? ? ? ? Holmes pricked up his ears.
? ? ? ? "We have found traces which show that a party of gypsies encamped on Monday night within a mile of the spot where the murder took place. On Tuesday they were gone. Now, presuming that there was some understanding between Simpson and these gypsies, might he not have been leading the horse to them when he was overtaken, and may they not have him now?"
? ? ? ? "It is certainly possible."
? ? ? ? "The moor is being scoured for these gypsies. I have also examined every stable and outhouse in Tavistock, and for a radius of ten miles."
? ? ? ? "There is another training-stable quite close, I understand?"
? ? ? ? "Yes, and that is a factor which we must certainly not neglect. As Desborough, their horse, was second in the betting, they had an interest in the disappearance of the favourite. Silas Brown, the trainer, is known to have had large bets upon the event, and he was no friend to poor Straker. We have, however, examined the stables, and there is nothing to connect him with the affair."
? ? ? ? "And nothing to connect this man Simpson with the interests of the Mapleton stables?"
? ? ? ? "Nothing at all.
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