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Page 80
CHAPTER XIX
THE SUBTLETY OF THE DEVIL
There was a sudden determination and alertness in Bryce's last
words which contrasted strongly, and even strangely, with the
almost cynical indifference that had characterized him since
his visitors came in, and the two men recognized it and
glanced questioningly at each other. There was an alteration,
too, in his manner; instead of lounging lazily in his chair,
as if he had no other thought than of personal ease, he was
now sitting erect, looking sharply from one man to the other;
his whole attitude, bearing, speech seemed to indicate that he
had suddenly made up his mind to adopt some definite course of
action.
"I'll tell you more!" he repeated. "And, since you're here
--now!"
Mitchington, who felt a curious uneasiness, gave Jettison
another glance. And this time it was Jettison who spoke.
"I should say," he remarked quietly, "knowing what I've
gathered of the matter, that we ought to be glad of any
information Dr. Bryce can give us."
"Oh, to be sure!" assented Mitchington. "You know more, then,
doctor?"
Bryce motioned his visitors to draw their chairs nearer to
his, and when he spoke it was in the low, concentrated tones
of a man who means business--and confidential business.
"Now look here, Mitchington," he said, "and you, too, Mr.
Jettison, as you're on this job--I'm going to talk straight to
both of you. And to begin with, I'll make a bold assertion--I
know more of this Wrychester Paradise mystery--involving the
deaths of both Braden and Collishaw, than any man living
--because, though you don't know it, Mitchington, I've gone
right into it. And I'll tell you in confidence why I went
into it--I want to marry Dr. Ransford's ward, Miss Bewery!"
Bryce accompanied this candid admission with a look which
seemed to say: Here we are, three men of the world, who know
what things are--we understand each other! And while Jettison
merely nodded comprehendingly, Mitchington put his thoughts
into words.
"To be sure, doctor, to be sure!" he said. "And accordingly
--what's their affair, is yours! Of course!"
"Something like that," assented Bryce. "Naturally no man
wishes to marry unless he knows as much as he can get to know
about the woman he wants, her family, her antecedents--and all
that. Now, pretty nearly everybody in Wrychester who knows
them, knows that there's a mystery about Dr. Ransford and his
two wards--it's been talked of, no end, amongst the old
dowagers and gossips of the Close, particularly--you know what
they are! Miss Bewery herself, and her brother, young Dick,
in a lesser degree, know there's a mystery. And if there's
one man in the world who knows the secret, it's Ransford.
And, up to now, Ransford won't tell--he won't even tell Miss
Bewery. I know that she's asked him--he keeps up an obstinate
silence. And so--I determined to find things out for myself."
"Aye--and when did you start on that little game, now,
doctor?" asked Mitchington. "Was it before, or since, this
affair developed?"
"In a really serious way--since," replied Bryce. "What
happened on the day of Braden's death made me go thoroughly
into the whole matter. Now, what did happen? I'll tell you
frankly, now, Mitchington, that when we talked once before
about this affair, I didn't tell you all I might have told.
I'd my reasons for reticence. But now I'll give you full
particulars of what happened that morning within my knowledge
--pay attention, both of you, and you'll see how one thing
fits into another. That morning, about half-past nine,
Ransford left his surgery and went across the Close. Not long
after he'd gone, this man Braden came to the door, and asked
me if Dr. Ransford was in? I said he wasn't--he'd just gone
out, and I showed the man in which direction. He said he'd
once known a Dr. Ransford, and went away. A little later, I
followed. Near the entrance of Paradise, I saw Ransford
leaving the west porch of the Cathedral. He was undeniably in
a state of agitation--pale, nervous. He didn't see me. I
went on and met Varner, who told me of the accident. I went
with him to the foot of St. Wrytha's Stair and found the man
who had recently called at the surgery. He died just as I
reached him. I sent for you. When you came, I went back to
the surgery--I found Ransford there in a state of most unusual
agitation--he looked like a man who has had a terrible shock.
So much for these events. Put them together."
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