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diff --git a/57294-h/57294-h.htm b/57294-h/57294-h.htm index 6b2f006..3ae7d26 100644 --- a/57294-h/57294-h.htm +++ b/57294-h/57294-h.htm @@ -41,43 +41,7 @@ p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} <body> -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Under Lock and Key, Volume I (of 3), by T. W. Speight - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. 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: Under Lock and Key, Volume I (of 3) - A Story - -Author: T. W. Speight - -Release Date: June 9, 2018 [EBook #57294] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNDER LOCK AND KEY, VOLUME I *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by the -Internet Archive (Library of the University of Illinois -at Urbana-Champaign) - - - - - - -</pre> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 57294 ***</div> <br> <br> @@ -3187,2711 +3151,7 @@ more clearly comprehensible:</p> <p>The following is a counterpart of the first few lines of the MS.:</p> <br> <div style="margin-left:-15px"> -<pre> - - 253.12 59.29 14.5 96.14 158.49 1.29 465.1 28.53 - 4 1 6 10 4 12 9 1 - ____________________________________ - 16.36 151.18 58.7 14.29 368.1 209.18 43.11 1.31 1.1 - ____________________________________ - 11 3 9 8 - 29.6 186.9 204.11 86.19 43.16 348.14 196.29 203.5 - 4 5 10 6 1 5 6 2 - 186.9 1.31 21.10 143.18 200.6 29.40 408.9 61.5 - 5 9 4 8 3 12 11 4 - 209.11 496.1 24.24 28.59 69.39 391.10 60.13 200.1 - 2 6 4 1 10 11 3 3 - -</pre> -</div> -<br> -<p>The following is Mr. Bexel's reply to his friend Captain Ducie:</p> -<br> - -<p>"<span class="sc">My Dear Ducie</span>,--With this note you will receive back your confounded -MS., but without a translation. I have spent a good deal of time and -labour in trying to decipher it, and the conclusions at which I have -arrived may be briefly laid before you.</p> - -<p>"1. Each group of three sets of figures represents a word.</p> - -<p>"2. Each group of two sets of figures--those with a line above and a -line below--represents a letter only.</p> - -<p>"3. Those letters put together from the point where the double line -begins to the point where it ceases, make up a word.</p> - -<p>"4. In the composition of this cryptogram _a book_ has been used as the -basis on which to work.</p> - -<p>"5. In every group of three sets of figures the first set represents -the page of the book; the second, the number of the line on that page, -probably counting from the top; the third the position in ordinary -rotation of the word on that line. Thus you have the number of the -page, the number of the line, and the number of the word.</p> - -<p>"6. In the case of the interlined groups of two sets of figures, the -first set represents the number of the page; the second set the number -of the line, probably counting from the top, of which line the -required letter will prove to be the initial one.</p> - -<p>"7. The words thus spelled out by the interlined groups of double -figures are, in all probability, proper names, or other uncommon words -not to be found in their entirety in the book on which the cryptogram -is based, and consequently requiring to be worked out letter by -letter.</p> - -<p>"8. The book in question is not a dictionary, nor any other work the -words of which come in alphabetical rotation. It is probably some -ordinary book which the writer of the cryptogram, and the person for -whom it is written, have agreed upon beforehand to make use of as a -key. I have no means of judging whether the book in question is an -English or a foreign one, but by it alone, whatever it may be, can the -cryptogram be read.</p> - -<p>"Now, my dear Ducie, it would be wearisome for me to describe, and -equally wearisome for you to read, the processes of reasoning by means -of which the above deductions have been arrived at. But in order to -satisfy you that my assumptions are not entirely fanciful or destitute -of sober sense, I will describe to you, as briefly as may be, the -process by means of which I have come to the conclusion that the book -used as the basis of the cryptogram was not a dictionary or other work -in which the words come in alphabetical rotation: and such a -conclusion is very easy of proof.</p> - -<p>"In a document so lengthy as the MS. of your friend the Scotch laird -there must of necessity be many repetitions of what may be called -'indispensable words'--words one or more of which are used in the -composition of almost every long sentence. I allude to such words as -_a, an, and, as, of, by, the, their, them, these, they, you, I, it_, -&c. The first thing to do was to analyse the MS., and classify the -different groups of figures for the purpose of ascertaining the number -of repetitions of any one group. My analysis showed me that these -repetitions were surprisingly few. Forty groups were repeated twice, -fifteen three times, and nine groups four times. Now, according to my -calculation, the MS. contains 1283 words. Out of those 1283 words -there must have been more than the number of repetitions shown by my -analysis, and not of one only, but of several of what I have called -'indispensable words.' Had a dictionary been made use of by the writer -of the MS. all such repetitions would have been referred to one -particular page, and to one particular line of that page: that is to -say, in every case where a word repeated itself in the MS. the same -group of numbers would in every case have been its _valuer_. As the -repetitions were so few I could only conclude that some book of an -ordinary kind had been made use of and that the writer of the -cryptogram had been sufficiently ingenious not to repeat his numbers -very frequently in the case of 'indispensable words,' but had in the -majority of cases given a fresh group of numbers at each repetition of -such a word. I might, perhaps, go further and say that in the majority -of cases where a group of figures is repeated such group refers to -some word less frequently used than any of those specified above, and -that one group was obliged to do duty on two or more occasions, simply -because the writer was unable to find the word more than once in the -book on which his cryptogram was based.</p> - -<p>"Having once arrived at the conclusion that some book had been used as -the basis of the cryptogram, my next supposition that each group of -three sets of numbers showed the page of the book, the number of the -line from the top, and the position of the required word in that line, -seemed at once borne out by an analysis of the figures themselves. -Thus, taking the first set of figures in each group, I found that in -no case did they run to a higher number than 500 which would seem to -indicate that the basis-book was limited to that number of pages. The -second set of figures ran to no higher number than 60, which would -seem to limit the lines on each page to that number. The third set of -figures in no case yielded a higher number than 12; which numerals, -according to my theory, would indicate the maximum number of words in -each line. Thus you have at once (if such information is of any use to -you) a sort of a key to the size of the required volume.</p> - -<p>"I think I have now written enough, my dear Ducie, to afford you some -idea of the method by means of which my conclusions have been arrived -at. If you wish for further details I will supply them--but by word of -mouth, and it be all the same to your honour; for this child detests -letter-writing, and has taken a vow that if he reach the end of his -present pen-and-ink venture in safety, he will never in time to come -devote more than two pages of cream note to even the most exacting of -friends: the sequitur of which is, that if you want to know more than -is here set down you must give the writer a call, when you shall be -talked to to your heart's content.</p> - -<p style="text-indent:50%">"Your exhausted friend,</p> - -<p style="text-indent:70%">"<span class="sc">Geo. Bexell</span>.</p> - -<p>"Captain Ducie."</p> -<br> - -<p>Captain Ducie had too great a respect for the knowledge of his friend -Bexell in matters like the one under review, to dream for one moment -of testing the validity of any of his conclusions. He accepted the -whole of them as final. Having got the conclusions themselves, he -cared nothing as to the processes by which they had been deduced: the -details interested him not at all. Consequently he kept out of the way -of his friend, being in truth considerably disgusted to find that, so -far as he was himself concerned, the affair had ended in a fiasco. He -could not look upon it in any other light. It was utterly out of the -range of probability that he should ever succeed in ascertaining on -what particular book the cryptogram was based, and no other knowledge -was now of the slightest avail. He was half inclined to send back the -MS. anonymously to Platzoff, as being of no further use to himself; -but he was restrained by the thought that there was just a faint -chance that the much-desired volume might turn up during his -forthcoming visit to Bon Repos--that even at the eleventh hour the key -might be found.</p> - -<p>He was terribly chagrined to think that the act of genteel petty -larceny, by which he had lowered himself more in his own eyes than he -would have cared to acknowledge, had been so absolutely barren of -results. That portion of his moral anatomy which he would have called -his conscience pricked him shrewdly now and again, but such pricks had -their origin in the fact of his knavery having been unsuccessful. Had -his wrong-doing won for him such a prize as he had fondly hoped to -gain by its means, Conscience would have let her rusted spear hang -unheeded on the wall, and beyond giving utterance now and then to a -faint whisper in the dead of night, would have troubled him not at -all.</p> - -<p>It was some time in the middle of the night, about a week after Bexell -had sent him back the papers, that he awoke suddenly and completely, -and there before him, as clearly as though it had been written in -letters of fire on the black wall, he saw the title of the wished-for -book. It was the book mentioned by Platzoff in his prefatory note: -_The Confessions of Parthenio the Mystic_. The knowledge had come to -him like a revelation. How stupid he must have been never to have -thought of it before! That night he slept no more.</p> - -<p>Next morning he went to one of the most famous bookdealers in the -metropolis. The book inquired for by Ducie was not known to the man. -But that did not say that there was no such work in existence. Through -his agents at home and abroad inquiry should be made, and the result -communicated to Captain Ducie. Therewith the latter was obliged to -content himself. Three days later came a pressing note of invitation -from Platzoff.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_11" href="#div1Ref_11">CHAPTER XI.</a></h4> -<h5>BON REPOS.</h5> -<br> - -<p>On a certain fine morning towards the end of May, Captain Ducie took -train at Euston-square, and late the same afternoon was set down at -Windermere. A fly conveyed himself and his portmanteau to the edge of -the lake. Singling out one from the tiny fleet of pleasure boats -always to be found at the Bowness landing-stage, Captain Ducie seated -himself in the stern, and lighted his cigar. The boatman's sinewy arms -soon pulled him out into the middle of the lake, when the head of the -little craft was set for Bon Repos.</p> - -<p>The sun was dipping to the western hills. In his wake he had left a -rack of torn and fiery cloud, as though he had rent his garments in -wrath and cast them from him. Soft, grey mists and purple shadows -were beginning to strike upward from the vales, but on the great -shoulders of Fairfield, and on the scarred fronts of other giants -further away, the sunshine lingered lovingly. It was like the hand of -Childhood caressing the rugged brows of Age.</p> - -<p>With that glorious panorama which crowns the head of the lake before -his eyes, with the rhythmic beat of the oars and the soft pulsing of -the water in his cars, with the blue smoke-rings of his cigar rising -like visible aspirations through the evening air, an unwonted peace, -a soft brooding quietude, began to settle down upon the captain's -world-worn spirit; and through the stillness came a faint whisper, -like his mother's voice speaking from the far-off years of childhood, -recalling to his memory things once known, but too long forgotten; -lessons too long despised, but with a vital truth underlying them -which he seemed never to have realized till now. Suddenly the boat's -keel grazed the shingly strand, and there before him, half shrouded in -the shadows of evening, was Bon Repos.</p> - -<p>A genuine north-country house, strong, rugged, and homely-looking, -despite its Gallic cognomen. It was built of the rough grey stone of -the district, and roofed with large blue slates. It stood at the head -of a small lawn that sloped gently up from the lake. Immediately -behind the house a precipitous hill covered with a thick growth of -underwood and young trees swept upward to a considerable height. A -narrow, winding lane, the only carriage approach to the house, wound -round the base of this hill, and joined the high road a quarter of a -mile away. The house was only two stories high, but was large enough -to have accommodated a numerous and well-to-do family. The windows -were all set in a framework of plain stone, but on the lower floor -some of them had been modernized, the small square bluish panes having -given place to polished plate glass, of which two panes only were -needed for each window. But this was an innovation that had not spread -far. The lawn was bordered with a tasteful diversity of shrubs and -flowers, while here and there the tender fingers of some climbing -plant seemed trying to smooth away a wrinkle in the rugged front of -the old house.</p> - -<p>Captain Ducie walked up the gravelled pathway that led from the lake -to the house, the boatman with his portmanteau bringing up the rear. -Before he could touch either bell or knocker, the door was noiselessly -opened, and a coloured servant, in a suit of plain black, greeted him -with a respectful bow.</p> - -<p>"Captain Ducie, sir, if I am not misinformed?"</p> - -<p>"I am Captain Ducie."</p> - -<p>"Sir, you are expected. Your room is ready. Dinner will be served in -half an hour from now. My master will meet you when you come -downstairs."</p> - -<p>The portmanteau having been brought in, and the boatman paid and -dismissed, said the coloured servant, "I will show you to your rooms -if you will allow me to do so. The man appointed to wait upon you will -follow with your luggage in a minute or two." He led the way, and -Ducie followed in silence.</p> - -<p>The tired captain gave a sigh of relief and gratitude, and flung -himself into an easy-chair as the door closed behind his conductor. -His two rooms were _en suite_, and while as replete with comfort as -the most thorough-going Englishman need desire, had yet about them a -touch of lightness and elegance that smacked of a taste that had been -educated on the Continent, and was unfettered by insular prejudices.</p> - -<p>"At Stapleton I had a loft that was hardly fit for a groom to sleep -in; here I have two rooms that a cardinal might feel proud to occupy. -Vive la Russe!"</p> - -<p>M. Platzoff was waiting at the foot of the staircase when Ducie went -down. A cordial greeting passed between the two, and the host at once -led the way to the dining-room. Platzoff in his suit of black and -white cravat, with his cadaverous face, blue-black hair, and -chin-tuft, and the elaborate curl on the top of his forehead, looked, -at the first glance, more like a ghastly undertaker's man, or a waiter -at a foreign café, than the host of an English country house. But a -second glance would have shown you his embroidered linen, and the -flashing gems on his fingers; and you could not be long with him -without being made aware that you were in the company of a thorough -man of the world--of one who had travelled much and observed much; of -one whose correspondents kept him _au courant_ with all the chief -topics of the day. He knew, and could tell you, the secret history of -the last new opera; how much had been paid for it, what it had cost to -produce, and all about the great green-room cabal against the new -prima donna. He knew what amount of originality could be safely -claimed for the last new drama that was taking the town by storm, and -how many times the same story had been hashed up before. He had read -the last French novel of any note, and could favour you with a few -personal reminiscences of its author not generally known. As regarded -political knowledge--if all his statements were to be trusted--he was -informed as to much that was going on behind the great drop-scene. He -knew how the wires were pulled that moved the puppets who danced in -public, especially those wires which were pulled at Paris, Vienna, and -St. Petersburg. Before Ducie had been six hours at Bon Repos he knew -more about political intrigues at home and abroad than he had ever -dreamt of in the whole course of his previous life.</p> - -<p>The dining-room at Bon Repos was a long low-ceilinged apartment, -panelled with black oak, and fitted up in a rich and sombre style that -was yet very different from the dull heavy formality that obtains -among three-fourths of the dining-rooms in English country houses. -Indeed, throughout the appointments and fittings of Bon Repos there -was a touch of something Oriental grafted on to French taste, combined -with a thorough knowledge and appreciation of insular comfort. From -the dining-room windows a lovely stretch of the lake could be seen -glimmering in the starlight, and our two friends sat this evening over -their wine by the wide open sash, gazing out into the delicious night. -Behind them, in the room, two or three candles were burning in silver -sconces; but at the window they were sitting in that sort of half -light which seems exactly suited for confidential talk. Captain Ducie -took advantage of it after a time to ask his host a question which he -would perhaps have scarcely cared to put by broad daylight.</p> - -<p>"Have you heard any news of your lost manuscript?"</p> - -<p>"None whatever," answered Platzoff. "Neither do I expect, after this -lapse of time, to hear anything further concerning it. It has probably -never been found, or if found, has (as you suggested at the 'Golden -Griffin') fallen into the hands of some one too ignorant, or too -incurious, to master the secret of the cipher."</p> - -<p>"It has been much in my thoughts since I saw you last," said Ducie. -"Was the MS. in your own writing, may I ask?"</p> - -<p>"It was in my own writing," answered the Russian. "It was a -confidential communication intended for the eye of my dearest friend, -and for his eye only. It was unfinished when I lost it. I had been -staying a few days at one of your English spas when I joined you in -the train on the day of the accident. The MS., as far as it went, had -all been written before I left home, but I took it with me in my -despatch-box, together with other private papers, although I knew that -I could not add a single line to it while I should be from home. I -have wished a thousand times since that I had left it behind me."</p> - -<p>"I have heard of people to whom cryptography is a favourite study," -said the captain; "people who pride themselves on their ability to -master the most difficult cipher ever invented. Let us hope that your -MS. has not fallen into the hands of one of these clever individuals."</p> - -<p>Platzoff shrugged his shoulders. "Let us hope so, indeed," he said. -"But I will not believe in any such untoward event. Too long a time -has elapsed since the loss for me not to have heard something -respecting the MS., had it been found by any one who knew how to make -use of it. Besides, I would defy the most clever reader of cryptography -to master my MS. without----Ah, bah! where's the use of talking about -it? Should not you like some tobacco? Daylight's last tint has -vanished, and there is a chill air sweeping down from the hills."</p> - -<p>As they left the window, Platzoff added: "One of the most annoying -features connected with my loss arises from the fact that all my -labour will have to be gone through again--and very tedious work it -is. I am now engaged on a second MS., which is, as nearly as I can -make it, a copy of the first one; and it is a task which must be done -by myself alone. To have even one confidant would be to stultify the -whole affair. Another glass of claret, and then I will introduce you -to my sanctum."</p> - -<p>The coloured man who had opened the door for Captain Ducie had been in -and out of the dining-room several times. He was evidently a favourite -servant. Platzoff had addressed him as Cleon, and Ducie had now a -question or two to ask concerning him.</p> - -<p>Cleon was a mulatto, tall, agile, and strong. Not bad-looking by any -means, but carrying with him unmistakable traces of the negro blood in -his veins. His hair was that of a genuine African--crisp and black, -and was one mass of short curls; but except for a certain fulness of -the lips his features were of the ordinary Caucasian type. He wore no -beard, but a thin straight line of black moustache. His complexion was -yellow, but a different yellow from that of his master--dusky, -passionate, lava-like; suggestive of fiery depths below. His eyes, -too, glowed with a smothered fire that seemed as if it might blaze out -at any moment, and there was in them an expression of snake-like -treachery that made Captain Ducie shudder involuntarily, as though he -had seen some loathsome reptile, the first time he looked steadily -into their half-veiled depths. One look into each other's eyes was -sufficient for both these men.</p> - -<p>"Monsieur Cleon and I are born enemies, and he knows it as well as I -do," murmured Ducie to himself, after the first secret signal of -defiance had passed between the two. "Well, I never was afraid of any -man in my life, and I'm not going to begin by being afraid of a -valet." With that he shrugged his shoulders, and turned his back -contemptuously on the mulatto.</p> - -<p>Cleon in his suit of black and white tie, with his quiet stealthy -movements and unobtrusive attentions, would have been pronounced bon -style as a gentleman's gentleman in the grandest of Belgravian -mansions. Had he suddenly come into a fortune, and gone into society -where his antecedents were unknown, five-sixths of his male associates -would have pronounced him "a deuced gentlemanly fellow." The remaining -one-sixth might have held a somewhat different opinion.</p> - -<p>"That coloured fellow seems to be a great favourite with you," -remarked Ducie, as Cleon left the room.</p> - -<p>"And well he may be," answered Platzoff. "On two separate occasions I -owed my life to him. Once in South America, when a couple of brigands -had got me at their mercy, and were about to try the temper of their -knives on my throat. He potted them both one after the other. On the -second occasion be rescued me from a tiger in the jungle, who was -desirous of dining _à la Russe_. I have not made a favourite of Cleon -without having my reasons for so doing."</p> - -<p>"He seems to me a shrewd fellow, and one who understands his -business."</p> - -<p>"Cleon is not destitute of ability. When I settled at Bon Repos I made -him major-domo of my small establishment, but he still retains his old -position as my body-servant. I offered long ago to release him; but he -will not allow any third person to come between himself and me, and I -should not feel comfortable under the attentions of any one else."</p> - -<p>Platzoff opened the door as he ceased speaking and led the way to the -smoking-room.</p> - -<p>As you lifted the curtain and went in, it was like passing at one step -from Europe to the East--from the banks of Windermere to the shores of -the Bosphorus. It was a circular apartment with a low cushioned divan -running completely round it, except where broken by the two doorways, -curtained with hangings of dark brown. The floor was an arabesque of -different coloured tiles covered here and there with a tiny square of -bright-hued Persian carpet. The walls were panelled with stamped -leather to the height of six feet from the ground; above the panelling -they were painted of a delicate cream colour with here and there a -maxim or apothegm from the Koran, in the Arabic character, picked out -in different colours. From the ceiling a silver lamp swung on chains -of silver. In the centre of the room was a marble table on which were -pipes and hookahs, cigars and tobaccos of various kinds. Smaller -tables were placed here and there close to the divan for the -convenience of smokers.</p> - -<p>Platzoff having asked Ducie to excuse him for five minutes, passed -through the second doorway, and left the captain to an undisturbed -survey of the room. He came back in a few minutes, but so transformed -in outward appearance that Ducie scarcely knew him. He had left the -room in the full evening costume of an English gentleman: he came back -in the turban and flowing robes of a follower of the Prophet. But -however comfortable his Eastern habit might be, M. Platzoff lacked the -quiet dignity and grave repose of your genuine Turkish gentleman.</p> - -<p>"I am going to smoke one of these hookahs; let me recommend you to try -another," said Platzoff as he squatted himself cross-legged on the -divan.</p> - -<p>He touched a tiny gong, and Cleon entered.</p> - -<p>"Select a hookah for Monsieur Ducie, and prepare it."</p> - -<p>So Cleon, having chosen a pipe, tipped it with a new amber mouthpiece, -charged the bowl with fragrant Turkish tobacco, handed the stem to -Ducie, and then applied the light. The same service was next performed -for his master. Then he withdrew, but only to reappear a minute or two -later with coffee served up in the Oriental fashion--black and strong, -without sugar or cream.</p> - -<p>"This is one of my little smoke-nights," said Platzoff as soon as they -were alone. "Last night was one of my big smoke-nights."</p> - -<p>"You speak a language I do not understand."</p> - -<p>"I call those occasions on which I smoke opium my big smoke-nights."</p> - -<p>"Can it be true that you are an opium smoker?" said Ducie.</p> - -<p>"It can be and is quite true that I am addicted to that so-called -pernicious habit. To me it is one of the few good things this world -has to offer. Opium is the key that unlocks the golden gates of -Dreamland. To its disciples alone is revealed the true secret of -subjective happiness. But we will talk more of this at some future -time."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_12" href="#div1Ref_12">CHAPTER XII.</a></h4> -<h5>THE AMSTERDAM EDITION OF 1698.</h5> -<br> - -<p>Captain Ducie soon fell into the quiet routine of life at Bon Repos. -It was not distasteful to him. To a younger man it might have seemed -to lack variety, to have impinged too closely on the verge of dulness; -but Captain Ducie had reached that time of life when quiet pleasures -please the most, and when much can be forgiven the man who sets before -you a dinner worth eating. Not that Ducie had anything to forgive. -Platzoff had contracted a great liking for his guest, and his -hospitality was of that cordial quality which makes the object of it -feel himself thoroughly at home. Besides this, the captain knew when -he was well off, and had no wish to exchange his present pleasant -quarters, his rambles across the hills, and his sailings on the lake, -for his dingy bedroom in town with the harassing hunted-down life of a -man upon whom a dozen writs are waiting to be served, and who can -never feel certain that his next day's dinner may not be eaten behind -the locks and bars of a prison.</p> - -<p>Sometimes on horseback, sometimes on foot, sometimes accompanied by -his host, sometimes alone, Ducie explored the lovely country round Bon -Repos to his heart's content. Another source of pleasure and healthful -exercise he found in long solitary pulls up and down the lake in a -tiny skiff which had been set apart for his service. In the evening -came dinner and conversation with his host, with perhaps a game or two -of billiards to finish up the day.</p> - -<p>Captain Ducie found no scope for the exercise of his gambling -proclivities at Bon Repos. Platzoff never touched card or dice. He -could handle a cue tolerably well, but beyond a half-crown game, Ducie -giving him ten points out of fifty, he could never be persuaded to -venture. If the captain, when he went down to Bon Repos, had any -expectation of replenishing his pockets by means of faro and unlimited -loo, he was wretchedly mistaken. But whatever secret annoyance he -might feel, he was too much a man of the world to allow his host even -to suspect its existence.</p> - -<p>Of society in the ordinary meaning of that word there was absolutely -none at Bon Repos. None of the neighbouring families by any chance -ever called on Platzoff. By no chance did Platzoff ever call on any of -the neighbouring families. "They are too good for me, too orthodox, -too strait-laced," exclaimed the Russian one day in his quiet jeering -way. "Or it may be that I am not good enough for them. Any way, we do -not coalesce. Rather are we like flint and steel, and eliminate a -spark whenever we come in contact. They look upon me as a pagan, and -hold me in horror. I look upon three-fourths of them as Pharisees, and -hold them in contempt. Good people there are among them no doubt; -people whom it would be a pleasure to know, but I have neither time, -health, nor inclination for conventional English visiting--for your -ponderous style of hospitality. I am quite sure that my ideas of men -and manners would not coincide with those of the quiet country ladies -and gentlemen of these parts; while theirs would seem to me terribly -wearisome and jejune. Therefore, as I take it, we are better apart."</p> - -<p>By and by Ducie discovered that his host was not so entirely isolated -from the world as at first sight he appeared to be. Occasional society -there was of a certain kind, intermittent, coming and going like birds -of passage. One, or sometimes two visitors, of whose arrival Ducie had -heard no previous mention, would now and again put in an appearance at -the dinner table, would pass one, or at the most two, nights at Bon -Repos, and would then be seen no more, having gone as mysteriously as -they had come. These visitors were always foreigners, now of one -nationality, now of another; and were always closeted privately with -Platzoff for several hours. In appearance some of them were strangely -shabby and unkempt, in a wild un-English sort of fashion, while others -among them seemed like men to whom the good things of this world were -no strangers. But whatever their appearance, they were all treated by -Platzoff as honoured guests for whom nothing at his command was too -good. As a matter of course, they were all introduced to Captain -Ducie, but none of their names had been heard by him before--indeed, -he had a dim suspicion, gathered, he could not have told how, that the -names by which they were made known to him were in some cases -fictitious ones, and appropriated for that occasion only. But to the -captain that fact mattered nothing. They were people whom he should -never meet after leaving Bon Repos, or if he did chance to meet them, -whom he should never recognise.</p> - -<p>One other noticeable feature there was about these birds of passage. -They were all men of considerable intelligence--men who could talk -tersely and well on almost any topic that might chance to come -uppermost at table, or during the after-dinner smoke. Literature, art, -science, travel--on any or all of these subjects they had opinions to -offer; but one subject there was that seemed tabooed among them as by -common consent: that subject was politics. Captain Ducie saw and -recognised the fact, but as he himself was a man who cared nothing for -politics of any kind, and would have voted them a bore in general -conversation, he was by no means disposed to resent their extrusion -from the table talk at Bon Repos.</p> - -<p>As to whom and what these strangers might be, no direct information -was vouchsafed by the Russian. Captain Ducie was left in a great -measure to draw his own conclusions. A certain conversation which he -had one day with his host seemed to throw some light on the matter. -Ducie had been asking Platzoff whether he did not sometimes regret -having secluded himself so entirely from the world; whether he did not -long sometimes to be in the great centres of humanity, in London or -Paris, where alone life's full flavour can be tasted.</p> - -<p>"Whenever Bon Repos becomes Mal Repos," answered Platzoff,--"whenever -a longing such as you speak of comes over me,--and it does come -sometimes,--then I flee away for a few weeks, to London oftener than -anywhere else--certainly not to Paris: that to me is forbidden ground. -By-and-by I come back to my nest among the hills vowing there is no -place like it in the world's wide round. But even when I am here, I am -not so shut out from the world and its great interests as you seem to -imagine. I see History enacting itself before my eyes, and I cannot -sit by with averted face. I hear the grand chant of Liberty as the -beautiful goddess comes nearer and nearer and smites down one -Oppressor after another with her red right hand; and I cannot shut my -ears. I have been an actor in the great drama of Revolution ever -since, a lad of twelve, I saw my father borne off in chains to -Siberia, and heard my mother with her dying breath curse the tyrant -who had sent him there. Since that day, Conspiracy has been the very -salt of my life. For it I have fought and bled; for it I have suffered -hunger, thirst, imprisonment, and dangers unnumbered. Paris, Vienna, -St. Petersburg, are all places that I can never hope to see again. For -me to set foot in any one of the three would be to run the risk of -almost certain detection, and in my case detection would mean hopeless -incarceration for the poor remainder of my days. To the world at large -I may seem nothing but a simple country gentleman, living a dull life -in a spot remote from all stirring interests. But I may tell you, sir -(in strictest confidence, mind) that although I stand a little aside -from the noise and heat of the battle, I work for it with heart and -brain as busily, and to better purpose let us hope, than when I was a -much younger man. I am still a conspirator, and a conspirator I shall -remain till Death taps me on the shoulder and serves me with his last -great writ of _habeas corpus_."</p> - -<p>These words recurred to Ducie's memory a day or two later when he -found at the dinner-table two foreigners whom he had never seen -before. "Is it possible that these bearded gentlemen are also -conspirators?" asked the captain of himself. "If so, their mode of -life must be a very uncomfortable one. It never seems to include the -use of a razor, and very sparingly that of comb and brush. I am glad -that I have nothing to do with what Platzoff calls _The Great Cause_."</p> - -<p>But Captain Ducie was not a man to trouble himself with the affairs of -other people unless his own interests were in some way affected -thereby. M. Paul Platzoff might have been mixed up with all the plots -in Europe for anything the captain cared: it was a mere question of -taste, and he never interfered with another man's tastes when they did -not clash with his own. Besides, in the present case, his attention -was claimed by what to him was a matter of far more serious interest. -From day to day he was anxiously waiting for news from the London -bookseller who was making inquiries on his behalf as to the -possibility of obtaining a copy of "_The Confessions of Parthenio the -Mystic_." Day passed after day till a fortnight had gone, and still -there came no line from the bookseller.</p> - -<p>Ducie's impatience could no longer be restrained: he wrote, asking for -news. The third day brought a reply. The bookseller had at last heard -of a copy. It was in the library of a monastery in the Low Countries. -The coffers of the monastery needed replenishing; the abbot was -willing to part with the book, but the price of it would be a sum -equivalent to fifty guineas of English money. Such was the purport of -the letter.</p> - -<p>To Captain Ducie, just then, fifty guineas were a matter of serious -moment. For a full hour he debated with himself whether or no he -should order the book to be bought. Supposing it duly purchased; -supposing that it really proved to be the key by which the secret of -the Russian's MS. could be mastered; might not the secret itself prove -utterly worthless as far as he, Ducie, was concerned? Might it not be -merely a secret bearing on one of those confounded political plots in -which Platzoff was implicated--a matter of moment no doubt to the -writer, but of no earthly utility to any one not inoculated with such -March-hare madness? These were the questions that it behoved him to -consider. At the end of an hour he decided that the game was worth the -candle: he would risk his fifty guineas.</p> - -<p>Taking one of Platzoff's horses, he rode without delay to the nearest -telegraph station. His message to the bookseller was as under:</p> - -<p>"Buy the book, and send it down to me here by confidential messenger."</p> - -<p>The next few days were days of suspense, of burning impatience. The -messenger arrived almost sooner than Ducie expected, bringing the book -with him. Ducie sighed as he signed the cheque for fifty guineas, with -ten pounds for expenses. That shabby calf-bound worm-eaten volume -seemed such a poor exchange for the precious slip of paper that had -just left his fingers. But what was done could not be undone, so he -locked the book away carefully in his desk and locked up his -impatience with it till nightfall.</p> - -<p>He could not get away from Platzoff till close upon midnight. When he -got to his own room he bolted the door, and drew the curtains across -the windows, although he knew that it was impossible for any one to -spy on him from without. Then he opened his desk, spread out the MS. -before him, and took up the volume. A calf-bound volume with red -edges, and numbering five hundred pages. It was in English, and the -title-page stated it to be "The Confessions of Parthenio the Mystic: a -Romance. Translated from the Latin. With Annotations, and a Key to -Sundrie Dark Meanings. Imprinted at Amsterdam in he Year of Grace -1698." It was in excellent condition.</p> - -<p>Captain Ducie's eagerness to test his prize would not allow of more -than a very cursory inspection of the general contents of the volume. -So far as he could make out it seemed to be a political satire veiled -under the transparent garb of an Eastern story. Parthenio was -represented as a holy man--a Spiritualist or Mystic--who had lived for -many years in a cave in one of the Arabian deserts. Commanded at -length by what he calls the "inner voice," he sets out on his travels -to visit sundry courts and kingdoms of the East. He returns after five -years, and writes, for the benefit of his disciples, an account of the -chief things he has seen and learned while on his travels. The courts -of England, France, and Spain, under fictitious names, are the chief -marks for his ponderous satire, and some of the greatest men in the -three kingdoms are lashed with his most scurrilous abuse. Under any -circumstances the book was not one that Captain Ducie would have cared -to wade through, and in the present case, after dipping into a page -here and there, and finding that it contained nothing likely to -interest him, he proceeded at once to the more serious business of the -evening.</p> - -<p>The clocks of Bon Repos were striking midnight as Captain Ducie -proceeded to test the value of the first group of figures on the MS., -according to the formula laid down for him by his friend Bexell. The -first group of figures was 253.12/4. Turning to page two hundred and -fifty-three of the Confessions, and counting from the top of that -page, he found that the fourth word of the twelfth line gave him -_you_. The second clump of figures was 59.25/1. The first word of the -twenty-fifth line of page fifty-nine gave him _will_. The third clump -of figures gave him _have_, and the fourth _gathered_. These four -words ranged in order read: _You will have gathered_. Such a sequence -of words could not arise from mere accident. When he had got thus far -Ducie knew that Platzoff's secret would soon be a secret no longer, -that in a very little while the heart of the mystery would be laid -bare.</p> - -<p>Encouraged by his success, Ducie went to work with renewed vigour, and -before the clock struck one he had completed the first sentence of the -MS., which ran as under:--</p> - -<p>_You will have gathered from the foregoing note, my dear Carlo, that I -have something of importance to relate to you--something that I am -desirous of keeping a secret front every one but yourself_.</p> - -<p>As his friend Bexell surmised, Ducie found that the groups of figures -distinguished from the rest by two horizontal lines, one above and one -below, as thus</p> -<pre> - --------------------------------- - 58.7 14.29 368.1 209.18 43.11, - --------------------------------- -</pre> -<p class="continue">were the _valeurs_ of some proper name or other word for which there -was no equivalent in the book. Such words had to be spelt out letter -by letter in the same way that complete words were picked out in other -cases. Thus the marked figures as above, when taken letter by letter, -made up the word _Carlo_--a name to which there was nothing similar in -the Confessions.</p> - -<p>It had been broad daylight for two hours before Captain Ducie grew -tired of his task and went to bed. He went on with it next night, and -every night till it was finished. It was a task that deepened in -interest as he proceeded with it. It grew upon him to such a degree -that when near the close he feigned illness and kept his room for a -whole day, so that he might the sooner get it done.</p> - -<p>If Captain Ducie had ever amused himself with trying to imagine the -nature of the secret which he had now succeeded in unravelling, the -reality must have been very different from his expectations. One -gigantic thought, whose coming made him breathless for a moment, took -possession of him, as a demon might have done, almost before he had -finished his task, dwarfing all other thoughts by its magnitude. It -was a thought that found relief in six words only: "It must and shall -be mine!"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_13" href="#div1Ref_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h4> -<h5>M. PLATZOFF'S SECRET--CAPTAIN DUCIE'S TRANSLATION<br> -OF M. PAUL PLATZOFF'S MS.</h5> -<br> - -<p>"You will have gathered from the foregoing note, my dear Carlo, that I -have something of importance to relate to you; something that I am -desirous of keeping a secret from every one but yourself. From the -same source you will have learned where to find the key by which alone -the lock of my secret can be opened.</p> - -<p>"I was induced by two reasons to make use of 'The Confessions of -Parthenio the Mystic' as the basis of my cryptographic communication. -In the first place, each of us has in his possession a copy of the -same edition of that rare book, viz. the Amsterdam edition of 1698. In -the second place, there are not more thou half a dozen copies of the -same work in England; so that if this document were by mischance to -fall into the hands of some person other than him for whom it is -intended, such person, even if sufficiently acute to guess at the -means by which alone the cryptogram can be read, would still find it a -matter of some difficulty to obtain possession of the requisite key.</p> - -<p>"I address these lines to you, my dear Lampini, not because you and I -have been friends from youth, not because we have shared many dangers -and hardship together, not because we have both kept the same great -object in view throughout life; in fine, I do not address them to you -as a private individual, but in your official capacity as Secretary of -the Secret Society of San Marco.</p> - -<p>"You know how deeply I have had the objects of the Society at heart -ever since, twenty-five years ago, I was deemed worthy of being made -one of the initiated. You know how earnestly I have striven to forward -its views both in England and abroad; that through my connexion with -it I am _suspect_ at nearly every capital on the Continent--that I -could not enter some of them except at the risk of my life; that -health, time, money--all have been ungrudgingly given for the -furtherance of the same great end.</p> - -<p>"Heaven knows, I am not penning these lines in any self-gratulatory -frame of mind--I who write from this happy haven among the hills. -Self-gratulation would ill become such as me. Where I have given gold, -others have given their blood. Where I have given time and labour, -others have undergone long and cruel imprisonments, have been -separated from all they loved on earth, and have seen the best years -of their life fade hopelessly out between the four walls of a living -tomb. What are my petty sacrifices to such as these?</p> - -<p>"But not to every one is granted the happiness of cementing a great -cause with his heart's blood. We must each work in the appointed -way--some of us in the full light of day; others in obscure corners, -at work that can never be seen, putting in the stones of the -foundation painfully one by one, but never destined to share in the -glory of building the roof of the edifice.</p> - -<p>"Sometimes, in your letters to me, especially when those letters -contained any disheartening news, I have detected a tone of -despondency, a latent doubt as to whether the cause, to which both of -us are so firmly bound, was really progressing; whether it was not -fighting against hope to continue the battle any longer; whether it -would not be wiser to retreat to the few caves and fastnesses that -were left us, and leaving Liberty still languishing in chains, and -Tyranny still rampant in the high places of the world, to wage no -longer a useless war against the irresistible Fates. Happily, with you -such moods were of the rarest: you would have been more than mortal -had not your soul at times sat in sackcloth and ashes.</p> - -<p>"Such seasons of doubt and gloom have come to me also; but I know -that in our secret hearts we both of us have felt that there was a -self-sustaining power, a latent vitality in our cause that nothing -could crush out utterly; that the more it was trampled on the more -dangerous it would become, and the faster it would spread. Certain -great events that have happened during the last twelve months have -done more towards the propagation of the ideas we have so much at -heart than in our wildest dreams we dare have hoped only three short -years ago. Gravely considering these things, it seems to me that the -time cannot be far distant when the contingent plan of operations as -agreed upon by the Central Committee two years ago, to which I gave in -my adhesion on the occasion of your last visit to Bon Repos, will have -to replace the scheme at present in operation, and will become the -great lever in carrying out the Society's policy in time to come.</p> - -<p>"When the time shall be ripe, but one difficulty will stand in the way -of carrying out the proposed contingent plan. That difficulty will -arise from the fact that the Society's present expenses will then be -trebled or quadrupled, and that a vast accession to the funds at -command of the Committee for the time being will thus be imperatively -necessitated. As a step, as a something towards obviating whatever -difficulty may arise from lack of funds, I have devised to you, as -Secretary of the Society, the whole of my personal estate, amounting -in the aggregate to close upon fifteen thousand pounds. This property -will not accrue to you till my decease; but that event will happen no -very long time hence. My will, duly signed and witnessed, will be -found in the hands of my lawyer.</p> - -<p>"But it was not merely to advise you of this bequest that I have -sought such a roundabout mode of communication. I have a greater and a -much more important bequest to make to the Society, through you, its -accredited agent. I have in my possession a green DIAMOND, the -estimated value of which is a hundred and fifty thousand pounds. This -precious gem I shall leave to you, by you to be sold after my death, -the proceeds of the sale to be added to the other funded property of -the Society of San Marco.</p> - -<p>"The Diamond in question became mine during my travels in India many -years ago. I believe my estimate of its value to be a correct one. -Except my confidential servant, Cleon (whom you will remember), no one -is aware that I have in my possession a stone of such immense value. I -have never trusted it out of my own keeping, but have always retained -it by me, in a safe place, where I could lay my hands upon it at a -moment's notice. But not even to Cleon have I entrusted the secret of -the hiding-place, incorruptibly faithful as I believe him to be. It is -a secret locked in my own bosom alone.</p> - -<p>"You will now understand why I have resorted to cryptography in -bringing these facts under your notice. It is intended that these -lines shall not be read by you till after my decease. Had I adopted -the ordinary mode of communicating with you, it seemed to me not -impossible that some other eye than the one for which it was intended -might peruse this statement before it reached you, and that through -some foul play or underhand deed the Diamond might never come into -your possession.</p> - -<p>"It only remains for me now to point out where and by what means the -Diamond may be found. It is hidden away in----"</p> -<br> - -<p>Here the MS., never completed, ended abruptly.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_14" href="#div1Ref_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h4> -<h5>DRASHKIL-SMOKING.</h5> -<br> - -<p>"It must and shall be mine!"</p> - -<p>So spoke Captain Ducie on the spur of the moment as he wrote the last -word of his translation of M. Platzoff's MS. And yet there was a keen -sense of disappointment working within him. His blood had been at -fever heat during the latter part of his task. Each fresh sentence of -the cryptogram as he began to decipher it would, he hoped, before he -reached the end of it reveal to him the hiding-place of the great -Diamond. Up to the very last sentence he had thus fondly deluded -himself, only to find that the abrupt ending of the MS. left him still -on the brink of the secret, and left him there without any clue by -which he could advance a single step beyond that point. He was -terribly disappointed, and the longer he brooded over the case the -more entirely hopeless was the aspect it put on.</p> - -<p>But there was an elasticity of mind about Captain Ducie that would not -allow him to despair utterly for any length of time. In the course of -a few days, as he began to recover from his first chagrin, he at the -same time began to turn the affair of the Diamond over and over in his -mind, now in one way, now in another, looking at it in this light and -in that; trying to find the first faint indications of a clue which, -judiciously followed up, might conduct him step by step to the heart -of the mystery. Two questions naturally offered themselves for -solution. First: Did Platzoff habitually carry the Diamond about his -person? Second: Was it kept in some skilfully-devised hiding-place -about the house? These were questions that could be answered only by -time and observation.</p> - -<p>So Captain Ducie went about Bon Repos like a man with half a dozen -pairs of eyes, seeing, and not only seeing but noting, a hundred -little things such as would never have been observed by him under -ordinary circumstances. But when, at the end of a week, he came to sum -up and classify his observations, and to consider what bearing they -had upon the great mystery of the hiding-place of the Diamond, he -found that they had no bearing upon it whatever; that for anything -seen or heard by him the world might hold no such precious gem, and -the Russian's letter to Signor Lampini might be nothing more than an -elaborate hoax.</p> - -<p>When the access of chagrin caused by the recognition of this fact had -in some degree subsided, Ducie was ready enough to ridicule his own -foolish expectations. "Platzoff has had the Diamond in his possession -for years. For him there is nothing of novelty in such a fact. Yet -here have I been foolish enough to expect that in the course of one -short week I should, discover by some sign or token the spot where it -is hidden, and that too after I knew from his own confession that the -secret was one which he guarded most jealously. I might be here for -five years and be not one whit wiser at the end of that time as -regards the hiding-place of the Diamond than I am now. From this day I -give up the affair as a bad job."</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, he did not quite do that. He kept up his habit of seeing -and noting little things, but without any definite views as to any -ulterior benefit that might accrue to him therefrom. Perhaps there was -some vague idea floating in his mind that Fortune, who had served him -so many kind turns in years gone by, might befriend him once again in -this matter--might point out to him the wished-for clue, and indicate -by what means he could secure the Diamond for his own.</p> - -<p>The magnitude of the temptation dazzled him. Captain Ducie would not -have picked your pocket, or have stolen your watch, or your horse, or -the title-deeds of your property. He had never put another man's name -to a bill instead of his own. You might have made him trustee for your -widow or children, and have felt sure that their interests would have -been scrupulously respected at his hands. Yet with all this--strange -contradiction as it may seem--if he could have laid surreptitious -fingers on M. Platzoff's Diamond, that gentleman would certainly never -have seen his cherished gem again. But had Platzoff placed it in his -hands and said, "Take this to London for me and deposit it at my -bankers," the commission would have been faithfully fulfilled. It -seemed as if the element of mystery, of deliberate concealment, made -all the difference in Captain Ducie's unspoken estimate of the case. -Besides, would there not be something princely in such a theft? You -cannot put a man who steals a diamond worth a hundred and fifty -thousand pounds in the category of common thieves. Such an act verges -on the sublime.</p> - -<p>One of the things seen and noticed by Captain Ducie was the absence, -through illness, of the mulatto, Cleon, from his duties, and the -substitution in his place of a man whom Ducie had never seen before. -This stranger was both clever and obliging, and Platzoff himself -confessed that the fellow made such a good substitute that he missed -Cleon less than he at first feared he should have done. He was indeed -very assiduous, and found time to do many odd jobs for Captain Ducie, -who contracted quite a liking for him.</p> - -<p>Between Ducie and Cleon there existed one of those blind unreasoning -hatreds which spring up full-armed and murderous at first sight. Such -enmities are not the less deadly because they sometimes find no relief -in words. Cleon treated Ducie with as much outward respect and -courtesy as he did any other of his master's guests; no private -communication ever passed between the two, and yet each understood the -other's feelings towards him, and both of them were wise enough to -keep as far apart as possible. Neither of them dreamed at that time of -the strange fruit which their mutual enmity was to bear in time to -come. Meanwhile, Cleon lay sick in his own room, and Captain Ducie was -rather gladdened thereby.</p> -<br> - -<p>M. Platzoff rarely touched cigar or pipe till after dinner; but, -whatever company he might have, when that meal was over, it was his -invariable custom to retire for an hour or two to the room consecrated -to the uses of the Great Herb, and his guests seldom or never declined -to accompany him. To Captain Ducie, as an inveterate smoker, these -_séances_ were very pleasant.</p> - -<p>On the very first evening of the captain's arrival at Bon Repos, M. -Platzoff had intimated that he was an opium smoker, and that at no -very distant date he would enlighten Ducie as to the practice in -question. About a week later, as they sat down to their pipes and -coffee, said Platzoff, "This is one of my big smoke-nights. To-night I -go on a journey of discovery into Dreamland--a country that no -explorations can exhaust, where beggars are the equals of kings, and -where the Fates that control our actions are touched with a fine -eccentricity that in a more commonplace world would be termed madness. -But there nothing is commonplace."</p> - -<p>"You are going to smoke opium?" said Ducie, interrogatively.</p> - -<p>"I am going to smoke drashkil. Let me, for this once, persuade you to -follow my example."</p> - -<p>"For this once I would rather be excused," said Ducie, laughingly.</p> - -<p>Platzoff shrugged his shoulders. "I offer to open for you the golden -gates of a land full of more strange and wondrous things than were -ever dreamed of by any early voyager as being in that new world on -whose discovery he was bent; I offer to open up for you a set of -experiences so utterly fresh and startling that your matter-of-fact -English intellect cannot even conceive of such things. I offer you all -this, and you laugh me down with an air of superiority, as though I -were about to present you with something which, however precious it -might be in my eyes, in yours was utterly without value."</p> - -<p>"If I sin at all," said Ducie, "it is through ignorance. The -subject is one respecting which I know next to nothing. But I must -confess that about experiences such as you speak of there is an -intangibility--a want of substance--that to me would make them seem -singularly valueless."</p> - -<p>"And is not the thing we call life one tissue of intangibilities?" -asked the Russian. "You can touch neither the beginning nor the end -of it. Do not its most cherished pleasures fly you even as you are in -the very net of trying to grasp them? Do you know for certain that -you--you yourself--are really here?--that you do not merely dream that -you are here? What do you know?"</p> - -<p>"Your theories are too far-fetched for me," said Ducie. "A dream can -be nothing more than itself--nothing can give it backbone or -substance. To me such things are of no more value than the shadow I -cast behind me when I walk in the sun."</p> - -<p>"And yet without substance there could be no shadow," snarled the -Russian.</p> - -<p>"Do your experiences in any way resemble those recorded by De -Quincey?"</p> - -<p>"They do and they do not," answered Platzoff. "I can often trace, or -fancy that I can, a slight connecting likeness, arising probably from -the fact that in the case of both of us a similar, or nearly similar -agent was employed for a similar purpose. But, as a rule, the -intellectual difference between any two men is sufficient to render -their experiences in this respect utterly dissimilar."</p> - -<p>"It does not follow, I presume, that all the visions induced by the -imbibition of opium, or what you term drashkil, are pleasant ones?"</p> - -<p>"By no means. You cannot have forgotten what De Quincey has to say on -that score. But whether they are pleasant or the contrary, I accept -them as so much experience, and in so far I am satisfied. You look -incredulous, but I tell you, sir, that what I see, and what I undergo -subjectively--while under the influence of drashkil, make up for me an -experience as real, that dwells as vividly in my memory and that can -be brought to mind like any other set of recollections, as if it were -built up brick by brick, fact by fact, out of the incidents of -everyday life. And all such experiences are valuable in this wise: -that whatever I see while under the influence of drashkil, I see, as -it were, with the eyes of genius. I breathe a keener atmosphere; I -have finer intuitions; the brain is no longer clogged with that part -of me which is mortal; in whatever imaginary scenes I assist, whether -as actor or spectator matters not, I seem to discern the underlying -meaning of things--I hear the low faint beating of the hidden pules of -the world. To come back from this enchanted realm to the dull -realities of everyday life is like depriving some hero of fairyland of -his magic gifts and reducing him to the level of common humanity."</p> - -<p>"At which pleasant level I pray ever to be kept," said Ducie; "I have -no desire to soar into those regions of romance where you seem so -thoroughly at home."</p> - -<p>"So be it," said Platzoff, drily. "The intellects of you English have -been nourished on beef and beer for so many generations, that there is -no such thing as spiritual insight left among you. We must not expect -too much." This was said not ill-naturedly, but in that quiet jeering -tone which was almost habitual with Platzoff.</p> - -<p>Ducie maintained a judicious silence and went on puffing gravely at -his meerschaum. Platzoff touched the gong and Cleon entered, for this -conversation took place before the illness of the latter. The Russian -held up two fingers, and Cleon bowed. Then Cleon opened a mahogany box -in one corner of the room, and took out of it a pipe-bowl of red clay, -into which he fitted a flexible tube five or six yards in length and -tipped with amber. The bowl was then fixed into a stand of black oak -about a foot high, and there held securely, and the mouthpiece handed -to Platzoff. Cleon next opened an inlaid box, and by means of a tiny -silver spatula he cut out a small block of some black greasy-looking -mixture, which he proceeded to fit into the bowl of the pipe. On the -top of this he sprinkled a little aromatic Turkish tobacco, and then -applied an allumette. When he saw that the pipe was fairly alight, he -bowed and withdrew.</p> - -<p>While these preparations were going on Platzoff had not been silent. -"I have spoken to you of what I am about to smoke, both as opium and -as drashkil," he said. "It is not by any means pure opium. With that -great drug are mixed two or three others that modify and influence the -chief ingredient materially. I had the secret of the preparation from -a Hindoo gentleman while I was in India. It was imparted to me as an -immense favour, it being a secret even there. The enthusiastic terms -in which he spoke of it have been fully justified by the result, as -you would discover for yourself if you could only be persuaded to try -it. You shake your head. Eh bien! mon ami; the loss is yours not -mine."</p> - -<p>"Some of what you have termed your 'experiences' are no doubt very -singular ones?" said Ducie, interrogatively.</p> - -<p>"They are, very singular," answered Platzoff. "In my last -drashkil-dream, for instance, I believed myself to be an Indian fakir, -and I seemed to realize to the full the strange life of one of those -strange beings. I was stationed in the shade of a large tree just -without the gate Of some great city where all who came and went could -see me. On the ground, a little way in front of me, was a wooden bowl -for the reception of the offerings of the charitable. I had kept both -my hands close shut for so many years that the nails had grown into -the flesh, and the muscles had hardened so that I could no longer open -them; and I was looked upon as a very holy man. The words of the -passers-by were sweet in my ears, but I never spoke to them in return. -Silent and immovable, I stood there through the livelong day,--and in -my vision it was always day. I had the power of looking back, and I -knew that, in the first instance, I had been led by religious -enthusiasm to adopt that mode of life. I should be in the world but -not of it, I should have more time for that introspective -contemplation the aim and end of which is mental absorption in the -divine Brahma; besides which, people would praise me, and all the -world would know that I was a holy man. But the strangest part of the -affair remains to be told. In the eyes of the people I had grown in -sanctity from year to year; but in my own heart I knew that instead of -approaching nearer to Brahma, I was becoming more depraved, more -wicked, with a great inward wickedness, as time went on. I struggled -desperately against the slough of sin that was slowly creeping over -me, but in vain. It seemed to me as if the choice were given me either -to renounce my life of outward-seeming sanctity, and becoming as other -men were, to feel again that inward peace which had been mine long -years before; or else, while remaining holy in the eyes of the -multitude, to feel myself sinking into a bottomless pit of wickedness -from which I could never more hope to emerge. My mental tortures while -this struggle was going on, I can never forget: they are as much a -real experience to me as if they had made up a part of my genuine -waking life. And still I stood with closed hands in the shade of the -tree; and the people cried out that I was holy, and placed their -offerings in my bowl; and I could not make up my mind to abnegate the -title they gave me and become as they were. And still I grew in inward -wickedness, till I loathed myself as if I were some vile reptile; and -so the struggle went on, and was still going on, when I opened my eyes -and found myself again at Bon Repos."</p> - -<p>As Platzoff ceased speaking, Cleon applied the light, and Ducie in his -eagerness drew a little nearer. Platzoff was dressed _à la Turk_, and -sat with crossed legs on the low divan that ran round the room. Slowly -and deliberately he inhaled the smoke from his pipe, expelling it a -moment later, in part through his nostrils and in part through his -lips. The layer of tobacco at the top of the bowl was quickly burnt to -ashes. By this time the drug below was fairly alight, and before long -a thick white sickly smoke began to ascend in rings and graceful -spirals towards the roof of the room. Cleon was gone, and a solemn -silence was maintained by both the men. Platzoff's eyes, black and -piercing, were fixed on vacancy; they seemed to be gazing on some -picture visible to himself alone. Ducie was careful not to disturb -him. His inhalations were slow, gentle, and regular. After a time, a -thin film or glaze began to gather over his wide-open eyes, dimming -their brightness, and making them seem like the eyes of some one dead. -His complexion became livid, his face more cadaverous than it -naturally was. Then his eyes closed slowly and gently, like those of -an infant dropping to sleep. For a little time longer he kept on -inhaling the smoke, but every minute the inhalations became fainter -and fewer in number. At length the hand that held the pipe dropped -nervelessly by his side, the amber mouthpiece slipped from between his -lips, his jaw dropped, and, with an almost imperceptible sigh, his -head sank softly back on to the cushions behind, and M. Paul Platzoff -was in the opium-eater's paradise.</p> - -<p>Ducie, who had never seen any one similarly affected, was frightened -by his host's death-like appearance. He was doubtful whether Platzoff -had not been seized with a fit. In order to satisfy himself he touched -the gong and summoned Cleon. That incomparable domestic glided in, -noiseless as a shadow.</p> - -<p>"Does your master always look as he does now after he has been smoking -opium?" asked the captain.</p> - -<p>"Always, sir."</p> - -<p>"And how long does it take him to come round?"</p> - -<p>"That depends, sir, on the strength of the dose he has been smoking. -The preparation is made of different strengths to suit him at -different times; but always when he has been smoking drashkil I leave -him undisturbed till midnight. If by that time he has not come round -naturally and of his own accord, I carry him to bed and then -administer to him a certain draught, which has the effect of sending -him into a natural and healthy sleep, from which he awakes next -morning thoroughly refreshed."</p> - -<p>"Then you will come to-night at twelve, and see how your master is by -that time?" said Ducie.</p> - -<p>"It is part of my duty to do so," answered Cleon.</p> - -<p>"Then I will wait here till that time," said the captain. Cleon bowed -and disappeared.</p> - -<p>So Ducie kept watch and ward for four hours, during the whole of which -time Platzoff lay, except for his breathing, like one dead. As the -last stroke of midnight struck, Cleon reappeared. His master showed -not the slightest symptom of returning consciousness. Having examined -him narrowly for a moment or two, he turned to Ducie.</p> - -<p>"You must pardon me, sir, for leaving you alone," he said, "but I must -now take my master off to bed. He will scarcely wake up for -conversation to-night."</p> - -<p>"Proceed as though I were not here," said Ducie. "I will just finish -this weed, and then I too will turn in."</p> - -<p>Platzoff's private rooms, forming a suite four in number, were on the -ground floor of Bon Repos. From the main corridor the first that you -entered was the smoking-room already described. Next to that was the -dressing-room, from which you passed into the bedroom. The last of the -four was a small square room, fitted up with book-shelves, and used as -a private library and study.</p> - -<p>Cleon, who was a strong, muscular fellow, lifted Platzoff's shrivelled -body as easily as he might have done that of a child, and so carried -him out of the room.</p> - -<p>Ducie met his host at the breakfast-table next morning. The latter -seemed as well as usual, and was much amused when Ducie told him of -his alarm, and how he had summoned Cleon under the impression that -Platzoff had been taken dangerously ill.</p> - -<p>Platzoff rarely indulged in the luxury of drashkil-smoking oftener -than once a week. His constitution was delicate, and a too frequent -use of so dangerous a drug would have tended to shatter still further -his already enfeebled health. Besides, as he said, he wished to keep -it as a luxury, and not, by a too frequent indulgence in it, to take -off the fine edge of enjoyment and render it commonplace. Ducie -had several subsequent opportunities of witnessing the process of -drashkil-smoking and its effects, but one description will serve for -all. On every occasion the same formula was gone through, precisely as -first seen by Ducie. The pipe was charged and lighted by Cleon (after -he became ill, by the new servant Jasmin). Precisely at midnight Cleon -returned, and either conducted or carried his master to bed, as the -necessities of the case might require. It was his knowledge of the -latter fact that stood Ducie in such good stead later on, when he came -to elaborate the details of his scheme for stealing the Great Mogul -Diamond.</p> - -<p>But as yet his scheme was in embryo. His visit was drawing to a close, -and he was still without the slightest clue to the hiding-place of the -Diamond.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_15" href="#div1Ref_15">CHAPTER XV.</a></h4> -<h5>THE DIAMOND.</h5> -<br> - -<p>Captain Ducie had been six weeks at Bon Repos; his visit would come to -a close in the course of three or four days, but he was still as -ignorant of the hiding-place of the Diamond as on that evening when he -learned for the first time that M. Platzoff had such a treasure in his -possession.</p> - -<p>Since the completion of his translation of the stolen MS. he had -dreamed day and night of the Diamond. It was said to be worth a -hundred and fifty thousand pounds. If he could only succeed in -appropriating it, what a different life would be his in time to come! -In such a case, he would of course be obliged to leave England for -ever. But he was quite prepared to do that. He was without any tie of -kindred or friendship that need bind him to his native land. Once safe -in another hemisphere, he would dispose of the Diamond, and the -proceeds would enable him to live as a gentleman ought to live for the -remainder of his days. Truly, a pleasant dream.</p> - -<p>But it was only a dream after all, as he himself in his cooler moments -was quite ready to acknowledge. It was nothing but a dream even when -Platzoff wrung from him an unreluctant consent to extend his visit at -Bon Repos for another six weeks. If he stayed for six months, there -seemed no likelihood that at the end of that time he would be one whit -wiser on the one point on which he thirsted for information than he -was now. Still, he was glad for various reasons to retain his pleasant -quarters a little while longer.</p> - -<p>Truth to tell, in Captain Ducie M. Platzoff had found a guest so much -to his liking that he could not make up his mind to let him go again. -Ducie was incurious, or appeared to be so; he saw and heard, and asked -no questions. He seemed to be absolutely destitute of political -principles, and therein he formed a pleasant contrast both to M. -Platzoff himself and to the swarm of foreign gentlemen who at -different times found their way to Bon Repos. He was at once a good -listener and a good talker. In fine, he made himself in every way so -agreeable, and was at the same time so thorough a gentleman, that -Platzoff was as glad to retain him as he himself was pleased to stay.</p> - -<p>Three out of the Captain's second term of six weeks had nearly come to -an end when, on a certain evening, as he and Platzoff sat together in -the smoke-room, the latter broached a subject which Ducie would have -wagered all he possessed--though that was little enough--that his host -would have been the last man in the world even to hint at.</p> - -<p>"I think I have heard you say that you have a taste for diamonds and -precious stones," remarked Platzoff. Ducie had hazarded such a remark -on one or two occasions as a quiet attempt to draw Platzoff out, but -had only succeeded in eliciting a little shrug, and a cold smile, as -though for him such a statement could have no possible interest.</p> - -<p>"If I have said so to you I have only spoken the truth," replied -Ducie. "I am passionately fond of gems and precious stones of every -kind. Have you any to show me?"</p> - -<p>"I have in my possession a green diamond said to be worth a hundred -and fifty thousand pounds," answered the Russian, quietly.</p> - -<p>The simulated surprise with which Captain Ducie received this -announcement was a piece of genuine comedy. His real surprise arose -from the fact of Platzoff having chosen to mention the matter to him -at all.</p> - -<p>"Great heaven!" he exclaimed. "Can you be in earnest? Had I heard such -a statement from the lips of any other man than you, I should have -questioned either his sanity or his truth."</p> - -<p>"You need not question either one or the other in my case," answered -Platzoff, with a smile. "My assertion is true to the letter. Some -evening when I am less lazy than I am now, you shall see the stone and -examine it for yourself."</p> - -<p>"I take it as a great proof of your friendship for me, monsieur," said -Ducie warmly, "that you have chosen to make me the recipient of such a -confidence."</p> - -<p>"It _is_ a proof of my friendship," said the Russian. "No one of my -political friends--and I have many that are dear to me, both in -England and abroad--is aware that I have in my possession so -inestimable a gem. But you, sir, are an English gentleman, and my -friend for reasons unconnected with politics; I know that my secret -will be safe in your keeping."</p> - -<p>Ducie winced inwardly, but he answered with grave cordiality, "The -event, my dear Platzoff, will prove that your confidence has not been -misplaced."</p> - -<p>After this the Russian went on to tell Ducie that the MS. lost at the -time of the railway accident had reference to the great Diamond; that -it contained secret instructions, addressed to a very dear friend of -the writer, as to the disposal of the Diamond after his, Platzoff's, -death; all of which was quite as well known to Ducie as to the Russian -himself; but the captain sat with his pipe between his lips, and -listened with an appearance of quiet interest that impressed his host -greatly.</p> - -<p>That night Ducie's mind was too excited to allow of sleep. He was -about to be shown the great Diamond; but would the mere fact of seeing -it advance him one step towards obtaining possession of it? Would -Platzoff, when showing him the stone, show him also the place where it -was ordinarily kept. His confidence in Ducie would scarcely carry him -as far as that. In any case, it would be something to have seen the -Diamond, and for the rest, Ducie must trust to the chapter of -accidents and his own wits. On one point he was fully determined, to -make the Diamond his own at any cost, if the slightest possible chance -of doing so were afforded him. He was dazzled by the magnitude of the -temptation; so much so, indeed, that he never seemed to realize in his -own mind the foulness of the deed by which alone it could become his -property. Had any man hinted that he was a thief either in act or -intention, he would have repudiated the term with scorn--would have -repudiated it even in his own mind, for he made a point of hoodwinking -and cozening himself as though he were some other person, whose good -opinion must on no account be forfeited.</p> - -<p>Captain Ducie awaited with hidden impatience the hour when it should -please M. Platzoff to fulfil his promise. He had not long to wait. -Three evenings later, as they sat in the smoke-room, said Platzoff, -"To-night you shall see the Great Mogul Diamond. No eyes save my own -have seen it for ten years. I must ask you to put yourself for an hour -or two under my instructions. Are you minded so to do?"</p> - -<p>"I shall be most happy to carry out your wishes in every way," -answered Ducie. "Consider me as your slave for the time being."</p> - -<p>"Attend then, if you please. This evening you will retire to your own -rooms at eleven o'clock. Precisely at one-thirty a.m., you will come -back here. You will be good enough to come in your slippers, because -it is not desirable that any of the household should be disturbed by -our proceedings. I have no further orders at present."</p> - -<p>"Your lordship's wishes are my commands," answered Ducie with a mock -salaam.</p> - -<p>They sat talking and smoking till eleven; then Ducie left his host as -if for the night. He lay down for a couple of hours on the sofa in his -dressing-room. Precisely at one thirty he was on his way back to the -smoke-room, his feet encased in a pair of Indian moccasins. A minute -later he was joined by Platzoff in dressing-gown and slippers.</p> - -<p>"I need hardly tell you, my dear Ducie," began the latter, "that with -a piece of property in my possession no larger than a pigeon's egg, -and worth so many thousands of pounds, a secure place in which to -deposit that property (since I choose to have it always near me) is an -object of paramount importance. That secure place of deposit I have at -Bon Repos. This you may accept as one reason for my having lived in -such an out-of-the-world spot for so many years. It is a place known -to myself alone. After my death it will become known to one person -only--to the person into whose possession the Diamond will pass when I -shall be no longer among the living, The secret will be told him that -he may have the means of finding the Diamond, but not even to him -will it become known till after my decease. Under these circumstances, -my dear Ducie, you will, I am sure, excuse me for keeping the -hiding-place of the Diamond a secret still--a secret even from you. -Say--will you not?"</p> - -<p>With a malediction at his heart, but with a smile on his lips, Captain -Ducie made reply. "Pray offer no excuses, my dear Platzoff, where none -are needed. What I want is to see the Diamond itself, not to know -where it is kept. Such a piece of information would be of no earthly -use to me, and it would involve a responsibility which, under any -circumstances, I should hardly care to assume."</p> - -<p>"It is well; you are an English gentleman," said the Russian, with a -ceremonious inclination of the head, "and your words are based on -wisdom and truth. It is necessary that I should blindfold you: oblige -me with your handkerchief."</p> - -<p>Ducie with a smile handed over his handkerchief, and Platzoff -proceeded to blindfold him--an operation which was rapidly and -effectually performed by the deft fingers of the Russian.</p> - -<p>"Now, give me your hand, and come with me, but do not speak till you -are spoken to."</p> - -<p>So Ducie laid a finger in the Russian's thin cold palm, and the latter -taking a small bronze hand-lamp, conducted his bandaged companion from -the room.</p> - -<p>In two minutes after leaving the smoke-room Ducie's geographical ideas -of the place were completely at fault. Platzoff led him through so -many corridors and passages, turning now to the right hand, and now to -the left,--he guided him up and down so many flights of stairs, now of -stone and now of wood, that he lost his reckoning entirely, and felt -as though he were being conducted through some place far more spacious -than Bon Repos. He counted the number of stairs in each flight that he -went up or down. In two or three cases the numbers tallied, which -induced him to think that Platzoff was conducting him twice over the -same ground, in order perhaps the more effectually to confuse his -ideas as to the position of the place to which he was being led.</p> - -<p>After several minutes spent thus in silent perambulation of the old -house, they halted for a moment while Platzoff unlocked a door, after -which they passed forward into a room, in the middle of which Ducie -was left standing while Platzoff relocked the door, and then busied -himself for a minute in trimming the lamp he had brought with him, -which had been his only guide through the dark and silent house, for -the servants had all gone to bed more than an hour ago.</p> - -<p>Ducie thus left to himself for a little while had time for reflection. -The floor on which he was standing was covered with a thick soft -carpet, consequently he was in one of the best rooms in the house. -The atmosphere of this room was penetrated with a very faint aroma of -pot-pourri, so faint that unless Captain Ducie's nose had been more -than ordinarily keen he would never have perceived it. To the best of -his knowledge there was only one room in Bon Repos that was permeated -with the peculiar scent of pot-pourri. That room was M. Platzoff's -private study, to which access was obtained through his bedroom. Ducie -had been only twice into this room, but he remembered two facts in -connexion with it. First, the scent already spoken of: secondly, that -besides the door which opened into it from the bedroom, there was -another door which he had noticed as being shut and locked both times -that he was there. If the room in which they now were was really M. -Platzoff's study, they had probably obtained access to it through the -second door.</p> - -<p>While silently revolving these thoughts in his mind, Captain Ducie's -fingers were busy with the formation of two tiny paper pellets, each -no bigger than a pea. Unseen by Platzoff he contrived to drop these -pellets on the carpet.</p> - -<p>"I must really apologize," said the Russian, next moment, "for keeping -you waiting so long; but this lamp will not burn properly."</p> - -<p>"Don't hurry yourself on my account," said Ducie. "I am quite jolly. -My eyes are ready bandaged: I am only waiting for the axe and the -block."</p> - -<p>"We are not going to dispose of you in quite so summary a fashion," -said the Russian. "One minute more and your eyesight shall be restored -to you."</p> - -<p>Ducie's quick ears caught a low click, as though some one had touched -a spring. Then there was a faint rumbling, as though something were -being rolled back on hidden wheels.</p> - -<p>"Lend me your hand again, and bend that tall figure of yours. Step -carefully. There is another staircase to descend--the last and the -steepest of all."</p> - -<p>Keeping fast hold of Platzoff's hand, Ducie followed slowly and -cautiously, counting the steps as he went down. They were of stone, -and were twenty-two in number. At the bottom of the staircase another -door was unlocked. The two passed through, and the door was shut and -relocked behind them.</p> - -<p>"Be blind no longer!" said Platzoff, taking off the handkerchief and -handing it to Ducie with a smile. A few seconds elapsed before the -latter could discern anything clearly. Then he saw that he was in a -small vaulted chamber about seven feet in height, with a flagged -floor, but without furniture of any kind save a small table of black -oak on which Platzoff's lamp was now burning. The atmosphere of this -dungeon had struck him with a sudden chill as he went in. At each end -was a door, both of iron. The one that had opened to admit them was -set in the thick masonry of the wall; the one at the opposite end -seemed built into the solid rock.</p> - -<p>"Before we go any farther," said Platzoff, "I may as well explain to -you how it happens that a respectable old country-house like Bon Repos -has such a suspicious-looking hiding-place about its premises. You -must know that I bought the house, many years ago, of the last -representative of an old north-country family. He was a bachelor, and -in him the family died out. Three years after I had come to reside -here the old man, at that time on his death-bed, sent me a letter and -a key. The letter revealed to me the secret of the place we are now -exploring, of which I had no previous knowledge; the key is that of -the two iron doors. It seems that the old man's ancestors had been -deeply implicated in the Jacobite risings of last century. The house -had been searched several times, and on one occasion occupied by -Hanoverian troops. As a provision against such contingencies this -hiding-place (a natural one as far as the cavern beyond is concerned, -which has probably existed for thousands of years) was then first -connected with the interior of the house, and rendered practicable at -a moment's notice; and here on several occasions, certain members of -the family, together with their plate and title-deeds, lay concealed -for weeks at a time. The old gentleman gave me a solemn assurance that -the secret existed with him alone; all who had been in any way -implicated in the earlier troubles having died long ago. As the -property had now become mine by purchase, he thought it only right -that before he died these facts should be brought to my knowledge. You -may imagine, my dear Ducie, with what eagerness I seized upon this -place as a safe depository for my Diamond, which, up to that time, I -had been obliged to carry about my person. And now, forward to the -heart of the mystery!"</p> - -<p>Having unlocked and flung open the second iron door, Platzoff took up -his lamp, and, closely followed by Ducie, entered a narrow winding -passage in the rock. After following this passage, which tended -slightly downwards for a considerable distance, they emerged into a -large cavernous opening in the heart of the hill.</p> - -<p>Platzoff's first act was, by means of a long crook, to draw down -within reach of his hand a large iron lamp that was suspended from the -roof by a running chain. This lamp he lighted from the hand-lamp he -had brought with him. As soon as released, it ascended to its former -position, about ten feet from the ground. It burned with a clear white -flame that lighted up every nook and cranny of the place. The sides of -the cave were of irregular formation. Measuring by the eye, Ducie -estimated the cave to be about sixty yards in length, by a breadth, in -the widest part, of twenty. In height it appeared to be about forty -feet. The floor was covered with a carpet of thick brown sand, but -whether this covering was a natural or an artificial one Ducie had no -means of judging. The atmosphere of the place was cold and damp, and -the walls in many places dripped with moisture; in other places they -scintillated in the lamplight as though thousands of minute gems were -embedded in their surface.</p> - -<p>In the middle of the floor, on a pedestal of stones loosely piled -together, was a hideous idol, about four feet in height, made of wood, -and painted in various colours. In the centre of its forehead gleamed -the great Diamond.</p> - -<p>"Behold!" was all that Platzoff said, as he pointed to the idol. Then -they both stood and gazed in silence.</p> - -<p>Many contending emotions were at work just then in Ducie's breast, -chief of which was a burning, almost unconquerable desire to make that -glorious gem his own at every risk. In his ear a fiend seemed to be -whispering.</p> - -<p>"All you have to do," it seemed to say, "is to grip old Platzoff -tightly round the neck for a couple of minutes. His thread of life is -frail, and would be easily broken. Then possess yourself of the -Diamond and his keys. Go back by the way you came and fasten -everything behind you. The household is all abed, and you could get -away unseen. Long before the body of Platzoff would be discovered, if -indeed it were ever discovered, you would be far away and beyond all -fear of pursuit. Think! That tiny stone is worth a hundred and fifty -thousand pounds."</p> - -<p>This was Ducie's temptation. It shook him inwardly as a reed is shaken -by the wind. Outwardly he was his ordinary quiet impassive self, only -gazing with eyes that gleamed on the gleaming gem, which shone like a -new-fallen star on the forehead of that hideous image.</p> - -<p>The spell was broken by Platzoff, who, going up to the idol, and -passing his hand through an orifice at the back of the skull, took the -Diamond out of its resting-place, close behind the hole in the -forehead, through which it was seen from the front. With thumb and -forefinger he took it daintily out, and going back to Ducie dropped it -into the outstretched palm of the latter.</p> - -<p>Ducie turned the Diamond over and over, and held it up before the -light between his forefinger and thumb, and tried the weight of it on -his palm. It was in the simple form of a table diamond, with only -sixteen facets in all, and was just as it had left the fingers of some -Indian cutter a couple of centuries ago. It glowed with a green fire, -deep, yet tender, that flashed through its facets and smote the duller -lamplight with sparkles of intense brilliancy. This, then, was the -wondrous gem that many a time and oft had felt the touch of great -Aurengzebe's hand! Ducie seemed to be examining it most closely; but, -in truth, at that very moment he was debating in his own mind the -terrible question of murder or no murder, and scarcely saw the stone -itself at all.</p> - -<p>"Ami, you do not seem to admire my Diamond!" said the Russian -presently, with a touch of pathos in his voice.</p> - -<p>Ducie pressed the Diamond back into Platzoff's hands. "I admire it so -much," said he, "that I cannot enter into any commonplace terms of -admiration. I will talk to you to-morrow respecting it. At present I -lack fitting words."</p> - -<p>The Russian took back the stone, pressed it to his lips, and then went -and replaced it in the forehead of the idol.</p> - -<p>"Who is your friend there?" said Ducie, with a desperate attempt to -wrench his thoughts away from that all-absorbing temptation.</p> - -<p>"I am not sufficiently learned in Hindu mythology to tell you his name -with certainty," answered Platzoff. "I take him to be no less a -personage than Vishnu. He is seated upon the folds of the snake Jesha, -whose seven heads bend over him to afford him shade. In one hand he -holds a spray of the sacred lotus. He is certainly hideous enough to -be a very great personage. Do you know, my dear Ducie," went on -Platzoff, "I have a very curious theory with regard to that Hindu -gentleman, whoever he may be. Many years ago he was worshipped in some -great Eastern temple, and had, priests and acolytes without number to -attend to his wants; and then, as now, the great Diamond shone in his -forehead. By some mischance the Diamond was lost or stolen--in any -case, he was dispossessed of it. From that moment he was an unhappy -idol. He derived pleasure no longer from being worshipped, he could -rest neither by night nor day--he had lost his greatest treasure. When -he could no longer endure this state of wretchedness he stole out of -the temple one fine night unknown to any one, and set out on his -travels in search of the missing Diamond. Was it simple accident or -occult knowledge, that directed his wanderings after a time to the -shop of a London curiosity dealer, where I saw him, fell in love with -him, and bought him? I know not: I only know that he and his darling -Diamond were at last re-united, and here they have remained ever -since. You smile as if I had been relating a pleasant fable. But tell -me if you can how it happens that in the forehead of yonder idol there -is a small cavity lined with gold into which the Diamond fits with the -most exact nicety. That cavity was there when I bought the idol and -has in no way been altered since. The shape of the Diamond, as you -have seen for yourself, is rather peculiar. Is it therefore possible -that mere accident can be at the bottom of such a coincidence? Is not -my theory of the Wandering Idol much more probable as well as far more -poetical? You smile again. You English are the greatest sceptics in -the world. But it is time to go. We have seen all there is to be seen, -and the temperature of this place will not benefit my rheumatism."</p> - -<p>So the lamp was put out, and Idol and Diamond were left to darkness -and solitude. In the vaulted room, at the entrance to the winding way -that led to the cavern, Ducie's eyes were again bandaged. Then up the -twenty-two stone stairs, and so into the carpeted room above, where -was the scent of _pot-pourri_. From this room they came by many -passages and flights of stairs back to the smoking-room, where Ducie's -bandage was removed. One last pipe, a little desultory conversation, -and then bed.</p> - -<p>M. Platzoff being out of the way for an hour or two next afternoon, -Captain Ducie contrived to pay a surreptitious visit to his host's -private study. On the carpet he found one of the two paper pellets -which he had dropped from his fingers the previous evening. There, -too, was the same faint, sickly smell that had filled his nostrils -when the handkerchief was over his eyes, which he now traced to a huge -china jar in one corner, filled with the dried leaves of flowers -gathered long summers before.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_16" href="#div1Ref_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h4> -<h5>JANET'S RETURN.</h5> -<br> - -<p>"There he is! there is dear Major Strickland!"</p> - -<p>The tidal train was just steaming into London Bridge station on a -certain spring evening as the above words were spoken. From a window -of one of the carriages a bright young face was peering eagerly, a -face which lighted up with a smile of rare sweetness the moment Major -Strickland's soldierly figure came into view. A tiny gloved hand was -held out as a signal, the major's eye was caught, the train came to a -stand, and next moment Janet Holme was on the platform with her arms -round the old soldier's neck, and her lips held up for a kiss.</p> - -<p>The publicity of this transaction seemed slightly to shock the -sensibilities of Miss Close, the English teacher, in whose charge -Janet had come over; but she was won to a quite different view of the -affair when the major, after requesting to be introduced to her, shook -her cordially by the hand, said how greatly obliged he was to her for -the care she had taken of "his dear Miss Holme," and invited her to -dine next day with himself and Janet. Then Miss Close went her way, -and the Major and Janet went theirs in a cab, to a hotel not a hundred -miles from Piccadilly.</p> - -<p>Janet's first words as they got clear of the station were:</p> - -<p>"And now you must tell me how everybody is at Dupley Walls."</p> - -<p>"Everybody was quite well when I left home, except one person--Sister -Agnes."</p> - -<p>"Dear Sister Agnes!" said Janet, and the tears sprang to her eyes in a -moment. "I am more sorry than I can tell to hear that she is ill."</p> - -<p>"Not ill exactly, but ailing," said the major. "You must not alarm -yourself unnecessarily. She caught a severe cold one wet evening about -three months ago, as she was on her way home from visiting some poor -sick woman in the village, and she seems never to have been quite well -since."</p> - -<p>"I had a letter from her five days ago, but she never hinted to me -that she was not well."</p> - -<p>"I can quite believe that. She is not one given to complain about -herself, but one who strives to soothe the complaints of others. The -good she does in her quiet way among the poor is something wonderful. -I must tell you what an old bedridden man, to whom she had been very -kind, said to her the other day. Said he, 'If everybody had their -rights in this world, ma'am, or if I was king of fairyland, you should -have a pair of angel's wings, so that everybody might know how good -you are.' And there are a hundred others who would say the same -thing."</p> - -<p>"If I had not had her dear letters to hearten me and cheer me up, I -think that many a time I should have broken down utterly under the -dreadful monotony of my life at the Pension Clissot. I had no -holidays, in the common meaning of the word; no dear friends to go and -see; none even to come once in a way to see me, were it only for one -happy hour. I had no home recollections to which I could look back -fondly in memory, and the future was all a blank--a mystery. But the -letters of Sister Agnes spoke to me like the voice of a dear friend. -They purified me, they lifted me out of my common work-a-day troubles, -and all the petty meannesses of school-girl existence, and set before -me the example of a good and noble life as the one thing worth -striving for in this weary world."</p> - -<p>"Tut, tut, my dear child!" said the major, "you are far too young to -call the world a weary world. Please heaven, it shall not be quite -such a dreary place for you in time to come. We will begin the change -this very evening. We shall just be in time to get a bit of dinner, -and then, heigh! for the play."</p> - -<p>"The play, dear Major Strickland!" said Janet, with a sudden flush and -an eager light in her eyes; "but would Sister Agnes approve of my -going to such a place?"</p> - -<p>"I scarcely think, poverina, that Sister Agnes would disapprove of any -place to which I might choose to take you."</p> - -<p>"Forgive me!" cried Janet, "I did not intend you to construe my words -in that way."</p> - -<p>"I have never construed anything since I was at school fifty years -ago," answered the major, laughingly. "Can you tell me now from your -heart, little one, that you would not like to go to the play?"</p> - -<p>"I should like very, very much to go, and after what has been said I -will never forgive you if you do not take me."</p> - -<p>"The penalty would be too severe. It is agreed that we shall go."</p> - -<p>"To me it seems only seven days instead of seven years since I was -last driven through London streets," resumed Janet, as they were -crawling up Fleet Street. "The same shops, the same houses, and even, -as it seems to me, the same people crowding the pathways; and, to -complete the illusion, the same kind travelling companion now as -then."</p> - -<p>"To me the illusion seems by no means so complete. To London Bridge, -seven years ago, I took a simple child of twelve: to-day I bring back -a young lady of nineteen--a woman, in point of fact--who, I have no -doubt, understands more of flirtation than she does of French, and -would rather graduate in coquetry than in crochet-work."</p> - -<p>"Take care then, sir, lest I wing my unslaked arrows at you."</p> - -<p>"You are too late in the day, dear child, to practise on me. I am your -devoted slave already--bound fast to the wheel of your triumphant car. -What more would you have?"</p> - -<p>The hotel was reached at last, and the major gave Janet a short -quarter of an hour for her toilette. When she got downstairs dinner -was on the point of being served, and she found covers laid for three. -Before she had time to ask a question, the third person entered the -room. He was a tall well-built man of six or seven-and-twenty. He had -light-brown hair, closely-cropped but still inclined to curl, and a -thick beard and moustache of the same colour. He had blue eyes, and a -pleasant smile, and the easy self-possessed manner of one who had seen -"the world of men and things." His left sleeve was empty.</p> - -<p>Janet did not immediately recognise him, he looked so much older, so -different in every way; but at the first sound of his voice she knew -who stood before her. He came forward and held out his hand--the one -hand that was left him.</p> - -<p>"May I venture to call myself an old friend, Miss Holme? and to hope -that even after all these years I am not quite forgotten?"</p> - -<p>"I recognise you by your voice, not by your face. You are Mr. George -Strickland. You it was who saved my life. Whatever else I may have -forgotten, I have not forgotten that."</p> - -<p>"I am too well pleased to find that I live in your memory at all to -cavil with your reason for recollecting me."</p> - -<p>"But--but, I never heard--no one ever told me--" Then she stopped with -tears in her eyes, and glanced at his empty sleeve.</p> - -<p>"That I had left part of myself in India," he said, finishing the -sentence for her. "Such, nevertheless, is the case. Uncle there says -that the yellow rascals were so fond of me that they could not bear to -part from me altogether. For my own part, I think myself fortunate -that they did not keep me there _in toto_, in which case I should not -have had the pleasure of meeting you here to-day."</p> - -<p>He had been holding her hand quite an unnecessary length of time. She -now withdrew it gently. Their eyes met for one brief instant, then -Janet turned away and seated herself at the table. The flush caused by -the surprise of the meeting still lingered on her face, the tear-drops -still lingered in her eyes, and as George Strickland sat down opposite -to her he thought that he had never seen a sweeter vision nor one that -appealed more directly to his imagination and his heart.</p> - -<p>Janet Holme at nineteen was very pleasant to look upon. Her face was -not one of mere commonplace prettiness, but had an individuality of -its own that caused it to linger in the memory like some sweet picture -that once seen cannot readily be forgotten. Her eyes were of a tender -luminous grey, full of candour and goodness. Her hair was a deep -glossy brown; her face was oval, and her nose a delicate aquiline. On -ordinary occasions she had little or no colour, yet no one could have -taken the clear pallor of her cheek as a token of ill health; it -seemed rather a result of the depth and earnestness of the life within -her.</p> - -<p>In her wardrobe there was a lack of things fashionable, and as she sat -at dinner this evening she had on a dress of black alpaca, made after -a very quiet and nun-like style; with a thin streak of snow-white -collar and cuff round throat and wrist; but without any ornament save -a necklace of bog-oak, cut after an antique pattern, and a tiny gold -locket in which was a photographic likeness of Sister Agnes.</p> - -<p>That was a very pleasant little dinner party. In the course of -conversation it came out that, a few days previously, Captain George -had been decorated with the Victoria Cross. Janet's heart thrilled -within her as the major told in simple unexaggerated terms of the -special deed of heroism by which the great distinction had been won. -The major told also how George was now invalided on half-pay; and -her heart thrilled with a still sweeter emotion when he went on -to say that the young soldier would henceforth reside with him at -Tydsbury--at Tydsbury which is only a short two miles from Dupley -Walls! The feeling with which she heard this simple piece of news was -one to which she had hitherto been an utter stranger. She asked -herself, and blushed as she asked, whence this new sweet feeling -emanated. But she was satisfied with asking the question, and seemed -to think that no answer was required.</p> - -<p>When dinner was over they set out for the play. Janet had never been -inside a theatre before, and for her the experience was an utterly -novel and delightful one.</p> - -<p>On the third day after Janet's arrival in London they all went down to -Tydsbury together--the major, and she, and George. But in the course -of those three days the major took Janet about a good deal, and -introduced her to nearly all the orthodox sights of the Great -City--and a strange kaleidoscopic jumble they seemed at the time, only -to be afterwards rearranged by Memory as portions of a bright and -sunny picture the like of which she scarcely dared hope ever to see -again.</p> - -<p>Captain Strickland parted from the major and Janet at Tydsbury -station. The two latter were bound for Dupley Walls, for the major -felt that his task would have been ill performed had he failed to -deliver Janet into Lady Pollexfen's own hands. As they rumbled along -the quiet country roads, which brought vividly back to Janet's mind -the evening when she saw Dupley Walls for the first time, said the -major: "Do you remember, poppetina, how, seven years ago, I spoke to -you of a certain remarkable likeness which you then bore to some one -whom I knew when I was quite a young man? or has the circumstance -escaped your memory?"</p> - -<p>"I remember quite well your speaking of the likeness, and I have often -wondered since who the original was of whom I was such a striking -copy. I remember, too, how positively Lady Pollexfen denied the -resemblance which you so strongly insisted upon."</p> - -<p>"Will her ladyship dare to deny it to-day?" said the major, sternly. -"I tell you, child, that now you are grown up, the likeness seen by me -seven years ago is still more clearly visible. When I look into your -eyes I seem to see my own youth reflected there. When you are near me -I can fancy that my lost treasure has not been really lost to me--that -she has merely been asleep, like the Princess in the story-book, and -that while time has moved on for me, she has come back out of her -enchanted slumber as fresh and beautiful as when I saw her last. Ah, -poverina! you cannot imagine what a host of recollections the sight of -your sweet face conjures up whenever I choose to let my day-dreams -have way for a little while."</p> - -<p>"I remember your telling me that my parents were unknown to you," -answered Janet. "Perhaps the lady to whom I bear so strong a -resemblance was my mother."</p> - -<p>"No, not your mother, Janet. The lady to whom I refer died unmarried. -She and I had been engaged to each other for three years; but Death -came and claimed her a fortnight before the day fixed for our wedding; -and here I am, a lonely old bachelor still."</p> - -<p>"Not quite lonely, dear Major Strickland," murmured Janet, as she -lifted his hand and pressed it to her lips.</p> - -<p>"True, girl, not quite lonely. I have George, whom I love as though he -were a son of my own. And there is Aunt Felicity, as the children used -to call her, who is certainly very fond of me, as I also am of her."</p> - -<p>"Not forgetting poor me," said Janet.</p> - -<p>"Not forgetting you, dear, whom I love like a daughter."</p> - -<p>"And who loves you very sincerely in return."</p> - -<p>A few minutes later they drew up at Dupley Walls.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4><a name="div1_17" href="#div1Ref_17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h4> -<h5>DUPLEY WALLS AFTER SEVEN YEARS.</h5> -<br> - -<p>Major Strickland rang the bell, and the door was opened by a servant -who was strange to Janet.</p> - -<p>"Be good enough to inform Lady Pollexfen that Major Strickland and -Miss Holme have just arrived from town, and inquire whether her -ladyship has any commands."</p> - -<p>The servant returned presently. "Her ladyship will see Major -Strickland. Miss Holme is to go to the housekeeper's room."</p> - -<p>"I will see you again, poverina, after my interview with her -ladyship," said the major, as he went off in charge of the footman.</p> - -<p>Janet, left alone, threaded her way by the old familiar passages to -the housekeeper's room. Dance was not there, being probably in -attendance on Lady Pollexfen, and Janet had the room to herself. Her -heart was heavy within her.</p> - -<p>There was a chill sense of friendlessness, of being alone in the -world, upon her. Were these cold walls to be the only home her youth -would ever know? A few slow salt tears welled from her eyes as she sat -brooding over the little wood fire, till presently there came a sound -of footsteps, and the major's hand was laid caressingly on her -shoulder.</p> - -<p>"What, all alone!" he said; "and with nothing better to do than read -fairy tales in the glowing embers! Is there no one in all this big -house to attend to your wants? But Dance will be here presently, I -have no doubt, and the good old soul will do her best to make you -comfortable. I have been to pay my respects to her ladyship, who is in -one of her unamiable moods this evening. I, however, contrived to -wring from her a reluctant consent to your paying Aunt Felicity and -me a visit now and then at Tydsbury, and it shall be my business to -see that the promise is duly carried out."</p> - -<p>"Then I am to remain at Dupley Walls!" said Janet. "I thought it -probable that my visit might be for a few weeks only, as my first one -was."</p> - -<p>"From what Lady Pollexfen said, I imagine that the present arrangement -is to be a permanent one; but she gave no hint of the mode in which -she intended to make use of your services, and that she will make use -of you in some way, no one who knows her can doubt. And now, dear, I -must say good-bye for the present; good-bye, and God bless you! You -may look to see me again within the week. Keep up your spirits, -and----but here comes Dance, who will cheer you up far better than I -can."</p> - -<p>As the major went out, Dance came in. The good soul seemed quite -unchanged, except that she had grown older and mellower, and seemed to -have sweetened with age like an apple plucked unripe. A little cry of -delight burst from her lips the moment she saw Janet. But in the very -act of rushing forward with outstretched arms, she stopped. She -stopped, and stared, and then curtsied as though involuntarily. "If -the dead are ever allowed to come back to this earth, there is one of -them before me now!" she murmured.</p> - -<p>Janet caught the words, but her heart was too full to notice them just -then. She had her arms round Dance's neck in a moment, and her bright -young head was pressed against the old servant's faithful breast.</p> - -<p>"Oh! Dance, Dance, I am so glad you are come!"</p> - -<p>"Hush! dear heart; hush! my poor child; you must not take on in that -way. It seems a poor coming home for you--for I suppose Dupley Walls -is to be your home in time to come--but there are those under this -roof that love you dearly. Eh! but you are grown tall and bonny, and -look as fresh and sweet as a morning in May. Her ladyship ought to be -proud of you. But she gets that cantankerous and cross-grained in her -old age, that you never know what will suit her for two minutes at a -time. For all that, her spirit is just wonderful, and she is a real -lady every inch of her. And you, Miss Janet, you are a thorough lady; -anybody can see that, and her ladyship will see it as soon as anybody. -She will like you none the worse for being a gentlewoman. But here am -I preaching away like any old gadabout, and you not as much as taken -your bonnet off yet. Get your things off, dearie, and I'll have a cup -of tea ready in no time, and you'll feel ever so much better when you -have had it."</p> - -<p>Dance could scarcely take her eyes off Janet's face, so attracted was -she by the likeness which had wrung from her an exclamation on -entering the room.</p> - -<p>But Janet was tired, and reserved all questions till the morrow; all -questions, except one. That one was,</p> - -<p>"How is Sister Agnes?"</p> - -<p>Dance shook her head solemnly. "No worse and no better than she has -been for the last two months. There is something lingering about her -that I don't like. She is far from well, and yet not exactly what we -call ill. Morning, noon, and night, she seems so terribly weary, and -that is just what frightens me. She has asked after you I don't know -how many times, and when tea is over you must go and see her. Only I -must warn you, dear Miss Janet, not to let your feelings overcome you -when you see her--not to make a scene. In that case your coming would -do her not good but harm."</p> - -<p>Janet recovered her spirits in a great measure before tea was over. -She and Dance had much to talk about, many pleasant reminiscences to -call up and discuss. As if by mutual consent, Lady Pollexfen's name -was not mentioned between them.</p> - -<p>As soon as tea was over, Dance went to inquire when Sister Agnes would -see Miss Holme. The answer was "I will see her at once."</p> - -<p>So Janet went with hushed footsteps up the well-remembered staircase, -opened the door softly, and stood for a moment on the threshold. -Sister Agnes was lying on a sofa. She put her hand suddenly to her -side and rose to her feet as Janet entered the room. A tall wasted -figure robed in black, with a thin spiritualized face, the natural -pallor of which was just now displaced by a transient flush that faded -out almost as quickly as it had come. The white head-dress had been -cast aside for once, and the black hair streaked with silver, was tied -in a simple knot behind. The large dark eyes looked larger and darker -than they had ever looked before, and seemed lit up with an inner fire -that had its source in another world than ours.</p> - -<p>Sister Agnes advanced a step or two and held out her arms. "My -darling!" was all she said as she pressed Janet to her heart, and -kissed her again and again. They understood each other without words. -The feeling within them was too deep to find expression in any -commonplace greeting.</p> - -<p>The excitement of the meeting was too much for the strength of Sister -Agnes. She was obliged to lie down again. Janet sat by her side -caressing one of her wasted hands.</p> - -<p>"Your coming has made me very, very happy," murmured Sister Agnes -after a time.</p> - -<p>"Through all the seven dreary years of my school life," said Janet, -"the expectation of some day seeing you again was the one golden dream -that the future held before me. That dream has now come true. How I -have looked forward to this day none save those who have been -circumstanced as I have can more than faintly imagine."</p> - -<p>"Are you at all acquainted with Lady Pollexfen's intentions in asking -you to come to Dupley Walls?"</p> - -<p>"Not in the least. A fortnight ago I had no idea that I should so soon -be here. I knew that I could not stay much longer at the Pension -Clissot, and naturally wondered what instructions Madame Duclos would -receive from Lady Pollexfen as to my disposal. The last time I saw her -ladyship, her words seemed to imply that after my education should be -finished I should have to trust to my own exertions for earning a -livelihood; in fact, I have looked upon myself all along as ultimately -destined to add one more unit to the great tribe of governesses."</p> - -<p>"Such a fate shall not be yours if my weak arm has power to avert it," -said Sister Agnes. "For the present your services are required at -Dupley Walls, in the capacity of 'companion' to Lady Pollexfen--in -brief, to occupy the position held by me for so many years, but from -which I am now obliged to secede on account of ill health."</p> - -<p>Janet was almost too astounded to speak. "Companion to Lady Pollexfen! -Me! Impossible!" was all that she could say.</p> - -<p>"Why impossible, dear Janet?" asked Sister Agnes, with her low, sweet -voice. "I see no element of impossibility in such an arrangement. The -duties of the position have been filled by me for many years, they -have now devolved upon you, and I am not aware of anything that need -preclude your acceptance of them."</p> - -<p>"We are not all angels like you, Sister Agnes," said Janet. "Lady -Pollexfen, as I remember, is a very peculiar woman. She has no regard -for the feelings of others, especially when those others are her -inferiors in position. She says the most cruel things she can think -of, and cares nothing how deeply they may wound. I am afraid that she -and I would never agree."</p> - -<p>"That Lady Pollexfen is a very peculiar woman I am quite ready to -admit. That she will say things to you that may seem hard and cruel, -and that may wound your feelings, I will also allow. But granting all -this, I can deduce from it no reason why the position should be -refused by you. Had you gone out as governess, you would probably have -had fifty things to contend against quite as disagreeable as Lady -Pollexfen's temper and cynical remarks. You are young, dear Janet, and -life's battle has yet to be fought by you. You must not expect that -everything in this world will arrange itself in accordance with your -wishes. You will have many difficulties to fight against and overcome, -and the sooner you make up your mind to the acceptance of that fact, -the better it will be for you in every way. If I have found the -position of companion to Lady Pollexfen not quite unendurable, why -should it be found so by you? Besides, her ladyship has many claims -upon you--upon your best services in every way. Every farthing that -has been spent upon you from the day you were born to the present time -has come out of her purse. Except mere life itself, you owe everything -to her. And even if this were not so, there are other and peculiar -ties between you and her of which you know nothing (although you may -possibly be made acquainted with them by-and-by), which are in -themselves sufficient to lead her to expect every reasonable obedience -at your hands. You must clothe yourself with good temper, dear Janet, -as with armour of proof. You must make up your mind beforehand that -however harsh her ladyship's remarks may sometimes seem, you will not -answer her again. Do this, and her words will soon be powerless to -sting you. Instead of feeling hurt or angry, you will be inclined to -pity her--to pray for her. And she deserves pity, Janet, if any woman -in this sinful world ever did. To have severed of her own accord those -natural ties which other people cherish so fondly; to see herself -fading into a dreary old age, and yet of her own free will to shut out -the love that should attend her by the way and strew flowers on her -path; to have no longer a single earthly hope or pleasure beyond those -connected with each day's narrow needs or with the heaping together of -more money where there was enough before--in all this there is surely -room enough for pity, but none for any harsher feeling."</p> - -<p>"Dear Sister Agnes, your words make me thoroughly ashamed of myself," -said Janet, with tearful earnestness. "Arrogance ill becomes one like -me who have been dependent on the charity of others from the day of my -birth. Whatever task may be set me either by Lady Pollexfen or by you, -I will do it to the best of my ability. Will you for this once pardon -my petulance and ill temper, and I will strive not to offend you -again?"</p> - -<p>"I am not offended, darling; far from it. I felt sure that you had -good sense and good feeling enough to see the matter in its right -light when it was properly put before you. But have you no curiosity -as to the nature of your new duties?"</p> - -<p>"Very little at present, I must confess," answered Janet, with a wan -smile. "The chief thing for which I care just now is to know that so -long as I remain at Dupley Walls I shall be near you; and that of -itself would be sufficient to enable me to rest contented under worse -inflictions than Lady Pollexfen's ill temper."</p> - -<p>"You ridiculous Janet! Ah! if I only dared to tell you everything. But -that must not be. Let us rather talk of what your duties will be in -your new situation."</p> - -<p>"Yes, tell me about them, please," said Janet, "and you shall see in -time to come that your words have not been forgotten."</p> - -<p>"To begin: you will have to go to her ladyship's room precisely at -eight every morning. Sometimes she will not want you, in which case -you will be at liberty till after breakfast. Should she want you it -will probably be to read to her while she sips her chocolate, or it -may be to play a game of backgammon with her before she gets up. A -little later on you will be able to steal an hour or so for yourself, -as while her ladyship is undergoing the elaborate processes of the -toilette, your services will not be required. On coming down, if the -weather be fine, she will want the support of your arm during her -stroll on the terrace. If the weather be wet, she will probably attend -to her correspondence and bookkeeping, and you will have to fill the -parts both of amanuensis and accountant. When Mr. Madgin, her -ladyship's man of business, comes up to Dupley Walls, you will have to -be in attendance to take notes, write down instructions, and so on. -By-and-by will come luncheon, of which, as a rule, you will partake -with her. After luncheon you will be your own mistress for an hour -while her ladyship sleeps. The moment she awakes you will have to be -in attendance, either to play to her, or else to read to her--perhaps -a little French or Italian, in both of which languages I hope that you -are tolerably proficient. Your next duty will be to accompany her -ladyship in her drive out. When you get back, will come dinner, but -only when specially invited will you sit down with her ladyship. When -that honour is not accorded you, you and I will dine here, darling, by -our two selves."</p> - -<p>"Then I hope her ladyship will not invite me oftener than once a -month," cried impulsive Janet.</p> - -<p>"The number of your invitations to dinner will depend upon the extent -of her liking for you, so that we shall soon know whether or no you -are a favourite. She may or may not require you after dinner. If she -does require you, it may be either for reading or music, or to play -backgammon with her; or even to sit quietly with her without speaking, -for the mere sake of companionship. One fact you will soon discover -for yourself--that her ladyship does not like to be long alone. And -now, dearest, I think I have told you enough for the present. We will -talk further of these things to-morrow. Give me just one kiss, and -then see what you can find to play among that heap of old music on the -piano. Madame Duclos used to write in raptures of your style and -touch. We will now prove whether her eulogy was well founded."</p> - -<p>Janet found that she was not to occupy the same bedroom as on her -first visit to Dupley Walls, but one nearer that of Sister Agnes. She -was not sorry for this, for there had been a secret dread upon her of -having to sleep in a room so near to that occupied by the body of Sir -John Pollexfen. She had never forgotten her terrible experience in -connexion with the Black Room, and she wished to keep herself entirely -free from any such influences in time to come. The first question she -asked Dance when they reached her bedroom was:--</p> - -<p>"Does Sister Agnes still visit the Black Room every midnight?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, for sure," answered Dance. "There is no one but her to do it. -Her ladyship would not allow any of the servants to enter the room. -Rather than that, I believe she would herself do what has to be done -there. Sister Agues would not neglect that duty if she was dying."</p> - -<p>Janet said no more, but then and there she made up her mind to a -certain course of action, of which nothing would have made her believe -herself capable only an hour before.</p> - -<p>Early next forenoon she was summoned to an interview with Lady -Pollexfen. Her heart beat more quickly than common as she was ushered -by Dance into the old woman's dressing-room.</p> - -<p>Her ladyship was in demie-toilette--made up in part for the day, but -not yet finished. Her black wig, with its long corkscrew curls, was -carefully adjusted; her rouge and powder were artistically laid on, -her eyebrows elaborately pointed, and in so far she looked as she -always looked when visible to any one but her maid. But her figure -wanted bracing up, so to speak, and looked shrunken and shrivelled in -the old cashmere dressing-robe, from which at that early hour she had -not emerged. Her fingers--long, lean, and yellow--were decorated with -some half dozen valuable rings. Increasing years had not tended to -make her hands steadier than Janet remembered them as being when she -last saw her ladyship; and of late it had become a matter of some -difficulty with her to keep her head quite still: it seemed possessed -by an unaccountable desire to imitate the shaking of her hands. She -was seated in an easy chair as Janet entered the room. Her breakfast -equipage was on a small table at her elbow.</p> - -<p>As the door closed behind Janet, she stood still and curtsied.</p> - -<p>Lady Pollexfen placed her glass to her eye, and with a lean forefinger -beckoned to Janet to draw near. Janet advanced, her eyes fixed -steadily on those of Lady Pollexfen. A yard or two from the table she -stopped and curtsied again.</p> - -<p>"I hope that I have the happiness of finding your ladyship quite -well," she said, in a low clear voice, in which there was not the -slightest tremor or hesitation.</p> - -<p>"And pray, Miss Holme, what can it matter to you whether I am well or -ill? Answer me that if you please."</p> - -<p>"I owe so much to your ladyship, I have been such a pensioner on your -bounty ever since I can remember anything, that mere selfishness -alone, if no higher motive be allowed me, must always prompt me to -feel an interest in the state of your ladyship's health."</p> - -<p>"Candid, at any rate. But I wish you clearly to understand that -whatever obligation you may feel yourself under to me for what is past -and gone, you have no claim of any kind upon me for the future. The -tie between us can be severed by me at any moment."</p> - -<p>"Seven years ago your ladyship impressed that fact so strongly on my -mind that I have never forgotten it. I have never felt myself to be -other than a dependent on your bounty."</p> - -<p>"A very praiseworthy feeling, young lady, and one which I trust you -will continue to cherish. Not that I wish other people to look upon -you as a dependent. I wish----." She broke off abruptly, and stared -helplessly round the room. Suddenly her head began to shake. "Heaven -help me! what do I wish?" she exclaimed; and with that she began to -cry, and seemed all in a moment to have grown older by twenty years.</p> - -<p>Janet, in her surprise, made a step or two forward, but Lady Pollexfen -waved her fiercely back. "Fool! fool! why don't you go away?" she -cried. "Why do you stare at me so? Go away, and send Dance to me. You -have spoiled my complexion for the day."</p> - -<p>Janet left the room and sent Dance to her mistress, and then went for -a ramble in the grounds. The seal of desolation and decay was set upon -everything. The garden, no longer the choice home of choice flowers, -was weed-grown and neglected. The greenhouses were empty, and falling -to pieces for lack of a few simple repairs. The shrubs and evergreens -had all run wild for want of pruning, and in several places the -dividing hedges were broken down, and through the breaches sheep had -intruded themselves into the private grounds. Even the house itself -had a shabby out-at-elbows air, like a gentleman fallen upon evil -days. Several of the upper windows were shuttered, some of the others -showed a broken pane or two. Here and there a shutter had fallen away, -or was hanging by a solitary hinge, suggesting thoughts of ghostly -flappings to and fro in the rough wind on winter nights. Doors and -window frames were blistering and splitting for want of paint. -Close by the sacred terrace itself lay the fragments of a broken -chimney-pot, blown down during the last equinoctial gales and suffered -to lie where it had fallen. Everywhere were visible tokens of that -miserly thrift which, carried to excess, degenerates into unthrift of -the worst and meanest kind, from which the transition to absolute ruin -is both easy and certain. For a full hour Janet trod the weed-grown -walks with clasped hands and saddened eyes. At the end of that time -Dance came in search of her. Lady Pollexfen wanted to see her again.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>END OF VOL. I.</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Under Lock and Key, Volume I (of 3), by -T. W. 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