Part 72

"Ah! That I cannot tell--except that he fears lest she should recover and reveal the truth--a serious truth which would implicate him."

"Do you think he had any hand in the mysterious affair?"

"I certainly do," was my reply, and then I told her of my journey to Italy, and of my discovery of her daughter with Moroni in Florence.

"But how did you know my daughter?" she asked.

"Because on that fatal night I saw her in a house in London."

"You saw her! Where?"

"In the house of a mutual enemy."

"Who?"

"Mrs. Tennison," I exclaimed quietly. "At present I cannot reveal to you more than I have done. Please excuse me. When I have fully verified my suspicions I will explain all that occurred to me--all that is within my knowledge. Until then, please remain in patience."

"I never dreamed that Gabrielle had a single enemy in the world. I cannot understand it," she exclaimed.

"Neither can I, but the fact remains. The greatest care should be exercised regarding your daughter. Why did she meet that Frenchman in Kensington Gardens?"

"I have only just heard about it," was her mother's reply. "It appears that Doctor Moroni introduced them. She had only seen him once before."

Then, turning to the girl, her mother asked:

"What did he say to you?"

"He brought me an urgent and secret message from Doctor Moroni, telling me that there was a plot against my life," she replied in a slow, mechanical voice. "The doctor sent word to me that Mr. Garfield would probably call and endeavour to be friendly with me, but that he was my enemy, and I should have no dealings with him."

"Ah!" I exclaimed. "So that was the second warning given you, Miss Tennison! It is more than ever plain that they fear lest, by meeting, we shall discover the plot and its instigators. What else did he say?"

"He told me that Doctor Moroni was still in Florence, but that he would be coming to London again very soon, and that he would call. He urged me at the same time to tell nobody that he had seen me, or that he had warned me against you--not even my mother."

"All that is in no way surprising," I remarked, "for I happen to know that Monsieur Suzor and the doctor are on terms of closest friendship--a partnership for evil."

"How?"

"As I have already explained, Miss Tennison, I have not yet fully solved the enigma, though I have learned a number of facts which, though they increase the mystery, yet they give some clue to the solution of the enigma."

"But their evil design?" asked her mother.

"Their evil design is against us both, hence your daughter's interests have become my own," I replied. "My sole object is to bring to justice those who have, for their own ends--no doubt for financial gain--been guilty of the astounding plot against your daughter. You may believe Doctor Moroni and his friend Suzor as you will, Mrs. Tennison, but I shall not withdraw from my present attitude. That they fear me is conclusively proved."

"I quite see your point," said the quiet-voiced, refined lady.

"Then I do urge you to have a care of Miss Gabrielle," I exclaimed. "If it is known, as it may be, that I have been here, an effort will surely be made to close the mouth of one or other of us. These men are desperate. I have already proved them so. Therefore we must take every precaution against surprise."

"Why not go to the police?" suggested Mrs. Tennison.

"Because the whole circumstances are so strange that, if I related them at Scotland Yard, I should not be believed," was my reply. "No. I, with my friend Mr. Hambledon, must carry on our inquiries alone. If we are sufficiently wary and active we may, I hope, gather sufficient evidence to elucidate the mystery of your daughter's present mental condition, and also the reason why a similar attempt was made upon myself."

"Well, Mr. Garfield," exclaimed the charming, elderly lady with a sigh, "I only hope you will be successful in your quest after the truth. This blow upon me is, I confess, a most terrible one. It is so distressing to see my poor child in such an uncertain state of mentality. Sometimes, as I have told you, she is quite normal, though she has no knowledge of what occurred to her. And at other times she is painfully vague and often erratic in her actions."

"She must consult Professor Gourbeil, the great alienist, at Lyons. He has a wide knowledge of the symptoms and effects of orosin."