thoughtyour
childhood
was
not
so
very
much
longer
ago
than
mine
.
”
Mr.
Upton
had
shrugged
an
impatient
recognition
of
the
game
.
“
In
this
case
it
's
Chemists
Who
Do
Sell
D'Auvergne
Cigarettes
and
Chemists
Who
Do
n't
.
Then
—
Chemists
Who
Do
and
Did
Yesterday
,
and
Chemists
Who
Do
but
Did
n't
!
But
we
can
probably
improve
on
the
old
game
by
playing
both
rounds
at
once
.
”
“
I
confess
I
do
n't
quite
follow
,
”
said
Mr.
Upton
,
“
though
there
seems
some
method
in
the
madness
.
”
“
It
's
all
the
method
I
've
got
,
”
rejoined
Thrush
frankly
.
“
But
you
shall
see
it
working
,
for
unless
I
'm
much
mistaken
this
is
Mullins
back
sooner
than
I
expected
.
”
Mullins
it
was
,
and
with
the
negative
information
expected
and
desired
,
though
the
professional
melancholy
of
his
countenance
might
have
been
the
precursor
of
the
worst
possible
news
.
The
hospitals
on
his
rapid
round
had
included
Charing
Cross
,
St.
Thomas
's
,
St.
George
's
,
and
the
Royal
Free
;
but
he
had
telephoned
besides
to
St.
Mary
's
and
St.
Bartholomew
's
.
At
none
of
these
institutions
had
a
young
gentleman
of
the
name
of
Upton
,
or
of
unknown
name
,
been
admitted
in
the
last
forty-eight
hours
.
Mullins
,
however
,
looked
as
sympathetically
depressed
as
though
no
news
had
lost
its
proverbial
value
;
and
he
had
one
of
those
blue-black
faces
that
lend
themselves
to
the
look
,
his
chin
being
in
perpetual
mourning
for
the
day
before
.
“
Do
n't
go
,
Mullins
!
I
've
another
job
for
you
,
”
said
Eugene
Thrush
.
“
Take
the
telephone
directory
and
the
London
directory
,
and
sit
you
down
at
my
desk
.
Look
up
“
chemists
”
under
“
trades
”
;
there
are
pages
of
them
.
Work
through
the
list
with
the
telephone
directory
,
and
ring
up
every
chemist
who
's
on
the
telephone
,
beginning
with
the
ones
nearest
in
,
to
ask
if
he
keeps
d'Auvergne
Cigarettes
for
asthma
.
Make
a
note
of
the
first
few
who
do
;
go
round
to
them
all
in
turn
,
and
be
back
here
at
nine
with
a
box
from
each
.
Complain
to
each
of
the
difficulty
of
getting
'
em
elsewhere
—
say
you
wonder
there
's
so
little
demand
—
and
with
any
luck
you
should
find
out
whether
and
to
whom
they
've
sold
any
since
Wednesday
evening
.
”
“
But
surely
that
's
the
whole
point
?
”
suggested
the
ironmaster
.
“
It
's
the
next
point
,
”
said
Thrush
.
“
The
first
is
to
divide
the
chemists
of
London
into
the
Animals
who
keep
the
cigarettes
and
the
Vegetables
who
do
n't
.
I
should
really
like
to
play
the
next
round
myself
,
but
Mullins
must
do
something
while
we
're
out
.
”
“
While
we
're
out
,
Mr.
Thrush
?
”
“
My
dear
Mr.
Upton
,
you
're
going
to
step
across
into
the
Cafe
Royal
with
me
,
and
have
a
square
meal
before
you
crack
up
!
”
“
And
what
about
your
theatre
?
”
asked
Mr.
Upton
,
to
whom
resistance
was
a
physical
impossibility
,
when
they
had
left
the
sombre
Mullins
entrenched
behind
telephone
and
directories
.
“
The
theatre
!
I
was
only
going
out
of
curiosity
to
see
the
sort
of
tripe
that
any
manager
has
the
nerve
to
serve
up
on
a
Friday
in
June
;
but
I
'm
not
going
to
chuck
the
drama
that
's
come
to
me
!
”
The
ironmaster
dined
with
his
head
in
a
whirl
.
It
was
a
remarkably
good
dinner
that
Thrush
ordered
,
if
as
inappropriate
to
the
occasion
as
to
his
own
weight
.
His
guest
,
however
,
knew
no
more
what
he
was
eating
or
drinking
than
he
knew
the
names
of
the
people
in
diamonds
and
white
waistcoats
who
stared
at
the
distraught
figure
in
the
country
clothes
.
It
even
escaped
his
observation
that
the
obese
Thrush
was
an
unblushing
gourmet
with
a
cynical
lust
for
Burgundy
.
The
conscious
repast
of
Mr.
Upton
consisted
entirely
of
the
conversation
of
Eugene
Thrush
,
and
of
that
conversation
only
such
portions
as
exploited
his
professional
theories
,
and
those
theories
only
as
bearing
on
the
case
in
hand
.
He
was
merely
bored
when
Thrush
tried
to
distract
him
with
some
account
of
the
murder
in
which
he
himself
was
only
interested
because
his
myrmidon
happened
to
have
discovered
the
body
.
What
was
the
murder
of
some
ragamuffin
in
Hyde
Park
to
a
man
from
the
country
who
had
lost
his
son
?
“
I
do
n't
see
how
your
theory
can
work
there
,
”
he
sighed
,
out
of
pure
politeness
,
when
Thrush
paused
to
punish
the
wine
.
“
It
should
work
all
right
,
”
returned
Thrush
.
“
You
take
an
absolutely
worthless
life
;
what
do
you
do
it
for
?
It
must
be
one
of
two
motives
:
either
you
have
a
grudge
against
the
fellow
or
his
existence
is
a
menace
to
you
.
Revenge
or
fear
;
he
wants
your
money
,
or
he
's
taken
your
wife
!
But
what
revenge
can
there
be
upon
a
poor
devil
without
the
price
of
a
bed
on
his
indescribable
person
?
He
has
n't
anything
to
bless
himself
with
,
and
he
makes
it
a
bit
too
hot
for
somebody
who
has
,
eh
?
So
you
whittle
it
down
.
And
then
perhaps
by
sheer
luck
you
run
your
blade
into
the
root
of
the
matter
.
”
Thrush
gave
up
trying
to
take
the
other
out
of
himself
,
since
his
boldest
statements
were
allowed
to
pass
unchallenged
,
unless
they
dealt
with
the
one
subject
on
the
poor
man
's
mind
.
The
cessation
of
his
voice
,
however
,
caused
a
twinge
of
conscience
in
the
bad
listener
;
he
made
a
mental
grab
at
the
last
phrase
,
and
was
astonished
to
find
it
germane
to
his
own
thoughts
.
“
That
's
the
second
time
you
've
mentioned
luck
,
Mr.
Thrush
!
”
“
When
was
the
first
?
”
“
You
spoke
of
Friday
as
an
unlucky
day
,
as
God
knows
this
one
is
to
me
!
Are
you
of
a
superstitious
turn
of
mind
?
”
“
Not
seriously
.
”
“
You
do
n't
believe
in
dreams
,
for
example
?
”
“
That
's
another
question
,
”
said
Thrush
,
his
spectacles
twinkling
to
colossal
rubies
as
he
sipped
his
Santenay
.
“
Why
do
you
ask
?
”
“
If
you
're
a
disbeliever
it
's
no
use
my
telling
you
.
”
“
Perhaps
I
'm
neither
one
thing
nor
the
other
.
”
“
Have
you
ever
known
a
mystery
solved
through
a
dream
?
”
“
I
've
heard
of
one
,
”
said
Thrush
,
with
a
significant
stress
upon
the
verb
;
“
that
's
the
famous
old
murder
in
the
Red
Barn
a
hundred
years
ago
.
The
victim
's
mother
dreamed
three
nights
running
that
her
missing
daughter
was
buried
in
the
Red
Barn
,
and
there
she
was
all
the
time
.
There
may
have
been
other
cases
.
”
“
Cases
in
which
a
parent
has
dreamt
of
an
absent
child
,
at
the
very
time
at
which
something
terrible
has
happened
to
that
child
?
”
“
Any
amount
of
those
.
”
The
father
's
voice
had
trembled
with
the
question
.
Thrush
put
down
his
glass
as
he
gave
his
answer
,
and
his
spectacled
eyes
fixed
themselves
in
a
more
attentive
stare
.
“
Do
you
think
they
're
all
coincidences
?
”
demanded
Mr.
Upton
hoarsely
.
“
Some
of
them
may
be
,
but
certainly
not
all
,
”
was
the
reply
.
“
That
would
be
the
greatest
coincidence
of
the
lot
!
”
“
I
hardly
like
to
tell
you
why
I
ask
,
”
said
Mr.
Upton
,
much
agitated
;
for
he
could
be
as
emotional
as
most
irascible
men
.
“
You
've
been
dreaming
about
the
boy
?
”
“
Not
I
;
but
my
poor
wife
has
;
that
was
one
reason
why
I
dare
n't
tell
her
he
had
disappeared
.
”
“
Why
?
What
was
the
dream
?
”
“
That
she
saw
him
—
and
heard
a
shot
.
”
“
A
shot
!
”
Thrush
looked
as
though
he
had
heard
one
himself
,
but
only
until
he
had
time
to
think
.
“
She
says
she
did
hear
one
,
”
added
Mr.
Upton
,
“
and
that
she
was
n't
dreaming
at
all
.
”
“
But
when
was
this
?
”
“
Between
six
and
seven
yesterday
morning
.
”
This
time
Thrush
did
not
move
a
muscle
of
his
face
;
it
only
lit
up
like
a
Chinese
lantern
,
and
again
he
was
quick
to
quench
the
inner
flame
;
but
now
the
coincidence
was
complete
.
Coincidences
,
however
,
had
nothing
to
say
to
the
A
.
V.
M
.
system
,
neither
was
Eugene
Thrush
the
man
to
jump
to
wild
conclusions
on
the
strength
of
one
.
He
asked
whether
the
boy
was
very
fond
of
shooting
in
the
holidays
,
as
though
that
might
have
accounted
for
the
dream
,
but
his
father
was
not
aware
that
he
had
ever
smelt
powder
in
his
life
.
He
little
dreamt
what
Thrush
was
driving
at
!
The
tone
of
subsequent
inquiries
concerning
Mrs.
Upton
's
health
(
already
mentioned
as
the
great
reason
for
keeping
the
affair
as
long
as
possible
a
secret
)
sounded
purely
compassionate
to
an
ear
unconsciously
aching
for
compassion
.
“
Then
that
accounts
for
it
,
”
said
Thrush
,
when
he
had
heard
the
whole
sad
story
.
There
was
the
faintest
ring
of
disappointment
in
his
tone
.
“
What
do
you
mean
?
”
“
That
anybody
as
ill
as
that
,
more
particularly
a
lady
,
is
naturally
fanciful
,
I
'm
afraid
.
”
“
Then
you
think
it
a
mere
delusion
,
after
all
?
”
“
My
dear
Mr.
Upton
,
it
would
be
presumption
to
express
an
opinion
either
way
.
I
only
say
,
do
n't
think
too
much
about
that
dream
.
And
since
you
wo
n't
keep
me
company
in
my
cups
,
we
may
as
well
rejoin
the
faithful
Mullins
.
”
They
ran
into
Mullins
,
as
it
happened
,
in
Glasshouse
Street
,
and
Mr.
Upton
for
one
would
not
have
recognised
him
as
the
same
being
.
His
sepulchral
face
was
alight
with
news
—
it
was
the
transformation
of
the
undertaker
's
mute
into
the
wedding
guest
.
And
yet
he
had
only
one
box
of
the
d'Auvergne
Cigarettes
to
show
for
his
evening
's
work
,
and
that
chemist
had
declared
it
was
the
first
he
had
sold
for
weeks
.
Thrush
ordered
his
man
upstairs
,
and
took
his
late
guest
's
hand
as
soon
as
ever
he
dared
.
“
You
need
a
good
night
's
rest
,
my
dear
sir
,
and
it
's
no
use
climbing
to
my
masthead
for
nothing
.
Mullins
and
I
will
do
best
if
you
do
n't
mind
leaving
us
to
ourselves
for
the
night
;
but
first
thing
tomorrow
morning
I
shall
be
at
your
service
again
,
and
I
hope
there
will
be
some
progress
to
report
.
”
Mullins
was
waiting
for
him
with
all
the
lights
on
,
his
solemn
face
still
more
strikingly
illuminated
.
“
Look
at
this
,
sir
,
look
at
this
!
These
are
the
d'Auvergne
Cigarettes
!
”
“
So
I
perceive
.
”
“
This
stump
is
the
stump
of
a
d'Auvergne
Cigarette
.
”
“
I
hope
you
enjoyed
it
,
Mullins
.
”
“
I
did
n't
smoke
it
,
sir
!
”
“
Who
did
?
”
“
That
's
for
you
to
say
,
sir
;
but
it
's
one
of
the
little
things
I
collected
near
the
scene
of
the
murder
,
but
took
for
a
common
cheroot
,
yesterday
morning
in
Hyde
Park
.
”
“
Near
the
actual
place
?
”
Thrush
had
pounced
upon
the
stump
,
and
was
holding
it
under
the
strongest
of
the
electric
lamps
.
“
Under
a
seat
,
sir
,
not
above
a
hundred
yards
away
!
”
SECOND
THOUGHTS
Pocket
had
been
dreaming
again
.
What
else
could
he
expect
?
Waking
,
he
felt
that
he
had
got
off
cheaply
;
that
he
might
have
been
through
the
nightmare
of
battle
,
as
described
by
one
who
had
,
and
depicted
in
the
engravings
downstairs
,
instead
of
on
a
mercifully
hazy
visit
to
the
Chamber
of
Horrors
at
Madame
Tussaud
's
.
The
trouble
was
that
he
had
seen
the
one
and
not
the
other
,
and
what
he
had
seen
continued
to
haunt
him
as
he
lay
awake
,
but
quite
horribly
when
he
fell
back
into
a
doze
.
There
was
nothing
nebulous
about
the
vile
place
then
;
it
was
as
light
and
bright
as
the
room
in
which
he
lay
.
The
sinister
figures
in
the
panelled
pens
were
swathed
in
white
,
as
he
had
somewhere
read
that
they
always
were
at
nights
.
Their
evil
faces
were
shrouded
out
of
sight
.
But
that
only
made
their
defiant
,
portly
figures
the
more
humanly
inhuman
and
terrifying
;
it
was
as
though
they
had
all
risen
,
in
their
winding-sheets
,
from
their
murderer
's
graves
.
Better
by
far
their
beastly
faces
,
that
you
knew
were
wax
!
So
he
reasoned
with
himself
,
and
screwed
up
his
courage
,
and
laid
hands
on
one
of
the
shorter
figures
that
he
could
reach
.
It
rocked
stiffly
in
its
place
,
a
most
palpable
and
reassuring
waxwork
.
He
unwound
the
cerements
from
the
hollow
and
unyielding
head
;
and
the
face
was
new
to
him
;
it
had
not
been
there
the
other
afternoon
.
It
was
a
young
face
like
his
own
,
as
ill-mounted
on
high
shoulders
,
with
thickish
lips
ajar
,
and
only
a
pair
of
intelligent
eyes
to
redeem
an
apparent
heaviness
:
one
and
all
his
own
identical
characteristics
.
And
no
wonder
,
for
the
last
recruit
to
the
waxen
army
of
murderers
was
a
faithful
model
of
himself
.
There
was
no
awaking
from
this
dream
:
the
dreamer
was
not
positive
that
he
had
been
asleep
.
The
veiled
sunlight
in
his
room
was
just
what
it
had
seemed
in
that
deserted
dungeon
of
swaddled
malefactors
.
The
boy
shuddered
till
the
bed
shook
under
him
.
But
after
that
he
still
lay
on
,
facing
himself
as
he
had
seen
himself
,
and
his
deed
as
others
must
see
it
soon
or
late
.
Not
the
actual
accident
in
the
Park
;
but
this
hiding
in
the
heart
of
London
,
this
skulking
among
strangers
,
this
leaving
his
own
people
to
mourn
him
as
the
dead
!
The
thought
of
them
drew
scalding
tears
.
Never
had
they
seemed
so
dear
to
him
before
.
It
was
not
only
Lettice
and
their
parents
.
Fred
and
Horace
,
how
good
they
had
been
to
him
at
school
,
and
how
proud
he
had
been
of
them
!
What
would
they
think
of
him
if
he
went
on
skulking
like
this
?
What
would
they
have
done
in
his
place
?
Anything
but
lie
low
like
that
,
thought
Pocket
,
and
resolved
forthwith
to
play
the
game
as
preached
and
practised
by
his
brothers
.
It
was
strange
that
he
should
have
been
so
dense
about
so
plain
a
duty
overnight
;
this
morning
he
saw
it
as
sharp
as
an
image
in
perfect
focus
on
the
ground-glass
screen
...
To
think
that
a
mad
photographer
should
have
talked
him
into
an
attitude
as
mad
as
his
own
!
This
morning
he
saw
the
common
sense
of
the
situation
as
well
as
its
right
and
wrong
.
Nothing
would
happen
to
him
if
he
gave
himself
up
,
but
anything
might
if
he
waited
till
he
was
caught
.
As
for
the
consequences
to
his
poor
mother
,
surely
in
the
end
suspense
and
uncertainty
would
eat
deeper
into
the
slender
cord
of
her
life
than
the
shock
of
the
truth
would
cut
.
Having
made
up
his
mind
,
however
,
as
to
the
only
thing
to
do
,
the
boy
behaved
characteristically
in
not
hastening
to
do
it
.
The
ordeal
in
front
of
him
,
beginning
in
certain
conflict
with
Baumgartner
,
and
ending
in
a
blaze
of
wretched
notoriety
,
was
a
severe
one
to
face
;
meanwhile
he
lay
in
such
peace
and
safety
as
it
was
only
human
to
prolong
a
little
.
That
night
,
for
all
his
moral
innocence
,
he
might
lie
in
prison
;
let
him
make
the
most
of
a
good
bed
while
he
had
one
,
especially
as
he
was
still
mysteriously
free
from
asthma
.
The
last
consideration
took
his
mind
off
the
ethical
dilemma
for
quite
a
little
time
.
He
remembered
the
doctor
at
home
telling
him
that
he
himself
had
suffered
from
chronic
asthma
,
but
had
lost
it
after
a
carriage
accident
in
which
he
was
nearly
killed
.
“
My
accident
may
have
done
the
same
for
me
,
”
thought
Pocket
—
and
was
bitterly
ashamed
next
moment
to
catch
himself
thinking
complacently
of
any
aspect
of
his
deed
.
Its
other
aspects
were
a
sufficient
punishment
.
To
get
up
,
and
raise
the
green
linen
blind
,
flooding
with
sunshine
the
plain
upstairs
room
to
which
Baumgartner
had
conducted
his
guest
,
was
to
conjure
uncomfortable
visions
of
the
eccentric
doctor
,
with
his
ferocious
meerschaum
,
his
bloodthirsty
battle-talk
,
and
all
his
arguments
in
favour
of
the
course
which
Pocket
had
now
determined
to
abandon
.
The
boy
fully
realised
that
he
had
been
given
his
chance
,
and
had
refused
it
.
And
of
all
the
interviews
before
him
,
that
with
Dr.
Baumgartner
was
the
one
that
he
most
dreaded
,
and
would
have
given
most
to
escape
.
Could
he
escape
it
?
That
was
an
idea
;
others
came
of
it
.
If
he
did
escape
,
and
did
give
himself
up
for
what
he
had
done
,
there
was
no
reason
why
he
should
involve
Baumgartner
in
that
voluntary
confession
.
Suppose
he
hailed
the
first
cab
he
saw
,
and
drove
over
to
St.
John
's
Wood
to
borrow
money
(
they
could
scarcely
refuse
him
that
)
,
and
then
took
the
first
train
home
to
tell
his
father
everything
in
the
first
instance
,
that
father
would
never
hear
of
his
incriminating
a
stranger
who
had
befriended
him
according
to
his
lights
.
He
himself
need
never
say
where
he
had
spent
the
twenty-four
hours
after
the
tragedy
,
even
if
he
were
ever
to
know
.
And
so
far
he
had
no
notion
,
thanks
to
the
ridiculous
posture
prescribed
by
Baumgartner
in
the
cab
;
he
could
only
suppose
the
motive
had
been
to
keep
him
out
of
sight
,
the
benefit
to
his
breathing
a
mere
pretext
;
and
yet
it
was
a
curious
result
that
after
a
day
and
a
night
he
should
still
be
in
total
ignorance
of
his
whereabouts
.
He
opened
his
window
and
looked
out
;
but
it
was
a
back
window
,
and
the
sunny
little
strip
of
garden
below
was
one
of
many
in
a
row
.
Old
discoloured
walls
divided
them
from
each
other
and
from
the
gardens
of
a
parallel
block
of
bigger
houses
,
whose
slates
and
chimneys
towered
above
the
intervening
trees
.
The
street
in
front
of
those
houses
was
completely
hidden
,
but
the
hum
of
its
traffic
travelled
pleasantly
to
the
ear
,
and
there
were
other
reassuring
sights
and
sounds
.
In
one
of
the
contiguous
gardens
a
very
small
boy
was
wheeling
a
doll
's
perambulator
;
on
the
other
side
,
where
the
fine
,
warm
gravel
reminded
Pocket
of
the
carroty
kind
at
home
,
a
man
was
mowing
an
equally
trim
lawn
.
Pocket
listened
to
the
murmur
of
the
machine
,
and
watched
the
green
spray
playing
over
the
revolving
knives
,
and
savoured
the
curiously
countrified
smell
of
cut
grass
;
the
combined
effect
was
a
still
stronger
reminiscence
of
his
father
's
garden
,
where
his
own
old
pony
pulled
the
machine
in
leather
shoes
.
Because
such
associations
filled
his
eyes
again
,
there
seemed
no
end
to
them
.
Somebody
was
playing
the
piano
near
some
open
window
,
and
playing
almost
as
well
as
Lettice
did
,
and
playing
one
of
her
things
!
Pocket
could
not
bear
to
listen
or
look
out
any
longer
,
and
he
dressed
as
quietly
as
he
could
.
He
had
almost
resolved
to
slip
out
without
a
word
,
whatever
else
he
did
,
if
the
opportunity
offered
.
It
simply
never
occurred
to
him
,
until
he
made
the
discovery
,
that
anybody
would
dare
to
lock
him
in
his
room
!
Yet
they
had
done
it
;
that
infernal
old
German
doctor
had
had
the
cheek
to
do
it
;
and
the
effect
on
the
boy
,
who
so
expressed
the
situation
to
himself
,
was
rather
remarkable
.
A
wholly
ineffectual
tug
or
two
told
him
he
was
on
the
wrong
side
of
the
door
for
applying
mere
bodily
strength
,
that
either
he
must
raise
an
ignominious
shout
for
freedom
or
else
achieve
it
for
himself
by
way
of
the
window
.
Unathletic
as
he
always
had
been
,
he
was
sportsman
enough
not
to
hesitate
an
instant
between
the
two
alternatives
;
and
on
again
looking
out
of
the
window
,
saw
his
way
down
at
a
glance
.
Immediately
underneath
was
another
window
,
opening
on
a
leaded
balcony
over
the
bow-window
in
the
drawing-room
.
To
shift
his
bedstead
with
the
least
possible
noise
,
to
tie
a
sheet
to
it
,
and
to
slide
down
the
sheet
till
he
had
but
a
few
feet
to
drop
into
the
balcony
,
was
the
work
of
a
very
few
minutes
to
one
as
excitedly
determined
as
Pocket
had
become
on
finding
himself
a
prisoner
.
Thought
they
would
lock
him
in
,
did
they
?
They
would
just
find
out
their
mistake
!
It
was
exactly
the
same
mood
in
which
he
had
scaled
the
upright
palings
in
defiance
of
the
policeman
who
said
he
might
not
sleep
in
the
Park
.
The
balcony
window
was
open
,
the
room
within
empty
.
It
was
obviously
Baumgartner
's
bedroom
.
There
was
a
camp
bedstead
worthy
of
an
old
campaigner
,
a
large
roll-top
desk
,
and
a
waste-paper
basket
which
argued
either
a
voluminous
correspondence
or
imperfect
domestic
service
;
it
would
have
furnished
scent
for
no
short
paper-chase
.
Otherwise
the
room
was
tidy
enough
,
and
so
eloquent
of
Baumgartner
himself
,
in
its
uncompromising
severity
,
that
Pocket
breathed
more
freely
on
the
landing
.
And
in
the
hall
he
felt
absolutely
safe
,
for
he
had
gained
it
without
the
creaking
of
a
stair
,
and
there
on
the
pegs
hung
his
hat
,
but
neither
the
cloak
nor
the
weird
wide-awake
affected
by
his
host
.
Baumgartner
out
.
That
was
a
bit
of
luck
;
and
it
was
just
like
Pocket
to
lose
a
moment
in
taking
advantage
of
it
;
but
the
truth
was
that
he
had
made
an
interesting
discovery
.
It
was
in
that
house
the
piano
was
being
played
.
He
heard
it
through
the
drawing-room
door
;
he
had
heard
it
on
the
balcony
up
above
;
it
had
never
stopped
once
,
so
silent
had
he
been
.
It
was
that
Phillida
,
with
the
large
dark
eyes
,
and
she
was
playing
something
that
Lettice
sometimes
played
,
and
very
nearly
,
though
naturally
not
quite
,
as
well
.
Pocket
would
have
said
that
it
was
Mendelssohn
,
or
Chopin
,
“
or
something
,
”
for
his
love
of
music
was
greater
than
his
knowledge
.
But
it
was
not
exactly
the
music
that
detained
him
;
he
was
thinking
more
of
the
musician
,
who
had
shown
him
kindness
,
after
all
.
It
would
be
only
decent
to
thank
her
before
he
went
,
and
the
doctor
himself
through
his
niece
.
If
she
knew
he
had
been
locked
in
,
and
he
had
to
tell
her
how
he
had
made
his
escape
and
yet
not
a
sound
—
well
,
she
would
not
think
the
less
of
him
at
all
events
,
and
so
they
would
part
for
ever
.
Or
perhaps
not
for
ever
!
The
juvenile
instinct
for
romance
was
not
to
be
stifled
at
such
a
stimulating
moment
.
The
girl
would
be
sorry
for
him
when
she
knew
all
;
she
might
know
enough
to
be
sorry
for
him
as
it
was
;
in
any
case
it
was
the
game
to
say
goodbye
.
The
girl
sprang
from
the
music-stool
in
extraordinary
excitement
.
Her
large
eyes
were
larger
than
ever
,
as
it
were
with
fear
,
and
yet
they
blazed
at
the
intruder
.
Pocket
could
not
understand
it
,
unless
she
already
knew
the
truth
.
“
I
'm
so
sorry
for
starting
you
,
”
he
apologised
.
“
I
just
came
in
to
say
goodbye
.
”
And
he
held
out
a
hand
which
she
never
seemed
to
see
.
“
To
say
goodbye
!
”
she
gasped
.
“
Yes
,
I
've
got
to
go
.
I
'm
afraid
the
doctor
's
out
?
”
“
Yes
,
he
is
.
Wo
n't
you
wait
?
”
“
I
'm
afraid
I
ca
n't
.
”
She
was
shrinking
from
him
,
shrinking
round
towards
the
door
.
He
stood
aside
,
to
let
her
bolt
if
that
was
her
desire
.
And
then
she
in
turn
took
her
stand
,
back
to
the
door
.
“
He
'll
be
very
sorry
to
miss
you
,
”
she
said
more
firmly
,
and
with
a
smile
.
“
And
I
'm
very
sorry
to
miss
him
,
”
said
Pocket
,
unconscientiously
enough
for
anybody
.
“
He
's
been
most
awfully
good
to
me
,
and
I
wish
you
'd
tell
him
how
grateful
I
am
.
”
“
I
'm
afraid
he
wo
n't
believe
me
,
”
the
girl
said
dryly
,
“
if
he
finds
you
gone
.
”
“
I
must
go
—
really
I
must
.
I
shall
get
into
an
awful
row
as
it
is
.
Do
you
mind
giving
him
one
other
message
?
”
“
As
many
as
you
like
.
”
“
Well
,
you
might
tell
him
from
me
that
I
'll
give
myself
away
,
but
I
'll
never
give
him
!
He
'll
know
what
I
mean
.
”
“
Is
that
all
?
”
She
was
keeping
him
very
cleverly
,
putting
in
her
word
always
at
the
last
moment
,
and
again
refusing
to
see
his
hand
;
but
again
it
was
the
boy
who
helped
to
waste
his
own
golden
opportunity
,
this
time
through
an
indefensible
bit
of
boyish
braggadocio
.
“
No
;
you
may
tell
the
doctor
that
if
he
wanted
to
detain
me
he
went
the
worst
way
about
it
by
locking
me
into
my
room
!
”
She
looked
mystified
at
first
,
and
then
astounded
.
“
How
did
you
get
out
?
”
“
How
do
you
suppose
?
”
“
I
never
heard
anything
!
”
“
I
took
care
you
should
n't
.
”
And
he
described
the
successful
adventure
with
pardonable
unction
in
the
end
.
After
that
he
insisted
on
saying
goodbye
.
And
the
young
girl
stood
up
to
him
like
a
little
heroine
.
“
I
'm
very
sorry
,
but
I
ca
n't
let
you
go
,
Mr.
Upton
.
”
“
Ca
n't
let
me
?
”
“
I
really
am
sorry
—
but
you
must
wait
to
see
my
uncle
.
”
He
stood
aghast
before
the
determined
girl
.
She
was
obviously
older
than
himself
,
yet
she
was
only
a
slip
of
a
girl
,
and
if
he
forced
his
way
past
—
but
he
was
not
the
fellow
to
do
it
—
and
that
maddened
him
,
because
he
felt
she
knew
it
.
“
Oh
,
very
well
!
”
he
cried
,
sarcastically
.
“
If
you
wo
n't
let
me
out
that
way
,
I
'll
go
this
!
”
And
he
turned
towards
the
tiny
conservatory
,
which
led
down
into
the
garden
;
but
she
was
on
him
,
and
there
was
no
hesitation
about
her
;
she
held
him
firmly
by
the
hand
.
“
If
you
do
I
'll
blow
a
police-whistle
!
”
she
said
.
“
We
have
one
—
it
wo
n't
take
an
instant
.
You
sha
n't
come
out
the
front
way
,
and
you
'll
be
stopped
if
you
climb
the
wall
!
”
“
But
why
?
Do
you
take
me
for
a
lunatic
,
or
what
?
”
he
gasped
out
bitterly
.
“
Never
mind
what
I
take
you
for
!
”
“
You
're
treating
me
as
though
I
were
one
!
”
“
You
've
got
to
stay
and
see
my
uncle
.
”
“
I
sha
n't
!
Let
me
go
,
I
tell
you
!
You
shall
you
shall
!
I
hate
your
uncle
,
and
you
too
!
”
But
that
was
only
half
true
,
even
then
while
he
was
struggling
almost
as
passionately
as
though
the
girl
had
been
another
boy
.
He
could
not
strike
her
;
but
that
was
the
only
line
he
drew
,
for
she
would
grapple
with
him
,
and
release
himself
he
must
.
Over
went
walnut
whatnots
,
and
out
came
mutterings
that
made
him
hotter
than
ever
for
very
shame
.
But
he
did
not
hate
her
even
for
what
she
made
him
say
;
all
his
hatred
and
all
his
fear
were
of
the
dreadful
doctor
whose
will
she
was
obeying
;
and
both
were
at
their
highest
pitch
when
the
door
burst
open
,
and
in
he
sprang
to
part
them
with
a
look
.
But
it
was
a
look
that
hurt
more
than
word
or
blow
;
never
had
poor
Pocket
endured
or
imagined
such
a
steady
,
silent
downpour
of
indignation
and
contempt
.
It
turned
his
hatred
almost
in
a
moment
to
hatred
of
himself
;
his
fear
it
only
increased
.
“
Leave
us
,
Phillida
,
”
said
Baumgartner
at
last
.
Phillida
was
in
tears
,
and
Pocket
had
been
hanging
his
head
;
but
now
he
sprang
towards
her
.
“
Forgive
me
!
”
he
choked
,
and
held
the
door
open
for
her
,
and
shut
it
after
her
with
all
the
gallantry
the
poor
lad
had
left
.
ON
PAROLE
“
So
,
”
said
Dr.
Baumgartner
,
“
you
not
only
try
to
play
me
false
,
but
you
seize
the
first
opportunity
when
my
back
is
turned
!
Not
only
do
you
break
your
promise
,
but
you
break
it
with
brutal
violence
to
a
young
lady
who
has
shown
you
nothing
but
kindness
!
”
Pocket
might
have
replied
with
justice
that
the
young
lady
had
brought
the
violence
upon
herself
;
but
that
would
have
made
him
out
a
greater
cad
than
ever
,
in
his
own
eyes
at
any
rate
.
He
preferred
to
defend
his
honour
as
best
he
could
,
which
was
chiefly
by
claiming
the
right
to
change
his
mind
about
what
was
after
all
his
own
affair
.
But
that
was
precisely
what
Baumgartner
would
not
allow
for
a
moment
;
it
was
just
as
much
his
affair
as
accessory
after
the
fact
,
and
in
accordance
with
their
mutual
and
final
agreement
overnight
.
Pocket
could
only
rejoin
that
he
had
never
meant
to
give
the
doctor
away
at
all
.
“
I
daresay
not
!
”
said
Baumgartner
sardonically
.
“
It
would
have
been
dragged
out
of
you
all
the
same
.
I
told
you
so
yesterday
,
and
you
agreed
with
me
.
I
put
it
most
plainly
to
you
as
a
case
of
then
or
never
so
far
as
owning
up
was
concerned
.
You
made
your
own
bed
with
your
eyes
open
,
and
I
left
you
last
night
under
the
impression
that
you
were
going
to
lie
on
it
like
a
man
.
”
“
Then
why
did
you
lock
me
in
?
”
cried
Pocket
,
pouncing
on
the
one
point
on
which
he
did
not
already
feel
grievously
in
the
wrong
.
The
doctor
flattered
him
with
a
slight
delay
before
replying
.
“
There
were
so
many
reasons
,
”
he
said
,
with
a
sigh
;
“
you
must
n't
forget
that
you
walk
in
your
sleep
,
for
one
of
them
.
We
might
have
had
you
falling
downstairs
in
the
middle
of
the
night
;
but
I
own
that
I
was
more
prepared
for
the
kind
of
relapse
which
appears
to
have
overtaken
you
.
I
was
afraid
you
had
more
on
your
soul
than
you
could
keep
to
yourself
without
my
assistance
,
and
that
you
would
get
brooding
over
what
has
happened
until
it
drove
you
to
make
a
clean
breast
of
the
whole
thing
.
I
tell
you
it
's
no
good
brooding
or
looking
back
;
take
one
more
look
ahead
,
and
what
do
you
see
if
you
have
your
way
?
Humiliating
notoriety
for
yourself
,
calamitous
consequences
in
your
own
family
,
certain
punishment
for
me
!
”
“
The
consequences
at
home
,
”
groaned
Pocket
,
“
will
be
bad
enough
whatever
we
do
.
I
ca
n't
bear
to
think
of
them
!
If
only
they
had
taken
Bompas
's
advice
,
and
sent
me
round
the
world
in
the
Seringapatam
!
I
should
have
been
at
sea
by
this
time
,
and
out
of
harm
's
way
for
the
next
three
months
.
”
“
The
Seringapatam
?
”
repeated
the
doctor
.
“
I
never
heard
of
her
.
”
“
You
would
n't
;
she
's
only
a
sailing
vessel
,
but
she
carries
passengers
and
a
doctor
,
a
friend
of
Dr.
Bompas
's
,
who
wanted
to
send
me
with
him
for
a
voyage
round
the
world
.
But
my
people
would
n't
let
me
go
.
She
sails
this
very
day
,
and
touches
nowhere
till
she
gets
to
Melbourne
.
If
I
could
only
raise
the
passage-money
,
or
even
stow
away
on
board
,
I
could
go
out
in
her
still
,
and
that
would
be
the
last
of
me
for
years
and
years
!
”
It
was
not
the
last
of
him
in
his
own
mind
;
suddenly
as
the
thought
had
come
,
and
mad
as
it
was
,
it
flashed
into
the
far
future
in
the
boy
's
brain
;
and
he
saw
himself
making
his
fortune
in
a
far
land
,
turning
it
up
in
a
single
nugget
,
and
coming
home
to
tell
of
his
adventures
,
bearded
like
the
pard
,
another
“
dead
man
come
to
life
,
”
after
about
as
many
years
as
the
dream
took
seconds
to
fashion
.
And
Baumgartner
looked
on
as
though
following
the
same
wild
train
of
thought
,
as
though
it
did
not
seem
so
wild
to
him
,
but
extremely
interesting
;
so
that
Pocket
was
quite
disappointed
when
he
shook
his
head
.
“
A
stowaway
with
an
attack
of
asthma
!
I
think
I
see
my
poor
young
fellow
!
Why
,
they
'd
hear
you
wheezing
in
the
hold
,
and
you
'd
gasp
out
your
whole
story
before
you
were
in
the
Bay
of
Biscay
!
No
,
no
,
my
fellow
;
you
've
taken
your
line
,
and
you
must
stick
to
it
,
and
stop
with
me
till
we
can
think
of
something
better
than
a
long
sea
voyage
.
If
you
say
you
wo
n't
,
I
say
I
'll
make
you
—
to
save
you
from
yourself
—
to
save
us
both
.
”
There
was
no
mistaking
the
absolute
intention
in
this
threat
;
it
was
fixed
and
final
,
and
the
boy
accepted
it
as
he
accepted
his
oppressor
's
power
to
make
good
his
words
.
It
was
true
that
he
might
have
escaped
already
;
the
nearer
he
had
been
to
it
,
the
less
chance
was
he
likely
to
be
given
again
.
So
reasoned
Pocket
from
the
face
and
voice
now
dominating
him
more
powerfully
than
ever
;
but
it
is
an
interesting
fact
that
his
conclusion
neither
cowed
nor
depressed
him
as
it
might
have
done
.
There
was
actually
an
element
of
relief
in
his
discomfiture
.
He
had
done
his
best
to
do
his
duty
.
It
was
not
his
fault
that
responsibility
had
been
wrested
from
his
shoulders
,
and
an
evil
hour
delayed
.
And
yet
there
was
a
certain
,
an
immediate
,
a
creature
comfort
in
such
delay
,
which
was
all
the
greater
because
unsought
by
him
;
it
was
a
comfort
that
he
had
both
ways
,
as
the
saying
is
,
and
from
all
points
of
view
but
that
of
his
poor
people
wondering
what
had
become
of
him
.
“
If
only
they
knew
!
”
he
cried
;
“
then
I
should
n't
care
.
Let
me
write
to
one
of
them
!
My
mother
need
n't
know
;
but
I
must
write
to
one
of
the
others
,
and
at
least
let
them
know
I
am
alive
and
well
.
My
sister
would
keep
my
secret
;
she
'd
play
the
game
all
right
,
I
promise
you
!
And
I
'd
play
any
game
you
like
if
only
you
let
me
write
a
line
to
her
!
”
The
doctor
would
not
hear
of
it
at
first
.
Eventually
he
said
he
should
have
to
inspect
the
letter
before
it
went
;
and
this
proved
the
thin
edge
of
consent
.
In
the
end
it
was
arranged
that
Pocket
should
write
what
he
liked
to
his
sister
only
,
and
that
Baumgartner
should
read
and
enclose
it
in
a
covering
letter
,
so
that
everybody
need
not
know
it
was
a
letter
from
the
missing
boy
.
Baumgartner
was
to
have
it
posted
from
St.
Martin's-le-Grand
,
to
destroy
all
trace
of
a
locality
which
he
now
refused
point-blank
to
disclose
even
to
the
writer
.
And
in
return
for
the
whole
concession
the
schoolboy
was
to
give
his
solemn
word
and
sacred
promise
on
the
following
points
.
He
was
not
to
set
foot
outside
the
house
without
Baumgartner
,
nor
to
show
himself
for
a
moment
at
the
windows
back
or
front
.
On
no
account
was
he
to
confide
in
the
doctor
's
niece
Phillida
,
to
give
her
the
slightest
inkling
of
his
connection
with
the
latest
of
London
mysteries
,
or
even
of
the
scene
,
or
any
of
the
circumstances
of
his
first
meeting
with
Baumgartner
.
“
You
are
bound
to
see
something
of
each
other
;
the
less
you
say
about
yourself
the
better
.
”
“
But
what
can
she
think
?
”
“
What
she
likes
,
my
young
fellow
!
I
am
a
medical
man
;
medical
men
may
bring
patients
to
their
houses
even
when
they
have
ceased
to
practise
in
the
ordinary
way
.
It
is
no
business
of
hers
,
and
what
she
chooses
to
think
is
no
affair
of
ours
.
She
has
seen
you
very
ill
,
remember
,
and
she
had
your
doctor
's
orders
not
to
let
you
out
of
the
house
in
his
absence
.
”
“
She
obeyed
them
like
a
little
brick
!
”
muttered
Pocket
,
with
a
wistful
heaviness
.
“
She
did
what
she
was
told
;
think
no
more
about
it
,
”
said
the
doctor
.
“
Give
me
your
hand
on
these
your
promises
,
and
die
on
your
feet
rather
than
break
one
of
them
!
Now
I
trust
you
,
my
young
fellow
;
you
will
play
the
game
,
as
you
call
it
,
even
as
the
poor
lads
in
these
pictures
played
it
at
Gravelotte
,
and
die
like
them
rather
than
go
back
an
inch
.
Look
at
this
one
here
.
No
,
not
the
one
with
the
ridges
,
but
here
where
we
come
to
bayonets
and
the
sword
.
See
the
poor
devils
of
the
Prussian
Guard
!
See
the
sheet-lightning
pouring
into
us
from
the
walls
of
St.
Privat
!
Look
at
that
fellow
with
his
head
bound
up
,
and
this
one
with
no
head
to
bind
.
That
's
meant
for
our
colonel
on
the
white
horse
.
See
him
hounding
us
on
to
hell
!
And
there
's
a
drummer
drumming
as
though
we
could
hear
a
single
beat
!
Our
very
colours
were
blown
to
ribbons
,
you
see
,
and
we
ourselves
to
shreds
;
but
the
shreds
hung
together
,
my
young
fellow
,
and
so
will
you
and
I
in
our
day
of
battle
!
”
Baumgartner
might
have
known
his
boy
for
years
,
so
sure
was
his
touch
upon
the
strings
of
a
responsive
nature
,
to
strike
the
chords
of
a
generous
enthusiasm
,
and
to
wake
the
echoes
of
noble
deeds
.
Pocket
attacked
his
letter
with
the
heart
of
a
soldier
,
hardened
and
yet
uplifted
for
the
fight
;
it
was
only
when
he
found
himself
writing
down
vague
words
,
which
nevertheless
brought
his
innocent
deed
home
to
him
as
nothing
had
done
before
,
that
the
artificial
frost
broke
up
,
and
real
tears
ran
with
his
ink
.
He
begged
Lettice
not
to
think
too
hardly
of
him
,
still
less
to
be
anxious
about
him
,
or
to
make
anybody
else
;
they
must
not
fret
for
him
,
he
wrote
more
than
once
,
without
seeing
the
humour
of
the
injunction
.
He
was
better
than
he
had
been
for
years
,
and
in
the
best
of
hands
.
But
something
terrible
had
happened
;
something
he
could
not
help
,
but
would
bitterly
repent
all
his
days
,
especially
as
it
might
prevent
him
from
ever
seeing
any
of
them
again
.
It
was
this
monstrous
remark
,
and
others
to
which
it
led
,
that
were
literally
blotted
with
the
writer
's
tears
.
But
just
then
he
saw
himself
in
all
vivid
sincerity
as
an
outcast
who
could
never
show
himself
at
home
or
at
school
again
.
And
it
required
the
spell
of
Baumgartner
's
presence
to
make
the
prospect
such
as
could
be
borne
with
the
least
degree
of
visible
manhood
.
Be
it
remembered
that
he
was
not
a
man
at
all
,
but
a
boy
in
many
ways
younger
than
most
boys
of
sixteen
and
three
quarters
,
albeit
older
in
some
few
.
He
was
old
in
imagination
,
but
young
in
common
sense
.
One
may
be
imaginative
and
still
have
a
level
head
,
but
it
is
least
likely
in
one
's
teens
.
The
particular
temperament
does
not
need
a
label
;
but
none
who
know
it
when
they
see
it
,
and
who
see
it
here
,
will
be
surprised
to
learn
that
this
emotional
writer
for
one
was
enormously
relieved
and
lightened
in
spirit
when
he
had
got
his
letter
off
his
mind
and
hands
.
True
to
his
warning
,
Dr.
Baumgartner
began
to
glance
at
it
with
a
kindly
gravity
;
it
was
with
something
else
that
he
shook
his
head
over
the
second
leaf
.
“
This
is
not
for
me
to
read
!
”
said
he
.
“
I
'd
rather
run
the
risk
of
trusting
your
discretion
.
”
No
words
could
have
enslaved
poor
Pocket
more
completely
;
he
clasped
the
hand
that
proceeded
to
write
the
covering
note
,
and
then
the
address
,
all
openly
before
his
eyes
.
And
while
the
doctor
was
gone
to
the
nearest
messenger
office
to
despatch
the
missive
to
the
General
Post
Office
,
ostensibly
to
catch
a
particular
post
,
his
prisoner
would
not
have
decamped
for
a
hundred
pounds
,
and
the
doctor
knew
it
.
Phillida
did
not
appear
at
dinner
,
but
at
supper
she
did
,
and
Pocket
was
only
less
uncomfortable
in
her
absence
,
which
he
felt
he
had
caused
,
than
when
they
were
both
at
table
and
he
unable
to
say
another
word
to
express
his
sorrow
for
the
unseemly
scene
of
the
forenoon
.
She
spoke
to
him
once
or
twice
as
though
nothing
of
the
kind
had
happened
,
but
he
could
scarcely
look
her
in
the
face
.
Otherwise
both
meals
interested
him
;
they
were
German
in
their
order
,
a
light
supper
following
the
substantial
middle-day
repast
;
but
it
appeared
that
they
both
came
from
an
Italian
restaurant
,
and
the
English
boy
was
much
taken
with
the
pagoda-like
apparatus
in
which
the
dishes
arrived
smoking
hot
in
tiers
.
It
provided
a
further
train
of
speculation
when
he
remembered
that
he
had
never
seen
a
servant
in
the
house
,
and
that
the
steps
had
struck
him
as
dirty
,
and
the
doctor
's
waste-paper
basket
as
very
full
.
Pocket
determined
to
make
his
own
bed
next
morning
.
He
had
meanwhile
an
unpleasing
suspicion
that
the
young
girl
was
clearing
away
,
for
the
doctor
took
him
back
into
the
drawing-room
after
supper
;
and
later
,
when
they
returned
for
a
game
of
billiards
on
the
toy
board
,
which
they
placed
between
them
on
the
dining-table
,
both
Phillida
and
the
fragments
had
disappeared
.
The
little
billiards
were
a
bond
and
a
distraction
.
They
brought
out
Baumgartner
's
simple
side
,
and
they
emphasised
the
schoolboy
's
simplicity
.
Both
played
a
strenuous
game
,
the
doctor
a
most
deliberate
one
;
his
brows
would
knit
,
his
mouth
shut
,
his
eyes
calculate
,
and
his
hand
obey
,
as
though
his
cue
were
a
surgical
instrument
cutting
deep
between
life
and
death
.
It
was
a
curious
glimpse
of
disproportionate
concentration
;
even
the
Turk
's
head
was
only
lit
to
be
laid
aside
as
an
obstruction
.
Pocket
's
one
chance
was
to
hit
hard
and
trust
to
the
fortune
that
accrues
on
a
small
table
.
Both
played
to
win
,
and
the
boy
forgot
everything
when
he
actually
succeeded
in
the
last
game
.
They
had
played
very
late
for
him
,
and
he
slept
without
stirring
until
Baumgartner
came
to
his
room
about
eight
o'clock
next
morning
.
Now
Pocket
had
not
seen
a
newspaper
all
Friday
,
but
it
was
the
first
thing
he
did
see
on
the
Saturday
morning
,
for
the
doctor
was
waving
one
like
a
flag
to
wake
him
.
“
Trust
your
vermin
press
to
get
hold
of
the
wrong
end
of
the
stick
!
”
he
cried
,
with
fierce
amusement
;
“
it
only
remains
to
be
seen
whether
they
succeed
in
putting
your
precious
police
on
the
wrong
tack
too
.
Really
,
it
's
almost
worth
being
at
the
bottom
of
a
popular
mystery
to
watch
the
smartest
men
in
this
country
making
fools
of
themselves
!
”
“
May
I
see
?
”
asked
Pocket
;
he
had
winced
at
more
than
one
of
these
remarks
.
“
Certainly
,
”
replied
Baumgartner
;
“
here
's
the
journalistic
wonder
of
the
age
,
and
there
you
are
in
its
most
important
column
.
I
brought
it
up
for
you
to
see
.
”
The
boy
bit
his
lips
as
he
read
.
His
deed
had
been
promoted
to
leaded
type
and
the
highest
rank
in
headlines
.
It
appeared
,
in
the
first
place
,
that
no
arrest
had
yet
been
made
;
but
it
was
confidently
asserted
(
by
the
omniscient
butt
of
Teutonic
sallies
)
that
the
police
,
wisely
guided
by
the
hint
in
yesterday
's
issue
(
which
Pocket
had
not
seen
)
,
were
already
in
possession
of
a
most
important
clue
.
In
subsequent
paragraphs
of
pregnant
brevity
the
real
homicide
was
informed
that
his
fatal
act
could
only
be
the
work
of
a
totally
different
and
equally
definite
hand
.
Pocket
gathered
that
there
had
been
a
certain
commonplace
tragedy
,
in
a
street
called
Holland
Walk
,
in
the
previous
month
of
March
.
A
licensed
messenger
named
Charlton
had
been
found
shot
under
circumstances
so
plainly
indicative
of
suicide
that
a
coroner
's
jury
had
actually
returned
a
verdict
to
that
effect
.
There
appeared
,
however
,
to
have
been
an
element
of
doubt
in
the
case
.
This
the
scribe
of
the
leaded
type
sought
to
remove
by
begging
the
question
from
beginning
to
end
.
It
had
not
been
a
case
of
suicide
at
all
,
he
declared
,
but
as
wilful
a
murder
as
the
one
in
Hyde
Park
,
to
which
it
bore
a
close
and
sinister
resemblance
.
Both
victims
had
been
shot
through
the
heart
in
the
early
hours
of
the
morning
;
both
belonged
to
one
neighbourhood
,
and
to
the
same
dilapidated
fringe
of
the
community
.
A
pothouse
acquaintanceship
was
alleged
between
them
;
but
the
suggestion
was
that
the
link
lay
a
good
deal
deeper
than
that
,
and
that
the
two
dead
men
were
known
to
the
police
,
who
were
busy
searching
for
a
third
party
of
equal
notoriety
in
connection
with
both
murders
.
“
But
we
know
he
had
nothing
to
do
with
the
second
one
,
”
said
the
boy
,
looking
up
at
last
.
“
It
was
n't
a
murder
,
either
;
neither
was
the
first
,
according
to
the
coroner
's
jury
,
who
surely
ought
to
know
.
”
“
One
would
have
thought
so
,
”
said
Baumgartner
,
with
his
sardonic
smile
;
“
but
the
yellow
pressman
knows
better
still
,
apparently
.
”
“
Do
you
suppose
there
's
a
word
of
truth
in
what
he
says
?
I
do
n't
mean
about
Charlton
or
—
or
poor
Holdaway
,
”
said
Pocket
,
wincing
over
his
victim
's
name
,
which
he
had
just
gleaned
from
the
paper
.
“
But
do
you
think
the
police
are
really
after
anybody
?
”
“
I
do
n't
know
,
”
said
Baumgartner
.
“
What
does
it
matter
?
”
“
It
would
matter
a
great
deal
if
they
arrested
somebody
for
what
I
did
!
”
The
boy
was
no
longer
looking
up
;
and
his
voice
trembled
.
“
It
would
alter
the
whole
thing
,
”
he
mumbled
significantly
.
“
I
do
n't
see
it
,
”
returned
the
doctor
,
with
grim
good-nature
.
“
The
little
wonder
of
the
English
reading
world
has
nearly
unearthed
another
mare
's
nest
,
as
two
of
its
readers
know
full
well
.
No
real
harm
can
come
of
this
typical
farrago
.
Let
it
lead
to
an
arrest
!
There
are
only
two
living
souls
who
ca
n't
account
for
their
time
at
that
of
this
unfortunate
affair
.
”
Pocket
realised
this
;
but
it
was
put
in
a
way
that
gave
him
goose-skin
under
the
clothes
.
He
was
always
seeing
his
accident
in
some
new
light
,
always
encountering
some
new
possibility
,
or
natural
consequence
of
his
silence
,
which
had
not
occurred
to
him
before
.
But
he
was
learning
to
keep
his
feelings
under
control
,
to
set
his
face
and
his
teeth
against
the
regular
reactions
of
his
coward
conscience
and
his
fickle
will
.
And
once
again
did
Dr.
Baumgartner
atone
for
an
unintentional
minor
by
striking
a
rousing
chord
on
the
very
heart-strings
of
the
boy
.
“
Eight
o'clock
!
”
cried
the
magician
,
with
a
glance
at
his
watch
and
an
ear
towards
the
open
window
.
“
The
postman
's
knock
from
door
to
door
down
every
street
in
town
—
house
to
house
from
one
end
of
your
British
Islands
to
the
other
!
A
certain
letter
is
without
doubt
being
delivered
at
this
very
moment
—
eh
,
my
poor
young
fellow
?
”
HUNTING
WITH
THE
HOUNDS
Eugene
Thrush
was
a
regular
reader
of
the
journal
on
which
Dr.
Baumgartner
heaped
heavy
satire
,
its
feats
of
compression
,
its
genius
for
headlines
,
and
the
delicious
expediency
of
all
its
views
,
which
enabled
its
editorial
column
to
face
all
ways
and
bow
where
it
listed
,
in
the
universal
joint
of
popularity
,
were
points
of
irresistible
appeal
to
a
catholic
and
convivial
sense
of
humour
.
He
read
the
paper
with
his
early
cup
of
tea
,
and
seldom
without
a
fat
internal
chuckle
between
the
sheets
.
That
Saturday
morning
,
however
,
Mr.
Thrush
was
not
only
up
before
the
paper
came
,
but
for
once
he
took
its
opinion
seriously
on
a
serious
matter
.
It
said
exactly
what
he
wished
to
think
about
the
Hyde
Park
murder
:
that
the
murderer
would
prove
to
be
the
author
of
a
similar
crime
,
committed
in
the
previous
month
of
March
,
when
the
Upton
boy
must
have
been
safe
at
school
.
If
that
were
so
,
it
was
manifestly
absurd
to
connect
the
lad
with
a
mystery
which
merely
happened
to
synchronise
with
that
of
his
own
disappearance
—
absurd
,
even
if
he
were
shown
to
have
been
somewhere
near
the
scene
of
the
murder
,
somewhere
about
the
time
of
its
perpetration
.
That
much
,
though
no
more
,
had
,
however
,
been
fairly
established
overnight
.
It
was
a
conclusion
to
which
Mullins
,
with
the
facile
conviction
of
his
class
,
had
jumped
on
the
slender
evidence
of
the
asthma
cigarette
alone
;
but
before
midnight
Thrush
himself
had
been
forced
to
admit
its
extreme
probability
.
There
was
a
medicine
cork
as
well
as
an
asthma
cigarette
;
the
medicine
cork
had
been
found
very
much
nearer
the
body
;
in
fact
,
just
across
the
pathway
,
under
a
shrub
on
the
other
side
of
the
fence
.
It
was
Mullins
,
who
had
made
both
discoveries
,
who
also
craved
permission
to
ring
up
Dr.
Bompas
,
late
at
night
,
to
ask
if
there
was
any
particular
chemist
to
whom
he
sent
his
patients
with
their
prescriptions
.
Dr.
Bompas
was
not
at
home
,
which
perhaps
was
just
as
well
but
his
man
gave
the
name
of
Harben
,
in
Oxford
Street
.
Harbens
,
rung
up
in
their
turn
,
found
that
they
certainly
had
made
up
one
of
the
doctor
's
prescriptions
on
the
Wednesday
,
for
a
young
Mr.
Upton
,
and
,
within
half
an
hour
,
had
positively
identified
the
cork
found
by
Mullins
in
Hyde
Park
.
It
was
still
sticky
with
the
very
stuff
which
had
put
poor
Pocket
asleep
.
Yet
Thrush
could
not
or
would
not
conceive
any
actual
connection
between
a
harmless
schoolboy
and
an
apparently
cold-blooded
crime
.
He
resisted
the
idea
on
more
grounds
than
he
felt
disposed
to
urge
in
argument
with
his
now
strangely
animated
factotum
.
It
was
still
a
wide
jump
to
a
detestable
conclusion
,
but
he
confined
his
criticism
to
the
width
of
the
jump
.
The
cork
and
the
cigarette
might
be
stepping-stones
,
but
at
least
one
more
was
wanted
to
justify
the
slightest
suspicion
against
the
missing
boy
.
Let
it
be
shown
that
he
had
carried
firearms
on
the
Wednesday
night
,
and
Thrush
undertook
to
join
his
satellite
on
the
other
side
;
but
his
mental
bias
may
be
gauged
from
the
fact
that
he
made
no
mention
of
the
boy
's
mother
's
dream
.
Mullins
found
him
not
only
up
,
shaved
and
booted
,
but
already
an
enthusiastic
convert
to
the
startling
theory
of
a
sensation
journalist
,
and
consequently
an
irritable
observer
of
the
saturnine
countenance
which
darkened
to
a
tinge
of
distinct
amusement
over
the
leaded
type
.
“
So
you
do
n't
think
there
's
much
in
it
,
Mullins
?
”
“
I
should
n't
say
there
was
anything
at
all
,
sir
.
”
“
Yet
I
suppose
you
remember
the
very
similar
occurrence
in
Holland
Walk
?
”
“
Oh
yes
,
sir
,
but
it
was
a
case
of
suicide
.
”
“
I
do
n't
agree
.
”
“
But
surely
,
sir
,
the
jury
brought
it
in
suicide
?
”
“
The
coroner
's
jury
did
—
in
spite
of
the
coroner
—
but
it
may
come
before
another
jury
yet
,
Mullins
!
I
remember
the
case
perfectly
;
the
medical
evidence
was
that
the
shot
had
been
fired
at
arm
's
length
.
That
is
n't
the
range
at
which
we
usually
bring
ourselves
down
!
Then
there
was
nothing
to
show
that
the
man
ever
possessed
a
pistol
,
or
even
the
price
of
one
;
he
was
so
stony
it
would
have
gone
up
the
spout
long
before
.
The
very
same
point
crops
up
in
the
case
of
this
poor
boy
.
Who
says
he
ever
had
a
revolver
in
his
life
?
His
father
tells
me
explicitly
that
he
never
had
;
I
happened
to
ask
the
question
,
”
added
Thrush
,
without
explaining
in
what
connection
.
“
Well
,
sir
,
”
said
Mullins
,
with
respect
enough
in
his
tone
,
“
you
talk
about
jumping
to
conclusions
,
but
it
strikes
me
the
gentleman
who
write
for
the
papers
could
give
me
some
yards
and
a
licking
,
sir
!
”
This
was
a
sprightly
speech
for
Mullins
;
but
it
was
delivered
with
the
very
faintest
of
deferential
smiles
,
and
Mr.
Thrush
shook
his
spectacles
without
one
at
all
.
“
The
gentlemen
on
this
paper
have
a
knack
of
lighting
on
the
truth
,
however
,
”
he
remarked
;
“
it
may
be
by
fair
means
,
or
it
may
be
by
foul
,
but
they
have
a
way
of
getting
there
before
the
others
start
.
”
Mullins
remarked
with
quiet
confidence
that
they
were
not
going
to
do
it
this
time
.
His
position
