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BOOK I THE SHADOW I THE CHILD, AND WHAT SHE LED ME INTO
BOOK I THE SHADOW I THE CHILD, AND WHAT SHE LED ME INTO
was walking at a rapid pace up the avenue one raw, fall evening, when somewhere near the corner of Fifty——Street I was brought to a sudden stand-still by the sound of a child's voice accosting me from the stoop of one of the handsome houses I was then passing. "O sir!" it cried, "please come in. Please come to grandpa. He's sick and wants you." Surprised, for I knew no one on the block, I glanced up and saw bending from the open doorway the trembling figure of a little girl, with a wealth of c
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II THE YOUNG DOCTOR AND THE OLD
II THE YOUNG DOCTOR AND THE OLD
eanwhile the child had started down the hall, and up the stairs, calling: "Papa! Papa!" Startled by this intimation of another person's presence in a house I had supposed to hold no one but ourselves, I hastily followed her till she reached the floor above and paused before a shut door. Here something seemed to restrain her. "Papa's inside," she whispered. If this was so, he was not alone. Laughter, quick exclamations, and the clink of glasses could plainly be heard through the door; and shocked
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III WHAT A DOOR HID
III WHAT A DOOR HID
t was a startling declaration, and the horror it called up was visible on every face. But the surprise which should have accompanied it was lacking, and however quickly the three nearest the deceased man's heart strove to cover up their first instinctive acceptance of a fact so suggestive of hidden troubles, I could not but see that the prosperous stockbroker had had griefs, anxieties, or hopes to which this sudden end seemed to those who knew him best, a natural sequence. I began to regret the
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IV "HE DRANK IT ALONE"
IV "HE DRANK IT ALONE"
n making this statement it is not my wish to create any special prejudice against Alfred. Indeed, I have no right to do so, for when a few minutes later his brother Leighton came running up the stairs at sound of his child's voice, I noticed the same recoil on her part, followed by the same impassibility. Nor did she show a different feeling when in the hall below George came forward with the inquiries her surprising absence had naturally provoked. From one and all she involuntarily shrank, but
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V HOPE
V HOPE
his was the proper moment for me to leave, or rather it would have been had it not been for the communication in my pocket which remained to be delivered. To go without fulfilling my duty in this regard or at least without stating to the coroner that I held in charge a paper of so much importance, seemed an improper if not criminal proceeding, while to speak, and thus give up to public perusal an enclosure upon the right delivery of which the dying man laid such stress, struck me as an equal bre
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VI A HAPPY INSPIRATION
VI A HAPPY INSPIRATION
hile waiting for this young lady, I surveyed the three Gillespies with a more critical attention than I had hitherto had the opportunity of giving them. As a result, George struck me as being the most candid, Leighton the most intellectual, and Alfred the most turbulent and ungovernable in his loves and animosities. All were under the same mental tension and in all I beheld evidence of deep humiliation and distrust, but this similarity of feeling did not draw them together even outwardly, but ra
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VII THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN BY THE NEWEL-POST
VII THE ELDERLY GENTLEMAN BY THE NEWEL-POST
his is surprising. Do you understand this, Miss Meredith? There is nothing written here. The sheet is perfectly blank." She turned, stared, and laughed convulsively. "Blank, do you say? What a fuss about nothing! No words, no words at all? Let me see. I certainly expected you to find some final message in it." What a change of manner! The moment before she had confronted us, a silent agonised woman; now her words rattled forth with such feverish volubility we scarcely knew her. The coroner, not
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VIII THE MAN BEHIND THE SCREEN
VIII THE MAN BEHIND THE SCREEN
uddenly one voice rang out in passionate protest. "Hope! Hope! It was not I! It was not I!" And Alfred, leaving his brothers, stood before his young cousin, with self-forgetful gestures expressing a denial which was half-prayer. George flushed, and his fist rose; Leighton drooped his head in shame—or was it sorrow; but the next minute he had that rebellious fist in his own clutch. Miss Meredith kept her eyes turned sedulously away from them all. "I only want one of you to speak; the man who can
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IX THE CLOCK THAT HAD RUN DOWN
IX THE CLOCK THAT HAD RUN DOWN
n the commotion which followed, I noted two things. First, that at sight of this violence from one brother to the other, Leighton drew back without offering assistance to the one or rebuke to the other. Secondly, that Alfred's show of anger ceased as soon as it had thus expended itself, and that his next thought was for Hope. But he was not allowed to approach her. The coroner now interfered with his authority, and all words were forbidden between these members of a disrupted household, till the
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X THE PENCIL
X THE PENCIL
nder Sweetwater's careful guidance, the clock fell slowly back into place. It was one of those solid time-pieces which seem to form part of the shelf on which they stand. When it was again quite level, he pointed to its face. The hands stood at half-past nine, just ten minutes previous to the time of my entering the house. "At what hour did Mr. Leighton Gillespie go out to-night?" he asked. No one answered. "Before half-past nine or after it?" urged the coroner, consulting the faces about him fo
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XI SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
XI SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
atality!" exclaimed Alfred. And, raising his head, he strode impetuously towards Miss Meredith. "You have enjoined a confession of guilt and forbidden us to assert our innocence," he cried. "But I shall assert mine now and always, whatever happens and whoever suffers. I should not be worthy of the happiness I aim at, if I did not declare my guiltlessness in the face of facts which seem to militate against me." "I believe you—" she began, her hand trembling towards his. But the confiding impulse
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XII GOSSIP
XII GOSSIP
ext morning I routed up Sam Underhill at an early hour. Sam Underhill is my special friend; he is also my nearest neighbour, his apartment being directly under my own. He is a lazy chap and I found him abed, and none too well pleased at being disturbed. "What the dickens brings you here at this unearthly hour?" was the amiable greeting I received. I waited till he had made himself comfortable again; then I boldly stated: "You are a club-man, Sam, and consequently well up in the so-called gossip
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XIII INDICATIONS
XIII INDICATIONS
hese concluding words of Sam Underhill show the trend of public opinion at this time. But I was not swayed by the general prejudice, nor, to all appearance, were the police. Though enough poison was found in Mr. Gillespie's remains to have caused the death of any ordinary man in fifteen minutes, no arrests were made, nor was Mr. Gillespie's favourite son subjected to any closer surveillance than the other members of this once highly respected family. Meanwhile, the papers were filled with gossip
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XIV A SUDDEN TURN
XIV A SUDDEN TURN
r. Frisbie's point had been made. As we separated to our several destinations for the night, it was with the universally expressed conviction that this young girl, for all her beauty and attractive qualities, had been an apple of discord in her uncle's house, and that in this fact, rather than in an impatient desire to enjoy the wealth of a man who was never close with his sons, the unnatural crime we were considering had originated. The evidence elicited from the first witness called to the sta
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XV THE MISSING POCKET
XV THE MISSING POCKET
he excitement was intense. To see suspicion thus suddenly, and, I must say, deftly, shifted from the man hitherto regarded guilty to one whom nobody had seemed inclined to doubt, was to experience an emotion of no ordinary nature. I was so affected by it that I quite forgot myself, and stared first at the vest thus recognised by its owner, then at the witness, who was calmly awaiting an opportunity to speak, with deep bewilderment only cut short by the coroner's abrupt words: "Where did you find
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XVI IN THE PARLOUR AT MRS. PENRHYN'S
XVI IN THE PARLOUR AT MRS. PENRHYN'S
eantime, the will of Mr. Gillespie had been admitted to probate; but as he had never made any secret of his intentions, and the share and share alike of his sons had been left without a disturbing codicil, little help was afforded by its terms in settling the harassing problem which more than ever occupied the minds of the community and presented itself as an almost unanswerable puzzle to the police. Even Mr. Gryce, whose sagacity no one could doubt, showed how unpromising the affair looked to h
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BOOK II THE MAN XVII THE MONOGRAM
BOOK II THE MAN XVII THE MONOGRAM
had made my promise to Miss Meredith with an apparent hopefulness which may have deceived her, but did not deceive myself. When the glow of my first enthusiasm passed, I sat down in the solitude of my own room to reconsider the events of the day, but one thing was clear to me, and that was the unpromising nature of the task I had set myself to perform. What excuse had I for the self-confidence I had shown? What means were at my command which were not also at the command of the police? She hers
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XVIII THE PHIAL
XVIII THE PHIAL
he moment was not propitious for a fuller understanding between us. Sam lowered the light and sauntered back into the outer room, remarking lazily to Yox: "If I were you I wouldn't sport this thing around too openly. If judiciously kept out of sight it may bring you in another hundred some day." "How's that? You know those initials?" "Know Louis Le Duc Gracieux? Well, rather. But as long as you have not the honour, keep quiet, lie low, and await events. That is, if you care about the money. What
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XIX I MAKE MY FIRST MOVE
XIX I MAKE MY FIRST MOVE
o attempt to fathom such a nature as this leads to little but mental confusion. Before I had spent a half-hour in trying to untangle the knotty problem offered by Leighton Gillespie's opposing characteristics, I decided to follow the example of my friend Underhill, and keep to facts. These in themselves were startling enough to occupy my mind and convince me absolutely of Leighton's guilt. But this was not convincing Miss Meredith. Probabilities, possibilities even, which might satisfy me, would
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XX THE LITTLE HOUSE IN NEW JERSEY
XX THE LITTLE HOUSE IN NEW JERSEY
he surprise was great, but I doubt if I betrayed the fact to the unsuspicious eye of the patient lass who attended me. "I wish to see one of your captains," I explained. "I will gladly await his convenience." "Captain Smith will be at liberty soon," she answered, going back to her work. I was thus left to study the face of the man whom at that very moment I was bent upon connecting with a great crime. I had not seen him since that touching scene at the inquest; and I found him looking both older
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XXI MILLE-FLEURS
XXI MILLE-FLEURS
he complications which had surrounded Leighton Gillespie were, through his own imprudence, in the way of being cleared up, though hardly to his advantage. This was not all. Either from indifference or ignorance—I hardly thought it was indifference—he had not only called attention to his own secret passion, but laid such a trap for the object of it that she could hardly fail to fall ultimately into the hands of the police. Under these circumstances was it my duty to proceed with the task I had im
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XXII A DISAGREEABLE HOUR WITH A DISAGREEABLE MAN
XXII A DISAGREEABLE HOUR WITH A DISAGREEABLE MAN
his interview made an astonishing impression upon me. Never had I supposed myself capable of being stirred to such sympathy by a being so degraded as this wonderful Mille-fleurs. Was it the contrast between her genius and the conditions under which that genius had shown itself? Possibly. Or was it that a recognition of the latent sweetness underlying her wild nature had caused a feeling of rebellion against the degradation into which a creature of such amazing possibilities had fallen? Whatever
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XXIII IN MY OFFICE
XXIII IN MY OFFICE
t was with strange reluctance I opened the paper next morning. Though I had no reason for apprehending that my adventure of the day before had been shared by anyone likely to give information in regard to it, the consciousness of holding an important secret is so akin to the consciousness of guilt, I could not help dreading some reference to the same in the sheet I now unfolded. I wished to be the first to tell Miss Meredith of the new direction in which suspicion was pointing, and experienced g
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XXIV AN OLD CATASTROPHE IS RECALLED
XXIV AN OLD CATASTROPHE IS RECALLED
his idea as advanced by Hope was fantastical to a degree; yet it made its impression upon me and was still in my mind when I opened the evening paper for the latest news concerning the Gillespie murder. The first paragraph I encountered proved that I had not warned her an hour too soon of Leighton Gillespie's position. "Fresh disclosures in the Gillespie Poisoning Case. Leighton Gillespie, long regarded as the most respectable and hitherto best-esteemed son of the murdered man, discovered to hav
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XXV A SUMMONS
XXV A SUMMONS
he doctor's emotion equalled mine. "It may have been so," he admitted. "There was always some unexplained mystery in connection with his presence at the wreck and the reticence he maintained in regard to it. If what you suggest is true and he was the man who shared the engineer's ride down those precipitous slopes to the rescue of a train on which he knew his wife to be, it will be easy enough for us to start a plea of mental derangement. No one could go through such an adventure, with its overp
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XXVI FERRY LIGHTS
XXVI FERRY LIGHTS
here could be but one reason for this message from the District Attorney. I had identified myself too closely with the Gillespie case not to have attracted the notice of the police. I was about to be called upon to explain; and, while I shrank from the task, I could not but acknowledge to myself that the time for such explanations had come; that the burden then weighing upon me was too heavy to be borne any longer unassisted. But the explanations I have thus alluded to would cost me Hope. Never
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XXVII RAIN
XXVII RAIN
uddenly the figure of a man stepped out before us. It was too dark to see his face, but his voice had a familiar sound as he said: "It's all right. He's there. I saw him go in a half-hour ago." "Very good. My man, Sweetwater," explained Mr. Gryce, turning for an instant towards me; then, in hurried tones to the other, "Do you know on which floor he is to be found; and whether the man at the bar suspects what's up?" "If he does, he's pretty quiet about it. All looks natural inside. But you can't
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XXVIII BY THE LIGHT OF A GUTTERING CANDLE
XXVIII BY THE LIGHT OF A GUTTERING CANDLE
y amazement was unaffected, and so overwhelming I hardly understood myself. His wife, Mille-fleurs! Alas, then, for Hope, who, in her unthinking if generous love for this man, was prepared for any other grief than this! Yet why "alas"? Had she not told me that her greatest wish, her supreme desire, was to see his character restored to its old standing in her eyes, and had he not at this moment cleared himself of the one sin her womanly heart would find it hardest to pardon? The cry of "poor Hope
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XXIX THE QUIET HOUR
XXIX THE QUIET HOUR
would rather have been spared the pain of that moment. Mr. Gryce had virtually promised that I should not be present at Mr. Gillespie's arrest, but I presume he forgot not only his promise but my very existence in the unexpected interest of this extraordinary situation. Mr. Gillespie, who at another time might have succumbed to the emotion of seeing himself singled out from his brothers on the charge which had hitherto involved them all, was already in a state of too much agitation to make muc
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XXX AN UNEXPECTED ALLY
XXX AN UNEXPECTED ALLY
hat night was a busy one for me; nevertheless I found time to send a message to Hope, in which I begged her to read no papers till she saw me, and, if possible, to keep herself in her own room. To these hurried words I added the comforting assurance that the news I had to bring her would repay her for this display of self-control, and that I would not keep her waiting any longer than was necessary. But it was fully ten o'clock before I was able to keep this promise, and I found her looking pale
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XXXI SWEETWATER HAS AN IDEA
XXXI SWEETWATER HAS AN IDEA
was greatly interested. Taking out a box of cigars, I laid it before him on the table. "Be free with them," said I. "If there is any help to be got out of smoke let us make use of it." He eyed the cigars ruefully. "Too bad," he murmured; "unfortunately, it does not work that way with me. Some people think better between whiffs, but smoking clouds my faculties, and I would be no friend to Mr. Gillespie if I took your cigars now. Free air and an undisturbed mind for Caleb Sweetwater when he sett
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XXXII WITH THE SHADE DOWN
XXXII WITH THE SHADE DOWN
ot many words passed between Sweetwater and myself on our way up the Avenue. He had his "idea" to brood upon, while I was engaged in turning over in my mind various vague conjectures rising out of the argument we had just indulged in. But before reaching the point of our destination, I ventured upon one question. "Have you, during any of your investigations, public or private, learned which of the three sons of Mr. Gillespie is the greatest favourite with the old family servant, Hewson?" "No; th
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XXXIII IN WHICH WE CAN PARDON MR. GRYCE HIS UNFORTUNATE ILLNESS
XXXIII IN WHICH WE CAN PARDON MR. GRYCE HIS UNFORTUNATE ILLNESS
ou didn't expect that? I thought I would surprise you, sir. Oh, I know what you want to say!" Sweetwater eagerly continued. "You miss the period and capital H which would show 'he' to be the beginning of a proper name. But, sir, Mr. Gillespie would not have been the failing man he was, if by this time he could think of capitals, much less periods. He was not even able to complete the word, though he evidently failed to realise this. 'None of my sons. Hewson' is what was in his mind; you may take
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XXXIV "IT WAS THE SHOCK!"
XXXIV "IT WAS THE SHOCK!"
ater, Hewson made a fuller confession. In it, he explained how he first came to meditate the crime which he afterwards carried out with such diabolic persistence. He had never indulged himself in dishonest longings, never allowed himself to dream of any other life than that of daily work in the household of which he had for so many years been a member, until the day he was called into his master's study on some errand or other which led him to the desk. A memorandum was lying there, and as he ha
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FINIS
FINIS
I.— THE LEAVENWORTH CASE. A Lawyer's Story. 4to, paper, 20 cents; 16°, paper, 50 cents; cloth $1.25 "She has worked up a cause célèbre with a fertility of device and ingenuity of treatment hardly second to Wilkie Collins or Edgar Allan Poe."— Christian Union. II.— BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. 16°, paper 50 cents; cloth $1.00 "... She has never succeeded better in baffling the reader."— Boston Christian Register. III.— THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES. A Story of New York Lif
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RODRIGUES OTTOLENGUI
RODRIGUES OTTOLENGUI
The Crime Of the Century . Hudson Library, No. 12. 16mo. $1.00; paper 50 cts. "It is a tribute to the author's skill, that he never loses a reader. For fertility in imagining a complex plot, and holding the reader in ignorance of its solution until the very end, we know of no one who can rival him."— Toledo Blade. "The book deals with the subject involved in the most powerful style that the author has shown. There is more purpose and thought in it than in the other books."— Boston Globe. "It is
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