The Face of the Abbot | Page 6

spot,"
said De Castro.
"And I go with you," cried Helen.
"My dear, dear young lady," said the lawyer, a flicker of concern
crossing his bright eyes, "is that necessary? You will find the castle
very lonely and not prepared for the reception of a lady."
"even so, I have come all this long way to visit it," replied Helen. "I go
with my friend, Mr. Druce, and with my uncle, and so far as I am
concerned the sooner we get there the better."
The lawyer held up his hands. "I wouldn't sleep in that place," he
exclaimed, "for twenty contos of reis."
"Then you really believe in the apparition?" I said. "You think it is
supernatural?"
He involuntarily crossed himself.
"The tale is an old one," he said. " It has been known for a hundred
years that the castle is haunted by a monk who was treacherously
murdered there. That is the reason, Miss Sherwood, why your father
got it so cheap."
"Supernatural or not, I must get to the bottom of the thing," she said, in
a low voice.
De Castro jumped up, an impatient expression crossing his face.
"If you don't want me for the present, Druce," he said. "I have some
business of my own that I wish to attend to."
He left the office, and Helen and I were about to follow him when
Senhor Sousa suddenly addressed me.

"By the way, Mr. Druce, I am given to understand that you are from the
Solvency Inquiry Agency of London. I know that great business well; I
presume, therefore, that matters of much interest depend upon this
inquiry? "
"The interests are great," I replied, "but are in no way connected with
my business. My motive in coming here is due to friendship. This
young lady is engaged to be married to a special friend of mine, and I
have known her personally from her childhood. If we can clear up the
present mystery, Helen Sherwood's marriage can take place at once. If,
on the other hand, that terror which hangs over Castello Mondego is so
overpowering that Miss Sherwood cannot make up her mind to live
there, a long separation awaits the young pair. I have answered your
question, Senhor Sousa; will you, on your part, answer mine?"
"Certainly," he replied. His face looked keenly interested, and from
time to time he glanced from Helen to me.
"Are you aware of the existence of any motive which would induce
someone to personate the apparition and so bring about Mr. Sherwood's
death?"
"I know of no such motive, my dear sir. Senhor de Castro will come
into ten thousand pounds provided, and only provided, Miss Sherwood
takes possession of the property. He is the one and only person who
benefits under the will, except Miss Sherwood herself."
"We must, of course, exclude Senhor de Castro," I answered. "His
conduct has been most honourable in the matter throughout; he might
have been tempted to suppress the story of the ghost, which would have
been to his obvious advantage. Is there no one else whom you can
possibly suspect?"
"No one--absolutely no one."
"Very well; my course is clear. I have come here to get an explanation
of the mystery. When it is explained Miss Sherwood will take
possession of the castle."

"And should you fail, sir? Ghosts have a way of suppressing
themselves when most earnestly desired to put in an appearance."
"I don't anticipate failure, Senhor Sousa, and I mean to go to the castle
immediately."
"We are a superstitious race," he replied, "and I would not go there for
any money you liked to offer me."
"I am an Englishman, and this lady is English on her father's side. We
do not easily abandon a problem when we set to work to solve it."
"What do you think of it all?" asked Helen of me, when we found
ourselves soon afterwards in the quaint, old-world streets.
"Think!" I answered. "Our course is clear. We have got to discover the
motive. There must be a motive. There was someone who had a grudge
against the old man, and who wished to terrify him out of the world. As
to believing that the apparition is supernatural, I decline even to allow
myself to consider it."
"Heaven grant that you may be right," she answered; " but I must say a
strange and Most unaccountable terror oppresses me whenever I
conjure un that ghastly face."
"And yet you have the courage to go to the castle!"
"It is a case of duty, not of courage, Mr. Druce."
For the rest of that day I thought over the whole problem, looking at it
from every point of view, trying to gaze at it with fresh eyes,
endeavouring to discover