Adders on the Heath by Gladys Mitchell Read Free Book Online Page A

said Richardson, very doubtfully. 'I'm certain that he suspects me, whereas Dame Beatrice, I take it, will not.'
    'She'll start from scratch, keeping an open mind. Still, you have an ingenuous, unbearded sort of face and are obviously frightened to death, so perhaps she'll give you the benefit of the doubt.'
    'You are a Job's comforter!' said Richardson; but he looked quite happy again.
    'Meanwhile,' Denis added, 'I will bend my own not inconspicuous intellect to your problem and let you know my conclusions in the morning. Sleep well!'
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
    IN SEARCH OF A BODY
     
    'Let me not to the marriage of true minds
    Admit impediments.'
    Shakespeare
    'What we ought to do,' said Denis, on the following morning, 'and I've slept on this, I might tell you, because it actually occurred to me last night when I got to bed...'
    'Is to tell the Superintendent there's Colnbrook's body hidden away somewhere. He won't believe us, you know. Besides-'
    'You go too fast. Let me finish. It occurred to me last night, as I tossed restlessly on my pillow, that what we must do is to find that second body-or, rather, that first body- before they hold the inquest on the body found in your tent by the police.'
    'But how on earth can we do that?'
    'We will quarter the ground. Isn't there a riding stables at hand? We shall hire a couple of docile, trustworthy hacks and look for clues.'
    'What about Dame Beatrice?'
    'Fun first, business later. Must you have still another piece of toast?'
    'Yes, really I must. But, about the horses...'
    'Unreliable, you think?'
    'I don't think that. I do think we'd be much better off on foot-that is, if we really must look for Colnbrook.'
    'Why? I loathe a lot of walking.'
    'Very well. You ride, I'll walk, and we'll compare notes at lunch.'
    'Not a bad idea. Where do I find these riding stables?'
    'The other side of the water-splash. Don't go through the splash or over the footbridge. Keep straight on and then turn left. There's a footpath across a bit of common.'
    'It sounds complicated. I'll walk with you.'
    'All right. It's a far better idea, really it is.'
    So the two young men set out for the site of Richardson's camp. Denis had a camera and photographed a Forest pony and her half-grown chestnut foal. Three-quarters of the way along the beautiful road which led to the common, he insisted upon stopping at the 'pound' to obtain a picture of a farmer, his wife and his cowman urging an extremely lively bull calf to climb up a ramp into a lorry. Richardson was impatient to get on, and was almost dancing by the time his friend was satisfied.
    'Nobody would think I'm threatened with the hangman,' he complained, when at last they were on their way again. 'Now don't waste any more time, and do forget that blasted box camera of yours for a bit. I didn't even bring mine.'
    They soon reached the causeway. It led away from the gravelled road and ran straight and true (and was, in places, extremely muddy) between the sparsely-planted young pines and the heather, by the side of the drainage ditches, until it entered the narrow wood. Here Denis stood still and gazed about him.
    'Rather good, isn't it?' said Richardson.
    'How did you find the way here in the first place?' Denis demanded. 'You didn't know the neighbourhood, did you?'
    'Oh, I thought I'd told you that I came down one Saturday, ages ago, and nosed around and prospected and so forth. Mind you, I didn't tell the Superintendent that. It wouldn't do to let him think I knew the countryside before I got let in for this business.'
    'I see. Do we cross this little bridge?'
    'We do, and follow the path to the right.'
    They did this, and watched the sunshine and shadow on the stream before going on again. After a bit they came upon a gate which led into an enclosure. Denis indicated the gate.
    'Can we go this way?'
    'I suppose so, although I never have. It's only on a latch, so it's all right, so long as we shut it after us. Looks as though the foresters have been