by Fergus Hume
CHAPTER X
THE PRICE OF SILENCE
For a few moments there was a dead silence. Tempest looked gravelyshocked. Mrs Jeal triumphant, and the curate much disturbed. He had beenso certain of Leo's innocence that this precise evidence took his breathaway. Leo was thunderstruck, and passed his hand across his eyes to makesure that he was not dreaming.
"You saw me pawn what I never had in my possession!" he said quietly.
Mrs Jeal shrugged her plump shoulders. "I can say no more than I know,"she said. "Of course, I quite expected you would deny my story."
"I have not heard it yet," replied the accused man, slowly; "and I shallbe glad to hear it. At the present moment, I declare most solemnly thatI never took the cup. I did not even know it was stolen until I returnedfrom London."
"Where you had pawned it," finished Mrs Jeal.
The vicar interposed. He was struck by Leo's calmness, which was notthat of a guilty person. "I think you had better tell your story, MrsJeal," he said; "then we can hear Mr Haverleigh."
"I thank you for giving me a fair trial, Mr Tempest," said Leo,quietly, and sat down with his eyes on the face of the woman.
Mrs Jeal cleared her throat, and in a slow voice began to speak. Sherather enjoyed her position, and made the most of it. "But beforespeaking of what I know, sir," she said, looking at the vicar, "might Iask if it is true that you have offered a reward for the recovery of thecup?"
"I have not done so myself," said Tempest, gravely; "but Mr Pratt, whopresented the cup to me, has offered the sum of fifty pounds towhomsoever will give information likely to lead to its recovery. If youknow of anything, Mrs Jeal--"
"I'll get the reward," said the woman, a greedy light in her small eyes."Yes, sir, I do know of something. I went up to Battersea, in London, tosee my father, who is ill. He is a retired gardener, your reverence, andhas invested his savings in a seed shop. My mother is still alive, andshe looks after him. They do fairly well out of the shop, and, ofcourse, your reverence, I give them some assistance, as becomes an onlychild."
"This is not to the point, Mrs Jeal!"
"I am coming to the point shortly," said the woman, with a look at Leo,who made no remark; "but it is necessary that your reverence shouldunderstand how it was that I came to see Mr Haverleigh taking the cup toOld Penny's pawnshop."
Leo could bear it no longer, and started to his feet. "It is absolutelyfalse!" he exclaimed passionately. "I did _not_ pawn the cup. I neverhad it in my possession. I was never in Battersea in my life, and I donot know the name of Penny."
"Better wait and hear the story, Leo," said Tempest in a more friendlytone. He was beginning to be impressed by the bearing of the young man.Even in the face of Mrs Jeal's evidence, he thought Leo might beinnocent. After all, the evidence was circumstantial, and that is notalways to be relied upon. "You shall have every justice," he said,patting Leo's shoulder.
"I know what I know," said Mrs Jeal when Leo sat down again. "Oneevening last week I was out late. I had been to get some medicine for mydear father. In Barry Street there is a pawnshop kept by an old mancalled Penny. I have known it most of my life. As I passed I saw MrHaverleigh ahead of me. He did not stop immediately at the shop."
"You saw _me_!" cried Leo, bewildered. "How was I dressed?"
"In a blue serge suit, with a hard, fawn-coloured hat," said Mrs Jeal,glibly. "Over your arm you carried a coat, and under it you had aparcel. It was the cup."
"You are telling a pack of lies!" said Leo, angrily. "How did you knowthe cup was in the parcel?"
"Wait and you shall hear," said Mrs Jeal, tartly. "I do not care aboutbeing hurried. You passed the shop; I recognised you at once andwondered what you were doing in so poor a quarter of the town. Of courseI knew that the cup had been stolen, but I never thought that you hadit under your arm. You had a silk muffler round your throat although theevening was warm, and apparently you wished to escape observation. I wasdetermined to find out what you were doing so, I followed you. You wentround the block until it grew darker. Then you returned to the shop, andentered. I waited on the other side of the road. In half-an-hour youcame out again. You had the great-coat on and your hands in your pocket.After looking up and down the street to see if anyone was observing youI saw you walk rapidly to the end. I did not follow as I was anxious tosee why you had been to the pawnshop."
"Why all this anxiety, Mrs Jeal?" asked Tempest, annoyed.
"Well, sir! of course I know that Mrs Gabriel does not approve of MrHaverleigh's behaviour--"
"That has nothing to do with the matter," interposed Mr Tempest,sternly, and Leo gave him a grateful look. "All you have to do is tostate facts."
Mrs Jeal dropped an ironical curtsey. "Very good, sir," said she; "but Imust say that I thought Mrs Gabriel had cut off Mr Haverleigh'sallowance and that he was pawning some jewellery to keep himself inbread."
"I never pawned anything in my life," said Leo, disgusted at the plainspite of the woman. "Go on, Mrs Jeal. You saw this man Penny, no doubt?"
"I did that!" cried the woman, triumphantly. "I have known him for manyyears. I went into the shop and into his back parlour. On the table Isaw the cup. Yes, gentlemen, you no doubt are surprised. But it was thevery cup I had so often seen on the altar of the chapel."
"It is wholly false!" cried Leo, rising. "I never pawned the cup.Someone must have impersonated me."
"It was yourself, Mr Haverleigh," insisted the woman. "I had a talk withOld Penny, but of course I said nothing about having seen the cupbefore. I did not mention that I knew you. Penny told me that he hadgiven you four hundred for the cup. It was worth much more he said, andhe was chuckling over the bargain he had made. I left the cup in hispossession and returned home. Several times I went to the shop to hearif you had redeemed the cup. But it was still with Penny. I then had toattend to my father and gave the matter little thought. But when Ireturned and heard how you, Mr Haverleigh, had stolen the cup, it becamemy duty to let his reverence know what you had done with it. And Ihear," added Mrs Jeal, with a malignant smile, "that your debts havebeen paid."
"Who told you so?" asked Raston, who hitherto had been silent.
"Mrs Gabriel. I went to tell her what Mr Haverleigh had done. She saidthat she expected as much, as she had refused to give him the money topay his debts. So that is all I know. I am prepared to take my oath in acourt of law that this is true."
There was a pause. Then Tempest observed quietly, "If that is all youhave to tell, Mrs Jeal, you can go. I will speak to Mr Haverleigh."
"But will I not--"
"You will do nothing," interrupted the vicar. "Go away and hold yourtongue, lest you get into trouble."
"You're going to let him off, I see," said Mrs Jeal, with a toss of hergrey head. "Well, I have done my share. Good-day, gentlemen," and shesailed out of the room quite satisfied that she had ruined Leo.
When the three were alone Tempest addressed Leo, who sat silently besidethe table. "Leo," he said sadly, "I do not want you to get into trouble.If you will confess to me that you did what Mrs Jeal says I will seeabout getting the cup back and say nothing more about the matter. I willgive you money to leave the town."
"I tell you I am innocent!" cried Leo passionately. "Why do you want meto confess a crime of which I am not guilty? I shall not leave Colester.Here I stay until my innocence is acknowledged."
"But the evidence against you," urged the vicar, sorely perplexed. "Youwere seen about the chapel on the night the cup was stolen. Your debtsare paid, yet Mrs Gabriel did not give you the money, and you have noneof your own. And now Mrs Jeal says she saw you pawn the sacred vessel."
"I admit that the evidence is strong," said Leo, recovering hiscalmness. "All the same I am guiltless. I was at the chapel on thatnight. I was to meet Sybil since you had forbidden me to meet her."
"Please leave my daughter's name out of this," said Tempest, an angryspot on each cheek. He was annoyed at the mention of the meeting, but inthe presence of Raston he controlled himself out
of pride.
"I can't leave Sybil's name out of it," said Leo, sadly. "I would if Icould; but she is as anxious as I am that I should recover my good name.I did meet Sybil, and she will tell you that I left her at the door ofthe Vicarage before ten o'clock. I therefore could not have stolen thecup. I got the money to pay my debts from Frank Hale."
"From Hale? Then he will say as much!" cried the vicar. "This will gofar to prove your innocence, Leo."
"I don't think Hale will help me much," said Leo, coldly. "However, wecan talk of that later, or you can see Hale for yourself, Mr Tempest.But I declare most solemnly that Hale lent me the money. As to pawningthe cup, I said before, and I say again, that I did no such thing. I didnot take the cup. I was never in Battersea, and I do not know the manMrs Jeal calls Old Penny. If you want to have me arrested, Mr Tempest,you will find me at Mr Pratt's. Far from wishing to run away, I court aninvestigation."
"Leo," stammered the vicar, restlessly, "I do not want to get you intoany trouble. If I can help--"
"I am in the deepest trouble," returned Leo, "and more will not matter.You can have me arrested if you like. I know that Sybil believes me tobe innocent, so does Pratt. I do not care for anyone else's opinion. Ithink you are treating me cruelly, Mr Tempest, and some day you will besorry that you showed so little charity. I go now, and I shall not seeyou again until such time as you give evidence against me in court," andwith this last bitter speech Leo walked out of the room with his head inthe air.
The two clergymen looked at one another. They did not know very wellwhat to say. Tempest sat down with a sigh. "I do not know what tothink."
"I do," said Raston, sharply. "Notwithstanding the woman's story, Istill believe that Haverleigh is guiltless. Circumstances have soculminated that he appears to be in the wrong. There is a mystery aboutthe whole of this affair, and it seems to me that Haverleigh has someenemy."
"That may be so," admitted Tempest, struck by this remark. "But what isto be done? I can't have Leo arrested. Even if he were guilty, which Iam now inclined to doubt, I cannot ruin his life."
"What we need," replied the curate, "is some clever man who will get tothe bottom of this. If you can spare me for a few days, Mr Tempest, Iwill go to London and see Marton?"
"Marton?" repeated the vicar. "Who is Marton?"
Raston laughed. "Such is fame," said he, lightly. "Marton is one of thebest detectives in England. He was leaving college when I went up, andwe met for a few weeks. When I was curate in the Battersea slums I methim again, as he has a wide acquaintance with the criminal classes. Werenewed our college friendship, and I still write to him. Now, withyour permission, Mr Tempest, I will put this case into Marton's hands.It is just the kind of mystery he would love to solve."
"The man is a gentleman, I suppose, Raston?"
"Certainly. He is my friend. I know the pawnshop of Old Penny. He is aScotsman, if you can grasp the idea of a Scotsman keeping a pawnshop.I'll tell Marton the whole case, and we can then go to this shop. Ifpossible, we may get back the cup."
"Who is to pay four hundred pounds for it?" asked Tempest.
"We'll see," replied Raston, quietly. "I shall do nothing withoutMarton's advice. Have I your permission?"
Tempest nodded. "I think it is the best thing you can do. Go to Londonand keep me advised of everything. I should like to know Mr Marton'sopinion of the matter."
"It is probable he'll come down here later on," said the curate; "but inthe meantime, Mr Tempest, do nothing to Haverleigh."
"I promise you that," replied the vicar, and the matter being settled inthis way, the two men shook hands. Afterwards Raston went to prepare forhis departure.
While this was taking place, Leo was talking in the chapel with Hale.Haverleigh had gone up to see if Sybil was about, as he wished to tellher of this new development of the conspiracy against him. Leo felt sureby this time that there was a conspiracy, and that Hale was concernedin it. He was therefore rather pleased when he saw the cripple walkingup the hill before him. Leo made up his mind to force the truth out ofhim, and hurried on so as to catch him. Hale heard his steps, and turnedwith a queer smile on his face. He was not at all abashed by thepresence of the man to whom he had told a lie, but, on the contrary,welcomed him in the most friendly manner. Haverleigh was irritated bythis false behaviour. "Either you think me innocent, and wish to be myfriend," he said, "or you believe that I am guilty and have some reasonto be feigning good fellowship. I must have some understanding with you,Hale. Come into the chapel. We will not be disturbed there as it ismid-day and everyone is at dinner," and Leo, without waiting for areply, entered the door.
The chapel was empty; even Sybil was not in sight. Hearing the haltingsteps of the cripple behind him, Leo led the way into the crusaders'chapel, where he sat down beside one of the tombs. Hale paused beforehim and looked down in a whimsical manner. "You have chosen a strangeplace," he said, looking round.
"It is a sacred place," replied Leo, coolly; "and you may be the lessinclined to tell lies. I presume you have some religion."
"How dare you say I tell lies?" cried the baronet, scowling.
"Because I have had some experience of your capability in thatdirection. And now I should like to know what you mean by denying thatyou lent me the three hundred pounds?"
Hale shrugged his unshapely shoulders and sat down with a painfuleffort, placing his crutch beside him. "You were fool enough to speak tome in the presence of my sister," he said. "I could only say what I didsay. Now that we are alone I am willing to answer any questions you mayput to me."
"You will answer truthfully, I hope?"
"Assuredly. It is time we understood one another. Go on."
"You lent me three hundred pounds?" said Leo, in the form of a query.
"In gold," assented Sir Frank, coolly.
"Why did you lend it to me in gold?"
"A whim of mine."
"I don't think so," said Leo, slowly. "You had some scheme in your head.I believe you wanted to deny the loan if you found it convenient."
"You are very clever, Haverleigh. That is just what I did want. Had Igiven you a cheque you could have proved the loan. Even notes might haveshown the truth. But I wanted to be free to act as I pleased, so I wentto the trouble of getting gold from the bank."
"Then it seems to me that you had this cup stolen by some confederate,and intended to lay the blame on me so as to get me into a trap!"
"Indeed, no," protested Hale, so loudly that Leo believed he wasspeaking the truth. "The stealing of the cup, and the subsequent blamebeing thrown on you, was unexpected. But I took advantage of theopportunity. You can prove your innocence only by my help, Haverleigh,and I give my evidence only on conditions."
"I was prepared for such a speech," said Leo, calmly; "but it won't do,my friend. You must go to Tempest and tell him that you gave me threehundred pounds to pay my debts. Perhaps then he may disbelieve thisridiculous story of my being a thief."
Hale sat up alertly. "Then you didn't steal the cup?"
"Certainly not. How dare you suggest such a thing? I suspect you knowmore about the loss of the cup than I do."
The baronet looked down on his crooked leg and smiled ironically. "Doyou mean to infer that I thrust this misshapen body through thatwindow?"
"No! But you have plenty of money to pay for any rascality."
"I am not so fond of parting with money," said Hale, dryly. "I knownothing about the cup. But I really thought you stole it. Mrs Jeal'stale--"
"Ha!" Leo started up. "She told you that? Why?"
"Because she is a woman who is fond of money," said Hale, quietly."Knowing that my sister is in love with you, Haverleigh, she came tothreaten me. She declared that she would proclaim you a thief if I didnot pay her. It was her belief that such a course would break mysister's heart."
"And what did you do?"
"I told her I would inform the police if she dared to speak to me inthat manner again. I believe she then went to the vicar. But if I comeforward, H
averleigh, and state that I lent you the money, it will go along way towards clearing you. Of course, I do not understand thispawning business. The woman says she saw you."
"She saw my double, or someone dressed up to resemble me," said Leo,vehemently; "but she did not see me. I was never near the shop."
"So you say," said Hale, smiling cruelly. "However, you must see that Ican help you. I will do so on one condition--no, on two."
"I can guess the two," said Leo, looking at his mean face. "You want meto surrender Sybil so that you may marry her, and to make your sister mywife? Is that not so?"
Hale smiled again. "You save me the trouble of an explanation," he said.
"Then I absolutely refuse to do what you want, Hale. I respect yoursister, who is a kind and good-hearted girl; but I do not love her, andnot for all the gold in the world would I marry her. On the other hand,nothing will induce me to give up Sybil. She shall never become yourwife. I wonder you have the impertinence to propose such a thing to me!"
"If you don't do what I ask," said Hale, very pale and venomous, "Ishall refuse to help you. I shall deny that I lent you the money."
"Deny what you please!" Leo walked to the door of the chapel."Everything is in your favour, and you can have me arrested if youchoose. But I decline to sell my love to buy my safety. Good-day, Hale,"and he marched away.