In putting this difficulty to Mr. Murthwaite, I thought it right to add
that I had heard of the little boy, and the drop of ink, and the rest of
it, and that any explanation based on the theory of clairvoyance was
an explanation which would carry no conviction whatever with it, to MY
mind.
"Nor to mine either," said Mr. Murthwaite. "The clairvoyance in
this case is simply a development of the romantic side of the Indian
character. It would be refreshment and an encouragement to those
men--quite inconceivable, I grant you, to the English mind--to surround
their wearisome and perilous errand in this country with a certain halo
of the marvellous and the supernatural. Their boy is unquestionably a
sensitive subject to the mesmeric influence--and, under that influence,
he has no doubt reflected what was already in the mind of the person
mesmerising him. I have tested the theory of clairvoyance--and I have
never found the manifestations get beyond that point. The Indians don't
investigate the matter in this way; the Indians look upon their boy as
a Seer of things invisible to their eyes--and, I repeat, in that marvel
they find the source of a new interest in the purpose that unites them.
I only notice this as offering a curious view of human character,
which must be quite new to you. We have nothing whatever to do with
clairvoyance, or with mesmerism, or with anything else that is hard of
belief to a practical man, in the inquiry that we are now pursuing. My
object in following the Indian plot, step by step, is to trace results
back, by rational means, to natural causes. Have I succeeded to your
satisfaction so far?"
"Not a doubt of it, Mr. Murthwaite! I am waiting, however, with some
anxiety, to hear the rational explanation of the difficulty which I have
just had the honour of submitting to you."
Mr. Murthwaite smiled. "It's the easiest difficulty to deal with of
all," he said. "Permit me to begin by admitting your statement of the
case as a perfectly correct one. The Indians were undoubtedly not aware
of what Mr. Franklin Blake had done with the Diamond--for we find them
making their first mistake, on the first night of Mr. Blake's arrival at
his aunt's house."
"Their first mistake?" I repeated.
"Certainly! The mistake of allowing themselves to be surprised, lurking
about the terrace at night, by Gabriel Betteredge. However, they had the
merit of seeing for themselves that they had taken a false step--for, as
you say, again, with plenty of time at their disposal, they never came
near the house for weeks afterwards."
"Why, Mr. Murthwaite? That's what I want to know! Why?"
"Because no Indian, Mr. Bruff, ever runs an unnecessary risk. The clause
you drew in Colonel Herncastle's Will, informed them (didn't it?) that
the Moonstone was to pass absolutely into Miss Verinder's possession on
her birthday. Very well. Tell me which was the safest course for men in
their position? To make their attempt on the Diamond while it was under
the control of Mr. Franklin Blake, who had shown already that he could
suspect and outwit them? Or to wait till the Diamond was at the disposal
of a young girl, who would innocently delight in wearing the magnificent
jewel at every possible opportunity? Perhaps you want a proof that my
theory is correct? Take the conduct of the Indians themselves as the
proof. They appeared at the house, after waiting all those weeks,
on Miss Verinder's birthday; and they were rewarded for the patient
accuracy of their calculations by seeing the Moonstone in the bosom of
her dress! When I heard the story of the Colonel and the Diamond, later
in the evening, I felt so sure about the risk Mr. Franklin Blake had run
(they would have certainly attacked him, if he had not happened to ride
back to Lady Verinder's in the company of other people); and I was so
strongly convinced of the worse risk still, in store for Miss Verinder,
that I recommended following the Colonel's plan, and destroying the
identity of the gem by having it cut into separate stones. How its
extraordinary disappearance that night, made my advice useless, and
utterly defeated the Hindoo plot--and how all further action on the part
of the Indians was paralysed the next day by their confinement in prison
as rogues and vagabonds--you know as well as I do. The first act in
the conspiracy closes there. Before we go on to the second, may I
ask whether I have met your difficulty, with an explanation which is
satisfactory to the mind of a practical man?"