IITHE ADVENTURE OF THE DORRINGTON RUBY SEAL
"Lord Dorrington, as you may have heard," said Raffles Holmes, leaning backin my easy-chair and gazing reflectively up at the ceiling, "was chieflyfamous in England as a sporting peer. His vast estates, in five counties,were always open to any sportsman of renown, or otherwise, as long as he wasa true sportsman. So open, indeed, was the house that he kept that, whetherhe was there or not, little week-end parties of members of the sportingfraternity used to be got up at a moment's notice to run down to DorringtonCastle, Devonshire; to Dorrington Lodge on the Isle of Wight; to DorringtonHall, near Dublin, or to any other country place for over Sunday.
"Sometimes there'd be a lot of turf people: sometimes a dozen or moredevotes of the prize-ring; not infrequently a gathering of the best-knowncricketers of the time, among whom, of course, my grandfather, A. J.Raffles, was conspicuous. For the most part, the cricketers never partook ofDorrington's hospitality save when his lordship was present, for yourcricket-player is a bit more punctilious in such matters than your turfmenor ring-side habitues. It so happened one year, however, that his lordshipwas absent from England for the better part of eight months, and, when thetime came for the annual cricket gathering at his Devonshire place, hecabled his London representative to see to it that everything was carried onjust as if he were present, and that every one should be invited for theusual week's play and pleasure at Dorrington Castle. His instructions werecarried out to the letter, and, save for the fact that the genial host wasabsent, the house-part went through to perfection. My grandfather, as usual,was the life of the occasion, and all went merry as a marriage-bell. Sevenmonths later, Lord Dorrington returned, and a week after that, the loss ofthe Dorrington jewels from the Devonshire strong-boxes was a matter ofcommon knowledge. When, or by whom, they had been taken was an absolutemystery. As far as anybody could find out, they might have been taken thenight before his return, or the night after his departure. The only fact insight was that they were gone--Lady Dorrington's diamonds, a half-dozenvaluable jewelled rings belonging to his lordship, and, most irremediable oflosses, the famous ruby seal which George IV had given to Dorrington'sgrandfather, Sir Arthur Deering, as a token of his personal esteem duringthe period of the Regency. This was a flawless ruby, valued at some six orseven thousand pounds sterling, in which had been cut the Deering armssurrounded by a garter upon which were engraved the words, 'Deering Ton,'which the family, upon Sir Arthur's elevation to the peerage in 1836, tookas its title, or Dorrington. His lordship was almost prostrated by the loss.The diamonds and the rings, although valued at thirty thousand pounds, hecould easily replace, but the personal associations of the seal were suchthat nothing, no amount of money, could duplicate the lost ruby."
"So that his first act," I broke in, breathlessly, "was to send for--"
"Sherlock Holmes, my father," said Raffles Holmes. "Yes, Mr. Jenkins, thefirst thing Lord Dorrington did was to telegraph to London for SherlockHolmes, requesting him to come immediately to Dorrington Castle and assumecharge of the case. Needless to say, Mr. Holmes dropped everything else andcame. He inspected the gardens, measured the road from the railway stationto the castle, questioned all the servants; was particularly insistent uponknowing where the parlor-maid was on the 13th of January; secured accurateinformation as to the personal habits of his lordship's dachshund Nicholas;subjected the chef to a cross-examination that covered every point of hislife, from his remote ancestry to his receipt for baking apples; gathered upthree suit-cases of sweeping from his lordship's private apartment, and twoboxes containing three each of every variety of cigars that Lord Dorringtonhad laid down in his cellar. As you are aware, Sherlock Holmes, in hisprime, was a great master of detail. He then departed for London, takingwith him an impression in wax of the missing seal, which Lord Dorringtonhappened to have preserved in his escritoire.
"On his return to London, Holmes inspected the seal carefully under amagnifying-glass, and was instantly impressed with the fact that it was notunfamiliar to him. He had seen it somewhere before, but where? That was nowthe question upper-most in his mind. Prior to this, he had never had anycommunication with Lord Dorrington, so that, if it was in his correspondencethat the seal had formerly come to him, most assuredly the person who hadused it had come by it dishonestly. Fortunately, at that time, it was ahabit of my father's never to destroy papers of any sort. Every letter thathe ever received was classified and filed, envelope and all. The thing todo, then, was manifestly to run over the files and find the letter, ifindeed it was in or on a letter that the seal had first come to hisattention. It was a herculean job, but that never feazed Sherlock Holmes,and he went at it tooth and nail. Finally his effort was rewarded. Under'Applications for Autograph' he found a daintily-scented little missive froma young girl living at Goring-Streatley on the Thames, the daughter, shesaid, of a retired missionary--the Reverend James Tattersby--asking him ifhe would not kindly write his autograph upon the enclosed slip for hercollection. It was the regular stock application that truly distinguishedmen receive in every mail. The only thing to distinguish it from otherapplications was the beauty of the seal on the fly of the envelope, whichattracted his passing notice and was then filed away with the other lettersof similar import.
"'Ho! ho!' quoth Holmes, as he compared the two impressions and discoveredthat they were identical. 'An innocent little maiden who collectsautographs, and a retired missionary in possession of the Dorrington seal,eh? Well, that _is_ interesting. I think I shall run down to Goring-Streatley over Sunday and meets Miss Marjorie Tattersby and her reverendfather. I'd like to see to what style of people I have intrusted myautograph.'
"To decide was to act with Sherlock Holmes, and the following Saturday,hiring a canoe at Windsor, he made his way up the river until he came to thepretty little hamlet, snuggling in the Thames Valley, if such it may becalled, where the young lady and her good father were dwelling. Fortunefavored him in that his prey was still there--both much respected by thewhole community; the father a fine looking, really splendid specimen of aman whose presence alone carried a conviction of integrity and a lofty man;the daughter--well, to see her was to love her, and the moment the eyes ofSherlock fell upon her face that great heart of his, that had ever beenadamant to beauty, a very Gibraltar against the wiles of the other sex, wentdown in the chaos of a first and overwhelming passion. So hard hit was he byMiss Tattersby's beauty that his chief thought now was to avert rather thanto direct suspicion towards her. After all, she might have come intopossession of the jewel honestly, though how the daughter of a retiredmissionary, considering its intrinsic value, could manage such a thing, waspretty hard to understand, and he fled back to London to think it over.Arrived there, he found an invitation to visit Dorrington Castle againincog. Lord Dorrington was to have a mixed week-end party over the followingSunday, and this, he thought, would give Holmes an opportunity to observethe characteristics of Dorrington's visitors and possibly gain thereforesome clew as to the light-fingered person from whose depredations hislordship had suffered. The idea commended itself to Holmes, and in thedisguise of a young American clergyman, whom Dorrington had met in theStates, the following Friday found him at Dorrington Castle.
"Well, to make a long story short," said Raffles Holmes, "the youngclergyman was introduced to many of the leading sportsmen of the hour, and,for the most part, they passed muster, but one of them did not, and that wasthe well-known cricketer A. J. Raffles, for the moment Raffles entered theroom, jovially greeting everybody about him, and was presented to LordDorrington's new guest, Sherlock Holmes recognized in him no less a personthat the Reverend James Tattersby, retired missionary of Goring-Streatley-on-Thames, and the father of the woman who had filled his soul with love andyearning of the truest sort. The problem was solved. Raffles was, to allintents and purposes, caught with the goods on. Holmes could have exposedhim then and there had he chosen to do so, but every time it came to thepoint the lovely face of Marjorie Tattersby came between him and hispurpose.
How could he inflict the pain and shame which the exposure of herfather's misconduct would certainly entail upon that fair woman, whosebeauty and fresh innocence had taken so strong a hold upon his heart? No--that was out of the question. The thing to do, clearly was to visit MissTattersby during her father's absence, and, if possible, ascertain from justhow she had come into possession of the seal, before taking further steps inthe matter. This he did. Making sure, to begin with, that Raffles was toremain at Dorrington Hall for the coming ten days, Holmes had himselftelegraphed for and returned to London. There he wrote himself a letter ofintroduction to the Reverend James Tattersby, on the paper of the Anglo-American Missionary Society, a sheet of which he secured in the publicwriting-room of that institution, armed with which he returned to thebeautiful little spot on the Thames where the Tattersbys abode. He spent thenight at the inn, and, in conversation with the landlord and boatmen,learned much that was interesting concerning the Reverend James. Among otherthings, he discovered that this gentleman and his daughter had beenrespected residents of the place for three years; that Tattersby was rarelyseen in the daytime about the place; that he was unusually fond of canoeingat night, which, he said, gave him the quiet and solitude necessary for thatreflection which is so essential to the spiritual being of a minister ofgrace; that he frequently indulged in long absences, during which time itwas supposed that he was engaged in the work of his calling. He appeared tobe a man of some, but not lavish, means. The most notable and suggestivething, however, that Holmes ascertained in his conversation with the boatmenwas that, at the time of the famous Cliveden robbery, when several thousandpounds' worth of plate had been taken from the great hall, that later fellinto the possession of a well-known American hotel-keeper, Tattersby, whohappened to be on the river late that night, was, according to his ownstatement, the unconscious witness of the escape of the thieves on board amysterious steam-launch, which the police were never able afterwards tolocate. They had nearly upset his canoe with the wash of their rapidlymoving craft as they sped past him after having stowed their loot safely onboard. Tattersby had supposed them to be employes of the estate, and nevergave the matter another thought until three days later, when the news of therobbery was published to the world. He had immediately communicated the newsof what he had seen to the police, and had done all that lay in his power toaid them in locating the robbers, but all to no purpose. From that day tothis the mystery of the Cliveden plot had never been solved.
"The following day Holmes called at the Tattersby cottage, and was fortunateenough to find Miss Tattersby at home. His previous impression as to hermarvellous beauty was more than confirmed, and each moment that he talked toher she revealed new graces of manner that completed the capture of hishitherto unsusceptible heart. Miss Tattersby regretted her father's absence.He had gone, she said, to attend a secret missionary conference atPentwllycod in Wales, and was not expected back for a week, all of whichquite suited Sherlock Holmes. Convinced that, after years of waiting, hisaffinity had at last crossed his path, he was in no hurry for the return ofthat parent, who would put an instant quietus upon this affair of the heart.Manifestly the thing for him to do was to win the daughter's hand, and thenintercept the father, acquaint him with his aspirations, and compelacquiescence by the force of his knowledge of Raffles's misdeed. Hence,instead of taking his departure immediately, he remained at the Goring-Streatley Inn, taking care each day to encounter Miss Tattersby on onepretext or another, hoping that their acquaintance would ripen intofriendship, and then into something warmer. Nor was the hope a vain one, forwhen the fair Marjorie learned that it was the visitor's intention to remainin the neighborhood until her father's return, she herself bade him to makeuse of the old gentleman's library, to regard himself always as a welcomedaytime guest. She even suggested pleasant walks through the neighboringcountry, little canoe trips up and down the Thames, which they might taketogether, of all of which Holmes promptly availed himself, with the resultthat, at the end of six days, both realized that they were designed for eachother, and a passionate declaration followed which opened new vistas ofhappiness for both. Hence it was that, when the Reverend James Tattersbyarrived at Goring-Streatley the following Monday night, unexpectedly, he wasastounded to find sitting together in the moonlight, in the charming littleEnglish garden at the rear of his dwelling, two persons, one of whom was hisdaughter Marjorie and the other a young American curate to whom he hadalready been introduced as A. J. Raffles.
"'We have met before, I think,' said Raffles, coldly, as his eye fell uponHolmes.
"'I--er--do not recall the fact,' replied Holmes, meeting the steely stareof the home-comer with one of his own flinty glances.
"'H'm!' ejaculated Raffles, non-plussed at the other's failure to recognizehim. Then he shivered slightly. 'Suppose we go in-doors, it is a triflechilly out here in the night air.'
"The whole thing, the greeting, the meeting, Holmes's demeanor and all, wasso admirably handled that Marjorie Tattersby never guessed the truth, nevereven suspected the intense dramatic quality of the scene she had just gazedupon.
"'Yes, let us go in-doors,' she acquiesced. 'Mr. Dutton has something to sayto you, papa.'
"'So I presumed,' said Raffles, dryly. 'And something that were better saidto me alone, I fancy, eh?' he added.
"'Quite so,' said Holmes, calmly. And in-doors they went. Marjorieimmediately retired to the drawing-room, and Holmes and Raffles went at onceto Tattersby's study.
"'Well?' said Raffles, impatiently, when they were seated. 'I suppose youhave come to get the Dorrington seal, Mr. Holmes.'
"'Ah--you know me, then, Mr. Raffles?' said Holmes, with a pleasant smile.
"'Perfectly,' said Raffles. 'I knew you at Dorrington Hall the moment I seteyes on you, and, if I hadn't, I should have known later, for the nightafter your departure Lord Dorrington took me into his confidence andrevealed your identity to me.'
"'I am glad,' said Holmes. 'It saves me a great deal of unnecessaryexplanation. If you admit that you have the seal--"
"'But I don't,' said Raffles. 'I mentioned it a moment ago, becauseDorrington told me that was what you were after. I haven't got it, Mr.Holmes.'
"'I know that,' observed Holmes, quietly. 'It is in the possession of MissTattersby, your daughter, Mr. Raffles.'
"'She showed it to you, eh?' demanded Raffles, paling.
"'No. She sealed a note to me with it, however,' Holmes replied.
"'A note to you?' cried Raffles.
"'Yes. One asking for my autograph. I have it in my possession,' saidHolmes.
"'And how do you know that she is the person from whom that note reallycame?' Raffles asked.
"'Because I have seen the autograph which was sent in response to thatrequest in your daughter's collection, Mr. Raffles,' said Holmes.
"'So that you conclude--?' Raffles put in, hoarsely.
"'I do not conclude; I begin by surmising, sir, that the missing seal ofLord Dorrington was stolen by one of two persons--yourself or Miss MarjorieTattersby,' said Holmes, calmly.
"'Sir!' roared Raffles, springing to his feet menacingly.
"'Sit down, please,' said Holmes. 'You did not let me finish. I was going toadd, Dr. Tattersby, that a week's acquaintance with that lovely woman, afull knowledge of her peculiarly exalted character and guileless nature,makes the alternative of guilt that affects her integrity clearlypreposterous, which, by a very simple process of elimination, fastens theguilt, beyond all peradventure, on your shoulders. At any rate, the presenceof the seal in this house will involve you in difficult explanations. Why isit here? How did it come here? Why are you known as the Reverend JamesTattersby, the missionary, at Goring-Streatley, and as Mr. A. J. Raffles,the cricketer and man of the world, at Dorrington Hall, to say nothing ofthe Cliveden plate--'
"'Damnation!' roared the Reverend James Tattersby again, springing to hisfeet and glancing instinctively at the long low book-shelves behind him.
"'To say nothing,' continued Holmes, calmly lighting a ciga
rette, 'of theCliveden plate now lying concealed behind those dusty theological tomes ofyours which you never allow to be touched by any other hand than your own.'
"'How did you know?' cried Raffles, hoarsely.
"'I didn't,' laughed Holmes. 'You have only this moment informed me of thefact!'
"There was a long pause, during which Raffles paced the floor like a cagedtiger.
"'I'm a dangerous man to trifle with, Mr. Holmes,' he said, finally. 'I canshoot you down in cold blood in a second.'
"'Very likely,' said Holmes. 'But you won't. It would add to thedifficulties in which the Reverend James Tattersby is already deeplyimmersed. Your troubles are sufficient, as matters stand, without yourhaving to explain to the world why you have killed a defenceless guest inyour own study in cold blood.
"'Well--what do you propose to do?' demanded Raffles, after another pause.
"'Marry your daughter, Mr. Raffles, or Tattersby, whatever your permanentname is--I guess it's Tattersby in this case,' said Holmes. 'I love her andshe loves me. Perhaps I should apologize for having wooed and won herwithout due notice to you, but you doubtless will forgive that. It's alittle formality you sometimes overlook yourself when you happen to wantsomething that belongs to somebody else.'
"What Raffles would have answered no one knows. He had no chance to reply,for at that moment Marjorie herself put her radiantly lovely little head inat the door with a 'May I come in?' and a moment later she was gathered inHolmes's arms, and the happy lovers received the Reverend James Tattersby'sblessing. They were married a week later, and, as far as the world isconcerned, the mystery of the Dorrington seal and that of the Cliveden platewas never solved.
"'It is compounding a felony, Raffles,' said Holmes, after the wedding, 'butfor a wife like that, hanged if I wouldn't compound the ten commandments!'
"I hope," I ventured to put in at that point, "that the marriage ceremonywas not performed by the Reverend James Tattersby."
"Not on your life!" retorted Raffles Holmes. "My father was too fond of mymother to permit of any flaw in his title. A year later I was born, and--well, here I am--son of one, grandson of the other, with hereditary traitsfrom both strongly developed and ready for business. I want a literarypartner--a man who will write me up as Bunny did Raffles, and Watson didHolmes, so that I may get a percentage on that part of the swag. I offer youthe job, Jenkins. Those royalty statements show me that you are the man, andyour books prove to me that you need a few fresh ideas. Come, what do yousay? Will you do it?"
"My boy," said I, enthusiastically, "don't say another word. Will I? Well,just try me!"
And so it was that Raffles Holmes and I struck a bargain and becamepartners.