practised eye to see that the end was near. Mrs. Rent and Ethel were
with the sufferer, and at a sign from him they left him and Grey
together. Rent was very weak and low, yet there was a resolute look in
his eyes, and he lost no time in coming directly to the point.
"You know why I sent for you?" he demanded.
"I can give a fair guess," Grey murmured.
"Ah, I am glad of that, because it will save me a deal of talking, and
time is precious. Tell me in a few words what you have discovered. It
would be a kindness to speak frankly and openly to me."
"Perhaps it would," Grey said. "Then I may say I have discovered
everything. Nothing is hidden from me."
"This is what I expected," the dying man murmured. "I have felt that
ever since you have been in the neighbourhood. Oh, I know what Tanza
was after. I have not been altogether blind. But I swear to you that
so far as Mrs. Charlock was concerned I am absolutely and entirely
innocent. It was a cruel misfortune--but go on, please. Let me hear
your story first."
"There is not much to tell," Grey said, picking up the thread. "To
begin with, I know all about your entanglement with the French maid. An
accident put me on the track, but it is a waste of time to go into that.
I know what happened between your workshop and the fountain. I know how
you laid the trap which led Hortense to her death. But perhaps I had
better tell it to you just as I told it to Tanza a little while ago."
Grey proceeded over the familiar ground, the dying man following with
rapt attention. At the end of the recital he nodded more or less
approvingly.
"So far," he said, "you have not made a mistake. You have the thing as
clear and plain as if you had been in my place. But you are wrong as
far as Mrs. Charlock was concerned. I had disconnected the electrical
apparatus which communicated with the fountain; indeed, I was going to
destroy everything but for an accident which prevented me. I call it an
accident for want of a better term. But now I see the hand of Fate in
it. I was playing with the apparatus one night when Hortense's brother,
Bark, came into my office. He asked me for money, which I was not able
to give him, and one word leading to another, the whole thing culminated
in a serious quarrel. I was knocked down and sustained an injury to my
head which, as you know, affected my brain. In most ways I was sane
enough, but memory of the events of the past few days had been wholly
blotted out. I was haunted by the feeling that I had left something
undone, but I could not for the life of me recall what it was. You can
imagine a murderer who has gone off and left a clue behind. That was
the sensation that maddened me and spoilt all my rest till Ethel
Hargrave found me poring over certain letters. It was only when she
began to speak that remembrance came back to me swiftly and
unexpectedly. Ethel knew too much. I knew that I could not hope to
silence her tongue. Besides, she had already confessed all she had
discovered to John Charlock. Then it was that a feeling of abject
despair came over me, and in the madness of the moment I threw myself
out of the window. When sense and reason returned once more everything
was wonderfully clear again. I recalled the whole train of
circumstances. And the more I pondered it the more hopeless my position
seemed. I tell you, I was glad to know that I must die, that I was going
to leave all this shame and misery behind me. And it is simply because
I am dying that I sent for you to-day. I want you, if you can, to
prevent a scandal. I want these dreadful things kept from my mother."
*CHAPTER XLVIII*
*SEALED IN THE GRAVE*
"It can be done," Grey murmured.
The pupils of Rent's eyes dilated strangely.
"Man, it must be concealed," he said hoarsely. "Try to conceive the
cruelty of making all these matters public when the one human being who
ought to suffer is beyond the reach of justice! What you know and what
Tanza knows I can regard as safe. I could die comfortably in the
knowledge that you would never speak, and I am certain that John
Charlock would remain silent for the sake of my mother and that innocent
girl who has come to think so ill of me. Surely you need not undeceive
her! Surely you can think of some plausible fiction! If ever there was
a case where a lie is justified, this is the occasion. Now promise."
"I will do all I can," Grey said freely and heartily. "And I know that
I can speak for Tanza, too; indeed, I may go further and say that he
advocated the very course you are suggesting. He assumed that if the
worst happened--I beg your pardon, I should not have put it as bluntly
as that."
"But that is just the way I want you to put it," Rent insisted. "You
don't know what a load you have taken off my mind. And now I will ask
you to leave me. I should like to have my mother with me for the little
time that remains----"
The speaker broke off suddenly. Something seemed to choke his
utterance. He dropped back on his pillow, breathing faintly. His eyes
closed. Very gently Grey crept from the room downstairs to where the
others were waiting. The expression of his face was quite enough for
Mrs. Rent, who hurried away, followed by Ethel. A little while later
the girl came downstairs, her manner soft and subdued. Grey raised his
eyebrows interrogatively.
"Yes," Ethel whispered. "He went off peacefully. The nurse and doctor
were in the room at the time. I don't know whether you will mind my
bringing up the subject just now, but Mr. Charlock has mentioned the
matter to you. There were certain letters which my relative had in his
possession----"
"I hope they are destroyed," Grey said. "I know what you are alluding
to. But it would be as well if those letters were burnt, because it is
probable they may lead you to a wrong conclusion. I know you have had a
rough time lately, but that mustn't make you suspect crime. I think Mr.
Charlock is of the same opinion as myself and deprecates your arriving
at a hasty inference. Try to recollect that, however black a case may
look against a person, the whole complexion of the thing may lie changed
when his defence is disclosed."
A look of relief crossed the girl's face.
"I suppose that is so," she suggested timidly.
"Indeed it is," Grey said emphatically. "But, whatever you do, don't
allude to anything in Mrs. Rent's presence. She has enough sorrow and
misery to contend with as it is. Now, if you will excuse me, I had
better go. This is no place for a stranger."
Grey was glad to find himself outside the house, glad to know that his
unpleasant errand had ended without more disastrous consequences. He
went at once in search of John Charlock, whom he found disconsolately
wandering about his garden. He looked somewhat guilty as Grey came up.
"I don't know what you must think of me," he said, "but I find it
difficult to tear myself away from this place. You see, all my hopes
and ambitions were centered here. It was here that I looked forward to
a happy life. I have just begun to see the fruition of my ambitions, to
see my reputation established. I am a free man now and the grave
contains my one mistake. I don't say that I feel any regret at what has
taken place, beyond the horror that such tragedies bring. But I don't
want to talk about myself. What can I do for you?"
"You can come aboard the yacht and talk matters over with Tanza," Grey
suggested. "We have several things to discuss with you and one or two
confessions to make. I may be a false prophet, but I am sure that the
best part of your life's happiness is still to come. But let us eschew
platitudes. Come with me and let us have the matter out."
Charlock expressed himself willing, and a little later the two men were
on their way to the yacht. For the best part of an hour or more Charlock
listened to all that Tanza and his companion had to say. Finally he
took the case of jewels which the Italian handed to him and slipped it
in his pocket.
"I am infinitely obliged to you gentlemen," he said. "As to these
jewels, they rightly belong to me. They have been paid for, too, and
their sale will enable me to take possession of my old house again. I
daresay I shall be reasonably happy. No doubt I can find some worthy
woman who will act as housekeeper and look after my servants. But I am
afraid that my dream of a perfect home must remain a dream, for it is
never likely to be realised. I am forced to the conclusion that I am not
the sort of man to make a woman----"
"Pardon me," Grey interrupted. "That is just where I think you are
wrong. You have as much generous feeling and emotion as most decent
men, but you are afraid to show your real nature. At the risk of being
considered impertinent I was going to suggest that the lady calculated
to make your home happy is not very far off. I was thinking of Miss
Ethel Hargrave."
A deep frown knitted Charlock's brows. Then, in spite of himself,
something like a smile came over his face.
"Do you really think so?" he asked almost eagerly. "But I am talking
like a fool. She is a girl in a million, mind you. A man like me,
rough and reserved----"
"Why belittle yourself?" Tanza said. "You are famous. You are on the
road to wealth. Hundreds of women would be proud to call you their
husband. But I won't flatter you. I am a pretty good judge of human
nature, and if ever I saw a girl in love with a man, that girl is Ethel
Hargrave and the man is John Charlock. You are a lucky fellow, my dear
sir, if you have sense enough to see it. But, after this exhibition of
gratuitous impertinence on my part, I am afraid to say more. Let us
change the subject, and perhaps Grey will ask the steward to bring us
cigarettes and coffee."
John Charlock said nothing. There was no outbreak of anger or
impatience on his part; on the contrary, he smiled with the air of a man
who is well pleased with himself. There was something like a gleam of
happiness in his eyes.
* * * * *
The white wings of the yacht were folded. She came to an anchor again
after a year's absence on a voyage round the world. As the boat put off
from the side for the shore, Swift, bronzed and happy-looking, shook his
head with a smile as he declined to accompany Tanza and Grey.
"I should be in the way," he said. "Besides, they don't want me. I
read in the papers this morning that John Charlock and his wife had only
just come back from their honeymoon, in which case they are not likely
to require either of you."
"Oh, yes, they will," Tanza exclaimed. "I flatter myself that they will
be agreeably surprised to see us."
The boat reached the shore, and after a few minutes' walk Tanza and his
companion stopped in front of the house. The windows frowned at them no
longer. The casements were flung open. Silk and muslin curtains
fluttered on the breeze. The paths were trim and neat. The lawns were
ablaze with a wild riot of colour. On all sides were signs of
prosperity, peace and happiness. Grey pointed to the long lawn gleaming
in the sunshine like a broad ribbon of green velvet.
"There is only one change I see," he murmured. "The old sundial has
gone. But that is no matter for surprise."
Before Tanza could reply there came the sound of voices from behind a
belt of shrubs. It was almost impossible to recognise the tones of John
Charlock, so full and hearty and generous with the flow of life were
they. They could hear also the quiet ripple of laughter on the part of
his companion, and a moment later husband and wife came in sight. There
was no doubt as to their welcome. They came forward with delighted
surprise and hands extended. Not much was said for a little while,
until they divided into pairs, and Charlock walked down the drive, with
Grey, somewhat silent and speculative, by his side.
"What a paradise you have made here!" the latter exclaimed.
"I haven't done it," Charlock said joyously. "It is my wife.
Everything she touches she adorns, and I owe you and Tanza a deep debt
of gratitude for what you said to me that day on board the yacht. It
seemed impossible that she----"
"The impossible has become the real," Grey said.
Charlock paused a moment and threw back his head.
"Indeed it has," he said in a voice just above a whisper. "I have found
what I was looking for at last. I have been paid for all my suffering.
But I can't talk about such matters. They are a bit too sacred. Now
let us go inside. I want to show you my ideal of an English home and an
English life."
THE END