Ranson's Folly (Fiscle Part 3), Richard Harding Davis [best novel books to read TXT] 📗
- Author: Richard Harding Davis
Book online «Ranson's Folly (Fiscle Part 3), Richard Harding Davis [best novel books to read TXT] 📗». Author Richard Harding Davis
He Explained, "But That I Thought This Gentleman"--He Inclined His
Head Toward The Queen's Messenger--"Was About To Contribute Some
Facts Of Which I Was Ignorant. He, However, Has Told Us Nothing, And
So I Will Take Up The Tale At The Point Where Lieutenant Sears Laid
It Down And Give You Those Details Of Which Lieutenant Sears Is
Ignorant. It Seems Strange To You That I Should Be Able To Add The
Sequel To This Story. But The Coincidence Is Easily Explained. I Am
The Junior Member Of The Law Firm Of Chudleigh & Chudleigh. We Have
Been Solicitors For The Chetneys For The Last Two Hundred Years.
Nothing, No Matter How Unimportant, Which Concerns Lord Edam And His
Two Sons Is Unknown To Us, And Naturally We Are Acquainted With Every
Detail Of The Terrible Catastrophe Of Last Night."
The Baronet, Bewildered But Eager, Sank Back Into His Chair.
"Will You Be Long, Sir?" He Demanded.
"I Shall Endeavor To Be Brief," Said The Young Solicitor; "And," He
Added, In A Tone Which Gave His Words Almost The Weight Of A Threat,
"I Promise To Be Interesting."
"There Is No Need To Promise That," Said Sir Andrew, "I Find It Much
Too Interesting As It Is." He Glanced Ruefully At The Clock And
Turned His Eyes Quickly From It.
"Tell The Driver Of That Hansom," He Called To The Servant, "That I
Take Him By The Hour."
"For The Last Three Days," Began Young Mr. Chudleigh, "As You Have
Probably Read In The Daily Papers, The Marquis Of Edam Has Been At
The Point Of Death, And His Physicians Have Never Left His House.
Every Hour He Seemed To Grow Weaker; But Although His Bodily Strength
Is Apparently Leaving Him Forever, His Mind Has Remained Clear And
Active. Late Yesterday Evening, Word Was Received At Our Office That
He Wished My Father To Come At Once To Chetney House And To Bring
With Him Certain Papers. What These Papers Were Is Not Essential; I
Mention Them Only To Explain How It Was That Last Night I Happened To
Be At Lord Edam's Bedside. I Accompanied My Father To Chetney House,
But At The Time We Reached There Lord Edam Was Sleeping, And His
Physicians Refused To Have Him Awakened. My Father Urged That He
Should Be Allowed To Receive Lord Edam's Instructions Concerning The
Documents, But The Physicians Would Not Disturb Him, And We All
Gathered In The Library To Wait Until He Should Awake Of His Own
Accord. It Was About One O'clock In The Morning, While We Were Still
There, That Inspector Lyle And The Officers From Scotland Yard Came
To Arrest Lord Arthur On The Charge Of Murdering His Brother. You Can
Part 3 Title 1 (Ranson's Folly) Pg 137Imagine Our Dismay And Distress. Like Everyone Else, I Had Learned
From The Afternoon Papers That Lord Chetney Was Not Dead, But That He
Had Returned To England, And, On Arriving At Chetney House, I Had
Been Told That Lord Arthur Had Gone To The Bath Hotel To Look For His
Brother And To Inform Him That If He Wished To See Their Father Alive
He Must Come To Him At Once. Although It Was Now Past One O'clock,
Arthur Had Not Returned. None Of Us Knew Where Madame Zichy Lived, So
We Could Not Go To Recover Lord Chetney's Body. We Spent A Most
Miserable Night, Hastening To The Window Whenever A Cab Came Into The
Square, In The Hope That It Was Arthur Returning, And Endeavoring To
Explain Away The Facts That Pointed To Him As The Murderer. I Am A
Friend Of Arthur's, I Was With Him At Harrow And At Oxford, And I
Refused To Believe For An Instant That He Was Capable Of Such A
Crime; But As A Lawyer I Could Not Help But See That The
Circumstantial Evidence Was Strongly Against Him.
"Toward Early Morning, Lord Edam Awoke, And In So Much Better A State
Of Health That He Refused To Make The Changes In The Papers Which He
Had Intended, Declaring That He Was No Nearer Death Than Ourselves.
Under Other Circumstances, This Happy Change In Him Would Have
Relieved Us Greatly, But None Of Us Could Think Of Anything Save The
Death Of His Elder Son And Of The Charge Which Hung Over Arthur.
"As Long As Inspector Lyle Remained In The House, My Father Decided
That I, As One Of The Legal Advisers Of The Family, Should Also
Remain There. But There Was Little For Either Of Us To Do. Arthur Did
Not Return, And Nothing Occurred Until Late This Morning, When Lyle
Received Word That The Russian Servant Had Been Arrested. He At Once
Drove To Scotland Yard To Question Him. He Came Back To Us In An
Hour, And Informed Me That The Servant Had Refused To Tell Anything
Of What Had Happened The Night Before, Or Of Himself, Or Of The
Princess Zichy. He Would Not Even Give Them The Address Of Her House.
"'He Is In Abject Terror,' Lyle Said. 'I Assured Him That He Was Not
Suspected Of The Crime, But He Would Tell Me Nothing.'
"There Were No Other Developments Until Two O'clock This Afternoon,
When Word Was Brought To Us That Arthur Had Been Found, And That He
Was Lying In The Accident-Ward Of St. George's Hospital. Lyle And I
Drove There Together, And Found Him Propped Up In Bed With His Head
Bound In A Bandage. He Had Been Brought To The Hospital The Night
Before By The Driver Of A Hansom That Had Run Over Him In The Fog.
The Cab-Horse Had Kicked Him On The Head, And He Had Been Carried In
Unconscious. There Was Nothing On Him To Tell Who He Was, And It Was
Not Until He Came To His Senses This Afternoon That The Hospital
Authorities Had Been Able To Send Word To His People. Lyle At Once
Informed Him That He Was Under Arrest, And With What He Was Charged,
And Though The Inspector Warned Him To Say Nothing Which Might Be
Used Against Him, I, As His Solicitor, Instructed Him To Speak Freely
And To Tell Us All He Knew Of The Occurrences Of Last Night. It Was
Evident To Anyone That The Fact Of His Brother's Death Was Of Much
Greater Concern To Him Than That He Was Accused Of His Murder.
"'That,' Arthur Said, Contemptuously, 'That Is Damned Nonsense. It Is
Part 3 Title 1 (Ranson's Folly) Pg 138Monstrous And Cruel. We Parted Better Friends Than We Have Been In
Years. I Will Tell You All That Happened--Not To Clear Myself, But To
Help You To Find Out The Truth.' His Story Is As Follows: Yesterday
Afternoon, Owing To His Constant Attendance On His Father, He Did Not
Look At The Evening Papers, And It Was Not Until After Dinner, When
The Butler Brought Him One And Told Him Of Its Contents, That He
Learned That His Brother Was Alive And At The Bath Hotel. He Drove
There At Once, But Was Told That About Eight O'clock His Brother Had
Gone Out, But Without Giving Any Clew To His Destination. As Chetney
Had Not At Once Come To See His Father, Arthur Decided That He Was
Still Angry With Him, And His Mind, Turning Naturally To The Cause Of
Their Quarrel, Determined Him To Look For Chetney At The Home Of The
Princess Zichy.
"Her House Had Been Pointed Out To Him, And Though He Had Never
Visited It, He Had Passed It Many Times And Knew Its Exact Location.
He Accordingly Drove In That Direction, As Far As The Fog Would
Permit The Hansom To Go, And Walked The Rest Of The Way, Reaching The
House About Nine O'clock. He Rang, And Was Admitted By The Russian
Servant. The Man Took His Card Into The Drawing-Room, And At Once His
Brother Ran Out And Welcomed Him. He Was Followed By The Princess
Zichy, Who Also Received Arthur Most Cordially.
"'You Brothers Will Have Much To Talk About,' She Said. 'I Am Going
To The Dining-Room. When You Have Finished, Let Me Know.'
"As Soon As She Had Left Them, Arthur Told His Brother That Their
Father Was Not Expected To Outlive The Night, And That He Must Come
To Him At Once.
"'This Is Not The Moment To Remember Your Quarrel,' Arthur Said To
Him; 'You Have Come Back From The Dead Only In Time To Make Your
Peace With Him Before He Dies.'
"Arthur Says That At This Chetney Was Greatly Moved.
"'You Entirely Misunderstand Me, Arthur,' He Returned. 'I Did Not
Know The Governor Was Ill, Or I Would Have Gone To Him The Instant I
Arrived. My Only Reason For Not Doing So Was Because I Thought He Was
Still Angry With Me. I Shall Return With You Immediately, As Soon As
I Have Said Good-By To The Princess. It Is A Final Good-By. After To-
Night I Shall Never See Her Again.'
"'Do You Mean That?' Arthur Cried.
"'Yes,' Chetney Answered. 'When I Returned To London I Had No
Intention Of Seeking Her Again, And I Am Here Only Through A
Mistake.' He Then Told Arthur That He Had Separated From The Princess
Even Before He Went To Central Africa, And That, Moreover, While At
Cairo On His Way South, He Had Learned Certain Facts Concerning Her
Life There During The Previous Season, Which Made It Impossible For
Him To Ever Wish To See Her Again. Their Separation Was Final And
Complete.
Part 3 Title 1 (Ranson's Folly) Pg 139
"'She Deceived Me Cruelly,' He Said; 'I Cannot Tell You How Cruelly.
During The Two Years When I Was Trying To Obtain My Father's Consent
To Our Marriage She Was In Love With A Russian Diplomat. During All
That Time He Was Secretly Visiting Her Here In London, And Her Trip
To Cairo Was Only An Excuse To Meet Him There.'
"'Yet You Are Here With Her To-Night,' Arthur Protested, 'Only A Few
Hours After Your Return.'
"'That Is Easily Explained,' Chetney Answered. 'As I Finished Dinner
To-Night At The Hotel, I Received A Note From Her From This Address.
In It She Said She Had Just Learned Of My Arrival, And Begged Me To
Come To Her At Once. She Wrote That She Was In Great And Present
Trouble, Dying Of An Incurable Illness, And Without Friends Or Money.
She Begged Me, For The Sake Of Old Times, To Come To Her Assistance.
During The Last Two Years In The Jungle All
Comments (0)