【正文】 ned cast of count enance who wasst andi ng near t he r ose gar den, t al ki ng t o t he gar dener and wat chi ngt he young coupl e st r ol l i ng on t he t er r ace bel ow, was t he m ot her of t he pr et t y gi r l , and t hat she was sm i l i ng because t he l at t er hadr ecent l y be e engaged t o t he t al l , pl easant f aced yout h at her si de. Sher l ock Holmes hi msel f might have been mi sled. One can hear hi mexplaini ng the t hi ng to Watson in one of t hose l ightni ng fl ashes ofi nducti ve reasoni ng of hi s. amp。s si st er , who m ar r i ed t he ver yweal t hy col l i er y owner , Cl i f f or d Byng, a f ew year s bef or e hi s deat h( whi ch unki nd peopl e say she hast ened) : and t hat she has ast ep son, Regi nal d. Gi ve m e t i m e t o m ent i on t hese f ew f act s and I am done. On t he gl or i ous past of t he Mar shm or et ons I wi l l not event ouch. Lucki l y, t he loss to l it eratur e is not ir reparable. LordMar shm oreton hi msel f is engaged upon a hi st or y of t he fami ly, whichwil l doubtl es be on every bookshel f as soon as his l or dshi p getsit f inished. And, as for the castle and i ts surr oundi ngs, includi ngt he model dair y and the amber drawi ng r oom , you m ay see t hem for your sel f any Thur sday, when Bel pher i s thr own open to t he publ ic onpaym ent of a f e of one shil ling a head. The money is coll ect ed byKeggs the butl er, and goes t o a wor thy l ocal char i t y. At l east , t hat i s t he i dea. But t he voi ce of cal um ny i s never si l ent , andt her e exi st s a school of t hought , headed by Al ber t , t he page boy, whi ch hol ds t hat Keggs st i cks t o t hese shi l l i ngs l i ke gl ue, andadds t hem t o hi s al r eady consi der abl e savi ngs i n t he Far m er s39。 quot 。 I m ean t hat Maud seem s ent i r el y t o have got over t hat r i di cul ous i nf at uat i on of her s f or t hat m an she m et i n Wal es l ast sum m er . She coul d not be socheer f ul i f she wer e st i l l br oodi ng on t hat . I hope you wi l l adm i t now, John, t hat I was r i ght i n keepi ng her pr act i cal l y a pr i soner her e and never al l owi ng her a cha nce of m eet i ng t he m an agai nei t her by acci dent or des i gn. They say absence m akes t he hear t gr owf onder . St uf f ! A gi r l of Maud39。 Lor d Mar shm or et on gr unt ed, and cont i nued t o peer wi t h a quest i oni ngeye i n t he awesom e br ew whi ch he had pr epar ed f or t he t hr i ps. amp。 went on Lady Car ol i ne, amp。sent i r e wor l dor such of i t as was not occupi ed by r aci ng car s andgol f was f i l l ed by Al i ce Far aday? Reggi e had never t ol d her . Hehad not even t ol d Mi ss Far aday. amp。quot 。 quot 。s vi ews on t hese t hi ngs wer e sor i gi d t hat he woul d have pour ed whal e oi l sol ut i on on hi sgr andm ot her i f he had f ound her on t he under si de of one of hi s r osel eaves sucki ng i t s j ui ce. The onl y t i m e i n t he day when he ceased t o be t he hor ny handedt oi l er and becam e t he ar i st ocr at was i n t he eveni ng af t er di nner , when, egged on by Lady Car ol i ne, who gave hi m no r est i n t hem at t er he woul d r et i r e t o hi s pr i vat e st udy and wor k on hi sHi st or y of t he Fam i l y, assi st ed by hi s abl e secr et ar y, Al i ceFar aday. Hi s pr ogr ess on t hat m assi ve wor k was, however , sl ow. Tenhour s i n t he open ai r m ade a m an dr owsy, and t oo of t en Lor dMar shm or et on woul d f al l asl eep i n m i d sent ence t o t he annoyance of Mi ss Far aday, who was a consci ent i ous gi r l and l i ked t o ear n her sal ar y. The coupl e on t he t er r ace had t ur ned. Reggi e Byng39。 Awar ded f i r st pr i ze f or Hybr i d Teas, Tem pl eFl ower Show, 1911amp。 HobbyGar deni ngamp。samp。s daught er Maud. Onl y hi s i nti mates would have r ecognized in this curi ouscordur oy t r ouser ed f i gur e t he sevent h Ear l of Mar shm or et on. TheLor d Mar shm or et on who m ade i nt er m i t t ent appear ances i n London, whol unch ed am ong bi shops at t he At henaeum Cl ub wi t hout exci t i ngr em ar k, was a cor r ect l y dr essed gent l em an whom no one woul d havesuspect ed of cover i ng hi s st ur dy l egs i n anyt hi ng but t he f i nest cl ot h. But i f you wi l l gl ance at your copy of Who39。 quot。 andMer chant s39。s si st er , who m ar r i ed t he ver yweal t hy col l i er y owner , Cl i f f or d Byng, a f ew year s bef or e hi s deat h( whi ch unki nd peopl e say she hast ened) : and t hat she h as ast ep son, Regi nal d. Gi ve m e t i m e t o m ent i on t hese f ew f act s and I am done. On t he gl or i ous past of t he Mar shm or et ons I wi l l not event ouch. Lucki l y, t he loss to l it eratur e is not ir reparable. LordMar shm oreton hi msel f is engaged upon a hi st or y of t he fami ly, whichwil l doubtl es be on every bookshel f as soon as his l or dshi p getsit f inished. And, as for the castle and i ts surr oundi ngs, includi ngt he model dair y and the amber drawi ng r oom , you m ay see t hem for your sel f any Thur sday, when Bel pher i s thr own open to t he publ ic onpaym ent of a f e of one shil ling a head. The money is coll ect ed byKeggs the butl er, and goes t o a wor thy l ocal char i t y. At l east , t hat i s t he i dea. But t he voi ce of cal um ny i s never si l ent , andt her e exi st s a school of t hought , headed by Al ber t , t he page boy, whi ch hol ds t hat Keggs st i cks t o t hese shi l l i ngs l i ke gl ue, andadds t hem t o hi s al r eady consi der abl e savi ngs i n t he Far m er s39。cl ock on a cer t ai n June m or ni ng m i ght easi l y have m ade a m i st ake. Such a per son woul d pr obabl y have j um ped t o t he concl usi on t hat t hem i ddl e aged l ady of a det er m i ned cast of count enance who wasst a