THE CRYSTAL GOBLET.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXX, Issue 14881, 1 January 1909, Page 11

THE CRYSTAL GOBLET.

(By DRUID GRAY'D.) Author of ‘‘ Satan’s Snaro,” “* Tho Body in tbo Box,” etc.

“Lot 143,” said tho auctioneer; *tbe most important item of the collection. A rock-crystal goblet of the sixteenth century, engraved with poppies and the figure of the goddess Proserpine ; having also on its foot an emblem of the phoenix rising from its lehos—probably the cognisance of a noble family of medieval Italy. '“ 1 quote from the catalogue,” he rent on. “But now permit me to call the attention to a peculiarity in the stem of the goblet. Riley, take the article round, carefully, and tilt it gently between the light. Notice, gentlemen, that the stem is hollow, and contains a few drops of some liquid.” Thore was no doubt as to the fact; the fluctuation could be observed distinctly ; moreover, certain prismatic hues came and went ae the liquid flowed to and fro.

“ The goblet has been submitted to a scientific expert,” continued the auo .tioneer, “ and he informs me such a state of things is quite possiblethough rare—in the matter of the crystal, which sometimes absorbs and retains a small quantity of water or cither fluid during formation. He states, too, that an article such as the present specimen, if long buried in the earth, might receive liquid by infiltration through the’ seam' of the stem. In either case, the object is probably unique, and therefore of tho greatest poosi-le interest to connoisseurs. Such a specimen has never passed through my hands before, though in sale annals there is a record of sneh an ancient goblet haring been offered years ago. It was, I understand, broken in the conrse of inspection, when such a delightful odour filled the auction-room that the broken article fetched more than if intact.”

A burst of laughter followed this statement.

As it subsided, the voice of a little, dark Hebrew was heard saying to a companion: • “Can’t he tell the tale, though? Oh, my not half !” . “ Dot’s drue Levi; I read him in a hook,” replied the other, a stout, im-passive-looking foreigner, just as audibly. “Thank you, sir,” said the auctioneer, turning in his direction, with a bow and flourish of the hammer. “ The corroboration of a perfect stranger is as gratifying as unexpected. Make the best or worst of the liquid in the stem, gentlemen,, as you please. Now, will someone kindly make me a bid for the engraved rock-crystal goblet of the sixteenth century, presumably Italian?” “Ten pounds.” “ Twenty,” said the little Hebrew. “ Dirty,” added the stout foreigner. There was a long pause. It' was evident that others of tho company •were awaiting developments, suspecting collusion. “A mere thirty pounds for a rockicrystal goblet of the sixteenth century 1” remarked the auctioneer. “Well 3 must pass this item, and go on to the next The last specimen fetched thousands, as you all know; and though, admittedly, it was a more important piece this, I beg to observe that the poorest samples are not quite so plentiful as Bristol diamonds, or the star-fitonea of Warwickshire. Replace the goblet, Rilev.” “ I gif vivty,” interpolated the stout man.

“ One hundred guineas,” said a quiet but distinct and musical voice.

Everyone turned and looked at the speaker—a slender, singularly handsome young man, in faultless morning costume, hut with something un-Eng-lish .in his appearance nevertheless.

Onq. or two persons present knew him, evidently, for reassuring glances ■were exchanged, and the little Hebrew said to his companion—this time in a ■whisper: “Markham’s adopted sou. It’s all right;* go'*on, Raflitz.”

“ Nod III”"I will,-theh. Fifty!” * “Two hundred guineas,” said the young man, calmly. This coolness acted on those present as a clear frost does on the appetite, and one bidder after another hungered for the goblet with a stimulated craving. It ran up to three hundred and fifty guineas, when the bidding checked again. “Don’t lose it, Mr Anto-niq,” pleaded tho auctioneer. “ I should like you to have it, because it will be thoroughly appreciated. Say >three-sixty. I’ll take five guinea bids now.” .“I’m bidding entirely on my own responsibility.’’ replied the young fellow courteously; “though I think the gablet ‘ would interest Mr Markham. I’ll risk the price you suggest, but no more. Anyone is welcome to it at a higher figure.” “ Three hundred and sixty guineas for the rock-crystal goblet. Any advance? Once! Twice! Third and last .time three hundred and sixty guineas.” There was no higher bid, so the article was knocked down to Mr Antonio, ■who wrote a cheque for the amount and took his acquisition away in its velvetlined case — oblivious of or indifferent to a score or more of envious disappointed, or admiring eyes directed upon him as he wended his way out of the auction room. He did not make his way direct from Co vent Garden to Mr Markham's house in St John’s Wood, but proceeded to John Street, where he had two rooms on the ground floor, one of which was tastefully furnished as a study sitting-room, the other being always in use, more or less, for the numerous purchases he made for his adopted father from time to time; for he had the Italian’s true, inborn love of art, and the unerring instinct for good specimen©, which comes of it. Markham himself had been an invalid for some years, and could not ride his hobby-horse in the actual pursuit of curios: but he read with avidity every dealer’s and auctioneer’s catalogue that was sent to him, and then entrusted Antonio with his _ commieeions. At his house, “The Belvedere,” known to every art-loving person in London and to all provincial sighteeers as one of the freo shows on a Thursday in the student could see most tilings genuine, costly, and rare, from an English pewter chalice of the fourteenth century to an Ashanti gold-mask. His own pictures were not tho least noteworthy objects of a unique exhibition, though he never attempted to sell one, or exhibit in. a public gallery. Swell cracksmen had paraphrased Blueher’s. remark on London, in reference to “The Belvedere”—in tho words: “What a house to crack!” But a knowledge of his great boarhounds and private information that secret wires, which, once touched, connected the place with its corresponding number at the nearest police station, made them refrain from the job with sincere envy but small emulation.

The crystal goblet, intended as tho most recent contribution to the house’s treasures, was very carefully scrutinised by Antonio, therefore, before’ it was submitted to the master; with a powerful telescopic len3 he went over every line of. it methodically, carefully, and patiently, time after time; and then perused many works of roforenoe before returning to the specimen .again. In fact, it was nearly eight o’clock before he left his rooms for home, with tho precious roblet. But be was plainly self-satisfied. His step was light’and firm, his bearing confident, and there was that smile on his face which comes only once in a life—~ when the fulfilment of the heart’s desire is near at hand.

On reaching home he went straightway to Mr Markham’s private room, thinking to find his adopted father alone at this early hour; but, as lie

was about to put his hand to the doorknob he cheoked himself and listened awhile, with an inscrutable expression on his face—for he could hear a woman’s clear tones reading aloud from Browning’s poems. It was the voice of Clare Nasmyth, Mr Markham’s niece, a motherless young woman who had beon an inmate of the house for two years now, to Antonio’s great unrest, for he loved her passionately but secretly for herself, whilst distrusting an influence with her undo which suggested future complications as to tho heirship of that gentleman’s wealth and possessions. Moreover, she was something of an eni'ma to him—frank, but irresponsive, and at times a little ironical—which intensified the distrust and filled him with vaguo alarm,_ till passion, nourished on itself, banished the apprehension. Ho himself hod been told, in somewhat ambiguous terms, on one oocasion, that the same blood ran in his own as in his adopted father s veins; but he had never ventured to ask the exact relationship, partly because Mr Markham was not the sort of man to be questioned, and partly because thore was the lurking lear that the kinship was not a matter which it was advisable to put to analysis. The voice within tho room went easily on; so, biting his under lip, and forcing a smile, he turned the handle slowly, and went in. . )} “ A prize, a prize for you, sir, lie ejaculated, exultantly; pardon my breaking in on your reading, Clare, buj. hero is something the like of which I have never seen before. He took tho goblet from its case and held it on a level with their eyes for inspection. ~ , ,„ • , . . Clare looked brightly at the object, saving. “ What a beautiful glass ; and Antonio, had he dared, would have replied: “ There is but one beauty in the room —yourself ” —and in truth ho would not have erred greatly, for tfle rich complexion, golden-red hair, ana great blue eyes of the lovely young woman made everything else in tbe apartment cold and lifeless by compariS °Mr Markham, a tall, picturesque, but pallid and grey-haired man, remarked, quietly, in a low and tired voice: A rock-crystal goblet I perceive; where did you get it, and what was the price?” “Three hundred and sixty guineas, sir—not too much, I believe—for it is practically unique, as I will prove presently. It was put up at Marshall’s Sale Rooms. I strolled in by chance. Levi was there, and a foreigner whom I did not know, with him. They went up to a hundred, and other bidders mounted by degrees till I outstripped them. Observe, sir, there is the pheenix badge of some Italian family on tho foot; but tho stem is hollow and contains a fluid—a great rarity in crystals, I learned.” “ The badge is that of some disciple of Paracelsus, the physician,” answered the tired voice. Antonio started, and his olivo face went a shade lighter as he replied, somewhat despondently, “ I hope I have not laid out the money to had advantage, sir.” “Oh dear nor. Judiciously sold, the goblet would realise at least five hundred guineas. I was merely correcting your error as to the emblem.” “ I’m so glad,” said Antonio, with evident relief; “for there’s sure to be a paragraph in the papers about the sale, and your collection must not be decried, sir- I ought to mention, too, that I noticed that fellow Couch—about whom Detective Parsons warned us—in the sale-room.” . “ Indeed,” retorted Mr Markham, a little uneasily; adding, “ However, he’s not likely to pay me a visit for a breakable and comparatively valueless article. Still, his presence there is significant. Thank you for your afternoon’s work all round.”

The young man bowed, and the three people then admired the new possession as only collectors can—every aspect of tho design and every line of the engraving receiving its due praise and appreciation.

Finally, the goblet was replaced in the case and 6et on a high bracket; and they went into the supper-room, where Mr Markham spoke learnedly, at intervals, of crystal and early workers in the material. Antonio recurred again and again to the subject of the man Couch and his class, but Mr Markham expressed no further uneasiness, and Clare remarked in the subtly sarcastic style she sometimes affected, that dogs occasionally ate “couch” as a medicine—a remark which puzzled Antonio so that he asked for an explanation, and was laughingly informed that tritioum repeus—otherwise couch-grass —was indeed a good natural physic for dogs, and likewise afforded an excellent pun. Antonio, who was without humour, immediately subsided, but Mr Markham gavo one of his rare laughs, and Clare resumed her ordinary manner for the rest of tho evening, to the younger man’s evidenz relief. Nevertheless, one of the ground-floor windows was cut with a diamond a night or so later, and the dogs had made no sign. Antonio was full of the matter, vowing that he would lie awake for a week of nights, if necessary and shoot any intruder at sight. then a most unexpected thing happened. The crystal goblet, case and all, was missing from the bracket one teueheefr no^l * u g else had been Mr Markham, curiously enough, made light of the incident, declaring that he would not be bothered about the affair at present. Clare said nothing, so Antonio, after a little volubility was forced to keep silence, though plainly uneasy of mind. Iter the next night or so he lay upon the bed m his dressing-gown, with tho door ajar, listening for any unusual noise without or within the house, arid then his patience had its reward The doors of “ The Belvedere ” were too well hung to creak, and the carpeted corridors gave no sound of a footfall, but a thin pencil of light gradually widened on tho landing, so Antonio leaped from the bed and peered through the chink of his doorway. In another moment he could see the tall, square figure of Mr Markham walking from his bedroom along the lobby, Carrying a crystal goblet in one hand whilst shielding it with tho other.

Looking neither to the right nor left, he made his way to the sitting-room, opened the door cautiously, switched on tho electric light and passed within. In another moment there was a sharp ringing noise as of snapped glass, a crash on the parquetry, and then a stifled exclamation, followed by a deepdrawn sigh. Antonio had seen and heard enough to satisfy himself. He closed his door quietly, slipped out of dressing-gown and slippers, and slid quickly interbed. But not to sleep. He lay there thinking and planning til] the ordinary noises of the house began at early morning, and then he began to tremble slightly, and his heart beat tumultuously for a while.

Efe began to dress at the usual time, listening intently, but nothing out of the usual course happened. He was forced to steady bis nerves with a nip of neat spirit from his pocket-flask just before the man brought hot shaving water, and when the domestic had retired without any special cornmunieation he had recourse to the again, for his hand shook visibly, and the circles beneath his eyes were as if artificially darkened with purple pigment. But the alcohol had its effect before he was finally dressed; his spirits lifted and he carefully rinsed away the odour qf the cognac from his breath with an

aromatic wash, and walked to the breakfast-room.

He entered, expecting to find Clare thero alone ; but Mr Markham was seated at hor right, and behind him, on the bracket, was the crystal goblet, intact from its caso, glinting in the sunlight. He started palpably, and, for all his fictitious courage, could not repress a slight “ Ah !” Mr Markhnm smiled. “ I see you are surprised, Carl,” he said, kindly. “ Yes, the goblet is safe. It’s a long story, and Clare will tell it better than I—-after breakfast. Fall to, lad.” Antonio rejoined. “Well, of all tho woiiders,” as he sat down ; but his voice to himself sounded like the hollow echo of another’s. Notwithstanding, self-possession and a certain relief began to come over him gradually, and ho made a fair show of ureaJkfasting. Vi ne., c. meal was over Clare said, “ Now for the talc; but you won’t want to hear it again, uncle. Moreover, I’ve something else to say to Carl; he and I will go into the library, with your permission.” “ Certainly, my dear; though the relation would not really distress me, 1 assure you.” “ Yes, it would, dear. Come along, Carl.”

The young fellow opened tho door for her, and followed to the other room, with new courage and a new hope, for ho thought he saw his way to a declaration of love, or at least the intimation of it, tvhen the confidential talk was over.

But a glance at hor faco, and tho first sentence she uttered, in cold, hard tones, froze the blood in his veins—and nerve failed him utterly. “We must understand each other, Mr Antonio,” she said as she seated herself. “ You’d beter sit down for a few minutes, too.” “Un—der—stand each other,” he stammered, sinking into a chair. “Yes, with reference to the crystal goblet, and—other things.” He fixed dilated eyes on her, and his face went ghastly. For some minutes he listened to her unfaltering statement like on© in a mesmerised trance.

“You bought that goblet with a sinister motive,” said she, plainly; “ because the liquid in the stem suggested possibilities. You dialled the foot, let the original liquid out, put some other in its place, doubtless, and sealed the tiny hole again, cunningly ; but not so cunningly that I—who have long suspected that you had evil intentions—was deceived. You know, ao well as I do, that uncle is amende, and has slight atrophy of the thyroid gland, which causes him to walk in his sleep occasionally. Of this you took advantage, craftily. First of all you acted on his mind by suggestions of robbery, knowing well that his Sleep would he troubled, and that he would most likely get up and hide the glass. You imitated an attempt at housebreaking to aid the design, and hid the case of the goblet on© night. Uncle did walk in his sleep and secrete the glass, and then your horrid plan was one step nearer success, for you were conscious that tho cause of its disappearance would occur to him, and that he would replace it when false sleep again revealed the hiding-place to his distressed mind.

“ And. now your unnatural—yes, fiendish plot, has almost come to a head. You put a sharp-edged bronze on the bracket, so that when he reached up to replace the goblet, tho glass would shatter against it. and cast the contents into his face. But I watched you throughout—two can lie awake and creep about, a house in turn, you know —and saved you from crime. “ Learn that I stole the original goblet myself, putting a harmless one of similar shape in its place. Early this morning only after the worthless, harmless glass was broken, did I put tho crystal back on the bracket—for the play was played out. You have only to tell me where the case is, and find an excuse to leave the house for ever. There’s the tale. It has been a long one, and uncle is unaware of your part; but can you deny its truth?” “ I cannot,” replied Antonio, rising quickly. “There was hydrocyanic acid in the stem, and a spot, or the fumes -> c it, would have killed Mr Markham. You say you have long suspected mo. But you never guessed my real motive. You think me a vulgar, sordid criminal, desirous to get a portion of the estate before duo time. Well, that would have been a means, not an end. I was prepared to sell my very eternal soul to gain an earthly heaven—life with you. I love you as no one in your day ever will. That is my one and sole excuse before we part for ever.” The young woman looked at him with an indescribable expression. Surprise was blended with dismay, and behind both was a growing terror at the man’s passion. She clenched the nails into her tender palms and bit her lower lip, whilst her bosom rose, and fell rapidly. It was a full moment before sue could collect herself to reply. Lifting herself by the arms of thechoir, she said quietly, “ You have your excuse for going without suspicion. Say you proposed to me, and I rejected you unconditionally, which makes life‘ together in the house insupportable. Travel, rule yourself, find a good woman to make you a good man, and look back on this terrible temptation as an ugly dream. And oh! in the name of all things sacred, ask for that fateful goblet as a parting gift, and shatter it for ever when you go.” A swift, utter revulsion of feeling swept over the wretched man. Tears sprang to his eyes, and a deep sob came from his chest. “ T can’t ask you to take my hand, Clare.” he said brokenly, “but say ‘ Good-bye, Carl,’ for the last time.” “ Good-bye, Carl, and God guide you.” replied the girl fervently. “ Good-bye, and God bless you for ever, Clare,” he replied, and walked out without looking at her again. He went straightway to Mr Markham, and said what Clara had bidden him, as one repeating a lesson. Mr Markham took the communication gravely but kindly, finally concurring in the’ idea of travel for a while. “ There is one thing I should like to ask you, sir, before I go my journey,” said Antonio. “It concerns my parentage. Do not spare me any unpleasant truth. You have said that the same blood flows in our veins. Wliat is my relationship to you?” A pained look came over Mr Markham’s face. “ You are no real relation,” he said. “ Do you actually wish me to tell you the truth ? Better lot the past rest in the grave, lad.” “ Tell me, sir, I implore you,” was the reply; and the elder man wondered at the look of relief which had come to the younger one’s face. “ Here it is, then, lad. When I was studying art in Italy I rescued a woman and child from drowning—your mother and yourself, in short. Some time afterwards I was knocked on the head by brigands in the mountains, after showing fight foolishly. The chief’s wife proved to be your mother, and in gratitude she fetched a leech, and forced him to transfer her own healthy blood into nay depleted veins, and 1 recovered partially, as you see. The band was broken up later, and your father suffered the last penalty of tho law. This—and her sacrifice, I always think—sent your poor mother into a decline, and she died begging me to do my best for you, hor baby.. I have respected her request as far as man could. Now, don’t worry about this, lad. Nobody knows the facts but you and I. Have a trip on the Continent and come back again to us, cured of your unfortunate attachment. Have you money enough, and is there anything you would like to take with you as a memento?” “ More than I shall ever spend, thank you, sir,” replied the young man, with faco averted, and looking j

towards the crystal goblet. “ May I take my last purchase, sir?” “Yes, and welcome,” said Mr Markham, heartily, “if your mind is set on the troublesome object; though it will prove an awkward travelling companion. I fear. Ts thore nothing you would like better?”

“Nothing, sir, thank von,” said Antonio, as he reached it down. “ All blessings be yours for what you have done for mo and mine. I ran only repay vnu and requite myself—so.” With a quick movement ho snapped the cun off, put the stem to his lips and drank. Then he foil headlong in instant death among't the ruined fragments of the crystal goblet-.