"Leighbourne!" repeated Vass, trembling violently.
"Himself--see!" Torry dexterously whipped off a false beard and wig. Then he sprang to his feet with a wild cry of amazement. In the white-faced and baffled scoundrel, who was now in the clutches of the law, he saw not Frederick Leighbourne as he had expected, but--of all men--Roderick Blake!
CHAPTER XXVI
[CONCLUSION]
So the last man in the world whom Torry suspected turned out to be the criminal. Blake was arrested, brought up before a magistrate, and on the evidence given by Vass, committed, for trial. He pleaded not guilty, and reserved his defence; but while in prison, bail being refused, his nerve gave way. Seeing that he could not escape in the face of the secretary's recognition, and his own admission in the hearing of Torry, Vass, Darrel, and the two constables, he resolved to make a clean breast of it. Having been supplied with writing materials at his own request, he wrote out and signed a confession acknowledging himself guilty, and describing how he had committed the crimes, This he handed to the gaol chaplain, and that night, not being closely watched, hanged himself in his cell by means of his braces. The murderer died as a suicide--and that was the end of Roderick Blake.
"I hereby declare," so ran the confession, "that I alone killed Jesse Grent and Julia Brawn. I knew from Lydia Hargone, to whom I was engaged, that Grent wished to fly to Italy with her and ten thousand pounds, the property of the Patriotic Peruvians. I wanted to get the money for myself, but I was afraid to rob Grent openly, lest the society should trace and kill me. I therefore suggested to Lydia that she should make an appointment with Grent in a quiet place, ask him to shew her the money, and then rob him. Thus Grent, as having been paid the money by Manuel, would be suspected, and Lydia and myself would escape the vengeance of the society. Lydia made an appointment in Mortality-Lane, and promised--to gull Grent--that she would elope with him to Italy the next morning. At the last moment she turned weak, and refused to go. She proposed that Julia Brawn should disguise herself as Lydia Hargone in a fawn-coloured mantle, and meet Grent. For some reason Julia agreed to go at once; but I did not quite trust her, so I said that I would go also. In case there might be any difficulty, I wished to receive the money personally; but as Grent would give it up to no one but Lydia, I resolved to wear her clothes. I was not very tall, I was clean shaven, and could soften my voice to a feminine drawl; so it was easy for me to disguise myself as a woman. At first I determined not to take Julia, but she was so eager to go--I don't know why--that I resolved to make use of her. To confuse the police, should there be any trouble about the robbery, I made Julia disguise herself as a man. She only wore a pair of trousers above her underclothes, a long great coat, a soft hat, and a black wig and beard. I put on her dress and petticoat, wore her hat, and Lydia's fawn-coloured mantle, for Grent to recognise, and a veil. We dressed thus simply as I intended, to further confuse the police, that we should change in some obscure spot as soon as the robbery was accomplished. When we went to keep the appointment I took with me my Spanish bowie-knife, but only for protection. I swear, by all I hold most sacred, that I had no murderous intention at the time.
"We arrived in Mortality-lane shortly after midnight, and a few minutes later Grent appeared in disguise to keep his appointment. At first he was alarmed at seeing two of us, but I explained--mimicking the voice of Lydia, which I could imitate very well--that Julia was the son of my landlady, whom I had brought to protect me in the midnight streets. Mr. Grent was pacified, and shewed me the notes done up in one bundle. I wanted to look at them, but he refused to give them into my hands. I then tried to take them, but did it too strongly, and Grent suspected something. He snatched at my veil, it came off, and in the light of a near gas-lamp he recognised me. I was furious and lost my temper. Grent began to run with the notes. As I was determined to have them I followed, and threw myself on him. For his own sake he was afraid to cry out, but struggled with me in silence. He tore the lace off my cloak; so finding him bent on resistance, I drew my knife and, watching my opportunity, I stabbed him to the heart. He fell with a low cry, and when I examined him I found him stone dead.
"Julia was in a great state; she cried and wrung her hands, until I thought someone would come. I made her be quiet, and took the packet of notes off Grent's dead body; these I slipped into the pocket of the dress I wore. Then I took Julia's arm, and was going away with her, when it struck me that, to save myself and the girl from suspicion, it would be a good thing to lay the blame on the secret society. Before I left home I had put two tomb-images in my pocket, as I thought if Grent did not give up the money I might produce one, say I represented the society, and thus terrify him into giving me the ten thousand pounds. I would have tried this trick if he had not torn off my veil and recognised me. As it was, in a moment of passion, I killed him. To avert suspicion and cast it on Manuel, I placed a Blue Mummy on the ground beside the corpse. Then I took Julia up the lane, we found a cab and got into it. I told the man to drive to Northumberland-avenue, near the theatre, as Julia wanted to get out there, saying it was near her lodgings.
"In the cab we changed our clothes. Julia reassumed her petticoat and dress, also the fawn-coloured mantle of Lydia, and the hat given to her by Donna Maria. I put on the coat and hat and black beard. When we alighted from the cab near the Avenue Theatre and dismissed it, I went down to the Embankment with Julia, and threw the trousers she had worn into the river. As I did so, she ran off down the Embankment. Then I recollected that the bank-notes were in the pocket of the dress I had worn, and which she now had on. I followed her as quickly as I could, and found her talking to a man near Cleopatra's Needle. I did not know who the man was, but, thinking she was betraying the fact that I had murdered Grent, I became mad with rage. I ran at her with my knife open, she turned, and I stabbed her to the heart. The man ran off. I waited to search Julia's clothes for the notes, but could not find them, so I concluded that she had given them to the man. I resolved to follow, but first tried to throw the body into the river, so as to conceal my crime. I dragged it as far as the steps, when I heard someone coming, and ran off to save myself.
"I went after the unknown man, but could not trace him. I wanted to know who he was, and get the money back. That was why I wished to assist in the investigation of the case. As Julia was dead and Lydia staunch, I thought I would never be discovered. But I fell by my own folly. Finding out from Darrel that Vass was the man who had taken the notes from Julia, I wrote a note asking him to meet me, intending to force him to give them up. He came, and he betrayed me; so now I am in gaol. I cannot defend myself at the trial, as Vass recognised me; so it is certain that I shall be condemned to death. I have confessed my crime, and I have nothing more to do but sign myself as a double murderer. God have mercy on all who give way to their passions.