Craven Fortune by Fred M. White

Author:Fred M. White
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pronoun

XVII - NEARING THE DAWN

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NO WORD WAS SPOKEN FOR some time, for Marriott and his companions could only gaze in mute astonishment at the man lying on the floor. That he was not hurt Wilfrid was able to assure the others; it was evident that he had not been subjected to outward violence. And that being the case why had he cried out so pitifully?

“Is he in some kind of fit?” Marriott asked. “If you think he is dying——”

“I don’t think anything of the kind,” Wilfrid replied. “If I had any theory to advance I should say the poor old gentleman is suffering from exhaustion produced by want of proper food. There are all the symptoms present. He has had a shock, too.”

“Then you don’t think he was in pain when he called out just now?”

“No—I don’t. I fancy that something frightened him. If I had a few drops of brandy—why, there is the very thing on the table—the flask that Bentley gave to Morrison.”

Surely enough, the two rascals had forgotten the flask in their hurried flight. A few drops of this rubbed over the lips of the prostrate man produced a speedy effect. He opened his eyes and looked feebly around him. He was rather a pathetic figure of an old man in his frock coat and seedy trousers, more like a broken-down clerk trying to live up to his old position than anything else. His eyes were wandering but not exactly vacant, much as if some twist of the brain had deprived him of the full measure of reason. The frame was bent and sunken and yet it suggested strength at one time. Marriott pressed forward eagerly and stood before the form of Josiah Everton.

“Try to pull yourself together,” he commanded. “Have a good look at me. Tell me if my face is familiar to you? Have you ever seen it before?”

The old man shook his head slowly as his eyes roamed over Marriott restlessly. It was quite clear that Marriott conveyed nothing to his clouded understanding.

“I don’t know you,” Everton said. “We have never met before. Why should you feel glad to hear that?”

The question was so sharp and shrewd that Marriott was taken aback. His face had expressed satisfaction, but he had not expected Everton to notice it.

“Not much the matter there,” the latter muttered. “Strange how small a thing unhinges the brain. The loss of his money, perhaps. Dr. Bayfield, if you take that case seriously in hand I have no doubt you could effect a cure. What were you frightened about?”

The question was addressed to Everton, who shivered and turned pale.

“It was the cypher!” he said. “They showed me the cypher. And I read some of it. I daresay I could have read it all, only it was too terrible. It was the same cypher that I used to use when James Everton and myself were in business together before we quarrelled. I had quite forgotten how to read it and suddenly it all came back to me.

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