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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: My Adventure in the Flying Scotsman; A Romance of London and North-Western Railway Shares - -Author: Eden Phillpotts - -Release Date: June 12, 2017 [EBook #54896] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVENTURE IN THE FLYING SCOTSMAN *** - - - - -Produced by readbueno, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - - -<p class="ph1"> -A RAILWAY ROMANCE.</p> -<hr class="tb" /> -<p class="ph3"> -MY ADVENTURE</p> -<p class="ph5"> -IN</p> -<p class="ph2"> -THE FLYING SCOTSMAN. -</p> -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus02.jpg" alt="title" /> -</p> - - - -<p class="ph3"> -MY ADVENTURE</p> -<p class="ph5"> -IN</p> -<p class="ph2"> -THE FLYING SCOTSMAN:</p> -<p class="ph3"> -<i>A ROMANCE OF</i></p> -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="title" /> -</p> - -<p class="ph5" style="margin-top: 5em;"> -BY</p> -<p class="ph3"> -EDEN PHILLPOTTS.</p> -<p class="ph6" style="margin-top: 10em;"> -LONDON:<br /> -JAMES HOGG AND SONS,<br /> -7 LOVELL'S COURT, PATERNOSTER ROW.<br /> -1888.</p> -<p class="ph6"> -<i>All Rights reserved.</i> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph6" style="margin-top: 5em;"> -<span class="smcap">Richard Clay & Sons</span>, -<br /> -<span class="smcap">BREAD STREET HILL, LONDON</span>; -<br /> -<i>Bungay, Suffolk</i>. -</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2">INTRODUCTION.</p> - - -<p>The following story was told me by that meek but estimable little -man who forms the central figure in it. I have made him relate the -strange vicissitudes of his life in the first person, and, by doing -so, preserve, I venture to believe, some quaintness of thought and -expression that is characteristic of him.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph3">MY ADVENTURE</p> - -<p class="ph5">IN</p> - -<p class="ph2">THE FLYING SCOTSMAN.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER I.</p> - -<p class="center">A DANGEROUS LEGACY.</p> - - -<p><span class="uppercase">The</span> rain gave over about five o'clock, and the sun, having struggled -unavailingly all day with a leaden November sky, burst forth in fiery -rage, when but a few short minutes separated him from the horizon. His -tawny splendour surrounded me as I trudged from Richmond, in Surrey, to -the neighbouring hamlet of Petersham. Above me the wet, naked branches -of the trees shone red, and seemed to drip with blood; the hedgerows -sparkled their flaming gems; in the meadows, which I struck across to -save time, parallel streaks of crimson lay along the cart-ruts. All -nature glowed in the lurid light, and, to a mind fraught with much -trouble and anxiety, there was something sinister in the slowly dying -illumination, in the lowering, savage sky, in the bars of blood that -sank hurtling together into the west, and in the vast cloudlands of -gloom that were now fast bringing back the rain and the night.</p> - -<p>Should you ask what reason I, John Lott, a small, middle-aged, banking -clerk, who lived in North London, might have for thus rushing away from -the warm fire, good wife, pretty daughter, and comforting tea-cake, -that were all at this moment awaiting me somewhere in Kilburn, I -would reply, that death, sudden and startling, had brought about this -earthquake in my orderly existence. Should you again naturally suggest -that a four-wheeled cab might have effected with greater cleanliness -and dispatch, than my short legs, the country journey between Richmond -and Petersham, I would admit the fact, but, at the same time, advance -sufficiently sound reasons why that muddy walk was best undertaken -on foot. For, touching this death, but one other living man could -have equal interest in it with myself; and for me, especially, were -entwined round about it issues of very grave and stupendous moment. -Honour, rectitude, my duty to myself and to my neighbour, together -with other no less important questions, were all at stake; and upon -my individual judgment, blinded by no thoughts of personal danger or -self-interest, must the case be decided. I had foreseen this for some -years, had given much consideration to the matter; but no satisfactory -solution of the difficulties at any time presented itself, and now the -long anticipated circumstance arrived, as it always does with men of -my calibre, to find him most involved and concerned in the conduct of -affairs, least qualified to cope with them. Why I walked to Oak Lodge, -Petersham, then, was to gain a few minutes, to collect my wandering -wits and acquire a mental balance capable of meeting the troubles that -awaited me. What I had been unable to accomplish in two years, however, -did not seem likely to be effected in twenty minutes; and, indeed, the -angry sunset, together with an element of grave personal danger already -mentioned, combined to drive all reasonable trains of thought from my -head. Ultimately I arrived at my destination, with a mind about as -concentrated and purposes about as strong as those of a drowned worm.</p> - -<p>And wherefore all this misery, do you suppose? Simply because an -estimable lady had just been pleased to leave me a comfortable matter -of ten thousand pounds. So far good; but when I say that I am not -related to the deceased, that her next of kin has for the past fifteen -years been seeking an opportunity to take my life, and that a meeting -between us is now imminent, it will be noticed the case presents -certain unusual difficulties. This assertion—that a man has sought -to rob me of my insignificant existence for fifteen years—doubtless -appears so preposterous, that it is best I should clearly explain the -matter at once. A scrap of the past must here, then, be intercalated -between my arrival at Oak Lodge and the events which followed it.</p> - -<p>Upon my father's death, my mother, who was at that time not much over -twenty years of age, married again with one George Beakbane, a wealthy -farmer and owner of a comfortable freehold estate in Norfolk. This -property had for its title the family name of Beakbane.</p> - -<p>My step-father, after one son was born to him, lost his young wife, -and was left with two infants upon his hands. Right well he treated -both, making no sort of distinction, but sharing his love between us, -and, after we were of an age to benefit from a man's training, bringing -us up under his own eye and in his own school. It was a Spartan entry -upon life for young Joshua Beakbane and myself; but whereas I thrived -under the puritanic and colourless regime, Mr. Beakbane's own son, a -youth by nature prone to vicious habits and evil communications, chafed -beneath the iron rule, which only became more unbending in consequence. -There was much to be said on either side, no doubt; though none could -have foreseen, as a result of those trifling restraints and paternal -rebukes, the great and terrible punishment that would fall both upon -father and son.</p> - -<p>When he was twenty-one years of age, Joshua Beakbane, in a fit of mad -folly, that to me is scarcely conceivable, ran away from the Farm, -taking with him about five hundred pounds of his father's money. He -was pursued, arrested, and committed for trial at the next assizes. -Old George Beakbane, a just, proud man, sprung from a race that had -ever been just and proud, would listen to no plea of mercy. There was -none to speak for the culprit but me—his half-brother; and my prayers -were useless. The father sent his son to gaol, blotted his name from -the family tree, and, after that day, regarded me as his heir. That I -should change my name to Beakbane was a stipulation of my step-father, -and this I had no objection to doing. My inclinations and ambitions -were towards art, but such prospects as a painter's life could promise -were distasteful to George Beakbane, and I relinquished them. Joshua's -sentence amounted to ten years of penal servitude, and it was the -wish of my life at that time to some day bring about a reconciliation -between father and son. Any of the great advantages accruing to myself -through the present arrangements I would have gladly foregone to see -the old man happy; for him I loved sincerely, and clearly saw, as the -time went by, that all joy had faded out of his life after his son -went to prison. Long before the ten years were fulfilled, however, -George Beakbane died and I succeeded to the estate. And here I solemnly -declare and avow, before heaven and men, that my intention from the -first moment of accepting the mastership of Beakbane, was, by doing so, -to benefit him whom I still considered the rightful owner thereof. Upon -Joshua's release I fully purposed an act of abdication in his favour. I -should, had all gone well, have taken such legal measures as might be -convenient to the case, and reinstated my relative in that situation -which, but for his own reckless folly, had all along been proper to -him. Now the ability to do so much for Joshua Beakbane would not have -been mine, unless I had consented to become the heir; because, failing -me, old George Beakbane might have sought and found another inheritor -for his property; and one, likely enough, without my moral principles -or ultimate intentions.</p> - -<p>All was ordered very differently to what I hoped and desired, however. -One short year before my half-brother would have relieved me of my -responsibilities, a concatenation of dire events brought ruin and -destruction upon me. I have never attempted to deny my own miserable -weakness in this matter. I had married during my stewardship, and -for my wife's brother, a man as I believed of sterling honesty and -considerable wealth, I consented to 'back' certain bills, as a matter -of convenience for some two or three months. Again I admit my criminal -frailty; but with the fact and its consequences we have now to deal. -My brother-in-law's entanglements increased, and he cut the knot by -blowing his brains out, leaving me with a stupendous mountain of debt -staring me in the face. The Beakbane property went to meet it. Every -acre was mortgaged, every mortgage foreclosed upon, the estate ceased -to exist as a whole. The debt was ultimately discharged, and I, with my -wife and child, came to London. These things reaching Joshua Beakbane's -ears about a month before his sentence expired, shattered his hopes and -ambitions for the future, left him absolutely a pauper, and terribly -excited his rage and indignation against me. I had not trusted myself -to tell him the fatal news; but in the ear of my messenger, a lawyer, -he hissed an awful oath that, did we ever meet, my life would pay the -debt I owed him. Knowing the man to have some of his father's iron -fixity of purpose, together with much varied wickedness peculiar to -himself, and for which our mutual mother was in no way responsible, -I took him at his word, changed my name yet again, and buried myself -in the metropolis. Here I very quickly found that my art was not of a -sort to keep my wife and child, when the question of painting to sell -came to be considered. I therefore sought more solid employment, and -was fortunate to obtain a position in Messrs. Macdonald's bank. Years -rolled by to the number of fifteen. Joshua Beakbane sought me high -and low; indeed, I am fully persuaded that his desire to take my life -became a monomania with him, for he left no stone unturned to come at -me. But I wore spectacles of dark blue glass when about in the streets, -and always shaved clean from the time of my entry on life in London. -Several times I met my half-brother, till becoming gradually assured of -my safety, I grew bold and employed a private detective to discover his -home and occupation. Thus I learned that most of his time was spent in -attending race meetings, and that he enjoyed some notoriety amongst the -smaller fry of bookmakers.</p> - -<p>Let the reader possess his soul in patience a short half page longer -and these tedious but necessary preliminaries will be ended. Miss -Sarah Beakbane-Minifie, the lady whose death has just been recorded, -was a near relation of my half-brother, but, of course, no connection -of mine. Me, however, she esteemed very highly, and always had done so, -from the time that my mother married into her family. Having watched -my career narrowly, being convinced of my integrity, misfortunes, and -honourable motives in the past, she had seen fit to regard me as a -martyr and a notable person; though her own kinsman received but scant -acknowledgment at her hands. And now her entire fortune, specie, bonds -and shares, was mine, and Joshua Beakbane found himself once more in -the cold. What were his feelings and intentions? I asked myself. Was -he still disposed as of old towards me, and would he prefer my life -to any earthly advancement I might now be in a position to extend to -him? Would he accept a compromise? Should I meet him at Petersham, -and if so, should I ever leave Oak Lodge excepting feet foremost? What -was my clear duty in the case, and would the doing of it be likely to -facilitate matters? Such were some of the questions to which I could -find no replies as I walked slowly through the mud, and then, feeling -that suspense only made the future look more terrific, struck across -the fields, as aforesaid, and became eager to reach my destination as -quickly as possible.</p> - -<p>Come what might, if alive, I was bound to start for Scotland on the -following day to be witness in a legal case pending against my firm; -and the recollection of this duty was uppermost in my thoughts when -I finally reached Oak Lodge. Martha Prescott and her husband, the -deceased lady's sole retainers, greeted me, and their grief appeared -sufficiently genuine as I was ushered by them to the drawing-room. This -apartment—charming enough in the summer when the French windows were -always open, and the garden without, a mass of red and white roses, -syringa, and other homely flowers—was now dark and cheerless. The -blinds were not drawn, the last dim gleams of daylight appeared more -dreary than total gloom. A decanter of port wine with some dried fruits -stood upon the table, and I am disposed to think that one, at least, -of the two men sitting by the fire had been smoking. For a moment I -believed the taller and younger of these to be my enemy, but a flicker -of fire-light showed the mistake as both rose to meet me.</p> - -<p>Mr. Plenderleath, my dead friend's solicitor, a flabby, pompous -gentleman, with a scent of eau-de-Cologne about him and a nice choice -of language, shook my hand and his head in the most perfect unison. -Joshua Beakbane, he informed me, had been communicated with, but as yet -no answer to the telegram was received.</p> - -<p>"For yourself, I beg you will accept my condolence and congratulations -in one breath, dear sir. When such a woman as Miss Beakbane-Minifie -must die, it is well to feel that such a man as Mr. Lott shall have -the administration of that which the blessed deceased cannot take with -her. My lamented client and your aunt has left you, dear sir, the -considerable fortune of one hundred thousand pounds."</p> - -<p>"She is not any relation; but, my good sir, the deceased lady always -led me to understand that ten thousand pounds or so was the sum-total -of her wealth."</p> - -<p>"The admirable woman intentionally deceived you, dear sir, in order -that your surprise and joy might be the greater. And by a curious -circumstance, which your aunt's eccentricities have effected, I can -this very evening show you most of your property, or what stands for -it."</p> - -<p>"Miss Beakbane-Minifie was not my aunt," I repeated; but Mr. -Plenderleath paid no heed to me and wandered on.</p> - -<p>"God forbid," he said, "that I should say any word which might reflect -in your mind, no matter how remotely, on the blessed defunct. Still -the truth remains—that your aunt, during the latter days of her life, -developed instincts only too common in age, though none the less -painful for that. A certain distrust, almost bordering upon suspicion, -prompted her to withdraw from my keeping the divers documents, -certificates, and so forth that represented the bulk of her property, -and which, I need hardly observe, were as safe in my fire-proof iron -strong-room as in the Bank of England. Have them she would, however, -and I confess to you, dear sir, that the knowledge of so much wealth -hidden in this comparatively lonely and ill-guarded old house has -caused me no slight uneasiness. But all is well that ends well, we -may now say, and the danger being past, need not revert to it. True, -this mass of money must stay here for the present, but, I assume, you -will not leave this establishment again until the last rites have been -performed. One more word and I have done. I find upon looking into the -estate that your aunt has been realizing considerable quantities of -stock quite recently upon her own judgment without any reference to me. -The wisdom of such negotiations we need not now discuss. Nothing but -good of the blessed dead. However, the money is here; indeed, no less -a sum than thirteen thousand pounds, in fifty-pound notes, lies upon -yonder table. Now your aunt—"</p> - -<p>"Please understand, sir," I explained testily, "that, once and for all, -the deceased lady was no relation to me whatever."</p> - -<p>I felt in one of those highly-strung, sensitive moods which men -occasionally chance upon, and in which the reiteration of some trivial -error or expression blinds them to proper reflection on the business -in hand, no matter how momentous. Moreover, the suggestion that I -should stop in the lonely house of death to guard my wealth that night, -was abominable. Without my wife or some equally capable person I would -not have undertaken such a vigil for the universe.</p> - -<p>"I apologize," said Mr. Plenderleath, in answer to my rebuke. "I was -about to remark when you interrupted me, that Miss Beakbane-Minifie's -principal source of increment was a very considerable number of shares -in the London and North-Western Railway. The certificates for these -are also here. Now, to conclude, dear sir. Upon Mr. Joshua Beakbane's -arrival, which should not be long delayed, you and he can appoint a day -for the funeral, after which event I will, of course, read the will -in the presence of yourself and such few others as may be interested -therein. Your aunt passed calmly away, I understand, about four o'clock -this morning. Her end was peace. For myself, I need only say that I -should not be here to-night in the usual order of events. But the good -Prescotts, ignorant of your address, telegraphed to me in their sad -desolation, and, as a Christian man, I deemed it my duty to respond to -their call without loss of time."</p> - -<p>Mr. Plenderleath sighed, bowed, and resumed his seat after drinking a -glass of wine. Candles were brought in, and I then explained to the -solicitor something of my relations with Joshua Beakbane, also the -danger that a possible meeting between us might mean for me. The legal -brain was deeply interested by those many questions this statement of -mine gave rise to. He saw the trial that any sojourn in Oak Lodge must -be to me, and was, moreover, made fully alive to the fact that I had -not the slightest intention of stopping there beyond another hour or -so. I own I was in a terribly nervous condition; and a man can no more -help the weakness of his nerves than the colour of his hair.</p> - -<p>It then transpired that the third person of our party was Mr. -Plenderleath's junior clerk, a taciturn, powerful young fellow, with -a face I liked the honest look of. He offered, if we approved the -suggestion, to keep watch and ward at Petersham during the coming -night. Mr. Plenderleath pooh-poohed the idea as being ridiculous beyond -the power of words to express; but finding I was not of his opinion, -declared that, for his part, if I really desired such an arrangement he -would allow the young man to remain in the house until after the will -was read and the property legally my own.</p> - -<p>"Personally I would trust Mr. Sorrell with anything," declared the -solicitor; "but whether you, a stranger to him, are right in doing -the same, I will not presume to say." The plan struck me as being -excellent, however, and was accordingly determined upon.</p> - -<p>And now there lay before me a duty which, in my present frame of mind, -I confess I had no stomach for. Propriety demanded that I should look -my last on the good friend who was gone, and I prepared to do so. -Slowly I ascended the stairs and hesitated at the bed-chamber door -before going into the presence of death. At this moment I felt no -sorrow at hearing a soft foot-fall in the apartment. Martha Prescott -was evidently within, and I entered, somewhat relieved at not having -to undergo the ordeal alone. My horror, as may be supposed, was very -great then to find the room empty. All I saw of life set my heart -thumping at my ribs, and fastened me to the spot upon which I stood. -There was another door at the further end of this room, and through -it I just caught one glimpse of Joshua Beakbane's broad back as he -vanished, closing the door after him. There could be no mistake. Two -shallow steps led up to the said door, and it only gave access to a -narrow apartment scarce bigger than a cupboard. The dead lady, with -two wax candles burning at her feet, lay an insignificant atom in -the great canopied bed. The room was tidy, and everything decent and -well ordered, save that the white cerement which was wrapped about -the corpse had been moved from off her face. But death so calm and -peaceful as this paled before the terror of what I had witnessed. I -dare not convince myself by rushing to the door through which my enemy -had disappeared. My hair stood upon end. A vile sensation, as of ants -creeping on my flesh, came over me. I turned, shuddering, and somehow -found myself once more with the men I had left. I told my adventure, -only to be politely laughed at by both. The young clerk, whose name was -Sorrell, offered to make careful search of the premises, and calling -the Prescotts, we went up with haste to seek the cause of my alarm. -The door through which, as I believed, Joshua Beakbane had made his -exit from the death-chamber yielded to us without resistance, and the -small receptacle into which it opened was empty. Some of the dead -lady's dresses were hung upon the walls, and these, with an old oaken -trunk containing linen, which had rosemary and camphor in it to keep -out the moths, were all we could find. The window was fastened, and -the wooden shutters outside in their place. Young Sorrell had some ado -to keep from laughing at my discomfiture, but we silently returned -past where the two candles were burning and rejoined Mr. Plenderleath. -That gentleman at my request consented to stay and dine, after which -meal he and I would return to town together. He urged me to drink -something more generous than claret, which, being quite unstrung, I did -do, and was gradually regaining my mental balance when a circumstance -occurred that threw me into a greater fit of prostration than before. -A telegram arrived for Mr. Plenderleath, and was read aloud by him. It -ran as follows:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>Joshua Beakbane died third November. Caught chill on -Cambridgeshire day of Newmarket Houghton Meeting. Body unclaimed, -buried by parish.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<p>"Now this communication—" began Mr. Plenderleath in his pleasing -manner, but broke off upon seeing the effect of the telegram on me.</p> - -<p>"My dear sir, you are ill. What is the matter now? You look as though -you had seen a ghost."</p> - -<p>"Man alive, <i>I have</i>!" I shrieked out. "What can be clearer? A vision -of Joshua Beakbane has evidently been vouchsafed me, and—and—I wish -devoutly that it were not so."</p> - -<p>The hatefulness of this reflection blinded me for some time to my own -good fortune. Here, in one moment, was all my anxiety and tribulation -swept away. The incubus of fifteen long years had rolled off my life, -and the future appeared absolutely unclouded. To this great fact the -solicitor now invited my attention, and congratulated me with much -warmth upon the happy turn affairs had taken. But it was long before -I could remotely realize the situation, long before I could grasp my -freedom, very long before I could convince myself that the shadow I had -seen but recently, flitting from the side of the dead, had only existed -in my own overwrought imagination.</p> - -<p>After dinner, while half an hour still remained before the fly would -call for Mr. Plenderleath and me, we went together through the papers -and memoranda he had collected from his late client's divers desks -and boxes. Young Sorrell was present, and naturally took considerable -interest in the proceedings.</p> - -<p>"Of course, Mr. Lott," he said, laughing, "against ghosts all my care -must be useless. And still, as ghosts are impalpable, they could hardly -walk off with this big bag here, and its contents."</p> - -<p>We were now slowly placing the different documents in a leathern -receptacle Mr. Plenderleath had found, well suited to the purpose.</p> - -<p>I was looking at a share certificate of the London and North-Western -Railway, when Mr. Sorrell addressed me again.</p> - -<p>"I am a great materialist myself, sir," he declared, "and no believer -in spiritualistic manifestations of any sort; but everybody should be -open to conviction. Will you kindly give me some description of the -late Mr. Joshua Beakbane? Then, if anything untoward appears, I shall -be better able to understand it."</p> - -<p>For answer, and not heeding upon what I was working, I made as good a -sketch as need be of my half-brother. Martha Prescott, who now arrived -to announce the cab, said as far as she remembered the original of the -drawing, it was life-like. It should have been so, for if one set of -features more than another were branded on my mind, those lineaments -belonged to Joshua Beakbane. When I had finished my picture, and not -before, I discovered that I had been drawing upon the back of a share -certificate already mentioned.</p> - -<p>Then Mr. Plenderleath and I left the gloomy, ill-lighted abode of -death, bidding Mr. Sorrel good-night, and feeling distinct satisfaction -at once again being in the open air. I speak for myself, but am -tolerably certain that, in spite of his pompous exterior, the solicitor -was well-pleased to get back to Richmond, and from the quantity of hot -brandy and water he consumed while waiting for the London train, I -gathered that even his ponderous nerves had been somewhat shaken.</p> - -<p>There was much for me to tell my wife and daughter on returning to -Kilburn, and the small hours of morning had already come before we -retired to sleep, and thank God for this wonderful change in our -fortunes.</p> - -<p>But the thought of that brave lad guarding my wealth troubled me. I saw -the silent house buried in darkness; I saw the great black expanse of -garden and meadow, the rain falling heavily down, and the trees tossing -their lean arms into the night. I thought of the little form lying even -more motionless than those who slept—mayhap with a dim ghostly watcher -still beside it. I thought, in fine, of many mysterious horrors, and -allowed my mind to move amidst a hundred futile alarms.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER II.</p> - -<p class="center">THE "FLYING SCOTSMAN."</p> - - -<p><span class="uppercase">With</span> daylight, or such drear apology for it as a London November -morning allows, I arose, prepared for my journey to the north, and -wrote certain letters before starting for the city. The monotonous -labours of a clerk's life were nearly ended now; the metropolis—a -place both my wife and I detested—would soon see the last of us; -already I framed in my mind the letter which should shortly be received -by the bank manager announcing my resignation. It may perhaps have -been gathered that I am a weak man in some ways, and I confess these -little preliminaries to my altered state gave me a sort of pleasure. -The ladies argued throughout breakfast as to the locality of our new -home, and paid me such increased attentions as befit the head of a -house who, from being but an unimportant atom in the machinery of a -vast money-making establishment, suddenly himself blossoms into a man -of wealth. Thus had two successive fortunes accrued to me through my -mother's second marriage; and no calls of justice or honour could -quarrel with my right to administer this second property as I thought -fit. For Joshua Beakbane had left no family, and, concerning others -bearing his name, I did not so much as know if any existed. To town -I went, and taking no pains to conceal my prosperity, was besieged -with hearty congratulations and desires to drink, at my expense, to -continued good fortune. How brief was that half-hour of triumph, and -what a number of friends I found among my colleagues in men whom I had -always suspected of quite a contrary disposition towards me!</p> - -<p>I had scarcely settled to a clear mastery of the business that would -shortly take me towards Scotland, when a messenger reached me from -Mr. Plenderleath. The solicitor desired to see me without delay, and -obtaining leave, I drove to his chambers in Chancery Lane.</p> - -<p>Never shall I forget the sorry sight my smug, sententious friend -presented; never before have I seen any fellow-creature so nearly -reduced to the level of a jelly-fish. He was sitting in his private -room, his letters unopened, his overcoat and scarf still upon him. A -telegram lay at his feet, after reading which he had evidently sank -into his chair and not moved again. He pointed to the message as I -entered, shutting the door behind me. It came from Petersham, and ran -as follows—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>Window drawing-room open this morning. Gentleman gone, bag gone.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<p>A man by nature infirm of purpose, will sometimes show unexpected -determination when the reverse might be feared from him; and now, -finding Mr. Plenderleath utterly crushed by intelligence that must be -more terrible to me than any other, I rose to the occasion in a manner -very surprising and gratifying to myself.</p> - -<p>"Quick! Up, man! This is no time for delay," I exclaimed. "For God's -sake stir yourself. We should be half way to Petersham by now. There -has been foul play here. Mr. Sorrell's life may be in danger, if not -already sacrificed. Rouse yourself, sir, I beg."</p> - -<p>He looked at me wonderingly, shook his head, and murmured something -about my being upon the wrong tack altogether. He then braced himself -to face the situation, and prepared to accompany me to Petersham. Upon -the way to Waterloo, we wired for a detective from Scotland Yard to -follow us, and in less than another hour were driving from Richmond to -Oak Lodge. Then, but not till then, did Mr. Plenderleath explain to me -his views and fears, which came like a thunderclap.</p> - -<p>"Your ardour and generous eagerness, dear sir, to succour those in -peril, almost moves me to tears," he began; "but these intentions are -futile, or I am no man of law. It is my clerk, Walter Sorrell, we must -seek, truly; but not where you would seek him. <i>He</i> is the thief, Mr. -Lott—I am convinced of that. I saw no reason last night to fear any -danger from without, and I hinted as much. My only care at any time was -the man of questionable morals, who has recently gone to his rest. No; -Sorrell has succumbed to the temptation, and it is upon my head that -the punishment falls."</p> - -<p>He was terribly prostrated, talked somewhat wildly of such recompense -as lay within his powers, and appeared to have relinquished all hopes -of my ever coming by my property again. This plain solution of the -theft had honestly never occurred to me, until advanced with such -certainty by my companion. The affair, in truth, appeared palpable -enough to the meanest comprehension, and I said nothing further about -violence or possible loss of life.</p> - -<p>Even more unquestionable seemed the solicitor's explanation when we -reached Petersham, and heard what the Prescotts had to tell us. The -local Inspector of Police and two subordinates were already upon -the scene, but had done nothing much beyond walk up and down on a -flower-bed outside the drawing-room window, and then re-enter the house.</p> - -<p>Sarah Prescott's elaboration of the telegram was briefly this:—</p> - -<p>She had lighted a fire in a comfortable bedroom on the upper floor, -and, upon asking the young man to come and see it, was surprised to -learn he proposed sitting up through the night. "My husband," said -Mrs. Prescott, "did not like the hearing of this, and was for watching -the gentleman from the garden just to see that he meant no harm; but -I over-persuaded him from such foolishness, as I thought it. The last -thing before going to my bed, I brought the gent a scuttle of coals and -some spirits and hot water. He was then reading a book he had fetched -down from that book-case, and said that he should do well now, what -with his pipe and the things I'd got for him. He gave me 'good-night' -as nice as ever I heard a gentleman say it; then I heard him lock the -door on the inside as I went away. This morning, at seven o'clock, I -fetched him a cup of tea and some toast I'd made. The door was wide -open, so was the window, and the bag that stood on the table last night -had gone. The gent wasn't there either, of course."</p> - -<p>Long we talked after this statement, waiting for the detective from -London to come. Continually some one or other of the men assembled -let his voice rise with the interest of the conversation. Then Mrs. -Prescott would murmur 'hush,' and point upwards to where the silent -dead was lying.</p> - -<p>A careful scrutiny of the drawing-room showed that Sorrell's vigil had -been a short one. The fire had not been made up after Mrs. Prescott -left the watcher; a novel, open at page five, lay face downwards upon -the table; a pipe of tobacco, which had only just been lighted and -then suffered to go out, was beside it, together with a tumbler of -spirit-and-water, quite full, and evidently not so much as sipped from. -The defaulter's hat and coat were gone from their place in the hall, -as also his stick. Mrs. Prescott had picked up a silk neckerchief -in the passage that led to the drawing-room from the hall. A chair -was overturned in the middle of the room; but beyond this no sign of -anything untoward could be found. A small seedy-looking man from -London soon afterwards arrived, and quickly and quietly made himself -master of the situation so far as it was at present developed. The -Prescotts and their information interested him chiefly. After hearing -all they could tell him he examined the room for himself, attaching -enormous importance to a trifle that had escaped our attention. This -was a candle by the light of which Walter Sorrell read his book. It had -evidently burned for some time after the room was deserted, but not -down to the socket. The grease had guttered all upon one side, and a -simple experiment showed the cause. Lighting another candle and placing -it on the same spot, it burned steadily until both window and door were -opened. Then, however, the flame flickered in the draught thus set up; -the grease began to gutter, and the candle threatened to go out at any -moment.</p> - -<p>"What do you gather from that?" I inquired of the detective.</p> - -<p>"This," he answered; "taking account of the open window and door, the -overturned chair and the candle left burning, it's clear enough that -when the gent did go out, he went in the devil of a hurry, made a bolt, -in fact, as though some one was on his track at the very start. There's -no one else in the house, you say?"</p> - -<p>"Only the blessed dead," said Mr. Plenderleath.</p> - -<p>But I thought involuntarily of what I had seen the preceding evening. -Could it be that some horrid vision had appeared in the still hours -of night, and that, eager for his employer's welfare, even in such a -terrible moment, the young man had seized my wealth and leapt out into -the dark night rather than face the dire and monstrous phantom?</p> - -<p>If so, what had become of him?</p> - -<p>The detective made no further remarks, and refused to answer any -questions, though he asked several. Then, after a long and fruitless -search in the grounds and meadowland adjacent, he returned to town, -his pocket-book well filled with information. A discovery of possible -importance was made soon afterwards. The robbery and all its known -circumstances had got wind in the neighbourhood, and now a labourer, -working by the Thames (which is distant from Petersham about five -hundred yards) appeared, bearing the identical leathern bag which had -been stolen. He had found it empty, stranded in some sedges by the -river's brim. Fired by the astuteness of him who had just returned to -town, I inquired which way the tide was running last evening. But, upon -learning, no idea of any brilliance presented itself to me.</p> - -<p>There was nothing to be done at Petersham; the scamp and his -ill-gotten possessions must be far enough away by this time; at least -Mr. Plenderleath said so, and I now returned to London with him. All -for the present then was over. All my suddenly acquired wealth had -vanished, and I was a poor clerk again. Yet how infinitely happier -might I consider myself now than in the past. "It may please God," I -said to myself, "of His mercy to yet return perhaps as much as half -of this good money; but it will not please Him to restore my terrible -relation—that I am convinced about."</p> - -<p>Upon first recalling my coming trip to Scotland I was minded to get -excused of it, but quickly came to the conclusion that nothing better -could have happened to me just now than a long journey upon other -affairs than my own. It would take me out of myself, and give my wife -and child a chance of recovering from the grief they must certainly be -in upon hearing the sad news.</p> - -<p>I wrote therefore to them on returning to my office, dined in the -city, and finally repaired to Euston. At ten minutes to nine o'clock -the "Flying Scotsman" steamed from the station, bearing with it, among -other matters, a first-class carriage of which I was the sole occupant -after leaving Rugby. I had books and newspapers, bought from force of -habit, but was not likely to read them, for my mind contained more -than sufficient material to feed upon. Very much of a trying character -occupied my brains as I sat and listened to my flying vehicle. Now -it roared like thunder as we rushed over bridges, now screamed -triumphantly as we whirled past silent, deserted stations. Anon we went -with a crash through archways, and once, with gradually slackening -speed and groaning breaks, shrieked with impatience at a danger signal -that barred the way. I watched the oil in the bottom of the lamp above -me dribble from side to side with every oscillation of the train, and -the sight depressed me beyond measure. What irony of fate was this! -Yesterday the London and North-Western Railway meant more than half my -entire fortune; now the stoker who threw coals into the great fiery -heart of the engine had more interest in the Company than I! Overcome -with these gloomy thoughts, I drew around the lamp that lighted my -carriage a sort of double silken shutter, and endeavoured to forget -everything in sleep, if it were possible.</p> - -<p>Sleep is as a rule not only possible but necessary to me after ten -o'clock in the evening, and I soon slumbered soundly in spite of my -tribulation.</p> - -<p>Upon waking with a start I found I was no longer alone. The train -was going at a tremendous pace; one of the circular curtains I had -drawn about the lamp had been pulled up, leaving me in the shade, but -lighting the other man who looked across from the further corner in -which he was sitting, and smiled at my surprise.</p> - -<p>It was Joshua Beakbane.</p> - -<p>I never experienced greater agony than in that waking moment, and until -the man spoke, thereby convincing me by the tones of his voice that he -was no spirit my mental suffering passes possibility of description in -words.</p> - -<p>"A fellow-traveller need not surprise you, sir," he said. "I got in -at Crewe, and you were sleeping so soundly that I did not wake you. I -took the liberty of reading your evening paper, however, and also gave -myself a little light."</p> - -<p>He was alive, and had quite failed to recognize me. I thanked him in -as gruff a voice as I could assume and looked at my watch. We had been -gone from Crewe above half an hour, and should be due at Wigan, our -next stopping-place, in about twenty minutes.</p> - -<p>Joshua Beakbane was a tall, heavily-built man, with a flat, broad -face, and a mouth that hardly suggested his great strength of purpose. -His heavy moustache was inclined to reddishness, and his restless eyes -had also something of red in them. He was clad in a loud tweed, with -ulster and hat of the same material. The man had, moreover, aged much -since I last saw him about five years ago. Finding me indisposed to -talk, he took a portmanteau from the hat-rail above him, unstrapped a -railway rug, wound it about his lower limbs, and then fell to arranging -such brushes, linen, and garments as the portmanteau contained.</p> - -<p>My benumbed senses were incapable of advancing any reason for what I -saw. Why had this man seen fit to declare himself dead? What was his -business in the North? Was it possible that he could be in league with -the runaway clerk? Had I in reality seen him lurking in the house at -Petersham?</p> - -<p>An explanation to some of these difficulties was almost immediately -forthcoming—as villainous and shameful an explanation as ever -unfortunate man stumbled upon. My enemy suddenly started violently, and -glancing up, I found him staring with amazement and discomfort in his -face at a paper that he held. Seeing me looking at him, he smothered -his expression of astonishment and laughed.</p> - -<p>"An infernal clerk of mine," he said, "has been using my business -documents as he does my blotting-paper. He'll pay for this to-morrow."</p> - -<p>For a brief moment Joshua Beakbane held the paper to the light, -and what had startled him immediately did no less for me: it was a -certain pencil portrait of the man himself on the back of a London and -North-Western railway share certificate.</p> - -<p>Some there are who would have tackled this situation with ease and -perhaps come well out of it; but to me, that am a small and shiftless -being at my best, the position I now found myself in was quite -intolerable. I would have given half my slender annual salary for a -stiff glass of brandy-and-water. The recent discovery paralyzed me. I -made no question that Joshua Beakbane had at least his share of the -plunder with him in the portmanteau; but how to take advantage of the -fact I could not imagine. Silence and pretended sleep were the first -moves that suggested themselves. A look or word or hint that could -suggest to the robber I remotely fathomed his secret, would doubtless -mean for me a cut throat and no further interest in "The Flying -Scotsman."</p> - -<p>Wigan was passed and Preston not far distant when I bethought me of a -plan that would, like enough, have occurred to any other in my position -an hour earlier. I might possibly get a message on to the telegraph -wires and have Joshua Beakbane stopped when he least expected such a -thing. I wrote therefore on a leaf of my pocket-book, but did so in -trembling, for should the man I was working to overthrow catch sight -of the words, even though he might not guess who I really was, he would -at least take me for a detective in disguise, and all must then be over.</p> - -<p>Thus I worded my telegram:—</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>Prepare to make big arrest at Carlisle. Small man will wave hand -from first-class compartment. Flying Scotsman.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<p>For me this was not bad. I doubled it up, put a sovereign in it, wrote -on the outside—"Send this at all hazards," and prepared to dispose of -it as best I might at Preston.</p> - -<p>Then fresh terrors held me on every side. Would the robber by any -unlucky chance be getting out at the next station? I made bold to ask -him. He answered that Carlisle was his destination, and much relieved, -I trusted that it might be so for some time.</p> - -<p>At Preston I scarcely waited for the train to stop before leaping to -the platform—as luck would have it on the foot of a sleepy porter. -He swore in the Lancashire dialect, and I pressed my message into -his hand. I was already back in the carriage again when the fool—I -can call him nothing less strong—came up to the window, held my -communication under Joshua Beakbane's eye, and inquired what he was to -do with it.</p> - -<p>"It is a telegram to Glasgow," I told him, with my knees knocking -together. "It <i>must</i> go. There's a sovereign inside for the man who -sends it."</p> - -<p>The dunder-headed fellow now grasped my meaning and withdrew, tolerably -wide awake. Joshua Beakbane showed himself deeply interested in this -business, and knowing what I did, it was clear to me from the searching -questions he put that his suspicions were violently aroused.</p> - -<p>The lie to the railway-porter was, so far as my memory serves me, -the only one I ever told in my life. Whether it was justified by -circumstances I will not presume to decide. But to Joshua Beakbane -I spoke the unvarnished truth concerning my trip northward. The -pending trial at Glasgow had some element of interest in it; and my -half-brother slowly lost the air of mistrust with which he had regarded -me as I laid before him the documents relating to my mission.</p> - -<p>The journey between Preston and Carlisle occupied a trifle more than -two hours, though to me it appeared unending. A thousand times I -wondered if my message had yet flashed past us in the darkness, and -reflected how, on reaching Carlisle, I might best preserve my own -safety and yet advance the ends of justice.</p> - -<p>As we at last began to near the station Joshua Beakbane strapped his -rug to his portmanteau, unlocked the carriage-door with a private key -he now for the first time produced, and made other preparations for a -speedy exit.</p> - -<p>Upon my side of the train he would have to alight, and now, on looking -eagerly from the carriage-window, though still some distance outside -the station, I believed I could see a group of dark-coated men under -the gas-lamps we were approaching. Leaning out of the train I waved -my hand frantically to them. The next moment I was dragged back from -inside.</p> - -<p>"What are you doing?" my companion demanded.</p> - -<p>"Signalling to friends," I answered boldly, and there must have been -some chord in my voice that awoke old memories and new suspicions, for -Beakbane immediately looked out of the window, saw the police, and -turned upon me like a tiger.</p> - -<p>"My God! I know you now," he yelled. "So you venture it at last?—then -you shall have it." He hurled himself at me; his big white hands -closed like an iron collar round my neck; his thumbs pressed into my -throat. A red mist filled my eyes, my brains seemed bursting through my -skull; I believed the train must have rushed right through the station, -and that he and I were flying into the lonely night once more. Then I -became dimly conscious of a great wilderness of faces from the past -staring at me, and all was blank. What followed I afterwards learned -when slowly coming back to life again in the waiting-room at Carlisle.</p> - -<p>Upon the police rushing to the carriage, Beakbane dashed me violently -from him and jumped through that door of the compartment which was -furthest from his pursuers. This he had just time to lock after him -before he vanished into the darkness. But for the intervention of -Providence, in the delay he thus caused the man might have escaped, -at least, for that night. He successfully threaded his way through a -wilderness of motionless trucks and other rolling-stock. He then made -for an engine-house, and having once passed it, would have climbed down -a bank and so gained temporary safety. But at the moment he ran across -the mouth of this shed an engine was moving from it, and before he -could alter his course the locomotive knocked him down, pinned him to -the rails, and slowly crushed over him. It was done in a moment, and -his cry brought the police, who, at the moment of the accident, were -wandering through the station in fruitless search. A doctor was now -with Joshua Beakbane, but no human skill could even prolong life for -the unfortunate man, and he lay dying as I staggered to my feet and -entered the adjacent room where they had arranged a couch for him on -the ground. He was unconscious as I took the big white hand that but -a few minutes before had been choking the life out of me; and soon -afterwards, with an awful expression of pain, he expired.</p> - -<p>As may be supposed I needed much care myself, after this frightful -ordeal, and it was not until the following day at noon that my senses -once more began to thoroughly define themselves. Then, upon an inquiry -into the papers and property of the dead man, I found that all the -missing sources of my fortune, with no exception, had been in his -possession. Sorrell was thus to my mind proved innocent, and I shrewdly -suspected that the unhappy young fellow had fallen a victim to this -wretched soul, who was now himself dead.</p> - -<p>I was fortunately able to proceed to Glasgow in the nick of time, to -attend to my employer's business there. Upon returning to London, my -arrival in Mr. Plenderleath's office with the missing fortune, created -no less astonishment in his mind than that which filled my own, when I -learned how young Sorrell had been found alive and was fast recovering -from his injuries. Let me break off here one moment to say that if I -appear to have treated my half-brother's appalling death with cynical -brevity, it is through no lack of feeling in the matter, but rather -through lack of space.</p> - -<p>At six o'clock in the morning, and about an hour after the time -that Joshua Beakbane breathed his last, he then having fasted about -three-and-thirty hours, Walter Sorrell was found gagged and tied, hand -and foot, to the wall of a mean building, situate in a meadow not far -distant from Oak Lodge. With his most unpleasing experiences I conclude -my narrative.</p> - -<p>After Mrs. Prescott's departure on the night of the robbery, he had -read for about ten minutes, when, suddenly glancing up from his -book, he saw, standing staring in at the window, the identical man -whose portrait I had drawn for him. Starting up, convinced that what -he had seen was no spirit, he unfastened the window and leapt into -the garden only to find nothing. Returning, he had hastily left the -drawing-room to get his stick, hat, and coat. He was scarcely a moment -gone, and, on coming back, found Joshua Beakbane already with the bag -and its contents in his hands. Sorrell rushed across the room to stay -the other's escape; but too late—he had already rushed through the -window. Grasping his heavy stick, the young man followed, succeeded in -keeping the robber in sight, and finally closed with him, both falling -violently into a bush of rhododendrons. Here an accomplice came to -Beakbane's aid, and between them they soon had Sorrell senseless and a -prisoner. He remembered nothing further, till coming to himself in the -fowl-house, where he was ultimately found. His antagonists evidently -carried him between them to this obscure hiding-place; and there he -had soon starved but for his fortunate discovery.</p> - -<p>The said accomplice has never been found; it wants neither him, -however, nor yet that other ally who sent the telegram from Newmarket, -to tell us how Joshua Beakbane plotted to steal my fortune, -three-fourths of which for the asking should have been his.</p> - -<p>I regained my health more quickly than might be supposed, and young -Sorrell was even a shorter time recovering from his starvation and -bruises. I gave the worthy lad a thousand pounds, and much good may it -do him.</p> - -<p>The portrait of Joshua Beakbane, on the back of that London and -North-Western railway share certificate, is still in my possession, -and hangs where all may see it in the library of my new habitation. I -now live far away on the coast of Cornwall where the great waves roll -in, straight from the heart of the Atlantic, where the common folk of -the district make some stir when I pass them by, and where echoes from -mighty London reverberate but peacefully in newspapers that are often a -week old before I see them.</p> - - -<p class="center"><small>THE END.</small></p> - - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 5em;"><small><i>R. Clay and Sons, London and Bungay.</i></small></p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Adventure in the Flying Scotsman; A -Romance of London and North-Western Railway Shares, by Eden Phillpotts - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVENTURE IN THE FLYING SCOTSMAN *** - -***** This file should be named 54896-h.htm or 54896-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/8/9/54896/ - -Produced by readbueno, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: My Adventure in the Flying Scotsman; A Romance of London and North-Western Railway Shares - -Author: Eden Phillpotts - -Release Date: June 12, 2017 [EBook #54896] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVENTURE IN THE FLYING SCOTSMAN *** - - - - -Produced by readbueno, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - - A RAILWAY ROMANCE. - - - MY ADVENTURE - - IN - - THE FLYING SCOTSMAN. - - - - - MY ADVENTURE - - IN - - THE FLYING SCOTSMAN: - - _A ROMANCE OF_ - - London and North-Western Railway Shares. - - BY - - EDEN PHILLPOTTS. - - - LONDON: - JAMES HOGG AND SONS, - 7 LOVELL'S COURT, PATERNOSTER ROW. - 1888. - - _All Rights reserved._ - - - - - Richard Clay & Sons, - - BREAD STREET HILL, LONDON; - - _Bungay, Suffolk_. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -The following story was told me by that meek but estimable little -man who forms the central figure in it. I have made him relate the -strange vicissitudes of his life in the first person, and, by doing -so, preserve, I venture to believe, some quaintness of thought and -expression that is characteristic of him. - - - - -MY ADVENTURE - -IN - -THE FLYING SCOTSMAN. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -A DANGEROUS LEGACY. - - -The rain gave over about five o'clock, and the sun, having struggled -unavailingly all day with a leaden November sky, burst forth in fiery -rage, when but a few short minutes separated him from the horizon. His -tawny splendour surrounded me as I trudged from Richmond, in Surrey, to -the neighbouring hamlet of Petersham. Above me the wet, naked branches -of the trees shone red, and seemed to drip with blood; the hedgerows -sparkled their flaming gems; in the meadows, which I struck across to -save time, parallel streaks of crimson lay along the cart-ruts. All -nature glowed in the lurid light, and, to a mind fraught with much -trouble and anxiety, there was something sinister in the slowly dying -illumination, in the lowering, savage sky, in the bars of blood that -sank hurtling together into the west, and in the vast cloudlands of -gloom that were now fast bringing back the rain and the night. - -Should you ask what reason I, John Lott, a small, middle-aged, banking -clerk, who lived in North London, might have for thus rushing away from -the warm fire, good wife, pretty daughter, and comforting tea-cake, -that were all at this moment awaiting me somewhere in Kilburn, I -would reply, that death, sudden and startling, had brought about this -earthquake in my orderly existence. Should you again naturally suggest -that a four-wheeled cab might have effected with greater cleanliness -and dispatch, than my short legs, the country journey between Richmond -and Petersham, I would admit the fact, but, at the same time, advance -sufficiently sound reasons why that muddy walk was best undertaken -on foot. For, touching this death, but one other living man could -have equal interest in it with myself; and for me, especially, were -entwined round about it issues of very grave and stupendous moment. -Honour, rectitude, my duty to myself and to my neighbour, together -with other no less important questions, were all at stake; and upon -my individual judgment, blinded by no thoughts of personal danger or -self-interest, must the case be decided. I had foreseen this for some -years, had given much consideration to the matter; but no satisfactory -solution of the difficulties at any time presented itself, and now the -long anticipated circumstance arrived, as it always does with men of -my calibre, to find him most involved and concerned in the conduct of -affairs, least qualified to cope with them. Why I walked to Oak Lodge, -Petersham, then, was to gain a few minutes, to collect my wandering -wits and acquire a mental balance capable of meeting the troubles that -awaited me. What I had been unable to accomplish in two years, however, -did not seem likely to be effected in twenty minutes; and, indeed, the -angry sunset, together with an element of grave personal danger already -mentioned, combined to drive all reasonable trains of thought from my -head. Ultimately I arrived at my destination, with a mind about as -concentrated and purposes about as strong as those of a drowned worm. - -And wherefore all this misery, do you suppose? Simply because an -estimable lady had just been pleased to leave me a comfortable matter -of ten thousand pounds. So far good; but when I say that I am not -related to the deceased, that her next of kin has for the past fifteen -years been seeking an opportunity to take my life, and that a meeting -between us is now imminent, it will be noticed the case presents -certain unusual difficulties. This assertion--that a man has sought -to rob me of my insignificant existence for fifteen years--doubtless -appears so preposterous, that it is best I should clearly explain the -matter at once. A scrap of the past must here, then, be intercalated -between my arrival at Oak Lodge and the events which followed it. - -Upon my father's death, my mother, who was at that time not much over -twenty years of age, married again with one George Beakbane, a wealthy -farmer and owner of a comfortable freehold estate in Norfolk. This -property had for its title the family name of Beakbane. - -My step-father, after one son was born to him, lost his young wife, -and was left with two infants upon his hands. Right well he treated -both, making no sort of distinction, but sharing his love between us, -and, after we were of an age to benefit from a man's training, bringing -us up under his own eye and in his own school. It was a Spartan entry -upon life for young Joshua Beakbane and myself; but whereas I thrived -under the puritanic and colourless regime, Mr. Beakbane's own son, a -youth by nature prone to vicious habits and evil communications, chafed -beneath the iron rule, which only became more unbending in consequence. -There was much to be said on either side, no doubt; though none could -have foreseen, as a result of those trifling restraints and paternal -rebukes, the great and terrible punishment that would fall both upon -father and son. - -When he was twenty-one years of age, Joshua Beakbane, in a fit of mad -folly, that to me is scarcely conceivable, ran away from the Farm, -taking with him about five hundred pounds of his father's money. He -was pursued, arrested, and committed for trial at the next assizes. -Old George Beakbane, a just, proud man, sprung from a race that had -ever been just and proud, would listen to no plea of mercy. There was -none to speak for the culprit but me--his half-brother; and my prayers -were useless. The father sent his son to gaol, blotted his name from -the family tree, and, after that day, regarded me as his heir. That I -should change my name to Beakbane was a stipulation of my step-father, -and this I had no objection to doing. My inclinations and ambitions -were towards art, but such prospects as a painter's life could promise -were distasteful to George Beakbane, and I relinquished them. Joshua's -sentence amounted to ten years of penal servitude, and it was the -wish of my life at that time to some day bring about a reconciliation -between father and son. Any of the great advantages accruing to myself -through the present arrangements I would have gladly foregone to see -the old man happy; for him I loved sincerely, and clearly saw, as the -time went by, that all joy had faded out of his life after his son -went to prison. Long before the ten years were fulfilled, however, -George Beakbane died and I succeeded to the estate. And here I solemnly -declare and avow, before heaven and men, that my intention from the -first moment of accepting the mastership of Beakbane, was, by doing so, -to benefit him whom I still considered the rightful owner thereof. Upon -Joshua's release I fully purposed an act of abdication in his favour. I -should, had all gone well, have taken such legal measures as might be -convenient to the case, and reinstated my relative in that situation -which, but for his own reckless folly, had all along been proper to -him. Now the ability to do so much for Joshua Beakbane would not have -been mine, unless I had consented to become the heir; because, failing -me, old George Beakbane might have sought and found another inheritor -for his property; and one, likely enough, without my moral principles -or ultimate intentions. - -All was ordered very differently to what I hoped and desired, however. -One short year before my half-brother would have relieved me of my -responsibilities, a concatenation of dire events brought ruin and -destruction upon me. I have never attempted to deny my own miserable -weakness in this matter. I had married during my stewardship, and -for my wife's brother, a man as I believed of sterling honesty and -considerable wealth, I consented to 'back' certain bills, as a matter -of convenience for some two or three months. Again I admit my criminal -frailty; but with the fact and its consequences we have now to deal. -My brother-in-law's entanglements increased, and he cut the knot by -blowing his brains out, leaving me with a stupendous mountain of debt -staring me in the face. The Beakbane property went to meet it. Every -acre was mortgaged, every mortgage foreclosed upon, the estate ceased -to exist as a whole. The debt was ultimately discharged, and I, with my -wife and child, came to London. These things reaching Joshua Beakbane's -ears about a month before his sentence expired, shattered his hopes and -ambitions for the future, left him absolutely a pauper, and terribly -excited his rage and indignation against me. I had not trusted myself -to tell him the fatal news; but in the ear of my messenger, a lawyer, -he hissed an awful oath that, did we ever meet, my life would pay the -debt I owed him. Knowing the man to have some of his father's iron -fixity of purpose, together with much varied wickedness peculiar to -himself, and for which our mutual mother was in no way responsible, -I took him at his word, changed my name yet again, and buried myself -in the metropolis. Here I very quickly found that my art was not of a -sort to keep my wife and child, when the question of painting to sell -came to be considered. I therefore sought more solid employment, and -was fortunate to obtain a position in Messrs. Macdonald's bank. Years -rolled by to the number of fifteen. Joshua Beakbane sought me high -and low; indeed, I am fully persuaded that his desire to take my life -became a monomania with him, for he left no stone unturned to come at -me. But I wore spectacles of dark blue glass when about in the streets, -and always shaved clean from the time of my entry on life in London. -Several times I met my half-brother, till becoming gradually assured of -my safety, I grew bold and employed a private detective to discover his -home and occupation. Thus I learned that most of his time was spent in -attending race meetings, and that he enjoyed some notoriety amongst the -smaller fry of bookmakers. - -Let the reader possess his soul in patience a short half page longer -and these tedious but necessary preliminaries will be ended. Miss -Sarah Beakbane-Minifie, the lady whose death has just been recorded, -was a near relation of my half-brother, but, of course, no connection -of mine. Me, however, she esteemed very highly, and always had done so, -from the time that my mother married into her family. Having watched -my career narrowly, being convinced of my integrity, misfortunes, and -honourable motives in the past, she had seen fit to regard me as a -martyr and a notable person; though her own kinsman received but scant -acknowledgment at her hands. And now her entire fortune, specie, bonds -and shares, was mine, and Joshua Beakbane found himself once more in -the cold. What were his feelings and intentions? I asked myself. Was -he still disposed as of old towards me, and would he prefer my life -to any earthly advancement I might now be in a position to extend to -him? Would he accept a compromise? Should I meet him at Petersham, -and if so, should I ever leave Oak Lodge excepting feet foremost? What -was my clear duty in the case, and would the doing of it be likely to -facilitate matters? Such were some of the questions to which I could -find no replies as I walked slowly through the mud, and then, feeling -that suspense only made the future look more terrific, struck across -the fields, as aforesaid, and became eager to reach my destination as -quickly as possible. - -Come what might, if alive, I was bound to start for Scotland on the -following day to be witness in a legal case pending against my firm; -and the recollection of this duty was uppermost in my thoughts when -I finally reached Oak Lodge. Martha Prescott and her husband, the -deceased lady's sole retainers, greeted me, and their grief appeared -sufficiently genuine as I was ushered by them to the drawing-room. This -apartment--charming enough in the summer when the French windows were -always open, and the garden without, a mass of red and white roses, -syringa, and other homely flowers--was now dark and cheerless. The -blinds were not drawn, the last dim gleams of daylight appeared more -dreary than total gloom. A decanter of port wine with some dried fruits -stood upon the table, and I am disposed to think that one, at least, -of the two men sitting by the fire had been smoking. For a moment I -believed the taller and younger of these to be my enemy, but a flicker -of fire-light showed the mistake as both rose to meet me. - -Mr. Plenderleath, my dead friend's solicitor, a flabby, pompous -gentleman, with a scent of eau-de-Cologne about him and a nice choice -of language, shook my hand and his head in the most perfect unison. -Joshua Beakbane, he informed me, had been communicated with, but as yet -no answer to the telegram was received. - -"For yourself, I beg you will accept my condolence and congratulations -in one breath, dear sir. When such a woman as Miss Beakbane-Minifie -must die, it is well to feel that such a man as Mr. Lott shall have -the administration of that which the blessed deceased cannot take with -her. My lamented client and your aunt has left you, dear sir, the -considerable fortune of one hundred thousand pounds." - -"She is not any relation; but, my good sir, the deceased lady always -led me to understand that ten thousand pounds or so was the sum-total -of her wealth." - -"The admirable woman intentionally deceived you, dear sir, in order -that your surprise and joy might be the greater. And by a curious -circumstance, which your aunt's eccentricities have effected, I can -this very evening show you most of your property, or what stands for -it." - -"Miss Beakbane-Minifie was not my aunt," I repeated; but Mr. -Plenderleath paid no heed to me and wandered on. - -"God forbid," he said, "that I should say any word which might reflect -in your mind, no matter how remotely, on the blessed defunct. Still -the truth remains--that your aunt, during the latter days of her life, -developed instincts only too common in age, though none the less -painful for that. A certain distrust, almost bordering upon suspicion, -prompted her to withdraw from my keeping the divers documents, -certificates, and so forth that represented the bulk of her property, -and which, I need hardly observe, were as safe in my fire-proof iron -strong-room as in the Bank of England. Have them she would, however, -and I confess to you, dear sir, that the knowledge of so much wealth -hidden in this comparatively lonely and ill-guarded old house has -caused me no slight uneasiness. But all is well that ends well, we -may now say, and the danger being past, need not revert to it. True, -this mass of money must stay here for the present, but, I assume, you -will not leave this establishment again until the last rites have been -performed. One more word and I have done. I find upon looking into the -estate that your aunt has been realizing considerable quantities of -stock quite recently upon her own judgment without any reference to me. -The wisdom of such negotiations we need not now discuss. Nothing but -good of the blessed dead. However, the money is here; indeed, no less -a sum than thirteen thousand pounds, in fifty-pound notes, lies upon -yonder table. Now your aunt--" - -"Please understand, sir," I explained testily, "that, once and for all, -the deceased lady was no relation to me whatever." - -I felt in one of those highly-strung, sensitive moods which men -occasionally chance upon, and in which the reiteration of some trivial -error or expression blinds them to proper reflection on the business -in hand, no matter how momentous. Moreover, the suggestion that I -should stop in the lonely house of death to guard my wealth that night, -was abominable. Without my wife or some equally capable person I would -not have undertaken such a vigil for the universe. - -"I apologize," said Mr. Plenderleath, in answer to my rebuke. "I was -about to remark when you interrupted me, that Miss Beakbane-Minifie's -principal source of increment was a very considerable number of shares -in the London and North-Western Railway. The certificates for these -are also here. Now, to conclude, dear sir. Upon Mr. Joshua Beakbane's -arrival, which should not be long delayed, you and he can appoint a day -for the funeral, after which event I will, of course, read the will -in the presence of yourself and such few others as may be interested -therein. Your aunt passed calmly away, I understand, about four o'clock -this morning. Her end was peace. For myself, I need only say that I -should not be here to-night in the usual order of events. But the good -Prescotts, ignorant of your address, telegraphed to me in their sad -desolation, and, as a Christian man, I deemed it my duty to respond to -their call without loss of time." - -Mr. Plenderleath sighed, bowed, and resumed his seat after drinking a -glass of wine. Candles were brought in, and I then explained to the -solicitor something of my relations with Joshua Beakbane, also the -danger that a possible meeting between us might mean for me. The legal -brain was deeply interested by those many questions this statement of -mine gave rise to. He saw the trial that any sojourn in Oak Lodge must -be to me, and was, moreover, made fully alive to the fact that I had -not the slightest intention of stopping there beyond another hour or -so. I own I was in a terribly nervous condition; and a man can no more -help the weakness of his nerves than the colour of his hair. - -It then transpired that the third person of our party was Mr. -Plenderleath's junior clerk, a taciturn, powerful young fellow, with -a face I liked the honest look of. He offered, if we approved the -suggestion, to keep watch and ward at Petersham during the coming -night. Mr. Plenderleath pooh-poohed the idea as being ridiculous beyond -the power of words to express; but finding I was not of his opinion, -declared that, for his part, if I really desired such an arrangement he -would allow the young man to remain in the house until after the will -was read and the property legally my own. - -"Personally I would trust Mr. Sorrell with anything," declared the -solicitor; "but whether you, a stranger to him, are right in doing -the same, I will not presume to say." The plan struck me as being -excellent, however, and was accordingly determined upon. - -And now there lay before me a duty which, in my present frame of mind, -I confess I had no stomach for. Propriety demanded that I should look -my last on the good friend who was gone, and I prepared to do so. -Slowly I ascended the stairs and hesitated at the bed-chamber door -before going into the presence of death. At this moment I felt no -sorrow at hearing a soft foot-fall in the apartment. Martha Prescott -was evidently within, and I entered, somewhat relieved at not having -to undergo the ordeal alone. My horror, as may be supposed, was very -great then to find the room empty. All I saw of life set my heart -thumping at my ribs, and fastened me to the spot upon which I stood. -There was another door at the further end of this room, and through -it I just caught one glimpse of Joshua Beakbane's broad back as he -vanished, closing the door after him. There could be no mistake. Two -shallow steps led up to the said door, and it only gave access to a -narrow apartment scarce bigger than a cupboard. The dead lady, with -two wax candles burning at her feet, lay an insignificant atom in -the great canopied bed. The room was tidy, and everything decent and -well ordered, save that the white cerement which was wrapped about -the corpse had been moved from off her face. But death so calm and -peaceful as this paled before the terror of what I had witnessed. I -dare not convince myself by rushing to the door through which my enemy -had disappeared. My hair stood upon end. A vile sensation, as of ants -creeping on my flesh, came over me. I turned, shuddering, and somehow -found myself once more with the men I had left. I told my adventure, -only to be politely laughed at by both. The young clerk, whose name was -Sorrell, offered to make careful search of the premises, and calling -the Prescotts, we went up with haste to seek the cause of my alarm. -The door through which, as I believed, Joshua Beakbane had made his -exit from the death-chamber yielded to us without resistance, and the -small receptacle into which it opened was empty. Some of the dead -lady's dresses were hung upon the walls, and these, with an old oaken -trunk containing linen, which had rosemary and camphor in it to keep -out the moths, were all we could find. The window was fastened, and -the wooden shutters outside in their place. Young Sorrell had some ado -to keep from laughing at my discomfiture, but we silently returned -past where the two candles were burning and rejoined Mr. Plenderleath. -That gentleman at my request consented to stay and dine, after which -meal he and I would return to town together. He urged me to drink -something more generous than claret, which, being quite unstrung, I did -do, and was gradually regaining my mental balance when a circumstance -occurred that threw me into a greater fit of prostration than before. -A telegram arrived for Mr. Plenderleath, and was read aloud by him. It -ran as follows:-- - - "_Joshua Beakbane died third November. Caught chill on - Cambridgeshire day of Newmarket Houghton Meeting. Body unclaimed, - buried by parish._" - -"Now this communication--" began Mr. Plenderleath in his pleasing -manner, but broke off upon seeing the effect of the telegram on me. - -"My dear sir, you are ill. What is the matter now? You look as though -you had seen a ghost." - -"Man alive, _I have_!" I shrieked out. "What can be clearer? A vision -of Joshua Beakbane has evidently been vouchsafed me, and--and--I wish -devoutly that it were not so." - -The hatefulness of this reflection blinded me for some time to my own -good fortune. Here, in one moment, was all my anxiety and tribulation -swept away. The incubus of fifteen long years had rolled off my life, -and the future appeared absolutely unclouded. To this great fact the -solicitor now invited my attention, and congratulated me with much -warmth upon the happy turn affairs had taken. But it was long before -I could remotely realize the situation, long before I could grasp my -freedom, very long before I could convince myself that the shadow I had -seen but recently, flitting from the side of the dead, had only existed -in my own overwrought imagination. - -After dinner, while half an hour still remained before the fly would -call for Mr. Plenderleath and me, we went together through the papers -and memoranda he had collected from his late client's divers desks -and boxes. Young Sorrell was present, and naturally took considerable -interest in the proceedings. - -"Of course, Mr. Lott," he said, laughing, "against ghosts all my care -must be useless. And still, as ghosts are impalpable, they could hardly -walk off with this big bag here, and its contents." - -We were now slowly placing the different documents in a leathern -receptacle Mr. Plenderleath had found, well suited to the purpose. - -I was looking at a share certificate of the London and North-Western -Railway, when Mr. Sorrell addressed me again. - -"I am a great materialist myself, sir," he declared, "and no believer -in spiritualistic manifestations of any sort; but everybody should be -open to conviction. Will you kindly give me some description of the -late Mr. Joshua Beakbane? Then, if anything untoward appears, I shall -be better able to understand it." - -For answer, and not heeding upon what I was working, I made as good a -sketch as need be of my half-brother. Martha Prescott, who now arrived -to announce the cab, said as far as she remembered the original of the -drawing, it was life-like. It should have been so, for if one set of -features more than another were branded on my mind, those lineaments -belonged to Joshua Beakbane. When I had finished my picture, and not -before, I discovered that I had been drawing upon the back of a share -certificate already mentioned. - -Then Mr. Plenderleath and I left the gloomy, ill-lighted abode of -death, bidding Mr. Sorrel good-night, and feeling distinct satisfaction -at once again being in the open air. I speak for myself, but am -tolerably certain that, in spite of his pompous exterior, the solicitor -was well-pleased to get back to Richmond, and from the quantity of hot -brandy and water he consumed while waiting for the London train, I -gathered that even his ponderous nerves had been somewhat shaken. - -There was much for me to tell my wife and daughter on returning to -Kilburn, and the small hours of morning had already come before we -retired to sleep, and thank God for this wonderful change in our -fortunes. - -But the thought of that brave lad guarding my wealth troubled me. I saw -the silent house buried in darkness; I saw the great black expanse of -garden and meadow, the rain falling heavily down, and the trees tossing -their lean arms into the night. I thought of the little form lying even -more motionless than those who slept--mayhap with a dim ghostly watcher -still beside it. I thought, in fine, of many mysterious horrors, and -allowed my mind to move amidst a hundred futile alarms. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE "FLYING SCOTSMAN." - - -With daylight, or such drear apology for it as a London November -morning allows, I arose, prepared for my journey to the north, and -wrote certain letters before starting for the city. The monotonous -labours of a clerk's life were nearly ended now; the metropolis--a -place both my wife and I detested--would soon see the last of us; -already I framed in my mind the letter which should shortly be received -by the bank manager announcing my resignation. It may perhaps have -been gathered that I am a weak man in some ways, and I confess these -little preliminaries to my altered state gave me a sort of pleasure. -The ladies argued throughout breakfast as to the locality of our new -home, and paid me such increased attentions as befit the head of a -house who, from being but an unimportant atom in the machinery of a -vast money-making establishment, suddenly himself blossoms into a man -of wealth. Thus had two successive fortunes accrued to me through my -mother's second marriage; and no calls of justice or honour could -quarrel with my right to administer this second property as I thought -fit. For Joshua Beakbane had left no family, and, concerning others -bearing his name, I did not so much as know if any existed. To town -I went, and taking no pains to conceal my prosperity, was besieged -with hearty congratulations and desires to drink, at my expense, to -continued good fortune. How brief was that half-hour of triumph, and -what a number of friends I found among my colleagues in men whom I had -always suspected of quite a contrary disposition towards me! - -I had scarcely settled to a clear mastery of the business that would -shortly take me towards Scotland, when a messenger reached me from -Mr. Plenderleath. The solicitor desired to see me without delay, and -obtaining leave, I drove to his chambers in Chancery Lane. - -Never shall I forget the sorry sight my smug, sententious friend -presented; never before have I seen any fellow-creature so nearly -reduced to the level of a jelly-fish. He was sitting in his private -room, his letters unopened, his overcoat and scarf still upon him. A -telegram lay at his feet, after reading which he had evidently sank -into his chair and not moved again. He pointed to the message as I -entered, shutting the door behind me. It came from Petersham, and ran -as follows-- - - "_Window drawing-room open this morning. Gentleman gone, bag gone._" - -A man by nature infirm of purpose, will sometimes show unexpected -determination when the reverse might be feared from him; and now, -finding Mr. Plenderleath utterly crushed by intelligence that must be -more terrible to me than any other, I rose to the occasion in a manner -very surprising and gratifying to myself. - -"Quick! Up, man! This is no time for delay," I exclaimed. "For God's -sake stir yourself. We should be half way to Petersham by now. There -has been foul play here. Mr. Sorrell's life may be in danger, if not -already sacrificed. Rouse yourself, sir, I beg." - -He looked at me wonderingly, shook his head, and murmured something -about my being upon the wrong tack altogether. He then braced himself -to face the situation, and prepared to accompany me to Petersham. Upon -the way to Waterloo, we wired for a detective from Scotland Yard to -follow us, and in less than another hour were driving from Richmond to -Oak Lodge. Then, but not till then, did Mr. Plenderleath explain to me -his views and fears, which came like a thunderclap. - -"Your ardour and generous eagerness, dear sir, to succour those in -peril, almost moves me to tears," he began; "but these intentions are -futile, or I am no man of law. It is my clerk, Walter Sorrell, we must -seek, truly; but not where you would seek him. _He_ is the thief, Mr. -Lott--I am convinced of that. I saw no reason last night to fear any -danger from without, and I hinted as much. My only care at any time was -the man of questionable morals, who has recently gone to his rest. No; -Sorrell has succumbed to the temptation, and it is upon my head that -the punishment falls." - -He was terribly prostrated, talked somewhat wildly of such recompense -as lay within his powers, and appeared to have relinquished all hopes -of my ever coming by my property again. This plain solution of the -theft had honestly never occurred to me, until advanced with such -certainty by my companion. The affair, in truth, appeared palpable -enough to the meanest comprehension, and I said nothing further about -violence or possible loss of life. - -Even more unquestionable seemed the solicitor's explanation when we -reached Petersham, and heard what the Prescotts had to tell us. The -local Inspector of Police and two subordinates were already upon -the scene, but had done nothing much beyond walk up and down on a -flower-bed outside the drawing-room window, and then re-enter the house. - -Sarah Prescott's elaboration of the telegram was briefly this:-- - -She had lighted a fire in a comfortable bedroom on the upper floor, -and, upon asking the young man to come and see it, was surprised to -learn he proposed sitting up through the night. "My husband," said -Mrs. Prescott, "did not like the hearing of this, and was for watching -the gentleman from the garden just to see that he meant no harm; but -I over-persuaded him from such foolishness, as I thought it. The last -thing before going to my bed, I brought the gent a scuttle of coals and -some spirits and hot water. He was then reading a book he had fetched -down from that book-case, and said that he should do well now, what -with his pipe and the things I'd got for him. He gave me 'good-night' -as nice as ever I heard a gentleman say it; then I heard him lock the -door on the inside as I went away. This morning, at seven o'clock, I -fetched him a cup of tea and some toast I'd made. The door was wide -open, so was the window, and the bag that stood on the table last night -had gone. The gent wasn't there either, of course." - -Long we talked after this statement, waiting for the detective from -London to come. Continually some one or other of the men assembled -let his voice rise with the interest of the conversation. Then Mrs. -Prescott would murmur 'hush,' and point upwards to where the silent -dead was lying. - -A careful scrutiny of the drawing-room showed that Sorrell's vigil had -been a short one. The fire had not been made up after Mrs. Prescott -left the watcher; a novel, open at page five, lay face downwards upon -the table; a pipe of tobacco, which had only just been lighted and -then suffered to go out, was beside it, together with a tumbler of -spirit-and-water, quite full, and evidently not so much as sipped from. -The defaulter's hat and coat were gone from their place in the hall, -as also his stick. Mrs. Prescott had picked up a silk neckerchief -in the passage that led to the drawing-room from the hall. A chair -was overturned in the middle of the room; but beyond this no sign of -anything untoward could be found. A small seedy-looking man from -London soon afterwards arrived, and quickly and quietly made himself -master of the situation so far as it was at present developed. The -Prescotts and their information interested him chiefly. After hearing -all they could tell him he examined the room for himself, attaching -enormous importance to a trifle that had escaped our attention. This -was a candle by the light of which Walter Sorrell read his book. It had -evidently burned for some time after the room was deserted, but not -down to the socket. The grease had guttered all upon one side, and a -simple experiment showed the cause. Lighting another candle and placing -it on the same spot, it burned steadily until both window and door were -opened. Then, however, the flame flickered in the draught thus set up; -the grease began to gutter, and the candle threatened to go out at any -moment. - -"What do you gather from that?" I inquired of the detective. - -"This," he answered; "taking account of the open window and door, the -overturned chair and the candle left burning, it's clear enough that -when the gent did go out, he went in the devil of a hurry, made a bolt, -in fact, as though some one was on his track at the very start. There's -no one else in the house, you say?" - -"Only the blessed dead," said Mr. Plenderleath. - -But I thought involuntarily of what I had seen the preceding evening. -Could it be that some horrid vision had appeared in the still hours -of night, and that, eager for his employer's welfare, even in such a -terrible moment, the young man had seized my wealth and leapt out into -the dark night rather than face the dire and monstrous phantom? - -If so, what had become of him? - -The detective made no further remarks, and refused to answer any -questions, though he asked several. Then, after a long and fruitless -search in the grounds and meadowland adjacent, he returned to town, -his pocket-book well filled with information. A discovery of possible -importance was made soon afterwards. The robbery and all its known -circumstances had got wind in the neighbourhood, and now a labourer, -working by the Thames (which is distant from Petersham about five -hundred yards) appeared, bearing the identical leathern bag which had -been stolen. He had found it empty, stranded in some sedges by the -river's brim. Fired by the astuteness of him who had just returned to -town, I inquired which way the tide was running last evening. But, upon -learning, no idea of any brilliance presented itself to me. - -There was nothing to be done at Petersham; the scamp and his -ill-gotten possessions must be far enough away by this time; at least -Mr. Plenderleath said so, and I now returned to London with him. All -for the present then was over. All my suddenly acquired wealth had -vanished, and I was a poor clerk again. Yet how infinitely happier -might I consider myself now than in the past. "It may please God," I -said to myself, "of His mercy to yet return perhaps as much as half -of this good money; but it will not please Him to restore my terrible -relation--that I am convinced about." - -Upon first recalling my coming trip to Scotland I was minded to get -excused of it, but quickly came to the conclusion that nothing better -could have happened to me just now than a long journey upon other -affairs than my own. It would take me out of myself, and give my wife -and child a chance of recovering from the grief they must certainly be -in upon hearing the sad news. - -I wrote therefore to them on returning to my office, dined in the -city, and finally repaired to Euston. At ten minutes to nine o'clock -the "Flying Scotsman" steamed from the station, bearing with it, among -other matters, a first-class carriage of which I was the sole occupant -after leaving Rugby. I had books and newspapers, bought from force of -habit, but was not likely to read them, for my mind contained more -than sufficient material to feed upon. Very much of a trying character -occupied my brains as I sat and listened to my flying vehicle. Now -it roared like thunder as we rushed over bridges, now screamed -triumphantly as we whirled past silent, deserted stations. Anon we went -with a crash through archways, and once, with gradually slackening -speed and groaning breaks, shrieked with impatience at a danger signal -that barred the way. I watched the oil in the bottom of the lamp above -me dribble from side to side with every oscillation of the train, and -the sight depressed me beyond measure. What irony of fate was this! -Yesterday the London and North-Western Railway meant more than half my -entire fortune; now the stoker who threw coals into the great fiery -heart of the engine had more interest in the Company than I! Overcome -with these gloomy thoughts, I drew around the lamp that lighted my -carriage a sort of double silken shutter, and endeavoured to forget -everything in sleep, if it were possible. - -Sleep is as a rule not only possible but necessary to me after ten -o'clock in the evening, and I soon slumbered soundly in spite of my -tribulation. - -Upon waking with a start I found I was no longer alone. The train -was going at a tremendous pace; one of the circular curtains I had -drawn about the lamp had been pulled up, leaving me in the shade, but -lighting the other man who looked across from the further corner in -which he was sitting, and smiled at my surprise. - -It was Joshua Beakbane. - -I never experienced greater agony than in that waking moment, and until -the man spoke, thereby convincing me by the tones of his voice that he -was no spirit my mental suffering passes possibility of description in -words. - -"A fellow-traveller need not surprise you, sir," he said. "I got in -at Crewe, and you were sleeping so soundly that I did not wake you. I -took the liberty of reading your evening paper, however, and also gave -myself a little light." - -He was alive, and had quite failed to recognize me. I thanked him in -as gruff a voice as I could assume and looked at my watch. We had been -gone from Crewe above half an hour, and should be due at Wigan, our -next stopping-place, in about twenty minutes. - -Joshua Beakbane was a tall, heavily-built man, with a flat, broad -face, and a mouth that hardly suggested his great strength of purpose. -His heavy moustache was inclined to reddishness, and his restless eyes -had also something of red in them. He was clad in a loud tweed, with -ulster and hat of the same material. The man had, moreover, aged much -since I last saw him about five years ago. Finding me indisposed to -talk, he took a portmanteau from the hat-rail above him, unstrapped a -railway rug, wound it about his lower limbs, and then fell to arranging -such brushes, linen, and garments as the portmanteau contained. - -My benumbed senses were incapable of advancing any reason for what I -saw. Why had this man seen fit to declare himself dead? What was his -business in the North? Was it possible that he could be in league with -the runaway clerk? Had I in reality seen him lurking in the house at -Petersham? - -An explanation to some of these difficulties was almost immediately -forthcoming--as villainous and shameful an explanation as ever -unfortunate man stumbled upon. My enemy suddenly started violently, and -glancing up, I found him staring with amazement and discomfort in his -face at a paper that he held. Seeing me looking at him, he smothered -his expression of astonishment and laughed. - -"An infernal clerk of mine," he said, "has been using my business -documents as he does my blotting-paper. He'll pay for this to-morrow." - -For a brief moment Joshua Beakbane held the paper to the light, -and what had startled him immediately did no less for me: it was a -certain pencil portrait of the man himself on the back of a London and -North-Western railway share certificate. - -Some there are who would have tackled this situation with ease and -perhaps come well out of it; but to me, that am a small and shiftless -being at my best, the position I now found myself in was quite -intolerable. I would have given half my slender annual salary for a -stiff glass of brandy-and-water. The recent discovery paralyzed me. I -made no question that Joshua Beakbane had at least his share of the -plunder with him in the portmanteau; but how to take advantage of the -fact I could not imagine. Silence and pretended sleep were the first -moves that suggested themselves. A look or word or hint that could -suggest to the robber I remotely fathomed his secret, would doubtless -mean for me a cut throat and no further interest in "The Flying -Scotsman." - -Wigan was passed and Preston not far distant when I bethought me of a -plan that would, like enough, have occurred to any other in my position -an hour earlier. I might possibly get a message on to the telegraph -wires and have Joshua Beakbane stopped when he least expected such a -thing. I wrote therefore on a leaf of my pocket-book, but did so in -trembling, for should the man I was working to overthrow catch sight -of the words, even though he might not guess who I really was, he would -at least take me for a detective in disguise, and all must then be over. - -Thus I worded my telegram:-- - - "_Prepare to make big arrest at Carlisle. Small man will wave hand - from first-class compartment. Flying Scotsman._" - -For me this was not bad. I doubled it up, put a sovereign in it, wrote -on the outside--"Send this at all hazards," and prepared to dispose of -it as best I might at Preston. - -Then fresh terrors held me on every side. Would the robber by any -unlucky chance be getting out at the next station? I made bold to ask -him. He answered that Carlisle was his destination, and much relieved, -I trusted that it might be so for some time. - -At Preston I scarcely waited for the train to stop before leaping to -the platform--as luck would have it on the foot of a sleepy porter. -He swore in the Lancashire dialect, and I pressed my message into -his hand. I was already back in the carriage again when the fool--I -can call him nothing less strong--came up to the window, held my -communication under Joshua Beakbane's eye, and inquired what he was to -do with it. - -"It is a telegram to Glasgow," I told him, with my knees knocking -together. "It _must_ go. There's a sovereign inside for the man who -sends it." - -The dunder-headed fellow now grasped my meaning and withdrew, tolerably -wide awake. Joshua Beakbane showed himself deeply interested in this -business, and knowing what I did, it was clear to me from the searching -questions he put that his suspicions were violently aroused. - -The lie to the railway-porter was, so far as my memory serves me, -the only one I ever told in my life. Whether it was justified by -circumstances I will not presume to decide. But to Joshua Beakbane -I spoke the unvarnished truth concerning my trip northward. The -pending trial at Glasgow had some element of interest in it; and my -half-brother slowly lost the air of mistrust with which he had regarded -me as I laid before him the documents relating to my mission. - -The journey between Preston and Carlisle occupied a trifle more than -two hours, though to me it appeared unending. A thousand times I -wondered if my message had yet flashed past us in the darkness, and -reflected how, on reaching Carlisle, I might best preserve my own -safety and yet advance the ends of justice. - -As we at last began to near the station Joshua Beakbane strapped his -rug to his portmanteau, unlocked the carriage-door with a private key -he now for the first time produced, and made other preparations for a -speedy exit. - -Upon my side of the train he would have to alight, and now, on looking -eagerly from the carriage-window, though still some distance outside -the station, I believed I could see a group of dark-coated men under -the gas-lamps we were approaching. Leaning out of the train I waved -my hand frantically to them. The next moment I was dragged back from -inside. - -"What are you doing?" my companion demanded. - -"Signalling to friends," I answered boldly, and there must have been -some chord in my voice that awoke old memories and new suspicions, for -Beakbane immediately looked out of the window, saw the police, and -turned upon me like a tiger. - -"My God! I know you now," he yelled. "So you venture it at last?--then -you shall have it." He hurled himself at me; his big white hands -closed like an iron collar round my neck; his thumbs pressed into my -throat. A red mist filled my eyes, my brains seemed bursting through my -skull; I believed the train must have rushed right through the station, -and that he and I were flying into the lonely night once more. Then I -became dimly conscious of a great wilderness of faces from the past -staring at me, and all was blank. What followed I afterwards learned -when slowly coming back to life again in the waiting-room at Carlisle. - -Upon the police rushing to the carriage, Beakbane dashed me violently -from him and jumped through that door of the compartment which was -furthest from his pursuers. This he had just time to lock after him -before he vanished into the darkness. But for the intervention of -Providence, in the delay he thus caused the man might have escaped, -at least, for that night. He successfully threaded his way through a -wilderness of motionless trucks and other rolling-stock. He then made -for an engine-house, and having once passed it, would have climbed down -a bank and so gained temporary safety. But at the moment he ran across -the mouth of this shed an engine was moving from it, and before he -could alter his course the locomotive knocked him down, pinned him to -the rails, and slowly crushed over him. It was done in a moment, and -his cry brought the police, who, at the moment of the accident, were -wandering through the station in fruitless search. A doctor was now -with Joshua Beakbane, but no human skill could even prolong life for -the unfortunate man, and he lay dying as I staggered to my feet and -entered the adjacent room where they had arranged a couch for him on -the ground. He was unconscious as I took the big white hand that but -a few minutes before had been choking the life out of me; and soon -afterwards, with an awful expression of pain, he expired. - -As may be supposed I needed much care myself, after this frightful -ordeal, and it was not until the following day at noon that my senses -once more began to thoroughly define themselves. Then, upon an inquiry -into the papers and property of the dead man, I found that all the -missing sources of my fortune, with no exception, had been in his -possession. Sorrell was thus to my mind proved innocent, and I shrewdly -suspected that the unhappy young fellow had fallen a victim to this -wretched soul, who was now himself dead. - -I was fortunately able to proceed to Glasgow in the nick of time, to -attend to my employer's business there. Upon returning to London, my -arrival in Mr. Plenderleath's office with the missing fortune, created -no less astonishment in his mind than that which filled my own, when I -learned how young Sorrell had been found alive and was fast recovering -from his injuries. Let me break off here one moment to say that if I -appear to have treated my half-brother's appalling death with cynical -brevity, it is through no lack of feeling in the matter, but rather -through lack of space. - -At six o'clock in the morning, and about an hour after the time -that Joshua Beakbane breathed his last, he then having fasted about -three-and-thirty hours, Walter Sorrell was found gagged and tied, hand -and foot, to the wall of a mean building, situate in a meadow not far -distant from Oak Lodge. With his most unpleasing experiences I conclude -my narrative. - -After Mrs. Prescott's departure on the night of the robbery, he had -read for about ten minutes, when, suddenly glancing up from his -book, he saw, standing staring in at the window, the identical man -whose portrait I had drawn for him. Starting up, convinced that what -he had seen was no spirit, he unfastened the window and leapt into -the garden only to find nothing. Returning, he had hastily left the -drawing-room to get his stick, hat, and coat. He was scarcely a moment -gone, and, on coming back, found Joshua Beakbane already with the bag -and its contents in his hands. Sorrell rushed across the room to stay -the other's escape; but too late--he had already rushed through the -window. Grasping his heavy stick, the young man followed, succeeded in -keeping the robber in sight, and finally closed with him, both falling -violently into a bush of rhododendrons. Here an accomplice came to -Beakbane's aid, and between them they soon had Sorrell senseless and a -prisoner. He remembered nothing further, till coming to himself in the -fowl-house, where he was ultimately found. His antagonists evidently -carried him between them to this obscure hiding-place; and there he -had soon starved but for his fortunate discovery. - -The said accomplice has never been found; it wants neither him, -however, nor yet that other ally who sent the telegram from Newmarket, -to tell us how Joshua Beakbane plotted to steal my fortune, -three-fourths of which for the asking should have been his. - -I regained my health more quickly than might be supposed, and young -Sorrell was even a shorter time recovering from his starvation and -bruises. I gave the worthy lad a thousand pounds, and much good may it -do him. - -The portrait of Joshua Beakbane, on the back of that London and -North-Western railway share certificate, is still in my possession, -and hangs where all may see it in the library of my new habitation. I -now live far away on the coast of Cornwall where the great waves roll -in, straight from the heart of the Atlantic, where the common folk of -the district make some stir when I pass them by, and where echoes from -mighty London reverberate but peacefully in newspapers that are often a -week old before I see them. - - -THE END. - - -_R. Clay and Sons, London and Bungay._ - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My Adventure in the Flying Scotsman; A -Romance of London and North-Western Railway Shares, by Eden Phillpotts - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVENTURE IN THE FLYING SCOTSMAN *** - -***** This file should be named 54896.txt or 54896.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/8/9/54896/ - -Produced by readbueno, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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