It was a
scandalous thing to do, for underneath the paper is the most exquisite
oak panelling, very plain, but very rich in colour.'
I rose and examined the paper on the wall. It was dark brown, and
answered the description of the expensive paper on the bill.
'What became of the cheap paper?' I asked.
'I don't know.'
'I think,' said I, 'we are on the track of the mystery. I believe that
paper covers a sliding panel or concealed door.'
'It is very likely,' replied the earl. 'I intended to have the paper
off, but I had no money to pay a workman, and I am not so industrious
as was my uncle. What is your remaining account?'
'The last also pertains to paper, but comes from a firm in Budge Row,
London, E.C. He has had, it seems, a thousand sheets of it, and it
appears to have been frightfully expensive. This bill is also
illegible, but I take it a thousand sheets were supplied, although of
course it may have been a thousand quires, which would be a little
more reasonable for the price charged, or a thousand reams, which
would be exceedingly cheap.'
'I don't know anything about that. Let's turn on Higgins.'
Higgins knew nothing of this last order of paper either. The wallpaper
mystery he at once cleared up.
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