Part 6

As Mr Williams finished reading, there was knock on door and Doctor Green came in. He had just returned from Brighton and had found Williams’ note. He agreed at once that picture was of Anningly Hall, which was not far from where he had grown up.

‘Have you any explanation of figure, Green?’ asked Williams.

‘I don’t know, I’m sure, Williams,’ Doctor Green replied.

‘When I was boy, some of old people in Anningly still used to talk about disappearance of Francis child. They said that Sir Arthur had lot of trouble with some of local people coming onto his land to steal his fish and his birds.

He decided to catch them all and have them punished, and, one by one he did, until there was only one left. This was man called Gawdy whose family had once been rich and important in that part of Essex. In fact, some of them had their tombs in village church too. However, family had lost all their land and their money over years and Gawdy felt rather bitter about it all.

For long time Sir Arthur could not catch him doing anything wrong until one night his men found Gawdy with dead birds in Sir Arthur’s woods. There was fight and one of men was shot. This was just what Sir Arthur needed; judge was on his side, of course, and poor Gawdy was hanged few days later. people thought that friend of Gawdy’s stole Sir Arthur’s little boy in revenge, to put end to Francis family as well. But I should say now, that it looks more as if old Gawdy managed job himself. Brrrr. I don’t like to think about it. Let’s have drink, shall we?’

The story of picture was told to few people; some believed it and some did not. Mr Britnell knew nothing about it except that picture was unusual in some way. It is now in museum and, although it has been carefully watched, no one has ever seen it change again.