"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 should have seenhim."
"So by the process of exclusion we arrive at the fact that he made hisway towards Charlington Hall, which, as I understand, is situated in itsown grounds on one side of the road. Anything else?"
"Nothing, Mr. Holmes, save that I was so perplexed that I felt I shouldnot 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 asked, at 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 an admirer."
"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 has seemed to me sometimesthat my employer, Mr. Carruthers, takes a great deal of interest in me.We are thrown rather together. I play his accompaniments in the evening.He has never said anything. He is a perfect gentleman. But a girl alwaysknows."
"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 the City twoor three times a week. He is deeply interested in South African goldshares."
"You will let me know any fresh development, Miss Smith. I am very busyjust now, but I will find time to make some inquiries into your case. Inthe meantime take no step without letting me know. Good-bye, and I trustthat we shall have nothing but good news from you."
"It is part of the settled order of Nature that such a girl should havefollowers," said Holmes, as he pulled at his meditative pipe, "but forchoice not on bicycles in lonely country roads. Some secretive lover,beyond all doubt. But there are curious and suggestive details about thecase, 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 a differenttype? How came they BOTH to be so keen upon looking up Ralph Smith'srelations? One more point. What sort of a MENAGE is it which pays doublethe market price for a governess, but does not keep a horse although sixmiles 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 the sakeof it. On Monday you will arrive early at Farnham; you will concealyourself near Charlington Heath; you will observe these facts foryourself, and act as your own judgment advises. Then, having inquired asto the occupants of the Hall, you will come back to me and report. Andnow, Watson, not another word of the matter until we have a few solidstepping-stones on which we may hope to get across to our solution."
We had ascertained from the lady that she went down upon the Monday bythe train which leaves Waterloo at 9.50, so I started early and caughtthe 9.13. At Farnham Station I had no difficulty in being directed toCharlington Heath. It was impossible to mistake the scene of the younglady's adventure, for the road runs between the open heath on one sideand an old yew hedge upon the other, surrounding a park which is studdedwith magnificent trees. There was a main gateway of lichen-studdedstone, each side pillar surmounted by mouldering heraldic emblems; butbesides this central carriage drive I observed several points wherethere were gaps in the hedge and paths leading through them. The housewas invisible from the road, but the surroundings all spoke of gloom anddecay.
The heath was covered with golden patches of flowering gorse, gleamingmagnificently in the light of the bright spring sunshine. Behind one ofthese clumps I took up my position, so as to command both the gatewayof the Hall and a long stretch of the road upon either side. It had beendeserted when I left it, but now I saw a cyclist riding down it from theopposite direction to that in which I had come. He was clad in a darksuit, and I saw that he had a black beard. On reaching the end of theCharlington grounds he sprang from his machine and led it through a gapin the hedge, disappearing from my view.