"I can scarcely say--in a week or a fortnight."
Don Pedro made a gesture of annoyance.
"It is a pity, as I am so very pressed for time. Still, I must remain until the Professor returns. I am so anxious to hear if the mummy has been found."
"It is not found yet," said Hope quickly, "and never will be."
Don Pedro looked at him quietly.
"It must be found," said he. "I have come all the way from Lima to obtain it. When you hear my story you will not be surprised at my desire to regain the mummy."
"Regain it?" echoed Hope and Random in one breath.
Don Pedro nodded.
"The mummy was stolen from my father," he said.
CHAPTER XI. THE Ma.n.u.sCRIPT
It was certainly strange how constantly the subject of the missing mummy came uppermost. Since it had disappeared and since the man who had brought it to England was dead, it might have been thought that nothing more would be said about the matter. But Professor Braddock harped incessantly on his loss--which was perhaps natural--and Widow Anne also talked a great deal as to the possibility of the mummy, being found, as she hoped to learn by that means the name of the a.s.sa.s.sin who had strangled her poor boy. Now Don Pedro de Gayangos appeared with the strange information that the weird relic of Peruvian civilization had been stolen from his father. Apparently fate was not inclined to let the matter of the lost mummy drop, and was working round to a denouement, which would possibly include the solution of the mystery of Sidney Bolton"s death. Yet, on the face of it, there appeared to be no chance of the truth becoming known.
Of course, when Don Pedro announced that the Mummy had formerly belonged to his father, every one was anxious to hear how it had been stolen. The Gayangos family were established in Lima, and the embalmed body of Inca Caxas had been purchased from a gentleman residing in Malta. How, then, had it crossed the water, and how had Don Pedro learned its whereabouts, only to arrive too late to secure his missing property? Mrs. Jasher was especially anxious to learn these things, and explained her reasons to Lucy.
"You see, my dear," she said to the girl on the day after Don Pedro"s arrival in Gartley, "if we learn the past of that horrid mummy, we may gain a clue to the person who desired possession of the nasty thing, and so may hunt down this terrible criminal. Once he is found, the mummy may be secured again, and should I be able to return it to your father, out of grat.i.tude he would certainly marry me."
"You seem to think that the a.s.sa.s.sin is a man," said Lucy dryly; "yet you forget that the person who talked to Sidney through the window of the Sailor"s Rest was a woman."
"An old woman," emphasized Mrs. Jasher briskly: "quite so."
Lucy contradicted.
"Eliza Flight did not say if the woman was old or young, but merely stated that she wore a dark dress and a dark shawl over her head. Still, this mysterious woman was connected in some way with the murder, else she would not have been speaking to Sidney."
"I don"t follow you, my dear. You talk as though poor Mr. Bolton expected to be murdered. For my part, I hold by the verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown. The truth is to be found, if anywhere, in the past of the mummy."
"We can discover nothing about that."
"You forget what Don Pedro said, my dear," remarked Mrs. Jasher hastily, "that the mummy had been stolen from his father. Let us hear what he has to say and we may find a clue. I am anxious that the Professor should regain the green mummy for reasons which you know of. And now, my hear, can you come to dinner to-night?"
"Well, I don"t know." Miss Kendal hesitated. "Archie said that he would look in this evening."
"I shall ask Mr. Hope also, my love. Don Pedro is coming and his daughter likewise. Needless to say Sir Frank will follow the young lady.
We shall be a party of six, and after dinner we must induce Don Pedro to relate the story of how the mummy was stolen."
"He may not be inclined."
"Oh, I think so," replied; Mrs. Jasher quickly. "He wants to get the mummy back again, and if we discuss the subject we may see some chance of securing it."
"But Don Pedro will not wish it to be restored to my father."
Mrs. Jasher shrugged her plump shoulders.
"Your father and Don Pedro can arrange that themselves. All I desire is, that the mummy should be found. Undoubtedly it belongs by purchase to the Professor, but as it has been stolen, this Peruvian gentleman may claim it. Well?"
"I shall come and Archie also," a.s.sented Lucy, who was beginning to be interested in the matter. "The affair is somewhat romantic."
"Criminal, my dear, criminal," said Mrs. Jasher, rising to take her leave. "It is not a matter I care to mix myself up with. Still"--she laughed--"you know, why I am doing so."
"If I had to take all this trouble to gain a husband," observed Lucy somewhat acidly, "I should remain single all my life."
"If you were as lonely as I am," retorted the plump widow, "you would do your best to secure a man toy look after you. I should prefer a young and handsomer husband--such as Sir Frank Random, for instance but, as beggars cannot be choosers, I must content myself with old age, a famous scientist, and the chance of a possible t.i.tle. Now mind, dear, to-night at seven--not a minute later," and she bustled away to prepare for the reception of her guests.
It seemed to Lucy that Mrs. Jasher was taking a great deal of trouble to become Mrs. Braddock, especially as the Professor"s brother might live for many a long day yet, in which case the widow would not gain the t.i.tle she coveted for years. However, the girl rather sympathized with Mrs. Jasher, who was a companionable soul, and fond of society.
Circ.u.mstances condemned her to a somewhat lonely life in an isolated cottage in a rather dull neighborhood, so it was little to be wondered at that she should strive to move heaven and earth--as she was doing--in the hope of escaping from her solitude. Besides, although Miss Kendal did not wish to make a close companion of the widow, yet she did not dislike her, and, moreover, thought that she would make Professor Braddock a very presentable wife. Thinking thus, Lucy was quite willing to forward Mrs. Jasher"s plans by inducing Don Pedro to tell all he knew about this missing mummy.
Thus it came about that six people a.s.sembled in the tiny pink parlor of Mrs. Jasher at the hour of seven o"clock. It required dexterous management to seat the whole company in the dining room, which was only a trifle larger than the parlor. However, Mrs. Jasher contrived to place them round her hospitable board in, a fairly comfortable fashion, and, once seated, the dinner was so good that no one felt the drawbacks of scanty elbow room. The widow, as hostess, was placed at the head of the table; Don Pedro, as the eldest of the men, at the foot; and Sir Frank, with Donna Inez, faced Archie and Lucy Kendal. Jane, who was well instructed in waiting by her mistress, attended to her duties admirably, acting both as footman and butler. Lucy, indeed, had offered Mrs. Jasher the services of c.o.c.katoo to hand round the wine, but the widow with a pretty shudder had declined.
"That dreadful creature with his yellow mop of hair gives me the shivers," she declared.
Considering the isolation of the district, and the narrow limits of Mrs.
Jasher"s income, the meal was truly, admirable, being well cooked and well served, while the table was arrayed like an altar for the reception of the various dishes. Whatever Mrs. Jasher might be as an adventuress, she certainly proved herself to be a capital housekeeper, and Lucy foresaw that, if she did become Mrs. Braddock, the Professor would fare sumptuously, for the rest of his scientific life. When the meal was ended the widow produced a box of superfine cigars and another of cigarettes, after which she left the gentlemen to sip their wine, and took her two young friends to chatter chiffons in the tiny parlor. And it said much for Mrs. Jasher"s methodical ways that, considering the limited s.p.a.ce, everything went--as the saying goes--like clockwork.
Likewise, the widow had proved herself a wonderful hostess, as she kept the ball of conversation rolling briskly and induced a spirit of fraternity, uncommon in an ordinary dinner party.
During the meal Mrs. Jasher had kept off the subject of the mummy, which was the excuse for the entertainment; but when the gentlemen strolled into the parlor, feeling well fed and happy, she hinted at Don Pedro"s quest. As the night was cold and the Peruvian gentleman came from the tropics, he was established in a well padded arm-chair close to the sea-coal fire, and with her own fair hands Mrs. Jasher gave him a cup of fragrant coffee, which was rendered still more agreeable to the palate by the introduction of a vanilla bean. With this and with a good cigar--for the ladies gave the gentlemen permission to smoke--Don Pedro felt very happy and easy, and complimented Mrs. Jasher warmly on her capability of making her fellow-creatures comfortable.
"It is altogether comfortable, madame," said Don Pedro, rising to make a courtly bow. In fact, so agreeable was the foreigner that Mrs. Jasher dreamed for one swift moment of throwing over the dry-as-dust scientist to become a Spanish lady of Lima.
"You flatter me, Don Pedro," she said, waving a wholly unnecessary fan out of compliment to her guest"s Spanish extraction. "Indeed, I am very glad that you are pleased with my poor little house."
"Pardon, madame, but no house can be poor when it is a casket to contain such a jewel."
"There!" said Lucy somewhat satirically to the young men, while Mrs. Jasher blushed and bridled, "what Englishman could turn such a compliment? It reminds one of Georgian times."
"We are more sober now than my fathers were then," said Hope, smiling, "and I am sure if Random thought for a few minutes he could produce something pretty. Go on, Random."
"My brain is not equal to the strain after dinner," said Sir Frank.
As for Donna Inez, she did not speak, but sat smiling quietly in her corner of the room, looking remarkably handsome. As a young girl Lucy was pretty, and Mrs. Jasher was a comely widow, but neither one had the majestic looks of the Spanish lady. She smiled, a veritable queen amidst the gim-crack ornaments of Mrs. Jasher"s parlor, and Sir Frank, who was fathoms deep in love, could not keep his eyes off her face.
For a few minutes the conversation was frivolous, quite the Shakespeare and musical gla.s.ses kind of speech. Then Mrs. Jasher, who had no idea that her good dinner should be wasted in charming nothings, introduced the subject of the mummy by a reference to Professor Braddock. It was characteristic of her cleverness that she did not address Don Pedro, but pointed her speech at Lucy Kendal.
"I do hope your father will return with that mummy," she observed, after a dexterous allusion to the late tragedy.
"I don"t think he has gone to look for it," replied Miss Kendal indifferently.