Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 4).djvu/666

 toughest and most callous skin—a skin more correctly described as a hide. These stuffs of his, for all that, permeated the house, and cropped up everywhere; they were of a peculiarly glistening grey colour, and had a very curious odour—another objection to them for clothing in the eyes of the ladies.

Among the few articles of clothing, made of the stuff, which the two girls could be persuaded to wear were hats and long cloaks for wet weather, and for this purpose the material was suitable enough; but when he suggested ball dresses of it, the girls just shuddered and became stonily obdurate. The old gentleman prevailed upon my brother and me to adopt the material for our overcoats and lounge caps, and such-like.

One evening my uncle was in high spirits—quite feverishly jubilant. He had perfected his invention and thoroughly tested it, and the morrow he intended opening communications with a Government department on the subject. I had never seen him in such high spirits; with a heightened colour, he talked incessantly and at random. He launched into the delights and potentialities of fame and affluence, prattled about the mansion which his daughters should live in and the carriages they should ride in, assured Phoebe (in jest, which was surely not all jest) that she should marry an earl, and much more in the same strain.

While the earl talk was going on, I glanced at John. He did not try to conceal the fact that this talk was distasteful to him, and I contrived to divert him, and the conversation; but the Professor would return to it; and at length John suddenly rose and, excusing himself, left the circle. I soon followed him home with an idea of cheering him up, but the trial was a complete failure. I fancied I had never seen John in so gloomy a mood before; and, when we had parted for the night, I heard him descend the stairs and go out—an unusual thing for him to do so late at night. Next day my uncle the Professor could not be found. He had come down to breakfast as usual, and then, as usual, had retired to his laboratory; his lunch was placed on a table outside the door, according to custom; the dinner hour came, and my uncle did not go down to the dining-room; but, this being no uncommon thing, his dinner had been kept warm for him.

But when it came to 9 p.m., my aunt went to the laboratory door and knocked. She was answered by the assistant, who said that the Professor was not there; nor had the assistant seen him on arriving at one o'clock that afternoon, nor subsequently. He was under the impression that the Professor had gone, according to his intention, to Pall Mall in connection with his invention.

They sat up for his return; but 2 o'clock. a.m. struck, and he had not returned. Then they sent the boy to call me up; and I did what I could, but failed to find him. He never found.

There certainly could be no reason for his either committing suicide, or leaving his home; on inquiry at the Government offices, we found that no one answering to his description had been there; advertisements and inquiries had no fruit whatever. It looked as if he had been made away with; and the question was, "by whom?"

Looking dispassionately at the situation, one could think of but two persons who could possibly have any interest in the removal of my uncle; and these were the assistant and my brother. Now, the assistant, being presumably a sharer of a secret which might be worth many thousands of pounds, would certainly have an incentive to make away with the only person who stood between himself and the reward. No one but my uncle and his assistant knew of this great secret, that was quite certain. But this mere fact of an incentive was hardly sufficient,