THE HIDDEN HAND.
It matters little what kind of seed is planted, it finds its proper
elements in the soil. So with rumors. There is never a rumor so wild,
but that finds a place for its roots.
It soon reached the coroner, that zealous officer whose compensation is
based upon fees, that his exchequer had been defrauded by the improper
burial of a woman out at Ilexhurst. She had dropped dead, and there had
not been a witness. An inquest was proper; was necessary. He began an
investigation. And then appeared in the brevity columns of one of the
papers the incipient scandal:
"It is whispered that suspicions of foul play are entertained in
connection with Rita, the housekeeper of the late John Morgan at
Ilexhurst. The coroner will investigate."
And the next day the following:
"Our vigilant coroner has made inquiry into the death and burial of Rita
Morgan, and feels that the circumstances demand a disinterment and
examination of the body. So far the rumors of foul play come from
negroes only. It seems that Mr. Edward Morgan found the woman lying in
his yard, and that she died almost immediately after the discovery. It
was upon the night but one preceding his meeting with Mr. Royson on the
field of honor, and during his absence next day the body was hurriedly
interred. There is little doubt that the woman came to her death from
natural causes, but it is known that she had few if any friends among
her race, and other circumstances attending her demise are such that the
body will be disinterred and examined for evidence."
Even this did not especially interest the public. But when next day the
morning papers came out with triple headlines the first of which was
"Murdered," followed by a succinct account of the disinterment of Rita
Morgan, as she was called, with the discovery of a cut on the left
temple and a wound in the back of the head that had crushed in the
skull, the public was startled. No charge was made against Edward
Morgan, no connection hinted at, but it was stated in the history of the
woman, that she was the individual referred to in Royson's famous letter
on which the duel had been fought, and that she died suddenly upon the
day it was published. The paper said that it was unfortunate that Mr.
Morgan had left several days before for Paris, and had sailed that
morning from New York.
Then the public tongue began to wag and the public mind to wait
impatiently for the inquest.
The inquest was held in due form. The surgeons designated to examine the
supposed wounds reported them genuine, the cut in the temple trifling,
the blow in the back of the head sufficient to have caused death.
A violent discussion ensued when the jury came to make up its verdict,
but the conservative members carried the day. A verdict of "death by a
blow upon the head by a weapon in the hands of a person or persons
unknown to the jury" was rendered; the body reinterred and the crowds of
curiosity seekers withdrew from Ilexhurst.
Unfortunately during the era of excitement Gerald was locked in his
room, lost in the contemplation of some question of memory that had come
upon him, and he was not summoned as a witness, from the fact that in no
way had he been mentioned in the case, except by Gen. Evan, who
testified that he was asleep when the death occurred. The German
professor and Gen. Evan were witnesses and gave their testimony readily.
Evan explained that, although present at the finding of the body, he
left immediately to meet a gentleman who had called, and did not return.
When asked as to Edward's actions he admitted that they were excited,
but stated that other matters, naming them briefly, were engaging them
at the same time and that they were of a disturbing nature. The woman,
he said, had first attracted Edward's attention by falling against the
glass, which she was evidently looking through, and which she broke in
her fall. If she was struck, it was probably at that moment.
He was positive in his belief that at the time the sound of falling
glass was heard Edward was in the room, but he would not state it under
oath as a fact. It was this evidence that carried the day.
When asked where was Edward Morgan and the reason for his absence, he
said that he had gone as the escort of Mrs. Montjoy to Paris, where her
eyes were to be examined, and that the trip had been contemplated for
several weeks. Also that he would return in less than a month.
Nevertheless, the gravest of comments began to be heard upon the
streets, and prophecies were plenty that Edward would never return.
And into these began to creep a word now and then for Royson. "He knew
more than he could prove," "was the victim of circumstances," "a bold
fellow," etc., were fragments of conversation connected with his name.
"We fought out that issue once," he said, briefly, when asked directly
about the character of the woman Rita, "and it is settled so far as I am
concerned." And the public liked the answer.
No charge, however, had been brought against Edward Morgan; the matter
was simply one that disturbed the public; it wanted his explanation and
his presence. But behind it all, behind the hesitancy which the stern,
open championship of Evan and Montjoy commanded, lay the proposition
that of all people in the world only Edward Morgan could have been
benefited by the death of the woman; that he was the only person present
and that she died a violent death. And people would talk.
Then came a greater shock. A little paper, the Tell-Tale, published in
an adjoining city and deriving its support from the publication of
scandals, in which the victim was described without naming, was cried
upon the street. Copies were sold by the hundreds, then thousands. It
practically charged that Edward Morgan was the son of Rita Morgan; that
upon finding Royson possessed of his secret he first killed the woman
and then tried to kill that gentleman in a duel into which Morgan went
with everything to gain and nothing to lose; that upon seeing the storm
gathering he had fled the country, under the pretense of escorting a
very estimable young lady and her mother abroad, the latter going to
have her eyes examined by a Parisian expert, the celebrated Moreau.
It proceeded further; the young man had completely hoodwinked and
deceived the family to which these ladies belonged, and, it was
generally understood, would some day become the husband and son-in-law.
Every sensational feature that could be imagined was brought out--even
Gerald did not escape. He was put in as the legitimate heir of John
Morgan; the child of a secret marriage, a _non compos mentis_ whose
property was being enjoyed by the other.
The excitement in the city reached white heat. Col. Montjoy and Gen.
Evan came out in cards and denounced the author of the letter an
infamous liar, and made efforts to bring the editor of the sheet into
court. He could not be found.
Days slipped by, and then came the climax! One of the sensational papers
of New York published a four-column illustrated article headed "A
Southern Tragedy," which pretended to give the history of all the
Morgans for fifty years or more. In this story the writer displayed
considerable literary ability, and the situations were dramatically set
forth. Pictures of Ilexhurst were given; the murder of a negro woman in
the night and a fancy sketch of Edward. The crowning shame was bold
type. No such sensation had been known since the race riots of 1874.
In reply to this Montjoy and Evan also telegraphed fiery denunciations
and demanded the author's name. Their telegrams were published, and
demands treated with contempt. Norton Montjoy, in New York, had himself
interviewed by rival papers, gave the true history of Morgan and
denounced the story in strong terms. He consulted lawyers and was
informed that the Montjoys had no right of action.
Court met and the grand jury conferred. Here was evidence of murder, and
here was a direct published charge. In vain Evan and Virdow testified
before it. The strong influence of the former could not carry the day.
The jury itself was political. It was part of the Swearingen ring. When
it had completed its labors and returned its batch of bills, it was
known in a few hours that Edward Morgan had been indicted for the murder
of Rita Morgan.
Grief and distress unspeakable reigned in the houses of Gen. Evan and
Col. Montjoy, and in his bachelor quarters that night one man sat with
his face upon his hands and thought out all of the details of the sad
catastrophe. An unspeakable sorrow shone in his big eyes. Barksdale had
been touched in the tenderest part of his life. Morgan he admired and
respected, but the name of the woman he loved had been bespattered with
mud. With him there rested no duty. Had the circumstances been
different, there would have been a tragedy at the expense of his last
dollar--and he was rich.
At the expense even of his enterprise and his business reputation, he
would have found the author of those letters and have shot him to death
at the door of a church, if necessary. There is one point on which the
south has suffered no change.
Morgan, he felt, would do the same, but now, alas, Morgan was indicted
for another murder, and afterward it would be too late. Too late! He
sprang to his feet and gave vent to a frightful malediction; then he
grew calm through sheer astonishment. Without knock or inquiry his door
was thrown open and Gerald Morgan rushed into the room.
When Barksdale had last seen this man he doubted his ability to stand
the nervous strain put upon him, but here was evidence of an excitement
tenfold greater. Gerald quivered like an overtaxed engine, and deep in
the pale face the blazing eyes shone with a horrible fierceness. The cry
he uttered as he paused before Barksdale was so unearthly that he
unconsciously drew back. The young man was unrolling some papers. Upon
them were the scenes of the grave as he drew them--the open coffin, the
shrunken face of the woman--and then, in all its repulsive exactness,
the face of the man who had turned upon the artist under the electric
light!
"What does it mean, my friend?" said Barksdale, seeking by a forced
calmness to reduce the almost irrational visitor to reason again.
"What?" exclaimed Gerald; "don't you understand? The man uncovered that
coffin; he struck that blow upon poor dead Rita's head! I saw him face
to face and drew those pictures that night. There is the date."
"You saw him?" Barksdale could not grasp the truth for an instant.
"I saw him!"
"Where is he now?"
"I do not know; I do not know!" A thrill ran through the now eager man,
and he felt that instead of calming the excitement of his visitor he was
getting infected by it. He sat down deliberately.
"Take a seat, Mr. Morgan, and tell me about it." But Gerald dropped the
pictures and stood over them.
"There was the grave," he said, "and the man was down in it; I stood up
here and lifted a spade, but then he had struck and was arranging her
hair. If he had struck her again I would have killed him. I wanted to
see what it was about. I wanted to see the man. He fled, and then I
followed. Downtown I saw him under an electric light and got his face.
He was the man, the infamous, cowardly scoundrel who struck poor Rita in
her coffin; but why--why should any one want to strike Rita? I can't
see. I can't see. And then to charge Edward with it!"
Barksdale's blood ran cold during the recital, the scene so vividly
pictured, the uncanny face before him. It was horrible. But over all
came the realization that some hidden hand was deliberately striking at
the life of Edward Morgan through the grave of the woman. The
cowardliness, the infamy, the cruelty was overpowering. He turned away
his face.
But the next instant he was cool. It was a frail and doubtful barrier
between Edward and ruin, this mind unfolding its secret. If it failed
there was no other witness.
"What became of the man, did you say?"
"I do not know. I wanted his face; I got it."
"Where did you last see him?"
"On the street." Barksdale arose deliberately.
"Mr. Morgan, how did you come here?"
"I suppose I walked. I want you to help me find the man who struck the
blow."
"You are right, we must find the man. Now, I have a request to make.
Edward trusted to my judgment in the other affair, and it came out
right, did it not?"
"Yes. That is why I have come to you."
"Trust me again. Go home now and take that picture. Preserve it as you
would your life, for on it may hang the life of Edward Morgan. You
understand? And do not open your lips on this subject to any one until I
see you again."
Gerald rolled up the paper and turned away abruptly. Barksdale followed
him down the steps and called a hack.
"Your health," he said to Gerald, as he gently forced him into the
carriage, "must not be risked." And to the driver, slipping a fee in his
hand: "Take Mr. Morgan to Ilexhurst. Remember, Mr. Morgan," he called
out.
"I remember," was the reply. "I never forget. Would to God I could."
Barksdale walked rapidly to the livery stable.