"No," said Mark, "my friend did not think it necessary to give me one--he was anxious to----"

"Oh, quite so--then you can procure me a line or two perhaps?"

"I told you that my friend was dead," said Mark a little impatiently.

"Ah, so you did, to be sure, I forgot. I thought--but no matter. Well, Mr. Ashburn, if you can"t say anything more than this--anything, you understand, which puts you in a position to treat with us, I"m afraid--I"m _afraid_ I must ask time to think over this. If your friend is really dead, I suppose your authority is determined.

Perhaps, however, his--ahem--anxiety to preserve his incognito has led him to allow this rumour of his death to be circulated?"

"I don"t think that is likely," said Mark, wondering at an undercurrent of meaning in the publisher"s tone, a meaning which had nothing sinister in it, and yet seemed urging him to contradict himself for some reason.

"That is your last word, then?" said Mr. Fladgate, and there was a sharp inflection as of disappointment and irritation in his voice, and the fold in his forehead deepened.

"It must be," said Mark, rising, "I have kept you too long already."

"If you really _must_ go," said Mr. Fladgate, not using the words in their conventional sense of polite dismissal. "But, Mr. Ashburn, are you quite sure that this interview might not be saved from coming to nothing, as it seems about to do? Might not a word or two from you set things right again? I don"t wish to force you to tell me anything you would rather keep concealed--but really, this story you tell about a Mr. Vincent Beauchamp who is dead only ties our hands, you understand--ties our hands!"

"If so," said Mark, uncomfortably, "I can only say I am very sorry for it--I don"t see how I can help it."

He was beginning to feel that this business of Holroyd"s had given him quite trouble enough.

"Now, Mr. Ashburn, as I said before, I should be the last man to press you--but really, you know, _really_--this is a trifle absurd! I think you might be a little more frank with me, I do indeed. There is no reason why you should not trust me!"

Was this man tempting him, thought Mark. Could he be so anxious to bring out this book that he was actually trying to induce him to fabricate some story which would get over the difficulties that had arisen?

As a mere matter of fact, it may be almost unnecessary to mention that no such idea had occurred to worthy Mr. Fladgate, who, though he certainly was anxious to secure the book if he could, by any legitimate means, was anything but a publishing Mephistopheles. He had an object, however, in making this last appeal for confidence, as will appear immediately; but, innocent as it was, Mark"s imagination conjured up a bland demon tempting him to some act of unspeakable perfidy; he trembled--but not with horror. "What do you mean?" he stammered.

Mr. Fladgate gave a glance of keen amus.e.m.e.nt at the pale troubled face of the young man before him. "What do I mean?" he repeated. "Come, I"ve known sensitive women try to conceal their ident.i.ty, and even their s.e.x, from their own publishers; I"ve known men even persuade themselves they didn"t care for notoriety--but such a determined instance of what I must take leave to call the literary ostrich I don"t think I ever _did_ meet before! I never met a writer so desperately anxious to remain unknown that he would rather take his ma.n.u.script back than risk his secret with his own publisher. But don"t you see that you have raised (I don"t use the term in the least offensively) the mask, so to speak--you should have sent somebody else here to-day if you wished to keep me in the dark. I"ve not been in business all these years, Mr. Ashburn, without gaining a little experience. I think, I _do_ think, I am able to know an author when I see him--we are all liable to error, but I am very much mistaken if this Mr. Vincent Beauchamp (who was so unfortunately lost at sea) is not to be recovered alive by a little judicious dredging. Do think if you can"t produce him; come, he"s not in very deep water--bring him up, Mr. Ashburn, bring him up!"

"You make this very difficult for me," said Mark, in a low voice; he knew now how greatly he had misjudged the man, who had spoken with such an innocent, amiable pride in his own surprising discernment; he also felt how easy and how safe it would be to take advantage of this misunderstanding, and what a new future it might open to him--but he was struggling still against the temptation so unconsciously held out to him.

"I might retort that, I think. Now, be reasonable, Mr. Ashburn. I a.s.sure you the writer, whoever he may be, has no cause to be ashamed of the book--the time will come when he will probably be willing enough to own it. Still, if he wishes to keep his real name secret, I tell him, through you, that he may surely be content to trust that to us. We have kept such secrets before--not very long, to be sure, as a general rule; but then that was because the authors usually relieved us from the trouble--the veil was never lifted by us."

"I think you said," began Mark, as if thinking aloud, "that other works by--by the same author would be sure of acceptance?"

"I should be very glad to have an opportunity, in time, of producing another book by Mr. Vincent Beauchamp--but Mr. Beauchamp, as you explained, is unhappily no more. Perhaps these are earlier ma.n.u.scripts of his?"

Mark had been seized with the desire of making one more attempt, in spite of his promise to his uncle, to launch those unhappy paper ships of his--"Sweet Bells Jangled" and "One Fair Daughter." For an instant it occurred to him that he might answer this last question in the affirmative; he had little doubt that if he did his books would meet with a very different reception from that of Messrs. Leadbitter and Gandy; still, that would only benefit Holroyd--not himself, and then he recollected, only just in time, that the difference in handwriting (which was very considerable) would betray him. He looked confused and said nothing.

Mr. Fladgate"s patience began to tire. "We don"t seem to be making any way, do we?" he said, with rather affected pleasantry. "I"m afraid I must ask you to come to a decision on this without any more delay.

Here is the ma.n.u.script you sent us. If the real author is dead we are compelled to return it with much regret. If you can tell me anything which does away with the difficulty, this is the time to tell it. Of course you will do exactly as you please, but after what you have chosen to tell us we can hardly see our way, as I said, to treat with you without some further explanation. Come, Mr. Ashburn, am I to have it or not?"

"Give me a little time," said Mark faintly, and the publisher, as he had expected, read the signs of wavering in his face, though it was not of the nature he believed it to be.

Mark sat down again and rested his chin on his hand, with his face turned away from the other"s eyes. A conflict was going on within him such as he had never been called upon to fight before, and he had only a very few minutes allowed him to fight it.

Perhaps in these crises a man does not always arrange pros and cons to contend for him in the severely logical manner with which we find him doing it in print. The forces on the enemy"s side can generally be induced to desert. All the advantages which would follow if he once allowed himself to humour the publisher"s mistake were very prominently before Mark"s mind--the dangers and difficulties kept in the background. He was incapable of considering the matter coolly; he felt an overmastering impulse upon him, and he had never trained himself to resist his impulses for very long. There was very little of logical balancing going on in his brain; it began to seem terribly, fatally easy to carry out this imposition. The fraud itself grew less ugly and more harmless every instant.

He saw his own books, so long kept out in the cold by ignorant prejudice, accepted on the strength of Holroyd"s "Glamour," and, once fairly before the public, taking the foremost rank in triumph and rapidly eclipsing their forerunner. He would be appreciated at last, delivered from the life he hated, able to lead the existence he longed for. All he wanted was a hearing; there seemed no other way to obtain it; he had no time to lose. How could it injure Holroyd? He had not cared for fame in life; would he miss it after his death? The publishers might be mistaken; the book might be unnoticed altogether; _he_ might prove to be the injured person.

But, as Mr. Fladgate seemed convinced of its merit, as he would evidently take anything alleged to come from the same source without a very severe scrutiny, there was nothing for it but to risk this contingency.

Mark was convinced that publishers were influenced entirely by unreasoning prejudices; he thoroughly believed that his works would carry all before them if any firm could once overcome their repugnance to his powerful originality, and here was one firm at least prepared to lay that aside at a word from him. Why should he let it go unsaid?

The money transactions caused him the most hesitation. If he took money for another man"s work, there was a name, and a very ugly name, for that. But he would _not_ keep it. As soon as he learnt the names of Holroyd"s legal representatives, whoever they might be, he would pay the money over to them without mentioning the exact manner in which it had become due. In time, when he had achieved a reputation for himself, he could give back the name he had borrowed for a time--at least he told himself he could do so.

He stood in no danger of detection, or, if he did, it was very slight.

Vincent was not the man to confide in more than one person; he had owned as much. He had been reticent enough to conceal his real surname from his publishers, and now he could never reveal the truth.

All this rushed through his mind in a hurried, confused form; all his little vanities and harmless affectations and encouragements of false impressions had made him the less capable of resisting now.

"Well?" said Mr. Fladgate at last.

Mark"s heart beat fast. He turned round and faced the publisher. "I suppose I had better trust you," he said awkwardly, and with a sort of shamefaced constraint that was admirably in keeping with his confession, though not artificial.

"I think so. Then you are the man--this book "Glamour""s your own work?"

"If you must have it--yes," said Mark desperately.

The words were spoken now, and for good or ill he must abide by them henceforth to the end.

CHAPTER X.

REPENTE TURp.i.s.sIMUS.

No sooner had Mark declared himself the author of his dead friend"s book than he would have given anything to recall his words, not so much from conscience (though he did feel he had suddenly developed into a surprisingly finished scoundrel), as from a fear that his lie might after all be detected. He sat staring stupidly at Mr. Fladgate, who patted him on the shoulder with well-meant encouragement; he had never seen quite so coy an author before. "I"m very glad to make Mr.

Vincent Beauchamp"s acquaintance--at last," he said, beaming with honest pride at the success of his tactics, "and now we can come to terms again."

He did not find Mark more difficult to deal with than most budding authors, and in this case Mark was morbidly anxious to get the money part of the transaction over as soon as possible; he could not decide whether his conscience would be better or worse satisfied if he insisted on the best pecuniary terms he could obtain, so in his indecision he took the easier course of agreeing to everything.

"About the t.i.tle now?" said Mr. Fladgate, when the terms had been reduced to a formal memorandum. "I don"t think I quite like your present one; too moonshiny, eh?"

Mark owned that it did sound a little moonshiny.

"I think, too, I rather think, there"s something very like it out already, and that may lead to unpleasantness, you know. Now, can you suggest something else which will give a general idea of the nature of the book?"

As Mark had absolutely no idea what the book was about, he could not.

"Well, Mr. Blackshaw suggested something like "Enchantment," or "Witchery.""

"I don"t care about either of those," said Mark, who found this sort of dissembling unexpectedly easy.

"No," said Mr. Fladgate, "No. I think you"re right. Now, I had a notion--I don"t know what you will think of it--but I thought you might call it "A Modern Merlin," eh?"

""A Modern Merlin,"" repeated Mark thoughtfully.