“ ‘My dear young lady！ my dear young lady！’ —you cannot thinkhow caressing and soothing his manner was— ‘and what hasfrightened you， my dear young lady？’
“But his voice was just a little too coaxing. He overdid it. I waskeenly on my guard against him.
“ ‘I was foolish enough to go into the empty wing，’ I answered.
‘But it is so lonely and eerie in this dim light that I was frightenedand ran out again. Oh， it is so dreadfully still in there！’
“ ‘Only that？’ said he， looking at me keenly.
“ ‘Why， what did you think？’ I asked.
“ ‘Why do you think that I lock this door？’
“ ‘I am sure that I do not know.’
“ ‘It is to keep people out who have no business there. Do yousee？’ He was still smiling in the most amiable manner.
“ ‘I am sure if I had known——’
“ ‘Well， then， you know now. And if you ever put your foot overthat threshold again’ —here in an instant the smile hardenedinto a grin of rage， and he glared down at me with the face of ademon— ‘I’ll throw you to the mastiff.’
“I was so terrified that I do not know what I did. I suppose thatI must have rushed past him into my room. I remember nothinguntil I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over. Then Ithought of you， Mr. Holmes. I could not live there longer withoutsome advice. I was frightened of the house， of the man， of thewoman， of the servants， even of the child. They were all horribleto me. If I could only bring you down all would be well. Of courseI might have fled from the house， but my curiosity was almost asstrong as my fears. My mind was soon made up. I would send youa wire. I put on my hat and cloak， went down to the office， whichis about half a mile from the house， and then returned， feeling verymuch easier. A horrible doubt came into my mind as I approachedthe door lest the dog might be loose， but I remembered that Tollerhad drunk himself into a state of insensibility that evening， andI knew that he was the only one in the household who had anyinfluence with the savage creature， or who would venture to sethim free. I slipped in in safety and lay awake half the night in myjoy at the thought of seeing you. I had no difficulty in getting leaveto come into Winchester this morning， but I must be back beforethree o’clock， for Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle are going on a visit， andwill be away all the evening， so that I must look after the child.
Now I have told you all my adventures， Mr. Holmes， and I shouldbe very glad if you could tell me what it all means， and， above all，what I should do.”
Holmes and I had listened spellbound to this extraordinarystory. My friend rose now and paced up and down the room， hishands in his pockets， and an expression of the most profoundgravity upon his face.
“Is Toller still drunk？” he asked.
“Yes. I heard his wife tell Mrs. Rucastle that she could do nothingwith him.”
“That is well. And the Rucastles go out to-night？”
“Yes.”
“Is there a cellar with a good strong lock？”
“Yes， the wine-cellar.”
“You seem to me to have acted all through this matter like avery brave and sensible girl， Miss Hunter. Do you think that youcould perform one more feat？ I should not ask it of you if I didnot think you a quite exceptional woman.”
“I will try. What is it？”
“We shall be at the Copper Beeches by seven o’clock， myfriend and I. The Rucastles will be gone by that time， and Tollerwill， we hope， be incapable. There only remains Mrs. Toller， whomight give the alarm. If you could send her into the cellar onsome errand， and then turn the key upon her， you would facilitatematters immensely.”
“I will do it.”
“Excellent！ We shall then look thoroughly into the affair. Ofcourse there is only one feasible explanation. You have beenbrought there to personate someone， and the real person isimprisoned in this chamber. That is obvious. As to who thisprisoner is， I have no doubt that it is the daughter， Miss AliceRucastle， if I remember right， who was said to have gone toAmerica. You were chosen， doubtless， as resembling her in height，figure， and the colour of your hair. Hers had been cut off， verypossibly in some illness through which she has passed， and so， ofcourse， yours had to be sacrificed also. By a curious chance youcame upon her tresses. The man in the road was undoubtedlysome friend of hers—possibly her fiancé—and no doubt， as youwore the girl’s dress and were so like her， he was convinced fromyour laughter， whenever he saw you， and afterwards from yourgesture， that Miss Rucastle was perfectly happy， and that sheno longer desired his attentions. The dog is let loose at night toprevent him from endeavouring to communicate with her. Somuch is fairly clear. The most serious point in the case is thedisposition of the child.”
“What on earth has that to do with it？” I ejaculated.
“My dear Watson， you as a medical man are continually gaininglight as to the tendencies of a child by the study of the parents.
Don’t you see that the converse is equally valid. I have frequentlygained my first real insight into the character of parents bystudying their children. This child’s disposition is abnormallycruel， merely for cruelty’s sake， and whether he derives this fromhis smiling father， as I should suspect， or from his mother， it bodesevil for the poor girl who is in their power.”
“I am sure that you are right， Mr. Holmes，” cried our client. “Athousand things come back to me which make me certain that youhave hit it. Oh， let us lose not an instant in bringing help to thispoor creature.”
“We must be circumspect， for we are dealing with a verycunning man. We can do nothing until seven o’clock. At that hourwe shall be with you， and it will not be long before we solve themystery.”
We were as good as our word， for it was just seven when wereached the Copper Beeches， having put up our trap at a waysidepublic-house. The group of trees， with their dark leaves shininglike burnished metal in the light of the setting sun， were sufficientto mark the house even had Miss Hunter not been standingsmiling on the door-step.
“Have you managed it？” asked Holmes.
A loud thudding noise came from somewhere downstairs.