CHAPTER XI.
THE RED DELF AMPHORA.
The candle, stepped in a puddle of wax, burnt up steadily. There wasn'tthe ghost of a draught in the place. The walls were dry-built, buttheir thickness was so great that no breath drove in from the outside,and the air of the chamber was heavy and earthlike. The place wasbone-dry. I picked up the billiard chalk, and felt that the green paperwrapping was crisp and stiff. The name of Rolandi et Cie. was printedupon it, but there was nothing which told me whence it came or how longit had been there. Only that scribbled word _Hereingefallen_ onthe newly-scraped plaster seemed to fix a date on the spoiler's visit.It appeared to me that no one would have taken the trouble to chalk upa jibe unless he had good reasons for supposing that some one elsewould come after to read and appreciate it. And yet this was only aguess. The whole affair was too mysterious to make out any settledtheory from the slim data which lay before me.
I got up, and went down the entrance passage, taking the candle withme. Going on past the place where we had broken in, I found marks whereanother roofing flag had been moved and replaced. It was under the spotwhere we had noted the torn-up turf, and I came to a conclusion thatthe sleek black pigs of Minorca had been maligned. But--well, what wasthe use of puzzling on? Much best to shrug the shoulders, say "Kismet,"use strong language according to taste, and accept for granted thatevery man's fate was writ big upon his forehead.
A blurred noise of moaning came down the passage-way from the blackheart of the Talayot. "That other poor devil's coming to his sensesagain, and is feeling lonely," thought I, and retraced my steps. Thelittle man was talking a bit incoherently, whimpering to himself thewhile, and mopping his face with a clammy pocket-handkerchief. He was atolerably poor sight.
"Look here, my son," said I: "you've lost your starch, and you'd bettergo home."
"Whatever did I come for?"
"Why, to grab something that you've missed, and that I've missed too.It's best to be philosophical over it, and clear out quietly and notgossip. Personally, I can do all the necessary ridicule myself. I'm notover-ambitious about spreading the tale, and getting indiscriminatechaff thrown in from all four quarters of the compass."
"Then you think there is no hope of getting the Recipe at all."
"The event is with Allah, and I am not in his confidence."
"I must request you not to be profane in my presence, Mr. Cospatric."
"H'm! I'm feeling as if a little profanity would do me good just now."
"Then let me use the word 'blasphemy.' I object strongly to having myears polluted by it. Blasphemy----"
"Oh, curse you," I broke out savagely, "stow that rubbish. Aftercoquetting with murder, you've little call to preach about minormorals. I guess we're both fairly rabid just now, and if nagging isyour favourite safety-valve, you'd better screw it down; otherwiseyou'll get hurt."
We stood there facing one another, the candle feebly illuminating us upto the knees, the upper parts of our bodies showing only in dimoutline. For a good five minutes neither spoke. At last Weems announcedhis intention of departing, and was promptly given leave to go anywherefrom hell upwards. He went down the passage-way, but, being too shortto reach the gap in the roof, asked for assistance. I blew out thecandle and went and hove him up, and afterwards climbed to outer airand sunshine myself. He was standing by the lip of the pit, clenchingand unclenching his fists, shivering, sweating, and periodicallygroaning.
A thought struck me, and I promptly gave him the benefit of it withoutreserve.
"We're in a nice pickle, Mr. Weems, aren't we? You've spent a lot ofthe money you're so close-fisted about, and will have to travel cheapif you mean getting home again. And I'm in a ten times worse fix. I'vechucked up a steamer-berth at Genoa; I'm on a God-forsaken island wherethere's next to no sea-traffic; and I've run up debts with no prospectof repayment. It looks a bit as if jail's somewhere very close under mylee. And whom have we to thank for it? Why you, my sportsman, and noone else."
"Great heavens, what do you mean?"
"Why, that word _Hereingefallen_ shows that the chap who lootedthis Talayot knew we were on the track; and as I haven't mentioned aword about the affair to any one except Haigh, it stands to reasonyou've split."
"I assure you, Mr. Cospatric----"
"Oh, very likely you didn't do it on purpose. But you've got intoconversation with some smart fellow, who's pumped you carefully withoutletting you get an inkling of what he's got hold of."
"Upon my word of honour as a gentleman, sir----"
"Faith, gentleman! your word of honour! What's that worth?"
"I must say you are very--very--er--rude. I would have you rememberthat I am a graduate of Oxford, and as such----"
"Of course take brevet rank as 'gentleman.' An 'M.A. and a gentleman.'Lovely!"
"And you," shouted the little man, with a sudden spasm of rage--"youwho presume to lecture me are a man who has been expelled from Cambridge,a man of no means and no profession, a blackmailer--a--a----"
He spluttered and stopped for want of epithets.
"Blackleg," I suggested, "_chevalier d'industrie_, and all the rest ofit. Very well; I'll admit the whole indictment if it pleases you.And"--I laughed, and stopped to load and light a pipe--"and now let'sstop slanging one another like a pair of drabs in a sailor's pothouse,and go our several ways. I'm sure I don't want to see your face again,and I don't suppose you're anxious to feast your eyes on mine."
"I'm not," said Weems.
Those were the last words I heard him speak. We climbed the roadsidewall to set off, he towards Alayor, and I by the way I had come, and,so far as I know, never set eyes upon one another again.
I strolled heavily on, musing sourly enough to myself, and feelingutterly dispirited. There had been moments when life had appeared to meto be of a very dusky gray, but never before had I seen it all black,with no single tinge of lighter colour. I looked back over my vagabondexistence, and thought what a hopeless muddle it had been. Even Weemswas to be envied, although his trade was the one trade on earth which Imost thoroughly loathed.
In fact, till I opened the main road to Mahon the blue devils were infull possession, and made the most of their time. But there a flash ofmemory pulled me up all-standing, and caused me to give hoots of joyand delight, and sent me to the right-about whence I had come, at avery different pace.
* * * * *
It was late that night when I dragged my feet up the hotel stairs toour quarters; and as I had fed on nothing that day save prickly pears(which have but a transient effect on the stomach) and oranges (whichare not much more filling), I told Haigh to order a big dinner, at thesame time mentioning that I hadn't got the Recipe.
"The feeding-hour's past, dear boy," said he, blinking at me anxiously,"and the regular meal's over. I'm afraid I've strained our credit a bitto-day. Don't you think the best thing we can do is to stroll down tothe cutter, fill your tummy on corned horse there, and help me slipmoorings unostentatiously after dark? I'm afraid our spec. has rathermissed fire here, and I don't want to expiate the offence by a spell of_carcel_. You see I've kept out of that so far during these vagromyears, and I don't want to break record before it's necessary."
I laughed boisterously. "Prison be damned! Look there!" And I pulledout of my jacket pocket a little two-lugged red earthenware pot, andpoured out a chinking heap of something that glinted with many coloursin the lamplight. "Look there! Essence of rainbows, a good half-pint.Who says half a loaf isn't better than no bread?"
"Good Lord!" said Haigh. And after a pause, "Who have you beenrobbing?"
"Grub first, and then yarn. I've borne the burden and heat of the day,and I'm very nearly cooked."
"But are you sure they ain't duffers?"
"Duffers, your grandmother! Look at 'em."
"Can't see very clearly to-night, dear boy. Day's been a bit wet,thanks to my Juggins and his kind efforts. But I'll soon find out." Andoff he went to the window with a handful of the
crystals, and scratchedthe glass with them, satisfying himself that they were really diamonds.
"Michael Cospatric," said he, "'tis a great man y'are, and I'll just godown and let on to the landlord in confidence that you're an Americanmarquis travelling incognito."
The resources of the hotel had distinct limits, but Haigh's influenceand eloquence strained them to the very verge that night. I did notmerely feed--I dined; and in consequence spoke of the day's heat asglorious sunshine, saw only the humours of Weems's freaks, and evenpassed over the disappointment at the loss of the Recipe withoutpainting it in over sombre colours. It isn't in my nature to bemiserable or morbid when I've either a good meal under my belt or themeans of getting others stowed within my pockets; and so beingpossessed of both these desiderata, I freely admitted to Haigh thatthis terrestrial life was thoroughly well worth living.
"One thing is clear," said Haigh, as I relit my pipe after finishing afull and exhaustive account of the day's doings--"Weems hasn't beenpumped. You've bawled the story abroad yourself."
"How's that, and where?"
"In the _caffe_ at Genoa. You said there was a man sitting besideyou?"
"Not beside, but comparatively near--say a dozen yards off. Yes, Iremember him--a good-looking fellow in coloured pince-nez. But he'd 'noSassenach.' Weems had been talking to him just before, and had foundout that. And so as he and I spoke in nothing else but English, I don'tsee how the other could have made out what we were jabbering about."
"Do you always parade all your accomplishments, dear boy? Not much. Ialso never make fifty breaks at billiards before a mixed audience. Andyour friend with the spectacles was the same. Moreover, he saw thatWeems was a garrulous little beast, and not inviting to talk to. So hejust followed the John Chinaman trick and said 'No sabe,' and listenedunnoticed."
"Commend me for a most particular greenhorn."
"Not of necessity. It's an easy mistake to fall into, dear boy. And,besides, I don't know that you were trapped that way, after all; it'sonly a guess on my part."
"By Jove, you must have hit upon the right thing, though, and for thisreason. I only told Weems about the Recipe. I kept back the item aboutspecimens being buried under the writing, as a sort of _bonnebouche_; and as matters turned out, never told a soul about it. So,you see, the man who looted the Talayot could certainly not haveoverhauled the Diary, or he would never have left this little red urnfull of gems. I found it where Lully buried it six hundred years ago,the lid waxed over, and stamped with an alembic and the man's ownfamily coat of arms. Gad, I wonder where that signet ring's got tonow."
"Never mind that trifle, old chappie. We've got enough of thegentleman's family jewellery to be able to do without a trumpery goldring. It's the rest of the legacy that I've got my covetousness uponnow. Where's that gone to? You didn't happen to inquire of yourfarmeress person whether she'd had any other visitors witharchaeological tastes during the last few days?"
"I didn't; but I don't think she knew of any one being about on thattack, or she'd have told me about it. The woman was garrulousnesspersonified."
"Still there's no harm in returning there to-morrow and pushinginquiries a little further."
"Not the least. It stands to reason some one has been inside theTalayot; and thanks to this island being a small one, with a goodaverage of inhabitants to the acre, we should, if we push inquiries farenough, find out who the explorer was and when he went there."
With that we left the subject, and Haigh went on to relate what a dayhe'd had with the Juggins before that worthy finally tore himself awayto catch the Mallorca steamer; which topic, being treated with ahumorous touch, kept us in merriment for the rest of the evening.
Next day I lazed, and Haigh, taking his turn on duty, rode down to theneighbourhood of Talaiti de Talt, and brought back news that mystifiedus still further. The good woman who owned the farm knew nothing aboutthe matter, neither did the ploughman from whom I had bought thethree-angled hoe; but a stonemason in the cemetery above Alayorreported as follows:--
He had seen three men, strangers, come up the road from Ferreiras andwalk down that towards Alayor. The time was after midnight, and as hehad finished the work which had detained him so long--to wit, opening avault for the reception of a fresh tenant on the morrow--he strolledhomewards after them. But as they passed on straight through the townhe got a bit curious, and, keeping out of sight, followed astern, alongthe narrow country roads which led to nowhere special. He saw them pullup before the great tumble-down Talayot which stands opposite the bigstone altar, and watched them produce lantern, shovel, and pickaxe, andbegin to dig; after which, feeling that his interest had evaporated (sohe said), or, more probably, being oppressed with sleepiness, hereturned to Alayor, and soon had his head under the bedclothes.
Now this was all understandable enough; but when that inquisitivetombstone artificer deliberately affirmed, in spite of many attempts toshake his memory, that the spoiling of the Talayot had taken place onthe night immediately preceding our arrival in Mahon and the arrival ofhis most Catholic Majesty's mail steamer _Antiguo Mahones_, thenit seemed to Haigh and myself either that somebody was lying mostblackly, or that we ourselves could not believe certain of our ownsenses which we had hitherto considered strictly reliable. For duringthe gale there had been absolutely no steam communication with Mahonfrom the Continent, and to Ciudadella steamers never run at any time.
"Of course," said Haigh, slowly swinging round the contents of hisglass and blinking thoughtfully at them--"of course there's the cable,which nine days out of ten is in working order. And as this show seemsto be run on lines suitable for some place half-way between EgyptianHall and the Bethlehem Institution, we need be surprised at preciouslittle. But the idea of your _caffe_ friend with the spectaclescabling across for some one here to copy the Recipe for him and send itback by post is a leetle too strong. Of course the chances are severalmillions to one against his knowing a soul in the island, much less theaddress of such a person; but even supposing that did occur, and he hadan intimate friend here, we'll say, for the sake of argument, atFerreiras, why should he trust that friend? He must see the friendwould understand that the opportunity was one which would not occuragain in several score of lifetimes; and he might lay his boots on itthat the friend, be he never so confidential and honest, would not failto profit by the matter for his own ends. Because, you see, this earthis peopled by human beings and not archangels. And besides thistrifling objection, doesn't it strike you that the message would neverland in the confidential friend's fingers at all?"
"I don't quite see that."
"It's simple, though. The message is handed in at Genoa. I thinkthere's a through wire from there to Marseille. Thence it goes toValencia, by which time it has been overhauled by at least threetelegraph clerks and all their intimate friends. One cable crosses toIvica, another continues on to Mallorca, and a third crosses to thisisland. Knowing the weakness of the Spaniard for making his work ascumbersome as possible, it's a small estimate to say that the messageis--or ought to be--fingered by at least six more men before it gets tothe delivering office. And do you suppose that out of all those poordevils of telegraph clerks there wouldn't be at least one who wouldforswear his vows and pocket the information? No, no; 'tisn't goodenough. If your man was smart enough to eavesdrop, you can lay to it hewasn't a sufficiently stupendous idiot to shout his secret down atelegraph wire."
"There's such a thing as cipher, though."
"There is," said Haigh dryly; "but I think we can make bold to leavethat out of the calculations. The odds are piled up star-high, as itis, against Mr. Spectacles having a confidential agent here at all whomhe would be inclined to trust with such a job. But when you supposethat the pair of them have a ready-arranged cipher in full workingorder, why, then, infinity is a small figure for the chances againstit. Cabling is out of the question, old chappie. In fact, set alongsideof that the idea of flying across carries ordinary probability withit."
"And as," I added, "the port ca
ptain at Ciudadella wires that he hashad no single incoming vessel during the last ten days, and we knowthat none have come into Port Mahon except the fleet and the _AntiguoMahones_ and ourselves, we've arrived at the most unpickabledeadlock that two grown men ever scratched their heads over."
"That," said Haigh, "is about the size of it; and so I vote we just letthe Recipe slide, and enjoy ourselves on the other goods the gods havekindly provided. Come across to the next room. The conductor of theopera company's staying there, and if the opera company's rank bad, theconductor, at any rate, is a musician."
The Recipe for Diamonds Page 12
