Police Officer Tidwell left the station just after 8 a.m.
on Sunday June 4. He had spent an uneventful night on duty and was looking
forward to his day of rest. By habit he took a short cut down the path behind
Dugby Hall road and after a minute or two he saw a man climbing down a drainpipe
from an open bedroom window of number 29. In silence Tidwell crept into the
garden. The man reached the ground and was dusting himself down when he felt his
arm gripped. "It’s 8:15 on a Sunday morning," said the officer,
"and this sort of thing seems an unlikely adventure at such a time. Would you
mind explaining" The man was obviously startled but kept calm.
He said, "I know what you’re thinking, officer, but it isn’t true. This is a
funny mistake." "It’s part of my job to take an interest in unusual events. I
think you’ve just left this house in a manner other than the customary one. That
may be quite innocent, but I’d like to make sure." Tidwell took out his notebook
and a pen. "Name, address and occupation and then, please, tell me your
story." "Charlie Crane, lorry driver, from Nottingham, 51
Breton Street. My story..." "Yes. What were you doing like a fly on that wall,
Mr. Crane" "Well, I had a breakdown yesterday and had to stay the night here.
Bed and breakfast. The landlady’s name is Mrs. Fern. She gave me breakfast at
seven, and I was out of here in the right way and down at the lorry by half past
seven. Only when I felt around for a cigarette, did I realize I’d left $80 in my
envelope under the pillow here at number 29. I always put it under my pillow at
night. It’s a habit I’ve got into. I even do it at home..." "I
see. Why didn’t you miss it when you went to pay Mrs... What’s her name" "I’d
paid her last night. You’ve got to pay when you take the room, see So I came
rushing back, but it’s Sunday, and she’d gone back to bed, and could I wake her
I rang the bell and banged on the front door for ten minutes before I came round
here to the back and spotted my bedroom window is sill open. Up I went, then, up
this pipe. It’s a trick I learnt in the army. She didn’t make the bed, and the
money was still there. You know the rest, and I hope you believe it
because..." "Mr. Crane, what are you doing here I thought
you’d gone an hour ago." It was Mrs. Fern, speaking from the kitchen window at
the comer of the house. The police officer questioned the man because
A. he had seen him do a strange thing.
B. he thought he knew him.
C. the man had fallen and needed attention.
D. the man had tried to escape from a window.