Nearly a week went by and I saw nothing of Cressley; then, on a certain morning, he called to see me.
"How are you getting on?" I asked.
"Capitally," he replied. "I have been down to the Hall several times with my agent, Murdock, and though the place is in the most shocking condition I shall soon put things in order. But what I have come specially to ask you now is whether you can get away to-day and come with me to the Hall for a couple of nights. I had arranged with the agent to go down this afternoon in his company, but he has been suddenly taken ill--he is rather bad, I believe--and cannot possibly come with me. He has ordered the housekeeper to get a couple of rooms ready, and though I am afraid it will be rather roughing it, I shall be awfully glad if you can come."
I had arranged to meet a man in London on special business that very evening, and could not put him off; but my irresistible desire to see the old place from the description I had heard of it decided me to make an effort to fall in as well as I could with Cressley"s plans.
"I wish I could go with you to-day," I said; "but that, as it happens, is out of the question. I must run up to town on some pressing business; but if you will allow me I can easily come back again to-morrow. Can you not put off your visit until to-morrow evening?"
"No, I am afraid I cannot do that. I have to meet several of the tenants, and have made all arrangements to go by the five o"clock train this afternoon."
He looked depressed at my refusal, and after a moment said thoughtfully:
"I wish you could have come with me to-day. When Murdock could not come I thought of you at once--it would have made all the difference."
"I am sorry," I replied; "but I can promise faithfully to be with you to-morrow. I shall enjoy seeing your wonderful old Hall beyond anything; and as to roughing it, I am used to that. You will not mind spending one night there by yourself?"
He looked at me as if he were about to speak, but no words came from his lips.
"What is the matter?" I said, giving him an earnest glance. "By the way, are you going to sleep in the turret room?"
"I am afraid there is no help for it; the housekeeper is certain to get it ready for me. The owner of the property always sleeps there, and it would look like a confession of weakness to ask to be put into another bedroom."
"Nevertheless, if you are nervous, I should not mind that," I said.
"Oh, I don"t know that I am absolutely nervous, Bell, but all the same I have a superst.i.tion. At the present moment I have the queerest sensation; I feel as if I ought not to pay this visit to the Hall."
"If you intend to live there by-and-by, you must get over this sort of thing," I remarked.
"Oh yes, I must, and I would not yield to it on any account whatever. I am sorry I even mentioned it to you. It is good of you to promise to come to-morrow, and I shall look forward to seeing you. By what train will you come?"
We looked up the local time-table, and I decided on a train which would leave Liverpool about five o"clock.
"The very one that I shall go down by to-day," said Cressley; "that"s capital, I"ll meet you with a conveyance of some sort and drive you over. The house is a good two hours" drive from the station, and you cannot get a trap there for love or money."
"By the way," I said, "is there much the matter with your agent?"
"I cannot tell you; he seems bad enough. I went up to his house this morning and saw the wife. It appears that he was suddenly taken ill with a sort of asthmatic attack to which he is subject. While I was talking to Mrs. Murdock, a messenger came down to say that her husband specially wished to see me, so we both went to his room, but he had dozed off into a queer restless sleep before we arrived. The wife said he must not be awakened on any account, but I caught a glimpse of him and he certainly looked bad, and was moaning as if in a good deal of pain. She gave me the keys of a bureau in his room, and I took out some estimates, and left a note for him telling him to come on as soon as he was well enough."
"And your visit to his room never roused him?" I said.
"No, although Mrs. Murdock and I made a pretty good bit of noise moving about and opening and shutting drawers. His moans were quite heartrending--he was evidently in considerable pain; and I was glad to get away, as that sort of thing always upsets me."
"Who is this Murdock?" I asked.
"Oh, the man who has looked after the place for years. I was referred to him by my solicitors. He seems a most capable person, and I hope to goodness he won"t be ill long. If he is I shall find myself in rather a fix."
I made no reply to this, and soon afterwards Cressley shook hands with me and departed on his way. I went to my room, packed my belongings, and took the next train to town. The business which I had to get through occupied the whole of that evening and also some hours of the following day. I found I was not able to start for Liverpool before the 12.10 train at Euston, and should not therefore arrive at Lime Street before five o"clock--too late to catch the train for Brent, the nearest station to Cressley"s place. Another train left Central Station for Brent, however, at seven o"clock, and I determined to wire to Cressley to tell him to meet me by the latter train. This was the last train in the day, but there was no fear of my missing it.
I arrived at Lime Street almost to the moment and drove straight to the Prince"s Hotel, where I had left my bag the day before. Here a telegram awaited me; it was from Cressley, and ran as follows:--
"Hope this will reach you time; if so, call at Murdock"s house, No. 12, Melville Gardens. If possible see him and get the doc.u.ments referred to in Schedule A--he will know what you mean.
Most important.
"Cressley."
I glanced at the clock in the hall; it was now a quarter past five--my train would leave at seven. I had plenty of time to get something to eat and then go to Murdock"s.
Having despatched my telegram to Cressley, telling him to look out for me by the train which arrived at Brent at nine o"clock, I ordered a meal, ate it, and then hailing a cab, gave the driver the number of Murdock"s house. Melville Gardens was situated somewhat in the suburbs, and it was twenty minutes" drive from my hotel. When we drew up at Murdock"s door I told the cabman to wait, and, getting out, rang the bell. The servant who answered my summons told me that the agent was still very ill and could not be seen by any one. I then inquired for the wife. I was informed that she was out, but would be back soon. I looked at my watch. It was just six o"clock. I determined to wait to see Mrs.
Murdock if possible.
Having paid and dismissed my cab, I was shown into a small, untidily kept parlour, where I was left to my own meditations. The weather was hot and the room close. I paced up and down restlessly. The minutes flew by and Mrs. Murdock did not put in an appearance. I looked at my watch, which now pointed to twenty minutes past six. It would take me, in an ordinary cab, nearly twenty minutes to reach the station. In order to make all safe I ought to leave Murdock"s house in ten minutes from now at the latest.
I went and stood by the window watching anxiously for Mrs. Murdock to put in an appearance. Melville Gardens was a somewhat lonely place, and few people pa.s.sed the house, which was old and shabby; it had evidently not been done up for years. I was just turning round in order to ring the bell to leave a message with the servant, when the room door was opened and, to my astonishment, in walked Wickham, the man I had last seen on board the _Euphrates_. He came up to me at once and held out his hand.
"No doubt you are surprised at seeing me here, Mr. Bell," he exclaimed.
"I certainly was for a moment," I answered; but then I added, "The world is a small place, and one soon gets accustomed to acquaintances cropping up in all sorts of unlikely quarters."
"Why unlikely?" said Wickham. "Why should I not know Murdock, who happens to be a very special and very old friend of mine? I might as well ask you why you are interested in him."
"Because I happen to be a friend of Arthur Cressley"s," I answered, "and have come here on his business."
"And so am I also a friend of Cressley"s. He has asked me to go and see him at Cressley Hall some day, and I hope to avail myself of his invitation. The servant told me that you were waiting for Mrs.
Murdock--can I give her any message from you?"
"I want to see Murdock himself," I said, after a pause. "Do you think that it is possible for me to have an interview with him?"
"I left him just now and he was asleep," said Wickham. "He is still very ill, and I think the doctor is a little anxious about him. It would not do to disturb him on any account. Of course, if he happens to awake he might be able to tell you what you want to know. By the way, has it anything to do with Cressley Hall?"
"Yes; I have just had a telegram from Cressley, and the message is somewhat important. You are quite sure that Murdock is asleep?"
"He was when I left the room, but I will go up again and see. Are you going to London to-night, Mr. Bell?"
"No; I am going down to Cressley Hall, and must catch the seven o"clock train. I have not a moment to wait." As I spoke I took out my watch.
"It only wants five-and-twenty minutes to seven," I said, "and I never care to run a train to the last moment. There is no help for it, I suppose I must go without seeing Murdock. Cressley will in all probability send down a message to-morrow for the papers he requires."
"Just stay a moment," said Wickham, putting on an anxious expression; "it is a great pity that you should not see Cressley"s agent if it is as vital as all that. Ah! and here comes Mrs. Murdock; wait one moment, I"ll go and speak to her."
He went out of the room, and I heard him say something in a low voice in the pa.s.sage--a woman"s voice replied, and the next instant Mrs. Murdock stood before me. She was a tall woman with a sallow face and sandy hair; she had a blank sort of stare about her, and scarcely any expression.
Now she fixed her dull, light-blue eyes on my face and held out her hand.
"You are Mr. Bell?" she said. "I have heard of you, of course, from Mr.
Cressley. So you are going to spend to-night with him at Cressley Hall.
I am glad, for it is a lonely place--the most lonely place I know."
"Pardon me," I interrupted, "I cannot stay to talk to you now or I shall miss my train. Can I see your husband or can I not?"
She glanced at Wickham, then she said with hesitation,--