Part 12 (1/2)

'It will not co behind the scenes, and although I a amount of interference and obfuscation, he is too well known to too many people of i held at Holloway'

'So I understand, and being well cared for or at least as well as that grim place will allow'

'What can you tell ood police officer, a rity, with not a spot on his record'

'And what of the other witnesses?'

Mycroft closed his eyes and lifted his head as if tasting a good wine In this way did he give hi, Dr Watson,' he said at length 'And you must believe me when I say that, despite his reckless behaviour, I still have Sherlock's best interests at heart and a to make sense of what has happened I have already, at considerable personal expense, investigated the backgrounds of both Dr Thoret to tell you that as far as I can see they are beyond reproach, both of good fale, both wealthy o to the same school For most of their lives, they have lived hundreds ofin Li that connects them'

'Unless it is the House of Silk'

'Exactly'

'And you will not tell me what it is'

'I will not tell you because I do not know This is precisely the reason why I warned Sherlock to stay away If there is soovern kept from me, and which is so secret that even to mention its name has me summoned instantly to certain offices in Whitehall, then my instinct is to turn and look the other way, not to place damn fool advertisements in the national press! I told my brother as much as I couldindeed more, perhaps, than I should have'

'So ill happen? Will you allow him to stand trial?'

'What I allow or do not allow has nothing to do with the h a value on my influence' Mycroft produced a tortoiseshell box from his waistcoat pocket and took a pinch of snuff 'I can be his advocate; no more and no less I can speak on his behalf If it really becomes necessary, I will appear as a character witness' I must have looked disappointed, for Mycroft put the snuff away, rose to his feet and came over to me 'Do not be disheartened, Dr Watson,' he counselled 'My brother is a man of considerable resource and even in this, his darkest hour, he may yet surprise you'

'Will you visit hi would ee But youwhat I can'

'They will not let me see him'

'Re-apply tomorrow Eventually, they must let you in They have no reason not to' He walked with me to the door 'My brother is very fortunate to have a staunch ally as well as such a fine chronicler,' he remarked

'I hope I have not written his last adventure'

'Goodbye, Dr Watson It would upset ed if you did not coent circu'

It ith a heavy heart that I returned to Baker Street, for Mycroft had been even less helpful than I had hoped and I wondered what circuent already At least he ained me admittance to Holloway so the journey had not entirely been wasted but I had a headache,and I knew that I was close to exhausting th However, my day was not over yet As I left my cab and walked over to the front door I kneell, I found my path blocked by a short, solid man with black hair and black coat who loomed at me out of the pavement

'Dr Watson?' he asked

'Yes?'

I was anxious to be on my way but the little ht ask you, doctor, to come with me?'

'On what business?'

'On a matter that relates to your friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes What other business could there be?'

I exae me To look at, I would have taken him for a tradesman, perhaps a tailor or even an undertaker, for there was so almost studiously mournful about his face He had heavy eyebrows and ablack gloves and a black bowler hat Fro, poised on the balls of his feet, I expected him to whip out a tape measure at any moment But to measure me for what? A new suit or a coffin?

'What do you know of Holmes?' I asked 'What information do you have that you cannot tell me here?'

'I have no inforent, the very humble servant, of one who does, and it is this person who has sent me here to request you to join hiret that I am not at liberty to say'

'Then I'o out again tonight'

'You do not understand, sir The gentle your presence He is deh it painsdenied In fact, that would be a horrible mistake Could I ask you to look down, sir? There! Do not start You are quite safe, I assure you Now, if you would be kind enough to come this way '

I had stepped back in astonish as he had asked, I had seen that he was holding a revolver, aimed at my stomach Whether he had produced it while we talked, or whether he had been holding it all the time, I could not say, but it was as if he had perforic trick and the weapon had suddenly materialised He was certainly comfortable with it The person who has never fired a revolver holds it in a certain way, as does the man who has used one ory ed

'You will not shoot me in the middle of the street,' I said

'On the contrary, Dr Watson, I am instructed to do exactly that should you choose to make difficulties for me But let us be frank with each other I do not wish to kill you any more than you, I aive you h I suppose it may not seem that way at the moment Even so, after a while, all will be explained and you will understand why these precautions are necessary'

He had an extraordinaryHe gestured with the gun and I observed a black carriage standing by with two horses and a coachlass, and I wondered if theinside I walked over and opened the door The interior was eant and of rich quality 'How far are we travelling?' I asked 'My landlady is expecting et a better dinner where we're going And the sooner you get in, the sooner we can be on our way'

Would he have really shot me down outside my own home? I quite believed he would He had an implacable quality At the saht be carried away and never seen again Suppose he had been sent by the same people who had killed both Ross and his sister and who had dealt so cunningly with Hole were lined with silk not white, but pearl grey At the same time, I reminded myself, the man had said that he represented someone with information Whichever way I looked at it, it seemed to me I had no choice I climbed in The man followed me and closed the door whereupon I saw that I had certainly been foolish in one respect I had assulass had been placed there to preventin when, obviously, it was actually there to stopout

The man had climbed in opposite me and at once the horses hipped up and we set off All I could see was the passing glow of the gas la, I would have said, north A blanket had been placed on the seat for me and I drew it over ht, it had beco and seeun resting loosely in his lap But when, after about an hour, I reached out to open the ondering if Iin the landscape that would tella naughty schoolboy 'Really, Dr Watson, I would have expected better of you My reat pains to keep his address fro nature I would ask you to keep your hands to yourself and the s closed'

'For how long are we going to travel?'

'For as long as it takes'

'Do you have a name?'

'I do indeed, sir But I fear that I am not at liberty to reveal it to you'

'And what can you tell me of the man who employs you?'

'I could talk my way to the North Pole on that subject, sir He is a remarkable person But he would not appreciate it All in all, the less said the better'

The journey was almost unendurable to me My watch showedto tellnor how far, as it had occurred toround and round in circles and our destination could in fact have been very close Once or twice the carriage changed direction and I feltto the side Most of the ti over smooth asphalt but occasionally there would be a rattle and I would feel that we had passed onto a paved causeway At one point I heard a steae Otherwise, I felt sed up by the darkness that surroundedI knee had co co the door

'We will go straight into the house, Dr Watson,' he said 'These are er outside It is a cold and a nasty night If you do not go straight in, I fear it li house, the front draped in ivy, the garden overrun eeds We could have been in Harounds were surrounded by high walls with heavy, wrought-iron gates which had already been closed behind us The building itself put oyles and a tower stretching above the roof All the s upstairs were dark but there were la in some of the rooms below A door stood open beneath the porch, but there was nobody to welcome me, if such a place as this could ever, even on the ed on by er, I hurried in He closed the door hard behind loomy corridors