Adventure II. The Yellow Face
[In publishing these short sketches based upon the numerous cases inwhich my companion's singular gifts have made us the listeners to, andeventually the actors in, some strange drama, it is only natural that Ishould dwell rather upon his successes than upon his failures. And thisnot so much for the sake of his reputation--for, indeed, it was whenhe was at his wits' end that his energy and his versatility were mostadmirable--but because where he failed it happened too often that no oneelse succeeded, and that the tale was left forever without a conclusion.Now and again, however, it chanced that even when he erred, the truthwas still discovered. I have noted of some half-dozen cases of thekind; the Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual and that which I am about torecount are the two which present the strongest features of interest.]
Sherlock Holmes was a man who seldom took exercise for exercise's sake.Few men were capable of greater muscular effort, and he was undoubtedlyone of the finest boxers of his weight that I have ever seen; but helooked upon aimless bodily exertion as a waste of energy, and he seldombestirred himself save when there was some professional object to beserved. Then he was absolutely untiring and indefatigable. That heshould have kept himself in training under such circumstances isremarkable, but his diet was usually of the sparest, and his habitswere simple to the verge of austerity. Save for the occasional use ofcocaine, he had no vices, and he only turned to the drug as a protestagainst the monotony of existence when cases were scanty and the papersuninteresting.
One day in early spring he had so far relaxed as to go for a walk withme in the Park, where the first faint shoots of green were breaking outupon the elms, and the sticky spear-heads of the chestnuts were justbeginning to burst into their five-fold leaves. For two hours we rambledabout together, in silence for the most part, as befits two men who knoweach other intimately. It was nearly five before we were back in BakerStreet once more.
"Beg pardon, sir," said our page-boy, as he opened the door. "There'sbeen a gentleman here asking for you, sir."
Holmes glanced reproachfully at me. "So much for afternoon walks!" saidhe. "Has this gentleman gone, then?"
"Yes, sir."
"Didn't you ask him in?"
"Yes, sir; he came in."
"How long did he wait?"
"Half an hour, sir. He was a very restless gentleman, sir, a-walkin'and a-stampin' all the time he was here. I was waitin' outside the door,sir, and I could hear him. At last he outs into the passage, and hecries, 'Is that man never goin' to come?' Those were his very words,sir. 'You'll only need to wait a little longer,' says I. 'Then I'll waitin the open air, for I feel half choked,' says he. 'I'll be back beforelong.' And with that he ups and he outs, and all I could say wouldn'thold him back."
"Well, well, you did your best," said Holmes, as we walked into ourroom. "It's very annoying, though, Watson. I was badly in need ofa case, and this looks, from the man's impatience, as if it were ofimportance. Hullo! That's not your pipe on the table. He must haveleft his behind him. A nice old brier with a good long stem of what thetobacconists call amber. I wonder how many real amber mouthpieces thereare in London? Some people think that a fly in it is a sign. Well, hemust have been disturbed in his mind to leave a pipe behind him which heevidently values highly."
"How do you know that he values it highly?" I asked.
"Well, I should put the original cost of the pipe at seven and sixpence.Now it has, you see, been twice mended, once in the wooden stem and oncein the amber. Each of these mends, done, as you observe, with silverbands, must have cost more than the pipe did originally. The man mustvalue the pipe highly when he prefers to patch it up rather than buy anew one with the same money."
"Anything else?" I asked, for Holmes was turning the pipe about in hishand, and staring at it in his peculiar pensive way.
He held it up and tapped on it with his long, thin fore-finger, as aprofessor might who was lecturing on a bone.
"Pipes are occasionally of extraordinary interest," said he. "Nothinghas more individuality, save perhaps watches and bootlaces. Theindications here, however, are neither very marked nor very important.The owner is obviously a muscular man, left-handed, with an excellentset of teeth, careless in his habits, and with no need to practiseeconomy."
My friend threw out the information in a very offhand way, but I sawthat he cocked his eye at me to see if I had followed his reasoning.
"You think a man must be well-to-do if he smokes a seven-shilling pipe,"said I.
"This is Grosvenor mixture at eightpence an ounce," Holmes answered,knocking a little out on his palm. "As he might get an excellent smokefor half the price, he has no need to practise economy."
"And the other points?"
"He has been in the habit of lighting his pipe at lamps and gas-jets.You can see that it is quite charred all down one side. Of course amatch could not have done that. Why should a man hold a match to theside of his pipe? But you cannot light it at a lamp without getting thebowl charred. And it is all on the right side of the pipe. From that Igather that he is a left-handed man. You hold your own pipe to the lamp,and see how naturally you, being right-handed, hold the left side to theflame. You might do it once the other way, but not as a constancy. Thishas always been held so. Then he has bitten through his amber. It takesa muscular, energetic fellow, and one with a good set of teeth, to dothat. But if I am not mistaken I hear him upon the stair, so we shallhave something more interesting than his pipe to study."
An instant later our door opened, and a tall young man entered the room.He was well but quietly dressed in a dark-gray suit, and carried a brownwide-awake in his hand. I should have put him at about thirty, though hewas really some years older.
"I beg your pardon," said he, with some embarrassment; "I suppose Ishould have knocked. Yes, of course I should have knocked. The factis that I am a little upset, and you must put it all down to that." Hepassed his hand over his forehead like a man who is half dazed, and thenfell rather than sat down upon a chair.
"I can see that you have not slept for a night or two," said Holmes,in his easy, genial way. "That tries a man's nerves more than work, andmore even than pleasure. May I ask how I can help you?"
"I wanted your advice, sir. I don't know what to do and my whole lifeseems to have gone to pieces."
"You wish to employ me as a consulting detective?"
"Not that only. I want your opinion as a judicious man--as a man of theworld. I want to know what I ought to do next. I hope to God you'll beable to tell me."
He spoke in little, sharp, jerky outbursts, and it seemed to me that tospeak at all was very painful to him, and that his will all through wasoverriding his inclinations.
"It's a very delicate thing," said he. "One does not like to speak ofone's domestic affairs to strangers. It seems dreadful to discuss theconduct of one's wife with two men whom I have never seen before. It'shorrible to have to do it. But I've got to the end of my tether, and Imust have advice."
"My dear Mr. Grant Munro--" began Holmes.
Our visitor sprang from his chair. "What!" he cried, "you know my name?"
"If you wish to preserve your incognito," said Holmes, smiling, "I wouldsuggest that you cease to write your name upon the lining of yourhat, or else that you turn the crown towards the person whom you areaddressing. I was about to say that my friend and I have listened to agood many strange secrets in this room, and that we have had the goodfortune to bring peace to many troubled souls. I trust that we may do asmuch for you. Might I beg you, as time may prove to be of importance, tofurnish me with the facts of your case without further delay?"
Our visitor again passed his hand over his forehead, as if he found itbitterly hard. From every gesture and expression I could see that he wasa reserved, self-contained man, with a dash of pride in his nature, morelikely to hide his wounds than to expose them. Then suddenly, with afierce gesture of his closed hand, like one who throws reserve to thewinds, he began.
"The facts are these, Mr.
Holmes," said he. "I am a married man, andhave been so for three years. During that time my wife and I have lovedeach other as fondly and lived as happily as any two that ever werejoined. We have not had a difference, not one, in thought or word ordeed. And now, since last Monday, there has suddenly sprung up a barrierbetween us, and I find that there is something in her life and in herthought of which I know as little as if she were the woman who brushesby me in the street. We are estranged, and I want to know why.
"Now there is one thing that I want to impress upon you before I goany further, Mr. Holmes. Effie loves me. Don't let there be any mistakeabout that. She loves me with her whole heart and soul, and never morethan now. I know it. I feel it. I don't want to argue about that. A mancan tell easily enough when a woman loves him. But there's this secretbetween us, and we can never be the same until it is cleared."
"Kindly let me have the facts, Mr. Munro," said Holmes, with someimpatience.
"I'll tell you what I know about Effie's history. She was a widow whenI met her first, though quite young--only twenty-five. Her name then wasMrs. Hebron. She went out to America when she was young, and lived inthe town of Atlanta, where she married this Hebron, who was a lawyerwith a good practice. They had one child, but the yellow fever broke outbadly in the place, and both husband and child died of it. I have seenhis death certificate. This sickened her of America, and she came backto live with a maiden aunt at Pinner, in Middlesex. I may mention thather husband had left her comfortably off, and that she had a capital ofabout four thousand five hundred pounds, which had been so well investedby him that it returned an average of seven per cent. She had only beensix months at Pinner when I met her; we fell in love with each other,and we married a few weeks afterwards.
"I am a hop merchant myself, and as I have an income of seven oreight hundred, we found ourselves comfortably off, and took a niceeighty-pound-a-year villa at Norbury. Our little place was verycountrified, considering that it is so close to town. We had an inn andtwo houses a little above us, and a single cottage at the other side ofthe field which faces us, and except those there were no houses untilyou got half way to the station. My business took me into town atcertain seasons, but in summer I had less to do, and then in our countryhome my wife and I were just as happy as could be wished. I tell youthat there never was a shadow between us until this accursed affairbegan.
"There's one thing I ought to tell you before I go further. When wemarried, my wife made over all her property to me--rather against mywill, for I saw how awkward it would be if my business affairs wentwrong. However, she would have it so, and it was done. Well, about sixweeks ago she came to me.
"'Jack,' said she, 'when you took my money you said that if ever Iwanted any I was to ask you for it.'
"'Certainly,' said I. 'It's all your own.'
"'Well,' said she, 'I want a hundred pounds.'
"I was a bit staggered at this, for I had imagined it was simply a newdress or something of the kind that she was after.
"'What on earth for?' I asked.
"'Oh,' said she, in her playful way, 'you said that you were only mybanker, and bankers never ask questions, you know.'
"'If you really mean it, of course you shall have the money,' said I.
"'Oh, yes, I really mean it.'
"'And you won't tell me what you want it for?'
"'Some day, perhaps, but not just at present, Jack.'
"So I had to be content with that, though it was the first time thatthere had ever been any secret between us. I gave her a check, and Inever thought any more of the matter. It may have nothing to do withwhat came afterwards, but I thought it only right to mention it.
"Well, I told you just now that there is a cottage not far from ourhouse. There is just a field between us, but to reach it you have togo along the road and then turn down a lane. Just beyond it is a nicelittle grove of Scotch firs, and I used to be very fond of strollingdown there, for trees are always a neighborly kind of things. Thecottage had been standing empty this eight months, and it was a pity,for it was a pretty two-storied place, with an old-fashioned porch andhoneysuckle about it. I have stood many a time and thought what a neatlittle homestead it would make.
"Well, last Monday evening I was taking a stroll down that way, whenI met an empty van coming up the lane, and saw a pile of carpets andthings lying about on the grass-plot beside the porch. It was clear thatthe cottage had at last been let. I walked past it, and wondered whatsort of folk they were who had come to live so near us. And as I lookedI suddenly became aware that a face was watching me out of one of theupper windows.
"I don't know what there was about that face, Mr. Holmes, but it seemedto send a chill right down my back. I was some little way off, so thatI could not make out the features, but there was something unnatural andinhuman about the face. That was the impression that I had, and I movedquickly forwards to get a nearer view of the person who was watchingme. But as I did so the face suddenly disappeared, so suddenly that itseemed to have been plucked away into the darkness of the room. I stoodfor five minutes thinking the business over, and trying to analyze myimpressions. I could not tell if the face were that of a man or awoman. It had been too far from me for that. But its color was what hadimpressed me most. It was of a livid chalky white, and with somethingset and rigid about it which was shockingly unnatural. So disturbedwas I that I determined to see a little more of the new inmates ofthe cottage. I approached and knocked at the door, which was instantlyopened by a tall, gaunt woman with a harsh, forbidding face.
"'What may you be wantin'?' she asked, in a Northern accent.
"'I am your neighbor over yonder,' said I, nodding towards my house. 'Isee that you have only just moved in, so I thought that if I could be ofany help to you in any--'
"'Ay, we'll just ask ye when we want ye,' said she, and shut the doorin my face. Annoyed at the churlish rebuff, I turned my back and walkedhome. All evening, though I tried to think of other things, my mindwould still turn to the apparition at the window and the rudeness of thewoman. I determined to say nothing about the former to my wife, forshe is a nervous, highly strung woman, and I had no wish that she wouldshare the unpleasant impression which had been produced upon myself. Iremarked to her, however, before I fell asleep, that the cottage was nowoccupied, to which she returned no reply.
"I am usually an extremely sound sleeper. It has been a standing jestin the family that nothing could ever wake me during the night. And yetsomehow on that particular night, whether it may have been the slightexcitement produced by my little adventure or not I know not, butI slept much more lightly than usual. Half in my dreams I was dimlyconscious that something was going on in the room, and gradually becameaware that my wife had dressed herself and was slipping on her mantleand her bonnet. My lips were parted to murmur out some sleepy words ofsurprise or remonstrance at this untimely preparation, when suddenly myhalf-opened eyes fell upon her face, illuminated by the candle-light,and astonishment held me dumb. She wore an expression such as I hadnever seen before--such as I should have thought her incapable ofassuming. She was deadly pale and breathing fast, glancing furtivelytowards the bed as she fastened her mantle, to see if she had disturbedme. Then, thinking that I was still asleep, she slipped noiselessly fromthe room, and an instant later I heard a sharp creaking which could onlycome from the hinges of the front door. I sat up in bed and rapped myknuckles against the rail to make certain that I was truly awake. ThenI took my watch from under the pillow. It was three in the morning. Whaton this earth could my wife be doing out on the country road at three inthe morning?
"I had sat for about twenty minutes turning the thing over in my mindand trying to find some possible explanation. The more I thought, themore extraordinary and inexplicable did it appear. I was still puzzlingover it when I heard the door gently close again, and her footstepscoming up the stairs.
"'Where in the world have you been, Effie?' I asked as she entered.
"She gave a violent start and a kind of gasping cry when
I spoke, andthat cry and start troubled me more than all the rest, for there wassomething indescribably guilty about them. My wife had always beena woman of a frank, open nature, and it gave me a chill to see herslinking into her own room, and crying out and wincing when her ownhusband spoke to her.
"'You awake, Jack!' she cried, with a nervous laugh. 'Why, I thoughtthat nothing could awake you.'
"'Where have you been?' I asked, more sternly.
"'I don't wonder that you are surprised,' said she, and I could see thather fingers were trembling as she undid the fastenings of her mantle.'Why, I never remember having done such a thing in my life before. Thefact is that I felt as though I were choking, and had a perfect longingfor a breath of fresh air. I really think that I should have fainted ifI had not gone out. I stood at the door for a few minutes, and now I amquite myself again.'
"All the time that she was telling me this story she never once lookedin my direction, and her voice was quite unlike her usual tones. Itwas evident to me that she was saying what was false. I said nothingin reply, but turned my face to the wall, sick at heart, with my mindfilled with a thousand venomous doubts and suspicions. What was it thatmy wife was concealing from me? Where had she been during that strangeexpedition? I felt that I should have no peace until I knew, and yet Ishrank from asking her again after once she had told me what was false.All the rest of the night I tossed and tumbled, framing theory aftertheory, each more unlikely than the last.
"I should have gone to the City that day, but I was too disturbed in mymind to be able to pay attention to business matters. My wife seemedto be as upset as myself, and I could see from the little questioningglances which she kept shooting at me that she understood that Idisbelieved her statement, and that she was at her wits' end what to do.We hardly exchanged a word during breakfast, and immediately afterwardsI went out for a walk, that I might think the matter out in the freshmorning air.
"I went as far as the Crystal Palace, spent an hour in the grounds, andwas back in Norbury by one o'clock. It happened that my way took me pastthe cottage, and I stopped for an instant to look at the windows, and tosee if I could catch a glimpse of the strange face which had lookedout at me on the day before. As I stood there, imagine my surprise, Mr.Holmes, when the door suddenly opened and my wife walked out.
"I was struck dumb with astonishment at the sight of her; but myemotions were nothing to those which showed themselves upon her facewhen our eyes met. She seemed for an instant to wish to shrink backinside the house again; and then, seeing how useless all concealmentmust be, she came forward, with a very white face and frightened eyeswhich belied the smile upon her lips.
"'Ah, Jack,' she said, 'I have just been in to see if I can be of anyassistance to our new neighbors. Why do you look at me like that, Jack?You are not angry with me?'
"'So,' said I, 'this is where you went during the night.'
"'What do you mean?' she cried.
"'You came here. I am sure of it. Who are these people, that you shouldvisit them at such an hour?'
"'I have not been here before.'
"'How can you tell me what you know is false?' I cried. 'Your very voicechanges as you speak. When have I ever had a secret from you? I shallenter that cottage, and I shall probe the matter to the bottom.'
"'No, no, Jack, for God's sake!' she gasped, in uncontrollable emotion.Then, as I approached the door, she seized my sleeve and pulled me backwith convulsive strength.
"'I implore you not to do this, Jack,' she cried. 'I swear that I willtell you everything some day, but nothing but misery can come of it ifyou enter that cottage.' Then, as I tried to shake her off, she clung tome in a frenzy of entreaty.
"'Trust me, Jack!' she cried. 'Trust me only this once. You will neverhave cause to regret it. You know that I would not have a secret fromyou if it were not for your own sake. Our whole lives are at stake inthis. If you come home with me, all will be well. If you force your wayinto that cottage, all is over between us.'
"There was such earnestness, such despair, in her manner that her wordsarrested me, and I stood irresolute before the door.
"'I will trust you on one condition, and on one condition only,' said Iat last. 'It is that this mystery comes to an end from now. You areat liberty to preserve your secret, but you must promise me that thereshall be no more nightly visits, no more doings which are kept from myknowledge. I am willing to forget those which are passed if you willpromise that there shall be no more in the future.'
"'I was sure that you would trust me,' she cried, with a great sigh ofrelief. 'It shall be just as you wish. Come away--oh, come away up tothe house.'
"Still pulling at my sleeve, she led me away from the cottage. As wewent I glanced back, and there was that yellow livid face watching usout of the upper window. What link could there be between that creatureand my wife? Or how could the coarse, rough woman whom I had seen theday before be connected with her? It was a strange puzzle, and yet Iknew that my mind could never know ease again until I had solved it.
"For two days after this I stayed at home, and my wife appeared to abideloyally by our engagement, for, as far as I know, she never stirred outof the house. On the third day, however, I had ample evidence thather solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from this secretinfluence which drew her away from her husband and her duty.
"I had gone into town on that day, but I returned by the 2.40 instead ofthe 3.36, which is my usual train. As I entered the house the maid raninto the hall with a startled face.
"'Where is your mistress?' I asked.
"'I think that she has gone out for a walk,' she answered.
"My mind was instantly filled with suspicion. I rushed upstairs to makesure that she was not in the house. As I did so I happened to glance outof one of the upper windows, and saw the maid with whom I had just beenspeaking running across the field in the direction of the cottage. Thenof course I saw exactly what it all meant. My wife had gone over there,and had asked the servant to call her if I should return. Tingling withanger, I rushed down and hurried across, determined to end the matteronce and forever. I saw my wife and the maid hurrying back along thelane, but I did not stop to speak with them. In the cottage lay thesecret which was casting a shadow over my life. I vowed that, come whatmight, it should be a secret no longer. I did not even knock when Ireached it, but turned the handle and rushed into the passage.
"It was all still and quiet upon the ground floor. In the kitchen akettle was singing on the fire, and a large black cat lay coiled up inthe basket; but there was no sign of the woman whom I had seen before.I ran into the other room, but it was equally deserted. Then I rushed upthe stairs, only to find two other rooms empty and deserted at the top.There was no one at all in the whole house. The furniture and pictureswere of the most common and vulgar description, save in the one chamberat the window of which I had seen the strange face. That was comfortableand elegant, and all my suspicions rose into a fierce bitter flame whenI saw that on the mantelpiece stood a copy of a full-length photographof my wife, which had been taken at my request only three months ago.
"I stayed long enough to make certain that the house was absolutelyempty. Then I left it, feeling a weight at my heart such as I had neverhad before. My wife came out into the hall as I entered my house; but Iwas too hurt and angry to speak with her, and pushing past her, I mademy way into my study. She followed me, however, before I could close thedoor.
"'I am sorry that I broke my promise, Jack,' said she; 'but if you knewall the circumstances I am sure that you would forgive me.'
"'Tell me everything, then,' said I.
"'I cannot, Jack, I cannot,' she cried.
"'Until you tell me who it is that has been living in that cottage, andwho it is to whom you have given that photograph, there can never be anyconfidence between us,' said I, and breaking away from her, I left thehouse. That was yesterday, Mr. Holmes, and I have not seen her since,nor do I know anything more about this strange business. It is the firstshadow that has co
me between us, and it has so shaken me that I do notknow what I should do for the best. Suddenly this morning it occurred tome that you were the man to advise me, so I have hurried to you now, andI place myself unreservedly in your hands. If there is any point which Ihave not made clear, pray question me about it. But, above all, tell mequickly what I am to do, for this misery is more than I can bear."
Holmes and I had listened with the utmost interest to this extraordinarystatement, which had been delivered in the jerky, broken fashion of aman who is under the influence of extreme emotions. My companion satsilent for some time, with his chin upon his hand, lost in thought.
"Tell me," said he at last, "could you swear that this was a man's facewhich you saw at the window?"
"Each time that I saw it I was some distance away from it, so that it isimpossible for me to say."
"You appear, however, to have been disagreeably impressed by it."
"It seemed to be of an unnatural color, and to have a strange rigidityabout the features. When I approached, it vanished with a jerk."
"How long is it since your wife asked you for a hundred pounds?"
"Nearly two months."
"Have you ever seen a photograph of her first husband?"
"No; there was a great fire at Atlanta very shortly after his death, andall her papers were destroyed."
"And yet she had a certificate of death. You say that you saw it."
"Yes; she got a duplicate after the fire."
"Did you ever meet any one who knew her in America?"
"No."
"Did she ever talk of revisiting the place?"
"No."
"Or get letters from it?"
"No."
"Thank you. I should like to think over the matter a little now. If thecottage is now permanently deserted we may have some difficulty. If, onthe other hand, as I fancy is more likely, the inmates were warned ofyour coming, and left before you entered yesterday, then they may beback now, and we should clear it all up easily. Let me advise you, then,to return to Norbury, and to examine the windows of the cottage again.If you have reason to believe that it is inhabited, do not force yourway in, but send a wire to my friend and me. We shall be with you withinan hour of receiving it, and we shall then very soon get to the bottomof the business."
"And if it is still empty?"
"In that case I shall come out to-morrow and talk it over with you.Good-by; and, above all, do not fret until you know that you really havea cause for it."
"I am afraid that this is a bad business, Watson," said my companion, ashe returned after accompanying Mr. Grant Munro to the door. "What do youmake of it?"
"It had an ugly sound," I answered.
"Yes. There's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken."
"And who is the blackmailer?"
"Well, it must be the creature who lives in the only comfortable roomin the place, and has her photograph above his fireplace. Upon my word,Watson, there is something very attractive about that livid face at thewindow, and I would not have missed the case for worlds."
"You have a theory?"
"Yes, a provisional one. But I shall be surprised if it does not turnout to be correct. This woman's first husband is in that cottage."
"Why do you think so?"
"How else can we explain her frenzied anxiety that her second one shouldnot enter it? The facts, as I read them, are something like this:This woman was married in America. Her husband developed some hatefulqualities; or shall we say that he contracted some loathsome disease,and became a leper or an imbecile? She flies from him at last, returnsto England, changes her name, and starts her life, as she thinks,afresh. She has been married three years, and believes that her positionis quite secure, having shown her husband the death certificate ofsome man whose name she has assumed, when suddenly her whereaboutsis discovered by her first husband; or, we may suppose, by someunscrupulous woman who has attached herself to the invalid. They writeto the wife, and threaten to come and expose her. She asks for a hundredpounds, and endeavors to buy them off. They come in spite of it, andwhen the husband mentions casually to the wife that there are new-comersin the cottage, she knows in some way that they are her pursuers. Shewaits until her husband is asleep, and then she rushes down to endeavorto persuade them to leave her in peace. Having no success, she goesagain next morning, and her husband meets her, as he has told us, asshe comes out. She promises him then not to go there again, but two daysafterwards the hope of getting rid of those dreadful neighbors was toostrong for her, and she made another attempt, taking down with her thephotograph which had probably been demanded from her. In the midst ofthis interview the maid rushed in to say that the master had come home,on which the wife, knowing that he would come straight down to thecottage, hurried the inmates out at the back door, into the grove offir-trees, probably, which was mentioned as standing near. In this wayhe found the place deserted. I shall be very much surprised, however, ifit is still so when he reconnoitres it this evening. What do you thinkof my theory?"
"It is all surmise."
"But at least it covers all the facts. When new facts come to ourknowledge which cannot be covered by it, it will be time enough toreconsider it. We can do nothing more until we have a message from ourfriend at Norbury."
But we had not a very long time to wait for that. It came just as we hadfinished our tea. "The cottage is still tenanted," it said. "Have seenthe face again at the window. Will meet the seven o'clock train, andwill take no steps until you arrive."
He was waiting on the platform when we stepped out, and we could see inthe light of the station lamps that he was very pale, and quivering withagitation.
"They are still there, Mr. Holmes," said he, laying his hand hard uponmy friend's sleeve. "I saw lights in the cottage as I came down. Weshall settle it now once and for all."
"What is your plan, then?" asked Holmes, as he walked down the darktree-lined road.
"I am going to force my way in and see for myself who is in the house. Iwish you both to be there as witnesses."
"You are quite determined to do this, in spite of your wife's warningthat it is better that you should not solve the mystery?"
"Yes, I am determined."
"Well, I think that you are in the right. Any truth is better thanindefinite doubt. We had better go up at once. Of course, legally, weare putting ourselves hopelessly in the wrong; but I think that it isworth it."
It was a very dark night, and a thin rain began to fall as we turnedfrom the high road into a narrow lane, deeply rutted, with hedges oneither side. Mr. Grant Munro pushed impatiently forward, however, and westumbled after him as best we could.
"There are the lights of my house," he murmured, pointing to a glimmeramong the trees. "And here is the cottage which I am going to enter."
We turned a corner in the lane as he spoke, and there was the buildingclose beside us. A yellow bar falling across the black foreground showedthat the door was not quite closed, and one window in the upper storywas brightly illuminated. As we looked, we saw a dark blur moving acrossthe blind.
"There is that creature!" cried Grant Munro. "You can see for yourselvesthat some one is there. Now follow me, and we shall soon know all."
We approached the door; but suddenly a woman appeared out of the shadowand stood in the golden track of the lamp-light. I could not see herface in the darkness, but her arms were thrown out in an attitude ofentreaty.
"For God's sake, don't Jack!" she cried. "I had a presentiment that youwould come this evening. Think better of it, dear! Trust me again, andyou will never have cause to regret it."
"I have trusted you too long, Effie," he cried, sternly. "Leave go ofme! I must pass you. My friends and I are going to settle this matteronce and forever!" He pushed her to one side, and we followed closelyafter him. As he threw the door open an old woman ran out in front ofhim and tried to bar his passage, but he thrust her back, and an instantafterwards we were all upon the stairs. Grant Munro rushed into thelighted room at the
top, and we entered at his heels.
It was a cosey, well-furnished apartment, with two candles burning uponthe table and two upon the mantelpiece. In the corner, stooping over adesk, there sat what appeared to be a little girl. Her face was turnedaway as we entered, but we could see that she was dressed in a redfrock, and that she had long white gloves on. As she whisked roundto us, I gave a cry of surprise and horror. The face which she turnedtowards us was of the strangest livid tint, and the features wereabsolutely devoid of any expression. An instant later the mystery wasexplained. Holmes, with a laugh, passed his hand behind the child'sear, a mask peeled off from her countenance, and there was a little coalblack negress, with all her white teeth flashing in amusement at ouramazed faces. I burst out laughing, out of sympathy with her merriment;but Grant Munro stood staring, with his hand clutching his throat.
"My God!" he cried. "What can be the meaning of this?"
"I will tell you the meaning of it," cried the lady, sweeping intothe room with a proud, set face. "You have forced me, against my ownjudgment, to tell you, and now we must both make the best of it. Myhusband died at Atlanta. My child survived."
"Your child?"
She drew a large silver locket from her bosom. "You have never seen thisopen."
"I understood that it did not open."
She touched a spring, and the front hinged back. There was a portraitwithin of a man strikingly handsome and intelligent-looking, but bearingunmistakable signs upon his features of his African descent.
"That is John Hebron, of Atlanta," said the lady, "and a nobler mannever walked the earth. I cut myself off from my race in order to wedhim, but never once while he lived did I for an instant regret it. Itwas our misfortune that our only child took after his people rather thanmine. It is often so in such matches, and little Lucy is darker far thanever her father was. But dark or fair, she is my own dear little girlie,and her mother's pet." The little creature ran across at the words andnestled up against the lady's dress. "When I left her in America," shecontinued, "it was only because her health was weak, and the changemight have done her harm. She was given to the care of a faithful Scotchwoman who had once been our servant. Never for an instant did I dreamof disowning her as my child. But when chance threw you in my way, Jack,and I learned to love you, I feared to tell you about my child. Godforgive me, I feared that I should lose you, and I had not the courageto tell you. I had to choose between you, and in my weakness I turnedaway from my own little girl. For three years I have kept her existencea secret from you, but I heard from the nurse, and I knew that all waswell with her. At last, however, there came an overwhelming desire tosee the child once more. I struggled against it, but in vain. Though Iknew the danger, I determined to have the child over, if it were butfor a few weeks. I sent a hundred pounds to the nurse, and I gave herinstructions about this cottage, so that she might come as a neighbor,without my appearing to be in any way connected with her. I pushed myprecautions so far as to order her to keep the child in the house duringthe daytime, and to cover up her little face and hands so that eventhose who might see her at the window should not gossip about therebeing a black child in the neighborhood. If I had been less cautiousI might have been more wise, but I was half crazy with fear that youshould learn the truth.
"It was you who told me first that the cottage was occupied. I shouldhave waited for the morning, but I could not sleep for excitement, andso at last I slipped out, knowing how difficult it is to awake you. Butyou saw me go, and that was the beginning of my troubles. Next day youhad my secret at your mercy, but you nobly refrained from pursuing youradvantage. Three days later, however, the nurse and child only justescaped from the back door as you rushed in at the front one. And nowto-night you at last know all, and I ask you what is to become of us, mychild and me?" She clasped her hands and waited for an answer.
It was a long ten minutes before Grant Munro broke the silence, andwhen his answer came it was one of which I love to think. He liftedthe little child, kissed her, and then, still carrying her, he held hisother hand out to his wife and turned towards the door.
"We can talk it over more comfortably at home," said he. "I am not avery good man, Effie, but I think that I am a better one than you havegiven me credit for being."
Holmes and I followed them down the lane, and my friend plucked at mysleeve as we came out.
"I think," said he, "that we shall be of more use in London than inNorbury."
Not another word did he say of the case until late that night, when hewas turning away, with his lighted candle, for his bedroom.
"Watson," said he, "if it should ever strike you that I am getting alittle over-confident in my powers, or giving less pains to a casethan it deserves, kindly whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall beinfinitely obliged to you."
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Page 3