PART 2: THE MYSTERY ROOM

Hello Steemians! Today i bring to you all the the final part of THE MYSTERY ROOM and here is a link to part 1
https://steemit.com/fiction/@engrbrain1/part-1-the-mystery-room

Source

Downstairs
Doctor: i am sorry to say that it is very serious, Madam. You must not think of continuing your journey to england tomorrow. it might be better to move your mother to the hospital. of course, i shall arrange everything for you. but Madam, it will be necessary for you to go at once to my house and fetch some medicine for your mother. i am very sorry, Madam, that my house is at the other end of ab. it is very unfortunate that i do not have a telephone in the house. the best and quickest way would be for Madam to go to my house herself. i will give Madam a note for my wife, telling her what to do.

Miss Glory: But, Doctor, if you live so far away, wouldn't it be much quicker to get the medicine from a chemist's?

Doctor: Madam, this is a very special medicine of my own and it will be much quicker for you to go to my house for it. You may trust me, Madam, that i will do the very best for you. Now i must write a note to my wife, giving her instructions, and then i will get a cab that will take you to my house, afterwards bring you back herewith the medicine.

The doctor wrote a note, gave it to the girl, and having got a cab for her, gave the driver instructions. The girl was very impatient,especially as the cab seemed to crawl along as slowly as possible. She got the idea that the doctor's house was at the very end of the world. Several times she thought that the cab was going in the wrong direction, for when she looked out of the window, she was certain that they were going along streets that they had already been through once. At last, however, the cab stopped in front of a house. They girl got out and rang the bell. She had to ring the bell several times before the door was opened.

Miss Glory: good morning! i am Miss Glory. I have a note from Mr. Usoro. (Doctor)

Mrs Usoro: Good morning, Madam, please come inside and sit down. I am Mrs Usoro. i will see what my husband has to say. (She reads the note.) I will attend to it at once, madma, but it will take some time to prepare the medicine. Won't you sit down until it is ready.

The wait seemed to have no end. Hundreds of times she got up from her chair and walked to the door of the room and then went back and sat down again. Sometimes, she felt like running back to her mother without the medicine, but having come so far for it, she waited on. She was surprised to hear the telephone ring, because she remembered the doctor's words, that he had not got one. THe long wait brought tears to her eyes as she thought her mother lying in bed at the hotel, waiting for her. At last, however, the medicine was ready, and she went out to the cab. THe drive back to the hotel was even slower than the drive out, amd when they got back to the center of the town, the cab driver stopped outside a hotel that was unknown to her. She now felt certain that something was wrong. A few yards away she noticed a young man, who to judge by his clothes could not be anything else but English, and although modest by nature, she jumped out of the cab and ran up to him.

Miss Glory: Excuse me for addressing a perfect stranger, but you are English, aren't you?

Stranger (with cordiality): Oh yes, I'm English all right. You look worried. can i help you in any way?

Miss Glory: My name is Miss Glory. My mother and i are staying at the hotel. As she wasn't very well this morning, i got the hotel doctor to see her. He told me that it was serious, and sent me off to his house at the other end of Aba to fetch some medicine for her. I just don't understand things. The doctor gave the driver instructions, and he drove as slowly as possible, very often driving, I am sure, in the wrong direction, for we drove up several streets more than once. Then i had to wait for ages at the doctor's house, while the medicine was prepared. THe doctor said that he couldn't phone his wife as he had no phone, but while i was waiting, i heard the telephone ring in the next roo. THen on the way back, the driver drove slower than ever, and now instead of taking me back to the hotel, he has brought me here. I just can't understand it all.

Stranger: I'll introduce myself. My name is isaac. I'm a junior secretary at the Embassy here. I'll come along with you as far as the hotel, for it does all sound rather stranger.

At the hotel they find the door of room No. 10 locked and go down to the clerk.

Miss Glory: Can i have my key, please?

Clerk: Whom do you wish to see, madam?

Miss Glory: I registered here last night with my mother, and we were given No. 10. Please give me my key.

Clerk: But surely you are wrong, madam. You could not have come here yesterday evening; it must have been some other hotel. What did you say was the number of the room, Madam?

Miss Glory: No. 10.

Clerk: But i do not understand, madam for No. 10. has been taken by Iang. He often stays at the hotel. He is a very good friend of ours.

Miss Glory: But i did register here yesterday evening with my mother. i demand to see the registration papers which were filled in by people yesterday.

Clerk: As you wish, madam, vut you will certaibly find that you have not registered here.

She goes through the previous day's registration papers several times, but fails to find those filled in by her mother and herself.

Clerk: Is madam satisfied now?

Miss Glory: No, i am far from satisfied. As a matter of fact, you were the one that gave us the papers to fill in. i remember you quite distinctly on account of that ring you have on your finger with the blood-red stone in it.

Clerk: But i never saw madam before in my life. Perhaps madam is not well; it is very hot to-day.

Miss Glory: My mother wasn't well this morning, so i made the manager arrange for the doctor to call and see her. Both the doctor and the manager will remember me. Will you please call the manager?

Clerk (speaking in a tone of resignation) : if you think it will help, madam, i will call the manager.

The clerk returns with the manager,who does not seem to recognize her either
Isaac (to Miss Glory): Don't you think the doctor who is in charger of your mother would recognise you? (To the manager.) Perhaps i had better introduce myself- Isaac, a secretary of the British Embassy here. I think that i must insist that you call the doctor.

After thirty minute's wait the doctor appears.
Doctor: I understand that madam and sir wish to see me. In what way can i be of assistance to you?

Miss Glory: Oh, doctor, i have now got the medicine for mother. Have you seen her again? can you tell me how long it will be before were able to continue our journey to Akwa Ibom? I don't understand these people at the hotel. they say they have never seen me before. Tell them , doctor, that they are wrong. Tell them that you saw my mother in room 10 this morning, and then sent me toyour house for some medicine for her.

Doctor: I think you must be suffering from the heat. perhaps i could arrange to get something for you. you are looking extremely white and nervous.

Miss Glory: But, doctor, what about my mother? Don't worry about me! How's my mother? WIll it be necessary to send her to hospital?

Doctor: I am sorry, madam, but i have never seen your mother. Until a few minute ago, I had never seen you either. But i should be pleased to help you.

Miss Glory(turning to Isaac): Take me away from here, otherwise i'll go quite mad, just like these people here.

Isaac, who is quite sure that the girl is telling the truth - althrough he does not know why he should be sure after hearing the clerk, the manager , and the doctor at the hotel - take her to a small resturant. Here, with much difficulty, he succeeds in getting her to eat a little, while at the same times she tells him the whole story from the time of the death of her father in Abuja, untill the happenings of the same morning.

Isaac: Now, Miss Glory, i'll tell you at once that i believe eery word of your story, and i'm prepared to do everything i can to help you. To be true, i'm only a junior secretary at the Embassy, but i'm sure that they'll help, too. Before i tell them the story, i think it would be a very good idea to be able to prove as much of it as possible. Now, what i suggest is this. You must stay somewhere while we're looking into things' i have got a room at a hotel; it is quite a small one, but it's clean and cheap. i'm sure i could get them to find a room for you there. As soon as you're fixed tjere, i suggest we go to see the shipping company by whose boat you travelled to Aba. We can get them to confirm that you and your mother were passengers as far as Aba. We can also get hold of the man from the shipping company who helped you at the station. Through him it may be possible to get into touch with the cab driver who drove you to the hotel. When we have this information, i can go to the people at the Embassy and get them to do something.

Miss Glory(gratefull): Oh, Mr. Isaac don't know to thank you. After listening to those people at the hotel, i almost began to think that i was mad myself. it's so nice of you to trust me i think your idea is excellent, but when i went to the doctor's this morning, i didn't take my purse with me, so that i'm now entirely without money. I hate to mention it to you - i have never before had to do such a thing in my all life.

Isaac: you need not worry about the hotel bill, for i can get the people at the Embassy to look after that. And i will be pleased to help you until you have time to see the man who has the papers which your mother was going to sign.

Miss Glory: I think you are wonderful, Mr. Isaac. I don not know how i will ever repay you for your kindness.

Isaac: I'm only too glad to be abble to do a little for you. Since we are going to work together for a time, wouldn't it make matters easier if you drop the Mr. Isaac and start calling me Cure right away?

Miss Glory: All right, you call mw Glory then!

Isaaac spent the afternoon in talking to the shipping company, their representative who was at the Calabar and the cab driver. All confirm the stroy the girl had told him. He then placed the matter before a senoir official of the Embassy. The same evening at the hotel.

Isaac: Now, Glory, i want you to think hard and tell me exactly what furniture was in room 10 at the hotel. The Embassy is going to arrange through the Nigerian Police to get permission to took at room 10, perhaps tomorrow.

Miss Glory: I remember the curtains very distinctly; they were cream-coloured. Then the chairs wee covered with somered material. The wall-paper i can also remember, for i didn't like it - it was cream-coloured, too, and was covered with big red roses. THe bed was just an ordinary wooden bed, nothing special about it. THey are the most important things that that i can remember.

Isaac: That's quite enough.

The following afternoon Miss Glory is waiting at hte door of their hotel for the return of Isaac. After a long wait, he appears.
Miss Glory: Oh, Isaac. The first secretary of the Embassy arranged everything. We went to the hotel this afternoon, but found that everything in the room was quite different from the description given by you. The curtains were blue and white; the chairs were covered withgrey material; and the wallpaper was white and had many small flowers. BUt now we come to a most surprising thing. THe wall-paper had only just been put up! i noticed one or two places where it was not yet quite dry.

Miss Glory: Oh, Hogn, what can it all mean? I wonder where poor mother is? i have got the idea that i shall never see her again.

Isaac: Cheer up, Glory! We'll get to the bottom of his matter, even if it should take us weeks. When we had finished loooking at room 10, I thought it might be a good idea to try and find the name and address of the man who does the paper-hanging for the hotel. It wasn't very easy, but, as usual, a little money helped. So i suggest that we go round to see him as soon as we've had some dinner.

Later in the evening at the paper-hanger's shop.
Paper-hanger: So you want to know if i papered a room at the hotel yesterday? i can't understand why you should be interested in my work.

Isaac: It's very important for this lady to know , and, if you did, which room it was.

Paper-janger: So it's important for this young lady to know, is it? Well, like all good Igbomen, I should be pleased to help a nice young lady. But these are hard times, and paper-hanger are not overpaid for thier work.

Isaac: I know that room 10 was papered yesterday. I was there this afternoon and saw that the paper was not yet quite dry. What i really want to know is whether you can give us any information. if the information were wroth it, i should be ready to give twenty-five naira for it.

Paper-hanger: Well, for a nice young lady and -

Isaac: You mean, that for twenty-five naira you might tell us something. All right, if you have anything to tell us, the money is yours.

Paper-hanger: Well, i was sent for suddenly yesterday morning. When i got to the hotel, they were busy moving furniture out of a room - No. 10. I was told to put up fresh paper as quickly as possible. i tried to find out the reason for it, sir, for it is not only women who are curious in this world. No, body could, or would, explain anything to me. that is all i can tell you.

Isaac: Here is the money. I think you have earned it. Are you certain that another twenty-five naira would not help you to rememeber still more?
Paper-hanger: If i could tell you anymore, I would do it for the sake of the young lady.

A fortnight later.
Isaac: Well, my dear Glory, i have now tried all the servants at the hotel who might be able to tell us what have happened. i cannot get a word out of them. There are probably very few that know the truth, and they have been well paid to keep their mouths shout.

Miss Glory: I have given up all hope of ever seeing mother again. You have been wonderfyl to me, Isaac. Without you to help and comfort me, i don't know what i should have done.

Isaac: Nothing has ever given me greater pleasure, Isaac. I am not looking forward to the day when you go to your's people in Akwa Ibom! I shall miss you, GLory. BUt i hope to make you stay a little longer. THere is still once chance left of beeimg able to find out what happened. the first secretary told me today that he is very friendly with one of the heads of the Nigerian Police. This man has been in America for some time, but he will be returning in four or five days. THe first secretary thimks that he will be able to get the true story out of him. Won't you wait, Glory, until the two of them have had a chat about the affair?

Miss Glory: Oh, Isaac, although i know that i shall never see mother again, i should feel much happier if only i knew what had happened to her. It would seem strange to go back to Akwa Ibom to daddy's people and tell them that i had just given up. Of course i'll wait.

A week later.
Isaac(with a very serious): The first secretary has talked to his friend in the police.

Miss Glory: Oh, I can tell from your face that the news is not good. I will try to be brave. Tell me the whole story, just what reaaly happened.

Isaac: You are a very brave girl,Isaac ; the best i have ever met. i'. afraid you will never see your mother again. Well, er - er -

Miss Glory: Tell me, Isaac! i will try to be brave.

Isaac: Well, then i must tell you that the doctor who came to see your mother recognized at once that she was suffering from from the Black Plague. He sent you off so that he would have time to remove your mother to the hospital. Your poor mother died there that afternoon. The Nigerian did not want the news of your mother's death to get into the nigeria papers. The Exibihition had started only short time before, and they were afraid that the news of a visitor dying of the black plague wouldcause Aba to be emptied of visitors at once. It was agreed that the would thing must be kept secret.

Miss Glory: Poor mother - and yet i am glad that i now know the truth. i'll try to forget the troubles i have had in Aba. i shall be glad to get to Akwa Ibom - that will help me to forget.

Isaac: I hope you will not forget everything connected with Aba, Glory.

Miss Glory: No, Isaac, i'll never forget you.

Isaac: I shall give you the chance, Glory. In a month's time I'll be coming to Akwa Ibom on leave.

***************END********************