Colonel Thorndyke's SecretHenty, G. A. (George Alfred)
General
Colonel Thorndyke's Secret
Henty, G. A. (George Alfred)
Detective and mystery stories; Hindus -- England -- Fiction; India -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
At four o'clock Mark put up his horse at the Greyhound, and chatted for
a quarter of an hour with the ostler, who had been making inquiries,
and had heard of one or two other houses in the neighborhood which were
untenanted. Mark then strolled up the town, exchanging a passing
glance with Chester, who, in a velveteen coat, low hat and gaiters, was
chatting with a wagoner going with a load of hay for the next morning's
market in London. He turned into an inn, called for a pint of the best
port, and sat down in the parlor at a table close to the window, so that
he could see all who went up or down. He entered into conversation with
two or three people who came in, and so passed the time till seven, when
he felt too restless to sit still longer, and went out into the street.
When he was halfway to the Greyhound he heard the sound of a horse's
hoofs behind him, and saw a quietly dressed man coming along at an easy
trot. Had it not been that he recognized the horse, he could not have
felt sure that its rider was the man whose coming he had been waiting
for, there being nothing in his appearance that would excite the
slightest suspicion that he was other than a gentleman of moderate means
and quiet taste, either returning from a ride or passing through on his
way to town. He had a well built and active figure, carried himself with
the ease of a thorough horseman, and nodded to one or two persons of his
acquaintance, and checking his horse at the principal butcher's, ordered
some meat to be sent in that evening.
Mark could trace no resemblance in the face to that of the young fellow
he remembered. It was a quiet and resolute one. If this were Bastow,
he had lost the sneering and insolent expression that was so strongly
impressed on his memory. It might be the man, but if so, he was greatly
changed. Mark's first impression was that it could not be Bastow; but
when he thought over the years of toil and confinement in the convict
prison, the life he had led in the bush, and the two years he had passed
since he returned home, he imagined that the insolence of youth might
well have disappeared, and been succeeded by the resolute daring and
dogged determination that seemed to be impressed on this fellow's face.
Mark paused fifty yards before he reached the inn. In a few minutes he
saw Chester coming along. There was no one else in sight.
“Is it Bastow?” he asked, as the officer came up.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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