ofthe
story
.
The
milkman
had
been
released
,
I
read
,
and
the
true
criminal
,
about
whose
identity
the
police
were
reticent
,
was
believed
to
have
got
away
from
London
by
one
of
the
northern
lines
.
There
was
a
short
note
about
me
as
the
owner
of
the
flat
.
I
guessed
the
police
had
stuck
that
in
,
as
a
clumsy
contrivance
to
persuade
me
that
I
was
unsuspected
.
There
was
nothing
else
in
the
paper
,
nothing
about
foreign
politics
or
Karolides
,
or
the
things
that
had
interested
Scudder
.
I
laid
it
down
,
and
found
that
we
were
approaching
the
station
at
which
I
had
got
out
yesterday
.
The
potato-digging
station-master
had
been
gingered
up
into
some
activity
,
for
the
west-going
train
was
waiting
to
let
us
pass
,
and
from
it
had
descended
three
men
who
were
asking
him
questions
.
I
supposed
that
they
were
the
local
police
,
who
had
been
stirred
up
by
Scotland
Yard
,
and
had
traced
me
as
far
as
this
one-horse
siding
.
Sitting
well
back
in
the
shadow
I
watched
them
carefully
.
One
of
them
had
a
book
,
and
took
down
notes
.
The
old
potato-digger
seemed
to
have
turned
peevish
,
but
the
child
who
had
collected
my
ticket
was
talking
volubly
.
All
the
party
looked
out
across
the
moor
where
the
white
road
departed
.
I
hoped
they
were
going
to
take
up
my
tracks
there
.
As
we
moved
away
from
that
station
my
companion
woke
up
.
He
fixed
me
with
a
wandering
glance
,
kicked
his
dog
viciously
,
and
inquired
where
he
was
.
Clearly
he
was
very
drunk
.
'
That
's
what
comes
o
'
bein
'
a
teetotaller
,
'
he
observed
in
bitter
regret
.
I
expressed
my
surprise
that
in
him
I
should
have
met
a
blue-ribbon
stalwart
.
'
Ay
,
but
I
'm
a
strong
teetotaller
,
'
he
said
pugnaciously
.
'
I
took
the
pledge
last
Martinmas
,
and
I
havena
touched
a
drop
o
'
whisky
sinsyne
.
Not
even
at
Hogmanay
,
though
I
was
sair
temptit
.
'
He
swung
his
heels
up
on
the
seat
,
and
burrowed
a
frowsy
head
into
the
cushions
.
'
And
that
's
a
'
I
get
,
'
he
moaned
.
'
A
heid
better
than
hell
fire
,
and
twae
een
lookin
'
different
ways
for
the
Sabbath
.
'
'
What
did
it
?
'
I
asked
.
'
A
drink
they
ca
'
brandy
.
Bein
'
a
teetotaller
I
keepit
off
the
whisky
,
but
I
was
nip-nippin
'
a
'
day
at
this
brandy
,
and
I
doubt
I
'll
no
be
weel
for
a
fortnicht
.
'
His
voice
died
away
into
a
splutter
,
and
sleep
once
more
laid
its
heavy
hand
on
him
.
My
plan
had
been
to
get
out
at
some
station
down
the
line
,
but
the
train
suddenly
gave
me
a
better
chance
,
for
it
came
to
a
standstill
at
the
end
of
a
culvert
which
spanned
a
brawling
porter-coloured
river
.
I
looked
out
and
saw
that
every
carriage
window
was
closed
and
no
human
figure
appeared
in
the
landscape
.
So
I
opened
the
door
,
and
dropped
quickly
into
the
tangle
of
hazels
which
edged
the
line
.
It
would
have
been
all
right
but
for
that
infernal
dog
.
Under
the
impression
that
I
was
decamping
with
its
master
's
belongings
,
it
started
to
bark
,
and
all
but
got
me
by
the
trousers
.
This
woke
up
the
herd
,
who
stood
bawling
at
the
carriage
door
in
the
belief
that
I
had
committed
suicide
.
I
crawled
through
the
thicket
,
reached
the
edge
of
the
stream
,
and
in
cover
of
the
bushes
put
a
hundred
yards
or
so
behind
me
.
Then
from
my
shelter
I
peered
back
,
and
saw
the
guard
and
several
passengers
gathered
round
the
open
carriage
door
and
staring
in
my
direction
.
I
could
not
have
made
a
more
public
departure
if
I
had
left
with
a
bugler
and
a
brass
band
.
Happily
the
drunken
herd
provided
a
diversion
.
He
and
his
dog
,
which
was
attached
by
a
rope
to
his
waist
,
suddenly
cascaded
out
of
the
carriage
,
landed
on
their
heads
on
the
track
,
and
rolled
some
way
down
the
bank
towards
the
water
.
In
the
rescue
which
followed
the
dog
bit
somebody
,
for
I
could
hear
the
sound
of
hard
swearing
.
Presently
they
had
forgotten
me
,
and
when
after
a
quarter
of
a
mile
's
crawl
I
ventured
to
look
back
,
the
train
had
started
again
and
was
vanishing
in
the
cutting
.
I
was
in
a
wide
semicircle
of
moorland
,
with
the
brown
river
as
radius
,
and
the
high
hills
forming
the
northern
circumference
.
There
was
not
a
sign
or
sound
of
a
human
being
,
only
the
plashing
water
and
the
interminable
crying
of
curlews
.
Yet
,
oddly
enough
,
for
the
first
time
I
felt
the
terror
of
the
hunted
on
me
.
It
was
not
the
police
that
I
thought
of
,
but
the
other
folk
,
who
knew
that
I
knew
Scudder
's
secret
and
dared
not
let
me
live
.
I
was
certain
that
they
would
pursue
me
with
a
keenness
and
vigilance
unknown
to
the
British
law
,
and
that
once
their
grip
closed
on
me
I
should
find
no
mercy
.
I
looked
back
,
but
there
was
nothing
in
the
landscape
.
The
sun
glinted
on
the
metals
of
the
line
and
the
wet
stones
in
the
stream
,
and
you
could
not
have
found
a
more
peaceful
sight
in
the
world
.
Nevertheless
I
started
to
run
.
Crouching
low
in
the
runnels
of
the
bog
,
I
ran
till
the
sweat
blinded
my
eyes
.
The
mood
did
not
leave
me
till
I
had
reached
the
rim
of
mountain
and
flung
myself
panting
on
a
ridge
high
above
the
young
waters
of
the
brown
river
.
From
my
vantage-ground
I
could
scan
the
whole
moor
right
away
to
the
railway
line
and
to
the
south
of
it
where
green
fields
took
the
place
of
heather
.
I
have
eyes
like
a
hawk
,
but
I
could
see
nothing
moving
in
the
whole
countryside
.
Then
I
looked
east
beyond
the
ridge
and
saw
a
new
kind
of
landscape-shallow
green
valleys
with
plentiful
fir
plantations
and
the
faint
lines
of
dust
which
spoke
of
highroads
.
Last
of
all
I
looked
into
the
blue
May
sky
,
and
there
I
saw
that
which
set
my
pulses
racing
...
Low
down
in
the
south
a
monoplane
was
climbing
into
the
heavens
.
I
was
as
certain
as
if
I
had
been
told
that
that
aeroplane
was
looking
for
me
,
and
that
it
did
not
belong
to
the
police
.
For
an
hour
or
two
I
watched
it
from
a
pit
of
heather
.
It
flew
low
along
the
hill-tops
,
and
then
in
narrow
circles
over
the
valley
up
which
I
had
come
.
Then
it
seemed
to
change
its
mind
,
rose
to
a
great
height
,
and
flew
away
back
to
the
south
.
I
did
not
like
this
espionage
from
the
air
,
and
I
began
to
think
less
well
of
the
countryside
I
had
chosen
for
a
refuge
.
These
heather
hills
were
no
sort
of
cover
if
my
enemies
were
in
the
sky
,
and
I
must
find
a
different
kind
of
sanctuary
.
I
looked
with
more
satisfaction
to
the
green
country
beyond
the
ridge
,
for
there
I
should
find
woods
and
stone
houses
.
About
six
in
the
evening
I
came
out
of
the
moorland
to
a
white
ribbon
of
road
which
wound
up
the
narrow
vale
of
a
lowland
stream
.
As
I
followed
it
,
fields
gave
place
to
bent
,
the
glen
became
a
plateau
,
and
presently
I
had
reached
a
kind
of
pass
where
a
solitary
house
smoked
in
the
twilight
.
The
road
swung
over
a
bridge
,
and
leaning
on
the
parapet
was
a
young
man
.
He
was
smoking
a
long
clay
pipe
and
studying
the
water
with
spectacled
eyes
.
In
his
left
hand
was
a
small
book
with
a
finger
marking
the
place
.
Slowly
he
repeated-
As
when
a
Gryphon
through
the
wilderness
With
winged
step
,
o'er
hill
and
moory
dale
Pursues
the
Arimaspian
.
He
jumped
round
as
my
step
rung
on
the
keystone
,
and
I
saw
a
pleasant
sunburnt
boyish
face
.
'
Good
evening
to
you
,
'
he
said
gravely
.
'
It
's
a
fine
night
for
the
road
.
'
The
smell
of
peat
smoke
and
of
some
savoury
roast
floated
to
me
from
the
house
.
'
Is
that
place
an
inn
?
'
I
asked
.
'
At
your
service
,
'
he
said
politely
.
'
I
am
the
landlord
,
Sir
,
and
I
hope
you
will
stay
the
night
,
for
to
tell
you
the
truth
I
have
had
no
company
for
a
week
.
'
I
pulled
myself
up
on
the
parapet
of
the
bridge
and
filled
my
pipe
.
I
began
to
detect
an
ally
.
'
You
're
young
to
be
an
innkeeper
,
'
I
said
.
'
My
father
died
a
year
ago
and
left
me
the
business
.
I
live
there
with
my
grandmother
.
It
's
a
slow
job
for
a
young
man
,
and
it
was
n't
my
choice
of
profession
.
'
'
Which
was
?
'
He
actually
blushed
.
'
I
want
to
write
books
,
'
he
said
.
'
And
what
better
chance
could
you
ask
?
'
I
cried
.
'
Man
,
I
've
often
thought
that
an
innkeeper
would
make
the
best
story-teller
in
the
world
.
'
'
Not
now
,
'
he
said
eagerly
.
'
Maybe
in
the
old
days
when
you
had
pilgrims
and
ballad-makers
and
highwaymen
and
mail-coaches
on
the
road
.
But
not
now
.
Nothing
comes
here
but
motor-cars
full
of
fat
women
,
who
stop
for
lunch
,
and
a
fisherman
or
two
in
the
spring
,
and
the
shooting
tenants
in
August
.
There
is
not
much
material
to
be
got
out
of
that
.
I
want
to
see
life
,
to
travel
the
world
,
and
write
things
like
Kipling
and
Conrad
.
But
the
most
I
've
done
yet
is
to
get
some
verses
printed
in
Chambers
's
Journal
.
'
I
looked
at
the
inn
standing
golden
in
the
sunset
against
the
brown
hills
.
'
I
've
knocked
a
bit
about
the
world
,
and
I
would
n't
despise
such
a
hermitage
.
D'you
think
that
adventure
is
found
only
in
the
tropics
or
among
gentry
in
red
shirts
?
Maybe
you
're
rubbing
shoulders
with
it
at
this
moment
.
'
'
That
's
what
Kipling
says
,
'
he
said
,
his
eyes
brightening
,
and
he
quoted
some
verse
about
'
Romance
bringing
up
the
9.15
'
.
'
Here
's
a
true
tale
for
you
then
,
'
I
cried
,
'
and
a
month
from
now
you
can
make
a
novel
out
of
it
.
'
Sitting
on
the
bridge
in
the
soft
May
gloaming
I
pitched
him
a
lovely
yarn
.
It
was
true
in
essentials
,
too
,
though
I
altered
the
minor
details
.
I
made
out
that
I
was
a
mining
magnate
from
Kimberley
,
who
had
had
a
lot
of
trouble
with
I.D.B.
and
had
shown
up
a
gang
.
They
had
pursued
me
across
the
ocean
,
and
had
killed
my
best
friend
,
and
were
now
on
my
tracks
.
I
told
the
story
well
,
though
I
say
it
who
should
n't
.
I
pictured
a
flight
across
the
Kalahari
to
German
Africa
,
the
crackling
,
parching
days
,
the
wonderful
blue-velvet
nights
.
I
described
an
attack
on
my
life
on
the
voyage
home
,
and
I
made
a
really
horrid
affair
of
the
Portland
Place
murder
.
'
You
're
looking
for
adventure
,
'
I
cried
;
'
well
,
you
've
found
it
here
.
The
devils
are
after
me
,
and
the
police
are
after
them
.
It
's
a
race
that
I
mean
to
win
.
'
'
By
God
!
'
he
whispered
,
drawing
his
breath
in
sharply
,
'
it
is
all
pure
Rider
Haggard
and
Conan
Doyle
.
'
'
You
believe
me
,
'
I
said
gratefully
.
'
Of
course
I
do
,
'
and
he
held
out
his
hand
.
'
I
believe
everything
out
of
the
common
.
The
only
thing
to
distrust
is
the
normal
.
'
He
was
very
young
,
but
he
was
the
man
for
my
money
.
'
I
think
they
're
off
my
track
for
the
moment
,
but
I
must
lie
close
for
a
couple
of
days
.
Can
you
take
me
in
?
'
He
caught
my
elbow
in
his
eagerness
and
drew
me
towards
the
house
.
'
You
can
lie
as
snug
here
as
if
you
were
in
a
moss-hole
.
I
'll
see
that
nobody
blabs
,
either
.
And
you
'll
give
me
some
more
material
about
your
adventures
?
'
As
I
entered
the
inn
porch
I
heard
from
far
off
the
beat
of
an
engine
.
There
silhouetted
against
the
dusky
West
was
my
friend
,
the
monoplane
.
He
gave
me
a
room
at
the
back
of
the
house
,
with
a
fine
outlook
over
the
plateau
,
and
he
made
me
free
of
his
own
study
,
which
was
stacked
with
cheap
editions
of
his
favourite
authors
.
I
never
saw
the
grandmother
,
so
I
guessed
she
was
bedridden
.
An
old
woman
called
Margit
brought
me
my
meals
,
and
the
innkeeper
was
around
me
at
all
hours
.
I
wanted
some
time
to
myself
,
so
I
invented
a
job
for
him
.
He
had
a
motor-bicycle
,
and
I
sent
him
off
next
morning
for
the
daily
paper
,
which
usually
arrived
with
the
post
in
the
late
afternoon
.
I
told
him
to
keep
his
eyes
skinned
,
and
make
note
of
any
strange
figures
he
saw
,
keeping
a
special
sharp
look-out
for
motors
and
aeroplanes
.
Then
I
sat
down
in
real
earnest
to
Scudder
's
note-book
.
He
came
back
at
midday
with
the
Scotsman
.
There
was
nothing
in
it
,
except
some
further
evidence
of
Paddock
and
the
milkman
,
and
a
repetition
of
yesterday
's
statement
that
the
murderer
had
gone
North
.
But
there
was
a
long
article
,
reprinted
from
The
Times
,
about
Karolides
and
the
state
of
affairs
in
the
Balkans
,
though
there
was
no
mention
of
any
visit
to
England
.
I
got
rid
of
the
innkeeper
for
the
afternoon
,
for
I
was
getting
very
warm
in
my
search
for
the
cypher
.
As
I
told
you
,
it
was
a
numerical
cypher
,
and
by
an
elaborate
system
of
experiments
I
had
pretty
well
discovered
what
were
the
nulls
and
stops
.
The
trouble
was
the
key
word
,
and
when
I
thought
of
the
odd
million
words
he
might
have
used
I
felt
pretty
hopeless
.
But
about
three
o'clock
I
had
a
sudden
inspiration
.
The
name
Julia
Czechenyi
flashed
across
my
memory
.
Scudder
had
said
it
was
the
key
to
the
Karolides
business
,
and
it
occurred
to
me
to
try
it
on
his
cypher
.
It
worked
.
The
five
letters
of
'
Julia
'
gave
me
the
position
of
the
vowels
.
A
was
J
,
the
tenth
letter
of
the
alphabet
,
and
so
represented
by
X
in
the
cypher
.
E
was
XXI
,
and
so
on
.
'
Czechenyi
'
gave
me
the
numerals
for
the
principal
consonants
.
I
scribbled
that
scheme
on
a
bit
of
paper
and
sat
down
to
read
Scudder
's
pages
.
In
half
an
hour
I
was
reading
with
a
whitish
face
and
fingers
that
drummed
on
the
table
.
I
glanced
out
of
the
window
and
saw
a
big
touring-car
coming
up
the
glen
towards
the
inn
.
It
drew
up
at
the
door
,
and
there
was
the
sound
of
people
alighting
.
There
seemed
to
be
two
of
them
,
men
in
aquascutums
and
tweed
caps
.
Ten
minutes
later
the
innkeeper
slipped
into
the
room
,
his
eyes
bright
with
excitement
.
'
There
's
two
chaps
below
looking
for
you
,
'
he
whispered
.
'
They
're
in
the
dining-room
having
whiskies-and-sodas
.
They
asked
about
you
and
said
they
had
hoped
to
meet
you
here
.
Oh
!
and
they
described
you
jolly
well
,
down
to
your
boots
and
shirt
.
I
told
them
you
had
been
here
last
night
and
had
gone
off
on
a
motor
bicycle
this
morning
,
and
one
of
the
chaps
swore
like
a
navvy
.
'
I
made
him
tell
me
what
they
looked
like
.
One
was
a
dark-eyed
thin
fellow
with
bushy
eyebrows
,
the
other
was
always
smiling
and
lisped
in
his
talk
.
Neither
was
any
kind
of
foreigner
;
on
this
my
young
friend
was
positive
.
I
took
a
bit
of
paper
and
wrote
these
words
in
German
as
if
they
were
part
of
a
letter-
...
'
Black
Stone
.
Scudder
had
got
on
to
this
,
but
he
could
not
act
for
a
fortnight
.
I
doubt
if
I
can
do
any
good
now
,
especially
as
Karolides
is
uncertain
about
his
plans
.
But
if
Mr
T
.
advises
I
will
do
the
best
I
...
'
I
manufactured
it
rather
neatly
,
so
that
it
looked
like
a
loose
page
of
a
private
letter
.
'
Take
this
down
and
say
it
was
found
in
my
bedroom
,
and
ask
them
to
return
it
to
me
if
they
overtake
me
.
'
Three
minutes
later
I
heard
the
car
begin
to
move
,
and
peeping
from
behind
the
curtain
caught
sight
of
the
two
figures
.
One
was
slim
,
the
other
was
sleek
;
that
was
the
most
I
could
make
of
my
reconnaissance
.
The
innkeeper
appeared
in
great
excitement
.
'
Your
paper
woke
them
up
,
'
he
said
gleefully
.
'
The
dark
fellow
went
as
white
as
death
and
cursed
like
blazes
,
and
the
fat
one
whistled
and
looked
ugly
.
They
paid
for
their
drinks
with
half-a-sovereign
and
would
n't
wait
for
change
.
'
'
Now
I
'll
tell
you
what
I
want
you
to
do
,
'
I
said
.
'
Get
on
your
bicycle
and
go
off
to
Newton-Stewart
to
the
Chief
Constable
.
Describe
the
two
men
,
and
say
you
suspect
them
of
having
had
something
to
do
with
the
London
murder
.
You
can
invent
reasons
.
The
two
will
come
back
,
never
fear
.
Not
tonight
,
for
they
'll
follow
me
forty
miles
along
the
road
,
but
first
thing
tomorrow
morning
.
Tell
the
police
to
be
here
bright
and
early
.
'
He
set
off
like
a
docile
child
,
while
I
worked
at
Scudder
's
notes
.
When
he
came
back
we
dined
together
,
and
in
common
decency
I
had
to
let
him
pump
me
.
I
gave
him
a
lot
of
stuff
about
lion
hunts
and
the
Matabele
War
,
thinking
all
the
while
what
tame
businesses
these
were
compared
to
this
I
was
now
engaged
in
!
When
he
went
to
bed
I
sat
up
and
finished
Scudder
.
I
smoked
in
a
chair
till
daylight
,
for
I
could
not
sleep
.
About
eight
next
morning
I
witnessed
the
arrival
of
two
constables
and
a
sergeant
.
They
put
their
car
in
a
coach-house
under
the
innkeeper
's
instructions
,
and
entered
the
house
.
Twenty
minutes
later
I
saw
from
my
window
a
second
car
come
across
the
plateau
from
the
opposite
direction
.
It
did
not
come
up
to
the
inn
,
but
stopped
two
hundred
yards
off
in
the
shelter
of
a
patch
of
wood
.
I
noticed
that
its
occupants
carefully
reversed
it
before
leaving
it
.
A
minute
or
two
later
I
heard
their
steps
on
the
gravel
outside
the
window
.
My
plan
had
been
to
lie
hid
in
my
bedroom
,
and
see
what
happened
.
I
had
a
notion
that
,
if
I
could
bring
the
police
and
my
other
more
dangerous
pursuers
together
,
something
might
work
out
of
it
to
my
advantage
.
But
now
I
had
a
better
idea
.
I
scribbled
a
line
of
thanks
to
my
host
,
opened
the
window
,
and
dropped
quietly
into
a
gooseberry
bush
.
Unobserved
I
crossed
the
dyke
,
crawled
down
the
side
of
a
tributary
burn
,
and
won
the
highroad
on
the
far
side
of
the
patch
of
trees
.
There
stood
the
car
,
very
spick
and
span
in
the
morning
sunlight
,
but
with
the
dust
on
her
which
told
of
a
long
journey
.
I
started
her
,
jumped
into
the
chauffeur
's
seat
,
and
stole
gently
out
on
to
the
plateau
.
Almost
at
once
the
road
dipped
so
that
I
lost
sight
of
the
inn
,
but
the
wind
seemed
to
bring
me
the
sound
of
angry
voices
.
CHAPTER
IV
The
Adventure
of
the
Radical
Candidate
You
may
picture
me
driving
that
40
h.p.
car
for
all
she
was
worth
over
the
crisp
moor
roads
on
that
shining
May
morning
;
glancing
back
at
first
over
my
shoulder
,
and
looking
anxiously
to
the
next
turning
;
then
driving
with
a
vague
eye
,
just
wide
enough
awake
to
keep
on
the
highway
.
For
I
was
thinking
desperately
of
what
I
had
found
in
Scudder
's
pocket-book
.
The
little
man
had
told
me
a
pack
of
lies
.
All
his
yarns
about
the
Balkans
and
the
Jew-Anarchists
and
the
Foreign
Office
Conference
were
eyewash
,
and
so
was
Karolides
.
And
yet
not
quite
,
as
you
shall
hear
.
I
had
staked
everything
on
my
belief
in
his
story
,
and
had
been
let
down
;
here
was
his
book
telling
me
a
different
tale
,
and
instead
of
being
once-bitten-twice-shy
,
I
believed
it
absolutely
.
Why
,
I
do
n't
know
.
It
rang
desperately
true
,
and
the
first
yarn
,
if
you
understand
me
,
had
been
in
a
queer
way
true
also
in
spirit
.
The
fifteenth
day
of
June
was
going
to
be
a
day
of
destiny
,
a
bigger
destiny
than
the
killing
of
a
Dago
.
It
was
so
big
that
I
did
n't
blame
Scudder
for
keeping
me
out
of
the
game
and
wanting
to
play
a
lone
hand
.
That
,
I
was
pretty
clear
,
was
his
intention
.
He
had
told
me
something
which
sounded
big
enough
,
but
the
real
thing
was
so
immortally
big
that
he
,
the
man
who
had
found
it
out
,
wanted
it
all
for
himself
.
I
did
n't
blame
him
.
It
was
risks
after
all
that
he
was
chiefly
greedy
about
.
The
whole
story
was
in
the
notes-with
gaps
,
you
understand
,
which
he
would
have
filled
up
from
his
memory
.
He
stuck
down
his
authorities
,
too
,
and
had
an
odd
trick
of
giving
them
all
a
numerical
value
and
then
striking
a
balance
,
which
stood
for
the
reliability
of
each
stage
in
the
yarn
.
The
four
names
he
had
printed
were
authorities
,
and
there
was
a
man
,
Ducrosne
,
who
got
five
out
of
a
possible
five
;
and
another
fellow
,
Ammersfoort
,
who
got
three
.
The
bare
bones
of
the
tale
were
all
that
was
in
the
book-these
,
and
one
queer
phrase
which
occurred
half
a
dozen
times
inside
brackets
.
'
(
Thirty-nine
steps
)
'
was
the
phrase
;
and
at
its
last
time
of
use
it
ran-
'
(
Thirty-nine
steps
,
I
counted
them-high
tide
10.17
p.m.
)
'
.
I
could
make
nothing
of
that
.
The
first
thing
I
learned
was
that
it
was
no
question
of
preventing
a
war
.
That
was
coming
,
as
sure
as
Christmas
:
had
been
arranged
,
said
Scudder
,
ever
since
February
1912.
Karolides
was
going
to
be
the
occasion
.
He
was
booked
all
right
,
and
was
to
hand
in
his
checks
on
June
14th
,
two
weeks
and
four
days
from
that
May
morning
.
I
gathered
from
Scudder
's
notes
that
nothing
on
earth
could
prevent
that
.
His
talk
of
Epirote
guards
that
would
skin
their
own
grandmothers
was
all
billy-o
.
The
second
thing
was
that
this
war
was
going
to
come
as
a
mighty
surprise
to
Britain
.
Karolides
'
death
would
set
the
Balkans
by
the
ears
,
and
then
Vienna
would
chip
in
with
an
ultimatum
.
Russia
would
n't
like
that
,
and
there
would
be
high
words
.
But
Berlin
would
play
the
peacemaker
,
and
pour
oil
on
the
waters
,
till
suddenly
she
would
find
a
good
cause
for
a
quarrel
,
pick
it
up
,
and
in
five
hours
let
fly
at
us
.
That
was
the
idea
,
and
a
pretty
good
one
too
.
Honey
and
fair
speeches
,
and
then
a
stroke
in
the
dark
.
While
we
were
talking
about
the
goodwill
and
good
intentions
of
Germany
our
coast
would
be
silently
ringed
with
mines
,
and
submarines
would
be
waiting
for
every
battleship
.
But
all
this
depended
upon
the
third
thing
,
which
was
due
to
happen
on
June
15th
.
I
would
never
have
grasped
this
if
I
had
n't
once
happened
to
meet
a
French
staff
officer
,
coming
back
from
West
Africa
,
who
had
told
me
a
lot
of
things
.
One
was
that
,
in
spite
of
all
the
nonsense
talked
in
Parliament
,
there
was
a
real
working
alliance
between
France
and
Britain
,
and
that
the
two
General
Staffs
met
every
now
and
then
,
and
made
plans
for
joint
action
in
case
of
war
.
Well
,
in
June
a
very
great
swell
was
coming
over
from
Paris
,
and
he
was
going
to
get
nothing
less
than
a
statement
of
the
disposition
of
the
British
Home
Fleet
on
mobilization
.
At
least
I
gathered
it
was
something
like
that
;
anyhow
,
it
was
something
uncommonly
important
.
But
on
the
15th
day
of
June
there
were
to
be
others
in
London-others
,
at
whom
I
could
only
guess
.
Scudder
was
content
to
call
them
collectively
the
'
Black
Stone
'
.
They
represented
not
our
Allies
,
but
our
deadly
foes
;
and
the
information
,
destined
for
France
,
was
to
be
diverted
to
their
pockets
.
And
it
was
to
be
used
,
remember-used
a
week
or
two
later
,
with
great
guns
and
swift
torpedoes
,
suddenly
in
the
darkness
of
a
summer
night
.
This
was
the
story
I
had
been
deciphering
in
a
back
room
of
a
country
inn
,
overlooking
a
cabbage
garden
.
This
was
the
story
that
hummed
in
my
brain
as
I
swung
in
the
big
touring-car
from
glen
to
glen
.
My
first
impulse
had
been
to
write
a
letter
to
the
Prime
Minister
,
but
a
little
reflection
convinced
me
that
that
would
be
useless
.
Who
would
believe
my
tale
?
I
must
show
a
sign
,
some
token
in
proof
,
and
Heaven
knew
what
that
could
be
.
Above
all
,
I
must
keep
going
myself
,
ready
to
act
when
things
got
riper
,
and
that
was
going
to
be
no
light
job
with
the
police
of
the
British
Isles
in
full
cry
after
me
and
the
watchers
of
the
Black
Stone
running
silently
and
swiftly
on
my
trail
.
I
had
no
very
clear
purpose
in
my
journey
,
but
I
steered
east
by
the
sun
,
for
I
remembered
from
the
map
that
if
I
went
north
I
would
come
into
a
region
of
coalpits
and
industrial
towns
.
Presently
I
was
down
from
the
moorlands
and
traversing
the
broad
haugh
of
a
river
.
For
miles
I
ran
alongside
a
park
wall
,
and
in
a
break
of
the
trees
I
saw
a
great
castle
.
I
swung
through
little
old
thatched
villages
,
and
over
peaceful
lowland
streams
,
and
past
gardens
blazing
with
hawthorn
and
yellow
laburnum
.
The
land
was
so
deep
in
peace
that
I
could
scarcely
believe
that
somewhere
behind
me
were
those
who
sought
my
life
;
ay
,
and
that
in
a
month
's
time
,
unless
I
had
the
almightiest
of
luck
,
these
round
country
faces
would
be
pinched
and
staring
,
and
men
would
be
lying
dead
in
English
fields
.
About
mid-day
I
entered
a
long
straggling
village
,
and
had
a
mind
to
stop
and
eat
.
Half-way
down
was
the
Post
Office
,
and
on
the
steps
of
it
stood
the
postmistress
and
a
policeman
hard
at
work
conning
a
telegram
.
When
they
saw
me
they
wakened
up
,
and
the
policeman
advanced
with
raised
hand
,
and
cried
on
me
to
stop
.
I
nearly
was
fool
enough
to
obey
.
Then
it
flashed
upon
me
that
the
wire
had
to
do
with
me
;
that
my
friends
at
the
inn
had
come
to
an
understanding
,
and
were
united
in
desiring
to
see
more
of
me
,
and
that
it
had
been
easy
enough
for
them
to
wire
the
description
of
me
and
the
car
to
thirty
villages
through
which
I
might
pass
.
I
released
the
brakes
just
in
time
.
As
it
was
,
the
policeman
made
a
claw
at
the
hood
,
and
only
dropped
off
when
he
got
my
left
in
his
eye
.
I
saw
that
main
roads
were
no
place
for
me
,
and
turned
into
the
byways
.
It
was
n't
an
easy
job
without
a
map
,
for
there
was
the
risk
of
getting
on
to
a
farm
road
and
ending
in
a
duck-pond
or
a
stable-yard
,
and
I
could
n't
afford
that
kind
of
delay
.
I
began
to
see
what
an
ass
I
had
been
to
steal
the
car
.
The
big
green
brute
would
be
the
safest
kind
of
clue
to
me
over
the
breadth
of
Scotland
.
If
I
left
it
and
took
to
my
feet
,
it
would
be
discovered
in
an
hour
or
two
and
I
would
get
no
start
in
the
race
.
The
immediate
thing
to
do
was
to
get
to
the
loneliest
roads
.
These
I
soon
found
when
I
struck
up
a
tributary
of
the
big
river
,
and
got
into
a
glen
with
steep
hills
all
about
me
,
and
a
corkscrew
road
at
the
end
which
climbed
over
a
pass
.
Here
I
met
nobody
,
but
it
was
taking
me
too
far
north
,
so
I
slewed
east
along
a
bad
track
and
finally
struck
a
big
double-line
railway
.
Away
below
me
I
saw
another
broadish
valley
,
and
it
occurred
to
me
that
if
I
crossed
it
I
might
find
some
remote
inn
to
pass
the
night
.
The
evening
was
now
drawing
in
,
and
I
was
furiously
hungry
,
for
I
had
eaten
nothing
since
breakfast
except
a
couple
of
buns
I
had
bought
from
a
baker
's
cart
.
Just
then
I
heard
a
noise
in
the
sky
,
and
lo
and
behold
there
was
that
infernal
aeroplane
,
flying
low
,
about
a
dozen
miles
to
the
south
and
rapidly
coming
towards
me
.
I
had
the
sense
to
remember
that
on
a
bare
moor
I
was
at
the
aeroplane
's
mercy
,
and
that
my
only
chance
was
to
get
to
the
leafy
cover
of
the
valley
.
Down
the
hill
I
went
like
blue
lightning
,
screwing
my
head
round
,
whenever
I
dared
,
to
watch
that
damned
flying
machine
.
Soon
I
was
on
a
road
between
hedges
,
and
dipping
to
the
deep-cut
glen
of
a
stream
.
Then
came
a
bit
of
thick
wood
where
I
slackened
speed
.
Suddenly
on
my
left
I
heard
the
hoot
of
another
car
,
and
realized
to
my
horror
that
I
was
almost
up
on
a
couple
of
gate-posts
through
which
a
private
road
debouched
on
the
highway
.
My
horn
gave
an
agonized
roar
,
but
it
was
too
late
.
I
clapped
on
my
brakes
,
but
my
impetus
was
too
great
,
and
there
before
me
a
car
was
sliding
athwart
my
course
.
In
a
second
there
would
have
been
the
deuce
of
a
wreck
.
I
did
the
only
thing
possible
,
and
ran
slap
into
the
hedge
on
the
right
,
trusting
to
find
something
soft
beyond
.
But
there
I
was
mistaken
.
My
car
slithered
through
the
hedge
like
butter
,
and
then
gave
a
sickening
plunge
forward
.
I
saw
what
was
coming
,
leapt
on
the
seat
and
would
have
jumped
out
.
But
a
branch
of
hawthorn
got
me
in
the
chest
,
lifted
me
up
and
held
me
,
while
a
ton
or
two
of
expensive
metal
slipped
below
me
,
bucked
and
pitched
,
and
then
dropped
with
an
almighty
smash
fifty
feet
to
the
bed
of
the
stream
.
Slowly
that
thorn
let
me
go
.
I
subsided
first
on
the
hedge
,
and
then
very
gently
on
a
bower
of
nettles
.
As
I
scrambled
to
my
feet
a
hand
took
me
by
the
arm
,
and
a
sympathetic
and
badly
scared
voice
asked
me
if
I
were
hurt
.
I
found
myself
looking
at
a
tall
young
man
in
goggles
and
a
leather
ulster
,
who
kept
on
blessing
his
soul
and
whinnying
apologies
.
For
myself
,
once
I
got
my
wind
back
,
I
was
rather
glad
than
otherwise
.
This
was
one
way
of
getting
rid
of
the
car
.
'
My
blame
,
Sir
,
'
I
answered
him
.
'
It
's
lucky
that
I
did
not
add
homicide
to
my
follies
.
That
's
the
end
of
my
Scotch
motor
tour
,
but
it
might
have
been
the
end
of
my
life
.
'
He
plucked
out
a
watch
and
studied
it
.
'
You
're
the
right
sort
of
fellow
,
'
he
said
.
'
I
can
spare
a
quarter
of
an
hour
,
and
my
house
is
two
minutes
off
.
I
'll
see
you
clothed
and
fed
and
snug
in
bed
.
Where
's
your
kit
,
by
the
way
?
Is
it
in
the
burn
along
with
the
car
?
'
'
It
's
in
my
pocket
,
'
I
said
,
brandishing
a
toothbrush
.
'
I
'm
a
Colonial
and
travel
light
.
'
'
A
Colonial
,
'
he
cried
.
'
By
Gad
,
you
're
the
very
man
I
've
been
praying
for
.
Are
you
by
any
blessed
chance
a
Free
Trader
?
'
'
I
am
,
'
said
I
,
without
the
foggiest
notion
of
what
he
meant
.
He
patted
my
shoulder
and
hurried
me
into
his
car
.
Three
minutes
later
we
drew
up
before
a
comfortable-looking
shooting
box
set
among
pine-trees
,
and
he
ushered
me
indoors
.
He
took
me
first
to
a
bedroom
and
flung
half
a
dozen
of
his
suits
before
me
,
for
my
own
had
been
pretty
well
reduced
to
rags
.
I
selected
a
loose
blue
serge
,
which
differed
most
conspicuously
from
my
former
garments
,
and
borrowed
a
linen
collar
.
Then
he
haled
me
to
the
dining-room
,
where
the
remnants
of
a
meal
stood
on
the
table
,
and
announced
that
I
had
just
five
minutes
to
feed
.
'
You
can
take
a
snack
in
your
pocket
,
and
we
'll
have
supper
when
we
get
back
.
I
've
got
to
be
at
the
Masonic
Hall
at
eight
o'clock
,
or
my
agent
will
comb
my
hair
.
'
I
had
a
cup
of
coffee
and
some
cold
ham
,
while
he
yarned
away
on
the
hearth-rug
.
'
You
find
me
in
the
deuce
of
a
mess
,
Mr-by-the-by
,
you
have
n't
told
me
your
name
.
Twisdon
?
Any
relation
of
old
Tommy
Twisdon
of
the
Sixtieth
?
No
?
Well
,
you
see
I
'm
Liberal
Candidate
for
this
part
of
the
world
,
and
I
had
a
meeting
on
tonight
at
Brattleburn-that
's
my
chief
town
,
and
an
infernal
Tory
stronghold
.
I
had
got
the
Colonial
ex-Premier
fellow
,
Crumpleton
,
coming
to
speak
for
me
tonight
,
and
had
the
thing
tremendously
billed
and
the
whole
place
ground-baited
.
This
afternoon
I
had
a
wire
from
the
ruffian
saying
he
had
got
influenza
at
Blackpool
,
and
here
am
I
left
to
do
the
whole
thing
myself
.
I
had
meant
to
speak
for
ten
minutes
and
must
now
go
on
for
forty
,
and
,
though
I
've
been
racking
my
brains
for
three
hours
to
think
of
something
,
I
simply
cannot
last
the
course
.
Now
you
've
got
to
be
a
good
chap
and
help
me
.
You
're
a
Free
Trader
and
can
tell
our
people
what
a
wash-out
Protection
is
in
the
Colonies
.
All
you
fellows
have
the
gift
of
the
gab-I
wish
to
Heaven
I
had
it
.
I
'll
be
for
evermore
in
your
debt
.
'
I
had
very
few
notions
about
Free
Trade
one
way
or
the
other
,
but
I
saw
no
other
chance
to
get
what
I
wanted
.
My
young
gentleman
was
far
too
absorbed
in
his
own
difficulties
to
think
how
odd
it
was
to
ask
a
stranger
who
had
just
missed
death
by
an
ace
and
had
lost
a
1
,
000-guinea
car
to
address
a
meeting
for
him
on
the
spur
of
the
moment
.
But
my
necessities
did
not
allow
me
to
contemplate
oddnesses
or
to
pick
and
choose
my
supports
.
'
All
right
,
'
I
said
.
'
I
'm
not
much
good
as
a
speaker
,
but
I
'll
tell
them
a
bit
about
Australia
.
'
At
my
words
the
cares
of
the
ages
slipped
from
his
shoulders
,
and
he
was
rapturous
in
his
thanks
.
He
lent
me
a
big
driving
coat-and
never
troubled
to
ask
why
I
had
started
on
a
motor
tour
without
possessing
an
ulster-and
,
as
we
slipped
down
the
dusty
roads
,
poured
into
my
ears
the
simple
facts
of
his
history
.
He
was
an
orphan
,
and
his
uncle
had
brought
him
up-I
've
forgotten
the
uncle
's
name
,
but
he
was
in
the
Cabinet
,
and
you
can
read
his
speeches
in
the
papers
.
He
had
gone
round
the
world
after
leaving
Cambridge
,
and
then
,
being
short
of
a
job
,
his
uncle
had
advised
politics
.
I
gathered
that
he
had
no
preference
in
parties
.
'
Good
chaps
in
both
,
'
he
said
cheerfully
,
'
and
plenty
of
blighters
,
too
.
I
'm
Liberal
,
because
my
family
have
always
been
Whigs
.
'
But
if
he
was
lukewarm
politically
he
had
strong
views
on
other
things
.
He
found
out
I
knew
a
bit
about
horses
,
and
jawed
away
about
the
Derby
entries
;
and
he
was
full
of
plans
for
improving
his
shooting
.
Altogether
,
a
very
clean
,
decent
,
callow
young
man
.
As
we
passed
through
a
little
town
two
policemen
signalled
us
to
stop
,
and
flashed
their
lanterns
on
us
.
'
Beg
pardon
,
Sir
Harry
,
'
said
one
.
'
We
've
got
instructions
to
look
out
for
a
car
,
and
the
description
's
no
unlike
yours
.
'
'
Right-o
,
'
said
my
host
,
while
I
thanked
Providence
for
the
devious
ways
I
had
been
brought
to
safety
.
After
that
he
spoke
no
more
,
for
his
mind
began
to
labour
heavily
with
his
coming
speech
.
His
lips
kept
muttering
,
his
eye
wandered
,
and
I
began
to
prepare
myself
for
a
second
catastrophe
.
I
tried
to
think
of
something
to
say
myself
,
but
my
mind
was
dry
as
a
stone
.
The
next
thing
I
knew
we
had
drawn
up
outside
a
door
in
a
street
,
and
were
being
welcomed
by
some
noisy
gentlemen
with
rosettes
.
The
hall
had
about
five
hundred
in
it
,
women
mostly
,
a
lot
of
bald
heads
,
and
a
dozen
or
two
young
men
.
The
chairman
,
a
weaselly
minister
with
a
reddish
nose
,
lamented
Crumpleton
's
absence
,
soliloquized
on
his
influenza
,
and
gave
me
a
certificate
as
a
'
trusted
leader
of
Australian
thought
'
.
There
were
two
policemen
at
the
door
,
and
I
hoped
they
took
note
of
that
testimonial
.
Then
Sir
Harry
started
.
I
never
heard
anything
like
it
.
He
did
n't
begin
to
know
how
to
talk
.
He
had
about
a
bushel
of
notes
from
which
he
read
,
and
when
he
let
go
of
them
he
fell
into
one
prolonged
stutter
.
Every
now
and
then
he
remembered
a
phrase
he
had
learned
by
heart
,
straightened
his
back
,
and
gave
it
off
like
Henry
Irving
,
and
the
next
moment
he
was
bent
double
and
crooning
over
his
papers
.
It
was
the
most
appalling
rot
,
too
.
He
talked
about
the
'
German
menace
'
,
and
said
it
was
all
a
Tory
invention
to
cheat
the
poor
of
their
rights
and
keep
back
the
great
flood
of
social
reform
,
but
that
'
organized
labour
'
realized
this
and
laughed
the
Tories
to
scorn
.
He
was
all
for
reducing
our
Navy
as
a
proof
of
our
good
faith
,
and
then
sending
Germany
an
ultimatum
telling
her
to
do
the
same
or
we
would
knock
her
into
a
cocked
hat
.
He
said
that
,
but
for
the
Tories
,
Germany
and
Britain
would
be
fellow-workers
in
peace
and
reform
.
I
thought
of
the
little
black
book
in
my
pocket
!
A
giddy
lot
Scudder
's
friends
cared
for
peace
and
reform
.
Yet
in
a
queer
way
I
liked
the
speech
.
You
could
see
the
niceness
of
the
chap
shining
out
behind
the
muck
with
which
he
had
been
spoon-fed
.
Also
it
took
a
load
off
my
mind
.
I
might
n't
be
much
of
an
orator
,
but
I
was
a
thousand
per
cent
better
than
Sir
Harry
.
I
did
n't
get
on
so
badly
when
it
came
to
my
turn
.
I
simply
told
them
all
I
could
remember
about
Australia
,
praying
there
should
be
no
Australian
there-all
about
its
labour
party
and
emigration
and
universal
service
.
I
doubt
if
I
remembered
to
mention
Free
Trade
,
but
I
said
there
were
no
Tories
in
Australia
,
only
Labour
and
Liberals
.
That
fetched
a
cheer
,
and
I
woke
them
up
a
bit
when
I
started
in
to
tell
them
the
kind
of
glorious
business
I
thought
could
be
made
out
of
the
Empire
if
we
really
put
our
backs
into
it
.
Altogether
I
fancy
I
was
rather
a
success
.
The
minister
did
n't
like
me
,
though
,
and
when
he
proposed
a
vote
of
thanks
,
spoke
of
Sir
Harry
's
speech
as
'
statesmanlike
'
and
mine
as
having
'
the
eloquence
of
an
emigration
agent
'
.
When
we
were
in
the
car
again
my
host
was
in
wild
spirits
at
having
got
his
job
over
.
'
A
ripping
speech
,
Twisdon
,
'
he
said
.
'
Now
,
you
're
coming
home
with
me
.
I
'm
all
alone
,
and
if
you
'll
stop
a
day
or
two
I
'll
show
you
some
very
decent
fishing
.
'
We
had
a
hot
supper-and
I
wanted
it
pretty
badly-and
then
drank
grog
in
a
big
cheery
smoking-room
with
a
crackling
wood
fire
.
I
thought
the
time
had
come
for
me
to
put
my
cards
on
the
table
.
I
saw
by
this
man
's
eye
that
he
was
the
kind
you
can
trust
.
'
Listen
,
Sir
Harry
,
'
I
said
.
'
I
've
something
pretty
important
to
say
to
you
.
You
're
a
good
fellow
,
and
I
'm
going
to
be
frank
.
Where
on
earth
did
you
get
that
poisonous
rubbish
you
talked
tonight
?
'
His
face
fell
.
'
Was
it
as
bad
as
that
?
'
he
asked
ruefully
.
'
It
did
sound
rather
thin
.
I
got
most
of
it
out
of
the
PROGRESSIVE
MAGAZINE
and
pamphlets
that
agent
chap
of
mine
keeps
sending
me
.
But
you
surely
do
n't
think
Germany
would
ever
go
to
war
with
us
?
'
'
Ask
that
question
in
six
weeks
and
it
wo
n't
need
an
answer
,
'
I
said
.
'
If
you
'll
give
me
your
attention
for
half
an
hour
I
am
going
to
tell
you
a
story
.
'
I
can
see
yet
that
bright
room
with
the
deers
'
heads
and
the
old
prints
on
the
walls
,
Sir
Harry
standing
restlessly
on
the
stone
curb
of
the
hearth
,
and
myself
lying
back
in
an
armchair
,
speaking
.
I
seemed
to
be
another
person
,
standing
aside
and
listening
to
my
own
voice
,
and
judging
carefully
the
reliability
of
my
tale
.
It
was
the
first
time
I
had
ever
told
anyone
the
exact
truth
,
so
far
as
I
understood
it
,
and
it
did
me
no
end
of
good
,
for
it
straightened
out
the
thing
in
my
own
mind
.
I
blinked
no
detail
.
He
heard
all
about
Scudder
,
and
the
milkman
,
and
the
note-book
,
and
my
doings
in
Galloway
.
Presently
he
got
very
excited
and
walked
up
and
down
the
hearth-rug
.
'
So
you
see
,
'
I
concluded
,
'
you
have
got
here
in
your
house
the
man
that
is
wanted
for
the
Portland
Place
murder
.
Your
duty
is
to
send
your
car
for
the
police
and
give
me
up
.
I
do
n't
think
I
'll
get
very
far
.
There
'll
be
an
accident
,
and
I
'll
have
a
knife
in
my
ribs
an
hour
or
so
after
arrest
.
Nevertheless
,
it
's
your
duty
,
as
a
law-abiding
citizen
.
Perhaps
in
a
month
's
time
you
'll
be
sorry
,
but
you
have
no
cause
to
think
of
that
.
'
He
was
looking
at
me
with
bright
steady
eyes
.
'
What
was
your
job
in
Rhodesia
,
Mr
Hannay
?
'
he
asked
.
'
Mining
engineer
,
'
I
said
.
'
I
've
made
my
pile
cleanly
and
I
've
had
a
good
time
in
the
making
of
it
.
'
'
Not
a
profession
that
weakens
the
nerves
,
is
it
?
'
I
laughed
.
'
Oh
,
as
to
that
,
my
nerves
are
good
enough
.
'
I
took
down
a
hunting-knife
from
a
stand
on
the
wall
,
and
did
the
old
Mashona
trick
of
tossing
it
and
catching
it
in
my
lips
.
That
wants
a
pretty
steady
heart
.
He
watched
me
with
a
smile
.
'
I
do
n't
want
proof
.
I
may
be
an
ass
on
the
platform
,
but
I
can
size
up
a
man
.
You
're
no
murderer
and
you
're
no
fool
,
and
I
believe
you
are
speaking
the
truth
.
I
'm
going
to
back
you
up
.
Now
,
what
can
I
do
?
'
'
First
,
I
want
you
to
write
a
letter
to
your
uncle
.
I
've
got
to
get
in
touch
with
the
Government
people
sometime
before
the
15th
of
June
.
'
He
pulled
his
moustache
.
'
That
wo
n't
help
you
.
This
is
Foreign
Office
business
,
and
my
uncle
would
have
nothing
to
do
with
it
.
Besides
,
you
'd
never
convince
him
.
No
,
I
'll
go
one
better
.
I
'll
write
to
the
Permanent
Secretary
at
the
Foreign
Office
.
He
's
my
godfather
,
and
one
of
the
best
going
.
What
do
you
want
?
'
He
sat
down
at
a
table
and
wrote
to
my
dictation
.
The
gist
of
it
was
that
if
a
man
called
Twisdon
(
I
thought
I
had
better
stick
to
that
name
)
turned
up
before
June
15th
he
was
to
entreat
him
kindly
.
He
said
Twisdon
would
prove
his
bona
fides
by
passing
the
word
'
Black
Stone
'
and
whistling
'
Annie
Laurie
'
.
'
Good
,
'
said
Sir
Harry
.
'
That
's
the
proper
style
.
By
the
way
,
you
'll
find
my
godfather-his
name
's
Sir
Walter
Bullivant-down
at
his
country
cottage
for
Whitsuntide
.
It
's
close
to
Artinswell
on
the
Kenner
.
That
's
done
.
Now
,
what
's
the
next
thing
?
'
'
You
're
about
my
height
.
Lend
me
the
oldest
tweed
suit
you
've
got
.
Anything
will
do
,
so
long
as
the
colour
is
the
opposite
of
the
clothes
I
destroyed
this
afternoon
.
Then
show
me
a
map
of
the
neighbourhood
and
explain
to
me
the
lie
of
the
land
.
Lastly
,
if
the
police
come
seeking
me
,
just
show
them
the
car
in
the
glen
.
If
the
other
lot
turn
up
,
tell
them
I
caught
the
south
express
after
your
meeting
.
'
He
did
,
or
promised
to
do
,
all
these
things
.
I
shaved
off
the
remnants
of
my
moustache
,
and
got
inside
an
ancient
suit
of
what
I
believe
is
called
heather
mixture
.
The
map
gave
me
some
notion
of
my
whereabouts
,
and
told
me
the
two
things
I
wanted
to
know-where
the
main
railway
to
the
south
could
be
joined
and
what
were
the
wildest
districts
near
at
hand
.
At
two
o'clock
he
wakened
me
from
my
slumbers
in
the
smoking-room
armchair
,
and
led
me
blinking
into
the
dark
starry
night
.
An
old
bicycle
was
found
in
a
tool-shed
and
handed
over
to
me
.
'
First
turn
to
the
right
up
by
the
long
fir-wood
,
'
he
enjoined
.
'
By
daybreak
you
'll
be
well
into
the
hills
.
Then
I
should
pitch
the
machine
into
a
bog
and
take
to
the
moors
on
foot
.
You
can
put
in
a
week
among
the
shepherds
,
and
be
as
safe
as
if
you
were
in
New
Guinea
.
'
I
pedalled
diligently
up
steep
roads
of
hill
gravel
till
the
skies
grew
pale
with
morning
.
As
the
mists
cleared
before
the
sun
,
I
found
myself
in
a
wide
green
world
with
glens
falling
on
every
side
and
a
far-away
blue
horizon
.
Here
,
at
any
rate
,
I
could
get
early
news
of
my
enemies
.
CHAPTER
V
The
Adventure
of
the
Spectacled
Roadman
I
sat
down
on
the
very
crest
of
the
pass
and
took
stock
of
my
position
.
Behind
me
was
the
road
climbing
through
a
long
cleft
in
the
hills
,
which
was
the
upper
glen
of
some
notable
river
.
In
front
was
a
flat
space
of
maybe
a
mile
,
all
pitted
with
bog-holes
and
rough
with
tussocks
,
and
then
beyond
it
the
road
fell
steeply
down
another
glen
to
a
plain
whose
blue
dimness
melted
into
the
distance
.
To
left
and
right
were
round-shouldered
green
hills
as
smooth
as
pancakes
,
but
to
the
south-that
is
,
the
left
hand-there
was
a
glimpse
of
high
heathery
mountains
,
which
I
remembered
from
the
map
as
the
big
knot
of
hill
which
I
had
chosen
for
my
sanctuary
.
I
was
on
the
central
boss
of
a
huge
upland
country
,
and
could
see
everything
moving
for
miles
.
In
the
meadows
below
the
road
half
a
mile
back
a
cottage
smoked
,
but
it
was
the
only
sign
of
human
life
.
Otherwise
there
was
only
the
calling
of
plovers
and
the
tinkling
of
little
streams
.
It
was
now
about
seven
o'clock
,
and
as
I
waited
I
heard
once
again
that
ominous
beat
in
the
air
.
Then
I
realized
that
my
vantage-ground
might
be
in
reality
a
trap
.
There
was
no
cover
for
a
tomtit
in
those
bald
green
places
.
I
sat
quite
still
and
hopeless
while
the
beat
grew
louder
.
Then
I
saw
an
aeroplane
coming
up
from
the
east
.
It
was
flying
high
,
but
as
I
looked
it
dropped
several
hundred
feet
and
began
to
circle
round
the
knot
of
hill
in
narrowing
circles
,
just
as
a
hawk
wheels
before
it
pounces
.
Now
it
was
flying
very
low
,
and
now
the
observer
on
board
caught
sight
of
me
.
I
could
see
one
of
the
two
occupants
examining
me
through
glasses
.
Suddenly
it
began
to
rise
in
swift
whorls
,
and
the
next
I
knew
it
was
speeding
eastward
again
till
it
became
a
speck
in
the
blue
morning
.
That
made
me
do
some
savage
thinking
.
My
enemies
had
located
me
,
and
the
next
thing
would
be
a
cordon
round
me
.
I
did
n't
know
what
force
they
could
command
,
but
I
was
certain
it
would
be
sufficient
.
The
aeroplane
had
seen
my
bicycle
,
and
would
conclude
that
I
would
try
to
escape
by
the
road
.
In
that
case
there
might
be
a
chance
on
the
moors
to
the
right
or
left
.
I
wheeled
the
machine
a
hundred
yards
from
the
highway
,
and
plunged
it
into
a
moss-hole
,
where
it
sank
among
pond-weed
and
water-buttercups
.
Then
I
climbed
to
a
knoll
which
gave
me
a
view
of
the
two
valleys
.
Nothing
was
stirring
on
the
long
white
ribbon
that
threaded
them
.
I
have
said
there
was
not
cover
in
the
whole
place
to
hide
a
rat
.
As
the
day
advanced
it
was
flooded
with
soft
fresh
light
till
it
had
the
fragrant
sunniness
of
the
South
African
veld
.
At
other
times
I
would
have
liked
the
place
,
but
now
it
seemed
to
suffocate
me
.
The
free
moorlands
were
prison
walls
,
and
the
keen
hill
air
was
the
breath
of
a
dungeon
.
I
tossed
a
coin-heads
right
,
tails
left-and
it
fell
heads
,
so
I
turned
to
the
north
.
In
a
little
I
came
to
the
brow
of
the
ridge
which
was
the
containing
wall
of
the
pass
.
I
saw
the
highroad
for
maybe
ten
miles
,
and
far
down
it
something
that
was
moving
,
and
that
I
took
to
be
a
motor-car
.
Beyond
the
ridge
I
looked
on
a
rolling
green
moor
,
which
fell
away
into
wooded
glens
.
Now
my
life
on
the
veld
has
given
me
the
eyes
of
a
kite
,
and
I
can
see
things
for
which
most
men
need
a
telescope
...
Away
down
the
slope
,
a
couple
of
miles
away
,
several
men
were
advancing
,
like
a
row
of
beaters
at
a
shoot
...
I
dropped
out
of
sight
behind
the
sky-line
.
That
way
was
shut
to
me
,
and
I
must
try
the
bigger
hills
to
the
south
beyond
the
highway
.
The
car
I
had
noticed
was
getting
nearer
,
but
it
was
still
a
long
way
off
with
some
very
steep
gradients
before
it
.
I
ran
hard
,
crouching
low
except
in
the
hollows
,
and
as
I
ran
I
kept
scanning
the
brow
of
the
hill
before
me
.
Was
it
imagination
,
or
did
I
see
figures-one
,
two
,
perhaps
more-moving
in
a
glen
beyond
the
stream
?
If
you
are
hemmed
in
on
all
sides
in
a
patch
of
land
there
is
only
one
chance
of
escape
.
You
must
stay
in
the
patch
,
and
let
your
enemies
search
it
and
not
find
you
.
That
was
good
sense
,
but
how
on
earth
was
I
to
escape
notice
in
that
table-cloth
of
a
place
?
I
would
have
buried
myself
to
the
neck
in
mud
or
lain
below
water
or
climbed
the
tallest
tree
.
But
there
was
not
a
stick
of
wood
,
the
bog-holes
were
little
puddles
,
the
stream
was
a
slender
trickle
.
There
was
nothing
but
short
heather
,
and
bare
hill
bent
,
and
the
white
highway
.
Then
in
a
tiny
bight
of
road
,
beside
a
heap
of
stones
,
I
found
the
roadman
.
He
had
just
arrived
,
and
was
wearily
flinging
down
his
hammer
.
He
looked
at
me
with
a
fishy
eye
and
yawned
.
'
Confoond
the
day
I
ever
left
the
herdin
'
!
'
he
said
,
as
if
to
the
world
at
large
.
'
There
I
was
my
ain
maister
.
Now
I
'm
a
slave
to
the
Goavernment
,
tethered
to
the
roadside
,
wi
'
sair
een
,
and
a
back
like
a
suckle
.
'
He
took
up
the
hammer
,
struck
a
stone
,
dropped
the
implement
with
an
oath
,
and
put
both
hands
to
his
ears
.
'
Mercy
on
me
!
My
heid
's
burstin
'
!
'
he
cried
.
He
was
a
wild
figure
,
about
my
own
size
but
much
bent
,
with
a
week
's
beard
on
his
chin
,
and
a
pair
of
big
horn
spectacles
.
'
I
canna
dae't
,
'
he
cried
again
.
'
The
Surveyor
maun
just
report
me
.
I
'm
for
my
bed
.
'
I
asked
him
what
was
the
trouble
,
though
indeed
that
was
clear
enough
.
'
The
trouble
is
that
I
'm
no
sober
.
Last
nicht
my
dochter
Merran
was
waddit
,
and
they
danced
till
fower
in
the
byre
.
Me
and
some
ither
chiels
sat
down
to
the
drinkin
'
,
and
here
I
am
.
Peety
that
I
ever
lookit
on
the
wine
when
it
was
red
!
'
I
agreed
with
him
about
bed
.
'
It
's
easy
speakin
'
,
'
he
moaned
.
'
But
I
got
a
postcard
yestreen
sayin
'
that
the
new
Road
Surveyor
would
be
round
the
day
.
He
'll
come
and
he
'll
no
find
me
,
or
else
he
'll
find
me
fou
,
and
either
way
I
'm
a
done
man
.
I
'll
awa
'
back
to
my
bed
and
say
I
'm
no
weel
,
but
I
doot
that
'll
no
help
me
,
for
they
