The White Rose of Memphis

“‘Edward,’ said he, ‘you are right. I have been very indiscreet, and to some extent inexcusable; I promise to do as you wish. Let Mr. Dabbs proceed. I’ll hear all he has to say.’

“I then requested Mr. Dabbs to proceed.

“‘I am exceedingly sorry,’ said he, ‘that Mr. Wallingford should be disposed to censure me for stating facts, when he must know that the discovery of these facts did not afford any pleasure to me; I may say I was pained to find that circumstances were continually pointing to Miss Bramlett as the guilty one. I had hoped to find evidence of her innocence, and such a result would have given me ten-fold more pleasure than anything we could find against her. It is clear to my mind that the poor young lady has been the victim of some heartless villain – or that she has been laboring under temporary insanity. Whether or not I am correct in that opinion it is not my business just now to inquire. That is a question for the courts and lawyers to settle when she is put on trial; my business is to show what has been done, and nothing shall cause me to shrink from the performance of that duty. There is a young man keeping a gambling hell in this city; a young man of handsome face and fascinating manners, though a shrewd, sly scoundrel, who had something to do with this business; and I flatter myself that I shall be able to expose him before I get through with this affair. I have been shadowing him – he often gets drunk, and I never failed to manage his sort. He talks freely when drinking, and I will pump the secret out of him before I quit. I played poker with him the other night; he beat me out of forty dollars – the rascal! but I shall let him win, and give him rope to hang himself with. I’ll catch up with the villain yet. His apartments are furnished like the palace of a king. Where did the money come from to pay for it? I dare say he wheedled Miss Bramlett out of it. That unfortunate young girl has been so imprudent as to make frequent visits to these apartments during the dark hours of night.’

“‘Oh, Heavens! Eddie,’ exclaimed Harry, as he seized me by the arm, ‘have I got to hear such as this, and say nothing? It’s more than humanity can bear; it will kill me; for Heaven’s sake let this interview terminate – else I shall lose my reason!’

“‘Be quiet, I pray you, Harry,’ I said, though I felt the demon rising in my own breast, and needed all the prudence I could command in order to keep me from knocking the man down myself.

“My attempt to soothe and quiet Harry, however, served to aid me in keeping cool, and after the lapse of a few moments, I directed Mr. Dabbs to proceed.

“‘I was about to observe, a moment ago, that Miss Bramlett has been exceedingly imprudent, if not criminal, in her intrigue with Ben Bowles.’

“‘With whom did you say?’ groaned Harry.

“‘Why, with Ben Bowles, that unprincipled gambler.’

“‘He must be the same fellow you knocked on the head at our camp,’ I said to Harry.

“‘I should not be surprised,’ he replied. Then turning to Dabbs, I requested him to give me a description of Bowles.

“‘He is very handsome; has dark-brown hair, very black eyes, is about five and twenty years old, very tall – I should say not less than six feet – dresses magnificently, drinks to excess, has a deep bass voice, and a slight scar on his left temple, close to the eyebrow.’

“‘That is the very man!’ said I, as I again requested Mr. Dabbs to go on with his history.

“‘Well,’ he began, ‘as I was saying just now, I cannot account for the strange conduct of Miss Bramlett, except upon the theory that she has become fascinated with that good-looking scoundrel, and was contemplating a secret marriage with him; at all events, she has been frequently seen to enter his apartments through a private door that opens on an alley in the rear of the house.’

“‘I shall go mad!’ said Harry, as his head fell on my shoulder. I could hear his heart throb and jump against his breast, as if in great commotion. ‘Can this horrible story be true? Can the devil take the shape of an angel, in order to drag the soul down to hell?’

“‘Hush, hush! Harry, there is some strange mistake connected with the affair, and I’ll risk my life on Viola’s honor.’

“‘Thank you, a thousand times, from the very bottom of my heart! but where is the cowardly villain who originated this damnable falsehood? Oh, if I could only get my hand on his accursed throat!’

“‘Let us first find out who is working these secret wires,’ said I, ‘and then we may be able to contend with the enemy with hopes of success. If Miss Bramlett ever has visited that place, she has been inveigled into it by foul and fraudulent means. She was continually searching for worthy objects of charity, and some false, sneaking scoundrel may have entrapped her into that house. How easily might she have been induced to believe that some unfortunate creature was dying in that house for want of food. I know that she would have gone there, or anywhere else, to render assistance where suffering humanity needed help. No, if this is the worst that can be said of Viola, you have reason to rejoice; for you may rest assured she will be able to explain it satisfactorily.’

“‘I believe you, and shall hear all that can be said.’

“‘No, indeed, Mr. Wallingford,’ said Dabbs, ‘far be it from me to report anything in this case except the naked truth. I have no bias for or against any one, I assure you. It is the duty of one in my position to be careful to keep his mind clear of prejudice, and to look only to the detection of crime; and if Miss Bramlett shall be able to offer a satisfactory explanation of her conduct in this instance, it will be a source of gratification to me. My mind tells me that this man Bowles had something to do with the death of young Bramlett; and if he had, I shall not stop until I can prove it. The fact that Miss Bramlett has frequently met Bowles under suspicious circumstances has been ascertained to a certainty; but after all it may, as you have suggested, be easily explained by her. A lady of Miss Bramlett’s tender age, having but little experience in the wicked ways of the world, would be a lamb in the power of such a wolf as Bowles. He is frequently out of money; and when such unprincipled scamps want funds, they would commit murder; or any other crime to get it. He is extravagant beyond measure, loves wine and women, keeps four fast trotters at Burton’s, bets high at the gaming table, and occasionally dines his friends extravagantly. Now all this costs money; and it is my opinion that Miss Bramlett’s money has largely contributed to that establishment. You know that she has within the last twelve months squandered over ten thousand dollars in cash, besides incurring debts equal to the cash spent. By her father’s will she had the right to spend the income of her inheritance – but could not touch the principal. She went through with the income, and, from all accounts, would have speedily wasted the principal, but the trustees positively refused to allow it. Her little brother did not draw any of his income at all; and when he died, his sister, of course, became the owner of his share, not only of the income, but of the entire estate. People do not commit murder without a motive. Did Miss Bramlett have a motive to murder her brother? Of course we answer unhesitatingly, Yes. What motive? what did she gain by the death of her brother? Answer – Ten thousand dollars ready cash in hand, and two hundred thousand dollars added to her inheritance. If that did not constitute a motive, I would like some one to inform me what would. Bowles was in great stress for want of money at that time, as I happen to know. The wolf may have used the lamb as his agent to get the funds he wanted. He wrote a note to Miss Bramlett in which he implored her to let him have five hundred dollars. That note was found in her dress pocket. It is the document we mentioned a moment ago, and here it is:

“‘DEAR V. – Don’t fail me to-night. Come at eight o’clock. I will be alone. I am dying to see you. For Heaven’s sake let me have the five hundred dollars, as I am in a tight place just now. I found your note under the seat in the summer house. I knew where to look for it. Of course I pressed it to my lips before I read it. When I see you we will discuss our plans more fully. If you can accomplish the business with a brave heart we shall yet be happy. I know that you have the courage to do it, if you set your mind on it. Detection would be impossible if you adopt my plan – though we will talk the matter over when I have you in my arms.

“‘Yours and yours only,“‘B. B.’

“‘Catch Mr. Wallingford there – he has fainted!’ exclaimed Dabbs, as he sprang forward and attempted to prevent Harry from falling; but he was too late – for Harry was lying on the floor before Dabbs got to him. I was unable to render any assistance, being completely overcome with horror at hearing the contents of the letter. Most of my hopes of Viola’s innocence vanished when the note was read; Mr. Dabbs lifted Harry up and laid him on a sofa, while Tadpoddle sprinkled his face with water and took off his cravat, unbuttoning his collar – then Harry began to breathe faintly; but such a look of despair as settled on his face I never beheld there before. I was unable to offer consolation, for I was in need of it myself – the blood seemed to be freezing in my veins. It was plain that Bowles’ letter referred to the plan which had for its object the murder of Viola’s brother. The bare thought that such was the fact made my heart stand still.

“‘Have we all been deceived by this beautiful girl? Is she, after all, a cruel, calculating murderess, and the mistress of a villain? Could it be possible that one so beautiful possessed the heart of a murderess? Could it be that she who looked like the very embodiment of purity was the horrible thing that I blush to think of? Questions of that nature came pouring in on my mind; and if I had been compelled to answer, I should have been forced to admit that the evidence was overwhelming against Viola. It was plain to my mind that it would not do to depend on Harry any longer – he was more like a raving maniac than anything else. I began to fear that he would seek a quarrel with Bowles – a thing which above all others I thought should be avoided, as it would prevent the detectives from getting at the bottom of the case. If Harry should attack Bowles I knew that one or the other would be killed; and how to prevent it was the question uppermost in my mind just then. I knew all about Harry’s ungovernable temper and his lack of fear, and imagined from his looks that he had resolved on something rash – his face was pale as death. I at once divined the thoughts that were passing through his mind, and was endeavoring to invent some plan to prevent a meeting between him and Bowles, when he addressed me in a tone so low that it was not much above a whisper:

“‘Eddie, it is all over with me – I am a ruined man; there is but one course left for me to pursue – Bowles must answer for the ruin he has wrought. Poor girl! I pity her, and before Heaven I swear to be her avenger. She is a helpless orphan, and it is my duty to defend her, notwithstanding she has forfeited all right to my love.’

“I grew impatient. I was becoming tired of Harry’s imprudence, and could not forget the fact that his selfish pride has caused all this trouble.

“‘I think,’ said I, endeavoring to keep down my rising temper, ‘that I heard you say if every man, woman and child in Memphis were to swear Viola was guilty, you would believe they were mistaken; and now, at the first intimation of her guilt, without any proof whatever, you are the very one to condemn her. Is this the confidence you have in your affianced bride? Indeed, I congratulate Miss Bramlett in the possession of such a true lover!’

“‘Stop, Edward,’ he said, as he rose from his seat and began to walk the floor, ‘I know I have said many foolish things, and committed numerous blunders in this business, but it can’t mend matters for you to be throwing it up to me. I admit that in some instances my conduct was inexcusable; but I was trying to repair the damage caused by it – it is too late now. Nothing that any one could say would have any effect on me, after what I have heard to-day. My heart has turned to stone, and I don’t think it could feel anything at all. Perhaps it is best that it should be so. I have a duty to perform now that will require coolness, and I feel that I could see blood run from the heart of Viola’s betrayer without compunction. I have a double account to settle with him; and it shall be settled in a manner that will be final.’

“‘If you would listen to the advice of your friends, you never would let Bowles know that you have obtained a clew to his villainy until you have secured enough proof to convict him in open court. It is very clear that if he is the author of that letter, he has been the prime mover in the murder of Miss Bramlett’s brother; and it is also very plain that other letters have been written – for he mentions the place where letters were deposited and received. Now, if you make a row you put him on his guard, and thereby give him a chance to escape; but if you keep quiet and let Dabbs work on him, I think it would enable us to trap him. Above all things let us give Dabbs an opportunity to work up the case, so far as Bowles is concerned. A man must learn to control himself before he can expect to control other people; and when you make up your mind to act with your friends, and not against them, I am prepared to proceed further in this business. If, on the other hand, you mean to seek a quarrel with Bowles, and destroy all hopes of securing proof of his guilt, I beg to say that I wash my hands of the whole affair.’

“‘I will promise to wait until Mr. Dabbs shall have a chance to do what he can; but, remember, I only promise to postpone his punishment.’

“‘Very well; I accept the promise, and we can discuss his punishment at another time. We must see Lottie at once, and prevail on her to tell what she knows. I am sure she could furnish us some important information, if she would. While I am ready to admit that my confidence in Viola’s honor has been somewhat shaken, I must be permitted to say that I have not lost all hopes; hence my anxiety to know the truth has been increased very much by what I have just heard.’

“‘Have you anything further to communicate?’ said I, addressing Mr. Dabbs; ‘if you have, we beg you to proceed.’

“‘Ah, hem! yes, Mr. Demar,’ replied the detective, as he took the last corner from his plug of tobacco, ‘I have something more to say; and, in the first place, allow me to mention the fact that I heartily indorse your idea as to Bowles. We must by all means keep him in the dark as to what we have resurrected against him. He is a sly, shrewd rascal; but I’ll capture him if you don’t thwart me. In Mr. Ragland’s flower garden there is a large summer-house made of lattice-work, and all covered over with vines. It is constructed in an octagonal shape, with wooden benches, arranged round inside. This house has been the meeting place of Miss Bramlett and Bowles. Miss Jemima Tadpoddle saw them there one night at a very late hour. She had called to see Mrs. Ragland one evening, and was informed by the house-maid that her mistress had gone out to attend a meeting of some benevolent society, of which she was an active member; but the maid told Miss Tadpoddle that Mrs. Ragland would be in soon, and while waiting in the drawing-room for Mrs. Ragland’s return, she saw Miss Bramlett go into the summer-house. Soon after Miss Bramlett went into the place Bowles came in through a secret entrance at the back of the garden, and went into the summer-house where Miss Bramlett was watching for him. After waiting a long time to see Mrs. Ragland, Miss Tadpoddle left without seeing her; and when she went away Bowles and Miss Bramlett were still in the summer-house. How long they remained there she of course did not know. When Miss Tadpoddle gave us this information we made a thorough examination of the premises, in order to find the place where Bowles got into the garden. We searched for some time without any result, but at last we found his entering place; and I must give him credit for great skill, for the manner in which he had managed it. The garden was inclosed with a common paling fence of pine timber, painted white, the palings being about four feet high, sharpened to a point at the top, and nailed to a horizontal railing. Three of those palings had been so arranged that they could be taken off and replaced, so as to leave no signs of having been removed. The nails that had originally been driven in to hold the palings in their places had been drawn out, small wooden pins put in their stead – so that when anyone wished to enter the garden he had nothing to do but to draw out the wooden pins, take off the palings and walk in; then replace them, and no one could see that the palings had ever been interfered with. I don’t think we should have made the discovery had it not been for the signs left on the grass by the feet of the party, who had evidently entered very often. We found that the ground near the place had been hardened by continuous tramping on it; and this led us to examine the palings very closely; the result was we found what I have just mentioned. We made a very extensive search among the blades of tall grass that grew in the vicinity of the entrance, and we found an article which we believe to be a set that has fallen from a finger ring. I should say that it was of considerable value – as it looks like a genuine diamond. This little article may enable us to get our grabbers on Mr. Bowles; because, if it is his, he of course has the ring from which it has been detached. One thing is certain – Mr. Bowles has not only received Miss Bramlett at his apartments very often, but he has been meeting her in the summer-house many a time. I believe this ends what I had to report to-day. Permit me to take my leave now, and you shall hear from us again soon.’”

Queen Mary now expressed a wish that the further hearing of the story should be postponed, in order that the maskers might have a recess.

CHAPTER XVII

Ivanhoe and Scottie were seated in the rear of the pilot house, discussing and dissecting Ingomar’s story.

“What do you think of the story now, sir knight?” inquired Scottie. “Do you like it or not?”

“So, so. Some parts I like, and some I don’t. There’s too much talk of murder in it.”

“Do you think from what you have heard of the story that Miss Bramlett committed the murder?”

“There is no room to doubt it, if we are to judge from the evidence that has come up against her. If Ingomar can get her out of the scrape without flatly contradicting himself, he will be entitled to the premium as the champion storyteller.”

“I agree with you there; because if I were on a jury and such evidence was brought before me, I should say guilty beyond the possibility of a doubt.”

“Well, Scottie, give me your opinion of Lottie.”

“Ah, sir knight! that’s an overdrawn picture. Angels have long since quit visiting the earth. I don’t think I have heard of any being down in this world since Jacob had such a scuffle with them.”

“You are wrong there; they have been here frequently since that affair with Jacob. But let that pass, and tell me what you think of Lottie.”

“She makes a splendid heroine for a story.”

“That may be true; yet it is so pleasant to hear Ingomar talk about her; did you know that somehow or other an idea has got into this head of mine?”

“No, indeed! is that so?”

“Pshaw! You didn’t let me finish the sentence. I was about to remark that somehow an idea had got into my head that you are just like Lottie.”

“Oh! you are badly lost now, for I am a plain, simple girl – just like other girls, only not so pretty; and then I have an awful temper. Oh! you ought to hear me when I am angry.”

“I am truly glad to hear you say so, for I like a high-tempered woman. They make things generally stand round so lively – have the servants walk to a line – keep the floor so clean – set such nice dinners; and then it is so delightful to have a good, jolly quarrel – get up a great row, shed a few tears, and then make friends – then kiss. Oh, that’s the girl for me!”

“You draw one side of the picture very nicely.”

“You can’t frighten me with such an insinuation; but you only increase my anxiety to know more about you. By the by, were you ever in love?”

“Oh, yes! I was dead in love with a fellow once – he was such a darling! and to tell you the truth, I love him yet. He had such a black beard, such black hair, and was so handsome!”

“My hair is black, and so is my beard.”

“I dare say it is. What if it should turn out that it was you, after all! Were you ever in love?”

“Indeed, yes! I loved a pretty girl with dark-brown hair and large gray eyes; and would have married her but for a very trivial little circumstance – she wouldn’t have me.”

“I suppose she didn’t like black hair and a black beard.”

“Well, we didn’t marry, anyway.”

“Suppose, sir knight, you entertain me with a history of your love scrape?”

“I will, on condition that you will follow suit with your little episode, when I am through with mine.”

“All right – I’ll do it.”

“Mine is a short story, but very affecting – and, if you have tears, prepare to shed them now.”

“Well, hold on then till I get out my handkerchief. Here it is now – go on.”

“I was in the city of Jackson, Mississippi, once, attending the Legislature, of which I was a member.”

“Wait a moment till I catch this tear – I think I feel one in my left eye.”

“What have I said that could have started a tear?”

“That you were a member of the Mississippi Legislature – that was the reason your girl refused to marry you.”

“Well, perhaps it was; though I have repented of that; and have promised to go and sin no more in that way; but I am digressing. While I was in Jackson, I was invited by some friends, to join them in a picnic dinner on the beautiful banks of Pearl river. Many lovely women were with the party – one in particular; it was a clear case of love at first sight on my side, and spontaneous indifference on hers. The dinner was magnificent. My girl unloaded a basket. It made my mouth water to watch her pretty little white hands lifting out the nice cake, the luscious jam, the roast turkey, the broiled chicken, the snow-white bread, the great yellow rolls of butter. I fell in love with her and the contents of her basket – and felt like devouring the whole concern then and there. It would have done you good to see the sweet smile she cast on me as she invited me to take a seat by her side and eat with her. I made up my mind to make her an offer of marriage at the first opportunity, and I was very much mortified to learn that three other fellows had determined to do likewise. All three of them had great advantages over me – they were not members of the Mississippi Legislature, and I was – I had to carry too much dead weight. After dinner was over the band began to play a lively tune, and some one proposed a dance; I made a dash toward my girl, with the view of asking her to be my partner in the dance. She smiled sweetly on me, but danced with another fellow. I then took the pouts and refused to dance at all. While the angry fit was on me I wandered off down the banks of the river alone – vowing to cripple somebody before night. When I had fully made up my mind to do it, the next question was, How could I accomplish it without getting crippled myself? I could not for the life of me think of any plan that would enable me to get rid of my rivals without endangering myself; therefore I was forced to abandon the enterprise altogether. But while I was rambling along the bank of the river meditating dire destruction, a young gray squirrel ran across my path, and I caught him and carried him in triumph to the picnic headquarters. My girl cast on me another one of her sweet smiles, as she begged me to give her the pretty, darling little squirrel. I of course forgot my angry fit, and gave it to her; it was but a moment after I had given it into her hand when she uttered a loud scream, and let the little squirrel drop on the ground. The entire party took after the squirrel except me and my girl. I saw the blood streaming from her hand, where the little animal had bitten her. I took off her glove and washed the blood from her hand, then tied it up with my handkerchief. I hid her glove in my bosom, where I have worn it ever since. Here it is now, with the stain of her dear blood on it! Why, Scottie, I declare, you are weeping sure enough! What on earth is the matter? – pray what is it.” (She was weeping – the tears running down her cheeks in a stream.) “Have I said anything to offend you? I did not intend it, if I did.” (It was some time before Scottie became composed – and Ivanhoe was very much astonished at her weeping so.) “I believe I have about finished my narrative. I really did love that girl dearly, but her father did not like me. Now, Scottie, tell me your love affair.”