Page 14 of A Queen's Error


  CHAPTER XIV

  THE CASKET

  "Now there are two favours I wish to ask you, Don Juan," I said, as hestood with the precious casket in his hands, "the first is to put thatcasket in a place of safety; the second to release this poor wretchfrom the snake."

  He awoke from a fit of deep meditation with a start.

  "I will grant your two favours immediately," he answered quickly as heput the casket in his breast pocket and buttoned his frock-coat overit; "see one is already done, now I will accomplish the other."

  He went to the end of the apartment, and lifting a curtain hanging overthe base of a bookcase, took from a shelf there a silver bowl, filledapparently with bread and milk.

  With this he went out on to the terrace, through the French windows,and commenced to make a peculiar sibilant noise between his teeth, halfwhistle half hiss.

  It had a most peculiar effect upon the boa-constrictor, who, from thefirst production of the silver bowl, had shown a lively interest in itby moving its great head up and down excitedly. The noise made by DonJuan, however, decided it; it began to uncoil itself from the would-beassassin and finally dropped on the floor with a "slump" and wriggledout of the window on to the terrace. As the man was released, Icovered him with the revolver as I was taking no risks, but it wasquite unnecessary, as he fell fainting on a couch to which he hadstaggered almost immediately he was free.

  Don Juan returned from the terrace with a pleased smile.

  "My pets are a great source of comfort to me," he remarked as he sankinto a chair, after courteously making me take another. "To see thatpoor dumb thing take its food so healthily compensates me almost forthe shock which this villainous fellow has given us."

  "Snakes," he continued, "are greatly affected by sound, as no doubt younoticed just now. There is little question that the snake wasattracted to Lopes by some sound."

  "But still," he continued, placing his hand in his breast, "the sightof the casket which you have brought to me is a greater shock than thedesperado's pistol presented at your head was to you."

  He passed his hand over his forehead as if the idea bewildered him.

  "And you say you got it from the Baroness d'Altenberg?" he asked.

  "Yes," I answered, "I took it from the safe at her direction."

  "Whatever can it contain?" he muttered to himself; then the figure ofLopes lying on the sofa caught his eye.

  "We must have this fellow removed," he said. "What shall we do withhim?"

  I looked at the recumbent figure for some time, and it only inspired mewith pity.

  "I think he ought to be sent somewhere," I proposed, "where he would betaken care of and prevented from doing further mischief. Have you ahospital in Valoro?"

  The old gentleman looked at me in some surprise.

  "I assure you," he answered, "that we have two, as fine as any inEurope."

  "Then," I said, "if I may make the suggestion, I would have Lopes sentoff to one."

  Don Juan rang the bell immediately, and when a servant answered it, heindicated the man on the couch and gave some order in Spanish to him.

  "They will take him away," he explained, "and send him down to thehospital in one of my carriages. There we can have him arrested laterif it is worth while."

  In a very short time two men appeared and carried Lopes out of the room.

  Then we sat down facing one another, and Don Juan produced the casketfrom his pocket and stood contemplating it upon his knee.

  "Whatever could have prompted the old Baroness d'Altenberg to send methis," he cogitated half to himself, "after so many years; and what canit contain?"

  I made a suggestion.

  "Supposing you open it," I said, "while I walk in the garden."

  "My dear Mr. Anstruther," he said, quite frightened at giving me somuch trouble, "that is not at all necessary. I can go into my littlecabinet here."

  He indicated a small room, the door of which stood partly open, andrevealed a little study with a writing table and a reading lamp.

  "If you will excuse me for five minutes," he added, "I will retire intothat little room and open the casket!"

  "But have you the keys?" I asked.

  He nodded with a smile.

  "Oh yes," he answered, "those three little locks and the secret ofopening them are very familiar to me, but I have not seen it for agreat many years."

  I did not in the least understand what he was alluding to, but I, ofcourse, urged him to retire into his little room and examine thecontents of the casket in peace, while I amused myself in the studyitself.

  "You will find some marvellous stuffed specimens of the green lizard inthose lower cases," he remarked, as he disappeared into his sanctum."I should advise you to study them closely."

  He had no sooner disappeared into the little room, the door of which heleft slightly open, when I mentally consigned the green lizards and, infact, the whole lacertilian family to a place warmer than the plains ofAquazilia in summer even, and sat idly wondering how long it would bebefore I saw Dolores again.

  I distinctly heard the click of a lock as the old gentleman opened theebony casket, there was a pause and a long silence broken only by thecrackling of paper. Then I heard him give a cry of astonishment, and aSpanish exclamation it was--"Madre de Dios!"

  An invocation only used on occasions of great excitement.

  Then I heard a low muttering as he repeated certain passages, possiblyof the letter, to himself, but it was in a foreign language, probablySpanish, and entirely unintelligible to me.

  Another pause followed, then the door opened again and Don Juanre-entered the room, but his appearance had entirely changed.

  His healthy sunburnt complexion had lost all its colour and was of aleaden hue, his eyes were starting from beneath his bushy eyebrows, andhis right hand, as he laid it on the back of a chair, trembled like aleaf in the wind.

  "Mr. Anstruther," he said with difficulty, "it will be necessary for meto leave for Europe as soon as possible, for England, for Bath!"

  If he had said that he had just made up his mind to go to the moon Icould not have been more astonished!

  "To England!" I repeated.

  "Yes, to England, and that as soon as possible."

  The whole thing seemed to me extremely curious.

  "Forgive my asking the question," I said, "but do you mind telling mewhy you want to visit Bath?"

  He considered for some moments, passing his hand across his forehead,which was clammy with perspiration.

  "Before I answer that question," he said at last, "I should like to askyou another.

  "I understand that you have met the lady who entrusted you with thecasket which you have given me, at a certain house in a street calledMonmouth Street in the town of Bath?"

  "Yes, that is so," I answered.

  "Are you aware that there was a safe in that house. A steel safe ofpeculiar workmanship?"

  "Yes," I replied, "I have seen it and opened it. I told you so."

  "Ah! then you can tell me," he cried excitedly, "what was in the safe?"

  "I'm afraid I cannot; I opened the safe at the request of the old lady,who, at that time, was lying sorely wounded on her bed. I opened ithastily, took out what I was directed to take by a note within, thenclosed the safe again."

  "But the safe was not empty?"

  "No, I think I can go so far as to say that there appeared, as well asI recollect from the hasty glance I had, to be other documents andparcels behind those which I took away."

  "Very good," Don Juan replied; "now tell me something more. In whosecharge is that house in the street of Monmouth. Do you happen to know?"

  "When I left Bath," I replied, "the house was in charge of a sergeantof police and his wife; they were caretakers."

  "Very good, very good indeed," answered the old man, apparently muchrelieved; "now tell me one thing more. When does the ship by which youcame return to England?"

  "The _Oceana_ returns in about a fortnight's ti
me."

  "Do you think now, if I used my best endeavours to make that fortnightvery agreeable to you, and to show you during that time more, perhaps,than you would see of Aquazilia in a month in the ordinary way, that Icould induce you to return to England with me by that ship?"

  At first I thought that by agreeing with his request I should beleaving Dolores behind, then I remembered that I could induce himperhaps to take her with him.

  I hesitated for a time and he pressed me.

  "Come, now, Mr. Anstruther," he said, "give me your answer."

  "I am perfectly certain," I said hesitatingly, for I was not going togive myself away, "that you will make our stay delightful, but I think,before I answer, I had better let you into a little secret.

  "I happen to know that my cousin, Lord St. Nivel, and his sister, LadyEthel Vanborough, intend asking you and Donna Dolores to spend sometime with them in England. Could you not make this visit answer bothpurposes?"

  "That would necessitate my taking my daughter with me," he said ratherdubiously; then a light seemed to break in upon him, and a smilehovered about his lips to which the colour was just returning.

  "Should my daughter have no objection," he replied guardedly, "I see noreason why she should not accompany us."

  I know my face lighted up with pleasure. I could not control it.

  "We shall spend Christmas with you," I said cheerfully at last, "at anyrate, and Christmas in Valoro will be a great novelty both to mycousins and myself, I have no doubt."

  "Christmas and the New Year are the gayest times with us of the wholetwelve months," he answered, "and you will be able to be present atthem both."

  "The prospect," I cried, "is delightful, and I will return with you,Don Juan, with pleasure. I should be most ungrateful to refuse yourkind offer. I think I can answer for my cousins too, as they havereally only taken this trip to please me."

  "Very well, then," he said rising, "that's settled; now we will go andfind the ladies. I have no doubt your cousins have arrived by thistime. I sent an automobile for them."

  As I followed him, I flattered myself that I could persuade Dolores totake that return journey with us to Europe, if any persuasion wereindeed necessary, by which it will be seen that I was acquiring acertain amount of confidence in my powers over that young lady.

 
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