“The horse and trap were to have come this week, but for somereason they were not delivered, and again I had to cycle to thestation. That was this morning. You can think that I looked outwhen I came to Charlington Heath, and there, sure enough, wasthe man, exactly as he had been the two weeks before. He alwayskept so far from me that I could not clearly see his face, but it wascertainly someone whom I did not know. He was dressed in a darksuit with a cloth cap. The only thing about his face that I couldclearly see was his dark beard. To-day I was not alarmed, but I wasfilled with curiosity, and I determined to find out who he was andwhat he wanted. I slowed down my machine, but he slowed downhis. Then I stopped altogether, but he stopped also. Then I laid atrap for him. There is a sharp turning of the road, and I pedalledvery quickly round this, and then I stopped and waited. I expectedhim to shoot round and pass me before he could stop. But henever appeared. Then I went back and looked round the corner. Icould see a mile of road, but he was not on it. To make it the moreextraordinary, there was no side road at this point down which hecould have gone.”
Holmes chuckled and rubbed his hands. “This case certainlypresents some features of its own,” said he. “How much timeelapsed between your turning the corner and your discovery thatthe road was clear?”
“Two or three minutes.”
“Then he could not have retreated down the road, and you saythat there are no side roads?”
“None.”
“Then he certainly took a footpath on one side or the other.”
“It could not have been on the side of the heath, or I shouldhave seen him.”
“So, by the process of exclusion, we arrive at the fact that hemade his way toward Charlington Hall, which, as I understand, issituated in its own grounds on one side of the road. Anything else?”
“Nothing, Mr. Holmes, save that I was so perplexed that I felt Ishould not be happy until I had seen you and had your advice.”
Holmes sat in silence for some little time.
“Where is the gentleman to whom you are engaged?” he askedat last.
“He is in the Midland Electrical Company, at Coventry.”
“He would not pay you a surprise visit?”
“Oh, Mr. Holmes! As if I should not know him!”
“Have you had any other admirers?”
“Several before I knew Cyril.”
“And since?”
“There was this dreadful man, Woodley, if you can call him anadmirer.”
“No one else?”
Our fair client seemed a little confused.
“Who was he?” asked Holmes.
“Oh, it may be a mere fancy of mine; but it had seemed tome sometimes that my employer, Mr. Carruthers, takes a greatdeal of interest in me. We are thrown rather together. I play hisaccompaniments in the evening. He has never said anything. He isa perfect gentleman. But a girl always knows.”
“Ha!” Holmes looked grave. “What does he do for a living?”
“He is a rich man.”
“No carriages or horses?”
“Well, at least he is fairly well-to-do. But he goes into thecity two or three times a week. He is deeply interested in SouthAfrican gold shares.”
“You will let me know any fresh development, Miss Smith. I amvery busy just now, but I will find time to make some inquiries intoyour case. In the meantime, take no step without letting me know.
Good-bye, and I trust that we shall have nothing but good newsfrom you.”
“It is part of the settled order of Nature that such a girl shouldhave followers,” said Holmes, he pulled at his meditative pipe, “butfor choice not on bicycles in lonely country roads. Some secretivelover, beyond all doubt. But there are curious and suggestivedetails about the case, Watson.”
“That he should appear only at that point?”
“Exactly. Our first effort must be to find who are the tenants ofCharlington Hall. Then, again, how about the connection betweenCarruthers and Woodley, since they appear to be men of such adifferent type? How came they both to be so keen upon looking upRalph Smith’s relations? One more point. What sort of a menageis it which pays double the market price for a governess butdoes not keep a horse, although six miles from the station? Odd,Watson—very odd!”
“You will go down?”
“No, my dear fellow, you will go down. This may be some triflingintrigue, and I cannot break my other important research for thesake of it. On Monday you will arrive early at Farnham; you willconceal yourself near Charlington Heath; you will observe thesefacts for yourself, and act as your own judgment advises. Then,having inquired as to the occupants of the Hall, you will comeback to me and report. And now, Watson, not another word of thematter until we have a few solid stepping-stones on which we mayhope to get across to our solution.”
We had ascertained from the lady that she went down upon theMonday by the train which leaves Waterloo at 9:50, so I startedearly and caught the 9:13. At Farnham Station I had no difficulty inbeing directed to Charlington Heath. It was impossible to mistakethe scene of the young lady’s adventure, for the road runs betweenthe open heath on one side and an old yew hedge upon the other,surrounding a park which is studded with magnificent trees.
There was a main gateway of lichen-studded stone, each side pillarsurmounted by mouldering heraldic emblems, but besides thiscentral carriage drive I observed several points where there weregaps in the hedge and paths leading through them. The house wasinvisible from the road, but the surroundings all spoke of gloomand decay.
The heath was covered with golden patches of flowering gorse,gleaming magnificently in the light of the bright spring sunshine.
Behind one of these clumps I took up my position, so as tocommand both the gateway of the Hall and a long stretch of theroad upon either side. It had been deserted when I left it, but nowI saw a cyclist riding down it from the opposite direction to thatin which I had come. He was clad in a dark suit, and I saw thathe had a black beard. On reaching the end of the Charlingtongrounds, he sprang from his machine and led it through a gap inthe hedge, disappearing from my view.
A quarter of an hour passed, and then a second cyclist appeared.