“Ah! the one she passed along to me. How did she get that?”
Hope referred again to the manuscript.
“She insisted that Braddock should give it to her as a pledge of good faith. He had to do it, or risk her splitting. That was why he placed the mummy in her garden, so as to bring her into the matter, and render it more difficult for her to speak.”
“What of the other emerald?”
“Braddock took that to Amsterdam, when he went to London that time—if you remember, when Don Pedro arrived. Braddock sold the emerald for three thousand pounds, and it is now on its way to an Indian rajah. I fear Don Pedro will never set eyes on that again.”
“Where is the money?”
“He banked it in a feigned name in Amsterdam, and intended to account for it when he married Mrs. Jasher by saying it was left to her by that mythical Peking merchant brother of hers. Savvy!”
“Yes. What an infernal little villain! And I expect he sent Cockatoo down last night for the other emerald.”
“That is not related in the manuscript,” said Archie, laying down the last sheet and taking up his coffee. “The confession ends abruptly—at the time Cockatoo tapped at the window, I expect. But she said, when dying, that the Kanaka asked for the second emerald. If she had not sent it to you in a fit of weakness, I expect she would have passed it along. I can’t make out,” added Archie musingly, “why Mrs. Jasher confessed when everything was so safe.”
“Well,” said Random, nursing his chin, and staring into the fire, “she made a mistake in trying to blackmail me, though why she did so I can’t tell, seeing she had the whiphand of Braddock. Perhaps she wanted the five thousand to spend herself, knowing that the Professor’s plunder would be wasted on his confounded expedition. At any rate she gave herself away by the blackmail, and I expect she grew frightened. If the house had been searched—and it might have been searched by the police, had I arrested her for blackmail the emerald would have been found and she would have been incriminated. She therefore got rid of it cleverly, by passing it along to me as a wedding gift. Then she again grew afraid and wrote out this confession to exonerate herself.”
“But it doesn’t,” insisted Hope. “She makes herself out plainly as an accessory after the fact.”
“A woman doesn’t understand these legal niceties. She wrote that out to clear herself in case she was arrested for the blackmail, and perhaps in case Braddock refused to help her—as he certainly did, if you remember.”
“He was hard on her,” confessed Archie slowly.
“Being such a villain himself,” said Random grimly. “However, Cockatoo arrived unluckily on the scene, and when he found she had parted with the emerald, and had written out the truth, he stabbed her. If we hadn’t come just in the nick of time, he would have annexed that confession, and the truth would never have become known. No one,” ended Random, rising and stretching himself, “would connect Braddock or Cockatoo with the death of Mrs. Jasher.”
“Or with the death of Sidney Bolton either,” said Hope, also rising and putting on his cap. “What an actor the man is!”
“Where are you going?” demanded Sir Frank, yawning.
“To the Pyramids. I want to see how Lucy is.”
“Will you tell her about that confession?”
“Not until later. I shall give this to Inspector Date when he arrives. The Professor has made his bed, so he must lie on it. When I marry Lucy, I’ll take her away from this damned place.”
“Marry her at once, then,” advised Random, “while the Professor is doing time, and while Cockatoo is being hanged. Meanwhile, I think you had better put on your overcoat, unless you want to walk through the village in crumpled evening dress, like a dissipated undergraduate.”
Archie laughed in spite of his weariness, and assumed his greatcoat at the same moment as Random slipped into his. The two young men walked out into the village and up to the Pyramids, for Random wished to see Braddock before returning to the Fort. They found the door of the great house open and the servants in the hall.
“What is all this?” demanded Hope, entering. “Why are you here, and not at work? Where is your master?”
“He’s run away,” said the cook in a shrill voice. “Lord knows why, sir.”
“Archie! Archie!” Lucy came running out of the museum, pale-faced and white, “my father has gone away with Cockatoo and the green mummy. What does it mean? And just when poor Mrs. Jasher is murdered too.”
“Hush, darling! Come in, and I’ll explain,” said Hope gently.
XXVI
The Appointment
Poor Lucy Kendal was terribly grieved and shocked when the full account of her stepfather’s iniquity was revealed to her. Archie tried to break the news as delicately as possible, but no words could soften the sordid story. Lucy, at first, could not believe it possible that a man, whom she had known for so long, and to whom she was related, would behave in such a base way. To convince her Hope was forced to let her read the account in Mrs. Jasher’s handwriting. When acquainted with the contents, the poor girl’s first desire was to have the matter hushed up, and she implored her lover with tears to suppress the damning document.
“That is impossible,” said Hope firmly; “and if you think again, my dear, you will not repeat such a request. It is absolutely necessary that this should be placed in the hands of the police, and that the truth should become as widely known as possible. Unless the matter is settled once and for all, someone else may be accused of this murder.”
“But the disgrace,” wept Lucy, hiding her face on her lover’s shoulder.
He slipped his arm round her waist.
“My darling, the
