The Red Derelict

by Bertram Mitford

  CHAPTER TWELVE.

  CONCERNING TWO CLAIMANTS.

  "Well, Delia, how much was it?" was Bob's first greeting.

  "A thousand pounds."

  The effect of this announcement was electrical and diverse. Old Calmourdropped his knife and fork--they were at table--and stared. Even Clytiecould not repress a gasp; while as for Bob, he hoorayed aloud.

  "Then Wagram has stumped up! Did he send it straight to you?"

  "Look! There's the cheque," holding it up.

  "Phew!" whistled Bob. "It ought to have come to you through our people,though."

  "Good thing it didn't," said Clytie significantly.

  "Rather!" assented Bob briskly. "All the more for us. Now we need onlypay for the letter of demand. Well done, Delia. I say, dad, we oughtto have a jolly good dinner to-night on the strength of it, and somefizz to drink Delia's health."

  "So we will, so we will," snuffled the old man. "It's like a blessedgift of Providence coming as it does just now, for the devil only knowshow we should have managed to get on much longer."

  "Buck up, old girl," cried Bob, boisterously affectionate on thestrength of this sudden accession to wealth. "Buck up. You're lookingsort of white about the gills, and pulling a face as long as a fiddle,instead of hooraying like mad. Why, you've got your thousand--a coolthou--and no costs charged, and no delay, and you don't seem a bithappy."

  Then Delia spoke.

  "Happy! I feel as if I could never look anybody in the face again. Amean, extortionate, blackmailing swindle has been perpetrated in myname, and I shall not lose a moment in putting it right, and explainingthat I had no part in it. I am going to return this cheque."

  "Wh-at?" bellowed Bob.

  "Going to re--" gasped old Calmour, who had fallen back in his chair,wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

  "Is she mad?" snorted Bob, who had gone as white as the girl herself."Gets a cool thou, sent her--a cool thou, by the Lord Harry!--and thensays `No, thanks; I'd rather not. Take it back again.' It oughtn't tobe allowed."

  "And would rather see her old father starve," yelped old Calmour."Here, take it from her, Bob. We'll keep it for her till she comes to abetter frame of mind."

  "You dare to lay a hand on me," said Delia; and there was that in herlivid face and blazing eyes that caused the move Bob had made to rise inhis chair to subside again. "Besides, you couldn't take it from mewithout tearing it to pieces, nor could you cash it without myendorsement--which you would never get. How's that, Lawyer Bob?"

  "Damnable tommy-rot. Oh, hang it, Clytie, can't you knock some senseinto her silly noddle? You haven't said anything."

  "How can one when you're all bellowing at once? Well, I may as welltell you both that you've made a thundering silly mess of the wholething. My beautiful scheme, which was becoming simpler and simplerevery day, is now irrevocably knocked on the head--"

  "Beautiful scheme! Tommy-rot!" interrupted Bob. "A cool thou, in thehand's worth twenty `beautiful schemes' in your head."

  "--But as you have knocked it out," went on Clytie, ignoring theinterruption, "I say stick to the thousand."

  "Hear, hear!" cried Bob.

  "My mind is quite made up," replied Delia. "I am going to return it.Why, we could never hold up our heads in the place again."

  "We don't hold them extra tall as it is," laughed Clytie, "yet we manageto rub along somehow. A cool thou, doesn't tumble our way every day,wherefore don't be in a hurry about the thing, Delia; give it, say, tillto-morrow. Think it well over."

  "It won't bear thinking about, much less thinking over. I am going toHilversea as fast as my bicycle will carry me; now, immediately."

  Then her father and brother began upon her again. Ingratitude for whatthey had done for her, callous indifference to her father's decliningold age and increasing wants, general selfishness--these were but few ofthe crimes laid to her charge. But she was adamant.

  "You'll have to get your bike to carry you first," snarled Bob, givingup the contest. Hardly had he flung himself from the room than themeaning of his words flashed upon Delia. She flew to the door. Toolate. Her bicycle stood in the front hall, and Bob, with a nasty grinon his face, was in the act of replacing a pin in his waistcoat. He hadpunctured both wheels in two or three places, and, to make assurancedoubly sure, had treated Clytie's machine in like manner.

  "You cur!" she gasped. "Never mind; I'll hire one at Warren's."

  "Wagram won't pay the bill this time. Ta-ta! _Bong voyadge_!" And theabominable cub took himself off.

  "How could you do such a thing?" she flashed out, turning on her father."You have disgraced me for ever. A downright blackmailing fraud!"

  "Fraud be damned?" snarled old Calmour. "What are you talking about,girl? That sort of talk is dangerous. A highly respectable firm likePownall and Skreet don't deal in frauds."

  "What sort of firm did you say, dad?" said Clytie sweetly.

  The old man whirled round upon her.

  "What have you got to say to it, I'd like to know? You just mind yourown blanked business. Are you backing that idiot up in her lunacy? Andlook here, my lady Delia. You've grown too big for your boots of late.If we're not good enough for you, and our ways don't suit your ladyship,you'd better go and look out for yourself. See then how much yourswagger friends will do for you."

  "Yes; I will go," said the girl, "but not until I've put this matterright. Your `highly respectable firm' ought to be struck off the rollsfor this job. Faugh! it's scandalous!" she flashed out, as angry as hewas.

  "Here, Delia, come away," said Clytie. "We've all let off quite enoughsteam, and we don't want to go on nagging all day." And she dragged hersister from the room almost by main force.

  The while Bob, heading for the offices of the said "highly respectablefirm," though hugely incensed at his sister's decision, yet through itdiscerned a silver lining to that cloud. If Wagram _pere_ had been soquick to respond to her claim--or rather to the spurious claim that heand his father had put forth--and that to the uttermost farthing, byparity of reasoning would not Wagram _fils_ be equally ready to meet hisown, issued simultaneously with the other? Clearly these people had ahorror of litigation, and already he saw himself master of a thousandpounds, all his own, or at any rate of the result of a substantialcompromise. Consequently, when he entered the office--incidentally alittle late--it was with a jaunty, rakish air, as though, if he chose,he could buy up the whole concern.

  "Pownall wants you, Calmour," said one of the clerks at once.

  "Ha, does he? I thought he would," answered Bob lightly. Already hesaw himself in possession. The reply had come. The only thing now tobe reckoned with was that Pownall should not make an undue deduction forcosts. Yet, somehow, as he knocked and entered, there was something inPownall's veined and scrubby-bearded face that was not propitious. AndPownall was not inclined to waste valuable time.

  "Look here, Calmour," he began, "when you brought me this claim of yoursI told you I didn't think there was the slightest chance of your gettinganything. Here's the answer."

  "Do they refuse, sir?"

  "Absolutely and uncompromisingly. Here, read it yourself," chucking anopen letter across to his discomfited clerk, who took it and read:

  "Hilversea Court,

  "_23rd June_ 1897.

  "Sirs,--I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of yesterday's date,demanding from me the sum of a thousand pounds as compensation to oneRobert Calmour, for assaulting him. If this person is the blackguard Ichastised last week on the Swanton Road for grossly insulting a younglady under my charge, I may mention incidentally that he is veryill-advised in revealing his identity, for the young lady's father, onlearning it, is not only prepared, but eager, to repeat the infliction,and that with very considerable exaggeration of the punishment hereceived at my hands. To come to the main point, I flatly refuse to payone farthing; indeed, so impossible is it for me to treat this claim asa serious one that I have not even deemed it wor
th while to refer thematter to my solicitors.--Yours faithfully,

  "Wagram Gerard Wagram.

  "Messrs Pownall and Skreet."

  Bob had gone very pale during the perusal of this letter. Not only hadhis house of cards gone down with a flutter--for he could read nocompromise here--but he was threatened with the summary vengeance of anunknown and vindictive parent. The stripes that Wagram had laid uponhim, now turned to yellow and red bruises, seemed to tingle afresh.

  "Is it no good pressing him further, sir?" he stammered. "This may bebluff."

  "Ours was bluff," sneered Pownall. "I thought it just worth trying on,but only just. Now I see it isn't. No jury in England would find foryou, and we can't afford to take up such a case."

  "But they paid my sister, sir, almost by return."

  "What?" shouted Pownall, jumping from his chair. "What? Paid in full?"

  "Yes. Sent her a cheque for a thousand."

  "But this ought to have gone through us. It's irregular, damnedirregular."

  "So it is, sir. And what's more irregular, she's going to return it."

  "Going to return it?"

  "Yes; swears she won't accept it; calls it blackmail, and so forth."

  "Does she? Well, see here, Calmour, I'm sick of all your familygrievances, and am devilish sorry I ever took them up. If it hadn'tbeen that your father's a very old friend of mine I wouldn't havetouched them with the tip of the tongs. Now you'd better get back tothe office."

  "One minute, sir," stammered Bob. "Er--who is the person referred to inthe letter as--er--threatening me with further violence?"

  "I shrewdly conjecture it's Haldane--and, if so, you'd better give him awide, wide berth. He just about worships that girl of his, and he hasknocked about in rough, wild parts. Hang it! couldn't you tell thedifference between a lady--a thoroughbred--and a village wench if youmust get playing the fool by roadsides, you silly young rip? Now getback to your job. I haven't taken anything by either of you," added thelawyer disgustedly as he resumed his work.

  If ever anybody found himself in an utterly abject state of mind,assuredly that individual was Bob Calmour as he slunk out of hisprincipal's room, and as he took his place at his own desk he felt as ifhe could have blown his brains out, only he lacked the courage. Hecursed Pownall, he cursed Delia, he cursed everything and everybody, butmore than all did he curse Wagram. Should he take his claim to someother solicitor? That would be useless, for he felt pretty sure thatnobody but his principal would have touched it. Furthermore, the hintthrown out by Wagram with regard to his identity becoming knowncommanded his whole-hearted respect, and he grew green with scare at thethought that Haldane might be looking for him even at that moment.Heavens! what if Delia had let drop anything that might give him awaywhen she was spending the day there? Hardly likely; and again hecongratulated himself on his sound policy in keeping the thing a fastsecret between himself and his principal. One comfort was that Haldanerarely came to Bassingham, his county town being Fulkston, away in theother direction; still, Bob Calmour was destined to expiate his act ofYahooism very fully, in the shape of a chronic apprehension, whichrendered life a nightmare to him for some time thenceforward.