after that interview gerald saw that he would have to leave the major in possession of the field. for the present, as he had observed, rebb held all the cards, and haskins could only retire to consult with macandrew as to some way of winning the game in the teeth of such bad luck. moreover, gerald was now in possession of all facts connected with the crime, and by lingering at the pixy's house he would become possessed of no more important facts. also rebb, wishing to get rid of his too observant enemy, so worked on morgan's feelings that the inspector hinted retirement to the lover. having learned that the inquest would take place in the inn of leegarth village, next day, haskins mounted his machine and returned to silbury.
but he felt that it was impossible to sit down and do nothing, for he was very anxious regarding the future of mavis. probably, on discovering the dead body of bellaria, she had fled panic-stricken from that bloodstained mansion; but distraught with terror, and not knowing the country, it was probable that she would soon be captured. gerald would have gone in search of her forthwith, but that he did not know in which direction to look for her, and again, if he did find her, would be unable to smuggle her into safety while the countryside was all on the alert. he half made up his mind to return to london and enlist the services of tod, but could not quite decide to do so, since his going to the metropolis meant his leaving the neighborhood in which the girl he loved was wandering. mavis was a fugitive with, so to speak, a price on her head. he could not go away heartlessly, and leave her, so innocent and unsophisticated, in the lurch.
his hesitation was ended at five o'clock in the afternoon, by a wire from exeter asking him to come there at once and meet the person who signed the telegram--simon arnold by name--in the coffee-room of the monmouth hotel. it flashed across gerald's mind at once that the former tutor of mavis had sent the telegram, and probably wished to see him about the girl whom they both loved in their several ways. but he wondered how arnold--whom mavis playfully called schaibar--had learned his address, and then, on examining the telegram again, saw that it had been directed to the devon maid at denleigh. wondering if geary had opened it, he sent for the boy, and found that mrs. geary, on receiving the wire at the door, had told the lad that mr. haskins was staying at silbury. gerald was relieved at this, as geary would undoubtedly have read the telegram, in order to learn any possible plans haskins might have formed. nevertheless, on the face of it, the wire could convey little information to the conspirators likely to be of use, save that arnold--whom rebb apparently dreaded--was enlisting himself on the side of the lovers.
haskins found that there was a train from silbury to exeter at seven o'clock that same evening, so after dinner he packed his portmanteau and went to the station. guessing that rebb would probably make inquiries as to his whereabouts, he left a message with mrs. jennings, stating that he had gone to london, and hoped that the information would upset the major, by making him think that steps were being taken to save mavis from his snares. strong as was rebb's hand, he yet had a difficult game to play. the fact of durham's will would undoubtedly be made public should mavis be arrested, and rebb certainly would not like his friends to think that he derived his income in the way he did. but then rebb had daring enough to face anything, especially when six thousand a year was at stake.
somewhere about nine o'clock gerald reached exeter, and, leaving his portmanteau in the cloak-room, proceeded to the monmouth hotel, a small inn on the outskirts of the cathedral city. the place was little known, but haskins was fortunate enough to pick up a cabman who came from the neighborhood where it is situated. in half-an-hour he found himself in the coffee-room of the hotel, and recognized arnold at once from the description given by mavis.
the ex-tutor, and present hawker of books, was reading a latin author when gerald entered, but flung it aside when the young man, conducted by a waiter, appeared on the threshold. he was about to greet the newcomer, but on seeing the waiter turned aside to look out of the window. to make an excuse for entering gerald ordered a glass of whisky and soda, which he truly needed, so wrought up was he, by the strain and stress of the situation. the waiter disappeared and soon came back with the drink. while he was absent gerald eyed arnold--who still did not speak--and sat down near the fireless grate. but a glance passed between the two men which showed mutual recognition.
arnold was a remarkably small man, quite worthy to be called a dwarf, but he was not deformed in any way. his body, his hands and feet and his head, were all perfectly proportioned, and the most noticeable thing about him was his long gray beard, which fell below his waist. he had a noble forehead, crowned with long loose gray hair and two vividly blue eyes, penetrating and unblinking. no one could have called the little man ugly, but, owing to his small stature and noble beard, he looked uncanny. gerald, ever imaginative, thought at once of the norwegian gnomes and kobolds, although arnold was not so grotesquely ugly as those earth fairies of legend.
when the waiter finally left the coffee-room, and the two men had it all to themselves, arnold moved swiftly forward and gripped gerald's hand, before the young man was aware of his intention. "you are the lover of my dear girl," he said, in a singularly melodious voice. "i knew you at once, from her description of you."
"i can return the compliment," said gerald, responding to the warm clasp. "mavis told me what you were like, and indeed, i also have the description given in 'the arabian nights' to go upon."
"schaibar!" said arnold, with a smile. "yes; she always called me that. i am glad that you have obeyed my summons so speedily, mr. haskins, as i am sure that you are a true friend to my unhappy pupil."
"i am her lover," replied gerald quietly, "and, as her lover, i am prepared to go any lengths to save her from that rascal."
"meaning major rebb?"
"of course! he is trying to ruin mavis, in order to get her money."
"i wonder how you found that out, mr. haskins."
"it's a long story and----"
"and you can tell it to me and mavis."
"mavis!" gerald stared. "what do you mean? have you any idea where she is, mr. arnold?"
"of course," answered the little man quietly; "it was for that reason that i wired to you. mavis told me that you were stopping at denleigh."
"as a matter of fact i am--or rather i was--stopping at the prince's head, silbury," explained gerald, "but your wire was sent on to me. i heard from mrs. jennings, and from rebb also, that you were in the neighborhood of leegarth."
"and it was very lucky for mavis that i was," said arnold, nodding. "only by being on the spot was i enabled to save her from arrest."
"you saved her? how? tell me all."
"gently, mr. haskins. do not talk so loud. walls have ears, and keyholes have eyes." arnold glanced round the room, and then drew near to the eager young man to speak in still lower tones. "last night i went to see if i could enter the pixy's house and try mavis, but, as the gate was shut and locked, i could not get in. i would have climbed the wall, but that my age and rheumatism prevented my doing so. however, i thought that by going to the river wall i might obtain a foothold on the ivy. i made the attempt, and fell. you see that i still limp." arnold walked a pace or two, and gerald saw that his leg dragged. "i lay insensible for some hours. then i managed, when i revived, to drink some brandy which i had brought with me, and so deemed that i could get back to my caravan, which was on the other side of the village. i had got round to the lane wherein the gates are to be found when i heard a scream of alarm."
"was it bellaria being killed?" asked gerald quickly.
"no; i staggered as fast as i was able toward the gates, and found them open. bellaria, stabbed to the heart, lay within, and over her bent mavis. when she saw me she was terrified; but i called out, and she recognized my voice. running forward, she stammered out that bellaria had gone to meet some one, and had been killed. i, at once, saw the danger to which mavis was exposed, having read the will of julian durham, and so insisted that she should fly. she was surprised that i desired her to do this, as, in her innocence, she never deemed that she would be accused. however, i rapidly convinced her, and she agreed. leaning on her arm, i led her round the village, as i feared lest her scream should have attracted attention. we reached my caravan in safety, and i then put the horse in the shafts and drove to exeter through the night. we reached this city this afternoon, and i took her on board a barge, which is owned by a man i can rely upon. then i sent the wire to you. we must save the poor child, mr. haskins. she is safe now, but at any time she may be discovered."
"you will be suspected."
"i don't think so, mr. haskins. while she was in my caravan i had qualms that search might be made therein: but now that mavis is safe on the barge, with sammy lee looking after her, there is little danger. i have only to say that i know nothing of her whereabouts, and who can convict me of falsehood? but i want lee to take his barge down to exmouth, and then we can place mavis on board some outward-bound steamer. she will then be safe until we can prove her innocence."
"why, do you believe that she will be accused?" asked gerald.
"i am perfectly sure," said arnold dryly, "that major rebb will take advantage of bellaria's death to fasten the guilt on mavis, so that he may shut her up in an asylum, and, by thus preventing her marriage, will be enabled to keep her six thousand a year."
gerald nodded. "that view does credit to your powers of penetration, mr. arnold. rebb is moving precisely on those lines."
"quite so. i know major rebb----"
"but do you know that he----"
"there is no time to be lost," said arnold, in a peremptory tone, "as mavis will be in danger of arrest until she is safely bestowed out of england. she refuses to leave this city until she sees you, and that was why i wired. come down at once to the exe, and let us board the barge. then we can decide what is to be done and you can ask what questions you choose."
haskins consented; and, after finishing his whisky and soda, he went out with the little man, into the darkness. arnold leaned on haskins' arm, as his leg was still painful from the fall of the previous night, and guided him through many narrow and dingy streets down to the banks of the river. a lumbering barge was lying near a littered wharf, and as they approached this they were hailed by a rough voice, which gerald rightly took to be that of sammy lee. the two men stepped on board the low-lying barge, to find themselves welcomed by a gigantic devonian, with a hairy face, who paid the utmost deference to the dwarf. as arnold led gerald down into the cabin of the barge--leaving sammy lee to keep watch--he whispered to haskins. "i can absolutely trust this man, so you need have no fear. last year i saved the life of his only child by means of the herbal medicine, when the doctors had given her up, so he will never betray our poor girl."
"but if he hears that she is accused of murder--it will be all over exeter to-morrow?" questioned gerald.
"he will decline to believe it, as he sees what mavis is, and even if he did believe, he would never betray anyone whom i wished to shield."
this was very satisfactory, and haskins wondered at the marvelous ways of providence, which had snatched mavis from a dangerous position to place her in safety, until such time as her innocence could be made manifest. it seemed as though everything would come right in the end, despite major rebb's boast of his might. haskins recalled his last words to the man, in which he left the matter for god to decide. and god was deciding--against rebb and his wicked machinations.
a rap at the cabin door brought mavis to open it. she was still in her favorite white dress, in which she had fled from her prison on the previous night, but over this she wore a long black cloak with a hood--now closely pulled over her head for obvious reasons. when she saw gerald, and the tender smile in his eyes, she flung back the hood, as though stifling, and fell into his arms, sobbing as if her heart would break. and no wonder. to learn all the cruelty of the outside world, and to be a hunted fugitive, accused of a terrible crime, was an extraordinary change from the seclusion and romance of the pixy's house.
"oh, prince gerald," was her cry, as she wept on his breast, "how i have longed to see you."
"and i also have wished to hold you thus," he replied, kissing her, "but we were kept apart by wicked men, dearest. now we are together, please god, we shall never part again."
"amen to that," murmured arnold, who had sat down.
"schaibar has told me everything," said mavis, still crying. "oh, what a wicked world it is outside the pixy's house, gerald."
"there can be no wickedness where you are, darling. you will not find me like major rebb."
"oh, but, gerald, surely my guardian is kind?"
"has he proved himself kind, to accuse you of murdering bellaria?"
mavis drew back, with a pale face and startled eyes. "there--must--be--some--mistake," she faltered. "why should i kill bellaria?"
"oh, rebb knows quite well that you did not: but to suit his own ends he is willing that you should suffer."
"is it for that horrid money schaibar told me about?" she asked tearfully.
"yes; rebb thinks that six thousand a year is worth losing his own soul for. it is the world he gains, and the price he pays. but he shall not succeed, my sweetheart; you shall have your own way, i swear."
"gerald! gerald! i would much rather fly away with you to the end of the world, and leave everything to my guardian."
"i daresay, dear; and in the south seas, no doubt, we could find an eden whither that serpent would not come. but your good name has to be considered, mavis. rebb has put it about that you are insane, and that such insanity made you kill bellaria."
mavis sat down on the locker, looking utterly miserable. "i know! i know!" she cried, rocking with the terror of her thoughts. "schaibar has told me what my guardian said to people outside to account for my being locked up in the pixy's house. and to think that he should have said to me that all english girls were brought up as i was! why did you not tell me before that my guardian was deceiving me?" she asked her former tutor.
"my dear," he said gently, "it is only lately that i have learned the truth about your father's will. bellaria let drop a word or so, and i began to ask questions. rebb came to know of my curiosity, and so gave me a sum of money, and insisted that i should go to australia, and hold no communication with you. i took the money, to save you, and i had no compunction in doing so, as the money belonged to you, my dear. to deceive rebb i pretended to go to australia; but, in reality, i remained in england, to search out your past. bellaria had hinted that rebb enjoyed a large income for keeping you shut up in the pixy's house, and that your father had been wealthy. i searched for the copy of the will at somerset house, and there learned how rebb was to enjoy the six thousand a year to which you were entitled until your marriage. i then saw why he made out that you were insane, and resolved to effect your escape. i therefore bought a caravan to sell books, thinking--and my design was successful--that i could get you out of the house, and smuggle you away in my caravan. i have done so, as no one ever thought of searching for you in my company. now you will go down to exmouth with sammy lee, and i shall again go round the country. if my caravan is searched by rebb and the officers of the law nothing will be found, and you will be safe."
"for how long--for how long?" cried mavis, clasping her hands.
"until god sees fit to enable us to punish rebb, and save you," was the tutor's reply, "and everything will come right in the end, i am sure."
the eyes of the girl wandered to gerald. he sat down beside her, and gathered her in his arms. "i am sure, also," he whispered. "see how wonderfully things have worked for your benefit as it is. i was brought into your life by means of the cylinder to marry and cherish you, in spite of rebb's cruel device of keeping you ignorant, so that you should not be able to communicate with the outside world. then arnold, by god's mercy, has been enabled to snatch you from the very jaws of your enemies. these things point to joy coming out of sorrow. go down, my dear, to exmouth with sammy lee. i dare not come with you, nor can schaibar, as we will both be suspected by rebb, and must prove--as we can--that we have nothing to do with your flight. lee will arrange for you to be taken round by water to london, and there i shall meet you to arrange for your safety."
"would it not be better that she should go abroad?" asked arnold.
"no. i can arrange for mavis to be concealed in a way which rebb will not suspect. if she goes abroad she may be extradited, should rebb--as he might--discover her whereabouts. but he will never look for my darling where i will place her."
"so long as i am with you, gerald, i care nothing," said mavis, shivering and drawing closer to him, "but, oh, how can i go round to london by myself--i who have never been beyond my prison walls?"
"sammy lee will see to that, darling. you must be brave. and remember that i meet you at the end of your journey. promise to be brave."
"yes, yes; i promise," said mavis, flushing, "but it is all very terrible to think that this is the world."
"this is rebb's world," said haskins tenderly, "but not the world of joy and peace and love in which you will dwell when we are married."
"married? oh, gerald!"
"yes." he kissed her now flushed cheek. "but tell me, mavis, who killed that poor bellaria?"
mavis shivered again, although the cabin was warm. "i do not know," she said faintly. "bellaria came back from london very terrified."
"i can guess why," murmured gerald, thinking of the coral hand.
"she said that she might be killed, and made geary give her that yellow-handled knife so that she might protect herself."
"ah! so rebb's story so far is true. go on, dear."
"bellaria never went out at night, as you know, but a day or two ago she received a letter, and said it would save her."
"did you see the letter?"
"no. she did not show it to me. but last night i thought i heard a cry about midnight. i went to bellaria's room and found her gone. i was afraid and ran downstairs, to find the door open, and also the big gates. then i saw her dead, and cried out. schaibar came and----"
"you know the rest," interposed arnold, addressing gerald. "i lighted a match and saw that bellaria was dead; then took mavis away. don't question her further. she cannot bear it."
gerald nodded, and soothed the girl, who was much terrified. "but we must find that letter," he remarked; "i am sure it has to do with the crime. did you see anyone about, mr. arnold?"
"no; i saw no one."
"nor did i," sobbed mavis.
"hush, dearest, do not weep; you are safe with me. arnold, who do you think killed bellaria dondi?"
"major rebb."
"not geary?"
"major rebb," repeated the tutor quietly, "to secure the income. he has--as you say--sold his soul for six thousand a year."
