Till the Clock Stops | Page 8

thread at the first hour of twelve
following your--oh, sir, need you talk about it now?"
Christopher took a sip and set the cup down with a little clatter. "And in
the event of my nephew, Mr. Alan Craig, returning within the year, you
will serve him also as you would me, giving him all assistance and
information in your power."
"Yes, sir."
"I have recommended you to him in a letter left with Mr. Harvie, the

lawyer in Glasgow, to whom you registered the packet this afternoon.
Mr. Harvie is acquainted with certain of my affairs, but not by any
means all. It is not necessary that he should know all that you know or
will know. I am leaving much to your discretion, Caw. You will find
your instructions in this envelope.... Among other things, it is not my
wish that you should live alone in this house, and until my nephew
returns I have arranged that you shall have quarters in Dr. Handyside's
house, and I do not doubt that you will make yourself useful there,
helping him with his car and so on. If expedient, you may trust the
doctor, but do not trouble him without grave cause. The passage will
remain available, and you will make inspections of this house at
intervals."
He paused for a moment, took another sip, and resumed. "Things may
happen in this house, Caw; but you are not to think of that as more than
a mere possibility, nor are you to consider yourself tied to the place. As
a matter of fact, I would as soon have certain things happen as not, and,
short of murder itself, I count on your avoiding or preventing any
police interference. By the way, your own future is provided for."
Caw made an attempt to speak, but his master proceeded--
"There are two men whom it seems necessary to warn you against--the
two who were here to-day."
"Sir," said Caw with sudden strength and warmth of voice, "I have long
wished I might warn you against Mr. Bullard. Only a sort of instinct, sir,
on my part, but I never could trust that man. As for Lancaster--"
"Your instinct was right. Lancaster is chiefly a fool, but Bullard is
utterly rotten. You remember my younger brother, Caw?"
"Yes, sir"--rather awkwardly.
"Those two, particularly Bullard, brought him to ruin. They cheated
him--legitimately of course! Mr. Alan is ignorant of the tragedy
surrounding the end of his father--his mother, too--and I hope he may
remain so."

Surprise as well as indignation was in the servant's expression. "But, sir,
you were quite friendly--"
"You shall see! You remember Marvel coming here three months ago?"
"Yes, I do--and I wondered at his impudence, the dirty--"
"He brought me the truth, anyway. I suspect his silence had already
been bought by Bullard, but that would be nothing to Marvel's
conscience. Well, he sold himself and certain papers to me. They
proved that Bullard deliberately ruined my brother for his own profit,
and Lancaster assisted, probably in ignorance."
"And--those two don't know that you know!" cried Caw. "Your pardon,
sir, but it's a bit--exciting."
"They do not know. They do not suspect. While they were here to-day
they could think of nothing but those diamonds. They are still thinking
of diamonds--of that I am sure; and for the next year they will think of
nothing else. And they were my trusted friends!"
"Do you mean the diamonds--there, in that box, sir?"
"Just so."
"They are of great value, no doubt."
"My diamonds are worth over half a million sterling."
Caw drew a long breath. "That box would be safer in the bank, sir," he
said respectfully, at last.
"I daresay. But it is going to remain in this drawer." Christopher
reached out, closed the lid, locked it, and handed the key to Caw.
"Listen! Immediately you have set the clock going, you will go down to
the shore and throw that key far into the loch. A duplicate key will be
available when the clock stops. Now place the box in the drawer and
shut the drawer, and then sit down again."

With a resigned expression Caw obeyed.
"Burglars," he muttered, as if to himself, resuming his seat.
"Yes; they may try it--after I am gone. But mark this, Caw, you are not
responsible in this particular matter, and even should you be aware that
the persons whom I have named are attempting burglary, you must not
violently interfere in any way."
"Not interfere! Good God, sir, half a million and not interfere!" Caw
peered at his master in the firelight "Why, Mr. Craig, you could not
trust me to obey that order!"
"If I can trust you with the diamonds--and I tell you that no one knows
of their existence here