CHAPTER XIV.
AN ADVERTISEMENT.
"I cannot wait for Dr. Leeds to come round," Hilda said the next morningat breakfast. "You and I will pay him a visit in Harley Street. I amsure that he will not grudge a quarter of an hour to hear what you havedone."
"What mystery are you two girls engaged in?" Miss Purcell asked, as sheplacidly poured out the tea.
"It is a little plot of our own, aunt," Netta said. "We are trying toget on Walter's track in our own way, and to be for a time amateurdetectives. So far we have not found any decisive clew, but I think thatwe are searching in the right direction. Please trust us entirely, andwe hope some day we shall have the triumph of bringing Walter back, safeand sound."
"I pray God that it may be so, my dear. I know that you are bothsensible girls, and not likely to get yourselves into any silly scrape."
"I don't think we are, aunt; but I am afraid that neither of us wouldconsider any scrape a foolish one that brought us even a little bitnearer to the object of our search. At any rate, aunt, it will reassureyou to know that we are acting in concert with Dr. Leeds, of whom I knowthat you entertain the highest opinion."
"Certainly I do. Of course I am no judge whatever as to whether he is agood doctor, but I should think, from what Dr. Pearson says, that hemust, in the opinion of other medical men, be considered anexceptionally clever man for his age; and having seen him for fourmonths and lived in close contact with him, I would rather be attendedby him than by anyone else I have ever met. His kindness to the Generalwas unceasing. Had he been his son, he could not have been more patientand more attentive. He showed wonderful skill in managing him, and wasat once sympathetic and cheerful. But, more than that, I admired histact in filling the somewhat difficult position in which he was placed.Although he was completely one of the family, and any stranger wouldhave supposed that he was a brother, or at least a cousin, there wasalways something in his manner that, even while laughing and chattingwith us all, placed a little barrier between us and himself; and onefelt that, although most essentially a friend, he was still there as theGeneral's medical attendant.
"It was a difficult position for a man of his age to be placed in. Hadhe been like most of the doctors we knew in Germany, a man filled withthe idea that he must always be a professor of medicine, and impressingpeople with his learning and gravity, it might have been easy enough.But there is nothing of that sort about him at all; he is just ashigh-spirited and is as bright and cheerful as other young men of aboutthe same age, and it was only when he was with the General that hisgentleness of manner recalled the fact that he was a doctor. As I say,it was a difficult position, with only an old woman like myself and twogirls, who looked to him for comfort and hope, who treated him as if hehad been an old friend, and were constantly appealing to him for hisopinion on all sorts of subjects.
"I confess that, when he first came here with Dr. Pearson, I thoughtthat it was a very rash experiment to introduce a young and evidentlypleasant man to us under such circumstances, especially as you, Hilda,are a rich heiress and your own mistress; and feeling as I did that Iwas in the position of your chaperon, I must say that at first I feltvery anxious about you, and it was a great relief to me when after atime I saw no signs, either on his part or yours, of any feelingstronger than friendship springing up."
Hilda laughed merrily.
"The idea never entered into my mind, aunt; it is funny to me that somany people should think that a young man and a young woman cannot bethrown together without falling in love with each other. At present,fortunately, I don't quite understand what falling in love means. I likeDr. Leeds better, I think, than any young man I ever met, but I don'tthink that it can be in the least like what people feel when they fallin love. Certainly it was always as uncle's doctor, rather than as apossible suitor for my hand--that is the proper expression, isn'tit?--that I thought of him."
"So I was glad to perceive, Hilda; and I was very thankful that it wasso. Against him personally I had nothing to say, quite the contrary; butI saw that he was greatly attached to a profession in which he seemslikely to make himself a fine position, and nothing could be moreuncomfortable than that such a man should marry a girl with a finecountry estate. Either he would have to give up his profession or shewould have to settle down in London as the wife of a physician, andpractically forfeit all her advantages."
Hilda again laughed.
"It is wonderful that all these things should never have occurred to me,aunt. I see now how fortunate it was that I did not fall in love withhim. And now, Netta, as we have finished breakfast, we will put on ourthings at once and go and consult our physician in ordinary. We have afair chance of being the first to arrive if we start immediately. I toldRoberts to have the carriage at the door at half-past nine, and he doesnot begin to see patients until ten."
"Bravo! Miss Purcell," Dr. Leeds exclaimed, when she had given him anaccount of her mission. "Of course there is nothing absolutely proved,but at least it shows that his identity is open to doubt, since none ofthe people he had known recognized him at first sight, and of course allhis knowledge of them may have been picked up from the gossiping oldlady, his aunt. Something has been gained, but the evidence is rathernegative than positive. It is possible that he is not the man that hepretends to be; though at present, putting aside the question ofhandwriting, we must admit that the balance of probability is very muchthe other way. To begin with, how could this man, supposing him to be animpostor, know that John Simcoe was born in Stowmarket, and hadrelatives living there?"
"I forgot to mention that, Dr. Leeds. An advertisement was inserted inthe county paper, saying that if any relatives of John Simcoe, who leftEngland about 1830, would communicate with someone or other in town theywould hear something to their advantage. I was told this by one of MissSimcoe's friends, who saw it in the paper and brought it in to her. Shewas very proud of having made the discovery, and regarded herself quitein the light of a benefactor to Miss Simcoe. I remarked, when she toldme, that it was curious he should have advertised instead of coming downhimself to inquire. Miss Simcoe said that she had expressed surprise tohim, and that he had said he did so because he should have shrunk fromcoming down, had he not learned there was someone to welcome him."
"Curious," Dr. Leeds said thoughtfully. "We may quite put it out of ourminds that the reason he gave was the real one. A man of this kind wouldnot have suffered any very severe shock had he found that Stowmarket andall it contained had been swallowed up by an earthquake. No, certainlythat could not have been the reason; we must think of some other. Andnow, ladies, as this is the third card I have had brought in since youarrived, I must leave the matter as it stands. I think that we aregetting on much better than we could have expected."
"That advertisement is very curious, Netta," Hilda said as they droveback. "Why should he have put it in? It would have been so much morenatural that he should have gone straight down."
"I cannot think, Hilda. It did not strike me particularly when I heardof it, and I did not give it a thought afterwards. You see, I did notmention it, either to you or Dr. Leeds, until it flashed across my mindwhen we were talking. Of course I did not see the advertisement itself,but Miss Simcoe told me that there had been a good deal of discussionbefore she answered it, as some of them had thought that it might be atrick."
"When was it he went down?"
"It was in August last year; and it was in the first week in Septemberthat he came here."
"He went down to get or manufacture proof of his identity," Hilda said."As it turned out, uncle accepted his statement at once, and never hadthe smallest doubt as to his being John Simcoe. The precaution,therefore, was unnecessary; but at the same time it certainly helps himnow that a doubt has arisen. It would have been very strange if a manpossessing sufficient means to travel in India should have had nofriends or connections in England. I was present when he told my unclethat he had been down to see his aunt at Stowmarket, and in the springhe brought a gentleman who, he said,
was manager of the Stowmarket Bank,in which he had himself been at one time a clerk. So you see he didstrengthen his position by going down there."
"It strengthens it in one way, Hilda, but in the other it weakens it. Aslong as no close inquiries were made, it was doubtless an advantage tohim to have an aunt of the same name in Stowmarket, and to be able toprove by means of a gentleman in the position of manager of the bankthat he, John Simcoe, had worked under him three or four and twentyyears ago. On the other hand, it was useful to us as a starting-point.If we had been utterly in the dark as to Simcoe's birthplace or pastcareer, we should have had to start entirely in the dark. Now, at anyrate, we have located the birthplace of the real man, and learnedsomething of his position, his family, and how he became possessed ofmoney that enabled him to start on a tour round the world. I adhere asfirmly as before to the belief that this is not the real man, and thenext step is to discover how he learned that John Simcoe had lived atStowmarket. At any rate it would be as well that we should find theadvertisement. It might tell us nothing, but at the least we shouldlearn the place to which answers were to be sent. How should we setabout that?"
"I can get a reader's ticket for the British Museum, because the chieflibrarian was a friend of uncle's and dined with him several times,"Hilda replied. "If I write to him and say that I want to examine somefiles of newspapers, to determine a question of importance, I am surethat he will send me a ticket at once. I may as well ask for one for youalso. We may want to go there again to decide some other point."
Hilda at once wrote a note and sent Tom Roberts with it to the Museum,and he returned two hours later with the tickets.
"There are three Suffolk papers," the chief assistant in the NewspaperDepartment said courteously, on their sending up the usual slip ofpaper. "Which do you want?"
"I do not know. I should like to see them all three, please; the numbersfor the first two weeks in August last."
In a few minutes three great volumes were placed on the table. Thesecontained a year's issue, and on turning to the first week in Augustthey found that the advertisement had appeared in all of the papers.They carefully copied it out, and were about to leave the library whenNetta said:
"Let us talk this over for a minute or two before we go. It seems to methat there is a curious omission in the advertisement."
"What is that?"
"Don't you see that he does not mention Stowmarket? He simply inquiresfor relations of John Simcoe, who was supposed to have been lost at sea.It would certainly seem to be more natural that he should put it only inthe paper that was likely to be read in Stowmarket, and surely he wouldhave said 'relatives of John Simcoe, who left Stowmarket in the year1830.' It looks very much as if, while he knew that Simcoe was aSuffolk man, he had no idea in what part of the county he had lived."
"It is very curious, certainly, Netta; and, as you say, it does seemthat if he had known that it had been Stowmarket he would have said soin the advertisement. Possibly!" Hilda exclaimed so sharply that agentleman at an adjoining table murmured "Hush!" "he did did not knowthat it was in Suffolk. Let us look in the London papers. Let us ask forthe files of the _Times_ and _Standard_."
The papers were brought and the advertisement was found in both of them.
"There, you see," Netta said triumphantly, "he still says nothing aboutSuffolk."
She beckoned to the attendant.
"I am sorry to give you so much trouble, but will you please get us thefiles of three or four country papers of the same date. I should likethem in different parts of the country--Yorkshire, for instance, andHereford, and Devonshire."
"It is no trouble, miss," he replied; "that is what we are here for."
In a few minutes the three papers were brought, and Netta's triumph wasgreat when she found the advertisement in each of them.
"That settles it conclusively," she said. "The man did not know whatpart of the country John Simcoe came from, and he advertised in theLondon papers, and in the provincial papers all over the country."
"That was a splendid idea of yours, Netta. I think that it settles thequestion as to the fact that the theory you all laughed at was correct,and that this man is not the real John Simcoe."
When they got back, Hilda wrote a line to Dr. Leeds:
"DEAR DOCTOR: I do think that we have discovered beyond doubt that the man is an impostor, and that whoever he may be, he is not John Simcoe. When you can spare time, please come round. It is too long to explain."
At nine o'clock that evening Dr. Leeds arrived, and heard of the stepsthat they had taken.
"Really, young ladies," he said, "I must retire at once from my post ofdirector of searches. It was an excellent thought to ascertain the exactwording of the advertisement, and the fact that the word Stowmarket didnot appear in it, and that it was inserted in other county papers, wasvery significant as to the advertiser's ignorance of John Simcoe'sbirthplace. But the quickness with which you saw how this could beproved up to the hilt shows that you are born detectives, and I shall behappy to sit at your feet in future."
"Then you think that it is quite conclusive?"
"Perfectly so. The real John Simcoe would, of course, have put theadvertisement into the county paper published nearest to Stowmarket, andhe would naturally have used the word Stowmarket. That omission might,however, have been accidental; but the appearance of the advertisementin the London papers, and as you have seen, in provincial papers allover England, appears to me ample evidence that he did not know fromwhat county Simcoe came, and was ready to spend a pretty heavy amount todiscover it. Now, I think that you should at once communicate with Mr.Pettigrew, and inform him of your suspicion and the discovery that youhave made. It is for him to decide whether any steps should be taken inthe matter, and, if so, what steps. As one of the trustees he isresponsible for the proper division of the estates of General Mathieson,and the matter is of considerable importance to him.
"I think now, too, that our other suspicions should also be laid beforehim. Of course, these are greatly strengthened by his discovery. JohnSimcoe, who saved your uncle's life at the risk of his own, was scarcelythe sort of man who would be guilty of murder and abduction; but anunknown adventurer, who had passed himself off as being Simcoe, withthe object of obtaining a large legacy from the General, may fairly beassumed capable of taking any steps that would enable him to obtain it.If you'd like to write to Mr. Pettigrew and make an appointment to meethim at his office at three o'clock to-morrow afternoon, I will be herehalf an hour before and accompany you."
The lawyer was somewhat surprised when Dr. Leeds entered the office withthe two ladies, but that astonishment became stupefaction when they toldtheir story.
"In the whole of my professional career I have never heard a moreastonishing story. I own that the abduction of the child at thatcritical moment did arouse suspicions in my mind that this Mr. Simcoe,the only person that could be benefited by his disappearance, might beat the bottom of it, and I was quite prepared to resist until the lastany demand that might be made on his part for Walter to be declared tobe dead, and the property handed over to him. But that the man couldhave had any connection whatever with the illness of the General, orthat he was an impostor, never entered my mind. With regard to thefirst, it is still a matter of suspicion only, and we have not a shadowof proof to go upon. You say yourself, Dr. Leeds, that Dr. Pearson, theGeneral's own medical attendant, and the other eminent physicians calledin, refused absolutely to accept your suggestion, because, exceptionalas the seizure and its effects were, there was nothing that absolutelypointed to poison. Unless we can obtain some distinct evidence on thatpoint, the matter must not be touched upon; for even you would hardly beprepared to swear in court that the General was a victim to poison?"
"No. I could not take my oath to it, but I certainly could declare thatthe symptoms, to my mind, could be attributed to poison only."
"In the case of the abduction of the boy," the lawyer went on, "the onlyabsolute ground for our suspi
cion is that this man and no one else wouldhave benefited by it; and this theory certainly appears to be, afterthe discoveries you have made, a very tenable one. It all comes sosuddenly on me that I cannot think of giving any opinion as to the bestcourse to be adopted. I shall, in the first place, consult Mr. Farmer,and in the next place shall feel it my duty to take my co-trustee,Colonel Bulstrode, into my confidence, because any action that we maytake must, of course, be in our joint names. He called here the otherday and stated to me that he regarded the whole matter of Walter'sabduction to be suspicious in the extreme. He said he was convinced thatJohn Simcoe was at the bottom of it, his interest in getting the boy outof the way being unquestionable, and that we must move heaven and earthto find the child. He agreed that we can do nothing about carrying outthe will until we have found him. I told him of the steps that we havebeen taking and their want of success. 'By gad, sir,' he said, 'he mustbe found, if we examine every child in the country.' I ventured tosuggest that this would be a very difficult undertaking, to which heonly made some remark about the cold-bloodedness of lawyers, and saidthat if there were no other way he would dress himself up as acostermonger and go into every slum of London. Whether you would findhim a judicious assistant in your searches I should scarcely be inclinedto say, but you would certainly find him ready to give every assistancein his power."
The next day, at three o'clock, Colonel Bulstrode was announced. He wasa short man, of full habit of body. At the present moment his face waseven redder than usual.
"My dear Miss Covington," he burst out, as he came into the room, "Ihave just heard of all this rascality, and what you and your friend MissPurcell have discovered. By gad, young ladies, I feel ashamed of myself.Here am I, Harry Bulstrode, a man of the world, and, as such, consideredthat this affair of the man Simcoe being made heir in case of thechild's death and the simultaneous disappearance of the boy to have beensuspicious in the extreme, and yet I have seen no way of doinganything, and have been so upset that my temper has, as that rascalAndrew, my old servant, had the impudence to tell this morning, becomeabsolutely unbearable. And now I find that you two girls and a doctorfellow have been quietly working the whole thing out, and that notimprobably my dear old friend was poisoned, and that the man who did itis not the man he pretended to be, but an infernal impostor, who had ofcourse carried the child away, and may, for anything we know, havemurdered him. It has made me feel that I ought to go to school again,for I must be getting into my second childhood. Still, young ladies, if,as is evident, I have no sense to plan, I can at least do all in mypower to assist you in your search, and you have only to say to me,'Colonel Bulstrode, we want an inquiry made in India,' and I am off bythe first P. and O."
"Thank you very much, Colonel," Hilda said, trying to repress a smile."I was quite sure that from your friendship for my dear uncle you wouldbe ready to give us your assistance, but so far there has been no way inwhich you could have aided us in the inquiries that we have made.Indeed, as Dr. Leeds has impressed upon us, the fewer there are engagedin the matter the better; for if this man knew that we were making allsorts of inquiries about him, he might think it necessary for his safetyeither to put Walter out of the way altogether, or to send him to someplace so distant that there would be practically no hope whatever of ourever discovering him. At present I think that we have fairly satisfiedourselves that this man is an impostor, and that the real John Simcoewas drowned, as supposed, in the ship in which he sailed from India. Whothis man is, and how he became acquainted with the fact that John Simcoesaved my uncle's life in India, are mysteries that so far we have noclew to; but these matters are at present of minor importance to us.Before anything else we want to find where Walter is hidden, and to dothis we are going to have this man watched. He cannot have carried offWalter by himself, and, no doubt, he meets occasionally the people whohelped him, and who are now hiding Walter. It is scarcely probable thatthey come to his lodgings. He is not likely to put himself into anyone'spower, and no doubt goes by night in some disguise to meet them. As, ofcourse, he knows you perfectly well, it would be worse than useless foryou to try to follow him. That is going to be done by Tom Roberts."
"Well, my man Andrew might help him," the Colonel said. "Simcoe hasoften dined with me at the club, but he never came to my chambers. Oneman cannot be always on the watch, and Andrew can take turns withRoberts. He is an impudent rascal, but he has got a fair share of sense;so, when you are ready, if you will drop me a line, he shall come hereand take his instructions from you."
"Thank you very much, Colonel. That certainly would be of assistance. Itis only of an evening that he would be wanted, for we are quite agreedthat these meetings are sure to take place after dark."