第8章

Mr。Dingwallelevatedhiseyebrows。“Thelargepropertyatstakeofcourserenderedthemostsatisfactoryproofsofitnecessary。

Hisfatherhaddiedonlyamonthprevious，andofcoursetheywereseekingthepresumptiveheir，theso-called’CaptainJohnDornton’——

yourman——whentheymadethediscoveryofhisdeath。“

Randolphthoughtofthestrangebodyatthewharf，ofthecoroner’svagueverdict，andwasunconvinced。“But，“hesaidimpulsively，“therewasachild。“HecheckedhimselfasherememberedthiswasoneofMissAvondale’sconfidencestohim。

“Ah——MissAvondalehasspokenofachild？“saidMr。Dingwalldryly。

“IsawherwithonewhichshesaidwasCaptainDornton’s，whichhadbeenleftinhercareafterthedeathofhiswife，“saidRandolphinhurriedexplanation。

“JohnDorntonhadnoWIFE，“saidMr。Dingwallseverely。“Theboyisanaturalson。CaptainJohnlivedawild，rough，and——er——aneccentriclife。“

“Ithought——IunderstoodfromMissAvondalethathewasmarried，“

stammeredtheyoungman。

“InyourratherslightacquaintancewiththatyoungladyIshouldimagineshewouldhavehadsomedelicacyintellingyouotherwise，“

returnedMr。Dingwallprimly。

Randolphfeltthetruthofthis，andwasmomentarilyembarrassed。

Yethelingered。

“HasMissAvondaleknownofthisdiscoverylong？“heasked。

“Abouttwoweeks，Ishouldsay，“returnedMr。Dingwall。“ShewasofsomeservicetoSirWilliamingettingupcertainproofsherequired。“

ItwasthreeweekssinceshehadseenRandolph，yetitwouldhavebeeneasyforhertocommunicatethenewstohim。Inthesethreeweekshisromanceoftheircommoninterestinhisbenefactor——evenhisowndreamofeverseeinghimagain——hadbeenutterlydispelled。

ItwasinnosocialhumorthathereachedDingwall’shousethenextevening。Yetheknewthedifficultyoftakinganaggressiveattitudetowardhispreviousidolorofinvitingafullexplanationfromherthen。

Theguests，withtheexceptionofhimselfandMissAvondale，wereallEnglish。She，self-possessedandcharmingineveningdress，noddedtohimwithherusualmaturepatronage，butdidnotevincetheleastdesiretoseekhimforanyconfidentialaside。HenoticedtheundoubtedresemblanceofSirWilliamDorntontohismissingbenefactor，andyetitproducedasingularrepulsioninhim，ratherthananysympatheticpredilection。AttablehefoundthatMissAvondalewasseparatedfromhim，beingseatedbesidethedistinguishedguest，whilehewasplacednexttotheyoungladyhehadtakendown——aMissEversleigh，thecousinofSirWilliam。Shewastall，andRandolph’sfirstimpressionofherwasthatshewasstiffandconstrained——animpressionhequicklycorrectedatthesoundofhervoice，herfrankingenuousness，andherunmistakableyouth。InthehabitofbeingcrushedbyMissAvondale’sunrelentingsuperiority，hefoundhimselfapparentlygrowingupbesidethistallEnglishgirl，whohadthenaiveteofachild。

Afterafewcommonplacesshesuddenlyturnedhergrayeyesonhis，andsaid，——

“Didn’tyoulikeJack？Ihopeyoudid。Oh，sayyoudid——do！“

“YoumeanCaptainJohnDornton？“saidRandolph，alittleconfused。

“Yes，ofcourse；HISbrother“——glancingtowardSirWilliam。“WealwayscalledhimJack，thoughIwaseversolittlewhenhewentaway。NoonethoughtofcallinghimanythingelsebutJack。Sayyoulikedhim！“

“Icertainlydid，“returnedRandolphimpulsively。Thencheckinghimself，headded，“Ionlysawhimonce，butIlikedhisfaceandmanner——and——hewasverykindtome。“

“Ofcoursehewas，“saidtheyounggirlquickly。“Thatwasonlylikehim，andyet“——loweringhervoiceslightly——“wouldyoubelievethattheyallsayhewaswildandwickedanddissipated？Andwhy？

Fancy！Justbecausehedidn’tcaretostayathomeandshootandhuntandraceandmakedebts，asheirsusuallydo。No，hewantedtoseetheworldanddosomethingforhimself。Why，whenhewasquiteyoung，hecouldmanageaboatlikeanysailor。DorntonHall，theirplace，isonthecoast，youknow，andtheysaythat，justforadventure’ssake，afterhewentaway，heshippedasfirstmatesomewhereoverhereonthePacific，andmadetwoorthreevoyages。

Youknow——don’tyou？——andhoweveryonewasshockedatsuchconductintheheir。“

Herfacewassogirlishlyanimated，withsuchsparkleofeyeandresponsivecolor，thathecouldhardlyreconcileitwithherfirstrestraintorwithhisacceptedtraditionsofherunemotionalrace，or，indeed，withherrelationshiptotheprincipalguest。Hislatentfeelingofgratitudetothedeadmanwarmedundertheyounggirl’svoice。

“It’ssodreadfultothinkofhimasdrowned，youknow，thougheventhattheyputagainsthim，“shewentonhurriedly，“fortheysayhewasprobablydrownedinsomedrunkenfit——fellthroughthewharforsomethingshockingandawful——worsethansuicide。But“——sheturnedherfrankyoungeyesuponhimagain——“YOUsawhimonthewharfthatnight，andyoucouldtellhowhelooked。“

“HewasassoberasIwas，“returnedRandolphindignantly，asherecalledtheincidentoftheflaskandthedeadman’scaution。

Fromrecallingittorepeatingitfollowednaturally，andhepresentlyrelatedthewholestoryofhismeetingwithCaptainDorntontothebrightlyinterestedeyesbesidehim。Whenhehadfinished，sheleanedtowardhimingirlishconfidence，andsaid:——

“Yes；butEVENTHATtheytelltoshowhowintoxicatedbemusthavebeentohavegivenuphisportmanteautoanutterstrangerlikeyou。“Shestopped，colored，andyet，reflectinghisownhalfsmile，sheadded:“YouknowwhatImean。Fortheyallagreehowniceitwasofyounottotakeanyadvantageofhiscondition，andDingwallsaidyourhonestyandfaithfulnessstruckRevelstokesomuchthathemadeaplaceforyouatthebank。NowIthink，“shecontinued，withdelightfulnaivete，“itwasaproofofpoorJack’sBEINGPERFECTLYSOBER，thatheknewwhomhewastrusting，andsawjustwhatyouwere，atonce。There！ButIsupposeyoumustnottalktomeanylonger，butmustmakeyourselfagreeabletosomeoneelse。Butitwasveryniceofyoutotellmeallthis。Iwishyouknewmyguardian。You’dlikehim。DoyouevergotoEngland？Docomeandseeus。“

Theseconfidenceshadnotbeenobservedbytheothers，andMissAvondaleappearedtoconfineherattentionstoSirWilliam，whoseemedtobeequallyabsorbed，exceptthatonceheliftedhiseyestowardRandolph，asifinanswertosomeremarkfromher。ItstruckRandolphthathewasthesubjectoftheirconversation，andthisdidnottendtoallaytheirritationofamindalreadywoundedbythecontrastofHERlackofsympathyforthedeadmanwhohadbefriendedandtrustedhertothesimplefaithofthegirlbesidehim，whowasstillloyaltoamerechildishrecollection。

Aftertheladieshadrustledaway，SirWilliammovedhisseatbesideRandolph。HismannerseemedtocombineMr。Dingwall’srestraintwithacertainassumptionofthemanoftheworld，morenotableforitsfranknessthanitstactfulness。

“Sadbusinessthisofmybrother’s，eh，“hesaid，lightingacigar；

“anywayyoutakeit，eh？Yousawhimlast，eh？“Theinterrogatingword，however，seemedtobeonlyanexclamationofhabit，forheseldomwaitedforananswer。

“Ireallydon’tknow，“saidRandolph，“asIsawhimonlyONCE，andheleftmeonthewharf。Iknownomorewherehewenttothenthanwherehecamefrombefore。Ofcourseyoumustknowalltherest，andhowhecametobedrowned。“

“Yes；itreallydidnotmattermuch。Thewholequestionwasidentificationandproofofdeath，youknow。Beastlyjob，eh？“

“WasthathisbodyYOUwerehelpingtogetashoreatthewharfoneSunday？“askedRandolphbluntly，nowfullyrecognizingthelikenessthathadpuzzledhiminSirWilliam。“Ididn’tseeanyresemblance。“

“Preciousfewwould。Ididn’t——thoughit’strueIhadn’tseenhimforeightyears。Pooroldchapbeenknockedaboutsohehadn’tafeatureleft，eh？Buthisshipmateknewhim，andtherewerehistrapsontheship。“

Then，forthefirsttime，RandolphheardthegrimandsordiddetailsofJohnDornton’smysteriousdisappearance。HehadarrivedthemorningbeforethateventfuldayonanAustralianbarkastheprincipalpassenger。Thevesselitselfhadanevilrepute，andwasbelievedtohaveslippedfromthehandsofthepoliceatMelbourne。

JohnDorntonhadevidentlyamassedaconsiderablefortuneinAustralia，althoughanexaminationofhispapersandeffectsshowedittobeindraftsandlettersofcreditandshares，andthathehadnoreadymoney——afactborneoutbythetestimonyofhisshipmates。Thenighthearrivedwasspentinanorgyonboardship，whichhedidnotleaveuntiltheearlyeveningofthenextday，although，afterhiserraticfashion，hehadorderedaroomatahotel。Thateveninghetookashoreaportmanteau，evidentlyintendingtopassthenightathishotel。Hewasneverseenagain，althoughsomeofthesailorsdeclaredthattheyhadseenhimonthewharfWITHOUTTHEPORTMANTEAU，andtheyhaddrunktogetheratalowgrogshoponthestreetcorner。Hehadevidentlyfallenthroughsomeholeinthewharf。Ashewasseenonlywiththesailors，whoalsoknewhehadnoreadymoneyonhisperson，therewasnosuspicionoffoulplay。

“Forallthat，don’tyouknow，“continuedSirWilliam，withaforcedlaugh，whichstruckRandolphasnotonlydiscordant，butashavinganinsolentsignificance，“itmighthavebeenadeucedbadbusinessforYOU，eh？Lastmanwhowaswithhim，eh？Inpossessionofhisportmanteau，eh？Wearinghisclothes，eh？

Awfullycleverofyoutogostraighttothebankwithit。’Ponmyword，mylegalmanwantedtopouncedownonyouas’accessory’

untilIandDingwallcalledhimoff。Butit’sallrightnow。“

Randolph’santagonismtothemanincreased。“Theinvestigationseemstohavebeenpeculiar，“hesaiddryly，“for，ifIrememberrightly，atthecoroner’sinquestonthebodyIsawyouwith，theverdictreturnedwasofthedeathofanUNKNOWNman。“