CHAPTER XXXI
THE BEGINNING OF THE END
There was silence for a few moments when the end of the Squire's storywas reached. Then Laurence said--
"The mystery is well-nigh solved. We can now see what blunders we havemade, how we have unjustly suspected 'Doctor Meadows' (or whatever hisname is), and been led a dance by the freaks of coincidence. Oursuspect, Meadows, has proved to be not only innocent of the charges webrought against him, but the man who, by some means we have yet tolearn, has been able to put into our hands the key to the mystery. Butfor him I should not have obtained access to this book, and without itwe might have gone on blundering in the dark for months, or even years.Take my word for it, Miss Scott, we are neither of us born to beinvestigators of mystery."
"How dare you say so!" replied the girl, with pretended anger, "when Ihave this very day made a most startling discovery, which may lead tothe revelation of 'Doctor Meadows'' secret."
"Oh," cried Laurence, "is that so? Of course, I mean that I am the poorhand at detective work, and you----"
"A poorer," Lena ended the sentence. "But for all that I really havemade a strange discovery."
"Well, and what is it, if it is not criminal to ask?"
"You remember the envelope addressed to Major Jones-Farnell that wefound in the garden?"
"Certainly. It was addressed in a lady's hand, from somewhere abroad;or, rather, from either Scotland, Wales, or Ireland, since it bore apenny stamp, and was marked 'England' in the address."
"Well, I have found out the name of the person who addressed thatenvelope to 'Doctor Meadows.'"
"And her name is that of someone I know well. I am convinced of that.Don't keep me in suspense any longer, please."
"Her name is that of someone you know very well--someone, though, thatyou know no better than I or auntie or--well, Kingsford does."
"What do you mean? Tell me, or I shall succumb to my anxiety." Laurencespoke in jest, but he was really more than interested to learn theidentity of the "doctor's" fair correspondent.
"Well, then, the unknown lady is none other than the Princess H----!"
"The Princess H----! No; you must be mistaken. It cannot be!"
"Two people do not write the same 'fist,'" Lena responded, warmly."Where have you seen that writing before?" she added, taking up amagazine from a table. Opening it at a page the corner of which had beenturned down, she pointed to a facsimile autograph letter by PrincessH----, the wife of Prince H----, whose death, under mysteriouscircumstances, had caused much gossip some years before, and who, as themother of a little prince who, had he lived, would in due course haveruled over Queen Victoria's dominions, was one of the Royal celebritiesof the day.
"Well, do you doubt your own eyes?" asked Lena quietly.
"No; I apologise," Laurence replied. "I agree with you that the'doctor's' lady correspondent is Princess H----. The writings areprecisely alike. There can be no doubt about it. You have made a mostimportant discovery."
"Further, I can prove my theory, if proof is required. The Princess wasresiding at Dublin up to a few days ago. That was why she wrote'England' at the end of 'Major Jones-Farnell's' address. What herconnection is with this gentleman of aliases I cannot guess. Thediscovery, however, tells us one thing--that what the 'doctor' saidabout the nature of his secret was true."
"You mean that----"
"That he said if his secret was revealed to the world it would cause ageneral sensation--that it would do great harm to the world. The secretconcerns the mysterious death of Prince H----!"
"But who, then, is 'Meadows'? What has he to do with secrets of suchgreat importance?"
"That I cannot say, but I believe your father may know. Note this,though: your father denies the fact that he confided his secret to'Doctor Meadows.' We have discovered that Meadows not only holds hissecret, but has been bound by your father not to reveal it. If yourfather denies this, and is, nevertheless, really connected in some waywith the 'doctor,' but will not confess to the fact, is it not possiblethat he, in his turn, knows something about Meadows' secret? I grant youthat it does not follow that such is the case, but it is a distinctprobability, to my mind."
Laurence could not reply. The argument was a fair one, but Lena's formerhypothesis concerning Horncastle's connection with the attacks on theSquire's life had seemed so ingenious and probable a one and yet hadbeen proved to be wrong in every particular.
"At any rate," he remarked, after a pause, "you will agree that we havereached the beginning of the end of this mystery?"
"Certainly; but we have yet much to learn. I doubt not but that thesecret of 'Doctor Meadows' will prove less easy to solve than that ofyour father. I agree with Meadows that much of the mystery we havealmost solved should have been explained long ago. The discovery thatthe Squire had been an Indian officer, coupled with the fact of theunknown assailant's agility, etcetera, should have suggested to us thepossibility of the creature being a Thug. The Squire's story hasrevealed one thing--the reason why he fainted at my mention of the womanin coloured skirts. He thought the avenger had come in the person ofLilla herself (whom he believed to be dead), when what I had seen wasthis Indian, whose clothing must certainly be somewhat similar to thatwe associate with a female. Now we know, too, that the 'robbery' of thegardener's coat was effected in order that the assassin might be lessrecognisable. One thing, though, strikes me as strange. How did thiscreature learn to ride a bicycle?"
"You mustn't forget that India, like all other countries, is advancingwith the times. No doubt the Thugs encourage such a form of athleticsamong their children. Why he did not return the bicycle to the shed,though, seems difficult to understand; and what is another mystery to meis why he used a pistol on the first occasion, when that weapon islittle known among the Thugs."
"Perhaps, finding it so difficult to get into the house and murder yourfather, he cast caution and his usual weapon to the winds, and essayedthe attack on the moor. By chance he discovered the secret passages androom when lurking in that splendid hiding-place, the barn. Then, havinglost his pistol, he entered the Squire's room by means of the secretdoor in the wall, and would have murdered the old man had it not beenfor the bat."
"But how do you know that the unexplored secret passage does lead to theSquire's room, as Meadows suggested that it might?"
"Because," replied Lena triumphantly, "I noticed that the wardrobe inthat room had been shifted since the Squire's return to consciousness,and for no apparent reason. Mrs. Featherston, moreover, informed me thatit was moved at the Squire's particular request."