In Strange Company Part 24

"Well then, I give it up, first time."

"And yet, I reckon, it's as clear as daylight. Who should you call the most important person in the whole affair?"

"Why, the chap who caused it all--the man who led them such a dance--the man who died."

"You mean the man who, by rights, ought to have been where the sheet of lead was, in that coffin?"

"I do."

"Well, that's how I came to know about it."

I jumped to my feet, and all the other occupants of the room, hearing my exclamation of surprise, turned round to look at me.

"What the devil do you mean?"

"Why, can't you guess? Because, sonny, I'm that man. I'm the man who led them such a dance. I'm the man who ought to have been dead and buried in that coffin. In fact, _I'm Marcos Veneda_!"

PART III.

CHAPTER I.

RAMSAY IS RELEASED FROM CUSTODY.

To say that I was only astonished by Veneda's information, and the explanation he gave to my mystery, would be to define it too tamely altogether. To tell the truth, at the time I was so completely overwhelmed by it as to be unable to grasp, in the least degree, what significance it had for me.

Strange though it may appear, while the most galling part of the whole business could not but be Juanita's treachery to myself, this was almost atoned for, in my mind, by the remembrance of her singular behaviour on the evening preceding my arrest. Come what may, with this knowledge before me, I shall always cherish the belief that not only was the affection she pretended to entertain for me perfectly genuine, but also that she was alone driven to such extreme measures by the extraordinary influence the Albino possessed over her.

Poor Juanita! To be unable to feel bitterly towards you may be to show myself a soft-hearted fool, but whenever I think of that night on the King's Plain, and remember your sorrowful cry, "Oh, Jack, Jack, if you only knew; if we could but be our true selves for one little moment!"

all reproaches die out of my heart, and in their place springs up a great pity and a great compa.s.sion for you.

Another thing that gave me plenty to think about was the strange fact of my meeting Veneda, of all people, and in such a place! Though as yet I knew next to nothing of his history, I could not but see that his connection with the affair we were both so interested in was genuine enough. As for himself, as soon as he had told me his name he left me, and went without another word to his bed, not to speak again till morning.

When I woke it was just daylight, the door was open, and the prisoners were pa.s.sing in and out. So far as I could see, in the part of the building in which I was confined, no recognized employment was found for them; though in the other wards, I believe, they were taken out under escort, to do the street scavenging, wood-cutting, public gardening, etc.

A little before seven o'clock a coa.r.s.e meal was served to us, and while I was partaking of it, Veneda came up. I made room for him to sit down on the bench beside me, for I was burning to question him further on the subject that lay nearest to both our hearts.

"Look here," I said, "for goodness' sake let's get this thing properly squared up. I've been puzzling my brain over it till I'm nearly crazy. I _must_ understand two or three things more."

"Go ahead," he replied; "you can't be more anxious to get to the bed rock than I am. What do you want to know?"

"Well, in the first place, how on earth you managed to die and come to life again so cleverly? Juanita told me she saw you lying stiff and stark in your bunk."

"So she did, as far as she knew; but I was only playing 'possum. It was the one way out of my difficulty, you see. I knew I had to get rid of her, and there was no other fas.h.i.+on in which it could be managed."

"Then the captain was in the secret after all, and his dislike to you was all a.s.sumed?"

"Every bit! But he was a money-grubbing old dog, was Boulger, and it cost me a cool hundred to bring him up to the scratch. Once that was done, all was plain sailing. After leaving Tahiti, cholera, Yellow Jack, fish-poisoning, or some other disease came aboard, and the crew and mate went down before it like ninepins. There was my chance! I pretended to go under to it too. The skipper acted his part like a little man, and wouldn't let Juanita into the cabin for fear of detection. Then, in the night, I died. Next day, according to her wish, my dummy was taken ash.o.r.e, and buried on Vanua Lava, while I was safely stowed away in the skipper's cabin, until we reached Thursday Island. There _she_ remained to hunt up a way of getting back to look for that locket."

"While you?"

"Next morning I caught a craft sailing this way, intending to pick up a mail-boat from Batavia, home. But luck was against me; I ran athwart the hawse of a Dutch officer; put a bullet into him, and got locked up.

That's how I came here. Want to know any more?"

"One thing. Now you're alive, what is going to become of your wife?"

"My wife? And who may she be? Never heard of the lady."

"But Juanita?"

Veneda whistled a long note of astonishment.

"You don't mean to tell me she's been parading me as her husband?"

"You're not? You're not Juanita's husband?"

"You'd better believe I'm not."

"Then, my G.o.d! how I've been fooled!"

Veneda seemed not to notice my remark, but sat staring at the blue sky above us. Suddenly he sprang to his feet.

"Look here, Ramsay," he cried, "come what may, I must get out of this, and you must help me."

"How can I help you? If it comes to that, I'm in quite as bad a fix as you are."

"No, I think not," he continued gravely. "I shouldn't be at all surprised if you find yourself at liberty to-night."

"What do you mean?" I asked, jumping at the hope he held out. "What do you think can bring such a thing about?"

"Never mind, you wait and see. But if you do get off, will you pledge yourself to a.s.sist me?"

"If I do get off," I said, "I could inform the consul of your being here, and he would get you out himself."

"No, no, that would never do; I've been thinking it over. If the consul gets wind of it, he'll make inquiries; then the matter will get bruited about, and will be certain to come to the ears of the Albino's agents."

"Agents?"

"Why, of course. You don't imagine that little devil hasn't arranged for somebody to watch your movements here, and at the same time to hunt about for me! Bless your heart, now that he knows I'm alive, I'd bet a thousand pounds to a half-penny he finds out I'm in here."

"Good heavens," I cried, "it's a perfect network of plots and counterplots, and I seem fated not to understand it. Now you're alive, and still the possessor of your money, what do they want that locket for? They can never hope to find out where you buried the gold."