The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Part 16 (1/2)
”And that is--”
”That McCarthy senior met his death from McCarthy junior and that all theories to the contrary are the hter thing than fog,” said Hol ”But I am very much mistaken if this is not Hatherley Farm upon the left”
”Yes, that is it” It was a widespread, coreat yellow blotches of lichen upon the grey walls The drawn blinds and the sh 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 tih not the pair which he had then had Having ht different points, Holmes desired to be led to the court-yard, fro track which led to Bosob 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 broere drawn into two hard black lines, while his eyes shone out frolitter
His face was bent doard, his shoulders bowed, his lips co, 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 h the meadows, and so by way of the woods to the Bosob Pool It was daround, as is all that district, and there were rass 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 watchedfrom the conviction that every one of his actions was directed towards a definite end
The Bosob 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 whichOn 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 round, that I could plainly see the traces which had been left by the fall of the strickeneyes, very rass He ran round, like a dog who is picking up a scent, and then turned upon o into the pool for?” he asked
”I fished about with a rake I thought there ht 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 Athe reeds Oh, how simple it would all have been had I been here before they came like a herd of buffalo and ed all over it Here is where the party with the lodge-keeper caht 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 ti McCarthy's feet Twice he alking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are deeply marked and the heels hardly visible That bears out his story He ran when he saw his father on the ground Then here are the father's feet as he paced up and down What is this, then? It is the butt-end of the gun as the son stood listening And this?
Ha, ha! What have we here? Tiptoes! tiptoes! Square, too, quite unusual boots! They coain--of course that was for the cloak Nohere did they co, soe of the wood and under the shadow of a great beech, the largest tree in the neighbourhood Holmes traced his way to the farther side of this and lay down once more upon his face with a little cry of satisfaction For a long ti over the leaves and dried sticks, gathering up what see with his lens not only the ground but even the bark of the tree as far as he could reach A jagged stone was lying a the moss, and this also he carefully exah the wood until he cahroad, where all traces were lost
”It has been a case of considerable interest,” he rerey house on the right o in and have a ith Moran, and perhaps write a little note Having done that, we may drive back to our luncheon You may walk to the cab, and I shall be with you presently”
It was about ten ained our cab and drove back into Ross, Hol with him the stone which he had picked up in the wood
”Thisit out
”The murder was done with it”
”I see no marks”
”There are none”
”How do you know, then?”
”The grass was growing under it It had only lain there a few days There was no sign of a place whence it had been taken It corresponds with the injuries There is no sign of any other weapon”
”And the murderer?”
”Is a tall , wears thick-soled shooting-boots and a grey cloak, sar-holder, and carries a blunt pen-knife in his pocket There are several other indications, but these hed ”I am afraid that I am still a sceptic,” he said ”Theories are all very well, but we have to deal with a hard-headed British jury”
”Nous verrons,” answered Holmes calmly ”You work your own method, and I shall work mine I shall be busy this afternoon, and shall probably return to London by the evening train”
”And leave your case unfinished?”
”No, finished”
”But the mystery?”
”It is solved”