“I have never seen him in a more dangerous mood. But he growsmore sinister. You can understand now why his daughter and I arealarmed. And yet his mind is perfectly clear.”
“Too clear!” said Holmes. “That was my miscalculation. Itis evident that his memory is much more reliable than I hadthought. By the way, can we, before we go, see the window of MissPresbury’s room?”
Mr. Bennett pushed his way through some shrubs, and we had aview of the side of the house.
“It is there. The second on the left.”
“Dear me, it seems hardly accessible. And yet you will observethat there is a creeper below and a water-pipe above which givesome foothold.”
“I could not climb it myself,” said Mr. Bennett.
“Very likely. It would certainly be a dangerous exploit for anynormal man.”
“There was one other thing I wish to tell you, Mr. Holmes. Ihave the address of the man in London to whom the professorwrites. He seems to have written this morning, and I got it fromhis blotting-paper. It is an ignoble position for a trusted secretary,but what else can I do?”
Holmes glanced at the paper and put it into his pocket.
“Dorak—a curious name. Slavonic, I imagine. Well, it is an1356 The Complete Sherlock Holmes important link in the chain. We return to London this afternoon,Mr. Bennett. I see no good purpose to be served by our remaining.
We cannot arrest the professor because he has done no crime, norcan we place him under constraint, for he cannot be proved to bemad. No action is as yet possible.”
“Then what on earth are we to do?”
“A little patience, Mr. Bennett. Things will soon develop. Unlessam mistaken, next Tuesday may mark a crisis. Certainly weshall be in Camford on that day. Meanwhile, the general positionundeniably unpleasant, and if Miss Presbury can prolong hervisit——”
“That is easy.”
“Then let her stay till we can assure her that all danger is past.
Meanwhile, let him have his way and do not cross him. So long ashe is in a good humour all is well.”
“There he is!” said Bennett in a startled whisper. Lookingbetween the branches we saw the tall, erect figure emerge fromthe hall door and look around him. He stood leaning forward, hishands swinging straight before him, his head turning from side toside. The secretary with a last wave slipped off among the trees,and we saw him presently rejoin his employer, the two enteringthe house together in what seemed to be animated and evenexcited conversation.
“I expect the old gentleman has been putting two and twotogether,” said Holmes as we walked hotelward. “He struck me ashaving a particularly clear and logical brain from the little I sawof him. Explosive, no doubt, but then from his point of view hehas something to explode about if detectives are put on his trackand he suspects his own household of doing it. I rather fancy thatfriend Bennett is in for an uncomfortable time.”
Holmes stopped at a post-office and sent off a telegram on ourway. The answer reached us in the evening, and he tossed it acrossto me.
Have visited the Commercial Road and seen Dorak. Suave person,Bohemian, elderly. Keeps large general store.
“Mercer is since your time,” said Holmes. “He is my generalutility man who looks up routine business. It was important toknow something of the man with whom our professor was sosecretly corresponding. His nationality connects up with thePrague visit.”
“Thank goodness that something connects with something,” said“At present we seem to be faced by a long series of inexplicableincidents with no bearing upon each other.“For example, whatThe Case Book of Sherlock Holmes 1357 possible connection can there be between an angry wolfhound anda visit to Bohemia, or either of them with a man crawling down apassage at night? As to your dates, that is the biggest mystificationof all.”
Holmes smiled and rubbed his hands. We were, I may say, seatedin the old sitting-room of the ancient hotel, with a bottle of thefamous vintage of which Holmes had spoken on the table betweenus.
“Well, now, let us take the dates first,” said he, his fingertipstogether and his manner as if he were addressing a class. “Thisexcellent young man’s diary shows that there was trouble uponJuly 2d, and from then onward it seems to have been at nine-dayintervals, with, so far as I remember, only one exception. Thus thelast outbreak upon Friday was on September 3d, which also fallsinto the series, as did August 26th, which preceded it. The thing isbeyond coincidence.”
I was forced to agree.
“Let us, then, form the provisional theory that every nine daysthe professor takes some strong drug which has a passing buthighly poisonous effect. His naturally violent nature is intensifiedby it. He learned to take this drug while he was in Prague, and isnow supplied with it by a Bohemian intermediary in London. Thisall hangs together, Watson!”
“But the dog, the face at the window, the creeping man in thepassage?”
“Well, well, we have made a beginning. I should not expect anyfresh developments until next Tuesday. In the meantime we canonly keep in touch with friend Bennett and enjoy the amenities ofthis charming town.”
In the morning Mr. Bennett slipped round to bring us thelatest report. As Holmes had imagined, times had not been easywith him. Without exactly accusing him of being responsible forour presence, the professor had been very rough and rude in hisspeech, and evidently felt some strong grievance. This morninghe was quite himself again, however, and had delivered his usualbrilliant lecture to a crowded class. “Apart from his queer fits,” said Bennett, “he has actually more energy and vitality than I canever remember, nor was his brain ever clearer. But it’s not he—it’snever the man whom we have known.”
“I don’t think you have anything to fear now for a week at least,”