agreed. "Us heerd'y there, stood up and saw'n there, and seed 'er go by not forty feet off."
"You saw a woman inside, then?" I asked.
"Didn't see no one. It were fair dark inside the box."
"But you said—"
Holmes interrupted my protest. "I believe you'll find that the pronoun refers to the coach itself, Russell, not its occupant. Devonshire speech uses a creative approach to the gender of its pronouns."
"I seed her, I did, glowin' white with the bones of 'er vour 'usbands."
"Of course," said Holmes. "You say the carriage followed the track up and around the hill?"
"Oh yes. Acourse, we baint 'zackly seed 'er go, bein' halfway to th' house and all."
"Because of the dog?"
The lad had gone pale, and now swallowed hard. "He were there, afore thicky gert stone there. He just standed and stared at us, and whined like he wanted to come over the wall at us, bevore the driver whistled him on. That's when we ran."
"Were there any other noises, voices perhaps?"
"Just the harnesses clatterin' and thicky whistle. An' the growl."
"Growl?"
"Sort of a hiss, or maybe a rattle."
"From the dog?"
"I z'pose," he said dubiously. "He just sort a' comed with th' carriage."
Holmes thought it over before deciding not to press further with the hissing rattling growl.
"And the horses?"
"Dark, they was," the lad said promptly.
"Could you see whether there was one, or two?"
"Didn't see they a'tall."
"Then how did you know what colour they were?" Holmes asked with remarkable patience.
"Because I couldn't see they, is how I knew they was dark." It made sense to me, although for some reason, Holmes seemed to think the lad's logic less than impeccable. "Heered the harnesses a-jangling something mad, though, zo there may've been two, even more."
"But you did see the dog. It was light enough?"
"The moon were up, I saw her fine."
"What time did you two come up here?"
"Just past evening chores, us…" He saw his slip too late, and looked away. "The moon waddn' all that high, I reckon. It must've been still light, stays light late come August."
"You came up here while it was still light, but the moon was up when you left," Holmes said, completely ignoring his witness's attempt to save face.
"I z'pose. We come to talkin', you know?"
"I understand."
The lad looked hard at Holmes, ready to climb on his dignity and ride away at the least sign of humour or criticism, but the expression on Holmes' face was merely blandly expectant.
"I z'pose it was three, four hours altogether," he admitted. "We comed up like I zaid, after evening chores, and it were vull dark when we got back. 'Cept for the moon, of course."
"Where was the moon in the sky, when you looked over the wall and saw the dog?"
Our witness stood for a long moment, his face twisted in thought, before his hand went up to a point on the horizon. "There, more or less. It were a day or two past vull, but very bright, and it was a remarkable clear night. We'd been talking about all the ztars," he reminisced, and then ducked his head, blushing furiously.
We carefully did not see his discomfiture, but busied ourselves with climbing over the loosely laid stone wall to the track on the other side. There were no canine footprints to be seen; however, thirty yards up the hill we found a protruding boulder, one edge of which had been scraped to raw cleanness by a sharp edge. Holmes fingered it, and looked up at the farmer's lad.
"Has anyone been riding along here in the last months on a shod horse?"
"Why, no zur. Not that I know. Acourse, there's no telling what vurriners will get up to, in the summers."
"True," Holmes said, brushing off his hands. "It would have been nice to know that we're dealing with an actual, iron-shod horse rather than a ghostly emanation. Spectral apparitions are the devil's own objects to lay hands upon. Still, I thank you for your time," he said, before the lad could puzzle over his remark, and then he shook hands with the
"You saw a woman inside, then?" I asked.
"Didn't see no one. It were fair dark inside the box."
"But you said—"
Holmes interrupted my protest. "I believe you'll find that the pronoun refers to the coach itself, Russell, not its occupant. Devonshire speech uses a creative approach to the gender of its pronouns."
"I seed her, I did, glowin' white with the bones of 'er vour 'usbands."
"Of course," said Holmes. "You say the carriage followed the track up and around the hill?"
"Oh yes. Acourse, we baint 'zackly seed 'er go, bein' halfway to th' house and all."
"Because of the dog?"
The lad had gone pale, and now swallowed hard. "He were there, afore thicky gert stone there. He just standed and stared at us, and whined like he wanted to come over the wall at us, bevore the driver whistled him on. That's when we ran."
"Were there any other noises, voices perhaps?"
"Just the harnesses clatterin' and thicky whistle. An' the growl."
"Growl?"
"Sort of a hiss, or maybe a rattle."
"From the dog?"
"I z'pose," he said dubiously. "He just sort a' comed with th' carriage."
Holmes thought it over before deciding not to press further with the hissing rattling growl.
"And the horses?"
"Dark, they was," the lad said promptly.
"Could you see whether there was one, or two?"
"Didn't see they a'tall."
"Then how did you know what colour they were?" Holmes asked with remarkable patience.
"Because I couldn't see they, is how I knew they was dark." It made sense to me, although for some reason, Holmes seemed to think the lad's logic less than impeccable. "Heered the harnesses a-jangling something mad, though, zo there may've been two, even more."
"But you did see the dog. It was light enough?"
"The moon were up, I saw her fine."
"What time did you two come up here?"
"Just past evening chores, us…" He saw his slip too late, and looked away. "The moon waddn' all that high, I reckon. It must've been still light, stays light late come August."
"You came up here while it was still light, but the moon was up when you left," Holmes said, completely ignoring his witness's attempt to save face.
"I z'pose. We come to talkin', you know?"
"I understand."
The lad looked hard at Holmes, ready to climb on his dignity and ride away at the least sign of humour or criticism, but the expression on Holmes' face was merely blandly expectant.
"I z'pose it was three, four hours altogether," he admitted. "We comed up like I zaid, after evening chores, and it were vull dark when we got back. 'Cept for the moon, of course."
"Where was the moon in the sky, when you looked over the wall and saw the dog?"
Our witness stood for a long moment, his face twisted in thought, before his hand went up to a point on the horizon. "There, more or less. It were a day or two past vull, but very bright, and it was a remarkable clear night. We'd been talking about all the ztars," he reminisced, and then ducked his head, blushing furiously.
We carefully did not see his discomfiture, but busied ourselves with climbing over the loosely laid stone wall to the track on the other side. There were no canine footprints to be seen; however, thirty yards up the hill we found a protruding boulder, one edge of which had been scraped to raw cleanness by a sharp edge. Holmes fingered it, and looked up at the farmer's lad.
"Has anyone been riding along here in the last months on a shod horse?"
"Why, no zur. Not that I know. Acourse, there's no telling what vurriners will get up to, in the summers."
"True," Holmes said, brushing off his hands. "It would have been nice to know that we're dealing with an actual, iron-shod horse rather than a ghostly emanation. Spectral apparitions are the devil's own objects to lay hands upon. Still, I thank you for your time," he said, before the lad could puzzle over his remark, and then he shook hands with the
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