Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-06-22
from II. No. no; I can't possibly leave

tTOU IL NO. no. l Cuut pOUUIUjy teov0
It,"
II am convinced" said I, that this
Reuben Hayes knows all about II. A
more self evident villain never saw"
ooh, he impressed you In that way.
did he! There are the horses, there Is
the smithy. Yes, it Is an interesting
place, this Fighting Cock. I think we
shall have another look ut It In an un.
| obtrusivc way"
A long, sloping hillside dotted with
gray limestone powders stretched he.
hind us. We had turned of the road
and were making our way up the hill
when, looking in the direction Of Hol-
dernesse Hall, saw a cyclist coming
swiftly along.
get down, Watson cried Holmes,
with heavy hand upon my shoulder.
| We had hardly sunk from view when
the man flew past us on the road.
Amid rolling cloud Of dust caught
glimpse Of a pale, agitnted face-a
face with horror in every lineament,
the mouth open, the eyes staring Wild
ly In front 1t was like some strange
caricature Of the dapper James Wilder
whom we had seen the night before.
"Thc dukes secretary" cried Holmes
"Come, Watson; let us see what he
| does"
We scrambled from rock to rock un-
| I'll in a few moments we had made our
way to a point from which we could
see the front door of the inn. Wilder's
bicycle was leaning against the wall
beside 1t. No one was moving about
the house. nor could we catch glimpse
OF any faces at the windows. Slowly
the twilight crept down as the sun
sank behind the high towers OF Holder
nesse Hall. Then in the gloom we saw
the two side lamps Of trap light up
in the stable yard Of the inn and short
~ afterward heard the rattle Of hoofs
rs It wheeled ont into the road and tore
off at furious pace in the direction Of
Chesterfield
"What do you make Of that, Wat
SOM" Holmes whispered.
ut looks like a flight"
"A single man in dogcart, 80 far
rs I could see. Well, II certainly was
not Mr.. James Wilder, for there he is
at the door,"
A red square Of light had sprung ont
Of the darkness In the middle Of 1t
was the black figure Of the secretary,
his head advanced, pecring out into
the night. 1t was evident that he was
expecting some one. Then at last
there were steps in the road, second
figure was visible for an instant
against the light, the door shut and all
was black once more. Five minutes
later a lamp was lit in a room upon
the first floor
ut seems TO be curious class OF
custom that is done by the Fighting
Cock" said Holmes.
1.-The bar IS on the other side"
"Quite so. These are what one may
call the private guests. Now, what in
the world is Mr.. James Wilder doing
in that den at this hour Of night, and
who Is the companion who comes to
meet him there! Come, Watson. we
vestigate this little more closely"
Together we stole down to the road
and crept across to the door Of the
inn. The bicycle still leaned against
the wall. Holmes struck a match and
held 1t to the back wheel. and I heard
him chuckle as the light fell upon a
patched Dunlop tire. Up above US
was the lighted window.
Il must have q peep through that.
Watson. II you bend your back and
support yourself upon the wall / think
that can manage"
An instant later his feet were on
my shoulders, but he was hardly up
before be was down again.
Come. my friend" said he, "our
days work has been quite long enough.
! think that we have gathered all that
we can. Its long walk to the school,
and the sooner We get started the bet.
ter"
lie hardly opened his lips during
that weary trudge across the moor, nor
would he enter the school when he
reached it, but went on to Mackleton
station. whence he could send some