Part 48 (2/2)

”Cast thy bread upon the waters,” said Calton, oracularly. ”The kindness of Miss Frettlby to that poor waif is already bearing fruit--grat.i.tude is the rarest of qualities, rarer even than modesty.”

Fitzgerald made no answer, but stared out of the window, and thought of his darling lying sick unto death, and he able to do nothing to save her.

”Well,” said Calton, sharply.

”Oh, I beg your pardon,” said Fitzgerald, turning in confusion. ”I suppose the will must be read, and all that sort of thing.”

”Yes,” answered the barrister, ”I am one of the executors.”

”And the others?”

”Yourself and Chinston,” answered Calton; ”so I suppose,” turning to the desk, ”we can look at his papers, and see that all is straight.”

”Yes, I suppose so,” replied Brian, mechanically, his thoughts far away, and then he turned again to the window. Suddenly Calton gave vent to an exclamation of surprise, and, turning hastily, Brian saw him holding a thick roll of papers in his hand, which he had taken out of the drawer.

”Look here, Fitzgerald,” he said, greatly excited, ”here is Frettlby's confession--look!” and he held it up.

Brian sprang forward in astonishment. So at last the hansom cab mystery was to be cleared up. These sheets, no doubt, contained the whole narration of the crime, and how it was committed.

”We will read it, of course,” he said, hesitating, half hoping that Calton would propose to destroy it at once.

”Yes,” answered Calton; ”the three executors must read it, and then--we will burn it.”

”That will be the better way,” answered Brian, gloomily. ”Frettlby is dead, and the law can do nothing in the matter, so it would be best to avoid the scandal of publicity. But why tell Chinston?”

”We must,” said Calton, decidedly. ”He will be sure to gather the truth from Madge's ravings, and he may as well know all. He is quite safe, and will be silent as the grave. But I am more sorry to tell Kilsip.”

”The detective? Good G.o.d, Calton, surely you will not do so!”

”I must,” replied the barrister, quietly. ”Kilsip is firmly persuaded that Moreland committed the crime, and I have the same dread of his pertinacity as you had of mine. He may find out all.”

”What must be, must be,” said Fitzgerald, clenching his hands. ”But I hope no one else will find out this miserable story. There's Moreland, for instance.”

”Ah, true!” said Calton, thoughtfully. ”He called and saw Frettlby the other night, you say?”

”Yes. I wonder what for?”

”There is only one answer,” said the barrister, slowly. ”He must have seen Frettlby following Whyte when he left the hotel, and wanted hush-money.”

”I wonder if he got it?” observed Fitzgerald.

”Oh, I'll soon find that out,” answered Calton, opening the drawer again, and taking out the dead man's cheque-book. ”Let me see what cheques have been drawn lately.”

Most of the blocks were filled up for small amounts, and one or two for a hundred or so. Calton could find no large sum such as Moreland would have demanded, when, at the very end of the book, he found a cheque torn off, leaving the block-slip quite blank.

”There you are,” he said, triumphantly holding out the book to Fitzgerald. ”He wasn't such a fool as to write in the amount on the block, but tore the cheque out, and wrote in the sum required.”

”And what's to be done about it?”

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