CHAPTER TWELVE

The Man on the Moor

I drove out of Newtown and went to begin my search for this man. There were hundreds of the old stone huts on the moor. Barrymore did not know in which little house the mysterious man was living. On the night when Sir Henry and I had chased Selden, I had seen the man on the top of a hill, so I decided to start my search near that place.

The path I took ran past Mr Frankland's house, and I saw him standing outside his house. He called to me, and asked me to come in and have a drink with him. He had been arguing with the police, and was angry with them. He began to tell me about it.

"Well, those police will be sorry!" he said. "I could tell them where to look for that Selden, but I won't, not one word! You see, I have been looking at these moors with my telescope for a long time. I have not seen the prisoner yet, but I have seen the person who takes him food!"

If Mr Frankland had seen Barrymore and his wife, then we were in trouble! But Mr Frankland's next words showed me that I did not need to worry.

"You, sir, will be surprised to hear that a young boy takes food to the prisoner. At the same time each day the boy walks by here, and he is always carrying a bag. I am sure that he is going to see the prisoner. Come and look through my telescope, and you will see that I am right. It is almost time for him to walk by!"

We went up onto the roof and looked through the telescope. Mr Frankland was right—there was someone moving on a hill in front of the house. It was a boy with a bag over his shoulder. Many times the boy looked around to see that no one was following him, and then he disappeared over the hill.

"Now, Dr Watson, remember that I don't want the police to know these things," Frankland said to me. "I'm too angry with them at the moment to help them!"

I decided that Mr Frankland was a silly man, but I agreed not to tell the police, and said goodbye. While Frankland was watching me leave I walked along the road, but as soon as I was round the corner, I went towards the hill where the boy had gone.

The sun was already going down when I reached the top of the hill. The boy had disappeared, and there was nothing else in that lonely place. Below me, on the other side of the hill was a circle of old stone huts. In the middle of the circle was one hut that had a better roof than the others. Perhaps this was the place where the mysterious man was hiding! I would soon find out.

As I walked towards the hut, I saw that someone had certainly been using it. A path had been worn up to the door. I took my gun out of my pocket, and made sure that it was ready to shoot. Quickly and quietly I walked up to the hut and looked inside.

There was no one there, but I was sure that this was where the man lived. As I looked around the hut, I decided that the mysterious man must be a brave person. His bed was a flat stone with some blankets. There had been a fire in one corner. There was a large bowl that was filled with water, and some cooking pots. The man's table was a large flat stone. On the table was the bag the boy had been carrying. Under the bag I saw a piece of paper with writing on it. Quickly, I picked up the paper and read what was written on it. It said: "Dr Watson has gone to Newtown."

So, the mysterious man had told someone to watch me, and this was a message from his spy. Was this man a dangerous enemy? Or did he want to help us? It seemed to me that he was an enemy, but I decided I would not leave the hut until I knew.

Outside, the sun was low in the sky. In the golden evening light the moor looked calm and peaceful. I felt frightened as I waited for the mysterious man.

Suddenly I heard footsteps coming towards the hut. As they came closer, I moved into the darkest corner of the hut. I did not want the man to see me until I had seen him first. The footsteps stopped, and I could hear nothing at all. Then a shadow fell across the door of the hut.

"My dear Watson!" the man said. "It is a lovely evening out here. I think you would enjoy it more outside, don't you?"

(end of section)