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Page 66
"Oh, well," he said. "Of course, it's--it's a pretty well
understood thing, don't you know--between myself and Miss
Bewery, you know--and of course, we couldn't have any
suspicions attaching to her guardian, could we, now? Family
interest, don't you know--Caesar's wife, and all that sort of
thing, eh?"
"I see," answered Bryce, quietly,--"sort of family arrangement.
With Ransford's consent and knowledge, of course?"
"Ransford won't even be consulted," said Sackville, airily.
"My stepfather--sharp man, that, Bryce!--he'll do things in
his own fashion. You look out for sudden revelations!"
"I will," replied Bryce. "By-bye!"
He turned off to his rooms, wondering how much of truth there
was in the fatuous Sackville's remarks. And--was there some
mystery still undreamt of by himself and Harker? There might
be--he was still under the influence of Ransford's indignant
and dramatic assertion of his innocence. Would Ransford have
allowed himself an outburst of that sort if he had not been,
as he said, utterly ignorant of the immediate cause of
Braden's death? Now Bryce, all through, was calculating, for
his own purposes, on Ransford's share, full or partial, in
that death--if Ransford really knew nothing whatever about it,
where did his, Bryce's theory, come in--and how would his
present machinations result? And, more--if Ransford's
assertion were true, and if Varner's story of the hand, seen
for an instant in the archway, were also true--and Varner was
persisting in it--then, who was the man who flung Braden to
his death that morning? He realized that, instead of
straightening out, things were becoming more and more
complicated.
But he realized something else. On the surface, there was a
strong case of suspicion against Ransford. It had been
suggested that very morning before a coroner and his jury; it
would grow; the police were already permeated with suspicion
and distrust. Would it not pay him, Bryce, to encourage, to
help it? He had his own score to pay off against Ransford; he
had his own schemes as regards Mary Bewery. Anyway, he was
not going to share in any attempts to clear the man who had
bundled him out of his house unceremoniously--he would bide
his time. And in the meantime there were other things to be
done--one of them that very night.
But before Bryce could engage in his secret task of excavating
a small portion of Paradise in the rear of Richard Jenkins's
tomb, another strange development came. As the dark fell over
the old city that night and he was thinking of setting out on
his mission, Mitchington came in, carrying two sheets of
paper, obviously damp from the press, in his hand. He looked
at Bryce with an expression of wonder.
"Here's a queer go!" he said. "I can't make this out at all!
Look at these big handbills--but perhaps you've seen 'em?
They're being posted all over the city--we've had a bundle of
'em thrown in on us."
"I haven't been out since lunch," remarked Bryce. "What are
they?"
Mitchington spread out the two papers on the table, pointing
from one to the other.
"You see?" he said. "Five Hundred Pounds Reward!--One
Thousand Pounds Reward! And--both out at the same time, from
different sources!"
"What sources?" asked Bryce, bending over the bills. "Ah--I
see. One signed by Phipps & Maynard, the other by Beachcroft.
Odd, certainly!"
"Odd?" exclaimed Mitchington. "I should think so! But, do
you see, doctor? that one--five hundred reward--is offered for
information of any nature relative to the deaths of John
Braden and James Collishaw, both or either. That amount will
be paid for satisfactory information by Phipps & Maynard. And
Phipps & Maynard are Ransford's solicitors! That bill, sir,
comes from him! And now the other, the thousand pound one,
that offers the reward to any one who can give definite
information as to the circumstances attending the death of
John Braden--to be paid by Mr. Beachcroft. And he's Mr.
Folliot's solicitor! So--that comes from Mr. Folliot. What
has he to do with it? And are these two putting their heads
together--or are these bills quite independent of each other?
Hang me if I understand it!"
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