by Tom Gallon
CHAPTER IX.
A SHOOTING PARTY.
Now, my Uncle Zabdiel had known me always as something subservient tohis will, and apparently anxious to please him; he was to meet me now ina different mood. As we stood facing each other, in the grey light ofthe morning which filtered through a high window on to the staircasewhere we had met, I was able to realise that he would once more play thebully with me, if he felt it possible to do so, and that it behoved meto get the upper hand at once if I would bring myself with any creditout of the tangle. So I spoke sharply after that first ironical greetingof his; I wanted the man to understand that he had not to deal with themilk-and-water boy he had known something over a year before.
"I want a word with you," I said, "and I'll say it where it suits youbest to hear it."
"By all means, my dear nephew," he said suavely. "If you will allow meto pass you, I will show you where we can talk in comfort."
I did not like his tone in the least; I began to understand that he hadhad the night in which to think over matters, and had doubtless madegood use of the time. However, I followed him into that room from whichnot so long before I had seen Martha Leach emerge; and there I facedhim, with the door shut behind me.
"You're only partly surprised to see me," I began at once. "You heardlast night that I was alive, and almost in your neighbourhood. A womantold you."
That seemed to stagger him a little; he looked at me keenly and with anew interest. "How do you know that?" he demanded.
I laughed. "I know the woman who told you; she is no friend of mine, asyou may imagine," I answered him. "It must have been rather a shock toyou to know that the nephew of whom you had got rid so easily, and whohad even apparently had the good sense to put an end to his miserableexistence, was very much alive, and likely to trouble you again.Therefore I thought I'd follow up the tale by putting in an appearanceat once, the better to relieve your pardonable anxiety."
He grinned at me in a fashion that would have been disconcerting toanyone else; but I was no longer afraid of him. "And what are yourdemands now?" he asked.
"I'm glad you use the right word," I retorted. "I do demand one or twothings, and I'm sure that you'll see that it is best to comply withthem. In the first place, I demand your silence as to myself."
"And if I refuse?" He had seated himself by this time in his usualchair, and he sat looking at me, with the heavy stick he carried laidacross his knees. "What then?"
I had made up my mind what to say, and I said it at once, though with noreal intention of ever putting my threat into execution; I merely wantedto frighten him.
"Then I shall kill you," I said quietly. "That is no idle threat, as youmay perhaps understand. You're a cleverer man than I am, because I wasnever blessed with much brains; and you will see for yourself that,hunted wretch as I am, it does not matter very much what becomes of me.Nevertheless, I have the natural desire to live, and I only ask to belet alone. The Norton Hyde you knew is buried in the prison to which yousent him; let him rest there. A certain other man, who bears aresemblance to him, finds it necessary to pay you a visit----"
"To break into my house, you mean!" he exclaimed violently. "Your ownaction is the best answer that can be given to any such suggestion asyou make in regard to secrecy. What safety is there for me while you areat large in the world? I'm an old and feeble man; you come here withthreats on your lips to begin with."
"I threaten you only because I know what you intend to do," I replied."I overheard you last night, promising the woman that I should be hunteddown; even making arrangements with her as to how best to set about thathunting down. Consequently I have to protect myself."
He looked at me sourly for a moment or two, as though making up his mindhow best to work round me. "So you've been in the house all night, haveyou?" he said. "I shouldn't have slept quite so soundly if I'd knownthat, I can assure you. My duty is clear; respectable citizens must beprotected against escaped jail-birds and vagrants of your order."
He sprang from his chair, and made a movement towards a great bell ropethat hung at the side of the fireplace. But I was too quick for him; Icaught him by the arm, and swung him away from it, so that he lurchedand staggered towards the other side of the room. There, panting, andwith his stick half raised as though to strike me down, he stoodwatching me.
"Now, I don't want to hurt you," I said; "but in this matter I amdesperate. There is more hangs to it than you can understand. You'vedone evil enough; the money I stole from you has been paid for in onelong year of bitter bondage--paid for doubly, by reason of the fact thatI have no name, and no place in the world, and no hope, and no future.You've taken your toll out of me; all I ask now is to be let alone."
"I won't do it!" he almost shrieked at me. "You shall go back to yourprison; you shall rot there for just so many years as they will add toyour original sentence. You shan't live among honest men; you shall goback to your prison."
I think no shame even now of what I did. My rage against the vindictiveold man was so great that I wonder I did not strike the feeble life outof him where he stood mouthing at me. I strode up to him and wrenchedthe stick out of his hands, took him by the collar of his dressing-gownand shook him backwards and forwards, until at last, half in terror andhalf in weakness, he dropped upon his knees before me.
"Don't--don't kill me, Norton," he whimpered.
"Then you must swear to me to let me alone," I said. "Promise that, andI'll never come near you again, and you shall never hear of me again.It's an easy thing to do; surely you must see for yourself that I can'trush into the light of day; I should never have come near you to-night,but that by the merest chance I found out that the woman Martha Leachwas coming to you, and so guessed what her errand was. Come--swear toleave me alone!"
"I swear--I do truly swear!" he said; and I took my hands from him andlet him stagger to his feet.
He got back to his chair again, and sat there, breathing hard, with hislips opening and shutting; I saw that he had had a bad fright. I do notthink, after all, that even in my rage I could have killed him, badly ashe had served me; but I was relieved now to see that I had effected mypurpose. I did not think he would be likely to trouble me again with anythreats of exposure; for the first time in his life he appeared to havea very wholesome dread of me. Indeed, now he began, as soon as he hadgot his breath, to seek in some measure to propitiate me.
"I was excited--annoyed," he said. "Of course, my dear boy, I shouldnever have done anything against you--not really, you know. But it was agreat shock to me, when that woman came and told me that you were aliveand in the neighbourhood--that was a horrible shock. Not but what,Norton, I was glad, in a way--glad to know that you were alive again."
"We'll take that for granted," I said with a laugh. "We have no reasonto love each other, you and I, Uncle Zabdiel; and all I ask is that youshall forget that you ever saw me after I disappeared into my prison. Toyou, and to anyone else in the world who may be interested in theinformation, I am John New."
"Is that the name you have given yourself?" he asked sharply.
"The name that has been given to me by a certain friend I have found," Ireplied. "I spoke just now of a second matter about which I wanted totalk to you--a matter of serious moment to myself, and one in which youcan do a kindly action."
He looked at me in the old suspicious manner; yet I saw that in his fearof me he was anxious to please me. "What is it?" he demanded. "And whyshould I do it? I don't believe in kindly actions."
I seated myself on the table beside him, and laid the heavy stick behindme. "Uncle Zabdiel," I began, leaning down so as to look into his eyes,"you're an old man, and, in the ordinary course of things, you can'thave very long to live."
"What the devil are you talking about?" he exclaimed angrily. "There'snothing the matter with me; I'm younger and stronger, in my feelings atleast, than I ever was. I'm hale and hearty."
"You're a weak and defenceless old man, living all alone, with no one inthe world to care for you--wi
th no one to trouble much whether you liveor whether you die," I went on persistently. "God knows you might havemade something of me, if you'd ever set about it in any other fashionthan that you chose to adopt; but you killed Norton Hyde, and he's donewith and forgotten. And you're going on in the same hard, grindingfashion for the rest of your days, until some day, if nothing happens toyou----"
He looked at me with gaping mouth. "What should happen to me?" he askedin a whisper.
I shrugged my shoulders. "How can I possibly tell?" I answered. "I saythat if nothing happens to you, some fine morning you'll be found lyingout stark and stiff on that great bed of yours upstairs, with your eyesopen or shut, as the case may be; and you'll be just the husk of a poorold creature who couldn't take his gold with him, and has slipped awayin the night to meet the God whose laws of humanity and tenderness hehad outraged from the beginning. Yes, Uncle Zabdiel, you'll be just adead old man, leaving behind you certain property, to be squabbled overand fought over. And that will be the end of you."
"You're trying to frighten me," he said, with nervous fingers pluckingat his lips. "I'm very well, and I'm very strong."
"I'm not trying to frighten you; I'm telling you facts. It is just leftfor you to set against all the wrong you have done one little good deedthat may help to balance matters at the finish. And you won't do it."
"I never said I wouldn't do it," he pleaded. "You take me up sosuddenly, Norton; you've no patience. I am an old man, as you say, andsometimes my health and strength are not what they were; but, then,doctors are so infernally expensive. Tell me what you want me to do, myboy; I'll do it if I can."
I was so certain that I had absolutely subdued him that I did nothesitate to lay my plan before him: it was a plan I had had in my mindall the day before, and for some part at least of that night I had spentin the house.
"There is a young lady whom I have met under curious circumstances," Ibegan earnestly, "and that young lady is in great danger."
"What's that to do with me?" he snapped, with something of his oldmanner.
"Will you listen?" I asked impatiently. "Just understand that this younglady is nothing to me, and never can be anything; but I want to helpher. She hasn't a friend in the world except myself, and I want to findsome place to which, in an emergency, I can bring her, and where shewill be safe. I tell you frankly I wouldn't suggest this to you if therewere any other place on earth to which I could take her; but every otherway of escape seems barred. If I can persuade her to trust me, will yougive her shelter here?"
He looked up at me for a moment or two. I saw that it was in his mind torefuse flatly to have anything to do with the matter. But he had beenmore shaken that night even than I suspected, and he was afraid torefuse me anything. Nevertheless, he began to beat round the question,in the hope of evading a direct answer to it.
"What should I do with a girl here?" he asked. "There's only one oldwoman who comes to the house to look after me. This is no place for agirl; besides, if she's a decent sort of girl, she ought to have amother or a father, or some sort of relative, to look after her."
"I've told you that she's absolutely alone in the world," I replied tothat.
"And what's her danger?" he asked. "We live in the twentieth century,and there are the police----"
"Can _I_ apply to the police?" I asked him.
"No, I suppose you can't," he acknowledged. "Well, at any rate, let meknow what you want me to do, and how long the girl will stop--and I'lldo the best I can. After all, perhaps what you said about me being anold man, and being found dead, and all that sort of thing--perhaps itmay have some truth in it. And I've not been so very hard on people, andeven if I have, you seem to think that this kindness to the young ladywill make it all right for me. Because, you know," he added, with ashake of the head, "it's a great deal to ask anyone to do. Girls aremore nuisance than they're worth. Boys are bad enough--but girls!" Heheld up his hands in horror at the mere thought of them.
I felt very grateful to him, and quite elated at my success. I took oneof his feeble old hands, which he yielded with reluctance, and shook itwarmly. "You're doing a greater kindness than you can imagine," I said."I'll let you know if I can persuade the girl to come here; I won't takeyou by surprise again."
"I'm glad to know that, at least," he said. "You've given me an awfulshock as it is. Now I suppose you'll go away again quietly?"
"Yes," I said, getting down from the table, "I'll go away again. But letme give you a word of warning, Uncle Zabdiel: even the best of us areinclined to forget promises in this world. You have sworn that you willnot tell any one my secret."
"My dear boy," he whined, "do you seriously think that I should betrayyou?"
"No," I answered, "I don't think you would. It would be bad for you ifyou did; my vengeance would reach quite a long way."
"All right, my boy," he replied hastily, as he got to his feet and movedaway from me. "No threats; no threats; they are quite unnecessary."
When I left him it was fully daylight. I came out of the house into thenarrow, high-walled garden, and left him standing at the door in hisblack skull-cap and dressing-gown, peering out at me; then the door wasclosed, and the dark house swallowed him up.
I was now quite determined that I would go back to the house of BardolphJust, and would find out for myself what was happening there. I had noreal hope of meeting Debora, save by accident; I knew that since mydisclosure I was less to her than any common tramp she might meet uponthe roadside. But when I thought of her, without a friend, in that greathouse, and with one man and one woman at least bent upon her death, Ifelt that private considerations must be tossed aside, and that I mustswallow my pride and my sense of injury, and must go to her help. If bysome good fortune I could persuade her that the jail-bird she knew me tobe was swallowed up in the man who hopelessly loved her, and was eagerto help her, I might yet be able to perform that miracle of saving her.I felt that I had conquered the man I had least hope ofconquering--Uncle Zabdiel; I was less afraid of others than I had beenof him.
The thought of Martha Leach troubled me most; there was something soimplacable about her enmity. That she meant to destroy the girl, I knew;and I felt certain, from what I had heard, that she was equally bent ondestroying me. I chuckled to myself at the thought that in that secondbusiness I had defeated her; I was equally confident that I shoulddefeat her in the first. For in defeating her I knew that my surestweapon would be the doctor himself, because anything that happened to mein the way of exposure must bring that dead man from his grave, and mustrevive that scandal he was so anxious to cover up. I made a shrewd guessthat the woman, in rushing full tilt against me, was doing so blindly,and without consulting Bardolph Just. Knowing the power of that man overher, I thought that I could stop her even more easily than I had stoppedmy uncle.
However, I had blundered badly once or twice by plunging headlong intomatters that required careful consideration; with a new wisdom that wascoming to me, I determined to reform that trait in my character, and toweigh what I purposed doing for a few hours before setting about it. Iwould marshal my facts, and so have them ready at my tongue's end when Iwanted them.
Thus it happened that I spent a large part of the day wandering about,and striving to arrive at some definite plan of action. It was late inthe afternoon when I went at last to the house of Bardolph Just, andopened the outer gate and walked into the grounds. I will confess thatmy heart was beating a little heavily, because I knew that I might atany moment meet Debora, and I could guess what her attitude would be.However, I came to the house, and rang the bell, and waited to beadmitted.
The servant who came to the door at last looked at me in some littlesurprise, I thought, but greeted me civilly enough. I enquired for thedoctor as I stood in the hall; I thought the man seemed astonished thatI should ask the question.
"Dr. Just is away, sir. Everybody's away, sir," he said.
"Away?" I stared at the man in a dazed fashion, wondering what he meant."Everybody?"
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p; "Yes, sir. Dr. Just, and Mr. Scoffold, and Miss Debora. They've all gonedown to Green Barn, in Essex, sir. Quite a large party, sir," went onthe man garrulously. "Mrs. Leach has gone with them."
I kept my head lowered, that the man might not see the expression on myface. "When did they go?" I asked slowly.
"Yesterday, sir. Dr. Just said they would go down for some shooting."
The man spoke glibly enough as he told his news, and I stood awkwardlyin front of him, wondering what I should do. After a long pause I lookedup, and asked, "Is there no one here at all, except yourself and theother servants?"
"Oh, yes, sir! I quite forgot," said the man. "Old Capper is here, andanother party that the doctor left behind to look after him. Rather arough sort of party, sir--name of Rabbit."
"Where are they?" I asked quickly. "I want to see them."
The man told me that they were in a little room at the back of thehouse, and I went there at once. I was more disturbed in my mind aboutthis than about anything else; filled with perplexity that Capper shouldhave been brought back to that house, as I guessed he must have been byHarvey Scoffold; still more puzzled to know why George Rabbit hadappeared on the scene, and what the purpose could be in putting him incharge of that amiable old madman, Capper. I opened the door of the roomand walked in.
George Rabbit was lounging on a window-seat by an open window, smoking apipe; Capper sat upright on a chair, looking at the other man with thatcurious half-wistful, half-puzzled expression that I had seen on hisface before. Mr. Rabbit did not take the trouble to move when I entered;he merely waved a hand nonchalantly, and went on smoking.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded of him.
"Got a noo job--an' a rummy sort o' job at that," he replied, with ajerk of his head in the direction of Capper. "Plenty to eat an' drink,'an a nice fevver bed to sleep in, 'an on'y him to keep a eye on. Rumole cove, ain't 'e?"
"I thought I warned you to keep away from this place, and to keep awayfrom me," I said sternly.
"You did, 'an you wasn't too nice about the language you put it in," hesaid complacently, as he puffed out a huge volume of smoke. "But, yersee, I wasn't goin' to be ordered abaht by the likes o' you, an' so Ijist made up my mind I'd come along, an' 'ave a little talk wiv thedoctor. Nice man, the doctor--real tip-top gent."
"But Dr. Just warned you to keep away from here," I reminded him.
"Yus, but, yer see, I put it plain to the doctor that I might be a bituseful to 'is nibs--a deal more useful inside, w'ere I couldn't talk,than outside, w'ere I could. The doctor seemed to see it in the sameway, an' so 'e left me in charge of this ole chap, wot seems to 'ave atile loose; an' 'e's gorn orf into the country to 'ave a pot at thedicky birds, an' the rabbits an' fings."
"And are you to stop here until he comes back?" I asked.
"That's the ticket," he replied. "An' wot's yer 'ighness goin' to do?"
"I don't know; at all events, nothing that concerns you," I answered.
"Perlite and haffable as ever!" commented Mr. Rabbit. "By the way, Iunnerstood that you'd gorn, an' that we wasn't goin' to see any more ofyer. You might let me know w'ere you're goin' to live--fer the sake ofole times."
I guessed why he wanted to know my movements. I shrewdly suspected thatthe woman Martha Leach had already given him Zabdiel Blowfield'smessage. Therefore, although my mind was pretty firmly made up as towhat I must do, I determined to put him off the scent.
"Oh, in all probability, I shall remain here for the present," I said.
"Good!" exclaimed Mr. Rabbit heartily. "Then I shall 'ave company.Between you an' me, I'm a little tired of ole waxworks 'ere, wot sitssmilin' an' never syin' a word, except to ask about 'is young master. Itell yer, 'e fair gits on my nerves."
"I'll go and see if my room's ready," I said; and walked out of theroom.
Going into the dining-room, I rang the bell, and waited until theservant who had admitted me put in an appearance; then I asked aquestion quite casually.
"By the way, what place did you say the doctor had gone to? Was it GreenBarn?"
"Yes, sir. I was down there myself last year. Very pretty place, sir.Comerford is the station. Essex, sir."
"Oh, I see!" I answered with a yawn. "By the way, I shall stay hereto-night. Is my room ready?"
"Just as you left it, sir," said the man.
I dismissed him, and then proceeded to empty my pockets, to discoverwhat money I had. I knew that I must get to Comerford that night; Ibegan to be oppressed with dreadful fears of what might happen in alonely country house, with the girl at the mercy of these three people,all conspiring against her. For by this time I reckoned Harvey Scoffoldas being shoulder to shoulder with the other two in the business.
I found that I had exactly two shillings and threepence, and thereseemed no prospect of my getting any more. I was desperate by this time,and I knew that every moment was precious; if I missed the last train Imight as well not go at all. I determined that in such a cause as thisany scruples of conscience I might have must go to the winds; I mustresume my old trade which had once brought me into disaster.
I looked about for the most valuable article I could discover, andpresently found it, in a beautiful old-fashioned watch, lying upon acabinet merely as an ornament; it was a wonderful piece of workmanship,in three exquisitely engraved and pierced cases. I slipped it into mypocket, and got my cap and a walking-stick from the hall, and slippedunobserved out of the house.
In an old curiosity shop in Heath Street, Hampstead, I sold thewatch--after some haggling I got six pounds for it. Coming out of theplace the richer by that sum, I found a cab, and drove at once toLiverpool Street Station. There I found, by great good fortune, that atrain was to leave for Comerford in less than a quarter of an hour. Itook my seat, and in due course alighted without further adventure atthe little out-of-the-way station bearing that name. Not wishing toattract attention in a place where, doubtless, the doctor was wellknown, I strolled out of the station into the quiet dusk of the summerevening, and took my way down into the village.
You may be sure that I kept a sharp look-out, lest by any chance Ishould stumble upon anyone from Green Barn; and I determined that when Imade enquiries for the place it should be from someone not likely to paymuch attention to me or to note my appearance. I meant to move slowlybut steadily, making as few false steps as possible; and I knew that thefirst thing to be done was to get to the house and find out what washappening there.
In the first place, however, I made up my mind that I would procure abed for the night. I chose a little clean inn in a back street, and fora matter of a shilling or two settled to keep the room as long as Iwanted it. Lounging in the doorway of it with the landlord, I made acasual enquiry as to what places of interest there were in theneighbourhood; and the man, after reeling off a long catalogue of placesabout which I cared nothing, came at last to Green Barn, and told mewhere it lay. I stored that information in my mind, and a little laterstrolled out to find the place.
I found that it lay some little distance from the village, and wassurrounded by very considerable grounds and fields, and a great growthof trees that might, perhaps, by a stretch be called a wood. In thetwilight I saw rabbits hopping about, and heard the cries of birds amongthe trees and bushes. I gathered that there would be there what Ibelieve is known as "good mixed shooting."
The house itself stood in a hollow, and I set it down at once as beingdecidedly lonely and damp. It had unwholesome-looking green lichensstuck about it here and there, and the outhouses were in a bad state ofrepair. As I moved cautiously round it, keeping well within shelter, Isaw no dogs, nor did I observe any stir of life about it, as one mightexpect to see about the country house of a prosperous man. A few lightswere showing in the windows, and when presently I came to the front ofthe house, I saw that the great hall door was standing wide open. Onceor twice I saw a servant cross this, and disappear, as though going fromone room to the other. Presently, as I lay hidden, I saw Harvey Scoffoldcome out with a big cigar b
etween his lips, and his arms swaying aboutlazily above his head, as he stretched himself. He seated himself in acreaking wicker chair on the porch, and I lay watching the glowing endof his cigar for a long time.
Bardolph Just came out presently, and joined him. They sat knee to kneefor a while, with their heads bent forward, talking in low tones; Icould not distinguish what was said. Presently both the heads turned,and the men glanced towards the lighted hall behind them; then thedoctor sprang up, and pushed back his chair.
Then I saw Debora come slowly down the hall to the porch. The doctorspoke to her, and I saw her shake her head. My heart was thumping sothat I had a foolish feeling that they must hear it, and discover mewhere I lay hidden.
The girl came down the few steps from the porch, and turned off into thegrounds. Bardolph Just, after standing looking after her for a longminute, sat down again, and went on talking to Scoffold. So far asDebora was concerned, she confined her walk to an avenue among thetrees, up and down which she paced for half an hour, with her handshanging loosely at her sides, and with an air of utter desolation anddejection upon her. During all that time she only stopped once.
It was at the end of the avenue furthest from the house, and nearest towhere I lay among the bushes. She stopped, and laid an arm against thetrunk of a tree, and put her head against the arm; and so stood for along time, as I felt sure, weeping softly. What I suffered in that timeI will not try to explain; I would have given anything and everything tobe able to steal up to her, and to put my arms about her, and to comforther. But that was, of course, clearly impossible.
She went back into the house at last, passing between the two men andleaving them together on the porch. I determined that I would keep myvigil as long as they did, even though I could not overhear what wassaid. I could see that the doctor was laying down the law upon somematter to Harvey Scoffold. I could see every now and then first one andthen the other turn sharply and glance into the lighted hall, as thoughfearing to be overheard. At last Scoffold, with a gesture of impatience,got up and came down the steps; the great bulk of him blotted out theother man for a moment.
Immediately afterwards the doctor rose, and marched down the steps also,until he came to where Harvey Scoffold was standing. They moved offarm-in-arm into that avenue in which but a little time before the girlhad walked so long; and now I strained my ears, in the hope that I mightcatch what they said. But only scraps of conversation floated to me.
"Don't be a fool, Harvey," I heard the doctor say, "there is absolutelyno danger ... the merest accident."
"I can't say I like it at all; it may seem suspicious. Lonely countryplace, and you with an interest in the girl's death. I consider it muchtoo risky."
They passed me, and came slowly back again. And what I heard then wasstartling enough, in all conscience. It was the doctor who spoke.
"Gun accidents have happened before to-day, and will happen again,especially over such land as this."
I remembered then what I had been told about this shooting party thathad been organised; I wondered what they meant to do. I could onlyshrewdly guess that in some fashion the girl was to be drawn into thematter, and that the doctor had plotted with Harvey Scoffold that anapparent accident of some sort should take place. I did not need to betold who the victim was to be. I lay there, long after they had goneinto the house and the door had been closed, wondering what I should do,and realising more and more with every minute how utterly helpless Iwas. To warn the girl was impossible, because, even if I got speech withher, she would in all probability refuse to believe anything I said. Toset myself face to face with Harvey Scoffold and the doctor would beabsurd, because they would, of course, deny that any such conversationhad taken place, or at least deny the construction I had put upon theirwords. I lay there until very late, debating the matter, and at lastcame to a desperate resolve.
If they meant murder, then I determined that murder should be met withmurder. In some way that was at present vague in my mind I determinedthat I would follow the party on the morrow, if that was the timearranged, and if I could only secure some weapon, even if I were not intime to save her, her death should be avenged. I went home with my headsinging, and with, as it seemed, the sky blood-red above me.
I thought at first that I would borrow a gun from the landlord of theinn, but as I looked a peaceful sort of fellow, I came to the conclusionthat that must at once throw suspicion upon me. I determined, justbefore I went to bed, that I would go very early to Green Barn in themorning, and there would let Fate decide for me at the last moment. Iundressed and went to bed, but it was long before my eyes closed insleep.
I was abroad early, and was actually in the grounds before the house wasastir. I guessed that if this was the date on which they meant to puttheir plan into execution, they would make for that more secluded wood Ihad observed the night before, and I determined that when the time cameI would take my station there. But first I made up my mind that I musthave a weapon, and boldly enough I decided that I would get that, if theworst came to the worst, from the house itself. With that purpose inmind, I crept as near to the house as I could, with a view to observinghow the rooms were placed, and in the hope that I might discover thegun-room, if such a place existed.
Fortune favoured me. I worked my way gradually round towards the back ofthe house, and judged that the party were at breakfast, by the fact thatnow and then a servant crossed a small paved yard, bearing dishes. Icounted the number of times she went, and I reckoned my chances on twothings. First, I guessed that some of the servants would be in thedining-room, and the others in the kitchens, which were detached fromthe house; the servant I saw pass to and fro was the messenger betweenboth. And while I noted that fact, I saw that the gun-room was just offthe small hall into which she went each time she carried anythingacross. I could see the shining barrels against the walls distinctly.
What I purposed doing was this. Counting the time carefully, I wouldwait for her to cross the yard and to go into the house; then, when shehad disappeared, I would follow, and would get into the gun-room. Beforeshe came out of the house again I should have time to select a weaponand to load it; to remain concealed in the gun-room, into which she wasnot likely to look; and to come out and make my way into the groundsafter she had disappeared into the kitchens.
My plan prospered as well as I had hoped. I slipped into the gun-room asthe girl disappeared into the house, and in a moment I had a gun downfrom its place, and had slipped the cartridges into position. Makingsure that all was right, I crouched behind the door, and saw the girlpass and cross the yard, and disappear; then I stole out, and, gettingclear of the house, ran hard for the woods. There I dropped down into alittle hollow in the thickest part of the trees, and waited.
In something less than half an hour I saw them coming towards me fromthe direction of the house; Harvey Scoffold and the doctor, with Deborawalking between. She was dressed smartly in a shooting costume, andcarried a light gun over her shoulder, as did the others. They madestraight for the woods; and I lay there, with murder in my heart and thegun gripped in my fingers.