|SADLER paused. I knew Jamison too.
“What was Jamison coming to Por-tate for?” I asked. “Did he say?”
“He did,” said Sadler. “His conversation was meaty. I'm makin' a
dramatic pause.”
Then he paused some more.
“I don't think much of that birthday present!” said Susannah,
scornfully.
“Then I'll expand your imagination, Susannah,” said Dr. Ulswater.
“Huayna Capac was the great Inca who died in 1527, the year Pizarro
landed. Three of his sons contended for the throne, Huascar, Atahualpa
and Manco, but how many other children he left is nowhere stated, to my
knowledge. The marital system of the royal house, however, being such as
it was, it is probable they were numerous. The mummies discovered some
four years ago were five in number, each with a copper plate sewn to the
cerements, and inscribed, ostensibly by one Padre Geronimo Valdez. Each
of the inscriptions states that the enclosed person was a daughter
of Huayna Capac, who had been baptised and buried by himself, Padre
Geronimo. The date given on this plate is 1543. We have yonder then, in
all probability, all that remains of a daughter of the Incas.”
“It isn't expanded at all,” said Susannah, meaning her imagination.
“What was her name?” asked Mrs. Ulswater.
“Curiously,” said Dr. Ulswater, “the inscription doesn't state.”
“Her name's Hannah Atkins,” said Sadler.
“Fiddlesticks!” said Mrs. Ulswater. “What happened next?”
Dr. Ulswater continued the narrative. “Mr. Jamison was a Scotch person,
with dusty eyebrows and considerate eyes, his speech compact of caution
and a burr. Sadler told him of our acquisition and inquired about the
man Beteta.
“'Because,' I added, 'if the gentleman is no amateur of mummies, why
should he have a mummy in his possession? And if he hadn't any,--if, in
fact, he stole it from the Museum,--why should he risk so much for the
no great sum the mummy is worth, in fact, for the yet smaller sum which
he received? It seems more probable that in some way it must have been
his.'
“'I hae doots of it,' said Jamison, drily.
“'Does he know anything of archaeology?'
“'I hae doots of it.'
“'Did he steal it, then?'
“'I hae doots it was something resembling that, though maybe no
precisely.'
“'For that absurdly small compensation?' “'I hae doots about the size of
it.'
“'What for, then?'
“'I hae doots ye'll find some pink military at Portate that'll maybe
explain.'
“Sadler here burst into spacious laughter.
“'We're speeding to our doom, doctor,' he said. 'Ho, ho!'
“'I hae doots, said Jamison, 'he may have it,' said Jamison.
“'But,' I said, 'that doesn't explain Beteta.'
“'I hae doots,' said Jamison, 'he may have an understanding with his
Department.'
“'Why,' I said, 'you grow in mystery, Mr. Jamison. You cover the land
with darkness. If the sum he received was too small to explain him by
himself, it is surely too small to explain an arrangement implying a
distribution. Ha!' I exclaimed. Let me consider.'
“'Right you are, doctor,' said Sadler. 'You have the idea now. He wan't
anywhere round when we left.'
“Certainly, on consideration it seemed to me, that if we were accused
of ourselves extracting her whom Sadler insists on calling Hannah
Atkins--feloniously from the Museum, we would have some difficulty in
proving the culprit to have been Beteta.
“'Beteta,' said Jamison, slowly, after a pause, 'has some sma'
penetration. Without knowing much about archaeology, he might consider
that a gentleman with a steam yacht is maybe a man of some substance,
that might pay a bit more for immunity than for a mummy. For the
interests of the Museum, he might consider it proper to attract a
strategic contribution from a foreigner. I hae doots the appropriations
for the Department of Public Monuments and Memorials don't support its
offeecials to their satisfaction. He might arrange the circumstances
so that the circumstances would be suffeecient. He might so put it
to persons who might be suffeeciently authoritative to make it
suffeeciently safe. They might send an authoritative despatch to the
Mayor of Portate. I have a bit of information the facts are no so far
from that supposition. No that I'd care to be an authority for the
statement.'
“'He's an infernal scoundrel!' I exclaimed.
“'It may be so,' said Jamison, 'but he has some sma' penetration. It's
my recollection too that our friend Sadler was in no verra good odour
with the authorities when he left some years ago. Folk said he ran away
a wee bit surrepteetiously, or maybe he'd deny that.'
“Sadler again roared with laughter.
“'I hae doots Beteta has the penetration to remember that too,' said
Jamison.
“'However,' I said. 'Kirby will see us through.
“'Aye! Kirby? Is he a friend of yours?'
“I told him of my old friendship with Kit.
“'Oo! Is it so? But I hae doots Kirby has troubles of his own. I hae
doots it would be better to keep the two troubles apart.'
“Here Sadler got up suddenly from his seat, asking of Jamison:
“'Say, does Steve Dorcas live where he used to?'
“'Aye,' said Jamison. 'He does.'
“'Well,' said Sadler, 'it's this way, doctor. Seeing I got you into it,
I guess it's mine to get you out,' and he left the car. I asked who was
Dorcas.
“'Oo--he's superintendent of The Transport Company,' said Jamison,
'but I doot if Sadler will be able to find him the night. His house is
outside of Portate a bit. We pass it on the railroad.'
“He paused and looked thoughtfully through the window. The night was
falling. A desolate country indeed, a sandy and rocky desert, is this
coastland, for the most part. I was reflecting that, if Sadler had a
plan, I might as well take what comfort was passing, whatever meat of
conversation on several subjects this shrewd Scotchman might afford. I
started on the subject of South-American archaeology, but Jamison did
not respond. His mind seemed to be elsewhere. At last he said:
“'Ye'll maybe make a reasonable compromise, if Dorcas is with you, and I
hae no great doots but he will be, for he was friendly with Sadler once.
And leaving that, I'll no deny I'm going down to Portate myself on a
soommons from Dorcas, but it's no aboot you and your mummy. It's to take
charge of The Union Electric's plant. Whereby, as you're a man, I see,
of no sma' penetration yourself, doctor, ye'll be seeing it's likely
Kirby's no expected to be in a poseetion to run the plant to-morrow
night.' “'It seems to follow, Mr. Jamison,' I said, 'that the Mayor
means to arrest him tomorrow.'
“He nodded.
“I hae some information he did so this morning, but I opine the Mayor
will be letting him out this night to run the plant, or Portate will be
dark again.'
“'On account,' I questioned, 'of there being no train that would get you
to Por-tate before ten?'
“'Your penetration is no sma' matter, doctor,' he said. 'It's working
well.'
“'It's a wild thing, Mr. Jamison,' I continued, after some thought, 'a
frivolous intelligence, a restless and turbulent member. Its mad quest
after information is always making me trouble. It wants to know now
how you and the Superintendent of The Transport Company happen to be so
willing, not to say eager, to get into collusion with these corrupt and
debt-dodging municipal thieves in Portate, and thereby to spoil Kirby's
most enlivening and pleasant stratagem for collecting a just debt.
It wants to know whether Kirby's being in jail is any personal
gratification to either of you gentlemen.'
“He broke into a dry but not unkindly laugh.
“'No personal, doctor. Kirby is a good man. Oo--a wee bit hasty and
cocksure, but he's only a lad. But your penetration is doing well. I'm
thinking it might better go on.'
“'On your suggestion, it will,' I assented. 'The Transport Company and
The Union Electric are rivals presumably. Presumably, then, the former
has no objection to winning favour with the authorities at the expense
of the latter. Waiving the question of fairness or morality----'
“'Aye, better waive 'em,' said Jamison, drily.
“'Waiving them entirely,' I said, 'The Transport Company seems to be in
line with prosperity at the present moment.'
“Here Sadler came back in the car.
“'Engineers and conductors are easy on this road,' he said. 'One dollar
apiece. We'll pull up where the road crosses to Dorcas' place, and
disappoint that there pink military.'
“'Verra good,' said Jamison, nodding kindly. 'I'll go with ye, and I'm
thinking we'll be there in a few moments now.' Presently the train
slowed down and stopped. Sadler shouldered Hannah Atkins, and we got
out. The train went on its way. The glimmer of the not distant city
showed that the electric plant was working. To the left some distance
stood a large house among trees, and to it a road ran from the railway
crossing. It stood near the bank of the river, a yellow, stuccoed house
with a patio. A man who met us at the door exclaimed:
“'What, Jamison! What, what! Why, why! Sadler! Come in, come in. What's
that box? How d'ye do? Have a cigar! Have a drink. Good Lord!'
“He was introduced to me as 'Steve Dorcas.'”