'I suggest, madam, that you purchase with this
anything you may need. My man has instructions to send by passenger
train a huge case of provisions, which should arrive there before us.
If you could make it convenient to meet me at Euston Station about a
quarter of an hour before the train leaves, we may be able to discover
all you wish to know regarding the mystery of Rantremly Castle.'
Sophia Brooks accepted the money without demur, and thanked me. I
could see that her thin hands were trembling with excitement as she
put the crackling banknote into her purse.
* * * * *
Darkness was coming on next evening before we were installed in the
grim building, which at first sight seemed more like a fortress than a
residence. I had telegraphed from London to order a wagonette for us,
and in this vehicle we drove to the police station, where I presented
the written order from Lord Rantremly for the keys of the castle. The
chief constable himself, a stolid, taciturn person, exhibited,
nevertheless, some interest in my mission, and he was good enough to
take the fourth seat in the wagonette, and accompany us through the
park to the castle, returning in that conveyance to the village as
nightfall approached, and I could not but notice that this grave
official betrayed some uneasiness to get off before dusk had
completely set in.
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