"Doubtless you were not, for of late--I mean for the twelve months or so
preceding your father's death--you know he was much estranged from all
the family, so that you none of you knew much of what he was doing,
except that he was carrying on a very wild and reckless career, such as
was sure to end in dishonour and poverty; but I tell you he had the
title deeds of the Dearbrook property, and that they were only got from
him, along with everything else of value that he possessed, at the
gaming-table, by the man who paid such a fearful penalty for his
success. "It was not until after the body was completely buried, and we had
completed all our precautions for more effectually hiding it from
observation, that we recollected the fact of those important papers
being in his possession. It was Marmaduke Bannerworth who first
remembered it, and he exclaimed,--

"'By Heaven, we have buried the title deeds of the property, and we
shall have again to exhume the corpse for the purpose of procuring
them.' "Now those deeds were nothing to me, and repugnant as I had felt from
the first to having anything whatever to do with the dead body, it was
not likely that I would again drag it from the earth for such an object. "'Marmaduke Bannerworth,' I said, 'you can do what you please, and take
the consequences of what you do, but I will not again, if I can help it,
look upon the face of that corpse. It is too fearful a sight to
contemplate again. You have a large sum of money, and what need you care
now for the title deeds of a property comparatively insignificant?' "'Well, well,' he said, 'I will not, at the present time, disturb the
remains; I will wait to see if anything should arise from the fact of
the murder; if it should turn out that no suspicion of any kind is
excited, but that all is still and quiet, I can then take measures to
exhume the corpse, and recover those papers, which certainly are
important.' "By this time the morning was creeping on apace, and we thought it
prudent to leave the spot. We stood at the end of the lane for a few
moments conversing, and those moments were the last in which I ever saw
Marmaduke Bannerworth." "Answer me a question," said Henry. "I will; ask me what you please, I will answer it." "Was it you that called at Bannerworth Hall, after my father's
melancholy death, and inquired for him?" "I did; and when I heard of the deed that he had done, I at once left,
in order to hold counsel with myself as to what I should do to obtain at
least a portion of the property, one-half of which, it was understood,
was to have been mine. I heard what had been the last words used by
Marmaduke Bannerworth on the occasion of his death, and they were amply
sufficient to let me know what had been done with the money--at all
events, so far as regards the bestowal of it in some secret place; and
from that moment the idea of, by some means or another, getting the
exclusive possession of it, never forsook my mind. "I thought over the matter by day and, by night; and with the exception
of having a knowledge of the actual hiding-place of the money, I could
see, in the clearest possible manner, how the whole affair had been
transacted. There can be no doubt but that Marmaduke Bannerworth had
reached home safely with the large sum of which he had become possessed,
and that he had hidden it securely, which was but an ordinary measure of
precaution, when we come to consider how the property had been obtained. "Then I suspect that, being alone, and left to the gloom of his own
miserable thoughts, they reverted so painfully to the past that he was
compelled to drink deeply for the purpose of drowning reflection. "The natural consequence of this, in his state, was, that partial
insanity supervened, and at a moment when frenzy rose far above
reflection, he must have committed the dreadful act which hurried him
instantaneously to eternity." "Yes," said Henry; "it must have been so; you have guessed truly. He did
on that occasion drink an immense quantity of wine; but instead of
stilling the pangs of remorse it must have increased them, and placed
him in such a frenzied condition of intellect, that he found it
impossible to withstand the impulse of it, unless by the terrific act
which ended his existence." "Yes, and which at once crushed all my expectations of the large fortune
which was to have been mine; for even the one-half of the sum which had
been taken from the gamester's pocket would have been sufficient to have
enabled me to live for the future in affluence. "I became perfectly maddened at the idea that so large a sum had passed
out of my hands. I constantly hovered about Bannerworth Hall, hoping and
expecting that something might arise which would enable me to get
admittance to it, and make an active search through its recesses for the
hidden treasure. "All my exertions were in vain. I could hit upon no scheme whatever; and
at length, wearied and exhausted, I was compelled to proceed to London
for the sake of a subsistence. It is only in that great metropolis that
such persons as myself, destitute of real resources, but infinitely
reckless as regards the means by which they acquire a subsistence, can
hope to do so. Once again, therefore, I plunged into the vortex of
London life, and proceeded, heedless of the criminality of what I was
about, to cater for myself by robbery, or, indeed, in any manner which
presented a prospect of success. It was during this career of mine, that
I became associated with some of the most desperate characters of the
time; and the offences we committed were of that daring character that
it could not be wondered at eventually so formidable a gang of
desperadoes must be by force broken up. "It so occurred, but unknown to us, that the police resolved upon making
one of the most vigorous efforts to put an end to the affair, and in
consequence a watch was set upon every one of our movements. "The result of this was, as might have been expected, our complete
dispersion, and the arrest of some our members, and among them myself. "I knew my fate almost from the first. Our depredations had created such
a sensation, that the legislature, even, had made it a matter of
importance that we should be suppressed, and it was an understood thing
among the judges, that the severest penalties of the law should be
inflicted upon any one of the gang who might be apprehended and
convicted. "My trial scarcely occupied an hour, and then I was convicted and
sentenced to execution, with an intimation from the judge that it would
be perfectly absurd of me to dream, for one moment, of a remission of
that sentence. "In this state of affairs, and seeing nothing but death before me, I
gave myself up to despair, and narrowly missed cheating the hangman of
his victim. "More dead than alive, I was, however, dragged out to be judicially
murdered, and I shall never forget the crowd of frightful sensations
that came across my mind upon that terrific occasion.