The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Part 47 (1/2)
”How can we have when I saw him with my own eyes with the coronet in his hands”
”I hardly consider that a conclusive proof Was the remainder of the coronet at all injured?”
”Yes, it isted”
”Do you not think, then, that he hten it?”
”God bless you! You are doing what you can for him and forthere at all? If his purpose were innocent, why did he not say so?”
”Precisely And if it were guilty, why did he not invent a lie?
His silence appears to ular points about the case What did the police think of the noise which awoke you froht be caused by Arthur's closing his bedroom door”
”A likely story! As if a man bent on felony would slam his door so as to wake a household What did they say, then, of the disappearance of these ge the furniture in the hope of finding the outside the house?”
”Yes, they have shown extraordinary energy The whole garden has already been minutely examined”
”Now, my dear sir,” said Holmes, ”is it not obvious to you now that this matter really strikes very much deeper than either you or the police were at first inclined to think? It appeared to you to be a sily complex Consider what is involved by your theory You suppose that your son ca-room, opened your bureau, took out your coronet, broke off by main force a small portion of it, went off to soems out of the thirty-nine, with such skill that nobody can find them, and then returned with the other thirty-six into the roo discovered I ask you now, is such a theory tenable?”
”But what other is there?” cried the banker with a gesture of despair ”If his motives were innocent, why does he not explain them?”
”It is our task to find that out,” replied Holmes; ”so now, if you please, Mr Holder, ill set off for Streatha a little more closely into details”
My friend insisted upon er enough to do, for my curiosity and sympathy were deeply stirred by the story to which we had listened I confess that the guilt of the banker's son appeared to me to be as obvious as it did to his unhappy father, but still I had such faith in Holrounds for hope as long as he was dissatisfied with the accepted explanation He hardly spoke a word the whole way out to the southern suburb, but sat with his chin upon his breast and his hat drawn over his eyes, sunk in the deepest thought Our client appeared to have taken fresh heart at the little glimpse of hope which had been presented to him, and he even broke into a desultory chat with me over his business affairs A short railway journey and a shorter walk brought us to Fairbank, the reat financier
Fairbank was a good-sized square house of white stone, standing back a little froe-sweep, with a snow-clad lawn, stretched down in front to two large iron gates which closed the entrance On the right side was a small wooden thicket, which led into a narrow path between two neat hedges stretching fro the tradesmen's entrance On the left ran a lane which led to the stables, and was not itself within the grounds at all, being a public, though little used, thoroughfare Hol at the door and walked slowly all round the house, across the front, down the tradesarden behind into the stable lane So long was he that Mr Holder and I went into the dining-room and waited by the fire until he should return We were sitting there in silence when the door opened and a young lady caht, sliainst the absolute pallor of her skin I do not think that I have ever seen such deadly paleness in a woman's face Her lips, too, were bloodless, but her eyes were flushed with crying As she swept silently into the roorief than the banker had done in thein her as she was evidently a wo character, with i ht to her uncle and passed her hand over his head with a soiven orders that Arthur should be liberated, have you not, dad?” she asked
”No, no, irl, the matter must be probed to the bottom”
”But I am so sure that he is innocent You knooman's instincts are I know that he has done no har acted so harshly”
”Why is he silent, then, if he is innocent?”
”Who knows? Perhaps because he was so angry that you should suspect hi him, when I actually saw him with the coronet in his hand?”
”Oh, but he had only picked it up to look at it Oh, do, do take my word for it that he is innocent Let the matter drop and say no more It is so dreadful to think of our dear Arthur in prison!”
”I shall never let it drop until the gems are found--never, Mary!