CHAPTER III

.

SIR JOHN CONDUCTS THE INQUIRY.

The middle of the library at the Towers was occupied by a large oblong oaken table, with a number of leather seated chairs ranged around it. At the upper end of this sat Sir John Musgrave, who had lately bought the mansion and estate of Grovelands, and was as yet a comparative stranger in the neighborhood. Mr. Ormsby, brother-in-law to Mr. Drelincourt, took the chair on the right of the baronet.

Roden Marsh was the first to enter, and, by the baronet's request, he took a seat about half way down the table to the left of the latter. He had brought his writing materials with him.

Next came in Chief Constable Draycot and the man Gumley, while a constable in uniform took up a position near the door. By Sir John's direction, Draycot and his prisoner took possession of a couple of chairs somewhat removed from the lower end of the table. Gumley, who was dressed like an ordinary laboring man, cast a comprehensive scowl around, and then, having subsided into his chair, he crossed his legs and stretched them out in front of him, as he might have done in a tap room, and seemed intent on examining the lining of his old felt hat.

Sir John, addressing himself to him, said: "Attend to me, Gumley, if you please. Although the evidence I am about to take down this morning is merely preliminary to the fuller inquiry which will have to be held later on, when the same evidence will have to be sworn to a second time, I have deemed it right that you should be present in order that you may have a clear understanding from the first of what you are charged with, and may thereby have every opportunity afforded you of disproving the same when the time for doing so shall have arrived."

"All right, guv'nor," answered Gumley, in the sullen way which seemed natural to him. "I can onny say, as I said afore, that I'm as innercent of the charge as the babby onborn."

Drelincourt crossed from the window and sat down on a chair a little withdrawn from the table and apart from the others.

"This fellow's face is an indictment of itself," he said under his breath, "and with nine people out of every dozen would go far to convict him."

"Inform Mrs. Drelincourt's maid that she is wanted," said Sir John to the constable at the door.

"A faithful, good hearted creature. My poor sister was much attached to her," remarked Mr. Ormsby, _sotto voce_, to the baronet.

Enter Lucille, a rather attractive looking young woman, not in the least shy or embarrassed by the unfamiliar surroundings among which she finds herself. She favored the two gentlemen at the head of the table with a graceful courtesy as soon as the door was shut behind her, and then went slowly forward.

Here a momentary hitch occurred, which was got over by Roden Marsh's production of a Greek Testament from one of the bookshelves. The witness was then sworn in the usual way by the constable in waiting, who had been so often called upon to take the oath in his own person that he had the formula at his tongue's end.

When the witness had stated that her name was Lucille Fretin, and that she had filled the position of maid to the late Mrs. Drelincourt from the time of that lady's marriage, Sir John said to her: "You have already, I believe, had some conversation with Mr. Ormsby about this most shocking affair; be good enough to tell us here, on your oath, all that you know about it."

"Monsieur and gentlemen," began Lucille, standing with a hand thrust into each pocket of her coquettish looking apron, and speaking with a pronounced French accent, "yesterday madame, my mistress, gave me permission to go to London to see my sister, who is ill. She had the _bonté_ to say that I might stay all night, but that I must return by the first train this morning. That is what I do. I come back by the early train, and I reach the house just as the clocks are about to strike seven. Five minutes later I enter madame's room. I call her softly. I say, '_Madame, je suis arrivée_.' She does not reply. I say to myself, 'She sleeps. I will not disturb her.' Then I go a little nearer, and then--_mon Dieu!_--I see something which frightens me. It is one big drop like blood on the pillow! Then I bend over her, and I see that her eyes are not shut, but open and staring; and then something tells me that they are the eyes of a dead woman."

Drelincourt rose abruptly, and going to the side table, he poured out a glass of wine and drank it. Then he went back to his chair.

"After that," said Sir John to Lucille, "you were just able to arouse the household, and then you fainted and knew nothing more for some time?"

"_C'est vrai, monsieur_."

"How long was it after you came to your senses before you discovered that your mistress' jewel case had been rifled?"

"About half an hour, monsieur."

"And what led you to make the discovery?"

"Madame's jewel case was kept in the top drawer of the bureau in her dressing room. This morning I found the case on the floor near the window. It was empty."

"You have furnished the chief constable with a description and list of the missing articles as far as your memory serves you?"

"_Oui, monsieur_."

"And at the proper time you will be prepared to swear that you saw the articles in question in your mistress' jewel case yesterday afternoon before you left home?"

"_Certainement, monsieur_."

"Had not your mistress, a few days ago, a difference or disagreement of some kind with one of the people in Mr. Drelincourt's employ?"

"_Oui, monsieur_."

"Who was the person with whom your mistress had the difference in question?"

"_Cet homme lá_," replied Lucille, without a moment's hesitation, pointing a rigid forefinger at Gumley.

"Be good enough, mademoiselle, to tell us what you know of the affair."

"It was on Saturday last. Madame was dressed to go out riding, and was waiting for her horse to be brought round. That man was in the flower garden close by the long window which opens out of her boudoir. Madame had given him some instructions in the morning which he had not attended to, and she stepped out of the window to speak to him. Madame was a lady who would not have her slightest order neglected. She was very angry. She said something to him in her quick, haughty way, and he answered her back--insolently."

"You say insolently. Can you not tell us exactly what he said?"

"No, monsieur, I was not near enough to hear; but I could tell from the way the man looked up at madame--he was kneeling on one knee at the time--that his words were insolent."

"What happened next?"

"Madame lifted her riding whip and lashed him with it three or four times across the head and shoulders."

Before anybody could stop him, Gumley started to his feet, and pointing to a livid whelt across his cheek, exclaimed in hoarse accents, "Ay, and here's the mark to bear witness to it--curse her!"

Sir John turned on him with an admonitory frown. "Silence, man, or it will be worse for you!"

Then Draycot whispered sternly to him, and he resumed his seat, sullenly enough.

Sir John turned again to Lucille. "What followed?"

"Madame turned and came back indoors, while he--the _polisson!_--sprang to his feet and shook his clenched hand, and called after her, 'You will live to be sorry for this day's work, my fine Madam, for I'll have my revenge if I swing for it!' The same evening he was discharged by madame's orders."

Again Gumley started to his feet. "That's a lie!" he called out. "What I said was, 'If you was my wife, my fine madam, dash my limbs if I wouldn't break every bone in your body, though I had to swing for it!'

"Shut up, you fool," said Draycot in a fierce whisper, as he pulled him down into his seat.

"_Will_ you be quiet, fellow?" snarled Sir John. Then to Lucille: "You recognize the locket found in this man's possession as having been the property of Mrs. Drelincourt?"

"_Oui, monsieur_."

Addressing himself to Drelincourt, Sir John said: "The prisoner's statement is that he found the locket in question a few days ago in a summer house in which Mrs. Drelincourt was in the habit of sitting on fine afternoons, and that he pocketed it with the intention of subsequently disposing of it for his own benefit. In so far he admits his guilt, but he persists in asserting that he had no hand in the robbery, or in the commission of the far more serious crime with which we are more especially concerned at present."

Once more he turned to Lucille. "As I am led to understand, you are not prepared to assert positively that you saw the locket in your mistress' jewel case yesterday or the day before?"

"_Non, monsieur_. I do not remember."

"Thank you, mademoiselle; I have nothing further to ask you at present."

"_Merci, monsieur_."

Having favored Sir John with an elaborate courtesy, she left the room. "There is still one point on which I am not clear," remarked Sir John. "What gave rise, in the first instance, to this man's arrest?"

"The onus of that rests with me," replied Mr. Ormsby. "It was in answer to certain questions put by me and Draycot to Lucille that we were told of the threats this scoundrel had made use of towards my poor sister."

Once more Gumley could not restrain himself. "Scoundrel, eh?" he said with a scowl. "I wish you had _this_ acrost your face instead o' me!"

"Gumley, you are unbearable," said Sir John, in his most severe accents. "The next time you attempt to interrupt the proceedings I will have you removed."

"Then it was," resumed Mr. Ormsby, "that I suggested to Draycot that this man should be found--we were given to understand that he had not yet left the village--and that both he and his lodgings should be searched. The result was that one of the missing articles--a locket--was found on his person."

"But nothing else has been found?" It was Mr. Drelincourt who asked the question.

Draycot took on himself to answer it. "Not yet, sir. His lodgings will be thoroughly searched in the course of the next hour."

Gumley felt compelled to make another protest. "As I said afore, and as I say agen, I know nothen about the murder and nothen about the robbery. I found the locket in the----"

"Silence, fellow!" Almost yelled Sir John. "Once for all, let me caution you to hold your tongue."

But Gumley was determined to have the last word. "All I wants is to speak the truth," he growled sullenly.

"As it happens," resumed Mr. Drelincourt, "I am in a position to confirm at least one portion of this man's statement. Some time in the course of last week my wife spoke to me about having missed the locket now in question, which was rather a favorite with her, and which she was afraid she had lost a day or two previously somewhere in the grounds. Such being the case, I fail to see how the locket could have formed part of the missing jewels."

Sir John and Mr. Ormsby exchanged looks.

Gumley pricked up his ears. The sort of sullen apathy which had hitherto marked his demeanor vanished. From that moment he became a different man.

"Your statement, Mr. Drelincourt, is certainly a strong point in the prisoner's favor," remarked Sir John, after a few moments' cogitation. "Still, bearing in mind the threats made use of by him towards Mrs. Drelincourt, I do not feel myself justified in sanctioning his release. The coroner's inquest will take place at the earliest possible moment, and I have decided to remand the prisoner till tomorrow, when he will be brought up before the bench of magistrates at Sunbridge."

Draycot nudged his prisoner. "Now, then!" he said.

Gumley stood up, and addressing himself to Mr. Drelincourt, said: "God-bless you, sir, for helpin' to get a pore, innercent cove out of a scrape wot he's got into through no fault of his'n." Then, as he followed Draycot, he said to himself, "It was a lie, though, wot he told about the locket. Now, wot's his little game, I wonder?"

The baronet, having filled up and signed the necessary commitment order, handed it to Roden Marsh to give to the superintendent. Rodd then gathered up his papers and followed the others out of the room.

Sir John stood up and stretched himself. "In spite of your evidence about the locket, Mr. Drelincourt," he said, "I am strongly of opinion that in Gumley we have got hold of the real criminal."

"My own opinion exactly," responded Ormsby. "The scoundrel's countenance is enough of itself to proclaim him guilty."

"If we were all judged by our looks, how few of us would escape condemnation," remarked Drelincourt dryly. "For my part, I am strongly inclined to believe in the fellow's innocence."

"My dear Drelincourt, you surprise me," remarked his brother-in-law, as he crossed to the side table.

"It is possible, Mr. Drelincourt," suggested the baronet, "That your suspicions point in some other direction."

"No, I have no suspicions--none whatever. For all that, I have a sort of intuitive belief in Gumley's innocence."

"Time will prove."

"Possibly so. But there are some mysteries which time never solves."

"My experience as a magistrate convinces me that they are few and far between. You remember what old Chaucer says: 'Murder will out, that see we day by day'--words as true now as they were five hundred years ago."

Mr. Drelincourt looked slightly bored.

Sir John consulted his watch. "Later than I thought. I have an appointment at Sunbridge, and am already overdue."

"And I, too, must be off," remarked Ormsby. "I quite expect to find my wife in hysterics when I get home. She was awfully attached to poor Kitty."

"For the present, then, goodby," said Sir John to Drelincourt, as he proffered his hand. "To attempt to condole with you under such a terrible blow would be an impertinence on my part; but this I must say--that you have my heartfelt sympathy."

"Of that I am quite sure, Sir John."

They shook hands cordially, and then Drelincourt crossed and rang the bell. "Ormsby, I shall see you in Sunbridge later in the day," said Sir John. Three seconds later he was gone, shown out by Simmons.

"Now to get rid of this pompous fool," said Drelincourt to himself as he came forward.

Now that the two were alone, Ormsby had resumed his most lugubrious expression.

"Felix," he began, "I am at a loss for words wherewith to express a tithe of what I feel on this most heartrending occasion."

"Then I wouldn't try to find any, if I were you. There are some things which won't bear talking about, and this is one of them."

"That seems rather unfeeling, doesn't it?"

"Are one's feelings to be gauged by the amount of talk one may give utterance to? Are there not occasions when silence may be the heart's most eloquent tribute?"

"Possibly--possibly," replied Mr. Ormsby, with a little cough behind his hand. "I dare say you are right--from your point of view. If you would like Octavia to come and look after matters at the Towers for the next week or two, I am sure that she----"

"Not for the world! I am a strange fellow, Ormsby, as I dare say you have found out before today. The more I am left to myself just at present, the better I shall be pleased."

"Well, well, as you will. Still, I cannot but feel sure that my wife would have been a great comfort to you in your affliction. She is so truly sympathetic."

"Good day, Ormsby," said the other abruptly. "I know you mean well, and I thank you. But I'm all on edge just now and I can't talk any more."

"I can sympathize with you, my dear fellow. I have something of the same feeling myself." With that he held out his hand.

"Ah, excuse me, but I sprained my wrist this morning." He crossed to the fireplace and rang the bell, and then stood grasping his right wrist with his left hand.

"That's unfortunate. Well, _au revoir_," said Ormsby, as he took possession of his hat and gloves.

The attentive Simmons stood holding the open door.

"I'm nearly sure he shook hands with Sir John," muttered Ormsby, as he made his exit. "What a queer, ill-conditioned beggar he is! Still, I wish he would have had Octavia here. She would have been just in her element on an occasion like this. And then, she is so truly sympathetic."

No sooner did Drelincourt find himself alone than he strode to one of the windows and flung open the casement.

"At last I can breathe! For a little while the torture is relaxed, but only for a little while. What would I not give if the next few days were well over! This fellow Gumley must be saved at all risks. Of course, it was he who stole the jewels; and yet for the sake of a wretch like this I shall have to lie and perjure myself again and again. To me such a necessity is more hateful than I can express. The mere thought of such comradeship in crime sends a shudder down my spine. For all that, he _must_ be saved! All may go well if only the rest of the jewels remain undiscovered. In that case, my lie about the locket ought to be enough to clear him. Faugh! Let me try to get this greasy smelling knave out of my thoughts for a while."

There was a box of cigars on the top of one of the low bookcases, from which he now proceeded to select one and light it.

"'Murder will out'--so quotes Sir John. But does that follow as a matter of course? Facts--indisputable facts--prove the contrary. Though Nemesis may dog the footsteps of a man for years, yet oftener than we wot of she fails to overtake him. In any case, the man who, after having incurred a penalty--whether with wide open eyes or as the result of circumstances outside his control--shrinks from facing the consequences when they are brought home to him, is both a fool and a coward. That is not the stuff, I trust, of which Felix Drelincourt is made."

##