第11期:向福尔摩斯叙述故事(5)

'I beg that you will state your business, sir, ' said I; 'my time is of value. ' Heaven forgive me for that last sentence, but the words came to my lips.

'How would fifty guineas for a night's work suit you? ' he asked. 'Most admirably. ' 'I say a night's work, but an hour's would be nearer the mark.

I simply want your opinion about a hydraulic stamping machine which has got out of gear. If you show us what is wrong we shall soon set it right ourselves.

What do you think of such a commission as that? ' 'The work appears to be light and the pay munificent. '

'Precisely so. We shall want you to come to-night by the last train. ' 'Where to? ' 'To Eyford, in Berkshire. It is a little place near the borders of Oxfordshire, and within seven miles of Reading.

There is a train from Paddington which would bring you there at about 11:15. ' 'Very good. ' 'I shall come down in a carriage to meet you. '

'There is a drive, then? ' 'Yes, our little place is quite out in the country. It is a good seven miles from Eyford Station. '