Chapter 10

           ApinkandblueJunemorningfoundmeatBradgatelookingfromtheGriffinHoteloverasmoothseatothelightshipontheCocksandswhichseemedthesizeofabell-buoy.Acoupleofmilesfarthersouthandmuchnearertheshoreasmalldestroyerwasanchored.Scaife,MacGillivray’sman,whohadbeenintheNavy,knewtheboat,andtoldmehernameandhercommander’s,soIsentoffawiretoSirWalter.

           AfterbreakfastScaifegotfromahouse-agentakeyforthegatesofthestaircasesontheRuff.Iwalkedwithhimalongthesands,andsatdowninanookofthecliffswhileheinvestigatedthehalf-dozenofthem.Ididn’twanttobeseen,buttheplaceatthishourwasquitedeserted,andallthetimeIwasonthatbeachIsawnothingbuttheseagulls.

           Ittookhimmorethananhourtodothejob,andwhenIsawhimcomingtowardsme,conningabitofpaper,Icantellyoumyheartwasinmymouth.Everythingdepended,yousee,onmyguessprovingright.

           Hereadaloudthenumberofstepsinthedifferentstairs.“Thirty-four,thirty-five,thirty-nine,forty-two,forty-seven,”and“twenty-one’wherethecliffsgrewlower.Ialmostgotupandshouted.

           WehurriedbacktothetownandsentawiretoMacGillivray.Iwantedhalfadozenmen,andIdirectedthemtodividethemselvesamongdifferentspecifiedhotels.ThenScaifesetouttoprospectthehouseattheheadofthethirty-ninesteps.

           Hecamebackwithnewsthatbothpuzzledandreassuredme.