Usher2 constituted himself guard of the treasure, and early next morning I went to Cornwall Road and informed Dorothy of our success and of her good fortune.
“It is true, Paul, that I was fond of Charles Wooton, not knowing that he was my brother, and it is equally true that I induced him to accept the invitation to supper at Kilburn which Bennett gave him. But I never dreamed that those men intended to kill him until Martin made me enter the room against my will, and I saw the poor fellow lying dead—stabbed to the heart. But I see it all now! I see why Bennett and Purvis were constantly declaring that I was morally responsible for his death. It was because Purvis intended to compel me, by threats of exposing my secret, to marry him.”
I quite agreed with her that she had been the victim of a most clever and ingenious conspiracy3, which had only failed because of our constant perseverance4 in the pursuit of the treasure; and then, as I bent5 to kiss my love upon the lips, I told her what was the absolute truth, namely, that I had all along believed in her innocence6.
“I love you, Dorothy,” I repeated. “I have loved you ever since that night when by the intercession of Providence7 you saved my life. Therefore, do not think that Franklin’s revelations influence me in the least.”
“Ah, Paul, you are indeed generous!” she cried, springing up and clinging to me. “I—I feared that you would think ill of me—that you would believe I invited Charles there knowing that he was to be their victim.”
“I am well aware that such was not a fact,” I said seriously, bending to kiss her ready lips again. “You met him, but did not know he was your brother—you knew nothing of the careful and ingenious plan of that man Purvis who posed as your guardian8, and who intended to marry you if occasion demanded.”
“They killed my brother,” she remarked reflectively, as though speaking to herself. “My poor brother, of whose very existence I was in ignorance!”
“They constituted you heiress on purpose!” I said. “But we shall be even with them before long, never fear. When did you see them last.”
“I saw Bennett a week ago,” was her reply. “I met him quite accidentally in St. Paul’s Churchyard.”
I had previously9 related to her all that the rascally10 solicitor11 had told me regarding the fresh plot against my life, and she now urged me to be wary12.
“I am only awaiting their appointment,” I said laughing. “It will be the last they will make outside a gaol13.”
“But do be careful, Paul,” she, urged, with all a woman’s solicitude14 for the safety of her lover. I told her, however, to have no fear.
Two hours later she was at Chelsea assisting us to open the great chests and examine their dazzling contents.
I had called at a famous dealer’s in Piccadilly, and in confidence obtained the assistance of an expert, who now stood with us absolutely bewildered at the magnificence of the jewels. Some of the gems15, he declared, were without equal—the finest he had ever seen.
But I may, I think, pass over that morning spent in examining our find. Let it suffice to say that the expert went back to Piccadilly, declaring that the collection was worth a very considerable sum, and hoping that his firm might have the offer of purchasing a portion, if not the whole of it.
At three o’clock, after Dorothy had lunched with Usher and myself in Mrs. Richardson’s sitting-room, my own being filled to overflowing16, the servant handed me a telegram, which read?—
“Miss Drummond has met with accident. Wishes to see you immediately.—Clark, 76, Lavender Road, Battersea.”
It was the invitation into the fatal trap! I showed it to Dorothy and to Usher, and while the former grew serious and apprehensive17, the latter laughed outright18.
At four o’clock, accompanied by Usher, Reilly, and two police officers in plain clothes from the Chelsea Station, I reached the corner of Lavender Road and York Road, where I took leave of my companions and went in search of No. 76. It was a small, eight-roomed house, one of a long row of similar dwellings19, and when I knocked and inquired for Mr. Clark, the rough-looking lad who opened the door at once invited me inside.
The moment, however, that I stepped within the small hall I found myself seized by two men, who sprang from a room on the left; but almost before I had time to realize my situation I heard a scuffle behind, and saw that the detectives had entered behind me before the lad could close the door. An instant later Reilly and Usher were also on the scene, while Bennett and Harding, who had seized me, let go their hold and rushed to the back of the premises20. It was an exciting moment.
We had taken the ruffians completely by surprise, yet Bennett, with his usual cunning, tried to make good his escape. While Harding ran out into the back yard and was captured by Reilly and Usher in the act of climbing the wall, Bennett with fierce determination rushed up to the top of the house and out on the roof, followed by the police officers.
Over the roofs he ran for a long distance as nimbly as a cat, followed closely by the detectives until they came to where two houses were divided by a narrow lane a few feet wide. Then Bennett, finding himself hard pressed and seeing the gulf21 before him, took a flying leap. His feet touched the gutter22 on the opposite side, and for a moment we thought he had escaped.
A second later, however, we heard a crack, and saw him clutch wildly at air as the gutter gave way beneath his weight, and he fell backwards23 to the ground, striking his skull24 heavily upon the paving.
The neighbourhood is thickly populated, and ere we could reach the spot a great crowd had collected. Very soon, however, the truth was plain. I examined him quickly, and found his neck broken. Death had been almost instantaneous.
Hurriedly we returned to No. 76 amid great local commotion25, and found that although Purvis, who had been concealed26 in one of the upstair rooms, had succeeded in escaping, my friends were holding Harding prisoner. An inspection27 of the house showed that preparations had been made to assassinate28 me—indeed, there was a large air-tight travelling chest already prepared to receive my body! They evidently intended to dispose of me in the same manner as Charles Wollerton.
Harding was taken to the police station, and search among the left luggage at Euston resulted in the discovery of the trunk with its gruesome contents, as Franklin had confessed. Purvis has, up to the present, successfully eluded29 the police, but is believed to be abroad. Harding was eventually tried at the Old Bailey for being implicated30 in the murder and sentenced to ten years’ penal31 servitude, while the last heard of Franklin was that he had been arrested a year ago in Glasgow and sent to prison on a charge of forging cheques.
As for Black Bennett, the just hand of Heaven had fallen swiftly upon him, rendering32 man’s justice unnecessary.
Every fact that Franklin had related we discovered to be true. The proofs held by Mr. Burrell at Oundle proved most clearly that Dorothy was the youngest descendant of old Clement33 Wollerton, hence none could dispute her splendid inheritance.
A few days after that exciting chase in Battersea Reilly, Usher, and Mr. Staffurth assisted me to go through the treasure and check it by the long list written in the vellum book. We found, to our satisfaction, that it was intact.
Within a month, with Dorothy’s authority, we had disposed of all of it save a few of the most valuable ornaments34, which she kept for her own use. The firm in Piccadilly were the principal purchasers of the coins and diamonds, but much of the remainder was sold by auction35 at Christie’s and other sale-rooms and realized very high prices, while a quantity of it has now found its way into the British Museum and other similar institutions.
The chestful of gold coins bequeathed to me as finder realized a little over ￡1,000, and out of this I paid for the dilapidations at Caldecott Manor—which is, by the way, now reoccupied by a highly respected gentleman and his wife—and made presents to my friends, Job Seal included, augmented36, of course, by Dorothy herself.
And the rest? Need I tell you? I think not. All I shall say further is that within two months of our sudden fortune Dorothy, whom I had loved long before I knew her to be heiress of the treasure, married me at Hampstead, where we now live—in Fitzjohn’s Avenue, to be exact—leading an idyllic37 life of peace and love. If you pass up the thoroughfare in question you will probably notice the name, “Mr. Pickering, Surgeon,” upon a brass38 plate, for although the sum realized by the sale of the jewels has provided us with a comfortable income for life, yet I am not by any means an idle man.
So careful have we been to preserve our secret that to those who know us and may chance to read this narrative39, the truth will come as an entire surprise. Our love is perfect, for surely no couple could be happier than we are. When at evening I sit at the fireside gazing at the sweet, smiling face of my devoted40 wife, I often reflect upon those dark days of anxiety and despair—the days of my love’s thraldom41 and of my own desperate endeavour to solve the mystery. Before me there hang, in black frames, the parchment with the seven signatures and the ancient diploma with leaden seal which I discovered with it, and whenever I look up at them my memory runs back to the potency42 of that simple number three—that numeral scrawled43 in faded ink which revealed to us “The Tickencote Treasure.”
THE END.
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1
sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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2
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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3
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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4
perseverance
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| n.坚持不懈，不屈不挠 | |
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5
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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6
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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7
providence
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| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
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8
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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9
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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10
rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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11
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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12
wary
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| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
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13
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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14
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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15
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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16
overflowing
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| n. 溢出物,溢流 adj. 充沛的，充满的 动词overflow的现在分词形式 | |
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17
apprehensive
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| adj.担心的，恐惧的，善于领会的 | |
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18
outright
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| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
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19
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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premises
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| n.建筑物，房屋 | |
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21
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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23
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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27
inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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28
assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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29
eluded
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| v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的过去式和过去分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到 | |
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30
implicated
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| adj.密切关联的；牵涉其中的 | |
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31
penal
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| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
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32
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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33
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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34
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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36
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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idyllic
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| adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的 | |
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38
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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39
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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40
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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41
thraldom
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| n.奴隶的身份，奴役，束缚 | |
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42
potency
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| n. 效力，潜能 | |
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43
scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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