CHAPTER XXXVIII
THE REST OF THE FIND
It was a woman's clothing, beyond a doubt, all thrown in anyhow,--as ifthe person who had placed it there had been in a desperate hurry. Anentire outfit was there, shoes, stockings, body linen, corsets, andall,--even to hat, gloves, and hairpins;--these latter were mixed upwith the rest of the garments in strange confusion. It seemed plainthat whoever had worn those clothes had been stripped to the skin.
Lessingham and Sydney stared at me in silence as I dragged them out andlaid them on the floor. The dress was at the bottom,--it was an alpaca,of a pretty shade in blue, bedecked with lace and ribbons, as is thefashion of the hour, and lined with sea-green silk. It had perhaps beena 'charming confection' once--and that a very recent one!--but now itwas all soiled and creased and torn and tumbled. The two spectatorsmade a simultaneous pounce at it as I brought it to the light.
'My God!' cried Sydney, 'it's Marjorie's!--she was wearing it when Isaw her last!'
'It's Marjorie's!' gasped Lessingham,--he was clutching at the ruinedcostume, staring at it like a man who has just received sentence ofdeath. 'She wore it when she was with me yesterday,--I told her how itsuited her, and how pretty it was!'
There was silence,--it was an eloquent find; it spoke for itself. Thetwo men gazed at the heap of feminine glories,--it might have been themost wonderful sight they ever had seen. Lessingham was the first tospeak,--his face had all at once grown grey and haggard.
'What has happened to her?'
I replied to his question with another.
'Are you sure this is Miss Linden's dress?'
'I am sure,--and were proof needed, here it is.'
He had found the pocket, and was turning out the contents. There was apurse, which contained money and some visiting cards on which were hername and address; a small bunch of keys, with her nameplate attached; ahandkerchief, with her initials in a corner. The question of ownershipwas placed beyond a doubt.
'You see,' said Lessingham, exhibiting the money which was in thepurse, 'it is not robbery which has been attempted. Here are twoten-pound notes, and one for five, besides gold and silver,--overthirty pounds in all.'
Atherton, who had been turning over the accumulation of rubbish betweenthe joists, proclaimed another find.
'Here are her rings, and watch, and a bracelet,--no, it certainly doesnot look as if theft had been an object.'
Lessingham was glowering at him with knitted brows.
'I have to thank you for this.'
Sydney was unwontedly meek.
'You are hard on me, Lessingham, harder than I deserve,--I had ratherhave thrown away my own life than have suffered misadventure to havecome to her.'
'Yours are idle words. Had you not meddled this would not havehappened. A fool works more mischief with his folly than of maliceprepense. If hurt has befallen Marjorie Lindon you shall account for itto me with your life's blood.'
'Let it be so,' said Sydney. 'I am content. If hurt has come toMarjorie, God knows that I am willing enough that death should come tome.'
While they wrangled, I continued to search. A little to one side, underthe flooring which was still intact, I saw something gleam. Bystretching out my hand, I could just manage to reach it,--it was a longplait of woman's hair. It had been cut off at the roots,--so close tothe head in one place that the scalp itself had been cut, so that thehair was clotted with blood.
They were so occupied with each other that they took no notice of me. Ihad to call their attention to my discovery.
'Gentlemen, I fear that I have here something which will distressyou,--is not this Miss Lindon's hair?'
They recognised it on the instant. Lessingham, snatching it from myhands, pressed it to his lips.
'This is mine,--I shall at least have something.' He spoke with agrimness which was a little startling. He held the silken tresses atarm's length. 'This points to murder,--foul, cruel, causeless murder.As I live, I will devote my all,--money, time, reputation!--to gainingvengeance on the wretch who did this deed.'
Atherton chimed in.
'To that I say, Amen!' He lifted his hand. 'God is my witness!'
'It seems to me, gentlemen, that we move too fast,--to my mind it doesnot by any means of necessity point to murder. On the contrary, I doubtif murder has been done. Indeed, I don't mind owning that I have atheory of my own which points all the other way.'
Lessingham caught me by the sleeve.
'Mr Champnell, tell me your theory.'
'I will, a little later. Of course it may be altogether wrong;--thoughI fancy it is not; I will explain my reasons when we come to talk ofit. But, at present, there are things which must be done.'
'I vote for tearing up every board in the house!' cried Sydney. 'Andfor pulling the whole infernal place to pieces. It's a conjurer'sden.--I shouldn't be surprised if cabby's old gent is staring at us allthe while from some peephole of his own.'
We examined the entire house, methodically, so far as we were able,inch by inch. Not another board proved loose,--to lift those which werenailed down required tools, and those we were without. We sounded allthe walls,--with the exception of the party walls they were the usuallath and plaster constructions, and showed no signs of having beentampered with. The ceilings were intact; if anything was concealed inthem it must have been there some time,--the cement was old and dirty.We took the closet to pieces; examined the chimneys; peered into thekitchen oven and the copper;--in short, we pried into everything which,with the limited means at our disposal, could be pried into,--withoutresult. At the end we found ourselves dusty, dirty, and discomfited.The cabman's 'old gent' remained as much a mystery as ever, and nofurther trace had been discovered of Miss Lindon.
Atherton made no effort to disguise his chagrin.
'Now what's to be done? There seems to be just nothing in the place atall, and yet that there is, and that it's the key to the wholeconfounded business I should be disposed to swear.'
'In that case I would suggest that you should stay and look for it. Thecabman can go and look for the requisite tools, or a workman to assistyou, if you like. For my part it appears to me that evidence of anothersort is, for the moment, of paramount importance; and I propose tocommence my search for it by making a call at the house which is overthe way.'
I had observed, on our arrival, that the road only contained two houseswhich were in anything like a finished state,--that which we were in,and another, some fifty or sixty yards further down, on the oppositeside. It was to this I referred. The twain immediately proffered theircompanionship.
'I will come with you,' said Mr Lessingham.
'And I,' echoed Sydney. 'We'll leave this sweet homestead in charge ofthe cabman,--I'll pull it to pieces afterwards.' He went out and spoketo the driver. 'Cabby, we're going to pay a visit to the little cribover there,--you keep an eye on this one. And if you see a sign ofanyone being about the place,--living, or dead, or anyhow--you give mea yell. I shall be on the lookout, and I'll be with you before you cansay Jack Robinson.'
'You bet I'll yell,--I'll raise the hair right off you.' The fellowgrinned. 'But I don't know if you gents are hiring me by the day,--Iwant to change my horse; he ought to have been in his stable a coupleof hours ago.'
'Never mind your horse,--let him rest a couple of hours extra to-morrowto make up for those he has lost to-day. I'll take care you don't loseanything by this little job,--or your horse either.--By the way, lookhere,--this will be better than yelling.'
Taking a revolver out of his trousers' pocket he handed it up to thegrinning driver.
'If that old gent of yours does appear, you have a pop at him,--I shallhear that easier than a yell. You can put a bullet through him if youlike,--I give you my word it won't be murder.'
'I don't care if it is,' declared the cabman, handling the weapon likeone who was familiar with arms of precision. 'I used to fancy myrevolver shooting when I was with the colours, and if I do get a chanceI'll put a shot through the old hunks, if only to
prove to you that I'mno liar.'
Whether the man was in earnest or not I could not tell,--nor whetherAtherton meant what he said in answer.
'If you shoot him I'll give you fifty pounds.'
'All right!' The driver laughed. 'I'll do my best to earn that fifty!'
The Beetle: A Mystery Page 38