Adders on the Heath

'How did you obtain the tutoring post?'

'Mrs Maidston wrote to me. Of course, I didn't realise that Clive was the kid in question. He was always called Topley at school.'

'So I was told by the Headmaster. It seems an extraordinary coincidence that Mrs Maidston should have answered your advertisement out of the many others there must have been to choose from.'

'Well, it wasn't so much of a coincidence, really. Young Clive had heard from a pal of his at school that I'd left, so he asked the Maidstons if he could have me to tutor him.'

'Who told you this?'

'Mrs Maidston, in her letter.'

'Did Clive confirm this?'

'I didn't ask him and he didn't mention it.'

'I see. Now, tell me all you can about the time you spent there, not omitting the reason for your leaving.'

Richardson told his story. There was nothing sensational about it. He glossed over the incident which had led to his dismissal by stating that Mrs Maidston had 'made a bit of a pass' at him and then had represented him to her husband as 'a sort of seducer and so forth,' and that Mr Maidston 'naturally took her word for it, and I wasn't prepared to give her away.' There had been some anonymous letters, too, Richardson had learned from the boy, but these had not been mentioned to him by the Maidstons.

'Now,' said Dame Beatrice, 'for my question. Don't look apprehensive. I think I know the answer, but I should like confirmation from you. Did you know that Clive took home with him from school two test-tubes containing chemicals?'

'Yes, of course I did. He showed them to me. He was terribly pleased with them. Told me the stuff was deadly poisonous. I jollied him along by pretending to believe him, but, of course, I didn't. I mean, apart from everything else, how could he get at stuff like that?'

'From the poisons cupboard in the chemistry laboratory, perhaps.'

'Oh, no, that's fantastic. That's where that idiot of a Superintendent thinks I got it from. It's laughable. You couldn't get into that cupboard with a pick-axe, and the Stinks man was never the sort to leave his keys about, or take any risks of the kind.'

'I see,' said Dame Beatrice. 'What happened to the test-tubes?'

'I imagine the Maidstons confiscated them. The kid was in the devil of a bate when he found they were gone. I suppose he told the Maidstons what he'd told me, and Mrs Maidston got wind up and thought it might be true.'

'Did Clive name the poisons?'

'Yes. It is a bit odd, now one comes to think of it, that they should be the very same poisons...'

'Yes, it does,' said Dame Beatrice, with a fearful and wonderful leer. 'In fact, I would go much further than that. I would say that coincidences, in this particular case, are in danger of making themselves appear absolutely ridiculous. In other words, the child's claim that he had brought home hydrocyanic acid and potassium cyanide cannot be disallowed.'

'But how on earth could he have got hold of the stuff?'

'From Borgia Robinson, of course. So much is perfectly clear. It is yet to be discovered why Robinson let him have it. According to the evidence I obtained through the Headmaster, Clive knew that the poisons were there. He had even seen them. I think he bribed Robinson, obtained a small quantity of each and then was blackmailed by him. I think that is why the boy was so anxious to get away from school. Now let us talk of shoes and ships and sealing wax and whether pigs have wings.'

'And if by pigs you refer to that repellent kid, poor, miserable, unlucky little blighter,' said Richardson, suddenly cheering up, 'you have my entire sympathy. He's a little heel, if ever there was one. Let's go and see whether the bar's still open. I could do with a good stiff drink.'

'Yes, of course. The child was fond of you, in his way, you know. Well, when we have had lunch, I shall tackle the Scylla club again. Would you care to come with me?'

'Yes, if you'd like me to. One thing, there's no chance of running into Colnbrook again. Why do you think somebody moved his body from my tent and put Bunt there?'

Dame Beatrice did not answer. She led the way to the bar, bought Richardson a cocktail and herself a glass of sherry and, as soon as lunch was on, they went into the dining-room, where Laura and Denis joined them at table.

'How did the telephoning go?' Dame Beatrice asked. 'You rang up the secretary?'

'Not helpful. All they did was a good bit of cross-country running,' Laura replied, 'and we knew that, didn't we?'

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PEACEFUL ENCOUNTERS

'"What now?" he said, addressing his horse, which hearing the ripple of water, and feeling thirsty, turned to a wayside trough, where the moonbeam was playing in a crystal eddy.'

Charlotte Bronte-Shirley

'Cross-country running?' said Dame Beatrice. 'That fits in very nicely, as you say, with what we already know. Did you manage to obtain details?'

'Not so that you'd notice. I rang up the secretary of the Scylla and District. He had just got home for his lunch, so he wasn't too pleased at being kept from it. I put it to him as you'd told me to, and that's as much as I gleaned. Oh, and I made an appointment for you with Miss Calne. How can she help?'

'I cannot tell at present, but I hope that my visit to her will open up a wide field.'

'I wish it would open up a clear field,' said Richardson. 'I'm sick of being the Superintendent's stool-pigeon.'

'Be of good cheer,' said Denis. 'If I do not misinterpret the smug leer of my great-aunt's countenance, you are in the clear already. What about it, great-aunt?'

Dame Beatrice wagged her head, but would not commit herself.

'Do I come with you to see Miss Calne? I fixed four o'clock for your interview,' said Laura.

'No, you won't want another session of waiting in the car. If I judge Miss Calne aright, I shall most certainly be invited to take tea with her.'

'Then I'll go to the riding-stables and hire a hack, when I've seen you off.'

'No, no, please do not wait. Away you go! It is no distance, as you know, to Miss Calne's house from here, so there will be a long time to wait before I go, and if you stay here with me you will miss the best of the afternoon.'

So off went Laura to hire a horse and, the two young men having been bidden to go away and play golf, Dame Beatrice was left alone. She wondered whether her visit to Miss Calne would prove abortive. If so, there remained the club secretary, who would be certain to have the information she required. She preferred, however, to deal with the trustworthy ex-schoolmistress rather than with a young man who could hardly be expected to keep to himself that which she would have to disclose to him (by inference, even if not in so many words). There was another reason, too, for choosing Miss Calne. Her house faced an open common.

She decided to walk, as the distance to be covered was short and the late September afternoon was clement. She arrived punctually at four o'clock. Roses were still blooming in Miss Calne's small garden, and as Dame Beatrice reached the door, which was at the side of the house, her hostess appeared, holding a bouquet of the aromatic blooms.

'I thought that, as you are staying in the hotel, you might like a few flowers for your room. I've vases I can lend you,' she said, when the greetings were over. 'I'll just put these into water to keep them quite fresh, and then we'll have our tea and (I do hope) a nice long gossip.'

They went into the house and Dame Beatrice was given an armchair and a new magazine while Miss Calne busied herself in the kitchen putting the roses into water and making the tea.

'Now,' said Miss Calne, when two kinds of bread and butter, a plate of scones, some home-made jam, meat paste, some chocolate biscuits and two kinds of cake were on the table, 'what can I do for you, Dame Beatrice?'