Part 24 (1/2)

Barton mentioned that he was delighted, and added, ”Not at all,” in the vague modern dialect.

”This Mr. Richard Johnson, then, was a somewhat singular character. He was what is called a 'statesman' in the North. He had a small property of about four hundred acres, on the marches, as they say, or boarders of the Earl of Birkenhead's lands. Here he lived almost alone, and in a very quiet way. There was not even a village near him, and there were few persons of his own position in life, because his little place was almost embedded, if I may say so, in Lord Birkenhead's country, which is pastoral. You are with me, so far?”

”Perfectly,” said Barton.

”This Mr. Johnson, then, lived quite alone, with an old housekeeper, dead since his decease, and with one son, called Richard, like himself.

The young man was of an adventurous character, a ne'er-do-weel in fact; and about twenty years ago he left Linkheaton, after a violent quarrel with his father. It was understood that he had run away to sea. Two years later he returned; there was another quarrel, and the old man turned him out, vowing that he would never forgive him. But, not long after that, a very rich deposit of coal--a _very_ rich deposit,” said Mr. Wright, with the air of a man tasting most excellent claret--”was discovered on this very estate of Linkheaton. Old Johnson, without much exertion on his part, and simply through the payment of royalties by the company that worked the coal, became exceedingly opulent, in what you call most affluent circ.u.mstances.”

Here Mr. Wright paused, as if to see whether Barton was beginning to understand the point of the narrative, which, it is needless to remark, he was _not_. There is no marked connection between coal mines, however lucrative, and ”Les Tatouages, etude Medico-Legale.”

”In spite of his wealth, Mr. Johnson in no way changed his habits. He invested his money carefully, under our advice, and he became, as I said, an extremely warm man. But he continued to live in the old farmhouse, and did not, in any way, court society. To tell the truth, except Lord Birkenhead, who is our client, I never knew anyone who was at all intimate with the old man. Lord Birkenhead had a respect for him, as a neighbor and a person of the old-fas.h.i.+oned type. Yes,” Mr. Wright added, seeing that his son was going to speak, ”and, as you were about to say, Tom, they were brought together by a common misfortune. Like old Mr. Johnson, his lords.h.i.+p has a son who is very, very--unsatisfactory.

His lords.h.i.+p has not seen the Honorable Mr. Thomas Cranley for many years; and in that lonely country the two boys had been companions in wild amus.e.m.e.nts, long before. He is _very_ unsatisfactory, the Honorable Thomas Cranley;” and Mr. Wright sighed heavily, in sympathy with a client so n.o.ble and so afflicted.

”I know the beast,” said Barton, without reflecting.

Mr. Wright looked at him in amazement and horror. ”The beast!” A son of Lord Birkenhead's called ”The beast!”

”To return to our case, Dr. Barton,” he went on severely, with some stress laid on the _doctor_. ”Mr. Johnson died, leaving, by a will made on his death-bed, all that he possessed to his son Richard, or, in case of his decease, to the heirs of his body lawfully begotten. From that day to this we have hunted everywhere for the man. We have traced him all over the world; we have heard of him in Australia, Burmah, Guiana, Smyrna, but at Smyrna we lose sight of him. This advertis.e.m.e.nt,” said the old gentleman, taking up the outside sheet of the _Times_, and folding it so as to bring the second column into view, ”remained for more than seven months unanswered, or only answered by impostors and idiots.”

He tapped his finger on the place as he handed the paper to Barton, who read aloud:

”Linkheaton.--If Richard Johnson, of Linkheaton, Durham, last heard of at Smyrna in 1875, will apply to Messrs. Martin and Wright, Lincoln's Inn Fields, he will hear of something very greatly to his advantage. His father died, forgiving him. A reward of 1,000 will be paid to anyone producing Richard Johnson, or proving his decease.”

”As a mixture of business with the home affections,” said old Mr. Wright proudly (for the advertis.e.m.e.nt was of his own composition), ”I think that leaves little ta be desired.”

”It is admirable,” said Barton--”admirable; but may I ask----”

”Where the tattooing comes in?” said Mr. Wright. ”I am just approaching _that_. The only person from whom we received any reliable information about Richard Johnson was an old s.h.i.+p-mate of his, a wandering, adventurous character, now, I believe, in Paraguay, where we cannot readily communicate with him. According to his account, Johnson was an ordinary seafaring man, tanned, and wearing a black beard, but easily to be recognized for an excellent reason. _He was tattooed almost all over his whole body_.”

Barton nearly leaped out of his chair, the client's chair, so sudden a light flashed on him.

”What is the matter, Dr. Barton! I _thought_ I should interest you; but you seem quite excited.”

”I really beg your pardon,” said Barton. ”It was automatic, I think; besides, I _am_ extremely interested in tattooing.”

”Then, sir, it is a pity you could not have seen Johnson. He appears, from what our informant tells us, to have been a most remarkable specimen. He had been tattooed by Australian blacks, by Burmese, by Arabs, and, in a peculiar blue tint and to a particular pattern, by the Dyacks of Borneo. We have here a rough chart, drawn by our informant, of his princ.i.p.al decorations.”

Here the lawyer solemnly unrolled a great sheet of drawing-paper, on which was rudely outlined the naked figure of a man, filled up, on the breast, thighs, and arms, with ornamental designs.

The guess which made Barton leap up had not been mistaken: he recognized the tattooings he had seen on the dead body of d.i.c.ky s.h.i.+elds.

This confirmation of what he had conjectured, however, did not draw any exclamation or mark of excitement from Barton, who was now on his guard.

”This is highly interesting,” he said, as he examined the diagram; ”and I am sure, Mr. Wright, that it should not be difficult to recognize a claimant with such remarkable peculiarities.”

”No, sir; it is easy enough, and we have been able to dismiss scores of sham Richard Johnsons. But one man presented himself the day before yesterday--a rough sailor fellow, who went straight to the point; asked if the man we wanted had any private marks; said he knew what they were, and showed us his wrist, which exactly, as far as we could verify the design, corresponded to that drawing.”

”Well,” asked Barton, controlling his excitement by a great effort, ”what did you do with him?”