"I am also a lover," cried Tod fervently2, "and I care nothing for the opinion of other people, legal, magisterial3 or otherwise."
"Ass4!" muttered his friend, and shook the arm he was holding. "Come out of your midsummer-night dream, and help me."
"In what way?" asked Tod more soberly.
"I wish to marry Mavis Durham."
"Oh!" Tod became more sober than ever. "Haven't you forgotten her yet?"
Gerald stopped in surprise. "Why in heaven's name should I forget her, you unsympathetic idiot? I love her----"
"And I love Charity," interpolated Macandrew enthusiastically.
"Then show a trifle of it," retorted Haskins, punning on the name, "by helping5 me, as I have helped you. If it had not been for me, Mr. Toddy, your future mother-in-law would not have consented to this marriage."
Tod shook his friend's hand vigorously. "You're one of the best. Anything I can do--by the way, what am I to do?"
"Forget Charity for ten minutes in the first place, and get into this approaching hansom in the second. I intend to drive you to my rooms."
"What!" Tod pulled out his watch to read the time by the light of the street lamp under which they were standing6. "It's past twelve."
"Of course I am, and--oh----" Tod broke off hastily.
"I knew that I had something to tell you--about that will, you know."
"Yes. The will of Captain Julian Durham, who----"
"Get in, get in," interrupted Haskins testily9, as the cab drew up 'longside, "we have much to say to one another."
Tod jumped into the cab, and shortly Gerald slipped in beside him, after giving his address. When the hansom was spinning along, Gerald turned on Tod sharply. "Why didn't you communicate with me about this will, when you knew how anxious I was?"
"I only learned the truth yesterday," said Tod quickly; "and wrote a letter asking you to call. You should have received it this morning."
"Well then I didn't."
"It's that infernal office-boy. I'll sack him. Probably he has never posted it. Well then, I searched for wills in the name of Durham, made about the time you mention. There are plenty of people of that name, and I had to read through a lot of documents. Finally I found that Captain Julian Durham was your man."
"How do you know?"
"Because the property of Captain Julian Durham is left to his daughter, Mavis."
Gerald uttered so loud an ejaculation that the cabman looked down through the trap, thinking that he was receiving an order. "No, no, cabby; it's all serene10. Drive on to Frederick Street." When the trap was closed he addressed himself to Macandrew. "Then I was right?"
"I didn't know. But I had an intuitive feeling."
"What is your intuition, exactly?"
"I believe," said Haskins seriously, and choosing his words carefully, "that Mavis has been shut up by Rebb to keep her out of the way, while he enjoys her income."
This time Tod uttered an ejaculation. "I believe that there is something in your occult rubbish after all," he said, in a wondering manner, "for the situation is exactly as you say."
"Ah!" Gerald was triumphant14, and would have uttered an exultant15 speech, but that the cab stopped in Frederick Street. "Here we are, Tod. Get out. How much, cabby? Two shillings? There you are. Wait till I open the door, Macandrew. There! Run upstairs. I'll follow."
Rattling16 on in this way, Haskins and his friend went up the dimly lighted stairs, for the gas was not full on, and soon found themselves in Gerald's comfortable sitting-room17. Haskins lighted the lamp--he detested18 electric and gas--and passed along a box of cigars to his visitor. Tod was also accommodated with a glass of whisky and soda19 and a comfortable armchair. Gerald, being similarly provided, leaned forward eagerly. "Now, Toddy, tell me exactly what the will says."
Tod's eyes strayed to an adjacent table. "Why, there's my letter after all. That infernal boy did post it. I daresay your man didn't bring it up. You should row him, Jerry, and----"
"Oh, bother! Tell me about the will. I can read your letter later."
"Well then," said Macandrew deliberately20, "Julian Durham made a will at Brighton, more than twenty years ago, disposing of six thousand a year."
"Ha! Rebb's exact income."
"Yes. Only I think Rebb has five or six hundred a year of his own in addition. The income of Durham was left to his infant daughter, Mavis, and Michael Rebb was appointed her guardian21."
"You may well say that, Jerry. The will says that Rebb is to enjoy the whole income on condition that he educates and brings up the child in a proper way."
"Which he has not done, since Mavis can neither read nor write. Couldn't the will be upset by that, Tod?"
"We'll come to that later. But I would point out that the will provides for Rebb only until Mavis marries. When she marries, the six thousand a year passes to her at once, on her wedding day, in fact, only Rebb is not forced to account for what he has used up to that date."
Haskins jumped up and began to walk up and down, as he was accustomed to do when much excited. "Then I am to understand that, if I marry Mavis, Major Rebb loses six thousand a year?"
"Exactly. He reverts23 to his original five or six hundred, which apparently24 he possessed25 before getting his brother officer to make this preposterous26 will in his favor, as it practically is."
Haskins stopped.
"His brother officer?"
"Yes! Durham was in a Goorkha regiment27, and so was Rebb. Later, I daresay, Rebb exchanged to the West Indies. I always heard that he came from that place."
"Yes. Jamaica," said Haskins mechanically, thinking of Geary. "So this is why Rebb has shut up the girl, and put about the rumor28 that she is crazy. The plotting beast!"
"He's all that," nodded the solicitor, emphatically, "in that way he prevents Mavis ever getting a husband, and so, while she remains30 unmarried, he can enjoy his income--or rather her income--in a legal way."
"In a legal way," echoed Gerald, disgusted. "Why, the man ought to be hanged and quartered."
"You can punish him more by depriving him of his income."
"Oh, I'll do that. So far as I am personally concerned, I don't care two straws for the income----"
"Oh, come now. Human nature----"
"I don't go by human nature," interrupted Haskins sharply; "I go by my own feelings. I would marry Mavis without one penny, since my five hundred a year and what I make by writing is enough to keep things going. But Rebb must be punished, and I shall do all I can to deprive him of this six thousand a year."
"There is no necessity to bother," said Tod soothingly31, "the thing acts automatically, as you might say. When Mavis becomes your wife the money is paid over--or rather the income is transferred to her on the wedding day. The sole chance that Rebb has of keeping his money is to prevent the marriage."
"Oh, he'll do his best to do that," said Gerald, with a frown, "I'll tell you what, Tod, that man won't stop short of murder."
"Oh, you shouldn't----"
"Yes, I should. Mavis is under the impression that all girls are brought up in conventual seclusion32, and are not allowed to see young men. Rebb, for obvious reasons, told her so. But she understands that she is to be taken into the world when she is one and twenty. Her twenty-first birthday is only ten months distant--nine months, in fact. When that time arrives she will want to come out. If Rebb lets her out she will probably be asked in marriage, and then he would----"
"Murder her," finished Macandrew. "Not at all. Rebb is too clever a man to place his precious neck in a noose33. When her birthday came, and she turned restive34, he would simply have called in a doctor to pronounce her insane and unfit for marriage."
"Much can be done with money," said Tod dryly, "and Rebb has six thousand a year at his command. Besides, even if he could find no doctor to swear to her insanity36, the mere37 rumor of such a thing would prevent any man from marrying her."
"I am not so certain of that," said Gerald grimly. "As you said just now, much can be done with money. However, Rebb won't have a chance of working out his rascally38 plot, whether he means murder or not. I shall go to Devonshire and interview him, and----"
"How do you know that he is there?" questioned Tod quickly.
The question recalled Haskins to a sense of his folly40 in trusting the widow with his secret. "I have made a fool of myself Macandrew," he remarked soberly, and resumed his seat, "it is my belief that Mrs. Crosbie has put Rebb on his guard, and that Rebb has gone down to Denleigh to thwart42 my plans for carrying off Mavis."
"Mrs. Crosbie! Jerry, I warned you."
"I know that, and I wish I had taken your warning. Listen!" And Gerald related his interview with the widow, ending with an emphatic29 declaration that he did not believe she had kept her promise of secrecy43.
Macandrew nodded, as he quite agreed with him. "As Mrs. Crosbie is engaged to Rebb, she will not wish him to lose his income, so----"
"Do you think she knows of Rebb's position?"
"Of course. She may not have known it before you confided44 in her, but she certainly would demand an explanation from the Major, in spite of her promise, when she heard that he was keeping a pretty girl shut up. Mrs. Crosbie is a woman, and as a woman is jealous, Rebb would be forced to tell the truth--that is, how his income depends upon Mavis being imprisoned45. When Mrs. Crosbie knew that, she certainly would do all she could to prevent you marrying the girl."
"But Madge has always been my friend," protested Haskins.
"Friendship goes when money is in question," retorted Tod. "I told you that I suspected the widow of being hard up. If I am right, she is marrying Rebb for the money, and both she and he will do all they can to keep that six thousand a year. But," added Tod slowly, "I do not think there will be any murder needed. The insanity rumor is enough to prevent a possible marriage."
"Not with me," raged Gerald, jumping up once more.
"Quite so. Therefore Rebb, on his guard, has gone to Devonshire to work against you."
"I'll follow by the first morning train."
"Take care, Haskins," warned the solicitor. "Rebb is dangerous. A man who would act as he has done will not stick at a trifle. If there is to be murder, you will be the victim."
Gerald held his head very high. "I am not so easily got rid of," he remarked quietly. "However, Mrs. Crosbie and her mother are at Bognor, so they are out of the way. Now I don't like doing underhand things. Tod, as you know, but in this case it seems necessary that these two women should be watched to see if Rebb goes down to see them at Bognor."
Macandrew nodded. "I can arrange that. I'll send a confidential46 clerk down. It is dirty work, but when dealing47 with a rascal39 like Rebb one cannot be too careful. And you will take a revolver with you?"
"Yes; I may have to reckon with Geary, who is Rebb's spy and bully48. And then there is Bellaria, who---- Tod," broke off Haskins, "you have been in Italy and know something of Italian, so----"
"I know a great deal," corrected Tod indignantly. "I am excellent at languages: you know that."
"All right, old boy, don't get your hair off. What is the meaning of the word Tána?"
"Tána? It means a den41. Caverna, Tána, Antro--all mean a den," he paused reflectively, and Tod threw up his hand before Gerald could answer. "Where have I heard that word? It seems familiar."
"No doubt, when people speak in Italy----"
Haskins reflected, with his eyes on Macandrew. "Do you know anything in connection with the word about a red coral hand grasping a----"
"A dagger," cried Tod, rising quickly. "Yes, of course. When I was in Naples there was some talk of a society----"
"I thought so--I thought so."
"It is called the Tána Society--the Den Society, in English. I believe that it is a collection of cut-throats, who terrorize people with the symbol of the coral hand. The name comes from the idea of the society hiding in a den, and emerging to do justice. It is something like the Sicilian Mafia."
"Quite so," Haskins nodded. "I now understand Bellaria's fear. She ran out of this room as though she were crazy, and indeed she was, for the time being. She apparently thought that I was an emissary of the Tána, appointed to kill her."
"Was Bellaria in town?" cried Tod, astonished.
"Yes. She found out about myself and Mavis, and came up to tell Rebb. I called to see Rebb and we met. She came back with me, and we had a long talk. She hinted about betraying a man called Salviati, with whom she was in love, and talked about hiding from the vengeance50 of certain people. When she saw the coral hand she ran out crying, 'Tána! Tána!----"
"But how did you get the coral hand?" asked Tod, open-mouthed.
Haskins described how he had taken away Mrs. Crosbie's cigarette-case by accident, and how he had found the hand. In fact he told Macandrew everything, including the whole conversation with Bellaria, and the subsequent visit of Mrs. Berch to recover the amulet51. "And this Signor Venosta gave the coral hand to Mrs. Crosbie?" ended Gerald. "What do you think of it, Tod?"
Macandrew sat down gasping52. "It's like a confounded penny dreadful," he remarked, ruffling53 his ruddy hair. "Girls shut up--incomes stolen, and secret societies--oh, Lord! there is going to be trouble."
"In what way?"
"Don't ask me." Tod rose and began to put on his overcoat. "If I were you, Jerry, I should chuck the whole business."
"What--leave Mavis?"
"Yes--if you don't want to get into a row. Rebb may be connected with this Tána Society and----"
"No," interrupted Haskins decidedly, "on the contrary, he is protecting Bellaria from assassination54 by the Tána, and so is himself in danger of death. But why should Mrs. Crosbie possess this coral hand?"
"You had better ask Signor Venosta, who gave it to her. He is probably a Count Fosco of modern days. But if you insist upon marrying this girl you will involve yourself in heaps of trouble."
"I intend to go down to Denleigh to-morrow and face Rebb," said Gerald determinedly55. "Mavis shall be my wife. Meanwhile you must have Mrs. Crosbie watched." Gerald winced56. "I don't like it, but I must save the girl."
"I'll do all I can. But I tell you what, Jerry, if you don't return to London in a week I'll set the police on your track."
"Very good! It's a case of marriage or death!"
Haskins was gay, but Tod departed filled with forebodings.
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1
solicitor
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| n.初级律师，事务律师 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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magisterial
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| adj.威风的，有权威的；adv.威严地 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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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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adviser
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| n.劝告者，顾问 | |
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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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testily
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| adv. 易怒地, 暴躁地 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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13
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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exultant
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| adj.欢腾的，狂欢的，大喜的 | |
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rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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sitting-room
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| n.（BrE）客厅，起居室 | |
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detested
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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soda
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| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
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deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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savagely
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| adv. 野蛮地，残酷地 | |
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reverts
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| 恢复( revert的第三人称单数 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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preposterous
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| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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restive
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| adj.不安宁的，不安静的 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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rascally
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| adj. 无赖的，恶棍的 adv. 无赖地，卑鄙地 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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thwart
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| v.阻挠，妨碍，反对；adj.横(断的) | |
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secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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44
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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45
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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bully
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| n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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50
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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51
amulet
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| n.护身符 | |
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52
gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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53
ruffling
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| 弄皱( ruffle的现在分词 )； 弄乱； 激怒； 扰乱 | |
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54
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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55
determinedly
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| adv.决意地；坚决地，坚定地 | |
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winced
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| 赶紧避开，畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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