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The Body in the Box BY DRUID…

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[ALL RIGHTS RIBEIRVID.) The Body in the Box BY DRUID GRAYL. "What do you make of this, Latimer?" Ii Allerby, handing ov:;i fee current number ol "Notes and Queries" to his friend as h« spoke. Latimer took the paper and scanned the article which the other mail indicated. It was headed oUting new under the sun," and ran thus The Shrubshire Sentinel' is responsible ror th-j following paragraph: —'A week or some labourers excava- ting on the nio. :'s, near the ancient tumulus known as The v amp, which lies north-west of the Watling a-eet, found the mummified body of a feru. •. • lying in an open chest, together with ccdnill pr.mitive ornament*. An itinerant she~vman got hold of the box and its contents for a. sovereign, it appears, and is parading the country with the show, though we understand that the county coroner is on his track, Our representative saw the body ind was struck by the fact that the H-.ovlii ontained teeth evi- dencing dentistrv of T.he -own and bridge type. We know that dental forceps have been found at Pompeii, but that work on modern American lines should have been done in prehistoric ihnes is another proof of the adage which heads our article. It is to foa regretted that the body was found whilst Mr. Corfield, the local antiquary, was away from his home at the adjacent residence Ballum Cottage, for he has found several proofs of pre-Roman occupation in the neigh- bourhood, some of which are in the museum at the county town. It is to be hoped that the authorities will recover the body, so that expert opinion may be given as to its period. etc.' This is Worthy of preservation in Notes and Queries.—Kelt. Latimer put down the paper and said quietly, "I should like to see this body shouldn't you, Frank?" "Yes; but doesn't the report read to you like a hoax?" "Not at all. Who is the coroner for Shrub- shire, I wonder? I'll turn up his name in the directory, and write requesting him to favour me with a silt of the mummy. We'll run down together if you like; such a sub- ject is not to be seen every day, either from my point of view as a medical man or yours AS a novelist. Two days later he called at his friend'o chambers with a telegram from the Shrub- shire coroner. It was brief, but to the point, and was thus worded: "Doctor Latimer 17, Harlcv-street, London. Specimen secured intact. Write or wire your coiyiiiig.-Wrax. hall." "Now, my dear Frank," said Latimer, "we are well on the track of the story which began with that-paragraph you drew my at- tention to: a story which will furnish an ori- ginal theme for j'bur craft, or I'm very much mistaken. I shall tell you nothing at pre- sent, \save that my friend. Professor Portal, a Mr. Shaw, and, myself are going to N-, in Shrubshire, to-morrow, when we shall be glad to have your company, if you can make it c-onvenieitt. "You are putting it very kindly, Latimer. I shall be delighted to come, naturally." "That's settled, then. Euston, 8.30 a.m., sharp, mind." The four men had the compartment to themselves on the journey to the Mid- lands, so Allerby had time and opportunity to study his new acquaintances. Professor Portal was a huge, black-bearded man, al- most ferocious in appearance, but a pair of dark brown, kindly, meditative eyes belied the first impression. He drew continual at- tention to various crop*; in the fields, inter- spersing his remarks of approval or the re- Terse with references to certain parasites and- vegetable plagues, which caused Vrank to think him an inspector of .agriculture. Mr. Shaw, on the other hand, was a very quiet, even retiring, sort of man, who seemed to be an absolutely colourless character, so that the young fellow wondered why on earth he formed one of the party. At N- they found Mr. Wraxhall's car- riage awaiting them, and a drive of about fifteen minutes brought them to an old- world mansion, where a jovial, portly, middle-aged gentleman greeted them kindly, as Latimer introduced himself, and the ethers. There is no need to detail the poor shell of humanity which lay before them in the open elm boy. It was a mummy, surely the husk of what had been a living soul—that is enough. There was pity and even reverence in the hearts of the i onlookers, and a long v 4,11 silence, broken only as Professor lortat and Latimer knelt down with one accord and be- gan scraping the inside of the box. In a moment or so each m'\n had gathered a little dust into all envelope, and, whilst Latimer carefully sifted a portion of his, and met it on fire with a wax match, Professor Portal put a few grains into a test tube con- taining a milky liquid, and began to heat it over a pocket spirit-lamp. Finally Portal said, "So far as my trial experiment has gone it justifies your theory, Dr. Latimer." "Thank you, professor, mine has almost confirmed it," replied Latimer. The quiet Toice of Sluw was then heard. Hn's not a matter of many milea to Camp, I think, from the map, Mr. Wraxhall, and I should like to look around the place as soon as possible." "I've thought of that, inspector," answered Wraxhall, "and have arranged to drive our party there." Thus Frank learned that the taciturn individual was a detective, and his curiosity rose to straining point. A drive of something over half an hour brought them to a comparatively unbroken tract of country of marsh and heath bearing etragglipg pines and clumps of undergrowth here and there. At last, a hill, too regular in form for natural elevation, c&ma in sight, at some little distance from which stood a IOllg, low-lying habitation, the lower portion of which was of large stones, the upper of Wattle-and-dab. "The Camp, and Ballum Cottage," said Mr Wraxhall, as lie pulled in. Leaving the horse, and carriage to the man, the party took their way through a gate across some stepping-1 otones towards the tujnulus, which was of con- siderable acreage, and perhaps thirty feet in height. A sort of moat or ditch., fed oy I) stream, still encircled it. a-tid there were ro mains df a wall composed of stones, similar those of the cottage. "The wall yonder, from which Ballum CO iage takes its name—Ballum being a local corruption of Vallum — suggests Romar work," said Mr. Wraxhall, "but antiquaries suggest the tumulus is not older than Saxon times, and that it was erected after a san- guinary contest becweeu that people and the Britons, in which latter were beaten, los Jmguome of their chiefs. But we need not CLC- lay with those conjectures. Nearer the ci>^ taga is the pit which the peat-workara dug when the box was unearthed. Let us gf ,tIlere.. "It isn't very deep/' mid Shaw, sen ten- uously, as he leaned down and touched the bottom with his walking-stick. "No; and unfortunately the workman whom 1 have already interviewed could not declare whether the soil showed evidence of comparatively recent disturbance or not. It is a pity that Mr. Corfield is not at home, his services would have been invaluable to us," "Is he a friend of voars, sft?" "Oh, no. I have only seen him once, and then at a distance. He is a shy, retiring old man, I understand. A little eccentric, per- haps, for he has a mane of white hair, wears a coat of unusual length, and double-smoked glasses to shade his eyes. He has something more than a stoop, too; being nearly two- double,' the folks express it. A very worthy man, they 'tell me, benevolent in an unosten- tatious way. One or other of his nieces when staying with him was always taking small presents of provisions or money to the needy in the neighbourhood. An excellent archae- alogist and antiquary, too the curator of the inuseum opines—from the curious objects the old gentleman sent there as gifts from time to time." "Yes, sir, it's n thousand pities he's away," replied Shaw, with a. ring of genuiiv regret in his voice; "but perhaps one of his nieces, could give us some information." "I have beea to the cottage inyaslf, but could make no one hear," retorted Mr, Wrax- hall, "I should think it unlikely that Mr, Corfield would leave a woman alone in this situation." situation." "Anyhow, there » no harm in imdmg out, persisted Shaw. "We shall soon know," said the coroner. "for I fastened one of my cards under the knocker, with a request that he would call on nie, or say when I might find him at home.' The card wa.s there untouched, the shutters were fastened, and there was no response to their knocking. Acting upon some impulse which he could not afterwards explain—-vnlr:ss there be something in the theory that fancied or do- liberate scrutiny csusea one to look and meet it—Latimer stepped back and gazed at the upper lattice. For a moment he seemed ic become conscious of a pale, sallow face from which two greenish grey eves looked into his own. "Good Lord!" he ejaculated. "What is it, sir' cried Shaw, 'quickly. "A fancy—hallucination—an image formed from my O-Aril said Latimer. "For the moment I could have sworn that I saw at the upper window the face of an old fellow j' student. I'm ashamed of myself; but it show? what tricks the mind plays with the senses." "What sort of IlIaD, sirJ" "Oh, a fair, grey-eyed fellow of about Tr., own age," retorted Latimer rather irritably "I thought myself out of the pale of this kirn" of illusion." •' "Surround the Turner, gentlemen; I takr this on myself. No visions for me." So sav- ing, Shaw lifted the latch, and dashing- his muscular frame against the door sent it fly i-g inwards, and rushed into the house. Latimer and Allerby strolled round to 11" back premises, and they could, hear Hli- banging- and stamping in the house for 1<h next five minutes. Neither of the companion* spoke, for the doctor was still plainly angr• with himself, and Allerby could find nothhi; to say. Presently they heard Shaw's voies bailie; them, and that individual, red, dusty, and little shamefaced, walked up rapidly. "Has anybody left the house, gentlemen?" he asked, "Not a soul," answered Allerby. "Nor is there a soul inside," responded Shaw, and not so much as a good hiding place for a eat." < By this time they came on Mr. Wrax- hall and Professor Portal, who had walked round the otlier way. The coroner was plainly on his dignity, as the phrase goes, so the (I c tective hastened to say, "I ant sorry to have j b-en so hasty. Mr. Wr«xha.U, although I have authority from the chief to do as I thin: I best; Doctor Latimer's exclamation statement ea,used me to Let on the in-.p>:I,c oi the moment. I have made the doer- «-•• nv- again, and replaced your card beneath i]; knocker. Pardon me if I leave you all now I have noma inquiries to mtike. I hope to j have the pleasure to call on you, Mr Coroner, this evening or to-morrow. Goc-' day, gentlemen. By the way, what was v-it- name of your fellow student, Doctor Lat; mer." • "Louw Le'vantin.?/' "A foreigner!" "Of foreign extraction, I think. I assnm 1 j that he ca-me into =..r head because of his in j terest in the proeeef I spoke of privately, when I called at New Scotland-yard the other evening. 1 am the person who shouk. apologise, inspector." No, sir; I ought to have been more eir- cnmspect, and that's the truth," He touched his Imt, and walked off in the direction of the distant hamlet. "There is something of mystery to you in all this, Frank," said Latimer, when they; were seated in the train. '0 I win lei, in •>. little light on it now, for I see you are dvin.^ > with curiosity, and too polite to ask me any-' thing. When I was a student, there came :1: certain French lecturer to the schools, and he had an idea for the disposal of dead j bodies, which he claimed as original, hygie- j and practical. It was to put the corpse j into an open box containing a mixture oi • I sulphate of zinc; and sawdust* The waters oi the body, He explained, would, exude inio | the chemical matter, and escape by the ex posed surf&ee, leaving a preferred muniinv, I Now, when I read that paragraph YOI: showed me, and took the modern dentistry I into consideration, I xaw crime and not auti- quity ill the ease., so wrote- to Wraxlall, and I then went, to my. friend here, Profess: Portal, and finally to the detective office. Bui my stupidity "at the cottage has probably disheartened or distracted a worthy offer's mind, any future failure must be laid to I me." "Ob cmaft, come, Latimer," broke in the orofessor, kindly, "you are too hard on your- r->lf. Any scientific man ill understand from your explanation how easy it is to visualize a certain perwm who has- been connected with one under peculiar circuwi«ta«ce&, particu- larly if that person was of marked character or appearance." 3 '"Levantine was all that; I remember hirfi j I as dearly as if that- vision at the window had I been his se-appearaiiee in the lleth aHe: years/' | "Anyhow, your deductions hare beer. { good," continued Portal, ."and I think I ehoUi prove them perfect. Mr. Allerby, you saw my good," continued Portal, ."and I think I ehoUi j prove them perfect. Mr. Allerby, you saw my < little experiment; if proved the presence of j of •■wina; and the remainder oi th«s hieh I havl with me will, ( am cm i tii i, nwk assurance doubly sure under fur- -tIler t( (¡i t 'PtoJ\: Or Portal is the Home sgx.M ihu ud. expert.^ Frank," said A'h I-v owed, a. little shyly; iho tale Lid b t ? ,lo and the company h:, iiv ibe fik* JMM together singuA&r^ tsj: t 3'v«s to ft man who vvorxca largely .r, ms V\:i imagination. "There was forc>-rn' wood dust in r.n- scraping's, undoubtedly," said. Latimer, "and ,vno, -,vj.il re/i'i;:d: ,r io L 1 slmJi ho glad of any confirm -Y/ j: 'i V (I bCOIi u,V. WOdl which I 1 ■ x'rorii Mr. Wraxhall. lie roid rne they e in the chest with the body. Take a couple with you." "Thanks. I-'13 give you a cull to-morrow." x- The events of the next few days srbst s ated Latimer's early notion that ,a rcu crime had been committed. liis ovrn < tioual exparimeuts togetn^r with tho^ f Professor Portal proved 'c rrectiiesi former ones. Moreover, an autops) c x' body discovered arsenical poisoning i ><ause of death. These secrets were weii ke ,-t. to aid police inquiry, for Mr. Wraxhall post- poned the inquest till a fitting time. That gentleman reported to Latimer that Inspector Shaw had left the neighbour- hood, nonplussed, after making an extra- ordinary statement, which he had promised • to repeat to the doctor on the earliest pos- sible occasion. Latimer had to wait a fort- night before the detective put in an appear- ance, and then, a iirsfc glance at the man showed him to be dejected. "Nothing has turned np, then?" queried Latimer. "Oh, yes, plenty has turned up, but only to complicate the case. There's a warrant out for the arrest of the old antiquary, Cor- field-if he's alive, which is doubtful. He is either the accomplice or tool of a gang of curio forgers and criminals, for I've traced shipment to France of one other female mummy, and unearthed a heap of bogus anti- ques at a dealer's, evidently the work of the same hands." "I can readily understand that," Latimer remarked, for Professor Portal has tested the objects we brought away with us, and found them to be composed of silicate of lime acted on by carbonic acid." "Hum! that's another bit of evidence. Yet the things Corfield gave to the museum are genuine enough — which is complicating again. Craft, perhaps. The man that did the selling to the dealers they describe as a military-looking swell with a heavy black moustache, and wearing a single eye-glass. I He'd been all over the world, he told them, and made it a business as well as a, pleasure to collect curiosities—everything from Maori weapons and Indian Buddhas in soapstone to English pilgrim-bottles and Roman tear-cups. And, by Jupiter, they're all false, sir, every jack. He called himself .Major Charles Walker. He's a Charley Wag and a Hookey Walker into the bargain, he is; for he's left no more track than a snake. Now this is where the matter stands, in my judgment. Corfield's .either a confederate or a mug— excuse me, sir—Walker has played on and put him out of ilie way. Like as not the Major saw that very newspaper account, and sent for old Corfield to a suitable place, so as to do him in—there I go again." Latimer smiled. "Oh, I can appreciate a picturesque phraseology," said he, "don't break your narrative for form's sake, I beg. But Mr. Wrfixhall writes that you made an extraordinary statement,' to be repeated to me." "Here it is then, sir—a straight man's straight tale, whatever it's twisted into. I went off into the hamlet to make inquiries, as you know. I could hear nothing but good of Corfield and his nieces, and nothing at all of any visitors, suspicious or otherwise. I'd promised Mr. Wraxhall to call the same even- ing, to talk things over, so I hired a. steady old peasant for half a sovereign to keep the cottage under close observation all night. I fortified him with aof Scotch, and posted him well pleased with his job. "I left Mr. a.t midnight, and tramped back so as to relieve my sentinel be- fore daylipht. lIe was there, right enough, but lying in a sort, o" fit. Not a blue-blind paralytic, oh, dear no; a genuine swound; the whiskey was hardly touched. I lifts his ukpper quick, and pours a drain o' the spirit down his guzzle, and by and by he comes out o' the faint. What little game's this?' I says. 'Tiie knockers,' says he. 'What's knockersV I asks him. Fairishes, bugs o' the dead in Camp,' he whispers. I didn't know his jingo, but guersed he meant spirits, so I sits him up and sa; s, stern like, Chuck it! be a man, have another pull at the bottle.' He gulped some down, and his teeth chat- bred on tlw neck o' the bottle like old Harry's tattoo: Suddenly he breaks off in his drink, and chokes, 'TLjre! hark out! don't you hear 'em kreenihg and ringing their little ting-tang,' he cries. I rhall be took like old Povey, arter this, an' have a fading-stroke or summat. He spied on 'em arid got, blasted. Lead me away, master, or I shall go dead,' he euds up." "Well, do you know, sir, the old chap was right, or him being crazed like made me crassy, for I could hear little bell ringing, and muffled shrieks suel; as yon listen to in Badlain when the looniei; are bad. I bundled the old chap into the rc ad, and told him to make the best of his Wf.,Y home, and then I harried back. It was no deception, and that's gcspel. Ting Ting hoo-oo-oo Ting Ting hoo-oo-oo!' I could hear it again and again. I made a few steph in the dark, but the place is so boggy, I had to stand listening till morn- ing." "The sound got fainter and fainter as time want on, and at last there was a sort o' stifled scream, and then nothing more. Nothing more! and there was nothing to be seen when the day pept--not a sign, not a niark. That's my tale, sir, what do you think of it?" "There is at least one obvious explanation, though it may not be the true one, Shaw. An owl—possibly an escaped pet wearing a bell —might have been bunting mice and such small deer on the heath. "What a juggins I am," ejaculated Shaw, with brightening face—"but there, I'm no, countryman. Of course, the thing's as plain as the nose on my face. You're sending me away in a happier frame of mind, "he continued. "I almost began to think I was going balmy. Good-day, Doctor Latimer; Y, be sure I'll keep you posted in any pro* g^eas. "Good-day. ShIiW, and good Lick." So off w!¡d detective; but it was not his lot to end the story, Mr. Wraxhall sup- plied the epilogue, and his own words shall unravel the mjstsry. "Dear Doctor Latimer"—ho "t firn able to set myself down as an ass for laugh- ing at poor £ haw, but, what is more to the point, can place you in possession of facts which serve to elucidate the late strange hap- penings at Camp. A t a recent meeting of the Shrubshire Archaeological Society I men- tioned the circumstances to the Earl of Shrubshire, who is not only otir president but Lord of the Manor of N- and its mem*)<?»■» ■v.-hicii include Camp. "Be was deeply interested, and h:s interest practical shape. Inclining to the belief ihrf Corfield had been murde?-.d, he or- j. u Uiorough examination oi the coitaf<? wki>h he said should be razed -to the grounri, —Mr. Corfield to rcceive ccmpen- ovozlt of his return. "1 and I were present during ihs finally, when the cottage was naarlv — "ecked, we fouud that the brewhouFe J been made to swing on a spl.i.g 0! giving access to the base of the < hi?m annex built outside, and this com- rivith a passage, partly of stone- work "L proved to be part of an old sluice ewli" o,yt ancient floodgate near the moat. rkman found this passage blocked about yards from the entrance, so the hi bo wore set to work to cxcavate out- side. If an hour's labour brought them to & in;. i-rouching body, the lower limbs broke.- id wedged to the hips with fabvi; stone'. i earth. There was a silver poc>.at.- ::hed tightly in his hand, which LL:1, -uned spirit. We concluded—natur- •i iy, i ink—that he had used this article tc t:vn tones within reach, in the vain hope to sir mtimely hel p. Hence the mulled boil u.. sounds which Shaw heard—and ksmce, horrible to relate, the maniacal ir a- .'V v.'h:en ended only when death re- Love.the murderer from earthly conscious- lie- For he wng- a murderer, a base, cold blooded, cruel, and calculating one; as v.e found from the papers in his pocket; which, doubtless, he had hurried back to fetch wlier. the newspaper report apprised him that his flagitious schemes were about to be dissi pated. They were letters from poor girls in search of situations, and Heaven alone ktiowi how many of these hapless beings lie has foully done to death for the sake of the salf-, of their bodies. These were the nieces,' doubtless. There were bottles of chemicals and instruments of his ghastly trade in a niche in the annex, I may add. Youis was no hallucination. Corfield and Levantine were one and the, same; for there was an artistic white wig and pair of smoked glasses in (ue pocket of the corpse, and several lectors addressed to "Major Walker at a London call office. V\ Hell you caught Sight. of him at the upper window, he must have hastened to the boiler passage, hopina to conceal himself and escape at a suitable moment. "But it was not to be. His sin found him out—my long experience goes to show it is ever thus, dear Latimer— and Divine retribu- tion was meted to him. The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small, as the poet has it. But I shudder as I write when I think of that stricken villain suffocating very slowly, his craftv brain knowing little by little the awful transition from despair to madness. Heaven, have mercy on his soul. Your obliged friend, Georrrsy Wraxhall."

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