The Slave of Silence

by Fred M. White

  CHAPTER XXXVII

  Sartoris sat a huddled heap on the floor, with his white snarling facelooking out like the head of an angry snake. He was not in the leastafraid, and yet the expression of his eyes told that he knew everythingwas over. As he struggled painfully to his feet, Mary ran forward andguided him to a chair. He did not thank her by so much as a gesture. Allthe care and tenderness was wasted upon that warped nature.

  "If I were not a cripple," he snarled, "this would never have happened.And yet a cursed bag of aching bones has got the better of you all, ay,and would have kept the better, too, if I could only have moved aboutlike the rest. But you are not going to get me to say anything if I sithere all night."

  It was a strange scene, altogether,--Sartoris a huddled heap, cursingand snarling in his chair, the man Reggie and the woman Cora standingby, with uneasy grins on their faces, trying to carry it off in a spiritof false bravado. To the right of them stood Bentwood, now quite soberand shaking, and Richford sullen and despairing. Beatrice was in theshadow behind Mark Ventmore. Mary moved forward, followed by Berrington.

  "What is the charge?" the man Reggie asked. "What have we done?"

  Field shrugged his shoulders. Really the question did not deserve areply. Sartoris took up the same line in his snarling voice.

  "That's what we want to know," he said. "What is the charge? If you havea warrant, read it aloud. We have every right to know."

  "I have a warrant so far as you are concerned," Field replied. "For thepresent, you are charged with forgery and uttering a certain document,purporting to be an assignment of mining interests in Burmah from SirCharles Darryll to yourself. The document is in my pocket, and I canproduce it for your inspection, if you like. I need not tell you thatthere will be other charges later on, but these will suffice for thepresent."

  "That does not touch us, at all," the woman Cora said.

  "I am arresting you on my own responsibility," Field said curtly. "If Ihave made any mistake, then you can bring an action for illegaldetention later on. Colonel Berrington, we are wasting time here. Had wenot better get on with our search?"

  Berrington nodded approval. There was an exulting gleam in his eyes thatbetokened the discovery of something out of the common. Mary crossed theroom rapidly and threw herself in an utter abandonment of grief at herbrother's feet.

  "Oh, why don't you tell them everything?" she cried. "Why don't you tellthe whole truth and save yourself? I have friends here, more than one,who care for me, and who for my sake would do much to save you from theshame and humiliation that lie before you. I know much, but I do notknow all. For the sake of the old name----"

  "Burn the old name," Sartoris said. "What has it done for me? You havebeen a good sister to me, but your attentions have been a littleembarrassing sometimes. And if you had hoped to change me, you had yourtrouble for your pains. You may put me on the rack and torture me, butnot one word do I say."

  "It seems so hard, so very hard," Mary moaned. "And when I look back tothe time----"

  "Oh, never mind looking back to any time," Sartoris muttered. "Thegame's up, I tell you. I have been beaten, and there's an end of it. Ishould play the same hand again if I had the chance, so make no mistakeabout that. Wheel me as far as the dining-room."

  "It will not be of the slightest use," Berrington said in a cold, clearvoice. "I know that you would blow the whole lot of us to Eternity ifyou got the chance, as a kind of revenge for our victory, but I have putan end to that. You will find all the wires disconnected from yourbattery. After that you are quite free to go into the dining-room."

  Sartoris grinned and displayed his teeth in an evil smile. Heaven onlyknows what new form of villainy he was plotting. And he would cheerfullyhave blown up the house and destroyed everybody there, includinghimself, if he had had the opportunity to complete his revenge.

  "We are wasting time," Field said. "Take all the prisoners away, exceptDr. Bentwood. I have very good reasons for asking him to remain."

  Bentwood smiled in a mean and sinister way. He had tried to hide himselfin a corner of the room. There was something so cringing and fawningabout the fellow that Berrington longed to kick him. Sartoris spoke in awaspish whisper:

  "So the land lies in that quarter," he said. "We have an informeramongst us. If I had known that before, my good Bentwood,--if I hadknown that before!"

  Big as he was, Bentwood looked small and mean at that moment.

  "You are quite mistaken," he cried. "You are altogether wrong, my dearCarl. I am as much of a prisoner as any of you. I was taken in fairfight outside after a desperate struggle. What have I to gain by anattitude of unreasonable obstinacy?"

  "Oh, nothing," Sartoris replied. "But you can make things easy foryourself by affording the police information. You will probably get offwith ten years. I would fight the thing out to the bitter end and chanceit. But you and I are made of different stuff."

  Mark Ventmore, watching the two men, thought so too, but he saidnothing. One was a mere bag of bones, the other a fine figure of a man,but Mark would have preferred the cripple, who made no sign and showedno feeling as he tottered to the door, between the policemen. Mary wouldhave said something to him, but he waved her back.

  "Now don't you trouble about me any more," he said. "I shall be safe forsome years to come, the law will see to that. We shall never meet again,for the simple reason that a physique like mine will not stand theprison treatment. I shall die there. Good bye."

  Mary kept back her tears. She would have felt better if she could haveseen even the slightest trace of remorse in her brother.

  "Marry Berrington," he said. "He has been pretty faithful to you and youwill be alone in the world now. You should think yourself lucky with aman like that to fall back upon. I have to say adieu to the lot of you."

  Sartoris was gone at last. In fact the whole lot were packed on themotor car which the police had sent down at Field's instigation. Being acripple, Sartoris had been accommodated in the seat by the driver. Withher eyes heavy with tears, Mary watched them depart. Sartoris wasfatally correct in his prophecy; it was the last time that Mary wasdestined to see him. He had always recognised the fact that jail wouldbe the death of him. He had the germs of a disease in his breast that hehad only kept at bay by constant occupation and mental activity. Marynever looked upon the face of her brother in the flesh again.

  Field turned to Berrington and drew a long breath.

  "The atmosphere smells all the sweeter for the loss of that lot," hesaid. "My word, this has been an anxious night for me. I don't know whenI have felt so nervous. But I see that you have made a discovery,Colonel Berrington. What is it?"

  "It seems to me that I have made more than one," Berrington said. "Inthe first place my suspicion that the body of Sir Charles Darryll wasbrought here has been confirmed. To begin with, I have got to the bottomof that mysterious dining-room business. Come this way and I will showyou. Bentwood and that officer of yours had better stay here for themoment."

  "Anything that I can do for you, gentlemen," Bentwood said meekly. "Anyinformation that lies in my power. You have only to command me, and Iwill respond."

  "Presently," Field said contemptuously. "We will question you later on.Then you shall tell me all about that secret Eastern drug that youunderstand so well, and what effect it is likely to have on a sleepingman."

  Bentwood gave a gasp, and his face grew livid. It was evident that Fieldhad struck and tapped a mine that the doctor had considered to be hiddenfrom everybody. Then Bentwood sat down moodily and looked into the fire.

  Berrington led the way into the dining-room, where he proceeded toexplain everything in relation to the room under the floor and the vaultin connection therewith. Field was particularly interested. All thisworked out beautifully with his theory.

  "I expect the body was concealed here," he said. "The thing has beenwell worked out. But do you suppose that Sartoris went to all thistrouble and expense for the simple reason----"

  "He didn't," Berri
ngton explained. "Miss Sartoris, or Miss Grey as Iprefer to call her, told me all about that. The house was taken fouryears ago and occupied by an American electrical engineer whom Sartorisknew quite well. It was he who put in all these dodges. When he died,Sartoris took the place, doubtless feeling that he might be able to usethe mysteries here to good effect. I don't suppose at that time that heknew anything about the full value of Sir Charles Darryll's concessions.But once he had to take action, then this room came in very usefully."

  "Do you know why they brought the body here?" Field asked.

  "Yes, I have a pretty good idea on that score. Sir Charles had certainpapers in his room in the _Royal Palace Hotel_, and these people wantedto gain possession of them. The robbery was fixed to take place on thenight of that dinner party. Mind you, Richford did not know anythingabout that, because Sartoris had kept him in the dark. Bentwood was towork it. Bentwood was to administer the drug, but he gave too much. Theconsequence was an overdose, as you may gather."

  Field smiled peculiarly, but he gave no hint as to the extent of his owndiscovery.

  "These people did not want a _post mortem_," Berrington said. "They didnot desire that any traces of that practically unknown drug should bediscovered."

  "And you think that they all ran that risk to guard their secret?" askedField. "Well, you have provided me with one or two surprises, but I amgoing to provide you with as many before we go to bed. Have youdiscovered anything further?"

  "Oh, yes," said Berrington, "this collar, for instance. I am in aposition to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Sir Charles wore iton the night of the dinner party. I found that down here in this veryvault. No further proof is wanted that the body was here. But whatpuzzles me is this: we were so quickly on the spot that those rascalshad not the slightest chance of disposing of the corpse. What then hasbecome of it--why can't we find it? Now that one knows all about theruby mines and the concessions--which appear to me to be veryvaluable--the mystery becomes tolerably clear. But the corpse, where isit?"

  "Are you quite sure that there is a corpse?" asked Field drily. "Let usgo and ask Bentwood."

  Bentwood sat up and smiled as his two chief tormentors came back. He wasready to afford any information that the gentlemen required.

  "It is not much that I am going to ask," said Field. "Only this: Pleasetake us at once to the spot where we can find the body of Sir CharlesDarryll."

  Bentwood jumped nimbly to his feet. The question seemed to fairlystagger him. If he had thought of concealing anything, he abandoned theidea now.

  "Come this way, gentlemen," he said. "You are too many for mealtogether. I wish to heaven that I had kept my medical discoveries tomyself."