"I did at first," she answered, "but now I know where the lettersare without looking." Then, suddenly realising the full purportof his words, she gave a violent start and looked up, with fearand astonishment upon her broad, good-humoured face. "You'veheard about me, Mr. Holmes," she cried, "else how could you knowall that?"
"Never mind," said Holmes, laughing; "it is my business to knowthings. Perhaps I have trained myself to see what othersoverlook. If not, why should you come to consult me?"
"I came to you, sir, because I heard of you from Mrs. Etherege,whose husband you found so easy when the police and everyone hadgiven him up for dead. Oh, Mr. Holmes, I wish you would do asmuch for me. I'm not rich, but still I have a hundred a year inmy own right, besides the little that I make by the machine, andI would give it all to know what has become of Mr. Hosmer Angel."
"Why did you come away to consult me in such a hurry?" askedSherlock Holmes, with his finger-tips together and his eyes tothe ceiling.
Again a startled look came over the somewhat vacuous face of MissMary Sutherland. "Yes, I did bang out of the house," she said,"for it made me angry to see the easy way in which Mr.Windibank--that is, my father--took it all. He would not go tothe police, and he would not go to you, and so at last, as hewould do nothing and kept on saying that there was no harm done,it made me mad, and I just on with my things and came right awayto you."
"Your father," said Holmes, "your stepfather, surely, since thename is different."
"Yes, my stepfather. I call him father, though it sounds funny,too, for he is only five years and two months older than myself."
"And your mother is alive?"
"Oh, yes, mother is alive and well. I wasn't best pleased, Mr.Holmes, when she married again so soon after father's death, anda man who was nearly fifteen years younger than herself. Fatherwas a plumber in the Tottenham Court Road, and he left a tidybusiness behind him, which mother carried on with Mr. Hardy, theforeman; but when Mr. Windibank came he made her sell thebusiness, for he was very superior, being a traveller in wines.They got 4700 pounds for the goodwill and interest, which wasn'tnear as much as father could have got if he had been alive."
I had expected to see Sherlock Holmes impatient under thisrambling and inconsequential narrative, but, on the contrary, hehad listened with the greatest concentration of attention.
"Your own little
income," he asked, "does it come out of thebusiness?"
"Oh, no, sir. It is quite separate and was left me by my uncleNed in Auckland. It is in New Zealand stock, paying 4 1/2 percent. Two thousand five hundred pounds was the amount, but I canonly touch the interest."
"You interest me extremely," said Holmes. "And since you draw solarge a sum as a hundred a year, with what you earn into thebargain, you no doubt travel a little and indulge yourself inevery way. I believe that a single lady can get on very nicelyupon an income of about 60 pounds."
"I could do with much less than that, Mr. Holmes, but youunderstand that as long as I live at home I don't wish to be aburden to them, and so they have the use of the money just whileI am staying with them. Of course, that is only just for thetime. Mr. Windibank draws my interest every quarter and pays itover to mother, and I find that I can do pretty well with what Iearn at typewriting. It brings me twopence a sheet, and I canoften do from fifteen to twenty sheets in a day."
"You have made your position very clear to me," said Holmes."This is my friend, Dr. Watson, before whom you can speak asfreely as before myself. Kindly tell us now all about yourconnection with Mr. Hosmer Angel."
A flush stole over Miss Sutherland's face, and she pickednervously at the fringe of her jacket. "I met him first at thegasfitters' ball," she said. "They used to send father ticketswhen he was alive, and then afterwards they remembered us, andsent them to mother. Mr. Windibank did not wish us to go. Henever did wish us to go anywhere. He would get quite mad if Iwanted so much as to join a Sunday-school treat. But this time Iwas set on going, and I would go; for what right had he toprevent? He said the folk were not fit for us to know, when allfather's friends were to be there. And he said that I had nothingfit to wear, when I had my purple plush that I had never so muchas taken out of the drawer. At last, when nothing else would do,he went off to France upon the business of the firm, but we went,mother and I, with Mr. Hardy, who used to be our foreman, and itwas there I met Mr. Hosmer Angel."
"I suppose," said Holmes, "that when Mr. Windibank came back fromFrance he was very annoyed at your having gone to the ball."
"Oh, well, he was very good about it. He laughed, I remember, andshrugged his shoulders, and said there was no use denyinganything to a woman, for she would have her way."
"I see. Then at the gasfitters' ball you met, as I understand, agentleman called Mr. Hosmer Angel."
"Yes, sir. I met him that night, and he called next day to ask ifwe had got home all safe, and after that we met him--that is tosay, Mr. Holmes, I met him twice for walks, but after that fathercame back again, and Mr. Hosmer Angel could not come to the houseany more."
"No?"
"Well, you know father didn't like anything of the sort. Hewouldn't have any visitors if he could help it, and he used tosay that a woman should be happy in her own family circle. Butthen, as I used to say to mother, a woman wants her own circle tobegin with, and I had not got mine yet."
"But how about Mr. Hosmer Angel? Did he make no attempt to seeyou?"
"Well, father was going off to France again in a week, and Hosmerwrote and said that it would be safer and better not to see eachother until he had gone. We could write in the meantime, and heused to write every day. I took the letters in in the morning, sothere was no need for father to know."
"Were you engaged to the gentleman at this time?"
"Oh, yes, Mr. Holmes. We were engaged after the first walk thatwe took. Hosmer--Mr. Angel--was a cashier in an office inLeadenhall Street--and--"
"What office?"
"That's the worst of it, Mr. Holmes, I don't know."
"Where did he live, then?"