THE PRICE OF BLOOD
[Illustration: Upon the last stage of their journey they stopped for
dinner at a tavern.]
_THE_
PRICE OF BLOOD
An Extravaganza of _New York Life_ in 1807
_Written_ in Five Chapters and _Illustrated_ by
HOWARD PYLE
[Illustration]
_Boston_ From the Publishing House of
RICHARD G. BADGER & CO.
157 Tremont Street MDCCCXCIX
COPYRIGHT 1899 BY
RICHARD G. BADGER & CO.
_All Rights Reserved_
CONTENTS
_INTRODUCTION_ Page 11
_CHAPTER I_ Page 17
THE EXTRAORDINARY AND INITIAL CLIENT OF A
YOUNG LAWYER WITHOUT PREVIOUS PRACTICE
_CHAPTER II_ Page 39
THE REMARKABLE BEHAVIOR OF THE LAWYER'S
SECOND CLIENT
_CHAPTER III_ Page 51
THE HORRIFIC EPISODE IN THE COURSE OF WHICH
THE LAWYER OBTAINED A THIRD CLIENT
_CHAPTER IV_ Page 67
IN WHICH IS RELATED THE REMARKABLE BEQUEST
OF THE LAWYER'S FOURTH CLIENT
_CHAPTER V_ Page 81
THE CONCLUSION OF THE STORY OF THE YOUNG
LAWYER AND HIS FOUR CLIENTS
_CONCLUSION_ Page 97
ILLUSTRATIONS
"Upon the last stage of their journey they stopped for
dinner at a tavern" _frontispiece_
"Bidding his companions to await his return,.... he
followed his interlocutor" _facing page 26_
The somewhat peculiar pastime of our hero's
second client _facing page 44_
"You next!" _facing page 58_
"It was at this juncture ... that an apologetic knock
fell upon the door" _facing page 68_
"The negro advanced to the portmanteau, ... and
displayed the contents to his master" _facing page 90_
HERE FOLLOWS THE INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
In the year 1807 New York was grown to be a city of no small
pretension to an extremely cosmopolitan cast of society. Being a
seaport of considerable importance and of great conveniency to foreign
immigration, it had even before this become a favorite haven for
itinerant visitors from European countries, who for reasons best
known to themselves did not find it to fit their inclinations to
remain at home. These people, being received into the society of the
most exclusive and particular fashion of the town, soon lent to the
community a tone characteristic of the manners and customs of European
centres of civilization.
Could the reader have been introduced into our American city at this
period of its history, he might easily have flattered himself that
he was in London or Paris. Or could he have stood upon Courtlandt
Street corner, and have beheld young gentlemen of style dressed in
the latest English mode or the young ladies gay with red hats and red
shawls worn _à la Française_ passing in review upon their evening
promenade, he might have believed himself to have been transported into
a community composed of both those European cities. Madame Bouchard,
the mantua-maker upon Courtlandt Street, vied in public favor with Mrs.
Toole, the English woman, whose shop upon Broadway had for so long been
the particular emporium of fashionable feminine adornment. Fashionable
bucks, who could afford to do so, drank nothing but Imperial champagne
at Dodge's; and young ladies who aspired to the highest flash of ton
made it a point to converse in French from the boxes of the theatres
between the acts of Mr. Cooper's performances. Monsieur Duport taught
dancing to young people of quality at twenty-five dollars a quarter,
and the French waltz and the English contra-dance divided the favor of
the most _récherché_ assemblies.
So much as this has been told with a certain particularity that the
author may better invite the confidence of the discerning reader; for
otherwise it might cause him some misgivings to accept with entire
assurity the fact that a deposed East India Rajah should secretly have
maintained his court in an otherwise unoccupied house on Broadway, and
it might shock his sense of the credible to accept the statement that
an Oriental Potentate should have been able successfully to pursue
his vengeance against the authors of his undoing in so unexpected a
situation as the town of New York afforded.
It is with so much a preface as this that the author invites his reader
to embark with him upon the following narrative, which, though it
may at times appear a little strange and out of the ordinary course
of events, may yet lead the thoughtful mind to consider how easy it
is for the innocent to become entangled in a fate which in no wise
concerns him, and for the discreet to become enveloped in a network of
circumstances which he himself has had no part in framing.
Accordingly, while the frivolous may easily read this serious story
for the sake of entertainment, the sober and more sedate reader will
doubtless carry away with him the moral of the discourse which the
author would earnestly point out for his consideration.
HERE FOLLOWS THE FIRST CHAPTER
CHAPTER ONE
The _Extraordinary_ and _Initial_ CLIENT of a _Young_ LAWYER without
_Previous_ PRACTICE.
There was at this period in the town of New York a number of young
gentlemen possessed of very lively spirits and pretty ingenious tastes
for folly. These gay rattlers about the town had gathered themselves
together into a society known as the "Bluebird Club," in which they
pledged themselves not only to eat a supper of oysters and to drink as
considerable a quantity of rum punch as possible, but subsequently to
perform all manner of extraordinary acts of folly. This assemblage of
rakes, though it possessed no fixed place of meeting, usually resorted
to an oyster-house of no good repute situate upon Front Street,
maintained by a negro crimp by name Bram Gunn, whither it gathered once
a month during the period that oysters were in season.
Because of many questions of police jurisprudence that had arisen, it
was deemed necessary by the members of the Bluebird Club to conceal
their individual identities as far as possible from the recognition
of those who might otherwise know them. Accordingly, it was customary
for those who attended the assemblies of the club to assume for the
occasion some such masquerade or disguise as the rag-fairs of the
junk-shops or the disused wardrobes of the theatres might afford them.
The organizer of this society and its leading spirit, at the time of
which we speak, was a young gentleman by name Nathaniel Griscombe.
He was nominally an attorney-at-law; but, though fairly entitled by
admission to practise his profession at the bar of justice, he had
so far had such small encouragement therein that he had as yet found
nothing whatever to do but sit at his office window and amuse himself
with his own thoughts and speculations, with such an occasional
entertainment as might be offered by the transit across that frame
of vision of one or more of those females of lighter tastes and
inclinations who by the men of the town were denominated "does." He
was regarded by those who knew him as possessed of a superior wit, and
he was noted as a professional fulminator of what was then popularly
known as "whim-whams." It was also reputed that he could consume more
spirituous liquors, without a perceptible effect upon his equilibrium,
than any man of his age about the town.
Such extravagances as he indulged in entirely hid from the view of his
acquaintances and of the town the fact that he was a young gentleman
of no uncommon parts. Indeed, had fortune offered him opportunities
in proportion to his abilities instead of neglecting him so entirely,
he might have been earning the applause of those in his profession
who possessed the respect of the community instead of evaporating his
time with such entirely shallow companions as those young bucks and
rattlers with whom he elected to consort. Having, however, a prodigious
amount of idle time upon his hands, and being of a disposition that
would desire the applause even of the vain and foolish rather than no
applause at all, he yielded himself with only an occasional qualm of
conscience to the indulgence of such follies and escapades as afforded
excitement and interest for the moment to his extremely volatile
spirits and active temperament.
Upon a particular night this young gentleman wended his way to a
meeting of the Bluebird Club, arm in arm with three fellow-members.
Each was clad in a most extravagant and ridiculous masquerade. One
was adorned with a long night-gown covered over with yellow moons, a
mask with a prodigious nose and spectacles, and a wig of cotton-wool.
Another wore the black costume of an astrologer, his face blackened,
and a tall steeple-crowned hat made of black paste-board upon his head.
Our young gentleman of the law had clad himself in the loose cotton
blouse and drawers of a clown. Upon his head he wore an extraordinary
cocked hat with a rosette and ribbons of green, yellow, and red; and,
to further conceal his identity, he had chalked his face, and had
painted red circles in vermilion around his eyes and mouth. In these
costumes our three wild bucks made their way to the meeting-place
of the Bluebird Club, shouting, singing, and by their pungent jests
exciting alternate emotions of amusement and irritation in all those
whom they passed. Arriving at the meeting-place of their society, they
found gathered an unusually large assembly, consisting of four or five
and twenty other young gentlemen, all like themselves bent upon the
execution of whims and follies, and all alike disguised in extravagant
and outrageous costumes.
With many absurd ceremonies, which were supposed to be of a secret
nature, and a multitude of performances which rather befitted a cage of
monkeys than a gathering of rational human beings, but which so well
sufficed to tickle their sense of wit that continued roars and peals
of laughter greeted each performance, the initiatory formalities were
concluded; and a supper of stewed oysters, cucumber pickles, water
biscuit, and rum punch, was attacked with a heartiness of appetite
which did credit alike to the easy consciences and the hearty stomachs
of those who partook thereof. Nor did the mirth of the club at all
diminish with the progress of the repast. Rather did their sense of the
ludicrous become more keen and volatile as each new glass of rum punch
was consumed. A look, a word, a grimace, was enough to cast the whole
assembly into convulsions of laughter, from which some could hardly
recover before spasms of cachinnations would seize upon them again.
The extravagance and uproar had become deafening, when at their height
the door of the room in which the assembly sat at their obstreperous
repast was suddenly flung open, and a portentously tall and mysterious
figure, clad entirely in black, entered the apartment, and stood
regarding the furious scene of folly in masquerade, if not with
amazement, at least with a perfectly silent observation. The figure
that thus so suddenly appeared was wrapped in a long rich cloak of a
dark and heavy material, the face being entirely hidden by a mask hung
with long black silk fringe. This apparition stood for a considerable
time unobserved by our young racketers, who were too far engrossed in
their own follies to take notice of anything else; but presently one,
and then another, and then all of the individual members became aware
of his presence. This acknowledgment of the advent of the stranger
was indicated by a redoubled outburst of uproar, composed of shouts,
whistles, and cat-calls; and, supposing nothing else than that the
new-comer was one of their members, they began freely to bestow upon
him such part of the evening's entertainment as had not been consumed
in a shower of cucumber pickles and water biscuit that fairly rained
upon him like a storm of hail.
Any one less determined upon a purpose than the stranger could hardly
have stood his ground. As it was, he made no pretence of defending
himself from the attack, but submitted to the assault of the Bluebird
Club with so much dignity of demeanor that, what with the richness of
his attire, so different from their tinsel foppery, and what with the
silence of his observation,--his eyeballs now closing into darkness and
now shining whitely beneath the ebony shadow of his mask,--it began
to dawn upon the brains even of our half-tipsy buffoons that here was
something of a different purpose from their intemperate madness and
frenzy of folly.
By little and little the uproar in the room diminished, until at last
all fell fairly silent, and sat returning the gaze of the visitor, if
not with a growing respect, at least with an increasing curiosity as
to the purpose of the presence that had thus unexpectedly introduced
itself upon their absurd and senseless performances. Whereupon, being
able now to make himself heard, the stranger in a commanding voice
demanded to know which of the company present was the attorney-at-law,
Nathaniel Griscombe.
It may be imagined that our young lawyer was somewhat surprised and
sobered by this inquiry. Rising from his seat, he replied to the
challenge that he was the individual whom the other named; and then,
suspecting that it might be the intention of the stranger to put a hoax
upon him, he added that, if the visitor was up to any whim-whams or
bit of hoax, he, Nathaniel Griscombe, was a rattler himself, and knew
perfectly well exactly what o'clock it was.
The stranger, without any immediate reply, regarded our young gentleman
for a considerable time in silence. But, if he experienced any emotion
of surprise or amusement at the sight of his white and bepainted face
and the extraordinary attire that the youthful attorney presented to
him, he made no betrayal of his sentiment. "Sir," said he, with perfect
seriousness, "so far from jesting or desiring to jest, I assure you
that I at this moment am more serious than I suppose you have ever
been in all of your life. I have been looking for you everywhere, and
have gone from place to place, misdirected by every one from whom
I requested knowledge. I have stood at the door for a considerable
time, knocking; but, finding myself not heard because of the noise you
have been making, and not choosing to wait all night for permission
to enter, I came in without being bidden, to find you, at last, in
this company of apes and buffoons. My purpose in coming here, I must
inform you, is of so serious a nature that, were it governed by other
circumstances, I would at once withdraw and leave you in peace to the
continuation of your folly. But you will perhaps be surprised when I
assure you that it is with the utmost satisfaction I discover you in
such a place as this, and so surrounded and engaged as you are."
At these words, spoken with perfect sobriety and every appearance of
candor, our young gentleman presented, it must be confessed, a rather
silly face. "Upon my word," he said with as easy a laugh as he could
assume for the occasion, "I am very well pleased that my present
surroundings afford you satisfaction. I can only say, however, that I
am glad you are not likely to come to me as a client; for your respect
for my parts could hardly be augmented by finding me so engaged."
"As to that," returned the stranger, with unrelaxed sobriety, "you will
no doubt be additionally surprised to learn that I do indeed come to
you as a client to his attorney."
"Then, indeed, sir," cried our young gentleman, who began again sagely
to suspect that a hoax was being put upon him, "you have my word of
honor that I am at a loss to guess why you are satisfied to find me
indulging in such folly and intemperance as that which you discovered
when you favored us with this unexpected visit."
"As to that," said the stranger, "I can easily enlighten you. The
nature of the business in which I would employ you is of such a sort as
to demand the attention of one not only possessed of spirit and courage
and an entire command of unoccupied time, but also of one possessed
of other and very different qualifications. To this end I have made
diligent inquiries; and I have conceived the opinion that you are a man
not only possessed of considerable parts, but of an honesty sufficient
to carry you through so delicate and dangerous a commission as that
with which I have to intrust you."
At these words, our young gentleman knew not what face to assume; nor
could he yet tell whether to regard the whole affair as a hoax or as
the beginning of a more serious adventure. "Upon my word, sir," he
cried, "you pique my curiosity. But, if I am to believe what you tell
me, I must be better assured of your truth. I am, as you may well
believe, too knowing a bird to be caught by chaff."
"Indeed," said the other, "you yourself can alone prove the sincerity
of my words; nor would it in the least remove the doubts that you
entertain of my sincerity, should I inform you that the business upon
which you will be employed concerns the possible murder of my own
self. If, however, you are the man of mettle I suppose you to be, you
have only to accompany me in the conveyance that awaits below, and you
can then and there satisfy yourself as to whether I have spoken with
veracity or with dis-ingenuousness."
By this time, as may be believed, the assembly of young bucks had
fallen entirely silent; nor could our young attorney compose himself to
any frame of mind to digest the credibility of that which he heard. "I
protest," he cried at last, "the more you tell me, the more my belief
is increased that you have a purpose to make me the victim of a jest.
Nevertheless, if what you have just said is offered as a challenge, you
shall find me your man; for I declare that I am not afraid to accompany
you or any other man, wherever you may choose to conduct."
[Illustration: "_BIDDING HIS COMPANIONS TO AWAIT HIS RETURN ... HE
FOLLOWED HIS INTERLOCUTOR_"]
Thereupon, bidding his companions to await his return, he arose, and,
removing his cocked hat with its parti-colored ribbons from its peg
upon the wall where it hung, he followed his interlocutor down the
staircase to the street below.
Here he discovered a very handsome cabriolet with red wheels, into
which, at the bidding of his companion, our young gentleman stepped,
the other following him and closing the door with a crash. Thereupon
the driver instantly whipped up his horses, and drove away at an
extremely rapid rate of speed.
The curtains of the window had been closed, so that our young lawyer
was entirely at a loss as to whither he was being conveyed, excepting
that the cabriolet continued rattling over the stony streets, and
that it turned several corners at an undiminished rate of speed. Nor
did his companion speak a word until the vehicle was drawn up to the
sidewalk with a suddenness that nearly precipitated our hero from
his seat. Almost instantly the door was opened, and the attorney,
following his conductor, stepped out upon the sidewalk at what appeared
to be the back gate of a considerable garden that partly enclosed the
back buildings of a large and imposing edifice standing at a little
distance, its outlines nearly lost in the obscurity of the night
beyond.
What with the many turnings of the conveyance that had brought him
thither, and what with the fruitless surmises and speculations as
to his destination, Griscombe was as entirely at a loss to tell
whither he had been fetched or what was the situation of the building
he now beheld as he would have been, had he been transported into
another world. Nor did his companion give him time for surmises or
suppositions; for, drawing forth from his breeches pocket a key, he
opened the gate, and immediately introduced our hero through a dark
and wind-swept garden and by the back door into the kitchen of the
residence, which was illuminated by the light of a single candle.
With no more illumination than this latter could afford, the stranger
thence led the way through the dark but richly furnished spaces of a
silent and sleeping house of palatial dimensions, until at the further
extremity of the building he finally conducted our young lawyer into a
large and nobly appointed library. Here a lingering fire of coals still
burned in the marble fireplace, diffusing a grateful warmth throughout
the apartment, at the same time lending a soft and ruddy illumination
by means of which our hero was able with but little difficulty to
distinguish the stateliness and profusion of his surroundings. The
heavy and luxuriant folds of rich and heavy tapestry sheltered the
windows; soft and luxuriant rugs of Oriental pattern lay spread in
quantities upon the floor; the walls were hung with paintings glowing
with color and of the most exquisite outlines; beautifully bound books
crowded the cases that surrounded the room, and the marble mantel
glistened with ormolu and crystal adornments.
Meantime his conductor, having lit a quantity of wax candles upon the
mantel-shelf, and having laid aside the mask that for all this while
had concealed his identity, turned at last to our hero a face whose
lineaments, though extremely handsome, were as pale as wax and furrowed
with the lines of a most consuming care. A quantity of hair as black
as ebony curled about his alabaster forehead, and he fixed upon his
visitor a pair of large and sombre eyes whose piercing brilliancy
betrayed an illimitable anxiety of soul. Beautiful, however, as was
the countenance presented to the observer, there was in the hardness
of its lines and the thin and compressed nervousness of the lips a
stern relentlessness of expression that the smouldering and sinister
fire which glowed in the eyes alone might be needed to enflame into a
conflagration of rage and of cruelty.
Having motioned Griscombe to a soft and luxuriant seat upon the other
side of the fire, himself leaning with an elegant ease against the
mantel-shelf, this strange and singular being composed himself as
though with a considerable effort, and addressed to his listener the
following extraordinary discourse, without any preface whatever:--
"You will doubtless be considerably surprised," he said, "to learn that
you behold before you one who feels well assured that he is already
condemned to an unknown death that shall visit him perhaps within the
course of a day or two--perhaps within the course of a few hours. I
know perfectly well that you may be inclined even to doubt the truth
of so extraordinary a statement or to question the entire sanity of
one who propounds so startling a statement. Nor can I even enter into
such an account of my miserable circumstances as shall convince you at
once of my truthfulness and of my sanity, without involving you also
in the danger in which I lie entrapped. Should you be the recipient of
my confidence, certain death would probably await you, as I believe
it awaits me; and you would thus be prevented from carrying out the
important commission that I am now about to impose upon you."
It may be rather imagined than described into what a state of
amazement, not to say stupefaction, our hero was cast by so
extraordinary a prologue. He sat, sunk into a perfectly inert silence,
gazing at the singular and tragic being before him, without possessing,
as it were, the power of making a single movement. At another time
his absurd and preposterous figure, with its bedaubed and bepainted
countenance, might, in its expression of solemn seriousness, have
appeared infinitely ludicrous. As it was, the profound tragedy of
the scene was only accented by the grotesqueness of his outlandish
presentment. Without seeming to observe his silence, but fetching a
profound sigh that appeared to come from the very bottom of his heart,
the speaker presently resumed his address as follows: "But, though I
may not relate to you all the circumstances of my dreadful fate, I
may at least tell you this much,--that I and another were engaged in
a political revolution in Industan, in the course of which a powerful
and implacable Oriental ruler was overthrown from power. Knowing to
what an extent I had incurred his resentment, I thought to escape his
vengeance in this remote country. I find, however, he has discovered
me; and I have already received a warning that my life is in imminent
danger. My brother, who was the companion of my machinations, as he
was the partaker of my rewards, is hidden in a remoter part of this
country; and it is my intention not only to transmit through you a
warning to him of his extreme danger and of my own miserable fate, but
also to have you carry a portion of that treasure which was my reward,
and which I do not choose to have fall into the hands of my enemies.
"I may, sir, be unable to convince you of my sincerity by the use of
such empty words as those which I am obliged to use; but what your ears
may disbelieve, your eyes may at least convince you of."
As he concluded, he smote his hands together sharply two or three times
in succession, whereupon a door near to where he stood was, as though
in echo, immediately opened by a waiting attendant, who, with a silent
footfall, entered the apartment. This new personage upon the scene
possessed an Oriental cast of countenance, which was further enhanced
by his extraordinary costume, his head being surmounted by a turban,
and his figure clad in a long garment of dark embroidered silk. In one
hand he bore a casket about the bigness of a hat-box, bound about with
bands of steel of prodigious strength, and studded with polished brass
nails. In the other he carried a small tray with a leathern bag upon
it. Without betraying the slightest signs of curiosity or surprise at
Griscombe's extraordinary figure, but with a deportment of the utmost
seriousness, he placed both of these objects upon the table beside our
hero, and then, with a profound obeisance to the gentleman beside the
fireplace, withdrew as silently and as suddenly as he had entered.
"In yonder bag," said the gentleman, immediately resuming his colloquy,
"are one hundred pieces of gold, valued at twenty dollars each. Such
part of this as you find necessary, you are to expend in executing
the commission with which I shall presently intrust you: the residue
you are to retain as a fee for your services. This strong box you are
immediately to convey to your lodgings in my cabriolet (which waits
for you below at the back gate), devoting to its safety the most
extraordinary care; for it contains a priceless treasure. If by nine
o'clock to-morrow morning you receive no word from me, you will know
that I am no longer in the world of the living, and that the vengeance
that has followed so relentlessly upon my footsteps has at last
overtaken me. In that case you are immediately and with all despatch to
convey this box to Bordentown in the State of New Jersey, and are to
deliver it to the person designated upon the address attached to the
handle. He is my brother; and his name, as you will discover, is Mr.
Michael Desmond. Upon the opposite side of the ferry at Paulus Hook you
will find a post-chaise awaiting its passenger. This I have provided
for myself in case I am able to escape the dangers which overhang
me. Should I not be so fortunate as to accomplish an escape, you are
to take my place in the conveyance, and to pursue your commission,
stopping neither day nor night until it is accomplished. My brother I
make the legatee of the greater part of that wealth (the price, if you
please, of treachery and of blood) which has proved the source of my
own undoing. Behold! You shall see it for yourself!"
As he spoke, our young lawyer's extraordinary client stepped briskly to
the box, applied a key to the lock, and lifted the lid. Within was a
considerable mass of closely packed lamb's-wool, which--as Griscombe,
consumed by a fever of curiosity, arose to observe--the speaker deftly
removed, displaying to the young lawyer's dazzled and bewildered gaze a
sight that well-nigh bereft him of what reason he had remaining after
his late most incredible interview. Reposing upon a second mass of
lamb's wool, hollowed out as though to receive its precious contents,
was a double handful of precious stones of inconceivable size and
brilliancy, which, in the light of the candles that had been lit, shed
forth a thousand dazzling sparks of infinite variety of flaming colors.
It was but a glance: the next moment the lamb's wool was replaced, the
lid was clapped down again, the key turned, and Griscombe's bedazzled
sight returned once more to the objects about him.
"And now, my dear sir," resumed his interlocutor, "whether or not you
believe my story, you will, I am sure, perceive how important is the
commission I intrust to your keeping, and how well I am inclined to pay
you for all of your trouble. I trust, therefore, you will consider me
to be lacking neither in courtesy nor in hospitality if I beg you to
withdraw, and to return to your own house. So great is my threatened
danger that I dare not even accompany you to my cabriolet that is
awaiting you where we left it; but in lieu of myself I shall send with
you an attendant who is altogether attached to my interests, and who
will serve as a guard until you and your charge are safely ensconced in
your lodgings."
Thereupon he once more clapped his hands together. Again the same
mysterious attendant, who had before replied to the summons, appeared
in instant response, and, in obedience to elaborate directions
delivered in a foreign tongue, of which the young lawyer understood not
a single iota, bowed to our hero, and indicated that he was prepared to
accompany him upon his return.
With this concludes the first chapter of our narrative, with only
this to add, that our hero--under the escort of his singular
attendant--arrived safely at home, where he hid his treasure casket
under the bed, in the remotest corner of the room, until he could
otherwise dispose of it.
HERE FOLLOWS THE SECOND CHAPTER
CHAPTER TWO
The _Remarkable_ BEHAVIOR of the LAWYER'S _Second_ CLIENT.
As the ingenuous reader may readily imagine, what little remained of
that night was passed with no great ease or repose by our hero. But
little slumber visited his eyelids, and that little so disturbed by
vivid and diabolical visions of terror that he had better have remained
awake than to have fallen into so portentous a sleep. In a succession
of monstrous images he continually beheld his client distorted by the
most grotesque and fantastic pangs of dissolution; as continually he
was haunted by visions of the journey he was about to undertake; and
such phantoms were always accompanied by corresponding dreams of the
strong box of treasure.
In one of these tremendous visions he beheld himself searching in a
deep bed of sliding sand for the jewels which had been lost from the
overturned casket, while a dreadful form leaned out of the window of
the post-chaise upon the bank above, shrieking to him to hasten or it
would immediately perish.
It was from this portentous dream that he awoke to find the early
winter daylight struggling through the window-shades, and to an
immediate realization of the strange and inexplicable commission that
awaited him.
Nor was it until in the gray of the morning he had again viewed the bag
of gold and the casket of treasure, that he could feel entirely assured
that what had befallen him the night before was not an hallucination,
such as those that had pursued him throughout the troubled sleep from
which he had just aroused himself. It appeared to him incredible that
such strange occurrences could really have happened to him, and it was
above an hour before he could compose his mind to accept that which had
occurred.
Finding himself at the end of that time in no small degree exhausted
by the several instances of extreme excitement through which he had
just passed, and discovering that he was now assailed by a sharp
and vehement appetite, he determined to visit an oyster-bay at the
neighboring Oswego Market, where, so long as he had been able to obtain
the necessary credit, he had been in the habit of taking an occasional
meal. To this end, having extracted a piece of gold from the leathern
bag, and having carefully hidden the rest in a drawer of his bureau,
he sallied forth in quest of that with which to satisfy his appetite,
carrying with him, for the sake of safe keeping, the treasure casket of
jewels.
Having satisfied the immediate pangs of his appetite by a breakfast
of unusual elaborateness, and having nearly overwhelmed the keeper of
the oyster-bay with the proffer of a double eagle of gold, from which
he was requested to extract payment for the entertainment he had just
received, he returned home refreshed in body and in mind, with renewed
courage and possessed by a keen and vehement desire to follow out to
its end the adventure upon which he now found himself embarked.
Entering that bare and half-furnished apartment which he designated
his office and which opened into his bedroom beyond, he discovered a
stranger to be seated in a chair beside the desk, as though awaiting
his coming. As our hero entered, this stranger arose with a profound
salutation, and presented to our hero's view a person singularly
tall and slender, a face of coppery yellow, straight hair, a hooked
beak of a nose, and eyes of piercing blackness. He was clad with the
utmost care in clothes of the latest cut of fashion. His linen was
of immaculate whiteness, and the plaited frill of his shirt front
exhibited the nicest and most elaborate laundry-work imaginable.
In short, his costume was that of the most exquisite dandy. His
countenance--the singularity of its appearance enhanced by a pair of
gold ear-rings in his ears--was that of a remote foreigner of unknown
nationality.
Without giving our lawyer time for further observation, the stranger,
in the most excellent and well-chosen English, and with hardly a touch
of foreign accent, addressed him as follows:--
"You behold," said he, "one who has come to you offering himself as
a client, whom, though you may find his business to be of a singular
nature, you will also find to be extremely inclined to profit you well
in the relations which he seeks to establish with you."
"Sir," replied Griscombe, with no little importance of tone, "you come
to me at a time of extreme inconveniency. It is now after half-past
seven, and at nine o'clock I may be obliged to undertake a commission
of importance beyond anything of which you can perhaps conceive. A
journey of the utmost tragic importance lies before me; and this box,
which you behold in my hands, belongs to a wealthy and liberal client,
whose behests must in no wise be denied."
"I am convinced," replied the stranger, in accents of the most extreme
and deferential courtesy, "that your time must indeed be greatly in
demand if you cannot afford to bestow a little of it upon myself. I am
in a position to be perfectly well able to indulge every whim that
seizes me; and just now it is my whim to become your client, and to
purchase of you a considerable portion of your valuable time."
At these words it began to occur to Griscombe that the eccentric being
before him was, perhaps, better worth his attention than he had at
first supposed. Accordingly, excusing himself for a moment, upon the
plea that he had to dispose of his present charge, he entered his
bedroom, and deposited the jewel-casket where he had before hidden
it,--under his bed, and in the remotest corner of the room. Having thus
left it in safety, he returned again to the office, where his second
client was patiently awaiting his return.
So soon as Griscombe had composed himself to listen, the other resumed
his discourse as follows: "I am," said he, "as I before told you,
perfectly well able to pay for every whim that seizes me. That I may
convince you of this, I herewith offer you a fee which I feel well
assured is equal to any you may have received in your life before.
Behold, in this bag are a hundred pieces of gold, valued at twenty
dollars each; and, if that is not sufficient, I am fully prepared to
increase your fee to any reasonable extent."
At these words Griscombe knew not whether his ears deceived him nor
whether he or this new-found client were mad or sane. Nor could he at
all accredit the truth of what he heard, until the stranger, opening
the mouth of the bag, poured forth upon the table a great heap of
jingling gold money. "You will," resumed his new-found client, with
perfect composedness of manner, "be, no doubt, considerably surprised
to learn the nature of the duty which I shall call upon you to perform.
It is that you play me a game of jack-straws."
Here he allowed for a moment or two of pause, and then continued: "You
have doubtless observed that I am a foreigner. By way of explanation
of this whim of mine, I may inform you that I am an East Indian of
considerable importance in my own country. Being extravagantly wealthy
and possessing a prodigious amount of unoccupied time, I have passed
a great part of it in practising and playing the game to which I now
invite you to participate; and by and by I became so inordinately
fond of the pastime that I now find it impossible entirely to cease
indulging in it. In this country I find every one either to be too
busily engaged to take part in it, or too lacking in the patience to
pursue it to a consummation. Learning that you are favored with ample
leisure to pursue your every whim, I was encouraged to visit you,
and to invite you to participate with me in my recreation. Since
beholding you, I am consumed with such an appetite to test your skill
that I am entirely willing to pay very handsomely for the privilege
of indulging myself. See, I have brought with me the implements of my
favorite pastime."
[Illustration: _THE SOMEWHAT PECULIAR PASTIME OF OUR HERO'S SECOND
CLIENT_]
As he concluded, the stranger drew forth from a pocket in his coat
a cylindrical box of ebony, carved into the most exquisite Oriental
design. Unscrewing the lid of this receptacle, and tilting downward the
box itself, he spilled out upon the table a set of ivory jack-straws of
so marvellous a sort that Griscombe, in his wildest imaginings, could
never have believed possible. Some of the straws were plain sticks of
polished ivory: others were ornamented with heads or figures of wrought
gold set with precious stones. Each of them was different from the
other,--this a gryphon, that a serpent with distended crest, this a
yawning tiger with diamond eyes, that an idol's head with a ruby tongue
thrust from its gaping jaws.
The stranger either did not observe or did not choose to remark upon
the extreme surprise that possessed his attorney. Offering his opponent
a golden hook with a pearl handle, he invited him to open the game,
into which he himself entered with every appearance of the most entire
satisfaction and enjoyment.
In spite of his not infrequent indulgences, Griscombe was favored with
extreme steadiness of nerve; and, though a casual acquaintance would
never have accredited him with it, he possessed at once patience and
perseverance to an extraordinary degree. But neither patience nor
perseverance or steadiness of nerve was any match for the infinite
skill and dexterity with which the stranger played his game. Griscombe
was but a child in his hands, and the jack-straw player dallied with
him as a cat dallies with a mouse. At the end of each round the
stranger politely assured his opponent that he played naturally a very
excellent game, and that in time and by practice he might eventually
hope to become no inconsiderable adept at the sport. But these
courteous expressions only declared to Griscombe how inadequate was
his play, and at each repetition merely served to incite him to fresh
endeavors.
At the end of an hour the stranger declared his appetite for the
amusement to be satisfied; and, gathering up his jack-straws and
replacing them in the ebony box, he thanked our hero most courteously
for the entertainment he had offered him. Thereupon, resuming his
cloak and hat which he had laid aside at the beginning of the game, he
delivered a bow of the profoundest depth, and departed without another
word, leaving the pile of gold pieces upon the table behind him, as
though they were not worth any further attention.
Nor was it until he had fairly gone that Griscombe--with a shock
that set every nerve tingling--recalled his precious chest and that
inestimable treasure that had been deposited in his care, and which for
all this time had been left unprotected and almost unthought of. At the
recollection of this his heart seemed to stand still within him, and
his ears began to hum and buzz, and a cold sweat stood out upon every
pore of his body. For upon the instant it occurred to him that maybe
this polite stranger with his marvellous jack-straws was merely a rook
seeking to divert his attention while a confederate carried away the
treasure box from the room beyond. With weak and trembling joints, and
yet with hurried steps, he ran into the next room, and, falling upon
his knees, gazed under the bed; and it was with a feeling of relief
that well-nigh burst his heart that he discovered the object of his
solicitude reposing exactly where he had placed it.
With a heart as light as a feather and with a rebound of excessive joy
and delight at the thought of the additional fee of a thousand dollars
he had just earned with such extreme ease and in so extraordinary
a manner, he set himself in haste to dress for the journey that lay
before him, finding it exceedingly difficult, in the lightness of heart
that now possessed him, to direct a proper sobriety of attention to
the possibly tragic fate that had maybe befallen his first unfortunate
client since he had beheld him the night before.
* * * * *
With this concludes the second stage of our narrative, excepting to
add that, when nine o'clock came, bringing no signs of his client,
Griscombe crossed the ferry to Paulus Hook, where he found the
post-chaise awaiting his arrival, exactly as his client had foretold.
Entering this vehicle, our young lawyer immediately began that journey
which he pursued with all diligence, stopping neither day nor night
till he had arrived at his destination.
HERE FOLLOWS THE THIRD CHAPTER
CHAPTER THREE
The _Horrific_ EPISODE in the COURSE of which the LAWYER obtained a
_Third_ CLIENT.
Our hero arrived at Bordentown early upon a clear and frosty winter
morning with entire safety and success, and with no greater adventures
befalling him than usually occur to the traveller in a private
conveyance upon so considerable a journey. Nor had he the least
difficulty in discovering Mr. Michael Desmond's address, that gentleman
dwelling in one of the most palatial of those abodes that lend such an
air of aristocratic distinction to the town.
Immediately, in reply to his request to see the master of the house,
he was shown into the reception-room, where Mr. Desmond presently
appeared, presenting to his astonished sight a person so exactly and
minutely resembling his brother that, had Griscombe not known it to be
otherwise, he would have believed them to have been the same individual.
The remarkable resemblance, however, did not extend deeper than the
lineaments of the features; for, whereas the countenance of the
first Mr. Desmond had been overclouded by an expression of the most
sombre melancholy and the most overwhelming anxiety, the face of this
gentleman beamed with courteous hospitality and generous welcome.
He still held in his hand the card which Griscombe had sent in to him
by the servant; and, as he advanced with a smile of extreme cordiality
illuminating his face, he cried, "I cannot, my dear Mr. Griscombe,
be too much delighted that you have favored me with so early a call,
since it will give me the pleasure of having you to breakfast and of
introducing you to my daughter. I see from what you have written me
upon your card that you come upon important business from my brother;
but, before satisfying my curiosity upon that point, I shall insist
that you first appease the craving of what must be a very hearty
appetite after so long a journey."
Nor would he accept any refusal of his invitation, but, with polite
determination, put aside every effort that Griscombe made to explain
the pressing and tragic nature of his mission. "Nay," he cried, as
Griscombe continued to urge upon him the importance of his affair,
"I insist that you say no more at present. I am perfectly well aware
with what an extreme degree of exaggeration a young lawyer regards a
commission that may very easily wait for breakfast. I am determined
that you first satisfy your appetite, and then your sense of duty."
And so, protesting and insisting, he led our reluctant hero by the
hand until he at last introduced him into a spacious and sunlit
dining-room, rendered additionally cheerful by a large fire of cedar
logs that crackled in the marble fireplace. Here a table spread with
snowy napery and sparkling with crystal and silver was prepared for an
ample breakfast; and, as they entered, the slender and graceful figure
of a young lady, clad entirely in white, arose from where she sat at
the head of the board behind the tea-urn. In response to her father's
introduction, she replied to our young gentleman's profound bow with
all the ease and dignity of deportment imaginable.
At that time Miss Arabella Desmond was one of the most perfect beauties
in the United States. With a figure of rounded yet slender contour,
she bore herself with an ease and grace of deportment that at once
charmed and delighted the beholder. Her features presented the most
exquisite delicacy of outline, and the rich abundance of her raven
tresses matched in their color the dark and lustrous eyes, whose
liquid brilliancy was ineffably enhanced by the ivory delicacy of her
complexion. Add, if you please, to those graces of person a wit at
once subtle and alert and an address as amiable as it was entertaining,
and you shall possess an image--imperfect, to be sure--of that famous
beauty whose hermit-like seclusion from the world and whose mysterious
personality had now for above two years been a matter of wonder and of
speculation to the elegant society of Bordentown, that would gladly
have received so admirable an addition into its fold.
Griscombe, as may be supposed, had all this while maintained a close
hold upon his precious treasure-casket. He had placed it beneath his
chair as he took his seat at the table; and what with the consciousness
thereof, and of the interview with his host concerning his brother's
probable fate, he discovered himself to be the victim of a singular
embarrassment, and strangely at a loss for words wherewith to commend
his wit to the easy and affable beauty. It was in vain that he
endeavored to display the aptness of dialogue which he was entirely
conscious he possessed. He was aware only of an unwonted constraint;
and, accordingly, it was with a singular commixture of relief and
regret that, at the invitation of Mr. Desmond, he at last quitted the
table, and followed his host toward the study, mentally declaring to
himself that, should the opportunity again offer, Miss Desmond should
discover him to be not so lacking in brilliancy as she must have
supposed from their first interview. Nor was it until he found himself
in the study, face to face with the father, the strong box of treasure
upon the table between them, that he was able to fetch himself entirely
back to the seriousness and complexity of the business which rested
upon him. Beginning at the beginning, however, he presently found that
he was recovering entire command of himself, and presently, in clear
and lucid phrases, was reciting every circumstance that had befallen
him from the time of his absurd and preposterous masquerade at the
supper of the Bluebird Club to the moment when his present host had met
him in the reception-room.
As he progressed in his discourse, a dark and sombre shadow of
extraordinary gloom gathered deeper and deeper upon the hitherto
smiling countenance of Mr. Desmond. By little and little the color left
his cheek; and an expression of the profoundest anxiety overspread his
face, causing him to resemble to a still more extraordinary degree his
unfortunate brother. As our young lawyer concluded his narrative, the
other arose, and began walking up and down the narrow spaces of the
room, betraying every appearance of an infinite perturbation of spirit,
suppressed by an iron will and an implacable determination.