CHAPTER X THE PHANTOM BUGLER
The day after the funeral of Samuel Appleby, Keefe returned to SycamoreRidge.
“I came, Mr. Wheeler,” he said, “to offer you my services. I express noopinion as to who killed Mr. Appleby, but I do know that his son is goingto use every means to discover his father’s murderer, and I can’t helpthinking you’d be wise to let me take up your case.”
“As a criminal lawyer?” asked Dan Wheeler, quietly.
“No, sir; as a friend and adviser. If you find you need a criminallawyer, I’ll suggest one—and a good one. But I mean, I’d like to help youin a general way, by consultation and advice. You, if you will pardon me,have lived so long out of the modern world that you are unfitted to copewith this whole situation. I speak frankly—because I am deeplyinterested——”
“Just why are you so deeply interested, Mr. Keefe?” Wheeler’s tone waskindly but his glance was sharp at his would-be benefactor.
“I may as well own up,” Keefe said, “I am hard hit by your daughter. Oh,yes, I know she is engaged to young Allen, and I’ve no hope she wouldever throw him over for me, but I’m anxious to serve her in any way Ican—and I feel pretty sure that I can be of help to you and your family.”
“Well spoken, young man. And your promises are right. I am out of touchwith the world, and I should be glad indeed of the advice of anexperienced man of business. But, first of all, will you tell me who_you_ think killed Appleby?”
“I will, sir. I’ve no idea it was any of you three people, who have allconfessed to the deed, in order to shield one another.”
“Whom then do you suspect?”
“An outside intruder. I have held to this theory from the start, and I amsure it is the true one. Moreover, I think the murderer is the man whoblew the bugle——”
“The phantom bugler!”
“No phantom, but a live man. Phantoms do not blow on bugles except in oldEnglish legends. A bugle sounded in New England and heard by severalpeople, was blown by human lungs. Find your bugler and you’ve found yourmurderer.”
“I wonder if you can be right!”
Wheeler fell into a brown study and Keefe watched him closely. His buglertheory was offered in an effort to find out what Wheeler thought of it,and Wheeler’s response ought to show whether his own knowledge of themurder precluded the bugler or not.
Apparently it did, for he sighed and said: “Of course the person whosounded that bugle was a live person, but I cannot think it had anyconnection with Mr. Appleby’s death. Even granting somebody might havebeen wicked enough to try to frighten my wife, yet there is no reason tothink any one wishing to kill Samuel Appleby would know of the old legendin Mrs. Wheeler’s family.”
“True enough. But it is possible, and, in my opinion, that is the onlydirection to look.”
“But what direction? How can you find out who blew that bugle?”
“I don’t know yet, but I shall try to find out. As a matter of fact verylittle inquiry has been made. Those two detectives, while intelligentenough, don’t have a very wide horizon. They’ve concluded that theassassin was—well, was named Wheeler—and they’re only concerned todiscover the first name. Forgive my plain speaking, but to save yourselfand the other two, we must be outspoken.”
“Yes, yes—pray don’t hesitate to say anything you think. I am in aterrible position, Mr. Keefe—more terrible than you can know, and while Iam willing to make any sacrifice for my dear ones—it may be in vain——”
The two men had been alone in the den, but now were joined by Burdon andyoung Allen.
“Glad to see you back, Mr. Keefe,” Burdon said; “usually we detectivesdon’t hanker after outside help, but you’ve a good, keen mind, and Inotice you generally put your finger on the right spot.”
“All right, Burdon, we’ll work together. Now, Mr. Wheeler, I’m going toask you to leave us—for there are some details to discuss——”
Dan Wheeler was only too glad to be excused, and with a sigh of relief hewent away to his upstairs quarters.
“Now, it’s this way,” Keefe began; “I’ve been sounding Mr. Wheeler, but Ididn’t get any real satisfaction. But here’s a point. Either he did ordidn’t kill Mr. Appleby, but in either case, he’s in bad.”
“What do you mean?” asked Allen.
“Why, I’ve inquired about among the servants and, adding our owntestimony, I’ve figured it out that Mr. Wheeler was either the murdereror he was over the line on the other side of the house, and in that casehas broken his parole and is subject to the law.”
“How do you prove that?” inquired Burdon, interestedly.
“By the story of Miss Wheeler, who says her father was not in the den atall at the time Mr. Appleby was shot. Now, as we know, Mrs. Wheeler randownstairs at that time, and she, too, says her husband was not in theden. Also she says he was not in the living-room, nor in the hall. Thisleaves only her own sitting-room, from which Mr. Wheeler could see thefire and into which he was most likely to go for that purpose.”
“He wouldn’t go in that room for any purpose,” declared Allen.
“Not ordinarily, but in the excitement of a fire, men can scarcelyrefrain from running to look at it, and if he was not in the places hehad a right to be, he must have been over on the forbidden ground. So, itcomes back to this: either Mr. Wheeler was the murderer, and his wife anddaughter have perjured themselves to save him, or he was in a placewhich, by virtue of the conditions, cancels his pardon. This, I take it,explains Mr. Wheeler’s present perturbed state of mind—for he isbewildered and worried in many ways.”
“Well,” said Allen, “where does all this lead us?”
“It leads us,” Keefe returned, “to the necessity of a lot of hard work.I’m willing to go on record as desiring to find a criminal outside of theWheeler family. Or to put it bluntly, I want to acquit all three ofthem—even if——”
“Even if one of them is guilty?” said Burdon.
“Well, yes—just that. But, of course I don’t mean to hang an innocentman! What I want is to get a verdict for persons unknown.”
“I’m with you,” said Allen. “It’s all wrong, I know, but—well, I can’tbelieve any of the Wheelers really did it.”
“You do believe it, though!” Keefe turned on him, sharply. “And what’smore, you believe the criminal is the one of the three whom you leastwant it to be!”
Keefe’s meaning was unmistakable, and Allen’s flushed and crestfallenface betrayed his unwilling assent. Unable to retort—even unable tospeak, he quickly left the room.
Keefe closed the door and turned to Burdon.
“That was a test,” he said; “I’m not sure whether Allen suspects MissWheeler—or not——”
“He sure acts as if he does,” Burdon said, his face drawn withperplexity. “But, I say, Mr. Keefe, haven’t you ever thought it mighthave been Jeffrey Allen himself?”
“Who did the shooting?”
“Yes; he had all the motives the others had——”
“But not opportunity. Why, he was at the garage fire—where I was——”
“Yes, but he might have got away long enough for——”
“Nonsense, man, nothing of the sort! We were together, fighting theflames. The two chauffeurs were with us—the Wheelers’ man, and Mr.Appleby’s. We used those chemical extinguishers——”
“I know all that—but then—he might have slipped away, and in theexcitement you didn’t notice——”
“Not a chance! No, take my word for it, the three Wheelers are theexclusive suspects—unless we can work in that bugler individual.”
“It’s too many for me,” Burdon sighed. “And Hallen, he’s at his wit’send. But you’re clever at such things, sir, and Mr. Appleby, he’s goingto get a big detective from the city.”
“You don’t seem to mind being discarded!”
“No, sir. If anybody’s to fasten a crime on one of those Wheelers, Idon’t want t
o be the one to do it.”
“Look here, Burdon, how about Wheeler’s doing it in self-defence? I knowa lot about those two men, and Appleby was just as much interested ingetting Wheeler out of his way as _vice versa_. If Appleby attacked andWheeler defended, we can get him off easy.”
“Maybe so, but it’s all speculation, Mr. Keefe. What we ought to get isevidence—testimony—and that’s hard, for the only people to ask about itare——”
“Are the criminals themselves.”
“The suspected criminals—yes, sir.”
“There are others. Have you quizzed all the servants?”
“I don’t take much stock in servants’ stories.”
“You’re wrong there, my man. That principle is a good one in ordinarymatters, but when it comes to a murder case, a servant’s testimony is asgood as his master’s.”
Burdon made no direct response to Keefe’s suggestion, but he mulled itover in his slow-going mind, and as a result, he had a talk with Rachel,who was ladies’ maid to both Maida and her mother.
The girl bridled a little when Burdon began to question her.
“Nobody seemed to think it worth while to ask me anything,” she said, “soI held my tongue. But if so be you want information, you ask and I’llanswer.”
“I doubt if she really knows anything,” Burdon thought to himself,judging from her air of self-importance, but he said:
“Tell me anything you know of the circumstances at the time of themurder.”
“Circumstances?” repeated Rachel, wrinkling her brow.
“Yes; for instance, where was Mrs. Wheeler when you heard the shot?”
“I didn’t say I heard the shot.”
“Didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Go on, then; don’t be foolish, or you’ll be sorry for it!”
“Well, then, Mrs. Wheeler was downstairs—she had just left her room——”
“Here, let me get this story straight. How long had she been in her room?Were you there with her?”
“Yes; we had been there half an hour or so. Then, we heard noise andexcitement and a cry of fire. Mrs. Wheeler rushed out of her room and randownstairs—and I followed, naturally.”
“Yes; and what did you see?”
“Nothing special—I saw a blaze of light, through the front door——”
“The north door?”
“Of course—the one toward the garage—and I saw the garage was on fire, soI thought of nothing else—then.”
“Then? What did you think of later?”
“I remembered that I saw Mr. Wheeler in the living-room—in the north endof it—where he never goes——”
“You know about his restrictions?”
“Oh, yes, sir. The servants all know—we have to. Well, it was natural,poor man, that he should go to look at the fire!”
“You’re sure of this, Rachel?”
“Sure, yes; but don’t let’s tell, for it might get the master introuble.”
“On the contrary it may get him out of trouble. To break his parole isnot as serious a crime as murder. And if he was in the north end of theliving-room he couldn’t have been in the den shooting Mr. Appleby.”
“That’s true enough. And neither could Mrs. Wheeler have done it.”
“Why not?”
“Well—that is—she was right ahead of me——”
“Did you keep her in sight?”
“No; I was so excited myself, I ran past her and out to the garage.”
“Who was there?”
“Mr. Allen and Mr. Keefe and the two chauffeurs and the head gardener andwell, most all the servants. The men were fighting the fire, and thewomen were standing back, looking on.”
“Yelling, I suppose.”
“No; they were mostly quiet. Cook was screaming, but nobody paid anyattention to her.”
“The fire was soon over?”
“Yes, it was a little one. I suppose that chauffeur of Mr. Appleby’sdropped a match or something—for our servants are too well trained to doanything of the sort. We’re all afraid of fire.”
“Well, the fire amounted to little, as you say. Curious it should occurat the time of the murder.”
“Curious, indeed, sir. Do you make anything out of that?”
“Can’t see anything in it. Unless the murderer started the fire todistract attention from himself. In that case, it couldn’t have been anyof the Wheelers.”
“That it couldn’t. They were all in the house.”
“Miss Maida—did you see her at the time?”
“I caught a glimpse of her as I ran through the hall.”
“Where was she?”
“In the den; standing near the bay window.”
“Well, we’ve pretty well planted the three. Mrs. Wheeler on the stairs,Mr. Wheeler, you say, in the living-room, where he had no right to be,and Miss Maida——”
“Oh, Miss Maida didn’t do it! She couldn’t! That lovely young lady!”
“There, Rachel, that will do. You’ve given your testimony, now it’s notfor you to pass judgment. Go about your business, and keep a quiettongue. No babbling—you understand?”
“Yes, sir,” and the maid went away, her attitude still one of importance,and her face wearing a vague smile.
Meantime Curtis Keefe was having a serious talk with Maida.
His attitude was kindly and deferential, but he spoke with a determinedair as he said:
“Miss Wheeler, you know, I am sure, how much I want to help you, and howglad I will be if I can do so. But, first of all I must ask you aquestion. What did Mr. Appleby mean when he said to you something aboutKeefe and the airship?”
Maida looked at him with a troubled glance. For a minute she did notspeak, then she said, calmly: “I am not at liberty to tell you what wewere talking about then, Mr. Keefe, but don’t you remember Mr. Applebysaid that you were not the Keefe referred to?”
“I know he said that, but—I don’t believe it.”
“I am not responsible for your disbelief,” she drew herself up with adignified air. “And I must ask you not to refer to that matter again.”
“Don’t take that attitude,” he begged. “At least tell me what Keefe hedid mean. There can be no breach of confidence in that.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Because I know Mr. Appleby had a big airship project underconsideration. Because I know he contemplated letting me in on the deal,and it was a most profitable deal. Had he lived, I should have asked himabout it, but since he is dead, I admit I want to know anything you cantell me of the matter.”
Involuntarily Maida smiled a little, and the lovely face, usually so sad,seemed more beautiful than ever to the man who looked at her.
“Why do you smile?” he cried, “but whatever the reason, keep on doing so!Oh, Maida, how wonderful you are!”
A glance of astonishment made him quickly apologize for his speech.
“But,” he said, “I couldn’t help it. Forgive me, Miss Wheeler, and, sinceyou can smile over it, I’m more than ever anxious to know about theairship deal.”
“And I can tell you nothing,” she declared, “because I know nothing ofany such matter. If Mr. Appleby was interested in an airship project, Iknow nothing of it. The matter he mentioned to me was, I am positivelycertain, not the deal you speak of.”
“I believe that. Your face is too honest for you to speak an untruth soconvincingly. And now assure me that I am not the Keefe he referred to,and I will never open the subject again.”
But this Maida could not say truthfully, and though she tried, herassertion was belied by drooping eyes and quivering lips.
“You were not,” she uttered, but she did not look at him, and this timeCurtis Keefe did not believe her.
“I was,” he said calmly, but he made no further effort to get the wholetruth from her. “I’m sorry you can’t confide fully in me, but I shalldoubtless learn all I want to know from Mr. Appleby’s papers.”
“You—you
have them in charge?” Maida asked, quite evidently agitated atthe thought.
“Yes, of course, I’m his confidential secretary. That’s why, MissWheeler, it’s better for you to be frank with me—in all things. Has itnever occurred to you that I’m the man who can best help you in thiswhole moil of troubles?”
“Why, no,” she said, slowly, “I don’t believe it ever has.”
“Then realize it now. Truly, dear Miss Wheeler, I am not only the one whocan best help you, but I am the only one who can help you at all—pleasetry to see that.”
“Why should I want help?”
“For half a dozen very good reasons. First, I suppose you know that youare in no enviable position regarding the death of Mr. Appleby. Oh, Iknow you didn’t kill him——”
“But I did!”
“If you did, you couldn’t take it so calmly——”
“How dare you say I take it calmly? What do you know about it? Justbecause I don’t go about in hysterics—that’s not my nature—is no signthat I’m not suffering tortures——”
“You poor, sweet child—I know you are! Oh, little girl, dear littlegirl—can’t you—won’t you let me look out for you——”
The words were right enough, but the tone in which they were uttered, thelook that accompanied them, frightened Maida. She knew at once how thisman regarded her.
Intuition told her it was better not to resent his speech or meaning, soshe only said, quietly:
“Look out for me—how?”
“Every way. Give yourself to me—be my own, own little Maida——”
“Mr. Keefe, stop! You forget you are talking to an engaged girl——”
“I did forget—please forgive me.” In a moment he was humble and penitent.“I lost my head. No, Miss Wheeler, I ask no reward, I want to help you inany and every way—remembering you are to be the bride of Mr. Allen.”
“Only after I’m acquitted of this crime. They never convict a woman, dothey, Mr. Keefe?”
“So that’s what you’re banking on! And safely, too. No, Miss Wheeler, nojudge or jury would ever convict you of murder. But, all the same, it’s amighty unpleasant process that brings about your acquittal, and I adviseyou not to go through with it.”
“But I’ve got to. I’ve confessed my crime; now they have to try me—don’tthey?”
“You innocent baby. Unless—look here, you’re not—er—stringing me, areyou?”
“What does that mean?”
“I mean, you didn’t really do the job, did you?”
“I did.” The calm glance of despair might have carried conviction to aless skeptical hearer, but Keefe only looked puzzled.
“I can’t quite make you out,” he declared; “either you’re a very braveheroine—or——”
“Or?” queried Maida.
“Or you’re nutty!”
Maida laughed outright. “That’s it,” she said, and her laughter became alittle hysterical. “I _am_ nutty, and I own up to it. Do you think we canenter a plea of insanity?”
Keefe looked at her, a new thought dawning in his mind.
“That might not be at all a bad plan,” he said, slowly; “are you inearnest?”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I think of so many plans, and discard them oneafter the other. But I don’t want to be convicted!”
“And you shan’t! There are more persons in this world than the threeWheelers! And one of them may easily be the murderer we’re seeking.”
“Which one?” asked Maida.
“The Phantom Bugler,” returned Keefe.