No. 6 The Adventure of the Musgrave Ritual by Arthur Conan Doyle
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and he thrust into his breast the chart- like paper which he had_been originally studying .

"'" so ! " said I ." this_is how you repay the trust which we_have reposed in you . you_will leave my service to- morrow ."

"' he bowed with_the look of a man who_is utterly crushed, and slunk past me without a word . the taper was still on_the table, and by its light I glanced to_see what the paper was which Brunton had taken from_the bureau . to my surprise it_was nothing of any importance at all, but simply a copy of_the questions and answers in_the singular old observance called the Musgrave ritual . it_is a sort of ceremony peculiar to our family, which each Musgrave for centuries past has gone through on_his coming of age--a thing of private interest, and perhaps of some little importance to_the archaeologist, like our own blazonings and charges, but of no practical use whatever .'

"' we had better come back to_the paper afterwards,' said I .

"' if_you_think it really necessary,' he answered, with some hesitation .' to_continue my statement, however: I relocked the bureau, using the key which Brunton had left, and I had turned to_go when i_was surprised to_find that_the butler had returned, and was standing before me .

"'" Mr Musgrave, sir," he cried, in a voice which_was hoarse with emotion, " I_can't bear disgrace, sir .I've always been proud above my station in life, and disgrace would kill me . my blood will_be on_your head, sir-- it_will, indeed-- if_you drive me to despair . if_you_cannot keep me after what has passed, then for god's sake let me give_you notice and leave in a month, as_if of_my own free will . I_could stand that, Mr Musgrave, but not to_be cast out before all the folk that I_know so_well ."

"'" you don't deserve much consideration, Brunton," I answered ." your conduct has_been most infamous . however, as you_have_been a long_time in_the family, I_have no wish to bring public disgrace upon you .a month, however is too long . take yourself away in a week, and give what reason you like for going ."

"'" only a week, sir ? " he cried, in adespairing voice ."A fortnight-- say at_least a fortnight ! "

"'"A week," I repeated, " and you_may consider yourself to_have_been very leniently dealt with ." "' he crept away, his face sunk upon his breast, like a broken man, while I put out the light and returned to my room .

"" for two days after_this Brunton was most assiduous in_his attention to_his duties . I_made no allusion to what had passed, and waited with some curiosity to_see how he_would cover his disgrace . on_the third morning, however he_did_not appear, as was his custom, after breakfast to receive my instructions for_the day . as I left the dining- room I happened to meet Rachel Howells, the maid . I_have told you that she had only recently recovered from an illness, and was looking so wretchedly pale and wan that I remonstrated with her for being at work .

"'" you_should_be in bed," I_said ." come back to your duties when_you_are stronger ."

"' she looked at me with so strange an expression that I began to suspect that her brain was affected .

"'" I_am strong enough, Mr Musgrave," said she .

"'" we_will_see what the doctor says," I answered ." you_must stop work now, and when_you go downstairs just say that i_wish to_see Brunton ."

"'" the butler is gone," said she .

"'" gone ! gone where ? "

"'" he_is gone . no one has seen him . he_is_not in_his room .Oh, yes, he_is gone, he_is gone ! " she fell back against the wall with shriek after shriek of laughter, while I, horrified at_this sudden hysterical attack, rushed to_the bell to summon help . the girl was taken to her room, still screaming and sobbing, while I_made inquiries about Brunton . there_was no_doubt about_it that he had disappeared . his bed had_not_been slept in, he had_been seen by no one since he had retired to_his room the night before, and yet it_was difficult to_see how he could_have left the house, as both windows and doors were found to_be fastened in_the morning . his clothes, his watch, and even his money were in_his room, but the black suit which he usually wore was missing . his slippers, too, were gone, but his boots were left behind . where then could butler Brunton have_gone in_the night, and what could_have become of him now ?

"' of_course we searched the house from cellar to garret, but there_was no trace of him . it_is, as I_have said, a labyrinth of an old house, especially the original wing, which_is now practically uninhabited; but we ransacked every room and cellar without discovering the least sign of_the missing man . it_was incredible to_me that he could_have gone away leaving all his property behind him, and yet where could he be ? I called in_the local police, but without success . rain had fallen on_the night before and we examined the lawn and_the paths all round the house, but in vain .Matters were in_this state, when a new development quite drew our attention away from_the original mystery .

"' for two days Rachel Howells had_been so ill, sometimes delirious, sometimes hysterical, that a nurse had_been employed to sit up with her at night . on_the third night after Brunton's disappearance, the nurse, finding her patient sleeping nicely, had dropped into a nap in_the arm- chair, when she woke in_the early morning to_find the bed empty, the window open, and no signs of_the invalid . i_was instantly aroused, and, with_the two footmen, started off at once in search of_the missing girl . it_was not difficult to_tell the direction which she had taken, for, starting from under her window, we_could follow her footmarks easily across the lawn to_the edge of_the mere, where they vanished close to_the gravel path which leads out_of_the grounds . the lake there_is eight feet deep, and you_can imagine our feelings when we saw that_the trail of_the poor demented girl came to an end at_the edge of it .

"' of_course, we had the drags at once, and set to work to recover the remains, but no trace of_the body could we_find . on_the other hand, we brought to_the surface an object of a most unexpected kind . it_was a linen bag which contained within it a mass of old rusted and discoloured metal and several dull-coloured pieces of pebble or glass . this strange find was all that we_could get from_the mere, and, although we_made every possible search and inquiry yesterday, we_know nothing of_the fate either of Rachel Howells or of Richard Brunton . the county police are at their wits' end, and I_have come up to_you as a last resource .'

" you_can imagine, Watson, with what eagerness I listened to_this extraordinary sequence of events, and endeavoured to piece them together, and to devise some common thread upon_which they_might all hang . the butler was gone . the maid was gone . the maid had loved the butler, but had afterwards had cause to hate him . she was of Welsh blood, fiery and passionate . she had_been terribly excited immediately after his disappearance . she had flung into_the lake a bag containing some curious contents . these were all factors which had to_be taken into consideration, and yet none_of_them got quite to_the heart of_the matter . what_was the starting- point of_this chain of events ? there lay the end of_this tangled line .

"' I_must see that paper, Musgrave,' said I, ' which this butler of your thought it worth his while to consult, even at_the risk of_the loss of_his place .'

"' it_is rather an absurd business, this ritual of ours,' he answered .' but it has at_least the saving grace of antiquity to excuse it . I_have a copy of_the questions and answers here if_you care to run your eye over them .'

" he handed me the very paper which I_have here, Watson, and this_is_the strange catechism to_which each Musgrave had to submit when he_came to man's estate . i_will read you the questions and answers as_they stand .

"' whose was_it ? '

"' his who_is gone .'

"' who shall_have it ? '

"' he who_will come .'

"' where was_the sun ? '

"' over the oak .'

"' where was_the shadow ? '

"' under the elm .'

" how was_it stepped ? '

"' north by ten and by ten, east by five and by five, south by two and by two, west by one and by one, and so under .'

"' what shall we_give for_it ? '

"' all that_is ours .'

"' why should we_give it ? '

"' for_the sake of_the trust .'

"' the original has no date, but is in_the spelling of_the middle of_the seventeenth century,' remarked Musgrave .' I_am afraid, however, that_it can_be of little help to_you in solving this mystery .'

"' at_least,' said I, ' it gives us another mystery, and one which_is even more interesting than_the first . it may_be that_the solution of_the one may prove to_be the solution of_the other . you_will excuse me, Musgrave, if I_say that your butler appears to_me to_have_been a very clever man, and to have_had a clearer insight that ten generations of_his masters .'

"'I hardly follow you,' said Musgrave .' the paper seems to_me to_be of no practical importance .'

"' but to_me it seems immensely practical, and I fancy that Brunton took the same view . he had probably seen it before_that night on_which you caught him .'

"' it_is very possible . we took no pains to hide it .'

"' he simply wished, i_should imagine, to refresh his memory upon that last occasion . he had, as I understand, some sort of map or chart which he_was comparing with_the manuscript, and which he thrust into his pocket when_you appeared .'

"' that_is true . but what could he have to_do with_this old family custom of ours, and what does this rigmarole mean ? '

"'I don't think that we_should_have much difficulty in determining that,' said I; ' with your permission we_will take_the first train down to Sussex, and go a little more deeply into_the matter upon_the spot .'

" the same afternoon saw us both at Hurlstone . possibly you_have seen pictures and read descriptions of_the famous old building, so i_will confine my account of it to saying that_it_is built in_the shape of an L, the long arm being the more modern portion, and_the shorter the ancient nucleus, from_which the other had developed . over the low, heavily-lintelled door, in_the centre of_this old part, is chiselled the date, 1607, but experts are agreed that_the beams and stone- work are really much older than this . the enormously thick walls and tiny windows of_this part had in_the last century driven the family into building the new wing, and_the old one was used now as a store- house and a cellar, when it_was used at all .a splendid park with fine old timber surrounds the house, and_the lake, to_which my client had referred, lay close to_the avenue, about tow hundred yards from_the building .

" i_was already firmly convinced, Watson, that there were_not three separate mysteries here, but one only, and_that if I_could read the Musgrave ritual aright i_should hold in my hand the clue which would lead me to_the truth concerning both the butler Brunton and_the maid Howells . to_that then I turned all my energies . why should this servant be so anxious to master this old formula ? Evidently because he_saw something in_it which had escaped all those generations of country squires, and from_which he expected some personal advantage . what_was it then, and how had it affected his fate ?

" it_was perfectly obvious to_me, on reading the ritual, that_the measurements must refer to some spot to_which_the rest of_the document alluded, and_that if_we_could find that spot, we_should_be in a fair way towards finding what the secret was which the old Musgraves had thought it necessary to embalm in so curious a fashion . there were two guides given us to start with, an oak and an elm . as_to_the oak there could_be no question at all . right in front of_the house, upon_the left- hand side of_the drive, there stood a patriarch among oaks, one_of_the_most magnificent trees that I_have ever seen .

"' that was there when_you ritual was drawn up,' said I, as_we drove past it .

"' it_was there at_the Norman conquest in all probability,' he answered .' it has a girth of twenty- three feet .'

"' have_you any old elms ? ' I asked .

"' there used to_be a very old one over yonder but it_was struck by lightning ten years_ago, and we cut down the stump,'

"' you_can see where it used to_be ? '

"'Oh, yes .'

"' there_are no other elms ? '

"' no old ones, but plenty of beeches .'

"' i_should like to_see where it grew .'

" we had driven up in a dogcart, and my client led me away at once, without our entering the house, to_the scar on_the lawn where the elm had stood . it_was nearly midway between_the oak and_the house . my investigation seemed to_be progressing .

"'I suppose it_is impossible to_find out how high the elm was ? ' I asked .

"' I_can give_you it at once . it_was sixty-four feet .'

"' how do_you come to_know it ? ' I asked, in surprise .

"' when my old tutor used to_give_me an exercise in trigonometry, it always took the shape of measuring heights . when i_was alad I worked out every tree and building in_the estate .'

" this_was an unexpected piece of luck . my data were coming more quickly than I_could_have reasonably hoped .

"' tell me,' I asked, ' did your butler ever ask_you such a question ? '

" Reginald Musgrave looked at me in astonishment .' now that you call it to my mind,' he answered, 'Brunton did ask me about_the height of_the tree some months_ago, in connection with some little argument with_the groom,'

" this_was excellent news, Watson, for_it showed me that i_was on_the right road .I looked up at_the sun . it_was low in_the heavens, and I calculated that in

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