I knew my customer, and I thought this extraordinary
carelessness on his part rather suspicious.
Mr. Davager had taken one of the best bedrooms at the Gatliffe
Arms. Floor carpeted all over, walls beautifully papered,
four-poster, and general furniture first-rate. I searched, to
begin with, on the usual plan, examining everything in every
possible way, and taking more than an hour about it. No
discovery. Then I pulled out a carpenter's rule which I had
brought with me. Was there anything in the room which--either in
inches, feet, or yards--answered to "5 along" and "4 across"?
Nothing. I put the rule back in my pocket--measurement was no
good, evidently. Was there anything in the room that would count
up to 5 one way and 4 another, seeing that nothing would measure
up to it? I had got obstinately persuaded by this time that the
letter must be in the room--principally because of the trouble I
had had in looking after it. And persuading myself of that, I
took it into my head next, just as obstinately, that "5 along"
and "4 across" must be the right clew to find the letter
by--principally because I hadn't left myself, after all my
searching and thinking, even so much as the ghost of another
guide to go by. "Five along"--where could I count five along the
room, in any part of it?
Not on the paper. The pattern there was pillars of trellis-work
and flowers, inclosing a plain green ground--only four pillars
along the wall and only two across.
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