"But, Holmes", I responded, "Why would you expect the dog to have greeted us? The colonel might have put him in another part of the house, or in an outbuilding, or anywhere".

"Come now, Watson. Do you think that I do not recognize fur from the coat of a terrier, when I see it"?

"I do not doubt that you have found the fur of a terrier on a splinter of bloody wood, Holmes, but I still don't see why you expected Warburton's dog to have met us".

"It is in the nature of terriers to protect their homes, Watson. Surely you have met more than one of those yapping animals as you made your rounds".

"Yes, I have", I admitted, "But why are you so sure that something untoward has happened to the Colonel's dog"?

"Watson", said Holmes with which I took to be a bit more asperity than was warranted by my perfectly reasonable question, "Let us just agree that a bloody stick with terrier fur on it has been found, and that it might have some bearing on the matter at hand".

"Well, all right, but I thought that we were here to examine Col Warburton, and that is certainly a task that we have not accomplished".

"It will no longer be necessary to continue that charade", said Holmes as he closed the door behind him. "We shall put another plan into effect. Are you averse to a bit of burglary, my boy"?

"Do you mean to break into Warburton's house, Holmes?", I sputtered.

"Not break in, Watson", said Holmes as a faint smile flickered across his lips, and his hand moved to the pocket of his Inverness cape, "Young Warburton has been good enough to provide me with this key".

Returning, somewhat more cold and wet than when we had arrived, to Tunbridge Wells we arranged for lodgings for the night and settled ourselves before the somewhat meager fire in the public room of the inn. A desultory conversation accompanied by a hot toddy and a cup of tea was followed by our repairing to the dining room. Shortly later I was forced to remark, "I certainly hope that our rooms will be better heated than this, Holmes", as we finished our dinner of gristly meat and small beer.

Holmes's whole body became suddenly alert and animated. "Don't be concerned, dear fellow. We shall be doing very little sleeping tonight. It is dark now. We shall pretend to go to our rooms and prepare for bed. I have noticed that our host is somewhat anxious to see us do that, for there is no other custom here tonight and he is anxious to close early. In about one-half hour we should be able to leave the premises, retrieve the horse and trap at the stables and make our way to Warburton's. I expect that it will not be a long wait before we can safely enter the premises".

We carried out Holmes's plan without incident. Leaving the horse tethered off the road about a half mile from the house, we made our way to a copse of bushes not far from the door.

"There are still lights on, Watson", Holmes noted as we settled ourselves as comfortably as possible on the cold, damp earth, "I expect that we shall have a bit of a wait".

Fortunately for my wounded leg, which was alternating between numbness and intense pain, the wait was not as long as I had feared. We could see the shadow of the butler upon the curtains as he extinguished the last visible light, and watched as the glow of his lamp faded and disappeared.

"Come, Watson", Holmes whispered to me as he rose to his feet as lithely as a cat.

"I will, if you would be so kind as to help me rise, Holmes. My legs have gone numb".

A few minutes later, my lower limbs having regained their ability to support my weight, we were at the front door. Taking the key from his pocket, Holmes carefully undid the lock, gingerly opened the door and slid through. I followed, stepping as carefully and quietly as I could, and Holmes silently closed the door.

"Take hold of my coat and follow me, Watson", Holmes muttered, "Warburton gave me a map of the house, which I have memorized".

We stealthily made our way through the main hall to the servant's entrance that led to the kitchens. Holmes pushed carefully against the door until he could see if there was anyone about, and then motioned me forward. In the dim light cast by the banked kitchen fire we could dimly make out the shape of the room and its furniture.

With a rapid, "Quick. In here", Holmes pulled me into a closet just beyond the entrance.

It was then that I heard the sound of muffled footsteps and saw a dim light through the crack at the bottom of the door.

Go to Part Eight