It would be almost impossible to describe in fitting words the effect
produced upon James Standerton, by the terrible discovery he had made.
"What does it mean, Wilkins?" he asked in a voice surcharged with
horror. "For God's sake, tell me what it means?"
"I don't know myself, sir," the man replied. "It's too terrible for all
words. Who can have done it?"
Throwing himself on his knees beside his father's body, James took one
of the cold hands in his.
"Father! father!" he cried, in an ecstasy of grief, and then broke down
altogether. When calmness returned to him, he rose to his feet, clasped
the hands of the dead man upon the breast, and tenderly closed the
staring eyes.
"Send for Dr. Brenderton," he said, turning to Wilkins, "and let the
messenger call at the police-station on the way and ask the officer in
charge to come here without a moment's delay."
The man left him to carry out the order, and James silently withdrew
from the room to perform what he knew would be the saddest task of his
life. As he descended the stairs he could hear his sister singing in the
breakfast-room below.
"You are very late," she said, as he entered the room. "And father too.
I shall have to give him a talking-to when he does come down."
Then she must have realised that something was amiss, for she put down
the letter which she had been reading, and took a step towards him. "Has
anything happened, Jim?" she enquired, "your face is as white as death."
Then Jim told her everything. The shock to her was even more terrible
than it had been to her brother, but she did her best to bear up
bravely.
The doctor and the police officer arrived almost simultaneously. Both
were visibly upset at the intelligence they had received. Short though
William Standerton's residence in the neighbourhood had been, it had,
nevertheless, been long enough for them to arrive at a proper
appreciation of his worth. He had been a good supporter of all the Local
Institutions, a liberal landlord, and had won for himself the reputation
of being an honest and just man.
"I sympathise with you more deeply than I can say," said the doctor,
when he joined Jim in the library after he had made his examination. "If
there is anything more I can do to help you, I hope you will command
me."
"Thank you," said Jim simply, "there is not anything however you can do.
Stay! There is one question you can answer. I want you to tell me how
long you think my father has been dead?"
"Several hours," replied the medical man. "I should say at least six."
"Is there any sort of doubt in your mind as to the cause of his death?"
"None whatever," the other replied. "All outward appearances point to
the fact that death is due to strangulation."
At that moment the police officer entered the room.
"I have taken the liberty, Mr. Standerton," he said, "of locking the
door of the room and retaining the key in my possession. It will be
necessary for me to report the matter to the Authorities at once, in
order that an Inquest may be held. Before I do so, however, may I put
one or two questions to you?"
"As many as you like," Jim replied. "I am, of course, more than anxious
that the mystery surrounding my father's death shall be cleared up at
once, and the murderer brought to Justice."
"In the first place," said the officer, "I see that the window of the
bedroom is securely fastened on the inside, so that the assassin,
whoever he was, could not have made his entrance by this means. Do you
know whether your father was in the habit of locking his door at night?"
"I am sure he was not. A man who has led the sort of life he has done
for fifty years does not lock his bedroom door on retiring to rest."
"In that case the murderer must have obtained access to the room through
the house, and I must make it my business to ascertain whether any of
the windows or doors were open this morning. One more question, Mr.
Standerton, and I have finished for the present. Have you any reason to
suppose that your father had an enemy?"
Jim remembered the suspicion that had been in his mind ever since he had
made the ghastly discovery that morning.
"I have," he answered. "There was a man in Australia who hated my father
with an undying hatred."
"Forgive my saying so, but a man in Australia could scarcely have
committed murder in England last night."
"But the man is not in Australia now. He was here yesterday evening, and
he and my father had a quarrel. The man was ordered out of the house,
and went away declaring that, whatever it might cost, he would be
revenged."
"In that case it looks as if the mystery were explained. I must make it
my business to discover the whereabouts of the man you mention."
"He was staying at the 'George and Dragon' yesterday," said Jim. "By
this time, however, he has probably left the neighbourhood. It should
not be difficult to trace him, however; and if you consider a reward
necessary, in order to bring about his apprehension more quickly, offer
it, and I will pay it only too gladly. I shall know no peace until this
dastardly crime has been avenged."
"I can quite understand that," the doctor remarked. "You will have the
sympathy of the whole County."
"And now," said the police officer, "I must be going. I shall take a man
with me and call at the 'George and Dragon.' The name of the person you
mentioned to me is----"
"Richard Murbridge," said Jim, and thereupon furnished the officer with
a description of the man in question.
"You will, of course, be able to identify him?"
"I should know him again if I did not see him for twenty years," Jim
answered. "Wilkins, the butler, will also be glad to give you evidence
as to his coming here last night."
"Thank you," the officer replied. "I will let you know as soon as I have
anything to report."
The doctor and the police agent thereupon bade him good-day and took
their departure, and Jim went in search of his grief-stricken sister.
The terrible news had by this time permeated the whole household, and
had caused the greatest consternation.
"I knew what it would be last night," said the cook. "Though Mr. Wilkins
laughed at me, I felt certain that Mary Sampson did not see the Black
Dwarf for nothing. Why, it's well known by everybody that whenever that
horrible little man is seen in the house death follows within
twenty-four hours."
The frightened maids to whom she spoke shuddered at her words.
"What's more," the cook continued, "they may talk about murderers as
they please, but they forget that this is not the first time a man has
been found strangled in this house. There is more in it than meets the
eye, as the saying goes."
"Lor, Mrs. Ryan, you don't mean to say that you think it was the ghost
that killed the poor master?" asked one of the maids, her eyes dilating
with horror.
"I don't say as how it was, and I don't say as how it wasn't," that lady
replied somewhat ambiguously, and then she added oracularly: "Time will
show."
In the meantime Jim had written a short note to his sweetheart, telling
her of the crime, and imploring her to come to his sister at once. A
servant was despatched with it, and half-an-hour later Helen herself
appeared in answer.
"Your poor father. I cannot believe it! It is too terrible," she said to
her lover, when he greeted her in the drawing-room. "Oh! Jim, my poor
boy, how you must feel it. And Alice, too--pray let me go to her at
once."
Jim conducted her to his sister's room, and then left the two women
together, returning himself to the dead man's study on the floor below.
There he sat himself down to wait, with what patience he could command,
for news from the police station. In something less than an hour it came
in the shape of a note from the inspector, to the effect that Murbridge
had not returned to the "George and Dragon" until a late hour on the
previous night, and that he had departed for London by the train leaving
Childerbridge Junction shortly before five o'clock that morning.
"However," said the writer, in conclusion, "I have wired to the
Authorities in London, furnishing them with an exact description of him,
and I have no doubt that before very long his arrest will be effected."
With this assurance Jim was perforce compelled to be content. Later came
the intimation from the Coroner to the effect that the Inquest would be
held at the George and Dragon Inn on the following morning.
Shortly after twelve o'clock Wilkins entered the study with the
information that a person of "_the name of Robins_" desired to see his
master on an important matter, if he would permit him an interview.
"Show him in," said Jim, forming as he did so a shrewd guess as to the
man's business.
A few moments later a small, sombrely-dressed individual, resembling a
Dissenting minister more than any one else, made his appearance in the
room.
"Mr. Standerton, I believe," he began, speaking in a low, deep voice,
that had almost a solemn ring about it.
"That is my name," the other replied. "What can I do for you?"
"I am a Scotland Yard detective," the stranger replied, "and I have been
sent down to take charge of the case. I must apologise for intruding
upon you at such a time, but if the murderer is to be brought to
justice, no time mast be lost. I want you to tell me, if you will, all
you can about the crime, keeping nothing back, however trivial you may
consider it."
James thereupon proceeded to once more narrate what he knew regarding
the murder. He discovered that the detective had already been informed
as to the ominous suspicion that had attached itself to Murbridge.
"The first point to be settled," he said, when James had finished, "is
the way in which the man got into the house. You have not
cross-questioned the domestics upon the subject, I suppose?"
James shook his head.
"I have been too much upset to think of such a thing," he answered. "But
if you deem such a proceeding necessary, you are, of course, quite at
liberty to do so. Take what steps you think best; all I ask of you is to
find my father's murderer."
"I presume you heard nothing suspicious during the night?"
"Nothing at all. But it is scarcely likely that I should do so, as my
room is in another part of the house."
"Who is responsible for the locking up at night?"
"The butler, Wilkins."
"Has he been with you any length of time?"
"We ourselves have only been a few months in England," Jim replied, "but
since he has been in our service we have found him a most careful and
trustworthy man. There cannot be any shadow of suspicion against him."
"Very likely not," the detective answered. "But in my profession we
often find criminals in the most unlikely quarters. Mind you, sir, I
don't say that he had anything to do with the crime itself. It is not
outside the bounds of possibility, however, that his honesty may have
been tampered with, even to the extent of leaving a window unfastened,
or a door unlocked. However, I have no doubt I shall soon learn all
there is to be known about Mr. Wilkins."
When he had asked one or two other important questions, he withdrew to
question the servants. From the account James received of the
examination later, it would not appear to have been a very successful
business.
Wilkins asserted most positively that he had made every door and window
in the house secure before retiring to rest. He was as certain as a man
could be that no lock, bolt, or bar had been moved from its place during
the night, and the housekeeper corroborated his assertions. The
detective's face wore a puzzled expression.
"I've been round every flower-bed outside the windows," he said to the
police inspector, "and not a trace of a footprint can I find. And yet we
know that Murbridge was away from the inn at a late hour, and there's
evidence enough upstairs to show that somebody made his way into Mr.
Standerton's room between midnight and daybreak. Later I'll go down to
the village and make a few enquiries there. It's just possible somebody
may have met the man upon the road."
He was as good as his word, and when he returned to the Manor House at a
late hour he knew as much about Richard Murbridge's movements on the
preceding evening as did any man in the neighbourhood.
Jim dined alone that night, though it would be almost a sarcasm to
dignify his meal with such a name. He had spent the afternoon going
through his father's papers, in the hope of being able to discover some
clue that might ultimately enable him to solve the mystery concerning
Murbridge. He was entirely unsuccessful, however. Among all the papers
with which the drawers were filled, there was not one scrap of writing
that could in anyway enlighten him. They were the plain records of a
successful business man's career, and, so far as Murbridge was
concerned, quite devoid of interest. I do not think James Standerton
ever knew how much he loved his father until he went through that
drawer. The neat little packets, so carefully tied up and labelled,
spoke to him eloquently of the dead man, and, as he replaced them where
he had found them, a wave of intense longing to be revenged on his
father's cowardly assassin swept over him. He was in the act of closing
the drawer, when there came a tap at the door, and Wilkins entered to
inform him that the detective had returned and was at his service,
should he desire to see him.
"Show him in, Wilkins," said James, locking the drawer of the table, and
placing the key in his pocket as he spoke.
The butler disappeared, to return a few moments later accompanied by the
individual in question.
"Well, Mr. Robins," said Jim, when they were alone together, "what have
you discovered?"
"Nothing of very much importance, sir, I am afraid," the other replied.
"I have found out that Murbridge left the park by the main gates almost
on the stroke of half-past eight last night. I have also discovered that
he was again seen within a few minutes of eleven o'clock, standing near
the small stile at the further end of the park."
"I know the place," Jim replied. "Go on! What was he doing there!"
"Well, sir," continued the detective, "that's more than I can tell you.
But if he were there at such an hour, you may be sure it was not with
any good intention. I have made enquiries from the keepers, and they
have informed me that it is quite possible to reach the house by the
path that leads from the stile without being observed."
"It winds through the plantation," said Jim, "and it is very seldom
used. Lying outside the village as it does, it is a very roundabout way
of reaching the house. What have they to say about him at the inn?"
"Not very much, sir. But what little they do say is important. The
landlord informs me that immediately after his arrival in the village he
began to ask questions concerning the Squire. There is no doubt that
your father was his enemy, and also that Murbridge cherished a bitter
grudge against him. He did not tell the landlord who he was, or what his
reasons were for being in the neighbourhood. It is certain, however,
that had your father not been living here he would not have come near
the place. On receipt of Mr. Standerton's letter, he set off for the
house, and did not return to the inn until a late hour. In point of
fact, it was between twelve and one o'clock when he _did_ come in. The
landlord is unable to give the exact time, for the reason that he was
too sleepy to take much notice of it. He does remember, however, that
Murbridge was in a very bad temper, and that he was excited about
something. He called for some brandy, and moreover stated that his
holiday was at an end, and that he was leaving for London by the early
train next morning. This he did. That is as far as the landlord's tale
goes. It seems to me that, unless we can prove something more definite
against him than the evidence we have been able to obtain up to the
present moment, it will be difficult to bring the crime home to him."
"But we must prove more," cried Jim, with considerable vehemence. "I am
as certain in my own mind as I can be of anything that he was the man
who killed my father, and if it costs me all I am worth in the world,
and if I am compelled to spend the rest of my life in doing it, I'll
bring the crime home to him somehow or another. It is impossible that he
should be allowed to take that good, honest life, and get off scot
free."
"I can quite understand your feelings, sir," said the detective, "and
you may rest assured that, so far as we are concerned, no stone shall be
left unturned to bring the guilty man to justice. Of course it is full
early to speak like this, but if you will review the case in your own
mind, you will see that, up to the present, there is really nothing
tangible against the man. We know that he hated your father, and that he
stated his intention of doing him a mischief, and also that on the night
he uttered this threat the murder was committed. From this it would
appear that he is responsible for it. But how are we to prove that he
got into the house? No one saw him, and there are no suspicious
footprints on the flower-beds outside. At the same time we know that he
did not return to the inn until a late hour, and that, when he did, he
was in an excited state. Yet why should he not have gone for a walk, and
might not his excitement be attributed to resentment of the treatment he
received at your father's hands? I am very much afraid it would be
difficult to induce a Jury to convict on evidence such as we are, so
far, able to bring against him. However, we shall hear what the Coroner
has to say to-morrow. In the meantime, if you do not require my presence
longer, I will return to the inn. It will be necessary for me to be
early astir to-morrow."
James bade him good-night, and when he had departed, went upstairs to
his sister's room. He found her more composed than she had been when he
had last seen her, and able to talk of the dead man without breaking
down as she had hitherto done. He informed her of the detective's visit,
and of the information he had received from him. It was nearly midnight
when he left her. The lamp in the hall was still burning, and he
descended the great staircase with the intention of telling Wilkins that
he could lock up the house and retire to rest. To his astonishment, when
he reached the hall, he beheld the butler standing near the dining-room
door, his face as white as the paper upon which I am now writing.
"What on earth is the matter, man?" asked James, who, for the moment,
was compelled to entertain the notion that the other had been drinking.
"I've seen it, sir," said Wilkins in a voice that his master scarcely
recognised. "I'd never believe it could be true, but now I've witnessed
it with my own eyes."
"Witnessed what?" James enquired.
"_The ghost_, sir," Wilkins replied; "the ghost of the Little Black
Dwarf."
Jim was in no humour for such talk then, and I very much regret to say
he lost his temper.
"Nonsense," he answered. "You must have imagined that you saw it."
"No, sir, I will take my Bible Oath that I did not. I saw it as plain as
I see you now. I'd been in to lock up the dining-room, and was standing
just where I am now, never thinking of such a thing, when I happened to
look up in the gallery, and there, sir, as sure as I'm alive, was the
ghost, leaning on the rail, and looking down at me. His eyes were
glaring like red-hot coals. Then he pointed upwards and disappeared. I
will never laugh at another person again, when they say that they have
seen him. May God defend us from further trouble!"