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to us。 At one side of this was a squat; brass…bound wooden box; the
lid of which was hinged upward; with this curious old…fashioned key
projecting from the lock。 It was furred outside by a thick layer of
dust; and damp and worms had eaten through the wood; so that a crop of
livid fungi was growing on the inside of it。 Several discs of metal;
old coins apparently; such as I hold here; were scattered over the
bottom of the box; but it contained nothing else。
〃At the moment; however; we had no thought for the old chest; for
our eyes were riveted upon that which crouched beside it。 It was the
figure of a man; clad in a suit of black; who squatted down upon his
hams with his forehead sunk upon the edge of the box and his two
arms thrown out on each side of it。 The attitude had drawn all the
stagnant blood to the face; and no man could have recognized that
distorted liver…coloured countenance; but his height; his dress; and
his hair were all sufficient to show my client; when we had drawn
the body up; that it was indeed his missing butler。 He had been dead
some days; but there was no wound or bruise upon his person to show
how he had met his dreadful end。 When his body had been carried from
the cellar we found ourselves still confronted with a problem which
was almost as formidable as that with which we had started。
〃I confess that so far; Watson; I had been disappointed in my
investigation。 I had reckoned upon solving the matter when once I
had found the place referred to in the Ritual; but now I was there;
and was apparently as far as ever from knowing what it was which the
family had concealed with such elaborate precautions。 It is true
that I had thrown a light upon the fate of Brunton; but now I had to
ascertain how that fate had come upon him; and what part had been
played in the matter by the woman who had disappeared。 I sat down upon
a keg in the corner and thought the whole matter carefully over。
〃You know my methods in such cases; Watson。 I put myself in the
man's place; and; having first gauged his intelligence; I try to
imagine how I should myself have proceeded under the same
circumstances。 In this case the matter was simplified by Brunton's
intelligence being quite first…rate; so that it was unnecessary to
make any allowance for the personal equation; as the astronomers
have dubbed it。 He knew that something valuable was concealed。 He
had spotted the place。 He found that the stone which covered it was
just too heavy for a man to move unaided。 What would he do next? He
could not get help from outside; even if he had someone whom he
could trust; without the unbarring of doors and considerable risk of
detection。 It was better; if he could; to have his helpmate inside the
house。 But whom could he ask? This girl had been devoted to him。 A man
always finds 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 presumably…since they were not to be found…and
then…and 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; perhaps; far more than we suspected…in 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 questions 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 sessions buried
behind them; with the intention of returning for them in more peaceful
times。'
〃'My ancestor; Sir Ralph Musgrave; was a prominent cavalier and
the righthand 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 a 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 con