The Green Mummy - Page 181/191

While Archie was thus comforting the poor girl, Gartley village was in

an uproar. Everyone was talking about this new crime, and everyone was

wondering who had stabbed the unlucky woman. As yet the confession of

Mrs. Jasher had not been placed in the hands of the police and everyone

was ignorant that Cockatoo was the criminal who had escaped in the fog.

Inspector Date speedily arrived with his myrmidons on the scene and made

the cottage his headquarters. Later in the day, Hope, having taken a

cold bath to freshen himself up, came with the confession. This he gave

to the officer and explained the whole story of the previous night.

Date was more than astonished: he was astounded. He read the confession

and made notes; then he sent for Sir Frank Random, and examined him

in the same strict way as he had examined the artist. Jane was also

questioned. Widow Anne was put in the witness box, so as to report

about the clothes, and in every way Date gathered material for another

inquest. At the former one he had only been able to place scanty

evidence before the jury, and the verdict had been unsatisfactory to the

public. But on this occasion, seeing that the witnesses he could bring

forward would solve the mystery of the first death as well as the

second, Inspector Date exulted greatly. He saw himself promoted and

his salary raised, and his name praised in the papers as a zealous and

clever officer. By the time the inquest came to be held, the inspector

had talked himself into believing that the whole mystery had been solved

by himself. But before that time came another event happened which

astonished everyone, and which made the final phase of the green mummy

crime even more sensational than it had been. And Heaven knows that from

beginning to end there had been no lack of melodrama of the most lurid

description.

Don Pedro de Gayangos was exceedingly amazed at the unexpected turn

which the case had taken. That he should have been trying to solve a

deep mystery for so long, and that the solution, all the time, had been

in the hands of the Professor, startled him exceedingly. He admitted

that he had never liked Braddock, but explained that he had not expected

to hear that the fiery little scientist was such a scoundrel. But, as

Don Pedro confessed, it was an ill wind which blew him some good, when

the upshot of the whole mysterious tragic business was the restoration

of at least one emerald. Sir Frank brought the gem to him on the

afternoon of the day succeeding Mrs. Jasher's death, and while the whole

village was buzzing with excitement. It was Random who gave all details

to Donna Inez and her father, leading from one revelation to another,

until he capped the whole extraordinary story by producing the splendid

gem.