Catching a Tartar. A novel

Front matter

CATCHING A TARTAR. & flobcl. BY G. WEBB APPLETON, AUTHOR OF 'FROZEN HEARTS.' ' Sperate Miseri. Cavete Felices.' IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II. |Coiti>cm : SAMUEL TINSLEY & CO., io, SOUTHAMPTON STREET, STRAND. 1879. [All Rights Reserved.} CONTENTS OF VOL. II. CHAPTER PAGE I. MR. PALMER ------ x II. THE CABBY'S SUGGESTION AND WHAT CAME OF IT 28 III. THIN ICE ""53 IV. THE SOMNAMBULIST ----- 73 V. MRS. BROPHY EXPLAINS - - - - 92 VI. SOUVENT FEMME VARIE - - - - 109 VII. IN WHICH A RIDDLE IS SOLVED - - - 134 VIII. HAYDON VILLA 1 52 IX. OAK LODGE, HIGHGATE - - - - 1 78 X. MR. THOMAS DEXTER IN LUCK - - - 204 XI. PARMI LES AVEUGLES LES BORGNES SONT ROIS 224 XII. AS MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED BY THE READER 246 XIII. THE RENDEZVOUS AT THE GATE - - - 268 XIV. THE QUEST ENDED ----- 282 XV. VÆ VICTIS !- -

Chapter I. Mr

PALMER. Yielding to Smythe's urgent solicitations, however, Martha consented to go first of all to a neighbouring hotel to breakfast. In consideration of valuable services rendered, cabby, in the meantime, was retained for the journey to Lincoln's Inn Fields. It was growing dark in an ominously rapid manner when they again entered the hansom. Indeed, by the time Newgate Prison was reached, they were overtaken by a genuine London fog-. In an instant the air had thickenedinto something closely resembling smoke. Roofs of buildings vanished ; lines of lower windows and doorways were quickly blurred into indistinctness. Suddenly a light vol. ii. burst feebly forth in the midst of the closing darkness, and about it gathered a dirty saffron nimbus. ' What, for heaven's sake, has happened ?' exclaimed Smythe at last, with a sneeze ; ' is the town on fire ?' ' Oh dear no !' said Marty, removing her muff from her mouth, 'it's only a London fog; that is all.' 'That is all!' he repeated; 'a London catarrh, I should think,' and he sneezed again.

Thicker and blacker it grew : the sun, which had hung until now like a copper ball above their heads, disappeared entirely. Great omnibuses now and then loomed up out of the yellow haze, their drivers shouting and cursing from beneath :ir tarpaulins. Wheels became interlocked , ..ad bewildered pedestrians, attempting to ford the highway, ran a double risk of being trampled to death and prodded by carriage poles. It was cold, too — a coldness with all the sting, and crispness, and sparkle taken out of it as with a wet cloth — a raw, penetrating, clammy chill that matted the hair, and made the clothes hang limp upon the person ; flakes of soot, viscid and sticky, clung to face and hands, and the ooze as of a general -Derspiration soon lay upon everything. Then Martha called to the cabman to let down the glass, and in this manner they crept at last into Lincoln's Inn Fields, where the fog, rare fied to a dirty amber hue, admitted a slight infiltration of light sufficient to make the road itself visible.

On the right arose the faint adumbration of a row of buildings ; on the left, the naked trees and shrubbery in the gardens started out like lines and splatches upon a blotting pad, congested here into one huge blot, intertwisted there in a tangle of moist and dripping twigs. It seemed an almost superhuman achieve ment, under the circumstances, for cabby to find Mr. Palmer's number, but he did it ; and Smythe, after the glass had been drawn up, threw open the leaves of the door and sprang upon the kerb. Little as yet could be seen of the house ; it stood some distance back from the road, and an iron fence and a single shaft of an Ionic portico were alone visible. He extended his hand for her to alight. ' One moment first,' she said. ' I'm so sorry, Charley, I can't let you come in — and what will you do out here in the cold ?

It really is too bad.' 19 — Charley's countenance fell. ' I won't listen,' he said. ' I'll stuff sealing wax in my ears, like that chap — what's his name ? — Ulysses. I will, really.' ' No, no, Charley, I'd rather not ; and I know that you'll be a good, reasonable boy, won't you ?' ' Oh Lord ! these girls !' he mentally ex claimed ; then aloud : ' Jump out, then. Mind your dress. There! you won't be long, I suppose ?' 'No, no, Charley, I truly won't — fifteen minutes at the furthest ; but it is so cold, what will you do while I am gone ?' ' Well, I think cabby and I had better go somewhere and get a pore-opener, eh, cabby ?' Cabby, who had been blowing upon his fingers and flapping his arms chanticleer fashion, suddenly ceased this gymnastic exercise, and intimated that ' in this ere narsty weather, he didn't mind if he did hev a pint with the gentleman.' Whereupon — after Smythe had escorted Martha to the door, and had satisfied himself by the perusal of a sign-board in the passage that Henry Palmer, solicitor, was to be found during office-hours upon 'the first-floor front — he replunged into the hansom, and was duly conveyed to a temple of Bacchus in an adjoin ing street, where cabby's opinion of Smythe, stimulated by frequent potations of ' fours of rum 'ot,' rose so rapidly, that it overflowed at last into an important disclosure, of which, however, more anon.

It was a fine old mansion, like many others in Lincoln's-inn-Fields, and Martha found herself admiring the spacious hall and the broad staircase with its oaken banisters as she ascended to the first story. Arrived upon the landing, she was confronted by two signs : and knocking upon the door which bore the words, ' clerks' office,' it was immediately opened by a tall, pale young gentle man, who waved her with a jerk of his head to a putty-complexioned, clean-shaven indi vidual, with great gooseberry eyes and still greater ' bladders' beneath them, who rose from his desk, thrust a pen into a tuft of hair above his ear, and demanded her name and business. Martha answered that she was Miss Sum merfield, and that the nature of her business would probably be inferred by Mr. Palmer if her presence was made known to him.

Whereupon the putty-complexioned man, who was chief-clerk, gave a surreptitious wink to the pale-faced youth, who was an articled-clerk, then disappeared through a green baize-door, and as quickly returned. ' Kindly walk this way, Miss Summerfield,' he said, waving his hand in the direction of the legal sanctum. As she entered, a dapper, clean-shaven middle-aged gentleman, with iron-grey hair and irreproachable linen, rose from a table and advanced to meet her. ' Well, well, this is a surprise,' he said, shaking her cordially by the hand and leading her to a chair by the fire. ' Do come and warm yourself; you must have nearly perished in this dreadful fog — this " pea-soup," as we call it, though it's er — ha ! ha ! a one-sided compliment, rather, I think. What — er- — will you have to warm you up ?

I have some port here you need not be afraid of. Will you try a glass ?' Martha assenting, she had time, while he was busy with the glasses, to take a hasty survey of the room. The dim flicker of gas in a rusty burner, combined with the sage green of the light in the window-panes, gave a bilious complexion to the wall-paper and objects generally. There was a book-case filled with sheep-skin tomes, a number of tin boxes heavily padlocked, and bearing names of clients in staring white letters, an old horse-hair sofa, littered with documents, and a mahogany writing-table covered with files of correspondence. ' There, try a drop of that — there is no better antidote to fog in the world, I assure you,' said Mr. Palmer, reappearing with glasses and a very dusty bottle at this point in her observations. ' Thank you very much, Mr. Palmer,' she returned, drinking the wine and replacing the glass in his hands. ' And now will you kindly listen at once to what I have to say ?' and she drew her chair up to the table. ' A friend is waiting for me outside in a cab, so that I am compelled to be as brief as possible.' ' Dear me !

Won't your — er — friend come inside, Miss Summerfield ? Permit me to send one of my clerks and ascertain ?' 'Oh no, thanks; I would much rather not,' she answered quickly. ' Ah ! just so— of course — I understand,' he said, with a significant nod of his head ; then, wheeling up his chair — a most disreputable piece of furniture, greasy, disembowelled, and profusely freckled with ink spots — he seated himself, crossed his legs, and assumed an attitude of respectful attention. ' You received my letter, Mr. Palmer, and read it carefully, I suppose ?' she began. ' I did,' he answered, ' and I congratulate you upon giving such — er — ' here the fog getting into his throat he was obliged to cough — 'such an interesting exposition of a — a most remarkable case.' ' It is very kind in you to say so, I am sure, Mr. Palmer,' said Martha. ' I simply obeyed your injunctions, and I should feel amply compensated for my labour in knowing that you will be thereby enabled the better to aid me with your valuable advice.' ' Just so,' he assented, uncrossing his legs and shifting his position so as to be able, as Martha thought, to intercept any chance thread of her communication that might other wise find its way through the green baize door and into the outer office. ' I am glad to be in a position to state,' she resumed, ' that my residence in Deadwick has resulted in an important discovery.' ' Indeed !

In other words, I suppose you have ascertained that Lydia Parker and Mrs. Brophy are one and the same person,' rejoined Mr. Palmer, once more shifting his position and smiling, as she thought, in a very singular manner. ' Precisely so,' she answered. ' And you are prepared to establish this beyond a doubt ?' ' Beyond a doubt.' ' Do not think, Miss Summerfield,' he quickly added — ' do not think that I question your ability to prove this fact, if I ask by what means you would be able to do so.' Martha considered a moment. ' Well, in the first place,' she said, ' by the evidence of a gentleman who knew Lydia Parker in America — the Mr. Smythe men tioned in my letter, who fortunately arrived in England a few days ago.' ' And who, I presume, is now sitting out side in this mouldy atmosphere saying unkind things of our London climate?' interposed Mr. Palmer pleasantly.

Martha, knowing that Charley could be pro fane upon occasion, smiled in turn at this, and said : ' You are a good guesser, Mr. Palmer ;' then, in a graver tone, she added : ' Would his corroboration of my statement be more satisfactory to you ? If so, send for him at once.' ' By no means, Miss Summerfield ; must I infer from your words that he has seen Mrs. Brophy?' ' ' Yes.' ' And recognises her to be the woman he knew under the name of Lydia Parker in Perth Amboy ?' ' He does.' ' That is quite sufficient. It is enough to know that were corroboration required it would be immediately forthcoming. Pray proceed, Miss Summerfield.' ' I also found,' continued Martha, ' a por trait of Mrs. Warren in Mrs. Brophy's album. She not only admitted it to be such, but volunteered the statement that she had travelled for several years with Mrs. Warren, and had visited America during that period.' ' Was this said in the presence of witnesses ?' ' Of competent witnesses — yes.' ' Very good — very good ; this is definite progress,' he said, once more shifting the position of his legs, and gazing attentively at the fire a moment ; then, looking up, he con tinued, in an altered, and it maybe, more pro fessional tone : ' Let us now carefully survey the ground, Miss Summerfield.

You are now in a position to definitely state, and prove by the testimony of others, that Mrs. Brophy was once known as Lydia Parker, and that, under this name, she visited America in the year 1 86 1 in company with a lady known by hearsay to you as Mrs. Warren, that the two resided, in the summer of that year, in the town of Perth Amboy, were on terms of intimacy with your father, and disappeared simultaneously with him. Do I state the case with sufficient clear ness, Miss Summerfield ?' ' You certainly do, Mr. Palmer.' ' I do not wish to discourage you,' he pursued, with a compassionate smile, ' but did it ever occur to you, my dear young lady, that this is the only piece of real evidence you have obtained in the matter, and that, legally speak ing, it amounts to a barren nil f That this thought had never occurred to her was clearly made manifest by her look of blank astonishment. ' Unless,' he continued, after a careful examination of her face — ' unless you have omitted to mention some feature in your discovery which would tend to throw additional er — illumination upon the subject.' 'Well, to tell the truth, I had scarcely finished when you commenced to sum up the evidence in such a terribly conclusive manner.

The additional evidence you require is this ;' and Martha proceeded to narrate, with the exception of what Smythe had said in relation to her mother's intimacy with the stranger, all that had occurred the previous evening. Mr. Palmer listened attentively ; and as if to stimulate his mental processes, poured out and drank a glass of wine during the progress of her narrative. When she had finished, he reflected awhile, then, with the practical cau tion of his craft, he said : 'What you have told me, Miss Summer field, may or may not have a bearing upon the case. In the absence of any collateral evidence, I should incline to a negative opinion. Am I right in assuming that you are not in a position to furnish me with any additional evidence ?' ' Nothing I deem of any consequence,' she answered, colouring.

He watched her closely an instant ; then, the fog getting into his throat once more, he was seized with quite a violent fit of cough ing. When this was over, he said, leaning over the table, and in a more confidential tone than he had yet assumed : ' Regard me somewhat in the light of a family physician, if you please, Miss Summer field. Without perfect frankness upon your part, I cannot give an intelligible opinion, or aid you in any way.' Then, being a virtuoso in the art of eliciting evidence, he made a retrograde movement. It was plain she was keeping something back, and was invulnerable to an appeal of this nature. ' However,' he continued, throwing himself back in his chair and meditatively stroking his chin, ' when I reflect upon the matter, I see nothing very remarkable in it, after all.

Mrs. Brophy may have had — er — a connection before her marriage, which it is quite natural to suppose she would not wish to become known to her husband. It is a reasonable conjecture I think, too, that this stranger may have, at some time, occupied a prominent place in — er — Mrs. Brophy's affections. His reappearance would, there fore, naturally produce a shock to that lady's nervous system. In the course of a long professional experience, I have known of such cases, and therefore speak advisedly. In deed, such — er — shocks have to my certain knowledge resulted before now in what is commonly called a decree nisi. But I am unnecessarily protracting this interview, Miss Summerfield. I was about to say, when I entered upon this digression, that the purpose of this stranger, whoever he may be, was unquestionably to obtain money ; and it is equally obvious to my mind that Mrs. Brophy considered the maintenance of her secret well worth the expenditure of — how much ? — two hundred pounds ?' ' Yes,' said Martha ; ' and it is her ability to pay such a sum that excites my surprise and my suspicion.' *' Are you prepared to prove that the circumstance is in anywise suspicious or sur prising ?

Do you know enough of her to justify such an assertion ? Are you prepared to deny that she possesses sufficient wealth of her own to purchase the silence of a dozen importunate lovers ?' ' But the fact of her travelling with Mrs. Warren ?' ' Points to nothing, of itself ; you are not In a position to deny that she is a relative of Mrs. Warren's. You cannot affirm that she travelled with the latter for any other pur pose than amusement and pleasure.' ' But suppose that Mr. Brophy is unaware •of her possessing this money ?' said Martha. ' Ah, that is quite another matter !' rejoined Mr. Palmer. ' She could conceal it from him of course. Any wife, had she a motive for so doing, might accomplish such a thing very easily, perhaps, but the act would be an unnatural one and darkly suspicious.' - Assuming that to be the case in the present instance, might not my father have purchased this woman's silence ?' ' It is not probable,' he answered, ' nor even possible, a motive being the keystone of any such supposition.

Five parallel lines are very insignificant things, Miss Summer field; but without them the " Messiah" and " Fidelio" could not have been written. If your father really eloped with Mrs. Warren, he might as well have attempted to bribe the winds of heaven to keep it secret. Such an abrupt withdrawal from the observance of fixed social conditions can never be ef fected in silence. You can never muzzle the on dits, or administer an anæsthetic to the genius of scandal. No, Miss Summer field, I should incline to quite a different supposition.' ' That my father, then, was robbed ?' inter posed Martha warmly. ' I am scarcely prepared to go to the length of making such an assertion, Miss Summerfield. One cannot see one's way clearly in the dark. This is altogether a thorny ques tion, and midnight is a bad time for groping among briars.

You cannot solve the question yourself, that is certain ; you cannot play the spy, with the risk of being publicly branded as such, upon a woman who may be as inno cent as myself of any complicity in your father's disappearance. ' So long as you withhold anything from me which may tend to the elucidation of this mystery, you are in the condition of a moribund patient who conceals dangerous symptoms from his family physician. Em ploying this illustration for the second time, may I for the second time beg you to evince your confidence in me. by disclosing what I suspect to be important evidence bearing upon this intricate business.' Martha reddened again, and said : 'Well, if I have been wanting at all in candour, the offence is at least a trivial one, and prompted by the conviction that what I have withheld would throw no additional light upon the subject.

The fact hitherto concealed by me is that, during the summer of 1 86 1, this stranger was a frequent visitor at my father's house.' ' Did you ever see him there ?' asked Mr. Palmer, after a moment's reflection. ' Never. I am indebted for this information to Mr. Smythe.' ' Dear me ! May I ask, Miss Summer field, whether this man was a friend of your father's ?' There was a long pause, then Martha answered : ' I may as well be frank with you. The stranger visited my mother in my father's absence ;' then, observing an upward move ment of Mr. Palmer's eyebrows, she quickly added, ' and I feel confident that he is a relative of my mother's.' Mr. Palmer had an immediate access of that troublesome cough. 'Just so — just so,' he presently said. 'I think you mentioned in your letter that she was of French extraction ?' ' Yes.' ' And this man, then, of course, is French also ?' ' He has that appearance, at least, and he speaks with a foreign accent.' ' Ah — yes ; your conjecture, then, Miss Summerfield, is a reasonable one, and might satisfactorily explain his presence in Perth vol. 11.

Amboy that summer. I say might, because his appearance there would appear to be coincident with the arrival of Lydia Parker. You are not prepared to state, I suppose, that their acquaintance began at that time ?' ' I am not.' ' You see, I possess very uncertain data upon which to build up any kind of a supposition. Mrs. Brophy's connection with this man — for connection of some kind there must have been — may or may not have begun at that time. But that your mother possessed a previous acquaintance with him is, I take it, proved beyond a question or doubt.' ' I think so. Yes.' ' You were with your mother constantly, I suppose — from the date of the accident ?' ' Day and night — yes.' ' She was in a state of great excitement, I believe, when you arrived home that day?' ' Very great.' ' And was oppressed by melancholy fore bodings as to the safety of your father ?' ' Yes.' ' Did that occur to you at the time as being at all singular ?' ' Certainly not ; she was always of a very nervous temperament.' ' Did she ever appear to entertain a doubt as to the death of your father ?' ' I think not ; she died very shortly after his disappearance, and in the interval she spoke but little.

She made a great effort to tell me something the afternoon she died, but I failed to perceive any meaning in the few words I caught from her lips.' ' Do you remember them ?' he asked, leaning over and taking pen and paper in hand. ' Perfectly. Yes.' ' Would you have any objection to my taking a memorandum of what they were ?' ' Not in the least ; they were simply — " Dix mois avant" — then something which sounded like — "mon mariage" — though I am not certain upon that point, and "pardon, cherie" — that was all.' ' Will you — er — kindly write it down ? I'm a little rusty in my French,' said Mr. Palmer, tendering her the pen and paper with a smile. When she had complied, he examined the words attentively a moment, then said : ' Oh, yes, I see ; indefinite enough, I con fess.

Will you — er — oblige me with your mother's maiden name, Miss Summerfield ?' ' Certainly — Louise Dessart.' 20 — ' Thank you' — writing it down. ' And she was at one time connected, I think you said, with the " Theatre du Gymnase," in Paris ?' ' She was.' 'Just so, thank you' — making a further addition to his memorandum. ' Now, may I be permitted to ask,' he continued, ' whether at the time of this attempted communication, it was your impression that some heavy burden lay upon your mother's mind ?' ' Yes, I had such an impression,' she answered, after a little hesitation. ' And do you still persist in that belief?' ' Y-e-s ; I have seen no good reason for changing it.' ' Just so, of course,' he continued, looking up with a quick, sharp glance of inquiry, ' if this — er — stranger had visited your mother subsequent to your father's disappearance, you must have known it ?' ' Certainly, sir. What do you mean V came the emphatic interrogation, accompanied by a very red face. ' A formality, that is all, Miss Summer field, though a very essential one to this inquiry.

Do you know of your own know ledge whether this man was seen in Perth Amboy upon the day of the accident ?' ' I do not.' ' Or at any time after the accident ?' ' Again no ; this is what you lawyers call cross-examination, is it not ? Have you sus picions against this man ?' ' It would be premature in me to declare them, if I had, Miss Summerfield ; I will say this, however, that if this man is implicated in your father's disappearance, you may safely dismiss Mrs. Warren from the case at once.' Martha, objecting to have her preposses sions so rudely disturbed, became argumenta tive immediately, after the feminine fashion. ' Oh, nonsense ! I don't think so ; the evi dence is very strong against Mrs. Warren, and when I find her I feel sure I shall find my father. Did I not trace them both to Leamington, to Venice, and Rome ?' ' You traced Mr. and Mrs. Warren and Lydia Parker to those places ; are you sure your father was of the number ?

Did it never occur to you that there was something remarkable in the fact of a man like your father — and an Englishman, assuming the name of his — er — of a lady ?' ' Such a fact, if we admit it, would equally forbid the presumption of his running away at all, I should think,' said Martha with an uneasy sense, when she had spoken, of making an important admission. ' Ah ! my dear Miss Summerfield, that was a most sensible remark, and I rejoice to hear it coming from your lips,' he rejoined ; ' now listen a moment while I analyse the case you have against Mrs. Warren,' he continued, with what seemed like a very malicious smile. ' Are you sure, in the first place, that your father left Perth Amboy at all on the day of the supposed accident ?' Martha opened her eyes wide with astonish ment. 'Why, of course I am,' she answered, ' Did you see him leave ?' ' No— a' ' Do you know anybody that did?' ' No- — o ; but mother knew he intended to go-' ' Intended, yes ; but did he go ? that is the question.' ' Well, I have no reason to doubt it.' ' Could you swear to the fact f Martha was much perplexed. ' Well, the boat was found capsized,' she answered evasively. ' Very true ; but who was in it ? and, in deed, what evidence have you that it did not drift away empty from its moorings during the storm ?' ' Mrs. Brophy could answer that question.' ' How do you know ? you did not see her enter the boat, and I very much doubt if you know of anybody that did!

Martha was silent. ' The fact of the matter is this,' he pursued, in a pleasant strain, and throwing himself back in his chair, ' I read your letter, Miss Sum merfield, with great interest ; as I remarked before, it was a very interesting exposition of the case, but defective in many points, as I will now proceed to show. The affair, to my mind, is beginning to wear a very serious aspect, and unless I am very much mistaken, if you prosecute your inquiries in the proper direction, you will shortly be in a position to demand legal assistance in the matter. Now, to do this, you must be in a condition clearly to prove : ' 1. That your father — I lay emphasis upon this, because the point is a very essential one — that your father really disappeared upon a certain day from the town of Perth Amboy, and has never since been seen. ' 2.

That he was last seen entering a yacht called the Flora, which was afterwards found bottom upwards in the bay, and that with him were two ladies, named respectively Mrs. Warren and Lydia Parker. ' If suddenly called upon to do this, coidd you do it, Miss Summerfield ? I am afraid — indeed, I am sure not. You would break down in the preliminary examination. In the law, Miss Summerfield,' he pursued, in a didactic manner, ' you will find the principles of indifferentism carried out to their fullest extent. With the same turn of the wheel it will grind one mortal into powder, and raise another into the beatitudes. It has its amenities, of course, but they are only skin deep, after all ; and as for sympathies, it possesses them no more than a railway train does which will bear you with comfort and ease to your destination, or mangle you beyond recognition if you attempt to obstruct its progress.

Clever barristers may succeed in drenching a jury-box with sympathetic tears; but in all probability, the voice of the law from the bench will straightway petrify twelve British hearts into twelve British flints. We lawyers, Miss Summerfield, are denied the convenient eclecticism of other professions. You painters, for example, can cover your canvas with angels, convert them at pleasure into fiends, and metamorphose the whole again into a May-pole dance ; such is the prerogative of art. Legal formulas, however, are as inelastic as the ten commandments, or the multiplica tion table. Twice three are six with us, and there is no use in mincing the matter.