"If you are Mr. John Douglas of Birlstone Manor, then
whose death have we been investigating for these two days, and
where in the world have you sprung from now? You seemed to me to
come out of the floor like a jack-in-a-box."
"Ah, Mr. Mac," said Holmes, shaking a reproving forefinger, "you
would not read that excellent local compilation which described
the concealment of King Charles. People did not hide in those
days without excellent hiding places, and the hiding place that
has once been used may be again. I had persuaded myself that we
should find Mr. Douglas under this roof."
"And how long have you been playing this trick upon us, Mr.
Holmes?" said the inspector angrily. "How long have you allowed
us to waste ourselves upon a search that you knew to be an absurd
one?"
"Not one instant, my dear Mr. Mac. Only last night did I form my
views of the case. As they could not be put to the proof until
this evening, I invited you and your colleague to take a holiday
for the day. Pray what more could I do? When I found the suit
of clothes in the moat, it at once became apparent to me that the
body we had found could not have been the body of Mr.
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