Haskins could not wear the flannels in which he had been attacked, as they were smeared all over with oil from Geary's body, He therefore flung this suit into his portmanteau, and, as the day promised to be extremely hot, dressed himself in white drill. Thus clothed, although far from being in his right mind, by reason of inward perturbation, he descended, to find the hotel seething with excitement. Everyone was talking of the Leegarth tragedy, as such an event had never before startled the somnolent town. The bar was crowded with idlers, and Mr. Evans' messenger was being supplied with as much drink as he could swallow. However, he was yet sober enough to answer the few questions which Haskins put to him. No weapon had been found; the police had gone to Leegarth; the guilt of Miss Durham was certain; she had vanished, and search was being made; wires had been sent far and wide ordering her arrest; policemen were scouring the countryside on bicycles; sooner or later the murderess would be captured and everyone would be relieved. So the man babbled on, and, having learned all that was possible, Gerald went to hire a bicycle in order to proceed to Leegarth. He did not feel the least hungry, for obvious reasons, but as he had a long and exhausting day before him he was wise enough to force himself to eat and drink. Thus fortified he rode up the steep Silbury High Street, and into the surrounding country. So rapid was his pace, and so eager was he to learn the best or the worst at once, that in a marvelously short time he found himself before the high wall which girdled the Pixy's House and its park. In this wall double gates of rough iron were set, but the grounds could not be seen from the lane as boards had been placed across the bars to prevent anyone looking in. This had been done--as Gerald learned from a chatty villager--many years before, when the crazy girl and her dead watcher had come to live there. Policemen guarded the gates, and preserved order amongst the rapidly increasing crowd, which augmented every minute. The terrible news had traveled with lightning speed, and from far and wide came all who were possessed of morbid curiosity. The police were expected from Exeter, and in the meanwhile Inspector Morgan of Silbury was within the grounds, searching round. Major Rebb had not yet arrived.