It was dated from Montague Place upon the preceding evening, and

ran thus:

"DEAR MR. HOLMES:--I am very anxious to consult you as to whether

I should or should not accept a situation which has been offered

to me as governess. I shall call at half-past ten to-morrow if I

do not inconvenience you. 

Yours faithfully, VIOLET HUNTER."

"Do you know the young lady?" I asked.

"Not I."

"It is half-past ten now."

"Yes, and I have no doubt that is her ring."

"It may turn out to be of more interest than you think. You

remember that the affair of the blue carbuncle, which appeared to

be a mere whim at first, developed into a serious investigation.

It may be so in this case, also."

"Well, let us hope so. But our doubts will very soon be solved,

for here, unless I am much mistaken, is the person in question."

As he spoke the door opened and a young lady entered the room.

She was plainly but neatly dressed, with a bright, quick face,

freckled like a plover's egg, and with the brisk manner of a

woman who has had her own way to make in the world.

"You will excuse my troubling you, I am sure," said she, as my

companion rose to greet her, "but I have had a very strange

experience, and as I have no parents or relations of any sort

from whom I could ask advice, I thought that perhaps you would be

kind enough to tell me what I should do."

"Pray take a seat, Miss Hunter. I shall be happy to do anything

that I can to serve you."

I could see that Holmes was favorably impressed by the manner

and speech of his new client. He looked her over in his searching

fashion, and then composed himself, with his lids drooping and

his finger-tips together, to listen to her story.

"I have been a governess for five years," said she, "in the

family of Colonel Spence Munro, but two months ago the colonel

received an appointment at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and took his

children over to America with him, so that I found myself without

a situation. I advertised, and I answered advertisements, but

without success. At last the little money which I had saved began

to run short, and I was at my wit's end as to what I should do.

"There is a well-known agency for governesses in the West End

called Westaway's, and there I used to call about once a week in

order to see whether anything had turned up which might suit me.

Westaway was the name of the founder of the business, but it is

really managed by Miss Stoper. She sits in her own little office,

and the ladies who are seeking employment wait in an anteroom,

and are then shown in one by one, when she consults her ledgers

and sees whether she has anything which would suit them.

"Well, when I called last week I was shown into the little office

as usual, but I found that Miss Stoper was not alone. A

prodigiously stout man with a very smiling face and a great heavy

chin which rolled down in fold upon fold over his throat sat at

her elbow with a pair of glasses on his nose, looking very

earnestly at the ladies who entered. As I came in he gave quite a

jump in his chair and turned quickly to Miss Stoper.

"'That will do,' said he; 'I could not ask for anything better.

Capital! capital!' He seemed quite enthusiastic and rubbed his

hands together in the most genial fashion. He was such a

comfortable-looking man that it was quite a pleasure to look at

him.

"'You are looking for a situation, miss?' he asked.

"'Yes, sir.'

"'As governess?'

"'Yes, sir.'

"'And what salary do you ask?'

"'I had 4 pounds a month in my last place with Colonel Spence

Munro.'

"'Oh, tut, tut! sweating--rank sweating!' he cried, throwing his

fat hands out into the air like a man who is in a boiling

passion. 'How could anyone offer so pitiful a sum to a lady with

such attractions and accomplishments?'

"'My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,' said I.

'A little French, a little German, music, and drawing --'

"'Tut, tut!' he cried. 'This is all quite beside the question.

The point is, have you or have you not the bearing and deportment

of a lady? There it is in a nutshell. If you have not, you are

not fined for the rearing of a child who may some day play a

considerable part in the history of the country. But if you have

why, then, how could any gentleman ask you to condescend to

accept anything under the three figures? Your salary with me,

madam, would commence at 100 pounds a year.'

"You may imagine, Mr. Holmes, that to me, destitute as I was,

such an offer seemed almost too good to be true. The gentleman,

however, seeing perhaps the look of incredulity upon my face,

opened a pocket-book and took out a note.

"'It is also my custom,' said he, smiling in the most pleasant

fashion until his eyes were just two little shining slits amid

the white creases of his face, 'to advance to my young ladies

half their salary beforehand, so that they may meet any little

expenses of their journey and their wardrobe.'

"It seemed to me that I had never met so fascinating and so

thoughtful a man. As I was already in debt to my tradesmen, the

advance was a great convenience, and yet there was something

unnatural about the whole transaction which made me wish to know

a little more before I quite committed myself.

"'May I ask where you live, sir?' said I.

"'Hampshire. Charming rural place. The Copper Beeches, five miles

on the far side of Winchester. It is the most lovely country, my

dear young lady, and the dearest old country-house.'

"'And my duties, sir? I should be glad to know what they would

be.'

"'One child--one dear little romper just six years old. Oh, if

you could see him killing cockroaches with a slipper! Smack!

smack! smack! Three gone before you could wink!' He leaned back

in his chair and laughed his eyes into his head again.

"I was a little startled at the nature of the child's amusement,

but the father's laughter made me think that perhaps he was

joking.

"'My sole duties, then,' I asked, 'are to take charge of a single

child?'

"'No, no, not the sole, not the sole, my dear young lady,' he

cried. 'Your duty would be, as I am sure your good sense would

suggest, to obey any little commands my wife might give, provided

always that they were such commands as a lady might with

propriety obey. You see no difficulty, heh?'

"'I should be happy to make myself useful.'

"'Quite so. In dress now, for example. We are faddy people, you

know--faddy but kind-hearted. If you were asked to wear any dress

which we might give you, you would not object to our little whim.

Heh?'

"'No,' said I, considerably astonished at his words.

"'Or to sit here, or sit there, that would not be offensive to

you?'

"'Oh, no.'

"'Or to cut your hair quite short before you come to us?'

"I could hardly believe my ears. As you may observe, Mr. Holmes,

my hair is somewhat luxuriant, and of a rather peculiar tint of

chestnut. It has been considered artistic. I could not dream of

sacrificing it in this offhand fashion.

"'I am afraid that that is quite impossible,' said I. He had been

watching me eagerly out of his small eyes, and I could see a

shadow pass over his face as I spoke.

"'I am afraid that it is quite essential,' said he. 'It is a

little fancy of my wife's, and ladies' fancies, you know, madam,

ladies' fancies must be consulted. And so you won't cut your

hair?'

"'No, sir, I really could not,' I answered firmly.

"'Ah, very well; then that quite settles the matter. It is a

pity, because in other respects you would really have done very

nicely. In that case, Miss Stoper, I had best inspect a few more

of your young ladies.'

"The manageress had sat all this while busy with her papers

without a word to either of us, but she glanced at me now with so

much annoyance upon her face that I could not help suspecting

that she had lost a handsome commission through my refusal.

"'Do you desire your name to be kept upon the books?' she asked.

"'If you please, Miss Stoper.'

"'Well, really, it seems rather useless, since you refuse the

most excellent offers in this fashion,' said she sharply. 'You

can hardly expect us to exert ourselves to find another such

opening for you. Good-day to you, Miss Hunter.' She struck a gong

upon the table, and I was shown out by the page.