"I am not permitted," the letter ran, "to inform you where I am going,
and I am under the obligation of not writing to you personally after I
leave this place. This letter is sent without the knowledge of the
gentleman for whom you acted, and I do not consider myself bound to
tell him that I have written it. What I have promised to do I will do
faithfully, but nothing further. You who, of all men in the world,
perhaps know me best will understand what I am suffering as I pen
these lines. I send with this letter the box you were kind enough to
give me last night. It contains the memorial of which I spoke to you.
Dear Dr. Spenlove, I rely upon you to carry out my wishes with respect
to it. If you are acquainted with the guardian of my child convey it
to him, and beg him to retain it until my darling is of age, or until
I am free to seek her. It is not in your nature to refuse the petition
of a heartbroken mother; it is not in your nature to violate a
promise. For all the kindnesses you have shown me receive my grateful
and humble thanks. That you will be happy and successful, and that God
will prosper you in all your undertakings, will be my constant prayer.
Farewell."
Laying this letter aside he opened the second, which was in a
handwriting strange to him:
"Dear Sir: All my arrangements are made, and the business upon which
we spoke together is satisfactorily concluded. You will find inclosed
a practical expression of my thanks. I do not give you my address for
two reasons. First, I desire no acknowledgment of the inclosure;
second, I desire that there shall be no correspondence between us upon
any subject. Feeling perfectly satisfied that the confidence I reposed
in you will be respected, I am,
"Your obedient servant,
"G. Gordon."
The inclosure consisted of five Bank of England notes for twenty
pounds each. Dr. Spenlove was very much astonished and very much
relieved. At this juncture the money was a fortune to him; there was a
likelihood of its proving the turning point in his career; and
although it had not been earned in the exercise of his profession, he
had no scruple in accepting it. The generosity of the donor was,
moreover, in some sense an assurance that he was sincere in all the
professions he had made.
"Mr. Moss, sir," said Mrs. Radcliffe, opening the door, and that
gentleman entered the room.
As usual he was humming an operatic air, but he ceased as he closed
the door, which, after a momentary pause, he reopened to convince
himself that the landlady was not listening in the passage.
"Can't be too careful, doctor," he observed, with a wink, "when you
have something you want to keep to yourself. You have been running
after me and I have been running after you. Did you wish to see me
particularly?"
"To tell you the truth," replied Dr. Spenlove, "I had a special reason
for calling upon you, but," he added, with a smile, "as it no longer
exists I need not trouble you."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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