Death of a Burrowing Mole

important to him, it was clear, but so long as they could be marked in on his plan he was satisfied. To us they mean nothing if they cannot be cleared, so we have almost given up hope of the treasure.

‘We feel bound to stay on the dig for a bit (after we have had our weekend) because Veryan has paid our expenses, but we shall get away as soon as it seems decent to do so. I rather wish we had never heard of the treasure and had gone to Greece as we planned.

‘Your affectionate godson,

Bonamy

PS Could Tom and I pop in to see you before we return to the chain-gang next week? Would Monday morning be all right?’

Before the break from work took place, the site received its first visit from the bailiff of the Holdy estate.

‘So pleased you are interested enough to come and have a look around,’ said Saltergate. ‘As you say you have not seen the castle before, shall we begin with the keep and work downwards? Please be a little careful when we have climbed the newel stair. The remaining fabric is safe enough, but there is very little of the parapet left and it is, in any case, not the original termination of the tower. That was destroyed at the end of the siege during the Civil War. I’ll go first, shall I? From the top one gets a comprehensive view of the whole layout. You will then understand better what I’m talking about when we make the round of the fortifications.’

‘Good of you to offer to take so much trouble, but I really only came along to get a general idea,’ said Sandgate. ‘I don’t intend to waste your time, you know.’

Edward, however, was adamant and insisted upon a complete survey. When they reached the gatehouse Malpas Veryan was there.

‘Ah,’ he said to Sandgate, ‘nice to see you. I’m afraid I have nothing much to show you except a partly dug trench, but, when we get to what we’re looking for, it will be a great deal more interesting.’

Sandgate looked at the excavations and then at his watch and said that he would be interested to be kept informed of the progress made, but that he was pressed for time that morning. All the same, he walked back with Malpas to the castle ditch.

‘You didn’t dig this,’ he said. ‘There’s grass growing on the sides.’

‘Yes, but it gave us our very first clue and certainly is a very important item. It has been deepened considerably since the Bronze Age, but its position and its otherwise strange curvature are our clues to the extent of the original burying-place.’

‘Ah! The original burying-place? I hope to be along again when you locate that,’ said Sandgate eagerly.

‘Well,’ said Dame Beatrice in the middle of the following Monday morning, ‘so you have taken weekend leave of absence.’

‘Playing hookey, I call it,’ said Laura.

‘Have a heart, Mrs Gavin,’ said Tom, ‘and don’t mock the sultry toilers. You see before you two exhausted and broken men.’

‘You both look extremely well,’ said Dame Beatrice, ‘even if, apart from your labours, you have found yourselves in the centre of the maelstrom of dissension which you have described to us.’

‘We have also had a visit from the representative of the lord of the manor. Our work was inspected and received a nod from an obviously ignorant and, I thought, rather repellent individual who came in a car and gave our work supercilious approval,’ said Bonamy. ‘I am sure he didn’t understand a word of what Veryan was telling him about our trenches. Obviously he had never heard of Bronze Age barrows and I should say that the last thing he thought Veryan and Tynant were looking for was just a cist grave and some mouldy old bones and a beaker or two.’

‘And who was this representative?’

‘Chap named Sandgate. We were introduced to him, but I doubt whether I shall ever put him on my visiting list. He’s cousin to Mr Mathew, the owner of the estate, and is acting as bailiff while Mr Mathew is on holiday. I noted that his car was chauffeur driven, but the chauffeur looked more like a plug-ugly to me than a discreet and respectful manipulator of gears and accelerators. Sandgate has promised – some would say threatened – to pay us further visits.’

‘I thought he was unhealthily interested in our doings,’ said Tom. ‘I hope he hasn’t heard about the treasure. There was an acquisitive gleam in his fishy eye, I fancy.’

‘Veryan and Saltergate were on best behaviour after their skirmishing,’ said Bonamy. ‘There had been wars and rumours of wars. How do you really think we look?’

‘Sunburnt, cheerful and fit,’ said Laura. ‘Do tell us about the row at the castle. I love other people’s quarrels. They are the stuff drama is made of.’

‘Oh, this is one of those polite, frosty affairs. There is nothing dramatic about it. Veryan’s henge and ditch are likely to encroach on Saltergate’s wall defences, so both sides have suspended operations pro tem while they thrash out the rights and wrongs. Tom and I are preserving a strict neutrality, but the distaff side (as, saving your presence, Mistress Gavin, is its wont) has waded in up to the neck. Susannah Lochlure is championing Veryan because she is by way of being Nicholas Tynant’s fancy, and he, of course, has to be on Veryan’s side. Lilian Saltergate, as in honour bound, speaks up forthrightly for her spouse, and there is division of opinion between Fiona Broadmayne and Priscilla Yateley. Fiona supports Susannah, who supports Tynant, who supports Veryan. But Priscilla is on the side of the Saltergates.’

‘And hold you no brief for either party?’ asked Dame Beatrice. ‘Even neutrals often have opinions.’

‘Not us. We couldn’t care less. As for Veryan’s and Tynant’s beastly Bronze Age tomb, I wish they would trench right through the middle of the circle they’ve pegged out. They would be bound to find the grave that way, if it’s there, but apparently there’s a tedious scientific way of going about these excavations. You should hear Veryan on the subject of vandals who, in former times, have done what we suggest.’

‘So, at some time or other, Professor Veryan’s wide trench is going to undermine the foundations of one of Mr Saltergate’s flanking-towers,’ said Dame Beatrice.

‘I shouldn’t have thought one tower would matter,’ said Tom. ‘If you ask me, both parties were pretty fed-up