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diff --git a/old/69106-0.txt b/old/69106-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b29235e..0000000 --- a/old/69106-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,13159 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The silver blade, by Charles Edmonds -Walk - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The silver blade - The true chronicle of a double mystery - -Author: Charles Edmonds Walk - -Release Date: October 6, 2022 [eBook #69106] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILVER BLADE *** - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: "Good God, Morbley! Did You Do This?" Page 92] - - - - - THE SILVER BLADE - - _THE TRUE CHRONICLE OF A - DOUBLE MYSTERY_ - - - BY - - CHARLES EDMONDS WALK - - - _WITH FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR - BY A. B. WENZELL_ - - - - CHICAGO - A. C. McCLURG & CO. - 1908 - - - - - COPYRIGHT - A. C. McCLURG & Co. - 1906 - - Published March 18, 1908 - Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, Eng. - _All Rights Reserved._ - - - The Lakeside Press - R. R. DONNELLY & SONS COMPANY - CHICAGO - - - - - TO THE MEMORY OF MY BROTHER - - GEORGE EDWARD WALK - - WHOSE INTEREST IN THE GROWTH OF THIS STORY - WAS NOT THE LEAST INCENTIVE - TO ITS COMPLETION - - - - - CONTENTS - - - _BOOK I. A DUPLEX PROBLEM_ - - CHAPTER - - I. Exit Señor de Sanchez - II. The First Problem Develops - III. A Search for Clues - IV. Mr. Converse Appears as Chorus - V. A Telegram from Mexico - VI. The Inquest - VII. The Verdict - VIII. Cherchez la Femme - IX. The Second Problem - X. Footprints - XI. A Burnt Fragment - XII. A Door is Opened - - - _BOOK II. CHARLOTTE FAIRCHILD_ - - I. Miss Charlotte Waits in the Hall - II. Miss Charlotte Entertains a Caller - III. "Paquita--What Do You Spell?" - IV. Miss Charlotte Becomes a Factor - V. A Decision and a Letter - VI. Faint Rays from Strange Sources - VII. A Voice in the Night - VIII. The Coroner's Coup - IX. The Light Brightens--and Dims - - - _BOOK III. SLADE'S BLESSING_ - - I. Opening Ways - II. Fairchild Redivivus - III. "The Thunderbolt Has Fallen" - IV. Some Loose Ends - V. Mr. Slade Resigns - VI. An Arrest - VII. "Slade's Blessing" - - - _BOOK IV. THE DANCER AND THE MOUNTEBANK_ - - I. "That Is Paquita" - II. The Serpent Strikes - III. Which Is the Last - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - -"Good God, Mobley! Did you do this?" ... Frontispiece - -Captain Converse was endowed with the impassiveness of an Indian, nor -could one imagine him agitated in any circumstances - -Joyce was herself a mystery, an enigma, as inscrutable as "Paquita" - -Mr. Mountjoy's thin, handsome features were saved from asceticism -only by the lines of humor about his eyes - -At times Charlotte became beautiful; a warm tide of color mounted to -her cheeks; her head became regally erect - - - - - LIST OF CHARACTERS - - - GEN. PEYTON WESTBROOK, a gentleman of the Old South. - MRS. WESTBROOK, his wife. - DR. MOBLEY WESTBROOK, their son. - JOYCE, Mobley's sister. - MRS. ELINOR FAIRCHILD, a widow of fallen fortunes. - CLAY, her son. - "MISS CHARLOTTE," Clay's sister. - JOHN CONVERSE, Captain of Detectives. - MR. MOUNTJOY, the District Attorney. - MR. MERKEL, the Coroner. - J. HOWARD LYNDEN, a cotton-broker. - SENOR JUAN DE VARGAS Y ESCOLADO, otherwise known - as Señor Vargas, a Mexican capitalist. - WILLIAM SLADE, an abstracter of titles. - ABRAM FOLLETT, a dealer in worn-out utilities. - ROBERT NETTLETON, a lawyer. - FERDINAND HOWE, a banker. - HARRY MCCALEB } - SEPTIMUS ADAMS } serving under Capt. Converse. - SAM } - JOE } faithful servants. - MELISSA } - POLLY ANN } - - THE PLACE: A City in the South. - TIME: The Present. - - - - -BOOK I. - -A DUPLEX PROBLEM - - - - _Is this a dagger which I see before me, - The handle toward my hand?_ - --MACBETH. - - - -THE SILVER BLADE - - - -BOOK I--A DUPLEX PROBLEM - - - -CHAPTER I - -EXIT SEÑOR DE SANCHEZ - -About six o'clock on an evening in the early part of a recent -November, the drowsy quiet sometimes pervading police headquarters -was rudely broken by the precipitate entrance of a young man, who -made his way hurriedly to the door marked, in neat gilt letters, -"CHIEF OF POLICE." - -In addition to the reserve squad, whose vigil never ends, many other -officers were present in the lazy transition stage between going on -and going off duty. The attention of them all was immediately -attracted to the stranger, and held by his extraordinary manner, from -the instant he became visible in the flickering gas-lights until he -finally disappeared. - -In the first place, he was not such a one as usually comes to the -city-hall basement, either voluntarily or when haled hither by one of -the law's myrmidons; for he was fashionably, even fastidiously, -attired, with a marked preciosity of manner which would have been -even more noticeable under ordinary conditions. - -But it was not over any idiosyncrasy of apparel or customary detail -of personality that the aroused curiosity of the officers lingered. -Inured as they were to uncommon and surprising events, they were -nevertheless startled by this young man's advent, and greatly -interested in his extreme discomposure. It was obvious to the most -casual glance that he was the victim of a fright so potent that it -possessed him to the complete exclusion of every other feeling, made -him oblivious of the scrutiny to which he was subjected, and drove -him blindly to the commission of some idea fixed by the terror which -mastered him. And there was one other still more powerful emotion -depicted in his pallid, twitching countenance: a horror unspeakable. - -Looking neither to the right nor the left, the stranger walked -directly to the Chief of Police just as that official was in the act -of closing and locking his office door for the night. The latter -looked up inquiringly, and, struck at once by the young man's -appearance, asked with sudden sharpness: - -"What's the matter? What has happened?" - -The young man, his wild regard fastened on the Chief, tried to -answer; but he was incapable of speech, and the effort resulted only -in a queer, gasping sound. - -With the directness of a man accustomed to prompt action, the Chief -of Police opened his door once more, and guided the young man into -the smaller room beyond. The visitor, dazed by his emotions and -unable to respond to any suggestion less forceful than the actual -pressure of the persuasive hand on his arm, probably would have -remained indefinitely motionless on the threshold before any -customary invitation to enter. - -The Chief struck a match and ignited a gas-jet above a big roll-top -desk. The action, simple in itself, seemed to loose the young man's -faculty of speech; just as the official turned, he darted suddenly -forward, grasped the other's arm, and began incontinently: - -"Murder! Murder has been done!" The words had the effect of a cry, -although uttered in a hoarse whisper. - -"Murder, I tell you. Come with me at once; don't delay." He shook -the Chief's arm excitedly, and strove to draw him toward the door. - -"Hurry! Hurry! For God's sake, hurry!" - -The Chief of Police easily disengaged his imprisoned arm. - -"There, there .... sit down there," said he, in a tone he might have -used to calm a terrified child. "You are upset. Sit there awhile -and try to collect yourself. Come; make an effort. Pull yourself -together and tell me about it." - -"But the murderer!" the young man went on, still with high -excitement, but unconsciously sinking back into the chair under the -gentle pressure of the Chief's hand. "The murderer will escape! -Great Heavens, man! even now he may be assaulting the -doctor--Mobley--do you hear me?--he may have killed him! Send -officers--go yourself--anything but to sit here idle. Come!" He -made as if to rise again; but the other pressed him back. - -"Steady," said the Chief quietly. "Mobley? Do you mean Doctor -Mobley Westbrook? Has he been murdered?" - -"No-no-no," in a burst of exasperation. "It was--it was--I -mean--good God, what do I mean? It--it happened in his office." - -The Chief regarded him for a moment with eyes that were mere -pin-points of light. - -"You are Mr. J. Howard Lynden, are you not?" he presently asked. The -other nodded a quick affirmative. "I thought so," he continued. -"Who is the murderer? Who has been murdered?--or has any murder been -done? You don't make yourself clear." - -Lynden twisted nervously upon his chair. "Heavens! you do not doubt -me?" he cried. "Why, Mobley's office is like a shambles. It's -horrible!--horrible! Mobley--Doctor Westbrook, that is--was standing -right over the dying man with--with--" He checked himself abruptly, -as an expression of horror deepened in his pale countenance. - -Since the introduction of Doctor Mobley Westbrook's name, the Chief -of Police was paying closer attention to the incoherent recital; he -regarded the young man gravely, and evidently concluded that the -situation was serious enough to warrant some initiative on his own -part. He was accustomed to panic-stricken people who intruded thus -unceremoniously upon him, and experience had taught him that, oftener -than not, the circumstances were far from warranting the excitement. - -Concerning his present visitor, he was aware, in a general way, that -the young man was well known about town, the inheritor of a -considerable fortune from his father, and that his name figured -prominently as a leader of cotillons, on the links of the Country -Club, and among the names of the many others who formed the society -set of the city. - -But all these qualifications did not supply the force so -conspicuously absent from Mr. Lynden's personality, lacking which his -perturbation was not very impressive. He was not at all bad looking: -he was even handsome in a way; but the Chief of Police, as he looked, -could not help remarking that a more resolute man would have been -less the slave of his emotions in a situation like the present. -While the young man sat drumming with nervous fingers on the arms of -his chair, the Chief pressed a button beneath his desk, whereupon the -door was almost immediately opened by an officer, who, without -entering, respectfully awaited his superior's commands. - -To him the Chief said, "If Converse is in, tell him to come to my -office;" and as the door closed, "I want Captain Converse to hear -this," he explained to Lynden; "it seems to be a matter for his -department." - -The two had not long to wait. A man entered, cast a piercing glance -at the visitor, and took his stand at a corner of the roll-top desk, -waiting with an air of deferential attention. He was a man of -physique so immense--with such a breadth of shoulders and absence of -neck--that his more than average height was much disguised. Above -all, he was one whose appearance must attract attention in any -gathering of his kind; for even as Lynden seemed to lack those -desirable traits, so force and resolution flowed from this man's -rugged personality, making their influence felt subtly and -insistently. His air of quiet composure was evocative of confidence. -Endowed with the impassiveness of an Indian, one could hardly imagine -him excited or agitated in any circumstances. - -The Chief recognized his presence with a brief nod, and at once -addressed Lynden: - -"Repeat what you have told me; see if you can't make it plainer." - -The visitor recounted the bare facts in a more connected manner. -"But I was so shocked," he supplemented, "that I am afraid I can't -make myself intelligible. The facts explain nothing to my mind -further than that an atrocious murder has been committed, that the -victim is still lying in Doctor Westbrook's office, and that no one -seems to know who is responsible for the deed." - -"You say the man was stabbed?" queried the Chief. - -"Yes," was the reply; "stabbed in the throat." - -"But I fail to understand," the Chief frowned. "Do you mean to say -that a man was stabbed in the presence of Doctor Westbrook, and that -he knows nothing about it?" - -"No--no. It seems to have occurred in the hall just outside Mobley's -door; the man fell through the door into the office, Mobley said. I -don't know--I am so confused." Which last statement he confirmed by -at once becoming involved in a wild incoherency of utterance. - -After he had quieted somewhat, he sat trembling for a moment, -suddenly bursting forth again: - -"Wait!" he cried, his face lighting. "I forgot to say there was -another man present in Doctor Westbrook's office--a stranger to me. -I never saw him before." - -"And he?" - -"Just like Mobley and myself, he appeared to be overcome by the -shocking occurrence." - -The Chief of Police plainly showed his perplexity. "According to -your statement--the man who was killed--will you repeat his name?" - -"De Sanchez. General Westbrook's friend, Alberto de Sanchez." - -"According to your statement he was bleeding profusely. Had the -weapon been withdrawn from the wound?" - -The young man evinced unaccountable hesitancy. He moved uneasily, -and glanced from his questioner to the impassive figure standing at a -corner of the desk. This man, called Converse, had taken no part in -the talk; he stood silent and motionless, seemingly paying no heed to -what was going forward; but now he shot a swift glance at Lynden, -whose nervousness measurably increased. That look was remarkable in -a way: the eyes, steely gray, were in themselves without expression; -they failed, however, to veil an intentness and concentration of mind -which disclosed beyond a doubt that their owner was abnormally alive -to every detail of speech and manner; they could not hide a power of -will lying behind their quick regard, which mocked deception, and Mr. -Lynden shuddered. Instantly the brief glance was withdrawn; but the -young man, if such had been his intention, attempted no liberties -with the truth. The confusion with which he now spoke, however, -suggested strongly that the thought had entered his mind, although he -may not have entertained it there. - -"I--I--I would rather that you, or some officer, accompany me to -Mobley's office," he faltered. "I consider it rather unfair, in my -condition, to press me further. I wouldn't for the world present -anything in a false light. I feel that the situation is not only -serious, but extremely delicate." - -"It is that," the Chief agreed, emphatically. "For that very reason -you must tell all you know. Now, why should you hesitate in regard -to the weapon? Come now, what about it?" - -"Well, sir, I answer you under protest; remember, I did not see the -blow struck." - -"Sure?" - -The young man nearly sprang from his chair. The interruption, a -penetrating, sibilant bullet of speech, came from the massive figure -of Mr. Converse; again that shrewd regard was fastened on him, and -the sweat started from his brow. - -"No!" he cried, explosively; "I did not. By George, how nervous I -am!--but I think half-truths should not be told. No one is less -capable of perpetrating such a deed than Mobley Westbrook. Why, you -know the man!" He appealed with feverish eagerness to the two -figures now sternly confronting him. "Every one knows Mobley -Westbrook's character; would he do such a thing?" - -"But come to the point--come to the point, man!" the Chief demanded, -rapping sharply upon the desk with his knuckles. "What of the -weapon--was it a knife--sword--axe--hatchet? Where was it?" - -"Well, Mobley had some kind of a--blade, a--dagger in his hand; but--" - -"Ah! And standing over a man whose very life-blood is ebbing away -beneath his eyes!" The Chief's manner was politely ironical, and -struck the young man cold. "You must admit that you portray an -astonishing set of circumstances to surround a man not only innocent -but ignorant of an offence," concluded the official, pointedly. - -Lynden indeed started from his chair. "I knew it! I knew it!" cried -he, wildly. "I knew you would put such a construction upon my words; -now, damn it! I'll not say another word. Go--go! Go and see for -yourselves how wrong you are!" - -The Chief of Police ignored this vehement advice. Instead, he curtly -admonished Lynden to remain a few moments where he was; and leaving -the wretched news-bearer alone with his own reflections, he and -Converse withdrew from the room. - -After a minute or two the Chief returned. "I have sent for a -carriage," said he. "As soon as it arrives I must request you to -accompany Captain Converse to Doctor Westbrook's offices; are you -willing to do that?" He awaited the reply with an interest mingled -with doubt of what its probable tenor might be; when the young man -acquiesced with an alacrity and relief obviously sincere, his doubt -merely grew. He contemplated Lynden an instant longer, and with a -curt nod, seated himself at his desk again. - -Almost at once, however, the large figure of the Captain--or plain -Mr. Converse, as he much preferred to be known--appeared in the -doorway. - -"Come!" he whispered; and the whisper rasped upon Lynden's nerves. -Confound the man! was he afraid he would betray some momentous -secret, so that he did not talk like other people? Nevertheless, he -arose and followed him,--under the heavy stone arches, shrouded with -gloom in the flickering gas-light, out into the cool night air and -into a waiting hack. Two other men followed close behind, and -entered a second hack; immediately the two vehicles, one behind the -other, were going at full speed in the direction of Doctor -Westbrook's offices. - -Under the soothing influence of rubber tires spinning easily over the -smooth asphalt, the young man was fast regaining his lost composure. -He was so rapt in his own thoughts that for a time he quite forgot -his still companion, and presently he laughed--mirthlessly, but a -laugh signifying sudden relief. Quite as suddenly it was checked, as -he met the inquiring, probing glance of his _vis-à-vis_. - -"It is astonishing that I never thought of it before," he explained, -in an embarrassed way. "That other man--the stranger--can set Mobley -right in an instant. Do you think Doctor Westbrook could have done -it?" - -Immediately he regretted the question, for it entailed hearkening to -that uncomfortable hissing voice. It was Mr. Converse's misfortune -that, properly speaking, he had no voice at all. His entire speech -was a series of sibilant utterances, wonderfully distinct and -possessed of remarkable carrying power when one considered their -quality. It is likely that he was sensitive about his vocal defect, -since he was known as a silent, taciturn man among his _confrères_. -On certain rare occasions, however,--under, for example, the spur of -an inflexible purpose or the influence of a sympathetic nature,--it -was also known that he could wax eloquent; his forceful individuality -supplied, in a large measure, the place of a normal, flexible voice. - -The head of the detective department might have been anywhere between -forty and sixty years of age, so far as one could gather from his -huge frame and stolid countenance. His hair was gray, and thinning -slightly at the temples; but behind his illegible exterior there -reposed a vigor and a reserve of power--revealed now and then, as in -the lightning-like glance cast at Lynden in the Chief's office--which -could not be reconciled with age. He was, in fact, fifty-two. - -His face was full and round, smooth-shaven, expressionless--such a -visage as one associates with some old sea-dog; a countenance that -has long been subjected to the hardening processes of wind and -weather. As the young man waited for a reply, the immovable features -underwent a curious change; the mouth gradually assumed a pucker, as -though the facial muscles were inelastic and unused to such exercise; -his right eyebrow lifted, which, as the other remained motionless, -was made all the more noticeable,--the effect being an expression of -inquiry and speculation that seemed ludicrously out of place. Lynden -became familiar with this queer transformation later on; he learned -to associate it with the futility of seeking to penetrate the wall of -reserve which ever surrounded this unusual man, and perceived that it -came and went as a sort of involuntary warning to place least trust -in his frankest confidences. Now it introduced the response to his -question, "Do you think Doctor Westbrook could have done it?" - -"The Doctor is a strong, vigorous man, isn't he? I don't see why he -couldn't." - -"My dear sir," Lynden anxiously expostulated, "you don't know Mobley -Westbrook, or you never could entertain such a thought." - -"Pardon me," said Mr. Converse, carelessly, "the thought seems to be -your own; I was simply giving you the first fact that occurred to me, -to justify your opinion. I have formed none myself." - -"You interpret my words strangely." - -"No; your silence." - -The young man, with another shudder, drew back to the corner of the -vehicle farthest from his companion. - -The receding lights outside followed the carriage in squares of -diminishing illumination, which, shining through the window, made -strange play of light and shadow over that inscrutable visage. All -at once it became deeply portentous to Lynden; as if by sudden -divination he became possessed of a conviction that it was destined -to take a high place in his affairs,--signifying, perhaps, the -controlling influence in a strange drama, the first scene of which -was now upon the boards. - -"It is very remarkable," the Captain mused, presently, as if the -episode were too much for him. - -Lynden started from his reverie. - -"Yes," he murmured, not meeting the other's eye. "Yes; it is very -remarkable." Both lapsed into a silence that continued until the end -of the ride. - -As the vehicle proceeds, a few words about those whose names have -been mentioned, together with some others who will figure in this -narrative, will give a better idea of the importance of the tragedy, -the ill tidings of which Lynden had been the bearer. - -Both by reason of recognized ability in his profession and of his -high family connections, Doctor Mobley Westbrook was leader of the -medical fraternity in the city of his birth and residence. He was -still youthful in spite of his thirty-five years; democratic in his -tastes, immensely popular in every class of society, and for these -reasons considerably at odds with his father. - -Notwithstanding his popularity, his single excursion into politics -had only shown his unfitness for the national game; a circumstance -mentioned here because later on he is to have it brought back to him -in a manner both forcible and disagreeable. - -Singularly enough,--for from another and altogether different -sentiment the General himself was popular,--General Westbrook was -known to hold his son in some disfavor because he was so well and -universally esteemed. His exclusive nature could not brook the -physician's democratic inclinations; it made the latter an alien. -The General did not understand it, and what he could not understand -he disliked. - -The two personalities were remarkably divergent in every way. -General Peyton Westbrook was an exaggerated type of the old-school -Southern gentleman. Strikingly handsome, elegant in appearance, his -erect and rigid bearing, together with a falcon-like glance suggested -a stature which one in describing would be likely to pronounce tall -when in reality it was not much over five feet. His graceful -slenderness added considerably to the illusion. His hair was white, -his features cameo-like--aristocratic, and stamped with the -overweening family pride, to which, with him, every other human -emotion was subservient. - -It is probable that his presence and name were better known in every -part of the State than those of any other living man. For the class -which he represented was that noble body of patricians--handsome and -recklessly brave men, and beautiful, high-minded women--who have -given the world criterions by which human excellence and human -weakness alike may be measured; and his position was a personal -hobby, persistently and consistently ridden. - -Of his standing he was perhaps pardonably proud. Besides his social -position and that of his wife, who had been a Shepardson, and of his -lovely daughter, Joyce, he had fought gallantly, if not brilliantly, -through the war between the States; but he was just narrow-minded -enough to allow his pride and egoism to exclude the rest of humanity. - -There was but one uniting link between Mobley and his father and -mother--the latter even more distant and unapproachable than her -spouse--and that was the daughter and sister, Joyce. Whatever their -differences, the family was held together by affection for this -beautiful girl. - -The love that bound Joyce and Mobley was deep and abiding. It is not -surprising, then, when the question of his sister's marriage became -gossip, that Mobley should have taken a stand on the subject which -brought about a final and complete rupture from his father and -mother. The name with which his sister's had been linked was no -other than that of this same Alberto de Sanchez, who now lay dead, -with a ghastly knife-wound in his throat, in the Doctor's own office. - -James Howard Lynden--or "Jim," as Doctor Westbrook called him--had -long been on intimate terms with the Westbrook family. And it was he -who now accompanied the silent Mr. Converse through a small but -curious group gathered about the entrance leading to the Doctor's -office; the first stage of an intermingling of interests widely -diverse; the bringing together of lives as far asunder as the stars. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE FIRST PROBLEM DEVELOPS - -Doctor Westbrook's offices were in the Nettleton Building in Court -Street. It and its neighbor on the east, the Field Building, were of -that solid old style of structure devoted to business, which knew not -the elevator nor steam heat, nor any of the many devices that enter -into the complexities, and often questionable conveniences, of the -modern office edifice. They were not, and never had been, of an -imposing appearance, boasting as they did only three stories; but -they were nevertheless the blue-bloods among the city's commercial -houses, preserving their exclusive position amidst the newer -generation of garish sky-scrapers which rudely intercepted the vision -on every hand. - -The occupants of these monuments of the old regime were in full -accord with their habitations,--solid, conservative, and even -aristocratic. As often as not a modest sign--if it could be -deciphered at all--notified the visitor that behind certain doors -could be found "Harvey Nettleton, Estate of," or, "Richard Fairchild, -Estate of," or some name equally well known, and associated with a -glory that had departed. In most instances, well might the present -owners of those family names cry "Ichabod!" for they had long since -ceased to have any interest in the estates other than the shadowy -interests which lie in memories and vain regrets. - -As Mr. Lynden and his taciturn companion passed through the Nettleton -Building entrance, where the curious little throng was restrained by -the presence of a couple of mute policemen, the Captain's entire -manner underwent a complete and sudden transformation; his -expressionless countenance remained wooden, but into his eyes there -arrived an intentness and brightness entirely absent from them -before; his rather lethargic and apparently purposeless movements -giving way to a brisk mode of proceeding which one would hardly have -expected from his cumbrous frame. His demeanor was become at once -alert and wary, and he had little to say to Lynden. - -It was now night outside, and the stairs were faintly illuminated by -the single incandescent lamp which hung at their head in the hall of -the second story. The sole indication that Mr. Converse was striving -to allow nothing to escape his observation was the quickness with -which he stooped, when near the top, and picked something from the -stairs--something too small for Lynden to catch even a glimpse -of--which, whatever it was, the Captain scrutinized intently a -moment, and, without comment, dropped into the large pocket-book he -brought forth from an inside pocket. The two continued on their way -until they reached Doctor Westbrook's office. - -Everything was as Lynden had left it, save for the fact that Doctor -Westbrook, and the stranger mentioned by the young man, had been -joined by several other persons. - -One was a swarthy, lean man, whose face was pitted by small-pox, and -whose rather dull eyes remained expressionless behind a pair of -gold-rimmed pince-nez. He was standing aloof from the others, and -seemed to be taking only languid interest in what was going forward. -Occasionally he coughed in a manner that told much to the physician's -trained ear; save for this, he remained silent. Mr. Merkel, the -coroner, and a uniformed policeman were also present. - -"Ah!" exclaimed Mr. Merkel to Converse as he and his companion -appeared. "So they have sent you, have they? How fortunate! how -exceedingly fortunate! This, gentlemen," he continued, addressing -the other occupants of the room, "is Captain Converse. He will -pardon me, I know, if I add--the great detective. Nothing has been -disturbed, Captain, nothing has been disturbed. You will find -everything just as I did. It is a bad business, a bad business." - -Mr. Merkel was fussy, important, and wholly incompetent; and the -Captain was so accustomed to his repetitions of phrases that were -not, to say the least, pregnant with meaning, that he ignored them -and turned to an inspection of the dead man. - -The body lay just as it had fallen. Somebody had placed a -handkerchief over the face, a covering that also hid an ugly wound in -the throat. Mr. Converse stooped and removed this, and began a -minute but rapid examination of the still form. It reposed in the -Doctor's reception-room, close to the wall, partially on its back and -partially on its right side. The right arm was extended, the fingers -of that hand still in a position as though upon the point of grasping -something. Curved naturally across the breast, the left arm -suggested restful slumber rather than death by violence; but whatever -the eyes had last looked upon, before the film dimmed their lustre, -it had stamped upon the handsome features an indelible expression of -mingled terror and horror, which one could scarcely regard without an -inward tremor of something very like fear. It was an expression -likely to remain disagreeably in the memory for a long time. - -A search of the dead man's pockets revealed nothing unusual, except -that, in a petty way, he had been a violator of the law; for the -first thing Mr. Converse drew forth was a nickel-plated, -pearl-handled revolver of 32-caliber. The remainder consisted of a -number of letters, all relating to business matters; two long -envelopes, evidently but recently sealed, and addressed simply, "_El -Señor Juan de Vargas_"; a purse containing money; a gold watch; a -fountain pen, and pencil; two memorandum books; a silver match-box; a -pouch of dark tobacco, and brown cigarette papers; a handkerchief; a -penknife; a bunch of keys,--these were all. - -When these effects were inventoried, while Mr. Merkel was assorting -them at Doctor Westbrook's writing-table, the dark man with the -pince-nez stepped forward. All eyes were turned toward him, -excepting, apparently, those of Converse, which continued to give the -body and the reception-room floor their attention. - -"Pardon, señores," said the dark man, bestowing a bow upon the entire -group, and ending it at the Coroner; "is there anything addressed to -Juan Vargas, or Juan de Vargas? I am he." - -Mr. Merkel looked at him sternly, and held up the two long envelopes. - -"I see the name of Vargas--er--ah--inscribed on these. Are you Mr. -Vargas?" - -The other remained unmoved, replying simply, "I am Juan de Vargas." - -"What connection have you with the deceased gentleman?" continued the -Coroner, without relaxing in the least the sternness of his look. -"Can you tell us anything of this affair?" - -Señor de Vargas shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, señores; I lament -that I cannot. The contents of the envelopes should tell you about -the extent of our connection; they contain but a deed, some shares of -stock, no more. Señor de Sanchez would have delivered them to me -to-night. Open them by all means." - -The man's eyes, dull and unmoving, continued to regard Mr. Merkel. -Had he been discussing the weather his tones could have been no more -dispassionate. - -The Coroner tore open the envelopes, and, as the man had said, one -contained a deed, conveying certain land to Juan Sebastian de Vargas -y Escolado, the notary's certificate showing it had been signed and -acknowledged that very day before Clay Fairchild. Alberto de Sanchez -had made the transfer. The other envelope disclosed a certificate -for one thousand shares of stock in the Paquita Gold Mining and -Milling Company, also made over to Señor Vargas in due form. The -papers told no more. - -"Good!" exclaimed Señor de Vargas. "We agreed yesterday, and I have -made the first payment of ten thousand dollars for myself and -associates. I was but awaiting the deed and the stock." - -At this juncture Doctor Westbrook interposed: - -"I happen to know that this gentleman is Señor de Vargas," said he. -"He called here with--with Señor de Sanchez last evening. I have -heard something of this deal between the two, and I believe it -represents the occasion of this gentleman's presence in the city at -this time." - -Señor de Vargas acknowledged this speech with a grave "Gracias, -señor." Turning to Mr. Merkel again, "I hope there will not be much -delay?" he queried, mildly, with a certain precision of enunciation -that alone marked him of an un-English-speaking race. - -Since he had comprehended the magnitude of the transaction as -disclosed by the deed and certificates, and after Doctor Westbrook's -interposition, the Coroner's manner toward the Mexican had noticeably -altered. - -"No more than necessary," he replied deferentially; "no more than -necessary, sir. I am sorry, but these papers will have to remain -among the deceased's other effects until after the inquest, anyhow. -Mr. Mountjoy, our district attorney, is the proper authority for you -to see." - -"Good!" returned the Mexican. "I desire not for my humble affairs to -stand in the path of justice." Bowing once more, he returned to his -former position away from the others. - -Converse suddenly passed over to the Coroner, and laid a bloody -dagger upon the table. Its silver blade, crimsoned in part, was -grewsome and startling beneath the bright glare of the shaded -incandescent lamp. Mr. Merkel involuntarily drew back his hands, the -strange gentleman who had been with the Doctor since the tragedy -visibly shuddered, and for an instant--the smallest portion of a -second--the dull eyes of Señor Vargas took on a strange light, as -though the pupils had all at once distended, allowing a glimpse to -the uttermost depths, then became dull again. It was like the abrupt -opening and closing of a shutter. Otherwise his features did not -change, nor did he move. The more phlegmatic policeman looked upon -the little weapon without apparent emotion; the Doctor and Howard -Lynden with none at all. - -However, as the Captain placed it upon the table his eyes took in -every occupant of the room in one rapid sweeping glance, only to drop -as he stooped and whispered to the Coroner, who there upon nodded and -turned to the waiting group. - -"Now, gentlemen," said he, "this is not the inquest, of course; but -let us hear what you have to say about this. You first, Doctor -Westbrook; you first." - -"What I can tell you will seem much less than it should," the Doctor -returned. "It was about five o'clock, and I was sitting at my -table--there, where you are now. I had just finished a letter to no -other than Señor de Sanchez himself." - -"Is this it?" the Coroner interrupted, extending a letter to the -speaker. Doctor Westbrook replied affirmatively, and proceeded with -his recital. - -"I had just completed and blotted it, and was preparing to address -the envelope, when I heard footsteps in the hall. I paused, with the -pen in my hand, and listened, for I was expecting Señor de Sanchez to -call at my office this evening, though not so early, and I imagined -the footsteps might be his. As I listened, I noted that my door was -not quite shut, and the footfalls advanced steadily down the hall, -approaching my office. When immediately outside the door, and while -I was looking up expectant of the caller's entrance, they ceased -abruptly. There was a slight sound of scraping on the floor of the -hall, as though the man--whom I could not then see--were endeavoring -to rub something from his shoe-sole on the boards, or had slipped -slightly; without the slightest warning, his whole weight plunged -against the door. It was thrown violently open by the impact, and I -was horrified to behold Señor de Sanchez stagger through, his right -hand extended in front of him, as if groping for support. As he -crossed the threshold he lurched to his right and struck the wall, -along which he slid to the floor, just as you now see him." - -During his relation of these particulars, the Doctor's manner was -perfectly cool and collected. The next incident fairly electrified -his intent listeners. - -"As he was falling," he continued, "I noticed the dagger handle -protruding from the left side of his throat." - -"Is this the one?" - -It was Converse's sibilant whisper which now rudely broke into the -recital. At the same time he thrust the silver blade close to the -other's face. - -Doctor Westbrook at first merely glanced at the weapon; but something -about it evidently caught and held his attention, and an emotion -vastly different from mere recognition overspread his countenance; it -was astonishment, pure and simple. - -"God bless my soul!" he gasped, in extreme amazement; "that is -mine--my paper-knife--and I did not recognize it! What does this -mean?" He sat with his eyes glued upon it, the centre of a -dumfounded group. The Captain continued a moment to hold it forward, -his gaze fixed inscrutably upon the physician's puzzled and -bewildered countenance. - -Presently Converse drew the weapon slowly back again, and replaced it -upon the table. - -"So that is yours?" the Coroner soberly asked. - -"It is," replied the Doctor; "and I did not recognize it until this -minute. How did it--why--" he began vaguely; but Merkel interrupted. - -"Well," said he, with a wave of the hand that seemed to dispose of -all complications, "it will be time enough for questions when you -have finished." - -"De Sanchez was falling," resumed the Doctor after a moment's -reflection, "when I noticed the dagger handle. The body had scarcely -touched the floor before I had stooped and wrenched the blade from -the wound. It did not come easily; it required a severe tug to -loosen it, and the withdrawal of the blade was followed by such a -gush of blood that I knew some important artery must be severed. The -man's death was practically instantaneous. After I had extracted the -blade I had no time to render him any further service; I simply stood -dumfounded until Jim--Mr. Lynden--grasped my arm and shook me." - -"But, Doctor Westbrook," insisted Mr. Merkel, "was there no one else -in the hall? Did you hear no other footsteps? Didn't you see or -hear some one else when the door was thrust wide open? Surely the -murderer couldn't have left so quickly without attracting the -attention of some one of you. It is simply incredible." He grasped -the arms of his chair, leaning forward in his eagerness, his heavy -countenance overshadowed with perplexity. - -As the Doctor started to reply, Converse glanced sharply toward him; -when Lynden's name was presently mentioned, shifting his scrutiny to -that gentleman. - -"I must say no to all those questions," was the Doctor's reply. "I -saw nobody but De Sanchez. I heard nothing but his footsteps, and -the noise he made in collapsing through this door. Ask Jim Lynden, -there; he was in the hall at the time; he followed so closely behind -De Sanchez that he arrived here before the man died." - -Lynden merely shook his head, hopelessly, as if he had no vocabulary -to express himself. The Coroner was impressed by the young man's -mien, and after regarding him a moment with a scowl, turned again to -Doctor Westbrook. - -"Was any one else present, Doctor?" he asked. - -The physician's face was suddenly illumined. - -"Yes; why, certainly. Howe!" he exclaimed. "Howe, where were you?" - -The man, who apparently had been a stranger to everybody in the room, -now advanced. - -"I was in there--your laboratory--looking into the light-well." - -Converse noiselessly disappeared into the room indicated, returning -in a few seconds to eye the stranger with increased interest. - -"And who are you, if I may ask?" bluntly demanded the Coroner. - -"My name is Ferdinand Howe, sir," the stranger replied, with dignity. -"My home is in Bruceville, Georgia, and I am in your city on business -for the bank of which I happen to be the cashier. Doctor Westbrook -and I are old college-mates, and I know about as much of this affair -as he has told you; that is to say, I was there--the other side of -that partition in the laboratory--when the murdered man fell where -you now see him. The first intimation I had that anything was amiss -was when the outside door crashed open and the body fell to the -floor. I ran into this room, saw the man gasp twice, and then lie -motionless. I never saw him, and never heard of him, before this -night. That is all." - -Mr. Howe appeared to be about the Doctor's age, and was a fair type -of the American man of business. He was well groomed, clean, and -possessed of a clear, steady eye. - -"And you saw and heard no one else?" Mr. Merkel persisted. - -Howe shook his head. "No, sir; no one. There was not the slightest -thing to indicate--" - -He stopped. He shot a swift, startled glance at Doctor Westbrook; -but the Doctor remained unconscious of it, evidently absorbed in his -own cogitations. Mr. Converse's eyes watched the speaker through -mere slits, so nearly closed were they; but a gleam came from between -the contracted lids that might have betrayed a quickened interest -somewhere in the depths of his big frame. - -"No," concluded Howe presently, in tones measurably subdued; "I -neither saw nor heard anybody else, but--" With compressed lips he -indicated by a nod the form on the floor. "You must remember," he -concluded, "I was in the next room, looking out the window into the -light-well." - -Converse looked quickly from the speaker to Lynden. That young man -was staring strangely at Howe, evidently impressed by something -unusual in his concluding words. - -Suddenly the young man caught Converse's intent look, and his own -eyes lowered. Next they shifted to Doctor Westbrook, at whom he -continued to look in a moody silence. - -The Coroner, apparently more and more at sea, stared first at one and -then another of the room's occupants, at the partition which -separated the reception-room from the laboratory, and lastly through -the open doorway into the hall. The most extreme of the different -points were not over six feet apart; and for three men--wide awake -and in full possession of their faculties--to be so close to such a -crime and know nothing of it until it was all over! How could human -ingenuity supply an explanation for so incongruous a circumstance? -Had the man committed suicide? The most cursory examination of the -wound demonstrated beyond doubt that, however else it might have been -inflicted, Alberto de Sanchez was incapable of having administered it -himself. - -Meanwhile the Captain was moving from one to another of the group, -his whisper barely audible, but persistent and pervading the entire -room. Occasionally he made a brief memorandum upon an -envelope,--cabalistic marks which no one but himself could have -deciphered. Then the whisper again for a moment, followed by a -deferential lowering of his gray head as he hearkened to the reply. -Had one been observing him closely he would have noticed that the -circle of inquiry gradually narrowed. The policeman he paid no -attention to at all; he was soon through with Señor Vargas; but from -Lynden he passed to Howe; next to Doctor Westbrook; and from one to -another of the last three, as a word from one suggested a new inquiry -to be asked of another. His movements were silent, his manner -unobtrusive, distracting no attention from Mr. Merkel and his -investigation. Now and then he paused and stared contemplatively -into vacancy for a moment, with the odd lifting of his right eyebrow, -and with his mouth thoughtfully pursed; but the mask of his -countenance told nothing, and only once did he include the whole -group with a question. It was after he had been whispering quietly -for some minutes with Howe. - -"Who can give me young Mr. Fairchild's address? You, Doctor?" he -asked. - -"Clay?" Dr. Westbrook returned. "Yes. It is close to the terminus -of the Washington Heights car line. The conductor can direct you to -it; the houses are not numbered out there." - -Converse nodded, and chose a slip of paper from the table. After -looking at it, first on one side and then on the other, it apparently -did not suit his purpose; for he subjected another bit of paper to a -similar scrutiny before pencilling a hurried line thereon, although -he did not replace the first slip. The note he handed to the -policeman with a whispered word, and the policeman instantly quitted -the room. Had one still been observing Mr. Converse he would have -seen him abstractedly place the first bit of paper in his waistcoat -pocket. - -Well, it seemed that no one present could throw additional light upon -the manner of Señor de Sanchez's death. Mr. Merkel arose from his -chair at the Doctor's table, and looked a pointed inquiry at the -Captain, who responded by a short negative shake of his head. As if -relieved of a distasteful responsibility, the Coroner said: - -"Such of you as desire to go may do so. Captain Converse and I will -have to look about a bit. He must have an opportunity to apply his -wonderful skill, gentlemen; and you will all be notified of the -inquest; you will be duly notified..... Doctor Westbrook, I will -send a wagon for the body," he concluded. "Good-night, gentlemen." -He turned to the table again, and to a contemplation of the dead -man's personal effects, as though picking out an answer to this -latest riddle propounded by death. - -Whatever of restraint had been upon the group, it was released by the -Coroner's words, and each member showed it in his own way. Ferdinand -Howe instantly advanced to Doctor Westbrook, and, smiling, held out -his hand. - -"Well, Mobley," said he, as they grasped hands, "this is a -regrettable affair. It has been a shocking interruption to my visit; -a visit which I now suppose will be indefinitely extended. If I can -be of service, don't hesitate to call upon me. I shall be at the -hotel any time I am wanted. Good-night." And he quitted the room. - -Next, Señor Vargas bowed before the Doctor, saying in a low, -conventional tone: - -"My sympathies, Señor Doctor, that anything so deplorable should have -occurred in your apartments." He turned to the Coroner: - -"Don Alberto was a fellow-countryman," he went on; "he had many -relatives and friends, by whom he was much beloved. But Mexico is -far away, señor, and should there be any delay in communicating with -those relatives or those friends, it is I, his countryman, upon whom -you should call. Upon my own responsibility I request that every -attention be accorded the body, and that no expense be considered. I -also will be at--what you call _la posado_?--the 'otel. I thank you -for your courtesy." - -His departure left, besides the Captain and Mr. Merkel, only Howard -Lynden and the Doctor; as the door closed behind the Mexican, the -Doctor said: - -"Now, then, we here are all about equally interested; if you have any -idea how this dreadful crime was committed, pray enlighten us. -Surely even vulgar curiosity is pardonable under the circumstances." -He looked inquiringly from the Coroner to Mr. Converse. - -The latter made no remark, but watched the Doctor steadily, while Mr. -Merkel dubiously shook his head, and replied: - -"It seems as though we scarcely had made a beginning yet. We shall -be obliged to go much farther, Doctor--much farther." - -"I will begin right now, then," Converse whispered. "Mr. Lynden, you -can help me if you will." - -All four were in the act of emerging from the room, when the Captain, -as though an idea had just occurred to him, turned suddenly and -touched Doctor Westbrook upon the arm. - -"By the way, Doctor," he whispered, close to that gentleman's ear, "I -notice you have several penholders on your table; are you -particularly partial to any one of them? No, no, don't stop; go on." - -The Doctor turned a surprised visage to his questioner. - -"Why, yes, since you have mentioned it. I always use the black -celluloid holder. Why?" - -"It is just an idea of mine; I took a particular fancy to that -holder..... And have you had occasion to put a new point in it -lately?" - -Doctor Westbrook now did stop. He frowned heavily as he pondered a -moment, while the Captain watched him steadily. - -"Yes," he presently said. "I placed a new pen-point in it this -evening. I found the other broken--bent--quite useless." - -"Thank you, thank you," Mr. Converse said, hastily. "Good-night, -Doctor Westbrook." - -While the Doctor and Mr. Merkel continued on out of the building, -Converse devoted his attention to the hall window which opened into -the light-well. There he stood until the others had disappeared; -whereupon he and Lynden reëntered the Doctor's office. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -A SEARCH FOR CLUES - -By running a board partition down the centre of the room nearest the -hall, Doctor Westbrook had by the simplest means given himself a -place of reception; one where his patients could wait while he was -engaged in the room overlooking Court Street, there being still -another for his drugs and medicines. - -There was not much wasted space in the laboratory. Against the walls -stood cases filled with bottles of many sizes and colors, and other -cases displaying glittering, sinister instruments; in one corner -stood a carboy of distilled water, and by the window, opening into -the light-well, stood the table where the Doctor compounded such -prescriptions as he did not send to a regular apothecary. - -The light-well opened like a chasm between the Field and Nettleton -buildings; its bottom, on a level with the second-story floors, was -of heavy semi-opaque glass, so that such rays of light as were not -diverted into the windows on the one hand or the other found a way to -the shop space on the ground floor. At present an arc lamp beneath -this skylight suffused a soft and mellow radiance throughout the -entire light-well. - -Mr. Converse let himself down to a narrow ledge bordering the -skylight, and with an injunction to the young man to wait, made his -way around it to a window diagonally opposite, which the latter -recognized as belonging to the offices of Petty & Carlton, attorneys, -in the Field Building. Here the Captain drew himself up with -remarkable agility, and disappeared through the window. All the -windows letting into the light-well were open, the watcher was -noticing, when his attention was attracted by Mr. Converse's sharp -whisper. - -"Stand where you are a few minutes, Mr. Lynden," said he. "I want to -experiment a bit, and I shall call on you for a report presently." - -He lowered himself to the ledge again, passed over to Nettleton -Building side, and to the hall window of the latter. There he -stooped and scrutinized the ledge intently, and next the window-sill; -after which, with a little spring, he raised himself to the window, -and crawled through it into the hall. - -A sudden quiet fell,--a quiet unbroken by any sound. Standing there -alone in the gloom, one undoubtedly would have been impressed by the -blank, staring windows that were like wide and lidless eyes; and as -he looked, Lynden seemed to become sensible of a feeling of dread at -the awfulness of the crime which had been committed so near at hand, -for he shuddered visibly, as if the windows had some purpose in -staring,--as if they were in reality eyes that still retained some -expression of their horror at a deed witnessed but a moment since. - -Noting the alacrity with which Converse let his heavy frame in and -out of windows, a spectator might fancy it an easy matter for one -lurking in the light-well to do likewise, at the ripe moment strike a -swift blow, and then leap back again. - -But whatever the current of Lynden's meditations, it was abruptly -diverted. He fell to listening intently. The door between the hall -and the reception-room was being slowly and cautiously opened; still -slowly and with an apparent effort to occasion no betraying noise, -some one advanced on tiptoe into the room. The young man faced -deliberately about until he could see the door in the partition, and -waited. Toward it the almost silent footfalls were moving; presently -there appeared at the aperture the expressionless face of Mr. -Converse, who, when he perceived Lynden's startled attitude, gave -utterance to a low chuckle. - -"I was not endeavoring to frighten you, Mr. Lynden," said he; "I was -simply trying a little experiment. When did you first hear me?" - -"I heard the door open, and next, you tiptoeing across the room. I -did not know what to think." He was pale and trembling. - -"Not another sound? No footsteps in the hall? Nothing of that kind?" - -Lynden shook his head. "No; the first thing I heard was the door -opening," he repeated. - -"Well," continued the Captain, reflectively, pursing his mouth, and -lifting his right eyebrow at the young man, "I don't believe anybody -could have made less noise than I did in there"--he nodded his head -toward the partition--"nor more than I made in the hall. And you -heard nothing until the door began to open--h-m-m!" He looked around -the laboratory,--at the shelves of bottles, at the partition not -reaching quite to the ceiling; he stepped to the window, and, leaning -out, contemplated the hall window. "It's confoundedly queer," he -concluded. - -"What is?" - -"Why, the way noises act here. You know, that man--Mr. Ferdinand -Howe--was standing at this window, and heard nothing in the hall. I -almost believe, if the deceased had been shot instead of stabbed he -would not have heard it..... But let us have a look at the other -side of the hall.... Let me see," he went on, in a meditative way, -"Room 4; that must be Mr. Nettleton's private office; as my friend -Mr. Follett would say,--his 'lair.' He has no use for lawyers." He -pushed open the door directly opposite the Doctor's suite. - -The room was large and had three windows opening into the light-well. -Through these windows sufficient light from the arc lamp beneath the -skylight found its way to cause the furnishings to loom shadowy and -ghost-like in a sort of feeble twilight, and to make it easy to find -an incandescent lamp, which Mr. Converse turned on, illuminating the -apartment with a brighter and more cheerful radiance. He surveyed -the room, and looked at Lynden. - -"I suppose," said he, "the door has not been locked this evening?" - -The young man merely shook his head. For some reason since passing -to this side of the hall, he had become strangely taciturn, though he -watched the Captain's every movement eagerly, and cast many furtive -glances toward the denser shadows. - -Converse, knelt and examined the floor closely on either side of the -door. Lynden's nerves were at such a tension that he actually -started at a whispered ejaculation from the Captain as he picked up a -tiny hairpin,--the kind a woman would have specified as "invisible." - -So, then, there had been some one behind this door--and that one a -woman! - -Why should this circumstance affect Lynden so strangely? for it would -seem that, in the undisturbed stillness of these deserted chambers, -there was a potent, disquieting influence which kept him in a _qui -vive_ of nervous expectancy,--an invisible something in the -atmosphere of the place filling him with an apprehensive dread. It -was really remarkable that his observant companion did not notice his -agitation; and still it was difficult to imagine how he could, for he -was crossing the floor in a crouching attitude, apparently directing -his entire attention to the floor with a concentration that permitted -no individual thread of the heavy carpet to escape his earnest -scrutiny. - -Mr. Nettleton was a lawyer, and he occupied two rooms, both of which -opened directly into the hall. The two men were now in the one that -the lawyer used as his consultation room, and the course being -pursued by Mr. Converse would soon take him to the connecting door -between the two offices. Arriving at that point, he stood erect and -paused a moment, plunged in thought. He said nothing, and seemingly -had become oblivious of his companion's attendance. - -Just to the left of the connecting door, and in the general office, -stood the desk occupied during business hours by Clay Fairchild. -Above this desk was another incandescent light, which the Captain -lighted, after which he took up whatever trail he had been following -so closely, at the exact point where he had left it, continuing, in a -stooping posture, to the hall door of the general office. From the -point where he had picked up the hairpin, immediately within the -entrance to Room 4, he had pursued a course away from the hall, -through the connecting door to Room 5, and back again toward the hall -to the hall entrance of the latter room,--the whole forming, roughly, -an arc, the chord of which was the hall. - -At the door of Room 5 he stood upright once more, and the young man -became aware all at once that he was being eyed quizzically. - -"Look!" the Captain whispered. Stooping again, he pointed to the -heavy ply of the moquette carpet. - -For a moment Lynden could descry nothing unusual; his heart was -thumping in a manner for which he could assign no reason; but when -the Captain traced an outline with his thumbnail, he could see quite -distinctly the imprint of a small, partial footprint, such as a -woman's French heel might make. - -"That appears at just two other places," Converse continued; "at the -entrance to Room 4, where I found the hairpin, and just inside this -room; and there, beyond that desk, near the connecting door. They -were made by a woman who stood a while at the first door, and who -then, I believe,--though I can't be positive,--tiptoed to the -connecting door, where she paused again for a while. She either -tiptoed between those points, or stood for a time; the marks wouldn't -have remained had she walked directly through the two rooms." - -Lynden stared at the tiny impression--so faint that nobody else would -ever have remarked it--and seemingly sought to frame a reply that he -could voice naturally. - -"Wonderful! Wonderful!" was all he said, but in tones so low that -they were scarcely louder than Mr. Converse's whisper. - -The latter now turned to the rest of the room. Swiftly, but -apparently permitting not the least article to escape his -observation, he made the circuit of the apartment, and finally paused -at Clay Fairchild's desk. Almost instantly his eyes singled out one -from among the mass of papers which littered it. This he carefully -folded, and placed, with the article he had picked up on the -stairway, which Lynden had been unable to see, in the capacious -pocketbook. He seemed reluctant to leave this desk; after he had -turned away he paused and cast another look at it, sniffing as one -striving to locate the source of a faint odor. Lynden paused too; he -glanced hurriedly from right to left, his brow lined, his expression -troubled and perplexed. - -At length they returned to Mr. Nettleton's private office, which was -subjected to as close and thorough an examination as had been the -room just quitted. Only one thing seemed especially to hold -Converse's attention, and that was the space beneath the lawyer's -desk. Here he got down to his hands and knees, and struck no less -than five matches in an effort to obtain a better light. Whether the -dusty space told him anything Lynden could not determine. - -They passed back into the hall again. Converse walked directly to -the entrance of Suite 2, immediately adjoining Doctor Westbrook's -offices, on the side nearest the stairway. A small card pasted on -the ground glass of this door bore the words "To Let." Converse -ignited another match, in the added light of which he examined the -door-knob. His companion observed him touch it with the tip of a -finger, and shake his head, as if something incomprehensible had all -at once presented itself. - -"Does the janitor sleep in the building?" the Captain inquired after -a moment; when the young man nodded affirmatively, he added: "Can you -get the keys of this floor for me? It will save some time and -trouble, and I want to finish before the reporters come." - -"Certainly. His room is in the third story." - -Converse watched him until he disappeared around the corner toward -the stairway, and straightway did something very strange. With the -silence and speed of a cat he made his way back to Fairchild's desk. -Over this he bent and smelt the papers which lay there. But that -would not do. Hastily he tried the top right-hand drawer. It was -unlocked--as were all the other drawers--and opened easily. That for -which he was searching was not there, either. He turned rapidly to -another drawer, and another, and another, until every drawer in the -desk had been opened and closed again, its contents having been -hastily but thoroughly gone over; and still the object of this -hurried search was not found. Quickly he glanced from side to side. -To the left of the desk was a waste-paper basket, which had not been -recently emptied, and over this he inhaled deeply, as one would drink -in the fragrance of a rose. He thrust a hand among the debris of -papers, and in a moment drew forth a dainty lace handkerchief, to -which clung the unmistakable odor of stephanotis. Again the -capacious pocket-book; and when Lynden returned with the keys the -Captain was contemplating the door-knob of Suite 2 with unabated -interest. - -Lynden sniffed as the other ran over the key-tags in a search for No. -2. - -"What is that perfume?" he demanded sharply. - -"Ah, do you like that, now?" rejoined Converse, with the first -display of enthusiasm he had yet shown. "That is an odor I am very -partial to, and hope to have more of--if I can find where this came -from." - -The young man moistened his lips, and his eyes turned away from the -other's steady look. - -Converse now had the door to No. 2 open, but he did not enter this -room. It needed only the match he now struck to disclose layer upon -layer of dust, the undisturbed accumulation of months. - -"Now, then," said he, as he closed and locked the door again, "back -to the light-well for a minute or two, and I am through." - -He let himself out of the hall window, and made another circuit of -the ledge around the skylight. The light-well was more or less a -catch-all for the windows opening into it; it therefore contained -many scraps of paper, every one of which he glanced at before casting -it aside. Only one thing here seemed to interest him,--something he -picked up far out on the skylight and scrutinized. Lynden was -afforded another glimpse of the pocket-book. - -"What is it?" he asked. - -"A cigarette butt," was the reply; "interesting only because it is -the second one of the same kind I have found to-night." - -Presently, when he announced that he had finished, Lynden said it had -fallen to them to turn out the lights and lock the doors, as the -negro janitor was too frightened to venture into the second story -that night. This was soon accomplished, and the two had turned to -depart, when both abruptly stopped. A light had flashed forth -through the ground glass of Room 6. - -"What room is that?" asked Converse; for the door was bare of -significance excepting for the single figure "6," now standing out -boldly against the light behind. - -"The record and abstract room of the Guaranty Trust Company," was the -reply. "He must have come in while you were in the light-well." - -"He? Who?" Converse queried bluntly. - -Both were standing as they had paused when the light first surprised -them, and Lynden turned to his interlocutor with some surprise at the -quickening eagerness of his tone, but he answered merely: - -"Slade,--William Slade; he prepares the company's abstracts of title, -you know." - -Converse's manner became completely impersonal again. "Can you find -some excuse for knocking?" he asked. "Would you mind doing so? I -should like to have a glimpse of him." - -"Not at all; if I can make him hear. He's quite deaf." - -Lynden, after knocking once perfunctorily, did not wait for a summons -to enter. He immediately threw the door wide open, crying, without -much show of deference: - -"Hello, Mr. Slade! You work late to-night." - -A little, dingy, dreary figure of a man, perched on a high stool, and -bending over a huge canvas-bound volume, slowly raised his head, and -gazed at his unceremonious callers with the vacant look that one sees -in the eyes of deaf people who have not heard distinctly. His -smooth-shaven face was like leather, shot and crisscrossed with a -network of fine wrinkles. Almost on the tip of his nose he was -balancing a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles, and the eyes which now -looked over them were remarkably bright and sparkling, like a -mouse's, conveying to the casual glance an alertness which they did -not actually possess. - -"Howard Lynden, close the door," was the odd creature's greeting, in -a voice hoarse and rasping. The sharp little eyes shifted to the -Captain, and back to Lynden again. There was no cordiality in either -his tone or manner. - -The young man took a step forward, laid his hand upon the tall desk -at which the little man was seated, raised his voice and asked, "Did -you know there had been a murder committed on this floor this -evening?" - -"Murder?" querulously, and with no show of interest. "Murder?" - -"Yes; murder. The man died in Doctor Westbrook's office--stabbed." - -Without displaying the least curiosity at so unexpected, so -sensational an announcement, Mr. Slade slowly wagged his head, saying -only, "I heard nothing of it." He dipped his pen into the ink-well, -with an air of dismissing his callers and the subject alike. - -"I saw your light, and just dropped in to learn if you knew of it," -Lynden concluded, as he followed the Captain toward the hall. -Lowering his voice, and addressing the latter, "Is there anything -else?" he inquired; at once the wrinkled, meagre visage and twinkling -eyes became suspicious and alert. - -"What is that?" demanded Slade, with obvious mistrust. - -"Nothing," the young man returned shortly. "Good-night." - -Mr. Slade's parchment-like countenance again bent over the big -volume, and his pen flew industriously. It was startling, when the -door had nearly closed, to have the rasping voice come after them -with the suddenness of an explosion. - -"Howard Lynden!" it cried. That gentleman, surprised, thrust his -head back into the room. - -With pen poised in hand, with spectacles still balanced near the tip -of his thin nose, the ill-favored mask of Slade's countenance was -again confronting the detective and his companion. - -"What time was that murder?" asked the abstracter. - -"At five o'clock," Lynden rejoined, he and the Captain again -advancing into the room. - -"And the murdered man?" - -"General Westbrook's friend, Señor de Sanchez." - -The little eyes turned once more quickly to the Captain and back to -Lynden as he asked the next question: - -"Ah! And who was--the--murderer?" He spoke deliberately, his harsh -voice lowering itself strangely. - -"That the police would very much like to know." - -Again the little eyes shifted to Mr. Converse. - -"An officer?" inquired Slade. - -The Captain nodded. Slade's brusque manner returned; dropping his -eyes to his work once more, he said, with an air of finality: - -"I am sorry, gentlemen, I can tell you nothing. This is my first -intelligence that a crime had been committed. Good-night. Howard -Lynden, close the door tightly after you." - -When the two were once more in the hall the Captain said, "Mr. Slade -developed a mighty sudden interest." - -"Yes," returned his companion; "a queer bird--irascible, and touchy -about his deafness. His father was an overseer, you know," as though -this fully accounted for Mr. Slade's undesirable qualities. "But his -curiosity got the better of him that time; he couldn't let us go -without finding out more." - -"He and I would have some difficulty in getting along together -without a sign language," remarked Mr. Converse, dryly. - -The two were near the foot of the stairs, but they were not destined -to leave the building without another interruption. A man came -precipitately, though noiselessly, in at the entrance, who, when he -observed they were descending, stopped short and awaited their -approach at the foot of the stairs. He was one of the two men who -had followed them from headquarters, and he now, after touching his -hat respectfully to Mr. Converse, looked askance at Lynden. The -Captain, with a nod of apology to the young man, drew the newcomer to -one side. - -"Well, Adams?" said he. - -"We found Mr. Fairchild's all right," the man whispered; "but Mr. -Fairchild was not there. He has not returned from the office, and -his sister and mother are very anxious. The mother is something of -an invalid--didn't see her at all. Talked with the sister, who -seemed, anyhow, to be the head. Pretended to want a notary and -quizzed her, but she could tell me nothing. I don't believe horses -could draw anything from her if she didn't want to tell. Captain -Converse, sir, she had an eye that looked right into me all the time -I was talking, and I know she thought I was lying when I said I -wanted a notary." The man showed two rows of glistening white teeth -in an unpleasant grin. "I did want a notary, but she didn't know I -was so particular about which one. But I don't believe she knows -where he is. I left Barton to watch the house, and I came on to -report." - -"Very good." - -"And what shall I do now?" - -"Keep your eye on this man here with me until I can send you relief; -I shall keep Barton watching the house." - -The manner of the man called Adams was both stealthy and -ingratiating; his visage seemed unable to rid itself of a perpetual -smile, which, taken with a pair of crafty, shifting eyes, gave him a -sinister appearance. During the entire time he and Mr. Converse were -talking, he kept looking past the latter at Lynden; and that this -surreptitious espionage was extremely unpleasant was made manifest by -the young man's growing uneasiness. - -Still smiling, shooting a last rapid glance at Lynden, he departed as -abruptly and noiselessly as he had come. - -Converse turned to his companion, fixing him with a steely eye; and -what he said seemed unaccountably to agitate the young man. - -"I wish to remind you that you are a very important witness in this -affair. I shall venture a hint and a word of advice: if you are not -more circumspect on the witness-stand than you have been to-night, -you will have a mighty bad hour; if you are contemplating a trip from -the city, why--change your mind." With a curt "Good-night," he left -Lynden speechless in the doorway of the Nettleton Building. - -Lynden remained motionless many minutes. When he at last produced a -cigarette from his pocket, the cupped hands holding the lighted match -trembled so he had difficulty in igniting it. Abruptly he started -away in a direction opposite that taken by the huge figure of the -Captain. - -Behind him moved a shadow so stealthily, its outlines so dim, that it -was scarcely to be distinguished from the surrounding night. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -MR. CONVERSE APPEARS AS CHORUS - -Early the next morning Mr. Mountjoy, the district attorney, and the -Coroner were seated in the former's office with a flat desk between -them. Upon this set forth in orderly array, were the letters, -papers, and other personal effects gleaned from the pockets of the -dead man; dominating the whole was the sinister and grewsome little -silver blade,--Doctor Westbrook's paper-knife. - -The regard of both officials rested upon it as they meditated and -waited for the Captain. - -Remove those bloodstains and the weapon became a dainty toy, but -withal a dangerous one. The point was like a needle's, and -terminated a slender, tapering blade, silver-like in its brightly -polished steel, two-edged, and of indubitable fineness. The guard, a -solid piece of beautifully engraved gold, was shaped somewhat like a -Cupid's bow, while the hilt, of silver, was decorated with an -intricate, graceful pattern of chasing, inlaid with gold, and -surrounding a scroll upon which was engraved in script the single -word: - - Paquita - - -The chasing, in addition to being an exquisite work of art, possessed -also the utility of supplying an excellent purchase for any hand -grasping it. - -And what hand was upon that pretty hilt when last it was held in -anger? Whose fingers had tightened slowly over the dainty feminine -name, as the unsuspecting victim approached? Did "_Paquita_" contain -a hidden charm--some invisible potency--to guide the hand to its -hideous, self-appointed task? - -Alas, if it could but tell! If, instead of the prænomen, redolent as -it was of fresh maiden innocence, the scroll had borne some word -pointing to the assassin! And yet, after all, could it be possible -that the momentous intelligence actually was there, and only human -eyes were blind? If such be the case, it will require a vision more -than human to seek it out and read what is there written. Surely; -for the weapon bore no other mark or testimony. - -The District Attorney's voice disturbed the quiet. - -"It is an amazing thing," said he, in a speculative tone, "what a -nice tangle this case is beginning to promise. Relate the bare -facts, as we know them, to any disinterested person, and he would -instantly say that Mobley Westbrook committed the deed. To be -suddenly come upon, a smoking dagger in your hand--standing over a -dying man--the provocation supplying a motive--and all that--h-m-m! -pretty bad." - -But Mr. Mount joy the next instant laughed in a way that signified it -to be the height of absurdity to think of Doctor Westbrook as a -murderer. - -"There is not a phase or side of the man's character," he continued, -"with which the crime can be made to fit. I can more easily imagine -Mobley Westbrook--but of course I know him so well that personal bias -influences me largely in his favor. It would require evidence quite -conclusive, though, to move me to proceed against him. It's queer, -anyhow, a family of their quiet, humdrum respectability being mixed -with an affair of this nature, even remotely; there is more behind it -than we now imagine; and I believe there will be plenty of work for -one John Converse." - -As if this colloquy had been a scene on a stage, and the two last -words a cue, the door opened, and the Captain of detectives himself -entered. He walked to the desk with manner quiet and deferential, -gravely returning the salutations of the two officials seated there. - -"Here's John to speak for himself," said the Coroner. - -"Theseus has come to lead us from this labyrinth of mystery," laughed -Mr. Mountjoy. "Silent and enigmatical servant of Destiny, who knows -what momentous knowledge is hidden behind that impassive exterior? -John, are you ready to point the stern and unrelenting finger of -denunciation at the guilty wretch, and say, 'Thou art the man!'?" - -But the Captain did not respond to the lawyer's bantering humor. -Instead, he seated himself on one side of the table, remarking merely: - -"Gentlemen, this is a very serious case." - -"Serious!" cried the District Attorney, his mood in no wise changing. -"Serious? which is but one method of informing us that there has been -a dearth of clues." He suddenly leaned forward, rested his elbows -upon the table, and interlocked his slender fingers. "Come, John, -what have you discovered?" he concluded more soberly. - -[Illustration: CAPTAIN CONVERSE WAS ENDOWED WITH THE IMPASSIVENESS OF -AN INDIAN, NOR COULD ONE IMAGINE HIM AGITATED IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.] - -For answer Mr. Converse drew forth his large and well-worn -pocket-book, from which he took one by one, and laid upon the desk, -two slips of paper, a small hairpin, two half-consumed -cigarettes--the paper of which was a dark brown, like butcher's -wrapping-papers--and lastly, a dainty bit of cambric and lace, to -which clung a delicate odor of stephanotis,--a lady's handkerchief. - -Mr. Merkel adjusted his spectacles; the District Attorney became -wholly serious; and together they bent over the grotesque assortment, -staring as though the mystery might be disclosed then and there. - -Presently both sat back in their chairs, and turned expectantly to -Converse. - -"Well, sir," he began gravely, "I believe we must look to a certain -lady for a detailed account of her connection with this case." - -"A woman!" ejaculated the lawyer. "Well, I am not surprised; it -could not promise much without a woman--no more than that affair of -the Garden could have been without Eve.... And do you know who she -is?" - -Mr. Converse raised a protesting hand. - -"No," said he; "not yet. But a woman was in Mr. Nettleton's offices -so close to the time the crime was committed that her presence is -quite the most important factor at present--that, and Clay -Fairchild's disappearance." - -Both listeners showed their astonishment. - -"So that young Fairchild has disappeared, has he?" remarked Mr. -Merkel. "I always thought he was a steady sort of chap. But you can -never tell about these young fellows, especially when they get -tangled with a woman. I wonder who she is?" he added, musingly, and -colored when Mr. Mountjoy laughed. - -"That is just a puzzling feature of the thing," the Captain resumed. -"I have had no trouble in securing a complete record of the young -man's private life, and it proves to be unexceptionably clean. No -woman figures in it to any great extent. Young Fairchild is very -poor; but he is the head of one of these old families here, and is on -a footing with people like the Westbrooks, the Nettletons, and their -class, that a great many with more money can't boast of. He is one -of 'the quality'; and though his poverty prevents him from figuring -at all in society, he is nevertheless a frequent visitor in many of -the best homes in the city." - -"Aye, I know those Fairchilds," said Mr. Mountjoy, nodding his head -slowly; "fine old stock, but dropped from sight since Dick, the -scamp, went smash. There's a girl, too, isn't there? Mother an -invalid? Thought so. Proceed, John." - -"It appears that he was always a studious boy," Mr. Converse went on, -"and there is only one thing that seems to be in his disfavor. It is -this: although he has been acting as Mr. Nettleton's clerk and -stenographer, and is a notary public, he entered Mr. Nettleton's -office for the purpose of studying law. Now, Mr. Nettleton says that -while young Fairchild was diligent in his duties, and possessed of no -bad habits, he disappointed his patron by evincing a lack of interest -in his studies, which he gradually came to neglect. It seems that he -has literary aspirations, and his present vocation is a necessity. -His mother and sister, excepting for a little property belonging to -the latter, are both dependent on him, and he has always been -particularly solicitous of their welfare. I must confess that his -lighting out the way he has, and our failure to find the slightest -trace of his whereabouts, coupled with the circumstance of the woman, -are at present very puzzling. But we will get to this later; we can -secure a better grasp of the entire situation by commencing at the -beginning. - -"Well, when De Sanchez entered the Nettleton Building yesterday -evening there were in the east end of the second floor at least five -persons,--Doctor Mobley Westbrook, who was in his reception-room; -Fairchild, who was in one or the other of Mr. Nettleton's rooms; Mr. -Ferdinand Howe, who was in the Doctor's laboratory; William Slade, -who was in Room 6; and some woman. Mr. J. Howard Lynden entered the -building only a few seconds after De Sanchez, and both were bound for -the Doctor's office. It is self-evident that the criminal was -present also, and I can account for no one else. Indeed, unless the -witnesses were blind or are now resorting to deliberate falsehood, it -is absolutely impossible that any person besides those indicated -could have been present. - -"Of the six individuals named we may at once drop Slade and Howe, -leaving us Fairchild, the woman, Doctor Westbrook, and Lynden to be -considered as possibilities. - -"Beginning with Fairchild, and in connection with the lady, I will -preface what I have to say with the statement that his place in the -case is very difficult to determine; but that it is at least of great -moment, I am convinced. - -"For the present there is only a hypothetical motive for his curious -behavior; but he was in the neighborhood of the crime at the time of -its commission, and did not leave the building until several minutes -afterward--and then under very peculiar circumstances. The -hypothetical motive by which I shall try to explain his conduct is -affection for the woman. - -"Now, the hall dividing the rooms in the eastern wing of the -Nettleton is just twelve feet wide, and we may take it as an -established fact that the blow was delivered between Doctor -Westbrook's entrance and the hall door to Mr. Nettleton's private -office, the two doors being directly opposite each other. We may -even go a bit farther and say that De Sanchez was closer to the -Doctor's door, for, owing to the nature of the wound, all volition -was immediately removed from the deceased's movements. The act of -his falling through the door would indicate that he had already -turned to enter the Doctor's office, was close to it, and was -projected through the doorway simply by the momentum of the speed at -which he had been walking. That gives us four possible routes -whereby the murderer could have come into contact with his victim at -the spot mentioned, and it is necessary to bear these in mind: - -"1. Through the hall from the stairway; - -"2. From Doctor Westbrook's office; - -"3. Through the window at the end of the hall, which opens into the -light-well; and - -"4. Through Mr. Nettleton's private office. - -"Assuming the truth of all the statements, the story I obtained from -Lynden obviates the first; number two we will set aside on the -strength of Doctor Westbrook's statement, partially corroborated by -Howe. Regarding the third route--that is to say, the hall window -opening into the light-well--we have two persons who were looking -into the light-well from two different points, from about five -minutes before, and during the time the deed was committed, until -several seconds thereafter. These two are Mr. Howe and Judge Elihu -Petty, of Petty & Carlton, who was looking from his window in the -Field Building, diagonally across from where Howe was standing. Both -these gentlemen are positive that no one entered or left the -Nettleton hall window, and that there was no movement of any kind at -any of the other windows during the time they were looking into the -light-well. Indeed, it seems impossible that there could have been -under the circumstances. Looking from any of the windows mentioned, -the entire light-well is within one's range of vision; and while it -is true that twilight had set in, it was by no means dark or even -nearly so when the deed was committed; and we may assume that it was -impossible for anybody to have entered the hall by way of the -light-well without attracting the attention of either Howe or Judge -Petty. - -"Fortunately we have a basis from which to estimate the exact time -the blow was struck, and, in fact, all the other known incidents in -this affair. That was the five o'clock whistles. We may set it -down, then, as another established fact, that the blow was delivered -in not to exceed four seconds of that hour. Howe knows the exact -time he took up his position at the laboratory window; it was there -he was standing when De Sanchez fell through the reception-room door, -and at that moment he heard the whistles begin blowing. Judge Petty -remembers the circumstance also, and connects it with Howe's sudden -disappearance from the laboratory window; and Doctor Westbrook is now -able to recall the fact of the whistles blowing being coincident with -the deceased's tragic entrance. - -"These facts confine us to Mr. Nettleton's private office to seek a -solution, and there we find a number of circumstances justifying a -closer examination. - -"The facts here warrant the following assumptions: That between -four-thirty and five o'clock yesterday afternoon, Clay Fairchild and -some woman--name unknown--were in Mr. Nettleton's offices; that Mr. -Fairchild did not depart until after five o'clock; that the lady was -familiar with the arrangement of the second floor; that so far we -know no one who either saw her enter the building, or saw her while -she was inside it, or saw her leave; that she went into Mr. -Nettleton's private office from the hall, where she stood behind the -door for a while; that she next tiptoed on through to Mr. Nettleton's -general office, where she stopped again at the connecting door, close -by Fairchild's desk, at which point, in her agitation, she dropped -this handkerchief into the waste-paper basket. She then made her way -to the hall door of Mr. Nettleton's general office, where she again -stopped behind the door, as though waiting for some one to pass. - -"Now, if this woman was the assassin, her actions are easily -explained. She stood behind the private office door--whence, with -the door ajar, one has a view down the length of the hall to the -stairway--and awaited the victim's approach; just as he turned to -enter the Doctor's office she sprang out and administered the death -wound,--in such haste to get back that she made no effort to recover -the weapon, but hurried on through Mr. Nettleton's office to the hall -door of the general office. Here warning footsteps announce that -there is some one else in the hall, and standing close to the -partially opened door, with her hand on the knob, she waits until -Lynden passes. It is but a second after that he is standing at the -threshold of the Doctor's open door, overcome by the scene it -discloses, and both deaf and blind for a moment to all else. She -takes advantage of that moment to pass on down the hall to the -stairway, and so out of the building, probably unobserved by any one -except Fairchild. An agile person would have had just about time -before Lynden appeared at the head of the stairs to strike such a -blow as killed De Sanchez, and then either spring into the light-well -or run into Mr. Nettleton's office. - -"Now, all this could not have happened without Fairchild's knowledge, -and we are not lacking light on his participation in the murder under -the theory I am now unfolding. - -"Under the circumstances, knowledge can mean only connivance. The -known facts coincide precisely, and explain every hypothesis upon -which this theory is based; and to get at his connection with the -affair, please observe these two bits of paper." - -Mr. Converse unfolded one of them, and flattened it on the desk, and -as he did so, asked: - -"Is it not singular that two men, apparently unknown to each other, -should have betrayed interest in Doctor Westbrook's paper-knife in an -identical manner? But such is the fact. - -"This one was torn from a sheet of typewriter paper, such as -Fairchild uses; I found it on his desk. Here we have a fairly good -drawing of the dagger in question, made painstakingly, and as though -to illustrate a verbal description. But he drew it from memory, as a -close inspection of the sketch will indicate. He has either omitted -or distorted several little details which not only appear quite plain -on the dagger itself, but are quick to catch the observer's notice. -But most convincing of this circumstance are the words alongside the -picture blade in Fairchild's handwriting, 'about 6 inches.' The -blade is, in reality, exactly five inches long: then why, if he had -it before him, together with the office ruler, which lay on the desk, -should he have guessed at the blade's length? - -"This other came from Doctor Westbrook's desk in the reception-room. -It is widely different from Fairchild's drawing, and was made by a -person who is something of an artist. Furthermore, he had the weapon -before him, for the intricate design on the hilt is copied -faithfully; besides, many trifling details, such as the peculiar -shape of the little knobs at each end of the guard, the script in -which the word 'Paquita' is engraved, are all rendered exactly in the -sketch. From it we are even able to form an idea when it was drawn: -some time on the evening of November third, or the day before the -murder. So we may say that the weapon had not been removed from the -Doctor's table prior to that time. Observe this spattered blot and -the hole in the paper beneath it. That was caused by the artist -bringing the pen down on the paper with such force that the pen -broke, the ink was spattered, and the paper perforated as you now see -it. - -"Doctor Westbrook has four penholders on this table; but he is so -partial to a particular one of them that he invariably selects it in -preference to the other three when he wishes to write. He used it -about four o'clock Tuesday afternoon--the third--and did not have -occasion to use it again till yesterday evening, when he started to -write the letter to De Sanchez. Then he discovered that the point -was bent and broken; and we may infer the sketch to have been made -between four o'clock on the afternoon of the third and five o'clock -last evening. - -"During that time a score or more of people were in and out of the -Doctor's office, and we have no handwriting to guide us in this -instance, as the word 'Paquita' here is a faithful copy of the script -in the scroll--too faithful to betray many individualities. But -still, it is easy to infer who sketched this dagger. Observe the -blot again: it is located immediately at the end of the word -'Paquita,' and was made just as the artist concluded that word. Now, -what emotions would cause one to so maltreat a pen? Anger or -impatience,--the two being very near akin. It follows there was some -suggestion in the word 'Paquita' which angered the artist; and this -immediately suggested to me the man Vargas. - -"On the evening of the third he called at Doctor Westbrook's offices -in company with Señor de Sanchez. He and the latter were negotiating -the deal involving the deed and the shares of stock in the Paquita -Gold Mining Company, and, as I have found out, Vargas was having some -difficulty in closing the matter. Only that afternoon had they come -to an understanding; but De Sanchez had not yet delivered the papers. -Vargas was becoming very anxious and impatient over the delay of -getting them into his possession. When they called on the Doctor -Tuesday evening, the latter and De Sanchez retired to the -consultation-room, leaving Vargas in the reception-room, and as he -sat idly at the table his eye was caught by the dagger, and he fell -to sketching it. The word 'Paquita' on the hilt brings suddenly to -mind his anxiety and impatience; and by a natural, involuntary -gesture he ruins the Doctor's pen and blots the drawing. - -"I will interpolate here, so that we may dismiss him, that this -person Vargas attracted my attention owing to the very fact of his -presence in the city at this time, his association with deceased, and -the coincidence of the name 'Paquita' occurring both on the -dagger-hilt and as the name of the mining company. But I have been -able to follow the negotiations between the two, and to trace -Vargas's movements all yesterday afternoon, and each succeeding fact -tends cumulatively to absolve him from any participation in the -affair. Warren, a clerk at the La Salle House, knew of the deal; -both parties frequently talked about it in his presence; and it -evidently was just what it appears to be. We are extremely fortunate -in having this unprejudiced witness to save confusion upon this -particular point. On the afternoon of Tuesday De Sanchez and Vargas -approached him in rather an elated mood, and invited him to join them -in a bottle of wine to celebrate the consummation of the -negotiations. Right there, you see, this deal is removed from the -chance of being a motive. As the party separated, De Sanchez -mentioned half-past four on the following afternoon, yesterday, as -the hour for delivering the papers. Vargas was on hand promptly at -the appointed time, but the other was not; and after waiting, with -growing impatience, the former left the hotel and did not return -until about six o'clock. But it is not probable that he entered the -Nettleton Building near the time of the murder, for it would have -been utterly impossible for him to do so without being seen; and he -was still awaiting De Sanchez when informed of his death by the -clerk, Warren. Then he hastened to Doctor Westbrook's offices. - -"Now, let us return to Fairchild. I learned a fact of some -importance from the Doctor this morning. Yesterday, as he was -leaving his office at about one o'clock, he met Fairchild at the -reception-room entrance; the latter, in a hurried manner, asked -Doctor Westbrook if he could borrow the dagger for a few minutes, to -which the Doctor assented. Doctor Westbrook continued on out, not -giving the matter another thought, while Fairchild went into the -reception-room. The Doctor don't know whether he got the dagger -then; as a paper-knife, the Doctor uses it only to cut magazines or -books, or the little papers in which he puts up powders--and often, -when it is not right at hand, he resorts to his pocket-knife, rather -than hunt for it in the mass of magazines and papers that usually -litter his table. It could easily be absent from its place several -days without his missing it. - -"Mr. Nettleton left his office yesterday afternoon at four-thirty, -and he had no lady callers during the entire day; hence the following -assumption--for want of a better one--will fit the present theory: -During the noon hour, while Mr. Nettleton was at lunch, Fairchild and -the woman were together; the crime was contemplated and discussed -between them, the man volunteering to secure the weapon; which he -did, but was surprised by encountering the Doctor, who generally goes -out to make his visits at that time of day. - -"However, she was the active spirit; hers was the hand that held the -weapon, while the more timid man waited at his desk in the adjoining -room. There she paused in her flight, and told him the deed had been -committed; and there he waited until about a quarter-past five, when, -moved by that irresistible impulse which leads some murderers to -gloat over their handiwork, he crossed the hall and looked upon the -dead man. This happened while Lynden was on his way to headquarters -with the news of the murder. Fairchild's actions were so singular -that they attracted both Doctor Westbrook's and Howe's attention. -Overcome with horror, he turned and fled without a word. That is the -last seen of Clay Fairchild, and that is why I sent a note to Barton -and Adams, who were waiting below, to find him. - -"Under this theory I can as yet conjecture but a single -motive--Fairchild's interest in the woman; and as to what hers is, we -must wait until her identity is established." - -Converse paused. His eyes narrowed, and he ran the tip of his tongue -across his lips with a deliberate lateral movement. - -"I'd like very much to lay my hand on that fair lady," said he, -presently, in a quiet manner; but an observer might have remarked -that a shudder convulsed the corpulent figure of Mr. Merkel, and that -Mr. Mountjoy shot at him a quick, keen look, and then nodded his head -in silent approval. - -The Captain went on at once. - -"There is one incongruous element in this theory, however. When the -blow was struck the deceased was in the act of turning toward Doctor -Westbrook's door, and consequently his back was almost squarely -presented to Mr. Nettleton's. The wound, as you know, is not only on -the left side of the throat, but tends backward toward the spinal -column, which the point of the blade penetrated. Suspended from the -centre of the hall, and on a line with the centre of the two -doorways, is an electric light. Now, then, the murderer coming from -behind the victim could, under the present circumstances, strike the -blow in one of two ways: it was either a left-handed person, or, if -right-handed, the murderer must have stepped to deceased's left, and -a little in front of him, facing in the same direction, and struck to -the right and backward. If the latter theory is correct, the -murderer would have been between De Sanchez and the hall window -opening into the light-well, and so close to the window that he--or -she, if it was a woman--would have been not only plainly visible from -the windows on the opposite side of the light-well, but would have -cast a distinct shadow because of the electric light. If the -murderer was left-handed he would not have been obliged to go so far -to De Sanchez's left, and consequently would have remained so nearly -beneath the electric light that the only shadow would have been on -the hall floor. - -"Now, from the point where Judge Petty was looking into the -light-well, one cannot quite see Doctor Westbrook's door through the -Nettleton hall window; but the hall window would be so far within -such a person's range of vision that the slightest obscuring of the -light would attract notice. Judge Petty recollects that the light -was burning at five o'clock yesterday evening, and he is positive -that there was no shadow at the hall window, and that no one -approached close to it while he was looking into the light-well. - -"Now mark this--at least, as a singular coincidence--while Doctor -Westbrook is not what you might call left-handed, he can use both -hands equally well." - -"Ambidextrous," suggested Mr. Mountjoy. - -Converse nodded. "Exactly," said he; "ambidextrous." He continued: - -"Regarding the woman's identity, now there are one or two little -points deserving special attention. Lynden states positively that he -neither saw nor passed anybody in the hall nor on the stairway; yet, -there was something about Mr. Nettleton's offices and the indications -of a woman's recent presence there that disturbed him strangely. -While in the very act of asserting that he had neither seen nor -passed anybody, he stopped as though struck by a sudden doubt, -although he did not alter his statement. A similar incident happened -with Howe while we were all gathered in the Doctor's office last -night after the murder. He also paused in the midst of a statement -that there was nothing to indicate who the assassin might be, and -Lynden was impressed by his hesitation, as though it reminded him of -his own. Are these gentlemen trying to conceal anything? What -possible object could Howe have in doing so? Yet I believe that both -of them are perturbed by some misgiving which they hesitate to put -into words. Their doubt may contain the key to the whole riddle; but -it will be a delicate matter getting at it. Assuming that it points -to the lady's identity, we may surprise one or the other of them into -betraying it; but it is no easy task to make a man speak of something -which he will not admit even to himself." - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A TELEGRAM FROM MEXICO - -"Your deductions seem natural," said Mr. Mountjoy, at length. "But -this unknown woman? Is there any one in the city to whom you could -ascribe a motive? Will you have to go into the past record of Señor -de Sanchez? And Fairchild--Heaven knows there can't be anything -between him and such a mysterious, blood-thirsty female. How are we -to account for his participation in the crime? I think it well to -secure such a record; also De Sanchez's association with General -Westbrook in Mexico. There is no telling how the darkness may be -illuminated from some unexpected quarter. At present, John, to me it -is completely baffling." - -But Mr. Converse had neglected nothing that his experience suggested -as being a likely means of casting light upon the crime. - -"Yes, sir," he rejoined, in his steady manner. "Yes, sir; I admit -the case offers many puzzling phases, and apparently contradictory -circumstances; but you must remember that we have been at work on it -less than twenty-four hours; the woman's identity may be shown in a -manner we cannot now imagine, and any hour may bring the news of -Fairchild's apprehension. - -"Besides, I have been beforehand in looking up the deceased's past. -I should receive a telegram from Mexico to-day. The net is well -spread, I think. A man is watching Fairchild's house--in fact, the -whole department are keeping a look-out for him; and the other actors -are being shadowed by capable men." - -"But from all the facts in your possession," interrupted Mr. -Mountjoy, "have you considered the possibility--aside from the -statements of the witnesses, I mean, and simply upon what you know to -be the facts--of either Doctor Westbrook or Howard Lynden being the -assassin?" - -"Yes, sir, I have," was the reply. "But for the present we may -dismiss them shortly, though I shall not cease to consider every -development in this case in the light of its possible application to -all the parties. - -"Could the Doctor, then, have delivered the fatal thrust? From the -present facts we must give him the benefit of the doubt, and abide -the results of further investigation. It is very fortunate for him -that his friend Howe happened to be present just when he was; and it -is strange, his coming all the way from Georgia to be a piece in this -puzzling game. But here he is. - -"Howe's importance arises from the peculiar acoustics of that portion -of the Nettleton Building about Doctor Westbrook's office." Converse -then told of his experience with Lynden in the Doctor's laboratory, -concluding: "It is not at all surprising that Howe could not hear a -struggle in the hall, while, at the same time, he could hear such -faint sounds as the scratching of a pen and the rustling of paper -while the Doctor was writing in the reception-room. - -"As for Lynden, we have to show he so quickened his pace that he -overtook De Sanchez at Doctor Westbrook's door. He shared with all -the frequenters of the Doctor's office a knowledge of the dagger and -where it usually reposed. Under such a theory, however, Lynden's -actions would have displayed a carelessness and a reckless disregard -for consequences which I don't think the man capable of. He did not -know who had or had not gone home from the other offices that line -the hall, and the deceased was not surprised by the sudden onrush of -a determined murderer. Had such been the case, how about Doctor -Westbrook's statement that De Sanchez came on steadily to the -reception-room door?--for, singularly enough, in the reception-room -one can hear quite distinctly sounds arising in the hall. Besides, -the Doctor does not remember having heard Lynden at all until the -young man grasped his arm." - -"Well, now, tell us of the cigarette stubs." This from the District -Attorney. - -Converse picked them both up, one in each hand, and contemplated them -with uplifted brow and puckered lips. - -"Gentlemen," he began at length, "these two snipes have caused me -more mental worry--I have had more trouble in fitting them into any -place where they could belong--than anything else concerning this -case. - -"You will observe that both of them are but half consumed, and that -when rolled neither was moistened by the tongue to hold it together. -Any one who has travelled in Mexico or the extreme Southwest will -recognize this as a national and local characteristic. The paper of -both is identical--coarse and a dark brown; and the tobacco is from a -black Mexican growth. I suppose, outside the Mexican quarter you -could not find a man in the city who smokes such a -cigarette--excepting Vargas. It is just such a cigarette as nine out -of ten of the lower class of Mexicans--men, women, and -children--smoke. Yet the tastes of neither De Sanchez nor Vargas -were too fastidious for them; the papers and tobacco are identical -with those found in the deceased's pocket, and they are just like -those Mr. Vargas smokes. - -"The first I picked up near the top of the Nettleton Building -stairway, while I was accompanying Lynden to Doctor Westbrook's -offices; the second I found on the skylight at the bottom of the -light-well. The ends that had been held in the mouth were still -moist when I found them, so they had not been long discarded. De -Sanchez, of course, is responsible for the first; but how about the -other? Could he, after throwing one cigarette away at the point -where I found the first, roll and light another and smoke it half up -as he walked down the hall, then flip the second out the hall window -into the light-well just before turning toward the Doctor's door? I -believe not. - -"The second could have come from any window abutting upon the -light-well, of either the Field or the Nettleton Buildings. But who -threw it, and why was he there at that particular time? Well, it -took two men more than an hour this morning to eliminate all except -five windows out of a possible twenty; and those five told nothing. -I examined them myself. Yet it might be possible that the second -stub came from the unknown woman. - -"Did she steady her nerves and beguile the time until her victim's -approach, with a cigarette? It may be--" - -Here, for the first time, Mr. Merkel interrupted. - -"A Mexican woman!" he fairly shouted; "some dark-eyed señorita--" -His enthusiasm suddenly cooled as Mr. Mountjoy's look of surprise at -his outburst rapidly changed to one of much meaning. - -At this juncture the door opened, and a clerk appeared from the outer -office, holding a telegram in his hand. - -"For you, Captain," said he, handing him the message. - -Neither of the other two could conceal his impatience, as, with -annoying deliberation, Converse opened the yellow envelope. - -"Well," said he, presently, "it is indeed from Mexico--the reply to -my inquiry. Here it is." He read aloud: - - -A. de S. has no police record, but have obtained following facts: -Age, 38; family, old, aristocratic, and very wealthy; A. educated in -Paris; returned here when twenty-one. Was in banking and broking -business several years ago with P. Westbrook, but severed partnership -about four years ago. Reason not known. A. always prominent in -society; rather wild when young; but nearest approach to woman -entanglements are following: Engagement broken with Señorita Aurora -de Pacheco. Understood to have been by reason of disagreement in -marriage settlements. She has since married into prominent family, -and now on best of terms with De S. family. A rumored liaison with a -circus performer, supposed to have committed suicide, but unable to -ascertain details; liaison with a Mme. Claude Le Tellier, now -residing Nice, France, on pension from De S. family. For last twelve -years A. de S. known as unusually steady. Rumored he fell in love -with Miss Westbrook when she visited here about four years ago, and -that he has followed her for purpose of marrying. GRINNELL. - - -"Well!" said the District Attorney, "this is not promising: Señorita -Somebody"--with a sidewise look at Mr. Merkel--"now a matron and -probably the mother of other señoritas; a circus performer--" - -"It's the madame that interests me," Converse quietly broke in. -"Grinnell would not, of course, know whether she is in Nice at the -present time. I will go to headquarters, ascertain who our -correspondent at that place is, and send him the lady's name. That -should bring us what we want to know about her. - -"That is about all now," he concluded. "I have gone over these -different phases of the case in order that you might formulate a line -of inquiry to be followed at the inquest. In the meantime, I will -work out one or two little ideas of my own, laying the results before -you as soon as they mature. Good morning." - -That day Mr. Converse received two more messages, one of them a cable -despatch. The first read: - - -Rumor connecting A. de S. with circus performer very vague. Seems to -have occurred in Paris 17 or 18 years ago. No trace of her identity -here. GRINNELL. - - -The cablegram contained the following: - - -Mme. C. Le T. died Oct. 28. GAILLARD. - - -He tossed the cable message to one side; but for several minutes he -pondered over the second message from Mexico. He then prepared, with -much care, a long despatch, which was sent immediately to Paris. - - -Away from the presence of his superiors and those whose concern it -was to be put in possession of everything bearing upon the case, John -Converse was the last man to advance any theory to account for -Alberto de Sanchez's untoward end. - -His seemingly unerring judgment and his uniform success in -dissipating the clouds of mystery in which his associates sometimes -lost themselves were governed by an extreme caution, and based upon a -vast knowledge of humanity. His had been an unusually eventful life. -Of New England parentage, he had early run away to sea; and to -portray the stirring experiences of this period of his life would -require a whole volume for itself. - -But those experiences had given him wonderful powers of observation, -which were able to grasp and contemplate every detail in its just -proportions to the whole, a trait that was simply the complement to -his unemotional and methodical temperament. - -If he hesitated, however, in advancing theories, the papers did -not,--either probable or improbable; and as it was one of his maxims -never to ignore a suggestion coming from the outside, he followed -these reports with the same intensity of eagerness that characterized -all his proceedings. - -The murder, owing not only to the prominence of every one concerned -therein, but also to the suggestive veil of mystery which surrounded -it, had been "featured" every day since the tragedy, and he was -impressed by the unanimity with which the press hit upon Robert -Nettleton's offices as the probable lurking-place of the murderer. - -None of the papers, of course, was in as full possession of all the -known facts as the Captain was; but a certain evening sheet, after -theorizing at length on Fairchild's unaccountable disappearance, -concluded with the assertion that the end would show the controlling -factor of the mysterious murder to have been a woman. - -"I believe that gentleman is eminently correct," was the Captain's -comment, as he laid the paper aside. "If his insight had been only a -little clearer, if he had looked only a little farther, and seen who -that woman is, it would save a deal of trouble and worry." - -He left his private office and walked to the mail repository at the -police clerk's desk. He found several letters addressed to himself; -but one, the writing of which was very like copper-plate engraving, -caught his instant attention by the peculiarity of its address. It -read: - - For Detective on De Sanchez Case, - Police Headquarters, - City. - - -After the Captain had returned to his desk he turned his attention to -this letter. The mark of the cancelling-machine showed that it had -been mailed at the main post-office that morning. What the envelope -contained made him suddenly sit upright. - - -The writer knows that C. Fairchild had no hand in the murder of the -man De Sanchez. When you discover the female who was in the second -story of the Nettleton on Wed. P.M., Nov. 4, at the hour of 5, you -will know why C. F. has vanished. - - -Again--the unknown woman! - -There was no address to this brief epistle, no date, no -signature--nothing else; yet there was an added light in Mr. -Converse's gray eyes, as he laid the missive on the desk before him, -that lent something like an expression of satisfaction to his almost -illegible countenance. He scrutinized the single sheet of paper long -and attentively before finally folding and returning it to the -envelope. - -"Who in the city can write such a hand?" he mused. - -After he had placed the anonymous missive in his pocket-book, he drew -toward himself a number of bound typewritten sheets--the record of -the De Sanchez case. Turning until he found the paragraphs he -sought, he read the following: - - -Besides the front entrance, opening into Court Street, the Nettleton -has but one other outside doorway or means of exit. Opening into a -high-walled court in the rear is a single door, used only for the -purpose of admitting fuel in the winter; during the summer it is open -not more than once or twice, when the trash-bin accumulations are -removed. During the interim it is locked by a bolt, a No. 4 Yale -compound spring lock, and a common padlock passed through staples. -Inspection of this door revealed beyond doubt that it had not been -disturbed for weeks. - - -The reader turned back to the statements of the different persons in -the second story at the fatal moment, and his glance passed them all -over until it fell upon the following: - - -William Slade, 62; bachelor; abstracter of titles for the Guaranty -Trust Co. Is very deaf; was engaged in his regular duties in Room 6 -on the evening of Nov. 4, at 5 o'clock, yet it cannot be shown that -he knew anything of the murder. His statement is to the effect that -he first learned of it at about 8:30 o'clock that night. - - -He closed the volume, placed it in a drawer of his desk, and after -securing his hat, left department headquarters, and made his way to -Court Street. - -Here he consumed the better part of the day by interrogating closely -every individual whose place of business had an outlook toward the -Nettleton entrance, a quest the results of which were purely -negative. He called at all the newspaper offices; and the next -morning, again in the evening, and for a week thereafter, every local -paper contained the following advertisement: - - +-----------------------------------------------------+ - | $25--REWARD--$25. | - | | - | The above sum will be paid any person who saw | - | a lady leave the Nettleton Building at or about 5 | - | o'clock on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 4th. | - | Apply in person at No. 18 Ash Lane. | - +-----------------------------------------------------+ - -The address given was that of the house where Mr. Converse had his -lodgings; and whatever else he might think of the De Sanchez case, it -was evident he had become convinced that there was "a woman at the -bottom of it"--and one very hard to find. - -Late in the afternoon, after he had returned to his private office, -he found the reply to the cable message sent his Paris correspondent -awaiting him. He opened it and read: - - -Nothing ascertainable of A. de S. here further than that his name -appears on the roster of College of St. Ignatius for three years, -inclusive, September, 1883, to September, 1886. Examination of -records of women suicides during period fails to connect him with any -of them. No one during that time or near it could be circus -performer. Might glean something if I had name. NOIZET. - - -Unfortunately, he had no name to send. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE INQUEST - -Mr. Merkel was not in readiness for the inquest into the Nettleton -Building affair until the Monday following; and at the hour set for -the hearing the outer of his two offices, which made a fairly large -courtroom, was literally packed by a throng of gaping, perspiring -spectators. - -In a corner by themselves sat the witnesses who were to testify. -General Westbrook is of this group; also J. Howard Lynden, plainly -ill at ease. The Doctor and his friend, Ferdinand Howe, are seated -behind the General, an expression of concern on their countenances -that is noted and commented on by the crowd. Why should Dr. -Westbrook be so pale? Why should his face be so drawn? The affair -is not of such consequence to him. - -Still aloof from the others sits Señor Vargas, lean and swarthy, his -eyes still dull behind their gold-rimmed pince-nez, and his pitted -countenance not yet quickened to an interest by the sudden tragic -death of his compatriot. Occasionally he coughs in a manner that -seems to afford Doctor Westbrook some diversion from his own pressing -care, for now and then he glances toward the Mexican gentleman with -quite a professional air. - -At length the door to the Coroner's private office opens, and through -it file Mr. Merkel, self-important, Mr. Mountjoy, John Converse, a -stenographer, and various clerks and petty officials. Converse, the -Coroner, and the District Attorney seat themselves about a separate -table away from one occupied by numerous reporters and newspaper -artists; and immediately the tedious ordeal of securing a jury is -entered upon. - -[Illustration: PARTIAL PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR OF THE FIELD AND -NETTLETON BUILDINGS] - -(A) Clay Fairchild's Desk. (B) Mr. Nettleton's Desk. (C) Window at -which Judge Petty Stood. (D) Window at which Mr. Howe Stood. (E) -Doctor Westbrook's Desk. (Maltese cross symbol) Marks Spot where De -Sanchez Fell - - -After six freeholders are accepted and sworn in, the captain of -detectives is duly put upon his oath to tell the truth, the whole -truth, and nothing but the truth. A brief delay follows while the -District Attorney asks for an application of the rule excluding -witnesses. The witnesses are duly excluded. - -Captain Converse established the _corpus delicti_; after which he -related at length the results of his investigation, very much as he -already had told them to Mr. Mountjoy and the Coroner. - -As he returned to his seat by the table, a stir spread throughout the -apartment; a rustling as of forest leaves before a tempest sibilated -upon one theme: the unknown woman; but the sounds sank at once to -anticipatory silence when the clerk arose and made ready to read from -a sheet of paper in his hand the name of the next witness. Perhaps -the avid curiosity is to be satisfied by the woman's name. - -"James Howard Lynden." - -On the wall facing the witness-chair was suspended a large map of -those portions of the Nettleton and Field buildings which formed the -locus operandi of the tragedy, and this Lynden contemplated -seriously. The rooms were named and numbered thereon, the points of -interest designated by letters or otherwise; and the reader is here -referred to the plan (page 88), as occasion may arise, for a clearer -understanding of the evidence. - -The witness began his testimony in a well-modulated voice, which -could be distinctly heard in every part of the room. In reply to -interrogatories, he stated that he was a cotton-broker, twenty-eight -years of age, and that his office was in Court Street, a few doors -west of the Nettleton Building. He had been acquainted with the -deceased, having met him frequently in a social way, but between them -there had never been more than ordinary civilities exchanged. He -next related such facts of the tragedy as he had imparted to Mr. -Converse and the Chief of Police. The Coroner asked: - -"What time did you leave your office on the evening of November -fourth?" - -"It was a very few minutes to five o'clock." - -"Now, Mr. Lynden, begin at the time you left your office, and -describe in detail the events from then onward." - -"I merely walked leisurely toward the Nettleton Building for the -purpose of stopping at Doctor Westbrook's office, before proceeding -to my club for dinner. I have been in the habit of doing this -several evenings in the week, and last Wednesday evening was no more -eventful than scores of others until I arrived within forty or fifty -feet of the Nettleton entrance." - -"And what occurred then?" - -"I observed Señor de Sanchez turn in at the entrance." - -"What direction was he going when you first observed him?" - -"West--toward me." - -"Very well; proceed, Mr. Lynden." - -"I continued on to the doorway, where I turned into the Nettleton -Building, going directly upstairs without pausing." - -"Did you see Señor de Sanchez?" - -"Yes. Just as I began ascending the stairs he was turning to the -right--to the east--at the top. There was a lighted incandescent -lamp at that point, and I beheld him distinctly." - -"Do you know what time that was?" - -"It could have been only two or three seconds to five o'clock, for I -heard the whistles begin to blow before I reached the top of the -stairs." - -"You are sure it was before you arrived at the top that you heard the -whistles blow?" - -"Oh, yes; I haven't a doubt of it. I remember the circumstance -perfectly." - -"Now, when you reached the head of the stairs--at the second -story--did you see Señor de Sanchez?" - -"No, sir. I saw him no more until I arrived at Doctor Westbrook's -office--until I beheld him dying on the floor of the Doctor's -reception-room." - -Responding to a number of interrogations, the witness added that not -more than thirty seconds elapsed between the time of his seeing De -Sanchez turn at the head of the stairs and seeing him lying on the -reception-room floor; that there was a lighted incandescent lamp -before the entrance to this room; that there had been no one in the -hall, and that it was impossible for anybody to have been concealed -there. He continued: - -"When I arrived at Doctor Westbrook's office the door was wide open. -Señor de Sanchez was lying on his right side, his feet toward the -door, and not much more than a yard beyond the threshold. Blood was -spurting,--in rhythm with the heart-beats, it seemed,--from a wound -in his throat, as though some large artery had been severed. This -ceased in a second or two. - -"I paused just at the threshold, dazed and utterly dumfounded by the -sight that met my eyes. Doctor Westbrook, Mr. Howe, and myself held -our respective attitudes three or four seconds,--possibly it was -longer,--but during that time Señor de Sanchez only breathed two long -sighs and became apparently dead. - -"I believe, then, I was first to speak. 'Good God, Mobley!' I cried, -'What does this mean?' He still seemed dazed and made no reply. I -advanced into the room and seized his arm, and said, 'For God's sake, -tell me! Did you do this?' I was very much excited, and could not -grasp the full import of what I beheld; but when he felt my touch, he -aroused himself, and, recoiling a step or two, cried in tones of -amazement, 'Jim! Jim! I do this? My God, Jim! No, no, no!' Then -checking himself, he asked me, 'But who did? You must have seen; who -was in the hall, man?' - -"I next looked at Mr. Howe. He was exceedingly agitated and said -nothing. He stood shaking his head like one whose mind could not -digest the horror of the deed. I turned again to Doctor Westbrook -and looked at the silver-bladed dagger he was holding in his hand. -'But that dagger,' I said, 'what does that mean?' He looked at it in -a preoccupied manner, as though he did not see it. Suddenly becoming -sensible of the fact that he was holding it in his hand, he -exclaimed, 'You don't think I stabbed him, do you? Why, man, I just -drew the knife from the wound.' I felt immensely relieved." - -A deep exhalation burst from the massed throng, as though they had -been holding their breath in an anxiety not to miss a word of this -recital. Under the influence of this eagerness and galvanic -expectancy, Lynden was growing restless; but he kept his gaze on the -coroner, and continued to respond to that official's interrogations -without hesitation. In answer to a number of these, witness said: - -"I did not identify the dagger at the time. I am thoroughly familiar -with the ornamental little weapon which Doctor Westbrook uses as a -paper-knife, and have handled it many times. In fact, I was present -when it was given the Doctor by his sister. She secured it, I -believe, about four years ago, during a visit to Mexico, and at the -time of the presentation she told a story--quite a tragic romance--in -which it had--" - -"We may omit that, Mr. Lynden," interrupted the Coroner. "Where did -Doctor Westbrook usually keep this dagger, or paper-knife?" - -"When not in use, it always lay on the table in his reception room." - -Every eye was turned toward the dagger as Mr. Merkel arose and took -it in his hand. And not one of those eyes missed the sombre stains -which now dulled the lustre of its silvery blade. - -"Is this the dagger?" - -"That is the one that lay on Doctor Westbrook's table--his -paper-knife. I am unable to identify it with the one he held in his -hand; the hilt was then concealed, and the blade was very bloody; but -it might be--I had no such thought at the time." - -Mr. Merkel returned the dagger to the table and resumed his seat. -The District Attorney leaned toward him and whispered a few words; -whereupon--evidently on a suggestion--he asked: - -"Are you familiar with the arrangement of the second floor of the -Nettleton Building, Mr. Lynden,--more particularly, those rooms to -the right or east of the stairway?" - -"I am." - -"Describe them, please." - -Once more Lynden fixed his attention upon the plan suspended before -him. - -"Well, to begin with, the Nettleton Building faces in a southerly -direction. From the head of the stairway the hall extends east to -the light-well between the Nettleton and Field buildings. Beginning -at the head of the stairs, the first room to the right, or on the -south side of the hall, is the first office of the Guaranty Trust -Company; the next suite is vacant, and then comes Doctor Westbrook's -suite. I may add, that the numbers run in the order I am naming the -suites: the Guaranty Trust Company's offices are number one, number -two is unoccupied, and the Doctor's is number three. - -"Now, passing over to the north side of the hall, the entrance to -number four is directly opposite Doctor Westbrook's. It is the door -to Mr. Nettleton's private office. Next to that, and facing the -unoccupied suite, is Room 5, Mr. Nettleton's general office. -Adjoining this is number six, a room occupied by the Guaranty Trust -Company as a record and abstract room. That brings us back to the -stairway again, but on the opposite side of the hall whence we -started." - -"Then there are six doors--three on each side--opening into the hall?" - -"That is correct." - -"Now, Mr. Lynden, are not the upper portions of those doors ground or -frosted glass?" - -At this apparently harmless and irrelevant question, the witness's -composure dropped from him like a cloak cast aside; a swift, startled -expression came into his light blue eyes, and he answered with -obvious hesitation: - -"I believe so." - -"Don't you know? - -"Yes." - -"Well, are they?" - -"Yes." - -"Then, if a light were burning in one of those rooms and a person -should be standing close to the door of that room, and on the inside, -would there not be a pretty distinct shadow or silhouette of that -person on the ground glass of that particular door?" - -"I should imagine there would," said Lynden at length, but in a voice -both low and unnatural. - -"Well, in your frequent visits to Doctor Westbrook's office at such -hours as the lamps were lighted, have you not observed that to be a -fact?" - -Without altering his attitude, the young man shook his head. - -"No," said he; "I cannot say that I have." - -At the next question an audible murmur of disappointment rippled -through the room. It was as though the Coroner were searching for -something while blindfolded, and had suddenly taken the wrong turning -when about to lay his hand on the object of his quest. But if he was -not over-astute, he had at least gathered wisdom from experience--to -the extent of knowing that more than one road leads to Rome. - -"Now, then, Mr. Lynden," he began once more, "when you arrived at the -head of the stairs on the evening of November fourth, did you look -down the length of the hall to your right--to the east?" - -Witness answered, with visible relief: - -"I did." - -"How light was it? Was it light enough for you to see distinctly?" - -"In addition to the two incandescents, the window at the end of the -hall at the light-well was wide open and it was only twilight -outdoors." - -"Then, if anybody had been in the hall anywhere between the head of -the stairs and the light-well window, you would have seen him?" - -"I certainly should; there was no one there." - -"I must ask you to recollect carefully, Mr. Lynden: Was there a -lady--a woman--in the hall? Or did you pass a woman either in the -hall or on the stairway?" - -"Lady!" the witness exclaimed. "No--no; there was no lady--there was -no one in the hall or on the stairs." He cast a furtive, uneasy -glance at the expressionless visage of Mr. Converse, concluding, "I -neither saw nor passed any one." - -"Well, let us return to the head of the stairs. When you arrived -there, what did you do?" - -"I proceeded directly to Doctor Westbrook's office." - -"As you walked down the hall, did you observe the doors on either -side--whether they were open or closed?" - -Here was a return to those mysterious doors. The young man's grip on -the chair-arms tightened, and once again his answer was preceded by -obvious hesitancy. - -"Some were entirely closed," he said, slowly; "others were more or -less open." - -"Well, which ones were more or less open?" - -"Doctor Westbrook's was--" he began; but the Coroner quickly -interrupted: - -"Did you notice it first?" - -Silence. The young man sat rigid as a statue. - -"Please answer, Mr. Lynden." - -The insistence was soft, but inexorable. The witness seemed to have -lost the power of speech, and was obliged to clear his throat before -he could reply. - -"Sir," he finally began, "I was not thinking of the doors, nor was I -particularly observing whether they were open or closed. I will say -this, however, in the hope that you will find the information you -desire: that it is customary for the tenants of the Nettleton -Building to leave their doors unfastened when departing in the -evening, for the benefit of the janitor. As soon as he has cleaned -the rooms, he locks the doors for the night. For that reason, I -suppose, it would be safe to assume that those rooms whence the -occupants had gone for the night were unlocked--in the event, of -course, that the janitor had not yet placed them in order." - -"The information is valuable, Mr. Lynden; but you stated that some -doors were entirely closed, while others were more or less open. I -will put my question in another way. Which was the first door you -observed to be entirely closed?" - -"That to number six." - -"Was there a light in that room?" - -"Yes." - -"Did you observe any shadow on the door?" - -"No." - -"The next door you noticed to be closed--which was it?" - -"The regular offices of the Guaranty Trust Company." - -"Any light there?" - -"They were dark." - -"Well, the next door you noticed to be closed entirely?" - -With a visibly growing reluctance to answer, each moment his voice -becoming more and more strained, the young man replied: - -"Number two--the vacant suite." - -But the interrogations were relentless. - -"The next?" - -He moistened his lips, and his voice was barely audible. - -"I observed no other doors closed," said he. - -"Now, then, we have got this far--note it, please, Mr. -Stenographer,--we have got this far: The doors to numbers one, two, -and six were closed. That leaves three, four, and five--were they -open or closed?" - -No one heard the reply. - -"Louder, if you please; the jury can't hear you." - -"I said that number three was open." - -"You have already testified that Doctor Westbrook's door was open," -was the dry remark with which his answer was met. "Was number four -open?" - -"I did not notice." - -"Not notice?" in a tone of intense surprise. "Did you not see it?" - -"Sir, when I had arrived at that point I was so shocked by the sight -in the Doctor's office that I did not observe the condition of doors -or windows." - -"Well, as you passed the door to Room 5--Mr. Nettleton's general -office--you had not yet heard or beheld anything shocking, had you? -Did you notice whether it was open or closed?" - -There was an enthralling significance in the witness's manner which -everybody present felt, and a conviction was natural that the young -man knew something that he was resolved at any cost not to reveal. -It was exasperating that the Coroner should so play about the -mainspring of the witness's discomposure--as he plainly was -doing--without being able to light upon a point that must force from -him some admission, sufficient at least to serve as a fulcrum whereby -the rest might be pried from him. - -"Come, Mr. Lynden, the jury awaits your answer." - -The witness's reply came hoarsely, as if it were indeed literally -dragged forth: - -"It was not closed--entirely." - -"Ah, one of the 'more or less' doors: which was it, more or less?" - -"I do not understand." - -"Was the door to Room 5 of Mr. Nettleton's suite open or closed; and -if not closed, how far was it open?" - -The young man lowered his head a moment in an attitude of reflection. - -"I should say it stood ajar about three or four inches," was the -reply. - -"Was there a light in that room?" - -"Yes." - -"Is there not a desk against the east wall of that room at which Clay -Fairchild ordinarily sits, which is visible from the hall when the -door is three or four inches ajar?" - -"Yes." - -"On the evening of November fourth, as you passed Room 5, did you -observe this desk?" - -"I did not; I could not see into the room." - -Both Mr. Converse and Mr. Mountjoy were watching him through lids -narrowed to mere slits, with an intentness of which he was plainly -sensible. - -"And why not?" came the next question. Lynden faltered: - -"Be--because the--the aperture was closed by--by something." - -"By what?" - -"I cannot say." - -"Was it a human form?" - -Witness's voice was again becoming inaudible. - -"I--I cannot say," said he, nervously,--"yes, it was a human form." - -"Was it that of a man or a woman?" - -So low that the jury, leaning as far forward as they could, scarcely -caught the murmur, came the answer: - -"It--it looked like a woman." - -"Did you recognize her?" - -Witness considered his response a long time. When finally it came, a -sigh of disappointment welled from the crowd; it seemed that after -all the baiting his examination was to come to naught. - -"No," said he. - -The Coroner persisted. - -"Come, Mr. Lynden," said he, "was there not something about that form -that struck you as being familiar?--that suggested the individuality -of the person standing there?" - -"I tell you I do not know who it was; I do not know," burst from the -witness. "Whatever I beheld, if it was any one or anything at all, -is but a shadow in my mind,--a nameless shadow, void of substance and -form, and a nameless shadow it must remain. I can add no more to -that, sir, nor shall I try." - -Unless the witness had chosen deliberately to lie, it was evident -that he could tell no more of the vague figure--that it was indeed -only a shadow--and not pursuing this line of inquiry further, the -Coroner took up another. - -After Mr. Merkel and the District Attorney had conferred together -with heads bowed over the table, the former began. - -"Mr. Lynden," said he, "you say you enjoy friendly relations with -General Westbrook's family. Have you recently heard any rumors -connecting the name of Señor de Sanchez with any member of that -family in a matrimonial way?" - -"I have heard such rumors--yes; but nothing more. I certainly have -heard nothing to that effect from any one in a position to know." - -"Did you ever hear Doctor Westbrook deny the possibility of such a -marriage?" - -"Yes." - -"When?" - -"Last Tuesday night." - -"The night before Señor de Sanchez's death?" - -"Yes." - -As the Doctor himself further on relates at length the substance of -what occurred between him and De Sanchez the night before the -latter's death, it may here be omitted from Lynden's testimony. The -only other point touched upon while this witness was upon the stand -was shown in the following question: - -"On the evening of November fourth, when you saw De Sanchez turn in -at the Nettleton Building entrance, did you observe whether he was -smoking?" - -"I did not." - -"That is all, Mr. Lynden; you may step aside." - -With what relief he descended from the dais supporting the -witness-chair can only be imagined. The examination of the first -witness in the De Sanchez case had been a long and tedious affair. -And what was there to show for it? Not much more than the public -already knew; and there remained the woman--still unknown. And Mr. -Lynden's extreme agitation--what did that signify? If he did not -know the woman--if what he had beheld behind the nearly closed door -was only a shadow--why had he not said so at once? Certainly, at -this rate, the mystery which surrounded the case was only becoming -deeper as the investigation proceeded. - -However, speculation was forgotten in curiosity over whom the next -witness might be. - -"Mobley Westbrook," read the clerk; and an officer retired to the -Coroner's private room to summon him. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE VERDICT - -Doctor Westbrook walked unhesitatingly and with a firm tread to the -witness-chair; but once seated, it was more apparent than ever that -his personal appearance had undergone a marked change. It was -difficult to define: his head and beard appeared to be more shaggy -and unkempt than usual; certain faint lines cast a vague and almost -imperceptible shadow over his frank and open countenance; and without -abating in the least their steady and unwavering glance, his eyes -contained within their depths an added expression, fleeting and -indeterminate. - -These changes, slight as they were, combined to produce varying -effects: they might have been the result of sickness, or they might -have been caused by mental perturbation. With the latter thought in -his mind, John Converse studied the Doctor attentively. Presently he -leaned across the table, and whispered to Mr. Mountjoy. That -gentleman nodded with an air of understanding, adding, "Another -witness who has something to conceal." - -Doctor Westbrook's testimony, however, belied this assertion. He -answered promptly all questions, and added many details in an obvious -effort to make his statements clear and concise. But he could tell -little more than he had related to Mr. Converse and Mr. Merkel on the -night of the murder. He repeated the story precisely as he had then -narrated it, and almost in the same words. He corroborated Lynden's -testimony regarding what had taken place after that gentleman's -arrival; and in describing the wound, he made it clear that his -surmise on the fatal night was correct. - -"In addition to the severing of the carotid artery," said he, "the -autopsy demonstrated that the point of the blade passed between the -fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae, also severing the spinal cord." - -Concerning the letter addressed to De Sanchez, together with the -presence of Howe in his office at the time of the murder, he -testified at length. He was expecting the deceased to call upon him -some time during the evening of the fourth, and while awaiting his -arrival he was most agreeably surprised by the entrance of his old -friend Ferdinand Howe. - -"It was about half-past four," the witness continued, "when Mr. Howe -entered my office. In the pleasant surprise of the meeting I forgot -completely about De Sanchez for several minutes. When he again -recurred to my mind I suddenly resolved not to see him at all. I -explained to Ferdinand that I was expecting a caller whom I did not -care to meet, and as it was not necessary that I should, I requested -him to wait a few minutes while I wrote and despatched a brief note." - -"Did you hear the five-o'clock whistles blow?" - -"Yes, they were blowing when De Sanchez burst through the door." - -"Now, Doctor Westbrook, returning to the letter you wrote on the -evening of November fourth--you say it was directed to Señor de -Sanchez?" - -"It was." - -"I will ask you to look at this letter, and state whether or not this -is the one you had just completed when deceased burst in upon you." - -The witness merely glanced at the missive before stating positively -that it was; whereupon the Coroner read it aloud. After the date and -superscription it ran as follows: - - -It will be useless to renew our conversation of last night. You can -make no representations that will influence me to change my mind. So -long as the lady herself is only submitting to the wishes of her -parents in accepting your attentions, I shall continue to oppose any -union between herself and you. - -My father's attitude in this matter is incomprehensible to me, and I -am confident that I would retain the support of the lady's and my own -friends in preventing your project. - -Rest assured that I shall not hesitate at adopting any measures to -thwart your purpose. Your insistence, knowing as you do that you -have neither the lady's love nor respect, is ungentlemanly, and can -only lead to consequences, to say the least, disagreeable to yourself. - -MOBLEY WESTBROOK. - - -This letter was then marked "Exhibit B," and became a part of the -records of the case. - -"Was it your intention to send this letter to Señor de Sanchez?" the -examination proceeded. - -"Yes. Had events terminated differently, I should have sent the -letter to him that same night." - -Mr. Merkel here referred to the missive, saying, "In this letter -occurs the phrase, 'My father's attitude in this matter is -incomprehensible to me.' Now, what did you mean by that?--or rather, -why did you make use of that particular phrase in the sense you did? -What occasioned it?" - -Doctor Westbrook frowned as at a disagreeable memory. - -"The favor with which he looked upon De Sanchez's addresses to my -sister," he replied. - -"De Sanchez was a suitor for your sister's hand?" - -"He was." - -"What was incomprehensible in the fact that your father favored him?" - -"A number of things that should be quite obvious, sir. It is very -unpleasant going into this." - -"Pardon me, Doctor, but it is none the less necessary." - -"Well, to begin with, Señor de Sanchez was not of our nationality, -and I never before knew my father to be in any way partial to -foreigners--quite the contrary. I am convinced--although it is -merely an impression amounting to conviction--that my father did not -personally like De Sanchez. Again, other facts, when arrayed -together, present a false perspective. Several years ago General -Westbrook quite suddenly severed intimate business relations with -Señor de Sanchez: concerning this he has never, so far as I know, -uttered a word of explanation. All communication between them ceased -abruptly, and I don't believe my father ever mentioned the man's name -until he appeared here." - -"Do you know that General Westbrook did favor Señor de Sanchez as a -suitor?" - -"I do." - -"Please state how." - -"From his own lips. When the rumors linking De Sanchez's and my -sister's names became persistent, I went to see my father; but he--" -The Doctor checked himself, concluding in a different tone: "It is -very painful going into this matter. Unless it is absolutely -essential--" - -"I will touch upon it as lightly as possible, Doctor. That -conversation with General Westbrook was characterized by some warmth, -was it not?" - -"Very bitter words were used--at least, by me." - -"And he then gave you to understand that he would continue to support -Señor de Sanchez as a suitor to his daughter's hand?" - -"That is correct." - -Abandoning this line of inquiry, the Coroner again picked up the -dagger with its sombre stains, which the witness identified as his -paper-knife. A juror interposed with a question. - -"Doctor Westbrook," said he, "was it commonly known by your friends -and acquaintances that this dagger--'Exhibit A'--usually lay on your -writing-table in the room where your patients wait?" - -"Oh, yes," the Doctor replied. "There is not one of them who has -not, at one time or another, had it in his hands and expressed -curiosity concerning it. It was the occasion of innumerable -questions, and I suppose I have been reminded a hundred times that -such a present carried with it bad luck--that knives cut friendship, -and much to the same effect." - -The Coroner took up once more the thread of the examination. - -"Now, Doctor Westbrook, the dagger was obviously removed from your -desk some time before the commission of the crime. Did you miss it -from its accustomed place?" - -"No, sir. It might have been gone for several days, for all I know. -I used it solely as a paper-cutter, and then not always, unless it -was right at hand." - -"Did you notice it at any time during the day of November fourth?" - -"I cannot say; I am so accustomed to and familiar with its presence, -that the circumstance scarcely would have impressed me." - -The whole of the witness's testimony up to this point was barren -enough of excitement or anything in the nature of a surprise; but the -next question elicited the particulars of Clay Fairchild's strange -request for the dagger on the day of the tragedy. Witness added: - -"He stated that he wished to show it to some one. I assented, passed -on out, and never thought of it again until it recurred to me during -a conversation with the detective after the murder." - -"Do you know whether he returned it?" - -"No. I do not know that he got it in the first place; I did not wait -to see." - -"Do you lock the doors when leaving your office, Doctor?" - -"Only those opening into the laboratory and the front room. Except -at night--after I have finally departed--the reception-room door is -never fastened. It is scarcely ever closed." - -"On the afternoon of November fourth, then, when you left your office -at one o'clock, was the door open as usual?--the door opening from -the hall into your reception-room?" - -"Certainly." - -At this point the inquisitive juror again shot forward with a -question: - -"Did Fairchild ever before ask you to lend him the dagger?" - -"Not that I now recall," was the reply. - -"But he knew of it, didn't he? and where you commonly kept it?" - -"Oh, yes. He frequently came into my office, and I remember once -telling him, as I have told some hundreds of others, how the dagger -came into my possession, together with its romantic little history." - -Mr. Merkel here resumed. - -"Now then, Doctor, let us go back to the evening of November third, -the night before Señor de Sanchez's death. At what time did he call -at your office?" - -"At about five-thirty or six o'clock." - -"Was he alone?" - -"No, sir. He was accompanied by Señor Vargas." - -"Please relate just what happened at that time." - -"Señor de Sanchez and I went immediately into my consultation-room, -while Señor Vargas remained in the reception-room. The former began, -in a polite enough manner, to ask me my reasons for objecting to him -as a suitor for my sister, and he presently assumed an insinuating -attitude that soon angered me and made me refuse to listen further to -his representations. Although he was a model of suavity throughout -the interview, I presently gathered the idea that his words were -hiding a covert threat; that he was holding something back which he -considered would be sufficient to cause me to change my mind. I -abruptly interrupted his flow of speech, and told him, in words -incapable of misconstruction, that my mind was made up, and if he -continued to press his attentions where they were not wanted, he -should regret it. - -"As he was leaving, De Sanchez said, 'You desire to know more of my -past relations with your honored father?' To this I replied that I -cared nothing about them. He then said, 'I am sure that you would -rather have the facts in your own bosom than that they should become -known inadvertently to your and his friends.' This was so directly a -threat that I immediately closed the interview. He smiled, bowed, -and passed out. As he did so he continued, 'I shall take great -pleasure in relating these facts to you--you only, Doctor; and I have -no doubt that I can surprise you--even to commending my humble person -to your charming--' Oh, I fail to remember all the insulting -nonsense he unburdened himself of. It was much to the same effect." - -"Well?" - -"I told him to go to the devil. He merely laughed again and said -that he was then on his way to my father's. After remarking that he -would return the next evening at about five o'clock, he rejoined -Señor Vargas and withdrew. - -"When I had thought it over, my anger cooled somewhat, and I resolved -to hear what the man had to say--to know if he would really go to the -extreme of saying anything that would reflect upon a member of my -family. This, I finally concluded, would put such an advantage into -my hands that I could bring his attentions to an end for all time." - -"You never heard, then, what it was he intended to say?" - -"No. When next I saw him he was practically a dead man." - -"Recurring once more to the night of the fourth, Doctor, did not Clay -Fairchild come into your office shortly after De Sanchez expired?" - -"He did." - -"Relate the circumstance in full, please." - -"About four or five minutes after Jim--Mr. Lynden--had left to notify -the police of the tragedy, the door suddenly opened, and Clay entered -the room. He stopped, his hand on the knob, and stood staring at De -Sanchez with a look of bewilderment. This quickly gave way to an -expression of horror, such as I never saw before in a sane human -countenance. All at once he looked at me, and apparently tried to -speak; but a queer, choking sound in the throat was the only result. -Without an instant's warning--before Howe or I could realize it--he -darted through the door and ran swiftly down the hall. Before that, -however, I called upon him to speak and explain himself. I fail to -remember just what I said; but his actions were very strange, and I -didn't know what to make of them." - -"Did Mr. Fairchild have on his hat when he entered your office?" - -"He had on his hat and a light overcoat." - -Next there followed a minute description of the young man's dress, -together with his personal appearance, such as had been given to the -police shortly after his disappearance: Height, about six feet; -weight, 168 pounds; eyes and hair, very dark, the latter worn rather -long and inclined to curl; form, slender, with a stoop to the -shoulders, so slight as to be scarcely noticeable; all of his -movements slow and deliberate, a striking feature being an air of -interested attention with which he listened to anybody addressing -him, together with a low and decisive manner of speech--almost a -drawl. The description contained the further information that he was -not easily moved from his natural reserve, a circumstance making his -conduct after the murder all the more remarkable, suggesting that he -was then laboring under an extraordinary emotion. - -With their heads almost touching, the Coroner and the District -Attorney whispered briefly together; after which Mr. Merkel addressed -the witness. - -"When your office door was thrown open, and De Sanchez staggered -through, did you not, in looking up, have that portion of the hall -between your room and Mr. Nettleton's private office directly before -your eyes?" - -"Yes. But while, at the time, I was not looking for any one else but -De Sanchez, I am now able to recall that no one was there--that that -part of the hall was empty. The occasion was so startling that the -association of ideas did not suggest the possibility of the assassin -being near by, or even that a murder had been committed. It was some -minutes before I came to a realization of the gravity of what had -happened." - -"Can you recall whether Mr. Nettleton's door was open or closed?" - -"Not positively. But I believe if it had been wide open and no light -in his office, I should have noticed it--the circumstance would have -been unusual." - -"Then, his door might have been ajar or closed completely, but not -entirely open?" - -"Yes; I believe that is correct. I have a strong impression that it -was entirely closed, or very nearly so; yet I would not make a -positive statement to that effect." - -During the entire time Doctor Westbrook occupied the stand Mr. -Mountjoy watched him narrowly, and seemed to weigh carefully each -word of the witness's replies. They followed the interrogations so -promptly, the manner of their utterance was so convincing, that the -truth of the Doctor's statements could not be doubted. Still, there -was that fleeting shade of apprehension in his eyes, the vague shadow -of worry that clouded his face. What caused them? - -"We have been groping all about the focal point," Mr. Mountjoy -whispered to the Coroner and Converse. "We have not yet laid our -finger upon the _primum mobile_. There is a question that will open -up the whole thing, if we can only find it. Think!" And he stopped, -staring fixedly at the detective. - -The Captain remained silent a few moments--a long time it seemed to -those who waited--before he spoke. Then he whispered to Mr. Merkel, -who turned immediately to the witness and asked: - -"Doctor, do you know, or have you any reason to believe, there was -any person other than yourself, Ferdinand Howe, J. Howard Lynden, -Clay Fairchild, and William Slade on the second floor of the -Nettleton Building at or about the time of Señor de Sanchez's death?" - -The answer came unhesitatingly. - -"I have not." - -But was that an expression of relief that hid the worry in his eyes, -that lightened the shadow on his face? or were the worry and the -shadow still there? Neither the District Attorney nor Mr. Converse -could determine. - -"Very well, Doctor, that is all," said the Coroner. "Call General -Westbrook." - -Stiffly erect, and with an air of obeying only the inevitable mandate -of Justice, the General entered the room. - -However, little additional light was shed upon the mystery by his -testimony; though it cannot be said that it was entirely devoid of -interest. He related at length his acquaintance with the deceased, -but with a reserve no one could ever attempt or expect to penetrate. -He stated that their relations in Mexico,--which had been solely of a -business nature,--had been dissolved by mutual agreement; that there -had been no subsequent correspondence between them, as their affairs -had been entirely wound up; and that his social connection with Señor -de Sanchez dated only from that gentleman's arrival in the city. He -would not undertake to say that Señor de Sanchez had or had not a -living enemy. If there were any such he was in complete ignorance of -that person's existence. - -"General, did not Señor de Sanchez desire to marry your daughter?" - -"He did." - -"With your approval, of course?" - -"Yes." - -"And Mrs. Westbrook's?" - -"Certainly," returned the witness, with a mild expression of -astonishment. - -"But Doctor Westbrook rather emphatically opposed it, did he not?" - -The General suddenly glared, and Mr. Merkel stirred uneasily. - -"Pardon me," the latter added with a propitiatory tone, -"er-ah--General; I shouldn't ask the question were it not necessary." -The witness then coldly replied: - -"Doctor Westbrook saw fit to obtrude himself into my private affairs -in a manner that would have had no effect one way or another on the -result." - -"You mean?" Mr. Merkel innocently asked. - -"Just what I say, sir." - -"You--you say he intruded, General," the Coroner persisted. "Is it -not a fact that his attitude in this matter has brought about a -severance of his relations with the rest of the family?" - -"We hold no communication." - -"Was Miss Westbrook opposed to the proposed marriage?" - -"This is nonsense. What have the vagaries and whims of a young girl -to do with this--" - -"Again, General, pardon me; I must press the question," interrupted -the Coroner. "If it is possible, we will avoid calling upon Miss -Westbrook to testify." - -General Westbrook stared at his questioner in speechless -astonishment, for so long a time that the latter was obliged to speak -again. - -"We may presume, then, that she was not in complete sympathy with the -idea?" - -The witness all at once smiled--the kind of smile his opponents had -learned to dread. - -"I would not take it upon myself to correct any ideas you may have -formed upon the subject," he said, pleasantly, while an audible, but -quickly suppressed, titter ran round the room, and the heavy -countenance of the Coroner became a dull red. - -Mr. Mountjoy relieved the situation--and certainly relieved Mr. -Merkel--finally eliciting the fact that Miss Westbrook was at first -not in sympathy with the idea of accepting Señor de Sanchez's -attentions; that she had later asserted a woman's prerogative by -changing her mind and agreeing to receive him, although the matter -had not arrived at the stage of a definite engagement. - -"At the last interview between Doctor Westbrook and yourself," Mr. -Merkel then resumed, "was he not very vehement in expressing his -opinion on the subject of the proposed marriage?" - -"I believe he was not very successful in concealing his feelings." - -"Will you repeat what Doctor Westbrook said on that occasion?" - -"I would rather not attempt it." - -"I assure you, General, it is essential." - -"I cannot recall his exact language." - -"Well, its purport." - -"His statements amounted to this: that the marriage should not take -place as long as he was alive to prevent it; that he should certainly -find ways and means of preventing its celebration--no more and no -less." - -Ferdinand Howe followed the General. His testimony, of course, was -of prime importance; but as its nature is already familiar it need -not be repeated here--with a single exception. After corroborating -the Doctor's evidence regarding Fairchild's behavior when the latter -encountered the body, the witness added: - -"Mobley cried, 'Clay, what do mean? Why do you stare at me so?' But -the look of horror only deepened; his jaw dropped, and his eyes -became fairly glassy. I believe, then, Mobley half rose from his -chair. 'Speak!' he cried. But the young man seemed incapable of -doing so. He uttered a peculiar gurgling cry, darted abruptly -through the open door, and disappeared." - -Judge Elihu Petty, of the firm of Petty & Carlton, attorneys, -testified that on the evening of November fourth, at about five -o'clock, he was in his office in the Field Building. After -confirming the previous testimony regarding the light-well and the -impossibility of anybody having entered the Nettleton hall window by -that means, the witness continued with a description of the other -Nettleton windows. He asserted that in broad daylight, and at other -times when there was a light in Mr. Nettleton's private office, he -could see the books on the further wall of the room mentioned. - -_Question by the Coroner_: "Could you see the books on the evening of -November fourth?" - -"No, sir. While there was light enough outside, yet it was so late -that the interior shadows were dense enough to prevent me seeing any -distance into the room. There was no light in that room." - -"Had there been a person in Mr. Nettleton's private room at that -time, could you have seen him?" - -Witness shook his head doubtfully. - -"Not unless such person had approached quite close to the windows," -he presently replied. "It is possible that somebody might have been -there without my seeing him. But I saw no one." - -Judge Petty stated that he remembered the five-o'clock whistles, -associating the circumstance with Mr. Howe's abrupt disappearance -from the Doctor's window, which ended his testimony. - -The calling of Señor Vargas--Juan Sebastian de Vargas y Escolado, as -he announced his name after being sworn--occasioned a quick accession -of interest; and he surprised even the Coroner by revealing an -unexpected acquaintance with his dead compatriot, and an intimate -knowledge of his life and affairs. Aside from this, Señor Vargas -added nothing to the information regarding the tragedy; but as the -only hope, it would seem, of eliciting anything at all lay in the -past, witness was questioned closely, the examination covering the -whole period of his acquaintance with the deceased. He continued to -evince a stolid lack of interest; on the other hand, however, it -seemed obvious that he had nothing to reserve, and he answered all -questions fully and with an apparent desire to throw whatever light -he might upon the mystery. As his examination lengthened -considerably, it will here be merely summarized. - -The witness had known De Sanchez ever since his (the witness's) -residence in Mexico--about seven or eight years. Socially he knew -little of the deceased; but early in their acquaintance they had -become interested in a number of commercial undertakings, which, -proving profitable, led naturally to other enterprises. There never -had been anything in the nature of a partnership,--so far as the -world knew, at least,--but a mutual confidence had grown up between -them, and each frequently intrusted the other with large sums; "an -association," added Señor Vargas, "that has more than doubled my -fortune." They usually struck a balance twice in the year, when -funds were divided and other enterprises planned. - -_Question_: "Did Señor de Sanchez owe you anything at the time of his -death?" - -_Answer_: "Neither of us was indebted to the other, except in this -way: at the present time there is a joint account approximating one -hundred and eighty-two thousand dollars. I have my own figures; but -I shall abide by his. He was a careful business man,--so much so, -that I can confidently assert that a proper division of this sum can -be made, to a centavo, from his private books. Our association was -exceptionally pleasant and profitable; there was never the shadow of -a dispute or misunderstanding between us." - -"Were the relations between you amicable at the time you left Mexico?" - -"As much so as they ever were. On the day Señor de Sanchez left -Mexico City he executed to me a power of attorney to certain lands of -which he was at that time negotiating a sale. I consummated the -deal, and deposited to his account the sum of sixty-two thousand -dollars." - -"Why, then, should you have experienced difficulty in closing with -him the Paquita Gold Mine matter, which led you, as you say, to -follow him here?" - -The witness considered some time, and presently replied: - -"I do not want it to appear that I desire to reserve any information; -but understand, please, that this is a matter in which I am merely -acting as an agent for other parties, and that it is not closed yet. -Perhaps you will appreciate my position from the fact that Señor de -Sanchez owned the property, and I am making a purchase for a party of -English capitalists." - -Mr. Merkel smiled knowingly, adding, "And of course you have no -interest in the property yourself. I see." - -But the knowing look brought no answering light to the dark, -impassive features; and neither, apparently, did witness feel called -upon to make any response at all. - -"Señor Vargas," said the Coroner, "we are seeking to ascertain if the -unfortunate gentleman had an enemy; or if any of his affairs or -business transactions were of such a nature that they would -antagonize anybody to the point of such extreme retaliation as has -been meted out to him. Now, from your association with Señor de -Sanchez, do you know of any such person, or any such affair?" - -Witness slowly shook his head. - -"I know of no such affair or enemy--at least, I am sure there is no -enemy in Mexico." - -For the first time during the entire proceedings the District -Attorney ignored the Coroner to put an interrogation himself. - -"In Mexico?" he asked, quickly. "Do you know or suspect an enemy in -this country--here--or elsewhere?" - -"No, no, señor. Perhaps I should not have said that; but in -Spain--in Mexico--Don Alberto could not have loved so beautiful a -maiden as the Señorita Westbrook without making many enemies, and -bitter ones too. I was thinking of that alone." He spread out his -hands in true Latin fashion. "_Eso se comprende_--it is a matter of -course--but I know nothing." - -The inquiry now turned to the relations between General Westbrook and -De Sanchez. It appeared that the witness had never met the General, -and knew nothing of their mutual affairs. The two had separated -amicably, so far as he knew. He had no reason to think otherwise. -"When the Señorita Westbrook departed from Mexico, after her visit -with her father, the Señor General accompanied his daughter home, and -never returned." - -So ended the testimony. The audience rapidly dwindled away as the -jury filed out to deliberate; while the few who remained separated -into groups and fell to discussing the "De Sanchez Mystery,"--now -more of a mystery than ever. - -For a reason not made known to the witnesses, they, with the -exception of General Westbrook and Judge Petty, are requested to -remain until the jury report. The request, regardless of the -politeness in which it was couched, might have excited some doubt and -apprehension among those who obeyed it, if the officers, in managing -to keep near them, had been less adroit in doing so. Nobody can -conjecture at whom the jury's verdict will point, and they are quite -an hour in making up their own minds. - -When they finally file back into the room there are very few -remaining to hear what the result of their deliberations may be. The -foreman slurred over the verdict with such haste that it was all but -unintelligible. It ran: - - -We, the jury, in the matter of the death of Alberto de Sanchez, find -that said De Sanchez came to his death by a dagger wound in the -throat, at the hand of some person or persons to this jury unknown. - - -So ended the first act of the drama of the "De Sanchez Mystery." As -for Mr. Converse, "Now I can get to work," he confided to himself, as -he walked home to his lodgings in Ash Lane. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -CHERCHEZ LA FEMME - -The exterior of No. 18 Ash Lane did not present an inviting -appearance. It was a dingy, battered, and weather-worn brick -structure, marking a remote epoch in the past; and besides Mr. -Converse, it contained one other tenant, a little old man whose -entire body was so twisted and contorted into deformity by -rheumatism, that one wondered what incentive could prevail upon him -to move. - -A sign above the double door conveyed to the casual wayfarer the -information that the busy, cheerful cripple's name was "A. Follett." -Long before the remainder of the legend--"Dealer in Scrap Iron, -Brass, Copper, Castings, and All Sorts of Junk"--could be deciphered, -the stranger was aware of the business conducted here; for as far as -the eye could penetrate into the recesses of the lower floor, it was -met by a conglomeration of cast-off material which promised insanity -to anybody rash enough to attempt its assortment and classification. - -Close by the double entrance a gate in a high board fence gave access -to the yard. Through this each day passed the peripatetic collectors -of such refuse as Mr. Follett dealt in, and their burdens were -disposed of by a black Hercules--Mr. Follett's back and legs and -arms--who answered to the name of Joe. - -The Captain's daily associates would have been quite staggered had -they known that the cheerful, grizzled, and battered dealer in junk -was his closest friend and his only confidant, and that he discussed -all his most perplexing problems with Mr. Follett. Mr. Converse, -however, had demonstrated more than once that his confidence was not -misplaced; that his friend's judgment, shrewd insight, and discretion -were of a value not to be expressed by words. In Mr. Converse's -sailor days the two had been companions on many a memorable voyage, -and each was as comprehensive of the other's silences as if they had -been filling the moments with golden speech. - -On the Monday night subsequent to the inquest and one week after that -event, the two are sitting in the snug front room upstairs, and it is -Mr. Follett who first speaks. - -"So, John," he remarks, "the newspapers have something to stir up the -interest in your dead Mexican man." He laughed softly and waved his -pipe with a feeble gesture toward the Captain. "But I'm thinkin' it -won't hurry you up none to crowd the canvas on you." - -"You are thinking of the reward?" queried Mr. Converse. - -The other nodded and continued: "Twenty thousand dollars is a heap o' -money, John; many men would do murder over an' over again for it. -Sometimes I can't believe that these ideas o' rewardin' an' punishin' -are right. No matter how high the reward, nor how hard the -punishment, some people will do wrong in the face o' one an' in spite -o' the other.... Twenty thousand American, is it?" - -"Yes; and we are to draw on the De Sanchez estate through the Mexican -consul for expenses necessary to pursuing the investigation." - -Mr. Follett expressed his wonder in a prolonged whistle. - -"John, this is what you will have when you run down the murderer. -Then you can retire. Then you can get that little cottage an' all -them flowers you sometimes talk about: funny idea for an old sailor -man." He changed the trend of his talk abruptly, and added, with a -more serious note: "We must increase the reward for that woman. -Everything centres an' circles about her, an' that's what discourages -me. When you get clear o' the harbor on a cruise o' this kind, it's -like tryin' to navigate without chart or compass, an' the stars all -hid, to have a woman mixed in it to the extent that this one seems to -be. Make it a hundred--two hundred--dollars; but find that woman." - -"Abram, you are right," Mr. Converse rejoined, with unusual warmth. -"I am no nearer to laying my finger upon her than I was the day of -the murder. As you say, we must find the woman; everything hinges -upon her. But look you, Abram, we, every one of us, missed a very -fine point at the inquest that now is as plain as the nose on your -face." - -Mr. Follett unconsciously and thoughtfully fell to rubbing that -member, while he attended to his friend's words. - -"What was it Howard Lynden was afraid of betraying?" continued Mr. -Converse, warming to his subject. "What was it Mr. Ferdinand Howe -was afraid of betraying? What worried Doctor Westbrook?" He stared -hard at Mr. Follett, and answered the questions himself. "It's just -this: they have reason to suspect that the woman is mixed up some way -in the matter; but how? They asserted under oath that no woman was -present; did they one and all perjure themselves? I don't believe -it." - -The listener nodded gravely to signify that he was following the -argument, but offered no interruption. - -"No; I believe that every man Jack of them told all he knew of the -affair. Doctor Westbrook would not lie; I don't think under the -circumstances Howe would, and Lynden--well, he just couldn't. Any -woman that you might name will not supply an adequate reason for them -all to unite in an oath of falsehood." - -"Yet," observed Mr. Follett, "it is the woman, and we must look for -the one least likely to have been there." - -"Exactly. And they are banded together to shield her name. We -failed to hit upon the right question, or to put it in the proper -way, so leaving them an opportunity for evasion without downright -falsehood. - -"Again, Abram, would these complications involve the woman or some -one else? Are they shielding her for her sake or their own? If you -could answer me those questions, Abram, I could tell you the rest. -Where is the Mexican woman now, who smokes a cigarette while she -waits for her victim? That's Merkel's idea. Poppycock! There's no -Mexican woman on the face of the earth that all of those men would be -so anxious to shield." - -"John, there's one thing about this here female that you haven't -considered yet," began Abram Follett. "She may know nothin' about -the murder; she may only have showed a common weakness o' the sex by -bein' where she had no business; she may be in the same boat with -those three men, an' they are simply a-tryin' to save her from -fallin' overboard, thinkin' she couldn't throw any light on how Mr. -de Sanchez came to be a dead man all of a sudden, but could get -herself in a pretty bad fix. They are not the best judges, o' -course; but if there's anything in that 'nonymous letter you got -about her, why, there's somebody else knows who she is, an' it's some -one who could be made to tell. - -"Now then, John, listen to me a bit: there's only one other person we -know o' havin' been on that floor at the time o' the killin'--Bill -Slade; an' I know two or three things about him--though I've never -sot eyes on the man that I know of--that might interest you. First, -his father, before the war, was the Fairchild overseer; secondly, -Bill Slade himself is to-day the owner o' the old Fairchild -homestead. What we don't know that might show how they're all -tangled up together--if they really are--might be a hull lot.... -Truth can't be downed, John, but it sometimes has a mighty hard time -a-gettin' up to where it can be seen an' recognized. Oftener than -not we don't want to recognize it; we just hand it a rap over the -head by way o' conveyin' the information that it mustn't get too -conspicuous." - -"There's a good deal about Slade that is hard to understand; I'll -think it over." The Captain was still looking hard at Mr. Follett. - -"Another thing, John: that letter gives me the idea everything ain't -a-goin' smooth with them people; there's a conflictin' interest -somewhere, you mark my words. They ain't just plain common folks, -either, that we have to do with; not the kind that goes about their -business peacefully an' ca'mly, day after day, under the heft of a -secret o' this kind; especially when so many shares it." - -"Speaking of Slade," said Mr. Converse, abruptly breaking the current -of the conversation, "reminds me of something odd. I don't know that -you have ever heard of it, but there is a peculiarity about Slade and -General Westbrook that is the foundation of a joke of long standing -at the General's expense, although they are few enough who would have -the hardihood to take that liberty with him to his face. - -"It seems that always when Slade and the General meet, wherever it -may be--on the street, at the bank, in offices or business -houses,--the former is possessed of some powerful emotion. He steps -to one side, oblivious of everything besides General Westbrook, at -whom he stares as though he were quite overcome by his greatness. At -the same time Slade is continually mumbling unintelligibly to -himself. After a bit he seems to realize his queer actions, and -recovers himself all at once with a sheepish look around, as if to -see whether anybody has been observing him; and if General Westbrook -has not already departed, Slade blurts out a confused apology and -hurries away. It's queer enough in that dried-up little man; for he -bears the reputation of a miser, is as sour as vinegar, lives to -himself in a little cubbyhole of a room, and hasn't, I suppose, one -intimate friend in the world. People will say, 'Slade? Why, yes, I -know old Slade. Who don't?' Yet the truth is that nobody really -does know him. He's simply a machine, and as long as he works -smoothly and in good order he's taken for granted, like the Lee -monument or the changes of the moon. - -"Anyhow, the General accepts it all seriously, as a tribute from an -inferior to his own high mightiness, and he unbends to the old codger -quite graciously--for him. Whatever it is Slade has in mind, or what -he mutters to himself, no one seems to know; but 'Slade's Blessing' -has come to be a by-word in the city. - -"Now then, on the night of the eleventh--last Wednesday night--the -headquarters man, Adams, who is watching Vargas, made a report in -which 'Slade's Blessing' figures in rather a curious and -incomprehensible manner. It appears that Slade went to the La Salle -House, apparently looking for some one; Vargas was sitting in the -rotunda, smoking, when all at once who should come in but General -Westbrook. Slade was then standing right by Vargas's chair, when he -caught sight of the General, and the old scene began. Westbrook came -directly up to Vargas and spoke in an absent-minded way to Slade, who -made his usual embarrassed exit. Now, Vargas did not show that he -had noticed this incident--which should have been strange and novel -to him--and there may not be any connection between it and what -followed, but the next morning Vargas called on Slade at the Guaranty -Trust Company's offices. He remained only a few minutes; but he -called again shortly before five o'clock the same evening, and -accompanied Slade to the latter's room, where he remained with the -abstracter until nearly seven o'clock." - -"Belay a moment, John. Did the two know each other before?" - -"Oh, no; not at all." - -Mr. Follett nodded, and his friend continued: - -"Vargas went to Slade's lodging again the next day, and again on -Friday--each time at five o'clock,--and remained from an hour and a -half to two hours. It's pretty clear that the first visit to Slade -at the office was merely to make an appointment, and that the others -followed therefrom. But what does it mean? Has Vargas begun a -little detective work on his own account? This question is prompted -by what followed at the La Salle House between General Westbrook and -Vargas on Wednesday night after Slade had left them. - -"The General approached and made himself known to Vargas. You know -they had met only casually--at the inquest--and the meeting Wednesday -night appeared no more than a refreshing of each other's memory. Yet -when General Westbrook departed he seemed to be greatly disturbed--so -much so that Adams says he had half a mind to follow him. It is true -that the two conversed some time, but nothing appeared which would -account for the General's agitation; the talk seemed to be merely -chatty, pleasant, marked by smiles, and all that. It did not seem to -occur to Adams that a man might 'smile, and smile, and be a villain' -still; and, after all, it may be that the matter has to do with some -property titles. But why enlist the services of Señor Vargas, a -stranger? I thought that Vargas himself might be interested in some -realty here; but I've had that looked up, and his name does not -appear of record anywhere in the county. In this connection I have -been having the records carefully gone over to see if any of these -people are mixed up by some old deal. The result has been somewhat -queer; but we'll pass that up for the present." - -"It's no easy matter just a-sortin' out the known facts, is it?" -observed Mr. Follett. - -The Captain shook his head. "But to sum up, Abram," he added, "we -have a number of people connected by a lot of little circumstances, -which, at the present moment, have mighty wide gaps between, and seem -to point to nothing." - -"I tell ye, John, a thing that's standin' stronger in my mind than -all else comes from what you've just told me, an' from what I've told -you about this man Slade. - -"You know, before the war, old Bill Slade, the father, was the -Fairchild overseer. I've heard the son's story, an' it appears that -he was always little an' mean an' picayunish--not the kind that could -do any big dirty thing; just little an' sneakin'. But old Bill was -ambitious for his boy, who was just a young feller at the end o' the -war, an' he charted out a course for young Bill that pointed from the -Fairchild plantation straight to the United States Supreme Court; but -he failed to mark off all the rocks an' shoals, an' the set o' the -currents; he knew little o' the craft's qualities that was to make -the voyage; an' the consequence is, that young Bill landed high an' -dry right where he is to-day. He never drank, as I've often heard, -nor chewed nor smoked, nor he never fought, nor did anything else to -show that he had any good red blood in him--just natcherally unable -to do anything good or bad." Mr. Follett abruptly altered his tone. -"Has there been anything betwixt him and the Fairchilds since, -besides him now ownin' their old home an' lettin' it go to rack an' -ruin?" he asked. - -"That's being gone into now. Nothing has been turned up so far that -sheds any light upon the problem of the murder." - -Mr. Converse's reply was thoughtful; his companion's run of talk -seemed more to be a harmonious accompaniment to his own reflections -than a source either of information or available ideas. Yet he -listened patiently, self-contained and reserved, his occasional -responses showing that he was following the other's words. - -"Another point, John," Mr. Follett went on. "From what you've told -me o' this Mr. Vargas, he seems to be a man who looks pretty sharp to -his own affairs without botherin' himself about other people's. You -know, meddlin' with other folks' business is the surest sign that you -can't 'tend to your own. That don't seem to be his style, so you can -be pretty sure that him mixin' himself in this matter on another tack -has somethin' important behind it." - -Here, quite naturally enough, fell one of the familiar, pleasant -silences that characterized the friendship between these two men. -The Captain's manner soon began to reveal an impatience. He smoked -innumerable pipes of tobacco--not in his usual steady way, but -alternating between fits of puffing like an engine for a space, and -then permitting the fire in the bowl to die out. Several times he -rose and walked slowly to and fro the length of the room, his hands -clasped behind him, his eyes unseeing--oblivious of everything but -the problem upon which his tenacious mind was fastened. Once or -twice he paused at the window and looked out into the darkness. - -All these evidences of extreme mental effort were to the still, -crippled figure in the big chair so many indications that the Captain -had seized upon an idea that he was revolving to a definite end. -Neither by word nor gesture would Mr. Follett break in upon these -cogitations until the other saw fit to enlighten him. The issue -would be yielded in good time, and he awaited it in silent, patient -eagerness. - -Once Mr. Converse threw one of the windows wide open, and the sudden -in-rush of cool night air began rapidly to dissipate the smoke which -hung in well-defined strata of blue. The stillness of the night was -unbroken by any sound, until presently, many blocks away, could be -heard the faint clatter of a galloping horse. As with all distant -sounds in a sleeping city, it would now and then become completely -extinguished behind some intervening wall or building, only to burst -forth again with added clamor. - -How often are the greatest crises ushered in by the most trivial of -incidents! Mr. Converse was only dimly aware of the beating hoofs, -and his train of thought was not at all interrupted by any reflection -that horse and rider might portend aught for him; then the -circumstance was entirely forgotten as the Federal Building clock -boomed forth one loud, deep-throated stroke that rang high on the -night: one o'clock. - -The vibrations were still trembling audibly when he turned of a -sudden from the window. - -"Abram, I have it," he announced in a tone of finality. "I know how -to find Fairchild." - -Whatever Mr. Follett might have responded was never uttered; for all -at once the thud of hoofs became loud and insistent. The rider was -evidently in Ash Lane now, and approaching at a pace that would soon -bring him opposite No. 18. - -"Listen!" whispered Mr. Converse; and both waited in tense -expectation while the wild rider drew nearer and nearer. - -The horse was pulled up to a sharp standstill immediately below, just -as Converse turned to the window once more. In the light which fell -from the lamp behind him he could make out the faint glint of brass -buttons and the brighter reflection from a nickel-plated star: the -rider was an officer of the mounted force. What errand required such -speed, and at such an hour? - -"Is it you, Captain Converse?" the rider began, breathlessly. "You -are to come to headquarters right away." - -"What is it?" demanded the Captain. - -"The Old Man told me to say it was a new development in the De -Sanchez case; he sent me himself. McCaleb came in off his beat half -an hour or so ago, and he looked as though he'd been seeing ghosts. -Whatever it is, he brought in the news, and it must be mighty -important to rout the Old Man out at this hour." "The Old Man," be -it known, was the Chief of Police. - -"Very well, Harrison, I'll be along at once." The messenger wheeled -his blowing horse and disappeared into the night again. - -Converse was not long in following. As he left the room Mr. Follett -cried cheerfully after him, "Sail, ho!" The latter was accustomed to -these unceremonious interruptions of their post-prandial communions, -and he forbore any display of curiosity. - -But if Mr. Follett's figurative farewell was a prognostication that -the voyage of discovery was no longer to be conducted in unknown -seas, or, to drop metaphor altogether, that some fact had come to -light which promised explanation of the mystery, he was scarcely a -true prophet. This the Captain had presented to him in a startling -manner almost as soon as he entered the Chief's private office. He -was impressed at once by that official's unusual agitation and the -white, excited countenance of the young officer who stood by his -desk, nervously and alternately mopping his brow and the inside of -his helmet. - -The Chief glared at Converse as though the Captain himself had been -guilty of some unusual offence. - -"Another murder, Converse!" he cried, with unsteady articulation. -"Good Lord, what kind of a force have I got under me, anyhow? -McCaleb, here, has just brought in a most astounding report. I don't -know which way to turn; I feel--" - -"May I inquire who has been murdered?" said Converse, quietly. - -"General Westbrook!" thundered the Chief, banging his fist down on -the desk; "one of our very best citizens is the victim of a dastardly -assassination!" - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE SECOND PROBLEM - -The fact that John Converse was not given to betraying either -surprise or astonishment only enhanced the effect of the involuntary -step he took backward in the face of the intelligence flung at him by -the Chief of Police. For a minute, perhaps, he returned the gaze of -the agitated official; then the indomitable tenacity of the man began -to manifest itself in a setting and tightening of the solid jaw; and -when he presently turned to the excited McCaleb, the stunning effect -of the news had been entirely overcome--he was quite himself again, -masterful, determined, and inspiring confidence. Both the Chief and -the young patrolman began at once to respond to his quieting -influence. - -Officer Harry McCaleb was of an aptness and intelligence promising -rapid advancement. It was no secret that he had aspirations looking -to success in the detective service; and it was of him that the -Captain demanded particulars of the crime. - -"Tell me what you know," said he, his manner advising promptness and -despatch. - -The young patrolman delivered his account with a glibness and -attention to details that betokened forethought on the subject. - -"Captain Converse," he began, "this month I am on the night shift, -and my beat takes in Vine Street and General Westbrook's -neighborhood. Mike Clancy's my partner. You know it's a pretty big -beat for two men to cover--especially as we are obliged to remain -together,--and we can't pass any one point oftener than once in every -two hours, or such a matter. - -"Well, sir, to-night we passed the Westbrook place last at about -ten-thirty. Everything was perfectly quiet at that time, and we had -no occasion to be more than ordinarily vigilant. We continued on our -beat, and in the natural run of events should have been back at the -Westbrook corner--Tenth and Vine, sir--at about twelve-thirty. At -twelve o'clock we were over in the next block--on Live Oak, to the -rear of the Westbrook place, and between Tenth and Eleventh. You -know it's a part of our duty after dark to watch people getting off -cars to see if they belong in our territory, and we can't gauge our -time very well when we meet many cars on Live Oak Street. - -"It was just at twelve--the Federal Building clock had just struck, -sir--when Mike stopped short. 'What's that, McCaleb?' says he. It's -one of those perfectly still nights, you know, when sounds carry a -long way." Converse had a fleeting memory of a madly galloping -horse. 'Was that a shot?' asked Mike. I had heard something, too, -but couldn't tell whether it was a shot or not; and anyhow, neither -of us could locate it. We waited quite a while, listening; then, -hearing nothing more, we went on. In about ten minutes--maybe -fifteen--we stopped suddenly again; we heard a woman scream. There -was no mistaking the direction this time; it was one of those -piercing, long-drawn-out screams that makes a man's blood run cold. -We had no trouble following the sounds, for the screams kept up, as -fast as the woman could get her breath. 'Help! Murder!' she was -yelling; and Mike and I raced down Tenth Street to the Westbrook -place, as fast as we could. - -"Well, sir, when we got there it was as though bedlam had broke -loose; the neighbors were pouring out on all sides; some society -affair was going on last night, and most of them had just got home. -A woman was running up and down the Westbrook front gallery, wringing -her hands in a distracted way, and every now and then stopping to -scream 'Murder!' - -"Stop a moment, Mac," interposed Converse..... "Chief, call a cab, -please; I don't want to waste any time--I can listen to Mac as we -ride..... Now, Mac, go on." - -"Well, as Mike and I vaulted the front fence, I yelled out that we -were officers, and Mike set his whistle going for Hartman and -Corrigan in the next beat, in case we should need help; though they -never heard it. The lady fell back against one of the big gallery -pillars and waited till we came up. Then we saw it was Mrs. -Westbrook. She looked as if she were being beaten by some one we -couldn't see, and was trying to shrink away from the blows. - -"The whole house was a blaze of light, every electric lamp being -turned on, it seemed like; and the niggers--well, sir, they were all -plum crazy. Mrs. Westbrook had evidently been to whatever was going -on, because she was all dressed up in one of those shiny white -dresses, and had lots of jewelry on. I could see the diamonds on her -fingers sparkling with her heart-beats, for she had her hands locked -tight together and pressed against her bosom. When we got close -enough to her we could hear her moaning to herself, 'Oh, my God! -Peyton! Peyton! Peyton! Oh, my God! Peyton!' over and over again, -like a machine, and it was some time before we could get her to -notice us. - -"Just then two or three of the neighbors came up. One of them, a -lady, grabbed Mrs. Westbrook, and asked, 'What is it, Lou?' and Mrs. -Westbrook just had time to whisper, 'Peyton--in there--dead!' before -slipping down the pillar in a faint. - -"Of course we waited for nothing more. Leaving her with the lady, we -hurried into the house through the front door, which was standing -wide open. - -"I never saw anything like it in my life, Captain; back under the -stairs a big yellow wench was sitting on the floor, holding Miss -Westbrook's head in her lap, and moaning and rocking to and fro. The -young lady herself was lying out in such a way that we thought at -first she was dead too. The telephone was right above her head--" - -Here the recital was once more broken in upon, this time by the -arrival of the cab. Mr. Converse and the patrolman hastened into it. -"General Westbrook's--hurry!" said the Captain to the driver, who, -having had experience in such matters, lashed the horses to a gallop -in an effort to obey the injunction. - -Once under way, Officer McCaleb resumed his story: - -"As I was saying, the telephone was right above where Miss Westbrook -was lying. She was still holding the receiver in her hand, a part of -the cord attached to it, the whole thing torn loose--evidently while -she was trying to use the 'phone. She must have fainted then. It -took only a second or two to see that nothing worse was the matter -with her; and after stirring the nigger woman up to getting water and -bringing her mistress round, we went on hunting for the General. We -had to search, too; for every one that hadn't fainted was wild with -terror. - -"Pretty soon, however, we came upon him in a downstairs room--sure -enough dead, Captain Converse, with a knife sticking in him. I left -Mike there to keep the crowd out, and after 'phoning to headquarters -from a neighbor's, I hurried in myself to make sure." - -Not until the young man had finished did Converse vouchsafe a -question. - -"A knife, you say?" he mused, the words being hardly so much an -interrogation as an expression of the importance he seemed to attach -to the circumstance. "A knife?" - -"Yes, sir. But I neglected to say there was a revolver lying on the -floor. I didn't have time to see much; but it was out in pretty -plain view, lying close to the General." - -"His, likely. But wait till we get there," said Mr. Converse; then, -as an afterthought, "Who else was at the house?" - -"I saw no one, sir,--that is, before the neighbors arrived." - -"Doctor Westbrook?" - -"No, sir." - -Shortly the conveyance was grinding over the gravelled driveway which -led from the street to the _porte-cochère_. - -The house itself was a commodious colonial mansion, possessing the -familiar, massive-pillared Greek front. Setting in the midst of a -wide expanse of beautiful park, shaded by magnolia, catalpa, and -numerous oak and elm trees, it was merely a variation, in details -alone, of a uniform style of architecture at once simple and -imposing, which lent to the neighborhood an air of distinction and -aloofness, and imparted that genuine spirit of the old Southern home -which is both impressive and incapable of imitation. - -The few neighbors who remained had succeeded in bringing some sort of -order out of the chaos that had greeted officers McCaleb and Clancy -upon their arrival. The negro servants had been banished to their -own quarters, where they were out of the way; all lights had been -extinguished excepting the few needed, and the house was shrouded in -the unbroken stillness which exists like a vacuum behind the swift -turbulence following a sudden and tragic death. - -The Captain was received with something of the awe that always greets -a man of his profession when he first enters upon such a scene, when -those who meet him are as far removed from the law's intricate -machinery as were General Westbrook's friends and intimates. Old as -it was, the neighborhood had never in the past sustained so rude and -violent a shock to its calm respectability. Mr. Converse was now -indeed the Captain, the god in the car. - -An elderly gentleman, evidently a neighbor, met them at the door. He -led the officers straight back through the wide and richly furnished -hall, past the carved oaken stairway, which rose like an invitation -to a multitude, to a lateral hall extending the width of the house. -Here he turned to the left, and presently paused before a curtained -door; a door so massive and solid that, together with the voluminous -folds of the heavy velvet curtain which hung before it, it promised -to afford an effective barrier to sounds arising within the room -beyond, causing the sharpest of noises emanating therefrom to strike -muffled and dead upon the ear of anybody in the hall. - -Mr. Converse placed a restraining hand upon the arm outstretched to -open the door. - -"Just a moment, sir," said he. "Is Doctor Westbrook here?" - -"No, sir; but efforts are being exerted to find him. It appears that -he is in attendance upon some suburban patient." - -"Who discovered the tragedy?" - -"Miss Westbrook. She is completely prostrated, sir." - -"Very good; now open the door." - -The portal swung open and revealed, obviously, the household library. -Save for the door, the windows, and the narrower spaces between the -windows, its walls were entirely concealed by book-laden shelves; the -apartment was otherwise scantily furnished. - -By a large, old-fashioned fireplace in the southwest corner stood a -heavy leathern couch; besides this the room contained nothing more in -the way of large furniture except a heavy oaken table which stood in -the bay of the east window. There was a swivelled desk-chair before -the table; a Morris chair, a straight-backed wooden chair, and a -light ladder whereby the higher shelves were made accessible. All -this at a glance. - -Presently, however, a number of details challenged Captain Converse's -attention. - -First of all, let us, as briefly as possible, dismiss the grewsome, -silent figure in the centre of the floor. It lay flat upon its back -beside the desk-chair; the arms were wide outstretched, and a dagger -handle of ebony, or some other black wood, protruded from the left -breast, into which the blade had been driven to the hilt. -Surprisingly little blood had found its way through the wound, since -the blade must have been reposing in the stilled heart--a well-aimed, -deadly blow, signifying a cool and sinister intent. Death could not -have ridden more swiftly on a thunderbolt; and plainly it had met its -victim here just as he was either in the act of rising hastily from -the swivel-chair, or at the moment he had gotten to his feet. - -A brief inspection showed that most of the room's windows were closed -and fastened, as were also the inside wooden blinds, and that lace -curtains hung from the ceiling to the window-seats. - -Before the table the swivel-chair was turned so that it faced two -pairs of French windows in the front or north wall. These opened on -a wide veranda extending across the entire front of the house. One -pair of these windows now stood open, and between them stood the -room's third chair,--the straight-backed one,--and upon it the -Captain's attention seemed to linger. - -If General Westbrook had been seated in the desk-chair, who had -occupied this one so near the handily opened window? It faced the -one before the desk, and their relative positions irresistibly -suggested a _tête-à-tête_, the silent figure on the floor that this -_tête-à-tête_ had been brought to an abrupt and violent termination. -Both chairs had been forcibly pushed back a foot or more, as if the -occupants of each had arisen with precipitation; for the swivel-chair -had raked up one end of a magnificent tiger-skin, tearing the felt -lining; and the one by the window could be traced back to where it -had formerly stood, by the four deep scorings that its legs had made -in the polished surface of the floor. - -The occupancy of the straight-backed chair seemed to contain the crux -of the matter. And here was presented another suggestion: whoever -had chosen a seat so close to the open window had done so with an eye -to hasty and easy retreat. This spot seemed to have attracted Mr. -Converse's attention immediately after his first cursory glimpse; he -still stood just inside the doorway, and his eyes, after travelling -over various details of the scene before him, returned again and -again to the vacant seat. - -At last his regard rested upon Officer Mike Clancy, standing -respectfully at attention, and he pointed to the object of his -interest. - -"Clancy," he asked, "who's been sitting in that chair?" - -"Sure, an' there's been no wan, sorr, since Oi've been in the room." - -"Not yourself?" - -Clancy cast an appreciative glance at the comfortable Morris chair, -and then one of contempt at the less inviting seat. - -"Oi hov not," he replied, with deliberate emphasis. Such innocence -of his questioner's intent was not to be doubted: the chairs had not -been disturbed. - -If the Captain evinced an unusual interest in the straight-backed -chair, one other article must be mentioned to which his eye reverted -many times,--the nickel-plated desk telephone, overturned upon the -blotting-pad, its hooks free of the receiver. It was more than -likely that when Miss Westbrook attempted to use the instrument in -the hall, she received no response from Central, the line already, -doubtless, having been put out of commission. - -Close by the nerveless fingers of the General's right hand was a -revolver. An inspection of this revealed a weapon of familiar make, -of .38 calibre; and the pungent odor of freshly burnt powder, which -still clung about it, together with two exploded shells, told its own -story of recent and apparently ineffectual use. - -It was only natural to turn from the revolver to a partially open -drawer on the right side of the desk, and to the desk itself; and -here once more the mute witnesses gave their unspoken testimony. Had -General Westbrook been seated at his desk writing when some midnight -caller interrupted him? Had a conference then followed which -crescendoed rapidly through the various stages of a quarrel, _a -verbis ad verbera_, to a sudden resort to violence? Well, here was -the cover off the ink-well; a spreading spot of ink on the -blotting-pad marked where a pen had been dropped; a tablet was -conveniently at hand, but not one scrap of paper that had been -written upon, except one or two neat piles of envelopes containing -letters addressed to the dead man, and other documents of various -kinds, none of which, probably, had engaged his attention during the -minutes preceding the abrupt blotting out of his life. - -But in these particulars could be read the fact that the unfortunate -gentleman had, some time during the night, been actually writing at -his desk. Then, the chair forcibly shoved backward; the right hand, -overturning the telephone in its precipitancy, flying to the drawer -where the revolver reposed, presented a picture to the Captain's -mental vision almost as comprehensive as a photograph. The General -had not been surprised: an explanation of the interval between the -dropping of the pen and the hurried opening of the drawer lay in the -occupancy of the two chairs; this hiatus contained the whole story of -the crime. - -Thoughtfully Converse set the telephone upright again. He hung the -receiver upon the hooks, and after a minute or so of waiting -endeavored to catch Central. But it was of no use; no response came; -the line evidently had been, as he had already thought, "cut out" as -being out of order--which naturally would follow upon a continuous -signal with no request for a number. - -Next, he picked up the writing-tablet, and upon it his scrutiny -became almost instantly glued. He seemed to be as absorbed in the -unsullied whiteness of its top sheet as if it had been covered with -written characters. His stiff lips presently pursed; his right -eyebrow lifted in a familiar quizzical manner; and he looked from the -tablet in his hand to the fireplace, black and cold. After all, -there was evidently a message in those blank pages: the last one used -had been hastily and carelessly rent from the binding gum, as the -saw-tooth particles of paper yet adhering to the tablet, in this one -instance, affirmed. - -The elderly gentleman who had admitted the two officers had been -watching Mr. Converse with as much interest as that evinced by -McCaleb himself, and the young patrolman was taking advantage of his -opportunity greedily. The elderly gentleman now stepped forward. - -"Pardon me," he began, "but if the question is not premature, are you -able to form a theory? Have you any idea as to the identity of the -assassin?" - -Converse eyed the old man askance, and the latter went on immediately: - -"Besides yourselves and Doctor Bane I am the only man in the house. -I am a near neighbor; I reside on the opposite corner. Wilson is my -name, Slayden Wilson. I was going to say, that perhaps I may be -needed else--" - -"By all means, don't let us detain you," urged Converse with -suspicious haste. - -"Thank you. And if you require anything--" his eye wandered until it -rested upon the bell-button beside the door--"if you require -anything, press the button there." - -"Very good," Converse returned. "Try to prepare the ladies for a -meeting, as I shall want to question them--the servants too." - -The old gentleman withdrew, closing the door noiselessly after him. - -Mr. Converse still held the writing-tablet in his hand, and now he -laid it upon the table. As he did so, McCaleb--all the time close to -his elbow--quietly observed. - -"Do you suppose somebody's got away with it, sir?" - -"It looks that way," the older man replied, abstractedly; then -abruptly breaking off, he fixed a keen look upon the young man. -"What do you mean, McCaleb?" he asked. - -"Are you not looking for some writing?" - -"Aye, aye, Mac," was the quiet reply, the speaker's glance kindling -shrewdly, "aye, aye, Mac, you are correct." - -He pointed to a blotter lying on the desk. - -"See there, Mac; my fingers are just itching to get hold of that -writing; but I fear it's gone. Mac, you haven't the first idea of -its importance." - -The young man slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid not, sir," said he -simply. - -"Well, it's just this: if we had it, we would know who is--" The -speaker dropped suddenly into a reverie, leaving the thought -incomplete. He picked up the blotter and stared fixedly at it for a -moment; laid it back again on the table, still watching it, and -concluded in a preoccupied manner, "What a game! what a game! How -near--and how far--to both these deaths!" - -McCaleb caught his breath. - -"You don't say!" he exclaimed in a whisper. "De Sanchez--" - -The Captain merely nodded once. - -The blotter all at once became an object of magnetic interest for the -young man, and he bent over it and began studying its cryptic -markings with puckered brow. - -"See what you can make of it," suggested Converse. - -After a while McCaleb stood upright again, took a long breath, and -shook his head. - -"I can make nothing of it," said he; "the lines are too crisscrossed -and mixed, the fragments of words too short and indistinct. -Maybe--if I had a lens--something more to go on--" - -"But is there nothing that particularly attracts your attention?" - -Once more McCaleb frowned heavily and concentrated his mind upon the -blotter. - -"I suppose this is the one General Westbrook was using?" he asked. - -"Yes." - -In silence he studied it some moments longer.... "No," said he, with -an air of finality; "I can make out nothing but a lot of curlicues -that look like figure three's with tails to 'em. I can't imagine -what they mean." - -Converse chuckled in his throat. "My question was hardly fair," said -he. "You hadn't the advantages in the first case I had. I'll tell -you this much, though: they're letter 'z's.'" - -"Oh, I begin to see. I suppose you would like me to confirm your -opinion, by coming independently to the same conclusions. Well, I'll -try again." - -Once more the Captain nodded, and moved over to the open window. - -Without touching it, he began carefully to look over the -straight-backed chair, at the polished hard-wood floor about it, and -at the narrow section of panelled wall behind--one of the room's wall -spaces uncovered by books. Presently a barely audible exclamation -escaped him--a mere breath of satisfaction, which, nevertheless, -instantly brought McCaleb to his side. - -"What is it?" the young man asked, breathlessly. - -The Captain pointed to a small round hole in the oak panel, somewhat -lower than his own shoulder as he stood, from which protruded what -appeared to be half an inch of black yarn. - -"You'll have to keep yourself better in hand, Mac," was his only -verbal recognition of the young man's curiosity, while he extracted -the particle of fabric from the tiny aperture. - -"Ah, I see," McCaleb continued; "General Westbrook nearly winged him, -didn't he? The man must have been standing right up against the wall -to have the bullet carry away a piece of his coat like that." - -Again Converse looked at the young man appreciatively. - -"We'll make a detective of you yet," said he. "But the man wasn't -standing so close to the wall, though. And why 'a man'? It is -simply one of those rare chances where the thread of cloth clung to -the bullet a bit longer than usual. If you'll notice the floor -closely, you'll see--from this chair, where he sat for some time, to -the desk; from the desk to the window there, and away. What that -person took with"--the briefest of pauses before the pronoun--"him -I'd give a good deal to have.... Those are about the actions of the -General's caller. Do you notice anything peculiar about the -footmarks on the floor?" - -The Captain's manner was quiet and deliberate; and McCaleb, the -pupil, followed the vague markings with the intentness and -thoroughness of a born specialist. Slight as they were, the imprints -would have been lacking entirely had it not been for the dampness of -the night; but they held a meaning. - -"The man came on to the desk," McCaleb began, but paused. "I suppose -it was a man?" he asked. - -The answer was a steady look. - -In a moment the young man went on: "Well, the party came up to the -desk after stabbing the General. I imagine that's where your missing -paper went--what he was after. And right here--just as he got out of -his chair--he seems to have slipped. Probably in a hurry; or else -the bullet clipped him about that time--eh?--or her." - -Converse shook his head dubiously. "I can't say," he returned, -meditatively. "There's something about those footmarks that is -mighty peculiar, Mac; I can't just make it out." He mused a moment -longer, but presently bestirred himself again. "Two shots were fired -from that gun, you know," he concluded; "have you located the other -bullet?" - -McCaleb looked blank for an instant, as if he had been guilty of some -vital oversight. However, he turned at once to a search for the -missing bullet. - -The glass doors before the books simplified the matter somewhat: the -radiating lines from a bullet-hole in one of the panes would be so -conspicuous that the most cursory glance would scarcely overlook -them. Elsewhere there was no indication of the second missile; and -with a little laugh McCaleb abruptly stopped and indicated by the -wave of a hand the open window. - -"If you have eliminated every other possibility, all right," said -Converse. "Now, Mac, you may telephone for Merkel." At which last -statement McCaleb smiled: the Coroner would not be in the way now. - -The young man departed on his errand, and Converse went over and -knelt before the fireplace. - -To Policeman Clancy, the quiet, self-contained, confident man -scanning the bricks and the crevices between them with an eagle-like -scrutiny was the embodiment of awful and mysterious possibilities. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -FOOTPRINTS - -Although it is now the morning of November seventeenth, the mild and -spring-like Southern autumn has not yet presented any wintry aspects, -and the wide, old-fashioned fireplace in the Westbrook library gives -no indication that it has been recently used. - -If any papers had been removed from the General's desk, they had not -been destroyed here--unless, indeed, the fireplace had been cleaned -since midnight, which was scarcely likely. Still, the Captain -continued to scrutinize the bricks; and when McCaleb returned, he was -carefully picking between them with the point of his pencil. - -"Find anything?" asked the young man, as Converse stood upright. - -"No; and yet, some paper has been burnt here recently. But it could -not have been the missing one.... Have you a pocket-lamp?" - -From the recesses of his blue coat McCaleb produced a short black -tube with a bull's-eye in one end--an electric dark-lantern, operated -by the simple means of pressing and releasing a button in its side. -This the Captain took and moved toward the open window. He got down -on his hands and knees, looked intently at the sill, and, still in a -crouching attitude, passed out to the veranda--or, in local parlance, -"gallery"--McCaleb following close behind. His course led him -directly to the east end, where he cautioned his companion to move -carefully. - -"I want to examine these marks again by daylight," he explained; "but -they are pretty distinct even now. There is just enough moisture -to-night to soften the turf and cause smaller bits of gravel from the -driveway to cling to one's feet." - -While talking, he flashed the light upon various points between the -gallery's edge and the open window. - -"See, Mac; just like the traces inside. Lucky--there might have been -none." - -Together they moved silently, swiftly; their eyes kindling with a -keen alertness that missed not the least particular. The nature of -the occasional brief comments indulged in by one or the other -indicated clearly that each took it for granted that their thoughts -were running in the same channel. - -McCaleb's thin, aquiline features were tense, his black eyes fairly -luminous with eager concentration. - -"Strange way to make a call," he muttered, peering over the end of -the gallery. "Seems to have come openly, too." - -The response was an indefinite sound, incapable of interpretation by -any written character. - -All at once Converse diverted the beam of light to the ground, -immediately voicing a feeling of satisfaction, of doubt removed. - -"It was a man!" he exclaimed. "Look!" - -There in the turf at the end of the gallery was a clearly defined -imprint of a masculine shoe heel. - -"Careful there, Mac," the Captain went on, as the other started to -let himself down to the ground; "go as far to the right as you can." - -They moved rapidly over the lawn, one on each side of a very plain -trail. - -"And look here!" McCaleb presently cried. Both came to a stop. The -distinct imprints of two heels lay nearly side by side, the only -apparent difference between them being that one pointed toward the -house and the other away from it. - -"The fellow departed just as he came," was the older man's comment; -"straight from the end of the gallery to the drive. Not much to be -seen there, though--too hard. But let us try it." - -With Converse going in advance and flashing the light from side to -side, they started down the driveway. They had advanced but a short -distance when the leader came to an abrupt pause. - -"Hello!" he ejaculated, softly; "our caller left by a different route -after all. Now, why did he turn off here?" - -The driveway lay between two parallel rows of cedars, set so closely -that they almost formed a hedge. Simultaneously with the -exclamation, Converse stepped to one side, directing the light to a -spot beneath the low-hanging branches. Here the shadow was so dense, -even in daytime, that the soil was quite free from grass or any -growth, excepting a few wan, straw-like weeds; it was, besides, quite -moist. - -"Tiptoeing, too, you see," went on the Captain. "He took alarm at -something.... One solitary, isolated heelmark; I wonder if he's left -an entire footprint anywhere?" - -"You can see where he pressed through the branches," observed McCaleb. - -"Yes. If he followed a straight course, he struck the walk at about -the front gate. Come a little farther down the drive." - -Nearly every step of this sally into the night presented something -novel to the two eager searchers. They had proceeded but a few -yards, when of a sudden the leader once more came to a halt, at the -same time extending a restraining hand. - -"Wait a bit, Mac," he admonished. He dropped to one knee and cast -the eye of light about over the space in front of him. "There's been -some one else here," he presently announced in his whisper; -"somebody's been standing here and moving about--quite a while to -kick up the hard gravel like this. Explains why the other turned off -back there.... A-h-h--" - -A quizzical lifting of the eyebrow--a puckering of the lips--absorbed -the thought. - -A little hollow, worn by the passage of many wheels over the hard -road-bed, was filled with the product of attrition--a soft sand, fine -and plastic; and to this the Captain pointed. McCaleb could see the -outline of a small French heel, and beside it a second, which had -been partially obliterated by another foot--the latter unmistakably -masculine. - -"A woman!" the young man breathed; his astonishment was complete. -"Well, well! a woman, after all." He looked at the Captain with open -curiosity; but Mr. Converse was grimly silent. - -If he had been alive before to overlook no possible detail, the -concentration with which he now began an inspection of the driveway -seemed to include within his scrutiny each separate grain of sand. - -"Don't move," he curtly enjoined; McCaleb instantly froze. - -Slowly, inch by inch, he went over a space covering the radius of -about a rod from where they had paused. Again and again he returned -to the footprints in the little depression, and once he passed -swiftly back to the point where the first trail diverged from the -driveway so abruptly. He examined the solitary heelmark here with an -added interest, in the end producing from his pocket a finely -graduated ivory rule, which he applied to the print in a variety of -ways. - -Returning again to the depression, he made a careful comparison by -means of the measure. At last he turned to McCaleb. - -"I was afraid you would disturb something," he explained. "Our trail -is becoming a little involved; it was too plain to last. This -promises to be a wonderful case, Mac,--a wonderful case. I wish I -were twenty years younger." - -"What do you make of it, sir?" - -Mr. Converse considered before replying, and when he did his whisper -was no more than audible. - -"Mac, keep this to yourself, and do not ask me to go any farther into -it just now." He threw the light upon the young man's sharp-featured -countenance, and subjected it to a momentary but searching scrutiny. -"A woman was here," he went on, "and some man; but I'm afraid her -identity will cause a devil of a mess." - -It was obvious that he was much impressed by what he had read in the -driveway, and he presently concluded, in a vastly altered manner: - -"You see, Mac, how carefully one must act in a case of this kind; -there is never any telling what might turn up, nor what a lot of -needless worry--not to say danger--an innocent person may be made to -suffer. The fact that a woman figures so prominently in the De -Sanchez case, and yet is kept in the shadowy background, coupled with -the fact that we have stumbled upon these impressions here, looks -pretty bad for that woman if she happens to be the same in both -instances. It may be only a coincidence, but a man and woman were -here--here when General Westbrook was done to his death, and here -when the assassin departed. Why? Now let us drop this as though it -had never come to our knowledge--until we know more.... I believe -you said Mrs. Westbrook wore some sort of evening gown when you and -Clancy got here." - -"Yes, she did; Miss Westbrook, too." - -"Did you notice what colors?" - -"Mrs. Westbrook's costume was of some light color, but Miss -Westbrook's was--" - -With a startled exclamation the young man stopped and stared -strangely at Converse. For some incomprehensible reason his mind was -flooded with the vision of a bit of fabric protruding from a -bullet-hole in a carved oak panel. - -"Well?" curtly. - -"Black," McCaleb said, in a whisper, "dead black." - -For a moment the Captain returned the other's regard in silence; then -he said in his customary quiet way: - -"Very good, Mac. Now, let us get through with the driveway." - -They proceeded to the handsome wrought-iron gates, but without -observing anything more of moment; and passing through them to the -sidewalk, they continued to the front gate. Just inside the latter -the Captain paused and indicated with the lamp the bordering bed of -flowers. - -"Just as I expected," he observed; "here's where the midnight caller -made his exit. Still tiptoeing, too--see? The bed was a little too -wide for him to jump across, and his toe sank deep into the soft -earth--an active, athletic man to make a jump like that. He cut -right across the lawn from the driveway." - -The attention of the two was now diverted by the sound of a rapidly -driven horse being brought to an abrupt standstill, and both paused -to listen. Presently the front gate clanged, and an approaching dim -figure finally resolved itself into the ponderous form of the Coroner. - -"Bless my soul! Captain Converse!" he cried, as soon as he -recognized the Captain. "Here we are together again. This is -dreadful--dreadful, isn't it?" After he had given expression to his -feelings at some length in a similar strain, the Captain saw an -opportunity to interrupt. - -"Mr. Merkel, you must let me run this thing for a while." - -The other looked blank. - -"Oh, all I desire is a day or two unhampered--" Converse paused, -tentatively. - -"Well--er--ah--as to that," returned the Coroner, in his important, -official manner,--"as to that, John, I cannot commit myself to act -against my better judgment." - -"I should say not!" exclaimed Converse, apparently amazed at the -implication that he could harbor such a thought. - -"It is my desire, of course," the other went on, with a comical, -heavy air of patronage that made McCaleb confide a thin-lipped smile -to the darkness, "that we work together in perfect harmony; I wish to -aid to the extent of my powers; but there are responsibilities -attaching to my office; there are responsibilities--" - -"To be sure there are," Converse interrupted with prompt -acquiescence; "and with your permission, I will assume them entirely. -Now, what I want is, that you will not act at all for a while. Of -course you will not. Delay the inquest for a day or two, and I will -show you some things that will astonish you." - -"Very well," responded Mr. Merkel, after a moment of gravid -deliberation; "I agree to be guided by you for the present--within -certain limits, of course,--unless my better judgment--" - -"Good! very good!" was the satisfied interruption. "We'll handle -this conscientiousness of yours as if it were cut glass;" and passing -his hand beneath Mr. Merkel's arm with an air of irresistible -cordiality, the Captain added, "Now, let us go to the house. Come, -Mac." - -The elderly gentleman, Mr. Slayden Wilson, met the trio in the hall, -and to his tender mercies Converse intrusted the Coroner with a -request that the latter be conducted to the library. "Then return to -me here," he concluded, still addressing the guide. - -Mr. Converse watched the two disappear; then seated himself, and soon -was in a deep study. McCaleb was not without skill himself, but -their discoveries of the night told him no more than what they might -baldly signify to any observer, and he watched the Captain, filled -with a deep curiosity, but too accustomed to discipline to ask -questions. - -With a slight shake of the head, like a diver coming to the surface -of a pool, Mr. Converse presently came out of his meditations, and -immediately brought joy to the heart of McCaleb. - -"Mac," said he, "your detective career begins to-night. A word from -me to the Commission depends upon the way you accomplish what I want -you to do. See every darkey on the place, singly, and find -out--first, what time Miss Westbrook returned home last night, and if -she returned alone; second, was anybody at all seen skulking about -the premises during the night; third, were any shots heard, how many, -at what time, and what was thought of the occurrence. Let them talk; -impressions are sometimes of value. Now go." - -As the young man departed for the servants' quarters, Mr. Slayden -Wilson reappeared. - -"Now, then," Converse began at once, "I suppose at present the ladies -are not in a condition to be seen?" - -"Oh, no, sir; I could not disturb them now; Doctor Bane has succeeded -in getting them to sleep. They know nothing, however; I can assure -you of that. This terrible tragedy has been a prostrating shock to -both of them." - -"Well, that can wait. I want the servant who attended the door -to-night and Miss Westbrook's maid. If they're asleep, wake 'em up." - -"Sam and Melissa are quite ready; I took occasion to impress upon -them the necessity of remaining cool under the ordeal of a searching -examination, and if they are in possession of any facts you will -surely learn them. You will find Sam quite intelligent for a darkey; -but I am certain that both are ignorant of--' - -"We'll see," was the curt interruption; "hurry, please." - -And Mr. Wilson disappeared, noiselessly, up the broad stairway. - -In a short time he returned, closely followed by a stout, middle-aged -negress, whose face, much swollen with weeping, reflected the degree -of terror often described as speechless. She approached Mr. Converse -with obvious reluctance and trepidation; but upon observing her -condition his sternness relaxed, and he sought to reassure her that -he was somewhat less formidable than an ogre. - -"Sam is in the servants' quarters," Mr. Slayden Wilson explained. -"He does not fully realize what the taking away of a kind master and -friend means. Ordinarily he is inclined to be jocular, and the shock -has not yet had time to exert its sobering influence, so pray -overlook any facetiousness or apparent levity." - -"Very good--if you will only fetch him." - -It was not difficult to calm Melissa when it became evident to her -understanding that this burly, unassuming man desired nothing more -momentous of her than the shoes worn the preceding night by her -mistress. - -Miss Joyce's shoes--the idea! - -But astonishment and awakened curiosity made her pliable, and the -articles of apparel were not long in forthcoming. - -Converse placed one on the palm of his right hand; but whatever of -softness and femininity it might have imparted, such influences were -apparently lost upon the impassive figure who scrutinized it so -closely. His cold eyes took in the fact that the heel and sole were -stained with yellow sand, and that innumerable bits of fine gravel -yet clung to it. - -To any person beneath that roof--save himself and McCaleb, of -course,--the circumstance would have appeared ridiculously trifling, -yet it made him terribly, dangerously silent and absorbed. - -"Fo' de lan' sake, seh," said Melissa, unable longer to restrain her -wonder, "what you see in Miss Joyce's shoe to stare at hit dat erway?" - -What, indeed? But the Captain did not reply directly; he handed the -little shoe back to Melissa, saying: - -"I hear Sam coming; but I haven't heard yet where the ladies were -last night--at a ball, perhaps?" - -"Oh, no, seh; dey wuz at Miz Farquier's 'ception." - -"To be sure. And Miss Westbrook was feeling badly and came home -before her mother.... Wait there, Sam; I'll be ready for you in two -seconds.... That's how she happened to find her father, isn't it?" - -"Yes, seh," was the reply; and Melissa proceeded to tell all she knew -of the circumstance. - -Further than that the hour was late, she did not know when Miss -Westbrook returned from the Farquier reception. The young lady had -come up the stairs alone, roused her maid, and inquired for her -father, who had been feeling ill for a week or more, and upon being -informed that he was still in the library, she went at once -downstairs again. The rest was confusion in the darkey's mind. - -"So Miss Westbrook came upstairs before entering the library?" asked -the Captain. - -"Oh, yes, seh; she suttenly did." - -"How do you know that?" - -"I don' know; I des knows hit," was the rather enigmatic reply. -"What fo' she ax me 'bout her pa, if she done been in de lib'ry?" - -Obviously, it was useless to answer this reasoning. - -Sam, the butler, had somewhat more to tell. It was his duty to make -everything fast after the family were all in of a night, and he had -been dozing in his waiting-room off the rear hall. About midnight he -had been startled into wakefulness by a sound which he took to be a -shot; but failing to locate its source, and hearing nothing more, he -settled himself for another nap, when Miss Westbrook arrived and he -was obliged to admit her. She was a trifle flushed and out of -breath, as if she had been running. - -"I ax her ef she seen somebody in de yahd," added Sam. "When I ax -dat, she look at me mighty queer; den she laugh an' say: 'Why, de -idea, Sam! You must have been dreaming.'" She then laughed again -softly, and ran lightly up the stairs. - -About when there had last been a fire in the library, Sam spoke at -some length. - -"Lemme see, seh," he beat his memory. "On Sunday Marse Peyton went -to Bellefontaine, de plantation, an' de nex' night Marse Howa'd -Lynden an' Clay Fai'chile was heah to see Miss Joyce. I minds dat, -seh, kase dey both sot an' sot dere eyin' one an'er lak dey wanter -see which can stay de longes', wiv Miss Joyce pokin' fun at 'em all -de time. Bimeby Marse Peyton come in, an' de young gen'lmen dey goes -home. Miss Joyce see dat Marse Peyton is cold an' wo'n out. She -tole me to make a fiah in de lib'ry, while she mix him a toddy. Dat -was a Monday night--de second Monday befoah Marse de Sanchez got -kilt." - -"That would be in October." - -"Yes, seh. I minds it was de fust night Miss Joyce been right peart -sence Marse de Sanchez been comin' to de house, an' Marse Peyton was -mighty glad to see her dat way." - -There had been no fire since until the morning before the General's -death, when Sam discovered that some papers had evidently been -destroyed in the library fireplace, the ashes of which had blown out -over the floor. He had procured a broom and dustpan and removed them. - -"What do you do with the ashes, Sam?" asked Converse. - -"Dere's a ash-hopper in de stable-yahd; de niggers leaches 'em for -lye, seh." - -"Have they made any lye recently?" - -They had not, and the subject of ashes was temporarily dropped. - -Responding to further questions, Sam could not say whether the -General had received any disquieting message by mail or otherwise; -but he had been "po'ly" for about a week, and against his rather -vigorous objections Doctor Bane had been called by Miss Joyce. - -"Well, Sam, I guess that is all for the present," Mr. Converse was -concluding, when a startling period was put to his words. Hasty -footsteps on the gallery, a ringing of the bell, accompanied by a -wild beating upon the door, announced somebody's frantic haste and -impatience to enter. "Quick Sam! Open the door," he commanded, -shortly. - -At once Doctor Westbrook strode across the threshold, breathless and -quivering with agitation. His eyes lighted instantly upon Converse, -and with a quick intake of breath he stopped short. - -"It's true, then!" burst incontinently from him. "My God, it's true! -Is my father dead? Where is he?" - -But before there was time for any reply, an inarticulate, -half-repressed cry sounded from the stairway, and the next instant -Captain Converse beheld a figure in a loose, flowing, white -dishabille rush swiftly, lightly down the steps, and precipitate -itself into the open arms of the physician. - -"Mobley!" - -The word was wrung from the figure in a sobbing, despairing cry. - -But why should Mr. Converse's aspect abruptly become so grim and -portentous? Did the odor of stephanotis blind him utterly to the -brother's and sister's grief? - -At any rate, he certainly sniffed once more, and, with a dubious -shake of the head, walked away and left them alone together. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A BURNT FRAGMENT - -When Mr. Converse so abruptly left the brother and sister in the -hall, he proceeded directly to the library, whence the body had -already been removed. Merkel had left the room, so he found himself -quite alone with his own thoughts, which, for a time, turned sombrely -upon what was to him entirely an unknown quantity:--Joyce. After a -while he seated himself in the swivel-chair, and fell to -contemplating the cryptic blotter. - -Under his methodical examination the tangled lines finally resolved -themselves into portions of written words,--all backwards, of -course,--and of more or less length according to the extent the ink -of the original writing had dried before the application of the -blotter. - -In the first place, if the blotter had been a new one or nearly so -when it was last used, then the writing upon which General Westbrook -had been engaged the preceding night was lengthy. Again, the longest -line was one which had been heavily underscored; it contained three -words fairly easy to decipher, and a portion of a fourth. When -reversed they read: "......ndum of Castillo Estate." As Converse -perused it he felt a strange thrill, a feeling of exultation, run -through his big frame, as if something tangible to work upon were at -last before his eyes; he read in it a hope that he would not have to -do with a Herodias or a Semiramis. - -"Memorandum of Castillo Estate"--evidently, from the heaviness with -which it had been written and underlined, was the caption of the lost -document. - -There was one letter which, in connection with others and fragments -of other letters, was repeated no less than twelve times--the letter -"z," McCaleb's curlicue. What could the absorbed reader conclude -otherwise than that he had an even dozen terminations of the name De -Sanchez? Clearly, then, the missing document had primarily to do -with the estate of one Castillo,--a name with which Converse was not -entirely unfamiliar, as shall later on be seen,--and Alberto de -Sanchez had been intimately connected therewith. So much for the -blotter. - -His cogitations were interrupted by the simultaneous entrance of -McCaleb and Doctor Westbrook. The latter sank heavily into the -Morris chair and into a brooding reverie that ignored the others, -while the Captain drew McCaleb into the embrasure of the bay-window -behind the desk. - -"Well?" he queried. - -"Well, sir, to begin with, I've learned some queer things from the -darkies, especially Stonewall Jackson, the coachman. Trust the -servants, sir, to know what their masters are about. I'll make what -I got from Stonewall as brief as possible." - -It appeared that Miss Westbrook, on a plea of headache, had slipped -away, unnoticed by the company, from the Farquier residence, at about -ten o'clock, the coachman driving her directly home. She had -dismissed him at the gate, with instructions to go at once and wait -for her mother. Mrs. Westbrook did not depart from the reception -till near midnight, at which time she appeared in much haste, -commanding Stonewall to hurry. McCaleb continued: - -"Mrs. Westbrook seemed to be anxious and impatient to get home. -Stonewall noticed that all the way she continued to lean forward and -peer into the shadows beneath the trees which line the sidewalk on -either side of the street. I fancy her servants do not venture to -take any liberties with Mrs. Westbrook, but Stonewall could not -refrain from asking if she was looking for some one; she paid no -attention to him, and he commenced watching the sidewalk on his own -account. Isn't it pretty plain she had some reason to be suspicious -of the young lady's manoeuvres last night?" - -The response was merely a nod. - -"Now then, when the carriage was about midway between Tenth and -Eleventh streets, and nearing this corner, Stonewall suddenly caught -sight of a man in the act of turning from Vine Street to Tenth. He -was coming from the direction of the house, and he disappeared in the -shadows beneath the shade trees so quickly that he couldn't have told -who it was even if he had known him. Before the carriage got to the -corner another man showed up, who seemed to be following the first; -for he stepped right into the glare of the electric light at the -corner, and stood looking down Tenth Street after the other fellow. -The carriage was rapidly nearing the corner, and all at once Mrs. -Westbrook spotted Number Two. As soon as she saw him, Stonewall -says, she laughed in a quiet way, and leaned back in the seat as -though she had either found what she was looking for, or was -satisfied that any suspicions she might have had were unfounded." - -"What do you mean by that?" - -"Of course Stonewall didn't put it in just the way I have. I had -some difficulty in getting his meaning, and I am using my own choice -of words in repeating what he said. The point is, that just as soon -as Mrs. Westbrook saw this man she was relieved of some anxiety or -fear." - -"Ah! And who was this mysterious stranger?--for I see you know him." - -"Yes, sir. I'll get to that immediately." - -"Go on." - -"Well, suddenly Number Two became aware of the approaching carriage, -and it's plain he didn't want to be seen after all; he was so bent on -watching Number One, when he stepped so briskly into the light, that -he was heedless of his own actions. He wheeled around, gave one -glance toward the carriage, and disappeared down Tenth Street as -quickly as the other man had. But during that brief look Stonewall -had an opportunity to recognize him." - -"And it was--" - -"Lynden." - -If Mr. Converse was surprised he showed it not at all; he said -nothing, and McCaleb, after eyeing him a moment, continued: - -"The darkies all had a lot to say; but there was only one thing more -that struck me as being important, and I got it out of a little -yellow wench--a sort of housemaid. She says General Westbrook was -hoodooed last Monday night--the night of the De Sanchez inquest, -Captain,--and her yarn has made quite an impression on the other -darkies." - -The speaker suddenly felt that his hearer's interest had quickened, -and he paused an instant to marshal his thoughts. But Converse -interposed with a quickness that indicated impatience to hear all -there was to be related. - -"You didn't let it go at that, I suppose?" he asked. - -"Oh, no. Sally's story amounts to this. General Westbrook has not -been sick at all; he was hoodooed by a black man that wasn't a -nigger." - -"'A black man not a nigger'?" Converse repeated, vaguely. "What the -deuce!" He clapped McCaleb upon the shoulder with such suddenness -that it startled him. "Mac, you're a jewel!" he ejaculated, with a -very noticeable moderation of his sibilant voice. "Go on." - -"I'm glad the matter is intelligible to you, Captain; I confess--" - -"Never mind now; get ahead with your yarn.... Monday night--the -night of the inquest--after he had gotten home--on Tuesday they -called in Doctor Bane--Sam missed that messenger. I see. Good! -Good! What next?" - -"Well, this black man brought the General a letter. Sally was -sweeping the front gallery and she saw all that happened. When the -man called, General Westbrook went out on the gallery through one of -the big windows; he seemed much surprised when the man handed him the -envelope, and asked, 'Who is this from?' But the man shook his head -and smiled, and went away immediately without a word. The General, -after watching him out of sight, went back into the library, holding -the letter away from him by one corner, as if he were half afraid of -it. Sally says she knew the messenger was a 'conjure man' the moment -she laid eyes on him, and her suspicions seem to have been confirmed -almost at once. It wasn't more than a minute after General Westbrook -returned to the library that Sally heard him call out as if he were -in pain. She peeped in, and what she saw seems to have scared her -pretty bad. The General was sitting at his desk with the 'conjure -paper' in his hand; his face was the color of ashes, his jaw open, -his eyes staring; and he didn't pay the least bit of attention to -Sally. She watched him a moment, dropped her broom, and went flying -to notify Mrs. Westbrook. That's all, sir." - -"Day is breaking," said the Captain, after a moment, "and I want you -to get an hour or two of sleep before reporting to me for further -duty. I'll have my hands full to-day. Clancy can report off for -you, and I'll fix it with the Chief. Wear plain clothes." - -He left the window and advanced into the room. "Clancy," he -continued, "you may go. Have the Sergeant detail a man for special -duty here to-day, and notify him that I am using McCaleb." - - -There are times when a man's grief is, to a limited extent, its own -antidote. And it was so with Doctor Westbrook as he sat brooding; -for when Mr. Converse dismissed the two policemen he noted that the -physician was still sitting precisely in the attitude assumed by him -when he had first dropped into the Morris chair. He was patently -oblivious to what was going on about him; and observing this also, -Mr. Converse went in search of Merkel. - -He found the Coroner in the hall, conversing with the undertaker's -man, and drew him aside. - -"Mr. Merkel," began the Captain, bluntly, "the moment has arrived -when you must let me run things alone." - -That Merkel's dignity was ruffled and his official pride affronted -was quite plain; nevertheless, after a wordy exposition of the -irregularity of the proceeding, the "responsibilities of his office," -and the duties incumbent upon him, he departed. Secretly, he -cherished the idea of some time overwhelming John Converse with a -brilliant _tour de force_; but the opportunity had never been -perceptible to his obtuseness, and the Captain, of course, knew -nothing of the other's ambition. If he had, perhaps he would have -smiled. - -Mr. Converse returned to the library with a distinct feeling of -satisfaction. Apparently the Doctor had not stirred. After a brief -contemplation of the dejected figure, the detective advanced and laid -his hand upon one bowed shoulder. - -"Come, Doctor," said he; "I must have a little talk with you." - -The Doctor looked up dully, uncomprehending. - -"Rouse yourself," continued Converse, "for there is a more desperate -crisis in your affairs than the death of your father. Do you hear -me? Do you understand?" Then, as Doctor Westbrook continued to -stare at him wonderingly, he added, "You must pull yourself -together--for your sister's sake." - -The final appeal penetrated the stunned intelligence; on a sudden the -Doctor straightened up, the light of understanding once more in his -eyes. - -"My sister?" he repeated; "Joyce? What do you mean? What of her?" - -"Can you attend to what I say now?" returned Converse. He was now -masterful, compelling the other's attention. "Then listen to me -before I ask or you answer my questions." He paused for a moment, -his keen eyes fixed squarely upon the physician's. - -"Doctor Westbrook," he continued, presently, "you know whether, in -the death of Alberto de Sanchez, there is any circumstance which may -affect your sister nearly; you may not know that, in the death of -your father, the circumstances involve her quite as clos--" - -"Stop!" - -The Doctor sprang from his chair; the emotions beneath which he had -so lately been crushed were suddenly submerged and swept away in a -wave of anger. - -"You will leave my sister out of this wretched affair, sir," he -commanded, white with indignation. - -Converse, however, was far from faltering before this stern, not to -say menacing, attitude; his own huge frame was the embodiment of -resolution, the cold light of his eye the reflection of an -inflexible, constraining personality, intent with a fixed -determination; and the look with which he met Dr. Westbrook's -infuriated glance did more to calm the latter than any speech could -have done. The Doctor all at once sat down again, signifying by a -slight gesture that the other might proceed. - -"Doctor," the Captain went on immediately, "you will do well if you -try to curb your impatience, for at the very best what I have to say -to you will not be pleasant. Perhaps you will see it in the light of -necessity when I tell you I have taken pains to secure this -conference against interruption." And he concluded, grimly, "It is -necessary--or something worse." - -"Well, what is it?" was the response, uttered with a touch of -testiness. "I hope the result will justify your assurance. I'm in -no humor to trifle." - -"And you will find it no trifling matter." The speaker paused; -concluding with a deliberateness of manner that made the words vastly -portentous: "Doctor Westbrook, if the Coroner and the District -Attorney had in their possession the facts--not theories, mind, but -facts which can now be proved,--if they had laid before them all that -I know, they would order your sister placed under immediate arrest." - -If the Captain's intention was to impress the gravity of the -situation upon the physician, he must have been eminently satisfied. -Doctor Westbrook collapsed as if he had received a powerful physical -blow; his face was haggard already, and now his eyes became fixed -upon his interlocutor, intent, fascinated. - -"So, you see, Doctor," Converse went on, "I am going outside my duty -in giving you this opportunity to clear up some particulars, which it -has been in your power to do since--well, I will fix the time by the -death of De Sanchez." - -After a silence which seemed to grow interminable, Doctor Westbrook -cleared his throat, and hoarsely asked: "What do you wish? Dispense -with preliminaries; what do you want of me?" - -"Very good. I want you to summon Miss Westbrook here, and in your -presence I shall put to her a number of questions. Of course she may -answer them or not as she sees fit; but you must understand now and -clearly, Doctor, that whatever the next immediate action taken by me -may be, it will depend largely upon the outcome of this interview. -If I am inconsiderate in any particular, pray say so, and I shall try -to accommodate myself to your own and your sister's feelings in the -matter. Now go; consult Miss Westbrook's wishes, but please be -expeditious. Meet me here"--with a glance at his watch--"say, in -thirty minutes." And without another word or a look back he quitted -the room. - -In the hall he encountered Sam, who, since the tragedy, seemed to -have no more weighty occupation than to wander aimlessly about in a -feeble effort to adjust himself to a novel and incomprehensible -condition. His face lighted at sight of the Captain. - -"Sam," said Mr. Converse, "I should like to have a look at that -ash-hopper now." - -"Sho', seh!" exclaimed the darkey in the lowest note of his mellow -voice; "you isn't really in ea'nest about dem ashes, is you?" - -Mr. Converse was much in earnest. - -"Well, seh," and Sam scratched his bald spot in perplexity, "you all -p'leece officehs is sho' a mighty queer lot." Then, with a sudden -assumption of his stateliest manner, "Howsomeveh, seh, if you'll -please to follow me, I'll be 'bleeged to show you de ash-hopper." - -The ashes were of the soft, fluffy white kind that remain after a -complete combustion of wood; in this case kept clear of other refuse, -and sheltered from the weather, in anticipation of future lye. - -"Have the ashes from the kitchen been dumped here since you cleaned -the library grate last?" Converse inquired. - -"Yes, seh; twicet." - -"Very good, Sam. You may go back to the house." - -Once alone, Converse picked up a stick and began carefully to rake -off the top layer of ashes, penetrating into the heap not more than a -quarter of an inch at a time. He repeated this operation no more -than four or five times, when he stopped, and with his fingers -extracted a conspicuous bit of black--unmistakably the ash of -incinerated paper. It was too small to possess any advantage in -itself; but it was the counterpart of many minute particles such as -he had picked with the point of his pencil from between the bricks of -the library fireplace. - -After a brief examination he cast the flake of ash aside, and -proceeded more carefully to rake over the pile. - -"If there is only a larger piece, only one that will show the -writing," the delver muttered to himself, "if there is only one that -has not been entirely burnt, my search will not have been in vain. -But these flakes are all too small and fragile.... No such luck.... -Ah-h-h!" - -The final ejaculation was merely a breath, but pregnant with -satisfaction. The point of the stick had revealed a small piece of -paper, one edge charred, but containing a number of written -words--one a name which sent a thrill through the searcher. - -The fragment had once been the lower left-hand corner of a sheet of -the commonest kind of note-paper, and inside the charred edge could -be read the commencement of two lines--evidently the last two--and a -portion of the signature, all written in _Spanish, and by a feminine -hand_: - - Eso es - ¿ Acabo V? No - Paquita y - - -At this moment Mr. Converse--for the first time in his life, -perhaps,--had reason to bless certain years spent with Abram Follett -in Latin America; for to his understanding, and without any great -knowledge of the Spanish language, the words signified: - - It is ... (or, is not?) - Are you ready? No ... - Paquita and ... - - -Was this a portion of the "conjure paper"? Was this the message that -had hoodooed the unfortunate General--containing, beyond the scope of -the physician's skill, a potent cause for mental distress? Was it -the herald of his wretched end? - -And Paquita--again the pretty feminine prænomen! Disclosing no -identity, it flaunted itself at every stage of the investigation with -a vagueness of allusion tantalizing and vexing to an extreme; ever -presenting to the mind's eye no more than a faint, nebulous image of -maiden loveliness, at once precocious and ingenuous. "Paquita and--" -whom? What other name had completed the signature to the destroyed -missive? - -Mr. Converse produced the familiar and well-worn pocket-book; and -therein, with extraordinary care, he deposited the precious fragment -of paper. - -Further search disclosed nothing more of value, and in a few minutes -he went back to the house to confront Doctor Westbrook and Joyce. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A DOOR IS OPENED - -As Mr. Converse entered the library he stopped short almost on the -threshold, conscious of a sudden shock. Could that nonchalant, -self-possessed girl be the innocent-- - -Before the thought was complete his feelings took a pendulum sweep -backward: from extreme surprise and acute disappointment that his -sympathies had been wasted, to admiration and pity, and a satisfying -conviction that, after all, his sympathies were greatly needed. He -bent upon her a keener, more discerning look, and all at once -comprehended that a wealth of profound and conflicting emotions were -possible behind the marble exterior presented to him. - -Joyce cast at him a look of such dumb terror that for once he was at -a complete loss how to proceed. He realized the many and varied -potentialities for evil with which her imagination must have invested -him--what a terrible monster he must appear to her--and felt keenly -the disadvantage of his vocal infirmity, anticipating that it would -further prejudice him in her estimation. Yet he must speak, and she -must be made to hear him. - -With the revulsion of feeling he advanced into the room. And as he -did so he perceived a tremor pass over the slight frame; she groped -an instant, blindly, with her left hand until it found and -interlocked with her brother's. - -The Doctor was seated in the Morris chair, while his sister stood -close by his right side. Now that she required its support, his -stronger masculine nature had asserted itself, and, save for the -haggard visage, Doctor Westbrook was quite his natural self again. -Whatever had passed between them during the last half-hour, they had -undoubtedly arrived at an agreement to brave out the present -interview together. - -She was robed in a simple morning-gown of a dead and dull black. The -hint of fragrance, which seemed an aura of her presence, had -apparently lost its interest for Mr. Converse. - -"Miss Westbrook," he began, and beheld his fears justified by another -shudder at the first sound of his sibilant voice. But he went on as -evenly and as gently as his vocal defect would permit. "Miss -Westbrook, I have asked for this interview out of a consideration for -you and your family, which the Doctor understands, I believe, and -which you will understand also, no doubt before we are through. As a -detective I am often called upon to do things that are distasteful to -myself, and this is not the least disagreeable task I have ever found -before me. But I can't shirk a plain duty, Miss Westbrook; so if I -attempt to perform that plain duty in a manner that will be the least -distressing to yourself, may I count upon your coöperation and -approval?" - -Without altering her attitude, or the slightest change in her pale -countenance, she slowly and silently inclined her head the merest -trifle in acquiescence. - -"Very good, Miss Westbrook; thank you. You make it lighter for all -of us. Now, may I suggest that you be seated? At best we shall be -engaged for some time." - -Her left hand was still clasped in her brother's; but further than to -indicate with her free hand a chair in which Mr. Converse was at -liberty to seat himself if he chose, she made no response. He took -advantage of the opportunity to the extent of resting one knee on the -chair-seat and his elbows on the back--the straight-backed chair -which had stood by the veranda window. - -"Now then, Miss Westbrook, let us go back to the evening of November -fourth," Converse proceeded. He found no encouragement in her frozen -attitude; but his own manner could have been no more cheerful, yet -tempered by a sense of his surroundings and the occasion, nor have -betrayed more of an easy confidence, had he known that the locked -lips were to open, and by a word exorcise the spell of mystery which -held them all. "During the evening of November -fourth--Wednesday--were you not in the Nettleton Building?" - -So promptly that it would have staggered a man less used to -surprises, came the reply: - -"I refuse to answer." - -Even the Captain was taken aback, although it was not in his immobile -features to yield a hint of the fact. As he put the question, he -noted a convulsive tightening of the hand that still clasped the -Doctor's; but the soft eyes did not waver nor the beautiful face -alter its expression. The words were faintly spoken; nevertheless -they were vibrant with a determined and set purpose, and Converse was -overwhelmed with that sense of helpless impatience which is apt to -assail one in the face of mistaken obstinacy. - -"This is very unfortunate," he observed with deepened gravity. "Miss -Westbrook, I would not presume to advise you, but you are wrong, -wrong--and how can I convince you?" He regarded the still figure, as -unresponsive as a waxen image. No assistance there. He glanced at -Doctor Westbrook, only to meet another pair of eyes showing an -unalterable purpose. - -"This conversation might as well end here and now," he at length -concluded, addressing the Doctor; and added with pointed -deliberation, "You know what that means." - -Doctor Westbrook glanced at the silent, motionless figure beside him, -and moved uneasily. Was is possible that the uncompromising attitude -of this mere girl, and it alone, was responsible for the deadlock? -To a certain extent she was herself a mystery, an enigma, and what -with her immobility and silence, her dimness of outline in the -darkened library, she was as intangible and inscrutable as Paquita. -Out of the shadow that marked where she stood the violet eyes glowed -like two stars, the beautiful features, surrounded by their halo of -ebon hair, now only a denser shadow, loomed as pallid as death, and -the Captain was irritatingly aware of his inability so far to grasp -at anything definite by which to frame his speech. At any rate, -whether or no she was the controlling spirit, it would seem the -Doctor endeavored to temporize. - -"Mr. Converse," he began presently, "you have called our attention to -the fact that you are simply performing a duty,--that you are doing -so with a delicate consideration for our feelings which perhaps we -don't deserve,--but I assure you, sir, we do appreciate your tact and -thoughtfulness, and it must appear that we are making a poor return -for such kindness. But consider this: there are possible issues to -this crisis that may prove disastrous to persons entirely -unblameworthy. Can you not imagine the possibility of a situation in -which we should be compelled to move with the utmost caution, wherein -we must rely solely upon our own judgment? Good God!" he suddenly -exploded, "think of Joyce--my sister--think of a fair young girl -being entangled in anything so damnable!" - -[Illustration: Joyce Was Herself a Mystery, an Enigma, as Inscrutable -as "Paquita."] - -Converse cast a covert glance at the girl, to note the effect of this -outburst; but her manner revealed not the slightest alteration. It -was plain that such determination would betray nothing by either a -word or sign. But why? Speculation upon this question led swiftly -and surely to the darkest possibilities--nay, probabilities--that -might elucidate her conduct. - -He made another effort. - -"If you would but dismiss the idea that I am an enemy--" - -"Ah," interrupted the Doctor, quickly; "I understand your impersonal -attitude exactly, Mr. Converse. You are not an enemy. If the way -were clear before you to do so, I think we could count on you as a -trustworthy friend to extricate us from our difficulties. On the -other hand--well, to be brief, it is this impersonal attitude which -may prove inimical to us. I--I--pardon me, I can't be more explicit." - -"I might construe such a statement to mean that, were I to perform my -duty in the light of actual facts, the operation would be--well, -disagreeable to you." - -The response was a lifting of the brows and a shrug of the shoulders, -which said quite plainly--perhaps more plainly than the Doctor -intended,--"I cannot prevent your placing any construction upon my -words you may see fit." - -"If you will permit the observation, Doctor," Converse remarked, -dryly, "your words are contradictory to come from a man entirely -innocent." - -A flash from the physician's eyes gave warning of an angry rejoinder; -but another unconscious movement of the hand which held his so -tightly brought his sister sharply to mind, it would seem, and the -words, when uttered, betrayed a note of helplessness. - -"My God!" he exclaimed, "don't I know it? But what do mere denials -amount to in the face of this suspicion?" - -"Yet there is something within your knowledge, and arising out of -these crimes, which you unequivocally refuse to tell me." - -"I have nothing to say, Mr. Converse." - -"Not even in the face of evidence seriously compromising Miss -Westbrook?" - -Of a sudden the alert Captain became aware of a change in the -statue-like girl. It was slight, indefinable--telepathic rather than -openly perceptible,--but he fancied the fixed look with which she -regarded him assumed an added intentness at this stage. He even felt -for one brief instant that she meant to speak; but if such had been -her purpose, a second thought prevailed, and she remained motionless -and silent. He turned abruptly to her. - -"Miss Westbrook," said he, "is it of any use for me to make another -appeal to you?" - -Although he waited for an answer, she made no sign that would -indicate she had heard. With an air of finality, he presently pushed -back the chair and stood upright. - -"Well," he went on, "after the course this talk has taken there -remains but one thing for me to do. I regret that you feel you would -be conferring a favor instead of accepting an opportunity--which -happens to be the situation; but I--" - -Doctor Westbrook raised a protesting hand. - -"Just a moment," he interposed with anxious haste. "You assert that -my sister's situation is critical." Again the Captain had the -feeling that Miss Westbrook's impassivity cloaked a strained -attention; but, as before, if the emotion existed, her frozen -attitude yielded no token of it. Was she anxious for an expression -of his views upon this point? "Suppose," the Doctor continued, "the -least admission on our part would lead to complications which would -hopelessly involve her, is it our place to speak? If the situation -is such that a full explanation cannot be given,--tell me, is not our -position onerous--unbearable? ... Now then, Mr. Converse, be candid," -he concluded, with an abrupt, confidential dropping of his voice, "is -it not the truth that you would not have asked her if she was present -that evening, if you could prove that she was? And tell me, what has -all this to do with last night's crime?" - -For a moment Converse felt a tide of anger rising within him; he all -at once realized that, as an officer of the law--as a mere machine -operating in a fixed routine--he had made a mistake; he had allowed a -generous impulse to interpose and thwart an end of great importance; -and now, when it was too late, he must make an effort to remedy his -error. Without the least warning, he fastened his compelling, -probing regard full upon Joyce. It was a look that had made hardened -criminals tremble, and at last the girl's impassiveness gave way. -With an involuntary clutching of the clasped hand she shrank closer -to her brother. For a moment she returned the look; then her glance -wavered--fell; the sooty lashes swept her cheeks, where two spots of -color began slowly to appear, and the statue was quickened into life. - -"And would you really care to know, Miss Westbrook, what I think of -it?" he asked, with a significant quietness that startled her into -speech. - -"Yes--I--I--" she faltered and stopped. She looked wildly from the -Doctor to the terrible figure confronting her; then with a mighty -effort she regained control of herself, and concluded in a voice -firmer, but very low, "It is of no interest to me." - -Mr. Converse acknowledged the reply with a bow of exaggerated -deference. - -"You overlook Mr. Clay Fairchild," he remarked, dryly. - -Another tightening of the clasped hands, and another tremor through -the girl's slight frame, were the sole responses to this final chance -shot, until Doctor Westbrook's voice broke in. - -"Pardon me, I have not," said he. "But I wasn't aware that he was -under consideration." - -"Perhaps not," was the crisp retort, "openly. He is an important -factor, however." His glance swerved to Joyce with a light that -asked quite plainly, "Is he not?" - -But only the Doctor replied. "Indeed?" with ingenuous surprise. -"But he seems quite effectually to have effaced himself." - -Converse shot another glance at Joyce. - -"Well, as for that," he said, slowly, "I have reason to believe that -I might have laid hands upon him, if I had been in this neighborhood -last night between--h-m-m-m--between ten and twelve o'clock." If he -expected this avowal of what he imagined the circumstances to be to -make any impression upon the girl he was disappointed; for she was -again the frozen image, not to be swayed by any influence under his -control. - -But not so the Doctor. He looked at the detective, with knitted -brow, for a moment; then, after a hasty side-glance at his sister, "I -see," he said; "I am merely a peg upon which to hang references to -things of which I am entirely ignorant. Come, Mr. Converse, you -expect frankness from us; be open yourself." - -The Captain shrugged his shoulders. "My attempt at frankness met -with rather a cool reception"--with some sarcasm--"but I will adopt -your suggestion, and have done.... Miss Westbrook, at what time last -night did you leave Mrs. Farquier's?" The abruptness of the address -startled her again momentarily; but somewhat to Mr. Converse's -surprise, she answered almost at once. - -Her recital agreed in all essentials with what Mr. Converse already -knew of her movements. She had heard the shots, but had been unable -to locate them; and it was but a minute or two thereafter that she -had come upon her father's stark body in the library. - -At this juncture a knock sounded upon the library door. - -"Allow me," the Captain interposed, quickly, addressing the Doctor; -"I think it is one of my men." - -He opened the door, disclosing McCaleb, who appeared much less ornate -in the more sober garments of the ordinary citizen. - -"Wait just outside the door until I call you, Mac," said Converse, in -an aside clearly audible to the Doctor and Joyce; "I think I shall -need you in a minute." He unceremoniously closed the door in the -young man's face. - -"Now then, Miss Westbrook," he resumed, turning again to her, "will -you tell me what you were doing on the premises--in the yard--between -ten and twelve o'clock at night?" - -"See here, Mr. Converse," the Doctor broke in, rather sharply; "I -don't know what this is all about, but I protest against the personal -nature of this question. My sister is neither on the witness-stand -nor accused--" - -With a single imperative gesture, the speaker was silenced. - -"Tell me, Miss Westbrook, were you alone?" - -The lovely, subdued eyes flashed forth a startled look; but Joyce -made no reply. - -"Miss Westbrook, I will go further in offering you this opportunity: -I will say that I know you were not alone. Come, now, who was with -you?" - -Still silence. The mention of Fairchild's name had produced no -effect; it might be well to try another. - -"Was it Mr. Lynden?" - -The girl responded precisely as she had to the first question, the -same words uttered in the same tone: - -"I refuse to answer." - -Another shrug of the shoulders signalized the end of Mr. Converse's -forbearance. He strode hastily to the door, but turned and paused -with his hand upon the handle. - -Was it a stifled cry that had reached his ears? The girl was now -standing with the back of her free hand pressed tightly to her lips, -and in her eyes was a look of despair that smote him to the heart. -Great heavens, what did she mean? Was man ever confronted by such -perverseness, or beset by a more irritating perplexity! Why did she -not speak? - -"I make one more appeal to you," he said, after regarding her a -moment. "Do not misconstrue this. If you do not speak, my -alternative is to arrest you. Do you comprehend that? When I open -this door, it will be to introduce an officer who will become your -custodian. Will you not believe that my motives in thus appealing to -you are prompted solely by a desire to spare you the distress that -will be inflicted if you do not open your lips? Consider before you -answer; will you give me your confidence? Shall the door remain -closed--or shall I open it?" - -For one brief moment Joyce had all the appearance of some hunted -thing hopelessly cornered. She looked wildly from the officer to her -brother, who sat with set and rigid features, and back to the officer -again. All at once, it seemed, her resolution was made; or, if she -had hesitated, strength was given her to maintain her purpose. Her -agitation vanished, and she returned Mr. Converse's look fearlessly -and half defiantly. - -"I have nothing to confide," was the response, uttered with firmness -and the quiet of a determination not to be swayed. - -With a bow, Converse threw open the door. - -"Come in, McCaleb," he said, his manner now brisk and business-like; -then, turning to the Doctor: "This man is an officer who, for the -present, will be responsible for Miss Westbrook's movements. Now -then, Doctor, hear my final word. I have made one mistake in -allowing consideration for your sister--young and inexperienced as -she is--to come between me and my duty. I am going to assume the -risk again by offering you another opportunity. I see that you feel -the matter keenly, but this issue of our conference is the fault of -you two. Still, it is terrible thus to thrust the stigma of such a -crime upon a mere girl--little short of the crime itself,--and in the -hope that I can soon clear up this fog of mystery, I am going to be -guilty of a dereliction. Give me your word that Miss Westbrook will -neither attempt to leave the house nor communicate with anybody -outside, without first reporting to McCaleb, and for the -present--until it becomes unavoidable to act otherwise--she may -remain here." - -With a sudden movement, Doctor Westbrook released Joyce's hand, and -pressed his own hand to his brow. - -"Good God!" he groaned, "this is intolerable. Joyce--dear -sister--tell--" - -But he got no further. The final word acted like the touch that -releases a taut spring, and she fairly precipitated herself upon him, -sending one look of such utter terror and desperation at Mr. Converse -that his perplexity deepened into blank amazement, and at the same -time she clapped a hand over her brother's mouth. - -"You swore you would not," she whispered, almost fiercely. "Mobley, -you swore. If they were to tear me limb from limb before your eyes I -would not consent to have you tell." - -The Doctor's head dropped, and with a gentle movement he took the -small hand from out his beard, kissed it tenderly, and sat -abstractedly caressing it. - -Joyce's lovely countenance grew beatific in its exultation. - -"Converse," despairingly, "I give you my word." - -"Unless you or the young lady cause it to be otherwise," said the -Captain, softly, "the matter may remain private among us -four--unless, of course," he supplemented, "the next day or two fails -to reveal something substantial to lay before the District Attorney. -I do not extend any false hopes. The seriousness of Miss Westbrook's -position can scarcely be magnified.... McCaleb, you have heard; act -accordingly until you receive other instructions." - -"May my sister retire?" asked Doctor Westbrook. - -"Certainly. Her movements are not to be restricted or spied upon, or -interfered with in any manner or degree--within the house, of course. -You understand this, Mac." - -The young man nodded. His manner was extremely sober; it was quite -patent that he was not insusceptible to the beauty of his charge. - -Joyce started slowly toward the door, close by which McCaleb yet -stood. She was probably half-way between the group of two--her -brother, old and haggard in the chair, the other as menacing and -inexorable as Fate,--and the younger man who looked at her with frank -pity, when she paused and turned to her brother. There was a faint -smile upon her lips; her eyes were soft, and it appeared as if she -were about to speak. But before any one of the three could offer her -the least assistance, she sank quietly to the floor, unconscious. - - - - -BOOK II. - -CHARLOTTE FAIRCHILD - - - - _She walks in beauty, like the night - Of cloudless climes and starry skies, - And all that's best of dark and bright - Meets in her aspect and her eyes, - Thus mellowed to that tender light - Which heaven to gaudy day denies. - One shade the more, one ray the less, - Had half impaired the nameless grace - Which waves in every raven tress - Or softly lightens o'er her face, - Where thoughts serenely sweet express - How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. - And on that cheek and o'er that brow - So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, - The smiles that win, the tints that glow, - But tell of days in goodness spent,-- - A mind at peace with all below, - A heart whose love is innocent._ - --BYRON. - - - _This is as strange a maze as e'er men trod; - . . . . . . some oracle - Must rectify our knowledge._ - --THE TEMPEST. - - - -CHAPTER I - -MISS CHARLOTTE WAITS IN THE HALL - -Somewhat more than a score of years before the opening of this story, -Richard Fairchild, after quietly contemplating the parcelling of his -once fair estate among a horde of clamoring, quarrelling creditors, -chief of whom was his erstwhile overseer, William Slade, the -elder,--strolled leisurely into the country, as quietly placed a -pistol to his head and blew out his brains. He did not leave behind -property of sufficient value to defray his modest burial expenses. - -This succession of disasters at one stroke transformed the wife from -a famous and envied beauty into a broken invalid, petulant, -querulous, and exacting, living only in the memory of her days of -happiness, and made of her daughter Charlotte a strangely quiet and -sedate woman, bound to her helpless mother's side as with hoops of -steel. Clay was then but a babe. - -The tiny cottage that received the invalid mother, the dark-eyed -daughter, and the infant son was part of a slender legacy bequeathed -Charlotte by a maiden aunt; and with the passing years the old -homestead became merely a melancholy ruin, half hidden by weeds and -underbrush, infested by owls and bats, and an occasion for wonder at -the probable motives which prompted the present Slade so to neglect -it. Nothing stirred now beneath the crumbling roof-tree but rats and -mice--and shadows. - -If those persons who marvelled at Slade's parsimony or queer ideas of -economy could have been present at a scene which occurred at the -cottage on the evening of the night General Westbrook was -assassinated, they might have found an answer to their mental -queries. Yet we may only know what Miss Charlotte herself saw and -heard. - -To begin with, she was startled by a sound of unfamiliar footsteps on -the front porch, an uncertain movement toward the door, and finally -by a knocking upon the door itself. - -She took up a lamp and advanced down the narrow hall to the small -reception-hall. Without any hesitation she unlocked the door and -opened it wide at once; and it is probable that no apparition of any -person, dead or living, could have affected her so profoundly as what -she then beheld in the light of the lamp. She was so astonished at -sight of the crusty abstracter that she stood quite speechless. On -the other hand, it is noteworthy in estimating Mr. Slade's character -that he snatched off his hat and ducked his head, much as he might -have done in the old days when he stepped aside from the road to -allow the family coach to roll by. Plainly, he was uneasy, out of -his element, and the shallow, jet-like eyes at once became shifty -before the unfathomable ones which regarded him with such frank -surprise and displeasure. - -But her expression rapidly altered: her eyes darkened, their light -hardened--if the expression is permissible--and her lips compressed; -never before had a Slade stood in the doorway of the cottage. The -brightly glowing flame of hospitality was extinguished before this -unexpected blast. - -This silence was something more than Slade could endure. Nervously, -he emitted a dry, deprecatory cough behind his knuckly fingers. - -"Miss Charlotte, is it not?" he finally ventured. - -"What do you want?" was the blunt reply. - -Propitiation was difficult for Slade, especially in the face of such -obvious, uncompromising antipathy. His nervousness measurably -increased, and he replied, rather incoherently - -"Pardon me, Miss Charlotte, I know it seems strange--why I am here, I -mean; but I must see--dear me, I can't explain.... Can't you hold -the light a little more out of my eyes? Oh, very well.... Your -mother--Mrs. Fairchild--I must see her on business--very important, -Miss Charlotte." - -Her amazement only deepened. - -"Business with mamma!" she cried, incredulously. "Why, that is -ridiculous--absurd; mamma has transacted no business for years. What -in the world do you mean?" - -He seemed to be painfully aware of his awkward, ungainly, and untidy -appearance, and of the harshness of his voice; he was overcome by a -sense that this woman, who looked him through and through as if he -were transparent, would regard any misfortune that might befall him -with precisely the same expression. He made a strenuous effort at -composure, with the result that his naturally sour and churlish -disposition was given an opportunity to assert itself. - -"My business goes behind those years," he said; "and if you please, -it is none of yours." - -"Indeed?" The rising inflection soared to glacial heights. "If you -will excuse me I will close the door. When my brother returns--" - -A sudden look of cunning in the little jet eyes checked her. - -"Hear me a moment," he presently said. "My errand affects--" He -paused briefly and looked at her with a slightly different -expression, as if determining how far to trust her; but he uttered no -confidence. "Come, Miss," he at last finished, "if you don't admit -me you--your mother--your brother--your brother, eh?--will suffer for -it." - -Still inflexibly barring the entrance: "Do you mean that your errand -concerns Clay?" she asked. Unconsciously, a note of anxiety had -crept into her voice, which, in spite of his deafness, Slade caught, -and he was quick to take advantage of it. - -Doubtfully, still a little bewildered, but her hostility for this man -not in the least abated, she stepped aside at last, and coldly bade -him to enter. She placed the lamp upon a table in the tiny hall. -"Wait here," she enjoined, briefly, without offering him a seat, and -so left him. - -Charlotte Fairchild was one of those very tall women, with whom we -rarely meet, who are not awkward. Instead, when she walked every -movement seemed to flow in graceful ripples from feet to shoulders, -beginning without abruptness and dying gradually away like the -wavelets on the surface of a disturbed pond. A couplet of Herrick's -pictures her: - - "Then, then (methinks), how sweetly flows - The liquefaction of her clothes." - -And yet her step was firm and swift, giving her a bearing exquisitely -impressive. - -Her hands and feet were beautifully formed, long, slender, and -tapering, as becomes a tall woman; and her voice was one of those -rich, liquid contraltos, always effective because always subdued. It -was in accord with her habitual repose; but it hinted at unlimited -possibilities of elemental strength, and the presence of many and -varied forces behind her calm exterior. - -Her command to Mr. Slade was imperative, and he stood uncertainly -watching her as she walked down the hall. At its end she opened a -door, and even the man's faulty hearing could catch the high, -impatient voice in the room beyond; a voice which had an odd effect -upon him, too, for the lean, irascible visage actually brightened, -and a light very like eagerness shot from the jetty eyes. - -"Child, who was it?" the voice was saying. "What kept you so long? -Is there any news of--" And the door closed again. - -Mr. Slade was obliged to stand there many minutes, fingering his -rusty felt hat, before Charlotte reappeared and, with a single -queenly gesture, beckoned him to approach. But when he finally -advanced into the room, Mrs. Fairchild, paralyzed from the waist -down, might have been a chatelaine, and he the overseer, the steward, -seeking audience on affairs concerning the estate. So did the -inherent and ineradicable traits of relative breeding naturally and -unconsciously manifest themselves. Although he had secured the -coveted admission, the manner of his reception was undoubtedly -discouraging to his purpose. Mrs. Fairchild's first words and her -mien were a further check to approaching his object. - -"Well, Slade," she began, with unconscious but none the less galling -patronage, "what can I do for you? Dear me! You do not favor your -father in the least.... Daughter, hand me my glasses.... Thank -you.... He was such a large, florid man. But probably your health--" - -"Mamma," Charlotte gently interrupted, "Mr. Slade has come on -business. Perhaps he cannot be detained." She had taken a position -behind her mother's chair, and had leant down until her lips were -close to the lace cap. As she stood upright again, Mrs. Fairchild -protested petulantly: - -"Yes, yes, child; I know. I do not mean to detain him..... What -were you saying, Slade?" - -That individual presented a spectacle of overwhelming embarrassment. -He had not opened his mouth since entering the room, and now, when he -did, it was to appeal to the daughter. - -"For God's sake, Miss Charlotte," he whispered hoarsely, as if he did -not intend the mother to hear, "for God's sake, leave us. What I -have to say is very private; indeed it is. I will have done as soon -as possible." - -Charlotte remained motionless behind her mother's chair, returning to -this astonishing outburst a look of wonder. The older woman also -regarded the man with an expression of surprise. - -On rare occasions--especially under any sudden mental shock or access -of feeling--Mrs. Fairchild's intellect assumed something of its -old-time activity and brightness. Slade was sensible of such a -change now, though unable to define it; he felt the personality -manifesting itself in her look, and he turned from Charlotte to her -with whom lay his first interest. - -"I cannot imagine the occasion for such an extraordinary demand, -Slade," the afflicted lady said at length; "but if it may be of any -advantage to you my daughter shall retire." - -"No, no, mamma," Charlotte protested, quickly. "I fear to leave you -with this--this man. I shall be deaf and blind, but I cannot leave -you." - -Never before had such a request been made of her, and a growing dread -had awakened in her bosom that Slade's errand boded ill for her -mother. Whence come these premonitions of impending evil? To what -mysterious depths of our being do they owe their source, and why is -it customary to deride them? Experience certainly justifies that we -bestow upon these inward promptings a serious consideration, yet we -almost invariably ignore and ridicule them. And now the silent -warning cries, "Stay!" - -With a design quite patent, Charlotte again addressed her mother. - -"Do not forget Clay," she remarked; and the vagrant memory instantly -fastened upon the name. - -"I remember perfectly that we were discussing Clay," was the petulant -retort, "when I was directed away from the topic. Pray do not -intimate that I am forgetful, Charlotte. I hope you do not so far -forget the duty and respect you owe me that you can entertain such a -ridiculous idea, to say nothing of uttering it. Proceed, Slade, with -what you were saying about my son." - -He fixed his beady eyes upon Charlotte, and coughed dryly behind his -knuckly hand. - -"When the girl goes," said he, recovering in a measure his composure. -"Remember, I asked for and you granted an audience--private." - -"An audience?"--the word caught--"a conference? Why, certainly, -Slade." The request was granted with a sudden assumption of -dignity--a fleeting, simple remnant of other times--that caused the -daughter much concern. Charlotte feared the result of a refusal to -withdraw quite as much as she feared to leave her mother alone with -Slade; but with many misgivings she reluctantly turned away and -departed from the room, closing the door behind her. - -No earthly interest was powerful enough to allow her to remain where -she might overhear one word not intended for her ears; still, the -feeling of dread, in spite of Mr. Slade's assurances, was real and -insistent; above all things she wanted to linger within sound of her -mother's voice. - -What powerful motive had dictated to-night's intrusion? For, -earnestly as she despised the man, she could not imagine him pushing -his way into the house upon a mere whim, or for any trifling matter. -She cast back over the past as far as her memory could penetrate, but -no circumstance appeared to afford the slightest explanation of the -mysterious visit, unless--unless it had, indeed, to do with her -brother. And here her thoughts faltered, for there were many reasons -why the idea should increase her anxiety. - -She glided noiselessly to the front door, and throwing it open, -looked out into the night. An overwhelming sense of her loneliness -and isolation fell upon her. The feeling was but momentary, however, -since she attacked such encroachments of depression with as much -ardor as she could muster forth from her dauntless spirit. -Occasionally the black humor mastered her, but it would not do to -give way to-night. What did William Slade, son of a treacherous -steward, want of her mother--the poor wreck of womanhood who could -bestow nothing? But Atropos, in severing the past from the present, -was cutting with her shears a strange pattern, the outlines of which -neither Charlotte's nor any eye could perceive. - -The faint murmur of voices came to her where she stood, and although -she strove not to permit her interest to acquire listening ears, it -was unavoidable that she should hear and note certain things: that -the caller was doing most of the talking; that, while the words were -wholly unintelligible, he seemed to be speaking with vehemence, and -that her mother's share in the conversation was apparently limited to -occasional ejaculations of surprise. This continued for many -minutes, during which Charlotte stood motionless, her tall, willowy -form drawn into a rigid erectness. Under the tensity of her anxious -expectation, her sensitive nostrils distended and contracted, and her -eyes glowed, in the dimly lighted hall, with an unnatural brightness. - -Of a sudden the voices ceased, and she heard Slade take a step or -two. Next, the faint crackling of paper, the inadvertent snapping of -a rubber band, were barely distinguishable--and silence. - -Her stretched imagination insensibly portrayed a vivid picture of the -scene: the man probably had handed her mother some document, and was -awaiting her perusal of it; he stood awkwardly fumbling that -ridiculous hat, while her mother searched vainly--no, she had her -glasses. Possibly, under stress of the excitement, her faculties -were quite normal. If so, she was reading the document--and what was -its effect? - -But if Mrs. Fairchild was indeed reading, she did not read far. A -sudden horrified exclamation almost caused Charlotte to hasten into -the room; but it was followed so quickly by the voices again that she -paused. Now her mother was talking volubly. Charlotte even fancied -she could detect contempt and scorn in the tones. Such being the -case, the usually clouded faculties must now be abnormally active. -Slade was by turns protesting, pleading, and giving way to his -peevish temper. The spirited colloquy came to an abrupt end in a -single piercing cry: - -"Charlotte!" - -For an instant her heart ceased beating; a benumbing chill paralyzed -her power of volition; then she rushed to the door and threw it open -with a crash. - -What she beheld explained but little to her alarmed senses. Her own -appearance must have been awe-inspiring, for simultaneously with her -advent, Slade recoiled in obvious alarm. She could see that her -mother had been powerfully moved by some recent agitation, the -exciting influence of which had by no means subsided; and whatever -the different phases of that emotion might have been, they had -undoubtedly crystallized into a violently active antipathy for Mr. -William Slade. Her right hand was extended toward Slade, palm -outward, as if to ward off an expected attack; or was it to guard the -papers crushed so convulsively in her left hand and pressed so -fiercely against her laboring bosom? - -As for the man, it was patent that the situation was an unexpected -and deeply disappointing outcome of his visit. More than that, he -appeared overwhelmed, stunned, crushed, as if the issue involved an -essential to his being. Nevertheless, however, whether his conduct -had been intentional or not, an anger, terrible in its quietness, -gushed from the deep well of Charlotte's passionate nature, stirring -the man from his despondency by its very intensity. - -"Go!" she commanded, her flexible voice striking its deepest note; -and Slade stepped back as though he had been slapped in the face. - -With a swift, lithe movement, Charlotte stooped and gathered her -mother's head to her own heaving breast. Slade opened his mouth, as -if to speak, but the words were stopped by a repetition of the -inexorable, compelling, low-voiced command: - -"Go!" - -He retreated nearer the door, and all at once his malignant nature -was reflected in his face. He regarded Charlotte with a look of -mingled malevolence and fear, and had his been the stronger -personality he might have done her violence. But as it was, his -bloodless lips were drawn back in a snarl of hate and baffled -purpose, although he was plainly cowed by the wrath blazing in the -eloquent eyes. He made an effort, nevertheless. - -"My papers," he hissed. One hand was extended, the bony fingers -crooked like a vulture's claw. "My papers--Elinor, you have no -right--" - -"Go!" - -Slade was not an Ajax to defy the lightning of that glance; without -another word, with but one more glance of malice and fruitless hate, -he slunk from the room--from the house--beaten and confounded. - -The busy little clock on the mantel--with which time was indeed -fleeting--at once became the most conspicuous object in the room; -falling embers on the hearth told of a dying fire, but to unheeding -ears; a gust of cool, moist air swept in through the unclosed front -door, and the two women maintained unaltered positions--ten -minutes--fifteen--until Charlotte felt a tremor pass through her -mother. Her expression softened rapidly, and her look and tones were -all gentleness and solicitude as she bowed her head to the invalid's -face. - -"It's all right, mamma," she said, coaxingly. "He's gone. He could -not have hurt you, dear; he is too contemptible a coward." In spite -of the soothing voice, her expressive upper lip involuntarily curled. -"Think of something else," she went on; "think of being here--in my -arms--safe." But she was distressed to see that her words and calm -manner made not the least impression; that her mother was utterly -deaf to them. The invalid was plainly laboring under a fixed idea -which neutralized every other influence; and suddenly she thrust -Charlotte away from her. It did not relieve the daughter to know -that the action was involuntary; that the mother was oblivious of her -presence; instead, her fears were rapidly intensified by a biting -doubt of the probable result of this extraordinary excitement. The -expression of fear and horror had not faded from the distended eyes, -and the papers were yet clutched to her breast with a grip that left -the knuckles white and bloodless. - -"Mother! Don't--don't look like that!" Charlotte cried in sudden -alarm. "What is it? What has that horrible man done to frighten you -so? Come, dear; lay your head here, and tell me all about it. -There, there; nothing can harm you, mamma dear." - -Quite as abruptly as she had pushed Charlotte from herself, Mrs. -Fairchild now suddenly extended toward her daughter the papers still -clutched so closely by a trembling hand. Even in her nervous anxiety -Charlotte remarked that there were quite a number of them, and that -they were typewritten and bound, after the manner of legal documents. - -"Here--child--take these!" The words came convulsively, in quick, -nervous gasps. "The fire--hold them down--until the last vestige is -destroyed." Her utterance rose to such a mad vehemence that the -words became almost incoherent. "Don't look! Don't look at them! -Burn them!--burn them!--_burn them!_" - -Charlotte's heart was throbbing with a maddening terror, her thoughts -whirling aimlessly, like a flock of frightened birds. Without -warning, Mrs. Fairchild reached out and clutched both her daughter's -hand and the papers together. - -"Swear, child," she went on, in the same frenzied manner; "swear to -your helpless mother that you will not look at them; swear that you -will burn them here before my eyes--now. Swear!" - -"Mamma!" Charlotte protested, with a fleeting idea of possible future -consequences,--again, the inward prompting,--"Mamma, have I the -right? What may happen if I obey you? Oh, mother dear, wait! Wait -until you are calmer; you are overwrought now; you do not know what -you are exacting. Dear--dear mamma, I shall not look at them; but -let me place--" - -But this earnest though gentle opposition so fanned the fire of -excitement that Charlotte instantly regretted her words. - -"Child, obey me!" the mother commanded, with almost savage -fierceness. "Hesitate one instant longer, and I shall hurl my -worthless body to the floor and drag myself to the fireplace with my -two hands." Then, in a quick transition, "O, God!--Charlotte!--my -daughter!" she moaned; "to think I am helpless in this awful hour!" - -"Hush, hush, dear; I will do as you say, instantly. I will hold them -down to the coals until nothing remains but ashes. See--" - -But stay your hand, Charlotte! What if you now hold the only -existing evidence--the only barrier that stands between dear ones and -disaster! Is it some premonition of the truth that causes you to -hesitate? - -Alas, the papers flutter to the coals! - -"See, mamma; they burn." - -When the last flame had expired, when nothing but flakes of black -ashes were arising on the draught and vanishing up the chimney, Mrs. -Fairchild began to laugh--violently, dreadfully. - -It was a night of horror for Charlotte. Quite ignorant of the cause -of her mother's fearful condition, she was obliged to tend the frail -body through alternating fits of hysterical laughter and weeping, and -to hearken to wild, disordered monologues, in which the names of -Peyton Westbrook, William Slade, and her own dead father were -repeated over and over again, incoherently, in a grotesque, -unintelligible association. - -However, out of the incomprehensible jumble of words and scraps of -sentences, Charlotte began at last to construct a meaning--very vague -and unsatisfying, to be sure, and exciting an almost unbearable -curiosity to know more; but still a meaning. The three names seemed -to be mingled in her mother's distraught mind, intimately interwoven -with some nameless horror; and the poor shattered intellect was -struggling beneath an obsession that a dire calamity threatened -General Westbrook. - -And also, as she listened, there came presently to her a most -peculiar fancy--woven of such stuff as dreams are made of, but -sufficiently tangible to cause her to wonder; a fancy that caused her -to murmur incredulously, "Mamma and General Westbrook!" and to -contrast the woman as she now was with a certain portrait of Elinor -Clay which graced the daughter's chamber; to picture the General as -he appeared when a young man. A great feeling of newly born pity for -her helpless mother stirred in her bosom. How incredible that this -querulous, and in many ways childish, invalid could have retained -such a secret so many years. Indeed, what a strange coupling of -names! What tragedy of starved romance lay hidden here! - -But what threatened General Westbrook? - -Charlotte was destined never to hear from her mother. When the -clamorous little clock told her that dawn was near, Mrs. Fairchild -began to grow quieter, and at last to doze; and from that sleep she -can scarcely be said to have awakened, unless to be deprived of the -least volition of every member, to be unable to utter an articulate -sound, to be more helpless and dependent than a babe newly born, is -to be counted among the quick instead of the dead. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -MISS CHARLOTTE ENTERTAINS A CALLER - -It will be remembered that when Mr. Converse's last _tête-à-tête_ -with Mr. Follett was interrupted by the summons to appear at -headquarters, he had just terminated a long period of reflection with -the announcement that he at last knew the means of finding young Mr. -Fairchild. Despite the night's turbulent events, when he left the -Westbrook home in charge of McCaleb and another plain-clothes man -detailed from headquarters, it was in pursuance of a plan that had -been incubating in his mind during the hours when other matters were -apparently occupying his exclusive attention. Immediately after his -unsatisfactory interview with Joyce and her brother, he went as -directly to the Fairchild cottage as the street cars would carry him. - -The humble abode of the Fairchilds nestled snugly in a covering of -climbing roses, honeysuckle, and feathery-fronded cypress. Flowers -bloomed everywhere; for upon her garden Charlotte lavished a love -otherwise denied expression, and Mr. Converse's eyes kindled when -they caught this riot of blossom. Should a human analyst attempt a -dissection of this man's character, he would be very much astonished -to find an inborn love for beautiful flowers among its other unusual -traits. - -A certain aged fragment of the old family _ménage_, known familiarly -as Polly Ann, ushered the Captain into the tiny entrance-hall; and -when Miss Charlotte appeared he seemed somewhat startled. He had -never seen her, that he knew of, and from the account the man Adams -had given of his experience on the night of the De Sanchez affair, -while trying to find Clay, he had come prepared to deal with a sour, -crabbed female of uncertain age and an uncompromising manner. The -quiet entrance of this handsome, graceful woman left him disconcerted -for an instant. A woman with such an air, with such remarkable eyes, -was no ordinary woman, and she could not be dealt with in an ordinary -way. One might as well try to move a mountain as to intimidate a -person who regarded one so fearlessly; who met the sharp, compelling -glance with a look of polite inquiry which clearly indicated that it -knew not how to falter. - -Converse's plans to find the young man suddenly evaporated; but -another idea, vastly farther reaching, arose in his mind instead. - -"Converse?" Charlotte repeated when he had announced his identity; -and after a slight hesitation she asked, "The detective engaged in -the De Sanchez case, are you not?" Her dark eyes continued to regard -him steadily; there was not the faintest play of expression in her -face, which seemed merely sad and worn and white; but during the -brief hesitation he noticed that she laid one hand above her heart. - -"I am either going to have plain sailing here," the caller mentally -observed, "or in about two minutes there begins the devil's own time -for John Converse." To her question he answered: - -"Yes, Miss Fairchild; and I hope my unceremonious call does not -startle you. While you must grant me your indulgence, let me assure -you at the outset that there is not the slightest occasion for -alarm." The keen gray eyes became all at once fixed and compelling, -giving a forceful meaning to the concluding words. "I have come here -to give you an opportunity to help a friend out of a very serious -trouble." - -For an instant she regarded him blankly; then quickly her -countenance, her glance, became fairly electrified. - -"A friend?--trouble?--whom?" she demanded, briefly and directly. - -As we know, it was not Mr. Converse's custom to take strangers into -his confidence, to express theories, nor to yield up motives; but if -he was certain of anything at this moment, it was a conviction that -whatever success was to come from this meeting depended entirely upon -his sincerity and absolute frankness. If such eyes and such a manner -did not mean constancy and unshakable loyalty to friends, then these -virtues did not exist. If he concealed anything at all, it would be -to spare her feelings. - -There was a pause after her question. The cold, masterful gray eyes -returned the look of the fearless, lovely dark eyes during a silence -wherein each sought to read the other's purpose. Then he replied: - -"Miss Fairchild, it will take some time to answer your question; it -involves so much, and I shall have to tell you so much before you can -understand, that I fear your patience will--" - -"But a friend," she interrupted; "you said a friend was in trouble. -Who? I do not understand." - -He bowed. "That is what I wish to tell you. Am I to take it that -you will hear me; that I may tell it in my own way?" - -Charlotte contemplated him a moment longer, while he returned the -look earnestly and gravely; then, apparently satisfied, she indicated -by a gesture the front room. - -And suddenly he fell to scratching his head with an air of comical -embarrassment. - -"If you will pardon me, Miss Fairchild," said he, "allow me to -suggest the porch this pleasant morning. I want to enjoy those -lovely flowers while I may. I declare, I never saw anything like -them in my life. I noticed a variegated chrysanthemum--very large -bloom--remarkable! Some time--that is, if the occasion ever presents -itself--I should like to ask--to ask you--" He stopped, as if -overcome by the smile which all at once illumined her features. He -had struck a responsive chord; for Charlotte was undisguisedly, -girlishly pleased at any honest admiration of her cherished -possession. To the porch, by all means. - -The Captain filled his prodigious chest with the sweet air. "It is -like wine, Miss Fairchild," he said, quietly; "you can't imagine what -this means to a city man like me. It's hard to think of evil at such -a time." - -"Oh--don't!" she protested, still smiling; "think of the flowers -instead. I am glad you like them. Any one who loves flowers -sincerely can think of evil only to hate it." - -"Very true," he returned, looking gravely at her; "very true. But -hating the evil does not affect it.... Ah! a mocking-bird!" - -If this one touch of nature did not quite make the whole world kin, -it at least brought the spirits of these two into so much closer -harmony that it was comparatively easy to plunge into confidences. - -"Hating evil does not affect it," Converse went on, after a bit. -"When it encompasses and threatens our friends, we must even step -forward and tackle it--that is, of course, if we wish to aid them." - -"Ah, to be sure," she said, in her tranquil way, which nevertheless -had become serious. "You said that a friend was in trouble. I -suppose you mean to tell it, as you say, in your own way; that it has -to do with this dreadful murder--or with my brother. Very well, I -will hear you; go on." - -Covertly, he studied the stately woman who sat so few paces from him. -She was beautiful this morning; a tinge of color had crept into her -cheeks since his coming; the expressive eyes, now half veiled by -abundant curling lashes, glowed with a look of tenderness in their -depths as they turned again and again toward the vista of roadway -which led to the city. If she was expecting somebody, it behooved -him to hasten. - -"Miss Fairchild," he began, with a concentration of purpose, the -unexpectedness of which made her turn to him with a little start, "I -have endeavored to reassure you regarding my call here this morning, -and I wish to repeat that there is no reason why you should feel any -alarm. But what I have to say will distress you; it will fill you -with anxiety, for I know you are quick to feel for your friends and -those dear to you, and that you feel strongly. Yet, if you will hear -me out--if you will lend me your aid--if we put our two heads -together, I am confident we can evolve some sort of plan that will -work for the good of more than one person in whom you are -interested." He looked at her intently while speaking, and before he -had done her cheeks went white again; her eyes dropped, and the slim -fingers began plucking at a spray of honeysuckle. But her voice was -steady when she rejoined: - -"I suppose your coming here has to do with my brother," she said -without looking up,--"with Clay?" - -"Primarily, yes. But my errand involves a deal more.... However, -before I begin I want to make a confession. When I started here it -was with a determination to resort to every method known to my -calling to secure the information I am seeking; to bully you if -necessary; to frighten you if I could--in short, to use every art and -device that expediency might justify. Those methods are often cruel; -they are not always honest--but in my calling you have to meet craft -with craft, Miss Fairchild; cunning with cunning--and they are not -such as you would associate with the word 'gentleman.'" - -"And now?" She looked at him inquiringly. - -"Well, now--I have considerably revised that determination." - -"Thank you." Once more her face was illumined by the winning smile. - -"No, no; don't thank me; thank yourself. If more of the people who -are tangled up in this business considered it less a game the object -of which is to conceal as much as possible, and, instead, exercised a -grain or two of common sense, we might have been out of the woods -before this. As it is--" He paused and frowned at the denuded spray -of honeysuckle. - -"Well?" queried Charlotte, looking up once more and casting the spray -from her. He faced her abruptly. - -"Well," he went on, "as it is, there are one or two individuals who -are well on the way to losing themselves entirely--that is, if some -well-intentioned person doesn't step in and show them the road out." -Again he paused. - -"And so you have come to me?" she asked. - -He nodded. "But before we can show them the way out we have to be -pretty sure of it ourselves. As a game of hide-and-seek, you would -be surprised at the ingenuity displayed in keeping things hid from -me.... Miss Fairchild, I am going to be blunt. Your brother has -acted very foolishly. The different factors in this game have been -suddenly thrown into a panic; like a crowd at a theatre when the cry -of fire is raised, they impede each other, and do not help -themselves. Mr. Fairchild's move was as silly and uncalled for as -any I have yet encountered." - -"You do indeed make me anxious," said Charlotte; "but I am very -ignorant of this wretched affair." - -"Yes; I do not doubt that now," he quietly interposed. "But I also -know that you can be a very powerful factor in clearing up the -mystery." - -She regarded him incredulously. "Oh, no," she protested; "what can I -do?" Then, after waiting a moment, she faltered: "But tell me, Mr. -Converse, do--do you believe him--my brother--" - -He laughed. "Do you?" - -"Mr. Converse," her dignity was impressive, "I have his word." - -Again he laughed. "Miss Fairchild," said he with an abrupt -transition to seriousness, "at this moment the idea of bullying or -frightening you would strike me as being absurd were I not humbly -contrite for ever having entertained such a thought; but the -emergency is so urgent--a certain person is threatened by so lively a -peril--that it is really imperative that something be done for that -person immediately. If you and I should get at cross-purposes--why, -I believe now that I could only step to one side and let events take -their own way. To prove that I am contrite, I am going to warn you -against myself." - -Charlotte said nothing. - -"You have been in communication with your brother since he -disappeared. No," he went on hastily, as she seemed about to speak, -"I am not going to take any unfair advantage of you. Instead, with -your permission, I intend taking you into my confidence; go over the -ground from my knowledge of the facts; and then lay before you my -deductions therefrom, together with the immediate motives for my -intrusion. Afterward I shall ask you what I wish to know." - -He waited with his gaze fixed sharply upon her. She sat for some -time thoughtful. - -"As I have told you, I am very anxious. From your manner I know the -occasion to be serious, and that you are striving to temper its -seriousness. You say that a friend is in trouble, Mr. Converse; -well, that is enough to spur my interest, were any such spur needed. -But I can only repeat that I am very ignorant of this matter. Still, -I will say this, in the hope that it will cause you to speak freely. -You have somehow inspired my confidence; I feel sure you have come, -led by a tender consideration for somebody's feelings, and that now -you are governed by a consideration for my own feelings. It would be -a poor return, indeed, if I withheld any aid that might lie within my -power. I will pledge myself to lend you every assistance I can; but -it cannot be much. From what I have heard of you, I consider it -quite a compliment that you should thus tender me your confidence." - -In scornful deprecation he exclaimed against the attributes with -which her words invested him. "I never sincerely complimented -anybody in my life,--unless, perhaps, I was after something; so you -had better take care. Seriously, though, the things I have told you -are merely necessary statements of fact. I am not secretive by -nature, Miss Fairchild, though you could find a good many people whom -it would be hard to make believe that. That I am at all is far from -complimentary to those with whom I daily mingle. The bright spots in -my life are when I meet with somebody with whom I can be as open as -the day. - -"But I haven't answered your question yet: Do I believe your brother -guilty of any participation in De Sanchez's death? No. Nor of any -participation in last night's affair." - -Charlotte stared. "Last night's affair!" she cried. "Do you refer -to--to Mr. Slade?" - -"Slade?" he repeated,--and reflected. Here was a consideration -which, the instant it flashed into his mind, caused him to wonder why -it had not occurred to him before; but that everybody who could read -or was not stone-deaf knew of the Westbrook tragedy was to be taken -as a matter of course. Yet it was impossible that this woman could -be so at ease--her manner so tranquil--and at the same time have -knowledge of the recent assassination. But Slade--what is this of -Slade? - -"Miss Fairchild," he asked at length, "don't you get a morning paper -here?" - -"No. We have never taken one at the house; Clay usually brought the -papers home from the office." - -"And your relations with the Westbrook family are very close, are -they not?" - -At first she blushed slightly; then suddenly the last vestige of -color ebbed from her cheeks, and for the second time the slender hand -rested upon her bosom. - -"Yes," she whispered with bated breath. "Why?" - -"Then, Miss Fairchild, I am afraid I am the bearer of very sad--" - -As a leopardess might have sprung, she stood quivering above him, her -eyes tragic, her slim fingers interlocked in a convulsive clasp -before her. - -"Quick!" she demanded in a tense whisper, "has anything happened to -Mobley?" - -"No, no; be assured. It was--" - -"Oh, not Joyce?" - -"General Westbrook." - -She caught her breath sharply, and seemed unable to speak; and like a -blind person, returned to her seat. But in a moment she was more -tranquil and very earnest. - -"Tell me plainly, Mr. Converse--is this the--the trouble?" - -"It is bad enough, Miss Fairchild; the General is--dead." - -"Dead! General Westbrook dead! Oh--" she checked herself, the back -of one hand upon her lips, and waited. - -"Yes. It looks very much as though he had been--" he hesitated, -doubtful whether to tell her; but the plain truth being unavoidable, -he concluded, "assassinated." - -With an exclamation of horror, she clasped her hands. There was a -moment of tense silence, during which she regarded him with wide, -startled eyes--a look which told piteously that this abrupt -announcement had penetrated her susceptible heart, searching out, -with callous cruelty, each tender spot that could be lacerated and -hurt. - -At last she cried aloud, in blank, utter dismay: "Mr. Converse! Oh, -this is awful! Joyce! poor child!--and Mobley!" She buried her face -in her hands, and, rising, rushed precipitately into the house. - -The Captain sat motionless, in a dilemma whether to depart or to -wait; wondering what Charlotte herself wished him to do; deeply moved -by her distress, which was so much greater than he could possibly -have expected. - -But Polly Ann immediately set his doubts at rest. The face she -presented to him was both troubled and wrathful. - -"Miss Cha'lotte she say fo' you ter wait," she said with -unaccountable severity. The announcement had much the nature of a -peremptory command. - -"All right, Aunty," responded the Captain, absently. - -"Don' yer 'aunty' me." Her voice rose rapidly. "I hain't no aunty -er yo'n. All yer has ter do is ter des wait--heah." She designated -the porch with a stern and accusing finger. "Mon, whut yer do ter -Miss Cha'lotte?" - -At last the reason for this anger became plain. "I brought her some -very sad news," he replied. - -"La! is dat whut's de matteh?" Then, in a hoarse whisper, "Anything -happen ter Docteh Mobley Wes'brook?" she asked. - -"His father was killed last night." - -Incredulity and astonishment overspread the black face, and Polly Ann -threw aloft her hands. Mr. Converse was obliged, briefly, to detail -the particulars. Polly Ann inquired, anxiously: - -"Is you a docteh?" - -"No, Aunty. Why?" - -She advanced nearer and lowered her voice. "Kase I'se worried 'bout -Miss Elinor, seh. Miss Cha'lotte done send fo' Docteh Mobley already -dis mawnin'; but I don' spec' he come now wid he pa daid." - -Polly Ann shook her head dubiously as she moved slowly back into the -house. "Hit don' look right," she muttered, "'bout Miss Elinor, an' -I'se nowise satisfied in my min'.... An' de General daid! Lawd! -Lawd! Hit sho' do look lak er jedgment; hit sho' do!" - - - - -CHAPTER III - -"PAQUITA--WHAT DO YOU SPELL?" - -Presently Charlotte reappeared, composed and listless, her pale -countenance subdued with sorrow. - -"You must pardon my having left you so unceremoniously," she began, -her quiet voice even quieter than usual; "but your news was so -shocking--my rest has been so broken--that I was not strong to bear -it. It is appalling, Mr. Converse; I don't fully realize it yet. It -troubles me greatly to be so situated that I cannot go to Joyce." - -"I, too, regret that you cannot," he returned, with a meaning hidden -from Charlotte. - -She wanted to hear the particulars, and after he had complied, -briefly, she turned to him and asked: - -"What do you make of it?" - -Before replying, he ran a hand thoughtfully through his gray hair. - -"There are two or three questions I should like to ask you before -going into that," he returned, "if you please." After a slight -pause, taking her silence for consent, he proceeded: - -"In my investigation of the two cases I have encountered several -coincidences so striking and suggestive that they require the fullest -elucidation. Whenever I set my mind to working upon any phase of the -duplex problem, one mystic word immediately becomes the pivot about -which everything else begins to circle; whatever reasonable theory I -may begin to develop, it sooner or later encounters 'Paquita,' and I -am unable to get beyond her, or to see anything very clearly for the -shadow she casts. And now, in the face of evidence all pointing -quite another way, I have become possessed of a conviction that -'Paquita' embodies the crux of the entire problem. Paquita--what do -you spell? Silence is the only answer." Suddenly he caught the -intent look with which she was following him, and he laughed in a -deprecating way. - -"Heaven knows, I am prosaic enough myself, Miss Fairchild," he -continued, "but I overlook no possibilities, however slender they may -be; and it is particularly aggravating to have a circumstance like -this remain so completely inexplicable--so insusceptible to the most -determined efforts. It is as if the minx were mocking me. I have -spent a number of years in Latin America, and am tolerably familiar -with their customs; but everything I have endeavored to ascertain of -the shadowy Paquita has been as barren of results as my father's old -Connecticut farm. That mysterious name suggests an element of -romance which appeals to the average individual; but the romance is -not forthcoming." - -"Does the name appear elsewhere besides on Doctor Westbrook's -paper-knife?" - -For answer he drew forth his pocket-book, and producing therefrom the -bit of paper he had found in the Westbrook ash-hopper, handed it to -her. - -"This is all that remains of a letter received by General Westbrook -day before yesterday, and burnt by him some time during the same -night. I was searching for something altogether different--a writing -upon which he was engaged shortly before his death--and was led to -this. - -"The newspapers, as you know, made the most of the 'Paquita' on the -dagger-handle; you are familiar with the unknown and mysterious -señorita of the press, betrayed and revengeful, striking from the -grave through the medium of Doctor Westbrook's paper-knife; but in -reality she is not only unknown, but there is not the slightest -evidence that any such person ever existed. I could imagine a secret -enemy of the General's choosing that name behind which to mask his -identity, especially at a time when it is fresh in everybody's mind; -yet the fact that the letter itself is written in Spanish is strongly -against this idea. That letter was concluded in such a manner that -the signature was an important part of the context." - -"You have heard the story of the dagger, have you not?" - -"Yes. But the truth is far from being so romantic; it is quite -sordid, in fact." - -"The truth? I fail to understand." - -"Yes. You know that we police in the different cities all over the -civilized world work together to a certain extent, and assist each -other whenever we can; complete and systematic records are kept of -each detail--no matter how unimportant or trivial it may seem--of -every matter coming to us in an official way, and those records are -always at the disposal of the police in any city. - -"I dislike spoiling the pretty romance of the dagger," with an -apologetic smile; "but the facts are these: A Mexican girl, of the -peon class, went to Mexico City some six or seven years ago from the -United States. She was accompanied by her brother, also an ignorant -and extremely dirty peon--what we call a 'greaser' here. They had no -money, apparently were animated by no greater desire to acquire any -than usually inspires the average peon, and they lived in a hovel in -the poorest quarter of the capital. Now, if it hadn't been for that -rather remarkable dagger they would have been forgotten long ago. -They were both dead within a month after their arrival,--smallpox. -She killed herself during delirium; he died a few days later in a -pest-camp. It is sordid enough, you see. It is that very unusual -weapon alone that has saved them from oblivion. How did they come by -it? It is impossible to say--stole it, probably; but if so, it has -been advertised enough of late, in all conscience, to attract its -owner if he be alive anywhere on the face of the earth. But there -are enterprising newspapers also in the City of Mexico, and -enterprising dealers in curios; so there you have the genesis of the -story of the Doctor's paper-knife. So much for it.... Now then, -question one: Did you ever hear of any other Paquita?" - -Charlotte's answer was a decided negative. "If you are trying to -establish such a person as ever having been a living reality, and as -ever having had interests involved with the past of the Westbrook -family, I believe it will lead to nothing; unless--unless--" - -"Well?" - -"Well, unless it can be found in General Westbrook's life in Mexico. -But think of his character, his integrity, his extraordinary family -pride--are they not incompatible with the existence of such a secret?" - -Converse nodded. "And I might add," he said, "that here again the -pretty complete facts do not warrant the slightest ground for such a -theory." - -"But--" Charlotte hesitated, "what has all this to do with a friend -in trouble?" - -"Patience, please; I shall get to that in good time. I want you to -know certain facts first, for without this preamble the name will -occasion a shock that all the after-assurance and reasoning may not -remove. You must be prepared for the name before I blurt it out." - -"Very well, I am resigned," she returned with a faint smile. Since -her return to the porch all the brightness had left her face and -eyes; the caller noted that she looked no more down the roadway -toward the city, and even her smile was colorless and without the -least spark of animation. "May I ask you a question?" she concluded. - -"Certainly, Miss Fairchild; certainly." - -"How about that man--the Mexican--Vargas? Even though I know but -little of these dreadful affairs, I have thought a great deal. And -that man: what do you know of him?" - -"I am glad you asked this question, because it touches upon a point -about which I wish to speak fully." - -The Captain then recounted Vargas's testimony at the first inquest, -adding that it had since been fully corroborated and amplified by -exhaustive inquiries in Mexico. - -"But still," continued the speaker, "there is a point where Señor -Vargas comes into our mystery. He is shrewd and aggressive, and has -more than doubled his wealth since taking up his residence in Mexico. -He has only one relative--a niece. She is merely a child who has -spent all her life in a convent; as commonplace, as ignorant of the -world, and as innocent as only such a child--and especially a Spanish -child--could possibly be. Bear in mind, Miss Fairchild, that these -are established facts. I am relating them as briefly as possible; -but they are necessary in leading up to my next question. Here is a -point I wish you also to remember; you will see why as I proceed. A -year or two ago Vargas purchased a hacienda from the administrators -of the estate of one Don Juan del Castillo, which he so lavishly -remodelled that it is now a veritable palace. Don Juan had been a -very wealthy man at one time, having a vast estate; but his decease -disclosed the fact that his affairs were in a chaotic condition, and -that he was practically bankrupt. This man had never married, and -all the formalities, besides a diligent search, failed to bring -forward any authentic heirs. In short, none have ever appeared. - -"These facts concerning Don Juan are interesting for four reasons: -first, the banking house of De Sanchez and De Sanchez--of which -General Westbrook was at that time a partner--was administrator of -the Castillo estate; second, last night and shortly before his death, -the General was engaged in the compilation of a document headed -'Memorandum of Castillo Estate,' which document was taken from his -desk before the officers arrived; third, that while the county -records have been carefully searched for the purpose of ascertaining -if any of these foreigners had ever held any property interests here, -it was not until a day or two ago that a single thing was found to -justify the trouble. What that was is queer enough. - -"In November, eighteen fifty-nine, a mortgage was filed for record by -one John S. Castle." - -"Castle!" Charlotte became suddenly alert. - -"Ah, I see the name is not unfamiliar to you; but let me finish. The -property mortgaged, among other parcels of realty, included your old -family homestead. Of course the mortgager was your father. Now, -with the name of John S. Castle to guide us through the index to the -mortgage records, we find the next item of interest just three years -later--namely, in November, eighteen sixty-two--when the mortgage was -renewed. In another three years--that is, in November sixty-five--it -was again renewed; then, in November, eighteen sixty-eight, an -assignment of mortgage was filed, transferring this particular one to -William Slade, senior, your old overseer. Here John S. Castle -disappears for good and all; what followed concerning the mortgage is -irrelevant; but the point I wish to make is, that the name John S. -Castle is the English equivalent of Juan S. Castillo. This is the -fourth reason why Vargas interests me. I have been unable to find -any other trace of Castle. And now, can all this be mere coincidence? - -"My next question to you is: Have you any knowledge of Castle, or -Slade, or is there any event in your family history that may by any -chance throw light into these dark places? Or could either your -mother or Mr. Clay do so?" - -"Mr. Converse, this is all so marvellous that I am a little -bewildered. I never should have imagined that these dreadful -tragedies could involve so much. How ever in the world did you -discover so many details? But I am unable to tell you much. As to -mamma, I cannot say. Her memory, of course--such as it is, Mr. -Converse--goes back farther than mine. But Clay--I am certain he -could be of no assistance; he is always impatient of dwelling upon -our more prosperous days; mamma, at times, is rather inclined -to--to--well, to contrast our present circumstances with what they -were before papa died, and Clay invariably leaves the room on such -occasions. John S. Castle was always considered a fiction in our -family, behind which the elder Slade masked his treachery; or, -perhaps, it is more exact to say that he came to be regarded as a -fiction. It is very certain that he never appeared at all. Slade, -senior, in his younger days was of a roving disposition. During the -Mexican War he enlisted in the army, I believe, and was with General -Scott in Mexico. He learned to speak the Spanish language, I know; -and that might explain John S. Castle; they actually may have met in -Mexico." - -"That is true; it may be merely one more of the coincidences, -signifying nothing at all. But I am not of a disposition to dismiss -them thus." He fell into a thoughtful silence, from which he roused -himself presently to say: - -"It has occurred to me, Miss Fairchild,--to digress a moment,--that -all these details of the man Castle, and the manner in which his name -was utilized by the elder Slade, might hide some sort of chicanery. -Everything about that old mortgage may not have been perfectly -straight and aboveboard; and if that is the case--why, there is no -telling what interest may be due you out of the property. Some of it -is very valuable now, and the matter is worth looking into." - -"Indeed?" returned Charlotte, without interest. "To find a fortune -for us would be a strange ending of a search for the assassin of a -man so completely a stranger." - -"Oh, I merely mentioned it as a result of my delving into musty -records. I do not wish to inspire any hopes that may be -disappointed." - -"Truly," with more warmth, "I thank you. My lack of enthusiasm arose -from the impossibility of inspiring any such hope at all. I shall -tell Clay, though, what you have just told me. Should we be entitled -to any such interest, he would assuredly exert an effort to regain -it." - -He bowed a dismissal of the topic. - -"But now, Miss Fairchild, does it not occur to you as a bit -remarkable that out of all the developments not one circumstance has -appeared tending to throw any light on the mysterious Paquita?" - -Of a sudden she threw the back of one slender hand to her -lips--obviously a characteristic gesture; her look assumed an -expression of startled surprise. Charlotte's customary repose of -manner was so placid that the involuntary movement was doubly -impressive and significant. - -"Ah," said Converse, quietly, "something has recurred to you." - -"That is true," she at last returned, "and perhaps I should not have -mentioned it. But you certainly have enlisted my sympathies, even -though I might have no personal interest in these tragedies; and God -knows I am anxious enough to see Clay, Mobley, all my friends freed -of this wretched nightmare. What struck me so abruptly was this: -ever since Joyce's trip to Mexico, and the presentation of the dagger -paper-knife to Mobley, he has playfully addressed his sister as -'Paquita.' I had forgotten it; but the nickname spread among her -intimates, and she subscribed her letters to them usually in that -way. The name appealed to her, and I suppose I have notes now from -Joyce signed 'Paquita.'" - -"This is certainly very interesting," said he with marked gravity; -and Charlotte continued with increased animation: - -"It just occurred to me that the circumstance may have become known -to some one who has used it with a special significance, at present -unknown to you." - -"Possibly. But I was not thinking of it in that way." - -Although she waited, he vouchsafed no further explanation. Instead, -he remained, for possibly a minute, in quiet reflection; then turning -to Charlotte, he asked in a matter-of-fact way: - -"Do you think you could lay your hand upon any of those notes? I -should like to have a glimpse of Miss Joyce's penmanship." - -She brightened as at a sudden pleasant thought. "If so, they are in -my escritoire. Just a moment, please." She glided into the house -and returned in a few moments with a half-dozen or so heavy, -cream-tinted envelopes. Without comment she handed them to Converse, -eyeing him expectantly as he took up one at random. - -It was inscribed, "Miss Susan Sunshine,"--evidently a playful -sobriquet designating Charlotte,--and a bit of violet-hued wax bore -the Westbrook crest. He merely glanced at the legible and flowing -characters; noted that, as it bore no stamp, it had obviously been -delivered by private messenger, and then shook his head. "I have -never seen that handwriting before," was his only spoken observation -as he handed the parcel back to Charlotte. It is impossible that she -could have imagined the feeling of anticipation, almost if not quite -anxious in its intensity, that stirred within him in the face of the -rapidly forming pattern into which immediate events were patently -shaping themselves. - -But the curiosity now animating her had not yet been satisfied. -"Look at this," she persisted, hastily selecting another envelope -from the lot. "I have read of marvellous feats of a detective -reading a person's entire life from a scrap of that person's -chirography. I have a curiosity to know what you make of this." - -"I have read of such things, too," with a little laugh; "but I am -afraid they are mostly confined to fiction. Still a fragment of -one's handwriting is often a great aid in--" He stopped, and his -brow shot into a pucker as his glance fell upon the envelope now in -his hand. "This is by another hand," he concluded, sharply. - -"You are correct; yet--yet--" - -He glanced up quickly, giving Charlotte a rapier-like look. "Miss -Westbrook wrote it?" he completed her sentence. - -She nodded brightly. - -"Then she is--" He searched his memory for a word which the District -Attorney had suggested to him on a similar occasion; and as Mr. -Mountjoy supplied it then, so did Charlotte now. - -"Ambidextrous," said she. "Her left hand is reserved for the 'Susan -Sunshine' letters and all such whimsical correspondence, while this -last is her individual handwriting. Equal facility in the use of -either hand is a hereditary Westbrook trait." - -He remained still so long that she began to manifest some impatience. -"You attach no importance to it, do you?" she asked with some -misgiving. - -He did not respond immediately. Now was an occasion when his ability -absolutely to conceal all feeling could serve him admirably. Looking -at Charlotte he had not the heart to tell her that she was innocently -supplying such serious connecting links to the chain of evidence -tightening about her beloved friend. While the handwriting on the -second envelope in no wise resembled the writing on the charred -fragment of the "Paquita" letter, further than that both were -feminine, yet that circumstance of Joyce's ambidexterity--how -portentous it was! - -So, when he finally responded, he plunged into another phase of the -subject, as if he had not heard her question. - -"Miss Fairchild," briskly, "I must progress toward the final and most -important matter which I came here to present to you, and again I -take occasion to warn you that this part of my recital will require a -great deal of your fortitude. You must believe, now, that I have -worked untiringly--unceasingly--in this matter?" - -"I believe that, Mr. Converse." - -"Very good. Now, endeavor not only to keep before you what I have -already told you, but please follow me as closely as you can.... -First, however, assure me upon one point, though it may seem -inconsequential and even presuming in me to speak of it; but before I -am done you will understand. Is there any attachment between your -brother and Miss Westbrook?" - -She regarded him with serious eyes. - -"Mr. Converse," she began, with a sudden assumption of reserve and -restraint, "that is a very delicate and, to me, sacred matter; but -I--" She checked herself, and once more regarded him gravely; her -manner quickly changed, and again she became frank and open. "I do -not believe you would ask it were it not important that I answer you -frankly. Never have Clay and I exchanged a word upon the subject; -but I am a woman--his sister--and I love him dearly; I see a great -deal more than he would ever suspect. Mr. Converse, please respect -this confidence: I believe there has never been a time when Clay did -not love Joyce, dear, darling, beautiful girl that she is. As for -her, I do not know. She has a warm attachment for Clay; she admires -him; still, she is so young--her life has been so gay and -light-hearted, so entirely free from any care and -responsibility--that it is pleasant to think no strong emotion has -yet laid its touch upon her heart. To her, Clay has been a playmate, -a loved comrade, a friend; whether he is destined ever to be more, I -cannot say. But I believe I have told you the exact status of their -intimacy, for it has occupied my thoughts often, often, often." - -"This confidence has not injured your brother; and you have my word -of honor that it is as sacred with me as with yourself." - -"That will do; I can now hear anything you have to tell me." - -He paused a moment. He knew he must hurt her, however carefully he -might unfold the intelligence he had come to convey, and so why -prolong the anxiety by trying to temper it? So he said, slowly, -deliberately: - -"Miss Fairchild, the one person that we have so far been unable to -account for, to whom we must look for the explanation of these crimes -is--a woman." - -A slight gasp from his hearer caused him to pause again. Briefly he -gauged her strength. - -"That woman was alone with your brother about the time of De -Sanchez's death. In short, the assassin could have been no place but -in Mr. Nettleton's office; and no one was there besides those two." - -"Merciful God! Clay!" - -"Wait!" hastily. "Your brother is innocent--I am sure of that--but -the woman--" - -Charlotte sat quivering as if with an ague, deadly white. - -"Who?--who?" she gasped, huskily, when he paused. - -"The facts all say--Joyce Westbrook." - -"Oh, don't--don't!" She arose and stood unsteadily confronting him. -"I can't--I will not listen to this. It is abominable. You have -stumbled into some terrible error that may be explained. Why, Mr. -Converse, this will kill Joyce. Oh, how horrible! how horrible!" - -"Error?" said he, with extraordinary gentleness. "Ah, Miss -Fairchild, I hate to pain you so, but somebody must be stirred to -action. I cannot reach to the Doctor's or his sister's sensibilities -in their morbid state of mind; and if she will not unlock her lips, I -cannot speak of the result. Error? I admit its possibility. I -spent an exceedingly bad half-hour this morning trying to persuade -Doctor Westbrook and Miss Joyce that I was more than willing to meet -them on this ground. But no. If I have, as you say, stumbled into a -bog of error, they left me to get back to terra firma again as best I -could. If we can agree upon this point, we have an excellent -position from which to operate; and for the young lady's sake I would -so agree." - -"Mr. Converse, Mr. Converse," moaned Charlotte, as if a mortal -physical wound had been dealt her. "Wait! I can't bear it! The -idea is so hideous--so monstrous--" - -"With all respect, dear lady, I sincerely hope that she is the victim -of an extraordinary concurrence of circumstances--and no more. But -her position is even far more desperate and dangerous than you could -possibly imagine." - -Charlotte sat down again, and quietly--very quietly--watched her -interlocutor. She appeared stunned. Presently she asked with bated -breath: - -"What will happen? My God! do you wish to lead me to answering your -unanswered question? Do you wish me to say that Paquita--oh, that -wretched name!--spells disaster for those that are dearest to me?" -She uttered a laugh of bitterest scorn. "If my loyalty amounted to -no more than that," with a slight emphatic gesture of one clenched -hand, "I would be the most despicable creature on the face of the -earth. Now--" - -"I am not responsible for the existing condition, Miss Fairchild; I -only want to convince you of the extreme urgency of the situation. I -have told you a friend was in trouble, and that you would have an -opportunity to succor that friend; but it is more than a trouble; -that friend is menaced by the gravest peril imaginable." - -Rapidly he laid before her, one by one, his reasons for suspecting -Joyce Westbrook; and as his hearer saw how deadly serious the -cumulative facts were, she gradually grew outwardly composed, -yielding no hint of how his words were impressing her. - -Next he told of Joyce's movements the preceding night, concluding: - -"And now, Miss Fairchild, the most damaging feature against her is -her refusal to deny or admit anything at all. I need only an -eye-witness who saw her in or about the Nettleton Building, and--" A -grim tightening of his hard-featured face put a sufficiently obvious -period to the thought. - -"Mobley must tell me what he knows," she said presently, her voice -trembling. "I do not promise to repeat it, for I am ignorant of its -nature; but if I can see in this secret the way to finding light upon -the deed of which it is a child, you shall know." She fairly -startled the Captain by springing from her seat and grasping his arm. -Some sudden joyous thought had evidently flooded her intelligence, -and her manner imparted its quickening impulse to him. - -"Mr. Converse--where you are wrong--your error--" she cried, in -disjointed phrases. "Why did you never think of it? Joyce was not -in the Nettleton Building that day. The--" - -"But, my dear lady--" he sought to interrupt; but her new-born -enthusiasm bore him down. - -"The fact that no one can be found who saw her--why, she was not -there. She is involved in something else of a very personal nature, -and she shrinks from explaining. That must be it." - -Converse's attitude was very dubious. - -"You say you have no eye-witness--no one who actually saw her?" she -persisted. - -"Yes--that is true; but--" He stopped. "Wait, please," he concluded -in an altered tone, as he suddenly recognized Mr. Follett's servant, -Joe, approaching from the trolley-line. "If I am not mistaken, here -comes a messenger for me." - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -MISS CHARLOTTE BECOMES A FACTOR - -That Joe's errand had carried him to the Westbrook home in search of -the Captain, and thence to the cottage, could signify only a matter -of the utmost emergency; so Converse watched his approach with some -curiosity, wondering why his friend, Mr. Follett, should be in such -haste to find him. He thought of the advertisement seeking -information concerning the unknown woman. - -The negro approached and handed him a much-soiled envelope; and this -is what he read: - -Slade was here this A.M. Claims to have seen and recognized woman in -Nettleton Bldg. at time of De S. murder. Holds out for more money, -so be careful. He is up to some game; but I think he really knows. - -It was indeed from Abram, and had been hurriedly penned at No. 18 Ash -Lane. - -After the message was delivered, and while it was being read, -Charlotte noted that it had the effect of producing a peculiar change -in the countenance of the reader: his mouth puckered, as if for a -whistle, though none was emitted; while his right eyebrow lifted in a -manner that left a queer, quizzical expression on his weather-beaten -visage. - -He pocketed the missive without comment; scratched a word of -acknowledgment on the envelope, which he handed to Joe--temporarily -an ebon-hued Mercury--with an injunction to return at once to Mr. -Follett. - -For a time he sat in a silence that was pensive, even though his -inflexible frame and countenance were not. How strange that the -message should come to hand just at this juncture!--at the moment -when he was obliged to admit the absence of a witness that had seen -the woman. And that witness Slade! Was Joyce Westbrook the woman? -There was that in the bare fact of Slade's being the person who was -possessed of this knowledge which made the Captain feel that the coil -was tightening irresistibly about the girl, for he was beginning to -acquire his own idea as to what "Slade's Blessing" might signify; an -idea utterly different from the more universal one. But he would say -nothing further to harrow this much troubled lady beside him. After -a while he turned to Charlotte with some abruptness. - -"Now then, Miss Fairchild, you pretty well understand the status of -both the cases. The main thing is, now, do you"--he emphasized the -pronoun--"appreciate the seriousness of Miss Westbrook's position? -If you do not, if this hour spent with you is barren of results, I -shall be obliged openly to take her into custody, put Mr. Mountjoy in -possession of the case, and let the law take its course. If I do -not, some one else will. I dislike being so blunt, but these issues -must be met squarely." - -"I cannot be further shocked, Mr. Converse. I will do all that lies -in my humble power. If Joyce was in the Nettleton Building that -afternoon, it had been far better for Mobley to have announced it at -once, whatever the result might have been." - -Her hearer considerately refrained from again mentioning the possible -reason for silence. Instead he said: - -"You are now prepared to hear the main object of my call. The early -part of last night I spent in going carefully over all that I have -set before you, but more particularly as it concerns your brother's -disappearance. It has become plain that, whatever our attempts to -locate him may have failed in, they have at least proved one -thing--that he never left the city. Who should know better where he -is than his sister?" - -"Believe me, Mr. Converse," she began quickly; but he held up a -restraining hand. - -"Wait," said he. "Let me finish. This is when I resolved to bully -and frighten you--to get the information from you willy-nilly,--and -behold to what that resolution has come! Now, I am not going to -embarrass you at this time by asking you where Mr. Clay is, or even -if you know where he is; but I do expect that by to-morrow night," he -gave her a look full of meaning, and repeated, "that by to-morrow -night, Miss Fairchild, some result will come from this interview; -either that I shall hear from your brother, Doctor Westbrook, Miss -Joyce, or all of them." - -"What I started to say when you interrupted me is, that I do not know -where Clay is. There is where I have been kept in ignorance." - -"The reason being," he added, "that something very like this -interview was foreseen--not because you couldn't be trusted--no, no: -it was to spare you from ever being obliged to refuse divulging your -knowledge. Knowing of his whereabouts, you could never have met an -examination, such as you might have been subjected to, with a plea of -ignorance." - -"I can only act as you have suggested," she returned; "and I will -make my arrangements accordingly as soon as I possibly can. While -Clay is absent it is very inconvenient communicating with the city." - -"I shall be glad to convey any message you wish to send." - -"Thank you. It is Doctor Westbrook that I wish to see. I sent him -word this morning regarding mamma's illness; but I expect now that he -will not come--soon." - -"Well, Miss Fairchild," the Captain arose briskly, "I have -accomplished my errand, and if nothing else ever comes of it, I shall -always retain a delightful remembrance of these flowers. I shall -call here again Thursday morning early--that is, if I have to come to -you for results. That will be day after to-morrow, and I shall make -no open move until after I have seen you. Now write your note, and I -will see that the Doctor gets it. I shall wait in the garden." - -When, after a few minutes, she reappeared and handed him the -envelope, he said, as if the matter had just occurred to him: - -"By the way, Miss Fairchild, when I first mentioned last night's -affair a while back, you spoke of William Slade: why?" - -Immediately she became grave and thoughtful. - -"Because," after an appreciable pause, "he called here last night to -see my mother, and his visit had to do with General Westbrook." She -stopped in sudden alarm at an abrupt change in the Captain's manner. -"What is it?" she asked. - -The response was a string of ejaculations. - -"Slade!--Here!--General Westbrook!" he cried in utter astonishment. - -Charlotte was startled at this surprising manifestation of interest. - -"It is very remarkable," she presently resumed, "and I cannot in the -least understand what it means. That it was extraordinarily serious, -mamma's condition this morning testifies to. Does the circumstance -tell you anything?" - -The detective was regarding her in a most peculiar manner. His -expression seemed to say that nothing in the whole gamut of possible -disclosures touching upon the two mysteries could take him more -unawares than this simple statement of Charlotte's; but she had by no -means told him all, and his face at once became impassive again. - -"Please finish," said he, quite calmly; "I don't know--yet." - -She obeyed, narrating at length her experience of the preceding -night. He listened with attentive silence until the burning of the -papers was mentioned. The look of the gray eyes brought something -like consternation to Charlotte. - -"Miss Fairchild!" he exclaimed. - -"Oh, I knew it was very, very wrong," she cried, sorely troubled at -his obvious dismay; "but what could I do? Mamma was not herself; she -wanted me to swear that I would not even look at them--to burn them -instantly. She was so excited--' - -"Never mind--never mind," he broke in with a reassurance he did not -in the least feel; "don't distress yourself. I see--I will take it -for granted that you could not have done otherwise than you did; that -your excellent common sense bade you pause--" - -"Indeed, indeed, that is true," fervently. - -"You had no alternative, and I will not blame you; but--" and his -mouth closed grimly. - -"'It is unfortunate, nevertheless,' you would say. Is the loss -irreparable?" - -"How can I tell now? But you must appreciate the importance of those -papers in the light of what occurred after Slade's call.... By the -way, what time did he depart?" - -"About half-past nine or ten o'clock.... And to think, had I -disobeyed mamma, I might have averted--" She shuddered and did not -finish. - -The Captain made no response. The subject afforded too wide a field -for speculation to indulge idly in probabilities. The papers being -irretrievably gone, the salient facts upon which his mind fastened -were, that Slade had some knowledge that the General's life was -threatened, and for some reason--another mystery in a veritable -network of mysteries--he had imparted the intelligence to Mrs. -Fairchild. But why?--why, of all persons, to her? Mr. Slade had at -last assumed a position that was susceptible of scrutiny. - -After a number of questions, to which Charlotte could return no -satisfactory replies, Converse said: - -"If it is possible, I must see your mother as soon as she is able to -bear the strain of an unpleasant interview. Try to prepare her -against my next coming, Miss Fairchild." - -Charlotte promised to do her best. - -The talk was broken in upon by an abrupt change in her countenance. -All at once she became beautiful; a warm tide of color mounted to her -cheeks; her head became regally erect; and she shot a look down the -pergola of locusts and elms that lined the roadway, such as an eagle -might flash from one mountain-peak to her mate upon another. -Instinctively Mr. Converse turned and descried in the distance an -approaching horse and buggy. So the Doctor was obeying her first -summons, after all. The Captain handed the note back to Charlotte, -and at once took his departure. - -[Illustration: At Times Charlotte Became Beautiful; a Warm Tide of -Color Mounted to Her Cheeks; Her Head Became Regally Erect.] - -When the Doctor drove up to the gate, Mr. Converse, moving with long, -rapid strides, was well on his way across the common to the car, and -feeling (if his unemotional nature would admit the charge) more than -a little depressed. - - -Before Doctor Westbrook arrived at the porch steps, he noted the look -of tenderness with which he was being regarded, and halted abruptly. - -"You have heard, then?" said he. - -"Yes," Charlotte softly replied, holding forth both her hands. - -With pleased eagerness he took them into his own and gazed hungrily -into the beautiful eyes. Her demonstrations were unusual, and he -found therein more relief from his grief and anxiety than could have -been contained in any spoken homily. But he drank from those liquid -pools of truth and steadfastness as one who drinks for the last time. - -For a moment they stood so; then-- - -"Your note said that your mother was suffering," he remarked, walking -toward the open door. But Charlotte checked his movement. - -"Wait, Mobley. I was not very exact. Mamma sustained a severe shock -last night; but she has been sleeping all the morning.... Before you -go in I wish to ask you a question." - -He evinced some surprise at her constraint. - -"Mobley, have you any reason to believe that a particular person was -instrumental in the death of Alberto de Sanchez?" - -Amazement grew in his countenance. - -"Have I any reason--" he repeated, blankly. "I don't understand; who -has been talking to you?" But light suddenly broke, and he -concluded: "So that was that confounded detective fellow who just -left here." - -"Mobley, you are unjust." It was quite plain to her why he should -think with irritation of Mr. Converse. "Although a stranger, he has -treated me fairer than you have: he has given me his confidence." - -The Doctor's eyes, yielding a sudden light of apprehension, became -glued to Charlotte's; but he remained silent. - -"I know you have been terribly troubled," she went on, evenly; "but -have you been afraid of me, Mobley?" - -"My God, Charlotte, no! I have simply wanted to spare you. There -has been no reason why you should be drawn into this damnable mess, -nor is there any more reason now. That man will have to answer to me -for this." - -"No, no, he will not, Mobley. I believe he has told the truth. I -think that Joyce--oh, poor, darling girl, how my heart bleeds for -her!--I think that innocent dear is the victim of the most diabolical -set of circumstances I ever heard of. They will inevitably ruin her -if she is not freed from them; and if it lies within our power to do -so--do you hear me, Mobley?--if it lies within our power to do so, we -must find a way." - -"Dear, dear girl," he groaned. "If I had told him this morn--" - -But she calmly interrupted him. - -"You must drive down to Mrs. Florian's and bring her here in your -buggy; I am going home with you. Your entire course in this matter -has been wrong,"--firmly. "Joyce is innocent, of course, and the -truth can't hurt." - -"But you don't know," he still persisted. - -"No; that is very true," she returned, looking steadily at him; "but -I will shortly.... Come--let us go in now." And together they -entered the house. - -At once the condition of the sorely stricken mother drove everything -else temporarily from their minds. John Converse nor any other -person would ever again hear a sound issue from those moveless lips. - -So another door was closed. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A DECISION AND A LETTER - -If Mr. Converse departed from the cottage with a feeling of -depression, it was based, as we know, upon a formidable number of -reasons. If the sensation was incompatible with his profession, it -at least proved that, as a human being, he was not so utterly devoid -of feeling as his grim exterior continually indicated; and when the -irresistible logic of the present investigation singled out again and -again a beautiful girl as the author of a monstrous assassination; -when the amorphous figure of Paquita--that featureless, shadowy -phantom--presented itself between his mental vision and Joyce -Westbrook--it was with a sense of relief that he asked, "Paquita, -what do you spell?" There was always the hope that sooner or later -an answer would be returned clearing Joyce beyond peradventure. - -That he did not consider Fairchild accessory to either crime was a -belief resting upon a very sound foundation of reasoning, although -such a conviction must needs be an additional point adverse to Joyce. -The testimony delivered by Doctor Westbrook and Mr. Howe of Georgia -at the inquest, relating to Fairchild's strange behavior when he -beheld the body of De Sanchez lying on the Doctor's reception room -floor, and a careful analysis of this evidence--although it certainly -left the young man's conduct something to be explained--would not -admit the idea of a guilty knowledge on his part, or of an active -participation in the crime itself. Before he entered the -reception-room he must have known that the Doctor or some other -person was there, for a light was burning brightly therein; that the -deed had been discovered; and it was certain that even then the -police were on their way thither, if they had not already arrived. -Yet he entered the office unhesitatingly. Again, no powerful -emotions were betrayed by him until after he had seen the body, and -then his first change of expression betokened surprise and -bewilderment. The rapidly succeeding horror and terror were present -while he was looking at Doctor Westbrook, and not at the body. "I -was quite as much astonished by his behavior," was Mr. Howe's -testimony hereof, "as by anything that had happened before.... The -mere sight of the body did not, to my mind, account for the extremity -of emotion depicted on his countenance, which seemed completely to -overwhelm him." There was a quality about the look with which he -regarded Doctor Westbrook so dreadful that it spurred the Doctor from -his own preoccupying excitement and agitation to demand an -explanation. - -Did Clay Fairchild, puzzled over Miss Joyce's excited and unexpected -appearance, go to Doctor Westbrook's office seeking enlightenment, -and were his unspoken questions there answered by the dead body of -Alberto de Sanchez? - -And now there was a witness who could establish the identity of the -unknown woman. - -Possibly the last consideration had as much weight in influencing Mr. -Converse to a decision which he made while riding back to the city, -as the reasons therefor which he gave in his own mind; but, trifling -as that decision may appear to be, it was destined to entail -consequences of the utmost moment--it was the thread-like fissure in -the dam. He shrank from hearing Joyce Westbrook's name on the lips -of Slade; but yet, if that individual was possessed of such important -evidence, it was clearly the Captain's duty to secure it as early as -possible. However, he was beginning to feel acutely the need of both -rest and nourishment; he realized, what with his own infirmity of -speech and the other's deafness, the difficulties that would arise in -the course of an interview with the abstracter; therefore he would -defer his call until he had snatched a few hours' sleep, and could -secure the aid of McCaleb to act as his mouthpiece. - -He was ignorant alike of Merkel's ambition to engineer a coup, and -the motives controlling the crusty Mr. Slade. Otherwise it is more -than likely, after he received Mr. Follett's message, that he would -have repaired with all haste to the offices of the Guaranty Abstract -Company, instead of first eating a substantial breakfast, and -afterward of composing his immense frame upon a certain leathern -couch which formed a part of his office furniture at headquarters. - -But such was the nature of his decision; and when he awoke late in -the afternoon no earthly power could have changed the result of his -procrastination. - -At five o'clock Mr. Converse arose from his leathern couch, mentally -decided to glimpse at the late afternoon mail, and then look up Mr. -Slade. - -But the mail brought one letter which, even before he opened it, -banished all thought of the sour abstracter from his mind. The -envelope bore in its upper left-hand corner the return address of -"The Guadalupe Transportation and Construction Co.," and had been -postmarked at Monterey, Mexico. - -The missive was very long, and as it entered into a number of matters -quite foreign to this narrative, it will be condensed. It purported -to be written by one Morris A. King, now a civil engineer in the -employ of a Mexican construction concern, and the author asserted -that he and Clay Fairchild had been schoolmates, and that a warm -friendship yet existed between them. The letter ran: - - -"My parents reside in New York and on the first of last October I had -leave of absence to pay them a visit. On my return I shortened that -visit by a day in order to surprise Clay, and I stopped with him two -or three hours on November fourth." Here the reader's interest -suddenly quickened. "The mysterious sketch of the dagger mentioned -by the papers was made on that day solely for my benefit." - - -The writer went on to say that Clay had confided his literary -ambitions to his friend, and that the latter had urged him to come -with him to Mexico, "the land of romance, love, fighting, tinkling -guitars, and sloe-eyed _señoritas_." He held out many inducements to -Fairchild in the way of material for stories; but the young man -persisted in his inability to accept the invitation. - -One of the plots suggested was indeed extraordinary. The letter went -on: - - -"The heroine of my yarn was a certain Paquita. Does that strain your -credulity? Well, it's a fact which you may easily verify when you -come up with Clay. In my veracious legend Paquita stabbed herself -with a magnificent jewelled dagger, the same having been the gift of -a false lover. Could it have been your 'Silver Blade,' I wonder? -.... I had this story from a certain Ignacio Monterde, who related it -as a fact. He was once under me in a construction gang; but his wife -came into some money,--according to his account, as a reward for her -kind offices to Paquita during a time of stress and vicissitude." - - -Then followed Monterde's address, and the assertion that the story -had held Fairchild "spellbound." - -Which was not surprising, considering his knowledge of Doctor -Westbrook's paper-knife. Indeed, Fairchild seems to have mentioned -it immediately to his friend, volunteering to secure it for the -purpose of confirming his statements concerning its existence. The -weapon could not be found in its customary place, hence the sketch as -an effort to convey some idea of its appearance. - -The writer concluded by offering to appear in his friend's behalf, at -any time, should the exigencies of the case demand it of him. - -Mr. Converse laid the letter to one side, with a long-drawn "Ah-h-h!" -expressive of extreme satisfaction. He carefully made a note of -Ignacio Monterde's address. - -After the unexpected intelligence had been properly digested it was -time for dinner; Mr. Slade and the woman he had seen could very well -wait until the following morning. Besides, Mr. Converse's other -business had become much in arrears during the past few days, and -there were a number of matters demanding immediate attention. He -smiled grimly as he turned to the accumulation of letters and papers -on his desk, and mentally contrasted his recent anxiety to run this -same mysterious woman down, with his present dilatoriness--his -admitted reluctance to hear her name from the lips of a witness whose -testimony would be irrefutable. - -The manner in which the name of Slade wound in and out of this maze, -indefinitely and apparently without cause or purpose, had excited Mr. -Converse's attention to such an extent that even now two subordinates -were burrowing into the abstracter's past in an effort to unearth -something that might clear up this distracting and irritating -side-issue; but their efforts had been abortive in so far as the -results aimed at were concerned, although--as he had informed Miss -Charlotte--a number of seemingly irrelevant facts had been brought to -light, which only made this phase more perplexing than ever. And -now, Mr. Slade's remarkable visit to the Fairchild cottage, and what -had happened there, were only added knots in an already badly tangled -skein. - -He next rang for the departmental stenographer, and for two hours was -busy dictating letters and going over reports, with an energy that -made his pale young amanuensis marvel. But as the Federal Building -clock began to toll off eight strokes, he noted the impatience with -which the young man consulted his watch. - -"Julius, you are tired," he said, in a matter-of-fact way. "This is -the last letter." - -It was not to be written that night, however. His statement was -punctuated by the telephone bell, and, shoving the desk instrument -toward the stenographer, he said: - -"Talk for me." Without such aid, he was shorn of this device's -convenience in long-distance communication. - -The stenographer presently announced that Mr. McCaleb desired to talk -with Captain Converse. - -"What does he want?" sharply demanded the latter. - -It required a minute's maltreatment of the telephone to elicit the -further information that Captain Converse's presence at the Westbrook -home was urgently desired. - -Wondering much what this summons might portend, he donned his hat and -overcoat, and strode forth to intercept a street-car. - -At the same time Mr. William Slade, wrapped in a dingy and much -frayed dressing-gown, with a ghoulish light of exultation smouldering -in his mouse-like eyes, sat in his dingy hole of a room, and went -over again in his mind a recent conversation between himself and Mr. -Merkel. What he had told the Coroner that evening had caused the -worthy official to stare in speechless amazement--a feeling which -rapidly grew into one of eminent satisfaction after Mr. Slade, with -much precision and circumstantiality, had embodied his statements in -a written affidavit. - -So Mr. Slade now reviews this colloquy. - -"What's twenty-five dollars!" he mutters, laughing noiselessly and -without mirth, and cracking his knuckly fingers. "What is any money -to this! You may have defeated one purpose, my dear; but, to a man -of talent and resource, there exist an infinite variety of ways. To -be sure, what's twenty-five dollars to this!" And he glances at an -open paper displayed conspicuously on the table. - - "GEN. PEYTON WESTBROOK THE - VICTIM OF AN ASSASSIN." - - -By the feeble illumination of the candle could yet be read, in -letters an inch high, this "scare head" extending across the entire -front page. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -FAINT RAYS FROM STRANGE SOURCES - -Meanwhile the Captain narrowly escaped missing a car, and as he ran -for it he fancied he heard a newsboy crying an extra edition of some -evening paper. Idly wondering what could call forth an additional -issue so soon after the regular evening edition, he took his seat, -and straightway forgot the incident. - -His cogitations in a little while assumed the form of a resolution to -avail himself of the present opportunity to ask Mrs. Westbrook -several questions which had been restrained only by the circumstances -of her bereavement. He disliked obtruding himself upon her privacy -at such a time; but he felt that, since the morning, she had had -occasion within which to compose herself and to become expectant of -the entrance of the police into the tragedy of her husband's death. - -Upon arriving at the Westbrook home, he was met at the wide veranda -steps by McCaleb himself. - -"Sorry to have troubled you," whispered the latter, hurriedly. "I -will tell you why I sent as soon as I get a chance. But wait; if my -reason is not good, Miss Westbrook gave me one that is." - -McCaleb paused. He seemed with only indifferent success to be -curbing an inward excitement, and his manner lent a special -significance to his next words. - -"She has been inquiring for you," he added. - -Converse did not appear at all surprised; but knowing his chief as he -did, neither did McCaleb seem surprised at the reception of his -pregnant announcement. - -"Come with me; I have something mighty queer to show you." And after -word of the Captain's arrival had been sent to the ladies, McCaleb -led the way around to one side of the house, coming to a halt in the -dense darkness beneath the _porte-cochère_. - -"After I 'phoned, Miss Westbrook came to me and asked if there was -any likelihood of your coming to the house soon. She was a good deal -confused and embarrassed; but the question so stumped me--after what -happened this morning, you know,--that I forgot my good manners, and -asked her 'Why?' But she replied that she had something to tell you -alone, which she thought you would be glad to hear--that it was of -such importance that you would doubtless pardon a summons to come at -once. Then I told her you were probably on your way here now; and -with that she turned away, apparently satisfied." - -McCaleb caught the other's arm and drew him onto the lawn, away from -the house and from beneath the _porte-cochère_. Again lowering his -voice to a whisper, he said: - -"Look up at those two windows, there, right over the roof of the -carriage-entrance." - -Converse did so, and noted that the carriage-entrance roof formed a -balcony upon which the two windows gave, and that the room beyond was -evidently brightly illuminated, for faint rays of light found their -way through minute interstices in the curtains: - -"Well?" he queried at length. - -"That is Miss Westbrook's bedroom." - -"Yes? And what's queer about that?" - -McCaleb considered a minute. - -"Well, sir, I saw her at that window to-night, waving a lighted -candle about, as though signalling some one." - -"Ha! Which way was she looking--up--down?" - -"Straight ahead, sir,--west. She seemed to be looking at or trying -to see something about on a level with her head." - -"On a level with her head, eh? That would be somewhat above our -own." And the Captain involuntarily faced about to the west. -Raising his eyes to an approximate level with those of a person -standing at the window, they encountered nothing but the night sky, -against which were silhouetted in dense blackness the blended -outlines of trees and a gable of the house across Tenth Street. All -sense of perspective was lost. And surely nothing there that a -candle might aid one in seeing: its tiny light would be as -insignificant--if the contrast is not already plain--as a dewdrop in -the crater of Vesuvius. Finally he brought back a questioning eye to -the young man's sober countenance. - -"It was queer," McCaleb at once continued. "But I haven't told you -the queerest part. I looked around, trying to see what she could be -after--only I walked about quite a bit; but I saw nothing more than -usual. Everything was perfectly quiet; no one even passed in the -street all the time I was waiting here, and look as I might, I saw no -one to whom she could have been making signals--not an answering -light anywhere." - -The speaker stopped with a start. A sudden accession of light caused -both to look up, and Converse perceived the slight, graceful figure -of Joyce Westbrook standing by one of the windows. The blind was now -raised, and all the lights in an electrolier behind the girl threw a -flood of reflected radiance upon the beautiful countenance. The -light cast an aureole about her wealth of hair--ebon tresses which, -if unbound, would dissolve into the fluent blackness of night, like -water into water. Either by a trick of the light, or in reality, her -loveliness was so etherealized as to make this motionless apparition -positively weird. - -At last she turned slowly away and disappeared, without drawing down -the shade. A disheartening sense of depression, such as he had -experienced after leaving Miss Charlotte, came over Converse again, -while the detective instinct was uncompromisingly alert to McCaleb's -words. Whether the vision of Joyce evoked any such feelings in the -younger man, it would be impossible to say; his hawk-like gaze -remained riveted upon her while she stood at the window--as if she -were merely an enigma hard to solve--and as soon as she was gone, he -resumed speaking in unaltered tones. - -"The incident was mighty puzzling, and I began a quiet, systematic -quizzing of the servants, with an idea of clearing up this -side-mystery. First, I got from Miss Westbrook's woman the fact that -her mistress had for a week or two left a light at that window every -night. Upon being pressed closer, Melissa told me the light was -first placed there on the night of Saturday, the seventh; that it was -always at that particular window, and that it was allowed to burn all -night." - -"Do you mean, Mac, that of those two windows so close together the -light is never by any chance left at the other?" - -"That's it, sir; it's always the southernmost window." - -"And you say these windows can't be seen from the street?" - -"No, sir; they cannot." - -"Very good. I fancy if a person were on a level with that window -when the candle-play is going on, he could see something off there to -the west that can't be seen from any other point. We'll have to know -what it means, Mac, before the night is many hours older." - -As he entered the house Converse was somewhat surprised at being -notified by Sam that Mrs. Westbrook would receive him at his -convenience, in the morning-room. "The mother instead of the -daughter; now, what does that mean?" he observed, mentally. He -reflected that, in the whirl of events, he had taken but small -account of this lady. What little he knew of her--merely such vague -reports as may come to one of any individual's personality--pictured -for him a cold, selfish, distant woman, indifferent to most matters -that did not affect her directly; and so far there had been no -occasion for giving her any unusual attention. - -Mrs. Westbrook was a tall, stately woman of a superb figure. Her -mere physical appearance, the unconscious ease of her carriage, the -uncompromising uplift of her head, were all remarkably impressive; -but there was much beyond this. To begin with, she had been -wonderfully neglected by Time. One might fancy that the hauteur of -this grande dame was as discouraging to the harbinger of immortality -as it was chilling to individuals who failed in any of the many -qualities necessary to meet her full approval. Like the General, -there was a repellent frigidity in her customary glance, and her -clear, almost faultless features were marred by the aptness with -which they could emphasize scorn or disdain at the expense of an -ability to reflect any of the softer feelings. If she had ever -possessed any of the illusions common to girlhood, they had been -dispelled--forgotten--long, long since: a woman temperamentally -beyond the influence of the smaller courtesies and amenities of life, -it was quite patent that she could not have lived that life more -alone had it been cast in the midst of a desert isle; and it was -difficult to imagine her so shaken from her aplomb as McCaleb and -Clancy had beheld her the night before. Perhaps Time had indeed -passed her by as needing none of his attentions. - -Years ago Louise Shepardson had been much sought after by the -bachelor gentry of her circle. There existed a strange allurement -for the masculine nature in her statuesque beauty, an enticing -incentive to kindle it into flame; but the Pygmalion for whom this -lovely Galatea might have quickened into life never appeared, and one -by one her suitors retired to direct their ardor along paths of less -resistance. - -The lady was standing facing the door when Sam ushered in Mr. -Converse. It was plain from her attitude that she intended to remain -standing throughout the coming interview; that she expected her guest -to do likewise; and that the interview itself was to be very short. -It cannot be said that the Captain's susceptibilities were -particularly sensitive; yet he felt the condescension with which Mrs. -Westbrook received him, and all at once his scruples for the -intrusion vanished. He bowed low. - -"Madam," he began, his impassive features as free from any emotion as -her own, "I apologize for disturbing you; I have postponed the matter -as long as I could; but there are some ques--" - -She interrupted him without the slightest consideration, her -enunciation deliberate and incisive. - -"You will please dispense with any preamble," she said, coldly. "Ask -your questions as briefly and concisely as possible." - -He did not hurry. It was too patent that, if she did not choose to -answer, she would ignore any interrogation he might frame. Abruptly -his look became as hard as flint, and all of his moving personality -seemed to be concentrated in one steady, piercing glance. But her -pale eyes continued to meet the steely gray ones, boldly, and as -inscrutable as the granite orbs of a sphinx. Nobody had ever seen -behind those eyes. - -"Mrs. Westbrook," he presently retorted, his manner calculating and -unsympathetic, "I regret that you meet me in this spirit of -antagonism. You are making a difficult situation infinitely more -diffi--" - -She started to interrupt. - -"Wait, please!" he peremptorily commanded. He remained silent a -moment with his gaze fixed squarely upon her; then, with a sternness -that would brook no trifling, continued: "Out of a common courtesy I -requested this interview; but do you know, Mrs. Westbrook, if need be -I could enforce it? I want to be as gentle and considerate as it is -possible for me to be, but my patience has its limits. I will choose -my own time and my own questions, and you will refuse to answer them -at your peril." - -She shrank from him as if he had struck her in the face. - -"Allow me to pass," she demanded; but he neither moved nor spoke. In -a moment her lip curled witheringly. "Am I to suppose that I am -under arrest also?" - -"If you insist on leaving the room, yes," was the blunt answer. She -threw a hand to her throat and recoiled another step, overcome with a -blank, horrified amazement. - -"Me!" she gasped. "Arrest me!" - -All at once she broke into a little laugh of biting contempt. "Why, -I believe you are insane--irresponsible--that must be it. That is -the only way to explain such extraordinary conduct. Now you will -please step aside, and allow me to pass." She confronted him with a -sudden flash of indignation before which any less masterful -personality surely would have quailed. But Converse remained quite -undaunted. His response was to produce his watch, with some -ostentation, and stand holding it in his hand. - -"As it happens," said he, easily, "I am in a hurry myself. I shall -give you just two minutes to decide whether you will remain here and -answer a few questions, or answer them at the police station; it is -all one to me." - -It is not likely that he was exacting about the time, for more than -two minutes elapsed before Mrs. Westbrook gave any indication that -she was not turned to stone; then slowly her rigidity relaxed, her -pale eyes fell before his, a spot of color glowed on either cheek, -and the man knew he had conquered. He was far from relishing the -necessity for his conduct; he did not exult; but on the contrary, he -responded to her capitulation with an air of deference and gentleness. - -"Now then, Mrs. Westbrook," he resumed, in tones vastly altered, "I -trust you have chosen the wiser course. I am asking little of you." - -Her back was now turned to him, and she did not meet his regard. - -"What is it you want?" she asked over one shoulder, and almost in a -whisper. - -"Well, first," becoming abruptly business-like and impersonal, "did -you ever hear General Westbrook mention a certain Don Juan del -Castillo?" - -He paused, for the back turned to him betrayed a start. - -"Because," he continued at once, "I believe it is through Don Juan -that this mystery may be cleared." He hesitated again, curious to -see her face. - -Mrs. Westbrook astonished him. Quite without warning she wheeled -about and took one or two rapid steps toward him. Her eyes were wide -with a terror the existence of which nothing within his knowledge -would account for; but it was plain that he had at last penetrated -her reserve. - -"What--what do you know of him?" she demanded in a hoarse, distressed -whisper. "Who--who-- Good God, what are you? What do you know?" -As she awaited his reply her bosom rose and fell tumultuously. - -"Mrs. Westbrook--calm yourself--there is no occasion for this -excitement," he returned, sorely perplexed at this unexpected turn. -He hesitated to press this woman whose agitation was so profound, yet -incomprehensible; but she offered him an opportunity which duty -sternly bade him take advantage of. "If you will be seated for a few -minutes--" he added; but she again interrupted: - -"Tell me--at once--what wrong has my husband done? My God! my God! -Is his name to be smirched--to be dragged in the mire--now--now that -he is dead?" - -He considered his reply. - -"Mrs. Westbrook, I have not come here to inquire into General -Westbrook's conduct while he was alive, further than is necessary to -aid me in finding who is responsible for his death. Of still greater -importance than this is the necessity of freeing your daughter from -the cloud of suspicion which now rests upon her--if it be possible." - -Something very like a sob escaped from the woman's tightly compressed -lips. - -"Can--can--you--you--can you save Joyce," she faltered, "without -dishonoring my--without dishonoring the dead?" - -Could he? He weighed his answer carefully, and when he finally spoke -it was to make an attempt at reassuring this agitated woman. - -"You know, I suppose, that General Westbrook was a joint -administrator of the Castillo estate?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, then," he spoke with much earnestness, "so far as my -investigations have been carried into the mutual affairs of your -husband and Alberto de Sanchez, not a circumstance has appeared that -is not strictly honorable. The matter has been gone into fully; the -records are correct in every particular--full and complete--and -nothing whatever points to anything not strictly honest and fair." - -Again Converse was surprised. Mrs. Westbrook suddenly sank into a -chair and burst into tears. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -A VOICE IN THE NIGHT - -The woman who presently turned to Mr. Converse was a very different -woman from the one who had met him but a few minutes previously. As -soon as the brief emotional outburst had exhausted itself her -admirable poise and self-possession returned, and with it all the -frigid reserve, the air of aloofness and apparent unconcern. But -there was this immense difference:--where her attitude had been -condescending and inflexibly hostile, it now conveyed a subtle -suggestion of surrender, by recognizing some tremendous advantage -which this man seemed to possess; she was no longer hard and -unyielding, but ready to comply with any demands he might make; and -he knew that every obstacle which served to seal her lips had been -swept away as by a breath. Such was the potency of a name. - -"Please be seated, Mr.--Mr. Converse," she finally said, her voice -tense with controlled passion. There was no attempt at explanation, -no apology,--unless this concession could be counted such,--and she -faced him placidly, wholly at her ease. - -"Was it of this," she continued, "that you talked to Charlotte -Fairchild this morning?" - -No doubt now why Joyce had inquired for him. So this leaven was at -work. - -"Yes, to a limited extent," was the cautious reply. - -"You insinuated nothing--nothing--" she hesitated and still further -lowered her voice, in which there was now a dominant note of anxiety, -"you did not allow her to gather the idea that there was anything -discreditable in General Westbrook's--" - -"Pardon me," he broke in quietly. "I could hardly insinuate anything -derogatory of the General's character, when I am ignorant that any -such circumstance exists." - -She looked at him doubtfully, narrowly, as if she would probe his -thoughts, and presently sighed. - -"If I only knew--" she breathed, vaguely. - -"What, Mrs. Westbrook? I will tell you if I can." - -"Well--" she still hesitated, "if I only knew what your knowledge -amounts to. You say General Westbrook was innocent of any -wrong-doing; how should you know? What reason have you had to -consider the possibility at all, if some suspicion has not been -engendered in your mind? Then, what occasioned that suspicion? You -see, I am torn by doubts and anxieties." - -"Yes, Mrs. Westbrook, so I perceive. But it would require half the -night to go fully into this matter; and still, to free you from your -doubts and anxieties, I may tell you this: that the tragedies of -which Señor de Sanchez and your husband were the victims are very -closely connected, and I have many reasons for believing that -whatever light may be thrown upon one will correspondingly tend to -clear the other. The name Castillo--or Del Castillo--bears a close -relation to both; therefore it is essential that every circumstance -bearing upon that relation should be known and understood. It is -evident that you know something of Don Juan of which I am ignorant; -it is also evident that whatever you know troubles you. Now, I may -be able to remove the cause of that trouble, and you to give me some -valuable information." - -She pondered quite a while. - -"Mr. Converse, I am a proud woman," she announced, simply; "to go -into such intimate family matters--thus openly to discuss topics -which I hesitate to contemplate even in the privacy of my own -thoughts--is to me a very real torture; but for the sake of my dead -husband, I owe you some sort of explanation. When you mentioned that -name it frightened me; it made me suspect that you had the power of -divining what is forbidden my own mind, and I naturally wondered to -what extent that divination was capable of penetrating. - -"But, after all, my fears have been based on a mere phantom--a name -spoken in the dark--and in hearkening to it and pondering upon it, I -have allowed myself greatly to wrong my husband. God forgive me! ... -Has not the entire matter become irrelevant?" she abruptly finished, -with obvious reluctance to proceed. - -"Far from it--far from it," was the reply, uttered emphatically; "you -must let me be the judge of that. There are so many ramifications to -these two tragedies, that you cannot even remotely realize how -significant and important the most trifling particular may be." - -"But it does not affect Joyce--in any way you imagine.... Please be -seated, Mr. Converse." - -He obeyed this second injunction, drawing the chair around so that he -directly faced her. He waited quietly for her to proceed. - -"Do you still wish to hear?" she asked presently; and when he bowed a -courteous intimation that he was waiting, she continued: - -"Well, it is very difficult--it is so like a confession,"--she arose -abruptly, and, walking to the door, bolted it; after which she -resumed her seat and the recital simultaneously,--"that I hope my -husband may hear and know it for an act of penance. - -"General Westbrook was never a man to discuss his business affairs -with any one, and there existed many reasons why he should not make a -confidante of me; so I must tell you at the outset that what I heard -of the name Del Castillo came to my ears in more or less of a -surreptitious manner and without General Westbrook's knowledge. -Whether the words themselves or the circumstances under which I heard -them justify my anxiety, you may judge. - -"When he finally wound up his affairs in Mexico and returned home, I -noticed immediately that some trouble was weighing heavily upon his -mind. I never showed him by word or sign that I remarked his mental -state; but it was plain, nevertheless, and so unusual as to worry me -not a little. As the days passed this secret trouble deepened rather -than grew lighter, and developed in my poor husband an irascibility -quite foreign to his uniformly courteous manner. Naturally, when I -beheld that this trouble was not diminishing, my worry increased; but -I never questioned him. - -"Well, this condition continued for several months without abatement -or apparent change, until one night I was awakened suddenly by -hearing him cry aloud. I was very much startled,--frightened, -indeed,--and I waited to see if I was the victim of my sleeping -senses, or if he had indeed called out." She paused, and her thin -lips momentarily tightened. "Then I experienced the most dreadful -sensation of my life. - -"Our apartments, you must know, adjoin and are divided only by -portieres. We had both retired long since; I was dimly conscious of -the lateness of the hour; and I had no reason to believe otherwise -than that the General had been many hours asleep. But as I waited, I -found that I had not been dreaming. I heard him say distinctly, 'I -had rather see her dead at my feet than wife to such as you.' - -"Now thoroughly alarmed, I switched on the light and hastened into -his room. My husband was standing in the middle of the floor, and I -perceived instantly that he was asleep. This merely increased my -fright, for in all the years of our married life he had been a -healthy sleeper, though retiring late and rising early. - -"I caught his arm and called him by name. He awoke at once and -looked at me in a dazed way; then he became unaccountably angry, and -demanded to know if he had spoken. And when I told him, he explained -his words as the vagaries of a bad dream. Far from satisfied, I -accepted this explanation, scorning to question him concerning any -matter which he did not choose to tell me voluntarily; and I returned -to my own apartment in some chagrin, for his manner had offended me. -I believe neither of us slept much the remainder of that night. - -"Well, Mr. Converse, that was merely a beginning--four years ago. It -may be difficult for you to understand my conduct under such trying -circumstances--why I never questioned my husband; why I permitted my -doubts and fears to continue without an effort to remove them; but -General Westbrook and I to a certain extent lived our lives apart," -the listener fancied he detected a note of bitterness in this -statement,--"and we were not in entire accord upon all matters. -Don't get the idea that any ground for trouble existed between us," -she hastily added; "no, no,--but there was a certain restraint, a -lack of sympathy, characterizing our entire married life, which led -naturally to a repression of those confidences without which such a -condition cannot be perfect. God help me, perhaps I was to blame; -but so it was. And besides, I did try to remove my doubts--to quiet -my fears, as you shall presently see. - -"Two nights passed before I heard other dream vagaries, as he was -pleased to call them, and I first heard the name Del Castillo upon -this second occasion. I failed to catch the sense in which it was -used, but after a long silence he began to say, over and over again, -'Paquita is not dead--Paquita is not dead.'" - -Paquita again! Verily, she was not dead,--if her influence over the -destinies of so many of the living signified anything at all. - -"I listened until it nearly drove me mad, and again I awoke him. -When I repeated his words he was angry, as he had been before, and at -the same time confused. But he tried to laugh it off, and demanded -that I think no more of the episode. In short, his manner was so -strange and unnatural that I was worried nearly to distraction. How -could I refrain from thinking of it? Of what use was it to bid my -thoughts occupy themselves with other matters when they continued to -circle about this dreadful secret which preyed so heavily upon his -mind? Mr. Converse, you can't imagine the expedients I adopted to -dissipate my fears, the casuistry I employed to banish my doubts. I -would argue that his sense of honor was so exalted, his standard so -high, that a very little thing might grievously trouble him, which -might appear trivial to another man. But how could this idea be -reconciled with his wild words of death? - -"The next morning he announced to me that he would thenceforward -sleep in another room. I made no comment, but superintended the -removal of his things. - -"I lay awake all that night and most of the next; then--then--" - -Once more she paused. She plucked nervously at a fold of her skirt, -manifesting the greatest reluctance to go on. But her nature was not -to be swayed by trifles; if a painful confidence were once -undertaken, it was quite plain she would press it to the end, sparing -neither herself nor whomsoever else it might affect. All at once she -folded her hands with an easy, natural movement and continued: - -"Mr. Converse, where I would not openly seek light, I was not above -listening in secret: in dressing-gown and slippers I stole to his -door during the early morning hours, and knelt with my ear to the -keyhole. - -"Many times I was rewarded with no spoken words--only the evidences -of a troubled and broken slumber. At other times I heard him say -things that made my blood run cold: 'Man, before you do this thing I -will kill you with my own hands'; again, 'Why did you not tell me -this man is living?' At times he cursed some one in a terrible -voice, and once--once--" She leant suddenly forward and fixed upon -him a gaze moving in its intensity. "Mr. Converse, is this -confidence buried within your own bosom?" - -"It is," he replied, with convincing gravity. - -"Once," she went on, leaning back again, "I heard him groan, 'Elinor, -I may never look upon your face again; _mea culpa! mea culpa!_'" Of -a sudden she clenched one hand convulsively and struck smartly an arm -of the chair. "Good God! what could that mean?" she cried with a -startling fierceness; then, one quick intake of breath, and she was -again her usual tranquil, collected self. She attempted a little -smile. "You see," she said, in a deprecating way, "that those -confidences to the night have not yet lost their power to disturb -me--and I am not easily moved." She remained silent for a time, as -if collecting her thoughts; presently she resumed the narrative. - -"There were certain names mentioned by him times innumerable. I have -heard Castillo, Alberto de Sanchez, Paquita, my daughter's name, and -Fernando--" - -"Fernando?" Converse interpellated, sharply. - -"Yes. Do you recognize it? I know no more of it than that." - -He shook his head. "It is new to me.... But proceed, please." - -"Well, at best the names were so confused and uttered in such a way -that I could gather no connection, and oftener than not his words -would trail off into incomplete sentences and unintelligible -mutterings. - -"But so it went on. Night after night I would hearken to the -incoherencies of my sleeping husband, overcome with a nameless terror -in the cold dark hall; in the broad glare of day my anxieties and -fears would shrink almost to insignificance--but oh, the night! - -"However, as time passed, whatever was preying on General Westbrook's -mind began gradually to abate its evil influence; his sleep became -once more healthy, and abruptly he returned to his regular apartment. - -"Naturally, my own fears subsided somewhat; but a suspicion of -unknown wrongdoing had been awakened in my mind, casting a continual -shadow over my thoughts. Oh, that terrible worm of doubt that gnawed -forever at my brain! After this, I believe, my poor husband could -have made no explanation that would have destroyed it utterly. - -"Of course, Mr. Converse, slight as was my knowledge of General -Westbrook's affairs, I knew about his association with Señor de -Sanchez. I also knew that Señor de Sanchez was a distinguished -gentleman, of great wealth and excellent family; and when the -question of his eligibility as a husband for my daughter was -broached, I--I--I-- Well, it was an honor of which any mother might -have been proud." - -"Mrs. Westbrook, I cannot believe that you are expressing your true -feelings in this regard." The look that accompanied this -announcement was sharp and meaning. "Were you satisfied with such an -arrangement?" - -She returned his scrutiny a little doubtfully; but at last asked: - -"Can this be of any benefit to Joyce?" - -"If you did not sanction Señor de Sanchez's proposal, I could -scarcely overestimate its importance as an aid to clearing up some -matters as they concern the young lady." - -"Well, then I shall be frank. At first I did not give my approval; I -had other ideas for Joyce's future; but one morning General Westbrook -sent a request that I come to him in the library. The instant I -entered I comprehended that he was struggling with some recent -trouble. In the course of the conversation which followed he -informed me that a very grave reason existed why we should consider -carefully before definitely rejecting Señor de Sanchez's offer; and -while he did not tell me what that reason was, I was given to -understand that it involved some scandal threatening my husband, and -that De Sanchez had the power to remove it. - -"'Otherwise?' I inquired. He turned to a drawer of his desk and -produced a pistol. - -"'Otherwise,' he said with a smile, 'I might still escape it.' - -"'Do you contemplate murder?' I asked. - -"'Louise!' he cried in a hurt tone, as though pained that I could -entertain such a thought; 'is it possible you can so misconstrue my -words?' - -"'I do not know how else to interpret them--nor your actions,' said I. - -"'Then I shall be more explicit,' he rejoined; 'I would place the -muzzle of this pistol--' - -"'You need not continue,' I interrupted. 'Is it so serious?' - -"'It is,' said he, very soberly. - -"'And do you think now that I could see Joyce go to such a man?' I -asked. - -"'You do not fully understand,' he persisted. 'The situation is -this,'--and he repeated that Señor de Sanchez would have the power to -do away with the impending scandal. We concluded by agreeing to -leave the matter with Joyce. - -"Her manner of taking it greatly relieved the situation. 'Give me -six months,' was her response. 'If at the end of that time you still -consider it necessary, I will marry him.' She looked at her father -with open scorn. Then she went on, 'You may inform him; but this -promise rests on three conditions: that it be kept a secret; that it -is never referred to in my presence, directly or indirectly; and that -he make no attempt to see me till the six months have expired.' - -"The General said, 'I am afraid he will receive the message with a -sour smile, my dear.' But Joyce's manner showed a complete -indifference. 'Moreover,' went on my husband, 'your word once -passed, there must be no backing down--no retreat.' She flashed -another scornful look at him, but merely said, 'Do not forget to -emphasize the three conditions when you see Señor de Sanchez.' - -"And such was the arrangement at the time of Señor de Sanchez's -death." - -The Captain fixed his regard upon the cold and handsome woman before -him, and strove to harmonize her appearance with the remarkable -marital condition revealed by her most amazing disclosure. Was it -possible she sat as tranquilly as she now was sitting, and discussed -in those arctic tones the chances of her husband committing suicide, -with this same air of easy indifference? It was impossible not to -believe her; yet such utter _sang-froid_ was almost inconceivable. - -In a moment Converse pulled himself together. - -"With your permission, I will ask you a few questions concerning Miss -Joyce. First, do you know why she remained silent before my -questions this morning?" - -She lowered her head, and sat for a time in deep reflection. When -she again turned to him, it was not to reply directly to his question. - -"I am not fully in my daughter's confidence in this matter, although -I believe I do know what motives--or impulses, rather--are -controlling her. I may add that they have my reprobation; but the -interests involved are quite serious; Joyce has unexpectedly -developed a phase of character astonishing to me, and for the first -time in my life I hesitate to interfere in her affairs. The matter -does not affect her own welfare alone, and I must refuse to go -further into it with you. She has assumed a terrible responsibility, -and however severely I may condemn her conduct, she has commanded my -admiration. I feel that I must at least coöperate to the extent of -respecting her silence. She wishes to see you, I believe. Hear from -her what she has to say." - -"Does your reticence include the interchange of messages between Miss -Joyce and Mr. Fairchild?" - -She looked at him with a quick accession of interest. "No," was her -reply. "Why should you ask that?" - -He waved the question to one side. "It's immaterial. Possibly there -has been no such interchange.... There is but one more question, -Mrs. Westbrook. While you were returning from Mrs. Farquier's last -night, why did you peer so closely into the darkness? Whom were you -expecting to see?" - -A faint flicker of wonder penetrated the mask of her countenance, but -quickly disappeared. - -"I suppose all this is necessary?" - -"It is, indeed." - -"Well, I expected to see one of two young men." - -"Ah! Then the one you did see--the fact of its being Mr. -Lynden--removed a cause of worry?" - -"You are correct. I could not consider him seriously in any light." - -That was all. As she arose, she inclined her head slightly. "Joyce -will see you here," she said. - -Had every incident of the past half-hour been a dream? Here was the -identical woman who had given him such a glacial welcome, now leaving -him with the same air of reserve and aloofness. No, not quite. She -was nearly to the door, when of a sudden she faced about and advanced -close to him; and for the third time during this extraordinary -interview he was so taken aback that he was at a loss for words. - -She stood motionless for a time, her pale, cold eyes fixed intently -on his serious gray ones. Then she spoke. - -"Look closely, Mr. Converse." - -He was disconcerted, and made no response. Presently she went on. - -"You think I am a strange woman, do you not?--cold, callous, -indifferent, incapable of any feeling?" - -Still he was at a loss for words. - -"You, who read me so well,--who seemed to divine all of Joyce's -thoughts and actions,--look deep into my eyes. Am I such a woman?" - -Then, to him who gazed so earnestly, it was as if a miracle had -happened; as if the icy shell which encased this handsome woman had -all at once melted--vanished from before his eyes--and it was given -him to read the naked soul beneath. It was as swift in passing, but -as vivid, as a flash of lightning. - -He retreated a step and bowed low to her. - -"Mrs. Westbrook, forgive me; I have misjudged you. I see that your -daughter's welfare is as indissolubly a part of your own as if your -two lives were one." He paused a moment, then concluded earnestly, -"I'll do what I can for her--to free her from this coil. You have my -word." - -She moved to the door before making any response. With her hand on -the knob she turned and faced him again. - -"God aid you," she whispered, and was gone. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE CORONER'S COUP - -Possibly ten minutes elapsed before Miss Westbrook entered the room; -had she been a witness of her mother's departure, she would have -known that Mr. Converse had not stirred during that time. His -attention was evidently drawn forcibly back from distant spaces and -fixed upon her with an effort. In seeking this meeting she had -prepared for an ordeal, but now she became sensible of the fact that -other concerns besides her own might occupy his mind, and that those -unwavering, piercing eyes, the scrutiny of which was so -disconcerting, were able to look at and through her without being -aware of her presence. She was reluctant to break in upon a -concentration which so candidly ignored her. - -Her appearance was unaltered from what it had presented that morning, -save, perhaps, for a faint tinge of color in the pale cheeks and the -added light of some purpose in the depths of her violet eyes. -Notwithstanding the high spirit revealed in the unconscious flash of -her glance, she was, after all, very slight, very fragile, and very -feminine; and she was soon to have dire need of all the support that -could be rendered her. - -Quite suddenly she became aware of recognition in his regard. She -moved impulsively toward him, her hand for a moment tentatively -outstretched; as she spoke, her color deepened. - -"Mr. Converse," she began with shy hesitancy, "I--I have come here to -beg your forgiveness." Her voice was low and soft, her manner -winning. - -"Well, Miss Westbrook," he retorted, a note of raillery in his -speech, designed to place her completely at her ease, "I am a sorely -wronged person; however, I am not--" But, still impulsively, she -interrupted him. - -"Mr. Converse, I was unpardonably rude this morning; I must have -appeared wretchedly mean and ill-bred; but you have no idea what -doubts and anxieties--" But now he stopped her. - -"Tut, tut, Miss Westbrook; I do know. I understand perfectly, and -sympathize with you." - -"Still," she persisted, "if I had only known this morning! If--" - -The talk was becoming a series of interruptions. - -"Ah, 'if,'" he took her up. "You are familiar with the saying about -one convinced against his will, eh? This morning I recognized the -necessity of a--er--a softening influence--the ineptness of a mere -man. If you had been in the same mood then that you are now, I -should have missed one of the pleasantest hours of my life. So you -see, that even a young lady's whims and caprices are not without -their compensations. What have you learned that has moved you to -kindlier feelings?" He spoke lightly; but there was an intelligible -purpose in his concluding question. - -"About Clay--about Mr. Fairchild," she murmured, shyly. Another wave -of color, deeper than before, dyed her cheeks. "Is it true you do -not suspect him of--of--" - -Converse sobered before her earnest, searching inspection. - -"My dear young lady," he returned, gravely, "it is entirely owing to -Mr. Fairchild himself and to you, that any suspicion was ever drawn -to him. Between the two of you, each has done about all that could -be done to make me suspect the other. Then the Doctor--well, among -you all, you've succeeded in getting things badly tangled up." - -"That would make me very happy were there not so much else to -distress me." - -He regarded her with the utmost seriousness. What peculiar -conception did she have of her position? She seemed utterly blind to -its peril--or else was recklessly disregardful. But it was an easy -matter to adapt himself to her present compliant humor. - -"Still, Miss Westbrook," said he, "there is much yet that needs -clearing up. After all this delay the situation has become serious -and will require extraordinary deftness in its handling--especially -as concerns yourself. If you and Mr. Fairchild cannot lend me a very -considerable aid, my task will be prodigious. The additional -distress which you may be obliged to endure I hesitate to point out." - -She waited while he took a turn up and down the room. - -"In the first place," he resumed, coming to an abrupt pause before -her, "I must have absolute frankness from you, from the Doctor, and -Mr. Fairchild. Nothing must be kept back. The older heads are the -wiser, Miss Westbrook. Your mother sees this thing as I do." - -"Do you know," she interposed, her voice betraying a sudden awe and -wonder, "that mamma advised me to be perfectly open and candid with -you?" She gazed at him as if trying to fathom what other mysterious -forces lay behind his blank, rough visage. "She came from you to me -with such an admonition." - -"I am not at all surprised. Mrs. Westbrook is a very sensible woman, -profoundly interested in what affects her daughter." - -She shook her head doubtfully, as if the matter remained an insoluble -riddle. - -"However," he continued, "she was right, and I believe her opinion is -in harmony with your own." - -"Yes; I shall keep nothing back." The color all at once ebbed from -her cheeks, leaving them white and cold. Her sensitive lips -trembled, yet her voice remained steady and even, and she looked at -him without a sign of confusion, as she made the simple statement: "I -love Clay, Mr. Converse. Does that explain anything?" - -He regarded her with undisguised admiration. - -"It explains a great deal," he replied, "but not all--not all." - -"Well, I hardly know how to begin," she said, slowly and -thoughtfully; "my thoughts seem anchored to that great fact; it is so -sufficient to my own mind--" She paused. - -"You are sure you can trust me now, Miss Westbrook?" - -"I intend to--freely, fully." - -"Then begin at the beginning. Tell me about the afternoon of the -fourth--at what time you went to the Nettleton Building, and what -took place there; just what you saw and heard." - -As he spoke, her face clouded. - -"Well," was the response, "I--I was--" - -But there came an unlooked for interruption. A sudden sound of -hurrying footsteps and excited voices, somewhere in the house below, -broke upon their hearing, expropriating the attention of both. The -girl stood rigid, startled, while the Captain turned hastily toward -the door as the clamor resolved itself into a rapid approach to the -room in which they were. - -Before he could lay his hand upon the knob, a loud rap sounded on the -panel, and a shaking voice called aloud Miss Westbrook's name. She -paled, and it forced a little cry from her; the door burst open, and -a strange group poured in upon them. - -First came Lynden clutching a crumpled newspaper, his face bloodless -and twitching with intense agitation. He surged forward as though -forcing his way through a mass of obstacles; his usually fastidious -attire was dishevelled. Close behind him followed McCaleb, much -calmer, but plainly showing signs of excitement; and beyond McCaleb -stood Mrs. Westbrook, the placidity of her handsome features -unruffled, her equanimity not at all disturbed by the tumult. - -Before Lynden's unceremonious entrance Joyce recoiled, with an -involuntary look of scorn and indignation which engaged Mr. -Converse's interest. Lynden hastened directly toward her, without -the least notice of any one else. He extended the paper, and, in -tones hoarse and tense, cried, - -"Joyce! Good God! what does this mean?" - -She glanced indifferently at the sheet--shaking in Lynden's hands so -that it rattled--to start next instant and utter a little gasp. - -"Tell me," Lynden insisted with furious vehemence, "what does this -mean? Who has betrayed you?" - -She quickly recovered herself. - -"I can't imagine," she replied coolly, "unless some spy has done so." -There was an inflexion of indignant contempt upon the word, glaring -to every one but Lynden. - -"Spy? Spy?" he repeated blankly. "I don't understand." But of a -sudden he did, and in turn recoiled from Joyce. For the first time -he became aware of the presence of others besides himself and the -girl, and he shot over the assembled group a glance at once accusing, -fearful, suspicious, and revealing a sense of shame and embarrassment -too deep for the insinuation alone to account for its existence. -Shame-facedly and abashed, he looked from Converse to McCaleb, and -muttered an unintelligible apology to Mrs. Westbrook. - -But Joyce, who had not removed her steady gaze from him, followed his -glance, and in tones that must have penetrated him like -knife-thrusts, said: - -"Pray, Howard Lynden, do not attempt to place a misconstruction upon -my words. When I said 'spy,' I did not refer to either of these -gentlemen. Although they are officers of the law and I seem to be in -a miserably compromising position, they have not dogged my every -movement; they have not stood off at a distance and looked suspicion -at me every time I met their eyes; they have not made my condition -more wretched by all sorts of innuendoes and vile insinuations, and -yet--and yet--" for a moment she was almost in tears; her throat -filled, and she had to pause; but the weakness was conquered almost -at once, and she continued, with flashing eyes, her voice quivering -with indignation,--"yet, Howard Lynden, you--you have pretended to be -my friend. As for that"--she advanced a step toward him, and -pointing an accusing finger at the paper in his hand, concentrated -all her feelings in her next words. So scathing were they that -Lynden winced visibly at each syllable, as if it had been the lash of -a whip,---"as for that, I think of it as I do of you--you spy; you -sneak! Go, go! never let my eyes rest upon you again!" - -Completely discomfited--overwhelmed by the sting of her words,--he -offered not the shadow of a defence. Abruptly, the girl's mood -changed. It was like the snapping of a string drawn too taut. One -convulsive sob escaped her, she seemed of a sudden to droop, and the -next instant Mrs. Westbrook, moving noiselessly, was at her side. -Calmly and without a word she passed an arm about her daughter's -waist and drew the girl close to her side. - -"Mamma, mamma," Joyce faltered, her voice breaking as though she had -reached the limit of endurance, "don't read it! Don't look at it! -Oh!--Oh!--help me!" Shuddering she hid her face upon her mother's -shoulder, her slender form quivering with sobs that could not be -restrained. - -With features sternly set, Converse advanced and snatched the paper -from Lynden's passive fingers. It required no search to find the one -important item that it contained. In letters which any who ran might -read, appeared the following headlines: - - DE SANCHEZ MURDER - ---- - Startling and Suggestive Discovery - Made by Coroner Merkel - ---- - IMPORTANT WITNESS FOUND - ---- - Saw Lady Running from Scene of Crime at - Time It Happened - ---- - MYSTERIOUS WOMAN NOW KNOWN - ---- - She is Prominent in Society and May Also Account - for the Westbrook Tragedy - - -As might be expected after this scare head, what followed was -sensational enough. The name of neither Joyce nor Slade was -mentioned; but for one familiar with the case it was easy to -comprehend that the abstractor was the witness and Joyce the woman. - -For the moment the Captain was overwhelmed with this unforeseen -result of his delay in calling upon the abstractor; and what next -occurred in the Westbrook morning-room is especially worthy of -preservation as constituting the one and only time that John Converse -is known ever to have given a free and untrammelled expression to his -inmost feelings. - -"The damned ass!" he ejaculated vehemently; at the same time rending -the paper in halves and tossing the fragments from him with a -violence that caused every one in the room to jump. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE LIGHT BRIGHTENS--AND DIMS - -Added to the tumultuous occurrences of that day, Lynden's advent with -the published evidence of the Coroner's fatuity produced a condition -in the Westbrook household amounting to consternation. For a time -Joyce managed to infuse a semblance of calmness into her mien; but as -the brutality of the narrative impressed itself upon her, as -realization grew in her dazed mind of the callous indifference with -which her own feelings were ignored in the light of the mere -sensation, she seemed gradually to sink as if beneath a crushing -weight; her lips became bloodless and drawn, and the lovely eyes took -on a wistful, helpless expression pitiful to see. She became -strangely quiet, and it was noticeable that no one seemed inclined to -disturb her where she sat, still encircled by the arm of her silent -mother. - -Lynden, obviously, was overcome by an intense shame and -mortification; by degrees he managed to arrive close to the open -door, and in the stress of the moment to slip away without eliciting -a farewell of any nature, unless the disconcerting look with which -the eyes of both the officers followed him and somewhat hastened his -exit may be so regarded. - -As for the Captain himself, he was angry clear through, and for a -while not a little dismayed. His thoughts flew rapidly during the -few minutes which followed his hurried reading of the article; -presently, when he turned to McCaleb, that young man missed a -flint-like gleam which had been flashing the admonition that it was -not an opportune time for engaging his chief's attention; but now, in -the face of a familiar pucker, and an elevation of the eyebrow, he -did not hesitate to advance toward the older man, who stood with his -hands thrust deeply into his trousers pockets, a massive figure of -grim determination. - -"Mac," said Converse, "go at once to Mr. Mountjoy's residence and ask -him to come here immediately--bring him with you. Hurry! ... Miss -Joyce," he continued, wheeling to the two drooping figures in the -corner, "tell me, please, where Mr. Fairchild is." - -She looked wildly at him, and all at once her look became vacant. -She made no response. His eyes narrowed as he noted that glance, and -he addressed the two women no more. But as he was on the point of -leaving the room, he was arrested by the elder lady's voice. - -"Don't--don't leave us," she whispered, with an appeal that might -have made him smile at another time. Quite without warning, she -clasped the girl to her. "Good God!" she cried despairingly, "they -will be here presently to carry Joyce to--to jail!" She sat panting, -as if she had been running. - -"Oh, no, they will not," he rejoined quietly, his inflexion -satisfyingly convincing. "Officers will be here by and by I have no -doubt; but Miss Joyce shall remain beneath this roof to-night. Don't -worry, Mrs. Westbrook; matters are not so bad as they appear just -now." - -"How can you prevent it?" she demanded anxiously. - -"Leave that to me. Stay here with your daughter until I return. If -I encounter Melissa, I will send her to you." - -In the hall he reflected an instant, then made his way directly to -Joyce's bedroom. As he unceremoniously threw the door open, he was -met by a startled cry from the young lady's maid. - -"Go to your mistress--in the morning-room," he commanded; and the -woman, meeting his glance, obeyed without a word. - -Before the southernmost of the two windows facing the west stood the -small table of which McCaleb had spoken, upon it an unlighted lamp -and a wax taper in a brass candle-stick. A tablet of letter paper -lay beside these. - -After first closing and making fast the door, he picked up the tablet -and tossed back the cover, and there, in young Fairchild's hand, was -the code of signals. After studying it at some length, he presently -replaced the tablet on the table, and, leaving the window, switched -off the lights. - -But the blackness did not remain long unbroken. He was moving with -an agility which was none the less swift by reason of its being -noiseless, and as soon as the incandescent lights were extinguished, -he struck a match, lighted the candle, and waited, looking intently -through the window into the night. - -Almost instantly he uttered a satisfied ejaculation. Straight ahead, -but seemingly as distant as a star, the darkness was penetrated by a -single tiny spark of light. It was so small and feeble that it -certainly would have been swallowed up and lost had there been any -other intervening illumination; but there it glowed, a single -coruscation against the velvet pall of night. - -Upon moving slightly to one side, the light at once vanished; but it -again appeared when he resumed his former position. A movement to -the other side had the same result: evidently, through the trees and -buildings of various kinds which stood between the Westbrook house -and the source of the mysterious point of light, there was but one -straight passage free from obstructions and leading directly to the -centre of this window. - -He consulted the tablet, and moved his own taper slowly up once and -then down again, to the table. Immediately the distant spark -appeared to rise an inch or so and settle once more to its former -position. Thus was a familiar greeting flashed through the night, -and answered: "Hello!" The manipulator of the distant light, of -course, had no idea that another than Joyce was engaging his -attention by means of this novel wireless telegraphy; and Mr. -Converse resolved to try the effect of the most startling -announcement he could find--not without a clearly defined purpose. - -The code contained nothing that could convey an adequate idea of the -close surveillance under which Joyce had been all day, nor of the -events of the past twelve hours; it was impossible to say what -intelligence she had imparted when McCaleb observed her with the -candle earlier in the evening; but after a brief consideration, he -selected the announcement: - -"All is discovered." - -The effect was instantaneous. The little spark waved frantically, -and at times so vehement were its movements that it disappeared -altogether: it darted about so erratically--stuttered, one might -say--that it was impossible to catch an inkling of what it intended -to convey; and then it abruptly vanished, not to reappear. - -After waiting several minutes, he presently chuckled grimly and -muttered: "The old Fairchild homestead! Now, that young man displays -a resourcefulness and cleverness that I admire. I'll wager he and I -are face to face before morning." - -He switched on the lights again, extinguished the candle, and quitted -the room. - -In the morning-room he was again confronted by the cold light of Mrs. -Westbrook's pale eyes. Her expression of indifference had taken on a -new meaning for him since he had first come face to face with her -there to-night; it hid a history of which the world indubitably would -never scan a page. To him it now afforded an illumination into -hitherto hidden phases of the dead husband's character rather than an -index to her own repressed nature; and his manner toward her remained -gently deferential. Joyce still sat with her head pillowed on her -mother's shoulder, her appearance betraying complete physical -relaxation. - -"Now, Mrs. Westbrook," he began, "when to-morrow dawns, matters are -going to be in a far different condition than they are just now. In -spite of my efforts, the cat seems to be out of the bag; but I -believe the worst has happened." - -Joyce sat suddenly upright. - -"The worst!" she exclaimed, laughing bitterly. "Pray, sir, how long -is this suspense to continue? Why do you delay?" She thrust forward -two little white hands, two slender wrists. "Here! why do you not -place the handcuffs upon me, and drag me to prison? You began your -work this morning--tell me, why do you torture me with this delay? -Is a prolongation of it a part of what I have to endure? O my God! -my God! let my humiliation be complete!" She was quite hysterical, -her manner so wild and unnatural that he felt the futility of -attempting to reason with her. - -"The worst!" she repeated. "God knows how bad it is when I am -conscious of a feeling of gladness that papa--cruelly as he died--is -not here to witness it." - -"Hush, Joyce!" commanded the mother. - -"I will say it," Joyce cried; "it is but the truth. Were poor papa -not dead, this would kill him! What was it he dreaded? What was it -he feared? Mamma, you know! Oh, God help me! God help me!" -Throwing her arms about her mother's neck, she once more hid her face -on the other's shoulder, and burst into a storm of weeping. - -"The first time," whispered Mrs. Westbrook, unmoved--meaning, -doubtless, that it was the first time Joyce had found the relief of -tears. She strove to soothe the distressed girl; but her nature, -clearly, had forgotten how to spend itself through the gentler and -more gracious feminine channels, and for the moment she appeared -stiff and awkward. - -With manner subdued, as if he were in a sick-chamber, Mr. Converse -addressed the mother, striving through her to reassure the almost -frenzied girl. - -"I shall presently know a number of things which have been kept from -me until now,--which I should have known days ago. I hope your -daughter's and Mr. Fairchild's reasons for silence will have been -removed. With the facts known as they should be, Miss Joyce's causes -for anxiety and worry will disappear in a large measure, and she need -no longer fear that I shall misunderstand her or place a false -interpretation upon circumstances over which she has had no control. -There has been too much that is false: her position has been false, -as has been the Doctor's and Mr. Clay's. She had come to a -realization of all this for herself." - -"It was Charlotte," Mrs. Westbrook interpellated in a strange, hard -voice. "It was Charlotte Fairchild who influenced Joyce to speak." - -Converse eyed her curiously. - -"Well, at any rate, she was about to take me into her confidence, -when Lynden appeared. Try to impress upon her that I will do in her -behalf everything consistent with my duty. As soon as she is able to -continue what she started to relate, why, the quicker can we get -things shipshape again. The whole mystery hinges upon what happened -in the Nettleton Building that day. Retire, if you desire; but I -expect the District Attorney here presently, and you will be -interested in what takes place." - -On the instant Sam announced that Mr. Mountjoy was waiting below. -Converse cast an inquiring look at Mrs. Westbrook, who inclined her -head. - -"Conduct Mr. Mountjoy here, Sam," was the result of the look. - -Joyce disengaged herself from her mother's embrace, and sat upright -once more, looking to her disordered tresses with certain deft and -subtle touches. She turned to the Captain with a calmness which -showed that his recent words had not been lost upon her: the deep -violet eyes yielded a faint light of hope; the sweet face became -rapidly more composed. - -Mr. Mountjoy paused a moment in the doorway; catching sight of the -two ladies, he hastened toward them. - -"My dear Mrs. Westbrook--Joyce," said he, taking a hand of each in -turn. "It is distressing to see you thus." His voice was full of -sympathy and condolence, but he made no further effort to frame his -feelings with words. - -Mr. Mountjoy was well past middle age, but not far above middle -height. He was slender and gray, and his thin, handsome features -were saved from asceticism only by the innumerable fine lines of -humor about his eyes. However, he was serious enough now, as he -looked to the Captain for an explanation. - -[Illustration: Mr. Mountjoy's Thin, Handsome Features were Saved from -Asceticism Only by the Lines of Humor about His Eyes.] - -"I suppose you have seen the extra edition of the _Herald_?" the -latter asked. - -Mountjoy nodded affirmatively. - -"Did it occur to you that the unnamed lady was none other than Miss -Westbrook?" - -The lawyer looked his astonishment, but said nothing. - -"Well, it's a fact, Mr. Mountjoy; and I wish to say, first of all, -that that ass--that Merkel--never did a worse bit of blundering in -his life." - -"It seems beyond belief," was Mountjoy's commentary, "that he would -give a matter of this nature to the newspapers." - -Converse grunted, and cold type cannot express the amount of scorn he -managed to inject into it. "It's done--all that he could do to tie -my hands." - -Mountjoy noted that the inscrutable gray eyes were resting upon Miss -Westbrook, as if their owner's thoughts had taken a sudden flight -beyond their present environment; and he in turn looked at her, too, -and considered. - -The idea of associating this girl with such a crime was preposterous; -yet the District Attorney had an unbounded confidence in the chief of -detectives, and at the same time he was sensible of a feeling of -dismay and alarm. He knew her for an intrepid, high-spirited girl, -governed largely by capricious impulses, but sane, and at heart pure -and generous; he felt that she was more likely to act upon the spur -of the moment, and cope with consequences afterward, than regard the -consequences first; but all such traits, while they might account for -an ordinary offence, were alone very far from being adequate reasons -for connecting her with a charge of so grave a nature. - -"Let us get at it _ab initio_," said he quietly, seating himself. -"Sit down, John." - -Converse availed himself of the opportunity, but slowly and with an -unaccountable hesitancy of manner. His brow was knotted, and he sat -pondering. - -"After all," he began at length, "it's going to be a hard matter for -me to tell you just what you ought to know." - -"Why?" asked the lawyer, surprised at this reluctant confidence. - -Converse eyed him narrowly a moment; and then, evidently, his mind -changed. - -"No, I am not going to tell you anything--now," he said, grimly. "I -didn't send for you to hear me talk, but to hear what Miss Westbrook -has to say. I can't anticipate how her words will affect you, Mr. -Mountjoy; but whatever their tenor, pray do not forget that I still -have charge of this case, and until I am ready--" - -During his last words Joyce had arisen and approached the speaker. -Now she interrupted by laying a hand upon his arm. - -"Then let me speak," she said, "while I can. Let me tell what I -started to when I was interrupted." She turned and faced Mountjoy. - -"It is true that Mr. Howe and my brother have been keeping something -back, but when you hear what it is, see if you can blame them. When -Mobley testified at the inquest that he had no reason to believe any -other person was in the Nettleton Building besides those known to be -present, he uttered merely the truth; he was assailed by a great -fear; but at that moment he did not know that I had not yet departed. -Oh, dear me!" she suddenly exclaimed; "the truth sometimes is so hard -to tell--so hard! What I have to say seems, even to myself, so wild -and impossible, that I sometimes wonder if I am not the victim of a -wretched nightmare. But, Mr. Mountjoy--Mr. Converse--I trust you -will believe me." She clasped her hands and looked an earnest appeal -from one to the other. - -The lawyer now was grave, his thin features yielding no decipherable -expression; Converse's mien was wholly encouraging and sympathetic. - -"Pshaw, Miss Westbrook," said the latter, heartily, "don't let such a -doubt worry you for an instant. You have no idea what my credulity -will stand." - -Again she glanced from one to the other, and thenceforth, after -returning her hand timidly to the Captain's brawny arm, addressed -herself directly to him. - -"I stepped from Mobley's office into the hall that afternoon, leaving -him and Mr. Howe together; and within two seconds thereafter Señor de -Sanchez was killed. Although I saw it done--" - -"My God! Miss Joyce!" burst suddenly from Mountjoy. He started -violently at her last words and stared wide-eyed at her. "And you -have kept that back all this time!" - -"Wait," she returned. There was a strange ring in her voice, which -was firm and even, although she was visibly trembling. "Although I -saw that man done to his death, I did not realize at the moment what -was happening before my eyes. Please do not interrupt. It is hard -enough to make myself understood when I tell you just what happened -and in the way it happened, and I hesitate to go on. Dear me! dear -me! I know--I know you can't believe my story of that dreadful, -dreadful afternoon." - -The lawyer withdrew his concentrated gaze from her white face and -glanced at the expressionless detective. He said easily and with -obvious sincerity: - -"Your sensitiveness makes you forget, Miss Joyce, that we could not -doubt a statement made by you. You may be wrong in your conclusions, -but never in intent." - -Unconsciously, her hand was yet lying on Converse's arm, and again -she turned and searched his rough countenance earnestly. What she -found there was evidently satisfactory, for she proceeded at once: - -"From the moment I crossed the threshold of Mobley's door, every -circumstance seems to have incriminated me. I knew that the poor man -was expected by my brother, for Mobley and I together framed the -letter which you found on his desk." - -"You were there--with Howe and the Doctor, eh?" asked Mountjoy. "But -pardon me; please go on." - -"We excused ourselves to Mr. Howe, and Mobley wrote it. Next, -glancing at my watch, I saw that it was five o'clock, and I left -right away, for I wished to avoid a meeting with Señor de Sanchez. -But I had no sooner stepped out of the office into the hall than I -heard footsteps on the stairway. I paused one instant. They were -coming steadily up, and the person--whoever he might be--and I would -be face to face in the hall." - -Converse felt the little hand tremble on his arm. The girl's eyelids -all at once drooped wearily, but she pressed her other hand lightly -across them, as if to brush away an obstructing veil. - -"At that instant," she went on immediately, "I noticed that Mr. -Nettleton's door was ajar. It was but a step to its shelter, and -without thinking twice, I ran to it and--and--" - -She faltered with an air of having forgotten what she would say. The -others were hanging upon her words in a silence that was almost -painful: Mountjoy intensely eager; the officer once more impassive; -while Mrs. Westbrook had risen and approached a step or two nearer -her daughter, whom she stood watching strangely, as if puzzled by -something beyond and behind her words. - -"You ran to the door--" suggested Converse; again the girl tried to -brush away the persistent intervening veil. - -"I feel so queerly," she said; "everything is whirling around so." - -"You have been tried beyond your strength," interposed the lawyer; -"perhaps we had better postpone--" - -"No, no, no!" She checked him with sudden vehemence. "I must go -on--I must. If I don't tell now, I never may. Where was I?" The -lovely eyes glowed unnaturally bright; unconsciously she lifted her -hand and struck the officer's arm with feverish impatience. - -"You hurried to Mr. Nettleton's--" - -"Yes--I pushed open the door and got behind it. My sole idea then -was to escape a meeting with that man. I didn't close it entirely. -I wheeled about and peeped down the hall, realizing that I was none -too soon; for, sure enough, Señor de Sanchez was coming toward my -brother's office. - -"I watched him with a sort of fascination, and for the first time I -experienced a strange, shrinking dread of the man--a fear I had never -known before. For the first time I seemed to be looking at the man -himself,--not at a handsome animated mask,--and what I saw made me -shudder." - -And so did the bare recollection. Once more the persistent veil had -to be swept aside--this time with a nervous, agitated hand--and the -recital was taken up again, precipitately, in a veritable rush of -words. As the crisis was gradually approached, the suspense became -almost unendurable; the effect of what the actuality had been upon -the tender, thoughtless witness thereof became more and more -manifest--undoubtedly a shock and a horror too deep and far-reaching -for expression. The gravity of the situation could scarcely be -overestimated. The issue now hanging in the balance was so vital, so -momentous, that at least two of the auditors were in a state of -anxious, doubtful eagerness which blinded them to the girl's true -condition. - -"As Señor de Sanchez came nearer between the two doors--Mr. -Nettleton's and Mobley's--I was obliged to widen the crack somewhat, -or else the man would have passed from my view. So great was the -spell in which his undisguised self held me, that I did so without -being aware of the act until too late. But I need not have feared -that the movement would attract his attention--" The little hand -clutched the unyielding arm convulsively, another shudder swept over -the slight form, and her voice all at once lowered and became hoarse. - -"I had no thought at all," she continued, receding from the one point -for which they were all so eager, yet feared to interrupt the recital -of to hear. "I was aware of nothing but a blind, unreasoning -instinct to escape. I ran wildly toward the door opening into the -next office, where I almost ran into Clay. But I did not pause; his -speechless astonishment made no impression upon me; I thought nothing -of it when he hastened by me into the room I had just quitted, as if -to learn the cause of my agitation and unceremonious intrusion upon -his privacy--I was simply wild to escape, and I ran on to the other -hall door, where I stopped again. Other footsteps! I thought that -terrible man would be for ever in passing, and I crouched there, -clinging to the door-knob and whimpering like a terrified child. -Then, quite suddenly, through the crack of the door, I caught a -glimpse of Howard Lynden; he too was going towards my brother's--" - -She paused and placed a hand to her throat, and all at once Converse -became sensible of the fact that the pressure of the hand on his arm -was increasing; that now, instead of lying there to hold his -attention, it was in reality supporting the speaker. It seemed as if -her will were putting forth its last effort to bear her up until she -had finished. - -"But what you saw--" he demanded. "Hurry, Miss Westbrook; what was -it you saw before you fled?" - -"As--as Señor de Sanchez got between me and--and Mobley's door, -Howard--" - -"Lynden?" sharply, from the detective. - -"No, no. What was I saying? Howard was not there. Why do you draw -so far away from me?" - -The veil was becoming more persistent, the effort to remove it weaker -and more unavailing. Unnoticed by Joyce, Mrs. Westbrook glided to -her side, and for the second time that night passed a supporting arm -about her daughter's waist. At the same time Converse clasped the -trembling hand on his arm; he felt its hold loosening. - -"Just one word more, and this thing must end," he said, with abrupt -authority. "De Sanchez got between you and the Doctor's door," he -prompted. "What then?" - -"Why--why--he all at once became terrified at something in front of -him. Oh, the dreadful expression of his face! He--he--" - -"Which way was he facing?" - -"Straight ahead--toward the end of the hall. At that moment his face -became frozen with a nameless terror; he threw up a hand to ward off -the blow; but--but--" - -"Yes, yes--then?" - -"Then I--I--saw-- Mamma, what ails the lights?--they are becoming so -dim." - -"Good God, Miss Joyce, hasten! You saw--" - -She turned a hazy look toward him. - -"I--I--saw--" one more futile effort to brush away the veil--"I--I -saw--" and the girl, her face like wax, hung limp and silent between -the Captain and her mother. - -It had indeed ended. - -With a movement that disengaged the motionless figure from Mrs. -Westbrook's encircling arm, Converse lifted Joyce lightly and -deposited her upon a couch. The look which he bestowed upon the -white, pinched face was one of concern, and for an instant he laid -one hand lightly upon her marble-like brow, then felt her pulse. - -"I was afraid of this," said Mountjoy. "How insensibly a man can be -a brute. Poor child, she has fainted; the strain--" He paused -suddenly, catching a peculiar look from the Captain. - -The latter shook his head. - -"Telephone for her brother," said he to the motionless mother, his -manner free from any quality that might alarm; "send for Doctor Bane. -Don't be frightened," he added, hastily, noting the startled -attitudes of the other two; "it is simply a matter of not assuming -any unnecessary responsibility. What this poor child has experienced -deserves the best medical care at command." - -As he had some knowledge of all things under the sun, he was also -something of a physician, and knew that this coma was more than a -simple lapsing into unconsciousness. - -In silence the detective and the lawyer descended the stairs, and -that silence was not broken until they arrived at the sidewalk. - -"What do you think?" asked Mountjoy. - -"Brain fever," was the laconic reply. - - - - -BOOK III. - -SLADE'S BLESSING - - - - _The evil spirit of a bitter love - And a revengeful heart._ - --CLAUDE MELNOTTE'S APOLOGY. - - - -CHAPTER I - -OPENING WAYS - -Before Converse and the District Attorney separated that night they -had come to an agreement that considerably mystified Mr. Mountjoy. -It was no less than the assertion of a determination by the former to -disappear for a time, and an assurance by the District Attorney that -he would keep the Captain informed about affairs local during the -latter's absence. - -"Ah, and I am to provide the red fire?" inquired the lawyer, mildly, -in his precise way, "to see to the braying of the trumpets and the -clashing of the cymbals?" - -"There is to be no red fire. I wish to vanish as inconspicuously as -possible, my absence to remain unnoted; but while I am gone I should -like to feel sure that matters here will remain just as they are." - -"How long is this absence to continue?" - -Converse shook his head. "That I can't say: a month, possibly--maybe -two; at any rate, until I get what I'm going after," he ended grimly. - -This determination was noted with silent approval; but the lawyer at -once said: - -"Since it is not your custom to furnish material for that pavement -which is made up of good intentions, I will refrain from touching -upon your objective. I suppose I must take you as heretofore, on -faith. All right.... And how am I to keep you informed on the march -of events?" - -"Communicate with No. 18 Ash Lane, care of Abram Follett, junk -dealer." - -For a moment Mr. Mountjoy's astonishment was quite frank and -decidedly patent. - -"Abram Follett!" he cried, "junk dealer! Who the devil is Abram -Follett, junk dealer! John, I must admit that behind your adamantine -front there exist depths which I despair of ever sounding, -and--and--" he finally stammered, "confound it! do you suppose me -absolutely devoid of curiosity?" - -But the reply was given imperturbably. - -"Well, sir, Abram Follett is--Abram Follett; his address is No. 18 -Ash Lane." - -The attorney looked up at the whimsically elevated brow, the pursed -lips, and, with a hopeless shrug of the shoulders, wrote the name and -address in his memorandum-book. In a few minutes they parted. - -Converse went directly to a large and imposing structure which stood -close by the City Hall,--the headquarters of the local telephone -system. - -The lower story, given over to the offices of various departments, -was at this hour of the night dark and apparently untenanted; but the -soft glow of many shaded incandescent lights from the upper floors -indicated the nucleus of an endless activity. - -Without hesitation, Mr. Converse entered the dimly lighted lower -hall, passed the ornamental iron cage of the elevator, now bearing a -card which announced with direct brevity, "Not running," and ascended -a wide marble stairway. He arrived presently before a glass swinging -door and into an atmosphere so quiet that it made a conversation -which was then in progress somewhere farther on to his left come to -him with unusual distinctness. - -His attention was held by the voices, emanating, apparently, from a -lighted room farther along the hall. The subject of the colloquy was -so singularly in harmony with the object of his present visit, that -he came to an involuntary pause. - -"But about Miss Carter, Henty," said one of the voices; "sure she -didn't dream it after reading the papers this morning?" - -"Oh, no. She called me over some time after midnight and said the -line had been open a long time--told me then." - -"Well, I sure would tell the police, Henty,--or Captain Converse. -He's the fellow to see." - -"You may tell me now, gentlemen, if it is your pleasure," said a -quiet, peculiar whisper from the doorway; and the two occupants of -the room sat petrified with astonishment. - -The two young men had been seated comfortably with their feet on the -flat-topped desk between them; one, it appeared, had been pursuing -the somewhat exacting undertaking of coloring a meerschaum pipe, upon -which he bestowed many a solicitous glance. The other puffed -nervously at a cigarette. - -"I believe you and your friend were discussing the very matter that -brought me here," Converse began pleasantly, advancing into the room. -"I couldn't help overhearing something of what you were saying, and I -should like to talk with that young lady--Miss Carter, didn't I hear -you say?" - -One young man now arose abruptly, and after proffering the Captain -his chair, departed. - -Converse sat down. His stolid composure was not without a suggestion -of affability, which was perhaps the more effective by reason of its -being reserved rather than brought into play. - -"First of all, Mr. Henty, when a receiver is taken down from its -hook, Central pretty soon asks what number is wanted, don't she?" - -"Well--yes." - -"And whatever's going on at the other end of the line--whether some -one asks for a number or not--is pretty likely to be heard, isn't it?" - -Henty nodded. - -"And Miss Carter, I take it, heard something unusual last night--must -have, to hold her attention, eh? Now, I want to see the young lady -that answers night calls coming in on Main two-one-two-four." - -"Operator Twenty-two," said Henty. "That's Miss Carter, all right. -I'm night manager, Captain, and--" he hesitated, "er--our strictest -rule--" - -"You need not fear that I will divulge any matter that may be -repeated to me," suggested Converse, seeing the young man's quandary. -"But if you anticipate any ill results from what you or the young -lady may say, I can assure you it will be all right with your general -manager. Mr. Patterson and I have a little unwritten agreement -covering contingencies of this kind." - -In the end the young man departed from the room, returning presently -with a young woman. - -"This is Miss Carter," said he by way of introduction. "Miss Carter, -Captain Converse." - -She proved to be very fragile appearing, very blonde, very small and -slender, and, moreover, very tired and uninterested. - -"Captain Converse has called in regard to what you heard last -night--you know, Miss Carter. It will be proper--perfectly--to -repeat it." - -She directed her faded blue eyes to the officer and began at once to -speak in a quiet, colorless little voice, as if the matter were of -the commonest every-day occurrence--a familiar part of her regular -routine. - -"About midnight last night, the signal-lamp of Main -two-one-two-four--" - -"Signal-lamp?" Converse queried, vaguely; "you mean the signal -indicating that some one had taken down the receiver?" - -"That's it," the night manager interpellated; "a small incandescent -lamp lights up, you know--that's the signal to Central." - -"Very good. Proceed, Miss Carter." - -"Well, before I had time to ask what number was wanted, I heard -something that made me forget to ask at all; or at any rate, for a -minute or so. I heard some one saying in a loud voice--" She -hesitated and looked at Henty, uneasy under the piercing gaze with -which the caller was insensibly regarding her. - -Converse was leaning forward, an elbow upon one knee, the clenched -fist of one hand supporting his chin. He was absolutely motionless, -impassive, save for that wonderful look of the eyes, which played and -scintillated like live fire. - -Quite suddenly Mr. Henty realized the tenseness of the situation, the -magnetism of the silent force which dominated them both. - -"Go on, go on," he said, a trifle nervously. Dropping her glance to -her thin clasped hands, Miss Carter did so. - -"The voice said, 'You miserable hound! How dared you make this thing -known to that--' then came a word that I failed to catch. Next the -voice, still very loud and angry, said, 'Take that!' and two pistol -shots followed in rapid succession. The whole thing happened in a -second." - -The ensuing silence was presently broken by Mr. Converse's sibilant -voice, and it was obvious that the others were measurably relieved -thereby. - -"Did you then ask what number was wanted?" he inquired. - -"No, sir," came the reply, in the same colorless, even tones. "It -was so remarkable--I was so overcome--that I simply sat there -listening." - -"Did you hear anything more?" - -"Well--yes, sir." The words came haltingly. "But I can't tell what -it was." - -"Try to describe the nature of the sounds. Take your time, Miss -Carter; think hard." - -She pondered. - -"Well," she began after a moment, "I should say that what I next -heard was made by some one pounding the transmitter with a hammer, -and at the same time rubbing it with sandpaper; that is the best way -I can describe it." - -"You know," the night manager again interposed, "a very loud sound -close to the transmitter sometimes becomes indistinguishable; it -produces simply an ear-piercing noise that is mighty trying upon the -operators." - -"It was nothing like that," the young woman added, confidently. -Converse asked: - -"If you had been familiar with the sound, could you have identified -it?" - -"Yes, sir. But I never heard anything like it before." - -Converse considered, regarding Miss Carter thoughtfully. Presently -he stirred and sat upright. - -"Like being rubbed with sandpaper, and pounded with a hammer," he -mused aloud; then became attentive. - -"Are you familiar with many of the voices--of the old patrons, that -is?" he inquired. - -"Yes, a good many of them. Some voices I recognize immediately; but, -of course, to me the great majority are merely voices, and no more." - -"I see.... Could you recognize General Westbrook's voice?" - -She smiled slightly, as though the question were amusingly -reminiscent. "Yes, sir," she said; and again the gray eyes kindled. - -"That's good--very good. And was the voice you heard last night -General Westbrook's?" - -"I don't know." - -"Don't know? ... How's that?" - -Miss Carter bestowed a hasty side-glance upon the night floor-walker. - -"Well, you see, sir," she replied, with some hesitation, but also -with a certain air of gratification, as though she were glad of the -opportunity for making the confidence, "that while his voice and -manner were well-known to most of the girls--very cranky and -supercilious he was, and they all detested him--he was not very close -to the transmitter last night." - -Mr. Henty coughed, deprecatingly, behind his hand. - -"Undoubtedly," he again supplemented, "the unfortunate gentleman--I -understood you to say so, Miss Carter?--spoke in a very loud voice-- - -"That is correct," Miss Carter broke in. "It was only because he -spoke so loudly that I was able to catch such words as I did." - -Mr. Converse rewarded the girl with a nod of comprehension and -approval. "Your graphic description will be of incalculable -benefit," said he in a tone of quiet cordiality that brought the -faintest of pink flushes to her pale cheek. And then he turned to -the night manager. - -"Mr. Henty, I should like to try an experiment; I believe I can -duplicate the sounds which Miss Carter described so vividly. May she -go to a 'phone in an adjoining room while I make the effort with this -desk instrument, here?" - -"Sure--if you don't intend to pound it with a hammer or rub it down -with sandpaper," he added lightly..... "Miss Carter, go into Mr. -Bascom's office, and answer over his 'phone. The light is burning." - -"Give me half a dozen or so sheets of paper," Converse now said; -"then get the young lady for me, and I'll do the rest." - -Henty complied with an alacrity born of curiosity. - -"All right, Captain; she answers." - -"Tell her to listen carefully, so she may compare what she will -presently hear with the sounds she heard last night." - -Converse laid the several sheets of paper on the table, and after -overturning the desk telephone--but gently, in this instance--he -placed the instrument just as he had found the one on General -Westbrook's desk and so that it reposed on the sheets of paper. -Holding it with his left hand, he hastily drew the papers from -beneath it with his right. The action produced a slight hissing -sound when the sheets of paper rubbed together and as they slipped -from between the telephone and the desk surface. At the same time -the instrument itself rattled somewhat on the desk. - -"Those are the sounds, precisely," answered Miss Carter. - - -It was only a step to headquarters; but before turning his face in -that direction, Mr. Converse paused on the sidewalk and stood for a -time in deep meditation. Rousing himself at last, he muttered, "Now -for you, Mr. Clay Fairchild," and set off briskly for the City Hall. - -Did he expect to encounter the young man there? Was this the meaning -of his muttered confidence, when he had signalled from Joyce's window -some hours earlier? - -It would seem that he now had sufficient insight into the motives and -impulses governing the puppets in this double tragedy, to feel rather -secure in determining his own movements according to their probable -future conduct. - -He entered the building in his customary silent manner, and at once -occurred one of the many incidents that caused his colleagues to -regard him with a sort of awe. He walked directly to the Sergeant's -desk. - -"Send Fairchild to my office," said he, quietly, and possibly he -smiled somewhere within the cryptic chambers of his mind at the -picture of blank astonishment confronting him. How should any -faculty short of clairvoyance divine that Clay Fairchild had appeared -less than an hour previously and asked to be locked up? - -The Captain of detectives was tilted back in his swivel-chair when -the young man was ushered in a minute or two later; he proceeded -candidly and leisurely to take an inventory of Mr. Clay Fairchild, -who, considering that he had been an object of diligent search by the -police, bore an attitude of admirable unconcern. - -Tall and spare, his features somewhat sharp in outline, he was far -from imparting an unfavorable impression. The dark, intense eyes, -the determined, lean jaw, all suggested Charlotte in many striking -details. Although he was slender, an observer could not miss the -strength and virility of his individuality. He was undoubtedly a -strong, resolute young man, who thoroughly knew his own mind, and was -determined not to be awed or moved by Captain John Converse or any -one else. - -Fairchild contemplated the Captain's huge figure with some show of -interest--as if at a loss to surmise what might come forth from a -source so doubtful and uncertain. He noted suddenly that the gray -eyes were remarkably keen, that they possessed a glint like the -surface of polished steel, and that they seemed to be searching out -the inner-most recesses of his mind. But after he had detected it, -he returned their scrutiny steadily until the enigmatic figure spoke. - -"Sit down," said Converse, pleasantly, shoving a chair toward the -young man. "I am glad to see you, Mr. Clay Fairchild." - -"I don't doubt it," was the dry, drawling response. Nevertheless he -accepted the tendered chair, and waited. - -"Yes; I'm glad to see you, young man; perhaps, after all, you'll do." -The Captain was not displeased at Fairchild's self-possession and -apparent determination to remain non-committal. - -"Thanks. Is it permissible to inquire what particular purpose you -think I may serve?" - -The inquiry was ignored. Converse sat quietly appraising the young -man; and at last he abruptly said: - -"Would you like to go home?" - -"I! Go home!" his amazement was extreme. "Do you mean that I'm not -wanted?" - -"Not here, at any rate. But I'll have to lock you up, whether or no, -if I can't count on your keeping yourself out of view a while longer. -I'm half inclined to think I did wrong in stirring you from your -hiding-place." - -Fairchild gasped. - -"Some explanation is due you, however," the other went on calmly; -"but I have neither time nor inclination to go into it. Your -sister--" - -"Charlotte? What have you to do with Charlotte?" - -"A good deal, young man. You will learn a lot before you are many -hours older. Miss Joyce and I have come to a pretty good -understanding, and it was I who signalled you to-night. Oh, you -don't need to look so astonished; the sooner you realize that I am -sole boss of this affair, the less trouble you will cause yourself. -You go and talk with your sister. You will be glad enough to talk to -me afterwards." - -"Do you--do you--mean that Joyce--that Miss Westbrook has voluntarily -told you--" - -"Exactly. She has voluntarily taken me into her confidence. But it -chanced she suddenly became ill, and some things which she fully -intended to tell--well, she will not be able to tell them for a -while. Otherwise you could still be roosting undisturbed in your old -garret. Clever idea, that." - -Fairchild was dazed. He looked at the Captain blankly, as if his -mind was seething. Talk to Charlotte?--go home?--this extraordinary -man had signalled to him with his and Joyce's secret code? From out -the whirl of ideas but one presented itself in the shape of a clearly -distinguishable fact: somehow his carefully laid plan--his ultimate -resource for turning the tide away from Joyce and her beloved -brother--had evaporated; this unusual individual, moving silently and -invisibly behind the scenes, had discovered the wires, and now he -seemed to have them well in his own hand. Then, how was it with -Joyce? At the thought he became suddenly icy--frozen with a terror -that put his manhood, for the moment, utterly to rout. But abruptly -he became sensible again of the sibilant voice, of a note of kindness -in it, and he managed to direct his attention once more to what the -man was saying. - -"But the result of your and Miss Westbrook's conduct," Converse was -proceeding quietly, "has been to make her position one of the utmost -peril. Heaven knows, it's bad enough. Now, you've got to help her." - -"Good God! anything, anything!" The reply was a groan. - -"Very good. Do as I say, then, and go home. There will be no charge -against you here; nothing to show that you've been here at all. Stay -at home till I arrive--some time to-morrow forenoon--when I wish to -see you and Miss Charlotte together; and, above all, keep yourself -out of sight for a time." - -Still laboring with his emotional storm, Fairchild followed the -Captain docilely enough; yet he had himself pretty well in hand. A -hundred questions surged to his lips; questions of such vital -importance to his peace of mind that it was an acute distress to keep -them back unasked and unanswered; but the manner in which the big, -impassive man had terminated the colloquy was so decisive that he -could only manage to blurt out one of them. - -"Stay a moment!" he cried. "I'll go crazy if you leave me in this -way. You tell me to talk to Charlotte: do you mean that she--that -Charlotte--can explain the turn affairs seem to have taken?" - -The gray eyes, expressionless, met his for a moment. - -"Exactly." - -Fairchild departed from headquarters like a man walking in his sleep. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -FAIRCHILD REDIVIVUS - -On the morning of the day on which the Captain of detectives chose to -efface himself from the stage of the "Westbrook-De Sanchez Drama" to -a position behind the scenes, two things came to his notice that had -for him more than a passing interest. The first we may present as it -appeared, set in modest and inconspicuous agate type, among the court -notes of a certain newspaper. - - -No. 26004. In re Estate of Peyton Westbrook, deceased. Report of -appraisers approved and filed. The report shows that there are no -assets under the will except the homestead, which is reserved to the -widow. - - -The other matter was embodied in a communication which lay on his -desk at headquarters. It was the resignation of one of his -subordinates--the man Adams, him of the shifty eyes and stealthy -ways, whose manner the night of the De Sanchez affair had made Lynden -so uncomfortable. - -The fact that General Peyton Westbrook was actually penniless came -like a bombshell to a community that had so long looked up to him as -a leading citizen, a man of affairs and affluence, whose very name -was a synonyme for business acumen and success; but the fact became -only more certain with the passing days, though the public learned -little more of it than was contained in the notice quoted. - -Converse sat musing for a time, then he tossed Adams's letter into a -pigeonhole. "Going to start a private agency, eh? Very good; I wish -you luck. Now there's a place for McCaleb." He dismissed the matter -from his mind, and at once remembered the morning's chief engagement. -It was time to keep tryst with Miss Charlotte and her brother. - -When he arrived at the cottage Charlotte welcomed him cordially, -while Clay turned to him with a new interest, acquired overnight, and -frankly extended a hand. - -"We nearly made a mess of it, didn't we?" were Clay's first words -after greeting. He laughed at the whimsical look with which he was -being regarded. - -"But I am afraid I am going to disappoint you," he continued. "I -fear things will appear more puzzling and perplexing than ever. -After hearing what Charlotte had to say, it seems marvellous--I am -more at sea than ever." - -The other nodded a brisk comprehension. "We are all at sea, more or -less," said he. "But being at sea in a rudderless craft, without a -navigator, and off the usual routes of traffic, is one thing; to have -a stanch bottom beneath you, a stiff breeze off the quarter, and your -course well marked off, is quite another. - -"I take it, then, that after you and Miss Joyce passed each other in -Mr. Nettleton's office,--after you went into the private office to -see what had occasioned her bursting in upon you so -unceremoniously,--you were more puzzled than ever; that you saw -nothing whatever to explain the occurrence?" - -Was it prescience that prompted this conclusion? for hear the answer: - -"That is correct." - -And again: - -"There was no one there?" - -"No one; no evidence that anybody besides Joyce had been in the -private office." - -Where, then, had the assassin been? - -But Converse, though his mien became a little grimmer, did not pause. - -"After you had ascertained that Miss Westbrook was indeed gone, you -seated yourself once more at your desk--but not to resume your work. -Your mind was engrossed by the recent episode; presently you noted -that a very familiar perfume was still conspicuous, as if in passing -she had left a pleasant evidence of herself loitering about your -desk, and you fell to searching for it. You scattered the papers on -your desk; you looked to the floor--all about you--but did not locate -the source of that delicate fragrance." - -Noting the young man's frank amazement, he chuckled silently. - -"No; I was not there," he went on,--"not until later. But I found -it. In her agitation, she had dropped her handkerchief into your -waste-paper basket." - -"And that," gasped Charlotte, "was what directed you to Joyce!" - -"Miss Fairchild," said the Captain, soberly, "it was a clue that -could not be ignored. You have seen the Countess Zicka in -'Diplomacy.' - -"Go on," urged Fairchild, while his sister nodded her comprehension. - -"Very well. You remained at your desk ten or fifteen minutes longer, -but never got your mind fixed upon your work again. At last you -donned your overcoat and hat and passed over to the Doctor's office, -with a vague idea of finding an explanation there. As you opened his -door, you were still trying to account for Miss Westbrook's transit -through Mr. Nettleton's offices, and when your eye fell upon the form -of De Sanchez, no idea was at first conveyed to your brain; it was so -far beyond anything that you possibly could have imagined. Next -instant a concept of what had happened burst upon you; a false one, -to be sure, but quite natural under the circumstances. I can see -that it was a tremendous shock to you; for the moment you were dumb, -paralyzed with terror; then like a flash your faculties were startled -into an abnormal activity, and you realized that you had become an -important factor in a deed of blood. There sat Doctor Westbrook, and -Howe--a stranger to you--in an ominous silence, their own faces -reflecting something of the deed's horror; Alberto de Sanchez lay -dead at their feet and at yours, and with electric swiftness you -reviewed the facts as you knew them,--the ground of contention -between the Doctor and the dead man, the still bleeding body, the -familiar weapon lying conspicuously on the floor,--all told an awful -story. You did not try to reason it out or give a name to what you -beheld; you were simply dismayed, overwhelmed by a consciousness that -in some way the situation was fraught with the gravest peril for some -one very dear to you,--some one whose well-being and happiness were -of far more importance than your own,--and you acted upon the -blindest of impulses. No one but yourself knew that Miss Joyce had -been there; no one would ever ascertain it from you, and you fled -madly, with no definite aim but to get away--to hide yourself safe -from all pursuit." - -Clay sat watching the speaker, rapt by the recital. - -"This is truly remarkable," he now said, with a quietness born of -deep feeling. "You relate the conditions as if you had experienced -them yourself. Could I have imagined for a moment that the -investigation was to be conducted with such insight and -comprehension, why, I should never have fled. What slaves we are to -impulse!' - -"Aye, to the young it is the refinement of wisdom, as my friend Mr. -Follett would say." - -"There was yet another element augmenting my feelings at that -moment," Clay went on; "do you care to hear?" - -"Assuredly. I should like to hear any conclusions you may have -formed." - -"Well, that very morning Miss Westbrook and I had had a conversation -concerning Señor de Sanchez, to which his sudden taking off and the -manner of it were an awful climax. Never, never again will I lightly -consider the chances of a person's living or dying; the _dénouement_ -was like an answer to an unexpressed wish." - -"But now, then, Mr. Fairchild," interpellated Converse, but stopped -to ask, "You know, of course, about Miss Joyce's illness?" - -"I do; but I am miserably in doubt regarding its seriousness." - -"The conditions are all in her favor: youth, health, splendid -constitution; so you need not worry about that. What I started to -say is, that I wish to direct your attention to the mainspring of the -whole matter. To-night I must leave the city for a time, and before -I go I want to know what it was she saw in the hall. It was while -striving to tell this that she collapsed. Poor girl; I hope that -some time she may find it in her heart to forgive my persistence." - -For a bit the natural seriousness of the young man's countenance was -deepened by the evident care with which he was framing a reply. The -visitor awaited that reply with his customary impassiveness; but -Charlotte, who had been following the conversation with rapt -interest, now suddenly leant forward and watched her brother with -some anxiety. - -"Captain," Clay began at length, "if Joyce--if Miss Westbrook and I -had had better opportunities of discussing the matter since the death -of De Sanchez, we might have come to a better understanding; but I -was haunted with an abnormal fear of discovery, and I shrank from -exposing myself unnecessarily, because I didn't know what dire -disaster it would mean for her and the Doctor." Of a sudden his eyes -kindled. "I saw her but three times," he concluded, "and then only -briefly." - -"Three times?" - -"Yes--" - -But Charlotte's gentle voice interrupted. "Let me explain," said -she, directing a glance of sympathy toward her brother; "it will give -you an added insight into Joyce's character, which will not injure -her in your estimation, I am sure. Dear, brave, impulsive girl! Mr. -Converse, can you imagine Joyce going alone at night to Clay's -hiding-place, that dismal, forsaken house that was once our home?" - -"I can believe anything of her courage, Miss Fairchild." - -"Well, she did--so soon as she learned where Clay was and why he was -there. I have it from Mobley, Mr. Converse; the transformation which -this intelligence worked in her amazed him and Mrs. Westbrook. That -night, unknown to any one, she went through the darkness, through -those wretched, creepy halls and silent, deserted rooms, to tell -Clay--But I shall not relate what she said or what occurred." - -Indeed, it was not necessary that she should; a glance at the young -man's glowing countenance was sufficient. - -Converse laughed knowingly. - -"That was on--let me see, what night was it?" he inquired. - -"The next night after De San--Thursday night," Charlotte replied. - -The Captain nodded appreciatively. - -"That clears up the code," said he. - -"The code went to Joyce in a returning lunch-basket," observed -Fairchild. - -"By way of the Doctor?" the Captain added. - -"Doctor Westbrook, do you mean?" said Clay, surprised. "Oh, no; Mr. -Nettleton's negro, President, was the happy medium, the manna-bearing -raven in my wilderness, always." - -"Did Mr. Nettleton know of this arrangement?" asked Converse. - -"Why, yes," was the perplexed reply. "I don't know what idea you -have, but this is the way of it. When I first left the Nettleton -Building, I went rushing through the streets like one distracted. I -was, I suppose. But presently I came to myself and realized, if I -wished to expunge myself quietly, that I must get my wits together -and think out a plan. So I walked on more composedly, penetrated the -depths of the East Side to a small hotel conducted by a Mexican of -whom I know. Oh, I was terribly upset--clean knocked out; for while -I was in the dingy office a most remarkably beautiful girl entered. -I uttered a cry that frightened her, and sat staring at her with open -mouth. She was the living image of De Sanchez--or so my distraught -brain fancied. - -"Well, there I managed to frame a note to Mr. Nettleton, in which I -explained the circumstances as best I could, dwelling upon the -imperativeness of my resolution, and trusting to his honor for -secrecy. I pointed out how useless it would be to involve Joyce; -that if I was not called upon to testify, the matter would be cleared -up without her ever being brought into it at all--in short that if my -absence would spare her any scandal, why, I would remain absent as -long as it might be necessary. I don't believe the Doctor at any -time knew where I was; for at the very start we all agreed to keep -our own counsels, on the theory that a secret is best kept when -shared by the fewest people. The searching inquiry that was to -follow was anticipated, and the fact was pressed home to Joyce by -both Mr. Nettleton and myself, that it would prove far more expedient -for the Doctor honestly to plead ignorance than to attempt evasion; -so he was told nothing, and not even Charlotte was given a hint of my -whereabouts. Joyce was to be saved at all hazards." - -"Dear boy!" softly interposed Charlotte. - -"Lottie, don't distract me that way, please," protested her brother; -"you make me forget where I am." - -"And Mr. Nettleton entered into this mad scheme, did he?" asked the -Captain, much interested. - -"He agreed with me that,--for the time being, at any rate, or until -something developed to give an idea which way the cat was likely to -jump,--it was just as well that I exile myself; offering the one -objection, that I was likely to direct suspicion to myself. That was -a contingency encouraging rather than deterring, and he promised, -finally, to lend me every aid. - -"Next day he confided the plan to Joyce, who immediately elected -herself the guiding spirit of the enterprise: President might be the -intermediary, but no other hands than hers could prepare the food. -God bless her!" - -"But we have wandered far from the point," the Captain remarked -tersely. "What did Miss Joyce see in the hall?" - -"To be brief, Mr. Converse," returned Clay, "I don't know. I was -trusting, before you came, that you yourself would know. The little -time we were together she would not speak of it. Whatever it was, it -had affected her profoundly, filling her with a horror she could not -banish. But I do know that she did not see the assassin: she said as -much." - -"Ah-h-h! Did she say directly that she had not?" The gray eyes -suddenly narrowed. - -"Yes. I asked her if she had." - -"And her answer?" - -"Was no." - -A gleam shot between the contracted lids, which obviously was -irrepressible. - -"I am glad the situation yields you something, at any rate," said -Clay; and Charlotte added anxiously, "What is it, Mr. Converse?" - -He made a grimace of deprecation. - -"Have I permitted my feelings to show themselves?" he asked, and -shook his head mournfully. "I told Mr. Mountjoy last night that I -was aging; I reckon it is only too true. I have a trifle laid by, -and when it amounts to enough to purchase a little home--like -this--say--where I can have plenty of flowers, you'll never hear of -me interfering with any more such cases; no, indeed. You may laugh, -my boy, but it is a fact.... I should say now, as a guess, that one -of the three times when you saw Miss Joyce was night before last, eh?" - -"Yes, sir," was the reply. - -And so it may be seen that, however old the Captain might be, he had -not forgotten the wisdom of Polonius's admonition to "give every man -thine ear, but few thy voice." Their eager questions remained -unanswered, and they failed to note. - -"I wish you would tell me what you were doing in the Westbrook yard," -Converse continued; "what you saw and heard while there." - -"Did Joyce speak of that?" was the unnecessarily cautious response. - -"In a way, yes; but I want impressions at first hand." - -The young man considered a while before proceeding. - -"Well, you know about our code of signals," he said at length, "mine -and Joyce's. I arranged that code, and was very proud of it until we -attempted to use it; then a difficulty arose: Joyce's inability to -read half the signals, and mine to read the other half. Still, the -chief object was attained: nightly we assured each other of our -well-being, and I was enabled to glean pretty well how affairs were -progressing. - -"But there were one or two occasions when I was left in a perplexing -doubt. I became intolerably anxious and impatient, and throwing -caution to the winds, I met Joyce in her yard. Our signals of -meeting, fortunately, were never difficult of interpretation. - -"So it was on Monday night. Of course I was anxious to be with her -at all times, but then the whim seized me all at once, and--well, I -went. I heard the shots--just as I was leaving--but had no idea they -came from the house, and neither had Joyce. We differed about their -exact location, but that was all; we heard no more nor saw anything. -I did not approach close to the house at any time." - -"Shortly after hearing the shots--just before you left--did you hear -no sound, as of some one approaching from the house?" - -Clay shook his head. "Not a thing," he said. - -The next question, "Did you see Howard Lynden Monday night?" caused -his face to darken. - -"Howard?" he asked, uncomprehendingly. "No. What of him?" - -"You did not know that he was near you Monday night--" The speaker -stopped in the face of the other's expression. Clay's brow knotted, -his lips compressed, and he watched Converse intently through -half-closed lids. He glanced swiftly at his sister. It was quite -plain that Lynden, as a topic, was extremely distasteful. - -But Clay merely said: - -"So Mr. Howard Lynden followed her from Mrs. Farquier's, did he? -What have you to say to that, Lottie?" - -"Maybe not, Clay, maybe not. Don't be--" - -"No; he did not," interposed the Captain; "but started out to look -for her as soon as he missed her from the company." - -"It's the same," said the young man; and again he fixed an intent, -half-veiled scrutiny upon the visitor. - -"I believe you understand," he abruptly resumed. "Charlotte is -inclined to stand up for him,--she would for anybody, for that -matter,--but he is a little-- Well, I regret that I can't express -myself to him. If you only knew how he has watched her, how he has -made her life a weariness--" - -"I do know something of it." Converse laughed dryly. "If her word -carries any weight with him, he knows it too." - -As his auditor's look became inquiring, the Captain narrated what had -occurred at the Westbrooks'. - -Clay put a period to the recital with a satisfied "Good!" - -"Does Lynden regard Miss Joyce with any unusual warmth of affection?" - -"Does he!" with an indignant stare. "Why, he's head over heels in -love with her. Did you ever hear of such presumptuous conceit?" - -Very soberly, Converse replied that he had not. - -"That's what makes his conduct all the more annoying," this -confidence went on; "it is as if he suspected her of something. Why, -he might even think she had something to do with the De Sanchez -business." - -"Sure enough." The idea was illuminating. Presently Converse -inquired how much the young man knew of De Sanchez's determination to -marry Joyce. - -"I knew that De Sanchez came here for the express purpose of marrying -her," was the reply. "That could mean only a resolution formed when -Joyce was a mere child." He abruptly paused. "What is it?" he asked. - -Converse had suddenly become electrified into a tense alertness. He -grasped the chair-arms, as if imminently upon the point of springing -up. Quite suddenly, again, his normal impassiveness reasserted -itself. - -"Go on, go on," said he, with a haste not altogether free from -eagerness. - -"Do my words suggest anything?" - -"They do. But go on." - -"Well," resumed Clay, "when Joyce took that trip to Mexico, she was -too young and inexperienced to appreciate a fact that later became -susceptible of interpretation. Looking back to that time, she could -not fail to see that his conduct was then directed toward herself; -that it greatly annoyed her father, although General Westbrook seemed -to handle the situation easily; and that the subsequent severance of -all relations between the two men, which presently followed, was not -entirely without an explanation. Joyce was blind to the man's -attentions, except now and then when some incident of unusual ardor -instinctively struck a note of warning, causing her to wonder dimly, -then it passed and was forgotten. The fact is, that De Sanchez must -have been struck all of a heap, for he seems to have inaugurated a -campaign of wooing of characteristic Latin warmth, ready to override -all other considerations. Joyce is of the impression that her father -discouraged this design of the other man's in no uncertain manner." - -The speaker paused. It was obvious that he was arranging his -thoughts, and Converse waited without moving. - -"Next, De Sanchez appears here, and soon events begin to shape -themselves in a way that, seemingly, can't be explained. For -instance, when you consider what happened in Mexico, and the hiatus -between that time and De Sanchez's appearance, how can you account -for the endeavors in his behalf which gave him an immediate social -prestige locally? How can you account for the fact that his suit was -not only favored, but that pressure was brought to bear upon Joyce to -gain her consent? Knowing that she regarded the man with especial -dislike, how can you explain her hovering on the very verge of giving -in?" - -"Did she never enlighten you?" The Captain was regarding the young -man curiously. - -"No." A tinge of bitterness crept into his reply. "She merely said -her father had convinced her that it was her duty to marry De -Sanchez." - -"You did not know, of course, that Slade witnessed her departure from -the Nettleton Building?" - -"Did he? It is he, then, who has caused all this recent trouble?" - -"In a way, yes. He furnished the material. I want to ask you -something about that. Shortly after you disappeared he addressed an -unsigned note to me, saying, in effect, that, if I found the -woman--then much of a mystery--I should know who killed De Sanchez. -He also said that you were innocent. Why should he make so obvious -an attempt to divert suspicion from you?" - -"I can't imagine. While I do not share with mother and Lottie the -bitterness which the name of Slade arouses, yet I know very little of -him; merely enough to nod in passing. The father was, doubtless, an -unconscionable scoundrel; but William, in spite of his repulsive -qualities, is in no wise to blame for that. I've always felt a sort -of sneaking pity for him. The old fellow eyes me often in a -peculiar, ruminative way--somewhat as he did when bestowing his -'blessing' upon General Westbrook. But he's a harmless crank." - -"'Slade's Blessing,'" mused the Captain. - -Clay nodded and went on: "You've heard of it, I see. He's a little -touched, I believe. He sometimes mumbles when he looks at me,--a way -he has; but pshaw! I never paid any attention to it; his -incantations are harmless. In the early eighties, when the elder -Slade closed in on dad, and dad died, William was still struggling -with the law. Lord knows, I have reason to sympathize with him. -Next, his father died, and he gave it up." - -The young man asked how Slade came to see Joyce. - -"In the most natural manner in the world," replied Converse. "Five -o'clock is his customary hour for quitting work, as you probably -know; he was just in the act of emerging from Room 6 when Miss Joyce -ran past him. In fact, he had to step back to avoid a collision. -This was immediately after she had surprised you, and she was so -intent on getting away that she did not observe him at all, it would -seem. She was running on tiptoe from the direction of the upper end -of the hall and toward the stairs. That is the substance of an -affidavit made by him before the Coroner." - -Though the two talked some time longer, the discussion yielded -nothing more until Converse was in the act of departing. He was -standing on the veranda, when he said: - -"By the way, it would be a good idea if you could make yourself -inconspicuous for a while longer--until you hear from me, at any -rate. If the reporters get a line upon what you happen to know, -there will be the devil to pay." - -"I can remain in the house indefinitely," Clay suggested. - -The Captain shook his head. "That will merely add stimulus to their -efforts. I wager that somebody who knows you saw you last night. -Isn't there some friend upon whom you can impose temporarily?" - -The young man pondered a moment, and presently his face brightened. - -"Yes," said he. "I know of the very place--Mr. Nettleton's -plantation. It is only about seven miles beyond here, and I can walk -it easily." - -"Very good." Then, as if the matter had for the first time occurred -to him, Converse added: - -"By the way, who is the proprietor of the East Side hotel where you -wrote your letter to Mr. Nettleton?" - -The question seemed of trifling importance. - -"Ramon Velasquez. Mr. Nettleton has done some legal work for him." - -"Very good. Whatever you do, keep yourself out of sight. You seem -to know how, so I'll not offer any suggestions. Good-bye." - -But Mr. Converse was still to be much in evidence that night. He -found a number of things to detain him, and it was not until the -afternoon of the next day, the nineteenth, that he quietly -disappeared from his customary haunts. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -"THE THUNDERBOLT HAS FALLEN" - -The next Sunday morning was bright and frosty. Mr. Mountjoy was -early abroad; his footsteps rang out, sharp and metallic, as he -passed briskly down the artificial stone walk of the Mountjoy -residence; ignoring clanging trolley cars, he set his face toward the -city, striding along with the firmness and ease of one whose vitality -is in entire accord with the crystalline day. - -As he walked, he meditated. - -What would Mrs. Westbrook and Joyce do, now that they were -impoverished? Would this news prove of any value to John? Would -Mobley, as head of the family, continue on at the mansion which had -for years been the Westbrook home? Mobley himself did not know. It -was true that he could afford to maintain the establishment; it had -seemed natural for him to step in upon his father's demise; but it -would mean a complete readjustment of his mode of life, and he was -too old to change readily, to adapt himself to new and unfamiliar -conditions. - -And what had become of General Westbrook's fortune, anyhow? The -circumstance presented a condition so extraordinary, that experience -strove in vain for a solution. - -And so on until, quite unexpectedly, a familiar name caught his eye: -Abram Follett. - -Glancing from the faded, dust-encrusted sign, he took in the details -of the dingy, square, two-storied building that seemed to be sleeping -in the Sunday calm of Ash Lane. It was very quiet, and he advanced -doubtfully to the closed double door and rapped loudly upon its -begrimed panels. - -He was not entirely devoid of curiosity as he awaited the issue; so -when the door opened to reveal a negro of gigantic proportions, his -countenance reflected something of the surprise which the encounter -afforded. - -"Mr. Follett?" he queried vaguely. - -The huge darkey grinned. - -"No, seh," was the reply. "De boss's in de yahd." - -Joe regarded Mr. Mountjoy's Sunday attire with uncertainty. "If -you'll step to de otheh doah," with tones respectfully lowered, "I'll -fetch him; dis yere's de stoah-room." - -As he was bidden, Mr. Mountjoy stepped to the other door, a single -one at a corner of the structure, and after some minutes of waiting, -footsteps within told that it concealed a stairway; then it was -opened by the negro, who invited the visitor to ascend. - -Mr. Mountjoy had no sooner entered the front apartment than he -mentally ejaculated: "Why, of course! An ancient mariner like John -would live just so, with some battered and weather-beaten shipmate, -comrade of many an adventurous cruise; nothing more natural." He -experienced a sudden admiration for the feeling which prompted the -big, taciturn detective to keep his vocation from intruding upon his -private life. The lawyer's glance was scrutinizing when it rested -upon the twisted, limping figure which presently entered. He had -deposited his hat and coat upon a locker-like box, noting as he did -so that its surface was scrupulously clean, and he now stood -expectant, with his back to one of the white-curtained front windows. - -The visitor's inspection was only momentary. - -"I am Mr. Mountjoy," said he, advancing and holding out his hand, -"the District Attorney; no doubt you have heard of me." - -A light of recognition and welcome, together with an underlying -expression of more than usual interest, instantly broke over the -shrewd, kindly countenance. - -"Mr. Mountjoy!" repeated Mr. Follett, extending a gnarled and -distorted hand, with which he grasped the other's. "Well, lawyer, I -am real glad to meet you. Set right down there--that's Captain -John's chair--an' make yourself comf'table." - -The Morris chair was comfortable, as Mr. Mountjoy instantly -discovered. - -"A bright, clear, frosty morning," Mr. Follett went on with cheerful -garrulity, as he slowly seated himself in his own chair. "Yes, -John's spoke o' you often--often. We're old shipmates, him an' me," -he concluded, with an explanatory wave about the room. - -"So I understand," said Mountjoy, easily; "and bound by many enduring -ties, I have no doubt." - -Presently he assumed an attitude extremely business-like. Arising -and going to the chest where lay his overcoat, he produced from one -of the pockets a long, legal-looking envelope. - -"Here I have some very important items of news, gleaned, since John's -departure, from the columns of the local press. There is also a -letter from myself setting forth a good deal of matter concerning a -case which now occupies his exclusive attention and endeavors; having -the requisite postage attached, all that is now necessary to forward -this envelope upon its way, is--the address." He tossed it upon the -table. "There, I leave it to your care." - -"It shall go to John to-day," quietly remarked Mr. Follett. His face -assumed a thoughtful expression as he slowly filled and lighted a -pipe. - -"Lawyer," he went on after a puff or two, "I'm glad you come just -when you did. There's a matter I want to talk to you about; John -would want that you know it." - -"Very well," the guest acquiesced; and with much difficulty Mr. -Follett arose and made his way to the mantel, where he extracted a -letter from a mother-of-pearl box standing there. - -"Look at that," handing the missive to the lawyer and resuming his -seat. "Read that an' tell me what you make of it." - -The envelope, very much soiled and crumpled, bore the simple -superscription, in pencil, "La Señorita Dolores," and nothing else. -One end had been torn open, and there appeared a portion of a sheet -of note-paper upon which was written, also in pencil, four words, "El -rayo ha cáido." - -"Well," said Mr. Mountjoy, presently, "I make very little of it. -Spanish, I suppose?" - -"That means," was the impressive reply, "that means, 'The thunderbolt -has fallen.'" - -Mountjoy made no effort to hide his curiosity and wonder. - -"Tell me about it," said he, settling himself more comfortably. - -For a time Mr. Follett smoked in silence; then, ignoring his pipe -further, he confronted his caller with the suddenness of one who sees -his way clear before him, and began: - -"There's a machinist, Hunter by name, who works nights at the -compress. Him an' his wife an' a half-dozen or so o' children live -in one o' them little cottages near by, just off Ash Lane. Well, -last night Hunter an' a dago friend o' his 'n stopped one o' the -night men on this beat, sayin' they had a matter that was a-puzzlin' -them mightily, an' they wanted to have a talk about it--not that the -dago could make himself understood to any great extent, but Hunter -had him along to kind o' back 'im up. Hunter said what he had to -say, an' the policeman, knowin' that John lived near by, brought the -two o' them here. O' course he didn't know about John bein' away; -but enough was said for me to ask a question or two, an' I finally -got the hull story. - -"Hunter has a boy nine years old, who sells papers mornin's an' -evenin's, an' when he sells out he never has more 'n thirty or forty -cents, or thereabouts, to show for it. Every night the boy brings -this money home an' turns it over to his mother. A good lad, you see. - -"Well, two or three days ago the mother found a silver dollar tucked -away under a little vase that stands on a shelf in one o' their -rooms. She knew that none o' the family had lost a dollar; she knew -she hadn't put it there herself--they're not so plentiful in the -Hunter home--so it worried her a hull lot. She took all the children -to task, one by one, an' to make a long story short, she finally got -it out o' the nine-year-old that he'd put the dollar under the vase. -He was so back'ard in ownin' up an' in talkin' about it, that she -just natcher'lly kep' at him until she drew out a bit at a time the -boy's story o' the dollar." - -The speaker paused and seemed to be much interested in the nodding -head of his auditor. Mountjoy sat with the tips of his fingers -pressed lightly together and his thin lips tightly closed. - -"I follow you," he now said; "pray continue." - -"Not very excitin' so far, but necessary," said Mr. Follett. "Now, -hear the rest. This here's the way the boy's yarn went. - -"One evenin', a week or so before the findin' o' the money, he saw a -man step from the Palace Drug Store--" - -Mountjoy's eyebrows suddenly shot upwards, and he sat up straighter -in his chair. - -"--which, as you know," the other went on at once, "is catty-cornered -across from the Nettleton Buildin' on Court Street. He ran up to -this man to sell him a paper an' the man stepped up in the shadow of -a doorway an' asked the boy would he deliver a letter if he--the -man--bought all the papers. The boy hung back; then the man pulled -out a dollar, sayin' he'd give that too if the boy'd only hurry. The -little lad then agreed to take the letter which the man handed him, -together with the dollar, an' twenty cents for the four _Expresses_ -he still had. The man then told the boy to listen sharp while he -learned where the letter was to be delivered. After bein' satisfied -that the boy understood, the man hurried away. - -"It seems that the more the boy thought about it, the less he liked -the job. The address told him was in a part o' town the boy didn't -know much of, an' it begun to loom pretty prominent in his mind that -he was scairt to go there after night. So it ended in him a-goin' -home an' hidin' the letter an' money, gettin' rid o' the hull thing -easy, like a boy can, you know. - -"But when Hunter himself heard about it, he went into the matter -further an' found out a bit more. - -"What did the man look like? The boy couldn't tell, as he had not -only been in the shadow, but his coat collar was turned up an' a soft -hat was pulled down over his eyes; but he had been mighty polite an' -soft spoken, an' the lad knew that his clothes were extra fine--a -'swell dresser,' as Hunter put it. - -"Next, what night was it? This soundin' by an' by struck deep water -an' a clear way ahead: the night o' the murder in the Nettleton -Building. - -"What time that night? The boy couldn't say exactly, but it was -about half an hour before he got home. A little figgerin' fixed this -time at somewheres 'round five o'clock. Do you see?" - -Mountjoy, very grave now, merely nodded. - -"Hunter thought right off he'd found a clue. He opened the letter, -an' o' course couldn't make head nor tail of it. He puzzled over it -days when he'd ought to been asleep, an' nights when he'd ought to -been attendin' to his work; an' at last he calls in his dago friend -for a conference. Funny, warn't it? - -"The friend thought it looked like dago writin' all right, but he -couldn't read this particular kind. Queer how them furriners can -talk an' read some outlandish lingo an' not know good plain English, -ain't it? - -"Well, the dago thinks the thing to do is to take it to the policeman -on this beat, though how he ever made Hunter understand is beyond me. -They does it, as I have told you." - -The interest with which Mr. Mountjoy followed this recital mounted -rapidly to absorption. After the speaker had quite finished, he sat -for a time still regarding him, evidently considering the -possibilities of the incident. - -"Well!" he exclaimed, finally. "This is a remarkable development. -Undoubtedly it is of importance. It is a pity that John was not -cognisant of it before leaving the city. He must have this brief -note and the story of it as soon as possible. I should like to -question that boy myself. Do you think you could get him and Hunter -here this afternoon--say, at three o'clock? If so, I will be on hand -with a stenographer, and the matter may go forward to-night." - -"I will try," rejoined Mr. Follett. "Yes, I think I can. I will go -after 'em right away." - - -Mr. Follett did succeed in securing the attendance of Hunter and the -boy at No. 18 Ash Lane; and while the statement prepared by the -lawyer, added to the newspaper clippings and sent that night to the -captain of detectives, differed considerably in form from Mr. -Follett's narrative, it contained but one particular which the latter -himself had not related: the cryptic note had been destined for the -hotel of one Ramon Velasquez. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -SOME LOOSE ENDS - -As may be imagined, Captain John Converse, in the steady, -unostentatious performance of his duty, was not the only one to whom -success signified a reward as large as the twenty thousand dollars -offered by the De Sanchez estate. About the time of his quiet leave -taking there was a great gathering of soi-disant specialists, -investigators, and detectives, like corbies to a feast. But they -only created, for a time, a distracting tumult, and were soon -forgotten--with a single exception. The man Adams, also working -quietly and unostentatiously, is still to be heard from. - -In the early part of January three incidents happened, bearing more -or less directly upon the two tragedies, each of them attended by -circumstances that caused more than one individual to regard a -probable clearing up of the mysteries with the gloomiest doubt. We -may not know how they impressed Mr. Converse, for he had not yet -returned, but Mr. Mountjoy, and Miss Charlotte especially, viewed the -outlook with dark forebodings. - -First of all, after hovering between life and death for many weeks, -Joyce one morning quite suddenly looked again upon the world with -eyes in which shone the light of intelligence. Doctor Westbrook -chanced to be present, and the mother heard them whisper a while -together; and presently the Doctor came to her, his face pinched with -worry. - -It was characteristic that she did not question him; but as he left -the room, she immediately followed him into the hall, closed the door -noiselessly behind her, and placing her back to it, waited. - -"We must be extremely careful," said he. "Any sudden shock may kill -her.... Mother, she has forgotten--all." - -The woman seemed to shrink; but she said nothing. - -"It may be only temporary," the Doctor hastily added. So far he had -talked quite as if he were discussing the condition of some chance -patient with a member of that patient's family; but now a groan burst -from him. "God grant it!" he cried tensely, under his breath. "God -grant that the past may come to her gradually as she grows strong to -bear it. But up to the moment of her waking her memory is a complete -blank; it is like a slate sponged clean." - -The mother tried to whisper a question: 'You--you don't think her -mind--' The Doctor showed that he had been thinking of it, by the -quickness with which he read his mother's thoughts, and hastened to -deny. - -"No, no," he insisted vigorously. "The condition is common enough in -such debilitating diseases. Were I not so upset myself--were I free -of any personal interest--I should say it was a benefit for the time -being. But I can't bear any abnormal conditions in Joyce. Merely be -careful not to shock her. Please speak to the servants." - -Mrs. Westbrook simply bowed her head, and did not raise it again -until her son had departed. - -But if the Doctor's words were reassuring, he was by no means so -sanguine himself: it was also not uncommon that memories so lost were -never recovered. - - -During a black night of tempest and pounding sleet without, of -high-leaping fires assaulted by gelid gusts within, Mrs. Elinor -Fairchild's spirit winged its flight from the poor earthly frame that -had enchained it. So imperceptible was the transition, that -Charlotte, star-eyed and sibylline, brooding by the glowing hearth, -marked it not. - -Some hours later, when bestirring herself to retire, she laid her -slim fingers for a moment upon her mother's forehead, withdrawing her -hand with a suddenness that marked the swift quickening of -questioning dread. But after all, if the Spectre be really -confronting us, how certain is his presence! Instantly her -intelligence was submerged by conviction. - -With a thought of Mr. Converse flitting incongruously through her -mind, it occurred to her that the closed door was locked for ever. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -MR. SLADE RESIGNS - -The third incident has to do with Mr. William Slade. With the cold -days of January, there came over him a noticeable change; quite -suddenly--in a day--he seemed to have aged, to have shrunk and become -doddering. It was an effort for him to climb the one flight of -stairs to Room 6, and when once there, a still greater effort to go -about his business. He began to be late of mornings and to commit -trifling irregularities which, it was obvious, were due to a failing -memory; the beady eyes--though with a waning brightness--regarded -impartially and with open suspicion and hostility all who approached -him--eyes unmistakably like a mouse's when that diminutive animal -debates the chances of getting safely from one cover to another under -the supervision of an alert cat. - -The change was observed and commented upon in the main office across -the hall. After much idle speculation one morning on the part of a -clerk and the book-keeper as to the extent of Slade's wealth and its -probable disposition in the event of his death, the book-keeper said: - -"And there's another thing. Have you ever noticed him--" he cast a -hasty, covert glance toward the entry door, and leaning suddenly -forward, lowered his voice to a whisper,--"have you ever noticed him -when he comes in or goes out of the abstract room--lately, I mean?" - -The clerk shook his head. - -"Well," impressively, "it makes me wonder if he didn't know something -about that murder. You know, he was here that night. He never -passes through his door now that he don't stop and look down the hall -toward Doctor Westbrook's office. I bet nobody else has noticed it. -That shows what it is to be observant; it's just little things like -that that Sherlock Holmes worked out his wonderful cases by. I've -seen Slade do it--look down the hall, I mean--many a time. He stands -there just as if he heard or saw something. Queer, isn't it? And if -any one comes up on him suddenly, he acts as though he had been -caught doing something crooked, and hurries away." - -If there's any virtue in old wives' saws, Mr. Slade's ears should -have burned. Beyond, in the front office, overlooking Court Street, -the abstracter was again a topic of discussion; but this time between -personages no less important than the president, the secretary, and -the treasurer of the Guaranty Abstract Company. At this conference -it was decided that the company could thenceforth dispense with -Slade's services, and it fell to the secretary so to inform him. - -A few minutes later, when Slade comprehended the intelligence, he got -unsteadily to his feet. He tugged aimlessly at his untidy collar a -time or two, as if it were too tight, and when he again spoke a whine -crept into his harsh utterance. - -"You won't hurry me, will you? Say you won't hurry me. Give me -another month; time to--to adjust myself to the new conditions. You -are right: I am old; I--I sha'n't last much longer. I've received a -mortal blow,--not this, though, not this." - -But the secretary hardened. "We're not hurrying you," said he. "You -have till February first--practically a month--and in the meantime -you can do pretty much as you please. Understand?" - -During the rest of that day Slade conducted himself like a man dazed. -There was a forward droop to his knees, to his shoulders, and to his -head; and altogether he presented a most unlovely spectacle of -irresolution and helplessness. - -From long force of habit he did not leave Room 6 until five o'clock; -but at that hour he got slowly into his overcoat--once black, but now -plum-colored where the light struck upon it--and donned his hat, -preparatory to departing for the night. The clerks across the hall, -the occupants of the other offices, passed out one by one or in -couples, their brisk homeward-bound footsteps clattering cheerfully -in the hall; and when he finally turned off the light the building -was deserted save for himself and one other. As he slowly descended -the stairs, clinging tenaciously to the railing, Doctor Westbrook -passed him--also descending,--and as he did so, bent a keen look -toward the meagre, tottering form and the parchment-like countenance, -drawn by acute physical pain and overcast by an unhealthy pallor. He -nodded as he went by, but Slade did not observe it; neither did he -see that the physician paused at the foot of the stairs and looked -back at him. - -Somehow Slade arrived at his single cheerless, disordered apartment. -It was dirty, damp, and fireless. He lighted a candle--so primitive -were his conveniences--which with some difficulty he stood upright on -a corner of the table, where it was held steady by its congealed -drippings. - -And all that night, and until well into the next forenoon, Slade left -the bare table only once or twice: once to get from a shelf a bit of -bread and a tin box of sardines. The latter, after several vain -attempts to open, he cast aside and contented himself with the crust. -The rest of the night he wrote sedulously, though slowly and with -much labor; and when he had finished, a considerable pile of numbered -pages reposed by his hand. About ten o'clock in the morning the cold -enveloped him like an icy mantle; the pen slipped from his nerveless -fingers, and he allowed it to remain where it fell; he dropped upon a -cot which stood against the wall, pulled the covering closely about -him, and slept immediately. In the afternoon he was awakened by a -vivid dream and sat suddenly upright, his eyes once more jet-like -with the light of a newly formed purpose. - - -The drifting shadows of the old Fairchild homestead were destined to -behold strange sights and to hear strange sounds before being finally -banished from beneath the crumbling roof. - -Within the roomy dining-hall a heavy table has lost its identity -beneath a thick coat of dust and a heap of plaster, sometime fallen -from the ceiling; yet it is of solid mahogany, with legs richly -carved, and hides a warm, brilliant lustre under its coat of dirt and -neglect. - -The shadows deepen. The chilly mist without becomes a rain, dripping -mournfully from the decaying, moss-covered eaves, and filling the old -house with strange, hollow echoes, weird and fantastic. - -Without warning, these quiet, melancholy sounds are disturbed by -another, loud and startling. It is like a groan, dominating all -other sounds and awakening its counterpart in every portion of the -building. - -Immediately uncertain footsteps, marked by many shufflings, as of -some person laboring beneath a burden, approach the dining-room door; -a load of some nature is eased to the floor without; next, the door -itself turns on screaming hinges to reveal a dim form. The form -enters, drags a prodigious bundle after it, upon which it collapses -as if its endurance were quite spent, and discloses the sallow, -marasmic countenance of Mr. William Slade. - -He presents a spectacle of utter physical exhaustion as he sits all -huddled together on his recent burden. But after a while he gets -unsteadily to his feet and busies himself about the apartment. - -Strange is this final scene upon which the shadows, marshalled in -wonder in the farthest corners, are destined to look to-night; -stranger still and more weird are the sounds that echo and re-echo -through the empty, dark rooms. In all its history of comedy and -tragedy the mouldering roof has never sheltered an act so incongruous -as this. - -Behold the heavy table spread for a feast and lighted with the soft -glow of many wax candles; behold the flames on the cluttered, mossy -hearth struggling for access up the choked chimney; and above all, -behold the solitary figure seated at the board, fingering a -wine-glass and seeking with rheumy eyes to penetrate the darker -limits of the vast room--indeed, a spectre at the board. Mad, mad, -clearly mad! - -Yet, look closer still and this madness reveals a certain method: a -ghastly significance may be traced in the details, in the man's -actions and the words he mutters ceaselessly; and although the -spectacle remains incongruous, it ceases to be ludicrous. The fire -on the hearth and the wan light of the tapers only accentuate the -cheerlessness and squalid ruin of the place--of Slade himself, and of -that spread table which is a thing to shrink from. - -There are two covers laid--even a bouquet of hothouse roses, somewhat -wilted and crushed from having been too tightly packed in the bundle. -But where is the guest of this eerie banquet? Has one of the shadows -been summoned forth from the dismal chambers to share it? - -The second chair is oddly decked with fabrics of faded hue and -ancient design, inasmuch as they are plainly articles of feminine -apparel marking a mode dead these twoscore years. Most conspicuous -of these decorations is a faded lavender skirt of silk with many -flounces, cut long, long ago, not to fit any woman's shape, but with -the prodigality demanded by the wide hoop of the period. The -garments were arranged on the chair with an obvious attempt to -suggest a human occupant; but the effect is ghostly and repulsive, -the semblance pitiful. - -It is unlikely that Mr. Slade could have found anything with which he -was less familiar than champagne, unless indeed it were the art of -presiding at such a feast as this one pretended to be; for, -witness!--merely two spoons and forks and glasses served all -requirements. Mere ghost of a dinner--a shadow among the innumerable -other shadows of the place Slade's gaucherie was not even relieved by -a hint that he had ever been present at an actuality of the kind. -The wine mounted quickly to his head and infused a temporary vitality -into his dry frame; the lack-lustre eyes became jet-like once more; -even a tinge of color glowed feverishly in his sallow cheek; more -wonderful still, his tongue was loosened to an unwonted loquacity. -But his voice remained harsh and rasping, his movements stiff and -awkward, and no slumbering trace of amiability was quickened into -life. - -Clumsily he opened the bottles, losing half their contents as he -dodged to escape the flying corks. - -"Drink, my dear," he said, nodding to the draped chair with a sorry -attempt at joviality. "That's right. Great thing, champagne; sorry -I didn't know it before." He leaned across the table and tried to -fill the second glass, already full many times over, and gave the -sopping cloth, which had been spread regardless of the dust, another -libation. "Drink. Drink and be merry, as the old saying -is--Epicurus, eh? Wonderful how it warms your heart.... And to -think I never knew how champagne could fire one!" He tossed off the -contents of his own glass and clacked his tongue. - -"But I have been working," he went on with sudden cunning; "working -for you, Elinor. This is our homecoming; all my life, my dear, I've -pictured you and me sitting here and facing each other, and the -niggers waiting on us. Niggers 'fraid to come, damn 'em! But's all -yours--within bounds, of course--within bounds. I'm rich, I -am--moderately so--perhaps not rich, but enough; with economy, enough -for comfort." He waved the glass about at arm's length, noticed that -it was empty, and refilled it. "All yours--and mine. And here we -are! I forget the past--'s all wiped out--your children shall be my -God, and my children your-- You know; 's in the Bible. Wherever I -goest you goest--" - -There was a phonetic allusion in the repeated verb that cast a sudden -damper over his exuberant spirits. - -"Ghost!" he muttered, bending a dark look upon the lavender skirt, -the time-stained cashmere shawl, the yellow bit of lace that adorned -the chair facing him. Sitting so, he fell into a long, brooding -silence. - -The fire slowly sank upon the hearth, and the candles guttered -unheeded down on the table. Without, the rain had settled into a -steady downpour, its unbroken roar being intensified, in a muffled -way, by the vast, empty house; a cold, penetrating wintry rain, such -as drives the belated wayfarer to shelter however scant, and early -empties the drenched streets of every living thing. And with a -frequency growing more insistent as the minutes pass, the chill and -the damp strike to Slade's very heart. Often now he fumbles with -bottles and fills his glass--never forgetting the one opposite him, -though it is never emptied--and at length the black mood is driven -forth, only to stand once more at his elbow. Of a sudden he laughs -harshly--a laugh that certainly would have startled any occupant of -the room, had one been present to hear, for the laugh was both bitter -and malignant. - -"Come, drink up, m' dear. You're no ghos'--not you! Ha!" The glass -rattled upon his teeth. "That damn' Peyton Wes'brook; he's a ghos', -hey? Well, he is. Here's to the ghos'. Thought he'd get you, -Elinor; but you're no ghos'--'s lie, tha's what 't is--lie. You're -mine. All mine--house--money--you--all mine, at las'. We'll show -'em, curse 'em!" His unsteady hand overturned the brimming glass, -but he poured on just the same; and when presently he noticed that -the bottle was drained, he threw it with a wild laugh to a far dark -corner, where it splintered against the panelling with a crash of -sound that awed and frightened even him. But the vapors of the wine -had too firm a hold on his brain for the feeling to remain. He -laughed again, and went on with his mad monologue. - -"Happy at las', too, El'nor. Been savin' all for you, m' dear. Ever -hear me sing, hey? Remember this? Listen." - -And, _mirabile dictu_, in a voice cracked, quavering, and harsh, -William Slade burst into song. - -It is needless to linger over this horrid banquet. It ended -abruptly, with a jar of breaking glass. In the midst of a wild, -discordant song something like intelligence flashed for a moment in -the beady eyes; the singer paused, as if his drugged sensibilities -had suddenly awakened to a distant call; then came that dreadful -laugh again. - -"It's a farce!" he muttered, bitterly, his eyes roving wildly about, -as if he felt and feared another Presence. "You're dead! dead! and -as far from me as everything I ever wanted in my life.... God!" - -He was standing then, and attempted to hurl the glass at the empty -chair. - -"Curse you!" he shrieked in a frenzied outburst, and again, "Curse -you! Curse you all!" - -He dropped, his face striking upon the table with a thud; his arms -were stretched straight in front of him, across the board, and he -remained so, breathing stertorously. After some minutes he began to -hiccough with such violence that his shoulders heaved spasmodically -and his foot scraped on the floor. But these convulsions, by and by, -came to be marked with longer intervals between them, and finally his -shoulders lifted once and subsided in a single, long, slow exhalation. - -The rain still reverberated from the roof; the candles flickered out -one by one; occasionally the dull embers in the fireplace crackled -faintly until they too became cold--nothing but gray, sodden ashes. - -Then it was that the wan light of day began to show through the -boarded windows; the shadows once more to flit through the chambers -and the echoing halls; then it was that a venturesome mouse advanced -to the centre of the floor, where, in the untouched comestibles of -last night's feast, he discovered enough to maintain himself and his -colony royally for many weeks. - -And encountering nothing to alarm him, he remained. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -AN ARREST - -It is in life's supreme moments that destiny calls the loudest. - -Miss Charlotte stands in the Westbrook morning-room, her demeanor -plainly indicating nervousness and irresolution. From time to time -she looks in a hesitating way at Doctor Westbrook's broad back, as he -stares out of the window. Presently she speaks, as if with an -effort; but her deliciously soft and gentle voice in its free and -expressive play falls upon the listener's ears so like a harmony -struck from silver strings, that to say it breaks the silence is to -use a phrase too harsh. - -"I don't consider our age--that is, seriously," she is saying; "but, -Mobley, there are other things." - -She paused and contemplated his back a moment. - -"If what you see from that window is of more consequence than what I -am saying," she observed, "I will--" - -The Doctor wheeled about instantly, before she had done. - -"Believe me, Charlotte," he made haste to protest, "you had my -undivided attention. I saw nothing out of the window--or elsewhere; -I was conscious only of your words." - -His obvious sincerity satisfied her. She smiled and proceeded, the -man watching her with sober, thoughtful eyes. - -"I will confess something to you, Mobley, and perhaps you will -understand better--why--why I hesitate." She paused again, and the -Doctor could see that she was trying to overcome a nervousness and -embarrassment quite foreign to her nature. But she conquered this -feeling at once, and went on. - -"Mobley," with added earnestness, her lustrous eyes bravely meeting -his, "I am possessed of a pride so strong that I am afraid it is -greater than my love. What a poor, miserable, wretched affection my -love for you must be! I am ashamed of it." - -"Oh, dear girl," he commenced with abrupt impetuosity; but she -stopped him. - -"No, no; let me finish. All my life, Mobley, I have lived more or -less in the past. In my fancies we have not been poor; to me the -poor little cottage we have called home has indeed been a home; and -the dear old home that is sinking so rapidly into irremediable ruin -only a phantasm of what might have been. But when I think of home, -Mobley, the old place rises in my mind. It has been my constant -yearning that it may be rehabilitated; that mamma, Clay, and I might -once more foregather beneath its roof in the circumstances which I -cannot help feeling are ours by right; and for this consummation I -have looked to Clay with an unfaltering faith. Perhaps it is wicked, -Mobley, but I cannot help it. If you take me, I want it to be from -such a station; not like a mendicant creeping to shelter. Oh, I -could not bear that!" - -The man was profoundly affected, shaken to the very depths of his -nature; but he felt that he understood her; and so great was his -respect for this unexpected confidence, that, chaotic and fanciful as -its tenor might be, he exerted a mighty effort to restrain a swelling -tide that threatened to sweep him from his feet and leave him pouring -out his passion in fervid incoherences, kneeling there before her. - -"Charlotte, I can only repeat that I love you. I have waited. But, -dearest, now--now," he came quickly close up to her, "now can you -make this confession and still hesitate? Can you look at me and -still say that any obstacle stands between us? Oh! Charlotte, -Charlotte! My love can no longer be denied!" - -Her eyes were downcast, her bosom rose and fell tumultuously; but -when he would have taken her in his arms, she stopped him. - -"Oh, don't--don't, Mobley," in a whisper. "There are--there are -other things." Although he obeyed her, he stood with arms -outstretched, his attitude an impassioned appeal from which the woman -turned away her eyes. - -"Since you have been here with Joyce," he resumed, after a moment, -"it has been a delight to watch you go about the house; for it made -it so easy to fancy that you would come and go thus always. -Charlotte, dear heart, look at me." - -Slowly the beautiful eyes, suffused with wonderful softness and -light, rose to the appealing hands, to his own eager orbs, and -straightway dropped again. - -"Charlotte, will you not stay? Dear?" - -"Mobley, I--I can't." - -Quite suddenly she clenched her slim fingers together in a little -gesture of helplessness. Her next words were inconsequential. - -"Oh, why does not Mr. Converse return? Where can he be? Has he -abandoned us?" - -The Doctor, being ignorant of the connecting links of thought, may be -pardoned if, at this momentous juncture, he mentally consigned the -Captain to the limbo of eternal darkness. His arms dropped, and he -asked, wonderingly, - -"What has he got to do with it?" - -"Mobley, can't you understand?" She laid a hand lightly upon his -broad chest, regarding him now with a look of anxious seriousness. - -"I said there were other things," she went on; "that there was -something else we must consider before we think of--of our own -happiness. This awful cloud still hangs over us, and until it is -cleared away, I am afraid. It is selfish--wrong--for us to consider -our own happiness at such a time. He is the only one who can clear -that cloud away, Mobley. Oh, why doesn't he come? It is time! It -is time!" - -Doctor Westbrook's impatience evinced itself only by a shrug of the -shoulders. - -"I have no such hope," said he. "He's like all the rest of them; -unless a thing's as plain as a pikestaff, he can't do any more than -an ordinary mortal,--unless, again, it's further to complicate -matters and cause more trouble. Why doesn't he come, indeed! He -will, perhaps, when the whole affair has had time to die of -inanition." - -Now, neither of them had heard footsteps in the hall, so deeply were -they engrossed, and when a sudden knock was struck upon the door, -both started. Charlotte sat down in some confusion, and, after a -second's hesitation, the Doctor called, "Come in," his tone betraying -his vexation at the interruption. - -The door opened barely wide enough to admit a tall, slender man, a -stranger to Charlotte, but one whose features were somehow familiar. -The movement was silent and stealthy. His look shot about the entire -apartment, apparently without noting its two human occupants. He -noiselessly closed the door again, and placed his back against it. -Charlotte glanced at the physician and perceived that he was -regarding the intruder with frank disfavor and an annoyance he did -not attempt to conceal. - -"Your name's Adams, is it not?" the Doctor sharply asked. - -The man ducked his head in a swift bow of acknowledgment. When he -stood upright again he held a card in his hand. The action was like -a sleight-of-hand performance, so quickly was it done; for Charlotte -was entirely unable to see where that card came from. - -The Doctor ignored it; while Adams, in nowise abashed, said: - -"Yes, sir, Doctor Westbrook,--Adams. Septimus Adams; Magnolia -Investigating Agency." He discomfited Charlotte by turning abruptly -and thrusting the card at her. - -"Here, never mind that," said Doctor Westbrook, with a brusqueness -that caused Charlotte to wonder. "How did you get in here? What do -you want?" - -Adams ran a finger around the inside of his collar, an action which -betrayed an astonishing limberness of neck. - -"Well, Doctor," he began, casting rapid side-glances at Charlotte, -and not looking at his interlocutor at all, "you see, what I have to -say had best be said in priv--" - -"Say it here and now or not at all," the Doctor demanded. "Had I -known who was knocking, you would not have intruded, I tell you -candidly; but since you are here, state your business as briefly as -possible." - -Adams made a peculiar sound with his tongue and accompanied it with -an expression of protestation. - -"Don't take that way with me, Doctor," said he; "you'll regret it -presently, I'm sure. If you don't care about the lady being present -I'm sure I don't. It was only out of a consideration for her -feelings--and yours, too, Doctor--that I threw out the suggestion." - -"And once more, I tell you there is nothing privy between you and me, -Adams. Be brief." - -"Very well." - -With a movement that was again almost like prestidigitation, Adams -had the door open, and there appeared the familiar, now puzzled, -countenance of McCaleb. - -"That's the man," Adams went on, pointing to Doctor -Westbrook,--assuredly, direct enough now. "I charge Mobley Westbrook -with the murder of Señor Alberto de Sanchez." With extraordinary -adroitness, he placed McCaleb between himself and the physician. - -For a moment the silence could almost be felt, tense and breathless -as it was. McCaleb was the only one present who evinced any -embarrassment; he had every air of a man suddenly and unwillingly -thrust into a ridiculous position. Charlotte was too dazed to -comprehend at once what was going forward, and she simply sat -motionless and stared at Adams with a blank look. That individual, -by his recent manoeuvre, had placed himself near the open door, and -he was, moreover, again smiling and flashing his teeth. As for the -Doctor, he seemed for the time being overcome with astonishment; then -he laughed harshly and unnaturally; and what he said was quite -unaccountable: - -"So it has come at last. Well, I have been expecting it." - -He sat down suddenly and fell to stroking his beard. His glance -seemed to pass casually to Adams, who, when his shifting eyes caught -it, swallowed hastily and edged still nearer the door. - -A sudden anger burst from the Doctor. - -"Close that door!" he thundered. "Don't let that rascal slip away -till we see how far he means to push this thing." - -With the Doctor's first enigmatic words McCaleb seemed to recover his -_sang-froid_. Briefly he regarded the other with a startled look, as -if the words were unexpected and surprising; now he turned to Adams, -his surprise very manifest. - -He closed the door. - -"I must warn you, Doctor," said he, "that anything you say may be -used against you; yet, if you wish to make a statement, you are at -liberty to do so. It is true that you have been charged with -this--this crime; I have the warrant here, sworn to by Adams." - -The Doctor had not moved his look from Investigator Adams, who now -betrayed every sign of uneasiness. Once or twice that wonderfully -flexible right hand stole toward the region of his hip pocket, but -each time it came stealthily back again, to pluck uncertainly at his -prognathous chin. - -"McCaleb, do your duty!" said he. - -"When I get good and ready," McCaleb returned, without looking at -him; he was still waiting on Doctor Westbrook. The latter now spoke. - -"Oh, I have no statement to make; why should I? The whole wretched -business has been such a nightmare that I haven't the heart to -attempt a defence." - -Once more he turned to Adams. - -"So this is your revenge, is it?" he asked. "This is your way of -getting back at me for the old Civic Reform League; it's a pity I -didn't stay with it until I had smoked you out, you scoundrel." - -He looked again to McCaleb. "Well, I suppose I must go with you; I -am ready." - -But there came an interruption from an unlooked-for source. Before -any one was aware of it, Charlotte had arisen and was between the -Doctor and the other two men. She faced them magnificently--like a -tigress at bay. - -"You touch him if you dare!" - -The words were uttered with ominous quietness. If a look could -convey any physical effect, McCaleb and Adams would have been seared -and scorched and blasted by the lightning-like fire of wrath that -blazed about them. All of her moving personality showed plainly in -that look, dominating the situation as if the other actors therein -were no more than wooden marionettes. McCaleb recoiled; Adams -cowered behind him. - -"Mobley, tell him that he lies--there, that wretched creature hiding -behind the other." - -She levelled a potent finger at the abject Adams. - -"Charlotte," Doctor Westbrook whispered in her ear, "this is only -making matters worse; believe me, this is not the place to correct -whatever mis--" - -Charlotte stamped her foot with fierce impatience. - -"Tell him that he lies; make him swallow those vile words before -either of you leaves this room." - -That terrible, menacing finger was to Adams like an iron spit upon -which he, impaled, was being held up to a threatening multitude. -McCaleb essayed a diversion. - -"This is unfortunate, Miss Fairchild. You know me pretty well; you -know that I must serve this warrant; you know I would never do it -were it not--" But she was not paying the slightest attention to -him. He turned helplessly to the Doctor. - -At last the awful look in Charlotte's eyes, the menacing finger, -became unbearable. Adams, like the well-known worm, turned. He also -squirmed, worm-like, and was heard to mutter something. - -"What does the creature say?" demanded Charlotte. - -"He says that he has an eye-witness to the murder," McCaleb -interpreted. - -Two regal strides, and she was standing above Adams, an incarnation -of outraged womanhood, of implacable, devastating wrath. - -"Who is your witness?" - -For once his eyes had ceased to rove; they were held by -Charlotte's--hypnotized by their compelling magnetism. - -"Who is your witness?" she repeated, sternly--not to be denied. - -"Don't--don't touch me," he hissed. "Keep away!" - -"Touch you, you filthy thing? Ugh! Who is your witness?" - -Of a sudden McCaleb sprang toward them. - -"Here, none of that!" he cried through clenched teeth. Something -flashed for an instant between the two men, and when he stepped back -again he was holding a pistol in his hand and regarding the -unfortunate Adams with anger and contempt. - -"Who is your witness?" She was apparently oblivious of the little -by-play. - -There was no escaping it. In the end he stammered something, to -Charlotte unintelligible, but McCaleb started and came on a step -nearer. - -"Who?" asked Charlotte. - -"How--How--Howard Lynden." - -Now it was her turn to recoil. The sternness of her countenance gave -way to a mingled look of amazement and incredulity. She laughed a -little wildly. - -"How ridiculous! I see now; it is merely a vulgar joke--some spite -which this wretched creature is trying to vent upon you, Mobley." - -Now that the tension was broken, McCaleb felt that he could again -make himself heard. - -"Indeed, Miss Fairchild, it is no joke," earnestly. "If Adams, here, -should try such a game, he would find it the worse for him, as he -knows very well." - -"You'll see how much of a joke it is," muttered Adams, with a -malignant look at the Doctor. But McCaleb went on, ignoring him. - -"However unpleasant it may be, I have the warrant issued in proper -form, and, one way or another, I must serve it." - -What next occurred banished from the minds of all everything that had -preceded it. - -The door noiselessly swung open and revealed the large figure and the -impassive features of Captain John Converse. - -While they stared at him in speechless surprise, he nodded briefly to -the Doctor; long afterward, when Charlotte looked back at the scene, -she became possessed of a conviction which is with her to this -day--that he deliberately winked at her. - -He turned to McCaleb, to whom the familiar sibilant voice was -inexpressibly welcome. - -"I will relieve you of your unpleasant duty, Mac," said he, smoothly. -The young man passed over the warrant with an alacrity which -demonstrated that the Captain had correctly characterized his task. - -"Pardon me for intruding, Doctor," Converse continued, "but it seems -you were so absorbed in here that you didn't hear me knock.... Miss -Fairchild, you--" - -Something in her manner bade him stop. He glanced significantly at -Doctor Westbrook; but before either had time to do or say anything -further, Charlotte had risen hastily from the chair into which she -had sunk upon the Captain's unexpected entrance, her every movement -betraying a suppressed excitement, an agitation imminently upon the -point of mastering her self-control. - -"No, no!" she said, laughing somewhat hysterically, "I am not going -to faint; but oh! Mr. Converse, I am so glad you have come!" She -sank to her knees, buried her face in her hands, and sat on the -floor, laughing and crying together. - -The Doctor went over to her, raised her gently, and led her to the -couch, where he sat beside her and held her head on his shoulder. -There was something exultant in his look, as if he enjoyed being -arrested; for the woman now clung to him as though she had never -refused the caress of those sheltering arms. - -The Captain stood silently watching them with expressionless eyes, -turning the warrant over and over in his hands. At last he thrust it -carelessly into his pocket and turned away. - -Adams and McCaleb slipped unobserved from the room. - - -Some time later, when Charlotte was again calm, Mr. Converse said to -her, "Miss Fairchild, I have an answer to our riddle." - -"Then, thank God! the mystery is solved!" she said; and the Doctor -burst forth eagerly: - -"Is that true?" - -Converse ignored both inquiries. - -"Come nearer, Miss Fairchild," said he; and when, wondering, she had -obeyed, he leaned forward and whispered one word into her ear.... -"That's what our riddle has for its answer," he went on in a louder -tone. "'Paquita--what do you spell?' is a riddle no longer." - -Charlotte started back. - -"Revenge--but that tells me nothing," she said, blankly. Converse -smiled knowingly and shook his head. - -"Perhaps you will not press me with questions which I haven't time to -answer; it cannot be told in a word. It's a long story, and a -remarkable one too; but we will hear it soon. It is not for me to -tell it. I am waiting for Mr. Nettleton, Mr. Mountjoy, Clay, and -Howard Lynden--though I don't believe that last gentleman will come -now--and one or two others.... Ah, here are Clay and Mr. Nettleton -now. You got my message, I see,"--this last to Clay. - -"Yes," returned the young man; "but I'm dashed if I understand it. -What's it all about, anyhow? Where have you been? When did you--" - -"What?--where?--when?" Converse interrupted. "Pray make allowance -for my age. Better yet, don't ask any questions at all. You will -soon have enough to occupy your mind fully." - -Mr. Nettleton merely spoke a word or two of greeting; otherwise he -remained silent until Mr. Converse now abruptly addressed him. - -"Did you bring it?" he asked. - -For answer the lawyer drew a manuscript from his pocket. His manner -was sober, and unconsciously it foreshadowed the gravity of what was -about to transpire. A spirit of expectancy animated everybody -present; a dawning realization that at last the crisis was at hand, -that the veil hiding the mystery was about to be rent. So far as -this is concerned, they were soon to learn that the rending of one -veil was to disclose but a single one of many complexities and yet -another concealing veil beyond; that while the enveloping mists were -surely dissipating, they passed but slowly, revealing only a little -at a time. - -"While we are waiting for the others, Mr. Nettleton will read this -aloud," said the Captain. - -"What is it?" from the Doctor. - -"I suppose you might call it the 'Ante-Mortem Statement of William -Slade, Deceased,'" Mr. Nettleton replied; and Converse interjected, -"'Slade's Blessing.'" - -"Good," the lawyer rejoined. "That would not be an inept title. It -came to me this morning through the mail, and evidently was only -lately written." - -Again Converse spoke. "How is Miss Joyce? Could she be present?" -He proceeded no further, when he noticed the Doctor shaking his head -in a decided negative. - -"She is rapidly regaining her strength," the latter added; "but of -everything that happened up to the time of returning consciousness, -she remembers nothing." - -"Dear me!" ejaculated the Captain; "that is unfortunate. Is this -blank likely to be permanent?" - -"God knows that I hope not. It is too early to hazard a positive -opinion." - -"Well, well," Converse repeated, thoughtfully; "yet, -perhaps--However, Mr. Nettleton, go on; read." - -"But, Mr. Converse," Charlotte interposed, "this is all so -incomprehensible; we are tossed about in such a turmoil of -bewilderment that my mind is incapable of understanding anything, and -I am sure that Mobley is no better off. When did you return? Where -have you been so long? Have some mercy upon us, for I feel as though -I were going mad." - -"Dear lady," he returned, "try to have a little patience; you shall -know all, quickly." - -"But, about Mobley--what did that man mean by accusing him? by saying -that Howard had witnessed the--the murder? My God! when will this -end?" - -The Captain spoke soothingly. - -"Let this manuscript be read, and everything else will fall in -naturally. I have already said that the story cannot be told in a -word. It is a strange tale, and we must take one thing at a time if -we hope ever to comprehend it. Now go ahead, Mr. Nettleton." - -The lawyer appeared to consider. - -"I question the advisability of reading this," he said at length; -"but Mr. Converse thinks otherwise. I wish to say first, however, -that many things in this manuscript will prove to be exceedingly -painful to you, Mobley, and to you, Charlotte and Clay. So much so, -that it will be impossible for you to hear them unmoved. I have read -it, and I know. It is contemptible. It brings grave charges against -your two fathers; yet, if you wish ever to understand the mystery -that so entangles you, a perusal of this will be necessary. Each one -of you could take it alone and go through with it as you may; but to -read it here aloud will be a terrible ordeal. What are your wishes?" - -"Bob," the Doctor returned, "we have all borne so much that the fact -of this being an additional ordeal weighs but little against the -assurance that we are to see this web of mystery and suspicion -untangled. I think the three of us most concerned will agree to -that?" He looked to Charlotte and Clay, who nodded acquiescence. -Converse also nodded his head vigorously, adding: "My idea, exactly. -You will hear the dead vilified and yourselves damned roundly; but, -dear me, what of that?" he asked, cheerfully. "Slade was as cracked -as a brick sidewalk, and he couldn't do anything else." - -Mr. Nettleton smiled. "It wouldn't do to go too far into that, -Converse; remember the will." - -"Well," the other retorted, "that is the most sensible thing he ever -did. He was sane enough when that was drawn. You must remember, it -is fourteen years old." - -Now the lawyer turned to Clay and Charlotte. "It is agreed, then, -that I shall read this aloud?" he asked, looking from one to the -other. - -"Fire away," from Clay; and his sister supplemented, "If we can't -bear it, we can stop you." - -Although there were times during the reading when she hid her face in -her hands and wept softly; when Clay or the Doctor or both sat with -white set faces, with clenched hands and rigid jaws, to the credit of -their self-control may it here be set down, that there was no -interruption until Mr. Nettleton had quite finished. - -That which follows is merely a _précis_ of what constituted a -remarkable document. Those portions deleted, comprising quite a half -of the writing, are nothing more nor less than a manifestation of -Slade's arrant egotism, his innate selfishness, an almost fiendish -vindictiveness, and a seemingly inborn malevolence that was baffled -at every turn. Indeed, the one bright spot in the entire -writing--his professed affection, if so tender an emotion can be -associated with his nature--is all the more extraordinary because it -stands alone among all the man's ungenerous impulses and thwarted -ambitions. Those portions may well be dispensed with; they are -simply unpleasant reading. Otherwise the document is given as he -wrote it. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -"SLADE'S BLESSING" - -To begin with, I was unfortunate in being born the son of an -overseer. The generation that has come since the war recks little -how pregnant this simple statement is. It bestowed upon me an ethic -value somewhat lower than that possessed by the meanest nigger on -Richard Fairchild's plantation. They had a place; I had none. -Besides, my father was a rascal and a thief, possessing not a single -leavening trait or characteristic; for he was without any refinement -or culture, impenetrable to any noble sentiment--coarse and vulgar to -the end. God! Could human effort come to aught in the face of such -overwhelming odds? Yet, one helping hand, an occasional encouraging -word from those who usurped position and authority, one sympathetic -soul to spur my honorable aspirations, and I had been a better man. -But, with one exception, that helping hand, the encouraging word, -were withheld; the sympathetic spirit did not exist. God bless -Elinor Clay, and reward her with a saint's crown of glory; may He -everlastingly damn the rest! ... - -Most vicious of all--proud, stiff-necked, sick in his self-esteem, -overweening, and malicious--was Peyton Westbrook. From the first he -stood in my path, thwarting and despising me, looking upon William -Slade as something less than the dirt beneath his aristocratic feet. -What was Peyton Westbrook that I was not? We were man and man. Had -our positions been reversed, his would have been a wretched lot, -indeed. Small of soul, narrow of mind, regardless of any interest -that did not harmonize with his own, he would have remained the -overseer's son, to live unhonored, and, dying, to pass into an -oblivion merited by his worth; while I, William Slade, endowed with -intellect and fine sensibilities, might have risen to greatness, the -limits of which I hesitate to define. But no; he was born to the -purple; it was given him to make such futile and petty uses of his -father's fortune and position as his little mind and mediocre -abilities could devise; while I, not lacking in all those naturally -inherent qualities which made me in every way his superior--except -the one of position--must stand in the background of obscurity and -console myself as best I could for Life's cruel arbitrariness in the -selection of her favorites.... - -Peyton Westbrook loved--nay, I cannot prostitute the word to such -base use; he coveted Elinor Clay and her acres. I loved Elinor Clay. -So did Richard Fairchild, poor creature that he was.... - -Peyton Westbrook's nature was so mean that he could applaud his -conduct in turning from her to Louise Shepardson. The world -marvelled at the time; but the truth, like all puzzles of simple -solution, was never hit upon. Louise Shepardson, when the Judge, her -father, died, became possessed of more acres than would ever come to -Elinor Clay. Good, broad acres constituted the only bait to which so -cold-blooded a fish as Westbrook would ever rise. Did gracious -Elinor ever suspect this simple explanation? No; her gentle soul -never could comprehend such infamy. She wedded Richard Fairchild, -believing she had driven Peyton Westbrook from her--blaming her pure -self for his heartless baseness. Were I to attempt a writing of the -curse which rises to my lips when I think of this soulless, bowelless -nature, its scorching fervor would dry the ink on my pen. "Slade's -Blessing" it has been called! "Blessing," indeed! Heaven grant that -it may land him in the midst of the torment whither it has consigned -him again and again, and is at last made eternal by the ineffaceable -record which preserves forever the prayers of dying men! - -Did I aspire to Elinor Clay's hand? God help me, if I did! I was -young and ambitious; I was full of the dreams of youth--the young -blood pulsed hotly in my body; and this was sweet--the one incident -in my miserable past that I can look back upon and feel a shadow of -pleasure's glow mount to my withered cheek. Even now, soured as I am -by adversity, that beautiful name stirs a warmth in my heart; and I -can pity myself and her in tears, and not by curses for those who -wronged us. So does it soften the heart of bitterness. My sentiment -was a matter of repression, my adoration silent; Elinor was as far -from me as the stars. Because I was son of an overseer I was lonely -enough; besides, what had I to do with boys of my own age, their -foolish sports and inane pastimes? We had nothing in common. - -But Elinor Clay never spoke aught to me but gentle words; and in the -end I came to set her up in the shrine of my thoughts as the object -of an adoration which, could she but have had a glimpse of it, surely -would have melted her tender heart to pity. To have lived for her; -to have toiled and laid up year by year, that in the end she might -alone benefit; to have done this with a singleness of purpose that -never faltered--does this signify selfishness or meanness? Then I am -the meanest and most selfish that ever encumbered the earth.... - -I realized in my love-madness that I must have patience; that I must -toil and labor unceasingly to attain to the place merited by my -talents and intellect; for naturally I was superior to them all, -being possessed of mental gifts of no mean order. I knew that with -the advantages I could acquire I could rise above them; then I could -take what to ask for then would have brought forth only derision and -mockery. But here again the world was against me; I was only the -overseer's son. But they feared me, and every hand was extended to -keep me down.... - -Although my father was a rascal, he was a far-seeing one. Long -before war's dire besom swept our fair land, he had a sure knowledge -of the outcome, and with commendable enterprise laid his plans -accordingly. He had put by a little money, and, as opportunity -offered (and such opportunities were by no means lacking), he would -lend a bit here and a bit there to the planters about our -neighborhood, that they might be able to stem the rising tide of -misfortune. Richard Fairchild was a poor weakling, and my father -kept him from going under. There are those who may term it -ingratitude to speak thus of my "benefactor." Bah! Benefactor! -Fool! I pen the epithet in scorn and contempt. I can select no -better evidence to support my opinion of him than that he should have -opened wide the fast-emptying Fairchild purse, to take thence the -gold that was exchanged for my education. The act was prompted by no -spirit of kindness, but was animated by the same foolish vanity and -love of ostentation that marked the wasting of all his substance. -How carefully I could have husbanded it! Even at this late day the -thought of the small fortune that he wasted upon his niggers alone -makes me quiver with indignation. No; such learning as I have was -come by through sore labor. His mean gift was thrown to me as a bone -is tossed to a vagrant cur. - -But no mortal could have saved that man. My father's error lay in -taking payment twice, and somewhat over, for the money he had lent -him. The highest tribute I can pay to Richard Fairchild's astuteness -is that he never suspected this, although, during a period covering -many years, he made many payments to my father, and probably had -continued doing so had not every resource become exhausted. - -My father used to say, in his vulgar way: "I fit for my country -against the greasers,"--meaning thereby the Mexicans,--"and while I -am too old to fight now, I may save some of these broad acres. But -old association cannot be ignored; so long as my poor neighbors have -a chance of keeping up their brave show, my small means are at their -service. If they go down--well, I shall not." And not to place upon -them any sense of obligation to an overseer, they never knew whence -the money came. I might observe that, had they known, they would not -have touched a penny of it. But thus my father went about his -charitable work, with his tongue in his cheek, and one eye knowingly -closed. - -Also, I may say here that my father was a conscienceless liar. He -never fought anything but occasional virtuous impulses, the same -being ever put to an inglorious rout; for during the Mexican War he -was nothing more nor less than a sutler, although there is much to be -commended in providing nourishment, raiment, and refreshment to those -who are battling for their country's honor. But he prospered, and in -Mexico became connected with a certain young hidalgo of Spain who had -moneys to invest. Why this partnership was severed I can only -conjecture. My father was wont to accuse him of ingratitude, saying -that Don Juan del Castillo was an ungrateful creature, who turned -upon those that befriended him; but at the same time my parent would -loudly forgive him for certain dim and unspecified wrongs, the which, -I shrewdly suspect, were of my father's doing rather than the Spanish -gentleman's. However that may be, it was largely the latter's money -that went to Richard Fairchild as a loan for such of his acres as -remained unincumbered. My father could well be the agent of Don Juan -in these transactions, even though the gentry would not tolerate him -as a principal. My father was a shrewd rascal. - -As I have already stated, the money advanced to Richard Fairchild was -repaid more than twice over. (A schedule will be found in the -envelope with my will.) Hence, I have been no more than a trustee--a -faithful one--of Richard Fairchild's property. Take it, Clay and -Charlotte; I ask nothing for my lifetime of toil and care, because I -know it will not be granted me. It is yours, freely and joyously -bestowed. I have added to it many fold; but that is of no moment. I -seek no credit for this generous impulse. I could not have the -desire of my heart: Elinor has gone from me for ever. I want nothing -else. Heaven give you happiness in the property that I, William -Slade, the overseer's despised son, have laid up for you.... - -Only one single time did fate, or Providence, favor me, and then only -to turn in the end and discomfit me. But for Elinor's sake, I may -not tell all thereof. - -On a night shortly after the Mexican man was overtaken by a most -righteous wrath in the Nettleton Building, certain evidences that -Peyton Westbrook had for once gone a step too far in his villany came -to my hands. I gave thanks to God that I should have been the one -chosen as the humble instrument of that man's undoing. The testimony -was irrefragable--as we lawyers say, conclusive--and I held him in -the hollow of my hand. Here, my lifelong affection led me into error -of judgment--something that I am not often guilty of; my tenderness -of heart blinded me to my hatred of this man, and instead of -stripping him of his smug and gaudy trappings of virtue, and showing -him up to be the scoundrel he was, I ended by allowing that evidence -to be taken from me--I standing by complaisant--and the opportunity -to unmask him to be destroyed. So did gentle Elinor reward him for -his base heartlessness of other days! What is the use for me to say -that Peyton Westbrook was a scoundrel, if I cannot prove it? -Although it is the bare truth, I will refrain from telling it. -Besides, sweet Elinor has begged me not to.... - -For a time I thought of that snip of a girl who bears the Westbrook -name with about as much dignity as really invests it-- - -But enough of her. I was wrong, and I bear her no ill will for being -a witless butterfly. Butterflies, I dare say, have their uses in the -vast scheme of creation. - -To return to my error of judgment. When I had satiated my senses by -gloating over this evidence, I was possessed of an idea. Never had I -breathed a word to any living soul of my love for Elinor Clay; it was -a secret locked safely in the treasure-house of my heart; and now I -could overwhelm her with gratitude. I would go to her--now that her -foolish girl sentiment for the bowelless Westbrook had long been -dead--and at once show her what a hypocrite he was, how basely he had -treated her, and then present the immense contrast offered by my -lifelong devotion and generosity. Could any mortal--especially a -woman--resist such an appeal? I pride myself on my knowledge of the -sex; to the intelligent, observant mind they are as open books; and I -unhesitatingly answer, No. But alas for human frailty! When I -appeared to my beloved Elinor, I had not taken into account her years -of enervating illness; I failed to consider that she was not the -woman she had been; but I did not hesitate--to me she would ever -remain unchanged. - -When she comprehended the tenor of my errand, the shock was too much -for her gentle nature; she was quite overcome and rendered -irresponsible, and all unconsciously she reviled me,--she who had -ever been all gentleness and tenderness,--and treated me with a -harshness that was very, very painful. What could I do but deliver -my testimony over to her? How could I refrain, when her delirium or -hallucination was so great that it actually led her to defending -Peyton Westbrook! to calling him by many endearing names! And -presently, her daughter--who, I make no doubt, had been listening at -the door--entered, and I thoughtfully and considerately desisted in -my importunities for the testimony's return (for my beloved Elinor -had it at the moment); and I decided to leave her until a more -propitious time. Alas! that time was destined never to come. - -But enough. I reap from my trust no material benefit. The envious -call my conduct Miserliness; I spell it differently; Fidelity. - -Charlotte, Clay, dear children of my beloved Elinor, take what is -yours. I ask for no meed of thanks. My reward is the consciousness -of a duty well accomplished, of a trust faithfully guarded. But -never forget that William Slade, son of an overseer, despised and -spurned by an unfeeling and heartless world, ever had your interests -near to his heart. If the reader in his soul does not say that my -unselfishness is sublime, then are you inhuman, cold, and bloodless; -for I end my trust with the firm conviction that the _cestuis que -trust_ are in no wise worthy or deserving of this magnificent gift of -fortune. - - - - -BOOK IV. - -THE DANCER AND THE MOUNTEBANK - - - - _The tongues of dying men - Enforce attention like deep harmony. - Where words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain, - For they breathe truth that breathe their words in pain._ - --RICHARD II. - - - -CHAPTER I - -"THAT IS PAQUITA" - -When Mr. Nettleton came to the end of the extraordinary composition -from the hand of William Slade, his listeners were sitting in a tense -stillness that was fairly galvanic with many mingled emotions. -Doubtless, Converse realized the conflicting feelings animating the -three individuals most concerned; he arose immediately, and began -speaking with an assumption of brisk determination designed to hold -their attention to the programme as he intended it should be carried -out. - -"I have taken the liberty of ordering two carriages," said he, -addressing the Doctor; "and as Miss Fairchild is to accompany us"--he -bowed to Charlotte--"let me beg that you hurry. Time is of some -moment now." - -"I am to go?" she returned, wide-eyed. "Where?" - -"To hear the final chapter; to be present at the lifting of the veil." - -And at once she gave a satisfying example of how rapidly a woman may -make herself presentable under the spur of excitement and -irresistible curiosity. - -What with the introduction of the man Adams into the enigma, the -Doctor's arrest, the assertion that Lynden had been an eye-witness of -De Sanchez's murder, Converse's abrupt and unexpected advent after so -long an absence, Slade's confession, and--to cap each of these -climaxes--an assurance that the mystery was a mystery no longer, it -may be believed that Charlotte's tranquil exterior belied the tumult -of thought and emotion which presently came to possess her, -increasing the more as she pondered. Added to the other agitating -influences was a lively apprehension of what form the pending -disclosure would take--upon whom it would now fasten its fangs of -accusation. But her habit of self-control came admirably to her aid; -to a certain extent she was able to busy her tired brain with other -matters, although patience had become a virtue forgotten. - -Naturally, Converse had assumed the role of master of ceremonies, and -the others watched him with curiosity. Into the first of two waiting -carriages he ushered Charlotte, her brother, Doctor Westbrook, and -Mr. Nettleton; and as soon as the door was banged to, the vehicle -started with an assurance and speed signifying foreknowledge on the -part of the driver. The two officers entered the other conveyance, -which, just as it emerged from the driveway, was met by the Coroner -and Mr. Mountjoy in the former's buggy. - -Aside from the fact that it was taken without a word being uttered by -any of her companions, Charlotte retained but the most nebulous -memory of that ride. - -In a little while the carriage was penetrating a neighborhood wholly -unknown to her, and presently it swerved to one side and drew up at -the curb. - -Charlotte looked out with some interest. The building before which -they had stopped stood on a corner; it was two-storied, of stuccoed -brick, and made gloomy by wide galleries resting on brick and stone -arches. It exhaled a strong odor of cooking onions and garlic, of -wine from the wine-room at the corner, and she insensibly drew back. -Almost at once Converse and McCaleb, Mr. Mountjoy and the Coroner -appeared before the carriage door. - -The first-named shot a quizzical look at her, but still vouchsafed no -explanation more than the fact that they were at their journey's end. - -After stepping under the balcony which roofed the walk, she was -enabled to read on one of the door-panes the words, "La Posada -Mejicana, R. Velasquez," which she did with a little start. It was -the place whither Clay had fled upon that memorable day, and where he -had written to Mr. Nettleton. She glanced at the latter now, but he -appeared unwontedly sober. The Doctor's curiosity was frank, though -speechless; he doubtless had resigned himself to await the issue. - -The door was opened by a short stout man, whose features were broad -and dark. His hair was very black and straight and coarse, and to -this man Converse spoke a word or two in Spanish. He responded -volubly, and smiled a bright welcome upon the remainder of the party. - -"Coom een," he said, cordially; "_entre Ustedes_--ah, Señor -Nettletone--_como esta Usted? Entre! Entre!_" To which the lawyer -responded gravely. - -"Eet ees a fine day--_si_?" vociferated the stout little man, -cheerfully; and when the last of the party had entered he closed the -door once more and placed himself beside Mr. Converse. - -"Lead on," said the latter with a gesture; "you know." - -"Dees way." He piloted them down a chilly, dark corridor to a flight -of stairs. - -The party presently arrived at the second floor, Charlotte holding -the Doctor's arm tightly, and the way led through another dim -corridor to a door, before which the guide paused. His manner had -become all at once comically mournful. - -"Ah, _el póbre señor_--he ees un seeck _hombre--mucho malo_," he -whispered hoarsely. "I must go." He departed on tiptoe, and -Converse tapped lightly upon the door. - -Full of wonder, his companions waited in silence. They heard a soft -fall of feet on the other side, a softer swish of feminine skirts, -and the door opened. - -Both Clay and the Doctor uttered low exclamations of astonishment, -for the open portal revealed a vision of dazzling loveliness. But it -was not the remarkable, melancholy beauty of the young girl that -moved them so powerfully; not the faultless, ivory-tinted features, -nor the wealth of silky tresses--black and wavy, like Joyce's; nor -yet the liquid black eyes which were almost a counterpart of -Charlotte's: they were wonderful eyes, but oh, so sad! Instead, it -was the unexpectedness of the apparition, a conviction of having seen -that beautiful face before--the unparalleled incongruity of -associating it with its present setting--that occasioned such intense -surprise. Clay at once identified her with the girl he had seen -while in this same building on the day of his flight; to the Doctor -the fancied resemblance was fleeting, incapable of being fixed. But -he succeeded in doing this later on. - -Beyond this lovely girl with the sad, heavy-lidded eyes could be seen -a large room with whitewashed walls, lighted by two high, barred -windows which overlooked a paved court strewn with bottles and empty -wine-casks. The room's furnishings were austere and uninviting: a -high wooden bed, a plain table beside it, another on which were a -ewer and basin, and a long bench extending around two sides of the -apartment constituted all the conveniences. They might have served a -monk, but scarcely a sick man. - -Still wondering, the party followed Mr. Converse into the room, and -as they did so, they received another shock. - -A wild, terrifying figure reared up in the bed, and, supporting -itself on an elbow, glared at the intruders like some fierce animal -of the wild disturbed in its den. - -"Good God!" burst from Doctor Westbrook as he recoiled from this -spectacle. "How came you here and in this plight?" - -It was Señor Vargas. The Doctor's countenance was eloquent with -horror and amazement, and he stood petrified--unconscious of -Charlotte clinging to his arm, blind to all else except the wretched -creature, fever-flushed and emaciated, now staring at him from the -bed. Suddenly he read aright; he recalled the significant cough -while the man was in his office, and again at the inquest; an -unconscious exposure to the rigor of an unfamiliar climate, and a -severe cold, had forced the issue of life and death. - -Converse drew near to Charlotte and glanced at her with a whimsically -lifted brow. - -"And this is what you discovered?" said she. - -"Here is where I have spent the last few weeks. As soon as Vargas -became ill he had himself removed here--to be with the girl." - -"Oh, there are so many things I cannot understand," she returned. -"What did that creature Adams mean by saying that Howard Lynden--" - -A quick alteration in his manner made her pause and regard him -anxiously. At once Converse made a little grimace of disgust. - -"It was very simple," said he. "Lynden was a poor weakling, without -any will of his own. Adams merely bent him to his own purposes. -Lynden saw the Doctor standing over the dying De Sanchez; Adams made -him think he had seen the rest. It presents a peculiar psychological -condition, fortunately rare, but by no means unprecedented. That -young fellow has very wisely effaced himself. You will never see him -again." - -At this moment Charlotte caught the melancholy eyes of the beautiful -girl directed toward her. - -"How superb!" she murmured. "She is like a breath from the Orient; -she fills the mind like Coleridge's 'damsel with a dulcimer.' Who is -she?" - -"That," whispered Converse, "is _Paquita_." - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE SERPENT STRIKES - -As in its last outburst a dying volcano is said to vomit forth its -hottest flow of lava, so did the perfervid words pour from the lips -of Vargas. But the malevolence and implacable hate revealed in the -man's look and tone, in the bitter denunciation of his utterance, -were so intense that the scene amounted at times to an almost -unendurable ordeal. - -The tale he unfolded was one of wrong and betrayal, of a -heartlessness unbelievable, and it was plain that years of brooding -had made of revenge an obsession, a fixed idea that gave him the -cunning to work out his ends, patience to abide his opportunity, -ingenuity in concealing his identity and purpose, truly marvellous. - -"Years ago," his story began, after an outburst that left him nearly -exhausted, "my father, my mother, my sister, and I lived in Seville. -There it was that I was born; so you see, señores, I am not of -Mexico, but of Spain. There it was that I was happy, though cruelly -poor. I was young and strong, and from a small lad up to manhood I -was ever working to perfect myself in all the tricks of a juggler's -calling. Ah, señores, I made an art of it. At one time I, Fernando -del Castillo, was the greatest, the most adept juggler in the whole -of Europe. There is none who knew me then that will deny it. But it -came natural to me, señores; even before I was twenty I excelled them -all, just as my sister, the little Paquita, the sunshine and gladness -of my father's house, was more beautiful, more graceful, and lighter -of foot--ah, such a tiny foot it was!--than any woman within the -length and breadth of Spain. - -"Señores, it is her brother who is telling the tale; he loved her -with a tenderness beyond the power of words to express. But you -should have beheld her in those days: beautiful--beautiful she was, -her voice like a bird's for very sweetness; and there was none who -could make such a living, breathing poem of a _tango_ or a _joto_; -none who could glance at you with such sparkling eyes, firing the -blood and the brain like old wine; none that could flash such pearly -teeth between such coaxing lips--lips like the soft petals of a -crimson rose. It was her fame that spread beyond Seville to Madrid, -and even to Paris. - -"In Paris the fame of Paquita and Fernando--for so were we known--was -on every tongue. God knows she was innocent enough then, and content -with the love and companionship of her brother. God knows that in -those days we were sufficient each unto the other, and happy, -señores--happy.... - -"But it ended." - -De Sanchez, at that time attending college in Paris, on the strength -of his knowledge of Castillo's uncle, Don Juan Sebastian del -Castillo, attained an intimacy with Paquita and Fernando that led to -disaster for the girl. Don Juan had long been a resident of Mexico, -and was a man of wealth and affairs. - -"There was a certain dance of my sister's," said Vargas,--or -Castillo, to give him his proper name,--"that always held the -audience spellbound. It was of her own devising; born of her warm -Southern blood and her romantic heart. Ah, señores, it was a thing -of beauty--a perfect treasure of art. With the lithe movements of -her dainty body, the dropping of her lashes, the flashing of her -starlike eyes, the curving of her ripe, crimson lips--either in a -smile of witchery or of scorn and disdain,--she told a tale of love -and disappointment, of betrayal and revenge. Truly was it inspired -of the evil that later was to befall herself. - -"When, at the end, she would flash a dagger from her garter with the -swiftness of a serpent darting from its coil, the audience would rise -to her and cry 'Brava!' until the walls reverberated. Ah, it was -marvellous! Is it strange that I adored her? - -"Upon the very night, señores, that she innocently revealed her love -for De Sanchez, he brought to her a dagger. Many days passed before -I knew of this, because, for the first time, I was not remembered -with a gift also. - -"'_Paquita mia!_' I cried, holding the pretty toy in my hand, -'_Paquita mia_, how could you do me, your brother, this cruel wrong?'" - -"'He loves me,' she whispered, for the first time in her life not -daring to look me in the eyes. - -"'Loves you!' I cried. 'Have I not loved you since the day you were -born?' And right there, señores, the first great lesson of this life -came to me. For the first time there was no response in her bosom to -the emotion in my own--to the yearning of my heart--and I became -faint, my spirit sick. - -"'I love him,' she gasped, faintly, her hand on her heart, and -bending her head still lower. - -"'O Paquita! Paquita!' was all that I could say in my sorrow. 'Love -him? This is madness. Behold, you are unhappy even now, and never -before this hour has a shadow of sorrow fallen between you and me.' - -"'This is different,' she murmured, her head still bowed, her hand -still striving to restrain the wild beating of her heart. 'We are to -be wed.' - -"As I was turning to leave her, she suddenly burst into tears and -threw herself upon my breast. 'Oh, you are wrong! You are wrong!' -she cried, looking for the first time into my eyes, but through -tears, devouring my doubts in the fire of her passion. Señores, -think of a joy drowned in tears! 'O my brother,' she cried, 'you are -wrong, for I was never so happy in my life! I love him! I love him! -Say that you are not angry; say that you love me, too; tell me that -you will never leave me; for I am afraid.' And she clung to me with -a wild strength that you will not believe. - -"It was not long after that night that I learned the whole story. - -"'When next you dance,' said De Sanchez, as he handed her the dagger, -'wear this token of my love for you.' - -"'And do you love me?' she replied, seeking to read through his black -eyes the blacker soul behind. - -"'Here is a symbol of the True Cross,' he said, placing his hand upon -the cross of the dagger's hilt, and upon her hand; 'let it be the -emblem of our faith, each in the other's love.' - -"'And here is the sharpness of a serpent's tooth,' she said, placing -a little finger-tip upon the dagger's point; for you see--God help -her!--deep in her heart she mistrusted him at that moment, and did -not know it. - -"'May it sting me to death if I am not forever true to you,' he -uttered solemnly, before she could finish. - -"Again she strove to search his soul. - -"'My ears never weary of it,' she said; 'once more, do you love me?' - -"'Once more, my Paquita, life of my life, soul of my soul. Once -more, if my heart is ever false to you may this token of our troth -still it forever.'" - -So a mockery of a ceremony led to five short months of almost -delirious happiness, and then-- - -"Then, hear!" gasped the dying man. "In five short months he tired -of her, my beautiful one; he laughed at her and the babe unborn when -she called him husband; and there was another woman--a woman of -Paris.... - -"Is it not enough that he had won her heart, then thrown it torn and -bleeding into the dirt? Is it not enough that his every word had -been false; that he had betrayed her; that he left her without a name -for her child? Is it not enough that he had won God's own gift, the -love of a pure woman, and that it was to him of such little value -that he trampled it beneath his feet; that he made what was priceless -a thing of no value--of mockery and derision? Yet all this he did; -and can you believe me,--a man pleading with death to wait till he -shall finish,--that this was not the worst? As I hope for mercy from -the God I am about to face; as I hope for the intercession of the -Virgin Mother, it is not!" - -After a daughter was born to the luckless dancer, the brother and -sister began a wandering that carried them through many lands. -Always before them, like an evil star, gleamed the compelling idea, -revenge; and after more than a decade it guided them to Mexico, where -De Sanchez and General Westbrook were conducting a banking business. -They learned that their uncle there had died more than a year -previous to their arrival, and that his property had been entirely -dissipated in a series of disastrous investments covering a period of -several years before his death. The banking concern of De Sanchez & -Westbrook were the administrators of the Castillo estate. - -"Then, señores, almost without warning came the blackest time of all. - -"Of a sudden, a scourge of smallpox fell upon the city, and in a day -those who lived in the poorer quarter were dying like flies in a -frost. My beloved sister was among the very first upon whom that -horrible blight fastened, and she was sorely stricken. - -"There is a period during those days that is lost from my -recollection; my senses were dulled as by an opiate, and I can -remember only a bit here and there, as one remembers parts of a -nightmare. The sickness came so suddenly that I had no time to send -the little Paquita away; but by the mercy of the Holy Mother did she -escape the terrible evil that had laid its hand so sorely upon her -mother. - -"But my sister, señores! Steadily she grew worse; steadily she sank -lower and lower; and one day--the day she was at her lowest--I gave -to the doctor the last gold-piece. - -"He would come no more. - -"So I sat by my sister. In her madness she talked, now of the times -when we were happy together; now of the times when Alberto de -Sanchez, _el mas perfido_, came into her life. More often it was of -him. - -"_Asi_, as I sat, I was myself stricken; my head suddenly became -heavy, and a pain as from a knife thrust seized upon my loins. I was -giddy and weak; but at that moment I rose up and passed out of our -house. - -"Señores, you will not believe it of me--a dying man; but, I swear by -the Virgin of Guadalupe, that what I now tell you is true. I forgot -everything--everything but my present distress; and I went to seek -aid for my sister of _los Señores_ de Sanchez and Westbrook, where -they sat at ease in their banking-house. God, but I was desperate! - -"I might have known how it would fall out. Had De Sanchez then shown -a little tenderness, señores, a little compassion, a little remorse -for the past, I might have forgiven him; but he merely stood silent, -eyeing me sideways with an odd look. - -"Of a sudden it came to an end. He grasped the Señor Westbrook's arm -and drew him to the farthest corner of the room. - -"'Back!' cried he, '_al instante_--immediately; this fellow is in the -delirium of smallpox.' - -"How I was thrust forth into the street, how a great night of -forgetfulness closed down upon me, how I awoke many days later in the -pest-camp, is not to be told by me. - -"Now, señores, _oiga_--listen. - -"While I lay in my sleep of forgetfulness, Paquita crept to where the -gold and silver dagger was kept, and thrust it into her heart. - -"So did it end for her. - -"Certain poor women of the neighborhood tended my sister and cared -for the little Paquita. These had once survived the smallpox, and -they feared it not. Heaven give them many days to enjoy the life -that I was afterwards able to make easier for them! - -"By the hands of one of these the dagger came to me--all that I -possessed in the world except the humble clothes upon my back, poor -and much worn. - -"I looked into a mirror, and I laughed, señores. I laughed the laugh -of a man whose heart is dead. Then I threw my _serape_ over my -shoulder and strode from the pest-camp. - -"In the old days, señores, I was accounted a handsome man; I was vain -and much of a dandy. My complexion was lighter than you see it now; -there was a curl to my hair that I was proud of; my features were -regular, and there was an erectness to my figure, a nimbleness in all -my movements, and a suppleness that had followed naturally on the -practice of my calling. - -"Now, what I beheld in the mirror was a man altogether different, and -I had no fear that any one might recognize me. I drew the dagger -from my sash; I pressed my lips to the dark stains upon its silver -blade. - -"At that moment, señores, Fernando del Castillo died to the world; -and Juan Sebastian de Vargas was born--bound irrevocably to a vow of -vengeance." - -After his return to the city Castillo sought out his niece. Let him -speak again: - -"'_Mi Paquita poco_,' said I, taking her sweet face between my -hands--so--when she had come to know me for her uncle and the tears -of her greeting were dry, '_Paquita mia_, henceforth, and in memory -of the great sorrow that was thy mother's and mine, thou shalt be -Dolores. May God and the Blessed Virgin ever fend you from the -like!' And, repeating my vow inwardly as a prayer, I kissed her -solemnly and departed, leaving her in the care of the women, who had -come to love her as their own." - -After pawning the dagger to an American dealer in curios, he departed -for the mines. Thence onward his progress was marked by success from -a worldly point of view, and he was soon able to establish intimate -business relations with the object of his hatred. Two incidents -marked his return to the city, both of which were destined to -exercise a powerful influence over the future. One was the fact that -the dealer with whom he had left the dagger as a pledge had departed, -no one knew whither, and the dagger was not to be found; the other -was the astonishing intelligence, acquired by an infinity of toil and -patient waiting, that De Sanchez and General Westbrook were -responsible for his uncle's bankruptcy. The General was straightway -included in his hatred and scheme of vengeance. - -But a controlling strain of fatalism and superstition in the man -stayed his hand; he was convinced that his sister's dagger would come -to him again; that its return would be the signal to strike; and he -bided the time, watching De Sanchez as a cat might watch the mouse -marked for its prey. With instinctive caution, though, Castillo had -avoided General Westbrook, so the latter never became familiar with -his presence and appearance. He continued: - -"I gradually won the confidence of Alberto de Sanchez; soon we had -immense interests in common--here--there--everywhere; and these, I -always took care, should be profitable for him, even though I might -lose thereby myself. - -"But never, for some reason, could I gain his unreserved friendship, -though I strove to that end daily. There was something intangible, -unnamable, unseen by either of us, that ever stood between him and -me, and this I could not overcome. Nothing could have surprised my -mask of a face or my near-sighted eyes into betraying, by so much as -would cover a needle's point, the seething fire of hate for this man -that burned within; but as I watched him, unceasingly, I caught now -and then a puzzled look in his eyes as they regarded Juan de -Vargas--an expression in which there was something of fear; and I -knew that he was reminded, in a dim way, of the evil he had done. -There was something in my presence that made him ponder without -understanding, and would not allow him to forget. - -"In many ways Alberto de Sanchez, without knowing it, allowed to -escape him that upon which his mind was turning when his brooding -glance rested upon me. Once, at the organization of a mining company -in which I then had some small interest, the question of a name -arose. The Señor de Sanchez was regarding me with the wondering look -that had become so familiar. - -"'Paquita,' he said, half aloud, as one musing, 'The Paquita Gold -Mining and Milling Company.' And I, señores--I perforce led the -laugh that followed, the while my fingers twitched for his throat. - -"What emotions stirred uneasily in that dark bosom, señores? _Quien -sabe?_" - -During this time General Westbrook was usually in the United States. -On one occasion Joyce accompanied him to Mexico, and De Sanchez fell -madly in love with her. - -"As you know," said Castillo, "the Señor Westbrook's one virtue was -his regard for and pride in his family; for their sake had he -resorted to infamy. He knew the Señor de Sanchez to be a rascal; he -might do very well as a business associate; but deliver his cherished -daughter into that rascal's possession? No. On the other hand, De -Sanchez had that which could defeat the very object of the other's -villany--knowledge of it. He had but to come forward with the -proofs, and the proud General would be humbled to the dust; his name -would become an execration on the lips of his friends; his fortune -would be taken from him--all that for which he had stolen would be -lost. However great as a soldier the Señor Westbrook might have -been, he was a coward here; and De Sanchez was too cunning and shrewd -a scoundrel to overlook this weak spot in striving for his ends. -Fate had started this game of conflicting interests, and I had but to -watch and encourage it. Of course, you would say, the Señor de -Sanchez would have likewise ruined himself by such an exposure; but -to such a madness was he driven, when the señorita was not -immediately given to him, that I feared for a time he would destroy -all. - -"At last it fell out as you might expect; they quarrelled and severed -their partnership. De Sanchez, still holding the threat over the -other, accepted a compromise because he was made to see he had to. -The Señor Westbrook pointed out that his daughter was too young; that -while such a marriage might be popular enough in Mexico, it would -precipitate nothing short of social disaster in the States. Such -matters were regarded and arranged quite differently here: the -señorita's wishes had to be considered; were the matter laid before -her, she would develop a will of her own; and so, and so, until that -son of a devil agreed to wait four years. At the end of that time he -was to present himself to claim his bride, and she was to be prepared -for the great event during the time of waiting. I believe the Señor -Westbrook's life was embittered; I believe he said nothing of all -this to his charming daughter; it is my idea that he attempted to put -off the evil until the day thereof, hoping that time would deliver -him from his trouble; and so he returned with the señorita to his own -country, there to face as best he could the day when it should -confront him. - -"When the time had nearly passed, I cunningly laid my plans so that I -could follow naturally the Señor de Sanchez when he went to your -country. Dolores I brought with me privately, as you know, and -lodged her and the woman who has tended her since her mother's death, -here where I knew she would be well cared for. For her I had a -particular task. Because of the blood that was in her veins--because -she was the pledge of that wretched union--I intended that she should -share in the revenge, though, for the sake of her future, innocently. - -"I went with Alberto de Sanchez to the office of the Señor Doctor on -a certain night, pondering, as I walked along, the progress of my -companion's love affair, and knowing from his silence and his -scowling brow--for we were alone together--that it was not to his -liking. - -"We went slowly down the hall leading to the Señor Doctor's -apartment, and my heart leaped; something whispered in my brain, -'This is the place!' I must observe the doors, the windows, all the -possibilities. This I did. We entered the apartment of the Señor -Doctor. - -"But where was the dagger? - -"I should not have been astonished had it come floating down from the -ceiling into my hand. My brain was like a theatre in which was being -enacted all that happened seventeen years before, and still I was -calm. In the other room, where the Doctor and the Señor de Sanchez -were, I heard that which confirmed my suspicions concerning his love -affair. Surely Alberto de Sanchez would never have the opportunity -of wronging his sister as he had wronged mine. Then, señores, those -two--deep in their own concerns--did not hear the cry that burst from -my throat. - -"There, before me on a table, half covered by a paper, lay something -bright and shining; my eyes caught a glint of silver and gold. - -"I tore the paper away and beheld--my sister's dagger! - -"At last! At last! The blood sang in my veins for very joy. At -last, Alberto de Sanchez--now that your time has come, laugh as you -laughed in my sister's face! Spurn the blade from your throat as you -spurned her helpless pleading! Flee from me, the avenger of many -horrid wrongs, as you fled from the stricken girl! Ah, you cannot do -it. Alberto de Sanchez, a hundred-fold accursed--son of -hell--liar--betrayer of women--look! Your time has come--at last! - -"Together, my Paquita and I had a trick with the knives that--even if -it be I that say it--was wonderful to behold. It was our grand -climax, and oh, the sensation it would create!--the astonishment of -our audiences! You have seen it, but it was new in those days. -_Pouf!_ 't was easy. - -"Well, señores, the next evening after I had awaited Alberto de -Sanchez's coming a sufficient time at the 'otel, I took up my stand -at the entrance of the Field Building. I rolled a cigarette and -lighted it, and as I tossed the match away, I saw him coming -confidently as of old. God, how I hated him then! - -"I walked leisurely up the Field Building stairway, knowing that I -need not hurry, and down the hall to the window overlooking the--what -you call the little space?--light-well? _Gracias_, señor. Not too -close, for there might be some one to observe me at the other -windows. Looking across the light-well, I could see the whole length -of the other hall--that along which he was to approach me. Ah, how -beautifully it was all arranged, for I was in darkness, while he -would be in the light. - -"So I stood there smoking my cigarette, one arm folded across my -breast--so--the hand thereof resting on the dagger in my pocket--for -I had taken it from the Señor Doctor's desk; and presently I saw a -woman flit swiftly across the hall from the Señor Doctor's office and -vanish. I had no time to wonder at this, for at the same instant I -beheld Alberto de Sanchez appear at the head of the stairs and turn -toward the Señor Doctor's office--toward me! - -"Was there then a thought of Paquita--of Fernando del Castillo in his -mind? - -"Listen, and you shall judge. - -"As he approached nearer and nearer, the light before the Señor -Doctor's office shone with a growing brightness upon his handsome -face; and presently I noted there the look of doubt, as though the -soul were asking a question of his memory which it could not answer; -the look with which he had ever regarded Juan Vargas. - -"'When he stands beneath the light,' I whispered--'then!' - -"Ah, and then! - -"When he arrived beneath the light, I threw my cigarette out of the -window, seized the dagger by its silver blade--as in the old -days--and raised it above my head. Whether it was one or the other -of these movements that caught his eye, I do not know. He was facing -me then, and suddenly he looked at me. Ah, señores, it did my heart -good to behold his expression change, even as I had often pictured -it. His memory, at last, had given the soul its answer, and terror -shone from his eyes--he recognized Fernando del Castillo in the -avenging figure that confronted him. - -"'Taking a step backward, so that my hand might not strike the sash -of the window, I prayed, 'Soul of Paquita, strengthen my arm to -avenge thee!' - -"Then I threw the dagger.... - -"The hand of Alberto de Sanchez was raised as though to ward off the -death now upon him; but the silver blade sped across the light-well -like a lightning from the clouds; and even as I aimed it, so did it -strike. I saw it sticking there; I saw the horror and the brilliance -die suddenly from his eyes, like the turning down of a lamp; I saw -his knees give way; he began to fall--and I knew that Alberto de -Sanchez was a dead man. - -"Truly had the serpent's tooth stung the lying betrayer; the false -heart had been stilled forever by the symbol of its faithless love." - - - - -CHAPTER III - -WHICH IS THE LAST - -As for General Westbrook, Castillo protested that he had meant in the -end to spare his life, but that the former had himself precipitated -the tragedy. On the night the two met in the lobby of the La Salle -House, Castillo overheard Slade cursing the General beneath his -breath, and at once the idea dawned in his mind to use the abstracter -as a tool. Irrefutable evidence of the one-time banking firm's -illegal disposition of Don Juan's estate had been prepared by -Castillo, and this evidence was placed in Slade's possession, leading -directly to an outcome which neither could have expected. - -In the meantime Castillo had put in operation his scheme against the -General, by having Dolores write and direct to him letters of such a -nature that the recipient would be apprised of the fact that his -wrongdoing was known to others, while he remained ignorant of their -identity. It was a move calculated to fill him with an extremity of -fear and apprehension. In fact, his alarm was so intense that it -drove him to seek out Vargas--as he supposed Castillo to be--in the -hope of hearing something of "Paquita and Fernando." At this -interview Castillo disclosed his identity, and General Westbrook, in -a panic of terror, staggered from the hotel. Later he addressed a -frantic appeal to the other to come to his study at midnight--the -night that proved to be the last for him. - -"The Señor General was writing at his table," said Castillo of this -occasion, "waiting and watching for me. I crossed the gallery -without noise, and beheld him before he could see me, I being in the -dark. He had twisted his chair around so that it faced the window, -which was like a door. - -"How nervous the gallant Señor General was! When I advanced, -unannounced, into the square of light before the window, he was so -startled that he sprang from his chair, colliding with it as he moved -backward, tripping over its legs so that he would have fallen had it -not been waiting to receive him again. - -"'This is not the ghost of Fernando del Castillo, señor,' I said; -'perhaps it would be pleasanter for you if it were--_si?_' But he -composed himself quickly. He was still white and worn; still nervous -and distracted; still a very old, broken man; but he did not forget -that he was beneath his own roof, and that a visitor was trusting to -his hospitality.... 'Enter, Don Fernando,' said he, in his grandest -manner, 'I cannot express in words my appreciation of your courtesy -in responding to my request. Enter.' And I advanced into the -room.... 'You may show it,' said I, 'by telling me quickly why I am -so honored.' With a breaking voice he said: 'Señor, señor, this -night I pray God to soften your heart. 'T is not for myself--no, no! -God knows it is not; but my wife--my daughter--my son--think of them; -think of the humiliation and disgrace more bitter than death. Do not -spare me, but pity them.' ... 'Were you so immersed in thought of -them,' I asked, 'were you so solicitous of their welfare, that you -failed to hear me pleading for my dying sister?' ... 'You do not -understand,' he moaned; 'you do not understand. It is of that that I -desire to speak. Hear me.' ... 'I shall be happy to hear you,' said -I. I was seated close by the open window, and I made myself -comfortable to hear his tale. - -"I must pass hastily over it, señores. It was much as I expected it -would be; and--will you believe me?--as I hearkened my heart began to -soften to him; for, after all, señores, he was as far from being so -great a knave and villain as Alberto de Sanchez, as Heaven is from -Purgatory. He was so willing to take all upon his own head--to -harvest the fruit of his own evil sowing; his sole anxiety was for -his family, and especially the beautiful señorita, his daughter--that -I felt something of pity for that broken, wicked old man. - -"'See,' said he, holding up certain writings upon which he had been -engaged when I entered, 'even now I am preparing a statement of my -share of the administration of Don Juan's estate; every penny that I -touched then--and God knows I would have been spared this moment had -I known you were alive when the temptation assailed me--has been -accounted for; every penny that I touched has been returned, though -to do so has left me a poverty-stricken man. Sore necessity and a -conviction that no one but the State would profit by Don Juan's death -were the means of my undoing. Even as you thought of your sister, so -was I overwhelmed by the thought of my own loved ones--and I fell. -But to-morrow, or the next day, or the next--'t is only a matter of -days--my family must learn that I am penniless, and Heaven only knows -what we--what they will do.' - -"So spoke the Señor General, pleading with me, Fernando del Castillo; -and when he finished by offering me his life in exchange for an -assurance that the past would be buried therewith, I resolved to -spare him in the end. Yet it was my intention that an abiding sense -of his disgrace and degradation should, before I left him, sink deep -into his soul. - -"With this in my mind, I said: 'This is very entertaining, Señor -Westbrook, but you have not yet shown me that you were not a thief -and a rogue,'--as you may believe, señores, he winced at this,--'you -have not told me how the past can be wiped out, nor how my beloved -dead may be restored to me. These are more to me than any -considerations of your own. I have not nursed this fire of wrath and -revenge in my heart all these years for it now to be quenched in a -mere flood of words. No, no, señor; I believe I should enjoy seeing -you brought so low, even as was the Fernando del Castillo whom you -knew in Mexico.' He groaned and sank forward, his outstretched right -arm, which lay along the edge of the table, sustaining the weight of -his drooping body.... 'My God!' burst from the gray lips of the -brave General; 'what are you? You are not a man!' ... 'Perhaps not,' -I replied, smiling.... 'Señor, let me summon my daughter,' he went -on; 'let her fresh innocence plead for itself.' ... 'Señor,' I made -answer, 'come with me to the grave of my dead sister; let me show you -why I should remain unmoved before your daughter's prayers and tears.' - -"It seemed as though his clothes had suddenly become too large for -his body. He sat huddled forward, his chin resting on his breast; he -stared at me from beneath his white brows with the eyes of a dead -man; the fire that had once kindled them was no more--he seemed -utterly crushed. - -"But even as I watched him, señores, something of that fire began to -return; a little flash of cunning, a spark of craft, leaped from -them; I read a subtle meaning in their depths; and then the arm that -had been lying so supinely on the table began to draw slowly back -toward the drawer by his side. So slowly did that arm glide, -señores, that, had I not been watching for that very thing, it might -have passed unobserved, and I should not now be relating how it fell -out. But I did remark that stealthy action, señores, and again I -smiled. - -"'It is of no use, señor,' I said. 'Believe me, I suspected what is -now in your mind. Pause before it is too late; do not add murder to -your other villanies.' ... 'Suppose I did?' he muttered, still eyeing -me with that crafty look; 'suppose, now, that I did?--it would save -my daughter.' ... 'You err,' I retorted, pleasantly; 'I have taken -great pains to guard against this very contingency.' I recounted for -his benefit my plan to utilize the Señor Slade--of the disposition I -had made of the carefully prepared testimony. - -"_Madre de Dios!_ the change that swept over the man at the mention -of the Señor Slade! - -"'You miserable hound!' he shouted, leaping to his feet; and quick as -a flash his hand was in the drawer beside him, and a pistol was -levelled at my breast. 'You miserable hound!' he shouted again; 'how -dared you make this thing known to that scum! Take that!' And the -room was filled with a crash of sound. - -"But, señores, we had risen together. Even before his finger had -pressed the trigger, the silent death shot from my hand to his heart; -yet, will you believe it, señores? while he was sinking to the -floor--while my right arm was still outstretched--he fired again. -That time it was a very narrow escape for me: the bullet went up my -sleeve, searing my arm like a hot iron. See! that is the scar. Save -for the ruined coat, it did no further damage. - -"Well, here at last--in the end without any will of my own so far as -the Señor General was concerned--my dead sister was avenged; Paquita -could now rest in peace in the grave to which these two men between -them had brought her." - -Castillo paused for a moment, but he went on again at once: - -"There was nothing else for me to do but devote so much of this life -as remained to me to the little Paquita." Of a sudden he clutched -the sheet so madly that it tore. "God!" he cried shrilly, "what will -become of her now?--my little Paquita--Dolores--apple of my -eye--innocent issue of a monstrous evil. What will be thy fate? O -God, hear the prayer of a dying man--" - -"Stop him!" - -Charlotte had risen, and now stood clasping Converse's arm. - -"Don't allow that wretched creature to go on in this way," she -commanded, imperatively; "it is unbearable. I--I--can't look at -him--I can't address him; but reassure him about that poor, innocent -child." - -"Heaven bless you, señorita," Castillo cried fervently. But -Charlotte shuddered, and with closed eyes recoiled from the bed. - -"Tell him--make him believe it, Mr. Converse," she concluded -weakly--"that I charge myself with that girl's well-being, if he will -only not refer directly to her again." - -"Swear it," Castillo demanded, in a voice that was no more than a -hoarse whisper, so tense was it with eagerness. "Bethink you, -señorita, that she is of no common blood--that she is the possessor -of a wealth far beyond anything the Señor Westbrook ever dreamed of. -Relieve a dying man's last hour. Swear!" - -For a moment she faltered. She stood irresolute, one hand grasping -her throat; then she advanced firmly to the bedside, and bestowed -upon Castillo the benediction of her serene eyes. - -"I swear," she whispered, and left him immediately. - -The dying man knew that the girl's future was assured. - -"I have nearly finished," he said at length. "What else?" - -"What became of that document?" from Converse. - -"Ah, yes. When I beheld that the Señor Westbrook was a dead man, I -hurried to his desk and gathered the loose sheets from under the -overturned telephone. One, the last, had not been detached from the -pad. It bore his signature--the name of the Señor Peyton -Westbrook--and I tore it loose and thrust it into my pocket along -with the rest. Here was a confession of that gallant señor's infamy -over his own signature; and what did I with it? You will believe, -señores--señorita"--for the first time he recognized Charlotte's -presence as an auditor--"that I meant to take pity upon his daughter, -when I tell you that I destroyed it. But it was so. - -"Next I turned off the light, so that my departure might not be -witnessed. And I was none too soon, señores; there were a man and a -woman in the driveway, striving to locate the shots; so I dodged into -the shrubbery, and made my way from the grounds as noiselessly as I -had entered, screened by the black shade of the trees." - -* * * * * * * - - (LETTER FROM MRS. MOBLEY WESTBROOK TO JOHN - CONVERSE, FORMERLY CAPTAIN OF DETECTIVES.) - -_Dear Mr. Converse:_ - -_Among all the honors being showered upon you, signalizing your -retirement from the Police Department, I feel that Mobley and I -should have some recognition. I remember how you loved my flowers; I -remember your oft-repeated determination some time to retire with -your friend Mr. Follett and Joe to a cottage like the dear little -cottage which was so long a home to mamma, Clay, and myself; and -above all things, I remember that to-day we owe our happiness to you. -Somehow it seems that you have gone out of our lives, and I don't -like it to be that way. Clay and Joyce are happy in the old -homestead (your fault again, sir!), and only you--poor man!--now that -Headquarters shall know you no more, are homeless._ - -_Now, dear Mr. Converse, the cottage has stood vacant for more than a -year. It is too much for me to keep up the garden there and look -after my own household too, and I can't bear to see the garden die -away in neglect. So to-day we hand you a deed to the place, which -must not at all be considered a reward like the twenty thousand -dollars you received, but merely as a token of our undying gratitude -and esteem._ - - _Truly your friend, - Charlotte May Westbrook._ - -_P. S.--Mobley and I reserve the right to come and gather a bouquet -whenever we want to!_ - - - -THE END - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SILVER BLADE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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