"There," said he; "you may pull on that line. I have fastened it so that it"ll hold."
Saying this, he flung himself exhausted on the gra.s.s, and unslung the lantern and unbound the rope.
The others pulled. There was a heavy weight at the end of the rope.
They could all conjecture well what that dead-weight might be. But the fierce curiosity that now animated them stimulated them to put forth all their strength in a series of vigorous pulls. Nearer and nearer came that weight to the top. At last it hung just beneath them. Half a dozen hands were stretched out, and in an instant it was jerked out and lay upon the gra.s.s.
The sheriff seized the lantern and held it up. The scene was one of horror. All around was the gloom of night, the shadowy outline of trees and of the out-houses. A flickering light revealed a group of men surrounding some object on the gra.s.s, upon which they gazed in silent awe.
It was a shapeless, sodden ma.s.s, but the human outline was preserved, and the clothes were there, recognizable. It was a grisly, a hideous sight, and it held them all spellbound.
But suddenly the silence was broken. A wild shriek burst forth from Mrs. Dunbar, who the next instant fell forward upon the hideous object.
Hugo seized her and raised her up. She was senseless.
"What is this?" cried the stern voice of Wiggins, who at that moment had come to the place.
"Mrs. Dunbar has fainted," said the sheriff; and then he pointed silently to the Thing that lay in the midst of the circle of spectators.
Wiggins looked at it, and seemed turned to stone. Then a shudder pa.s.sed through him. Then he turned away.
As he walked he staggered like one who has received some terrible blow, and staggering on in his way, he pa.s.sed out of sight into the gloom.
After this Mrs. Dunbar was carried into the house by Hugo.
There was silence for a long time.
"The head is gone!" said the sheriff at length, in a low voice.
"Yes," said another; "it"s been long in the water."
"Water couldn"t do it," said the sheriff; "it was gone before it went into the water."
"What was that for?"
"To prevent identification," said the sheriff, in a significant tone.
The remains were in due time conveyed to an appropriate place, together with the rope and the dagger. On the following day a search was made for the missing head. The well was pumped dry, a task in which there was little difficulty, as there was little more than two feet of water in it, but nothing of the kind was found. Then they dragged the pond, but without result. The search was also continued elsewhere, but it was equally unsuccessful.
It was then concluded that the murderer had removed the head of his victim to prevent identification, and had buried it somewhere, but that the traces of burial had been obliterated by the lapse of time. The only wonder was that the clothes should have been allowed to remain by one who had been so much on his guard as to decapitate his victim.
CHAPTER x.x.xIX.
THE CORONER"S INQUEST.
The remains were deposited in a proper place, and a coroner"s inquest was held at once, at which the usual examination of witnesses was conducted.
Wiggins was examined first. He showed great constraint. He had not much to say, however, about the disappearance of Captain Dudleigh, for he had been absent at that time, and he could only state what took place after his return. But in the course of these inquiries much was extorted from him relative to Edith"s position at Dalton Hall, her marriage, and the terms on which she had been living with her husband. His answers were given with extreme hesitation and marked reluctance, and it was only by the utmost persistence that they were wrung from him.
The porter was examined, and in the course of the inquiry that scene at the gates when Edith tried to escape was revealed.
Hugo was examined. It was found out that he had overheard the conversation between Edith and Captain Dudleigh at their last interview.
Hugo"s answers were given with as much reluctance as those of Wiggins, but he was not able to evade the questions, and all that he knew was drawn from him. But Hugo"s remembrance of words was not very accurate, and he could not give any detailed report of the conversation which he had overheard. Several things, however, had been impressed upon his memory. One was the occasion when Edith drew a dagger upon Captain Dudleigh, and left the room with it in her hand; another was when, in her last interview with him, she menaced his life, and threatened to have his "_heart"s blood_." So it was that Hugo had understood Edith"s words.
Mrs. Dunbar was examined, and gave her testimony with less hesitation.
She was deathly pale, and weak and miserable. She spoke with difficulty, but was eager to bear witness to the n.o.ble character of Captain Dudleigh. She certainly showed nothing like hate toward Edith, but at the same time showed no hesitation to tell all about her. She told about Captain Dudleigh"s first visits, and about the visits of his friend, who had a.s.sumed his name, or had the same name. She told how Edith had been warned, and how she scorned the warning. From her was elicited the story of Edith"s return after her marriage, her illness, recovery, and desperate moods, in which she seemed transformed, as Mrs.
Dunbar expressed it, to a "fury." The account of her discovery of the flight of Edith and the captain was given with much emotion, but with simple truth.
Mr. Munn was also examined about the marriage. He had not yet recovered from the agitation into which he had been thrown during his interview with Wiggins, but seemed in a state of chronic fright.
After these witnesses one other yet remained. It was one whose connection with these events was the closest of all--one upon whom that jury already looked as guilty of a terrible crime--as the one who had inflicted with her own hand that death whose cause they were investigating.
There was no doubt now in any mind. The remains had been identified by all the witnesses. The head had been removed, and had not been found, but the clothes were known to all. By these they judged the remains to be the body of Captain Dudleigh. Wiggins alone hesitated--but it was only hesitation; it was not denial.
When Edith was summoned before the coroner"s jury, it was the very first intelligence that she had received of an event in which she was so deeply concerned. The landlady had heard all about the search and its results; but true to her determination to spare Edith all trouble, she had not allowed any news of these proceedings to be communicated to her.
When the official appeared with his abrupt summons to attend, the shock was terrible, but there was nothing left except submission. A few brief answers to her hurried and agitated questions put her in possession of the chief facts of the case. On her way to the place she said not a word. The landlady went with her to take care of her, but Edith did not take any notice of her.
As she entered the room where the examination was going on, the scene that presented itself was one which might well have appalled a stouter heart than that of Edith, and which, coming as it did after the shock of this sudden surprise, and in the train of all that she had already suffered, gave to her a sharp pang of intolerable anguish, and filled her soul with horror unspeakable.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "WITH A LOUD CRY, SHE HALF TURNED."]
The rope-ladder lay there with its hook, with which she had effected her escape, and beside these was the dagger which more than once she had interposed between herself and her fierce aggressor; but it was not these that she saw; something else was there which fixed and enchained her gaze, which held her with a terrible fascination. A sheet was thrown over it, but the outlines of that which lay beneath indicated a human form, and the information which Edith had already received made her well aware whose that form was supposed to be. But she said nothing; she stood rigid, horror-stricken, overwhelmed, and looked at it with staring eyes and white lips.
The coroner made some remarks, consisting of the usual formulas, something like an apology for the examination, a hint that it might possibly affect herself, and a warning that she should be very careful not to say any thing that might inculpate herself.
To all this Edith paid no attention. She did not appear to have heard it. She stood, as the coroner spoke, in the same att.i.tude as before, with her eyes set in the same rigid stare. As the coroner ceased, he stepped forward and drew away the sheet.
There it lay at last--unveiled, revealed to her eyes--the abhorrent Thing, whose faint outline had chilled her very soul, its aspect hideous, frightful, unendurable! As the sheet fell away, and all was revealed before her, she could restrain herself no longer; the strain was too great; with a loud cry, she half turned and tried to run. The next instant the landlady caught her as she was falling senseless to the floor.
The examination of Mrs. Dudleigh was postponed. On the whole, however, it was afterward considered unnecessary. Enough had been gathered from the other witnesses to enable the jury to come to a conclusion. It was felt, also, that Mrs. Dudleigh ought to have a chance; though they believed her guilty, they felt sorry for her, and did not wish her to criminate herself by any rash words. The result was that they brought in a verdict of murder against Mrs. Leon Dudleigh.
CHAPTER XL.
A STRANGE CONFESSION
The news of Edith"s arrest spread like wild-fire, and the event became soon the subject of universal conversation. Rumors of all sorts arose, as is natural under such circ.u.mstances, most of which were adverse to the accused. People remembered against the daughter the crimes of the father. It was _bad blood_, they said, which she had inherited; it was an evil race to which she belonged, and the murderous tendency was hereditary.
The examination at the inquest had made known the general facts of her story, out of which public gossip constructed another story to suit itself.
Mrs. Dudleigh had been found troublesome and dangerous all along, so much so that it became necessary to keep her within the grounds. When Captain Dudleigh was paying attentions to her, she treated him with perfect brutality. On one occasion she struck him with her whip, and tried to run away. Captain Dudleigh had sent his friend, or relative, Lieutenant Dudleigh, to bring about a reconciliation. This was so well managed that the two resumed their former relations, and she even consented to make a runaway match with him. This, however, was not out of love so much as to spite her guardian.