THE ORIENTAL PERFUME
The inquest into Robert Ashton's strange death, which was held the
following day in the billiard-room at The Oaks, was a brief affair. A
jury had been impaneled in the town, and Major Temple, Miss Temple and
myself, as well as Li Min and the other servants, were duly examined and
we told our respective stories as we had already told them to Sergeant
McQuade. No new light was thrown upon the affair by our testimony. Miss
Temple, when questioned, admitted that she had left the house early in
the morning, with the intention of running away, but had changed her
mind suddenly and returned. Beyond this nothing could be got out of her.
The divisional surgeon testified that his examination of the deceased
showed a simple fracture of the skull, not necessarily sufficient to
produce death, although capable of doing so when combined with nervous
shock or a weakened condition of the heart. That one or both of the
latter agencies had combined with the result of the blow was evidenced
by Ashton's almost instantaneous death and the look of horror which was
upon his face. There was nothing for the jury to do but render a verdict
stating that Robert Ashton had come to his death through a blow upon the
head, delivered with some sharp instrument by a person or persons
unknown. Said verdict having accordingly been rendered, and the body
removed to an undertaking establishment in Exeter, there seemed nothing
further for me to do but pack up my few belongings and go my way,
knowing no more of the cause of Robert Ashton's death than before. I
knew that Sergeant McQuade was working eagerly upon the case, and I
felt sure that, if the discovery of the murderer were possible, he
would accomplish it, but I had very grave doubts as to his success. I
spoke a few words to him at the close of the inquest, and he informed me
that he intended going up to London early that afternoon to interrogate
the two Chinamen detained there since the preceding day, and, upon my
volunteering to accompany him, he evinced no objection, but on the
contrary seemed rather to welcome my suggestion. I knew perfectly well
that, until the mystery was solved, not only myself, but Major and Miss
Temple and Li Min, as well as the other servants in the house would all
be more or less under police surveillance, and my sudden determination
to go up to London arose from a feeling that I wanted if possible to
stay with this case to the end--a feeling that became intensified
whenever I thought of Muriel Temple and the unfortunate position in
which this affair had placed her. Her exquisitely lovely face, drawn
with suffering, appeared to me constantly, as she had looked at the
coroner's inquest, and I felt with all my heart that, if I could do
anything to help her, I would, cost what it might. I had no very clear
idea as to just what I could accomplish by going up to London, but I
felt sure that I should be more likely to find opportunities for helping
her there, with the detective, than would be the case should I continue
my walking trip to Torquay.
I hastened to my room, therefore, intending to pack my belongings before
luncheon, so as to be ready for a start as soon thereafter as the
detective was ready. I left the door of my room partially open upon
entering, and for a time busied myself in arranging my luggage. As I did
so, I thought I heard a slight sound in the green room across the
hall--the one in which the tragedy had occurred--and, glancing up, saw
that, by looking into the mirror of my dresser, I could see most of the
interior of the room opposite. The room was not empty--for in a moment
I observed Li Min, the Chinese servant, engaged apparently in arranging
it, now that its unfortunate occupant and his belongings had been
removed. His actions struck me as being decidedly peculiar, and I
watched him carefully as he moved about. He was evidently searching for
something, and examined with the most minute care every object in the
room--the carpet, the pictures, the furniture, even the wall paper, as
though looking for some place of concealment. I tried to figure this out
to myself, but I could see no reasonable explanation of his conduct. If
he, or any of his confederates had killed Ashton, they certainly must
have secured the emerald Buddha, and taken it with them--the empty case,
I remembered, lay upon the table. What then, could this Chinaman be
searching for with such evident eagerness and anxiety? I determined to
surprise him, and with a few rapid steps crossed the intervening hall
and appeared in the doorway. He at once seemed confused, and made a
quick pretense of being busily occupied in the business of setting the
room to rights. I stood looking at him questioningly for a few moments,
when I presently became aware of a curiously pungent, yet sweet,
aromatic odor, which had something vaguely familiar to me about it. I
could not, at first, place this perfume, which was noticeably different
from those of our own country, when suddenly it flashed into my mind
that this was the curious scent which I had noticed upon Miss Temple's
handkerchief--the one dropped by her in Ashton's room on the occasion of
her visit to him shortly before midnight on the evening preceding the
tragedy. I glanced about, thinking to discover the source of this
perfume, but for a time had difficulty in doing so. At last, however, I
found that it came from a small cake of soap, of a dull-green color,
which lay upon the washstand where it had evidently been left by
Ashton. I picked up the soap and examined it, and at once recognized the
pungent odor of which I have spoken. The coincidence struck me as being
queer--the presence of this same perfume upon Miss Temple's
handkerchief--and I was at a loss to account for it. I picked up the
cake of soap, observing its perfume closely, then, noticing that the
Chinaman was regarding me with a particularly malevolent gaze, I retired
to my room, taking the soap with me. I had no definite purpose in this
except to keep it in order to identify the perfume, and, upon returning
to my room threw it into my satchel and completed the arrangements for
my departure.
I was soon ready to go, and, after leaving my bag with one of McQuade's
men, who was to accompany us to the railway station, I sought Miss
Temple in the hope of saying good-by to her before my departure. I
was lucky enough to find her in the library, sewing, and looking
unusually pale and distressed. She greeted me with rising color, and I
confess that I, too, felt a trifle of embarrassment. I could not forget
her agitation of the day before when I had questioned her as to her
movements upon the morning of the tragedy and her flat refusal to
continue the conversation when I had pressed her to explain her reasons
for her early morning expedition as well as her sudden return. I stood
gazing at her in perplexity, but, as I did so, the beauty of her face,
the clear, honest expression of her eyes once more convinced me that
whatever were her reasons for silence they did not in any way implicate
_her_ in this tangled affair.
[Illustration: "I HAVE COME TO SAY GOOD-BY," I SAID.]
"I have come to say good-by," I said.
"Oh, are you going--I did not know." She half rose; her face filled with
lively concern.
"I'm afraid I've already overstayed my time," I replied. "After all,
Miss Temple, I came as a stranger and must thank you and your father for
making me as welcome as you have under the existing painful
circumstances."
"I have not thought of you as a stranger, Mr. Morgan," she answered
simply. "You have been a great help during this trying ordeal, and I am
sorry that you must go--very sorry." There was a ring of sincerity in
her voice that thrilled me; my heart gave a leap, and, as I met her
eyes, I realized all of a sudden that, go where I might, I could not yet
go very far away from Muriel Temple. "I do not go because I desire it,"
I replied, in a voice from which I could not eliminate the depth and
intensity of my feelings. "I am no longer needed here, and it is in the
hope that I may perhaps be of some service to you in London that I have
asked Sergeant McQuade's permission to accompany him there to-day. I
have taken the deepest interest in this terrible affair, Miss Temple,
and, if it lies in my power, I intend to find the solution of it. My
reward, if I can do so, will be the knowledge that I have served you."
"You are very good, Mr. Morgan. I shall never forget it, never." She
rose and placed her hand in mine, and allowed it to remain there for a
moment--a moment which seemed far too short to me, since I had suddenly
realized that I should be madly happy could I know that I would have the
right to keep it there always. "And, when you have good news, you will
come to The Oaks and tell us about it, will you not?" she concluded,
with a smile that went to my heart.
"Indeed I shall, Miss Temple--you may be sure of that--and I hope it may
be soon."
"So do I," she said, and I turned to leave her. Then I suddenly
bethought myself of the strange Oriental perfume that had clung so
strongly to the handkerchief which the detective had found in the green
room. I turned to her once more. "Miss Temple," I said, with some
hesitation, "you will pardon me, I know, but you may remember that the
handkerchief which was found in Mr. Ashton's room upon the morning of
the--the tragedy, and which you thought you might have dropped there,
was strongly scented with a powerful Oriental perfume. May I ask what
that perfume is, and where you procured it?"
"Perfume?" she ejaculated, in surprise. "Why, Mr. Morgan, I never use
any--never."
"You never use any?" I stammered. "But it was upon your handkerchief. I
thought that perhaps you might have gotten it during your travels in
China."
"The handkerchief was mine, Mr. Morgan--that is true. But of the perfume
I know absolutely nothing. Why do you ask?"
I hardly knew what reply to make. The whole affair seemed absurdly
trivial; the identity of the perfume of the soap, and of the
handkerchief meant nothing, pointed to nothing, and yet I could not
shake off the idea that there was some intimate connection between the
perfume of the handkerchief and that of the soap which would go far
toward solving the mystery of Robert Ashton's death. I bade her good-by
with some simple explanation of my question, and hurried out to find
McQuade. I understood that he intended going in to Exeter before
luncheon, getting a bite to eat there, and taking the early afternoon
express for London. I found him with one of his men upon the porch roof,
busily engaged in making photographs of the bloody hand print upon the
window sill of the green room. He came down presently and joined me.
"Is it not a curious fact, Mr. Morgan," he remarked, as he reached the
foot of the short ladder he had used to ascend to the roof, "that,
although Li Min had not only the motive for the murder, namely, the
securing of the emerald Buddha, but also the opportunity, inasmuch as
he could readily have reached the porch roof from within the house by
means of the hall window, and while the hand print which I have been
photographing is small and delicate, like that of a woman, or indeed
like that of Li Min himself, yet I have tested every possible human
means whereby the windows and doors of that room could have been
bolted after the crime was committed, and I can see no possible way in
which it could have been done, unless either Major Temple or yourself
did it upon entering the room, which you certainly would neither of
you have any reason to do were Li Min the guilty person? In spite of
many of the peculiarities of Miss Temple's conduct, in spite of Major
Temple's altercation with Mr. Ashton, I have been prepared to believe
all along that Li Min was on this roof at or near daybreak yesterday
morning and I do not mind telling you that I have discovered certain
evidence--evidence which had before escaped me, that to my mind proves
it conclusively--yet how he could have entered that room, murdered Mr.
Ashton, secured the jewel, climbed out of the window and shut and
bolted it behind him on the inside is beyond my comprehension. It is
not humanly possible--it simply cannot be." He shook his head and
looked at me in a state of evident perplexity.
I felt unable to offer any suggestions of value, but I hazarded a
question. "Have you searched the attic above the room?" I asked.
"Thoroughly," he replied. "The rafters have never been floored over. The
lath and plaster of the ceiling are absolutely unbroken. As for the four
walls, two of them are exterior walls, without openings, except the
windows. One is the solid partition between the room and the hallway.
The fourth is equally solid, and of brick, between the green room and a
large closet adjoining it to the east, which has evidently been used as
a sort of lumber room, and contains a collection of old furniture,
carpets, etc., covered with dust half an inch deep. The dust-covered
floor and the rusty lock both show that it has not been entered for a
long time. The furniture belongs to the owners of the property, and was
evidently placed there years ago when the property was offered for
leasing."
"Then it would seem that we have exhausted all possible clews," I
observed. I did not think it worth while to take him into my confidence
regarding Li Min, or the perfumed soap; and the brass-headed poker which
I had found, and which I had placed in the drawer in my room, I had for
the moment completely forgotten.
"So it seems," he remarked, thoughtfully. "This is by long odds the
strangest case I have ever worked on. Possibly the two Chinamen we have
in London may be able to throw some light upon it."
As we rounded the corner of the house, on our way to the front door, we
suddenly saw Li Min dart out of the main entrance, closely pursued by
the officer to whom I had entrusted my luggage. The Chinaman carried in
his hand my Gladstone bag, and was running with incredible swiftness
toward the road. Before I had time to make a move, McQuade darted
forward and intercepted him, knocking from his hand with lightning-like
quickness a long knife which he drew from his blouse. The two of them
tumbled over upon the turf, McQuade rising first with my satchel in his
hand. He looked at it, and seeing my name upon it handed it to me with a
grim smile. "You must have a valuable kit here, Sir," he said, "or else
this fellow has taken leave of his senses." He nodded to his assistant,
who promptly stepped forward and snapped a pair of handcuffs upon the
sullen-looking Oriental.
"The whole outfit isn't worth five pounds," I said, laughing, and picked
up the satchel. As I did so the catch came open and my small collection
of flannel shirts, toilet articles, sketching materials, etc., tumbled
upon the grass. McQuade joined in my laugh, and assisted me in replacing
my effects. "Nothing much here, Sir," he said, but I did not fail to
notice that he observed each article closely as we repacked the satchel.
We drove back to town in the high cart, with one of Major Temple's
grooms at the reins beside me, and Li Min and the Sergeant upon the rear
seat. After depositing the Chinaman at the jail, we took a hurried lunch
at the Half Moon, and left for London on the early afternoon express,
arriving at Waterloo station about dusk. I gave McQuade the address of
my lodgings and studio in Tottenham Court Road, and, as he intended
reporting at once at Scotland Yard, I left him with the understanding
that, if anything significant developed during his examination of the
two Chinamen, he would advise me and call upon me if I could assist him
in any way. I realized of course that I was purely an outsider, and in
no position to expect the police to take me into their confidence, but
on the other hand I was not only the most important witness in the case,
but my keen interest in the solution of the mystery, for the purpose of
clearing the names of both Miss Temple and her father from any vestige
of suspicion, was not lost upon the Sergeant, and I think he realized
that I might be of considerable assistance to him should the case take
some unexpected turn. He hurried off in a hansom and I followed,
stopping on my way at the Vienna Cafe for dinner. It was past eight when
I arrived at my studio, and, throwing my bag into a corner I sat down
and wrote a letter to my mother at Torquay, explaining to her my change
of plans, although making no mention of the reasons which caused the
change. I must have been unusually tired, owing to my early rise and the
varied excitements of the day, for I dozed in my chair, and was not
aroused until after eleven, when I heard a loud knock at the studio
door. I sprang up, somewhat confused, and, opening the door, found under
it an envelope containing a note, written on plain, rather cheap paper,
in a somewhat irregular but legible hand. It was from McQuade, and
requested me to meet him at once at Number 30, Kingsgate Street. There
was nothing else in the note, so without further delay I threw on a warm
coat and soft hat, and, hurrying to the street, summoned a cab. The
driver looked a bit surprised at the address, and asked me to repeat it,
which I did a bit sharply, then threw myself into the rear seat and
lighted a cigarette. Events were moving quickly it seemed. McQuade, I
felt sure would not have sent for me at this hour of the night unless
some developments of importance had occurred. I rejoiced in the hope
that the examination of the two Exeter Chinamen had resulted in the
discovery of both the missing jewel and the murderer, and thought with
pleasure of the expedition I should make on the morrow to The Oaks and
the happy tidings I should bring to Muriel. I had thought of her so
continuously, since leaving there, and felt so keenly the loss of her
companionship, slight as it had so far been, that I knew that hereafter
all roads, for me, would led to Exeter until the day came when I might
led her from it as my wife. It was while occupied in these dreams that
I felt my cab draw up alongside the curb, just as the hour of midnight
was striking from Old St. Paul's. I dismissed my man with a shilling for
his pains, and ascended the steps of Number 30.
The house was an old one, and its exterior was gloomy and forbidding.
Not a light shone in its closely shuttered windows, and only over the
transom of the door was there any visible sign of occupants within. Here
a faintly burning oil lamp shone behind a cobwebby glass, with the
number of the house painted upon it in black. The whole atmosphere of
the place was depressing in the extreme, and I pulled the bell with
feelings of inward trepidation. Without, all was silent and deserted,
and the starless sky and the sighing of wind through the gloomy streets,
from which my cab had long since departed, but added to my presentiments
of evil. I had heard the faint jangle of a bell in the interior of the
house when I pulled the knob, but so long an interval elapsed before any
response came that I was on the point of ringing it again, when I
suddenly heard soft footsteps in the hallway, and the door was silently
opened. I stepped within, mechanically, unable to observe the person who
had admitted me, owing to the fact that he or she, I knew not which,
stood partially behind the door as it swung open and was therefore
concealed by it. I had taken but a single step into the passage, when
the door was swiftly closed behind me, and at the same instant a bag of
heavy cloth was thrust over my head, and my arms were pinioned from
behind in a vise-like grip. I attempted an outcry, and struggled
violently, but the bag was drawn closely about my throat by a noose in
the edge of it, and I felt myself being slowly, but surely, strangled.