"There was such earnestness, such despair, in her manner that her
words arrested me, and I stood irresolute before the door.
"'I will trust you on one condition, and on one condition only,' said
I at last. 'It is that this mystery comes to an end from now. You are
at liberty to preserve your secret, but you must promise me that
there shall be no more nightly visits, no more doings which are kept
from my knowledge. I am willing to forget those which are passed if
you will promise that there shall be no more in the future.'
"'I was sure that you would trust me,' she cried, with a great sigh
of relief. 'It shall be just as you wish. Come away--oh, come away up
to the house.'
"Still pulling at my sleeve, she led me away from the cottage. As we
went I glanced back, and there was that yellow livid face watching us
out of the upper window. What link could there be between that
creature and my wife? Or how could the coarse, rough woman whom I had
seen the day before be connected with her? It was a strange puzzle,
and yet I knew that my mind could never know ease again until I had
solved it.
"For two days after this I stayed at home, and my wife appeared to
abide loyally by our engagement, for, as far as I know, she never
stirred out of the house. On the third day, however, I had ample
evidence that her solemn promise was not enough to hold her back from
this secret influence which drew her away from her husband and her
duty.
"I had gone into town on that day, but I returned by the 2.40 instead
of the 3.36, which is my usual train. As I entered the house the maid
ran into the hall with a startled face.
"'Where is your mistress?' I asked.
"'I think that she has gone out for a walk,' she answered.
"My mind was instantly filled with suspicion. I rushed upstairs to
make sure that she was not in the house. As I did so I happened to
glance out of one of the upper windows, and saw the maid with whom I
had just been speaking running across the field in the direction of
the cottage. Then of course I saw exactly what it all meant. My wife
had gone over there, and had asked the servant to call her if I
should return. Tingling with anger, I rushed down and hurried across,
determined to end the matter once and forever. I saw my wife and the
maid hurrying back along the lane, but I did not stop to speak with
them. In the cottage lay the secret which was casting a shadow over
my life. I vowed that, come what might, it should be a secret no
longer. I did not even knock when I reached it, but turned the handle
and rushed into the passage.
"It was all still and quiet upon the ground floor. In the kitchen a
kettle was singing on the fire, and a large black cat lay coiled up
in the basket; but there was no sign of the woman whom I had seen
before. I ran into the other room, but it was equally deserted. Then
I rushed up the stairs, only to find two other rooms empty and
deserted at the top. There was no one at all in the whole house. The
furniture and pictures were of the most common and vulgar
description, save in the one chamber at the window of which I had
seen the strange face. That was comfortable and elegant, and all my
suspicions rose into a fierce bitter flame when I saw that on the
mantelpiece stood a copy of a fell-length photograph of my wife,
which had been taken at my request only three months ago.
"I stayed long enough to make certain that the house was absolutely
empty. Then I left it, feeling a weight at my heart such as I had
never had before. My wife came out into the hall as I entered my
house; but I was too hurt and angry to speak with her, and pushing
past her, I made my way into my study. She followed me, however,
before I could close the door.
"'I am sorry that I broke my promise, Jack,' said she; 'but if you
knew all the circumstances I am sure that you would forgive me.'
"'Tell me everything, then,' said I.
"'I cannot, Jack, I cannot,' she cried.
"'Until you tell me who it is that has been living in that cottage,
and who it is to whom you have given that photograph, there can never
be any confidence between us,' said I, and breaking away from her, I
left the house. That was yesterday, Mr. Holmes, and I have not seen
her since, nor do I know anything more about this strange business.
It is the first shadow that has come between us, and it has so shaken
me that I do not know what I should do for the best. Suddenly this
morning it occurred to me that you were the man to advise me, so I
have hurried to you now, and I place myself unreservedly in your
hands. If there is any point which I have not made clear, pray
question me about it. But, above all, tell me quickly what I am to
do, for this misery is more than I can bear."
Holmes and I had listened with the utmost interest to this
extraordinary statement, which had been delivered in the jerky,
broken fashion of a man who is under the influence of extreme
emotions. My companion sat silent for some time, with his chin upon
his hand, lost in thought.
"Tell me," said he at last, "could you swear that this was a man's
face which you saw at the window?"
"Each time that I saw it I was some distance away from it, so that it
is impossible for me to say."
"You appear, however, to have been disagreeably impressed by it."
"It seemed to be of an unnatural color, and to have a strange
rigidity about the features. When I approached, it vanished with a
jerk."
"How long is it since your wife asked you for a hundred pounds?"
"Nearly two months."
"Have you ever seen a photograph of her first husband?"
"No; there was a great fire at Atlanta very shortly after his death,
and all her papers were destroyed."
"And yet she had a certificate of death. You say that you saw it."
"Yes; she got a duplicate after the fire."
"Did you ever meet any one who knew her in America?"
"No."
"Did she ever talk of revisiting the place?"
"No."
"Or get letters from it?"
"No."
"Thank you. I should like to think over the matter a little now. If
the cottage is now permanently deserted we may have some difficulty.
If, on the other hand, as I fancy is more likely, the inmates were
warned of your coming, and left before you entered yesterday, then
they may be back now, and we should clear it all up easily. Let me
advise you, then, to return to Norbury, and to examine the windows of
the cottage again. If you have reason to believe that is inhabited,
do not force your way in, but send a wire to my friend and me. We
shall be with you within an hour of receiving it, and we shall then
very soon get to the bottom of the business."
"And if it is still empty?"
"In that case I shall come out to-morrow and talk it over with you.
Good-bye, and, above all, do not fret until you know that you really
have a cause for it."
"I am afraid that this is a bad business, Watson," said my companion,
as he returned after accompanying Mr. Grant Munro to the door. "What
do you make of it?"
"It had an ugly sound," I answered.
"Yes. There's blackmail in it, or I am much mistaken."
"And who is the blackmailer?"
"Well, it must be the creature who lives in the only comfortable room
in the place, and has her photograph above his fireplace. Upon my
word, Watson, there is something very attractive about that livid
face at the window, and I would not have missed the case for worlds."
"You have a theory?"
"Yes, a provisional one. But I shall be surprised if it does not turn
out to be correct. This woman's first husband is in that cottage."
"Why do you think so?"
"How else can we explain her frenzied anxiety that her second one
should not enter it? The facts, as I read them, are something like
this: This woman was married in America. Her husband developed some
hateful qualities; or shall we say that he contracted some loathsome
disease, and became a leper or an imbecile? She flies from him at
last, returns to England, changes her name, and starts her life, as
she thinks, afresh. She has been married three years, and believes
that her position is quite secure, having shown her husband the death
certificate of some man whose name she has assumed, when suddenly her
whereabouts is discovered by her first husband; or, we may suppose,
by some unscrupulous woman who has attached herself to the invalid.
They write to the wife, and threaten to come and expose her. She asks
for a hundred pounds, and endeavors to buy them off. They come in
spite of it, and when the husband mentions casually to the wife that
there a new-comers in the cottage, she knows in some way that they
are her pursuers. She waits until her husband is asleep, and then she
rushes down to endeavor to persuade them to leave her in peace.
Having no success, she goes again next morning, and her husband meets
her, as he has told us, as she comes out. She promises him then not
to go there again, but two days afterwards the hope of getting rid of
those dreadful neighbors was too strong for her, and she made another
attempt, taking down with her the photograph which had probably been
demanded from her. In the midst of this interview the maid rushed in
to say that the master had come home, on which the wife, knowing that
he would come straight down to the cottage, hurried the inmates out
at the back door, into the grove of fir-trees, probably, which was
mentioned as standing near. In this way he found the place deserted.
I shall be very much surprised, however, if it still so when he
reconnoitres it this evening. What do you think of my theory?"
"It is all surmise."
"But at least it covers all the facts. When new facts come to our
knowledge which cannot be covered by it, it will be time enough to
reconsider it. We can do nothing more until we have a message from
our friend at Norbury."
But we had not a very long time to wait for that. It came just as we
had finished our tea.
"The cottage is still tenanted," it said. "Have seen the face again
at the window. Will meet the seven o'clock train, and will take no
steps until you arrive."
He was waiting on the platform when we stepped out, and we could see
in the light of the station lamps that he was very pale, and
quivering with agitation.
"They are still there, Mr. Holmes," said he, laying his hand hard
upon my friend's sleeve. "I saw lights in the cottage as I came down.
We shall settle it now once and for all."
"What is your plan, then?" asked Holmes, as he walked down the dark
tree-lined road.
"I am going to force my way in and see for myself who is in the
house. I wish you both to be there as witnesses."
"You are quite determined to do this, in spite of your wife's warning
that it is better that you should not solve the mystery?"
"Yes, I am determined."
"Well, I think that you are in the right. Any truth is better than
indefinite doubt. We had better go up at once. Of course, legally, we
are putting ourselves hopelessly in the wrong; but I think that it is
worth it."
It was a very dark night, and a thin rain began to fall as we turned
from the high road into a narrow lane, deeply rutted, with hedges on
either side. Mr. Grant Munro pushed impatiently forward, however, and
we stumbled after him as best we could.
"There are the lights of my house," he murmured, pointing to a
glimmer among the trees. "And here is the cottage which I am going to
enter."
We turned a corner in the lane as he spoke, and there was the
building close beside us. A yellow bar falling across the black
foreground showed that the door was not quite closed, and one window
in the upper story was brightly illuminated. As we looked, we saw a
dark blur moving across the blind.
"There is that creature!" cried Grant Munro. "You can see for
yourselves that some one is there. Now follow me, and we shall soon
know all."
We approached the door; but suddenly a woman appeared out of the
shadow and stood in the golden track of the lamp-light. I could not
see her face in the he darkness, but her arms were thrown out in an
attitude of entreaty.
"For God's sake, don't Jack!" she cried. "I had a presentiment that
you would come this evening. Think better of it, dear! Trust me
again, and you will never have cause to regret it."
"I have trusted you too long, Effie," he cried, sternly. "Leave go of
me! I must pass you. My friends and I are going to settle this matter
once and forever!" He pushed her to one side, and we followed closely
after him. As he threw the door open an old woman ran out in front of
