CHAPTER XIII
AN INTERRUPTED TREASURE HUNT
"Well," inquired Martyn, when Graham? had finished, "what is thesituation now?"
"First of all," struck in Madge, "how about the will?"
"As regards the will, I do not hesitate to say that it is as sound andvalid a declaration of the testator's wishes as has been admitted toprobate--Mr. Hurley's testimony removes all doubt upon that point. Aman has a right to do what he will with his own--and that is all Mr.Ossington has done."
"How does it effect our right of search?"
"That is another question. The will gives neither you nor any one elsea title for the destruction of property. It simply conveys to thefinder the possession of certain things which are not specificallymentioned. But it authorises no one to look for those things, stillless to do damage while looking."
"Then is our search barred? Aren't we to look at all?"
"I don't say that. My advice is to put the legal aspect aside, and toregard the common-sense one only. The will says that certain things,when found, are to become the property of the finder, and this housewith them. You have reason to believe that those things are concealedwithin this house. Then it is for you to consider whether it is worthyour while to run the risk of becoming responsible for any damage youmay do in case of your failure to find those things. My opinion is,that it is worth your while to run that risk--that it is worth anyone's while to run that risk."
Madge stood up, with resolute lips, and sparkling eyes. She struck herhand upon the table.
"I'm sure it is! I know it is!"
Bruce Graham also rose.
"I am willing to share the risk if it is shareable--or to assume thewhole of it, for the matter of that. I incline strongly to yourbelief, Miss Brodie, that there is something hidden well worth thefinding, and that its hiding-place is within the walls of CloverCottage."
Jack Martyn hammered his fist upon the table.
"Hear, hear!--bravo!--spoken like a man! 'Pon my word, I'm beginningto think that there is something in it after all. A conviction iscreeping over me, slowly but surely, that in less time than no time Ishall be filling my pockets with the contents of Aladdin's Cave--andas there is only a bent sixpence and two bad pennies in them atpresent, there's plenty of room for more."
"The point is," said Ella, "where are you going to begin to look?"
"I am going to do what Mr. Nicholls wanted to do," declaredMadge--"tear the house to pieces."
"But, my dear, even if you set about the business in that drasticfashion, you'll require method. How are you going to begin to takethe house to pieces--by taking the slates off the roof, and thechimney-pots down?"
"And by taking the windows out of their frames, and the doors offtheir hinges, and displaying the grates in the front garden! George!you'll be improving the property with a vengeance if you do."
"I propose to do nothing so absurd. I simply wish you to understandthat before I give up the search the house will literally have beentorn to pieces--though I assure you, Ella, that I do not intend tobegin by taking off either the slates or the chimney-pots."
"Have you been able to make anything more of the writing which wasleft behind by your burglarious visitor?"
The inquiry came from Graham. Madge shook her head.
"Let me try my hand at it," cried Jack. "I have brains--I place themat your service. It is true I never have been able to solve a puzzlefrom my very earliest hours, but that is no reason why I should notbegin by solving this."
The scrap of paper was given him. He spread it out on the table infront of him. Leaning his head upon his hands, he stared at it, theexpression on his face scarcely promising a prompt elucidation.
"The first part is simple, extremely simple. Especially after Mr.Graham's last night's lucid exposition. Otherwise I should havedescribed it as recondite. But the second part's a howler; yes, ahowler! 'Right--cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--left eye--push!' The conjunction is surprising. I can only remark that if thatassorted collection of animals is bottled up somewhere in this houseall together, that alone would be a find worth coming upon. There willbe some lively moments when you let the collection out."
"Did you mention anything to Mr. Nicholls about the paper?" askedMadge of Graham.
"Not a syllable. I gathered from what he said that the house was doneup before it was let--papered, painted, and so on, and that thereforeany former landmarks to which it might have been alluding haveprobably disappeared."
"That's what I think, and that's what I mean by saying we shall haveto pull the house to pieces."
"Even if that is the case, as Miss Duncan puts it, where are you goingto begin? You must remember that you will have to continue living inthe house while it is being dismantled, and that you must spareyourselves as much discomfort as possible."
"It seems that you have to begin by pushing the left eye," said Jack,who still was studying the paper. "Though whether it is the left eyeof the entire assorted collection is not quite clear. If that is thecase, and that remarkable optic has to be pushed with any degree ofvigour, I can only say that I shall take up a position in the centreof the road till the proceedings are concluded."
"Why not commence," asked Madge, "with a thorough examination of theroom which we're now in?"
"You yourself," said Ella, "admitted last night that it was hardlylikely that the treasure would be hidden in the same room whichcontained the will."
Madge pursed her lips and frowned.
"I've been thinking about that since, and I don't at all see why weshould take it for granted. One thing's certain, the room ishoneycombed with possible hiding-places. There are hollows behind thewainscot, the walls themselves sound hollow. That unhappy man canhardly have found a part of the house better adapted to his purpose."
"See there--what's that?" Ella was pointing to a kind of plastercornice which ran round the room. "What are those things which are cutor moulded on that strip of beading, if it is beading, under theceiling?"
"They look to me like some sort of ornamental bosses," said Graham.
"They certainly are neither cats or dogs," decided Madge.
"I'm not so sure of that; you know what extraordinary things they tellyou are intended to represent things which are not in the least bitlike them. Where's that paper? Jack, give me that paper."
Jack gave it her. She glanced at it.
"'Right'--I'll take up a position like you did last night, Mr. Graham,to the right of the door; 'cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--'now----"
"Well?" queried Madge, for Ella had stopped. "Now what?"
"I think," continued Ella, with evident dubitation, "that I'll againdo what you did last night, Mr. Graham, and cross right over; thoughit says nothing about it here, but perhaps that was omitted onpurpose." She marched straight across the room. "Now we'll take thefirst thing upon the beading, or whatever it is, to be a cat, andwe'll count them alternately--cat--dog--the fifth dog."
"Very good," said Graham, standing close up to thewall and pointing with his outstretched hand,"Cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--cat--dog--here you are."
"Now, 'left eye--push.'"
"Or shove," suggested Jack.
"But there is no eye--whether left or otherwise."
"That's a detail," murmured Jack.
"Let me see." Ella clambered on to a chair. From that position ofvantage she examined the protuberances in question.
"There really does seem nothing which could represent an eye; thethings look more like knuckle-bones than anything else."
"What's the odds? Let's all get hammers and whack the whole jollylot of them in the eye, or where, if right is right, it ought to be.And then, if nothing happens--and we'll hope to goodness nothingwill--we'll whack 'em again."
"I'm afraid, Ella," put in Madge, "that your cats and dogs are merelysuppositions. I vote, by way of doing something practical, that westart stripping the wainscot. You'll find hiding-places enough' b
ehindthat, and it's quite on the cards, something in them."
"Certainly," assented Jack, "I am on. Bring out your hatchets,pickaxes, crowbars, and other weapons of war, and we'll turn up ourshirt-sleeves, and shiver our timbers, and not leave one splinter ofwood adhering to another. Buck up, Graham! Take off your coat, my boy!You're going to begin to enjoy yourself at last, I give you my word."
Ella, possibly slightly exacerbated by the failure of her littlesuggestion, endeavoured to snub the exuberant Mr. Martyn.
"I don't know if you think you're funny, Jack, because you're onlysilly. If you can't be serious, perhaps you'd better go; then, if wedo find something, you'll have no share."
"Upon my Sam!" cried Jack, "if that ain't bitter hard. If there's anysharing going on, I don't care what it is, if there's any man whowants his bit of it more than I do, I should like you to point himout. Ella, my dearest Ella, I do assure you, by the token of thosepeerless charms----"
"Jack, don't be silly."
"I think," insinuated Madge, "that you and I, Mr. Graham, had bettergo and fetch a chisel and a hammer."
They went. When they returned, bearing those useful implements,however the discussion might have gone, Mr. Martyn showed no signs ofbeing crushed.
"Give me that chisel," he exclaimed. "You never saw a man handle atool like me--and to the last day of your life you'll never seeanother. I'm capable of committing suicide while hammering in a tack."
"Thank you, Jack," said Madge; "but I think carpentering may be withinthe range of Mr. Graham's capacity rather than yours."
At least Mr. Graham showed himself capable of stripping the wainscot,though with the tools at his command--those being limited to thehammer and the chisel, with occasional help from the poker--it was notso easy a business as it might have been. It took some time. And, asnone of the hoped-for results ensued--nothing being revealed exceptthe wall behind--it became a trifle tedious. Eleven o'clock struck,and still a considerable portion of the wainscot was as before.
"Might I ask," inquired Jack, "if this is going to be an all nightjob; because I have to be at the office in the morning, and I shouldlike to have some sleep before I start."
Graham surveyed the work of devastation.
"I will finish this side, and then I think, Miss Brodie, we mightleave the rest to another time--till to-morrow, say."
"I really don't see what's the use of doing it at all," said Ella. "Idon't believe there's anything hidden in this room; and look at themess, it will take hours to clear it up. And who wants to live in aplace with bare brick walls? It gives me the horrors to look at them."
Madge looked at her, more in sorrow than in anger.
"I think, Mr. Graham, that perhaps you had better stop."
He detected the mournful intonation.
"At any rate, I'll finish this side."
He continued to add to the uncomfortable appearance of the room; forthere certainly was something in what Ella said.
He had worked for another quarter of an hour, or twenty minutes, andhad torn off three or four more strips of wood--for they had beenfirmly secured in their places, and took some tearing--and the otherswere gathered round them, assisting and looking on, momentarilyexpecting that something would come to light better worth having thandust and cobwebs, of which articles there were very much more thansufficient, when Ella gave a sudden exclamation.
"Madge! Jack!" she cried. "Who--who's this man?"
"What man?" asked Madge.
Turning, she saw.