Simon Read online

  IV

  THE MAN FROM THE WEST

  Mr. Rattar's second visitor was of a different type. Mr. Cromarty ofStanesland stood about 6 feet two and had nothing artistic in hisappearance, being a lean strapping man in the neighbourhood of forty,with a keen, thin, weather-beaten face chiefly remarkable for itsstraight sharp nose, compressed lips, reddish eye-brows, puckered into aslight habitual frown, and the fact that the keen look of the whole wasexpressed by only one of his eyes, the other being a good imitation butunmistakeably glass. The whole effect of the face, however, wassingularly pleasing to the discerning critic. An out of door, reckless,humorous, honest personality was stamped on every line of it and everymovement of the man. When he spoke his voice had a marked tinge of thetwang of the wild west that sounded a little oddly on the lips of acountry gentleman in these northern parts. He wore an open flannelcollar, a shooting coat, well cut riding breeches and immaculate leatherleggings, finished off by a most substantial pair of shooting boots.Unlike Mr. Malcolm Cromarty, he evidently looked upon his visit asexpected.

  "Good morning, Mr. Rattar," said he, throwing his long form into theclients' chair as he spoke. "Well, I guess you've got some good advicefor me this morning."

  Simon Rattar was proverbially cautious, but to-day his caution struckhis visitor as quite remarkable.

  "Um," he grunted. "Advice, Mr. Cromarty? Umph!"

  "Don't trouble beating about the bush," said the tall man. "I've beenfiguring things out myself and so far as I can see, it comes tothis:--that loan from Sir Reginald put me straight in the meantime, butI've got to cut down expense all round to keep straight, and I've got topay him back. Of course you know his way when it's one of the clan he'sdealing with. 'My dear Ned, no hurry whatever. If you send my heir acheque some day after I'm gone it will have the added charm ofsurprise!' Well, that's damned decent, but hardly business. I want toget the whole thing off my chest. Got the statement made up?"

  Simon shook his head.

  "Very sorry, Mr. Cromarty. Haven't had time yet."

  "Hell!" said Mr. Cromarty, though in a cheerful voice, and then addedwith an engaging smile, "Pardon me, Mr. Rattar. I'm trying to geteducated out of strong language, but, Lord, at my time of life it's notso damned--I mean dashed easy!"

  Even Simon Rattar's features relaxed for an instant into a smile.

  "And who is educating you?" he enquired.

  Mr. Cromarty looked a little surprised.

  "Who but the usual lady? Gad, I've told you before of my sister's wellmeant efforts. It's a stiff job making a retired cow puncher into a highgrade laird. However, I can smoke without spitting now, which is a stepon the road towards being a Lord Chesterfield."

  He smiled humorously, stretched out his long legs and added:

  "It's a nuisance, your not having that statement ready. When I've got todo business I like pushing it through quick. That's an American habit Idon't mean to get rid of, Mr. Rattar."

  Mr. Rattar nodded his approval.

  "Certainly not," said he.

  "I've put down my car," his visitor continued. "Drive a buggy now--begits pardon, a trap, and a devilish nice little mare I've got in her too.In fact, there are plenty of consolations for whatever you have to do inthis world. I'm only sorry for my sister's sake that I have to draw inmy horns a bit. Women like a bit of a splash--at least judging from thecomparatively little I know of 'em."

  "Miss Cromarty doesn't complain, I hope?"

  "Oh, I think she's beginning to see the necessity for reform. You see,when both my civilised elder brothers died----" he broke off, and thenadded: "But you know the whole story."

  "I would--er--like to refresh my memory," said Simon; and there seemedto be a note of interest and almost of eagerness in his voice thatappeared to surprise his visitor afresh.

  "First time I ever heard of your memory needing refreshing!" laughed hisvisitor. "Well, you know how I came back from the wild and woolly westand tried to make a comfortable home for Lilian. We were neither of uslikely to marry at our time of life, and there were just the two of usleft, and we'd both of us knocked about quite long enough on our own,and so why not settle down together in the old place and be comfortable?At least that's how it struck me. Of course, as you know, we hadn't metfor so long that we were practically strangers and she knew the ways ofcivilisation better than me, and I gave her a pretty free hand insetting up the establishment. I don't blame her, mind you, for settingthe pace a bit too fast to last. My own blamed fault entirely. However,we aren't in a very deep hole, thank the Lord. In fact if I hadn't gotto pay Sir Reginald back the L1,200 it would be all right, so far I canfigure out. But I want your exact statement, Mr. Rattar, and as quick asyou can let me have it."

  Simon nodded and grunted.

  "You'll get it." And then he added: "I think I can assure you there isnothing to be concerned about."

  Ned Cromarty smiled and a reckless light danced for a moment in his oneefficient eye.

  "I guess I almost wish there were something to be concerned about! SirReginald is always telling me I'm the head of the oldest branch of thewhole Cromarty family and it's my duty to live in the house of myancestors and be an ornament to the county, and all the rest of it. ButI tell you it's a damned quiet life for a man who's had his eye put outwith a broken whisky bottle and hanged the man who did it with his ownhands!"

  "Hanged him!" exclaimed the lawyer sharply.

  "Oh, it wasn't merely for the eye. That gave the performance a kind ofrelish it would otherwise have lacked, being a cold-blooded ceremony anda little awkward with the apparatus we had. We hanged him for murder, asa matter of fact. Now, between ourselves, Mr. Rattar, we don't want tocrab our own county, but you must confess that real good serious crimeis devilish scarce here, eh?"

  Cromarty's eye was gleaming humorously, and Simon Rattar might have beenthought the kind of tough customer who would have been amused by thejoke. He seemed, however, to be affected unpleasantly and even a littlestartled.

  "I--I trust we don't," he said.

  "Well," his visitor agreed, "as it means that something or somebody hasgot to be sacrificed to start the sport of man-hunting, I supposethere's something to be said for the quiet life. But personally I'dsooner be after men than grouse, from the point of view of gettingthorough satisfaction while it lasts. My sister says it means I haven'tsettled down properly yet--calls me the bold bad bachelor!"

  Through this speech Simon seemed to be looking at his visitor with anattention that bordered on fascination, and it was apparently with aslight effort that he asked at the end:

  "Well, why don't you marry?"

  "Marry!" exclaimed Ned Cromarty. "And where will you find the ladythat's to succumb to my fascinations? I'm within a month of forty, Mr.Rattar, I've the mind, habits, and appearance of a backwoodsman, andI've one working eye left. A female collector of antique curiosities, orsomething in the nature of a retired wardress might take on the job, butI can't think of any one else!"

  He laughed as he spoke, and yet something remarkably like a sighfollowed the laugh, and for a moment after he had ceased speaking hiseye looked abstractedly into space.

  Before either spoke again, the door opened and the clerk, seeing Mr.Rattar was still engaged, murmured a "beg pardon" and was about toretire again.

  "What is it?" asked the lawyer.

  "Miss Farmond is waiting to see you, sir."

  "I'll let you know when I'm free," said Simon.

  Had his eye been on his visitor as his clerk spoke, he might havenoticed a curious commentary on Mr. Cromarty's professed lack ofinterest in womankind. His single eye lit up for an instant and hemoved sharply in his chair, and then as suddenly repressed all sign ofinterest.

  A minute or two later the visitor jumped up.

  "Well," said he, "I guess you're pretty busy and I've been talking toolong as it is. Let me have that statement as quick as you like. Goodmorning!"

  He strode to the door, shut it behind him, and then when he was on thelanding, his move
ments became suddenly more leisurely. Instead ofstriding downstairs he stood looking curiously in turn at each closeddoor. It was an old fashioned house and rather a rabbit warren of anoffice, and it would seem as though for some reason he wished to leaveno door unwatched. In a moment he heard the lawyer's bell ring and veryslowly he moved down a step or two while a clerk answered the call andwithdrew. And then he took a cigar from his case, bit off the end, andfelt for matches; all this being very deliberately done, and his eyefollowing the clerk. Thus when a girl emerged from the room along apassage, she met, apparently quite accidentally, Mr. Cromarty ofStanesland.

  At the first glance it was quite evident that the meeting gave morepleasure to the gentleman than to the lady. Indeed, the girl seemed toodisconcerted to hide the fact.

  "Good morning, Miss Farmond," said he with what seemed intended for anair of surprise; as though he had no idea she had been within a mile ofhim. "You coming to see Simon on business too?" And then taking the cuefrom her constrained manner, he added hurriedly, and with a note ofdejection he could not quite hide, "Well, good-bye."

  The girl's expression suddenly changed, and with that change the lairdof Stanesland's curious movements became very explicable, for her facewas singularly charming when she smiled. It was a rather pale but freshand clear-skinned face, wide at the forehead and narrowing to a firmlittle chin, with long-lashed expressive eyes, and a serious expressionin repose. Her smile was candid, a little coy and irresistibly engaging,and her voice was very pleasant, rather low, and most engaging too. Shewas of middle height and dressed in mourning. Her age seemed ratherunder than over twenty.

  "Oh," she said, with a touch of hesitation at first, "I didn't mean----"She broke off, glanced at the clerk, who being a discreet young man wasnow in the background, and then with lowered voice confessed, "The factis, Mr. Cromarty, I'm not really supposed to be here at all. That's tosay nobody knows I am."

  Mr. Cromarty looked infinitely relieved.

  "And you don't want anybody to know?" he said in his outspoken way."Right you are. I can lie low and say nothing, or lie hard and say whatyou like; whichever you choose."

  "Lying low will do," she smiled. "But please don't think I'm doinganything very wrong."

  "I'll think what you tell me," he said gallantly. "I _was_ thinkingSilent Simon was in luck's way--but perhaps you're going to wig him?"

  She laughed and shook her head.

  "Can you imagine me daring to wig Mr. Simon Rattar?"

  "I guess he needs waking up now and then like other people. He's beenslacking over my business. In fact, I can't quite make him out thismorning. He's not quite his usual self for some reason. Don't be afraidto wig him if he needs it!"

  The clerk in the background coughed and Miss Cicely Farmond movedtowards the door of the lawyer's room, but Ned Cromarty seemed reluctantto end the meeting so quickly.

  "How did you come?" he asked.

  "Walked," she smiled.

  "Walked! And how are you going back?"

  "Walk again."

  "I say," he suggested eagerly, "I've got my trap in. Let me drive you!"

  She hesitated a moment.

  "It's awfully good of you to think of it----"

  "That's settled then. I'll be on the look out when you leave old Simon'sden."

  He raised his cap and went downstairs this time without any hesitation.He had forgotten to light his cigar, and it was probably as a substitutefor smoking that he found himself whistling.