no doubt with blood. Then he washed his
hands and face, and putting on the frock,
wet as it was in part, stood up and once
more looked suspiciously about. All this took
time, but I dared not remove my eye from the
glass for a single instant. Once I had tried to
reach the bell-handle, but I could not. Something
would, however, have to be done presently,
and done on the instant.

For he was going. He turned his back upon
the pond; looked about, as if to see whether
there were any traces of his crime visible; then
crossed the field, got over the gate by the haystack,
was lost to sight for a moment, appeared
again, disappeared again, and finally, after
being out of sight for some time, showed at
last, walking along the high road, until he
came to a road-side inn, that very Marquis of
Granby spoken of above, into which he entered.

And now, indeed, I felt that the time had
come when some decisive step must be taken.
If he were not secured now, while he was in
the public-house—if he got out of it without
being taken—he might get off by ways which
were hidden from my range of vision, and
so escape. I still dared not move my eye from
the telescope or the telescope from the inn-
door. It was absolutely indispensable that he
should not be able to leave the house without
my knowing it. I must not stir then; but as
something required to be done instantly, somebody
else must stir for me. In a moment I decided
on my course, llemaining motionless at
my post, I lifted up my voice, and gave utterance
to such a succession of shouts that I confidently
expected that the whole establishment
would rush up-stairs to the observatory, thinking
that I myself was being murdered. It was
not so, however, and considering the noise I
made, it seemed really astonishing how long I
called in vain. At last it did appear that I was
heard. The head gardener was in the grounds
close by, and the sound of my voice reached
him at length through the open window. Even
when he heard, however, it was evident that
he could not make out whence the cries
which reached him came. " Who calls?" he
cried. " Here," I shouted. " In the tower.
Help, help at once! There is not a moment to
lose." And very soon I heard the welcome
sound of footsteps hurrying up the turret
stairs. Almost before the door was opened, or
the gardener in the room, I issued my orders.
"Jump upon the pony," I cried, still with my
glass fixed on the door of the old inn, " and
gallop at full speed down to the Marquis of
Granby. There has been a murder committed,
and the murderer is in that house. He has on
a scarlet cap, has red hair and a red beard, and
a canvas frock, with a dark patch in front."

"What! My helper here?" cried the gardener.

"The same. Seize him, or, if he has left
when you get there, raise the hue and cry, and
follow him. He has murdered poor old Mr.
Irwin. Don't stop to answer," I added, as the
man uttered an exclamation of surprise and
horror. " Go—go at once. I dare not leave
this post. Go, and if you meet any one on
your way send him—her—any one to me."

The man was a sharp fellow, and disappeared
instantly. Very soon I had the satisfaction of
hearing the sound of a horse's hoofs galloping
out of the yard at the back. Meanwhile, half
the household, alarmed by what the man had
told them, had rushed up to the observatory,
and were now gathered round me as I sat at
the telescope. They were silent for a time,
and I could feel, though my eyes were engaged,
that they were watching me intently.

"What is his name?" I asked, after a while.

"His name is Mason," somebody replied:
"William Mason." Then there was silence
again as I went on watching.

"For God's sake, what is it, sir?" cried the
old housekeeper, suddenly, in answer, I suppose,
to an involuntary exclamation of mine.

"The door has opened," I answered.

"Is he coming out?"

No one appeared for a moment; at last some
one passed out. It was not he, however—it
was an old woman carrying a bundle.

There were several false alarms of this kind,
as different people who had been taking refreshment
at the tap came out, one after
another, in pretty rapid succession. At last,
after a longer interval than usual, the door
opened quickly once again.

"It is he," I said, hardly knowing—till I
heard the confused murmur of an exclamation
from the group behind me—that I spoke. " He
has come out. He is looking first one way and
then another, and now he is gone, and the gardener
will be too late!"

I could still see him, and could make out in
which direction he was going.

"Is any one belonging to the stable here?"

"Yes, sir," replied a voice I knew.

"Get a horse saddled at once, Matthew, and
bring him round. The swiftest you have in."

In a moment I heard the man's footsteps
clattering down the stairs.

"Can you see him still?" asked the old housekeeper.

"At present I can, but I shall not be able to
do so long. The part of the road he is approaching
is hidden from my view."

Very soon my prediction came true. There
was a turn in the road. Trees and buildings
and rising ground intervened and hid the figure.
It did not show again for a long space: when
it did it came out by the railway station.

I sat and thought the situation over, and the
conviction forced itself upon me, more and
more strongly, that this railway station would
be the ultimate destination of the murderer,
and that the only chance now was to keep a
steady watch upon its approaches. But my
eyes, especially the left eye, which I had to
keep closed, were now so tired that I could
hardly use them. I found it, however, by no
means easy to get a substitute.

There were only present at this time the
women servants and a boy. The boy could not
be trusted, of course, and the women, one and
all, proclaimed, as they seated themselves