and holmes’ fears came to be realised, for from that day to this no word has ever been heard either of the beautiful woman, the sinister german, or the morose englishman. early that morning a peasant had met a cart containing several people and some very bulky boxes driving rapidly in the direction of reading, but there all traces of the fugitives disappeared, and even holmes’ ingenuity failed ever to discover the least clue as to their whereabouts.