HOW ADÈLE BROKE HER DREAM, AND VANDY PLEYDELL TOOK EXERCISE.
"What, again?" said I, staring at the breakfast-cup which Jill was
offering me, that I might pass it to Daphne. "How many more cups is he
going to drink? He's had three to my knowledge."
"That vessel," said Berry, "was passed to you for information and
immediate action. So, as they say in the Army, close your perishin' head
and get down to it."
"What you want," said I, "is a bucket. Or a private urn."
"What's the matter with a trough?" said Jonah. "That'd be more in
keeping."
Berry turned to Adèle.
"You see?" he said. "Two putrid minds with but a single snort. But there
you are. Don't dwell on it. Pass the marmalade instead." He turned to
his wife. "And what's the programme for to-day? The glass has gone up,
it's already raining, 'all's right with the world.' Anybody like to play
ping-pong?"
"Fool," said his wife. "As a matter of fact, I don't think it would be a
bad idea if we went over to Broken Ash for tea." Berry made a grimace,
and Jill and I groaned. Even Jonah looked down his nose at the
suggestion. "Yes," my sister continued, "I didn't think it'd be a
popular move, but I'd like Adèle to see the pictures, and we haven't
shown a sign of life since we left Town."
At Broken Ash lived the other branch of the Pleydell family, consisting
of our Cousin Vandy and his two sisters. Between them and us there was
little love lost. Of their jealousy of Berry, but for whose birth White
Ladies would have passed into their hands, they made but an open secret;
and, when he married my sister, who was his second cousin, and the
Mansels--Cousins Jonah and Jill--had thrown in their lot with us,
relations had become more strained than before. The conventions were,
however, observed. Calendars were exchanged at Christmas, birthdays were
recognized with a cold epistolary nod, and occasional calls were paid
and invitations issued. Their possession of all but two of the family
portraits was undoubted, and with nine points of the law in their favour
they were well armed. It was an open question whether the tenth point,
which was ours, was sufficiently doughty to lay the other nine by the
heels. Years ago counsel had advised that the law was dead in our
favour, but it was certain that Vandy and his sisters would resist any
claim we made with great bitterness, and the settlement of a family
quarrel in the public ring of the High Court was more than we could
stomach.
Still, the pictures were worth seeing. There were a Holbein, a Van Dyck,
three Gainsboroughs, and two from the brush of Reynolds among them, and,
so soon as she had learned of their existence, Adèle had evinced an
eagerness to be shown the collection.
There was a moment's silence. Then--
"I'd hate to think you were going for my sake," said Adèle.
"We're not, dear," said Daphne. "Even if you weren't here, we should
have to go some day soon."
"Yes," said Berry. "We hate one another like poison, but we've never
declared war. Consequently, diplomatic relations are still maintained,
and in due season we meet and are charmingly offensive to one another.
When war broke out they were very sticky about billeting a few Yeomanry
chargers, and crawled and lied about their stabling till the authorities
got fed up and commandeered all they'd got. Therefore, whenever we meet,
I chivvy the conversation in the direction of horseflesh. In the same
way, having regard to the burglary which we suffered last month, Vandy
will spread himself on the subject of old silver. The moment they heard
of it, they sent us a triumphant telegram of condolence."
My sister laughed.
"If you say much more," she said, "Adèle will be afraid to come with us.
I admit it's a duty call, pure and simple. All the same, there won't be
any bloodshed."
"I'm ready for anything," said Addle thoughtfully. "Shall I wear a red
or white rose?"
"Don't tell us you can control your cheeks," said I. "It's unheard of.
And why are you so pensive this morning? Is it because of Ireland? Or
have you trodden on your sponge?"
"I believe she's broken the soap-dish," said Berry, "and is afraid to
tell us."
"Don't tease her," said Jill. "Why shouldn't she be quiet if she likes?"
But Adèle was bubbling with laughter.
"The truth is," she announced, "I'm trying to remember a dream I had
last night." She looked across the table to me. "You know what it is to
dream something rather vivid and interesting, and then not to be able to
remember what it was?"
I nodded.
"But you can't do anything," I said. "It's no good trying to remember
it. Either you'll think of it, or you won't."
"Exactly," said my brother-in-law. "There's no other alternative. It's
one of the laws of Nature. I well remember dreaming that I was a disused
columbarium which had been converted into a brewery and was used as a
greenhouse. I was full of vats and memorial tablets and creeping
geraniums. Just as they were going to pull me down to make room for a
cinema, Daphne woke me up to say there was a bat in the room. I replied
suitably, but, before turning over to resume my slumbers, I tried to
recapture my dream. My efforts were vain. It was gone for ever."
"Then how d'you know what it was about?" said Jill.
"I don't," said Berry. "What I have told you is pure surmise. And now
will you pass me the toast, or shall I come and get it?"
Choking with indignation, Jill stretched out a rosy hand in the
direction of the toastrack.... Suddenly the light of mischief leapt into
her grey eyes, and she called Nobby. In a flash the Sealyham--never so
vigilant as at meal-time--was by her side. Cheerfully she gave him the
last piece of toast. Then she turned to Berry with a seraphic smile.
"I'm afraid there's none left," he said.
* * * * *
Before we had finished lunch, the rain had ceased, and by the time we
were under weigh, _en route_ for Broken Ash, the afternoon sun was
turning a wet world into a sweet-smelling jewel. Diamonds dripped from
her foliage, emerald plumes glistened on every bank, silver lay spilt
upon her soft brown roads. No scent-bag was ever stuffed with such rare
spicery. Out of the dewy soil welled up the fresh clean breath of magic
spikenard, very precious.
Punctually at half-past four we swept up the avenue of poplars that led
to our cousins' house.
The visit had been arranged by Daphne upon the telephone, and Vandy and
his two sisters were ready and waiting....
The _réunion_ was not cordial. Ease and Familiarity were not among the
guests. But it was eminently correct. The most exacting Master of
Ceremonies, the most severe authority upon Etiquette, would have been
satisfied. We were extraordinarily polite. We made engaging
conversation, we begged one another's pardon, we enjoyed one another's
jokes. The dispensation and acceptance of hospitality did the respective
forces infinite credit.
After tea we were taken to see the pictures. Vandy, as showman,
naturally escorted Adèle. The rest of us, decently grouped about his
sisters, followed like a party of sightseers in the wake of a verger.
To do our host justice, he knew his own fathers. For what it was worth,
the history of the Pleydell family lay at his fingers' ends. Men,
manners and exploits--he knew them all. Indeed, years ago he had
collected his knowledge and had it published in the form of a book. We
had a copy somewhere.
We were half-way along the gallery, and our cousin was in full blast,
when Adèle, to whom he was introducing the portraits with triumphant
unction, started forward with a low cry.
"That's the very man," she exclaimed, pointing at the picture of a
middle-aged gentleman in a plum-coloured coat, which, I seemed to
remember, was unsigned but attributed--without much confidence--to the
brush of Gonzales Coques. "What an extraordinary thing! I've broken my
dream."
In the twinkling of an eye Vandy's importance was snatched from him, and
the prophet's mantle had fallen upon Adèle. Where, but a moment before,
he had been strutting in all the pride of a proprietor, she held the
stage. More. Neither our discomfited host nor his sisters could divine
what was toward, and the fact that their guests crowded eagerly about
Adèle, encouraging her to "let them have it," was more disconcerting
than ever.
"It was in a garden," said Adèle, "a quiet sort, of place. I think I was
walking behind him. I don't know how I got there, but he didn't see me.
All the same, he kept looking round, as if he was afraid he was being
watched. Presently we came to a place where there was a stone pedestal
standing. It wasn't exactly a pillar--it wasn't high enough. And it was
too high for a seat. Well, he stared at this for a moment; then he
looked around again, very cautiously, and then--it sounds idiotic, but
he began to prod the turf with his stick. At first he did it just
casually, here and there: but, after a little, he started prodding at
regular intervals, methodically. The ground was quite soft, and his
stick seemed to go in like a skewer. Suddenly he seemed to hear
something or somebody, for he listened very carefully, and then walked
on tiptoe to the pedestal and leaned up against it as if he were
resting. The next moment somebody--some man in ordinary clothes came out
of...." She hesitated. "I don't know whether it was some bushes or a
wall he came out of. Some bushes, I guess. Any way, he appeared,
and--don't laugh--gave him a green tomato. Then I woke up."
"And this is the man you saw?" cried Daphne, pointing.
Adèle nodded.
"Dress and everything. He was wearing the same plumed hat and that
identical coat, buttoned all down the front, with the pockets low down
on either side. And I'll never forget his face. That's a wonderful
picture. It's life-like."
"What an extraordinary thing!" said I. Then I turned to Vandy. "Has this
portrait ever been reproduced?"
He did not seem to hear me.
With dropped jaw and bulging eyes, the fellow was staring at Adèle,
staring....
Suddenly, as with an effort, he pulled himself together.
"Was that all you saw?" he said hoarsely.
Adèle pondered.
"I think so," she said slowly. "Except that there were some words carved
on the pedestal. PER ... IMP ... PERIMP, ... No. That wasn't it.
Something like that. Not English. I can't remember."
"Ah!"
Berry took up the running.
"You say the merchant was prodding the ground?" he said.
"That's right. It sounds silly, but----"
"Not at all," said Berry excitedly. "He was looking for something. It's
as clear as daylight." He turned to the picture. "That's William
Pleydell, isn't it, Vandy? Seventeenth-century bloke. The one Pepys
mentions."
My cousin nodded abstractedly. With unseeing eyes he was staring out of
a window. It was patent that Adèle's recital had affected him
strangely....
Berry laid a hand on his arm.
"Where's the book you wrote?" he said gently. "That may throw some light
on it."
One of our hostesses turned, as though she would fetch the volume.
"It went to be rebound yesterday," cried Vandy in a strained,
penetrating voice.
His sister stopped and stood still in her tracks. A moment later she had
turned back and was murmuring a confirmation.
Jonah, who had been busy with a pencil and the back of an envelope,
limped towards us from one of the windows.
"The pedestal was a sundial," he said. Vandy looked at him sharply. He
turned to Adèle. "PER ... IMP ... you said. Try PEREUNT ET IMPUTANTUR.
Latin. 'The hours pass and are charged against us.' You'll find the
phrase on five sundials out of six."
A buzz of excited applause greeted this admirable contribution.
Adèle looked at the written words. "You are clever," she said. "Of
course, that's it. It must be."
Vandy's reception of Jonah's discovery convinced me that it had already
occurred to him. He applauded theatrically. The fellow was playing a
part, feverishly. Besides, I did not believe his rotten book was being
rebound. That was a lie. There was something there which he did not want
us to see. Not a doubt of it. Well, we had a copy at White Ladies. No!
Our copy was in Town. Hang it! What a sweep the man was!
With a horse-laugh he interrupted my reflections.
"Well, well, Miss Feste, I confess you gave me a shock. Still, if you
had to meet one of our forefathers, I could have wished it had been any
other than the notorious William. We enjoy his portrait, but we deplore
his memory. Ha! Ha! Now, we're really proud of the next one--his cousin,
James Godstow Pleydell. He it was who was responsible----"
"Forgive me," purred Daphne, "but I'm going to say we must fly. I'd no
idea it was so late. People are coming to dinner, and we must go back by
Brooch, because we've run out of ice."
Our host protested--not very heartily--and was overruled. Mutual regret
was suitably expressed. Without more ado we descended into the hall.
Here at the front door the decencies of leave-taking were observed. The
host and hostesses were thanked, the parting guests sped. A moment
later, we were sliding down the avenue to the lodge-gates. As we swung
on to the road--
"Where's the book?" said Daphne. "That man's a liar."
"At Cholmondeley Street," said I. "But you're right about Vandy. He's
trying to keep something back."
"He's so excited he doesn't know what to do," said Daphne. "That's
clear."
"Well, what the deuce is it?" said Berry. "I've read the blinkin' book,
but I'll swear there's nothing in it about buried treasure."
"Whatever it is," said I, "it's in that book. I'll get it to-morrow.
D'you really want any ice?"
Daphne shook her head.
"But I couldn't stay there with that man another minute."
Adèle lifted up her sweet voice.
"I feel very guilty," she said. "I've upset you all, I've given
everything away to your cousin with both hands, and I've----"
"Nonsense, darling," said Daphne. "You did the natural thing. How could
you know----"
Jonah interrupted her with a laugh.
"One thing's certain," he said. "I'll bet old Vandy's cursing the day he
rushed into print."
* * * * *
Upon reflection it seemed idle for any one of us to journey to London
and back merely to fetch a volume, so the next morning one of the
servants was dispatched instead, armed with a note to the housekeeper at
Cholmondeley Street, telling her exactly where the book would be found.
The man returned as we were finishing dinner, and _The History of the
Pleydell Family_ was brought to Berry while we sat at dessert.
Nuts and wine went by the board.
As my brother-in-law cut the string, we left our places and crowded
about him....
Reference to the index bade us turn to page fifty-four.
As the leaves flicked, we waited breathlessly. Then--
"Here we are," said Berry. "'WILLIAM PLEYDELL. In 1652 Nicholas died, to
be succeeded by his only child, William, of whom little is known. This
is perhaps as well, for such information as is to hand, regarding his
life and habits, shows him to have been addicted to no ordinarily evil
ways. The lustre which his father and grandfather had added to the
family name William seems to have spared no effort to tarnish. When
profligacy was so fashionable, a man must have lived hard indeed to
attract attention. Nevertheless, Samuel Pepys, the Diarist, refers to
him more than once, each time commenting upon the vileness of his
company and his offensive behaviour. Upon one occasion, we are told, at
the play-house the whole audience was scandalized by a _loose drunken
frolic,_ in which _Mr. William Pleydell, a gentleman of Hampshire,_
played a disgraceful part. What was worse, he carried his dissolute
habits into the countryside, and at one time his way of living at the
family seat White Ladies was so openly outrageous that the incumbent of
Bilberry actually denounced the squire from the pulpit, referring to him
as 'a notorious evil-liver' and 'an abandoned wretch.' If not for his
good name, however, for the house and pleasure-gardens he seems to have
had some respect, for it was during his tenure that the stables were
rebuilt and the gardens decorated with statuary which has since
disappeared. '_A sundial_'"--the sensation which the word produced was
profound, and Jill cried out with excitement--"'_a sundial, bearing the
date 1663 and the cipher W.P., still stands in the garden of the old
dower-house, which passed out of the hands of the family early in the
nineteenth century._'"
Berry stopped reading, and laid the book down.
"The dower-house?" cried Daphne blankly.
Her husband nodded.
"But I never knew there was one. Besides----"
"Better known to-day as 'The Lawn, Bilberry.'"
"Quite right," said Jonah. "A hundred years ago that stood inside the
park."
"The Lawn?" cried Jill. "Why, that's where the fire was. Years and years
ago. I remember old Nanny taking me down to see it the next day. And
it's never been rebuilt."
"To my knowledge," said I, "it's had a board up, saying it's for sale,
for the last fifteen years. Shall we go in for it? They can't want much.
The house is gutted, the garden's a wilderness, and----"
A cry from Adèle interrupted me. While we were talking, she had picked
up the volume.
"Listen to this," she said. "' William Pleydell died unmarried and
intestate in 1667, and was succeeded by his cousin Anthony. Except that
during the former's tenure a good deal of timber was cut, White Ladies
had been well cared for. The one blot upon his stewardship was the
disappearance of the greater part of the family plate, which Nicholas
Pleydell's will proves to have been unusually rare and valuable. _There
used to exist a legend, for which the author can trace no foundation,
that William had brought it from London during the Great Plague and
buried it, for want of a strong-room, at White Ladies._ A far more
probable explanation is that its graceless inheritor surreptitiously
disposed of the treasure for the same reason as he committed waste,
viz., to spend the proceeds upon riotous living.'"
Dumbly we stared at the reader....
The murder was out.
Berry whipped out his watch.
"Nine o'clock," he announced. "We can do nothing to-night. And that
sweep Vandy's got a long lead. We haven't a moment to lose. Who are the
agents for The Lawn?"
"It's on the board," said I, "and I've read it a thousand times, but I'm
hanged if I can remember whether it's Miller of Brooch, or a London
firm."
"Slip over there the first thing in the morning," said Jonah. "If it's
Miller, so much the better. You can go straight on to Brooch. If it's a
London man--well, there's always the telephone."
"I hope to heaven," said Daphne, "it's--it's still for sale."
"Vandy's got Scotch blood in him," said Berry. "He won't lay out fifteen
hundred or so without looking round."
"More like three thousand," said Jonah.
"It's a lot of money to risk," said Daphne slowly.
"Yes," said Adèle anxiously. "I feel that. I know it's your affair, but,
if it hadn't been for my dream, this would never have happened. And
supposing there's nothing in it.... I mean, it would be dreadful to
think you'd thrown away all that money and gotten nothing in exchange.
And they always say that dreams are contrary."
"Let's face the facts," said my brother-in-law. "Taking everything into
consideration, doesn't it look like a vision, or second sight?"
We agreed vociferously. Only Adèle looked ill at ease.
Berry continued.
"Very well, then. Less than a month ago all our silver was taken off us
by comic burglars. Doesn't it look as if we were being offered the
chance of replacing it by something better?"
Again we agreed.
"Lastly, the insurance company has paid up to the tune of four thousand
pounds, which amount is now standing to the credit of my deposit account
at Coutts'. I tell you, if we don't have a dart, we shall be mad."
"I agree," said I.
"So do I," cried Jill. "I'm all for it."
Only Daphne and Jonah hesitated.
I laid my hand upon the former's shoulder.
"Supposing," I said, "we take no action, but Vandy does. Supposing he
strikes oil and lands the stuff under our noses.... Wouldn't you
cheerfully blow the four thousand just to avoid that?"
My sister's eyes flashed, and Jonah's chin went up.
"Anything," said Daphne emphatically, "anything would be better than
that."
So was the decision made.
We adjourned to the drawing-room, and for the rest of the evening
discussed the matter furiously.
The suggestion that Vandy would not wait to buy, but had already got to
work at The Lawn, was summarily dismissed. Our cousin was too cautious
for that. He knew that the moment we had the book, we should be as wise
as he, and that, since we were at loggerheads, we should certainly not
sit quietly by and permit him to enrich himself to our teeth, when a
word to the owners of The Lawn would compel him to disgorge any treasure
he found. No, Vandy was no fool. He would walk circumspectly, and buy
first and dig afterwards.
It was Jonah who raised the question of "treasure trove." In some
uneasiness we sought for a book of law. Investigation, however,
satisfied us that, if the plate were ever unearthed, the Crown would not
interfere. Evidence that an ancestor had buried it was available, and
reference to the will of Nicholas would establish its identity. Whether
it belonged to us or to Vandy was another matter, but Reason suggested
that Law and Equity alike would favour the party in whose land it was
found.
We ordered breakfast early and the car at a quarter to nine, but, for
all that, it was past midnight before we went to bed.
The next morning, for once in a way, we were up to time. Two minutes
after the quarter we were all six in the car, and it was not yet nine
o'clock when Jonah pulled up in the shade of a mighty oak less than a
hundred paces from the tall iron gates which stood gaunt, rusty and
forbidding, to mar the beauty of the quiet by-road.
So far as we could see there was no one about, but we were anxious not
to attract attention, so Berry and I alighted and strolled casually
forward.
The object of our visit was, of course, to learn from the board in whose
hands the property had been placed for sale. But we had decided that, if
it were possible, we must effect an entrance, to see whether the turf
about the sundial had been disturbed. Moreover, if we could get Adèle
inside, it would be highly interesting to see whether she recognized the
place.
Wired on to the mouldering gates, a weather-beaten board glared at us.
_FREEHOLD
with immediate possession
TO BE SOLD
This Very Desirable
OLD-WORLD MANSION
Standing in three acres of pleasure grounds
And only requiring certain structural repairs
To be made an ideal modern residence.
F. R. MILLER, Estate Agent, High St., Brooch._
Considering that the house had been gutted nearly twenty years ago, and
had stood as the fire had left it from then until now, the advertisement
was euphemistic.
By dint of peering between the corrupted bars, it was possible to see
for ourselves the desolation. A press of nettles crowded about the
scorched and blackened walls, square gaping mouths, that had been
windows, showed from the light within that there was no roof, while here
and there charred timbers thrust their unsightly way from out of a riot
of brambles, wild and disorderly. What we could see of the garden was a
very wilderness. Tall rank grass flourished on every side, carriage-way
and borders alike had been blotted into a springing waste, and the few
sprawling shrubs which we could recognize hardly emerged from beneath
the choking smother of luxuriant bindweed.
The gates were chained and padlocked. But they were not difficult to
scale, and in a moment Berry and I were over and standing knee-deep in
the long wet grass.
Stealthily we made our way to the back of the house....
The sundial was just visible. The grass of what had once been a trim
lawn rose up about the heavy pedestal, coarse and tumultuous. But it was
untouched. No foot of man or beast had trodden it--lately, at any rate.
Simultaneously we heaved sighs of relief.
Then--
"Adèle'll never recognize this," said Berry. "It's hopeless. What she
saw was a lawn, not a prairie." I nodded. "Still," he went on, "there
used to be a door in the wall--on the east side." As he spoke, he turned
and looked sharply at the haggard building. "Thought I heard something,"
he added.
"Did you?"
I swung on my heel, and together we stared and listened. Eyes and ears
alike went unrewarded. The silence of desolation hung like a ragged
pall, gruesome and deathly....
Without a word we passed to the east of the ruin. After a little we came
to the door in the wall. Here was no lock, and with a little patience we
drew the bolts and pulled the door open. It gave on to a little lane,
which ran into the by-road at a point close to where the others were
waiting.
I left Berry and hastened back to the car.
Exclamations of surprise greeted my issuing from the lane, and I could
read the same unspoken query in four faces at once.
"We're first in the field so far," I said. There was a gasp of relief.
"Come along. We've found a way for you."
Adèle and Jill were already out of the car. Daphne and Jonah made haste
to alight.
"Think we can leave her?" said Jonah, with a nod at the Rolls.
"Oh, yes. We shan't be a minute."
Hurriedly we padded back the way I had come. Berry was still at the
door, and in silence we followed him to where he and I had stood looking
and listening a few minutes before.
"O-o-oh!" cried Jill, in an excited whisper.
"What about it, Adèle?" said Berry.
Adèle looked about her, knitting her brows. Then--
"I'm afraid to say anything," she said. "It may be the place I sat. I
can't say it isn't. But it's so altered. I think, if the grass was
cut...."
"What did I say?" said my brother-in-law.
"But the pedestal was exactly that height. That I'll swear. And it stood
on a step."
"What did the words look like?" said I.
"They were carved in block letters on the side of the cornice."
As carefully as I could, I stepped to the sundial. As I came up to it,
my foot encountered a step....
The column was unusually massive, and the dial must have been two feet
square. Lichened and weather-beaten, an inscription upon the cornice was
yet quite easy to read.
PEREUNT ET IMPUTANTUR
And the words were carved in block lettering....
A buzz of excitement succeeded my report. Then Daphne turned quickly and
looked searchingly at the house.
"I feel as if we were being watched," she said, shuddering. "Let's get
back to the car."
As Jonah followed the girls into the lane--
"What about bolting the door?" said I.
Berry shook his head.
"Doesn't matter," he said. "Any way, we've trodden the grass down.
Besides, there's nothing to hide."
We dragged the door to and hastened after the others.
As we climbed into the car, Jonah started the engine.
"What are the orders?" he said. "Is Miller the agent? You never said."
"Yes," said I. "We'd better go straight to Brooch."
Our way lay past the main entrance of The Lawn.
As we approached this, Jonah exclaimed and set his foot on the brake.
Leaning against the wall was a bicycle, and there was a man's figure
busy about the gates. He appeared to be climbing over....
As we came up alongside, he looked at us curiously. Then he went on with
his work.
A moment later he slid a pair of pliers into his pocket and, wringing
the board clear of its fastenings, lowered it to the ground.
We were too late.
The Lawn was no longer for sale.
* * * * *
Our chagrin may be imagined more easily than it can be described.
We returned to White Ladies in a state of profound depression,
alternately cursing Vandy and upbraiding ourselves for not having sent
for the book upon the evening of the day of our visit to Broken Ash.
Jonah reproached himself bitterly for giving our cousin the benefit of
his detective work, although both Daphne and I were positive that Vandy
had identified the pedestal from Adèle's description before Jonah had
volunteered the suggestion that it was a sundial.
As for Adèle, she was inconsolable.
It was after lunch--a miserable meal--when we were seated upon the
terrace, that Berry cleared his throat and spoke wisely and to the
point.
"The milk's spilt," he said, "and that's that. So we may as well dry our
eyes. With that perishing motto staring us in the face, we might have
had the sense to be a bit quicker off the mark. But it's always the
obvious that you never see. Vandy's beaten us by a foul, but there ain't
no stewards to appeal to, so we've got to stick it. All the same, he's
got some digging to do before he can draw the money, and I'm ready to
lay a monkey that he does it himself. What's more, the last thing he'll
want is to be disturbed. In fact, any interference with his work of
excavation will undoubtedly shorten his life. Properly organized
innocent interference will probably affect his reason. Our course of
action is therefore clear.
"Unable to procure his beastly book--our copy cannot be found--we have
forgotten the incident. It comes to our ears that he has bought The Lawn
and is in possession. What more natural than that some of us should
repair thither, to congratulate him upon becoming our neighbour? We
shall roll up quite casually--by way of the door in the wall--and, when
we find him labouring, affect the utmost surprise. Of our good nature we
might even offer to help him to--er--relay the lawn or tackle the
drains, or whatever he's doing. In any event we shall enact the _rôle_
of the village idiot, till between the respective gadflies of
suspicion--which he dare not voice--and impatience--which he dare not
reveal--he will be goaded into a condition of frenzy. What about it?"
The idea was heartily approved, and we became more cheerful.
Immediate arrangements were made for the entrance to The Lawn to be
watched for the next twenty-four hours by reliefs of out-door servants
whom we could trust, and instructions were issued that the moment Mr.
Vandy Pleydell put in an appearance, whether by day or night, we were to
be informed.
At eight o'clock the next morning Berry came into my room.
"They're off," he said. "Thirty-five minutes ago Vandy and Emma and May
arrived, unaccompanied, in a four-wheeled dogcart. He'd got the key of
the gates, but the difficulty of getting them open single-handed appears
to have been titanic. They seem to have stuck, or something. Altogether,
according to James, a most distressing scene. However. Eventually they
got inside and managed to shut the gates after them. In the dogcart
there was a scythe and a whole armoury of tools."
I got out of bed and looked at him.
"After breakfast?" I queried.
My brother-in-law nodded.
"I think so. We'll settle the premises as we go."
* * * * *
As we were approaching The Lawn, I looked at my watch. It was just a
quarter to ten.
The little door in the wall was still unbolted, and a very little
expenditure of energy sufficed to admit my brother-in-law, Nobby, and
myself into the garden.
So far as the Sealyham was concerned, 'the Wilderness was Paradise
enow.' Tail up, he plunged into the welter of grass, leaping and
wallowing and panting with surprise and delight at a playground which
surpassed his wildest dreams. For a moment we watched him amusedly. Then
we pushed the door to and started to saunter towards the house.
It was a glorious day, right at the end of August. Out of a flawless sky
the sun blazed, broiling and merciless. There was nowhere a breath of
wind, and in the sheltered garden--always a sun-trap--the heat was
stifling.
As we drew near, the sound of voices, raised in bitterness, fell upon
our ears, and we rounded the corner of the building to find Vandy
waist-high in the grass about the sundial, shaking a sickle at his
sisters, who were seated upon carriage cushions, which had been laid
upon the flags, and demanding furiously "how the devil they expected him
to reap with a sweeping motion when the god-forsaken lawn was full of
molehills."
"Quite right," said Berry. "It can't be done."
Emma and May screamed, and Vandy jumped as if he had been shot. Then,
with a snarl, he turned to face us, crouching a little, like a beast at
bay. Before he could utter a word, Berry was off.
Advancing with an air of engaging frankness, which would have beguiled
the most hardened cynic, he let loose upon our cousin a voluminous flood
of chatter, which drowned his protests ere they were mouthed,
overwhelmed his inquiries ere they were launched, and finally swept him
off his feet into the whirlpool of uncertainty, fear and bewilderment
before he knew where he was.
We had only just heard of his purchase, were delighted to think we were
to be neighbours, had had no idea he was contemplating a move, had
always said what a jolly little nook it was, never could understand why
it had been in the market so long, thought we might find him here taking
a look round, wanted to see him, so decided to kill two birds with one
stone.... What about the jolly old book? Had it come back from the
binders? We couldn't find ours, thought it must be in Town.... The girls
were devilling the life out of him to look it up. Was it William or
Nicholas? He thought it was William. Hadn't Vandy said it was William?
What was the blinking use, any old way? And what a day I He'd got a bet
with Jonah that the thermometer touched ninety-seven before noon. What
did Vandy think? And what on earth was he doing with the pruning-hook?
And/or ploughshare on his left front? Oh, a scythe. Of course. Wouldn't
he put it down? It made him tired to look at it. And was he reclaiming
the lawn? Or only looking for a tennis-ball? Of course, what he really
wanted was a cutter-and-binder, a steam-roller, and a gang of
convicts....
I had been prepared to support the speaker, but, after three minutes of
this, I left his side and sat down on the flags.
At last Berry paused for breath, and Emma, who had hurriedly composed
and been rehearsing a plausible appreciation of the state of affairs,
and was fidgeting to get it off her chest, thrust her way into the gap.
Well, the truth was, they were going to take up French gardening. There
was no room at Broken Ash, and, besides, they must have a walled garden.
Building nowadays was such a frightful expense, and suddenly they'd
thought of The Lawn. It was sheltered, just the right size, not too far
away, and all they had to do was to clear the ground. And Vandy was so
impatient that nothing would satisfy him but to start at once. "He'll
get tired of it in a day or two," she added artlessly, "but you know
what he is."
For an improvised exposition of proceedings so extraordinary, I thought
her rendering extremely creditable.
So, I think, did Vandy, for he threw an approving glance in her
direction, heaved a sigh of relief, and screwed up his mouth into a
sickly smile.
"Took up gardening during the War," he announced. "I--we all did. Any
amount of money in it. Quite surprised me. But," he added, warming to
his work, "it's the same with gardening as with everything else In this
world. The most valuable asset is the personal element. If you want a
thing well done, do it yourself. Ha! Ha!"
My brother-in-law looked round, regarding the howling riot of waste.
"And where," he said, "shall you plant the asparagus?"
Vandy started and dropped the sickle. Then he gave a forced laugh.
"You must give us a chance," he said. "We've got a long way to go before
we get to that. All this"--he waved an unbusiness-like arm, and his
voice faltered--"all this has got to be cleared first."
"I suppose it has," said Berry. "Well, don't mind us. You get on with
it. Short of locusts or an earthquake, it's going to be a long job. I
suppose you couldn't hire a trench-mortar and shell it for a couple of
months?"
Apparently Vandy was afraid to trust his voice, for, after swallowing
twice, he recovered the sickle and started to hack savagely at the grass
without another word.
With the utmost deliberation, Berry seated himself upon the flagstones
and, taking out his case, selected a cigarette. With an equally
leisurely air I produced a pipe and tobacco, and began to make ready to
smoke. Our cousins regarded these preparations with an uneasiness which
they ill concealed. Clearly we were not proposing to move. The silence
of awkwardness and frantically working brains settled upon the company.
From time to time Emma and May shifted uncomfortably. As he bent about
his labour, Vandy's eyes bulged more than ever....
Nobby, whom I had forgotten, suddenly reappeared, crawling pleasedly
from beneath a tangled stack of foliage, of which the core appeared to
have been a rhododendron. For a moment he stared at us, as if surprised
at the company we kept. Then his eyes fell upon Vandy.
Enshrined in the swaying grass, the latter's knickerbockers, which had
been generously fashioned out of a material which had been boldly
conceived, presented a back view which was most arresting. With his head
on one side, the terrier gazed at them with such inquisitive
astonishment that I had to set my teeth so as not to laugh outright. His
cautious advance to investigate the phenomenon was still more ludicrous,
and I was quite relieved when our cousin straightened his back and
dissipated an illusion monstrously worthy of the pen of Mandeville.
But there was better to come.
As the unwitting Vandy, after a speechless glance in our direction, bent
again to his work, Nobby cast an appraising eye over the area which had
already received attention. Perceiving a molehill which had suffered an
ugly gash--presumably from a scythe--he trotted up to explore, and,
clapping his nose to the wound, snuffed long and thoughtfully. The next
moment he was digging like one possessed.
Emma and May stiffened with a shock. With the tail of my eye I saw them
exchange horror-stricken glances. Panic fear sat in their eyes. Their
fingers moved convulsively. Then, with one consent, they began to
cough....
Their unconscious brother worked on.
So did the Sealyham, but with a difference. While the one toiled, the
other was in his element. A shower of earth flew from between his legs,
only ceasing for a short moment, when he preferred to rend the earth
with his jaws and so facilitate the excavation.
The coughing became insistent, frantic, impossible to be disregarded....
As I was in the act of turning to express my concern Vandy looked up,
followed the direction of four starting eyes, and let out a screech of
dismay.
"What on earth's the matter?" cried Berry, getting upon his feet. "Been
stung, or something?"
With a trembling forefinger Vandy indicated the miscreant.
"Stop him!" he yelled. "Call him off. He'll-he'll spoil the lawn."
"Ruin it," shrilled Emma.
"Where?" said Berry blankly. "What lawn?"
"_This_ lawn!" roared Vandy, stamping his foot.
"But I thought----"
"I don't care what you thought. Call the brute off. It's my land, and I
won't have it."
"Nobby," said Berry, "come off the bowling green."
Scrambling to my feet, I countersigned the order in a peremptory tone.
Aggrievedly the terrier complied. My brother-in-law turned to Vandy with
an injured air.
"I fear," he said stiffly, "that we are unwelcome." Instinctively Emma
and May made as though they would protest. In some dignity Berry lifted
his hand. "I may be wrong," he said. "I hope so. But from the first I
felt that your manner was strained. Subsequent events suggest that my
belief was well founded." He turned to Vandy. "May I ask you to let us
out? I am reluctant to trouble you, but to scale those gates twice in
one morning is rather more than I care about."
Fearful lest our surprise at our reception should become crystallized
into an undesirable suspicion, short of pressing us to remain, our
cousins did everything to smooth our ruffled plumage.
Vandy threw down the sickle and advanced with an apologetic leer. Emma
and May, wreathed in smiles, protested nervously that they had known the
work was too much for Vandy, and begged us to think no more of it. As we
followed the latter round to the quondam drive, they waved a cordial
farewell.
The sight of the four-wheeled dogcart, standing with upturned shafts, a
pickaxe, three shovels, a rake, two forks, a number of sacks, and a
sieve piled anyhow by its side, was most engaging; but, after bestowing
a casual glance upon the paraphernalia, Berry passed by without a word.
Vandy went a rich plum colour, hesitated, and then plunged on
desperately. Tethered by a halter to a tree, a partially harnessed bay
mare suspended the process of mastication to fix us with a suspicious
stare. Her also we passed in silence.
After a blasphemous struggle with the gates, whose objection to opening
was literally rooted and based upon custom, our host succeeded in
forcing them apart sufficiently to permit our egress, and we gave him
"Good day."
In silence we strolled down the road.
When we came to the lane, Berry stopped dead.
"Brother," he said, "I perceive it to be my distasteful duty to return.
There is an omission which I must repair."
"You're not serious?" said I. "The fellow'll murder you."
"No, he won't," said Berry. "He'll probably burst a blood-vessel, and,
with luck, he may even have a stroke. But he won't murder me. You see."
And, with that, he turned down the lane towards the door in the wall.
Nobby and I followed.
A moment later we were once more in the garden.
The scene upon which we came was big with promise.
Staggering over the frantic employment of a pickaxe, Vandy was
inflicting grievous injury upon the turf about the very spot at which
the terrier had been digging. Standing well out of range, his sisters
were regarding the exhibition with clasped hands and looks of mingled
excitement and apprehension. All three were so much engrossed that,
until Berry spoke, they were not aware of our presence.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt you again"--Emma and May screamed, and Vandy
endeavoured to check his implement in mid-swing, and only preserved his
balance and a whole skin as by a miracle--"but, you know, I quite forgot
to ask you about the book. And, as that was really our main object
in----"
The roar of a wild beast cut short the speaker.
Bellowing incoherently, trembling with passion, his mouth working, his
countenance distorted with rage, Vandy shook his fist at his tormentor
in a fit of ungovernable fury.
"Get out of it!" he yelled. "Get out of it! I won't have this intrusion.
It's monstrous. I won't stand it. I tell you----"
"Hush, Vandy, hush!" implored his sisters in agonized tones.
Berry raised his eyebrows.
"Really," he said slowly, "anybody would think that you had something to
hide."
Then he turned on his heel.
I was about to follow his example, when my cousin's bloodshot eye
perceived that Nobby was once more Innocently investigating the scene of
his labour. With a choking cry our host sprang forward and raised the
pick....
Unaware of his peril, the dog snuffed on.
One of the women screamed....
Desperately I flung myself forward.
The pick was falling as I struck it aside. Viciously it jabbed its way
into the earth.
For a long time Vandy and I faced one another, breathing heavily. I
watched the blood fading out of the fellow's cheeks. At length--
"Be thankful," said I, "that I was in time. Otherwise----"
I hesitated, and Vandy took a step backwards and put a hand to his
throat.
"Exactly," I said.
Then I plucked the pick from the ground, stepped a few paces apart, and,
taking the implement with both hands, spun round and threw it from me as
if it had been a hammer.
It sailed over some lime trees and crashed out of sight into some
foliage.
Then I called the terrier and strode past my brother-in-law in the
direction of the postern.
Berry fell in behind and followed me without a word.
* * * * *
"But why," said I, "shouldn't you tell me the day of your birth? I'm not
asking the year."
"1895," said Adèle.
I sighed.
"Why," she inquired, "do you want to know?"
"So that I can observe the festival as it deserves. Spend the day at
Margate, or go to a cinema, or something. I might even wear a false
nose. You never know. It's an important date in my calendar."
"How many people have you said that to?"
I laughed bitterly.
"If I told you the truth," I said, "you wouldn't believe me."
There was a museful silence.
It was three days and more since Berry and I had visited The Lawn, and
Vandy and Co. were still at work. So much had been reported by an
under-gardener. For ourselves, we had finished with our cousins for good
and all. The brutal attack upon our favourite was something we could not
forget, and for a man whom beastly rage could so much degrade we had no
use. Naturally enough, his sisters went with him. Orders were given to
the servants that to callers from Broken Ash Daphne was "not at home,"
and we were one and all determined, so far as was possible, never to see
or communicate with Vandy or his sisters again. It was natural, however,
that we should be deeply interested in the success or failure of his
venture. We prayed fervently, but without much hope, that it might
fail.... After all, it was always on the cards that another had stumbled
long since upon the treasure, or that a thief had watched its burial and
later come privily and unearthed it. We should see.
"I wonder you aren't ashamed of yourself," said Miss Feste. "At your age
you ought to have sown all your wild oats."
"So I have," I said stoutly. "And they weren't at all wild, either. I've
never seen such a miserable crop. As soon as the sun rose, they all
withered away."
"The sun?"
I turned and looked at her. The steady brown eyes held mine with a
searching look. I met it faithfully. After a few seconds they turned
away.
"The sun?" she repeated quietly.
"The sun, Adèle. The sun that rose in America in 1895. Out of the foam
of the sea. I can't tell you the date, but it must have been a beautiful
day."
There was a pause. Then--
"How interesting!" said Adèle. "So it withered them up, did it?"
I nodded.
"You see, Adèle, they had no root."
"None of them?"
"None."
Adèle looked straight ahead of her into the box-hedge, which rose, stiff
and punctilious, ten paces away, the counterpart of that beneath which
we were sitting. For once in a way, her merry smile was missing. In its
stead Gravity sat in her eyes, hung on the warm red lips. I had known
her solemn before, but not like this. The proud face looked very
resolute. There was a strength about the lift of the delicate chin, a
steadfast fearlessness about the poise of the well-shaped
head--unworldly wonders, which I had never seen. Over the glorious
temples the soft dark hair swept rich and lustrous. The exquisite column
of her neck rose from her flowered silk gown with matchless elegance.
Her precious hands, all rosy, lay in her lap. Crossed legs gave me
twelve inches of slim silk stocking and a satin slipper, dainty
habiliments, not half so dainty as their slender charge....
The stable clock struck the half-hour.
Half-past six. People had been to tea--big-wigs--and we were resting
after our labours. It was the perfect evening of a true summer's day.
Nobby appeared in the foreground, strolling unconcernedly over the turf
and pausing now and again to snuff the air or follow up an odd clue of
scent that led him a foot or so before it died away and came to nothing.
"How," said Adèle slowly, "did you come by Nobby?"
Painfully distinct, the wraith of Josephine Childe rose up before me,
pale and accusing. Fragments of the letter which had offered me the
Sealyham re-wrote themselves upon my brain.... _It nearly breaks my
heart to say so, but I've got to part with Nobby.... I think you'd get
on together ... if you'd like to have him._ ... And there was nothing in
it. It was a case of smoke without fire. But--I could have spared the
question just then....
Desperately I related the truth.
"A girl called Josephine Childe gave him to me. She wanted to find a
home for him, as she was going overseas."
"Oh."
The silence that followed this non-committal remark was most
discomfiting. I had a feeling that the moments were critical, and--they
were slipping away. Should I leap into the tide of explanation? That
way, perhaps, lay safety. Always the quicksand of _Qui s'excuse,
s'accuse_, made me draw back. I became extremely nervous.... Feverishly
I tried to think of a remark which would be natural and more or less
relevant, and would pilot us into a channel of conversation down which
we could swim with confidence. Of all the legion of topics, the clemency
of the weather alone occurred to me. I could have screamed....
The firebrand itself came to my rescue.
Tired of amusing himself, the terrier retrieved an old ball from beneath
the hedge and, trotting across the sward, laid it down at my feet.
Gratefully I picked it up and flung it for him to fetch.
It fell into a thick welter of ivy which Time had built into a bulging
buttress of greenery against the old grey wall at the end of the walk.
The dog sped after it, his short legs flying....
The spell was broken, and I felt better.
"You mustn't think he's a root, though," I said cheerfully, "because he
isn't. When did you say your birthday was?"
"I didn't," said Adèle. "Still, if you must know, I was born on August
the thirtieth."
"To-day! Oh, Adèle. And I've nothing for you Except...." I hesitated,
and my heart began to beat very fast. "But I'd be ashamed--I mean...."
My voice petered out helplessly. I braced myself for a supreme
effort....
An impatient yelp rang out.
"What's the matter with Nobby?" said Adèle in a voice I hardly
recognized.
"Fed up, 'cause I've lost his ball for him," said I, and, cowardly glad
of a respite, I rose and stepped to the aged riot of ivy, where the
terrier was searching for his toy.
I pulled a hole in the arras and peered through.
There was more space than I had expected. The grey wall bellied away
from me.
"What's that?" said Adèle, looking over my shoulder.
"What?" said I.
"There. To the right."
It was dark under the ivy, so I thrust in a groping arm.
Almost at once my hand encountered the smooth edge of masonry.
I took out a knife and ripped away some trails, so that we could see
better.
There was nothing to show that the pedestal which my efforts revealed
had ever supported a statue. But it was plain that such was the office
for which it had been set up. Presumably it was one of the series which,
according to Vandy's book, had displayed imaginative effigies of the
Roman Emperors, and had been done away in 1710. The inscription upon the
cornice upheld this conclusion.
PERTINAX IMPERATOR.
I looked at Adèle.
"PER ... IMP ..." said I. "Does the cap fit?"
"Yes," she said simply. "That's right. I remember it perfectly. The
other seemed likely, but I was never quite sure." Trembling a little,
she turned and looked round. "And you came out of that break in the
hedge with the tomato, and----Oh!"
She stopped, and the colour came flooding into her cheeks....
Then, in a flash, she turned and sped down the alley like a wild thing.
As in a dream, I watched the tall slim figure dart out of sight....
A second impatient yelp reminded me that Nobby was still waiting.
* * * * *
The firm of silversmiths whom we employed to clean the collection, after
it had been disinterred, valued it for purposes of insurance at
twenty-two thousand pounds.
We saw no reason to communicate with Vandy. The exercise was probably
doing him good, and he had shown a marked antipathy to interruption. A
tent had been pitched at The Lawn, and the work of excavation went
steadily on. Not until the twenty-eighth of September did it suddenly
cease.
Three days later we had occasion to drive into Brooch. We returned by
way of The Lawn. As we approached the entrance, I slowed up....
From the tall gates a brand-new board flaunted its black and white
paint.
But the legend it bore was the same.
Mr. Miller was evidently a Conservative.