Dead Mens Money

Dead Men's Money, by J. S.
Fletcher

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Title: Dead Men's Money
Author: J. S. Fletcher
Release Date: May 3, 2004 [EBook #12239]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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MEN'S MONEY ***

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DEAD MEN'S MONEY
BY J.S. FLETCHER

1920

CONTENTS
I THE ONE-EYED MAN
II THE MIDNIGHT MISSION
III THE RED STAIN
IV THE MURDERED MAN
V THE BRASS-BOUND CHEST
VI MR. JOHN PHILLIPS
VII THE INQUEST ON JOHN PHILLIPS
VIII THE PARISH REGISTERS
IX THE MARINE-STORE DEALER
X THE OTHER WITNESS
XI SIGNATURES TO THE WILL
XII THE SALMON GAFT
XIII SIR GILBERT CARSTAIRS
XIV DEAD MAN'S MONEY
XV FIVE HUNDRED A YEAR
XVI THE MAN IN THE CELL
XVII THE IRISH HOUSEKEEPER

XVIII THE ICE AX
XIX MY TURN
XX THE SAMARITAN SKIPPER
XXI MR. GAVIN SMEATON
XXII I READ MY OWN OBITUARY
XXIII FAMILY HISTORY
XXIV THE SUIT OF CLOTHES
XXV THE SECOND DISAPPEARANCE
XXVI MRS. RALSTON OF CRAIG
XXVII THE BANK BALANCE
XXVIII THE HATHERCLEUGH BUTLER
XXIX ALL IN ORDER
XXX THE CARSTAIRS MOTTO
XXXI NO TRACE
XXXII THE LINK
XXXIII THE OLD TOWER
XXXIV THE BARGAIN
XXXV THE SWAG
XXXVI GOLD
XXXVII THE DARK POOL

CHAPTER I
THE ONE-EYED MAN
The very beginning of this affair, which involved me, before I was
aware of it, in as much villainy and wickedness as ever man heard of,
was, of course, that spring evening, now ten years ago, whereon I
looked out of my mother's front parlour window in the main street of
Berwick-upon-Tweed and saw, standing right before the house, a man
who had a black patch over his left eye, an old plaid thrown loosely
round his shoulders, and in his right hand a stout stick and an
old-fashioned carpet-bag. He caught sight of me as I caught sight of
him, and he stirred, and made at once for our door. If I had possessed
the power of seeing more than the obvious, I should have seen robbery,
and murder, and the very devil himself coming in close attendance
upon him as he crossed the pavement. But as it was, I saw nothing but a
stranger, and I threw open the window and asked the man what he
might be wanting.
"Lodgings!" he answered, jerking a thickly made thumb at a paper
which my mother had that day set in the transom above the door.
"Lodgings! You've lodgings to let for a single gentleman. I'm a single
gentleman, and I want lodgings. For a month--maybe more. Money no
object. Thorough respectability--on my part. Few needs and modest
requirements. Not likely to give trouble. Open the door!"
I went into the passage and opened the door to him. He strode in
without as much as a word, and, not waiting for my invitation, lurched
heavily--he was a big, heavy-moving fellow--into the parlour, where he
set down his bag, his plaid, and his stick, and dropping into an easy
chair, gave a sort of groan as he looked at me.
"And what's your name?" he demanded, as if he had all the right in the
world to walk into folks' houses and ask his questions. "Whatever it is,
you're a likely-looking youngster!"
"My name's Hugh Moneylaws," I answered, thinking it no harm to
humour him. "If you want to know about lodgings you must wait till

my mother comes in. Just now she's away up the street--she'll be back
presently."
"No hurry, my lad," he replied. "None whatever. This is a comfortable
anchorage. Quiet. Your mother'll be a widow woman, now?"
"Yes," said I shortly.
"Any more of you--brothers and sisters?" he asked. "Any--aye, of
course!--any young children in the house? Because young children is
what I cannot abide--except at a distance."
"There's nobody but me and my mother, and a servant lass," I said.
"This is a quiet enough house, if that's what you mean."
"Quiet is the word," said he. "Nice, quiet, respectable lodgings. In this
town of Berwick. For a month. If not more. As I say, a comfortable
anchorage. And time, too!--when you've seen as many queer places as I
have in my day, young fellow, you'll know that peace and quiet is meat
and drink to an ageing man."
It struck me as I looked at him that he was just the sort of man that you
would expect to hear of as having been in queer