The Dancing Men (2)

Here is the second episode of a book by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, retold by Anne Collins.

Enjoy!

The Dancing Men (2)

Episode 2: Mr Cubitt's Story 

   'l'm not very good at telling stories,' said Mr Cubitt. 'But first, I want to explain something. 

    'I'm not  rich,  but I come  from  a  very  old  and well-known  family.  My  family has lived at Ridling Thorpe Manor, in Norfolk, for nearly five hundred years.' 

   'Last year,  while I was  visiting  London,  I met an American lady called  Elsie  Patrick.  Elsie  and  I became friends and  soon  fell in love. I didn't know anything about Elsie's family or her past life. But I decided to ask her to marry me. 

   'The day before our wedding, Elsie spoke to me. I've  had  some very  sad things  happen  to  m e  in my past life, Hilton. I've done nothing wrong, but I

wish  to forget my past. Please promise me you will never ask me anything about it. If you are unable to make  this promise, then  please go back to Norfolk and  leave me." 

   'So  I  promised  Elsie  I  would  never  ask  her anything  about  her  past life.  We've  been married for a year now and we've been very happy. During all  this  time,  I've  kept  my promise.  But  one day, about a month ago, my  wife received  a letter from America - I saw the American  stamp . She read the letter and  her  face  turned  white.  Then  she  threw the letter in the fire... 

   'She  said  nothing,  but  from  that  time,  there's been a look of fear on her face. 

   'Mr Holmes, my wife is a very good woman.l'm sure she has not done anything wrong in her past life. 

   'But Elsie knowsI1 am very proud of my family. My  family's  long  history  is  very  important  to me.  She  would  never  do  anything  to  upset  me. 

Perhaps that's the reason she's afraid to tell me her troubles.' 

   'Please go on,' said Holmes. 

   'Well,' continued Mr Cubítt, 'yesterday morning, a  strange  thíng  happened.  I found  this  piece  of paper lying on the sundial in the garden. At first, I thought it was a child's drawing. 

   'But  when  I  showed  the  paper  to  Elsie,  she fainted. Since then, she has  seemed like someone in a dream, and there is terror in her eyes. 

   'I  didn't know what to do. If I took the paper to the  police,  they  would  laugh  at  me. So  I came to you . M r Holmes, please help me. l'm  not rich, but I'll spend  all my  money to  protect  my  wife from danger.' 

I was sorry for Mr Cubitt. He was  a  good man and I saw that he loved his wife very much. 

   Holmes did not speak for some time. 

   'Mr Cubitt, don' t you think,' he said at last, 'you should  ask  your  wife to tell you everything?'

   'But  I  promised  Elsie  I  would  never  ask  her about her past,' replied Hilton Cubitt. 'If she wants to tell me something, she will. But I will not ask her 

to tell me.' 

   'I'll be pleased to help  you,' said Holmes. 'I believe there is a  meaning  in  the pictures  of  the dancing men.But I need  more information before I can  say what it is. Go  back  to  Norfolk.  If there  are  any  more pictures of dancing men, make a  copy of them for me.  If anything  important  happens,  l'll  come  to Norfolk at once.' 

                                                       (to be continued)