Not a Moment to spare

Front matter

NOT A MOMENT TO SPARE. BT HUGH COLEMAN DAVIDSON, AUTHOR OF "THE OLD ADAM," "THE GREEN HILLS BT THE SEA," "CAST ON THE WATERS," "MAD OR MARRIED?" ETC. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, LIMITED, St. Bunstan's pjotisr, Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, E.C. 1891. [All rights reserved.'] LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LTMrTED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. CONTENTS OF YOL. I. CHAPTER PAGE I. CROFTON . . . . . . . . . . 1 II. Dick Croll . . . . . . . . 27 III. Jopp's Fall . . . . . . . . 43 IV. AYLMER H5EABS THE TRUTH . . . . 72 V. MURDERED . . . . . . . . 92 VI. The News is told to Mks. Fosbroke . . 113 VII. The Inquest . . . . . . . . 137 VIII. Taken away from her . . . . . . 162 IX. In Gaol . . . . . . . . . . 186 X. Jopp meets an Awkward Customer . . 208 XI. The Search for Meta . . . . . .

Chapter I. Crofton

After his wife's death Mr. Roden and his little granddaughter went away from Yarle and disappeared from the sight of their friends. It seemed strange that the old man should leave Crofton, in which his family had lived for generations. People said he had had losses ; others hinted at trouble in connection with a daughter, dead or forgotten, and looked darkly at Ralph Aylmer. Rumour was very busy about the affair, but the truth was known to none. Crofton, sold to pay off certain mortvol. i. c gages, was bought by Austin Jopp, com mission agent and company promoter, sleek, short, and fat in his person, with a round face, small eyes, a dark moustache, and a bald head. His usual costume was a check suit, white hat, spats over his glossy shoes, and a flower in his button-hole. At this time he had been a resident in the village for about two years, going every morning by train to his office in London.

"Want of money was Jopp's greatest infliction, but it was relieved by flashes of mysterious wealth, and, however badly things were going in the City, he always managed to keep up appearances in Yarle, a matter of consequence to him, as his chief ambition was to pass as a country gentleman. The sale of Crofton seemed to offer the oppor tunity he sought. It occurred at a lucky moment, for he happened to have some money. The rest was lent to him by Ralph Aylmer. CROFTON. The purchase of this house was the crowning act of an enterprise in which Jopp had been engaged for some months. As a lodger he had no particular status in the parish, even though he had found favour with Mr. Carrol, the vicar, played whist often with Dr. Perks, and advanced himself in every possible way ; but as the proprietor of a fine old-fashioned house, with good garden and grounds, he might surely expect to win Hilda Fosbroke and her fortune.

With such a wife his position would be secure. Therefore, knowing that Aylmer cared for her, he spread abroad the report that Aylmer was a married man, and, knowing that she cared for him, the report that she had accepted somebody else — to wit, Austin Jopp. This little plan was helped forward by the village gossips ; also by Aylmer's reticent disposition and the fact that he had led a wandering life before settling down to grow fruit and flowers on the property left to him by his uncle. " All is fair in love and war," said Jopp ; and though perplexed at Aylmer's offer of a loan for the purpose of buying Crofton, he accepted it without compunction. It was beyond his comprehension that any man should be so Quixotic as to sacrifice himself for the sake of the woman he loved, even to the extent of enabling a favoured rival to provide a home for her.

Yet this was the fact. Aylmer had been led to believe that Hilda Fosbroke wished to live at Crofton ; so, putting himself altogether aside, he helped Jopp to buy it. Jopp was thoroughly aware that the speculation was a hazardous one. He knew he was staking his all — not very much as it happened — upon a single cast of the die, but living from hand to mouth, up one clay and down the next, he had learnt to trust a good deal to luck, and he CROFTON. 5 had many a time tested the proverb that " Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." More over, his new position gave him one tremendous advantage — unlimited credit. He used it freely, patronizing all the local tradesmen, scattering his orders right and left, and furnishing the old house in a most sumptuous style. Appearances were still all on his side ; it was reported that Austin Jopp had made a fortune.

Of course it was necessary to have a house-warmin<2\ Rather to the disp-ust of the vicar, who had his eye on the sleek commission agent as a profitable church warden, Jopp decided to celebrate his rise in the social scale with a dance. If only he could get Mrs. Fosbroke to act as hostess on that one night, his plan could scarcely fail to succeed. To put his request direct would, he feared, be suicidal, but he hoped to gain his end by means of Madge Spender, the young friend who had lately come to live with Mrs. Fosbroke. Jopp, however, was rather afraid of Madge ; she had travelled so much and knew so much ; her blue eyes, seldom without an incomprehensible twinkle in them, seemed to pierce him through and through, so that even when he was most smartly dressed he never felt quite comfortable in her presence.

But Madge delighted in dancing, and on this occasion Jopp had in her a warm sup porter. " Oh, aunt," she said coaxingly, for so she called her friend who was so much older than herself, " do let us go. It will be such fun. Mr. Jopp in a new dress suit — why, that alone will be worth all the trouble." As usual, Madge had her own wTay. The dance took place on the first of October. It was a dark night, but fine and warm. The rustics who had gathered CROFTON. round the gate, making very audible com ments upon each arrival, remained until long after the last guest had entered the house ; for around the lawn was a double row of Chinese lanterns, a really grand show of coloured lights. This was Jopp's own idea, and he was very proud of it. The guests were a mixed company, ladies being in the minority.

A curious group stood by the drawing-room door, seldom speaking to one another, never stirring unless it were to sneak away to the supper room, where exhilarating drinks were to be obtained. These were Jopp's City friends. They grew rather more lively as the even ing advanced, and even danced a little during the supper hour. The residents formed a party by them selves, and among them was Ralph Aylmer, a powerfully built man, with rugged features, ruddy hair and beard, and an evident disregard for appearances. In spite of his intimacy with Jopp, he wras the last person his acquaintances would have expected to see at a dance. But Madge, the belle of the evening, a decidedly handsome gild with mischievous blue eyes, a saucy little nose and mouth, and an air of perfect self-possession, singled him out at once.

She was attracted less, perhaps, by his appearance than by the mystery that seemed to surround him. He seldom spoke to any of his neighbours, but when he did he received a respectful attention which was given to nobody else. It was not until he had been introduced to Madge that his reserve broke down. Both of them having been great travellers, they had much to talk about, and they sat out many dances together. A flirtation so marked could not but provoke notice and comment. Mrs. Fos broke saw it with pained surprise. She could hardly trust her own senses. Was CROFTON. it possible that her hero should play such an ignoble part ? He loved her, she felt sure, and for the sake of her honour and his — for the sake of that unworthy wife who was somewhere in the background, he had bravely struggled with and mastered the feelings which would have carried away many another.

And now here he was flirting with a mere girl ! It seemed incredible. Had he been deceiving her the whole time ? or was he a mere creature of impulse who could not resist the fascina tion of the moment ? She could not believe either of these things of him. She did not know what to think. But being for the time in the position of chaperon to Madge, she felt that a most painful duty devolved upon her. She had to put an end to this flirtation and, if neces sary, even warn Madge against Aylmer. How could she do this without miscon struction ? How could she act so towards the man she loved ? Yet it was surely for his sake — for the sake of his good name, which was more to her than she dared confess. So Mrs. Fosbroke nerved herself for her task. As the couple had disappeared from the corner in which she had last seen them, she went after them.

" You look tired," said Mrs. Perks, noticing with envy the beautiful old lace shawl which Mrs. Fosbroke had thrown over her shoulders. "I am a little tired," was the gentle reply. " And no wonder," said Mrs. Perks afterwards to her neighbour. " The charge of a girl like that would tire anybody." Mrs. Fosbroke was about to search for Madge and Aylmer in the garden, when she met them coming in rather hurriedly. " It is too cold for you to be out, child," she said, with a significant accent on the last word. CROFTON. " Oh, aunt," exclaimed Madge, un abashed, " it is quite like a summer evening." But Aylmer said, not without embarrassment, " I was just bringing her in, Mrs. Fosbroke. May I leave her in your care ? and can you tell me where Jopp is ? " " In the supper-room, I believe," she replied, regarding him with wonderful calmness.

With a curt " Thank you," he hastened away, thus relieving her — for the present, at any rate — from the necessity of perform ing a most distressing duty. Jopp was in the dining-room, converted for the occasion into a supper-room. He had brought three of his City friends to admire his taste in the matter of pictures and china, and, with his hands in his pockets, he was swaggering before an oil painting hung over the mantelshelf. " A rattling fine thing, I call it," he was saying. " Cost me twenty-five guineas, and I got it a bargain. Notice the frame, Sneller ! Quite a new idea." Aylmer tapped him on the shoulder. " There is somebody looking for you," he said. Jopp turned as white as a sheet. He had been drinking champagne freely, for it was his intention not to let the night pass without asking Mrs. Fosbroke to accept Crofton and himself.

But all his courage was gone now. " Somebody I ought to have danced with," he said with an awkward laugh. But in the hall he asked, in an anxious whisper, " Good gracious, Aylmer, who is it ? It can't be a bailiff ; it's too late." " A bailiff ! " repeated Aylmer, with a stare. " Why on earth should a bailiff come here ? " " Don't you understand ? No, of course you don't. How should you ? You can't CROFTON. 13 know what mean tricks these City people sometimes play. I have heard of their sending down a bailiff— often a sham bailiff — to frighten a fellow into paying what he doesn't really owe. It isn't a bailiff, then ! These city rogues," said Jopp, ramming the tips of his fingers into the pockets of his new dress-waistcoat, " shall not frighten me, I can tell you." " Quite right, Jopp. I admire your courage, only there is no need for it here.

It is only Cochrane the builder." " Oh, only Cochrane ! " said Jopp faintly. " What does he want ? " " I don't know. He merely said he was most anxious to see you." " The thing is ridiculous. He must know I am en^-as-ed. I will send one of the servants to him." " I think you had better see him your self," said Aylmer quietly. " He struck me as being in a great way about something." " It is too absurd. What can he want ? To speak about enlarging the stable ? I did say something about it. But fancy coming here now ! Some people have no sense of propriety." " I suppose you know best," said Aylmer after a pause. " Cochrane's business may or may not be important, but if I were you I should see him myself. Shall I see him for you ? " " No," replied Jopp suddenly. " As you insist upon it, I will see him myself.

And I will just give him a piece of my mind." With a great show of indignation he went out by the garden door. After passing the drawing-room window, whence came the sound of music, dancing, and merry voices, he stopped near the mulberry tree on the lawn, in order to prepare for every contingency. The front of the house was almost as CROFTON. brilliantly illuminated as the back. But between the stable and one end of the greenhouse there was a small shrubbery which was not lighted by Chinese lanterns. Here, in the shadow cast by a large holly, stood a thin, dark, careworn man dressed in black. Holding his hat in one hand, he rubbed his streaming forehead with the other, and all the while watched the lighted space before the house as eagerly as a famished man searching for a copper. He started forward when he saw Jopp come cautiously round the corner, and immediately afterwards drew back as if he was afraid of being seen.

But when Jopp, after a hasty glance towards the gate, was on the point of retiring, he frantically waved his hat, and in a hoarse voice called out — " Mr. Jopp ! Here, sir ! Mr. Jopp ! " Jopp started, the words were so un expected. With as much composure as he could command, he walked towards the shrubbery. " Well, Mr. Cochrane, what is the matter ? " he asked. " They've put a man in the house, sir," replied the builder in the same hoarse voice as before. " A man in the house ! " gasped Jopp, with a terrified remembrance of a creditor who was pressing him in London. He turned to look fearfully at the door. " How did he get in ? Is he one of the waiters ? " " I don't understand," said the builder, passing his hand in a dazed way across his forehead. " He came in through the door — my wife let him in ; it's because they won't wait, he is there."

" What — what do you mean ? Whose house is he in ? " " Why, sir, in my house." " Oh, in your house ! " said Jopp, sur- CROFTON. prised at his own coolness all of a sudden. " There is a man in your house, is there, Mr. Cochrane ! Well, of course, I am very sorry for you. But don't you think it a little unreasonable to drag me' away from my guests simply to tell me that ? " "But don't you see, sir!" said the builder desperately. " You will excuse me under the circumstances, I know, for what else could I do ? You owre me a bill — a big bill — and as I am so pressed, I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind giving me a cheque at once." His face was thrust into Jopp's, and his dark eyes stared wildly. What he saw was disappointing, so he continued, " It's not much more trouble writing a cheque now than in the morning.

If you would do that, sir, it would be a blessing to us all. We could send the man off this very night, before the neighbours got to know about him. You'll excuse me, sir, but you see how I'm fixed." VOL. I. c " I am very sorry for you, Mr. Cochrane," said Jopp, who spoke nothing but the truth here, for it was impossible not to be touched by the man's evident distress. "But as a business man, you must know that what you ask is out of all reason. Cheques are not written in that hasty way. Bills have to be examined first ; the various items have to be verified ; delay is inevitable." " But in a case like this — to save me and my family from ruin — surely you will yield a point ! " " It can't be done," said Jopp, shaking his head. " I am surprised that you should ask it. Even my sympathy for you cannot " " Your sympathy be hanged !

" cried Mr. Cochrane fiercely. " Much good that will do to a desperate man. You must pay the money in a few days, for I shall be in the bankruptcy court. Why won't you pay it now, and save me ? " CROFTON. This idea had not occurred to Jopp before. Being quite unable to pay the debt, he saw himself confronted by ruin. As he turned away, the light from the lanterns showed his face to be ghastly pale. " I am very sorry for you," he said, " but it can't be done." " Why can't it be done ? " cried the furious builder, following him. " Because you don't choose to do it ; because you won't raise a finger to help a fellow creature." His attitude was so threatening that Jopp was very glad to turn the corner. He had a very vague idea of what happened afterwards. He knew only that figures passed to and fro as in a dream ; that the band made a distracting noise ; that he drank a good deal of champagne ; that the guests stayed till a late hour ; and that, at last, he was left alone.

But this, instead , of being a relief, only aroused him to a more acute sense of his miserable position. If anything could have deepened his depression, it would have been the disorder in the deserted rooms — the huddled chairs, the sputtering lights and the vacant floor in the drawing-room, and the remains of the supper still lying upon the table in the dining-room. Notwithstanding the champagne, Jopp had not enough courage to go to bed. To be shut up alone in a dark room, with no chance of escaping from his own thoughts until sleep came tardily to his relief, was more than he could endure just yet. Remembering that he had placed some brandy in a cupboard in the hall, in case it should be wanted by any of his guestsr he determined to open a bottle for himself. The cupboard, which was really a recess provided with shelves, was panelled all round, and in one of the walls, just behind CROFTON. 21 the door, was a smaller cupboard, not easily seen.

It had seldom, if ever, been used in Mr. Roden's time, and it had evidently escaped the auctioneer's notice. But Jopp, when inspecting his new purchase, had found it, and had forced the rusty lock. The corners were masses of cobwebs, though it must have been a strange fly that ever ventured in there, and the two shelves were thickly covered with dust. Upon the lower shelf was a collection of musty papers, old bills, letters, and the like, and upon the upper shelf Jopp had laid half a dozen bottles of brandy. Being just in the mood to seek distrac tion in any circumstance foreign to himself, however trivial it might be, he listlessly began to turn over the papers. Presently his practised eye detected several parch ment documents among the rest ; and with them in his hand, and a brandy bottle under his arm, he made his way back to the dining-room.

The documents, though so dirty as to be scarcely decipherable, proved to be old leases, relating to certain property in the East-end of London. There were many different lessees, but there was only one lessor, a Cornelius Roden, whom Jopp had heard mentioned as the grandfather of the present Mr. Roden. So far he saw nothing remarkable in his discovery. But when he noticed that the period of ninety-nine years covered by the leases, which ran simultaneously, terminated rather more than twelve months ago, his interest was immediately aroused. These dusty sheets of parchment, supplemented by others which he afterwards brought to light, represented a large sum of money — a very large sum indeed, if the rise in the value of the property was reckoned. And all this wealth belonged to an old man now CROFTON. leading a wretched existence in London lodgings.

What a delightful surprise it would be for him ! What a change ! Surely he would not want it all. Surely the finder was entitled to part — to a fair commission for recovering what wrould have been utterly lost but for him. When Jopp reached this part of his argument, at which the personal element appeared for the first time, he took a long pull at his brandy-and-water. His face was flushed, and he was growing excited. For all that, he rose and closed the door before sitting down again in the easy chair. Suppose, to take a very low estimate, the value of the property was a hundred thousand pounds, ten per cent, on that would be ten thousand pounds. A small fortune, by George ! It would enable him to pay off that brute Cochrane, Bailey the furniture-man, and all his other creditors, and it would leave a margin sufficient to keep him in comfort for two or three years at least.

Judiciously invested — that new syndicate looked decidedly promising — it might even lead to affluence. But, then, how was he to conceal the nature of his discovery until he had made terms ? If it was his duty to his neighbour to hand over the property to its lawful owner, it was his duty to himself to see that he got fair play. Suppose he were to give up the documents, even with the condition attached that he was to get ten per cent, upon the property, some confounded lawyer might step upon the scene and dispute his claim. No doubt Mr. Roden was an honourable old fellow ; but then honour was not a business security — honour came and went, whereas business securities could be locked up in a safe — and, besides, his life was hardly worth a tallow candle. When he CROFTON. 25 was gone, somebody else would have to be reckoned with.

In any case, delay could not be avoided, and in the event of Coch rane's bankruptcy delay would be fatal. Moreover — Jopp turned pale at the thought — unless the property were to be sold, the interest upon the capital would not reach the amount of his commission. How, then, was he to be paid without delay again ? Stay ! there was another way. If he were to ■ Surely, that w*as a step in the hall! Jopp hastily tossed the documents under neath the table. That done, he went to the door, opened it, and looked out. So far as he could see, there was nobody in the hall. When he had closed the door again, he had an uncomfortable feeling of not being alone in that desolate room, with the fragments of the feast strewn upon the table. He fancied he saw shadowy forms and heard mysterious voices whispering in the darker corners.

Bah ! it was only the effect of the champagne — uncommonly good champagne, though. After all, he had better leave the consideration of this serious matter until the morning. So Jopp took a last glass of brandy-and water, and, with the precious parchments under his coat, went upstairs to bed.

Chapter II. Dick Croll

Dick Croll was a thin, leathery little man, with a short grizzled moustache and keen grey eyes which were never still. There was a distinctly fossilized look about him and his suit of rusty black ; it was as if he had been dug out of the earth, and had awakened to a period of abnormal activity. Botanist, geologist, conchologist, everything by turns, he supported himself by writing popular scientific articles for dif ferent journals. With perseverance he might even have made money, but while always ready to give up his time to others, he never had a moment to spare for him self. He had selected Mrs. Powell's lodgings for two reasons. Firstly, because they were cheap ; secondly, because there were no cats in the house, and no children — at least, none except Mrs. Powell's son Tommy, an extraordinary youth, chiefly legs and arms.

Croll wTas therefore not at all pleased when he heard of the arrival of two new lodgers, an old gentleman and a child ; and the next morning, when he saw the child for the first time, struggling, as he was horrified to observe, with a lean grey cat almost as big as herself, he decided to leave. For a wonder, however, the decision was not instantly acted upon. The child became quite a curiosity to him, for she seemed to live in a chronic state of struggling— if not with the cat, then with Tommy on the stairs, or with Mrs. Powell in the kitchen. Croll inquired into the meaning of it all, and was told that she insisted upon superintending the cooking of her grandfather's meals — "spying" Mrs. Powell called it. This gave Croll an interest in the child, a motherly little maiden with flaxen hair and big blue eyes which had a wonderfully pathetic look for one so young.

She told him her name was Meta. One morning he invited her into his room, and showed her his geological speci mens. When she had inspected the dusty cases which stood in a row round the wallsr she announced — " I have lots of pretty stones too — far prettier than yours, Mr. Croll. I brought them from Crofton. Would you like to see them ? " " No, no, child," he hastily replied ; " I have no time." " Oh, indeed," said she ; and, with a toss of the head, marched towards the door. " Here, come back ! " he called after her. " What have I said ? I did not mean to offend you." " Oh, it is all very well to say that now," said Meta knowingly, " and all the time you only want to see my pretty stones." He was afraid to protest again. Meta, taking his hand, led him upstairs and introduced him to her grandfather, Mr. Roden.

Mr. Roden was a broad-shouldered old man with a slight stoop, his hollow, deeply lined face being redeemed from ugliness by the kindliness of the expression. He had a short grey beard, and his hair was nearly white. Neither by word nor by look did he betray any consciousness of having come down in the world. In wel coming a stranger to that shabby little room in a cheap London lodging-house, he behaved with the same old-fashioned courtesy as if he had been welcoming an honoured guest at Crofton. Not a mur mur escaped his lips. Though a little querulousness might have been pardoned in an old man buffeted by circumstances, he bore himself throughout with uncom plaining dignity. He was just the sort of man to enlist Croll's sympathy, and Croll pitied him from his heart. As he, too, had expe rienced the many miserable shifts of poverty, his eyes were not easily deceived.

How to help Mr. Roden and his little granddaughter, without hurting their pride, was the problem that he now set himself to solve. It was a hard task, but in many ways he did something towards it. So a firm friendship grew up between these three, all of them so different from one another, and even amid the squalor of cheap lodgings owned by a drunken woman, there were glimpses of cheerfulness. But one afternoon the storm which had been gathering burst upon them. Croll, hearing the shrill voice of a pas sionate woman, hastened upstairs. The door of the sitting-room was open, and just inside stood Mrs. Powell, her bonnet awry and her face inflamed by drink. In a torrent of words she was upbraiding Mr. Roden for a number of offences which he had never committed, while he sat listening with pain and bewilderment, never speaking except to control Meta, who stood fearlessly between him and this furious woman.

The child, with one arm around her grandfather's neck, had clenched and raised her little fist as if to protect him. " Never mind her, dear," the old man was saying. " Perhaps we have given her some cause for complaint. Don't answer her. She will be sorry to-morrow." " Oh, but I will answer her," cried Meta. " She shan't speak to my poor darling like that. Don't be afraid, dear ; I won't let her touch my precious one." In the child's mind there was a remembrance of a pledge which she had regis tered at her grandmother's death-bed — that she would devote herself to the care of her grandfather. " Go away ! " said she, turning to Mrs. Powell. " You are a bad, wicked woman." "What is this? What is this?" ex claimed Croll, entering the room. There was a sudden lull. "I am sorry, sir," said Mr. Roden, rising to apologize to his visitor for such a scene in his room.