"And this; and this. The society shan't never see one of 'em
again--I'll let 'em rot first."
Then came Torry's voice.
"Of course if it's so, my brother Gurthrie will know all about it before
long. Only I don't want to tell him yet. It isn't that I distrust you,
Merrick, but naturally you can see for yourself what a laughing stock I
should become if there should prove to be any mistake."
"Don't I know it? and without there bein' any mistake," answered the
other.
"Precisely; and that being the case, I prefer to wait until the thing is
proved to my own senses before announcing this most stupendous fact of
history to anyone."
I was relieved. There was something in both the tone and words that
convinced me there could be nothing criminal under consideration. And
yet the mystery was deeper than ever. Here was no explanation of how
the money had come; which was an assured fact, but dark innuendoes of
problems yet unsolved. I continued to listen, absorbed with interest.
"Now, as to the matter o' beasts and birds, bein' no scholar, I can't
prove nothin'. Thim you'll hev to study for your own self, and make
your own deductions regardin' em. Nayther can I explain the how and
wherefore of the light--but it's thar all the same, and you'll see it. I
could a' give my notions to the society, but the cussed fools wouldn't
listen to nothin', and they can go see for theirselves if they wants to,
afore I'll tell 'em another word. Now, don't let that slip your mind,
'cause you're the only man, 'fore God a' mighty!"
"Now, about this belt," said Torrence, "how wide did you say it was?"
By the sound I imagined him to be tapping on the table with a pencil;
but the words that followed were impossible to hear; and then the men
had evidently got their heads together in poring over some document or
paper which I could not see. Suddenly it occurred to me to stoop down
and peep through the keyhole. Undoubtedly it was contemptible, but was
it any more so than listening? "An eavesdropper is bad enough, but a
peeper is worse," I thought, and yet my curiosity was so aroused it was
impossible to help it, and I excused myself partly on the ground that it
was right to be forearmed if I was not to be led blindly as an
accomplice into a possible crime. And so I succumbed, and placing my
eye against the opening, obtained a circumscribed view of my brother's
apartment. To my amazement I immediately recognized the stranger as the
man we had met upon the Thames boat, and afterward in the restaurant. He
was the same dirty, unshaved sailor; at least his appearance indicated
that he had followed the sea for a living, and I could not doubt that he
had. The men were sitting on opposite sides of a table, upon which a
pile of papers was heaped in confusion; and so far as I could judge some
of these were the same that had come in the afternoon's mail.
"Give him as much time as he wants!" said the sailor, speaking again.
"He won't believe it at first, and it ain't reasonable as how he should;
but it 'ill come over him by degrees like. He's bound to believe it ef
he studies on it--there ain't no other chance."
"No, not if it's so," answered Torrence, "and he won't be as hard to
convince as you might suppose; perhaps no harder than I was, for I've
half believed it myself, and talked about it before. You found me an
apt scholar, didn't you?"
"The only one with any sense I ever had," snarled the man. "But I don't
care now," he continued, "I haven't long to live nohow; but I did hate
to die with that secret, 'case another million years might pass afore it
was found out. I'm satisfied so long as you 'uns knows it, 'case the
world's bound to get it. But as for them cussed fools----!"
The man rapped on the table with his clinched fist.
"Hush!" said Torrence, "you might wake him up!"
The sailor grinned and scratched his head.
"No harm done, I reckon ef I did," he replied.
"No, but I told you my reasons for keeping mum!"
"Precisely; I mind your word. And the proofs, you found them all
correct?"
"Quite so; but tell me don't you want any yourself?"
"Hell, no. I'll send you up a trunk full to-morrow. I've got all the
swag I want--a good bed, plenty o' company, and a place to die in; for I
tell you I can't last long. It's taken the stuffin' out o' me--but the
secret--the secret--Well, thank God, I shan't die with it, and that's
all I wanted."
Of course, this talk might almost as well have been in Hindoostanee, for
aught I could make out of it. At one moment my fear of evil was aroused
to a terrible pitch, at the next, I felt nothing but idle curiosity. I
was, however, surprised to find so little that was intelligible in what
I heard. Presently the men began turning over bundles of papers, and
Torry having moved his chair, it was impossible to see what these were,
and this fact may have helped arouse the awful suspicion that suddenly
seized me; a thought which I am sure would never have presented itself
under any but the bewildering circumstances in which I had been so
blindly plunged. Could it be possible that the money which my brother
had thrown about so freely, was counterfeit? A moment's reflection
convinced me that it was not possible, and yet a terrible distrust had
taken hold of me. For a moment I hesitated. My first impulse was to
call out and ask what was the matter. It would have been the frank and
natural thing to do, had my suspicions not been aroused, but as they
were, I felt that such a procedure would be silly and fruitless. A
burning desire to know consumed me, and I walked about the room in an
agony of unrest. Again I looked through the keyhole, and was relieved to
see no plates, stamps, dies or machinery of any kind. I drew a long
breath. Then I recalled that there had been nothing in the conversation
to indicate any such business; and I drew another breath. Finally,
unable to gain the slightest clew to the mystery, I returned to my room,
and went to bed in a very uncomfortable frame of mind.
*VI.*
The next morning I awoke early, and resolved to go at once to Torrence's
room and ask him to lend me a five pound note. It was my intention to
have it examined by a banker in the city for its genuineness, hoping to
relieve the anxiety which had so tortured me during the night. While my
judgment was opposed to the counterfeiting theory as improbable, yet it
was difficult to overcome the thought that it might be the correct one.
The truth is, I was impelled to discover some plausible explanation of
the mystery. I could not rest as the recipient of means which had no
visible source, and especially when there appeared to be so much ground
for doubting their legitimacy.
Torrence was already up, preparing for an early start, as I sauntered
into his room.
"By the by, old fellow," I said, "have you a fiver about you? I think I
might use one to advantage until I can get down to the bank with your
check."
He took a roll of bills out of his pocket, and instead of one five,
tossed me a couple of tens.
"Let it go for luck!" he called, as he hurriedly left the room on the
way to his business.
We rarely breakfasted together, Torry being so full of enthusiasm about
his work, that he would brook no chance of delay, and so it was
understood that we should not meet until after his return from
Gravesend. On this occasion, when he had left me, and after
breakfasting alone, I ordered the carriage, and drove into the city.
Taking my check at once to the banker upon whom it was drawn, I inquired
if it were all right. The cashier smiled, and simply asked how I would
have it. I told him I did not want it at all, but wished to place it to
my credit.
"Oh!" said the man looking up, "I thought you were Mr. Attlebridge."
"So I am," I answered, "but not Torrence. I am his twin brother. We
look very much alike."
"I see!" he exclaimed, somewhat surprised. He then proceeded to take my
signature, and give me a book with credit on it for a thousand pounds.
There was no mistake about this. Here was an actual transfer of credit
from Torrence to myself. I wanted to ask the man some questions about
the amount Torrence held in the bank, but hesitated, fearing it might
create a suspicion that I doubted his methods. Presently, while still
chatting in a careless way, I took out one of the tens my brother had
given me, and asked if it were all right, pretending to have received it
at a place I was not quite sure of. The man looked at it carefully, and
pronounced it perfectly good, and my doubts were relieved. I was about
to say "good-morning," when the teller observed:
"We should be greatly pleased, Mr. Attlebridge, if you and your brother
would keep your principal account with us, believing that we can offer
special facilities, and----"
It was what I wanted. He had opened the subject.
"Oh!" I interrupted, "can you tell me which is my brother's principal
banking house at present?"
"Unfortunately," answered the man, "he has not favored us with the name;
although I believe it is one of the larger houses in the city. Mr.
Attlebridge's deposits with us are all made through an American firm."
I was about to express surprise, but remembered myself in time, so
merely smiled and tried to look as if I had known as much before.
"And why do you suppose that my brother keeps another account in
London?" I asked.
"Oh!" said the man, shrugging his shoulders, "merely because I once
heard him mentioned as the purchaser of a very large foreign draft from
one of our city houses. Nothing else, I assure you."
"And you do not remember the name of the concern?" I asked, growing
interested.
"No," answered the teller, "I do not. It is even quite possible that I
never heard it. The remark was only one of those incidental scraps of
conversation that referred more particularly to business in general,
than to that of any special banker."
I had heard enough to give me a clew, although I confess, a slight one.
Torrence evidently had business with another bank, and also had funds in
America of which I had never heard, and could not understand. A thought
had flashed upon me. I would go into the different banking streets and
find out where this other account was kept, if possible, by passing
myself off for my brother. Doubtless I should be taken for him as soon
as I entered the right establishment, as I had been here. Bidding the
teller "good-day," I passed out, fully bent upon my new enterprise. It
was a bold scheme, but I was growing desperate to know something about
Torry's affairs; moreover, I was conscious of greater independence with
a credit of a thousand pounds in my pocket and a bank book, which I
pressed against my finger from time to time when needing encouragement.
As luck would have it, the first place I entered was the right one, and
as I had surmised, the clerks recognized me at once as Torrence. I had
made up my mind how to act, and what to say while walking along the
street, having dismissed the carriage as unnecessary, and was fully
prepared on finding myself addressed as Mr. Attlebridge.
"By the by," I began quite carelessly. "What was that last--er--that
last----"
I purposely halted to give the teller a chance to help me out. This he
did, but I was utterly unprepared for the word. I expected to hear
deposit, or check, but when the man came to my assistance with the word
cable, I was dumfounded. Was Torrence trying to hang himself? However,
my common sense returned, and I replied as if suddenly recalling my
errand:
"Oh, yes, that was it. Will you let me see it again please, if you have
a copy of it?"
I had not the slightest idea what the cablegram was about, but knew that
copies of important messages were always preserved, and thought I might
as well see this one. In a minute a clerk appeared with the copy in
question, and the teller glancing at it for a second to make sure it was
the right one, passed it over for my inspection, and I read as follows.
"LONDON, December --, 1894.
"To DEADWOOD AND BATES, BANKERS, New York City.
"Place to the credit of Torrence Attlebridge sixty three thousand eight
hundred and forty pounds sterling, and charge same to our account.
"WHITEHOUSE, MORSE & PLUNKET."
I almost choked with astonishment. Here was a single deposit of
considerably more than three hundred thousand dollars. No wonder he
could so easily afford to give me the check for a thousand pounds. I
was provoked that I had not asked for ten times as much. But where did
all this money come from in the first instance? I continued to look at
the message in amazement, not knowing what to say; and then pulling
myself together, remarked, still as if trying to refresh my memory:
"And let me see--I gave you for this, a draft on----"
"You forget, Mr. Attlebridge," promptly responded the man, "you merely
drew upon your credit with us, reducing your account to that extent!"
"So I did," I answered, apparently quite satisfied. "My memory is so
fearfully faulty sometimes, I not only forget amounts, but the manner of
payment." Then remembering that Torrence had no doubt a further balance
here, I thought I would make another effort to discover what it was
before leaving. The question was not nearly so difficult as the others.
"By the by, be kind enough to tell me what my balance is to-day, here
with you."
The big books were turned over, and in a minute I was informed that my
brother had still more than one hundred thousand pounds with these
people, Whitehouse, Morse & Plunket. I was astounded. Instead of
solving a mystery I had only sunk deeper in the mire. Here was a credit
that was practically boundless. A bank account worthy of a king. I
could not show my amazement, and so for a minute turned my back, trying
to collect my thoughts. Could I leave the place without one more
question? I resolved to risk it, and so added:
"Sorry to trouble you again, but be good enough to tell me how my last
deposit with you was made."
"By a large batch of your own drafts, Mr. Attlebridge, on prominent
bankers in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, St. Petersburg, Constantinople,
Munich, Rome, Naples, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and San
Francisco, besides others. We have a list of the bankers here if you
would like to see it; and, by the by, I forgot to mention that several
of the drafts were upon London houses, which you doubtless remember.
Beyond this you have not forgotten that several thousand pounds were
paid to us in cash!"
"True!" I said, and turning hurriedly, left the place, only too glad to
get away. Evidently my brother's drafts had all been honored, or the
balance would not be to his credit.
I wandered down the street like one in a dream. I could see no earthly
chance of ever solving this problem, except through Torrence himself;
but I could not ask him, and if I did, had no reason to expect an
answer. No, I must wait for further developments. Something was sure to
turn up. To my certain knowledge, then, my brother had nearly a million
dollars to his credit in New York and London, and from what I had heard
it seemed probable that he had much more elsewhere.
*VII.*
At the expiration of the six weeks the air ship was still far from
finished. Contractors had disappointed; orders for material had failed
to be filled, and only two courses of the hull were laid. As Torrence
took everything good-naturedly, he was not seriously disturbed, although
he considered it a duty to push the work forward as fast as possible,
hoping to make his trial trip early in the Spring. The plans were
difficult of execution, the more delicate parts of the mechanism
requiring the labor of the most skillful workmen and my brother's
constant supervision. He spent the whole of every day at Gravesend, and
sometimes the night; meanwhile our expenses at the Mustapha continued at
the same extravagant rate. The apartments had been retaken
indefinitely, and the proprietor would have regretted losing us, as we
probably spent twice as much money as a score of his best guests. Of
course, I was the principal beneficiary of all this luxury, Torrence
being at home so little, but this fact did not disturb him in the least.
At the end of two months there was no prospect of completing the vessel
for a considerable time to come, as new complications and fresh
disappointments had arisen; nevertheless, things were getting well in
hand, and the first warm Spring days would probably see her ready for a
start.
It is not my purpose to recount our life during this Winter and the
following Spring in the great metropolis. It is sufficient for the
purposes hereinbefore named to say that it was a period of extravagance
beyond reason, and of somewhat equivocal pleasures when I considered the
vast sums these pleasures cost. Wherever we went we were looked upon as
the great American millionaires; the men whose pockets had no bottom,
and whose bank accounts were exhaustless. My efforts to discover the
goose that laid our golden eggs continued fruitless, and if I still
doubted the regularity of the methods, so far as I could see, no one
else did. As the time wore on, Torrence would occasionally show some
irritability at the unavoidable delays; though what he intended to do
with the vessel when finished was a myth. The time was when I had
looked upon it as a means of wealth, if not fame; but now with a vast
fortune at our command, he seemed even more anxious about the machine
than ever. More than once I thought seriously of leaving him, fearing
some dreadful climax to our affairs in which I might be implicated; but
when I alluded to the separation he seemed hurt, and so I remained.
During all this time we were in the swim of fashionable life, both
entertaining and being entertained constantly. If Torrence gambled it
was never extensively, so that he never either won or lost any
considerable amount. Every effort had been made to keep the intention
of the air ship a secret, and so thoroughly had the workmen been
mystified, that when Spring came it was exceedingly doubtful if any of
them knew what it was, and fortunately old Mr. Wetherbee was so laid up
with rheumatism that he never left the house. I think the general
impression was that it was a new kind of torpedo boat, although some
believed it to be a submarine passenger craft. The barn was kept
closely shut during working hours, and the outer world had little chance
of guessing what it contained.
By the middle of May the thing was nearly completed, and I saw by my
brother's increased anxiety that his hopes were soon to be either
realized or dashed to the ground. It was an unfortunate remark when I
inquired, innocently enough, if he were sure the vessel would rise. He
answered with an oath in the affirmative, but became moody and out of
sorts immediately after. Upon several different occasions I felt sure
that I heard him conversing with the sailor at a late hour, although I
never again looked through the keyhole. Once when the conversation was
particularly lively, I confess to listening, though only for a few
minutes, and with poor result, as I could understand but little that was
said. It was in reply to some remark of my brother's that the man
answered:
"Don't bother about me. My pay comes in satisfaction! Revenge! Sabe?
Now if you'll do as you're told, you'll do more for me than the five
continents full o' men, women, and children ever would do. No, pardner,
I'm alone in this world, and that stuff's no good to me, as I done told
you; couldn't use it nohow; but I'll damn the society, and every one of
'em as turned a cold shoulder on me, through you. Now, I don't expect
to live to see it, but I'll die happy, and that's worth more'n money can
buy. Now, don't ever let your nerve give out; in fact there ain't no
occasion for it, seein' how much better you 'uns is fixed than I was.
Promise you won't never turn your back on it."
"I'll do my best; no man can do more!" answered Torrence.
"And you'll never regret it!"
"I've no doubt about my part of the contract," he added, "and can feel
but little doubt of all you've told me, after the proofs."
"That's right, you're my man--God bless you, and if ever you----"
Here there was a shuffling of feet, and fearing they might be coming
into the _salon_, I beat a hasty retreat to my own room. Of course I
could form no conception of what they were talking about, and went to
bed trying to put meaning into the maze of words.
Some days after this, while brooding over our absurd and unfettered
prodigality, I resolved to ask Torrence for another and larger check.
My object was, as before, to save something out of the whirlwind of our
extravagances, fearing my brother's improvidence. I pretended that
there was an investment which I was anxious to make, that would take
quite a large sum. Without a word of inquiry he turned with alacrity
and said:
"Why, certainly! How much?"
I began an explanation which partook of the nature of a sermon on the
expediency of putting by something for a rainy day, but he cut me short:
"Now, my dear fellow, I can't really stop for the lecture to-day; keep
that for to-morrow; but as to the money, why it's yours anyhow, and you
might as well take it now as at any other time. How much did you say?"
"Well, I didn't say exactly, but a good deal would be necessary to do
what I thought of doing," I replied.
"Since you don't seem to know exactly how much, take this," he said,
"and if it isn't enough, let me know!"
Without another word he sat down and dashed off a check for twenty
thousand pounds, and handed it to me.
"Here, take it," he said, "it's only a small payment on account at best.
Let me know if you want more."
He was off in a second, and left me standing like one petrified with the
paper in my hand. I placed the amount to my credit with Whitehouse,
Morse & Plunket, and got a friend to identify me as Gurthrie, instead of
Torrence, Attlebridge.
Shortly after this my brother came to me one day with a despatch box in
his hand. Opening the box he showed me that it contained a canvas bag,
in which was a smaller one of oil silk. These he opened and emptied the
contents upon the table. To my amazement I saw that it was a batch of
conveyances, or deeds for houses and lands, real estate of great value
in America, all in my name. By the values here mentioned alone I was
worth more than a million dollars. According to the vouchers before me,
this property had all been paid for by myself within the past few
months. I felt as if I must unknowingly have come into the possession
of Aladdin's lamp. I was dumfounded, but before I could utter a word
Torrence went on to say:
"There now, all this is yours!--now, not a word--I have only a moment in
which to speak, and wish to say this. Of course all this stuff is
properly registered, recorded, and witnessed, and all that sort of thing
as you can see; but for your future convenience and perhaps for mine, I
must remind you of the importance of keeping this packet in your
possession. There are other papers in it which we have not time to
examine now, but if ever you should be hurried to move anywhere, don't
forget to throw away the box, and shove this wallet in your pocket. It
is of the utmost importance!"
I promised without asking a question; and when he was gone I went to a
tailor's and had the packet, minus the canvas bag, securely sewed inside
the coat I was wearing; seeing to it myself that the job was well done.
As the time wore on Torrence grew more impatient at the delay in
finishing the work. Evidently there was something he was dreading;
which I thought might be the possible failure of the machine to rise.
"Suppose she fails," I said one day, "we have plenty to live on, and
what does it matter?"
He looked at me with an expression of horror, and walked away without a
word.
One day I walked suddenly into his room without knocking, thinking he
was away. To my surprise I found him and the sailor, Merrick, talking
together. As before they were sitting on opposite sides of the table,
upon which was spread a packet of papers; some of them I recognized as
having seen before. Torrence immediately got up, and asked if I would
mind coming a little later, as he was just going over some important
business, and of course I went out immediately. Although only in the
room a minute, the strange motley of papers was distinctly seen. The
same extraordinary attempts at drawing and chirograph?--and among these
I observed what I had not seen before--a crude representation of a human
face, but with so peculiar an expression that I could not forget it.
There was also a lengthy, and very illiterate looking document, which
appeared as if the signatures at the bottom had been done by children.
I went immediately into the _salon_, where although not really intending
to listen, I overheard quite accidentally a remark of the sailor's,
which, as nearly as I can remember, was as follows:
"You'll find him thar, jest as I'se told ye, pard, without he's died
since; and you'll find the box, and them docyments inside of it, I
reckon, if you hunts for 'em whar I tell you. There ain't nothin' to be
afeard of in him; he's just plumb gone, don't know nothin'. You needn't
try to catch him, because you can't do it. Now, I must be goin'.
Reckon I'd better be fixin' to die anyway!"
This was really all; at least all I could understand; and a few minutes
later the door was shut and the man evidently gone.
On the 25th of May Torrence came home rather later than usual, and the
moment he entered the room I saw that something had happened. The look
upon his face was one of unequivocal delight. Striking an attitude in
the middle of the floor, he shouted:
"Hooray!"
"Not so loud!" I cried, "you'll disturb people in the house."
"Let them be disturbed. It's time they were disturbed," he replied,
pouring himself out a glass of wine at the sideboard. Then holding the
bumper aloft, exclaimed:
"Here's to the air ship; God bless her. But where's your glass?"
I joined him in the toast. "Well, what's happened?" I inquired,
touching my glass to his.
"She rises; she floats; she steers. She advances and reverses, just as
I please. She cuts the teeth of the wind. I tell you, Gurt, it is the
triumph of the century--of the ages. A child can handle her. We shall
be off in a couple of days!"
"The devil, you say! Have you had a trial trip?"
"Well, rather! but no one knows it. The truth is I took her out in the
dark, before day, all alone, and had her back in the barn before any one
guessed it. Arranged it all beforehand. Sent all the hands off. She
responds like a leaf in a gale. We can sit in her, solid as a rock, one
foot above the ground, or ten thousand, just as we please. We can float
along four miles an hour, or a mile a minute. We can stand before the
wind, or we can run in the teeth of a hurricane. We can right about
face, or maneuver her with more ease than you could a wheelbarrow. Her
power is exhaustless, and is evolved without steam, electricity or--but
what's the use of going into that? You couldn't understand if I did.
It would take a course of mathematics to get into the first principles;
but some day, when you and I are floating away in the blue sky, above
the fogs of London town, I'll take time and explain it all to you."
"At all events she's a success," I answered, finishing my wine.
"She's more than that; she's perfect!" and Torrence drained his glass.
Then lighting a cigarette, he added:
"We'll be off in a couple of clays, old man, or near about it, as I just
now told you."
"And for where?" I asked.
Torrence pulled down the corner of his left eye.
"That's my secret!" he said.
I congratulated him on his success, and told him I was ready to go
anywhere away from the fog and gloom of the city. We embraced each
other, and despite my warning, sent up three cheers for the air ship. I
had never seen Torrence so elated about anything in my life; indeed it
was contagious, for I was almost as happy as he was.
"And you are sure there will be no hitch?" I said, fearing the news was
almost too good.
"Sure! Haven't I tried her? We have taken out the end of old
Wetherbee's barn, and I sailed out over the fields alone. I ran her
myself the other night, through the darkness and fog when no one could
see. There were then a few slight changes to make for absolute control
which have since been completed. Last night I had her out again through
the river fogs when every one was asleep below, and, as I have just told
you, she is simply perfect! Oh, Gurt, you don't know what it is to
float aloft out of reach of everyone. Fortunately the fields were
deserted, and the air too thick for a man to see more than fifty yards,
even had it been day, otherwise I should have frightened some of those
Gravesender's to death. And I had a nice time, too, in finding my way
back to the barn, despite the red and green lights I had hung out for
signals!"
Torrence danced around the room.
"Suppose she should drop with all aboard!" I suggested.
"Drop! She can't. The thing's impossible so long as the current
is--but what's the use of my explaining to you? She can no more drop
than you can fly."
"But suppose she did," I persisted.
"Well, such a thing can't possibly happen, unless the current is turned
off too suddenly, and if it did, nobody would be hurt, because the
pneumatic buffers on her bottom would make the contact with earth
scarcely more than perceptible. No, my dear fellow, she can't go up, or
she can't come down until I want her to, but when I do, up or down she
goes. In short she is under absolute control. When the current is at
the neutralizing point it is as natural for the air ship to float in the
upper atmosphere as for you to walk on dry land, or a fish to swim.
Don't be uneasy. I tell you I have mastered the secret of aerial
navigation."
I had to be satisfied, and was really full of confidence in Terry's
ability.
"Do you propose to make a long journey to begin with?" I inquired.
"Yes," said Torrence, "a very extended one, as you will see for
yourself. I have had her stocked with enough provisions to run this
hotel, figuratively speaking, for a year, and all manner of other
necessaries; in fact, we shall be supplied with all the luxuries of
life. You won't mind going with me, old man, will you, and letting me
act as your pilot?"
"To be sure not; but when shall we be off?"
"Very soon. But you must not say a word to any one. Remember our
movements are not to be known. Have I your word?"