The Herapath Property Part 11

Burchill calmly lighted a cigarette for himself before he answered.

"Well," he said at last, "I don't know--you never know who's going to turn up. But to be candid, I didn't expect to see you, and I don't know why you've come."

Barthorpe slowly produced the letter-case from his pocket, took Burchill's letter from it, and held it before him.

"That's what brought me here," he said significantly. "That! Of course, you recognize it."

Burchill glanced at the letter without turning a hair. If he was merely acting, thought Barthorpe, he was doing it splendidly, and instead of writing dramatic criticism he ought to put on the sock and buskins himself. But somehow he began to believe that Burchill was not acting.

And he was presently sure of it when Burchill laughed--contemptuously.

"Oh!" said Burchill. "Ah! So Mr. Jacob Herapath employs legal a.s.sistance--your a.s.sistance--in answering me? Foolish--foolis.h.!.+ Or, since that is, perhaps, too strong a word--indiscreet. Indiscreet--and unnecessary. Say so, pray, to Mr. Jacob Herapath."

Barthorpe remained silent a moment; then he put the letter back in the case and gave Burchill a sharp steady look.

"Good gracious, man!" he said quietly. "Are you pretending? Or--haven't you heard? Say--that--to Jacob Herapath? Jacob Herapath is dead!"

Burchill certainly started at that. What was more he dropped his cigarette, and when he straightened himself from picking it up his face was flushed a little.

"Upon my honour!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know. Dead! When? It must have been sudden."

"Sudden!" said Barthorpe. "Sudden? He was murdered!"

There was no doubt that this surprised Burchill. At any rate, he showed all the genuine signs of surprise. He stood staring at Barthorpe for a full minute of silence, and when he spoke his voice had lost something of its usual affectation.

"Murdered?" he said. "Murdered! Are you sure of that? You are? Good heavens!--no, I've heard nothing. But I've not been out since two o'clock this morning, so how could I hear? Murdered----" he broke off sharply and stared at his visitor. "And you came to me--why?"

"I came to ask you if you remember witnessing my uncle's will," replied Barthorpe promptly. "Give me a plain answer. Do you remember?"

CHAPTER IX

GREEK AGAINST GREEK

At this direct question, Burchill, who had been standing on the hearthrug since Barthorpe entered the room, turned away and took a seat in the corner of a lounge opposite his visitor. He gave Barthorpe a peculiarly searching look before he spoke, and as soon as he replied Barthorpe knew that here was a man who was not readily to be drawn.

"Oh," said Burchill, "so I am supposed to have witnessed a will made by Mr. Jacob Herapath, am I?"

Barthorpe made a gesture of impatience.

"Don't talk rot!" he said testily. "A man either knows that he witnessed a will or knows that he didn't witness a will."

"Excuse me," returned Burchill, "I don't agree with that proposition. I can imagine it quite possible that a man may think he has witnessed a will when he has done nothing of the sort. I can also imagine it just as possible that a man may have really witnessed a will when he thought he was signing some much less important doc.u.ment. Of course, you're a lawyer, and I'm not. But I believe that what I have just said is much more in accordance with what we may call the truth of life than what you've said."

"If a man sees another man sign a doc.u.ment and witnesses the signature together with a third man who had been present throughout, what would you say was being done?" asked Barthorpe, sneeringly. "Come, now?"

"I quite apprehend your meaning," replied Burchill. "You put it very cleverly."

"Then why don't you answer my question?" demanded Barthorpe.

Burchill laughed softly.

"Why not answer mine?" he said. "However, I'll ask it in another and more direct form. Have you seen my signature as witness to a will made by Jacob Herapath?"

"Yes," replied Barthorpe.

"Are you sure it was my signature?" asked Burchill.

Barthorpe lifted his eyes and looked searchingly at his questioner. But Burchill's face told him nothing. What was more, he was beginning to feel that he was not going to get anything out of Burchill that Burchill did not want to tell. He remained silent, and again Burchill laughed.

"You see," he said, "I can suppose all sorts of things. I can suppose, for example, that there's such a thing as forging a signature--two signatures--three signatures to a will--or, indeed, to any other doc.u.ment. Don't you think that instead of asking me a direct question like this that you'd better wait until this will comes before the--is it the Probate Court?--and then let some of the legal gentlemen ask me if that--that!--is my signature? I'm only putting it to you, you know. But perhaps you'd like to tell me--all about it?" He paused, looking carefully at Barthorpe, and as Barthorpe made no immediate answer, he went on speaking in a lower, softer tone. "All about it," he repeated insinuatingly. "Ah!"

Barthorpe suddenly flung his cigarette in the hearth with a gesture that implied decision.

"I will!" he exclaimed. "It may be the shortest way out. Very well--listen, then. I tell you my uncle was murdered at his office about--well, somewhere between twelve and three o'clock this morning.

Naturally, after the preliminaries were over, I wanted to find out if he'd made a will--naturally, I say."

"Naturally, you would," murmured Burchill.

"I didn't believe he had," continued Barthorpe. "But I examined his safe at the office, and I was going to examine that in his study at Portman Square when Tertius said in the presence of my cousin, myself, and Selwood, your successor, that there was a will, and produced one from a secret drawer in an old bureau----"

"A secret drawer in an old bureau!" murmured Burchill. "How deeply interesting for all of you!--quite dramatic. Yes?"

"Which, on being inspected," continued Barthorpe, "proved to be a holograph----"

"Pardon," interrupted Burchill, "a holograph? Now, I am very ignorant.

What is a holograph?"

"A holograph will is a will entirely written in the handwriting of the person who makes it," replied Barthorpe.

"I see. So this was written out by Mr. Jacob Herapath, and witnessed by--whom?" asked Burchill.

"Tertius as first witness, and you as second," answered Barthorpe. "Now then, I've told you all about it. What are you going to tell me?

Come--did you witness this will or not? Good gracious, man!--don't you see what a serious thing it is?"

"How can I when I don't know the contents of the will?" asked Burchill.

"You haven't told me that--yet."

Barthorpe swallowed an exclamation of rage.

"Contents!" he exclaimed. "He left everything--everything!--to my cousin! Everything to her."

"And nothing to you," said Burchill, accentuating his habitual drawl.

"Really, how infernally inconsiderate! Yes--now I see that it is serious. But--only for you."

Barthorpe glared angrily at him and began to growl, almost threateningly.