921 lines
70 KiB
Plaintext
921 lines
70 KiB
Plaintext
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1903
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SHERLOCK HOLMES
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THE ADVENTURE OF THE DANCING MEN
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by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
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Holmes had been seated for some hours in silence with his long, thin
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back curved over a chemical vessel in which he was brewing a
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particularly malodorous product. His head was sunk upon his breast,
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and he looked from my point of view like a strange, lank bird, with
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dull gray plumage and a black top-knot.
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"So, Watson," said he, suddenly, "you do not propose to invest in
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South African securities?"
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I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes's
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curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate
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thoughts was utterly inexplicable.
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"How on earth do you know that?" I asked.
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He wheeled round upon his stool, with a steaming test-tube in his
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hand, and a gleam of amusement in his deep-set eyes.
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"Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback," said he.
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"I am."
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"I ought to make you sign a paper to that effect."
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"Why?"
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"Because in five minutes you will say that it is all so absurdly
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simple."
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"I am sure that I shall say nothing of the kind."
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"You see, my dear Watson"- he propped his test-tube in the rack, and
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began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing his class- "it
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is not really difficult to construct a series of inferences, each
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dependent upon its predecessor and each simple in itself. If, after
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doing so, one simply knocks out all the central inferences and
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presents one's audience with the starting-point and the conclusion,
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one may produce a startling, though possibly a meretricious, effect.
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Now, it was not really difficult, by an inspection of the groove
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between your left forefinger and thumb, to feel sure that you did
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not propose to invest your small capital in the gold fields."
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"I see no connection."
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"Very likely not; but I can quickly show you a close connection.
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Here are the missing links of the very simple chain: 1. You had
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chalk between your left finger and thumb when you returned from the
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club last night. 2. You put chalk there when you play billiards, to
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steady the cue. 3. You never play billiards except with Thurston.
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4. You told me, four weeks ago, that Thurston had an option on some
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South African property which would expire in a month, and which he
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desired you to share with him. 5. Your check book is locked in my
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drawer, and you have not asked for the key. 6. You do not propose to
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invest your money in this manner."
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"How absurdly simple!" I cried.
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"Quite so!" said he, a little nettled. "Every problem becomes very
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childish when once it is explained to you. Here is an unexplained one.
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See what you can make of that, friend Watson." He tossed a sheet of
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paper upon the table, and turned once more to his chemical analysis.
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I looked with amazement at the absurd hieroglyphics upon the paper.
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"Why, Holmes, it is a child's drawing," I cried.
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"Oh, that's your idea!"
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"What else should it be?"
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"That is what Mr. Hilton Cubitt, of Riding Thorpe Manor, Norfolk, is
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very anxious to know. This little conundrum came by the first post,
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and he was to follow by the next train. There's a ring at the bell,
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Watson. I should not be very much surprised if this were he."
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A heavy step was heard upon the stairs, and an instant later there
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entered a tall, ruddy, clean-shaven gentleman, whose clear eyes and
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florid cheeks told of a life led far from the fogs of Baker Street. He
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seemed to bring a whiff of his strong, fresh, bracing, east-coast
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air with him as he entered. Having shaken hands with each of us, he
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was about to sit down, when his eye rested upon the paper with the
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curious markings, which I had just examined and left upon the table.
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"Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you make of these?" he cried. "They
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told me that you were fond of queer mysteries, and I don't think you
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can find a queerer one than that. I sent the paper on ahead, so that
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you might have time to study it before I came."
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"It is certainly rather a curious production," said Holmes. "At
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first sight it would appear to be some childish prank. It consists
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of a number of absurd little figures dancing across the paper upon
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which they are drawn. Why should you attribute any importance to so
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grotesque an object?"
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"I never should, Mr. Holmes. But my wife does. It is frightening her
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to death. She says nothing, but I can see terror in her eyes. That's
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why I want to sift the matter to the bottom."
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Holmes held up the paper so that the sunlight shone full upon it. It
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was a page torn from a notebook. The markings were done in pencil, and
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ran in this way:
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-
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(See illustration.)
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-
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Holmes examined it for some time, and then, folding it carefully up,
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he placed it in his pocketbook.
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"This promises to be a most interesting and unusual case," said
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he. "You gave me a few particulars in your letter, Mr. Hilton
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Cubitt, but I should be very much obliged if you would kindly go
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over it all again for the benefit of my friend, Dr. Watson."
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"I'm not much of a story-teller," said our visitor, nervously
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clasping and unclasping his great, strong hands. "You'll just ask me
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anything that I don't make clear. I'll begin at the time of my
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marriage last year, but I want to say first of all that, though I'm
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not a rich man, my people have been at Riding Thorpe for a matter of
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five centuries, and there is no better known family in the County of
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Norfolk. Last year I came up to London for the Jubilee, and I
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stopped at a boardinghouse in Russell Square, because Parker, the
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vicar of our parish, was staying in it. There was an American young
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lady there- Patrick was the name- Elsie Patrick. In some way we became
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friends, until before my month was up I was as much in love as man
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could be. We were quietly married at a registry office, and we
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returned to Norfolk a wedded couple. You'll think it very mad, Mr.
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Holmes, that a man of a good old family should marry a wife in this
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fashion, knawing nothing of her past or of her people, but if you
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saw her and knew her, it would help you to understand.
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"She was very straight about it, was Elsie. I can't say that she did
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not give me every chance of getting out of it if I wished to do so. `I
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have had some very disagreeable associations in my life,' said she, `I
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wish to forget all about them. I would rather never allude to the
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past, for it is very painful to me. If you take me, Hilton, you will
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take a woman who has nothing that she need be personally ashamed of,
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but you will have to be content with my word for it, and to allow me
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to be silent as to all that passed up to the time when I became yours.
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If these conditions are too hard, then go back to Norfolk, and leave
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me to the lonely life in which you found me.' It was only the day
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before our wedding that she said those very words to me. I told her
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that I was content to take her on her own terms, and I have been as
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good as my word.
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"Well we have been married now for a year, and very happy we have
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been. But about a month ago, at the end of June, I saw for the first
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time signs of trouble. One day my wife received a letter from America.
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I saw the American stamp. She turned deadly white, read the letter,
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and threw it into the fire. She made no allusion to it afterwards, and
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I made none, for a promise is a promise, but she has never known an
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easy hour from that moment. There is always a look of fear upon her
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face- a look as if she were waiting and expecting. She would do better
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to trust me. She would find that I was her best friend. But until
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she speaks, I can say nothing. Mind you, she is a truthful woman,
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Mr. Holmes, and whatever trouble there may have been in her past
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life it has been no fault of hers. I am only a simple Norfolk
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squire, but there is not a man in England who ranks his family
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honour more highly than I do. She knows it well, and she knew it
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well before she married me. She would never bring any stain upon it-
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of that I am sure.
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"Well, now I come to the queer part of my story. About a week ago-
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it was the Tuesday of last week- I found on one of the window-sills
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a number of absurd little dancing figures like these upon the paper.
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They were scrawled with chalk. I thought that it was the stable-boy
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who had drawn them, but the lad swore he knew nothing about it.
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Anyhow, they had come there during the night. I had them washed out,
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and I only mentioned the matter to my wife afterwards. To my surprise,
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she took it very seriously, and begged me if any more came to let
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her see them. None did come for a week, and then yesterday morning I
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found this paper lying on the sundial in the garden. I showed it to
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Elsie, and down she dropped in a dead faint. Since then she has looked
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like a woman in a dream, half dazed, and with terror always lurking in
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her eyes. It was then that I wrote and sent the paper to you, Mr.
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Holmes. It was not a thing that I could take to the police, for they
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would have laughed at me, but you will tell me what to do. I am not
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a rich man, but if there is any danger threatening my little woman,
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I would spend my last copper to shield her."
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He was a fine creature, this man of the old English soil-simple,
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straight, and gentle, with his great, earnest blue eyes and broad,
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comely face. His love for his wife and his trust in her shone in his
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features. Holmes had listened to his story with the utmost
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attention, and now he sat for some time in silent thought.
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"Don't you think, Mr. Cubitt," said he, at last, "that your best
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plan would be to make a direct appeal to your wife, and to ask her
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to share her secret with you?"
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Hilton Cubitt shook his massive head.
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"A promise is a promise, Mr. Holmes. If Elsie wished to tell me
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she would. If not, it is not for me to force her confidence. But I
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am justified in taking my own line- and I will."
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"Then I will help you with all my heart. In the first place, have
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you heard of any strangers being seen in your neighbourhood?"
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"No."
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"I presume that it is a very quiet place. Any fresh face would cause
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comment?"
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"In the immediate neighbourhood, yes. But we have several small
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watering places not very far away. And the farmers take in lodgers."
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"These hieroglyphics have evidently a meaning. If it is a purely
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arbitrary one, it may be impossible for us to solve it. If, on the
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other hand, it is systematic, I have no doubt that we shall get to the
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bottom of it. But this particular sample is so short that I can do
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nothing, and the facts which you have brought me are so indefinite
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that we have no basis for an investigation. I would suggest that you
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return to Norfolk, that you keep a keen lookout, and that you take
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an exact copy of any fresh dancing men which may appear. It is a
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thousand pities that we have not a reproduction of those which were
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done in chalk upon the window-sill. Make a discreet inquiry also as to
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any strangers in the neighbourhood. When you have collected some fresh
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evidence, come to me again. That is the best advice which I can give
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you, Mr. Hilton Cubitt. If there are any pressing fresh
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developments, I shall be always ready to run down and see you in
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your Norfolk home."
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The interview left Sherlock Holmes very thoughtful, and several
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times in the next few days I saw him take his slip of paper from his
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notebook and look long and earnestly at the curious figures
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inscribed upon it. He made no allusion to the affair, however, until
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one afternoon a fortnight or so later. I was going out when he
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called me back.
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"You had better stay here, Watson."
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"Why?"
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"Because I had a wire from Hilton Cubitt this morning. You
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remember Hilton Cubitt, of the dancing men? He was to reach
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Liverpool Street at one-twenty. He may be here at any moment. I gather
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from his wire that there have been some new incidents of importance."
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We had not long to wait, for our Norfolk squire came straight from
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the station as fast as a hansom could bring him. He was looking
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worried and depressed, with tired eyes and a lined forehead.
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"It's getting on my nerves, this business, Mr. Holmes," said he,
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as he sank, like a wearied man, into an armchair. "It's bad enough
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to feel that you are surrounded by unseen, unknown folk, who have some
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kind of design upon you, but when, in addition to that, you know
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that it is just killing your wife by inches, then it becomes as much
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as flesh and blood can endure. She's wearing away under it- just
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wearing away before my eyes."
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"Has she said anything yet?"
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"No, Mr. Holmes, she has not. And yet there have been times when the
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poor girl has wanted to speak, and yet could not quite bring herself
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to take the plunge. I have tried to help her, but I daresay I did it
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clumsily, and scared her from it. She has spoken about my old
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family, and our reputation in the county, and our pride in our
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unsullied honour, and I always felt it was leading to the point, but
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somehow it turned off before we got there."
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"But you have found out something for yourself?"
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"A good deal, Mr. Holmes. I have several fresh dancing-men
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pictures for you to examine, and, what is more important, I have
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seen the fellow."
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"What, the man who draws them?"
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"Yes, I saw him at his work. But I will tell you everything in
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order. When I got back after my visit to you, the very first thing I
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saw next morning was a fresh crop of dancing men. They had been
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drawn in chalk upon the black wooden door of the tool-house, which
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stands beside the lawn in full view of the front windows. I took an
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exact copy, and here it is." He unfolded a paper and laid it upon
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the table. Here is a copy of the hieroglyphics:
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(See illustration.)
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"Excellent!" said Holmes. "Excellent! Pray continue."
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"When I had taken the copy, I rubbed out the marks, but, two
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mornings later, a fresh inscription had appeared. I have a copy of
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it here":
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(See illustration.)
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Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled with delight.
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"Our material is rapidly accumulating," said he.
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"Three days later a message was left scrawled upon paper, and placed
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under a pebble upon the sundial. Here it is. The characters are, as
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you see, exactly the same as the last one. After that I determined
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to lie in wait, so I got out my revolver and I sat up in my study,
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which overlooks the lawn and garden. About two in the morning I was
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seated by the window, all being dark save for the moonlight outside,
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when I heard steps behind me, and there was my wife in her
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dressinggown. She implored me to come to bed. I told her frankly
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that I wished to see who it was who played such absurd tricks upon us.
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She answered that it was some senseless practical joke, and that I
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should not take any notice of it.
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"`If it really annoys you, Hilton, we might go and travel, you and
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I, and so avoid this nuisance.'
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"`What, be driven out of our own house by a practical joker?' said
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I. `Why, we should have the whole county laughing at us.'
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"`Well, come to bed,' said she, `and we can discuss it in the
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morning.'
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"Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her white face grow whiter yet in the
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moonlight, and her hand tightened upon my shoulder. Something was
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moving in the shadow of the tool-house. I saw a dark, creeping
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figure which crawled round the corner and squatted in front of the
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door. Seizing my pistol, I was rushing out, when my wife threw her
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arms round me and held me with convulsive strength. I tried to throw
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her off, but she clung to me most desperately. At last I got clear,
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but by the time I had opened the door and reached the house the
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creature was gone. He had left a trace of his presence, however, for
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there on the door was the very same arrangement of dancing men which
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had already twice appeared, and which I have copied on that paper.
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There was no other sign of the fellow anywhere, though I ran all
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over the grounds. And yet the amazing thing is that he must have
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been there all the time, for when I examined the door again in the
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morning, he had scrawled some more of his pictures under the line
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which I had already seen."
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"Have you that fresh drawing?"
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"Yes, it is very short, but I made a copy of it, and here it is."
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Again he produced a paper. The new dance was in this form:
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-
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(See illustration.)
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"Tell me," said Holmes- and I could see by his eyes that he was much
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excited- "was this a mere addition to the first or did it appear to be
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entirely separate?"
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"It was on a different panel of the door."
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"Excellent! This is far the most important of all for our purpose.
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It fills me with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, please continue your
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most interesting statement."
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"I have nothing more to say, Mr. Holmes, except that I was angry
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with my wife that night for having held me back when I might have
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caught the skulking rascal. She said that she feared that I might come
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to harm. For an instant it had crossed my mind that perhaps what she
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really feared was that he might come to harm, for I could not doubt
|
||
|
|
that she knew who this man was, and what he meant by these strange
|
||
|
|
signals. But there is a tone in my wife's voice, Mr. Holmes, and a
|
||
|
|
look in her eyes which forbid doubt, and I am sure that it was
|
||
|
|
indeed my own safety that was in her mind. There's the whole case, and
|
||
|
|
now I want your advice as to what I ought to do. My own inclination is
|
||
|
|
to put half a dozen of my farm lads in the shrubbery, and when this
|
||
|
|
fellow comes again to give him such a hiding that he will leave us
|
||
|
|
in peace for the future."
|
||
|
|
"I fear it is too deep a case for such simple remedies," said
|
||
|
|
Holmes. "How long can you stay in London?"
|
||
|
|
"I must go back to-day. I would not leave my wife alone all night
|
||
|
|
for anything. She is very nervous, and begged me to come back."
|
||
|
|
"I daresay you are right. But if you could have stopped, I might
|
||
|
|
possibly have been able to return with you in a day or two.
|
||
|
|
Meanwhile you will leave me these papers, and I think that it is
|
||
|
|
very likely that I shall be able to pay you a visit shortly and to
|
||
|
|
throw some light upon your case."
|
||
|
|
Sherlock Holmes preserved his calm professional manner until our
|
||
|
|
visitor had left us, although it was easy for me, who knew him so
|
||
|
|
well, to see that he was profoundly excited. The moment that Hilton
|
||
|
|
Cubitt's broad back had disappeared through the door my comrade rushed
|
||
|
|
to the table, laid out all the slips of paper containing dancing men
|
||
|
|
in front of him, and threw himself into an intricate and elaborate
|
||
|
|
calculation. For two hours I watched him as he covered sheet after
|
||
|
|
sheet of paper with figures and letters, so completely absorbed in his
|
||
|
|
task that he had evidently forgotten my presence. Sometimes he was
|
||
|
|
making progress and whistled and sang at his work; sometimes he was
|
||
|
|
puzzled, and would sit for long spells with a furrowed brow and a
|
||
|
|
vacant eye. Finally he sprang from his chair with a cry of
|
||
|
|
satisfaction, and walked up and down the room rubbing his hands
|
||
|
|
together. Then he wrote a long telegram upon a cable form. "If my
|
||
|
|
answer to this is as I hope, you will have a very pretty case to add
|
||
|
|
to your collection, Watson," said he. "I expect that we shall be
|
||
|
|
able to go down to Norfolk tomorrow, and to take our friend some
|
||
|
|
very definite news as to the secret of his annoyance."
|
||
|
|
I confess that I was filled with curiosity, but I was aware that
|
||
|
|
Holmes liked to make his disclosures at his own time and in his own
|
||
|
|
way, so I waited until it should suit him to take me into his
|
||
|
|
confidence.
|
||
|
|
But there was a delay in that answering telegram, and two days of
|
||
|
|
impatience followed, during which Holmes pricked up his ears at
|
||
|
|
every ring of the bell. the evening of the second there came a
|
||
|
|
letter from Hilton Cubitt. All was quiet with him, save that a long
|
||
|
|
inscription had appeared that morning upon the pedestal of the
|
||
|
|
sundial. He inclosed a copy of it, which is here reproduced:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(See illustration.)
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
Holmes bent over this grotesque frieze for some minutes, and then
|
||
|
|
suddenly sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and
|
||
|
|
dismay. His face was haggard with anxiety.
|
||
|
|
"We have let this affair go far enough," said he. "Is there a
|
||
|
|
train to North Walsham to-night?"
|
||
|
|
I turned up the time-table. The last had just gone.
|
||
|
|
"Then we shall breakfast early and take the very first in the
|
||
|
|
morning," said Holmes. "Our presence is most urgently needed. Ah! here
|
||
|
|
is our expected cablegram. One moment, Mrs. Hudson, there may be an
|
||
|
|
answer. No, that is quite as I expected. This message makes it even
|
||
|
|
more essential that we should not lose an hour in letting Hilton
|
||
|
|
Cubitt know how matters stand, for it is a singular and a dangerous
|
||
|
|
web in which our simple Norfolk squire is entangled."
|
||
|
|
So, indeed, it proved, and as I come to the dark conclusion of a
|
||
|
|
story which had seemed to me to be only childish and bizarre, I
|
||
|
|
experience once again the dismay and horror with which I was filled.
|
||
|
|
Would that I had some brighter ending to communicate to my readers,
|
||
|
|
but these are the chronicles of fact, and I must follow to their
|
||
|
|
dark crisis the strange chain of events which for some days made
|
||
|
|
Riding Thorpe Manor a household word through the length and breadth of
|
||
|
|
England.
|
||
|
|
We had hardly alighted at North Walsham, and mentioned the name of
|
||
|
|
our destination, when the stationmaster hurried towards us. "I suppose
|
||
|
|
that you are the detectives from London?" said he.
|
||
|
|
A look of annoyance passed over Holmes's face.
|
||
|
|
"What makes you think such a thing?"
|
||
|
|
"Because Inspector Martin from Norwich has just passed through.
|
||
|
|
But maybe you are the surgeons. She's not dead- or wasn't by last
|
||
|
|
accounts. You may be in time to save her yet- though it be for the
|
||
|
|
gallows."
|
||
|
|
Holmes's brow was dark with anxiety.
|
||
|
|
"We are going to Riding Thorpe Manor," said he, "but we have heard
|
||
|
|
nothing of what has passed there."
|
||
|
|
"It's a terrible business," said the stationmaster. "They are shot
|
||
|
|
both Mr. Hilton Cubitt and his wife. She shot him and then herself- so
|
||
|
|
the servants say. He's dead and her life is despaired of. Dear,
|
||
|
|
dear, one of the oldest families in the county of Norfolk, and one
|
||
|
|
of the most honoured."
|
||
|
|
Without a word Holmes hurried to a carriage, and during the long
|
||
|
|
seven miles' drive he never opened his mouth. Seldom have I seen him
|
||
|
|
so utterly despondent. He had been uneasy during all our journey
|
||
|
|
from town, and I had observed that he had turned over the morning
|
||
|
|
papers with anxious attention, but now this sudden realization of
|
||
|
|
his worst fears left him in a blank melancholy. He leaned back in
|
||
|
|
his seat, lost in gloomy speculation. Yet there was much around to
|
||
|
|
interest us, for we were passing through as singular a countryside
|
||
|
|
as any in England, where a few scattered cottages represented the
|
||
|
|
population of to-day, while on every hand enormous square-towered
|
||
|
|
churches bristled up from the flat green landscape and told of the
|
||
|
|
glory and prosperity of old East Anglia. At last the violet rim of the
|
||
|
|
German Ocean appeared over the green edge of the Norfolk coast, and
|
||
|
|
the driver pointed with his whip to two old brick and timber gables
|
||
|
|
which projected from a grove of trees. "That's Riding Thorpe Manor,"
|
||
|
|
said he.
|
||
|
|
As we drove up to the porticoed front door, I observed in front of
|
||
|
|
it, beside the tennis lawn, the black tool-house and the pedestalled
|
||
|
|
sundial with which we had such strange associations. A dapper little
|
||
|
|
man, with a quick, alert manner and a waxed moustache, had just
|
||
|
|
descended from a high dog-cart. He introduced himself as Inspector
|
||
|
|
Martin, of the Norfolk Constabulary, and he was considerably
|
||
|
|
astonished when he heard the name of my companion.
|
||
|
|
"Why, Mr. Holmes, the crime was only committed at three this
|
||
|
|
morning. How could you hear of it in London and get to the spot as
|
||
|
|
soon as I?"
|
||
|
|
"I anticipated it. I came in the hope of preventing it."
|
||
|
|
"Then you must have important evidence, of which we are ignorant,
|
||
|
|
for they were said to be a most united couple."
|
||
|
|
"I have only the evidence of the dancing men," said Holmes. "I
|
||
|
|
will explain the matter to you later. Meanwhile, since it is too
|
||
|
|
late to prevent this tragedy, I am very anxious that I should use
|
||
|
|
the knowledge which I possess in order to insure that justice be done.
|
||
|
|
Will you associate me in your investigation, or will you prefer that I
|
||
|
|
should act independently?"
|
||
|
|
"I should be proud to feel that we were acting together, Mr.
|
||
|
|
Holmes," said the inspector, earnestly.
|
||
|
|
"In that case I should be glad to hear the evidence and to examine
|
||
|
|
the premises without an instant of unnecessary delay."
|
||
|
|
Inspector Martin had the good sense to allow my friend to do
|
||
|
|
things in his own fashion, and contented himself with carefully noting
|
||
|
|
the results. The local surgeon, an old, white-haired man, had just
|
||
|
|
come down from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt's room, and he reported that her
|
||
|
|
injuries were serious, but not necessarily fatal. The bullet had
|
||
|
|
passed through the front of her brain, and it would probably be some
|
||
|
|
time before she could regain consciousness. On the question of whether
|
||
|
|
she had been shot or had shot herself, he would not venture to express
|
||
|
|
any decided opinion. Certainly the bullet had been discharged at
|
||
|
|
very close quarters. There was only the one pistol found in the
|
||
|
|
room, two barrels of which had been emptied. Mr. Hilton Cubitt had
|
||
|
|
been shot through the heart. It was equally conceivable that he had
|
||
|
|
shot her and then himself, or that she had been the criminal, for
|
||
|
|
the revolver lay upon the floor midway between them.
|
||
|
|
"Has he been moved?" asked Holmes.
|
||
|
|
"We have moved nothing except the lady. We could not leave her lying
|
||
|
|
wounded upon the floor."
|
||
|
|
"How long have you been here, Doctor?"
|
||
|
|
"Since four o'clock."
|
||
|
|
"Anyone else?"
|
||
|
|
"Yes, the constable here."
|
||
|
|
"And you have touched nothing?"
|
||
|
|
"Nothing."
|
||
|
|
"You have acted with great discretion. Who sent for you?"
|
||
|
|
"The housemaid, Saunders."
|
||
|
|
"Was it she who gave the alarm?"
|
||
|
|
"She and Mrs. King, the cook."
|
||
|
|
"Where are they now?"
|
||
|
|
"In the kitchen, I believe."
|
||
|
|
"Then I think we had better hear their story at once."
|
||
|
|
The old hall, oak-panelled and high-windowed, had been turned into a
|
||
|
|
court of investigation. Holmes sat in a great, old-fashioned chair,
|
||
|
|
his inexorable eyes gleaming out of his haggard face. I could read
|
||
|
|
in them a set purpose to devote his life to this quest until the
|
||
|
|
client whom he had failed to save should at last be avenged. The
|
||
|
|
trim Inspector Martin, the old, gray-headed country doctor, myself,
|
||
|
|
and a stolid village policeman made up the rest of that strange
|
||
|
|
company.
|
||
|
|
The two women told their story clearly enough. They had been aroused
|
||
|
|
from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed
|
||
|
|
a minute later by a second one. They slept in adjoining rooms, and
|
||
|
|
Mrs. King had rushed in to Saunders. Together they had descended the
|
||
|
|
stairs. The door of the study was open, and a candle was burning
|
||
|
|
upon the table. Their master lay upon his face in the centre of the
|
||
|
|
room. He was quite dead. Near the window his wife was crouching, her
|
||
|
|
head leaning against the wall. She was horribly wounded, and the
|
||
|
|
side of her face was red with blood. She breathed heavily, but was
|
||
|
|
incapable of saying anything. The passage, as well as the room, was
|
||
|
|
full of smoke and the smell of powder. The window was certainly shut
|
||
|
|
and fastened upon the inside. Both women were positive upon the point.
|
||
|
|
They had at once sent for the doctor and for the constable. Then, with
|
||
|
|
the aid of the groom and the stable-boy, they had conveyed their
|
||
|
|
injured mistress to her room. Both she and her husband had occupied
|
||
|
|
the bed. She was clad in her dress- he in his dressing-gown, over
|
||
|
|
his night-clothes. Nothing had been moved in the study. So far as they
|
||
|
|
knew, there had never been any quarrel between husband and wife.
|
||
|
|
They had always looked upon them as a very united couple.
|
||
|
|
These were the main points of the servants' evidence. In answer to
|
||
|
|
Inspector Martin, they were clear that every door was fastened upon
|
||
|
|
the inside, and that no one could have escaped from the house. In
|
||
|
|
answer to Holmes, they both remembered that they were conscious of the
|
||
|
|
smell of powder from the moment that they ran out of their rooms
|
||
|
|
upon the top floor. "I commend that fact very carefully to your
|
||
|
|
attention," said Holmes to his professional colleague. "And now I
|
||
|
|
think that we are in a position to undertake a thorough examination of
|
||
|
|
the room."
|
||
|
|
The study proved to be a small chamber, lined on three sides with
|
||
|
|
books, and with a writing-table facing an ordinary window, which
|
||
|
|
looked out upon the garden. Our first attention was given to the
|
||
|
|
body of the unfortunate squire, whose huge frame lay stretched
|
||
|
|
across the room. His disordered dress showed that he had been
|
||
|
|
hastily aroused from sleep. The bullet had been fired at him from
|
||
|
|
the front, and had remained in his body, after penetrating the
|
||
|
|
heart. His death had certainly been instantaneous and painless.
|
||
|
|
There was no powder-marking either upon his dressing-gown or on his
|
||
|
|
hands. According to the country surgeon, the lady had stains upon
|
||
|
|
her face, but none upon her hand.
|
||
|
|
"The absence of the latter means nothing, though its presence may
|
||
|
|
mean everything," said Holmes. "Unless the powder from a badly fitting
|
||
|
|
cartridge happens to spurt backward, one may fire many shots without
|
||
|
|
leaving a sign. I would suggest that Mr. Cubitt's body may now be
|
||
|
|
removed. I suppose, Doctor, you have not recovered the bullet which
|
||
|
|
wounded the lady?"
|
||
|
|
"A serious operation will be necessary before that can be done.
|
||
|
|
But there are still four cartridges in the revolver. Two have been
|
||
|
|
fired and two wounds inflicted, so that each bullet can be accounted
|
||
|
|
for."
|
||
|
|
"So it would seem," said Holmes. "Perhaps you can account also for
|
||
|
|
the bullet which has so obviously struck the edge of the window?"
|
||
|
|
He had turned suddenly, and his long, thin finger was pointing to
|
||
|
|
a hole which had been drilled right through the lower window-sash,
|
||
|
|
about an inch above the bottom.
|
||
|
|
"By George!" cried the inspector. "How ever did you see that?"
|
||
|
|
"Because I looked for it."
|
||
|
|
"Wonderful!" said the country doctor. "You are certainly right, sir.
|
||
|
|
Then a third shot has been fired, and therefore a third person must
|
||
|
|
have been present. But who could that have been, and how could he have
|
||
|
|
got away?"
|
||
|
|
"That is the problem which we are now about to solve," said Sherlock
|
||
|
|
Holmes. "You remember, Inspector Martin, when the servants said that
|
||
|
|
on leaving their room they were at once conscious of a smell of
|
||
|
|
powder, I remarked that the point was an extremely important one?"
|
||
|
|
"Yes, sir; but I confess I did not quite follow you."
|
||
|
|
"It suggested that at the time of the firing, the window as well
|
||
|
|
as the door of the room had been open. Otherwise the fumes of powder
|
||
|
|
could not have been blown so rapidly through the house. A draught in
|
||
|
|
the room was necessary for that. Both door and window were only open
|
||
|
|
for a very short time, however."
|
||
|
|
"How do you prove that?"
|
||
|
|
"Because the candle was not guttered."
|
||
|
|
"Capital!" cried the inspector. "Capital!
|
||
|
|
"Feeling sure that the window had been open at the time of the
|
||
|
|
tragedy, I conceived that there might have been a third person in
|
||
|
|
the affair, who stood outside this opening and fired through it. Any
|
||
|
|
shot directed at this person might hit the sash. I looked, and
|
||
|
|
there, sure enough, was the bullet mark!"
|
||
|
|
"But how came the window to be shut and fastened?"
|
||
|
|
"The woman's first instinct would be to shut and fasten the
|
||
|
|
window. But, halloa! What is this?"
|
||
|
|
It was a lady's hand-bag which stood upon the study table- a trim
|
||
|
|
little handbag of crocodile-skin and silver. Holmes opened it and
|
||
|
|
turned the contents out. There were twenty fifty-pound notes of the
|
||
|
|
Bank of England, held together by an india-rubber band- nothing else.
|
||
|
|
"This must be preserved, for it will figure in the trial" said
|
||
|
|
Holmes, as he handed the bag with its contents to the inspector. "It
|
||
|
|
is now necessary that we should try to throw some light upon this
|
||
|
|
third bullet, which has clearly, from the splintering of the wood,
|
||
|
|
been fired from inside the room. I should like to see Mrs. King, the
|
||
|
|
cook, again. You said, Mrs. King, that you were awakened by a loud
|
||
|
|
explosion. When you said that, did you mean that it seemed to you to
|
||
|
|
be louder than the second one?"
|
||
|
|
"Well, sir, it wakened me from my sleep, so it is hard to judge. But
|
||
|
|
it did seem very loud."
|
||
|
|
"You don't think that it might have been two shots fired almost at
|
||
|
|
the same instant?"
|
||
|
|
"I am sure I couldn't say, sir."
|
||
|
|
"I believe that it was undoubtedly so. I rather think, Inspector
|
||
|
|
Martin, that we have now exhausted all that this room can teach us. If
|
||
|
|
you will kindly step round with me, we shall see what fresh evidence
|
||
|
|
the garden has to offer."
|
||
|
|
A flower-bed extended up to the study window, and we all broke
|
||
|
|
into an exclamation as we approached it. The flowers were trampled
|
||
|
|
down, and the soft soil was imprinted all over with footmarks.
|
||
|
|
Large, masculine feet they were, with peculiarly long, sharp toes.
|
||
|
|
Holmes hunted about among the grass and leaves like a retriever
|
||
|
|
after a wounded bird. Then, with a cry of satisfaction, he bent
|
||
|
|
forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder.
|
||
|
|
"I thought so," said he, "the revolver had an ejector, and here is
|
||
|
|
the third cartridge. I really think, Inspector Martin, that our case
|
||
|
|
is almost complete."
|
||
|
|
The country inspector's face had shown his intense amazement at
|
||
|
|
the rapid and masterful progress of Holmes's investigation. At first
|
||
|
|
he had shown some disposition to assert his own position, but now he
|
||
|
|
was overcome with admiration, and ready to follow without question
|
||
|
|
wherever Holmes led.
|
||
|
|
"Whom do you suspect?" he asked.
|
||
|
|
"I'll go into that later. There are several points in this problem
|
||
|
|
which I have not been able to explain to you yet. Now that I have
|
||
|
|
got so far, I had best proceed on my own lines, and then clear the
|
||
|
|
whole matter up once and for all."
|
||
|
|
"Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so long as we get our man."
|
||
|
|
"I have no desire to make mysteries, but it is impossible at the
|
||
|
|
moment of action to enter into long and complex explanations. I have
|
||
|
|
the threads of this affair all in my hand. Even if this lady should
|
||
|
|
never recover consciousness, we can still reconstruct the events of
|
||
|
|
last night and insure that justice be done. First of all, I wish to
|
||
|
|
know whether there is any inn in this neighbourhood known as
|
||
|
|
`Elrige's'?"
|
||
|
|
The servants were cross-questioned, but none of them had heard of
|
||
|
|
such a place. The stable-boy threw a light upon the matter by
|
||
|
|
remembering that a farmer of that name lived some miles off, in the
|
||
|
|
direction of East Ruston.
|
||
|
|
"Is it a lonely farm?"
|
||
|
|
"Very lonely, sir."
|
||
|
|
"Perhaps they have not heard yet of all that happened here during
|
||
|
|
the night?"
|
||
|
|
"Maybe not, sir."
|
||
|
|
Holmes thought for a little, and then a curious smile played over
|
||
|
|
his face.
|
||
|
|
"Saddle a horse, my lad," said he. "I shall wish you to take a
|
||
|
|
note to Elrige's Farm."
|
||
|
|
He took from his pocket the various slips of the dancing men. With
|
||
|
|
these in front of him, he worked for some time at the study-table.
|
||
|
|
Finally he handed a note to the boy, with directions to put it into
|
||
|
|
the hands of the person to whom it was addressed, and especially to
|
||
|
|
answer no questions of any sort which might be put to him. I saw the
|
||
|
|
outside of the note, addressed in straggling, irregular characters,
|
||
|
|
very unlike Holmes's usual precise hand. It was consigned to Mr. Abe
|
||
|
|
Slaney, Elriges Farm, East Ruston, Norfolk.
|
||
|
|
"I think, Inspector," Holmes remarked, "that you would do well to
|
||
|
|
telegraph for an escort, as, if my calculations prove to be correct,
|
||
|
|
you may have a particularly dangerous prisoner to convey to the county
|
||
|
|
jail. The boy who takes this note could no doubt forward your
|
||
|
|
telegram. If there is an afternoon train to town, Watson, I think we
|
||
|
|
should do well to take it, as I have a chemical analysis of some
|
||
|
|
interest to finish, and this investigation draws rapidly to a close."
|
||
|
|
When the youth had been dispatched with the note, Sherlock Holmes
|
||
|
|
gave his instructions to the servants. If any visitor were to call
|
||
|
|
asking for Mrs. Hilton Cubitt, no information should be given as to
|
||
|
|
her condition, but he was to be shown at once into the drawing-room.
|
||
|
|
He impressed these points upon them with the utmost earnestness.
|
||
|
|
Finally he led the way into the drawing-room, with the remark that the
|
||
|
|
business was now out of our hands, and that we must while away the
|
||
|
|
time as best we might until we could see what was in store for us. The
|
||
|
|
doctor had departed to his patients, and only the inspector and myself
|
||
|
|
remained.
|
||
|
|
"I think that I can help you to pass an hour in an interesting and
|
||
|
|
profitable manner," said Holmes, drawing his chair up to the table,
|
||
|
|
and spreading out in front of him the various papers upon which were
|
||
|
|
recorded the antics of the dancing men. "As to you, friend Watson, I
|
||
|
|
owe you every atonement for having allowed your natural curiosity to
|
||
|
|
remain so long unsatisfied. To you, Inspector, the whole incident
|
||
|
|
may appeal as a remarkable professional study. I must tell you,
|
||
|
|
first of all, the interesting circumstances connected with the
|
||
|
|
previous consultations which Mr. Hilton Cubitt has had with me in
|
||
|
|
Baker Street." He then shortly recapitulated the facts which have
|
||
|
|
already been recorded. "I have here in front of me these singular
|
||
|
|
productions, at which one might smile, had they not proved
|
||
|
|
themselves to be the forerunners of so terrible a tragedy. I am fairly
|
||
|
|
familiar with all forms of secret writings, and am myself the author
|
||
|
|
of a trifling monograph upon the subject, in which I analyze one
|
||
|
|
hundred and sixty separate ciphers, but I confess that this is
|
||
|
|
entirely new to me. The object of those who invented the system has
|
||
|
|
apparently been to conceal that these characters convey a message, and
|
||
|
|
to give the idea that they are the mere random sketches of children.
|
||
|
|
"Having once recognized, however, that the symbols stood for
|
||
|
|
letters, and having applied the rules which guide us in all forms of
|
||
|
|
secret writings, the solution was easy enough. The first message
|
||
|
|
submitted to me was so short that it was impossible for me to do
|
||
|
|
more than to say, with some confidence, that the symbol [of the stickman
|
||
|
|
with both arms extended up in the air]
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
stood for E. As you are aware, E is the most common letter in the
|
||
|
|
English alphabet, and it predominates to so marked an extent that even
|
||
|
|
in a short sentence one would expect to find it most often. Out of
|
||
|
|
fifteen symbols in the first message, four were the same, so it was
|
||
|
|
reasonable to set this down as E. It is true that in some cases the
|
||
|
|
figure was bearing a flag, and in some cases not but it was
|
||
|
|
probable, from the way in which the flags were distributed, that
|
||
|
|
they were used to break the sentence up into words. I accepted this as
|
||
|
|
a hypothesis, and noted that E was represented by [the stickman with
|
||
|
|
both arms extended up in the air]
|
||
|
|
"But now came the real difficulty of the inquiry. The order of the
|
||
|
|
English letters after E is by no means well marked, and any
|
||
|
|
preponderance which may be shown in an average of a printed sheet
|
||
|
|
may be reversed in a single short sentence. Speaking roughly, T, A, O,
|
||
|
|
I, N, S, H, R, D, and L are the numerical order in which letters
|
||
|
|
occur, but T, A, O, and I are very nearly abreast of each other, and
|
||
|
|
it would be an endless task to try each combination until a meaning
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
was arrived at I therefore waited for fresh material. In my second
|
||
|
|
interview with Mr. Hilton Cubitt he was able to give me two other
|
||
|
|
short sentences and one message, which appeared- since there was no
|
||
|
|
flag- to be a single word. Here are the symbols. Now, in the single
|
||
|
|
word I have already got the two E's coming second and fourth in a word
|
||
|
|
of five letters. It might be `sever,' or `lever,' or `never.' There
|
||
|
|
can be no question that the latter as a reply to an appeal is far
|
||
|
|
the most probable, and the circumstances pointed to its being a
|
||
|
|
reply written by the lady. Accepting it as correct, we are now able to
|
||
|
|
say that the symbols [of the stickman with right hand on his hip, left
|
||
|
|
arm raised and knees bent, stickman with leg extended to the left, and
|
||
|
|
stickman with both arms raised in the air and left leg extended.]
|
||
|
|
stand respectively for N, V, and R.
|
||
|
|
"Even now I was in considerable difficulty, but a happy thought
|
||
|
|
put me in possession of several other letters. It occurred to me
|
||
|
|
that if these appeals came, as I expected, from someone who had been
|
||
|
|
intimate with the lady in her early life, a combination which
|
||
|
|
contained two E's with three letters between might very well stand for
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
the name `ELSIE.' On examination I found that such a combination
|
||
|
|
formed the termination of the message which was three times
|
||
|
|
repeated. It was certainly some appeal to `Elsie.' In this way I had
|
||
|
|
got my L, S, and I. But what appeal could it be? There were only
|
||
|
|
four letters in the word which preceded `Elsie,' and it ended in E.
|
||
|
|
Surely the word must be `COME.' I tried all other four letters
|
||
|
|
ending in E, but could find none to fit the case. So now I was in
|
||
|
|
possession of C, O, and M, and I was in a position to attack the first
|
||
|
|
message once more, dividing it into words and putting dots for each
|
||
|
|
symbol which was still unknown. So treated, it worked out in this
|
||
|
|
fashion:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
. M . ERE .. E SL . NE.
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
"Now the first letter can only be A, which is a most useful
|
||
|
|
discovery, since it occurs no fewer than three times in this short
|
||
|
|
sentence, and the H is also apparent in the second word. Now it
|
||
|
|
becomes:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
AM HERE A . E SLANE.
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
Or, filling in the obvious vacancies in the name:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
AM HERE ABE SLANEY.
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
I had so many letters now that I could proceed with considerable
|
||
|
|
confidence to the second message, which worked out in this fashion:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
A . ELRI . ES.
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
Here I could only make sense by putting T and G for the missing
|
||
|
|
letters, and supposing that the name was that of some house or inn
|
||
|
|
at which the writer was staying."
|
||
|
|
Inspector Martin and I had listened with the utmost interest to
|
||
|
|
the full and clear account of how my friend had produced results which
|
||
|
|
had led to so complete a command over our difficulties.
|
||
|
|
"What did you do then, sir?" asked the inspector.
|
||
|
|
"I had every reason to suppose that this Abe Slaney was an American,
|
||
|
|
since Abe is an American contraction, and since a letter from
|
||
|
|
America had been the starting-point of all the trouble. I had also
|
||
|
|
every cause to think that there was some criminal secret in the
|
||
|
|
matter. The lady's allusions to her past, and her refusal to take
|
||
|
|
her husband into her confidence, both pointed in that direction. I
|
||
|
|
therefore cabled to my friend, Wilson Hargreave, of the New York
|
||
|
|
Police Bureau, who has more than once made use of my knowledge of
|
||
|
|
London crime. I asked him whether the name of Abe Slaney was known
|
||
|
|
to him. Here is his reply: `The most dangerous crook in Chicago.' On
|
||
|
|
the very evening upon which I had his answer, Hilton Cubitt sent me
|
||
|
|
the last message from Slaney. Working with known letters, it took this
|
||
|
|
form:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
ELSIE . RE . ARE TO MEET THY GO.
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
The addition of a P and a D completed a message which showed me that
|
||
|
|
the rascal was proceeding from persuasion to threats, and my knowledge
|
||
|
|
of the crooks of Chicago prepared me to find that he might very
|
||
|
|
rapidly put his words into action. I at once came to Norfolk with my
|
||
|
|
friend and colleague, Dr. Watson, but, unhappily, only in time to find
|
||
|
|
that the worst had already occurred."
|
||
|
|
"It is a privilege to be associated with you in the handling of a
|
||
|
|
case," said the inspector, warmly. "You will excuse me, however, if
|
||
|
|
I speak frankly to you. You are only answerable to yourself, but I
|
||
|
|
have to answer to my superiors. If this Abe Slaney, living at
|
||
|
|
Elrige's, is indeed the murderer, and if he has made his escape
|
||
|
|
while I am seated here, I should certainly get into serious trouble."
|
||
|
|
"You need not be uneasy. He will not try to escape."
|
||
|
|
"How do you know?"
|
||
|
|
"To fly would be a confession of guilt."
|
||
|
|
"Then let us go arrest him."
|
||
|
|
"I expect him here every instant."
|
||
|
|
"But why should he come."
|
||
|
|
"Because I have written and asked him."
|
||
|
|
"But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! Why should he come because
|
||
|
|
you have asked him? Would not such a request rather rouse his
|
||
|
|
suspicions and cause him to fly?"
|
||
|
|
"I think I have known how to frame the letter," said Sherlock
|
||
|
|
Holmes. "In fact, if I am not very much mistaken, here is the
|
||
|
|
gentleman himself coming up the drive."
|
||
|
|
A man striding up the path which led to the door. He was a tall,
|
||
|
|
handsome, swarthy fellow, clad in a suit of flannel, with a Panama
|
||
|
|
hat, a bristling black beard, and a great, aggressive hooked nose, and
|
||
|
|
flourishing a cane as he walked. He swaggered up a path as if the
|
||
|
|
place belonged to him, and we heard his loud, confident peal at the
|
||
|
|
bell.
|
||
|
|
"I think, gentlemen," said Holmes, quietly, "that we had best take
|
||
|
|
up our position behind the door. Every precaution is necessary when
|
||
|
|
dealing with such a fellow. You will need your handcuffs, Inspector.
|
||
|
|
You can leave the talking to me."
|
||
|
|
We waited in silence for a minute- one of those minutes which one
|
||
|
|
can never forget. Then the door opened and the man stepped in. In an
|
||
|
|
instant Holmes clapped a pistol to his head, and Martin slipped the
|
||
|
|
handcuffs over his wrists. It was all done so swiftly and deftly
|
||
|
|
that the fellow was helpless before he knew that he was attacked. He
|
||
|
|
glared from one to the other of us with a pair of blazing black
|
||
|
|
eyes. Then he burst into a bitter laugh.
|
||
|
|
"Well, gentlemen, you have the drop on me this time. I seem to
|
||
|
|
have knocked up against something hard. But I came here in answer to a
|
||
|
|
letter from Mrs. Hilton Cubitt. Don't tell me that she is in this?
|
||
|
|
Don't tell me that she helped to set a trap for me?"
|
||
|
|
"Mrs. Hilton Cubitt was seriously injured, and is at death's door."
|
||
|
|
The man gave a hoarse cry of grief, which rang through the house.
|
||
|
|
"You're crazy!" he cried, fiercely. "It was he that was hurt, not
|
||
|
|
she. Who would have hurt little Elsie? I may have threatened her-
|
||
|
|
God forgive me!- but I would not have touched a hair of her pretty
|
||
|
|
head. Take it back- you! Say that she is not hurt!"
|
||
|
|
"She was found badly wounded, by the side of her dead husband."
|
||
|
|
He sank with a deep groan on the settee and buried his face in his
|
||
|
|
manacled hands. For five minutes he was silent. Then he raised his
|
||
|
|
face once more, and spoke with the cold composure of despair.
|
||
|
|
"I have nothing to hide from you, gentlemen," said he. "If I shot
|
||
|
|
the man he had his shot at me, and there's no murder in that. But if
|
||
|
|
you think I could have hurt that woman, then you don't know either
|
||
|
|
me or her. I tell you, there was never a man in this world loved a
|
||
|
|
woman more than I loved her. I had a right to her. She was pledged
|
||
|
|
to me years ago. Who was this Englishman that he should come between
|
||
|
|
us? I tell you that I had the first right to her, and that I was
|
||
|
|
only claiming my own.
|
||
|
|
"She broke away from your influence when she found the man that
|
||
|
|
you are," said Holmes, sternly. "She fled from America to avoid you,
|
||
|
|
and she married an honourable gentleman in England. You dogged her and
|
||
|
|
followed her and made her life a misery to her, in order to induce her
|
||
|
|
to abandon the husband whom she loved and respected in order to fly
|
||
|
|
with you, whom she feared and hated. You have ended by bringing
|
||
|
|
about the death of a noble man and driving his wife to suicide. That
|
||
|
|
is your record in this business, Mr. Abe Slaney, and you will answer
|
||
|
|
for it to the law."
|
||
|
|
"If Elsie dies, I care nothing what becomes of me," said the
|
||
|
|
American. He opened one of his hands, and looked at a note crumpled up
|
||
|
|
in his palm. "See here, mister! he cried, with a gleam of suspicion in
|
||
|
|
his eyes, "you're not trying to scare me over this, are you? If the
|
||
|
|
lady is hurt as bad as you say, who was it that wrote this note?" He
|
||
|
|
tossed it forward on to the table.
|
||
|
|
"I wrote it, to bring you here."
|
||
|
|
"You wrote it? There was no one on earth outside the Joint who
|
||
|
|
knew the secret of the dancing men. How came you to write it?"
|
||
|
|
"What one man can invent another can discover," said Holmes. There
|
||
|
|
is a cab coming to convey you to Norwich, Mr. Slaney. But meanwhile,
|
||
|
|
you have time to make some small reparation for the injury you have
|
||
|
|
wrought. Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cubitt has herself lain
|
||
|
|
under grave suspicion of the murder of her husband, and that it was
|
||
|
|
only my presence here, and the knowledge which I happened to
|
||
|
|
possess, which has saved her from the accusation? The least that you
|
||
|
|
owe her is to make it clear to the whole world that she was in no way,
|
||
|
|
directly or indirectly, responsible for his tragic end."
|
||
|
|
"I ask nothing better," said the American. "I guess the very best
|
||
|
|
case I can make for myself is the absolute naked truth."
|
||
|
|
"It is my duty to warn you that it will be used against you,"
|
||
|
|
cried the inspector, with the magnificent fair play of the British
|
||
|
|
criminal law.
|
||
|
|
Slaney shrugged his shoulders.
|
||
|
|
"I'll chance that," said he. "First of all, I want you gentlemen
|
||
|
|
to understand that I have known this lady since she was a child. There
|
||
|
|
were seven of us in a gang in Chicago, and Elsie's father was the boss
|
||
|
|
of the Joint. He was a clever man, was old Patrick. It was he who
|
||
|
|
invented that writing, which would pass as a child's scrawl unless you
|
||
|
|
just happened to have the key to it. Well, Elsie learned some of our
|
||
|
|
ways, but she couldn't stand the business, and she had a bit of honest
|
||
|
|
money of her own, so she gave us all the slip and got away to
|
||
|
|
London. She had been engaged to me, and she would have married me, I
|
||
|
|
believe, if I had taken over another profession, but she would have
|
||
|
|
nothing to do with anything on the cross. It was only after her
|
||
|
|
marriage to this Englishman that I was able to find out where she was.
|
||
|
|
I wrote to her, but got no answer. After that I came over, and, as
|
||
|
|
letters were no use, I put my messages where she could read them.
|
||
|
|
"Well, I have been here a month now. I lived in that farm, where I
|
||
|
|
had a room down below, and could get in and out every night, and no
|
||
|
|
one the wiser. I tried all I could to coax Elsie away. I knew that she
|
||
|
|
read the messages, for once she wrote an answer under one of them.
|
||
|
|
Then my temper got the better of me, and I began to threaten her.
|
||
|
|
She sent me a letter then, imploring me to go away, and saying that it
|
||
|
|
would break her heart if any scandal should come upon her husband. She
|
||
|
|
said that she would come down when her husband was asleep at three
|
||
|
|
in the morning, and speak with me through the end window, if I would
|
||
|
|
go away afterwards and leave her in peace. She came down and brought
|
||
|
|
money with her, trying to bribe me to go. This made me mad, and I
|
||
|
|
caught her arm and tried to pull her through the window. At that
|
||
|
|
moment in rushed the husband with his revolver in his hand. Elsie
|
||
|
|
had sunk down upon the floor, and we were face to face. I was heeled
|
||
|
|
also, and I held up my gun to scare him off and let me get away. He
|
||
|
|
fired and missed me. I pulled off almost at the same instant, and down
|
||
|
|
he dropped. I made away across the garden, and as I went I heard the
|
||
|
|
window shut behind me. That's God's truth, gentlemen, every word of
|
||
|
|
it, and I heard no more about it until that lad came riding up with
|
||
|
|
a note which made me walk in here, like a jay, and give myself into
|
||
|
|
your hands."
|
||
|
|
A cab had driven up whilst the American had been talking. Two
|
||
|
|
uniformed policemen sat inside. Inspector Martin rose and touched
|
||
|
|
his prisoner on the shoulder.
|
||
|
|
"It is time for us to go."
|
||
|
|
"Can I see her first?"
|
||
|
|
"No, she is not conscious. Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I only hope that
|
||
|
|
if ever again I have an important case, I shall have the good
|
||
|
|
fortune to have you by my side."
|
||
|
|
We stood at the window and watched the cab drive away. As I turned
|
||
|
|
back, my eye caught the pellet of paper which the prisoner had
|
||
|
|
tossed upon the table. It was the note with which Holmes had decoyed
|
||
|
|
him.
|
||
|
|
"See if you can read it, Watson," said he, with a smile.
|
||
|
|
It contained no word, but this little line of dancing men:
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
|
||
|
|
(See illustration.)
|
||
|
|
-
|
||
|
|
"If you use the code which I have explained," said Holmes, "you will
|
||
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find that it simply means `Come here at once.' I was convinced that it
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was an invitation which he would not refuse, since he could never
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imagine that it could come from anyone but the lady. And so, my dear
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Watson, we have ended by turning the dancing men to good when they
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have so often been the agents of evil, and I think that I have
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fulfilled my promise of giving you something unusual for your
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notebook. Three-forty is our train, and I fancy we should be back in
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Baker Street for dinner."
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Only one word of epilogue. The American, Abe Slaney, was condemned
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to death at the winter assizes at Norwich, but his penalty was changed
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to penal servitude in consideration of mitigating circumstances, and
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the certainty that Hilton Cubitt had fired the first shot. Of Mrs.
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Hilton Cubitt I only know that I have heard she recovered entirely,
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and that she still, remains a widow, devoting her whole life to the
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care of the poor and to the administration of her husband's estate.
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-
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-
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-THE END-
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