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โ€œWell, what happened?โ€

โ€œAh, I can only give you a very general answer to that for the moment. By the way, I have been reading a short but clear and interesting account of the old building, purchasable at the modest sum of one penny from the local tobacconist.โ€

Here Holmes drew a small tract, embellished with a rude engraving of the ancient Manor House, from his waistcoat pocket.

โ€œIt immensely adds to the zest of an investigation, my dear Mr. Mac, when one is in conscious sympathy with the historical atmosphere of one's surroundings. Don't look so impatient; for I assure you that even so bald an account as this raises some sort of picture of the past in one's mind. Permit me to give you a sample. 'Erected in the fifth year of the reign of James I, and standing upon the site of a much older building, the Manor House of Birlstone presents one of the finest surviving examples of the moated Jacobean residenceโ€”'โ€

โ€œYou are making fools of us, Mr. Holmes!โ€

โ€œTut, tut, Mr. Mac!โ€”the first sign of temper I have detected in you. Well, I won't read it verbatim, since you feel so strongly upon the subject. But when I tell you that there is some account of the taking of the place by a parliamentary colonel in 1644, of the concealment of Charles for several days in the course of the Civil War, and finally of a visit there by the second George, you will admit that there are various associations of interest connected with this ancient house.โ€

โ€œI don't doubt it, Mr. Holmes; but that is no business of ours.โ€

โ€œIs it not? Is it not? Breadth of view, my dear Mr. Mac, is one of the essentials of our profession. The interplay of ideas and the oblique uses of knowledge are often of extraordinary interest. You will excuse these remarks from one who, though a mere connoisseur of crime, is still rather older and perhaps more experienced than yourself.โ€

โ€œI'm the first to admit that,โ€ said the detective heartily. โ€œYou get to your point, I admit; but you have such a deuced round-the-corner way of doing it.โ€

โ€œWell, well, I'll drop past history and get down to present-day facts. I called last night, as I have already said, at the Manor House. I did not see either Barker or Mrs. Douglas. I saw no necessity to disturb them; but I was pleased to hear that the lady was not visibly pining and that she had partaken of an excellent dinner. My visit was specially made to the good Mr. Ames, with whom I exchanged some amiabilities, which culminated in his allowing me, without reference to anyone else, to sit alone for a time in the study.โ€

โ€œWhat! With that?โ€ I ejaculated.

โ€œNo, no, everything is now in order. You gave permission for that, Mr. Mac, as I am informed. The room was in its normal state, and in it I passed an instructive quarter of an hour.โ€

โ€œWhat were you doing?โ€

โ€œWell, not to make a mystery of so simple a matter, I was looking for the missing dumb-bell. It has always bulked rather large in my estimate of the case. I ended by finding it.โ€

โ€œWhere?โ€

โ€œAh, there we come to the edge of the unexplored. Let me go a little further, a very little further, and I will promise that you shall share everything that I know.โ€

โ€œWell, we're bound to take you on your own terms,โ€ said the inspector; โ€œbut when it comes to telling us to abandon the caseโ€”why in the name of goodness should we abandon the case?โ€

โ€œFor the simple reason, my dear Mr. Mac, that you have not got the first idea what it is that you are investigating.โ€

โ€œWe are investigating the murder of Mr. John Douglas of Birlstone Manor.โ€

โ€œYes, yes, so you are. But don't trouble to trace the mysterious gentleman upon the bicycle. I assure you that it won't help you.โ€

โ€œThen what do you suggest that we do?โ€

โ€œI will tell you exactly what to do, if you will do it.โ€

โ€œWell, I'm bound to say I've always found you had reason behind all your queer ways. I'll do what you advise.โ€

โ€œAnd you, Mr. White Mason?โ€

The country detective looked helplessly from one to the other. Holmes and his methods were new to him. โ€œWell, if it is good enough for the inspector, it is good enough for me,โ€ he said at last.

โ€œCapital!โ€ said Holmes. โ€œWell, then, I should recommend a nice, cheery country walk for both of you. They tell me that the views from Birlstone Ridge over the Weald are very remarkable. No doubt lunch could be got at some suitable hostelry; though my ignorance of the country prevents me from recommending one. In the evening, tired but happyโ€”โ€

โ€œMan, this is getting past a joke!โ€ cried MacDonald, rising angrily from his chair.

โ€œWell, well, spend the day as you like,โ€ said Holmes, patting him cheerfully upon the shoulder. โ€œDo what you like and go where you will, but meet me here before dusk without failโ€”without fail, Mr. Mac.โ€

โ€œThat sounds more like sanity.โ€

โ€œAll of it was excellent advice; but I don't insist, so long as you are here when I need you. But now, before we part, I want you to write a note to Mr. Barker.โ€

โ€œWell?โ€

โ€œI'll dictate it, if you like. Ready?

โ€œDear Sir:

โ€œIt has struck me that it is our duty to drain the moat, in the hope that we may find someโ€”โ€

โ€œIt's impossible,โ€ said the inspector. โ€œI've made inquiry.โ€

โ€œTut, tut! My dear sir, please do what I ask you.โ€

โ€œWell, go on.โ€

โ€œโ€”in the hope that we may find something which may bear upon our investigation. I have made arrangements, and the workmen will be at work early to-morrow morning diverting the streamโ€”โ€

โ€œImpossible!โ€

โ€œโ€”diverting the stream; so I thought it best to explain matters beforehand.

โ€œNow sign that, and send it by hand about four o'clock. At that hour we shall meet again in this room. Until then we may each do what we like; for I can assure you that this inquiry has come to a definite pause.โ€

Evening was drawing in when we reassembled. Holmes was very serious in his manner, myself curious, and the detectives obviously critical and annoyed.

โ€œWell, gentlemen,โ€ said my friend gravely, โ€œI am asking you now to put everything to the test with me, and you will judge for yourselves whether the observations I have made justify the conclusions to which I have come. It is a

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