Mr. Carruthers came in and tore him off from me, on which he
turned upon his own host, knocking him down and cutting his face
open. That was the end of his visit, as you can imagine.
Mr. Carruthers apologized to me next day, and assured me that
I should never be exposed to such an insult again. I have not
seen Mr. Woodley since.
"And now, Mr. Holmes, I come at last to the special thing which
has caused me to ask your advice to-day. You must know that
every Saturday forenoon I ride on my bicycle to Farnham Station
in order to get the 12.22 to town. The road from Chiltern
Grange is a lonely one, and at one spot it is particularly so,
for it lies for over a mile between Charlington Heath upon one
side and the woods which lie round Charlington Hall upon the
other. You could not find a more lonely tract of road anywhere,
and it is quite rare to meet so much as a cart, or a peasant,
until you reach the high road near Crooksbury Hill. Two weeks
ago I was passing this place when I chanced to look back over
my shoulder, and about two hundred yards behind me I saw a man,
also on a bicycle. He seemed to be a middle-aged man, with
a short, dark beard.
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