The Solitary Farm

"A row on the water?" echoed Dora, who knew of no lake in the neighbourhood.

"On the channel at the end of my grounds," explained Mrs. Vand. "Henry has bought a rowing-boat, and takes me far into the country. You can almost reach the railway line before you get to the swamps. Do come."

"I'll think about it," said Miss Ankers, only anxious to get her visitor out of the house before Bella came back.

"Do, dear, and come to our Harvest Home. It will be quite artistic: you have no idea of Henry's perfect taste, and if Bella comes I shall be glad to see her, in spite of her nasty behaviour, and – and – " Mrs. Vand could think of nothing more to say, so took herself off, with a gracious smile, quite sure that she had played the part of a great lady to perfection.

"Ugh!" said Dora, looking after the stout, gaudily-clothed figure, "you're a spiteful cat, if ever there was one. I shouldn't be surprised to hear that you had killed your brother yourself, in order to get the money."

Unaware of this amiable speech, Mrs. Vand sailed grandly through the village, dispensing smiles and patronage. Fortunately for herself, she was not a thought-reader, or her self-satisfaction might have received a severe reproof. She was considered to be considerably worse than Jezebel, and in her stoutness was compared to the late Mrs. Manning, a notable murderess. To her face many were agreeable, but usually she was not received with the best grace. Finally, towards the evening, she returned to the Manor-house to report on her triumphs.

Crossing the boundary-channel, she saw the boat which her husband had lately bought. It was a narrow but comfortable craft of a light build, and the water-way was quite broad enough to permit of its being rowed very comfortably, even though the oars occasionally touched the banks. Mrs. Vand looked at this boat with a singular expression, and then, stepping across the planks, walked up to her lordly abode. She found that her husband was absent, and had left word with the servant that he would not be back to dinner. Mrs. Vand was annoyed, as she did not like eating alone; but in her heart of hearts she was afraid of her quiet husband, even though he was considerably her junior, and made no comment. However, the servant who brought in the seven o'clock tea had much to say, and Mrs. Vand permitted her to talk, for, as usual, the sinister influence of the Manor was getting on her healthy nerves.

"Master's gone to the village, to see his ma," said the servant, who was small and elfish and somewhat brazen. "Then he's going to see Tunks."

"What's the matter with Tunks?" asked Mrs. Vand, pouring out the tea.

"He's ill. He's been drinking hard for weeks, ever since that horrid murder, mum, and now the doctor says he's got delirious trimmings."

Mrs. Vand looked up sharply, and frowned. "He is raving?"

"Raving hard, mum. But master will see that he is looked after."

"Your master is very good," said Mrs. Vand, taking a piece of bread. "You can go, Sarah."

The servant departed somewhat unwillingly, as she did not like the big, bare kitchen, and felt the influence of the unseen as did her mistress. But as yet, ghostly doings had not been sufficiently scaring to make her throw up a good situation. Nevertheless, she shivered in the kitchen, and wished that Tunks was present to keep her company, as he often did, at the evening meal. But Tunks was raving at the present moment in the hut on the marshes, and there was no chance of anyone else coming to Bleacres.

Mrs. Vand sat and shivered in the dining-room also. She lighted three lamps, and although the evening was warm, she set fire to the coals and wood in the large, old-fashioned grate. It seemed to her that she could not have enough light or warmth to ward off the cold, malicious influence, which seemed to spread a sinister atmosphere throughout the vast room. Shivering at the head of the table, Mrs. Vand kept casting furtive looks here and there, as though she expected to see the blood-stained figure of her murdered brother appear like Banquo's spectre. Outside the twilight gradually deepened to luminous darkness, and although she had finished her tea, she did not feel inclined to move about the gloomy passages. Again and again, she wished that Henry would return.

At nine o'clock her nerves were still shaky, and she felt that she could not stand the dining-room any longer. Ringing the bell, she took a lamp in each hand, and told Sarah – who entered speedily – to take the other. The two women proceeded to the drawing-room, and Mrs. Vand, having pulled down the blinds, ordered Sarah to bring her work and sit beside her. The servant was only too pleased to obey, and for the next half-hour the two sat in pleasant gossiping confabulation, Mrs. Vand knitting a silk tie for her husband, and Sarah trimming a wonderful hat with aggressively brilliant flowers. There was no noise, as the wind had dropped, and everything was intensely still. Mrs. Vand and Sarah chattered incessantly to keep up their courage in the ghostly atmosphere. Suddenly —

"Listen!" said Mrs. Vand, raising her hand. "Do you hear?"

Sarah turned white through her dingy skin, and held her breath. There came distinctly the sound of three knocks from somewhere near the fire-place; then a long, dreary sigh. The servant shrieked, and sprang for the door. But Mrs. Vand was after her in one moment, and seized her. "Hold your tongue, you fool! It's only rats."

As if to give the lie to her statement, there came the swish, swish of silken skirts, and then the sigh again. This was too much for Mrs. Vand. She scuttled panic-stricken into the hall, followed by the shrieking Sarah. At the same moment, as though it had been prearranged, the front door opened and Vand appeared.

"Oh, Henry! Henry!" gasped his wife, and clung to him.

The young man shook her off. "What is the matter?" he asked in calm tones. But Mrs. Vand being too terrified to answer, Sarah did so for her. "The ghost! the ghost! the ghost!"

"What rubbish!" said Vand, easily; "there is no ghost, you silly girl, and if there is, here is one who can lay it."

He stepped aside, and Granny Tunks, lean and weird-looking, appeared at the door. She had a white cloak over her fantastic dress, and looked more witch-like than ever. Mrs. Vand stared at the woman in surprise. "Why have you left your grandson?" she asked, and glancing at Henry.

"He's sound asleep, deary, the fit having passed. A gal o' mine, of the true Romany breed, looking after him. Your sweet husband here" – she waved a skinny hand towards Vand – "asked me to come and see what I could do to lay this unquiet spirit who walks."

"Rubbish! rubbish!" said Mrs. Vand, now feeling more confident in company.

"It's not rubbish, deary," said Mrs. Tunks, mysteriously; "the dead walk."

"The dead?"

"Your poor brother, as is uneasy at having been pitched out of life so cruel. He's walking," and she nodded weirdly.

On hearing this statement, Sarah whimpered and clutched at Mrs. Vand's dress, whereupon that lady who was extremely pale herself – shook her off. "Go to bed, Sarah," she commanded.

"Me!" screeched the girl, "and when there's ghosts walking! I'd scream myself into fits if I went up-stairs."

Mrs. Vand appealed to her husband. "Henry, make her go."

The young man took the girl by the shoulders, and propelled her towards the foot of the stairs, but Sarah resisted wildly, and finally made a bolt for the still open front door. "I'll go home to mother," she cried hysterically, and disappeared into the darkness.

"There," said Mrs. Vand, angrily, to Granny Tunks. "See what you've done. The house will get a bad name. I'll give that minx warning in the morning."

Vand, seeing that it was useless to run after the terrified Sarah, who by this time was half-way to Marshely, closed the door, and shrugged his shoulders. "Come into the drawing-room," he said to Mrs. Tunks.

"No, no!" cried his wife, shaking; "the ghost is there. I heard the rapping and the sighing and the – "

"Yes, yes, yes!" interrupted Vand, with less than his usual coolness; "that is why I have brought Granny. There is an evil influence in this house, and I want her to find out what it is."

"Do you believe in such rubbish?"

"You seemed to believe in it just now," said the cripple drily. "Yes, I do believe in the unseen, as I have had too much proof not to believe."

"Then get a priest, get a priest!" cried Mrs. Vand wildly, and looking twice her age. "What is the use of this old fool?"

Granny Tunks laughed in an elfish manner when she heard herself spoken of thus, and seemed very little put out. "A fool can do what a wise woman can't," she croaked; "your husband's wiser nor you, deary. He knows."

"Knows what?" asked Mrs. Vand, turning on the ancient gipsy fiercely.

"That there's danger coming to you and him."

Mrs. Vand cast one scared and indignant look on the withered face, and ran into the drawing-room. Henry had preceded her here, and was standing by the table looking round the room in an inquiring manner, evidently on the alert for the mysterious sounds. Mrs. Vand caught his arm. "Do you hear what this woman says?" she asked, shaking him.

"As the door was open I did hear," he replied coolly; "don't be a fool, Rosamund. I brought her here to see what she can tell us."

"About? – " Mrs. Vand faltered and broke down.

"Hold your tongue!" said Henry with an angry hiss like that of a serpent.

Usually the young man wore a mild and gentle expression, but on this night his face was haggard and his eyes were wild. He had all his wits about him, however, and forced his wife into a chair, where she sat trembling violently. "I've had enough of these ghostly pranks," he said in a fierce undertone, "and as Granny undoubtedly possesses clairvoyant powers, I wish her to learn all she can. Come in, Mrs. Tunks!" he added, raising his voice, and the old witch-wife entered the room, looking singularly weird in her white cloak.

"Is that the only reason that you have asked Granny here?" demanded Mrs. Vand, in a low voice. "Sarah told me that her grandson had been raving."

"You fool!" snarled the cripple. "Will you hold your tongue? I have another purpose, which you will find out shortly. Granny," he pointed to a chair, "sit down and tell us what influences are about."

Mrs. Tunks sat in the indicated chair, and lay back with closed eyes. Vand and his wife remained perfectly still, the latter gazing at the old witch in a terrified manner, as though dreading what she would say and do. The room was filled with shadows, even though three lamps were lighted, and the silence became quite oppressive. Mrs. Vand was a healthy animal, and not in the least imaginative, but after a time she felt that some evil influence was in the room, and tightly gripped her husband's hand. The perspiration broke out on her forehead. Henry gave her no comfort, not even by pressing her hand. His eyes were fixed on the perfectly expressionless and still face of Granny Tunks. The séance had all the elements of terror about it.

The gipsy lay as still as though carved out of stone, and the watchers could scarcely see the rise and fall of her breath. Deeper and deeper grew the stillness, so that even the fall of a pin could have been heard, had one been dropped. Apparently the body of Granny lay supine in the chair, but her spirit was far away – roaming the house, maybe. After a long pause, the woman began to speak in a low, expressionless voice, and almost without moving her withered lips.

"Gems," she said softly, "rare gems, blue and red and green; jewels of price and pearls of the ocean. They are in an ivory box. Long ago the woman who is standing near me" – Mrs. Vand started, looked, but could see nothing, yet the monotonous voice went on, as though the speaker really saw the form described – "wore those jewels. She has the face of a Roman empress. In Africa, many centuries ago – yes, in Africa, and she sinned to get those jewels. Now she laments that she has lost them."

"How did she lose them?" asked Vand almost in a whisper, as though fearful of breaking the charm. Apparently – as Mrs. Vand guessed – this was not the first time he had assisted at so weird a ceremony.

"Fierce warriors in green turbans took them – warriors of Arabia. The jewels travel south, still with the warriors. There are many fights. The jewels pass from one hand to another, still in the ivory box. Now a savage has them – a savage, in a wild forest. They are buried in the earth at the place where victims are sacrificed to the gods. Long years pass: centuries glide by. The box of jewels is found: it is in the hands of another savage, who wears European clothes. He gives the jewels to a white man for services rendered."

Mrs. Vand interrupted with a strangled cry of terror. "Jabez – is he Jabez?"

"He is not Jabez Huxham, but a man called Maxwell Faith. But see" – the dull voice of the gipsy suddenly became emotional and loud – "they pass into the hands of Jabez Huxham, and the hands that bear away the jewels are stained with blood. The jewels pass with him across the sea to this land. In London first; then in this house. They are placed in a carved chest; it is in the attic. Now they are in the safe in the study, and now – "

Vand interrupted. "How did they pass out of Huxham's possession?"

Granny Tunks did not reply for a few minutes, during which Mrs. Vand clutched her husband's hand still tighter, and passed her tongue over her dry lips. "They pass from Jabez Huxham, as they came to him – by murder," went on the clairvoyant. "I see the study. Huxham is at the desk, and the ivory box of jewels is before him. There is a knife on the floor by the door, and the knife is bloody."

"But Huxham is not dead," said Vand, quickly and softly.

"There is blood on the knife," said Mrs. Tunks, without taking any notice of the question. "Huxham is so engaged in looking at the jewels that he does not see the door softly open. A man enters. He sees the knife and picks it up. He glided behind Huxham, who suddenly turns. Now – now the blow has fallen, and the jewels, the jewels – " She paused.

"What more?" gasped Mrs. Vand. "What more, in God's name?"

"There is no God here, but only evil," came the reply. "I can see no more. I see, however, that the man who struck the blow is a cripple, and – "

There came a cry, apparently from behind the wall. Vand and his wife turned astonished and terror-struck. On the left of the fire-place a sliding panel was pushed back, and they beheld Bella, pale but triumphant.

"So you murdered Captain Huxham!" she cried, "you and your wife. O God – "

"There is no God here," breathed Mrs. Tunks again, "only evil."

CHAPTER XIX

AN AWKWARD POSITION

The appearance and accusation of Bella were so unexpected that Mrs. Vand and her husband became perfectly white, and obvious fear robbed them of all powers of movement. Granny Tunks sat up, rubbed her eyes, and stared at Bella with the open panel behind her in great surprise.

"Where have you come from, deary?" she asked, rising unsteadily.

"Never mind," said Bella, with her eyes on the guilty faces of the married couple. "It is enough that I am here to accuse these two of murder."

Mrs. Tunks uttered a screech. "What are you talking about, lovey? This good gentleman and kind lady have murdered no one."

Bella glanced at her in a puzzled way. "You declared that Henry Vand murdered my father," she remarked quietly, and keeping up the fiction of her being Huxham's daughter; "you said that a cripple – "

"Me!" screeched Granny again. "I never said such a thing."

"Of course not," chimed in Vand, who was the first to recover his powers of speech. "It's all nonsense."

"Your face showed that it was the truth just now," said Bella sharply, "when Mrs. Tunks talked in her sleep."

"Sleep? No lovey, no sleep. I sent my spirit away to learn things. What did I say? Tell me, my good gentleman, what did I say?"

"I don't remember. I forgot," said Vand striving to appear cool.

"I don't forget," cried Bella indignantly, "she spoke of the jewels and of my father's murder. How did you find out?" she asked Granny Tunks, who dropped into her chair and seemed to shrink. "How did you learn about the jewels and Maxwell Faith?"

"I never heard the name. I never knew there were any jewels," murmured the witch-wife. "I never said anything about murder. When I came back to my body I never remember anything. No, no, no! The spirit is stronger than the flesh and jealous of its secrets," and she went on murmuring and maundering like one in her dotage. Yet Bella knew well, that in spite of her age, Granny Tunks was very far from being intellectually weak.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Vand, who had sunk into a chair, had gradually recovered her colour and wits. "You are the ghost!" she said suddenly to Bella.

In spite of the strained situation, the girl laughed, though not very mirthfully. "Yes, I am the ghost!" she acknowledged. "It was I who sighed and rapped and rustled my skirts so as to drive you and Sarah out of the room."

"How dare you! how dare you!" shouted Mrs. Vand, rising wrathfully. "What do you mean by entering my house, and how did you get in."

"I got in by a way of which you know nothing," said Bella coolly, "and I am not going to reveal my secret. But I know this house better than you, Aunt Rosamund" – she gave her the old familiar name – "and I know of many secret passages. This," – she touched the panel at her back – "is the entrance to one of them. In the old days many a conspirator concealed himself here. I have used the hiding-place to learn your secret."

"How dare you! how dare you!" blustered Mrs. Vand, and would have gone on abusing Bella wrathfully but that her crafty husband interposed.

"Miss Huxham, you have behaved wrongly in entering the house in this secret manner, seeing that I told you how welcome you were to come openly. Both Rosamund and myself would have been glad to see you."

"Not me! not me!" vociferated Mrs. Vand, with a bright spot of angry red on each cheek. "I always hated her, and I hate her more than ever."

"Hold your tongue," muttered her husband, and gave her plump arm such a pinch that she leaped aside with a cry of pain. Taking no notice of her distress he turned to Bella. "You should have come openly," he repeated. "May I ask why you made use of the secret passages?"

"You may, and I am quite willing to answer. I came to find the whereabouts of the jewels which belonged to my father."

"I know of no jewels," said Vand steadily; "do you, Rosamund?"

"No, I don't," returned Mrs. Vand aggressively. "There was the property and the income, both of which Jabez left to me by arrangement. But jewels? I never saw any; if I had I should have got hold of them, since they are mine – if they exist, that is."

"Granny here said when she spoke that they existed," insisted Bella quietly.

Mrs. Vand shrugged her fat shoulders. "I don't believe in hocus-pocus and hanky-panky. Henry thought that the house was haunted, as I did myself, and he brought Granny here to lay the ghost. She has done so, since she brought you out to talk in a silly manner. You are the ghost, Bella, so I don't believe that there are any such things as spirits."

"I don't believe in spirits either," said Bella promptly, "and so I wish to know, Mrs. Tunks, how you learned all you said."

"All what?" mumbled the witch-wife vacantly.

"All about the jewels and the murder and the – "

"I don't remember saying a word," interrupted Granny, rising slowly and with a lack-lustre look in her beady eyes. "When I go into a trance I don't recall what I say. But let me go into a trance again and I'll tell you where the jewels are if you will give me a share," and her eyes began to glitter in an avaricious manner.

"No," said Vand, in his most peremptory tones, "we have had enough of this rubbish."

"Oh," sneered his wife, "you admit then that it is rubbish?"

"Yes, now that I know Miss Huxham played the ghost. Granny" – he turned to the old woman – "all your teachings of the unseen have proved false, so you can take yourself out of this house, and never come near it again."

Bella, quite believing that the old woman was a fraud, and knew the truth of what she had spoken when in her so-called trance, expected to see her defy the man she had accused. But in place of doing so Granny Tunks flung the tail of her white cloak over her head and moved towards the door. Seeing her retreat, Mrs. Vand, after the manner of bullies and cowards, became suddenly brave. Leaping towards the old creature, and before her husband could restrain her, she struck her hard once or twice between the shoulders. "Get out of this, you lying cat! Go to the devil, your master, you vile animal!"

Vand caught back his infuriated wife with a fierce oath, but Granny still continued on her way out of the room. As she passed into the dark hall she turned and sent a glance at Mrs. Vand which made that triumphant tyrant shiver in her shoes. But she did not defend herself in any way, and shortly the three in the vast drawing-room heard the front door open and shut. Granny Tunks was gone, and with her seemed to disappear the malignant influence which had hung over the house for so long. Bella did not believe in witchcraft, but she could not help thinking that the old woman must have exercised some evil spell, and now had departed taking her familiar with her. At all events, the air seemed to be clearer for her absence.

"Now then," said Vand, addressing Bella in his usual courteous way, "as you are satisfied, Miss Huxham, perhaps you will go also."

"No," said Bella determinedly. "I believe that Granny spoke truly, and that you and my aunt have something to do with the murder."

"It's a lie!" shouted Mrs. Vand furiously, and would have struck her niece, as she had struck Granny, but that Vand kept her back. "Why should I murder my own dear brother?"

"To get the heritage you now enjoy," said Bella firmly. "I don't say you actually murdered him, but – "

"I should think you didn't, indeed," raved Mrs. Vand, stamping in impotent wrath. "You heard what I said at the inquest. What I said then is true. I left this house at seven o'clock with Tunks, as he can prove. I was all the evening with Henry, as he can swear to, and he left me on the other side of the boundary channel. I came in quietly at ten and went to bed. I never knew that Jabez was dead until the next morning, and then I woke you. And as I was out of the house from seven until ten, how could I have murdered my brother – your poor dead father – when the doctor declared that he was struck down shortly after eight? How dare – "

"You forget," interrupted Bella quickly, "that Dr. Ward said the murder was committed between eight and eleven, so that gave you an hour to – "

"Grant me patience, heaven!" cried Mrs. Vand, casting up her eyes. "Why, the coroner himself said that the poor dear must have been murdered shortly after eight o'clock, since I came in at ten and saw no light in the study."

"Ah," said Bella significantly, "he declared that on your evidence and because he hated Dr. Ward, and wished to put him in the wrong."

"Then you accuse me of murder?"

"No; I accuse you of nothing."

"You say that I am guilty?" asked Vand, suddenly but quietly.

"I do not say so, but Granny Tunks did."

"If so, would she not have accused me to my face when I turned her out of the house?" said Vand earnestly. "I assure you, Miss Huxham, that I had no motive to kill your father. I was quite content to wait, even though Rosamund and I were secretly married. Besides, on that night I left Rosamund on the further side of the boundary channel, as she can prove. Also my mother can show that I returned to my home at fifteen minutes past ten, and that I was in bed by half-past. There is not a shred of evidence to support this unfounded charge you have made."

"I did not make it Granny said – "

"I know what she said," interrupted Vand imperiously. "Hold your tongue, Rosamund, and let me speak. Granny said what she did say in a trance. At one time I really believed in such things; now, and especially since our ghost has proved to be you, I have ceased to believe. You heard merely the raving of an old beldame. I dare say she wished to blackmail myself and Rosamund by bringing this unfounded charge, and chose this so-called trance to bring the charge. If she really has any grounds to go upon – and I swear that she has not – she will doubtless go to the police to-morrow."