A small but well-kept house in the outskirts of the townsheltered the bereaved mother. The old lady was too dazed withgrief to be of any use to us， but at her side was a white-faced younglady， who introduced herself as Miss Violet Westbury， the fiancéeof the dead man， and the last to see him upon that fatal night.
“I cannot explain it， Mr. Holmes，” she said. “I have not shut aneye since the tragedy， thinking， thinking， thinking， night and day，what the true meaning of it can be. Arthur was the most single-minded，chivalrous， patriotic man upon earth. He would have cut his right handoff before he would sell a State secret confided to his keeping. It isabsurd， impossible， preposterous to anyone who knew him.”
“But the facts， Miss Westbury？”
“Yes， yes； I admit I cannot explain them.”
“Was he in any want of money？”
“No； his needs were very simple and his salary ample. He hadsaved a few hundreds， and we were to marry at the New Year.”
“No signs of any mental excitement？ Come， Miss Westbury， beabsolutely frank with us.”
The quick eye of my companion had noted some change in hermanner. She coloured and hesitated.
“Yes，” she said at last， “I had a feeling that there was somethingon his mind.”
“For long？”
“Only for the last week or so. He was thoughtful and worried.
Once I pressed him about it. He admitted that there was something，and that it was concerned with his official life. ‘It is too seriousfor me to speak about， even to you，’ said he. I could get nothingmore.”
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge 1157
Holmes looked grave.
“Go on， Miss Westbury. Even if it seems to tell against him， goon. We cannot say what it may lead to.”
“Indeed， I have nothing more to tell. Once or twice it seemedto me that he was on the point of telling me something. He spokeone evening of the importance of the secret， and I have somerecollection that he said that no doubt foreign spies would pay agreat deal to have it.”
My friend’s face grew graver still.
“Anything else？”
“He said that we were slack about such matters—that it wouldbe easy for a traitor to get the plans.”
“Was it only recently that he made such remarks？”
“Yes， quite recently.”
“Now tell us of that last evening.”
“We were to go to the theatre. The fog was so thick that a cabwas useless. We walked， and our way took us close to the office.
Suddenly he darted away into the fog.”
“Without a word？”
“He gave an exclamation； that was all. I waited but he neverreturned. Then I walked home. Next morning， after the officeopened， they came to inquire. About twelve o’clock we heard theterrible news. Oh， Mr. Holmes， if you could only， only save hishonour！ It was so much to him.”
Holmes shook his head sadly.
“Come， Watson，” said he， “our ways lie elsewhere. Our nextstation must be the office from which the papers were taken.
“It was black enough before against this young man， but ourinquiries make it blacker，” he remarked as the cab lumbered off.
“His coming marriage gives a motive for the crime. He naturallywanted money. The idea was in his head， since he spoke about it.
He nearly made the girl an accomplice in the treason by telling herhis plans. It is all very bad.”
“But surely， Holmes， character goes for something？ Then， again，why should he leave the girl in the street and dart away to commita felony？”
“Exactly！ There are certainly objections. But it is a formidablecase which they have to meet.”
Mr. Sidney Johnson， the senior clerk， met us at the office andreceived us with that respect which my companion’s card alwayscommanded. He was a thin， gruff， bespectacled man of middleage， his cheeks haggard， and his hands twitching from the nervousstrain to which he had been subjected.
“It is bad， Mr. Holmes， very bad！ Have you heard of the death ofthe chief？”
1158 The Complete Sherlock Holmes
“We have just come from his house.”
“The place is disorganized. The chief dead， Cadogan West dead，our papers stolen. And yet， when we closed our door on Mondayevening， we were as efficient an office as any in the governmentservice. Good God， it’s dreadful to think of！ That West， of allmen， should have done such a thing！”
“You are sure of his guilt， then？”
“I can see no other way out of it. And yet I would have trustedhim as I trust myself.”
“At what hour was the office closed on Monday？”
“At five.”
“Did you close it？”
“I am always the last man out.”
“Where were the plans？”
“In that safe. I put them there myself.”
“Is there no watchman to the building？”
“There is， but he has other departments to look after as well.
He is an old soldier and a most trustworthy man. He saw nothingthat evening. Of course the fog was very thick.”
“Suppose that Cadogan West wished to make his way into thebuilding after hours； he would need three keys， would he not，before he could reach the papers？”
“Yes， he would. The key of the outer door， the key of the office，and the key of the safe.”
“Only Sir James Walter and you had those keys？”
“I had no keys of the doors—only of the safe.”
“Was Sir James a man who was orderly in his habits？”
“Yes， I think he was. I know that so far as those three keys areconcerned he kept them on the same ring. I have often seen themthere.”
“And that ring went with him to London？”
“He said so.”
“And your key never left your possession？”
“Never.”
“Then West， if he is the culprit， must have had a duplicate. Andyet none was found upon his body. One other point： if a clerk in thisoffice desired to sell the plans， would it not be simply to copy theplans for himself than to take the originals， as was actually done？”
“It would take considerable technical knowledge to copy theplans in an effective way.”
“But I suppose either Sir James， or you， or West has thattechnical knowledge？”
“No doubt we had， but I beg you won’t try to drag me into thematter， Mr. Holmes. What is the use of our speculating in this waywhen the original plans were actually found on West？”
The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge 1159
“Well， it is certainly singular that he should run the risk oftaking originals if he could safely have taken copies， which wouldhave equally served his turn.”
