CHAPTER XXXVII
INCREASES THE INTEREST
"But, dad," cried Gabrielle, "I am telling you the truth! Cannot youbelieve me, your daughter, before this man who is your enemy?"
"Because of my affliction I am, it seems, deceived by every one," washis hard response.
To where they stood had come the sound of wheels upon the gravelleddrive outside, and a moment later Hill entered, announcing, "A gentlemanto see you very urgently, Sir Henry. He is from Baron de Hetzendorf."
"From the Baron!" gasped the blind man. "I'll see him later."
"Why, it may be Hamilton!" cried Murie; who, looking through the door,saw his old friend in the corridor, and quickly called him in.
As he faced Flockart he drew himself up. The attitude of them all madeit apparent to him that something unusual was in progress.
"You've arrived at a very opportune moment, Hamilton," Murie said. "Youhave met Miss Heyburn before, and also Flockart, I believe, at LadyHeyburn's, in Paris."
"Yes, but----"
"Sir Henry," Walter said in a quiet tone, "this gentleman sent by theBaron is his secretary, the same Mr. Edgar Hamilton of whom Gabriellehas just been speaking."
"Ah, then, perhaps he can furnish us with further facts regarding thismost extraordinary statement of my daughter's," the blind man exclaimed.
"Gabrielle has just told her father the truth regarding a certain tragicoccurrence in the Forest of Pontarme. Explain to us all you know,Edgar."
"What I know," said Hamilton, "is very quickly told. Has Miss Heyburnmentioned the man Krail?"
"Yes, I have told them about him," the girl answered.
"You have, however, perhaps omitted to mention one or two small facts inconnection with the affair," he said. "Do you not remember how, on thateventful afternoon in the forest, when searching for us, you firstencountered Krail walking with this man Flockart at some distance fromthe others?"
"Yes, I recollect."
"And do you remember that when we returned to sit down to luncheonFlockart insisted that I should take the seat which was afterwardsoccupied by the unfortunate Miss Bryant? Do you recollect how I spread arug for her at that spot and preferred myself to stand? The reason oftheir invitation to me to sit there I did not discover until afterwards.That wine had been prepared for _me_, not for her."
"For you!" the girl gasped, amazed.
"Yes. The plot was undoubtedly this--"
"There was no plot," protested Flockart, interrupting. "This girl killedEdna Bryant through intense jealousy."
"I repeat that there was a foul and ingenious plot to kill me, and toentrap Miss Heyburn," Hamilton said. "It was, of course, clear that MissHeyburn was jealous of the girl, for she had written to her mothermaking threats against Miss Bryant's life. Therefore, the plot was thatI should drink the fatal wine, and that Miss Gabrielle should bedeclared to be the murderess, she having intended the wine to bepartaken of by the girl she hated with such deadly hatred. The markedcordiality of Krail and Flockart that I should take that seat arousedwithin me some misgivings, although I had never dreamed of thisdastardly and cowardly plot against me--not until I saw the result oftheir foul handiwork."
"It's a lie! You are trying to implicate Krail and myself! The girl isthe only guilty person. She placed the wine there!"
"She did not!" declared Hamilton boldly. "She was not there when thebottle was changed by Krail, but I was!"
"If what you say is true, then you deliberately stood by and allowed thegirl to drink."
"I watched Krail go to the spot where luncheon was laid out, but couldnot see what he did. If I had done so I should have saved the girl'slife. You were a few yards off, awaiting him; therefore you knew hisintentions, and you are as guilty of that girl's tragic death as he."
"What!" cried Flockart, his eyes glaring angrily, "do you declare, then,that I am a murderer?"
"You yourself are the best judge of your own guilt," answered Hamiltonmeaningly.
"I deny that Krail or myself had any hand in the affair."
"You will have an opportunity of making that denial in a criminal courtere long," remarked the Baron's secretary with a grim smile.
"What," gasped Lady Heyburn's friend, his cheeks paling in an instant,"have you been so indiscreet as to inform the police?"
"I have--a week ago. I made a statement to M. Hamard of the Surete inParis, and they have already made a discovery which you will find ofinterest and somewhat difficult to disprove."
"And pray what is that?"
Hamilton smiled again, saying, "No, my dear sir, the police will tellyou themselves all in due course. Remember, you and your precious friendplotted to kill me."
"But why, Mr. Hamilton?" inquired the blind man. "What was theirmotive?"
"A very strong one," was the reply. "I had recognised in Krail a man whohad defrauded the Baron de Hetzendorf of fifty thousand kroners, and forwhom the police were in active search, both for that and for severalother serious charges of a similar character. Krail knew this, and heand his friend--this gentleman here--had very ingeniously resolved toget rid of me by making it appear that Miss Gabrielle had poisoned me byaccident."
"A lie!" declared Flockart fiercely, though his efforts to remainimperturbed were now palpable.
"You will be given due opportunity of disproving my allegations,"Hamilton said. "You, coward that you are, placed the guilt upon aninnocent, inexperienced girl. Why? Because, with Lady Heyburn'sconnivance, you with your cunning accomplice Krail were endeavouring todiscover Sir Henry's business secrets in order, first, to operate uponthe valuable financial knowledge you would thus gain, and so make a big_coup_; and, secondly, when you had done this, it was your intention toexpose the methods of Sir Henry and his friends. Ah! don't imagine thatyou and Krail have not been very well watched of late," laughedHamilton.
"Do you allege, then, that Lady Heyburn is privy to all this?" asked theblind man in distress.
"It is not for me to judge, sir," was Hamilton's reply.
"I know! I know how I have been befooled!" cried the poor helpless man,"befooled because I am blind!"
"Not by me, Sir Henry," protested Flockart.
"By you and by every one else," he cried angrily. "But I know the truthat last--the truth how my poor little daughter has been used as aninstrument by you in your nefarious operations."
"But----"
"Hear me, I say!" went on the old man. "I ask my daughter to forgive mefor misjudging her. I now know the truth. You obtained by some means afalse key to my safe, and you copied certain documents which I hadplaced there in order to entrap any who might seek to learn my secrets.You fell into that trap, and though I confess I thought that Gabriellewas the culprit, on Murie's behalf, I only lately found out that you andyour accomplice Krail were in Greece endeavouring to profit by knowledgeobtained from here, my private house."
"Krail has been living in Auchterarder of late, it appears," Hamiltonremarked, "and it is evidently he who, gaining access to the house onenight recently, used his friend's false key, and obtained thoseconfidential Russian documents from your safe."
"No doubt," declared Sir Henry. Then, again addressing Flockart, heasked, "Where are those documents which you and your scoundrellyaccomplice have stolen, and for the return of which you are trying tomake me pay?"
"I don't know anything about them," answered Flockart sullenly, his facelivid.
"He'll know more about them when he is taken off by the two detectivesfrom Edinburgh who hold the extradition warrant," Hamilton remarked witha grim smile.
The fellow started at those words. His demeanour was that of a guiltyman. "What do you mean?" he gasped, white as death. "You--you intend togive me into custody? If you do, I warn you that Lady Heyburn willsuffer also."
"She, like Miss Gabrielle, has only been your tool," Hamilton declared."It was she who, under compulsion, has furnished you with means foryears, and whose association with you has caused something little shortof a scandal. Times without number she h
as tried to get rid of you andyour evil influence in this household, but you have always defied her.Now," he said firmly, looking the other straight in the face, "you haveupon you those stolen documents which you have, by using an assumed nameand a false address, offered to sell back to their owner, Sir Henry. Youhave threatened that if they are not purchased at the exorbitant priceyou demand you will sell them to the Russian Ministry of Finance. Thatis the way you treat your friend and benefactor, the man who is blindand helpless! Come, give them back to Sir Henry, and at once."
"You must ask Krail," stammered the man, now so cornered that allfurther excuse or denial had become impossible.
"That's unnecessary. I happen to know that those papers are in yourpocket at this moment, a fact which shows how watchful an eye we've beenkeeping upon you of late. You have brought them here so that your friendKrail may come to terms with Sir Henry for their repossession. Hearrived from London with you, and is at the 'Strathavon Arms' in thevillage, where he stayed before, and is well known."
"Flockart," demanded the blind man very seriously, "you have papers inyour possession which are mine. Return them to me."
A dead silence fell. All eyes save those of Sir Henry were turned uponthe man who until that moment had stood so defiant and so full ofsarcasm. But in an instant, at mention of Krail's presence inAuchterarder, his demeanour had suddenly changed. He was full of alarm.
"Give them to me and leave my house," Sir Henry said, holding up histhin white hand.
"I--I will--on one condition: if I may be allowed to go."
"We shall not prevent you leaving," was the Baronet's calm reply.
The man fumbled nervously in the inner pocket of his coat, and at lastbrought out a sealed and rather bulgy foolscap envelope.
"Open it, Gabrielle, and see what is within," her father said.
She obeyed, and in a few moments explained the various documents itcontained.
"Then let the man go," her father said.
"But, Sir Henry," cried Hamilton, "I object to this! Krail is down inthe village forming a plot to make you pay for the return of thosepapers. He arrived from London by the same train as this man. If weallow him to leave he will inform his accomplice, and both will escape."
Murie had his back to the door, the long window on the opposite side ofthe room being closed.
"It was a promise of Sir Henry's," declared the unhappy adventurer.
"Which will be observed when Krail has been brought face to face withSir Henry," answered Murie, at the same time calling Hill and one of thegardeners who chanced to be working on the lawn outside.
Then, with a firmness which showed that they were determined, Hamiltonand Murie conducted Flockart to a small upstairs room, where Hill andthe gardener, with the assistance of Stewart, who happened to have comeinto the kitchen, mounted guard over him.
His position, once the honoured guest at Glencardine, was the mostignominious conceivable. But Sir Henry sat in gratification that atleast he had got back those documents and saved the reputation of hisfriend Volkonski, as well as that of his co-partners.