The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-03-05

Johannesburg, and that he had asked
them with his last breath to hunt
UP his relations, and see that they
were i'm no want. 1t seemed strange
to us that Uncle Ralph who took
no notice Of us when he was alive,
should be so careful to look after
us when he was dead but Mr.. Car
ruthers explained that the reason
was that my uncle had just heard
of the death of his brother, and so
felt responsible for our fate"
Excuse me-" said Holmes. when
was this interview"
Last December-four months
ago."
pray proceed"
mfr. Woodley seemed to me to be
a most odious person. He was for
| ever making eyes at me-a coarse,
I puffy-faced red-moustached young
man, with his hair plastered down
on each side of his forehead. 1
thought that he was perfectly hate
not wish me to know such a person. ;"
"Oh, Cyril is his name!" said
Holmes, smiling.
The young lady blushed and
| laughed.
"Yes, Mr.. Holmes, Cyril Morton, an
| electrical engineer, and we hope to
| be married at the end of the summer.
|
| him? What / wished to say was that
Mr.. Woodley was perfectly odious, but
THAT Mr.. Carruthers, who was a mucn
| older man, was more agreeable. He
was q dark, sallow, clean-shaven,
| silent person, but he had polite man
ners and a pleasant smile. He in
! quired how we were left, and on find
| ing that we were very poor, he sug-
! gested that / should come and teach
/ 10 4 81 Ixr fol
| l said that / did not like to leave my
mother, on which he suggested that
/ / should go home to her every week
end, and he offered me a hundred q
! year, which was certainly splendid
/ pay. SO it ended by my accepting,
and / went down to Chiltern Grange,
about six miles from Farnham. Mr..
| Carruthers was a widower, but he
had engaged a lady housekeeper, a
very respectable, elderly person,
called Mrs. Dixon to look after his
i establishment nhe Gbild was a dear
land everyfniisS rren14sed well. Mr.
Carruthers was very kind and very
| musical, and we had most pleasant
evenings together. Every weekend
| / went home to my mother in town.
THE first flaw in my happiness was
the arrival of the ed-moustached Mr.
/ Woodley. He came for a visit of a
| week and oh! it seemed three months
to me. He was a dreadful persona
bully to everybody else but to me some
thing infinitely worse. He made
odious love to me, boasted of his
wealth, said that If / married him /
| could have the finest diamonds in
London, and finally when 1 would
have nothing to do with him, he
seized me in his arms one day after
! dinner-he was hideously strong
| and sWore that he would not let me
go until / had kissed him. Mr..
Carruthers came in and tore him
! from me, on which he turned upon
! his own host, knocking him down and
cutting his face open. That was the
end of his visit, as you can imagine.
| Mr.. Carruthers apOlogized to me next
day, and assured me that l should
1 never be exposed to such an insult
again. / have not seen Mr.. Woodley
since.
| "And now, Mr.. Holmes, 1 come at
/ last to the special thing which has
caused me to ask your advice today.
| You must know that every Saturday
Farnham Station, in order to get the
! 1922 to Town. The road from Chill
! tern Grange is a lonely one, and at
| one spot it is particularly so, for it
| lies for over mile between Charling-
ton Heath upon one side and the
woods which lie round Charlington
Hall upon the other. You could not
find a more lonely tract of road any
where, and it is quite rare to meet so
much as a cart, or a peasant, until
you reach the high road near Crooks
bury HILL Two weeks ago / was
passing this place. when / CHANGED
to look back over my shoulder, and
about two hundred yards behind me
/ saw man, also on a bicycle. He
l
with a short, dark beard. l looked
back before I reached Farnham, but
the man was gone, so l thought no
more about it. But you can imagine
how surprised l was, Mr.. Holmes,
when on my return on the Monday
/ saw the same man on the same
stretch of road. My astonishment
was increased when the incident oc-
Cured again, exactly as before, on
the following Saturday and Monday.
He always kept his distance and did
not molest me in any way, but still
it certainly was very odd. I men
toned it to Mr.. Carruthers, who
seemed interested in what l said and
told me that he had ordered a horse
and trap, so that in future ! should
not pass over these lonely roads with
out some companion.
''The horse and trap were to have
come CnlS week, DuI Tor some reason
they were not delivered. and again
l had to cycle to the station. That
was this morning. You can think
that / looked out when ! came to
Charlington Heath, and there sure
enough, was the man, exactly as he
had been the two weeks before. He
always kept so far from me that
could not clearly see his face, but it
was certainly someone whom I did
not know. He was dressed in a dark
suit with a cloth cap. The only
thing about his face that I could
clearly see was his dark beard. To-
day / was not alarmed but / was
filled with curiosity, and / determined
to find out who he was and what he
wanted. / slowed down my machine,
but be stopped also. Then / laid a
trap for him. There is sharp turn
ing of the road, and l pedalled very
quickly round this, and then /
stopped and waited. I expected him
to shoot round and pass me before
he could stop But he never ap-
peared. Then | went back and looked