Scarcely had I gained my footing above when a shot was fired close to me, and a bullet whizzed past my head. I looked angrily around, but could see no one. The man had taken refuge behind one of the trees, while I stood before him right in the open.
My companions, alarmed by my sudden rush and the report of the pistol, were next instant beside me, and Usher4’s quick eyes in a few seconds distinguished5 a slight movement behind a bush a few yards away. He rushed forward, regardless of consequences, and then I recognized in the intruder the man Martin Franklin. Seeing that we were all armed he held up his hands, and from that action we supposed that he was alone, and that he had fired at me in order to effect his escape.
We quickly closed round him, indignantly demanding his object in spying upon us, but he only laughed and responded insolently6. He was a man of about forty, dressed in rough grey tweeds and gaiters, in order, I suppose, to pass as a countryman.
Philip Reilly was furious. He had sprung upon the fellow and with a quick turn of the wrist had wrenched7 the weapon from his hand.
“I know you!” he shouted. “You are Martin Franklin, the man who was present on the night of the murder at Kilburn! You’ll perhaps recollect8 that incident—eh?”
The man’s face, in an instant, went pale as death.
“I—I don’t know what you mean, sir!” he answered, with a vain effort to add indignation to his words.
“Well, perhaps you will when I’m called as witness against you and your three companions Bennett, Purvis, and Harding,” he answered meaningly. “Where are they now?”
“In London,” was the fellow’s unwilling10 response.
Suddenly a brilliant idea occurred to me, and in a loud, threatening voice I said?—
“Now, look here, Mr. Franklin. We may as well speak plainly to you, as this is no time for beating about the bush. We know sufficient about you and your scoundrelly companions to give you into the custody11 of the first policeman we meet. Understand that.”
The fellow was a coward, we could see. Mention of the tragedy at Kilburn had sapped his courage utterly13, and he now stood before us white, terror-stricken, glancing wildly around for means of escape. We were, however, three to one, and he saw how he had fallen as into a trap.
“I fired the shot in order to alarm you,” he faltered14, addressing me. “I had no intention of harming you.”
“But you will recollect who took Miss Dorothy Drummond to that house at Kilburn, and who forced her to touch the dead man’s face,” Reilly interposed.
He made no response, for he saw that the secret of the murder was out.
A few minutes later, however, when he had had time for reflection, I spoke15 my mind further, saying?—
“Now, Mr. Franklin, tell us the truth. You and your friends meant to possess yourselves of the chests we have just discovered, did you not?”
“We certainly did,” was his prompt response. Then, after a short pause, he added: “I think, doctor, if you will reflect, you’ll see that even you and I have certain interests in common.”
“How?” I inquired.
“It is to your interest to preserve the secret of your find, eh? I heard you say so down there ten minutes ago.”
“Well, I suppose it is!”
“It is also of the highest importance to you to discover the heir of Clement16 Wollerton?”
“Certainly.”
“Well, then, I think I can assist you in both,” he answered. “I am not a murderer, as you believe, although I confess to having assisted the others in their ingenious conspiracy17. I know quite well that sooner or later they must fall into the hands of the police; nevertheless, if you will allow me freedom to escape and promise to take no steps against me, I will, on my part, give you a pledge of secrecy18 regarding your discovery of the treasure, and will also warn you of the plot against your life.”
“Against my life!” I echoed. “What plot?”
“If you agree to my suggestion I will tell you,” answered the black-bearded coward, who, brought to bay, was now ready to betray his friends.
I turned to Usher and Reilly, both of whom were of opinion that, secrecy being necessary, we should make the compact Franklin suggested.
Therefore the fellow took a solemn oath, and there in the dim light beneath those big forest trees, a few yards from where the treasure lay in its cunningly-constructed subterranean19 chamber20, he related to us a very strange story, which we afterwards discovered was the actual truth.
“I am a solicitor21, as you perhaps know,” he began. “One day there came to my office in the Minories a sailor named Henry Harding whom I had met some three years before, and who was, I knew, a man of considerable intelligence and education. He had just come home from a round voyage in the Mediterranean22, and showed me the translations of certain curious documents which had been found on board a derelict. I recognized that the treasure referred to might still exist, but that to undertake the search we should require the assistance of at least two other adventurous23 spirits like ourselves. Harding said he knew two men of just the stamp we required, and a couple of days later brought to my office Bennett and Purvis, the first-named a retired24 sea-captain and the second a bookmaker. All three were eager to set to work at once, therefore after a long consultation25 we decided26 upon a plan of action. Purvis was sent down to Caldecott to make inquiries27, and, finding a man named Knutton still living there, purchased from him a parchment that had been in his family for generations. Then, recognizing that if the treasure were actually found it would be useless to us unless we knew the rightful heir as stated in the old Italian noble’s will, I at once advertised for information regarding the Wollertons. Within a fortnight I received a reply from a small country solicitor, and we were very soon in communication with the heir to the property, although, of course, we preserved the secret among ourselves.”
“Do you know the identity of the heir at the present moment?” I cried excitedly, for such information was of greatest importance to us, to prevent the Government claiming our find as treasure-trove.
“Yes,” he answered, having grown calmer; “I will tell you everything in due course. Well, having secured the document of the Knuttons, we found it to be in cipher28. Whereupon Harding recollected29 that in a vellum book which you took from the Seahorse was a cipher and key which he had not had time to copy. We were closely watching you, one or other of us, and knew all your movements; hence we were aware that the book in question was in the hands of Mr. Staffurth, the pal9?ographist. There seemed only one way to get possession of the book—namely, to steal it; therefore we employed a man known to Bennett, and the house at Clapham was burglariously entered, but the book was found to be locked in a safe which resisted all attempts upon it. One of the parchments—the one with the seven signatures—was, however, stolen.”
“And found to be useless,” I remarked laughing.
“Yes,” he admitted. “But before long, after we had contrived30 to examine your own rooms, we saw by your movements that you had become aware that we were trying to forestall31 you, and that the fight for a fortune would be a hard one. Knowing this, Bennett and Purvis conceived the idea of entrapping32 you in a house which they took at Blackheath and—well, to put it very plainly—doing away with you. For that purpose the girl Dorothy Drummond was sent one night to the surgery at Walworth with a message regarding the illness of a fictitious33 brother. She knew nothing of the evil intentions of the men, but, as she afterwards confessed to me, a sudden thought occurred to her while in the cab with you, and she refused to allow you to accompany her back to the house.”
“Ah!” I ejaculated. “She has told me that already.”
“What?” cried the man in surprise. “Has she told you anything else?—I mean the story of the affair at Kilburn?”
“She has told me nothing of that,” I answered. “I wish to hear it from you according to your promise.”
“Ah, doctor,” he went on, apparently34 much relieved by my reassuring35 words. “You had a narrow escape that night. She saved your life, although the thought that foul36 play was intended only came to her suddenly—one of those strange intuitions which sometimes come to us in moments of greatest danger. Beware of those men, for there is yet another plot against you. To-morrow, when you return to London, you will receive a telegram purporting37 to come from Miss Drummond. Recollect that if you keep the appointment it will mean death to you, just as it did to the unfortunate young fellow at Kilburn.”
“Tell me all about that. What connexion had Dorothy Drummond with that affair?”
“Let me relate the incidents to you in their proper sequence,” he urged. “Our suspicion was identical with yours, namely, that the treasure was secreted38 somewhere in the Manor39 House at Caldecott. You, however, forestalled40 us in buying out the tenant41 and obtaining possession of the house. We watched you living there day after day and working with Mr. Reilly and Captain Seal, fearing always lest you should make the discovery. If you had, then it was our intention to either raid the house during your absence and carry away all we could, or, failing that, to give information to the Treasury42 by which the Government would seize the whole. You see you had no idea of the whereabouts of the heir, and would, in that case, only be awarded a small sum for the discovery.”
“A nice revenge! It bears the mark of Black Bennett,” observed Usher.
“We had to make use of the secret passage from Bringhurst in order to enter the house, which we often did while you were absent at meals. Yet even then you got the better of us when you closed us down in the tunnel early one morning, and Purvis stumbling into the open well was nearly drowned. Then, having found nothing at the Manor, Harding turned his attention to searching at the Record Office to ascertain43 whether any other documents were preserved there. He found one, but it was in cipher, and utterly unintelligible44. Therefore we kept a watchful45 eye on you, and when you came down here I was dispatched to follow you and note your movements.”
“But the murder at Kilburn—how was that accomplished46, and for what reason?”
“Listen, and I will tell you,” the man responded. His tongue once loosened, he concealed47 nothing. His only object now seemed to save himself by the sacrifice of his friends. He quite realized that the game was up, and when, later, I gave him a few pearls from one of the chests that he might sell them and escape from the country in view of the coming revelations, he seemed to be perfectly48 satisfied. The fact that he was an arrant49 scoundrel could not be disguised, for he did not remain loyal to his friends in one single instance.
He paused for a few moments, as though hesitating to tell us the whole truth, but at last, with sudden resolution, he said: “When I advertised for information concerning the Wollertons I received several replies, all of which I investigated, but found the claims faulty—all save one. This latter came from a solicitor named Burrell, in Oundle, Northamptonshire, who, in confidence, wrote telling me that he could give information if paid for it.
“I therefore went to Oundle and had an interview with him. Twenty pounds was the sum agreed upon, and when I had paid it he produced some old papers which were in his dead father’s handwriting, and then told me a curious story—which, later, I found borne out by the records in question. What he related was briefly50 this: In the year 1870 Charles Wollerton—who held documentary proof that he was the lineal descendant of Clement Wollerton who commanded one of the ships of Sir Francis Drake’s fleet—was living at Weybourne, near Sheringham, in Norfolk, but, having been associated with two other men in a gigantic forgery51 of Turkish bonds, was convicted and sent to penal52 servitude. He left a wife and two children, a girl and a boy, the first aged12 two and the other only nine months old.
“Mrs. Wollerton, always a weakly woman, died of a broken heart three months after her husband’s conviction, but before her death she had consulted Burrell, her lawyer at Oundle, regarding the bringing up of her children, expressing a wish that they should never know their proper name, fearing, of course, that the stigma53 as children of a convict should rest upon them. Wollerton is not a common name, and the case had excited great attention throughout the country. Therefore, on Mrs. Wollerton’s decease the children, being left in the solicitor’s hands, were put out to nurse, the girl being sent to a woman named Stanion, at Deenethorpe, a village about twenty miles away, while the boy was sent to Sutton Bridge, in the fen54 country. There was a very small estate left from the wreck55 of Wollerton’s fortune, and out of this the people were paid for keeping the children.”
“Why!” I cried, the name of Stanion recalling to my memory what old Ben Knutton had told me. “Then Dorothy Drummond is actually Miss Wollerton!”
“That is so—and, furthermore, she is the youngest descendant of Clement Wollerton, and therefore heiress to the treasure!”
“Well, I’m hanged!” gasped56 Philip Reilly bluntly. “But is this really true, or are you only humbugging?”
“True, every word of it,” was the quick reply. “In the office of Mr. George Burrell, of Oundle, you will find the documents which prove everything I’ve said. Among them is Charles Wollerton’s genealogical tree, properly attested57, besides other family papers which will be accepted as absolute proof.”
“But the boy?” I asked. “What of him?”
“Ah! About the boy there was an element of romance,” was Franklin’s response. “It’s a curious story—very curious.”
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1
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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habitually
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| ad.习惯地，通常地 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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5
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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insolently
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| adv.自豪地，自傲地 | |
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7
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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8
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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pal
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| n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友 | |
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10
unwilling
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| adj.不情愿的 | |
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custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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14
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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15
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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16
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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17
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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18
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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28
cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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29
recollected
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| adj.冷静的；镇定的；被回忆起的；沉思默想的v.记起，想起( recollect的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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31
forestall
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| vt.抢在…之前采取行动；预先阻止 | |
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32
entrapping
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| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的现在分词 ) | |
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fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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34
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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35
reassuring
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| a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的 | |
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36
foul
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| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
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37
purporting
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| v.声称是…，（装得）像是…的样子( purport的现在分词 ) | |
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38
secreted
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| v.（尤指动物或植物器官）分泌( secrete的过去式和过去分词 )；隐匿，隐藏 | |
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39
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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forestalled
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| v.先发制人，预先阻止( forestall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
tenant
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| n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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43
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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44
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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45
watchful
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| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
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46
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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47
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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48
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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49
arrant
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| adj.极端的；最大的 | |
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50
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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51
forgery
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| n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为） | |
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52
penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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53
stigma
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| n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头 | |
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54
fen
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| n.沼泽，沼池 | |
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55
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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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
attested
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| adj.经检验证明无病的，经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓 | |
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