Campden Hill

“ A little farther up is a double row of cottages with a paved way between them that seem to have been lifted bodily out of a Yorkshire mill town and dropped with their quaint out-houses on to the confines of Kensington. When you come upon Thresher's Place you rub your eyes and wonder if it is possible that five minutes' walk will bring you out on Campden Hill.
In the mews round about the Potteries are the remnants of the Italian colony that drifted here some years ago, when Little Italy in Clerkenwell began to be encroached upon by the modern builder. ”

“ Gloucester Road derived its title from Oxford Lodge, the residence of the late Duchess of Gloucester, in the immediate vicinity. Campden Hill defines the estate belonging to Campden House, still standing in Campden Square, and originally occupied by Sir Baptist Hicks, who built Hicks’ Hall, Clerkenwell, in 1612, afterwards created Viscount Campden. Warwick Road, Warwick Gardens, Holland Road, and Earl’s Court Road are spacious modern thoroughfares, designated after the Earls of Warwick, the original owners of the estate known as Earl’s Court, now in the possession of the Holland family. ”

“ There was a note of urgency in his demand which must have carried conviction even to the mind of the clerk, for in something less than ten seconds the reply came.
"Scotland Yard speaking. Who's that?"
"Dr. Colin Gray. Can you tell me if Inspector Marsden is still there?"
"I think so. Hold on a minute and I'll find out."
A pause followed.
"Hullo!" exclaimed a voice. "I'm Marsden. What's the matter, doctor? I didn't expect to hear from you again at this time of night."
"It's a bad business," said Colin quietly. "I'm speaking from the Red Lodge, Campden Hill. ”

“ For the first three miles Colin needed all his skill and luck to avoid disaster; then, as they drew farther out into the lonely marshland which borders the north bank of the Thames, the conditions gradually improved. The east wind, which blows perpetually over that desolate region, had already begun to dry up the surface of the road, while with nothing but an occasional cowshed or a few leafless trees to obstruct the view, the chances of running headlong into some unforeseen death trap were reduced to much more comforting proportions. ”

“ Followed by the others, he started cautiously forward up the drive, and, skirting the edge of the shrubbery, came out on to a neglected strip of grass, which at some remote period had evidently been a tennis lawn.
Facing them was the house, an old-fashioned two-storey residence, with a tumble-down verandah half covered in ivy. From the French windows in the centre a broad patch of light streamed out hospitably through the drawn blinds.
Marsden's gaze travelled thoughtfully from one end of the building to the other.
"There's only one way to do it," he said, in a low voice. ”

“ Colin followed close behind him, and after several minutes of this unpleasant progress they came out on to a muddy and deserted roadway which ran parallel with the river.
Colin glanced back over the route they had come. "A nice open situation," he remarked, "but I should think that the people who lived here were rather apt to break their necks."
"It's an orkard spot to get to in the dark," admitted his companion. "You'll be all right though, doctor. I'll see yer back meself as far as Flood Lane." ”

“ The Red Lodge, the home of Professor Carter, dated back to the leisured days of George the Third. It was a square, creeper-clad house, surrounded by a high wall, with a covered passageway leading up from the street to the front door. Through the outside gate, the upper half of which consisted of an iron grille, the curiously minded passer-by could, by straining his neck, just obtain a glimpse into the neglected garden. ”

“ The man hesitated. "It's dahn at the bottom o' Flood Lane. One o' them old 'ouses backin' on the river."
Colin recognized the spot from his description—a ruinous and half-deserted slum, most of which had already been demolished. Before he could speak, however, the visitor resumed his petition.
"For Gawd's sake come along an' 'ave a look at 'im, guv'nor. We can't find no other doctor, an' 'e's sufferin' somethin' crool." ”

“ Medwin. "It's only just round the corner out of Kensington Square."
They made their way through the traffic, and a few minutes' walk brought them to a row of small white, semi-detached houses, each one standing back behind a narrow strip of garden.
Mr. Medwin pulled up in front of the third, and opened the gate for Colin.
"This is my chateau," he announced. "Not quite so magnificent as the Red Lodge, but it does well enough for a middle-aged bachelor." ”

“ He strolled forward to the entrance, where Nancy joined him, and the two of them waited on the pavement while the gate was being refastened. Then, after declining the pressing offer of a little refreshment from Mr. Higgins, they strolled off again along the narrow and unsavoury thoroughfare which is the nearest approach that Shadwell can boast to a main street.
"You mustn't judge the place entirely by its smells and its appearance," said Colin. "You will probably find the people a bit rough at first, but they're a jolly friendly lot really, and they all adore Mark. ”

“ The traveller fresh from Stratford, where brick, and timber-framed and plastered houses abound, feels astonishment in the sudden transition to a place like Campden, in which I believe there is not a single example of timber-framing.
The old town of Campden is extraordinarily full of architectural interest; with domestic work ranging from the mid-fourteenth century house of the Grevels to the beginning of the eighteenth century, when the town began to decline and building ceased. No modern suburbs are found on the outskirts of Campden. ”

“ With the best part of an hour and a half before him Colin came out into Whitehall and paused irresolutely on the edge of the pavement. Of all the tasks with which an impatient man can be confronted, that of killing time is perhaps the most trying. He was not in the least hungry, and, in any case, there was something ghastly in the thought of sitting all that while in a half-empty restaurant, brooding miserably over what might have happened to Nancy. ”

“ He piloted her round the corner of Church Street and led the way into a small garage, where a miscellaneous collection of cars were ranged along the walls.
"This is mine," he remarked, coming to a halt in front of a rather battered four-seater. "She's not a beauty to look at, but she can go like the devil."
Before Nancy could offer any comment a young man in dirty overalls wriggled out from beneath a neighbouring limousine.
Colin greeted him with a friendly nod. ”

“ He sank back against the cushions, and with a queer half-incredulous expression, stared up into Colin's face.
"I am not often mistaken in my judgment of people," he said, "but I seem to have blundered pretty badly with regard to you."
"Answer my questions," said Colin. "Where's Miss Seymour?"
"She's at Fenton's cottage in Essex, close to South Ockendon. It's a small white house called 'The Firs,' on the right hand of the road, just before you reach the village."
Colin walked to the desk and wrote down his directions on a blank sheet of paper. ”

“ Before either of them could speak again there was a tap outside, and an apologetic constable presented himself in the doorway.
"Beg pardon, sir," he said, "but the Commissioner is ready to see you."
With an abrupt change of manner Marsden rose to his feet.
"Thank you, Jackson," he said. "I will be down immediately."
Then, as the door closed, he took a step forward, and with another hearty chuckle gripped hold of Colin's hand.
"I congratulate you with all my heart, doctor," he said. "Unless I'm a damned fool, you're the luckiest man in England." ”

“ Colin himself was in no mood for superfluous courtesy, but a timely swerve enabled him to avoid the opposite extreme, and the next minute they had hobbled down the steps, and were standing on the pavement.
Blowing out the candle, and placing it on the ground, Nancy closed the door behind them.
Joe held out his free hand toward her. "Better let me 'ave the gun, miss," he remarked. "We might meet 'em before we gets to Flood Lane, and, seein' as they means mischief, the only thing to do is to shoot quick." ”

“ With this resolve he started the car, and, turning down through Burton Court on to the Embankment, swung round to the left in the direction of Westminster Bridge. A sharp run of about seven minutes brought him to the Yard gates, where, as usual, a couple of stalwart-looking constables were standing on duty. Colin recognized one of them as his acquaintance of the previous day, and with a friendly nod he pulled up alongside.
"That's all right, sir," observed the man approvingly. "No objection to your coming in now we know who you are."
Colin leaned forward from the driving seat. ”

“ But he could imagine his street, the rain-swept desolate curve of it, as it turned northward, and beyond the empty suburban roads, the twinkling villa windows, the ruined field, the broken lane, and then yet another suburb rising, a solitary gas-lamp glimmering at a corner, and the plane tree lashing its boughs, and driving great showers against the glass.
It was wonderful to think of. For when these remote roads were ended one dipped down the hill into the open country, into the dim world beyond the glint of the friendly fires. ”

“ The hump-backed ridges, connecting Cannon with Kinsman, present nearly the same appearance from this as from the other side of the Notch—or as remarked when approaching from Campton.
The superb picture seen from the upper end of the valley, combining, as it does, the two great chains in a single glance of the eye, is extended and improved by going a mile out of the village to the school-house on the Sugar Hill road. It is a peerless landscape. ”

“ It is served by the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line and the Southern railways. Camden is situated about 100 ft. above the river, which is navigable to this point. The town is a winter resort, chiefly for Northerners. Cotton, grain and rice are produced in the vicinity, and there are some manufactories, including cotton mills, a cotton-seed oil mill and planing mills. Camden, first known as Pine Tree Hill, is one of the oldest interior towns of the state, having been settled in 1758; in 1768 the present name was adopted in honour of Lord Chancellor Camden. ”

“ He led me outside the house to the end of the uppermost of the terraces. It was a brilliantly moon-lighted night; the road which led up the valley wound away to the gloom of the hills like a silver stream. “Follow the road,” he said. “About a mile from here you will come to a gate in a stone wall, close to a ruinous sheep-fold. Pass through the gate and follow a path which is well defined through the heather and the bracken. At the extreme ridge of the hill you will see a mass of grey rock—the path will lead you to within a few yards of it. ”

“ In all directions is a view never excelled. There lie the quiet fields, extending from the base of the hill, while the river, like a serpent of gigantic but graceful proportions, curves across them. Here and there are charming groves and solid woodlands, and on, in the distant west, are the famed Highlands. To the north and east are the Ochil Hills, with their companions, the Campsie Hills, on the south; and on the rear lies Stirling town, naïvely antique.
How natural is it to look farther over the great landscape. ”

“ The one adventure of the holidays was the visit to the Roman fort, to that fantastic hill about whose steep bastions and haggard oaks he had seen the flames of sunset writhing nearly three years before. Ever since that Saturday evening in January, the lonely valley had been a desirable place to him; he had watched the green battlements in summer and winter weather, had seen the heaped mounds rising dimly amidst the drifting rain, had marked the violent height swim up from the ice-white mists of summer evenings, had watched the fairy bulwarks glimmer and vanish in hovering April twilight. ”

“ In the hedge of the lane there was a gate on which he used to lean and look down south to where the hill surged up so suddenly, its summit defined on summer evenings not only by the rounded ramparts but by the ring of dense green foliage that marked the circle of oak trees. ”

“ On the west you can distinguish the summits of Ben More, Ben Ledi, and Ben Lomond, and other smaller hills. On the south we have the vast and fertile region extending from the Campsie Hills to the Lammermoor chain, including Edinburgh, Arthur’s Seat, the Bass Rock, and the Pentland Hills. The Devon, rendered classic by Scott, a peculiarly winding river, after having made a complete circuit of the Ochil range, is seen to fall into the Forth at Cambus, almost{70} directly opposite the spot where it rises, on the opposite side of the hill. ”

“ Our footsteps echo loudly as we trudge through Pembroke's deserted street, where as yet a few half-awakened housemaids, and labouring men going to their day's work, are the only signs of life.
Nearing the railway-station we turn aside into a narrow, tortuous lane; cross the stream that fed the old town moat and, passing a water-mill beside a disused limestone quarry, we strike up the steady ascent of Windmill Hill; catching en route a glimpse of the time-worn steeple of St. Daniel's Church, now used merely as a cemetery chapel. ”