CHAPTER XII
TOM OSSINGTON'S LAWYER
It was while they were seated at table that Bruce Graham told them ofthe result of his investigations. Although, for some reason, thesubject had not been mentioned when Madge and he had been alonetogether, that young lady showed herself alert and eager enough then.Nor, in that respect, was Ella behind her friend, while Martynconcealed an interest which was probably equal to theirs underponderous attempts at jocularity.
It was Jack who brought him to the point.
"If the honourable and learned gentleman has sufficiently refreshedhimself with the cup that cheers, would he oblige the company bymentioning if he has done anything in the matter of the HiddenTreasure--with capitals please!--and, if so, what?"
"I have at least found that everything points to there being such ahidden treasure--in spite of Jack's pretended scepticism."
"My pretended scepticism! Sir, I would have you know that I am nosceptic; or, if I am, never was one more willing to be converted tothe faith."
Ella interposed.
"And, Mr. Graham, you really think there is a hidden treasure?"
"I think it extremely probable."
"Tell us all about it. What have you been doing? All day long I havebeen dreaming in the City of what would happen if we did light upon asecret hoard. It really would be too splendid for words."
The young lady looked the eagerness which the words suggested--like animaginative child who pictures the materialisation of some favouritetale of faerie.
"To begin with, I went to the house agents to learn for whom they areacting."
"Well, and what did they say?"
"They were not particularly willing to say anything--as I expected.They were apparently under the impression that I intended to take thebread out of their mouths, by dealing with their principals direct.But when I had succeeded in, at any rate, partly reassuring them, theyinformed me they were acting for a firm of solicitors--Messrs.Nicholls & Hawkins, 3, South Square, Gray's Inn."
"Well, and what did you do then?"
"I went to the solicitors."
"It is awfully good of you to take so much trouble. And what did theysay?"
"As it happened, I had some knowledge of the firm. My father was onterms of friendship with their senior partner, so that when Iintroduced myself to Mr. Nicholls as my father's son, the way wassmoothed for me. They have the reputation of being a steady-going,old-fashioned firm, and I found them as open and above-board as theyvery well could have been. When I mentioned my errand, Mr. Nichollswas all alive at once."
"'Messrs. Palmer & Beading, of Wandsworth,' I began, 'inform me thatin letting Clover Cottage they are instructed by you. May I ask who isthe owner of the property?'
"When I said that, he sat up straight in his chair, and, as Iobserved, became all alive--oh.
"'May I inquire, in return, why you ask the question?'
"'The question,' I admitted, 'is a little irregular; but I take itthat you will have no objection to give me an answer.'
"'Not the slightest. On the contrary, we shall be delighted if youwill help us to throw light into what is, at present, a very darkcorner; because, as a matter of fact, so far as we are concerned,there is no owner.'
"'The late Thomas Ossington died intestate!'
"'So far as our knowledge goes.'
"'Leaving instructions that you should act on his behalf?'
"'Not a bit of it. So far as we're aware, he left no instructions ofany sort or kind. We have assumed a responsibility of which we shouldbe glad to be rid. Do you know the man's history?'
"'I know something of it--though I confess, candidly, that I shouldlike to know more. My own connection with the matter is a curious one.At a later stage I will tell you exactly what it is. In the interim, Iassure you, on my word of honour, that any information you can give meshall be used for the furtherance of justice, and for that only.'
"'Very good; so long as right is done, all that we require is to berelieved of a very awkward situation. You know that Ossingtonwas--peculiar?'
"'Not insane?'
"'Insane?--No; he was as sane as you are--every whit. But he was adisappointed man. He was malformed--the muscles of one leg wereparalysed. As he grew older, the paralysis increased, until itextended up the whole of one side, and, at last, it killed him. Hemarried a girl who acted as book-keeper at an hotel, at which he wasin the habit of stopping, at Ilfracombe. She turned out a regular badlot--finally running away with a man named Ballingall.'
"'Charles Ballingall?'
"'That's the man. Do you know him?'
"'I have acted for him professionally.'
"'Have you? Then let me inform you, without prejudice, that you haveacted for as rascally a scamp as ever trod the earth. Ossingtonregarded him as a particular friend; and, as particular friendssometimes have a knack of doing, he borrowed no end of money fromOssington, ending by robbing him not only of his money, but of hiswife as well. The double blow almost broke Ossington's heart, andduring the remainder of his existence he lived the life of a recluse.But, until then, we had acted for him continually. For instance, wehad acted for him in the purchase of Clover Cottage.'
"'Do you hold the deeds of the house?'
"'Not a deed. We hold nothing. All that we have are the variousletters which he wrote to us at various times, on business. We hadheard nothing of him for months, when one morning we received atelegram asking us to go at once to Clover Cottage. I went myself--Iliked the man. He was, in his way, as fine a gentleman as I ever met.He had been cruelly used by friend and fortune. I found himdead--alone in the house there, with a maid and a doctor;dead--killed, according to the medical testimony, by a paralyticaffection of the heart; but actually, as sure as you and I are alive,by the wicked wanton usage of those he had held dear. Now here thequeer part of the thing comes in.
"'His last words had been an instruction to send for us; but that wasthe only instruction he had given. I myself searched the house fromtop to bottom, and, as you know, it is not a large one. I had itsearched by others--every nook and cranny. Not a scrap of writingcould be discovered--letter, note, or memorandum. Not a document ofany sort of kind. Nothing whatever to show of what he had diedpossessed, or to whom it was to go.'
"'You had reasons to suppose that he had means?'
"'Every reason! We had every reason to believe him to be a man ofcomfortable means. We ourselves had, on more than one occasion, actedfor him in matters involving thousands of pounds. We applied to theNational and Provincial Bank--where we were aware he had an account.They informed us that he had closed the account some two monthspreviously, and that on that occasion they had handed him over sixthousand pounds in notes on the Bank of England. They gave us a listof the numbers of the notes; and not one of them has been presentedfor payment to this day.'
"'Is that so?'
"'It is. We furnished the Bank with a copy of the list, requestingthem to notify us should one of them come in: as yet not a single oneof them has made its appearance. Where are those notes? Surely, ifthey were in the possession of any living person, ere this some ofthem would have been presented. Where are the title deeds of CloverCottage--and of other properties, of which he was the undoubted owner?He is the registered holder of ten thousand Great Northern RailwayStock. Since his death, the dividends on it have remained unclaimed.Where is the scrip? With the rest, has it vanished into air? In a boxin his bedroom were forty-seven pounds in gold. That was all the cashthe house contained. We buried him in Wandsworth Cemetery; Hawkins, I,and the doctor were the only mourners. We sold the furniture, paid theexpenses, and the balance stands to the credit of the estate. Weadvertised for next of kin, without results. We advertised also forinformation as to the whereabouts of any property of which he mighthave died possessed--such as title-deeds, and anything of that kind.You understand that there is a delicate question as to who is entitledto collect the rents of other properties which we believe to have beenhi
s freehold. But nothing came of that. Clover Cottage we placed inthe hands of Messrs. Parker and Beading, but only recently have theysucceeded in letting it--I believe to two single ladies.'
"'So I understand.'"
Jack struck in.
"You are the two single ladies. You," pointing to Ella, "are one ofthem, and you," pointing to Madge, "are the other."
Ella was impatient.
"Jack, I do wish you wouldn't interrupt.--Mr. Graham, do go on. It'slike a romance. My curiosity is such that I feel as if I were all pinsand needles."
Bruce Graham continued.
"'And you, Mr. Nicholls,' I said, 'have you formed no theory of yourown upon the subject?'
"Old Nicholls leaned back in his chair. He put his hands into his twopockets, and he looked at me out of the corners of his eyes.
"'I have--I have formed a decided theory. But, upon my word, I don'tknow what right you have to ask me.'
"'I trust, before we part, to prove to your entire satisfaction that Ihave every right. What's the nature of your theory?'
"'What's the nature of your right?'
"I laughed. I saw that he meant to understand more clearly where westood before he went any further.
"'I believe I am in a position to produce an owner for theproperty--when found.'
"'When found?'
"'Precisely--when found. As yet it still remains to be found. I mustask you not, at this moment, to press me for further details, and ofcourse you, on your part, are entitled to keep your theory toyourself.'
"'I am entitled to keep my theory to myself, as you say. But I knowyour father was an honest man, and as it happens, I know somethingabout you, and I believe you also are an honest man. So as I amanxious, for many reasons, that this Ossington mystery should beunravelled, you shall have my theory for what it's worth.'
"'He tilted his chair on to its hind-legs, watching me keenly all thetime.
"'Thomas Ossington was peculiar--not, in any sense of the word,insane, but out of the common run. In particular he was secretive,especially latterly, as perhaps was only natural. My theory is that,distrusting banks and all such human institutions, he secreted hiscash, his title deeds, and everything he valued, in some hiding-placeof his own contriving, and that there it remains concealed unto thishour.'"
The two girls rose simultaneously.
"Madge," cried Ella, "did you hear that? That's exactly what yousaid."
In Madge's tones there was the ring of an assured conviction.
"I was sure of it--and I am sure of it; as sure as any one possiblycan be."
"May I ask," inquired Jack, with mock severity, "who is it who isinterrupting now? Will you let the gentleman go on?"
Graham went on.
"'But where,' I said, 'do you think he is likely to have found such ahiding-place?'
"Old Nicholls looked at me, if possible, more shrewdly than ever.
"'At Clover Cottage. I knew the man. The salient events of his lifehappened there. In his whimsical way he regarded it as part and parcelof himself. I have heard him say so half a dozen times. His heart wasin the place. Whatever he did conceal, was concealed within its fourwalls. Before the furniture was sold, I had it overhauled by anexpert--some of the things were pulled to pieces. His verdict was thatnothing was hidden there. Had I had my way I would have dismantled thewhole house--only Hawkins was against me. He said very properly, thatif the heir-at-law proved cantankerous, I might be made to smart indamages to the tune of a pretty penny. So I abstained. All the same,if the house was in the market to-morrow, I'd be a purchaser at a goodround sum--if all rights of treasure trove went with it. You may tellthe present tenants'--here he looked at me in a fashion which took mea little aback--'if you have the honour of their acquaintance, that wekeep a sharp eye on the property; that it is not to be tampered withto the extent of one jot or tittle; and that not so much as one inchof paper is to be taken off the wall except with our expresspermission.'"
Ella turned to Madge.
"What do you say to that?" she exclaimed. "That knocks on the head allyour notions of pulling the house to pieces."
Madge was defiant.
"Does it? It does nothing of the kind. Not after what I found in thisvery room last night. In the face of that, I care nothing for Mr.Nicholls, or for his threats either. What do you think yourself, Mr.Graham?"
"If you will allow me, I will give you my own opinion when I have toldyou of all that passed between Mr. Nicholls and myself. Indeed, I amnow coming to that very point."
"There you are, you see. You will not let the man finish, you reallywon't. I never saw anything like you women for interrupting--never inall my life."
This of course was Jack--who was, as usual, ignored.
Graham brought his story to an end.
"'There is one more question', I said, 'which I should like to askyou, Mr. Nicholls. Do you know any one of the name of Edward JohnHurley?'
"'I ought to, seeing that some one of the name of Edward John Hurleyis in our office at this moment, and has been in our office forsomething over a quarter of a century.'
"'Can I see him?'
"Mr. Nicholls touched a bell, and presently Mr. Hurley entered. I feltthat his presence on the spot was a stroke of luck for which I hadcertainly been unprepared. He was a tall, thin, dignified looking man,with grey hair. He wore spectacles. Taking them off, he wiped themwith his handkerchief before he replaced them on his nose to look atme.
"'Do you remember, Mr. Hurley,' I began, 'the 22nd of October, 1892?'
"'The 22nd of October, 1892?' He repeated my words, then replied to myquestion with another, 'May I inquire why you ask?'
"'I will put my question in another form. Do you remember witnessingMr. Thomas Ossington's attachment of his signature to a certaindocument on the 22nd of October, 1892?'
"I had noticed that Mr. Nicholls and he had exchanged glances when Ifirst put my query. Now he looked at his principal evidently in searchof guidance.
"'Shall I answer this gentleman's question, sir?'
"'Certainly. Give him all the information you can.'
"This Mr. Hurley proceeded to do, with the utmost clearness.
"'I do remember the 22nd of October, 1892, and the whole of thecircumstances. I chanced to meet Mr. Ossington in Holborn as I wasleaving the office. He asked me if I would dine with him in his houseat Wandsworth. I went with him to dinner there and then. After dinnerhe asked me if I would witness his signature. I expressed mywillingness. I witnessed it.'
"'Were you acquainted with the nature of the document he was signing?'
"'I was not. I have often wondered what it was, especially in thelight of after events. The document, which was on a sheet of bluefoolscap, had evidently been prepared before my arrival: Mr.Ossington, covering the writing with a piece of blotting-paper, signedit, in the middle of the page, directly underneath, while I affixed mysignature, as witness, on the left-hand side.'
"'Was there another witness?'
"'There was, the servant girl.'
"'What was her name?'
"'I never heard it. I only know that he called her Louisa. I think Ishould recognise her if I saw her again. She was a red-faced,light-haired, strapping wench, about eighteen years of age.'
"'Should you recognise Ossington's signature--and your own--and thedocument to which they were attached?'
"'Most decidedly; under any circumstances, at any time.'
"I thanked him for his frankness, and rose to go. Nicholls stopped me.
"'One moment,' he said. 'Hurley informed us, at the time, of what hehas just now told you, and, like him, we have frequently wondered whatwas the nature of the document he witnessed. As you are evidentlyaware that such a paper existed once upon a time, you are probablyacquainted with its present whereabouts?'
"'I am. It will be produced in due course. When, I promise you, youwill see as curious a document as is to be found upon the records.'
"Both Nicholls and Hurley endeavoured to induce me to be mor
edefinite. But I was not to be persuaded. Thanking them for theinformation they had given me, I came away."
Tom Ossington's Ghost Page 12
