The House of Strange Secrets: A Detective Story

by A. Eric Bayly

  CHAPTER VI

  THE FIRST ENCOUNTER

  Only for a few minutes did the Squire remain unconscious. Before his sonhad time to lift him, with the butler's aid, upon a convenient sofa, hehad opened his eyes in a nervous fashion, and asked where he was. It waswith mingled feelings of pity and contempt that Laurence told him he wassafe at home. The old gentleman's extraordinary behaviour displeased hisson, who regretted that such an incident had occurred in the presence ofthe ladies (though in his thoughts Mrs. Knox had but a small place), andwas especially annoyed, because it seemed to him that his father'ssudden embarrassment was the result of some remark of Miss Scott's,though exactly what remark it was that had caused an elderly man, and amagistrate to boot, to faint like a servant girl or a delicate child wasas much a mystery to him as the events of the previous night, and theSquire's extraordinary precautions during the last few months.

  No sooner had Mr. Carrington recovered, then, than, at his son'ssuggestion, he retired to his own room, expressing a hope that he wouldrenew his acquaintance with the ladies at dinner.

  Mrs. Knox belonged to the noble army of "after-lunch nappers," and she,too, presently disappeared at the conclusion of the meal, leavingLaurence inwardly congratulating himself on the good fortune thatremoved the worthy old lady to her bedroom, permitting him to do thehonours of the house to her niece alone.

  At the girl's suggestion, a visit to the conservatories and flowergardens was the first event of the afternoon. But the day was warm, andtwo easy-chairs placed temptingly on the lawn proved a greaterattraction than the walk which had been proposed by good Mrs. Knox.

  "Well, and what is your opinion about this fire, Mr. Carrington?" askedSelene Scott, after a pause in the conversation.

  "In my opinion it seems very much like a case of incendiarism," repliedLaurence.

  "So I imagine, and--why do you think your father was so upset when Imentioned the person I saw in the Marquis's garden last night?"

  Laurence did not reply for a moment. He was deliberating with himself asto whether he should confide in his fair companion all he knew about theold gentleman's fears, the affair on the moor, and the mysteriousinmates of Durley Dene. It was more than possible that a sharp,intelligent girl, like Miss Scott seemed to be, might prove ofconsiderable assistance to him in his efforts to account for theSquire's precautions and the uncanny attempts on his life.

  On the other hand, he knew women to be credited with the bump ofloquacity, and it was far from his intentions that his father should getto know of the efforts he was making to unravel the mystery surroundingold Mr. Carrington's terrible dread. In a conversation he had had thatmorning with the Squire, on being pressed by Laurence to confess thathis fear was of something more than burglars, Mr. Carrington had beggedhis son not to allude to the subject at all. He could not, he said, andhe would not, explain what the secret of his life was. "Even had I asecret, it were better," he had proceeded to say, "for your own sake,Laurence, that you did not know that secret, and it is useless for youto try and extract an explanation from me of my proceedings. And," hehad added, as though fearing he had said too much, "you are wrong inimagining that my fear of burglars is a cloak for something else. I am,indeed, in mortal fear of--a--housebreaker!"

  Consequently Laurence knew that it was useless to obtain a solution ofthe puzzle from his father, and, to the best of his knowledge, no onecould supply that solution but--possibly the mysterious bicyclist, andthe equally mysterious Major Jones-Farnell, who, Laurence was convinced,were one and the same.

  Therefore, it would certainly be easier, he argued, were he to work handin hand with another person who might be likely to help him in hisdetective efforts. And the collaboration was likely to be moreparticularly pleasant when it was with such a companion as the younggirl at his side!

  Thus it came about that, after a promise of the strictest secrecy,Selene was given a concise "precis" of all the incidents that Laurencedeemed to be in any way connected with Squire Carrington's secret andthe mystery of Durley Dene.

  The girl followed the narrative with the deepest interest.

  "Thank you so much for confiding in me," she said at the conclusion. "Ihope you will never have cause to regret unbosoming yourself. There isone thing," she went on, "that, it is quite plain, must be done."

  "And that is to beard the lion in his den?" suggested Laurence.

  "Exactly. We must pay an informal call upon Major Jones-Farnell, andhear what he has to say for himself."

  "That is easier said than done, I am afraid, Miss Scott," said Laurence,shaking his head; "he's a mysterious person in every respect. Why, thereare four people living in the house, or supposed to be four, and yet butone of these (an old woman, who won't open her mouth, except to hurlimprecations at the village children when they cry after her) has everbeen seen abroad in daytime. Then you must include in your list thecreature I saw at the window, and the unknown bicyclist who doesn't wearboots, or, if he does, wears them under his socks, who, presumably, wasalso the person I saw in the garden; and that's all you know aboutDurley Dene. I believe the 'hodd man,' as our gardener calls one of thefour residents, has been seen at night-time strolling about the groundsand smoking, but no one seems to have caught a glimpse of his face."

  "Then," broke in the girl, "how does anybody know that there are fourpeople at all?"

  "That's smart of you, Miss Scott," replied Carrington, "but thehouse-agent's confidential clerk evidently considered it part of hisduties to betray the confidence placed in him by passing the news on toa friend. That friend told his friend, and now everyone is aware of thefact."

  "Ah! But, on consideration, don't you think there is one course open tous which is better, and perhaps safer, than 'bearding' the Major in hisweird den?"

  "No, I can't say that I do."

  "There now, I'm a better detective than you! Why, we'll get the sour oldlady who indulges in profanity to solve the mystery for us."

  "But how? She's as silent as the grave!"

  "Yes; and so probably will the Major be, but surely you have heard thatif a detective knows he has to obtain certain information either from aman or a woman, he first goes for the woman? You know the saying, 'Womanis weak'? Well, perhaps this crusty old lady is no exception to therule. She may be assailable by bribes, or possibly by threats; but, inany case, it will be easier to attack her, metaphorically speaking, thanthe men in their own castle, to which it would probably be impossiblefor us to gain access."

  Laurence agreed. The idea, hardly practicable as it seemed to be, was atany rate better than his own of going straight to the seat of themystery and showing his hand in an interview, which he might or mightnot be allowed, with Major Jones-Farnell.

  Further conversation between the young people decided them that nobetter means of attempting the solution was possible.

  The first question to be decided was where the "tackling," as Laurencecalled it, of the old woman should take place, how the scheme should beworked, and when it was possible for a start to be made.

  For many reasons, the pair argued, it would be as well to set to work assoon as possible, since the first attempt on the Squire's life might atany moment be followed up by a second, and perhaps even more desperateeffort.

  There could be little doubt but that the position of anyone whoattempted to frustrate the hidden enemy's murderous attempts was one ofdanger, and for this reason Laurence regretted, when too late, that MissScott should have elected to share that risk with him. In vain did hesuggest that she should not endanger herself in any way, but remainbehind the scenes, pulling the strings of the manoeuvre by means ofher suggestions and ready advice. She would have none of it. She wasequally interested in the case as was her companion, and as to anyquestion of endangering her life, she said that she had no fears on thataccount, since the mere encounter with a harmless old woman was hardlylikely to prove a hazardous adventure.

  At this stage of the important discussion afternoon tea and Mrs. Knoxappeared on the scene, so, for
the moment, further conversation on anybut ordinary subjects was impossible.

  After tea, however, the elder lady, explaining that she had letters towrite, again begged to be excused from accompanying the young people. Soonce more were they at liberty to resume their conversation.

  Laurence, in the meantime, had been able, by a judiciously wordedquestion, to learn from the butler that the mysterious woman from theDene was in the habit of doing her marketing on Tuesday evenings. Sincethis was a Tuesday, an opportunity would probably arrive very shortlyfor the proposed encounter with that lady. It was therefore necessarythat they should decide their plan of action without delay. And thisthey proceeded to do, while taking a walk round the orchards, thatstretched for half a mile downwards behind the house.

  By the time they returned to the Manse it was within an hour ofdinner-time, so each hurried away to dress for a long and formal meal,that proved to be somewhat tedious to the young people, very agreeable,owing to its sumptuousness, to good Mrs. Knox, and evidently a merematter of form to the Squire, who sat motionless in his chair almostfrom the beginning to the end of dinner, hardly addressing a single wordto his guests, or partaking of so much as a taste of the numerousdelicacies placed, one after another, before him. It will have alreadybeen noticed that Mrs. Knox was not an exemplary chaperon, or perhapsshe considered that Selene, or Lena, as the old lady called her, wassufficiently sensible to be able to take care of herself; or it is evenpossible that she was an expert match-maker. At any rate, she either didnot notice, or did not mind, when, at the conclusion of the statelyrepast, and on the departure of the Squire to his own room, her charge,hurriedly donning a hat and cloak, left the house with LaurenceCarrington. Had she known the intentions of the pair, she might haveraised some objections, though anything that did not conduce to peaceand quiet was hardly to Matilda Knox's liking!

  On leaving the grounds of the Manse, taking as they did so a casualglance at the tumble-down, ivy-coated walls of the dingy neighbouringhouse, the two excited young people turned off towards the lower part ofthe village, where the few shops that the place boasted were to befound.

  It was after nine o'clock, and beginning to grow dark. On the villagegreen one or two stalls, surmounted by glaring "flames," were to beseen.

  Country women in picturesque costumes, and accompanied by a variednumber of small children, roamed about the street, gossiping loudly andunceasingly, and laughing heartily, when, in their opinion, occasionrequired.

  Laurence and his interested companion quickly intermingled with thismotley throng, eagerly on the alert, the one to catch a glimpse of thewoman whom he had already seen on such occasions as this, the otherdepending upon her keen intuition to pick out from the rest of the crowdthe person of whom they were in search.

  For some time they sought in vain, and Laurence was beginning to fearthat the woman had already returned to the Dene with her purchases offrugal provisions, when a harsh voice at his elbow caused him to turnsharply, and confront none other than the cloaked and closely hoodedservant from the mysterious house.

  "Keep close to her," he whispered to Selene. "We must follow her about,so that she doesn't give us the slip, but it will be impossible to speakto her until we get out of this crowd and into the quiet road."

  They had not long to wait. After making a few purchases at the grocer'sand butcher's shops (in both of which she was received with rude staresand uncomplimentary remarks, made aside), she entered the saddler's,emerging a moment later with a stout dog-whip.

  What was the meaning of this last purchase? Laurence wondered. To thebest of his knowledge they kept no animals about the Dene, certainly nodogs, which would surely have made their presence known very quickly byhowls, or wanderings into the adjoining estate. Here there seemed to beyet another mystery.

  The woman had evidently finished her shopping for the day. She turnedand hurried off in the direction of her destination, closely followed byLaurence and Lena. Already they had left the shops behind them, andreached a quiet turn of the road, almost within sight of the Manse, whenthe woman, who was stout and tall, and carried a market-basket,deliberately turned round and faced them.

  "What do you want with me?" she asked, in a hoarse voice.

  Her sudden action caused Laurence to forget the carefully wordeddenunciation he had decided upon. For a moment the young man could notreply.

  "When the children come a-following of me I box their ears for them,"the woman went on in a loud, sneering tone; "take care I don't do thesame to you!"

  Her sarcastic words enraged young Carrington beyond measure. He took onestep towards the scowling creature.

  "Be careful," he said, suggestively raising a warning finger, "or I'llput the police on your track. There's something underhand going on atDurley Dene, and, if you don't tell me what it is, I will obtain asearch-warrant, and then we will see who is going to be punished."

  The woman started at his opening words, but as he went on, heedlesslyconfessing in his anger his ignorance of what actually was the secret ofthe Dene, she recovered herself, and sprang forward suddenly at theyoung man.

  "Take that for your impertinence," she hissed, striking him a savageblow on the chest with the clenched fist of her left hand. Then, turningsharply round, she clutched at her print skirts, and fled precipitatelydown the road, disappearing in quick time into the grounds of DurleyDene. But in her activity, and when she had made the sudden attack uponhim, Laurence noticed that the dark hood which had covered her head andeffectually shrouded her face had been thrust aside. He almost gaspedwith astonishment when he perceived that the villainous countenance hewas now at liberty to scrutinise was that which he had seen on theprevious night pressed against one of the windows of the Dene.

  He had hardly recovered from his surprise when Lena, after satisfyingherself that he was in no way hurt, turned to him.

  "Mr. Carrington," she said, "the mystery deepens. It was a man indisguise, and no woman, that struck you so determined a blow."