasure amounts to five millions sterling,--they will try and get
+back authority in Indiana."
+
+"What about Mrs. Narby?"
+
+"I intend to give her some money and send her to the States to rejoin
+her husband. Pope must be hanged: there's no help for it."
+
+While they thus talked and enjoyed the beauty of the night, they heard
+a grand mellow voice chanting one of the psalms. Shortly the musical
+person came in sight, and then they beheld the Rev. Michael Gowrie, in
+strict clerical dress, looking fat and gay and more bibulous than
+ever. On seeing his son-in-law and daughter he advanced with a
+majestic gait reciting solemnly--
+
+
+      "Soon, as the evening shades prevail,
+       The moon takes up the glorious tale.
+
+
+"That's Addison, ye ken, my bairns. A fine poet, though not tae be
+named i' the same breeth wi' Robbie Burns."
+
+"So you are off to-morrow?" said Herries taking no notice of this
+poetical outburst.
+
+"I'm gangin' tae morrow tae the Norrth. Aye, my fut wull be on ma
+native heath soon. Five hunner a year, and a stainless name. Leuk,
+laddie, what honesty o' purpose does for the wise."
+
+"Oh father," said Elspeth disgusted, "you know you----"
+
+"I know that I walked in miry ways," said the sage quickly, "groped in
+darkness and employed in the muckrake to find ma gold. But I wis but a
+good honest mon struggling wi' advarsity. Aye, lassie, dinna forget
+that I saved your husband fra the gallows."
+
+"You've made five hundred a year out of that," said Herries,
+contemptuously.
+
+"And gey cheap at the price, my manny. My ain conscience o' having
+dune good is ma reward. Aye, I can lay ma venerable locks on my pillow
+and say I've thocht o' the gude o' ithers afore ma ain. See, Elspeth,
+the husband I got for ye, and the hoose, and the----"
+
+"Oh, shut up and go away," said Herries, disgusted with the old scamp,
+"and don't come near us oftener than you can help."
+
+"And this," said Mr. Gowrie, lifting his eyes to the cloudless sky,
+"is gratitude."
+
+"Gratitude be hanged, I owe you none."
+
+"Dinna talk o' hanging, laddie, when ye think that puir Pope's fate
+micht hae been yours. Ye owe me a' theengs, I'm theenking. What were
+ye but a Jonah when I took peety on ye at the 'Marsh Inn'? I helped ye
+with counsel, I cheered yer lonely path, and gied tae ye ma ain bairn,
+the pride and glory of my existeence."
+
+Herries stared at Mr. Gowrie thus praising himself, then taking
+Elspeth's arm within his own, calmly walked away. "Dear," he said when
+they entered the house, "when your father goes, we'll forget all the
+past."
+
+"I never wish to see him again," shuddered the girl, "and oh, Angus,
+to think I should have such a father," she let fall a tear.
+
+Herries kissed it away.
+
+"There! There! We won't think any more of him or of our troubles.
+All's well that end's well. You and I are no longer Mr. and Mrs.
+Jonah."
+
+"What are we then?" asked Elspeth smiling through her tears.
+
+"Dand Joan," and then they sat down happy at last. And the sage,
+the wise man, who had steered them,--in his own opinion,--through all
+their troubles, sat on the terrace lamenting the ingratitude of his
+children.
+
+"Aye, aye," said Gowrie, "I'm a Lear--wha hes cherished a serpent to
+sting me. But for the gude siller--aye," he chuckled and rubbed his
+hands, I hae the siller, and can gang my ways content until yon day
+when I occupy the hoose built wi'oot hands. A Provideence hes watched
+o'er me I doot not, for I'm nae ane o' they sceptics wha' disnae
+believe in ony thing. Weel, weel,' he rose, and walked into the hoose,
+"a wee drappy toddy and then to bed. Jonah's Luck, aye, it's Jonah's
+Fortune I'm theenking, and I gie it a' tae Jonah."
+
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+-----------------------------------------------
+HUNT, BARNARD A CO., LONDON, W., AND AYLESBURY.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jonah's Luck, by Fergus Hume
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 56385 ***