No, Mr. Pinner intended to have the
reward himself. Therefore he hoarded his secret; brooded upon it;
dashed off hither and thither as the day's news brought him a Catchy
Clue that seemed to fit his data.
But of this George knew nothing. Steeped in crime this miserable young
man dragged out his awful life at Temple Colney: nightmares by night,
horrors by day.
Every morning with trembling fingers he opened his _Daily_; every
morning was shot dead by these lines or their equivalent:
COUNTRY HOUSE OUTRAGE.
FRESH CLUE.
CAT SEEN.
SENSATIONAL STORY.
After much groaning and agony George would force himself to know the
worst; after swearing furiously through the paragraphs of stuffing
with which Mr. Bitt's cunning young man skilfully evaded the point,
would come at last upon the "fresh clue" and read with a groan of
relief that, so far as the truth were concerned, it was no clue at
all.
But the strain was horrible. All Temple Colney read the _Daily_;
eagerly debated its "Catchy Clues."
Yet George could not see, he told himself, that he would better his
plight by seeking fresh retreat. If the _Daily_ were to be believed,
all the United Kingdom read it and discussed its Catchy Clues. He
decided it were wiser to remain racked at Temple Colney rather than
try his luck, and perhaps be torn to death, elsewhere.
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