"If these two ladies have been carried off, as they certainly seem to have been," he said, turning to his companions, "this is the spot! Now, just let me explain the lie of the land. The main road edges the park at the northern end, as you all know. But there is a good road at the southern extremity, and the sunk road runs down from it. A car could come down from there, be pulled up here, and kept waiting until the two ladies came along. They would have to descend these steps, cross the road, and ascend the steps on the other bank to get to the other half of the park. Now suppose they're forced into a car at the foot of the steps--the car goes off for the main road and gets clear away within a minute or two of the kidnapping taking place! There's the difficulty! The thing would be easy to do--granted force. Probably, the two captives were forced into the car at the point of revolvers."
"That's about it, sir!" agreed the elder of the policemen. "No choice in the matter, poor things! And, as you say, they'd be in and off--miles off--before they fairly knew what had happened."
"Come down and let's see the roadway," said Penteney.
But there was nothing to see at the foot of the steps. The road, like all roads and paths on the Riversreade Court property, was in a perfect state of repair, and there was scarcely a grain of dust on its spick-and-span, artificially treated and smoothed surface; certainly there were no signs of any struggle.
"That's how it's been, you may depend upon it," observed Penteney to Hetherwick as they looked about. "The men were waiting here with revolvers. They'd force them into the car and get in after them; a third man, an accomplice, would drive off. If only we had some more definite information about the car and its occupants!"
"There's an old chap coming down the road who seems to have his eye on us," remarked Hetherwick, looking round. "He may have something to tell. After all, some of the people hereabouts must have seen the car!"
The old man, evidently a labourer, came nearer, looking inquiringly from one to the other. He had the air of one who can tell something on occasion.
"Be you gentlemen a-enquirin' about a moty-car what was round here this mornin'?" he asked, as he came up. "I hear there was somebody a-askin' questions that way, so I just come down-along, like."