CHAPTER XXVI
THE AMAZEMENT OF SIR HARRY BRACE
'A private inquiry agent!' Sir Harry jumped up from his chair with anangry look, and a sharp ejaculation, neither of which disturbed hisvisitor. With his red bandanna handkerchief spread on his knees, and hisstraw hat resting on the handkerchief, Baltic looked at his flushed hostcalmly and solemnly without moving a muscle, or even winking an eye.Brace did not know whether to treat the ex-sailor as a madman or as animpudent impostor. The situation was almost embarrassing.
'What do you mean, sir,' he asked angrily, 'by coming to me with acock-and-bull story about your conversion, and then telling me that youare a private inquiry agent, which is little less than a spy?'
'Is it impossible for such a one to be a Christian, Sir Harry?'
'I should think so. One who earns his living by sneaking can scarcelyact up to the ethics of the Gospels.'
'I don't earn my living by sneaking,' replied Baltic, coolly. 'If I did,I shouldn't explain my business to you as I have done--as I am doing. Mywork is honourable enough, sir, for I am ranged against evil-doers, andit is my duty to bring their works to naught. There is no need for me todefend my profession to anyone but you, Sir Harry, as no one butyourself, and perhaps two other people, know what I really am.'
'They shall know it,' spoke Sir Harry, hastily. 'All Beorminster shallknow of it. We don't care for wolves in sheep's clothing here.'
'Better be sure that I am a wolf before you talk rashly,' said Baltic,in no wise disturbed. 'I came here to speak to you openly, because yousaved my life, and that debt I wish to square. And let me tell you,sir, that it isn't Christianity, or even justice, to hear one side ofthe question and not the other.'
Harry looked puzzled. 'You are an enigma to me, Baltic.'
'I am here to explain myself, sir. As your hand dashed aside the knifeof that Kanaka you have a claim on my confidence. You'll be a sad manand a glad man when you hear my story, sir.'
Harry resumed his seat, shrugged his shoulders, and took a leisurelylook at his self-possessed visitor. 'Sad and glad are contradictoryterms, my friend,' said he, carelessly. 'I would rather you explainedriddles than propounded them.'
'Sir Harry! Sir Harry! it is the riddle of man's life upon this earththat I am trying to explain.'
'You have set yourself a hard task, Baltic, for so far as I can see,there is no reading of that riddle.'
'Save by the light of the Gospel, sir, which makes all things plain.'
'Baltic,' said Brace, bluntly, 'there is that about you which would makeme sorry to find you a Pharisee or a hypocrite. Therefore, if youplease, we will stop religion and allegory, and come to plainmatter-of-fact. When I knew you in Samoa, you were a sailor without aship.'
'Add a castaway and a child of the devil, sir, and you will describe meas I was then,' burst out Baltic, in his deep voice. 'Hear me, SirHarry, and gauge me as I should be gauged. I was, as you know, adrunken, godless, swearing dog, in the grip of Satan as fuel for hell;but when you saved my worthless life I saw that it behoved me, as itdoes all men, to repent. I sought out a missionary, who heard my storyand set my feet in the right path. I listened to his preaching, I readthe Good Book, and so learned how I could be saved. The missionary mademe his fellow-labourer in the islands, and I strove to bring the poorheathen to the foot of the cross. For three years I laboured there,until it was borne in upon me that I was called upon by the Spirit tolabour in the greater vineyard of London. Therefore, I came to Englandand looked round to see what task was fittest for my hand. On everyside I saw evil prosper. The wicked, as I noted, flourished like a greenbay tree; so, to bring them to repentance and punishment, I became aprivate inquiry agent.'
'Humph! that is a novel kind of missionary enterprise, Baltic.'
'It is a righteous one, Sir Harry. I search out iniquities; I snare thewicked man in his own nets; I make void the devices of his evil heart.If I cannot prevent crimes, I can at least punish them by bringing theirdoers within the grip of the law. Then when punished by man, they repentand turn to God, and thereby are saved through their own lusts.'
'Not in many cases, I am afraid. So you regard yourself as a kind ofscourge for the wicked?'
'Yes! When I state that I am a missionary, I regard myself as one whoworks in a new way.'
'A kind of _fin-de-siecle_ apostle, in fact,' said Brace, dryly. 'Butisn't the term "missionary" rather a misnomer?'
'No!' replied Baltic, earnestly. 'I do my work in a different way, thatis all. I baffle the wicked, and by showing them the futility of sin,induce them to lead a new life. I make them fall, only to aid them torise; for when all is lost, their hearts soften.'
'You give them a kind of Hobson's choice, I see,' commented Sir Harry,who was puzzled by the man's conception of his work, but saw that hespoke in all seriousness. 'Well, Baltic, it is a queer way of callingsinners to repentance, and I can't understand it myself.'
'My method of conversion is certainly open to misconstruction, sir. Thatis why I term myself rather a missionary than a private inquiry agent.'
'I see; you don't wish to scare your promising flock of criminals. Doesanyone here know that you are a private inquiry agent?'
'Mr Cargrim does,' said the ex-sailor, calmly, 'and one other.'
Harry leaned forward with an incredulous look. 'Cargrim knows,' he saidin utter amazement. 'I should think he would be the last man to approveof your ideas, with his narrow views and clerical red-tapism.''Perhaps, so, sir; but in this case my views happen to fall in with hisown. I came to see you, Sir Harry, in order to ease my mind on thatpoint.'
'In order to ease your mind!' repeated Brace, with a keen look. 'Go on.'
'Sir Harry, I speak to you in confidence about Mr Cargrim. I do not likethat man, sir.'
'You belong to the majority, then, Baltic. Few people like Cargrim, ortrust him. But what is he to you?'
'My employer. Yes, sir, you may well look astonished. Mr Cargrim askedme down to Beorminster for a certain purpose.'
'Connected with his self-aggrandisement, no doubt.'
'That I cannot tell you, Sir Harry, as Mr Cargrim has not told me hismotive for engaging me in my business capacity. All I know is that hewishes me to discover who killed a man called Jentham.'
'The deuce!' Harry jumped up with an excited look. 'Why is he taking thetrouble to do that?'
'I can't say, sir, unless it is that he dislikes Bishop Pendle!'
'Dislikes Bishop Pendle, man! And what has all this to do with themurder of Jentham?'
'Sir,' said Baltic, with a cautious glance around, and sinking his voiceto a whisper, 'Mr Cargrim suspects Dr Pendle of the crime.'
'What!!!' Sir Harry turned the colour of chalk, and sprang back until healmost touched the wall. 'You hound!' said he, speaking with unnaturalcalmness, 'do you dare to sit there and tell me that you have come hereto watch the bishop?'
'Yes, Sir Harry,' was Baltic's stolid rejoinder, 'and calling me nameswon't do away with the fact.'
'Does Cargrim believe that the bishop killed this man?'
'Yes, sir, he does, and wishes me to bring the crime home to him.'
'Curse you!' roared Harry, striding across the room, and towering overthe unmoved Baltic, 'I'll wring your neck, sir, if you dare to hint atsuch a thing.' 'I am merely stating facts, Sir Harry--facts,' he addedpointedly, 'which I wish you to know.'
'For what purpose.'
'That you may assist me.'
'To hunt down the bishop, I suppose,' said Sir Harry, quivering withrage.
'No, sir, to save the bishop from Mr Cargrim.'
'Then you do not believe that the bishop is guilty.'
'Sir,' said Baltic, with dignity, 'in London and in Beorminster I havecollected certain evidence which, on the face of it, incriminates thebishop. But since knowing Dr Pendle I have been observant of his looksand demeanour, and--after much thought--I have come to the conclusionthat he is innocent of this crime which Mr Cargrim lays to his charge.It is because of this belief that
I tell you my mind and seek yourassistance. We must work together, sir, and discover the real criminalso as to baffle Mr Cargrim.'
'Cargrim, Cargrim,' repeated Brace, angrily, 'he is a bad lot.'
'That is what I say, Sir Harry. He is one who spreads a snare, and Iwish him to be taken in it himself.'
'Yet Cargrim is your employer, and pays you,' sneered Sir Harry.
'You are wrong,' replied Baltic, quietly. 'I do not take payment for mywork.'
'How do you live then? You were not independent when I knew you.'
'That is true, Sir Harry, but when I arrived in England I found that myfather was dead, and had left me sufficient to live upon. Therefore Itake no fee for my work, but labour to punish the wicked, for religion'ssake.'
Brace muttered something about the heat, and wiped his forehead as heresumed his seat. The peculiar views held by Baltic perplexed himgreatly, and he could not reconcile the man's desire to capturecriminals with his belief in a religion, the keynote of which is, 'Godis love.' Evidently Baltic wished to convert sinners by playing on theirfears rather than by appealing to their religious feelings, although itwas certainly true that those rascals with whom he had to deal probablyhad no elements of belief whatsoever in their seared minds.
But be this as it may, Baltic's mission was both novel and strange, andmight in some degree prove successful from its very originality.Torquemada burned bodies to save souls, but this man exposed vices, sothat those who committed them, being banned by the law, and madeoutcasts from civilisation, should find no friend but the Deity. Harrywas not clever enough to understand the ethics of this conception,therefore he abandoned any attempt to do so, and treating Baltic purelyas an ordinary detective, addressed himself to the task of arriving atthe evidence which was said to inculpate Dr Pendle in the murder ofJentham. The ex-sailor accepted the common ground of argument, and inhis turn abandoned theology for the business of everyday life. Commonsense was needed to expose and abase and overturn those criminals whosetalents enabled them to conceal their wickedness; proselytism couldfollow in due course. There was the germ of a new sect in Baltic'sconception of Christianity as a terrorising religion.
'Let me hear your evidence against the bishop,' said Sir Harry, calm andbusiness-like.
Baltic complied with this request and gave the outlines of the case inbarren detail. 'Sir,' said he, gravely, 'some weeks ago, while there wasa reception at the palace, this man Jentham called to see the bishop andevidently attempted to blackmail him on account of some secret.Afterwards Jentham, not being able to pay for his board and lodging atThe Derby Winner, promised Mosk, the landlord, that he would dischargehis bill shortly, as he expected the next week to receive much money.From whom he did not say, but while drunk he boasted that SouthberryHeath was Tom Tiddler's ground, on which he could pick up gold andsilver. In the meantime, Bishop Pendle went up to London and drew out ofthe Ophir Bank a sum of two hundred pounds, in twenty ten-pound notes.With this money he returned to Beorminster and kept an appointment, onthe common, with Jentham, when returning on Sunday night fromSouthberry. Whether he paid him the blackmail I cannot say; whether hekilled the man no one can declare honestly; but it is undoubtedly truethat, the next morning, Jentham, whom the bishop regarded as his enemy,was found dead. These, sir, are the bare facts of the case, and, as youcan see, they certainly appear to inculpate Dr Pendle in the crime.'
This calm and pitiless statement chilled Sir Harry's blood. Although hecould not bring himself to believe that the bishop was guilty, yet hesaw plainly enough that the evidence tended, almost beyond all doubt, toincriminate the prelate. Yet there might be flaws even in so complete anindictment, and Harry, seeking for them, began eagerly to questionBaltic.
'Who told you all this?' he demanded with some apprehension.
'Mr Cargrim told me some parts, and I found out others for myself, sir.'
'Does Cargrim know the nature of Dr Pendle's secret?'
'Not that I know of, Sir Harry.'
'Is he certain that there is one?'
'Quite certain,' replied Baltic, emphatically; 'if only on account ofJentham's boast about being able to get money, and the fact that BishopPendle went up to London to procure the blackmail.'
'How does he know--how does anyone know that the bishop did so?'
'Because a butt was torn out of Dr Pendle's London cheque-book,' saidBaltic, 'and I made inquiries at the Ophir Bank, which resulted in mydiscovery that a cheque for two hundred had been drawn on the day thebishop was in town.'
'Come now, Baltic, it is not likely that any bank would give you thatinformation without a warrant; but I don't suppose you dared to procureone against his lordship.'
'Sir,' said Baltic, rolling up his red handkerchief, 'I had notsufficient evidence to procure a warrant, also I am not in the serviceof the Government, nevertheless, I have my own ways of procuringinformation, which I decline to explain. These served me so well in thisinstance that I know Bishop Pendle drew a cheque for two hundred pounds,and moreover, I have the numbers of the notes. If the money was paid toJentham, and afterwards was taken from his dead body by the assassin, Ihope to trace these notes; in which case I may capture the murderer.'
'In your character of a private inquiry agent?'
'No, Sir Harry, I cannot take that much upon myself. I mentioned thatone other person knew of my profession; that person is InspectorTinkler.'
'Man!' cried Brace, with a start, 'you have not dared to accuse thebishop to Tinkler!'
'Oh, no, sir!' rejoined the ex-sailor, composedly. 'All I have done isto tell Tinkler that I wish to hunt down the murderer of Jentham, and toinduce him to obtain for me a warrant of arrest against Mother Jael.'
'Mother Jael, the gipsy hag! You don't suspect her, surely!'
'Not of the murder; but I suspect her of knowing the truth. Tinkler gotme a warrant on the ground of her being concerned in the crime--say, asan accessory after the fact. To-morrow, Sir Harry, I ride over to thegipsy camp, and then with this warrant I intend to frighten Mother Jaelinto confessing what she knows.'
Harry smiled grimly. 'If you get the truth out of her you will be aclever man, Baltic. Does the bishop know that you suspect him?'
'I don't suspect him, sir,' replied Baltic, rising, 'and the bishopknows nothing, as he believes that I am a missionary.'
'Well, you are, in your own peculiar way.'
'Thank you, Sir Harry. Only you and Mr Cargrim and Mr Tinkler are awareof the truth, and I tell you all this, sir, as I neither approve of, norbelieve in, Mr Cargrim. I am certain that Dr Pendle is innocent; MrCargrim is equally certain that he is guilty; so I am working to provethe truth, and that,' concluded the solemn Baltic, 'will not be what MrCargrim desires.'
'Good God! the man must hate the bishop.'
'Bating your taking the name of God in vain, sir, I believe he does.'
'Well, Baltic, I am greatly obliged to you for your confidence, and feelthankful that you are on our side. You can command my services in anyway you like, but keep me posted up in all you do.'
'Sir!' said Baltic, gravely, shaking hands with his host, 'you can lookupon me as your friend and well-wisher.'