Agnes appeared in the doorway. “Dinner is served.”
The evening ended on a note of careful politeness. Ussery gallantly reiterated his invitation to the lawn party, but before Wayness could respond, Challis snapped: 'Ussy, have mercy! You must allow the poor girl to make up her own mind. If she wants to come, I'm sure she will let us know.'
''That seems a sensible arrangement,' said Wayness. “Goodnight to all!'
The guests departed; Pirie Tamm and Wayness were left alone in the drawing room. “They are not bad people,” said Pirie Tamm gruffly, “and not even typical Earth folk — but don’t ask me to define this typical creature since he is far too variable, and sometimes surprising. Also, he can be gloomy and dangerous, as Moira hinted. Earth is an old planet, with pockets of rot here and there.'
Days passed, and weeks. Wayness read documents of every description, including the Society’s by-laws, along with those amendments which had been added across the centuries. The by-laws were almost naive in their simplicity and seemed to be based on a hypothesis of universal altruism.
Wayness discussed the by-laws with Pirie Tamm. 'They are wonderfully quaint, and almost seem to urge the secretary to become a swindler. I marvel that anything was left for Nisfit.”
“The Secretary is, first of all, a member of the Society,' said Pirie Tamm in lofty tones. “Almost by definition he is a gentleman and a person of probity. We Naturalists, now and always, have considered ourselves an elite element of the general population. We were never mistaken in this belief — until Nisfit.'
“Something else puzzles me. Why has interest in the Society declined so dramatically over the years?'
“That has been a great deal of soul-searching done on this point,” said Pirie Tamm. “Many reasons have been advanced: complacency, a failure of new ideas with an attendant waning of enthusiasm. The public began to think of us as a group of fusty old bug-collectors, and we did nothing adventurous or startling to dispel the idea, nor did we make membership any easier or any more appealing. A candidate needed the endorsements of four active members, or falling this — as might be the case of a candidate from off-world — he must submit a thesis, a biographical precis, and a police report attesting to his identity, correct name and lack of criminal record. A discouraging route.”
“I wonder that Nisfit was accepted as a member.“
“On this occasion the system failed us.'
Wayness continued her research. She came upon a list of the items Nisfit had sold. The list had been compiled by the new secretary Nils Myhack, and included the comment: “The rascal has hoodwinked us in fine style! What in the name of everything naughty is 'Engenderment’s adapted into asset assignment Account BZ-2’? I could laugh if it were not a crying shame! Luckily, Charter and Grant are safe in the vault.”
Here, thought Wayness, was probably the source of the mysterious Monette's conviction — perhaps more accurately, hope — that the Charter still resided in the bank vault.
The properties sequestered by Nisfit were various: drawings and sketches created by Naturalists during off- world expeditions; curios, objects of virtue or aesthetic consequence fabricated by non-Gaen life forms, including tablets in the still undeciphered Myrrhic script, statues from a world at the back of Ursa Minor; vases, bowls and other receptacles found among the Ninarchs. There were collections of small life forms; a case of a hundred magic stone spheres and tablets wrought by the banjees of Cadwal; trinkets worn by the bog-runners of Gemini 333 IV. In another category were Society archives of interest to collectors of ancient documents, in folders, folios, and fused black litholite, incised in microscope symbols; ancient books and photographs, all manners of chronicles, notations, biographical records.
The purloined material, in its entirety, thought Wayness, would not be conveniently salable to a single individual or institution. With careful attention she studied Nisfit's letters. She found membership applications, memoranda of delinquent dues and expulsion notices; correspondence in connection with cases at law; scholarship funds; expeditions and research projects; the endowments and investments which provided the income for many Naturalists of Stroma.
The sheer mass of material was almost overwhelming. Initially Wayness sampled items from all the categories, then concentrated upon the items she found most provocative. Using a search procedure which sought references to the word 'Charter', she discovered nothing of interest.
As something of an afterthought, she subjected the entire set of files accumulated during Nisfit's tenure to the search, and at last, among much that was inconsequential, came upon a case which aroused her interest.
The occasion was the annual conclave during the last year of Nisfit’s office. The minutes of the conclave recorded a dialogue between Jaimes Jamers, Chairman of the Activities Committee and Frons Nisfit, Secretary.
Jamers: Mr. Secretary this is admittedly not my official province, so I address you in the hope that you will clarify some items which I find puzzling. What for instance is a 'Supersessive'?
Nisfit: Simple enough, sir. It is an article whose use or value to the Society has been superseded.
Jamers: Your verbiage here, I find to be absolute jargon. I wish you would express yourself more intelligibly.
Nisfit: Yes, sir.
Jamers: For example, what does this mean — 'Engenderments to Asset Group — potentials'?
Nisfit: Much of the terminology, sir, is derived from Accountancy nomenclature.
Jamers: But what does it mean?
Nisfit: In the broadest sense, funds delved from disposal of excessive or unnecessary materials are consigned to a fund of versatile activity. Endowments, scholarships, emergency procedures and the like. Also, payment of taxes and fees, like the annual Stipulative Charge for the Cadwal Charter, which must carefully be observed.
Jamers: I see. You have been scrupulous in this respect?
Nisfit: Of course, sir.
Jamers: And why is the Cadwal Charter not in its usual place?
Nisfit: I transferred it to the Bank of Margravia, along with other documents.
Jamers: Somehow this all seems a bit loose and untidy. I think that we should have an inventory taken of our properties, so that we know where we stand.
Nisfit: Very good, sir. I will arrange for such an inventory.
During the following week Nisfit vacated his office and was seen no more.
A thought came into Wayness' head which excited her curiosity. Frons Nisfit had become a member of the Society with little regard for the traditional Society stringencies. Who had proposed him for membership? Wayness investigated the files and discovered names which meant nothing to her. What of Monette, who had joined the Society thirty years later? Again Wayness scrutinized the records.
During the relevant period there was no Society member with the surname 'Monette’.
Odd thought Wayness. She set herself to an even more diligent study, and so made a startling discovery.
Later in the day she reported her findings to Pirie Tamm.“ 'Monette,' as you mentioned, was an off-worlder; when she applied for membership she was required to provide a certified identification, which went into the files. The name was 'Simonetta Clattuc’.”
Wayness told Pirie Tamm what she remembered from Glawen’s casual anecdotes regarding Simonetta Clattuc. 'Apparently she was notorious for her hot temper, and any small slight incurred her furious revenge. When she was still a young woman, she was frustrated in a love affair and almost at the same time ejected from Clattuc House because of low status. She left Ararninta Station in a state of rage and was never heard from again.'
“Until she became Nils Myhack’s assistant,' said Pirie Tamm. 'I wonder what she had in mind? She could not have known that the Charter and the Grant were missing.'
''That is why she wanted to investigate the bank vault.'
'Of course, but she found nothing there or anywhere else, since there is no record of the Grant being reregistered.'
'That, at least, is a comfort. On the other hand, she must have searched the files just as I am doing — and probably to the same effect.”
'Not necessarily! She would not trouble to search the files if she expected that the Charter and Grant were in the bank vault.'
