Page 126 - the-thirty-nine-steps

Sir? There are plenty of places with roads cut down through
the cliffs, and most roads have a step or two in them. Or do
you mean regular staircases all steps, so to speak?’
Sir Arthur looked towards me. ‘We mean regular stair-
cases,’ I said.
He reflected a minute or two. ‘I don’t know that I can
think of any. Wait a second. There’s a place in Norfolk Brat-
tlesham beside a golf-course, where there are a couple of
staircases, to let the gentlemen get a lost ball.’
‘That’s not it,’ I said.
‘Then there are plenty of Marine Parades, if that’s what
you mean. Every seaside resort has them.’
I shook my head. ‘It’s got to be more retired than that,’
I said.
‘Well, gentlemen, I can’t think of anywhere else. Of
course, there’s the Ruff -’
‘What’s that?’ I asked.
‘The big chalk headland in Kent, close to Bradgate. It’s
got a lot of villas on the top, and some of the houses have
staircases down to a private beach. It’s a very high-toned
sort of place, and the residents there like to keep by them-
selves.’
I tore open the Tide Tables and found Bradgate. High
tide there was at 10.17 P.m. on the 15th of June.
‘We’re on the scent at last,’ I cried excitedly. ‘How can I
find out what is the tide at the Ruff?’
‘I can tell you that, Sir,’ said the coastguard man. ‘I once
was lent a house there in this very month, and I used to go
out at night to the deep-sea fishing. The tide’s ten minutes

126 The Thirty-Nine Steps