CHAPTER XVII.
“WE SHALL SEE!”
That same evening found Ralph Moulton and his uncle again seated in their room at the inn, engaged in earnest conversation, while the same eager listener, Ronald Edgerton, was within the closet, to devour every word that fell from the two plotters’ lips.
“I tell you things don’t work just as I want them to, Ralph,” said the old man, discontentedly.
“Why?” asked Ralph.
“Because the old fellow does not seem to mind the young one’s disappearance very much. He seems to take it as a matter of course, that, if his son did not wish to meet the young lady, he should take himself off. I saw him just after he had received your cunning forgery, or at least within a couple of hours after, and he was as calm as a clock. It would have done me good to have seen him rave and tear a little.”
“I guess he’ll rave and tear enough when I demand my rights, which I intend to do to-morrow,” replied the nephew, with a touch of bitterness.
His uncle did not reply at once. He did not like to have Ralph quite so eager about this claim. When he had told him his history—or rather when he had invented this abominable lie, in order to make him a willing tool to further his own evil designs—he had hoped to be able, by promising him his whole fortune, to make him give up the idea of claiming Ellerton as his father. But he was determined to prove that he had a legal claim to that name. And the squire blamed himself now for twitting him so much about his obscure birth.
Another thing troubled him greatly. He had not anticipated meeting Mr. Ellerton in Germany.
His plan had been to ruin the son, blast all his prospects in life, and then return and try to destroy the father.
While Mr. Ellerton was in the country, he knew he could do nothing with Robert without exciting suspicion, unless——
A bright idea struck him here, and his evil face lighted with a fiendish triumph.
He reasoned that his enemy had probably disposed of most of his property on leaving his native land, intending to spend several years traveling with his son. In that case he would have most of it in gold with him, or if not in the coin itself, something equivalent in value to show for it.
Why could he not put Mr. Ellerton out of the way, and thus ruin father and son at one blow! Then he could put forward Ralph’s claim, with no one to dispute it, and he would be sure to win. He felt he would never have so favorable an opportunity as now, for the smugglers were at hand to aid him, and once the thing was done, they could leave the country and enjoy their triumph without a fear of being molested.
As these thoughts passed with lightning-like rapidity through his mind, he glanced askance at his nephew, wondering within himself whether it would be safe to impart to him this diabolical plan.
He was a little fearful that Ralph was not quite hardened enough in sin yet, to calmly contemplate robbery and murder. At all events, it would do no harm to sound him a little upon the subject.
“I don’t know about going to the trouble and expense of trying to prove your claim, Ralph,” he finally said. “I think we can come at it easier than that!”
“How?” asked Ralph, looking up, surprised.
“Why, I have been thinking that Ellerton must have turned most of his property into money before leaving home. I know he did before when he went abroad, and it would only take a little maneuvering to get possession of it,” he replied, winking wickedly at him.
Ralph cast a quick, searching glance over his uncle’s face, and then replied, with an assumed air of indifference:
“Explain yourself, if you please. I don’t understand.”
“Well, if we will only say the word, the smugglers will quickly put him out of the way, and the money is ours.”
“What then is to become of my honorable name that you have harped upon so much?” demanded Ralph, with a sneer.
His uncle winced beneath this quick retort, but replied confidently:
“Why, you foolish boy, don’t you see that will be easy enough then. You will have no one to dispute your claim but that puling boy, and what can he do, with no proofs, against such incontestable ones as you have?”
“Then you mean for us to cage up the father for life, get possession of the property, and let my young rival go, and work or beg for his living?” Ralph said, in a manner which gave his uncle some encouragement to reveal the whole of his plan.
“That is just what I mean, with one or two important alterations, which I will name,” he replied, jocosely. “I propose to cage him, as you call it, but not like his son, but rather in a wooden box, and six feet below ground, and then let the young man go to Jericho if he wants to.”
“In other words, you would murder the man,” said Ralph, in a husky voice, with a pale face and stern brow.
“You’ve hit it right this time, my boy!” he answered, with a wicked leer. “And now what do you think of it?”
Ralph involuntarily shuddered at such bold, out-spoken treachery, and he replied in a voice of intense loathing and horror:
“I think you are a fiend, and I only wish you had left me to die in the land of strangers, where my mother died, instead of bringing me up for crimes like this. And I tell you I will never dip my hands in human blood.”
“Really, young man, you are getting to be quite complimentary in your style of address,” sneered the heartless villain, an angry glow suffusing his yellow and wrinkled face.
“I do but speak the truth, sir; and I would have you distinctly understand that I will never stain my soul with the crime of murder. And I begin to think that I have taken the wrong way after all to gain my honorable name that you tell so much about. You have inspired my heart with hatred—from my infancy, as it were—toward every legally born child, making me feel like an outcast and a beggar. I believe if I had gone bravely and openly to him whom you say is my father, with the proofs in my hand, he might have been willing to recognize me equally with his son. But you have always bribed me to hatred and revenge. Oh! if my mother had only lived to teach me to be upright and truthful, I would have blessed her, even had she been unable to give me an honorable name.”
Squire Moulton’s heart was boiling with wrath at the boy’s bold and defiant language, and cursing himself for a fool for revealing his plans to him, he retorted bitterly:
“Oh, ho, my fine young man! it’s all very nice to imagine a man like Mr. Ellerton to be so generous and noble. A man in his position you know is apt to be willing to acknowledge his own dishonor. I advise you to proceed to him at once and see what kind of a reception he will give you.”
Imagination cannot picture the expression of that vile man’s face as he made this sarcastic and taunting reply. It seemed as if all the evil passions of his nature had concentrated themselves into one look of convulsive fear, hate, and malice, while his wicked heart beat with terror lest his tool—his dupe—should reveal everything, and thus thwart every chance for vengeance upon his despised foe.
He saw it would not do to break with Ralph; he had trusted in him to such an extent that he was necessary to help him. He resolved to work upon his evil passions again. It would not do to let him madly plunge both of them into ruin by one false step. But he felt almost as if he could strike him dead as young Ralph looked him full in the face and replied to his last taunt.
“I shall at least make the trial,” Ralph said, firmly. “I have done evil enough already without having a dead man haunting me all the days of my life. I have sworn that Dora shall be my wife; and I am willing to do anything reasonable to win her. I shall force her into a marriage, and teach her to love me afterward. But as for murder, ugh! I will not do it!”
“I tell you, Ralph, you shall not do anything so rash as to go, as you intend, to Mr. Ellerton. You would only get kicked and scorned for your pains, and perhaps be arrested; then how will you marry your lady-love? Besides, I think you are rather overlooking the wrong he has done your mother, and that you also forget that he has known of your own existence, and willfully deserted you all these years. Are you willing to forgive and forget all this?” asked the crafty man.
“I know all this,” replied his nephew, with a weary sigh, as he realized the force of his uncle’s remarks.
“Then, don’t you see, if you make yourself known at this early hour, and get yourself into trouble, you will surely lose the girl, together with your name and fortune?”
Squire Moulton saw the advantage he had gained, and thus had hastened to increase it.
Ralph bowed his head upon the table in troubled thought, while heavy sighs burst every now and then from his aching heart. He felt the truth of what his uncle argued, namely, if they possessed themselves of Mr. Ellerton’s money, he would be almost powerless to resist them, and would be willing, perhaps, to concede what they asked.
At last he looked up and said, half desperately, half sadly:
“Uncle, I don’t see but that one sin leads to another, and that we will have to get possession of the old fellow’s money before we can accomplish much. But, mark me, I will not have a single drop of blood spilled!” His love for Dora prompted him to use every exertion to win her, and he added, “I will tell you what I will consent to do; but beyond it I will not go. I will agree that Mr. Ellerton be waylaid and conveyed to the cave, where we can get possession of his valuables; for in all probability he carries them about his person. Then, when we have him in our power, we can compel him to sign papers agreeing to acknowledge me as his rightful heir, or, at least, joint heir, with Robert. The boy has never wronged me, and is not to blame for what his father has done, and I don’t wish to take anything from him. If Ellerton will agree to this, as I have no doubt he will when he sees our proofs, then we will free them both. It will probably take some time to bring him to these terms, and in the meantime I will secure my bride. What do you say to my plan?”
While Ralph had been speaking the squire’s brain had been busily at work.
He saw at once it would be policy to appear to agree to his nephew’s proposition.
After they had once got his enemy in their power, he knew there would be ways enough to dispose of him.
Indeed, he rather liked the plan on the whole, for he would then have an opportunity of triumphing over him, and making him feel his victory.
Yes, he would agree with Ralph, but—he vowed Ellerton should die—and—by his own hand.
If once safe within the smuggler’s cave, he should never see the light of day again.
Oh! it would be sweet to see him chained in a dungeon, and taunt him with his grief! It would be glorious to tell him how he had worked out his ruin, planning it night and day for years, and see him writhe and suffer in his agony!
Then he would reveal to him how he had helped Ralph to tear Robert’s bride from his almost clasping arms, and appropriate her to himself. And it was with difficulty that he disguised and concealed his anticipated triumph from the sharp eyes of his nephew. But he dropped his glowing orbs, and replied, calmly:
“Yes, yes, boy. I’ll agree to anything to keep the peace between us; and, in fact, I guess it’s the best thing we can do. When shall we put the plan in force?”
“To-morrow, if possible. I want this thing over with as soon as practicable. I will go immediately to see Hans, and give him our instructions, and have him on Ellerton’s track before sunset to-morrow evening.”
“All right. The quicker the better,” replied the old villain.
Ralph instantly arose and left the room, intent on his errand, leaving his uncle maturing his diabolical plan for the future.
Ronald Edgerton, who had listened to the above conversation with creeping flesh and eyes distended with horror, crept cautiously back into his room, muttering to himself:
“We shall see! We shall see!”