SHOWING HOW TOLLEMACHE TOOK CHARGE
Yvonne found her father hunched up in his accustomed chair. He was
smoking, and brooding, his gaze centered in the pine logs crackling on
the hearth. Thus had she found him each night since his return from
Concarneau. He, seldom without a book after daylight failed unless some
crony called in for a chat, had not opened a book during many days. He
had the aspect of a man crushed by misery. It was borne in on his
daughter that he was slowly yielding under an intolerable strain; yet it
had become her bitter portion to add materially to a load carried so
uncomplainingly.
He looked up as she entered, and essayed a welcoming smile which
conveyed a ghostly reminiscence of a joyous past now utterly remote. It
cut her to the quick; but she strove to emulate his seeming nonchalance.
"I thought my message would have brought you sooner," he said. "But
perhaps you were helping your mother to overhaul her boxes. Mère Pitou
gave me the news of the salvage, which has surprised our local experts.
This is the first time in the memory of man that Les Verrés have
disgorged their prey."
"What message, Dad?"
Yvonne removed her hat and coat, and seated herself on a sheepskin rug
by her father's side. She had that to say which would be hard for both,
and she did not wish to see the agony in his face.
"Haven't you seen Lorry, then?" he inquired.
"No, Dear."
"But that is strange. Lorry left here quite half an hour ago, meaning to
ask you to come home. I didn't think Pont Aven could hide you from Lorry
if he was bent on the chase."
"Sorry, Dad. Nothing--no one--would have kept me had I known. But I
understand what happened. I quitted Julia's about half an hour since.
Mr. Raymond was anxious for a brief talk, and we walked to the top of
the quay. Lorry would go to Julia's by the mills. That is how he missed
me."
She felt her father's body quiver, as a mettlesome horse might flinch
under the touch of a spur, and knew that the mere mention of Raymond's
name had affected him. It was her habit, when seated at his knee, to
catch his hand and draw it over her shoulder, holding it in both of
hers, and using it as a sort of stay. She had done this insensibly, and
her downcast eyes dwelt on the thin, nervous fingers--they seemed to
have shrunk during that time of suffering. The discovery affected her
strangely. She could not, she dared not, unburden her soul then. No
matter what the cost to herself and others, he must be spared--at any
rate till another day of wretchedness was upon them. She realized just
in time that a hot tear stealing down her cheek would drop on that dear
hand, and bring about an instant demand for an explanation.
With a jerk she averted her head, and the tear fell scalding on her own
wrist. Her father misinterpreted the movement.
"Don't stir, Girly," he said. "I have something to say, a confession to
make. Remain where you are. I shall cause you pain, and if I find my own
anguish mirrored in your eyes, I may falter in my duty."
* * * * *
So father and daughter were animated by the same thought. Each desired
only to lighten the shock for the other. Yvonne nestled closer. More
than ever was she resolved to keep her woes to herself for the hour.
With an effort that cost a cruel biting of her under lip, she contrived
to murmur without a catch in her voice:
"You're tired, Darling. Don't tell me you're not. You ought to be in bed
and asleep. Let us wait till the morning, and have a nice long chat
after _petit déjeuner_."
"No," said Ingersoll firmly. "I promised Lorry I would speak tonight.
He--expects it of me."
"Lorry!" she gasped, in a sudden fright born of the knowledge that had
come to her in the gloom down there by the whispering river, when a
cold-blooded trafficker in her mother's difficulties had offered to sell
his secret at the price of all she held dear. "Lorry! How is Lorry
concerned in our present troubles?"
"Your troubles are his, Sweetheart. Lorry loves you. True knight-errant
that he is, he wants to slay the dragon that would devour you."
"But, father dear, how could he know? How could anyone know?"
In her quick alarm the cry slipped out unaware. Happily, as it
transpired,--for there is no telling what John Ingersoll might have done
in his anger if Raymond's infamous suggestion had reached him in the
present state of tension,--he misunderstood a second time.
"Lorry didn't know, he only guessed," he said gently. "He is a good
fellow, and I ached for the sympathy of some man to whom I could talk
freely. So, to remove the cloud between us, of which each has been
sensible since we came ashore on that Thursday night, I told him the
truth, and the whole truth. He urged that you should be told too. He is
right. Oddly enough, despite my vaunted repute for wisdom, he saw into
the muddle more clearly than I. Yvonne, I did not divorce your mother.
I--I regret my action now, when regret comes too late. According to
English law she never could have been Walter Carmac's wedded wife while
I lived. Girly, forgive me! I have wronged both her and you grievously."
Yvonne whirled round and flung her arms about the stricken man's neck.
There was no pretense now at hiding her tears; but her eyes shone with
another light than that of grief.
"Dad," she cried fiercely, "I sha'n't have you torn and harried in this
way! I refuse, do you hear? It is my turn to bear some of the suffering,
some of the sacrifice. I am young and strong, and you have trained me
well for the battle. My mother's story must not become known. We must
save her, you and I. Isn't it by such means that our worth is tested? Do
you think I'll shirk the ordeal? No, a thousand times no! We can't talk
reasonably tonight. We would rend each other's hearts. But tomorrow,
when we are calmer, we must look at things fearlessly, and take the road
that leads to honor, no matter what the cost!"
Her father stroked her hair to still her frenzy, just as he had often
done in the stress of some childish tantrum; for Yvonne had never been a
demure little saint, but owned in full measure the defects of a frank
and impulsive temperament.
"Don't let us give way to hysteria," he said, smiling wanly. "Of course
it was my fault. I cracked up first; but I sha'n't offend again.
Perhaps, as you say, we may take a more level-headed view of our
difficulties in cold daylight. But, to prepare you, so to speak, I must
warn you that your mother's chief enemy is that churl Raymond."
"Raymond!" Again was Yvonne almost choked with apprehension. How could
her father suspect the devilish scheme the secretary had hatched? Had
Lorry probed the depths of the man's evil mind? Her brain swam; but she
compelled her faculties to remain alert.
"Yes--Raymond," her father was saying. "I have no absolute proof; but I
am convinced that he overheard your mother's frantic words of self
reproach when the Hirondelle was coming up the river. The very agent he
is employing in Paris, ostensibly in aid of your quest for poor
Madeleine, is really engaged in a search into the early records of our
lives, your mother's and mine. The inquiry is a simple thing. If Raymond
has not secured the necessary evidence already, it is only a matter of
hours before it is in his hands. Then, unless a miracle happens, he can
dictate his own terms. Worst of all, your mother will be in his power as
long as she lives, and an unscrupulous scoundrel, such as I believe
Raymond to be, could cause untold mischief after her death."
Yvonne rose to her feet, and straightened her lithe, slim body. With a
determined gesture she brushed away a mist from before her eyes. "I want
to ask a few questions," she said. "You will be quite open and candid
with me, I know, because it is necessary that we should meet the trials
of the next few days with the clearest knowledge of each other's aims.
Do you think it possible to make any arrangement with Raymond that would
be binding?"
"The blackmailer's appetite only grows by feeding. Pay him a very large
sum today, and he will demand four or five times the amount within a
month or a year. There is no finality. The wolf may eat to repletion;
but it will continue to slay in mere lust of killing.
"Is there no way of defeating him?"
"Lorry, as I hinted, hit on a notion. I have no means of knowing exactly
what legal steps Carmac and Stella took to make their marriage valid.
Carmac might have been advised to establish, or secure, American
citizenship. Moreover, French law may adapt itself readily to American
standards. Those are points for lawyers; but I want you to go into the
matter thoroughly with your mother, and ascertain whether or not there
exists any sort of legal barrier that may serve to keep this jackal from
devouring her. That is one reason why I have opened my heart to you
tonight."
Yvonne had Mrs. Carmac's trick of wrinkling her brows when in deep
thought. Many a time had her father chaffed her on the habit, and
pretended to wait in breathless suspense till the oracle announced its
weighty decision. But the creasing of the smooth forehead passed
unnoticed now. They were no longer light-hearted playmates, but a man
and a woman pondering one of life's most harrowing problems.
"Raymond can get nothing at all unless he acts through Rupert Fosdyke,"
she said collectedly. "Why shouldn't an arrangement be made with
him--Fosdyke, I mean? It's all a question of this wretched money. Why
shouldn't Mother give it to him and his sisters? Surely they would leave
her sufficient to live on?"
Youth is sanguine. Yvonne had reached the same conclusion as Tollemache;
that, if money were really the root of all evil, the noxious growth that
had sprung into such vigorous existence in Pont Aven since the feast of
Saint Barbara might be torn out bodily.
But Ingersoll thought the discussion had gone far enough for the time.
Certainly a settlement on reasonable lines might be effected; but it was
impracticable to form anything in the nature of a fixed opinion until
Yvonne and her mother had talked matters over in the light of full
understanding. Something was gained in the fact that the last obstacle
in the way of complete confidence between Yvonne and himself had been
thrown down. His manner showed how beneficial this belief on his part
might prove. He sprang up with a certain alertness of movement that was
eloquent of new-born hope.
"No more talk tonight, Mignonne," he cried cheerfully. "Now that we know
the worst, we can fight in the open side by side. Hitherto I have felt
that I was treating you unfairly in withholding from your ken the most
damaging item in your mother's catalogue of worries. Tell her what I
have said. I want you to speak without reservation. Then, if she is
equally candid, we shall know just where we stand, and whence the main
attack may come."
Unhappily Yvonne was aware, when kissing her father goodnight, that the
enemy was attacking already; but she held steadfast to the resolve not
to disclose Raymond's brazen scheme at present. The day had produced
sufficient wretchedness of spirit already.
* * * * *
So the two parted, and Yvonne, when safe in the solitude of her room,
knelt and prayed that some ray of sunshine should pierce the gathering
clouds. Then, in more tranquil mood, she forced her thoughts into a new
channel by reading some pages of a biography of John Ruskin. By curious
chance she came across a passage dealing with Ruskin's ill-fated love
for Rosie La Touche, and containing a poignant passage in a letter he
wrote to a friend:
"I wanted my Rosie _here_. In heaven I mean to go and talk with
Pythagoras and Socrates and Valerius Publicola. I sha'n't care a
bit for Rosie there; she needn't think it. What will grey eyes
and red cheeks be good for _there_?"
Yvonne closed the book with a snap. That shaft from the bow so deftly
wielded by a master archer had pierced her very heart. She loved
Tollemache. She wanted her Lorry _here_. If any maleficent influence
drove him from her, all the brightness and color would depart out of her
life, a pleasant world grow cold and gray for evermore.
Then, being weary yet eminently healthy, she went to bed and slept
dreamlessly, and was up betimes in the morning. It was pleasant to see
the sun rising into a clear sky above the stunted trees crowning the
Toulifot hill. The frosty weather, coming unusually early that year, had
lasted far beyond the prescribed brief period of such cold snaps in
December. There was little or no wind. It was an ideal day for a walk.
Meaning to excuse herself from motoring, and wheedle her father into a
long tramp after luncheon,--with Lorry, perchance, to disprove the
infallibility of the adage that two is company and three is none,--she
warned Mère Pitou that she would return for the midday meal.
"Ah, _tcha_!" said Madame testily. "What between one thing and another,
I'm thinking of taking a holiday. Little Barbe could have done all the
cooking needed in this house during the past week. Look at your father!
Anyone would say I starved him. As for you, flying about and eating
scraps and hashes in strange hotels, I'm surprised at you!"
Yvonne assured her irate landlady that the best ragout in Brittany would
not lack appreciation that day, and went to visit her mother in more
cheerful mood than she would have deemed possible overnight. It was
market day, and the Place au Beurre, beside whose old houses the parish
church of Saint Guenolé reared its modest spire, was alive already with
country carts, smart coifs, and velvet jackets. In the larger square
across the bridge traders from neighboring towns were erecting stalls
for the display of their merchandise, mostly wearing apparel and
articles of household use.
Yvonne knew everybody, and everybody knew her. She had a smile and a nod
for the Widow Limbour, whose confectionery and sweets had won her heart
years ago, for Marrec the barber, Daoudal the baker, Madame Le Naour,
purveyor of a strange blend in hats and liqueurs, and Madame Le Garrec,
seller of newspapers and picture postcards. Monsieur le Courronc, whose
little gallery had held many of her father's pictures, had spared a
moment from his artistic wood carving, and was looking out at the
crowded marketplace. The Morvans, _Monsieur et Madame_, whose Breton
costumes and laces excite the desire and empty the purses of fair
visitors in the summer, were in Pont Aven that day, and Canivet the
coach builder was standing at the entrance to the yard that houses his
industry. Each and all greeted Yvonne. For a few happy minutes she
forgot her worries, until a girl met her, and asked shyly:
"Is there any news of Madeleine?"
That took some of the blue out of the sky. Yvonne had to confess that
nothing was known of Madeleine except that she had gone to Quimperlé the
previous day. Her questioner simpered, and passed on. Madeleine's story
was already discredited. Much water would flow under the bridge before
she was reinstated in the good opinion of Pont Aven.
* * * * *
Yvonne caught sight of Tollemache, standing, with a pipe in his mouth
and his hands in his pockets, outside Julia's. (And, by the way, there
is no disrespect in this curt allusion to the name of the chief hotel in
the village. It is never spoken of locally otherwise than as "Julia's"
in English and "Chez Julia" in French. The excellent lady who to a large
extent built, and in every other way owns, the property would think her
popularity was fading if any more ceremonious description was used.)
Near Lorry were Captain Popple and Jackson, the latter now promoted to a
stick and a slow limp. Yvonne would have passed with a smiling
"Goodmorning," but Tollemache pocketed his pipe and hailed her. She
realized instantly that he was excited about something quite out of the
common run, though his air was studiously composed.
"You're going to Mrs. Carmac, I suppose?" he said.
"Yes," she answered, coloring slightly under the intensity of his gaze,
for Lorry had fine eyes, and now they seemed to be looking into her
heart; which was so absurd a notion that her cheeks grew redder and
redder.
"You won't be there long before Raymond comes in," he went on earnestly.
"When he turns up I want you to look out through the window, and touch
your chin with your right hand. That's all."
She laughed quite merrily, for sheer relief at the discovery that he was
thinking of anything but the fantasy that had caused that riot in her
veins.
"Dear me!" she cried. "What does that signify in the code? Is he to be
garroted straight off?"
Tollemache laughed too. "Don't ask any questions, little girl, and you
won't be told any fibs," he said. "Captain Popple and Jackson and I have
some business on hand, and we want Mrs. Carmac and you to be present
when we drive a bargain with the wily Raymond. Now, I sha'n't tell you
any more; so you needn't pout."
"I'm not pouting."
"Oh, by the way, if there's any news of Madeleine, get it while the
deputation is approaching."
She courtesied, with a demure "_Oui, M'sieur_." Somehow, that morning,
despite the unpleasing tidings that might have arrived from Paris, she
felt oddly light-hearted.
* * * * *
But the smile froze on her lips when she met Raymond on the steps of the
annex, where he had evidently stationed himself in order to waylay her.
His slight figure was tightly buttoned up in a heavy overcoat, and he
carried another coat over his left arm; so he raised his hat more
awkwardly even than usual. Then she remembered that he was going down
the river with the salvors, and summoned all her woman's guile to the
task of bringing him back to her mother's apartments, in case he had
been there already and taken leave. She could hardly have explained her
motive. It sufficed that Lorry had made a point of Raymond's attendance
under given conditions, and she was determined that his wish should be
obeyed.
"I've received a telegram from Duquesne," he said, plunging at once into
a topic on which they could converse freely without the inevitable
constraint of a first meeting after the extraordinary disclosure of the
preceding night. "It's satisfactory, in a sense. He was unable to
approach Madeleine, because Fosdyke met her on arrival at the Gare St.
Lazare. But he followed them. Fosdyke took Madeleine to a small hotel,
and left her there. Duquesne will endeavor to see her this morning."
"Has he obtained her address?" inquired the girl eagerly, sinking her
loathing of the man in the importance of his statement.
"No. I'll show you the message, if you'll hold this coat for a second or
two."
"Come to Mrs. Carmac's room."
"Sorry, I've just seen Mrs. Carmac, and am making for the quay."
"I insist," she said, with a very creditable effort at a coquettish
glance. "We can't stand talking here. Come. I'll not keep you more than
a minute."
Raymond, veritably astounded by her manner, as well he might be,
followed her without demur. He was elated, almost excited. A new and
entrancing vista opened before his mind's eye. Were the difficulties
that yet loomed so large about to vanish into thin air? If Yvonne proved
gracious, what else was there to bother him? Each upward step on the
creaking stairs seemed to be another rung in the ladder of fortune. He
did not know it, but he had reached the highest point of the climb when
he stood in Mrs. Carmac's room on the first floor.
Yvonne had hurried on ahead, and put a warning finger on her lips when
she cried aloud, ostensibly to her mother but actually for the
secretary's benefit, "Mr. Raymond is coming in. He has news of
Madeleine, and I didn't want to wait outside lest Peridot should pass. I
mean to avoid Peridot until, by one method or another, I get in touch
with Madeleine."
The explanation was not only plausible but strictly accurate. When she
crossed to the window and made the agreed signal to Tollemache she might
well have been looking out to learn if Peridot was coming down the
Toulifot.
Lorry and his companions were already on the way. They had seen the
meeting in the doorway, and assumed that Yvonne had drawn Raymond in her
wake. Nevertheless her stanch friend and devout lover was watching the
window. He grinned broadly, and waved a hand. Why, she knew not; but her
pulses throbbed. Some remarkable thing was going to happen. She felt it
in the air.
Then she focused her thoughts on what Raymond was saying. He had
produced the telegram, the text of which ran exactly as he had given it.
"As I may be absent all day," he added, "I took the liberty to tell
Duquesne to wire the result of his interview with Mademoiselle Demoret
to Mrs. Carmac. You have his address, and can communicate with him
without waiting for me."
Mrs. Carmac nodded. She knew of the arrangement already, and meant to
inform Yvonne of it herself. She was quick-witted, and her daughter's
manner carried a vague consciousness of the imminence of some matter
more important even than the tangle in which Madeleine Demoret was
involved.
"That sounds practicable," said Yvonne, rather for the sake of detaining
Raymond than by way of agreement, since her father's revelation had
destroyed every shred of confidence in the man himself and his Parisian
helper. "Monsieur Duquesne can at least let us know where Madeleine is
staying. Then I'll risk all in a personal appeal."
"I would advise you strongly to act only through Duquesne," said
Raymond. "He has wide experience, and is thoroughly trustworthy. You can
depend on his discretion. He----"
* * * * *
There was a knock at the door. Tollemache entered. After him came
Popple, red-faced and serious, and Jackson, with a bulldog expression on
his Cockney features.
"I want you to give me five minutes, Mrs. Carmac," said Lorry gravely.
"Certain facts have reached me----"
"I'm sure you'll forgive me," broke in Raymond, with glib assurance,
"but I am accompanying the salvage party, and I'll walk slowly on to the
quay."
"No, you'll remain here!" said Tollemache. "What I have to say concerns
you more than any other person breathing. Just listen! I'll come to the
point quickly. Mrs. Carmac, I have good reason to believe that this man
Raymond stole your jewels. I believe he has them in his possession at
this moment. Of course I'm fully alive to the risk I run in bringing
such a charge if it is not substantiated. Now, Raymond, if you're in a
hurry, hand over those pearls and diamonds. By staging the _pièce de
conviction_ you'll save a lot of bother. Then the court, which is now
assembled, can pronounce sentence, and you'll know exactly where you
are, which should be a relief."
Tollemache paid no heed to the half-repressed cry of amazement that
burst simultaneously from the lips of both women. He was gazing sternly
and fixedly at Raymond, whose sallow face had suddenly grown livid.
During a few trying seconds it really seemed as though the rascal thus
roundly accused of a dastardly crime would collapse in a faint. But he
rallied, and blurted out a protest in a voice choked with fury.
"How dare you?" he cried. "You hound, to attack a defenseless man! Mrs.
Carmac, I appeal to you! Do you allow me to be so grossly insulted in
your presence?"
"_Defenseless_ strikes me as the right word," said Tollemache, ignoring
Mrs. Carmac's involuntary attempt at interference. "Of course you intend
it as a plea on account of your injury; but unless I am mistaken--in
which case I stand to be shot at in any way you choose--you got your arm
broken when rifling Mrs. Carmac's trunk. However, I'll explain the whole
business to your complete satisfaction. Give me those pearls and the
other things. I mean to have them now! Don't think you can escape by
bluff, you miserable whelp! Hand them over, or I'll take them, and use
as much force as may be necessary!"
Tollemache strode forward, and grasped the lapel of Raymond's coat. Then
indeed it was more than probable that the secretary would drop where he
stood. He trembled like one in a palsy, and his lips twitched
convulsively, but could only mouth incoherent sounds.
* * * * *
Tollemache did not hesitate. Unbuttoning the overcoat, and endeavoring
to avoid touching the bandaged arm, he thrust a hand into the inner
right-hand pocket of Raymond's jacket. At that the accused man uttered a
queer squeal of mingled rage and despair, and struck wildly at his
adversary with his left fist. Tollemache merely moved his head, and the
blow passed harmlessly over his shoulder. In the same instant he
withdrew something from Raymond's pocket, and stepped back.
"What's this?" he said coolly, exhibiting a small square case, covered
with Morocco leather.
Mrs. Carmac, who had watched this trying scene with manifest distress,
looked at the object that Tollemache held in full view. Her eyes dilated
in sheer terror; but recognition dawned in them, and she cried
excitedly:
"That is the case which contained my pearls!"
Tollemache pressed a spring, and a lid flew open. There, coiled within,
reposed a string of pearls. Mrs. Carmac gave them one glance; then she
turned on the man who had been so dramatically compelled to relinquish
his booty.
"Oh, how could you do such a thing?" she wailed brokenly. "You knew how
I prized them--the one gift of my husband's which I valued."
"Your husband's!" snarled Raymond. "Which husband? Carmac?"
She flinched as if he had dealt her the blow intended for Tollemache;
but her champion was in no mind to permit a discomfited rogue to vent
his spleen on a woman.
"Unless you're a bigger fool than you are unquestionably a knave, you'll
hold your tongue," he said, speaking with a vehemence that silenced
Raymond for the moment. "Now let us have no more humbug. I don't want to
hurt you. Where are the other articles? Either give them up yourself or
tell me where to find them."
Though quivering with passion, the detected thief apparently realized
that he had nothing to gain by further pretense. From the left-hand
outer pocket of his jacket he took two cases similar in size and
material to that which held the pearls, though the color of the leather
differed in each instance. He ignored Tollemache, and gave them to Mrs.
Carmac. Even in that supreme instant his brazen nerve did not fail him.
"This dispute really affects you and me," he said. "I suggest that you
discuss it with me privately."
"At present, Raymond, I would call your attention to the fact that you
are discussing things with me," said Tollemache firmly. "Mrs. Carmac,"
he went on, "kindly glance through your belongings, and tell me if there
is anything missing."
She obeyed, though in a pitiable state of nervousness. In the cold,
clear light of a December day, diamonds and rubies, sapphires and
emeralds, winked at her evilly as her trembling fingers turned over the
contents of the cases, which had evidently been extracted from a larger
receptacle so that they might be disposed of in Raymond's clothing
without attracting attention by their bulk.
"Yes," she faltered, "I believe that every article is here."
* * * * *
"Now," said Tollemache, turning again to the ashen-faced Raymond, "I've
proved my charge in the presence of witnesses. The stolen goods have
been found in your possession. I admit that it is sheer good luck alone
that swung the investigation my way. Had you been searched tonight, we
might have whistled for the actual proof, because Mrs. Carmac's property
would have been lying beneath the sea on the reef, unless it happened to
be picked up by the diver. The facts are simple. You were with Mrs.
Carmac in the deck saloon of the Stella during the gale. When Mr. Carmac
shouted to his wife that the yacht had broken down, and would be dashed
ashore within ten minutes, Mrs. Carmac fainted. Neither you nor anyone
on board realized that the vessel would strike on Les Verrés and not on
the coast.
"Being a thief in heart, you remembered that a small fortune was lying
in those two boxes, and you thought you had plenty of time to open them,
secure both the money and the jewels, and trust to luck for escape when
the yacht was wrecked. If either of your employers was saved, and
inquiry seemed possible, you had the plausible excuse that you were
safeguarding the most valuable part of their property. You might have
found some difficulty in explaining how you came to be in possession of
duplicate keys; but you took the chance. I must say that for a man at
the very gates of death you displayed a cool nerve which might command
admiration if applied to a worthy object.
"As it happened, there was one man who kept an eye on you. Jackson here
was below at the time, preparing tea. The sudden racing of the engines,
the stoppage of the screw, and the fact that the yacht was drifting told
him what had occurred. Then he heard the cry, 'All hands on deck!' and
was himself running along the gangway when he saw you rush down the main
companion and dart into the cabin occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Carmac.
Thinking you might need his help, he followed you.
"By the time he reached the door you had Mrs. Carmac's box open, and had
snatched the jewelcase, which, being locked, you stuffed into a breast
pocket. Then you turned to Mr. Carmac's trunk, and were about to insert
a key, when the yacht struck, and fell on her beam ends. The heavy trunk
rolled on top of you, and broke your arm. Jackson thought you were
killed; but in the same instant he was flung across the lower saloon,
and had his ankle dislocated. When he was lying there you managed to
crawl in and join him, and each of you was carried out by the crew
later. Is that the correct story, Jackson?"
"True as the Gospel, every word, s'elp me!" said Jackson.
"So you see, Raymond, this poor fellow didn't know what to think during
the last few days. He couldn't swear that you actually took the case,
because you were kneeling beside the box, and your back was toward him.
But you took something, and until the search was made and the robbery
discovered he could not be certain what it was. He had his suspicions,
but wisely kept a still tongue; though, had he left Pont Aven earlier,
he meant to tell me what he had seen. Last night he and Captain Popple
and I reviewed the facts carefully. In the first instance, we believed
that you meant to drop the jewels overboard today, and then cause a
careful search to be made in that exact place. I know why you were
willing to relinquish your loot. I'll deal with that side of a nasty
business in a minute or two. Secondly, I called on Dr. Garnier early
this morning, and both he and the nurse assured me that, notwithstanding
the physical agony you were suffering when brought ashore, you insisted
on removing your coat yourself, placed it on a chair, and stipulated
that your clothes should not be touched by anyone. Of course I had to do
a bit of guessing; but I guessed right."
* * * * *
Yvonne, now that the shock of an extraordinary and painful scene was
yielding to a sense of its paramount importance in view of Raymond's
previous attitude, was gazing at Tollemache with new wonder in her eyes.
The light-hearted, happy-go-lucky dabbler in art had conducted this
remarkable investigation into a crime with the easy assurance of a
skilled lawyer. He had marshaled his facts lucidly. He had decided on
the one method that would insure complete success, and had adopted it
without hesitation. Each trenchant sentence had a sledge-hammer effect
on the culprit, who saw his inmost thoughts laid bare mercilessly, yet
in a manner wholly devoid of heat or bluster. She could not find it in
her heart to pity Raymond; but she was aware, for the first time in her
life, of a species of awe with regard to Tollemache.
The man who was judge and jury and prosecuting counsel in this new and
thrilling form of criminal procedure had not, however, reached the end
of his brief. He nodded to Popple and Jackson.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "We've carried that job almost to a finish
without a hitch. I'll join you on the terrace when Mrs. Carmac has
settled matters with this chap."
Raymond made one last effort to assert himself. "I have not interfered
with your stage effect," he sneered. "It was not necessary. I shall
explain to Mrs. Carmac, and to none other, why her jewels came to be in
my care."
"Don't think it!" said Lorry, smiling pleasantly into the vengeful face
raised to his. "I'm not through with you yet. You're dealing with a man
now, not with a terrified woman. So long, you two! I'll soon make an end
of our unworthy secretary!"
The two men saluted silently and went out.
* * * * *
When the door had closed on them Tollemache drew some sheets of
manuscript from a pocket.
"You've heard the evidence and verdict, Raymond," he said, piercing the
defeated schemer with unwavering eyes. "Now I shall proceed to pass
sentence. I have jotted down here a full confession. In return for my
clemency you will undertake never to interfere in any way with regard to
Mrs. Carmac's second marriage. You understand exactly what I mean. You
and I both know why you were giving up to the vagaries of the sea
thousands of pounds' worth of pearls and diamonds.
"This bargain is between you and me. Mrs. Carmac herself is not a party
to it. I return her jewels, and she asks no questions. So long as you
hold your tongue, and leave her in peace, she will ignore the facts I
have made known this morning. Breathe one syllable affecting her private
affairs, whether today, or next year, or in twenty years, and your
signed confession of the theft is handed over to the proper authorities.
You need not hope to extricate yourself by appeals or threats. Your fate
doesn't rest with Mrs. Carmac, but with me, and if the occasion arises
I'll crush you as I would a scorpion. Sit down, if you're tired, or feel
faint. But keep your wits active.
"It's now or never for you! You either agree or go to jail, and if you
choose the latter course, you'll find French law devilish unpleasant to
any scoundrel who tries to bolster up his offense by trading on a
woman's bygone history."