"I think so, miss;" and he took out his note-book. "The person you are watched by is Mr. Arthur Wardlaw." The girl stared at him. "Both spies report to him twice a day at his house in Russell Square."
"Be careful, Mr. Burt; this is a serious thing to say, and may have serious consequences."
"Well, miss, you told me you wanted to know the truth."
"Of course I want to know the truth."
"Then the truth is that you are watched by order of Mr. Wardlaw."
Burt continued his report.
"A shabby-like man called on you yesterday."
"Yes; it was Mr. Hand, Mr. Wardlaw"s clerk. And, oh, Mr. Burt, that wretched creature came and confessed the truth. It was he who forged the note, out of sport, and for a bet, and then was too cowardly to own it."
She then detailed Hand"s confession.
"His penitence comes too late," said she, with a deep sigh.
"It hasn"t come yet," said Burt, dryly. "Of course my lambs followed the man. He went first to his employer, and then he went home. His name is not Hand. He is not a clerk at all, but a little actor at the Corinthian Saloon. Hand is in America; went three months ago. I ascertained that from another quarter."
"Oh, goodness!" cried Helen, "what a wretched world! I can"t see my way a yard for stories."
"How should you, miss? It is clear enough, for all that. Mr. Wardlaw hired this actor to pa.s.s for Hand, and tell you a lie that he thought would please you."
Helen put her hand to her brow, and thought; but her candid soul got sadly in the way of her brain. "Mr. Burt," said she, "will you go with me to Mr. Undercliff, the expert?"
"With pleasure, ma"am; but let me finish my report. Last night there was something new. Your house was watched by six persons. Two were Wardlaw"s, three were Burt"s; but the odd man was there on his own hook; and my men could not make him out at all; but they think one of Wardlaw"s men knew him; for he went off to Russell Square like the wind and brought Mr.
Wardlaw here in disguise. Now, miss, that is all; and shall I call a cab, and we"ll hear Undercliff"s tale?"
The cab was called, and they went to Undercliff. On the way Helen brooded; but the detective eyed every man and everything on the road with the utmost keenness.
Edward Undercliff was at work at lithographing. He received Helen cordially, nodded to Burt, and said she could not have a better a.s.sistant.
He then laid his fac-simile of the forged note on the table, with John Wardlaw"s genuine writing and Penfold"s indors.e.m.e.nt. "Look at that, Mr.
Burt."
Burt inspected the papers keenly.
"You know, Burt, I swore at Robert Penfold"s trial that he never wrote that forged note."
"I remember," said Burt.
"The other day this lady instructed me to discover, if I could, who did write the forged note. But, unfortunately, the materials she gave me were not sufficient. But, last night, a young man dropped from the clouds, that I made sure was an agent of yours, Miss Rolleston. Under that impression I was rather unguarded, and I let him know how far we had got, and could get no further. "I think I can help you," says this young man, and puts a letter on the table. Well, Mr. Burt, a glance at that letter was enough for me. It was written by the man who forged the note."
"A letter!" said Helen.
"Yes. I"ll put the letter by the side of the forged note; and, if you have any eye for writing at all, you"ll see at once that one hand wrote the forged note and this letter. I am also prepared to swear that the letters signed Hand are forgeries by the same person." He then coolly put upon the table the letter from Arthur Wardlaw that Helen had received on board the _Proserpine,_ and was proceeding to point out the many points of resemblance between the letter and the doc.u.ment, when he was interrupted by a scream from Helen.
"Ah!" she cried, "he is here. Only one man in the world could have brought that letter. I left it on the island. Robert is here. He gave you that letter."
"You are right," said the expert, "and what a fool I must be! I have no eye except for handwriting. He had a beard; and such a beard!"
"It is Robert!" cried Helen, in raptures. "He is come just in time."
"In time to be arrested," said Burt. "Why, his time is not out. He"ll get into trouble again."
"Oh, Heaven forbid!" cried Helen, and turned so faint she had to be laid back on a chair, and salts applied to her nostrils.
She soon came to, and cried and trembled, but prepared to defend her Robert with all a woman"s wit. Burt and Undercliff were conversing in a low voice, and Burt was saying he felt sure Wardlaw"s spies had detected Robert Penfold, and that Robert would be arrested and put into prison as a runaway convict. "Go to Scotland Yard this minute, Mr. Burt," said Helen, eagerly.
"What for?"
"Why, you must take the commission to arrest him. You are our friend."
Burt slapped his thigh with delight.
"That is first-rate, miss," said he. "I"ll take the real felon, first, you may depend. Now, Mr. Undercliff, write your report, and hand it to Miss Helen with fac-similes. It will do no harm if you make a declaration to the same effect before a magistrate. You, Miss Rolleston, keep yourself disengaged, and please don"t go out. You will very likely hear from me again to-day."
He drove off, and Helen, though still greatly agitated by Robert"s danger and the sense of his presence, now sat down, trembling a little, and compared Arthur"s letter with the forged doc.u.ment. The effect of this comparison was irresistible. The expert, however, asked her for some letter of Arthur"s that had never pa.s.sed through Robert Penfold"s hands.
She gave him the short note in which he used the very words, Robert Penfold. He said he would make that note the basis of his report.
While he was writing it, Mrs. Undercliff came in, and Helen told her all.
She said, "I came to the same conclusion long ago; but when you said he was to be your husband--"
"Ah," said Helen, "we women are poor creatures; we can always find some reason for running away from the truth. Now explain about the prayer-book."
"Well, miss, I felt sure he would steal it, so I made Ned produce a fac-simile. And he did steal it. What you got back was your mother"s prayer-book. Of course I took care of that."
"Oh, Mrs. Undercliff," cried Helen, "do let me kiss you."
Then they had a nice little cry together, and, by the time they had done, the report was ready in duplicate.
"I"ll declare this before a magistrate," said the expert, "and then I"ll send it you."
At four o"clock of this eventful day, Helen got a message from Burt to say that he had orders to arrest Robert Penfold, and that she must wear a mask, and ask Mr. Wardlaw to meet her at old Mr. Penfold"s at nine o"clock. But she herself must be there at half-past eight, without fail, and bring Undercliff"s declaration and report with her, and the prayer-book, etc.
Accordingly Helen went down to old Mr. Penfold"s at half-past eight and was received by Nancy Rouse, and ushered into Mr. Penfold"s room; that is to say, Nancy held the door open, and, on her entering the room, shut it sharply and ran down stairs.
Helen entered the room; a man rose directly, and came to her; but it was not Michael Penfold--it was Robert. A faint scream, a heavenly sigh, and her head was on his shoulder, and her arm round his neck, and both their hearts panting as they gazed, and then clung to each other, and then gazed again with love unutterable. After a while they got sufficient composure to sit down hand in hand and compare notes. And Helen showed him their weapons of defense, the prayer-book, the expert"s report, etc.
A discreet tap was heard at the door. It was Nancy Rouse. On being invited to enter, she came in and said, "Oh, Miss Helen, I"ve got a penitent outside, which he done it for love of me, and now he"ll make a clean breast, and the fault was partly mine. Come in, Joe, and speak for yourself."
On this, Joe Wylie came in, hanging his head, piteously.
"She is right, sir," said he; "I"m come to ask your pardon and the lady"s. Not as I ever meant you any harm; but to destroy the ship, it was a bad act, and I"ve never throve since. Nance, she have got the money.
I"ll give it back to the underwriters; and, if you and the lady will forgive a poor fellow that was tempted with love and money, why, I"ll stand to the truth for you, though it"s a bitter pill."
"I forgive you," said Robert; "and I accept your offer to serve me."