The Argosy — page 29: what you’re looking at

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14 The White Witch. kept well under the bushes. Godfrey could plainly see Mary’s beau- tiful profile, as she got up and went away, Sir William with her. In another moment he saw the rhododendron bush in front of the win- dow stirred again, and by the slight movement of the branches he could track the passage of the unseen figure along the flower-bed, under the wall of the house towards the front door, past the yew-tree behind which he himself was standing, unseen. It halted near him. But Godfrey could only catch the merest outline of the figure. The man wore a grey, broad-brimmed hat, slouched over his face. Close upon that, Sir William came out of the house, and began strolling towards the window of the morning-room. His keen sight detected the figure standing amid the bushes, and that it looked like someone who could have no business there. ‘Who are you?” cried Sir William: “ What do you want?” “TI beg your pardon,” said the intruder, in a soft, gentlemanly tone, ‘‘I am waiting to try to get speech of someone. Can you tell me whether Sir William Hunt is here to-night ?” “Tam Sir William You are come here to seek for me!” impulsively broke off the baronet, an idea seizing him upor the one subject that was never long absent from his mind: ‘‘ You are the detective from Scotland Yard !” ‘‘'Yes,” replied the man, after a pause. “T could not imagine why you did not come down at once— as soon as I wrote. The right man was not at liberty, I sup- pose?” ‘Just so, Sir William,” came the whispered response. ‘ But,” continued the stranger, with another pause, ‘‘I may as well tell you that I have been down here a few days. When we know the matter upon which we are called out, we like, if practicable, to keep ourselves quite quiet for a short time in the suspected neighbourhood, and make our own silent observations and private enquiries.” ‘Quite right, quite right; of course you detectives are adepts at your own business,” assented Sir William. ‘‘ Are you fully acquainted with the matter upon which I need your services—the murder of my son in Rome ?” ‘‘ Almost better than any other man you could employ, sir, since I was in Rome about that same time, and heard a good deal of it.” Sir William Hunt quite started at the unexpected answer. ‘‘ Dear me! How fortunate !—how providential, I may say, that you should be at liberty to come down here! Did you know who it was that committed it?” ‘*]T think so, Sir William.” ‘Ah, then, our task may be an easy one. I believe the people are now in this neighbourhood, or have been recently. They seem to elude me like magic, and I am again utterly at a loss.” ‘It may prove a more complicated affair than you imagine, sir, and I will frankly tell you that, professional detective as I am, I doubt if I GEomicbooks.co