The Middle Temple Murder J. S. Fletcher (the reading strategies book .txt) đ
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
Book online «The Middle Temple Murder J. S. Fletcher (the reading strategies book .txt) đ». Author J. S. Fletcher
Myerst suddenly laughed. âYou damned young bully!â he exclaimed. âIf you put a rope round me, youâre only putting ropes round the necks of these two old villains. Mark that, my fine fellows!â
âWeâll see about that later,â answered Breton. He kept Myerst covered while Spargo made play with the rope. âDonât be afraid of hurting him, Spargo,â he said. âTie him well and strong. He wonât shift that chair in a hurry.â
Spargo spliced his man to the chair in a fashion that would have done credit to a sailor. He left Myerst literally unable to move either hand or foot, and Myerst cursed him from crown to heel for his pains. âThatâll do,â said Breton at last. He dropped his revolver into his pocket and turned to the two old men. Elphick averted his eyes and sank into a chair in the darkest corner of the room: old Cardlestone shook as with palsy and muttered words which the two young men could not catch. âGuardian,â continued Breton, âdonât be frightened! And donât you be frightened, either, Mr. Cardlestone. Thereâs nothing to be afraid of, just yet, whatever there may be later on. It seems to me that Mr. Spargo and I came just in time. Now, guardian, what was this fellow after?â
Old Elphick lifted his head and shook it; he was plainly on the verge of tears; as for Cardlestone, it was evident that his nerve was completely gone. And Breton pointed Spargo to an old corner cupboard.
âSpargo,â he said, âIâm pretty sure youâll find whisky in there. Give them both a stiff dose: theyâve broken up. Now, guardian,â he continued, when Spargo had carried out this order, âwhat was he after? Shall I suggest it? Was itâ âblackmail?â
Cardlestone began to whimper; Elphick nodded his head. âYes, yes!â he muttered. âBlackmail! That was itâ âblackmail. Heâ âhe got moneyâ âpapersâ âfrom us. Theyâre on him.â
Breton turned on the captive with a look of contempt.
âI thought as much, Mr. Myerst,â he said. âSpargo, letâs see what he has on him.â
Spargo began to search the prisonerâs pockets. He laid out everything on the table as he found it. It was plain that Myerst had contemplated some sort of flight or a long, long journey. There was a quantity of loose gold; a number of banknotes of the more easily negotiated denominations; various foreign securities, realizable in Paris. And there was an open cheque, signed by Cardlestone for ten thousand pounds, and another, with Elphickâs name at the foot, also open, for half that amount. Breton examined all these matters as Spargo handed them out. He turned to old Elphick.
âGuardian,â he said, âwhy have you or Mr. Cardlestone given this man these cheques and securities? What hold has he on you?â
Old Cardlestone began to whimper afresh; Elphick turned a troubled face on his ward.
âHeâ âhe threatened to accuse us of the murder of Marbury!â he faltered. âWeâ âwe didnât see that we had a chance.â
âWhat does he know of the murder of Marbury and of you in connection with it?â demanded Breton. âComeâ âtell me the truth now.â
âHeâs been investigatingâ âso he says,â answered Elphick. âHe lives in that house in Middle Temple Lane, you know, in the top-floor rooms above Cardlestoneâs. Andâ âand he says heâs the fullest evidence against Cardlestoneâ âand against me as an accessory after the fact.â
âAndâ âitâs a lie?â asked Breton.
âA lie!â answered Elphick. âOf course, itâs a lie. Butâ âheâs so clever thatâ âthatâ ââ
âThat you donât know how you could prove it otherwise,â said Breton. âAh! And so this fellow lives over Mr. Cardlestone there, does he? That may account for a good many things. Now we must have the police here.â He sat down at the table and drew the writing materials to him. âLook here, Spargo,â he continued. âIâm going to write a note to the superintendent of police at Hawesâ âthereâs a farm half a mile from here where I can get a man to ride down to Hawes with the note. Now, if you want to send a wire to the Watchman, draft it out, and heâll take it with him.â
Elphick began to move in his corner.
âMust the police come?â he said. âMustâ ââ
âThe police must come,â answered Breton firmly. âGo ahead with your wire, Spargo, while I write this note.â
Three quarters of an hour later, when Breton came back from the farm, he sat down at Elphickâs side and laid his hand on the old manâs.
âNow, guardian,â he said, quietly, âyouâve got to tell us the truth.â
XXXV Myerst ExplainsIt had been apparent to Spargo, from the moment of his entering the cottage, that the two old men were suffering badly from shock and fright: Cardlestone still sat in his corner shivering and trembling; he looked incapable of explaining anything; Elphick was scarcely more fitted to speak. And when Breton issued his peremptory invitation to his guardian to tell the truth, Spargo intervened.
âFar better leave him alone, Breton,â he said in a low voice. âDonât you see the old chapâs done up? Theyâre both done up. We donât know what theyâve gone through with this fellow before we came, and itâs certain theyâve had no sleep. Leave it all till laterâ âafter all, weâve found them and weâve found him.â He jerked his thumb over his shoulder in Myerstâs direction, and Breton involuntarily followed the movement. He caught the prisonerâs eye, and Myerst laughed.
âI daresay you two young men think yourselves very clever,â he said sneeringly. âDonât you, now?â
âWeâve been clever enough to catch you, anyway,â retorted Breton. âAnd now weâve got you weâll keep you till the police can relieve us of you.â
âOh!â said Myerst, with another sneering laugh. âAnd on what charge do you propose to hand me over to the police? It strikes me youâll have some difficulty in formulating one, Mr. Breton.â
âWell see about that later,â said Breton.
Comments (0)