The Green Mummy
laugh. “I assure you, Professor, that I was ignorant of what had been
buried with the corpse, until Don Pedro related his story the other
night to myself and Random, and the ladies.”
Braddock turned impatiently to De Gayangos, as he did not approve of
Archie's apparent flippancy.
“Does any one else know of the contents of this manuscript?” he demanded
irritably.
Don Pedro nursed his chin and looked musingly on the ground.
“It is just possible that Vasa may.”
“Vasa? Vasa? Oh yes, the sailor who stole the mummy thirty years ago
from your father in Lima. Pooh! pooh! pooh! You tell me that this
manuscript is written in Latin, and evidently in monkish Latin at that,
which is of the worst. Your sailor could not read it, and would not know
the value of the manuscript. If he had, he would have carried it off.”
“Senor,” said the Peruvian politely, “I have an idea that my father made
a translation of this manuscript, or at all events a copy.”
“But I understood,” put in Hope, still astride of his chair, “that you
did not find the original manuscript until your father died.”
“That is quite true, sir,” assented the other readily, “but I did not
tell you everything the other night. My father it was who found the
manuscript at Cuzco, and although I cannot state authoritatively, yet I
believe I am correct in saying that he had a copy made. But whether the
copy was merely a transcript or actually a translation, I cannot tell. I
think it was the former, as if Vasa, reading a translation, had learned
of the jewels, he undoubtedly would have stolen them before selling this
mummy to the Parisian collector.”
“Perhaps he did,” said Braddock, pointing to the rifled corpse. “You see
that the emeralds are missing.”
“Your assistant's assassin stole them,” insisted Don Pedro coldly.
“We cannot be sure of that,” retorted the Professor, “although I admit
that no man would jeopardize his neck for the sake of a corpse.”
Archie looked surprised.
“But an enthusiast such as you are, Professor, might risk so much.”
For once in his life Braddock made a good-humored reply.
“No, sir. Not even for this mummy would I place myself in the power of
the law. And I do not think that any other scientist would either. We
savants may not be worldly, but we are not fools. However, the fact
remains that the jewels are gone, and whether they were stolen by Vasa
thirty years ago, or by poor Sidney's assassin the other day, I don't
know, and, what is more, I don't care. I shall examine the mummy
further, and in a couple of days Don Pedro can bring me a check for one
thousand and remove his ancestor.”
“No! no!” cried the Peruvian hurriedly; “since the emeralds are missing,
I am not in a position to pay you one thousand English pounds, sir.
I want to take back the body of Inca Caxas to Lima; as one must show
respect to one's ancestors. But the fact is, I cannot pay the money.”
“You said that you could,” shouted the exasperated Professor in his
bullying way.
“I admit it, senor, but I had hoped to do so when I sold the emeralds,
which--as you can see--are not available. Therefore the body of my royal
ancestor must remain here until I can procure the money. And it may be
that Sir Frank Random will help me in this matter.”
“He wouldn't help me,” snapped Braddock, “so why should he help you?”
Don Pedro, looking more dignified than ever, drew himself up to his tall
height.
“Sir Frank,” he said, in a stately way, “has done me the honor of
seeking to be my son-in-law. As my daughter loves him, I am willing to
permit the marriage, but now that I have learned the emeralds are lost,
I shall not consent until Sir Frank buys the mummy from you, Professor.
It is only right that my daughter's hand should redeem her regal
forefather from purely scientific surroundings and that she should take
the mummy back to be buried in Lima. At the same time, sir, I must say
that I am the rightful owner of the dead, and that you should surrender
the mummy to me free of charge.”
“What, and lose a thousand pounds!” cried Braddock furiously. “No, sir,
I shall do nothing of the sort. You only wanted the mummy for the sake
of the jewels, and now that they are lost, you do not care what becomes
of your confounded ancestor, and you--”
The Professor would have gone on still more furiously, but that Hope,
seeing Don Pedro was growing angry at the insult, chimed in.
“Let me throw oil on the troubled waters,” he said, smoothly. “Don Pedro
is not able to redeem the mummy until the emeralds are found. As such
is the case, we must find the emeralds and enable him to do what is
necessary.”
“And how are we to find the jewels?” asked Braddock crossly.
“By finding the assassin.”
“How is that to be done?” asked De Gayangos gloomily. “I have been doing
my best at Pierside, but I cannot find a single clue. Vasa is not to be
found.”
“Vasa!” exclaimed Archie and the Professor, both profoundly astonished.
Don Pedro raised his eyebrows.
“Certainly. Vasa, if anyone, must have killed your assistant, since he
alone could have known that the jewels were buried with Inca Caxas.”
“But, my dear sir,” argued Hope good-naturedly, “if Vasa stole the
manuscript, whether translated or not, he certainly must have learned
the truth long, long ago, since thirty years have elapsed. In that event
he must have stolen the jewels, as Professor Braddock remarked lately,
before he sold the mummy to the Parisian collector.”
“That may be so,” said Don Pedro obstinately, while the Professor
muttered his approval, “but we cannot be certain on that point. No
one--I agree with the Professor in this--would have risked his neck to
steal a mere mummy, therefore the motive for the committal of the crime
must have been the emeralds. Only Vasa knew of their existence outside
myself and my dead father. He, therefore, must be the assassin. I shall
hunt for him, and, when I find him, I shall have him arrested.”
“But you can't possibly recognize the man after thirty years?” argued
Braddock disbelievingly.
“I have a royal memory for faces,” said Don Pedro imperturbably, “and in
the past I saw much of Vasa. He was then a young sailor of twenty.”
“Humph!” muttered Braddock. “He is now fifty, and must have changed in
thirty years. You'll never recognize him.”
“Oh, I think so,” said the Peruvian smoothly. “His eyes were peculiarly
blue and full of light. Also, he had a scar on the right temple from a
blow which he received in a street riot in which I also was concerned.
Finally, gentlemen, Vasa loved a peon girl on my father's estate, and
she induced him to have the sun encircled by a serpent--a Peruvian
symbol--tattooed on his left wrist. With all these marks, and with my
memory for faces, which never yet has failed me, I have no doubt but
what I shall recognize the man.”
“And then?”
“And then I shall have him arrested”
Hope shrugged his square shoulders. He had not much belief in Don
Pedro's boasted royal memory, and did not think that he would recognize
a young sailor of twenty in what would certainly be a grizzled old salt
of fifty years. However, it was possible that the man might be right in
his surmise, since Vasa alone could have known about the emeralds. The
only doubt was whether he would have waited for thirty years before
looting the mummy. Archie said nothing of these thoughts, as they
would only serve to prolong an unprofitable discussion. But he made one
suggestion.
“Your best plan,” he said suggestively, “is to write a description of
Vasa--who, by the way, has probably changed his name--and hand it to the
police, with the promise of a reward if he is found.”
“I am very poor, senor. Surely the Professor here--”
“I can offer nothing,” said Braddock quickly, “as I am quite as poor as
you are, if not more so, Sir Frank might help,” he added sarcastically.
“I shall not ask,” said Don Pedro loftily. “If Sir Frank chooses to
become my son-in-law by purchasing back my royal ancestor, to which you
have no right, I am willing that it should be so. But, poor as I am,
I shall offer a reward myself, since the honor of the De Gayangoses is
involved in this matter. What reward do you suggest, Mr. Hope?”
“Five hundred pounds,” said the Professor quickly.
“Too much,” said Hope sharply--“far too much. Make the reward one
hundred pounds, Don Pedro. That is enough to tempt many a man.”
The Peruvian bowed and noted down the amount.
“I shall go at once to Pierside and see Inspector Date, who had to do
with the inquest,” he remarked. “Meanwhile, Professor, please do not
desecrate my royal ancestor's body more than you can help.”
“I shall certainly not search for any more emeralds,” retorted Braddock
dryly. “Now, clear out, both of you, and leave me to examine the mummy.
Cockatoo, show these gentlemen out, and let no one else in.”
Don Pedro returned to the Warrior Hotel to inform his daughter of
what had taken place, with the intention of going in the afternoon to
Pierside. Meanwhile, he wrote out a full description of Vasa, making an
allowance for the lapse of years and explaining the scar and the
symbol on the left wrist. Hope also sought Lucy and related the latest
development of the case. The girl was not surprised, as she likewise
believed that the assassin had desired more than the mummy when he
murdered Sidney Bolton.
“Mrs. Jasher did not know about the emeralds?” she asked suddenly.
“No,” replied Archie, much surprised. “Surely you do not suspect her of
having a hand in the devilment?”
“Certainly not,” was the prompt answer. “Only I cannot understand how
the mummy came to be in her garden.”
“It was brought up from the river, I expect.”
“But why to Mrs. Jasher's garden?”
Hope shook his head.
“I cannot tell that. The whole thing is a mystery, and seems likely to
remain so.”
“It seems to me,” said the girl, after a pause, “that it would be best
for my father to return this mummy to Don Pedro, and have done with it,
since it seems to bring bad luck. Then he can marry Mrs. Jasher, and go
to Egypt on her fortune to seek for this tomb.”
“I doubt very much if Mrs. Jasher will marry the Professor now, after
what he said last night.”
“Nonsense, my father was in a rage and said what first came into his
mind. I daresay she is angry. However, I shall see her this afternoon,
and put matters right.”
“You are very anxious that the Professor should marry the lady.”
“I am,” replied Lucy seriously, “as I want to leave my father
comfortably settled when I marry you. The sooner he makes Mrs. Jasher
his wife, the readier will he be to let me go, and I want to marry you
as soon as I possibly can. I am tired of Gartley and of this present
life.”
Of course to this speech Archie could make only one answer, and as that
took the form of kissing, it was entirely satisfactory to Miss Kendal.
Then they discussed the future and also the proposed engagement of Sir
Frank Random to the Peruvian lady. But both left the subject of the
mummy alone, as they were quite weary of the matter, and neither could
suggest a solution of the mystery.
Meanwhile Professor Braddock had passed a very pleasant hour in
examining the swathings of the mummy. But his pleasure was destined
to be cut short sooner than he desired, as Captain Hiram Hervey
unexpectedly arrived. Although Cockatoo--as he had been instructed--did
his best to keep him out, the sailor forced his way in, and heralded his
appearance by throwing the Kanaka head-foremost into the museum.
“What does this mean?” demanded the fiery Professor, while Cockatoo,
with an angry expression, struggled to his feet, and Hervey, smoking
his inevitable cheroot, stood on the threshold--“how dare you treat my
property in this careless way.”
“Guess your property should behave itself then,” said the captain in