“If Mr. Borwick had a solicitor, the latter could empower you to inspect the house on behalf of his client. I agree with you it ought to be inspected, but you can’t break in. If you talked to Mr. Borwick and told him the house ought to be looked over, do you think he’d agree and ask you to do it for him?”
“He might and then he mightn’t,” said Brough. “He’s a darned awkward old chap, but Mrs. Borwick, she’d be glad to know someone was doing something about it. Maybe she could find where he’s put the keys. They can’t be lost: that back door, it’s got a key like the key of our old church, weighs I don’t know what: and then he had bars and staples put across them doors when he left and padlocked them. He’s got all them keys together somewhere, under the floorboards as likely as not.” The farmer sat and pondered for a moment. “If so be as Mrs. Borwick found the keys and gave them to me, would that satisfy you, Mr. Macdonald? I’d like you to come over the place with me.”
“I’m perfectly willing to come with you: I’d like to see the house, but it seems to me you might be more in order if you got your local constable to accompany you. I gather you’re thinking the place may have been robbed, and if that’s happened, it’ll be a job for the local police.”
“And that’s what I don’t want to do: if folks see the constable from Kirkham coming up here, tongues’ll start wagging and stories going round when there’s no need. I’ve told you what I had in mind, Mr. Macdonald, because I know you won’t go round telling folks what I said. I may be wrong and I hope I am. But if you’ll come round High Garth with me, we could see how things be. You’re up here at Fellcock and I come up to see to my stock at High Garth and there’s nothing out of the way for folks to notice. All in the day’s work as you might say.”
“Yes. I see your point, but if you find things are wrong, you’ll have to report it, Mr. Brough. You can’t ask me to compound a felony as it were, to cover up a theft.”
Brough nodded his head thoughtfully and Macdonald went on, “Of course the best thing would be to get old Mrs. Borwick to see the place herself: we could drive her up to Fellcock: from here on to High Garth, could she manage with the seat on the tractor if you held her on?”
Brough shook his head. “No, ’tisn’t possible: she’s got rheumatiz in her knees so bad that she can’t walk more’n a few steps and a weak heart with it. That’d kill her, what with the effort and excitement and all. It’s as much as I dare do to ask her to find the keys, poor old soul. Happen I’d better let things be, but you know how ’tis, once you get an idea in your head, you can’t let that be, or the idea won’t give you no peace.”
“Yes, I know how it is,” agreed Macdonald, “but I wish you’d tell me this: have you any reason for believing that house has been interfered with or the contents stolen? Have you any evidence at all to that effect?”
“Nought you’d call evidence, ’tis no’ but an idea and I’ll tell you when it came into my head. I never liked young Sam Borwick, never trusted him. When Mr. Staple said he’d seen Sam run in in Leverstone and that Sam had turned out a real bad ’un, I thought, well, Leverstone’s not that far away and there’s that house, with some stuff in it a chap could raise money on. It’s nowt but a plaguey idea: all the same, I’d be happier in my mind if we could look into things. See here, Mr. Macdonald: tomorrow’s Sunday and I’ll go and see Mrs. Borwick. If so be she lets me have the keys, will you come to High Garth with me early afternoon Monday?”
“Very well. I’ll come, Mr. Brough.”
“That’s champion: and after that, maybe, I’ll be quit of worrying.”
5
When Mr. Brough had gone, Macdonald sat over his fire and pondered. In spite of Brough’s insistence that it was only an idea which had set him worrying about High Garth Hall and its contents, Macdonald guessed that there was something which had prompted Brough’s idea. Farmers are not imaginative men, least of all northern farmers. Had somebody seen Sam Borwick in the locality, or was it possible that Sam had been to see his parents and tried to get some money out of them, or even found where they kept the keys of High Garth? This might be a case of wheels within wheels, in which somebody (old Mrs. Borwick for example) had confided in Brough after making him promise to keep her confidence secret.
Macdonald was amused about Brough’s caution: he had enlisted the assistance of the law without bringing the local police into the matter, thereby ensuring in his own way that local tongues should not be set wagging, and also safeguarded himself. As Macdonald knew, if it was found that the old house had been robbed, some people might point out that Brough himself had had every opportunity to remove what he liked: others might accuse Jock Shearling and Jock could retaliate by accusing the pipe-line gangers. In short, if it were proved that robbery had occurred, rumour would be many-tongued and Macdonald knew it.
He was glad that Brough had come to him and that they were going over High Garth together—if the keys were forthcoming. There was going to be no “breaking and entering,” but Macdonald believed that that
