第18章

INWHICHMISSDANIELSDETERMINESTOFINDOUT

ThehystericalMr。Pepperdoubtlessexpectedhisclergymantobealmostasmuchupsetashewasbythenewsofhisaction。ButJohnEllerywasprovokinglycalm。Asamatteroffacthescarcelygraspedthepurportofthelittleman’sdisjointedstory。Hehadbeenwanderingindreamland，hisheadamongtheclouds，andtheexplosionofKeziah’sbombdisturbed，butdidnotcleartheair。

“Whatwillyoudo？“herepeated。“Why——er——Idon’tknow，I’msure。“

Kyanwasstaggered。

“Youdon’tknow？“heshouted。“YOUdon’t？Thenwhodoes，forthelandsakes？Didn’tyoutellmetolockherup？Didn’tIdoit’CAUSEyoutoldme？Didn’t——didn’t——“

Heseemedtobeonthevergeofapoplexy。Alsohehadraisedhisvoicetoayell。Theministerseizedhimbythearmandshookhimintosilence。

“Hush！hush！“hecommanded。“Waitaminute。Letmeunderstandthisthing。Someoneislockedup，yousay。Whoisit？Where——“

“WHOisit？Ain’tItellin’you。It’sLaviny。ShewentintothatspareroomwhereIwast’otherdayandIslammedthespringlocktoonher。ThenIgrabbedthekeyandrun。Thatwasaforethreethisafternoon；nowit’s’mostnightandIain’tdasttogohome。

What’llshesaywhenIletherout？Igottoletherout，ain’tI？

Shecan’tstarvetodeathinthere，canshe？AndYOUtoldmetodoit！YOUdid！Oh——“

Theapoplecticattackwasoncemoreimminent。

“Stopit，Mr。Pepper，“orderedEllery。“Idon’tremembertellingyoutolockyoursisterup，though——Why，yes，Imayhavesaidsomethingorother，asajoke，butIdidn’texpectyouwouldseriouslyconsiderdoingsuchathing。Ha，ha！ThisisthemostidioticpieceofbusinessthatIever——“

“Beyoulaughin’？“demandedtheshockedAbishai。“LAUGHIN’？Why，mygodfreysmighty！Idiotic？Well，who’stheidiot？’Tain’tme！

I’Dneverhavethoughtofsuchafooltrick。Butyousaid——“

“Hush！Letmethink。Haveyoutoldanybody？“

“TOLDanybody！IguessNOT。Andnobody’llneverknowiftheywaitformetotell’em。“

“Well，then，Idon’tseewhyyoucan’tgohomeand——hum——Idon’tliketoadviseyourtellingalie，butyoumightletherinferthatitwasanaccident。OR，ifyoureallymeantobeyourownmaster，youcantellheryoudiditpurposelyandwilldoitagainifsheevertriesthetrickonyou。“

“Itellherthat！Itellher！OMr。Ellery，DON’Ttalkso。Youdon’tknowLaviny；sheain’tlikemostwomen。IfIshouldtellherthatshe’d——Idon’tknow’sshewouldn’ttakeandhorsewhipme。Orcommitsuicide。She’ssaidshewouldaforenowif——if——“

“Nonsense！Shewon’tdothat，youneedn’tworry。“Heburstintoanotherlaugh，butcheckedhimself，ashesawthelookofabsolutedistressonpoorKyan’sface。

“Nevermind，Mr。Pepper，“hesaid。“We’llthinkofsomeplantosmoothmattersover。I’llgohomewithyounowandwe’llletherouttogether。“

“Willyou，Mr。Ellery？Willyou，honest？Say，bygodfreysmighty，I’dgetdownonmykneesandthankyouthisminuteif——ifIwa’n’tinsuchahurry。Comerighton；comequick！“

Itwasasilentprocessionoftwothatwendeditswayoutofthepinesandacrossthefields，bythebrookandthepond，wheretheeveningmistswererisingandthefrogschantingtheirgood-nightsong，throughthegatheringtwilightshades，acrossthemainroadandupthelighthouselane。Kyan，hismindfilledwithfearfulforebodings，wasbusilytryingtothinkofareasonableexcuseforthe“accidental“imprisonmentofhissister。JohnEllerywasthinking，also，buthisthoughtswerenotofthePeppers。

Thelittlehousewasdarkandstillastheyapproachedit。Nowelcominglightinthedining-roomwindows，noopendoor，noshrillvoicedemandingtoknowwherethewanderingbrotherhadbeen“allthiseverlastin’time。“Eventhehenshadgonetoroost。Abishaigroaned。

“Oh，dear！“hewailed。“I’mscarttodeath。Whereisshe？Youdon’tcal’lateshe’sdoneit，doye？“

“Doneit？Donewhat？“

“Donethesuicidin’。Shesaidshewouldif——OLaviny！“

“Hush！Bequiet。She’sallright。She’sintheroomwhereyoulefther，ofcourse。Shecouldn’tgetout，couldshe？You’vegotthekey。Comein。“

Theyenteredthehouse。Thediningroomwasdarkandquiet。Sowasthesittingroom。Theclockticked，solemnandslow。Kyanclutchedathiscompanion’sarm。

“Idon’thearher，“hewhispered。“Youdon’ts’posesheHASdoneit？Godfreysmighty！“

Thegloomandmysterywerehavingtheireffect，evenonMr。

Ellery’snerves。Hisansweralsowasgiveninatensewhisper，butwithsomeirritation。

“Hush！“hemurmured。“Letgoofmywrist。You’vepincheditblackandblue。Whichroomdidyouleaveherin？Showmeatonce。“

Kyan’stremblingkneesmanagedtocarryhimtothelittlehallleadingfromthesittingroomtowardtheellatthesideofthehouse。Thishallwasalmostpitchblack。Theministerfelthisguide’schinwhiskerbrushhisearasthefollowingsentencewasliterallybreathedintoit：

“Here——here’tis，“pantedKyan。“Here’sthedoor。Idon’thearnothin’，doyou？Listen！“

Theylistened。Notasound，savethedismaltickoftheclockintheroomtheyhadleft。Elleryknockedonthedoor。

“MissPepper，“hesaid；“MissPepper，areyouthere？“

Kyancaughthisbreath。Noanswer。

“MissPepper，“repeatedtheminister。“MissPepper！“

Silence，absolute。Abishaicouldstanditnolonger。Hegroanedandcollapsedonhisknees。

“Shehas！“hemoaned。“She’sdoneitandthereain’tnothin’intherebutherremains。Oh，mysoul！“

Ellery，nowratherfrightenedhimself，shookhimviolently。

“Bequiet，youidiot！“hecommanded。“Wemustgoin。Givemethekey。“

Afterrepeatedordersandaccompanyingshakings，Kyanproducedakey。Theministersnatcheditfromhistremblingfingers，feltforthekeyholeandthrewthedooropen。Thelittleroomwasalmostasdarkasthehallandquiteasstill。Therewasadistinctsmellofoldclothesandcamphor。

“Amatch，“demandedEllery。“Quick！“

“Iain’tgotnone，“quaveredMr。Pepper。“They’reallintheboxinthesettin’room。Oh，mygodfreysmighty！What’llIdo？Whatundertaker’llIhave？SolonTripp’sthereg’larone，butLavinyandhehadarowandshesaidshe’dcomebackandha’ntmeifI

everlethimtouchherrema——Whereyougoin’？DON’TLEAVEME

HERE！“

Theministerwasgoingafteramatch，andsaidso。Inamomenthereturnedwithseveral。Oneofthesehelit。Thebrimstonesputtered，burnedblueandfragrant，thenburstintoayellowflame。

Thelittleroomwasempty。

JohnEllerydrewabreathofrelief。Thenhelaughed。

“Humph！“heexclaimed。“She’sgone。“

“GONE？Why，sheain’tnuther！Wherecouldshego？“

“Idon’tknow，butshehasgone——somewhere。Atanyrate，she’snothere。“

Kyanrosetohisfeet。Hisalarmhadchangedtoparalyzedastonishment。

“Howcouldshego？“herepeated。“Thatwindowwon’topenmore’nsixinches。Lavinyain’twhatyou’dcallfleshy，butshenevercouldsqueezethroughthatinthisworld。AndIlockedthedoor，’causeIheardtheclick。I——I——I——doyoub’lieveinspirits，Mr。

Ellery？“

“Nonsense！Comeintothesittingroom，lightalamp，andlet’stalkitover。“

Thelampwasfoundandlightedatlast。Itsradiancebrightenedthedingysittingroom。

“Doyoub’lieveinspirits？“repeatedKyan。“I’veheardyarnsaboutfolksbein’spiritedaway，butInevertookmuchstockin’em。“And，“headdedwithconviction，“’twouldtakeaprettyhuskyspirittohandleLavinyifshehadhermadup。She——Hush！hearthat！“

Thesoundofwheelswasheardinthelanebythefrontgate。A

vehiclestopped。Thensomeonecalledahurriedgoodnight。Mr。

Pepper’sfearreturned。

“It’sher！“hecried。“She’sbeenahuntin’forme。NOWI’llgetit！Youstandbyme，Mr。Ellery。Yougotto。Yousaidyouwould。

Buthowonearthdidsheget——“

Theministermotionedhimtosilence。

“I’llstandbyyou，“hewhispered。“Don’tspeak。Leaveittome。“

Astepsoundedonthebackstep。Thedining-roomdoorwashurriedlythrownopen。

“’Bishy，“calledMissPeppereagerly。“’Bish，whereareyou？“

“Here——hereIbe，Laviny，“falteredKyan。

Hissisterappearedonthethreshold。ShewasdressedinherSundaybest，floweredpokebonnet，mitts，imitationIndiashawl，rustlingblackbombazinegown。ShelookedatMr。Pepperthenattheminister。

“OMr。Ellery！“sheexclaimed，“beyouhere？“

TheReverendJohnadmittedhispresence。MissPepper’sdemeanorsurprisedhim。Shedidnotseemangry；indeed，sheactedembarrassedandconfused，asifshe，andnotherbrother，weretheguiltyparty。

“I’mafraidI’mawfullate，’Bishy，“shesaid。“Haveyouhadyoursupper？“

Kyanwastooperturbedtoventureareply。Theswordabovehisheadwasquiveringonitssinglehairandhewaspreparingtododgethefall。Butitdidnotfall。

“Youhaven’thadanysupper，haveyou？“purredMissPepperpityingly。“It’stoobad。Youpoorthing！youmustbeawfulhungry。“

Shemovedacrosstheroomandkissedhim。Abishai，whohadpreparedhimselfforadifferentsortofgreeting，clutchedhischairwithbothhands。Helookedasifhemightfaint。Theministergazedopen-mouthed。

“I’mawfulsorry，Mr。Ellery，“gushedLavinia，removingthebonnet。

“Yousee，Iwasinvitedouttoridethisafternoonand——and——I

went。“

Sheglancedatherbrother，reddened——yes，almostblushed——andcontinued。

“Youknow，’Bishy，“shesaid“ThankfulPayne’scousin’shomeavisitin’her。Hecomeaboutthatcousin’swill——theothercousinthat’sjustdied。He’sareelniceman——herlivecousinis——keepsashoestoreuptoSandwich，andIusedtoknowhimyearsago。

WhenIwasovertoThankful’st’otherday，himandmehadquiteatalk。Wegotspeakin’ofwhatnicedrivestherewasaroundTrumetand——and——er——well，heaskedmeifIwouldn’tliketogotoridenextSundayafternoon——that’sto-day。Andaridebein’agooddealofatreattome，IsaidIwould。Thankfulwasgoin’，too，but——

er——er——shecouldn’tverywell。SoCaleb——that’shisname，youremember，’Bishy——hecomeroundwithhishorseandteamaboutha’fpastthreeandwestarted。ButI’dnoIDEE’twassolate。I——I——

meanttotellyouIwasgoin’，’Bish，butIforgot。“

Kyanhadlistenedtothisrecital，orexplanation，orapology，withacurioussuccessionofexpressionspassingoverhisface。Heswallowedtwoorthreetimes，butdidnotinterrupt。

“I’msosorryIkeptyouwaitin’supper，“gushedLavinia。“I’llgetyouagoodonenow。Oh，well，dearyme！Imustbegettin’

absent-minded。Iain’taskedyouwhereyou’vebeenalltheafternoon。“

Abishai’seyesturnedbeseechinglytowardhispromisedbacker。

Ellerycouldnotresistthatmuteappeal。

“Yourbrotherhasbeenwithmeforsometime，MissPepper，“hevolunteered。

“Oh，hashe？Ain’tthatnice！Hecouldn’thavebeeninbettercomp’ny，I’msure。Butoh，say，’Bishy！Iain’ttoldyouhownighIcometonotgettin’outatall。JustaforeMr。Paynecome，Iwasinthatspareroomand——yourememberIputaspringlockonthatdoor？“

Itwashereatlast。Thelong-dreadedexplosionwasimminent。

Kyan’schinshook。Hebracedhimselffortheblow。Theministerpreparedtocometotherescue。

“Yes，“wentonLavinia。“I——Iputalockonthatdoorso’sI——I

couldshuttheroomupwhenIwantedto。Well，whenIwasintherethisafternoonthewindblewthedoorshutand——Hey？“

“I——Ineversaidnothin’，“pantedKyan。

“Yes，itblewto，thelockclicked，andthereIwas。IfIhadn’thadtheotherkeyinmypocketIdon’tknow’sIwouldn’thavebeeninthereyet。Thatwouldhavebeenaprettymess，wouldn’tit！

He！he！he！“