Ranson's Folly (Fiscle Part 3) by Richard Harding Davis (dar e dil novel online reading TXT) 📕

He Explained,  "But That I Thought This Gentleman"--He Inclined His

Head Toward The Queen's Messenger--"Was About To Contribute Some

Facts Of Which I Was Ignorant. He,  However,  Has Told Us Nothing,  And

So I Will Take Up The Tale At The Point Where Lieutenant Sears Laid

It Down And Give You Those Details Of Which Lieutenant Sears Is

Ignorant. It Seems Strange To You That I Should Be Able To Add The

Sequel To This Story. But The Coincidence Is Easily Explained. I Am

The Junior Member Of The Law Firm Of Chudleigh & Chudleigh. We Have

Been Solicitors For The Chetneys For The Last Two Hundred Years.

Nothing,  No Matter How Unimportant,  Which Concerns Lord Edam And His

Two Sons Is Unknown To Us,  And Naturally We Are Acquainted With Every

Detail Of The Terrible Catastrophe Of Last Night."

The Baronet,  Bewildered But Eager,  Sank Back Into His Chair.

"Will You Be Long,  Sir?" He Demanded.

"I Shall Endeavor To Be Brief," Said The Young Solicitor; "And," He

Added,  In A Tone Which Gave His Words Almost The Weight Of A Threat,

"I Promise To Be Interesting."

"There Is No Need To Promise That," Said Sir Andrew,  "I Find It Much

Too Interesting As It Is." He Glanced Ruefully At The Clock And

Turned His Eyes Quickly From It.

"Tell The Driver Of That Hansom," He Called To The Servant,  "That I

Take Him By The Hour."

"For The Last Three Days," Began Young Mr. Chudleigh,  "As You Have

Probably Read In The Daily Papers,  The Marquis Of Edam Has Been At

The Point Of Death,  And His Physicians Have Never Left His House.

Every Hour He Seemed To Grow Weaker; But Although His Bodily Strength

Is Apparently Leaving Him Forever,  His Mind Has Remained Clear And

Active. Late Yesterday Evening,  Word Was Received At Our Office That

He Wished My Father To Come At Once To Chetney House And To Bring

With Him Certain Papers. What These Papers Were Is Not Essential; I

Mention Them Only To Explain How It Was That Last Night I Happened To

Be At Lord Edam's Bedside. I Accompanied My Father To Chetney House,

But At The Time We Reached There Lord Edam Was Sleeping,  And His

Physicians Refused To Have Him Awakened. My Father Urged That He

Should Be Allowed To Receive Lord Edam's Instructions Concerning The

Documents,  But The Physicians Would Not Disturb Him,  And We All

Gathered In The Library To Wait Until He Should Awake Of His Own

Accord. It Was About One O'clock In The Morning,  While We Were Still

There,  That Inspector Lyle And The Officers From Scotland Yard Came

To Arrest Lord Arthur On The Charge Of Murdering His Brother. You Can

Imagine Our Dismay And Distress. Like Everyone Else,  I Had Learned

From The Afternoon Papers That Lord Chetney Was Not Dead,  But That He

Had Returned To England,  And,  On Arriving At Chetney House,  I Had

Been Told That Lord Arthur Had Gone To The Bath Hotel To Look For His

Brother And To Inform Him That If He Wished To See Their Father Alive

He Must Come To Him At Once. Although It Was Now Past One O'clock,

Arthur Had Not Returned. None Of Us Knew Where Madame Zichy Lived,  So

We Could Not Go To Recover Lord Chetney's Body. We Spent A Most

Miserable Night,  Hastening To The Window Whenever A Cab Came Into The

Square,  In The Hope That It Was Arthur Returning,  And Endeavoring To

Explain Away The Facts That Pointed To Him As The Murderer. I Am A

Friend Of Arthur's,  I Was With Him At Harrow And At Oxford,  And I

Refused To Believe For An Instant That He Was Capable Of Such A

Crime; But As A Lawyer I Could Not Help But See That The

Circumstantial Evidence Was Strongly Against Him.

"Toward Early Morning,  Lord Edam Awoke,  And In So Much Better A State

Of Health That He Refused To Make The Changes In The Papers Which He

Had Intended,  Declaring That He Was No Nearer Death Than Ourselves.

Under Other Circumstances,  This Happy Change In Him Would Have

Relieved Us Greatly,  But None Of Us Could Think Of Anything Save The

Death Of His Elder Son And Of The Charge Which Hung Over Arthur.

"As Long As Inspector Lyle Remained In The House,  My Father Decided

That I,  As One Of The Legal Advisers Of The Family,  Should Also

Remain There. But There Was Little For Either Of Us To Do. Arthur Did

Not Return,  And Nothing Occurred Until Late This Morning,  When Lyle

Received Word That The Russian Servant Had Been Arrested. He At Once

Drove To Scotland Yard To Question Him. He Came Back To Us In An

Hour,  And Informed Me That The Servant Had Refused To Tell Anything

Of What Had Happened The Night Before,  Or Of Himself,  Or Of The

Princess Zichy. He Would Not Even Give Them The Address Of Her House.

"'He Is In Abject Terror,' Lyle Said. 'I Assured Him That He Was Not

Suspected Of The Crime,  But He Would Tell Me Nothing.'

"There Were No Other Developments Until Two O'clock This Afternoon,

When Word Was Brought To Us That Arthur Had Been Found,  And That He

Was Lying In The Accident-Ward Of St. George's Hospital. Lyle And I

Drove There Together,  And Found Him Propped Up In Bed With His Head

Bound In A Bandage. He Had Been Brought To The Hospital The Night

Before By The Driver Of A Hansom That Had Run Over Him In The Fog.

The Cab-Horse Had Kicked Him On The Head,  And He Had Been Carried In

Unconscious. There Was Nothing On Him To Tell Who He Was,  And It Was

Not Until He Came To His Senses This Afternoon That The Hospital

Authorities Had Been Able To Send Word To His People. Lyle At Once

Informed Him That He Was Under Arrest,  And With What He Was Charged,

And Though The Inspector Warned Him To Say Nothing Which Might Be

Used Against Him,  I,  As His Solicitor,  Instructed Him To Speak Freely

And To Tell Us All He Knew Of The Occurrences Of Last Night. It Was

Evident To Anyone That The Fact Of His Brother's Death Was Of Much

Greater Concern To Him Than That He Was Accused Of His Murder.

"'That,' Arthur Said,  Contemptuously,  'That Is Damned Nonsense. It Is

Monstrous And Cruel. We Parted Better Friends Than We Have Been In

Years. I Will Tell You All That Happened--Not To Clear Myself,  But To

Help You To Find Out The Truth.' His Story Is As Follows: Yesterday

Afternoon,  Owing To His Constant Attendance On His Father,  He Did Not

Look At The Evening Papers,  And It Was Not Until After Dinner,  When

The Butler Brought Him One And Told Him Of Its Contents,  That He

Learned That His Brother Was Alive And At The Bath Hotel. He Drove

There At Once,  But Was Told That About Eight O'clock His Brother Had

Gone Out,  But Without Giving Any Clew To His Destination. As Chetney

Had Not At Once Come To See His Father,  Arthur Decided That He Was

Still Angry With Him,  And His Mind,  Turning Naturally To The Cause Of

Their Quarrel,  Determined Him To Look For Chetney At The Home Of The

Princess Zichy.

"Her House Had Been Pointed Out To Him,  And Though He Had Never

Visited It,  He Had Passed It Many Times And Knew Its Exact Location.

He Accordingly Drove In That Direction,  As Far As The Fog Would

Permit The Hansom To Go,  And Walked The Rest Of The Way,  Reaching The

House About Nine O'clock. He Rang,  And Was Admitted By The Russian

Servant. The Man Took His Card Into The Drawing-Room,  And At Once His

Brother Ran Out And Welcomed Him. He Was Followed By The Princess

Zichy,  Who Also Received Arthur Most Cordially.

"'You Brothers Will Have Much To Talk About,' She Said. 'I Am Going

To The Dining-Room. When You Have Finished,  Let Me Know.'

"As Soon As She Had Left Them,  Arthur Told His Brother That Their

Father Was Not Expected To Outlive The Night,  And That He Must Come

To Him At Once.

"'This Is Not The Moment To Remember Your Quarrel,' Arthur Said To

Him; 'You Have Come Back From The Dead Only In Time To Make Your

Peace With Him Before He Dies.'

"Arthur Says That At This Chetney Was Greatly Moved.

"'You Entirely Misunderstand Me,  Arthur,' He Returned. 'I Did Not

Know The Governor Was Ill,  Or I Would Have Gone To Him The Instant I

Arrived. My Only Reason For Not Doing So Was Because I Thought He Was

Still Angry With Me. I Shall Return With You Immediately,  As Soon As

I Have Said Good-By To The Princess. It Is A Final Good-By. After To-

Night I Shall Never See Her Again.'

"'Do You Mean That?' Arthur Cried.

"'Yes,' Chetney Answered. 'When I Returned To London I Had No

Intention Of Seeking Her Again,  And I Am Here Only Through A

Mistake.' He Then Told Arthur That He Had Separated From The Princess

Even Before He Went To Central Africa,  And That,  Moreover,  While At

Cairo On His Way South,  He Had Learned Certain Facts Concerning Her

Life There During The Previous Season,  Which Made It Impossible For

Him To Ever Wish To See Her Again. Their Separation Was Final And

Complete.

"'She Deceived Me Cruelly,' He Said; 'I Cannot Tell You How Cruelly.

During The Two Years When I Was Trying To Obtain My Father's Consent

To Our Marriage She Was In Love With A Russian Diplomat. During All

That Time He Was Secretly Visiting Her Here In London,  And Her Trip

To Cairo Was Only An Excuse To Meet Him There.'

"'Yet You Are Here With Her To-Night,' Arthur Protested,  'Only A Few

Hours After Your Return.'

"'That Is Easily Explained,' Chetney Answered. 'As I Finished Dinner

To-Night At The Hotel,  I Received A Note From Her From This Address.

In It She Said She Had Just Learned Of My Arrival,  And Begged Me To

Come To Her At Once. She Wrote That She Was In Great And Present

Trouble,  Dying Of An Incurable Illness,  And Without Friends Or Money.

She Begged Me,  For The Sake Of Old Times,  To Come To Her Assistance.

During The Last Two Years In The Jungle All