In his many travels, Edgar Caswall had been accustomed to use thesextant, and was now an expert in the matter. By the aid of this andother instruments, he was able to fix the position of the kite and thepoint over which it hung. He was startled to find that exactly underit--so far as he could ascertain--was Diana's Grove. He had aninclination to take Lady Arabella into his confidence in the matter, buthe thought better of it and wisely refrained. For some reason which hedid not try to explain to himself, he was glad of his silence, when, onthe following morning, he found, on looking out, that the point overwhich the kite then hovered was Mercy Farm. When he had verified thiswith his instruments, he sat before the window of the tower, looking outand thinking. The new locality was more to his liking than the other;but the why of it puzzled him, all the same. He spent the rest of theday in the turret-room, which he did not leave all day. It seemed to himthat he was now drawn by forces which he could not control--of which,indeed, he had no knowledge--in directions which he did not understand,and which were without his own volition. In sheer helpless inability tothink the problem out satisfactorily, he called up a servant and told himto tell Oolanga that he wanted to see him at once in the turret-room. Theanswer came back that the African had not been seen since the previousevening.
Caswall was now so irritable that even this small thing upset him. As hewas distrait and wanted to talk to somebody, he sent for Simon Chester,who came at once, breathless with hurrying and upset by the unexpectedsummons. Caswall bade him sit down, and when the old man was in a lessuneasy frame of mind, he again asked him if he had ever seen what was inMesmer's chest or heard it spoken about.
Chester admitted that he had once, in the time of "the then Mr. Edgar,"seen the chest open, which, knowing something of its history and guessingmore, so upset him that he had fainted. When he recovered, the chest wasclosed. From that time the then Mr. Edgar had never spoken about itagain.
When Caswall asked him to describe what he had seen when the chest wasopen, he got very agitated, and, despite all his efforts to remain calm,he suddenly went off into a faint. Caswall summoned servants, whoapplied the usual remedies. Still the old man did not recover. Afterthe lapse of a considerable time, the doctor who had been summoned madehis appearance. A glance was sufficient for him to make up his mind.Still, he knelt down by the old man, and made a careful examination. Thenhe rose to his feet, and in a hushed voice said:
"I grieve to say, sir, that he has passed away."
CHAPTER XV--ON THE TRACK
Those who had seen Edgar Caswall familiarly since his arrival, and hadalready estimated his cold-blooded nature at something of its true value,were surprised that he took so to heart the death of old Chester. Thefact was that not one of them had guessed correctly at his character.They thought, naturally enough, that the concern which he felt was thatof a master for a faithful old servant of his family. They littlethought that it was merely the selfish expression of his disappointment,that he had thus lost the only remaining clue to an interesting piece offamily history--one which was now and would be for ever wrapped inmystery. Caswall knew enough about the life of his ancestor in Paris towish to know more fully and more thoroughly all that had been. Theperiod covered by that ancestor's life in Paris was one inviting everyform of curiosity.
Lady Arabella, who had her own game to play, saw in the _metier_ ofsympathetic friend, a series of meetings with the man she wanted tosecure. She made the first use of the opportunity the day after oldChester's death; indeed, as soon as the news had filtered in through theback door of Diana's Grove. At that meeting, she played her part so wellthat even Caswall's cold nature was impressed.
Oolanga was the only one who did not credit her with at least some senseof fine feeling in the matter. In emotional, as in other matters,Oolanga was distinctly a utilitarian, and as he could not understandanyone feeling grief except for his own suffering, pain, or for the lossof money, he could not understand anyone simulating such an emotionexcept for show intended to deceive. He thought that she had come toCastra Regis again for the opportunity of stealing something, and wasdetermined that on this occasion the chance of pressing his advantageover her should not pass. He felt, therefore, that the occasion was onefor extra carefulness in the watching of all that went on. Ever since hehad come to the conclusion that Lady Arabella was trying to steal thetreasure-chest, he suspected nearly everyone of the same design, and madeit a point to watch all suspicious persons and places. As Adam wasengaged on his own researches regarding Lady Arabella, it was onlynatural that there should be some crossing of each other's tracks. Thisis what did actually happen.
Adam had gone for an early morning survey of the place in which he wasinterested, taking with him the mongoose in its box. He arrived at thegate of Diana's Grove just as Lady Arabella was preparing to set out forCastra Regis on what she considered her mission of comfort. Seeing Adamfrom her window going through the shadows of the trees round the gate,she thought that he must be engaged on some purpose similar to her own.So, quickly making her toilet, she quietly left the house, and, takingadvantage of every shadow and substance which could hide her, followedhim on his walk.
Oolanga, the experienced tracker, followed her, but succeeded in hidinghis movements better than she did. He saw that Adam had on his shouldera mysterious box, which he took to contain something valuable. Seeingthat Lady Arabella was secretly following Adam, he was confirmed in thisidea. His mind--such as it was--was fixed on her trying to steal, and hecredited her at once with making use of this new opportunity.
In his walk, Adam went into the grounds of Castra Regis, and Oolanga sawher follow him with great secrecy. He feared to go closer, as now onboth sides of him were enemies who might make discovery. When herealised that Lady Arabella was bound for the Castle, he devoted himselfto following her with singleness of purpose. He therefore missed seeingthat Adam branched off the track and returned to the high road.
That night Edgar Caswall had slept badly. The tragic occurrence of theday was on his mind, and he kept waking and thinking of it. After anearly breakfast, he sat at the open window watching the kite and thinkingof many things. From his room he could see all round the neighbourhood,but the two places that interested him most were Mercy Farm and Diana'sGrove. At first the movements about those spots were of a humblekind--those that belong to domestic service or agricultural needs--theopening of doors and windows, the sweeping and brushing, and generallythe restoration of habitual order.
From his high window--whose height made it a screen from the observationof others--he saw the chain of watchers move into his own grounds, andthen presently break up--Adam Salton going one way, and Lady Arabella,followed by the nigger, another. Then Oolanga disappeared amongst thetrees; but Caswall could see that he was still watching. Lady Arabella,after looking around her, slipped in by the open door, and he could, ofcourse, see her no longer.
Presently, however, he heard a light tap at his door, then the dooropened slowly, and he could see the flash of Lady Arabella's white dressthrough the opening.
CHAPTER XVI--A VISIT OF SYMPATHY
Caswall was genuinely surprised when he saw Lady Arabella, though he neednot have been, after what had already occurred in the same way. The lookof surprise on his face was so much greater than Lady Arabella hadexpected--though she thought she was prepared to meet anything that mightoccur--that she stood still, in sheer amazement. Cold-blooded as she wasand ready for all social emergencies, she was nonplussed how to go on.She was plucky, however, and began to speak at once, although she had notthe slightest idea what she was going to say.
"I came to offer you my very warm sympathy with the grief you have solately experienced."
"My grief? I'm afraid I must be very dull; but I really do notunderstand."
Already she felt at a disadvantage, and hesitated.
"I mean about the old man who died so suddenly--your old . . . retainer."
Caswall's face relaxed something of its puzzled concentration.
"Oh, he was only a servant; and he had over-stayed his three-score andten years by something like twenty years. He must have been ninety!"
"Still, as an old servant . . . "
Caswall's words were not so cold as their inflection.
"I never interfere with servants. He was kept on here merely because hehad been so long on the premises. I suppose the steward thought it mightmake him unpopular if the old fellow had been dismissed."
How on earth was she to proceed on such a task as hers if this was theutmost geniality she could expect? So she at once tried anothertack--this time a personal one.
"I am sorry I disturbed you. I am really not unconventional--thoughcertainly no slave to convention. Still there are limits . . . it is badenough to intrude in this way, and I do not know what you can say orthink of the time selected, for the intrusion."
After all, Edgar Caswall was a gentleman by custom and habit, so he roseto the occasion.
"I can only say, Lady Arabella, that you are always welcome at any timeyou may deign to honour my house with your presence."