Red Money by Fergus Hume (the little red hen ebook .txt) 📖

Together,  Those Who Hate Us Shall Take Off The Hat."

 

Lambert Sat Glaring At Her Furiously,  And Agnes Glided Between Him And

The Girl,  Fearful Lest He Should Spring Up And Insult Her. But She

Addressed Her Words To Chaldea. "Why Do You Think I Got Mr. Lambert To

Kill My Husband?" She Asked,  Wincing At Having To Put The Question,  But

Seeing That It Was Extremely Necessary To Learn All She Could From The

Gypsy.

 

The Other Woman Drew Her Shawl Closely Round Her Fine Form And Snapped

Her Fingers Contemptuously. "It Needs No Chovihani To Tell. Hearne The

Romany Was Poor,  Pine The Gentile Chinked Gold In His Pockets. Says You

Chapter 12 ( The Conspiracy) Pg 116

To Yourself,  'He I Love Isn't Him With Money.' And Says You,  'If I Don't

Get My True Rom,  The Beauty Of The World Will Clasp Him To Her Breast.'

So You Goes For To Get Hearne Out Of The Flesh,  To Wed The Rye Here On

My Brother's Rich Possessions. Avali," She Nodded Vigorously. "That Is

So,  Though 'No' You Says To Me,  For Wisdom. Red Money You Have Gained,

My Daring Sister,  For The Blood Of A Romany Chal Has Changed The Color.

But I'm No--"

 

How Long She Would Have Continued To Rage At Lady Agnes It Is Impossible

To Say,  For The Invalid,  With The Artificial Strength Of Furious Anger,

Sprang From His Chair To Turn Her Out Of The Room. Chaldea Dodged Him In

The Alert Way Of A Wild Animal.

 

"That's No Love-Embrace,  My Rye," She Jibed,  Retreating Swiftly. "Later,

Later,  When The Moon Rises,  My Angel," And She Slipped Deftly Through

The Door With A Contemptuous Laugh. Lambert Would Have Followed,  But

That Agnes Caught His Arm,  And With Tears In Her Eyes Implored Him To

Remain.

 

"But What Can We Do In The Face Of Such Danger?" She Asked Him When He

Was Quieter,  And Breaking Down,  She Sobbed Bitterly.

 

"We Must Meet It Boldly. Silver Has The Forged Letter: He Must Be

Arrested."

 

"But The Scandal,  Noel. Dare We--"

 

"Agnes,  You Are Innocent: I Am Innocent. Innocence Can Dare All Things."

 

Both Sick,  Both Troubled,  Both Conscious Of The Dark Clouds Around Them,

They Looked At One Another In Silence. Then Lambert Repeated His Words

With Conviction,  To Reassure Himself As Much As To Comfort Her.

 

"Innocence Can Dare All Things," Said Lambert,  Positively.

 

 

Chapter 13 (A Friend In Need) Pg 117

It Was Natural That Lambert Should Talk Of Having Silver Arrested,  As In

The First Flush Of Indignation At His Audacious Attempt To Levy

Blackmail,  This Appeared The Most Reasonable Thing To Do. But When Agnes

Went Back To The Manor,  And The Sick Man Was Left Alone To Struggle

Chapter 13 (A Friend In Need) Pg 118

Through A Long And Weary Night,  The Reaction Suggested A More Cautious

Dealing With The Matter. Silver Was A Venomous Little Reptile,  And If

Brought Before A Magistrate Would Probably Produce The Letter Which He

Offered For Sale At So Ridiculous A Price. If This Was Made Public,

Agnes Would Find Herself In An Extremely Unpleasant Position. Certainly

The Letter Was Forged,  But That Would Not Be Easy To Prove. And Even If

It Were Proved And Agnes Cleared Her Character,  The Necessary Scandal

Connected With The Publicity Of Such A Defence Would Be Both Distressing

And Painful. In Wishing To Silence Silver,  And Yet Avoid The

Interference Of The Police,  Lambert Found Himself On The Horns Of A

Dilemma.

 

Having Readjusted The Situation In His Own Mind,  Lambert Next Day Wrote

A Lengthy Letter To Agnes,  Setting Forth His Objections To Drastic

Measures. He Informed Her--Not Quite Truthfully--That He Hoped To Be On

His Feet In Twenty-Four Hours,  And Then Would Personally Attend To The

Matter,  Although He Could Not Say As Yet What He Intended To Do. But

Five Out Of The Seven Days Of Grace Allowed By The Blackmailer Yet

Remained,  And Much Could Be Done In That Time. "Return To Town And

Attend To Your Own And To Your Brother's Affairs As Usual," Concluded

The Letter. "All Matters Connected With Silver Can Be Left In My Hands,

And Should He Attempt To See You In The Meantime,  Refer Him To Me." The

Epistle Ended With The Intimation That Agnes Was Not To Worry,  As The

Writer Would Take The Whole Burden On His Own Shoulders. The Widow Felt

More Cheerful After This Communication,  And Went Back To Her Town House

To Act As Her Lover Suggested. She Had Every Belief In Lambert's

Capability To Deal With The Matter.

 

The Young Man Was More Doubtful,  For He Could Not See How He Was To

Begin Unravelling This Tangled Skein. The Interview With Chaldea Had

Proved Futile,  As She Was Plainly On The Side Of The Enemy,  And To Apply

To Silver For Information As To His Intentions Would Merely Result In A

Repetition Of What He Had Said To Lady Agnes. It Only Remained To Lay

The Whole Matter Before Inspector Darby,  And Lambert Was Half Inclined

To Go To Wanbury For This Purpose. He Did Not,  However,  Undertake The

Journey,  For Two Reasons. Firstly,  He Wished To Avoid Asking For

Official Assistance Until Absolutely Forced To Do So; And Secondly,  He

Was Too Ill To Leave The Cottage. The Worry He Felt Regarding Agnes's

Perilous Position Told On An Already Weakened Frame,  And The Invalid

Grew Worse Instead Of Better.

 

Finally,  Lambert Decided To Risk A Journey To The Camp,  Which Was Not So

Very Far Distant,  And Interview Mother Cockleshell. The Old Lady Had No

Great Love For Chaldea,  Who Flouted Her Authority,  And Would Not,

Therefore,  Be Very Kindly Disposed Towards The Girl. The Young Man

Believed,  In Some Vague Way,  That Chaldea Had Originated The Conspiracy

Which Had To Do With The Letter,  And Was Carrying Her Underhand Plans

To A Conclusion With The Aid Of Silver. Mother Cockleshell,  Who Was Very

Shrewd,  Might Have Learned Or Guessed The Girl's Rascality,  And Would

Assuredly Thwart Her Aims If Possible. Also The Gypsy-Queen Would

Probably Know A Great Deal About Pine In His Character Of Ishmael

Hearne,  Since She Had Been Acquainted With Him Intimately During The

Chapter 13 (A Friend In Need) Pg 119

Early Part Of His Life. But,  Whatever She Knew,  Or Whatever She Did Not

Know,  Lambert Considered That It Would Be Wise To Enlist Her On His

Side,  As The Mere Fact That Chaldea Was One Of The Opposite Party Would

Make Her Fight Like A Wild Cat. And As The Whole Affair Had To Do With

The Gypsies,  And As Gentilla Stanley Was A Gypsy,  It Was Just As Well To

Apply For Her Assistance. Nevertheless,  Lambert Was Quite In The Dark,

As To What Assistance Could Be Rendered.

 

In This Way The Young Man Made His Plans,  Only To Be Thwarted By The

Weakness Of His Body. He Could Crawl Out Of Bed And Sit Before The Fire,

But In Spite Of All His Will-Power,  He Could Not Crawl As Far As The

Camp. Baffled In This Way,  He Decided To Send A Note Asking Mother

Cockleshell To Call On Him,  Although He Knew That If Chaldea Learned

About The Visit--Which She Was Almost Certain To Do--She Would Be Placed

On Her Guard. But This Had To Be Risked,  And Lambert,  Moreover,  Believed

That The Old Woman Was Quite Equal To Dealing With The Girl. However,

Fate Took The Matter Out Of His Hands,  And Before He Could Even Write

The Invitation,  A Visitor Arrived In The Person Of Miss Greeby,  Who

Suggested A Way Out Of The Difficulty,  By Offering Her Services. Matters

Came To A Head Within Half An Hour Of Her Presenting Herself In The

Sitting-Room.

 

Miss Greeby Was Quite Her Old Breezy,  Masculine Self,  And Her Presence

In The Cottage Was Like A Breath Of Moorland Air Blowing Through The

Languid Atmosphere Of A Hot-House. She Was Arrayed Characteristically In

A Short-Skirted,  Tailor-Made Gown Of A Brown Hue And Bound With Brown

Leather,  And Wore In Addition A Man's Cap,  Dog-Skin Gloves,  And Heavy

Laced-Up Boots Fit To Tramp Miry Country Roads. With Her Fresh

Complexion And Red Hair,  And A Large Frame Instinct With Vitality,  She

Looked Aggressively Healthy,  And Lambert With His Failing Life Felt

Quite A Weakling Beside This Magnificent Goddess.

 

"Hallo,  Old Fellow," Cried Miss Greeby In Her Best Man-To-Man Style,

"Feeling Chippy? Why,  You Do Look A Wreck,  I Must Say. What's Up?"

 

"The Fever's Up And I'm Down," Replied Lambert,  Who Was Glad To See Her,

If Only To Distract His Painful Thoughts. "It's Only A Touch Of Malaria,

My Dear Clara. I Shall Be All Right In A Few Days."

 

"You're Hopeful,  I Must Say,  Lambert. What About A Doctor?"

 

"I Don't Need One. Mrs. Tribb Is Nursing Me."

 

"Coddling You," Muttered Miss Greeby,  Planting Herself Manfully In An

Opposite Chair And Crossing Her Legs In A Gentlemanly Manner. "Fresh Air

And Exercise,  Beefsteaks And Tankards Of Beer Are What You Need. Defy

Nature And You Get The Better Of Her. Kill Or Cure Is My Motto."

 

"As I Have Strong Reasons To Remain Alive,  I Shan't Adopt Your

Prescription,  Dr. Greeby," Said Lambert,  Dryly. "What Are You Doing In

These Parts? I Thought You Were Shooting In Scotland."