Free Adventures of Martin Hewitt by Arthur Morrison

and
a number of loaves, and I wondered whether or not Geldard was a member of
some secret brotherhood of Anarchists or Fenians. But here, it would seem,
were two distinct mysteries, one of Geldard’s generally unaccountable
movements, and another of his disappearance, each mystery complicating the
other. Again, what did that extraordinary note mean, with its crosses and its
odd references to smoking? Had the dirty clay pipes anything to do with it?
Or the half-smoked cigars? Perhaps the whole thing was merely ridiculously
trivial after all. I could make nothing of it, however, and applied myself to
my pursuit of Emma Trennatt, who mounted an omnibus at the Bank, on the roof
of which I myself secured a seat.
II.
    Here I must leave my own proceedings to put in their proper place those of
Martin Hewitt as I subsequently learnt them.
    Benton Street, he found by the directory, turned out of the City Road
south of Old Street, so was quite near. He was there in less than ten
minutes, and had discovered Dragon Yard. Dragon Yard was as small a
stable-yard as one could easily find. Only the right-hand side was occupied
by stables, and there were only three of these. On the left was a high dead
wall bounding a great warehouse or some such building. Across the first and
second of the stables stretched a long board with the legend, “W. Gask, Corn,
Hay and Straw Dealer,” and underneath a shop address in Old Street. The third
stable stood blank and uninscribed, and all three were shut fast. Nobody was
in the yard, and Hewitt at once proceeded to examine the end stable. The
doors were unusually well finished and close-fitting, and the lock was a good
one, of the lever variety, and very difficult to pick. Hewitt examined the
front of the building very carefully, and then, after a visit to the entrance
of the yard, to guard against early interruption, returned and scrambled by
projections and fastenings to the roof. This was a roof in contrast to those
of the other stables. They were of tiles, seemed old, and carried nothing in
the way of a skylight; evidently it was the habit of Mr. Gask and his helpers
to do their horse and van business with gates wide open to admit light. But
the roof of this third stable was newer and better made, and carried a
good-sized skylight of thick fluted glass. Hewitt took a good look at such
few windows as happened to be in sight, and straight away began, with the
strongest blade of his pocket-knife, to cut away the putty from round one
pane. It was a rather long job, for the putty had hardened thoroughly in the
sun, but it was accomplished at length, and Hewitt, with a final glance at
the windows in view, prized up the pane from the end and lifted it out.
    The interior of the stable was apparently empty. Neither stall nor rack
was to be seen; and the place was plainly used as a coach or van house
simply. Hewitt took one more look about him and dropped quietly through the
hole in the skylight. The floor was thickly laid with straw. There were a few
odd pieces of harness, a rope or two, a lantern, and a few sacks lying here
and there, and at the darkest end there was, an obscure heap covered with
straw and sacking. This heap Hewitt proceeded to unmask, and having cleared
away a few sacks left revealed about half-a-dozen rolls of linoleum. One of
these he dragged to the light, where it became evident that it had remained
thus rolled and tied with cord in two places for a long period. There were
cracks in the surface, and when the cords were loosened the linoleum showed
no disposition to open out or to become unrolled. Others of the rolls on
inspection exhibited the same peculiarities. Moreover, each roll appeared to
consist of no more than a couple of yards of material at most, though all
were of the same pattern. Every roll in fact was of the same length,
thickness and shape as the others, containing somewhere near two yards of
linoleum in a roll of some half