With those parting words she limped away from me at the top of her
speed. The one interpretation that I could put on her conduct has, no
doubt, been anticipated by everybody. I could only suppose that she was
mad.
Having reached that inevitable conclusion, I turned to the more
interesting object of investigation which was presented to me by Rosanna
Spearman's letter. The address was written as follows:--"For Franklin
Blake, Esq. To be given into his own hands (and not to be trusted to any
one else), by Lucy Yolland."
I broke the seal. The envelope contained a letter: and this, in its
turn, contained a slip of paper. I read the letter first:-"Sir,--If you are curious to know the meaning of my behaviour to you,
whilst you were staying in the house of my mistress, Lady Verinder, do
what you are told to do in the memorandum enclosed with this--and do it
without any person being present to overlook you. Your humble servant, "ROSANNA SPEARMAN."
I turned to the slip of paper next. Here is the literal copy of it, word
for word: "Memorandum:--To go to the Shivering Sand at the turn of the tide. To
walk out on the South Spit, until I get the South Spit Beacon, and
the flagstaff at the Coast-guard station above Cobb's Hole in a line
together. To lay down on the rocks, a stick, or any straight thing to
guide my hand, exactly in the line of the beacon and the flagstaff. To
take care, in doing this, that one end of the stick shall be at the edge
of the rocks, on the side of them which overlooks the quicksand. To feel
along the stick, among the sea-weed (beginning from the end of the stick
which points towards the beacon), for the Chain. To run my hand along
the Chain, when found, until I come to the part of it which stretches
over the edge of the rocks, down into the quicksand. AND THEN TO PULL
THE CHAIN."
Just as I had read the last words--underlined in the original--I heard
the voice of Betteredge behind me. The inventor of the detective-fever
had completely succumbed to that irresistible malady. "I can't stand it
any longer, Mr. Franklin. What does her letter say? For mercy's sake,
sir, tell us, what does her letter say?"
I handed him the letter, and the memorandum. He read the first
without appearing to be much interested in it. But the second--the
memorandum--produced a strong impression on him.
"The Sergeant said it!" cried Betteredge. "From first to last, sir, the
Sergeant said she had got a memorandum of the hiding-place. And here
it is! Lord save us, Mr. Franklin, here is the secret that puzzled
everybody, from the great Cuff downwards, ready and waiting, as one may
say, to show itself to YOU! It's the ebb now, sir, as anybody may see
for themselves. How long will it be till the turn of the tide?" He
looked up, and observed a lad at work, at some little distance from us,
mending a net. "Tammie Bright!" he shouted at the top of his voice.