THE AFFAIR OF THE BICYCLE
To the amazement of the venerable butler, Mr. Carrington intimated his
intention of taking a drive in the closed carriage that afternoon. Mrs.
Knox offered to accompany him. Lena, perforce, went too. For reasons
that need not be explained to the reader who has followed this
narrative, the Squire thought it fit to order that the footman should
ride on the box of the carriage, an order which considerably annoyed
that worthy, who, having never received similar instructions before,
being an indoor servant, had planned a quiet perambulation with a
certain young lady of his acquaintance.
Laurence did not accompany the party. He was not fond of driving in the
closed carriage, and even though he deprived himself of the
companionship of Lena by refusing the Squire's invitation, he did not
greatly regret the fact, for at home there were many matters which
required his attention.
The first of these was the barn itself, to which he repaired on the
departure of the carriage. He was determined to make every effort
possible to discover the manner of the disappearance of the creature
whom he believed to be his father's intended murderer. In broad daylight
it was difficult to imagine that his grotesque experience of the
previous night was stern reality.
With the aid of a step-ladder he swung himself on to the ledge where
first he had caught sight of the lurking creature. To further follow in
the stranger's footsteps he found quite impossible, but by other means
he managed to reach the spot whence the hay had been thrown down upon
him in order to conceal the vanishing figure's disappearance. But,
search as he might, he was unable to discover any clue to the manner of
that disappearance. No hiding-place was apparent. Certainly there was no
crack or crevice in the roof in which it was possible for even a child
to conceal itself. So, perforce, Laurence had to set this down also as a
mystery, when he gave up the search and disconsolately returned to the
house.
His next step was to prepare himself for the interview with the occupant
of Durley Dene. Lena's common sense had assured him that the ordeal of
the coming night might in all probability be attended by a certain
amount of personal danger, and he decided to arm himself to the best of
his ability before setting out to interview Major Jones-Farnell. He had
the small pistol found in the barn on the previous day, but,
unfortunately, was not supplied with the necessary ammunition. There
was, however, still plenty of time before dinner, so Laurence, not
objecting to a little exercise, decided to ride over to East Cave, where
he knew there was a gunsmith.
Carrington was a fairly accomplished cyclist, and the possessor of a
machine, which he occasionally rode, though more usually his "mount" was
a live one. His bicycle was kept in a shed adjoining the barn, and
situated nearer the Dene boundary than the larger building.
Strolling down to this shed, he found the door unlocked. As he alone
possessed a key to it he was somewhat astonished on making this
discovery, but his astonishment gave place to a feeling of consternation
when he entered the building to find that the machine was gone!
And then in an instant an idea flashed across his brain. The unknown man
on the moor who had so desperately attacked his father in the carriage
had ridden his (Laurence's) own bicycle on that memorable occasion!
Impossible as the idea seemed at first, on second thoughts Laurence
realised how extremely probable it was that the mysterious creature who
haunted Squire Carrington should borrow on the French leave system, or
even steal, the machine which would enable him to follow his terrified
victim. He had been compelled to steal a dish of food and an old ragged
coat; it was hardly conceivable that he should nevertheless possess a
safety bicycle. And certainly there could be no doubt but that the
machine had been stolen, for every one of the servants, whom Laurence
next proceeded to question, professed entire ignorance of even the
whereabouts of a key that would fit the lock on the shed door.
Undoubtedly they had nothing to do with the disappearance of the "iron
horse."
Since Carrington was anxious to procure the ammunition for his little
pistol in time to be of use, if required, at the coming interview with
Jones-Farnell, he ordered the stable-boy to saddle the Squire's mare, on
which he would ride into East Cave. Until the animal should be ready he
paid another visit to the cycle shed, and examined the lock on the door.
It had been tampered with. The thief had used that harmless little tool
which a professional burglar finds so useful when following his
"profession"--a bent piece of copper wire. Examination of the interior
of the little erection revealed no trace of the unknown man who had
entered the shed. Who was he? That was a question that Laurence could
not answer until the approaching ordeal was a thing of the past.