the extraordinary will of julian edermont caused a no less extraordinary sensation. pursuant to the instructions of his late client, carver caused the contents of the will to be published in almost every newspaper of the three kingdoms, and the advertisement was copied and printed and talked about all over the civilized world. many of the leading london dailies devoted a leading article to discussing the eccentricity of the bequest. of these lucubrations none was more noteworthy than that of the morning planet.
"here is a chance for our amateur and professional detectives," it said. "a riddle to stimulate the curiosity; a magnificent reward to repay the solution of the same. mr. edermont, a recluse, dwelling in the red house, near canterbury, has been barbarously murdered, and fifty thousand pounds are now offered for the discovery and apprehension of his murderer. it seems that the dead man had a past, and that that past had engendered an enemy. for twenty years mr. edermont lived in strict retirement, and took extraordinary precautions to ensure his safety. but all in vain. the man or woman--for no one is aware of the sex of the assassin--discovered the victim, and carried out the revenge in a peculiarly brutal fashion. there is nothing to show how the assassin came or went; but the time of the committal of the crime has been ascertained by the evidence of miss carew, the ward of the deceased. she fancied she heard a cry, and immediately afterwards the hall clock struck one. there can be no doubt that miss carew really did hear a cry, and was not dreaming, as she fancied, and that such cry was the last appeal of the poor victim for mercy.
"in the will of mr. edermont, he mentions that the story of his life is set forth in a manuscript locked up in his bureau. it is evident that the assassin knew of the existence of this narrative, for, immediately after committing the crime, he--we will assume by way of argument that the criminal is a man--rifled the desk, and made off with the paper containing an account of his motive for revenge. he knew that such paper would condemn him, and that with its aid the officers of the law would have little difficulty in putting a rope round his neck. doubtless such story gave his name--possibly his address--and he was aware that it thus jeopardized his safety. but be this as it may, one fact remains: that the assassin has stolen the sole clue to his discovery, and it would seem that the death of julian edermont must remain wrapped in mystery.
"but fifty thousand pounds! will anyone permit this death to go unavenged when he can gain such a reward? a fortune for life, and the consciousness of having done his duty to the dead man and to society. no doubt our inglorious vidocques, our amateur sherlock holmes, will set to work to unravel the mystery and gain the reward. the red house, near canterbury, will become the shrine of pilgrim detectives from all parts of the world. nevertheless, in spite of their astuteness, in spite of their greed, we doubt whether the mystery will ever be solved. the sole clue, so far as we can see, is to be found in the past life of the dead man. the tale of that past life is set forth in a certain paper; such paper is in the possession of the assassin, who is himself unknown. to find the paper, they must find the assassin; without the paper the assassin cannot be found; and so matters are at a deadlock. we shall await the development of this extraordinary case with interest; but we doubt whether the fifty thousand pounds will ever be claimed. julian edermont is dead and buried; his assassin has escaped with the story of the motive for the crime in his pocket. here the case stands. what light can be thrown on this darkness? what clue can be found to the cunning murderer? we wait the answer from the possible man or woman who can honestly claim fifty thousand pounds."
while the papers talked thus, while people wondered, and would-be winners of the reward set their wits to work on the facts of the case, dora remained at the red house. no change was made in her life, or in that of joad. in conjunction with meg, the girl still looked after the domestic details of the mansion; and joad still came and went from nine to nine. he became morose after the death of his friend, and hardly addressed a word to dora. but she was aware that he constantly watched her in a furtive manner, which in the end became exceedingly annoying. had the terms of the will been less clear, she would have left the red house, or have induced joad to confine his life to his own cottage. but in order to exist, and draw her poor rental of two hundred a year, she was forced to live in the house, with joad, dirty, disreputable and crabbed, at her elbow. she disliked the man exceedingly, the more so as she had a suspicion that he admired her; but, fettered as she was by the terms of the will, she could do nothing.
nevertheless, she became aware, as the days went by, that she would have to make some change in her life. it was impossible that she should go on living with an illiterate servant and an admiring satyr. it was equally impossible that she could continue to remain at variance with allen after the last interview. he neither came near her nor wrote a line to comfort her; and, angered as she was at his heartless and inexplicable conduct, she made up her mind to see him. in one way or the other she would bring the matter to an end, and treat him either as a stranger or as her affianced lover.
again, she wished to see carver as to her financial position. by the will she had been left certain moneys and the red house; but she also, as she understood, possessed an income of five hundred pounds, which came to her from her parents, and once or twice mr. edermont had informed her that she was entitled to so much; but he stated also that he was saving it up for her against the time she came of age.
as dora was now twenty-one, she expected that the accumulations would be considerable. making allowance for the amounts given to her at various times, she concluded that she was entitled to close on eight thousand pounds. if this were so--as she could ascertain from mr. carver--it was her intention to change her mode of life should allen prove obstinate.
"i shall give up the red house and the two hundred a-year," thought dora, making her plans, "and, after investing my eight thousand pounds with the aid of mr. carver, i shall go to london. i cannot live any longer in the company of that odious creature"--for so she termed the learned joad. "and if allen is resolved to break off the engagement, there is nothing to keep me here. mr. edermont is dead; allen, for some reason, is estranged, and i am all alone. i shall take my life in my own hands, and go to london."
it never entered her head to earn the reward. she was completely ignorant as to how her late guardian had come to so untimely an end. lady burville might have explained, but after the crime she had gone to london, and dora did not know where to find her. mr. pallant might have given a hint, but he had left hernwood hall also. dora saw no way of solving the mystery; and even if she did conjecture the truth, she scarcely felt herself called upon to revenge the death of mr. edermont by discovering his assassin. she did not want the reward, and she had not sufficient regard for the dead man's memory to devote herself to so difficult a task.
mr. carver lived and worked in a dusty, dingy, dreary house near mercery lane. his rooms were above--he was a bachelor, dry and crusty--and his offices below. two clerks, as lean as their master, worked in the dismal outer office, and in the inner apartment, the window of which looked on to a mews, mr. carver sat all day, and often far into the night. the appearance of so charming and blooming a woman as dora quite lighted up the musty, fusty den. her fresh beauty had little effect upon carver, who regarded women as the root of all evil. the generally accepted root of all evil is money. this he approved of and hoarded; but women--he could not bear them, save in the light of clients, and then they gave him endless trouble.
"mr. carver," said dora, facing the saturnine lawyer on the other side of the table, "i have called to see you about my financial position. i was, as you know, a ward of mr. edermont's"--carver nodded--"and he has left me the red house and two hundred a year." mr. carver nodded again. "but what about my own income of five hundred a year?"
"what five hundred a year?" said carver grimly.
"the income which was left me by my parents."
"i was not aware that any income had been left to you by your parents, nor, for the matter of that--if you will excuse me--was i aware that you had any parents."
"what do you mean, sir?" asked dora, sitting up very straight.
"why," said the lawyer meditatively, "it is not hard for you to gather my meaning. i never saw your parents--i never heard mention of them. all i know is that my late client arrived here with you, and shortly after his arrival purchased the red house. you were then a year old, and as twenty years have now elapsed, it makes you twenty-one," added mr. carver in parenthesis. "my late client said that you were an orphan, carew by name, whom he intended to bring up; but as to parents, or history, or income--i know nothing about them, absolutely nothing."
"but mr. edermont assured me that i had five hundred a year of my own!" stammered dora, taken aback by this plain speaking. "he handed me money from time to time, and stated frequently that he was saving the rest of the income to give me when i came of age. if this is so, i ought to be entitled to at least eight thousand pounds."
"i congratulate you on your logical arguments, and on your business capabilities," said carver with grave irony; "but i am afraid that you are mistaken, or else that the late mr. edermont deceived you wilfully--a thing which i can hardly believe. i know all the details of my late client's monetary affairs. as i said before, i purchased for him the red house freehold some twenty years ago--shortly after his arrival in the neighbourhood. the two hundred per annum which you inherit under the will is the rental of three farms, which i purchased at a later period for him. the silver, furniture and pictures, which you also inherit, he brought with him from his last dwelling-house. finally, miss carew," added the lawyer, with the air of a man who is making a satisfactory statement, "i know precisely how he invested that fifty thousand pounds which, by the will, has been so foolishly offered as a reward for the discovery of the murderer of the testator. all these matters i can explain and prove, but as regards your supposititious income of five hundred pounds, i know nothing. there are," concluded mr. carver calmly, "neither letters, nor scrip, nor documents of any kind whatsoever among the papers of my late client which can in the least substantiate your statement, or even hint at the possibility of such a thing."
dora listened to this long speech in silent amazement. she had never contemplated the possibility of such a deception--for now it seemed plainly a deception. why edermont should have told so many lies, and fostered in her a belief that she was independent as regards pecuniary matters, she could not understand. carver waited for her to argue the matter, but dora made no attempt to do this. the lawyer's explanation was so clear and decisive that she saw no reason to doubt his honesty. besides, he had been always well-disposed towards her, and no motive could exist to induce him to deceive her.
"then i am penniless?" she murmured in dismay. "mr. edermont deceived me!"
"apparently he did deceive you," assented mr. carver, placing the tips of his fingers together; "but if you will permit me to remind you, miss carew, you are not penniless."
"i have a roof to cover me, and two hundred a year," said dora bitterly. "true enough, mr. carver. but such a legacy is saddled with the constant companionship of mr. joad."
"he is scarcely a pleasant companion for a young lady, i grant, miss carew. but if you permit him to potter about the library and garden, i hardly think that he will trouble you much. these bookworms, dry-as-dust scholars, are so wrapped up in their books, that they rarely deign to notice mundane affairs, or the presence of youth and beauty."
dora had her own opinion as to mr. joad's blindness in this direction; but as the subject was not pertinent to the matter under discussion, she made no remark on carver's speech. after a few moments' thought, she looked earnestly at the lawyer.
"you are not deceiving me, mr. carver?" she asked imploringly.
"i deceive no one, miss carew," he replied stiffly. "if you doubt my integrity, you can consult any solicitor you think fit, and send him to me. i can prove all my statements by means of documents signed by my late client."
"it is very hard to be so deceived, mr. carver."
"i grant it, i grant it," said carver hastily; "but if you wish to be rich, i can only remind you that fifty thousand pounds is waiting for the discoverer of my late client's assassin."
"i wonder you do not earn it yourself," said dora, rising to take her leave.
"i would willingly do so, miss carew, but unfortunately my knowledge of mr. edermont's past is confined to dry business details. i do not know the romance of his life," added carver with emphasis. "and from the romance, whatever it was, this present trouble springs."
"do you mean a love romance?"
carver shrugged his shoulders.
"why not?" he said, in his dryest tone. "with all due respect to you, miss carew, i believe that a woman is to be found at the bottom of everything. trace back mr. edermont's life to his period of romance, and you will find a woman. find that woman, miss carew; learn her story, and her influence on your late guardian. then i'll guarantee you will discover the assassin of the red house."
dora said nothing, but hastily took leave. but once outside, carver's words recurred to her. they seemed to fit in with her suspicions of lady burville.
