IV.THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY
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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.”