第28章

Playmorefound？Forme，thetrueinterestofthenarrativewasthere——andtothatportionofitIeagerlyturnednext。

Theyhadproceededmethodically，ofcourse，withoneeyeonthepounds，shillings，andpence，andtheotherontheobjectinview。InBenjamin，thelawyerhadfoundwhathehadnotmetwithinme——asympatheticmind，alivetothevalueof"anabstractoftheexpenses，"andconsciousofthatmostremunerativeofhumanvirtues，thevirtueofeconomy。

Atsomuchaweek，theyhadengagedmentodigintothemoundandtosifttheashes。Atsomuchaweek，theyhadhiredatenttosheltertheopendust—heapfromwindandweather。Atsomuchaweek，theyhadengagedtheservicesofayoungman（personallyknowntoBenjamin），whowasemployedinalaboratoryunderaprofessorofchemistry，andwhohaddistinguishedhimselfbyhisskillfulmanipulationofpaperinarecentcaseofforgeryonawell—knownLondonfirm。Armedwiththesepreparations，theyhadbegunthework；BenjaminandtheyoungchemistlivingatGleninch，andtakingitinturnstosuperintendtheproceedings。

Threedaysoflaborwiththespadeandthesieveproducednoresultsoftheslightestimportance。However，thematterwasinthehandsoftwoquietlydeterminedmen。Theydeclinedtobediscouraged。Theywenton。

Onthefourthdaythefirstmorselsofpaperwerefound。

Uponexamination，theyprovedtobethefragmentsofatradesman’sprospectus。Nothingdismayed，Benjaminandtheyoungchemiststillpersevered。Attheendoftheday’sworkmorepiecesofpaperwereturnedup。Theseprovedtobecoveredwithwrittencharacters。Mr。Playmore（arrivingatGleninch，asusual，everyeveningontheconclusionofhislaborsinthelaw）wasconsultedastothehandwriting。Aftercarefulexamination，hedeclaredthatthemutilatedportionsofsentencessubmittedtohimhadbeenwritten，beyondalldoubt，byEustaceMacallan’sfirstwife！

Thisdiscoveryarousedtheenthusiasmofthesearcherstofeverheight。

Spadesandsieveswerefromthatmomentforbiddenutensils。

Howeverunpleasantthetaskmightbe，handsalonewereusedinthefurtherexaminationofthemound。Thefirstandforemostnecessitywastoplacethemorselsofpaper（inflatcardboardboxespreparedforthepurpose）intheirorderastheywerefound。Nightcame；thelaborersweredismissed；Benjaminandhistwocolleaguesworkedonbylamplight。Themorselsofpaperwerenowturnedupbydozens，insteadofbyonesandtwos。Forawhilethesearchprosperedinthisway；andthenthemorselsappearednomore。Hadtheyallbeenrecovered？orwouldrenewedhand—diggingyieldmoreyet？Thenextlightlayersofrubbishwerecarefullyremoved——andthegranddiscoveryofthedayfollowed。There（upsidedown）wasthegum—bottlewhichthelodge—keeper’sdaughterhadspokenof。And，morepreciousstill，there，underit，weremorefragmentsofwrittenpaper，allstucktogetherinalittlelump，bythelastdrippingsfromthegum—bottledroppinguponthemastheylayonthedust—heap！

Thescenenowshiftedtotheinteriorofthehouse。WhenthesearchersnextassembledtheymetatthegreattableinthelibraryatGleninch。

Benjamin’sexperiencewiththe"Puzzles"whichhehadputtogetherinthedaysofhisboyhoodprovedtobeofsomeusetohiscompanions。Thefragmentsaccidentallystucktogetherwould，inallprobability，befoundtofiteachother，andwouldcertainly（inanycase）betheeasiestfragmentstoreconstructasacentertostartfrom。

Thedelicatebusinessofseparatingthesepiecesofpaper，andofpreservingthemintheorderinwhichtheyhadadheredtoeachother，wasassignedtothepracticedfingersofthechemist。Butthedifficultiesofhistaskdidnotendhere。Thewritingwas（asusualinletters）tracedonbothsidesofthepaper，anditcouldonlybepreservedforthepurposeofreconstructionbysplittingeachmorselintotwo——soasartificiallytomakeablankside，onwhichcouldbespreadthefinecementusedforreunitingthefragmentsintheiroriginalform。

ToMr。PlaymoreandBenjamintheprospectofsuccessfullyputtingthelettertogether，underthesedisadvantages，seemedtobealmosthopeless。Theirskilledcolleaguesoonsatisfiedthemthattheywerewrong。

Hedrewtheirattentiontothethicknessofthepaper——note—paperofthestrongestandbestquality——onwhichthewritingwastraced。Itwasofmorethantwicethesubstanceofthelastpaperonwhichhehadoperated，whenhewasengagedintheforgeryease；anditwas，onthataccount，comparativelyeasyforhim（aidedbythemechanicalapplianceswhichhehadbroughtfromLondon）tosplitthemorselsofthetornpaper，withinagivenspaceoftimewhichmightpermitthemtobeginthereconstructionoftheletterthatnight。

Withtheseexplanations，hequietlydevotedhimselftohiswork。

WhileBenjaminandthelawyerwerestillporingoverthescatteredmorselsoftheletterwhichhadbeenfirstdiscovered，andtryingtopiecethemtogetheragain，thechemisthaddividedthegreaterpartofthefragmentsspeciallyconfidedtohimintotwohalveseach；andhadcorrectlyputtogethersomefiveorsixsentencesoftheletteronthesmoothsheetofcardboardpreparedforthatpurpose。

Theylookedeagerlyatthereconstructedwritingsofar。

Itwascorrectlydone：thesensewasperfect。Thefirstresultgainedbyexaminationwasremarkableenoughtorewardthemforalltheirexertions。ThelanguageusedplainlyidentifiedthepersontowhomthelateMrs。Eustacehadaddressedherletter。

Thatpersonwas——myhusband。

Andtheletterthusaddressed——iftheplainestcircumstantialevidencecouldbetrusted——wasidenticalwiththeletterwhichMiserrimusDexterhadsuppresseduntiltheTrialwasover，andhadthendestroyedbytearingitup。

ThesewerethediscoveriesthathadbeenmadeatthetimewhenBenjaminwrotetome。Hehadbeenonthepointofpostinghisletter，whenMr。Playmorehadsuggestedthatheshouldkeepitbyhimforafewdayslonger，onthechanceofhavingmorestilltotellme。

"Weareindebtedtoherfortheseresults，"thelawyerhadsaid。

"Butforherresolution；andherinfluenceoverMiserrimusDexter，weshouldneverhavediscoveredwhatthedust—heapwashidingfromus——weshouldneverhaveseensomuchasaglimmeringofthetruth。Shehasthefirstclaimtothefullestinformation。

Letherhaveit。"

Theletterhadbeenaccordinglykeptbackforthreedays。Thatintervalbeingatanend，itwashurriedlyresumedandconcludedintermswhichindescribablyalarmedme。

"Thechemistisadvancingrapidlywithhispartofthework"

（Benjaminwrote）；"andIhavesucceededinputtingtogetheraseparateportionofthetornwritingwhichmakessense。

ComparisonofwhathehasaccomplishedwithwhatIhaveaccomplishedhasledtostartlingconclusions。UnlessMr。

PlaymoreandIareentirelywrong（andGodgrantwemaybeso！），thereisaseriousnecessityforyourkeepingthereconstructionoftheletterstrictlysecretfromeverybodyaboutyou。ThedisclosuressuggestedbywhathascometolightaresoheartrendingandsodreadfulthatIcannotbringmyselftowriteaboutthemuntilIamabsolutelyobligedtodoso。Pleaseforgivemefordisturbingyouwiththisnews。Wearebound，soonerorlater，toconsultwithyouinthematter；andwethinkitrighttoprepareyourmindforwhatmaybetocome。"

TothistherewasaddedapostscriptinMr。Playmore’shandwriting：

"PrayobservestrictlythecautionwhichMr。Benjaminimpressesonyou。Andbearthisinmind，asawarningfrom_me：_Ifwesucceedinreconstructingtheentireletter，thelastpersonlivingwhoought（inmyopinion）tobeallowedtoseeitis——yourhusband。"

CHAPTERXLVI。

THECRISISDEFERRED。

"TAKEcare，Valeria！"saidMrs。Macallan。"Iaskyounoquestions；Ionlycautionyouforyourownsake。EustacehasnoticedwhatIhavenoticed——Eustacehasseenachangeinyou。

Takecare！"

Somymother—in—lawspoketomelaterintheday，whenwehappenedtobealone。IhaddonemybesttoconcealalltracesoftheeffectproducedonmebythestrangeandterriblenewsfromGleninch。ButwhocouldreadwhatIhadread，whocouldfeelwhatInowfelt，andstillmaintainanundisturbedserenityoflookandmanner？IfIhadbeenthevilesthypocriteliving，IdoubteventhenifmyfacecouldhavekeptmysecretwhilemymindwasfullofBenjamin’sletter。

Havingspokenherwordofcaution，Mrs。Macallanmadenofurtheradvancet