THE CASKET
"Now there are two favours I wish to ask you, Don Juan," I said, as he
stood with the precious casket in his hands, "the first is to put that
casket in a place of safety; the second to release this poor wretch
from the snake."
He awoke from a fit of deep meditation with a start.
"I will grant your two favours immediately," he answered quickly as he
put the casket in his breast pocket and buttoned his frock-coat over
it; "see one is already done, now I will accomplish the other."
He went to the end of the apartment, and lifting a curtain hanging over
the base of a bookcase, took from a shelf there a silver bowl, filled
apparently with bread and milk.
With this he went out on to the terrace, through the French windows,
and commenced to make a peculiar sibilant noise between his teeth, half
whistle half hiss.
It had a most peculiar effect upon the boa-constrictor, who, from the
first production of the silver bowl, had shown a lively interest in it
by moving its great head up and down excitedly. The noise made by Don
Juan, however, decided it; it began to uncoil itself from the would-be
assassin and finally dropped on the floor with a "slump" and wriggled
out of the window on to the terrace. As the man was released, I
covered him with the revolver as I was taking no risks, but it was
quite unnecessary, as he fell fainting on a couch to which he had
staggered almost immediately he was free.
Don Juan returned from the terrace with a pleased smile.
"My pets are a great source of comfort to me," he remarked as he sank
into a chair, after courteously making me take another. "To see that
poor dumb thing take its food so healthily compensates me almost for
the shock which this villainous fellow has given us."
"Snakes," he continued, "are greatly affected by sound, as no doubt you
noticed just now. There is little question that the snake was
attracted to Lopes by some sound."
"But still," he continued, placing his hand in his breast, "the sight
of the casket which you have brought to me is a greater shock than the
desperado's pistol presented at your head was to you."
He passed his hand over his forehead as if the idea bewildered him.
"And you say you got it from the Baroness d'Altenberg?" he asked.
"Yes," I answered, "I took it from the safe at her direction."
"Whatever can it contain?" he muttered to himself; then the figure of
Lopes lying on the sofa caught his eye.
"We must have this fellow removed," he said. "What shall we do with
him?"
I looked at the recumbent figure for some time, and it only inspired me
with pity.
"I think he ought to be sent somewhere," I proposed, "where he would be
taken care of and prevented from doing further mischief. Have you a
hospital in Valoro?"
The old gentleman looked at me in some surprise.
"I assure you," he answered, "that we have two, as fine as any in
Europe."
"Then," I said, "if I may make the suggestion, I would have Lopes sent
off to one."
Don Juan rang the bell immediately, and when a servant answered it, he
indicated the man on the couch and gave some order in Spanish to him.
"They will take him away," he explained, "and send him down to the
hospital in one of my carriages. There we can have him arrested later
if it is worth while."
In a very short time two men appeared and carried Lopes out of the room.
Then we sat down facing one another, and Don Juan produced the casket
from his pocket and stood contemplating it upon his knee.
"Whatever could have prompted the old Baroness d'Altenberg to send me
this," he cogitated half to himself, "after so many years; and what can
it contain?"
I made a suggestion.
"Supposing you open it," I said, "while I walk in the garden."
"My dear Mr. Anstruther," he said, quite frightened at giving me so
much trouble, "that is not at all necessary. I can go into my little
cabinet here."
He indicated a small room, the door of which stood partly open, and
revealed a little study with a writing table and a reading lamp.
"If you will excuse me for five minutes," he added, "I will retire into
that little room and open the casket!"
"But have you the keys?" I asked.
He nodded with a smile.
"Oh yes," he answered, "those three little locks and the secret of
opening them are very familiar to me, but I have not seen it for a
great many years."
I did not in the least understand what he was alluding to, but I, of
course, urged him to retire into his little room and examine the
contents of the casket in peace, while I amused myself in the study
itself.
"You will find some marvellous stuffed specimens of the green lizard in
those lower cases," he remarked, as he disappeared into his sanctum.
"I should advise you to study them closely."
He had no sooner disappeared into the little room, the door of which he
left slightly open, when I mentally consigned the green lizards and, in
fact, the whole lacertilian family to a place warmer than the plains of
Aquazilia in summer even, and sat idly wondering how long it would be
before I saw Dolores again.
I distinctly heard the click of a lock as the old gentleman opened the
ebony casket, there was a pause and a long silence broken only by the
crackling of paper. Then I heard him give a cry of astonishment, and a
Spanish exclamation it was--"Madre de Dios!"
An invocation only used on occasions of great excitement.
Then I heard a low muttering as he repeated certain passages, possibly
of the letter, to himself, but it was in a foreign language, probably
Spanish, and entirely unintelligible to me.
Another pause followed, then the door opened again and Don Juan
re-entered the room, but his appearance had entirely changed.
His healthy sunburnt complexion had lost all its colour and was of a
leaden hue, his eyes were starting from beneath his bushy eyebrows, and
his right hand, as he laid it on the back of a chair, trembled like a
leaf in the wind.
"Mr. Anstruther," he said with difficulty, "it will be necessary for me
to leave for Europe as soon as possible, for England, for Bath!"
If he had said that he had just made up his mind to go to the moon I
could not have been more astonished!
"To England!" I repeated.
"Yes, to England, and that as soon as possible."
The whole thing seemed to me extremely curious.
"Forgive my asking the question," I said, "but do you mind telling me
why you want to visit Bath?"
He considered for some moments, passing his hand across his forehead,
which was clammy with perspiration.
"Before I answer that question," he said at last, "I should like to ask
you another.
"I understand that you have met the lady who entrusted you with the
casket which you have given me, at a certain house in a street called
Monmouth Street in the town of Bath?"
"Yes, that is so," I answered.
"Are you aware that there was a safe in that house. A steel safe of
peculiar workmanship?"
"Yes," I replied, "I have seen it and opened it. I told you so."
"Ah! then you can tell me," he cried excitedly, "what was in the safe?"
"I'm afraid I cannot; I opened the safe at the request of the old lady,
who, at that time, was lying sorely wounded on her bed. I opened it
hastily, took out what I was directed to take by a note within, then
closed the safe again."
"But the safe was not empty?"
"No, I think I can go so far as to say that there appeared, as well as
I recollect from the hasty glance I had, to be other documents and
parcels behind those which I took away."
"Very good," Don Juan replied; "now tell me something more. In whose
charge is that house in the street of Monmouth. Do you happen to know?"
"When I left Bath," I replied, "the house was in charge of a sergeant
of police and his wife; they were caretakers."
"Very good, very good indeed," answered the old man, apparently much
relieved; "now tell me one thing more. When does the ship by which you
came return to England?"
"The _Oceana_ returns in about a fortnight's time."
"Do you think now, if I used my best endeavours to make that fortnight
very agreeable to you, and to show you during that time more, perhaps,
than you would see of Aquazilia in a month in the ordinary way, that I
could induce you to return to England with me by that ship?"
At first I thought that by agreeing with his request I should be
leaving Dolores behind, then I remembered that I could induce him
perhaps to take her with him.
I hesitated for a time and he pressed me.
"Come, now, Mr. Anstruther," he said, "give me your answer."
"I am perfectly certain," I said hesitatingly, for I was not going to
give myself away, "that you will make our stay delightful, but I think,
before I answer, I had better let you into a little secret.
"I happen to know that my cousin, Lord St. Nivel, and his sister, Lady
Ethel Vanborough, intend asking you and Donna Dolores to spend some
time with them in England. Could you not make this visit answer both
purposes?"
"That would necessitate my taking my daughter with me," he said rather
dubiously; then a light seemed to break in upon him, and a smile
hovered about his lips to which the colour was just returning.
"Should my daughter have no objection," he replied guardedly, "I see no
reason why she should not accompany us."
I know my face lighted up with pleasure. I could not control it.
"We shall spend Christmas with you," I said cheerfully at last, "at any
rate, and Christmas in Valoro will be a great novelty both to my
cousins and myself, I have no doubt."
"Christmas and the New Year are the gayest times with us of the whole
twelve months," he answered, "and you will be able to be present at
them both."
"The prospect," I cried, "is delightful, and I will return with you,
Don Juan, with pleasure. I should be most ungrateful to refuse your
kind offer. I think I can answer for my cousins too, as they have
really only taken this trip to please me."
"Very well, then," he said rising, "that's settled; now we will go and
find the ladies. I have no doubt your cousins have arrived by this
time. I sent an automobile for them."
As I followed him, I flattered myself that I could persuade Dolores to
take that return journey with us to Europe, if any persuasion were
indeed necessary, by which it will be seen that I was acquiring a
certain amount of confidence in my powers over that young lady.