That Mainwaring Affair

by A. Maynard Barbour

  CHAPTER VIII

  THE WEAVING OF THE WEB

  Ten o'clock found an eager crowd assembled in and about the largelibrary at Fair Oaks, drawn by reports of the sensational featuresdeveloped on the preceding day. The members of the householdoccupied nearly the same positions as on the preceding afternoon,with the exception of the secretary, who had entered the room alittle in advance of the others and had seated himself near thecoroner.

  Notwithstanding the glances of doubt and distrust which Scottencountered, and his own consciousness that suspicion againsthimself would deepen as all the facts in the case became known,he was as impassive as ever. Even Mr. Whitney was wholly at aloss to account for the change in the bearing of the secretary.He was no longer the employee, but carried himself with a proudindependence, as though conscious of some mysterious vantage-ground.

  On the other side of the coroner, but conveniently near Scott, wasMr. Sutherland, while in the rear, commanding a good view of bothgentlemen, as well as of nearly every face in the room, sat Mr.Merrick, though to a stranger his manner would have implied theutmost indifference to the proceedings.

  The first witness called for by the coroner was Johnson, the butler.For the first five or ten minutes his testimony was little morethan a corroboration of that given by the valet on the precedingday, of the discovery of the death of Hugh Mainwaring.

  "You say," said the coroner, "that at Mr. Whitney's request youremained in the upper hall, near the library and within call?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Will you state how long a time you should think elapsed betweenthe alarm given by Hardy and the appearance of the entire household,including both the guests and the servants?"

  "Well, sir, Hardy gave the alarm a little after seven. The servantswere already up and crowded around there immediately, and I shouldsay that every one, including the ladies, was out within twentyminutes, or thirty at the latest, with the exception of Mrs. LaGrangeand her son."

  "At what time did the latter appear?"

  "It must have been considerably after eight o'clock, sir, when shecame to the library in response to a message from Mr. Whitney."

  "And her son?"

  "I did not see Mr. Walter LaGrange at all during the forenoon, sir."

  "How was that?" inquired Dr. Westlake, rather quickly. "Was he notat Fair Oaks?"

  "I cannot say, sir. I did not see him until luncheon."

  "When did you last see Mr. Mainwaring?"

  "A little after eleven o'clock night before last,--Wednesday night,sir. I was in the hall as he passed upstairs to his rooms, and Iheard him ask Mr. Scott to come to his library."

  "Did there seem to be any coldness or unpleasantness between them?"

  "No, sir; they both appeared the same as usual."

  "Did any strangers call at Fair Oaks Wednesday aside from thosementioned yesterday?"

  "No, sir."

  "Will you describe the strangers who were here, stating when theycalled and any particulars you are able to give?"

  "The man giving his name as R. Hobson called between eleven andtwelve, Wednesday morning. He was tall, with thin features, small,dark eyes, and a very soft voice. He came in a carriage, inquiredfor Mrs. LaGrange, and seemed in considerable haste. He stayedabout an hour. The gentleman who called about four in the afternoonalso came in a carriage and inquired for Mr. Mainwaring, saying hehad been directed to Fair Oaks at the city offices of Mainwaring &Co. On learning that Mr. Mainwaring was out, he asked for thesecretary; and I took his card to Mr. Scott, who gave directionsto have him shown up into the library. I do not know when he left.He was tall, with black hair and moustache and dark glasses."

  "Mr. Hobson's call occasioned considerable comment at luncheon, didit not?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Did you observe that it had any effect on Mr. Mainwaring?"

  "Well, sir, I thought he appeared considerably annoyed, and afterluncheon he asked me whether Mr. Hobson had inquired for him."

  "Did you admit Hobson when he called in the evening?"

  "I did not, sir. I merely met him at the door and directed him tothe south side entrance."

  "At Mrs. LaGrange's request?"

  "Yes, sir; in accordance with her instructions."

  "Did she give any reason for such instructions?"

  "Merely that his former call had caused so much remark she wishedto receive him privately."

  "Was he alone when he called the second time?"

  "No, sir."

  "Can you describe the person who accompanied him?"

  "No, sir. The man stood so far in the shadow that I could only seethe outlines of his form. I should say he was about the same heightas Mr. Hobson, but considerably heavier."

  "Do you know at what hour they left?"

  "No, sir."

  Further questions failing to elicit any facts bearing upon thesituation, the butler was dismissed, and Brown, the coachman, tookhis place. The latter was far less taciturn than the butler,seeming rather eager to impart some piece of information which heevidently considered of special importance.

  After a few preliminary questions, the coroner said,--

  "At what time, and from whom, did you first hear of Mr. Mainwaring'sdeath?"

  "About half-past seven, yesterday morning, sir. I was a-takingcare of the horses, sir, when Uncle Mose--he's the gardener, sir--hecomes past the stable on his way to the tool-house, and hetells me that Mr. Mainwaring had been murdered in the night, rightin his own rooms, and then he tells me-"

  "How long had you been up and at work in the stables?"

  "Before I heard of the murder? Well, about an hour, I should say.I generally gets up at six."

  "Had you been to the house that morning?"

  "No, sir; but I went right up there after seeing Uncle Mose, and Iwas in the kitchen telling what I had seen the night before, whenthe butler he comes down and said as how Mr. Ralph Mainwaring wantedme, and that I had better keep my mouth shut till I was asked totell what I knew."

  "Where were you last Wednesday night?" asked the coroner, ratherabruptly.

  Brown looked surprised, but answered readily, "I was out with somefriends of mine. We all went down to the city together that nightand stayed out pretty late, and it seems a mighty good thing wedid, too."

  "Why so?" asked the coroner.

  "Well, sir," said Brown, deliberately, glad of an opportunity totell his story and evidently determined to make the most of it, "asI said, we stayed out that night later than we meant to, and I didn'twaste no time getting home after I left the depot. So, when I gotto Fair Oaks, I thought I'd take the shortest cut, and so I come inby the south gate, off from the side street, and took the patharound the lake to get to the stables."

  "What lake do you mean?" interrupted the coroner.

  "The small lake back of the grove in the south part of the grounds.Well, I was hurrying along through that grove, and all of a suddenI seen a man standing on the edge of the lake with his back towardsme. He was very tall, and wore an ulster that came nearly to hisfeet, and he looked so queer that I stepped out of the path andbehind some big trees to watch him. I hadn't no more than done so,when he stooped and picked up something, and come right up the pathtowards me. The moon was shining, had been up about two hours, Ishould say, but his back was to the light and I couldn't see hisface, nor I didn't want him to see me. After he'd got by I steppedout to watch him and see if he went towards the house, but hedidn't; he took the path I had just left and walked very fast tothe south gate and went out onto the side street."

  "In which direction did he then go?" asked the coroner.

  "He went up onto the main avenue and turned towards the town."

  "Can you describe his appearance?"

  "Only that he was tall and had very black hair; but his face was inthe shadow, so I couldn't tell how he looked."

  "What did he pick up from the ground?"

  "I couldn't see very plain, but it looked like a small, square boxdone up in paper.
"

  "You did not try to call any one?"

  "No, sir. The man didn't go near the house, and I didn't thinkmuch about it until Uncle Mose told me yesterday morning that thenight before he seen--"

  "Never mind what he saw; we will let him tell his own story. Wasthat all you saw?"

  "No, sir; it wasn't," replied Brown, with a quick side glancetowards Mrs. LaGrange, who occupied the same position as on thepreceding day. "I was going along towards the stables, thinkingabout that man, and all of a sudden I noticed there was a brightlight in one of the rooms up-stairs. The curtains wasn't drawn,and I thought I'd see whose room it was, so I walked up towards thehouse carefully, and I saw Mr. Mainwaring's secretary. He lookedawfully pale and haggard, and was walking up and down the room kindof excited like. Just then I happened to step on the gravelled walkand he heard me, for he started and looked kind of frightened andlistened a moment, and then he stepped up quick and extinguished thelight, and I was afraid he'd see me then from the window, so Ihurried off. But I thought 'twas mighty queer-"

  "Mr. Scott was dressed, was he?" interrupted the coroner.

  "Yes, sir," Brown answered, sullenly.

  "Did you go directly to your room?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "What time was this?"

  "I heard the clock strike three just after I got in."

  "You saw or heard nothing more?"

  "No, sir."

  "You knew nothing of what had occurred at the house until thegardener told you in the morning?"

  "N--yes--no, sir," Brown stammered, with another glance towardsMrs. LaGrange, who was watching him closely.

  "What did you say?" demanded the coroner.

  "I said I didn't know what had happened till Uncle Mose told me,"Brown answered, doggedly.

  "That will do," said the coroner, watching the witness narrowly ashe resumed his place among the servants.

  During the latter part of Brown's testimony, quick, telegraphicglances had been exchanged between Scott and Mr. Sutherland, andone or two slips of paper, unobserved by any one but Merrick, hadpassed from one to the other.

  Scott was well aware that the statements made by the coachman haddeepened suspicion against himself. He paid little attention tothe crowd, however, but noted particularly the faces of the guestsat Fair Oaks. Ralph Mainwaring's, dark with anger; that of thegenial Mr. Thornton coldly averted; young Mainwaring's superciliousstare, and his sister's expression of contemptuous disdain; and ashe studied their features his own grew immobile as marble. Suddenlyhis glance encountered Miss Carleton's face and was held for amoment as though under a spell. There was no weak sentimentalitythere, no pity or sympathy,--he would have scorned either,--butthe perfect confidence shining in her eyes called forth a quickresponse from his own, though not a muscle stirred about thesternly-set mouth. She saw and understood, and, as her eyes fell,a smile, inexplicable and mysterious, flashed for an instant acrossher face and was gone.

  "John Wilson," announced the coroner, after a slight pause.

  A middle-aged man, rather dull in appearance, except for a pair ofkeenly observant eyes, stepped forward with slow precision.

  "You are Mr. Ralph Mainwaring's valet, I believe?" said the coroner.

  "That I am, sir," was the reply.

  "Have you been for some time in his employ?"

  The man peered sharply at Dr. Westlake from under his heavy brows,and replied, with great deliberation, "Nigh onto thirty years, sir."

  Then, noting the surprise in his interlocutor's face, he added, withdignity, "The Wilsons, sir, have served the Mainwarings for threegenerations. My father, sir, was valet to the father of the deadHugh Mainwaring, the Honorable Ralph Maxwell Mainwaring, sir."

  A smile played over the features of young Mainwaring at these words,but Scott started involuntarily, and, after studying Wilson's faceintently for a moment, hastily pencilled a few words on a slip ofpaper which he handed to Mr. Sutherland, and both watched thewitness with special interest.

  His testimony differed little from that given by Hardy and by thebutler. He stated, however, that, after accompanying Mr. RalphMainwaring to the scene of the murder, the latter sent him to summonMr. Scott; but on his way to the young gentleman's room he saw Mr.Whitney in advance of him, who called the secretary and immediatelyreturned with him to the library.

  "Was Mr. Scott already up when Mr. Whitney called him?" the coronerinquired, quickly.

  "He was up and dressed, sir," was the reply.

  Wilson also corroborated the butler's statement that Walter LaGrangewas not seen about the premises until luncheon, and stated, inaddition, that the horse belonging to young LaGrange was missingfrom the stables until nearly noon. Having mingled very little withthe servants at Fair Oaks, he had but slight knowledge concerning theoccurrences of the day preceding the murder. His testimony wastherefore very brief.

  "Katie O'Brien, chambermaid," was next called; and in response ayoung Irish woman quietly took her place before the coroner. Sheanswered the questions addressed her as briefly as possible, butwith deliberation, as though each word had been carefully weighed.

  "Did you have charge of the private rooms of Mr. Mainwaring?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "You took care of his rooms as usual Wednesday?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Did you see Mr. Mainwaring during the day or evening?"

  "I met him once or twice in the halls."

  "When did you last see him?"

  "About two o'clock Wednesday afternoon."

  "State how you first heard of his death."

  "I was working in the halls up-stairs about seven that morning andheard running back and forth, as if there was trouble. I went outinto the front hall and met the butler, and he told me Mr. Mainwaringhad been murdered."

  "Did you go in to see him at that time?"

  "Yes, sir, for a moment."

  "Did you notice anything unusual in his rooms?"

  "I didn't notice anything unusual in Mr. Mainwaring's rooms."

  "Did you in any room?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "In what one?"

  "In Mr. Scott's room, a little later."

  "State what you observed."

  "A few minutes after I left the library I saw Mr. Scott come out ofhis room and go away with Mr. Whitney, and I thought I would go inand do up the room. So I went in, but the bed was just as I hadmade it up the day before. It hadn't been slept in nor touched.Then things was strewn around considerable, and the top drawer ofhis dressing-case was kept locked all the forenoon until he went tothe city."

  "When did he go to the city?"

  "About noon."

  "Did you see Mr. Scott the day or evening preceding Mr. Mainwaring'sdeath?"

  "No, sir; but I know he was locked in Mr. Mainwaring's library allthe afternoon, after the folks had gone out driving."

  "How do you know the library was locked?"

  "I was sweeping in the corridor, and I heard him unlock the doorwhen the butler came up with some gentleman's card."

  "Did you see the gentleman who came up-stairs later?"

  "No, sir."

  "Did you see Walter LaGrange at any time during yesterday forenoon?"

  The witness colored slightly, but replied, "I think I met him onceor twice; I don't remember just when."

  "He was away from home part of the time, was he not?"

  "I don't know where he was."

  Nothing further of importance could be learned from the witness,and, as it was then past twelve, a short recess was taken untilafter lunch.

  Scott took his place at the table with the guests, seemingly alikeindifferent to cold aversion or angry frowns. He was conscious thatMiss Carleton was watching him, her manner indicating the same frankfriendliness she had shown him on the preceding day, and in responseto a signal from her, as they rose from the table, he followed herinto one of the drawing-rooms, joining her in a large alcove window,where she motioned him to a seat on a low divan by her side.


  "You have made a bitter enemy in Mrs. LaGrange," she said, archly;"and she has marshalled her forces against you."

  "Do you think so?" he asked, with an amused smile.

  "Certainly. She displayed her tactics this morning. I am positivethat much of the testimony was given in accordance with her orders."

  "For the most part, however, the witnesses stated facts," Scottreplied, watching her closely.

  "Yes; but facts may be so misrepresented as to give an impressionquite the reverse of the truth."

  "That is so. And a misrepresentation having a foundation of truthis the hardest to fight. But," he added, in a lighter tone, "allthis testimony against me does not seem to have produced the sameimpression upon you that it has upon the others. Your suspicionsdo not seem, as yet, to have been very thoroughly aroused."

  "Perhaps my suspicions are as dormant as your own apprehensions.I fail to detect the slightest anxiety on your part as to theoutcome of this, one way or another."

  "No," he replied, after a pause; "I feel no anxiety, only resentmentthat circumstances have conspired against me just at this time, andcontempt for people who will be led by appearances rather than theirown judgment."

  "People sometimes use very little judgment where their own personalinterests are concerned."

  "In that case," said Scott, as they rose to return to the library,where the others had already preceded them, "I suppose the word ofone unprincipled woman and of three or four ignorant servants willbe allowed to outweigh mine."

  They had reached the library and Miss Carleton made no reply, butScott again saw the same inscrutable little smile play over herfeatures, and wondered at its meaning.