It was in connection with the name of Bolton that the first mention was made of the green mummy. Sidney was a clever young man, although very lowly born, and having been taken up by Professor Braddock as an assistant, could hope some day to make a position. Braddock was educating him, although he paid him very little in the way of wages. Sidney fell in love with Mrs. Jasher, and in some way—she did not mention how—gained her confidence. Perhaps the lonely woman was glad to have a sympathetic friend. At all events she told her past history to Sidney, and mentioned that she desired to marry Braddock. But Sidney insisted that she should marry him, and promised to make enough money to satisfy her that he was a good match, setting aside his humble birth, for which Mrs. Jasher cared nothing.

It was then that Sidney related what he had discovered. Braddock, when in Peru many years before, had tried to get mummies for some scientific reason. When Hervey—then known as Vasa—promised to procure him the mummy of the last Inca, Braddock was extremely pleased. Hervey stole the mummy and also the copy of the manuscript which was written in Latin. He sent this latter to Braddock—who was then at Cuzco—as an earnest of his success in procuring the mummy, and when the Professor returned to Lima the mummy was to be handed to him. Unfortunately, Braddock was carried into captivity for one year, and when he escaped Vasa had disappeared with the mummy. As the Professor had deciphered the Latin manuscript, he knew of the emeralds, and for years had been hunting for the mummy—sure to be recognized from its peculiar green color—in order to get the jewels, and thus secure money for his Egyptian expedition. All through, it seems, the Professor was actuated by purely scientific enthusiasm, as in the abstract he cared very little for hard cash. Bolton told Mrs. Jasher that Braddock explained how much he desired to get the mummy, but he did not mention about the jewels. For a long time Sidney was under the impression that his master merely wanted the mummy to see the difference between the Egyptian and Peruvian modes of embalming.

Then one day Sidney chanced on the Latin manuscript, and learned that Braddock's real reason for getting the mummy was to procure the emeralds which were held in the grip of the dead. Sidney kept this knowledge to himself, and Braddock never guessed that his assistant knew the truth. Then unexpectedly Braddock stumbled across the advertisement describing the green mummy for sale in Malta. From the color he made sure that it was that of Inca Caxas, and so moved heaven and earth to get money to buy it. At length he did, from Archie Hope, on condition that he consented to the marriage of his step-daughter with the young man. Thinking that Sidney was ignorant of the jewels, he sent him to bring the mummy home.

Sidney told Mrs. Jasher that he would try and steal the jewels in Malta or on board the tramp steamer. Failing that, he would delay the delivery of the mummy to Braddock on some excuse and rob it at Pierside. To make sure of escaping, he borrowed a disguise from his mother, alleging that Hope wanted the same to clothe a model. Sidney intended to take these clothes with him, and, after stealing the jewels, to escape disguised as an old woman. As he was slender and clean-shaven and a capital actor, he could easily manage this.

Then he arranged that Mrs. Jasher should join him in Paris, and they would sell the emeralds, and go to America, there to marry and live happily ever afterwards, like a fairy tale.

Unfortunately for the success of this plan, Mrs. Jasher thought that the Professor would make a more distinguished husband, so she betrayed all that Sidney, had arranged.

"What a beastly thing to do!" interrupted Random, disgusted. "It is not as if she wanted to help Braddock. I think less of Mrs. Jasher than ever I did. She might have remembered that there is honor amongst thieves."

"Well, she is dead, poor soul!" said Hope with a sigh. "God knows that if she sinned, she has paid cruelly for her sin," after which remark, as Sir Frank was silent, he resumed his reading.

Braddock was furious when he learned of his assistant's projected trickery, and he determined to circumvent him. He agreed to marry Mrs. Jasher, as, if he had not done so, she could have warned Sidney and he could have escaped with both the mummy and the jewels by conniving with Hervey. The Professor could not risk that, as, remembering Hervey as Gustav Vasa, he was aware how clever and reckless he was. Whether Braddock ever intended to marry the widow in the end it is hard to say, but he certainly pretended to consent to the engagement, which was mainly brought about by Lucy. Then came the details of the murder so far as Mrs. Jasher knew.

One evening—in fact on the evening when the crime was committed—the woman was walking in her garden late. In the moonlight she saw Braddock and Cockatoo go down along the cinderpath to the jetty near the Fort. Wondering what they were doing, she waited up, and heard and saw them—for it was still moonlight—come back long after midnight. The next day she heard of the murder, and guessed that the Professor and his slave—for Cockatoo was little else—had rowed up to Pierside in a boat and there had strangled Sidney and stolen the mummy. She saw Braddock and accused him. The Professor had then opened the case, and had pretended astonishment when discovering the corpse of the man whom Cockatoo had strangled, as he knew perfectly well.

Braddock at first denied having been to Pierside, but Mrs. Jasher insisted that she would tell the police, so he was forced to make a clean breast of it to the woman.

"Now for it," said Random, settling himself to hear details of the crime, for he had often wondered how it had been executed.

"Braddock," read Archie from the confession, for Mrs. Jasher did not trouble herself with a polite prefix—"Braddock explained that when he received a letter from Sidney stating that he would have to remain with the mummy for a night in Pierside, he guessed that his treacherous assistant intended to effect the robbery. It seems that Sidney by mistake had left behind the disguise in which he intended to escape. Aware of this through me"—Mrs. Jasher referred to herself—"he made Cockatoo assume the dress and row up the river to the Sailor's Rest. The Kanaka easily could be mistaken for a woman, as he also, like Sidney, was slender and smooth-chinned. Also, he wore the shawl over his head to disguise his mop of frizzy hair as much as possible, and for the purpose of concealing his tattooed face. In the darkness—it was after nine o'clock—he spoke to Sidney through the window, as he had seen him there earlier, when searching for him. Cockatoo said that Sidney was much afraid when he heard that his purpose had been discovered by the Professor. He offered a share of the plunder to the Kanaka, and Cockatoo agreed, saying he would come back late, and that Sidney was to admit him into the bedroom so that they could open the mummy and steal the jewels. Sidney quite believed that Cockatoo was heart and soul with him, especially as the cunning Kanaka swore that he was weary of his master's tyranny. It was when Cockatoo was talking thus that he was seen by Eliza Flight, who mistook him—very naturally—for a woman. Cockatoo then returned by boat to the Gartley jetty and told his master. Afterwards, the Professor, at a much later hour, went down to the jetty and was rowed up to Pierside by the Kanaka."

"That was when Mrs. Jasher saw them," said Random, much interested.

"Yes," said Archie. "And then, if you remember; she watched for the return of the couple."

"It was nearly midnight when the boat was brought alongside the sloping stone bank of the alley which ran past the Sailor's Rest. No one was about at that hour, not even a policeman, and there was no light in Sidney Bolton's window. Braddock was much agitated as he thought that Sidney had already escaped. He waited in the boat and sent Cockatoo to knock at the window. Then a light appeared and the window was silently opened. The Kanaka slipped in and remained there for some ten minutes after closing the window. When he returned, the light was extinguished. He whispered to his master that Sidney had opened the packing case and the mummy coffin, and had ripped the swathings to get the jewels. When Sidney would not hand over the jewels to the Kanaka, as the latter wanted him to, Cockatoo, already prepared with the window cord, which he had silently taken from the blind, sprang upon the unfortunate assistant and strangled him. Cockatoo told this to his horrified master, and wanted him to come back to hide the corpse in the packing case. Braddock refused, and then Cockatoo told him that he would throw the jewels—which he had taken from Sidney's body—into the river. The position of master and servant was reversed, and Braddock was forced to obey.

"The Professor slipped silently ashore and into the room. The two men relighted the candle and pulled down the blind. They then placed the corpse of Sidney in the packing case, and screwed the same down in silence. When this was completed, they were about to carry the mummy in its coffin—the lid of which they had replaced—to the boat, when they heard distant footsteps, probably those of a policeman on his beat. At once they extinguished the candle, and—as Braddock told Mrs. Jasher—he, for one, sat trembling in the dark. But the policeman—if the footsteps were those of a policeman—passed up another street, and the two were safe. Without relighting the candle, they silently slipped the mummy through the window, Cockatoo within and Braddock without. The case and its contents were not heavy, and it was not difficult for the two men to take it to the boat. When it was safely bestowed, Cockatoo—who was as cunning as the devil, according to his master returned to the bedroom, and unlocked the door. He afterwards passed a string through the joining of the upper and lower windows, and managed to shut the snib. Afterwards he came to the boat and rowed it back to Gartley. On the way Cockatoo told his master that Sidney had left instructions that the packing case should be taken next morning to the Pyramids, so there was nothing to fear. The mummy was hidden in a hole under the jetty and covered with grass."

"Why didn't they take it up to the house?" asked Random, on hearing this.

"That would have been dangerous," said Hope, looking up from the manuscript, "seeing that the mummy was supposed to have been stolen by the murderer. It was easier to hide it amongst the grasses under the jetty, as no one ever goes there. Well"—he turned over a few pages—"that is practically all. The rest is after events."

"I want to hear them," said Random, taking another cup of coffee.

Hope ran his eyes swiftly over the remaining portion of the paper, and gave further details rapidly to his friend.

"You know all that happened," he said, "the Professor's pretended surprise when he found the corpse he had himself helped to pack and—"

"Yes! yes! But why was the mummy placed in Mrs. Jasher's garden?"

"That was Braddock's idea. He fancied that the mummy might be found under the jetty and that inconvenient inquiries might be made. Also, he wished if possible to implicate Mrs. Jasher, so as to keep her from telling to the police what he had told her. He and Cockatoo went down to the river one night and removed the mummy to the arbor silently. Afterwards he pretended to be astonished when I found it. I must say he acted his part very well," said Hope reflectively, "even to accusing Mrs. Jasher. That was a bold stroke of genius."

"A very dangerous one."

"Not at all. He swore to Mrs. Jasher that if she said anything, he would tell the police that she had taken the clothes provided by Sidney from the Pyramids and had gone to speak through the window, in order to fly with Sidney and the emeralds. As the fact of the mummy being found in Mrs. Jasher's garden would lend color to the lie, she was obliged to hold her tongue. And after all, as she says, she didn't mind, since she was engaged to the Professor, and possessed at least one of the emeralds."

"Ah! the one she passed along to me. How did she get that?"

Hope referred again to the manuscript.

"She insisted that Braddock should give it to her as a pledge of good faith. He had to do it, or risk her splitting. That was why he placed the mummy in her garden, so as to bring her into the matter, and render it more difficult for her to speak."

"What of the other emerald?"

"Braddock took that to Amsterdam, when he went to London that time—if you remember, when Don Pedro arrived. Braddock sold the emerald for three thousand pounds, and it is now on its way to an Indian rajah. I fear Don Pedro will never set eyes on that again."

"Where is the money?"

"He banked it in a feigned name in Amsterdam, and intended to account for it when he married Mrs. Jasher by saying it was left to her by that mythical Pekin merchant brother of hers. Savvy!"

"Yes. What an infernal little villain! And I expect he sent Cockatoo down last night for the other emerald."

"That is not related in the manuscript," said Archie, laying down the last sheet and taking up his coffee. "The confession ends abruptly—at the time Cockatoo tapped at the window, I expect. But she said, when dying, that the Kanaka asked for the second emerald. If she had not sent it to you in a fit of weakness, I expect she would have passed it along. I can't make out," added Archie musingly, "why Mrs. Jasher confessed when everything was so safe."

"Well," said Random, nursing his chin, and staring into the fire, "she made a mistake in trying to blackmail me, though why she did so I can't tell, seeing she had the whiphand of Braddock. Perhaps she wanted the five thousand to spend herself, knowing that the Professor's plunder would be wasted on his confounded expedition. At any rate she gave herself away by the blackmail, and I expect she grew frightened. If the house had been searched—and it might have been searched by the police, had I arrested her for blackmail the emerald would have been found and she would have been incriminated. She therefore got rid of it cleverly, by passing it along to me as a wedding gift. Then she again grew afraid and wrote out this confession to exonerate herself."

"But it doesn't," insisted Hope. "She makes herself out plainly as an accessory after the fact."

"A woman doesn't understand these legal niceties. She wrote that out to clear herself in case she was arrested for the blackmail, and perhaps in case Braddock refused to help her—as he certainly did, if you remember."

"He was hard on her," confessed Archie slowly.

"Being such a villain himself," said Random grimly. "However, Cockatoo arrived unluckily on the scene, and when he found she had parted with the emerald, and had written out the truth, he stabbed her. If we hadn't come just in the nick of time, he would have annexed that confession, and the truth would never have become known. No one," ended Random, rising and stretching himself, "would connect Braddock or Cockatoo with the death of Mrs. Jasher."

"Or with the death of Sidney Bolton either," said Hope, also rising and putting on his cap. "What an actor the man is!"

"Where are you going?" demanded Sir Frank, yawning.

"To the Pyramids. I want to see how Lucy is."

"Will you tell her about that confession?"

"Not until later. I shall give this to Inspector Date when he arrives. The Professor has made his bed, so he must lie on it. When I marry Lucy, I'll take her away from this damned place."

"Marry her at once, then," advised Random, "while the Professor is doing time, and while Cockatoo is being hanged. Meanwhile, I think you had better put on your overcoat, unless you want to walk through the village in crumpled evening dress, like a dissipated undergraduate."

Archie laughed in spite of his weariness, and assumed his greatcoat at the same moment as Random slipped into his. The two young men walked out into the village and up to the Pyramids, for Random wished to see Braddock before returning to the Fort. They found the door of the great house open and the servants in the hall.

"What is all this?" demanded Hope, entering. "Why are you here, and not at work? Where is your master?"

"He's run away," said the cook in a shrill voice. "Lord knows why, sir."

"Archie! Archie!" Lucy came running out of the museum, pale-faced and white, "my father has gone away with Cockatoo and the green mummy. What does it mean? And just when poor Mrs. Jasher is murdered too."

"Hush, darling! Come in, and I'll explain," said Hope gently.



CHAPTER XXVI. THE APPOINTMENT

Poor Lucy Kendal was terribly grieved and shocked when the full account of her step-father's iniquity was revealed to her. Archie tried to break the news as delicately as possible, but no words could soften the sordid story. Lucy, at first, could not believe it possible that a man, whom she had known for so long, and to whom she was related, would behave in such a base way. To convince her Hope was forced to let her read the account in Mrs. Jasher's handwriting. When acquainted with the contents, the poor girl's first desire was to have the matter hushed up, and she implored her lover with tears to suppress the damning document.

"That is impossible," said Hope firmly; "and if you think again, my dear, you will not repeat such a request. It is absolutely necessary that this should be placed in the hands of the police, and that the truth should become as widely known as possible. Unless the matter is settled once and for all, someone else may be accused of this murder."

"But the disgrace," wept Lucy, hiding her face on her lover's shoulder.

He slipped his arm round her waist.

"My darling, the disgrace exists whether it be public or private. After all, the Professor is no relation."

"No. But everyone knows that I am his step-daughter."

"Everyone," echoed Archie, with an assumed lightness. "My dear, everyone in this instance only means the handful of people who live in this out-of-the-way village. Your name will not appear in the papers. And even if by chance it does, you will soon be changing it for mine. I think the best thing that can be done is for you to come with me to London next week and marry me. Then we can go to the south of France for the rest of the winter, until you recover. When we return and set up house in London—say in a year—the whole affair will be forgotten."

"But how can you bear to marry me, when you know that I come of such a bad stock?" wept Lucy, a trifle more comforted.

"My dear, must I remind you again that you are no relation to Professor Braddock; you have not a drop of his wicked blood in your veins. And even if you had, I should still marry you. It is you I love, and you I marry, so there is no more to be said. Come, darling, say that you will become my wife next week."

"But the Professor?"

Archie smiled grimly. He found it difficult to forgive Braddock for the disgrace he had brought on the girl.

"I don't think we'll ever be troubled again with the Professor," he said, after a pause. "He has bolted into the unknown with that infernal Kanaka."

"But why did he fly, Archie?"

"Because he knew that the game was up. Mrs. Jasher wrote out this confession, and told Cockatoo, when he entered the room to get the emerald, that she had written it. To save his master the Kanaka stabbed the wretched woman, and, had Random and I not arrived, he would have secured the confession. I really believe he came back again out of the mist in the small hours of the morning to steal it. But when he found that all was vain, he returned here and told the Professor that the story of the murder had been written out. Therefore there was nothing left to Braddock but to fly. Although," added Hope, with an afterthought, "I can't imagine why those two fugitives should drag that confounded mummy with them."

"But why should the Professor fly?" asked Lucy again. "According to what Mrs. Jasher writes, he did not strangle poor Sidney."

"No. And I will do him the justice to say that he had no idea of having his assistant murdered. It was Cockatoo's savage blood which came out in the deed, and maybe it can be explained by the Kanaka's devotion to the Professor. It was the same way in the murder of Mrs. Jasher. By killing Bolton, the Kanaka hoped to save the emeralds for Braddock: in stabbing Mrs. Jasher, he hoped to save the Professor's life."

"Oh, Archie, will they hang my father?"

Hope winced.

"Call him your step-father," he said quickly. "No, dear, I do not think he will be hanged; but as an accessory after the fact he will certainly be condemned to a long term of imprisonment. Cockatoo, however, assuredly will be hanged, and a good job too. He is only a savage, and as such is dangerous in a civilized community. I wonder where they have gone? Did anyone hear them going?"

"No," said Lucy unhesitatingly. "Cook came up this morning to my room, and said that my father—I mean my step-father—had gone away with Cockatoo and with the green mummy. I don't know why she should have said that, as the Professor often went away unexpectedly."

"Perhaps she heard rumors in the village and put two and two together. I cannot tell. Some instinct must have told her. But I daresay Braddock and his accomplice fled under cover of the mist and in the small hours of the morning. They must have known that the confession would bring the officers of the law to this house."

"I hope they will escape," murmured Lucy.

"Well, I am not sure," said Hope hesitatingly. "Of course, I should like to avoid a scandal for your sake, and yet it is only right that the two of them should be punished. Remember, Lucy dear, how Braddock has acted all along in deceiving us. He knew all, and yet not one of us suspected him."

While Archie was thus comforting the poor girl, Gartley village was in an uproar. Everyone was talking about this new crime, and everyone was wondering who had stabbed the unlucky woman. As yet the confession of Mrs. Jasher had not been placed in the hands of the police and everyone was ignorant that Cockatoo was the criminal who had escaped in the fog. Inspector Date speedily arrived with his myrmidons on the scene and made the cottage his headquarters. Later in the day, Hope, having taken a cold bath to freshen himself up, came with the confession. This he gave to the officer and explained the whole story of the previous night.

Date was more than astonished: he was astounded. He read the confession and made notes; then he sent for Sir Frank Random, and examined him in the same strict way as he had examined the artist. Jane was also questioned. Widow Anne was put in the witness box, so as to report about the clothes, and in every way Date gathered material for another inquest. At the former one he had only been able to place scanty evidence before the jury, and the verdict had been unsatisfactory to the public. But on this occasion, seeing that the witnesses he could bring forward would solve the mystery of the first death as well as the second, Inspector Date exulted greatly. He saw himself promoted and his salary raised, and his name praised in the papers as a zealous and clever officer. By the time the inquest came to be held, the inspector had talked himself into believing that the whole mystery had been solved by himself. But before that time came another event happened which astonished everyone, and which made the final phase of the green mummy crime even more sensational than it had been. And Heaven knows that from beginning to end there had been no lack of melodrama of the most lurid description.

Don Pedro de Gayangos was exceedingly amazed at the unexpected turn which the case had taken. That he should have been trying to solve a deep mystery for so long, and that the solution, all the time, had been in the hands of the Professor, startled him exceedingly. He admitted that he had never liked Braddock, but explained that he had not expected to hear that the fiery little scientist was such a scoundrel. But, as Don Pedro confessed, it was an ill wind which blew him some good, when the upshot of the whole mysterious tragic business was the restoration of at least one emerald. Sir Frank brought the gem to him on the afternoon of the day succeeding Mrs. Jasher's death, and while the whole village was buzzing with excitement. It was Random who gave all details to Donna Inez and her father, leading from one revelation to another, until he capped the whole extraordinary story by producing the splendid gem.

"Mine! mine!" said Don Pedro, his dark eyes glittering. "Thanks be to the Virgin and the Saints," and he bowed his head to make the sign of the cross devoutly on his breast.

Donna Inez clapped her hands and her eyes flashed, for, like every woman, she had a profound love for jewels.

"Oh, how lovely, Frank! It must be worth no end of money."

"Professor Braddock sold the other to some Indian rajah in Amsterdam—through an agent, I presume for three thousand pounds."

"I shall get more than that," said Don Pedro quickly. "The Professor sold his jewel in a hurry and had no time to bargain. But sooner or later I shall get five thousand pounds for this." He held the gem in the sunlight, where it glowed like an emerald sun. "Why, it is worthy of a king's crown."

"I fear you will never get the other gem," said Random regretfully. "I believe that it is on its way to India, if Mrs. Jasher can be trusted."

"Never mind. I shall be content with this one, senor. I have simple tastes, and this will do much to restore the fortunes of my family. When I go back with this and the green mummy, all those Indians who know of my descent from the ancient Incas will be delighted and will pay me fresh reverence."

"But you forget," said Random, frowning, "the green mummy has been taken away by Professor Braddock."

"They cannot have gone far with it," said Donna Inez, shrugging.

"I don't know so much about that, dearest," said Sir Frank. "Apparently, since they handled it at the time of the murder, it is easier carried about than one would think. And then they fled last night, or rather in the small hours of this morning, under cover of a dense fog."

"It is clear enough now," said De Gayangos, peering through the window, where a pale winter sun shone in a clear steel-hued sky. "They are bound to be caught in the long run."

"Do you wish them to be caught?" asked Random abruptly.

"Not the Professor. For Miss Lucy's sake I hope he will escape; but I trust that the savage who killed these two unfortunate people will be brought to the gallows."

"So do I," said Random. "Well, Don Pedro, it seems to me that your task in Gartley is ended. All you have to do is to wait for the inquest and see Mrs. Jasher buried, poor soul! Then you can go to London and remain there until after Christmas."

"But why should I remain in London?" asked the Peruvian, surprised.

Random glanced at Donna Inez, who blushed.

"You forget that you have given your consent to my marriage with—"

"Ah, yes," Don Pedro smiled gravely. "I return with the jewel to Lima, but I leave my other jewel behind."

"Never mind," said the girl, kissing her father; "when Frank and I are married we will come to Callao in his yacht."

"Our yacht," said Random, smiling.

"Our yacht," repeated Donna Inez. "And then you will see, father, that I have become a real English lady."

"But don't entirely forget that you are a Peruvian," said Don Pedro playfully.

"And a descendant of Inca Caxas," added Donna Inez. Then she flirted her fan, which she was rarely without, and laughed in her English lover's face. "Don't forget, senor, that you marry a princess."

"I marry the most charming girl in the world," he replied, catching her in his arms, rather to the scandal of De Gayangos, who had stiff Spanish notions regarding the etiquette of engaged couples.

"There is one thing you must do for me, senor," he said quietly, "before we leave this most unhappy case of murder and theft for ever."

"What is that?" asked Sir Frank, turning with Inez in his arms.

"To-night at eight o'clock, Captain Hervey—the sailor Gustav Vasa, if you prefer the name—steams down the river in his new boat The Firefly. I received a note from him"—he displayed a letter—"stating that he will pass the jetty of Gartley at that hour, and will burn a blue light. If I fire a pistol, he will send off a boat with a full account of the theft of the mummy of Inca Caxas, written by himself. Then I will hand his messenger fifty gold sovereigns, which I have here," added Don Pedro, pointing to a canvas bag on the table, "and we will return. I wish you to go with me, senor, and also I wish your friend Mr. Hope to come."

"Do you anticipate treachery from Captain Hervey?" asked Random.

"I should not be surprised if he tried to trick me in some way, and I wish you and your friend to stand by me. Were this man alone, I would go alone, but he will have a boat's crew with him. It is best to be safe."

"I agree with you," said Random quickly. "Hope and I will come, and we will take revolvers with us. It doesn't do to trust this blackguard. Ho! ho! I wonder if he knows of the Professor's flight."

"No. Considering the terms upon which the Professor stood with Hervey, I should think he would be the last person he would trust. I wonder what has become of the man."

More people than Don Pedro wondered as to the whereabouts of Braddock and his servant, for everyone was inquiring and hunting. The marshes round the cottage were explored: the great house itself was searched, as well as many cottages in the village, and inquiries were made at all the local stations. But all in vain. Braddock and Cockatoo, along with the cumbersome mummy in its case, had vanished as completely as though the earth had swallowed them up. Inspector Date's idea was that the pair had taken the mummy to Gartley Pier, after the search made by the soldiers, and there had launched the boat, which Cockatoo—judging from his visit to Pierside—apparently kept hidden in some nook. It was probable, said Date, the two had rowed down the river, and had managed to get on board some outward-bound tramp. They could easily furbish up some story, and as Braddock doubtless had money, could easily buy a passage for a large sum. The tramp being outward-bound, her captain and crew would know nothing of the crime, and even if the fugitives were suspected, they would be shipped out of England if the bribe was sufficiently large. So it was apparent that Inspector Date had not much opinion of tramp-steamer skippers.

However, as the day wore on to night, nothing was heard of Braddock or Cockatoo or the mummy, and when night came the village was filled with local reporters and with London journalists asking questions. The Warrior Inn did a great trade in drink and beds and meals, and the rustics reaped quite a harvest in answering questions about Mrs. Jasher and the Professor and the weird-looking Kanaka. Some reporters dared to invade the Pyramids, where Lucy was weeping in sorrow and shame, but Archie, reinforced by two policemen, sent to his aid by Date, soon sent them to the right about. Hope would have liked to remain with Lucy all the evening, but at half-past seven he was forced to meet Don Pedro and Random outside the Fort in order to go to Gartley Jetty.



CHAPTER XXVII. BY THE RIVER

As the hunt for the fugitives had continued all day, everyone, police, villagers and soldiers, were weary and disheartened. Consequently, when the three men met near the Fort, there seemed to be few people about. This was just as well, as they would have been followed to the jetty, and obviously it was best to keep the strange meeting with Captain Hervey as secret as possible. However, Don Pedro had taken Inspector Date into his confidence, as it was impossible to get past the cottage of the late Mrs. Jasher, in which the officer had taken up his quarters, without being discovered. Date was quite willing that the trio should go, but stipulated that he should come also. He had heard all about Captain Hervey in connection with the mummy, and thought that he would like to ask that sailor a few leading questions.

"And if I see fit I shall detain him until the inquest is over," said Date, which was mere bluff, as the inspector had no warrant to stop The Firefly or arrest her skipper.

The three men therefore were joined by Date, when they came along the cinder path abreast of the cottage, and the quartette proceeded further immediately, walking amongst the bents and grasses to the rude old wooden jetty, near which Hervey intended to stop his ship. The night was quite clear of fog, strange to say, considering the late sea-mist; but a strong wind had been blowing all day and the fog-wreaths were entirely dispersed. A full moon rode amongst a galaxy of stars, which twinkled like diamonds. The air was frosty, and their feet scrunched the earth and grasses and coarse herbage under foot, as they made rapidly for the embankment.

When they reached the top they could see the jetty clearly almost below their feet, and in the distance the glittering lights of Pierside. Vague forms of vessels at anchor loomed on the water, and there was a stream of light where the moon made a pathway of silver. After a casual glance the three men proceeded down the slope to the jetty. Three of them at least had revolvers, since Hervey was an ill man to tackle; but probably Date, who was too dense to consider consequences, was unarmed. Neither did Don Pedro think it necessary to tell the officer that he and his two companions were prepared to shoot if necessary. Inspector Date, being a prosy Englishman, would not have understood such lawless doings in his own sober, law-abiding country.

When they reached the jetty Don Pedro glanced at his watch, illuminating the dial by puffing his cigar to a ruddy glow. It was just after eight o'clock, and even as he looked an exclamation from Date made him raise his head. The inspector was pointing out-stream to a large vessel which had steamed inshore as far as was safe. Probably Hervey was watching for them through a night-glass, for a blue light suddenly flared on the bridge. Don Pedro, according to his promise, fired a pistol, and it was then that Date learned that his companions were armed.

"What the devil did you do that for?" he inquired angrily. "It will bring my constables down on us."

"I do not mind, since you can control them," said De Gayangos coolly. "I had to give the signal."

"And we all have revolvers," said Random quickly. "Hervey is not a very safe man to tackle, inspector."

"Do you expect a fight?" said Date, while they all watched a boat being lowered. "If so, you might have told me, and I should have brought a revolver also. Not that I think it is needed. The sight of my uniform will be enough to show this man that I have the law behind me."

"I don't think that will matter to Hervey," said Archie dryly. "So much as I have seen of him suggests to me that he is a singularly lawless man."

Date laughed good-humoredly.

"It seems to me, gentlemen, that you have brought me on a filibustering expedition," he said, and seemed to enjoy the novel situation. Date had been wrapped up in the cotton-wool of civilization for a long time, but his primitive instincts rose to the surface, now that he had to face a probable rough-and-tumble fight. "But I don't expect there will be any scrap," he said regretfully. "My uniform will settle the matter."

It certainly seemed to annoy Captain Hervey considerably, for, as the boat approached the shore, and the moonlight revealed a distinctly official overcoat, he gave an order. The man stopped rowing and the boat rocked gently, some distance from the jetty.

"You've got a high old crowd with you, Don Pedro," sang out Hervey, in great displeasure. "Is that angel in the military togs, with the brass buttons, the almighty aristocrat!"

"No. I am here," cried out Random, laughing at the description, which he recognized. "My friend Hope is with me, and Inspector Date. I suppose you have heard what has happened?"

"Yes, I've taken it all in," said Hervey sourly. "I guess the news is all over Pierside. Well, it's none of my picnic, I reckon. So chuck that gold over here, Don Pedro, and I'll send along the writing."

"No," said Don Pedro, prompted by Date. "You must come ashore."

"I guess not," said Hervey vigorously. "You want to run me in."

"For that theft of thirty years ago," laughed De Gayangos. "Nonsense! Come along. You are quite safe."

"Shan't take your damned word for it," growled Hervey. "But if those two gents can swear that there's no trickery, I'll come. I can depend on the word of an English aristocrat, anyhow."

"Come along. You are quite safe," said Sir Frank, and Hope echoed his words.

Thus being made certain, Hervey gave an order and the boat was rowed right up to the beach, immediately below the jetty. The four men were about to descend, but Hervey seemed anxious to avoid giving them trouble.

"Hold on, gents," said he, leaping ashore. "I'll come up 'longside."

Date, ever suspicious, thought it queer that the skipper should behave so politely, as he had gathered that Hervey was not usually a considerate man. Also, he saw that when the captain was climbing the bank, the boat, in charge of a mate—as the inspector judged from his brass-bound uniform—backed water to the end of the jetty, where it swung against one of the shell-encrusted piles. Hervey finally reached the jetty level, but refused to come on to the same. He beckoned to Don Pedro and his companions to walk forward to the ground upon which he was standing. Also, he seemed exceedingly anxious to take time over the transaction, as even after he had handed the scroll of writing to the Peruvian, and had received the gold in exchange, he engaged in quarrelsome conversation. Pretending that he doubted if De Gayangos had brought the exact sum, he opened the canvas bag and insisted on counting the money. Don Pedro naturally lost his temper at this insult, and swore in Spanish, upon which Hervey responded with such volubility that anyone could see he was a pastmaster in Castilian swearing. The row was considerable, especially as Random and Hope were laughing at the quarrel. They thought that Hervey was the worse for drink, but Date—clever for once in his life—did not think so. It appeared to him that the boat had gone to the end of the jetty for some reason connected with the same reason which induced the skipper to spin out the time of the meeting by indulging in an unnecessary quarrel.

The skipper also kept his eyes about him, and insisted that the four men should keep together at the head of the pier.

"I daresay you're trying to play low down on me," he said with a scowl, after satisfying himself that the money was correct, "but I've got my shooter."

"So have I," cried Don Pedro indignantly, and slipped his hand round to his hip pocket, "and if you talk any further so insulting I shall—"

"Oh, you bet, two can play at that game," cried Hervey, and ripped out his own weapon before the Spaniard could produce his Derringer. "Hands up or I shoot."

But he had reckoned without his host. While covering De Gayangos, he overlooked the fact that Random and Hope were close at hand. The next moment, and while Don Pedro flung up his hands, the ruffian was covered by two revolvers in the hands of two very capable men.

"Great Scott!" cried Hervey, lowering his weapon. "Only my fun, gents. Here, you get back!"

This was to Inspector Date, who had been keeping his ears and eyes open, and who was now racing for the end of the jetty. Peering over, he uttered a loud cry.

"I thought so—I thought so. Here's the nigger and the mummy!"

Hervey uttered a curse, and, plunging past the trio, careless of the leveled weapons, ran down to the end of the jetty, and, throwing his arms round Date, leaped with him into the sea. They fell just beside the boat, as Random saw when he reached the spot. A confused volley of curses arose, as the boat pushed out from the encrusted pile, the mate thrusting with a boat-hook. Hervey and Date were in the water, but as the boat shot into the moonlight, Random—and now Hope and De Gayangos, who had come up—saw a long green form in amongst the sailors; also, very plainly, Cockatoo with his great mop of yellow hair.

"Shoot! shoot!" yelled Date, who was struggling with the skipper in the shallow water near shore. "Don't let them escape."

Hope ran up the jetty and fired three shots in the air, certain that the firing would attract the attention of the four or five constables on guard at the cottage, which was no very great distance away. Random sent a bullet into the midst of the boatload, and immediately the mate fired also. The bullet whistled past his head, and, crazy with rage, he felt inclined to jump in amongst the ruffians and have a hand-to-hand fight. But De Gayangos stopped him in a voice shrill with anger. Already the shouts and noise of the approaching policemen could be heard. Cockatoo gripped the green mummy case desperately, while the sailors tried to row towards the ship.

Then De Gayangos gave a shout, and leaped, as the boat swung past the jetty. He landed right on Cockatoo, and although a cloud drifted across the moon, Random heard the shots coming rapidly from his revolver. Meanwhile Hervey got away from Date, as the constables came pounding down the jetty and on to the beach.

"Chuck the mummy and nigger overboard and make for the ship," he yelled, swimming with long strokes towards the boat.

This order was quite to the sailors' minds, as they had not reckoned on such a fight. Half a dozen willing hands clutched both Cockatoo and the case, and, in spite of the Kanaka's cries, both were hurled overboard. As the case swung overside, De Gayangos, balancing himself at the end of the boat, fired at Cockatoo. The shot missed the Kanaka, and pierced the mummy case. Then from it came a piercing yell of agony and rage.

"Great God!" shouted Hope, who was watching the battle, "I believe Braddock is in that damned thing."

The next moment De Gayangos was swung overboard also, and the sailors were lifting Hervey into the boat. It nearly upset, but he managed to get in, and the craft rowed for the vessel, which was again showing a flaring blue light. Random sent a shot after the boat, and then with the policemen ran down to help De Gayangos, who was struggling in the water. He managed to pull him out, and when he had him safe and breathless on shore, he saw that the boat was nearing the ship, and that Date, torn and wet and disheveled, with three policemen, was up to his waist in water, struggling to bring ashore Cockatoo and the mummy case, to which he clung like a limpet. Hope ran down to give a hand, and in a few minutes they had the Kanaka ashore, fighting like the demon he was. Random and De Gayangos joined the breathless group, and Cockatoo was held in the grasp of two strong men—who required all their strength to hold him—while Date, warned by Hope's cry of what was in the case, tore at the lid. It was but lightly fastened and soon came off. Then those present saw in the moonlight the dead face of Professor Braddock, who had been shot through the heart. As they looked at the sight, Cockatoo broke from those who held him, and, throwing himself on his master, howled and wept as though his heart would break. At the same moment there came a derisive whistle from The Firefly, and they saw the great tramp steamer slowly moving down stream, increasing her speed with almost every revolution of the screw. Braddock had been captured, but Hervey had escaped.

At the inquest on the Professor and on the body of Mrs. Jasher, it was proved that Cockatoo had warned his master that the game was up, and had suggested that Braddock should escape by hiding in the mummy case. The corpse of Inca Caxas was placed in an empty Egyptian sarcophagus—in which it was afterwards found—and Braddock, assisted by his faithful Kanaka, wheeled the case down to the old jetty. Here, in a nook where Cockatoo had formerly kept the boat, the Professor concealed himself all that night and all next day. Cockatoo, having got rid of his boat long since (lest it might be used in evidence against him and his master), ran through the dense mist and the long night up to Pierside, where he saw Captain Hervey and bribed him with a promise of one thousand pounds to save his master. Hervey, having assured himself that the money was safe, since it was banked in a feigned name in Amsterdam, agreed, and arranged to ship the Professor in the mummy case.

Thus it was that Hervey kept the four men talking up the jetty, as he knew that Cockatoo with his own sailors was shipping the Professor in the mummy case underneath, and well out of sight. Cockatoo had come down stream with The Firefly, and in this way had not been discovered. Throughout that long day the miserable Braddock had crouched like a toad in its hole, trembling at every sound of pursuit, as he knew that the whole of the village was looking for him. But Cockatoo had hidden him well in the case, in the lid of which holes had been bored. He had brandy to drink and food to eat, and he knew that he could depend upon the Kanaka. Had Date not been suspicious, the ruse might have been successful, but to save himself Hervey had to sacrifice the wretched Professor, which he did without the slightest hesitation. Then came the unlucky shot from the revolver of De Gayangos, which had ended Braddock's wicked life. It was Fate.

At the inquest a verdict of "wilful murder" was brought against the Kanaka, but a verdict of "justifiable homicide" was given in favor of the Peruvian. Thus Cockatoo was hanged for the double murder and Don Pedro went free. He remained long enough in London to see his daughter married to the man of her choice, and then returned to Lima.

Of course the affair caused more than a nine days' wonder, and the newspapers were filled with accounts of the murder and the projected escape. But Lucy was saved from all this publicity, as, in the first place, her name was kept out of print as much as possible, and, in the second, Archie promptly married her, and within a fortnight of her step-father's death took her to the south of France, and afterwards to Italy. What with his own money and the money she inherited from her mother—in which Braddock had a life interest—the young couple had nearly a thousand a year.

Six months later Sir Frank came into the small San Remo where Mr. and Mrs. Hope lived, with his wife on his arm. Lady Random looked singularly charming and was assuredly more conversational. This was the first time the two sets of lovers had met since the tragedy, and now each girl had married the man she loved. Therefore there was great joy.

"My yacht is over at Monte Carlo," said Random, "and I am, going with Inez to South America. She wants to see her father."

"Yes, I do," said Lady Random; "and we want you to come also, Lucy—you and your dear husband."

Archie and his wife looked at one another, but declined unanimously.

"We would rather stay here in San Remo," said Mrs. Hope, becoming slightly pale. "Don't think me unkind, Inez, but I could not bear to go to Peru. It is associated too much in my own mind with that terrible green mummy."

"Oh, Don Pedro has taken that back to the Andes," explained Sir Frank, "and it is now reposing in the sepulchre in which it was placed, hundreds of years ago, by the Indians, faithful to Inca Caxas. Inez and I are going up to a kind of forbidden city, where Don Pedro reigns as Inca, and I expect we shall have a jolly time. I hear there is some big game shooting there."

"What about your soldiering?" asked Hope, rather, surprised at this extended tour being arranged.

"Oh, my husband has left the army," pouted Inez. "His duties kept him away from me nearly all the day, and I grew weary of being left alone."

"So you see, Mrs. Hope," laughed Random gayly, "that I have had to succumb to my fireside tyrant. We shall go and see this fairy city and then return to my home in Oxfordshire. There Inez will settle down as a real English wife and I'll turn a country squire. So, after all our troubles, peace will come."

"And as you will not come to my country," said Lady Random to her hostess, "you cannot refuse to visit Frank and myself at the Grange. We have had so much trouble together that we cannot lose sight of each other."

"No," said Lucy, kissing her. "We will come to Oxfordshire."

So it was arranged, and the next day Mr. and Mrs. Hope went over to Monte Carlo to see the last of Sir Frank and his wife. They stood on the heights watching the pretty little steamer making for South America. Archie noticed that his wife's face was somewhat sad.

"Are you sorry we did not go, sweetheart?"

"No," she replied, placing her arm within his own. "I only want to be with you."

"That is all right." He patted her hand. "Now that we have sold all the furniture in the Pyramids, and have got rid of the lease, there will be nothing to remind you of the green mummy."

"Yet I can't help thinking of my unfortunate step-father, and of poor Mrs. Jasher, and of Sidney Bolton. Oh, Archie, little as we can afford it, I am glad that we allow Mrs. Bolton a small sum a year. After all, it was through my step-father that her son met with his death."

"I don't quite agree with you, dear. Cockatoo's innate savagery was the cause, as Professor Braddock did not intend or desire murder. But there, dear, do not think any more about these dismal things. Dream of the time when I shall be the president of the Royal Academy, and you my lady."

"I am your lady now. But," added Lucy, perhaps from an association of ideas of color and the Academy, "I shall hate green for the rest of my life."

"That's unlucky, considering it is Nature's color. My dear, in a year or two this tragedy, or rather the three tragedies, will seem like a dream. I won't listen to another word now. The green mummy has passed out of our lives and has taken its bad luck with it."

"Amen, so be it," said Lucy Hope, and the happy couple went home, leaving all their sorrows behind them, while the smoke of the steamer faded on the horizon.

THE END