is not," said Doyle, "and I'll tell you why it's not."

"Has he a tent with him?" said Meldon. "He doesn't look like a man who
would care for camping out, but of course he might try it."

"He has no tent that I seen," said Doyle. "But I'll tell you what
happened. As soon as ever he'd finished cursing Sabina he said the car
was to come round, because he was going off out. Well, it came; for I
was in the yard myself, as I told you this minute, and I seen to it
that it came round in double quick time, hoping that maybe I'd pacify
him that way."

"With my cushions on it?" said the Major.

"He took no notice of the cushions. In the temper he was in at the
time he wouldn't have said a civil word if you'd set him down on
cushions stuffed full of golden sovereigns. He just took a lep on to
the car--I was watching him from round the corner of the yard gate to
see how he would conduct himself--and--"

"Wait a minute," said Meldon. "Had he his luggage with him?"

"He had not."

"Well then he can't have been going to the train."

"He was not. But--"

"Had he his rod?"

"He had not. But--"

"He'd hardly have gone fishing without his rod, however bad his temper
was. I wonder now where on earth he did go."

"It's what I'm trying to tell you," said Doyle, "if you'd let me speak."

"If you know where he went," said Meldon, "say so at once. What's the
use of leaving me to waste time and energy trying to discover by
inductive reasoning a thing that you know perfectly well all the time?"

"It's what I'm trying to do is to tell you."

"Stop trying then," said Meldon, "and do it."

"He took a lep on the car," said Doyle, "the same as it might be a man
that was in a mighty hurry to be off, and says he to the driver, 'Is
there a place here called Ballymoy House?' 'There is, of course,' said
Patsy Flaherty, for it was him that was driving the car."

"Ballymoy House!" said Meldon. "Nonsense. He couldn't have asked for
Ballymoy House."

"It's what he said. And what's more: 'Is it there that a young lady
stops by the name of Miss King?' said he. 'It is,' said Patsy
Flaherty, 'and a fine young lady she is, thanks be to God.' 'Then
drive there,' says he, 'as fast as ever you can go, and if you have
such a thing as a bottle of paraffin oil in the well of the car,' says
he, 'throw it out before you start.' Well, of course, there was no oil
in the car. Why would there?"

"If Mr. Meldon had seen Patsy Flaherty