open. That was the end of his visit, as you can imagine.

Mr. Carruthers apologized to me next day, and assured me that

I should never be exposed to such an insult again. I have not

seen Mr. Woodley since.

"And now, Mr. Holmes, I come at last to the special thing which

has caused me to ask your advice to-day. You must know that

every Saturday forenoon I ride on my bicycle to Farnham Station

in order to get the 12.22 to town. The road from Chiltern

Grange is a lonely one, and at one spot it is particularly so,

for it lies for over a mile between Charlington Heath upon one

side and the woods which lie round Charlington Hall upon the

other. You could not find a more lonely tract of road anywhere,

and it is quite rare to meet so much as a cart, or a peasant,

until you reach the high road near Crooksbury Hill. Two weeks

ago I was passing this place when I chanced to look back over

my shoulder, and about two hundred yards behind me I saw a man,

also on a bicycle. He seemed to be a middle-aged man, with

a short, dark beard. I looked back before I reached Farnham,

but the man was gone, so I thought no more about it. But you

23.10.2007