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第5节

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小说: adventure05 字数: 每页4000字

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it hard to realize that he may have finally lost a

woman's love; however badly he may have treated her。 

He would try by a few attentions to make his peace

with the girl Howells; and then would engage her as

his accomplice。  Together they would come at night to

the cellar; and their united force would suffice to

raise the stone。  So far I could follow their actions

as if I had actually seen them。



〃But for two of them; and one a woman; it must have

been heavy work the raising of that stone。  A burly

Sussex policeman and I had found it no light job。 

What would they do to assist them?  Probably what I

should have done myself。  I rose and examined

carefully the different billets of wood which were

scattered round the floor。  Almost at once I came upon

what I expected。  One piece; about three feet in

length; had a very marked indentation at one end;

while several were flattened at the sides as if they

had been compressed by some considerable weight。 

Evidently; as they had dragged the stone up they had

thrust the chunks of wood into the chink; until at

last; when the opening was large enough to crawl

through; they would hold it open by a billet placed

lengthwise; which might very well become indented at

the lower end; since the whole weight of the stone

would press it down on to the edge of this other slab。 

So far I was still on safe ground。



〃And now how was I to proceed to reconstruct this

midnight drama?  Clearly; only one could fit into the

hole; and that one was Brunton。  The girl must have

waited above。  Brunton then unlocked the box; handed

up the contents presumablysince they were not to be

foundand thenand then what happened?



〃What smouldering fire of vengeance had suddenly

sprung into flame in this passionate Celtic woman's

soul when she saw the man who had wronged herwronged

her; perhaps; far more than we suspectedin her

power?  Was it a chance that the wood had slipped; and

that the stone had shut Brunton into what had become

his sepulchre?  Had she only been guilty of silence as

to his fate?  Or had some sudden blow from her hand

dashed the support away and sent the slab crashing

down into its place?  Be that as it might; I seemed to

see that woman's figure still clutching at her

treasure trove and flying wildly up the winding stair;

with her ears ringing perhaps with the muffled screams

from behind her and with the drumming of frenzied

hands against the slab of stone which was choking her

faithless lover's life out。



〃Here was the secret of her blanched face; her shaken

nerves; her peals of hysterical laughter on the next

morning。  But what had been in the box?  What had she

done with that?  Of course; it must have been the old

metal and pebbles which my client had dragged from the

mere。  She had thrown them in there at the first

opportunity to remove the last trace of her crime。



〃For twenty minutes I had sat motionless; thinking the

matter out。  Musgrave still stood with a very pale

face; swinging his lantern and peering down into the

hole。



〃'These are coins of Charles the First;' said he;

holding out the few which had been in the box; 'you

see we were right in fixing our date for the Ritual。'



〃'We may find something else of Charles the First;' I

cried; as the probable meaning of the first two

question of the Ritual broke suddenly upon me。  'Let

me see the contents of the bag which you fished from

the mere。'





〃We ascended to his study; and he laid the debris

before me。  I could understand his regarding it as of

small importance when I looked at it; for the metal

was almost black and the stones lustreless and dull。 

I rubbed one of them on my sleeve; however; and it

glowed afterwards like a spark in the dark hollow of

my hand。  The metal work was in the form of a double

ring; but it had been bent and twisted out of its

original shape。



〃'You must bear in mind;' said I; 'that the royal

party made head in England even after the death of the

king; and that when they at last fled they probably

left many of their most precious possession buried

behind them; with the intention of returning for them

in more peaceful times。'



〃'My ancestor; Sir Ralph Musgrave; as a prominent

Cavalier and the right…hand man of Charles the Second

in his wanderings;' said my friend。



〃'Ah; indeed!' I answered。  'Well now; I think that

really should give us the last link that we wanted。  I

must congratulate you on coming into the possession;

though in rather a tragic manner of a relic which is

of great intrinsic value; but of even greater

importance as an historical curiosity。'



〃'What is it; then?' he gasped in astonishment。



〃'It is nothing less than the ancient crown of the

kings of England。'



〃'The crown!'



〃'Precisely。  Consider what the Ritual says:  How does

it run?  〃Whose was it?〃  〃His who is gone。〃  That was

after the execution of Charles。  Then; 〃Who shall have

it?〃  〃He who will come。〃  That was Charles the

Second; whose advent was already foreseen。  There can;

I think; be no doubt that this battered and shapeless

diadem once encircled the brows of the royal Stuarts。'



〃'And how came it in the pond?'



〃'Ah; that is a question that will take some time to

answer。'  And with that I sketched out to him the

whole long chain of surmise and of proof which I had

constructed。  The twilight had closed in and the moon

was shining brightly in the sky before my narrative

was finished。



〃'And how was it then that Charles did not get his

crown when he returned?' asked Musgrave; pushing back

the relic into its linen bag。



〃'Ah; there you lay your finger upon the one point

which we shall probably never be able to clear up。  It

is likely that the Musgrave who held the secret died

in the interval; and by some oversight left this guide

to his descendant without explaining the meaning of

it。  From that day to this it has been handed down

from father to son; until at last it came within reach

of a man who tore its secret out of it and lost his

life in the venture。'





〃And that's the story of the Musgrave Ritual; Watson。 

They have the crown down at Hurlstonethough they had

some legal bother and a considerable sum to pay before

they were allowed to retain it。  I am sure that if you

mentioned my name they would be happy to show it to

you。  Of the woman nothing was ever heard; and the

probability is that she got away out of England and

carried herself and the memory of her crime to some

land beyond the seas。〃


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