The House of Strange Secrets: A Detective Story
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CHAPTER V
SELENE'S STORY
Laurence was an expert gardener, and, after despatching a reply to theMarquis's letter, he had, though deep in thought, settled down to assistHead in the greenhouses.
"We've got a thief in this establishment," the gardener remarked, aftera lengthy pause in the conversation.
"Oh, indeed," replied Laurence absently. He was at the moment revellingin the prospect of Miss Selene Scott's company that afternoon, and didnot find Head's conversation remarkably entertaining.
"Yes; my old coat has gone out of the barn since last evening--my oldcoat what the missus won't let me wear except I'm haymaking. Strictly,'tween you and me, sir, I suspects the hodd man next door!"
Laurence was all attention at once. Anything concerning the unknowninhabitants of the Dene was of interest to him, and he begged forfurther details of the "robbery"(!)
But Head was ready for his dinner, he said, and promptly moved offtowards the barn, to which his meal was usually brought by one of hisnumerous olive-branches. Laurence followed, at the gardener'ssuggestion, to be shown whence the coat had disappeared in the night!
On the threshold of the barn a small boy was playing marbles alone. Herose and touched his cap on catching sight of young Carrington; then,addressing his father, informed him that "mother made you a shepherd'spie, what you likes."
Head walked into the barn to fetch this delicacy, but emerged a momentlater.
"Where've you been, Tommy?" he asked.
"Tommy" disappeared into the great building, but he also returned aminute after with a blank look on his face.
"I put it in there a moment ago, Daddy, and now it's gone," was hislamentation.
"There now, sir," said Head to Laurence, "what did I tell you about athief? He's stolen my dinner!"
Laurence, feeling almost inclined to laugh, in his turn accompanied thegardener into the barn. As he did so, he fancied he detected a rustlingin the mountains of fresh-smelling hay that rose all around. Head hadevidently heard the sound also, for he seized a pitchfork and commencedstabbing it into the portion which appeared to be that whence therustling came, but with no result.
As he poked about in the hay, the man stopped suddenly.
"What's this?" he said, picking up something upon which his fork hadchanced. He held up to view a small revolver.
Could it be, Laurence wondered at the sight of it, the weapon with whichthe unknown stranger had attempted the life of Squire Carrington?Disguising his pleasure at the sight of what might possibly be a clue tothe hiding-place of the Squire's would-be murderer, Laurence pocketedthe small weapon, and moved away, leaving Head to grumble over his loss.But a subsequent scrutiny of the pistol was cut short by the arrival ofKingsford, who announced luncheon. Almost simultaneously a carriagebearing the Marquis of Moorland's coat of arms drove up the avenue, anddeposited two ladies and a couple of small portmanteaux on the doorstep.The butler proceeded to open the door, and, perceiving that the visitorswere Miss Scott and her aunt, ushered them into the drawing-room, whereLaurence quickly joined them. As the young man entered the room he heardhis father's voice call over the banisters to the butler:
"Don't let any one in; pray don't; bar the door. Say that I have got apistol ready. What? Mrs. Knox and Miss Scott? Oh, that's all right. Ithought it was a--a burglar!"
A sigh of relief followed, and, after a moment or two, the Squire,looking paler and more miserable than ever, arrived in the drawing-room.
All through lunch he remained silent except when spoken to, whileLaurence was being charmed by Miss Scott's graphic description of thefire, and Mrs. Knox paid undivided attention to the sumptuous repastlaid out on the table.
"But the funniest thing of all, Mr. Carrington," said the young lady toLaurence during the course of the conversation, "was that when I wasgoing down to supper, I happened to look out into the garden from alanding window, when what should I see but a figure creeping along theside of the house. Well, as auntie will tell you, if there's anythingI'm frightened of it's a tramp. This looked like either a burglar or atramp, but I knew that he daren't break in with all the servants andguests about, so I didn't mention the fact to anyone. To me it looks asif the person I saw had something to do with the dreadful fire, but whyhe should want to murder us all I should very much like to know. Well,but that isn't all. Soon after you'd gone--you went so awfully early,you know--I happened to go out on to the covered-in verandah for abreath of fresh air, and was talking very privately to MaggieHaroldsworth. I had just mentioned to her that you had gone" (Miss Scottblushed as she noticed the colour rise to Laurence's cheeks at themention of his name in the "very private" conversation) "mentioned thatyou and the Squire had gone, when suddenly the same figure I had seenbefore sprang up from some bushes, almost underneath where we stood, anddashed off into the shrubbery. The lawn was quite dark, so that I couldnot see very well what the person was like, but Maggie insisted that itwas a woman with coloured skirts, though I doubt if it really was, forno woman I ever saw ran like that figure did."
At this point Squire Carrington roused himself from the state oflethargy into which he had fallen, and looked up, paying some attentionto vivacious Miss Scott's story.
"Another thing Maggie insisted on, was that she distinctly saw themysterious creature's features. She told me all about it afterwards,when we were bundling out of the house, for the alarm was raised beforewe had stopped talking about the woman--if it really was one. Well, shesays that the light from one of the basement rooms fell on thiscreature's face as it dashed out of the bushes, and that she could takeher dying oath it was a black woman! Why, Mr. Carrington, what's thematter? Mr. Laurence, Auntie, the Squire has fainted!"
For the second time within twenty-four hours Squire Carrington hadfallen forward in a dead faint!