untry that i passed over to-night is as flat and

clean as the palm of your hand, and the man we are

following is no fool, as he very clearly showed

to-night. i have wired to overton to let us know any

fresh london developments at this address, and in the

meantime we can only concentrate our attention upon

dr. armstrong, whose name the obliging young lady at

the office allowed me to read upon the counterfoil of

staunton's urgent message. he knows where the young

man is -- to that i'll swear -- and if he knows, then

it must be our own fault if we cannot manage to know

also. at present it must be admitted that the odd

trick is in his possession, and, as you are aware,

watson, it is not my habit to leave the game in that

condition."

and yet the next day brought us no nearer to the

solution of the mystery. a note was handed in after

breakfast, which holmes passed across to me with a smile.

"sir," it ran, "i can assure you that you are wasting

your time in dogging my movements. i have, as you

discovered last night, a window at the back of my

brougham, and if you desire a twenty-mile ride which

will lead you to the spot from which you started, you

have only to follow me. meanwhile, i can inform you

that no spying upon me can in any way help mr. godfrey

staunton, and i am convinced that the best service you

can do to that gentleman is to return at once to

london and to report to your employer that you are

unable to trace him. your time in cambridge will

certainly be wasted.

"yours faithfully,

"leslie armstrong."

"an outspoken, honest antagonist is the doctor," said

holmes. "well, well, he excites my curiosity, and i

must really know more before i leave him."

"his carriage is at his door now," said i. "there he

is stepping into it. i saw him glance up at our

window as he did so. suppose i try my luck upon the

bicycle?"

"no, no, my dear watson! with all respect for your

natural acumen i do not think that you are quite a

match for the worthy doctor. i think that possibly i

can attain our end by some independent explorations of

my own. i am afraid that i must leave you to your own

devices, as the appearance of _two_ inquiring

strangers upon a sleepy countryside might excite more

gossip than i care for. no doubt you will find some

sights to amuse you in this venerable city, and i hope

to bring back a more favourable report to you before

evening."

once more, however, my friend was destined to be

disappointed. he came back at night weary and

unsuccessful.

"i have had a blank day, watson. having got the

doctor's general direction, i spent the day in

visiting all the villages upon that side of cambridge,

and comparing notes with publicans and other local

news agencies. i have covered some ground:

chesterton, histon, waterbeach, and oakington have

each been explored and have each proved disappointing.

the daily appearance of a brougham and pair could

hardly have been overlooked in such sleepy hollows.

the doctor has scored once more. is there a telegram

for me?"

"yes; i opened it. here it is: 'ask for pompey from

jeremy dixon, trinity college.' i don't understand

it."

"oh, it is clear enough. it is from our friend

overton, and is in answer to a question from me.

i'll just send round a note to mr. jeremy dixon,

and then i have no doubt that our luck will turn.

by the way, is there any news of the match?"

"yes, the local evening paper has an excellent account

in its last edition. oxford won by a goal and two

tries. the last sentences of the description say:

'the defeat of the light blues may be entirely

attributed to the unfortunate absence of the crack

international, godfrey staunton, whose want was felt

at every instant of the game. the lack of combination

in the three-quarter line and their weakness both in

attack and defence more than neutralized the efforts

of a heavy and hard-working pack.'"

"then our friend overton's forebodings have been

justified," said holmes. "personally i am in

agreement with dr. armstrong, and football does not

come within my horizon. early to bed to-night,

watson, for i foresee that to-morrow may be an

eventful day."

i was horrified by my first glimpse of holmes next

morning, for he sat by the fire holding his tiny

hypodermic syringe. i associated that instrument with

the single weakness of his nature, and i feared the

worst when i saw it glittering in his hand. he

laughed at my expression of dismay, and laid it upon

the table.

"no, no, my dear fellow, there is no cause for alarm.

it is not upon this occasion the instrument of evil,

but it will rather prove to be the key which will

unlock our mystery. on this syringe i base all my

hopes. i have just returned from a small scouting

expedition and everything is favou