She was in the act of pouring on the boiling water when there was a rap at the door, and her brother-in-law entered. Mr. Hockheimer generally admitted himself in this fashion, without waiting for the door to be answered--a lack of courtesy which invariably annoyed Mrs. Reynolds.
"I was pa.s.sing, so I came for that parcel I left the other day," he explained. "You put it by in the cupboard, didn"t you? Yes, there it is.
I"ll take it with me. By the by, have you any paraffin to spare? I happen to want a little."
"I have some in the shed outside."
"Can you give me some in a bottle?"
"Yes, I"ll go and fetch it."
Mrs. Reynolds placed the teapot to keep hot on the hob and left the room. Mr. Hockheimer came over to the fire, and stood warming his back and humming s.n.a.t.c.hes from an opera. Presently his eye caught the letter on the table. He picked it up, looked narrowly at the handwriting, turned it over and examined the seal. Then he thought for a moment with narrowed eyes. Finally he slipped the envelope into his breast pocket, and, catching up his parcel, made his way outside to the shed.
"Is that bottle of paraffin ready?" he shouted. "I"m in a hurry, and can"t stay."
"It"s here. I was just looking for a piece of paper to wrap it in,"
replied Mrs. Reynolds. "Won"t you stop for tea?"
"Haven"t the time to-day. Never mind any paper, I don"t want to wait.
The bottle will do well enough in my pocket. I must be off now.
Good-bye!"
"Good-bye!" returned his sister-in-law, rather relieved at the shortness of his visit. She washed her hands after pouring out the paraffin, and came into the sitting-room, Pamela, who had been tidying herself upstairs, entering at the same moment.
"I"m glad we"ve got rid of Uncle!" smiled the latter. "I heard his voice, and kept out of the way."
"Naughty child!"
"Well, Mummie, I can"t help it. You know I don"t like him. I don"t care if we are dependent on him; what I feel is, that we oughtn"t to be.
There, I won"t upset you by talking of him. I"ve something else I want to tell you. Why, where"s the letter?"
"What letter?"
"The letter that I put on your plate. Mummie, what have you done with it?"
There was an agony of apprehension in Pamela"s voice.
"I haven"t seen it, dear," replied Mrs. Reynolds. "Why, yes, I remember now I did notice a letter lying on the plate when I was making the tea.
I was just going to look at it when your uncle came in. It"s certainly not there now."
Two red spots mounted to Pamela"s cheeks, and her eyes blazed sparks.
"This is just about the limit!" she exploded. "There"s not the least shadow of a doubt! Uncle Fritz has stolen that letter!"
While these events were taking place at Moss Cottage, David and Anthony Watson were walking home from the station. They had lingered at the booking office, and had loitered on the platform to talk to some friends, and, when they finally made a start, they determined to take a path through the woods instead of keeping to the high road. There were two motives for this decision. In the first place, the woods belonged to the Lyngates estate, and, though the public had an old-established right of way, Mr. Hockheimer objected greatly to the foot-path being used, and had several times vainly tried to close it. The boys felt that they would cheerfully go out of their way to annoy Mr. Hockheimer. They almost hoped they might meet him, and, in imagination, stood firmly on the path, discussing the legal aspect of the matter, and quoting the ancient county map as their authority.
There was, however, another reason which led them from the high road.
During the last few days a curious and persistent rumour had circulated in the neighbourhood as to a "something" that had appeared in the woods.
Whether supernatural or physical n.o.body knew, but several people vouched for having seen it. Their stories, allowing a natural margin for exaggeration, tallied wonderfully. The apparition wore dark clothes and a black mask, and, instead of walking, careered along in a series of mighty leaps and bounds. Owing to this extraordinary mode of progression, it had been nicknamed "Spring-heeled Jack", and its appearance had excited considerable terror. It was reported to be abroad at dusk, and to haunt the more lonely portions of the woods.
David and Anthony, having a thorough boyish love of adventure, thirsted to get a sight of this mysterious personage. They climbed the hill over the quarry, therefore, and struck up through the woods, keeping at first to the foot-path, but they encountered n.o.body, not even Mr. Hockheimer.
When you are out for excitement, it is disappointing to have a perfectly tame and uneventful walk. In the thickest part of the wood they paused with one consent.
"It"s all bunk.u.m about the trespa.s.sing! Let"s go and explore!" tempted David.
"Right you are!" agreed Anthony, succ.u.mbing as readily as Eve yielded to the serpent.
It was a most interesting wood, with tall trees and smooth glades. It undulated, and held crags here and there, so that you could never quite see where you were going. The ground was strewn with acorns and beech mast and horse-chestnuts, quite worth picking up. The boys wandered for some little time, enjoying themselves immensely. They had no idea in what direction they were going till they found themselves on the crest of the hill. Behind them was the wood, but in front was a range of open country looking towards the sea. They were standing on a platform of rock, which shelved sharply down to a patch of gorse and heather.
"Jolly view here----" began Anthony, but stopped with his sentence unfinished, for David suddenly gripped his arm and forced him on his knees behind a bush. Somebody was walking at the foot of the rock, and one brief glimpse had been sufficient to identify the plump figure and blond moustache of their arch-enemy, Mr. Hockheimer. It would never do for him to catch them so far from the foot-path. He might wish to settle up scores with them. They remembered the gleam in his eye when he had shaken his fist and said he would not forget. If they waited quietly he would probably go, and then they would hurry back to the path.
But instead of going he waited, humming a tune. He was musical and fond of operatic airs. There were other sounds, too, which the boys could not understand. They grew curious and wanted to know what he was doing. They dared not speak, but, agreeing by signs, they both crawled very cautiously to the edge of the rock, and, concealed by some branches, peeped over.
Mr. Hockheimer was exactly below them. He was kneeling on the gra.s.s, and had evidently just untied a parcel. A large bicycle lamp lay on the paper. In his hand he held a bottle, with the contents of which he proceeded to fill the lamp. He felt in his pocket for matches, lighted it, and placed it on a ledge of the rock. The dusk was falling fast, and its glow shone brightly. From its position on the crest of the hill it would be visible over miles of country, probably right out to sea. Mr.
Hockheimer hummed in a satisfied voice, as if he were pleased with himself. He presently lighted a cigar; the fragrant smoke rose upwards to the boys" nostrils. They could see him with extreme plainness, and indeed could follow his every movement. He fumbled again in his pocket and drew out an envelope, holding it in the glow of the lamp so as to inspect it. David and Anthony gasped, for they recognized in a moment the letter which they had given to Pamela only that morning. How had she been so foolish as to allow her uncle to get hold of it? they asked themselves. They were full of wrath at her stupidity. Mr. Hockheimer turned over the envelope several times; he looked at the handwriting and surveyed the seal, then he deliberately tore it open. He drew out a piece of note-paper and began to read it. The boys, peering through the brambles above, watched him narrowly, though they could not see the doc.u.ment well enough to decipher it. Its contents seemed to disturb Mr.
Hockheimer. He said several untranslatable things in the German tongue.
Then he brought out his smart little silver box, hesitated, and struck a match. The boys were in an agony of mind. He simply must not be allowed to burn the paper. Sooner than that they would drop from the crag and try to rescue it.
The wind had risen and blew out the match. For a moment they breathed again, but it was only a temporary respite, for he immediately struck another. He shaded it carefully this time, and, taking the paper, applied the corner to the flame.
At that same moment a terrific and unearthly yell sounded in the wood above. Mr. Hockheimer started and turned, dropping blazing letter and match to the ground. There was a rustle among the bushes, and with an enormous bound a dark figure sprang sheer from the rocks on to the platform of gra.s.s, made a grab at the paper, seized it, put out the fire, and leaped away with it into the gathering dusk of the undergrowth below.
It happened with such extraordinary rapidity and suddenness that it was all over in a flash, and the boys only caught a glimpse of a black mask, and two long legs that hopped with the agility of a spider-monkey.
Considerably scared, they crept back from their position of vantage, and, rushing through the darkening wood, managed to regain the pathway.
It was not till they had finally crossed the stile and got into the high road that they began to compare notes.
"Well! We"ve seen it!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed David meaningly.
"What is it?" whispered Anthony in awestruck tones. "Teddy Jones says it"s Old Nick himself. It was terrible when it yelled!"
"Those legs were human," maintained David. "I can"t guess who it is, or how he manages to jump like that, but I bet he"s not a spook."
Anthony, who inclined to the supernatural theory of the apparition, shook his head doubtfully.
"Spook or not, he"s no friend to old Hockheimer," added David.
"He"s taken the letter--what was left of it."
"Only a bit was burnt."
"I wonder what was in it?"
"Something that Hun wanted safely out of the way."
"It must be Squire Reynolds"s will!"
"Well, Spring-heeled Jack"s got it, at any rate, and whether he"ll ever turn it up again is the question. If we could find out who he is we might get on the track of it."
"We"ll try, for Pamela"s sake--though she"s a bally idiot to let her uncle take that letter!"