"You have not seen him since yesterday?"
"No, I have not."
"Was Mr. Staunton a healthy man?"
"Absolutely."
"Did you ever know him ill?"
"Never."
Ho
lmes popped a sheet of paper before the doctor's eyes. "Then perhapsyou will explain this receipted bill for thirteen guineas, paid by Mr.Godfrey Staunton last month to Dr. Leslie Armstrong of Cambridge. Ipicked it out from among the papers upon his desk."
The doctor flushed with anger.
"I do not feel that there is any reason why I should render anexplanation to you, Mr. Holmes."
Holmes replaced the bill in his note-book. "If you prefer a publicexplanation it must come sooner or later," said he. "I have already toldyou that I can hush up that which others will be bound to publish, andyou would really be wiser to take me into your complete confidence."
"I know nothing about it."
"Did you hear from Mr. Staunton in London?"
"Certainly not."
"Dear me, dear me; the post-office again!" Holmes sighed, wearily."A most urgent telegram was dispatched to you from London by GodfreyStaunton at six-fifteen yesterday evening--a telegram which isundoubtedly associated with his disappearance--and yet you have not hadit. It is most culpable. I shall certainly go down to the office hereand register a complaint."
Dr. Leslie Armstrong sprang up from behind his desk, and his dark facewas crimson with fury.
"I'll trouble you to walk out of my house, sir," said he. "You can tellyour employer, Lord Mount-James, that I do not wish to have anything todo either with him or with his agents. No, sir, not another word!" Herang the bell furiously. "John, show these gentlemen out!" A pompousbutler ushered us severely to the door, and we found ourselves in thestreet. Holmes burst out laughing.
"Dr. Leslie Armstrong is certainly a man of energy and character," saidhe. "I have not seen a man who, if he turned his talents that way, wasmore calculated to fill the gap left by the illustrious Moriarty.And now, my poor Watson, here we are, stranded and friendless in thisinhospitable town, which we cannot leave without abandoning our case.This little inn just opposite Armstrong's house is singularly adapted toour needs. If you would engage a front room and purchase the necessariesfor the night, I may have time to make a few inquiries."
These few inquiries proved, however, to be a more lengthy proceedingthan Holmes had imagined, for he did not return to the inn until nearlynine o'clock. He was pale and dejected, stained with dust, and exhaustedwith hunger and fatigue. A cold supper was ready upon the table, andwhen his needs were satisfied and his pipe alight he was ready to takethat half comic and wholly philosophic view which was natural to himwhen his affairs were going awry. The sound of carriage wheels causedhim to rise and glance out of the window. A brougham and pair of greysunder the glare of a gas-lamp stood before the doctor's door.
"It's been out three hours," said Holmes; "started at half-past six, andhere it is back again. That gives a radius of ten or twelve miles, andhe does it once, or sometimes twice, a day."
"No unusual thing for a doctor in practice."
"But Armstrong is not really a doctor in practice. He is a lecturer anda consultant, but he does not care for general practice, which distractshim from his literary work. Why, then, does he make these long journeys,which must be exceedingly irksome to him, and who is it that he visits?"
"His coachman----"
"My dear Watson, can you doubt that it was to him that I first applied?I do not know whether it came from his own innate depravity or from thepromptings of his master, but he was rude enough to set a dog at me.Neither dog nor man liked the look of my stick, however, and the matterfell through. Relations were strained after that, and further inquiriesout of the question. All that I have learned I got from a friendlynative in the yard of our own inn. It was he who told me of the doctor'shabits and of his daily journey. At that instant, to give point to hiswords, the carriage came round to the door."
"Could you not follow it?"
"Excellent, Watson! You are scintillating this evening. The idea didcross my mind. There is, as you may have observed, a bicycle shop nextto our inn. Into this I rushed, engaged a bicycle, and was able to getstarted before the carriage was quite out of sight. I rapidly overtookit, and then, keeping at a discreet distance of a hundred yards or so, Ifollowed its lights until we were clear of the town. We had got well outon the country road when a somewhat mortifying incident occurred. Thecarriage stopped, the doctor alighted, walked swiftly back to where Ihad also halted, and told me in an excellent sardonic fashion thathe feared the road was narrow, and that he hoped his carriage did notimpede the passage of my bicycle. Nothing could have been more admirablethan his way of putting it. I at once rode past the carriage, and,keeping to the main road, I went on for a few miles, and then halted ina convenient place to see if the carriage passed. There was no sign ofit, however, and so it became evident that it had turned down one ofseveral side roads which I had observed. I rode back, but again sawnothing of the carriage, and now, as you perceive, it has returned afterme. Of course, I had at the outset no particular reason to connectthese journeys with the disappearance of Godfrey Staunton, and was onlyinclined to investigate them on the general grounds that everythingwhich concerns Dr. Armstrong is at present of interest to us; but, nowthat I find he keeps so keen a look-out upon anyone who may follow himon these excursions, the affair appears more important, and I shall notbe satisfied until I have made the matter clear."
"We can follow him to-morrow."
"Can we? It is not so easy as you seem to think. You are not familiarwith Cambridgeshire scenery, are you? It does not lend itself toconcealment. All this country that I passed over to-night is as flat andclean as the palm of your hand, and the man we are following is no fool,as he very clearly showed to-night. I have wired to Overton to let usknow any fresh London developments at this address, and in the meantimewe can only concentrate our attention upon Dr. Armstrong, whose namethe obliging young lady at the office allowed me to read upon thecounterfoil of Staunton's urgent message. He knows where the young manis--to that I'll swear--and if he knows, then it must be our own faultif we cannot manage to know also. At present it must be admitted thatthe odd trick is in his possession, and, as you are aware, Watson, it isnot my habit to leave the game in that condition."
And yet the next day brought us no nearer to the solution of themystery. A note was handed in after breakfast, which Holmes passedacross to me with a smile.
"Sir," it ran, "I can assure you that you are wasting your time indogging my movements. I have, as you discovered last night, a window atthe back of my brougham, and if you desire a twenty-mile ride which willlead you to the spot from which you started, you have only to follow me.Meanwhile, I can inform you that no spying upon me can in any way helpMr. Godfrey Staunton, and I am convinced that the best service you cando to that gentleman is to return at once to London and to report toyour employer that you are unable to trace him. Your time in Cambridgewill certainly be wasted.