Reading Help The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Ch.I-IV
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. `
` `
` It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, `
` for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town. `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "And what did you learn from him?" `
` `
` "Nothing." `
` `
` "Could he throw no light?" `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "But if he is innocent, who has done it?" `
` `
` "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 `
` 'Cooee!' 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." `
` `
` 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. `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "An elderly man, I presume?" said Holmes. `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes. `
` `
` "Oh, yes! In a hundred other ways he has helped him. Everybody `
` about here speaks of his kindness to him." `
` `
` "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?" `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "You are right," said Holmes demurely; "you do find it very hard `
` to tackle the facts." `
` `
` "Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it `
` difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth. `
` `
` "And that is--" `
` `
` "That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that `
` all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine." `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "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. `
` `
` 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. `
` `
` 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. `
` `
` "What did you go into the pool for?" he asked. `
` `
` "I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some weapon `
` or other trace. But how on earth--" `
` `
` "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 `
`
` 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. `
` `
` It was late before Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, `
` for Lestrade was staying in lodgings in the town. `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "And what did you learn from him?" `
` `
` "Nothing." `
` `
` "Could he throw no light?" `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "But if he is innocent, who has done it?" `
` `
` "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 `
` 'Cooee!' 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." `
` `
` 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. `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "An elderly man, I presume?" said Holmes. `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "Indeed! That is interesting," said Holmes. `
` `
` "Oh, yes! In a hundred other ways he has helped him. Everybody `
` about here speaks of his kindness to him." `
` `
` "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?" `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "You are right," said Holmes demurely; "you do find it very hard `
` to tackle the facts." `
` `
` "Anyhow, I have grasped one fact which you seem to find it `
` difficult to get hold of," replied Lestrade with some warmth. `
` `
` "And that is--" `
` `
` "That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that `
` all theories to the contrary are the merest moonshine." `
` `
` "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." `
` `
` "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. `
` `
` 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. `
` `
` 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. `
` `
` "What did you go into the pool for?" he asked. `
` `
` "I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some weapon `
` or other trace. But how on earth--" `
` `
` "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 `
`