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1"I was driven over by my employer, who was as amiable as ever, and was introduced by him that evening to his wife and
2the child. There was no truth, Mr. Holmes, in the conjecture which seemed to us to be probable in your rooms at Baker
3Street. Mrs. Rucastle is not mad. I found her to be a silent, pale-faced woman, much younger than her husband, not more
4than thirty, I should think, while he can hardly be less than forty-five. From their conversation I have gathered that
5they have been married about seven years, that he was a widower, and that his only child by the first wife was the
6daughter who has gone to Philadelphia. Mr. Rucastle told me in private that the reason why she had left them was that
7she had an unreasoning aversion to her stepmother. As the daughter could not have been less than twenty, I can quite
8imagine that her position must have been uncomfortable with her father's young wife. "Mrs. Rucastle seemed to me to be
9colourless in mind as well as in feature. She impressed me neither favourably nor the reverse. She was a nonentity. It
10was easy to see that she was passionately devoted both to her husband and to her little son. Her light grey eyes
11wandered continually from one to the other, noting every little want and forestalling it if possible. He was kind to her
12also in his bluff, boisterous fashion, and on the whole they seemed to be a happy couple. And yet she had some secret
13sorrow, this woman. She would often be lost in deep thought, with the saddest look upon her face. More than once I have
14surprised her in tears. I have thought sometimes that it was the disposition of her child which weighed upon her mind,
15for I have never met so utterly spoiled and so ill-natured a little creature. He is small for his age, with a head which
16is quite disproportionately large. His whole life appears to be spent in an alternation between savage fits of passion
17and gloomy intervals of sulking. Giving pain to any creature weaker than himself seems to be his one idea of amusement,
18and he shows quite remarkable talent in planning the capture of mice, little birds, and insects. But I would rather not
19talk about the creature, Mr. Holmes, and, indeed, he has little to do with my story." "I am glad of all details,"
20remarked my friend, "whether they seem to you to be relevant or not." "I shall try not to miss anything of importance.
21The one unpleasant thing about the house, which struck me at once, was the appearance and conduct of the servants. There
22are only two, a man and his wife. Toller, for that is his name, is a rough, uncouth man, with grizzled hair and
23whiskers, and a perpetual smell of drink. Twice since I have been with them he has been quite drunk, and yet Mr.
24Rucastle seemed to take no notice of it. His wife is a very tall and strong woman with a sour face, as silent as Mrs.
25Rucastle and much less amiable. They are a most unpleasant couple, but fortunately I spend most of my time in the
26nursery and my own room, which are next to each other in one corner of the building. "For two days after my arrival at
27the Copper Beeches my life was very quiet; on the third, Mrs. Rucastle came down just after breakfast and whispered
28something to her husband. "'Oh, yes,' said he, turning to me, 'we are very much obliged to you, Miss Hunter, for falling
29in with our whims so far as to cut your hair. I assure you that it has not detracted in the tiniest iota from your
30appearance. We shall now see how the electric-blue dress will become you. You will find it laid out upon the bed in your
31room, and if you would be so good as to put it on we should both be extremely obliged.' "The dress which I found waiting
32for me was of a peculiar shade of blue. It was of excellent material, a sort of beige, but it bore unmistakable signs of
33having been worn before. It could not have been a better fit if I had been measured for it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rucastle
34expressed a delight at the look of it, which seemed quite exaggerated in its vehemence. They were waiting for me in the
35drawing-room, which is a very large room, stretching along the entire front of the house, with three long windows
36reaching down to the floor. A chair had been placed close to the central window, with its back turned towards it. In
37this I was asked to sit, and then Mr. Rucastle, walking up and down on the other side of the room, began to tell me a
38series of the funniest stories that I have ever listened to. You cannot imagine how comical he was, and I laughed until
39I was quite weary. Mrs. Rucastle, however, who has evidently no sense of humour, never so much as smiled, but sat with
40her hands in her lap, and a sad, anxious look upon her face. After an hour or so, Mr. Rucastle suddenly remarked that it
41was time to commence the duties of the day, and that I might change my dress and go to little Edward in the nursery.
42"Two days later this same performance was gone through under exactly similar circumstances. Again I changed my dress,
43again I sat in the window, and again I laughed very heartily at the funny stories of which my employer had an immense
44répertoire, and which he told inimitably. Then he handed me a yellow-backed novel, and moving my chair a little
45sideways, that my own shadow might not fall upon the page, he begged me to read aloud to him. I read for about ten
46minutes, beginning in the heart of a chapter, and then suddenly, in the middle of a sentence, he ordered me to cease and
47to change my dress. "You can easily imagine, Mr. Holmes, how curious I became as to what the meaning of this
48extraordinary performance could possibly be. They were always very careful, I observed, to turn my face away from the
49window, so that I became consumed with the desire to see what was going on behind my back. At first it seemed to be
50impossible, but I soon devised a means. My hand-mirror had been broken, so a happy thought seized me, and I concealed a
51piece of the glass in my handkerchief. On the next occasion, in the midst of my laughter, I put my handkerchief up to my
52eyes, and was able with a little management to see all that there was behind me. I confess that I was disappointed.
53There was nothing. At least that was my first impression. At the second glance, however, I perceived that there was a
54man standing in the Southampton Road, a small bearded man in a grey suit, who seemed to be looking in my direction. The
55road is an important highway, and there are usually people there. This man, however, was leaning against the railings
56which bordered our field and was looking earnestly up. I lowered my handkerchief and glanced at Mrs. Rucastle to find
57her eyes fixed upon me with a most searching gaze. She said nothing, but I am convinced that she had divined that I had
58a mirror in my hand and had seen what was behind me. She rose at once. "'Jephro,' said she, 'there is an impertinent
59fellow upon the road there who stares up at Miss Hunter.' "'No friend of yours, Miss Hunter?' he asked. "'No, I know no
60one in these parts.' "'Dear me! How very impertinent! Kindly turn round and motion to him to go away.' "'Surely it would
61be better to take no notice.' "'No, no, we should have him loitering here always. Kindly turn round and wave him away
62like that.' "I did as I was told, and at the same instant Mrs. Rucastle drew down the blind. That was a week ago, and
63from that time I have not sat again in the window, nor have I worn the blue dress, nor seen the man in the road." "Pray
64continue," said Holmes. "Your narrative promises to be a most interesting one." "You will find it rather disconnected, I
65fear, and there may prove to be little relation between the different incidents of which I speak. On the very first day
66that I was at the Copper Beeches, Mr. Rucastle took me to a small outhouse which stands near the kitchen door. As we
67approached it I heard the sharp rattling of a chain, and the sound as of a large animal moving about.
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