“Nor did I,” put in Eames.
“How jolly of you, Mr. Eames,” said Angela. “You can’t think what a lot of trouble we’ve been having with my husband; he thinks he knows all about the mystery, and he won’t tell us; isn’t it odious of him? And I’m so glad to think that you managed to keep him in the dark about something.”
“Not entirely,” protested Bredon. “Cast your eye over that, Mr. Eames.” And a document was handed, first to Eames, then to the rest of the company, which certainly seemed to make Eames’s caution unnecessary. It was a plain scrap of paper, scrawled over in pencil with the handwriting of a man who is travelling at thirty-five miles an hour over bumpy roads in a badly sprung car. All it said was, “Make Eames show you what he found in the gorge. I thought it was you. F. Brinkman.”
“Ah!” said the Bishop. “Brinkman, it seemed, had some doubt as to the fate of a document which got into the hands of the Catholic authorities. Poor fellow, he was always rather bitter about it. However, here we are, Mr. Bredon, owning up like good boys. It was to put that very document into your hands that I came down this morning. But I think Mr. Eames was quite right in holding that the document, with such a superscription, ought to be handed over to me direct, without any mention even of its existence to a third party.”
“I for one,” put in Leyland, “applaud his action. I do not believe in all these posthumous revelations; I prefer to respect the confidence of the dead. But I understand that Your Lordship is prepared to let us see the contents of the letter after all?”
“Certainly. I think poor Mottram’s last directions were influenced simply by consideration for my own feelings in the matter. I have no hesitation myself in making it public. Shall I read it here and now?”
In deference to a chorus of assent, the Bishop took out the enclosure of the envelope and prepared to read. “I ought to say by way of preface,” he explained, “that I knew poor Mottram’s handwriting well enough, and I feel fully convinced that this is a genuine autograph of his, not a forgery. You will see why I mention that later on. This is how the letter runs:
“ ‘My dear Lord Bishop:
“ ‘Pursuant to our conversation of Thursday evening last, it will be within your Lordship’s memory that upon that occasion I asserted the right of a man, in given circumstances, to take his own life, particularly when same was threatened by an incurable and painful disease. This I only mentioned casually, when illustrating the argument I was then trying to put forward, namely that the end justifies the means, even in a case where said means are bad, provided said ends are good. I note that your Lordship is of the contrary opinion, namely that said end does not justify said means. I am, however, confident that in a concrete case like the present your Lordship will be more open to conviction re this matter, as it is a case where I am acting to the best of my lights, which, your Lordship has often told me, is all that a man can do when in doubtful circumstances.
“ ‘I regret to have to inform your Lordship that, interviewing recently a specialist in London re my health, said specialist informed me that I was suffering from an incurable disease. I have not the skill to write the name of it; and as it is of an unusual nature, maybe it would not interest your Lordship to know it. The specialist was, however, of the decided opinion that I could not survive more than two years or thereabouts; and that in the interim the disease would give rise to considerable pain. It is therefore my intention, in pursuance of the line of argument which I have already done my best to explain to your Lordship, to take my own life, in circumstances which will be sufficiently public by the time this reaches you.
“ ‘I have not, as your Lordship knows, any firm religious convictions. I believe that there is a future life of some kind, and that we shall all be judged according to our opportunities and the use we made of same. I believe that God is merciful, and will make allowances for the difficulties we had in knowing what was the right thing to do and in doing it. But I have been through some hard times, and maybe not always acted for the best. Being desirous, therefore, of making my peace with God, I have taken the liberty of devising some of the property of which I die possessed to your Lordship personally, to be used for the benefit of the diocese of Pullford. Said property consisting of the benefits accruing from the Euthanasia policy taken out by me with the Indescribable Insurance Company. And so have directed my lawyers in a will made by me recently.
“ ‘I believe that your Lordship is a man of God, and anxious to do his best for his fellow-citizens in the town of Pullford. I believe that the money will serve a good end, although I do not agree with what your Lordship teaches. I feel sure that your Lordship will realize the desirability of keeping this letter private, and not letting it be known that I took my own life. The insurance company would probably refuse to pay the claim if I was supposed to have
