Fergus Hume

“ Alan ran forward and grasped his arm. “No,” he said strongly, “you must act like a man, Mr. Sorley, and give yourself up. If you are innocent you need fear nothing, and I shall stand by you throughout the trial.”
“The trial! the trial!” wailed Sorley; “no, no, I cannot, I dare not. Louisa is too strong for me, indeed she is. Unless he knows the truth. ”

“ So it is just as well that the truth has not become known. You will guess the riddle, dear, clever boy that you are, and then we shall become very, very rich, even though the half of what you find goes to Uncle Ran.”
“Nothing shall go to Uncle Ran,” said Alan grimly, “because Uncle Ran has no right to ask for a share—unless, of course, he solves the riddle. The peacock and the treasure it can point out, Marie, both belong to you, so don’t go making hasty promises to Mr. Sorley; and above all, dear—mark what I say, little featherhead—don’t sign any paper if he asks you to.” ”

“ Alan was a sensible and clever young man, and Marie was by no means wanting in mother-wit, and yet their conversation was so characteristic of their several states of mind, which had entirely to do with the wooing of man and maid, that a common-sense person past the turtle-dove stage would have doubted their sanity. But then love is a madness which attacks the young at certain seasons, and custom has so sanctified the lunacy, that those so crazed are not locked up. ”

“ But everything grateful to the eye and the touch and the palate was due to the “vicaress,” as her husband jocularly called her. The worst-tempered person in the world would have succumbed to the soothing influences which permeated the place.
“Home, home, sweet, sweet home,” hummed Alan, when the trio sat in the fragrant old drawing-room after an admirable dinner. “Mother darling, you have no idea how restful this is, after the noise and bustle of London.”
Mrs. Fuller smiled from her favorite chair, and went on with her tatting, busy as a bee, for she was rarely idle. ”

“ Fuller gazed at the peacock. “I can’t understand,” he said bewildered.
“Well, Alan,” rejoined Fuller with a shrug, “I can’t myself, and so have brought you into the business on the assumption that two heads are better than one. I have even opened the peacock to find its secret, but there is nothing inside. In my opinion the secret is hidden in the tail.”
Alan was still puzzled. “In the tail?” he echoed.
“In the jewels somehow,” explained Mr. Sorley meditatively. “You see there are three semicircles of gems on the tail, and between the second and the third appears a triangle of rubies. ”

“ Sitting on a throne is where you should be, miss, with all under your pretty feet as you will be when the peacock comes again to its own. And if that Grison person is dead, murdered they say with much blood, and serve him right, I hope as he’s sent back the peacock by post, if his sister—Louisa’s her name—ain’t got it, which is just as likely as not, taking into—— Well good-day, sir—good-day, miss—and bless you both for a nice-looking couple,” and Mrs. Verwin’s voice arose to a perfect scream, as the distance between her and the visitors increased. ”

“ The terror he displayed when the young man entered the room showed how apprehensive he was of being arrested by the police.
“Oh, it’s you, Alan,” he gasped with a sigh of relief, when the newcomers, in sheer surprise, called out his name. “I’m glad it’s only you and your friend.”
“I am Fuller’s friend,” remarked Latimer with emphasis, “but not yours.”
“Ah!” Sorley shivered and cringed fearfully, “you’re against me too. Am I to find an enemy in you also, Alan?”
“No,” said the young man briefly; “I never kick a man when he is down.” ”

“ As to Marie, she never had a single penny, which she could call her own, and lamented that poverty, and Sorley’s niggardly ways as her guardian, prevented her from obeying the kind dictates of her heart.
“But when I am of age and have my money,” she informed Alan after church on Christmas Day, “I shall make everyone happy.”
“You have made me happy anyhow,” replied Fuller, enjoying the stolen moment which they had obtained by evading Sorley, “so nothing else matters.”
“You greedy boy,” laughed Marie, patting his cheek, “you are not the only person in the world I have to consider. ”

“ Marie had a healthy appetite, and had no reluctance in satisfying it on fare, which was much more dainty than that prepared by Henny Trent, who acted as cook at The Monastery. The girl in a simple white dress and without any ornaments, save a childish necklace of red coral, looked very pretty, and behaved very charmingly. By the end of the quiet evening Alan was more in love with her than ever, and wondered if the earth contained a more delightful little lady. Sorley also made himself most agreeable, being soothed by the excellent dinner, and showed no disposition to frown on the young couple. ”

“ There was no feeling in his mind against discussing with Marie the theft of the peacock as the possible motive for the murder of the man her relative seemed to detest so thoroughly.
As usual the young man received the warmest of welcomes from his parents, who adored their only son and thought him the most wonderful person in the world. The vicar assuredly did not worship the marvellous boy so devotedly as did Mrs. Fuller; nevertheless he took a great pride in Alan’s handsome looks and clever brains and general good conduct. ”

“ A nice thing it is for me to have a murderer for a husband.”
“I am not a murderer,” wailed Sorley tremulously. “I left Baldwin alive and well. She—she—she——”
“She—she—she,” mocked his wife, “you, with your she—she—she. You are a murderer; you had the peacock; you have the knife which killed My darling brother. ”

“ He held out a hand to each at the same time, and walked towards the house between them. “How are the happy pair?” he asked gaily.
“We won’t be a truly happy pair until to-morrow,” said Alan.
“Speak for yourself, dear,” said Marie lightly. “I am happy enough now.”
“You deserve to be,” said Dick smiling, “for you have come through a lot of trouble, and that always makes hearts grow fonder. But do come and give me some tea, Mrs. Fuller—I beg your pardon, Miss Inderwick, but you and Alan do look just like a married couple.” ”

“ Who is the greatest gossip in the village?”
“Oh, Alan, as if you didn’t know, when your mother is always talking about her. It’s Mrs. Verwin, of course.”
“Ah yes! and she keeps The Red Fox, our one and only inn. Marie, she is the very person to know, for besides being a gossip, she is the landlady of an inn to which a stranger would go even if he only came for the day. Come and let us interview Mrs. Verwin.” ”

“ I know that he is quite happy where he is, and I’m sure I don’t want him to come and make an inconvenient third in our lives, Alan.”
“He won’t,” her lover assured her seriously. “He is far too much afraid of Miss Grison, or rather Mrs. Sorley, escaping from her asylum. He is out of our lives, Marie, and as he is happy in his own selfish way, why there is no more to be said. There are plenty of pleasanter subjects to talk about, my dear. Indeed, I never liked your uncle, and I always mistrusted him, as I had every reason to.” ”

“ I can’t expect to keep such beauty and grace hidden from the world. And she must make a good match, my lad”—this was for Alan’s particular benefit as the young man knew very well——“a title and money, good looks and a landed estate, with brains added. That is the suitor I have chosen for Marie.”
“You are looking for a bird of paradise,” said Fuller, coloring at the hint conveyed, “does such perfection exist in a mere human being?”
“I hope so; I hope so,” said Sorley, still cheery and still shifty in his glance, “we must look for the rarity, my lad. ”

“ Odd, very odd indeed.”
“It will come true, it will come true,” sang Marie, dancing a step or two in her gleeful way, and with the exuberant joy of twenty. “Then we’ll pension Uncle Ran off, and have The Monastery and the money to ourselves. Oh, Alan, let us build castles in the air.”
“They won’t turn into bricks and mortar until we find the peacock,” said Mr. Fuller gloomily, “and that will not be easy, seeing it means the capture of poor Grison’s assassin. Moon can find out nothing and if he fails how can mere amateur detectives such as Dick and I are succeed. ”

“ Fuller, looking fondly at the graceful form of Miss Inderwick as her hands hovered over the tea-cups.
“No, I agree with you there, mother,” said Alan, taking up a plate of bread and butter; “Marie is a rare bird.”
“A rare bird indeed. Why not a peacock?”
Mrs. Fuller shuddered. “Oh don’t talk of peacocks!”
“Why not?” asked the vicar, “all the happiness of the present is really due to the peacock. Marie, my dear,” he observed as he took his tea, “I used to laugh at the idea of your fetish, but really things have come about so strangely that I think there is something in it.” ”

“ Marie raised her eyebrows and pouted again. “If you are afraid of Uncle Ran there is no more to be said.”
“There is a great deal more to be said,” retorted Alan, tucking her arm under his own, “and we can say it on our way to The Monastery. When the cat’s away at Lewes, we two dear little mice can play at Belstone. Marie, darling, don’t make faces; we must be sensible.”
“I am sensible; you have said dozens of times that I am the most sensible girl in the whole world.” ”

“ We shall have a longer time to ourselves, and you can give me a cup of tea.”
“Uncle Ran would assuredly object to that,” said the girl with emphasis. “He is becoming a perfect miser. Every penny he obtains he turns into jewels, Alan, although owing to want of money he can only buy cheap stones.”
“So long as he uses his own money and not yours he can do what he likes, I suppose, Marie. But you have an income and the house, so he has no right to object to your extending afternoon-tea hospitality to me.” ”

“ Again Miss Grison gave him no time to make a comment, but went on talking in the shrill voice which Latimer had noted and mentioned.
“Henrietta and Jane Trent are twins,” she explained to Marie as if the girl knew nothing about her own servants. “I remember them as little toddlers in the village. The mother took in washing. Fine bouncing women they have grown into, my dear: red cheeks and black hair and wooden expressions, just like two Dutch dolls. Are they good servants?” ”

“ If Marie married me, the old man would be left with his two hundred a year to get on as best he could, and you may be jolly well sure, Dicky, that he doesn’t want to leave the big house.”
“Natural enough,” yawned Latimer. “Well, my son, you help Moon to hunt down Grison’s assassin and recover the fetish of the Inderwicks and perhaps the old man, out of gratitude, may accept you as a nephew-in-law.”
“It’s worth trying for at all events,” said Alan thoughtfully. “Marie’s an angel, and I’m bound to marry her sooner or later. ”

“ How could Bakche know about them?”
“Orientals have long memories. However, I admit that I may be unduly suspicious, as you observe, Alan. All the same I should like to know what Mr. Bakche is doing in Miss Grison’s house and why he was so friendly to you even to the extent of hinting that you might be his solicitor.”
“Well then, if he does consult me he will have to state his reason. And if that has to do with the Begum’s gems, I shall know where I am. Your imagination is too vivid, Dick.” ”

“ But what lover who hopes to look into the eyes of the girl he adores within a specified number of hours can feel down-hearted, however gloomy the skies or moist the earth? Not Alan Fuller, who moved on to his much-desired goal with love songs humming in his active brain. And the burden of these was “Marie Marie Marie!” with the delicious name joined to the most eulogistic adjectives in the English tongue.
It was when he was almost within sight of Belstone village that the motor bicycle came along. ”

“ Before Sorley could get a letter or even a telegram out, everything was gone. However, Marie has The Monastery and the park and sufficient to keep her in food and dress, so she can’t grumble.”
“Marie never does grumble,” said Mrs. Fuller decidedly, “she is the brightest person I know. But it’s a dull life for a young girl at The Monastery. She ought to have a season in London and be presented at Court and have an opportunity,” here she stole a shy glance at Alan’s expressive face, “of making a good match. With Marie’s blood and looks she should secure a title.” ”

“ Do you trust him yourself, Marie?”
“I don’t know; I can’t say,” said the girl slowly; “of course he has been kind to me since I returned a year ago from Brighton, where I was at school, Alan. He doesn’t interfere with me, you know.”
“He lets you run wild, if that’s what you mean, my dear,” retorted the solicitor hotly. “Now that it does you any harm of course, as you are a sensible girl. But Mr. Sorley should take you out visiting and let you go to dances occasionally, and you should have a few days in London every now and then. He should not neglect you as he does.” ”

“ For the same reason Fuller did not call at the Thimble Square house, lest its landlady, being extremely sharp, might—and probably would—guess that he was tampering with Jotty’s loyalty. As a matter of fact Alan was not, as he did not seek to question the page about the lady, but simply wished to learn what he had to say concerning his association with Baldwin Grison. And as the dead man’s sister desired that the assassin of her brother should be captured and punished, Fuller deemed that he was right in using every means to forward her aims. ”

“ Fuller halted and looked at her doubtfully. Since he had imparted to the girl that knowledge regarding Grison’s possession of the peacock, which he had obtained from Inspector Moon, through Latimer, he certainly did not intend to reveal that Sorley had displayed the ornament in the library. Should he do so, Marie would at once, on what she knew, jump to the conclusion—and very naturally—that her uncle was guilty. Being of an emotional nature she would probably refuse to remain in the house with the man, in which case the truth would have to be told. ”

“ Bakche flushed through the clear brown of his skin. “I do not want money, Mr. Fuller; a gentleman of my rank does not take money. I only desire a share of the jewels which rightfully belong to me—the whole of them.”
“I think not,” said Alan, while Latimer kept step beside him in silence, leaving his friend to adjust matters. “There was a proper assignment of the jewels made by the Rajah of Kam, the Begum and their vizier. All is in order, Mr. Bakche, and you have not a leg to stand on.” ”