第52章 ONLY GOOD-NIGHT(2)

Don't you see， the old man was superstitious； they frightened him first of all by a ghostly voice or some such thing into signing the will， and then to death after he had signed it. The lawyer's clerk prepared the will--he would know how to do it. Then he was smuggled into the room under the bed， or somewhere， dressed up as a ghost perhaps. The sending for the son by the niece was a blind. The thing that was seen running away was a boy--those footprints were made by a boy. I have seen so many thousands on the sands here that I could swear to it. He was attracted to the house from the road， which was quite near， by catching sight of something unusual through the blind；the brief says there were no curtains or shutters. Now look at the photographs of the footprints. See in No. 1， found outside the window， the toes are pressed down deeply into the mud. The owner of the feet was standing on tip-toe to get a better view. But in No. 2， which was found near where the son thought he saw a person running， the toes are spread out quite wide. That is the footprint of some one who was in a great hurry. Now it is not probable that a boy had anything to do with the testator's death. Why， then， was the boy running so hard？ I will tell you： because he was frightened at something he had seen through the blind. So frightened was he， that he will not come forward， or answer the advertisements and inquiries. Find a boy in that town who has a joint missing on the third toe of the right foot， and you will soon know all about it.""By Jove，" said Geoffrey， "what a criminal lawyer you would make！ Ibelieve that you have got it. But how are we to find this boy with the missing toe-joint？ Every possible inquiry has already been made and failed. Nobody has seen such a boy， whose deficiency would probably be known by his parents， or schoolfellows.""Yes，" said Beatrice， "it has failed because the boy has taken to wearing shoes， which indeed he would always have to do at school. His parents， if he has any， would perhaps not speak of his disfigurement， and no one else might know of it， especially if he were a new-comer in the neighbourhood. It is quite possible that he took off his boots in order to creep up to the window. And now I will tell you how I should set to work to find him. I should have every bathing-place in the river running through the town--there is a river--carefully watched by detectives. In this weather" (the autumn was an unusually warm one)"boys of that class often paddle and sometimes bathe. If they watch close enough， they will probably find a boy with a missing toe joint among the number.""What a good idea，" said Geoffrey. "I will telegraph to the lawyers at once. I certainly believe that you have got the clue."And as it turned out afterwards Beatrice had got it； her suppositions were right in almost every particular. The boy， who proved to be the son of a pedlar who had recently come into the town， was found wading， and by a clever trick， which need not be detailed， frightened into telling the truth， as he had previously frightened himself into holding his tongue. He had even， as Beatrice conjectured， taken off his boots to creep up to the window， and as he ran away in his fright， had dropped them into a ditch full of water. There they were found， and went far to convince the jury of the truth of his story. Thus it was that Beatrice's quick wit laid the foundations of Geoffrey's great success.

This particular Monday was a field day at the Vicarage. Jones had proved obdurate； no power on earth could induce him to pay the ā3411s. 4d. due on account of tithe. Therefore Mr. Granger， fortified by a judgment duly obtained， had announced his intention of distraining upon Jones's hay and cattle. Jones had replied with insolent defiance.

If any bailiff， or auctioneer， or such people came to sell his hay he would kill him， or them.

So said Jones， and summoned his supporters， many of whom owed tithe， and none of whom wished to pay it， to do battle in his cause. For his part， Mr. Granger retained an auctioneer of undoubted courage who was to arrive on this very afternoon， supported by six policemen， and carry out the sale. Beatrice felt nervous about the whole thing， but Elizabeth was very determined， and the old clergyman was now bombastic and now despondent. The auctioneer arrived duly by the one o'clock train. He was a tall able-bodied man， not unlike Geoffrey in appearance， indeed at twenty yards distance it would have been difficult to tell them apart. The sale was fixed for half-past two， and Mr. Johnson--that was the auctioneer's name--went to the inn to get his dinner before proceeding to business. He was informed of the hostile demonstration which awaited him， and that an English member of Parliament had been sent down especially to head the mob， but being a man of mettle pooh-poohed the whole affair.

"All bark， sir，" he said to Geoffrey， "all bark and no bite； I'm not afraid of these people. Why， if they won't bid for the stuff， I will buy it in myself.""All right，" said Geoffrey， "but I advise you to look out. I fancy that the old man is a rough customer."Then Geoffrey went back to his dinner.

As they sat at the meal， through a gap in the fir trees they saw that the great majority of the population of Bryngelly was streaming up towards the scene of the sale， some to agitate， and some to see the fun.

"It is pretty well time to be off，" said Geoffrey. "Are you coming， Mr. Granger？""Well，" answered the old gentleman， "I wished to do so， but Elizabeth thinks that I had better keep away. And after all， you know，" he added airily， "perhaps it is as well for a clergyman not to mix himself up too much in these temporal matters. No， I want to go and see about some pigs at the other end of the parish， and I think that I shall take this opportunity.""You are not going， Mr. Bingham， are you？" asked Beatrice in a voice which betrayed her anxiety.