The Bishop's Secret Page 18

  CHAPTER XVIII

  THE CHAPLAIN ON THE WARPATH

  Miss Whichello's frank admission that she had visited the dead-houserather disconcerted Mr Cargrim. From the circumstance of the veil, hehad presumed that she wished her errand there to be unknown, in whichcase her conduct would have appeared highly suspicious, since she wassupposed to know nothing about Jentham or Jentham's murder. But herready acknowledgment of the fact apparently showed that she had nothingto conceal. Cargrim, for all his acuteness, did not guess that of twoevils Miss Whichello had chosen the least. In truth, she did not wishher visit to the dead-house to be known, but as Mrs Pansey was cognisantof it, she judged it wiser to neutralise any possible harm that thatlady could do by admitting the original statement to be a true one. Thishonesty would take the wind out of Mrs Pansey's sails, and prevent herfrom distorting an admitted fact into a fiction of hinted wickedness.Furthermore, Miss Whichello was prepared to give Cargrim a sufficientreason for her visit, so that he might not invent one. Only by so open acourse could she keep the secret of her thirty-year-old acquaintancewith the dead man. As a rule, the little old lady hated subterfuge, butin this case her only chance of safety lay in beating Pansey, Cargrimand Company with their own weapons. And who can say that she was actingwrongly?

  'Yes, Mr Cargrim,' she repeated, looking him directly in the face, 'MrsPansey is right. I was at the dead-house and I went to see the corpse ofthe man Jentham. I suppose you--and Mrs Pansey--wonder why I did so?'

  'Oh, my dear lady!' remonstrated the embarrassed chaplain, 'by no means;such knowledge is none of our business--that is, none of _my_business.'

  'You have made it your business, however!' observed Miss Whichello,dryly, 'else you would scarcely have informed me of Mrs Pansey'sunwarrantable remarks on my private affairs. Well, Mr Cargrim, I supposeyou know that this tramp attacked my niece on the high road.'

  'Yes, Miss Whichello, I know that.'

  'Very good; as I considered that the man was a dangerous character Ithought that he should be compelled to leave Beorminster; so I went toThe Derby Winner on the night that you met me, in order to--'

  'To see Mrs Mosk!' interrupted Cargrim, softly, hoping to entrap her.

  'In order to see Mrs Mosk, and in order to see Jentham. I intended totell him that if he did not leave Beorminster at once that I shouldinform the police of his attack on Miss Arden. Also, as I was willing togive him a chance of reforming his conduct, I intended to supply himwith a small sum for his immediate departure. On that night, however, Idid not see him, as he had gone over to the gipsy camp. When I heardthat he was dead I could scarcely believe it, so, to set my mind atrest, and to satisfy myself that Mab would be in no further danger fromhis insolence when she walked abroad, I visited the dead-house and sawhis body. That, Mr Cargrim, was the sole reason for my visit; and as itconcerned myself alone, I wore a veil so as not to provoke remark. Itseems that I was wrong, since Mrs Pansey has been discussing me.However, I hope you will set her mind at rest by telling her what I havetold you.'

  'Really, my dear Miss Whichello, you are very severe; I assure you allthis explanation is needless.'

  'Not while Mrs Pansey has so venomous a tongue, Mr Cargrim. She is quitecapable of twisting my innocent desire to assure myself that Mab wassafe from this man into some extraordinary statement without a word oftruth in it. I shouldn't be surprised if Mrs Pansey had hinted to youthat I had killed this creature.'

  As this was precisely what the archdeacon's widow had done, Cargrim felthorribly uncomfortable under the scorn of Miss Whichello's justifiableindignation. He grew red, and smiled feebly, and murmured weakapologies; all of which Miss Whichello saw and heard with supremecontempt. Mr Cargrim, by his late tittle-tattling conversation, hadfallen in her good opinion; and she was not going to let him off withouta sharp rebuke for his unfounded chatter. Cutting short his murmurs, sheproceeded to nip in the bud any further reports he or Mrs Pansey mightspread in connection with the murder, by explaining much more than wasneedful.

  'And if Mrs Pansey should hear that Captain Pendle was on SouthberryHeath on Sunday night,' she continued, 'I trust that she will not accusehim of shooting the man, although as I know, and you know also, MrCargrim, she is quite capable of doing so.'

  'Was Captain Pendle on Southberry Heath?' asked Cargrim, who was alreadyacquainted with this fact, although he did not think it necessary totell Miss Whichello so. 'You don't say so?'

  'Yes, he was! He rode over to the gipsy camp to purchase an engagementring for Miss Arden from Mother Jael. That ring is now on her finger.'

  'So Miss Arden is engaged to Captain Pendle,' cried Cargrim, in agushing manner. 'I congratulate you, and her, and him.'

  'Thank you, Mr Cargrim,' said Miss Whichello, stiffly.

  'I suppose Captain Pendle saw nothing of Jentham at the gipsy camp?'

  'No! he never saw the man at all that evening.'

  'Did he hear the shot fired?'

  'Of course he did not!' cried Miss Whichello, wrathfully. 'How could hehear with the noise of the storm? You might as well ask if the bishopdid; he was on Southberry Heath on that night.'

  'Oh, yes, but he heard nothing, dear lady; he told me so.'

  'You seem to be very interested in this murder, Mr Cargrim,' said thelittle lady, with a keen look.

  'Naturally, everyone in Beorminster is interested in it. I hope thecriminal will be captured.'

  'I hope so too; do you know who he is?'

  'I? my dear lady, how should I know?'

  'I thought Mrs Pansey might have told you!' said Miss Whichello, coolly.'She knows all that goes on, and a good deal that doesn't. But you cantell her that both I and Captain Pendle are innocent, although I _did_visit the dead-house, and although he _was_ on Southberry Heath when thecrime was committed.'

  'You are very severe, dear lady!' said Cargrim, rising to take hisleave, for he was anxious to extricate himself from his veryuncomfortable and undignified position.

  'Solomon was even more severe, Mr Cargrim. He said, "Burning lips and awicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross." I fancythere were Mrs Panseys in those days, Mr Cargrim.'

  In the face of this choice proverb Mr Cargrim beat a hasty retreat.Altogether Miss Whichello was too much for him; and for once in his lifehe was at a loss how to gloss over his defeat. Not until he was inTinkler's office did he recover his feeling of superiority. With aman--especially with a social inferior--he felt that he could deal; butwho can contend with a woman's tongue? It is her sword and shield; hermouth is her bow; her words are the arrows; and the man who hopes towithstand such an armoury of deadly weapons is a superfine idiot.Cargrim, not being one, had run away; but in his rage at being compelledto take flight, he almost exceeded Mrs Pansey in hating the cause of it.Miss Whichello had certainly gained a victory, but she had also made anenemy.

  'So the inquest is over, Mr Inspector,' said the ruffled Cargrim,smoothing his plumes.

  'Over and done with, sir; and the corpse is now six feet under earth.'

  'A sad end, Mr Inspector, and a sad life. To be a wanderer on the faceof the earth; to be violently removed when sinning; to be buried at theexpense of an alien parish; what a fate for a baptised Christian.'

  'Don't you take on so, Mr Cargrim, sir!' said Tinkler, grimly. 'Therewas precious little religion about Jentham, and he was buried in a muchbetter fashion than he deserved, and not by the parish either.'

  Cargrim looked up suddenly. 'Who paid for his funeral then?'

  'A charitable la--person, sir, whose name I am not at liberty to tellanyone, at her own request.'

  'At her own request,' said the chaplain, noting Tinkler's slips andputting two and two together with wondrous rapidity. 'Ah, Miss Whichellois indeed a good lady.'

  'Did you--do you know--are you aware that Miss Whichello buried him,sir?' stammered the inspector, considerably astonished.

  'I have just come from her house,' replied Cargrim, answering thequestion in the affirmative by implication.

&
nbsp; 'Well, she asked me not to tell anyone, sir; but as she told you, Is'pose I can say as she buried that corpse with a good deal of expense.'

  'It is not to be wondered at, seeing that she took an interest in thewretched creature,' said Cargrim, delicately feeling his way. 'I trustthat the sight of his body in the dead-house didn't shock her nerves.'

  'Did she tell you she visited the dead-house?' asked Tinkler, his eyesgrowing larger at the extent of the chaplain's information.

  'Of course she did,' replied Cargrim, and this was truer than most ofhis remarks.

  Tinkler brought down a heavy fist with a bang on his desk. 'Then I'mblest, Mr Cargrim, sir, if I can understand what she meant by asking meto hold my tongue.'

  'Ah, Mr Inspector, the good lady is one of those rare spirits who "dogood by stealth and blush to find it fame."'

  'Seems a kind of silly to go on like that, sir!'

  'We are not all rare spirits, Tinkler.'

  'I don't know what the world would be if we were, Mr Cargrim, sir. ButMiss Whichello seemed so anxious that I should hold my tongue about thevisit and the burial that I can't make out why she talked about them toyou or to anybody.'

  'I cannot myself fathom her reason for such unnecessary secrecy, MrInspector; unless it is that she wishes the murderer to be discovered.'

  'Well, she can't spot him,' said Tinkler, emphatically, 'for all sheknows about Jentham is thirty years old.'

  Cargrim could scarcely suppress a start at this unexpected information.So Miss Whichello did know something about the dead man after all; anddoubtless her connection with Jentham had to do with the secret of thebishop. Cargrim felt that he was on the eve of an important discovery;for Tinkler, thinking that Miss Whichello had made a confidant of thechaplain, babbled on innocently, without guessing that his attentivelistener was making a base use of him. The shrug of the shoulders withwhich Cargrim commented on his last remark made Tinkler talk further.

  'Besides!' said he, expansively, 'what does Miss Whichello know? Onlythat the man was a violinist thirty years ago, and that he calledhimself Amaru. Those details don't throw any light on the murder, MrCargrim, sir.'

  The chaplain mentally noted the former name and former profession ofJentham and shook his head. 'Such information is utterly useless,' hesaid gravely, 'and the people with whom Amaru _alias_ Jentham associatedthen are doubtless all dead by this time.'

  'Well, Miss Whichello didn't mention any of his friends, sir, but Idaresay it wouldn't be much use if she did. Beyond the man's former nameand business as a fiddler she told me nothing. I suppose, sir, shedidn't tell you anything likely to help us?'

  'No! I don't think the past can help the present, Mr Tinkler. But whatis your candid opinion about this case?'

  'I think it is a mystery, Mr Cargrim, sir, and is likely to remain one.'

  'You don't anticipate that the murderer will be found?'

  'No!' replied Mr Inspector, gruffly. 'I don't.'

  'Cannot Mosk, with whom Jentham was lodging, enlighten you?'

  Tinkler shook his head. 'Mosk said that Jentham owed him money, andpromised to pay him this week; but that I believe was all moonshine.'

  'But Jentham might have expected to receive money, Mr Inspector?'

  'Not he, Mr Cargrim, sir. He knew no one here who would lend or give hima farthing. He had no money on him when his corpse was found!'

  'Yet the body had been robbed!'

  'Oh, yes, the body was robbed sure enough, for we found the pocketsturned inside out. But the murderer only took the rubbish a vagabond waslikely to have on him.'

  'Were any papers taken, do you think, Mr Inspector?'

  'Papers!' echoed Tinkler, scratching his head. 'What papers?'

  'Well!' said Cargrim, shirking a true explanation, 'papers likely toreveal his real name and the reason of his haunting Beorminster.'

  'I don't think there could have been any papers, Mr Cargrim, sir. Ifthere had been, we'd ha' found 'em. The murderer wouldn't have takenrubbish like that.'

  'But why was the man killed?' persisted the chaplain.

  'He was killed in a row,' said Tinkler, decisively, 'that's my theory.Mother Jael says that he was half seas over when he left the camp, so Idaresay he met some labourer who quarrelled with him and used hispistol.'

  'But is it likely that a labourer would have a pistol?'

  'Why not? Those harvesters don't trust one another, and it's just aslikely as not that one of them would keep a pistol to protect hisproperty from the other.'

  'Was search made for the pistol?'

  'Yes, it was, and no pistol was found. I tell you what, Mr Cargrim,'said Tinkler, rising in rigid military fashion, 'it's my opinion thatthere is too much tall talk about this case. Jentham was shot in adrunken row, and the murderer has cleared out of the district. That isthe whole explanation of the matter.'

  'I daresay you are right, Mr Inspector,' sighed Cargrim, putting on hishat. 'We are all apt to elevate the commonplace into the romantic.'

  'Or make a mountain out of a mole hill, which is plain English,' saidTinkler. 'Good-day, Mr Cargrim.'

  'Good-day, Tinkler, and many thanks for your lucid statement of thecase. I have no doubt that his lordship, the bishop, will take your verysensible view of the matter.'

  As it was now late, Mr Cargrim returned to the palace, not ill pleasedwith his afternoon's work. He had learned that Miss Whichello hadvisited the dead-house, that she had known the dead man as a violinistunder the name of Amaru, and had buried him for old acquaintance sake ather own expense. Also he had been informed that Captain Pendle and hisbrother Gabriel had been on Southberry Heath on the very night, andabout the very time, when the man had been shot; so, with all thesematerials, Mr Cargrim hoped sooner or later to build up a very prettycase against the bishop. If Miss Whichello was mixed up with the matter,so much the better. At this moment Mr Cargrim's meditation was broken inupon by the voice of Dr Graham.

  'You are the very man I want, Cargrim. The bishop has written asking meto call to-night and see him. Just tell him that I am engaged thisevening, but that I will attend on him to-morrow morning at teno'clock.'

  'Oh! ho!' soliloquised Cargrim, when the doctor, evidently in a greathurry, went off, 'so his lordship wants to see Dr Graham. I wonder whatthat is for?'