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Page 39
"That the amount of the defalcations was much larger than had
been allowed to appear," replied Mr. Gilwaters. "That Brake
was a very clever rogue who had got the money safely planted
somewhere abroad, and that his wife had gone off somewhere
--Australia, or Canada, or some other far-off region--to await
his release. Of course, I didn't believe one word of all
that. But there was the fact--she had vanished! And
eventually, I thought of Ransford, as having been Brake's
great friend, so I tried to find him. And then I found that
he, too, who up to that time had been practising in a London
suburb--Streatham--had also disappeared. Just after Brake's
arrest, Ransford had suddenly sold his practice and gone--no
one knew where, but it was believed--abroad. I couldn't trace
him, anyway. And soon after that I had a long illness, and
for two or three years was an invalid, and--well, the thing
was over and done with, and, as I said just now, I have never
heard anything of any of them for all these years. And now!
--now you tell me that there is a Mary Bewery who is a ward of
a Dr. Mark Ransford at--where did you say?"
"At Wrychester," answered Bryce. "She is a young woman of
twenty, and she has a brother, Richard, who is between
seventeen and eighteen."
"Without a doubt those are Brake's children!" exclaimed the
old man. "The infant I spoke of was a boy. Bless me!--how
extraordinary. How long have they been at Wrychester?"
"Ransford has been in practice there some years--a few years,"
replied Bryce. "These two young people joined him there
definitely two years ago. But from what I have learnt, he has
acted as their guardian ever since they were mere children."
"And--their mother?" asked Mr. Gilwaters.
"Said to be dead--long since," answered Bryce. "And their
father, too. They know nothing. Ransford won't tell them
anything. But, as you say--I've no doubt of it myself now
--they must be the children of John Brake."
"And have taken the name of their mother!" remarked the old
man.
"Had it given to them," said Bryce. "They don't know that it
isn't their real name. Of course, Ransford has given it to
them! But now--the mother?"
"Ah, yes, the mother!" said Mr. Gilwaters. "Our old
governess! Dear me!"
"I'm going to put a question to you," continued Bryce, leaning
nearer and speaking in a low, confidential tone. "You must
have seen much of the world, Mr. Gilwaters--men of your
profession know the world, and human nature, too. Call to
mind all the mysterious circumstances, the veiled hints, of
that trial. Do you think--have you ever thought--that the
false friend whom the counsel referred to was--Ransford?
Come, now!"
The old clergyman lifted his hands and let them fall on his
knees.
"I do not know what to say!" he exclaimed. "To tell you the
truth, I have often wondered if--if that was what really did
happen. There is the fact that Brake's wife disappeared
mysteriously--that Ransford made a similar mysterious
disappearance about the same time--that Brake was obviously
suffering from intense and bitter hatred when I saw him after
the trial--hatred of some person on whom he meant to be
revenged--and that his counsel hinted that he had been
deceived and betrayed by a friend. Now, to my knowledge, he
and Ransford were the closest of friends--in the old days,
before Brake married our governess. And I suppose the
friendship continued--certainly Ransford acted as best man at
the wedding! But how account for that strange double
disappearance?"
Bryce had already accounted for that, in his own secret mind.
And now, having got all that he wanted out of the old
clergyman, he rose to take his leave.
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