The Dancing Druids by Gladys Mitchell

Author:Gladys Mitchell [Mitchell, Gladys]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780312182076
Google: v6HxOwAACAAJ
Amazon: 0312182074
Barnesnoble: 0312182074
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 1975-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

—«♦»—

‘… and how the devil sat upon the top of the house and cried out, “Throw the villain up here!” ’

Ibid. (The Travelling Musicians)

« ^ »

And now,’ said Mrs. Bradley, when her henchmen had slept and breakfasted, ‘I am going to the nine standing stones with a party of archaeologists. Do you know anything of archaeology?’ she added, turning towards the young men.

‘Well, I did some digging once,’ observed O’Hara, ‘when I was a kid of twelve. That was with my uncle and some friends in the south of France.’

‘Splendid. You shall certainly come and help. We shall be filmed at the same time. It will be most interesting.’

‘Filmed?’

‘Yes, child. All our party, with the exception of ourselves, my nephew and a friend of mine, an expert upon the Early Bronze Age, will be film extras hired for the occasion at union rates plus their tea. At least, I hope so!’

She gave such a horrible leer that the two young men did not know whether her remarks were to be taken seriously or not. Then she added:

‘To-morrow, then, we meet at the circle of standing stones. If you could bring a spade or two, and perhaps a pickaxe, a measuring-tape, a theodolite and a packet of sandwiches it would be as well, but no matter if you cannot get them.’

‘Have you hired the film extras?’ asked Laura.

‘Not yet. It will be a very good excuse, however, for calling at the house of the four dead trees, will it not?’

‘You know we’ve already been there?’ said Laura, a trifle uneasily. ‘That’s how we knew about Concaverty. Oh, and about that woman you called Mrs. Battle. I didn’t tell you about that.’

Mrs. Bradley heard the news with great interest and much satisfaction, and, to Laura’s relief, passed no judgment upon her secretary’s activities.

‘I’ll go and hire the film extras, if you like,’ Laura added. ‘That is, if you think I can.’

‘I have implicit faith in your abilities,’ said Mrs. Bradley solemnly. ‘When would you like to go? This afternoon? By the way, I wonder whether our Mr. Concaverty-Cassius is still at the Slepe Rock Hotel?’

The afternoon was cloudy and dull, and promised rain, and, although the rain held off, the atmosphere was depressing, and the blue-grey hills looked very far away. The sky remained threatening.

Laura set out from the hotel at Welsea at half-past two, with George to drive the car, and approached the house with trepidation. She was not at all sure what effect the previous visits had had, and she was uncertain, too, whether the woman whom Mrs. Bradley called Mrs. Battle had seen her with Gascoigne and O’Hara. If so, her present mission might be dangerous.

She went boldly up to the door, however, and rang the bell. It was answered by a scowling man whom she affected to take for Concaverty. She even addressed him by this name, and received, in response, no denial of the patronymic but merely a growling enquiry as to her business.

‘I want to hire some film extras,’ she replied.

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