human
Thank you, my lord.
gpt
I quite understand your reluctance to talk about a case, said Cyril, reverting at once to the subject he had in mind;
human
Well, my lord, it's a bit unprofessional, but seeing it's you, I don't mind if I do. It's the newspaper men, I am afraid of.
gpt
I shall not mention what you tell me to any one except possibly to one friend,
human
Thank you, my lord. You see I may be all wrong, so I don't want to say too much till I can prove my case.
gpt
I understand that, said Cyril;
human
The car, my lord,
gpt
You have found the car in which her ladyship made her escape?
human
I don't know about that yet, but I have found the car that stood at the foot of the long lane on the night of the murder.
gpt
Remarkable!
human
Oh, that's not so very wonderful,
gpt
How did you do it? What had you to go on?
human
I began my search by trying to find out what cars had been seen in the neighbourhood of Geralton on the night of the murder--by neighbourhood I mean a radius of twenty-five miles. I found, as I expected, that half-past eleven not being a favourite hour for motoring, comparatively few had been seen or heard. Most of these turned out to be the property of gentlemen who had no difficulty in proving that they had been used only for perfectly legitimate purposes. There remained, however, two cars of which I failed to get a satisfactory account. One belongs to a Mr. Benedict, a young man who owns a place about ten miles from Geralton, and who seems to have spent the evening motoring wildly over the country. He pretends he had no particular object, and as he is a bit queer, it may be true. The other car is the property of the landlord of the Red Lion Inn, a very respectable hotel in Newhaven. I then sent two of my men to examine these cars and report if either of them has a new tire, for the gardener's wife swore that the car she heard had burst one. Mr. Benedict's tires all showed signs of wear, but the Red Lion car has a brand new one!
gpt
Bravo! That is a fine piece of work.
human
Oh, that is nothing,
gpt
Did you find any further evidence against this hotel-keeper? What connection had he with the castle?
human
He knew Lord Wilmersley slightly, but says he has never even seen her Ladyship. And I am inclined to believe him.
gpt
In that case what part does he play in the affair?
human
None, I fancy. You see he keeps the car for the convenience of his guests and on the day in question it had been hired by two young Frenchmen, who were out in it from two o'clock till midnight.
gpt
Frenchmen! But how could they have had anything to do with the tragedy?
human
That remains to be seen. So far all I have been able to find out about these two men is that they landed in Newhaven ten days before the murder. They professed to be brothers and called themselves Joseph and Paul Durand. They seemed to be amply provided with money and wanted the best the hotel had to offer. Joseph Durand appeared a decent sort of fellow, but the younger one drank. The waiters fancy that the elder man used to remonstrate with him occasionally, but the youngster paid very little attention to him.
gpt
You say they _professed_ to be brothers. Why do you doubt their relationship?
human
For one reason, the elder one did not understand a word of English, while the young one spoke it quite easily, although with a strong accent. That is, he spoke it with a strong accent when he was sober, but when under the influence of liquor this accent disappeared.
gpt
And what has become of the pair?
human
They left Newhaven the morning after the murder. Their departure was very hurried, and the landlord is sure that the day before they had no intention of leaving.
gpt
Where did they go to?
human
They took the boat to Dieppe. The porter saw them off.
gpt
Have you been able to trace them farther?
human
Not yet, my lord, but I have sent one of my men to try and follow them up, and I have notified the continental police to be on the look-out for them. It's a pity that they have three days' start of us.
gpt
But as you have an accurate description of both, I should imagine that they will soon be found.
human
It's through the young 'un they'll be caught, if they are caught.
gpt
Why, is he deformed in any way?
human
No, my lord, but they tell me he is abnormally small for a man of his age, for he must be twenty-two or three at the very least. The landlord believes that he is a jockey who had got into bad habits, and that the elder man is his trainer or backer. Of course, he may be right, but the waiters pooh-pooh the idea. They insist that the boy is a gentleman-born and servants are pretty good judges of such things, though you mightn't think it, my lord.
gpt
I can quite believe it, assented Cyril.
human
But then there are many gentlemen jockeys.
gpt
So there are. I only wish I had seen the little fellow, for they all agree that there was something about him which would make it impossible for any one who had once met him ever to forget him again.
human
That certainly is a most unusual quality.
gpt
So it is, my lord. They also tell me that if his eyes had not been so bloodshot, and if he had not looked so drawn and haggard, he'd have been an extraordinarily good-looking chap.
human
Really?
gpt
Yes. It seems that he has large blue eyes, a fine little nose, not a bit red as you would expect, and as pretty a mouth as ever you'd see. His hair is auburn and he wears it rather long, which I don't think he'd do if he were a jockey. Besides, his skin is as fine as a baby's, though its colour is a grey-white with only a spot of red in the middle of each cheek.
human
He must be a queer-looking beggar!
gpt
That's just it. That's why I think we shall soon spot him.
human
What did the elder Durand look like?
gpt
The ordinary type of Frenchman. He is about twenty-eight years old, medium height, and inclined to be stout. He has dark hair, a little thin at the temples, dark moustache, and dark eyes. His features are nondescript.
human
On the night of the murder you say they returned to the hotel at about midnight?
gpt
Somewhere around then.
human
Was their behaviour in any way noticeable?
gpt
The porter was so sleepy that he can't remember much about it. He had an impression that they came in arm in arm and went quietly upstairs.
human
They were alone?
gpt
Certainly.
human
But what do you think they had done with Lady Wilmersley?
gpt
But, my lord, you didn't expect that they would bring her to the hotel, did you? If they were her friends, their first care would be for her safety. If they were not--well, we will have to look for another victim, that is all.
human
You think that there is that possibility?
gpt
I do, my lord. The Inspector rose ponderously to his feet.
human
I mustn't keep you any longer.