RubyGems - git-scribe - Versions diffs - 0.0.4 → 0.0.5 - Mend

git-scribe 0.0.4 → 0.0.5

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data/example/output/the_boscombe_valley_mystery.html DELETED Viewed

@@ -1,974 +0,0 @@
-<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
-<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
-  <head>
-    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
-    <link rel="stylesheet" href="master.css" type="text/css" />
-    <title>The Boscombe Valley Mystery</title>
-  </head>
-  <body>
-    <div class="nav" id="navheader">
-    <table width="100%">
-      <tr><td width="33%" align="left">
-         <a href="a_case_of_identity.html">Prev</a><br/>
-         A Case of Identity
-      </td><td width="33%" align="center">
-         <a href="index.html">Home</a><br/>
-         <strong>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</strong>
-      </td><td width="33%" align="right">
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-    </table>
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-    <hr/>
-    <div class="content">
-      <div class="section" lang="en" xml:lang="en">
-<div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">
-<a id="_the_boscombe_valley_mystery"></a>The Boscombe Valley Mystery</h2></div></div></div>
-<p>We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the
-maid brought in a telegram. It was from Sherlock Holmes and ran
-in this way:</p>
-<p>"Have you a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired for from
-the west of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy.
-Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery perfect.
-Leave Paddington by the 11:15."</p>
-<p>"What do you say, dear?" said my wife, looking across at me.
-"Will you go?"</p>
-<p>"I really don’t know what to say. I have a fairly long list at
-present."</p>
-<p>"Oh, Anstruther would do your work for you. You have been looking
-a little pale lately. I think that the change would do you good,
-and you are always so interested in Mr. Sherlock Holmes' cases."</p>
-<p>"I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained
-through one of them," I answered. "But if I am to go, I must pack
-at once, for I have only half an hour."</p>
-<p>My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had at least had the
-effect of making me a prompt and ready traveller. My wants were
-few and simple, so that in less than the time stated I was in a
-cab with my valise, rattling away to Paddington Station. Sherlock
-Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, gaunt
-figure made even gaunter and taller by his long grey
-travelling-cloak and close-fitting cloth cap.</p>
-<p>"It is really very good of you to come, Watson," said he. "It
-makes a considerable difference to me, having someone with me on
-whom I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is always either worthless
-or else biassed. If you will keep the two corner seats I shall
-get the tickets."</p>
-<p>We had the carriage to ourselves save for an immense litter of
-papers which Holmes had brought with him. Among these he rummaged
-and read, with intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until
-we were past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled them all into a
-gigantic ball and tossed them up onto the rack.</p>
-<p>"Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked.</p>
-<p>"Not a word. I have not seen a paper for some days."</p>
-<p>"The London press has not had very full accounts. I have just
-been looking through all the recent papers in order to master the
-particulars. It seems, from what I gather, to be one of those
-simple cases which are so extremely difficult."</p>
-<p>"That sounds a little paradoxical."</p>
-<p>"But it is profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a
-clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more
-difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, however, they
-have established a very serious case against the son of the
-murdered man."</p>
-<p>"It is a murder, then?"</p>
-<p>"Well, it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing for
-granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally into
-it. I will explain the state of things to you, as far as I have
-been able to understand it, in a very few words.</p>
-<p>"Boscombe Valley is a country district not very far from Ross, in
-Herefordshire. The largest landed proprietor in that part is a
-Mr. John Turner, who made his money in Australia and returned
-some years ago to the old country. One of the farms which he
-held, that of Hatherley, was let to Mr. Charles McCarthy, who was
-also an ex-Australian. The men had known each other in the
-colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when they came to
-settle down they should do so as near each other as possible.
-Turner was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his
-tenant but still remained, it seems, upon terms of perfect
-equality, as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son,
-a lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of the same
-age, but neither of them had wives living. They appear to have
-avoided the society of the neighbouring English families and to
-have led retired lives, though both the McCarthys were fond of
-sport and were frequently seen at the race-meetings of the
-neighbourhood. McCarthy kept two servants—a man and a girl.
-Turner had a considerable household, some half-dozen at the
-least. That is as much as I have been able to gather about the
-families. Now for the facts.</p>
-<p>"On June 3rd, that is, on Monday last, McCarthy left his house at
-Hatherley about three in the afternoon and walked down to the
-Boscombe Pool, which is a small lake formed by the spreading out
-of the stream which runs down the Boscombe Valley. He had been
-out with his serving-man in the morning at Ross, and he had told
-the man that he must hurry, as he had an appointment of
-importance to keep at three. From that appointment he never came
-back alive.</p>
-<p>"From Hatherley Farm-house to the Boscombe Pool is a quarter of a
-mile, and two people saw him as he passed over this ground. One
-was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was
-William Crowder, a game-keeper in the employ of Mr. Turner. Both
-these witnesses depose that Mr. McCarthy was walking alone. The
-game-keeper adds that within a few minutes of his seeing Mr.
-McCarthy pass he had seen his son, Mr. James McCarthy, going the
-same way with a gun under his arm. To the best of his belief, the
-father was actually in sight at the time, and the son was
-following him. He thought no more of the matter until he heard in
-the evening of the tragedy that had occurred.</p>
-<p>"The two McCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder,
-the game-keeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is thickly
-wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and of reeds round the
-edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, who is the daughter of
-the lodge-keeper of the Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the
-woods picking flowers. She states that while she was there she
-saw, at the border of the wood and close by the lake, Mr.
-McCarthy and his son, and that they appeared to be having a
-violent quarrel. She heard Mr. McCarthy the elder using very
-strong language to his son, and she saw the latter raise up his
-hand as if to strike his father. She was so frightened by their
-violence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached
-home that she had left the two McCarthys quarrelling near
-Boscombe Pool, and that she was afraid that they were going to
-fight. She had hardly said the words when young Mr. McCarthy came
-running up to the lodge to say that he had found his father dead
-in the wood, and to ask for the help of the lodge-keeper. He was
-much excited, without either his gun or his hat, and his right
-hand and sleeve were observed to be stained with fresh blood. On
-following him they found the dead body stretched out upon the
-grass beside the pool. The head had been beaten in by repeated
-blows of some heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were such as
-might very well have been inflicted by the butt-end of his son’s
-gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few paces of the
-body. Under these circumstances the young man was instantly
-arrested, and a verdict of <span class="emphasis"><em>wilful murder</em></span> having been returned
-at the inquest on Tuesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the
-magistrates at Ross, who have referred the case to the next
-Assizes. Those are the main facts of the case as they came out
-before the coroner and the police-court."</p>
-<p>"I could hardly imagine a more damning case," I remarked. "If
-ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal it does so
-here."</p>
-<p>"Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing," answered Holmes
-thoughtfully. "It may seem to point very straight to one thing,
-but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it
-pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something
-entirely different. It must be confessed, however, that the case
-looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it is very
-possible that he is indeed the culprit. There are several people
-in the neighbourhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, the
-daughter of the neighbouring landowner, who believe in his
-innocence, and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect
-in connection with the Study in Scarlet, to work out the case in
-his interest. Lestrade, being rather puzzled, has referred the
-case to me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are
-flying westward at fifty miles an hour instead of quietly
-digesting their breakfasts at home."</p>
-<p>"I am afraid," said I, "that the facts are so obvious that you
-will find little credit to be gained out of this case."</p>
-<p>"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact," he
-answered, laughing. "Besides, we may chance to hit upon some
-other obvious facts which may have been by no means obvious to
-Mr. Lestrade. You know me too well to think that I am boasting
-when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by
-means which he is quite incapable of employing, or even of
-understanding. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly
-perceive that in your bedroom the window is upon the right-hand
-side, and yet I question whether Mr. Lestrade would have noted
-even so self-evident a thing as that."</p>
-<p>"How on earth--"</p>
-<p>"My dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness
-which characterises you. You shave every morning, and in this
-season you shave by the sunlight; but since your shaving is less
-and less complete as we get farther back on the left side, until
-it becomes positively slovenly as we get round the angle of the
-jaw, it is surely very clear that that side is less illuminated
-than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits looking
-at himself in an equal light and being satisfied with such a
-result. I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and
-inference. Therein lies my métier, and it is just possible that
-it may be of some service in the investigation which lies before
-us. There are one or two minor points which were brought out in
-the inquest, and which are worth considering."</p>
-<p>"What are they?"</p>
-<p>"It appears that his arrest did not take place at once, but after
-the return to Hatherley Farm. On the inspector of constabulary
-informing him that he was a prisoner, he remarked that he was not
-surprised to hear it, and that it was no more than his deserts.
-This observation of his had the natural effect of removing any
-traces of doubt which might have remained in the minds of the
-coroner’s jury."</p>
-<p>"It was a confession," I ejaculated.</p>
-<p>"No, for it was followed by a protestation of innocence."</p>
-<p>"Coming on the top of such a damning series of events, it was at
-least a most suspicious remark."</p>
-<p>"On the contrary," said Holmes, "it is the brightest rift which I
-can at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be,
-he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the
-circumstances were very black against him. Had he appeared
-surprised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I
-should have looked upon it as highly suspicious, because such
-surprise or anger would not be natural under the circumstances,
-and yet might appear to be the best policy to a scheming man. His
-frank acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocent
-man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and
-firmness. As to his remark about his deserts, it was also not
-unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of
-his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that very day
-so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and
-even, according to the little girl whose evidence is so
-important, to raise his hand as if to strike him. The
-self-reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark
-appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind rather than of a
-guilty one."</p>
-<p>I shook my head. "Many men have been hanged on far slighter
-evidence," I remarked.</p>
-<p>"So they have. And many men have been wrongfully hanged."</p>
-<p>"What is the young man’s own account of the matter?"</p>
-<p>"It is, I am afraid, not very encouraging to his supporters,
-though there are one or two points in it which are suggestive.
-You will find it here, and may read it for yourself."</p>
-<p>He picked out from his bundle a copy of the local Herefordshire
-paper, and having turned down the sheet he pointed out the
-paragraph in which the unfortunate young man had given his own
-statement of what had occurred. I settled myself down in the
-corner of the carriage and read it very carefully. It ran in this
-way:</p>
-<p>"Mr. James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called
-and gave evidence as follows: <span class="emphasis"><em>I had been away from home for
-three days at Bristol, and had only just returned upon the
-morning of last Monday, the 3rd. My father was absent from home at
-the time of my arrival, and I was informed by the maid that he
-had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, the groom. Shortly after
-my return I heard the wheels of his trap in the yard, and,
-looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly out
-of the yard, though I was not aware in which direction he was
-going. I then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of
-the Boscombe Pool, with the intention of visiting the rabbit
-warren which is upon the other side. On my way I saw William
-Crowder, the game-keeper, as he had stated in his evidence; but
-he is mistaken in thinking that I was following my father. I had
-no idea that he was in front of me. When about a hundred yards
-from the pool I heard a cry of "Cooee!" which was a usual signal
-between my father and myself. I then hurried forward, and found
-him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much surprised at
-seeing me and asked me rather roughly what I was doing there. A
-conversation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows,
-for my father was a man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his
-passion was becoming ungovernable, I left him and returned
-towards Hatherley Farm. I had not gone more than 150 yards,
-however, when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused me
-to run back again. I found my father expiring upon the ground,
-with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun and held him in
-my arms, but he almost instantly expired. I knelt beside him for
-some minutes, and then made my way to Mr. Turner’s lodge-keeper,
-his house being the nearest, to ask for assistance. I saw no one
-near my father when I returned, and I have no idea how he came by
-his injuries. He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and
-forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know, no
-active enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.</em></span></p>
-<p>"The Coroner: Did your father make any statement to you before
-he died?</p>
-<p>"Witness: He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some
-allusion to a rat.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: What did you understand by that?</p>
-<p>"Witness: It conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was
-delirious.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: What was the point upon which you and your father
-had this final quarrel?</p>
-<p>"Witness: I should prefer not to answer.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: I am afraid that I must press it.</p>
-<p>"Witness: It is really impossible for me to tell you. I can
-assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad tragedy which
-followed.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: That is for the court to decide. I need not point
-out to you that your refusal to answer will prejudice your case
-considerably in any future proceedings which may arise.</p>
-<p>"Witness: I must still refuse.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: I understand that the cry of <span class="emphasis"><em>Cooee</em></span> was a common
-signal between you and your father?</p>
-<p>"Witness: It was.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: How was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw
-you, and before he even knew that you had returned from Bristol?</p>
-<p>"Witness (with considerable confusion): I do not know.</p>
-<p>"A Juryman: Did you see nothing which aroused your suspicions
-when you returned on hearing the cry and found your father
-fatally injured?</p>
-<p>"Witness: Nothing definite.</p>
-<p>"The Coroner: What do you mean?</p>
-<p>"Witness: I was so disturbed and excited as I rushed out into
-the open, that I could think of nothing except of my father. Yet
-I have a vague impression that as I ran forward something lay
-upon the ground to the left of me. It seemed to me to be
-something grey in colour, a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps.
-When I rose from my father I looked round for it, but it was
-gone.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Do you mean that it disappeared before you went for help?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Yes, it was gone.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>You cannot say what it was?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>No, I had a feeling something was there.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>How far from the body?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>A dozen yards or so.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>And how far from the edge of the wood?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>About the same.</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Then if it was removed it was while you were within a dozen
-yards of it?</em></span></p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Yes, but with my back towards it.</em></span></p>
-<p>"This concluded the examination of the witness."</p>
-<p>"I see," said I as I glanced down the column, "that the coroner
-in his concluding remarks was rather severe upon young McCarthy.
-He calls attention, and with reason, to the discrepancy about his
-father having signalled to him before seeing him, also to his
-refusal to give details of his conversation with his father, and
-his singular account of his father’s dying words. They are all,
-as he remarks, very much against the son."</p>
-<p>Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon
-the cushioned seat. "Both you and the coroner have been at some
-pains," said he, "to single out the very strongest points in the
-young man’s favour. Don’t you see that you alternately give him
-credit for having too much imagination and too little? Too
-little, if he could not invent a cause of quarrel which would
-give him the sympathy of the jury; too much, if he evolved from
-his own inner consciousness anything so outré as a dying
-reference to a rat, and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No,
-sir, I shall approach this case from the point of view that what
-this young man says is true, and we shall see whither that
-hypothesis will lead us. And now here is my pocket Petrarch, and
-not another word shall I say of this case until we are on the
-scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be
-there in twenty minutes."</p>
-<p>It was nearly four o’clock when we at last, after passing through
-the beautiful Stroud Valley, and over the broad gleaming Severn,
-found ourselves at the pretty little country-town of Ross. A
-lean, ferret-like man, furtive and sly-looking, was waiting for
-us upon the platform. In spite of the light brown dustcoat and
-leather-leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic
-surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognising Lestrade, of
-Scotland Yard. With him we drove to the Hereford Arms where a
-room had already been engaged for us.</p>
-<p>"I have ordered a carriage," said Lestrade as we sat over a cup
-of tea. "I knew your energetic nature, and that you would not be
-happy until you had been on the scene of the crime."</p>
-<p>"It was very nice and complimentary of you," Holmes answered. "It
-is entirely a question of barometric pressure."</p>
-<p>Lestrade looked startled. "I do not quite follow," he said.</p>
-<p>"How is the glass? Twenty-nine, I see. No wind, and not a cloud
-in the sky. I have a caseful of cigarettes here which need
-smoking, and the sofa is very much superior to the usual country
-hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable that I
-shall use the carriage to-night."</p>
-<p>Lestrade laughed indulgently. "You have, no doubt, already formed
-your conclusions from the newspapers," he said. "The case is as
-plain as a pikestaff, and the more one goes into it the plainer
-it becomes. Still, of course, one can’t refuse a lady, and such a
-very positive one, too. She has heard of you, and would have your
-opinion, though I repeatedly told her that there was nothing
-which you could do which I had not already done. Why, bless my
-soul! here is her carriage at the door."</p>
-<p>He had hardly spoken before there rushed into the room one of the
-most lovely young women that I have ever seen in my life. Her
-violet eyes shining, her lips parted, a pink flush upon her
-cheeks, all thought of her natural reserve lost in her
-overpowering excitement and concern.</p>
-<p>"Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes!" she cried, glancing from one to the
-other of us, and finally, with a woman’s quick intuition,
-fastening upon my companion, "I am so glad that you have come. I
-have driven down to tell you so. I know that James didn’t do it.
-I know it, and I want you to start upon your work knowing it,
-too. Never let yourself doubt upon that point. We have known each
-other since we were little children, and I know his faults as no
-one else does; but he is too tender-hearted to hurt a fly. Such a
-charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him."</p>
-<p>"I hope we may clear him, Miss Turner," said Sherlock Holmes.
-"You may rely upon my doing all that I can."</p>
-<p>"But you have read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion?
-Do you not see some loophole, some flaw? Do you not yourself
-think that he is innocent?"</p>
-<p>"I think that it is very probable."</p>
-<p>"There, now!" she cried, throwing back her head and looking
-defiantly at Lestrade. "You hear! He gives me hopes."</p>
-<p>Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am afraid that my colleague
-has been a little quick in forming his conclusions," he said.</p>
-<p>"But he is right. Oh! I know that he is right. James never did
-it. And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure that the
-reason why he would not speak about it to the coroner was because
-I was concerned in it."</p>
-<p>"In what way?" asked Holmes.</p>
-<p>"It is no time for me to hide anything. James and his father had
-many disagreements about me. Mr. McCarthy was very anxious that
-there should be a marriage between us. James and I have always
-loved each other as brother and sister; but of course he is young
-and has seen very little of life yet, and—and—well, he
-naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there
-were quarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them."</p>
-<p>"And your father?" asked Holmes. "Was he in favour of such a
-union?"</p>
-<p>"No, he was averse to it also. No one but Mr. McCarthy was in
-favour of it." A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as
-Holmes shot one of his keen, questioning glances at her.</p>
-<p>"Thank you for this information," said he. "May I see your father
-if I call to-morrow?"</p>
-<p>"I am afraid the doctor won’t allow it."</p>
-<p>"The doctor?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, have you not heard? Poor father has never been strong for
-years back, but this has broken him down completely. He has taken
-to his bed, and Dr. Willows says that he is a wreck and that his
-nervous system is shattered. Mr. McCarthy was the only man alive
-who had known dad in the old days in Victoria."</p>
-<p>"Ha! In Victoria! That is important."</p>
-<p>"Yes, at the mines."</p>
-<p>"Quite so; at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, Mr. Turner
-made his money."</p>
-<p>"Yes, certainly."</p>
-<p>"Thank you, Miss Turner. You have been of material assistance to
-me."</p>
-<p>"You will tell me if you have any news to-morrow. No doubt you
-will go to the prison to see James. Oh, if you do, Mr. Holmes, do
-tell him that I know him to be innocent."</p>
-<p>"I will, Miss Turner."</p>
-<p>"I must go home now, for dad is very ill, and he misses me so if
-I leave him. Good-bye, and God help you in your undertaking." She
-hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered, and we
-heard the wheels of her carriage rattle off down the street.</p>
-<p>"I am ashamed of you, Holmes," said Lestrade with dignity after a
-few minutes' silence. "Why should you raise up hopes which you
-are bound to disappoint? I am not over-tender of heart, but I
-call it cruel."</p>
-<p>"I think that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy," said
-Holmes. "Have you an order to see him in prison?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, but only for you and me."</p>
-<p>"Then I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We have
-still time to take a train to Hereford and see him to-night?"</p>
-<p>"Ample."</p>
-<p>"Then let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it very
-slow, but I shall only be away a couple of hours."</p>
-<p>I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through
-the streets of the little town, finally returning to the hotel,
-where I lay upon the sofa and tried to interest myself in a
-yellow-backed novel. The puny plot of the story was so thin,
-however, when compared to the deep mystery through which we were
-groping, and I found my attention wander so continually from the
-action to the fact, that I at last flung it across the room and
-gave myself up entirely to a consideration of the events of the
-day. Supposing that this unhappy young man’s story were
-absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely
-unforeseen and extraordinary calamity could have occurred between
-the time when he parted from his father, and the moment when,
-drawn back by his screams, he rushed into the glade? It was
-something terrible and deadly. What could it be? Might not the
-nature of the injuries reveal something to my medical instincts?
-I rang the bell and called for the weekly county paper, which
-contained a verbatim account of the inquest. In the surgeon’s
-deposition it was stated that the posterior third of the left
-parietal bone and the left half of the occipital bone had been
-shattered by a heavy blow from a blunt weapon. I marked the spot
-upon my own head. Clearly such a blow must have been struck from
-behind. That was to some extent in favour of the accused, as when
-seen quarrelling he was face to face with his father. Still, it
-did not go for very much, for the older man might have turned his
-back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call
-Holmes' attention to it. Then there was the peculiar dying
-reference to a rat. What could that mean? It could not be
-delirium. A man dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become
-delirious. No, it was more likely to be an attempt to explain how
-he met his fate. But what could it indicate? I cudgelled my
-brains to find some possible explanation. And then the incident
-of the grey cloth seen by young McCarthy. If that were true the
-murderer must have dropped some part of his dress, presumably his
-overcoat, in his flight, and must have had the hardihood to
-return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was
-kneeling with his back turned not a dozen paces off. What a
-tissue of mysteries and improbabilities the whole thing was! I
-did not wonder at Lestrade’s opinion, and yet I had so much faith
-in Sherlock Holmes' insight that I could not lose hope as long
-as every fresh fact seemed to strengthen his conviction of young
-McCarthy’s innocence.</p>
-<p>It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone,
-for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town.</p>
-<p>"The glass still keeps very high," he remarked as he sat down.
-"It is of importance that it should not rain before we are able
-to go over the ground. On the other hand, a man should be at his
-very best and keenest for such nice work as that, and I did not
-wish to do it when fagged by a long journey. I have seen young
-McCarthy."</p>
-<p>"And what did you learn from him?"</p>
-<p>"Nothing."</p>
-<p>"Could he throw no light?"</p>
-<p>"None at all. I was inclined to think at one time that he knew
-who had done it and was screening him or her, but I am convinced
-now that he is as puzzled as everyone else. He is not a very
-quick-witted youth, though comely to look at and, I should think,
-sound at heart."</p>
-<p>"I cannot admire his taste," I remarked, "if it is indeed a fact
-that he was averse to a marriage with so charming a young lady as
-this Miss Turner."</p>
-<p>"Ah, thereby hangs a rather painful tale. This fellow is madly,
-insanely, in love with her, but some two years ago, when he was
-only a lad, and before he really knew her, for she had been away
-five years at a boarding-school, what does the idiot do but get
-into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol and marry her at a
-registry office? No one knows a word of the matter, but you can
-imagine how maddening it must be to him to be upbraided for not
-doing what he would give his very eyes to do, but what he knows
-to be absolutely impossible. It was sheer frenzy of this sort
-which made him throw his hands up into the air when his father,
-at their last interview, was goading him on to propose to Miss
-Turner. On the other hand, he had no means of supporting himself,
-and his father, who was by all accounts a very hard man, would
-have thrown him over utterly had he known the truth. It was with
-his barmaid wife that he had spent the last three days in
-Bristol, and his father did not know where he was. Mark that
-point. It is of importance. Good has come out of evil, however,
-for the barmaid, finding from the papers that he is in serious
-trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him over utterly and
-has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the
-Bermuda Dockyard, so that there is really no tie between them. I
-think that that bit of news has consoled young McCarthy for all
-that he has suffered."</p>
-<p>"But if he is innocent, who has done it?"</p>
-<p>"Ah! who? I would call your attention very particularly to two
-points. One is that the murdered man had an appointment with
-someone at the pool, and that the someone could not have been his
-son, for his son was away, and he did not know when he would
-return. The second is that the murdered man was heard to cry
-<span class="emphasis"><em>Cooee!</em></span> before he knew that his son had returned. Those are the
-crucial points upon which the case depends. And now let us talk
-about George Meredith, if you please, and we shall leave all
-minor matters until to-morrow."</p>
-<p>There was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke
-bright and cloudless. At nine o’clock Lestrade called for us with
-the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe
-Pool.</p>
-<p>"There is serious news this morning," Lestrade observed. "It is
-said that Mr. Turner, of the Hall, is so ill that his life is
-despaired of."</p>
-<p>"An elderly man, I presume?" said Holmes.</p>
-<p>"About sixty; but his constitution has been shattered by his life
-abroad, and he has been in failing health for some time. This
-business has had a very bad effect upon him. He was an old friend
-of McCarthy’s, and, I may add, a great benefactor to him, for I
-have learned that he gave him Hatherley Farm rent free."</p>
-<p>"Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes.</p>
-<p>"Oh, yes! In a hundred other ways he has helped him. Everybody
-about here speaks of his kindness to him."</p>
-<p>"Really! Does it not strike you as a little singular that this
-McCarthy, who appears to have had little of his own, and to have
-been under such obligations to Turner, should still talk of
-marrying his son to Turner’s daughter, who is, presumably,
-heiress to the estate, and that in such a very cocksure manner,
-as if it were merely a case of a proposal and all else would
-follow? It is the more strange, since we know that Turner himself
-was averse to the idea. The daughter told us as much. Do you not
-deduce something from that?"</p>
-<p>"We have got to the deductions and the inferences," said
-Lestrade, winking at me. "I find it hard enough to tackle facts,
-Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies."</p>
-<p>"You are right," said Holmes demurely; "you do find it very hard
-to tackle the facts."</p>
-<p>"Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it
-difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth.</p>
-<p>"And that is--"</p>
-<p>"That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that
-all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine."</p>
-<p>"Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog," said Holmes,
-laughing. "But I am very much mistaken if this is not Hatherley
-Farm upon the left."</p>
-<p>"Yes, that is it." It was a widespread, comfortable-looking
-building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches
-of lichen upon the grey walls. The drawn blinds and the smokeless
-chimneys, however, gave it a stricken look, as though the weight
-of this horror still lay heavy upon it. We called at the door,
-when the maid, at Holmes' request, showed us the boots which her
-master wore at the time of his death, and also a pair of the
-son’s, though not the pair which he had then had. Having measured
-these very carefully from seven or eight different points, Holmes
-desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed
-the winding track which led to Boscombe Pool.</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot upon such a scent
-as this. Men who had only known the quiet thinker and logician of
-Baker Street would have failed to recognise him. His face flushed
-and darkened. His brows were drawn into two hard black lines,
-while his eyes shone out from beneath them with a steely glitter.
-His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his lips
-compressed, and the veins stood out like whipcord in his long,
-sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a purely animal
-lust for the chase, and his mind was so absolutely concentrated
-upon the matter before him that a question or remark fell
-unheeded upon his ears, or, at the most, only provoked a quick,
-impatient snarl in reply. Swiftly and silently he made his way
-along the track which ran through the meadows, and so by way of
-the woods to the Boscombe Pool. It was damp, marshy ground, as is
-all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both upon
-the path and amid the short grass which bounded it on either
-side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes stop dead, and
-once he made quite a little detour into the meadow. Lestrade and
-I walked behind him, the detective indifferent and contemptuous,
-while I watched my friend with the interest which sprang from the
-conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a
-definite end.</p>
-<p>The Boscombe Pool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water
-some fifty yards across, is situated at the boundary between the
-Hatherley Farm and the private park of the wealthy Mr. Turner.
-Above the woods which lined it upon the farther side we could see
-the red, jutting pinnacles which marked the site of the rich
-landowner’s dwelling. On the Hatherley side of the pool the woods
-grew very thick, and there was a narrow belt of sodden grass
-twenty paces across between the edge of the trees and the reeds
-which lined the lake. Lestrade showed us the exact spot at which
-the body had been found, and, indeed, so moist was the ground,
-that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the
-fall of the stricken man. To Holmes, as I could see by his eager
-face and peering eyes, very many other things were to be read
-upon the trampled grass. He ran round, like a dog who is picking
-up a scent, and then turned upon my companion.</p>
-<p>"What did you go into the pool for?" he asked.</p>
-<p>"I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some weapon
-or other trace. But how on earth--"</p>
-<p>"Oh, tut, tut! I have no time! That left foot of yours with its
-inward twist is all over the place. A mole could trace it, and
-there it vanishes among the reeds. Oh, how simple it would all
-have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo
-and wallowed all over it. Here is where the party with the
-lodge-keeper came, and they have covered all tracks for six or
-eight feet round the body. But here are three separate tracks of
-the same feet." He drew out a lens and lay down upon his
-waterproof to have a better view, talking all the time rather to
-himself than to us. "These are young McCarthy’s feet. Twice he
-was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are
-deeply marked and the heels hardly visible. That bears out his
-story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Then here are
-the father’s feet as he paced up and down. What is this, then? It
-is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening. And this?
-Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite
-unusual boots! They come, they go, they come again—of course
-that was for the cloak. Now where did they come from?" He ran up
-and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until we
-were well within the edge of the wood and under the shadow of a
-great beech, the largest tree in the neighbourhood. Holmes traced
-his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon
-his face with a little cry of satisfaction. For a long time he
-remained there, turning over the leaves and dried sticks,
-gathering up what seemed to me to be dust into an envelope and
-examining with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of
-the tree as far as he could reach. A jagged stone was lying among
-the moss, and this also he carefully examined and retained. Then
-he followed a pathway through the wood until he came to the
-highroad, where all traces were lost.</p>
-<p>"It has been a case of considerable interest," he remarked,
-returning to his natural manner. "I fancy that this grey house on
-the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and have a
-word with Moran, and perhaps write a little note. Having done
-that, we may drive back to our luncheon. You may walk to the cab,
-and I shall be with you presently."</p>
-<p>It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and drove
-back into Ross, Holmes still carrying with him the stone which he
-had picked up in the wood.</p>
-<p>"This may interest you, Lestrade," he remarked, holding it out.
-"The murder was done with it."</p>
-<p>"I see no marks."</p>
-<p>"There are none."</p>
-<p>"How do you know, then?"</p>
-<p>"The grass was growing under it. It had only lain there a few
-days. There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken. It
-corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other
-weapon."</p>
-<p>"And the murderer?"</p>
-<p>"Is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears
-thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, smokes Indian
-cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his
-pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be
-enough to aid us in our search."</p>
-<p>Lestrade laughed. "I am afraid that I am still a sceptic," he
-said. "Theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a
-hard-headed British jury."</p>
-<p>"Nous verrons," answered Holmes calmly. "You work your own
-method, and I shall work mine. I shall be busy this afternoon,
-and shall probably return to London by the evening train."</p>
-<p>"And leave your case unfinished?"</p>
-<p>"No, finished."</p>
-<p>"But the mystery?"</p>
-<p>"It is solved."</p>
-<p>"Who was the criminal, then?"</p>
-<p>"The gentleman I describe."</p>
-<p>"But who is he?"</p>
-<p>"Surely it would not be difficult to find out. This is not such a
-populous neighbourhood."</p>
-<p>Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. "I am a practical man," he said,
-"and I really cannot undertake to go about the country looking
-for a left-handed gentleman with a game leg. I should become the
-laughing-stock of Scotland Yard."</p>
-<p>"All right," said Holmes quietly. "I have given you the chance.
-Here are your lodgings. Good-bye. I shall drop you a line before
-I leave."</p>
-<p>Having left Lestrade at his rooms, we drove to our hotel, where
-we found lunch upon the table. Holmes was silent and buried in
-thought with a pained expression upon his face, as one who finds
-himself in a perplexing position.</p>
-<p>"Look here, Watson," he said when the cloth was cleared "just sit
-down in this chair and let me preach to you for a little. I don’t
-know quite what to do, and I should value your advice. Light a
-cigar and let me expound."</p>
-<pre class="literallayout">"Pray do so."</pre>
-<p>"Well, now, in considering this case there are two points about
-young McCarthy’s narrative which struck us both instantly,
-although they impressed me in his favour and you against him. One
-was the fact that his father should, according to his account,
-cry <span class="emphasis"><em>Cooee!</em></span> before seeing him. The other was his singular dying
-reference to a rat. He mumbled several words, you understand, but
-that was all that caught the son’s ear. Now from this double
-point our research must commence, and we will begin it by
-presuming that what the lad says is absolutely true."</p>
-<p>"What of this <span class="emphasis"><em>Cooee!</em></span> then?"</p>
-<p>"Well, obviously it could not have been meant for the son. The
-son, as far as he knew, was in Bristol. It was mere chance that
-he was within earshot. The <span class="emphasis"><em>Cooee!</em></span> was meant to attract the
-attention of whoever it was that he had the appointment with. But
-<span class="emphasis"><em>Cooee</em></span> is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used
-between Australians. There is a strong presumption that the
-person whom McCarthy expected to meet him at Boscombe Pool was
-someone who had been in Australia."</p>
-<p>"What of the rat, then?"</p>
-<p>Sherlock Holmes took a folded paper from his pocket and flattened
-it out on the table. "This is a map of the Colony of Victoria,"
-he said. "I wired to Bristol for it last night." He put his hand
-over part of the map. "What do you read?"</p>
-<p>"ARAT," I read.</p>
-<p>"And now?" He raised his hand.</p>
-<p>"BALLARAT."</p>
-<p>"Quite so. That was the word the man uttered, and of which his
-son only caught the last two syllables. He was trying to utter
-the name of his murderer. So and so, of Ballarat."</p>
-<p>"It is wonderful!" I exclaimed.</p>
-<p>"It is obvious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down
-considerably. The possession of a grey garment was a third point
-which, granting the son’s statement to be correct, was a
-certainty. We have come now out of mere vagueness to the definite
-conception of an Australian from Ballarat with a grey cloak."</p>
-<p>"Certainly."</p>
-<p>"And one who was at home in the district, for the pool can only
-be approached by the farm or by the estate, where strangers could
-hardly wander."</p>
-<p>"Quite so."</p>
-<p>"Then comes our expedition of to-day. By an examination of the
-ground I gained the trifling details which I gave to that
-imbecile Lestrade, as to the personality of the criminal."</p>
-<p>"But how did you gain them?"</p>
-<p>"You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of
-trifles."</p>
-<p>"His height I know that you might roughly judge from the length
-of his stride. His boots, too, might be told from their traces."</p>
-<p>"Yes, they were peculiar boots."</p>
-<p>"But his lameness?"</p>
-<p>"The impression of his right foot was always less distinct than
-his left. He put less weight upon it. Why? Because he limped—he
-was lame."</p>
-<p>"But his left-handedness."</p>
-<p>"You were yourself struck by the nature of the injury as recorded
-by the surgeon at the inquest. The blow was struck from
-immediately behind, and yet was upon the left side. Now, how can
-that be unless it were by a left-handed man? He had stood behind
-that tree during the interview between the father and son. He had
-even smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my special
-knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to pronounce as an Indian
-cigar. I have, as you know, devoted some attention to this, and
-written a little monograph on the ashes of 140 different
-varieties of pipe, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. Having found the
-ash, I then looked round and discovered the stump among the moss
-where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of the variety
-which are rolled in Rotterdam."</p>
-<p>"And the cigar-holder?"</p>
-<p>"I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore he
-used a holder. The tip had been cut off, not bitten off, but the
-cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt pen-knife."</p>
-<p>"Holmes," I said, "you have drawn a net round this man from which
-he cannot escape, and you have saved an innocent human life as
-truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the
-direction in which all this points. The culprit is--"</p>
-<p>"Mr. John Turner," cried the hotel waiter, opening the door of
-our sitting-room, and ushering in a visitor.</p>
-<p>The man who entered was a strange and impressive figure. His
-slow, limping step and bowed shoulders gave the appearance of
-decrepitude, and yet his hard, deep-lined, craggy features, and
-his enormous limbs showed that he was possessed of unusual
-strength of body and of character. His tangled beard, grizzled
-hair, and outstanding, drooping eyebrows combined to give an air
-of dignity and power to his appearance, but his face was of an
-ashen white, while his lips and the corners of his nostrils were
-tinged with a shade of blue. It was clear to me at a glance that
-he was in the grip of some deadly and chronic disease.</p>
-<p>"Pray sit down on the sofa," said Holmes gently. "You had my
-note?"</p>
-<p>"Yes, the lodge-keeper brought it up. You said that you wished to
-see me here to avoid scandal."</p>
-<p>"I thought people would talk if I went to the Hall."</p>
-<p>"And why did you wish to see me?" He looked across at my
-companion with despair in his weary eyes, as though his question
-was already answered.</p>
-<p>"Yes," said Holmes, answering the look rather than the words. "It
-is so. I know all about McCarthy."</p>
-<p>The old man sank his face in his hands. "God help me!" he cried.
-"But I would not have let the young man come to harm. I give you
-my word that I would have spoken out if it went against him at
-the Assizes."</p>
-<p>"I am glad to hear you say so," said Holmes gravely.</p>
-<p>"I would have spoken now had it not been for my dear girl. It
-would break her heart—it will break her heart when she hears
-that I am arrested."</p>
-<p>"It may not come to that," said Holmes.</p>
-<p>"What?"</p>
-<p>"I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter
-who required my presence here, and I am acting in her interests.
-Young McCarthy must be got off, however."</p>
-<p>"I am a dying man," said old Turner. "I have had diabetes for
-years. My doctor says it is a question whether I shall live a
-month. Yet I would rather die under my own roof than in a gaol."</p>
-<p>Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his pen in his hand
-and a bundle of paper before him. "Just tell us the truth," he
-said. "I shall jot down the facts. You will sign it, and Watson
-here can witness it. Then I could produce your confession at the
-last extremity to save young McCarthy. I promise you that I shall
-not use it unless it is absolutely needed."</p>
-<p>"It’s as well," said the old man; "it’s a question whether I
-shall live to the Assizes, so it matters little to me, but I
-should wish to spare Alice the shock. And now I will make the
-thing clear to you; it has been a long time in the acting, but
-will not take me long to tell.</p>
-<p>"You didn’t know this dead man, McCarthy. He was a devil
-incarnate. I tell you that. God keep you out of the clutches of
-such a man as he. His grip has been upon me these twenty years,
-and he has blasted my life. I’ll tell you first how I came to be
-in his power.</p>
-<p>"It was in the early '60’s at the diggings. I was a young chap
-then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn my hand at
-anything; I got among bad companions, took to drink, had no luck
-with my claim, took to the bush, and in a word became what you
-would call over here a highway robber. There were six of us, and
-we had a wild, free life of it, sticking up a station from time
-to time, or stopping the wagons on the road to the diggings.
-Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under, and our party
-is still remembered in the colony as the Ballarat Gang.</p>
-<p>"One day a gold convoy came down from Ballarat to Melbourne, and
-we lay in wait for it and attacked it. There were six troopers
-and six of us, so it was a close thing, but we emptied four of
-their saddles at the first volley. Three of our boys were killed,
-however, before we got the swag. I put my pistol to the head of
-the wagon-driver, who was this very man McCarthy. I wish to the
-Lord that I had shot him then, but I spared him, though I saw his
-wicked little eyes fixed on my face, as though to remember every
-feature. We got away with the gold, became wealthy men, and made
-our way over to England without being suspected. There I parted
-from my old pals and determined to settle down to a quiet and
-respectable life. I bought this estate, which chanced to be in
-the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money,
-to make up for the way in which I had earned it. I married, too,
-and though my wife died young she left me my dear little Alice.
-Even when she was just a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down
-the right path as nothing else had ever done. In a word, I turned
-over a new leaf and did my best to make up for the past. All was
-going well when McCarthy laid his grip upon me.</p>
-<p>"I had gone up to town about an investment, and I met him in
-Regent Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his
-foot.</p>
-<p>"<span class="emphasis"><em>Here we are, Jack,</em></span> says he, touching me on the arm; <span class="emphasis"><em>we’ll be
-as good as a family to you. There’s two of us, me and my son, and
-you can have the keeping of us. If you don’t—it’s a fine,
-law-abiding country is England, and there’s always a policeman
-within hail.</em></span></p>
-<p>"Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking
-them off, and there they have lived rent free on my best land
-ever since. There was no rest for me, no peace, no forgetfulness;
-turn where I would, there was his cunning, grinning face at my
-elbow. It grew worse as Alice grew up, for he soon saw I was more
-afraid of her knowing my past than of the police. Whatever he
-wanted he must have, and whatever it was I gave him without
-question, land, money, houses, until at last he asked a thing
-which I could not give. He asked for Alice.</p>
-<p>"His son, you see, had grown up, and so had my girl, and as I was
-known to be in weak health, it seemed a fine stroke to him that
-his lad should step into the whole property. But there I was
-firm. I would not have his cursed stock mixed with mine; not that
-I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that
-was enough. I stood firm. McCarthy threatened. I braved him to do
-his worst. We were to meet at the pool midway between our houses
-to talk it over.</p>
-<p>"When I went down there I found him talking with his son, so I
-smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree until he should be alone.
-But as I listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in
-me seemed to come uppermost. He was urging his son to marry my
-daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she
-were a slut from off the streets. It drove me mad to think that I
-and all that I held most dear should be in the power of such a
-man as this. Could I not snap the bond? I was already a dying and
-a desperate man. Though clear of mind and fairly strong of limb,
-I knew that my own fate was sealed. But my memory and my girl!
-Both could be saved if I could but silence that foul tongue. I
-did it, Mr. Holmes. I would do it again. Deeply as I have sinned,
-I have led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. But that my girl
-should be entangled in the same meshes which held me was more
-than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more compunction
-than if he had been some foul and venomous beast. His cry brought
-back his son; but I had gained the cover of the wood, though I
-was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dropped in
-my flight. That is the true story, gentlemen, of all that
-occurred."</p>
-<p>"Well, it is not for me to judge you," said Holmes as the old man
-signed the statement which had been drawn out. "I pray that we
-may never be exposed to such a temptation."</p>
-<p>"I pray not, sir. And what do you intend to do?"</p>
-<p>"In view of your health, nothing. You are yourself aware that you
-will soon have to answer for your deed at a higher court than the
-Assizes. I will keep your confession, and if McCarthy is
-condemned I shall be forced to use it. If not, it shall never be
-seen by mortal eye; and your secret, whether you be alive or
-dead, shall be safe with us."</p>
-<p>"Farewell, then," said the old man solemnly. "Your own deathbeds,
-when they come, will be the easier for the thought of the peace
-which you have given to mine." Tottering and shaking in all his
-giant frame, he stumbled slowly from the room.</p>
-<p>"God help us!" said Holmes after a long silence. "Why does fate
-play such tricks with poor, helpless worms? I never hear of such
-a case as this that I do not think of Baxter’s words, and say,
-<span class="emphasis"><em>There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes.</em></span>"</p>
-<p>James McCarthy was acquitted at the Assizes on the strength of a
-number of objections which had been drawn out by Holmes and
-submitted to the defending counsel. Old Turner lived for seven
-months after our interview, but he is now dead; and there is
-every prospect that the son and daughter may come to live happily
-together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests upon their
-past.</p>
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