R. Holmes Co. | Page 7

night at the inn,
and, in conversation with the landlord and boatmen, learned much that
was interesting concerning the Reverend James. Among other things,
he discovered that this gentleman and his daughter had been respected
residents of the place for three years; that Tattersby was rarely seen in
the daytime about the place; that he was unusually fond of canoeing at
night, which, he said, gave him the quiet and solitude necessary for that
reflection which is so essential to the spiritual being of a minister of
grace; that he frequently indulged in long absences, during which time
it was supposed that he was engaged in the work of his calling. He
appeared to be a man of some, but not lavish, means. The most notable
and suggestive thing, however, that Holmes ascertained in his
conversation with the boatmen was that, at the time of the famous
Cliveden robbery, when several thousand pounds' worth of plate had
been taken from the great hall, that later fell into the possession of a
well-known American hotel-keeper, Tattersby, who happened to be on
the river late that night, was, according to his own statement, the
unconscious witness of the escape of the thieves on board a mysterious
steam-launch, which the police were never able afterwards to locate.
They had nearly upset his canoe with the wash of their rapidly moving
craft as they sped past him after having stowed their loot safely on
board. Tattersby had supposed them to be employés of the estate, and
never gave the matter another thought until three days later, when the
news of the robbery was published to the world. He had immediately
communicated the news of what he had seen to the police, and had
done all that lay in his power to aid them in locating the robbers, but all
to no purpose. From that day to this the mystery of the Cliveden plot
had never been solved.
"The following day Holmes called at the Tattersby cottage, and was
fortunate enough to find Miss Tattersby at home. His previous
impression as to her marvellous beauty was more than confirmed, and

each moment that he talked to her she revealed new graces of manner
that completed the capture of his hitherto unsusceptible heart. Miss
Tattersby regretted her father's absence. He had gone, she said, to
attend a secret missionary conference at Pentwllycod in Wales, and was
not expected back for a week, all of which quite suited Sherlock
Holmes. Convinced that, after years of waiting, his affinity had at last
crossed his path, he was in no hurry for the return of that parent, who
would put an instant quietus upon this affair of the heart. Manifestly the
thing for him to do was to win the daughter's hand, and then intercept
the father, acquaint him with his aspirations, and compel acquiescence
by the force of his knowledge of Raffles's misdeed. Hence, instead of
taking his departure immediately, he remained at the Goring- Streatley
Inn, taking care each day to encounter Miss Tattersby on one pretext or
another, hoping that their acquaintance would ripen into friendship, and
then into something warmer. Nor was the hope a vain one, for when the
far Marjorie learned that it was the visitor's intention to remain in the
neighborhood until her father's return, she herself bade him to make use
of the old gentleman's library, to regard himself always as a welcome
daytime guest. She even suggested pleasant walks through the
neighboring country, little canoe trips up and down the Thames, which
they might take together, of all of which Holmes promptly availed
himself, with the result that, at the end of six days, both realized that
they were designed for each other, and a passionate declaration
followed which opened new vistas of happiness for both. Hence it was
that, when the Reverend James Tattersby arrived at Goring-Streatley
the following Monday night, unexpectedly, he was astounded to find
sitting together in the moonlight, in the charming little English garden
at the rear of his dwelling, two persons, one of whom was his daughter
Marjorie and the other a young American curate to whom he had
already been introduced as A. J. Raffles.
"'We have met before, I think,' said Raffles, coldly, as his eye fell upon
Holmes.
"'I--er--do not recall the fact,' replied Holmes, meeting the steely stare
of the home-comer with one of his own flinty glances.

"'H'm!' ejaculated Raffles, non-plussed at the other's failure to
recognize him. Then he shivered slightly. 'Suppose we go in-doors, it is
a trifle chilly out here in the night air.'
"The whole thing, the greeting, the meeting, Holmes's demeanor and all,
was so admirably handled that Marjorie Tattersby never guessed the
truth, never even suspected the intense dramatic quality of the scene
she had