A Strange Disappearance Read online

  CHAPTER III. THE CONTENTS OF A BUREAU DRAWER

  Mr. Blake was standing in the centre of the room when I entered,carelessly following with his eyes the motion of Mr. Gryce's finger asthat gentleman pointed with unwearying assiduity to the various littledetails that had struck us. His hat was still in his hand, and hepresented a very formidable and imposing appearance, or so Mrs. Danielsappeared to think as she stood watching him from the corner, whither shehad withdrawn herself.

  "A forcible departure you see," exclaimed Mr. Gryce; "she had not eventime to gather up her clothes;" and with a sudden movement he stoopedand pulled out one of the bureau drawers before the eyes of hisnonchalant listener.

  Immediately a smothered exclamation struck our ears, and Mrs. Danielsstarted forward.

  "I pray, gentlemen," she entreated, advancing in such a way as to placeherself against the front of the bureau in a manner to preclude theopening of any more drawers, "that you will remember that a modest womansuch as this girl was, would hardly like to have her clothing displayedbefore the eyes of strangers."

  Mr. Gryce instantly closed the drawer.

  "You are right," said he; "pardon the rough ways of a somewhat hardenedofficer of the law."

  She drew up closer to the bureau, still protecting it with her meagrebut energetic form while her eyes rested with almost a savage expressionupon the master of the house as if he, and not the detective, had beenthe aggressor whose advances she feared.

  Mr. Blake did not return the look.

  "If that is all you can show me, I think I will proceed to myappointment," said he. "The matter does seem to be more serious than Ithought, and if you judge it necessary to take any active measures, why,let no consideration of my great and inherent dislike to notoriety ofany kind, interfere with what you consider your duty. As for the house,it is at your command, under Mrs. Daniels' direction. Good morning." Andreturning our bows with one singularly impressive for all its elegantcarelessness, he at once withdrew.

  Mrs. Daniels took one long deep breath and came from the bureau.Instantly Mr. Gryce stooped and pulled out the drawer she had so visiblyprotected. A white towel met our eyes, spread neatly out at its fulllength. Lifting it, we looked beneath. A carefully folded dress of darkblue silk, to all appearance elegantly made, confronted our rathereager eyes. Beside it, a collar of exquisite lace--I know enough of suchmatters to be a judge--pricked through by a gold breast-pin of a strangeand unique pattern. A withered bunch of what appeared to have been abouquet of red roses, surmounted the whole, giving to the otherwisecommonplace collection the appearance of a relic from the tomb.

  We both drew back in some amazement, involuntarily glancing up at Mrs.Daniels.

  "I have no explanation to give," said that woman, with a calmnessstrangely in contrast to the agitation she had displayed while Mr. Blakehad remained in the room. "That those things rich as they are, reallybelonged to the girl, I have no doubt. She brought them when she came,and they only confirm what I have before intimated: that she was noordinary sewing girl, but a woman who had seen better days."

  With a low "humph!" and another glance at the dark blue dress anddelicate collar, Mr. Gryce carefully replaced the cloth he had takenfrom them, and softly closed the drawer without either of us having laida finger upon a single article. Five minutes later he disappeared fromthe room.

  I did not see him again till occasion took me below, when I beheld himsoftly issue from Mr. Blake's private apartment. Meeting me, he smiled,and I saw that whether he was conscious of betraying it or not, he hadcome upon some clue or at the least fashioned for himself some theorywith which he was more or less satisfied.

  "An elegant apartment, that," whispered he, nodding sideways toward theroom he had just left, "pity you haven't time to examine it."

  "Are you sure that I haven't?" returned I, drawing a step nearer toescape the eyes of Mrs. Daniels who had descended after me.

  "Quite sure;" and we hastened down together into the yard.

  But my curiosity once aroused in this way would not let me rest. Takingan opportunity when Mr. Gryce was engaged in banter with the girlsbelow, and in this way learning more in a minute of what he wanted toknow than some men would gather in an hour by that or any other method,I stole lightly back and entered this room.

  I almost started in my surprise. Instead of the luxurious apartment Ihad prepared myself to behold, a plain, scantily-furnished room openedbefore me, of a nature between a library and a studio. There was noteven a carpet on the polished floor, only a rug, which strange to saywas not placed in the centre of the room or even before the fireplace,but on one side, and directly in front of a picture that almost at firstblush had attracted my attention as being the only article in the roomworth looking at. It was the portrait of a woman, handsome, haughty andalluring; a modern beauty, with eyes of fire burning beneath high piledlocks of jetty blackness, that were only relieved from being too intenseby the scarlet hood of an opera cloak, that was drawn over them. "Asister," I thought to myself, "it is too modern for his mother," and Itook a step nearer to see if I could trace any likeness in the chiselledfeatures of this disdainful brunette, to the more characteristic onesof the careless gentleman who had stood but a few moments before in mypresence. As I did so, I was struck with the distance with whichthe picture stood out from the wall, and thought to myself thatthe awkwardness of the framing came near marring the beauty of thisotherwise lovely work of art. As for the likeness I was in search of, Ifound it or thought I did, in the expression of the eyes which wereof the same color as Mr. Blake's but more full and passionate; andsatisfied that I had exhausted all the picture could tell me, Iturned to make what other observations I could, when I was startled byconfronting the agitated countenance of Mrs. Daniels who had enteredbehind me.

  "This is Mr. Blake's room," said she with dignity; "no one ever intrudeshere but myself, not even the servants."

  "I beg pardon," said I, glancing around in vain for the something whichhad awakened that look of satisfaction in Mr. Gryce's eyes. "I wasattracted by the beauty of this picture visible through the half opendoor and stepped in to favor myself with a nearer view. It is verylovely. A sister of Mr. Blake?"

  "No, his cousin;" and she closed the door after us with an emphasis thatproclaimed she was anything but pleased.

  It was my last effort to obtain information on my own account. In a fewmoments later Mr. Gryce appeared from below, and a conversation ensuedwith Mrs. Daniels that absorbed my whole attention.

  "You are very anxious, my man here tells me, that this girl should befound?" remarked Mr. Gryce; "so much so that you are willing to defrayall the expenses of a search?"

  She bowed. "As far as I am able sir; I have a few hundreds in thebank, you are welcome to them. I would not keep a dollar back if Ihad thousands, but I am poor, and can only promise you what I myselfpossess; though--" and her cheeks grew flushed and hot with an unnaturalagitation--"I believe that thousands would not be lacking if they werefound necessary. I--I could almost swear you shall have anything inreason which you require; only the girl must be found and soon."

  "Have you thought," proceeded Mr. Gryce, utterly ignoring the wildnessof these statements, "that the girl may come back herself if let alone?"

  "She will come back if she can," quoth Mrs. Daniels.

  "Did she seem so well satisfied with her home as to warrant you insaying that?"

  "She liked her home, but she loved me," returned the woman steadily."She loved me so well she would never have gone as she did without beingforced. Yes," said she, "though she made no outcry and stopped to puton her bonnet and shawl. She was not a girl to make a fuss. If they hadkilled her outright, she would never have uttered a cry."

  "Why do you say they?"

  "Because I am confident I heard more than one man's voice in her room."

  "Humph! Would you know those voices if you heard them again?"

  "No."

  There was a surprise in this last negative which Mr. Gryce evidentlynoticed. />
  "I ask," said he, "because I have been told that Mr. Blake lately kept abody servant who has been seen to look at this girl more than once, whenshe has passed him on the stairs."

  Mrs. Daniels' face turned scarlet with rage and she hastily rose fromthe chair. "I don't believe it," said she; "Henry was a man who knew hisplace, and--I won't hear such things," she suddenly exclaimed; "Emilywas--was a lady, and--"

  "Well, well," interposed Mr. Gryce soothingly, "though the cat looks atthe king, it is no sign the king looks at the cat. We have to think ofeverything you know."

  "You must never think of anything like that."

  Mr. Gryce softly ran his thumb around the brim of the hat he held in hishand. "Mrs. Daniels," observed he, "it would greatly facilitate mattersif you would kindly tell us why you take such an interest in this girl.One glimpse at her real history would do more towards setting us on theright track than anything else you could offer."

  Her face assumed an unmistakable frown. "Have I not told you," said she,"what is known of it? That she came to me about two years ago for work;that I liked her, and so hired her; that she has been with us ever sinceand--"

  "Then you will not tell us?" exclaimed Mr. Gryce.

  Her face fell and a look of hesitation crossed it.

  "I doubt if we can do anything unless you do," continued he.

  Her countenance settled again into a resolved expression.

  "You are mistaken," said she; "if the girl had a secret--as nearly allgirls have, brought low as she has evidently been--it had nothing to dowith her disappearance, nor would a knowledge of it help you in any way.I am confident of this and so shall hold my peace."

  She was not a woman to be frightened or cajoled into making revelationsshe did not think necessary, and seeing it, Mr. Gryce refrained fromurging her further.

  "However, you will at least tell me this," said he, "what were theknick-knacks she took away with her from her bureau drawer?"

  "No," said she, "for they have nothing to do with her abduction. Theywere articles of positive value to her, though I assure you of littleimportance to any one else. All that is shown by their disappearance isthe fact that she had a moment's time allowed her in which to collectwhat she most wanted."

  Mr. Gryce arose. "Well," said he, "you have given us a hard sum towork out, but I am not the man to recoil from anything hard. If I candiscover the whereabouts of this girl I will certainly do it, but youmust help me."

  "I, how?"

  "By inserting a personal in the Herald. You say she loves you; and wouldcome back if she could. Now whether you believe it or not this is opento doubt; therefore I would advise that you take some such means asthat to inform her of the anxiety of her friends and their desire tocommunicate with her."

  "Impossible," she cried vehemently. "I should be afraid--"

  "Well?"

  "I might put it that Mrs. D----, anxious about Emily, desiresinformation of her whereabouts--"

  "Put it any way you like."

  "You had better add," said I, speaking for the first time, "that youwould be willing to pay for information."

  "Yes," said Mr. Gryce, "add that."

  Mrs. Daniels frowned, but made no objection, and after getting as minutea description as possible of the clothing worn by the girl the nightbefore, we left the house.