There was only one reason which made Ward Mortimer’s position a little difficult at the Belmore Street Museum, and that was the extreme eminence9 of the man whom he had to succeed. Professor Andreas was a profound scholar and a man of European reputation. His lectures were frequented by students from every part of the world, and his admirable management of the collection intrusted to his care was a commonplace in all learned societies. There was, therefore, considerable surprise when, at the age of fifty-five, he suddenly resigned his position and retired10 from those duties which had been both his livelihood11 and his pleasure. He and his daughter left the comfortable suite12 of rooms which had formed his official residence in connection with the museum, and my friend, Mortimer, who was a bachelor, took up his quarters there.
On hearing of Mortimer’s appointment Professor Andreas had written him a very kindly13 and flattering congratulatory letter. I was actually present at their first meeting, and I went with Mortimer round the museum when the Professor showed us the admirable collection which he had cherished so long. The Professor’s beautiful daughter and a young man, Captain Wilson, who was, as I understood, soon to be her husband, accompanied us in our inspection14. There were fifteen rooms, but the Babylonian, the Syrian, and the central hall, which contained the Jewish and Egyptian collection, were the finest of all. Professor Andreas was a quiet, dry, elderly man, with a clean-shaven face and an impassive manner, but his dark eyes sparkled and his features quickened into enthusiastic life as he pointed16 out to us the rarity and the beauty of some of his specimens18. His hand lingered so fondly over them, that one could read his pride in them and the grief in his heart now that they were passing from his care into that of another.
He had shown us in turn his mummies, his papyri, his rare scarabs, his inscriptions19, his Jewish relics21, and his duplication of the famous seven-branched candlestick of the Temple, which was brought to Rome by Titus, and which is supposed by some to be lying at this instant in the bed of the Tiber. Then he approached a case which stood in the very centre of the hall, and he looked down through the glass with reverence22 in his attitude and manner.
“This is no novelty to an expert like yourself, Mr. Mortimer,” said he; “but I daresay that your friend, Mr. Jackson, will be interested to see it.”
Leaning over the case I saw an object, some five inches square, which consisted of twelve precious stones in a framework of gold, with golden hooks at two of the corners. The stones were all varying in sort and colour, but they were of the same size. Their shapes, arrangement, and gradation of tint24 made me think of a box of water-colour paints. Each stone had some hieroglyphic25 scratched upon its surface.
“You have heard, Mr. Jackson, of the urim and thummim?”
I had heard the term, but my idea of its meaning was exceedingly vague.
“The urim and thummim was a name given to the jewelled plate which lay upon the breast of the high priest of the Jews. They had a very special feeling of reverence for it — something of the feeling which an ancient Roman might have for the Sibylline26 books in the Capitol. There are, as you see, twelve magnificent stones, inscribed27 with mystical characters. Counting from the left-hand top corner, the stones are carnelian, peridot, emerald, ruby28, lapis lazuli, onyx, sapphire29, agate30, amethyst31, topaz, beryl, and jasper.”
I was amazed at the variety and beauty of the stones.
“Has the breastplate any particular history?” I asked.
“It is of great age and of immense value,” said Professor Andreas. “Without being able to make an absolute assertion, we have many reasons to think that it is possible that it may be the original urim and thummim of Solomon’s Temple. There is certainly nothing so fine in any collection in Europe. My friend, Captain Wilson, here, is a practical authority upon precious stones, and he would tell you how pure these are.”
Captain Wilson, a man with a dark, hard, incisive32 face, was standing33 beside his fiancee at the other side of the case.
“Yes,” said he, curtly34, “I have never seen finer stones.”
“And the gold-work is also worthy35 of attention. The ancients excelled in ——"— he was apparently36 about to indicate the setting of the stones, when Captain Wilson interrupted him.
“You will see a finer example of their gold-work in this candlestick,” said he, turning to another table, and we all joined him in his admiration37 of its embossed stem and delicately ornamented38 branches. Altogether it was an interesting and a novel experience to have objects of such rarity explained by so great an expert; and when, finally, Professor Andreas finished our inspection by formally handing over the precious collection to the care of my friend, I could not help pitying him and envying his successor whose life was to pass in so pleasant a duty. Within a week, Ward Mortimer was duly installed in his new set of rooms, and had become the autocrat39 of the Belmore Street Museum.
About a fortnight afterwards my friend gave a small dinner to half a dozen bachelor friends to celebrate his promotion40. When his guests were departing he pulled my sleeve and signalled to me that he wished me to remain.
“You have only a few hundred yards to go,” said he — I was living in chambers42 in the Albany. “You may as well stay and have a quiet cigar with me. I very much want your advice.”
I relapsed into an arm-chair and lit one of his excellent Matronas. When he had returned from seeing the last of his guests out, he drew a letter from his dress-jacket and sat down opposite to me.
“This is an anonymous43 letter which I received this morning,” said he. “I want to read it to you and to have your advice.”
“You are very welcome to it for what it is worth.”
“This is how the note runs: ‘Sir,— I should strongly advise you to keep a very careful watch over the many valuable things which are committed to your charge. I do not think that the present system of a single watchman is sufficient. Be upon your guard, or an irreparable misfortune may occur.’”
“Is that all?”
“Yes, that is all.”
“Well,” said I, “it is at least obvious that it was written by one of the limited number of people who are aware that you have only one watchman at night.”
Ward Mortimer handed me the note, with a curious smile. “Have you an eye for handwriting?” said he. “Now, look at this!” He put another letter in front of me. “Look at the c in ‘congratulate’ and the c in ‘committed.’ Look at the capital I. Look at the trick of putting in a dash instead of a stop!”
“They are undoubtedly44 from the same hand — with some attempt at disguise in the case of this first one.”
“The second,” said Ward Mortimer, “is the letter of congratulation which was written to me by Professor Andreas upon my obtaining my appointment.”
I stared at him in amazement45. Then I turned over the letter in my hand, and there, sure enough, was “Martin Andreas” signed upon the other side. There could be no doubt, in the mind of anyone who had the slightest knowledge of the science of graphology, that the Professor had written an anonymous letter, warning his successor against thieves. It was inexplicable46, but it was certain.
“Why should he do it?” I asked.
“Precisely what I should wish to ask you. If he had any such misgivings47, why could he not come and tell me direct?”
“Will you speak to him about it?”
“There again I am in doubt. He might choose to deny that he wrote it.”
“At any rate,” said I, “this warning is meant in a friendly spirit, and I should certainly act upon it. Are the present precautions enough to insure you against robbery?”
“I should have thought so. The public are only admitted from ten till five, and there is a guardian48 to every two rooms. He stands at the door between them, and so commands them both.”
“But at night?”
“When the public are gone, we at once put up the great iron shutters49, which are absolutely burglar-proof. The watchman is a capable fellow. He sits in the lodge50, but he walks round every three hours. We keep one electric light burning in each room all night.”
“It is difficult to suggest anything more — short of keeping your day watches all night.”
“We could not afford that.”
“At least, I should communicate with the police, and have a special constable51 put on outside in Belmore Street,” said I. “As to the letter, if the writer wishes to be anonymous, I think he has a right to remain so. We must trust to the future to show some reason for the curious course which he has adopted.”
So we dismissed the subject, but all that night after my return to my chambers I was puzzling my brain as to what possible motive52 Professor Andreas could have for writing an anonymous warning letter to his successor — for that the writing was his was as certain to me as if I had seen him actually doing it. He foresaw some danger to the collection. Was it because he foresaw it that he abandoned his charge of it? But if so, why should he hesitate to warn Mortimer in his own name? I puzzled and puzzled until at last I fell into a troubled sleep, which carried me beyond my usual hour of rising.
I was aroused in a singular and effective method, for about nine o’clock my friend Mortimer rushed into my room with an expression of consternation53 upon his face. He was usually one of the most tidy men of my acquaintance, but now his collar was undone54 at one end, his tie was flying, and his hat at the back of his head. I read his whole story in his frantic55 eyes.
“The museum has been robbed!” I cried, springing up in bed.
“I fear so! Those jewels! The jewels of the urim and thummim!” he gasped56, for he was out of breath with running. “I’m going on to the police-station. Come to the museum as soon as you can, Jackson! Good-bye!” He rushed distractedly out of the room, and I heard him clatter57 down the stairs.
I was not long in following his directions, but I found when I arrived that he had already returned with a police inspector58, and another elderly gentleman, who proved to be Mr. Purvis, one of the partners of Morson and Company, the well-known diamond merchants. As an expert in stones he was always prepared to advise the police. They were grouped round the case in which the breastplate of the Jewish priest had been exposed. The plate had been taken out and laid upon the glass top of the case, and the three heads were bent59 over it.
“It is obvious that it has been tampered60 with,” said Mortimer. “It caught my eye the moment that I passed through the room this morning. I examined it yesterday evening, so that it is certain that this has happened during the night.”
It was, as he had said, obvious that someone had been at work upon it. The settings of the uppermost row of four stones — the carnelian, peridot, emerald, and ruby — were rough and jagged as if someone had scraped all round them. The stones were in their places, but the beautiful gold-work which we had admired only a few days before had been very clumsily pulled about.
“It looks to me,” said the police inspector, “as if someone had been trying to take out the stones.”
“My fear is,” said Mortimer, “that he not only tried, but succeeded. I believe these four stones to be skilful61 imitations which have been put in the place of the originals.”
The same suspicion had evidently been in the mind of the expert, for he had been carefully examining the four stones with the aid of a lens. He now submitted them to several tests, and finally turned cheerfully to Mortimer.
“I congratulate you, sir,” said he, heartily62. “I will pledge my reputation that all four of these stones are genuine, and of a most unusual degree of purity.”
The colour began to come back to my poor friend’s frightened face, and he drew a long breath of relief.
“Thank God!” he cried. “Then what in the world did the thief want?”
“Probably he meant to take the stones, but was interrupted.”
“In that case one would expect him to take them out one at a time, but the setting of each of these has been loosened, and yet the stones are all here.”
“It is certainly most extraordinary,” said the inspector. “I never remember a case like it. Let us see the watchman.”
The commissionaire was called — a soldierly, honest-faced man, who seemed as concerned as Ward Mortimer at the incident.
“No, sir, I never heard a sound,” he answered, in reply to the questions of the inspector. “I made my rounds four times, as usual, but I saw nothing suspicious. I’ve been in my position ten years, but nothing of the kind has ever occurred before.”
“No thief could have come through the windows?”
“Impossible, sir.”
“Or passed you at the door?”
“No, sir; I never left my post except when I walked my rounds.”
“What other openings are there in the museum?”
“There is the door into Mr. Ward Mortimer’s private rooms.”
“That is locked at night,” my friend explained, “and in order to reach it anyone from the street would have to open the outside door as well.”
“Your servants?”
“Their quarters are entirely63 separate.”
“Well, well,” said the inspector, “this is certainly very obscure. However, there has been no harm done, according to Mr. Purvis.”
“I will swear that those stones are genuine.”
“So that the case appears to be merely one of malicious64 damage. But none the less, I should be very glad to go carefully round the premises65, and to see if we can find any trace to show us who your visitor may have been.”
His investigation66, which lasted all the morning, was careful and intelligent, but it led in the end to nothing. He pointed out to us that there were two possible entrances to the museum which we had not considered. The one was from the cellars by a trap-door opening in the passage. The other through a skylight from the lumber-room, overlooking that very chamber41 to which the intruder had penetrated67. As neither the cellar nor the lumber-room could be entered unless the thief was already within the locked doors, the matter was not of any practical importance, and the dust of cellar and attic68 assured us that no one had used either one or the other. Finally, we ended as we began, without the slightest clue as to how, why, or by whom the setting of these four jewels had been tampered with.
There remained one course for Mortimer to take, and he took it. Leaving the police to continue their fruitless researches, he asked me to accompany him that afternoon in a visit to Professor Andreas. He took with him the two letters, and it was his intention to openly tax his predecessor69 with having written the anonymous warning, and to ask him to explain the fact that he should have anticipated so exactly that which had actually occurred. The Professor was living in a small villa70 in Upper Norwood, but we were informed by the servant that he was away from home. Seeing our disappointment, she asked us if we should like to see Miss Andreas, and showed us into the modest drawing-room.
I have mentioned incidentally that the Professor’s daughter was a very beautiful girl. She was a blonde, tall and graceful71, with a skin of that delicate tint which the French call “mat,” the colour of old ivory, or of the lighter72 petals73 of the sulphur rose. I was shocked, however, as she entered the room to see how much she had changed in the last fortnight. Her young face was haggard and her bright eyes heavy with trouble.
“Father has gone to Scotland,” she said. “He seems to be tired, and has had a good deal to worry him. He only left us yesterday.”
“You look a little tired yourself, Miss Andreas,” said my friend.
“I have been so anxious about father.”
“Can you give me his Scotch74 address?”
“Yes, he is with his brother, the Rev23. David Andreas, 1, Arran Villas75, Ardrossan.”
Ward Mortimer made a note of the address, and we left without saying anything as to the object of our visit. We found ourselves in Belmore Street in the evening in exactly the same position in which we had been in the morning. Our only clue was the Professor’s letter, and my friend had made up his mind to start for Ardrossan next day, and to get to the bottom of the anonymous letter, when a new development came to alter our plans.
Very early on the following morning I was aroused from my sleep by a tap upon my bedroom door. It was a messenger with a note from Mortimer.
“Do come round,” it said; “the matter is becoming more and more extraordinary.”
When I obeyed his summons I found him pacing excitedly up and down the central room, while the old soldier who guarded the premises stood with military stiffness in a corner.
“My dear Jackson,” he cried, “I am so delighted that you have come, for this is a most inexplicable business.”
“What has happened, then?”
He waved his hand towards the case which contained the breastplate.
“Look at it,” said he.
I did so, and could not restrain a cry of surprise. The setting of the middle row of precious stones had been profaned76 in the same manner as the upper ones. Of the twelve jewels eight had been now tampered with in this singular fashion. The setting of the lower four was neat and smooth. The others jagged and irregular.
“Have the stones been altered?” I asked.
“No, I am certain that these upper four are the same which the expert pronounced to be genuine, for I observed yesterday that little discoloration on the edge of the emerald. Since they have not extracted the upper stones, there is no reason to think the lower have been transposed. You say that you heard nothing, Simpson?”
“No, sir,” the commissionaire answered. “But when I made my round after daylight I had a special look at these stones, and I saw at once that someone had been meddling77 with them. Then I called you, sir, and told you. I was backwards78 and forwards all night, and I never saw a soul or heard a sound.”
“Come up and have some breakfast with me,” said Mortimer, and he took me into his own chambers.—“Now, what DO you think of this, Jackson?” he asked.
“It is the most objectless, futile79, idiotic80 business that ever I heard of. It can only be the work of a monomaniac.”
“Can you put forward any theory?”
A curious idea came into my head. “This object is a Jewish relic20 of great antiquity81 and sanctity,” said I. “How about the anti-Semitic movement? Could one conceive that a fanatic82 of that way of thinking might desecrate83 ——”
“No, no, no!” cried Mortimer. “That will never do! Such a man might push his lunacy to the length of destroying a Jewish relic, but why on earth should he nibble84 round every stone so carefully that he can only do four stones in a night? We must have a better solution than that, and we must find it for ourselves, for I do not think that our inspector is likely to help us. First of all, what do you think of Simpson, the porter?”
“Have you any reason to suspect him?”
“Only that he is the one person on the premises.”
“But why should he indulge in such wanton destruction? Nothing has been taken away. He has no motive.”
“Mania?”
“No, I will swear to his sanity85.”
“Have you any other theory?”
“Well, yourself, for example. You are not a somnambulist, by any chance?”
“Nothing of the sort, I assure you.”
“Then I give it up.”
“But I don’t — and I have a plan by which we will make it all clear.”
“To visit Professor Andreas?”
“No, we shall find our solution nearer than Scotland. I will tell you what we shall do. You know that skylight which overlooks the central hall? We will leave the electric lights in the hall, and we will keep watch in the lumber-room, you and I, and solve the mystery for ourselves. If our mysterious visitor is doing four stones at a time, he has four still to do, and there is every reason to think that he will return tonight and complete the job.”
“Excellent!” I cried.
“We will keep our own secret, and say nothing either to the police or to Simpson. Will you join me?”
“With the utmost pleasure,” said I; and so it was agreed.
It was ten o’clock that night when I returned to the Belmore Street Museum. Mortimer was, as I could see, in a state of suppressed nervous excitement, but it was still too early to begin our vigil, so we remained for an hour or so in his chambers, discussing all the possibilities of the singular business which we had met to solve. At last the roaring stream of hansom cabs and the rush of hurrying feet became lower and more intermittent86 as the pleasure-seekers passed on their way to their stations or their homes. It was nearly twelve when Mortimer led the way to the lumber-room which overlooked the central hall of the museum.
He had visited it during the day, and had spread some sacking so that we could lie at our ease, and look straight down into the museum. The skylight was of unfrosted glass, but was so covered with dust that it would be impossible for anyone looking up from below to detect that he was overlooked. We cleared a small piece at each corner, which gave us a complete view of the room beneath us. In the cold white light of the electric lamps everything stood out hard and clear, and I could see the smallest detail of the contents of the various cases.
Such a vigil is an excellent lesson, since one has no choice but to look hard at those objects which we usually pass with such half-hearted interest. Through my little peep hole I employed the hours in studying every specimen17, from the huge mummy-case which leaned against the wall to those very jewels which had brought us there, gleaming and sparkling in their glass case immediately beneath us. There was much precious gold-work and many valuable stones scattered87 through the numerous cases, but those wonderful twelve which made up the urim and thummim glowed and burned with a radiance which far eclipsed the others. I studied in turn the tomb-pictures of Sicara, the friezes88 from Karnak, the statues of Memphis, and the inscriptions of Thebes, but my eyes would always come back to that wonderful Jewish relic, and my mind to the singular mystery which surrounded it. I was lost in the thought of it when my companion suddenly drew his breath sharply in, and seized my arm in a convulsive grip. At the same instant I saw what it was which had excited him.
I have said that against the wall — on the right-hand side of the doorway89 (the right-hand side as we looked at it, but the left as one entered)— there stood a large mummy-case. To our unutterable amazement it was slowly opening. Gradually, gradually the lid was swinging back, and the black slit90 which marked the opening was becoming wider and wider. So gently and carefully was it done that the movement was almost imperceptible. Then, as we breathlessly watched it, a white thin hand appeared at the opening, pushing back the painted lid, then another hand, and finally a face — a face which was familiar to us both, that of Professor Andreas. Stealthily he slunk out of the mummy-case, like a fox stealing from its burrow91, his head turning incessantly92 to left and to right, stepping, then pausing, then stepping again, the very image of craft and of caution. Once some sound in the street struck him motionless, and he stood listening, with his ear turned, ready to dart93 back to the shelter behind him. Then he crept onwards again upon tiptoe, very, very softly and slowly, until he had reached the case in the centre of the room. There he took a bunch of keys from his pocket, unlocked the case, took out the Jewish breastplate, and, laying it upon the glass in front of him, began to work upon it with some sort of small, glistening94 tool. He was so directly underneath95 us that his bent head covered his work, but we could guess from the movement of his hand that he was engaged in finishing the strange disfigurement which he had begun.
I could realize from the heavy breathing of my companion, and the twitchings of the hand which still clutched my wrist, the furious indignation which filled his heart as he saw this vandalism in the quarter of all others where he could least have expected it. He, the very man who a fortnight before had reverently97 bent over this unique relic, and who had impressed its antiquity and its sanctity upon us, was now engaged in this outrageous98 profanation99. It was impossible, unthinkable — and yet there, in the white glare of the electric light beneath us, was that dark figure with the bent grey head, and the twitching96 elbow. What inhuman100 hypocrisy101, what hateful depth of malice102 against his successor must underlie103 these sinister104 nocturnal labours. It was painful to think of and dreadful to watch. Even I, who had none of the acute feelings of a virtuoso105, could not bear to look on and see this deliberate mutilation of so ancient a relic. It was a relief to me when my companion tugged106 at my sleeve as a signal that I was to follow him as he softly crept out of the room. It was not until we were within his own quarters that he opened his lips, and then I saw by his agitated107 face how deep was his consternation.
“The abominable108 Goth!” he cried. “Could you have believed it?”
“It is amazing.”
“He is a villain109 or a lunatic — one or the other. We shall very soon see which. Come with me, Jackson, and we shall get to the bottom of this black business.”
A door opened out of the passage which was the private entrance from his rooms into the museum. This he opened softly with his key, having first kicked off his shoes, an example which I followed. We crept together through room after room, until the large hall lay before us, with that dark figure still stooping and working at the central case. With an advance as cautious as his own we closed in upon him, but softly as we went we could not take him entirely unawares. We were still a dozen yards from him when he looked round with a start, and uttering a husky cry of terror, ran frantically110 down the museum.
“Simpson! Simpson!” roared Mortimer, and far away down the vista111 of electric lighted doors we saw the stiff figure of the old soldier suddenly appear. Professor Andreas saw him also, and stopped running, with a gesture of despair. At the same instant we each laid a hand upon his shoulder.
“Yes, yes, gentlemen,” he panted, “I will come with you. To your room, Mr. Ward Mortimer, if you please! I feel that I owe you an explanation.”
My companion’s indignation was so great that I could see that he dared not trust himself to reply. We walked on each side of the old Professor, the astonished commissionaire bringing up the rear. When we reached the violated case, Mortimer stopped and examined the breastplate. Already one of the stones of the lower row had had its setting turned back in the same manner as the others. My friend held it up and glanced furiously at his prisoner.
“How could you!” he cried. “How could you!”
“It is horrible — horrible!” said the Professor. “I don’t wonder at your feelings. Take me to your room.”
“But this shall not be left exposed!” cried Mortimer. He picked the breastplate up and carried it tenderly in his hand, while I walked beside the Professor, like a policeman with a malefactor112. We passed into Mortimer’s chambers, leaving the amazed old soldier to understand matters as best he could. The Professor sat down in Mortimer’s arm-chair, and turned so ghastly a colour that for the instant all our resentment113 was changed to concern. A stiff glass of brandy brought the life back to him once more.
“There, I am better now!” said he. “These last few days have been too much for me. I am convinced that I could not stand it any longer. It is a nightmare — a horrible nightmare — that I should be arrested as a burglar in what has been for so long my own museum. And yet I cannot blame you. You could not have done otherwise. My hope always was that I should get it all over before I was detected. This would have been my last night’s work.”
“How did you get in?” asked Mortimer.
“By taking a very great liberty with your private door. But the object justified114 it. The object justified everything. You will not be angry when you know everything — at least, you will not be angry with me. I had a key to your side door and also to the museum door. I did not give them up when I left. And so you see it was not difficult for me to let myself into the museum. I used to come in early before the crowd had cleared from the street. Then I hid myself in the mummy-case, and took refuge there whenever Simpson came round. I could always hear him coming. I used to leave in the same way as I came.”
“You ran a risk.”
“I had to.”
“But why? What on earth was your object — YOU to do a thing like that!” Mortimer pointed reproachfully at the plate which lay before him on the table.
“I could devise no other means. I thought and thought, but there was no alternate except a hideous115 public scandal, and a private sorrow which would have clouded our lives. I acted for the best, incredible as it may seem to you, and I only ask your attention to enable me to prove it.”
“I will hear what you have to say before I take any further steps,” said Mortimer, grimly.
“I am determined116 to hold back nothing, and to take you both completely into my confidence. I will leave it to your own generosity117 how far you will use the facts with which I supply you.”
“We have the essential facts already.”
“And yet you understand nothing. Let me go back to what passed a few weeks ago, and I will make it all clear to you. Believe me that what I say is the absolute and exact truth.
“You have met the person who calls himself Captain Wilson. I say ‘calls himself’ because I have reason now to believe that it is not his correct name. It would take me too long if I were to describe all the means by which he obtained an introduction to me and ingratiated himself into my friendship and the affection of my daughter. He brought letters from foreign colleagues which compelled me to show him some attention. And then, by his own attainments118, which are considerable, he succeeded in making himself a very welcome visitor at my rooms. When I learned that my daughter’s affections had been gained by him, I may have thought it premature119, but I certainly was not surprised, for he had a charm of manner and of conversation which would have made him conspicuous120 in any society.
“He was much interested in Oriental antiquities121, and his knowledge of the subject justified his interest. Often when he spent the evening with us he would ask permission to go down into the museum and have an opportunity of privately122 inspecting the various specimens. You can imagine that I, as an enthusiast15, was in sympathy with such a request, and that I felt no surprise at the constancy of his visits. After his actual engagement to Elise, there was hardly an evening which he did not pass with us, and an hour or two were generally devoted123 to the museum. He had the free run of the place, and when I have been away for the evening I had no objection to his doing whatever he wished here. This state of things was only terminated by the fact of my resignation of my official duties and my retirement124 to Norwood, where I hoped to have the leisure to write a considerable work which I had planned.
“It was immediately after this — within a week or so — that I first realized the true nature and character of the man whom I had so imprudently introduced into my family. The discovery came to me through letters from my friends abroad, which showed me that his introductions to me had been forgeries125. Aghast at the revelation, I asked myself what motive this man could originally have had in practising this elaborate deception126 upon me. I was too poor a man for any fortune-hunter to have marked me down. Why, then, had he come? I remembered that some of the most precious gems127 in Europe had been under my charge, and I remembered also the ingenious excuses by which this man had made himself familiar with the cases in which they were kept. He was a rascal128 who was planning some gigantic robbery. How could I, without striking my own daughter, who was infatuated about him, prevent him from carrying out any plan which he might have formed? My device was a clumsy one, and yet I could think of nothing more effective. If I had written a letter under my own name, you would naturally have turned to me for details which I did not wish to give. I resorted to an anonymous letter, begging you to be upon your guard.
“I may tell you that my change from Belmore Street to Norwood had not affected129 the visits of this man, who had, I believe, a real and overpowering affection for my daughter. As to her, I could not have believed that any woman could be so completely under the influence of a man as she was. His stronger nature seemed to entirely dominate her. I had not realized how far this was the case, or the extent of the confidence which existed between them, until that very evening when his true character for the first time was made clear to me. I had given orders that when he called he should be shown into my study instead of to the drawing-room. There I told him bluntly that I knew all about him, that I had taken steps to defeat his designs, and that neither I nor my daughter desired ever to see him again. I added that I thanked God that I had found him out before he had time to harm those precious objects which it had been the work of my life-time to protect.
“He was certainly a man of iron nerve. He took my remarks without a sign either of surprise or of defiance130, but listened gravely and attentively131 until I had finished. Then he walked across the room without a word and struck the bell.
“‘Ask Miss Andreas to be so kind as to step this way,’ said he to the servant.
“My daughter entered, and the man closed the door behind her. Then he took her hand in his.
“‘Elise,’ said he, ‘your father has just discovered that I am a villain. He knows now what you knew before.’
“She stood in silence, listening.
“‘He says that we are to part for ever,’ said he.
“She did not withdraw her hand.
“‘Will you be true to me, or will you remove the last good influence which is ever likely to come into my life?’
“‘John,’ she cried, passionately132. ‘I will never abandon you! Never, never, not if the whole world were against you.’
“In vain I argued and pleaded with her. It was absolutely useless. Her whole life was bound up in this man before me. My daughter, gentlemen, is all that I have left to love, and it filled me with agony when I saw how powerless I was to save her from her ruin. My helplessness seemed to touch this man who was the cause of my trouble.
“‘It may not be as bad as you think, sir,’ said he, in his quiet, inflexible133 way. ‘I love Elise with a love which is strong enough to rescue even one who has such a record as I have. It was but yesterday that I promised her that never again in my whole life would I do a thing of which she should be ashamed. I have made up my mind to it, and never yet did I make up my mind to a thing which I did not do.’
“He spoke134 with an air which carried conviction with it. As he concluded he put his hand into his pocket and he drew out a small cardboard box.
“‘I am about to give you a proof of my determination,’ said he. ‘This, Elise, shall be the first-fruits of your redeeming135 influence over me. You are right, sir, in thinking that I had designs upon the jewels in your possession. Such ventures have had a charm for me, which depended as much upon the risk run as upon the value of the prize. Those famous and antique stones of the Jewish priest were a challenge to my daring and my ingenuity136. I determined to get them.’
“‘I guessed as much.’
“‘There was only one thing that you did not guess.’
“‘And what is that?’
“‘That I got them. They are in this box.’
“He opened the box, and tilted137 out the contents upon the corner of my desk. My hair rose and my flesh grew cold as I looked. There were twelve magnificent square stones engraved138 with mystical characters. There could be no doubt that they were the jewels of the urim and thummim.
“‘Good God!’ I cried. ‘How have you escaped discovery?’
“‘By the substitution of twelve others, made especially to my order, in which the originals are so carefully imitated that I defy the eye to detect the difference.’
“‘Then the present stones are false?’ I cried.
“‘They have been for some weeks.’
“We all stood in silence, my daughter white with emotion, but still holding this man by the hand.
“‘You see what I am capable of, Elise,’ said he.
“‘I see that you are capable of repentance139 and restitution,’ she answered.
“‘Yes, thanks to your influence! I leave the stones in your hands, sir. Do what you like about it. But remember that whatever you do against me, is done against the future husband of your only daughter. You will hear from me soon again, Elise. It is the last time that I will ever cause pain to your tender heart,’ and with these words he left both the room and the house.
“My position was a dreadful one. Here I was with these precious relics in my possession, and how could I return them without a scandal and an exposure? I knew the depth of my daughter’s nature too well to suppose that I would ever be able to detach her from this man now that she had entirely given him her heart. I was not even sure how far it was right to detach her if she had such an ameliorating influence over him. How could I expose him without injuring her — and how far was I justified in exposing him when he had voluntarily put himself into my power? I thought and thought until at last I formed a resolution which may seem to you to be a foolish one, and yet, if I had to do it again, I believe it would be the best course open to me.
“My idea was to return the stones without anyone being the wiser. With my keys I could get into the museum at any time, and I was confident that I could avoid Simpson, whose hours and methods were familiar to me. I determined to take no one into my confidence — not even my daughter — whom I told that I was about to visit my brother in Scotland. I wanted a free hand for a few nights, without inquiry140 as to my comings and goings. To this end I took a room in Harding Street that very night, with an intimation that I was a Pressman, and that I should keep very late hours.
“That night I made my way into the museum, and I replaced four of the stones. It was hard work, and took me all night. When Simpson came round I always heard his footsteps, and concealed141 myself in the mummy-case. I had some knowledge of gold-work, but was far less skilful than the thief had been. He had replaced the setting so exactly that I defy anyone to see the difference. My work was rude and clumsy. However, I hoped that the plate might not be carefully examined, or the roughness of the setting observed, until my task was done. Next night I replaced four more stones. And tonight I should have finished my task had it not been for the unfortunate circumstance which has caused me to reveal so much which I should have wished to keep concealed. I appeal to you, gentlemen, to your sense of honour and of compassion142, whether what I have told you should go any farther or not. My own happiness, my daughter’s future, the hopes of this man’s regeneration, all depend upon your decision.
“Which is,” said my friend, “that all is well that ends well and that the whole matter ends here and at once. Tomorrow the loose settings shall be tightened143 by an expert goldsmith, and so passes the greatest danger to which, since the destruction of the Temple, the urim and thummim has been exposed. Here is my hand, Professor Andreas, and I can only hope that under such difficult circumstances I should have carried myself as unselfishly and as well.”
Just one footnote to this narrative144. Within a month Elise Andreas was married to a man whose name, had I the indiscretion to mention it, would appeal to my readers as one who is now widely and deservedly honoured. But if the truth were known that honour is due not to him, but to the gentle girl who plucked him back when he had gone so far down that dark road along which few return.
The End
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1
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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archaeology
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| n.考古学 | |
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excavated
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| v.挖掘( excavate的过去式和过去分词 )；开凿；挖出；发掘 | |
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exhumation
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| n.掘尸，发掘；剥璐 | |
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alleged
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| a.被指控的，嫌疑的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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enervate
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| v.使虚弱，使无力 | |
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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livelihood
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| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
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suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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hieroglyphic
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| n.象形文字 | |
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sibylline
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| adj.预言的；神巫的 | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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ruby
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| n.红宝石，红宝石色 | |
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sapphire
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| n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的 | |
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30
agate
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| n.玛瑙 | |
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amethyst
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| n.紫水晶 | |
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32
incisive
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| adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的 | |
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33
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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curtly
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| adv.简短地 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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38
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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40
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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41
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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42
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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43
anonymous
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| adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的 | |
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44
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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45
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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46
inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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47
misgivings
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| n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧 | |
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48
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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49
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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50
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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51
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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52
motive
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| n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的 | |
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53
consternation
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| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
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54
undone
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| a.未做完的，未完成的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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56
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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57
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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58
inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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59
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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60
tampered
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| v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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61
skilful
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| (=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的 | |
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62
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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63
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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64
malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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65
premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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66
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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67
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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68
attic
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| n.顶楼，屋顶室 | |
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69
predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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71
graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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72
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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73
petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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74
scotch
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| n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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75
villas
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| 别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅 | |
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76
profaned
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| v.不敬( profane的过去式和过去分词 )；亵渎，玷污 | |
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77
meddling
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 ) | |
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78
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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79
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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80
idiotic
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| adj.白痴的 | |
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81
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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82
fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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83
desecrate
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| v.供俗用，亵渎，污辱 | |
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84
nibble
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| n.轻咬，啃；v.一点点地咬，慢慢啃，吹毛求疵 | |
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85
sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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86
intermittent
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| adj.间歇的，断断续续的 | |
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87
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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88
friezes
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| n.（柱顶过梁和挑檐间的）雕带，（墙顶的）饰带( frieze的名词复数 ) | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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slit
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| n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂 | |
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91
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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92
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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93
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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94
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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95
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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96
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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profanation
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| n.亵渎 | |
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100
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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101
hypocrisy
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| n.伪善，虚伪 | |
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102
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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103
underlie
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| v.位于...之下，成为...的基础 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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105
virtuoso
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| n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家，行家里手 | |
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106
tugged
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| v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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107
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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108
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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109
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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111
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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malefactor
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| n.罪犯 | |
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113
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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114
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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115
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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generosity
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| n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为 | |
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118
attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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premature
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| adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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antiquities
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| n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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forgeries
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| 伪造( forgery的名词复数 )； 伪造的文件、签名等 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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inflexible
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| adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的 | |
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134
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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redeeming
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| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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tilted
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| v. 倾斜的 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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139
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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140
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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143
tightened
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| 收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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