"I have thought of consulting Sergeant Cuff."
"He has retired from the police. It's useless to expect the Sergeant to
help you."
"I know where to find him; and I can but try."
"Try," said Mr. Bruff, after a moment's consideration. "The case has
assumed such an extraordinary aspect since Sergeant Cuff's time, that
you may revive his interest in the inquiry. Try, and let me hear
the result. In the meanwhile," he continued, rising, "if you make no
discoveries between this, and the end of the month, am I free to try, on
my side, what can be done by keeping a lookout at the bank?"
"Certainly," I answered--"unless I relieve you of all necessity for
trying the experiment in the interval."
Mr. Bruff smiled, and took up his hat.
"Tell Sergeant Cuff," he rejoined, "that I say the discovery of the
truth depends on the discovery of the person who pawned the Diamond. And
let me hear what the Sergeant's experience says to that."
So we parted.
Early the next morning, I set forth for the little town of Dorking--the
place of Sergeant Cuff's retirement, as indicated to me by Betteredge.
Inquiring at the hotel, I received the necessary directions for finding
the Sergeant's cottage. It was approached by a quiet bye-road, a little
way out of the town, and it stood snugly in the middle of its own plot
of garden ground, protected by a good brick wall at the back and the
sides, and by a high quickset hedge in front. The gate, ornamented
at the upper part by smartly-painted trellis-work, was locked. After
ringing at the bell, I peered through the trellis-work, and saw the
great Cuff's favourite flower everywhere; blooming in his garden,
clustering over his door, looking in at his windows. Far from the crimes
and the mysteries of the great city, the illustrious thief-taker was
placidly living out the last Sybarite years of his life, smothered in
roses!
A decent elderly woman opened the gate to me, and at once annihilated
all the hopes I had built on securing the assistance of Sergeant Cuff.
He had started, only the day before, on a journey to Ireland.
"Has he gone there on business?" I asked.
The woman smiled. "He has only one business now, sir," she said;
"and that's roses. Some great man's gardener in Ireland has found out
something new in the growing of roses--and Mr. Cuff's away to inquire
into it."
"Do you know when he will be back?"
"It's quite uncertain, sir. Mr. Cuff said he should come back directly,
or be away some time, just according as he found the new discovery worth
nothing, or worth looking into. If you have any message to leave for
him, I'll take care, sir, that he gets it."