IV.THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

關燈
Wewereseatedatbreakfastonemorning,mywifeandI,whenthemaidbroughtinatelegram.ItwasfromSherlockHolmesandraninthisway: “Haveyouacoupleofdaystospare?HavejustbeenwiredforfromthewestofEnglandinconnectionwithBoscombeValleytragedy.Shallbegladifyouwillcomewithme.Airandsceneryperfect.LeavePaddingtonbythe11:15.” “Whatdoyousay,dear?”saidmywife,lookingacrossatme.“Willyougo?” “Ireallydon’tknowwhattosay.Ihaveafairlylonglistatpresent.” “Oh,Anstrutherwoulddoyourworkforyou.Youhavebeenlookingalittlepalelately.Ithinkthatthechangewoulddoyougood,andyouarealwayssointerestedinMr.SherlockHolmes’cases.” “IshouldbeungratefulifIwerenot,seeingwhatIgainedthroughoneofthem,”Ianswered.“ButifIamtogo,Imustpackatonce,forIhaveonlyhalfanhour.” MyexperienceofcamplifeinAfghanistanhadatleasthadtheeffectofmakingmeapromptandreadytraveller.Mywantswerefewandsimple,sothatinlessthanthetimestatedIwasinacabwithmyvalise,rattlingawaytoPaddingtonStation.SherlockHolmeswaspacingupanddowntheplatform,histall,gauntfiguremadeevengaunterandtallerbyhislonggreytravelling-cloakandclose-fittingclothcap. “Itisreallyverygoodofyoutocome,Watson,”saidhe.“Itmakesaconsiderabledifferencetome,havingsomeonewithmeonwhomIcanthoroughlyrely.Localaidisalwayseitherworthlessorelsebiassed.IfyouwillkeepthetwocornerseatsIshallgetthetickets.” WehadthecarriagetoourselvessaveforanimmenselitterofpaperswhichHolmeshadbroughtwithhim.Amongtheseherummagedandread,withintervalsofnote-takingandofmeditation,untilwewerepastReading.Thenhesuddenlyrolledthemallintoagiganticballandtossedthemupontotherack. “Haveyouheardanythingofthecase?”heasked. “Notaword.Ihavenotseenapaperforsomedays.” “TheLondonpresshasnothadveryfullaccounts.Ihavejustbeenlookingthroughalltherecentpapersinordertomastertheparticulars.Itseems,fromwhatIgather,tobeoneofthosesimplecaseswhicharesoextremelydifficult.” “Thatsoundsalittleparadoxical.” “Butitisprofoundlytrue.Singularityisalmostinvariablyaclue.Themorefeaturelessandcommonplaceacrimeis,themoredifficultitistobringithome.Inthiscase,however,theyhaveestablishedaveryseriouscaseagainstthesonofthemurderedman.” “Itisamurder,then?” “Well,itisconjecturedtobeso.IshalltakenothingforgranteduntilIhavetheopportunityoflookingpersonallyintoit.Iwillexplainthestateofthingstoyou,asfarasIhavebeenabletounderstandit,inaveryfewwords. “BoscombeValleyisacountrydistrictnotveryfarfromRoss,inHerefordshire.ThelargestlandedproprietorinthatpartisaMr.JohnTurner,whomadehismoneyinAustraliaandreturnedsomeyearsagototheoldcountry.Oneofthefarmswhichheheld,thatofHatherley,waslettoMr.CharlesMcCarthy,whowasalsoanex-Australian.Themenhadknowneachotherinthecolonies,sothatitwasnotunnaturalthatwhentheycametosettledowntheyshoulddosoasneareachotheraspossible.Turnerwasapparentlythericherman,soMcCarthybecamehistenantbutstillremained,itseems,upontermsofperfectequality,astheywerefrequentlytogether.McCarthyhadoneson,aladofeighteen,andTurnerhadanonlydaughterofthesameage,butneitherofthemhadwivesliving.TheyappeartohaveavoidedthesocietyoftheneighbouringEnglishfamiliesandtohaveledretiredlives,thoughboththeMcCarthyswerefondofsportandwerefrequentlyseenattherace-meetingsoftheneighbourhood.McCarthykepttwoservants—amanandagirl.Turnerhadaconsiderablehousehold,somehalf-dozenattheleast.ThatisasmuchasIhavebeenabletogatheraboutthefamilies.Nowforthefacts. “OnJune3rd,thatis,onMondaylast,McCarthylefthishouseatHatherleyaboutthreeintheafternoonandwalkeddowntotheBoscombePool,whichisasmalllakeformedbythespreadingoutofthestreamwhichrunsdowntheBoscombeValley.Hehadbeenoutwithhisserving-maninthemorningatRoss,andhehadtoldthemanthathemusthurry,ashehadanappointmentofimportancetokeepatthree.Fromthatappointmenthenevercamebackalive. “FromHatherleyFarmhousetotheBoscombePoolisaquarterofamile,andtwopeoplesawhimashepassedoverthisground.Onewasanoldwoman,whosenameisnotmentioned,andtheotherwasWilliamCrowder,agame-keeperintheemployofMr.Turner.BoththesewitnessesdeposethatMr.McCarthywaswalkingalone.Thegame-keeperaddsthatwithinafewminutesofhisseeingMr.McCarthypasshehadseenhisson,Mr.JamesMcCarthy,goingthesamewaywithagununderhisarm.Tothebestofhisbelief,thefatherwasactuallyinsightatthetime,andthesonwasfollowinghim.Hethoughtnomoreofthematteruntilheheardintheeveningofthetragedythathadoccurred. “ThetwoMcCarthyswereseenafterthetimewhenWilliamCrowder,thegame-keeper,lostsightofthem.TheBoscombePoolisthicklywoodedround,withjustafringeofgrassandofreedsroundtheedge.Agirloffourteen,PatienceMoran,whoisthedaughterofthelodge-keeperoftheBoscombeValleyestate,wasinoneofthewoodspickingflowers.Shestatesthatwhileshewasthereshesaw,attheborderofthewoodandclosebythelake,Mr.McCarthyandhisson,andthattheyappearedtobehavingaviolentquarrel.SheheardMr.McCarthytheelderusingverystronglanguagetohisson,andshesawthelatterraiseuphishandasiftostrikehisfather.ShewassofrightenedbytheirviolencethatsheranawayandtoldhermotherwhenshereachedhomethatshehadleftthetwoMcCarthysquarrellingnearBoscombePool,andthatshewasafraidthattheyweregoingtofight.ShehadhardlysaidthewordswhenyoungMr.McCarthycamerunninguptothelodgetosaythathehadfoundhisfatherdeadinthewood,andtoaskforthehelpofthelodge-keeper.Hewasmuchexcited,withouteitherhisgunorhishat,andhisrighthandandsleevewereobservedtobestainedwithfreshblood.Onfollowinghimtheyfoundthedeadbodystretchedoutuponthegrassbesidethepool.Theheadhadbeenbeateninbyrepeatedblowsofsomeheavyandbluntweapon.Theinjuriesweresuchasmightverywellhavebeeninflictedbythebutt-endofhisson’sgun,whichwasfoundlyingonthegrasswithinafewpacesofthebody.Underthesecircumstancestheyoungmanwasinstantlyarrested,andaverdictof‘wilfulmurder’havingbeenreturnedattheinquestonTuesday,hewasonWednesdaybroughtbeforethemagistratesatRoss,whohavereferredthecasetothenextAssizes.Thosearethemainfactsofthecaseastheycameoutbeforethecoronerandthepolice-court.” “Icouldhardlyimagineamoredamningcase,”Iremarked.“Ifevercircumstantialevidencepointedtoacriminalitdoessohere.” “Circumstantialevidenceisaverytrickything,”answeredHolmesthoughtfully.“Itmayseemtopointverystraighttoonething,butifyoushiftyourownpointofviewalittle,youmayfinditpointinginanequallyuncompromisingmannertosomethingentirelydifferent.Itmustbeconfessed,however,thatthecaselooksexceedinglygraveagainsttheyoungman,anditisverypossiblethatheisindeedtheculprit.Thereareseveralpeopleintheneighbourhood,however,andamongthemMissTurner,thedaughteroftheneighbouringlandowner,whobelieveinhisinnocence,andwhohaveretainedLestrade,whomyoumayrecollectinconnectionwiththeStudyinScarlet,toworkoutthecaseinhisinterest.Lestrade,beingratherpuzzled,hasreferredthecasetome,andhenceitisthattwomiddle-agedgentlemenareflyingwestwardatfiftymilesanhourinsteadofquietlydigestingtheirbreakfastsathome.” “Iamafraid,”saidI,“thatthefactsaresoobviousthatyouwillfindlittlecredittobegainedoutofthiscase.” “Thereisnothingmoredeceptivethananobviousfact,”heanswered,laughing.“Besides,wemaychancetohituponsomeotherobviousfactswhichmayhavebeenbynomeansobvioustoMr.Lestrade.YouknowmetoowelltothinkthatIamboastingwhenIsaythatIshalleitherconfirmordestroyhistheorybymeanswhichheisquiteincapableofemploying,orevenofunderstanding.Totakethefirstexampletohand,Iveryclearlyperceivethatinyourbedroomthewindowisupontheright-handside,andyetIquestionwhetherMr.Lestradewouldhavenotedevensoself-evidentathingasthat.” “Howonearth—” “Mydearfellow,Iknowyouwell.Iknowthemilitaryneatnesswhichcharacterisesyou.Youshaveeverymorning,andinthisseasonyoushavebythesunlightbutsinceyourshavingislessandlesscompleteaswegetfartherbackontheleftside,untilitbecomespositivelyslovenlyaswegetroundtheangleofthejaw,itissurelyveryclearthatthatsideislessilluminatedthantheother.Icouldnotimagineamanofyourhabitslookingathimselfinanequallightandbeingsatisfiedwithsucharesult.Ionlyquotethisasatrivialexampleofobservationandinference.Thereinliesmymétier,anditisjustpossiblethatitmaybeofsomeserviceintheinvestigationwhichliesbeforeus.Thereareoneortwominorpointswhichwerebroughtoutintheinquest,andwhichareworthconsidering.” “Whatarethey?” “Itappearsthathisarrestdidnottakeplaceatonce,butafterthereturntoHatherleyFarm.Ontheinspectorofconstabularyinforminghimthathewasaprisoner,heremarkedthathewasnotsurprisedtohearit,andthatitwasnomorethanhisdeserts.Thisobservationofhishadthenaturaleffectofremovinganytracesofdoubtwhichmighthaveremainedinthemindsofthecoroner’sjury.” “Itwasaconfession,”Iejaculated. “No,foritwasfollowedbyaprotestationofinnocence.” “Comingonthetopofsuchadamningseriesofevents,itwasatleastamostsuspiciousremark.”