The Silent Shore: A RomanceBloundelle-Burton, John
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The Silent Shore: A Romance
Bloundelle-Burton, John
English fiction -- 19th century
"What time did my governor come in last night?" he said to the porter,
as he and that worthy stood in the hall waiting for a cab that had
been sent for.
"I don't know," the porter answered. "There was only his lordship and
another gent staying in the house, except the Dean's family upstairs,
and some foreign swells, and none of them keep late hours, so we gave
him and the other gent a key and left a jet of gas burning in the
'all. But both on 'em must have come in precious late, for Jim, who
sleeps on the first floor, said he never heard either of them. I say,
this is a hawful thing about this Mr. Cundall."
"It is so! Well, there's the cab. Jim, put the portmanteaus on the
top. Here you are, porter!" and he slipped the usual tip into the
porter's hand, and wishing him "good evening," went off.
"Well," he said to himself as he drove to Occleve House, "I should
like to know what we went to that hotel for three days for! It wasn't
because of the Dean's daughters nor yet for the foreign ladies,
because he never spoke to any of them. Well, I'll buy a 'Special' and
read about the murder."
Lord Penlyn walked on to Pall Mall, going very slowly and in an almost
dazed state, and surprised several whom he met by his behaviour to
them. Men whom he knew intimately he just nodded to instead of
stopping to speak with for a moment, and some he did not seem to see
at all. He was wondering what further particulars he would hear when
he got to Cundall's club, and also when Smerdon would be back. That
gentleman had started for Occleve Chase on Monday morning, but must by
now have received a telegram Penlyn had sent him, telling him to
return at once. In it he had cautiously, and without mentioning any
names, given him to understand that their visitor of last Saturday had
died suddenly, and he expected that he would return by the next train.
He had started off for Cundall's club, thinking to find out what was
known, but, when he got there, he reflected that he could scarcely
walk into a club, of which he was not a member, simply to make
inquiries about even so important a subject as this. He could give no
grounds for his eagerness to learn anything fresh, could not even say
that he was particularly intimate with the dead man. Would it not look
strange for him to be forcing his way in and making inquiries? Yes!
and not only that, but it would draw attention on him, and it would be
better to gather particulars elsewhere. He would go to his own club
and find out what was known there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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