“Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as myself， andI had some slight acquaintance with him. He was not generallypopular among the undergraduates， though it always seemedto me that what was set down as pride was really an attempt tocover extreme natural diffidence. In appearance he was a man ofexceedingly aristocratic type， thin， high-nosed， and large-eyed，with languid and yet courtly manners. He was indeed a scionof one of the very oldest families in the kingdom， though hisbranch was a cadet one which had separated from the northernMusgraves some time in the sixteenth century， and had establisheditself in western Sussex， where the Manor House of Hurlstone isperhaps the oldest inhabited building in the county. Something ofhis birth place seemed to cling to the man， and I never looked athis pale， keen face or the poise of his head without associating himwith gray archways and mullioned windows and all the venerablewreckage of a feudal keep. Once or twice we drifted into talk， andI can remember that more than once he expressed a keen interestin my methods of observation and inference.
“For four years I had seen nothing of him until one morning hewalked into my room in Montague Street. He had changed little，was dressed like a young man of fashion—he was always a bit ofa dandy—and preserved the same quiet， suave manner which hadformerly distinguished him.
“ ‘How has all gone with you Musgrave？’ I asked after we hadcordially shaken hands.
“ ‘You probably heard of my poor father’s death，’ said he； ‘hewas carried off about two years ago. Since then I have of coursehad the Hurlstone estates to manage， and as I am member formy district as well， my life has been a busy one. But I understand，Holmes， that you are turning to practical ends those powers withwhich you used to amaze us？’
“ ‘Yes，’ said I， ‘I have taken to living by my wits.’
“ ‘I am delighted to hear it， for your advice at present would beexceedingly valuable to me. We have had some very strange doingsat Hurlstone， and the police have been able to throw no light uponthe matter. It is really the most extraordinary and inexplicablebusiness.’
“You can imagine with what eagerness I listened to him，Watson， for the very chance for which I had been panting duringall those months of inaction seemed to have come within myreach. In my inmost heart I believed that I could succeed whereothers failed， and now I had the opportunity to test myself.
“ ‘Pray， let me have the details，’ I cried.
“Reginald Musgrave sat down opposite to me， and lit thecigarette which I had pushed towards him.
“ ‘You must know，’ said he， ‘that though I am a bachelor， I haveto keep up a considerable staff of servants at Hurlstone， for itis a rambling old place， and takes a good deal of looking after. Ipreserve， too， and in the pheasant months I usually have a houseparty，so that it would not do to be short-handed. Altogether thereare eight maids， the cook， the butler， two footmen， and a boy. Thegarden and the stables of course have a separate staff.
“ ‘Of these servants the one who had been longest in our servicewas Brunton the butler. He was a young schoolmaster out of placewhen he was first taken up by my father， but he was a man of greatenergy and character， and he soon became quite invaluable in thehousehold. He was a well-grown， handsome man， with a splendidforehead， and though he has been with us for twenty years hecannot be more than forty now. With his personal advantagesand his extraordinary gifts—for he can speak several languagesand play nearly every musical instrument—it is wonderful that heshould have been satisfied so long in such a position， but I supposethat he was comfortable， and lacked energy to make any change.
The butler of Hurlstone is always a thing that is remembered byall who visit us.
“ ‘But this paragon has one fault. He is a bit of a Don Juan， andyou can imagine that for a man like him it is not a very difficultpart to play in a quiet country district. When he was married itwas all right， but since he has been a widower we have had no endof trouble with him. A few months ago we were in hopes that hewas about to settle down again for he became engaged to RachelHowells， our second house-maid； but he has thrown her over sincethen and taken up with Janet Tregellis， the daughter of the headgame-keeper. Rachel—who is a very good girl， but of an excitableWelsh temperament—had a sharp touch of brain-fever， and goesabout the house now—or did until yesterday—like a black-eyedshadow of her former self. That was our first drama at Hurlstone；but a second one came to drive it from our minds， and it wasprefaced by the disgrace and dismissal of butler Brunton.
“ ‘This was how it came about. I have said that the man wasintelligent， and this very intelligence has caused his ruin， for it seemsto have led to an insatiable curiosity about things which did not inthe least concern him. I had no idea of the lengths to which thiswould carry him， until the merest accident opened my eyes to it.
“ ‘I have said that the house is a rambling one. One day lastweek—on Thursday night， to be more exact—I found that I couldnot sleep， having foolishly taken a cup of strong café noir after mydinner. After struggling against it until two in the morning， I feltthat it was quite hopeless， so I rose and lit the candle with theintention of continuing a novel which I was reading. The book，however， had been left in the billiard-room， so I pulled on mydressing-gown and started off to get it.