believe that Hortense was murdered in cold blood. But as regards Mrs.
Charlock, I treat that more or less as an accident. The man who laid the
trap forgot to take the bait out of it, and thus unwittingly brought
about the second catastrophe. But that we shall be able to clear up
later. It is a ghastly business altogether, and, for my part, I am
sorry I was ever brought into it. Not that I have the least sympathy
with the guilty parties. But I am grieved for the innocent people who
are bound to suffer. It will be hard upon Mrs. Rent."
Tanza nodded gravely. He was about to reply, when he was interrupted by
the sound of footsteps on deck overhead and the entrance of a sailor
with the information that Mr. John Charlock had just come on board and
desired to see Mr. Grey on important business. At the same moment
Charlock thrust a haggard face into the cabin and the seaman vanished.
"What is it?" Tanza demanded.
"A terrible thing has happened," Charlock said hoarsely. "Arnold Rent
has thrown himself out of his bedroom window. He is not dead, but I am
told he cannot last many hours. And, strange to say, he has been asking
for you, Mr. Grey."
*CHAPTER XLV*
*THE HIDING-PLACE*
"How did you come to know?" Grey demanded.
"Miss Hargrave told me. I suppose she couldn't think of anybody else,
and she could not bear to break the news herself to Mrs. Rent. It was
just before daylight."
"Daylight!" Tanza echoed. "Daylight, when?"
"Why, this morning," Charlock went on. "Don't you know that it is
morning? I suppose you have been sitting here with the blinds drawn
over the portholes, oblivious of the flight of time. At any rate, it is
nearly five o'clock. But please allow me to go on with my story. As
far as I could gather from Miss Hargrave, she went into Rent's room
yesterday afternoon and found him fast asleep. He had apparently been
reading a bundle of letters, for they had fallen from his knee and lay
in a mass on the carpet. Quite mechanically the poor girl picked the
letters up, and a word in one of them caught her eye and she began to
read. She was so shocked and upset by what she saw that she came to me
at once and told me about it. But you shall read for yourself, for the
letters are in my possession."
"I don't think you need worry about that," Grey said. "Unless I am
greatly mistaken, I know pretty well what those letters contain. They
had been written by Rent to the French maid, Hortense; in fact, they are
the very letters which Rent obtained from your house on the night that
Miss Hargrave came inquiring for Rent. But, of course, I have forgotten
that you know nothing about that, because you left me to see Miss
Hargrave home. But don't let me interrupt you. I only want you to know
that we are not quite so ignorant as you think us. I suppose I am right
as to the gist of those letters?"
"Absolutely," Charlock went on. "You can imagine Miss Hargrave's state
of mind. I was touched to see how she confided in me and promised to do
all I could to help her. There were passages in those letters which
throw a lurid light upon many things that have happened lately, and that
was why I implored Miss Hargrave to do nothing rash. You see, I wanted
to save Mrs. Rent and herself from as much trouble and scandal as
possible. I implored the girl to go back home and say nothing whatever
about her discovery. She promised that she would do so, and when she had
regained control of herself I allowed her to go. But I might have known
that one so ingenuous and innocent would find it impossible to carry
about so dreadful a secret. For some time she managed to master
herself, but an hour or so ago Rent had a lucid interval and guessed
something was wrong. Perhaps his seared conscience pricked him. Perhaps
he surmised that the trouble had something to do with himself, for he
insisted upon the girl telling him everything. She did so, with the
result that you already know. So far as I could gather, when Miss
Hargrave came to me just now in a state of mind bordering on
distraction, Rent affected to take the matter quite calmly. He rose
from his seat and talked on indifferent topics for several minutes.
Then he lighted a cigarette and stood by the open window of his bedroom
admiring the beauty of the morning. A minute or two later he flung
himself over the balcony on to the stones below, and was picked up by a
labourer in a dying condition. They carried him into his room and sent
for the doctor. I am told the poor fellow suffers only occasionally,
but they say that he cannot recover from the shock and that death is not
far off. He has fits of insensibility, followed by periods of lucidity,
during which time his mind is clear. Strange to say, the blank in his
memory has been filled up, and, from what he told Miss Hargrave, he
knows everything that has taken place during the past fortnight. As
yet, his mother has not been told; indeed, she was asleep when I came
from the house."
There was a long pause when Charlock had finished. Tanza and Grey
regarded one another significantly.
"It is a shocking thing," the latter said presently. "But it has all
happened for the best. Of course, I will see Rent if he wants me. I
shall be here all day and you have only to send a messenger over."
"That is very good of you," Charlock murmured. "If you don't mind, I
will go back at once. There are many ways in which I can be useful.
Directly Rent gains consciousness again I will not fail to send."
Charlock went on his way back to the darkened household. It was not too
late to snatch an hour or two in bed, and, despite the startling events
of the evening before, Grey slept soundly directly he reached his cabin.
When he woke the sun was shining brightly and Tanza was standing by his
side. Grey sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.
"Anything fresh?" he asked. "I suppose you have had no messages yet
from Charlock?"
"Not a word," Tanza said. "I have allowed Bark to go away under a
promise that he will remain at hand and come here whenever he is wanted.
I have not the least fear that he will play us false after what has
happened. Meanwhile, for the last hour or so I have been bestowing my
attention upon Swift."
"I hope he is better," Grey murmured.
"Well, he is clear and sensible, if that is what you mean. He is in a
terribly shaken state and hasn't the smallest idea what took place last
night. I have been reminding him about one or two things and you will
find him ready to answer questions. I have given him a soothing
draught, and I don't think he is likely to trouble us for some time, at
any rate. After breakfast you can interview him."
Grey found Swift a white and pitiable object, propped up by pillows,
doing his best to coax down a little food. There was a half-pleading,
half-defiant look in his eyes as Grey seated himself on the bed.
"You needn't be afraid of me," Grey said. "I only want you to give me a
little information. My dear fellow, if you only knew it, Tanza and
myself are the best friends you have. Tanza has announced his intention
of devoting himself to your case, and if you only play the man, he will
set you on your feet again. I cannot understand how one of your ability
should sink so low. Surely, if we hold out a helping hand----"
"That is all I want," Swift interposed eagerly. "I am a double-dyed
fool, Grey, and no one knows it better than myself. When I started to
go down hill my friends began to turn their backs upon me, and I went on
drinking out of sheer bravado. For the last two years I have been alone
in the world; but, low as I have fallen, I would make a big effort to
pull myself together if I could find a congenial friend. If Tanza would
take me in his employ it would be a godsend to me. I could make a
struggle under a man like that. But, there, you did not come here to
talk about myself. What have you discovered? And what can I do for
you?"
"Practically, we have discovered everything," Grey said gravely. "We
have made certain of what we have hitherto regarded only as suspicion.
You are weak and ill, and I don't want to bother you unnecessarily.
Tell me in a word, has Arnold Rent discovered intermittent electricity
or not?"
Swift nodded his head vigorously.
"That will do," Grey went on. "You need not say any more. There will
be plenty of time to go in for explanations when you are well enough.
All I want to know now is the exact position of the underground dynamo
which was established some time ago within a few hundred yards of Rent's
offices. I don't suppose he told you about it, but I am sure you know
where the thing is to be found."
By way of reply, Swift reached for his coat, which was lying across the
back of his bunk, and took from the breast-pocket a sheet of
tracing-paper, which he handed over to Grey. The latter glanced at it
and smiled. When he turned to Swift again the patient was lying with
closed eyes as if on the verge of sleep. Grey stole from the cabin to
the deck where Tanza was seated.
"Come along," he said. "I have it at my fingers' ends. I'll just get a
pair of india-rubber gloves and shoes and a mat and we can set out at
once."
They came at length to a spot some little way from the workshop, where
Grey proceeded to make a close examination of the turf. He lifted a
sheet of sod presently and disclosed a small grating underneath.
Kneeling on the india-rubber mat and carefully shielding his hands with
gloves of the same material, he proceeded to pull out a switch or two
and cut through a cable which led into the tiny manhole. Then, without
a further word to Tanza, he strode right on until he came to the lawn of
Charlock's house, pausing at length in front of the fountain which
surrounded the sundial. With the gloves still upon his hands, and the
long rubber boots upon his feet, he waded through the water until he
stood by the side of the sundial. He raised the cap and threw it aside.
Then from the cavity below he produced a small box.
"There!" he said, with an air of subdued triumph. "Will you please
examine the contents? I will forfeit my reputation if Mrs. Charlock's
jewels are not inside."
*CHAPTER XLVI*
*THE PRICE OF A CRIME*
Tanza unfastened the box and removed a sheet of cotton wool which lay on
the top. The sun gleamed on a heap of stones of various sizes, diamonds
for the most part, which streamed and twinkled as if they had been
running water. Then he laid out the rings and necklaces and the various
odds and ends, which went to make up a collection of stones worth a
considerable amount. The Italian knew something about jewels, and in
his estimation at least ten thousand pounds' worth of jewels lay on
their bed of cotton wool.
"Mrs. Charlock appeared to have a pretty taste in this respect," Tanza
remarked. "These things might have belonged to the wife of a
millionaire. So this is the end of our search. Well, those stones have
done mischief, goodness knows. I suppose you can tell me how they
managed to get there?"
"All in good time," Grey replied. "We had better return to the yacht
and talk the matter over. Besides, Rent may send for me at any moment,
and I should not like to be out of the way when his message comes. It
has been an exciting venture on the whole, and, to a certain extent, I
have enjoyed it. But I would give half of what I possess not to have to
face Mrs. Rent, as I shall be compelled to do presently."
Tanza nodded sympathetically. He understood what Grey was alluding to.
The latter replaced the capstone on the sundial and proceeded to strip
off his rubber boots and gloves. Tanza touched these articles lightly
with his finger-tips.
"Did you really need these?" he asked. "Was there actual danger? I saw
you were taking no risks."
"It was a necessary precaution," Grey explained. "Of course, you know
that in handling high-volted coils and cables there is always danger.
Anything beyond five hundred volts needs great caution. You are well
aware, also, that a voltage which is almost harmless when one is dry or
standing on dry ground becomes dangerous in the presence of moisture.
The perfect safeguard is in using india-rubber gloves and boots. With
these one can handle cables carrying practically any power."
Tanza nodded his approval.
"I know all that," he said. "But what first put the idea of electricity
into your head? As you know, from the very first I suspected foul play.
I felt certain the Frenchwoman met her death by some new and ingenious
method of manslaughter. In thinking the matter over, electricity
suggested itself to my mind, but I could not for the life of me see how
it was worked. That is why I called you in. You seem to have known
from the start what to do and what to look for. Isn't that a fact?"
"Well, I had luck on my side," Grey admitted. "You remember bringing me
to have a look round the place and giving me a minute account of the way
in which Hortense met her death. You will recollect telling me that her
dress was more or less singed, which seemed remarkable, seeing that she
had apparently met her death by water. There were no marks of violence
on the body, either, which was another thing that aroused one's
suspicions. I was still asking myself a few questions in this direction
when I had the good luck to pick up a thumb torn from an india-rubber
glove. Now, you know india-rubber gloves are worn almost entirely by
electrical engineers; indeed, I know no other use for them. I am aware
that burglars have adopted the same precaution to prevent any
identification of finger-marks. But, then, your average burglar does
not give as much as two guineas a pair for india-rubber gloves, which is
somewhere about the price of those from which the thumb was torn. As
soon as that evidence came into my hands I knew that somebody connected
with electricity had been near the sundial. But the mere presence of a
fountain disposed of the suggestion that anything like the usual
electrical business had been contemplated by the owner of the property.
I dropped a hint to Charlock, and he knew nothing about it. Now, why had
this mysterious individual been here? And what was he doing in the
neighbourhood of the fountain? A little farther up the lawn I
discovered a small piece of cable properly insulated, and then I became
more or less certain of my facts. Somebody had laid a wire from the
sundial to a power station in the neighbourhood. It puzzled me why this
had been done till I began to put things together, and I suddenly
recollected what you told me about Hortense's clothing being scorched.
It seemed fair to assume that the sundial and the fountain were charged
for some reason with a dangerous load of electricity, and that directly
the woman came into contact with the water she was killed instantly.
Doubtless she fell forward into the fountain, which would account for
the scar upon her forehead. You see, the current might have been
powerful enough to cause instant death without unduly injuring the body.
Before I left these premises that day I knew beyond the shadow of a
doubt how the French maid had met her death. You follow me?"
"Absolutely," Tanza said. "It is quite logical."
"Of course it is," Grey went on. "There is no other way of accounting
for it. Then I began to ask myself what the woman was doing near the
fountain. Until I could get to the bottom of that I was more or less
groping in the dark. But, then, as you know now, I had an opportunity
of examining Hortense's bedroom, where, in the fireplace, I found a torn
photograph of two men, one of whom was Rent. Who the other man is
probably we shall never know, and, in any case, it doesn't matter. At
any rate, we have the fact that Hortense was in the possession of Rent's
photograph, which she had torn across the middle, no doubt in a moment
of petulance and passion. I may be wrong, but that is the
interpretation I put upon it. It was more or less natural to conclude
that tender passages had passed between Hortense and himself. I could
not guess why for the moment, but it became clear later. But this is
not all the evidence I discovered. In the grate were fragments of a
letter which pointed to the fact that some secret was on foot connected
with the sundial. It was not till after I heard that Mrs. Charlock had
lost her jewels that I began to wonder if the gems had been hidden in
the sundial. I had to speculate upon this for a day or two, until I
caught Bark loafing about the lawn, and then I felt sure my supposition
was correct. When I saw that Bark had severely burnt his fingers in the
waters of the fountain I became certain of my ground. It was lucky for
him that the night was fine and the grass dry, or he would have shared
the fate of his sister. By this time my suspicions were growing pretty
strong. I could not come to any other conclusion but that Rent was at
the bottom of the whole business. Where else could the power station
which supplied the electricity be except in Rent's own workshop? And
who besides himself was interested in getting Hortense out of the way?
Beyond a doubt she had found out how she had been fooled and had
threatened revenge. Therefore he determined to get rid of her by this
diabolically ingenious means, which it would be impossible to trace. He
had only to let the girl know where the jewels were hidden, and she was
certain to try to steal them. To a man who has discovered the secret of
intermittent electricity the thing was easy. You know in how small a
compass an electrical plant goes and how easy it is to manipulate.
Suppose a hole is cut in the ground by the fountain and a wire inserted
into the water. Then, a quarter of a mile away, another apparatus is
hidden underground, the current turned on from the works, and without
intermediate wires a contact is made between one pole and another. Of
course, I know it sounds very extraordinary, but if you can telegraph
and telephone without wires, why shouldn't you transmit an ordinary
electrical current? At any rate, Rent succeeded in doing so, as Swift
more or less intimated to me; in fact, he found out what was going on
and gave me a plan of the direction in which the apparatus ran. I
shouldn't be surprised if Swift knows as much as we do, and no doubt his
guilty knowledge has driven him to drink. I have proved how this thing
was done and how the French girl was sent to her death."
"You think she was murdered?" Tanza asked.
"Most emphatically I do. Otherwise, why should Rent go to the trouble
of all these elaborate preparations? He was afraid that Hortense would
betray him to her mistress. He was so infatuated with Mrs. Charlock
that he was prepared to run any risk to retain her good opinion. I feel
convinced that Hortense was sent deliberately to her death, and if you
and I had not happened to be in the neighbourhood the thing would have
been forgotten and nobody been any the wiser. Why, apart from such
proofs as I have given you just now, there are other people who could
support my assertions. Don't you suppose that that blackguard Bark
knows all about it? And he was prepared to keep his mouth shut and
leave his sister's death unpunished if only he could get possession of
the jewels. It is a ghastly business altogether. And now you understand
why I am not anxious to face Mrs. Rent. And you will see that the matter
cannot be allowed to rest here. What a sensation there will be when it
all comes out!"
*CHAPTER XLVII*
*ABSOLUTION*
Tanza shook his head slowly and sorrowfully. "Terrible!" he murmured.
"I wish we could find some way of keeping Mrs. Rent and Miss Hargrave
out of this matter. But after what has taken place the thing is
impossible. Mrs. Rent will have to give evidence, and so will Miss
Hargrave. One is naturally loth to interfere with the course of
justice. But if ever there was a case where a policy of silence would be
pardonable, this assuredly is that case. Only in one contingency the
world need know nothing of this miserable affair."
"And what may that be?" Grey asked.
"Why, the death of Arnold Rent, of course. If he would considerately
die, we should be perfectly justified in keeping our own counsel. Why
should the thing be dragged to light? Why should the whole painful
story be made public when the culprit is beyond the reach of the law? I
think you will agree with me."
"Oh, I do," Grey confessed. "But please don't imagine that Arnold is
worse than he appears to be. You don't suppose that he is responsible
for the death of Mrs. Charlock as well? That would be too dreadful."
"Is there any other conclusion?" Tanza asked.
"Well, yes, in common justice to Rent, there is. I believe that Mrs.
Charlock's death was a sheer accident. Let me retrace the ground, and I
will show you what I mean. We will admit, if you like, that Rent is a
man without heart and without principle. We will make one exception,
and that was his pure and disinterested affection for Mrs. Charlock. He
was prepared to sacrifice his future for her sake. Oh, yes, I know that
he stole her diamonds. But no doubt that was in the early stage of his
infatuation. Afterwards he must be credited with good intentions. You
see, he had removed the French maid, and the ground appeared to be
clear. So deeply in love is he that he takes Mrs. Charlock to stay with
his mother. Mind you, in taking that step he knew what he was risking.
He knew how strict and rigid his mother was, and how little versed she
was in the ways of the world. These upright and honourable people are
apt to be narrow-minded. And religion and charity are not always the
same thing. I say that when Rent took Mrs. Charlock into Devonshire he
was running the risk of losing every penny of his expectations. Of
course, there was the hope of conciliating his mother, but that was what
one might call a sporting chance. As you know, the scheme was a
failure, and Mrs. Charlock went away, posing as a martyr, prepared to
accept any sacrifice rather than injure the prospects of the man who had
befriended her. Anyway, there was an end of her so far as the home in
Devonshire was concerned. Now, if my theory is correct, there was a
subsequent interview between Mrs. Charlock and Rent, in which the
situation was reviewed from a worldly point of view. You see, they were
bound to face the situation sooner or later; in sporting parlance, the
thing wasn't good enough for Mrs. Charlock, and she probably let Rent
know it in her sweet, unsophisticated way. No doubt he had time to
think the matter over and began to grasp what he was sacrificing.
Whether they parted in friendly fashion or not doesn't matter. They
_did_ part, and Mrs. Charlock came back to her husband. Before she
started, Rent doubtless did the fair thing and told her where her jewels
were hidden. But there was one thing he forgot--he neglected to turn
off those switches, and left the fountain in the same dangerous
condition as when Hortense met with her dreadful death. Either that or
Swift had been experimenting with the apparatus. But the fact remains
that the charge had not been drawn from the mine, and when Mrs. Charlock
went to regain possession of her jewels she went to certain death. That
is my rendering of the matter, though I may be wrong."
"I should think it exceedingly probable you are right," Tanza said.
"You have given me a sensible and logical account of what has happened,
and I fail to see any flaw in your argument. We had better return to
the yacht now, and later I will hand these stones to Charlock. There
ought to be enough here to free him from all his difficulties and enable
him to come back to his own house. Unless I am mistaken, he will be glad
to resume possession once more."
"Why should he be?" Grey asked.
"Because he is in love with Ethel Hargrave," Tanza said. "One can see
that with half an eye. And what is more, the girl is in love with him.
But these things are in the air at present. So far as I am concerned, I
should be disposed to keep our discovery a profound secret. That rascal
Bark will not dare to say anything, and I flatter myself I can find a
way to keep Swift's mouth closed. Unfortunately, Miss Hargrave has made
some discoveries, but we may be able to convince her that she has made a
mistake. If Arnold Rent dies, which seems more than probable, we may
save the scandal altogether. Charlock we can trust."
They were back at the yacht again presently, still discussing the
tragedy in which they were both profoundly interested. There was no
sign of Bark, and Swift seemed to be decidedly better. After luncheon
Tanza had a long talk with him, and left him in appreciably higher
spirits. Just as the Italian arrived on deck again an urgent message
came for Grey, saying that Mr. Rent desired to see him immediately.