"
Young Overton's face assumed the bothered look of the man who
is more accustomed to using his muscles than his wits; but by
degrees, with many repetitions and obscurities which I may omit
from his narrative, he laid his strange story before us.
"It's this way, Mr. Holmes. As I have said, I am the skipper
of the Rugger team of Cambridge 'Varsity, and Godfrey Staunton
is my best man. To-morrow we play Oxford. Yesterday we
all came up and we settled at Bentley's private hotel. At ten
o'clock I went round and saw that all the fellows had gone to
roost, for I believe in strict training and plenty of sleep to
keep a team fit. I had a word or two with Godfrey before he
turned in. He seemed to me to be pale and bothered. I asked him
what was the matter. He said he was all right -- just a touch
of headache. I bade him good-night and left him. Half an hour
later the porter tells me that a rough-looking man with a beard
called with a note for Godfrey. He had not gone to bed and the
note was taken to his room. Godfrey read it and fell back in a
chair as if he had been pole-axed. The porter was so scared that
he was going to fetch me, but Godfrey stopped him, had a drink of
water, and pulled himself together.
Pages:
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425