A Secret Inheritance (Volume 2 of 3)

by B. L. Farjeon

  CHAPTER XIX.

  I was aroused at about eight o'clock in the morning by the arrival ofthe servants of the household whom Lauretta's mother had engaged forme, They comprised a housekeeper, who was to cook and generallysuperintend, and two stout wenches to do the rougher work. In such avillage as Nerac these, in addition to Martin Hartog, constituted anestablishment of importance.

  They had been so well schooled by Lauretta's mother before commencingthe active duties of their service, that when I rose I found thebreakfast-table spread, and the housekeeper in attendance to receivemy orders. This augured well, and I experienced a feeling ofsatisfaction at the prospect of the happy life before me. Like mother,like daughter. Lauretta would be not only a sweet and lovingcompanion, but the same order and regularity would reign in our homeas in the home of her childhood. I blessed the chance, if chance itwas, which had led me to Nerac, and as I paced the room and thought ofLauretta, I said audibly, "Thank God!"

  Breakfast over, I strolled into the grounds, and made a carefulinspection of the work which Martin Hartog had performed. Theconspicuous conscientiousness of his labours added to my satisfaction,and I gave expression to it. He received my approval in manly fashion,and said he would be glad if I always spoke my mind, "as I alwaysspeak mine," he added. It pleased me that he was not subservient; inall conditions of life a man owes it to himself to maintain, withinproper bounds, a spirit of independence. While he was pointing out tome this and that, and urging me to make any suggestions which occurredto me, his daughter came up to us and said that a man wished to speakto me. I asked who the man was, and she replied, "The landlord of theThree Black Crows." Curious as to his purpose in making so early acall, and settling it with myself that his errand was on business, inconnection, perhaps, with some wine he wished to dispose of, I toldthe young woman to send him to me, and presently he appeared. Therewas an expression of awkwardness, I thought, in his face as he stoodbefore me, cap in hand.

  "Well, landlord," I said smiling; "you wish to see me?"

  "Yes, sir." And there he stopped.

  "Go on," I said, wondering somewhat at his hesitation.

  "Can I speak to you alone, sir?"

  "Certainly. Hartog, I will see you again presently."

  Martin Hartog took the hint, and left us together.

  "Now, landlord," I said.

  "It's about those two men, sir, you saw in my place last night."

  "Those two men?" I said, pondering, and then a light broke upon me,and I thought it singular--as indeed it was--that no recollection,either of the men or the incidents in association with them shouldhave occurred to me since my awaking. "Yes?"

  "_You_ are quite safe, sir," said the landlord, "I am glad to find."

  "Quite safe, landlord; but why should you be so specially glad?"

  "Nothing's happened here then, sir?"

  "Nothing."

  "That's what brought me round so early this morning, for one thing; Iwas afraid something _might_ have happened."

  "Kindly explain yourself," I said, not at all impatient, but amusedrather. "What _might_ have happened?"

  "Well, sir, they might have found out, somehow or other, that you weresleeping in the house alone last night"--and here he broke off andasked, "You _did_ sleep here alone last night?"

  "Certainly I did, and a capital night's rest I had."

  "Glad to hear that, sir. As I was saying, if they had found out thatyou were sleeping here alone, they might have taken it into theirheads to trouble you."

  "They might, landlord, but facts are stubborn things. They did not,evidently."

  "I understand that now, sir, but I had my fears, and that's whatbrought me round for one thing."

  "An expression you have used once before, landlord. 'For one thing.' Iinfer there must be another thing in your mind."

  "There is, sir. You haven't heard then?"

  "As yet I have heard nothing but a number of very enigmaticalobservations from you with respect to those men. Ah, yes, I remember;you had your doubts of them when I visited you on my road home?"

  "I had sir; I told you I didn't like the looks of them, and that I wasnot easy in my mind about my own family, and the bit of money I had inmy place to pay my rent with, and one or two other accounts."

  "That is so; you are bringing the whole affair back to me. I saw themen after I left the Three Black Crows."

  "You did, sir! When? Where?"

  "To tell you would be to interrupt what you have come here to say. Nomore roundabouts, landlord. Say what you have to say right on."

  "Well, sir, this is the way of it. I suspected them from the first,and you will bear witness of it before the magistrate. They werestrangers in Nerac, but that is no reason why I should have refused tosell them a bottle of red wine when they asked for it. It's my tradeto supply customers, and the wine was the worst I had, consequentlythe cheapest. I had no right to ask their business, and if they choseto answer me uncivilly, it was their affair. I wouldn't tell everybodymine on the asking. They paid for the wine, and there was an end ofit. They called for another bottle, and when I brought it I did notdraw the cork till I had the money for it, and as they wouldn't paythe price--not having it about 'em--the cork wasn't drawn, and thebottle went back. I had trouble to get rid of them, but they stumbledout at last, and I saw no more of them. Now, sir, you will rememberthat when we were speaking of them Doctor Louis's house was mentionedas a likely house for rogues to break into and rob."

  "A moment," I interrupted in agitation. "Doctor Louis is safe?"

  "Quite safe, sir."

  "And his wife and daughter?"

  "Quite safe, sir."

  "Go on."

  "The villains couldn't hear what we said, no more than we could hearwhat they were whispering about. But they had laid their plans, andtried to hatch them--worse luck for one, if not for both thescoundrels; but the other will be caught and made to pay for it. Whatthey did between the time they left the Three Black Crows and the timethey made an attempt to break into Doctor Louis's is at present amystery. Don't be alarmed, sir; I see that my news has stirred you,but they have only done harm to themselves. No one else is a bit theworse for their roguery. Doctor Louis and his good wife and daughterslept through the night undisturbed; nothing occurred to rouse oralarm them. They got up as usual, the doctor being the first--he isknown as an early riser. As it happened, it was fortunate that he wasoutside his house before his lady, for although we in Nerac have anidea that she is as brave as she is good, a woman, after all, is onlya woman, and the sight of blood is what few of them can stand."

  "The sight of blood!" I exclaimed. But that I was assured thatLauretta was safe and well, I should not have wasted a moment on thelandlord, eager as I was to learn what he had come to tell. My mind,however, was quite at ease with respect to my dear girl, and the nextfew minutes were not so precious that I could not spare them to hearthe landlord's strange story.

  "That," he resumed, "is what the doctor saw when he went to the backof his house. Blood on the ground--and what is more, what would havegiven the ladies a greater shock, there before him was the body of aman--dead."

  "What man?" I asked.

  "That I can't for a certainty say, sir, because I haven't seen him asyet. I'm telling the story second-hand, as it was told to me a whileago by one who had come straight from the doctor's house. There wasthe blood, and there the man; and from the description I should say itwas one of the men who were drinking in my place last night. It is notascertained at what time of the night he and his mate tried to breakinto the doctor's house, but the attempt was made. There is theevidence of it. They commenced to bore a hole in one of the shuttersat the back; the hole made, it would have been easy to enlargen it,and so to draw the fastenings. However, they did not get so far asthat. They could scarcely have been at their scoundrelly work a minuteor two before it came to an end."

  "How and by whom were they interrupted, landlord? That, of course, isknown?"

  "It
is not known, sir, and it's just at this point that the mysterycommences. There they are at their work, and likely to be successful.A dark night, and not a watchman in the village. Never a need for one,sir. Plenty of time before them, and desperate men they. Only one manin the house, the good doctor; all the others women, easily dealtwith. Robbery first--if interfered with, murder afterwards. Theywouldn't have stuck at it, not they! But there it was, sir, as Godwilled. Not a minute at work, and something occurs. The question is,what? The man lies dead on the ground, with a gimlet in his hand, andDoctor Louis, in full sunlight, stands looking down on the strangesight."

  "The man lies dead on the ground," I said, repeating the landlord'swords; "but there were two."

  "No sign of the other, sir; he's a vanished body. People are outsearching for him."

  "He will be found," I said----

  "It's to be hoped," interrupted the landlord.

  "And then what you call a mystery will be solved."

  "It's beyond me, sir," said the landlord, with a puzzled air.

  "It is easy enough. These two scoundrels, would-be murderers, plan arobbery, and proceed to execute it. They are ill-conditionedcreatures, no better than savages, swayed by their passions, in whichthere is no show of reason. They quarrel, perhaps, about the share ofthe spoil which each shall take, and are not wise enough to put asidetheir quarrel till they are in possession of the booty. They continuetheir dispute, and in such savages their brutal passions once roused,swell and grow to a fitting climax of violence. So with these.Probably the disagreement commenced on their way to the house, and hadreached an angry point when one began to bore a hole in the shutter.This one it was who was found dead. The proof was in his hand--thegimlet with which he was working."

  "Well conceived, sir," said the landlord, following with approval myspeculative explanation.

  "This man's face," I continued, "would be turned toward the shutter,his back to his comrade. Into this comrade's mind darts, like alightning flash, the idea of committing the robbery alone, and sobecoming the sole possessor of the treasure."

  "Good, sir, good," said the landlord, rubbing his hands.

  "No sooner conceived than executed. Out comes his knife, or perhaps hehas it ready in his hand, opened."

  "Why opened, sir? Would it not be a fixed blade?"

  "No; such men carry clasp-knives. They are safest, and never attractnotice."

  "You miss nothing, sir," said the landlord admiringly. "What amagistrate you would have made!"

  "He plunges it into his fellow-scoundrel's back, who falls dead, withthe gimlet in his hand. The murder is explained."

  The landlord nodded excitedly, and continued to rub his hands; thensuddenly stood quite still, with an incredulous expression on hisface.

  "But the robbery is not committed," he exclaimed; "the house is notbroken into, and the scoundrel gets nothing for his pains."

  With superior wisdom I laid a patronising hand upon his shoulder.

  "The deed done," I said, "the murderer, gazing upon his dead comrade,is overcome with fear. He has been rash--he may be caught red-handed;the execution of the robbery will take time. He is not familiar withthe habits of the village, and does not know it has no guardians ofthe night. One may stroll that way and make discovery. Fool that hewas! He has not only committed murder, he has robbed himself. Betterto have waited till they had possession of the treasure; but this kindof logic always comes afterwards to ill-regulated minds. Under theinfluence of his newly-born fears he recognises that every moment isprecious; he dare not linger; he dare not carry out the scheme.Shuddering, he flies from the spot, with rage and despair in hisheart. Unhappy wretch! The curse of Cain is upon him."