This completed the list of questions which I had desired to ask him, so, after once more receiving his assurance that he would meet me in the evening with his friend Scindia, I left him.As you know, I am not wont to draw conclusions until all the evidence is in, but I must confess that, looking at the whole matter from start to finish, there seems to have fallen upon Ragobah a net of circumstantial evidence so strong, and with a mesh of detail so minute, that it does not seem possible a mosquito could escape from it.Look at it a moment from this standpoint.Ragobah alone, so far as we know, has a motive for the murder.His victim has related the feud existing between them and foretold, with an air of the utmost assurance, just such an outcome thereof.Add to this that this man leaves India on a mission which those about him do not hesitate to pronounce one ofvengeance, at just such a time as would enable him to reach Boston just a little before the commission of the murder; that this mission is the culmination of twenty years of unremitting search for revenge; that this malignity is supposed to be directed against some rival in his wife's affections, and the chain of circumstantial evidence possesses, so far as it extends, no weak link.Then, too, Ragobah has very small hands, a deformed left foot, and a limping gait, -=20 everything almost which we had already predicted of the assassin.So sure am I that Ragobah is the guilty man that I shall ask for his arrest upon his arrival day after to- morrow should he return then, a thing which, I regret to say, does not impress me as altogether likely.Should he not come I shall cable you to institute a search for your end of the line.The next thing in order which I have to relate is my interview with Moro Scindia.I had engaged an interpreter, but was able to dismiss him as my guest spoke English with more ease and fluency than he, being an intelligent and well-to-do member of the Vaisya caste.I thought it wise to see the venerable Scindia alone, and accordingly sent Parinama out of the room with the interpreter.As before; I give you what passed between us as I jotted it down in my notebook.
Q.You are a friend of Rama Ragobah, are you not?
A.No, Sahib; he has no friends.
Q.You speak as if you disliked him.
A.It is not Mono Scindia's habit to play the hypocrite.I have good reason to hate him.
Q.You would not, then, had he committed a crime, assist him to escape justice?
A.I would track him like a bloodhound to the ends of the earth.
Q.You knew Ragobah's wife?
A.She was my cousin, Sahib.
Q.Were your relations friendly?
A.They were more than friendly.I loved her dearly, and would have tried to win her had I not been so much her senior.
Q.Did she live happily with Ragobah?
A.No, Sahib.
Q.Why?
A.I cannot answer.I have sworn to reveal the last experiences of my cousin to but one person.
Q.And that person is.?
A.I must decline to answer that also, Sahib.
Q.If I succeed in naming him will you acknowledge it?
A.You will not succeed, Sahib.
Q.But if I should?
A.I will acknowledge it.
Q.The person is John Hinton Darrow.
The old man started as if he had been stabbed, and looked at me in amazement.He seemed at first to think I had read his thoughts and riveted his dark eyes upon me as if, by way of return, he would read my very soul.I think he did so, for his scrutiny seemed to satisfy him.He replied, somewhat reassured: "I can speak only to John Hinton Darrow.""John Darrow is dead," I said.
"Dead!" he exclaimed, springing to his feet; "Darrow Sahib dead!" and he fell back into his chair, covering his face with his hands."Ah, my poor Lona!" he muttered feebly; "I have failed to keep my promise.Do not reproach me, for I have done my best.For twenty years have I searched in vain for this man that I might fulfil your last request, and the very first information I receive is the news of his death.I have been no less vigilant than Ragobah, yet I have failed, even as he has failed."I took this opportunity to again question him.
Q.Are you sure Ragobah failed?
A.Yes; had he found Darrow Sahib he would have killed him.His mission was one of revenge; mine one of love and justice; both have failed utterly since their object is dead.My pledge is broken!
Q.In its letter, yes; but the chance is still left you to keep the spirit of your covenant.
A.I do not understand you, Sahib.
Q.I will explain.Lona Ragobah confided to you certain facts in explanation of her conduct toward John Darrow.She loved him passionately, and it was her desire to stand acquitted in his sight.Were shealive now, any wish he had expressed during his life would be fulfilled by her as a sacred and pleasurable duty.This, then, as one who lovingly performs her will, should be your attitude also.John Darrow was the only man she ever loved, and, were she living, every drop of her loyal blood would rise against anyone who had done him injury.Do I not speak the truth?
A.Yes; she was loyal unto death and so shall I be.My hand has ever been against all who have done her harm; Ragobah knows that full well.
Q.Were she alive, you certainly would aid her in bringing to justice one who has done her the most cruel of wrongs and, at the same time, fulfilling the dying request of the man who to her was more than life.
A.I should do her bidding, Sahib.
Q.How much more need, then, now that the poor woman is dead, that you should act for her as she would, were she here.
A.You have not told me all; speak your mind freely, Sahib.You may depend upon my doing whatever I believe Lona would do were she here.
