The Return of Sherlock Holmes Part 11 (1/2)
”Inquiries are now being ister of the stockholders of these South American concerns is in South America, and that some weeks must elapse before we can trace the shares”
Holnifying lens
”Surely there is some discolouration here,” said he
”Yes, sir, it is a blood-stain I told you that I picked the book off the floor”
”Was the blood-stain above or below?”
”On the side next the boards”
”Which proves, of course, that the book was dropped after the crime was committed”
”Exactly, Mr Holmes I appreciated that point, and I conjectured that it was dropped by the ht It lay near the door”
”I suppose that none of these securities have been found a the property of the dead man?”
”No, sir”
”Have you any reason to suspect robbery?”
”No, sir Nothing seemed to have been touched”
”Dearcase Then there was a knife, was there not?”
”A sheath-knife, still in its sheath It lay at the feet of the deadher husband's property”
Holht for some time
”Well,” said he, at last, ”I suppose I shall have to coave a cry of joy
”Thank you, sir That will, indeed, be a weight off er at the inspector
”It would have been an easier task a week ago,” said he ”But even now my visit may not be entirely fruitless Watson, if you can spare the tilad of your company If you will call a four-wheeler, Hopkins, we shall be ready to start for Forest Row in a quarter of an hour”
Alighting at the sh the rereat forest which for so long held the Saxon invaders at bay--the impenetrable ”weald,” for sixty years the bulwark of Britain Vast sections of it have been cleared, for this is the seat of the first iron-works of the country, and the trees have been felled to smelt the ore Now the richer fields of the North have absorbed the trade, and nothing save these ravaged groves and great scars in the earth show the work of the past Here, in a clearing upon the green slope of a hill, stood a long, low, stone house, approached by a curving drive running through the fields Nearer the road, and surrounded on three sides by bushes, was a s in our direction It was the scene of the murder
Stanley Hopkins led us first to the house, where he introduced us to a haggard, gray-haired woaunt and deep-lined face, with the furtive look of terror in the depths of her red-rie which she had endured With her was her daughter, a pale, fair-haired girl, whose eyes blazed defiantly at us as she told us that she was glad that her father was dead, and that she blessed the hand which had struck him down It was a terrible household that Black Peter Carey had made for himself, and it ith a sense of relief that we found ourselves in the sunlight again anda path which had been worn across the fields by the feet of the dead s, wooden-walled, shi+ngle-roofed, onebeside the door and one on the farther side Stanley Hopkins drew the key from his pocket and had stooped to the lock, when he paused with a look of attention and surprise upon his face
So with it,” he said
There could be no doubt of the fact The as cut, and the scratches shohite through the paint, as if they had been that instant done Hol the
”Someone has tried to force this also Whoever it was has failed to lar”
”This is a ,” said the inspector, ”I could swear that these ”
”Soested
”Very unlikely Few of therounds, far less try to force their way into the cabin What do you think of it, Mr Holmes?”
”I think that fortune is very kind to us”
”You ain?”
”It is very probable He caet in with the blade of a very se it What would he do?”
”Coht with a more useful tool”
”So I should say It will be our fault if we are not there to receive him Meanwhile, let edy had been removed, but the furniture within the little rooht of the crime For two hours, with most intense concentration, Holmes examined every object in turn, but his face showed that his quest was not a successful one Once only he paused in his patient investigation
”Have you taken anything off this shelf, Hopkins?”
”No, I havehas been taken There is less dust in this corner of the shelf than elsewhere Iton its side Itive a few hours to the birds and the flowers We shall meet you here later, Hopkins, and see if we can coentleht”
It was past eleven o'clock e for the door of the hut open, but Holmes was of the opinion that this would rouse the suspicions of the stranger The lock was a perfectly si blade was needed to push it back Holested that we should wait, not inside the hut, but outside it, arew round the fartherIn this e should be able to watch our ht, and see what his object was in this stealthy nocturnal visit
It was a long andof the thrill which the hunter feels when he lies beside the water-pool, and waits for the coe creature was it which er of cri fang and claw, or would it prove to be souarded?
In absolute silence we crouched aht coers, or the sound of voices froil, but one by one these interruptions died away, and an absolute stillness fell upon us, save for the chiress of the night, and for the rustle and whisper of a fine rain falling ae which roofed us in
Half-past two had chimed, and it was the darkest hour which precedes the dae all started as a low but sharp click caate So silence, and I had begun to fear that it was a false alarm, when a stealthy step was heard upon the other side of the hut, and aThe reater or his tool was better, for there was a sudden snap and the creak of the hinges Then a ht froauze curtain our eyes were all riveted upon the scene within
The nocturnal visitor was a young man, frail and thin, with a black moustache, which intensified the deadly pallor of his face He could not have been e I have never seen any huht, for his teeth were visibly chattering, and he was shaking in every lientleman, in Norfolk jacket and knickerbockers, with a cloth cap upon his head We watched hihtened eyes Then he laid the candle-end upon the table and disappeared froe book, one of the logbooks which for on the table, he rapidly turned over the leaves of this voluht Then, with an angry gesture of his clenched hand, he closed the book, replaced it in the corner, and put out the light He had hardly turned to leave the hut when Hopkin's hand was on the fellow's collar, and I heard his loud gasp of terror as he understood that he was taken The candle was relit, and there was our wretched captive, shi+vering and cowering in the grasp of the detective He sank down upon the sea-chest, and looked helplessly from one of us to the other
”Now, my fine fellow,” said Stanley Hopkins, ”who are you, and what do you want here?”
The ether, and faced us with an effort at self-composure
”You are detectives, I suppose?” said he ”You iine I am connected with the death of Captain Peter Carey I assure you that I am innocent”
”We'll see about that,” said Hopkins ”First of all, what is your naan”
I saw Hollance
”What are you doing here?”