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P. o. angl .

578

he Moonstone

By

Wilkie Collins

London : Chatto & Windus , Piccadilly

P.0 . angl . 5789
THE MOONSTONE

A ROMANCE

BY

WILKIE COLLINS
AUTHOR OF
"THE WOMAN IN WHITE ," " NO NAME," 46' THE NEW MAGDALEN ,”
ETC.

max Förster

Oxford Aug.195

A NEW EDITION

London
CHATTO & WINDUS, PICCADILLY
1895

Gal541950
In Memoriam Matris

Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
MÜNCHEN
.
 Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
MÜNCHEN

PREFACE

IN some of my former novels, the object proposed has been to trace the influence of circum-
stances upon character. In the present story I have reversed the process. The attempt
made here is to trace the influence of character on circumstances. The conduct pursued,
under a sudden emergency, by a young girl, supplies the foundation on which I have built
this book.
The same object has been kept in view in the handling of the other characters which
འ in these pages. Their course of thought and action under the circumstances which
round them is shown to be (what it would most probably have been in real life) sometimes
right and sometimes wrong. Right or wrong, their conduct, in either event, equally directs
the course of those portions of the story in which they are concerned.
In the case of the physiological experiment which occupies a prominent place in the
closing scenes of " The Moonstone," the same principle has guided me once more. Having
first ascertained , not only from books, but from living authorities as well, what the result of
that experiment would really have been, I have declined to avail myself of the novelist's
privilege of supposing something which might have happened, and have so shaped the story
as to make it grow out of what actually would have happened- which, I beg to inform my
readers, is also what actually does happen, in these pages.
With reference to the story of the Diamond, as here set forth, I have to acknowledge that
it is founded, in some important particulars, on the stories of two of the royal diamonds of
Europe. The magnificent stone which adorns the top of the Russian Imperial Sceptre was
once the eye of an Indian idol. The famous Koh-i-Noor is also supposed to have been one of
the sacred gems of India ; and, more than this, to have been the subject of a prediction which
prophesied certain misfortune to the persons who should divert it from its ancient uses.
GLOUCESTER PLACE, PORTMAN SQUARE,
June 30, 1868.

PREFACE TO A NEW EDITION

THE circumstances under which " The Moonstone " was originally written have invested the
book-in the author's mind-with an interest peculiarly its own.
While this work was still in course of periodical publication in England and in the United
States, and when not more than one-third of it was completed, the bitterest affliction of my
life and the severest illness from which I have ever suffered fell on me together. At the time
when my mother lay dying in her little cottage in the country, I was struck prostrate, in
London-crippled in every limb by the torture of rheumatic gout. Under the weight of this
double calamity, I had my duty to the public still to bear in mind. My good readers in
England and in America, whom I had never yet disappointed, were expecting their regular
weekly instalments of the new story. I held to the story-for my own sake as well as for
theirs. In the intervals of grief, in the occasional remissions of pain, I dictated from my bed
that portion of " The Moonstone " which has since proved most successful in amusing the
public-the " Narrative of Miss Clack. " Of the physical sacrifice which the effort cost me
I shall say nothing. I only look back now at the blessed relief which my occupation ( forced
as it was) brought to my mind. The Art which had been always the pride and the pleasure
of my life became now more than ever " its own exceeding great reward." I doubt if I should
have lived to write another book, if the responsibility of the weekly publication of this story
had not forced me to rally my sinking energies of body and mind-to dry my useless tears ,
and to conquer my merciless pains.
The novel completed, I awaited its reception by the public with an eagerness of anxiety
which I have never felt before or since for the fate of any other writings of mine. If " The
Moonstone " had failed, my mortification would have been bitter indeed. As it was, the
welcome accorded to the story in England, in America, and on the Continent of Europe was
instantly and universally favourable. Never have I had better reason than this work has
given me to feel gratefully to novel-readers of all nations. Everywhere my characters made
friends, and my story roused interest. Everywhere the public favour looked over my faults—
and repaid me a hundredfold for the hard toil which these pages cost me in the dark time of
sickness and grief.
I have only to add that the present edition has had the benefit of my careful revision. All
that I can do towards making the book worthy of the reader's continued approval has now
been done.
W. C.
May 1871.
 CONTENTS

PROLOGUE
PAGE
THE STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM ( 1799) 5
Extracted from a Family Paper.

THE STORY
FIRST PERIOD

THE LOSS OF THE DIAMOND ( 1848) 7

The Events related by GABRIEL BETTEREDGE, House-steward in the service of
JULIA, LADY VERINDER.

SECOND PERIOD
THE DISCOVERY OF THE TRUTH ( 1848-49) 80
The Events related in several Narratives.
FIRST NARRATIVE · 80
Contributed by MISS CLACK, Niece of the late SIR JOHN VERINDER.
SECOND NARRATIVE . 109
Contributed by MATHEW BRUFF, Solicitor, of Gray's Inn Square.
THIRD NARRATIVE • 119
Contributed by FRANKLIN BLAKE.
FOURTH NARRATIVE 161
Extracted from the Journal of EZRA JENNINGS.
FIFTH NARRATIVE 175
The Story resumed by FRANKLIN BLAKE.
SIXTH NARRATIVE 182
Contributed by SERGEANT CUFF.
SEVENTH NARRATIVE · 186
In a Letter from MR. CANDY.
EIGHTH NARRATIVE 187
Contributed by GABRIEL BETTEREDGE.

EPILOGUE

THE FINDING OF THE DIAMOND 188

I. THE STATEMENT OF SERGEANT CUFF'S MAN ( 1849 ) 188
II. THE STATEMENT OF THE CAPTAIN ( 1849 ) · 188
III. THE STATEMENT OF MR. MURTHWAITE ( 1850) . 189
In a Letter to MR. BRUFf.
iv
 Bayerisobe
Bustenibleth k
KEYCZEK

THE MOONSTONE

PROLOGUE

THE STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM (1799)

Extracted from a Family Paper

I. Mahmoud of Ghizni, crossed India ; seized on

the holy city of Somnauth ; and stripped of its
I ADDRESS these lines-written in India-to my treasures the famous temple, which had stood
relatives in England.
My object is to explain the motive which has for centuries the shrine of Hindoo pilgrimage,
and the wonder of the eastern world.
induced me to refuse the right hand of friend- Of all the deities worshipped in the temple,
ship to my cousin, John Herncastle. The reserve the moon-god alone escaped the rapacity of
which I have hitherto maintained in this mat- the conquering Mohammedans. Preserved by
ter has been misinterpreted by members of my three Brahmins, the inviolate deity, bearing the
family whose good opinion I cannot consent to Yellow Diamond in its forehead, was removed
forfeit. I request them to suspend their decision by night, and was transported to the second of
until theyhave read mynarrative. And I declare, the sacred cities of India-the city of Benares.
on my word of honour, that what I am now about Here, in a new shrine-in a hall inlaid with
to write is, strictly and literally, the truth. precious stones, under a roof supported by
The private difference between my cousin pillars of gold-the moon- god was set up and
and me took its rise in a great public event in worshipped . Here, onthe night when the shrine
which we were both concerned the storming was completed , Vishnu the Preserver appeared
of Seringapatam, under General Baird, on the to the three Brahmins in a dream.
4th of May 1799. The deity breathed the breath of his divinity
In order that the circumstances may be clearly on the Diamond in the forehead of the god. And
understood , I must revert for a moment to the the Brahmins knelt and hid their faces in their
period before the assault, and to the stories cur-robes. The deity commanded that the Moon-
rent in our camp of the treasure in jewels and stone should be watched, from that time forth,
gold stored up in the Palace of Seringapatam. by three priests in turn, night and day,to the end
II. of the generations of men. And the Brahmins
heard, and bowed before his will. The deity
One of the wildest of these stories related to predicted certain disaster to the presumptuous
a Yellow Diamond --a famous gem in the native mortal who laid hands on the sacred gem, and to
annals of India. all of his house and name who received it after
The earliest known traditions describe the him. And the Brahmins caused the prophecy
stone as having been set in the forehead of the to be written over the gates of the shrine in
four-handed Indian god who typifies the Moon. letters of gold.
Partly from its peculiar colour, partly from a One age followed another-and still, genera-
superstition which represented it as feeling tion after generation, the successors of the three
the influence of the deity whom it adorned, and Brahmins watched their priceless Moonstone,
growing and lessening in lustre with the waxing night and day. One age followed another, until
and waning of the moon, it first gained the name the first years of the eighteenth Christian cen-
by which it continues to be known in India to tury saw the reign of Aurungzebe, Emperor of
this day-the name of THE MOONSTONE. A the Moguls. At his command, havoc and rapine
similar superstition was once prevalent, as I were let loose once more among the temples of
have heard, in ancient Greece and Rome ; not the worship of Brahmah. The shrine ofthe four-
applying, however (as in India), to a diamond handed god was polluted by the slaughter of
devoted to the service of a god, but to a semi- sacred animals ; the images of the deities were
transparent stone of the inferior order of gems , broken in pieces ; and the Moonstone was seized
supposed to be affected by the lunar influences by an officer of rank in the army of Aurungzebe.
-the moon, in this latter case also, giving the Powerless to recover their lost treasure by
name by which the stone is still known to open force, the three guardian priests followed
collectors in our own time. and watched it in disguise. The generations suc-
The adventures of the Yellow Diamond begin ceeded each other ; the warrior who had com-
with the eleventh century of the Christian era. mitted the sacrilege perished miserably ; the
At that date, the Mohammedan conqueror, Moonstone passed (carrying its curse with it)
5
6 THE MOONSTONE

from one lawless Mohammedan hand to another ; | joke. " Who's got the Moonstone ? " was the
and still, through all chances and changes, the rallying cry which perpetually caused the
successors of the three guardian priests kept plundering, as soon as it was stopped in one
their watch, waiting the day when the will of place, to break out in another. While I was
Vishnu the Preserver should restore to them still vainly trying to establish order, I heard a
their sacred gem . Time rolled on from the first frightful yelling on the other side of the court-
to the last years of the eighteenth Christian yard, and at once ran towards the cries, in dread
century. The Diamond fell into the possession of finding some new outbreak of the pillage in
of Tippoo, Sultan of Seringapatam, who caused that direction.
it to be placed as an ornament in the handle of I got to an open door, and saw the bodies of
a dagger, and who commanded it to be kept two Indians (by their dress, as I guessed, officers
among the choicest treasures of his armoury. of the palace) lying across the entrance, dead.
Even then-in the palace of the Sultan himself A cry inside hurried me into a room, which ap-
-the three guardian priests still kept their peared to serve as an armoury. A third Indian,
watch in secret. There were three officers of mortally wounded, was sinking at the feet of a
Tippoo's household, strangers to the rest, who man whose back was towards me. The man
had won their master's confidence by conform- turned at the instant when I came in, and I
ing, or appearing to conform, to the Mussulman saw John Herncastle, with a torch in one hand,
faith ; and to those three men report pointed as and a dagger dripping with blood in the other.
the three priests in disguise. A stone, set like a pommel, in the end of the
dagger's handle, flashed in the torchlight, as he
III. turned on me, like a gleam of fire. The dying
Indian sank to his knees, pointed to the dagger
So, as told in our camp, ran the fanciful story in Herncastle's hand, and said, in his native
of the Moonstone. It made no serious impres- language-" The Moonstone will have its ven-
sion on any of us except my cousin- whose love geance yet on you and yours ! " He spoke those
of the marvellous induced him to believe it. On words, and fell dead on the floor. 1
the night before the assault on Seringapatam , Before I could stir in the matter, the men who
he was absurdly angry with me, and with others, had followed me across the courtyard crowded
for treating the whole thing as a fable. A foolish in. My cousin rushed to meet them, like a mad-
wrangle followed ; and Herncastle's unlucky man. " Clear the room ! " he shouted to me,
temper got the better of him. He declared, in "and set a guard on the door !" The men fell
his boastful way, that we should see the Diamond back as he threw himself on them with his torch
on his finger, if the English army took Serin- and his dagger. I put two sentinels of my own
gapatam. The sally was saluted by a roar of company, on whom I could rely, to keep the door.
laughter, and there, as we all thought that night, Through the remainder of the night I saw no
the thing ended. more of my cousin.
Let me now take you on to the day of the Early in the morning, the plunder still going
assault. on, General Baird announced publicly by beat of
My cousin and I were separated at the outset. drum, that any thief detected in the fact, be he
I never saw him when we forded the river ; when whom he might, should be hung. The provost-
we planted the English flag in the first breach ; marshal was in attendance, to prove that the
when we crossed the ditch beyond ; and, fight- general was in earnest ; and in the throng that
ing every inch of our way, entered the town. followed the proclamation, Herncastle and I
It was only at dusk, when the place was ours, met again.
and after General Baird himself had found the He held out his hand, as usual, and said,
dead body of Tippoo under a heap of the slain, "Good morning."
that Herncastle and I met. I waited before I gave him my hand in return.
We were each attached to a party sent out by "Tell me first, " I said, " how the Indian in
the general's orders to prevent the plunder and the armoury met his death, and what those last
confusion which followed our conquest. The words meant, when he pointed to the dagger in
camp-followers committed deplorable excesses ; your hand."
66 The
and, worse still, the soldiers found their way, Indian met his death, as I suppose, by
by an unguarded door, into the treasury of the a mortal wound," said Herncastle. "What his
palace, and loaded themselves with gold and last words meant I know no more than you do. "
jewels. It was in the court outside the treasury I looked at him narrowly. His frenzy of the
that my cousin and I met, to enforce the laws previous day had all calmed down. I determined
of discipline on our own soldiers. Herncastle's to give him another chance.
fiery temper had been, as I could plainly see, " Is that all you have to tell me ? " I asked.
exasperated to a kind of frenzy by the terrible He answered, " That is all."
slaughter through which we had passed. He I turned my back on him, and we have not
was very unfit, in my opinion, to perform the spoken since.
duty that had been entrusted to him.
There was riot and confusion enough in the IV.
treasury, but no violence that I saw. The men
(if I may use such an expression) disgraced I beg it to be understood that what I write
themselves good-humouredly. All sorts of rough here about my cousin (unless some necessity
jests and catchwords were bandied about among should arise for making it public ) is for the in-
them ; and the story of the Diamond turned up formation of the family only. Herncastle has
again unexpectedly, in the form of a mischievous said nothing that can justify me in speaking to
 THE MOONSTONE 7

our commanding officer. He has been taunted | but if those words were pronounced to be the
more than once about the Diamond, by those ravings of delirium, how could I contradict the
who recollect his angry outbreak before the assertion from my own knowledge ? Let our
assault ; but, as may easily be imagined, his own relatives, on either side, form their own opinion
remembrance of the circumstances under which on what I have written, and decide for them-
I surprised him in the armoury has been enough selves whether the aversion I now feel towards
to keep him silent. It is reported that he means this man is well or ill founded.
to exchange into another regiment, avowedly for Although I attach no sort of credit to the fan-
the purpose of separating himself from me. tastic Indian legend of the gem, I must acknow-
Whether this be true or not, I cannot prevail ledge, before I conclude, that I am influenced by
upon myself to become his accuser-and I think a certain superstition of my own in this matter.
with good reason. If I made the matter public, It is my conviction, or my delusion, no matter
I have no evidence but moral evidence to bring which, that crime brings its own fatality with it.
forward. I have not only no proof that he killed I am not only persuaded of Herncastle's guilt ;-
the two men at the door ; I cannot even declare I am even fanciful enough to believe that he will
that he killed the third man inside-for I cannot live to regret it, if he keeps the Diamond ; and
say that my own eyes saw the deed committed. that others will live to regret taking it from him,
It is true that I heard the dying Indian's words ; if he gives the Diamond away.

THE STORY

FIRST PERIOD

THE LOSS OF THE DIAMOND ( 1848)

The Events related by GABRIEL BETTEREDGE, House- Steward in the service of
JULIA, LADY VERINDER.

CHAPTER I Mr. Bruff and I together have hit on the right

way of telling it. "
IN the first part of " Robinson Crusoe," at page Very satisfactory to both of them, no doubt.
one hundred and twenty-nine, you will find it But I failed to see what I myself had to do
thus written : with it, so far.
" Now I saw, though too late, the Folly of "We have certain events to relate," Mr.
beginning a Work before we count the Cost, Franklin proceeded ; " and we have certain per-
and before we judge rightly of our own Strength sons concerned in those events who are capable
to go through with it." of relating them. Starting from these plain
Only yesterday I opened my " Robinson facts, the idea is that we should all write the
Crusoe " at that place. Only this morning story of the Moonstone in turn-as far as our
(May twenty-first, Eighteen hundred and fifty), own personal experience extends, and no farther.
came my lady's nephew, Mr. Franklin Blake, We must begin by showing how the Diamond
and held a short conversation with me, as first fell into the hands of my uncle Herncastle,
follows :- when he was serving in India fifty years since.
"Betteredge," says Mr. Franklin, "I have been This prefatory narrative I have already got by
to the lawyer's about some family matters ; and, me in the form of an old family paper, which
among other things, we have been talking of the relates the necessary particulars on the authority
loss of the Indian Diamond, in my aunt's house of an eye-witness. The next thing to do is to
in Yorkshire, two years since. Mr. Bruff thinks, tell how the Diamond found its way into my
as I think, that the whole story ought, in the aunt's house in Yorkshire, two years ago, and
interests of truth, to be placed on record in how it came to be lost in little more than twelve
writing-and the sooner the better." hours afterwards. Nobody knows as much as
Not perceiving his drift yet, and thinking it you do, Betteredge, about what went on in the
always desirable for the sake of peace and house at that time. So you must take the pen
quietness to be on the lawyer's side, I said I in hand, and start the story."
thought so too. Mr. Franklin went on. In those terms I was informed of what my
66
In this matter of the Diamond," he said, personal concern was with the matter of the
"the characters of innocent people have suffered Diamond. If you are curious to know what
under suspicion already-as you know. The course I took under the circumstances, I beg to
memories of innocent people may suffer, here- inform you that I did what you would probably
after, for want of a record of the facts to which have done in my place. I modestly declared
those who come after us can appeal. There can myself to be quite unequal to the task imposed
be no doubt that this strange family story of upon me-and I privately felt, all the time, that
ours ought to be told. And I think, Betteredge, I was quite clever enough to perform it , if I only
8 THE MOONSTONE

gave my own abilities a fair chance. Mr. Frank- | nothing to do with him, in this business of the
lin, I imagine, must have seen my private senti- Diamond ; he had the longest tongue and the
ments in my face. He declined to believe in my shortest temper of any man, high or low, I ever
modesty; and he insisted on giving my abilities met with)-I say, I went into the service of the
a fair chance. old lord, as page-boy in waiting on the three
Two hours have passed since Mr. Franklin honourable young ladies, at the age of fifteen
left me. As soon as his back was turned , I years. There I lived, till Miss Julia married the
went to my writing-desk to start the story. late Sir John Verinder. An excellent man, who
There I have sat helpless (in spite of my abilities) only wanted somebody to manage him ; and,
ever since ; seeing what Robinson Crusoe saw, between ourselves, he found somebody to do it ;
as quoted above- namely, the folly of beginning and what is more, he throve on it, and grew fat
a work before we count the cost, and before we on it, and lived happy and died easy on it, dating
judge rightly of our own strength to go through from the day when my lady took him to church
with it. Please to remember, I opened the book to be married, to the day when she relieved him
by accident, at that bit, only the day before I of his last breath, and closed his eyes for ever.
rashly undertook the business now in hand ; and, I have omitted to state that I went with the
allow me to ask-- if that isn't prophecy, what is ? bride to the bride's husband's house and lands
I am not superstitious ; I have read a heap of down here. "Sir John," she says, " I can't do
books in my time ; I am a scholar in my own without Gabriel Betteredge." "My lady," says
way. Though turned seventy, I possess an Sir John, " I can't do without him either. "
active memory, and legs to correspond. You That was his way with her—and that was how
are not to take it, if you please, as the saying I went into his service. It was all one to me
of an ignorant man, when I express my opinion where I went, so long as my mistress and I
that such a book as " Robinson Crusoe never were together.
was written, and never will be written again. Seeing that my lady took an interest in the
I have tried that book for years-generally in out-of-door work, and the farms, and such like,
combination with a pipe of tobacco -and I have I took an interest in them too- with all the more
found it my friend in need in all the necessities reason that I was a small farmer's seventh son
of this mortal life. When my spirits are bad- myself. My lady got me put under the bailiff,
" Robinson Crusoe." When I want advice- and I did my best, and gave satisfaction, and got
"Robinson Crusoe." In past times, when my promotion accordingly. Some years later, on
wife plagued me ; in present times, when I the Monday as it might be, my lady says, " Sir
have had a drop too much- " Robinson Crusoe." John, your bailiff is a stupid old man. Pension
I have worn out six stout " Robinson Crusoes " him liberally, and let Gabriel Betteredge have
with hard work in my service. On my lady's his place." On the Tuesday as it might be, Sir
last birthday she gave me a seventh. I took John says, " My lady, the bailiff is pensioned
a drop too much on the strength of it ; and liberally ; and Gabriel Betteredge has got his
"Robinson Crusoe " put me right again. Price place. " You hear more than enough of married
four shillings and sixpence, bound in blue, with people_living_together miserably. Here is an
a picture into the bargain. example to the contrary. Let it be a warning
Still, this don't look much like starting the to some of you, and an encouragement to others.
story of the Diamond- does it ? I seem to be In the meantime, I will go on with my story.
wandering off in search of Lord knows what, Well, there I was in clover, you will say.
Lord knows where. We will take a new sheet Placed in a position of trust and honour, with
of paper, if you please, and begin over again, a little cottage of my own to live in, with my
with my best respects to you. rounds on the estate to occupy me in the morn-
ing, and my accounts in the afternoon, and my
pipe and my " Robinson Crusoe " in the evening
CHAPTER II -what more could I possibly want to make me
happy ? Remember what Adam wanted when he
I SPOKE of my lady a line or two back. Now was alone in the Garden of Eden ; and if you
the Diamond could never have been in our house, don't blame it in Adam, don't blame it in me.
where it was lost, if it had not been made a The woman I fixed my eye on, was the woman
present of to my lady's daughter ; and my lady's who kept house for me at my cottage. Her name
daughter would never have been in existence to was Selina Goby. I agree with the late William
have the present, if it had not been for my lady Cobbett about picking a wife. Seethatshe chews
who (with pain and travail) produced her into her food well, and sets her foot down firmly on
the world. Consequently, if we begin with my the ground when she walks, and you're all right.
lady, we are pretty sure of beginning far enough Selina Goby was all right in both these respects,
back. And that, let me tell you, when you which was one reason for marrying her. I had
have got such a job as mine in hand, is a real another reason , likewise, entirely of my own dis-
comfort at starting. covering. Selina, being a single woman, made
Ifyou knowanything of the fashionable world, | me pay so much a week for her board and ser-
you have heard tell of the three beautiful Miss vices. Selina, being my wife, couldn't charge
Herncastles. Miss Adelaide, Miss Caroline, and for her board, and would have to give me her
Miss Julia this last being the youngest and the services for nothing. That was the point of view
best of the three sisters, in my opinion ; and I looked at it from. Economy- with a dash of
I had opportunities of judging, as you shall love. I put it to my mistress, as in duty bound,
presently see. I went into the service of the just as I had put it to myself.
66 have been turning
old lord, their father (thank God, we have got I Selina Goby over in my
 THE MOONSTONE

mind," I said, “ and I think, my lady, it will be waistcoat was not an honour, but a bribe. My
cheaper to marry her than to keep her." lady had discovered that I was getting old before
Mylady burst out laughing, and said she didn't I had discovered it myself, and she had come to
know which to be most shocked at mylanguage my cottage to wheedle me (if I may use such an
or my principles. Some joke tickled her, I sup- expression ) into giving up my hard out-of-door
pose, of the sort that you can't take unless you work as bailiff, and taking my ease for the rest
are a person of quality. Understanding nothing of my days as steward in the house. I made as
myself but that I was free to put it next to good a fight of it against the indignity of taking
Selina, I went and put it accordingly. And what my ease as I could. But my mistress knew the
did Selina say ? Lord ! how little you must weak side of me ; she put it as a favour to her-
know of women, if you ask that. Of course she self. The dispute between us ended, after that,
said, Yes. in my wiping my eyes, like an old fool, with
As my time drew nearer, and there got to be my new woollen waistcoat, and saying I would
talk of my having a new coat for the ceremony, think about it.
my mind began to misgive me. I have compared The perturbation in my mind, in regard to
notes with other men as to what they felt while thinking about it, being truly dreadful after my
they were in my interesting situation ; and they lady had gone away, I applied the remedy which
have all acknowledged that, about a week before I have never yet found to fail me in cases of
it happened, they privately wished themselves doubt and emergency. I smoked a pipe and
outof it. I went a trifle furtherthan that myself; took a turn at "Robinson Crusoe." Before I had
I actually rose up, as it were, and tried to get occupied myself with that extraordinary book
out of it. Not for nothing ! I was too just a five minutes, I came on a comforting bit (page
man to expect she would let me off for nothing . one hundred and fifty-eight), as follows : " To-
Compensation to the woman when the man gets day we love what to-morrow we hate." I saw
out of it, is one of the laws of England. In my way clear directly. To -day I was all for con-
obedience to the laws, and after turning it over tinuing to be farm-bailiff ; to-morrow, on the
carefully in my mind, I offered Selina Goby a authority of " Robinson Crusoe, " I should be all
feather-bed and fifty shillings to be off the bar- the other way. Take myself to-morrow while in
gain. You will hardly believe it, but it is never- to-morrow's humour, and the thing was done.
theless true-she was fool enough to refuse. My mind being relieved in this manner, I went
After that it was all over with me, of course. to sleep that night in the character of Lady
I got the new coat as cheap as I could , and I Verinder's farm-bailiff, and I woke up the next
went through all the rest of it as cheap as I morning in the character of Lady Verinder's
could. We were not a happy couple, and not house- steward. All quite comfortable, and all
a miserable couple. We were six of one and through " Robinson Crusoe !
half-a-dozen of the other. How it was I don't My daughter Penelope has just looked over my
understand, but we always seemed to be getting, shoulder to see what I have done so far. She
with the best of motives, in one another's way. remarks that it is beautifully written, and every
When I wanted to go upstairs, there was my word of it true. But she points out one objec-
wife coming down ; or when my wife wanted tion. She says what I have done so far isn't in
to go down, there was I coming up. That is the least what I was wanted to do. I am asked
married life according to my experience of it. to tell the story of the Diamond, and, instead of
After five years of misunderstandings on the that, I have been telling the story of my own self.
stairs, it pleased an all-wise Providence to re- Curious, and quite beyond me to account for.
lieve us of each other by taking my wife. II wonder whether the gentlemen who make a
was left with my little girl Penelope, and with business and a living out of writing books , ever
no other child. Shortly afterwards Sir John find their own selves getting in the way of their
died, and my lady was left with her little girl, subjects, like me ? If they do, I can feel for them.
Miss Rachel, and no other child . I have written In the meantime, here is another false start, and
to very poor purpose of my lady, if you require more waste of good writing paper. What's to be
to be told that my little Penelope was taken done now ? Nothing that I know of, except for
care of, under my good mistress's own eye, and you to keep your temper, and for me to begin it
was sent to school, and taught, and made a all over again for the third time.
sharp girl, and promoted, when old enough, to
be Miss Rachel's own maid.
As for me, I went on with my business as CHAPTER III
bailiff year after year up to Christmas 1847 , when
there came a change in my life. On that day, my THE question of how I amto start the story pro-
lady invited herself to a cup of tea alone with perly I have tried to settle in two ways. First,
me in my cottage. She remarked that, reckon- by scratching my head, which led to nothing.
ing from the year when I started as page-boy Second, by consulting my daughter Penelope,
in the time of the old lord, I had been more which has resulted in an entirely new idea.
than fifty years in her service, and she put into Penelope's notion is that I should set down
my hands a beautiful waistcoat of wool that what happened, regularly day by day, beginning
she had worked herself, to keep me warm in. with the day when we got the news that Mr.
the bitter winter weather. Franklin Blake was expected on a visit to the
I received this magnificent present quite at house. When you come to fix your memory with
a loss to find words to thank my mistress with a date in this way, it is wonderful what your
for the honour she had done me. To my great memory will pick up for you upon that compul-
astonishment, it turned out, however, that the sion. The only difficulty is to fetch out the dates,
ΙΟ THE MOONSTONE

in the first place. This Penelope offers to do for way. Master Franklin was taken from us in
me by looking into her own diary, which she was England, and was sent to institutions which his
taught to keepwhen she was at school, and which father could trust, in that superior country, Ger-
she has gone on keeping ever since. In answer many ; Mr. Blake himself, you will observe, re-
to an improvement on this notion, devised by maining snug in England, to improve his fellow-
myself, namely, that she should tell the story countrymen in the Parliament House, and to
instead of me, out of her own diary, Penelope publish a statement on the subject of the Duke
observes, with a fierce look and a red face, that in possession, which has remained an unfinished
her journal is for her own private eye, and that no statement from that day to this.
living creature shall ever know what is in it but There ! thank God , that's told ! Neither you
herself. When I inquire what this means, Pene- nor I need trouble our heads any more about
lope says, " Fiddlesticks ! " I say, Sweethearts. Mr. Blake, senior. Leave him to the Dukedom ;
Beginning, then, on Penelope's plan, I beg to and let you and I stick to the Diamond.
mention that I was specially called one Wed- The Diamond takes us back to Mr. Franklin,
nesday morning into my lady's own sitting- who was the innocent means of bringing that
room, the date being the twenty-fourth of May, unlucky jewel into the house.
Eighteen
66 hundred and forty-eight. Our nice boy didn't forget us after he went
Gabriel," says my lady, " here is news that abroad. He wrote every now and then ; some-
will surprise you. Franklin Blake has come back times to my lady, sometimes to Miss Rachel, and
from abroad. He has been staying with his sometimes to me. We had had a transaction
father in London, and he is coming to us to- together, before he left, which consisted in his
morrow to stop till next month, and keep borrowing of me a ball of string, a four-bladed
Rachel's birthday." knife, and seven-and-sixpence in money-the
If I had had a hat in my hand, nothing but colour of which last I have not seen, and never
respect would have prevented me from throwing expect to see again. His letters to me chiefly
that hat up to the ceiling. I had not seen Mr. related to borrowing more. I heard, however,
Franklin since he was a boy, living along with from my lady, how he got on abroad, as he grew
us in this house. He was, out of all sight (as I in years and stature. After he had learnt what
remembered him), the nicest boy that ever spun the institutions of Germany could teach him, he
a top or broke a window. Miss Rachel, who was gave the French a turn next, and the Italians
present, and to whom I made that remark, ob- a turn after that. They made him among them
served, in return, that she remembered him as a sort of universal genius, as well as I could
the most atrocious tyrant that ever tortured a understand it. He wrote a little ; he painted a
doll, and the hardest driver of an exhausted little little ; he sang and played and composed a little
girl in string harness that England could pro- borrowing, as I suspect, in all these cases, just
duce. "I burn with indignation, and I ache with as he had borrowed from me. His mother's
fatigue," was the way Miss Rachel summed it fortune (seven hundred a year) fell to him when
up, " when I think of Franklin Blake." he came of age, and ran through him, as it might
Hearing what I now tell you, you will naturally be through a sieve. The more money he had,
ask how it was that Mr. Franklin should have the more he wanted : there was a hole in Mr.
passed all the years, from the time when he was Franklin's pocket that nothing would sew up.
a boy to the time when he was a man, out of his Wherever he went, the lively, easy way of him
own country. I answer, because his father had made him welcome. He lived here, there, and
the misfortune to be next heir to a Dukedom, everywhere ; his address (as he used to put it
and not to be able to prove it. himself) being, " Post Office, Europe-to be left
Intwowords, thiswas howthe thinghappened : till called for. " Twice over, he made up his
My lady's eldest sister married the celebrated mind to come back to England and see us ; and
Mr. Blake-equally famous for his great riches, twice over (saving your presence), some unmen-
and his great suit at law. How many years he tionable woman stood in the way and stopped
went on worrying the tribunals of his country to him. His third attempt succeeded, as you know
turn out the Duke in possession, and to put him- alreadyfromwhat myladytold me. On Thursday
self in the Duke's place-how many lawyers ' the twenty-fifth of May, we were to see for the
purses he filled to bursting, and how many first time what our nice boy had grown to be as
otherwise harmless people he set by the ears to- a man. He came of good blood ; he had a high
gether disputing whether he was right or wrong courage ; and he was five-and-twenty years of
is more by a great deal than I can reckon up. age, by our reckoning. Now you know as much
His wife died, and two of his three children died, of Mr. Franklin Blake as did-before Mr.
before the tribunals could make up their minds Franklin Blake came down to our house.
to show him the door and take no more of his
money. When it was all over, and the Duke in The Thursday was as fine a summer's day
possession was left in possession, Mr. Blake dis- as ever you saw ; and my lady and Miss Rachel
covered that the only way of being even with his (not expecting Mr. Franklin till dinner-time)
country for the manner in which it had treated drove out to lunch with some friends in the
him, was not to let his country have the honour neighbourhood.
of educating his son. " How can I trust my When they were gone, I went and had a look
native institutions," was the form in which he at the bedroom which had been got ready for
put it, " after the way in which my native insti- our guest, and saw that all was straight. Then,
tutions have behaved to me ? " Add to this, that being butler in my lady's establishment, as well
Mr. Blake disliked all boys, his own included, as steward (at my own particular request, mind,
and you will admit that it could only end in one and because it vexed me to see anybody but
 THE MOONSTONE II

myself in possession of the key of the late Sir | the direction of our house. Then they jabbered
John's cellar)-then, I say, I fetched up some of and disputed in their own language, and looked
our famous Latour claret, and set it in the warm at each other like men in doubt. Then they all
summer air to take off the chill before dinner. turned to their little English boy, as if they ex-
Concluding to set myself in the warm summer pected him to help them. And then the chief
air next-seeing that what is good for old claret Indian, who spoke English, said to the boy,
is equally good for old age-I took up my bee- " Hold out your hand."
hive chair to go out into the back court, when I On hearing those dreadful words , my daughter
was stopped by hearing a sound like the soft Penelope said she didn't know what prevented
beating of a drum, on the terrace in front of my her heart from flying straight out of her. I
lady's residence. thought privately that it might have been her
Going round to the terrace, I found three stays. All I said, however, was, " You make
mahogany - coloured Indians, in white linen my flesh creep." (Nota bene : Women like these
frocks and trousers, looking up at the house. little compliments .)
The Indians, as I saw on looking closer, had Well, when the Indian said, " Hold out your
small hand- drums slung in front of them. hand," the boy shrunk back, and shook his head,
Behind them stood a little delicate - looking and said he didn't like it. The Indian, there-
light-haired English boy carrying a bag. I upon, asked him (not at all unkindly), whether
judged the fellows to be strolling conjurers, and he would like to be sent backto London, and left
the boy with the bag to be carrying the tools of where they had found him, sleeping in an empty
theirtrade. One of the three, who spoke English, basket in a market-a hungry, ragged, and for-
and who exhibited, I must own, the most elegant saken little boy. This, it seems, ended the diffi-
manners, presently informed me that my judg- culty. The little chap unwillingly held out his
ment was right. He requested permission to hand. Upon that, the Indian took a bottle from
show his tricks in the presence of the lady of his bosom, and poured out of it some black stuff,
the house. like ink, into the palm of the boy's hand. The
Now I am not a sour old man. I am generally Indian-first touching the boy's head, and mak-
all for amusement, and the last person in the ing signs over it in the air-then said, " Look."
world to distrust another person because he The boybecame quitestiff, andstood likea statue,
happens to be a few shades darker than myself. looking into the ink in the hollow of his hand.
But the best of us have our weaknesses-and my (So far, it seemed to me to be juggling, accom-
weakness, when I know a family plate-basket panied by a foolish waste of ink. I was begin-
to be out on a pantry table, is to be instantly ning to feel sleepy again, when Penelope's next
reminded of that basket by the sight of a stroll- words stirred me up.)
ing stranger whose manners are superior to The Indians looked up the road and down
my own. I accordingly informed the Indian the road once more-and then the chief Indian
that the lady of the house was out ; and I warned said these words to the boy : "See the English
him and his party off the premises. He made me gentleman from foreign parts."
a beautiful bow in return ; and he and his party The boy said, " I see him."
went off the premises. On my side, I returned The Indian said, " Is it on the road to this
to my beehive chair, and set myself down on the house, and on no other, that the English gentle-
sunny side of the court, and fell (if the truth man will travel to-day ? "
must be owned), not exactly into a sleep, but The boy said, " It is on the road to this house,
into the next best thing to it. and on no other, that the English gentleman
I was roused up by my daughter Penelope will travel to-day."
running out at me as if the house was on fire. The Indian put a second question- after wait-
What do you think she wanted ? She wanted to ing a little first. He said : " Has the English
have the three Indian jugglers instantly taken gentleman got It about him ? "
up; forthis reason, namely, that they knew who The boy answered- also, after waiting a little
was coming from London to visit us, and that first-" Yes. "
theymeant some mischief to Mr. Franklin Blake. The Indian put a third and last question :
Mr. Franklin's name roused me. I opened my "Will the English gentleman come here, as he
eyes, and made my girl explain herself. has promised to come, at the close of day ?"
It appeared that Penelope had just come from The boy said, " I can't tell."
our lodge, where she had been having a gossip The Indian asked why.
with the lodge-keeper's daughter. The two girls The boy said, " I am tired. The mist rises in
had seen the Indians pass out, after I had my head, and puzzles me. I can see no more
warned them off, followed by their little boy. to-day.'
Taking it into their heads that the boy was ill- With that, the catechism ended. The chief
used by the foreigners- for no reason that I Indian said something in his own language to
could discover, except that he was pretty and the other two, pointing to the boy, and pointing
delicate-looking-the two girls had stolen along towards the town, in which (as we afterwards
the inner side of the hedge between us and the discovered) they were lodged. He then, after
road, and had watched the proceedings of the making more signs on the boy's head, blew on
foreigners on the outer side. Those proceedings his forehead, and so woke him up with a start.
resulted in the performance of the following After that, they all went on their way towards
extraordinary tricks. the town, and the girls saw them no more.
They first looked up the road, and down the Most things they say have a moral, if you only
road, and made sure that they were alone. Then look for it. What was the moral of this ?
they all three faced about, and stared hard in The moral was, as I thought : First, that the
12 THE MOONSTONE

chief juggler had heard Mr. Franklin's arrival | asked me to let her by, that she had a sulky face
talked of among the servants out-of-doors, and —a thing which, as head of the servants, I never
saw his way to making a little money by it. allow, on principle, to pass me without inquiry.
Second, that he and his men and boy (with a "What are you turning your back on your
66 What's
view to making the said money) meant to hang dinner for ? " I asked. wrong now,
about till they saw my lady drive home, and then Nancy ?"
to come back, and foretell Mr. Franklin's arrival Nancy tried to push by, without answering ;
by magic. Third, that Penelope had heard them upon which I rose up, and took her by the ear.
rehearsing their hocus-pocus, like actors rehears- She is a nice plump young lass, and it is cus-
ing a play. Fourth, that I should do well to have tomary with me to adopt that manner of show-
an eye, that evening, on the plate-basket. Fifth, ing that I personally approve of a girl.
that Penelope would do well to cool down, and " What's wrong now ?" I said once more.
leave me, her father, to doze off again in the sun. "Rosanna'slate again fordinner," says Nancy.
That appeared to me to be the sensible view. " And I'm sent to fetch her in. All the hard
If you know anything of the ways of young work falls on my shoulders in this house. Let
women, you won't be surprised to hear that me alone, Mr. Betteredge ! "
Penelope wouldn't take it. The moral of the The person here mentioned as Rosanna was
thing was serious, according to my daughter. our second housemaid. Having a kind of pity
She particularly reminded me of the Indian's for our second housemaid (why, you shall pre-
third question, Has the English gentleman got sently know), and seeing in Nancy's face that she
It about him ? " Oh, father ! " says Penelope, would fetch her fellow-servant in with morehard
clasping her hands, 66'don't joke about this ! words than might be needful under the circum-
What does ' It ' mean ?" stances, it struck me that I had nothing par-
" We'll ask Mr. Franklin, my dear," "" I said, " if
ticular to do, and that I might as well fetch
you can wait till Mr. Franklin comes.' I winked Rosanna myself ; giving her a hint to be punc-
to show I meant that in joke. Penelope took it tual in future, which I knew she would take
quite seriously. My girl's earnestness tickled kindly from me.
me. " What on earth should Mr. Franklin "Where is Rosanna ? " I inquired.
know about it ? " I inquired. " Ask him ," says " At the sands, of course ! " says Nancy, with
Penelope. "And see whether he thinks it a a toss of her head. " She had another of her
laughing matter, too. " With that parting shot, fainting fits this morning, and she asked to go
my daughter left me. out and get a breath of fresh air. I have no
I settled it with myself, when she was gone, patience
66 with her ! "
that I really would ask Mr. Franklin-mainly to Go back to your dinner, my girl," I said. " I
set Penelope's mind at rest. What was said be- have patience with her, and I'll fetch her in. ”
tween us, when I did ask him, later on that same Nancy (who has afine appetite) looked pleased.
day, you will find set out fully in its proper place.
When she looks pleased, she looks nice. When
But as I don't wish to raise your expectations she looks nice, I chuck her under the chin. It
and then disappoint them, I will take leave to isn't immorality-it's only habit.
warn you here before we go any further- that Well, I took my stick, and set off for the sands.
you won't find the ghost of a joke in our con- No ! it won't do to set off yet. I am sorry
versation on the subject of the jugglers. To my again to detain you ; but you really must hear
great surprise, Mr. Franklin, like Penelope, took the story of the sands, and the story of Rosanna
the thing seriously. How seriously, you will for this reason, that the matterof the Diamond
understand, when I tell you that, in his opinion, touches them both nearly. How hard I try to
"It" meant the Moonstone. get on with my statement without stopping by
the way, and how badly I succeed ! But, there !
-Persons and Things do turn up so vexatiously
CHAPTER IV in this life, and will in a manner insist on being
noticed. Let us take it easy, and let us take it
I AM truly sorry to detain you over me and my short ; we shall be in the thick of the mystery
beehive chair. A sleepy old man, in a sunny soon, I promise you !
back yard, is not an interesting object, I am Rosanna (to put the Person before the Thing,
well aware . But things must be put down in which is but common politeness) was the only
their places, as things actually happened-and new servant in our house. About four months
you must please to jog on a little while longer before the time I am writing of, my lady had
with me, in expectation of Mr. Franklin Blake's been in London, and had gone over a Reforma-
arrival later in the day. tory, intended to save forlorn women from drift-
Before I had time to doze off again, after my ing back into bad ways, after they had got.
daughter Penelope had left me, I was disturbed released from prison. The matron, seeing my
by a rattling of plates and dishes in the servants' lady took an interest in the place, pointed out a
hall, which meant that dinner was ready. Taking girl to her, named Rosanna Spearman, and told
my own meals in my own sitting-room, I had her a most miserable story, which I haven't the
nothing to do with the servants' dinner, except heart to repeat here ; for I don't like to be made
to wish them a good stomach to it all round pre- wretched without any use, and no more do you.
vioustocomposing myself once more in my chair. The upshot of it was, that Rosanna Spearman
I was just stretching my legs, when out bounced had been a thief, and not being of the sort that
another woman on me. Not my daughter again ; get up Companies in the City, and rob from thou-
only Nancy, the kitchen-maid, this time. I was sands, instead of only robbing from one, the law
straight in her way out ; and I observed, as she laid hold of her, and the prison and the reforma-
 THE MOONSTONE 13
tory followed the lead of the law. The matron's The sand-hills here run down to the sea, and
opinion of Rosanna was (in spite of what she had end in two spits of rock jutting out opposite each
done) that the girl was one in a thousand, and other, till you lose sight of them in the water.
that she only wanted a chance to prove herself | One is called the North Spit, and one the South.
worthy of any Christian woman's interest in her. Between the two, shifting backwards and for-
My lady (being a Christian woman, if ever there wards at certain seasons of theyear, lies the most
was one yet) said to the matron, upon that, horrible quicksand on the shores of Yorkshire.
" Rosanna Spearman shall have her chance, in At the turn of the tide, something goes on in the
my service." In a week afterwards, Rosanna unknown deeps below, which sets the whole face
Spearman entered this establishment as our of the quicksand shivering and trembling in a
second housemaid. manner most remarkable to see, and which has
Not a soul was told the girl's story, excepting given to it, among the people in our parts, the
Miss Rachel and me. My lady, doing me the name of the Shivering Sand. A great bank, half
honour to consult me about most things, con- a mile out, nigh the mouth of the bay, breaks
sulted me about Rosanna. Having fallen a good the force of the main ocean coming in from the
deal latterly into the late Sir John's way of offing. Winter and summer, when the tide flows
always agreeing with my lady, I agreed with over the quicksand, the sea seems to leave the
her heartily about Rosanna Spearman. waves behind it on the bank, and rolls its waters
A fairer chance no girl could have had than in smoothly with a heave, and covers the sand
was given to this poor girl of ours. None of the in silence. A lonesome and a horrid retreat, I
servants could cast her past life in her teeth, for can tell you ! No boat ever ventures into this
none of the servants knew what it had been. She bay. No children from our fishing-village, called
had her wages and her privileges, like the rest of Cobb's Hole, ever come here to play. The very
them ; and every now and then a friendly word birds of the air, as it seems to me, give the Shiver-
from my lady, in private, to encourage her. In ing Sand a wide berth. That a young woman,
return, she showed herself, I am bound to say, with dozens of nice walks to choose from, and
well worthy of the kind treatment bestowed company to go with her, if she only said " Come ! "
upon her. Though far from strong, and troubled should prefer this place, and should sit and work
occasionally with those fainting fits already men- or read in it, all alone, when it's her turn out,
tioned, she went about her work modestly grant you, passes belief. It's true, nevertheless,
and uncomplainingly, doing it carefully, and account for it as you may, that this was Rosanna
doing it well. But, somehow, she failed to Spearman's favourite walk, except when she went
make friends among the other women ser- once or twice to Cobb's Hole, to see the only
vants, excepting my daughter Penelope, who was friend she had in our neighbourhood, of whom
always kind to Rosanna, though never intimate more anon. It's also true that I was now setting
with her. out for this same place, to fetch the girl in to
I hardly knowwhat the girl did to offendthem. dinner, which brings us round happily to our
There was certainly no beauty about her to make former point, and starts us fair again on our
the others envious ; she was the plainest woman way to the sands.
in the house, with the additional misfortune I saw no sign of the girl in the plantation.
of having one shoulder bigger than the other. When I got out, through the sand hills, on to the
What the servants chiefly resented, I think, was beach, there she was, in her little straw bonnet,
her silent tongue and her solitary ways. She and her plain grey cloak that she always wore
read or worked in leisure hours when the rest to hide her deformed shoulder as much as might
gossiped. And when it came to her turn to go be-there she was, all alone, looking out on the
out, nine times out of ten she quietly put on her quicksand and the sea.
bonnet, and had her turn by herself. She never She started when I came up with her, and
quarrelled, she never took offence ; she only kept turned her head away from me. Not looking
a certain distance, obstinately and civilly, be- me in the face being another of the proceedings
tween the rest of them and herself. Add to which, as head of the servants, I never allow, on
this that, plain as she was, there was just a dash principle, to pass without inquiry-I turned her
of something that wasn't like a housemaid, and round my way, and saw that she was crying.
that was like a lady, about her. It might have My bandanna handkerchief- one of six beauties
been in her voice, or it might have been in her given to me by my lady-was handy inmy pocket.
face. All I can say is, that the other women I took it out, and I said to Rosanna, “ Come and
pounced on it like lightning the first day she sit down, my dear, onthe slope of the beach along
cameintothe house, and said (which wasmostun- with me. I'll dry your eyes for you first, and
just) that Rosanna Spearman gave herself airs. then I'll make so bold as to ask what you have
Having now told the story of Rosanna, I have been crying about."
only to notice one of the many queer ways of When you come to my age, you will find sitting
this strange girl to get on next to the story of down on the slope of a beach a much longer job
the sands. than you think it now. By the time I was settled,
Our house is high up on the Yorkshire coast, Rosanna had dried her own eyes with a very
and close by the sea. We have got beautiful inferior handkerchief to mine-cheap cambric.
walks all round us, in every direction but one. She looked very quiet, and very wretched ; but
That one I acknowledge to be a horrid walk. It she sat down by me like a good girl, when I told
leads, for a quarter of a mile, through a melan- her. When you want to comfort a woman bythe
choly plantation of firs, and brings you out be- shortest way, take her on your knee. I thought
tween low cliffs on the loneliest and ugliest little of this golden rule. But there ! Rosanna wasn't
bay on all our coast. Nancy, and that's the truth of it !
14 THE MOONSTONE

"Now, tell me, my dear," I said, " what are I try to deserve your kindness, and my lady's con-
you crying about ? "" fidencein me. But I wonder sometimeswhether
"About the years that are gone, Mr. Better- the life here is too quiet and too good for such
edge," says Rosanna quietly. " My past life a woman as I am, after all I have gone through,
still comes back to me sometimes." Mr. Betteredge -after all I have gone through.
66
Come, come, my girl," I said, " your past life It's more lonely to me to be among the other
is all sponged out. Why can't you forget it servants, knowing I am not what they are, than
She took me by one of the lappets of my coat. it is to be here. My lady doesn't know, the
I am a slovenly old man, and a good deal of my matron at the reformatory doesn't know, what
meat and drink gets splashed about on my a dreadful reproach honest people are in them-
clothes. Sometimes one of the women, and selves to a woman like me. Don't scold me,
sometimes another, cleans me of my grease. there's a dear good man. I do my work, don't
The day before, Rosanna had taken out a spot I ? Please not to tell my lady I am discontented
for me on the lappet of my coat, with a new I am not. My mind's unquiet, sometimes,
composition, warranted to remove anything. that's all." She snatched her hand off my
The grease was gone, but there was a little shoulder, and suddenly pointed down to the
dull place left on the nap of the cloth where quicksand. "Look ! " she said. " Isn't it won-
the grease had been. The girl pointed to that derful ? isn't it terrible ? I have seen it dozens
place, and shook her head. of times, and it's always as new to me as if I
"The stain is taken off," she said. " But the had never seen it before ! "
place shows, Mr. Betteredge-the place shows !" I looked where she pointed. The tide was on
A remark which takes a man unawares by the turn, and the horrid sand began to shiver.
means of his own coat is not an easy remark to The broad brown face of it heaved slowly, and
answer. Something in the girl herself, too, then dimpled and quivered all over. " Do you
made me particularly sorry for her just then. know what it looks like to me? " says Rosanna,
She had nice brown eyes, plain as she was in catching me by the shoulder again. " It looks
other ways -and she looked at me with a sort as if it had hundreds of suffocating people under
of respect for my happy old age and my good it-all struggling to get to the surface, and all
character, as things for ever out of her own sinking lower and lower in the dreadful deeps !
reach, which made my heart heavy for our Throw a stone in, Mr. Betteredge ! Throw a
second housemaid. Not feeling myself able to stone in, and let's see the sand suck it down ! "
comfort her, there was only one other thing to Here was unwholesome talk ! Here was an
do. That thing was-to take her in to dinner. empty stomach feeding on an unquiet mind !
"Help me up," I said. " You're late for dinner, My answer- a pretty sharp one, in the poor
Rosanna-and I have come to fetch you in." girl's own interests, I promise you !-was at my
66
You, Mr. Betteredge ! " says she.
"6"They tongue's end, when it was snapped short off on
told Nancy to fetch you," I said. a sudden by a voice among the sandhills shout.
"But I thought you might like your scolding ing for me by my name. " Betteredge ! " cries
better, my dear, if it came from me." the voice, " where are you ? " " Here !" I
Instead of helping me up, the poor thing stole shouted out in return, without a notion in my
her hand into mine, and gave it a little squeeze. mind of who it was. Rosanna started to her
She tried hard to keep from crying again, and feet, and stood looking towards the voice. I
succeeded for which I respected her. "You're was just thinking of getting on my own legs
very kind, Mr. Betteredge," she said. " I don't next, when I was staggered by a sudden change
want any dinner to-day- let me bide a little in the girl's face.
longer here." Her complexion turned of a beautiful red,
"What makes you like to be here ? " I asked. which I had never seen in it before ; she bright-
" What is it that brings you everlastingly to ened all over with a kind of speechless and
this miserable place ?" breathless surprise. " Who is it ? " I asked.
66
Something draws me to it," says the girl, Rosanna gave me back my own question. "Oh!
making images with her finger in the sand. " I who is it?" she said softly, more to herself than
try to keep away from it, and I can't. Some- to me. I twisted round on the sand, and looked
times," says she, in a low voice, as if she was behind me. There, coming out on us from
frightened at her own fancy, " sometimes, Mr. among the hills, was a bright - eyed young
Betteredge, I think that my grave is waiting gentleman, dressed in a beautiful fawn -coloured
for me here." suit, with gloves and hat to match, with a rose
" There's roast mutton and suet - pudding in his button-hole, and a smile on his face that
waiting for you ! " says I. "Go in to dinner might have set the Shivering Sand itself smiling
directly. This is what comes, Rosanna, of at him in return. Before I could get on my
thinking on an empty stomach ! " I spoke legs , he plumped down on the sand by the side
severely, being naturally indignant (at my time of me, put his arm round my neck foreign
of life) to hear a young woman of five-and- fashion, and gave me a hug that fairly squeezed
twenty talking about her latter end ! the breath out of my body. "Dear old Better-
She didn't seem to hear me : she put her edge ! " says he. " I owe you seven-and - six-
hand on my shoulder, and kept me where I pence. Now, do you know who I am ? "
was, sitting by her side. Lord bless us and save us ! Here - four
"I think the place has laid a spell on me," she good hours before we expected him- was Mr.
said. " I dream of it night after night ; I think Franklin Blake !
of it when I sit stitching at my work. You Before I could say a word, I saw Mr. Franklin,
know I am grateful, Mr. Betteredge-you know a little surprised to all appearance, look up from
 THE MOONSTONE -15

me to Rosanna. Following his lead, I looked at | watched in London, for the last three or four
the girl too. She was blushing of a deeper red days ; and I have travelled by the morning in-
than ever, seeminglyat having caught Mr.Frank- stead of the afternoon train, because I wanted to
lin's eye ; and she turned and left us suddenly, give a certain dark-looking stranger the slip."
in a confusion quite unaccountable to my mind, Those words did more than surprise me. They
without either making her curtsey to the gentle- brought back to my mind, in a flash, the three
man or saying a word to me. Very unlike her jugglers, and Penelope's notion that they meant
usual self: a civiller and better-behaved servant, some mischief to Mr. Franklin Blake.
in general, you never met with. "Who's watching you, sir, -and why ? I
" That's an odd girl," says Mr. Franklin. " I inquired.
wonder what she sees in me to surprise her ? " " Tell me about the three Indians you have
" I suppose, sir," I answered, drolling on our had at the house to-day," says Mr. Franklin,
young gentleman's Continental education, " it's without noticing my question. " It's just pos-
the varnish from foreign parts." sible, Betteredge, that my stranger and your
I set down here Mr. Franklin's careless ques- three jugglers "" may turn out to be pieces of the
tion, and my foolish answer, as a consolation and same puzzle.
encouragement to all stupid people-it being, "How do you come to know about thejugglers,
as I have remarked, a great satisfaction to our sir ? " I asked, putting one question on the top
inferior fellow-creatures to find that their bet- of another, which was bad manners, I own. But
ters are, on occasions, no brighter than they are. you don't expect much from poor human nature
Neither Mr. Franklin, with his wonderful foreign -so don't expect much from me.
training, nor I, with my age, experience, and " I saw Penelope at the house," says Mr.
natural mother-wit, had the ghost of an idea of Franklin ; " and Penelope told me. Your
what Rosanna Spearman's unaccountable beha- | daughter promised to be a pretty girl, Better-
viour really meant. She was out of our thoughts, edge, and she has kept her promise. Penelope
poor soul, before we had seen the last flutter of has got a small ear and a small foot. Did the
her little grey cloak among the sandhills. And late Mrs. Betteredge possess those inestimable
what of that ? you will ask, naturally enough. advantages ? " ?
Read on, good friend, as patiently as you can, and " The late Mrs. Betteredge possessed a good
perhaps you will be as sorry for Rosanna Spear- many defects, sir, " says I. "One of them (if
man as I was, when I found out the truth. you will pardon my mentioning it ) was never
keeping to the matter in hand. She was more
like a fly than
"" a woman : she couldn't settle on
CHAPTER V anything.'
" She would just have suited me," says Mr.
THE first thing I did, after we were left together Franklin. "I never settle on anything either.
alone, was to make a third attempt to get up from Betteredge, your edge is better than ever. Your
my seat on the sand. Mr. Franklin stopped me. daughter said as much, when I asked for parti-
" There is one advantage about this horrid culars about the jugglers. Father will tell you ,
place," he said ; " we have got it all to ourselves. sir. He's a wonderful man for his age ; and he
Stay where you are, Betteredge ; I have some expresses himself beautifully. ' Penelope's own
thing to say to you." words- blushing divinely. Not even my respect
While he was speaking, I was looking at him, for you prevented me from- never mind ; I knew
and trying to see something of the boy I re- her when she was a child , and she's none the
membered, in the man before me. The man put worse for it. Let's be serious. What did the
me out. Look as I might, I could see no more jugglers do ? "
of his boy's rosy cheeks than of his boy's trim I was something dissatisfied with my daughter
little jacket. His complexion had got pale : his not for letting Mr. Franklin kiss her ; Mr.
face, at the lower part, was covered, to my great Franklin was welcome to that--but for forcing
surprise and disappointment, with a curly brown me to tell her foolish story at second-hand.
beard and mustachios. He had a lively touch- However, there was no help for it now but to
and-go way with him, very pleasant and en- mention the circumstances. Mr. Franklin's
gaging, I admit ; but nothing to compare with merriment all died away as I went on. He sat
his free-and-easy manners of other times. To knitting his eyebrows, and twisting his beard.
make matters worse, he had promised to be tall, When I had done, he repeated after me two of
and had not kept his promise. He was neat, the questions which the chief juggler had put to
and slim, and well made ; but he wasn't by an the boy-seemingly for the purpose of fixing
inch or two up to the middle height. In short, them well in his mind.
he baffled me altogether. The years that had " Is it on the road to this house, and on no
passed had left nothing of his old self, except other, that the English gentleman will travel to-
the bright, straightforward look in his eyes. day ?' ' Has the English gentleman got It about
There I found our nice boy again, and there I him ?' I suspect," says Mr. Franklin, pulling a
concluded to stop in my investigation. little sealed paper parcel out of his pocket, " that
"Welcome back to the old place, Mr. Frank- ' It ' means this. And this,' Betteredge, means
lin," I said. " All the more welcome, sir, that my uncle Herncastle's famous Diamond."
you have come some hours before we expected " Good Lord, sir ! " I broke out, "how do you
you. " come to be in charge of the wicked Colonel's
"I have a reason for coming before you ex- Diamond ? ".
pected me," answered Mr. Franklin. " I sus " The wicked Colonel's will has left his
pect, Betteredge, that I have been followed and Diamond as a birthday present to my cousin
16 THE MOONSTONE

Rachel," says Mr. Franklin. " And my father, he changed into another regiment, and, in course
as the wicked Colonel's executor, has given it in of time, changed again into a third. In the third
charge to me to bring down here." he got his last step as lieutenant-colonel, and,
If the sea, then oozing in smoothly over the getting that, got also a sunstroke, and came
Shivering Sand, had been changed into dry land home to England.
before my own eyes, I doubt if I could have been He came back with a character that closed
more surprised than I was when Mr. Franklin the doors of all his family against him, my lady
spoke those words. (then just married) taking the lead, and declar-
"The Colonel's Diamond left to Miss Rachel !" ing (with Sir John's approval, of course), that
says I. 66 And your father, sir, the Colonel's her brother should never enter any house of hers.
executor ! Why, I would have laid any bet you There was more than one slur on the Colonel
like, Mr. Franklin, that your father wouldn't have that made people shy of him ; but the blot of
touched the Colonel with a pair of tongs ! " the Diamond is all I need mention here.
(6 Strong language, Betteredge ! What was It was said he had got possession of his Indian
there against the Colonel ? He belonged to your jewel by means which, bold as he was, he didn't
time, not to mine. Tell me what you know about dare acknowledge. He never attempted to sell
him , and I'll tell you how my father came to be it-not being in need of money, and not (to give
his executor, and more besides. I have made him his due again) making money an object.
some discoveries in London about my uncle He never gave it away ; he never even showed
Herncastle and his Diamond , which have rather it to any living soul. Some said he was afraid
an ugly look to my eyes ; and I want you to con- of its getting him into a difficulty with the
firm them. You called him the ' wicked Colonel ' military authorities ; others (very ignorant in-
just now. Search your memory, my old friend , deed of the real nature of the man) said he was
and tell me why." afraid, if he showed it, of its costing him his life.
I saw he was in earnest, and I told him. There was perhaps a grain of truth mixed up
Here follows the substance of what I said, with this last report. It was false to say that
written out entirely for your benefit. Pay atten- he was afraid ; but it was a fact that his life
tion to it, or you will be all abroad, when we get had been twice threatened in India ; and it was
deeper into the story. Clear your mind of the firmly believed that the Moonstone was at the
children, or the dinner, or the new bonnet, or bottom of it. When he came back to England,
what not. Try if you can't forget politics, horses, and found himself avoided by everybody, the
prices in the City, and grievances at the club. I Moonstone was thought to be at the bottom of
hope you won't take this freedom on my part it again. The mystery of the Colonel's life got
amiss ; it's only a way I have of appealing to the in the Colonel's way, and outlawed him, as you
gentle reader. Lord ! haven't I seen you with may say, among his own people. The men
the greatest authors in your hands, and don't I wouldn't let him into their clubs ; the women
know how ready your attention is to wander more than one- whom he wanted to marry,
when it's a book that asks for it, instead of a refused him ; friends and relations got too near-
person ? sighted to see him in the street.
Some men in this mess would have tried to set
I spoke, a little way back, of my lady's father, themselves right with the world. But to give
the old lord with the short temper and the long in, even when he was wrong, and had all society
tongue. He had five children in all. Two sons against him, was not the way of the Honourable
to begin with ; then, after a long time, his wife John. He had kept the Diamond, in flat defi-
broke out breeding again, and the three young ance of assassination, in India. He kept the
ladies came briskly one after the other, as fast Diamond, in flat defiance of public opinion, in
as the nature of things would permit ; my mis- England. There you have the portrait of the
tress, as before mentioned, being the youngest man before you, as in a picture : a character
and best of the three. Ofthe two sons, the eldest, that braved everything ; and a face, handsome
Arthur, inherited the title and estates. The as it was, that looked possessed by the devil.
second, the Honourable John, got a fine fortune We heard different rumours about him from
left him by a relative, and went into the army. time to time. Sometimes they said he was given
It's an ill bird, they say, that fouls its own up to smoking opium and collecting old books ;
nest. I look on the noble family of the Hern- sometimes he was reported to be trying strange
castles as being my nest ; and I shall take it as things in chemistry ; sometimes he was seen
a favour if I am not expected to enter into par- carousing and amusing himself among the
ticulars on the subject of the Honourable John. lowest people in the lowest slums of London.
He was, I honestly believe, one of the greatest Anyhow, a solitary, vicious, underground life
blackguards that ever lived. I can hardly say was the life the Colonel led. Once, and once
more orless for him than that. He went into the only, after his return to England, I myself
army, beginning in the Guards. He had to leave saw him, face to face.
the Guards before he was two-and-twenty- About two years before the time of which I
never mind why. They are very strict in the am now writing, and about a year and a half
army, and they were too strict for the Honour- before the time of his death, the Colonel came
able John. He went out to India to see whether unexpectedly to my lady's house in London. It
they were equally strict there, and to try a little was the night of Miss Rachel's birthday, the
active service. In the matter of bravery (to give twenty-first of June ; and there was a party in
him his due), he was a mixture of bull-dog and honour of it, as usual. I received a message
game-cock, with a dash of the savage. He was from the footman to say that a gentleman
at the taking of Seringapatam. Soon afterwards wanted to see me. Going up into the hall, there
 THE MOONstone 17

I found the Colonel, wasted , and worn, and old, | didn't acknowledge it, I saw that I had made
and shabby, and as wild and as wicked as ever. him uneasy, plainly enough, in his face.
" Go up to my sister," says he ; " and say You have said your say, Betteredge, " he re-
that I have called to wish my niece many happy marked. " It's my turn now. Before, however, I
returns of the day." tell you what discoveries I have made in London,
He had made attempts by letter, more than and how I came to be mixed up in this matter of
once already, to be reconciled with my lady, for the Diamond, I want to know one thing. You
no other purpose, I am firmly persuaded, than look, my old friend, as if you didn't quite under-
to annoy her. But this was the first time he had stand the object to be answered by this con-
actually come to the house. I had it on the tip sultation of ours. Do your looks belie you ? "
of my tongue to say that my mistress had a party " No, sir,” I said. "My looks, on this occa-
that night. But the devilish look of him daunted sion at any rate, tell the truth."
me. I went upstairs with his message, and left "In that case," says Mr. Franklin, " suppose
him, by his own desire, waiting in the hall. I put you up to my point of view, before we go
The servants stood staring at him, at a distance, any further. I see three very serious questions
as if he was a walking engine of destruction, involved in the Colonel's birthday gift to my
loaded with powder and shot, and likely to go cousin Rachel. Follow me carefully, Better-
off among them at a moment's notice. edge ; and count me off on your fingers, if it
My lady had a dash- no more-of the family will help you," says Mr. Franklin, with a certain
temper. " Tell Colonel Herncastle," she said, pleasure in showing how clear-headed he could
when I gave her her brother's message, " that be, which reminded me"" wonderfully of old times
Miss Verinder is engaged, and that I decline to when he was a boy. Question the first : Was
see him." I tried to plead for a civiller answer the Colonel's Diamond the object of a con-
than that ; knowing the Colonel's constitutional spiracy in India ? Question the second : Has
superiority to the restraints which govern gen- the conspiracy followed the Colonel's Diamond
tlemen in general. Quite useless ! The family to England ? Question the third : Did the
temper flashed out at me directly. " When I Colonel know the conspiracy followed the Dia-
want your advice," says my lady, " you know mond ; and has he purposely left a legacy of
that I always ask for it. I don't ask for it trouble and danger to his sister, through the
now . "" I went downstairs with the message, innocent medium of his sister's child ? That is
of which I took the liberty of presenting a new what I am driving at, Betteredge. Don't let
and amended edition of my own contriving, as me frighten you. "
follows : " My lady and Miss Rachel regret that It was all very well to say that, but he had
they are engaged, Colonel ; and beg to be ex- frightened me.
cused having the honour of seeing you." If he was right, here was our quiet English
I expected him to break out, even at that house suddenly invaded by a devilish Indian
polite way of putting it. To my surprise he did | Diamond- bringing after it a conspiracy of
nothing of the sort ; he alarmed me by taking living rogues, set loose on us by the vengeance
the thing with an unnatural quiet. His eyes, of of a dead man. There was our situation, as
a glittering bright grey, just settled on me for revealed to me in Mr. Franklin's last words !
a moment ; and he laughed, not out of himself, Whoever heard the like of it - in the nine-
like other people, but into himself, in a soft, teenth century, mind ; in an age of progress,
chuckling, horridly mischievous way. " Thank and in a country which rejoices in the blessings
you, Betteredge,” he said. " I shall remember of the British constitution ? Nobody ever heard
my niece's birthday." With that, he turned on the like of it, and, consequently, nobody can be
his heel, and walked out of the house. expected to believe it. I shall go on with my
The next birthday came round, and we heard story, however, in spite of that.
he was ill in bed. Six months afterwards-that When you get a sudden alarm, of the sort that
is to say, six months before the time I am now I had got now, nine times out of ten the place
writing of-there came a letter from a highly you feel it in is your stomach. When you feel it
respectable clergyman to my lady. It com- in your stomach, your attention wanders, and
municated two wonderful things in the way of you begin to fidget. I fidgeted silently in my
family news. First, that the Colonel had for- place on the sand. Mr. Franklin noticed me,
given his sister on his death-bed. Second, that contending with a perturbed stomach or mind
he had forgiven everybody else, and had made which you please; they mean the same thing
a most edifying end. I have myself (in spite of and, checking himself just as he was starting
the bishops and the clergy) an unfeigned respect with his part of the story, said to me sharply,
for the Church ; but I am firmly persuaded, at "What do you want ? "
the same time, that the devil remained in un- What did I want ? I didn't tell him ; but I'll
disturbed possession of the Honourable John, tell you, in confidence. I wanted a whiff of my
and that the last abominable act in the life of pipe, and a turn at " Robinson Crusoe."
that abominable man was (saving your presence)
to take the clergyman in !
This was the sum-total of what I had to tell CHAPTER VI
Mr. Franklin. I remarked that he listened more
and more eagerly the longer I went on. Also, KEEPING my private sentiments to myself, I
that the story of the Colonel being sent away respectfully requested Mr. Franklin to go on.
from his sister's door, on the occasion of his Mr. Franklin replied, "Don't fidget, Betteredge,"
niece's birthday, seemed to strike Mr. Franklin and went on.
like a shot that had hit the mark. Though he Our young gentleman's first words informed
18 THE MOONSTONE

me that his discoveries, concerning the wicked " Do ?" says Mr. Franklin. "I'll tell you
Colonel and the Diamond, had begun with a what he did. He brought the invaluable faculty,
visit which he had paid (before he came to us) called common sense, to bear on the Colonel's
to the family lawyer, at Hampstead. A chance letter. The whole thing, he declared, was simply
word dropped by Mr. Franklin, when the two absurd. Somewhere in his Indian wanderings,
were alone, one day, after dinner, revealed that the Colonel had picked up with some wretched
he had been charged by his father with a birth- crystal which he took for a diamond. As for the
day present to be taken to Miss Rachel. One danger of his being murdered, and the precau-
thing led to another ; and it ended in the lawyer tions devised to preserve his life and his piece of
mentioning what the present really was, and crystal, this was the nineteenth century, and any
how the friendly connection between the late man in his senses had only to apply to the police.
Colonel and Mr. Blake, senior, had taken its The Colonel had been a notorious opium-eater
rise. The facts here are really so extraordinary, for years past ; and, if the only way of getting
that I doubt if I can trust my own language to at the valuable papers he possessed was by ac-
do justice to them. I prefer trying to report cepting a matter of opium as a matter of fact,
Mr Franklin's discoveries, as nearly as may be, myfather was quite willing to take the ridiculous
in Mr. Franklin's own words. responsibility imposed on him—all the more
"You remember the time, Betteredge," he readily that it involved no trouble to himself.
said, "when my father was trying to prove his The Diamond and the sealed instructions went
title to that unlucky Dukedom ? Well ! that into his banker's strong-room, and the Colonel's
was also the time when my uncle Herncastle letters, periodically reporting him a living man,
returned from India. My father discovered were received and opened by our family lawyer,
that his brother-in-law was in possession of Mr. Bruff, as my father's representative. No
certain papers which were likely to be of service sensible person, in a similar position , could have
to him in his lawsuit. He called on the Colonel, viewed the matter in any other way. Nothing
on pretence of welcoming him back to England. in this world, Betteredge, is probable unless it
The Colonel was not to be deluded in that way. appeals to our own trumpery experience ; and
' You want something,' he said, ' or you would we only believe "" in a romance when we see it in
never have compromised your reputation by a newspaper.
calling on me.' My father saw that the one It was plain to me from this, that Mr. Franklin
chance for him was to show his hand : he thought his father's notion about the Colonel
admitted, at once, that he wanted the papers.
The Colonel asked for a day to consider his 66 and wrong.
hasty
'What is your own private opinion about the
answer. His answer came in the shape of a matter, sir ?" I asked.
most extraordinary letter, which my friend the " Let's finish the story of the Colonel first, "
lawyer showed me. The Colonel began by says Mr. Franklin. "There is a curious want of
saying that he wanted something of my father, system, Betteredge, in the English mind ; and
and that he begged to propose an exchange of your question, my old friend, is an instance of it.
friendly services between them. The fortune When we are not occupied in making machinery,
of war (that was the expression he used) had we are (mentally speaking) the most slovenly
placed him in possession of one of the largest people in the universe."
Diamonds in the world ; and he had reason to "So much," I thought to myself, " for a foreign
believe that neither he nor his precious jewel education ! He has learned"" that way of girding
was safe in any house, in any quarter of the at us in France, I suppose.
globe, which they occupied together. Under Mr. Franklin took up the lost thread, and
these alarming circumstances, he had deter- went on.
mined to place his Diamond in the keeping of "My father," he said, " gotthe papers he
another person. That person was not expected wanted, and never saw his brother-in-law again
to run any risk. He might deposit the precious from that time. Year after year, on the pre-
stone in any place especially guarded and set arranged days, the pre-arranged letter came
apart like a banker's or jeweller's strong-room from the Colonel, and was opened by Mr. Bruff.
for the safe custody of valuables of high price. I have seen the letters, in a heap, all of them
His main personal responsibility in the matter written in the same brief, business -like form of
was to be of the passive kind. He was to under- words : ' Sir, This is to certify that I am still a
take either by himself, or by a trustworthy living man. Let the Diamond be. John Hern-
representative to receive at a pre-arranged castle.' That was all he ever wrote, and that
address, on certain pre-arranged days in every came regularlyto the day ; until some six oreight
year, a note from the Colonel, simply stating the months since, when the form of the letter varied
fact that he was a living man at that date. In for the first time. It ran now :-' Sir, -They tell
the event of the date passing over without the me I am dying. Come to me, and help me to
note being received, the Colonel's silence might make my will. Mr. Bruff went, and found him,
be taken as a sure token of the Colonel's death in the little suburban villa, surrounded byits own
by murder. In that case, and in no other, cer- grounds, in which he had lived alone ever since
tain sealed instructions relating to the disposal he had left India. He had dogs, cats, and birds
of the Diamond, and deposited with it, were to keep him company ; but no human being near
to be opened, and followed implicitly. If my him, except the person who came daily to do the
father chose to accept this strange charge, the house-work, and the doctor at the bedside. The
Colonel's papers were at his disposal in return . will was a very simple matter. The Colonel had
That was the letter." dissipated the greater part of his fortune in his
"What did your father do, sir ? " I asked. chemical investigations. His will began and
 THE MOONSTONE 19

ended in three clauses, which he dictated from the slovenly English sort ; and they conse-
his bed, in perfect possession of his faculties. quently muddled it all, until Mr. Franklin took
The first clause provided for the safe keeping and them in hand, and pointed out what they ought
support of his animals. The second founded a to see.
professorship of experimental chemistry at a " Remark," says Mr. Franklin , " that the in-
northern university. The third bequeathed the tegrity of the Diamond, as a whole stone, is
Moonstone as a birthday present to his niece, on here artfully made dependent on the preserva-
condition that my father would act as executor. tion from violence of the Colonel's life. He is
My father at first refused to act. On second not satisfied with saying to the enemies he
thoughts, however, he gave way, partly because dreads, ' Kill me--and you will be no nearer to
he was assured that the executorship would in- the Diamond than you are now; it is where you
volve him in no trouble ; partly because Mr. Bruff can't get at it-in the guarded strong-room of a
suggested , in Rachel's interest, that the Diamond bank. He says instead, ' Kill me-and the
might be worth something, after all." Diamond will be the Diamond no longer ; its
"Did the Colonel give any reason, sir," I in- identity will be destroyed.' What does that
quired , "why he left the Diamond to Miss mean ?"
Rachel ? " Here I had (as I thought) a flash of the
"He not only gave the reason-he had the wonderful foreign brightness.
reason written in his will, " said Mr. Franklin. " I know," I said. "It means lowering the
66
I have got an extract, which you shall see pre- value of the stone, and cheating the rogues in
sently. Don't be slovenly-minded, Betteredge ! that way ! "
One thing at a time. You have heard about the "Nothing of the sort, " says Mr. Franklin.
Colonel's Will ; now you must hear what hap- " I have inquired about that. The flawed .
pened after the Colonel's death. It was formally Diamond, cut up, would actually fetch more
necessary to have the Diamond valued, before than the Diamond as it now is ; for this plain
the Will could be proved . All the jewellers con- reason- that from four to six perfect brilliants
sulted, at once confirmed the Colonel's assertion might be cut from it, which would be, collec-
that he possessed one of the largest diamonds in tively, worth more money than the large--but
the world. The question of accurately valuing imperfect- single stone. If robbery for the
it presented some serious difficulties. Its size purpose of gain was at the bottom of the con-
made it a phenomenon in the diamond-market ; spiracy, the Colonel's instructions absolutely
its colour placed it in a category by itself ; and, made the Diamond better worth stealing. More
to add to these elements of uncertainty, there money could have been got for it, and the dis-
was a defect, in the shape of a flaw, in the very posal of it in the diamond- market would have
heart of the stone. Even with this last serious been infinitely easier, if it had passed through
drawback, however, the lowest of the various the hands of the workmen of Amsterdam. "
estimates given was twenty thousand pounds. " Lord bless us, sir ! " I burst out. "What
Conceive my father's astonishment ! He had was the plot, then ? "
been within a hair's-breadth of refusing to act " A plot organised among the Indians who
as executor, and of allowing this magnificent originally owned the jewel," says Mr. Franklin
jewel to be lost to the family. The interest he "C a plot with some old Hindoo superstition
took in the matter now, induced him to open the at the bottom of it. That is my opinion, con-
sealed instructions which had been deposited firmed by a family paper which I have about
with the Diamond. Mr. Bruff showed this docu- me at this moment."
ment to me, with the other papers ; and it sug- I saw, now, why the appearance of the three
gests (to my mind) a clue to the nature of the Indian jugglers at our house had presented
conspiracy which threatened the Colonel's life." itself to Mr. Franklin in the light of a circum-
" Then you do believe, sir," I said, " that stance worth noting.
there was a conspiracy ?' "I don't want to force my opinion on you,"
"Not possessing my father's excellent com- Mr. Franklin went on. "The idea of certain
mon sense, " answered Mr. Franklin, " I believe chosen servants of an old Hindoo superstition
the Colonel's life was threatened, exactly as the devoting themselves, through all difficulties
Colonel said. The sealed instructions, as I think, and dangers, to watching the opportunity of
explain how it was that he died, after all, quietly recovering their sacred gem, appears to me to
in his bed. In the event of his death by violence be perfectly consistent with everything that
(that is to say, in the absence of the regular we know of the patience of Oriental races, and
letter from him at the appointed date) my father the influence of Oriental religions. But then I
was then directed to send the Moonstone secretly am an imaginative man ; and the butcher, the
to Amsterdam. It was to be deposited in that baker, and the tax-gatherer, are not the only
city with a famous diamond-cutter, and it was to credible realities in existence to my mind. Let
be cut up into from four to six separate stones. the guess I have made at the truth in this
The stones were then to be sold for what they matter go for what it is worth, and let us get
would fetch, and the proceeds were to be ap- on to the only practical question that concerns
plied to the founding of that professorship of us. Does the conspiracy against the Moonstone
experimental chemistry, which the Colonel has survive the Colonel's death ? And did the
since endowed by his Will. Now, Betteredge, Colonel know it, when he left the birthday
exert those sharp wits of yours, and observe the gift to his niece ?"
conclusion to which the Colonel's instructions I began to see my lady and Miss Rachel at
point ! " the end of it all, now. Not a word he said
I instantly exerted my wits. They were of escaped me.
20 THE MOONSTONE

"I was not very willing, when I discovered | Will. I have got it by me while I write these
the story of the Moonstone," said Mr. Franklin, words ; and I copy it, as follows, for your
"to be the means of bringing it here. But Mr. benefit :
Bruff reminded me that somebody must put my " Thirdly, and lastly, I give and bequeath to
cousin's legacy into my cousin's hands—and my niece, Rachel Verinder, daughter and only
that I might as well do it as anybody else. child of my sister, Julia Verinder, widow- if
After taking the Diamond out of the bank, I her mother, the said Julia Verinder, shall be
fancied I was followed in the streets by a living on the said Rachel Verinder's next birth-
shabby dark-complexioned man. I went to my day after my death-the yellow Diamond be-
father's house to pick up my luggage, and found longing to me, and known in the East by the
a letter there, which unexpectedly detained me name of the Moonstone : subject to this condi-
in London. I went back to the bank with the tion, that her mother, the said Julia Verinder,
Diamond, and thought I saw the shabby man shall be living at the time. And I hereby de-
again. Taking the Diamond once more out of sire my executor to give my Diamond, either by
the bank this morning, I saw the man for the his own hands or by the hands of some trust-
third time, gave him the slip, and started (before worthy representative whom he shall appoint,
he recovered the trace of me) by the morning into the personal possession of my said niece
instead of the afternoon train. Here I am, Rachel, on her next birthday after my death,
with the Diamond safe and sound-and what and in the presence, if possible, of my sister,
is the first news that meets me ? I find that the said Julia Verinder. And I desire that my
three strolling Indians have been at the house, said sister may be informed, by means of a true
and that my arrival from London, and some- copy of this, the third and last clause of my
thing which I am expected to have about me, Will, that I give the Diamond to her daughter
are two special objects of investigation to them Rachel, in token of my free forgiveness of the
when they believe themselves to be alone. I injury which her conduct towards me has been
don't waste time and words on their pouring the means of inflicting on my reputation in my
the ink into the boy's hand, and telling him to lifetime ; and especially in proof that I pardon,
look in it for a man at a distance, and for some- as becomes a dying man, the insult offered to
thing in that man's pocket. The thing (which me as an officer and a gentleman, when her ser-
I have often seen done in the East) is ' hocus- vant, by her orders , closed the door of her house
pocus ' in my opinion, as it is in yours. The against me, on the occasion of her daughter's
present question for us to decide is, whether birthday."
I am wrongly attaching a meaning to a mere More words followed these, providing, if my
accident ? or whether we really have evidence lady was dead, or if Miss Rachel was dead,
of the Indians being on the track of the Moon- at the time of the testator's decease, for the
stone, the moment it is removed from the safe Diamond being sent to Holland, in accordance
keeping of the bank ? " with the sealed instructions originally deposited
Neither he nor I seemed to fancy dealing with it. The proceeds of the sale were, in that
with this part of the inquiry. We looked at case, to be added to the money already left by
each other, and then we looked at the tide, the Will for the professorship of chemistry at
oozing in smoothly, higher and higher, over the the university in the north.
Shivering Sand. I handed the paper back to Mr. Franklin,
"What are you thinking of ? " says Mr. sorely troubled what to say to him. Up to that
Franklin suddenly. moment, my own opinion had been (as you
" I was thinking, sir," I answered, " that I know) that the Colonel had died as wickedly
should like to shy the Diamond into the quick- as he had lived. I don't say the copy from his
sand, and settle the question in that way." Will actually converted me from that opinion :
"If you have got the value of the stone in I only say it staggered me.
66 Well,
your pocket," answered Mr. Franklin, " say so, " says Mr. Franklin, now you have
Betteredge, and in it goes ! " read the Colonel's own statement, what do you
It's curious to note, when your mind's anxious, say ? In bringing the Moonstone to my aunt's
how very far in the way of relief a very small house, am I serving his vengeance blindfold ,
joke will go. We found a fund of merriment, or am I vindicating him in the character of a
at the time, in the notion of making away penitent and Christian man ? "
with Miss Rachel's lawful property, and getting " It seems hard to say, sir," I answered,
Mr. Blake, as executor, into dreadful trouble- "that he died with a horrid revenge in his
though where the merriment was, I am quite at heart, and a horrid lie on his lips. God alone
a loss to discover now. knows the truth. Don't ask me.'""
Mr. Franklin was the first to bring the talk Mr. Franklin sat twisting and turning the
back to the talk's proper purpose. He took extract from the Will in his fingers, as if he
an envelope out of his pocket, opened it, and expected to squeeze the truth out of it in that
handed to me the paper inside. manner. He altered quite remarkably, at the
" Betteredge," he said, " we must face the same time. From being brisk and bright, he now
question of the Colonel's motive in leaving this became, most unaccountably, a slow, solemn,
legacy to his niece, for my aunt's sake. Bear and pondering young man.
in mind how Lady Verinder treated her brother " This question has two sides," he said. "An
from the time when he returned to England, to Objective side, and a Subjective side. Which
the time when he told you he should remember are we to take ?"
his niece's birthday. And read that." He had had a German education as well as a
He gave me the extract from the Colonel's French. One of the two had been in undis-
 THE MOONSTONE 21

turbed possession of him (as I supposed ) up to | to another, before there was time for any one
this time. And now (as well as I could make colouring more than another to settle itself on
out) the other was taking its place. It is one of him firmly. As a consequence of this, he had
my rules in life, never to notice what I don't come back with so many different sides to his
understand. I steered a middle course between character, all more or less jarring with each
the Objective side and the Subjective side. In other, that he seemed to pass his life in a state
plain English I stared hard, and said nothing. of perpetual contradiction with himself. He
" Let's extract the inner meaning of this," could be a busy man , and a lazy man ; cloudy
says Mr. Franklin. "Why did my uncle leave in the head, and clear in the head ; a model of
the Diamond to Rachel ? Why didn't he leave determination, and a spectacle of helplessness,
it to my aunt ? " all together. He had his French side, and his
" That's not beyond guessing, sir, at any rate," German side, and his Italian side- the original
I said. " Colonel Herncastle knew my lady well English foundation showing through, every now
enough to know that she would have refused to and then, as much as to say, " Here I am, sorely
accept any legacy that came to her from him." transmogrified, as you see, but there's something
" How did he know that Rachel might not of me left at the bottom of him still." Miss
refuse to accept it, too ? Rachel used to remark that, the Italian side of
" Is there any young lady in existence, sir, him was uppermost, on those occasions when he
who could resist the temptation of accepting unexpectedly gave in, and asked you in his nice
such a birthday present as the Moonstone ? " sweet-tempered way to take his own responsi-
" That's the Subjective view, " says Mr. Frank- bilities on your shoulders. You will do him
lin. " It does you great credit, Betteredge, to be no injustice, I think, if you conclude that the
able to take the Subjective view. But there's Italian side of him was uppermost now.
another mystery about the Colonel's legacy " Isn't it your business, sir, " I asked, " to know
which is not accounted for yet. How are we to what to do next ? Surely it can't be mine ? "
explain his only giving Rachel her birthday pre- Mr. Franklin didn't appear to see the force
sent conditionally on her mother being alive ? " of my question—not being in a position, at the
" I don't want to slander a dead man, sir," time, to see anything but the sky over his head.
I answered. " But if he has purposely left a "I don't want to alarm my aunt without
legacy of trouble and danger to his sister, by the reason," he said. " And I don't want to leave
means of her child, it must be a legacy made her without what may be a needful warning.
conditional on his sister's being alive to feel the If you were in my place, Betteredge, tell me, in
vexation of it. " one word, what would you do ?"
" Oh! That's your interpretation of his In one word I told him : " Wait."
motive, is it ? The Subjective interpretation "With all my heart,'"" says Mr. Franklin.
again ! Have you ever been in Germany, "How long ? "
Betteredge ? " I proceeded to explain myself.
"No, sir. What's your interpretation, if you "As I understand it, sir," I said, " somebody
please ? " is bound to put this plaguy Diamond into Miss
" I can see," says Mr. Franklin, " that the Rachel's hands on her birthday and you may
Colonel's object may, quite possibly, have been as well do it as another. Very good. This is
-not to benefit his niece, whom he had never the twenty-fifth of May, and the birthday is on
even seen-but to prove to his sister that he the twenty-first of June. We have got close on
had died forgiving her, and to prove it very four weeks before us. Let's wait and see what
prettily by means of a present made to her child. happens in that time ; and let's warn my lady
There is a totally different explanation from or not, as the circumstances direct us."
yours, Betteredge, taking its rise in a Subjective- "Perfect, Betteredge, as far as it goes !" says
Objective point of view. From all I can see, Mr. Franklin. "But, between this and the birth-
one interpretation is just as likely to be right day, what's to be done with the Diamond ? "
as the other." "What your father did with it, to be sure, sir ! "
Having brought matters to this pleasant and I answered. "Your father put it inthe safe keep-
comforting issue, Mr. Franklin appeared to ing of a bank in London. You put it "" in the safe
think that he had completed all that was re- keeping of the bank at Frizinghall.' (Frizing-
quired of him. He laid down flat on his back on hall was our nearest town, and the Bank of
the sand, and asked what was to be done next. England wasn't safer than the bank there. ) " If
He had been so clever, and clear-headed I were you, sir," I added , “ I would ride straight
(before he began to talk the foreign gibberish) , away with it to Frizinghall before the ladies
and had so completely taken the lead in the come back."
business up to the present time, that I was The prospect of doing something-and, what
quite unprepared for such a sudden change as is more, of doing that something on a horse-
he now exhibited in this helpless leaning upon brought Mr. Franklin up like lightning from the
me. It was not till later that I learned-by flat of his back. He sprang to his feet, and
assistance of Miss Rachel, who was the first pulled me up, without ceremony, on to mine.
to make the discovery . that these puzzling " Betteredge, you are worth your weight in
shifts and transformations in Mr. Franklin were gold," he said. " Come along, and saddle the
due to the effect on him of his foreign training. best horse in the stables directly ! "
At the age when we are all of us most apt to take Here (God bless it !) was the original English
our colouring, in the form of a reflection from foundationofhim showingthrough all theforeign
the colouring of other people, he had been sent varnish at last ! Here was the Master Franklin
abroad, and had been passed on from one nation I remembered, coming out again in the good old
22 THE MOONSTONE ·

way at the prospect of a ride, and reminding me man could possess any interest for her. She
of the good old times ! Saddle a horse for him ? had been surprised, smiling, and scribbling Mr.
I would have saddled a dozen horses, if he could Franklin's name inside her workbox. She had
only have ridden them all ! been surprised again, crying and looking at her
We went back to the house in a hurry ; we deformed shoulder in the glass. Had she and
had the fleetest horse in the stables saddled in a Mr. Franklin known anything of each other be
hurry ; and Mr. Franklin rattled off in a hurry, fore to-day? Quite impossible! Had they heard
to lodge the cursed Diamond once more in the anything of each other ? Impossible again ! I
strong-room of a bank. When I heard the last could speak to Mr. Franklin's astonishment as
of his horse's hoofs on the drive, and when I genuine, when he saw how the girl stared at
turned about in the yard and found I was alone him. Penelope could speak to the girl's inquisi-
again, I felt half inclined to ask myself if I tiveness as genuine, when she asked questions
hadn't woke up from a dream. about Mr. Franklin. The conference between
us, conducted in this way, was tiresome enough,
until my daughter suddenly ended it by burst-
CHAPTER VII ing out with what I thought the most monstrous
supposition I had ever heard in my life.
WHILE I was in this bewildered frame of mind, "Father !" says Penelope, quite seriously,
sorely needing a little quiet time by myself to " there's only one explanation. of it. Rosanna
put me right again, my daughter Penelope got in has fallen in love with Mr. Franklin Blake at
my way (just as her late mother used to get in first sight ! "
my way on the stairs), and instantly summoned You have heard of beautiful young ladies
me to tell her all that had passed at the con- falling in love at first sight, and have thought
ference between Mr. Franklin and me. Under it natural enough. But a housemaid out of a
present circumstances, the one thing to be done reformatory, with a plain face and a deformed
was to clap the extinguisher upon Penelope's shoulder, falling in love, at first sight, with a
curiosity on the spot. I accordingly replied that gentleman who comes on a visit to her mis-
Mr. Franklin and I had both talked of foreign tress's house, match me that, in the way of an
politics, till we could talk no longer, and had absurdity, out of any story-book in Christendom,
then mutually fallen asleep in the heat of the sun. if you can ! I laughed till the tears rolled down
Try that sort of answer when your wife or your my cheeks. Penelope resented my merriment,
daughter next worries you with an awkward in rather a strange way. " I never knew you
question at an awkward time, and depend on cruel before, father, " she said very gently, and
the natural sweetness of women for kissing and went out.
making it up again at the next opportunity. My girl's words fell upon me like a splash of
The afternoon wore on, and my lady and Miss cold water. I was savage with myself, for feel-
Rachel came back. ing uneasy in myself the moment she had spoken
Needless to say, how astonished they were them-but so it was. We will change the subject,
when they heard that Mr. Franklin Blake had if you please. I am sorry I drifted into writing
arrived, and had gone off again on horseback. about it ; and not without reason, as you will see
Needless also to say, that they asked awkward when we have gone on together a little longer.
questions directly, and thatthe " foreign politics "
and the " falling asleep in the sun'" wouldn't The evening came, and the dressing-bell for
serve a second time over with them. Being at dinner rang, before Mr. Franklin returned from
the end of my invention, I said Mr. Franklin's Frizinghall. I took his hot water up to his room
arrival by the early train was entirely attributable myself, expecting to hear, after this extraor-
to one of Mr. Franklin's freaks. Being asked, dinary delay, that something had happened. To
upon that, whether his galloping off again on my great disappointment (and no doubt to yours
horseback was another of Mr. Franklin's freaks, also), nothing had happened. He had not met
I said, " Yes, it was ; " and slipped out of it- I with the Indians, either going or returning. He
think very cleverly- in that way. had deposited the Moonstone in the bank- de-
Having got over my difficulties with the ladies, scribing it merely as a valuable of great price
I found more difficulties waiting for me when I and he had got the receipt for it safe in his
went back to my own room. In came Penelope pocket. I went downstairs, feeling that this
-with the natural sweetness of women - to kiss was rather a flat ending, after all our excitement
and make it up again ; and—with the natural about the Diamond earlier in the day.
curiosity of women-to ask another question. How the meeting between Mr. Franklin and
This time she only wanted me to tell her what his aunt and cousin went off, is more than I
was the matter with our second housemaid, can tell you.
Rosanna Spearman. I would have given something to have waited
After leaving Mr. Franklin and me at the at table that day. But, in my position in the
Shivering Sand, Rosanna, it appeared, had re- household, waiting at dinner (except on high
turned to the house in a very unaccountable family festivals) was letting down my dignity in
state of mind. She had turned (if Penelope was the eyes of the other servants-a thing which
to be believed ) all the colours of the rainbow. my lady considered me quite prone enough to do
Shehad been merry without reason, and sad with- already, without seeking occasions for it. The
out reason. In one breath she asked hundreds news brought to me from the upper regions, that
of questions about Mr. Franklin Blake, and in evening, came from Penelope and the footman.
another breath she hadbeen angry with Penelope Penelope mentioned that she had never known
for presuming to suppose that a strange gentle- | Miss Rachel so particular about the dressing of
 THE MOONSTONE 23

her hair, and had never seen her look so bright I said nothing to Samuel. But, remembering
and pretty as she did when she went down to what Penelope had told me about the jugglers,
meet Mr. Franklin in the drawing-room. The and the pouring of the little pool of ink into
footman's report was, that the preservation of the palm of the boy's hand, I instantly suspected
a respectful composure in the presence of his that I had disturbed the three Indians, lurking
betters, and the waiting on Mr. Franklin Blake about the house, and bent, in their heathenish
at dinner, were two of the hardest things to way, on discovering the whereabouts of the
reconcile with each other that had ever tried Diamond that night.
his training in service. Later in the evening
we heard them singing and playing duets, Mr.
Franklin piping high, Miss Rachel piping higher, CHAPTER VIII
and my lady, on the piano, following them, as it
were over hedge and ditch, and seeing them safe HERE, for one moment, I find it necessary to
through it in a manner most wonderful and call a halt.
pleasant to hear through the open windows, on On summoning up my own recollections -and
the terrace at night. Later still, I went to Mr. on getting Penelope to help me, by consulting
Franklin in the smoking-room, with the soda- her journal- I find that we may pass pretty
water and brandy, and found that Miss Rachel rapidly over the interval between Mr. Franklin
had put the Diamond clean out of his head. Blake's arrival and Miss Rachel's birthday. For
" She's the most charming girl I have seen the greater part of that time the days passed,
since I came back to England ! " was all I could and brought nothing with them worth recording.
extract from him, when I endeavoured to lead With your good leave, then, and with Penelope's
the conversation to more serious things. help, I shall notice certain dates only in this
Towards midnight, I went round the house to place ; reserving to myself to tell the story day
lock up, accompanied by my second in command by day, once more, as soon as we get to the time
(Samuel, the footman), as usual. When all the when the business of the Moonstone became the
doors were made fast, except the side door that chief business of everybody in our house.
opened on the terrace, I sent Samuel to bed, This said, we may now go on again- be-
and stepped out for a breath of fresh air before ginning, of course, with the bottle of sweet-
I too went to bed in my turn. smelling ink which I found on the gravel walk
The night was still and close, and the moon at night.
was at the full in the heavens. It was so silent On the next morning (the morning of the
out of doors, that I heard from time to time , very twenty-sixth) I showed Mr. Franklin this article
faint and low, the fall of the sea, as the ground- of jugglery, and told him what I have already
swell heaved it in on the sandbank near the told you. His opinion was, not only that the
mouth of our little bay. As the house stood, the Indians had been lurking about after the Dia-
terrace side was the dark side ; but the broad mond, but also that they were actually foolish
moonlight showed fair on the gravel walk that enough to believe in their own magic-meaning
ran along the next side to the terrace. Looking thereby the making of signs on a boy's head,
this way, after looking up at the sky, I saw the and the pouring of ink into a boy's hand, and
shadow of a person in the moonlight thrown then expecting him to see persons and things
forward from behind the corner of the house. beyond the reach of human vision. In our
Being old and sly, I forbore to call out ; but country, as well as in the East, Mr. Franklin
being also, unfortunately, old and heavy, my feet informed me, there are people who practise this
betrayed me on the gravel. Before I could steal curious hocus-pocus (without the ink, however) ;
suddenly round the corner, as I had proposed, I and who call it by a French name, signifying
heard lighter feet than mine-and more than one something like brightness of sight. " Depend
pair of them as I thought-retreating in a hurry. upon it, " says Mr. Franklin, " the Indians took
By the time I had got to the corner, the tres- it for granted that we should keep the Diamond
passers, whoever they were, had run into the here ; and they brought their clairvoyant boy
shrubbery at the off side of the walk, and were to show them the way to it, if they"" succeeded
hidden from sight among the thick trees and in 66getting into the house last night.'
bushes in that part of the grounds. From the Do you think they'll try again, sir ?" I asked.
shrubbery, they could easily make their way, "It depends," says Mr. Franklin, 66 on what
over our fence, into the road. If I had been the boy can really do. If he can see the Diamond
forty years younger, I might have had a chance through the iron safe of the bank at Frizinghall,
of catching them before they got clear of our we shall be troubled with no more visits from
premises. As it was, I went back to set a-going the Indians for the present. If he can't, we
a younger pair of legs than mine. Without dis- shall have another chance of catching them in
turbing anybody, Samuel and I got a couple of the shrubbery, before many more nights are
guns, and went all round the house and through over our heads."
the shrubbery. Having made sure that no I waited pretty confidently for that latter
persons were lurking about anywhere in our chance ; but, strange to relate, it never came.
grounds, we turned back. Passing over the walk Whether the jugglers heard, in the town, of
where I had seen the shadow, I now noticed, for Mr. Franklin having been seen at the bank, and
the first time, a little bright object, lying on drewtheir conclusions accordingly ; or whether
the clean gravel, under the light of the moon. the boy really did see the Diamond where the
Picking the object up, I discovered it was a Diamond was now lodged (which I, for one,
small bottle, containing a thick sweet-smelling flatly disbelieve) ; or whether, after all, it was
liquor, as black as ink. a mere effect of chance, this at any rate is the
2.1 THE MOONSTONE

plain truth-not the ghost of an Indian came people who are really obliged to get their living,
near the house again, through the weeks that to be forced to work for the clothes that cover
passed before Miss Rachel's birthday. The them, the roof that shelters them, and the food
jugglers remained in and about the town plying that keeps them going. But compare the hardest
their trade ; and Mr. Franklin and I remained day's work you ever did with the idleness that
waiting to see what might happen, and resolute splits flowers and pokes its way into spiders'
not to put the rogues on their guard by showing stomachs, and thank your stars that your head
our suspicions of them too soon. With this has got something it must think of, and your
report of the proceedings on either side, ends hands something that they must do.
all that I have to say about the Indians for As for Mr. Franklin and Miss Rachel, they tor-
the present . tured nothing, I am glad to say. They simply
confined themselves to making a mess ; and all
On the twenty-ninth of the month, Miss they spoilt, to do them justice, was the panelling
Rachel and Mr. Franklin hit on a new method of a door.
of working their way together through the time Mr. Franklin's universal genius, dabbling in
which might otherwise have hung heavy on everything, dabbled in whathe called " decorative
their hands. There are reasons for taking painting.'"" He had invented, he informed us, a
particular notice here of the occupation that new mixture to moisten paint with, which he
amused them. You will find it has a bearing described as a " vehicle." What it was made of,
on something that is still to come. I don't know. What it did, I can tell you in two
Gentlefolks in general have a very awkward words- it stank. Miss Rachel being wild to try
rock ahead in life-the rock ahead of their own her hand at the new process, Mr. Franklin sent
idleness. Their lives being, for the most part, to London for the materials ; mixed them up,
passed in looking about them for something to with accompaniment of a smell which made the
do, it is curious to see-especially when their very dogs sneeze when they came into the room ;
tastes are of what is called the intellectual sort put an apron and a bib over Miss Rachel's gown,
- how often they drift blindfold into some nasty and set her to work decorating her own little
pursuit. Nine times out of ten they take to sitting-room- called, for want of English to
torturing something, or to spoiling something name it in, her " boudoir." They began with
-and they firmly believe they are improving the inside of the door. Mr. Franklin scraped
their minds, when the plain truth is, they are off all the nice varnish with pumice-stone, and
only making a mess in the house. I have seen made what he described as a surface to work on.
them (ladies, I am sorry to say, as well as Miss Rachel then covered the surface, under his
gentlemen) go out, day after day, for example, directions and with his help, with patterns and
with empty pill-boxes, and catch newts, and devices- griffins, birds, flowers, cupids, and such
beetles, and spiders, and frogs, and come home like-copied from designs made by a famous
and stick pins through the miserable wretches, Italian painter, whose name escapes me : the
or cut them up, without a pang of remorse, into one, I mean, who stocked the world with Virgin
little pieces. You see my young master, or my Maries, and had a sweetheart at the baker's.
young mistress, poring over one of their spider's Viewed as work, this decoration was slow to do,
insides with a magnifying-glass ; or you meet and dirty to deal with. But our young lady and
one of their frogs walking downstairs without gentleman never seemed to tire of it. When
his head-and when you wonder what this cruel they were not riding, or seeing company, or
nastiness means, you are told that it means a taking their meals, or piping their songs, there
taste in my young master or my young mistress they were with their heads together, as busy as
for natural history. Sometimes, again, you see bees, spoiling the door. Who was the poet who
them occupied for hours together in spoiling a said that Satan finds some mischief still for idle
pretty flower with pointed instruments, out of hands to do ? If he had occupied my place in
a stupid curiosity to know what the flower is the family, and had seen Miss Rachel with her
made of. Is its colour any prettier, or its scent brush, and Mr. Franklin with his vehicle, he
any sweeter, when you do know ? But there ! could have written nothing truer of either of
the poor souls must get through the time, you them than that.
see-they must get through the time. You
dabbled in nasty mud, and made pies, when The next date worthy of notice is Sunday the
you were a child ; and you dabble in nasty fourth of June.
science, and dissect spiders, and spoil flowers, On that evening we, in the servants' hall,
when you grow up. In the one case and in the debated a domestic question for the first time,
other, the secret of it is, that you have got which, like the decoration of the door, has its
nothing to think of in your poor empty head , bearing on something that is still to come.
and nothing to do with your poor idle hands. Seeing the pleasure which Mr. Franklin and
And so it ends in your spoiling canvas with Miss Rachel took in each other's society, and
paints, and making a smell in the house ; or in noting what a pretty match they were in all
keeping tadpoles in a glass box full of dirty personal respects, we naturally speculated on
water, and turning everybody's stomach in the the chance of their putting their heads together
house ; or in chipping off bits of stone here, with other objects in view besides the orna-
there, and everywhere, and dropping grit into menting of a door. Some of us said there would
all the victuals in the house ; or in staining your be a wedding in the house before the summer
fingers in the pursuit of photography, and doing was over. Others (led by me) admitted it was
justice without mercy on everybody's face in the likely enough Miss Rachel might be married ;
house. It often falls heavy enough, no doubt, on but we doubted (for reasons which will presently
 THE MOONSTONE 25

appear) whether her bridegroom would be Mr. | Yes. I can call to mind, in her childhood, more
Franklin Blake. than one occasion when the good little soul took
That Mr. Franklin was in love, on his side, the blame, and suffered the punishment, for
nobody who saw and heard him could doubt. some fault committed by a playfellow whom
The difficulty was to fathom Miss Rachel. Let she loved. Nobody ever knew her to confess
me do myself the honour of making you ac- to it, when the thing was found out, and she
quainted with her ; after which, I will leave you was charged with it afterwards. But nobody
to fathom her yourself-if you can. ever knew her to lie about it, either. She looked
My young lady's eighteenth birthday was the you straight in the face, and shook her little
birthday now coming, on the twenty-first of saucy head, and said plainly, " I won't tell
June. If you happen to like dark women (who, you ! " Punished again for this, she would own
I am informed, have gone out of fashion latterly to being sorry for saying " won't ; " but, bread
in the gay world), and if you have no particular and water nothwithstanding, she never told you.
prejudice in favour of size, I answer for Miss Self- willed- devilish self-willed sometimes- I
Rachel as one of the prettiest girls your eyes grant ; but the finest creature, nevertheless, that
ever looked on. She was small and slim, but all ever walked the ways of this lower world. Per-
in fine proportion from top to toe. To see her haps you think you see a certain contradiction
sit down, to see her get up, and specially to see here ? In that case, a word in your ear. Study
her walk, was enough to satisfy any man in his your wife closely, for the next four-and-twenty
senses that the graces of her figure (if you will hours. If your good lady doesn't exhibit some-
pardon me the expression) were in her flesh and thing in the shape of a contradiction in that
not in her clothes. Her hair was the blackest I time, Heaven help you !-you have married a
ever saw. Her eyes matched her hair. Her monster.
nose was not quite large enough, I admit. Her
mouth and chin were ( to quote Mr. Franklin ) I have now brought you acquainted with Miss
morsels for the gods ; and her complexion (on Rachel, which you will find puts us face to face,
the same undeniable authority) was as warm as next, with the question of that young lady's
the sun itself, with this great advantage over the matrimonial views.
sun, that it was always in nice order to look at. On June the twelfth, an invitation from my
Add to the foregoing that she carried her head mistress was sent to a gentleman in London, to
as upright as a dart, in a dashing, spirited, come and help to keep Miss Rachel's birthday.
thoroughbred way-that she had a clear voice, This was the fortunate individual on whom I
with a ring of the right metal in it, and a smile believed her heart to be privately set ! Like
that began very prettily in her eyes before it got Mr. Franklin, he was a cousin of hers. His name
to her lips and there behold the portrait of her, was Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.
to the best of my painting, as large as life ! My lady's second sister (don't be alarmed ; we
And what about her disposition next ? Had are not going very deep into family matters this
this charming creature no faults. She had just time)-my lady's second sister, I say, had a dis-
as many faults as you have, ma'am- neither appointment in love ; and taking a husband
more nor less. afterwards, on the neck or nothing principle,
To put it seriously, my dear pretty Miss made what they call a misalliance. There was
Rachel, possessing a host of graces and attrac- terrible work in the family when the Honour-
tions, had one defect, which strict impartiality able Caroline insisted on marrying plain Mr.
compels me to acknowledge. She was unlike Ablewhite, the banker at Frizinghall. He was
most other girls of her age, in this- that she very rich and very respectable, and he begot a
had ideas of her own, and was stiffnecked prodigious large family-all in his favour, so
enough to set the fashions themselves at defi- far. But he had presumed to raise himself from
ance, if the fashions didn't suit her views. In a low station in the world-and that was against
trifles, this independence of hers was all well him. However, Time and the progress of modern
enough ; but in matters of importance, it carried enlightenment put things right ; and the mis-
her (as my lady thought, and as thought) too alliance passed muster very well. We are all
far. She judged for herself, as few women of getting liberal now ; and (provided you can
twice her age judge in general ; never asked scratch me, if I scratch you) what do I care, in
your advice ; never told you beforehand what or out of Parliament, whether you are a Dust-
she was going to do ; never came with secrets man or a Duke ? That's the modern way of
and confidences to anybody, from her mother looking at it —and I keep up with the modern
downwards. In little things and great, with way. The Ablewhites lived in a fine house and
people she loved, and people she hated (and she grounds, a little out of Frizinghall. Very worthy
did both with equal heartiness) , Miss Rachel people, and greatly respected in the neighbour-
always went on a way of her own, sufficient hood. We shall not be much troubled with them
for herself in the joys and sorrows of her life. in these pages-excepting Mr. Godfrey, who was
Over and over again I have heard my lady say, Mr. Ablewhite's second son, and who must take
" Rachel's best friend and Rachel's worst enemy his proper place here, if you please, for Miss
are, one and the other-Rachel herself." Rachel's sake.
Add one thing more to this, and I have With all his brightness and cleverness and
done. general good qualities, Mr. Franklin's chance of
With all her secrecy, and self-will, there was topping Mr. Godfrey in our young lady's esti-
not so much as the shadow of anything false in mation was, in my opinion, a very poor chance
her. I never remember her breaking her word ; indeed.
I never remember her saying No, and meaning In the first place, Mr. Godfrey was, in point
26 THE MOONSTONE

of size, the finest man by far of the two. He | his clothes. He slept so badly, after this effort
stood over six feet high ; he had a beautiful red of self-denial, for want of the composing effect
and white colour ; a smooth round face, shaved of the tobacco to which he was used, and came
as bare as your hand ; and a head of lovely long down morning after morning looking so haggard
flaxen hair, falling negligently over the poll of and worn, that Miss Rachel herself begged him
his neck. But why do I try to give you this to take to his cigars again. No ! he would take
personal description of him ? If you ever sub- to nothing again that could cause her a mo-
scribed to a Ladies' Charity in London, you ment's annoyance ; he would fight it out reso-
know Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite as well as I do. lutely, and get back his sleep, sooner or later,
He was a barrister by profession ; a ladies' man by main force of patience in waiting for it.
by temperament ; and a good Samaritan by Such devotion as this, you may say (as some of
choice. Female benevolence and female desti- them said downstairs), could never fail of pro-
tution could do nothing without him. Maternal ducing the right effect on Miss Rachel-backed
societies for confining poor women ; Magdalen up, too, as it was, by the decorating work every
societies for rescuing poor women ; strong- day on the door. All very well-but she had a
minded societies for putting poor women into photograph of Mr. Godfrey in her bed-room ;
poor men's places, and leaving the men to shift represented speaking at a public meeting, with
for themselves : he was vice-president, manager, all his hair blown out by the breath of his own
referee to them all. Wherever there was a table eloquence, and his eyes, most lovely, charming
with a committee of ladies sitting round it in the money out of your pockets. What do you
council, there was Mr. Godfrey at the bottom of say to that ? Every morning-as Penelope her-
the board, keeping the temper of the committee, self owned to me-there was the man whom the
and leading the dear creatures along the thorny women couldn't do without, looking on, in effigy,
ways of business, hat in hand. I do suppose while Miss Rachel was having her hair combed.
this was the most accomplished philanthropist He would be looking on, in reality, before long
(on a small independence) that England ever that was my opinion of it.
produced. As a speaker at charitable meetings
the like of him for drawing your tears and your June the sixteenth brought an event which
money was not easy to find. He was quite a made Mr. Franklin's chance look, to my mind, a
public character. The last time I was in London worse chance than ever.
my mistress gave me two treats. She sent me A strange gentleman, speaking English with
to the theatre to see a dancing woman who was a foreign accent, came that morning to the
all the rage ; and she sent me to Exeter Hall to house, and asked to see Mr. Franklin Blake on
hear Mr. Godfrey. The lady did it, with a band business. The business could not possibly have
of music. The gentleman did it, with a hand- been connected with the Diamond, for these two
kerchief and a glass of water. Crowds at the reasons-first, that Mr. Franklin told me nothing
performance with the legs. Ditto at the perform- about it ; secondly, that he communicated it
ance with the tongue. And with all this, the (when the gentleman had gone, as I suppose) to
sweetest-tempered person (I allude to Mr. God- my lady. She probably hinted something about
frey)-the simplest and pleasantest and easiest it next to her daughter. At any rate, Miss
to please you ever met with. He loved every- Rachel was reported to have said some severe
body. And everybody loved him. What chance things to Mr. Franklin, at the piano that evening,
had Mr. Franklin-what chance had anybody about the people he had lived among, and the
of average reputation and capacities— against principles he had adopted in foreign parts. The
such a man as this ? next day, for the first time, nothing was done
towards the decoration of the door. I suspect
On the fourteenth came Mr. Godfrey's answer. some imprudence of Mr. Franklin's on the Con-
He accepted my mistress's invitation, from tinent-with a woman or a debt at the bottom
the Wednesday of the birthday to the even- of it-had followed him to England. But that
ing of Friday-- when his duties to the Ladies' is all guesswork. In this case, not only Mr.
Charities would oblige him to return to town. Franklin, but my lady, too, for a wonder, left
He also enclosed a copy of verses on what he me in the dark.
elegantly called his cousin's " natal day." Miss
Rachel, I was informed, joined Mr. Franklin in On the seventeenth, to all appearance, the
making fun of the verses at dinner ; and Pene- cloud passed away again. They returned to
lope, who was all on Mr. Franklin's side, asked their, decorating work on the door, and seemed
me, in great triumph, what I thought of that. to be as good friends as ever. If Penelope was
"Miss Rachel has led you off on a false scent, my to be believed, Mr. Franklin had seized the
dear," I replied ; " but my nose is not so easily opportunity of the reconciliation to make an
mystified. Wait till Mr. Ablewhite's verses are offer to Miss Rachel, and had neither been ac-
followed by Mr. Ablewhite himself. " cepted nor refused. My girl was sure (from signs
My daughter replied, that Mr. Franklin might and tokens which I need not trouble you with)
strike in, and try his luck, before the verses were that her young mistress had fought Mr. Franklin
followed by the poet. In favour of this view, off by declining to believe that he was in earnest,
I must acknowledge that Mr. Franklin left no and had then secretly regretted treating him in
chance untried of winning Miss Rachel's good that way afterwards. Though Penelope was
graces. admitted to more familiarity with her young
Though one of the most inveterate smokers I mistress than maids generally are--for the two
ever met with, he gave up his cigar, because she had been almost brought up together as children
said, one day, she hated the stale smell of it in -still I knew Miss Rachel's reserved character
 THE MOONSTONE 27

too well to believe that she would show her mind | such is the obstinacy of women- still backed
to anybody in this way. What my daughter him to win.
told me, on the present occasion, was, as I Thanks be to Heaven, we have arrived at the
suspected, more what she wished than what eve of the birthday at last ! You will own, I
she really knew. think, that I have got you over the ground this
time, without much loitering by the way. Cheer
On the nineteenth another event happened. up ! I'll ease you with another new chapter here
We had the doctor in the house professionally. —and, what is more, that chapter shall take
He was summoned to prescribe for a person you straight into the thick of the story.
whom I have had occasion to present to you
in these pages our second housemaid, Rosanna
Spearman. CHAPTER IX
This poor girl- who had puzzled me, as you
know already, at the Shivering Sand-puzzled JUNE twenty-first, the day of the birthday, was
me more than once again, in the interval time of cloudy and unsettled at sunrise, but towards
which I am now writing. Penelope's notion that noon it cleared up bravely.
her fellow-servant was in love with Mr. Franklin We, in the servants' hall, began this happy
(which my daughter, by my orders, kept strictly anniversary, as usual, by offering our little pre-
secret) seemed to me just as absurd as ever. But sents to Miss Rachel, with the regular speech
I must own that what I myself saw, and what delivered annually by me as the chief. I follow
my daughter saw also, of our second housemaid's the plan adopted by the Queen in opening
conduct, began to look mysterious, to say the Parliament- namely, the plan of saying much
least of it. the same thing regularly every year. Before
For example, the girl constantly put herself in it is delivered, my speech (like the Queen's) is
Mr. Franklin's way- very slyly and quietly, but looked for as eagerly as if nothing of the kind
she did it. He took about as much notice of her had ever been heard before. When it is de-
as he took of the cat : it never seemed to occur livered , and turns out not to be the novelty
to him to waste a look on Rosanna's plain face. anticipated , though they grumble a little, they
The poor thing's appetite, never much, fell away look forward hopefully to something newer next
dreadfully ; and her eyes in the morning showed year. An easy people to govern, in the Parlia-
plain signs of waking and crying at night. One ment and in the Kitchen-that's the moral of it.
day Penelope madean awkward discovery, which After breakfast, Mr. Franklin and I had a
we hushed up on the spot. She caught Rosanna private conference on the subject of the Moon-
at Mr. Franklin's dressing -table, secretly remov- stone-the time having now come for removing
ing a rose which Miss Rachel had given him to it from the bank at Frizinghall, and placing it
wear in his button-hole, and putting another rose in Miss Rachel's own hands.
like it, of her own picking, in its place. She Whether he had been trying to make love
was, after that, once or twice impudent to me, to his cousin again, and had got a rebuff- or
when I gave her a well-meant general hint to be whether his broken rest, night after night, was
careful in her conduct ; and, worse still, she was aggravating the queer contradictions and uncer-
not over-respectful now, on the few occasions tainties in his character-I don't know. But
when Miss Rachel accidentally spoke to her. certain it is, that Mr. Franklin failed to show
My lady noticed the change, and asked me himself at his best on the morning of the birth-
what I thought about it. I tried to screen the day. He was in twenty different minds about
girl by answering that I thought she was out of the Diamond in as many minutes. For my part,
health ; and it ended in the doctor being sent I stuck fast by the plain facts as we knew them.
for, as already mentioned, on the nineteenth. Nothing had happened to justify us in alarming
He said it was her nerves, and doubted if she was my lady on the subject of the jewel ; and nothing
fit for service. My lady offered to remove her could alter the legal obligation that now lay on
for change of air to one of our farms, inland . Mr. Franklin to put it in his cousin's possession.
She begged and prayed, with the tears in her That was my view of the matter ; and, twist and
eyes, to be let to stop ; and, in an evil hour, I turn it as he might, he was forced in the end to
advised my lady to try her for a little longer. As make it his view too. We arranged that he was
the event proved, and as you will soon see, this to ride over, after lunch, to Frizinghall, and
was the worst advice I could have given. If I bring the Diamond back, with Mr. Godfrey and
could only have looked a little way into the the two young ladies, in all probability, to keep
future, I would have taken Rosanna Spearman him company on the way home again.
out ofthe house, then and there, with my own This settled, our young gentleman went back
hand. to Miss Rachel.
On the twentieth there came a note from Mr. They consumed the whole morning, and part
Godfrey. He had arranged to stop at Frizing- of the afternoon, in the everlasting business of
hall that night, having occasion to consult his decorating the door, Penelope standing by to
father on business. On the afternoon of the next mix the colours , as directed ; and my lady, as
day, he and his two eldest sisters would ride over luncheon time drew near, going in and out ofthe
to us on horseback, in good time before dinner. room, with her handkerchief to her nose ( forthey
An elegant little casket in china accompanied used a deal of Mr. Franklin's vehicle that day),
the note, presented to Miss Rachel, with her and trying vainly to get the two artists away
cousin's love and best wishes. Mr. Franklin had from their work. It was three o'clock before
only given her a plain locket not worth half the they took off their aprons, and released Penelope
money . My daughter Penelope, nevertheless (much the worse for the vehicle), and cleaned
28 THE MOONSTONE

themselves of their mess. But they had done | for my lady, and, hearing she was in the small
what they wanted-they had finished the door drawing -room, went there straight. The bell
on the birthday, and proud enough they were of rang, before he had been a minute in the room,
it. The griffins, cupids, and so on, were, I must and Penelope was sent to tell Miss Rachel that
own, most beautiful to behold ; though so many Mr. Franklin Blake wanted to speak to her.
in number, so entangled in flowers and devices, Crossing the hall, about half an hour after-
and so topsy-turvy in their actions and attitudes, wards, I was brought to a sudden standstill by
that you felt them unpleasantly in your head for an outbreak of screams from the small drawing-
hours after you had done with the pleasure of room. I can't say I was at all alarmed ; for I
looking at them. If I add that Penelope ended recognised in the screams the favourite large
her part of the morning's work by being sick in O of the Miss Ablewhites. However, I went in
the back-kitchen, it is in no unfriendly spirit (on pretence of asking for instructions about the
towards the vehicle. No ! no ! It left off stinking dinner) to discover whether anything serious had
when it dried ; and if Art requires these sort of really happened.
sacrifices -though the girl is my own daughter There stood Miss Rachel at the table, like a
-I say, let Art have them ! person fascinated, with the Colonel's unlucky
Mr. Franklin snatched a morsel from the Diamond in her hand. There, on either side of
luncheon-table, and rode off to Frizinghall- her, knelt the two Bouncers, devouring the jewel
to escort his cousins, as he told my lady. To with their eyes, and screaming with ecstasy
fetch the Moonstone, as was privately known every time it flashed on them in a new light.
to himself and to me. There, at the opposite side of the table, stood
This being one of the high festivals on which Mr. Godfrey, clapping his hands 66 like a large
I took my place at the sideboard, in command of child, and singing out softly, Exquisite ! ex-
the attendance at table, I had plenty to occupy quisite ! " There sat Mr. Franklin, in a chair by
my mind while Mr. Franklin was away. Having the bookcase, tugging at his beard, and looking
seen to the wine, and reviewed my men and anxiously towards the window. And there, at
women who were to wait at dinner, I retired to the window, stood the object he was contem-
collect myself before the company came. A plating-my lady, having the extract from the
whiff of you know what, and a turn at a certain Colonel's Will in her hand, and keeping her back
book which I have had occasion to mention in turned on the whole of the company.
these pages, composed me, body and mind. I She faced me, when I asked for my instruc-
was aroused from what I am inclined to think tions ; and I saw the family frown gathering
must have been, not a nap, but a reverie, by the over her eyes, and the family temper twitching
clatter of horses' hoofs outside ; and, going to at the corners of her mouth.
the door, received a cavalcade comprising Mr. "Come to my room in half an hour," she
Franklin and his three cousins, escorted by one answered. " I shall have something to say to
of old Mr. Ablewhite's grooms. you then."
Mr. Godfrey struck me, strangely enough, as With those words she went out. It was plain
being like Mr. Franklin in this respect that he enough that she was posed by the same difficulty
did not seem to be in his customary spirits. He which had posed Mr. Franklin and me in our
kindly shook hands with me as usual, and was conference at the Shivering Sand. Was the
most politely glad to see his old friend Better- legacy of the Moonstone a proof that she
edge wearing so well. But there was a sort of had treated her brother with cruel injustice ?
cloud over him , which I couldn't at all account or was it a proof that he was worse than the
for ; and when I asked how he had found his worst she had ever thought of him ? Serious
father in health, he answered rather shortly, questions those for my lady to determine, while
" Much as usual. "" However, the two Miss Able- her daughter, innocent of all knowledge of
whites were cheerful enough for twenty, which the Colonel's character, stood there with the
more than restored the balance. They were Colonel's birthday-gift in her hand.
nearly as big as their brother ; spanking, yellow- Before I could leave the room, in my turn,
haired, rosy lasses, overflowing with superabun- Miss Rachel, always considerate to the old ser-
dant flesh and blood ; bursting from head to foot vant who had been in the house when she was
with health and spirits. The legs of the poor born, stopped me. " Look, Gabriel ! " she said,
horses trembled with carrying them ; and when and flashed the jewel before my eyes in a ray
theyjumped from their saddles (without waiting of sunlight that poured through the window.
to be helped), I declare they bounced on the Lord bless us ! it was a Diamond ! As large,
ground as if they were made of indiarubber. or nearly, as a plover's egg ! The light that
Everything the Miss Ablewhites said began with streamed from it was like the light of the har-
a large O ; everything they did was done with a vest moon. When you looked down into the
bang ; and they giggled and screamed , in season stone, you looked into a yellow deep that drew
and out of season, on the smallest provocation. your eyes into it so that they saw nothing else.
Bouncers-that's what I call them. It seemed unfathomable ; this jewel, that you
Under cover of the noise made by the young could hold between your finger and thumb,
ladies, I had an opportunity of saying a private seemed unfathomable as the heavens them-
word to Mr. Franklin in the hall. selves. We set it in the sun, and then shut the
" Have you got the Diamond safe, sir ? " light out of the room, and it shone awfully out
He nodded, and tapped the breast-pocket of the depths of its own brightness, with a
of his coat. moony gleam, in the dark. No wonder Miss
"Have you seen anything of the Indians ? " Rachel was fascinated : no wonder her cousins
"Not aglimpse." With that answer,, he asked screamed. The Diamond laid such a hold on
 THE MOONSTONE 29

me that I burst out with as large an " O " as the | gone out arm-in-arm, both laughing. They came
Bouncers themselves. The only one of us who back, walking separate, as grave as grave could
kept his senses was Mr. Godfrey. He put an be, and looking straight away from each other
arm round each of his sisters' waists, and, in a manner which there was no mistaking. I
looking compassionately backwards and for- never was more delighted, father, in my life !
wards between the Diamond and me, said, There's one woman in the world who can resist
66
Carbon, Betteredge ! mere carbon, my good Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite, at any rate ; and, if I
friend, after all ! " was a lady, I should be another ! "
His object, I suppose, was to instruct me. Here I should have protested again. But my
All he did, however, was to remind me of the daughter had got the hair-brush by this time,
dinner. I hobbled off to my army of waiters and thewhole strength of her feelings had passed
downstairs. As I went out, Mr. Godfrey said, into that. If you are bald, you will understand
" Dear old Betteredge, I have the truest regard how she scarified me. If you are not, skip this
for him ! " He was embracing his sisters, and bit, and thank God you have got something in
ogling Miss Rachel, while he honoured me with the way of a defence between your hair-brush
that testimony of affection. Something like a and your head.
stock of love to draw on there ! Mr. Franklin "Just on the other side of the holly," Pene-
was a perfect savage by comparison with him. lope went on, " Mr. Godfrey came to a stand-
At the end of half an hour I presented myself, still. You prefer,' says he, " that I should stop
as directed, in my lady's room . here as if nothing had happened ?• ' Miss Rachel
What passed between my mistress and me, on turned on him like lightning. You have ac-
this occasion, was, in the main, a repetition of cepted my mother's invitation,' she said ; ' and
what had passed between Mr. Franklin and me you are here to meet her guests. Unless you
at the Shivering Sand-with this difference, wish to make a scandal in the house, you will
that I took care to keep my own counsel about remain, of course !' She went on a few steps,
the jugglers, seeing that nothing had happened and then seemed to relent a little. ' Let us
to justify me in alarming my lady on this head. forget what has passed, Godfrey,' she said, ‘ and
When I received my dismissal, I could see that let us remain cousins still.' She gave him her
she took the blackest view possible of the hand. He kissed it, which I should have con-
Colonel's motives, and that she was bent on sidered taking a liberty, and then she left him.
getting the Moonstone out of her daughter's He waited a little by himself, with his head
possession at the first opportunity. down, and his heel grinding a hole slowly in
On my way back to my own part of the house, the gravel walk ; you never saw a man look
I was encountered by Mr. Franklin. He wanted more put out in your life. Awkward ! ' he said
to know if I had seen anything of his cousin between his teeth, when he looked up, and went
Rachel. I had seen nothing of her. Could I on to the house ' very awkward ! ' If that was
tell him where his cousin Godfrey was ? I didn't his opinion of himself, he was quite right.
know ; but I began to suspect that Cousin Awkward enough, I'm sure. And the end of it
Godfrey might not be far away from Cousin is, father, what I told you all along," cries Pene-
Rachel. Mr. Franklin's suspicions apparently lope, finishing me off with a last scarification,
took the same turn. He tugged hard at his the hottest of all. " Mr. Franklin's the man ! ""
beard, and went and shut himself up in the I got possession of the hair-brush, and opened
library, with a bang of the door that had a my lips to administer the reproof which, you
world of meaning in it. will own, my daughter's language and conduct
I was interrupted no more in the business of richly deserved.
preparing for the birthday dinner till it was time Before I could say a word, the crash of car-
for me to smarten myself up for receiving the riage wheels outside struck in, and stopped me.
company. Just as I had got my white waistcoat The first of the dinner company had come.
on, Penelope presented herself at my toilet, on Penelope instantly ran off. I put on my coat,
pretence of brushing what little hair I have got and looked in the glass. My head was as red as
left, and improving the tie of my white cravat. a lobster ; but in other respects, I was as nicely
My girl was in high spirits, and I saw she had dressed for the ceremonies of the evening as a
something to say to me. She gave me a kiss on man need be. I got into the hall just in time
the top of my bald head, and whispered, " News to announce the two first of the guests. You
for you, father ! Miss Rachel has refused him." needn't feel particularly interested about them.
" Who's " him " ? " I asked. Only the philanthropist's father and mother-
The ladies' committee-man, father," says Mr. and Mrs. Ablewhite.
Penelope. " A nasty sly fellow ! I hate him
for trying to supplant Mr. Franklin ! ”
IfI had had breath enough, I should certainly CHAPTER X
have protested against this indecent way of
speaking ofan eminent philanthropic character. ONE on the top of the other, the rest of the
But my daughter happened to be improving the company followed the Ablewhites, till we had
tie of my cravat at that moment, and the whole the whole tale of them complete. Including the
strength of her feelings found its way into her family, they were twenty-four in all. It was a
fingers. I never was more nearly strangled in noble sight to see, when they were settled in
my life. their places round the dinner-table, and the
" Isaw him take her away alone into the rose- Rector of Frizinghall (with beautiful elocution)
garden," says Penelope. " And I waited behind rose and said grace.
the holly to see how they came back. They had There is no need to worry you with a list of
30 THE MOONSTONE

the guests. You will meet none of them a second | those perilous Indian places where his wander-
time-in my part of the story, at any rate- ings had lain. After looking at it silently for so
with the exception of two. long a time that Miss Rachel began to get con-
Those two sat on either side of Miss Rachel, fused, he said to her in his cool immovable way,
who, as queen of the day, was naturally the " If you ever go to India, Miss Verinder, don't
great attraction of the party. On this occasion, take your uncle's birthday gift with you. A
she was more particularly the centre-point to- Hindoo diamond is sometimes part of a Hindoo
wards which everybody's eyes were directed ; religion. I know a certain city, and a certain
for (to my lady's secret annoyance) she wore temple in that city, where, dressed as you are
her wonderful birthday present, which eclipsed now, your life would not be worth five minutes'
all the rest -the Moonstone. It was without purchase." Miss Rachel, safe in England, was
any setting when it had been placed in her quite delighted to hear of her danger in India.
hands ; but that universal genius, Mr. Franklin, The Bouncers were more delighted still ; they
had contrived, with the help of his neat fingers dropped their knives and forks with a crash,
and a little bit of silver wire, to fix it as a brooch and burst out together vehemently, " O! how
in the bosom of her white dress. Everybody interesting ! " My lady fidgeted in her chair,
wondered at the prodigious size and beauty of and changed the subject.
the Diamond, as a matter of course. But the As the dinner got on, I became aware, little
only two of the company who said anything by little, that this festival was not prospering as
out of the common way about it, were those other like festivals had prospered before it.
two guests I have mentioned, who sat by Miss Looking back at the birthdaynow, by the light
Rachel on her right hand and her left. of what happened afterwards, I am half inclined
The guest on her left was Mr. Candy, our to think that the cursed Diamond must have cast
doctor at Frizinghall. ablighton thewholecompany. I plied them well
This was a pleasant, companionable little man, with wine ; and being a privileged character,
with the drawback, however, I must own, of followed the unpopular dishes round the table,
being too fond, in season and out of season, of and whispered to the company confidentially,
his joke, and of his plunging in rather a head- "Please to change your mind and try it ; for I
long manner into talk with strangers, without know it will do you good. " Nine times out of
waiting to feel his way first. In society he was ten they changed their minds-out of regard for
constantly making mistakes, and setting people their old original Betteredge, they were pleased
unintentionally by the ears together. In his to say-but all to no purpose. There were gaps
medical practice he was a more prudent man ; of silence in the talk, as the dinner got on, that
picking up his discretion (as his enemies said) made me feel personally uncomfortable. When
by a kind of instinct, and proving to be gene- they did use their tongues again, they used them
rally right where more carefully conducted innocently, in the most unfortunate manner and
doctors turned out to be wrong. What he said to the worst possible purpose. Mr. Candy, the
about the Diamond to Miss Rachel was said, doctor, for instance, said more unlucky things
as usual, by way of a mystification or joke. than I ever knew him to say before. Take one
He gravely entreated her (in the interests of sample of the way in which he went on, and
science) to let him take it home and burn it. you will understand what I had to put up with
"We will first heat it, Miss Rachel," says the at the sideboard, officiating as I was in the char-
doctor, " to such and such a degree ; then we will acter of a man who had the prosperity of the
expose it to a current of air ; and, little by little festival at heart.
-puff !-we evaporate the Diamond, and spare One of our ladies present at dinner was worthy
you a world of anxiety about the safe keeping Mrs. Threadgall, widow of the late Professor of
of a valuable precious stone ! " My lady, listen that name. Talking of her deceased husband
ing with rather a careworn expression on her perpetually, this good lady never mentioned to
face, seemed to wish that the doctor had been strangers that he was deceased. She thought, I
in earnest, and that he could have found Miss suppose, that every able -bodied adult in England
Rachel zealous enough in the cause of science ought to know as much as that. In one of the
to sacrifice her birthday gift. gaps of silence, somebodymentioned the dry and
The other guest, who sat on my young lady's rather nasty subject of human anatomy ; where-
right hand, was an eminent public character upon good Mrs. Threadgall straightway brought
-being no other than the celebrated Indian in her late husband as usual, without mentioning
traveller, Mr. Murthwaite, who, at risk of his life, that he was dead. Anatomy she described as
had penetrated in disguise where no European the Professor's favourite recreation in his leisure
had ever set foot before. hours. As ill-luck would have it, Mr. Candy, sit-
This was a long, lean, wiry, brown, silent man. ting opposite (whoknew nothing of the deceased
He had a weary look, and a very steady, atten- gentleman), heard her. Being the most polite of
tive eye. It was rumoured that he was tired of men, he seized the opportunity of assisting the
the humdrum life among the people in our parts, Professor's anatomical amusements on the spot.
and longing to go back and wander off on the "Theyhave got some remarkablyfine skeletons
tramp again in the wild places of the East. latelyat the College of Surgeons,"says Mr. Candy,
Except what he said to Miss Rachael about her across the table, in a loud cheerful voice. " I
jewel, I doubt if he spoke six words or drank so strongly recommend the Professor, ma'am, when
much as a single glass of wine, all through the he next has an hour to spare, to pay them a visit. "
dinner. The Moonstone was the only object that You might have heard a pin fall. Thecompany
interested him in the smallest degree. The fame (out of respect to the Professor's memory) all sat
of it seemed to have reached him, in some of 'speechless. I was behind Mrs. Threadgall at the
 THE MOONSTONE 3r

time, plying her confidentially with a glass of Mr. Franklin again- surely, you will say, Mr.
hock. She dropped her head, and said in a very ,, Franklin stirred the company up into making a
low voice, " My beloved husband is no more.' pleasant evening of it ?
Unlucky Mr. Candy, hearing nothing, and Nothing of the sort ! He had quite recovered
miles away from suspecting the truth, went on himself, and he was inwonderful force andspirits,
across the table louder and politer than ever. Penelope having informed him, I suspect, of Mr.
" The Professor may not be aware," says he, Godfrey's reception in the rose-garden. But, talk
"that the card of a member ofthe College will as he might, nine times out of ten he pitched on
admit him, on any day but Sunday, between the wrong subject, or he addressed himself to
the hours of ten and four." the wrong person ; the end of it being, that he
Mrs. Threadgall dropped her head right into offended some, and puzzled all of them. That
her tucker, and, in a lower voice still, repeated foreign training of his those French and Ger-
the solemn words, " My beloved husband is no man and Italian sides of him, to which I have
more." already alluded-came out, at my lady's hospi-
I winked hard at Mr. Candy across the table. table board, in a most bewildering manner.
Miss Rachel touched his arm. My lady looked What do you think, for instance, of his dis-
unutterable things at him. Quite useless ! On cussing the lengths to which a married woman
he went, with a cordiality that there was no might let her admiration go for a man who was
stopping anyhow. "I shall be delighted, " says not her husband, and putting it in his clear-
he, "to send the Professor my card, if you will headed witty French way to the maiden aunt of
oblige me by mentioning his present address." the Vicar of Frizinghall ? What do you think,
" His present address, sir, is the grave, " says when he shifted to the German side, of his
Mrs. Threadgall, suddenly losing her temper, telling the lord of the Manor, while that great
and speaking with an emphasis and fury that authority on cattle was quoting his experience
made the glasses ring again. The Professor in the breeding of bulls, that experience, pro-
has been dead these ten years !" perly understood, counted for nothing, and that
"Oh, good heavens ! " says Mr. Candy. Ex- the proper way to breed bulls was to look deep
cepting the Bouncers, who burst out laughing, into your own mind, evolve out of it the idea of
such a blank now fell on the company, that they a perfect bull, and produce him ? What do you
might all have been going the way of the Pro- say, when our county member, growing hot, at
fessor, and hailing as he did from the direction cheese and salad time, about the spread of
of the grave. democracy in England, burst out as follows :
So much for Mr. Candy. The rest of them "If we once lose our ancient safeguards, Mr.
were nearly as provoking in their different ways Blake, I beg to ask you, what have we got left ? "
as the doctor himself. When they ought to what do you say to Mr. Franklin answering,
have spoken, they didn't speak ; or when they from the Italian point of view : " We have got
did speak they were perpetually at cross pur- three things left, sir-Love, Music, and Salad " ?
poses. Mr. Godfrey, though so eloquent in He not only terrified the company with such
public, declined to exert himself in private. outbreaks as these, but, when the English side
Whether he was sulky, or whether he was bash of him turned up in due course, he lost his
ful, after his discomfiture in the rose-garden, I foreign smoothness ; and, getting on the subject
can't say. He kept all his talk for the private of the medical profession, said such downright
ear of the lady (a member of our family) who things in ridicule of doctors, that he actually
sat next to him. She was one of his committee- put good-humoured little Mr. Candy in a rage.
women-a spiritually-minded person, with a fine The dispute between them began in Mr.
show of collar-bone and a pretty taste in cham. Franklin being led-I forget how-to acknow-
pagne ; liked it dry, you understand, and plenty ledge that he had latterly slept very badly at
of it. Being close behind these two at the side- night. Mr. Candy thereupon told him that his
board, I can testify, from what I heard pass be- nerves were all out of order, and that he ought
tween them, that the company lost a good deal to go through a course of medicine immediately.
of very improving conversation, which I caught Mr. Franklin replied that a course of medicine,
up while drawing the corks, and carving the and a course of groping in the dark, meant, in
mutton, and so forth. What they said about his estimation, one and the same thing. Mr.
their charities I didn't hear. When I had time Candy, hitting back smartly, said that Mr.
to listen to them, they had got a long way be- Franklin himself was, constitutionally speaking,
yond their women to be confined, and their groping in the dark after sleep, and that nothing
women to be rescued, and were disputing on but medicine could help him to find it. Mr.
serious subjects. Religion (I understand Mr. Franklin, keeping the ball up on his side, said
Godfrey to say, between the corks and the carv- he had often heard of the blind leading the
ing) meant love. And love meant religion. And blind, and now, for the first time, he knew what
earth was heaven a little the worse for wear. it meant. In this way they kept it going
And heaven was earth, done up again to look briskly, cut and thrust , till they both of them
like new . Earth had some very objectionable got hot-Mr. Candy, in particular, so completely
people in it ; but, to make amends for that, all losing his self-control, in defence of his profes-
the women in heaven would be members of a sion, that my lady was obliged to interfere, and
prodigious committee that never quarrelled, forbid the dispute to go on, This necessary act
with all the men in attendance on them as of authority put the last extinguisher on the
ministering angels. Beautiful ! beautiful ! But spirits of the company. The talk spurted up
whythe mischief did Mr. Godfrey keep it all to again here and there, for a minute or two at a
his lady and himself ? time ; but there was a miserable lack of life and
32 THE MOONSTONE

sparkle in it. The Devil (or the Diamond) pos- | tobacco, and found Mr. Franklin and Mr. Murth-
sessed that dinner-party ; and it was a relief to waite (the latter smoking a cheroot) walking
everybody when my mistress rose, and gave the slowly up and down among the trees. Mr.
ladies the signal to leave the gentlemen over Franklin beckoned to me to join them.
their wine. "This," says Mr. Franklin, presenting me to
the great traveller, " is Gabriel Betteredge, the
I had just ranged the decanters in a row old servant and friend of our family of whom I
before old Mr. Ablewhite (who represented the spoke to you just now. Tell him, if you please,
master of the house), when there came a sound what you have just told me."
from the terrace which startled me out of my Mr. Murthwaite took his cheroot out of his
company manners on the instant. Mr. Franklin mouth, and leaned, in his weary way, against
and I looked at each other ; it was the sound the trunk of a tree.
of the Indian drum. As I live by bread , here "Mr. Betteredge," he began, " those three In-
were the jugglers returning to us with the return dians are no more jugglers than you and I are."
of the Moonstone to the house ! Here was a new surprise ! I naturally asked
As they rounded the corner of the terrace, and the traveller if he had ever met with the Indians
came in sight, I hobbled out to warn them off. before.
But as ill-luck would have it, the two Bouncers "Never," says Mr. Murthwaite ; "but I know
were beforehand with me. They whizzed out what Indian juggling really is. All you have
on to the terrace like a couple of sky-rockets, seen to-night is a very bad and clumsy imita-
wild to see the Indians exhibit their tricks.tion of it. Unless, after long experience, I am
The other ladies followed ; the gentlemen came utterly mistaken, those men are high-caste
out on their side. Before you could say, Brahmins. I charged them with being dis-
" Lord bless us ! " the rogues were making their guised, and you saw how it told on them, clever
salaams ; and the Bouncers were kissing the as the Hindoo people are in concealing their
pretty little boy. feelings. There is a mystery about their con-
Mr. Franklin got on one side of Miss Rachel, duct that I can't explain. They have doubly
and I put myself behind her. If our suspicions sacrificed their caste- first, in crossing the sea ;
were right, there she stood, innocent of all secondly, in disguising themselves as jugglers.
knowledge of the truth, showing the Indians In the land they live in, that is a tremendous
the Diamond in the bosom of her dress ! sacrifice to make. There must be some very
I can't tell you what tricks they performed, serious motive at the bottom of it, and some
or how they did it. What with the vexation justification of no ordinary kind to plead for
about the dinner, and what with the provoca- them, in recovery of their caste, when they
tion of the rogues coming back just in the nick return to their own country. "
of time to see the jewel with their own eyes, I I was struck dumb. Mr. Murthwaite went on
own I lost my head. The first thing that I re- with his cheroot. Mr. Franklin, after what
member noticing was the sudden appearance on looked to me like a little private veering about
the scene of the Indian traveller, Mr. Murth- between the different sides of his character,
waite. Skirting the half-circle in which the broke the silence as follows :
gentlefolks stood or sat, he came quietly behind " I feel some hesitation, Mr. Murthwaite, in
the jugglers, and spoke to them on a sudden in troubling you with family matters, in which you
the language of their own country. can have no interest, and which I am not very
If he had pricked them with a bayonet, I willing to speak of out of our own circle. But,
doubt if the Indians could have started and after what you have said, I feel bound, in the
turned on him with a more tigerish quick- interests of Lady Verinder and her daughter, to
ness than they did, on hearing the first words tell you something which may possibly put the
that passed his lips. The next moment, they clue into your hands. I speak to you in confi-
were bowing and salaaming to him in their dence ; you will oblige me, I am sure, by not
most polite and snaky way. After a few words forgetting that ? "
in the unknown tongue had passed on either With this preface, he told the Indian traveller
side, Mr. Murthwaite withdrew as quietly as he all that he had told me at the Shivering Sand.
had approached. The chief Indian, who acted Even the immovable Mr. Murthwaite was so in-
as interpreter, thereupon wheeled about again terested in what he heard, that he let his cheroot
towards the gentlefolks. I noticed that the go out.
fellow's coffee- coloured face had turned grey "Now," says Mr. Franklin, when he had done,
since Mr. Murthwaite had spoken to him. He " what does your experience say ??
bowed to my lady, and informed her that the " My experience," answered the traveller,
exhibition was over. The Bouncers, indescrib- " says that you have had more narrow escapes
ably disappointed, burst out with a loud " O !" of your life, Mr. Franklin Blake, than I have
directed against Mr. Murthwaite for stopping had of mine ; and that is saying a great deal. ”
the performance. The chief Indian laid his It was Mr. Franklin's turn to be astonished
hand humbly on his breast, and said a second now.
time that the juggling was over. The little boy " Is it really as serious as that ?" he asked.
went round with the hat. The ladies withdrew " In my opinion it is," answered Mr. Murth-
to the drawing-room ; and the gentlemen (ex- waite. " I can't doubt, after what you have
cepting Mr. Franklin and Mr. Murthwaite) re- told me, that the restoration of the Moonstone
turned to their wine. I and the footmanfollowed to its place on the forehead of the Indian idol,
the Indians, and saw them safe off the premises. is the motive and the justification of that sacri-
Going back by way of the shrubbery, I smelt fice of caste which I alluded to just now. Those
 THE MOONSTONE 33

men will wait their opportunity with the pa- | There is an end of its sacred identity as the Moon-
tience of cats, and will use it with the ferocity stone-and there is an end of the conspiracy."
of tigers. How you have escaped them I can't Mr. Franklin turned to me.
imagine," says the eminent traveller, lighting " There is no help for it, " he said. "We
his cheroot again, and staring hard at Mr. must speak to Lady Verinder to-morrow."
Franklin. "You have been carrying the Dia- "What about to-night, sir ? " I asked. “ Sup-
mond backwards and forwards, here and in pose the Indians come back ?"
London, and you are still a living man ! Let Mr. Murthwaite answered me, before Mr.
us try and account for it. It was daylight, both Franklin could speak.
times, I suppose, when you took the jewel out "The Indians won't risk coming back to-
of the bank in London ?" night," he said. "The direct way is hardly ever
" Broad daylight, " says Mr. Franklin. the way they take to anything- let alone a
"
"" And plenty
" of people in the streets ? ” matter like this, in which the slightest mistake
Plenty. might be fatal to their reaching their end."
"You settled, of course, to arrive at Lady " But suppose the rogues are bolder than you
Verinder's house at a certain time ? It's a lonely think, sir ? " I persisted.
country between this and the station. Did you "In that case," says Mr. Murthwaite, "let
keep your appointment ? " the dogs loose. Have you got any big dogs in
"No. I arrived four hours earlier than my the yard ?"
"" Two, sir. A mastiff and a bloodhound."
appointment."
"I beg to congratulate you on that proceed- "They will do. In the present emergency,
ing ! When did you take the Diamond to the Mr. Betteredge, the mastiff and the bloodhound
bank at the town here ? " have one great merit-they are not likely to be
"I took it an hour after I had brought it to troubled with your scruples about the sanctity
this house, and three hours before anybody was of human life."
prepared for seeing me in these parts." The strumming of the piano reached us from
"I beg to congratulate you again ! Did you the drawing-room, as he fired that shot at me.
bring it back here alone ? " He threw away his cheroot, and took Mr. Frank-
" No. I happened to ride back with my lin's arm to go back to the ladies. I noticed
cousins and the groom." that the sky was clouding over fast, as I fol-
46
'I beg to congratulate you for the third time ! lowed them to the house. Mr. Murthwaite
If you ever feel inclined to travel beyond the noticed it too. He looked round at me, in his
civilised limits, Mr. Blake, let me know,"" and I dry, drolling way, and said—
will go with you. You are a lucky man.' "The Indians will want their umbrellas, Mr.
Here I struck in. This sort of thing didn't at Betteredge, to-night ! "
all square with my English ideas. It was all very well for him to joke. But I
"You don't really mean to say, sir," I asked, was not an eminent traveller-and my way in
"that they would have taken Mr. Franklin's this world had not led me into playing ducks
life, to get their Diamond, if he had given them and drakes with my own life, among thieves and
the chance ? " murderers in the outlandish places of the earth.
" Do you smoke, Mr. Betteredge ? " says the I went into my own little room, and sat down
traveller. in my chair in a perspiration, and wondered
"Yes, sir." helplessly what was to be done next. In this
"Do you care much for the ashes left in your anxious frame of mind, other men might have
pipe, when you empty it ?" ended by working themselves up into a fever ;
" No, sir." I ended in a different way. I lit my pipe, and
"In the country those men came from, they took a turn at " Robinson Crusoe. "
care just as much about killing a man, as you Before I had been at it five minutes, I came
care about emptying the ashes out of your pipe. to this amazing bit-page one hundred and
If a thousand lives stood between them and the sixty-one-as follows :
getting back of their Diamond-and ifthey "Fear of Danger is ten thousand times more
thought they could destroy those lives without terrifying than Danger itself, when apparent to
discovery they would take them all. The the Eyes ; and we find the Burthen of Anxiety
sacrifice of caste is a serious thing in India, if greater, by much, than the Evil which we are
you like. The sacrifice of life is nothing at all." anxious about."
I expressed my opinion, upon this, that they The man who doesn't believe in " Robinson
were a set of murdering thieves. Mr. Murth- Crusoe, " after that, is a man with a screw loose
waite expressed his opinion that they were a in his understanding, or a man lost in the mist
wonderful people. Mr. Franklin, expressing no of his own self-conceit ! Argument is thrown
opinion at all, brought us back to the matter away upon him ; and pity is better reserved for
in hand. some person with a livelier faith.
"They have seen the Moonstone on Miss I was far on with my second pipe, and still
Verinder's dress," he said. "What is to be lost in admiration of that wonderful book, when
done ? " Penelope (who had been handing round the tea)
"What your uncle threatened to do," an- came in with her report from the drawing-room.
swered Mr. Murthwaite. "Colonel Herncastle She had left the Bouncers singing a duet-words
understood the people he had to deal with. beginning with a large " O," and music to corre-
Send the Diamond to-morrow (under guard of spond. She had observed that my lady made
more than one man) to be cut up at Amsterdam. mistakes in her game of whist for the first time
Make half a dozen diamonds of it, instead of one. in our experience of her. She had seen the
B
34 THE MOONSTONE

great traveller asleep in a corner. She had when they are highly wrought up, at the end of
overheard Mr. Franklin sharpening his wits on an exciting day. First, she declared she didn't
Mr. Godfrey, at the expense of Ladies' Charities know where to put the Diamond. Then she said,
in general ; and she had noticed that Mr. God- " On her dressing-table, of course, along with
frey hit him back again rather more smartly her other things.' Then she remembered that
than became a gentleman of his benevolent, the Diamond might take to shining of itself, with
character. She had detected Miss Rachel, ap- its awful moony light, in the dark-and that
parently engaged in appeasing Mrs. Threadgall would terrify her in the dead of night. Then
by showing her some photographs, and really she bethought herself of an Indian cabinet which
occupied in stealing looks at Mr. Franklin, stood in her sitting-room ; and instantly made
which no intelligent lady's maid could mis- up her mind to put the Indian diamond in the
interpret for a single instant. Finally, she had Indian cabinet, for the purpose of permitting
missed Mr. Candy, the doctor, who had mysteri- two beautiful native productions to admire each
ously disappeared from the drawing-room, and other. Having let her little flow of nonsense
had then mysteriously returned, and entered run on as far as that point, her mother inter-
into conversation with Mr. Godfrey. Upon the posed
66 and stopped her.
whole, things were prospering better than the ' My dear ! your Indian cabinet has no lock
experience of the dinner gave us any right to to it, " says my lady.
expect. If we could only hold on for another " Good Heavens, mamma ! " cried Miss Rachel,
hour, old Father Time would bring up their "is this an hotel ? Are there thieves in the
carriages, and relieve us of them altogether. house ?"
Everything wears off in this world ; and even Without taking notice of this fantastic way of
the comforting effect of " Robinson Crusoe talking, my lady wished the gentlemen good-
wore off, after Penelope left me. I got fidgety night. She next turned to Miss Rachel, and
again, and resolved on making a survey of the kissed her. " Why not let me keep the Diamond
grounds before the rain came. Instead of taking for you to-night ? " she asked.
the footman, whose nose was human, and there- Miss Rachel received that proposal as she
fore useless in any emergency, I took the blood- might, ten years since, have received a proposal
hound with me. His nose for a stranger was to to part her from a new doll. My lady saw there
be depended on. We went all round the pre- was no reasoning with her that night. " Come
mises, and out into the road-and returned as into my room, Rachel, the first thing to-morrow
wise as we went, having discovered no such morning," she said. " I shall have something
thing as a lurking human creature anywhere. to say to you." With those last words she left
The arrival of the carriages was the signal for us slowly ; thinking her own thoughts, and, to
the arrival of the rain. It poured as if it meant all appearance, not best pleased with the way
to pour all night. With the exception of the by which they were leading her.
doctor, whose gig was waiting for him, the rest Miss Rachel was the next to say good-night.
of the company went home snugly, under cover, She shook hands first with Mr. Godfrey, who
in close carriages. I told Mr. Candy that I was was standing at the other end of the hall, look-
afraid he would get wet through. He told me, ing at a picture. Then she turned back to Mr.
in return, that he wondered I had arrived at my Franklin, still sitting weary and silent in a
time of life, without knowing that a doctor's corner.
skin was waterproof. So he drove away in the What words passed between them I can't say.
rain, laughing over his own little joke ; and so But standing near the old oak frame which holds
we got rid of our dinner company. our large looking-glass, I saw her reflected in it,
The next thing to tell is the story of the night. slyly slipping the locket which Mr. Franklin had
given to her, out of the bosom of her dress, and
showing it to him for a moment, with a smile
which certainly meant something out of the
CHAPTER XI common, before she tripped off to bed. This
incident staggered me a little in the reliance
WHENthe last of the guests had driven away, I I had previously felt on my own judgment. I
went back intothe inner hall, and found Samuel began to think that Penelope might be right
at the side-table, presiding over the brandy and about the state of her young lady's affections,
soda-water. My lady and Miss Rachel came after all.
out of the drawing-room, followed by the two As soon as Miss Rachel left him eyes to see
gentlemen. Mr. Godfrey had some brandy and with, Mr. Franklin noticed me. His variable
soda-water. Mr. Franklin took nothing. He humour, shifting about everything, had shifted
sat down, looking dead tired ; the talking on about the Indians already.
this birthday occasion had, I suppose, been too " Betteredge, " he said, " I'm half inclined
much for him. to think I took Mr. Murthwaite too seriously.
My lady, turning round to wish them good- when we had that talk in the shrubbery. I
night, looked hard at the wicked Colonel's legacy wonder whether he has been trying any of his
shining in her daughter's dress. traveller's tales on us ? Do you really mean to
(6
Rachel," she asked , " where are you going let the dogs loose ? "
to put your Diamond to-night ? " " I'll relieve them of their collars, sir," I
Miss Rachel was in high good spirits , just in answered, " and leave them free to take a turn
that humour for talking nonsense, and perversely in the night, if they smell a reason for it."
persisting in it as if it was sense, which you "All right," says Mr. Franklin. "We'll see
may sometimes have observed in young girls, what is to be done to-morrow. I am not at all
 THE MOONSTONE 35

disposed to alarm my aunt, Betteredge, without " Gone ! " says Penelope. "6' Gone, nobody
a very pressing reason for it. Good-night." knows how! Come up and see."
He looked so worn and pale as he nodded to She dragged me after her into our young
me, and took his candle to go upstairs, that I lady's sitting-room, which opened into her bed-
ventured to advise his having a drop of brandy- room. There, on the threshold of her bed-room
and-water, by way of nightcap. Mr. Godfrey, door, stood Miss Rachel, almost as white in the
walking towards us from the other end of the face as the white dressing-gown that clothed
hall, backed me. He pressed Mr. Franklin, in her. There also stood the two doors of the
the friendliest manner, to take something before India cabinet, wide open. One of the drawers
he went to bed. inside was pulled out as far as it would go.
I only note these trifling circumstances, be- " Look ! " says Penelope. " I myself saw
cause, after all I had seen and heard that day, Miss Rachel put the Diamond into that drawer
it pleased me to observe that our two gentlemen last night."
were on just as good terms as ever. Their war- I went to the cabinet. The drawer was empty.
fare of words (heard by Penelope in the drawing- " Is this true, miss ? " I asked.
room), and their rivalry for the best place in With a look that was not like herself, with a
Miss Rachel's good graces, seemed to have set no voice that was not like her own, Miss Rachel
serious difference between them. But there ! answered , as my daughter had answered : " The
they were both good-tempered , and both men of Diamond is gone ! "
the world. And there is certainly this merit in Having said those words, she withdrew into
people of station , that they are not nearly so her bed-room, and shut and locked the door.
quarrelsome among each other as people of no Before we knew which way to turn next, my
station at all. lady came in, hearing my voice in her daughter's
Mr. Franklin declined the brandy-and-water, sitting-room, andwondering what had happened.
and went upstairs with Mr. Godfrey, their rooms The news of the loss of the Diamond seemed to
being next door to each other. On the landing, petrify her. She went straight to Miss Rachel's
however, either his cousin persuaded him, or he bed-room, and insisted on being admitted. Miss
veered about and changed his mind as usual. Rachel let her in.
" Perhaps I may want it in the night," he called The alarm, running through the house like
down to me. "Send up some brandy-and-water fire, caught the two gentlemen next.
into my room." Mr. Godfrey was the first to come out of his
I sent up Samuel with the brandy-and-water ; | room. All he did when he heard what had
and then went out, and unbuckled the dogs' happened was to hold up his hands in a state
collars. They both lost their headswith astonish- of bewilderment which didn't say much for his
ment on being set loose at that time of night, natural strength of mind. Mr. Franklin, whose
and jumped upon me like a couple of puppies ! clear head I had confidently counted on to advise
However, the rain soon cooled them down again : us, seemed to be as helpless as his cousin when
they lapped a drop of water each, and crept he heard the news in his turn. For a wonder,
back into their kennels. As I went into the he had had a good night's rest at last ; and the
house, I noticed signs in the sky which be- unaccustomed luxury of sleep had, as he said
tokened a break in the weather for the better. himself, apparently stupefied him. However,
For the present it still poured heavily, and the when he had swallowed his cup of coffee-which
ground was in a perfect sop. he always took, on the foreign plan, some hours
Samuel and I went all over the house, and before he ate any breakfast- his brains bright-
shut up as usual. I examined everything myself, ened ; the clear-headed side of him turned up,
and trusted nothing to my deputy on this occa- and he took the matter in hand, resolutely and
sion. All was safe and fast, when I rested my cleverly, much as follows :
old bones in bed, between midnight and one He first sent for the servants, and told them
in the morning. to leave all the lower doors and windows (with
The worries of the day had been a little too the exception of the front door, which I had
much for me, I suppose. At any rate, I had opened ) exactly as they had been left when we
a touch of Mr. Franklin's malady that night. locked up overnight. He next proposed to his
It was sunrise before I fell off at last into a cousin and to me to make quite sure, before we
sleep. All the time I lay awake, the house was took any further steps, that the Diamond had
as quiet as the grave. Not a sound stirred but not accidentally dropped somewhere out of sight
the splash of the rain, and the sighing of the -say at the back of the cabinet, or down behind
wind among the trees as a breeze sprang up the table on which the cabinet stood. Having
with the morning. searched in both places, and found nothing—
havingalso questioned Penelope, and discovered
About half- past seven I woke, and opened from her no more than the little she had already
my window on a fine sunshiny day. The clock told me- Mr. Franklin suggested next extend-
had struck eight, and I was just going out ing our inquiries to Miss Rachel, and sent Pene-
to chain up the dogs again, when I heard a lope to knock at her bed-room door.
sudden whisking of petticoats on the stairs My lady answered the knock, and closed the
behind me. door behind her. The moment after, we heard
I turned about, and there was Penelope flying it locked inside by Miss Rachel. My mistress
down after me like mad. " Father ! she came out among us, looking sorely puzzled and
screamed, "6 come upstairs, for God's sake ! The distressed. " The loss of the Diamond seems
Diamond isgone ! " to have quite overwhelmed Rachel, " she said,
" Are you out of your mind ?" I asked her. in reply to Mr. Franklin, " She shrinks, in the
 E
STON
36 THE MOON

strangest manner, from speaking of it, even to themup again. The more I turned itoverin
me. It is impossible you can see her for the my mind, the less satisfactory Mr. Franklin's
present.' explanation appeared to be.
Having added to our perplexities by this We had our breakfasts-whatever happens in
account of Miss Rachel, my lady, after a little a house, robbery or murder, it doesn't matter,
effort, recovered her usual composure, and acted you must have your breakfast. When we had
with her usual decision. done, my lady sent for me ; and I found myself
" I suppose there is no help for it ? " she said compelled to tell her all that I had hitherto con-
quietly. " I suppose I have no alternative but cealed, relating to the Indians and their plot.
to send for the police ? " Being a woman of a high courage, she soon got
" And the first thing for the police to do, " over the first startling effect of what I had to
added Mr. Franklin, catching her up, " is to lay communicate. Her mind seemed to be far more
hands on the Indian jugglers who performed perturbed about her daughter than about the
here last night." heathen rogues and their conspiracy. " You
My lady and Mr. Godfrey (not knowing what know how odd Rachel is, and how differently
Mr. Franklin and I knew) both started, and she behaves sometimes from other girls," my
both looked surprised. lady said to me. " But I have never, in all my
"I can't stop to explain myself now," Mr. | experience, seen her so strange and so reserved
Franklin went on. "I can only tell you that the as she is now. The loss of her jewel seems
Indians have certainly stolen the Diamond. Give almost to have turned her brain. Who would
me a letter of introduction ," says he, addressing have thought that horrible Diamond could have
mylady, "to one ofthe magistrates at Frizinghall laid such a hold on her in so short a time ? "
-merely telling him that I represent your in- It was certainly strange. Taking toys and
terests and wishes, and let me ride off with it trinkets in general, Miss Rachel was nothing
instantly. Our chance of catching the thieves like so mad after them as most young girls. Yet
may depend on our not wasting one unneces- there she was, still locked up inconsolably in her
sary minute." (Nota bene : Whether it was the bed-room. It is but fair to add that she was not
French side or the English, the right side of the only one of us in the house who was thrown
Mr. Franklin seemed to be uppermost now. The out of the regular groove. Mr. Godfrey, for
only question was, How long would it last ?) instance though professionally a sort of con-
He put pen, ink, and paper before his aunt, soler-general-seemed to be at a loss where to
who (as it appeared to me) wrote the letter he look for his own resources. Having no company
wanted a little unwillingly. If it had been to amuse him, and getting no chance of trying
possible to overlook such an event as the loss of what his experience of women in distress could
a jewel worth twenty thousand pounds, I believe do towards comforting Miss Rachel, he wandered
with my lady's opinion of her late brother, and hither and thither about the house and gardens
her distrust of his birthday-gift- it would have in an aimless uneasy way. He was in two dif-
been privately a relief to her to let the thieves ferent minds about what it became him to do,
get off with the Moonstone scot free. after the misfortune that had happened to us.
I went out with Mr. Franklin to the stables, Ought he to relieve the family, in their present
and took the opportunity of asking him how situation, ofthe responsibility of him as a guest,
the Indians (whom I suspected, of course, as or ought he to stay on the chance that even his
shrewdly as he did) could possibly have got humble services might be of some use ? He
into the house. decided ultimately that the last course was per-
"One of them might have slipped into the haps the most customary and considerate course
hall, in the confusion , when the dinner company to take, in such a very peculiar case of family dis-
were going away," says Mr. Franklin, " The tress as this was. Circumstances try the metal
fellow may have been under the sofa while my a man is really made of. Mr. Godfrey, tried by
aunt and Rachel were talking about where the circumstances, showed himself of weaker metal
Diamond was to be put for the night. He would than I had thought him to be. As for the
only have to wait till the house was quiet, and women-servants --excepting Rosanna Spearman ,
there it would be in the cabinet, to be had for who kept by herself-they took to whispering
the taking. >> With those words, he called to together in corners, and staring at nothing sus-
the groom to open the gate, and galloped off. piciously, as is the manner of that weaker half of
This seemed certainly to be the only rational the human family, when anything extraordinary
explanation. But how had the thief contrived happens in a house. I myself acknowledge to
to make his escape from the house ? I had found have been fidgety and ill-tempered. The cursed
the front door locked and bolted, as I had left it Moonstone had turned us all upside down.
at night, when I went to open it, after getting A little before eleven, Mr. Franklin came back.
up. As for the other doors and windows, there The resolute side of him had, to all appearance,
they were still, all safe and fast, to speak for given way, in the interval since his departure,
themselves. The dogs, too ? Suppose the thief under the stress that had been laid on it. He
had got away by dropping from one of the upper had left us at a gallop ; he came back to us at
windows, how had he escaped the dogs ? Had a walk. When he went away, he was made of
he come provided for them with drugged meat ? iron. When he returned , he was stuffed with
As the doubt crossed my mind, the dogs them- cotton, as limp as limp could be.
selves came galloping at me round a corner, "Well," says my lady, " are the police
rolling each other over on the wet grass, in such coming ? "
lively health and spirits that it was with no small Yes," says Mr. Franklin ; " they said they
difficulty I brought them to reason, and chained would follow me in a fly. Superintendent See-
 THE MOONSTONE 37

grave, of your local police force, and two of his | a mighty resolute eye, and a grand frock-coat
men. A mere form ! The case is hopeless." which buttoned beautifully up to his leather
"What ! have the Indians escaped, sir ? " stock. " I'm the man you want ! " was written
I asked. all over his face ; and he ordered his two inferior
" The poor ill-used Indians have been most policemen about with a severity which convinced
unjustly put in prison,'"" says Mr. Franklin. us all that there was no trifling with him.
66 They are as innocent as the babe unborn. My
He began by going round the premises, out-
idea that one of them was hidden in the house, side and in ; the result of that investigation
has ended, like all the rest of my ideas, in smoke. proving to him that no thieves had broken in
It's been proved," says Mr. Franklin, dwelling upon us from outside, and that the robbery, con-
with great relish on his own incapacity, " to be sequently, must have been committed by some
simply impossible. " person in the house. I leave you to imagine the
After astonishing us by announcing this state the servants were in when this official
totally new turn in the matter of the Moon- announcement first reached their ears. The
stone, our young gentleman, at his aunt's re- Superintendent decided to begin by examining
quest, took a seat, and explained himself. the boudoir, and, that done, to examine the
It appeared that the resolute side of him had servants next. At the same time, he posted one
held out as far as Frizinghall. He had put the of his men on the staircase which led to the
whole case plainly before the magistrate, and servants' bed-rooms, with instructions to let
the magistrate had at once sent for the police. nobody in the house pass in, till further orders.
The first inquiries instituted about the Indians At this latter proceeding, the weaker half of
showed that they had not so much as attempted the human family went distracted on the spot.
to leave the town. Further questions addressed They bounced out of their corners ; whisked up-
to the police, proved that all three had been seen stairs in a body to Miss Rachel's room (Rosanna
returning to Frizinghall with their boy, on the Spearman being carried away among them this
previous night between ten and eleven- which time) ; burst in on Superintendent Seegrave ;
(regard being had to hours and distances) also and all looking equally guilty, summoned him to
proved that they had walked straight back, after say which of them he suspected, at once.
performing on our terrace. Later still, at mid- Mr. Superintendent proved equal to the occa-
night, the police, having occasion to search the sion-he looked at them with his resolute eye,
common lodging-house where they lived, had and he cowed them with his military voice.
seen them all three again, and their little boy "Now, then, you women, go downstairs again,
with them as usual. Soon after midnight I every one ofyou. I won't have youhere. Look ! "
myself had safely shut up the house. Plainer says Mr. Superintendent, suddenly pointing to a
evidence than this, in favour of the Indians, little smear of the decorative painting on Miss
there could not well be. The magistrate said Rachel's door-at the outer edge, just under the
there was not even a case of suspicion against lock. "Look what mischief the petticoats of
them so far. But, as it was just possible, when some of you have done already. Clear out ! clear
the police came to investigate the matter, that out ! " Rosanna Spearman, who was nearest to
discoveries affecting the jugglers might be made, him, and nearest to the little smear on the door,
he would contrive, by committing them as set the example of obedience, and slipped off in-
rogues and vagabonds, to keep them at our dis- stantly to her work. The rest followed her out.
posal, under lock and key, for a week. They had The Superintendent finished his examination
ignorantly done something (I forget what) in the of the room ; and, making nothing of it, asked
town, which barely brought them within the me who had first discovered the robbery. My
operation of the law. Every human institution daughter had first discovered it. My daughter
(Justice included ) will stretch a little, if you was sent for.
only pull it the right way. The worthy magis- Mr. Superintendent proved to be a little too
trate was an old friend of my lady's and the sharp with Penelope at starting. " Now, young
Indians were " committed " for a week, as soon woman, attend to me-and mind you speak the
as the court opened that morning. truth." Penelope fired up instantly. "I've never
Such was Mr. Franklin's narrative of events been taught to tell lies, Mr. Policeman !—and if
at Frizinghall. The Indian clue to the mystery father can stand there and hear me accused of
of the lost jewel was now, to all appearance, a falsehood and thieving, and my own bed-room
clue that had broken in our hands. If the shut against me, and my character taken away,
jugglers were innocent, who, in the name of which is all a poor girl has left, he's not the
wonder, had taken the Moonstone out of Miss good father I take him for ! " A timely word
Rachel's drawer ? from me put Justice and Penelope on a plea-
Ten minutes later, to our infinite relief, santer footing together. The questions and
Superintendent Seegrave arrived at the house. answers went swimmingly, and ended in nothing
He reported passing Mr. Franklin on the terrace, worth mentioning. My daughter had seen Miss
sitting in the sun (I suppose with the Italian Rachel put the Diamond in the drawer of the
side of him uppermost) ; and warning the police, cabinet, the last thing at night. She had gone
as they went by, that the investigation was in with Miss Rachel's cup of tea, at eight the
hopeless, before the investigation had begun. next morning, and had found the drawer open
For a family in our situation, the Superin- and empty. Upon that, she had alarmed the
tendent of the Frizinghall police was the most house-and there was an end of Penelope's
comforting officer you could wish to see. Mr. evidence.
Seegrave was tall and portly, and military in his Mr. Superintendent next asked to see Miss
manners. He had a fine commanding voice, and Rachel herself. Penelope mentioned his request
38 THE MOONSTONE

through the door. The answer reached us by the gether, my lady appeared on the terrace. Miss
same road-" I have nothing to tell the police- Rachel saw her-said a few last words to Mr.
man-I can't see anybody." Our experienced Franklin- and suddenly went back into the
officer looked equally surprised and offended house again, before her mother came up with
when he heard that reply. I told him my young her. My lady, surprised herself, and noticing
lady was ill, and begged him to wait a little and Mr. Franklin's surprise, spoke to him. Mr.
see her later. We thereupon went downstairs Godfrey joined them, and spoke also. Mr.
again, and were met by Mr. Godfrey and Mr. Franklin walked away a little, between the two,
Franklin crossing the hall. telling them what had happened, I suppose ; for
Thetwogentlemen,beinginmates of thehouse, they both stopped short after taking a few steps,
were summoned to say if they could throw any like persons struck with amazement. I had just
light on the matter. Neither of them knew any- seen as much as this, when the door of the sit-
thing about it. Had they heard any suspicious ting-room was opened violently. Miss Rachel
noises during the previous night ? They had walked swiftly through to her bed-room, wild
heard nothing but the pattering of the rain. and angry, with fierce eyes and flaming cheeks.
Had I, lying awake longer than either of them, Mr. Superintendent once more attempted to
heard nothing either? Nothing ! Released from question her. She turned round on him at her
examination, Mr. Franklin (still sticking to the bed-room door. " I have not sent for you ! "
helpless view of our difficulty) whispered to me she cried out vehemently. " I don't want you.
" That man will be of no earthly use to us. My Diamond is lost. Neither you nor anybody
Superintendent Seegrave is an ass. 39 Released else will ever find it !" With those words she
in his turn, Mr. Godfrey whispered to me— went in, and locked the door in our faces.
Evidently a most competent person. Better- Penelope, standing nearest to it, heard her
edge, I have the greatest faith in him !" Many burst out crying the moment she was alone
men, many opinions, as one of the ancients said, again.
before my time. In a rage, one moment ; in tears, the next !
Mr. Superintendent's nextproceeding took him What did it mean ?
back to the "boudoir " again, with my daughter I told the Superintendent it meant that Miss
and me at his heels. His object was to discover Rachel's temper was upset by the loss of her
whether any of the furniture had been moved, jewel. Being anxious for the honour of the
during the night, out of its customary place family, it distressed me to see my young lady
his previous investigation in the room having, forget herself-even with a police officer-and
apparently, not gone quite far enough to satisfy I made the best excuse I could, accordingly. In
his mind on this point. my own private mind, I was more puzzled by
While we were still poking about among the Miss Rachel's extraordinary language and con-
chairs and tables, the door of the bed-room was duct than words can tell. Taking what she had
suddenly opened. After having denied herself said at her bed-room door as a guide to guess by,
to everybody, Miss Rachel, to our astonish- I could only conclude that she was mortally
ment, walked into the midst of us of her own offended by our sending for the police, and that
accord. She took up her garden hat from a Mr. Franklin's astonishment on the terrace was
chair, and then went straight to Penelope with caused by her having expressed herself to him
this question- (as the person chiefly instrumental in fetching
" Mr. Franklin Blake sent you with a message the police) to that effect. If this guess was right,
to me this morning ? " why having lost her Diamond-should she ob-
" Yes, miss." ject to the presence in the house of the very
" He wished to speak to me, didn't he ?" people whose business it was to recover it for
"Yes, miss. " her? And how, in Heaven's name, could she
" Where is he now ?" know that the Moonstone would never be found
Hearing voices on the terrace below, I looked again ?
out of window, and saw the two gentlemen As things stood, at present, no answer to those
walking up and down together. Answering for questions was to be hoped for from anybody in
my daughter, I said, " Mr. Franklin is on the the house. Mr. Franklin appeared to think it a
terrace, miss. " point of honour to forbear repeating to a servant
Without another word, without heeding Mr. -even to so old a servant as I was-what Miss
Superintendent, who tried to speak to her ; pale Rachel had said to him on the terrace. Mr.
as death, and wrapped up strangely in her own Godfrey, who, as a gentleman and a relative,
thoughts, she left the room, and went down to had been probably admitted into Mr. Franklin's
her cousins on the terrace. confidence, respected that confidence as he was
It showed a want of due respect, it showed a bound to do. My lady, who was also in the
breach of good manners, on my part ; but, for secret no doubt, and who alone had access to
the life of me, I couldn't help looking out of Miss Rachel, owned openly that she could make
window when Miss Rachel met the gentlemen nothing of her. "You madden me when you
outside. She went up to Mr. Franklin without talk of the Diamond ! " All her mother's in-
appearing to notice Mr. Godfrey, who thereupon fluence failed to extract from her a word more
drew back and left them by themselves. What than that.
she said to Mr. Franklin appeared to be spoken Here we were, then, at a deadlock about
vehemently. It lasted but for a short time ; and Miss Rachel-and at a deadlock about the
(judging by what I saw of his face from the Moonstone. In the first case, my lady was
window) seemed to astonish him beyond all powerless to help us. In the second (as you
power of expression. While they were still to- | shall presently judge), Mr. Seegrave was fast
 THE MOONSTONE 39

approaching the condition of a superintendent | broken-hearted. Foolish of her, you will say :
at his wits' end. she might have waited till he openly accused
Having ferreted about all over the " boudoir," her. Well, being a man of just and equal temper,
without making any discoveries among the fur- I admit that. Still Mr. Superintendent might
niture, our experienced officer applied to me to have remembered—never mind what he might
know, whether the servants in general were or have remembered. The devil take him !
were not acquainted with the place in which the The next and last step in the investigation
Diamond had been put for the night. brought matters, as they say, to a crisis. The
"I knew where it was put, sir, " I said, " to officer had an interview (at which I was present)
begin with. Samuel, the footman, knew also- with my lady. After informing her that the
for he was present in the hall, when they were Diamond must have been taken by somebody in
talking about where the Diamond was to be the house, he requested permission for himself
kept that night. My daughter knew, as she has and his men to search the servants' rooms and
already told you. She or Samuel may have men- boxes on the spot. My good mistress, like the
tioned the thing to the other servants- or the generous high-bred woman she was, refused to
other servants may have heard the talk for let us be treated like thieves. " I will never
themselves, through the side-door of the hall, consent to make such a return as that," she
which might have been open to the back stair- said, " for all I owe to the faithful servants
case. For all I can tell, everybody in the house who are employed in my house."
may have known where the jewel was, last Mr. Superintendent made his bow, with a look
night. " in my direction, which said plainly, " Why
My answer presenting rather a wide field for employ me, if you are to tie my hands in this
Mr. Superintendent's suspicions to range over, he way ?" As head of the servants, I felt directly
tried to narrow it by asking about the servants ' that we were bound, in justice to all parties,
characters next. not to profit by our mistress's generosity. "We
I thought directly of Rosanna Spearman. But gratefully thank your ladyship," I said ; " but
it was neither my place nor my wish to direct we ask permission to do what is right in this
suspicion against a poor girl, whose honesty had matter, by giving up our keys. When Gabriel
been above all doubt as long as I had known her. Betteredge sets the example," says I, stopping
The matron at the Reformatory had reported her Superintendent Seegrave at the door, " the rest
to my ladyas a sincerely penitent and thoroughly of the servants will follow, I promise you. There
trustworthy girl. It was the Superintendent's are my keys, to begin with ! " My lady took me
business to discover reason for suspecting her by the hand, and thanked me with the tears in
first-and then, and not till then, it would be her eyes. Lord ! what would I not have given
my duty to tell him how she came into my lady's at that moment for the privilege of knocking
service. " All our people have excellent char- Superintendent Seegrave down !
acters," I said. " And all have deserved the As I had promised for them, the other ser-
trust their mistress has placed in them." After vants followed my lead, sorely against the grain,
that, there was but one thing left for Mr. See- of course, but all taking the view that I took.
grave to do— namely, to set to work, and tackle The women were a sight to see, while the police
the servants' characters himself. officers were rummaging among their things.
One after another, they were examined. One The cook looked as if she could grill Mr. Super-
after another, they proved to have nothing to intendent alive on a furnace, and the other
say-and said it (so far as the women were con- women looked as if they could eat him when
cerned) at great length, and with a very angry he was done.
sense of the embargo laid on their bed-rooms. The search over, and no Diamond or sign of
The rest of them being sent back to their places a Diamond being found, of course, anywhere,
downstairs, Penelope was then summoned, and Superintendent Seegrave retired to my little
examined separately a second time. room to consider with himself what he was to
My daughter's little outbreak of temper in the do next. He and his men had now been hours
"boudoir," and her readiness to think herself in the house, and had not advanced us one inch
suspected, appeared to have produced an un- towards a discovery of how the Moonstone had
favourable impression on Superintendent See- been taken, or of whom we were to suspect as
grave. It seemed also to dwell a little on his the thief.
mind, that she had been the last person who While the police officer was still pondering in
saw the Diamond at night. When the second solitude , I was sent for to see Mr. Franklin in
questioning was over, my girl came back to me the library. To my unutterable astonishment,
in a frenzy. There was no doubt of it any longer just as my hand was on the door, it was sud-
-the police officer had almost as good as told denly opened from the inside, and out walked
her she was the thief ! I could scarcely believe Rosanna Spearman !
him (taking Mr. Franklin's view) to be quite
such an ass as that. But, though he said nothing, After the library had been swept and cleaned
the eye with which he looked at my daughter in the morning, neither first nor second house-
was not a very pleasant eye to see. I laughed maid had any business in that room at any later
it off with poor Penelope, as something too period ofthe day. I stopped Rosanna Spearman,
ridiculous to be treated seriously-which it and charged her with a breach of domestic dis-
certainly was. Secretly, I am afraid I was cipline on the spot.
foolish enough to be angry too. It was a little " What might you want in the library at this
trying -it was, indeed. My girl sat down in time of day ? " I inquired.
a corner, with her apron over her head, quite "Mr. Franklin Blake dropped one of his rings
40 THE MOONSTONE

upstairs," says Rosanna ; " and I have been into into a scrape, merely because she has a flighty
the library to give it to him. " The girl's face way with her, and talks very strangely," Mr.
was all in a flush as she made me that answer ; Franklin went on. " And yet if she had said
and she walked away with a toss of her head to the Superintendent what she said to me, fool
and a look of self-importance which I was quite as he is, I'm afraid- -" He stopped there, and
at a loss to account for. The proceedings in left the rest unspoken.
the house had doubtless upset all the women- " The best way, sir," I said, " will be for me
servants more or less ; but none of them had to say two words privately to my mistress about
gone clean out of their natural characters, as it at the first opportunity. My lady has a very
Rosanna, to all appearance, had now gone out friendly interest in Rosanna ; and the girl may
of hers. only have been forward and foolish, after all.`
I found Mr. Franklin writing at the library When there's a mess of any kind in a house, sir,
table. He asked for a conveyance to the railway the women-servants like to look at the gloomy
station the moment I entered the room. The side-it gives the poor wretches a kind of im-
first sound of his voice informed me that we now portance in their own eyes. If there's anybody
had the resolute side of him uppermost once ill, trust the women for prophesying that the
more. The man made of cotton had disap- person will die. If it's a jewel lost, trust them for
peared ; and the man made of iron sat before prophesying that it will never be found again.”
me again. This view (which, I am bound to say, I thought.
Going to London, sir ? " I asked. a probable view myself, on reflection) seemed
Going to telegraph to London," says Mr. to relieve Mr. Franklin mightily : he folded up
Franklin. " I have convinced my aunt that we his telegram, and dismissed the subject. On my
must have a cleverer head than Superintendent way to the stables, to order the pony-chaise, I
Seegrave's to help us ; and I have got her per- looked in at the servants' hall, where they were
mission to despatch a telegram to my father. at dinner. Rosanna Spearman was not among
He knows the Chief Commissioner of Police, and them. On inquiry, I found that she had been
the Commissioner can lay his hand on the right suddenly taken ill, and had gone upstairs to her
man to solve the mystery of the Diamond. Talk- own room to lie down.
ing of mysteries, by-the-bye," said Mr. Franklin, " Curious ! She looked well enough when I
dropping his voice, " I have another word to say saw her last," I remarked.
to you before you go to the stables. Don't Penelope followed me out. " Don't talk in
breathe a word of it to anybody as yet ; but that way before the rest of them, father," she
either Rosanna Spearman's head is not quite said. "You only make them harder on Rosanna
right, or I am afraid she knows more about the than ever. The poor thing is breaking her heart
Moonstone than she ought to know." about Mr. Franklin Blake."
I can hardly tell whether I was more startled Here was another view of the girl's conduct.
or distressed at hearing him say that. If I had If it was possible for Penelope to be right, the
been younger, I might have confessed as much explanation of Rosanna's strange language and
to Mr. Franklin. But when you are old, you behaviour might have been all in this that she
acquire one excellent habit. In cases where didn't care what she said, so long as she could
you don't see your way clearly, you hold your surprise Mr. Franklin into speaking to her.
tongue. Granting that to be the right reading of the
"She came in here with a ring I dropped in riddle, it accounted, perhaps, for her flighty self-
my bed-room," Mr. Franklin went on. "When conceited manner when she passed me in the
I had thanked her, of course I expected her to hall. Though he had only said three words,
go. Instead of that, she stood opposite to me still she had carried her point, and Mr. Franklin
at the table, looking at me in the oddest manner had spoken to her.
-half frightened, and half familiar- I couldn't I saw the pony harnessed myself. In the in-
make it out. This is a strange thing about the fernal network of mysteries and uncertainties
Diamond, sir,' she said, in a curiously sudden that now surrounded us, I declare it was a relief
headlong way. I said, ' Yes, it was, ' and to observe how well the buckles and straps
wondered what was coming next. Upon my understood each other ! When you had seen
honour, Betteredge, I think she must be wrong the pony backed into the shafts of the chaise,
in the head ! She said, ' They will never find you had seen something there was no doubt
the Diamond, sir, will they ? No ! northe person about. And that, let me tell you, was becoming
who took it I'll answer for that.' She actually a treat of the rarest kind in our household.
nodded and smiled at me ! Before I could ask Going round with the chaise to the front door,
her what she meant, we heard your step outside. I found not only Mr. Franklin, but Mr. Godfrey
I suppose she was afraid of your catching her and Superintendent Seegrave also waiting for
here. At any rate, she changed colour, and left me on the steps.
the room . What on earth does it mean ?" Mr. Superintendent's reflections (after failing
I could not bring myself to tell him the girl's to find the Diamond in the servants' rooms or
story, even then. It would have been almost as boxes) had led him, it appeared, to an entirely
good as telling him that she was the thief. Be- new conclusion. Still sticking to his first text,
sides, even if I had made a clean breast of it, namely, that somebody in the house had stolen
and even supposing she was the thief, the reason the jewel, our experienced officer was now of
whyshe should let out her secret to Mr. Franklin, opinion that the thief (he was wise enough not
of all the people in the world, would have been to name poor Penelope, whatever he might
still as far to seek as ever. privately think of her ! ) had been acting in
" I can't bear the idea of getting the poor girl concert with the Indians ; and he accordingly
 THE MOONSTONE

proposed shifting his inquiries to the jugglers in | for a little cheerful society, set my chair by the
the prison at Frizinghall. Hearing of this new kennels, and talked to the dogs.
move, Mr. Franklin had volunteered to take the Half an hour before dinner-time, the two
Superintendent back to the town, from which gentlemen came back from Frizinghall, having
he could telegraph to London as easily as from arranged with Superintendent Seegrave that
our station. Mr. Godfrey, still devoutly believ- he was to return to us the next day. They
ing in Mr. Seegrave, and greatly interested in had called on Mr. Murthwaite, the Indian
witnessing the examination of the Indians, had traveller, at his present residence, near the
begged leave to accompanythe officer to Frizing- town. At Mr. Franklin's request, he had kindly
hall. One of the two inferior policemen was to given them the benefit of his knowledge of the
be left at the house, in case anything happened. | language, in dealing with those two, out of the
The other was to go back with the Superin- three Indians, who knew nothing of English.
tendent to the town. So the four places in the The examination, conducted carefully, and at
pony- chaise were just filled. great length, had ended in nothing ; not the
Before he took the reins to drive off, Mr. shadow of a reason being discovered for sus-
Franklin walked me away a few steps out of pecting the jugglers of having tampered with
hearing of the others. any of our servants. On reaching that con-
" I will wait to telegraph to London," he clusion, Mr. Franklin had sent his telegraphic
said, " till I see what comes of our examination message to London , and there the matter now
of the Indians. My own conviction is, that this rested till to-morrow came.
muddle-headed local police officer is as much in So much for the history of the day that
the dark as ever, and is simply trying to gain followed the birthday. Not a glimmer of light
time. The idea of any of the servants being in had broken in on us, so far. A day or two
league with the Indians is a preposterous ab- after, however, the darkness lifted a little.
surdity, in my opinion. Keep about the house, How, and with what result, you shall pre-
Betteredge, till I come back, and try what you sently see.
can make of Rosanna Spearman. I don't ask
you to do anything degrading to your own self-
respect, or anything cruel towards the girl. I
only ask you to exercise your observation more CHAPTER XII
carefully than usual. We will make as light of
it as we can before my aunt- but this is a more THE Thursday night passed, and nothing hap-
important matter than you may suppose." pened. With the Friday morning came two
"It's a matterof twenty thousand pounds, sir," pieces of news.
I said, thinking of the value of the Diamond. "" Item the first : the baker's man declared he
" It's a matter of quieting Rachel's mind ,' had met Rosanna Spearman, on the previous
answered Mr. Franklin gravely. " I am very afternoon , with a thick veil on, walking to-
uneasy about her." wards Frizinghall by the footpath way over the
He left me suddenly, as if he desired to cut moor. It seemed strange that anybody should
short any further talk between us. I thought be mistaken about Rosanna, whose shoulder
I understood why. Further talk might have marked her out pretty plainly, poor thing- but
let me into the secret of what Miss Rachel had mistaken the man must have been ; for Rosanna,
said to him on the terrace. as you know, had been all the Thursday after-
So they drove away to Frizinghall. I was noon ill upstairs in her room.
ready enough, in the girl's own interest, to have Item the second came through the postman.
a little talk with Rosanna in private. But the Worthy Mr. Candy had said one more of his
needful opportunity failed to present itself. many unlucky things, when he drove off in the
She only came downstairs again at tea-time. rain on the birthday night, and told me that a
When she did appear, she was flighty and ex- doctor's skin was waterproof. In spite of his
cited, had what they call an hysterical attack, skin, the wet had got through him. He had
took a dose of sal-volatile by my lady's order, caught a chill that night, and was now down
and was sent back to her bed. with a fever. The last accounts, brought by the
The day wore on to its end drearily and miser- postman, represented him to be light-headed-
ably enough, I can tell you. Miss Rachel still talking nonsense as glibly, poor man, in his
kept her room, declaring that she was too ill to delirium as he often talked it in his sober
come down to dinner that day. My lady was senses. We were all sorry for the little doctor ;
in such low spirits about her daughter, that I but Mr. Franklin appeared to regret his illness,
could not bring myself to make her additionally chiefly on Miss Rachel's account. From what
anxious, by reporting what Rosanna Spearman he said to my lady, while I was in the room at
had said to Mr. Franklin. Penelope persisted breakfast-time, he appeared to think that Miss
in believing that she was to be forthwith tried, Rachel-if the suspense about the Moonstone
sentenced, and transported for theft. The other was not soon set at rest-might stand in urgent
women took to their Bibles and hymn-books, need of the best medical advice at our dis-
and looked as sour as verjuice over their read- posal.
ing a result, which I have observed, in my Breakfast had not been over long, when a
sphere of life, to follow generally on the per- telegram from Mr. Blake, the elder, arrived, in
formance of acts of piety at unaccustomed answer to his son. It informed us that he had
periods of the day. As for me, I hadn't even laid hands (by help of his friend, the Commis-
heart enough to open my " Robinson Crusoe." sioner) on the right man to help us. The name
I went out into the yard, and, being hard up of him was Sergeant Cuff ; and the arrival of
42 THE MOONSTONE

him from London might be expected by the strange dogs, coupled up together for the first
morning train. time in their lives by the same chain.
At reading the name of the new police officer, Asking for my lady, and hearing that she was
Mr. Franklin gave a start. It seems that he had in one of the conservatories, we went round to
heard some curious anecdotes about Sergeant the gardens at the back, and sent a servant to
Cuff, from his father's lawyer, during his stay seek her. While we were waiting, Sergeant
in London. Cuff looked through the evergreen arch on our
I begin to hope we are seeing the end of our left, spied out our rosery, and walked straight
anxieties already," he said. " If half the stories in, with the first appearance of anything like
I have heard are true, when it comes to un- interest that he had shown yet. To the gar-
ravelling a mystery, there isn't the equal in dener's astonishment, and to my disgust, this
England of Sergeant Cuff ! " celebrated policeman proved to be quite a mine
We all got excited and impatient as the time of learning on the trumpery subject of rose-
drew near for the appearance of this renowned gardens.
and capable character. Superintendent See- " Ah, you've got the right exposure here to
grave, returning to us at his appointed time, the south and sou' -west, " says the Sergeant,
and hearing that the Sergeant was expected, with a wag of his grizzled head, and a streak
instantly shut himself up in a room, with pen, of pleasure in his melancholy voice. " This is
ink, and paper, to make notes of the Report the shape for a rosery-nothing like a circle set
which would be certainly expected from him. in a square. Yes, yes ; with walks between all
I should have liked to have gone to the station the beds. But they oughtn't to be gravel walks
myself, to fetch the Sergeant. But my lady's like these. Grass, Mr. Gardener-grass walks
carriage and horses were not to be thought of, between your roses ; gravel's too hard for them.
even for the celebrated Cuff ; and the pony- That's a sweet pretty bed of white roses and
chaise was required later for Mr. Godfrey. He blush roses. They always mix well together,
deeply regretted being obliged to leave his aunt don't they ? Here's the white musk rose, Mr.
at such an anxious time ; and he kindly put off Betteredge-our old English rose holding up its
the hour of his departure till as late as the last head along with the best and the newest of
train, for the purpose of hearing what the clever them. Pretty dear ! " says the Sergeant, fond-
London police officer thought of the case. But ling the Musk Rose with his lanky fingers, and
on Friday night he must be in town, having a speaking to it as if he was speaking to a child.
Ladies' Charity, in difficulties, waiting to con- This was a nice sort of man to recover Miss
sult him on Saturday morning. Rachel's Diamond, and to find out the thief
When the time came for the Sergeant's arrival, who stole it !
I went down to the gate to look out for him. " You seem to be fond of roses, Sergeant ? "
A fly from the railway drove up as I reached I remarked.
the lodge ; and out got a grizzled, elderly man, " I haven't much time to be fond of any-
so miserably lean that he looked as if he had thing," says Sergeant Cuff. " But when I have
not got an ounce of flesh on his bones in any a moment's fondness to bestow, most times, Mr.
part of him. He was dressed all in decent black, Betteredge, the roses get it. I began my life
with a white cravat round his neck. His face among them in my father's nursery garden, and
was as sharp as a hatchet, and the skin of it I shall end my life among them, if I can. Yes.
was as yellow and dry and withered as an One of these days (please God ) I shall retire from
autumn leaf. His eyes, of a steely light grey, catching thieves, and try my hand at growing
had a very disconcerting trick, when they en- roses. There will be grass walks, Mr. Gardener,
countered your eyes, of looking as if they ex- between my beds," says the Sergeant, on whose
pected something more from you than you were mind the gravel paths of our rosery seemed to
aware of yourself. His walk was soft ; his voice dwell unpleasantly.
was melancholy ; his long lanky fingers were " It seems an odd taste, sir," I ventured to
hooked like claws. He might have been a say, " for a man in your line of life." "
parson, or an undertaker-or anything else you " If you will look about you (which most
like, except what he really was. A more com- people won't do)," says Sergeant Cuff, " you will
plete opposite to Superintendent Seegrave than see that the nature of a man's tastes is, most
Sergeant Cuff, and a less comforting officer to times, as opposite as possible to the nature of a
look at, for a family in distress, I defy you to man's business. Show me any two things more
discover, search where you may. opposite one from the other than a rose and a
" Is this Lady Verinder's ? " he asked. thief ; and I'll correct my tastes accordingly-
" Yes, sir." if it isn't too late at my time of life. You find
" I am Sergeant Cuff." the damask rose a goodish stock for most of
" This way, sir, if you please." tl " tender sorts, don't you, Mr. Gardener ?
On our road to the house, I mentioned my Ah ! I thought so. Here's a lady coming. Is
name and position in the family, to satisfy him it Lady Verinder ?"
that he might speak to me about the business He had seen her before either I or the gar-
on which my lady was to employ him. Not a dener had seen her-though we knew which
word did he say about the business, however, way to look, and he didn't. I began to think
for all that. He admired the grounds, and re- him rather a quicker man than he appeared to
marked that he felt the sea air very brisk and be at first sight.
refreshing. I privately wondered, on my side, The Sergeant's appearance, or the Sergeant's
how the celebrated Cuff had got his reputation. errand-one or both-seemed to cause my lady
We reached the house, in the temper of two some little embarrassment. She was, for the
 THE MOONSTONE 43

first time in all my experience of her, at a loss | looked at the gravel walks in the rosery, and
what to say at an interview with a stranger. gave us, in his melancholy way, the first taste of
Sergeant Cuff put her at ease directly. He asked his quality which we had had yet.
if any other person had been employed about the " I made a private inquiry last week, Mr.
robbery before we sent for him ; and hearing Superintendent," he said. " At one end of the
that another person had been called in, and was inquiry there was a murder, and at the other
now in the house, begged leave to speak to him end there was a spot of ink on a tablecloth that
before anything else was done. nobody could account for. In all my experience
My lady led the way back. Before he followed along the dirtiest ways of this dirty little world,
her, the Sergeant relieved his mind on the sub- I have never met with such a thing as a trifle
ject of the gravel walks by a parting word to the yet. Before we go a step further in this business
gardener. "Get her ladyship to try grass," he we must see the petticoat that made the smear,
said, with a sour look at the paths. "No gravel ! and we must know for certain when that paint
no gravel ! " was wet."
Why Superintendent Seegrave should have Mr. Superintendent - taking his set - down
appeared to be several sizes smaller than life, on rather sulkily-asked if he should summon the
being presented to Sergeant Cuff, I can't under- women. Sergeant Cuff, after considering a
take to explain. I can only state the fact. They minute, sighed, and shook his head.
retired together ; and remained a weary long "No," he said, " we'll take the matter of the
time shut up from all mortal intrusion. When paint first. It's a question of Yes or No with
they came out, Mr. Superintendent was excited, the paint-which is short. It's a question of
and Mr. Sergeant was yawning. petticoats with the women - which is long.
"The Sergeant wishes to see Miss Verinder's What o'clock was it when the servants were in
sitting-room," says Mr. Seegrave, addressing me this room yesterday morning ? Eleven o'clock
with great pomp and eagerness. "The Sergeant eh ? Is there anybody in the house who knows
may have some questions to ask. Attend the whether that paint was wet or dry, at eleven
Sergeant, if you please !" yesterday morning ?"
While I was being ordered about in this way, "Her ladyship's nephew, Mr. Franklin Blake,
I looked at the great Cuff. The great Cuff, on knows, " I said.
his side, looked at Superintendent Seegrave in " Is the gentleman in the house ?"
that quietly expecting way which I have already Mr. Franklin was as close at hand as could be
noticed. I can't affirm that he was on the watch -waiting for his first chance of being intro-
for his brother officer's speedy appearance in duced to the great Cuff. In half a minute he
the character of an Ass-I can only say that I was in the room, and was giving his evidence
strongly suspected it. as follows :
I led the way upstairs. The Sergeant went " That door, Sergeant," he said, "has been
softly all over the Indian cabinet and all round painted by Miss Verinder, under my inspection,
the " boudoir ;" asking questions (occasionally with my help, and in a vehicle of my own com-
only of Mr. Superintendent, and continually of position. The vehicle dries whatever colours
me), the drift of which I believe to have been may be used with it, in twelve hours."
equally unintelligible to both of us. In due " Do you remember when the smeared bit
time, his course brought him to the door, and was done, sir ? " asked the Sergeant.
put him face to face with the decorative paint- " Perfectly," answered Mr. Franklin. " That
ing that you know of. He laid one lean inquir- was the last morsel of the door to be finished.
ing finger on the small smear, just under the We wanted to get it done, on Wednesday last
lock, whichSuperintendent Seegrave had already and I myself completed it by three in the
noticed, when he reproved the women-servants afternoon, or soon after."
for all crowding together into the room. " To-day is Friday," said Sergeant Cuff, ad-
"That's a pity," says Sergeant Cuff. " How dressing
66 Let us himself to Superintendent Seegrave.
did it happen ? reckon back, sir. At three on the
He put the question to me. I answered that Wednesday afternoon, that bit of the painting
the women-servants had crowded into the room was completed. The vehicle dried it in twelve
on the previous morning, and that some of their hours- that is to say, dried it by three o'clock
petticoats had done the mischief. 66 Superinten- on Thursday morning. At eleven on Thursday
dent Seegrave ordered them out, sir," I added, morning you held your inquiry here. Take three
"before from eleven, and eight remains. That paint
66' Rightthey did any more harm."
!' says Mr. Superintendent in his had been eight hours dry, Mr. Superintendent,
military way. " I ordered them out. The petti- when you supposed that the women-servants'
coats did it, Sergeant-the petticoats did it. " petticoats smeared it. "
" Did you notice which petticoat did it ? " First knock-down blow for Mr. Seegrave ! If
asked Sergeant Cuff, still addressing himself, he had not suspected poor Penelope, I should
not to his brother-officer, but to me. have pitied him.
" No, sir." Having settled the question of the paint,
He turned to Superintendent Seegrave upon Sergeant Cuff, from that moment, gave his
that, and said, " You noticed , I suppose ? brother officer up as a bad job-and addressed
Mr. Superintendent looked a little taken himself to Mr. Franklin, as the more promising
aback ; but he made the best of it. "I can't assistant of the two.
charge my memory, Sergeant," he said, " a "It's quite on the cards, sir," he said, " that
mere trifle-a mere trifle." you have put the clue into our hands."
Sergeant Cuff looked at Mr. Seegrave as he had As the words passed his lips, the bed-room
44 THE MOONSTONE

door opened, and Miss Rachel came out among her over again, by a man who couldn't have had
us suddenly. my interest in making it-for he was a perfect
She addressed herself to the Sergeant, with- stranger ! A kind of cold shudder ran through
out appearing to notice (or to heed) that he me, which I couldn't account for at the time.
was a perfect stranger to her. I know, now, that I must have got my first
" Did you say," she asked, pointing to Mr. suspicion, at that moment, of a new light (and
Franklin, "that he had put the clue into your a horrid light) having suddenly fallen on the
hands ?" case, in the mind of Sergeant Cuff-purely and
(" This is Miss Verinder," I whispered, behind entirely in consequence of what he had seen in
the Sergeant . ) Miss Rachel, and heard from Miss Rachel, at
" That gentleman, miss," says the Sergeant- that first interview between them.
with his steely- grey eyes carefully studying my "Ayounglady's tongue is a privilegedmember,
young lady's face-" has possibly put the clue sir," says the Sergeant to Mr. Franklin. " Let
into our hands." us forget what has passed, and go straight on
She turned for one moment, and tried to look with this business. Thanks to you, we know
at Mr. Franklin. say, tried, for she suddenly when the paint was dry. The next thing to
looked away again before their eyes met. There discover is when the paint was last seen without
seemed to be some strange disturbance in her that smear. You have got a head on your
mind. She coloured up, and then she turned shoulders-and you understand what I mean.'
pale again. With the paleness, there came a Mr. Franklin composed himself, and came
new look into her face-a look which it startled back with an effort from Miss Rachel to the
me to see. matter in hand.
66 "I think I do understand," he said. " The
Having answered your question, miss," says
the Sergeant, " I beg leave to make an inquiry more we narrow the question of time, the more
in my turn. There is a smear on the painting we also narrow the field of inquiry."
of your door, here. Do you happen to know "That's it, sir," said the Sergeant. " Did you
when it was done ? or who did it ?" notice your work here, on the Wednesday after-
Instead of making any reply, Miss Rachel noon, after you had done it ?"
went on with her questions, as if he had not Mr. Franklin shook his head, and answered ,
spoken, or as if she had not heard him. " I can't say I did."
" Are you another police officer ?" she asked. "Did you ?" inquired Sergeant Cuff, turning
"I am Sergeant Cuff, miss, of the Detective to me.
Police." "I can't say I did either, sir."
" Do you think a young lady's advice worth "Who was the last person in the room, the
having ?" last thing on Wednesday night ? "
" I shall be glad to hear it, miss." "Miss Rachel, I suppose, sir."
" Do your duty by yourself-and don't allow Mr. Franklin struck in there, " Or possibly
Mr. Franklin Blake to help you ! " your daughter, Betteredge." He turned to
She said those words so spitefully, so savagely, Sergeant Cuff, and explained that my daughter
with such an extraordinary outbreak of ill-will was Miss Verinder's maid.
towards Mr. Franklin, in her voice and in her "Mr. Betteredge, ask your daughter to step up.
look, that-though I had known her from a Stop ! " says the Sergeant, taking me away tothe
baby, though I loved and honoured her next to window, out of earshot. " Your Superintendent
my lady herself-I was ashamed of Miss Rachel here, " he went on, in a whisper, "has made a
for the first time in my life. pretty full report to me of the manner in which
Sergeant Cuff's immovable eyes never stirred he has managed this case. Among other things,
from off her face. " Thank you, miss," he said. he has, by his own confession, set the servants'
" Do you happen to know anything about the backs up. It's very important to smooth them
smear ? Might you have done it by accident down again. Tell your daughter, and tell the
yourself ? " "" rest of them, these two things, with my com-
" I know nothing about the smear. pliments : First, that I have no evidence before
With that answer, she turned away, and shut me, yet, that the Diamond has been stolen ; I
herself up again in her bed -room. This time, I only know that the Diamond has been lost.
heard her as Penelope had heard her before- Second, that my business here with the ser-
burst out crying as soon as she was alone | vants is simply to ask them to lay their heads
again. together and help me to find it. ”
"I couldn't bring myself to look at the Ser- My experience of the women-servants, when
geant-I looked at Mr. Franklin, who stood Superintendent Seegrave laid his embargo on
nearest to me. He seemed to be even more their rooms, came in handy here.
sorely distressed at what had passed than I 66 May I make so bold, Sergeant, as to tell
the
was. women a third thing?" I asked. "Are they free
" I told you I was uneasy about her," he said. (with your compliments) to fidget up and down-
"And now you see why. "" stairs, and whisk in and out of their bed-rooms,
"Miss Verinder appears to be a little out of if the 66 fit takes them ? "
temper about the loss of her Diamond," re- Perfectly free, " said the Sergeant.
marked the Sergeant. " It's a valuable jewel. "That will smooth them down, sir," I re-
Natural enough ! natural enough ! " marked, " from the cook to the scullion."
Here was the excuse that I had made for her ""
Go, and do it at once, Mr. Betteredge. "
(when she forgot herself before Superintendent I did it in less than five minutes. There was
Seegrave, on the previous day) being made for only one difficulty when I came to the bit about
 THE MOONSTONE 45

the bed-rooms. It took a pretty stiff exertion | (first) whether there is any article of dress in
of my authority, as chief, to prevent the whole this house with the smear of the paint on it.
of the female household from following me and Find out ( second) who that dress belongs to.
Penelope upstairs, in the character of volun- Find out (third) how the person can account
teer witnesses in a burning fever of anxiety to for having been in this room, and smeared
help Sergeant Cuff. the paint, between midnight and three in the
The Sergeant seemed to approve of Penelope. morning. If the person can't satisfy you, you
He became a trifle less dreary ; and he looked | haven't far to look for the hand that has got
much as he had looked when he noticed the the Diamond. I'll work this by myself, if you
white musk rose in the flower-garden. Here is please, and detain you no longer from your
my daughter's evidence, as drawn off from her regular business in the town. You have got
by the Sergeant. She gave it, I think, very one of your men here, I see. Leave him here
prettily-but, there ! she is my child all over at my disposal, in case I want him-and allow
nothing of her mother in her ; Lord bless you, me to wish you good morning."
nothing of her mother in her ! Superintendent Seegrave's respect for the
Penelope examined : Took a lively interest Sergeant was great ; but his respect for himself
in the painting on the door, having helped to was greater still. Hit hard by the celebrated
mix the colours. Noticed the bit of work Cuff, he hit back smartly, to the best of his
under the lock, because it was the last bit ability, on leaving the room.
done. Had seen it, some hours afterwards, " I have abstained from expressing any
without a smear. Had left it, as late as twelve opinion, so far," says Mr. Superintendent, with
at night, without a smear. Had, at that hour, his military voice still in good working order.
wished her young lady good-night in the bed- " I have now only one remark to offer, on leaving
room ; had heard the clock strike in the " bou- this case in your hands. There is such a thing,
doir ; " had her hand at the time on the handle Sergeant, as making ""a mountain out of a mole-
of the painted door ; knew the paint was wet hill. Good morning.'
(having helped to mix the colours, as aforesaid) ; "There is also such a thing as making nothing
took particular pains not to touch it ; could out of a molehill, in consequence of your head
swear that she held up the skirts of her dress, being too high to see it." Having returned his
and that there was no smear on the paint brother-officer's compliments in those terms,
then ; could not swear that her dress mightn't Sergeant Cuff wheeled about, and walked away
have touched it accidentally in going out ; re- to the window by himself.
membered the dress she had on, because it was Mr. Franklin and I waited to see what was
new, a present from Miss Rachel ; her father coming next. The Sergeant stood at the win-
remembered, and could speak to it, too ; could, dow with his hands in his pockets, looking out,
and would, and did fetch it ; dress recognised and whistling the tune of " The Last Rose of
by her father as the dress she wore that night ; Summer " softly to himself. Later in the pro-
skirts examined, a long job from the size of ceedings, I discovered that he only forgot his
them ; not the ghost of a paint-stain discovered manners so far as to whistle, when his mind
anywhere. End of Penelope's evidence was hard at work, seeing its way inch by inch
and very pretty and convincing, too. Signed, to its own private ends, on which occasions
Gabriel Betteredge . " The Last Rose of Summer " evidently helped
The Sergeant's next proceeding was to ques- and encouraged him. I suppose it fitted in
tion me about any large dogs in the house who somehow with his character. It reminded
might have got into the room, and done the him, you see, of his favourite roses, and, as he
mischief with a whisk of their tails. Hearing whistled it, it was the most melancholy tune
that this was impossible, he next sent for a going.
magnifying-glass, and tried how the smear Turning from the window, after a minute or
looked, seen that way. No skin mark (as of a two, the Sergeant walked into the middle of
human hand) printed off on the paint. All the the room, and stopped there, deep in thought,
signs visible- signs which told that the paint with his eyes on Miss Rachel's bed-room door.
had been smeared by some loose article of After a little he roused himself, nodded his
somebody's dress touching it in going by. That head, as much as to say, " That will do," and,
somebody (putting together Penelope's evidence addressing me, asked for ten minutes' conversa-
and Mr. Franklin's evidence) must have been tion with my mistress, at her ladyship's earliest
in the room, and done the mischief, between convenience.
midnight and three o'clock on the Thursday Leaving the room with this message, I heard
morning. Mr. Franklin ask the Sergeant a question, and
Having brought his investigation to this stopped to hear the answer also at the threshold
point, Sergeant Cuff discovered that such a of the door.
person as Superintendent Seegrave was still left "Can you guess yet, " inquired Mr. Franklin,
in the room, upon which he summed up the " who has stolen the Diamond ? "
proceedings for his brother-officer's benefit, as 66'Nobody has stolen the Diamond," answered
follows : Sergeant Cuff.
" This trifle of yours, Mr. Superintendent," We both started at that extraordinary view
says the Sergeant, pointing to the place on the of the case, and both earnestly begged him to
door, "has grown a little in importance since tell us what he meant.
you noticed it last. At the present stage of the "Wait a little, " said the Sergeant. " The
inquiry there are, as I take it, three discoveries pieces of the puzzle are not all put together
to make, starting from that smear. Find out yet."
 E
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46 THE MOON

' implies, I presume, the discovery of the

thief ?"
CHAPTER XIII "I beg your ladyship's pardon-I don't say
the Diamond is stolen. I only say, at present,
I FOUND my lady in her own sitting-room. She that the Diamond is missing. The discovery of
started and looked annoyed when I mentioned the stained dress may lead the way to find-
that Sergeant Cuff wished to speak to her. ing it."
" Must I see him ?" she asked. " Can't you Her ladyship looked at me. "Do you under-
represent me, Gabriel ? " stand this ? " she said.
66
I felt at a loss to understand this, and showed Sergeant Cuff understands it, my lady," I
it plainly, I suppose, in my face. My lady was answered .
so good as to explain herself. "Howdo you propose to discover the stained
"I am afraid my nerves are a little shaken," dress ?" inquired my mistress, addressing herself
she said. "There is something in that police once more to the Sergeant. " My good servants,
officer from London which I recoil from-I who have been with me for years, have, I am
don't know why. I have a presentiment that ashamed to say, had their boxes and_rooms
he is bringing trouble and misery with him searched already by the other officer. I can't
into the house. Very foolish, and very unlike and won't permit them to be insulted in that
me-but so it is." way a second time !"
I hardly knew what to say to this. The more (There was a mistress to serve ! There was a
I saw of Sergeant Cuff, the better I liked him. woman in ten thousand, if you like !)
My lady rallied a little after having opened "That is the very point I was about to put
her heart to me-being, naturally, a woman of to your ladyship," said the Sergeant. " The
a high courage, as I have already told you. other officer has done a world of harm to this
" If I must see him, I must," she said. " But inquiry, by letting the servants see that he sus-
I can't prevail on myself to see him alone. pected them. If I give them cause to think
Bring him in, Gabriel, and stay here as long themselves suspected a second time, there's no
as he stays." knowing what obstacles they may not throw in
This was the first attack of the megrims that my way-the women especially. At the same
I remembered in my mistress since the time time, their boxes must be searched again-for
when she was a young girl. I went back to the this plain reason, that the first investigation
"boudoir." Mr. Franklin strolled out into the only looked for the Diamond, and that the second
garden, and joined Mr. Godfrey, whose time for investigation must look for the stained dress. I
departure was now drawing near. Sergeant quite agree with you, my lady, that the servants'
Cuff and I went straight to my mistress's room. feelings ought to be consulted. But I am equally
I declare my lady turned a shade paler at the clear that the servants' wardrobes ought to be
sight of him ! She commanded herself, how- searched. "
ever, in other respects, and asked the Sergeant This looked very like a deadlock. My lady
if he had any objection to my being present. said so, in choicer language than mine.
She was so good as to add, that I was her trusted "I have got a plan to meet the difficulty,"
adviser, as well as her old servant, and that in said Sergeant Cuff, " if your ladyship will con-
anything which related to the household I was sent to it. I propose explaining the case to the
the person whom it might be most profitable to servants. "
consult. The Sergeant politely answered that "The women will think themselves suspected
he would take my presence as a favour, having directly," I said , interrupting him.
something to say about the servants in general, "The womenwon't, Mr. Betteredge," answered
and having found my experience in that quarter the Sergeant, " if I can tell them I am going to
already of some use to him. My lady pointed examine the wardrobes of everybody- from her
to two chairs, and we set in for our conference ladyship downwards-who slept in the house on
immediately . Wednesday night. It's a mere formality," he
"I have already formed an opinion on this added, with a side look at my mistress ; " but
case," says Sergeant Cuff, " which I beg your the servants will accept it as even dealing
ladyship's permission to keep to myself for the between them and their betters ; and, instead
present. My business now is to mention what of hindering the investigation, they will make
I have discovered upstairs in Miss Verinder's a point of honour of assisting it. "
sitting-room, and what I have decided (with I saw the truth of that. My lady, after her
your ladyship's leave) on doing next." first surprise was over, saw the truth of it also.
He then went into the matter of the smear on " You are certain the investigation is neces-
the paint, and stated the conclusions he drew sary ? " she said.
from it just as he had stated them (only with "It's the shortest way that I can see, my lady,
greater respect of language) to Superintendent to the end we have in view."
Seegrave. " One thing," he said, in conclusion, My mistress rose to ring the bell for her maid.
"is certain. The Diamond is missing out of the " You shall speak to the servants," she said,
drawer in the cabinet. Another thing is next "with the keys of my wardrobe in your hand.
to certain. The marks from the smear on the Sergeant Cuff stopped her by a very unex-
door must be on some article of dress belong- pected question.
ing to somebody in this house. We must dis- "Hadn't we better make sure first," he asked,
cover that article of dress before we go a step that the other ladies and gentlemen in the
further." house will consent, too ?"
"And that discovery," remarked my mistress, "The only other lady in the house is Miss
 THE MOONSTONE 47

Verinder," answered my mistress, with a look of but sufficiently recovered from her illness of the
surprise. "The only gentlemen are my nephews, previous day to do her usual work. Sergeant
Mr. Blake and Mr. Ablewhite. There is not the Cuff looked attentively at our second housemaid
least fear of a refusal from any of the three." -at her face, when she came in ; at her crooked
I reminded my lady here that Mr. Godfrey was shoulder, when she went out.
going away. As I said the words, Mr. Godfrey "Have you anything more to say to me ? "
himselfknocked at the door to say good-bye, and asked my lady, still as eager as ever to be out
was followed in by Mr. Franklin, who was going of the Sergeant's society.
with him to the station. My lady explained the The great Cuff opened the washing -book,
difficulty. Mr. Godfrey settled it directly. He understood it perfectly in half a minute, and
called to Samuel, through the window, to take shut it up again. “ I venture to trouble your
his portmanteau upstairs again, and he then ladyship with one last question," he said. "Has
put the key himself into Sergeant Cuff's hand. the young woman who brought us this book
" My luggage can follow me to London," he been in your employment as long as the other
said, " when the inquiry is over." The Sergeant servants ?"
received the key with a becoming apology. "I " Why do you ask ? " said my lady.
am sorry to put you to any inconvenience, sir, "The last time I saw her," answered "" the
for a mere formality ; but the example of their Sergeant, " she was in prison for theft.'
betters will do wonders in reconciling the After that, there was no help for it, but to
servants to this inquiry." Mr. Godfrey, after tell him the truth. My mistress dwelt strongly
taking leave of my lady, in a most sympathising on Rosanna's good conduct in her service, and
manner, left a farewell message for Miss Rachel, on the high opinion entertained of her bythe
the terms of which made it clear to my mind matron at the reformatory. " You don't sus-
that he had not taken No for an answer, and pect her, I hope ?" my lady added, in conclusion,
that he meant to put the marriage question to very earnestly.
her once more, at the next opportunity. Mr. "I have already told your ladyship that I don't
Franklin, on following his cousin out, informed suspect any person in the house of thieving- up
the Sergeant that all his clothes were open to to the present time."
examination, and that nothing he possessed After that answer, my lady rose to go up-
was kept under lock and key. Sergeant Cuff stairs, and ask for Miss Rachel's keys. The
made his best acknowledgments . His views, Sergeant was beforehand with me in opening
you will observe, had been met with the utmost the door for her. He made a very low bow. My
readiness by my lady, by Mr. Godfrey, and by lady shuddered as she passed him.
Mr. Franklin. There was only Miss Rachel We waited, and waited, and no keys appeared.
now wanting to follow their lead, before we Sergeant Cuff made no remark to me. He
called the servants together and began the turned his melancholy face to the window ; he
search for the stained dress. put his lanky hands into his pockets ; and he
My lady's unaccountable objection to the whistled " The Last Rose of Summer " softly
Sergeant seemed to make our conference more to himself.
distasteful to her than ever, as soon as we were At last Samuel came in, not with the keys,
left alone again. " If I send you down Miss but with a morsel of paper for me. I got at my
Verinder's keys," she said to him, " I presume spectacles, with some fumbling and difficulty,
I shall have done all you want of me for the feeling the Sergeant's dismal eyes fixed on me
present ?" all the time. There were two or three lines on
66 the paper, written in pencil by my lady. They
I beg your ladyship's pardon ," said Sergeant
Cuff. " Before we begin, I should like, if con- informed me that Miss Rachel flatly refused to
venient, to have the washing-book. The stained have her wardrobe examined. Asked for her
article of dress may be an article of linen. If reasons, she had burst out crying. Asked again,
the search leads to nothing, I want to be able she had said, " I won't, because I won't.
to account next for all the linen in the house, must yield to force if you use it, but I will yield
and for all the linen sent to the wash. If there to nothing else." I understood my lady's dis-
is an article missing, there will be at least a inclination to face Sergeant Cuff with such an
presumption that it has got the paint-stain on it, answer from her daughter as that. If I had
and that it has been purposely made away with, not been too old for the amiable weaknesses of
yesterday or to-day, by the person owning it. youth, I believe I should have blushed at the
Superintendent Seegrave," added the Sergeant, notion
66 of facing him myself.
turning to me, 66 pointed the attention of the Any news of Miss Verinder's keys ? " asked
women-servants to the smear, when they all the Sergeant.
crowded into the room on Thursday morning. " My young lady refuses to have her wardrobe
That may turn out, Mr. Betteredge, to have examined."
been one more of Superintendent Seegrave's " Ah ! " said the Sergeant.
many mistakes." His voice was not quite in such a perfect
My lady desired me to ring the bell, and state of discipline as his face. When he said
order the washing-book. She remained with " Ah !" he said it in the tone of a man who had
us until it was produced, in case Sergeant Cuff heard something which he expected to hear.
had any further request to make of her after He half angered and half frightened me-why,
looking at it. I couldn't tell, but he did it.
The washing-book was brought in by Rosanna "Must the search be given up ? " I asked.
Spearman. The girl had come down to break- 66
" Yes, " said the Sergeant, " the search must
fast that morning miserably pale and haggard, be given up, because your young lady refuses to
 E
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43 THE MOON

submit to it like the rest. We must examine all "We won't enter into your young lady's
the wardrobes in the house or none. Send Mr. motives, " the Sergeant went on ; " we will only
Ablewhite's portmanteau to London by the next say it's a pity she declines to assist me, because,
train, and return the washing-book with my by so doing, she makes this investigation more
compliments and thanks to the young woman difficult than it might otherwise have been. We
who brought it in. " must now try to solve the mystery of the smear
He laid the washing-book on the table, and, on the door-which, you may take my word for
taking out his penknife , began to trim his nails. it, means the mystery of the Diamond also- in
"You don't seem to be much disappointed ," some other way. I have decided to see the
I said. servants, and to search their thoughts and
" No," said Sergeant Cuff ; " I am not much actions, Mr. Betteredge, instead of searching
disappointed. " their wardrobes. Before I begin, however, I
I"C tried to make him explain himself. want to ask you a question or two. You are an
Why should Miss Rachel put an obstacle in observant man-did you notice anything strange
your way ? " I inquired. " Isn't it her interest in any of the servants (making due allowance,
to help you ?' of course, for fright and fluster), after the loss
"Wait a little, Mr. Betteredge -wait a little." of the Diamond was found out ? Any par-
Cleverer heads than mine might have seen ticular quarrel among them ? Any one of them
his drift. Or a person less fond of Miss Rachel not in his or her usual spirits ? Unexpectedly
than I was, might have seen his drift. My out of temper, for instance ? or unexpectedly
lady's horror of him might (as I have since taken ill ?
thought) have meant that she saw his drift (as I had just time to think of Rosanna Spear-
the scripture says) " in a glass darkly." I didn't man's sudden illness at yesterday's dinner- but
see it yet-that's all I know. not time to make any answer-when I saw
"What's to be done next ?" I asked. Sergeant Cuff's eyes suddenlyturn aside towards
Sergeant Cuff finished the nail on which he the shrubbery ; and I heard him say softly to
was then at work, looked at it for a moment with himself, " Hullo ! "
66 What's
a melancholy interest, and put up his penknife. the matter ? " I asked.
66 66 A touch of the rheumatics
"Come out into the garden," he said, and in my back,"
let's have a look at the roses." said the Sergeant, in a loud voice, as if he
wanted some third person to hear us. " We
shall have a change in the weather before
long.'""
CHAPTER XIV A few steps further brought us to the corner
of the house. Turning off sharp to the right,
THE nearest way to the garden, on going out of we entered on the terrace, and went down, by
my lady's sitting-room, was by the shrubbery the steps in the middle, into the garden below.
path, which you already know of. For the Sergeant Cuff stopped there, in the open space,
sake of your better understanding of what where we could see round us on every side.
is now to come, I may add to this, that the " About that young person, Rosanna Spear-
shrubbery path was Mr. Franklin's favourite man ? " he said. "It isn't very likely, with her
walk. When he was out in the grounds, and personal appearance, that she has got a lover.
when we failed to find him anywhere else, we But, for the girl's own sake, I must ask you at
generally found him here. once whether she has provided herself with a
I am afraid I must own that I am rather an sweetheart, poor wretch, like the rest of them ?"
obstinate old man. The more firmly Sergeant What on earth did he mean , under present cir-
Cuff kept his thoughts shut up from me, the cumstances, by putting such a question to me as
more firmly I persisted in trying to look in at that ? I stared at him , instead of answering him.
them. As we turned into the shrubbery path, "I saw Rosanna Spearman hiding in the
I attempted to circumvent him in another shrubbery as we went by," said the Sergeant.
way. "When you said ' Hullo ' ?"
" As things are now, " I said, " if I was in "Yes--when I said ' Hullo !' If there's a
your place, I should be at my wits' end." sweetheart in the case, the hiding doesn't much
"If you were in my place," answered the matter. If there isn't as things are in this
Sergeant, " you would have formed an opinion house-the hiding is a highly suspicious circum-
-and, as things are now, any doubt you might stance, and it will be my painful duty to act
previously have felt about your own conclu- on it accordingly."
sions would be completely set at rest. Never What, in God's name, was I to say to him ? I
mind for the present what those conclusions knew the shrubbery was Mr. Franklin's favourite
are, Mr. Betteredge. I haven't brought you out walk ; I knew he would most likely turn that way
here to draw me like a badger ; I have brought when he came back from the station ; I knew
you out here to ask for some information. You that Penelope had over and over again caught
might have given it to me no doubt, in the her fellow-servant hanging about there, and had
house, instead of out of it. But doors and always declared to me that Rosanna's object
listeners have a knack of getting together ; was to attract Mr. Franklin's attention. If my
and, in my line of life, we cultivate a healthy daughter was right, she might well have been
taste for the open air." lying in wait for Mr. Franklin's return when the
Who was to circumvent this man ? I gave in Sergeant noticed her. I was put between the
-and waited as patiently as I could to hear two difficulties of mentioning Penelope's fanciful
what was coming next.. notion as if it was mine, or of leaving an unfor-
 THE MOONSTONE 49

tunate creature to suffer the consequences, the | as usual. She was as quick in her way as the
very serious consequences, of exciting the sus- Sergeant in his, and I suspect she had heard
picion of Sergeant Cuff. Out of pure pity for the what he said to me about the servants in general,
girl- on my soul and my character, out of pure just before he discovered her. There she was,
pity for the girl-I gave the Sergeant the neces- at any rate, looking as if she had never heard of
sary explanations, and told him that Rosanna such a place as the shrubbery in her life.
had been mad enough to set her heart on Mr. I sent them in, one by one, as desired . The
Franklin Blake cook was the first to enter the Court of Justice,
Sergeant Cuff never laughed. On the few otherwise my room. She remained but a short
occasions when anything amused him, he curled time. Report, on coming out : " Sergeant Cuff
up a little at the corners of the lips, nothing is depressed in his spirits ; but Sergeant Cuff
more. He curled up now. is a perfect gentleman. " My lady's own maid
66
Hadn't you better say she's mad enough to followed. Remained much longer. Report, on
be an ugly girl and only a servant ? " he asked . coming out : " If Sergeant Cuff doesn't believe
" The falling in love with a gentleman of a respectable woman, he might keep his opinion
Mr. Franklin Blake's manners and appearance to himself, at any rate ! " Penelope went next.
doesn't seem to me to be the maddest part of Remained only a moment or two. Report, on
her conduct by any means. However, I'm glad coming out : "'Sergeant Cuff is much to be
the thing is cleared up : it relieves one's mind pitied. He must have been crossed in love ,
to have things cleared up. Yes, I'll keep it a father, when he was a young man." The first
secret, Mr. Betteredge. I like to be tender to housemaid followed Penelope. Remained, like
human infirmity - though I don't get many my lady's maid, a long time. Report, on coming
chances of exercising that virtue in my line of out : " I didn't enter her ladyship's service, Mr.
life. You think Mr. Franklin Blake hasn't got a Betteredge, to be doubted to my face by a low
suspicion of the girl's fancy for him ? Ah ! he police officer ! " Rosanna Spearman went next.
would have found it out fast enough if she had Remained longer than any of them. No report
been nice-looking. The ugly women have a bad on coming out- dead silence, and lips as pale as
time of it in this world ; let's hope it will be made ashes. Samuel, the footman, followed Rosanna.
up to them in another. You have got a nice Remained a minute or two. Report, on coming
garden here, and a well-kept lawn. See for your- out : " Whoever blacks Sergeant Cuff's boots
self how much better the flowers look with grass ought to be ashamed of himself." Nancy, the
about them instead of gravel. No, thank you. kitchenmaid, went last. Remained a minute or
I won't take a rose. It goes to my heart to break two. Report, on coming out : " Sergeant Cuff
them off the stem. Just as it goes to your heart, has a heart ; he doesn't cut jokes, Mr. Better-
you know, when there's something wrong in the edge, with a poor hard-working girl."
servants' hall. Did you notice anything you Going into the Court of Justice, when it was
couldn't account for in any of the servants when all over, to hear if there were any further com-
the loss of the Diamond was first found out ?" mands for me, I found the Sergeant at his old
I had got on very fairly well with Sergeant trick-looking out of window, and whistling
Cuff so far. But the slyness with which he " The Last Rose of Summer " to himself.
slipped in that last question put me on my guard. ' Any discoveries, sir ? " I inquired .
In plain English, I didn't at all relish the notion "If Rosanna Spearman asks leave to go out,"
of helping his inquiries, when those inquiries said the Sergeant,"" " let the poor thing go ; but
took him (in the capacity of snake in the grass) let me know first.
among my fellow-servants. I might as well have held my tongue about
"I noticed nothing," I said, " except that we Rosanna and Mr. Franklin ! It was plain
all lost our heads together, myself included." enough ; the unfortunate girl had fallen under
"Oh," says the Sergeant , " that's all you have Sergeant Cuff's suspicions, in spite of all I could
to tell me, is it ? " do to prevent it.
I answered, with (as I flattered myself) an "I hope you don't think Rosanna is concerned
unmoved countenance, " That is all." in the loss of the Diamond ?" I ventured to say.
Sergeant Cuff's dismal eyes looked me hard The corners of the Sergeant's melancholy
in the face. mouth curled up, and he looked hard in my
" Mr. Betteredge," he said, " have you any face, just as he had looked in the garden.
objection to oblige me by shaking hands ? I "I think I had better not tell you, Mr. Better-
have taken an extraordinary liking to you. ' edge," he said. "You might lose your head,
(Why he should have chosen the exact you know, for the second time."
moment when I was deceiving him to give me I began to doubt whether I had been one too
that proof of his good opinion, is beyond all many for the celebrated Cuff, after all ! It was
comprehension ! I felt a little proud-I really rather a relief to me that we were interrupted
did feel a little proud of having been one too here by a knock at the door, and a message from
many at last for the celebrated Cuff !) the cook. Rosanna Spearman had asked to go
We went back to the house ; the Sergeant out, for the usual reason, that her head was bad,
requesting that I would give him a room to him- and she wanted a breath of fresh air. At a sign
self, and then send in the servants (the indoor | from the Sergeant, I said, Yes. "Which is the
servants only), one after another, in the order of servants' way out ? " he asked, when the mes-
their rank, from first to last. senger had gone. I showed him the servants'
I showed Sergeant Cuff into my own room , way out. " Lock the door of your room,"
and then called the servants together in the hall. says the Sergeant ; " and if anybody asks for
Rosanna Spearman appeared among them, much me, say I'm in there composing my mind." He
50 THE MOONSTONE

curled up again at the corners of the lips, and my lady, holding a long conversation with her.
disappeared. She had told him of Miss Rachel's unaccountable
Left alone, under those circumstances, a de- refusal to let her wardrobe be examined ; and
vouring curiosity pushed me on to make some had put him in such low spirits about my young
discoveries for myself. lady, that he seemed to shrink from speaking
It was plain that Sergeant Cuff's suspicions on the subject. The family temper appeared in
of Rosanna had been roused by something that his face that evening, for the first time in my
he had found out at his examination of the ser- experience of him.
66'Well, Betteredge,"
vants in my room. Now, the only two servants he said, " how does the
(excepting Rosanna herself) who had remained atmosphere of mystery and suspicion in which
under examination for any length of time, were we are all living now, agree with you ? Do you
my lady's own maid and the first housemaid, remember that morning when I first came here
those two being also the women who had taken with the Moonstone ? I wish to God we had -
the lead in persecuting their unfortunate fellow- thrown it into the quicksand ! "
servant from the first. Reaching these conclu- After breaking out in that way, he abstained
sions, I looked in on them, casually as it might from speaking again until he had composed him-
be, in the servants' hall, and finding tea going self. We walked silently, side by side, for a
forward, instantly invited myself to that meal. minute or two, and then he asked me what had
(For, nota bene, a drop of tea is to a woman's become of Sergeant Cuff. It was impossible to
tongue what a drop of oil is to a wasting lamp. ) put Mr. Franklin off with the excuse of the
My reliance on the tea-pot, as an ally, did Sergeant being in my room, composing his .
not go unrewarded . In less than half an hour mind. I told him exactly what had happened,
I knew as much as the Sergeant himself. mentioning particularly what my lady's maid
My lady's maid and the housemaid had, it and the housemaid had said about Rosanna
appeared, neither of them believed in Rosanna's Spearman.
illness of the previous day. These two devils- Mr. Franklin's clear head saw the turn the
I ask your pardon ; but how else can you de- Sergeant's suspicions had taken, in the twinkling
scribe a couple of spiteful women ?-had stolen of an eye.
upstairs, at intervals during the Thursday after- " Didn't you tell me this morning," he said,
noon ; had tried Rosanna's door, and found it " that one of the tradespeople declared he had
locked ; had knocked, and not been answered ; met Rosanna yesterday, on the footway to
had listened, and not heard a sound inside. Frizinghall, when we supposed her to be ill in
When the girl had come down to tea, and had her room ?
been sent up, still out of sorts, to bed again, the "Yes, sir."
two devils aforesaid had tried her door once 66 If my aunt's maid and the other woman
more, and found it locked ; had looked at the have spoken the truth, you may depend upon it
keyhole, and found it stopped up ; had seen a the tradesman did meet her. The girl's attack
light under the door at midnight, and had heard of illness was a blind to deceive us. She had
the crackling of a fire ( a fire in a servant's bed- some guilty reason for going to the town
room in the month of June ! ) at four in the secretly. The paint-stained dress is a dress of
morning. All this they had told Sergeant Cuff, hers ; and the fire heard crackling in her room
who, in return for their anxiety to enlighten at four in the morning was a fire lit to destroy
him, had eyed them with sour and suspicious it. Rosanna Spearman has stolen the Diamond.
looks, and had shown them plainly that he didn't I'll go in directly, and tell my aunt the turn
believe either one or the other. Hence, the un- things have taken. "
favourable reports of him which these two "Not just yet, if you please, sir,” said a
women had brought out with them from the melancholy voice behind us.
examination. Hence, also (without reckoning We both turned about, and found ourselves
the influence of the tea-pot), their readiness face66 to face with Sergeant Cuff.
tó let their tongues run to any length on the 'Why not just yet ? " asked Mr. Franklin.
subject of the Sergeant's ungracious behaviour " Because, sir, if you tell her ladyship, her
to them . ladyship will tell Miss Verinder."
Having had some experience of the great 66 Suppose she does. What then ? " Mr.
Cuff's roundabout ways, and having last seen him Franklin said those words with a sudden heat
evidently bent on following Rosanna privately and vehemence, as if the Sergeant had mortally
when she went out for her walk, it seemed clear offended him.
to me that he had thought it unadvisable to let "Do you think it's wise, sir, " said Sergeant
the lady's maid and the housemaid know how Cuff quietly, " to put such a question as that to
materially they had helped him. They were just me- at such a time as this ? "
the sort of women, if he had treated their evi- There was a moment's silence between them :
dence as trustworthy, to have been puffed up by Mr. Franklin walked close up to the Sergeant.
it, and to have said or done something which The two looked each other straight in the face.
would have put Rosanna Spearman on her Mr. Franklin spoke first, dropping his voice as
guard. suddenly as he had raised it.
I walked out in the fine summer afternoon, " I suppose you know, Mr. Cuff," he said,
very sorry for the poor girl, and very uneasy in " that you are treading on delicate ground ? "
my mind at the turn things,had taken. Drifting " It isn't the first time, by a good many hun-
towards the shrubbery, some time later, there I dreds, that I find myself treading on delicate
met Mr. Franklin. After returning from seeing ground," answered the other, as immovable
his cousin off at the station, he had been with as ever.
 THE MOONSTONE 51

"I am to understand that you forbid me to no, not if I fix her with being concerned in
tell my aunt what has happened ? " the disappearance of the Diamond, on evidence
"You are to understand, if you please, sir, which is as plain as the nose on your face ! "
that I throw up the case, if you tell Lady "Do you mean that my lady won't prosecute ?"
Verinder, or tell anybody, what has happened, I asked.
until I give you leave." " I mean that your lady can't prosecute, " said
That settled it. Mr. Franklin had no choice the Sergeant. " Rosanna Spearman is simplyan
but to submit. He turned away in anger- and instrument in the hands of another person, and
left us. Rosanna Spearman will be held harmless for
I had stood there listening to them, all in a that other person's sake."
tremble ; not knowing whom to suspect, or what He spoke like a man in earnest- there was no
to think next. In the midst of my confusion, denying that. Still, I felt something stirring un.
two things, however, were plain to me. First, easily against him in my mind. " Can't you give
that my young lady was, in some unaccountable that other person a name ?" I said.
manner, at the bottom of the sharp speeches " Can't you, Mr. Betteredge ? "
that had passed between them. Second, that "No. "
they thoroughly understood each other, with- Sergeant Cuff stood stock still, and surveyed
out having previously exchanged a word of me with a look of melancholy interest.
explanation on either side. "It's always a pleasure to me to be tender
"Mr. Betteredge," says the Sergeant, " you towards human infirmity," he said. " I feel
have done a very foolish thing in my absence. particularly tender at the present moment, Mr.
You have done a little detective business on Betteredge, towards you. And you, with the
your own account. For the future, perhaps same excellent motive, feel particularly tender
you will be so obliging as to do your detective towards Rosanna Spearman, don't you? Doyou
business along with me.'"" happen to know whether she has had a new
He took me by the arm, and walked me away outfit of linen lately ?"
with him along the road by which he had come. What he meant by slipping in this extra-
I dare say I had deserved his reproof--but I was ordinary question unawares, I was at a total loss
not going to help him to set traps for Rosanna to imagine. Seeing no possible injury to Rosanna
Spearman, for all that. Thief or no thief, legal if I owned the truth, I answered that the girl had
or not legal, I don't care-I pitied her. come to us rather sparely provided with linen,
"What do you want of me? " I asked, shaking and that my lady, in recompense for her good
him conduct (I laid a stress on her good conduct),
66 off, and stopping short.
' Only a little information about the country had given her a new outfit not a fortnight since.
round here," said the Sergeant. "This is a miserable world," says the Sergeant.
I couldn't well object to improve Sergeant " Human life, Mr. Betteredge, is a sort of target
Cuff in his geography. -misfortune is always firing at it, and always
"Is there any path, in that direction, leading hitting the mark. But for that outfit, we should
to the sea-beach from this house ? " asked the have discovered a new nightgown or petticoat
Sergeant. He pointed, as he spoke, to the fir- among Rosanna's things, and have nailed her
plantation which led to the Shivering Sand. in that way. You're not at a loss to follow
66 me, are you ? You have examined the servants
" Yes," I said, " there is a path."
"Show it to me." yourself, and you know what discoveries two
Side by side, in the grey of the summer of them made outside Rosanna's door. Surely
evening, Sergeant Cuff and I set forth for the you know what the girl was about yesterday,
Shivering Sand. after she was taken ill ? You can't guess
Oh, dear me, it's as plain as that strip of light
there, at the end of the trees. At eleven on
Thursday morning, Superintendent Seegrave
CHAPTER XV (who is a mass of human infirmity) points out
to all the women servants the smear on the
THE Sergeant remained silent, thinking his door. Rosanna has her own reasons for sus-
own thoughts, till we entered the plantation of pecting her own things ; she takes the first
firs which led to the quicksand. There he roused opportunity of getting to her room, finds the
himself, like a man whose mind was made up, paint-stain on her nightgown, or petticoat, or
and spoke to me again. what not, shams ill and slips away to the town,
" Mr. Betteredge," he said, " as you have gets the materials for making a new petticoat
honoured me by taking an oar in my boat, and or nightgown, makes it alone in her room onthe
as you may, I think, be of some assistance to me Thursday night, lights a fire (not to destroy it ;
before the evening is out, I see no use in our two of her fellow-servants are prying outside
mystifying one another any longer, and I pro- her door, and she knows better than to make
pose to set you an example of plain speaking on a smell of burning, and to have a lot of tinder
my side. You are determined to give me no in- to get rid of)-lights a fire, I say, to dry and
formationtothe prejudice of RosannaSpearman, iron the substitute dress after wringing it out,
because she has been a good girl to you, and keeps the stained dress hidden (probably on
because you pity her heartily. Those humane her), and is at this moment occupied in making
considerations do you a world of credit, but they away with it, in some convenient place, on that
happen in this instance to be humane considera- lonely bit of beach ahead of us. I have traced
tions clean thrown away. Rosanna Spearman is her this evening to your fishing village, and to
not in the slightest danger of getting intotrouble one particular cottage, which we may possibly
52 THE MOONSTONE

have to visit, before we go back. She stopped | the dead surface of the water. Scum and slime
in the cottage for some time, and she came out shone faintly in certain places, where the last
with (as I believe) something hidden under her of the light still caught them on the two great
cloak. A cloak (on a woman's back) is an spits of rock jutting out, north and south, into
emblem of charity-it covers a multitude of the sea. It was now the time of the turn of the
sins. I saw her set off northwards along the tide ; and even as I stood there waiting, the
coast, after leaving the cottage. Is your sea. broad brown face of the quicksand began to
shore here considered a fine specimen of marine dimple and quiver-the only moving thing in
landscape, Mr. Betteredge ?" all the horrid place.
I answered, " Yes," as shortly as might be. I saw the Sergeant start as the shiver of the
"Tastes differ," says Sergeant Cuff. " Look- sand caught his eye. After looking at it for a
ing at it from my point of view, I never saw a minute or so, he turned and came back to me.
marine landscape that I admired less. If you "A treacherous place, Mr. Betteredge,” he
happen to be following another person along said ; " and no signs of Rosanna Spearman any-
your sea-coast, and if that person happens where on the beach, look where you may."
to look round, there isn't a scrap of cover to He took me down lower on the shore, and I
hide you anywhere. I had to choose between saw for myself that his footsteps and mine were
taking Rosanna in custody on suspicion, or the only footsteps printed off on the sand.
leaving her, for the time being, with her little "How does the fishing village bear, standing
game on her own hands. For reasons which I where we are now ? " asked Sergeant Cuff.
won't trouble you with, I decided on making " Cobb's Hole," I answered (that being the
any sacrifice rather than give the alarm as name of the place), " bears, as near as may be,
soon as to-night to a certain person who shall due south."
be nameless between us. I came back to the " I saw the girl this evening, walking north-
house to ask you to take me to the north end ward along the shore, from Cobb's Hole," said
of the beach by another way. Sand- in respect the Sergeant. "Consequently, she must have
of its printing off people's footsteps- is one been walking towards this place. Is Cobb's
of the best detective officers I know. If we Hole on the other side of that point of land
don't meet with Rosanna Spearman by coming there ? And can we get to it- now it's low
round on her in this way, the sand may tell us water- by the beach ?
what she has been at, if the light only lasts I answered, " Yes," to both those questions.
iong enough. Here is the sand. If you will " If you'll excuse my suggesting it, we'll step
excuse my suggesting it—suppose you hold out briskly," said the Sergeant. "I want to find
your tongue, and let me go first ?" the place where she left the shore, before it gets
If there is such a thing known at the doctor's dark."
shop as a detective -fever, that disease had now We had walked, I should say, a couple of
got fast hold of your humble servant. Sergeant hundred yards towards Cobb's Hole, when Ser-
Cuff went on between the hillocks of sand, down geant Cuff suddenly went down on his knees
to the beach. I followed him (with my heart in on the beach, to all appearance seized with a
my mouth) ; and waited at a little distance for sudden frenzy for saying his prayers.
what was to happen next. "There's something to be said for your marine
As it turned out, I found myself standing landscape here, after all, " remarked the Ser-
nearly in the same place where Rosanna Spear- geant. " Here are a woman's footsteps, Mr.
man and I had been talking together when Mr. Betteredge ! Let us call them Rosanna's foot-
Franklin suddenly appeared before us, on arriv- steps, until we find evidence to the contrary that
ing at our house from London. While my eyes wecan't resist. Veryconfused footsteps, you will
were watching the Sergeant, my mind wandered please to observe -purposely confused, I should
away in spite of me to what had passed, on that say. Ah, poor soul, she understands the detec-
former occasion, between Rosanna and me. I tive virtues of sand as well as I do ! But hasn't
declare I almost felt the poor thing slip her hand she been in rather too great a hurry to tread out
again into mine, and give it a little grateful the marks thoroughly ? Ithink she has. Here's
squeeze to thank me for speaking kindly to her. one footstep going from Cobb's Hole ; and here
I declare I almost heard her voice telling me is another going back to it. Isn't that the toe
again that the Shivering Sand seemed to draw of her shoe pointing straight to the water's
her to it against her own will, whenever she went edge ? And don't I see two heel-marks further
out- almost saw her face brighten again, as it down the beach, close at the water's edge also ?
brightened when she first set eyes upon Mr. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I'm
Franklin coming briskly out on us from among afraid Rosanna is sly. It looks as if she had
the hillocks. My spirits fell lower and lower determined to get to that place you and I have
as I thought of these things-and the view of just come from, without leaving any marks on
the lonesome little bay, when I looked about to the sand to trace her by. Shall we say that she
rouse myself, only served to make me feel more walked through the water from this point till she
uneasy still. got to that ledge of rocks behind us, and came
The last of the evening light was fading away ; back the same way, and then took to the beach
and over all the desolate place there hung a still again where those two heel-marks are still left.
and awful calm. The heave of the main ocean Yes, we'll say that. It seems to fit in with my
on the great sandbank out in the bay, was a notion that she had something under her cloak,
heave that made no sound. The inner sea lay when she left the cottage. No ! not something
lost and dim, without a breath of wind to stir it. to destroy-for, in that case, where would have
Patches of nasty ooze floated, yellow-white, on ❘ been the need of all these precautions to prevent
 THE MOONSTONE 53

my tracing the place at which her walk ended ? | is certain, he began with the Royal Family, the
Something to hide is, I think, the better guess Primitive Methodists, and the price of fish ;
of the two. Perhaps, if we go on to the cottage, and he got from that (in his dismal, under-
we may find out what that something is ? " ground way) to the loss of the Moonstone, the
At this proposal, my detective-fever suddenly spitefulness of our first housemaid, and the
cooled. "You don't want me, " I said. "What hard behaviour of the women-servants generally
good can I do ? " ‫ وو‬towards Rosanna Spearman. Having reached
"The longer I know you, Mr. Betteredge, ' his subject in this fashion, he described himself
said the Sergeant, " the more virtues I discover. as making his inquiries about the lost Diamond,
Modesty-oh dear me, how rare modesty is in partly with a view to find it, and partly for the
this world ! and how much of that rarity you purpose of clearing Rosanna from the unjust
possess ! If I go alone to the cottage, the suspicions of her enemies in the house. In
people's tongues will be tied at the first question about a quarter of an hour from the time when
I put to them. If I go with you , I go introduced we entered the kitchen, good Mrs. Yolland was
by a justly respected neighbour, and a flow of persuaded that she was talking to Rosanna's
conversation is the necessary result. It strikes best friend, and was pressing Sergeant Cuff to
me in that light ; how does it strike you ?" comfort his stomach and revive his spirits out
Not having an answer of the needful smart- of the Dutch bottle.
ness as ready as I could have wished, I tried Being firmly persuaded that the Sergeant
to gain time by asking him what cottage he was wasting his breath to no purpose on Mrs.
wanted to go to. Yolland, I sat enjoying the talk between them,
On the Sergeant describing the place, I recog- much as I have sat, in my time, enjoying a
nised it as a cottage inhabited by a fisherman stage play. The great Cuff showed a wonder-
named Yolland, with his wife and two grown- ful patience ; trying his luck drearily this way
up children, a son and a daughter. If you will and that way, and firing shot after shot, as it
look back, you will find that, in first presenting were, at random, on the chance of hitting the
Rosanna Spearman to your notice, I have de- mark. Everything to Rosanna's credit, nothing
scribed her as occasionally varying her walk to to Rosanna's prejudice- that was how it ended,
the Shivering Sand, by a visit to some friends of try as he might ; with Mrs. Yolland talking
hers at Cobb's Hole. Those friends were the nineteen to the dozen, and placing the most
Yollands -respectable, worthy people, a credit entire confidence in him. His last effort was
to the neighbourhood. Rosanna's acquaintance made, when we had looked at our watches, and
with them had begun by means of the daughter, had got on our legs previous to taking leave. "3
who was afflicted with a misshapen foot, and " I shall now wish you good-night, ma'am,'
who was known in our parts by the name of says the Sergeant. " And I shall only say, at
Limping Lucy. The two deformed girls had, I parting, that Rosanna Spearman has a sincere
suppose, a kind of fellow-feeling for each other. well-wisher in myself, your obedient servant.
Anyway, the Yollands and Rosanna always ap- But, oh dear me ! she will never get on in
peared to get on together, at the few chances her present place ; and my advice to her is-
they had of meeting, in a pleasant and friendly leave it."
manner. The fact of Sergeant Cuff having " Bless your heart alive ! she is going to leave
traced the girl to their cottage, set the matter it ! " cries Mrs. Yolland. (Nota bene - I translate
of my helping his inquiries in quite a new light. Mrs. Yolland out of the Yorkshire language into
Rosanna had merely gone where she was in the the English language. When I tell you that
habit of going ; and to show that she had been the all- accomplished Cuff was every now and
in company with the fisherman and his family then puzzled to understand her until I helped
was as good as to prove that she had been inno- him, you will draw your own conclusions as to
cently occupied, so far, at any rate. It would what your state of mind would be if I reported
be doing the girl a service, therefore, instead of her in her native tongue.)
an injury, if I allowed myself to be convinced Rosanna Spearman going to leave us ! I
by Sergeant Cuff's logic. I professed myself pricked up my ears at that. It seemed strange,
convinced by it accordingly. to say the least of it, that she should have given
We went on to Cobb's Hole, seeing the foot- no warning, in the first place, to my lady or to
steps on the sand, as long as the light lasted. me. A certain doubt came up in my mind
On reaching the cottage, the fisherman and whether Sergeant Cuff's last random shot
his son proved to be out in the boat ; and Limp- might not have hit the mark. I began to
ing Lucy, always weak and weary, was resting question whether my share in the proceedings
on her bed upstairs. Good Mrs. Yolland re- was quite as harmless a one as I had thought
ceived us alone in her kitchen. When she heard it. It might be all in the way of the Sergeant's
that Sergeant Cuff was a celebrated character business to mystify an honest woman by wrap-
in London, she clapped a bottle of Dutch gin ping her round in a network of lies ; but it was
and a couple of clean pipes on the table, and my duty to have remembered, as a good Pro-
stared as if she could never see enough of him. testant, that the father of lies is the Devil- and
I sat quiet in a corner, waiting to hear how that mischief and the Devil are never far apart.
the Sergeant would find his way to the subject Beginning to smell mischief in the air, I tried
of Rosanna Spearman. His usual roundabout to take Sergeant Cuff out. He sat down again
manner of going to work proved, on this occa- instantly, and asked for a little drop of comfort
sion, to be more roundabout than ever. How out of the Dutch bottle. Mrs. Yolland sat down
he managed it is more than I could tell at the opposite to him, and gave him his nip. I went
time, and more than I can tell now. But this on to the door, excessively uncomfortable, and
54 THE MOONSTONE

said I thought I must bid them good-night- | feel tempted to put it back in my pocket
and yet I didn't go. again."
" So she means to leave ? " says the Sergeant. " Come along ! " I said, " I can't wait any
"What is she to do when she does leave ? Sad, longer : I must go back to the house."
sad ! The poor creature has got no friends in " I'll follow you directly," says Sergeant
the world, except you and me.' Cuff.
"Ah, but she has, though ! " says Mrs. Yolland. For the second time, I went to the door ;
" She came in here, as I told you, this evening ; and for the second time, try as I might, Í
and, after sitting and talking a little with my couldn't cross the threshold.
girl Lucy and me, she asked to go upstairs by " It's a delicate matter, ma'am," I heard
66
herself, into Lucy's room. It's the only room the Sergeant say, giving money back. You
in our place where there's pen and ink. I charged
66 Cheap ! " says Mrs.the
her cheap for things, I'm sure ? "
want to write a letter to a friend,' she says, Yolland. " Come and
' and I can't do it for the prying and peeping judge for yourself."
of the servants up at the house.' Who the letter She took up the candle and led the Sergeant
was written to I can't tell you : it must have to a corner of the kitchen. For the life of me,
been a mortal long one, judging by the time she I couldn't help following them. Shaken down
stopped upstairs over it. I offered her a postage in the corner was a heap of odds and ends
stamp when she came down. She hadn't got (mcstly old metal), which the fisherman had
the letter in her hand, and she didn't accept the picked up at different times from wrecked
stamp. A little close, poor soul (as you know), ships, and which he hadn't found a market for
about herself and her doings. But a friend she yet, to his own mind. Mrs. Yolland dived into
has got somewhere, I can tell you ; and to that this rubbish, and brought up an old japanned
friend, you may depend upon it, she will go." tin case, with a cover to it, and a hasp to hang
" Soon ?" asked the Sergeant. it up by the sort of thing they use, on board
" As soon as she can," says Mrs. Yolland. ship, for keeping their maps and charts, and
Here I stepped in again from the door. As such-like, from the wet.
chief of my lady's establishment, I couldn't allow "There ! " says she. "When Rosanna came
this sort of loose talk about a servant of ours in this evening, she bought the fellow to that.
going, or not going, to proceed any longer in my ' It will just do, ' she says, ' to put my cuffs and
presence, without noticing it. collars in, and keep them from being crumpled
66
'You must be mistaken about Rosanna in my box. ' One and ninepence, Mr. Cuff. As
Spearman, " I said. " If she had been going | I live by bread, not a halfpenny more ! "
to leave her present situation, she would"" have "Dirt cheap !" says the Sergeant, with a
mentioned it, in the first place, to me. ' heavy sigh.
" Mistaken ? " cries Mrs. Yolland. " Why, He weighed the case in his hand. I thought
only an hour ago she bought some things she I heard a note or two of " The Last Rose of
wanted for travelling-of my own self, Mr. | Summer " as he looked at it. There was no
Betteredge, in this very room. And that re- doubt now ! He had made another discovery
minds me," says the wearisome woman, suddenly to the prejudice of Rosanna Spearman, in the
beginning to feel in her pocket, " of something place of all others where I thought her character
I have got it on my mind to say about Rosanna was safest, and all through me ! I leave you
and her money. Are you either of you likely to imagine what I felt, and how sincerely I re-
to see her when you go back to the house ? " pented having been the medium of introduction
" I'll take a message to the poor thing, with between Mrs. Yolland and Sergeant Cuff.
the greatest pleasure, " answered Sergeant Cuff, "That will do," I said. " We really must go."
before I could put in a word edgewise. Without paying the least attention to me,
Mrs. Yolland produced out of her pocket a Mrs. Yolland took another dive into the rubbish,
few shillings and sixpences, and counted them and came up out of it, this time, with a dog-
out with a most particular and exasperating chain.
carefulness in the palm of her hand. She offered 'Weigh it in your hand, sir, " she said to
the money to the Sergeant, looking mighty loth the Sergeant. " We had three of these ; and
to part with it all the while. Rosanna has taken two of them. ' What can
"Might I ask you to give this back to Rosanna, you want, my dear, with a couple of dog's
with my love and respects ? " says Mrs. Yolland . chains ? ' says I. 'If I join them together
"She insisted on paying me for the one or two they'll go round my box nicely,' says she.
things she took a fancy to this evening-and • Rope's cheapest,' says I. ' Chain's surest, '
money's welcome enough in our house, I don't says she. "Whoever heard of a box corded
deny it. Still, I'm not easy in my mind about with chain ? ' says I. ' Oh, Mrs. Yolland, don't
taking the poor thing's little savings. And to make objections ! ' says she ; let me have my
tell you the truth, I don't think my man would chains ! A strange girl, Mr. Cuff-good as
like to hear that I had taken Rosanna Spear- gold, and kinder than a sister to my Lucy- but
man's money, when he comes back to-morrow always a little strange. There ! I humoured
morning from his work. Please say she's her. Three and sixpence. On the word of an
heartily welcome to the things she bought of honest woman, three and sixpence, Mr. Cuff ! "
me-as a gift. And don't leave the money on "Each ?" says the Sergeant.
the table, " says Mrs. Yolland, putting it down "Both together ! " says Mrs. Yolland. " Three
suddenly before the Sergeant, as if it burnt and sixpence for the two."
her fingers-" don't, there's a good man ! For " Given away, ma'am," says the Sergeant,
times are hard, and flesh is weak ; and I might shaking his head. " Clean given away ! "
 THE MOONSTONE 55

"There's the money," says Mrs. Yolland, But I only said to Sergeant Cuff, " Can't you
getting back sideways to the little heap of guess ? "
silver on the table, as if it drew her in spite "It's not the Diamond, " says the Sergeant.
of herself. " The tin case and the dog-chains " The whole experience of my life is at fault, if
were all she bought, and all she took away. Rosanna Spearman has got the Diamond."
One and ninepence and three and sixpence On hearing those words, the infernal detec-
-total, five and three. With my love and tive-fever began, I suppose, to burn in me again.
respects-and I can't find it in my conscience At any rate, I forgot myself in the interest of
to take a poor girl's savings, when she may guessing this new riddle. I said rashly, " The
want them herself." stained dress ! "
" I can't find it in my conscience, ma'am, to Sergeant Cuff stopped short in the dark, and
give the money back," says Sergeant Cuff. laid his hand on my arm.
" You have as good as made her a present of " Is anything thrown into that quicksand of
the things you have indeed." yours, ever thrown up on the surface again ?"
" Is that your sincere opinion, sir ? " says he asked.
Mrs. Yolland, brightening up wonderfully. "Never," I answered. " Light or heavy, what-
" There can't be a doubt about it, " answered ever goes into the Shivering Sand is sucked
the Sergeant. " Ask Mr. Betteredge." down, and seen no more."
It was no use asking"" me. All they got out of "Does Rosanna Spearman know that ? "
me was, " Good night .' She knows it as well as I do."
"Bother the money ! " says Mrs. Yolland. Then," says the Sergeant, " what on earth
With those words, she appeared to lose all has she got to do but to tie up a bit of stone in
command over herself ; and, making a sudden the stained dress, and throw it into the quick-
snatch at the heap of silver, put it back, holus- sand ? There isn't the shadow of a reason why
bolus, in her pocket. "It upsets one's temper, she should have hidden it- and yet she must
it does, to see it lying there and nobody taking have hidden it. Query," says the Sergeant,
it,"cries this unreasonable woman, sitting down walking on again, " is the paint- stained dress a
with a thump, and looking at Sergeant Cuff, as petticoat or a night-gown ? or is it something
much as to say, " It's in my pocket again now else which there is a reason for preserving at
-get it out if you can !" any risk ? Mr. Betteredge, if nothing occurs to
This time, I not only went to the door, but prevent it, I must go to Frizinghall to-morrow,
went fairly out on the road back. Explain it how and discover what she bought in the town, when
you may, I felt as if one or both of them had she privately got the materials for making
mortally offended me. Before I had taken three the substitute dress. It's a risk to leave the
steps down the village, I heard the Sergeant house, as things are now-but it's a worse risk
behind me. still to stir another step in this matter in the
"Thankyou for your introduction , Mr. Better- dark. Excuse my being a little out of temper ;
edge," he said. " I am indebted to the fisher- I'm degraded in my own estimation-I have let
man's wife for an entirely new sensation. Mrs. Rosanna Spearman puzzle me."
Yolland has puzzled me. "" When we got back, the servants were at
It was on the tip of my tongue to have given supper. The first person we saw in the outer
him a sharp answer, for no better reason than yard was the policeman whom Superintendent
this-that I was out of temper with him, be- Seegrave had left at the Sergeant's disposal.
cause I was out of temper with myself. But The Sergeant asked if Rosanna Spearman had
when he owned to being puzzled, a comforting returned. Yes. When ? Nearly an hour since.
doubt crossed my mind whether any great harm What had she done ? She had gone upstairs to
had been done after all. I waited in discreet take off her bonnet and cloak- and she was now
silence to hear more. at supper quietly with the rest.
"Yes," says the Sergeant, as if he was actu- Without making any remark, Sergeant Cuff
ally reading my thoughts in the dark. "Instead walked on, sinking lower and lower in his own
of putting me on the scent, it may console you estimation, to the back of the house. Missing
to know, Mr. Betteredge (with your interest in the entrance in the dark, he went on (in spite
Rosanna), that you have been the means of of my calling to him) till he was stopped by a
throwing me off. What the girl has done, to- wicket-gate which led into the garden. When
night, is clear enough, of course. She has I joined him to bring him back by the right
joined the two chains, and has fastened them way, I found that he was looking up attentively
to the hasp in the tin case. She has sunk the at one particular window, on the bed-room floor,
case, in the water or in the quicksand. She at the back of the house.
has made the loose end of the chain fast to Looking up, in my turn, I discovered that the
some place under the rocks, known only to object of his contemplation was the window of
herself. And she will leave the case secure at Miss Rachel's room, and that lights were pass-
its anchorage till the present proceedings have ing backwards and forwards there as if some-
come to an end ; after which she can privately thing unusual was going on.
pull it up again out of its hiding- place, at her " Isn't that Miss Verinder's room ? " asked
own leisure and convenience. All perfectly Sergeant Cuff.
plain, so far. But," says the Sergeant, with I replied that it was, and invited him to go
the first tone of impatience in his voice that in with me to supper. The Sergeant remained
I had heard yet, " the mystery is whatthe in his place, and said something about enjoying
devil has she hidden in the tin case ? " the smell of the garden at night. I left him to
I thought to myself, " The Moonstone ! " his enjoyment. Just as I was turning in at the
56 THE MOONSTONE

door, I heard " The Last Rose of Summer "" at inquiry you are conducting, to know before-
the wicket-gate. Sergeant Cuff had made an- hand if any person now in this house wishes to
other discovery ! And my young lady's window leave it ?" 99
was at the bottom of it this time ! "Most important, my lady.'
The latter reflection took me back again to " I have to tell you, then, that Miss Verinder
the Sergeant, with a polite intimation that I proposes going to stay with her aunt, Mrs. Able-
could not find it in my heart to leave him by white, of Frizinghall. She has arranged to leave
himself. " Is there anything you don't under- us the first thing to-morrow morning. "
stand up there ? " I added, pointing to Miss Sergeant Cuff looked at me. I made a step
Rachel's window. forward to speak to my mistress-and , feeling
Judging by his voice, Sergeant Cuff had sud- my heart fail me (if I must own it), took a step
denly risen again to the right place in his own back again, and said nothing.
estimation. " You are great people for betting " May I ask your ladyship when Miss Verinder
in Yorkshire, are you not ? " he asked. informed you that she was going to her aunt's ? "
"Well ?" I said. "Suppose we are ?" inquired the Sergeant.
"If I was a Yorkshireman," proceeded the "About an hour since," answered my mistress.
Sergeant, taking my arm, " I would lay you an Sergeant Cuff looked at me once more. They
even sovereign, Mr. Betteredge, that your young say old people's hearts are not very easily moved.
lady has suddenly resolved to leave the house. My heart couldn't have thumped much harder
If I won on that event, I should offer to lay than it did now, if I had been five-and- twenty
another sovereign , that the idea has occurred again !
to her within the last hour." "I have no claim, my lady," says the Ser-
The first of the Sergeant's guesses startled geant, " to control Miss Verinder's actions. All
me. The second mixed itself up somehow in I can ask you to do is to put off her departure,
my head with the report we had heard from if possible, till later in the day. I must go to
the policeman, that Rosanna Spearman had Frizinghall myself to-morrow morning-and I
returned from the sands within the last hour. shall be back by two o'clock, if not before. If
The two together had a curious effect on me as Miss Verinder can be kept here till that time,
we went in to supper. I shook off Sergeant I should wish to say two words to her-un-
Cuff's arm, and, forgetting my manners, pushed expectedly-before she goes."
by him through the door to make my own in- My lady directed me to give the coachman
quiries for myself. her orders, that the carriage was not to come
Samuel, the footman, was the first person I for Miss Rachel until two o'clock. " Have you
met in the passage . more to say?" she asked of the Sergeant, when
" Her ladyship is waiting to see you and this had been done.
Sergeant Cuff," he said, before I could put any " Only one thing, your ladyship. If Miss
questions to him. Verinder is surprised at this change in the
"How long has she been waiting ? " asked arrangements, please not to mention me "" as
the Sergeant's voice behind me. being the cause of putting off her journey.'
" For the last hour, sir." My mistress lifted her head suddenly from
There it was again ! Rosanna had come her book as if she was going to say something
back ; Miss Rachel had taken some resolution -checked herself by a great effort —and, look-
out of the common ; and my lady had been ing back again at the open page, dismissed us
waiting to see the Sergeant-all within the with a sign ofwonderful her hand.
woman, " said Sergeant
last hour ! It was not pleasant to find these " That's a
very different persons and things linking them- Cuff, when we were out in the hall again.
selves together in this way. I went on up- " But for her self-control, the mystery that
stairs, without looking at Sergeant Cuff, or puzzles you, Mr. Betteredge, would have been
speaking to him. My hand took a sudden fit at an end to-night."
of trembling as I lifted it to knock at my At those words, the truth rushed at last into
mistress's door. my stupid old head. For the moment, I sup-
" I shouldn't be surprised , " whispered the pose I must have gone clean out of my senses.
Sergeant over my shoulder, " if a scandal was I seized the Sergeant by the collar of his coat,
to burst up in the house to-night. Don't be and pinned him against the wall.
alarmed ! I have put the muzzle on worse family "Damn you !" I cried out, " there's some-
difficulties than this, in my time." thing wrong about Miss Rachel—and you have
As he said the words, I heard my mistress's been hiding it from me all this time ! "
voice calling to us to come in. Sergeant Cuff looked up at me-flat against
the wall- without stirring a hand, or moving
a muscle of his melancholy face.
"Ah," he said, " you've guessed it at last. "
CHAPTER XVI My hand dropped from his collar, and my
head sunk on my breast. Please to remember,
WE found my lady with no light in the room as some excuse for my breaking out as I did,
but the reading-lamp. The shade was screwed that I had served the family for fifty years.
down so as to overshadow her face. Instead of Miss Rachel had climbed upon my knees, and
looking up at us in her usual straightforward pulled my whiskers, many and many a time
way, she sat close at the table, and kept her when she was a child. Miss Rachel , with all
66 fixed obstinately on
eyes an open book. her faults, had been, to my mind, the dearest
' Officer," she said, " is it important to the and prettiest and best young mistress that ever
 THE MOONSTONE 57

an old servant waited on, and loved. I begged a long year which wasn't to be blown off by a
Sergeant Cuff's pardon, but I am afraid I did whiff of tobacco, and which was even beyond
it with watery eyes, and not in a very becoming the reach of " Robinson Crusoe."
way. Being restless and miserable, and having no
" Don't distress yourself, Mr. Betteredge, " particular room to go to, I took a turn on the
says the Sergeant, with more kindness than I terrace, and thought it over in peace and quiet-
had any right to expect from him. " In my ness by myself. It doesn't much matter what
line of life, if we were quick at taking offence, my thoughts were. I felt wretchedly old, and
we shouldn't be worth salt to our porridge. If worn out, and unfit for my place—and began
it's any comfort to you, collar me again. You to wonder, for the first time in my life, when it
don't in the least know how to do it ; but I'll would please God to take me. With all this,
overlook your awkwardness in consideration of I held firm, notwithstanding, to my belief in
your feelings." Miss Rachel. If Sergeant Cuff had been
He curled up at the corners of his lips, and Solomon in all his glory, and had told me
in his own dreary way, seemed to think he had that my young lady had mixed herself up in a
delivered himself of a very good joke. mean and guilty plot, I should have had but
I led him into my own little sitting-room, one answer for Solomon, wise as he was, " You
and closed the door. don't know her ; and I do."
"Tell me the truth, Sergeant," I said. "What My meditations were interrupted by Samuel.
do you suspect ? It's no kindness to hide it He brought me a written message from my
from me now. ‫دو‬ mistress.
"I don't suspect, " said Sergeant Cuff. " I Going into the house to get a light to read
know." it by, Samuel remarked that there seemed a
My unlucky temper began to get the better change coming in the weather. My troubled
of me again. mind had prevented me from noticing it be-
66
Do you mean to tell me, in plain English," fore. But, now my attention was roused , I
I said, "that Miss Rachel has stolen her own heard the dogs uneasy, and the wind moaning
Diamond ? " low. Looking up at the sky, I saw the rack
"Yes," says the Sergeant ; " that is what I of clouds getting blacker and blacker, and hur-
mean to tell you, in so many words. Miss rying faster and faster over a watery moon.
Verinder has been in secret possession of the Wild weather coming-Samuel was right, wild
Moonstone from first to last ; and she has taken | weather coming.
Rosanna Spearman into her confidence, because The message from my lady informed me,
she has calculated on our suspecting Rosanna that the magistrate at Frizinghall had written
Spearman of the theft. There is the whole to remind her about the three Indians. Early
case in a nut-shell. Collar me again, Mr. in the coming week, the rogues must needs be
Betteredge. If it's any vent to your feelings, released, and left free to follow their own
collar me again." devices. If we had any more questions to ask
God help me ! my feelings were not to be them, there was no time to lose. Having for-
relieved in that way. " Give me your reasons ?" gotten to mention this, when she had last seen
That was all I could say to him. Sergeant Cuff, my mistress now desired me to
" You shall hear my reasons to-morrow," said supply the omission. The Indians had gone
the Sergeant. " If Miss Verinder refuses to clean out of my head (as they have, no doubt,
put off her visit to her aunt (which you will gone clean out of yours ). I didn't see much
find Miss Verinder will do), I shall be obliged use in stirring that subject again. However,
to lay the whole case before your mistress I obeyed my orders on the spot, as a matter
to-morrow. And, as I don't know what may of course.
come of it, I shall request you to be present, I found Sergeant Cuff and the gardener,
and to hear what passes on both sides. Let with a bottle of Scotch whisky between them,
the matter rest for to-night. No, Mr. Better- head over ears in an argument on the growing
edge, you don't get a word more on the subject of roses. The Sergeant was so deeply interested
of the Moonstone out of me. There is your that he held up his hand, and signed to me
table spread for supper. That's one of the not to interrupt the discussion, when I came in.
many human infirmities which I always treat As far as I could understand it, the question
tenderly. If you will ring the bell, I'll say 377 between them was, whether the white moss
grace. For what we are going to receive- rose did, or did not, require to be budded on
"I wish you a good appetite to it, Sergeant," the dog rose to make it grow well. Mr. Begbie
I said. "My appetite is gone. I'll wait and see said, Yes ; and Sergeant Cuff said, No. They
you served, and then I'll ask you to excuse me, appealed to me, as hotly as a couple of boys.
if I go away, and try to get the better of this Knowing nothing whatever about the growing
by myself." of roses, I steered a middle course-just as
I saw him served with the best of everything her Majesty's judges do, when the scales of
--and I shouldn't have been sorry if the best of justice bother them by hanging even to a hair.
everything had choked him. The head gardener 66'Gentlemen," I remarked, " there is much to
(Mr. Begbie) came in at the same time with his be said on both sides. " In the temporary lull
weekly account. The Sergeant got on the sub- produced by that impartial sentence, I laid my
ject of roses and the merits of grass walks lady's written message on the table, under the
and gravel walks immediately. I left the two eyes of Sergeant Cuff.
together, and went out with a heavy heart. I had got by this time, as nearly as might be,
This was the first trouble I remember for many to hate the Sergeant. But truth compels me
 E
STON
58 THE MOON

to acknowledge that, in respect of readiness of | pang was in that quarter. "What's the matter,
mind, he was a wonderful man. my girl ?" I asked, stopping her. " Are you
In half a minute after he had read the mes- ill ? " " For God's sake, don't speak to me,"
sage, he had looked back into his memory for she answered, and twisted herself out of my
Superintendent Seegrave's report ; had picked hands, and ran on towards the servants' stair-
out that part of it in which the Indians were case. I called to the cook (who was within
concerned ; and was ready with his answer. A hearing) to look after the poor girl. Two other
certain great traveller, who understood the persons proved to be within hearing, as well as
Indians and their language, had figured in Mr. the cook. Sergeant Cuff darted softly out of
Seegrave's report, hadn't he ? Very well. Did my room, and asked what was the matter.
I know the gentleman's name and address ? I answered, " Nothing." Mr. Franklin, on the
Very well again. Would I write them on the other side, pulled open the swing-door, and
back of my lady's message ? Much obliged to beckoning me into the hall, inquired if I had
me. Sergeant Cuff would look that gentleman seen anything of Rosanna Spearman.
up, when he went to Frizinghall in the morning. "She has just passed me, sir, with a ""very
" Do you
"" expect anything to come of it ? " I disturbed face, and in a very odd manner.
asked. Superintendent Seegrave found the "I am afraid I am innocently the cause of
Indians as innocent as the babe unborn." that disturbance, Betteredge."
" Superintendent Seegrave has been proved "You, sir ! "
wrong, up to this time, in all his conclusions, " " I can't explain it," says Mr. Franklin ;
answered the Sergeant. " It may be worth " but, if the girl is concerned in the loss of the
while to find out to-morrow whether Super- Diamond, I do really believe she was on the
intendent Seegrave was wrong about the point of confessing everything to me, of all
Indians as well." With that he turned to the people in the world-not two minutes
Mr. Begbie, and took up the argument again since."
exactly at the place where it had left off. Looking towards the swing-door, as he said
" This question between us is a question of those last words, I fancied I saw it opened a
soils and seasons, and patience and pains, Mr. little way from the inner side.
Gardener. Now let me put it to you from Was there anybody listening ? The door fell
another point"" of view. You take your white to before I could get to it. Looking through,
moss rose- the moment after, I thought I saw the tails
By that time, I had closed the door on them, of Sergeant Cuff's respectable black coat dis-
and was out of hearing of the rest of the appearing round the corner of the passage.
dispute. He knew, as well as I did, that he could expect
In the passage I met Penelope hanging no more help from me, now that I had dis-
about, and asked what she was waiting for. covered the turn which his investigations were
She was waiting for her young lady's bell, really taking. Under those circumstances, it
when her young lady chose to call her back to was quite in his character to help himself, and
go on with the packing for the next day's to do it by the underground way.
journey. Further inquiry revealed to me, that Not feeling sure that I had really seen the
Miss Rachel had given it as a reason for want- Sergeant- and not desiring to make needless
ing to go to her aunt at Frizinghall, that the mischief, where, Heaven knows, there was
house was unendurable to her, and that she mischief enough going on already-I told Mr.
could bear the odious presence of a policeman Franklin that I thought one of the dogs had
under the same roof with herself no longer. got into the house-and then begged him to
On being informed, half an hour since, that describe what had happened between Rosanna
her departure would be delayed till two in the and himself.
afternoon, she had flown into a violent passion. "Were you passing through the hall, sir ? " I
My lady, present at the time, had severely asked. " Did you meet her accidentally, when
rebuked her, and then (having apparently she spoke to you ? "
something to say, which was reserved for her Mr. Franklin pointed to the billiard-table.
daughter's private ear) had sent Penelope out " I was knocking the balls about," he said,
of the room. My girl was in wretchedly low " and trying to get this miserable business of
spirits about the changed state of things in the the Diamond out of my mind. I happened to
house. " Nothing goes right, father ; nothing look up-and there stood Rosanna Spearman
is like what it used to be. I feel as if some at the side of me, like a ghost ! Her stealing
dreadful misfortune was hanging over us all. " on me in that way was so strange, that I
That was my feeling too. But I put a good hardly knew what to do at first. Seeing a very
face on it, before my daughter. Miss Rachel's anxious expression in her face, I asked her if
bell rang while we were talking. Penelope ran she wished to speak to me. She answered,
up the back stairs to go on with the packing. ' Yes, if I dare." Knowing what suspicion
I went by the other way to the hall, to see attached to her, I could only put one con-
what the glass said about the change in the struction on such language as that. I confess
weather. it made me uncomfortable. I had no wish to
Just as I approached the swing-door leading invite the girl's confidence. At the same time,
into the hall from the servants' offices, it was in the difficulties that now beset us, I could
violently opened from the other side, and hardly feel justified in refusing to listen to her,
Rosanna Spearman ran by me, with a miser- if she was really bent on speaking to me. It
able look of pain in her face, and one of her was an awkward position, and I dare say I got
hands pressed hard over her heart, as if the out of it awkwardly enough. I said to her, ' I
 THE MOONSTONE 59

don't quite understand you. Is there anything of the two guests whom I had left in my
you want me to do ? ' Mind, Betteredge, I room.
didn't speak unkindly ! The poor girl can't The argument about the white moss rose
help being ugly-I felt that, at the time. The had apparently come to an end at last. The
cue was still in my hand, and I went on gardener had gone home, and Sergeant Cuff
knocking the balls about, to take off the was nowhere to be found in the lower regions
awkwardness of the thing. As it turned out, of the house.
I only made matters worse still. I'm afraid I looked into my room. Quite true-nothing
I mortified her without meaning it ! She was to be discovered there but a couple of
suddenly turned away. ' He looks at the empty tumblers and a strong smell of hot grog.
billiard balls,' I heard her say. ' Anything | Had the Sergeant gone of his own accord to
rather than look at me !' Before I could stop the bed-chamber that was prepared for him ?
her, she had left the hall. I am not quite easy I went upstairs to see.
about it, Betteredge. Would you mind telling After reaching the second landing, I thought
Rosanna that I meant no unkindness ? II heard a sound of quiet and regular breathing
have been a little hard on her, perhaps, in my on my left-hand side. My left-hand side led
own thoughts-I have almost hoped that the to the corridor which communicated with Miss
loss of the Diamond might be traced to her."" Rachel's room. I looked in, and there, coiled
Not from any ill-will to the poor girl ; but- up on three chairs placed right across the
He stopped there, and going back to the passage-there, with a red handkerchief tied
billiard-table, began to knock the balls about round his grizzled head, and his respectable
once more. black coat rolled up for a pillow, lay and slept
After what had passed between the Sergeant Sergeant Cuff !
and me, I knew what it was that he had left He woke, instantly and quietly, like a dog,
unspoken as well as he knew it himself. the moment I approached him.
Nothing but the tracing of the Moonstone to " Good night, Mr. Betteredge, " he said.
our second housemaid could now raise Miss "And mind, if you ever take to growing roses,
Rachel above the infamous suspicion that the white moss rose is all the better for not
rested on her in the mind of Sergeant Cuff. being budded on the dog rose, whatever the
It was no longer a question of quieting my gardener may say to the contrary ! """
young lady's nervous excitement ; it was a " What are you doing here ? I asked.
question of proving her innocence. If Rosanna "Why are you not in your proper bed ? "
had done nothing to compromise herself, the " I am not in my proper bed," answered
hope which Mr. Franklin confessed to having the Sergeant, "because I am one of the many
felt would have been hard enough on her in all people in this miserable world who can't earn
conscience. But this was not the case. She their money honestly and easily at the same
had pretended to be ill, and had gone secretly time. There was a coincidence, this evening,
to Frizinghall. She had been up all night, between the period of Rosanna Spearman's
making something or destroying something, in return from the Sands and the period when
private. And she had been at the Shivering Miss Verinder stated her resolution to leave
Sand, that evening, under circumstances which the house. Whatever Rosanna may have
were highly suspicious, to say the least of hidden, it's clear to my mind that your young
them. For all these reasons ( sorry as I was lady couldn't go away until she knew that it
for Rosanna), I could not but think that Mr. was hidden. The two must have communicated
Franklin's way of looking at the matter was privately once already to-night. If they try to
neither unnatural nor unreasonable, in Mr. communicate again, when the house is quiet, I
Franklin's position. I said a word to him to want to be in the way, and stop it. Don't
that effect. blame me for upsetting your sleeping arrange-
" Yes, yes !" he said in return. " But there ments, Mr. Betteredge-blame the Diamond."
is just a chance-a very poor one, certainly— " I wish to God the Diamond had never
that Rosanna's conduct may admit of some found its way into this house ! " I broke
explanation which we don't see at present. I out.
hate hurting a woman's feelings, Betteredge ! Sergeant Cuff looked with a rueful face at
Tell the poor creature what I told you to tell the three chairs on which he had condemned
her. And if she wants to speak to me-I don't himself to pass the night.
care whether I get into a scrape or not- send " So do I," he said gravely.
her to me in the library." With those kind
words he laid down the cue and left me.
Inquiry at the servants' offices informed me
that Rosanna had retired to her own room. CHAPTER XVII.
She had declined all offers of assistance with
thanks, and had only asked to be left to rest NOTHING happened in the night ; and (I am
in quiet. Here, therefore, was an end of any happy to add) no attempt at communication
confession on her part (supposing she really between Miss Rachel and Rosanna rewarded
had a confession to make) for that night. I the vigilance of Sergeant Cuff.
reported the result to Mr. Franklin, who, I had expected the Sergeant to set off for
thereupon, left the library, and went up to Frizinghall the first thing in the morning. He
bed. waited about, however, as if he had something
I was putting the lights out, and making the else to do first. I left him to his own devices ;
windows fast, when Samuel came in with news and going into the grounds shortly after, met
60 THE MOONSTONE

Mr. Franklin on his favourite walk by the me with your confidence, if"" you feel any in-
shrubbery side. terest in Rosanna Spearman.'
Before we had exchanged two words, the Mr. Franklin instantly took on not to have
Sergeant unexpectedly joined us. He made noticed the girls either. He answered, speak-
up to Mr. Franklin, who received him, I must ing loudly on his side-
own, haughtily enough. " Have you anything " I take no interest whatever in Rosanna
to say to me ?" was all the return he got for Spearman."
politely wishing Mr. Franklin good morning. I looked towards the end of the walk. All I
" I have something to say to you, sir," saw at the distance was that Rosanna suddenly
answered the Sergeant, 66 on the subject of turned round, the moment Mr. Franklin had
the inquiry I am conducting here. You de- spoken. Instead of resisting Penelope, as she
tected the turn that inquiry was really taking, had done the moment before, she now let my
yesterday. Naturally enough, in your position, daughter take her by the arm and lead her
you are shocked and distressed. Naturally back to the house.
enough, also, you visit your own angry sense The breakfast-bell rang as the two girls
of your own family scandal upon Me. ' disappeared-and even Sergeant Cuff was now
"What do you want ? " Mr. Franklin broke obliged to give it up as a bad job ! He said
in, sharply enough. to me quietly, " I shall go to Frizinghall, Mr.
"I want to remind you, sir, that I have at Betteredge ; and I shall be back before two."
any rate, thus far, not been proved to be wrong. He went his way without a word more-and
Bearing that in mind, be pleased to remember, for some few hours we were well rid of him.
at the same time, that I am an officer of the law " You must make it right with Rosanna,"
acting here under the sanction of the mistress Mr. Franklin said to me when we were alone.
of the house. Under these circumstances, is " I seem to be fated to say or do something
it, or is it not, your duty as a good citizen, to awkward, before that unlucky girl. You must
assist me with any special information which have seen yourself that Sergeant Cuff laid a
you may happen to possess ?" trap for both of us. If he could confuse me,
" I possess no special information,” says Mr. or irritate her into breaking out, either she
Franklin. or I might have said something which would
Sergeant Cuff put that answer by him, as if answer his purpose. On the spur of the moment,
no answer had been made. I saw no better way out of it than the way I
" You may save my time, sir, from being took. It stopped the girl from saying_any.
wasted on an inquiry at a distance, " he went thing, and it showed the Sergeant that I saw
on, " if you choose to understand me and through him. He was evidently listening,
speak out. " Betteredge, when I was speaking to you last
" I don't understand you," answered Mr. night."
Franklin ; " and I have nothing to say." He had done worse than listen, as I privately
" One ofthe female servants (I won't mention thought to myself. He had remembered my
names) spoke to you privately, sir, last night.' telling him that the girl was in love with
Once more Mr. Franklin cut him short ; once Mr. Franklin ; and he had calculated on that,
more Mr. Franklin answered , " I have nothing when he appealed to Mr. Franklin's interest
to say." in Rosanna-in Rosanna's hearing.
Standing by in silence, I thought of the "As to listening, sir," I remarked (keeping
movement in the swing-door on the previous the other point to myself), "we shall all be
evening, and of the coat-tails which I had seen | rowing in the same boat, if this sort of thing
disappearing down the passage. Sergeant Cuff goes on much longer. Prying, and peeping,
had, no doubt, just heard enough, before I and listening are the natural occupations of
interrupted him, to make him suspect that people situated as we are. In another day or
Rosanna had relieved her mind by confessing two, Mr. Franklin, we shall all be struck dumb
something to Mr. Franklin Blake. together for this reason, that we shall all be
This notion had barely struck me-when listening to surprise each other's secrets, and
who should appear at the end of the shrubbery all know it. Excuse my breaking out, sir. The
walk but Rosanna Spearman in her own proper horrid mystery hanging over us in this house
person ! She was followed by Penelope, who gets into my head like liquor, and makes me
was evidently trying to make her retrace her wild. I won't forget what you have told me.
steps to the house. Seeing that Mr. Franklin I'll take the first opportunity of making it right
was not alone, Rosanna came to a standstill, with Rosanna Spearman.
evidently in great perplexity what to do next. "You haven't said anything to her yet about
Penelope waited behind her. Mr. Franklin saw last night, have you ? " Mr. Franklin asked.
the girls as soon as I saw them. The Sergeant, " No, sir."
with his devilish cunning, took on not to have " Then say nothing now. I had better not
noticed them at all. All this happened in an invite the girl's confidence, with the Sergeant
instant. Before either Mr. Franklin or I could on the look-out to surprise us together. My
say a word, Sergeant Cuff struck in smoothly, conduct is not very consistent , Betteredge- is
with an appearance of continuing the previous it ? I see no way out of this business, which
conversation. isn't dreadful to think of, unless the Diamond
"You needn't be afraid of harming the girl, is traced to Rosanna. And yet I can't, and
sir," he said to Mr. Franklin, speaking in a won't, "" help Sergeant Cuff to find the girl
loud voice, so that Rosanna might hear him. out.
" On the contrary, I recommend you to honour Unreasonable enough, no doubt. But it was
 THE MOONSTONE 61

my state of mind as well. I thoroughly under- " He said it to stop the Sergeant's mouth, " I
stood him. If you will, for once in your life, answered.
remember that you are mortal, perhaps you " I told her that," says Penelope. " But you
will thoroughly understand him too. see, father (though Mr. Franklin isn't to blame),
he's been mortifying and disappointing her for
The state of things, indoors and out, while weeks and weeks past ; and now this comes on
Sergeant Cuff was on his way to Frizinghall, the top of it all ! She has no right, of course,
was briefly this : to expect him to take any interest in her. It's
Miss Rachel waited for the time when the quite monstrous that she should forget herself
carriage was to take her to her aunt's, still and her station in that way. But she seems to
obstinately shut up in her own room. My lady have lost pride, and proper feeling, and every-
and Mr. Franklin breakfasted together. After thing. She frightened me, father, when Mr.
breakfast, Mr. Franklin took one of his sudden Franklin said those words. They seemed to
resolutions, and went out precipitately to quiet turn her into stone. A sudden quiet came over
his mind by a long walk. I was the only person her, and she has gone about her work, ever
who saw him go ; and he told me he should be since, like a woman in a dream."
back before the Sergeant returned. The change I began to feel a little uneasy. There was
in the weather, foreshadowed overnight, had something in the way Penelope put it which
come. Heavy rain had been followed, soon silenced my superior sense. I called to mind,
after dawn, by high wind. It was blowing now my thoughts were directed that way, what
fresh as the day got on. But though the had passed between Mr. Franklin and Rosanna
clouds threatened more than once, the rain overnight. She looked cut to the heart on that
still held off. It was not a bad day for a walk, occasion ; and now, as ill-luck would have it,
if you were young and strong, and could breast she had been unavoidably stung again, poor
the great gusts of wind which came sweeping soul, on the tender place. Sad ! sad ! all the
in from the sea. more sad because the girl had no reason to
I attended my lady after breakfast, and justify her, and no right to feel it.
assisted her in the settlement of our household I had promised Mr. Franklin to speak to
accounts. She only once alluded to the matter Rosanna, and this seemed the fittest time for
of the Moonstone, and that was in the way of keeping my word.
forbidding any present mention of it between We found the girl sweeping the corridor
us. "Wait till that man comes back, " she said, outside the bedrooms, pale and composed, and
meaning the Sergeant. "We must speak of it neat as ever in her modest print dress. I
then we are not obliged to speak of it now." noticed a curious dimness and dulness in her
After leaving my mistress, I found Penelope eyes-not as if she had been crying, but as if
waiting for me in my room. she had been looking at something too long.
" I wish, father, you would come and speak Possibly, it was a misty something raised by
to Rosanna," she said. " I am very uneasy her own thoughts. There was certainly no ob-
about her." ject about her to look at which she had not seen
I suspected what was the matter readily already hundreds on hundreds of times.
enough. But it is a maxim of mine that men " Cheer up, Rosanna ! " I said. " You mustn't
(being superior creatures) are bound to improve fret over your own fancies. I have got some-
women-if they can. When a woman wants thing to say to you from Mr. Franklin. "
me to do anything (my daughter, or not, it I thereupon put the matter in the right view
doesn't matter), I always insist on knowing before her, in the friendliest and most com-
why. The oftener you make them rummage forting words I could find. My principles, in
their own minds for a reason, the more manage- regard to the other sex, are, as you may have
able you will find them in all the relations of noticed, very severe. But somehow or other,
life. It isn't their fault (poor wretches ! ) that when I come face to face with the women, my
they act first, and think afterwards ; it's the practice (I own) is not conformable.
fault of the fools who humour them. " Mr. Franklin is very kind and considerate.
Penelope's reason why, on this occasion, may Please to thank him. ” That was all the answer
be given in her own words. " I am afraid , she made me.
father," she said, 66' Mr. Franklin has hurt My daughter had already noticed that
Rosanna cruelly, without intending it." Rosanna went about her work like a woman
" What took Rosanna into the shrubbery in a dream. I now added to this observation,
walk ?" I asked . that she also listened and spoke like a woman
"Her own madness, " says Penelope ; " I can in a dream . I doubted if her mind was in a fit
call it nothing else. She was bent on speaking condition to take in what I had said to her.
to Mr. Franklin, this morning, come what "Are you quite sure, Rosanna, that you
might of it. I did my best to stop her ; you understand me ? " I asked.
saw that. If I could only have got her away 66 Quite sure."
before she heard those dreadful words- "" She echoed me, not like a living woman, but
" There there ! "" I said, " don't lose your like a creature moved by machinery. She went
head. I can't call to mind that anything on sweeping all the time. I took away the
happened to alarm Rosanna." broom as gently and as kindly as I could.
66 "6 Come, come, my girl ! " I said, " this is not
Nothing to alarm her, father. But Mr.
Franklin said he took no interest whatever like yourself. You have got something on your
in her-and. oh , he said it in such a cruel mind. I'm your friend -and I'll stand your
voice ! " friend, even if you have done wrong. Make a
62 THE MOONSTONE

clean breast of it, Rosanna - make a clean staircase struck the quarter to two. Five
breast of it ! " minutes afterwards, I heard my name called,
The time had been when my speaking to her from the drive outside the house. I knew
in that way would have brought the tears into the voice directly. Sergeant Cuff had returned
her eyes. I could see no change in them now. from Frizinghall.
"Yes," she said, " I'll make a clean breast
of it. "
"To my lady ? " I asked.
" No." CHAPTER XVIII
" To Mr. Franklin ? "
"Yes ; to Mr. Franklin." GOING down to the front door, I met the
I hardly knew what to say to that. She | Sergeant on the steps.
was in no condition to understand the caution It went against the grain with me, after
against speaking to him in private, which Mr. what had passed between us, to show him that
Franklin had directed me to give her. Feeling I felt any sort of interest in his proceedings.
my way, little by little, I only told her Mr. In spite of myself, however, I felt an interest
Franklin had gone out for a walk. that there was no resisting. My sense of
"It doesn't matter," she answered. " I shan't dignity sank from under me, and out came
trouble Mr. Franklin to-day.'"" the words : " What news from Frizinghall ? ”
"Why not speak to my lady ? " I said. " The "I have seen the Indians," answered Sergeant
way to relieve your mind is to speak to the Cuff. " And I have found out what Rosanna
merciful and Christian mistress who has always bought privately in the town, on Thursday last.
been kind to you. '"" The Indians will be set free on Wednesday in
She looked at me for a moment with a grave next week. There isn't a doubt on my mind,
and steady attention, as if she was fixing what and there isn't a doubt on Mr. Murthwaite's
I said in her mind. Then she took the broom mind, that they came to this place to steal the
out of my hands, and moved off with it slowly, Moonstone. Their calculations were all thrown
a little way down the corridor. out, of course, by what happened in the house
" No, " she said, going on with her sweeping, on Wednesday night ; and they have no more
and speaking to herself, " I know a better way to do with the actual loss of the jewel than
of relieving my mind than that. " you have. But I can tell you one thing, Mr.
"What is it ?" Betteredge-if we don't find the Moonstone,
"Please to let me go on with my work." they will. You have not heard the last of the
Penelope followed her, and offered to help her. three jugglers yet. "
She answered, " No. I want to do my work. Mr. Franklin came back from his walk as the
Thank you, Penelope. " She looked round at Sergeant said those startling words. Govern-
me. " Thank you, Mr. Betteredge. " ing his curiosity better than I had governed
There was no moving her-there was nothing mine, he passed us without a word, and went
more to be said. I signed to Penelope to come on into the house.
away with me. We left her, as we had found her, As for me, having already dropped my dig-
sweeping the corridor, like a woman in a dream. nity, I determined to have the whole benefit"S
" This is a matter for the doctor to look of the sacrifice. "So much for the Indians,'
into," I said. " It's beyond me." I said. "What about Rosanna next ?"
My daughter reminded me of Mr. Candy's Sergeant Cuff shook his head.
illness, owing (as you may remember) to the "The mystery in that quarter is thicker than
chill he had caught on the night of the dinner- ever," he said. "I have traced her to a shop
party. His assistant-a certain Mr. Ezra Jen- at Frizinghall, kept by a linendraper named
nings-was at our disposal, to be sure. But Maltby. She bought nothing whatever at any
nobody knew much about him in our parts. He of the other drapers' shops, or at any milliners'
had been engaged by Mr. Candy, under rather or tailors' shops ; and she bought nothing at
peculiar circumstances ; and, right or wrong, Maltby's but a piece of long cloth. She was
we none of us liked him or trusted him. There very particular in choosing a certain quality.
were other doctors at Frizinghall. But they As to quantity, she bought enough to make
were strangers to our house ; and Penelope a nightgown. "
doubted, in Rosanna's present state, whether "Whose nightgown ? " I asked.
strangers might not do her more harm than " Her own, to be sure. Between twelve and
good. three, on the Thursday morning, she must have
I thought of speaking to my lady. But, re- slipped down to your young lady's room, to
membering the heavy weight of anxiety which settle the hiding of the Moonstone while all the
she already had on her mind, I hesitated to add rest of you were in bed. In going back to her
to all the other vexations this new trouble. own room, her nightgown must have brushed
Still, there was a necessity for doing something. the wet paint on the door. She couldn't wash
The girl's state was, to my thinking, downright out the stain ; and she couldn't safely destroy
alarming and my mistress ought to be in- the nightgown without first providing another
formed of it. Unwilling enough, I went to like it, to make the inventory of her linen
her sitting-room. No one was there. My lady complete."
was shut up with Miss Rachel. It was im- "What proves that it was Rosanna's night-
possible for me to see her till she came out gown ? " I objected.
again. " The material she bought for making the
I waited in vain till the clock on the front substitute dress," answered the Sergeant. " If
 THE MOONSTONE 63

it had been Miss Verinder's nightgown, she her arms folded in the light garden cloak
would have had to buy lace, and frilling, and which she had wrapped round her on coming
Lord knows what besides ; and she wouldn't into the air, there she stood, as still as a
have had time to make it in one night. Plain statue, waiting for her daughter to appear.
long cloth means a plain servant's nightgown. In a minute more Miss Rachel came down-
No, no, Mr. Betteredge- all that is clear enough. stairs- very nicely dressed in some soft yellow
The pinch of the question is- why, after having stuff, that set off her dark complexion, and
provided the substitute dress, does she hide clipped her tight (in the form of a jacket )
the smeared nightgown, instead of destroying round the waist. She had a smart little straw
it ? If the girl won't speak out, there is only hat on her head, with a white veil twisted
one way of settling the difficulty. The hiding- round it. She had primrose-coloured gloves
place at the Shivering Sand must be searched that fitted her hands like a second skin. Her
-and the true state of the case will be dis- beautiful black hair looked as smooth as satin
covered there, " under her hat. Her little ears were like rosy
" How are you to find the place ? " I inquired. shells- they had a pearl dangling from each of
" I am sorry to disappoint you ," said the them. She came swiftly out to us, as straight
Sergeant " but that's a secret which I mean as a lily on its stem, and as lithe and supple in
to keep to myself." every movement she made as a young cat.
(Not to irritate your curiosity, as he irritated Nothing that I could discover was altered in
mine, I may here inform you that he had come her pretty face, but her eyes and her lips. Her
back from Frizinghall provided with a search- eyes were brighter and fiercer than I liked to
warrant. His experience in such matters told see ; and her lips had so completely lost their
him that Rosanna was in all probability carry- colour and their smile that I hardly knew
ing about her a memorandum of the hiding- them again. She kissed her mother in a hasty
place, to guide her, in case she returned to it, and sudden manner on the cheek. She said,
under changed circumstances and after a lapse 66 Try to forgive me, mamma "—and then pulled
of time. Possessed of this memorandum, the down her veil over her face so vehemently that
Sergeant would be furnished with all that he she tore it. In another moment she had run
could desire.) down the steps, and had rushed into the
66
Now, Mr. Betteredge, " he went on, " sup- carriage as if it was a hiding-place.
pose we drop speculation, and get to business. Sergeant Cuff was just as quick on his side.
I told Joyce to have an eye on Rosanna. Where He put Samuel back, and stood before Miss
is Joyce ?" Rachel, with the open carriage-door in his
Joyce was the Frizinghall policeman , who hand , at the instant when she settled herself
had been left by Superintendent Seegrave at in her place.
Sergeant's Cuff's disposal. The clock struck "What do you want ?" says Miss Rachel,
two, as he put the question ; and, punctual to from behind her veil.
the moment, the carriage came round to take " I want to say one word to you, miss,"
Miss Rachel to her aunt's. answered the Sergeant, " before you go. I
" One thing at a time," said the Sergeant, can't presume to stop your paying a visit to
stopping me as I was about to send in search your aunt. I can only venture to say that your
of Joyce. " I must attend to Miss Verinder leaving us, as things are now, puts an obstacle
first." in the way of my recovering your Diamond.
As the rain was still threatening, it was the Please to understand that ; and now decide for
close carriage that had been appointed to take yourself whether you go or stay."
Miss Rachel to Frizinghall. Sergeant Cuff Miss Rachel never even answered him.
beckoned Samuel to come down to him from " Drive on, James ! " she called out to the
the rumble behind. coachman.
"You will see a friend of mine waiting Without another word, the Sergeant shut
among the trees, on this side of the lodge the carriage- door. Just as he closed it, Mr.
gate," he said. "My friend, without stopping| Franklin came running down the steps. " Good-
the carriage, will get up into the rumble with bye, Rachel, " he said, holding out his hand.
you. You have nothing to do but to hold your " Drive on ! " cried Miss Rachel, louder than
tongue, and shut your eyes. Otherwise , you ever, and taking no more notice of Mr. Franklin
will get into trouble. " than she had taken of Sergeant Cuff.
With that advice, he sent the footman back Mr. Franklin stepped back thunderstruck,
to his place. What Samuel thought I don't as well he might be. The coachman, not
know. It was plain, to my mind, that Miss knowing what to do, looked towards my lady,
Rachel was to be privately kept in view from still standing immovable on the top step. My
the time when she left our house-if she did lady, with anger and sorrow and shame all
leave it. A watch set on my young lady ! A struggling together in her face, made him a
spy behind her in the rumble of her mother's sign to start the horses, and then turned back
carriage ! I could have cut my own tongue out hastily into the house. Mr. Franklin, recover-
for having forgotten myself so far as to speak ing the use of his speech, called after her, as
to Sergeant Cuff. the carriage drove off, " Aunt ! you were quite
The first person to come out of the house right. Accept my thanks for all your kindness
was my lady. She stood aside, on the top and let me go.'
step, posting herself there to see what hap- My lady turned as though to speak to him.
pened. Not a word did she say, either to the Then, as if distrusting herself, waved her hand
Sergeant or to me. With her lips closed, and kindly. " Let me see you, before you leave us,
64 THE MOONSTONE

Franklin," she said, in a broken voice-and are at all in our line, Mr. Joyce. Your present
went on to her own room. form of employment is a trifle beyond you.
" Do me a last favour, Betteredge," says Mr. Good morning.'
Franklin, turning to me, with the tears in his The man slunk off. I find it very difficult to
eyes. "Get me away to the train as soon as describe how I was affected by the discovery
you can ! " that Rosanna Spearman was missing. I seemed
He too went his way into the house. For to be in fifty different minds about it, all at the
the moment, Miss Rachel had completely un- same time. In that state, I stood staring at
manned him. Judge from that, how fond he Sergeant Cuff-and my powers of language
must have been of her ! quite
66 failed me.
Sergeant Cuff and I were left face to face, at No, Mr. Betteredge, " said the Sergeant, as
the bottom of the steps. The Sergeant stood if he had discovered the uppermost thought in
with his face set towards a gap in the trees, me, and was picking it out to be answered,
commanding a view of one of the windings of before all the rest. " Your young friend,
the drive which led from the house. He had Rosanna, won't slip through my fingers so easy
his hands in his pockets, and he was softly as you think. As long as I know where Miss
whistling " The Last Rose of Summer to Verinder is, I have the means at my disposal of
himself. tracing Miss Verinder's accomplice. I pre-
"There's a time for everything," I said, vented them from communicating last night.
savagely enough. " This isn't a time for Very good. They will get together at Frizing-
whistling." hall, instead of getting together here. The
At that moment the carriage appeared in present inquiry must be simply shifted (rather
the distance, through the gap, on its way to sooner than I had anticipated) from this house,
the lodge gate. There was another man, to the house at which Miss Verinder is visiting.
besides Samuel, plainly visible in the rumble In the meantime, I'm afraid I must trouble you
behind. to call the servants together again."
"All right !" said the Sergeant to himself. I went round with him to the servants' hall.
He turned round to me. "It's no time for It is very disgraceful, but it is not the less true,
whistling, Mr. Betteredge, as you say. It's that I had another attack of the detective-
time to take this business in hand, now, with- fever, when he said those last words. I forgot
out sparing anybody. We'll begin with Rosanna that hated Sergeant Cuff. I seized him con-
Spearman. Where is Joyce ?" fidentially by the arm. I said, " For goodness'
We both called for Joyce, and received no sake, tell us what you are going to do with the
answer. I sent one of the stable-boys to look servants now ?"
for him . The great Cuff stood stockstill, and addressed
" You heard what I said to Miss Verinder ? " himself in a kind of melancholy rapture to the
remarked the Sergeant, while we were waiting. empty air.
" And you saw how she received it ? I tell her "If this man," said the Sergeant (apparently
plainly that her leaving us will be an obstacle meaning me), " only understood the growing of
in the way of my recovering her Diamond- roses, he would be the most completely perfect
and she leaves, in the face of that statement ! character on the face of creation ! " After that
Your young lady has got a travelling com- strong expression of feeling, he sighed, and put
panion in her mother's carriage, Mr. Betteredge his arm through mine. "This is how it stands,"
-and the name of it is, the Moonstone. ' he said, dropping down again to business.
I said nothing. I only held on like death to " Rosanna has done one of two things. She
my belief in Miss Rachel. has either gone direct to Frizinghall (before I
The stable-boy came back, followed-very can get there), or she has gone first to visit her
unwillingly, as it appeared to me - by Joyce. hiding-place at the Shivering Sand. The first
" Where is Rosanna Spearman ? " asked thing to find out is, which of the servants saw
Sergeant Cuff. the last of her before she left the house."
"I can't account for it, sir," Joyce began ; On instituting this inquiry, it turned out that
" and I am very sorry. But somehow or the last person who had set eyes on Rosanna
other- "" was Nancy, the kitchenmaid.
" Before I went to Frizinghall, " said the Nancy had seen her slip out with a letter in
Sergeant, cutting him short, " I told you to her hand, and stop the butcher's man who had
keep your eyes on Rosanna Spearman, without just been delivering some meat at the back
allowing her to discover that she was being door. Nancy had heard her ask the man to
watched. Do you mean to tell me that you post the letter when he got back to Frizinghall.
have let her give you the slip ?" The man had looked at the address , and had
"I am afraid, sir, " says Joyce, beginning to said it was a roundabout way of delivering a
tremble, " that I was perhaps a little too careful letter directed to Cobb's Hole, to post it at
not to let her discover me. There are such | Frizinghall-and that, moreover, on a Saturday,
a many passages
"" in the lower parts of this which would prevent the letter from getting to
house- its destination until Monday morning. Rosanna
"How
66 long is it since you missed her ?" had answered that the delivery of the letter
Nigh on an hour since, sir. " being delayed till Monday was of no import-
'You can go back to your regular business ance. The only thing she wished to be sure of
at Frizinghall," said the Sergeant, speaking was that the man would do what she told him.
just as composedly as ever, in his usual quiet The man had promised to do it, and had driven
and dreary way. " I don't think your talents away. Nancy had been called back to her
 THE MOONSTONE 65

work in the kitchen. And no other person | girl, if I could, seemed to have come back on
had seen anything afterwards of Rosanna me again, at the eleventh hour. This state of
Spearman. feeling (to say nothing of the detective-fever)
66
66 Well ? " I asked, when we were alone again. hurried me off, as soon as I had got the boot,
Well, " says the Sergeant. "I must go to at the nearest approach to a run which a man
Frizinghall." turned seventy can reasonably hope to make.
" About the letter, sir ?" As I got near the shore, the clouds gathered
"Yes. The memorandum of the hiding-place black, and the rain came down, drifting in
is in that letter. I must see the address at the great white sheets of water before the wind.
post-office. If it is the address I suspect, II heard the thunder of the sea on the sandbank
shall pay our friend, Mrs. Yolland, another visit at the mouth of the bay. A little further on,
on Monday next.” I passed the boy crouching for shelter under
I went with the Sergeant to order the pony- the lee of the sandhills. Then I saw the raging
chaise. In the stable-yard we got a new light sea, and the rollers tumbling in on the sand-
thrown on the missing girl. bank, and the driven rain sweeping over the
waters like a flying garment, and the yellow
wilderness of the beach with one solitary black
figure standing on it-the figure of Sergeant
CHAPTER XIX Cuff.
He waved his hand towards the north when
THE news of Rosanna's disappearance had, he first saw me. "Keep on that side ! " he
as it appeared, spread among the out-of-door shouted. "And come on down here to me ! "
servants. They too had made their inquiries ; I went down to him, choking for breath,
and they had just laid hands on a quick little with my heart leaping as if it was like to leap
imp, nicknamed " Duffy"-who was occasion- out of me. I was past speaking. I had a
ally employed in weeding the garden, and who hundred questions to put to him ; and not one
had seen Rosanna Spearman as lately as half of them would pass my lips. His face frightened
an hour since. Duffy was certain that the girl me. I saw a look in his eyes which was a look
had passed him in the fir-plantation, not walk- of horror. He snatched the boot out of my
ing, but running, in the direction of the sea- hand, and set it in a footmark on the sand,
shore. bearing south from us as we stood, and pointing
"Does this boy know the coast hereabouts ? " straight towards the rocky ledge called the
asked Sergeant Cuff. South Spit. The mark was not yet blurred
" He has been born and bred on the coast, " out by the rain- and the girl's boot fitted it
I answered. to a hair.
66 The Sergeant pointed to the boot in the foot-
Duffy ! " says the Sergeant, " do you want
to earn a shilling ? If you do, come along with mark, without saying a word.
me. Keep the pony-chaise ready, Mr. Better- I caught at his arm, and tried to speak to
edge, till I come back." him, and failed as I had failed when I tried
He started for the Shivering Sand, at a rate before. He went on, following the footsteps
that my legs (though well enough preserved down and down to where the rocks and the
for my time of life) had no hope of matching. sand joined. The South Spit was just awash
Little Duffy, as the way is with the young with the flowing tide ; the waters heaved over
savages in our parts when they are in high the hidden face of the Shivering Sand. Now
spirits, gave a howl, and trotted off at the this way, and now that, with an obstinate
Sergeant's heels. patience that was dreadful to see, Sergeant
Here again, I find it impossible to give any- Cuff tried the boot in the footsteps, and always
thing like a clear account of the state of my found it pointing the same way-straight to
mind in the interval after Sergeant Cuff had the rocks. Hunt as he might, no sign could
left us. A curious and stupefying restlessness he find anywhere of the footsteps walking from
got possession of me. I did a dozen different them.
needless things in and out of the house, not He gave it up at last. Still keeping silence,
one of which I can now remember. I don't he looked again at me ; and then he looked out
even know how long it was after the Sergeant at the waters before us, heaving in deeper and
had gone to the sands, when Duffy came running deeper over the quicksand. I looked where he
back with a message for me. Sergeant Cuff looked-and I saw his thought in his face.
had given the boy a leaf torn out of his pocket- A dreadful dumb trembling crawled all over
book, on which was written in pencil, " Send me on a sudden. I fell upon my knees on
me one of Rosanna Spearman's boots, and be the beach.
quick about it.” " She has been back at the hiding-place," I
I despatched the first woman-servant I could heard the Sergeant say to himself. " Some fatal
find to Rosanna's room ; and I sent the boy accident has happened to her on those rocks. "
back to say that I myself would follow him The girl's altered looks, and words, and
with the boot. actions the numbed, deadened way in which
This, I am well aware, was not the quickest she listened to me, and spoke to me-when I
way to take of obeying the directions which had found her sweeping the corridor but a few
I had received. But I was resolved to see for hours since, rose up in my mind, and warned
myself what new mystification was going on, me, even as the Sergeant spoke, that his guess
before I trusted Rosanna's boot in the Ser- was wide of the dreadful truth. I tried to tell
geant's hands. My old notion of screening the him of the fear that had frozen me up. I tried
C
66 THE MOONSTONE

to say, 66 The death she has died, Sergeant , was of the quicksand. My tongue was loos66ened at
a death of her own seeking . " No ! the words that. " No accident ! " I told him. When
wouldn't come. The dumb trembling held me she came to this place , she came , weary of her
in its grip . I couldn't feel the driving rain . I life , to end it here."
couldn't see the rising tide. As in the vision He started back from me. " How do you
of a dream, the poor lost creature came back know ? " he asked. The rest of them crowded
before me. I saw her again as I had seen her round. The Sergeant recovered himself in-
in the past time on the morning when I went stantly. He put them back from me ; he said
to fetch her into the house . I heard her again , I was an old man ; he said the discovery had
telling me that the Shivering Sand seemed to shaken me ; he said, " Let him alone a little. "
draw her to it against her will , and wondering Then he turned to Yolland, and asked, " Is
whether her grave was waiting for her there. there any chance of finding her, when the tide
The horror of it struck at me, in some unfathom- ebbs again ?" And Yolland answered, “ None.""
able way, through my own child . My girl was What the Sand gets, the Sand keeps for ever.
just her age. My girl , tried as Rosanna was Having said that, the fisherman came a step
tried, might have lived that miserable life, and nearer, and addressed himself to me.
died this dreadful death . "Mr. Betteredge, " he said, " I have a word
The Sergeant kindly lifted me up, and turned to say to you about the young woman's death.
me away from the sight of the place where she Four foot out, broadwise, along the side of the
had perished . Spit, there's a shelf of rock, about half fathom
With that relief, I began to fetch my breath down under the sand. My question is- why
again, and to see things about me, as things didn't she strike that ? If she slipped, by acci-
really were. Looking towards the sandhills, I dent, from off the Spit, she fell in where there's
saw the men-servants from out-of-doors, and foothold at the bottom, at a depth that would
the fisherman , named Yolland, all running barely cover her to the waist. She must have
down to us together ; and all, having taken the waded out, or jumped out, into the Deeps be
alarm, calling out to know if the girl had been yond- or she wouldn't be missing now. No
found. In the fewest words, the Sergeant accident, sir ! The Deeps of the Quicksand
showed them the evidence of the footmarks, have got her. And they have got her by her
and told them that a fatal accident must have own act. ""
happened to her, He then picked out the After that testimony from a man whose
fisherman from the rest, and put a question knowledge was to be relied on, the Sergeant
to him, turning about again towards the sea. was silent. The rest of us, like him, held our
" Tell me," he said ; " could a boat have taken peace. With one accord, we all turned back
her off, in such weather as this, from those up the slope of the beach.
rocks where her footmarks stop ? " At the sand-hillocks we were met by the
The fisherman pointed to the rollers tumbling under-groom, running to us from the house.
in on the sandbank, and to the great waves The lad is a good lad , and has an honest respect
leaping up in clouds of foam against the head- for me. He handed me a little note, with a
lands on either side of us. decent sorrow in his face. 66 Penelope sent
"No boat that ever was built, " he answered, me with this, Mr. Betteredge," he said. " She
"could have got to her through that." found it in Rosanna's room.
Sergeant Cuff looked for the last time at the It was her last farewell word to the old man
footmarks on the sand, which the rain was now who had done his best-thank God, always
fast blurring out. done his best-to befriend her.
" There," he said, " is the evidence that she "You have often forgiven me, Mr. Betteredge,
can't have left this place by land. And here, " in past times. When you next see the Shivering
he went on, looking at the fisherman , " is the Sand, try to forgive me once more. I have
evidence that she can't have got away by sea.'"" found my grave where my grave was waiting
He stopped, and considered for a minute. for me. I have lived, and died, sir, grateful for
66 She was seen
running towards this place, your kindness."
half an hour before I got here from the house," There was no more than that. Little as it
he said to Yolland. " Some time has passed was, I hadn't manhood enough to hold up
since then. Call it, altogether, an hour ago. against it. Your tears come easy, when you're
How high would the water be, at that time, on young, and beginning the world. Your tears
this side of the rocks ? " He pointed to the come easy, when you're old, and leaving it. I
south side otherwise, the side which was not burst out crying.
filled up by the quicksand . Sergeant Cuff took a step nearer to me-
" As the tide makes to-day," said the fisher- meaning kindly, I don't doubt. I shrank back
man, " there wouldn't have been water enough from him. "Don't touch me," I said. " It's
to drown a kitten on that side of the Spit, an the dread of you that has driven her to it."
hour since. " "You are wrong, Mr. Betteredge," he an-
Sergeant Cuff turned about northward, to- swered quietly. " But there will be time
wards the quicksand. enough to speak of it when we are indoors
" How much on this side ? " he asked. again."
" Less still," answered Yolland. " The I followed the rest of them, with the help
Shivering Sand would have been just awash, of the groom's arm. Through the driving
and no more." rain we went back-to meet the trouble and
The Sergeant turned to me, and said that the terror that were waiting for us at the
the accident must have happened on the side house.
 THE MOONSTONE 67

Rosanna has died for love of him, it is not with

his knowledge or by his fault. Let him leave
CHAPTER XX the house to-day, if he does leave it, without
the useless pain of knowing the truth." Ser-
THOSE in front had spread the news before us. geant Cuff said, " Quite right," and fell silent
We found the servants in a state of panic. As again ; comparing Penelope's notion (as it
we passed my lady's door, it was thrown open seemed to me) with some other notion of his
violently from the inner side. My mistress own which he kept to himself.
came out among us (with Mr. Franklin follow- At the end of the half hour my mistress's
ing, and trying vainly to compose her), quite bell rang.
beside herself with the horror of the thing. On my way to answer it, I met Mr. Franklin
66' You are answerable for this ! " she cried coming out of his aunt's sitting-room. He
out, threatening the Sergeant wildly with her mentioned that her ladyship was ready to see
hand. " Gabriel ! give that wretch his money Sergeant Cuff-in my presence as before--and
--and release me from the sight of him ! " he added that he himself wanted to say two
The Sergeant was the only one among us words to the Sergeant first. On our way back
who was fit to cope with her- being the only one to my room, he stopped, and looked at the
among us who was in possession of himself. railway time-table in the hall.
" I am no more answerable for this distress- " Are you really going to leave us, sir ? " I
ing calamity, my lady, than you are," he said. asked. "Miss Rachel will surely come right
" If, in half an hour from this, you still insist again, if you only give her time ?
on my leaving the house, I will accept your " She will come right again," answered Mr.
"" dismissal, but not your ladyship's
ladyship's Franklin, " when she hears that I have gone
money." away, and that she will see me no more."
It was spoken very respectfully, but very I thought he spoke in resentment of my
firmly at the same time-and it had its effect young lady's treatment of him. But it was not
on my mistress as well as on me. She suffered so. My mistress had noticed, from the time
Mr. Franklin to lead her back into the room. when the police first came into the house, that
As the door closed on the two, the Sergeant, the bare mention of him was enough to set
looking about among the women-servants in his Miss Rachel's temper in a flame. He had been
observant way, noticed that while all the rest too fond of his cousin to like to confess this to
were merely frightened, Penelope was in tears. himself, until the truth had been forced on
" When your father has changed his wet him, when she drove off to her aunt's. His
clothes," he said to her, ""66 come and speak to eyes once opened in that cruel way which you
us, in your father's room.' know of, Mr. Franklin had taken his resolution
Before the half hour was out, I had got my the one resolution which a man of any spirit
dry clothes on, and had lent Sergeant Cuff such could take to leave the house.
change of dress as he required. Penelope came What he had to say to the Sergeant was
in to us to hear what the Sergeant wanted with spoken in my presence. He described her lady-
her. I don't think I ever felt what a good ship as willing to acknowledge that she had
dutiful daughter I had, so strongly as I felt it spoken over hastily. And he asked if Sergeant
at that moment. I took her and sat her on my Cuff would consent- in that case-to accept
knee- and I prayed God bless her. She hid his fee, and to leave the matter of the Diamond
her head on my bosom, and put her arms where the matter stood now. The Sergeant
round my neck- and we waited a little while answered , " No, sir. My fee is paid me for
in silence. The poor dead girl must have been doing my duty. I decline to take it, until my
at the bottom of it, I think, with my daughter duty is done. "
and with me. The Sergeant went to the window "I don't understand you, " says Mr. Franklin.
and stood there looking out. I thought it right "I'll explain myself, sir," says the Sergeant.
to thank him for considering us both in this "When I came here, I undertook to throw the
way-and I did. necessary light on the matter of the missing
People in high life have all the luxuries Diamond. I am now ready, and waiting, to
to themselves-among others, the luxury of redeem my pledge. When I have stated the
indulging their feelings. People in low life case to Lady Verinder as the case now stands,
have no such privilege. Necessity, which spares and when I have told her plainly what course
our betters, has no pity on us. We learn to of action to take for the recovery of the Moon-
put our feelings back into ourselves, and to stone, the responsibility will be off my shoulders.
jog on with our duties as patiently as may Let her ladyship decide, after that, whether
be. I don't complain of this-I only notice it. she does, or does not, allow me to go on. I
Penelope and I were ready for the Sergeant, as shall then have done what I undertook to do-
soon as the Sergeant was ready on his side. and I'll take my fee.'
Asked if she knew what had led her fellow- In those words Sergeant Cuff reminded us
servant to destroy herself, my daughter an- that, even in the Detective Police, a man may
swered (as you will foresee) that it was for have a reputation to lose.
love of Mr. Franklin Blake. Asked next, if The view he took was so plainly the right
she had mentioned this notion of hers to any one, that there was no more to be said. As I
other person, Penelope answered, " I have not rose to conduct him to my lady's room , he
mentioned it, for Rosanna's sake." I felt it asked if Mr. Franklin wished to be present.
necessary to add a word to this. I said, " And Mr. Franklin answered, " Not unless Lady
for Mr. Franklin's sake, my dear, as well. If Verinder desires it." He added, in a whisper
68 THE MOONSTONE

to me, as I was following the Sergeant out, | other way. Some unbearable anxiety in con-
"I know what that man is going to say about nection with the missing Diamond has, I
Rachel ; and I am too fond of her to hear it, believe, driven the poor creature to her own
and keep my temper. Leave me by myself. " destruction. I don't pretend to know what
I left him, miserable enough, leaning on the that unbearable anxiety may have been. But
sill of my window, with his face hidden in I think (with your ladyship's permission) I can
his hands -and Penelope peeping through the lay my hand on a person who is capable of
door, longing to comfort him. In Mr. Franklin's deciding whether I am right or wrong.'
place, I should have called her in. When you " Is the person now in the house ? " my
are ill-used by one woman, there is great com- mistress asked, after waiting a little.
fort in telling it to another because, nine " The person has left the house, my lady. "
times out of ten, the other always takes your That answer pointed as straight to Miss
side. Perhaps, when my back was turned, he | Rachel as straight could be. A silence dropped
did call her in ? In that case, it is only doing on us which I thought would never come to
my daughter justice to declare that she would an end. Lord ! how the wind howled, and
stick at nothing, in the way of comforting Mr. how the rain drove at the window, as I sat
Franklin Blake. there waiting for one or other of them to
In the meantime, Sergeant Cuff and I pro- speak again !
ceeded to my lady's room. "Be so good as to express yourself plainly,"
At the last conference we had held with her, said my lady. "Do you refer to my daughter ?"
we had found her not over willing to lift her " I do ," said Sergeant Cuff, in so many
eyes from the book which she had on the table. words.
On this occasion there was a change for the My mistress had her cheque-book on the
better. She met the Sergeant's eye with an table when we entered the room --no doubt
eye that was as steady as his own. The family to pay the Sergeant his fee. She now put it
spirit showed itself in every line of her face ; back in the drawer. It went to my heart to
and I knew that Sergeant Cuff would meet his see how her poor hand trembled the hand
match, when a woman like my mistress was that had loaded her old servant with benefits ;
strung up to hear the worst he could say to the hand that, I pray God, may take mine,
her. when my time comes, and I leave my place
for ever !
" I had hoped," said my lady, very slowly
CHAPTER XXI and quietly, "to have recompensed your ser-
vices, and to have parted with you without
THE first words, when we had taken our seats, Miss Verinder's name having been openly men-
tioned between us as it has been mentioned
66 spoken by my lady.
were
Sergeant Cuff," she said, "there was per- now. My nephew has probably said something
haps some excuse for the inconsiderate manner of this, before you came into my room ?"
in which I spoke to you half an hour since. I "Mr. Blake gave his message, ‫ وو‬my lady. And
have no wish, however, to claim that excuse. gave Mr. Blake a reason-
I say with perfect sincerity, that I regret it, if " It is needless to tell me your reason. After
I wronged you. " what you have just said, you know as well as
The grace of voice and manner with which I do that you have gone too far to go back. I
she made him that atonement had its due owe it to myself, and I owe it to my chiìd, to
effect on the Sergeant. He requested per- insist on your remaining here, and to insist
mission to justify himself-putting his justifi- on your speaking out."
cation as an act of respect to my mistress. It The Sergeant looked at his watch.
was impossible, he said, that he could be in " If there had been time, my lady," he
any way responsible for the calamity which answered, " I should have preferred writing
had shocked us all, for this sufficient reason, my report, instead of communicating it by
that his success in bringing his inquiry to its word of mouth. But, if this inquiry is to go
proper end depended on his neither saying on, time is of too much importance to be
nor doing anything that could alarm Rosanna wasted in writing. I am ready to go into the
Spearman. He appealed to me to testify matter at once. It is a very painful matter ‫وو‬
whether he had, or had not, carried that for me to speak of, and for you to hear-
object out. I could, and did, bear witness There my mistress stopped him once more.
that he had. And there, as I thought, the " I may possibly make it less painful to you,
matter might have been judiciously left to and to my good servant and friend here," she
come to an end. said, " if I set the example of speaking boldly,
Sergeant Cuff, however, took it a step further, on my side. You suspect Miss Verinder of
evidently (as you shall now judge) with the deceiving us all, by secreting the Diamond for
purpose of forcing the most painful of all pos- some
66 purpose of her own ? Is that true ?
sible explanations to take place between her Quite true, my lady."
ladyship and himself. "Very well. Now, before you begin, I have
" I have heard a motive assigned for the to tell you, as Miss Verinder's mother, that
young woman's suicide," said the Sergeant , she is absolutely incapable of doing what you
" which may possibly be the right one. It suppose her to have done. Your knowledge
is a motive quite unconnected with the case of her character dates from a day or two
which I am conducting here. I am bound to since. My knowledge of her character dates
add, however, that my own opinion points the from the beginning of her life. State your
 THE MOONSTONÉ 69

suspicion of her as strongly as you please-it | the door, and in Mr. Franklin Blake's evidence
is impossible that you can offend me by doing satisfying me, that this same smear, and the
so. I am sure, beforehand, that (with all your loss of the Diamond, were pieces of the same
experience) the circumstances have fatally mis- puzzle. So far, if I suspected anything, I sus-
led you in this case. Mind ! I am in possession pected that the Moonstone had been stolen,
of no private information. I am as absolutely and that one of the servants might prove to be
shut out of my daughter's confidence as you the thief. Very good. In this state of things,
are. My one reason for speaking positively, what happens ? Miss Verinder suddenly comes
is the reason you have heard already. I know out of her room, and speaks to me. I observe
my child." three suspicious appearances in that young
She turned to me, and gave me her hand. lady. She is still violently agitated, though
I kissed it in silence. "You may go on, " she more than four-and-twenty hours have passed
said, facing the Sergeant again as steadily since the Diamond was lost. She treats me, as
as ever. she has already treated Superintendent See-
Sergeant Cuff bowed. My mistress had pro- grave. And she is mortally offended with Mr.
duced but one effect on him. His hatchet-face Franklin Blake. Very good again. Here (I
softened for a moment, as if he was sorry for say to myself) is a young lady who has lost a
her. As to shaking him in his own conviction, valuable jewel-a young lady, also, as my own
it was plain to see that she had not moved him | eyes and ears inform me, who is of an impetu-
by a single inch. He settled himself in his ous temperament. Under these circumstances,
chair ; and he began his vile attack on Miss and with that character, what does she do ?
Rachel's character in these words : She betrays an incomprehensible resentment
" I must ask your ladyship," he said, " to against Mr. Blake, Mr. Superintendent, and
look this matter in the face, from my point myself-otherwise, the very three people who
of view as well as from yours. Will you please have all, in their different ways, been trying to
to suppose yourself coming down here, in my help her to recover her lost jewel. Having
place, and with my experience ? and will you brought my inquiry to that point then, my
allow me to mention very briefly what that lady, and not till then, I begin to look back
experience has been ? into my own mind for my own experience. My
My mistress signed to him that she would own experience explains Miss Verinder's other-
do this. The Sergeant went on : wise incomprehensible conduct. It associates
" For the last twenty years," he said, " I her with those other young ladies that I know
have been largely employed in cases of family of. It tells me she has debts she daren't ac-
scandal, acting in the capacity of confidential knowledge, that must be paid. And it sets me
man. The one result of my domestic practice asking myself, whether the loss of the Diamond
which has any bearing on the matter now in may not mean that the Diamond must be
hand, is a result which I may state in two secretly pledged to pay them. That is the
words. It is well within my experience, that conclusion which my experience draws from
young ladies of rank and position do occa- plain facts. What does your ladyship's ex-
sionally have private debts which they dare perience say against it ? "
not acknowledge to their nearest relatives "What I have said already," answered my
and friends. Sometimes the milliner and the mistress. " The circumstances have misled
jeweller are at the bottom of it. Sometimes you."
the money is wanted for purposes which I I said nothing on my side. " Robinson
don't suspect in this case, and which I won't Crusoe "-God knows how-had got into my
shock you by mentioning. Bear in mind what muddled old head. If Sergeant Cuff had found
I have said, my lady-and now let us see how himself, at that moment, transported to a desert
events in this house have forced me back on island, without a man Friday to keep him com-
my own experience, whether I liked it or pany, or a ship to take him off-he would have
not !" found himself exactly where I wished him
He considered with himself for a moment, to be ! (Nota bene :-I am an average good
and went on- with a horrid clearness that Christian, when you don't push my Christianity
obliged you to understand him ; with an too far. And all the rest of you- which is a
abominable justice that favoured nobody. great comfort-are, in this respect, much the
"My first information relating to the loss of same as I am.)
the Moonstone," said the Sergeant, " came to Sergeant Cuff went on :
me from Superintendent Seegrave. He proved "Right or wrong, my lady," he said, " having
to my complete satisfaction that he was per- drawn my conclusion, the next thing to do was
fectly incapable of managing the case. The to put it to the test. I suggested to your lady-
one thing he said which struck me as worth ship the examination of all the wardrobes in
listening to, was this that Miss Verinder had the house. It was a means of finding the
declined to be questioned by him, and had article of dress which had, in all probability,
spoken to him with a perfectly incompre- made the smear ; and it was a means of putting
hensible rudeness and contempt. I thought my conclusion to the test. How did it turn
this curious-but I attributed it mainly to some out ? Your ladyship consented ; Mr. Blake
clumsiness on the Superintendent's part which consented ; Mr. Ablewhite consented. Miss
might have offended the young lady. After Verinder alone stopped the whole proceeding
that, I put it by in my mind, and applied my by refusing point-blank. That result satisfied
self, single-handed, to the case. It ended, as me that my view was the right one. If your
you are aware, in the discovery of the smear on ladyship and Mr. Betteredge persist in not
70 THE MOONSTONE

agreeing with me, you must be blind to what | ladyship with these particulars to show you
happened before you this very day. In your that I have kept the family secret within the
hearing, I told the young lady that her leaving family circle. I am the only outsider who
the house (as things were then) would put an knows it- and my professional "" existence de-
obstacle in the way of my recovering her jewel. pends on holding my tongue.
You saw yourselves that she drove off in the Here I felt that my professional existence
face of that statement. You saw yourselves depended on not holding my tongue. To be
that, so far from forgiving Mr. Blake for having held up before my mistress, in my old age, as
done more than all the rest of you to put the a sort of deputy-policeman, was, once again,
clue into my hands, she publicly insulted Mr. more than my Christianity was strong enough
Blake, on the steps of her mother's house. to hear.
What do these things mean ? If Miss Verinder "I begto inform your ladyship," I said, " that
is not privy to the suppression of the Diamond, I never, to my knowledge, helped this abomin-
what do these things mean ?" able detective business, in any way, from first
This time he looked my way. It was down to last ; and I summon Sergeant Cuff to contra-
right frightful to hear him piling up proof after dict me, if he dares ! "
proof against Miss Rachel, and to know, while Having given vent in those words, I felt
one was longing to defend her, that there was greatly relieved. Her ladyship honoured me by
no disputing the truth of what he said. I am a little friendly pat on the shoulder. I looked
(thank God!) constitutionally superior to reason. with righteous indignation at the Sergeant to
This enabled me to hold firm to my lady's view, see what he thought of such a testimony as
which was my view also. This roused my that. The Sergeant looked back like a lamb,
spirit, and made me put a bold face on it before and seemed to like me better than ever.
Sergeant Cuff. Profit, good friends, I beseech My lady informed him that he might continue
you, by my example. It will save you from his statement. " I understand," she said, “ that
many troubles of the vexing sort. Cultivate a you have honestly done your best, in what you
superiority to reason, and see how you pare the believe to be my interest. I am ready to hear
claws of all the sensible people when they try what you have to say next.”
to scratch you for your own good ! " What I have to say next," answered Ser-
Finding that I made no remark, and that my geant Cuff, "relates to Rosanna Spearman. I
mistress made no remark, Sergeant Cuff pro- recognised the young woman, as your ladyship
ceeded. Lord ! how it did enrage me to notice may remember, when she brought the washing-
that he was not in the least put out by our book into this room. Up to that time I was
silence ! inclined to doubt whether Miss Verinder had
"There is the case, my lady, as it stands trusted her secret to any one. When I saw
against Miss Verinder alone," he said. " The Rosanna, I altered my mind. I suspected her
next thing is to put the case as it stands against at once of being privy to the suppression of
Miss Verinder and the deceased Rosanna Spear- the Diamond. The poor creature has met her
man, taken together. We will go back for a death by a dreadful end, and I don't want your
moment, if you please, to your daughter's re- ladyship to think, now she's gone, that I was
fusal to let her wardrobe be examined. My unduly hard on her. If this had been a common
mind being made up, after that circumstance, case of thieving, I should have given Rosanna
I had two questions to consider next. First, the benefit of the doubt just as freely as I
as to the right method of conducting my in- should have given it to any of the other servants
quiry. Second, as to whether Miss Verinder in the house. Our experience of the Reforma-
had an accomplice among the female servants tory women is, that when tried in service-
in the house. After carefully thinking it over, and when kindly and judiciously treated-they
I determined to conduct the inquiry in, what prove themselves in the majority of cases to
we should call at our office, a highly irregular be honestly penitent, and honestly worthy of
manner. For this reason : I had a family the pains taken with them. But this was not
scandal to deal with, which it was my business a common case of thieving. It was a case- in
to keep within the family limits. The less noise my mind-of a deeply planned fraud, with the
made, and the fewer strangers employed to owner of the Diamond at the bottom of it.
help me, the better. As to the usual course of Holding this view, the first consideration which
taking people in custody on suspicion, going naturally presented itself to me, in connection
before the magistrate, and all the rest of it with Rosanna, was this. Would Miss Verinder
nothing of the sort was to be thought of, when be satisfied (begging your ladyship's pardon)
your ladyship's daughter was (as I believed) at with leading us all to think that the Moonstone
the bottom of the whole business. In this case, was merely lost ? Or would she go a step
I felt that a person of Mr. Betteredge's char- further, and delude us into believing that the
acter and position in the house- knowing the Moonstone_was stolen ? In the latter event
servants as he did, and having the honour of there was Rosanna Spearman- with the char-
the family at heart -would be safer to take acter of a thief-ready to her hand ; the person
as an assistant than any other person whom I of all others to lead your ladyship off, and to
could lay my hand on. I should have tried Mr. | lead me off, on a false scent."
Blake as well-but for one obstacle in the way. Was it possible (I asked myself) that he could
He saw the drift of my proceedings at a very put his case against Miss Rachel and Rosanna
early date ; and, with his interest in Miss in a more horrid point of view than this ? It
Verinder, any mutual understanding was im- was possible, as you shall now see.
possible between him and me. I trouble your "I had another reason for suspecting the
 THE MOONSTONE 71

deceased woman," he said, " which appears to suggesting will cost money, and consume
me to have been stronger still. Who would be time. But the result is certain. We run a
the very person to help Miss Verinder in raising | line round the Moonstone, and we draw that
money privately on the Diamond ? Rosanna line closer and closer till we find it in Miss
Spearman. No young lady in Miss Verinder's Verinder's possession, supposing she decides
position could manage such a risky matter as to keep it. If her debts press, and she de-
that by herself. A go-between she must have, cides on sending it away, then we have our
and who so fit, I ask again, as Rosanna Spear- man ready, and we meet the Moonstone on
man ? Your ladyship's deceased housemaid its arrival in London."
was at the top of her profession when she was To hear her own daughter made the subject
a thief. She had relations, to my certain know- of such a proposal as this, stung my mistress
ledge, with one of the few men in London ( in into speaking angrily for the first time.
the money-lending line) who would advance a "Consider your proposal declined, in every
large sum on such a notable jewel as the Moon- particular," she said. " And go on to your
stone, without asking awkward questions , or other way of bringing the inquiry to an end."
insisting on awkward conditions. Bear this in " My other way, " said the Sergeant, going
mind, my lady ; and now let me show you how on as easy as ever, " is to try that bold ex-
my suspicions have been justified by Rosanna's periment to which I have alluded. I think
own acts, and by the plain inferences to be I have formed a pretty correct estimate of
drawn from them." Miss Verinder's temperament. She is quite
He thereupon passed the whole of Rosanna's capable (according to my belief) of com-
proceedings under review. You are already mitting a daring fraud. But she is too hot
as well acquainted with those proceedings as and impetuous in temper, and too little ac-
I am ; and you will understand how un- customed to deceit as a habit, to act the
answerably this part of his report fixed the hypocrite in small things, and to restrain
guilt of being concerned in the disappearance herself under all provocations. Her feelings,
of the Moonstone on the memory of the poor in this case, have repeatedly got beyond her
dead girl. Even my mistress was daunted by control, at the very time when it was plainly
what he said now. She made him no answer her interest to conceal them. It is on this
when he had done. It didn't seem to matter peculiarity in her character that I now pro-
to the Sergeant whether he was answered or pose to act. I want to give her a great shock
not. On he went (devil take him ! ), just as suddenly, under circumstances that will touch
steady
66 as ever. her to the quick. In plain English, I want
Having stated the whole case as I under- to tell Miss Verinder, without a word of
stand it," he said, " I have only to tell your warning, of Rosanna's death - on the chance
ladyship, now, what I propose to do next. I that her own better feelings will hurry her
see two ways of bringing this inquiry success- into making a clean breast of it. Does your
fully to an end. One of those ways I look ladyship accept that alternative ? "
upon as a certainty. The other, I admit , is Mymistress astonished me beyond all power of
a bold experiment, and nothing more. Your expression. She answered him on the instant :
ladyship shall decide. Shall we take the "Yes ; I do."
certainty first ?? " " The pony-chaise is ready, " said the Ser-
My mistress made him a sign to take his geant. " I wish your ladyship good morning."
own way, and choose for himself. My lady held up her hand, and stopped him
" Thank you ," said the Sergeant. "We'll at the door.
66
begin with the certainty, as your ladyship is ' My daughter's better feelings shall be ap-
so good as to leave it to me. Whether Miss pealed to, as you propose," she said. " But
Verinder remains at Frizinghall, or whether I claim the right, as her mother, of putting
she returns here, I propose, in either case, to her to the test myself. You will remain here,
keep a careful watch on all her proceedings- if you please ; and I will go to Frizinghall."
on the people she sees, on the rides and walks For oncein his life, the great Cuff stood speech-
she may take, and on the letters she may less with amazement, like an ordinary man.
write and receive." My mistress rang the bell, and ordered her
"What next ?" asked my mistress. waterproof things. It was still pouring with
" I shall next , "" answered the Sergeant, rain ; and the close carriage had gone, as
"request your ladyship's leave to introduce you know, with Miss Rachel to Frizinghall. I
into the house, as a servant in the place of tried to dissuade her ladyship from facing the
Rosanna Spearman, a woman accustomed to severity of the weather. Quite useless !
private inquiries of this sort, for whose dis- asked leave to go with her, and hold the
cretion I can answer." umbrella. She wouldn't hear of it. The
"What
" next ?" repeated my mistress. pony-chaise came round, with the groom in
Next," proceeded the Sergeant, and charge. " You may rely on two things," she
last, I propose to send one of my brother- said to Sergeant Cuff, in the hall. "I will
officers to make an arrangement with that try the experiment on Miss Verinder as boldly
money-lender in London, whom I mentioned as you could try it yourself. And I will
just now as formerly acquainted with Rosanna inform you of the result, either personally
Spearman and whose name and address, or by letter, before the last train leaves for
your ladyship may rely on it, have been com- London to-night."
municated by Rosanna to Miss Verinder. I With that, she stepped into the chaise, and,
don't deny that the course of action I am now taking the reins herself, drove off to Frizinghall.
72 THE MOONSTONE

I tried the dining-room, and discovered

Samuel with a biscuit and a glass of sherry,
CHAPTER XXII silently investigating the empty air. A minute
since, Mr. Franklin had wrung furiously for a
MY mistress having left us, I had leisure to little light refreshment. On its production , in
think of Sergeant Cuff. I found him sitting a violent hurry, by Samuel, Mr. Franklin had
in a snug corner of the hall, consulting his vanished before the bell downstairs had quite
memorandum book, and curling up viciously at done ringing with the pull he had given to it.
the66 corners of the lips. I tried the morning- room, and found him at
' Making notes of the case ? " I asked. last. There he was at the window, drawing
" No," said the Sergeant. 66 Looking to see hieroglyphics with his finger in the damp on
what my next professional engagement is." the glass.
" Oh ! " I said. "You think it's all over then, " Your sherry is waiting for you, sir," I said
here ? " to him. I might as well have addressed myself
"I think," answered Sergeant Cuff, " that to one of the four walls of the room ; he was
Lady Verinder is one of the cleverest women in down in the bottomless deep of his own medita-
England. I also think a rose much better tions, past all pulling up. " How do you explain
worth looking at than a diamond. Where is Rachel's conduct, Betteredge ? was the only
the gardener, Mr. Betteredge ? answer I received. Not being ready with the
There was no getting a word more out of him needful reply, I produced " Robinson Crusoe," in
on the matter of the Moonstone. He had lost which I am firmly persuaded some explanation
all interest in his own inquiry ; and he would might have been found, if we had only searched
persist in looking for the gardener. An hour long enough for it. Mr. Franklin shut up
afterwards, I heard them at high words in the Robinson Crusoe," and floundered into his
conservatory, with the dog rose once more at German-English gibberish on the spot. " Why
the bottom of the dispute. not look into it ?" he said, as if I had personally
objected to looking into it. " Why the devil
In the meantime, it was my business to find lose your patience, Betteredge, when patience
out whether Mr. Franklin persisted in his is all that's wanted to arrive at the truth ?
resolution to leave us by the afternoon train. Don't interrupt me. Rachel's conduct is per-
After having been informed of the conference fectly intelligible, if you will only do her the
in my lady's room, and of how it had ended, he common justice to take the Objective view first,
immediately decided on waiting to hear the and the Subjective view next, and the Objective-
news from Frizinghall. This very natural altera- Subjective view to wind up with. What do we
tion in his plans -which, with ordinary people, know? We know that the loss of the Moonstone,
would have led to nothing in particular-proved, on Thursday morning last, threw her into a
in Mr. Franklin's case, to have one objectionable state of nervous excitement, from which she
result. It left him unsettled, with a legacy of has not recovered yet. Do you mean to deny
idle time on his hands, and in so doing, it let the Objective view, so far ? Very well, then-
out all the foreign sides of his character, one don't interrupt me. Now, being in a state of
on the top of another, like rats out of a bag. nervous excitement, how are we to expect that
Now as an Italian-Englishman, now as a she should behave as she might otherwise have
German-Englishman, and now as a French- behaved to any of the people about her ? Argu- ,
Englishman, he drifted in and out of all the ing in this way, from within-outwards, what do
sitting-rooms in the house, with nothing to talk we reach ? We reach the Subjective view. I
of but Miss Rachel's treatment of him ; and defy you to controvert the Subjective view.
with nobody to address himself to but me. I Very well then-what follows ? Good heavens !
found him (for example) in the library, sitting the Objective- Subjective explanation follows,
under the map of Modern Italy, and quite of course ! Rachel, properly speaking, is not
unaware of any other method of meeting his Rachel, but Somebody Else. Do I mind being
troubles, except the method of talking about cruelly treated by Somebody Else ? You are
them. " I have several worthy aspirations, unreasonable enough, Betteredge ; but you can
Betteredge ; but what am I to do with them hardly accuse me of that. Then how does it
now ? I am full of dormant good qualities, if end ? It ends, in spite of your confounded
Rachel would only have helped me to bring English narrowness and prejudice, in my being
them out ! " He was so eloquent in drawing perfectly happy and comfortable. Where's the
the picture of his own neglected merits, and so sherry ? "
pathetic in lamenting over it when it was done, My head was by this time in such a condition,
that I felt quite at my wits ' end how to console that I was not quite sure whether it was my
him, when it suddenly occurred to me that here own head, or Mr. Franklin's. In this deplorable
was a case for the wholesome application of a state, I contrived to do, what I take to have
bit of " Robinson Crusoe." I hobbled out to my been, three Objective things. I got Mr. Franklin
own room, and hobbled back with that immortal his sherry ; I retired to my own room, and I
book. Nobody in the library ! The map of solaced myself with the most composing pipe
Modern Italy stared at me ; and I stared at the of tobacco I ever remember to have smoked in
map of Modern Italy. my life.
I tried the drawing-room. There was his Don't suppose, however, that I was quit of
handkerchief on the floor, to prove that he had Mr. Franklin on such easy terms as these.
drifted in. And there was the empty room to Drifting again, out of the morning-room into
prove that he had drifted out again. the hall, he found his way to the offices next,
 THE MOONSTONE 73

smelt my pipe, and was instantly reminded | Verinder solemnly declares, that she has never
that he had been simple enough to give up spoken a word in private to Rosanna, since that
smoking for Miss Rachel's sake. In the twink- unhappy woman first entered my house. They
ling of an eye, he burst in on me with his never met, even accidentally, on the night
cigar-case, and came out strong on the one ever- when the Diamond was lost ; and no communi-
lasting subject, in his neat, witty, unbelieving, cation of any sort whatever took place between
French way. " Give me a light, Betteredge. them, from the Thursday morning when the
Is it conceivable that a man can have smoked alarm was first raised in the house, to this
as long as I have, without discovering that present Saturday afternoon, when Miss Verinder
there is a complete system for the treatment left us. After telling my daughter suddenly,
of women at the bottom of his cigar-case ? and in so many words, of Rosanna Spearman's
Follow me carefully, and I will prove it in two suicide-this is what has come of it."
words. You choose a cigar, you try it, and it
disappoints you. What do you do upon that ? Having reached that point, I looked up, and
You throw it away and try another. Now ob- asked Sergeant Cuff what he thought of the
serve the application ! You choose a woman, letter, so far ?
you try her, and she breaks your heart. Fool ! " I should only offend you if I expressed my
take a lesson from your cigar-case. Throw her opinion," answered the Sergeant. " Go on, Mr.
away, and try another ! " Betteredge," he said, with the most exasperating
I shook my head at that. Wonderfully clever, resignation, " go on."
I dare say, but my own experience was dead When I remembered that this man had had the
against it. " In the time of the late Mrs. Better- audacity to complain of our gardener's obstinacy,
edge," I said, " I felt pretty often inclined to my tongue itched to " go on " in other words
try your philosophy, Mr. Franklin. But the law than my mistress's. This time, however, my
insists on your smoking your cigar, sir, when Christianity held firm. I proceeded steadily
you have once chosen it." I pointed that with her ladyship's letter :
observation with a wink. Mr. Franklin burst
66 Having appealed to Miss Verinder in the
out laughing and we were as merry as crickets,
until the next new side of his character turned manner which the officer thought most desir-
up in due course. So things went on with my able, I spoke to her next in the manner which
young master and me ; and so (while the Ser- I myself thought most likely to impress her.
geant and the gardener were wrangling over On two different occasions, before my daughter
the roses) we two spent the interval before the left my roof, I privately warned her that she
news came back from Frizinghall. was exposing herself to suspicion of the most
unendurable and most degrading kind. I have
The pony-chaise returned a good half hour now told her, in the plainest terms, that my
before I had ventured to expect it. My lady apprehensions have been realised.
had decided to remain for the present at her " Her answer to this, on her own solemn
sister's house. The groom brought two letters affirmation, is as plain as words can be. In
from his mistress ; one addressed to Mr. Frank- the first place, she owes no money privately to
lin, and the other to me. any living creature. In the second place, the
Mr. Franklin's letter I sent to him in the Diamond is not now, and never has been, in her
library-into which refuge his driftings had possession, since she put it into her cabinet on
now taken him for the second time. My own Wednesday night.
letter I read in my own room. A cheque, "The confidencewhich mydaughterhas placed
which dropped out when I opened it, informed in me goes no further than this. She maintains
me (before I had mastered the contents) that an obstinate silence, when I ask her if she can
Sergeant Cuff's dismissal from the inquiry after explain the disappearance of the Diamond. She
the Moonstone was now a settled thing. refuses, with tears, when I appeal to her to
I sent to the conservatory to say that I speak out for my sake. The day will come
wished to speak to the Sergeant directly. He when you will know why I am careless about
appeared, with his mind full of the gardener being suspected , and why I am silent even to
and the dog rose, declaring that the equal of you. I have done much to make my mother
Mr. Begbie for obstinacy never had existed yet, pity me-nothing to make my mother blush for
and never would exist again. I requested him me.' Those are my daughter's own words.
to dismiss such wretched trifling as this from " After what has passed between the officer
our conversation, and to give his best attention and me, I think- stranger as he is that he
to a really serious matter. Upon that he exerted should be made acquainted with what Miss
himself sufficiently to notice the letter in my Verinder has said, as well as you. Read my
hand. " Ah !" he said, in a weary way, " you letter to him, and then place in his hands the
have heard from her ladyship. Have I any- cheque which I enclose. In resigning all further
thing to do with it, Mr. Betteredge ? " claim on his services, I have only to say that I
"You shall judge for yourself, Sergeant." I am convinced of his honesty and his intelligence ;
thereupon read him the letter (with my best em- but I am more firmly persuaded than ever, that
phasis and discretion), in the following words : the circumstances, in this case, have fatally
misled him."
" MY GOOD GABRIEL,-I request that you will
inform Sergeant Cuff, that I have performed There the letter ended. Before presenting
the promise I made to him ; with this result, the cheque, I asked Sergeant Cuff if hẹ had
so far as Rosanną Spearman is concerned, Miss any remark to make.
74 THE MOONSTONE

" It's no part of my duty, Mr. Betteredge," | opinion of Miss Rachel, than my lady's opinion
he answered, "to make remarks on a case, when or mine, with a lofty contempt. The only
I have done with it." thing I could not do, was to keep off the
I tossed the cheque across the table to him. subject of the Moonstone ! My own good
" Do you believe in that part of her ladyship's sense ought to have warned me, I know, to
letter ?" I said indignantly. let the matter rest-but, there ! the virtues
The Sergeant looked at the cheque, and lifted which distinguish the present generation were
up his dismal eyebrows in acknowledgment of not invented in my time. Sergeant Cuff had
her ladyship's liberality. hit me on the raw, and, though I did look
"This is such a generous estimate of the value down upon him with contempt, the tender
of my time, " he said, “ that I feel bound to make place still tingled for all that. The end of it
some return for it. I'll bear in mind the amount was that I perversely led him back to the
in this cheque, Mr. Betteredge, when the occa- subject of her ladyship's letter. "I am quite
sion comes round for remembering it." satisfied myself," I said. " But never mind
"What do you mean ? " I asked. that ! Go on, as if I was still open to con-
"Her ladyship has smoothed matters over viction. You think Miss Rachel is not to be
for the present very cleverly," said the Ser- believed on her word ; and you sayBack we shall
geant. " But this family scandal is of the sort hear of the Moonstone again. your
that bursts up again when you least expect opinion, Sergeant," I concluded, in an airy.
it. We shall have more detective- business on way. "Back your opinion. "
our hands, sir, before the Moonstone is many Instead of taking offence, Sergeant Cuff
months older. " seized my hand, and shook it till my fingers.
If those words meant anything, and if the ached again.
manner in which he spoke them meant anything " I declare to Heaven," says this strange
-it came to this. My mistress's letter had officer solemnly, " I would take to domestic
proved, to his mind, that Miss Rachel was service to -morrow, Mr. Betteredge, if I had
hardened enough to resist the strongest appeal a chance of being employed along with You !
that could be addressed to her, and that she To say you are as transparent as a child, sir,
had deceived her own mother (good God, under is to pay the children a compliment which
what circumstances ! ) by a series of abominable nine out of ten of them don't deserve. There !
lies. How other people, in my place, might there ! we won't begin to dispute again. You
have replied to the Sergeant, I don't know. I shall have it out of me on easier terms than
answered what he said in these plain terms : that. I won't say a word more about her
66
Sergeant Cuff, I consider your last observa- ladyship, or about Miss Verinder-I'll only
tion as an insult to my lady and her daughter ! " turn prophet, for once in a way, and for your
" Mr. Betteredge, consider it as a warning to sake. I have warned you already that you
yourself, and you will be nearer the mark." haven't done with the Moonstone yet. Very
Hot and angry as I was, the infernal con- well. Now I'll tell you, at parting, of three
fidence with which he gave me that answer things which will happen in the future, and
closed my lips. which, I believe, will force themselves on your
I walked to the window to compose myself. attention, whether you like it or not.'
The rain had given over ; and, who should I " Go on ! " I said, quite unabashed, and just
see in the courtyard, but Mr. Begbie, the gar- as 66airy as ever.
dener, waiting outside to continue the dog rose ' First," said the Sergeant, " you will hear
controversy with Sergeant Cuff. something from the Yollands- when the post-
" My compliments to the Sairgent," said Mr. man delivers Rosanna's letter at Cobb's Hole,
Begbie, the moment he set eyes on me. " If on Monday next. "
he's minded to walk to the station, I'm agreeable If he had thrown a bucket of cold water
to go with him." over me, I doubt if I could have felt it much
"What !" cries the Sergeant, behind me, more unpleasantly than I felt those words.
" are you not convinced yet ?" Miss Rachel's assertion of her innocence had
" The de'il a bit I'm convinced ! " answered left Rosanna's conduct-the making the new
Mr. Begbie . nightgown, the hiding the smeared nightgown,
" Then I'll walk to the station ! " says the and all the rest of it entirely without ex-
Sergeant. planation. And this had never occurred to
"Then I'll meet you at the gate ! " says Mr. me, till Sergeant Cuff forced it on my mind
Begbie. all in a moment !
I was angry enough, as you know- but how " In the second place, " proceeded the Ser-
<6 you
was any man's anger to hold out against such geant, will hear of the three Indians
an interruption as this ? Sergeant Cuff noticed again. You will hear of them in the neigh-
the change in me, and encouraged it by a word bourhood, if Miss Rachel remains in the
in season . " Come ! come ! he said, " why neighbourhood. You will hear of them in
not treat my view of the case as her ladyship London, if Miss Rachel goes to London."
treats it ? Why not say, the circumstances Having lost all interest in the three jugglers,
have fatally misled me ? " and having thoroughly convinced myself of
To take anything as her ladyship took it, my young lady's innocence, I took this second
was a privilege worth enjoying-even with prophecy easily enough. " So much for two
the disadvantage of its having been offered to of the three things that are going to happen,"
me by Sergeant Cuff. I cooled slowly down I said. "Now for the third !
to my customary level, I regarded any other “ Third, and last, " said Sergeant Cuff, “ you

w
ww
ww
 THE MOONSTONE 75

will, sooner or later, hear something of that | informed me plainly enough that he had held
money-lender in London, whom I have twice firm to a resolution for once in his life.
taken the liberty of mentioning already. Give " So you have really made up your mind,
me your pocket-book, and I'll make a note for sir ? " I said, as we met in the hall. " Why
you of his name and address- so that there not wait a day or two longer, and give Miss
may be no "" mistake about it if the thing really Rachel another chance ? "
happens. The foreign varnish appeared to have all
He wrote accordingly on a blank leaf : “ Mr. worn off Mr. Franklin, now that the time had
Septimus Luker, Middlesex Place, Lambeth, come for saying good-bye. Instead of replying
London." to me in words, he put the letter which her
There," he said, pointing to the address, ladyship had addressed to him into my hand.
"are the last words, on the subject of the The greater part of it said over again what
Moonstone, which I shall trouble you with had been said already in the other communi-
for the present. Time will show whether I cation received by me. But there was a bit
am right or wrong. In the meanwhile, sir, I about Miss Rachel added at the end, which
carry away with me a sincere personal liking will account for the steadiness of Mr. Franklin's
for you, which I think does honour to both of determination, if it accounts for nothing else.
us. If we don't meet again before my pro-
fessional retirement takes place, I hope you "You will wonder, I dare say " (her ladyship
will come and see me in a little house near wrote), " at my allowing my own daughter to
London, which I have got my eye on. There keep me perfectly in the dark. A Diamond
will be grass walks, Mr. Betteredge, I promise worth twenty thousand pounds has been lost--
you, in my garden. And as for the white moss and I am left to infer that the mystery of its dis-
rose appearance is no mystery to Rachel, and that
" The de'il a bit ye'll get the white moss some incomprehensible obligation of silence
rose to grow, unless ye bud him on the dogue has been laid on her, by some person or per-
rose first," cried a voice at the window. sons utterly unknown to me, with some object
We both turned round. There was the in view at which I cannot even guess. Is it
everlasting Mr. Begbie, too eager for the con- conceivable that I should allow myself to be
troversy to wait any longer at the gate. The trifled with in this way ? It is quite conceiv-
Sergeant wrung my hand, and darted out into able, in Rachel's present state. She is in a
the courtyard, hotter still on his side. "Ask condition of nervous agitation pitiable to see.
him about the moss rose, when he comes I dare not approach the subject of the Moon-
back, and see if I have left him a leg to stand stone again until time has done something to
on ! " cried the great Cuff, hailing me through quiet her. To help this end, I have not hesi-
the window in his turn. "Gentlemen, both ! " tated to dismiss the police officer. The mystery
I answered, moderating them again as I had which baffles us, baffles him too. This is not
moderated them oncé already. " In the a matter in which any stranger can help us.
matter of the moss rose there is a great deal He adds to what I have to suffer ; and he
to be said on both sides ! " I might as well maddens Rachel if she only hears his name.
(as the Irish say) have whistled jigs to a ' My plans for the future are as well settled
milestone. Away they went together, fight- as they can be. My present idea is to take
ing the battle of the roses without asking or Rachel to London- partly to relieve her mind
giving quarter on either side. The last I saw by a complete change, partly to try what
of them, Mr. Begbie was shaking his obstinate may be done by consulting the best medical
head, and Sergeant Cuff had got him by the advice. Can I ask you to meet us in town ?
arm like a prisoner in charge. Ah, well ! well ! My dear Franklin, you in your way must
I own I couldn't help liking the Sergeant- imitate my patience, and wait, as I do , for a
though I hated him all the time. fitter time. The valuable assistance which
Explain that state of mind, if you can. You you rendered to the inquiry after the lost
will soon be rid, now, of me and my contradic- jewel is still an unpardoned offence, in the pre-
tions. When I have reported Mr. Franklin's sent dreadful state of Rachel's mind. Moving
departure, the history of the Saturday's events blindfold in this matter, you have added to
will be finished at last. And when I have next the burden of anxiety which she has had to
described certain strange things that happened bear, by innocently threatening her secret with
in the course of the new week, I shall have done discovery, through your exertions. It is im-
my part of the Story, and shall hand over the possible for me to excuse the perversity that
pen to the person who is appointed to follow holds you responsible for consequences which
my lead. If you are as tired of reading this neither you nor I could imagine or foresee.
narrative as I am of writing it-Lord , how we She is not to be reasoned with--she can only
shall enjoy ourselves on both sides a few pages be pitied. I am grieved to have to say it, but,
further on ! for the present, you and Rachel are better
apart. The only advice I can offer you is,
to give her time.'
CHAPTER XXIII
I handed the letter back, sincerely sorry for
I HAD kept the pony-chaise ready, in case Mr. Mr. Franklin, for I knew how fond he was of
Franklin persisted in leaving us by the train my young lady ; and I saw that her mother's
that night. The appearance of the luggage, account of her had cut him to the heart. "You
followed downstairs by Mr. Franklin himself, know the proverb, sir," was all I said to him,
 76 THE MOONSTONE

"When things are at the worst, they're sure | Penelope ; the objection made about as much
to mend. Things can't be much worse, Mr. impression on her as a shower of rain on a
Franklin, than they are now." waterproof coat. The truth is, my daughter
Mr. Franklin folded up his aunt's letter, inherits my superiority to reason- and, in re-
without appearing to be much comforted by spect to that accomplishment, has got a long
the remark which I had ventured on address- way ahead of her own father.
ing to him.
"When I came here from London with that On the next day (Sunday), the close carriage,
horrible Diamond," he said, " I don't believe which had been kept at Mr. Ablewhite's, came
there was a happier household in England than back to us empty. The coachman brought a
this. Look at the household now ! Scattered, message for me, and written instructions for
disunited-the very air of the place poisoned my lady's own maid and for Penelope.
with mystery and suspicion ! Do you re- The message informed me that my mistress
member that morning at the Shivering Sand, had determined to take Miss Rachel to her
when we talked about my uncle Herncastle, house in London, on the Monday. The written
and his birthday gift ? The Moonstone has instructions informed the two maids of the
served the Colonel's vengeance, Betteredge, clothing that was wanted, and directed them
by means which the Colonel himself never to meet their mistresses in town at a given
dreamt of ! " hour. Most of the other servants were to follow.
With that he shook me by the hand, and My lady had found Miss Rachel so unwilling
went out to the pony-chaise. to return to the house, after what had happened
I followed him down the steps. It was very in it, that she had decided on going to London
miserable to see him leaving the old place, direct from Frizinghall. I was to remain in the
where he had spent the happiest years of his country until further orders, to look after things
life, in this way. Penelope (sadly upset by all indoors and out. The servants left with me
that had happened in the house) came round were to be put on board wages.
crying, to bid him good-bye. Mr. Franklin Being reminded, by all this, of what Mr.
kissed her. I waved my hand as much as to Franklin had said about our being a scattered
say, " You're heartily welcome, sir. " Some of and disunited household, my mind was led
the other female servants appeared, peeping naturally to Mr. Franklin himself. The more
after him round the corner. He was one of I thought of him, the more uneasy I felt about
those men whom the women all like. At the last his future proceedings. It ended in my writing,
moment, I stopped the pony-chaise, and begged by the Sunday's post, to his father's valet, Mr.
as a favour that he would let us hear from him Jeffco (whom I had known in former years) to
by letter. He didn't seem to heed what I said beg he would let me know what Mr. Franklin
-he was looking round from one thing to had settled to do, on arriving in London.
another, taking a sort of farewell of the old The Sunday evening was, if possible, duller
house and grounds. " Tell us where you are even than the Saturday evening. We ended
going to, sir ! " I said, holding on by the the day of rest, as hundreds of thousands of
chaise, and trying to get at his future plans people end it regularly, once a week, in these
in that way. Mr. Franklin pulled his hat islands-that is to say, we all anticipated bed-
down suddenly over his eyes. Going ?" time, and fell asleep in our chairs.
says he, echoing the word after me. " I am
going to the devil ! " The pony started at the How the Monday affected the rest of the
word, as if he had felt a Christian horror of it. household I don't know. The Monday gave me
" God bless you, sir, go where you may ! " was a good shake up. The first of Sergeant Cuff's
all I had time to say, before he was out of sight prophecies of what was to happen- namely,
and hearing. A sweet and pleasant gentle- that I should hear from the Yollands-came
man ! With all his faults and follies, a sweet true on that day.
and pleasant gentleman ! He left a sad gap I had seen Penelope and my lady's maid off
behind him, when he left my lady's house. in the railway with the luggage for London,
It was dull and dreary enough, when the long and was pottering about the grounds, when
summer evening closed in, on that Saturday I heard my name called. Turning round, I
night. found myself face to face with the fisherman's
I kept my spirits from sinking by sticking daughter, Limping Lucy. Bating her lame foot
fast to my pipe and my " Robinson Crusoe." The and her leanness (this last a horrid drawback
women (excepting Penelope ) beguiled the time to a woman, in my opinion), the girl had some
by talking of Rosanna's suicide. They were all pleasing qualities in the eye of a man. A dark,
obstinately of opinion that the poor girl had keen, clever face, and a nice clear voice, and a
stolen the Moonstone, and that she had de- beautiful brown head of hair counted among
stroyed herself in terror of being found out. her merits. A crutch appeared in the list of
My daughter, of course, privately held fast to her misfortunes. And a temper reckoned high
what she had said all along. Her notion of the in the sum total of her defects.
motive which was really at the bottom of the "Well, my dear," I said, " what do you want
suicide failed , oddly enough, just where my with me ?"
young lady's assertion of her innocence failed "Where's the man you call Franklin Blake ?"
also. It left Rosanna's secret journey to Frizing- says the girl, fixing me with a fierce look, as
hall, and Rosanna's proceedings in the matter she rested herself on her crutch.
of the nightgown, entirely unaccounted for. " That's not a respectful way to speak of
There was no use in pointing this out to any gentleman," I answered. " If you wish to
 THE MOONSTONE 77

inquire for my lady's nephew, you will please | I am not as quick at my needle as she was—
to mention him as Mr. Franklin Blake." but I could have done. We might have got
She limped a step nearer to me, and looked our living nicely. And oh ! what happens this
as if she could have eaten me alive. " Mr. morning ? what happens this morning ? Her
Franklin Blake ? " she repeated after me. letter comes and tells me that she has done
" Murderer Franklin Blake would be a fitter with the burden of her life. Her letter comes,
name for him." and bids me good -bye for ever. Where is
My practice with the late Mrs. Betteredge he ? " cries the girl, lifting her head from the
came in handy here. Whenever a woman tries crutch,66 and flaming out again through her tears.
to put you out of temper, turn the tables, and 'Where's this gentleman that I mustn't speak
put her out of temper instead. They are gene- of, except with respect ? Ha, Mr. Betteredge,
rally prepared for every effort you can make in the day is not far off when the poor will rise
your own defence, but that. One word does it against the rich. I pray Heaven they may
as well as a hundred ; and one word did it with begin with him. I pray Heaven they may begin
Limping Lucy. I looked her pleasantly in the with him. "
face ; and I said " Pooh ! " Here was another of your average good Chris-
The girl's temper flamed out directly. She tians, and here was the usual break - down,
poised herself on her sound foot, and she took consequent on that same average Christianity
her crutch, and beat it furiously three times being pushed too far ! The parson himself
on the ground. " He's a murderer he's a (though I own this is saying a great deal) could
murderer ! he's a murderer ! He has been the hardly have lectured the girl in the state she
death of Rosanna Spearman ! " She screamed was in now. All I ventured to do was to keep
that answer out at the top of her voice. One her to the point in the hope of something
or two of the people at work in the grounds turning up which might be worth hearing.
near us looked up- saw it was Limping Lucy— " What do you want with Mr. Franklin
knew what to expect from that quarter-and Blake ? " I asked.
looked away again. " I want to see him."
" He has been the death of Rosanna Spear- " For anything particular ? "
man ? " I repeated. "What makes you say " I have got a letter to give him. "
that, Lucy ? " "From Rosanna Spearman ? "
"What do you care ? What does any man 'Yes."
care ? Oh ! if she had only thought of the men "Sent to you in your own letter ?
as I think, she might have been living now ! " " Yes."
"She always thought kindly of me, poor soul," Was the darkness going to lift ? Were all
I said ; " and, to the best of my ability, I the discoveries that I was dying to make coming
always tried to act kindly by her." and offering themselves to me of their own
I spoke those words in as comforting a accord ? I was obliged to wait a moment.
manner as I could. The truth is, I hadn't Sergeant Cuff had left his infection behind
the heart to irritate the girl by another of my him. Certain signs and tokens, personal to
smart replies. I had only noticed her temper myself, warned me that the detective-fever
at first. I noticed her wretchedness now- and was beginning to set in again.
wretchedness is not uncommonly insolent, you "You can't see Mr. Franklin," I said.
will find, in humble life. My answer melted I must, and will, see him."
Limping Lucy. She bent her head down, and " He went to London last night."
laid it on the top of her crutch. Limping Lucy looked me hard in the face,
" I loved her," the girl said softly. " She and saw that I was speaking the truth. With-
had lived a miserable life, Mr. Betteredge-vile out a word more, she turned about again in-
people had ill-treated her and led her wrong- stantly towards Cobb's Hole.
and it hadn't spoiled her sweet temper. She "Stop ! " I said. " I expect news of Mr.
was an angel. She might have been happy Franklin Blake to-morrow. Give me your letter,
with me. I had a plan for our going to London and I'll send it on to him by the post."
together like sisters, and living by our needles. Limping Lucy steadied herself on her crutch,
That man came here, and spoilt it all. He be- and looked back at me over her shoulder.
witched her. Don't tell me he didn't mean " I am to give it from my hands into his
it, and didn't know it. He ought to have hands," she said. "And I am to give it to him
known it. He ought to have taken pity on in no other way."
her. ' I can't live without him—and oh, Lucy, " Shall I write, and tell him what you have
he never even looks at me.' That's what she said ? "
said. Cruel, cruel, cruel. I said, ' No man is " Tell him I hate him. And you will tell him
worth fretting for in that way.' And she said, the truth. "
' There are men worth dying for, Lucy, and "Yes, yes. But about the letter- ?"
he is one of them.' I had saved up a little ‫ دو‬he must come back
" If he wants the letter,
money. I had settled things with father and here, and get it from me.'
mother. I meant to take her away from the With those words she limped off on the way
mortification she was suffering here. We should to Cobb's Hole. The detective-fever burnt up
have had a little lodging in London , and lived all my dignity on the spot. I followed her, and
together like sisters. She had a good educa- tried to make her talk. All in vain. It was
tion, sir, as you know, and she wrote a good my misfortune to be a man-and Limping Lucy
hand. She was quick at her needle. I have enjoyed disappointing me. Later in the day,
a good education, and I write a good hand. I tried my luck with her mother. Good Mrs.
78 THE MOONSTONE

Yolland could only cry, and recommend a drop | she rushed to her own destruction at the
of comfort out of the Dutch bottle. I found Shivering Sand. A sealed letter it had been
the fisherman on the beach. He said it was placed in Limping Lucy's hands, and a sealed
66
a bad job," and went on mending his net. letter it remained to me and to every one about
Neither father nor mother knew more than I the girl, her own parents included. We all
knew. The one way left to try was the chance, suspected her of having been in the dead
which might come with the morning , of writing woman's confidence ; we all tried to make
to Mr. Franklin Blake. her speak ; we all failed. Now one and
I leave you to imagine how I watched for now another of the servants - still holding
the postman on Tuesday morning. He brought to the belief that Rosanna had stolen the
me two letters. One , from Penelope (which I Diamond and had hidden it — peered and
had hardly patience enough to read), announced poked about the rocks to which she had been
that my lady and Miss Rachel were safely traced, and peered and poked in vain. The
established in London. The other, from Mr. tide ebbed, and the tide flowed ; the summer
Jeffco, informed me that his master's son had went on, and the autumn came. And the
left England already. Quicksand, which hid her body, hid her secret
On reaching the metropolis, Mr. Franklin too.
had, it appeared, gone straight to his father's The news of Mr. Franklin's departure from
residence. He arrived at an awkward time. England on the Sunday morning, and the news
Mr. Blake, the elder, was up to his eyes in the of my lady's arrival in London with Miss
business of the House of Commons, and was Rachel on the Monday afternoon, had reached
amusing himself at home that night with the me, as you are aware, by the Tuesday's post.
favourite parliamentary plaything which they The Wednesday came, and brought nothing.
call " a private bill." Mr. Jeffco himself showed The Thursday produced a second budget of
Mr. Franklin into his father's study. "My news from Penelope.
dear Franklin ! why do you surprise66 me in this My girl's letter informed me that some great
way ? Anything wrong ?" 'Yes ; something London doctor had been consulted about her
wrong with Rachel ; I am dreadfully distressed young lady, and had earned a guinea by
about it." "Grieved ‫ دو‬to hear it. But I can't remarking that she had better be amused .
listen to you now. "When can you listen ? " Flower-shows, operas, balls-there was a whole
" My dear boy ! I won't deceive you. I can round of gaieties in prospect ; and Miss Rachel,
listen at the end of the session, not a moment to her mother's astonishment, eagerly took to
before. Good- night." " Thank you, sir. Good- it all. Mr. Godfrey had called ; evidently as
night." sweet as ever on his cousin, in spite of the re-
Such was the conversation, inside the study, ception he had met with, when he tried his
as reported to me by Mr. Jeffco. The conver- luck on the occasion of the birthday. To
sation, outside the study, was shorter still. Penelope's great regret, he had been most
" Jeffco, see what time "" the tidal train starts graciously received, and had added Miss
to-morrow morning. " At six-forty, Mr. Rachel's name to one of his Ladies' Charities
Franklin." " Have me called at five." 66 Going on the spot. My mistress was reported to be
abroad, sir ?” 66 Going, Jeffco, wherever the out of spirits, and to have held two long inter-
railway chooses to take me." " Shall I tell views with her lawyer. Certain speculations
your father, sir ? " " Yes ; tell him at the end followed, referring to a poor relation of the
of the session." family - one Miss Clack, whom I have men-
The next morning Mr. Franklin had started tioned in my account of the birthday dinner,
for foreign parts. To what particular place as sitting next to Mr. Godfrey, and having
he was bound, nobody (himself included ) could a pretty taste in champagne. Penelope was
presume to guess. We might hear of him next astonished to find that Miss Clack had not
in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. The called yet. She would surely not be long before
chances were as equally divided as possible, she fastened herself on my lady as usual-and
in Mr. Jeffco's opinion, among the four quarters so forth, and so forth, in the way women have
of the globe. of girding at each other, on and off paper.
This news- by closing up all prospect of my This would not have been worth mentioning,
bringing Limping Lucy and Mr. Franklin to- I admit, but for one reason. I hear you are
gether at once stopped any further progress likely to be turned over to Miss Clack, after
of mine on the way to discovery. Penelope's parting with me. In that case, just do me the
belief that her fellow-servant had destroyed favour of not believing a word she says , if she
herself through unrequited love for Mr. Frank- speaks of your humble servant.
lin Blake was confirmed - and that was all.
Whether the letter which Rosanna had left to On Friday nothing happened - except that
be given to him after her death did, or did not, one of the dogs showed signs of a breaking out
contain the confession which Mr. Franklin had behind the ears. I gave him a dose of syrup
suspected her of trying to make to him in her of buckthorn, and put him on a diet of pot
lifetime, it was impossible to say. It might liquor and vegetables till further orders. Ex-
be only a farewell word, telling nothing but cuse my mentioning this. It has slipped in
the secret of her unhappy fancy for a person somehow. Pass it over, please. I am fast
beyond her reach. Or it might own the whole coming to the end of my offences against your
truth about the strange proceedings in which cultivated modern taste. Besides, the dog was
Sergeant Cuff had detected her, from the time a good creature, and deserved a good physick-
when the Moonstone was lost, to the time whening ; he did indeed.

777
 THE MOONSTONE 79

Saturday, the last day of the week, is also ing for some days past how I should manage
the last day in my narrative. to write it, I find my plain statement of facts
The morning's post brought me a surprise in coming to a conclusion, most appropriately, of
the shape of a London newspaper. The hand- its own self. We have gone on, in this matter
writing on the direction puzzled me. I com- of the Moonstone, from one marvel to another ;
pared it with the money-lender's name and and here we end with the greatest marvel of
address as recorded in my pocket-book, and all-namely, the accomplishment of Sergeant
identified it at once as the writing of Sergeant Cuff's three predictions in less than a week from
Cuff. the time when he had made them.
Looking through the paper eagerly enough, After hearing from the Yollands on the
after this discovery, I found an ink-mark drawn Monday, I had now heard of the Indians, and
round one of the police reports. Here it is, at heard of the money-lender, in the news from
your service. Read it as I read it, and you will London- Miss Rachel herself, remember, being
set the right value on the Sergeant's polite also in London at the time. You see, I put
attention in sending me the news of the day. things at their worst, even when they tell dead
against my own view. If you desert me, and
" LAMBETH.-Shortly before the closing of side with the Sergeant, on the evidence before
the court, Mr. Septimus Luker, the well-known you-if the only rational explanation you can
dealer in ancient gems, carvings, intagli, &c., see is, that Miss Rachel and Mr. Luker must
&c., applied to the sitting magistrate for advice. have got together, and that the Moonstone must
The applicant stated that he had been annoyed, be now in pledge in the money-lender's house-
at intervals throughout the day, by the proceed- I own I can't blame you for arriving at that
ings of some of those strolling Indians who conclusion. In the dark, I have brought you
infest the streets. The persons complained of thus far. In the dark I am compelled to leave
were three in number. After having been sent you, with my best respects.
away by the police, they had returned again and Why compelled ? it may be asked. Why
again, and had attempted to enter the house not take the persons who have gone along with
on pretence of asking for charity. Warned off me, so far, up into those regions of superior
in the front, they had been discovered again at enlightenment in which I sit myself ?
the back of the premises. Besides the annoy- In answer to this, I can only state that I
ance complained of, Mr. Luker expressed himself am acting under orders, and that those orders
as being under some apprehension that robbery have been given to me (as I understand) in
might be contemplated. His collection con- the interests of truth. I am forbidden to tell
tained many unique gems, both classical and more in this narrative than I knew myself at
Oriental, of the highest value. He had only the time. Or, to put it plainer, I am to keep
the day before been compelled to dismiss a strictly within the limits of my own experience,
skilled workman in ivory carving from his em- and am not to inform you of what other per-
ployment (a native of India, as we understood), sons told me for the very sufficient reason
on suspicion of attempted theft ; and he felt that you are to have the information from
by no means sure that this man and the street- those other persons themselves, at first hand.
jugglers of whom he complained, might not be In this matter of the Moonstone the plan is,
acting in concert. It might be their object to not to present reports, but to produce witnesses.
collect a crowd, and create a disturbance in the I picture to myself a member of the family
street, and, in the confusion thus caused, to reading these pages fifty years hence. Lord !
obtain access to the house. In reply to the what a compliment he will feel it, to be asked
magistrate, Mr. Luker admitted that he had no to take nothing on hearsay, and to be treated
evidence to produce of any attempt at robbery in all respects like a Judge on the bench.
being in contemplation. He could speak posi- At this place, then, we part- for the pre-
tively to the annoyance and interruption caused sent, at least-after long journeying together,
by the Indians, but not to anything else. The with a companionable feeling, I hope, on
magistrate remarked that, if the annoyance both sides. The devil's dance of the Indian
were repeated, the applicant could summon the Diamond has threaded its way to London ;
Indians to that court, where they might easily and to London you must go after it, leaving
be dealt with under the Act. As to the valuables me at the country-house. Please to excuse
in Mr. Luker's possession, Mr. Luker himself the faults of this composition-my talking
must take the best measures for their safe so much of myself, and being too familiar, I
custody. He would do well perhaps to com- am afraid, with you. I mean no harm ; and
municate with the police, and to adopt such I drink most respectfully (having just done
additional precautions as their experience dinner) to your health and prosperity, in a
might suggest. The applicant thanked his tankard of her ladyship's ale. May you find
worship, and withdrew.' in these leaves of my writing, what Robinson
Crusoe found in his experience on the desert
One of the wise ancients is reported (I forget island-namely, " something to comfort your-
on what occasion ) as having recommended his selves from, and to set in the Description of
fellow- creatures to " look to the end." Looking Good and Evil, on the Credit Side of the
to the end of these pages of mine, and wonder- Account. "-Farewell.

THE END OF THE FIRST PERIOD

 SECOND PERIOD

THE DISCOVERY OF THE TRUTH ( 1848–49)

The Events related in several Narratives

FIRST NARRATIVE

Contributed by MISS CLACK, niece of the late SIR JOHN VERINDER

CHAPTER I of me. The whim has seized him to stir up

the deplorable scandal of the Moonstone ; and
I AM indebted to my dear parents (both now I am to help him by writing the account of
in heaven) for having had habits of order what I myself witnessed while visiting at Aunt
and regularity instilled into me at a very Verinder's house in London . Pecuniary re-
early age. muneration is offered to me--with the want of
In that happy bygone time, I was taught feeling peculiar to the rich. I am_to_reopen
to keep my hair tidy at all hours of the day wounds that Time has barely closed ; I am to
and night, and to fold up every article of my recall the most intensely painful remembrances
clothing carefully, in the same order, on the and this done, I am to feel myself compen-
same chair, in the same place at the foot of sated by a new laceration, in the shape of Mr.
the bed, before retiring to rest. An entry of Blake's cheque. My nature is weak. It cost
the day's events in my little diary invariably me a hard struggle, before Christian humility
preceded the folding up. The Evening conquered sinful pride, and self-denial accepted
Hymn " (repeated in bed) invariably followed the cheque.
the folding up. And the sweet sleep of Without my diary, I doubt- pray let me
childhood invariably followed the " Evening express it in the grossest terms !-if I could
Hymn." have honestly earned my money. With my
In later life (alas ! ) the hymn has been diary, the poor labourer (who forgives Mr. Blake
succeeded by sad and bitter meditations ; and for insulting her) is worthy of her hire. Nothing
the sweet sleep has been but ill exchanged escaped me at the time I was visiting dear Aunt
for the broken slumbers which haunt the Verinder. Everything was entered (thanks to
uneasy pillow of care. On the other hand , I my early training) day by day as it happened ;
have continued to fold my clothes, and to and everything, down to the smallest particular,
keep my little diary. The former habit links shall be told here. My sacred regard for truth
me to my happy childhood -before papa was is (thank God) far above my respect for persons.
ruined. The latter habit-hitherto mainly It will be easy for Mr. Blake to suppress what
useful in helping me to discipline the fallen may not prove to be sufficiently flattering in
nature which we all inherit from Adam-has these pages to the person chiefly concerned in
unexpectedly proved important to my humble them. He has purchased my time ; but not
interests in quite another way. It has enabled even his wealth can purchase my conscience
poor me to serve the caprice of a wealthy mem- too.*
ber of the family into which my late uncle My diary informs me, that I was accidentally
married. I am fortunate enough to be useful passing Aunt Verinder's house in Montagu
to Mr. Franklin Blake. Square, on Monday, 3rd July 1848.
I have been cut off from all news of my Seeing the shutters opened, and the blinds
relatives by marriage for some time past. drawr up, I felt that it would be an act of
When we are isolated and poor, we are not
infrequently forgotten. I am now living, for
economy's sake, in a little town in Brittany, make * NOTE. Added by Franklin Blake. -Miss Clack may
her mind quite easy on this point. Nothing will
inhabited by a select circle of serious Eng- be added, altered, or removed in her manuscript, or in
lish friends, and possessed of the inestimable any of the other manuscripts which pass through my
advantages of a Protestant clergyman and a hands. Whatever opinions any of the writers may ex-
cheap market. press, whatever peculiarities of treatment may mark,
and perhaps in a literary sense, disfigure, the narratives
In this retirement -a Patmos amid the which I am now collecting, not a line will be tampered
howling ocean of Popery that surrounds us- with anywhere, from first to last. As genuine documents
a letter from England has reached me at last. they are sent to me-and as genuine documents I shall
preserve them ; endorsed by the attestations of witnesses
I find my insignificant existence suddenly re- whocan speak to the facts. It only remains to be added,
membered by Mr. Franklin Blake. My wealthy that "the person chiefly concerned, " in Miss Clack's nar-
only to is
relative- would that I could add my spiritually- rative, happy
brave of Missmoment,
the present
smartestatexercise
the enough not
Clack's pen,
wealthy relative ! -writes , without even an but even to recognise its unquestionable value as an
attempt at disguising that he wants something instrument for the exhibition of Miss Clack's character.
80
 THE MOONSTONE 8r

polite attention to knock, and make inquiries. I point of this narrative. On the previous Friday
The person who answered the door informed me two gentlemen - occupying widely different
that my aunt and her daughter (I really can- positions in society-had been the victims of
not call her my cousin ! ) had arrived from the an outrage which had startled all London.
country a week since, and meditated making One of the gentlemen was Mr. Septimus Luker,
Some stay in London. I sent up a message at of Lambeth. The other was Mr. Godfrey
once, declining to disturb them, and only beg- Ablewhite.
ging to know whether I could be of any use. Living in my present isolation, I have no
The person who answered the door took my means of introducing the newspaper account
message in insolent silence, and left me stand- of the outrage into my narrative. I was also
ng in the hall. She is the daughter of a deprived, at the time, of the inestimable ad-
leathen old man named Betteredge-long, too vantage of hearing the events related by the
long, tolerated in my aunt's family. I sat down fervid eloquence of Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.
in the hall to wait for my answer-and having All I can do is to state the facts as they were
always a few tracts in my bag, I selected one stated, on that Monday evening, to me ; pro-
which proved to be quite providentially appli- ceeding on the plan which I have been taught
cable to the person who answered the door. from infancy to adopt in folding up my clothes.
The hall was dirty, and the chair was hard ; Everything shall be put neatly, and everything
but the blessed consciousness of returning good shall be put in its place. These lines are
for evil raised me quite above any trifling con- written by a poor weak woman. From a poor
siderations of that kind. The tract was one weak woman who will be cruel enough to expect
of a series addressed to young women on the more ?
sinfulness of dress. In style it was devoutly The date ― - thanks to my dear parents, no
familiar. Its title was, " A Word with you on dictionary that ever was written can be more
your
66 Cap-ribbons." particular than I am about dates-was Friday,
' My lady is much obliged, and begs you will June 30, 1848.
come and lunch to-morrow at two." Early on that memorable day, our gifted Mr.
I passed over the manner in which she gave Godfrey happened to be cashing a cheque at a
her message, and the dreadful boldness of her banking-house in Lombard Street. The name
look. I thanked this young castaway ; and I of the firm is accidentally blotted in my diary,
said, in a tone of Christian interest, " Will you and my sacred regard for truth forbids me to
favour me by accepting a tract ? " hazard a guess in a matter of this kind. For-
She looked at the title. " Is it written by a tunately, the name of the firm doesn't matter.
man or a woman, Miss ? If it's written by a What does matter is a circumstance that oc-
woman, I had rather not read it on that ac- curred when Mr. Godfrey had transacted his
count. If it's written by a man, I beg to inform business. On gaining the door, he encountered
him that he knows nothing about it." She a gentleman--a perfect stranger to him- who
handed me back the tract, and opened the door. was accidentally leaving the office exactly at the
We must sowthe good seed somehow. I waited same time as himself. A momentary contest
till the door was shut on me, and slipped the of politeness ensued between them as to who
tract into the letter-box. When I had dropped should be the first to pass through the door of
another tract through the area railings, I felt the bank. The stranger insisted on making
relieved, in some small degree, of a heavy re- Mr. Godfrey precede him ; Mr. Godfrey said
sponsibility towards others. a few civil words ; they bowed, and parted in
We had a meeting that evening of the Select the street. Thoughtless and superficial people
Committee of the Mothers'- Small-Clothes-Con- may say, Here is surely a very trumpery little
version-Society. The object of this excellent incident related in an absurdly circumstantial
Charity is3- as all serious people know - to manner. Oh, my young friends and fellow-
rescue unredeemed fathers' trousers from the sinners ! beware of presuming to exercise your
pawnbroker, and to prevent their resumption, poor carnal reason. Oh, be morally tidy. Let
on the part of the irreclaimable parent, by your faith be as your stockings, and your stock-
abridging them immediately to suit the pro- ings as your faith. Both ever spotless, and
portions of the innocent son. I was a member, both ready to put on at a moment's notice !
at that time, of the Select Committee ; and I I beg a thousand pardons. I have fallen in-
mention the Society here, because my precious sensibly into my Sunday-school style. Most
and admirable friend, Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite, inappropriate in such a record as this. Let me
was associated with our work of moral and try to be worldly- let me say that trifles, in
material usefulness. I had expected to see him this case as in many others, led to terrible
in the board-room, on the Monday evening of results. Merely premising that the polite
which I am now writing, and had proposed to stranger was Mr. Luker, of Lambeth, we will
tell him, when we met, of dear Aunt Verinder's now follow Mr. Godfrey home to his residence
arrival in London. To my great disappointment at Kilburn.
he never appeared. On my expressing a feeling He found waiting for him, in the hall, a
of surprise at his absence, my sisters of the poorly clad but delicate and interesting look-
Committee all looked up together from their ing little boy. The boy handed him a letter,
trousers (we had a great pressure of business merely mentioning that he had been entrusted
that night), and asked in amazement, if I had with it by an old lady whom he did not know,
not heard the news. I acknowledged my ignor- and who had given him no instructions to wait
ance, and was then told, for the first time, of for an answer. Such incidents as these were not
an event which forms, so to speak, the starting- uncommon in Mr. Godfrey's large experience as
82 THE MOONSTONE

a promoter of public charities. He let the boy An interval elapsed, and he heard a sound
go, and opened the letter. below like the rustling sound of a woman's
The handwriting was entirely unfamiliar to dress. It advanced up the stairs, and stopped.
him. It requested his attendance, within an A female scream rent the atmosphere of guilt.
hour's time, at a house in Northumberland A man's voice below exclaimed , " Hullo ! " A
Street, Strand, which he had never had occa- man's feet ascended the stairs. Mr. Godfrey
sion to enter before. The object sought was felt Christian fingers unfastening his bandage,
to obtain from the worthy manager certain and extracting his gag. He looked in amaze
details on the subject of the Mothers'- Small- ment at two respectable strangers, and faintly
Clothes-Conversion- Society, and the information articulated, " What does it mean ?" The two
was wanted by an elderly lady who proposed respectable
66 strangers looked back, and said,
adding largely to the resources of the charity, Exactly the question we were going to ask
if her questions were met by satisfactory re- you."
plies. She mentioned her name, and she added The inevitable explanation followed. No!
that the shortness of her stay in London pre- Let me be scrupulously particular. Sal volatile
vented her from giving any longer notice to the and water followed, to compose dear Mr. God-
eminent philanthropist whom she addressed. frey's nerves. The explanation came next.
Ordinary people might have hesitated before It appeared from the statement of the land-
setting aside their own engagements to suit lord and landlady of the house (persons of
the convenience of a stranger. The Christian good repute in the neighbourhood), that their
hero never hesitates where good is to be done. first and second floor apartments had been
Mr. Godfrey instantly turned back, and pro- engaged, on the previous day, for a week
ceeded to the house in Northumberland Street. certain, by a most respectable-looking gentle-
A most respectable though somewhat corpulent man-the same who has been already described
man answered the door, and, on hearing Mr. as answering the door to Mr. Godfrey's knock.
Godfrey's name, immediately conducted him The gentleman had paid the week's rent and
into an empty apartment at the back, on the all the week's extras in advance, stating that
drawing-room floor. He noticed two unusual the apartments were wanted for three Oriental
things on entering the room. One of them noblemen, friends of his, who were visiting
was a faint odour of musk and camphor. The England for the first time. Early on the
other was an ancient Oriental manuscript, morning of the outrage two of the Oriental
richly illuminated with Indian figures and de- strangers, accompanied by their respectable
vices, that lay open to inspection on a table. English friend, took possession of the apart-
He was looking at the book, the position of ments. The third was expected to join them
which caused him to stand with his back turned shortly ; and the luggage (reported as very
towards the closed folding doors communicating bulky) was announced to follow when it had
with the front room, when, without the slightest passed through the Custom House, late in the
previous noise to warn him, he felt himself afternoon. Not more than ten minutes previous
suddenly seized round the neck from behind. to Mr. Godfrey's visit, the third foreigner had
He had just time to notice that the arm round arrived. Nothing out of the common had
his neck was naked and of a tawny-brown happened , to the knowledge of the landlord
colour, before his eyes were bandaged, his and landlady downstairs, until within the last
mouth was gagged, and he was thrown help- five minutes-when they had seen the three
less on the floor by (as he judged) two men. foreigners, accompanied by their respectable
A third rifled his pockets, and- if as a lady, English friend, all leave the house together,
I may venture to use such an expression- walking quietly in the direction of the Strand.
searched him, without ceremony, through and Remembering that a visitor had called, and not
through to his skin. having seen the visitor also leave the house,
Here I should greatly enjoy saying a few the landlady had thought it rather strange
cheering words on the devout confidence which that the gentleman should be left by himself
could alone have sustained Mr. Godfrey in an upstairs. After a short discussion with her
emergency so terrible as this. Perhaps, how- husband, she had considered it advisable to
ever, the position and appearance of my admir- ascertain whether anything was wrong. The
able friend at the culminating period of the result had followed, as I have already at-
outrage (as above described) are hardly within tempted to describe it ; and there the expla-
the proper limits of female discussion. Let nation of the landlord and the landlady came
me pass over the next few moments, and return to an end.
to Mr. Godfrey at the time when the odious An investigation was next made in the
search of his person had been completed. The room. Dear Mr. Godfrey's property was found
outrage had been perpetrated throughout in scattered in all directions. When the articles
dead silence. At the end of it some words were collected, however, nothing was missing ;
were exchanged, among the invisible wretches, his watch, chain, purse, keys, pocket-handker-
in a language which he did not understand, but chief, note-book, and all his loose papers had
in tones.which were plainly expressive (to his been closely examined, and had then been left
cultivated ear) of disappointment and rage. He unharmed to be resumed by the owner. In the
was suddenly lifted from the ground, placed in same way, not the smallest morsel of property
a chair, and bound there hand and foot. The belonging to the proprietors of the house had
next moment he felt the air flowing in from been abstracted. The Oriental noblemen had
the open door, listened, and concluded that he removed their own illuminated manuscript, and
was alone again in the room, had removed nothing else,
 THE MOONSTONE 83

What did it mean ? Taking the worldly introduced himself as acting for his foreign
point of view, it appeared to mean that Mr. friends. The one point of difference between
Godfrey had been the victim of some incom- the two cases occurred when the scattered
prehensible error, committed by certain un- contents of Mr. Luker's pockets were being
known men. A dark conspiracy was on foot collected from the floor. His watch and purse
in the midst of us ; and our beloved and were safe, but (less fortunate than Mr. Godfrey)
innocent friend had been entangled in its one of the loose papers that he carried about
meshes. When the Christian hero of a hun- him had been taken away. The paper in ques-
dred charitable victories plunges into a pitfall tion acknowledged the receipt of a valuable of
that has been dug for him by mistake, oh, great price which Mr. Luker had that day left
what a warning it is to the rest of us to be in the care of his bankers. This document
unceasingly on our guard ! How soon may would be useless for purposes of fraud, inas-
our own evil passions prove to be Oriental much as it provided that the valuable should
noblemen who pounce on us unawares ! only be given up on the personal application of
I could write pages of affectionate warning the owner. As soon as he recovered himself,
on this one theme, but (alas ! ) I am not Mr. Luker hurried to the bank, on the chance
permitted to improve -I am condemned to that the thieves who had robbed him might
narrate. My wealthy relative's cheque- hence- ignorantly present themselves with the receipt.
forth, the incubus of my existence-warns me Nothing had been seen of them when he arrived
that I have not done with this record of at the establishment, and nothing was seen of
violence yet. We must leave Mr. Godfrey to them afterwards. Their respectable English
recover in Northumberland Street, and must friend had (in the opinion of the bankers)
follow the proceedings of Mr. Luker, at a later looked the receipt over before they attempted
period of the day. to make use of it, and had given them the
After leaving the bank, Mr. Luker had visited necessary warning in good time.
various parts of London on business errands. Information of both outrages was communi-
Returning to his own residence, he found a cated to the police, and the needful investiga-
letter waiting for him, which was described as tions were pursued, I believe, with great energy.
having been left a short time previously by a The authorities held that a robbery had been
boy. In this case, as in Mr. Godfrey's case, the planned, on insufficient information received by
handwriting was strange ; but the name men- the thieves. They had been plainly not sure
tioned was the name of one of Mr. Luker's cus- whether Mr. Luker had, or had not, trusted
tomers. His correspondent announced (writing the transmission of his precious gem to another
in the third person-apparently by the hand of person ; and poor polite Mr. Godfrey had paid
a deputy) that he had been unexpectedly sum- the penalty of having been seen accidentally
moned to London. He had just established speaking to him. Add to this, that Mr. God-
himself in lodgings in Alfred Place, Tottenham frey's absence from our Monday evening meet-
Court Road ; and he desired to see Mr. Luker ing had been occasioned by a consultation of
immediately, on the subject of a purchase which the authorities, at which he was requested to
he contemplated making. The gentleman was assist- and all the explanations required being
an enthusiastic collector of Oriental antiquities, now given, I may proceed with the simpler
and had been for many years a liberal patron story of my own little personal experiences in
of the establishment in Lambeth. Oh, when Montagu Square.
shall we wean ourselves from the worship of
Mammon ! Mr. Luker called a cab, and drove I was punctual to the luncheon hour on
off instantly to his liberal patron. Tuesday. "Reference to my diary shows this to
Exactly what had happened to Mr. Godfrey have been a chequered day- much in it to be
in Northumberland Street now happened to Mr. devoutly regretted, much in it to be devoutly
Luker in Alfred Place. Once more the respect- thankful for.
able man answered the door, and showed the Dear Aunt Verinder received me with her
visitor upstairs into the back drawing-room. usual grace and kindness. But I noticed, after
There, again, lay the illuminated manuscript on a little while, that something was wrong. Cer-
a table. Mr. Luker's attention was absorbed, tain anxious looks escaped my aunt, all of
as Mr. Godfrey's attention had been absorbed , which took the direction of her daughter. I
by this beautiful work of Indian art. He too never see Rachel myself without wondering
was aroused from his studies by a tawny naked how it can be that so insignificant looking a
arm round his throat, by a bandage over his person should be the child of such distinguished
eyes, and by a gag in his mouth. He too was parents as Sir John and Lady Verinder. On
thrown prostrate, and searched to the skin. this occasion, however, she not only disap-
A longer interval had then elapsed than had pointed-she really shocked me. There was
passed in the experience of Mr. Godfrey ; but an absence of all lady-like restraint in her lan-
it had ended as before, in the persons of the guage and manner most painful to see. She was
house suspecting something wrong, and going possessed by some feverish excitement which
upstairs to see what had happened. Precisely made her distressingly loud when she laughed,
the same explanation which the landlord in and sinfully wasteful and capricious in what
Northumberland Street had given to Mr. God- she ate and drank at lunch. I felt deeply for
frey, the landlord in Alfred Place now gave to her poor mother even before the true state of
Mr. Luker. Both had been imposed on in the the case had been confidentially made known
same way by the plausible address and well- to me.
filled purse of the respectable stranger, who Luncheon over, my aunt said : " Remember
$4 THE MOONSTONE

what the doctor told you, Rachel, about quiet- | is keeping a sinful secret from you and from
ing yourself with a book after taking your everybody. May there not be something in
meals." these recent events which threatens her secret
" I'll go into the library, mamma, " she with discovery ? "
answered. "But if Godfrey calls, mind I am " Discovery ? " repeated my aunt. " What
told of it. I am dying for more news of him, can you possibly mean ? Discovery through
after his adventure in Northumberland Street." Mr. Luker ? Discovery through my nephew?"
She kissed her mother on the forehead, and As the word passed her lips, a special pro-
looked my way. " Good-bye, Clack," she said vidence occurred. The servant opened the
carelessly. Her insolence roused no angry door, and announced Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.
feeling in me. I only made a private memo-
randum to pray for her.
When we were left by ourselves, my aunt
told me the whole horrible story of the Indian CHAPTER II
Diamond, which, I am happy to know, it is
not necessary to repeat here. She did not MR. GODFREY followed the announcement of
conceal from me that she would have pre- his name-as Mr. Godfrey does everything
ferred keeping silence on the subject. But else exactly at the right time. He was not
when her own servants all knew of the loss so close on the servant's heels as to startle us.
of the Moonstone, and when some of the He was not so far behind as to cause us the
circumstances had actually found their way double inconvenience of a pause and an open
into the newspapers- when strangers were door. It is in the completeness of his daily
speculating whether there was any connec- life that the true Christian appears. This
tion between what had happened at Lady dear man was very complete.
Verinder's country-house, and what had hap- "Goto Miss Verinder," said my aunt, address-
pened in Northumberland Street and Alfred ing the servant, “ and tell her Mr. Ablewhite
Place-concealment was not to be thought of ; is here."
and perfect frankness became a necessity as We both inquired after his health. We
well as a virtue. both asked him together whether he felt like
Some persons, hearing what I now heard, himself again, after his terrible adventure of
would have been probably overwhelmed with the past week. With perfect tact, he con-
astonishment. For my own part, knowing trived to answer us at the same moment.
Rachel's spirit to have been essentially un- Lady Verinder had his reply in words. I had
regenerate from her childhood upwards, I was his66 charming smile.
prepared for whatever my aunt could tell me 'What," he cried, with infinite tenderness,
on the subject of her daughter. It might "have I done to deserve all this sympathy ?
have gone on from bad to worse till it ended My dear aunt ! my dear Miss Clack ! I have
in murder ; and I should still have said to merely been mistaken for somebody else. I
myself, The natural result ! oh, dear, dear, the have only been blindfolded ; I have only been
natural result ! The one thing that did shock strangled ; I have only been thrown flat on
me was the course my aunt had taken under my back, on a very thin carpet, covering a
the circumstances. Here surely was a case particularly hard floor. Just think how much
for a clergyman, if ever there was one yet ! worse it might have been ! I might have been
Lady Verinder had thought it a case for a murdered ; I might have been robbed. What
physician. All my poor aunt's early life had have I lost ? Nothing but Nervous Force-
been passed in her father's godless household. which the law doesn't recognise as property ;
The natural result again ! Oh, dear, dear, so that, strictly speaking, I have lost nothing
the natural result again ! at all. If I could have had my own way, I
"The doctors recommend plenty of exercise would have kept my adventure to myself-I
and amusement for Rachel, and strongly urge shrink from all this fuss and publicity. But
me to keep her mind as much as possible from Mr. Luker made his injuries public, and my
dwelling on the past, " said Lady Verinder. injuries, as the necessary consequence, have:
" Oh, what heathen advice ! " I thought to been proclaimed in their turn. I have be-
myself. "In this Christian country, what come the property of the newspapers, until the
heathen advice ! " gentle reader gets sick of the subject. I am
My aunt went on, " I do my best to carry very sick indeed of it myself. May the gentle
out my instructions. But this strange ad- reader soon be like me ! And how is dear
venture of Godfrey's happens at a most un- Rachel ? Still enjoying the gaieties of London ?
fortunate time. Rachel has been incessantly So glad to hear it ! Miss Clack, I need all'
restless and excited since she first heard of your indulgence. I am sadly behind-hand
it. She left me no peace till I had written with my Committee Work and my dear Ladies.
and asked my nephew Ablewhite to come But I really do hope to look in at the Mothers'-
here. She even feels an interest in the other Small -Clothes next week. Did you make
person who was roughly used- Mr. Luker, or cheering progress at Monday's Committee ?
some such name-though the man is, of course, Was the Board hopeful about future prospects ?
a total stranger to her." And are we nicely off for trousers ? "
" Your knowledge of the world, dear aunt, The heavenly gentleness of his smile made
is superior to mine, " I suggested diffidently. his apologies irresistible. The richness of his
" But there must be a reason surely for this deep voice added its own indescribable charm
extraordinary conduct on Rachel's part. She to the interesting business question which he
 THE MOONSTONE 85

had just addressed to me. In truth, we were "What is it ? "

almost too nicely off for trousers ; we were "You live a great deal too much in the
quite overwhelmed by them. I was just about society of women. And you have contracted
to say so, when the door opened again, and two very bad habits in consequence. You
an element of worldly disturbance entered the have learnt to talk nonsense seriously, and
room, in the person of Miss Verinder. you have got into a way of telling fibs for the
She approached dear Mr. Godfrey at a most pleasure of telling them. You can't go straight
unlady-like rate of speed, with her hair shock- with your lady-worshippers. I mean to make
ingly untidy, and her face, what I should call you go straight with me. Come, and sit
unbecomingly flushed. down. I am brimful of downright questions,
"I am charmed to see you, Godfrey," she and I expect you to be brimful of downright
said, addressing him, I grieve to add, in the answers.'
off-hand manner of one young man talking to She actually dragged him across the room
another. " I wish you had brought Mr. Luker to a chair by the window, where the light
with you. You and he (as long as our present would fall on his face. I deeply feel being
excitement lasts) are the two most interesting obliged to report such language, and to de-
men in all London. It's morbid to say this ; scribe such conduct. But, hemmed in as I
it's unhealthy ; it's all that a well-regulated am, between Mr. Franklin Blake's cheque on
mind like Miss Clack's most instinctively one side and my own sacred regard for truth
shudders at. Never mind that. Tell me the on the other, what am I to do? I looked at
whole of the Northumberland Street story my aunt. She sat unmoved ; apparently in no
directly. I know the newspapers have left way disposed to interfere. I had never noticed
some of it out." this kind of torpor in her before. It was, per-
Even dear Mr. Godfrey partakes of the haps, the reaction after the trying time she
fallen nature which we all inherit from Adam had had in the country. Not a pleasant
-it is a very small share of our human legacy, symptom to remark, be it what it might, at
but, alas ! he has it. I confess it grieved me dear Lady Verinder's age, and with dear Lady
to see him take Rachel's hand in both of his Verinder's autumnal exuberance of figure.
own hands, and lay it softly on the left side In the meantime, Rachel had settled herself
of his waistcoat. It was a direct encourage at the window with our amiable and forbearing
ment to her reckless way of talking, and her -our too forbearing Mr. Godfrey. She began
insolent reference to me. the string of questions with which she had
" Dearest Rachel," he said, in the same voice threatened him, taking no more notice of her
which had thrilled me when he spoke of our mother, or of myself, than if we had not been
prospects and our trousers, " the newspapers in the room.
have told you everything—and they have told " Have the police done anything, Godfrey ? "
it much better than I can." Nothing whatever."
"Godfrey thinks we all make too much of " It is certain, I suppose, that the three
the matter," my aunt remarked. " He has men who laid the trap for you were the same
just been saying that he doesn't care to speak three men who afterwards laid the trap for
of it." Mr. Luker ? "
66"Why ?"
"Humanly speaking, my dear Rachel, there
She put the question with a sudden flash in can be no doubt of it."
her eyes, and a sudden look up into Mr. God- " And not a trace of them has been dis-
frey's face. On his side, he locked down at covered ? "
her with an indulgence so injudicious and so " Not a trace."
ill-deserved, that I really felt called on to "It is thought-is it not ?—that these three
interfere. men are the three Indians who came to our
""
" Rachel, darling ! " I remonstrated gently, house in the country.
"true greatness and true courage are ever "Some
66' Do you think so ?" so."
people think
modest."
" You are a very good fellow in your way, " My dear Rachel, they blindfolded me be-
Godfrey," she said- not taking the smallest fore I could see their faces. I know nothing
notice, observe, of me, and still speaking to whatever of the matter. How can I offer an
her cousin as if she was one young man opinion on it ? "
addressing another. " But I am quite sure Even the angelic gentleness of Mr. Godfrey
you are not great ; I don't believe you possess was, you see, beginning to give way at last under
any extraordinary courage ; and I am firmly the persecution inflicted on him. Whether
persuaded-if you ever had any modesty- unbridled curiosity, or ungovernable dread,
that your lady-worshippers relieved you of that dictated Miss Verinder's questions, I do not
virtue a good many years since. You have presume to inquire. I only report that, on Mr.
some private reason for not talking of your Godfrey's attempting to rise, after giving her
adventure in Northumberland Street ; and I the answer just described, she actually took
mean to know it." him by the two shoulders, and pushed him
" My reason is the simplest imaginable, and back into his chair- Oh , don't say this was
the most easily acknowledged , " he answered , immodest ! don't even hint that the reckless-
still bearing with her. " I am tired of the ness of guilty terror could alone account for
subject." such conduct as I have described ! We must
"You are tired of the subject ? My dear not judge others. My Christian friends , indeed,
Godfrey, I am going to make a remark." indeed, indeed , we must not judge others !
86 THE MOONstone

She went on with her questions, unabashed. | again to the place where she had checked
Earnest Biblical students will perhaps be re- herself, and completed her question in these
minded-as I was reminded -of the blinded words :
children of the devil, who went on with their " I spoke to you, a minute since, about what
orgies, unabashed , in the time before the Flood. people were saying in certain quarters. Tell
"I want "" to know something about Mr. Luker, me plainly, Godfrey, do they any of them say
Godfrey.' that Mr. Luker's valuable gem is-The Moon-
" I am again unfortunate, Rachel. No man stone ?"
knows less of Mr. Luker than I do. " As the name of the Indian Diamond passed
" You never saw him before you and he met her lips, I saw a change come over my ad-
accidentally at the bank ?" mirable friend. His complexion deepened.
" Never." He lost the genial suavity of manner which is
" You have seen him since ?" one of his greatest charms. A noble indignation
" Yes. We have been examined together, as inspired
66 Theyhis reply.
do say it," he answered. " There are
well as separately, to assist the police."
"Mr. Luker was robbed of a receipt which people who don't hesitate to accuse Mr. Luker
he had got from his banker's-was he not ? of telling a falsehood to serve some private
What was the receipt for ?" interests of his own. He has over and over
" For a valuable gem which he had placed again solemnly declared that, until this scandal
in the safe keeping of the bank. " assailed him, he had never even heard of the
"That's what the newspapers say. It may Moonstone. And these vile people reply, with-
be enough for the general reader, but it is not out a shadow of proof to justify them, He has
enough for me. The banker's receipt must his reasons for concealment ; we decline to be-
have mentioned what the gem was ? " lieve him on his oath. Shameful ! shameful! "
" The banker's receipt, Rachel- as I have Rachel looked at him very strangely-I can't
heard it described-mentioned nothing of the well describe how-while he was speaking.
kind. A valuable gem, belonging to Mr. When he had done, she said—
Luker ; deposited by Mr. Luker ; sealed with 66' Considering that Mr. Luker is only a chance
Mr. Luker's seal ; and only to be given up on acquaintance of yours, you take up his cause,
Mr. Luker's personal application. That was Godfrey, rather warmly."
the form, and that is all I know about it. ” My gifted friend made her one of the most
She waited a moment, after he had said that. truly evangelical answers I ever heard in my
She looked at her mother, and sighed. She life.
looked back again at Mr. Godfrey, and went on. " I hope, Rachel, I take up the cause of all
" Some of our private affairs, at home," she oppressed people rather warmly," he said.
said, " seem to have got into 93 the newspapers ?" The tone in which those words were spoken
" I grieve to say, it is so.' might have melted a stone. But, oh dear, what
" And some idle people, perfect strangers to is the hardness of stone ? Nothing, compared
us, are trying to trace a connection between to the hardness of the unregenerate human
what happened at our house in Yorkshire and heart ! She sneered. I blush to record it-she
what has happened since, here in London ?" sneered at him to his face.
66
"The public curiosity, in certain quarters, is , ' Keep your noble sentiments for your Ladies'
I fear,
66 taking that turn." Committees, Godfrey. I am certain that the
The people who say that the three un- scandal which has assailed Mr. Luker, has not
known men who ill-used you and Mr. Luker are spared you."
the three"" Indians, also say that the valuable Even my aunt's torpor was roused by those
gem- words.
66
There she stopped. She had become gradu- ' My dear Rachel," she remonstrated, " you
ally, within the last few moments, whiter and have really no right to say that ! "
whiter in the face. The extraordinary black- " I mean no harm, mamma-I mean good.
ness of her hair made this paleness, by contrast, Have a moment's patience with me, and you
so ghastly to look at, that we all thought she will see."
would faint, at the moment when she checked She looked back at Mr. Godfrey, with what
herself in the middle of her question. Dear appeared to be a sudden pity for him. She
Mr. Godfrey made a second attempt to leave went the length-the very unladylike length—
his chair. My aunt entreated her to say no of taking him by the hand.
more. I followed my aunt with a modest medi- "I am certain," she said, " that I have found
cinal peace-offering, in the shape of a bottle of out the true reason of your unwillingness to
salts. We none of us produced the slightest speak of this matter before my mother and
effect on her. " Godfrey, stay where you are. before me. An unlucky accident has associated
Mamma, there is not the least reason to be you in people's minds with Mr. Luker. You
alarmed about me. Clack, you're dying to have told me what scandal says of him. What
hear the end of it-I won't faint, expressly to does scandal say of you ?"
oblige you." Even at the eleventh hour, dear Mr. Godfrey
Those were the exact words she used-taken always ready to return good for evil-tried
down in my diary the moment I got home. to spare her.
But, oh, don't let us judge ! My Christian "Don't ask me ! " he said. " It's better
friends, don't let us judge ! forgotten, Rachel-it is, indeed."
She turned once more to Mr. Godfrey. With " I will hear it ! " she cried out fiercely, at
an obstinacy dreadful to see, she went back the top of her voice.
 THE MOONSTONE 87

" Tell her, Godfrey ! " entreated my aunt. | debts ! " She stopped, ran across the room-
" Nothing can do her such harm as your silence and fell on her knees at her mother's feet.
is doing now ! " " Oh, mamma ! mamma ! mamma ! I must be
Mr. Godfrey's fine eyes filled with tears. He mad-mustn't I ?-not to own the truth now ? ".
cast one last appealing look at her-and then he She was too vehement to notice her mother's
spoke the fatal words : condition- she was on her feet again, and back
" If you will. have it, Rachel-scandal says with Mr. Godfrey, in an instant. " I won't let
that the Moonstone is in pledge to Mr. Luker, you- I won't let any innocent man be accused
and that I am the man who has pawned it. " and disgraced through my fault. If you won't
She started to her feet with a scream. She take me before the magistrate, draw out a
looked backwards and forwards from Mr. God- declaration of your innocence on paper, and I
frey to my aunt, and from my aunt to Mr. will sign it. Do as I tell you, Godfrey, or I'll
Godfrey, in such a frantic manner that I really write it to the newspapers- I'll go out, and cry
thought she had gone mad. it in the streets ! "
"Don't speak to me ! Don't touch me ! " she We will not say this was the language of
exclaimed, shrinking back from all of us (I remorse-we will say it was the language of
declare like some hunted animal !) into a corner hysterics. Indulgent Mr. Godfrey pacified her
of the room. " This is my fault ! I must set by taking a sheet of paper, and drawing out
it right. I have sacrificed myself- I had a the declaration. She signed it in a feverish
right to do that, if I liked. But to let an hurry. "Show it everywhere- don't think of
innocent man be ruined ; to keep a secret which me," she said, as she gave it to him. " I am
destroys his character for life- Oh, good God, afraid, Godfrey, I have not done you justice,
it's too horrible ! I can't bear it !" hitherto, in my thoughts. You are more un-
My aunt half rose from her chair, then sud- selfish- you are a better man than I believed
denly sat down again. She called to me faintly, you to be. Come here when you can, and I
and pointed to a little phial in her work- box.
66 Quick will try and repair the wrong I have done
!" she whispered. " Six drops, in you."
water. Don't let Rachel see." She gave him her hand. Alas, for our fallen
Under other circumstances, I should have nature ! Alas, for Mr. Godfrey ! He not only
thought this strange. There was no time now forgot himself so far as to kiss her hand- he
to think there was only time to give the adopted a gentleness of tone in answering her
medicine. Dear Mr. Godfrey unconsciously which, in such a case, was little better than a
assisted me in concealing what I was about compromise with sin. "I will come, dearest,"
from Rachel, by speaking composing words to he said, " on condition that we don't speak of
her at the other end of the room. this hateful subject again.""3 Never had I seen
66
Indeed, indeed, you exaggerate, " I heard and heard our Christian hero to less advantage
him say. " My reputation stands too high to than on this occasion.
be destroyed by a miserable passing scandal Before another word could be said by any-
like this. It will be all forgotten in another body, a thundering knock at the street door
week. Let us never speak of it again." She was startled us all. I looked through the window,
perfectly inaccessible, even to such generosity and saw the World, the Flesh, and the Devil
as this. She went on from bad to worse. waiting before the house-as typified in a
"I must and will stop it," she said. "Mamma ! carriage and horses, a powdered footman, and
hear what I say. Miss Clack ! hear what I say. three of the most audaciously dressed women
I know the hand that took the Moonstone. I I ever beheld in my life.
know-" she laid a strong emphasis on the Rachel started, and composed herself. She
words ; she stamped her foot in the rage that crossed the room to her mother.
possessed her " I know that Godfrey Ablewhite ' They have come to take me to the flower-
is innocent. Take me to the magistrate, God- show," she said. " One word, mamma, before
frey Take me to the magistrate, and I will I go. I have not distressed you, have I ? "
swear it !" (Is the bluntness of moral feeling which
My aunt caught me by the hand, and whis- could ask such a question as that, after
pered, " Stand between us for a minute or two. what had just happened, to be pitied or con-
Don't let Rachel see me." I noticed a bluish demned ? I like to lean towards mercy. Let
tinge in her face which alarmed me. She saw us pity it.)
I was startled. " The drops will put me right The drops had produced their effect. My
in a minute or two, " she said, and so closed her poor aunt's complexion was like itself again.
eyes, and waited a little. " No, no, my dear," she said. " Go with our
While this was going on, I heard dear Mr. friends, and enjoy yourself."
Godfrey still gently remonstrating. Her daughter stooped, and kissed her. I
"You must not appear publicly in such a had left the window, and was near the door,
thing as this," he said. " Your reputation, when Rachel approached it to go out. Another
dearest Rachel, is something too pure and too change had come over her-she was in tears.
sacred to be trifled with." I looked with interest at the momentary soft-
66
' My reputation ! " She burst out laughing. ening of that obdurate heart. I felt inclined
" Why, I am accused , Godfrey, as well as you. to say a few earnest words. Alas ! my What well-
The best detective officer in England declares meant sympathy only gave offence. "
that I have stolen my own Diamond. Ask him do you mean by pitying me ? " she asked, in
what he thinks--and he will tell you that I a bitter whisper, as she passed to the door.
have pledged the Moonstone to pay my private " Don't you see how happy I am ? I'm going
88 THE MOONSTONE

to the flower-show, Clack ; and I've gotthe I rose immediately. Delicacy left me but
prettiest bonnet in London." She completed one alternative - the alternative, after first
the hollow mockery of that address by blowing making my apologies, of taking my leave.
me a kiss and so left the room. Lady Verinder stopped me, and insisted on
I wish I could describe in words the com- my sitting down again.
passion that I felt for this miserable and " You have surprised a secret," she said,
misguided girl. But I am almost as poorly "which I had confided to my sister Mrs. Able-
provided with words as with money. Permit white, and to my lawyer Mr. Bruff, and to no
me to say-my heart bled for her. one else. I can trust in their discretion ; and
Returning to my aunt's chair, I observed I am sure, when I tell you the circumstances,
dear Mr. Godfrey searching for something I can trust in yours. Have you any pressing
softly, here and there, in different parts of engagement, Drusilla ? or is your time your
the room . Before I could offer to assist him, own this afternoon ? "
he had found what he wanted. He came back It is needless to say that my time was en-
to my aunt and me, with his declaration of tirely at my aunt's disposal.
innocence in one hand, and with a box of " Keep me company then," she said, " for
matches in the other. another hour. I have something to tell you
" Dear aunt, a little conspiracy !" he said. which I believe you will be sorry to hear.
" Dear Miss Clack, a pious fraud which even And I shall have a service to ask of you
your high moral rectitude will excuse ! Will ‫وو‬
afterwards, if you don't object to assist me.
you leave Rachel to suppose that I accept the It is again needless to say that, so far from
generous self- sacrifice which has signed this objecting, I was all eagerness to assist her. ll
paper ? And will you kindly bear witness that "You can wait here," she went on, "ti
I destroy it in your presence, before I leave Mr. Bruff comes at five. And you can be one
the house ?" He kindled a match, and, light- of the witnesses, Drusilla, when I sign my
ing the paper, laid it to burn in a plate on Will."
the table. 66 Any trifling inconvenience that I Her Will ! I thought of the drops which
may suffer is as nothing," he remarked, " com- I had seen in her work-box. I thought of
pared with the importance of preserving that the bluish tinge which I had noticed in her
pure name from the contaminating contact of complexion. A light which was not of this
the world. There ! We have reduced it to a world-a light shining prophetically from an
little harmless heap of ashes ; and our dear unmade grave dawned on my mind. My
impulsive Rachel will never know what we aunt's secret was a secret no longer.
have done ! How do you feel ? My precious
friends, how do you feel ? For my poor part,
I am as light-hearted as a boy !"
He beamed on us with his beautiful smile ; CHAPTER III
he held out a hand to my aunt, and a hand to
me. I was too deeply affected by his noble CONSIDERATION for poor Lady Verinder for-
conduct to speak. I closed my eyes ; I put bade me even to hint that I had guessed the
his hand, in a kind of spiritual self-forget- melancholy truth, before she opened her lips.
fulness, to my lips. He murmured a soft I waited her pleasure in silence ; and, having
remonstrance. Oh, the ecstasy, the pure, un- privately arranged to say a few sustaining
earthly ecstasy of that moment ! I sat-I words at the first convenient opportunity, felt
hardly know on what-quite lost in my own prepared for any duty that could claim me, no
exalted feelings. When I opened my eyes matter how painful it might be.
again, it was like descending from heaven to " I have been seriously ill, Drusilla,
66 for some
earth. There was nobody but my aunt in the time past," my aunt began. 'And, strange
room. He had gone . to say, without knowing it myself."
I should like to stop here--I should like to I thought of the thousands and thousands
close my narrative with the record of Mr. of perishing human creatures who were all
Godfrey's noble conduct. Unhappily, there at that moment spiritually ill, without know-
is more, much more, which the unrelenting ing it themselves. And I greatly feared that
pecuniary pressure of Mr. Blake's cheque my poor aunt might be one of the number.
obliges me to tell. The painful disclosures " Yes, dear," I said sadly. " Yes."
which were to reveal themselves in my pre- " I brought Rachel to London, as you know,
sence, during that Tuesday's visit to Montagu for medical advice," she went on. "I thought
Square, were not at an end yet. it right to consult two doctors. "
Finding myself alone with Lady Verinder, Two doctors ! And, oh me (in Rachel's
I turned naturally to the subject of her health ; state), not one clergyman ! " Yes, dear ? " I
touching delicately on the strange anxiety said once more. "Yes ?"
which she had shown to conceal her indis- "One of the two medical men," proceeded
position, and the remedy applied to it, from my aunt, " was a stranger to me. The other
the observation of her daughter. had been an old friend of my husband's, and
surprised me.
66 aunt's reply greatly
My had always felt a sincere interest in me for my
'Drusilla, " she said ( if I have not already husband's sake. After prescribing for Rachel,
mentioned that my Christian name is Drusilla, he said he wished to speak to me privately in
permit me to mention it now), " you are touch- another room. I expected, of course, to receive
ing-quite innocently, I know- on a very dis- some special directions for the management
tressing subject," of my daughter's health, To my surprise, he
 THE MOONSTONE 89

took me gravely by the hand, and said, ' II could say to her with the purely worldly ob-
have been looking at you, Lady Verinder, jection that she was not strong enough to face
with a professional as well as a personal strangers. I yielded-for the moment only, of
interest. You are, I am afraid, far more course. My large experience (as Reader and
urgently in need of medical advice than your Visitor, under not less, first and last, than
daughter.' He put some questions to me, fourteen beloved clerical friends) informed me
which I was at first inclined to treat lightly that this was another case for preparation by
enough, until I observed that my answers books. I possessed a little library of works,
distressed him. It ended in his making an all suitable to the present emergency, all cal-
appointment to come and see me, accompanied culated to arouse, convince, prepare, enlighten,
by a medical friend, on the next day, at an and fortify my aunt. " You will read, dear,
hour when Rachel would not be at home. The won't you ? " I said, in my most winning way.
result of that visit- most kindly and gently " You will read, if I bring you my own precious
conveyed to me-satisfied both the physicians books ? Turned down at all the right places,
that there had been precious time lost, which aunt. And marked in pencil where you are
could never be regained, and that my case to stop and ask yourself, ' Does this apply to
had now passed beyond the reach of their me ?' Even that simple appeal - so abso-
art. For more than two years I have been lutely heathenising is the influence of the
suffering under an insidious form of heart world-appeared to startle my aunt. She said, ""
disease, which, without any symptoms to alarm | " I will do what I can, Drusilla, to please you,'
me, has, by little and little, fatally broken me with a look of surprise, which was at once
down. I may live for some months, or I may instructive and terrible to see. Not a moment
die before another day has passed over my was to be lost. The clock on the mantelpiece
head-the doctors cannot, and dare not, speak informed me that I had just time to hurry
more positively than this. It would be vain home ; to provide myself with a first series of
to say, my dear, that I have not had some selected readings (say a dozen only) ; and to
miserable moments since my real situation has return in time to meet the lawyer, and witness
been made known to me. But I am more | Lady Verinder's will. Promising faithfully to
resigned than I was, and I am doing my best be back by five o'clock, I left the house on
to set my worldly affairs in order. My one my errand of mercy.
great anxiety is that Rachel should be kept When no interests but my own are involved,
in ignorance of the truth. If she knew it, I am humbly content to get from place to place
she would at once attribute my broken health by the omnibus. Permit me to give an idea
to anxiety about the Diamond, and would of my devotion to my aunt's interests by re-
reproach herself bitterly, poor child, for what cording that, on this occasion, I committed the
is in no sense her fault. Both the doctors prodigality of taking a cab.
agree that the mischief began two, if not I drove home, selected and marked my first
three years since. I am sure you will keep series of readings, and drove back to Montagu
my secret, Drusilla -for I am sure I see sincere Square, with a dozen works in a carpet-bag,
sorrow and sympathy for me in your face." the like of which, I firmly believe, are not to
Sorrow and sympathy ! Oh, what Pagan be found in the literature of any other country
emotions to expect from a Christian English- in Europe. I paid the cabman exactly his fare.
woman anchored firmly on her faith ! He received it with an oath ; upon which I
Little did my poor aunt imagine what a gush instantly gave him a tract. If I had presented a
of devout thankfulness thrilled through me as pistol at his head, this abandoned wretch could
she approached the close of her melancholy hardly have exhibited greater consternation,
story. Here was a career of usefulness opened He jumped up on his box, and, with profane
before me ! Here was a beloved relative and exclamations of dismay, drove off furiously.
perishing fellow-creature, on the eve of the Quite useless, I am happy to say ! I sowed the
great change, utterly unprepared ; and led, pro- good seed, in spite of him, by throwing a second
videntially led, to reveal her situation to me ! tract in at the window of the cab.
How can I describe the joy with which I now
remembered that the precious clerical friends The servant who answered the door- not the
on whom I could rely, were to be counted, not person with the cap-ribbons, to my great relief,
by ones or twos, but by tens and twenties ! but the footman-informed me that the doctor
I took my aunt in my arms- my overflowing had called, and was still shut up with Lady
tenderness was not to be satisfied, now, with Verinder. Mr. Bruff, the lawyer, had arrived
anything less than an embrace. " Oh !" I a minute since and was waiting in the library.
said to her fervently, " the indescribable in- I was shown into the library to wait too.
terest with which you inspire me ! Oh ! the Mr. Bruff looked surprised to see me. He
good I mean to do you, dear, before we part ! " is the family solicitor, and we had met more
After another word or two of earnest prefatory than once, on previous occasions, under Lady
warning, I gave her her choice of three precious Verinder's roof. A man, I grieve to say, grown
friends, all plying the work of mercy from old and grizzled in the service of the world.
morning to night in her own neighbourhood ; A man who, in his hours of business, was the
all equally inexhaustible in exhortation ; all chosen prophet of Law and Mammon ; and who,
affectionately ready to exercise their gifts at in his hours of leisure, was equally capable of
a word from me. Alas ! the result was far reading a novel and of tearing up a tract.
from encouraging. Poor Lady Verinder looked " Have you come to stay here, Miss Clack ? ”
puzzled and frightened, and met everything he asked, with a look at my carpet-bag.
90 THE MOONSTONE

To reveal the contents of my precious bag to | person who was undeniably competent to speak
such a person as this would have been simply from a positive knowledge of the subject.
to invite an outburst of profanity. I lowered Alas ! the temptation to lead the lawyer art-
myself to his own level, and mentioned my fully on to his own discomfiture was too much
business in the house. for me. I asked what he meant by " later
" My aunt has informed me that she is about events "-with an appearance of the utmost
to sign her Will ," I answered. " She has innocence.
66
been so good as to ask me to be one of the By later events, Miss Clack, I mean events
witnesses." in which the Indians are concerned," proceeded
""
Aye aye ? Well, Miss Clack, you will do. Mr. Bruff, getting more and more 66 superior to
You are over twenty-one, and you have not the poor me, the longer he went on. 'What do
slightest pecuniary interest in Lady Verinder's the Indians do, the moment they are let out of
Will." the prison at Frizinghall ? They go straight to
Not the slightest pecuniary interest in Lady London, and fix on Mr. Luker. What follows ?
Verinder's Will. Oh, how thankful I felt when Mr. Luker feels alarmed for the safety of ' a
I heard that ! If my aunt, possessed of thou- valuable of great price,' which he has got in the
sands, had remembered poor me, to whom five house. He lodges it privately (under a general
pounds is an object-if my name had appeared description) in his bankers' strong-room. Won-
in the Will, with a little comforting legacy at- derfully clever of him ; but the Indians are
tached to it- my enemies might have doubted just as clever on their side. They have their
the motive which had loaded me with the suspicions that the ' valuable of great price ' is
choicest treasures of my library, and had drawn being shifted from one place to another ; and
upon my failing resources for the prodigal they hit on a singularly bold and complete way
expenses of a cab. Not the cruellest scoffer of clearing those suspicions up. Whom do they
of them all could doubt now. Much better seize and search ? Not Mr. Luker only- which
as it was ! Oh, surely, surely, much better would be intelligible enough- but Mr. Godfrey
as it was ! Ablewhite as well. Why ? Mr. Ablewhite's
I was aroused from these consoling reflections explanation is, that they acted on blind sus-
by the voice of Mr. Bruff. My meditative silence picion, after seeing him accidentally speaking
appeared to weigh upon the spirits of this to Mr. Luker. Absurd ! Half a dozen other
worldling, and to force him, as it were, into people spoke to Mr. Luker that morning. Why
talking to me against his own will. were they not followed home too, and decoyed
"Well, Miss Clack, what's the last news in into the trap ? No ! no ! The plain inference
the charitable circles ? How is your friend Mr. | is, that Mr. Ablewhite had his private interest
Godfrey Ablewhite, after the mauling he got in the ' valuable ' as well as Mr. Luker, and
from the rogues in Northumberland Street ? that the Indians were so uncertain as to which
Egad ! they're telling a pretty story about that of the two had the disposal of it, that there
charitable gentleman at my club ! ' was no alternative but to search them both.
I had passed over the manner in which this Public opinion says that, Miss Clack. And
person had remarked that I was more than public opinion, on this occasion, is not easily
twenty-one, and that I had no pecuniary interest refuted .
in my aunt's Will. But the tone in which he He said those last words, looking so wonder-
alluded to dear Mr. Godfrey was too much for fully wise in his own worldly conceit, that I
my forbearance. Feeling bound , after what had really (to my shame be it spoken) could not
passed in my presence that afternoon, to assert resist leading him a little further still, before I
the innocence of my admirable friend, when- overwhelmed him with the truth.
ever I found it called in question- I own to "I don't presume to argue with a clever
having also felt bound to include in the accom- lawyer like you," I said. " But is it quite fair,
plishment of this righteous purpose, a stinging sir, to Mr. Ablewhite to pass over the opinion
castigation in the case of Mr. Bruff. of the famous London police officer who in-
"I live very much out of the world," I said ; vestigated this case ? Not the shadow of a sus-
" and I don't possess the advantage, sir, of picion rested upon anybody but Miss Verinder,
belonging to a club. But I happen to knowthe in the mind of Sergeant Cuff."
story to which you allude ; and I also know "Do you mean to tell me, Miss Clack, that
that a viler falsehood than that story never you agree with the Sergeant ? "
was told." "I judge nobody, sir, and I offer no opinion."
" Yes, yes, Miss Clack-you believe in your "And I commit both those enormities, ma'am.
friend. Natural enough. Mr. Godfrey Able- I judge the Sergeant to have been utterly
white won't find the world in general quite so wrong ; and I offer the opinion that, if he had
easy to convince as a committee of charitable known Rachel's character as I know it, he would
ladies. Appearances are dead against him. He have suspected everybody in the house but her.
was in the house when the Diamond was lost. I admit that she has her faults-she is secret,
And he was the first person in the house to and self-willed ; odd and wild, and unlike other
go to London afterwards. Those are ugly girls of her age. But true as steel, and high-
circumstances, ma'am, viewed by the light of minded and generous to a fault. If the plainest
later events." evidence in the world pointed one way, and if
I ought, I know, to have set him right before nothing but Rachel's word of honour pointed
he went any farther. I ought to have told him the other, I would take her word before the
that he was speaking in ignorance of a testimony evidence, lawyer as I am ! Strong language,
to Mr. Godfrey's innocence, offered by the only Miss Clack ; but I mean it. "
 THE MOONSTONE 91
"Would you object to illustrate your mean- There was nothing in these words which
ing, Mr. Bruff, so that I may be sure I under- made any reply at all needful, on my part—
stand it ? Suppose you found Miss Verinder and yet, I answered them ! It seems hardly
quite unaccountably interested in what has credible that I should not have been able to let
happened to Mr. Ablewhite and Mr. Luker ? Mr. Bruff alone, even now. It seems almost
Suppose she asked the strangest questions beyond mere mortal perversity that I should
about this dreadful scandal , and displayed the have discovered, in what he had just said, a
most ungovernable agitation when she found new opportunity of making myself personally
out the turn it was taking ? " disagreeable to him. But-ah, my friends !
66
Suppose anything you please, Miss Clack, nothing is beyond mortal perversity ; and any-
it wouldn't shake my belief in Rachel Verinder thing is credible when our fallen natures get
by a hair's-breadth." the better of us !
She is so absolutely to be relied on as that?" "Pardon me for intruding on your reflec-
"So absolutely to be relied on as that." tions, " I said to the unsuspecting Mr. Bruff.
" Then permit me to inform you, Mr. Bruff, "But surely there is a conjecture to make
that Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite was in this house which has not occurred to us yet."
66' Maybe,
not two hours since, and that his entire in- Miss Clack. I own I don't know
nocence of all concern in the disappearance of what it is. "
the Moonstone was proclaimed by Miss Verinder " Before I was so fortunate, sir, as to con-
herself, in the strongest language I ever heard vince you of Mr. Ablewhite's innocence, you
used by a young lady in my life. " mentioned it as one of the reasons for suspect-
I enjoyed the triumph-the unholy triumph, ing him, that he was in the house at the time
I fear, I must admit - of seeing Mr. Bruff when the Diamond was lost. Permit me to
utterly confounded and overthrown by a few remind you that Mr. Franklin Blake was also
plain words from Me. He started to his feet, in the house at the time when the Diamond
and stared at me in silence. I kept my seat, was lost. "
undisturbed, and related the whole scene as it The old worldling left the window, took a
had occurred. " And what do you say about chair exactly opposite to mine, and looked at
Mr. Ablewhite now ? " I asked, with the utmost me steadily, with a hard and vicious smile.
possible gentleness, as soon as I had done. "You are not so good a lawyer, Miss Clack,"
"If Rachel has testified to his innocence, he remarked in a meditative manner, 66 as I sup
Miss Clack, I don't scruple to say that I believe posed. You don't know how to let well alone."
in his innocence as firmly as you do. I have "I am afraid I fail to follow you, Mr. Bruff,"
been misled by appearances, like the rest of the I said modestly.
world ; and I will make the best atonement " It won't do, Miss Clack-it really won't do
I can, by publicly contradicting the scandal a second time. Franklin Blake is a prime
which has assailed your friend wherever I meet favourite of mine, as you are well aware. But
with it. In the meantime, allow me to con- that doesn't matter. I'll adopt your view, on
gratulate you on the masterly manner in which this occasion, before you have time to turn
you have opened the full fire of your batteries round on me. You're quite right, ma'am. I
on me at the moment when I least expected have suspected Mr. Ablewhite, on grounds
it. You would have done great things in my which abstractedly justify suspecting Mr. Blake
profession, ma'am, if you had happened to be too. Very good- let's suspect them together.
a man. "" It's quite in his character, we will say, to be
With those words he turned away from me, capable of stealing the Moonstone. The only
and began walking irritably up and down the question is, whether it was his interest to do so.
room . " Mr. Franklin Blake's debts," I remarked ,
66
I could see plainly that the new light I had are matters of family notoriety."
thrown on the subject had greatly surprised and "And Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite's debts have
disturbed him . Certain expressions dropped not arrived at that stage of development yet.
from his lips, as he became more and more ab- Quite true. But there happen to be two
sorbed in his own thoughts, which suggested difficulties in the way of your theory, Miss
to my mind the abominable view that he had Clack. I manage Franklin Blake's affairs,
hitherto taken of the mystery of the lost Moon- and I beg to inform you that the vast majority
stone. He had not scrupled to suspect dear of his creditors (knowing his father to be a
Mr. Godfrey of the infamy of stealing the Dia- rich man) are quite content to charge interest
mond, and to attribute Rachel's conduct to a on their debts, and to wait for their money.
generous resolution to conceal the crime. On There is the first difficulty- which is tough
Miss Verinder's own authority - a perfectly enough. You will find the second tougher
unassailable authority, as you are aware, in still. I have it, on the authority of Lady
the estimation of Mr. Bruff- that explanation Verinder herself, that her daughter was ready
of the circumstances was now shown to be to marry Franklin Blake, before that infernal
utterly wrong. The perplexity into which I Indian Diamond disappeared from the house.
had plunged this high legal authority was so She had drawn him on and put him off again,
overwhelming that he was quite unable to con- with the coquetry of a young girl. But she
ceal it from notice. " What a case ! " I heard had confessed to her mother that she loved
him say to himself, stopping at the window in cousin Franklin, and her mother had trusted
his walk, and drumming on the glass with his cousin Franklin with the secret. So there he
fingers. "It not only defies explanation, it's was, Miss Clack, with his creditors content
even beyond conjecture." to wait, and with the certain prospect before
92 THE MOONSTONE

him of marrying an heiress . By all means stone a plain disclosure, not only of the turn
consider him a scoundrel ; but tell me, if you which suspicion took, but even of the names
please, why he should steal the Moonstone ? " of the persons on whom suspicion rested, at
"The human heart is unsearchable, " I said the time when the Indian Diamond was be-
gently. " Who is to fathom it ?" lieved to be in London. A report of my
"In other words, ma'am- though he hadn't conversation in the library with Mr. Bruff
the shadow of a reason for taking the Diamond appeared to me to be exactly what was
-he might have taken it, nevertheless, through wanted to answer this purpose-while, at the
natural depravity. "" Very well. Say he did. same time, it possessed the great moral ad-
Why the devil- vantage of rendering a sacrifice of sinful self-
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Bruff. If I hear esteem essentially necessary on my part. I
the devil referred to in that manner, I must have been obliged to acknowledge that my
leave the room. fallen nature got the better of me. In making
" I beg your pardon, Miss Clack-I'll be that humiliating confession, I get the better
more careful in my choice of language for the of my fallen nature. The moral balance is
future. All I meant to ask was this. Why restored ; the spiritual atmosphere feels clear
-even supposing he did take the Diamond once more. Dear friends, we may go on
should Franklin Blake make himself the most again.
prominent person in the house, in trying to
recover it ? You may tell me he cunningly
did that to divert suspicion from himself. I CHAPTER IV
answer that he had no need to divert suspicion
--because nobody suspected him. He first THE signing of the Will was a much shorter
steals the Moonstone (without the slightest matter than I had anticipated. It was
reason) through natural depravity ; and he hurried over, to my thinking, in indecent
then acts a part, in relation to the loss of the haste. Samuel, the footman, was sent for to
jewel, which there is not the slightest necessity act as second witness-and the pen was put
to act, and which leads to his mortally offend- at once into my aunt's hand. I felt strongly
ing the young lady who would otherwise have urged to say a few appropriate words on this
married him. That is the monstrous propo- solemn occasion. But Mr. Bruff's manner
sition which you are driven to assert, if you convinced me that it was wisest to check the
attempt to associate the disappearance of the impulse while he was in the room. In less
Moonstone with Franklin Blake. No, no, than two minutes it was all over-and Samuel
Miss Clack ! After what has passed here (unbenefited by what I might have said) had
to-day, between us two, the deadlock, in this gone downstairs again.
case, is complete. Rachel's own innocence is Mr. Bruff folded up the Will, and then looked
(as her mother knows, and as I know) beyond my way ; apparently wondering whether I did
a doubt. Mr. Ablewhite's innocence is equally or did not mean to leave him alone with my
certain or Rachel would never have testified aunt. I had my mission of mercy to fulfil,
to it. And Franklin Blake's innocence, as and my bag of precious publications ready on
you have just seen, unanswerably asserts itself. my lap. He might as well have expected to
On the one hand, we are morally certain of move St. Paul's Cathedral by looking at it,
all these things. And, on the other hand, we as to move me. There was one merit about
are equally sure that somebody has brought him (due no doubt to his worldly training)
the Moonstone to London, and that Mr. Luker, which I have no wish to deny. He was quick
or his banker, is in private possession of it at at seeing things. I appeared to produce
this moment. What is the use of my ex- almost the same impression on him which I
perience, what is the use of any person's ex- had produced on the cabman. He too uttered
perience, in such a case as that ? It baffles a profane expression, and withdrew in a violent
me ; it baffles you ; it baffles everybody." hurry, and left me mistress of the field.
No-not everybody. It had not baffled As soon as we were alone, my aunt reclined
Sergeant Cuff. I was about to mention this, on the sofa, and then alluded, with some ap-
with all possible mildness, and with every pearance of confusion, to the subject of her
necessary protest against being supposed to Will.
cast a slur upon Rachel- when the servant " I hope you won't think yourself neglected ,
came in to say that the doctor had gone, and Drusilla," she said. " I mean to give you your
that my aunt was waiting to receive us. little legacy, my dear, with my own hand.'
This stopped the discussion. Mr. Bruff col- Here was a golden opportunity ! I seized
lected his papers, looking a little exhausted it on the spot. In other words, I instantly
by the demands which our conversation had opened my bag, and took out the top publica-
made on him. I took up my bagful of pre- tion. It proved to be an early edition-only the
cious publications, feeling as if I could have twenty-fifth-of the famous anonymous work
gone on talking for hours. We proceeded in (believed to be by precious Miss Bellows),
silence to Lady Verinder's room. entitled " The Serpent at Home." The design
Permit me to add here, before my narrative of the book-with which the worldly reader
advances to other events, that I have not may not be acquainted—is to show how the
described what passed between the lawyer Evil One lies in wait for us in all the most
and me, without having a definite object in apparently innocent actions of our daily lives.
view. I am ordered to include in my con- The chapters best adapted to female perusal
tribution to the shocking story of the Moon- are " Satan in the Hair Brush ; " " Satan behind
 THE MOONSTONE 93
""
the Looking- Glass ; " Satan under the Tea every now and then, and going to look at
Table ; " Satan out of the Window "--and them and smell them. A new idea flashed
many others. across my mind. " Oh ! may I take a flower ? "
" Give your attention, dear aunt, to this I said-and got to the window unsuspected,
precious book and you will give me all I in that way. Instead of taking away a flower,
ask." With those words, I handed it to her I added one, in the shape of another book
open, at a marked passage-one continuous from my bag, which I left, to surprise my
burst of burning eloquence ! Subject : Satan aunt, among the geraniums and roses. The
among the Sofa Cushions. happy thought followed, " Why not do the
Poor Lady Verinder (reclining thoughtlessly same for her, poor dear, in every other room
on her own sofa cushions) glanced at the book, that she enters ? " I immediately said good-
and handed it back to me looking more con- bye ; and, crossing the hall, slipped into the
fused than ever. library. Samuel, coming up to let me out,
“ I'm afraid, Drusilla," she said, " I must and supposing I had gone, went downstairs
wait till I am a little better, before I can read again. On the library table I noticed two
that. The doctor- of the "' amusing books " which the infidel
The moment she mentioned the doctor's doctor had recommended. I instantly covered
name, I knew what was coming. Over and them from sight with two of my own precious
over again in my past experience among my publications. In the breakfast-room I found
perishing fellow-creatures, the members of the my aunt's favourite canary singing in his cage.
notoriously infidel profession of Medicine had She was always in the habit of feeding the
stepped between me and my mission of mercy bird herself. Some groundsel was strewed
-on the miserable pretence that the patient on a table which stood immediately under
wanted quiet, and that the disturbing influ- the cage. I put a book among the groundsel.
ence of all others which they most dreaded , In the drawing - room I found more cheering
was the influence of Miss Clack and her Books. opportunities of emptying my bag. My aunt's
Precisely the same blinded materialism (work- favourite musical pieces were on the piano.
ing treacherously behind my back) now sought I slipped in two more books among the music.
to rob me of the only right of property that I disposed of another in the back drawing-
my poverty could claim-my right of spiritual room, under some unfinished embroidery, which
property in my perishing aunt. I knew to be of Lady Verinder's working.
" The doctor tells me," my poor misguided A third little room opened out of the back
relative went on, " that I am not so well to- | drawing-room, from which it was shut off by
day. He forbids me to see any strangers ; curtains instead of a door. My aunt's plain
and he orders me, if I read at all, only to read old-fashioned fan was on the chimney-piece.
the lightest and the most amusing books. 'Do I opened my ninth book at a very special
nothing, Lady Verinder, to weary your head, passage, and put the fan in as a marker, to
or to quicken your pulse ' -those were his last keep the place. The question then came,
words, Drusilla, when he left me to- day." whether I should go higher still, and try the
There was no help for it but to yield again bed-room floor-at the risk, undoubtedly, of
—for the moment only, as before. Any open being insulted, if the person with the cap-
assertion of the infinitely superior importance ribbons happened to be in the upper regions
of such a ministry as mine, compared with of the house, and to find me out. But oh,
the ministry of the medical man, would only what of that ? It is a poor Christian that is
have provoked the doctor to practice on the afraid of being insulted. I went upstairs,
human weakness of his patient, and to threaten prepared to bear anything. All was silent
to throw up the case. Happily, there are more and solitary- it was the servants' tea-time, I
ways than one of sowing the good seed, and suppose. My aunt's room was in front. The
few persons are better versed in those ways miniature of my late dear uncle, Sir John,
than myself. hung on the wall opposite the bed. It seemed
" You might feel stronger, dear, in an hour to smile at me ; it seemed to say, " Drusilla !
or two," I said. " Or you might wake, to- deposit a book." There were tables on either
morrow morning, with a sense of something side of my aunt's bed. She was a bad sleeper,
wanting, and even this unpretending volume and wanted , or thought she wanted, many
might be able to supply it. You will let me things at night. I put a book near the
leave the book, aunt ? The doctor can hardly matches on one side, and a book under the
object to that ! " box of chocolate drops on the other. Whether
I slipped it under the sofa cushions, half in she wanted a light, or whether she wanted a
and half out, close by her handkerchief and drop, there was a precious publication to meet
her smelling bottle. Every time her hand her eye, or to meet her hand, and to say with
searched for either of these, it would touch silent eloquence, in either case, " Come, try
the book ; and sooner or later (who knows ?) me ! try me ! " But one book was now left at
the book might touch her. After making this the bottom of my bag, and but one apartment
arrangement, I thought it wise to withdraw. was still unexplored -the bath-room, which.
" Let me leave you to repose,"" dear aunt ; I opened out of the bed-room. I peeped in ; and
will call again to-morrow. ' I looked acci- the holy inner voice that never deceives, whis-
dentally towards the window as I said that. pered to me, " You have met her, Drusilla,
It was full of flowers, in boxes and pots. everywhere else ; meet her at the bath, and the
Lady Verinder was extravagantly fond of these work is done.” I observed a dressing-gown
perishable treasures, and had a habit of rising thrown across a chair. It had a pocket in it,
94 THE MOONSTONE

and in that pocket I put my last book. Can again, with some anxious thoughts to occupy
words express my exquisite sense of duty done, me.
when I had slipped out of the house, unsus- We had a special meeting of the Mothers'
pected by any of them, and when I found Small-Clothes-Conversion Society that night,
myself in the street with my empty bag under summoned expressly with a view to obtaining
my arm ? Oh, my worldly friends, pursuing the Mr. Godfrey's advice and assistance. Instead
phantom, Pleasure, through the guilty mazes of sustaining our sisterhood, under an over-
of Dissipation, how easy it is to be happy, if whelming flow of Trousers which quite pros-
you will only be good ! trated our little community, he had arranged to
When I folded up my things that night take coffee in Montagu Square, and to go to a
when I reflected on the true riches which I had ball afterwards ! The afternoon of the next day
scattered with such a lavish hand, from top to had been selected for the Festival of the British-
bottom of the house of my wealthy aunt- I Ladies' - Servants' - Sunday-Sweetheart- Supervi-
declare I felt as free from all anxiety as if I sion Society. Instead of being present, the
had been a child again. I was so light-hearted life and soul of that struggling Institution,
that I sang a verse of the Evening Hymn. I he had engaged to make one of aasked party of
was so light-hearted that I fell asleep before I worldlings at a morning concert ! I my-
could sing another. Quite like a child again ! | self, what did it mean ? Alas ! it meant that
quite like a child again ! our Christian hero was to reveal himself to me
So I passed that blissful night. On rising in a new character, and to become associated
the next morning, how young I felt ! I might in my mind with one of the most awful back-
add, how young I looked, if I were capable of slidings of modern times.
dwelling on the concerns of my own perish- To return, however, to the history of the
able body. But I am not capable -and I passing day. On finding myself alone in my
add nothing. room, I naturally turned my attention to the
Towards luncheon time-not for the sake of parcel which appeared to have so strangely in-
the creature-comforts, but for the certainty of timidated the fresh-coloured young footman.
finding dear aunt-I put on my bonnet to go to Had my aunt sent me my promised legacy ?
Montagu Square. Just as I was ready, the maid and had it taken the form of cast-off clothes,
at the lodgings in which I then lived looked or worn-out silver spoons, or unfashionable
in at the door, and said, 66 Lady Verinder's jewellery, or anything of that sort ? Prepared
servant, to see Miss Clack. " to accept all, and to resent nothing, I opened
I occupied the parlour- floor, at that period the parcel -and what met my view? The
of my residence in London. The front parlour twelve precious publications which I had
was my sitting- room. Very small, very low in scattered through the house on the previous
the ceiling, very poorly furnished-but, oh, so day ; all returned to me by the doctor's orders !
neat ! I looked into the passage to see which Well might the youthful Samuel shrink when
of Lady Verinder's servants had asked for me. he brought his parcel into my room ! Well
It was the young footman, Samuel-a civil might he run when he had performed his
fresh-coloured person, with a teachable look miserable errand ! As to my aunt's letter, it
and a very obliging manner. I had always felt simply amounted , poor soul, to this-that she
a spiritual interest in Samuel, and a wish to try dare not disobey her medical man.
him with a few serious words. On this occasion, What was to be done now ? With my training
I invited him into my sitting-room. and my principles, I never had a moment's doubt.
He came in, with a large parcel under his Once self-supported by conscience, once em-
arm. When he put the parcel down, it appeared barked on a career of manifest usefulness, the
to frighten him. "" My lady's love, Miss ; and true Christian never yields. Neither public
I was to say that you would find a letter inside. " nor private influences produce the slightest
Having given that message, the fresh-coloured effect on us, when we have once got our mis-
young footman surprised me by looking as if he sion. Taxation may be the consequence of a
would have liked to run away. mission ; riots may be the consequence of a
I detained him to make a few kind inquiries. mission ; wars may be the consequence of a
Could I see my aunt, if I called in Montagu mission : we go on with our work, irrespective
Square ? No ; she had gone out for a drive. of every human consideration which moves the
Miss Rachel had gone with her, and Mr. Able- world outside us. We are above reason ; we
white had taken a seat in the carriage, too. are beyond ridicule ; we see with nobody's
Knowing how sadly dear Mr. Godfrey's chari- eyes, we hear with nobody's ears, we feel with
table work was in arrear, I thought it odd that nobody's hearts, but our own. Glorious, glori-
he should be going out driving, like an idle ous privilege! And how is it earned ? Ah, my
man. I stopped Samuel at the door, and made friends, you may spare yourselves the useless
a few more kind inquiries. Miss Rachel was inquiry ! We are the only people who can
going to a ball that night, and Mr. Ablewhite earn it for we are the only people who are
had arranged to come to coffee, and go with always right.
her. There was a morning concert advertised In the case of my misguided aunt, the form
for to-morrow, and Samuel was ordered to take which pious perseverance was next to take
places for a large party, including a place for revealed itself to me plainly enough.
Mr. Ablewhite. " All the tickets may be gone, Preparation by clerical friends had failed,
Miss," said this innocent youth, " if I don't owing to Lady Verinder's own reluctance.
run and get them at once ! " He ran as he Preparation by books had failed, owing to the
said the words-and I found myself alone doctor's infidel obstinacy. So be it ! What was
 THE MOONSTONE 95

the next thing to try ? The next thing to try was I was supposed to be waiting), the active young
-Preparation by Little Notes. In other words, footman was in the hall, answering the door.
the books themselves having been sent back, It mattered little, as I thought. In my aunt's
select extracts from the books, copied by dif- state of health, visitors in general were not
ferent hands, and all addressed as letters to admitted. To my horror and amazement, the
my aunt, were, some to be sent by post, and performer of the soft little knock proved to be
some to be distributed about the house on the an exception to general rules. Samuel's voice
plan I had adopted on the previous day. As below me (after apparently answering some
letters they would excite no suspicion ; as letters questions which I did not hear) said, unmis
they would be opened— and, once opened, might takably, " Upstairs, if you please, sir." The
be read. Some of them I wrote myself. " Dear next moment I heard footsteps-a man's foot-
aunt, may I ask your attention to a few lines ?" steps - approaching the drawing-room floor.
&c. "Dear aunt, I was reading last night, and Who could this favoured male visitor possibly
I chanced on the following passage," &c. Other be ? Almost as soon as I asked myself the
letters were written for me by my valued fellow- question, the answer occurred to me. Who
workers, the sisterhood at the Mothers' Small- could it be but the doctor ?
Clothes. " Dear madam , pardon the interest In the case of any other visitor, I should have
taken in you by a true, though humble, friend." allowed myself to be discovered in the drawing-
"Dear madam, may a serious person surprise room. There would have been nothing out of
you by saying a few cheering words ? " Using the common in my having got tired of the
these and other similar forms of courteous ap- library, and having gone upstairs for a change.
peal, we reintroduced all my precious passages But my own self-respect stood in the way of
under a form which not even the doctor's watch- my meetingthe person who had insulted me by
ful materialism could suspect. Before the sending me back my books. I slipped into the
shades of evening had closed around us, I had little third room, which I have mentioned as
a dozen awakening letters for my aunt, instead communicating with the back drawing-room ,
of a dozen awakening books. Six I made im- and dropped the curtains which closed the open
mediate arrangements for sending through the doorway. If I only waited there for a minute
post, and six I kept in my pocket for personal or two, the usual result in such cases would
distribution in the house the next day. take place. That is to say, the doctor would
Soon after two o'clock I was again on the be conducted to his patient's room.
field of pious conflict, addressing more kind I waited a minute or two, and more than a
inquiries to Samuel at Lady Verinder's door. minute or two. I heard the visitor walking
My aunt had had a bad night. She was restlessly backwards and forwards. I also heard
again in the room in which I had witnessed him talking to himself. I even thought I recog-
her Will, resting on the sofa, and trying to get nised the voice. Had I made a mistake ? Was
å little sleep. it not the doctor, but somebody else ? Mr.
I said I would wait in the library, on the Bruff, for instance ? No ! an unerring instinct
chance of seeing her. In the fervour of my told me it was not Mr. Bruff. Whoever he
zeal to distribute the letters, it never occurred was, he was still talking to himself. I parted
to me to inquire about Rachel. The house the heavy curtains the least little morsel in the
was quiet, and it was past the hour at which world, and listened.
the musical performance began. I took it for The words I heard were, " I'll do it to-day !"
granted that she and her party of pleasure- And the voice that spoke them was Mr. Godfrey
seekers (Mr. Godfrey, alas ! included) were all Ablewhite's.
at the concert, and eagerly devoted myself to
my good work, while time and opportunity
were still at my own disposal. CHAPTER V
My aunt's correspondence of the morning-
including the six awakening letters which I My hand dropped from the curtain. But don't
had posted overnight was lying unopened suppose-oh, don't suppose that the dreadful
on the library table. She had evidently not embarrassment of my situation was the upper-
felt herself equal to dealing with a large mass most idea in my mind ! So fervent still was
of letters- and she might be daunted by the the sisterly interest I felt in Mr. Godfrey, that
number of them, if she entered the library I never stopped to ask myself why he was not
later in the day. I put one of my second set at the concert. No ! I thought only of the
of six letters on the chimney-piece by itself ; words - the startling words -which had just
leaving it to attract her curiosity, by means of fallen from his lips. He would do it to-day.
its solitary position, apart from the rest. A He had said, in a tone of terrible resolution,
second letter I put purposely on the floor in he would do it to-day. What, oh what, would
the breakfast-room . The first servant who he do ! Something even more deplorably un-
went in after me would conclude that my aunt worthy of him than what he had done already ?
had dropped it , and would be specially careful Would he apostatise from the faith ? Would
to restore it to her. The field thus sown on the he abandon us at the Mothers' Small-Clothes ?
basement story, I ran lightly upstairs to scatter Had we seen the last of his angelic smile in the
my mercies next over the drawing-room floor. committee-room ? Had we heard the last of
Just as I entered the front room, I heard a his unrivalled eloquence at Exeter Hall ? I was
double-knock at the street-door-a soft, flutter- so wrought up by the bare idea of such awful
ing, considerate little knock. Before I could eventualities as these in connection with such
think of slipping back to the library ( in which a man, that I believe I should have rushed from
96 THE MOONSTONE

my place of concealment, and implored him "I never paid you a compliment, Rachel, in
in the name of all the Ladies' Committees in my life. Successful love may sometimes use
London to explain himself—when I suddenly the language of flattery, I admit. But hope-
heard another voice in the room. It penetrated less love, dearest, always speaks the truth.'
through the curtains ; it was loud, it was bold, He drew his chair close, and took her hand,
it was wanting in every female charm. The when he said "' hopeless love." There was a
voice of Rachel Verinder ! momentary silence. He, who thrilled every-
"Why have you come up here, Godfrey ? " body, had doubtless thrilled her. I thought I
she asked. 66 Why didn't you go into the now understood the words which had dropped
library ? " from him when he was alone in the drawing-
He laughed softly, and answered, " Miss room, " I'll do it to-day." Alas ! the most
Clack is in the library." rigid propriety could hardly have failed to
"Clack in the library ! " She instantly seated discover that he was doing it now.
herself on the ottoman in the back drawing. "Have you forgotten what we agreed on,
room . " You are quite right, Godfrey. We had Godfrey, when you spoke to me in the country ?
much better stop here." We agreed that we were to be cousins, and
I had been in a burning fever, a moment nothing more."
since, and in some doubt what to do next. I " I break the agreement, Rachel, every time
became extremely cold now, and felt no doubt I see you."
whatever. To show myself, after what I had " Then don't see me."
heard, was impossible. To retreat-except into "Quite useless ! I break the agreement
the fireplace was equally out of the question. every time I think of you. Oh , Rachel ! how
A martyrdom was before me. In justice to kindly you told me, only the other day, that
myself, I noiselessly arranged the curtains so my place in your estimation was a higher place
that I could both see and hear. And then than it had ever been yet ! Am I mad to build
I met my martyrdom, with the spirit of a the hopes I do on those dear words ? Am I
primitive Christian. mad to dream of some future day when your
" Don't sit on the ottoman," the young lady heart may soften to me ? Don't tell me so,
proceeded. " Bring a chair, Godfrey. I like if I am ! Leave me my delusion, dearest ! I
people to be opposite to me when I talk to must have that to cherish, and to comfort me,
them." if I have nothing else ! "
He took the nearest seat. It was a low chair. His voice trembled, and he put his white
He was very tall, and many sizes too large for handkerchief to his eyes. Exeter Hall again !
it. I never saw his legs to such disadvantage Nothing wanting to complete the parallel but
before. the audience, the cheers, and the glass of
"Well ?" she went on. " What did you say water.
to them ? " Even her obdurate nature was touched. I
"Just what you said, dear Rachel, to me." saw her lean a little nearer to him. I heard
" That mamma was not at all well to-day ? a new tone of interest in her next words.
And that I didn't quite like leaving her to go " Are you really sure, Godfrey, that you are
to the concert ? " so fond of me as that ? ”
" Those were the words. They were grieved " Sure ! You know what I was, Rachel.
to lose you at the concert, but they quite Let me tell you what I am. I have lost every
understood. All sent their love ; and all ex- interest in life, but my interest in you. A
pressed a cheering belief that Lady Verinder's transformation has come over me which I can't
indisposition would soon pass away." account for myself. Would you believe it ?
" You don't think it's serious, do you , My charitable business is an unendurable
Godfrey ? nuisance to me ; and when I see a Ladies'
" Far from it ! In a few " days, I feel quite Committee now, I wish myself at the utter-
most ends of the earth ! "
sure, all will be well again.'
" I think so, too. I was a little frightened If the annals of apostacy offer anything com-
at first, but I think so too. It was very kind parable to such a declaration as that, I can
to go and make my excuses for me to people only say that the case in point is not produ-
who are almost strangers to you. But why cible from the stores of my reading. I thought
not have gone with them to the concert ? It of the Mothers' Small-Clothes. I thought of
seems very hard that you should miss the the Sunday- Sweetheart- Supervision. I thought
music too." of the other Societies, too numerous to mention,
" Don't say that, Rachel ! If you only knew all built up on this man as on a tower of strength.
how much happier I am-here, with you ! " I thought of the struggling Female Boards, who,
He clasped his hands, and looked at her. so to speak, drew the breath of their business-
In the position which he occupied , when he life through the nostrils of Mr. Godfrey-of
did that, he turned my way. Can words de- that same Mr. Godfrey who had just reviled our
scribe how I sickened when I noticed exactly good work as a " nuisance "-and just declared
the same pathetic expression on his face, which that he wished he was at the uttermost ends
had charmed me when he was pleading for of the earth when he found himself in our
destitute millions of his fellow-creatures on company ! My young female friends will feel
the platform at Exeter Hall ! encouraged to persevere, when I mention that
" It's hard to get over one's bad habits, it tried even my discipline before I could de-
Godfrey. But do try to get over the habit vour my own righteous indignation in silence.
of paying compliments-do, to please me. " At the same time, it is only justice to myself
 THE MOONSTONE 97

to add, that I didn't lose a syllable of the con- ask me any more ! Let's change the subject.
versation. Rachel was the next to speak. Are you doctor enough, Godfrey, to tell me
"You have made your confession, " she said. why I feel as if I was stifling for want of
"I wonder whether it would cure you of your breath ? Is there a form of hysterics that
unhappy attachment to me, if I made mine ?" bursts into words instead of tears ? I dare
He started. I confess I started too. He say ! What does it matter ? You will get over
thought, and I thought, that she was about any trouble I have caused you, easily enough
to divulge the mystery of the Moonstone. now. I have dropped to my right place in
"Would you think, to look at me," she your estimation, haven't I ? Don't notice me !
went on, "that I am the wretchedest girl Don't pity me ! For God's sake, go away ! "
living ? It's true, Godfrey. What greater She turned round on a sudden, and beat her
wretchedness can there be than to live de- hands wildly on the back of the ottoman. Her
graded in your own estimation ? That is my head dropped on the cushions ; and she burst
life now.' out crying. Before I had time to feel shocked
"My dear Rachel ! it's impossible you can at this, I was horror-struck by an entirely un-
have any
"" reason to speak of yourself in that expected proceeding on the part of Mr. God-
way! frey. Will it be credited that he fell on his
" How do you know I have no reason ? " knees at her feet ?-on both knees, I solemnly
" Can you ask me the question ! I know it, declare ! May modesty mention that he put
because I know you. Your silence, dearest, his arms round her neck ? And may reluctant
has never lowered you in the estimation of admiration acknowledge that he electrified her
your true friends. The disappearance of your with two words ?
precious birthday gift may seem strange ; your "Noble creature ! "
unexplained connection with that event may No more than that ! But he did it with one
seem stranger still- "" of the bursts which have made his fame as a
" Are you speaking of the Moonstone, God- public speaker. She sat, either quite thunder-
frey ? " struck, or quite fascinated-I don't know which
" I certainly thought that you referred- -without even making an effort to put his
" I referred to nothing of the sort. I can arms back where his arms ought to have been.
hear of the loss of the Moonstone, let who will As for me, my sense of propriety was com-
speak of it, without feeling degraded in my pletely bewildered . I was so painfully uncer-
own estimation. If the story of the Diamond tain whether it was my first duty to close my
ever comes to light, it will be known that I eyes, or to stop my ears, that I did neither. I
accepted a dreadful responsibility ; it will be attribute my being still able to hold the curtain
known that I involved myself in the keeping in the right position for looking and listening ,
of a miserable secret-but it will be as clear entirely to suppressed hysterics. In suppressed
as the sun at noonday that I did nothing mean ! hysterics, it is admitted, even by the doctors,
You have misunderstood me, Godfrey. It's my that one must hold something.
fault for not speaking more plainly. Cost me " Yes," he said, with all the fascination of
what it may, I will be plainer now. Suppose his own evangelical voice and manner, " you
you were not in love with me ? Suppose you are a noble creature ! A woman who can
were in love with some other woman ?" speak the truth , for the truth's own sake-a
" Yes ?" woman who will sacrifice her pride, rather than
' Suppose you discovered that woman to be sacrifice an honest man who loves her- is the
utterly unworthy of you ? Suppose you were most priceless of all treasures. When such a
quite convinced that it was a disgrace to you woman marries, if her husband only wins her
to waste another thought on her ? Suppose the esteem and regard, he wins enough to ennoble
bare idea of ever marrying such a person made his whole life. You have spoken, dearest, of
your face burn, only with thinking of it ? " your place in my estimation. Judge what that
" Yes ?" place is when I implore you, on my knees, to
" And, suppose, in spite of all that you let the cure of your poor wounded heart be my
couldn't tear her from your heart ? Suppose care. Rachel will you honour me, will you
the feeling she had roused in you (in the time bless me, by being my wife ? "
when you believed in her) was not a feeling to By this time I should certainly have decided
be hidden ? Suppose the love this wretch had on stopping my ears, if Rachel had not encou-
inspired in you ? Oh, how can I find words raged me to keep them open, by answering him
to say it in ! How can I make a man under- in the first sensible words I had ever heard fall
stand that a feeling which horrifies me at from her lips.
myself, can be a feeling that fascinates me at " Godfrey ! " she said, " you must be mad ! "
the same time ? It's the breath of my life, " I never spoke more reasonably, dearest- in
Godfrey, and it's the poison that kills me your interests , as well as in mine. Look for a
both in one ! Go away ! I must be out of my moment to the future. Is your happiness to
mind to talk as I am talking now. No ! you be sacrificed to a man who has never known
mustn't leave me-you mustn't carry away a how you feel towards him, and whom you are
wrong impression. I must say, what is to be resolved never to see again ? Is it not your
said in my own defence. Mind this ! He duty to yourself to forget this ill-fated attach-
doesn't know he never will know, what I have ment ? and is forgetfulness to be found in the
told you. I will never see him-I don't care life you are leading now ? You have tried that
what happens-I will never, never, never see life, and you are wearying of it already. Sur-
him again ! Don't ask me his name Don't round yourself with nobler interests than the
Bayerische D
Staatsbibliothek
MÜNCHEN
 TONE
98 THE MOONS

wretched interests of the world. A heart that more. Your own eyes have seen the result.
loves and honours you ; a home whose peaceful Is there no encouragement in it for you and
claims and happy duties win gently on you for me ? " *
day by day-try the consolation , Rachel, which " You won't hurry me, Godfrey ? "
is to be found there ! I don't ask for your love 'My time shall be yours."
-I will be content with your affection and " You won't ask me for more than I can
regard. Let the rest be left, confidently left, give ?"
to your husband's devotion, and to Time that " My angel ! I only ask you to give me
heals even wounds as deep as yours." yourself."
She began to yield already. Oh, what a " Take me ! "
bringing-up she must have had ! Oh, how In those two words she accepted him !
differently I should have acted in her place ! He had another burst- a burst of unholy
" Don't tempt me, Godfrey," she said ; "I rapture this time. He drew her nearer and
am wretched enough and reckless enough as it nearer to him till her face touched his ; and
is. Don't tempt me to be more wretched and then- -No I really cannot prevail upon
more reckless still !" myself to carry this shocking disclosure any
" One question , Rachel. Have you any farther. Let me only say, that I tried to close
personal objection to me ? " my eyes before it happened, and that I was
" I! I always liked you. After what you just one moment too late. I had calculated,
have just said to me, I should be insensible you see, on her resisting. She submitted. To
indeed if I didn't respect and admire you as every right- feeling person of my own sex,
well." volumes could say no more.
" Do you know many wives, my dear Rachel, Even my innocence in such matters began to
who respect and admire their husbands ? And see its way to the end of the interview now.
yet they and their husbands get on very well. They understood each other so thoroughly by
How many brides go to the altar with hearts this time, that I fully expected to see them
that would bear inspection by the men who walk off together, arm in arm, to be married.
take them there ? And yet it doesn't end un- There appeared, however, judging by Mr.
happily-somehow or other the nuptial estab- Godfrey's next words, to be one more trifling
lishment jogs on. The truth is, that women formality which it was necessary to observe.
try marriage as a Refuge, far more numerously He seated himself-unforbidden this time- on
than they are willing to admit ; and, what is the ottoman by her side. " Shall I speak to
more, they find that marriage has justified your dear mother ? " he asked. " Or will
their confidence in it. Look at your own case you ? "
once again. At your age, and with your attrac- She declined both alternatives.
tions, is it possible for you to sentence yourself " Let my mother hear nothing from either of
to a single life ? Trust my knowledge of the us, until she is better. I wish it to be kept a
world-nothing is less possible. It is merely secret for the present, Godfrey. Go now, and
a question of time. You may marry some come back this evening. We have been here
other man, some years hence. Or you may alone together quite long enough. "
marry the man, dearest, who is now at your She rose, and, in rising, looked for the first
feet, and who prizes your respect and admira- time towards the little room in which my
tion above the love of any other woman on the martyrdom was going on.
face of the earth." "Who has drawn those curtains ? " she ex-
"" claimed. " The room is close enough, as it is ,
' Gently, Godfrey ! you are putting some-
thing into my head which I never thought of without keeping the air out of it in that way."
before. You are tempting me with a new She advanced to the curtains. At the moment
prospect, when all my other prospects are when she laid her hand on them-at the mo-
closed before me. I tell you again, I am miser- ment when the discovery of me appeared to be
able enough and desperate enough, if you say quite inevitable--the voice of the fresh-coloured
another word, to marry you on your own terms. young footman, on the stairs, suddenly sus
Take the warning, and go ! " pended any further proceedings on her side or
" I won't even rise from my knees till you on mine. It was unmistakably the voice of a
have said yes ! " man in great alarm.
" If I say yes you will repent, and I shall " Miss Rachel ! " he called out, " where are
repent, when it is too late ! " you, Miss Rachel ? "
" We shall both bless the day, darling, when She sprang back from the curtains, and ran
I pressed, and when you yielded." to the door.
" Do you feel as confidently as you speak ? " The footman came just inside the room. His
'You shall judge for yourself. I speak from ruddy colour was all gone. He said, " Please
what I have seen in my own family. Tell me to come downstairs, Miss ! My lady has fainted,
what you think of our household at Frizing- and we can't bring her to again."
hall. Do my father and mother live unhappily In a moment more I was alone, and free to
together ? " go downstairs in my turn, quite unobserved.
Far from it so far as I can see." Mr. Godfrey passed me in the hall, hurrying
"When my mother was a girl, Rachel (it is out, to fetch the doctor. "Go in, and help
no secret in the family), she had loved as you them ! " he said, pointing to the room. Ifound
love-she had given her heart to a man who Rachel on her knees by the sofa, with her
was unworthy of her. She married my father,
respecting him, admiring him, but nothing * See Betteredge's Narrative, Chapter VIII.
 THE MOONSTONE 99

mother's head on her bosom. One look at my persons who can write in the capacity of
aunt's face (knowing what I knew) was enough actual witnesses."
to warn me of the dreadful truth. I kept my (5.) " Miss Clack is extremely sorry to trouble
thoughts to myself till the doctor came in. It Mr. Franklin Blake with another letter. Her
was not long before he arrived. He began by Extracts have been returned, and the expres-
sending Rachel out of the room-and then he sion of her matured views on the subject of
told the rest of us that Lady Verinder was no the Moonstone has been forbidden. Miss Clack
more. Serious persons, in search of proofs of is painfully conscious that she ought (in the
hardened scepticism, may be interested in hear- worldly phrase) to feel herself put down. But,
ing that he showed no signs of remorse when no-Miss C. has learnt Perseverance in the
he looked at me. School of Adversity. Her object in writing
At a later hour I peeped into the breakfast is to know whether Mr. Blake (who prohibits
room, and the library. My aunt had died everything else) prohibits the appearance of
without opening one of the letters which I had the present correspondence in Miss Clack's
addressed to her, I was so shocked at this, narrative ? Some explanation of the position
that it never occurred to me, until some days in which Mr. Blake's interference has placed
afterwards, that she had also died without her as an authoress, seems due on the ground
giving me my little legacy. of common justice. And Miss Clack, on her
side, is most anxious that her letters should be
produced to speak for themselves."39
(6. ) " Mr. Franklin Blake agrees to Miss
CHAPTER VI Clack's proposal, on the understanding that
she will kindly consider this intimation of his
(1.) " MISS CLACK presents her compliments consent as closing the correspondence between
to Mr. Franklin Blake ; and, in sending him them."
the fifth chapter of her humble narrative, begs (7.) " Miss Clack feels it an act of Christian
to say that she feels quite unequal to enlarge duty (before the correspondence closes) to in-
as she could wish on an event so awful, under form Mr. Franklin Blake that his last letter
the circumstances, as Lady Verinder's death. -evidently intended to offend her has not
She has, therefore, attached to her own manu- succeeded in accomplishing the object of the
script, copious Extracts from precious publica- writer. She affectionately requests Mr. Blake
tions in her possession, all bearing on this to retire to the privacy of his own room, and
terrible subject. And may those Extracts to consider with himself whether the training
( Miss Clack fervently hopes) sound as the which can thus elevate a poor weak woman
blast of a trumpet in the ears of her respected above the reach of insult, be not worthy of
kinsman, Mr. Franklin Blake." greater admiration than he is now disposed to
(2.) " Mr. Franklin Blake presents his com- feel for it. On being favoured with an inti-
pliments to Miss Clack, and begs to thank mation to that effect, Miss C. solemnly pledges
her for the fifth chapter of her narrative. In herself to send back the complete series of her
returning the Extracts sent with it, he will Extracts to Mr. Franklin Blake."
refrain from mentioning any personal objection [ To this letter no answer was received.
which he may entertain to this species of Comment is needless.
literature, and will merely say that the pro- (Signed) DRUSILLA CLACK. ]
posed additions to the manuscript are not
necessary to the fulfilment of the purpose that
he has in view.'
(3.) " Miss Clack begs to acknowledge the CHAPTER VII
return of her Extracts. She affectionately
reminds Mr. Franklin Blake that she is a THE foregoing correspondence will sufficiently
Christian, and that it is, therefore, quite im- explain why no choice is left to me but to pass
possible for him to offend her. Miss C. persists over Lady Verinder's death with the simple
in feeling the deepest interest in Mr. Blake, announcement of the fact which ends my fifth
and pledges herself, on the first occasion when chapter.
sickness may lay him low, to offer him the use Keeping myself for the future strictly within
of her Extracts for the second time. In the the limits of my own personal experience, I
meanwhile she would be glad to know, before have next to relate that a month elapsed from
beginning the final chapters of her narra- the time of my aunt's decease before Rachel
tive, whether she may be permitted to make Verinder and I met again. That meeting was
her humble contribution complete, by availing the occasion of my spending a few days under
herself of the light which later discoveries the same roof with her. In the course of my
have thrown on the mystery of the Moon- visit, something happened, relating to her mar-
stone." riage-engagement with Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite,
(4.) " Mr. Franklin Blake is sorry to dis- which is important enough to require special
appoint Miss Clack, He can only repeat the notice in these pages. When this last of many
instructions which he had the honour of giving painful family circumstances has been disclosed,
her when she began her narrative. She is re- my task will be completed ; for I shall then
quested to limit herself to her own individual have told all that I know, as an actual (and
experience of persons and events, as recorded most unwilling) witness of events.
in her diary. Later discoveries she will be Myaunt's remains were removed from London,
good enough to leave to the pens of those and were buried in the little cemetery attached
100 THE MOONSTONE

to the church in her own park. I was invited | nished house at Brighton by stopping at a hotel
to the funeral with the rest of the family. But in London, composing herself on a sofa, and
it was impossible (with my religious views) to sending for her son. She discovered the neces-
rouse myself in a few days only from the shock sary servants by breakfasting in bed one morning
which this death had caused me. I was in- (still at the hotel), and giving her maid a holiday
formed, moreover, that the rector of Frizinghall on condition that the girl " would begin enjoy-
was to read the service. Having myself in past ing herself by fetching Miss Clack. " I found
times seen this clerical castaway making one her placidly fanning herself in her dressing-
of the players at Lady Verinder's whist-table, I gown at eleven o'clock. " Drusilla, dear, I want
doubt, even if I had been fit to travel, whether some servants. You are so clever- please get
I should have felt justified in attending the them for me." I looked round the untidy room .
ceremony. The church-bells were going for a week- day
Lady Verinder's death left her daughter service ; they suggested a word of affectionate
under the care of her brother-in-law, Mr. Able- remonstrance on my part. ' Oh, aunt ! " I said
white the elder. He was appointed guardian sadly. " Is this worthy of a Christian English-
by the will, until his niece married, or came of woman ? Is the passage from time to eternity
age. Under these circumstances, Mr. Godfrey to be made in this manner ? " My aunt an-
informed his father, I suppose, of the new re- swered, " I'll put on my gown, Drusilla, if you
lation in which he stood towards Rachel. At will be kind enough to help me." What was to
any rate, in ten days from my aunt's death, the be said after that ? I have done wonders with
secret of the marriage-engagement was no secret murderesses-I have never advanced an inch
at all within the circle of the family, and the with Aunt Ablewhite. " Where is the list," I""
grand question for Mr. Ablewhite senior-an- | asked, " of the servants whom you require ?
other confirmed castaway !-was how to make My aunt shook her head ; she hadn't even
himself and his authority most agreeable to the energy enough to keep the list. " Rachel ""has
wealthy young lady who was going to marry got it, dear," she said, " in the next room. I
his son . went into the next room, and so saw Rachel
Rachel gave him some trouble at the outset, again, for the first time since we had parted in
about the choice of a place in which she Montagu Square.
could be prevailed upon to reside. The house She looked pitiably small and thin in her
in Montagu Square was associated with the deep mourning. If I attached any serious im-
calamity of her mother's death. The house in portance to such a perishable trifle as personal
Yorkshire was associated with the scandalous appearance, I might be inclined to add that
affair of the lost Moonstone. Her guardian's hers was one of those unfortunate complexions
own residence at Frizinghall was open to neither which always suffers when not relieved by a
of these objections. But Rachel's presence in border of white next the skin. But what are
it, after her recent bereavement, operated as a our complexions and our looks ? Hindrances
check on the gaieties of her cousins, the Miss and pitfalls, dear girls, which beset us on our
Ablewhites -and she herself requested that her way to higher things ! Greatly to my surprise,
visit might be deferred to a more favourable Rachel rose when I entered the room , and
opportunity. It ended in a proposal, emanating came forward to meet me with outstretched
from old Mr. Ablewhite, to try a furnished house hand.
at Brighton. His wife, an invalid daughter, and " I am glad to see you, " she said. " Drusilla,
Rachel were to inhabit it together, and were to I have been in the habit of speaking very
expect him to join them later in the season. foolishly and very rudely to you, on former
They would see no society but a few old friends, occasions. I beg your pardon. I hope you
and they would have his son Godfrey, travelling will forgive me.”
backwards and forwards by the London train, My face, I suppose, betrayed the astonishment
always at their disposal. I felt at this. She coloured up for a moment,
I describe this aimless flitting about from one and then proceeded to explain herself.
place of residence to another- this insatiate " In my poor mother's lifetime," she went
restlessness of body and appalling stagnation on, " her friends were not always my friends,
of soul- merely with the view to arriving at too. Now I have lost her, my heart turns for
results. The event which (under Providence) comfort to the people she liked. She liked
proved to be the means of bringing Rachel you. Try "" to be friends with me, Drusilla, if
Verinder and myself together again, was no you can."
other than the hiring of the house at Brighton. To any rightly-constituted mind , the motive
My Aunt Ablewhite is a large, silent, fair- thus acknowledged was simply shocking. Here
complexioned woman, with one noteworthy in Christian England was a young woman in
point in her character. From the hour of her a state of bereavement, with so little idea of
birth she has never been known to do anything where to look for true comfort, that she actually
for herself. She has gone through life, accept- expected to find it among her mother's friends !
ing everybody's help, and adopting everybody's Here was a relative of mine, awakened to a
opinions. Amore hopeless person, in a spiritual sense of her shortcomings towards others, under
point of view, I have never met with- there is the influence, not of conviction and duty, but
absolutely, in this perplexing case, no obstructive of sentiment and impulse ! Most deplorable
material to work upon. Aunt Ablewhite would to think of-but, still, suggestive of something
listen to the Grand Lama of Thibet exactlyas she hopeful, to a person of my experience in ply-
listens to me, and would reflect his views quite as ing the good work. There could be no harm,
readily as she reflects mine, She found the fur- I thought, in ascertaining the extent of the
 THE MOONSTONE ΙΟΙ

change which the loss of her mother had In those words the invitation was given,
wrought in Rachel's character. I decided, as and the glorious prospect of interference was
a useful test, to probe her on the subject of opened before me.
her marriage-engagement to Mr. Godfrey Able- It was then the middle of the week. By
white. Saturday afternoon the house was ready for
Having first met her advances with all pos- them. In that short interval I had sifted, not
sible cordiality, I sat by her on the sofa, at her the characters only, but the religious views
own request. We discussed family affairs and as well, of all the disengaged servants who
future plans-always excepting that one future applied to me, and had succeeded in making
plan which was to end in her marriage. Try a selection which my conscience approved. I
as I might to turn the conversation that way, also discovered, and called on, two serious
she resolutely declined to take the hint. Any friends of mine, residents in the town, to
open reference to the question, on my part, whom I knew I could confide the pious object
would have been premature at this early stage which had brought me to Brighton. One of
of our reconciliation. Besides, I had dis- them-a clerical friend- kindly helped me to
covered all I wanted to know. She was no take sittings for our little party in the church
longer the reckless, defiant creature whom I in which he himself ministered. The other--
had heard and seen, on the occasion of my a single lady, like myself - placed the re-
martyrdom in Montagu Square. This was, of sources of her library (composed throughout of
itself, enough to encourage me to take her precious publications) entirely at my disposal.
future conversion in hand-beginning with a I borrowed half-a-dozen works, all carefully
few words of earnest warning directed against chosen with a view to Rachel. When these
the hasty formation of the marriage tie, and had been judiciously distributed in the various
so getting on to higher things. Looking at rooms she would be likely to occupy, I con-
her, now, with this new interest -and calling sidered that my preparations were complete.
to mind the headlong suddenness with which Sound doctrine in the servants who waited
she had met Mr. Godfrey's matrimonial views on her ; sound doctrine in the minister who
-I felt the solemn duty of interfering, with preached to her ; sound doctrine in the books
a fervour which assured me that I should that lay on her table- such was the treble
achieve no common results. Rapidity of pro- welcome which my zeal had prepared for the
ceeding was, as I believed, of importance in motherless girl ! A heavenly composure filled
this case. I went back at once to the ques- my mind, on that Saturday afternoon , as I
tion of the servants wanted for the furnished sat at the window waiting the arrival of my
house. relatives. The giddy throng passed and re-
"Where is the list, dear ? ” passed before my eyes. Alas ! how many of
Rachel produced it. them felt my exquisite sense of duty done ?
" Cook, kitchen-maid, housemaid, and foot- An awful question. Let us not pursue it.
man," I read. " My dear Rachel, these ser- Between six and seven the travellers ar-
vants are only wanted for a term the term rived. To my indescribable surprise, they were
during which your guardian has taken the escorted, not by Mr. Godfrey (as I had antici-
house. We shall have great difficulty in finding pated ), but by the lawyer, Mr. Bruff.
persons of character and capacity to accept a " How do you do, Miss Clack ? " he said.
temporary engagement of that sort, if we try "I mean to stay this time."
in London. Has the house in Brighton been That reference to the occasion on which I
found yet ?" had obliged him to postpone his business to
"Yes. Godfrey has taken it ; and persons mine, when we were both visiting in Montagu
in the house wanted him to hire them as ser- Square, satisfied me that the old worldling had
vants. He thought they would hardly do for come to Brighton with some object of his own
us, and came back having settled nothing." in view. I had prepared quite a little Para-
" And you have no experience yourself in dise for my beloved Rachel and here was the
these matters, Rachel ? " Serpent already !
"None whatever." 'Godfrey was very much vexed, Drusilla,
"And Aunt Ablewhite won't exert herself ? " not to be able to come with us," said my Aunt
"No, poor dear. Don't blame her, Drusilla. Ablewhite. " There was something in the
I think she is the only really happy woman I way which kept him in town. Mr. Bruff
have ever met with." volunteered to take his place, and make a
" There are degrees in happiness, darling. holiday of it till Monday morning. By-the-by,
We must have a little talk, some day, on that Mr. Bruff, I'm ordered to take exercise, and I
subject. In the meantime I will undertake to don't like it. That," added Aunt Ablewhite,
meet the difficulty about the servants. Your pointing out of window to an invalid going by
aunt will ""write a letter to the people of the in a chair on wheels, drawn by a man, "is my
house- idea of exercise. If it's air you want, you get
"She will sign a letter, if I write it for her, it in your chair. And if it's fatigue you want,
which comes to the same thing.". I am ""sure it's fatiguing enough to look at the
" Quite the same thing. I shall get the man."
letter, and I will go to Brighton to-morrow. " Rachel stood silent, at a window by herself,
"How extremely kind of you ! We will with her eyes fixed on the sea.
join you as soon as you are ready for us. And 66
Tired, love ? " I inquired.
you will stay, I hope, as my guest. Brighton " No. Only a little out of spirits ," she
is so lively ; you are sure to enjoy it." answered. "I have often seen the sea, on our
 102 THE MOONSTONE

Yorkshire coast, with that light on it. And marked respect. He had (or pretended that
I was thinking, Drusilla,
"" of the days that can he had) an engagement to dinner that day—
never come again.' and he took an early leave of us all ; intending
Mr. Bruff remained to dinner, and stayed to go back to London by the first train the
through the evening. The more I saw of him, next morning.
the more certain I felt that he had some " Are you sure of your own resolution ? " he
private end to serve in coming to Brighton, said to Rachel at the door.
I watched him carefully. He maintained the "Quite sure," she answered-and so they
same appearance of ease, and talked the same parted.
godless gossip, hour after hour, until it was The moment his back was turned, Rachel
time to take leave. As he shook hands with withdrew to her own room. She never ap-
Rachel, I caught his hard and cunning eye peared at dinner. Her maid (the person with
resting on her for a moment with a peculiar the cap-ribbons) was sent downstairs to an-
interest and attention. She was plainly con- nounce that her headache had returned. I ran
cerned in the object that he had in view. He up to her and made all sorts of sisterly offers
said nothing out of the common to her or to through the door. It was locked, and she kept
any one on leaving. He invited himself to it locked. Plenty of obstructive material to
luncheon the next day, and then he went away work on here ? I felt greatly cheered and
to his hotel. stimulated by her locking the door. When her
It was impossible the next morning to get cup of tea went up to her the next morning, I
my Aunt Ablewhite out of her dressing-gown followed it in. I sat by her bedside and said
in time for church. Her invalid daughter a few earnest words. She listened with languid
(suffering from nothing, in my opinion, but civility. I noticed my serious friend's precious
1 incurable laziness, inherited from her mother) publications huddled together on a table in a
announced that she meant to remain in bed corner. Had she chanced to look into them ?
for the day. Rachel and I went alone together I asked. Yes-and they had not interested
to church. A magnificent sermon was preached her. Would she allow me to read a few passages
by my gifted friend on the heathen indifference of the deepest interest, which had probably
of the world to the sinfulness of little sins. escaped her eye ? No, not now-she had other
For more than an hour his eloquence (assisted things to think of. She gave these answers,
by his glorious voice) thundered through the with her attention apparently absorbed in fold-
sacred edifice. I said to Rachel, when we ing and refolding the frilling of her night-gown.
came out, " Has it found its way to your heart, It was plainly necessary to rouse her by some
dear ?" And she answered, " No ; it has only reference to those worldly interests which she
made my head ache." This might have been still had at heart.
discouraging to some people ; but, once em- "Do you know, love, " I said, " I had an odd
barked on a career of manifest usefulness, fancy, yesterday, about Mr. Bruff ? I thought,
nothing discourages me. when I saw you after your walk with him, that
We found Aunt Ablewhite and Mr. Bruff at he had been telling you some bad news. "
luncheon. When Rachel declined eating any- Her fingers dropped from the frilling of her
thing, and gave as a reason for it that she night-gown, and her fierce black eyes flashed
was suffering from a headache, the lawyer's at 66me.
cunning instantly saw, and seized, the chance 'Quite the contrary !" she said. " It was
that she had given him. news I was interested in hearing-and I am
" There is only one remedy for a headache, " deeply indebted to Mr. Bruff for telling me
said this horrible old man. "A walk, Miss of it."
Rachel, is the thing to cure you. I am entirely "Yes ?" I said, in a tone of gentle interest.
at your service, ""if you will honour me by ac- Her fingers went back to the frilling, and
cepting my arm.' she turned her head sullenly away from me. I
"With the greatest pleasure. A walk is the had been met in this manner, in the course
very thing I was longing for." of plying the good work, hundreds of times.
" It's past two," I gently suggested. " And She merely stimulated me to try again. In
the afternoon service, Rachel, begins at three." my dauntless zeal for her welfare, I ran the
" How can you expect me to go to church great risk, and openly alluded to her marriage-
again," she asked petulantly, " with such a engagement.
headache as mine ? " News you were interested in hearing ? "" I
Mr. Bruff officiously opened the door for her. repeated. " I suppose, my dear Rachel, that
In another minute more they were both out of must be news of Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite ? ”
the house. I don't know when I have felt the She started up in the bed, and turned deadly
solemn duty of interfering so strongly as I felt pale. It was evidently on the tip of her tongue
it at that moment. But what was to be done ? to retort on me with the unbridled insolence
Nothing was to be done but to interfere at the of former times. She checked herself - laid
first opportunity, later in the day. her head back on the pillow- considered a
On my return from the afternoon service I minute-and then answered in these remark-
found that they had just got back. One look able words-
at them told me that the lawyer had said what "I shall never marry Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite."
he wanted to say. I had never before seen It was my turn to start at that.
Rachel so silent and so thoughtful. I had "What can you possibly mean ? " I ex-
never before seen Mr. Bruff pay her such de- claimed. "The marriage is considered by the
voted attention, and look at her with such whole family as a settled thing ! "
 THE MOONSTONE 103

"Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite is expected here and I have got here, in, consequence, earlier
to-day," she said doggedly. "Wait till he than my appointed time."
comes -and you will see." ‫وو‬ Not the slightest embarrassment cncum-
But, my dear Rachel- bered his explanation, though this was his
She rang the bell at the head of her bed. first meeting with me after the scene in
The person with the cap-ribbons appeared. Montagu Square. He was not aware, it is
66 Penelope ! my bath. 19 true, of my having been a witness of that
Let me give her her due. In the state of my scene. But he knew, on the other hand, that
feelings at that moment, I do sincerely believe my attendances at the Mothers' Small-Clothes,
that she had hit on the only possible way of and my relations with friends attached to
forcing me to leave the room. other charities, must have informed me of
By the mere worldly mind my position to his shameless neglect of his Ladies and of
wards Rachel might have been viewed as his Poor. And yet there he was before me,
presenting difficulties of no ordinary kind. I in full possession of his charming voice and
had reckoned on leading her to higher things his irresistible smile !
by means of a little earnest exhortation on the "Have you seen Rachel yet ? " I asked.
subject of her marriage. And now, if she was He sighed gently, and took me by the hand.
to be believed, no such event as her marriage I should certainly have snatched my hand
was to take place at all. But ah, my friends ! away, if the manner in which he gave his
a working Christian of my experience (with an answer had not paralysed me with astonish-
evangelising prospect before her) takes broader ment.
views than these. Supposing Rachel really "I have seen Rachel," he said, with perfect
broke off the marriage, on which the Able- tranquillity. " You are aware, dear friend, that
whites, father and son, counted as a settled she was engaged to me ? Well, she has taken
thing, what would be the result ? It could a sudden resolution to break the engagement.
only end, if she held firm, in an exchanging Reflection has convinced her that she will
of hard words and bitter accusations on both best consult her welfare and mine by retract-
sides. And what would be the effect on Rachel ing a rash promise, and leaving me free to
when the stormy interview was over ? A salu- make some happier choice elsewhere. That
tary moral depression would be the effect. is the only reason she will give, and the only
Her pride would be exhausted, her stubborn- answer she will make to every question that
ness would be exhausted, by the resolute re- I can ask of her."
sistance which it was in her character to make "What have you done on your side ? " I
under the circumstances. She would turn for inquired. "Have you submitted ? "
sympathy to the nearest person who had sym- "Yes," he said with the most unruffled com-
pathy to offer. And I was that nearest person posure, " I have submitted. ”
-brimful of comfort, charged to overflowing His conduct, under the circumstances, was so
with seasonable and reviving words. Never utterly inconceivable, that I stood bewildered
had the evangelising prospect looked brighter, with my hand in his. It is a piece of rude-
to my eyes, than it looked now. ness to stare at anybody, and it is an act of
She came down to breakfast, but she ate indelicacy to stare at a gentleman. I com-
nothing, and hardly uttered a word. mitted both those improprieties. And I said,
After breakfast she wandered listlessly from as if in a dream, " What does it mean ?"
room to room- then suddenly roused herself, "Permit me to tell you, " he replied. " And
and opened the piano. The music she selected suppose we sit down ? "
to play was of the most scandalously profane He led me to a chair. I have an indistinct
sort, associated with performances on the remembrance that he was very affectionate.
stage which it curdles one's blood to think I don't think he put his arm round my waist
of. It would have been premature to in- to support me-but I am not sure. I was
terfere with her at such a time as this. I quite helpless, and his ways with ladies were
privately ascertained the hour at which Mr. very endearing. At any rate, we sat down.
Godfrey Ablewhite was expected, and then II can answer for that, if I can answer for
escaped the music by leaving the house. nothing more.
Being out alone, I took the opportunity of
calling upon my two resident friends. It was
an indescribable luxury to find myself indulg-
ing in earnest conversation with serious per- CHAPTER VIII
sons. Infinitely encouraged and refreshed, I
turned my steps back again to the house, in " I HAVE lost a beautiful girl, an excellent
excellent time to await the arrival of our social position, and a handsome income," Mr.
expected visitor. I entered the dining-room, Godfrey began ; "and I have submitted to it
always empty at that hour of the day, and without a struggle. What can be the motive
found myself face to face with Mr. Godfrey for such extraordinary conduct as that ? My
Ablewhite ! precious friend, there is no motive. "
He made no attempt to fly the place. Quite "No motive ? " I repeated.
the contrary. He advanced to meet me with Let me appeal, my dear Miss Clack, to
the utmost eagerness. your experience of children," he went on. "A
" Dear Miss Clack, I have been only waiting child pursues a certain course of conduct.
to see you ! Chance set me free of my London You are greatly struck by it, and you attempt
engagements to-day sooner than I had expected, to get at the motive. The dear little thing
104 THE MOONSTONE

is incapable of telling you its motive. You to my mind-easy to discern one of these
might as well ask the grass why it grows, salutary humiliations in the deplorable pro-
or the birds why they sing. Well in this ceedings on dear Mr. Godfrey's part, of which
matter, I am like the dear little thing-like I had been the unseen witness. And it was
the grass- like the birds. I don't know why I equally easy to recognise the welcome reap-
made a proposal of marriage to Miss Verinder. pearance of his own finer nature in the horror
I don't know why I have shamefully neglected with which he recoiled from the idea of a
my dear Ladies. I don't know why I have marriage with Rachel, and in the charming
apostatised from the Mothers' Small- Clothes. eagerness which he showed to return to his
You say to the child, Why have you been Ladies and his Poor.
naughty ? And the little angel puts its finger I put this view before him in a few simple.
into its mouth, and doesn't know. My case and sisterly words. His joy was beautiful to
exactly, Miss Clack ! I couldn't confess it to see. He compared himself, as I went on, to a
anybody else. I feel impelled to confess it lost man emerging from the darkness into the
to you ! " light. When I answered for a loving reception
I began to recover myself. A mental pro- of him at the Mothers' Small- Clothes, the grate-
blem was involved here. I am deeply interested ful heart of our Christian hero overflowed.
in mental problems -and I am not, it is thought, He pressed my hands alternately to his lips.
without some skill in solving them. Overwhelmed by the exquisite triumph of
" Best of friends, exert your intellect, and having got him back among us, I let him do
help me," he proceeded. " Tell me—why does what he liked with my hands. I closed my
a time come when these matrimonial proceed - eyes. I felt my head, in an ecstasy of spiritual
ings of mine begin to look like something done self-forgetfulness, sinking on his shoulder. In
in a dream ? Why does it suddenly occur to a moment more I should certainly have swooned
me that my true happiness is in helping my away in his arms, but for an interruption from
dear Ladies, in going my modest round of use- the outer world, which brought me to myself
ful work, in saying my few earnest words when again. A horrid rattling of knives and forks
called on by my Chairman ? What do I want sounded outside the door, and the footman
with a position ? I have got a position. What came in to lay the table for luncheon.
do I want with an income ? I can pay for my Mr. Godfrey started up, and looked at the
bread and cheese, and my nice little lodging, clock on the mantelpiece.
and my two coats a year. What do I want " How time flies with you ! " he exclaimed .
with Miss Verinder ? She has told me with " I shall barely catch the train."
her own lips (this, dear lady, is between our- I ventured on asking why he was in such a
selves) that she loves another man, and that hurry to get back to town. His answer re-
her only idea in marrying me is to try and put minded me of family difficulties that were still
that other man out of her head. What a horrid to be reconciled, and of family disagreements
union is this ! Oh, dear me, what a horrid that were yet to come.
union is this ! Such are my reflections, Miss " I have heard from my father," he said.
Clack, on my way to Brighton. I approach " Business obliges him to leave Frizinghall for
Rachel with the feeling of a criminal who is London to-day, and he proposes coming on
going to receive his sentence. When I find here, either this evening or to-morrow. I must
that she has changed her mind too when I tell him what has happened between Rachel
hear her propose to break the engagement- I and me. His heart is set on our marriage-
experience (there is no sort of doubt about it ) there will be great difficulty, I fear, in recon-
a most overpowering sense of relief. A month ciling him to the breaking-off of the engage-
ago I was pressing her rapturously to my ment. I must stop him, for all our sakes, from
bosom. An hour ago, the happiness of knowing coming here till he is reconciled. Best and
that I shall never press her again , intoxicates dearest of friends, we shall meet again ! "
me like strong liquor. The thing seems im- With those words he hurried out. In equal
possible the thing can't be. And yet there haste on my side, I ran upstairs to compose
are the facts, as I had the honour of stating myself in my own room before meeting Aunt
them when we first sat down together in these Ablewhite and Rachel at the luncheon-table.
two chairs. I have lost a beautiful girl, an I am well aware-to dwell for a moment yet
excellent social position, and a handsome in- on the subject of Mr. Godfrey-that the all-
come ; and I have submitted to it without a profaning opinion of the world has charged
struggle. Can you account for it, dear friend ? him with having his own private reasons for
It's quite beyond me." releasing Rachel from her engagement, at the
His magnificent head sank on his breast, and first opportunity she gave him. It has also
he gave up his own mental problem in despair. reached my ears, that his anxiety to recover
I was deeply touched. The case ( if I may his place in my estimation has been attributed,
speak as a spiritual physician ) was now quite in certain quarters, to a mercenary eagerness
plain to me. It is no uncommon event, in the to make his peace (through me) with a vener-
experience of us all, to see the possessors of able committee-woman at the Mothers' Small-
exalted ability occasionally humbled to the Clothes, abundantly blessed with the goods of
level of the most poorly-gifted people about this world, and a beloved and intimate friend
them . The object, no doubt, in the wise of my own. I only notice these odious slanders
economy of Providence, is to remind greatness for the sake of declaring that they never had a
that it is mortal, and that the power which has moment's influence on my mind. In obedience
conferred it can also take it away. It was now to my instructions, I have exhibited the fluctua
 THE MOONSTONE 105

tions in my opinion of our Christian hero, ex- deserves his reputation as long as he has his
actly as I find them recorded in my diary. In own way, and not a moment longer.
justice to myself, let me here add that, once The next day, exactly as I had foreseen, Aunt
reinstated in his place in my estimation, my Ablewhite was as near to being astonished
gifted friend never lost that place again. I as her nature would permit, by the sudden
write with the tears in my eyes, burning to say appearance of her husband. He had barely
more. But no- I am cruelly limited to my been a minute in the house, before he was
actual experience of persons and things. In followed , to my astonishment this time, by an
less than a month from the time of which I am unexpected complication, in the shape of Mr.
now writing, events in the money-market (which Bruff.
diminished even my miserable little income) I never remember feeling the presence of
forced me into foreign exile, and left me with the lawyer to be more unwelcome than I felt
nothing but a loving remembrance of Mr. it at that moment. He looked ready for any-
Godfrey which the slander of the world has thing in the way of an obstructive proceeding
assailed, and assailed in vain. capable even of keeping the peace, with Rachel
Let me dry my eyes and return to my for one of the combatants !
narrative. "This is a pleasant surprise, sir," said Mr.
I went downstairs to luncheon, naturally Ablewhite, addressing himself with his decep-
anxious to see how Rachel was affected by tive cordiality to Mr. Bruff. "When I left
her release from her marriage-engagement. your office yesterday, I didn't expect to have
It appeared to me-but I own I am a poor the honour of seeing you at Brighton to-day."
authority in such matters-that the recovery " I turned over our conversation in my mind,
of her freedom had set her thinking again of after you had gone, " replied Mr. Bruff. And
that other man whom she loved, and that she it occurred to me that I might perhaps be of
was furious with herself for not being able to some use on this occasion. I was just in time
control a revulsion of feeling of which she was to catch the train, and I had no opportunity
secretly ashamed. Who was the man ? I of discovering the carriage in which you were
had my suspicions - but it was needless to travelling."
waste time in idle speculation. When I had Having given that explanation, he seated
converted her, she would, as a matter of course, himself by Rachel. I retired modestly to a
have no concealments from me. I should hear corner-with Miss Jane Ann Stamper on my
all about the man ; I should hear all about the lap, in case of emergency. My aunt sat at
Moonstone. If I had had no higher object in the window, placidly fanning herself as usual.
stirring her up to a sense of spiritual things, Mr. Ablewhite stood up in the middle of the
the motive of relieving her mind of its guilty room, with his bald head much pinker than I
secrets would have been enough of itself to had ever seen it yet, and addressed himself in
encourage me to go on. the most affectionate manner to his niece.
Aunt Ablewhite took her exercise in the " Rachel, my dear, " he said, " I have heard
afternoon in an invalid chair. Rachel ac- some very extraordinary news from Godfrey.
companied her. " I wish I could drag the And I am here to inquire about it. You have
chair," she broke out recklessly. "I wish a sitting-room of your own in this house. Will
I could fatigue myself till I was ready to you honour me by showing me the way to it."
drop." Rachel never moved. Whether she was deter-
She was in the same humour in the evening. mined to bring matters to a crisis, or whether
I discovered in one of my friend's precious she was prompted by some private sign from
publications- the Life, Letters, and Labours Mr. Bruff, is more than I can tell. She de-
of Miss Jane Ann Stamper, forty-fourth edition clined doing old Mr. Ablewhite the honour of
-passages which bore with a marvellous appro- conducting him into her sitting- room.
priateness on Rachel's present position. Upon "Whatever you wish to say to me," she
my proposing to read them, she went to the answered , " can be said here in the presence
piano. Conceive how little she must have of my relatives, and in the presence (she
known of serious people, if she supposed that looked at Mr. Bruff) " of my mother's trusted
my patience was to be exhausted in that way ! old friend."
I kept Miss Jane Ann Stamper by me, and " Just as you please, my dear," said the
waited for events with, the most unfaltering amiable Mr. Ablewhite. He took a chair. The
trust in the future. rest of them looked at his face -as if they
Old Mr. Ablewhite never made his appear- expected it, after seventy years of worldly
ance that night. But I knew the importance training, to speak the truth. I looked at the
which his worldly greed attached to his son's top of his bald head ; having noticed on other
marriage with Miss Verinder-and I felt a occasions that the temper which was really in
positive conviction (do what Mr. Godfrey might him had a habit of registering itself there.
to prevent it) that we should see him the next " Some weeks ago," pursued the old gentle-
day. With his interference in the matter, the man, " my son informed me that Miss Verinder
storm on which I had counted would certainly had done him the honour to engage herself to
come, and the salutary exhaustion of Rachel's marry him. Is it possible, Rachel, that he can
resisting powers would as certainly follow. I have misinterpreted-or presumed upon- what
am not ignorant that old Mr. Ablewhite has you really said to him ?"
the reputation generally (especially among his " Certainly not," she replied. " I did engage
inferiors) of being a remarkably good -natured myself to marry him."
man. According to my observation of him, he "Very frankly answered ! " said Mr. Able.
106 THE MOONSTONE,

white. " And most satisfactory, my dear, so white-preserving her composure in a manner
far. In respect to what happened some weeks which (having regard to her age and her sex)
since, Godfrey has made no mistake. The error was simply awful to see.
is evidently in what he told me yesterday. I "Your son put the same question to me which
begin to see it now. You and he have had a you have just asked, " she said. “ I had only
lovers' quarrel -and my foolish son has inter- one answer for him, and I have only one answer
preted it seriously. Ah ! I should have known for you. I proposed that we should release
better than that at his age. " each other, because reflection had convinced
The fallen nature in Rachel-the mother Eve, me that I should best consult his welfare and
so to speak- began to chafe at this. mine by retracting a rash promise, and leaving
66
Pray let us understand each other, Mr. him free to make his choice elsewhere."
Ablewhite, " she said. 66 Nothing in the least "What has my son done ?" persisted Mr.
like a quarrel took place yesterday between Ablewhite. " I have a right to know that.
your son and me. If he told you that I pro- What has my son done ? "
posed breaking off our marriage-engagement, She persisted just as obstinately on her side.
and that he agreed on his side-he told you "You have had the only explanation which I
the truth." think it necessary to give to you, or to him,"
The self-registering thermometer, at the top she answered.
of Mr. Ablewhite's bald head, began to indicate " In plain English, it's your sovereign will
a rise of temper. His face was more amiable and pleasure, Miss Verinder, to jilt my son ?"
than ever- but there was the pink at the top of Rachel was silent for a moment. Sitting
his66 face, a shade deeper already ! close behind her, I heard her sigh. Mr. Bruff
' Come, come, my dear ! " he said, in his took her hand, and gave it a little squeeze.
most soothing manner, 66 now don't be angry, She recovered herself, and answered Mr. Able-
and don't be hard on poor Godfrey ! He has white as boldly as ever.
evidently said some unfortunate thing. He was " I have exposed myself to worse miscon-
always clumsy from a child--but he means well, struction than that," she said. " And I have
Rachel, he means well ! " borne it patiently. The time has gone by,
" Mr. Ablewhite, I have either expressed my- when you could mortify me by calling me a
self very badly, or you are purposely mistaking jilt. "
me. Once for all, it is a settled thing between She spoke with a bitterness of tone which
your son and myself that we remain, for the satisfied me that the scandal of the Moonstone
rest of our lives, cousins and nothing more. Is had been in some way recalled to her mind.
that plain enough ? " " I have no more to say," she added wearily,
The tone in which she said those words made not addressing the words to any one in parti-
it impossible, even for old Mr. Ablewhite, to cular, and looking away from us all, out of the
mistake her any longer. His thermometer went window that was nearest to her.
up another degree, and his voice when he next Mr. Ablewhite got upon his feet, and pushed
spoke, ceased to be the voice which is appropriate away his chair so violently that it toppled over
to a notoriously good-natured man. and fell on the floor.
" I am to understand then, " he said, "that " I have something more to say on my side,"
your marriage- engagement is broken off ? " he announced, bringing down the flat of his
" You are to understand that, Mr. Ablewhite, hand on the table with a bang. " I have to
if you please." say that if my son doesn't feel this insult,
" I am also to take it as a matter of fact that I do ! "
the proposal to withdraw from the engagement Rachel started, and looked at him in sudden
came, in the first instance, from you? surprise.
"It came, in the first instance, from me. "Insult ?" she repeated . "What do you
And it met, as I have told you, with your son's mean ?"
consent and approval." " Insult ! " reiterated Mr. Ablewhite. " I
The thermometer went up to the top of the know your motive, Miss Verinder, for breaking
register. I mean, the pink changed suddenly your promise to my son ! I know it as cer-
to scarlet. tainly as if you had confessed it in so many
" My son is a mean-spirited hound ! " cried words. Your cursed family pride is insulting
this furious old worldling. " In justice to Godfrey, as it insulted me when I married
myself as his father- not in justice to him-I your aunt. Her family-her beggarly family
beg to ask you, Miss Verinder, what complaint turned their backs on her for marrying an
you have to make of Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite ? " honest man, who had made his own place and
Here Mr. Bruff interfered for the first time. won his own fortune. I had no ancestors. I
66
"You are not bound to answer that question," wasn't descended from a set of cut-throat
he said to Rachel. scoundrels who lived by robbery and murder.
Old Mr. Ablewhite fastened on him instantly. I couldn't point to the time when the Able-
Don't forget, sir," he said, "that you are a whites hadn't a shirt to their backs, and
self-invited guest here. Your interference would couldn't sign their own names. Ha ha ! I
have come with a better grace if you had waited wasn't good enough for the Herncastles, when
until it was asked for." I married. And, now it comes to the pinch,
Mr. Bruff took no notice. The smooth var- my son isn't good enough for you. I suspected
nish on his wicked old face never cracked. it all along. You have got the Herncastle
Rachel thanked him for the advice he had blood in you, my young lady ! I suspected
given to her, and then turned to old Mr. Able- it all along."
 THE MOONSTONE 107
"A very unworthy suspicion," remarked Mr. It is impossible for me to write the awful
Bruff. "I am astonished that you have the word, which is here represented by a blank.
courage to acknowledge it." I shrieked as it passed his lips ; I flew to my
Before Mr. Ablewhite could find words to little bag on the side table ; I shook out all
answer in, Rachel spoke in a tone of the most my tracts ; I seized the one particular tract
exasperating contempt. on profane swearing, entitled, "Hush, for
66
Surely," she said to the lawyer, "this is Heaven's Sake ! " I handed it to him with an
beneath notice. If he can think in that way, expression of agonised entreaty. He tore it
let us leave him to think as he pleases." in two, and threw it back at me across the
From scarlet, Mr. Ablewhite was now be- table. The rest of them rose in alarm, not
coming purple. He gasped for breath ; he knowing what might happen next. I instantly
looked backwards and forwards from Rachel sat down again in my corner. There had once
to Mr. Bruff in such a frenzy of rage with been an occasion, under somewhat similar cir-
both of them that he didn't know which to cumstances, when Miss Jane Ann Stamper had
attack first. His wife, who had sat impene- been taken by the two shoulders and turned
trably fanning herself up to this time, began out of a room. I waited, inspired by her spirit,
to be alarmed, and attempted, quite uselessly, for a repetition of her martyrdom.
to quiet him. I had, throughout this distress- But no-it was not to be. His wife was the
· ing interview, felt more than one inward call next person whom he addressed. " Who-
to interfere with a few earnest words, and had who-who," he said, stammering with rage,
controlled myself under a dread of the possible " asked this impudent fanatic into the house ?
results, very unworthy of a Christian English- Did you ? "
woman who looks, not to what is meanly Before Aunt Ablewhite could say a word,
prudent, but to what is morally right. At Rachel answered for her.
the point at which matters had now arrived, " Miss Clack is here, " she said, " as my
I rose superior to all considerations of mere guest."
expediency. If I had contemplated inter- Those words had a singular effect on Mr.
posing any remonstrance of my own humble Ablewhite. They suddenly changed him from
devising, I might possibly have still hesitated. a man in a state of red-hot anger to a man in
But the distressing domestic emergency which a state of icy-cold contempt. It was plain to
now confronted me, was most marvellously and everybody that Rachel had said something-
beautifully provided for in the Correspondence short and plain as her answer had been-which
of Miss Jane Ann Stamper-Letter one thou- gave him the upper hand of her at last.
sand and one, on " Peace in Families." I " Oh ! " he said. "Miss Clack is here as
rose in my modest corner, and I opened my your guest- in my house ? "
precious book. It was Rachel's turn to lose her temper at
' Dear Mr. Ablewhite, " I said, " one word ! " that. Her colour rose, and her eyes brightened
When I first attracted the attention of the fiercely. She turned to the lawyer, and, point-
company by rising, I could see that he was on ing to Mr. Ablewhite, asked haughtily, " What
the point of saying something rude to me. My does he mean ? "
sisterly form of address checked him. He Mr. Bruff interfered for the third time.
stared at me in heathen astonishment. "You appear to forget," he said, addressing
"As an affectionate well- wisher and friend, " Mr. Ablewhite, "that you took this house as
I proceeded, " and as one long accustomed to Miss"" Verinder's guardian, for Miss Verinder's
arouse, convince, prepare, enlighten, and fortify use.'
others, permit me to take the most pardonable "Not quite so fast," interposed Mr. Able-
of all liberties-the liberty of composing your white. "I have a last word to say, which I
mind." should have said some time since, if this-
He began to recover himself ; he was on the He looked my way, pondering what abominable
point of breaking out-he would have broken name he should call me "if this Rampant
out, with anybody else. But my voice (habitu- Spinster had not interrupted us. I beg to
ally gentle) possesses a high note or so, in inform you, sir, that, if my son is not good
emergencies. In this emergency, I felt im- enough to be Miss Verinder's husband, I can-
peratively called upon to have the highest not presume to consider his father good enough
voice of the two. to be Miss Verinder's guardian. Understand,
I held up my precious book before him ; I if you please, that I refuse to accept the posi-
rapped the open page impressively with my tion which is offered to me by Lady Verinder's
forefinger. Not my words ! " I exclaimed, will. In your legal phrase, I decline to act.
in a burst of fervent interruption. " Oh, don't This house has necessarily been hired in my
suppose that I claim attention for my humble name. I take the entire responsibility of it
words ! Manna in the wilderness, Mr. Able- on my shoulders. It is my house. I can keep
white ! Dew on the parched earth ! Words it, or let it, just as I please. I have no wish
of comfort, words of wisdom, words of love to hurry Miss Verinder. On the contrary, I
the blessed, blessed, blessed words of Miss beg her to remove her guest and her luggage,
Jane Ann Stamper ! " at her own entire convenience." He made a
I was stopped there by a momentary impedi- low bow, and walked out of the room.
ment of the breath. Before I could recover That was Mr. Ablewhite's revenge on Rachel,
myself, this monster in human form shouted for refusing to marry his son !
out furiously- The instant the door closed, Aunt Ablewhite
"Miss Jane Ann Stamper be !" exhibited a phenomenon which silenced us all.
108 THE MOONSTONE

She became endowed with energy enough to position to end all these dry business details, I
cross the room ! hope agreeably, with a message from my wife.
"My dear," she said, taking Rachel by the Will you honour Mrs. Bruff by becoming her
hand, " I should be ashamed of my husband, guest ? And will you remain under my roof,
if I didn't know that it is his temper which and be one of my family, until we wise people
has spoken to you, and not himself. You, " have laid our heads together, and have settled
continued Aunt Ablewhite, turning on me in what is to be done next ? "
my corner with another endowment of energy, At those words, I rose to interfere. Mr.
in her looks this time instead of her limbs- Bruff had done exactly what I had dreaded he
"you are the mischievous person who irritated would do, when he asked Mrs. Ablewhite for
him. I hope I shall never see you or your Rachel's bonnet and shawl.
tracts again." She went back to Rachel and Before I could interpose a word, Rachel had
kissed her. " I beg your pardon , my dear," accepted his invitation in the warmest terms.
she said, " in my husband's name. What can If I suffered the arrangement thus made be-
I do for you ? " tween them to be carried out-if she once
Consistently perverse in everything-capri- passed the threshold of Mr. Bruff's door-fare-
cious and unreasonable in all the actions of well to the fondest hope of my life, the hope
her life - Rachel melted into tears at those of bringing my lost sheep back to the fold !
commonplace words, and returned her aunt's The bare idea of such a calamity as this quite
kiss in silence. overwhelmed me. I cast the miserable tram-
" If I may be permitted to answer for Miss mels of worldly discretion to the winds, and
Verinder," said Mr. Bruff, " might I ask you, spoke with the fervour that filled me, in the
Mrs. Ablewhite, to send Penelope down with words that came first.
her mistress's bonnet and shawl. Leave us Stop ! " I said " stop ! I must be heard.
ten minutes together," he added, in a lower Mr. Bruff ! you are not related to her, and I
tone, " and you may rely on my setting mat- am . I invite her-I summon the executors to
ters right, to your satisfaction as well as to appoint me guardian. Rachel, dearest Rachel,
Rachel's. " I offer you my modest home ; come to Lon-
The trust of the family in this man was don by the next train, love, and share it
something wonderful to see. Without a word with me !"
more, on her side, Aunt Ablewhite left the Mr. Bruff said nothing. Rachel looked at
room . me with a cruel astonishment which she made
" Ah ! " said Mr. Bruff, looking after her. no effort to conceal.
" The Herncastle blood has its drawbacks , "You are very kind, Drusilla, " she said.
I admit. But there is something in good " I shall hope to visit you whenever I happen
breeding, after all ! " to be in London. But I have accepted Mr.
Having made that purely worldly remark, he Bruff's invitation, and I think it will be best,
looked hard at my corner, as if he expected for the present, if I remain under Mr. Bruff's
me to go. My interest in Rachel-an infinitely care."
higher interest than his riveted me to my " Oh, don't say so ! " I pleaded. " I can't
chair. part with you, Rachel -I can't part with
Mr. Bruff gave it up, exactly as he had given you ! "
it up at Aunt Verinder's, in Montagu Square. I tried to fold her in my arms. But she
He led Rachel to a chair by the window, and drew back. My fervour did not communicate
spoke to her there.
My dear young lady," he said, " Mr. Able- 66 ; it only alarmed her.
itself
Surely," she said, " this is a very un-
white's conduct has naturally shocked you, necessary display of agitation ? I don't under-
and taken you by surprise. If it was worth stand it."
while to contest the question with such a "No more do I," said Mr. Bruff.
man, we might soon show him that he is not to Their hardness —their hideous, worldly hard-
have things all his own way. But it isn't worth ness-revolted me.
while. You were quite right in what you said "O Rachel Rachel ! " I burst out. " Haven't
just now ; he is beneath our notice." you seen yet, that my heart yearns to make a
He stopped, and looked round at my corner. Christian of you ? Has no inner voice told
I sat there quite immovable, with my tracts at you that I am trying to do for you, what I was
my elbow, and with Miss Jane Ann Stamper trying to do for your dear mother when death
on my lap. snatched her out of my hands ?"
"You know," he resumed, turning back again Rachel advanced a step nearer, and looked
to Rachel, 66 that it was part of your poor at me very strangely.
mother's fine nature always to see the best " I don't understand your reference to my
of the people about her, and never the worst. mother," she said. "Miss Clack, will you have
She named her brother-in-law your guardian the goodness to explain yourself ? "
because she believed in him, and because she Before I could answer, Mr. Bruff came for-
thought it would please her sister. I had never ward, and offering his arm to Rachel, tried to
liked Mr. Ablewhite myself, and I induced your lead her out of the room.
mother to let me insert a clause in the will, "You had better not pursue the subject, my
empowering her executors, in certain events, dear, " he said. " And Miss Clack had better
to consult with me about the appointment not explain herself."
of a new guardian. One of those events If I had been a stock or a stone, such an
has happened to-day ; and I find myself in a interference as this must have roused me into
 THE MOONSTONE 109

testifying to the truth. I put Mr. Bruff aside my face. I bore the insult with my customary
indignantly with my own hand, and, in solemn fortitude. I remember it now with my custo
and suitable language, I stated the view with mary superiority to all feeling of offence.
which sound doctrine does not scruple to regard Mr. Bruff had his parting word of mockery
the awful calamity of dying unprepared. for me, before he too hurried out, in his turn.
Rachel started back from me-I blush to "You had better not have explained your-
write it with a scream of horror. self, Miss Clack, " he said, and bowed, and left
"Come away ! " she said to Mr. Bruff. " Come the room.
away, for God's sake, before that woman can The person with the cap-ribbons followed.
say any more ! Oh, think of my poor mother's "It's easy to see who has set them all by
harmless, useful, beautiful life ! You were at the ears together," she said. " I'm only a
the funeral, Mr. Bruff ; you saw how every- poor servant —- but I declare I'm ashamed of
body loved her ; you saw the poor helpless you !" She too went out, and banged the door
people crying at her grave over the loss of after her.
their best friend. And that wretch stands I was left alone in the room. Reviled by
there, and tries to make me doubt that my them all, deserted by them all , I was left alone
mother, who was an angel on earth, is an angel in the room.
in heaven now ! Don't stop to talk about it !
Come away ! It stifles me to breathe the same
air with her ! It frightens me to feel that we Is there more to be added to this plain state-
are in the same room together ! " ment of facts-to this touching picture of a
Deaf to all remonstrance, she ran to the door. Christian persecuted by the world ? No ! my
At the same moment, her maid entered with diary reminds me that one more of the many
her bonnet and shawl. She huddled them on chequered chapters in my life ends here.
anyhow. " Pack my things," she said, " and From that day forth, I never saw Rachel
bring them to Mr. Bruff's." I attempted to Verinder again. She had my forgiveness at
approach her I was shocked and grieved, the time when she insulted me. She has had
but, it is needless to say, not offended. I only my prayerful good wishes ever since. And
wished to say to her, " May your hard heart be when I die to complete the return on my
softened ! freely forgive you ! She pulled part of good for evil-she will have the Life,
down her veil, and tore her shawl away from Letters, and Labours of Miss Jane Ann Stamper
my hand, and hurrying out, shut the door in left her as a legacy by my will.

SECOND NARRATIVE

Contributed by MATHEW BRUFF , Solicitor, of Gray's Inn Square

CHAPTER I The true story of the broken marriage-en-

gagement comes first in point of time, and
My fair friend, Miss Clack, having laid down must therefore take the first place in the pre-
the pen, there are two reasons for my taking it sent narrative. Tracing my way back along
up next, in my turn. the chain of events, from one end to the other,
In the first place, I am in a position to throw I find it necessary to open the scene, oddly
the necessary light on certain points of interest enough as you will think, at the bedside of my
which have thus far been left in the dark. excellent client and friend , the late Sir John
Miss Verinder had her own private reason for Verinder.
breaking her marriage engagement-and I was Sir John had his share- perhaps rather a
at the bottom of it. Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite large share-of the more harmless and amiable
had his own private reason for withdrawing all of the weaknesses incidental to humanity.
claim to the hand of his charming cousin-and Among these, I may mention as applicable to
I discovered what it was. the matter in hand, an invincible reluctance
In the second place, it was my good or ill -so long as he enjoyed his usual good health
fortune, I hardly know which, to find myself -to face the responsibility of making his will.
personally involved at the period of which I Lady Verinder exerted her influence to rouse
am now writing-in the mystery of the Indian him to a sense of duty in this matter ; and I
Diamond. I had the honour of an interview, exerted my influence. He admitted the justice
at my own office, with an Oriental stranger of of our views-but he went no further than
distinguished manners, who was no other, un- that, until he found himself afflicted with the
questionably, than the chief of the three Indians. illness which ultimately brought him to his
Add to this, that I met with the celebrated grave. Then, I was sent for at last, to take
traveller, Mr. Murthwaite, the day afterwards, my client's instructions on the subject of his
and that I held a conversation with him on the will. They proved to be the simplest instruc-
subject of the Moonstone, which has a very tions I had ever received in the whole of my
important bearing on later events. And there professional career.
you have the statement of my claims to fill the Sir John was dozing when I entered the
position which I occupy in these pages. room. He roused himself at the sight of me.
110 THE MOONSTONE

"How do you do , Mr. Bruff ? " he said. " I and which, to own the truth, grated sadly on
shan't be very long about this. And then I'll my professional sense of the fitness of things.
go to sleep again. " He looked on with great The execution of this second Will has been
interest while I collected pens, ink, and paper. described by Miss Clack, who was so obliging
“ Are you ready ? " he asked. I bowed, and took as to witness it. So far as regarded Rachel
a dip of ink, and waited for my instructions. Verinder's pecuniary interests, it was, word
"I leave everything to my wife, " said Sir for word, the exact counterpart of the first
John. " That's all." He turned round on his Will. The only changes introduced related to
pillow, and composed himself to sleep again. the appointment of a guardian, and to cer-
I was obliged to disturb him. tain provisions concerning that appointment,
"Am I to understand," I asked, " that you which were made under my advice. On Lady
leave the whole of the property, of every sort Verinder's death, the Will was placed in the
and description, of which you die possessed, hands of my proctor to be " proved " (as the
absolutely to Lady Verinder ? ” phrase is) in the usual way.
"Yes," said Sir John. " Only I put it In about three weeks from that time-as
shorter. Why can't you put it shorter, and well as I can remember-the first warning
let me go to sleep again. Everything to my reached me of something unusual going on
wife. That's my Will." under the surface. I happened to be looking
His property was entirely at his own dis- in at my friend the proctor's office, and I
posal, and was of two kinds. Property in land observed that he received me with an appear.
(I purposely abstain from using technical lan- ance of greater interest than usual.
guage), and property in money. Inthe majority " I have some news for you," he said.
of cases, I am afraid I should have felt it my "What do you think I heard at Doctors'
duty to my client to ask him to reconsider Commons this morning ? Lady Verinder's
his Will. In the case of Sir John, I knew Will has been asked for, and examined,
Lady Verinder to be, not only worthy of the already !"
unreserved trust which her husband had placed This was news indeed ! There was ab-
in her (all good wives are worthy of that)-but solutely nothing which could be contested in
to be also capable of properly administering a the Will ; and there was nobody I could think
trust (which, in my experience of the fair sex, of who had the slightest interest in examining
not one in a thousand of them is competent it. ( I shall perhaps do well if I explain in
to do). In ten minutes, Sir John's Will was this place, for the benefit of the few people
drawn, and executed, and Sir John himself, who don't know it already, that the law allows
good man, was finishing his interrupted nap. all Wills to be examined at Doctors' Commons
Lady Verinder amply justified the confidence by anybody who applies, on the payment of a
which her husband had placed in her. In the shilling fee.)
first days of her widowhood , she sent for me, " Did you hear who asked for the Will ? "
and made her Will. The view she took of I asked.
her position was so thoroughly sound and sen- " Yes ; the clerk had no hesitation in telling
sible, that I was relieved of all necessity for me. Mr. Smalley, of the firm of Skipp and
advising her. My responsibility began and Smalley, asked for it. The Will has not been
ended with shaping her instructions into the copied yet into the great Folio Registers. So
proper legal form. Before Sir John had been there was no alternative but to depart from
a fortnight in his grave, the future of his the usual course, and to let him see the original
daughter had been most wisely and most document. He looked it over carefully, and
affectionately provided for. made a note in his pocket-book. Have you
The Will remained in its fireproof box at any idea of what he wanted with it ? "
my office, through more years than I like to I shook my head. " I shall find out," I
reckon up. It was not till the summer of answered, "before I am a day older." With
eighteen hundred and forty-eight that I found that I went back at once to my own office.
occasion to look at it again under very melan- If any other firm of solicitors had been con-
choly circumstances. cerned in this unaccountable examination of
At the date I have mentioned, the doctors pro- my deceased client's Will, I might have found
nounced the sentence on poor Lady Verinder, some difficulty in making the necessary dis-
which was literally a sentence of death. I covery. But I had a hold over Skipp and
was the first person whom she informed of her Smalley which made my course in this matter
situation ; and I found her anxious to go over a comparatively easy one. My common-law
her Will again with me. clerk (a most competent and excellent man)
It was impossible to improve the provisions was a brother of Mr. Smalley's ; and, owing
relating to her daughter. But, in the lapse of to this sort of indirect connection with me,
time, her wishes in regard to certain minor Skipp and Smalley had, for some years past,
legacies, left to different relatives, had under- picked up the crumbs that fell from my table,
gone some modification ; and it became neces- in the shape of cases brought to my office,
sary to add three or four Codicils to the which, for various reasons, I did not think it
original document. Having done this at once, worth while to undertake. My professional
for fear of accidents, I obtained her ladyship's patronage was, in this way, of some import-
permission to embody her recent instructions ance to the firm. I intended, if necessary, to
in a second Will. My object was to avoid remind them of that patronage, on the present
certain inevitable confusions and repetitions occasion.
which now disfigured the original document, The moment I got back I spoke to my clerk ;
 THE MOONSTONE III

and, after telling him what had happened, I lightly as you do, if the thing was done (let us
sent him to his brother's office, " with Mr. say) with your own sister ?
Bruff's compliments, and he would be glad The first consideration which now naturally
to know why Messrs. Skipp and Smalley had occurred to me was this. Would Mr. Godfrey
found" it necessary to examine Lady Verinder's Ablewhite hold to his engagement, after what
Will.' his lawyer had discovered for him ?
This message brought Mr. Smalley back to It depended entirely on his pecuniary posi-
my office, in company with his brother. He tion, of which I knew nothing. If that position
acknowledged that he had acted under instruc- was not a desperate one, it would be well worth
tions received from a client. And then he put his while to marry Miss Verinder for her income
it to me, whether it would not be a breach alone. If, on the other hand, he stood in urgent
of professional confidence on his part to say need of realising a large sum by a given time,
more. then Lady Verinder's Will would exactly meet
We had a smart discussion upon that. He the case, and would preserve her daughter from
was right, no doubt ; and I was wrong. The falling into a scoundrel's hands.
truth is, I was angry and suspicious- and I In the latter event, there would be no need
insisted on knowing more. Worse still, I de- for me to distress Miss Rachel, in the first days
clined to consider any additional information of her mourning for her mother, by an immediate
offered me, as a secret placed in my keeping : revelation of the truth. In the former event,
I claimed perfect freedom to use my own dis- if I remained silent, I should be conniving at
cretion. Worse even than that, I took an unwar- a marriage which would make her miserable
rantable advantage of my position. Choose, for life.
sir," I said to Mr. Smalley, " between the risk My doubts ended in my calling at the hotel
of losing your client's business and the risk in London, at which I knew Mrs. Ablewhite
of losing mine." Quite indefensible, I admit and Miss Verinder to be staying. They in-
an act of tyranny, and nothing less. Like formed me that they were going to Brighton
other tyrants, I carried my point. Mr. Smalley the next day, and that an unexpected obstacle
chose his alternative, without a moment's hesi- prevented Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite from accom-
tation. He smiled resignedly, and gave up panying them. I at once proposed to take his
the name of his client : place. While I was only thinking of Rachel
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite. Verinder, it was possible to hesitate. When
That was enough for me-I wanted to know I actually saw her, my mind was made up
no more. directly, come what might of it, to tell her
the truth.
Having reached this point in my narrative, I found my opportunity, when I was out
it now becomes necessary to place the reader walking with her, on the day after my arrival.
of these lines -so far as Lady Verinder's Will "May I speak to you," I asked, " about your
is concerned-on a footing of perfect equality, marriage-engagement ? "
in respect of information, with myself. "Yes," she said indifferently, " if you have
Let me state, then, in the fewest possible nothing more interesting to talk about."
words, that Rachel Verinder had nothing but "Will you forgive an old friend and ser-
a life-interest in the property. Her mother's vant of your family, Miss Rachel, if I venture
excellent sense, and my long experience, had on asking whether your heart is set on this
combined to relieve her of all responsibility, marriage ?"
and to guard her from all danger of becoming "I am marrying in despair, Mr. Bruff-on
the victim in the future of some needy and the chance of dropping into some sort of
unscrupulous man. Neither she, nor her hus- stagnant happiness which may reconcile me
band (if she married), could raise sixpence, to my life."
either on the property in land, or on the pro- Strong language and suggestive of some-
perty in money. They would have the houses thing below the surface, in the shape of a
in London and in Yorkshire to live in, and romance. But I had my own object in view,
they would have the handsome income-and and I declined (as we lawyers say) to pursue
that was all. the question into its side issues.
When I came to think over what I had dis- "Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite can hardly be of
covered, I was sorely perplexed what to do your way of thinking," I said. " His heart
next. must be set on the marriage, at any rate ? "
Hardly a week had passed since I had heard 66 He says so, and I suppose I ought to believe
(to my surprise and distress ) of Miss Verinder's him. He would hardly marry me, after what
proposed marriage. I had the sincerest admira- I have owned to him, unless he was fond of
tion and affection for her ; and I had been in- me.
expressibly grieved when I heard that she was Poor thing the bare idea of a man marry-
about to throw herself away on Mr. Godfrey ing her for his own selfish and mercenary
Ablewhite. And now, here was the man ends had never entered her head. The task
whom I had always believed to be a smooth- I had set myself began to look like a harder
tongued impostor- justifying the very worst task than I had bargained for.
that I had thought of him, and plainly reveal- "It sounds strangely," I went on, “ in my
ing the mercenary object of the marriage, on old-fashioned ears-
his side ! And what of that ?-you may reply "What sounds strangely ? " she asked.
-the thing is done every day. Granted, my " To hear you speak of your future husband
dear sir. But would you think of it quite as as if you were not quite sure of the sincerity
112 THE MOONSTONE

of his attachment. Are you conscious of any 66 Have you resolved to break your engage-
reason in your own mind for doubting him ?" ment ?" I asked.
Her astonishing quickness of perception de- "Can you doubt it ? " she returned proudly,
tected a change in my voice, or my manner, " after what you have told me !"
when I put that question, which warned her "My dear Miss Rachel, you are very young
that I had been speaking all along with some and you may find more difficulty in with-
ulterior object in view. She stopped, and drawing from your present position than you
taking her arm out of mine, looked me search- anticipate. Have you no one-I mean a lady,
ingly in the face. of course- whom you could consult ? "
" Mr. Bruff, " she said, " you have something "No one," she answered.
to tell me about Godfrey Ablewhite. Tell it. ” It distressed me, it did indeed distress me,
I knew her well enough to take her at her to hear her say that. She was so young and
word. I told it. so lonely-and she bore it so well ! The im-
She put her arm again into mine, and pulse to help her got the better of any sense of
walked on with me slowly. I felt her hand my own unfitness which I might have felt under
tightening its grasp mechanically on my arm, the circumstances ; and I stated such ideas on
and I saw her getting paler and paler as I the subject as occurred to me on the spur of
went on - - but not a word passed her lips the moment, to the best of my ability, I have
while I was speaking. When I had done, advised a prodigious number of clients, and
she still kept silence. Her head drooped a have dealt with some exceedingly awkward
little, and she walked by my side, unconscious difficulties, in my time. But this was the
of my presence, unconscious of everything about first occasion on which I had ever found
her ; lost-buried, I might almost say-in her myself advising a young lady how to obtain
own thoughts. her release from a marriage-engagement. The
I made no attempt to disturb her. My suggestion I offered amounted briefly to this.
experience of her disposition warned me, I recommended her to tell Mr. Godfrey Able-
on this, as on former occasions, to give her white-at a private interview, of course-that
time. he had, to her certain knowledge, betrayed
The first instinct of girls in general, on being the mercenary nature of the motive on his
told of anything which interests them, is to side. She was then to add that their marriage,
ask a multitude of questions, and then to run after what she had discovered, was a simple
off, and talk it all over with some favourite impossibility-and she was to put it to him,
friend. Rachel Verinder's first instinct, under whether he thought it wisest to secure her
similar circumstances, was to shut herself up silence by falling in with her views, or to
in her own mind, and to think it over by her- force her, by opposing them, to make the
self. This absolute self-dependence is a great motive under which she was acting generally
virtue in a man. In a woman it has the known. If he attempted to defend himself,
serious drawback of morally separating her or to deny the facts, she was, in that event,
from the mass of her sex, and so exposing to refer him to me.
her to misconstruction by the general opinion. Miss Verinder listened attentively till I had
I strongly suspect myself of thinking as the done. She then thanked me very prettily for
rest of the world think in this matter-except my advice, but informed me at the same time
in the case of Rachel Verinder. The self- that it was impossible for her to follow it.
(6 May I ask," I said, "what objection you
dependence in her character was one of its
virtues in my estimation ; partly, no doubt, see to following it ? "
because I sincerely admired and liked her ; She hesitated - and then met me with a
partly, because the view I took of her con- question on her side.
nection with the loss of the Moonstone was " Suppose you were asked to express your
based on my own special knowledge of her opinion of Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite's conduct ? "
disposition. Badly as appearances might look, she began.
in the matter of the Diamond- shocking as "Yes ?"
it undoubtedly was to know that she was "What would you call it ?"
associated in any way with the mystery of " I should call it the conduct of a meanly
an undiscovered theft-I was satisfied never- deceitful man."
theless that she had done nothing unworthy of 66' Mr. Bruff ! I have believed in that man.
her, because I was also satisfied that she had I have promised to marry that man. How can
not stirred a step in the business, without I tell him he is mean, how can I tell him he
shutting herself up in her own mind, and has deceived me, how can I disgrace him in the
thinking it over first. eyes of the world after that ? I have degraded
We had walked on, for nearly a mile I myself by ever thinking of him as my husband.
should say, before Rachel roused herself. She If I say what you tell me to say to him—I am
suddenly looked up at me with a faint re- owning that I have degraded myself to his
flection of her smile of happier times-the face. I can't do that. After what has passed
most irresistible smile I have ever seen on a between us, I can't do that ! The shame of it
woman's face. would be nothing to him. But the shame of it
"I owe much already to your kindness," she would be unendurable to me."
said. " And I feel more deeply indebted to Here was another of the marked peculiarities
it now than ever. If you hear any rumours in her character disclosing itself to me without
of my marriage when you get back to London, reserve. Here was her sensitive horror of the
contradict them at once, on my authority." bare contact with anything mean, blinding her
 THE MOONSTONE 113

to every consideration of what she owed to her- | motive for submission as plainly as if he had ac-
self, hurrying her into a false position which knowledged it himself. He needed a large sum
might compromise her in the estimation of of money ; and he needed it by a given time.
all her friends ! Up to this time, I had been a Rachel's income, which would have helped him
little diffident about the propriety of the advice to anything else, would not help him here ; and
I had given to her. But, after what she had Rachel had accordingly released herself, with-
just said, I had no sort of doubt that it was out encountering a moment's serious opposi-
the best advice that could have been offered ; tion on his part. If I am told that this is a
and I felt no sort of hesitation in pressing it mere speculation , I ask, in my turn, What other
on her again. theory will account for his giving up a marriage
She only shook her head, and repeated her which would have maintained him in splendour
objection in other words. for the rest of his life ?
" He has been intimate enough with me to Any exultation I might otherwise have felt
ask me to be his wife. He has stood high at the lucky turn which things had now taken,
enough in my estimation to obtain my consent. was effectually checked by what passed at my
I can't tell him to his face that he is the most interview with old Mr. Ablewhite.
contemptible of living creatures, after that ! " He came, of course, to know whether I could
"But my dear Miss Rachel, " I remonstrated, give him any explanation of Miss Verinder's
"it's equally impossible for you to tell him that extraordinary conduct. It is needless to say
you withdraw from your engagement without that I was quite unable to afford him the in-
giving some reason for it." formation he wanted. The annoyance which
"I shall say that I have thought it over, and I thus inflicted, following on the irritation
that I am satisfied it will be best for both of produced by a recent interview with his son,
us if we part. " threw Mr. Ablewhite off his guard. Both his
"No more than that ?" looks and his language convinced me that
"No more." Miss Verinder would find him a merciless
"Have you thought of what he may say, on man to deal with, when he joined the ladies
his side ? " at Brighton the next day.
"He may say what he pleases. " I had a restless night , considering what I
It was impossible not to admire her delicacy ought to do next. How my reflections ended,
and her resolution, and it was equally impos- and how thoroughly well-founded my distrust
sible not to feel that she was putting herself of Mr. Ablewhite proved to be, are items of
in the wrong. I entreated her to consider her information which (as I am told) have already
own position. I reminded her that she would been put tidily in their proper places, by that
be exposing herself to the most odious mis- exemplary person, Miss Clack. I have only to
construction of her motives. " You can't brave add- in completion of her narrative—that Miss
public opinion," I said, " at the command of Verinder found the quiet and repose which she
private feeling. " sadly needed, poor thing, in my house at Hamp-
" I can," she answered. " I have done it stead. She honoured us by making a long stay.
already." My wife and daughters were charmed with her ;
"What do you mean ? " and, when the executors decided on the appoint-
"You have forgotten the Moonstone, Mr. ment of a new guardian, I feel sincere pride
Bruff. Have I not braved public opinion, there, and pleasure in recording that my guest and my
with my own private reasons for it ?" family parted like old friends, on either side.
Her answer silenced me for the moment. It
set me trying to trace the explanation of her
conduct, at the time of the loss of the Moon-
stone, out of the strange avowal which had CHAPTER II
just escaped her. I might perhaps have done
it when I was younger. I certainly couldn't THE next thing I have to do, is to present
do it now. such additional information as I possess on the
I tried a last remonstrance before we re- subject of the Moonstone, or, to speak more
turned to the house. She was just as immov- correctly, on the subject of the Indian plot
able as ever. My mind was in a strange con- to steal the Diamond. The little that I have
flict of feelings about her when I left her that to tell is (as I think I have already said) of
day. She was obstinate ; she was wrong. She some importance, nevertheless, in respect of its
was interesting ; she was admirable ; she was bearing very remarkably on events which are
deeply to be pitied. I made her promise to still to come.
write to me the moment she had any news to About a week or ten days after Miss Verinder
send . And I went back to my business in had left us, one of my clerks entered the private
London with a mind exceedingly ill at ease. room at my office, with a card in his hand, and
On the evening of my return, before it was informed me that a gentleman was below, who
possible for me to receive my promised letter, wanted to speak to me.
I was surprised by a visit from Mr. Ablewhite I looked at the card. There was a foreign
the elder, and was informed that Mr. Godfrey name written on it, which has escaped my
had got his dismissal-and had accepted it- memory. It was followed by a line written
that very day. in English at the bottom of the card, which I
With the view I already took of the case, remember perfectly well :
66' Recommended
the bare fact stated in the words that I have by Mr. Septimus Luker."
underlined, revealed Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite's The audacity of a person in Mr. Luker's
114 THE MOONSTONE

position presuming to recommend anybody to " Mr. Luker informed me, sir, that he had no
me, took me so completely by surprise, that I money to lend."
sat silent for the moment, wondering whether "And so he recommended you to cometo me?"
my own eyes had not deceived me. The clerk, The Indian, in his turn, pointed to the card.
observing my bewilderment, favoured me with " It is written there," he said.
the result of his own observation of the stranger Briefly answered, and thoroughly to the
who was waiting downstairs. purpose ! If the Moonstone had been in
" He is rather a remarkable-looking man, my possession, this Oriental gentleman would
sir. So dark in the complexion that we all set have murdered me, I am well aware, without a
him down in the office for an Indian, or some- moment's hesitation. At the same time, and
thing of that sort." barring that slight drawback, I am bound to
Associating the clerk's idea with the line testify that he was the perfect model of a
inscribed on the card in my hand, I thought it client. He might not have respected my life.
possible that the Moonstone might be at the But he did what none of my own countrymen
bottom of Mr. Luker's recommendation, and had ever done, in all my experience of them-
of the stranger's visit at my office. To the he respected my time.
astonishment of my clerk, I at once decided on "I am sorry," I said, " that you should have
granting an interview to the gentleman below. had the trouble of coming to me. Mr. Luker
In justification of the highly unprofessional is quite mistaken in sending you here. I am
sacrifice to mere curiosity which I thus made, trusted, like other men in my profession, with
permit me to remind anybody who may read money to lend. But I never lend it to strangers,
these lines, that no living person (in England, and I never lend it on such a security as you
at any rate ) can claim to have had such an have produced."
intimate connection with the romance of the Far from attempting, as other people would
Indian Diamond as mine has been. I was have done, to induce me to relax my own
trusted with the secret of Colonel Herncastle's rules, the Indian only made me another bow,
plan for escaping assassination. I received the and wrapped up his box in its two coverings
Colonel's letters, periodically reporting himself without a word of protest. He rose-this ad-
a living man. I drew his Will, leaving the mirable assassin rose to go, the moment I had
Moonstone to Miss Verinder. I persuaded his answered him !
executor to act, on the chance that the jewel "Will your condescension towards a stranger
might prove to be a valuable acquisition to the excuse my asking one question, " he said, " be-
family. And, lastly, I combated Mr. Franklin fore I take my leave ? "
Blake's scruples, and induced him to be the I bowed on my side. Only one question at
means of transporting the Diamond to Lady parting ! The average in my experience was
Verinder's house. If any one can claim a pre- fifty.
scriptive right of interest in the Moonstone, and " Supposing, sir, it had been possible (and
in everything connected with it, I think it is customary) for you to lend me the money," he
hardly to be denied that I am the man . said, " in what space of time would it have
The moment my mysterious client was shown been possible (and customary) for me to pay it
in, I felt an inner conviction that I was in the back ?"
66
presence of one of the three Indians-pro- 'According to the usual course pursued in
bably of the chief. He was carefully dressed this country," I answered, "you would have
in European costume. But his swarthy com- been entitled to pay the money back (if you
plexion, his long lithe figure, and his grave liked) in one year's time from the date at which
and graceful politeness of manner were enough it was first advanced to you."
to betray his Oriental origin to any intelligent The Indian made me a last bow, the lowest
eyes that looked at him. of all- and suddenly and softly walked out of
I pointed to a chair, and begged to be in- the room.
formed of the nature of his business with me. It was done in a moment, in a noiseless,
After first apologising- in an excellent selec- supple, cat-like way, which a little startled me,
tion of English words- for the liberty which I own. As soon as I was composed enough to
he had taken in disturbing me, the Indian think, I arrived at one distinct conclusion in
produced a small parcel, the outer covering of reference to the otherwise incomprehensible
which was of cloth of gold. Removing this visitor who had favoured me with a call.
and a second wrapping of some silken fabric, His face, voice, and manner- while I was in
he placed a little box, or casket, on my table, his company-were under such perfect control
most beautifully and richly inlaid in jewels, that they set all scrutiny at defiance. But he
on an ebony ground. had given me one chance of looking under the
"I have come, sir," he said, " to ask you smooth outer surface of him, for all that. He
to lend me some money. And I leave this had not shownthe slightest sign of attemptingto
as an assurance to you that my debt will be fix anything that I had said to him in his mind,
paid back." until I mentioned the time at which it was cus-
I pointed to his card. " And you apply to tomary to permit the earliest repayment, on
me," I rejoined, " at Mr. Luker's recommen- the part of a debtor, of money that had been
dation ? " advanced as a loan. When I gave him that
The Indian bowed. piece of information he looked me straight in
"May I ask how it is that Mr. Luker him- the face, while I was speaking, for the first
self did not advance the money that you time. The inference I drew from this was-
require ? " that he had a special purpose in asking me his
 THE MOONSTONE 115

last question, and a special interest in hearing anything noticeable, at the moment of quitting
myanswer to it. The more carefully I reflected Mr. Luker's house ?
on what had passed between us, the more Yes ! The Indian had put precisely the
shrewdly I suspected the production of the same question to Mr. Luker, at parting, which
casket, and the application for the loan, of he had put to me ; receiving, of course, the
having been mere formalities, designed to same answer as the answer which I had given
pave the way for the parting inquiry addressed him.
to me. What did it mean ? Mr. Luker's explanation
I had satisfied myself of the correctness of gave me no assistance towards solving the pro-
this conclusion-and was trying to get on a blem. My own unaided ingenuity, consulted
step further, and penetrate the Indian's motives next, proved quite unequal to grapple with the
next-when a letter was brought to me, which difficulty. I had a dinner engagement that
proved to be from no less a person than Mr. evening ; and I went upstairs, in no very genial
Septimus Luker himself. He asked my pardon frame of mind, little suspecting that the way
in terms of sickening servility, and assured me to my dressing-room and the way to discovery
that he could explain matters to my satisfaction, meant, on this particular occasion, one and the
if I would honour him by consenting to a per- same thing.
sonal interview.
I made another unprofessional sacrifice to
mere curiosity. I honoured him by making an CHAPTER III
appointment at my office, for the next day.
Mr. Luker was, in every respect, such an THE prominent personage among the guests at
inferior creature to the Indian-he was so the dinner-party I found to be Mr. Murthwaite.
vulgar, so ugly, so cringing, and so prosy- On his appearance in England, after his
that he is quite unworthy of being reported, wanderings, society had been greatly inte-
at any length, in these pages. The substance rested in the traveller, as a man who had
of what he had to tell me may be fairly stated passed through many dangerous adventures,
as follows : and who had escaped to tell the tale. Не
The day before I had received the visit of had now announced his intention of returning
the Indian, Mr. Luker had been favoured with to the scene of his exploits, and of penetrating
a call from that accomplished gentleman. In into regions left still unexplored. This magni-
spite of his European disguise, Mr. Luker had ficent indifference to placing his safety in peril
instantly identified his visitor with the chief for the second time, revived the flagging inte-
of the three Indians, who had formerly annoyed rest of the worshippers in the hero. The law
him by loitering about his house, and who had of chances was clearly against his escaping on
left him no alternative but to consult a magis- this occasion. It is not every day that we can
trate. From this startling discovery he had meet an eminent person at dinner, and feel
rushed to the conclusion (naturally enough I that there is a reasonable prospect of the news
own) that he must certainly be in the company of his murder being the news that we hear of
of one of the three men, who had blindfolded him next.
him, gagged him, and robbed him of his banker's When the gentlemen were left by themselves
receipt. The result was that he became quite in the dining-room, I found myself sitting next
paralysed with terror, and that he firmlybelieved to Mr. Murthwaite. The guests present being
his last hour had come. all English, it is needless to say that, as soon
On his side, the Indian preserved the char- as the wholesome check exercised by the pre-
acter of a perfect stranger. He produced the sence of the ladies was removed, the conversa.
little casket, and made exactly the same appli- tion turned on politics as a necessary result.
cation which he had afterwards made to me. In respect to this all-absorbing national
As the speediest way of getting rid of him, topic, I happen to be one of the most un-
Mr. Luker had at once declared that he had English Englishmen living. As a general
no money. The Indian had thereupon asked rule, political talk appears to me to be of all
to be informed of the best and safest person to talk the most dreary and the most profitless.
apply to for the loan he wanted. Mr. Luker had Glancing at Mr. Murthwaite, when the bottles
answered that the best and safest person, in had made their first round of the table, I found
such cases, was usually a respectable solicitor. that he was apparently of my way of thinking.
Asked to name some individual of that char- He was doing it very dexterously- with all
acter and profession , Mr. Luker had mentioned possible consideration for the feelings of his
me-for the one simple reason that, in the ex- host-but it is not the less certain that he
tremity of his terror, mine was the first name was composing himself for a nap. It struck
which occurred to him. " The perspiration me as an experiment worth attempting, to try
was pouring off me like rain, sir, " the wretched whether a judicious allusion to the subject of
creature concluded . " I didn't knowwhat I was the Moonstone would keep him awake, and, if
talking about. And I hope you'll look over it, it did, to see what he thought of the last new
Mr. Bruff, sir, in consideration of my having complication in the Indian conspiracy, as rc-
been really and truly frightened out of my vealed in the prosaic precincts of my office.
wits. " "If I am not mistaken, Mr. Murthwaite,, " I
I excused the fellow graciously enough. It began, " you were acquainted with the late
was the readiest way of releasing myself from Lady Verinder, and you took some interest in
the sight of him. Before he left me, I detained the strange succession of events which ended
him to make one inquiry. Had the Indian said in the loss of the Moonstone ?"
116 THE MOONSTONE

The eminent traveller did me the honour of these present Indians, at their age, must be
waking up in an instant, and asking me who the successors of three other Indians (high
I was. caste Brahmins all of them, Mr. Bruff, when
I informed him of my professional connec- they left their native country ! ) who followed
tion with the Herncastle family, not forgetting the Colonel to these shores. Very well. These
the curious position which I had occupied present men of ours have succeeded to the men
towards the Colonel and his Diamond in the who were here before them. If they had
bygone time. only done that, the matter would not have
Mr. Murthwaite shifted round in his chair, been worth inquiring into. But they have
so as to put the rest of the company behind done more. They have succeeded to the or-
him (Conservatives and Liberals alike), and ganisation which their predecessors established
concentrated his whole attention on plain Mr. in this country. Don't start ! The organisa-
Bruff, of Gray's Inn Square. tion is a very trumpery affair, according to our
" Have you heard anything lately of the ideas, I have no doubt. I should reckon it up
Indians ? " he asked. as including the command of money ; the
' I have every reason to believe," I answered, services, when needed, of that shady sort of
" that one of them had an interview with me Englishman, who lives in the byways of
in my office yesterday." foreign life in London ; and , lastly, the secret
Mr. Murthwaite was not an easy man to sympathy of such few men of their own
astonish ; but that last answer of mine com- country, and (formerly, at least) of their own
pletely staggered him. I described what had religion, as happen to be employed in minister-
happened to Mr. Luker, and what had hap- ing to some of the multitudinous wants of this
pened to myself, exactly as I have described great city. Nothing very formidable, as you
it here. " It is clear that the Indian's parting see ! But worth notice at starting, because we
inquiry had an object," I added. " Why may find occasion to refer to this modest little
should he be so anxious to know the time at Indian organisation as we go on. Having now
which a borrower of money is usually privi- cleared the ground, I am going to ask you a
leged to pay the money back ? " question ; and I expect your experience to
"Is it possible that you don't see his motive, answer it. What was the event which gave
Mr. Bruff ? " the Indians their first chance of seizing the
"I am ashamed of my stupidity, Mr. Murth- Diamond ?"
waite- but I certainly don't see it. " I understood the allusion to my experience.
66
The great traveller became quite interested " The first chance they got," I replied, was
in sounding the immense vacuity of my dulness clearly offered to them by Colonel Herncastle's
to its lowest depths. death. They would be aware of his death, I
"Let me ask you one question," he said. suppose, as a matter of course ? "
" In what position does the conspiracy to seize " As a matter of course. And his death, as
the Moonstone now stand ?" you say, gave them their first chance. Up to
" I can't say, " I answered. " The Indian that time the Moonstone was safe in the strong-
plot is a mystery to me." room of the bank. You drew the Colonel's Will
"The Indian plot, Mr. Bruff, can only be a leaving his jewel to his niece ; and the Will
mystery to you, because you have never seri- was proved in the usual way. As a lawyer,
ously examined it. Shall we run it over to- you can be at no loss to know what course
gether, from the time when you drew Colonel the Indians would take (under English advice)
Herncastle's Will, to the time when the Indian after that.”
called at your office ? In your position, it may 66
They would provide themselves with a copy
be of very serious importance to the interests of the Will from Doctors' Commons," I said.
66 Exactly. One or other
of Miss Verinder, that you should be able to of those shady
take a clear view of this matter in case of Englishmen to whom I have alluded would
need. Tell me, bearing that in mind, whether get them the copy you have described. That
you will penetrate the Indian's motive for copy would inform them that the Moonstone was
yourself ? or whether you wish me to save you bequeathed to the daughter of Lady Verinder,
the trouble of making any inquiry into it ? and that Mr. Blake the elder, or some person
It is needless to say that I thoroughly ap- appointed by him, was to place it in her hands.
preciated the practical purpose which I now You will agree with me that the necessary in-
saw that he had in view, and that the first formation about persons in the position of Lady
of the two alternatives was the alternative I Verinder and Mr. Blake would be perfectly
chose. easy information to obtain. The one difficulty
"Very good," said Mr. Murthwaite. "We for the Indians would be to decide, whether
will take the question of the ages of the three they should make their attempt on the Dia-
Indians first. I can testify that they all look mond when it was in course of removal from
much about the same age-and you can decide the keeping of the bank, or whether they
for yourself, whether the man whom you saw should wait until it was taken down to York-
was, or was not, in the prime of life. Not shire to Lady Verinder's house. The second
forty, you think ? My idea too. We will say way would be manifestly the safest way-- and
not forty. Now look back to the time when there you have the explanation of the appear-
Colonel Herncastle came to England, and when ance of the Indians at Frizinghall, disguised as
you were concerned in the plan he adopted to jugglers, and waiting their time. In London,
preserve his life. I don't want you to count it is needless to say, they had their organisa-
the years. I will only say, it is clear that tion at their disposal to keep them informed of
 THE MOONSTONE 117
events . Two men would do it. One to follow difficulty to deal with of all, ” he said. " Per-
anybody who went from Mr. Blake's house to mit me to begin by admitting your statement
the bank. And one to treat the lower men- of the case as a perfectly correct one. The
servants with beer, and to hear the news of i Indians were undoubtedly not aware of what
the house. These commonplace precautions Mr. Franklin Blake had done with the Diamond
would readily inform them that Mr. Franklin for we find them making their first mistake,
Blake had been to the bank, and that Mr. on the first night of Mr. Blake's arrival at his
Franklin Blake was the only person in the aunt's house."
house who was going to visit Lady Verinder. " Their first mistake ? I repeated .
What actually followed upon that discovery, " Certainly ! The mistake of allowing them-
you remember, no doubt, quite as correctly selves to be surprised , lurking about the terrace
as I do." at night, by Gabriel Betteredge. However,
I remembered that Franklin Blake had de- they had the merit of seeing for themselves
tected one of the spies in the street-that he that they had taken a false step-for, as you
had, in consequence, advanced the time of his say, again, with plenty of time at their dis-
arrival in Yorkshire by some hours-and that posal, they never came near the house for
(thanks to old Betteredge's excellent advice) weeks afterwards."
""'Why,
he had lodged the Diamond in the bank at Mr. Murthwaite ? That's what I
Frizinghall, before the Indians were so much want to know ! Why ? "
as prepared to see him in the neighbourhood. " Because no Indian, Mr. Bruff, ever runs
All perfectly clear so far. But, the Indians an unnecessary risk. The clause you drew
being ignorant of the precaution thus taken, in Colonel Herncastle's Will, informed them
how was it that they had made no attempt on (didn't it ?) that the Moonstone was to pass
Lady Verinder's house (in which they must absolutely into Miss Verinder's possession on
have supposed the Diamond to be) through her birthday. Very well. Tell me which was
the whole of the interval that elapsed before the safest course for men in their position ?
Rachel's birthday ? To make their attempt on the Diamond while
In putting this difficulty to Mr. Murthwaite, it was under the control of Mr. Franklin Blake,
I thought it right to add that I had heard of who had shown already that he could suspect
the little boy, and the drop of ink, and the and outwit them ? Or to wait till the Diamond
rest of it, and that any explanation based on was at the disposal of a young girl, who would
the theory of clairvoyance was an explanation innocently delight in wearing the magnificent
which would carry no conviction whatever with jewel at every possible opportunity ? Perhaps
it, to my mind. you want a proof that my theory is correct ?
"Nor to mine either, " said Mr. Murthwaite. Take the conduct of the Indians themselves as
" The clairvoyance in this case is simply a the proof. They appeared at the house, after
development of the romantic side of the Indian waiting all those weeks, on Miss Verinder's
character. It would be a refreshment and an birthday ; and they were rewarded for the
encouragement to those men-quite inconceiv- patient accuracy of their calculations by seeing
able, I grant you, to the English mind-to the Moonstone in the bosom of her dress !
surround their wearisome and perilous errand When I heard the story of the Colonel and
in this country with a certain halo of the the Diamond, later in the evening, I felt so
marvellous and the supernatural. Their boy sure about the risk Mr. Franklin Blake had
is unquestionably a sensitive subject to the run ( they would have certainly attacked him,
mesmeric influence and, under that influence, if he had not happened to ride back to Lady
he has no doubt reflected what was already in Verinder's in the company of other people) ;
the mind of the person mesmerising him. I and I was so strongly convinced of the worse
have tested the theory of clairvoyance—and I risks still, in store for Miss Verinder, that I re-
have never found the manifestations get be- commended following the Colonel's plan, and
yond that point. The Indians don't investigate destroying the identity of the gem by having it
the matter in this way ; the Indians look upon cut into separate stones. How its extraordinary
their boy as a Seer of things invisible to their disappearance, that night, made my advice use-
eyes-and, I repeat, in that marvel they find less, and utterly defeated the Hindoo plot-
the source of a new interest in the purpose and how all further action on the part of the
that unites them. I only notice this as offer- Indians was paralysed the next day by their
ing a curious view of human character, which confinement in prison as rogues and vagabonds
must be quite new to you. We have nothing you know as well as I do. The first act in
whatever to do with clairvoyance, or with the conspiracy closes there. Before we go on
mesmerism, or with anything else that is hard to the second, may I ask whether I have met
of belief to a practical man, in the inquiry that your difficulty, with an explanation which is
we are now pursuing. My object in following satisfactory to the mind of a practical man ? "
the Indian plot, step by step, is to trace re- It was impossible to deny that he had met
sults back, by rational means, to natural causes. my difficulty fairly ; thanks to his superior
Have I succeeded to your satisfaction so far ? " knowledge of the Indian character- and thanks
"Not a doubt of it, Mr. Murthwaite ! I am to his not having had hundreds of other Wills
waiting, however, with some anxiety, to hear to think of since Colonel Herncastle's time !
the rational explanation of the difficulty which "So far, so good ," resumed Mr. Murthwaite.
I have just had the honour of submitting to "The first chance the Indians had of seizing
you." the Diamond was a chance lost, on the day
Mr. Murthwaite smiled. " It's the easiest when they were committed to the prison at
118 THE MOONSTONE

Frizinghall. When did the second chance | went. What was the next news we heard of
offer itself ? The second chance offered itself them, Mr. Bruff ? "
-as I am in a condition to prove-while they 66
"They were annoying Mr. Luker," I answered,
were still in confinement." "by loitering about the house at Lambeth."
He took out his pocket-book, and opened it "Did you read the report of Mr. Luker's ap-
at a particular leaf, before he went on. plication to the magistrate ? "
" I was staying," he resumed, " with some " Yes."
friends at Frizinghall, at the time. A day or " In the course of his statement he referred,
two before the Indians were set free (on a if you remember, to a foreign workman in his
Monday, I think), the governor of the prison employment, whom he had just dismissed on
came to me with a letter. It had been left for suspicion of attempted theft, and whom he
the Indians by one Mrs. Macann, of whom also distrusted as possibly acting in collusion
they had hired the lodging in which they with the Indians who had annoyed him. The
lived ; and it had been delivered at Mrs. inference is pretty plain, Mr. Bruff, as to who
Macann's door, in ordinary course of post, on wrote that letter which puzzled you just now,
the previous morning. The prison authorities and as to which of Mr. Luker's Oriental trea-
had noticed that the post-mark was ' Lambeth, ' sures the workman had attempted to steal."
and that the address on the outside, though The inference (as I hastened to acknowledge)
expressed in correct English, was, in form, was too plain to need being pointed out.
oddly at variance with the customary method had never doubted that the Moonstone had
of directing a letter. On opening it, they had found its way into Mr. Luker's hands, at the
found the contents to be written in a foreign time Mr. Murthwaite alluded to. My only ques-
language, which they rightly guessed at as tion had been, How had the Indians discovered
Hindustani. Their object in coming to me the circumstance? This question (the most
was, of course, to have the letter translated to difficult to deal with of all, as I had thought)
them. I took a copy in my pocket- book of the had now received its answer, like the rest.
original, and of my translation- and there they Lawyer as I was, I began to feel that I might
are at your service. " trust Mr. Murthwaite to lead me blindfold
He handed me the open pocket-book. The through the last windings of the labyrinth,
address on the letter was the first thing copied. along which he had guided me thus far. I
It was all written in one paragraph, without paid him the compliment of telling him this,
any attempt at punctuation, thus : " To the and found my little concession very graciously
three Indian men living with the lady called received.
Macann at Frizinghall in Yorkshire." The " You shall give me a piece of information
Hindoo characters followed ; and the English in your turn before we go on," he said. " Some-
translation appeared at the end, expressed in body must have taken the Moonstone from
these mysterious words : Yorkshire to London. And somebody must
" In the name of the Regent of the Night, have raised money on it, or it would never
whose seat is on the Antelope, whose arms have been in Mr. Luker's possession. Has
embrace the four corners of the earth. there been any discovery made of who that
66
Brothers, turn your faces to the south, and person was ?"
come to me in the street of many noises, which "None that I know of."
leads down to the muddy river. " There was a story (was there not ? ) about
"The reason is this. Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite. I am told he is an
66'My own eyes have seen it."
eminent philanthropist which is decidedly
There the letter ended, without either date against him, to begin with."
or signature. I handed it back to Mr. Murth- I heartily agreed in this with Mr. Murthwaite.
waite, and owned that this curious specimen At the same time, I felt bound to inform him
of Hindoo correspondence rather puzzled me. (without, it is needless to say, mentioning Miss
" I can explain the first sentence to you," he Verinder's name) that Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite
said ; " and the conduct of the Indians them- had been cleared of all suspicion, on evidence
selves will explain the rest. The god of the which I could answer for as entirely beyond
moon is represented, in the Hindoo mythology, dispute.
as a four-armed deity, seated on an antelope ; "Very well," said Mr. Murthwaite quietly,
and one of his titles is the regent of the night. " let us leave it to time to clear the matter up.
Here, then, to begin with, is something which In the meanwhile, Mr. Bruff, we must get back-
looks suspiciously like an indirect reference again to the Indians, on your account. Their
to the Moonstone. Now, let us see what the journey to London simply ended in their be-
Indians did, after the prison authorities had coming the victims of another defeat. The
allowed them to receive their letter. On the loss of their second chance of seizing the
very day when they were set free they went at Diamond is mainly attributable, as I think, to
once to the railway station, and took their places the cunning and foresight of Mr. Luker- who
in the first train that started for London. We doesn't stand at the top of the prosperous and
all thought it a pity at Frizinghall that their ancient profession of usury for nothing ! By
proceedings were not privately watched. But, the prompt dismissal of the man in his employ-
after Lady Verinder had dismissed the police ment, he deprived the Indians of the assistance
officer, and had stopped all further inquiry which their confederate would have rendered
into the loss of the Diamond, no one else could them in getting into the house. Bythe prompt
presume to stir in the matter. The Indians transport of the Moonstone to his banker's, he
were free to go to London, and to London they took the conspirators by surprise before they
 THE MOONSTONE 119

were prepared with a new plan for robbing "Towards the end of last June," I answered,
him. How the Indians, in this latter case, sus- as well as I can reckon it."
pected what he had done, and how they con- " And we are now in the year ' forty-eight.
trived to possess themselves of his banker's Very good. If the unknown person who has
receipt, are events too recent to need dwelling pledged the Moonstone can redeem it in a
on. Let it be enough to say that they know year, the jewel will be in that person's posses-
the Moonstone to be once more out of their sion again at the end of June, ' forty-nine. I
reach ; deposited (under the general description shall be thousands of miles away from Eng-
of a valuable of great price ' ) in a banker's land and English news at that date. But it
strong-room. Now, Mr. Bruff, what is their may be worth your while to take a note of
third chance of seizing the Diamond ? and when it, and to arrange to be in London at the
will it come ?" time."
As the question passed his lips, I penetrated "You think something serious will happen ?"
the motive of the Indian's visit to my office at I said.
last ! "I think I shall be safer," he answered,
"I see it ! " I exclaimed. "The Indians take " among the fiercest fanatics of Central Asia
it for granted, as we do, that the Moonstone than I should be if I crossed the door of the
has been pledged ; and they want to be cer- bank with the Moonstone in my pocket. The
tainly informed of the earliest period at which Indians have been defeated twice running, Mr.
the pledge can be redeemed-because that will Bruff. It's my firm belief that they won't be
be the earliest period at which the Diamond defeated a third time."
can be removed from the safe keeping of the Those were the last words he said on the
bank ! " subject. The coffee came in ; the guests rose,
"I told you you would find it out for your- and dispersed themselves about the room ;
self, Mr. Bruff, if I only gave you a fair chance. and we joined the ladies of the dinner-party
In a year from the time when the Moonstone upstairs.
was pledged, the Indians will be on the watch I made a note of the date, and it may not be
for their third chance. Mr. Luker's own lips amiss if I close my narrative by repeating that
have told them how long they will have to note here :
wait, and your respectable authority has satis- June, 'forty-nine. Expect news of the Indians
fied them that Mr. Luker has spoken the truth. towards the end ofthe month.
When do we suppose, at a rough guess, that And that done, I hand the pen, which I have
the Diamond found its way into the money- now no further claim to use, to the writer who
lender's hands ?" follows me next.

THIRD NARRATIVE

Contributed by FRANKLIN BLAKE

CHAPTER II mourning border was the letter that I opened

first.
IN the spring of the year eighteen hundred It informed me that my father was dead,
and forty-nine I was wandering in the East, and that I was heir to his great fortune. The
and had then recently altered the travelling wealth which had thus fallen into my hands T
plans which I had laid out some months before, brought its responsibilities with it ; and Mr.
and which I had communicated to my lawyer Bruff entreated me to lose no time in returning
and my banker in London. to England .
This change made it necessary for me to By daybreak the next morning I was on my
send one of my servants to obtain my letters way back to my own country.
and remittances from the English consul in a
certain city, which was no longer included as The picture presented of me, by my old
one of my resting-places in my new travelling friend Betteredge, at the time of my depar-
scheme. The man was to join me again at an ture from England, is (as I think) a little
appointed place and time. An accident, for overdrawn. He has, in his own quaint way,
which he was not responsible, delayed him interpreted seriously one of his young mis-
on his errand. For a week I and my people tress's many satirical references to my foreign
waited, encamped on the borders of a desert. education ; and has persuaded himself that
At the end of that time the missing man made he actually saw those French, German, and
his appearance, with the money and the letters, Italian sides to my character, which my lively
at the entrance of my tent. cousin only professed to discover in jest, and
" I am afraid I bring you bad news, sir, he which never had any real existence, except
said, and pointed to one of the letters, which in our good Betteredge's own brain. But bar-
had a mourning border round it, and the address ring this drawback, I am bound to own that
on which was in the handwriting of Mr. Bruff. he has stated no more than the truth in re-
I know nothing, in a case of this kind, so presenting me as wounded to the heart by
unendurable as suspense. The letter with the Rachel's treatment, and as leaving England
120 THE MOONSTONE

in the first keenness of suffering caused by the word that I would call again at six o'clock
bitterest disappointment of my life. that evening.
I went abroad, resolved - if change and At six o'clock I was informed for the second
absence could help me-to forget her. It is, time that Miss Verinder was not at home.
I am persuaded, no true view of human nature Had any message been left for me ? No
which denies that change and absence do help message had been left for me. Had Miss
a man under these circumstances : they force Verinder not received My tard ? The servant
his attention away from the exclusive contem- begged my pardon-Miss Verinder had re-
plation of his own sorrow. I never forgot her ; ceived it.
but the pang of remembrance lost its worst The inference was too plain to be resisted.
bitterness, little by little, as time, distance, Rachel declined to see me.
and novelty interposed themselves more and On my side, I declined to be treated in this
more effectually between Rachel and me. way, without making an attempt, at least, to
On the other hand, it is no less certain that, discover a reason for it. I sent up my name
with the act of turning homeward, the remedy to Mrs. Merridew, and requested her to favour
which had gained its ground so steadily, began me with a personal interview at any hour
now, just as steadily, to drop back. The nearer which it might be most convenient to her to
I drew to the country which she inhabited, name.
and to the prospect of seeing her again, the Mrs. Merridew made no difficulty about re-
more irresistibly her influence began to re- ceiving me at once. I was shown into a com-
cover its hold on me. On leaving England, fortable little sitting-room, and found myself
she was the last person in the world whose in the presence of a comfortable little elderly
name I would have suffered to pass my lips. lady. She was so good as to feel great regret
On returning to England, she was the first and much surprise, entirely on my account.
person I inquired after, when Mr. Bruff and She was at the same time, however, not in a
I met again. position to offer me any explanation, or to press
I was informed, of course, of all that had Rachel on a matter which appeared to relate
happened in my absence : in other words, of to a question of private feeling alone. This
all that has been related here in continuation was said over and over again, with a polite
of Betteredge's narrative-one circumstance patience that nothing could tire ; and this was
only being excepted. Mr. Bruff did not, at all I gained by applying to Mrs. Merridew.
that time, feel himself at liberty to inform My last chance was to write to Rachel. My
me of the motives which had privately influ- servant took a letter to her the next day, with
enced Rachel and Godfrey Ablewhite in re- strict instructions to wait for an answer.
calling the marriage promise, on either side. The answer came back, literally in one
I troubled him with no embarrassing questions sentence.
on this delicate subject. It was relief enough "Miss Verinder begs to decline entering into ""
to me, after the jealous disappointment caused any correspondence with Mr. Franklin Blake.
by hearing that she had ever contemplated Fond as I was of her, I felt indignantly the
being Godfrey's wife, to know that reflection insult offered to me in that reply. Mr. Bruff
had convinced her of acting rashly, and that came in to speak to me on business, before I
she had effected her own release from her had recovered possession of myself. I dis-
marriage-engagement . missed the business on the spot, and laid the
Having heard the story of the past, my next whole case before him. He proved to be as
inquiries (still inquiries after Rachel !) advanced incapable of enlightening me as Mrs. Merridew
naturally to the present time. Under whose herself. I asked him if any slander had been
care had she been placed after leaving Mr. spoken of me in Rachel's hearing. Mr. Bruff
Bruff's house ? and where was she living now ? was not aware of any slander of which I was
She was living under the care of a widowed the object. Had she referred to me in any
sister of the late Sir John Verinder- one Mrs. way, while she was staying under Mr. Bruff's
Merridew- whom her mother's executors had roof ? Never. Had she not so much as asked ,
requested to act as guardian, and who had during all my long absence, whether I was
accepted the proposal. They were reported living or dead ? No such question had ever
to me as getting on together admirably well, passed her lips. I took out of my pocket-book
and as being now established, for the season, the letter which poor Lady Verinder had written
in Mrs. Merridew's house in Portland Place. to me from Frizinghall, on the day when I left
Half an hour after receiving this informa- her house in Yorkshire. And I pointed Mr.
tion, I was on my way to Portland Place- Bruff's attention to these two sentences in it :
without having had the courage to own it to " The valuable assistance which you rendered
Mr. Bruff ! to the inquiry after the lost jewel is still an
The man who answered the door was not unpardoned offence, in the present dreadful
sure whether Miss Verinder was at home or state of Rachel's mind. Moving blindfold in
not. I sent him upstairs with my card, as this matter, you have added to the burden of
the speediest way of setting the question at anxiety which she has had to bear, by inno-
rest. The man came down again with an cently threatening her secret with discovery
impenetrable face, and informed me that Miss through your exertions."
Verinder was out. " Is it possible," I asked , "that the feeling
I might have suspected other people of towards me which is there described, is as
purposely denying themselves to me. But bitter as ever against me now?"
it was impossible to suspect Rachel. I left Mr. Bruff looked unaffectedly distressed.
 THE MOONSTONE 121

"If you insist on an answer," he said, "I " By the lord Harry, Mr. Franklin ! " cried
own I can place no other interpretation on her the old man, " that's exactly what ' Robinson
conduct than that.' f Crusoe' has done ! "
I rang the bell, and directed my servant to He struggled to his feet with my assistance,
pack my portmanteau, and to send out for a and stood for a moment, looking backwards
railway guide. Mr. Bruff asked, in astonish- and forwards between " Robinson Crusoe " and
ment, what I was going to do. me, apparently at a loss to discover which of
"I am going to Yorkshire," I answered, "by us had surprised him most. The verdict ended
the next train." in favour of the book. Holding it open before
" May I ask for what purpose ? " him in both hands, he surveyed the wonderful
volume with a stare of unutterable anticipation
" Mr. Bruff, the assistance I innocently ren-
dered to the inquiry after the Diamond was an -as if he expected to see Robinson Crusoe
unpardoned offence, in Rachel's mind, nearly himself walk out of the pages, and favour us
a year since ; and it remains an unpardoned with a personal interview.
offence still. I won't accept that position ! I "Here's the bit, Mr. Franklin ! " he said, as
am determined to find out the secret of her soon as he had recovered the use of his speech.
silence towards her mother, and her enmity "As I live by bread, sir, here's the bit I was
towards me. If time, pains, and money can do reading, the moment before you came in !
it, I will lay my hand on the thief who took Page one hundred and fifty-six as follows :-
the Moonstone ! " 'I stood like one Thunderstruck, or as if I had
The worthy old gentleman attempted to re- seen an Apparition. ' If that isn't as much as
monstrate-to induce me to listen to reason- to say : 'Expect the sudden appearance of Mr.
to do his duty towards me, in short. I was Franklin Blake ' -there's no meaning in the
deaf to everything that he could urge. No English language ! " said Betteredge, closing
earthly consideration would, at that moment, the book with a bang, and getting one of his
have shaken the resolution that was in me. hands free at last to take the hand which I
" I shall take up the inquiry again, " I went
offered him.
on, " at the point where I dropped it ; and I I had expected him, naturally enough under
the circumstances, to overwhelm me with ques-
shall follow it onwards, step by step, till I come
to the present time. There are missing links tions. But no- the hospitable impulse was
in the evidence, as I left it, which Gabriel the uppermost impulse in the old servant's
Betteredge can supply, and to Gabriel Better- mind, when a member of the family appeared
edge I go ! " (no matter how ! ) as a visitor at the house.
Towards sunset, that evening, I stood again "Walk in, Mr. Franklin," he said, opening
on the well-remembered terrace, and looked the door behind him, with his quaint old-
once more at the peaceful old country house. fashioned bow. " I'll ask what brings you
The gardener was the first person whom I saw here afterwards I must make you comfort-
in the deserted grounds. He had left Better- able first. There have been sad changes since
you went away. The house is shut up, and
edge, an hour since, sunning himself in the cus-
the servants are gone. Never mind that ! I'll
tomary corner of the back yard. I knew it well ;
and I said I would go and seek him myself. cook your dinner ; and the gardener's wife
I walked round by the familiar paths and will make your bed-and if there's a bottle
passages, and looked in at the open gate of theof our famous Latour claret left in the cellar,
yard. down your throat, Mr. Franklin, that bottle
There he was the dear old friend of the shall go. I bid you welcome, sir ! I bid you
happy days that were never to come again- heartily welcome ! " said the poor old fellow ,
there he was in the old corner, on the old bee-fighting manfully against the gloom of the
hive chair, with his pipe in his mouth, and hisdeserted house, and receiving me with the
" Robinson Crusoe " on his lap, and his two sociable and courteous attention of the bygone
time.
friends, the dogs, dozing on either side of him !
In the position in which I stood, my shadow It vexed me to disappoint him. But the
was projected in front of me by the last slant-house was Rachel's house now. Could I eat in
ing rays of the sun. Either the dogs saw it, it, or sleep in it, after what had happened in
or their keen scent informed them of my ap- London ? The commonest sense of self-respect
proach they started up with a growl. Start- forbade me - properly forbade me- to cross
ing in his turn, the old man quieted them by a the threshold.
word, and then shaded his failing eyes with I took Betteredge by the arm, and led him
his hand, and looked inquiringly at the figure out into the garden. There was no help for it.
at the gate. I was obliged to tell him the truth. Between
My own eyes were full of tears. I was his attachment to Rachel, and his attachment
obliged to wait for a moment before I could to me, he was sorely puzzled and distressed at
trust myself to speak to him. the turn things had taken. His opinion, when
he expressed it, was given in his usual down-
right manner, and was agreeably redolent of
CHAPTER II the most positive philosophy I know - the
philosophy of the Betteredge school.
" BETTEREDGE ! " I said, pointing to the well- " Miss Rachel has her faults - I've never
remembered book on his knee, " has ' Robinson denied it," he began. " And riding the high
Crusoe ' informed you, this evening, that you horse, now and then, is one of them. She has
might expect to see Franklin Blake ?" been trying to ride over you-and you have
122 THE MOONSTONE

put up with it. Lord, Mr. Franklin, don't | sheltered inland valley , on the banks of the
you know women by this time better than prettiest stream in that part of Yorkshire ; and
that ? You have heard me talk of the late the farmer had a spare bedroom and parlour,
Mrs. Betteredge ? " 1 which he was accustomed to let to artists ,
I had heard him talk of the late Mrs. Better- anglers , and tourists in general. A more agree-
edge pretty often - invariably producing her able place of abode, during my stay in the
as his one undeniable example of the inbred neighbourhood , I could not have wished to find.
frailty and perversity of the other sex. In "Are the rooms to let ?" I inquired.
that capacity he exhibited her now. " Mrs. Hotherstone herself, sir, asked for
" Very well, Mr. Franklin. Now listen to my good word to recommend the rooms,
me. Different women have different ways of yesterday. "
riding the high horse. The late Mrs. Better- "I'll take them, Betteredge , with the greatest
edge took her exercise on that favourite female pleasure. "
animal whenever I happened to deny her any- We went back to the yard, in which I had
thing that she had set her heart on. So sure left my travelling-bag. After putting a stick
as I came home from my work on these occa- through the handle, and swinging the bag over
sions, so sure was my wife to call to me up the his shoulder, Betteredge appeared to relapse
kitchen stairs, and to say that, after my brutal into the bewilderment which my sudden appear-
treatment of her, she hadn't the heart to cook ance had caused, when I surprised him in the
me my dinner. I put up with it for some time beehive chair. He looked incredulously at the
-just as you are putting up with it now from house, and then he wheeled about, and looked
Miss Rachel. At last my patience wore out. more incredulously still at me.
I went downstairs, and I took Mrs. Betteredge "I've lived a goodish long time in the world,"
- affectionately, you understand -up in my said this best and dearest of all old servants-
arms, and carried her, holus-bolus, into the best " but the like of this, I never did expect to see.
parlour, where she received her company. I There stands the house, and here stands Mr.
said, ' That's the right place for you, my dear, ' Franklin Blake-and, Damme, if one of them
and so went back to the kitchen. I locked isn't turning his back on the other, and going
myself in, and took off my coat, and turned to sleep in a lodging ! "
up my shirt sleeves, and cooked my own dinner. He led the way out, wagging his head and
When it was done, I served it up in my best growling ominously. " There's only one more
manner, and enjoyed it most heartily. I had miracle that can happen," he said to me, over
my pipe and my drop of grog afterwards ; his shoulder, " The next thing you'll do, Mr.
and then I cleared the table, and washed the Franklin, will be to pay me back that seven-
crockery, and cleaned the knives and forks, and-sixpence you borrowed of me when you
and put the things away, and swept up the were a boy."
hearth. When things were as bright and clean This stroke of sarcasm put him in a better
again, as bright and clean could be, I opened humour with himself and with me. We left
the door, and let Mrs. Betteredge in. I've the house, and passed through the lodge gates.
had my dinner, my dear,' I said ; and I hope Once clear of the grounds, the duties of hospi-
you will find that I have left the kitchen all tality (in Betteredge's code of morals) ceased,
that your fondest wishes can desire.' For the and the privileges of curiosity began.
rest of that woman's life, Mr. Franklin, I never He dropped back, so as to let me get on a
had to cook my dinner again ! Moral : You level with him. "Fine evening for a walk,
have put up with Miss Rachel in London ; Mr. Franklin ," he said, as if we had just
don't put up with her in Yorkshire. Come accidentally encountered each other at that
back to the house." moment. " Supposing you had gone to the
Quite unanswerable ! I could only assure hotel at Frizinghall, sir ? "
my good friend that even his powers of per- "Yes ? "
suasion were, in this case, thrown away on me. "I should have had the honour of breakfasting
"It's a lovely evening," I said. " I shall with you to-morrow morning.'""
walk to Frizinghall, and stay at the hotel, "Come and breakfast with me at Hother-
and you must come to-morrow morning and stone's Farm instead."
breakfast with me. I have something to say "Much obliged to you for your kindness, Mr.
to you." Franklin. But it wasn't exactly breakfast that
Betteredge shook his head gravely. I was driving at. I think you mentioned that
"I'm heartily sorry for this," he said. " I you had something to say to me ? If it's no
had hoped, Mr. Franklin, to hear that things secret, sir," said Betteredge, suddenly abandon-
were all smooth and pleasant again between ing the crooked way, and taking the straight
you and Miss Rachel. If you must have your one, " I'm burning to know what's brought
own way, sir, ” he continued, after a moment's you down here, if you please, in this sudden
reflection, " there is no need to go to Frizing- way."
hall to-night for a bed. It's to be had nearer " What brought me here before ? " I asked.
than that. There's Hotherstone's Farm, barely " The Moonstone, Mr. Franklin. But what
two miles from here. You can hardly object brings you now, sir ? "
to that on Miss Rachel's account, " the old man "The Moonstone again, Betteredge."
added slily. " Hotherstone lives, Mr. Franklin, The old man suddenly stood still, and looked
on his own freehold." at me in the grey twilight as if he suspected
I remembered the place the moment Better- his own ears of deceiving him.
edge mentioned it. The farm-house stood in a " If that's a joke, sir," he said , " I'm afraid
 THE MOONSTONE 123

I'm getting a little dull in my old age. I don't " As well as if it was yesterday ! My lady
take it." herself wrote you a letter about it ; and you
" It's no joke," I answered. " I have come were so good as to show the letter to me. It
here to take up the inquiry which was dropped said that Miss Rachel was mortally offended
when I left England. I have come here to do with you for the part you had taken in trying
what nobody has done yet-to find out who to recover her jewel. And neither my lady,
took the Diamond:" nor you, nor anybody else could guess why."
" Let the Diamond be, Mr. Franklin !. Take " Quite true, Betteredge ! And I come back
my advice, and let the Diamond be ! That from my travels and find her mortally offended
cursed Indian jewel has misguided everybody with me still. I knew that the Diamond was
who has come near it. Don't waste your money at the bottom of it last year, and I know that
and your temper-in the fine spring-time of the Diamond is at the bottom of it now. I
your life, sir-by meddling with the Moonstone. have tried to speak to her, and she won't see
How can you hope to succeed (saving your pre- me. I have tried to write to her, and she
sence), when Sergeant Cuff himself made a won't answer me. How, in Heaven's name,
mess of it ? Sergeant Cuff ! " repeated Better- am I to clear the matter up ? The chance of
edge, shaking his forefinger at me sternly. searching into the loss of the Moonstone is
" The greatest policeman in England ! " the one chance of inquiry that Rachel herself
"My mind is made up, my old friend. Even has left me !"
Sergeant Cuff doesn't daunt me. By-the-by, I Those words evidently put the case before
may want to speak to him, sooner or later. him as he had not seen it yet. He asked a
Have you heard anything of him lately ?" question which satisfied me that I had shaken
"The
CC WhySergeant
not ? " won't help you, Mr. Franklin." him.
"There is no ill-feeling in this, Mr. Franklin,
" There has been an event, sir, in the police on your side- is there ?
circles, since you went away. The great Cuff " There was some anger," I answered, " when
has retired from business. He has got a little I left London. But that is all worn out now.
cottage at Dorking ; and he's up to his eyes in I want to make Rachel come to an understand-
the growing of roses. I have it in his own ing with me and I want nothing more."
handwriting, Mr. Franklin. He has grown the " You don't feel any fear, sir- supposing
white moss rose, without budding it on the dog you make any discoveries-in regard to what
rose first. And Mr. Begbie the gardener is to you may find out about Miss Rachel ?"
go to Dorking, and own that the Sergeant has I understood the jealous belief in his young
beaten him at last." mistress which prompted those words.
"It doesn't much matter," I said. " I must " I am as certain of her as you are," I
do without Sergeant Cuff's help. And I must answered. " The fullest disclosure of her secret
trust to you, at starting." will reveal nothing that can alter her place in
It is likely enough that I spoke rather care- your estimation, or in mine."
lessly. At any rate, Betteredge seemed to be Betteredge's last-left scruples vanished at
piqued by something in the reply which I had that.
just made to him. " You might trust to worse " If I am doing wrong to help you, Mr.
than me, Mr. Franklin- I can tell you that, " he Franklin," he exclaimed, "all I can say is-
said a little sharply. I am as innocent of seeing it as the babe un-
The tone in which he retorted, and a certain born ! I can put you on the road to discovery,
disturbance, after he had spoken, which I de- if you can only go on by yourself. You re-
tected in his manner, suggested to me that he member that poor girl of ours-Rosanna Spear-
was possessed of some information which he man ?"
hesitated to communicate. "Of course !"
" I expect you to help me," I said, "in "You always thought she had some sort of
picking up the fragments of evidence which confession, in regard to this matter of the Moon-
Sergeant Cuff has left behind him. I know stone, which she wanted to make to you ? "
you can do that. Can you do no more ?" "I certainly couldn't account for her strange
"What more can you expect from me, sir ? " conduct in any other way."
asked Betteredge, with an appearance of the "You may set that doubt at rest, Mr. Frank-
utmost humility. lin, whenever you please."
"I expect more-from what you said just It was my turn to come to a standstill now.
now." I tried vainly, in the gathering darkness, to
"Mere boasting, Mr. Franklin, " returned the see his face. In the surprise of the moment,
old man obstinately. " Some people are born I asked a little impatiently what he meant.
boasters, and they never get over it to their 66
Steady, sir ! " proceeded Betteredge. " I
dying day. I'm one of them." mean what I say. Rosanna Spearman left a
There was only one way to take with him. sealed letter behind her-a letter addressed
I appealed to his interest in Rachel, and his to you."
interest in me. "Where is it ?"
"Betteredge, would you be glad to hear that "In the possession of a friend of hers, at
Rachel and I were good friends again ? " Cobb's Hole. You must have heard tell, when
"I have served your family, sir, to mighty you were here last, sir, of Limping Lucy-a
little purpose, if you doubt it ! " lame girl with a crutch."
"Do you remember how Rachel treated me " The fisherman's daughter ? "
before I left England ? " "The same, Mr. Franklin."
124 THE MOONSTONE

"Why wasn't the letter forwarded to me ?" 66' Aye ! aye ! and the cure in this instance is
"Limping Lucy has a will of her own, sir. to open Rosanna Spearman's letter, I suppose ?
She wouldn't give it into any hands but yours. Come along, and let's get it. "
And you had left England before I could write Early as it was, we found the fisherman's
to you." wife astir in her kitchen . On my presentation
66
Let's go back, Betteredge, and get it at by Betteredge, good Mrs. Yolland performed a
once ! " social ceremony, strictly reserved (as I after-
"Too late, sir, to-night. They're great savers wards learnt) for strangers of distinction. She
of candles along our coast ; and they go to put a bottle of Dutch gin and a couple of
bed early at Cobb's Hole." clean pipes on the table, and opened the con-
"Nonsense ! We might get there in half versation by saying, " What news from London,
an hour." sir ?"
" You might, sir. And when you did get Before I could find an answer to this im-
there, you would find the door locked." He mensely comprehensive question, an apparition
pointed to a light glimmering below us ; and, advanced towards me, out of a dark corner of
at the same moment, I heard through the still- the kitchen. A wan, wild, haggard girl, with
ness of the evening the bubbling of a stream. remarkably beautiful hair, and with a fierce
"There's the Farm, Mr. Franklin ! Make your- keenness in her eyes, came limping up on a
self comfortable for to-night, and come to me crutch to the table at which I was sitting, and
to-morrow morning-if you'll be so kind ?" looked at me as if I was an object of mingled
" You will go with me to the fisherman's interest and horror, which it quite fascinated
cottage ? " 99 her to see.
" Yes, sir. "Mr. Betteredge," she said, without taking
66'Early
?" her eyes off me, " mention his name again if
" As early, Mr. Franklin, as you like." you please."
We descended the path that led to the Farm. " This gentleman's name, " answered Better-
edge (with a strong emphasis on gentleman),
" is Mr. Franklin Blake."
The girl turned her back on me, and suddenly
CHAPTER III left the room. Good Mrs. Yolland-as I believe
-made some apologies for her daughter's odd
I HAVE only the most indistinct recollection behaviour, and Betteredge (probably) translated
of what happened at Hotherstone's Farm . them into polite English. I speak of this in
I remember a hearty welcome ; a prodigious complete uncertainty. My attention was ab-
supper, which would have fed a whole village sorbed in following the sound of the girl's
in the East ; a delightfully clean bedroom, crutch. Thump-thump up the wooden stairs ;
with nothing in it to regret but that detest- thump-thump across the room above our heads ;
able product of the folly of our forefathers thump-thump down the stairs again and
-a feather-bed ; a restless night, with much there stood the apparition at the open door,
kindling of matches, and many lightings of with a letter in its hand, beckoning me out !
one little candle ; and an immense sensation I left more apologies in course of delivery
of relief when the sun rose, and there was a behind me, and followed this strange creature-
prospect of getting up. limping on before me, faster and faster- down
It had been arranged over-night with Better- the slope ofthe beach. She led me behind some
edge, that I was to call for him, on our way to boats, out of sight and hearing of the few
Cobb's Hole, as early as I liked-which, inter- people in the fishing-village, and then stopped,
preted by my impatience to get possession of and faced me for the first time.
the letter, meant as early as I could. Without "Stand there, " she said, " I want to look
waiting for breakfast at the Farm, I took a at you."
crust of bread in my hand, and set forth, in There was no mistaking the expression on
some doubt whether I should not surprise the her face. I inspired her with the strongest
excellent Betteredge in his bed. To my great emotions of abhorrence and disgust. Let me
relief he proved to be quite as excited about not be vain enough to say that no woman had
the coming event as I was. I found him ready, ever looked at me in this manner before. I
and waiting for me, with his stick in his hand. will only venture on the more modest assertion
"How are you this morning, Betteredge ? " that no woman had ever let me perceive it yet.
"Very poorly, sir. " There is a limit to the length of the inspection
"Sorry to hear it. What do you com- which a man can endure, under certain circum-
plain of?" stances. I attempted to direct Limping Lucy's
"I complain of a new disease, Mr. Franklin, attention to some less revolting object than
of my own inventing. I don't want to alarm my face. ""
you, but you're certain to catch it before the "I think you have got a letter to give me,'
morning is out. " I began. " Is it the letter there, in your
"The devil I am ! " hand ?"
"Do you feel an uncomfortable heat at the "Say that again, " was the only answer I
pit of your stomach, sir ? and a nasty thumping received.
at the top of your head ? Ah ! not yet ? It I repeated the words, like a good child
will lay hold ofyou at Cobb's Hole, Mr. Franklin. learning its lesson.
I call it the detective-fever ; and I first caught "No," said the girl, speaking to herself, but
it in the company of Sergeant Cuff." keeping her eyes still mercilessly fixed on me.
 THE MOONSTONE 125

" I can't find out what she saw in his face. I detective-fever had completely succumbed to
can't guess what she heard in his voice." She that irresistible malady. 66 I can't stand it any
suddenly looked away from me, and rested her longer, Mr. Franklin. What does her letter
head wearily on the top of her crutch. " Oh, say ? For mercy's sake, sir, tell us, what does
my poor dear ! " she said, in the first soft tones her letter say ?"
which had fallen from her, in my hearing. I handed him the letter, and the memo-
" Oh, my lost darling ! what could you see in randum. He read the first without appearing
this man ? " She lifted her head again fiercely, to be much interested in it. But the second-
and looked at me once more. " Can you eat the memorandum-produced a strong impres-
and drink ? " she asked. sion on him.
I did my best to preserve my gravity, and "The Sergeant said it ! " cried Betteredge.
answered, " Yes." " From first to last, sir, the Sergeant said she
" Can you sleep ? " had got a memorandum of the hiding- place.
" Yes." And here it is ! Lord save us, Mr. Franklin,
"When you see a poor girl in service, do you here is the secret that puzzled everybody, from
feel no remorse ?" the great Cuff downwards, ready and waiting,
"Certainly not. Why should I ? ” as one may say, to show itself to you ! It's the
She abruptly thrust the letter (as the phrase ebb now, sir, as anybody may see for them-
is) into my face. selves. How long will it be till the turn of the
"Take it !" she exclaimed furiously. " I tide ? " He looked up, and observed a lad at
never set eyes on you before. God Almighty ‫وو‬ work, at some little distance from us, mending
forbid I should ever set eyes on you again. a net. "Tammie Bright ! " he shouted, at the
With those parting words she limped away top of his voice.
from me at the top of her speed. The one "I hear you !" Tammie shouted back.
66 When's
interpretation that I could put on her conduct the turn of the tide ? "
has, no doubt, been anticipated by everybody. " In an hour's time.'
I could only suppose that she was mad. We both looked at our watches.
Having reached that inevitable conclusion, "We can go round by the coast, Mr. Frank-
I turned to the more interesting object of lin, " said Betteredge ; " and get to the quick-
investigation which was presented to me by sand in that way, with plenty of time to spare.
Rosanna Spearman's letter. The address was What do you say, sir ?
written as follows :-" For Franklin Blake, Esq. "Come along ! "
To be given into his own hands (and not to be On our way to the Shivering Sand, I ap-
trusted to any one else) by Lucy Yolland." plied to Betteredge to revive my memory of
I broke the seal. The envelope contained a events (as affecting Rosanna Spearman) at the
letter ; and this, in its turn, contained a slip of period of Sergeant Cuff's inquiry. With my
paper. I read the letter first :- old friend's help, I soon had the succession of
circumstances clearly registered in my mind.
" SIR,-If you are curious to know the mean- Rosanna's journey to Frizinghall, when the
ing of my behaviour to you, whilst you were whole household believed her to be ill in her
staying in the house of my mistress, Lady own room- Rosanna's mysterious employment
Verinder, do what you are told to do in the of the night-time, with her door locked, and
memorandum enclosed with this and do it her candle burning till the morning-Rosanna's
without any person being present to overlook suspicious purchase of the japanned tin case,
you. Your humble servant, and the two dog's chains from Mrs. Yolland-
" ROSANNA SPEARMAN. " the Sergeant's positive conviction that Rosanna
had hidden something at the Shivering Sand,
I turned to the slip of paper next. Here is and the Sergeant's absolute ignorance as to what
the literal copy of it, word for word :- that something might be-all these strange
"Memorandum.-To go to the Shivering Sand results of the abortive inquiry into the loss of
at the turn of the tide. To walk out on the the Moonstone, were clearly present to me
South Spit, until I get the South Spit Beacon, again, when we reached the quicksand, and
and the flagstaff at the Coast-guard station walked out together on the low ledge of rocks
above Cobb's Hole in a line together. To lay called the South Spit.
down on the rocks a stick, or any straight With Betteredge's help, I soon stood in
thing to guide my hand, exactly in the line of the right position to see the Beacon and the
the beacon and the flagstaff. To take care, in Coast-guard flagstaff in a line together. Fol-
doing this, that one end of the stick shall be lowing the memorandum as our guide, we next
at the edge of the rocks, on the side of them laid my stick in the necessary direction, as
which overlooks the quicksand. To feel along neatly as we could, onthe uneven surface
the stick, among the seaweed (beginning from of the rocks. And then we looked at our
the end of the stick which points towards the watches once more.
beacon), for the Chain. To run my hand along It wanted nearly twenty minutes yet of the
the Chain, when found, until I come to the turn of the tide. I suggested waiting through
part of it which stretches over the edge of the this interval on the beach, instead of on the
rocks, down into the quicksand. And then, to wet and slippery surface of the rocks. Having
pull the Chain." фо reached the dry sand, I prepared to sit down ;
Just as I had read the last words- under- and, greatly to my surprise, Betteredge prepared
lined in the original-I heard the voice of to leave me.
Betteredge behind me. The inventor of the "What are you going away for ? " I asked,
125 THE MOONSTONE

"Look at the letter again, sir, and you will | I took up the stick, and knelt down on the
sce."" brink of the South Spit.
A glance at the letter reminded me that I In this position, my face was within a few
was charged, when I made my discovery, to feet of the surface of the quicksand. The
make it alone. sight of it so near me, still disturbed at in-
" It's hard enough for me to leave you, at tervals by its hideous shivering fit, shook my
such a time as this," said Betteredge. "But nerves for the moment. A horrible fancy that
she died a dreadful death , poor soul- and I the dead woman might appear on the scene of
feel a kind of call on me, Mr. Franklin, to her suicide to assist my search—an unutter-
humour that fancy of hers. Besides," he able dread of seeing her rise through the .
added, confidentially, "there's nothing in the heaving surface of the sand, and point to the
letter against your letting out the secret after- place-forced itself into my mind, and turned
wards. I'll hang about in the fir plantation, me cold in the warm sunlight. I own I closed
and wait till you pick me up. Don't be longer my eyes at the moment when the point of the
than you can help, sir. The detective-fever stick first entered the quicksand.
isn't an easy disease to deal with, under these The instant afterwards, before the stick
circumstances." could have been submerged more than a few
With that parting caution, he left me. inches, I was free from the hold of my own
The interval of expectation, short as it was superstitious terror, and was throbbing with
when reckoned by the measure of time, as- excitement from head to foot. Sounding
sumed formidable proportions when reckoned blindfold, at my first attempt at that first
by the measure of suspense. This was one of attempt I had sounded right ! The stick
the occasions on which the invaluable habit of struck the chain.
smoking becomes especially precious and con- Taking a firm hold of the roots of the sea-
solatory. I lit a cigar, and sat down on the weed with my left hand, I laid myself down
slope of the beach. over the brink, and felt with my right hand
The sunlight poured its unclouded beauty under the overhanging edges of the rock. My
on every object that I could see. The ex- right hand found the chain.
quisite freshness of the air made the mere act I drew it up without the slightest difficulty.
of living and breathing a luxury. Even the And there was the japanned tin case fastened
lonely little bay welcomed the morning with to the end of it.
a show of cheerfulness ; and the bared wet The action of the water had so rusted the
surface of the quicksand itself, glittering with chain, that it was impossible for me to unfasten
a golden brightness, hid the horror of its false it from the hasp which attached it to the case.
brown face under a passing smile. It was Putting the case between my knees, and exert-
the finest day I had seen since my return to ing my utmost strength, I contrived to draw
England. off the cover. Some white substance filled the
The turn of the tide came before my cigar whole interior when I looked in. I put in my
was finished. I saw the preliminary heaving hand, and found it to be linen.
of the Sand, and then the awful shiver that In drawing out the linen, I also drew out a
crept over its surface-as if some spirit of letter crumpled up with it. After looking at
terror lived and moved and shuddered in the the direction, and discovering that it bore
fathomless deeps beneath. I threw away my my name, I put the letter in my pocket, and
cigar, and went back again to the rocks. completely removed the linen. It came out
My directions in the memorandum instructed in a thick roll, moulded, of course, to the
me to feel along the line traced by the stick, shape of the case in which it had been so
beginning with the end which was nearest to long confined, and perfectly preserved from
the beacon. any injury by the sea.
I advanced, in this manner, more than half- I carried the linen to the dry sand of the
way along the stick, without encountering beach, and there unrolled and smoothed it
anything but the edges of the rocks. An out. There was no mistaking it as an article
inch or two further on, however, my patience of dress. It was a nightgown.
was rewarded. In a narrow little fissure , just The uppermost side, when I spread it out, pre-
within reach of my forefinger, I felt the chain. sented to view innumerable folds and creases,
Attempting, next, to follow it, by touch, in the and nothing more. I tried the undermost side
direction of the quicksand, I found my pro- next-and instantly discovered the smear of
gress stopped by a thick growth of seaweed the paint from the door of Rachel's boudoir !
which had fastened itself into the fissure, no My eyes remained riveted on the stain, and
doubt, in the time that had elapsed since my mind took me back at a leap from present
Rosanna Spearman had chosen her hiding- to past. The very words of Sergeant Cuff
place. recurred to me, as if the man himself was
It was equally impossible to pull up the sea- at my side again, pointing to the unanswer-
weed, or to force my hand through it. After able inference which he drew from the smear
marking the spot indicated by the end of the on the door.
stick which was placed nearest to the quick- "Find out whether there is any article of
sand, I determined to pursue the search for dress in this house with the stain of paint
the chain on a plan of my own. My idea was on it. Find out who that dress belongs to.
to " sound " immediately under the rocks, on Find out how the person can account for
the chance of recovering the lost trace of the having been in the room, and smeared the
chain at the point at which it entered the sand. paint, between midnight and three in the
 THE MOONSTONE 127
the morning. If the person can't satisfy you, I shall be able to face it, and he will be able to
you haven't far to look for the hand that face it, when we have had a glass of grog.
few took the Diamond." The scene shifts from the plantation to
The One after another those words travelled over Betteredge's little sitting-room. My resolu-
in my memory, repeating themselves again and tion not to enter Rachel's house is forgotten.
my again with a wearisome, mechanical reitera- I feel gratefully the coolness and shadiness
hat tion. I was roused from what felt like a and quiet of the room. I drink the grog
eof trance of many hours-from what was really, (a perfectly new luxury to me, at that time
er no doubt, the pause of a few moments only of day), which my good old friend mixes with
he -by a voice calling to me. I looked up, icy-cold water from the well. Under any other
he and saw that Betteredge's patience had failed circumstances, the drink would simply stupefy
him at last. He was just visible between theme. As things are, it strings up my nerves.
-d sandhills returning to the beach. I begin to " face it " as Betteredge has pre-
e The old man's appearance recalled me, the dicted. And Betteredge, on his side, begins
moment I perceived it, to my sense of pre- to " face it " too.
sent things, and reminded me that the inquiry The picture which I am now presenting
which I had pursued thus far still remained of myself will, I suspect, be thought a very
incomplete. I had discovered the smear on strange one, to say the least of it. Placed in
the nightgown. To whom did the nightgown a situation which may, I think, be described
belong? as entirely without parallel, what is the first
My first impulse was to consult the letter proceeding to which I resort ? Do I seclude
in my pocket-the letter which I had found myself from all human society ? Do I set my
in the case. mind to analyse the abominable impossibility
As I raised my hand to take it out, I re- which, nevertheless, confronts me as an unde-
membered that there was a shorter way to niable fact ? Do I hurry back to London by
discovery than this. The nightgown itself the first train to consult the highest authorities,
would reveal the truth ; for, in all probability, and to set a searching inquiry on foot immedi-
the nightgown was marked with its owner's ately ? No. I accept the shelter of a house
name. which I had resolved never to degrade myself
I took it up from the sand, and looked for by entering again ; and I sit, tippling spirits
the mark. and water in the company of an old servant, at
I found the mark, and read- ten o'clock in the morning. Is this the con-
MY OWN NAME. duct that might have been expected from a
There were the familiar letters which told man placed in my horrible position ? I can
me that the nightgown was mine. I looked only answer that the sight of old Betteredge's
up from them. There was the sun ; there familiar face was an inexpressible comfort to
were the glittering waters of the bay ; there me, and that the drinking of old Betteredge's
was old Betteredge, advancing nearer and grog helped me, as I believe nothing else would
nearer to me. I looked back again at the have helped me, in the state of complete bodily
letters. My own name. Plainly confronting and mental prostration into which I had fallen.
me, my own name. I can only offer this excuse for myself ; and I
" If time, pains, and money can do it, I can only admire that invariable preservation of
will lay my hand on the thief who took the dignity, and that strictly logical consistency
Moonstone." I had left London with those of conduct which distinguish every man and
words on my lips. I had penetrated the woman who may read these lines, in every
secret which the quicksand had kept from emergency of their lives from the cradle to
every other living creature. And, on the un- the66 grave.
answerable evidence of the paint-stain, I had Now, Mr. Franklin, there's one thing cer-
discovered Myself as the Thief. tain, at any rate," said Betteredge, throwing
the nightgown down on the table between us,
and pointing to it as if it was a living creature
that could hear him. " He's a liar, to begin
CHAPTER IV with.'
This comforting view of the matter was not
I HAVE not a word to say about my own the view that presented itself to my mind.
sensations. "I am as innocent of all knowledge of having
My impression is, that the shock inflicted taken the Diamond as you are," I said. " But
on me completely suspended my thinking and there is the witness against me ! The paint on
feeling power. I certainly could not have the nightgown and the name on the nightgown
known what I was about when Betteredge are facts. "
joined me for I have it on his authority that Betteredge lifted my glass, and put it per-
I laughed when he asked what was the matter, suasively into my hand.
and, putting the nightgown into his hands, told "Facts ? " he repeated. " Take a drop more
him to read the riddle for himself. grog, Mr. Franklin, and you'll get over the
Of what was said between us on the beach, weakness of believing in facts ! Foul play,
I have not the faintest recollection. The sir ! " he continued, dropping his voice confi-.
first place in which I can now see myself dentially. "That is how I read the riddle.
again plainly is the plantation of firs. Better- Foul play somewhere-and you and I must
edge and I are walking back together to the find it out. Was there nothing else in the tin
house ; and Betteredge is telling me that I case when you put your hand into it ? "
128 THE MOONSTONE

The question instantly reminded me of the a reformatory. I had gone to the reforma
letter in my pocket. I took it out, and opened tory from the prison. I was put in the
it. It was a letter of many pages, closely prison because I was a thief. I was a thief
written. I looked impatiently for the signa- because my mother went on the streets when
ture at the end. "Rosanna Spearman." I was quite a little girl. My mother went
As I read the name, a sudden remembrance on the streets because the gentleman who
illuminated my mind, and a sudden suspicion was my father deserted her. There is no
rose out of the new light. need to tell such a common story as this at
"Stop !" I exclaimed. " Rosanna Spearman any length. It is told quite often enough in´
came to my aunt out of a reformatory ? Rosanna the newspapers.
Spearman had once been a thief ? " "Lady Verinder was very kind to me, and
" There's no denying that, Mr. Franklin. Mr. Betteredge was very kind to me. Those
What of it now, if you please ?" two, and the matron at the reformatory, are
"What of it now ? How do we know she the only good people I have ever met with
may not have stolen the Diamond after all ? in all my life. I might have got on in my
How do we know she may not have smeared my place-not happily-but I might have got on,
nightgown purposely with the paint ?" if you had not come visiting. I don't blame
Betteredge laid his hand on my arm, and you, sir. It's my fault-all my fault.
stopped me before I could say any more. "Do you remember when you came out on
" You will be cleared of this, Mr. Franklin, us from among the sandhills, that morning,
beyond all doubt. But I hope you won't be looking for Mr. Betteredge ? You were like
cleared in that way. See what the letter says, a prince in a fairy-story. You were like a
sir. In"" justice to the girl's memory, see what lover in a dream. You were the most ador-
it says. able human creature I had ever seen. Some-
I felt the earnestness with which he spoke thing that felt like the happy life I had never
felt it as a friendly rebuke to me. "You shall led yet, leapt up in me at the instant I set
form your own judgment on her letter," I said ; eyes on you. Don't laugh at this if you can
" I will read it out." help it. Oh, if I could only make you feel
I began and read these lines : how serious it is to me !
"I went back to the house, and wrote your
" SIR,-I have something to own to you. A name and mine in my workbox, and drew
confession which means much misery, may a true lovers' knot under them. Then, some
sometimes be made in very few words. This devil - no, I ought to say some good angel
confession can be made in three words. I
love you." -whispered to me, ' Go and look in the glass.'
The glass told me-never mind what. I was
The letter dropped from my hand. I looked too foolish to take the warning. I went on
at Betteredge. " In the name of Heaven," I getting fonder and fonder of you, just as if
said, " what does it mean ?" I was a lady in your own rank of life, and
He seemed to shrink from answering the the most beautiful creature your eyes ever
rested on. I tried- oh, dear, how I tried-
question.
"You and Limping Lucy were alone together to get you to look at me. If you had known
this morning, sir," he said. Did she say how I used to cry at night with the misery
nothing about Rosanna Spearman ? " and the mortification of your never taking
" She never even mentioned Rosanna Spear- any notice of me, you would have pitied me
man's name. "" perhaps, and have given me a look now and
"Please to go back to the letter, Mr. Franklin. then to live on.
I tell you plainly, I can't find it in my heart to "It would have been no very kind look,
distress you, after what you have had to bear perhaps, if you had known how I hated Miss
already. Let her speak for herself, sir. And Rachel. I believe I found out you were in
get on with your grog. For your own sake, get love with her before you knew it yourself.
on with your grog .' She used to give you roses to wear in your
I resumed the reading of the letter. button-hole. Ah, Mr. Franklin, you wore my
roses oftener than either you or she thought !
"It would be very disgraceful to me to tell The only comfort I had at that time was
you this, if I was a living woman when you putting my rose secretly in your glass of
read it. I shall be dead and gone, sir, when water in place of hers and then throwing
you find my letter. It is that which makes me her rose away.
bold. Not even my grave will be left to tell of "If she had been really as pretty as you
me. I may own the truth-with the quicksand thought her, I might have borne it better.
waiting to hide me when the words are written. No ; I believe I should have been more spite-
" Besides, you will find your nightgown in ful against her still. Suppose you put Miss
my hiding- place, with the smear of the paint Rachel into a servant's dress and took her
on it ; and you will want to know how it came ornaments off- ? I don't know what is
to be hidden by me ? and why I said nothing the use of my writing in this way. It can't
to you about it in my lifetime ? I have only be denied that she had a bad figure ; she
one reason to give. I did these strange things was too thin. But who can tell what the
because I loved you. " men like ? And young ladies may behave in
"I won't trouble you with much about a manner which would cost a servant her
myself, or my life, before you came to my place. It's no business of mine. I can't
lady's house. Lady Verinder took me out of expect you to read my letter, if I write it in
 THE MOONSTONE 129
this way. But it does stir one up to hear | if I had done anything different from the rest ,
Miss Rachel called pretty , when one knows Mr. Seegrave was the sort of man who would
all the time that it's her dress does it, and have suspected me directly. We found him in
her confidence in herself. Miss Rachel's room. He told us he wouldn't
"Try not to lose patience with me, sir. I have a lot of women there ; and he pointed to
will get on as fast as I can to the time which the smear on the painted door, and said some
is sure to interest you the time when the of our petticoats had done the mischief, and
Diamond was lost. sent us all downstairs again.
"But there is one thing which I have got "After leaving Miss Rachel's room, I stopped
it on my mind to tell you first. a moment on one of the landings, by myself, to
"My life was not a very hard life to bear, see if I had got the paint-stain by any chance
while I was a thief. It was only when they on my gown. Penelope Betteredge (the only
had taught me at the reformatory to feel my one of the women with whom I was on friendly
own degradation, and to try for better things, terms) passed, and noticed what I was about.
that the days grew long and weary. Thoughts " You needn't trouble yourself, Rosanna,'
of the future forced themselves on me now. I she said. ' The paint on Miss Rachel's door has
felt the dreadful reproach that honest people been dry for hours. If Mr. Seegrave hadn't set
-even the kindest of honest people-were to a watch on our bedrooms, I might have told
Ime in themselves. A heart-breaking sensa- him as much. I don't know what you think- I
tion of loneliness kept with me, go where I was never so insulted before in my life ! '
might, and do what I might, and see what " Penelope was a hot-tempered girl. I quieted
persons I might. It was my duty, I know, her, and brought her back to what she had said
to try and get on with my fellow-servants in about the paint on the door having been dry
my new place Somehow, I couldn't make for hours.
66 6
friends with them. They looked (or I thought 'How do you know that ? ' I asked.
they looked) as if they suspected what I had " I was with Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin
been. I don't regret, far from it, having been all yesterday morning,' Penelope said, ' mixing
roused to make the effort to be a reformed the colours, while they finished the door. I
woman-but, indeed , indeed it was a weary heard Miss Rachel ask whether the door would
life. You had come across it like a beam of be dry that evening, in time for the birthday
sunshine at first- and then you too failed me. company to see it. And Mr. Franklin shook his
I was mad enough to love you ; and I couldn't head, and said it wouldn't be dry in less than
even attract your notice. There was great twelve hours. It was long past luncheon-time
misery-there really was great misery in that. -it was three o'clock before they had done.
"Now I am coming to what I wanted to What does your arithmetic say, Rosanna ? Mine
tell you. In those days of bitterness, I went says the door was dry by three this morning.'
two or three times, when it was my turn to " Did some of the ladies go upstairs yesterday
go out, to my favourite place--the beach above evening to see it ? ' I asked. ' I thought I heard
the Shivering Sand. And I said to myself, Miss Rachel warning them to keep clear of
' I think it will end here. When I can bear the door.'
it no longer, I think it will end here.' You " None of the ladies made the smear,'
will understand, sir, that the place had laid Penelope answered. ' I left Miss Rachel in bed
a kind of spell on me before you came. I at twelve last night. And I noticed the
had always had a notion that something would door, and there was nothing wrong with it
happen to me at the quicksand. But I had then.'
66 6'Oughtn't you to mention this to Mr. See-
never looked at it, with the thought of its
being the means of my making away with grave, Penelope ? '
myself, till the time came of which I am " I wouldn't say a word to help Mr. Seegrave
now writing. Then I did think that here for anything that could be offered to me !
was a place which would end all my troubles " She went to her work, and I went to mine.
for me in a moment or two- and hide me for " My work, sir, was to make your bed and to
ever afterwards. put your room tidy. It was the happiest hour
" This is all I have to say about myself, I had in the whole day. I used to kiss the
reckoning from the morning when I first saw pillow on which your head had rested all night.
you, to the morning when the alarm was raised No matter who has done it since, you have
in the house that the Diamond was lost. never had your clothes folded as nicely as I
" I was so aggravated by the foolish talk folded them for you . Of all the little knick-
among the women servants, all wondering who knacks in your dressing-case, there wasn't one
was to be suspected first ; and I was so angry that had so much as a speck on it. You never
with you (knowing no better at that time) for noticed it, any more than you noticed me. I
the pains you took in hunting for the jewel, beg your pardon ; I am forgetting myself. I
and sending for the police, that I kept as much will make haste, and go on again.
66 Well,
as possible away by myself, until later in the I went in that morning to do my
day, when the officer from Frizinghall came to work in your room. There was your nightgown
the house. tossed across the bed, just as you had thrown
" Mr. Seegrave began, as you may remember, it off. I took it up to fold it-and I saw the
by setting a guard on the women's bedrooms ; stain of the paint from Miss Rachel's door !
and the women all followed him upstairs in a "I was so startled by the discovery that I ran
rage, to know what he meant by the insult he out, with the nightgown in my hand, and made
had put on them. I went with the rest, because for the back-stairs, and locked myself into my
E
130 THE MOONSTONE

own room, to look at it in a place where nobody | might happen in the interval. I determined to
could intrude and interrupt me. make the new nightgown on that same day
"As soon as I got my breath again , I called (the Thursday), while I could count, if I played
to mind my talk with Penelope, and I said my cards properly, on having my time to my-
to myself, Here's the proof that he was in self. The first thing to do (after locking up
Miss Rachel's sitting-room between twelve last your nightgown in my drawer) was to go back
night and three this morning ! ' to your bedroom- not so much to put it to
" I shall not tell you in plain words what was rights (Penelope would have done that for me,
the first suspicion that crossed my mind, when if I had asked her) as to find out whether you
I had made that discovery. You would only had smeared off any of the paint- stain from
be angry-and, if you were angry, you might your nightgown on the bed, or on any piece of
tear my letter up and read no more of it. furniture in the room.
"Let it be enough, if you please, to say only " I examined everything narrowly, and at
this. After thinking it over to the best of my last, I found a few faint streaks of the paint on
ability, I made it out that the thing wasn't the inside of your dressing-gown -- not the linen
likely, for a reason that I will tell you. If you dressing-gown you usually wore in that summer
had been in Miss Rachel's sitting-room at that season, but a flannel dressing-gown which you
time of night, with Miss Rachel's knowledge had with you also. I suppose you felt chilly
(and if you had been foolish enough to forget after walking to and fro in nothing but your
to take care of the wet door), she would have night-dress, and put on the warmest thing you
reminded you-she would never have let you could find. At any rate, there were the stains,
carry away such a witness against her as the just visible, on the inside of the dressing-gown.
witness I was looking at now! At the same I easily got rid of these by scraping away the
time, I own I was not completely certain in my stuff of the flannel. This done, the only proof
own mind that I had proved my own suspicion left against you was the proof locked up in my
to be wrong. You will not have forgotten that drawer.
I have owned to hating Miss Rachel. Try to " I had just finished your room when I was
think, if you can, that there was a little of sent for to be questioned by Mr. Seegrave,
that hatred in all this. It ended in my deter- along with the rest of the servants. Next
mining to keep the nightgown, and to wait came the examination of all our boxes. And
and watch, and see what use I might make then followed the most extraordinary event of
of it. At that time, please to remember, not the day- to me- since I had found the paint
the ghost of an idea entered my head that you on your nightgown. This event came out of
had stolen the Diamond." the second questioning of Penelope Betteredge
by Superintendent Seegrave.
There I broke off in the reading of the letter " Penelope returned to us quite beside her-
for the second time. self with rage at the manner in which Mr.
I had read those portions of the miserable Seegrave had treated her. He had hinted,
woman's confession which related to myself beyond the possibility of mistaking him, that
with unaffected surprise, and, I can honestly he suspected her of being the thief. We were
add, with sincere distress. I had regretted, all equally astonished at hearing this, and we
truly regretted, the aspersion which I had all asked, Why ?
thoughtlessly cast on her memory, before I had " Because the Diamond was in Miss Rachel's
seen a line of her letter. But when I had sitting-room,' Penelope answered. ' And be-
advanced as far as the passage which is quoted cause I was the last person in the sitting-room
above, I own I felt my mind growing bitterer at night !'
and bitterer against Rosanna Spearman as I " Almost before the words had left her lips,
went on. "Read the rest for yourself," I said, I remembered that another person had been in
handing the letter to Betteredge across the the sitting-room later than Penelope. That
table. " If there is anything in it that I must person was yourself. My head whirled round ,
look at, you can tell me as you go on. " and my thoughts were in dreadful confusion .
" I understand you, Mr. Franklin," he an- In the midst of it all, something in my mind
swered. " It's natural, sir, in you. And, God whispered to me that the smear on your night-
help us all !" he added, in a lower tone, " it's gown might have a meaning entirely different
no less natural in her." to the meaning which I had given to it up to
I proceed to copy the continuation of the that time. If the last person who was in the
letter from the original, in my own posses- room is the person to be suspected, ' I thought
sion :- to myself, ' the thief is not Penelope, but Mr.
Franklin Blake !'
" Having determined to keep the nightgown, " In the case of any other gentleman, I
and to see what use my love or my revenge ( I believe I should have been ashamed of suspect-
hardly know which) could turn it to in the ing him of theft, almost as soon as the sus-
future, the next thing to discover was how to picion had passed through my mind.
keep it without the risk of being found out. " But the bare thought that you had let
"There was only one way to make another yourself down to my level, and that I, in
nightgown exactly like it before Saturday possessing myself of your nightgown, had also
came, and brought the laundry-woman and her possessed myself of the means of shielding you
inventory to the house. from being discovered and disgraced for life-
"I was afraid to put it off till next day (the I say, sir, the bare thought of this seemed to
Friday) ; being in doubt lest some accident open such a chance before me of winning your
 THE MOONSTONE 131

good- will, that I passed blindfold, as one may | believed me to be lying down in my own room,
say, from suspecting to believing. I made up and how I spent the night, after shamming ill
my mind, on the spot, that you had shown again at tea-time, and having been sent up to
yourself the busiest of anybody in fetching the bed, there is no need to tell you. Sergeant
police, as a blind to deceive us all ; and that Cuff discovered that much, if he discovered
the hand which had taken Miss Rachel's jewel nothing more. And I can guess how. I was
could by no possibility be any other hand than detected (though I kept my veil down) in the
yours. draper's shop at Frizinghall. There was a
"The excitement of this new discovery of glass in front of me, at the counter where I
mine must, I think, have turned my head for was buying the longcloth ; and- in that glass
awhile. I felt such a devouring eagerness to -I saw one of the shopmen point to my
see you to try you with a word or two about shoulder and whisper to another. At night
the Diamond, and to make you look at me, and again, when I was secretly at work, locked
speak to me, in that way-that I put my hair into my room, I heard the breathing of the
tidy, and made myself as nice as I could, and women servants who suspected me, outside
went to you boldly in the library, where I knew my door.
you were writing. "It didn't matter then ; it doesn't matter
"You had left one of your rings upstairs, now. On the Friday morning, hours before
which made as good an excuse for my intrusion Sergeant Cuff entered the house, there was
as I could have desired. But, oh, sir ! if you the new nightgown-to make up your number
have ever loved, you will understand how it in place of the nightgown that I had got-
was that all my courage cooled when I walked made, wrung out, dried, ironed, marked, and
into the room, and found myself in your pre- folded as the laundry-woman folded all the
sence. And then, you looked up at me so others, safe in your drawer. There was no
coldly, and you thanked me for finding your fear (if the linen in the house was examined)
ring in such an indifferent manner, that my of the newness of the nightgown betraying
knees trembled under me, and I felt as if I me. All your underclothing had been renewed
should drop on the floor at your feet. When when you came to our house-I suppose on
you had thanked me, you looked back, if you your return home from foreign parts.
remember, at your writing. I was so mortified "The next thing was the arrival of Sergeant
at being treated in this way, that I plucked up Cuff ; and the next great surprise was the
spirit enough to speak. I said, This is a announcement of what he thought about the
strange thing about the Diamond , sir.' And smear on the door.
you looked up again, and said, ' Yes, it is ! ' "I had believed you to be guilty (as I have
You spoke civilly (I can't deny that) ; but still owned) more because I wanted you to be guilty
you kept a distance- a cruel distance between than for any other reason. And now, the Ser-
us. Believing, as I did, that you had got the geant had come round by a totally different
lost Diamond hidden about you while you way to the same conclusion (respecting the
were speaking, your coolness so provoked me nightgown) as mine ! And I had got the dress
that I got bold enough, in the heat of the that was the only proof against you ! And not
moment, to give you a hint. I said, " They a living creature knew it-yourself included !
will never find the Diamond, sir, will they ? I am afraid to tell you how I felt when I
No ! nor the person who took it-I'll answer called these things to mind-you would hate
for that.' I nodded, and smiled at you, as my memory for ever afterwards."
much as to say, ' I know ! ' This time, you
looked up at me with something like interest At that place, Betteredge looked up from
in your eyes ; and I felt that a few more words the letter.
on your side and mine might bring out the "Not a glimmer of light so far, Mr. Frank-
truth. Just at that moment, Mr. Betteredge lin," said the old man, taking off his heavy
spoilt it all by coming to the door. I knew tortoiseshell spectacles, and pushing Rosanna
his footstep, and I also knew that it was Spearman's confession a little away from him.
against his rules for - me to be in the library "Have you come to any conclusion, sir, in your
at that time of day. let alone being there own mind, while I have been reading ? "
along with you. I had only just time to get ' Finish the letter first, Betteredge ; there
out of my own accord, before he could come may be something to enlighten us at the end
in and tell me to go. I was angry and dis- of it. I shall. have a word or two to say to you
appointed ; but I was not entirely without hope after that."
for all that. The ice, you see, was broken "Very good, sir. I'll just rest my eyes, and
between us-and I thought I would take care then I'll go on again. In the meantime, Mr.
on the next occasion that Mr. Betteredge was Franklin - I don't want to hurry you- but
out of the way. would you mind telling me, in one word,
"When I got back to the servants ' hall, the whether you see your way out of this dread-
bell was going for our dinner. Afternoon ful mess yet ?"
already and the materials for making the " I see my way back to London, " I said, """ to
new nightgown were still to be got ! There consult Mr. Bruff. If he can't help me
was but one chance of getting them. I " Yes, sir ?"
shammed ill at dinner ; and so secured the " And if the Sergeant
"" won't leave his retire-
whole of the interval from then till tea-time ment at Dorking-
to my own use. "He won't, Mr. Franklin ! ""
"What I was about, while the household "
Then, Betteredge-as far as I can see now
132 THE MOONSTONE

-I am at the end of my resources. After Mr. "You don't seem to like him, Betteredge ? "
Bruff and the Sergeant, I don't know of a liv- 66
ing creature who can be of the slightest use 66 Nobody likes him, sir."
Why is he so unpopular ? "
to me." "Well, Mr. Franklin, his appearance is
As the words passed my lips, some person against him, to begin with. And then there's
outside knocked at the door of the room. a story that Mr. Candy took him with a very
Betteredge looked surprised as well as an- doubtful character. Nobody knows who he is
noyed by the interruption. -and he hasn't a friend in the place. How
"Come in," he called out irritably, " who- can"6 you expect one to like him after that ? "
ever you are ! " Quite impossible, of course ! May I ask
The door opened, and there entered to us, what he wanted with you, when he gave you
quietly, the most remarkable-looking man that that bit of paper ? ”
66 Only
I had ever seen. Judging him by his figure to bring me the weekly list of the
and his movements, he was still young. Judg- sick people about here, sir, who stand in need
ing him by his face, and comparing him with of a little wine. My lady always had a regular
Betteredge, he looked the elder of the two. distribution of good sound port and sherry
His complexion was of a gipsy darkness ; his among the infirm poor, and Miss Rachel wishes
fleshless cheeks had fallen into deep hollows, the custom to be kept up. Times have changed !
over which the bone projected like a pent- times have changed ! I remember when Mr.
house. His nose presented the fine shape and Candy himself brought the list to my mistress.
modelling so often found among the ancient Now it's Mr. Candy's assistant who brings the
people of the East, so seldom visible among list to me. I'll go on with the letter, if you
the newer races of the West. His forehead will allow me, sir," said Betteredge, drawing
rose high and straight from the brow. His Rosanna Spearman's confession back to him.
marks and wrinkles were innumerable. From " It isn't lively reading, I grant you. But,
this strange face, eyes, stranger still, of the there ! it keeps me from getting sour by think.
softest brown-eyes dreamy and mournful, and ing of the past." He put on his spectacles,
deeply sunk in their orbits-looked out at you, and wagged his head gloomily. " There's a
and (in my case, at least) took your attention bottom of good sense, Mr. Franklin, in our
captive at their will. Add to this a quantity conduct to our mothers, when they first start
of thick closely-curling hair, which by some us on the journey of life. We are all of us
freak of Nature had lost its colour in the more or less unwilling to be brought into the
most startingly partial and capricious manner. world. And we are all of us right.'
Over the top of his head it was still of the deep Mr. Candy's assistant had produced too strong
black which was its natural colour. Round an impression on me to be immediately dis-
the sides of his head-without the slightest missed from my thoughts. I passed over the
gradation of grey to break the force of the last unanswerable utterance of the Betteredge
extraordinary contrast-it had turned com- philosophy, and returned to the subject of the
pletely white. The line between the two man with the piebald hair.
colours preserved no sort of regularity. At one "What is his name ? " I asked.
place, the white hair ran up into the black ; " As ugly a name as need be," Betteredge
at another, the black hair ran down into the answered gruffly. " Ezra Jennings."
white. I looked at the man with a curiosity
which, I am ashamed to say, I found it quite
impossible to control. His soft brown eyes
looked back at me gently ; and he met my CHAPTER V
involuntary rudeness in staring at him with
an apology which I was conscious that I had HAVING told me the name of Mr. Candy's
not deserved. assistant, Betteredge appeared to think that
"I beg your pardon," he said. " I had no we had wasted enough of our time on an in-
idea that Mr. Betteredge was engaged. " He significant subject. He resumed the perusal
took a slip of paper from his pocket, and of Rosanna Spearman's letter.
handed it to Betteredge. " The list for next On my side, I sat at the window, waiting
week," he said. His eyes just rested on me until he had done. Little by little, the in-
again—and he left the room as quietly as he pression produced on me by Ezra Jennings—
had entered it. it seemed perfectly unaccountable, in such a
"Who is that ? " I asked. situation as mine, that any human being should
" Mr. Candy's assistant," said Betteredge. have produced an impression on me at all-
" By-the-bye, Mr. Franklin, you will be sorry faded from my mind. My thoughts flowed
to hear that the little doctor has never re- back into their former channel. Once more, I
covered that illness he caught, going home forced myself to look my own incredible posi-
from the birthday dinner. He's pretty well in tion resolutely in the face. Once more, I
health ; but he lost his memory in the fever, reviewed in my own mind the course which I
and he has never recovered more than the had at last summoned composure enough to
wreck of it since. The work all falls on his plan out for the future.
assistant. Not much of it now, except among To go back to London that day ; to put the
the poor. They can't help themselves, you whole case before Mr. Bruff ; and, last and
know. They must put up with the man with most important, to obtain (no matter by what
the piebald hair and the gipsy complexion- means or at what sacrifice) a personal inter-
or they would get no doctoring at all." view with Rachel-this was my plan of action,
 THE MOONSTONE 133

so far as I was capable of forming it at the as if I had got the plague, and went into the
time. There was more than an hour still to house. *
spare before the train started. And there was "I made the best of my way indoors again,
the bare chance that Betteredge might dis- returning by the servants ' entrance. There
cover something in the unread portion of was nobody in the laundry-room at that time ;
Rosanna Spearman's letter which it might be and I sat down there alone. I have told you
useful for me to know before I left the house already of the thoughts which the Shivering
in which the Diamond had been lost. For Sand put into my head. Those thoughts came
that chance I was now waiting. back to me now. I wondered in myself which
The letter ended in these terms :- it would be hardest to do, if things went on
in this manner-to bear Mr. Franklin Blake's
"You have no need to be angry, Mr. Franklin, indifference to me, or to jump into the quick-
even if I did feel some little triumph at know- sand and end it for ever in that way ?
ing that I held all your prospects in life in my " It's useless to ask me to account for my
own hands. Anxieties and fears soon came own conduct at this time. I try- and I can't
back to me. With the view Sergeant Cuff understand it myself.
took of the loss of the Diamond, he would be "Why didn't I stop you, when you avoided
sure to end in examining our linen and our me in that cruel manner ? Why didn't I call
dresses. There was no place in my room- out, ' Mr. Franklin , I have got something to
there was no place in the house-which I say to you ; it concerns yourself, and you must
could feel satisfied would be safe from him. and shall hear it ?' You were at my mercy- I
How to hide the nightgown so that not even had got the whip-hand of you, as they say.
the Sergeant could find it ? and how to do that And better than that, I had the means ( if I
without losing one moment of precious time ? could only make you trust me) of being useful
-these were not easy questions to answer. to you in the future. Of course, I never sup-
My uncertainties ended in my taking a way posed that you-a gentleman- had stolen the
that may make you laugh. I undressed, and Diamond for the mere pleasure of stealing it.
put the nightgown on me. You had worn it No. Penelope had heard Miss Rachel, and I had
and I had another little moment of pleasure in heard Mr. Betteredge, talk about your extra-
wearing it after you. vagance and your debts. It was plain enough
" The next news that reached us in the to me that you had taken the Diamond to sell
servants' hall showed that I had not made it or pledge it, and so to get the money of
sure of the nightgown a moment too soon. which you stood in need. Well ! I could have
Sergeant Cuff wanted to see the washing told you of a man in London who would have
book. advanced a good large sum on the jewel, and
" I found it, and took it to him in my lady's who would have asked no awkward questions
sitting-room. The Sergeant and I had come about it either.
across each other more than once in former " Why didn't I speak to you ! why didn't I
days. I was certain he would know me again speak to you !
-and I was not certain of what he might do " I wonder whether the risks and difficulties
when he found me employed as servant in a of keeping the nightgown were as much as I
house in which a valuable jewel had been lost. could manage, without having other risks and
In this suspense, I felt it would be a relief to difficulties added to them ? This might have
me to get the meeting between us over, and to been the case with some women-but how could
know the worst of it at once. it be the case with me ? In the days when I
" He looked at me as if I was a stranger, was a thief, I had run fifty times greater risks,
when I handed him the washing-book ; and and found my way out of difficulties to which
he was very specially polite in thanking me this difficulty was mere child's play. I had
for bringing it. I thought those were both been apprenticed, as you may say, to frauds and
bad signs. There was no knowing what he deceptions - some of them on such a grand
might say of me behind my back ; there was scale, and managed so cleverly, that they became
no knowing how soon I might not find myself famous, and appeared in the newspapers. Was
taken in custody on suspicion, and searched. such a little thing as the keeping of the night-
It was then time for your return from seeing gown likely to weigh on my spirits, and to set my
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite off by the railway ; heart sinking within me, at the time when I
and I went to your favourite walk in the ought to have spoken to you ? What nonsense
shrubbery, to try for another chance of speak- to ask the question ! The thing couldn't be.
ing to you the last chance, for all I knew to "Where is the use of my dwelling in this way
the contrary, that I might have. on my own folly ? The plain truth is plain
" You never appeared ; and, what was worse enough, surely ? Behind your back, I loved
still, Mr. Betteredge and Sergeant Cuff passed you with all my heart and soul. Before your
by the place where I was hiding-and the face- there's no denying it-I was frightened
Sergeant saw me. of you ; frightened of making you angry with
" I had no choice, after that, but to return me ; frightened of what you might say to me
to my proper place and my proper work, before
more disasters happened to me. Just as I was * NOTE by Franklin Blake. -The writer is entirely
going to step across the path, you came back mistaken, poor creature. I never noticed her. My
from the railway. You were making straight intention was certainly to have taken a turn in the
for the shrubbery, when you saw me-I am shrubbery. But remembering at the same moment that
my aunt might wish to see me after my return from the
certain, sir, you saw me-and you turned away railway, I altered my mind, and went into the house,
134 THE MOONSTONE

(though you had taken the Diamond) if I pre- "She had only just spoken those cruel words
sumed to tell you that I had found it out. I when there came a call to us from Mr. Better-
had gone as near to it as I dared when I spoke edge. All the indoor servants were to assemble
to you in the library. You had not turned your in the hall. And then we were to go in, one
back on me then. You had not started away by one, and be questioned in Mr. Betteredge's
from me as if I had got the plague. I tried to room by Sergeant Cuff.
provoke myself into feeling angry with you, and "It came to my turn to go in, after her lady-
to rouse up my courage in that way. No ! I ship's maid and the upper housemaid had been
couldn't feel anything but the misery and the questioned first. Sergeant Cuff's inquiries-
mortification of it. " You're a plain girl ; you though he wrapped them up very cunningly—
have got a crooked shoulder ; you're only a soon showed me that those two women (the
housemaid - what do you mean by attempting bitterest enemies I had in the house) had made
to speak to Me ? ' You never uttered a word their discoveries outside my door, on the
of that, Mr. Franklin ; but you said it all to me, Tuesday afternoon, and again on the Thursday
nevertheless ! Is such madness as this to be night. They had told the Sergeant enough to
accounted for ? No. There is nothing to be open his eyes to some part of the truth. He
done but to confess it, and let it be. rightly believed me to have made a new night-
"I ask your pardon, once more, for this gown secretly, but he wrongly believed the
wandering of my pen. There is no fear of its paint-stained nightgown to be mine. I felt
happening again. I am close at the end now. satisfied of another thing, from what he said,
" The first person who disturbed me by which it puzzled me to understand. He sus-
coming into the empty room was Penelope. pected me, of course, of being concerned in
She had found out my secret long since, and she the disappearance of the Diamond. But, at
had done her best to bring me to my senses the same time, he let me see-purposely, as I
and done it kindly too. thought- that he did not consider me as the
" Ah ! ' she said, ' I know why you're sitting person chiefly answerable for the loss of the
here, and fretting all by yourself. The best jewel. He appeared to think that I had been
thing that can happen for your advantage, acting under the direction of somebody else.
Rosanna, will be for Mr. Franklin's visit here Who that person might be, I couldn't guess
to come to an end. It's my belief that he won't then, and can't guess now.
be long now before he leaves the house.' " In this uncertainty, one thing was plain-
" In all my thoughts of you I had never that Sergeant Cuff was miles away from know-
thought of your going away. I couldn't speak ing the whole truth. You were safe as long as
to Penelope. I could only look at her. the nightgown was safe and not a moment
" I've just left Miss Rachel, ' Penelope went longer.
on. ' And a hard matter I have had of it to " I quite despair of making you understand
put up with her temper. She says the house the distress and terror which pressed upon me
is unbearable to her with the police in it ; and now. It was impossible for me to risk wearing
she's determined to speak to my lady this your nightgown any longer. I might find my-
evening, and to go to her Aunt Ablewhite self taken off, at a moment's notice, to the
to-morrow. If she does that, Mr. Franklin police court at Frizinghall, to be charged on
will be the next to find a reason for going suspicion, and searched accordingly. While
away, you may depend on it ! ' Sergeant Cuff still left me free, I had to choose
" I recovered the use of my tongue at that. and at once between destroying the night-
' Do you mean to say Mr. Franklin will go with gown, or hiding it in some safe place, at some
her ? I asked. safe distance from the house.
666' Only too gladly, if she would let him ; but " If I had only been a little less fond of you,
she won't. He has been made to feel her I think I should have destroyed it. But oh !
temper ; he is in her black books too--and that how could I destroy the only thing I had which
after having done all he can to help her, poor proved that I had saved you from discovery ?
fellow ! No ! no ! If they don't make it up If we did come to an explanation together,
before to-morrow, you will see Miss Rachel go and if you suspected me of having some bad
one way, and Mr. Franklin another. Where he motive, and denied it all, how could I win upon
may betake himself to I can't say. But he will you to trust me, unless I had the nightgown
never stay here, Rosanna, after Miss Rachel has to produce ? Was it wronging you to believe,
left us.' as I did, and do still, that you might hesitate to
" I managed to master the despair I felt at let a poor girl like me be the sharer of your
the prospect of your going away. To own the secret, and your accomplice in the theft which
truth, I saw a little glimpse of hope for myself your money troubles had tempted you to com-
if there was really a serious disagreement mit ? Think of your cold behaviour to me,
between Miss Rachel and you. Do you know,' sir, and you will hardly wonder at my unwill-
I asked, ' what the quarrel is between them ? ' ingness to destroy the only claim on your con-
It is all on Miss Rachel's side, ' Penelope fidence and your gratitude which it was my
said. ' And, for anything I know to the fortune to possess.
contrary, it's all Miss Rachel's temper, and "I determined to hide it ; and the place
nothing else. I am loth to distress you, I fixed on was the place I knew best- the
Rosanna ; but don't run away with the notion Shivering Sand.
that Mr. Franklin is ever likely to quarrel with " As soon as the questioning was over, I
her. He's a great deal too fond of her for made the first excuse that came into my head,
that !' and got leave to go out for a breath of fresh
 THE MOONSTONE 135

air. I went straight to Cobb's Hole, to Mr. | the nightgown. It has been hard, hard work
Yolland's cottage. His wife and daughter writing my letter. Oh ! if we only end in
were the best friends I had. Don't suppose I understanding each other, how I shall enjoy
trusted them with your secret- I have trusted tearing it up !
nobody. All I wanted was to write this letter " I beg to remain, sir, your true lover and
to you, and to have a safe opportunity of humble servant,
taking the nightgown off me. Suspected as I "ROSANNA SPEARMAN.”
was, I could do neither of those things, with
any sort of security, up at the house. The reading of the letter was completed by
" And now I have nearly got through my Betteredge in silence. After carefully putting it
long letter, writing it alone in Lucy Yolland's back in the envelope, he sat thinking, with his
bedroom. When it is done, I shall go down head 66 bowed down and his eyes on the ground,
stairs with the nightgown rolled up, and Betteredge, " I said, " is there any hint to
hidden under my cloak. I shall find the means guide me at the end of the letter ? "
I want for keeping it safe and dry in its hiding- He looked up slowly with a heavy sigh."
place, among the litter of old things in Mrs. " Thereis nothing to guide you, Mr. Franklin,"
Yolland's kitchen. And then I shall go to he answered. " If you take my advice, you will
the Shivering Sand - don't be afraid of my keep the letter in the cover till these present
letting my footmarks betray me !—and hide the anxieties of yours have come to an end. It
nightgown down in the sand, where no living will sorely distress‫ وو‬you whenever you read it.
creature can find it without being first let into Don't read it now.'
the secret by myself. I put the letter away in my pocket-book.
" And when that's done, what then ? A glance back at the sixteenth and seven-
66
Then, Mr. Franklin , I shall have two teenth chapters of Betteredge's Narrative will
reasons for making another attempt to say the show that there really was a reason for my
words to you which I have not said yet. If thus sparing myself, at a time when my forti
you leave the house, as Penelope believes you tude had been already cruelly tried. Twice
will leave it, and if I haven't spoken to you over, the unhappy woman had made her last
before that, I shall lose my opportunity for attempt to speak to me. And twice over, it
ever. That is one reason. Then, again, there had been my misfortune (God knows how inno-
is the comforting knowledge-if my speaking cently ! ) to repel the advances she had made to
does make you angry- that I have got the me. On the Friday night, as Betteredge truly
nightgown ready to plead my cause for me as describes it, she had found me alone at the
nothing else can . That is my other reason. billiard-table. Her manner and language sug-
If these two together don't harden my heart gested to me-and would have suggested to any
against the coldness which has hitherto frozen man, under the circumstances-that she was
it up (I mean the coldness of your treatment about to confess a guilty knowledge of the
of me), there will be the end of my efforts disappearance of the Diamond. For her own
and the end of my life. sake, I had purposely shown no special interest
" Yes. If I miss my next opportunity-if in what was coming ; for her own sake, I had
you are as cruel as ever, and if I feel it again purposely looked at the billiard balls, instead of
as I have felt it already - good-bye to the looking at her and what had been the result ?
world which has grudged me the happiness I had sent her away from me, wounded to the
that it gives to others. Good-bye to life, which heart ! On the Saturday again- on the day
nothing but a little kindness from you can ever when she must have foreseen, after what Pene-
make pleasurable to me again. Don't blame lope had told her, that my departure was close
yourself, sir, if it ends in this way. But try at hand-the same fatality still pursued us.
do try to feel some forgiving sorrow for me ! She had once more attempted to meet me in
I shall take care that you find out what I have the shrubbery walk, and she had found me
done for you, when I am past telling you of it there in company with Betteredge and Sergeant
myself. Will you say something kind of me Cuff. In her hearing, the Sergeant, with his
then- in the same gentle way that you have own underhand object in view, had appealed to
when you speak to Miss Rachel ? If you do my interest in Rosanna Spearman. Again, for
that, and if there are such things as ghosts, the poor creature's own sake, I had met the
I believe my ghost will hear it, and tremble police officer with a flat denial, and had de-
with the pleasure of it. clared- loudly declared, so that she might hear
"It's time I left off. I am making myself me too-that I felt " no interest whatever in
cry. How am I to see my way to the hiding- Rosanna Spearman." At those words, solely
place if I let these useless tears come and designed to warn her against attempting to
blind me ? gain my private ear, she had turned away and
" Besides, why should I look at the gloomy left the place : cautioned of her danger, as I
side ? Why not believe,' while I can, that it then believed ; self-doomed to destruction, as I
will end well after all ? I may find you in a know now. From that point, I have already
good humour to-night-or, if not, I may suc- traced the succession of events which led me
ceed better to-morrow morning. I shan't im- to the astounding discovery at the quicksand.
prove my plain face by fretting-shall I ? Who The retrospect is now complete. I may leave
knows but I may have filled all these weary the miserable story of Rosanna Spearman- to
long pages of paper for nothing ? They will which, even at this distance of time, I cannot
go, for safety's sake (never mind now for what revert without a pang of distress - to suggest
other reason) into the hiding place along with for itself all that is here purposely left unsaid.
136 THE MOONSTONE

I may pass from the suicide at the Shivering said. " You're trying to account for how you
Sand, with its strange and terrible influence on got the paint on your nightgown, without
my present position and future prospects, to knowing it yourself. It won't do, sir. You're
interests which concern the living people of miles away still from getting at the truth.
this narrative, and to events which were already Walk in your sleep ? You never did such a
paving my way for the slow and toilsome jour- thing in your life ! "
ney from the darkness to the light. Here again I felt that Betteredge must be
right. Neither at home nor abroad had my
life ever been of the solitary sort. If I had
been a sleep-walker, there were hundreds on
CHAPTER VI hundreds of people who must have discovered
me, and who, in the interest of my own safety,
Ì WALKED to the railway station accompanied, would have warned me of the habit, and have
it is needless to say, by Gabriel Betteredge. taken precautions to restrain it.
I had the letter in my pocket, and the night- Still, admitting all this, I clung-with an
gown safely packed in a little bag-both to be obstinacy which was surely natural and ex-
submitted, before I slept that night, to the cusable, under the circumstances-to one or
investigation of Mr. Bruff. other of the only two explanations that I could
We left the house in silence. For the first see which accounted for the unendurable posi-
time in my experience of him, I found old tion in which I then stood. Observing that
Betteredge in my company without a word to I was not yet satisfied, Betteredge shrewdly
say to me. Having something to say on my adverted to certain later events in the history
side, I opened the conversation as soon as we of the Moonstone ; and scattered both my
were clear of the lodge gates. theories to the wind at once and for ever.
" Before I go to London," I began , “ I have " Let's try it another way, sir," he said.
(6'Keep your own opinion, and see how far it
two questions to ask you. They relate to my-
self, and I believe they will rather surprise will take you towards finding out the truth.
you." If we are to believe the nightgown—which I
"If they will put that poor creature's letter don't for one-you not only smeared off the
out of my head, Mr. Franklin, they may do paint from the door without knowing it, but
anything else they like with me. Please99 to you also took the Diamond without knowing
begin surprising me, sir, as soon as you can.' it. Is that right, so far ?"
" My first question , Betteredge, is this. Was "Quite right. Go on.'
I drunk on the night of Rachel's birthday ? " "Very good, sir. We'll say you were drunk,
" You drunk ! " exclaimed the old man. or walking in your sleep, when you took the
"Why it's the great defect of your character, jewel. That accounts for the night and morn-
Mr. Franklin, that you only drink with your ing after the birthday. But how does it ac-
dinner, and never touch a drop of liquor after- count for what has happened since that time ?
wards ! " The Diamond has been taken to London since
66 that time. The Diamond has been pledged to
'But the birthday was a special occasion.
I might have abandoned my regular habits on Mr. Luker since that time. Did you do those
that night of all others." two things without knowing it, too ? Were
Betteredge considered for a moment. you drunk when I saw you off in the pony-
" You did go out of your habits, sir," he chaise on that Saturday evening ? And did
said. " And I'll tell you how. You looked you walk in your sleep to Mr. Luker's, when
wretchedly ill, and we persuaded you to have the train had brought you to your journey's
a drop of brandy and water to cheer you up end ? Excuse me for saying it, Mr. Franklin,
a little." but this business has so upset you, that you're
" I am not used"" to brandy and water. It is not fit yet to judge for yourself. The sooner
quite possible- you lay your head alongside of Mr. Bruff's
"Wait a bit, Mr. Franklin. I knew you head, the sooner you will see your way out of
were not used, too. I poured you out half a the deadlock that has got you now."
wineglass-full of our fifty-year-old Cognac ; and We reached the station, with only a minute
(more shame for me ! ) I drowned that noble or two to spare.
liquor in nigh on a tumbler-full of cold water. I hurriedly gave Betteredge my address in
A child couldn't have got drunk on it, let London , so that he might write to me, if
alone a grown man. ' necessary ; promising, on my side, to inform
I knew I could depend on his memory in him of any news which I might have to com-
a matter of this kind. It was plainly impos- municate. This done, and just as I was bidding
sible that I could have been intoxicated. I him farewell, I happened to glance towards
passed on to the second question. the book-and-newspaper stall. There was Mr.
" Before I was sent abroad, Betteredge, you Candy's remarkable - looking assistant again,
saw a great deal of me when I was a boy ? speaking to the keeper of the stall ! Our eyes
Now tell me plainly, do you remember any- met at the same moment. Ezra Jennings
thing strange of me, after I had gone to bed took off his hat to me. I returned the salute,
at night ? Did you ever discover me walking and got into a carriage just as the train started.
in my sleep ? " It was a relief to my mind, I suppose, to dwell
Betteredge stopped, looked at me for a mo- on any subject which appeared to be, person-
ment, nodded his head, and walked on again. ally, of no sort of importance to me. At all
"I see your drift now, Mr. Franklin ! " he events, I began the momentous journey back
 THE MOONSTONE 137
which was to take me to Mr. Bruff, wondering "As to this," pursued the lawyer, taking
—absurdly enough, I admit that I should up Rosanna Spearman's confession, " I can
have seen the man with the piebald hair twice understand that the letter is a distressing one
in one day ! to you . I can understand that you may hesi-
The hour at which I arrived in London pre- tate to analyse it from a purely impartial
cluded all hope of my finding Mr. Bruff at his point of view. But I am not in your position.
place of business. I drove from the railway I can bring my professional experience to bear
to his private residence at Hampstead, and on this document, just as I should bring it
disturbed the old lawyer dozing alone in his to bear on any other. Without alluding to
dining-room, with his favourite pug-dog on the woman's career as a thief, I will merely
his lap, and his bottle of wine at his elbow. remark that her letter proves her to have been
I shall best describe the effect which my an adept at deception , on her own showing ;
story produced on the mind of Mr. Bruff by and I argue from that, that I am justified in
relating his proceedings when he had heard it suspecting her of not having told the whole
to the end. He ordered lights and strong tea truth. I won't start any theory, at present,
to be taken into his study ; and he sent a as to what she may or may not have done.
message to the ladies of his family, forbidding I will only say that, if Rachel has suspected
them to disturb us on any pretence whatever. you on the evidence of the nightgown only, the
These preliminaries disposed of, he first exa- chances are ninety-nine to a hundred that
mined the nightgown, and then devoted himself Rosanna Spearman was the person who showed
to the reading of Rosanna Spearman's letter. it to her. In that case, there is the woman's
The reading completed, Mr. Bruff addressed letter, confessing that she was jealous of
me for the first time since we had been shut Rachel, confessing that she changed the roses,
up together in the seclusion of his own room. confessing that she saw a glimpse of hope for
" Franklin Blake," said the old gentleman, herself in the prospect of a quarrel between
" this is a very serious matter, in more respects Rachel and you. I don't stop to ask who
than one. In my opinion, it concerns Rachel took the Moonstone (as a means to her end,
quite as nearly as it concerns you. Her extra- Rosanna Spearman would have taken fifty
ordinary conduct is no mystery now. She Moonstones) -I only say that the disappear-
believes you have stolen the Diamond. " ance of the jewel gave this reclaimed thief
I had shrunk from reasoning my own way who was in love with you an opportunity of
fairly to that revolting conclusion. But it setting you and Rachel at variance for the
had forced itself on me, nevertheless. My rest of your lives. She had not decided on
resolution to obtain a personal interview with destroying herself, then, remember ; and , hav-
Rachel rested really and truly on the ground ing the opportunity, I distinctly assert that
just stated by Mr. Bruff. it was in her character, and in her position
"The first step to take in this investigation," at the time, to take it. What do you say
the lawyer proceeded, " is to appeal to Rachel. to that ? "
She has been silent all this time, from motives " Some such suspicion," I answered , " crossed
which I (who know her character) can readily my own mind as soon as I opened the letter."
understand. It is impossible, after what has "Exactly ! And when you had read the letter,
happened, to submit to that silence any longer. you pitied the poor creature, and couldn't find
She must be persuaded to tell us, or she must it in your heart to suspect her. Does you
be forced to tell us, on what grounds she credit, my dear sir-does you credit ! "
bases her belief that you took the Moonstone. " But suppose it turns out that I did wear
The chances are, that the whole of this case, the nightgown ? What then ? "
serious as it seems now, will tumble to pieces, "I don't see how that fact is to be proved,"
if we can only break through Rachel's inve- said Mr. Bruff. " But assuming the proof to
terate reserve, and prevail upon her to speak be possible, the vindication of your innocence
out." would be no easy matter, We won't go into
" That is a very comforting opinion for99me," that now. Let us wait and see whether
I said. " I own I should like to know- Rachel hasn't suspected you on the evidence
" You would like to know how I can justify of the nightgown only."
it," interposed Mr. Bruff. " I can tell you in "Good God, how coolly you talk of Rachel
two minutes. Understand, in the first place, suspecting me ! " I broke out. " What right
that I look at this matter from a lawyer's has she to suspect Me, on any evidence, of
point of view. It's a question of evidence being a thief ! ""
with me. Very well. The evidence breaks " A very sensible question, my dear sir.
down, at the outset, on one important point." Rather hotly put, but well worth considering
"On what point ? " for all that. What puzzles you, puzzles me
"You shall hear. I admit that the mark of too. Search your memory, and tell me this.
the name proves the nightgown to be yours. Did anything happen while you were staying
I admit that the mark ofthe paint proves at the house-not, of course, to shake Rachel's
the nightgown to have made the smear on belief in your honour-but, let us say, to shake
Rachel's door. But what evidence is there her belief (no matter with how little reason)
to prove that you are the person who wore in your principles generally ? "
it on the night when the Diamond was lost ?" I started, in ungovernable agitation, to my
The objection struck me all the more forcibly feet. The lawyer's question reminded me, for
that it reflected an objection which I had felt the first time since I had left England, that
myself. something had happened.
138 THE MOONSTONE

In the eighth chapter of Betteredge's Narra- to make her show her whole mind in this
tive, an allusion will be found to the arrival matter, without reserve. Have you any sug-
of a foreigner and a stranger at my aunt's gestions to offer ? "
house, who came to see me on business. The " I have made up my mind, Mr. Bruff, to
nature of his business was this. speak to Rachel myself."
I had been foolish enough (being, as usual, " You ! " He suddenly stopped in his walk,
straitened for money at the time) to accept a and looked at me as if he thought I had taken
loan from the keeper of a small restaurant in leave of my senses. " You, of all the people
Paris, to whom I was well known as a customer. in the world ! " He abruptly checked himself,
A time was settled between us for paying the and took another turn in the room. " Wait a
money back, and when the time came, I found little," he said. " In cases of this extraordinary
it (as thousands of other honest men have kind, the rash way is sometimes the best way."
found it) impossible to keep my engagement. He considered the question for a moment or
I sent the man a bill. My name was un- two under that new light, and ended boldly by
fortunately too well known on such documents : a decision in my favour. Nothing venture,
he failed to negotiate it. His affairs had fallen nothing have," the old gentleman resumed.
into disorder in the interval since I had " You have a chance in your favour which I
borrowed of him ; bankruptcy stared him in don't possess and you shall be the first to try
the face ; and a relative of his, a French the experiment."
lawyer, came to England to find me, and to "A chance in my favour ? " I repeated , in
insist upon the payment of my debt. He was the greatest surprise.
a man of violent temper, and he took the Mr. Bruff's face softened, for the first time,
wrong way with me. High words passed on into a smile.
both sides ; and my aunt and Rachel were " This is how it stands, " he said. " I tell
unfortunately in the next room, and heard us. you fairly, I don't trust your discretion, and I
Lady Verinder came in, and insisted on know- don't trust your temper. But I do trust in
ing what was the matter. The Frenchman Rachel's still preserving, in some remote little
produced his credentials, and declared me to corner of her heart, a certain perverse weakness
be responsible for the ruin of a poor man, who for you. Touch that -and trust to the conse-
had trusted in my honour. My aunt instantly quences for the fullest disclosures that can flow
paid him the money and sent him off. She from a woman's lips ! The question is- how
knew me better of course than to take the are you to see her ? "
Frenchman's view of the transaction. But she "She has been a guest of yours at this house, "
was shocked at my carelessness, and justly 66
I answered. ' May I venture to suggest-if
angry with me for placing myself in a position nothing was said about me beforehand—that I
which, but for her interference, might have might see her here ?"
become a very disgraceful one. Either her " Cool ! " said Mr. Bruff. With that one word
mother told her, or Rachel heard what passed of comment on the reply that I had made to
I can't say which. She took her own him, he took another turn up and down the
romantic, high-flown view of the matter. I room.
was " heartless ; " I was " dishonourable ; " I " In plain English," he said, " my house is
had " no principle ; " there was no knowing to be turned into a trap to catch Rachel, with
what I might do next "-in short, she said some a bait to tempt her in the shape of an invitation
of the severest things to me which I had ever from my wife and daughters. If you were
heard from a young lady's lips. The breach anybody else but Franklin Blake, and if this
between us lasted for the whole of the next matter was one atom less serious than it really
day. The day after, I succeeded in making is, I should refuse point-blank. As things are,
my peace, and thought no more of it. Had I firmly believe Rachel will live to thank me for
Rachel reverted to this unlucky accident, at turning traitor to her in my old age. Consider
the critical moment when my place in her me your accomplice. Rachel shall be asked to
estimation was again, and far more seriously spend the day here, and you shall receive due
assailed ? Mr. Bruff, when I had mentioned the notice of it."
circumstances to him, answered the question at "When ? To-morrow ? "
once in the affirmative. " To-morrow won't give us time enough to
"It would have its effect on her mind," he get her answer. Say the day after."
said gravely. " And I wish, for your sake, the " How shall I hear from you ?"
thing had not happened. However, we have "Stay at home all the morning and expect
discovered that there was a predisposing in- me to call on you."
fluence against you - and there is one un- I thanked him for the inestimable assist-
certainty cleared out of our way, at any rate. ance which he was rendering to me, with the
I see nothing more that we can do now. Our gratitude that I really felt ; and, declining
next step in this inquiry must be the step that a hospitable invitation to sleep that night
takes us to Rachel." at Hampstead, returned to my lodgings in
He rose, and began walking thoughtfully up London.
and down the room. Twice I was on the point Of the day that followed, I have only to say
of telling him that I had determined on seeing that it was the longest day of my life. Inno-
Rachel personally ; and twice, having regard to cent as I knew myself to be, certain as I was
his age and his character, I hesitated to take that the abominable imputation which rested
him by surprise at an unfavourable moment. on me must sooner or later be cleared off, there
" The grand difficulty is," he resumed, " how was nevertheless a sense of self-abasement in
 THE MOONSTONE 139

my mind which instinctively disinclined me to | felt a certain guilty doubtfulness about what
see any of my friends. We often hear (almost might happen next. I looked furtively on
invariably, however, from superficial observers) either side of me, suspicious of the presence
that guilt can look like innocence. I believe of some unexpected witness in some unknown
it to be infinitely the truer axiom of the two corner of the garden. Nothing appeared to
that innocence can look like guilt. I caused justify my apprehensions. The walks were,
myself to be denied all day to every visitor one and all, solitudes, and the birds and the
who called, and I only ventured out under bees were the only witnesses.
cover of the night, I passed through the garden, entered the
The next morning, Mr. Bruff surprised me conservatory, and crossed the small drawing-
at the breakfast-table. He handed me a large room. As I laid my hand on the door opposite,
key, and announced that he felt ashamed of I heard a few plaintive chords struck on the
himself for the first time in his life. piano in the room within. She had often idled
"Is she coming ? " over the instrument in this way, when I was
"She is coming to-day, to lunch and spend staying at her mother's house. I was obliged
the afternoon with my wife and my girls.' to wait a little, to steady myself. The past
"Are Mrs. Bruff and your daughters in the and present rose side by side, at that supreme
secret ? " moment-and the contrast shook me.
"Inevitably. But women, as you may have After the lapse of a minute, I roused my
observed, have no principles. My family don't manhood, and opened the door.
feel my pangs of conscience. The end being
to bring you and Rachel together again, my
wife and daughters pass over the means em-
ployed to gain it as composedly as if they CHAPTER VII
were Jesuits."
"I am infinitely obliged to them. What is AT the moment when I showed myself in the
this key ?" doorway, Rachel rose from the piano.
"The key of the gate in my back-garden I closed the door behind me. "We confronted
wall. Be there at three this afternoon. Let each other in silence, with the full length of
yourself into the garden, and make your way the room between us. The movement she had
in by the conservatory door. Cross the small made in rising appeared to be the one exertion
drawing-room, and open the door in front of of which she was capable. All use of every
you which leads into the music-room. There other faculty, bodily or mental, seemed to be
you will find Rachel- and find her alone." merged in the mere act of looking at me.
" How can I thank you ?" A fear crossed my mind that I had shown
" I will tell you how. Don't blame me for myself too suddenly. I advanced a few steps
what happens afterwards." towards her. I said gently, " Rachel ! "
With those words, he went out. The sound of my voice brought the life back
I had many weary hours still to wait through. to her limbs and the colour to her face. She
To while away the time, I looked at my letters. advanced, on her side, still without speaking.
Among them was a letter from Betteredge. Slowly, as if acting under some influence
I opened it eagerly. To my surprise and independent of her own will, she came nearer
disappointment, it began with an apology and nearer to me ; the warm dusky colour
warning me to expect no news of any import- flushing her cheeks, the light of reviving in-
ance. In the next sentence the everlasting telligence brightening every instant in her eyes.
Ezra Jennings appeared again ! He had stopped I forgot the object that had brought me into
Betteredge on the way out of the station, and her presence ; I forgot the vile suspicion that
had asked who I was. Informed on this point, rested on my good name ; I forgot every con-
he had mentioned having seen me to his master, sideration, past, present, and future, which I
Mr. Candy. Mr. Candy hearing of this, had was bound to remember. I saw nothing but
himself driven over to Betteredge, to express the woman I loved coming nearer and nearer
his regret at our having missed each other. to me. She trembled ; she stood irresolute.
He had a reason for wishing particularly to I could resist it no longer- I caught her in
speak to me ; and when I was next in the my arms and covered her face with kisses.
neighbourhood of Frizinghall, he begged I There was a moment when I thought the
would let him know. Apart from a few char- kisses were returned ; a moment when it
acteristic utterances of the Betteredge philo- seemed as if she, too, might have forgotten.
sophy, this was the sum and substance of my Almost before the idea could shape itself in
correspondent's letter. The warm-hearted, my mind, her first voluntary action made me
faithful old man acknowledged that he had feel that she remembered. With a cry which
written " mainly for the pleasure of writing was like a cry of horror- with a strength which
to me." I doubt if I could have resisted if I had tried
I crumpled up the letter in my pocket, and she thrust me back from her. I saw merci-
forgot it the moment after, in the all-absorbing less anger in her eyes ; I saw merciless con-
interest of my coming interview with Rachel. tempt on her lips. She looked me over, from
As the clock of Hampstead church struck head to foot, as she might have looked at a
three, I put Mr. Bruff's key into the lock of stranger who had insulted her.
the door in the wall. When I first stepped "You coward ! " she said. " You mean,.
into the garden, and while I was securing the miserable, heartless coward ! "
door again on the inner side, I own to having Those were her first words ! The most
140 THE MOONSTONE

unendurable reproach that a woman can ad- the test. In the breathless interest of trying
dress to a man, was the reproach that she that experiment, I moved round so as to place
picked out to address to Me. myself in front of her.
" I remember the time, Rachel,'"9 I said, " I have a question to ask you," I said. "It
" when you could have told me that I had obliges me to refer again to a painful subject.
offended you in a"" worthier way than that. I Did Rosanna Spearman show you the night-
beg your pardon. ' gown ? Yes, or No ? "
Something of the bitterness that I felt may She started to her feet, and walked close up
have communicated itself to my voice. At to me of her own accord. Her eyes looked me
the first words of my reply, her eyes, which searchingly in the face, as if to read something
had been turned away the moment before, there which they had never read yet.
looked back at me unwillingly. She answered "Are you mad ? " she asked.
in a low tone, with a sullen submission of I still restrained myself. I said quietly ,
manner which was quite new in my experience " Rachel, will you answer my question ?
of her. She went on, without heeding me.
"Perhaps there is some excuse for me, " she "Have you some object to gain which I
said. "After what you have done, is it a don't understand ? Some mean fear about the
manly action, on your part, to find your way future, in which I am concerned ? They say
to me as you have found it to-day ? It seems your father's death has made you a rich
a cowardly experiment, to try an experiment man. Have you come here to compensate
on my weakness for you. It seems a cowardly me for the loss of my Diamond ? And have
surprise, to surprise me into letting you kiss you heart enough left to feel ashamed of
me. But that is only a woman's view. I your errand ? Is that the secret of your pre-
ought to have known it couldn't be your view. tence of innocence, and your story about
I should have done better if I had controlled Rosanna Spearman ? Is there a motive of
myself, and said nothing." shame at the bottom of all the falsehood,
The apology was more unendurable than the this time ?"
insult. The most degraded man living would I stopped her there. I could control myself
have felt humiliated by it. no longer.
" If my honour was not in your hands," I 'You have done me an infamous wrong ! "
said, " I would leave you this instant, and I broke out hotly. 66
"You suspect me of steal-
never see you again. You have spoken of ing your Diamond. I have a right to know,
what I have done. What have I done ? " and I will know, the reason why !"
"What have you done ! You ask that "Suspect you !" she exclaimed, her anger
question of me ? " rising with mine. " You villain, I saw you
"I ask it." take the Diamond with my own eyes ! "
" I have kept your infamy a secret," she The revelation which burst upon me in those
answered. "And I have suffered the conse- words, the overthrow which they instantly
quences of concealing it. Have I no claim accomplished of the whole view of the case
to be spared the insult of your asking me what on which Mr. Bruff had relied, struck me
you have done ? Is all sense of gratitude dead helpless. Innocent as I was, I stood before
in you ? You were once a gentleman. You her in silence. To her eyes, to any eyes, I
were once‫دو‬dear to my mother, and dearer still must have looked like a man overwhelmed
to me- by the discovery of his own guilt.
Her voice failed her. She dropped into a She drew back from the spectacle of my
chair, and turned her back on me, and covered humiliation and of her triumph. The sudden
her face with her hands. silence that had fallen upon me seemed to
I waited a little before I trusted myself to frighten her. " I spared you at the time, "
say any more. In that moment of silence, I she said. " I would have spared you now,
hardly know which I felt most keenly-the if you had not forced me to speak." She
sting which her contempt had planted in me, moved away as if to leave the room, and
or the proud resolution which shut me out hesitated before she got to the door. " Why ""
from all community with her distress. did you come here to humiliate yourself ?'
"If you will not speak first," I said, " I she asked. "Why did you come here to
must. I have come here with something humiliate me ?" She went on a few steps,
serious to say to you. Will you do me the and paused once more. "For God's sake, say
common justice of listening while I say it ?" something ! " she exclaimed passionately. "If
She neither moved, nor answered. I made you have any mercy left, don't let me degrade
no second appeal to her ; I never advanced an myself in this way ! Say something - and
inch nearer to her chair. With a pride which drive me out of the room ! "
was as obstinate as her pride, I told her of I advanced towards her, hardly conscious
my discovery at the Shivering Sand, and of of what I was doing. I had possibly some
all that had led to it. The narrative, of neces- confused idea of detaining her until she had
sity, occupied some little time. From begin- told me more. From the moment when
ning to end, she never looked round at me, and knew that the evidence on which I stood
she never uttered a word. condemned in Rachel's mind was the evidence
I kept my temper. My whole future de- of her own eyes, nothing—not even my con-
pended, in all probability, on my not losing viction of my own innocence-was clear to
possession of myself at that moment. The my mind. I took her by the hand ; I tried
time had come to put Mr. Bruff's theory to to speak firmly and to the purpose. All
 THE MOONSTONE 141

I could say was, " Rachel, you once loved after we had wished each other good night.
me. ‫وو‬ Did you go to bed, or did you sit up ? "
She shuddered , and looked away from me. " I went to bed."
Her hand lay powerless and trembling in mine. "" Did you notice the time ? Was it late ? "
" Let go of it," she said faintly. " Not very. About twelve o'clock, I think."
"
My touch seemed to have the same effect " Did you fall asleep ?
on her which the sound of my voice had pro- " No. I couldn't sleep that night."
duced when I first entered the room. After 66 You were restless ?
she had said the word which called me a " I was thinking of you."
coward, after she had made the avowal which The answer almost unmanned me. Some-
branded me as a thief- while her hand lay thing in the tone, even more than in the words,
in mine I was her master still ! went straight to my heart. It was only after
I drew her gently back into the middle of pausing a little first that I was able to go on.
the room. I seated her by the side of me. " Had you any light in your room ? " I asked.
" Rachel, " I said, " I can't explain the contra- " None-until I got up again, and lit my
diction in what I am going to tell you. I can candle."
only speak the truth as you have spoken it. " How long was that after you had gone to
You saw me with your own eyes, you saw bed ?"
me take the Diamond. Before God who hears " About an hour after, I think. About one
us, I declare that I now know I took it for o'clock."
the first time ! Do you doubt me still ? " " Did you leave your bedroom ? "
She had neither heeded nor heard me. "Let " I was going to leave it. I had put on my
go of my hand," she repeated faintly. That dressing-gown, and I was "" going into my sitting-
was her only answer. Her head sank on my room to get a book—
shoulder, and her hand unconsciously closed " Had you opened your bedroom door ? "
on mine, at the moment when she asked me " I had just opened it."
to release it. " But you had not gone into the sitting-
I refrained from pressing the question. But room ?"
there my forbearance stopped. My chance of " No- I was stopped from going into it."
ever holding up my head again among honest "What stopped you ?
men depended on my chance of inducing her "I saw a light under the door, and I heard
to make her disclosure complete. The one hope footsteps approaching it."
left for me was the hope that she might have " Were you frightened ? "
overlooked something in the chain of evidence " Not then. I knew my poor mother was a
-some mere trifle, perhaps , which might bad sleeper ; and I remembered that she had
nevertheless, under careful investigation, be tried hard, that evening, to persuade me to let
made the means of vindicating my innocence her take charge of my Diamond. She was
in the end. I own I kept possession of her unreasonably anxious about it, as I thought
hand. I own I spoke to her with all that I and I fancied she was coming to me to see if Í
could summon back of the sympathy and con- was in bed, and to speak to me about the
fidence of the bygone time. Diamond again, if she found that I was up."
"I want to ask you something, " I said. "I "What did you do ?"
want you to tell me everything that happened, " I blew out my candle, so that she might
from the time when we wished each other think I was in bed. I was unreasonable, on my
good-night, to the time when you saw me take side-I was determined to keep my Diamond
the Diamond." in the place of my own choosing."
She lifted her head from my shoulder, and " After blowing the candle out, did you go
made an effort to release her hand. 66 Oh, back to bed ?"
why go back to it ? " she said. " Why go back ' I had no time to go back. At the moment
to it ?" when I blew the candle out, the sitting-room
"I will tell you why, Rachel. You are the door opened, and I saw-
victim, and I am the victim, of some mon- " You saw ?"
strous delusion which has worn the mask of " YOU !"
truth. If we look at what happened on the " Dressed as usual ?"
night of your birthday together, we may end " No."
in understanding each other yet." " In my nightgown ?"
Her head dropped back on my shoulder. " In your nightgown - with your bedroom
The tears gathered in her eyes, and fell slowly candle in your hand."
over her cheeks. " Oh ! " she said, " have I "Alone ?"
never had that hope ? Have not tried to " Alone."
see it as you are trying now ? ” " Could you see my face ?"
"You have tried by yourself," I answered. " Yes."
" You have not tried with me to help you. " 66
'Plainly ? "
Those words seemed to awaken in her some- 66 Quite plainly. The candle in your hand
19
thing of the hope which I felt myself when showed it to me.
I uttered them. She replied to my questions "Were my eyes open ? "
with more than docility- she exerted her in- " Yes."
telligence ; she willingly opened her whole " Did you notice anything strange in them ?
mind to me. Anything like a fixed, vacant expression ? "
66' Nothing of the sort, Your eyes were
" Let us begin," I said, " with what happened
142 THE MOONSTONE

bright- brighter than usual. You looked about " Did I close the door after me ?"
in the room, as if you knew you were where you "No. You passed out quickly into the
ought not to be, and as if you were afraid of passage, and left the door open."
being found out. " " And then ? "
" Did you observe one thing when I came " Then, your light disappeared, and the
into the room- —did you observe how I walked ?" sound of your steps died away, and I was left
" You walked as you always do. You came alone in the dark."
in as far as the middle of the room- -and then " Did nothing happen-from that time to
you stopped and looked about you." the time when the whole house knew that the
" What did you do on first seeing me ? " Diamond was lost ?"
66
" I could do nothing. I was petrified. I 'Nothing. "
couldn't speak, I couldn't call out, I couldn't "Are you sure of that ? Might you not have
even move to shut my door." been
66 asleep a part of the time ? "
" Could I see you, where you stood ! " " I never slept. I never went back to my
" You might certainly have seen me. But bed. Nothing happened until Penelope came
you never looked towards me. It's useless to in, at the usual time in the morning."
ask the question. I am sure you never saw I dropped her hand, and rose, and took a
me. turn in the room. Every question that I could
" How are you sure ?' put had been answered. Every detail that I
" Would you have taken the Diamond ? would could desire to know had been placed before
you have acted as you did afterwards ? would me. I had even reverted to the idea of sleep-
you be here now-if you had seen that I was walking, and the idea of intoxication ; and
awake and looking at you ? Don't make me again the worthlessness of the one theory and
talk of that part of it ! I want to answer you the other had been proved-on the authority,
quietly. Help me to keep as calm as I can. this time, of the witness who had seen me.
Go on to something else." What was to be said next ? what was to be
She was right- in every way, right. I went done next ? There rose the horrible fact of the
on to other things. theft the one visible, tangible object that
"What did I do, after I had got to the confronted me, in the midst of the impene-
middle of the room , and had stopped there ? " trable darkness which enveloped all besides !
" You turned away, and went straight to the Not a glimpse of light to guide me, when I had
corner near the window - where my Indian possessed myself of Rosanna Spearman's secret
cabinet stands." at the Shivering Sand. And not a glimpse of
"When I was at the cabinet, my back must light now, when I had appealed to Rachel
have been turned towards you. How did you herself, and had heard the hateful story of the
see what I was doing ? " • night from her own lips.
" When you moved, I moved. " She was the first, this time, to break the
" So as to see what I was about with my silence.
hands ?" "Well," she said, " you have asked, and I
" There are three glasses in my sitting-room. | have answered. You have made me hope
As you stood there, I saw all that you did re- something from all this, because you hoped
flected in one of them." something from it. What have you to say
" What did you see ? " now ? "
"You put your candle on the top of the The tone in which she spoke warned me that
cabinet. You opened and shut one drawer my influence over her was a lost influence once
after another, until you came to the drawer in more.
which I had put my Diamond. You looked at "We were to look at what happened on my
the open drawer for a moment. And then you birthday night together," she went on, " and
put your hand in, and took the Diamond out." we were then to understand each other. Have
"How do you know I took the Diamond we done that ? "
out ? " She waited pitilessly for my reply. In
" I saw your hand go into the drawer. And answering her I committed a fatal error-I let
I saw the gleam of the stone between your the exasperating helplessness of my situation
finger and thumb, when you took your hand get the better of my self-control. Rashly and
out." uselessly, I reproached her for the silence
66
' Did my hand approach the drawer again which had kept me until that moment in
to close it, for instance ? " ignorance of the truth.
"No. You had the Diamond in your right " If you had spoken when you ought to have
hand ; and you took the candle from the top spoken," I began : "if you had done me the
of the cabinet with your left hand." common justice to explain yourself—-”
" Did I look about me again, after that ? She broke in on me with a cry of fury. The
"No." few words I had said seemed to have lashed
"Did I leave the room immediately ?" her on the instant into a frenzy of rage.
"No. You stood quite still, for what seemed " Explain myself ! " she repeated. "Oh ! is
a long time. I saw your face sideways in the there another man like this in the world ? I
glass. You looked like a man thinking, and spare him, when my heart is breaking ; I screen
dissatisfied with his own thoughts." him when my own character is at stake ; and
"What happened next ? " he-of all human beings, he-turns on me now,
"You roused yourself on a sudden, and you and tells me that I ought to have explained
went straight out of the room." myself ! After believing in him as I did, after
 THE MOONSTONE 143

loving him as I did, after thinking of him by make to you-the offer, privately (not a word,
day, and dreaming of him by night- he wonders mind, to be said openly about it between us !),
I didn't charge him with his disgrace the first of the loan of as large a sum of money as I
time we met ' My heart's darling, you are a could get. And I would have got it ! " she
Thief ! My hero whom I love and honour, you exclaimed, her colour beginning to rise again,
have crept into my room under cover of the and her eyes looking up at me once more. "I
night, and stolen my Diamond !' That is would have pledged the Diamond myself, if I
what I ought to have said. You villain, you could have got the money in no other way !
mean, mean, mean villain, I would have lost In those words I wrote to you. Wait ! I did
fifty Diamonds, rather than see your face more than that. I arranged with Penelope to
lying to me, as I see it lying now ! " give you the letter when nobody was near. I
I took up my hat. In mercy to her yes ! planned to shut myself into my bedroom, and
I can honestly say it - in mercy to her, I to have the sitting-room left open and empty
turned away without a word, and opened the all the morning. And I hoped-with all my
door by which I had entered the room. heart and soul I hoped that you would take
She followed, and snatched the door out of the opportunity, and put the Diamond back
my hand ; she closed it, and pointed back to secretly in the drawer."
the place that I had left. I attempted to speak. She lifted her hand
"No ! " she said. " Not yet ! It seems that impatiently, and stopped me. In the rapid
I owe a justification of my conduct to you. alternations of her temper, her anger was be-
You shall stay and hear it. Or you shall stoop ginning to rise again. She got up from her
to the lowest infamy of all, and force your chair and approached me.
way out." "I know what you are going to say," she
It wrung my heart to see her ; it wrung my went on. "You are going to remind me again
heart to hear her. I answered by a sign- it that you never received my letter. I can tell
was all I could do that I submitted myself to you why. I tore it up."
her will. " For what reason ? " I asked.
The crimson flush of anger began to fade out "For the best of reasons. I preferred tearing
of her face as I went back and took my chair it up to throwing it away upon such a man as
in silence. She waited a little and steadied you ! What was the first news that reached
herself. When she went on, but one sign of me in the morning ? Just as my little plan was
feeling was discernible in her. She spoke complete, what did I hear? I heard that you—
without looking at me. Her hands were fast you!!! -were the foremost person in the house
clasped in her lap, and her eyes were fixed on in fetching the police. Youwere the active man ;
the ground . you were the leader ; you were working harder
" I ought to have done you the common than any of them to recover the jewel ! You
justice to explain myself," she said, repeating even carried your audacity far enough to ask
my own words. " You shall see whether I did to speak to me about the loss of the Diamond—
try to do you justice or not. I told you just the Diamond which you yourself had stolen ;
now that I never slept, and never returned to the Diamond which was all the time in your
my bed after you had left my sitting-room. own hands ! After that proof of your horrible
It's useless to trouble you by dwelling on what falseness and cunning, I tore up my letter.
I thought you would not understand my But even then- even when I was maddened by
thoughts-I will only tell you what I did, when the searching and questioning of the policeman ,
time enough had passed to help me to recover whom you had sent in-even then there was
myself. I refrained from alarming the house, some infatuation in my mind which wouldn't
and telling everybody what had happened-as let me give you up. I said to myself, ' He has
I ought to have done. In spite of what I had played this vile farce before everybody else in
seen, I was fond enough of you to believe-no the house. Let me try if he can play it before
matter what ! -any impossibility, rather than me.' Somebody told me you were on the
admit it to my own mind that you were de- terrace. I went down to the terrace. I forced
liberately a thief. I thought"" and thought- myself to look at you ; I forced myself to speak
and I ended in writing to you.' to you. Have you forgotten what I said ?'
"I never received the letter. ” I might have answered that I remembered
" I know you never received it. Wait a every word of it. But what purpose, at that
little, and you shall hear why. My letter moment, would the answer have served ?
would have told you nothing openly. It would How could I tell her that what she had said
not have ruined you for life, if it had fallen had astonished me, had distressed me, had
into some other person's hands. It would only suggested to me that she was in a state of
have said-in a manner which you yourself dangerous nervous excitement, had even roused
could not possibly have mistaken-that I had a moment's doubt in my mind whether the loss
reason to know you were in debt, and that it of the jewel was as much a mystery to her as
was in my experience, and in my mother's to the rest of us-but had never once given me
experience of you, that you were not very so much as a glimpse at the truth ? Without
discreet, or very scrupulous about how you got the shadow of a proof to produce in vindica-
money when you wanted it. You would have tion of my innocence, how could I persuade
remembered the visit of the French lawyer, her that I knew no more than the veriest
and you would have known what I referred to. stranger could have known of what was really
If you had read on with some interest after in her thoughts when she spoke to me on the
that, you would have come to an offer I had to terrace ?
144 THE MOONSTONE

"It may suit your convenience to forget ; it | words ! I can't expose you ! I am worse, if
suits my convenience to remember, " she went worse can be, than you are yourself." Sobs
on. " I know what I said-for I considered it and tears burst from her. She struggled with
with myself, before I said it. I gave you one them fiercely ; she held me more and more
opportunity after another of owning the truth. firmly. " I can't tear you out of my heart,"
I left nothing unsaid that I could say- short of she said, " even now ! You may trust in the
actually telling you that I knew you had com- shameful, shameful weakness which can only
mitted the theft. And all the return you struggle against you in this way ! " She sud-
made, was to look at me with your vile pre- denly let go of me--she threw up her hands,
tence of astonishment, and your false face of and wrung them frantically in the air. " Any
innocence -just as you have looked at me other woman living would shrink from the66 dis-
to-day ; just as you are looking at me now ! grace of touching him ! " she exclaimed. Oh,
I left you, that morning, knowing you at last God ! I despise myself even more heartily than
for what you were-for what you are-as base I despise him ! ”
a wretch as ever walked the earth ! " The tears were forcing their way into my
If you had spoken out at the time, you eyes in spite of me-the horror of it was to
might have left me, Rachel, knowing ""that you be endured no longer.
had cruelly wronged an innocent man.' " You shall know that you have wronged
" If I had spoken out before other people," me yet,""” I said. " Or you shall never see me
66 retorted, with another burst of indignation,
she again !
With those words I left her. She started
' you would have been disgraced for life ! If
I had spoken out to no ears but yours, you up from the chair on which she had dropped
would have denied it as you are denying it the moment before : she started up- the noble
now ! Do you think I should have believed creature -and followed me across the outer
you ? Would a man hesitate at a lie, who had room with a last merciful word at parting.
done what I saw you do- who had behaved "Franklin ! " she said, " I forgive you ! Oh,
about it afterwards, as I saw you behave ? I Franklin, Franklin ! we shall never meet again.
tell you again, I shrank from the horror of Say you forgive me !?
hearing you lie, after the horror of seeing you I turned, so as to let my face show her that
thieve. You talk as if this was a misunder- I was past speaking - I turned, and waved
standing which a few words might have set my hand, and saw her dimly, as in a vision,
right ! Well , the misunderstanding is at an through the tears that had conquered me at
end. Is the thing set right ? No ! the thing last.
is just where it was. I don't believe you now ! The next moment the worst bitterness of it
I don't believe you found the nightgown, I was over. I was out in the garden again. I
don't believe in Rosanna Spearman's letter, I saw her and heard her no more.
don't believe a word you have said. You stole
it-I saw you ! You affected to help the police
-I saw you ! You pledged the Diamond to
the money-lender in London-I am sure of it ! CHAPTER VIII
You cast the suspicion of your disgrace (thanks
to my base silence ! ) on an innocent man ! You LATE that evening I was surprised at my
fled to the Continent with your plunder the lodgings by a visit from Mr. Bruff.
next morning ! After all that vileness, there There was a noticeable change in the lawyer's
was but one thing more you could do. You manner. It had lost its usual confidence and
could come here with a last falsehood on your spirit. He shook hands with me, for the first
lips -you could come here, and tell me that I time in his life, in silence.
had wronged you ! " " Are you going back to Hampstead ?" I
If I had stayed a moment more, I know not asked, by way of saying something.
what words might have escaped me which I " I have just left Hampstead," he answered.
should have remembered with vain repentance " I know, Mr. Franklin, that you have got at
and regret. I passed by her, and opened the the truth at last. But I tell you plainly, if I
door for the second time. For the second could have foreseen the price that was to be
time with the frantic perversity of a roused paid for it, I should have preferred leaving you
woman-she caught me by the arm and barred in the dark."
my way out. " You have seen Rachel ? ”
" Let me go, Rachel," I said. "It will be " I have come here after taking her back to
better for both of us. Let me go. " Portland Place ; it was impossible to let her
The hysterical passion swelled in her bosom return in the carriage by herself. I can hardly
-her quickened convulsive breathing almost hold you responsible -considering that you saw
beat on my face, as she held me back at the her in my house and by my permission- for
door. the shock that this unlucky interview has in-
" Why did you come here ? " she persisted flicted on her. All I can do is to provide
desperately. " I ask you again-why did you against a repetition of the mischief. She is
come here ? Are you afraid I shall expose young-she has a resolute spirit-she will get
you ? Now you are a rich man, now you have over this, with time and rest to help her. I
got a place in the world, now you may marry want to be assured that you will do nothing to
the best lady in the land- are you afraid I hinder her recovery. May I depend on your
shall say the words which I have never said making no second attempt to see her, except
yet to anybody but you ? I can't say the with my sanction and approval ? ”
 THE MOONSTONE 145

"After what she has suffered, and after what ‫وو‬ "Exactly ! Now observe. We are already
I have suffered," I said, " you may rely on me.' in the month of June. Towards the end of the
" I have your promise ? " month (I can't be particular to a day) a year
"You have my promise." will have elapsed from the time when we
Mr. Bruff looked relieved. He put down his believe the jewel to have been pledged . There
hat, and drew his chair nearer to mine. is a chance to say the least-that the person
" That's settled ! " he said. " Now, about who pawned it may be prepared to redeem it
the future your future, I mean. To my mind, when the year's time has expired. If he re-
the result of the extraordinary turn which the deems it, Mr. Luker must himself-according
matter has now taken is briefly this. In the to the terms of his own arrangement-take the
first place, we are sure that Rachel has told Diamond out of his bankers' hands. Under
you the whole truth, as plainly as words can these circumstances, I propose setting a watch
tell it. In the second place-though we know at the bank as the present month draws to
that there must be some dreadful mistake some- an end, and discovering who the person is to
where we can hardly blame her for believing whom Mr. Luker restores the Moonstone. Do
you to be guilty, on the evidence of her own you see it now ? "
senses ; backed, as that evidence has been, I admitted (a little unwillingly) that the
by circumstances which appear, on the face of idea was a new one, at any rate.
them, to tell dead against you.' " It's Mr. Murthwaite's idea quite as much
There I interposed. "I don't blame Rachel," I as mine," said Mr. Bruff. " It might never
said. "I only regret that she could not prevail on have entered my head, but for a conversation
herself to speak more plainly to me at the time." we had together some time since. If Mr.
" You might as well regret that Rachel is Murthwaite is right, the Indians are likely to
not somebody else," rejoined Mr. Bruff. " And be on the look-out at the bank towards the
even then, I doubt if a girl of any delicacy, end of the month too-and something serious
whose heart had been set on marrying you, may come of it. What comes of it doesn't
could have brought herself to charge you to matter to you and me-except as it may help
your face with being a thief. Anyhow, it was us to lay our hands on the mysterious Some-
not in Rachel's nature to do it. In a very body who pawned the Diamond. That person,
different matter to this matter of yours-which you may rely on it, is responsible (I don't pre-
placed her, however, in a position not alto- tend to know how) for the position in which
gether unlike her position towards you-I you stand at this moment ; and that person
happen to know that she was influenced by alone can set you right in Rachel's estimation."
a similar motive to the motive which actuated "I can't deny," I said, " that the plan you
her conduct in your case. Besides, as she told propose meets the difficulty in a way that is
me herself, on our way to town this evening, very daring, and ‫دو‬ very ingenious, and very
if she had spoken plainly, she would no more new. But-
have believed your denial then than she be- "But you have an objection to make ? "
lieves it now. What answer can you make to " Yes. My objection is, that your proposal
that ? There is no answer to be made to it. obliges us to wait."
Come, come, Mr. Franklin ! my view of the " Granted. As I reckon the time, it requires
case has been proved to be all wrong, I admit you to wait about a fortnight-more or less.
-but, as things are now, my advice may be Is that so very long ?"
worth having for all that. I tell you plainly, " It's a lifetime, Mr. Bruff, in such a situa-
we shall be wasting our time, and cudgelling tion as mine. My existence will be simply
our brains to no purpose, if we attempt to try unendurable to me, unless I do something
back, and unravel this frightful complication towards clearing my character at once."
from the beginning. Let us close our minds "Well, well, I understand that. Have you
resolutely to all that happened last year at Lady thought yet of what you can do ?"
Verinder's country house ; and let us look to "I have thought of consulting Sergeant Cuff."
what we can discover in the future, instead of " He has retired from the police. It's use-
to what we can not discover in the past." less to expect the Sergeant to help you."
"Surely you forget," I said, "that the whole "I know where to find him ; and I can
thing is essentially a matter of the past-so far but try."
as I am concerned ? ” "Try," said Mr. Bruff, after a moment's
" Answer me this," retorted Mr. Bruff. " Is consideration. "The case has assumed such
the Moonstone at the bottom of all the mischief an extraordinary aspect since Sergeant Cuff's
-or is it not ? " time, that you may revive his interest in the
" It is of course. inquiry. Try, and let me hear the result.
"Very good. What do we believe was done In the meanwhile, " he continued, rising, " if
with the Moonstone, when it was taken to you make no discoveries between this and
London ? ". the end of the month, am I free to try, on
"It was pledged to Mr. Luker." my side, what can be done by keeping a look-
"We know that you are not the person who out at the bank ?"
pledged it. Do we know who did ? " " Certainly," I answered-" unless I relieve
"No." you of all necessity for trying the experiment
" Where do we believe the Moonstone to be in the interval."
now ? " Mr. Bruff smiled, and took up his hat.
66'Deposited in the keeping of Mr. Luker's "Tell Sergeant Cuff," he rejoined, " that I
bankers." say the discovery of the truth depends on
146 THE MOONSTONE

the discovery of the person who pawned the improbable than another. When I did get to
Diamond. And let me hear what the Ser- sleep, my waking fancies pursued me in dreams.
geant's experience says to that. " I rose the next morning with Objective-Sub-
So we parted. jective and Subjective-Objective inextricably
Early the next morning, I set forth for the entangled together in my mind ; and I began
little town of Dorking-the place of Sergeant the day which was to witness my next effort
Cuff's retirement, as indicated to me by Bet- at practical action of some kind by doubting
teredge. whether I had any sort of right (on purely
Inquiring at the hotel, I received the neces- philosophical grounds) to consider any sort of
sary directions for finding the Sergeant's cot- thing (the Diamond included ) as existing at all.
tage. It was approached by a quiet by-road, How long I might have remained lost in the
a little way out of the town, and it stood snugly mist of my own metaphysics, if I had been left
in the middle of its own plot of garden ground, to extricate myself, it is impossible for me to
protected by a good brick wall at the back and say. As the event proved, accident came to my
sides, and by a high quickset hedge in front. rescue, and happily delivered me. I happened
The gate, ornamented at the upper part by to wear, that morning, the same coat which I
smartly-painted trellis-work, was locked. After had worn on the day of my interview with
ringing at the bell, I peered through the trellis- Rachel. Searching for something else in one
work, and saw the great Cuff's favourite flower of the pockets, I came upon a crumpled piece
everywhere ; blooming in his garden, clustering of paper, and taking it out, found Betteredge's
over his door, looking in at his windows. Far forgotten letter in my hand.
from the crimes and the mysteries of the great It seemed hard on my good old friend to
city, the illustrious thief-taker was placidly leave him without a reply. I went to my writ-
living out the last Sybarite years of his life, ing-table, and read his letter again.
smothered in roses ! . A letter which has nothing of the slightest
A decent elderly woman opened the gate importance in it is not always an easy letter
to me, and at once annihilated all the hopes to answer. Betteredge's present effort at cor-
I had built on securing the assistance of Ser- responding with me came within this category.
geant Cuff. He had started, only the day before, Mr. Candy's assistant, otherwise Ezra Jennings,
on a journey to Ireland. had told his master that he had seen me ; and
"Has he gone there on business ? " I asked. Mr. Candy, in his turn, wanted to see me and
The woman smiled. "He has only one say something to me, when I was next in the
business now, sir," she said, " and that's roses. neighbourhood of Frizinghall. What was to be
Some great man's gardener in Ireland has said in answer to that which would be worth
found out something new in the growing of the paper it was written on ? I sat idly drawing
roses, and Mr. Cuff's away to inquire into it. likenesses from memory of Mr. Candy's remark-
" Do you know when he will be back ?" able-looking assistant on the sheet of paper
" It's quite uncertain, sir. Mr. Cuff said which I had vowed to dedicate to Betteredge
he should come back directly, or be away until it suddenly occurred to me that here
some time, just according as he found the was the irrepressible Ezra Jennings getting in
new discovery worth nothing, or worth look- my way again ! I threw a dozen portraits, at
ing into. If you have any message to leave least, of the man with the piebald hair (the
for him, I'll take care, sir, that he gets it." hair in every case remarkably like), into the
I gave her my card, having first written waste-paper basket-and then and there wrote
on it in pencil : "I have something to say my answer to Betteredge. It was a perfectly
about the Moonstone. Let me hear from you commonplace letter- but it had one excellent
as soon as you get back." That done, there effect on me. The effort of writing a few sen-
was nothing left but to submit to circum- tences, in plain English, completely cleared my
stances, and return to London. mind of the cloudy nonsense which had filled
In the irritable condition of my mind, at it since the previous day.
the time of which I am now writing, the Devoting myself once more to the elucida-
abortive result of my journey to the Sergeant's tion of the impenetrable puzzle which my own
cottage simply aggravated the restless impulse position presented to me, I now tried to meet
in me to be doing something. On the day of the difficulty by investigating it from a plainly
my return from Dorking, I determined that practical point of view. The events of the
the next morning should find me bent on a memorable night being still unintelligible to
new effort at forcing my way, through all me, I looked a little farther back, and searched
obstacles, from the darkness to the light. my memory ofthe earlier hours of the birthday
What form was my next experiment to take ? for any incident which might prove of some
If the excellent Betteredge had been present assistance to me in finding the clue.
while I was considering that question, and if he Had anything happened while Rachel and I
had been let into the secret of my thoughts, he were finishing the painted door ? or later, when
would, no doubt, have declared that the German I rode over to Frizinghall ? or afterwards, when
side of me was, on this occasion, my uppermost I went back with Godfrey Ablewhite and his
side. To speak seriously, it is perhaps possible sisters ? or, later again, when I put the Moon-
that my German training was in some degree stone into Rachel's hands ? or, later still, when
responsible for the labyrinth of useless specu- the company came, and we all assembled round
lations in which I now involved myself. For the dinner-table ? My memory disposed of that
the greater part of the night, I sat smoking string of questions readily enough, until I came
and building up theories, one more profoundly to the last. Looking back at the social events
 THE MOONSTONE 147

of the birthday dinner, I found myself brought I left town. I drove off at once to Mr. Bruff's
to a standstill at the outset of the inquiry. I office ; not knowing the addresses of the per-
was not even capable of accurately remembering sons of whom I was in search, and thinking
the number of the guests who had sat at the it probable that he might put me in the way
same table with me. of finding them.
To feel myself completely at fault here, and Mr. Bruff proved to be too busy to give me
to conclude, thereupon, that the incidents of more than a minute of his valuable time. In
the dinner might especially repay the trouble that minute, however, he contrived to dispose
of investigating them, formed parts of the in the most discouraging manner-of all the
same mental process, in my case. I believe questions I had to put to him.
other people, in a similar situation, would have In the first place, he considered my newly
reasoned as I did. When the pursuit of our discovered method of finding a clue to the
own interests causes us to become objects of mystery as something too purely fanciful to
inquiryto ourselves, we are naturally suspicious be seriously discussed. In the second, third,
of what we don't know. Once in possession of and fourth places, Mr. Murthwaite was now on
the names of the persons who had been present his way back to the scene of his past adven-
at the dinner, I resolved--as a means of en- tures ; Miss Clack had suffered losses, and had
riching the deficient resources of my own settled, from motives of economy, in France ;
memory-to appeal to the memory of the rest Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite might, or might not, be
of the guests ; to write down all that they could discoverable somewhere in London. Suppose I
recollect of the social events of the birthday ; inquired at his club ? And suppose I excused
and to test the result, thus obtained, by the Mr. Bruff, if he went back to his business and
light of what had happened afterwards, when wished me good morning ?
the company had left the house. The field of inquiry in London being now so
This last and newest of my many contem- narrowed as only to include the one necessity
plated experiments in the art of inquiry-which of discovering Godfrey's address, I took the
Betteredge would probably have attributed to lawyer's hint, and drove to his club.
the clear-headed, or French, side of me being In the hall, I met with one of the members,
uppermost for the moment- may fairly claim who was an old friend of my cousin's, and who
record here, on its own merits. Unlikely as it was also an acquaintance of my own. This
may seem, I had now actually groped my way gentleman, after enlightening me on the sub-
to the root of the matter at last. All I wanted ject of Godfrey's address, told me of two recent
was a hint to guide me in the right direction at events in his life, which were of some im-
starting. Before another day had passed over portance in themselves, and which had not
my head, that hint was given me by one of previously reached my ears.
the company who had been present at the It appeared that Godfrey, far from being
birthday feast ! discouraged by Rachel's withdrawal from her
engagement to him, had made matrimonial
With the plan of proceeding which I now advances soon afterwards to another young
had in view, it was first necessary to possess lady, reputed to be a great heiress. His suit
the complete list of the guests. This I could had prospered, and his marriage had been con⚫
easily obtain from Gabriel Betteredge. I deter- sidered as a settled and certain thing. But,
mined to go back to Yorkshire on that day here again, the engagement had been suddenly
and to begin my contemplated investigation and unexpectedly broken off-owing, it was
the next morning. said, on this occasion, to a serious difference
It was just too late to start by the train of opinion between the bridegroom and the
which left London before noon. There was lady's father on the question of settlements.
no alternative but to wait, nearly three hours, As some compensation for this second matri-
for the departure of the next train. Was monial disaster, Godfrey had soon afterwards
there anything I could do in London which found himself the object of fond pecuniary
might usefully occupy this interval of time ? remembrance on the part of one of his many
My thoughts went back again obstinately admirers. Arich old lady-highly respected at
to the birthday dinner. the Mothers' Small Clothes Conversion Society,
Though I had forgotten the numbers, and, and a great friend of Miss Clack's (to whom she
in many cases, the names of the guests, I re- had left nothing but a mourning ring)-had
membered readily enough that by far the bequeathed to the admirable and meritorious
larger proportion of them came from Frizing Godfrey a legacy of five thousand pounds.
hall, or from its neighbourhood. But the After receiving this handsome addition to his
larger proportion was not all. Some few of own modest pecuniary resources, he had been
us were not regular residents in the country. heard to saythat he felt the necessity of getting
I myself was one of the few. Mr. Murthwaite a little respite from his charitable labours, and
was another. Godfrey Ablewhite was a third. that his doctor prescribed " a run on the Conti-
Mr. Bruff-no : I called to mind that business nent, as likely to be productive of much future
had prevented Mr. Bruff from making one of benefit to his health." If I wanted to see him,
the party. Had any ladies been present, it would be advisable to lose no time in paying
whose usual residence was in London ? I my contemplated visit.
could only remember Miss Clack as coming I went, then and there, to pay my visit.
within this latter category. However, here The same fatality which had made me just
Iwere three of the guests, at any rate, whom one day too late in calling on Sergeant Cuff,
it was clearly advisable for me to see before made me again one day too late in calling on
148 THE MOONSTONE

Godfrey. He had left London, on the previous | could hope to interest people, mostly strangers
morning, by the tidal train, for Dover. He to me, in doing their best to assist my inquiry,
was to cross to Ostend ; and his servant be- On the journey to Frizinghall I had arranged
lieved he was going on to Brussels. The time what my explanation was to be, and I seized
of his return was rather uncertain ; but I might the opportunity now offered to me of trying
be sure he would be away at least three months. the effect of it on Mr. Candy.
I went back to my lodgings a little depressed "I was in Yorkshire the other day, and I am
in spirits. Three of the guests at the birthday in Yorkshire again now, on rather a romantic
dinner and those three all exceptionally in- errand," I said. "It is a matter, Mr. Candy,
telligent people-were out of my reach, at the in which the late Lady Verinder's friends
very time when it was most important to be all took some interest. You remember the
able to communicate with them. My last mysterious loss of the Indian Diamond, now
hopes now rested on Betteredge, and on the nearly a year since ? Circumstances have lately
friends of the late Lady Verinder whom I happened which lead to the hope that it may.
might still find living in the neighbourhood yet be found-and I am interesting myself,
of Rachel's country house. as one of the family, in recovering it. Among
the obstacles in my way, there is the necessity
On this occasion , I travelled straight to of collecting again all the evidence which was
Frizinghall-the town being now the central discovered at the time, and more if possible.
point in my field of inquiry. I arrived too There are peculiarities in this case which make
late in the evening to be able to communicate it desirable to revive my recollection of every-
with Betteredge. The next morning, I sent a thing that happened in the house on the
messenger with a letter, requesting him to join evening of Miss Verinder's birthday. And I
me at the hotel at his earliest convenience. venture to appeal to her late mother's friends
Having taken the precaution -partly to save who were present on that occasion to lend me
time, partly to accommodate Betteredge of the assistance of their memories "
sending my messenger in a fly, I had a reason- I had got as far as that in rehearsing my
able prospect, if no delays occurred, of seeing explanatory phrases, when I was suddenly
the old man within less than two hours from checked by seeing plainly in Mr. Candy's face
the time when I had sent for him. During that my experiment on him was a total failure.
this interval I arranged to employ myself in The little doctor sat restlessly picking at
opening my contemplated inquiry among the the points of his fingers all the time I was
guests present at the birthday dinner who speaking. His dim watery eyes were fixed
were personally known to me, and who were on my face with an expression of vacant and
easily within my reach. These were my re- wistful inquiry very painful to see. What he
latives, the Ablewhites, and Mr. Candy. The was thinking of, it was impossible to divine.
doctor had expressed a special wish to see me, The one thing clearly visible was that I had
and the doctor lived in the next street. So failed, after the first two or three words, in fix-
to Mr. Candy I went first. ing his attention. The only chance of recalling
After what Betteredge had told me, I natur- him to himself appeared to lie in changing the
ally anticipated finding traces in the doctor's subject. I tried a new topic immediately.
face of the severe illness from which he had " So much," I said gaily, " for what brings
suffered. But I was utterly unprepared for me to Frizinghall ! Now, Mr. Candy, it's your
such a change as I saw in him when he entered turn. You sent me a message by Gabriel
the room and shook hands with me. His Betteredge-
eyes were dim ; his hair had turned completely He left off picking at his fingers, and sud-
grey ; his face was wizen ; his figure had denly brightened up.
shrunk. I looked at the once lively, rattle- "Yes ! yes ! yes ! " he exclaimed eagerly.
pated humorous little doctor - associated in " That's it! I sent you a message ! "
my remembrance with the perpetration of in- " And Betteredge duly communicated it by
corrigible social indiscretions and innumerable letter," I went on. "You had something to
boyish jokes-and I saw nothing left of his say to me, the next time I was in your neigh-
former self, but the old tendency to vulgar bourhood. Well, Mr. Candy, here I am ! "
smartness in his dress. The man was a wreck ; "Here you are ! " echoed the doctor. 66" And
but his clothes and his jewellery - in cruel Betteredge was quite right. I had something
mockery of the change in him-were as gay to say to you. That was my message. Better-
and as gaudy as ever. edge is a wonderful man. What a memory !
" I have often thought of you, Mr. Blake," At his age, what a memory !"
he said ; " and I am heartily glad to see you He dropped back into silence, and began
again at last. If there is anything I can do picking at his fingers again. Recollecting what
for you, pray command my services, sir-pray I had heard from Betteredge about the effect
command my services ! " of the fever on his memory, I went on with
He said those few commonplace words with the conversation in the hope that I might
needless hurry and eagerness, and with a curi- help him at starting.
osity to know what had brought me to York- " It's a long time since we met, " I said.
shire, which he was perfectly-I might say "We last saw each other at the last birthday
childishly-incapable of concealing from notice. dinner my poor aunt was ever to give."
With the object that I had in view, I had "That's it ! " cried Mr. Candy. " The birth-
of course foreseen the necessity of entering day dinner ! He started impulsively to his
into some sort of personal explanation before I feet and looked at me. A deep flush suddenly
 THE MOONSTONE 149

overspread his faded face, and he abruptly sat | moment with the vacant inquiry once more in his
down again, as if conscious of having betrayed eyes- controlled himself and went on again.
a weakness which he would fain have con- I submitted patiently to my martyrdom (it is
cealed. It was plain, pitiably plain, that he surely nothing less than martyrdom to a man
was aware of his own defect of memory, and of cosmopolitan sympathies to absorb in silent
that he was bent on hiding it from the ob- resignation the news of a country town ?) until
servation of his friends. the clock on the chimney-piece told me that
Thus far he had appealed to my compassion my visit had been prolonged beyond half-an-
only. But the words he had just said-few as hour. Having now some right to consider the
they were- roused my curiosity instantly to sacrifice as complete, I rose to take leave. As
the highest pitch. The birthday dinner had we shook hands, Mr. Candy reverted to the
already become the one event in the past at birthday festival of his own accord.
which I looked back with strangely-mixed " I am so glad we have met again," he said.
feelings of hope and distrust. And here was " I had it on my mind-I really had it on my
the birthday dinner unmistakably proclaiming mind, Mr. Blake, to speak to you. About the
itself as the subject on which Mr. Candy had dinner at Lady Verinder's, you know ! A
something important to say to me ! pleasant dinner- really a pleasant dinner now,
I attempted to help him out once more. wasn't it ?"
But, this time, my own interests were at the On repeating the phrase, he seemed to feel
bottom of my compassionate motive, and they hardly as certain of having prevented me from
hurried me on a little too abruptly to the end I suspecting his lapse of memory as he had felt
had in view. on the first occasion. The wistful look clouded
" It's nearly a year now," I said, " since we his face again ; and, after apparently designing
sat at that pleasant table. Have you made to accompany me to the street door, he sud-
any memorandum-in your diary or otherwise denly changed his mind, rang the bell for the
-of what you wanted to say to me ?" servant, and remained in the drawing-room.
Mr. Candy understood the suggestion, and I went slowly down the doctor's stairs,
showed me that he understood it as an insult. feeling the disheartening conviction that he
"I require no memorandums, Mr. Blake," he really had something to say which it was vitally
said, stiffly enough. " I am not such a very important to me to hear, and that he was
old man yet-and my memory""(thank God ! ) is morally incapable of saying it. The effort of
to be thoroughly depended on.' remembering that he wanted to speak to me
It is needless to say that I declined to under- was, but too evidently, the only effort that his
stand that he was offended with me. "" enfeebled memory was now able to achieve.
" I wish I could say the same of my memory," Just as I had reached the bottom of the
I answered. " When I try to think of matters stairs, and had turned a corner on my way
that are a year old, I seldom find my remem- to the outer hall, a door opened softly some-
brance as vivid as I could wish it to be. Take where on the ground- floor of the house, and a
""
the dinner at Lady Verinder's for instance- gentle voice said behind me-
Mr. Candy brightened up again, the moment " I am afraid, sir, you find Mr. Candy sadly
the allusion passed my lips. changed."
" Ah ! the dinner, the dinner at Lady I turned round, and found myself face to
Verinder's ! " he exclaimed , more eagerly than face with Ezra Jennings.
ever. " I have got something to say to you
about that."
His eyes looked at me again with the painful
expression of inquiry, so wistful, so vacant, so CHAPTER IX
miserably helpless to see. He was evidently
trying hard, and trying in vain, to recover the THE doctor's pretty housemaid stood waiting
lost recollection. 66'It was a very pleasant for me, with the street -door open in her hand.
dinner," he burst out suddenly, with an air of Pouring brightly into the hall, the morning
saying exactly what he wanted to say. "A very light fell full on the face of Mr. Candy's
pleasant dinner, Mr. Blake, wasn't it ? " He assistant when I turned and looked at him.
nodded and smiled, and appeared to think, It was impossible to dispute Betteredge's
poor fellow, that he had succeeded in con- assertion that the appearance of Ezra Jennings,
cealing the total failure of his memory by a speaking from the popular point of view, was
well-timed exertion of his own presence of against him. His gipsy complexion, his flesh-
mind. less cheeks, his gaunt facial bones, his dreamy
It was so distressing that I at once shifted eyes, his extraordinary parti-coloured hair, the
the talk- deeply as I was interested in his puzzling contradiction between his face and
recovering the lost remembrance-to topics of figure which made him look old and young both
local interest. together- were all more or less calculated to
Here he got on glibly enough. Trumpery produce an unfavourable impression of him on
little scandals and quarrels in the town, some a stranger's mind. And yet feeling this as I
of them as much as a month old, appeared to certainly did- it is not to be denied that Ezra
recur to his memory readily. He chattered on Jennings made some inscrutable appeal to my
with something of the smooth gossiping fluency sympathies, which I found it impossible to
of former times. But there were moments, resist. While my knowledge of the world
even in the full flow of his talkativeness, when warned me to answer the question which he
he suddenly hesitated — looked at me for a had put acknowledging that I did indeed find
150 THE MOONSTONE

Mr. Candy sadly changed, and then to proceed just now-was a remembrance which it was
on my way out of the house- my interest in important to you that he should recall ? "
Ezra Jennings held me rooted to the place, and In saying those words, he had touched, of
gave him the opportunity of speaking to me in his own accord, on the very point upon which
private about his employer, for which he had I was anxious to consult him. The interest I
been evidently on the watch. felt in this strange man had impelled me, in the
" Are you walking my way, Mr. Jennings ?" first instance, to give him the opportunity of
I said, observing that he held his hat in his speaking to me ; reserving what I might have
hand. " I am going to call on my aunt, Mrs. to say, on my side, in relation to his employer,
Ablewhite." until I was first satisfied that he was a person
Ezra Jennings replied that he had a patient in whose delicacy and discretion I could trust.
to see, and that he was walking my way. The little that he had said, thus far, had been
We left the house together. I observed that sufficient to convince me that I was speaking
the pretty servant girl-who was all smiles to a gentleman. He had what I may venture
and amiability when I wished her good morn- to describe as the unsought self-possession which
ing on my way out- received a modest little is a sure sign of good-breeding, not in England
message from Ezra Jennings, relating to the only, but everywhere else in the civilised world.
time at which he might be expected to return, Whatever the object which he had in view in
with pursed-up lips, and with eyes which putting the question that he had just addressed
ostentatiously looked anywhere rather than to me, I felt no doubt that I was justified- so
look in his face. The poor wretch was evi- far- in answering him without reserve.
dently no favourite in the house. Out of the " I believe I have a strong interest " I said,
house, I had Betteredge's word for it that he "in tracing the lost remembrance which Mr.
was unpopular everywhere. " What a life ! " I Candy was unable to recall. May I ask whether
thought to myself, as we descended the doctor's you can suggest to me any method by which I
doorsteps. might assist his memory ?"
Having already referred to Mr. Candy's ill- Ezra Jennings looked at me with a sudden
ness on his side, Ezra Jennings now appeared flash of interest in his dreamy brown eyes.
determined to leave it to me to resume the "Mr. Candy's memory is beyond the reach
subject. His silence said significantly, " It's of assistance, " he said. " I have tried to help
your turn now." I, too, had my reasons for it often enough, since his recovery, to be able
referring to the doctor's illness, and I readily to speak positively on that point."
accepted the responsibility of speaking first. This disappointed me ; and I owned it.
Judging by the change I see in him," I " I confess you led me to hope for a less dis-
began, " Mr. Candy's illness must have been couraging answer than that,” I said.
far more serious than I had supposed ? " Ezra Jennings smiled. " It may not, per-
"It is almost a miracle," said Ezra Jennings, haps, be a final answer, Mr. Blake. It may be
"that he lived through it." possible to trace Mr. Candy's lost recollection,
" Is his memory never any better than I have without the necessity of appealing to Mr.
found it to-day
"" ? He has been trying to speak Candy himself."
to me- " Indeed ! Is it an indiscretion, on my part,
" Of something which happened before he to ask— how ? "
was taken ill ?" asked the assistant, observing " By no means. My only difficulty in answer-
that I hesitated. ing your question is the difficulty of explain-
" Yes." ing myself. May I trust to your patience if I
" His memory of events at that past time is refer once more to Mr. Candy's illness ; and if
hopelessly enfeebled," said Ezra Jennings. "It I speak of it this time without sparing you
is almost to be deplored, poor fellow, that even certain professional details ?"
the wreck of it remains. While he remembers " Pray go on ! You have interested me
dimly plans that he formed-things, here and already in hearing the details."
there, that he had to say or do , before his ill- My eagerness seemed to amuse-perhaps, I
ness he is perfectly incapable of recalling might rather say, to please him. He smiled
what the plans were, or what the thing was again. We had by this time left the last
that he had to say or do. He is painfully con- houses in the town behind us. Ezra Jennings
scious of his own deficiency, and painfully stopped for a moment, and picked some36 wild
anxious, as you must have seen, to hide it from flowers from the hedge by the roadside. How
observation. If he could only have recovered beautiful they are ! " he said simply, showing
in a complete state of oblivion as to the past, his little nosegay to me. " And how few
he would have been a happier man. Per people in England seem to admire them as
haps we should all be happier," he added, they deserve ! "
with a sad smile, “ if we could but completely "You have not always been in England ?"
forget ! " I said.
" There are some events surely in all men's "No. I was born, and partly brought up,
lives," I replied, " the memory of which they in one of our colonies. My father was an
would be unwilling entirely to lose." Englishman ; but my mother- We are stray-
"That is, I hope, to be said of most men, ing away from our subject, Mr. Blake ; and it
Mr. Blake. I am afraid it cannot truly be said is my fault. The truth is , I have associations
of all. Have you any reason to suppose that with these modest little hedgeside flowers-
the lost remembrance which Mr. Candy tried It doesn't matter ; we were speaking of Mr.
to recover- while you were speaking to him Candy. To Mr. Candy let us return."
 THE MOONSTONE 151

Connecting the few words about himself withdraw from the case. ' I sent down to the
which thus reluctantly escaped him, with the cellar for a bottle of champagne, and I ad-
melancholy view of life which led him to place ministered half a tumbler- full of it to the
the conditions of human happiness in complete patient with my own hand. The two physi
oblivion of the past, I felt satisfied that the cians took up their hats in silence, and left
story which I had read in his face was, in two the house."
particulars at least, the story that it really told. "You had assumed a serious responsibility,"
He had suffered as few men suffer ; and there I said. "In your place, I am afraid I should
was the mixture of some foreign race in his have shrunk from it."
English blood. " In my place, Mr. Blake, you would have
"You have heard, I dare say, of the original remembered that Mr. Candy had taken you
cause
66 of Mr. Candy's illness ?" he resumed. into his employment, under circumstances
The night of Lady Verinder's dinner-party which made you his debtor for life. In my
was a night of heavy rain. My employer drove place, you would have seen him sinking, hour
home through it in his gig, and reached the by hour ; and you would have risked anything,
house wetted to the skin. He found an urgent rather than let the one man on earth who had
message from a patient waiting for him ; and befriended you, die before your eyes. Don't
he most unfortunately went at once to visit suppose that I had no sense of the terrible
the sick person, without stopping to change position in which I had placed myself ! There
his clothes. I was myself professionally de- were moments when I felt all the misery of my
tained, that night, by a case at some distance friendlessness, all the peril of my dreadful re-
from Frizinghall. When I got back the next sponsibility. If I had been a happy man, if I
morning, I found Mr. Candy's groom waiting had led a prosperous life, I believe I should
in great alarm to take me to his master's room. have sunk under the task I had imposed on
By that time the mischief was done ; the ill- myself. But I had no happy time to look back
ness had set in. at, no past peace of mind to force itself into
"The illness has only been described to me, contrast with my present anxiety and suspense
in general terms, as a fever," I said. -and I held firm to my resolution through it
" I can add nothing which will make the all. I took an interval in the middle of the
description more accurate," answered Ezra day, when my patient's condition was at its
Jennings. " From first to last the fever as- best, for the repose I needed. For the rest of
sumed no specific form. I sent at once to two the four-and-twenty hours, as long as his life
of Mr. Candy's medical friends in the town, was in danger, I never left his bedside. To-
both physicians, to come and give me their wards sunset, as usual in such cases, the de-
opinion of the case. They agreed with me lirium incidental to the fever came on. It
that it looked serious ; but they both strongly lasted more or less through the night ; and
dissented from the view I took of the treat- then intermitted at that terrible time in the
ment. We differed entirely in the conclusions early morning-from two o'clock to five - when
which we drew from the patient's pulse. The the vital energies even of the healthiest of us
two doctors, arguing from the rapidity of the are at their lowest. It is then that Death
beat, declared that a lowering treatment was gathers in his human harvest most abundantly.
the only treatment to be adopted. On my side, It was then that Death and I fought our fight
I admitted the rapidity of the pulse, but I also over the bed, which should have the man who
pointed to its alarming feebleness as indicating lay on it. I never hesitated in pursuing the
an exhausted condition of the system, and as treatment on which I had staked everything.
showing a plain necessity for the administra- When wine failed, I tried brandy. When the
tion of stimulants. The two doctors were for other stimulants lost their influence, I doubled
keeping him on gruel, lemonade, barley-water, the dose. After an interval of suspense-the
and so on I was for giving him champagne like of which I hope to God I shall never feel
or brandy, ammonia, and quinine. A serious again-there came a day when the rapidity of
difference of opinion, as you see ! a difference the pulse slightly, but appreciably, diminished ;
between two physicians of established local and, better still, there came also a change in
repute, and a stranger who was only an assis- the beat- an unmistakable change to steadi-
tant in the house. For the first few days, I ness and strength. Then, I knew that I had
had no choice but to give way to my elders saved him ; and then I own I broke down. I
and betters ; the patient steadily sinking all laid the poor fellow's wasted hand back on the
the time. I made a second attempt to appeal bed, and burst out crying. An hysterical re-
to the plain, undeniably plain, evidence of the lief, Mr. Blake- nothing more ! Physiology
pulse. Its rapidity was unchecked, and its says, and says truly, that some men are born
feebleness had increased. The two doctors with female constitutions- and I am one of
took offence at my obstinacy. They said, ' Mr. | them ! "
Jennings, either we manage this case, or you He made that bitterly professional apology
manage it. Which is it to be ? ' I said, for his tears, speaking quietly and unaffectedly,
' Gentlemen, give me five minutes to consider, as he had spoken throughout. His tone and
and that plain question shall have a plain manner, from beginning to end, showed him to
reply.' When the time expired, I was ready be especially, almost morbidly, anxious not to
with my answer. I said, ' You positively refuse set himself up as an object of interest to me.
to trythe stimulant treatment ? ' They refused "You may well ask why I have wearied you
in so many words. I mean to try it at once, with all these details, " he went on. "It is
gentlemen.'Try it, Mr. Jennings ; and we the only way I can see, Mr. Blake , of properly
152 THE MOONSTONE

introducing to you what I have to say next. " You shall hear, Mr. Blake. Among my
Now you know exactly what my position was, written proofs of the assertion which I have
at the time of Mr. Candy's illness, you will the just advanced-or, I ought to say, among the
more readily understand the sore need I had of written experiments tending to put my asser-
lightening the burden on my mind by giving it, tion to the proof-there is one in which your
at intervals, some sort of relief. I have had name occurs. For nearly the whole of one
the presumption to occupy my leisure, for some night, Mr. Candy's mind was occupied with
years past, in writing a book, addressed to the something between himself and you. I have
members of my profession- a book on the in- got the broken words, as they dropped from
tricate and delicate subject of the brain and his lips, on one sheet of paper. And I have
the nervous system. My work will probably got the links of my own discovering which
never be finished ; and it will certainly never connect those words together, on another sheet
be published. It has none the less been the of paper. The product (as the arithmeticians
friend of many lonely hours ; and it helped me to would say) is an intelligible statement -first, of
while away the anxious time-the time of wait- something actually done in the past; secondly,
ing, and nothing else—at Mr. Candy's bedside. of something which Mr. Candy contemplated
I told you he was delirious, I think? And I men- doing in the future, if his illness had not got
tioned the time at which his delirium came on ?" int he way and stopped him. The question is
'Yes." whether this does, or does not, represent the
Well, I had reached a section of my book, lost recollection which he vainly attempted to
at that time, which touched on this same find when you called on him this morning ? "
question of delirium. I won't trouble you at " Not a doubt of it ! " I answered. " Let us
any length with my theory on the subject-I go back directly and look at the papers ! "
will confine myself to telling you only what it "Quite impossible, Mr. Blake."
is your present interest to know. It has often "Why ?"
66
occurred to me in the course of my medical Put yourself in my position for a moment, "
practice, to doubt whether we can justifiably said Ezra Jennings. "Would you disclose to
infer-in cases of delirium- that the loss of another person what had dropped unconsciously
the faculty of speaking connectedly implies of from the lips of your suffering patient and
necessity the loss of the faculty of thinking your helpless friend, without first knowing
connectedly as well. Poor Mr. Candy's illness that there was a necessity to justify you in
gave me an opportunity of putting this doubt opening your lips ? "
to the test. I understand the art of writing I felt that he was unanswerable here ; but I
in shorthand ; and I was able to take down tried to argue the question, nevertheless.
the patient's ' wanderings, ' exactly as they fell "My conduct in such a delicate matter as you
from his lips. Do you see, Mr. Blake, what I describe, " I replied, " would depend greatly
am coming to at last ? " on whether the disclosure was of a nature to
I saw it clearly, and waited with breathless compromise my friend or not."
interest to hear more. " I have disposed of all necessity for con-
" At odds and ends of time," Ezra Jennings sidering that side of the question long since,"
went on, " I reproduced my shorthand notes said Ezra Jennings. "Wherever my notes in-
in the ordinary form of writing-leaving large cluded anything which Mr. Candy might have
spaces between the broken phrases, and even wished to keep secret, those notes have been
the single words, as they had fallen discon- destroyed. My manuscript experiments at my
nectedly from Mr. Candy's lips. I then treated friend's bedside include nothing, now, which
the result thus obtained on something like the he would have hesitated to communicate to
principle which
6 one adopts in putting together others, if he had recovered the use of his
a child's puzzle.' It is all confusion to begin memory. In your case, I have every reason to
with ; but it may be all brought into order suppose that my notes contain something "" which
and shape, if you can only find the right way. he actually wished to say to you-
Acting on this plan, I filled in each blank space " And yet you hesitate ? "
on the paper with what the words or phrases " And yet I hesitate. Remember the circum-
on either side of it suggested to me as the stances under which I obtained the information
speaker's meaning ; altering over and over which I possess ! Harmless as it is, I cannot pre-
again, until my additions followed naturally vail upon myself to give it up to you, unless you
on the spoken words which came before them, first satisfy me that there is a reason for doing so.
and fitted naturally into the spoken words He was so miserably ill, Mr. Blake ! and he was
which came after them. The result was, that so helplessly dependent upon Me ! Is it too
I not only occupied in this way many vacant much to ask, if I request you only to hint to me
and anxious hours, but that I arrived at some- what your interest is in the lost recollection, or
thing which was (as it seemed to me) a con- what you believe that lost recollection to be ?"
firmation of the theory that I held. In plainer To have answered him with the frankness
words, after putting the broken sentences to- which his language and his manner both claimed
gether, I found the superior faculty of thinking from me, would have been to commit myself
going on, more or less connectedly, in my to openly acknowledging that I was suspected
patient's mind, while the inferior faculty of of the theft of the Diamond. Strongly as Ezra
expression was in a state of almost complete Jennings had intensified the first impulsive in-
incapacity and confusion." terest which I had felt in him, he had not over-
" One word ! " I interposed eagerly. " Did come my unconquerable reluctance to disclose
my name occur in any of his wanderings ? " the degrading position in which I stood . I took
 THE MOONSTONE 153
refuge once more in the explanatory phrases "You have a perfect right," I rejoined,
with which I had prepared myself to meet the "to fix the terms on which you feel justified
curiosity of strangers. in revealing what you heard at Mr. Candy's
This time I had no reason to complain of a bedside. I understand and respect the deli-
want of attention on the part of the person to cacy which influences you in this matter.
whom I addressed myself. Ezra Jennings How can I expect to be taken into your con- 1
listened patiently, even anxiously, until I had fidence, if I decline to admit you into mine ?
done. You ought to know, and you shall know,
66
I am sorry to have raised your expectations, why I am interested in discovering what
Mr. Mr. Candy wanted to say to me. If I turn
66 Blake, only to disappoint them," he said.
Throughout the whole period of Mr. Candy's out to be mistaken in my anticipations, and
illness, from first to last, not one word about if you prove unable to help me when you are
the Diamond escaped his lips. The matter with really aware of what I want, I shall trust to
which I heard him connect your name has, I your honour to keep my secret- and some- ""
can assure you, no discoverable relation what- thing tells me that I shall not trust in vain. '
ever with the loss or the recovery of Miss " Stop, Mr. Blake. I have a word to say which
Verinder's jewel." must be said before you go any farther." I
We arrived, as he said those words, at a looked at him in astonishment. The grip of some
place where the highway along which we had terrible emotion seemed to have seized him, and
been walking branched off into two roads. One shaken him to the soul. His gipsy complexion
led to Mr. Ablewhite's house, and the other had altered to a livid greyish paleness ; his eyes
to a moorland village some two or three miles had suddenly become wild and glittering ; his
off. Ezra Jennings stopped at the road which voice had dropped to a tone-low, stern, and
led to the village. resolute-which I now heard for the first time.
6:
' My way lies in this direction, " he said. The latent resources in the man, for good or for
" I am really and truly sorry, Mr. Blake, that I evil--it was hard, at that moment, to say which
can be of no use to you.""" -leapt up in him and showed themselves to me,
His voice told me that he spoke sincerely. with the suddenness of a flash of light.
His soft brown eyes rested on me for a moment "Before you place any confidence in me,” he
with a look of melancholy interest. He bowed, went on, "you ought to know, and you must know,
and went, without another word, on his way under what circumstances I have been received
to the village. into Mr. Candy's house. It won't take long. I
For a minute or more, I stood and watched don't profess, sir, to tell my story (as the phrase
him, walking farther and farther away from is) to any man. My story will die with me. All
me ; carrying farther and farther away with I ask is to be permitted to tell you what I have
him what I now firmly believed to be the clue told Mr. Candy. If you are still in the mind ,
of which I was in search. He turned, after when you have heard that, to say what you
walking on a little way, and looked back. have proposed to say, you will command my
Seeing me still standing at the place where we attention and command my services. Shall we
had parted, he stopped, as if doubting whether walk on ? "
I might not wish to speak to him again. There The suppressed misery in his face silenced
was no time for me to reason out my own situa- me. I answered his question by a sign. We
tion to remind myself that I was losing my walked on.
opportunity, at what might be the turning-point After advancing a few hundred yards, Ezra
of my life, and all to flatter nothing more im- Jennings stopped at a gap in the rough stone
portant than my own self-esteem ! There was wall which shut off the moor from the road, at
only time to call him back first, and to think this part of it.
afterwards. I suspect I am one of the rashest " Do you mind resting a little, Mr. Blake ?"
of existing men. I called him back -and then he asked. " I am not what I was— and some
Í said to myself, " Now there is no help for it. things shake me."
I must tell him the truth ! " I agreed, of course. He led the way through
He retraced his steps directly. I advanced the gap to a patch of turf on the heathy ground ,
along the road to meet him. screened by bushes and dwarf trees on the side
66
'Mr. Jennings," I said, " I have not treated nearest to the road, and commanding in the
you quite fairly. My interest in tracing Mr. opposite direction a grandly desolate view over
Candy's lost recollection is not the interest the broad brown wilderness of the moor. The
of recovering the Moonstone. A serious per- clouds had gathered within the last half hour.
sonal matter is at the bottom of my visit to The light was dull ; the distance was dim.
Yorkshire.. I have but one excuse for not The lovely face of Nature met us, soft and still
having dealt frankly with you in this matter. It and colourless-met us without a smile.
is more painful to me than I can say, to men- We sat down in silence. Ezra Jennings laid
tion to anybody what my position really is." aside his hat, and passed his hand wearily over
Ezra Jennings looked at me with the first his forehead, wearily through his startling
appearance of embarrassment which I had white and black hair. He tossed his little
seen in him yet. nosegay of wild flowers away from him, as if
" I have no right, Mr. Blake, and no wish, " the remembrances which it recalled were re-
he said, " to intrude myself into your private membrances which hurt him now.
affairs. Allow me to ask your pardon, on "Mr. Blake ! " he said suddenly. " You are
my side, for having (most innocently) put in bad company. The cloud of a horrible ac-
you to a painful test." cusation has rested on me for years. I tell you
154 THE MOONSTONE

the worst at once. I am a man whose 99 life is a | it for some months past) that nothing will
wreck, and whose character is gone." happen now to make him regret it."
I attempted to speak. He stopped me. "The slander has died out ? " I said.
"No," he said. " Pardon me ; not yet. "The slander is as active as ever. But
Don't commit yourself to expressions of sym-
pathy which you may afterwards wish to recall.
when "" it follows me here, it will come too
late.'
I have mentioned an accusation which has " You will have left the place ? "
rested on me for years. There are circum- "No, Mr. Blake-I shall be dead. For ten
stances in connection with it that tell against years past I have suffered from an incurable
me. I cannot bring myself to acknowledge internal complaint. I don't disguise from you
what the accusation is. And I am incapable, that I should have let the agony of it kill me
perfectly incapable, of proving my innocence. long since, but for one last interest in life,
I can only assert my innocence. I assert it, which makes my existence of some importance
sir, on my oath, as a Christian. "" It is useless to me still. I want to provide for a person
to appeal to my honour as a man.' --very dear to me-whom I shall never see
He paused again. I looked round at him. again. My own little patrimony is hardly suf-
He never looked at me in return. His whole ficient to make her independent of the world.
being seemed to be absorbed in the agony of The hope, if I could only live long enough, of
recollecting, and in the effort to speak. increasing it to a certain sum, has impelled me
"There is much that I might say," he went to resist the disease by such palliative means
on, "about the merciless treatment of me by as I could devise. The one effectual palliative
my own family, and the merciless enmity to in my case is-opium. To that all-potent and
which I have fallen a victim. But the harm all-merciful drug I am indebted for a respite
is done ; the wrong is beyond all remedy. I of many years from my sentence of death. But
decline to weary or distress you, sir, if I can even the virtues of opium have their limit.
help it. At the outset of my career in this The progress of the disease has gradually forced
country, the vile slander to which I have me from the use of opium to the abuse of it.
referred struck me down at once and for ever. I am feeling the penalty at last. My nervous
I resigned my aspirations in my profession- system is shattered ; my nights are nights of
obscurity was the only hope left for me. I horror. The end is not far off now. Let it
parted with the woman I loved- how could I come-I have not lived and worked in vain.
condemn her to share my disgrace ? A medical The little sum is nearly made up ; and I have
assistant's place offered itself in a remote the means of completing it, if my last reserves
corner of England. I got the place. It pro- of life fail me sooner than I expect. I hardly
mised me peace ; it promised me obscurity, as know how I have wandered into telling you
I thought. I was wrong. Evil report, with this. I don't think I am mean enough to
time and chance to help it, travels patiently, appeal to your pity. Perhaps, I fancy you may
and travels far. The accusation from which be all the readier to believe me, if you know
I had fled followed me. I got warning of its that what I have said to you, I have said with
approach. I was able to leave my situation the certain knowledge in me that I am a dying
voluntarily, with the testimonials that I had man, There is no disguising, Mr. Blake, that
carned. They got me another situation in you interest me. I have attempted to make
another remote district. Time passed again, my poor friend's loss of memory the means of
and again the slander that was death to my bettering my acquaintance with you. I have
character found me out. On this occasion I speculated on the chance of your feeling a
had no warning. My employer said, ' Mr. passing curiosity about what he wanted to say,
Jennings, I have no complaint to make against and of my being able to satisfy it. Is there no
you ; but you must set yourself right, or leave excuse for my intruding myself on you ?
me. I had but one choice-I left him. It's Perhaps there is some excuse. A man who has
useless to dwell on what I suffered after that. I lived as I have lived has his bitter moments
am only forty years old now. Look at my face, when he ponders over human destiny. You
and let it tell for me the story of some miser- have youth, health, riches, a place in the world,
able years. It ended in my drifting to this a prospect before you. You, and such as you,
place, and meeting with Mr. Candy. He show me the sunny side of human life, and
wanted an assistant. I referred him, on the reconcile me with the world that I am leaving
question of capacity, to my last employer. The before I go. However this talk between us
question of character remained. I told him may end, I shall not forget that you have done
what I have told you- and more. I warned me a kindness in doing that. It rests with you,
him that there were difficulties in the way, sir, to say what you "" proposed saying, or to wish
even if he believed me. Here, as elsewhere, ' me good morning.'
I said, ' I scorn the guilty evasion of living I had but one answer to make to that appeal.
under an assumed name : I am no safer at Without a moment's hesitation I told him the
Frizinghall than at other places from the cloud truth, as unreservedly as I have told it in these
that follows me, go where I may.' He answered, pages.
I don't do things by halves-I believe you, He started to his feet and looked at me
and I pity you. If you will risk what may with breathless eagerness as I approached the
happen, I will risk it too.' God Almighty bless leading
"6' It isincident of my story.
him He has given me shelter, he has given certain that I went into the room," I
me employment, he has given me rest of mind said ; " it is certain that I took the Diamond.
-and I have the certain conviction (I have had I can only meet those two plain facts by de-
 THE MOONSTONE 155

claring that, do what I might, I did it without incapable of remaining still in any one place,
my own knowledge——————' and morally incapable of speaking to any one
Ezra Jennings caught me excitedlybythearm. human being, until I had first heard all that
" Stop ! " he said. "You have suggested Ezra Jennings had to say to me.
more to me than you suppose. Have you ever In this frame of mind, I not only abandoned
been accustomed to the use of opium ? " my contemplated visit to Mrs. Ablewhite- I
6: I never tasted it in my life." even shrank from encountering Gabriel Better-
"Were your nerves out of order at this time edge himself.
last year ? Were you unusually restless and Returning to Frizinghall, I left a note for
irritable ?" Betteredge, telling him that I had been unex-
"Yes." pectedly called away for a few hours, but that
"Did you sleep badly! " he might certainly expect me to return towards
"Wretchedly. Many nights I never slept three o'clock in the afternoon. I requested him,
at all." in the interval, to order his dinner at the usual
"Was the birthday night an exception ? Try hour, and to amuse himself as he pleased. He
and remember. Did you sleep well on that had, as I well knew, hosts of friends in Frizing-
one occasion ? " hall ; and he would be at no loss how to fill up
"I do remember ! I slept soundly." his time until I returned to the hotel.
He dropped my arm as suddenly as he had This done, I made the best of my way out of
taken it-and looked at me with the air of a the town again, and roamed the lonely moorland
man whose mind was relieved of the last doubt country which surrounds Frizinghall, until my
that rested on it. watch told me that it was time at last to return
" This is a marked day in your life, and in to Mr. Candy's house.
mine," he said gravely. "I am absolutely I found Ezra Jennings ready and waiting
certain, Mr. Blake, of one thing I have got for me.
what Mr. Candy wanted to say to you this He was sitting alone in a bare little room,
morning, in the notes that I took at my patient's which communicated by a glazed door with a
bedside. Wait ! that is not all. I am firmly surgery. Hideous coloured diagrams of the
persuaded that I can prove you to have been ravages of hideous diseases decorated the
unconscious of what you were about when barren buff-coloured walls. A book-case filled
you entered the room and took the Diamond. with dingy medical works, and ornamented at
Give me time to think, and time to question the top with a skull, in place of the customary
you. I believe the vindication of your inno- bust ; a large deal table copiously splashed with
cence is in my hands ! " ink ; wooden chairs of the sort that are seen in
" Explain yourself, for God's sake ! What do kitchens and cottages ; a threadbare drugget in
you mean ?" the middle of the floor ; a sink of water, with a
In the excitement of our colloquy we had basin and waste-pipe roughly let into the wall-
walked on a few steps beyond the clump of horribly suggestive of its connection with surgi-
dwarf trees which had hitherto screened us from caloperations - comprised the entire furniture of
view. Before Ezra Jennings could answer me, the room. The bees were humming among a few
he was hailed from the highroad by a man, in flowers placed in pots outside the window ; the
great agitation, who had been evidently on the birds were singing in the garden, and the faint
look-out for him. intermittent jingle of a tuneless piano in some
"I am coming," he called back ; " I am coming neigbouring house forced itself now and again
as fast as I can ! " He turned to me. " There on the ear. In any other place, these everyday
is an urgent case waiting for me at the village sounds might have spoken pleasantly of the
yonder ; I ought to have been there half an hour everyday world outside. Here they came in as
since I must attend to it at once. Give me intruders on a silence which nothing but human
two hours from this time, and call at Mr. Candy's suffering had the privilege to disturb. I looked
again and I will engage to be ready for you." at the mahogany instrument case, and at the
" How am I to wait ! " I exclaimed impa- huge roll of lint, occupying places of their own
tiently. " Can't you quiet my mind by a word on the bookshelves, and shuddered inwardly
of explanation before we part ? " as I thought of the sounds, familiar and appro-
This is far too serious a matter to be ex- priate to the everyday use of Ezra Jennings'
plained in a hurry, Mr. Blake. I am not room.
wilfully trying your patience - I should only " I make no apology, Mr. Blake, for the place
be adding to your suspense, if I attempted to in which I am receiving you," he said. "It is
relieve it as things are now. At Frizinghall, the only room in the house, at this hour of the
sir, in two hours' time ! " day, in which we can feel quite sure of being
The man on the highroad hailed him again. left undisturbed. Here are my papers ready
He hurried away, and left me. for you ; and here are two books to which we
may have occasion to refer before we have done.
Bring your chair to the table,"" and we shall be
CHAPTER X able to consult them together.'
I drew up to the table ; and Ezra Jennings
How the interval of suspense to which I was handed me his manuscript notes. They con
now condemned might have affected other men sisted of two large folio leaves of paper. One
in my position, I cannot pretend to say. The leaf contained writing which only covered the
influence of the two hours' probation upon my surface at intervals. The other presented writ-
temperament was simply this. I felt physicallying, in red and black ink, which completely
156 THE MOONSTONE

filled the page from top to bottom. In the irri- | know. Had you any reason for feeling any
tated state of my curiosity at that moment, I special anxiety about the Diamond at this
laid aside the second sheet of paper in despair. time last year ? "
" Have some mercy on me ! " I said. Tell " I had the strongest reasons for feeling
me what I am to expect before I attempt to anxiety about the Diamond. I knew it to be
read this." the object of a conspiracy ; and I was warned
" Willingly, Mr. Blake ! Do you mind my to take measures for Miss Verinder's protection,
asking you one or two more questions ?" as the possessor of the stone. "
" Ask me anything you like ! ” "Was the safety of the Diamond the subject
He looked at me with the sad smile on his of conversation between you and any other
lips, and the kindly interest in his soft brown person immediately before you retired to rest
eyes. on the birthday night ? "
" You have already told me, " he said, " that " It was the subject of a conversation ‫وو‬be-
you have never-to your knowledge - tasted tween Lady Verinder and her daughter-
opium in your life." "Which took place in your hearing? "
66'Yes."
"To my knowledge," I repeated.
" You will understand directly why I speak Ezra Jennings took up his notes from the
with that reservation . Let us go on. You are table, and placed them in my hands.
not aware of ever having taken opium. At this " Mr. Blake," he said, " if you read those
time last year you were suffering from nervous notes now, by the light which my questions
irritation , and you slept wretchedly at night. and your answers have thrown on them, you
On the night of the birthday, however, there will make two astounding discoveries, concern-
was an exception to the rule-you slept soundly. ing yourself. You will find :-First, that you
Am I right so far ?" entered Miss Verinder's sitting-room and took
" Quite right." the Diamond, in a state of trance, produced by
" Can you assign any cause for the nervous opium. Secondly, that the opium was given to
suffering, and your want of sleep ? " you by Mr. Candy- without your own know-
"I can assign no cause. Old Betteredge ledge-as a practical refutation of the opinions
made a guess at the cause, I remember. But which you had expressed to him at the birthday
that is hardly worth mentioning." dinner."
" Pardon me. Anything is worth mentioning I sat, with the papers in my hand, completely
in such a case as this. Betteredge attributed stupefied
66 .
your sleeplessness to something. To what ? " Try and forgive poor Mr. Candy," said the
" To my leaving off smoking.' assistant gently. " He has done dreadful mis-
" Had you been an habitual smoker ? " chief, I own ; but he has done it innocently.
" Yes." If you will look at the notes, you will see that
" Did you leave off the habit suddenly ?" -but for his illness-he would have returned
" Yes.' to Lady Verinder's the morning after the party,
66
Betteredge was perfectly right, Mr. Blake. and would have acknowledged the trick that he
When smoking is a habit, a man must have no had played you. Miss Verinder would have
common constitution who can leave it off sud- heard of it, and Miss Verinder would have
denly without some temporary damage to his questioned him--and the truth which has laid
nervous system. Your sleepless nights are ac- hidden for "" a year would have been discovered
counted for, to my mind. My next question in a day. '
refers to Mr. Candy. Do you remember having I began to regain my self- possession. " Mr"".
entered into anything like a dispute with him Candy is beyond the reach of my resentment,'
-at the birthday dinner, or afterwards- on the I said angrily. " But the trick that he played
subject of his profession ? " me is not the less an act of treachery for all ""
The question instantly awakened one of my that. I may forgive, but I shall not forget it.
dormant remembrances in conection with the "Every medical man commits that act of
birthday festival. The foolish wrangle which treachery, Mr. Blake, in the course of his prac-
took place on that occasion between Mr. Candy tice. The ignorant distrust of opium (in Eng.
and myself will be found described at much land) is by no means confined to the lower and
greater length than it deserves in the tenth less cultivated classes. Every doctor in large
chapter of Betteredge's Narrative. The details practice finds himself, every now and then,
there presented of the dispute - so little had I obliged to deceive his patients, as Mr. Candy
thought of it afterwards entirely failed to re- deceived you. I don't defend the folly of play-
cur to my memory. All that I could now recall, ing you a trick under the circumstances. I
and all that I could tell Ezra Jennings was, only plead with you for a more accurate and
that I had attacked the art of medicine at the more merciful construction of motives."
dinner-table with sufficient rashness and suffi- " How was it done ? " I asked. " Who gave
cient pertinacity to put even Mr. Candy out of me the laudanum, without my knowing it
temper for the moment. I also remembered myself ? "
that Lady Verinder had interfered to stop the "I am not able to tell you. Nothing relating
dispute, and that the little doctor and I had to that part of the matter dropped from Mr.
"made it up again," as the children say, and Candy's lips all through his illness. Perhaps
had become as good friends as ever before we your own memory may point to the person to
shook hands that night. be suspected ? "
"There is one thing more," said Ezra Jen- " No."
nings, " which it is very important I should "It is useless, in that case, to pursue the
 THE MOONSTONE 157

inquiry. The laudanum was secretly given to that he ought to take medicine. He tells me
you in some way. Let us leave it there, and go that taking medicine and groping in the dark
on to matters of more immediate importance. mean one and the same thing. This before all
Read my notes, if you can. Familiarise your the company at the dinner-table. I say to him,
mind with what has happened in the past. I you are groping after sleep, and nothing but
have something very bold and very startling to medicine can help you to find it. He says to
propose to you, which relates to the future. me, I have heard of the blind leading the blind,
Those last words roused me. and now I know what it means. Witty-but I
I looked at the papers, in the order in which can give him a night's rest in spite of his teeth.
Ezra Jennings had placed them in my hands. He really wants sleep ; and Lady Verinder's
The paper which contained the smaller quantity medicine-chest is at my disposal. Give him
of writing was the uppermost of the two. On five-and-twenty minims of laudanum to- night
this the disconnected words and fragments of without his knowing it ; and then call to-morrow
sentences which had dropped from Mr. Candy morning. 'Well, Mr. Blake, will you try a little
in 66his delirium appeared as follows : medicine to-day? You will never sleep without
... Mr. Franklin Blake . . . and agreeable it.' ' There you are out, Mr. Candy : I have
down a peg • medicine con- had an excellent night's rest without it.' Then,
fesses sleep at night • tell him • come down on him with the truth ! ' You have
out of order . medicine he tells me had something besides an excellent night's rest ;
and groping in the dark mean one and the you had a dose of laudanum, sir, before you
same thing . all the company at the dinner- went to bed. What do you say to the art of
table I say groping after sleep . . . medicine now ?'
nothing but medicine . he says • leading Admiration of the ingenuity which had woven
the blind . . . know what it means • witty this smooth and finished texture out of the
... a night's rest in spite of his teeth ravelled skein, was naturally the first impression
wants sleep Lady Verinder's medicine that I felt, on handing the manuscript back to
chest ... five-and-twenty minims . . . with- Ezra Jennings. He modestly interrupted the
out his knowing it . . . to-morrow morning . • first few words in which my sense of surprise
Well, Mr. Blake medicine to - day • expressed itself, by asking me if the conclusion
never • • without it • out, Mr. Candy which he had drawn from his notes was also
excellent without it . down on him the conclusion at which my own mind had
... truth . something besides . . . excel- arrived.
lent ... dose of laudanum, sir bed ... "
' Do you believe as I believe, " he said, " that
what ... medicine now." you were acting under the influence of the
There the first of the two sheets of paper laudanum in doing all that you did, on the night
came to an end. I handed it back to Ezra of Miss Verinder's birthday, in Lady Verinder's
Jennings. house ?"
"That is what you heard at his bed-side ? " "I am too ignorant of the influence of lauda-
I said. num to have an opinion of my own," I answered.
66
' Literally and exactly what I heard, " he " I can only follow your opinion, and feel con-
answered- 66 except that the repetitions are vinced that you are right. "
not transferred here from my shorthand notes. "Very well. The next question is this. You
He reiterated certain words and phrases a dozen are convinced ; and I am convinced- how are
times over, fifty times over, just as he attached we to carry our conviction to the minds of
more or less importance to the idea which they other people ?"
represented. The repetitions, in this sense, I pointed to the two manuscripts lying on
were of some assistance to me in putting to the table between us. Ezra Jennings shook
gether those fragments. Don't suppose,'"" he his head.
added, pointing to the second sheet of paper, " Useless, Mr. Blake ! Quite useless, as they
"that I claim to have reproduced the expres- stand now, for three unanswerable reasons. In
sions which Mr. Candy himself would have used the first place, those notes have been taken
if he had been capable of speaking connectedly. under circumstances entirely out of the experi-
I only say that I have penetrated through the ence of the mass of mankind. Against them,
obstacle of the disconnected expression to the to begin with ! In the second place, those
thought which was underlying it connectedly notes represent a medical and metaphysical
all the time. Judge for yourself." theory. Against them, once more ! In the
I turned to the second sheet of paper, which third place, those notes are of my making ; there
I now knew to be the key to the first. is nothing but my assertion to the contrary, to
Once more Mr. Candy's wanderings appeared, guarantee that they are not fabrications. Re-
copied in black ink ; the intervals between the member what I told you on the moor-and ask
phrases being filled up by Ezra Jennings in red yourself what my assertion is worth. No!
ink. I reproduce the result here, in one plain my notes have but one value, looking to the
form ; the original language and the interpre- verdict of the world outside. Your innocence
tation of it coming close enough together in is to be vindicated ; and they show how it can
these pages to be easily compared and verified. be done. We must put our conviction to the
·66 Mr. Franklin Blake is clever and agree- proof-and You are the man to prove it ? "
able, but he wants taking down a peg when he " How ?" I asked.
talks of medicine. He confesses that he has He leaned eagerly nearer to me across the
been suffering from want of sleep at night. I table that divided us.
tell him that his nerves are out of order, and "Are you willing to try a bold experiment ? ”
158 THE MOONSTONE

" I will do anything to clear"" myself of the | marked the place in the book. It contained a
suspicion that rests on me now.' few lines of writing, as follows :-
"Will you submit to some personal incon- " There seems much ground for the belief
venience for a time ?" that every sensory impression which has once
To any inconvenience, no matter what it been recognised by the perceptive conscious-
may be." ness is registered (so to speak) in the brain,
"Will you be guided implicitly by my ad- and may be reproduced at some subsequent
vice ? It may expose you to the ridicule of time, although there may be no consciousness
fools ; it may subject you to the remon- of its existence in the mind during the whole
strances of friends ‫وو‬whose opinions you are intermediate period."
bound to respect- Jennings.
"Tell me what to do !" I broke out im- " that plain so far ? " asked Ezra
"Is
Perfectly plain."
patiently. "And, come what may, I'll do it." He pushed the open book across the table to
" You shall do this, Mr. Blake," he answered. me, and pointed to a passage marked by pencil
" You shall steal the Diamond unconsciously, lines.
for the second time, in the presence of witnesses " Now," he said, " read that account of a
whose testimony is beyond dispute ! " case which has as I believe -a direct bearing
I started to my feet. I tried to speak. I on your own position, and on the experiment
could only look at him. which I am tempting you to try. Observe, Mr.
" I believe it can be done," he went on. " And Blake, before you begin, that I am now refer-
it shall be done- if you will only help me. Try ring you to one of the greatest of English
to compose yourself sit down, and hear what physiologists. The book in your hand is
I have to say to you. You have resumed the Dr. Elliotson's ' Human Physiology ; ' and the
habit of smoking ; I have seen that for myself. | case which the doctor cites rests on the well-
How long have you resumed it ?" known authority of Mr. Combe."
"For nearly a year. " The passage pointed out to me was expressed
"Do you smoke more or less than you did ? " in these terms : -
" More." ."Dr. Abel informed me," says Mr. Combe,
"Will yougive up the habit again ? Suddenly, " of an Irish porter to a warehouse, who forgot,
mind as you gave it up before." when sober, what he had done when drunk ;
I began dimly to see his drift. " I will give but, being drunk, again recollected the trans-
it up from this moment," I answered. actions of his former state of intoxication. On
" If the same consequences follow which one occasion, being drunk, he had lost a parcel
followed last June," said Ezra Jennings " if of some value, and in his sober moments could
you suffer once more as you suffered then, from give no account of it. Next time he was in-
sleepless nights, we shall have gained our first toxicated, he recollected that he had left the
step. We shall have put you back again into parcel at a certain house, and there being no
something assimilating to your nervous condi- address on it, it had remained there safely, and
tion on the birthday night. If we can next was got on his calling for it."
revive, or nearly revive, the domestic circum- "Plain again ?" asked Ezra Jennings.
stances which surrounded you ; and if we can "As plain as need be."
occupy your mind again with the various ques- He put back the slip of paper in its place,
tions concerning the Diamond which formerly and closed the book.
agitated it, we shall have replaced you, as nearly " Are you satisfied that I have not spoken
as possible, in the same position, physically and without good authority to support me ? " he
morally, in which the opium found you last asked. "If not, I have only to go to those
year. In that case we may fairly hope that a book-shelves, and you have only to read the
repetition of the dose will lead, in a greater or passages which I can point out to you."
lesser degree, to a repetition of the result. "I am quite satisfied ," I said, " without
There is my proposal, expressed in a few hasty reading a word more."
words. You shall now see what reasons I have "In that case, we may return to your own
to justify me in making it. " personal interest in this matter. I am bound
He turned to one of the books at his side, and to tell you that there is something to be said
opened it at a place marked by a small slip of against the experiment as well as for it. If
paper. we could this year exactly reproduce, in your
" Don't suppose that I am going to weary you case, the conditions as they existed last year,
with a lecture on physiology," he said. " I it is physiologically certain that we should
think myself bound to prove, in justice to both arrive at exactly the same result. But this-
of us, that I am not asking you to try this ex- there is no denying it is simply impossible.
periment in deference to any theory of my own We can only hope to approximate to the con-
devising. Admitted principles and recognised ditions ; and if we don't succeed in getting
authorities justify me in the view that I take. you nearly enough back to what you were, this
Give me five minutes of your attention ; and I venture of ours will fail. If we do succeed-
will undertake to show you that Science sanc- and I am myself hopeful of success-you may
tions my proposal, fanciful as it may seem. at least so far repeat your proceedings on the
Here, in the first place, is the physiological birthday night, as to satisfy any reasonable
principle on which I am acting, stated by no person that you are guiltless, morally speaking,
less a person than Dr. Carpenter. Read it for of the theft of the Diamond. I believe, Mr.
yourself." Blake, I have now stated the question on both
He handed me the slip of paper which had sides of it, as fairly as I can, within the limits
 THE MOONSTONE 159

that I have imposed on myself. If there is the drawers of the cabinet, until you had
anything that I have not made clear to you, found the drawer which held the stone. In
tell me what it is-and if I can enlighten you, the spiritualised intoxication of opium, you
I will." would do all that. Later, as the sedative
" All that you have explained to me, " I said, action began to gain on the stimulant action,
" I understand perfectly. But I own I am you would slowly become inert and stupefied.
puzzled on one point, which you have not made Later still you would fall into a deep sleep.
clear to me yet.' When the morning came, and the effect of the
"What is the point ? " opium had been all slept off, you would wake
"I don't understand the effect of the as absolutely ignorant of what you had done
laudanum on me. I don't understand my in the night as if you had been living at the
walking downstairs, and along corridors, and Antipodes. Have I made it tolerably clear to
my opening and shutting the drawers of a you, so far ? "
cabinet, and my going back again to my own " You have made it so clear, " I said , " that
room. All these are active proceedings. II want you to go farther. You have shown
thought the influence of opium was first to me how I entered the room, and how I came
stupefy you, and then to send you to sleep." to take the Diamond. But Miss Verinder saw
"The common error about opium, Mr. Blake ! me leave the room again, with the jewel in my
I am, at this moment, exerting my intelligence hand. Can you trace my proceedings from
(such as it is) in your service, under the influ- that moment ? Can you guess what I did
ence of a dose of laudanum, some ten times next ?"
larger than the dose Mr. Candy administered " That is the very point I was coming to," he
to you. But don't trust to my authority-even rejoined. " It is a question with me whether
on a question which comes within my own the experiment which I propose as a means of
personal experience. I anticipated the objec- vindicating your innocence, may not also be
tion you have just made ; and I have again made a means of recovering the lost Diamond
provided myself with independent testimony, as well. When you left Miss Verinder's sitting-
which will carry its due weight with it in your room, with the jewel in your hand, you went ""
own mind, and in the minds of your friends." back in all probability to your own room-
He handed me the second of the two books "Yes ? and what then ? "
which he had by him on the table. "It is possible, Mr. Blake-I dare not say
"There," he said, " are the far-famed ' Con- more-t -that your idea of preserving the Diamond
fessions of an English Opium Eater ! ' Take the led, by a natural sequence, to the idea of hiding
book away with you, and read it. At the the Diamond, and that the place in which you
passage which I have marked, you will find hid it was somewhere in your bedroom. In
that when De Quincey had committed what he that event, the case of the Irish porter may be
calls ' a debauch of opium,' he either went to your case. You may remember, under the in-
the gallery at the Opera to enjoy the music, fluence of the second dose of opium, the place
or he wandered about the London markets on in which you hid the Diamond under the influ-
Saturday night, and interested himself in ob- ence of the first."
serving all the little shifts and bargainings of It was my turn now to enlighten Ezra
the poor in providing their Sunday's dinner. Jennings. I stopped him before he could say
So much for the capacity of a man to occupy any more.
himself actively, and to move about from place "You are speculating," I said, " on a result
to place under the influence of opium." which cannot possibly take place. The Diamond
"I am answered so far," I said ; " but I am is, at this moment, in London."
not answered yet as to the effect produced by He started, and looked at me in great surprise.
the opium on myself." "In London ?" he repeated. " How did it
"I will try to answer you in a few words," get to London from Lady Verinder's house ? "
said Ezra Jennings. "The action of opium is "Nobody knows."
comprised, in the majority of cases, in two "You removed it with your own hand from
influences a stimulating influence first, and Miss Verinder's room. How was it taken out
a sedative influence afterwards. Under the of your keeping ?"
stimulating influence, the latest and most vivid "I have no idea how it was taken out of my
impressions left on your mind - namely, the keeping."
impressions relating to the Diamond- would "Did you see it when you woke in the
be likely, in your morbidly sensitive nervous morning ?"
condition, to become intensified in your brain, "No. "
and would subordinate to themselves your "Has Miss Verinder recovered possession
judgment and your will-exactly as an ordi- of it ?"
nary dream subordinates to itself your judg- "No."
ment and your will. Little by little, under this "Mr. Blake ! there seems to be something
action, any apprehensions about the safety of here which wants clearing up. May I ask how
the Diamond which you might have felt during you know that the Diamond is, at this moment,
the day, would be liable to develop themselves in London ? "
from the state of doubt to the state of cer- I had put precisely the same question to Mr.
tainty-would impel you into practical action Bruff, when I made my first inquiries about
to preserve the jewel - would direct your steps, the Moonstone, on my return to England. In
with that motive in view, into the room which answering Ezra Jennings, I accordingly repeated
you entered-and would guide your hand to what I had myself heard from the lawyer's own
 160 THE MOONSTONE
2
lips-and what is already familiar to the readers that I should see the same objects about me
of these pages. which had surrounded me when I was last in
He showed plainly that he was not satisfied the house.
with my reply. " Above all things," he said, " you must
" With all deference to you," he said, " and sleep in the room which you slept in on the
with all deference to your legal adviser, I main- birthday night, and it must be furnished in the
tain the opinion which I expressed just now. same way . The stairs, the corridors, and Miss
It rests, I am well aware, on a mere assumption. Verinder's sitting-room must also be restored
Pardon me for reminding you that your opinion to what they were when you saw them last.
also rests on a mere assumption as well.' It is absolutely necessary, Mr. Blake, to replace
The view he took of the matter was entirely every article of furniture in that part of the
new to me. I waited anxiously to hear how he house which may now be put away. The sacri-
would defend it. fice of your cigars will be useless unless we can
"I assume," pursued Ezra Jennings, " that get Miss Verinder's permission to do that."
the influence of the opium-after impelling "Who is to apply to her for permission ? "
you to possess yourself of the Diamond, with I asked.
the purpose of securing its safety-might also " Is it not possible for you to apply ? "
impel you, acting under the same influence " Quite out of the question. After what has
and the same motive, to hide it somewhere in passed between us on the subject of the lost
your own room. You assume that the Hindoo Diamond, I can neither ‫ دو‬see her, nor write to
conspirators could by no possibility commit a her, as things are now.
mistake. The Indians went to Mr. Luker's Ezra Jennings paused, and considered for a
house after the Diamond-and therefore, in moment.
66
Mr. Luker's possession the Diamond must be ! May I ask you a delicate question ? " he said.
Have you any evidence to prove that the I signed to him to go on.
Moonstone was taken to London at all ? You " Am I right, Mr. Blake, in fancying (from
can't even guess how, or by whom, it was one or two things which have dropped from
removed from Lady Verinder's house ! Have you) that you felt no common interest in Miss
you any evidence that the jewel was pledged Verinder in former times ? "
to Mr. Luker ? He declares that he never " Quite right."
heard of the Moonstone ; and his bankers' "Was the feeling returned ? "
receipt acknowledges nothing but the deposit " It was.
of a valuable of great price. The Indians as- " Do you think Miss Verinder would be
sume that Mr. Luker is lying—and you assume likely to feel a strong interest in the attempt
again that the Indians are right. All I say, to prove your innocence ?"
in differing with you , is- that my view is "I am certain of it.'""
possible. What more, Mr. Blake, either logi. "In that case, I will write to Miss Verinder
cally or legally, can be said for yours ? " -if
66 you will give me leave."
It was put strongly ; but there was no Telling her of the proposal that you have
denying that it was put truly as well. made to me ?"
66
" I confess you stagger me," I replied. " Do Telling her of everything that has passed
you object to my writing to Mr. Bruff, and between us to-day."
telling him what you have said ?" It is needless to say that I eagerly accepted
" On the contrary, I shall be glad if you will the service which he had offered to me.
write to Mr. Bruff. If we consult his experi- " I shall have time to write by to-day's post, "
ence, we may see the matter under a new light. he said, looking at his watch. " Don't forget
For the present, let us return to our experiment to lock up your cigars when you get back to
with the opium. We have decided that you leave the hotel ! I will call to-morrow morning and
off the habit of smoking from this moment ? " hear how you have passed the night."
" From this moment." I rose to take leave of him ; and attempted
"That is the first step. The next step is to to express the grateful sense of his kindness
reproduce, as nearly as we can, the domestic29 which I really felt.
circumstances which surrounded you last year.' He pressed my hand gently. " Remember
How was this to be done ? Lady Verinder what
66 I told you on the moor, " he answered.
was dead. Rachel and I , so long as the sus- 'If I can do you this little service, Mr. Blake, I
picion of theft rested on me, were parted irre- shall feel it like a last gleam of sunshine falling
vocably. Godfrey Ablewhite was away, travel- on the evening of a long and clouded day."
ling on the Continent. It was simply impossible
to reassemble the people who had inhabited We parted. It was then the fifteenth of June.
the house when I had slept in it last. The The events of the next ten days- every one of
statement of this objection did not appear to them more or less directly connected with the
embarrass Ezra Jennings. He attached very experiment of which I was the passive object-
little importance, he said, to reassembling the are all placed on record, exactly as they hap-
same people-seeing that it would be vain to pened, in the Journal habitually kept by Mr.
expect them to reassume the various positions Candy's assistant. In the pages of Ezra Jen-
which they had occupied towards me in the nings nothing is concealed, and nothing is for-
past times. On the other hand, he considered gotten. Let Ezra Jennings tell how the venture
it essential to the success of the experiment with the opium was tried, and how it ended.
 THE MOONSTONE 161

FOURTH NARRATIVE

Extracted from the Journal of EZRA JENNINGS

1849.- June 15th. • • With some interrup- I left Mr. Blake to go my rounds among my
tion from patients, and some interruption from patients, feeling the better and the happier
pain, I finished my letter to Miss Verinder in even for the short interview that I had had
time for to-day's post. I failed to make it as with him.
short a letter as I could have wished. But I What is the secret of the attraction that there
think I have made it plain. It leaves her is for me in this man ? Does it only mean that
entirely mistress of her own decision. If she I feel the contrast between the frankly kind
consents to assist the experiment, she consents manner in which he has allowed me to become
of her own free will, and not as a favour to acquainted with him, and the merciless dislike
Mr. Franklin Blake or to me. and distrust with which I am met by other
people ? Or is there really something in him
June 16th. - Rose late, after a dreadful night ;
which answers to the yearning that I have for
the vengeance of yesterday's opium pursuing a little human sympathy- the yearning which
me through a series of frightful dreams. At has survived the solitude and persecution of
one time, I was whirling through empty space many years, which seems to grow keener and
with the phantoms of the dead, friends and keener as the time comes nearer and nearer
enemies together. At another, the one beloved when I shall endure and feel no more ? How
face which I shall never see again, rose at my useless to ask these questions ! Mr. Blake has
bedside, hideously phosphorescent in the black given me a new interest in life. Let that be
darkness, and glared and grinned at me. A enough, without seeking to know what the
slight return of the old pain, at the usual time new interest is.
in the early morning, was welcome as a change.
It dispelled the visions- and it was bearable June 17th. - Before breakfast, this morning,
because it did that. Mr. Candy informed me that he was going away
My bad night made it late in the morning for a fortnight, on a visit to a friend in the
before I could get to Mr. Franklin Blake. I south of England. He gave me as many special
found him stretched on the sofa, breakfasting directions, poor fellow, about the patients, as
on brandy and soda-water, and a dry biscuit. if he still had the large practice which he pos-
" I am beginning, as well as you could possessed before he was taken ill. The practice is
sibly wish," he said. "A miserable, restless worth little enough now ! Other doctors have
night ; and a total failure of appetite this superseded him ; and nobody who can help it
morning. Exactly what happened last year will employ me.
when I gave up my cigars. The sooner I am It is perhaps fortunate that he is to be away
ready for my second dose of laudanum, the just at this time. He would have been morti-
better I shall be pleased." fied if I had not informed him of the experiment
"You shall have it on the earliest possible which I am going to try with Mr. Blake. And
day," I answered. " In the meantime, we must I hardly know what undesirable results might
be as careful of your health as we can. If we not have happened if I had taken him into my
allow you to become exhausted, we shall fail in confidence. Better as it is. Unquestionably,
that way. You must get an appetite for your better as it is.
dinner. In other words, you must get a ride or The post brought me Miss Verinder's answer,
a walk this morning , in the fresh air." after Mr. Candy had left the house.
" I will ride, if they can find me a horse here. A charming letter ! It gives me the highest
By-the-by, I wrote to Mr. Bruff yesterday.
" opinion of her. There is no attempt to conceal
Have you written to Miss Verinder ?' the interest that she feels in our proceedings.
"Yes-by last night's post." She tells me, in the prettiest manner, that my
""
Very good. We shall have some news worth letter has satisfied her of Mr. Blake's innocence,
hearing to tell each other to-morrow. Don't without the slightest need (so far as she is con-
go yet ! I have a word to say to you. You cerned) of putting my assertion to the proof.
appeared to think yesterday that our experi- She even upbraids herself- most undeservedly,
ment with the opium was not likely to be viewed poor thing !-for not having divined at the
very favourably by some of my friends. You time what the true solution of the mystery
were quite right. I call old Gabriel Betteredge might really be. The motive underlying all
one of my friends ; and you will be amused to this proceeds evidently from something more
hear that he protested strongly when I saw him than a generous eagerness to make atonement
yesterday. You have done a wonderful number for a wrong which she has innocently inflicted
of foolish things in the course of your life, Mr. on another person. It is plain that she has
Franklin ; but this tops them all ! ' There is loved him throughout the estrangement be-
Betteredge's opinion ! You will make allow- tween them. In more than one place the
ance for his prejudices, I am sure, if you and rapture of discovering that he has deserved
he happen to meet ? " to be loved, breaks its way innocently through
F
162 THE MOONSTONE

the stoutest formalities of pen and ink, and | of the ride which I advised him to take. I
even defies the stronger restraint still of writing fear I shall have to curtail his restorative
to a stranger. Is it possible ( I ask myself, in exercise in the fresh air. He must not be too
reading this delightful letter) that I, of all men well ; he must not be too ill. It is a case (as
in the world, am chosen to be the means of a sailor would say) of very fine steering.
bringing these two young people together He has not heard yet from Mr. Bruff. I
again ? My own happiness has been trampled found him eager to know if I had received any
under foot ; my own love has been torn from answer from Miss Verinder.
me. Shall I live to see a happiness of others, I told him exactly what I was permitted to
which is of my making-a love renewed, which tell, and no more. It was quite needless to
is of my bringing back ? O merciful Death, let invent excuses for not showing him the letter.
me see it before your arms enfold me, before He told me bitterly enough, poor fellow, that
your voice whispers to me, " Rest at last ! " he understood the delicacy which disinclined
There are two requests contained in the letter. me to produce it. "She consents, of course,
One of them prevents me from showing it to as a matter of common courtesy and common
Mr. Franklin Blake. I am authorised to tell justice, " he said. "But she keeps her own
him that Miss Verinder willingly consents to opinion of me, and waits to see the result." I
place her house at our disposal ; and, that was sorely tempted to hint that he was now
said, I am desired to add no more. wronging her as she had wronged him. On
So far, it is easy to comply with her wishes. reflection, I shrank from forestalling her in
Butthe second request embarrasses me seriously. the double luxury of surprising and forgiving
Not content with having written to Mr. Better- him.
edge, instructing him to carry out whatever My visit was a very short one. After the ex-
directions I may have to give, Miss Verinder perience of the other night, I have been com-
asks leave to assist me, by personally superin- pelled once more to give up my dose of opium.
tending the restoration of her own sitting-room. As a necessary result, the agony of the disease
She only waits a word of reply from me, to that is in me has got the upper hand again. I
make the journey to Yorkshire, and to be felt the attack coming on, and left abruptly,
present as one of the witnesses on the night so as not to alarm or distress him. It only
when the opium is tried for the second time. lasted a quarter of an hour this time, and it left
Here again there is a motive under the me strength enough to go on with my work.
surface ; and here again I fancy that I can Five o'clock. - I have written my reply to
find it out. Miss Verinder.
What she has forbidden me to tell Mr. The arrangement I have proposed reconciles
Franklin Blake, she is (as I interpret it) eager the interests on both sides, if she will only con-
to tell him with her own lips, before he is put sent to it. After first stating the objections
to the test which is to vindicate his character that there are to a meeting between Mr. Blake
in the eyes of other people. I understand and and herself, before the experiment is tried, I
admire this generous anxiety to acquit him, have suggested that she could so time her
without waiting until his innocence may, or journey as to arrive at the house privately
may not, be proved. It is the atonement that on the evening when we make the attempt.
she is longing to make, poor girl, after having Travelling by the afternoon train from London,
innocently and inevitably wronged him. But she would delay her arrival until nine o'clock.
the thing cannot be done. I have no sort of At that hour I have undertaken to see Mr.
doubt that the agitation which a meeting be- | Blake safely into his bedchamber ; and so to
tween them would produce on both sides-- leave Miss Verinder free to occupy her own
reviving dormant feelings, appealing to old rooms until the time comes for administering
memories, awakening new hopes - would, in the laudanum. When that has been done,
their effect on the mind of Mr. Blake, be almost there can be no objection to her watching the
certainly fatal to the success of our experiment. result with the rest of us. On the next morn-
It is hard enough, as things are, to reproduce ing, she shall show Mr. Blake (if she likes) her
in him the conditions as they existed, or nearly correspondence with me, and shall satisfy him
as they existed last year. With new interests in that way that he was acquitted in her esti-
and new emotions to agitate him, the attempt mation, before the question of his innocence
would be simply useless. was put to the proof.
And yet, knowing this, I cannot find it in my In that sense, I have written to her. This is
heart to disappoint her. I must try if I can all that I can do to-day. To-morrow I must see
discover some new arrangement, before post- Mr. Betteredge, and give the necessary direc-
time, which will allow me to say Yes to Miss tions for re-opening the house.
Verinder, without damage to the service which
I have bound myself to render to Mr. Franklin June 18th. - Late again in calling on Mr.
Blake. Franklin Blake. More of that horrible pain in
Two o'clock. I have just returned from my the early morning, followed this time by com-
round of medical visits ; having begun, of course, plete prostration for some hours. I foresee, in
by calling at the hotel. spite of the penalties which it exacts from me,
Mr. Blake's report of the night is the same that I shall have to return to the opium for the
as before. He has had some intervals of hundredth time. If I had only myself to think
broken sleep, and no more. But he feels it less of, I should prefer the sharp pains to the fright-
to-day, having slept after yesterday's dinner. ful dreams. But the physical suffering exhausts
This after-dinner sleep is the result, no doubt, me. If I let myself sink, it may end in my be
 THE MOONSTONE 163

coming useless to Mr. Blake at the time when in the service of the old lord, her father. I am
he wants me most. now somewhere between seventy and eighty
It was nearly one o'clock before I could get years of age- never mind exactly where ! I
to the hotel to-day. The visit, even in my am reckoned to have got as pretty a knowledge
shattered condition, proved to be a most amus- and experience of the world as most men. And
ing one -thanks entirely to the presence on the what does it all end in ? It ends, Mr. Ezra
scene of Gabriel Betteredge. Jennings, in a conjuring trick being performed
I found him in the room when I went in. on Mr. Franklin Blake by a doctor's assistant
He withdrew to the window and looked out, with a bottle of laudanum- and by the living
while I put my first customary question to my jingo, I'm appointed, in my old age, to be
patient. Mr. Blake had slept badly again, and conjurer's boy ! "
he felt the loss of rest this morning more than Mr. Blake burst out laughing. I attempted
he had felt it yet. to speak. Betteredge held up his hand, in
I asked next if he had heard from Mr. Bruff. token that he had not done yet.
A letter had reached him that morning. Mr. "Not a word, Mr. Jennings ! " he said. " It
Bruff expressed the strongest disapproval of the don't want a word, sir, from you. I have got
course which his friend and client was taking my principles, thank God. If an order comes
under my advice. It was mischievous- for it to me, which is own brother to an order come
excited hopes that might never be realised. It from Bedlam, it don't matter. So long as I
was quite unintelligible to his mind, except that get it from my master or mistress, as the
it looked like a piece of trickery, akin to the case may be, I obey it. I may have my own
trickery of mesmerism, clairvoyance, and the opinion, which is also, you will please to re-
like. It unsettled Miss Verinder's house, and member, the opinion of Mr. Bruff- the Great
it would end in unsettling Miss Verinder herself. Mr. Bruff ! " said Betteredge, raising his voice,
He had put the case (without mentioning names ) and shaking his head at me solemnly. " It
to an eminent physician ; and the eminent phy- don't matter ; I withdraw my opinion, for all
sician had smiled, had shaken his head, and that. My young lady says, ' Do it.' And I
had said nothing. On these grounds, Mr. Bruff say, ' Miss, it shall be done.' Here I am, with
entered his protest, and left it there. my book and my pencil-the latter not pointed
My next inquiry related to the subject of the so well as I could wish, but when Christians
Diamond. Had the lawyer produced any evi- take leave of their senses, who is to expect
dence to prove that the jewel was in London ? that pencils will keep their points ? Give me
No, the lawyer had simply declined to discuss your orders, Mr. Jennings. I'll have them in
the question. He was himself satisfied that the writing, sir. I'm determined not to be behind
Moonstone had been pledged to Mr. Luker. His ' em, or before ' em, by so much as a hair's-
eminent absent friend, Mr. Murthwaite (whose breadth. I'm a blind agent-that's what I
consummate knowledge of the Indian character am. A blind agent ! repeated Betteredge,
no one could deny), was satisfied also. Under with infinite relish of his own description of
these circumstances, and with the many de- himself.
mands already made on him, he must decline "I am very sorry,"
,, I began, " that you and
entering into any disputes on the subject of I don't agree-
evidence. Time would show ; and Mr. Bruff "Don't bring me into it ! " interposed Better-
was willing to wait for time. edge. "This is not a matter of agreement, it's
It was quite plain-even if Mr. Blake had a matter of obedience. Issue your directions,
not made it plainer still by reporting the sub- sir-issue your directions ! "
stance of the letter, instead of reading what was Mr. Blake made me a sign to take him at
actually written-that distrust of me was at the his word. I " issued my directions " as plainly
bottom of all this. Having myself foreseen that and as gravely as I could.
result, I was neither mortified nor surprised. " I wish certain parts of the house to be
I asked Mr. Blake if his friend's protest had reopened," I said, " and to be furnished exactly
shaken him. He answered emphatically, that as they were furnished at this time last year."
it had not produced the slightest effect on his Betteredge gave his imperfectly pointed pen-
mind. I was free after that to dismiss Mr. cil a preliminary lick with his tongue. " Name
Bruff from consideration-and I did dismiss the parts, Mr. Jennings ! " he said loftily.
him accordingly. "First, the inner hall, leading to the chief
A pause in the talk between us followed- staircase."
and Gabriel Betteredge came out from his 66 6 First, the inner hall,' Betteredge wrote.
retirement at the window. ' Impossible to furnish that, sir, as it was
" Can you favour me with your attention, furnished last year—to begin with . "
sir ? " he inquired, addressing himself to me. "Why ?"
"I am quite at your service," I answered. "Because there was a stuffed buzzard, Mr.
Betteredge took a chair and seated himself Jennings, in the hall last year. When the
at the table. He produced a huge old-fashioned family left, the buzzard was put away with the
leather pocket-book, with a pencil of dimen- other things. When the buzzard was put away
sions to match. Having put on his spectacles, he burst."
66'We will except the buzzard then."
he opened the pocket-book, at a blank page,
and addressed himself to me once more. Betteredge took a note of the exception.
"I have lived," said Betteredge, looking at " The inner hall to be furnished again as
me sternly, " nigh on fifty years in the service furnished last year. A burst buzzard alone
of my late lady. I was page-boy before that, excepted. ' Please to go on, Mr. Jennings. "
164 THE MOONSTONE

"The carpet to be laid down on the stairs | ing the tidiness of Mr. Franklin's room, him
as before." or me ? "
" The carpet to be laid down on the stairs Mr. Blake declared that he would assume
as before.' Sorry to disappoint you, sir. But the whole responsibility with the greatest plea-
that can't be done either." sure. Betteredge obstinately declined to listen
"Why not ? " to any solution of the difficulty, without first
"Because the man who laid that carpet down referring it to my sanction and approval. I
is dead, Mr. Jennings- and the like of him accepted Mr. Blake's proposal ; and Betteredge
for reconciling together a carpet and a corner made a last entry in the pocket-book to that
is not to be found in all England, look where effect.
you may." " Look in when you like, Mr. Jennings, begin-
" Very well. We must try the next best ning from to-morrow," he said, getting on his
man in England." legs. " You will find me at work, with the
Betteredge took another note ; and I went necessary persons to assist me. I respectfully
on issuing my directions . beg to thank you, sir, for overlooking the case
" Miss Verinder's sitting-room to be restored of the stuffed buzzard, and the other case of
exactly to what it was last year. Also, the the Cupid's wing-as also for permitting me to
corridor leading from the sitting-room to the wash my hands of all responsibility in respect
first landing. Also, the second corridor, lead- of the pins on the carpet, and the litter in
ing from the second landing to the best bed- Mr. Franklin's room. Speaking as a servant,
rooms. Also, the bedroom occupied last June I am deeply indebted to you. Speaking as a
by Mr. Franklin Blake." man, I consider you to be a person whose head
Betteredge's blunt pencil followed me con- is full of maggots, and I take up my testimony
scientiously, word by word. "Go on, sir," he against your experiment as a delusion and a
said, with sardonic gravity. "There's a deal of snare. Don't be afraid, on that account, of
writing left in the point of this pencil yet." my feelings as a man getting in the way of
I told him that I had no more directions to my duty as a servant ! You shall be obeyed.
give. " Sir," said Betteredge, " in that case, The maggots notwithstanding, sir, you shall
I have a point or two to put on my own be- be obeyed. If it ends in your setting the
half." He opened the pocket-book at a new house on fire, Damme if I send for the engines,
page, and gave the inexhaustible pencil another unless you ring the bell and order them first !
preliminary lick. With that farewell assurance, he made me
"I wish to know," he began, """whether I a bow, and walked out of the room.
may or may not wash my hands- " Do you think we can depend on him ?"
"You may decidedly, " said Mr. Blake. "I'll I asked.
ring for the waiter.” "Implicitly," answered Mr. Blake. " When
" of certain responsibilities," pursued we go to the house, we shall find nothing
Betteredge, impenetrably declining to see any- neglected, and nothing forgotten. "
body in the room but himself and me. " As
to Miss Verinder's sitting-room, to begin with. June 19th.- Another protest against our con-
When we took up the carpet last year, Mr. templated proceedings ! From a lady this time.
Jennings, we found a surprising quantity of The morning's post brought me two letters.
pins. Am I responsible for putting back the One, from Miss Verinder, consenting, in the
pins ? " kindest manner, to the arrangement that I
66 Certainly not.”
have proposed. The other from the lady under
Betteredge made a note of that concession whose care she is living-one Mrs. Merridew.
on the spot. Mrs. Merridew presents her compliments,
" As to the first corridor next," he resumed. and does not pretend to understand the subject
"When we moved the ornaments in that part, on which I have been corresponding with Miss
we moved a statue of a fat naked child-pro- Verinder in its scientific bearings. Viewed in
fanely described in the catalogue of the house its social bearings, however, she feels free to
as Cupid, God of Love.' He had two wings pronounce an opinion. I am probably, Mrs.
last year, in the fleshy part of his shoulders. Merridew thinks, not aware that Miss Verinder
My eye being off him for the moment, he lost is barely nineteen years of age. To allow a
one of them. Am I responsible for Cupid's young lady, at her time of life, to be present
wing ? " (without a 66 chaperon ") in a house full of
I made another concession, and Betteredge men among whom a medical experiment is
made another note. being carried on, is an outrage on propriety
" As to the second corridor," he went on. which Mrs. Merridew cannot possibly permit.
"There having been nothing in it last year If the matter is allowed to proceed, she will
but the doors of the rooms (to every one of feel it to be her duty-at a serious sacrifice of
which I can swear, if necessary), my mind is her own personal convenience to accompany
easy, I admit, respecting that part of the house Miss Verinder to Yorkshire. Under these cir-
only. But as to Mr. Franklin's bedroom (if cumstances, she ventures to request that I will
that is to be put back to what it was before), kindly reconsider the subject, seeing that Miss
I want to know who is responsible for keeping Verinder declines to be guided by any opinion
it in a perpetual state of litter, no matter how but mine. Her presence cannot possibly be
often it may be set right- his trousers here, necessary ; and a word from me, to that effect,
his towels there, and his French novels every- would relieve both Mrs. Merridew and myself
where. I say, who is responsible for untidy- of a very unpleasant responsibility.
 THE MOONSTONE 165

Translated from polite commonplace into baize, met us in the outer hall. The moment
plain English, the meaning of this is, as I take he saw me he pulled out the pocket-book and
it, that Mrs. Merridew stands in mortal fear pencil, and obstinately insisted on taking notes
of the opinion of the world. She has un- of everything that I said to him. Look where
fortunately appealed to the very last man in we might, we found, as Mr. Blake had foretold ,
existence who has any reason to regard that that the work was advancing as rapidly and
opinion with respect. I won't disappoint Miss as intelligently as it was possible to desire.
Verinder ; and I won't delay a reconciliation But there was still much to be done in the
between two young people who love each other, inner hall, and in Miss Verinder's room. It
and who have been parted too long already. seemed doubtful whether the house would be
Translated from plain English into polite com- ready for us before the end of the week.
monplace, this means that Mr. Jennings presents Having congratulated Betteredge on the
his compliments to Mrs. Merridew, and regrets progress that he had made (he persisted in
that he cannot feel justified in interfering any taking notes every time I opened my lips ;
farther in the matter. declining, at the same time, to pay the slightest
Mr. Blake's report of himself this morning attention to anything said by Mr. Blake) ; and
was the same as before. We determined not having promised to return for a second visit
to disturb Betteredge by overlooking him at of inspection in a day or two, we prepared to
the house to-day. To-morrow will be time leave the house, going out by the back way.
enough for our first visit of inspection. Before we were clear of the passages down-
stairs, I was stopped by Betteredge, just as
June 20th.-Mr. Blake is beginning to feel his I was passing the door which led into his own
continued restlessness at night. The sooner room .
the rooms are refurnished now the better. 66
Could I say two words to you in private ? "
On our way to the house this morning he he asked, in a mysterious whisper.
consulted me, with some nervous impatience I consented, of course. Mr. Blake walked
and irresolution, about a letter (forwarded to on to wait for me in the garden, while I ac-
him from London) which he had received from companied Betteredge into his room. I fully
Sergeant Cuff. anticipated a demand for certain new conces-
The Sergeant writes from Ireland. He sions, following the precedent already estab-
acknowledges the receipt (through his house- lished in the cases of the stuffed buzzard, and
keeper) of a card and message which Mr. Blake the Cupid's wing. To my great surprise, Better-
left at his residence near Dorking, and an- edge laid his hand confidentially on my arm,
nounces his return to England as likely to and put this extraordinary question to me :
take place in a week or less. In the meantime, " Mr. Jennings, do you happen to be ac-
he requests to be favoured with Mr. Blake's quainted with ' Robinson Crusoe ?'
reasons for wishing to speak to him (as stated I answered that I had read " Robinson
in the message) on the subject of the Moon- Crusoe " when I was a child.
stone. If Mr. Blake can convict him of having "Not since then ? " inquired Betteredge.
made any serious mistake, in the course of his "Not since then. "
last year's inquiry concerning the Diamond, he He fell back a few steps, and looked at me
will consider it a duty (after the liberal manner with an expression of compassionate curiosity,
in which he was treated by the late Lady tempered by superstitious awe.
Verinder) to place himself at that gentleman's " He has not read Robinson Crusoe ' since
disposal. If not, he begs permission to remain he was a child," said Betteredge, speaking to
in his retirement, surrounded by the peaceful himself-not to me. " Let's try how ' Robinson
floricultural attractions of a country life. Crusoe ' strikes him now ! "
After reading the letter, I had no hesitation He unlocked a cupboard in a corner, and
in advising Mr. Blake to inform Sergeant Cuff, produced a dirty and dog's-eared book, which
in reply, of all that had happened since the exhaled a strong odour of stale tobacco as he
inquiry was suspended last year, and to leave turned over the leaves. Having found a pas-
him to draw his own conclusions from the sage of which he was apparently in search, he
plain facts. requested me to join him in the corner ; still
On second thoughts, I also suggested inviting mysteriously confidential, and still speaking
the Sergeant to be present at the experiment, under his breath.
in the event of his returning to England in "In respect to this hocus-pocus of yours, sir,
time to join us. He would be a valuable with the laudanum and Mr. Franklin Blake, "
witness to have, in any case ; and, if I proved he began. "While the workpeople are in the
to be wrong in believing the Diamond to be house, my duty as a servant gets the better of
hidden in Mr. Blake's room, his advice might my feelings as a man. When the workpeople
be of great importance, at a future stage of the are gone, my feelings as a man get the better
proceedings over which I could exercise no of my duty as a servant. Very good. Last
control. This last consideration appeared to night, Mr. Jennings, it was borne in powerfully
decide Mr. Blake. He promised to follow my on my mind that this new medical enterprise
advice. of yours would end badly. If I had yielded
The sound of the hammer informed us that to that secret Dictate, I should have put all the
the work of refurnishing was in full progress furniture away again with my own hand, and
as we entered the drive that led to the house. have warned the workmen off the premises
Betteredge, attired for the occasion in a when they came the next morning."
fisherman's red cap, and an apron of green " I am glad to find, from what I have seen
166 THE MOONSTONE

upstairs," I said, " that you resisted the secret this morning, of which I shall say nothing but
Dictate." that it has decided me to return to the opium.
" Resisted isn't the word," answered Better- I shall close this book, and take my full dose-
edge. "Wrostled is the word. I wrostled, sir, five hundred drops.
between the silent orders in my bosom pulling
me one way, and the written orders in my June 22nd. Our prospects look better to-
pocket-book pushing me the other, until ( saving day. Mr. Blake's nervous suffering is greatly
your presence) I was in a cold sweat. In that allayed. He slept a little last night. My night,
dreadful perturbation of mind and laxity of thanks to the opium, was the night of a man
body, to what remedy did I apply ? To the who is stunned. I can't say that I woke this
remedy, sir, which has never failed me yet for "" morning ; the fitter expression would be, that
the last thirty years and more-to This Book ! I recovered my senses.
He hit the book a sounding blow with his We drove to the house to see if the refurnish-
open hand, and struck out of it a stronger smell ing was done. It will be completed to-morrow
of stale tobacco than ever. -Saturday. As Mr. Blake foretold, Betteredge
"What did I find here, " pursued Betteredge, raised no further obstacles. From first to
"at the first page I opened ? This awful bit, last, he was ominously polite, and ominously
sir, page one hundred and seventy-eight, as silent.
follows : Upon these, and many like Reflec- My medical enterprise (as Betteredge calls it)
tions, I afterwards made it a certain rule with must now, inevitably, be delayed until Monday
me, That whenever I found those secret Hints next. To-morrow evening the workmen will
or Pressings of my Mind, to doing, or not doing be late in the house. On the next day, the
any Thing that presented ; or to going this established Sunday tyranny which is one of the
Way, or that Way, I never failed to obey the institutions of this free country, so times the
secret Dictate.'-As I live by bread, Mr. Jen- trains as to make it impossible to ask anybody
nings, those were the first words that met my to travel to us from London. Until Monday
eye, exactly at the time when I myself was comes, there is nothing to be done but to
setting the secret Dictate at defiance ! You watch Mr. Blake carefully, and to keep him,
don't see anything at all out of the common in if possible, in the same state in which I find
that, do you, sir ? " him to-day.
" I see a coincidence - nothing more." In the meanwhile, I have prevailed on him to
" You don't feel at all shaken, Mr. Jennings , write to Mr. Bruff, making a point of it that
in respect to this medical enterprise of yours ? he shall be present as one of the witnesses.
"Not the least in the world. " I especially choose the lawyer, because he is
Betteredge stared hard at me in dead silence. strongly prejudiced against us. If we convince
He closed the book with great deliberation ; he him, we place our victory beyond the possibility
locked it up again in the cupboard with extra- of dispute.
ordinary care ; he wheeled round, and stared Mr. Blake has also written to Sergeant Cuff ;
hard at me once more. Then he spoke. and I have sent a line to Miss Verinder. With
" Sir," he said gravely, "there are great these, and with old Betteredge (who is really a
allowances to be made for a man who has not person of importance in the family) we shall
read ' Robinson Crusoe ' since he was a child. have witnesses enough for the purpose without
I wish you good morning." including Mrs. Merridew, if Mrs. Merridew per-
He opened his door with a low bow, and left sists in sacrificing herself to the opinion of the
me at liberty to find myown way into the garden. | world.
I met Mr. Blake returning to the house.
"6'You needn't tell me what has happened,"
June 23rd.- The vengeance of the opium
he said. "Betteredge has played his last card : overtook me again last night. No matter ; I
he has made another prophetic discovery in must go on with it now till Monday is past and
' Robinson Crusoe.' Have you humoured his gone.
favourite delusion ? No ? You have let him Mr. Blake is not so well again to-day. At
see that you don't believe in ' Robinson Crusoe ?' two this morning, he confesses that he opened
Mr. Jennings ! you have fallen to the lowest the drawer in which his cigars are put away.
possible place in Betteredge's estimation. Say He only succeeded in locking it up again by a
what you like, and do what you like, for the violent effort. His next proceeding, in case of
future. You will find that he won't waste temptation, was to throwthe key out of window.
another word on you now." The waiter brought it in this morning, dis-
covered at the bottom of an empty cistern-
June 21st. -A short entry must suffice in my such is Fate ! I have taken possession of the
journal to-day. key until Tuesday next.
Mr. Blake has had the worst night that he
has passed yet. I have been obliged, greatly June 24th.-Mr. Blake and I took a long drive
against my will, to prescribe for him. Men of in an open carriage. We both felt beneficially
his sensitive organisation are fortunately quick the blessed influence of the soft summer air. I
in feeling the effect of remedial measures. dined with him at the hotel. To my great re-
Otherwise, I should be inclined to fear that he lief- for I found him in an overwrought, over-
will be totally unfit for the experiment when excited state, this morning he had two hours'
the time comes to try it. sound sleep on the sofa after dinner. If he has
As for myself, after some little remission of another bad night now-I am not afraid of
my pains for the last two days, I had an attack the consequences.
 THE MOONSTONE 167

June 25th, Monday. The day of the experi- | He is no doubt still in Ireland. We must not
ment ! It is five o'clock in the afternoon. We expect to see him to-night..
have just arrived at the house. Betteredge has just come in, to say that Mr.
The first and foremost question is the ques- Blake has asked for me. I must lay down my
tion of Mr. Blake's health. pen for the present.
So far as it is possible for me to judge, he
promises (physically speaking) to be quite as Seven o'clock. -We have been all over the re-
susceptible to the action of the opium to-night furnished rooms and staircases again ; and we
as he was at this time last year. He is, this have had a pleasant stroll in the shrubbery
afternoon, in a state of nervous sensitiveness which was Mr. Blake's favourite walk when he
which just stops short of · nervous irritation. was here last. In this way, I hope to revive
He changes colour readily ; his hand is not the old impressions of places and things as
quite steady ; and he starts at chance noises, vividly as possible in his mind.
and at unexpected appearances of persons and We are now going to dine, exactly at the hour
things. at which the birthday dinner was given last
These results have all been produced by year. My object, of course, is a purely medical
deprivation of sleep, which is in its turn the one in this case. The laudanum must find the
nervous consequence of a sudden cessation in
the habit of smoking, after that habit has been process of digestion, as nearly as may be, where
laudanum found it last year.
carried to an extreme. Here are the same the
At a reasonable time after dinner, I propose
causes at work again which operated last year ; to lead the conversation back again- as in-
and here are, apparently, the same effects.
Will the parallel still hold good, when the final artificially as I can - to the subject of the
test has been tried ? The events of the night Diamond, and of the Indian conspiracy to steal
it. When I have filled his mind with these
must decide.
While I write these lines, Mr. Blake is amus- topics, to I shall have done all that it is in my
ing himself at the billiard table in the inner power do, before the time comes for giving
him the second dose.
hall, practising different strokes in the game, as
he was accustomed to practise them when he
was a guest in this house in June last. I have Half- past eight.-I have only this moment
brought my journal here, partly with a view to found an opportunity of attending to the most
occupying the idle hours which I am sure to important duty of all ; the duty of looking in
have on my hands between this and to-morrow the family medicine chest for the laudanum
morning ; partly in the hope that something which Mr. Candy used last year.
may happen which it may be worth my while Ten minutes since, I caught Betteredge at
to place on record at the time. an unoccupied moment, and told him what I
Have I omitted anything thus far ? A glance wanted. Without a word of objection, without
at yesterday's entry shows me that I have for- so much as an attempt to produce his pocket-
gotten to note the arrival of the morning's post. book, he led the way (making allowances for
Let me set this right, before I close these leaves me at every step) to the store-room in which
for the present, and join Mr. Blake. the medicine chest is kept.
I received a few lines then, yesterday, from I discovered the bottle, carefully guarded by
Miss Verinder. She has arranged to travel by a glass stopper tied over with leather. The
the afternoon train, as I recommended. Mrs. preparation which it contained was, as I had
Merridew has insisted on accompanying her. anticipated, the common Tincture of Opium.
The note hints that the old lady's generally ex- Finding the bottle still well filled, I have re-
cellent temper is a little ruffled, and requests all solved to use it, in preference to employing
due indulgence for her, in consideration of her either of the two preparations with which I
age and her habits. I will endeavour, in my had taken care to provide myself, in case of
relations with Mrs. Merridew, to emulate the emergency.
moderation which Betteredge displays in his The question of the quantity which I am to
relations with me. He received us to-day, por- administer presents certain difficulties. I have
tentously arrayed in his best black suit and thought it over, and have decided on increasing
his stiffest white cravat. Whenever he looks the dose.
my way, he remembers that I have not read My notes inform me that Mr. Candy only
" Robinson Crusoe " since I was a child, and he administered twenty-five minims. This is a
respectfully pities me. small dose to have produced the results which
Yesterday, also, Mr. Blake had the lawyer's followed --even in the case of a person so
answer. Mr. Bruff accepts the invitation- sensitive as Mr. Blake. I think it highly pro-
under protest. It is, he thinks, clearly neces- bable that Mr. Candy gave more than he sup-
sary that a gentleman possessed of the average posed himself to have given- knowing, as I do,
allowance of common sense, should accompany that he has a keen relish of the pleasures of the
Miss Verinder to the scene of, what he will table, and that he measured out the laudanum
venture to call, the proposed exhibition. For on the birthday, after dinner. In any case, I
want of a better escort, Mr. Bruff himself will be shall run the risk of enlarging the dose to forty
that gentleman. So here is poor Miss Verinder minims. On this occasion, Mr. Blake knows be-
provided with two " chaperons." It is a relief forehand that he is going to take the laudanum
to think that the opinion of the world must -which is equivalent, physiologically speaking,
surely be satisfied with this ! to his having (unconsciously to himself) a cer-
Nothing has been heard of Sergeant Cuff. I tain capacity in him to resist the effects. If my
168 THE MOONSTONE

view is right, a larger quantity is therefore im- for a moment -and then, with a charming
peratively required, this time, to repeat the frankness, offered me her hand.
results which the smaller quantity produced " I can't treat you like a stranger, Mr. Jen-
last year. nings," she said. " Oh, if you only knew how
• happy your letters have made me !
Ten o'clock.- The witnesses, or the company She looked at my ugly wrinkled face, with
(which shall I call them ?), reached the house a bright gratitude so new to me in my ex-
an hour since. perience of my fellow-creatures, that I was at
A little before nine o'clock, I prevailed on a loss how to answer her. Nothing had pre-
Mr. Blake to accompany me to his bedroom ; pared me for her kindness and her beauty.
stating, as a reason, that I wished him to look The misery of many years has not hardened
round it, for the last time, in order to make my heart, thank God. I was as awkward and
quite sure that nothing had been forgotten in as shy with her as if I had been a lad in my
the refurnishing of the room. I had previously teens.
arranged with Betteredge, that the bedchamber " Where is he now ? " she asked, giving free
prepared for Mr. Bruff should be the next room expression to her one dominant interest-the
to Mr. Blake's, and that I should be informed interest in Mr. Blake. "What is he doing ?
of the lawyer's arrival by a knock at the Has he spoken of me ? Is he in good spirits ?
door. Five minutes after the clock in the How does he bear the sight of the house after
hall had struck nine, I heard the knock ; and, what happened in it last year ? When are
going out immediately, met Mr. Bruff in the you going to give him the laudanum ? May I
corridor. see you pour it out ? I am so interested ; I
My personal appearance (as usual) told against am so excited-I have ten thousand things to
me. Mr. Bruff's distrust looked at me plainly say to you, and they all crowd together so that
enough out of Mr. Bruff's eyes. Being well I don't know what to say first. Do you wonder
used to producing this effect on strangers, I at the interest I take in this ? "
did not hesitate a moment in saying what I " No," I said. " I venture to think that I
wanted to say, before the lawyer found his thoroughly understand it."
way into Mr. Blake's room. She was far above the paltry affectation of
" You have travelled here, I believe, in com- being confused. She answered me as she might
pany with Mrs. Merridew and Miss Verinder ? " have answered a brother or a father.
said. " You have relieved me of indescribable
"Yes," answered Mr. Bruff, as drily as wretchedness ; you have given me a new life.
might be. How can I be ungrateful enough to have any
"Miss Verinder has probably told you, that concealments from you ? I love him," she said
I wish her presence in the house (and Mrs. simply, " I have loved him from first to last-
Merridew's presence of course ), to be kept a even when I was wronging him in my own
secret from Mr. Blake, until my experiment on thoughts ; even when I was saying the hardest
him has been tried first ? " and the cruellest words to him. Is there any
66
I know that I am to hold my tongue, sir ! " | excuse for me in that ? I hope there is-I am
said Mr. Bruff impatiently . Being habitually afraid it is the only excuse I have. When to-
silent on the subject of human folly, I am all morrow comes, and he knows that I am in the
the readier to keep my lips closed on this house, do you think- ?"
occasion. Does that satisfy you ? " She stopped again, and looked at me very
I bowed, and left Betteredge to show him earnestly.
to his room. Betteredge gave me one look at "When to-morrow comes," I said, " I think
parting, which said, as if in so many words, you have"" only to tell him what you have just
"You have caught a Tartar, Mr. Jennings- told me.'
and the name of him is Bruff." Her face brightened ; she came a step nearer
It was next necessary to get the meeting to me. Her fingers trifled nervously with a
over with the two ladies. I descended the flower which I had picked in the garden, and
stairs -a little nervously, I confess - on my which I had put into the buttonhole of my coat.""
way to Miss Verinder's sitting-room. " You have seen a great deal of him lately,
The gardener's wife (charged with looking she said. " Have you, really and truly, seen
after the accommodation of the ladies) met me that ? "
in the first-floor corridor. This excellent woman "Really and truly," I answered. " I am
treats me with an excessive civility which is quite certain of what will happen to-morrow.
plainly the offspring of downright terror. She I wish I could feel as certain of what will
stares, trembles, and curtseys whenever I speak happen to-night. "
to her. On my asking for Miss Verinder, she At that point in the conversation, we were
stared, trembled, and would no doubt have interrupted by the appearance of Betteredge
curtseyed next, if Miss Verinder herself had with the tea-tray. He gave me another signifi-
not cut that ceremony short by suddenly cant look as he passed on into the sitting-room.
opening her sitting-room door. ' Aye ! aye ! make your hay while the sun
66 Is that Mr. Jennings ? " she asked. shines. The Tartar's upstairs, Mr. Jennings-
Before I could answer, she came out eagerly the Tartar's upstairs ! "
to speak to me in the corridor. We met under We followed him into the room. A little old
the light of a lamp on a bracket. At the first lady, in a corner, very nicely dressed, and very
sight of me, Miss Verinder stopped, and hesi- deeplyabsorbed over a smartpiece of embroidery,
tated. She recovered herself instantly, coloured dropped her work in her lap, and uttered a faint
 THE MOONSTONE 169

little scream at the first sight of my gipsy To my surprise, I found him alone ; restlessly
complexion and my piebald hair. pacing his room, and a little irritated at being
" Mrs. Merridew," said Miss Verinder, " this left by himself.
is Mr. Jennings . "" " Where is Mr. Bruff ? " I asked.
" I beg Mr. Jennings's pardon," said the old He pointed to the closed door of communi-
lady, looking at Miss Verinder, and speaking cation between the two rooms. Mr. Bruff had
at me. " Railway travelling always makes me looked in on him for a moment ; had attempted
nervous. I am endeavouring to quiet my mind to renew his protest against our proceedings ;
by occupying myself as usual. I don't know and had once more failed to produce the small-
whether my embroidery is out of place on this est impression on Mr. Blake. Upon this, the
extraordinary occasion. If it interferes with lawyer had taken refuge in a black leather
Mr. Jennings's medical views, I shall be happy bag, filled to bursting with professional papers,
to put it away of course." "The serious business of life," he admitted,
I hastened to sanction the presence of the 66 was sadly out of place on such an occasion
embroidery, exactly as I had sanctioned the as the present. But the serious business of
absence of the burst buzzard and the Cupid's life must be carried on for all that. Mr.
wing. Mrs. Merridew made an effort-a grate- Blake would perhaps kindly make allowance
ful effort to look at my hair. No ! it was not for the old-fashioned habits of a practical man.
to be done. Mrs. Merridew looked back again Time was money-and, as for Mr. Jennings, he
at Miss Verinder. might depend on it that Mr. Bruff would be
" If Mr. Jennings will permit me," pursued forthcoming when called upon." With that
the old lady, " I should like to ask a favour. apology, the lawyer had gone back to his own
Mr. Jennings is about to try a scientific experi- room, and had immersed himself obstinately
ment to-night. I used to attend scientific ex- in his black bag.
periments when I was a girl at school. They in- I thought of Mrs. Merridew and her em-
variably ended in an explosion. If Mr Jennings broidery, and of Betteredge and his conscience.
will be so very kind , I should like to be warned There is a wonderful sameness in the solid side
of the explosion this time. With a view to of the English character-just as there is a
getting it over, if possible, before I go to bed." wonderful sameness in the solid expression of
I attempted to assure Mrs. Merridew that an the English face.
explosion was not included in the programme "When are you going to give me the lauda-
on this occasion. num ?" asked Mr. Blake impatiently.
" No," said the old lady. "I am much "You must wait a little longer, " I said. " I
obliged to Mr. Jennings-I am aware that he is will stay
"" and keep you company till the time
only deceiving me for my own good. I prefer comes."
plain dealing. I am quite resigned to the ex- It was then not ten o'clock. Inquiries which
plosion- but I do want to get it over, if possible, I had made, at various times, of Betteredge
before I go to bed." and Mr. Blake, had led me to the conclusion
Here the door opened, and Mrs. Merridew that the dose of laudanum given by Mr. Candy
uttered anotherlittle scream. The advent ofthe could not possibly have been administered
explosion ? No : only the advent of Betteredge. before eleven. I had accordingly determined
I beg your pardon, Mr. Jennings," said not to try the second dose until that time.
Betteredge, in his most elaborately confidential We talked a little ; but both our minds were
manner. Mr. Franklin wishes to know where preoccupied by the coming ordeal. The conver-
you are. Being under your orders to deceive sation soon flagged-then dropped altogether.
him, in respect to the presence of my young Mr. Blake idly turned over the books on his
lady in the house, I have said I don't know. bedroom table. I had taken the precaution
That, you will please to observe, was a lie. of looking at them when we first entered
Having one foot already in the grave, sir, the the room. " The Guardian ; " "The Tatler ;"
fewer lies you expect me to tell, the more I Richardson's " Pamela ;'" Mackenzie's " Man
""
shall be indebted to you when my conscience of Feeling ; " Roscoe's " Lorenzo de' Medici ; '
pricks me and my time comes. and Robertson's " Charles the Fifth ". -all
There was not a moment to be wasted on the classical works ; all (of course) immeasurably
purely speculative question of Betteredge's con- superior to anything produced in later times ;
science. Mr. Blake might make his appearance and all (from my present point of view) pos-
in search of me, unless I went to him at once sessing the one great merit of enchaining
in his own room. Miss Verinder followed me nobody's interest, and exciting nobody's brain.
out into the corridor. I left Mr. Blake to the composing influence of
66
' They seem to be in a conspiracy to perse- Standard Literature, and occupied myself in
cute you," she said. "What does it mean ? " making this entry in my Journal.
66 My watch informs me that it is close on
Only the protest of the world, Miss Verinder
-on a ""very small scale-against anything that eleven o'clock. I must shut up these leaves
is new . once more.
" What are we to do with Mrs. Merridew ? "
" Tell her the explosion will take place at Two o'clock a.m. -The experiment has been
nine to-morrow morning." tried. With what result, I am now to describe.
" So as to send her to bed ? " At eleven o'clock, I rang the bell for Better-
" Yes-so as to send her to bed." edge, and told Mr. Blake that he might at last
Miss Verinder went back to the sitting-room, prepare himself for bed.
and I went upstairs to Mr. Blake, I looked out of window at the night. It was
170 THE MOONSTONE

mild and rainy, resembling, in this respect, the | do ? " he asked. 66'Mr. Bruff, you have no more
night of the birthday- the twenty-first of June imagination than a cow ! "
last year. Without professing to believe in "A cow is a very useful animal, Mr. Blake,"
omens, it was at least encouraging to find no said the lawyer. With that reply, he followed:
direct nervous influences-no stormy or electric me out of the room, still keeping his papers in
perturbations in the atmosphere. Betteredge his hand.
joined me at the window, and mysteriously put We found Miss Verinder, pale and agitated,
a little slip of paper into my hand. It con- restlessly pacing her sitting-room from end to
tained these lines : end. At a table in a corner stood Betteredge,
" Mrs. Merridew has gone to bed, on the on guard over the medicine-chest. Mr. Bruff sat
distinct understanding that the explosion is down on the first chair that he could find, and
to take place at nine to-morrow morning, and ( emulating the usefulness of the cow) plunged
that I am not to stir out of this part of the back again into his papers on the spot.
house until she comes and sets me free. She Miss Verinder drew me aside, and reverted
has no idea that the chief scene of the experi- instantly to her one all-absorbing interest-her
ment is my sitting-room- or she would have interest in Mr. Blake.
remained in it for the whole night ! I am "How is he now ? " she asked. "Is he ner-
alone, and very anxious. Pray let me see you vous ? is he out of temper ? Do you think it
measure out the laudanum ; I want to have will succeed ? Are you sure it will do no
something to do with it, even in the unim- harm ? "
portant character of a mere looker-on.-R. V." " Quite sure. Come and see me measure it
I followed Betteredge out of the room, and out. "
told him to remove the medicine-chest into " One moment ! It is past eleven now. How
Miss Verinder's sitting- room. long will it be before anything happens ?"
The order appeared to take him completely "It is not easy to say. An hour perhaps. "
by surprise. He looked as if he suspected me "I suppose the room must be dark, as it was
of
66 some occult medical design on Miss Verinder ! last 66 year ? "
Might I presume to ask," he said, " what my Certainly."
young lady and the medicine-chest have got to " I shall wait in my bedroom-just as I did
do with each other ? " before. I shall keep the door a little way open.
Stay in the sitting-room, and you will It was a little way open last year. I will watch
see. "" the sitting-room door ; and the moment it moves,
Betteredge appeared to doubt his own un- I will blow out my light. It all happened in
aided capacity to superintend me effectually, that way on my birthday night. And it
on an occasion when a medicine-chest was must all happen again in the same way,
included in the proceedings . mustn't it ? "
" Is there any objection, sir, " he asked, "to "Are you sure you can control yourself, Miss
taking Mr. Bruff into this part of the business ?!" Verinder ? "
" Quite the contrary ! I am now going to "In his interests, I can do anything ! " she
ask Mr. Bruff to accompany me downstairs.' answered fervently.
Betteredge withdrew to fetch the medicine- One look at her face told me that I could
chest without another word. I went back into trust her. I addressed myself again to Mr. Bruff.
Mr. Blake's room , and knocked at the door of " I must trouble you to put your papers aside
communication. Mr. Bruff opened it, with his for a moment," I said.
papers in his hand-immersed in Law ; im- "Oh, certainly ! " He got up with a start-
penetrable to Medicine. as if I had disturbed him at a particularly
" I am sorry to disturb you," I said. " But interesting place-and followed me to the
I am going to prepare the laudanum for Mr. medicine-chest. There, deprived of the breath-
Blake ; and I must request you to be present, less excitement incidental to the practice of
and to see what I do. " his profession, he looked at Betteredge-and
"Yes ?" said Mr. Bruff, with nine-tenths of yawned wearily.
his attention riveted on his papers, and with Miss Verinder joined me with a glass jug of
one-tenth unwillingly accorded to me. "Any- cold water, which she had taken from a side-
thing else ? " table. "Let me pour out the water," she
" I must trouble you to return here with me, whispered. “ I must have a hand in it ! "
and to see me administer the dose." I measured out the forty minims from the
86
Anything else ? " bottle, and poured the laudanum into a medi-
One thing more. I must put you to the cine glass. Fill it till it is three parts full,"
inconvenience of remaining in Mr. Blake's I said, and handed the glass to Miss Verinder.
room, and of waiting to see what happens." I then directed Betteredge to lock upthe
' Oh, very good !" said Mr. Bruff. " My medicine-chest ; informing him that I had
room, or Mr. Blake's room-it doesn't matter done with it now. A look of unutterable relief
which ; I can go on with my papers anywhere. overspread the old servant's countenance. He
Unless you object, Mr. Jennings, to my im- had evidently suspected me of a medical design
porting that amount of common sense into the on his young lady !
proceedings ? " After adding the water as I had directed,
Before I could answer, Mr. Blake addressed Miss Verinder seized a moment while Better-
himself to the lawyer, speaking from his bed. edge was locking the chest, and while Mr. Bruff
" Do you really mean to say that you don't was looking back at his papers-and slyly kissed
feel any interest in what we are going to the rim of the medicine glass. 66 When you
 THE MOONSTONE 17.1

give it to him," said the charming girl, " give imaginative mind. As for Betteredge, con-
it to him on that side ! " sistency of principle and dignity of conduct
I took the piece of crystal which was to had become, in his case, mere empty words.
represent the Diamond from my pocket, and He forgot that I was performing a conjuring
gave it to her. trick on Mr. Franklin Blake ; he forgot that I
"You must have a hand in this too, " I said. had upset the house from top to bottom ; he
" You must put it where you put the Moon- forgot that I had not read " Robinson Crusoe "
stone last year." since I was a child. " For the Lord's sake,
She led the way to the Indian cabinet, and sir, " he whispered to me, " tell us when it
put the mock Diamond into the drawer which will begin to work."
the real Diamond had occupied on the birthday (6 " Not before midnight," I whispered back.
night. Mr. Bruff witnessed this proceeding ' Say nothing, and sit still."
under protest, as he had witnessed everything Betteredge dropped to the lowest depth of
else. But the strong dramatic interest which familiarity with me, without a struggle to
the experiment was now assuming proved (to save himself. He answered by a wink !
my great amusement) to be too much for Looking next towards Mr. Blake, I found
Betteredge's capacity of self-restraint. His him as restless as ever in his bed ; fretfully
hand trembled as he held the candle, and he wondering why the influence of the laudanum
whispered anxiously, " Are you sure, miss, it's had not begun to assert itself yet. To tell
the right drawer ? " him, in his present humour, that the more he
I led the way out again, with the laudanum fidgeted and wondered, the longer he would
and water in my hand. At the door I stopped delay the result for which we were now waiting,
to address a last word to Miss Verinder. would have been simply useless. The wiser
" Don't be long in putting out the lights," I course to take was to dismiss the idea of the
said. opium from his mind, by leading him insensibly
"I will put them out at once," she answered.
66' And to think of something else.
I will wait in my bedroom, with only With this view I encouraged him to talk
one candle alight." to me ; contriving so to direct the conversation,
She closed the sitting-room door behind us. on my side, as to lead it back again to the
Followed by Mr. Bruff and Betteredge, I went subject which had engaged us earlier in the
back to Mr. Blake's room. evening-the subject of the Diamond. I took
We found him moving restlessly from side to care to revert to those portions of the story of
side of the bed, and wondering irritably whether the Moonstone which related to the transport
he was to have the laudanum that night. In of it from London to Yorkshire : to the risk
the presence of the two witnesses, I gave him which Mr. Blake had run in removing it from
the dose, and shook up his pillows, and told the bank at Frizinghall : and to the unexpected
him to lie down again quietly and wait. appearance of the Indians at the house on the
His bed, provided with light chintz curtains, evening of the birthday. And I purposely as-
was placed with the head against the wall of sumed, in referring to these events, to have
the room, so as to leave a good open space on misunderstood much of what Mr. Blake him-
either side of it. On one side, I drew the self had told me a few hours since. In this
curtains completely-and in the part of the way, I set him talking on the subject with
room thus screened from his view, I placed Mr. which it was now vitally important to fill his
Bruff and Betteredge, to wait for the result. mind-without allowing him to suspect that I
At the bottom of the bed, I half drew the was making him talk for a purpose. Little by
curtains and placed my own chair at a little little, he became so interested in putting me
distance, so that I might let him see me or not right that he forgot to iidget in the bed. His
see me, speak to me or not speak to me, just as mind was far away from the question of the
the circumstances might direct. Having already opium, at the all-important time when his eyes
been informed that he always slept with a light first told me that the opium was beginning to
in the room, I placed one of the two lighted lay its hold on his brain.
candles on a little table at the head of the bed, I looked at my watch. It wanted five
where the glare of the light would not strike minutes to twelve, when the premonitory
on his eyes. The other candle I gave to Mr. symptoms of the working of the laudanum
Bruff ; the light, in this instance, being sub- first showed themselves to me.
dued by the screen of the chintz curtains. The At this time, no unpractised eyes would have
window was open at the top, so as to ventilate detected any change in him. But, as the
the room . The rain fell softly, the house was minutes of the new morning wore away, the
quiet. It was twenty minutes past eleven, by swiftly subtle progress of the influence began
my watch, when the preparations were com- to show itself more plainly. The sublime in-
pleted, and I took my place on the chair set toxication of opium gleamed in his eyes ; the
apart at the bottom of the bed. dew of a stealthy perspiration began to glisten
Mr. Bruff resumed his papers, with every on his face. In five minutes more the talk
appearance of being as deeply interested in which he still kept up with me failed in coher-
them as ever. But looking towards him now, ence. He held steadily to the subject of the
I saw certain signs and tokens which told me Diamond ; but he ceased to complete his sen-
that the Law was beginning to lose its hold on tences. A little later, the sentences dropped
him at last. The suspended interest of the to single words. Then there was an interval
situation in which we were now placed was of silence. Then he sat up in bed. Then,
slowly asserting its influence even on his un- still busy with the subject of the Diamond, he
172 THE MOONSTONE

began to talk again—not to me, but to himself. breathless moment. There was a pause of some
That change told me that the first stage in the sort. A pause in the action of the opium ? a
experiment was reached. The stimulant in- pause in the action of the brain ? Who could-
fluence of the opium had got him. tell ? Everything depended , now, on what he
The time, now, was twenty-three minutes did next.
past twelve. The next half hour, at most, He laid himself down again on the bed !
would decide the question of whether he would, A horrible doubt crossed my mind. Was it
or would not, get up from his bed, and leave possible that the sedative action of the opium
the room. was making itself felt already ? It was not in
In the breathless interest of watching him my experience that it should do this. But what
in the unutterable triumph of seeing the first is experience where opium is concerned ? There
result of the experiment declare itself in the are probably no two men in existence on whom
manner, and nearly at the time, which I had the drug acts in exactly the same manner. Was
anticipated-I had utterly forgotten the two some constitutional peculiarity in him feeling
companions of my night vigil. Looking to- the influence in some new way ? Were we to
wards them now, I saw the Law (as repre- fail on the very brink of success ?
sented by Mr. Bruff's papers) lying unheeded No! He got up again abruptly. " How the
on the floor. Mr. Bruff himself was looking devil am I to sleep," he said , " with this on my
eagerly through a crevice left in the imper- mind ?"
fectly drawn curtains of the bed. And Bet- He looked at the light burning on the table
teredge, oblivious of all respect for social at the head of his bed. After a moment, he
distinctions, was peeping over Mr. Bruff's took the candle in his hand.
shoulder. I blew out the second candle burning behind
They both started back on finding that I was the closed curtains. I drew back, with Mr.
looking at them, like two boys caught out by Bruff and Betteredge, into the farthest corner
their schoolmaster in a fault. I signed to them by the bed. I signed to them to be silent, as
to take off their boots quietly, as I was taking if their lives had depended on it.
off mine. If Mr. Blake gave us the chance of We waited - seeing and hearing nothing.
following him, it was vitally necessary to follow We waited, hidden from him by the curtains.
him without noise. The light which he was holding on the other
Ten minutes passed -and nothing happened. side of us moved suddenly. The next moment
Then he suddenly threw the bed-clothes off he passed us, swift and noiseless, with the candle
him. He put one leg out of bed. He waited. in his hand.
" I wish I had never taken it out of the He opened the bedroom door, and went out.
bank," he said to himself. " It was safe in the We followed him along the corridor. We
bank." followed him down the stairs. We followed him
My heart throbbed fast ; the pulses at my along the second corridor. He never looked
temples beat furiously. The doubt about the back ; he never hesitated.
safety of the Diamond was once more the domi- He opened the sitting-room door, and went
nant impression in his brain ! On that one pivot in, leaving it open behind him.
the whole success of the experiment turned. The door was hung (like all the other doors in
The prospect thus suddenly opened before me the house) on large old-fashioned hinges. When
was too much for my shattered nerves. I was it was opened, a crevice was opened between
obliged to look away from him-or I should the door and the post. I signed to my two
have lost my self- control. companions to look through this, so as to keep
There was another interval of silence. them from showing themselves. I placed my-
When I could trust myself to look back at self-outside the door also-on the opposite
him, he was out of his bed, standing erect at side. A recess in the wall was at my left hand,
the side of it. The pupils of his eyes were now in which I could instantly hide myself, if he
contracted ; his eyeballs gleamed in the light showed any signs of looking back into the
of the candle as he moved his head slowly to corridor.
and fro. He was thinking ; he was doubting He advanced to the middle of the room, with
-he spoke again. the candle still in his hand : he looked about
" How do I know ? " he said. " The Indians him- but he never looked back.
may be hidden in the house." I saw the door of Miss Verinder's bedroom
He stopped, and walked slowly to the other standing ajar. She had put out her light. She
end of the room. He turned- waited-came controlled herself nobly. The dim white out-
back to the bed. line of her summer dress was all that I could
"It's not even locked up," he went on. "It's see. Nobody who had not known it beforehand
in the drawer of her cabinet. And the drawer would have suspected that there was a living
doesn't lock." creature in the room. She kept back, in the
He sat down on the side of the bed. " Any- dark : not a word, not a movement escaped her.
body might take it," he said. It was now ten minutes past one. I heard,
He rose again restlessly, and reiterated his through the dead silence, the soft drip of the
first words. rain and the tremulous passage of the night air
" How do I know ? The Indians may be through the trees.
hidden in the house." After waiting irresolute, for a minute or more,
He waited again. I drew back behind the half in the middle of the room, he moved to the
curtain of the bed. He looked about the room, corner near the window, where the Indian
with a vacant glitter in his eyes. It was a cabinet stood.
 THE MOONSTONE 173

He put his candle on the top of the cabinet, | of her room, with a light shawl, and with the
He opened and shut one drawer after another counterpane from her own bed.
until he came to the drawer in which the mock "Do youmean to watch him while he sleeps ? "
Diamond was put. He looked into the drawer she asked.
for a moment. Then he took the mock Diamond " Yes. I am not sure enough of the action
out with his right hand. With the other hand of the opium, in his case, to be willing to leave
he took the candle from the top of the cabinet. him alone."
He walked back a few steps towards the She handed me the shawl and the counter-
middle of the room, and stood still again. pane.
Thus far, he had exactly repeated what he "Why should you disturb him ? " she whis-
had done on the birthday night. Would his pered. " Make his bed on the sofa. I can
next proceeding be the same as the proceed- shut my door, and keep in my room."
ing of last year ? Would he leave the room ? It was infinitely the simplest and the safest
Would he go back now, as I believed he had way of disposing of him for the night. I
gone back then, to his bedchamber ? Would mentioned the suggestion to Mr. Bruff and
he show us what he had done with the Diamond, Betteredge- who both approved of my adopt-
when he had returned to his own room ? ing it. In five minutes, I had laid him comfort-
His first action, when he moved once more, ably on the sofa, and had covered him lightly
proved to be an action which he had not per- with the counterpane and the shawl. Miss
formed when he was under the influence of Verinder wished us good -night, and closed the
the opium for the first time. He put the candle door. At my request, we three then drew
down on a table, and wandered on a little round the table in the middle of the room ,
towards the farther end of the room. There on which the candle was still burning, and on
was a sofa here. He leaned heavily on the which writing materials were placed.
back of it with his left hand-then roused " Before we separate," I began, " I have a
himself, and returned to the middle of the word to say about the experiment which has
room. I could now see his eyes. They were been tried to-night. Two distinct objects were
getting dull and heavy ; the glitter in them to be gained by it. The first of these objects
was fast dying out. was to prove, that Mr. Blake entered this room ,
The suspense of the moment proved too much and took the Diamond, last year, acting un-
for Miss Verinder's self- control. She advanced consciously and irresponsibly, under the influ-
a few steps- then stopped again. Mr. Bruff ence of opium. After what you have both seen ,
and Betteredge looked across the open doorway are you both satisfied , so far ? ”
at me for the first time. The prevision of a They answered me in the affirmative, without
coming disappointment was impressing itself a moment's hesitation.
on their minds as well as on mine. " The second object," I went on, 66 was to
Still, so long as he stood where he was, there discover what he did with the Diamond, after
was hope. We waited, in unutterable expecta- he was seen by Miss Verinder to leave her
tion, to see what would happen next. sitting-room with the jewel in his hand, on the
The next event was decisive. He let the birthday night. The gaining of this object
mock Diamond drop out of his hand. depended, of course, on his still continuing
It fell on the floor, before the doorway- exactly to repeat his proceedings of last year.
plainly visible to him, and to every one. He He has failed to do that ; and the purpose of
made no effort to pick it up : he looked down the experiment is defeated accordingly. I can't
at it vacantly, and, as he looked, his head sank assert that I am not disappointed at the result
on his breast. He staggered-roused himself -but I can honestly say that I am not surprised
for an instant- walked back unsteadily to the by it. I told Mr. Blake from the first that our
sofa and sat down on it. He made a last complete success in this matter depended on
effort ; he tried to rise, and sank back. His our completely reproducing in him the phy-
head fell on the sofa cushions. It was then sical and moral conditions of last year-and I
twenty-five minutes past one o'clock. Before warned him that this was the next thing to a
I had put my watch back in my pocket, he downright impossibility. We have only par-
was asleep. tially reproduced the conditions, and the ex-
It was all over now. The sedative influence periment has been only partially successful in
had got him ; the experiment was at an end. consequence. It is also possible that I may
have administered too large a dose of laudanum.
I entered the room, telling Mr. Bruff and But I myself look upon the first reason that I
Betteredge that they might follow me. There have given as the true reason why we have to
was no fear of disturbing him. We were free lament a failure, as well as to rejoice over a
to move and speak. success."
" The first thing to settle," I said, " is the After saying those words, I put the writing
question of what we are to do with him. He materials before Mr. Bruff, and asked him if he
will probably sleep for the next six or seven had any objection- before we separated for the
hours at least. It is some distance to carry night- to draw out and sign a plain statement
him back to his own room. When I was of what he had seen. He at once took the pen,
younger, I could have done it alone. But my and produced the statement with the fluent
health and strength are not what they were readiness of a practised hand.
I am afraid I must ask you to help me." 'I owe you this," he said, signing the paper,
Before they could answer, Miss Verinder as some atonement for what passed between
called to me softly. She met me at the door us earlier in the evening. I beg your pardon,
174 THE MOONSTONE

Mr. Jennings, for having doubted you. You Is it necessary to mention that I gave way ?
have done Franklin Blake an inestimable ser- Surely not !
vice. In our legal phrase, you have proved She drew a chair to the foot of the sofa. She
your case." looked at him, in a silent ecstasy of happiness,
Betteredge's apology was characteristic of till the tears rose in her eyes. She dried her
the man. eyes, and said she would fetch her work. She
" Mr. Jennings ," he said, "when you read fetched her work, and never did a single stitch
' Robinson Crusoe ' again (which I strongly of it. It lay in her lap-she was not even able
recommend you to do), you will find that he to look away from him long enough to thread
never scruples to acknowledge it, when he turns her needle. I thought of my own youth ; I
out to have been in the wrong. Please to con- thought of the gentle eyes which had once
sider me, sir, as doing what Robinson Crusoe looked love at me. In the heaviness of my
did, on the present occasion." With those heart, I turned to my Journal for relief, and
words he signed the paper in his turn. wrote in it what is written here.
Mr. Bruff took me aside, as we rose from the So we kept our watch together in silence.
table. One of us absorbed in his writing ; the other
" One word about the Diamond," he said. absorbed in her love.
" Your theory is that Franklin Blake hid the Hour after hour he lay in his deep sleep.
Moonstone in his room. My theory is, that the The light of the new day grew and grew in the
Moonstone is in the possession of Mr. Luker's room, and still he never moved.
bankers in London. We won't dispute which of Towards six o'clock, I felt the warning which
us is right. We will only ask, which of us is in told me that my pains were coming back. I
a position to put his theory"" to the test ?" was obliged to leave her alone with him for a
" The test, in my case, I answered, " has little while. I said I would go upstairs, and
been tried to-night, and has failed." fetch another pillow for him out of his room.
" The test, in my case," rejoined Mr. Bruff, It was not a long attack this time. In a little
" is still in process of trial. For the last two while I was able to venture back, and let her
days I have had a watch set for Mr. Luker at see me again.
the bank ; and I shall cause that watch to be I found her at the head of the sofa when I
continued until the last day of the month, I returned. She was just touching his forehead
know that he must take the Diamond himself with her lips. I shook my head as soberly as I
out of his bankers' hands—and I am acting on could, and pointed to her chair. She looked
the chance that the person who has pledged back at me with a bright smile, and a charming
the Diamond may force him to do this, by re- colour in her face, " You would have done it,""
deeming the pledge. In that case, I may be she whispered, " in my place ! "
able to lay my hand on the person. If I suc-
ceed, I clear up the mystery, exactly at the
point where the mystery baffles us now ! Do It is just eight o'clock. He is beginning to
you admit that, so far ? " move for the first time.
I admitted it readily. Miss Verinder is kneeling by the side of the
"I am going back to town by the morning sofa. She has so placed herself that when his
train, " pursued the lawyer. " I may hear, when eyes first open, they must open on her face,
I return, that a discovery has been made-and Shall I leave them together ?
Yes !
it may be of the greatest importance that I
should have Franklin Blake at hand to appeal
to, if necessary. I intend to tell him, as soon Eleven o'clock. -The house is empty again.
as he wakes, that he must return with me to They have arranged it among themselves ; they
London. After all that has happened, may I have all gone to London by the ten o'clock
trust to your influence to back me ?" train. My brief dream of happiness is over. I
66 Certain ly ! " I said. have awakened again to the realities of my
Mr. Bruff shook hands 'with me, and left the friendless and lonely life.
room . Betteredge followed him out. I dare not trust myself to write down the kind
words that have been said to me-especially by
I went to the sofa to look at Mr. Blake. He Miss Verinder and Mr. Blake. Besides, it is
had not moved since I had laid him down and needless. Those words will come back to me
made his bed-he lay locked in a deep and in my solitary hours, and will help me through
quiet sleep. what is left of the end of my life. Mr. Blake
While I was still looking at him, I heard the is to write, and tell me what happens in London.
bedroom door softly opened . Once more Miss Miss Verinder is to return to Yorkshire in the
Verinder appeared on the threshold, in her autumn (for her marriage, no doubt) ; and I am
pretty summer dress. to take a holiday, and be a guest in the house.
" Do me a last favour," she whispered. Oh me, how I felt it, as the grateful happiness
" Let me watch him with you. " looked at me out of her eyes, and the warm
I hesitated- not in the interests of propriety ; pressure of her hand said, " This is your doing ! "
only in the interest of her night's rest. She My poor patients are waiting for me. Back
came close to me, and took my hand. • again, this morning, to the old routine ! Back
" I can't sleep ; I can't even sit still, in my again, to-night, to the dreadful alternative be-
own room," she said. " Oh, Mr. Jennings, if tween the opium and the pain !
you were me, only think how you would long to God be praised for His mercy ! I have seen
sit and look at him. Say yes ! Do ! " a little sunshine-I have had a happy time.
 THE MOONSTONE 175

FIFTH NARRATIVE

The Story resumed by FRANKLIN BLAKE

CHAPTER I in which the explosion had conducted itself ;

and Betteredge was accordingly informed that
BUT few words are needed, on my part, to com- we were all four to travel back together by the
plete the narrative that has been presented in morning train. I fully expected that he would
the Journal of Ezra Jennings. have asked leave to accompany us. But Rachel
Of myself, I have only to say that I awoke had wisely provided her faithful old servant
on the morning of the twenty-sixth, perfectly with an occupation that interested him. He
ignorant of all that I had said and done under was charged with completing the refurnishing
the influence of the opium-from the time when of the house, and was too full of his domestic""
the drug first laid its hold on me, to the time responsibilities to feel the " detective-fever '
when I opened my eyes in Rachel's sitting-room. as he might have felt it under other circum-
Of what happened after my waking, I do not stances.
feel called upon to render an account in detail. Our one subject of regret, in going to
Confining myself merely to results, I have to London, was the necessity of parting, more
report that Rachel and I thoroughly understood abruptly than we could have wished, with Ezra
each other before a single word of explanation Jennings. It was impossible to persuade him
had passed on either side. I decline to account, to accompany us. I could only promise to
and Rachel declines to account, for the extra- write to him-and Rachel could only insist on
ordinary rapidity of our reconciliation. Sir and his coming to see her when she returned to
Madam, look back at the time when you were Yorkshire. There was every prospect of our
passionately attached to each other- and you meeting again in a few months-and yet there
will know what happened, after Ezra Jennings was something very sad in seeing our best and
had shut the door of the sitting-room, as well dearest friend left standing alone on the plat-
as I know it myself. form, as the train moved out of the station.
I have, however, no objection to add, that On our arrival in London, Mr. Bruff was ac-
we should have been certainly discovered by costed at the terminus by a small boy, dressed
Mrs. Merridew, but for Rachel's presence of in a jacket and trousers of threadbare black
mind. She heard the sound of the old lady's cloth, and personally remarkable in virtue of
dress in the corridor ; and instantly ran out to the extraordinary prominence of his eyes. They
meet her. I heard Mrs. Merridew say, " What projected so far, and they rolled about so
is the matter ? " and I heard Rachel answer, loosely, that you wondered uneasily why they
"The explosion ! " Mrs. Merridew instantly remained in their sockets. After listening to
permitted herself to be taken by the arm, and the boy, Mr. Bruff asked the ladies whether
led into the garden , out of the way of the im- they would excuse our accompanying them
pending shock. On her return to the house, back to Portland Place. I had barely time to
she met me in the hall, and expressed herself promise Rachel that I would return, and tell
as greatly struck by the vast improvement in her everything that had happened, before Mr.
Science, since the time when she was a girl at Bruff seized me by the arm , and hurried me
school. 66 Explosions, Mr. Blake, are infinitely into a cab. The boy with the ill-secured eyes
milder than they were. I assure you, I barely took his place on the box by the driver, and the
heard Mr. Jennings's explosion from the garden. driver was directed to go to Lombard Street.
And no smell afterwards, that I can detect, "News from the bank ? " I asked, as we
now we have come back to the house ! I must started.
really apologise to your medical friend. It is "News of Mr. Luker, " said Mr. Bruff. " An
only due to him to say, that he has managed it hour ago, he was seen to leave his house at
beautifully !" Lambeth, in a cab, accompanied by two men,
So after vanquishing Betteredge and Mr. who were recognised by my men as police officers
Bruff, Ezra Jennings vanquished Mrs. Merri- in plain clothes. If Mr. Luker's dread of the
dew herself. There is a great deal of unde- Indians is at the bottom of this precaution, the
veloped liberal feeling in the world after all ! inference is plain enough. He is going to take
At breakfast, Mr. Bruff made no secret of the Diamond out of the bank.”
his reasons for wishing that I should accom- " And we are going to the bank to see what
pany him to London by the morning train. The comes of it ? "
watch kept at the bank, and the result which "Yes- or to hear what has come of it, if it
might yet come of it, appealed so irresistibly is all over by this time. Did you notice my
to Rachel's curiosity, that she at once decided boy--on the box, there ? "
(if Mrs. Merridew had no objection) on accom- "I noticed his eyes.'
panying us back to town- so as to be within Mr. Bruff laughed . "They call the poor
reach of the earliest news of our proceedings. little wretch Gooseberry ' at the office," he
Mrs. Merridew proved to be all pliability and said. " I employ him to go on errands-and I
indulgence, after the truly considerate manner only wish my clerks who have nicknamed him
176 THE MOONSTONE

were as thoroughly to be depended on as he | to be seen. He looked behind him for his

is. Gooseberry is one of the sharpest boys in attendant sprite. Gooseberry had disappeared.
"" "What the devil does it mean ? " said Mr.
London, Mr. Blake, in spite of his eyes.'
It was twenty minutes to five when we drew Bruff angrily. "They have both left us at the
up before the bank in Lombard Street. Goose- very time when we want them most."
berry looked longingly at his master as he It came to the turn of the man in the grey
opened the cab door. suit to transact his business at the counter.
"Do you want to come in too ? " asked Mr. He paid in a cheque- received a receipt for it
Bruff kindly. " Come in then, and keep at my -and turned to go out.
heels till further orders. He's as quick as " What is to be done ? " asked Mr. Bruff.
lightning," pursued Mr. Bruff, addressing me " We can't degrade ourselves by following him."
in a whisper. " Two words will do with Goose- " Ican ! " I said. " I wouldn't lose sight of
berry where twenty would be wanted with that man for ten thousand pounds ! "
another boy." "In that case," rejoined Mr. Bruff, " I
We entered the bank. The outer office-with wouldn't lose sight of you for twice the money.
the long counter, behind which the cashiers sat A nice occupation for a man in my position,"
-was crowded with people ; all waiting their he muttered to himself, as we followed the
turn to take money out, or to pay money in, stranger out of the bank. "For Heaven's sake,
before the bank closed at five o'clock. don't mention it. I should be ruined if it was
Two men among the crowd approached Mr. known."
Bruff, as soon as he showed himself. The man in the grey suit got into an omnibus,
"Well," asked the lawyer. " Have you seen going westward. We got in after him. There
him ? " were latent reserves of youth still left in Mr.
"He passed us here half an hour since, sir, Bruff. I assert it positively when he took his
and went on into the inner office." seat in the omnibus, he blushed !
" Has he not come out again yet ? " The man with the grey suit stopped the
"No, sir." omnibus, and got out in Oxford Street. We
Mr. Bruff turned to me. " Let us wait," he followed him again. He went into a chemist's
said. shop.
I looked round among the people about me Mr. Bruff started. 66 My chemist ! " he ex-
for the three Indians. Not a sign of them claimed. " I am afraid we have made a
was to be seen anywhere. The only person mistake."
present with a noticeably dark complexion was We entered the shop. Mr. Bruff and the
a tall man in a pilot coat and a round hat, who proprietor exchanged a few words in private.
looked like a sailor. Could this be one of them The lawyer joined me again, with a very crest-
in disguise ? Impossible ! The man was taller fallen face.
than any of the Indians ; and his face, where "It's greatly to our credit," he said, as he
it was not hidden by a bushy black beard, was took my arm, and led me out " that's one
twice the breadth of any of their faces at comfort ! "
least. "What is to our credit ? " I asked.
"They must have their spy somewhere," said " Mr. Blake ! you and I are the two worst
Mr. Bruff, looking at the dark sailor in his amateur detectives that ever tried their hands
turn. " And he may be the man.' at the trade. The man in the grey suit has
Before he could say more, his coat-tail was been thirty years in the chemist's service. He
respectfully pulled by his attendant sprite with was sent to the bank to pay money to his
the gooseberry eyes. Mr. Bruff looked where master's account- and he knows no more of
the boy was looking. " Hush ! " he said. " Here the Moonstone than the babe unborn."
is Mr. Luker !" I asked what was to be done next.
The money-lender came out from the inner
66 " Come back to my office," said Mr. Bruff.
regions of the bank, followed by his two Gooseberry and my second man have evi-
guardian
66 policemen in plain clothes. dently followed somebody else. Let us hope
Keep your eye on him," whispered Mr. that they had their eyes about them at any rate! "
Bruff. " If he passes the Diamond to anybody, When we reached Gray's Inn Square, the
he will pass it here." second man had arrived there before us. He
Without noticing either of us, Mr. Luker had been waiting for more than a quarter of
slowly made his way to the door-now in the an hour. ‫وو‬
thickest, now in the thinnest part of the crowd. " Well ! asked Mr. Bruff. " What's your
I distinctly saw his hand move, as he passed a news ? "
short, stout man, respectably dressed in a suit " I am sorry to say, sir," replied the man,
of sober grey. The man started a little, and " that I have made a mistake. I could have
looked after him. Mr. Luker moved on slowly taken my oath that I saw Mr. Luker pass some-
through the crowd. At the door, his guard thing to an elderly gentleman in a light-
placed themselves on either side of him. They coloured paletot. The elderly gentleman turns
were all three followed by one of Mr. Bruff's out, sir, to be a most respectable master iron-
men- and I saw them no more. monger in Eastcheap."
I looked round at the lawyer, and then looked "Where is Gooseberry ? " asked Mr. Bruff
significantly towards the man in the suit of resignedly.
sober grey. " Yes ! " whispered Mr. Bruff, “ I The man stared. "I don't know, sir. I have
saw it too ! " He turned about, in search of seen nothing of him since I left the bank."
his second man. The second man was nowhere Mr, Bruff dismissed the man, " One of two
 THE MOONSTONE 177

things," he said to me. " Either Gooseberry grave and melancholy voice. The door opened.
has run away, or he is hunting on his own I started to my feet, and confronted-Sergeant
account. What do you say to dining here, on Cuff !
the chance that the boy may come back in an "I thought I would look in here, Mr. Blake,
hour or two ? I have got some good wine in on the chance of your being in town, before I
the cellar, and we can get a chop from the wrote to Yorkshire," said the Sergeant.
coffee-house." He was as dreary and as lean as ever. His
We dined at Mr. Bruff's chambers. Before eyes had not lost their old trick (so subtly
the cloth was removed, " a person was an- noticed in Betteredge's Narrative) of " looking
nounced as wanting to speak to the lawyer. as if they expected something more from you
Was the person Gooseberry ? No : only the than you were aware of yourself." But, so far
man who had been employed to follow Mr. as dress can alter a man, the great Cuff was
Luker when he left the bank. changed beyond all recognition. He wore a
The report, in this case, presented no feature broad-brimmed white hat, a light shooting
of the slightest interest. Mr. Luker had gone jacket, white trousers, and drab gaiters. He
back to his own house, and had there dismissed carried a stout oak stick. His whole aim and
his guard. He had not gone out again after- object seemed to be to look as if he had lived
wards. Towards dusk, the shutters had been in the country all his life. When I compli-
put up, and the doors had been bolted. The mented him on his Metamorphosis, he declined
street before the house and the alley behind to take it as a joke. He complained, quite
the house had been carefully watched. No gravely, of the noises and the smells of Lon-
signs of the Indians had been visible. No don. I declare I am far from sure that he
person whatever had been seen loitering about did not speak with a slightly rustic accent !
the premises. Having stated these facts, the I offered him breakfast. The innocent country-
man waited to know whether there were any man was quite shocked. His breakfast hour
further orders. Mr. Bruff dismissed him for was half-past six-and he went to bed with the
the night. cocks and hens !
" Do you think Mr. Luker has taken the "I only got back from Ireland last night,"
Moonstone home with him ?" I asked. said the Sergeant, coming round to the prac-
" Not he," said Mr. Bruff. " He would never tical object of his visit, in his own impenetrable
have dismissed his two policemen, if he had manner. " Before I went to bed, I read your
run the risk of keeping the Diamond in his letter, telling me what has happened since my
own house again." inquiry after the Diamond was suspended last
We waited another half-hour for the boy, year. There's only one thing to be said about
and waited in vain. It was then time for Mr. the matter on my side. I completely mistook
Bruff to go to Hampstead, and for me to re- my case. How any man living was to have
turn to Rachel in Portland Place. I left my seen things in their true light, in such a situa-
card in charge of the porter at the chambers, tion as mine was at the time, I don't profess to
with a line written on it to say that I should know. But that doesn't alter the facts as they
be at my lodgings at half-past ten that night. stand. I own that I made a mess of it. Not
The card was to be given to the boy, if the boy the first mess, Mr. Blake, which has distin-
came back. guished my professional career ! It's only in
Some men have a knack of keeping appoint- books that the officers of the detective force
ments ; and other men have a knack of missing are superior to the weakness of making a
them. I am one of the other men. Add to mistake."
this, that I passed the evening at Portland "You have come in the nick of time to re-
Place, on the same seat with Rachel, in a room cover your reputation," I said.
forty feet long, with Mrs. Merridew at the "I beg your pardon, Mr. Blake," rejoined
further end of it. Does anybody wonder that the Sergeant. "Now I have retired from busi-
I got home at half-past twelve instead of half- ness, I don't care a straw about my reputation.
past ten ? How thoroughly heartless that I have done with my reputation, thank God !
person must be ! And how earnestly I hope I │I am here, sir, in grateful remembrance of the
may never make that person's acquaintance ! late Lady Verinder's liberality to me. I will
My servant handed me a morsel of paper go back to my old work-if you want me, and
when he let me in. if you will trust me-on that consideration,
I read, in a neat legal handwriting, these and on no other. Not a farthing of money is
words :-"'If you please, sir, I am getting to pass, if you please, from you to me. This
sleepy. I will come back to-morrow morning is on honour. Now tell me, Mr. Blake, how
between nine and ten." Inquiry proved that a the case stands since you wrote to me last."
boy, with very extraordinary looking eyes, had I told him of the experiment with the opium,
called , had presented my card and message, and of what had occurred afterwards at the
had waited an hour, had done nothing but fall bank in Lombard Street. He was greatly
asleep and wake up again, had written a line struck by the experiment-it was something
for me, and had gone home - after gravely entirely new in his experience. And he was
informing the servant that " he was fit for particularly interested in the theory of Ezra
nothing unless he got his night's rest." Jennings, relating to what I had done with
At nine the next morning I was ready for the Diamond, after I had left Rachel's sitting-
my visitor. At half-past nine I heard steps room, on the birthday night.
outside my door. "Come in, Gooseberry ! " I "I don't hold with Mr. Jennings that you
called out, "Thank you, sir," answered a hid the Moonstone," said Sergeant Cuff. " But
178 THE MOONSTONE

I agree with him, that you must certainly have | beginning with the first question in the cate-
taken it back to your own room." chism .
" Well ? " I asked . "And what happened " Octavius Guy," answered the boy. "They
then ? " call me33 Gooseberry at the office because of my
" Have you no suspicion yourself of what eyes.'
happened, sir? " " Octavius Guy, otherwise Gooseberry," pur-
" None whatever." sued the Sergeant, with the utmost gravity,
" Has Mr. Bruff no suspicion ?" 66
you were missed at the bank yesterday.
" No more than I have." What were you about ? " ""
Sergeant Cuff rose, and went to my writing- "If you please, sir, I was following a man.'
table. He came back with a sealed envelope. 'Who was he ?"
It was marked " Private ; "" it was addressed " A tall man, sir, with a big black beard,
to me ; and it had the Sergeant's signature dressed like a sailor."
in the corner. "I remember the man ! " I broke in. " Mr.
" I suspected the wrong person last year," Bruff and I thought he was a spy, employed
he said ; and I may be suspecting the wrong by the Indians."
person now. Wait to open the envelope, Mr. Sergeant Cuff did not appear to be much im-
Blake, till you have got at the truth. And pressed by what Mr. Bruff and I had thought.
then compare the name of the guilty person He went on catechising Gooseberry.
with the name that I have written in that "Well ?" he said " and why did you follow
sealed letter." the sailor ? "
I put the letter into my pocket-and then "If you please, sir, Mr. Bruff wanted to know
asked for the Sergeant's opinion of the measures whether Mr. Luker passed anything to any-
which we had taken at the bank. body on his way out of the bank. I saw Mr.
"Very well intended , sir," he answered, "and Luker pass something to the sailor with the
quite the right thing to do. But there was black beard."
another person who ought to have been looked "Why didn't you tell Mr. Bruff what you
after besides Mr. Luker. " saw ?"
" The person named in the letter you have "I hadn't time to tell anybody, sir, the sailor
just given to me ? " went out in such a hurry."
" Yes, Mr. Blake, the person named in the "And you ran out after him-eh ?"
letter. It can't be helped now. I shall have "6 Yes, sir."
something to propose to you and Mr. Bruff, sir, 66
Gooseberry," said the Sergeant, patting his
when the time comes. Let's wait, first, and head, " you have got something in that small
see if the boy has anything to tell us that is skull of yours-and it isn't cotton-wool. I am
worth hearing." greatly pleased with you, so far. "
It was close on ten o'clock, and the boy had The boy blushed with pleasure. Sergeant
not made his appearance. Sergeant Cuff talked Cuff went on.
of other matters. He asked after his old friend "Well ? and what did the sailor do, when he
Betteredge, and his old enemy the gardener. got into the street ? "
In a minute more he would no doubt have got " He called a cab, sir."
from this to the subject of his favourite roses, "And what did you do ?"
if my servant had not interrupted us by an- "Held on behind, and run after it."
nouncing that the boy was below. Before the Sergeant could put his next
On being brought into the room, Gooseberry question, another visitor was announced-the
stopped at the threshold of the door, and looked head clerk from Mr. Bruff's office.
distrustfully at the stranger who was in my Feeling the importance of not interrupting
company. I told the boy to come to me. Sergeant Cuff's examination of the boy, I re-
" You may speak before this gentleman, " Iceived the clerk in another room . He came
said. " He is here to assist me ; and he knows with bad news of his employer. The agitation
all that has happened. Sergeant Cuff," I added, and excitement of the last two days had proved
"this is the boy from Mr. Bruff's office." too much for Mr. Bruff. He had awoke that
In our modern system of civilisation, cele- morning with an attack of gout ; he was con-
brity (no matter of what kind) is the lever fined to his room at Hampstead ; and, in the
that will move anything. The fame of the present critical condition of our affairs, he was
great Cuff had even reached the ears of the very uneasy at being compelled to leave me
small Gooseberry. The boy's ill -fixed eyes without the advice and assistance of an ex-
rolled when I mentioned the illustrious name, perienced person. The chief clerk had re-
till I thought they really must have dropped ceived orders to hold himself at my disposal, and
on the carpet. was willing to do his best to replace Mr. Bruff.
" Come here, my lad," said the Sergeant, I wrote at once to quiet the old gentleman's
"and let's hear what you have got to tell us." mind, by telling him of Sergeant Cuff's visit :
The notice of the great man the hero of adding that Gooseberry was at that moment
many a famous story in every lawyer's office under examination ; and promising to inform
in London-appeared to fascinate the boy. He Mr. Bruff, either personally or by letter, of
placed himself in front of Sergeant Cuff, and whatever might occur later in the day. Having
put his hands behind him, after the approved despatched the clerk to Hampstead with my
fashion of a neophyte who is examined in his note, I returned to the room which I had left,
catechism. and found Sergeant Cuff at the fireplace, in
'What is your name ?" said the Sergeant, the act of ringing the bell.
 THE MOONSTONE 179

" I beg your pardon, Mr. Blake, " said the of ginger-beer. What can a boy not digest ?
Sergeant. " I was just going to send word by The substance in question has never been
your servant that I wanted to speak to you. found yet."
There isn't a doubt on my mind that this boy- "What did he see in the eating-house ? " I
this most meritorious boy," added the Sergeant, asked.
patting Gooseberry on the head, " has followed "Well, Mr. Blake, he saw the sailor reading
the right man. Precious time has been lost, the newspaper at one table, and the mechanic
sir, through your unfortunately not being at reading the newspaper at another. It was dusk
home at half-past ten last night. The only thing before the sailor got up and left the place. He
to do now is to send for a cab immediately." looked about him suspiciously when he got out
In five minutes more, Sergeant Cuff and I into the street. The boy-being a boy-passed
(with Gooseberry on the box to guide the unnoticed. The mechanic had not come out
driver) were on our way eastward, towards the yet. The sailor walked on, looking about him,
City. and apparently not very certain of where he
" One of these days, " said the Sergeant, was going next. The mechanic appeared once
pointing through the front window of the cab, more, on the opposite side of the road. The
"that boy will do great things in my late pro- sailor went on, till he got to Shore Lane,
fession. He is the brightest and cleverest little leading into Lower Thames Street. There he
chap I have met with for many a long year stopped before a public-house, under the sign
past. You shall hear the substance, Mr. Blake, of The Wheel of Fortune,' and, after examin-
of what he told me while you were out of the ing the place outside, went in. Gooseberry
room . You were present, I think, when he went in too. There were a great many people,
mentioned that he held on behind the cab, and mostly of the decent sort, at the bar. The
ran after it ?" Wheel of Fortune ' is a very respectable house,
" Yes.'"" Mr. Blake ; famous for its porter and pork-
66
Well, sir, the cab went from Lombard pies."
Street to the Tower Wharf. The sailor with The Sergeant's digressions irritated me. He
the black beard got out, and spoke to the saw it ; and confined himself more strictly to
steward of the Rotterdam steamboat, which Gooseberry's evidence when he went on.
was to start next morning. He asked if he " The sailor," he resumed, " asked if he could
could be allowed to go on board at once, and have a bed. The landlord said ' No ; they were
sleep in his berth over-night. The steward full. ' The barmaid corrected him, and said
( Number
said No. The cabins, and berths, and bedding Ten was empty.' A waiter was sent
were all to have a thorough cleaning that for to show the sailor to Number Ten. Just be-
evening, and no passenger could be allowed to fore that, Gooseberry had noticed the mechanic
come on board before the morning. The sailor among the people at the bar. Before the waiter
turned round, and left the wharf. When he had answered the call, the mechanic had van-
got into the street again, the boy noticed for ished . The sailor was taken off to his room.
the first time a man dressed like a respectable Not knowing what to do next, Gooseberry
mechanic walking on the opposite side of the had the wisdom to wait and see if anything
road, and apparently keeping the sailor in happened. Something did happen. The land-
view. The sailor stopped at an eating-house lord was called for. Angry voices were heard
in the neighbourhood, and went in. The boy- upstairs. The mechanic suddenly made his
not being able to make up his mind at the appearance again, collared by the landlord, and
moment-hung about among some other boys, exhibiting to Gooseberry's great surprise all
staring at the good things in the eating-house the signs and tokens of being drunk. The
window. He noticed the mechanic waiting, as landlord thrust him out at the door, and
he himself was waiting—but still on the opposite threatened him with the police if he came
side of the street. After a minute, a cab came back. From the altercation between them,
by slowly, and stopped where the mechanic was while this was going on, it appeared that the
standing. The boy could only see plainly one man had been discovered in Number Ten, and
person in the cab, who leaned forward at the had declared with drunken obstinacy that he
window to speak to the mechanic. He de- had taken the room. Gooseberry was so struck
scribed that person, Mr. Blake, without any by this sudden intoxication of a previously
prompting from me, as having a dark face, like sober person, that he couldn't resist running
the face of an Indian.'"" out after the mechanic into the street. As long
It was plain by this time that Mr. Bruff as he was in sight of the public-house, the man
and I had made another mistake. The sailor reeled about in the most disgraceful manner.
with the black beard was clearly not a spy in The moment he turned the corner of the street,
the service of the Indian conspiracy. Was he, he recovered his balance instantly, and became
by any possibility, the man who had gotthe as sober a member of society as you could wish
Diamond ? to see. Gooseberry went back to ' The Wheel
"After a little," pursued the Sergeant, " the of Fortune,' in a very bewildered state of mind.
cab moved on slowly down the street. The He waited about again, on the chance of some-
mechanic crossed the road, and went into the thing happening. Nothing happened ; and
eating- house. The boy waited outside till he nothing more was to be heard or seen of the
was hungry and tired- and then went into the sailor. Gooseberry decided on going back to
eating-house in his turn. He had a shilling in the office. Just as he came to this conclusion,
his pocket ; and he dined sumptuously, he tells who should appear, on the opposite side of the
me, on a black-pudding, an eel-pie, and a bottle street as usual, but the mechanic again ! He
180 THE MOONSTONE

looked up at one particular window at the top eyes that there was something wrong in the
of the public- house, which was the only one house.
that had a light in it. The light seemed to The only person behind the counter at which
relieve his mind. He left the place directly. the liquors were served was a bewildered ser-
The boy made his way back to Gray's Inn-got vant girl, perfectly ignorant of the business.
your card and message--called - and failed to One or two customers, waiting for their morn-
find you. There you have the state of the case, ing drink, were tapping impatiently on the
Mr. Blake, as it stands at the present time." counter with their money. The barmaid ap-
"What is your own opinion of the case, peared from the inner regions of the parlour,
Sergeant ? " excited and preoccupied. She answered Ser-
"I think it's serious, sir. Judging by what geant Cuff's inquiry for the landlord, by telling
the boy saw, the Indians are in it, to begin him sharply that her master was upstairs, and
with." was not to be bothered by anybody.
" Yes. And the sailor is evidently the person " Come along with me, sir," said Sergeant
to whom Mr. Luker passed the Diamond . It Cuff, coolly leading the way upstairs, and
seems odd that Mr. Bruff , and I, and the man beckoning to the boy to follow him.
in Mr. Bruff's employment , should all have been The barmaid called to her master, and
mistaken about who the person was.' warned him that strangers were intruding
"Not at all, Mr. Blake. Considering the themselves into the house. On the first floor
risk that person ran, it's likely enough that we were encountered by the landlord, hurrying
Mr. Luker purposely misled you , by previous down, in a highly irritated state, to see what
arrangement between them." was the matter.
" Do you understand the proceedings at the "Who the devil are you ? and what do you
public-house ? " I asked. "The man dressed want here ?" he asked.
like a mechanic was acting of course in the "Keep your temper," said the Sergeant
employment of the Indians. But I am as much quietly. " I'll tell you who I am to begin with.
puzzled to account for his sudden assumption I am Sergeant Cuff. "
of drunkenness as Gooseberry himself. " The illustrious name instantly produced its
"I think I can give a guess at what it means, effect. The angry landlord threw open the
sir," said the Sergeant. " If you will reflect, door of a sitting-room, and asked the Sergeant's:
you will see that the man must have had some pardon.
pretty strict instructions from the Indians. " I am annoyed and 66out of sorts , sir-that's
They were far too noticeable themselves to risk the truth," he said. Something unpleasant-
being seen at the bank or in the public-house has happened in the house this morning. A
-they were obliged to trust everything to their man in my way of business has a deal to upset.
deputy. Very good. Their deputy hears a his temper, Sergeant Cuff."
certain number named in the public-house as "Not a doubt of it, " said the Sergeant. " I'll
the number of the room which the sailor is to come at once, if you will allow me, to what
have for the night- that being also the room brings us here. This gentleman and I want to
(unless our notion is all wrong) which the trouble you with a few inquiries, on a matter of
Diamond is to have for the night too. Under some interest to both of us."
those circumstances, the Indians, you may rely " Relating to what, sir ? " asked the landlord.
on it, would insist on having a description of ' Relating to a dark man, dressed like a
the room- of its position in the house, of its sailor, who slept here last night."
capability of being approached from the outside, "Good God ! that's the man who is upsetting
and so on. What was the man to do with such the whole house at this moment ! " exclaimed
orders as these ? Just what he did ! He ran the landlord. " Do you, or does this gentleman
upstairs to get a look at the room before the know anything about him ? "
sailor was taken into it. He was found there "We can't be certain till we see him, "
making his observations — and he shammed answered the Sergeant.
drunk, as the easiest way of getting out of the "See him ? " echoed the landlord. " That's
difficulty. That's how I read the riddle. After the one thing that nobody has been able to do
he was turned out of the public-house, he pro- since seven o'clock this morning. That was the
bably went with his report to the place where time when he left word, last night, that he was
his employers were waiting for him. And his to be called. He was called-and there was no
employers, no doubt, sent him back to make getting an answer from him, and no opening
sure that the sailor was really settled at the his door to see what was the matter. ~ They
public-house till the next morning. As for tried again at eight, and they tried again at
what happened at ' The Wheel of Fortune ' after nine. No use ! There was the door still locked.
the boy left- we ought to have discovered that --and not a sound to be heard in the room !!
last night. It's eleven in the morning now. I have been out this morning-and I only got :
We must hope for the best, and find out what back a quarter of an hour ago. I have hammeredi
we can." at the door myself-and all to no purpose. The
• In a quarter of an hour more, the cab stopped potboy has gone to fetch a carpenter. If you
in Shore Lane, and Gooseberry opened the door can wait a few minutes, gentlemen, we will! "
for us to get out. have the door opened, and see what it means.'
" All right ?" asked the Sergeant. "Was the man drunk last night ? " asked
"All right, " answered the boy. Sergeant Cuff.
The moment we entered " The Wheel of Perfectly sober, sir-or I would never have
Fortune," it was plain even to my inexperienced let him sleep in my house."
 THE MOONSTONE 181

"Did he pay for his bed beforehand ? " open, and empty. On one side of the box
" No." lay some jewellers' cotton. On the other
" Could he leave the room in any way without side was a torn sheet of white paper, with
going out by the door ? " a seal on it, partly destroyed, and with an
" The room is a garret," said the landlord. inscription in writing, which was still per-
" But there's a trap-door in the ceiling leading fectly legible. The inscription was in these
out on to the roof and a little lower down the words :
street there's an empty house under repair. " Deposited with Messrs. Bushe, Lysaught,
Do you think, Sergeant, the blackguard has got and Bushe, by Mr. Septimus Luker, of Middle-
off in that way without paying ? " sex Place, Lambeth, a small wooden box, sealed
" A sailor," said Sergeant Cuff, " might have up in this envelope, and containing a valuable
done it early in the morning, before the street of great price. The box, when claimed, to be
was astir. He would be used to climbing, and only given up by Messrs. Bushe and Co. on the
his head wouldn't fail him on the roofs of the personal application of Mr. Luker.”
houses. "" Those lines removed all further doubt on one
As he spoke, the arrival of the carpenter was point at least. The sailor had been in possession
announced. We all went upstairs at once to of the Moonstone when he had left the bank
the top story. I noticed that the Sergeant was on the previous day.
unusually grave, even for him. It also struck I felt another pull at my coat-tails. Goose-
me as odd that he told the boy (after having berry had not done with me yet.
previously encouraged him to follow us), to "Robbery ! " whispered the boy, pointing,
wait in the room below till we came down in high delight, to the empty box.
again. "You were told to wait downstairs, ” I said.
The carpenter's hammer and chisel disposed " Go away ! "
of the resistance of the door in a few minutes. "And Murder ! " added Gooseberry, pointing,
But some article of furniture had been placed with a keener relish still, to the man on the
against it inside, as a barricade. By pushing bed.
at the door, we thrust this obstacle aside, There was something so hideous in the boy's
and so got admission to the room. The land- enjoyment of the horror of the scene, that I
lord entered first ; the Sergeant second ; and took him by the two shoulders and put him out
I third. The other persons present followed of the room.
us. At the moment when I crossed the threshold
We all looked towards the bed, and all of the door, I heard Sergeant Cuff's voice,
started. asking where I was. He met me, as I returned
The man had not left the room. He lay, into the room, and forced me to go back with
dressed, on the bed- with a white pillow him to the bedside.
over his face, which completely hid it from " Mr. Blake ! " he said. " Look at the man's
view. face. It is a face disguised and here's a proof
"What does that mean ? " said the landlord, | of it ! "
pointing to the pillow. He traced with his finger a thin line of livid
Sergeant Cuff led the way to the bed, without white, running backward from the dead man's
answering, and removed the pillow. forehead, between the swarthy complexion,
The man's swarthy face was placid and still ; and the slightly disturbed black hair. " Let's
his black hair and beard were slightly, very see what is under this," said the Sergeant,
slightly, discomposed . His eyes stared wide suddenly seizing the black hair with a firm
open, glassy and vacant, at the ceiling. The grip of his hand.
filmy look and the fixed expression of them My nerves were not strong enough to bear it.
horrified me. I turned away, and went to the I turned away again from the bed.
open window. The rest of them remained, where The first sight that met my eyes, at the
Sergeant Cuff remained, at the bed. other end of the room, was the irrepressible
" He's in a fit ! " I heard the landlord Gooseberry, perched on a chair, and looking
say. with breathless interest, over the heads of his
" He's dead," the Sergeant answered. "Send elders, at the Sergeant's proceedings.
for the nearest doctor, and send for the police." "He's pulling off his wig ! whispered
The waiter was despatched on both errands. Gooseberry, compassionating my position, as
Some strange fascination seemed to hold Ser- the only person in the room who could see
geant Cuff to the bed. Some strange curiosity nothing.
seemed to keep the rest of them waiting, to see There was a pause - and then a cry of
what the Sergeant would do next. astonishment among the people round the
I turned again to the window. The moment bed.
afterwards, I felt a soft pull at my coat-tails, "He's pulled off his beard ! " cried Goose-
and a small voice whispered, " Look here, berry.
sir ! " There was another pause - Sergeant Cuff
Gooseberry had followed us into the room. asked for something . The landlord went to
His loose eyes rolled frightfully-not in terror, the washhand stand, and returned to the bed
but in exultation. He had made a detective with a basin of water and a towel.
discovery on his own account. " Look here, Gooseberry danced with excitement on the
sir, " he repeated-and led me to a table in the chair. "Come up here, along with me, sir !
corner of the room. He's washing off his complexion now ! "
On the table stood a little wooden box, The Sergeant suddenly burst his way through
182 THE MOONSTONE

the people about him, and came, with horror " Read the name, Mr. Blake, that I have
in his face, straight to the place where I was written inside. "'
standing. I read the name that he had written. It was
" Come back to the bed, sir ! " he began. | —Godfrey Ablewhite.
He looked at me closer, and checked him- " Now," said the Sergeant, 66 come with me,
self. " No ! " he resumed. "Open the sealed and look at the man on the bed."
letter first the letter I gave you this morn- I went with him, and looked at the man on
ing. the bed.
I opened the letter. GODFREY ABLEWHITE.

SIXTH NARRATIVE

Contributed by SERGEANT CUFF

I pearances as being perfectly compatible with

murder by smothering-that is to say, with
DORKING, Surrey, July 30, 1849. To Franklin murder committed by some person or persons
Blake, Esq. Sir, I beg to apologise for the pressing the pillow over the nose and mouth of
delay that has occurred in the production of the the deceased, until death resulted from con-
Report with which I engaged to furnish you. gestion of the lungs.
I have waited to make it a complete Report ; Next, as to the motive for the crime.
and I have been met here and there by obstacles A small box, with a sealed paper torn off
which it was only possible to remove by some from it (the paper containing an inscription)
little expenditure of patience and time. was found open, and empty, on a table in the
The object which I proposed to myself has room. Mr. Luker has himself personally identi-
now, I hope, been attained. You will find , in fied the box, the seal , and the inscription. He
these pages, answers to the greater part if has declared that the box did actually contain
not all of the questions, concerning the late the diamond, called the Moonstone ; and he has
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite, which occurred to your admitted having given the box (thus sealed up)
mind when I last had the honour of seeing you. to Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite (then concealed under
I propose to tell you- in the first place what a disguise), on the afternoon of the twenty- sixth
is known of the manner in which your cousin of June last. The fair inference from all this
met his death ; appending to the statement such is, that the stealing of the Moonstone was the
inferences and conclusions as we are justified motive of the crime.
(according to my opinion) in drawing from the Next, as to the manner in which the crime
facts. was committed.
I shall then endeavour- in the second place On examination of the room (which is only
-to put you in possession of such discoveries seven feet high), a trap-door in the ceiling,
as I have made, respecting the proceedings of leading out on to the roof of the house, was
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite, before, during, and discovered open. The short ladder, used for
after the time when you and he met as guests obtaining access to the trap-door (and kept
at the late Lady Verinder's country-house. under the bed), was found placed at the open-
ing, so as to enable any person or persons in
the room to leave it again easily. In the trap-
II door itself was found a square aperture cut in
the wood, apparently with some exceedingly
As to your cousin's death, then, first. sharp instrument, just behind the bolt which
It appears to me to be established, beyond fastened the door on the inner side. In this
any reasonable doubt , that he was killed (while way, any person from the outside could have
he was asleep, or immediately on his waking) drawn back the bolt, and opened the door, and
by being smothered with a pillow from his bed have dropped (or have been noiselessly lowered
--that the persons guilty of murdering him are by an accomplice) into the room-its height, as
the three Indians- and that the object con- already observed, being only seven feet. That
templated (and achieved) by the crime, was to some person or persons must have got admis-
obtain possession of the diamond , called Thesion in this way appears evident from the fact
Moonstone . of the aperture being there. As to the manner
The facts from which this conclusion is drawn in which he (or they) obtained access to the
are derived partly from an examination of the roof of the tavern, it is to be remarked that
room at the tavern, and partly from the evi- the third house, lower down in the street, was
dence obtained at the Coroner's Inquest. empty, and under repair-that a long ladder
On forcing the door of the room, the deceased was left by the workmen, leading from the
gentleman was discovered, dead, with the pillow pavement to the top of the house-and that,
of the bed over his face. The medical man on returning to their work, on the morning of
who examined him, being informed of this the 27th, the men found the plank which they
circumstance, considered the post-mortem ap- had tied to the ladder, to prevent any one from
 THE MOONSTONE 183

using it in their absence, removed, and lying | have been traced. As to the prospect of ulti-
on the ground. As to the possibility of ascend- mately capturing these last, I shall have a
ing by this ladder, passing over the roofs of the word to say to you on that head when I reach
houses, passing back, and descending again the end of the present Report.
unobserved- it is discovered, on the evidence In the meanwhile, having now written all
of the night policeman, that he only passes that is needful on the subject of Mr. Godfrey
through Shore Lane twice in an hour, when Ablewhite's death, I may pass next to the
out on his beat. The testimony of the inhabi- narrative of his proceedings before, during,
tants also declares, that Shore Lane, after mid- and after the time when you and he met at
night, is one of the quietest and loneliest streets the late Lady Verinder's house.
in London. Here again, therefore, it seems
fair to infer that- with ordinary caution and
presence of mind-any man or men might III
have ascended by the ladder, and might have
descended again unobserved. Once on the With regard to the subject now in hand, I
roof of the tavern, it has been proved, by ex- may state, at the outset, that Mr. Godfrey
periment, that a man might cut through the Ablewhite's life had two sides to it.
trap-door, while lying down on it, and that in The side turned up to the public view pre-
such a position the parapet in front of the sented the spectacle of a gentleman possessed
house would conceal him from the view of any of considerable reputation as a speaker at
one passing in the street. charitable meetings, and endowed with ad-
Lastly, as to the person or persons by whom ministrative abilities, which he placed at the
the crime was committed . disposal of various Benevolent Societies, mostly
It is known (1 ) that the Indians had an interest of the female sort. The side kept hidden from
in possessing themselves of the Diamond. (2) the general notice exhibited this same gentle-
It is at least probable that the man looking like man in the totally different character of a
an Indian, whom Octavius Guy saw at the win- man of pleasure, with a villa in the suburbs
dow of the cab speaking to the man dressed which was not taken in his own name, and
like a mechanic, was one of the three Hindoo with a lady in the villa who was not taken
conspirators. (3) It is certain that this same in his own name either.
man dressed like a mechanic was seen keeping My investigations in the villa have shown me
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite in view, all through the several fine pictures and statues ; furniture
evening of the 26th, and was found in the bed- tastefully selected and admirably made ; and
room (before Mr. Ablewhite was shown into it) a conservatory of the rarest flowers, the match
under circumstances which lead to the suspicion of which it would not be easy to find in all
that he was examining the room. (4) A morsel London. My investigation of the lady has
of torn gold thread was picked up in the bed resulted in the discovery of jewels which are
room, which persons expert in such matters worthy to take rank with the flowers, and of
declare to be of Indian manufacture, and to be carriages and horses which have (deservedly)
a species of gold thread not known in England. produced a sensation in the Park, among per-
(5) On the morning of the 27th, three men, sons well qualified to judge of the build of the
answering to the description of the three In- one and the breed of the others.
dians, were observed in Lower Thames Street, All this is, so far, common enough. The
were traced to the Tower Wharf, and were villa and the lady are such familiar objects
seen to leave London by the steamer bound in London life, that I ought to apologise for
for Rotterdam. introducing them to notice. But what is not
There is here moral if not legal evidence that common and not familiar (in my experience),
the murder was committed by the Indians. is that all these fine things were not only
Whether the man personating a mechanic ordered, but paid for. The pictures, the statues,
was or was not an accomplice in the crime the flowers, the jewels, the carriages and the
it is impossible to say. That he could have horses - inquiry proved, to my indescribable
committed the murder alone seems beyond the astonishment, that not a sixpence of debt was
limits of probability. Acting by himself, he owing on any of them. As to the villa, it had
could hardly have smothered Mr. Ablewhite- been bought out and out and settled on the
who was the taller and stronger man of the two lady.
-without a struggle taking place, or a cry being I might have tried to find the right reading
heard. A servant girl, sleeping in the next of this riddle, and tried in vain-but for Mr.
room, heard nothing. The landlord, sleeping in Godfrey Ablewhite's death, which caused an in-
the room below, heard nothing. The whole quiry to be made into the state of his affairs.
evidence points to the inference that more than The inquiry elicited these facts :-
one man was concerned in this crime-and the That Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite was entrusted
circumstances, I repeat, morally justify the con- with the care of a sum of twenty thousand
clusion that the Indians committed it. pounds as one of two Trustees for a young
I have only to add that the verdict at the gentleman, who was still a minor in the year
Coroner's Inquest was Wilful Murder against eighteen hundred and forty-eight. That the
some person or persons unknown. Mr. Able- Trust was to lapse, and that the young gentle-
white's family have offered a reward, and no man was to receive the twenty thousand pounds
effort has been left untried to discover the on the day when he came of age, in the month
guilty persons. The man dressed like a me- of February, eighteen hundred and fifty. That,
chanic has eluded all inquiries. The Indians pending the arrival of this period, an income
184 THE MOONSTONE

of six hundred pounds was to be paid to him Let us now shift the scene, if you please, to
by his two Trustees, half-yearly-at Christmas Mr. Luker's house at Lambeth. And allow me
and Midsummer Day. That this income was to remark, by way of preface, that Mr. Bruff
regularly paid by the active Trustee, Mr. God- and I together have found a means of forcing
frey Ablewhite. That the twenty thousand the money-lender to make a clean breast of it.
pounds (from which the income was supposed We have carefully sifted the statement he has
to be derived) had, every farthing of it, been addressed to us ; and here it is at your service.
sold out of the Funds, at different periods,
ending with the end of the year eighteen
hundred and forty-seven. That the power-of- IV
attorney, authorising the bankers to sell out
the stock, and the various written orders telling Late on the evening of Friday, the twenty-
them what amounts to sell out, were formally third of June (' forty-eight), Mr. Luker was
signed by both the Trustees. That the signa- surprised by a visit from Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite.
ture of the second Trustee (a retired army He was more than surprised when Mr. Godfrey
officer, living in the country) was a signature produced the Moonstone. No such Diamond
forged, in every case, by the active Trustee (according to Mr. Luker's experience) was in
otherwise Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite. the possession of any private person in Europe.
In these facts lies the explanation of Mr. Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite had two modest pro-
Godfrey's honourable conduct in paying the posals to make in relation to this magnificent
debts incurred for the lady and the villa-and gem. First, Would Mr. Luker be so good as to
(as you will presently see) of more besides. buy it ? Secondly, Would Mr. Luker (in default
We may now advance to the date of Miss of seeing his way to the purchase) undertake to
Verinder's birthday (in the year eighteen hun- sell it on commission, and to pay a sum down
dred and forty- eight)-the twenty-first of June. on the anticipated result ?
On the day before, Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite Mr. Luker tested the Diamond, weighed
arrived at his father's house, and asked (as I the Diamond, and estimated the value of the
know from Mr. Ablewhite, senior, himself) for a Diamond, before he answered a word. His
loan of three hundred pounds. Mark the sum ; estimate (allowing for the flaw in the stone)
and remember at the same time, that the half- was thirty thousand pounds.
yearly payment to the young gentleman was due Having reached that result, Mr. Luker opened
on the twenty-fourth of the month. Also, that his lips, and put a question : " How did you
the whole of the young gentleman's fortune had come by this ? " Only six words ! But what
been spent by his Trustee by the end of the volumes of meaning in them !
year 'forty-seven. Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite began a story. Mr.
Mr. Ablewhite, senior, refused to lend his son Luker opened his lips again, and only said three
a farthing. words this time. "That won't do !
The next day Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite rode Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite began another story.
over with you to Lady Verinder's house. A Mr. Luker wasted no more words on him. He
few hours afterwards, Mr. Godfrey (as you got up, and rang the bell for the servant, to
yourself have told me) made a proposal of show the gentleman out.
marriage to Miss Verinder. Here he saw his Upon this compulsion, Mr. Godfrey made an
way no doubt- if accepted-to the end of all effort, and came out with a new and amended
his money anxieties, present and future. But, version of the affair, to the following effect.
as events actually turned out, what happened ? After privately slipping the laudanum into
Miss Verinder refused him. your brandy and water, he wished you good-
On the night of the birthday, therefore, Mr. night, and went into his own room. It was the
Godfrey Ablewhite's pecuniary position was next room to yours ; and the two had a door of
this. He had three hundred pounds to find on communication between them. On entering
the twenty-fourth of the month, and twenty his own room, Mr. Godfrey (as he supposed)
thousand pounds to find in February eighteen closed this door.. His money troubles kept
hundred and fifty. Failing to raise these sums, him awake. He sat, in his dressing-gown and
at these times, he was a ruined man. slippers, for nearly an hour, thinking over his
Under those circumstances, what takes place position. Just as he was preparing to get into
next ? bed, he heard you, talking to yourself, in your
You exasperate Mr. Candy, the doctor, on own room, and going to the door of communi-
the sore subject of his profession ; and he plays cation, found that he had not shut it as he
you a practical joke, in return, with a dose of supposed.
laudanum. He trusts the administration of the He looked into your room to see what was
dose, prepared in a little phial, to Mr. God- the matter. He discovered you with the
frey Ablewhite-who has himself confessed candle in your hand just leaving your bed-
the share he had in the matter, under circum- chamber. He heard you say to yourself, in a
stances which shall presently be related to you. voice quite unlike your own voice, " How do I
Mr. Godfrey is all the readier to enter into the know ? The Indians may be hidden in the
conspiracy, having himself suffered from your house."
sharp tongue in the course of the evening. He Up to that time, he had simply supposed
joins Betteredge in persuading you to drink a himself (in giving you the laudanum) to be
little brandy and water before you go to bed. helping to make you the victim of a harmless
He privately drops the dose of laudanum into practical joke. It now occurred to him that
your cold grog. And you drink the mixture. the laudanum had taken some effect on you,
 THE MOONSTONE 185

which had not been foreseen by the doctor | Ablewhite the sum of two thousand pounds
any more than by himself. In the fear of an on condition that the Moonstone was to be
accident happening, he followed you softly to deposited with him as a pledge. If, at the ex-
see what you would do. piration of one year from that date, Mr. Godfrey
He followed you to Miss Verinder's sitting- Ablewhite paid three thousand pounds to Mr.
room, and saw you go in. You left the door Luker, he was to receive back the Diamond as
open. He looked through the crevice thus pro- a pledge redeemed. If he failed to produce
duced, between the door and the post, before the money at the expiration of the year, the
he ventured into the room himself. pledge (otherwise the Moonstone) was to be
In that position, he not only detected you in considered as forfeited to Mr. Luker - who
taking the Diamond out of the drawer- he also would, in this latter case, generously make Mr.
detected Miss Verinder silently watching you Godfrey a present of certain promissory notes
from her bedroom through her open door. His of his (relating to former dealings) which were
own eyes satisfied him that she saw you take then in the money-lender's possession.
the Diamond too. It is needless to say that Mr. Godfrey indig-
Before you left the sitting-room again you nantly refused to listen to these monstrous
hesitated a little. Mr. Godfrey took advantage terms. Mr. Luker thereupon handed him back
of this hesitation to get back again to his bed- the Diamond, and wished him good-night.
room before you came out and discovered him. Your cousin went to the door, and came back
He had barely got back before you got back again. How was he to be sure that the con-
too. You saw him (as he supposes) just as he versation of that evening would be kept strictly
was passing through the door of communica- secret between his friend and himself ?
tion. At any rate, you called to him in a strange, Mr. Luker didn't profess to know how. If
drowsy voice. Mr. Godfrey had accepted his terms, Mr. God-
He came back to you. You looked at him frey would have made him an accomplice, and
in a dull sleepy way. You put the Diamond might have counted on his silence as on a
into his hand. You said to him, " Take it back, certainty. As things were, Mr. Luker must be
Godfrey, to your father's bank. It's safe there guided by his own interests. If awkward in-
-it's not safe here." You turned away un- quiries were made, how could he be expected
steadily, and put on your dressing-gown. You to compromise himself for the sake of a man
sat down in the large armchair in your room. who had declined to deal with him ?
You said, " I can't take it back to the bank. Receiving this reply, Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite
My head's like lead-and I can't feel my feet did, what all animals (human and otherwise )
under me." Your head sank on the back of do, when they find themselves caught in a trap.
the chair-you heaved a heavy sigh—and you He looked about him in a state of helpless
fell asleep. despair. The day of the month, recorded on a
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite went back with the neat little card in a box on the money-lender's
Diamond into his own room. His statement chimney-piece,, happened to attract his eye.
is, that he came to no conclusion at that time It was the twenty-third of June. On the
-except that he would wait, and see what twenty-fourth, he had three hundred pounds
happened in the morning. to pay to the young gentleman for whom he
When the morning came, your language and was trustee, and no chance of raising the
conduct showed that you were absolutely money, except the chance that Mr. Luker had
ignorant of what you had said and done over- offered to him. But for this miserable obstacle,
night. At the same time, Miss Verinder's lan- he might have taken the Diamond to Amster-
guage and conduct showed that she was resolved dam, and have made a marketable commodity
to say nothing (in mercy to you) on her side. of it, by having it cut up into separate stones.
If Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite chose to keep the As matters stood, he had no choice but to
Diamond, he might do so with perfect impunity. accept Mr. Luker's terms. After all, he had
The Moonstone stood between him and ruin. a year at his disposal in which to raise the
He put the Moonstone into his pocket. three thousand pounds-and a year is a long
time.
Mr. Luker drew out the necessary documents
V on the spot. When they were signed, he gave
Mr. Godfrey Ablewhite two cheques. One,
This was the story told by your cousin (under dated June 23rd, for three hundred pounds.
pressure of necessity) to Mr. Luker. Another, dated a week on, for the remaining
Mr. Luker believed the story to be, as to all balance-seventeen hundred pounds.
main essentials, true-on this ground, that Mr. How the Moonstone was trusted to the
Godfrey Ablewhite was too great a fool to have keeping of Mr. Luker's bankers, and how the
invented it. Mr. Bruff and I agree with Mr. Indians treated Mr. Luker and Mr. Godfrey
Luker in considering this test of the truth of (after that had been done) you know already.
the story to be a perfectly reliable one. The next event in your cousin's life refers
The next question was the question of what again to Miss Verinder. He proposed marriage
Mr. Luker would do in the matter of the Moon- to her for the second time-and (after having
stone. He proposed the following terms, as the been accepted) he consented, at her request,
only terms on which he would consent to mix to consider the marriage as broken off. One
himself up with what was (even in his line of of his reasons for making this concession has
business) a doubtful and dangerous transaction. been penetrated by Mr. Bruff. Miss Verinder
Mr. Luker would consent to lend Mr. Godfrey had only a life-interest in her mother's property,
186 THE MOONSTONE

and there was no raising the twenty thousand he went to Amsterdam. There he made all
pounds on that. the necessary arrangements for having the
But you will say, he might have saved the Diamond cut into separate stones. He came
three thousand pounds to redeem the pledged back (in disguise) and redeemed the Moon-
Diamond if he had married . He might have stone on the appointed day. A few days
done so certainly supposing neither his wife, were allowed to elapse (as a precaution agreed
nor her guardians and trustees, objected to his to by both parties) before the jewel was actu-
anticipating more than half of the income at ally taken out of the bank. If he had got
his disposal, for some unknown purpose , in the safe with it to Amsterdam, there would have
first year of his marriage. But even if he got been just time between July ' forty-nine and
over this obstacle, there was another waiting February 'fifty (when the young gentleman
for him in the background. The lady at the came of age) to cut the Diamond, and to
villa had heard of his contemplated marriage. make a marketable commodity (polished or
A superb woman, Mr. Blake, of the sort that unpolished) of the separate stones. Judge
are not to be trifled with the sort with the from this what motives he had to run the
light complexion and the Roman nose. She risk which he actually ran. It was " neck or
66
felt the utmost contempt for Mr. Godfrey Able- nothing " with him—if ever it was neck or
white. It would be silent contempt, if he nothing" with a man yet.
made a handsome provision for her. Other- I have only to remind you, before closing
wise, it would be contempt with a tongue to this Report, that there is a chance of laying
it. Miss Verinder's life-interest allowed him hands on the Indians, and of recovering the
no more hope of raising the " provision " than Moonstone yet. They are now (there is every
of raising the twenty thousand pounds. He reason to believe) on their passage to Bom-
couldn't marry - he really couldn't marry, bay, in an East Indiaman. The ship (barring
under all the circumstances. accidents) will touch at no other port on her
How he tried his luck again with another way out ; and the authorities at Bombay
lady, and how that marriage also broke down (already communicated with by letter over-
on the question of money, you know already, land ) will be prepared to board the vessel the
You also know of the legacy of five thousand moment she enters the harbour.
pounds, left to him shortly afterwards, by one I have the honour to remain, dear sir, your
of those many admirers among the soft sex obedient servant, RICHARD CUFF (late Ser-
whose good graces this fascinating man had geant in the Detective Force, Scotland Yard,
contrived to win. That legacy (as the event London).*
has proved) led him to his death. * NOTE. Wherever the Report touches on the events
I have ascertained that when he went of the birthday, orof the three days that followed it, com-
abroad, on getting his five thousand pounds, pare with Betteredge's Narrative, chapters viii. to xiii.

SEVENTH NARRATIVE

In a letter from MR CANDY

FRIZINGHALL, Wednesday, September 26, 1849.— | find all his papers. I brought them to him
Dear Mr. Franklin Blake,-You will anticipate on his bed. There was a little bundle of old
the sad news I have to tell you, on finding letters which he put aside. There was his un-
your letter to Ezra Jennings returned to you, finished book. There was his Diary-in many
unopened, in this enclosure. He died in my locked volumes. He opened the volume for this
arms, at sunrise, on Wednesday last. year, and tore out, one by one, the pages relat-
I am not to blame for having failed to warning to the time when you and he were together.
you that his end was at hand. He expressly " Give those," he said, "to Mr. Franklin Blake.
forbade me to write to you. " I am indebted In years to come he may feel an interest in
Then
to Mr. Franklin Blake, " he said, " for having looking back at what is written there.
seen some happy days. Don't distress him, he clasped his hands, and prayed God fervently
Mr. Candy-don't distress him." to bless you, and those dear to you. He said
His sufferings, up to the last six hours of his he should like to see you again. But the next
life, were terrible to see. In the intervals of moment he altered his mind. "No," he an-
remission, when his mind was clear, I entreated swered, when I offered to write ; " I won't
him to tell me of any relatives of his to whom distress him ! I won't distress him !"
I might write. He asked to be forgiven for At his request, I next collected the other
refusing anything to me. And then he said papers- that is to say, the bundle of letters,
not bitterly-that he would die as he had lived, the unfinished book, and the volumes of the
forgotten and unknown. He maintained that Diary-and enclosed them all in one wrapper,
resolution to the last. There is no hope now sealed with my own seal. " Promise, " he said,
of making any discoveries concerning him. "that you will put this into my coffin with your
His story is a blank. own hand ; and that you will see that no other
The day before he died, he told me where to hand touches it afterwards. "

72
 THE MOONSTONE 187

I gave him my promise. And the promise " It's coming ! Then he said, " Kiss me ! " I
has been performed. kissed his forehead. On a sudden, he lifted his
He asked me to do one other thing for him- head. The sunlight touched his face. A beau-
which it cost me a hard struggle to comply tiful expression, an angelic expression, came
with. He said, " Let my grave be forgotten. over it. He cried out three times, "Peace !
Give me your word of honour that you will peace ! peace ! " His head sank back again on
allow no monument of any sort--not even the my shoulder, and the long trouble of his life
commonest tombstone to mark the place of was at an end.
my burial. Let me sleep, nameless. Let me So he has gone from us. This was, as I think,
rest, unknown.' When I tried to plead with a great man-though the world never knew him.
him to alter his resolution, he became for the He bore a hard life bravely. He had the sweet-
first and only time violently agitated . I could est temper I have ever met with. The loss of
not bear to see it ; and I gave way. Nothing him makes me feel very lonely. Perhaps I have
but a little grass mound marks the place never been quite myself again since my illness.
of his rest. In time the tombstones will rise Sometimes I think of giving up my practice ,
round it. And the people who come after and going away, and trying what some of the
us will look and wonder at the nameless foreign baths and waters will do for me.
grave. It is reported here that you and Miss Verin-
As I have told you , for six hours before his der are to be married next month. Please to
death his sufferings ceased. He dozed a little. accept my best congratulations.
I think he dreamed. Once or twice he smiled. The pages of my poor friend's Journal are
A woman's name, as I suppose--the name of waiting for you at my house-sealed up, with
" Ella ""'-was often on his lips at this time. your name on the wrapper. I was afraid to
A few minutes before the end came, he asked trust them to the post.
me to lift him on his pillow, to see the sun My best respects and good wishes attend
rise through the window. He was very weak. Miss Verinder. I remain, dear Mr. Franklin
His head fell on my shoulder. He whispered, | Blake, truly yours, THOMAS CANDY.

EIGHTH NARRATIVE

Contributed by GABRIEL BETTEREDGE

I AM the person (as you remember, no doubt) | have got your favourite vice too ; only your
who led the way in these pages, and opened the vice isn't mine, and mine isn't yours), I next
story. I am also the person who is left behind, applied the one infallible remedy-that re-
as it were, to close the story up. medy being, as you know, " Robinson Crusoe. '
Let nobody suppose that Ì have any last Where I opened that unrivalled book, I can't
words to say here concerning the Indian say. Where the lines of print at last left off
Diamond. I hold that unlucky jewel in abhor- running into each other, I know, however,
rence and I refer you to other authority than perfectly well. It was at page three hundred
mine for such news of the Moonstone as you and eighteen -a domestic bit concerning
may at the present time be expected to re- Robinson Crusoe's marriage, as follows :
ceive. My purpose, in this place, is to state. " With those Thoughts, I considered my new
a fact in the history of the family, which has Engagement, that I had a Wife "-(Observe !
been passed over by everybody, and which I so had Mr. Franklin ! ) --" one Child born "-
won't allow to be disrespectfully smothered up (Observe again ! that might yet be Mr. Frank-
in that way. The fact to which I allude is- lin's case too ! )- " and my Wife then "----What
the marriage of Miss Rachel and Mr. Franklin Robinson Crusoe's wife did or did not do
Blake. This interesting event took place at our " then," I felt no desire to discover. I scored
house in Yorkshire, on Tuesday, October ninth, the bit about the Child with my pencil, and
eighteen hundred and forty-nine. I had a new put a morsel of paper for a mark to keep the
suit of clothes on the occasion. And the mar- place : " Lie you there, " I said, " till the mar-
ried couple went to spend the honeymoon in riage of Mr. Franklin and Miss Rachel is some
Scotland. months older-and then we'll see ! "
Family festivals having been rare enough The months passed (more than I had bar-
at our house since my poor mistress's death, gained for), and no occasion presented itself
I own on this occasion of the wedding- to for disturbing that mark in the book. It
having (towards the latter part of the day) taken was not till this present month of November,
a drop too much on the strength of it. eighteen hundred and fifty, that Mr. Franklin
If you have ever done the same sort of thing came into my room, in high good spirits, and
yourself, you will understand and feel for me. said, " Betteredge ! I have got some news for
If you have not, you will very likely say, you ! Something is going to happen in the
Disgusting old man ! why does he tell us house before we are many months older."
this ?" The reason why is now to come. " Does it concern the family, sir ? " I
Having, then, taken my drop (bless you ! you asked:
188 THE MOONSTONE

"It decidedly concerns the family," says | which did them justice, and then I looked him
Mr. Franklin . severely in the face. "Now, sir, do you believe
"Has your good lady anything to do with in ' Robinson Crusoe ? '" I asked, with a solem-
it, if you please, sir ? " nity suitable to the occasion.
"She has a great deal to do with it," says Mr. " Betteredge ! " says Mr. Franklin,
"" with equal
Franklin, beginning to look a little surprised. solemnity, " I'm convinced at last.' He shook
"You needn't say a word more, sir," I hands with me-and I felt that I had con-
answered. " God bless you both ! I'm heartily verted him.
glad to hear it.” With the relation of this extraordinary cir-
Mr. Franklin stared like a person thunder- cumstance, my reappearance in these pages
struck. " May I venture to inquire where you comes to an end. Let nobody laugh at the
got your information ? " he asked. " I only unique anecdote here related. You are welcome
got mine (imparted in the strictest secrecy) five to be as merry as you please over everything
minutes since." else I have written. But when I write of
Here was an opportunity of producing " Rob- " Robinson Crusoe," by the Lord it's serious-
inson Crusoe ! " Here was a chance of reading and I request you to take it accordingly !
that domestic bit about the child which I had When this is said, all is said. Ladies and
marked on the day of Mr. Franklin's marriage ! gentlemen, I make my bow, and shut up the
I read those miraculous words with an emphasis story.

EPILOGUE

THE FINDING OF THE DIAMOND

I mouth. Inquiries made at Plymouth proved

that they had sailed, forty-eight hours previ-
THE STATEMENT OF SERGEANT CUFF'S MAN ously, in the Bewley Castle, East Indiaman,
(1849) bound direct to Bombay.
On receiving this intelligence, Sergeant Cuff
ON the twenty-seventh of June last, I received caused the authorities at Bombay to be com-
instructions from Sergeant Cuff to follow three municated with overland--so that the vessel
men, suspected of murder, and described as might be boarded by the police immediately
Indians. They had been seen on the Tower on her entering the port. This step having
Wharf that morning, embarking on board the been taken, my connection with the matter
steamer bound for Rotterdam. came to an end. I have heard nothing more
I left London by a steamer belonging to of it since that time.
another company, which sailed on the morning
of Thursday, the twenty-eighth. Arriving at
Rotterdam, I succeeded in finding the com- II
mander of the Wednesday's steamer. He in-
formed me that the Indians had certainly been THE STATEMENT OF THE CAPTAIN ( 1849 )
passengers on board his vessel-but as far as •
Gravesend only. Off that place, one of the I AM requested by Sergeant Cuff to set in
three had inquired at what time they would writing certain facts concerning three men
reach Calais. On being informed that the (believed to be Hindoos) who were passengers,
steamer was bound to Rotterdam, the spokes- last summer, in the ship Bewley Castle, bound
man of the party expressed the greatest sur- for Bombay direct, under my command.
prise and distress at the mistake which he and The Hindoos joined us at Plymouth. On the
his two friends had made. They were all willing passage out, I heard no complaint of their
(he said) to sacrifice their passage money, if conduct. They were berthed in the forward
the commander of the steamer would only put part of the vessel. I had but few occasions
them ashore. Commiserating their position , as myself of personally noticing them.
foreigners in a strange land, and knowing no In the latter part of the voyage we had the
reason for detaining them, the commander misfortune to be becalmed for three days and
signalled for a shore boat, and the three men nights off the coast of India. I have not got
left the vessel. the ship's journal to refer to, and I cannot now
This proceeding of the Indians having been call to mind the latitude and longitude. As to
plainly resolved on beforehand , as a means of our position, therefore, I am only able to state
preventing their being traced, I lost no time in generally that the currents drifted us in towards
returning to England. I left the steamer at the land, and that when the wind found us
Gravesend, and discovered that the Indians again, we reached our port in twenty-four
had gone from that place to London. Thence hours afterwards.
I again traced them as having left for Ply- The discipline of a ship (as all seafaring
 THE MOONSTONE 189

persons know) becomes relaxed in a long calm. | ancient worship of Bramah and Vishnu. The
The discipline of my ship became relaxed. few Mahometan families, thinly scattered about
Certain gentlemen among the passengers got the villages in the interior, are afraid to taste
some of the smaller boats lowered, and amused meat of any kind. A Mahometan even sus-
themselves by rowing about, and swimming, pected of killing that sacred animal, the cow,
when the sun at evening time was cool enough is, as a matter of course, put to death without
to let them divert themselves in that way. mercy in these parts by the pious Hindoo neigh-
The boats, when done with, ought to have been bours who surround him. To strengthen the
slung up again in their places. Instead of this, religious enthusiasm of the people, two of the
they were left moored to the ship's side. What most famous shrines of Hindoo pilgrimage are
with the heat, and what with the vexation of contained within the boundaries of Kattiawar.
the weather, neither officers nor men seemed to One of them is Dwarka, the birthplace of the
be in heart for their duty while the calm lasted. god Krishna. The other is the sacred city
On the third night, nothing unusual was of Somnauth-sacked and destroyed as long
heard or seen by the watch on deck. When since as the eleventh century by the Mahometan
the morning came, the smallest of the boats conqueror, Mahmoud of Ghizni.
was missing-and the three Hindoos were next Finding myself, for the second time, in these
reported to be missing too. romantic regions, I resolved not to leave Kattia-
If these men had stolen the boat shortly war without looking once more on the magnifi-
after dark (which I have no doubt they did), cent desolation of Somnauth. At the place
we were near enough to the land to make it where I planned to do this, I was (as nearly as
vain to send in pursuit of them when the dis- I could calculate it) some three days distant,
covery was made in the morning. I have no journeying on foot, from the sacred city.
doubt they got ashore, in that calm weather I had not been long on the road before I
(making all due allowance for fatigue and noticed that other people-by twos and threes
clumsy rowing), before daybreak. -appeared to be travelling in the same direc-
On reaching our port, I there learnt, for the tion as myself.
first time, the reason these passengers had for To such of these as spoke to me, I gave my-
seizing their opportunity of escaping from the self out as a Hindoo-Boodhist, from a distant
ship. I could only make the same statement province, bound on a pilgrimage. It is needless
to the authorities which I have made here. to say that my dress was of the sort to carry
They considered me to blame for allowing the out this description. Add, that I know the
discipline of the vessel to be relaxed. I have language as well as I know my own, and that I
expressed my regret on this score to them and am lean enough and brown enough to make it
to my owners. Since that time nothing has no easy matter to detect my European origin—
been heard to my knowledge of the three and you will understand that I passed muster
Hindoos. I have no more to add to what is with the people readily : not as one of them-
here written. selves, but as a stranger from a distant part of
their own country.
III On the second day, the number of Hindoos
travelling in my direction had increased to
THE STATEMENT OF MR. MURTHWAITE fifties and hundreds. On the third day, the
( 1850) throng had swollen to thousands ; all slowly
converging to one point- the city of Somnauth.
(In a letter to MR. BRUFF) A trifling service which I was able to render
to one of my fellow-pilgrims, during the third
HAVE you any recollection , my dear sir, of a day's journey, proved the means of introducing
semi-savage person whom you met out at me to certain Hindoos of the higher caste.
dinner, in London, in the autumn of 'forty- From these men I learnt that the multitude
eight ? Permit me to remind you that the was on its way to a great religious ceremony,
person's name was Murthwaite, and that you which was to take place on a hill at a little
and he had a long conversation together after distance from Somnauth. The ceremony was
dinner. The talk related to an Indian Diamond, in honour of the god of the Moon ; and it was
called the Moonstone, and to a conspiracy then to be held at night.
in existence to get possession of the gem. The crowd detained us as we drew near to
Since that time I have been wandering in the place of celebration. By the time we
Central Asia. Thence I have drifted back to reached the hill, the moon was high in the
the scene of some of my past adventures in the heaven. My Hindoo friends possessed some
north and north-west of India. About a fort- special privileges which enabled them to gain
night since I found myself in a certain district access to the shrine. They kindly allowed me
or province (but little known to Europeans) to accompany them. When we arrived at the
called Kattiawar. place, we found the shrine hidden from our
Here an adventure befell me, in which (in- view by a curtain hung between two magnifi-
credible as it may appear) you are personally cent trees. Beneath the trees, a flat projection
interested. of rock jutted out, and formed a species of
In the wild regions of Kattiawar (and how natural platform. Below this, I stood, in com-
wild they are, you will understand, when I tell pany with my Hindoo friends.
you that even the husbandmen plough the land Looking back down the hill , the view pre-
armed to the teeth), the population is fanati- sented the grandest spectacle of Nature and
cally devoted to the old Hindoo religion-to the Man, in combination, that I have ever seen.
190 THE MOONSTONE

The lower slopes of the eminence melted im- their separation to the day which witnessed
perceptibly into a grassy plain, the place of the their death.
meeting of three rivers. On one side, the grace- As those words were whispered to me, the
ful winding of the waters stretched away, now plaintive music ceased. The three men pros-
visible, now hidden by trees, as far as the eye trated themselves on the rock before the
could see. On the other, the waveless ocean curtain which hid the shrine. They rose-
slept in the calm of the night. People this they looked on one another— they embraced.
lovely scene with tens of thousands of human Then they descended separately among the
creatures, all dressed in white, stretching down people. The people made way for them in dead
the sides of the hill, overflowing into the plain, silence. In three different directions I saw
and fringing the nearer banks of the winding the crowd part at one and the same moment.
rivers. Light this halt of the pilgrims by the Slowly the grand white mass of the people
wild red flames of cressets and torches, stream- closed together again. The track of the doomed
ing up at intervals from every part of the in- men through the ranks of their fellow mortals
numerable throng. Imagine the moonlight of was obliterated. We saw them no more.
the East, pouring in unclouded glory over all- A new strain of music, loud and jubilant,
and you will form some idea of the view that rose from the hidden shrine. The crowd
met me when I looked forth from the summit around me shuddered, and pressed together.
of the hill. The curtain between the trees was drawn
A strain of plaintive music, played on stringed aside, and the shrine was disclosed to view.
instruments and flutes, recalled my attention There, raised high on a throne- seated on
to the hidden shrine. his typical antelope, with his four arms stretch-
I turned, and saw on the rocky platform the ing towards the four corners of the earth
figures of three men. In the central figure of there, soared above us, dark and awful in the
the three I recognised the man to whom I had mystic light of heaven, the god of the Moon.
spoken in England , when the Indians appeared And there, in the forehead of the deity, gleamed
on the terrace at Lady Verinder's house. The the yellow Diamond, whose splendour had last
other two who had been his companions on shone on me in England from the bosom of
that occasion were no doubt his companions a woman's dress !
also on this. Yes ! after the lapse of eight centuries, the
One of the spectators near whom I was Moonstone looks forth once more over the

ABHATTOFZA
standing saw me start. In a whisper, he walls of the sacred city in which its story
explained to me the apparition of the three first began. How it has found its way back
figures on the platform of rock. to its wild native land-by what accident or
They were Brahmins ( he said) who had for- by what crime the Indians regained posses-
feited their caste in the service of the god. sion of their sacred gem, may be in your
The god had commanded that their purifica- knowledge, but is not in mine. You have
tion should be the purification by pilgrimage. lost sight of it in England, and (if I know
On that night the three men were to part. anything of this people) you have lost sight
In three separate directions they were to set of it for ever.
forth as pilgrims to the shrines of India. So the years pass, and repeat each other ;

PESTRI
Never more were they to look on each other's so the same events revolve in the cycles of
faces. Never more were they to rest on their time. What will be the next adventures of
wanderings, from the day which witnessed the Moonstone ? Who can tell ?

THE END

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