The Moonstone - Page 84/404

This was a nice sort of man to recover Miss Rachel's Diamond, and to

find out the thief who stole it!

"You seem to be fond of roses, Sergeant?" I remarked.

"I haven't much time to be fond of anything," says Sergeant Cuff. "But

when I _have_ a moment's fondness to bestow, most times, Mr. Betteredge,

the roses get it. I began my life among them in my father's nursery

garden, and I shall end my life among them, if I can. Yes. One of these

days (please God) I shall retire from catching thieves, and try my hand

at growing roses. There will be grass walks, Mr. Gardener, between my

beds," says the Sergeant, on whose mind the gravel paths of our rosery

seemed to dwell unpleasantly.

"It seems an odd taste, sir," I ventured to say, "for a man in your line

of life."

"If you will look about you (which most people won't do)," says Sergeant

Cuff, "you will see that the nature of a man's tastes is, most times, as

opposite as possible to the nature of a man's business. Show me any two

things more opposite one from the other than a rose and a thief; and

I'll correct my tastes accordingly--if it isn't too late at my time of

life. You find the damask rose a goodish stock for most of the tender

sorts, don't you, Mr. Gardener? Ah! I thought so. Here's a lady coming.

Is it Lady Verinder?"

He had seen her before either I or the gardener had seen her, though

we knew which way to look, and he didn't. I began to think him rather a

quicker man than he appeared to be at first sight.

The Sergeant's appearance, or the Sergeant's errand--one or both--seemed

to cause my lady some little embarrassment. She was, for the first time

in all my experience of her, at a loss what to say at an interview with

a stranger. Sergeant Cuff put her at her ease directly. He asked if any

other person had been employed about the robbery before we sent for him;

and hearing that another person had been called in, and was now in the

house, begged leave to speak to him before anything else was done.

My lady led the way back. Before he followed her, the Sergeant relieved

his mind on the subject of the gravel walks by a parting word to the

gardener. "Get her ladyship to try grass," he said, with a sour look at

the paths. "No gravel! no gravel!"

Why Superintendent Seegrave should have appeared to be several sizes

smaller than life, on being presented to Sergeant Cuff, I can't

undertake to explain. I can only state the fact. They retired together;

and remained a weary long time shut up from all mortal intrusion. When

they came out, Mr. Superintendent was excited, and Mr. Sergeant was

yawning.