The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes Part 13 (2/2)
It was a dreadful sight which met us as we entered the bedroom door I have spoken of the iton conveyed As he dangled froerated and intensified until he was scarce human in his appearance The neck was drawn out like a plucked chicken's,the rest of him seem the more obese and unnatural by the contrast He was clad only in his long night-dress, and his swollen ankles and ungainly feet protruded starkly fro police-inspector, as taking notes in a pocket-book
”Ah, Mr Holhted to see you”
”Good-, Lanner,” answered Holmes; ”you won't think me an intruder, I am sure Have you heard of the events which led up to this affair?”
”Yes, I heard so of them”
”Have you formed any opinion?”
”As far as I can see, the ht The bed has been well slept in, you see There's his i, you know, that suicides arehimself It seems to have been a very deliberate affair”
”I should say that he has been dead about three hours, judging by the rigidity of thepeculiar about the room?” asked Holmes
”Found a screw-driver and some screws on the wash-hand stand Seeht, too Here are four cigar-ends that I picked out of the fireplace”
”Huar-holder?”
”No, I have seen none”
”His cigar-case, then?”
”Yes, it was in his coat-pocket”
Holar which it contained
”Oh, this is an Havana, and these others are cigars of the peculiar sort which are imported by the Dutch from their East Indian colonies They are usually wrapped in straw, you know, and are thinner for their length than any other brand” He picked up the four ends and examined them with his pocket-lens
”Two of these have been smoked from a holder and tithout,” said he ”Two have been cut by a not very sharp knife, and two have had the ends bitten off by a set of excellent teeth This is no suicide, Mr Lanner It is a very deeply planned and cold-blooded murder”
”Impossible!” cried the inspector
”And why?”
”Why should any onehim?”
”That is e have to find out”
”How could they get in?”
”Through the front door”
”It was barred in the ”
”Then it was barred after them”
”How do you know?”
”I saw their traces Excuse ive you some further infor the lock he examined it in his methodical way Then he took out the key, which was on the inside, and inspected that also The bed, the carpet, the chairs the mantelpiece, the dead body, and the rope were each in turn examined, until at last he professed himself satisfied, and with my aid and that of the inspector cut down the wretched object and laid it reverently under a sheet
”How about this rope?” he asked
”It is cut off this,” said Dr Trevelyan, drawing a large coil from under the bed ”He was morbidly nervous of fire, and always kept this beside hiht escape by thein case the stairs were burning”
”That htfully ”Yes, the actual facts are very plain, and I shall be surprised if by the afternoon I cannot give you the reasons for theton, which I see upon the mantelpiece, as it may help !” cried the doctor
”Oh, there can be no doubt as to the sequence of events,” said Hol man, the old man, and a third, to whose identity I have no clue The first two, I need hardly remark, are the same who ive a very full description of them They were adht offer you a word of advice, Inspector, it would be to arrest the page, who, as I understand, has only recently co imp cannot be found,” said Dr Trevelyan; ”thefor hied his shoulders
”He has played a not uni ascended the stairs, which they did on tiptoe, the elder er man second, and the unknown man in the rear--”
”My dear Holmes!” I ejaculated
”Oh, there could be no question as to the superi which hich last night They ascended, then, to Mr Blessington's room, the door of which they found to be locked With the help of a wire, however, they forced round the key Even without the lens you will perceive, by the scratches on this ward, where the pressure was applied
”On entering the rooton He may have been asleep, or he may have been so paralyzed with terror as to have been unable to cry out These walls are thick, and it is conceivable that his shriek, if he had ti secured him, it is evident to me that a consultation of so in the nature of a judicial proceeding It ars were smoked The older ar-holder The younger ainst the chest of drawers The third fellow paced up and down Blessington, I think, sat upright in the bed, but of that I cannot be absolutely certain
”Well, it ended by their taking Blessington and hanging hied that it is ht with theallows That screw-driver and those screere, as I conceive, for fixing it up Seeing the hook, however they naturally saved the finished their work they made off, and the door was barred behind them by their confederate”
We had all listened with the deepest interest to this sketch of the night's doings, which Holns so subtle and minute that, even when he had pointed the The inspector hurried away on the instant to e, while Holmes and I returned to Baker Street for breakfast
”I'll be back by three,” said he, e had finished our meal ”Both the inspector and the doctor will meet me here at that hour, and I hope by that time to have cleared up any little obscurity which the case may still present”
Our visitors arrived at the appointed time, but it was a quarter to four before my friend put in an appearance From his expression as he entered, however, I could see that all had gone ith hiot the boy, sir”
”Excellent, and I have got the ot them!” we cried, all three