A SUBTLE SINNER'S SUCCESS
Mr. Hunter of Messrs. Martin and Cross sent George a very civil letter,
acknowledging the will and announcing that the papers necessary for
obtaining probate would be prepared in due course. As a valuation of the
furniture would be required, he proposed to send down the man usually
employed by his firm for that purpose, his knowledge being extensive and
his fee moderate.
One other point Mr. Hunter wished to refer to. He had gathered, from an
interview with Mr. Percy Taverner, that Miss Yard's mental condition
left something to be desired: although in several respects a person
competent to do business, she might be described as susceptible to the
influence of a superior intelligence, and could therefore be prevailed
upon to act in a manner contrary to her interests: she would--to put the
matter plainly--sign a cheque if ordered by some other person to do so.
Mr. Hunter understood further that Miss Yard positively declined to
leave Highfield House, which was now Mr. Drake's property by virtue of
the phrase "all that I die possessed of" contained in the codicil to
the will of Mrs. Drake deceased; and at her age it might perhaps be
inadvisable to press her. The position was somewhat a delicate one, as
he understood Mr. Drake's financial position was not possibly quite so
strong as could be wished; and he might be desirous of selling the
property. Or, on the other hand, he might be inclined to allow Miss Yard
the use of the premises upon the undertaking that she provided him with
board and lodging, and paid a peppercorn rent.
Both Mr. Percy Taverner and himself, in their joint capacity as trustees
of the Yard estate, agreed that in such case it would be absolutely
necessary to appoint some trustworthy person as the manager of Miss
Yard's affairs, such person to be given the charge of the lady's
cheque-book, and to give an account of all moneys spent. Mr. Taverner
had recommended for this purpose Miss Nellie Blisland, whom he believed
to be a thoroughly trustworthy young person and one, moreover, not only
firmly attached to Miss Yard, but highly favoured by the lady herself.
"More of Percy's dirty little ways," was George's comment. "He thinks I
shall wheedle money out of Aunt Sophy like he does himself. I'm quite
satisfied that Nellie should be appointed; but I should like to be told
for certain that he didn't squeeze her hand when he said good-bye. I saw
him looking sideways at her anyhow. Now for the trap--and I don't care
which of 'em tumbles into it."
He wrote to Mr. Hunter, quite agreeing with all that gentleman had said.
It was unfortunately true that his financial condition was somewhat
embarrassed at the moment, while his physical state did not encourage
him to hope for any considerable increase of income likely to accrue
from his professional duties of civil engineer. The position, as Mr.
Hunter had admitted, was somewhat delicate, since Miss Yard would be
living in his house, enjoying the use of his furniture; and would
probably continue to do so until her death, by which time a great
quantity of domestic utensils would have been destroyed, much valuable
crockery broken, while the whole of the furniture would have suffered
deterioration owing to wear and tear; furthermore he would have no
control over the servants, who might conceivably indulge in a certain
amount of pilfering--indeed a few articles had already unaccountably
disappeared.
He could not, of course, allow Miss Yard, whom he regarded with feelings
of utmost affection, to be disturbed, or even to be troubled by any
suggestion that her tenancy of Windward House should be brought to a
close; but it was perhaps a pity Mr. Hunter had not suggested that Miss
Yard should purchase the furniture--with the exception of a few articles
he would wish to retain because of their sentimental value--for the sum
which might be quoted by the professional valuer. George did not press
the point in the least, but he would remind Mr. Hunter, under such an
arrangement, Mr. Percy Taverner might very likely benefit.
The appointment of Miss Nellie Blisland as custodian of Miss Yard's bank
account met with his entire approval. He had watched this young lady
carefully, and could assure Mr. Hunter that Miss Yard's interests would
be perfectly safe in her hands.
As Mr. Hunter prowled and sniffed through these elegant sentences, he
discovered nothing of a suspicious nature. On the contrary, Mr. George
Drake appeared to him a very obvious gentleman indeed. He wrote to
Percy, requesting another interview, and when the tomato merchant
arrived Mr. Hunter spread George's letter before him and asked him what
he thought about it.
"Nothing until I've heard your opinion," replied the cautious Percy.
"You have the advantage of knowing Mr. Drake."
"It's no advantage," declared Percy.
"What sort of a man is he?" asked Mr. Hunter.
"As this is a privileged communication, he's the most useless,
good-for-nothing chap in the country," replied Percy; and he went on to
narrate the tragical history of his cousin's deception and indolence.
"Then he is, in your opinion, unscrupulous?"
"That's right. If he wants Miss Yard to buy the furniture, it's because
he hopes to benefit by it."
"Naturally," said the lawyer. "There's nothing unscrupulous in that.
Under the will of Mrs. Drake he becomes possessed of a certain amount of
property; and, being a poor man, he is anxious to convert this property,
or a portion of it, into cash. There is apparently no opening for fraud
but, should one exist, you may be quite sure I shall discover it in the
course of negotiations."
"What do you advise?" asked Percy.
"First of all I should like to know whether he has written to you?"
"I had a note from him, offering me a pair of silver candlesticks. It
appears he found a scrap of paper left by my aunt, expressing a wish
that I should have them, as they were given her as a wedding present by
my mother. I don't want them just now, as I live in lodgings, so I wrote
back and said they had better stay in the house until Miss Yard dies."
"It would have been the easiest thing in the world to have destroyed
that piece of paper. Yet Mr. Drake has communicated its contents to
you," said Mr. Hunter, putting on his eyeglasses and again searching the
letter for any possible stratagem or pitfall.
"I don't say George is altogether bad. I suppose he can respect his
aunt's memory to a certain extent," replied Percy.
"His standpoint appears to me not unreasonable," the lawyer continued.
"The furniture belongs to him, and his argument, firstly that he will be
unable to realise upon it during Miss Yard's lifetime, and secondly that
it may deteriorate to some extent in value before her death takes place,
is quite a sound one. It is possible that Miss Yard may live to well
over ninety, and his financial position may become intolerable before
then. I understand the furniture is valuable?"
"Most of it is rubbish; but there are two Chinese vases which, I
believe, are enormously valuable. Captain Drake probably looted them
during one of his eastern expeditions. I have described them to Crampy,
the well known expert, and he says they may be worth almost anything."
"Mr. Drake is careful to mention there are a few articles he would wish
to retain because of their sentimental value. For sentimental read
pecuniary," said Mr. Hunter, in the shocked voice usually adopted by a
lawyer when he discovers another person trifling with the truth. "But
the goods are his, he is aware of their value, and naturally he wishes
to retain them. These vases throw a new light upon the position. The
best thing he can do is to sell them at once: then, if they are as
valuable as you suppose, he can retire from Windward House, and live
upon the interest of his capital."
"Leaving Miss Yard in possession of the house?"
"Exactly--if he will agree to that course."
"Then you are going to advise Miss Yard to buy the furniture?"
"I think not, and I will give you my reasons. In the first place we
ought not to perplex Miss Yard with matters of business she cannot
understand. In the second place it might not be safe for her to become
the owner of the furniture. Miss Yard, I understand, does exactly as she
is told; she is completely under the control of servants; if an entire
stranger entered the house and introduced himself as a relation, she
might give him anything he liked to ask for. It would be easy for Mr.
Drake, if he is unscrupulous as you suggest, to visit Miss Yard and
induce her to sign a will leaving him the furniture she had previously
purchased from himself."
"On the other hand," said Percy, "we shall never get George out of
Windward House while the furniture belongs to him. He is too much afraid
of the servants stealing things."
"I had thought of that difficulty," said Mr. Hunter in his most
omniscient manner. "What I am going to recommend is that you should make
Mr. Drake an offer for the goods."
"George wouldn't sell to me," said Percy.
"It cannot matter to him whether you or Miss Yard purchase the
furniture. If you do so, it will be upon the understanding that Mr.
Drake leaves Miss Yard in undisturbed possession of the premises at a
rental to be agreed upon. By this arrangement she will be left in a
position of absolute security. While, if you decide not to purchase, Mr.
Drake may sell the contents of one room after another according to his
need for money."
"I'll think over it, and let you know," said Percy.
"During the course of the next few days we shall be receiving the
figures from the valuer," Mr. Hunter continued. "I shall then be in a
position to advise you as to the sum you should offer Mr. Drake. You
agree with me, I think, that I have suggested a way out of the
difficulty?"
"I am always ready to take your advice," replied Percy. "But I believe
George hates me and, if I made him an offer for the furniture, he would
smell something fishy."
"He will receive a complete assurance from my firm that his interests
are being adequately protected," said the lawyer, with a dignity that
seemed to make the windows rattle.
A few days afterwards the expert sent in his report, and Mr. Hunter was
considerably astonished to read that the contents of Windward House,
excluding the articles belonging to Miss Yard, were valued for probate
at the sum of £220 5s. 3d. He sent for the valuer, requesting another
interview with Percy at the same time; and, when they came together, an
explanation of these figures was demanded; the lawyer mentioning that,
according to his instructions, the late Captain Drake had died possessed
of a great number of valuable antiques.
"Most of them worthless. At all events, it's no easy matter to value
such things as an Egyptian mummy and a stuffed mermaid for purposes of
probate."
"How about the Russian Ikon and the Indian musical box?" asked Percy.
"There is no market price for articles of that description. They might
fetch a few shillings, or a great number of pounds. It would depend upon
history and association, or upon rivalry between collectors. I value the
Ikon at ten shillings, and the musical box at five pounds. It's all
guesswork, but I doubt whether you would get much more. As for the
mummy, I simply throw it in with the oleographs."
"Why the odd threepence?" asked Percy.
The valuer coughed and said nothing.
"Mr. Taverner and I are particularly interested in a pair of Chinese
vases," began Mr. Hunter cautiously.
"Which were kept in a box under Mrs. Drake's bed," added the more
reckless Percy.
"Those things!" exclaimed the valuer disgustedly. "I remember them well,
for I thought Mr. Drake was getting at me when he pulled out the box and
unwrapped those vases. There's your odd threepence, sir!" he continued,
turning towards Percy. "And dear at the price."
"You have made a mistake, my friend. I'm not an expert, but I would give
five hundred pounds for those vases without having another look at
them," said Percy.
"Then I wish they were mine!" cried the valuer.
"Perhaps you would describe these vases for Mr. Taverner's benefit," the
lawyer suggested.
"They're not worth describing, sir. They are the sort of things
exchanged by hawkers for a rabbit skin. A pair of green vases about
eighteen inches high, with red cabbages meant for roses splashed across
them."
"We need not trouble you any further, I think," said Percy.
"It was the most difficult job I've had in my life. I value plate and
furniture, not the contents of museums," the man protested.
"You have done your work excellently, as usual; and you have also given
us the information we require," said Mr. Hunter, as the valuer took his
hat and his leave.
"Of course you see what has happened," began Percy at once.
"Mr. Drake had concealed the vases. I shall write pretty sharply to
remind him he must not play these tricks with the law," said Mr. Hunter.
"He's a bigger fool than I took him for, if he thought he could deceive
the valuer--not to mention you and me," said Percy.
"Mr. Drake is no fool: on the contrary, he seems a clever fellow. He did
not suppose he could deceive the valuer, nor did he make the attempt. He
simply produced the pair of worthless vases without comment."
"Then what is he playing at?"
"In the first place he tries to evade the death duties as far as
possible; and these fall upon him rather heavily, as he was related to
the deceased only by marriage. Mr. Drake would naturally prefer to
receive one thousand pounds for the vases rather than nine hundred. In
the second place, he is anxious to discover how much we know about these
vases. It is true they belong to him, but he is by no means certain of
their value. If we make a fuss about the vases he will guess they are
genuine; whereas, if we make no inquiry, he will evade the duty and at
the same time be satisfied that you are not scheming to get hold of
them."
"I never thought of such a thing!" exclaimed Percy.
"The best thing we can do is to send down an expert in china. I shall
first write to Mr. Drake, informing him that he must produce the vases."
"Send Crampy! You needn't write; I'll go and see him," cried Percy
eagerly.
"We could not get a better man than Mr. Crampy; but I'm afraid his fee
will be rather high."
"He'll do it for a guinea if I ask him. Crampy is a great friend of
mine. He told me to keep an eye upon the vases."
Mr. Hunter being perfectly agreeable, Percy snatched his hat and made
off, muttering as he reached the street, "For poor old George's sake I
must tell him not to value them too high."
George in the meantime had nothing much to worry about, although
somewhat disgusted at the low figure placed upon the furniture. He and
Mr. Hunter wrote to each other every day like a couple of lovers; George
always hoping that the lawyer enjoyed a continuance of perfect health;
while Mr. Hunter trusted himself to anticipate a complete cure from the
backache which had blighted Mr. Drake's existence for so long. Kezia and
Bessie were moderately happy while taking stock of the goods which
appeared to belong to them under the joint tenancy created by the scraps
of paper; but there was obviously a certain amount of coldness arising
between them at the prospect of a day of settlement. George was not much
accounted of by either, although the interference of the valuer was
bitterly resented, and George had much difficulty in making them
understand that, whenever a person of quality departed this life, the
Government required a perfect stranger from one of the State Departments
to set a price upon the furniture, in order that statistics as to the
national wealth might be obtained.
Although they were both prepared to fight for the possession of the
Egyptian mummy, which Robert was especially anxious to see set up
against the wall of his parlour, and Kezia had long regarded as the joy
and inspiration of her spiritual existence, neither of them showed the
slightest interest in the Chinese vases which they regarded as vulgar.
Vases to Kezia and Bessie were--vases; that is to say, conspicuous
objects set upon either end of mantelpiece or dresser, to be replaced by
others when broken. Any little village shop, or travelling Cheap-Jack,
sold artistic vases, such as those Mr. George had lately purchased to
delight his eyes, of a beautiful bright green painted with lovely roses.
As Kezia and Bessie were quite prepared to make George a free gift of
all the rubbish in the house, they assured him, in the kindest possible
fashion, that the vases with hideous dragons on them were his, together
with the tortoise and cats, and any other little thing he might like to
have as a remembrance of his aunt. George did not thank them much, but
then he had never been demonstrative.
Letters from the lawyer and expert reached George by the same post; the
one informing him the vases must be produced; the other announcing the
day upon which the valuation would be made. When Mr. Crampy arrived he
was received at the door by Bessie, who spent most of the day regarding
her own home from the windows of Windward House and, as no visitor was
expected by any one except George, who as usual had kept his own
counsel, she said, "Not today, thankye," and would have shut him out;
but, perceiving that the gentleman appeared somewhat agitated, she added
with less severity, "Have ye come vor anything?"
Mr. Crampy had a nervous manner and spoke somewhat indistinctly; but
Bessie was able to gather he had come all the way from London to inspect
their china.
"Please to step inside," she said.
Mr. Crampy did so, and Bessie led him like a lamb into the kitchen,
where she announced to Kezia, "Gentleman come to see the cloam."
"That's one lot on the dresser," gasped Kezia, wondering how many more
inquisitors would arrive. "The best dinner service is in the pantry,"
she added.
Mr. Crampy grew more nervous, but managed to explain he had come to see
a certain Mr. Drake.
"I beg your pardon, sir, I'm sure," said Bessie, "but I fancied you said
something about china."
"Yes, I have come to see a pair of vases," stammered Mr. Crampy.
"Best tell Mr. George a gentleman wants to see 'en," said Kezia, when
the situation threatened to become painful.
A minute later Mr. Crampy was left to cool in the dining room. Presently
George descended the stairs, carrying a large white candle beneath each
arm. He apologised for the stupidity of the servants, then locked the
door, and placed the precious bundles on the table, with the
announcement, "I didn't show these things to the other man for, to tell
you the truth, I was afraid he might place a ridiculously false value
upon them. I expect you know what's what in this particular line?"
"I am supposed to have a very fair knowledge of Chinese porcelain. A
great deal of it passes through my hands," said Mr. Crampy, who was now
perfectly composed.
George removed a quantity of twine, unwound some yards of linen, removed
clouds of brown paper, then abstracted from a bushel of fibre the vase
heavily swathed in cotton-wool; and this he handed to Mr. Crampy with
the utmost reverence.
The expert paused a moment to adjust his glasses; then he drew aside the
wool and gazed at the vase with the love and tenderness of a father
regarding his firstborn child. His lips moved to mutter repeatedly the
single word, "Undoubtedly!"
"A dream, isn't it?" remarked George.
"Glazed porcelain, moulded in relief with dragons--belonging probably to
an early period of the Tsing dynasty, about the end of the seventeenth
century."
"And they've been knocked about like a couple of twopenny teacups,"
added George.
"Do you know, Mr. Drake, how they came into your late uncle's
possession?" asked the expert, caressing the glazed surface with tender
fingers.
"My uncle had a yarn for everything. He would have said they were a
present from the Emperor of China. The only thing I'm concerned about is
the price you mean to put upon them."
"Porcelain of this class has its own value," replied Mr. Crampy. "Were
these vases to be offered for sale, they might fetch a thousand pounds
or, on the other hand, they might be knocked down at five hundred. I am
here to value them for purposes of probate, and that means the lowest
possible value I can put upon them. Is the other vase in a perfect
condition?"
"Just the same. Not a mark upon it. Shall I unwrap it?"
"Oh no! It is quite sufficient to have seen the one. I think I may value
them, for legal requirements, at five hundred pounds; but, Mr. Drake, if
you are willing to accept a thousand pounds, I will hand you a cheque
for that amount before I leave this room."
"There's a big difference between the figures," said George.
"I don't say you would get more than a thousand pounds for these vases.
But I am in the trade, I know how to get to work and secure a profit on
the transaction."
"It sounds a very liberal offer, but I won't decide offhand."
"There is no hurry whatever," said the expert hastily.
"If nothing better comes along I'll write and let you know," said
George, tingling with happiness and excitement.
Nor did his triumph end here. A few mornings later came a letter from
Mr. Hunter, and George read as follows:
"With reference to so much of the furniture and other
articles--excluding the pair of Chinese vases, to which you probably
attach a sentimental value--as belonged to your late aunt, I have had an
interview with Mr. Percy Taverner, and I am now authorised on his behalf
to make you an offer of £200 for these effects. Although this sum is
less than the amount of the probate valuation, you might feel disposed
to accept the offer, having regard to the fact that it would save you
the expense of removing the furniture and holding a sale by auction and
the auctioneer's commission on a sale. I shall be glad to hear from you
when you have considered Mr. Taverner's proposal."
"I've caught 'em!" cried George exultantly. "I baited and set my little
trap and I've caught, not only slippery Percy, but that two-faced,
double-tongued, pill-gilding, thimble-rigging, gammoning, diddling
Hunter!"