Chapter II
Strange Instructions
Superintendent Dolan went quietly to the door; by a sort of naturalunderstanding he had taken possession of affairs in the room. The restof us waited. He opened the door a little way; and then with a gestureof manifest relief threw it wide, and a young man stepped in. A youngman clean-shaven, tall and slight; with an eagle face and bright, quickeyes that seemed to take in everything around him at a glance. As hecame in, the Superintendent held out his hand; the two men shook handswarmly.
"I came at once, sir, the moment I got your message. I am glad I stillhave your confidence."
"That you'll always have," said the Superintendent heartily. "I havenot forgotten our old Bow Street days, and I never shall!" Then,without a word of preliminary, he began to tell everything he knew upto the moment of the newcomer's entry. Sergeant Daw asked a fewquestions--a very few--when it was necessary for his understanding ofcircumstances or the relative positions of persons; but as a ruleDolan, who knew his work thoroughly, forestalled every query, andexplained all necessary matters as he went on. Sergeant Daw threwoccasionally swift glances round him; now at one of us; now at the roomor some part of it; now at the wounded man lying senseless on the sofa.
When the Superintendent had finished, the Sergeant turned to me andsaid:
"Perhaps you remember me, sir. I was with you in that Hoxton case."
"I remember you very well," I said as I held out my hand. TheSuperintendent spoke again:
"You understand, Sergeant Daw, that you are put in full charge of thiscase."
"Under you I hope, sir," he interrupted. The other shook his head andsmiled as he said:
"It seems to me that this is a case that will take all a man's time andhis brains. I have other work to do; but I shall be more thaninterested, and if I can help in any possible way I shall be glad to doso!"
"All right, sir," said the other, accepting his responsibility with asort of modified salute; straightway he began his investigation.
First he came over to the Doctor and, having learned his name andaddress, asked him to write a full report which he could use, and whichhe could refer to headquarters if necessary. Doctor Winchester bowedgravely as he promised. Then the Sergeant approached me and said sottovoce:
"I like the look of your doctor. I think we can work together!"Turning to Miss Trelawny he asked:
"Please let me know what you can of your Father; his ways of life, hishistory--in fact of anything of whatsoever kind which interests him, orin which he may be concerned." I was about to interrupt to tell himwhat she had already said of her ignorance in all matters of her fatherand his ways, but her warning hand was raised to me pointedly and shespoke herself.
"Alas! I know little or nothing. Superintendent Dolan and Mr. Rossknow already all I can say."
"Well, ma'am, we must be content to do what we can," said the officergenially. "I'll begin by making a minute examination. You say that youwere outside the door when you heard the noise?"
"I was in my room when I heard the queer sound--indeed it must havebeen the early part of whatever it was which woke me. I came out of myroom at once. Father's door was shut, and I could see the whole landingand the upper slopes of the staircase. No one could have left by thedoor unknown to me, if that is what you mean!"
"That is just what I do mean, miss. If every one who knows anythingwill tell me as well as that, we shall soon get to the bottom of this."
He then went over to the bed, looked at it carefully, and asked:
"Has the bed been touched?"
"Not to my knowledge," said Miss Trelawny, "but I shall ask Mrs.Grant--the housekeeper," she added as she rang the bell. Mrs. Grantanswered it in person. "Come in," said Miss Trelawny. "These gentlemenwant to know, Mrs. Grant, if the bed has been touched."
"Not by me, ma'am."
"Then," said Miss Trelawny, turning to Sergeant Daw, "it cannot havebeen touched by any one. Either Mrs. Grant or I myself was here allthe time, and I do not think any of the servants who came when I gavethe alarm were near the bed at all. You see, Father lay here justunder the great safe, and every one crowded round him. We sent themall away in a very short time." Daw, with a motion of his hand, askedus all to stay at the other side of the room whilst with amagnifying-glass he examined the bed, taking care as he moved each foldof the bed-clothes to replace it in exact position. Then he examinedwith his magnifying-glass the floor beside it, taking especial painswhere the blood had trickled over the side of the bed, which was ofheavy red wood handsomely carved. Inch by inch, down on his knees,carefully avoiding any touch with the stains on the floor, he followedthe blood-marks over to the spot, close under the great safe, where thebody had lain. All around and about this spot he went for a radius ofsome yards; but seemingly did not meet with anything to arrest specialattention. Then he examined the front of the safe; round the lock, andalong the bottom and top of the double doors, more especially at theplaces of their touching in front.
Next he went to the windows, which were fastened down with the hasps.
"Were the shutters closed?" he asked Miss Trelawny in a casual way asthough he expected the negative answer, which came.
All this time Doctor Winchester was attending to his patient; nowdressing the wounds in the wrist or making minute examination all overthe head and throat, and over the heart. More than once he put hisnose to the mouth of the senseless man and sniffed. Each time he didso he finished up by unconsciously looking round the room, as though insearch of something.
Then we heard the deep strong voice of the Detective:
"So far as I can see, the object was to bring that key to the lock ofthe safe. There seems to be some secret in the mechanism that I amunable to guess at, though I served a year in Chubb's before I joinedthe police. It is a combination lock of seven letters; but there seemsto be a way of locking even the combination. It is one of Chatwood's;I shall call at their place and find out something about it." Thenturning to the Doctor, as though his own work were for the presentdone, he said:
"Have you anything you can tell me at once, Doctor, which will notinterfere with your full report? If there is any doubt I can wait, butthe sooner I know something definite the better." Doctor Winchesteranswered at once:
"For my own part I see no reason in waiting. I shall make a fullreport of course. But in the meantime I shall tell you all Iknow--which is after all not very much, and all I think--which is lessdefinite. There is no wound on the head which could account for thestate of stupor in which the patient continues. I must, therefore,take it that either he has been drugged or is under some hypnoticinfluence. So far as I can judge, he has not been drugged--at least bymeans of any drug of whose qualities I am aware. Of course, there isordinarily in this room so much of a mummy smell that it is difficultto be certain about anything having a delicate aroma. I dare say thatyou have noticed the peculiar Egyptians scents, bitumen, nard, aromaticgums and spices, and so forth. It is quite possible that somewhere inthis room, amongst the curios and hidden by stronger scents, is somesubstance or liquid which may have the effect we see. It is possiblethat the patient has taken some drug, and that he may in some sleepingphase have injured himself. I do not think this is likely; andcircumstances, other than those which I have myself been investigating,may prove that this surmise is not correct. But in the meantime it ispossible; and must, till it be disproved, be kept within our purview."Here Sergeant Daw interrupted:
"That may be, but if so, we should be able to find the instrument withwhich the wrist was injured. There would be marks of blood somewhere."
"Exactly so!" said the Doctor, fixing his glasses as though preparingfor an argument. "But if it be that the patient has used some strangedrug, it may be one that does not take effect at once. As we are asyet ignorant of its potentialities--if, indeed, the whole surmise iscorrect at all--we must be prepared at all points."
Here Miss Trelawny joined in the conversation:
"That would be quite right, so far as the action of the drug wasconcerned; but according to the second part of your surmise the woundmay have been self-inflicted, and this after the drug had taken effect."
"True!" said the Detective and the Doctor simultaneously. She went on:
"As however, Doctor, your guess does not exhaust the possibilities, wemust bear in mind that some other variant of the same root-idea may becorrect. I take it, therefore, that our first search, to be made onthis assumption, must be for the weapon with which the injury was doneto my Father's wrist."
"Perhaps he put the weapon in the safe before he became quiteunconscious," said I, giving voice foolishly to a half-formed thought.
"That could not be," said the Doctor quickly. "At least I think itcould hardly be," he added cautiously, with a brief bow to me. "Yousee, the left hand is covered with blood; but there is no blood markwhatever on the safe."
"Quite right!" I said, and there was a long pause.
The first to break the silence was the Doctor.
"We shall want a nurse here as soon as possible; and I know the veryone to suit. I shall go at once to get her if I can. I must ask thattill I return some of you will remain constantly with the patient. Itmay be necessary to remove him to another room later on; but in themeantime he is best left here. Miss Trelawny, may I take it thateither you or Mrs. Grant will remain here--not merely in the room, butclose to the patient and watchful of him--till I return?"
She bowed in reply, and took a seat beside the sofa. The Doctor gaveher some directions as to what she should do in case her father shouldbecome conscious before his return.
The next to move was Superintendent Dolan, who came close to SergeantDaw as he said:
"I had better return now to the station--unless, of course, you shouldwish me to remain for a while."
He answered, "Is Johnny Wright still in your division?"
"Yes! Would you like him to be with you?" The other nodded reply."Then I will send him on to you as soon as can be arranged. He shallthen stay with you as long as you wish. I will tell him that he is totake his instructions entirely from you."
The Sergeant accompanied him to the door, saying as he went:
"Thank you, sir; you are always thoughtful for men who are working withyou. It is a pleasure to me to be with you again. I shall go back toScotland Yard and report to my chief. Then I shall call at Chatwood's;and I shall return here as soon as possible. I suppose I may take it,miss, that I may put up here for a day or two, if required. It may besome help, or possibly some comfort to you, if I am about, until weunravel this mystery."
"I shall be very grateful to you." He looked keenly at her for a fewseconds before he spoke again.
"Before I go have I permission to look about your Father's table anddesk? There might be something which would give us a clue--or a leadat all events." Her answer was so unequivocal as almost to surprisehim.
"You have the fullest possible permission to do anything which may helpus in this dreadful trouble--to discover what it is that is wrong withmy Father, or which may shield him in the future!"
He began at once a systematic search of the dressing-table, and afterthat of the writing-table in the room. In one of the drawers he founda letter sealed; this he brought at once across the room and handed toMiss Trelawny.
"A letter--directed to me--and in my Father's hand!" she said as sheeagerly opened it. I watched her face as she began to read; but seeingat once that Sergeant Daw kept his keen eyes on her face, unflinchinglywatching every flitting expression, I kept my eyes henceforth fixed onhis. When Miss Trelawny had read her letter through, I had in my minda conviction, which, however, I kept locked in my own heart. Amongstthe suspicions in the mind of the Detective was one, rather perhapspotential than definite, of Miss Trelawny herself.
For several minutes Miss Trelawny held the letter in her hand with hereyes downcast, thinking. Then she read it carefully again; this timethe varying expressions were intensified, and I thought I could easilyfollow them. When she had finished the second reading, she pausedagain. Then, though with some reluctance, she handed the letter to theDetective. He read it eagerly but with unchanging face; read it asecond time, and then handed it back with a bow. She paused a littleagain, and then handed it to me. As she did so she raised her eyes tomine for a single moment appealingly; a swift blush spread over herpale cheeks and forehead.
With mingled feelings I took it, but, all said, I was glad. She didnot show any perturbation in giving the letter to the Detective--shemight not have shown any to anyone else. But to me... I feared tofollow the thought further; but read on, conscious that the eyes ofboth Miss Trelawny and the Detective were fixed on me.
"MY DEAR DAUGHTER, I want you to take this letter as aninstruction--absolute and imperative, and admitting of no deviationwhatever--in case anything untoward or unexpected by you or by othersshould happen to me. If I should be suddenly and mysteriously strickendown--either by sickness, accident or attack--you must follow thesedirections implicitly. If I am not already in my bedroom when you aremade cognisant of my state, I am to be brought there as quickly aspossible. Even should I be dead, my body is to be brought there.Thenceforth, until I am either conscious and able to give instructionson my own account, or buried, I am never to be left alone--not for asingle instant. From nightfall to sunrise at least two persons mustremain in the room. It will be well that a trained nurse be in theroom from time to time, and will note any symptoms, either permanent orchanging, which may strike her. My solicitors, Marvin & Jewkes, of 27BLincoln's Inn, have full instructions in case of my death; and Mr.Marvin has himself undertaken to see personally my wishes carried out.I should advise you, my dear Daughter, seeing that you have no relativeto apply to, to get some friend whom you can trust to either remainwithin the house where instant communication can be made, or to comenightly to aid in the watching, or to be within call. Such friend maybe either male or female; but, whichever it may be, there should beadded one other watcher or attendant at hand of the opposite sex.Understand, that it is of the very essence of my wish that there shouldbe, awake and exercising themselves to my purposes, both masculine andfeminine intelligences. Once more, my dear Margaret, let me impress onyou the need for observation and just reasoning to conclusions,howsoever strange. If I am taken ill or injured, this will be noordinary occasion; and I wish to warn you, so that your guarding may becomplete.
"Nothing in my room--I speak of the curios--must be removed ordisplaced in any way, or for any cause whatever. I have a specialreason and a special purpose in the placing of each; so that any movingof them would thwart my plans.
"Should you want money or counsel in anything, Mr. Marvin will carryout your wishes; to the which he has my full instructions."
"ABEL TRELAWNY."
I read the letter a second time before speaking, for I feared to betraymyself. The choice of a friend might be a momentous occasion for me.I had already ground for hope, that she had asked me to help her in thefirst throe of her trouble; but love makes its own doubtings, and Ifeared. My thoughts seemed to whirl with lightning rapidity, and in afew seconds a whole process of reasoning became formulated. I must notvolunteer to be the friend that the father advised his daughter to haveto aid her in her vigil; and yet that one glance had a lesson which Imust not ignore. Also, did not she, when she wanted help, send tome--to me a stranger, except for one meeting at a dance and one briefafternoon of companionship on the river? Would it not humiliate her tomake her ask me twice? Humiliate her! No! that pain I could at allevents save her; it is not humiliation to refuse. So, as I handed herback the letter, I said:
"I know you will forgive me, Miss Trelawny, if I presume too much; butif you will permit me to aid in the watching I shall be proud. Thoughthe occasion is a sad one, I shall be so far happy to be allowed theprivilege."
Despite her manifest and painful effort at self-control, the red tideswept her face and neck. Even her eyes seemed suffuse
d, and in sterncontrast with her pale cheeks when the tide had rolled back. Sheanswered in a low voice:
"I shall be very grateful for your help!" Then in an afterthought sheadded:
"But you must not let me be selfish in my need! I know you have manyduties to engage you; and though I shall value your help highly--mosthighly--it would not be fair to monopolise your time."
"As to that," I answered at once, "my time is yours. I can for todayeasily arrange my work so that I can come here in the afternoon andstay till morning. After that, if the occasion still demands it, I canso arrange my work that I shall have more time still at my disposal."
She was much moved. I could see the tears gather in her eyes, and sheturned away her head. The Detective spoke:
"I am glad you will be here, Mr. Ross. I shall be in the house myself,as Miss Trelawny will allow me, if my people in Scotland Yard willpermit. That letter seems to put a different complexion on everything;though the mystery remains greater than ever. If you can wait here anhour or two I shall go to headquarters, and then to the safe-makers.After that I shall return; and you can go away easier in your mind, forI shall be here."
When he had gone, we two, Miss Trelawny and I, remained in silence. Atlast she raised her eyes and looked at me for a moment; after that Iwould not have exchanged places with a king. For a while she busiedherself round the extemporised bedside of her father. Then, asking meto be sure not to take my eyes off him till she returned, she hurriedout.
In a few minutes she came back with Mrs. Grant and two maids and acouple of men, who bore the entire frame and furniture of a light ironbed. This they proceeded to put together and to make. When the workwas completed, and the servants had withdrawn, she said to me:
"It will be well to be all ready when the Doctor returns. He willsurely want to have Father put to bed; and a proper bed will be betterfor him than the sofa." She then got a chair close beside her father,and sat down watching him.
I went about the room, taking accurate note of all I saw. And trulythere were enough things in the room to evoke the curiosity of anyman--even though the attendant circumstances were less strange. Thewhole place, excepting those articles of furniture necessary to awell-furnished bedroom, was filled with magnificent curios, chieflyEgyptian. As the room was of immense size there was opportunity for theplacing of a large number of them, even if, as with these, they were ofhuge proportions.
Whilst I was still investigating the room there came the sound ofwheels on the gravel outside the house. There was a ring at the halldoor, and a few minutes later, after a preliminary tap at the door andan answering "Come in!" Doctor Winchester entered, followed by a youngwoman in the dark dress of a nurse.
"I have been fortunate!" he said as he came in. "I found her at onceand free. Miss Trelawny, this is Nurse Kennedy!"