It was one
which might have no significance in relation to the present
perplexities--on the other hand, out of it might come a good deal of
illumination. Briefly, it was that on the evening before this
consultation with Eldrick & Byner, he had found out that he was living
in the house of a man who had actually witnessed the famous catastrophe
at Mallathorpe's Mill, whereby John Mallathorpe, his manager, and his
cashier, together with some other bystanders, had lost their lives.
On settling down in Barford, Collingwood had spent a couple of weeks in
looking about him for comfortable rooms of a sort that appealed to his
love of quiet and retirement. He had found them at last in an old house
on the outskirts of the town--a fine old stone house, once a farmstead,
set in a large garden, and tenanted by a middle-aged couple, who having
far more room than they needed for themselves, had no objection to
letting part of it to a business gentleman. Collingwood fell in love
with this place as soon as he saw it. The rooms were large and full of
delightful nooks and corners; the garden was rich in old trees; from it
there were fine views of the valley beneath, and the heather-clad hills
in the distance; within two miles of the town and easily approached by a
convenient tram-route, it was yet quite out in the country.
He was just as much set up by his landlady--a comfortable, middle-aged
woman, who fostered true Yorkshire notions about breakfast, and knew how
to cook a good dinner at night.
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