The Face of the Abbot | Page 3

instant reply. "Not even old Gonsalves, our one
man-servant. He had gone to visit his people in the mountains about ten
miles off. We were absolutely alone."
"You know Mr. Sherwood's affairs pretty well?" I went on. "On the
supposition of trickery, could there be any motive that you know of for
anyone to play such a ghastly trick?"
"Absolutely none."
"You never saw the apparition before this occasion?"
"Never."
"And what were your next steps?"

"There was nothing to be done except to carry poor Sherwood indoors.
He was buried on the following day. I made every effort to have a
systematic inquiry set on foot, but the castle is in a remote spot and the
authorities are slow to move. The Portuguese doctor gave his sanction
to the burial after a formal inquiry. Deceased was testified as having
committed suicide while temporarily insane, but to investigate the
apparition they absolutely declined."
"And now," I said, "will you tell me what you can with regard to the
disposition of the property?"
"The will is a very remarkable one," replied De Castro. "Senhor Sousa,
my brother-in-law's lawyer, holds it. Sherwood died a much richer man
than I had any idea of. This was owing to some very successful
speculations. The real and personal estate amounts to seventy thousand
pounds, but the terms of the will are eccentric. Henry Sherwood's
passionate affection for the old castle was quite morbid, and the gist of
the conditions of the will is this: Helen is to live on the property, and if
she does, and as long as she does, she is to receive the full interest on
forty thousand pounds, which is now invested in good English
securities. Failing this condition, the property is to be sold, and the said
forty thousand pounds is to go to a Portuguese charity in Lisbon. I also
have a personal interest in the will. This I knew from Sherwood himself
He told me that his firm intention was to retain the castle in the family
for his daughter, and for her son if she married. He earnestly begged of
me to promote his wishes in the event of his dying. I was not to leave a
stone unturned to persuade Helen to live at the castle, and in order to
ensure my carrying out his wishes he bequeathed to me the sum of ten
thousand pounds provided Helen lives at Castello Mondego. If she does
not do so I lose the money. Hence my presence here and my own
personal anxiety to clear up the mystery of my friend's death, and to see
my niece installed as owner of the most lovely and romantic property in
the Peninsula. It has, of course, been my duty to give a true account of
the mystery surrounding my unhappy brother-in-law's death, and I
sincerely trust that a solution to this terrible mystery will be found, and
that Helen will enter into her beautiful possessions with all
confidence."

"The terms of the will are truly eccentric," I said. Then turning to Helen
I added:--
"Surely you can have no fear in living at Castello Mondego when it
would be the means of bringing about the desire of your heart?"
"Does that mean that you are engaged to be married, Helen?" asked De
Castro.
"It does," she replied. Then she turned to me. "I am only human, and a
woman. I could not live at Castello Mondego with this mystery
unexplained; but I am willing to take every step--yes, every step, to
find out the truth."
"Let me think over the case," I said, after a pause. "Perhaps I may be
able to devise some plan for clearing up this unaccountable matter.
There is no man in the whole of London better fitted to grapple with the
mystery than I, for it is, so to speak, my profession."
"You will please see in me your hearty collaborator, Mr. Druce," said
Senhor de Castro.
"When do you propose to return to Portugal?" I asked.
"As soon as I possibly can."
Where are you staying now?"
"At the Cecil."
He stood up as he spoke.
"I am sorry to have to run away," he said. "I promised to meet a friend,
a lady, in half an hour from now. She is a very busy woman, and I must
not keep her waiting."
His words were commonplace enough, but I noticed a queer change in
his face. His eyes grew full of eagerness, and yet--was it possible?--a
curious fear seemed also to fill them. He shook hands with Helen,

bowed to me, and hurriedly left the room.
"I wonder whom he is going to meet," she said, glancing out of the
window and watching his figure as he walked down the street. "He told
me when he