“Yes. Her bed this morning had not been slept in, her room wasempty, and a note for me lay upon the hall table. I had said to herlast night, in sorrow and not in anger, that if she had married myboy all might have been well with him. Perhaps it was thoughtlessof me to say so. It is to that remark that she refers in this note:
“ ‘MY DEAREST UNCLE: —I feel that I have brought troubleupon you, and that if I had acted differently this terrible misfortunemight never have occurred. I cannot, with this thought in my mind,ever again be happy under your roof, and I feel that I must leaveyou forever. Do not worry about my future, for that is provided for;and, above all, do not search for me, for it will be fruitless labourand an ill-service to me. In life or in death, I am ever your loving“ ‘MARY.’
“What could she mean by that note, Mr. Holmes? Do you thinkit points to suicide?”
“No, no, nothing of the kind. It is perhaps the best possiblesolution. I trust, Mr. Holder, that you are nearing the end of yourtroubles.”
“Ha! You say so! You have heard something, Mr. Holmes; youhave learned something! Where are the gems?”
“You would not think ￡1000 apiece an excessive sum for them?”
“I would pay ten.”
“That would be unnecessary. Three thousand will cover thematter. And there is a little reward, I fancy. Have you your checkbook?
Here is a pen. Better make it out for ￡4000.”
With a dazed face the banker made out the required check.
Holmes walked over to his desk, took out a little triangular pieceof gold with three gems in it, and threw it down upon the table.
With a shriek of joy our client clutched it up.
“You have it!” he gasped. “I am saved! I am saved!”
The reaction of joy was as passionate as his grief had been, andhe hugged his recovered gems to his bosom.
“There is one other thing you owe, Mr. Holder,” said SherlockHolmes rather sternly.
“Owe!” He caught up a pen. “Name the sum, and I will pay it.”
“No, the debt is not to me. You owe a very humble apology tothat noble lad, your son, who has carried himself in this matter asI should be proud to see my own son do, should I ever chance tohave one.”
“Then it was not Arthur who took them?”
“I told you yesterday, and I repeat to-day, that it was not.”
“You are sure of it! Then let us hurry to him at once to let himknow that the truth is known.”
“He knows it already. When I had cleared it all up I had aninterview with him, and finding that he would not tell me thestory, I told it to him, on which he had to confess that I was rightand to add the very few details which were not yet quite clear tome. Your news of this morning, however, may open his lips.”
“For heaven’s sake, tell me, then, what is this extraordinarymystery!”
“I will do so, and I will show you the steps by which I reachedit. And let me say to you, first, that which it is hardest for me tosay and for you to hear: there has been an understanding betweenSir George Burnwell and your niece Mary. They have now fledtogether.”
“My Mary? Impossible!”
“It is unfortunately more than possible; it is certain. Neitheryou nor your son knew the true character of this man whenyou admitted him into your family circle. He is one of the mostdangerous men in England—a ruined gambler, an absolutelydesperate villain, a man without heart or conscience. Your nieceknew nothing of such men. When he breathed his vows to her, ashe had done to a hundred before her, she flattered herself that shealone had touched his heart. The devil knows best what he said,but at least she became his tool and was in the habit of seeing himnearly every evening.”
“I cannot, and I will not, believe it!” cried the banker with anashen face.
“I will tell you, then, what occurred in your house last night.
Your niece, when you had, as she thought, gone to your room,slipped down and talked to her lover through the window whichleads into the stable lane. His footmarks had pressed right throughthe snow, so long had he stood there. She told him of the coronet.
His wicked lust for gold kindled at the news, and he bent her tohis will. I have no doubt that she loved you, but there are womenin whom the love of a lover extinguishes all other loves, and Ithink that she must have been one. She had hardly listened to hisinstructions when she saw you coming downstairs, on which sheclosed the window rapidly and told you about one of the servants’
escapade with her wooden-legged lover, which was all perfectlytrue.
“Your boy, Arthur, went to bed after his interview with you buthe slept badly on account of his uneasiness about his club debts.
In the middle of the night he heard a soft tread pass his door, sohe rose and, looking out, was surprised to see his cousin walkingvery stealthily along the passage until she disappeared into yourdressing-room. Petrified with astonishment, the lad slipped onsome clothes and waited there in the dark to see what would comeof this strange affair. Presently she emerged from the room again,and in the light of the passage-lamp your son saw that she carriedthe precious coronet in her hands. She passed down the stairs,and he, thrilling with horror, ran along and slipped behind thecurtain near your door, whence he could see what passed in thehall beneath. He saw her stealthily open the window, hand out thecoronet to someone in the gloom, and then closing it once morehurry back to her room, passing quite close to where he stood hidbehind the curtain.
“As long as she was on the scene he could not take any actionwithout a horrible exposure of the woman whom he loved. But theinstant that she was gone he realised how crushing a misfortunethis would be for you, and how all-important it was to set it right.
