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The Boscombe Valley Mystery - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Adventure Books Library

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The Boscombe Valley mystery. We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife
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and I when the maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes
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and ran in this way, have you a couple of days to spare?
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Have just been wired for from the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley
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tragedy. Shall be glad if you will come with me air in scenery perfect
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leave Paddington by the eleven fifteen. What do you say, dear, said
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my wife, looking across at me. Will you go? I really don't
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know what to say. I have a fairly long list at present. Oh
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An Struther would do your work for you. You have been looking a little
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pale lately. I think that the change would do you good. And you
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are always so interested in mister Sherlock Holmes's cases. I should be ungrateful if
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I were not seeing what I gained through one of them. I answered,
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But if I am to go, I must pack at once, for I
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have only half an hour. My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had at
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least had the effect of making me a prompt and ready traveler. My wants
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were few and simple, so that in less than the time, stated,
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I was in a cab with my valise, rattling away to paddingson station.
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Sherlock Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt figure,
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made even gaunter and taller by his long gray traveling cloak and close fitting
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cloth cap. It is really very good of you to come, Watson said
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he. It makes a considerable difference to me having someone with me on whom
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I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is always either worthless or else biased.
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If you will keep the two corner seats, I shall get the tickets.
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We had the carriage to ourselves, save for an immense litter of papers,
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which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged and read, with
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intervals of note taking and of meditation, until we were past reading. Then
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he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and toss them up on to
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the rack. Have you heard anything of the case, he asked, Not
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a word. I have not seen a paper for some days. The London
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press has not had very full accounts. I have just been looking through all
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the recent papers in order to master the particulars. It seems from what I
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gather to be one of those simple cases which are so extremely difficult that sounds
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little paradoxical, but it is profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a clue.
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The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is
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to bring it home. In this case, however, they have established a
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very serious case against the son of the murdered man. It is a murder,
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then, well it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing
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for granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into it. I will
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explain the state of things to you as far as I have been able to
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understand it in a very few words. Boscombe Valley is a country district not
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very far from ross and Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in that part is
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a mister John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned some years
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ago to the old country. One of the farms which he held, that
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of Heatherley, was lent to mister Charles McCarthy, who was also an ex
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Australian. The men had known each other in the colonies, so that it
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was not unnatural that when they came to settle down that they should do so
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as near each other as possible. Turner was apparently the richer man, so
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McCarthy became his tenant, but still remained, it seems, upon terms of
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perfect equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, a
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lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same age,
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but neither of them had wives living. They appeared to have avoided the society
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of the neighboring English families and to have led retired lives, though both the
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McCarthys were fond of sport and were frequently seen at the race meetings of the
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neighborhood. McCarthy kept two servants, a man and girl. Turner had a
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considerable household, some half dozen in the least. That is as much as
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I have been able to gather about the families. Now for the facts.
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On June third, that is Monday last, McCarthy left his house at Hatherley
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about three in the afternoon and walked down to the Boscombe Pool, which is
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a small lake formed by the spreading out of the stream which runs down the
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Boscombe Valley. He had been out with his serving man in the morning at
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ross and he had told the man that he must hurry, as he had
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an appointment of importance to keep it free from that appointment, he never came
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back alive. From Hatherley Farmhouse to the Boscombe Pool as a quarter of a
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mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One
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was an old woman whose name is not mentioned, and the other was William
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Crowder, a gamekeeper in the employ of mister Turner. Both these witnesses deposed
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that mister McCarthy was walking alone. The gamekeeper adds that within a few minutes
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of his seeing mister McCarthy pass he had seen his son, mister Jans Miss
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McCarthy, going the same way with a gun under his arm. To the
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best of his belief, the father was actually in sight at the time and
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the son was following him. He thought no more of the matter until he
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heard in the evening of the tragedy that had occurred. The two McCarthys were
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seen after the time when William Crowder, the gamekeeper, lost sight of them.
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The Boscombe Pool is thickly wooded round, with just a fringe of grass
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and reeds round the edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who
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is the daughter of the lodge keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in
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one of the woods picking flowers. She states that while she was there she
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saw at the border of the wooden close by the lake, mister McCarthy and
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his son, and that they appeared to be having a violent quarrel. She
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heard mister McCarthy the elder, using very strong language to his son, and
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she saw the latter raise up his hand as if to strike his father.
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She was so frightened by their violence that she ran away and told her mother
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when she reached home that she had left the two McCarthy's quarreling near Boscomb Pool
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Pool, and that she was afraid that they were going to fight. She
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had hardly said the words when young mister McCarthy came running up to the lodge
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to say that he had found his father dead in the wood and to ask
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for the help of the lodge keeper. He was much excited, without either
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his gun or his hat, and his right hand and sleeve were observed to
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be stained with fresh blood. On following him, they found the dead body
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stretched out upon the grasp side the pool. The head had been beaten in
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by repeated blows of some heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were such as
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might very well have been inflicted by the butt end of his son's gun,
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which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the body.
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Under these circumstances, the young man was instantly arrested, and a verdict of
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wilful murder having been returned at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday
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brought before the Magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next
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assizes. Those are the main facts of the case as they came out before
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the coroner and the police court. I could hardly imagine a more damning case,
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I remarked. If ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal, it does
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so here. Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing, answered Holmes thoughtfully.
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It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift
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your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an
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equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different. It must be confess, however,
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that the case looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very
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possible that he is indeed the culbrit There are several people in the neighborhood,
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However, and among them Miss Turner, the daughter of the neighboring landowner,
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who believe in his innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may
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recollect in connection with the study in Scarlet, to work out the case in
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his interest. Lestrade, being rather puzzled, has referred the case to me,
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and hence it is that two middle aged gentlemen are flying westward fifty miles
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an hour instead of quietly digesting their breakfasts at home. I am afraid,
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said I, that the facts are so obvious that you will find little credit
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to be gained out of this case. There is nothing more deceptive than an
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obvious fact, he answered, laughing. Besides, we may chance to hit
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upon some other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to mister
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Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting when I
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say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by means which he is
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quite incapable of employing, or even of understanding. To take the first example
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to hand, I very clearly perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon
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the right hand side. And yet I question whether miss Lestrade would have noticed
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even so self evident a thing as that, How on earth, my dear
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fellow. I know you well, I know the military neatness which characterizes you.
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You shave every morning, and in this season you shave by the sunlight.
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But since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back
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on the left side, and until it becomes positively slovenly as we get round
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the angle of the jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is
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less illuminated than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits
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looking at himself in an equal light in being satisfied with such a result.
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I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and inference. Therein lies
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my metier, and it is just possible that it may be of some service
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in the investigation which lies before us. There are one or two minor points
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which are brought out in the inquest in which are worth considering. What are
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they? It appears that his arrest did not take place at once, but
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after the return to Hatherley Farm, on the Inspector of Constabulary informing him that
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he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not surprised to hear it,
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and that it was no more than his deserts. This observation of his
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had the natural effect of removing any traces of doubt which might have remained in
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the minds of the coroner's jury. It was a confession I ejaculated no,
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for it was followed by a protestation of innocence. Coming on top of such
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a damning series of events, it was at the least a most suspicious remark.
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On the contrary, said Holmes, it is the brightest rift which I
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can at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be, he
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could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the circumstances were
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very black against him. Had he appeared surprised at his own arrest or feigned
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indignation at it, I should have looked upon it as highly suspicious, because
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such surprise or anger would not be natural under the circumstances, and yet might
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appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His frank acceptance of
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the situation marks him as either an innocent man, or else as a man
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of considerable self restraint and firmness. As to his remark about his deserts,
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It was also not unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body
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of his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that very
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day so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and
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even according to the little girl, whose evidence is so important, to raise
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his hand as if to strike him the self. Reproach and contrition which are
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displayed in his remark appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind,
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rather than of a guilty one. I shook my head. Many men
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have been hanged on far slighter evidence, I remarked. So they have,
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and many men have been wrongfully hanged. What is the young man's own account
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of the matter? It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to
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his support, as though there are one or two points in it which are
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suggestive. You will find it here and may read it for yourself. He
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picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire paper, and,
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having turned down the sheet, he pointed out the paragraph in which the un
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fortunate young man had given his own statement of what had occurred. I settled
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myself down in the corner of the carriage and read it very carefully. It
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ran in this way. Mister James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased,
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was then called and gave evidence as follows. I had been away from
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home for three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the morning
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of last Monday the third. My father was absent from home at the time
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of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he had driven
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over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after my return,
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I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and looking out of
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my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out of the yard,
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though I was not aware in which direction he was going. I then
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took my gun and strolled out in the direction of the Boscombe Pool, with
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the intention of visiting the rabbit warren, which is upon the other side.
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On my way, I saw William Crowder, the gamekeeper, as he had
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stated in his evidence, but he is mistaken in thinking that I was following
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my father. I had no idea that he was in front of me.
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When about a hundred yards from the pool, I heard a cry of COUI,
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which is an unusual signal between my father and myself. I then hurried
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forward and found him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much surprised
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at seeing me, and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there.
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A conversation ensued which led to high words and almost blows. For my father
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was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his passion was becoming
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ungovernable, I left him in returned towards Hatherly Farm. I had not gone
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more than one hundred fifty yards, however, when I heard a hideous outcry
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behind me, which caused me to run back again. I found my father
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expiring upon the ground, with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun
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and held him in my arms, but he almost instantly expired. I knelt
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beside him for some minutes, and then made my way to mister Turner's lodge
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keeper his house, being the nearest to ask for assistance. I saw no
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one near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he
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came by his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold
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and forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know,
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no active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter. The coroner
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did your father make any statement to you before he died, Witness. He
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mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some allusion to a rat.
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The coroner. What did you understand by that? Witness? It conveyed
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no meaning to me. I thought that he was delirious, the Coroner.
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What was the point upon which in your father had this final quarrel? Witness,
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I should prefer not to answer the Coroner. I am afraid that I
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must press it. Witness, it is really impossible for me to tell you.
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I can assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy
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which followed. The Coroner. That is for the court to decide. I
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need not point out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case
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considerably in any future proceedings which may arise. Witness. I still must refuse
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the Coroner. I understand that the cry of coui was a common signal between
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you and your father, Witness, it was the coroner. How was it
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then that he uttered it before he saw you, and before he even knew
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that you would return from Bristol, Witness, with considerable confusion, I do
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not know, a juryman, did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions when
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you returned on hearing the cry and found your father fatally injured. Witness,
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nothing definite, the coroner, What do you mean, Witness. I was
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so disturbed and excited as I rushed out into the open that I could think
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of nothing except my father. Yet I have a vague impression that as I
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ran forward, something lay upon the ground to the left of me. It
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seemed to be something gray in color, a coat of some sort, or
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a plaid. Perhaps. When I rose from my father, I looked round
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for it, but it was gone. Do you mean that it had disappeared
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before you went to help? Yes, it was gone. You cannot say
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what it was. No, I had a feeling something was there. How
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far from the body a dozen yards or so, and how far from the
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edge of the wood about the same. Then, if it was removed,
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it was while you were within a dozen yards of it, Yes, but
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with my back towards it. This concluded the examination of the witness. I
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see, said I as I glanced down the column that the coroner, in
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his concluding remarks, was rather severe upon young McCarthy. He calls attention and
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with reason to the discrepancy about his father having signaled to him before seeing him,
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and also to his refusal to give details of his conversation with his father,
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and his singular account of his father's dying words. They are all,
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as he remarks, very much against the son. Holmes laughed softly to himself
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and stretched himself out upon the cushion's seat. Both you and the Corrodor have
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been at some Paines, said he to single out the very strongest points in
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the young man's favor. Don't you see that you alternately give him credit for
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having too much imagination and too little? Too little if he could not invent
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a cause of quarrel which would give him the sympathy of the jury, too
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much, if he evolved from his own inner consciousness, anything so outree as
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a dying reference to a rat and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No,
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Sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what
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this young man says is true, and we shall see whither that hypothesis will
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lead us. And now here is my pocket, Petrarch, And not another
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word shall I say of this case until we are on the scene of action.
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We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be there in
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twenty minutes. It was nearly four o'clock when we, at last, after
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passing through the beautiful Stroud Valley and over the broad gleaming Severn, found ourselves
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at the pretty little country town of Ross. A lean ferret like man,
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furtive and sly looking, was waiting for us upon the platform. In spite
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of the light brown dustcoat and leather leggings which he wore in deference to his
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rustic surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognizing Lestrade of Scotland. Yard.
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With him, we drove to the Hereford Arms, where room had already been
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engaged for us. I have ordered a carriage, said Lestrade, as we
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sat over a cup of tea. I knew your energetic nature and that you
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would not be happy until you had been on the scene of the crime.
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It was very nice and complimentary of you. Holmes answered, it is entirely
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a question of barometric pressure. Lestrade looked startled. I do not quite follow,
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he said, how is the glass twenty nine? I see no wind
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and not a cloud in the sky. I have a case full of cigarettes
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here which needs smoking, and the sofa is very much superior to the usual
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country hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable that I shall
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use the carriage to night, Lustrade laughed indulgently. You have no doubt already
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formed your conclusions from the newspapers, he said. The case is as plain
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as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it, the plainer it
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becomes. Still. Of course, one can't refuse a lady in such a
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very positive one. Too. She has heard of you and would have your
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opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing which you could do
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which I had not already done. Why, bless my soul, here is
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her carriage at the door. He had hardly spoken before there rushed into the
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room one of the most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my
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life, her violet eyes shining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon
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her cheeks. All thought of her natural reserve lost in her overpowering excitement and
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concern. Oh, mister Sherlock Holmes, she cried, glancing from one to
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the other of us, and finally, with a woman's quick intuition fastening upon
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my companion, I am so glad that you have come. I have driven
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down to tell you. So. I know, oh, that James didn't
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do it. I know it, and I want you to start upon your
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work knowing it too. Never let yourself doubt upon that point. We have
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known each other since we were little children, and I know his faults as
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no one else does. But he is too tender hearted to hurt a fly.
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Such a charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him. I hope
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we may clear him, Miss Turner, said, Sherlock Holmes. You may
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rely upon my doing all that I can. But you have read the evidence.
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You have formed some conclusion. Do you not see some loophole, some
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flaw? Do you not yourself think that he is innocent? I think that
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it is very probable. There now, she cried, throwing back her head
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and looking defiantly at Lestrade. You hear he gives me hopes. Lestrade shrugged
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his shoulders. I am afraid that my colleague has been a little quick in
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forming his conclusions, he said, But he is right. Oh, I
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know that he is right. James never did it. And about his quarrel
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with his father, I am sure that the reason why he would not speak
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about it to the coroner is because I was concerned in it in what way?
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Asked Holmes. It is no time for me to hide anything. James
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and his father had many disagreements about me. Mister MacCarthy was very anxious that
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there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always loved each
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other as brother and sister. But of course he is young and has seen
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very little of life yet, and and well, naturally he did not wish
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to do anything like that yet. So there were quarrels, and this,
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I am sure was one of them. And your father, asked Holmes,
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was he in favor of such a union? No, he was averse to
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it. Also, No one but mister McCarthy was in favor of it.
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A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as Holmes shot one of his
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keen questioning glances at her. Thank you for this information, said he May
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I see your father if I call to morrow. I am afraid the doctor
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won't allow it. The doctor, yes, have you not heard? Poor
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father has never been strong for years back, but this has broken him down
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completely. He is taken to his bed and doctor Willows says that he is
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a wreck, and that his nervous system is shattered. Mister mc carthy was
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the only man alive who had known Dad in the old days in Victoria.
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Ha, in Victoria. That is important. Yes, at the mines,
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quite so, at the gold mines, where as I understand mister Turner made
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his money. Yes, certainly, Thank you, Miss Turner. You have
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been of material assistance to me. You will tell me if you have any
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news tomorrow. No doubt you will go to the prison to see James.
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Oh. If you do, mister Holmes, do tell him that I know
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him to be innocent. I will, miss Turner. I must go home
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now, for Dad is very ill and he misses me. So if I
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leave him, good bye, and God help you in your undertaking. She
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hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we heard the
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wheels of her carriage rattle off down the street. I am ashamed of you,
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Holmes, said Lestrade, with dignity, after a few minutes silence.
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Why should you raise up hopes which you are bound to disappoint. I am
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not over tender of heart, but I call it cruel. I think that
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I see my way to clearing. James mc carthy said, Holmes, have
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you in order to see him in prison. Yes, but only for you
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and me. Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have
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still time to take a train to Hereford and see him to night. Ample,
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then let us do so. Wats an I fear that you will find
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it very slow, But I shall only be away a couple of hours.
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I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through the streets
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of the little town, finally returning to the hotel, where I lay upon
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the sofa and tried to interest myself in a yellow backed novel. The puny
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plot of the story was so thin, however, when compared to the deep
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mystery through which we were groping, and I found my attention wander so continually
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from the action, to the fact that I at last flung it across the
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room and gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the day.
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Supposing that this unhappy young man's story were absolutely truth, and what hellish
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thing, what absolutely unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between the time when
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he parted from his father and the moment when drawn back by his screams,
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he rushed into the glade. It was something terrible and deadly. What could
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it be? Might not the nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical
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instincts? I rang the bell and called for the weekly country paper, which
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contained a verbatim account of the inquest. In the surgeon's deposition, it was
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stated that the posterior third of the left parietal bone and left half of the
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occipital bone had been shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I
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marked the spot upon my own head. Clearly, such a blow must have
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been struck from behind. That was to some extent in favor of the accused,
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as when seen quarreling, he was face to face with his father.
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Still it did not go for very much for the older man my have turned
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his back before the blow fell. Still it might be worth while to call
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Holmes' attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying reference to a rat.
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What could that mean? It could not be delirium, A man dying
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from a sudden bload as not commonly become delirious. No, it was more
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likely to be an attempt to explain how he met his fate. But what
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could it indicate? I cuddled my brains to find some possible explanation, and
25:26
then the incident of the gray cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were
25:30
true, the murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his
25:33
overcoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to return and
25:37
to carry it away at the instant when the sun was kneeling with his back
25:41
turned not a dozen paces off. What a tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the
25:45
whole thing was. I did not wonder at Lestrade's opinion, and yet I
25:49
had so much faith in Sherlock Holmes's insight that I could not lose hope as
25:55
long as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young McCarthy's. It
26:02
was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, for Lestrade was
26:07
staying in lodgings in the town. The glass still keeps very high, he
26:12
remarked, as he sat down. It is of importance that it should not
26:18
rain before we are able to go over the ground. On the other hand,
26:21
a man should be at his very best and keenness for such a nice
26:22
work as that, and I did not wish to do it when fagged by
26:26
a long journey. I have seen young MacCarthy, and what did you learn
26:30
from him? Nothing? Could he throw no light, none at all.
26:37
I was inclined to think at one time that he knew who had done it
26:40
and was screening him or her. But I am convinced now that he is
26:42
as puzzled as every one else. He is not a very quick witted use,
26:47
though comely to look at, and I should think sound at heart.
26:51
I cannot admire his taste, I remarked. If it is indeed a fact
26:55
that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as this
26:59
mister berner, Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is
27:04
madly, insanely in love with her, but some two years ago, when
27:08
he was only a lad, and before he really knew her, for she
27:11
had been away five years at a boarding school. What does the idiot do
27:15
but get into the clutches of a bar maid in Bristol and marry her at
27:19
a registry office. No one knows a word of the matter, but you
27:22
can imagine how madning it must be to him to be upbraided for not doing
27:27
what he would give his very eyes to do, but which he knows to
27:30
be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort which made him throw
27:34
his hands up into the air when his father, at their last interview,
27:37
was goading him on to propose to Miss Turner. On the other hand,
27:41
he had no means of supporting himself, and his father, who was by
27:44
all accounts a very hard man, would have thrown him over utterly had he
27:48
known the truth. It was with his bar made wife that he had spent
27:52
the last three days in Bristol, and his father did not know where he
27:55
was. Mark that point, it is of importance good has come out of
28:00
evil, however, for the barmaid, finding from the papers that he is
28:03
in serious trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly,
28:07
and has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the
28:11
Bermuda dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I think
28:15
that bit of news has consoled young McCarthy for all that he has suffered.
28:21
But if he is innocent, who has done it? Ah? Who?
28:25
I would call your attention very particularly to two points. One is that the
28:30
murdered man had an appointment with someone at the pool, and that the someone
28:33
could not have been his son, for his son was away and he did
28:37
not know when he would return. The second is that the murdered man was
28:41
heard to cry cooie before he knew that his son had returned. Those are
28:45
the crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk about
28:52
George Meredith, if you please, and we shall leave all minor matters until
28:56
tomorrow. There was no rain as home had foretold, and the morning broke
29:02
bright and cloudless. At nine o'clock Less Strade called for us with the carriage,
29:06
and we set off for Hazily Farm in the Boscombe Pool. Very serious
29:12
news this morning, the Strade observed. It is said that mister Turner of
29:17
the whole is so ill that his life is despaired. Of an elderly man,
29:21
I presume, said Holmes, about sixty, but his constitution has been
29:26
shattered by his life abroad, and he has been in failing health for some
29:30
time. This business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was
29:33
an old friend of McCarthy's, and I may add a great benefactor to him,
29:37
for I have learned that he gave him heavily farm rent free. Indeed,
29:41
that is interesting, said Holmes. Oh, yes, in a hundred
29:45
other ways he has helped him. Everybody about here speaks of his kindness to
29:48
him. Really, does it not strike you as a little singular that this
29:55
McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have
29:57
been under such obligations to Turner, should still talk of marrying his son to
30:02
turn his daughter, who is presumably heiress to the estate, and that in
30:06
such a very coture manner, as if it were merely a case of proposal,
30:10
and all else would follow. It is the more strange since we know
30:12
that Turner himself was averse to the idea. The daughter told us, as
30:17
much, do you not deduce something from that? We have got to the
30:22
deduces and the inferences, said Lestrade, winking at me. I find it
30:26
hard enough to tackle facts, Holmes was out flying away after theories and fancies.
30:32
You are right, said Holmes, demurely. You do find it very
30:36
hard to tackle the facts. Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you
30:40
seem to find it difficult to get hold of, replied Lestrade with some warmth,
30:44
and that is that McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior, and
30:48
that all theories still the contrary are the merest moonshine. Well, moonshine is
30:55
a brighter thing than fog, said Holmes, laughing, But I am very
30:59
much mistake. And if this is not Hatterly Farm upon the left, yes,
31:03
that is it. It was a widespread, comfortable looking building, two
31:07
storied, slate roofed, with great yellow blotches of lichen upon the gray walls.
31:11
The drawn blinds and smokeless chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look,
31:15
as though the weight of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We
31:21
called at the door, when the maid, at Holmes's request, showed us
31:23
the boots which her master wore at the time of his death, and also
31:26
a pair of the suns, though not the pair which he had then had.
31:30
Having measured these very carefully from seven or eight different points, Holmes desire
31:34
to be led to the courtyard, from which we all followed the winding track
31:37
which led to Boscombe pool Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot. Upon
31:42
such ascent as this, men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician
31:48
of Baker Street would have failed to recognize him. His face flushed and darkened.
31:52
His brows were drawn into two hard black lines, while his eyes shone
31:56
out from beneath them with a steely glitter. His face was bent downward,
32:00
his shoulders bowed, his lips compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord
32:05
in his long, sinewy neck. His nostril seemed to dilate with a purely
32:08
animal lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated upon the
32:14
matter before him that a question or remark fell unheeded upon his ears, or
32:17
at the most only provoked a quick, impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and
32:22
silently, he made his way along the track, which ran through the meadows,
32:27
and so by way of the woods to the Boscombe Pool. It was
32:30
damp, marshy ground, as is all that district, and there were marks
32:35
of many feet, both upon the path and amid the short grass which bounded
32:38
it on either side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead,
32:43
and once he made quite a little detour into the meadow Lestrade and I walked
32:47
behind him, the detective indifferent and contemptuous, while I watched my friend with
32:52
the interest which sprang from the conviction that every one of his actions was directed
32:57
towards a definite end. The Boscombe Pool, which is a little reed girt
33:01
sheet of water some fifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the
33:07
Heatherley farm and the private park of the wealthy mister Turner, above the woods
33:10
which lined it. Upon the farther side we could see the red jutting pinnacles
33:14
which marked the site of the rich land owner's dwelling. On the heathery side
33:19
of the pool, the woods grew very thick, and there was a narrow
33:22
belt of sodden grass twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the
33:25
reeds which lined the lake. The strage showed us the exact spot at which
33:30
the body had been found, and indeed, so moist was the ground that
33:32
I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the fall of the
33:37
stricken man. To Holmes, as I could see by his eager face and
33:40
peering eyes, very many other things were to be read upon the trampled grass.
33:45
He ran round like a dog who was picking up a scent, and
33:46
then turned upon my companion, What did you go into the pool for?
33:52
He asked? I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be
33:59
some weaponer traits. But how on earth, Oh, tut tut, I
34:01
have no time. That left foot of yours with it inward twist is all
34:05
over the place. A mole could trace it. And their advantages among the
34:07
wreaths. Oh, how simple it would have all been had I been here
34:12
before they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all over it. Here
34:15
is where the party with the lodge keeper came, and they have covered all
34:17
tracks for six or eight feet round the body. But here are three separate
34:21
tracks of the same feet. He drew out a lens and lay down upon
34:24
his waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time rather to himself
34:29
than to us. These are young McCarthy's feet. Twice he was walking,
34:32
and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are deeply marked and the
34:36
heels hardly visible. That bears out his story. He ran when he saw
34:39
his father on the ground. Then here are the father's feet as he paced
34:45
up and down. What is this? Then? It is the butt end
34:47
of the gun as the son stood listening in this Ha ha, what have
34:52
we here? Tiptoes tiptoes square to quite unusual. Boots, they come,
34:57
they go, they come again. Of course I was for the cloak.
35:00
Now where did they come from? He ran up and down, sometimes losing,
35:06
sometimes finding the track, until we were well within the edge of the
35:09
wood and under the shadow of a great beach, the largest tree in the
35:13
neighborhood. Holmes traced his way to the farther side of this and lay down
35:17
once more, upon his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a
35:21
long time he remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks, gathering
35:24
up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope, and examining with
35:28
his lens not only the ground, but even the bark of the tree.
35:30
As far as he could reach. A jagged stone was lying among the moss,
35:35
and this he also carefully examined and retained. Then he followed a pathway
35:39
through the wood until he came to the high road, where all traces were
35:43
lost. It has been a case of considerable interest, he remarked, returning
35:49
to his natural manner. I fancy that this gray house on the right must
35:52
be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a word
35:55
with Moran, and perhaps write a little note. Having done that, we
35:59
may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab, and
36:01
I shall be with you. Presently. It was about ten minutes before we've
36:07
regained our cab and drove back into Wross Holmes still carrying with him the stone
36:12
which he had picked up in the wood. This may interest you, lestrade,
36:15
he remarked, holding it out. The murder was done with it.
36:19
I see no marks, there are none. How do you know? Then?
36:24
The grass was growing under it? It had only lain there a few
36:28
days. There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken.
36:30
It corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other weapon,
36:35
and the murderer is a tall man, left handed, limps with the right
36:39
leg where its thick soled shooting boots and a gray cloak. Smokes Indian cigars,
36:45
uses a cigar holder, and clarries a blunt penknife in his pocket.
36:49
There are several other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in
36:52
our search. The Strade laughed, I am afraid that I am still a
36:58
skeptic. He saides, are all very well, but we have to deal
37:01
with a hard headed British jury. Nou vent, answered Holmes, calmly.
37:07
You work your own method, and I shall work mine. I shall be
37:10
busy this afternoon, and shall probably return to London by the evening train,
37:14
and leave your case unfinished. No finished, But the mystery it is solved.
37:21
Who is the criminal? Then the gentleman I describe? But who is
37:24
he? Surely it would not be difficult to find out that this is not
37:29
such a populous neighborhood. Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. I am a practical man,
37:36
he said, and I really cannot undertake to go about the country looking
37:39
for a left handed gentleman with a game leg. I should become the laughing
37:44
stock of Scotland. Yard all right, said Holmes quietly. I have given
37:50
you the chance. Here are your lodgings. Good bye. I shall drop
37:52
your line before I leave. Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove
37:58
to our hotel, where we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent
38:00
and buried in thought, with a pain expression upon his face, as one
38:05
who finds himself in a perplexing position. Look here, Watson, he said.
38:09
When the cloth was cleared, just sit down in this chair and let
38:13
me preach to you. For a little. I don't know quite what to
38:16
do when I should value your advice. Light a cigar and let me expound.
38:21
Pray do so well. Now, in considering this case, there are
38:24
two points about young mac carthy's narrative which struck us both instantly, although they
38:30
impressed me in his favor and you against him. One was the fact that
38:34
his father should, according to his account, cry coui before seeing him.
38:37
The other was his singular, dying reference to a rat. He mumbled several
38:43
words, you understand, but that was all that caught the son's ear.
38:46
Now from this double point, our research must commence, and we will begin
38:52
it by presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true. What of this
38:57
coui? Then, well, obviously it could not have been meant for the
39:01
sun. The sun, as far as he knew, was in Bristol.
39:05
It was mere chance that he was within earshot. The coui was meant to
39:08
attract the attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with. But
39:13
coui is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used between Australians.
39:19
There is a strong presumption that the person whom MacCarthy expected to meet him at
39:22
Boscombe Pool was someone who had been in Australia. What of the rat,
39:29
then, Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened it out
39:34
on the table. This is a map of the colony of Victoria, he
39:37
said, I wired to Bristol for it last night. He put his hand
39:42
over part of the map. What do you read, A rat? I
39:45
read, And now he raised his hand. Balarat. Quite so, that
39:54
was the word the man uttered, and of which his son only caught the
39:58
last two syllables. He was trying to utter the name of his murderer,
40:02
so and so of Ballarat. It is wonderful, I exclaimed, it is
40:09
obvious, And now you see I had narrowed the field down considerably. The
40:14
possession of a gray garment was a third point, which, granting the Sun's
40:16
statement to be correct, was a certainty. We have come now out of
40:21
mere vagueness to the definite conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a gray cloak,
40:25
certainly, and one who was at home in the district. For the
40:29
pool can only be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers
40:32
could hardly wander. Quite So then comes our expedition of to day. By
40:38
an examination of the ground, I gained the trifling details which I gave to
40:42
that imbecile astrade as to the personality of the criminal. But how did you
40:46
gain them? You know my method? It is founded upon the observation of
40:52
trifles. His height, I might know that you might roughly judge from the
40:55
length of his stride. His boots, too might be told from their traces.
41:00
Yes, they were peculiar boots. But his lameness, the impression of
41:04
his right foot was always less distinct than his left. He put less weight
41:07
upon it. Why because he limped he was lame. But his left handedness.
41:13
You were yourself struck by the nature of the injury. As recorded by
41:15
the surgeon at the inquest, the blow was struck from immediately behind it,
41:20
yet was upon the left side. Now, how can that be unless it
41:23
were by a left handed man. He had stood behind that tree during the
41:28
interview between the father and son. He had even smoked. There. I
41:31
found the ash of a cigar, which my special knowledge of tobacco ashes enables
41:36
me to pronounce as an Indian cigar. I have, as you know,
41:38
devoted some attention to this and written a little monograph on the ashes of one
41:43
hundred and forty different varieties of pipe cigar and cigarette tobacco. Having found the
41:46
ash, I then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss where he
41:51
had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar of the variety which are rolled
41:53
in Rottendam, and the cigar holder I could see that the end had not
41:59
been in his mouth, therefore he used to hold her. The tip had
42:01
been cut off, not bitten off, but the cut was not a clean
42:04
one, so I deduced a blunt penknife. Holmes, I said, you
42:09
have drawn a net round this man, from which he cannot escape, and
42:13
you have saved an innocent human life, as truly as if you had cut
42:16
the cord which was hanging him. I see the direction in which all this
42:20
points the culprit is mister John Turner, cried the hotel waiter, opening the
42:24
door of our sitting room and uttering in a visitor. The man who entered
42:30
was a strange and impressive figure. His slow limping step and bowed shoulders gave
42:36
the appearance of decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep lined, craggy features,
42:39
and his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual strength of body
42:45
and of character. His tangled beard, grizzled hair, and outstanding, drooping
42:49
eyebrows combined to give an air of dignity and power to his appearance. But
42:53
his face was of an ashen white, while his lips and the corners of
42:57
his nostrils were tinged with a shade of blue. It was clear to me
43:00
at a glance that he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease.
43:07
Pray, sit down on the sofa, said Holmes gently. You had
43:09
my note, Yes, the lodge keeper brought it up. You said that
43:15
you wished to see me here to avoid scandal. I thought people would talk
43:19
if I went to the hall. And why did you wish to see me?
43:23
He looked across at my companion with despair in his weary eyes, as
43:28
though his question was already answered. Yes, said Holmes, answering the look
43:34
rather than the words. It is so I know all about MacCarthy. The
43:40
old man sank his face in his hands. God help me, he cried.
43:46
But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I
43:50
give you my word that I would have spoken out if it went again to
43:52
him at the assizes. I am glad to hear you say so, said
43:58
Holmes gravely. I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear
44:02
girl. It would break her heart. It will break her heart when she
44:07
hears that I am arrested. It may not come to that, said Holmes.
44:13
What I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter
44:19
who required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests. Young
44:23
MacCarthy must be got off. However, I am a dying man, said
44:30
old Turner. I have had diabetes for years. My doctor says it is
44:35
a question whether I shall live a months. Yet I would rather die under
44:38
my own roof than in a jail. Holmes rose and sat down at the
44:45
table with his pen in his hand and a bundle of paper before him.
44:50
Just tell us the truth, he said. I shall jot down the facts,
44:54
you will sign it, and Watson here can witness it. Then I
44:59
could produce your confession at the last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise
45:02
you that I shall not use it unless it is absolutely needed. It's as
45:09
well, said the old man. It's a question whether I shall live to
45:14
the assizes. So it matters little to me, but I should wish to
45:17
spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the thing clear to you.
45:22
It has been a long time in the acting, but it will not
45:24
take me long to tell you didn't know this dead man McCarthy. He was
45:30
a devil incarnate. I tell you that God keep you out of the clutches
45:36
of such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty
45:39
years, and he has blasted my life. I'll tell you first how I
45:45
came to be in his power. It was in the early sixties at the
45:50
Diggings. I was a young chap then, hot blooded and reckless, ready
45:53
to turn my hand at anything I got among bad companions. Took to drink,
45:58
had no luck with my care, took to the bush, and a
46:01
word became what you would call over here a highway rubber. There were six
46:06
of us, and we had a wild, free life of it, sticking
46:08
up a station from time to time, or stopping the wagons on the road
46:14
to the Diggings. Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under,
46:17
and our party is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat gang. One
46:24
day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and we lay in
46:30
wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers and six of us,
46:34
so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of their saddles.
46:37
At the first volley, three of our boys were killed. However,
46:39
before we got the swag, I put my pistol to the head of the
46:43
wagon driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wished to the Lord
46:47
that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw
46:51
his wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every feature.
46:55
We got away with the gold, became wealthy men, and made our
46:59
way over to England without being suspected. There I parted from my old pals
47:04
and determined to settle down to a quiet and respectable life. I bought this
47:09
estate, which chanced to be in the market, and I set myself to
47:13
do a little good with my money to make up for the way in which
47:15
I had earned it. I married, too, and though my wife died
47:21
young, she left me my dear little Alice, even when she was just
47:24
a baby. Her wee hand seemed to lead me down the right path,
47:29
as nothing else had ever done. In a word, I turned over a
47:32
new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All was
47:37
going well when MacCarthy laid his grip upon me. I had gone up to
47:40
town about an investment, and I met him in Regent Street with hardly a
47:45
coat to his back or a boot to his foot. Here we are,
47:49
jack, says he, touching me on the arm. We'll be as good
47:52
as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son,
47:55
and you can have the keeping of us if you don't. It's a
48:00
fine, law abiding country is England, and there's always a policeman within hail
48:07
well down. They came to the West Country. There was no shaking them
48:12
off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land ever since.
48:15
There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness. Turned
48:20
where I would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my elbow.
48:24
It grew worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more
48:28
afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he wanted he
48:32
must have, and whatever it was I gave him without question, land,
48:37
money, houses, until at last he asked a thing which I could not
48:42
give he asked for alice. His son, you see, had grown up,
48:47
and so had my girl, and as I was known to be in
48:52
weak health, it seemed to find stroke to him that his lad should step
48:54
into the whole property. But there I was firm. I would not have
49:00
his cursed stock mixed with mine. Not that I had any dislike to the
49:05
lad, but his blood was in him, and that was enough. I
49:08
stood firm. MacCarthy threatened, I braved him to do his worst. We
49:14
were to meet at the pool midway between our houses to talk it over.
49:16
When I went down there, I found him talking with his son. So
49:20
I smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone.
49:24
But as I listened to his talk, all that was black and bitter in
49:28
me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my daughter,
49:32
with his little regard for what she might think, as if she were
49:36
a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I
49:39
and all that I held most dear, should be in the power of such
49:44
a man as this. Could I not snap the bond. I was already
49:47
a dying and desperate man, though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb.
49:52
I knew that my own fate was sealed, but my memory and my
49:57
girl both could be saved if I could but silence that foul tongue. I
50:02
did it, mister Holmes. I would do it again, deeply as I
50:07
have sinned. I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it.
50:10
But that my girl should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was
50:15
more than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction than
50:21
if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought back his
50:24
son, but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I was
50:30
forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in my flight.
50:35
That is the true story, gentlemen, of all that occurred. Well,
50:42
it is not for me to judge, you, said Holmes, as
50:45
the old man signed the statement which had been drawn out. I pray that
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we may never be exposed to such a temptation. I pray not, sir.
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And what do you intend to do in view of your health? Nothing?
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You are yourself aware that you will soon have to answer for your deed
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to a higher court than the Assizes. I will keep your confession, and
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if MacCarthy is condemned, I shall be forced to use it. If not,
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it shall never be seen by mortal eye. And your secret, whether
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you be alive or dead, shall be safe with us. Farewell, then,
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said the old man, solemnly. Your own death beds, when they
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come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace which you have
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given to mine. Tottering and shaking in all his giant frame, he stumbled
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slowly from the room. God help us, said Holmes, after a long
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silence. Why does fate play such tricks with poor helpless worms. I never
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hear of such a case as this that I do not think of Baxter's words
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and say, there but for the grace of God, go Sherlock Holmes.
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James McCarthy was a quick at the assizes on the strength of a number of
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objections which had been drawn out by Holmes and submitted to the defending council.
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Old Turner lived for seven months after our interview. But he is now dead,
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and there is every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live
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happily together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests upon their past.