 CHAPTER VIII. As Thondike and I arrived at the main gateway of the temple and he swung round into the narrow lane, it was suddenly borne in on me that I had made no arrangements for the night. Events had followed one another so continuously, and each had been so engrossing that I had lost sight of what I may call my domestic affairs. We seemed to be heading for your chambers, Thondike, I ventured to remark. It is a little late to think of it, but I have not yet settled where I am to put up tonight. My dear fellow, he replied, you are going to put up in your own bedroom, which has been waiting in readiness for you ever since you left it. Holton went up and inspected it as soon as you arrived. I take it that you will consider my chambers yours until such time as you may join the Benedictine majority and set up a home for yourself. That is very handsome of you, said I. You did not mention that the billet you offered was a resident appointment. Rooms and commons included, said Thondike, and when I protested that I should at least contribute to the costs of living, he impatiently waved the suggestion away. We were still arguing the question when we reached our chambers, as I will now call them, and a diversion was occasioned by my taking the lamp from my pocket and placing it on the table. Ah, my colleague remarked, that is a little reminder. We will put it on the mantelpiece for Polton to collect, and you shall give me a full account of your further adventures in the wilds of Kennington. That was a very odd affair. I have often wondered how it ended. He drew our two armchairs up to the fire, put on some more coal, placed the tobacco jar on the table exactly equidistant from the two chairs, and settled himself with the air of a man who is anticipating an agreeable entertainment. I filled my pipe, and taking up the thread of the story where I had broken off on the last occasion began to outline my later experiences, but he brought me up short. Don't be sketchy, Jervis. To be sketchy is to be vague. Detail, my child. Detail is the soul of induction. Let us have all the facts. We can sort them out afterwards. I began afresh in a vein of the extremist circumstantiality. With deliberate malice I loaded a Prolex narrative with every triviality that a fairly retentive memory would rake out of the half-pagotten past. I cudgled my brains for irrelevant incidents. I described with the minutest accuracy things that had not the faintest significance. I drew a vivid picture of the carriage inside and out. I painted a lifelike portrait of the horse, even going into particulars of the harness, which I was surprised to find that I had noticed. I described the furniture of the dining room and the cobwebs that had hung from the ceiling, the auction ticket on the chest of drawers, the rickety table, and the melancholy chairs. I gave the number per minute of the patient's respirations and the exact quantity of coffee consumed on each occasion with an exhaustive description of the cup from which it was taken. And I left no personal details unconsidered, from the patient's fingernails to the roseate pimples on Mr. Weiss's nose. But my tactics of studied Prolexity were a complete failure. The attempt to fatigue Thorndike's brain with superabundant detail was like trying to surf it a pelican with white bait. He consumed it all with calm enjoyment and asked for more. And when, at last, I did really begin to think that I had bored him a little, he staggered me by reading over his notes and starting a brisk cross-examination to illicit fresh facts. And the most surprising thing of all was that when I had finished, I seemed to know a great deal more about the case than I had ever known before. It was a very remarkable affair, he observed, when the cross-examination was over, leaving me somewhat in the condition of a cider-apple that has just been removed from a hydraulic press. A very suspicious affair with a highly unsatisfactory end. I am not sure that I entirely agree with your police officer, nor do I fancy that some of my acquaintances at Scotland Yard would have agreed with him. Do you think I ought to have taken any further measures, I asked uneasily? No, I don't see how you could. You did all that was possible under the circumstances. You gave information which is all that a private individual can do, especially if he is an overworked general practitioner. But still, an actual crime is the affair of every good citizen. I think we ought to take some action. You think there really was a crime then? What else can one think? What do you think about it yourself? I don't like to think about it at all. The recollection of that corpse-like figure in that gloomy bedroom has haunted me ever since I left the house. What do you suppose has happened? Thondike did not answer for a few seconds. At length he said gravely. I am afraid, Jervis, that the answer to that question can be given in one word. Murder, I asked with a slight shudder. He nodded, and we were both silent for a while. The probability, he resumed after a pause, that Mr. Graves is alive at this moment seems to me infinitesimal. There was evidently a conspiracy to murder him, and the deliberate, persistent manner in which that object was being pursued points to a very strong and definite motive. Then the tactics adopted point to considerable forethought and judgment. They are not the tactics of a fool or an ignoramus. We may criticize the closed carriage as a tactical mistake, calculated to arouse suspicion, but we have to weigh it against its alternative. What is that? Well, consider the circumstances. Suppose Weiss had called you in in the ordinary way. You would still have detected the use of poison, but now you could have located your man and made inquiries about him in the neighborhood. You would probably have given the police a hint, and they would almost certainly have taken action, as they would have had the means of identifying the parties. The result would have been fatal to Weiss. The closed carriage invited suspicion, but it was a great safeguard. Weiss's methods were not so unsound after all. He is a cautious man, but cunning and very persistent, and he could be bold on occasion. The use of the blinded carriage was a decidedly audacious proceeding. I should put him down as a gambler of a very discreet, courageous, and resourceful type, which all leads to the probability that he has pursued his scheme and brought it to a successful issue. I'm afraid it does. But have you got your notes of the compass bearings? The book is in my overcoat pocket with the board. I will fetch them. I went into the office where our coats hung, and brought back the notebook with the little board to which it was still attached by the rubber band. Thondike took them from me, and opening the book ran his eye quickly down one page after another. Suddenly he glanced at the clock. It is a little late to begin, said he, but these notes look rather alluring. I am inclined to plot them out at once. I fancy from their appearance that they will enable us to locate the house without much difficulty. But don't let me keep you up if you are tired. I can work them out by myself. You won't do anything of the kind, I explained. I am as keen on plotting them as you are. And besides, I want to see how it is done. It seems to be a rather useful accomplishment. It is, said Thondike. In our work the ability to make a rough but reliable sketch survey is often of great value. Have you ever looked over these notes? No, I put the book away when I came in and have never looked at it since. It is a quaint document. You seem to be rich in railway bridges in those parts, and the route was certainly none of the most direct, as you noticed at the time. However, we will plot it out, and then we shall see exactly what it looks like and whether it leads us. He retired to the laboratory and presently returned with a T-square, a military protractor, a pair of dividers, and a large drawing board, on which was pinned a sheet of cartridge paper. Now, said he, seating himself at the table with the board before him, as to the method. You started from a known position, and you arrived at a place the position of which is at present unknown. We shall fix the position of that spot by applying two factors, the distance that you traveled and the direction in which you were moving. The direction is given by the compass, and as the horse seems to have kept up a remarkably even pace, we can take time as representing distance. You seem to have been traveling at about eight miles an hour. That is roughly a seventh of a mile in one minute. So, if on our shot we take one inch as representing one minute, we shall be working with a scale of about seven inches to the mile. That doesn't sound very exact as to distance I objected. It isn't, but that doesn't matter much. We have certain landmarks, such as these railway arches that you have noted, by which the actual distance can be settled after the route is plotted. You had better read out the entries, and opposite each, write a number for reference, so that we need not confuse the chart by writing details on it. I shall start near the middle of the board, as neither you nor I seem to have the slightest notion what your general direction was. I laid the open notebook before me and read out the first entry. 858, west by south, start from home, horse 13 hands. You turned round at once, I understand, said Thorndike, so we draw no line in that direction. The next is 858 minutes, 30 seconds, east by north, and the next is 859, north east. Then you traveled east by north about a fifteenth of a mile, and we shall put down half an inch on the chart. Then you turned north east. How long did you go on? Exactly a minute. The next entry is 9, west, north, west. Then you traveled about the seventh of a mile in the north-easterly direction, and we draw a line an inch long at an angle of 45 degrees to the right of the north and south line. From the end of that, we carry a line at an angle of 56.25 degrees to the left of the north and south line, and so on. The method is perfectly simple, you see. Perfectly, I quite understand it now. I went back to my chair and continued to read out the entries from the notebook, while Thorndike laid off the lines of directions with the protractor, taking out the distances with the dividers from a scale of equal parts on the back of the instrument. As the work proceeded, I noticed from time to time a smile of quiet amusement spread over my colleague's keen, attentive face, and at each new reference to a railway bridge, he chuckled softly. What again, he laughed, as I recorded the passage of the fifth or sixth bridge. It's like a game of croquet. Go on, what is the next? I went on reading out the notes until I came to the final one. 924, southeast, in covered way, stop, wooden gates, closed. Thorndike ruled off the last line, remarking, then your covered way is on the south side of a street which bears northeast. So we complete our chart. Just look at your root, Jervis. He held up the board with a quizzical smile, and I stared in astonishment at the chart. The single line which represented the root of the carriage zigzagged in the most amazing manner, turning, returning, and crossing itself repeatedly, evidently passing more than once down the same thoroughfares and terminating at a comparatively short distance from its commencement. Why, I exclaimed, the rascal must have lived quite near to Stillbury's house. Thorndike measured with the dividers the distance between the starting and arriving points of the root and took it off from the scale. Five-eighths of a mile roughly, he said, you could have walked it in less than ten minutes. And now let us get out the ordinance map and see if we can give to each of those marvellously erratic lines a local habitation and a name. He spread the map out on the table and placed our chart by its side. I think, said he, you started from Lower Kennington Lane. Yes, from this point, I replied, indicating the spot with a pencil. Then said Thorndike, if we swing the chart round twenty degrees to correct the deviation of the compass, we can compare it with the ordinance map. He set off with the protractor an angle of twenty degrees from the north and south line and turned the chart round to that extent. After closely scrutinizing the map in the chart and comparing the one with the other, he said, by mere inspection it seems fairly easy to identify the thoroughfares that correspond to the lines of the chart. Take the part that is near your destination. At 921 you passed under a bridge going westward. That would seem to be Glass House Street. Then you turned south, apparently along the Albert embankment, where you heard the tugs whistle. Then you heard a passenger train stop on your left. That would be Vuxhall Station. Next you turned round due east and passed under a large railway bridge, which suggests the bridge that carries the station over Upper Kennington Lane. If that is so, your house should be on the south side of Upper Kennington Lane, some 300 yards from the bridge. But we may as well test our inferences by one or two measurements. How can you do that if you don't know the exact scale of the chart? I will show you, said Thorndike. We shall establish the true scale and that will form part of the proof. He rapidly constructed on the upper blank part of the paper a proportional diagram consisting of two intersecting lines with a single cross line. This long line, he explained, is the distance from Stillbury's house to the Vuxhall Railway Bridge as it appears on the chart. The shorter cross line is the same distance taken from the ordinance map. If our inference is correct and the chart is reasonably accurate, all the other distances will show a similar proportion. Let us try some of them. Take the distance from Vuxhall Bridge to the Glass House Street Bridge. Opening bracket, illustration, colon. The track chart showing the route followed by Weiss's carriage. A period, starting point in Lower Kennington Lane. B period, position of Mr. Weiss's house. The dotted lines connecting the bridges indicate probable railway lines. Closing bracket. He made the two measurements carefully and as the point of the dividers came down almost precisely in the correct place on the diagram, he looked up at me. Considering the roughness of the method by which the chart was made, I think that is pretty conclusive. Though, if you look at the various arches that you passed under and see how nearly they appear to follow the position of the southwestern railway line, you hardly need further proof. But I will take a few more proportional measurements for the satisfaction of proving the case by scientific methods before we proceed to verify our conclusions by a visit to the spot. He took off one or two more distances, and on comparing them with the proportional distances on the ordinance map found them in every case as nearly correct as could be expected. Yes, said Thorndike, laying down the dividers, I think we have narrowed down the locality of Mr. Weiss's house to a few yards in a known street. We shall get further help from your note of 92330 when records a patch of newly laid macadam extending up to the house. That new macadam will be pretty well smoothed down by now, I objected. Not so very completely answered, Thorndike. It is only a little over a month ago, and there has been very little wet weather since. It may be smooth, but it will be easily distinguishable from the old. And do I understand that you propose to go and explore the neighborhood? Undoubtedly I do. That is to say, I intend to convert the locality of this house into a definite address, which I think will now be perfectly easy unless we should have the bad luck to find more than one covered way. Even then, the difficulty would be trifling. And when you have ascertained where Mr. Weiss lives, what then? That will depend on circumstances. I think we shall probably call it Scotland Yard and have a little talk with our friend, Mr. Superintendent Miller, unless, for any reason, it seems better to look into the case ourselves. When is this voyage of exploration to take place? Thorndike considered this question, and taking out his pocketbook glanced through his engagements. It seems to me, he said, that tomorrow is a fairly free day. We could take the morning without neglecting other business. I suggest that we start immediately after breakfast. How will that suit my learned friend? My time is yours, I replied, and if you choose to waste it on matters that don't concern you, that's your affair. Then we will consider the arrangement to stand for tomorrow morning, or rather for this morning, as I see that it is past twelve. With this, Thorndike gathered up the child and instruments, and we separated for the night. End of Chapter 8 Recording by James O'Connor Randolph, Massachusetts January, 2010 Chapter 9 of The Mystery of 31 New Inn This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by James O'Connor The Mystery of 31 New Inn by R. Austin Freeman Chapter 9 The House of Mystery Half past nine on the following morning found us spinning along the Albert embankment in a handsome to the pleasant tinkle of the horse's bell. Thorndike appeared to be in high spirits, though the full enjoyment of the matutinal pipe precluded fluent conversation. As a precaution, he had put my notebook in his pocket before starting, and once or twice he took it out and looked over its pages. But he made no reference to the object of our quest, and the few remarks that he uttered would have indicated that his thoughts were occupied with other matters. Arrived at Vauxhall Station, we alighted, and forthwith made our way to the bridge that spans Upper Kennington Lane near its junction with Hollyfoot Road. Here is our starting point, said Thorndike. From this place to the house is about three hundred yards, say four hundred and twenty paces, and at about two hundred paces we are about to reach our patch of new road metal. Now, are you ready? If we keep step, we shall average our stride. We started together at a good pace, stepping out with military regularity and counting aloud as we went. As we told out the hundred and ninety-fourth pace, I observed Thorndike nod towards the roadway a little ahead, and looking at it attentively as we approached, it was easy to see by the regularity of surface and light of color that it had recently been remedaled. Having counted out the four hundred and twenty paces, we halted, and Thorndike turned to me with a smile of triumph. Not a bad estimate, Jervis, said he, that will be our house if I am not much mistaken. There is no other muse or private roadway in sight. He pointed to a narrow turning, some dozen yards ahead. Apparently the entrance to a muse or yard and closed by a pair of massive wooden gates. Yes, I answered, there can be no doubt that this is the place, but by Jove I added as we drew nearer, the nest is empty. Do you see? I pointed to a bill that was stuck on the gate, bearing as I could see at this distance the inscription to let. Here is a new and startling, if not altogether unexpected development, said Thorndike, as we stood gazing at the bill, which set forth that, quote, these premises, including stabling and workshops, were to be let on lease or otherwise, end quote. And referred inquiries to messes Rybody Brothers, house agents and valuers, Upper Kennington Lane. The question is, should we make a few inquiries of the agent or should we get the keys and have a look at the inside of the house? I am inclined to do both and the latter first, if messes Rybody Brothers will trust us with the house. If messes Rybody Brothers will trust us with the keys. We proceeded up the lane to the address given and entering the office, Thorndike made his request, somewhat to the surprise of the clerk. But Thorndike was not quite the kind of person whom one naturally associates with stabling and workshops. However, there was no difficulty, but as the clerk solid out the keys from a bunch hanging from a hook, he remarked, I expect you will find the place in a rather dirty and neglected condition. The house has not been cleaned yet. It is just as it was left when the brokers took away the furniture. Was the last tenant sold up then, Thorndike asked? Oh no, he had to leave rather unexpectedly to take up some business in Germany. I hope he paid his rent, said Thorndike. Oh yes, trust us for that. But I should say that Mr Weiss, that was his name, was a man of some means. He seemed to have plenty of money though he always paid in notes. I don't fancy he had a banking account in this country. He hadn't been here more than about six or seven months and I imagine he didn't know many people in England as he paid us a cash deposit in lieu of references when he first came. I think you said his name was Weiss. It wouldn't be H. Weiss by any chance. I believe it was, but I can soon tell you he opened a drawer and consulted what looked like a book of receipt forms. Yes, H. Weiss. Do you know him, sir? I knew a Mr. H. Weiss some years ago. He came from Brim and I remember. This Mr. Weiss has gone back to the book the clerk observed. Ah, said Thondike, then it would not seem to be the same. My acquaintance was a fair man with a beard and a decidedly red nose and he wore spectacles. That's the man. You've described him exactly, said the clerk, who was apparently rather easily satisfied in the matter of description. Dear me, said Thondike, what a small world it is. Don't happen to have a note of his address in Hamburg? I haven't, the clerk replied. You see, we've done with him, having got the rent, though the house is not actually surrendered yet. Mr. Weiss's housekeeper still has the front door key. She doesn't start for Hamburg for a week or so and meanwhile she keeps the key so that she can call every day and see if there are any letters. Indeed, said Thondike, the housekeeper. This lady is a German, replied the clerk, with a regular jaw-twisting name, sounded like shally-bang. Shally-bound? That is the lady, a fair woman with hardly any eyebrows and a pronounced cast in the left eye. Now, that's very curious, said the clerk. It's the same name and this is a fair woman with remarkably thin eyebrows. But it can't be the same person. I have only seen her a few times and then only just for a minute or so. But I'm quite certain she had no cast in her eye. So you see, sir, she can't be the same person. You can dye your hair or you can wear a wig or you can paint your face. But a squint is a squint. There's no faking a swivel eye. Thondike laughed softly. I suppose not. Unless perhaps someone might invent an adjustable glass eye. Are these the keys? Yes, sir. The large one belongs to the wicked in the front gate. The other is the latch key belonging to the side door. Mrs. Shally-bang has the key of the front door. Thank you, said Thondike. He took the keys to which a wooden label was attached and we made our way back to the big mystery discussing the Clarke's statements as we went. A very communicable young gentleman that Thondike remarked, he seemed quite pleased to relieve the monotony of office work with a little conversation and I am sure I was very delighted to indulge him. He hadn't much to tell all the same, said I. Thondike looked at me and surprised. I don't know what you would have, unless you expect casual strangers to present you with a ready-made body of evidence fully classified with all the inferences and implications stated. It seemed to me that he was a highly instructive young man. What did you learn from him, I asked. O come, Jervis, he protested. Is that a fair question under our present arrangement? However, I will mention a few points. We learned that about six or seven months ago Mr. H. Weiss dropped from the clouds into Kennington Lane and that he has now ascended from Kennington Lane into the clouds. That is a useful piece of information. Then we learned that Mrs. Shellybaum has remained in England which might be of little importance if it were not for a very interesting corollary that it suggests. What is that? I must leave you to consider the facts at your leisure but you will have noticed the ostensible reason for her remaining behind. She is engaged in putting up the one gaping joint in their armor. One of them has been indiscreet enough to give this address to some correspondent. Probably a foreign correspondent. Now, as they obviously wish to leave no tracks they cannot give their new address to the post office to have their letters forwarded and, on the other hand, a letter left in the box might establish such a connection as would enable them to be traced. Moreover, the letter might be of a kind that they would not wish to fall into the wrong hands. They would not have given this address accepting under some peculiar circumstances. No, I should think not that they took this house for the express purpose of committing a crime in it. Exactly. And then there is one other fact that you may have gathered from my young friend's remarks. What is that? That a controllable squint is a very valuable asset to a person who wishes to avoid identification. Yes, I did note that. The fellow seemed to think absolutely conclusive and so would most people, especially in the case of a squint of that kind. We can all squint towards our noses but no normal person can turn his eyes away from one another. My impression is that the presence or absence as the case might be of a divergent squint would be accepted as absolute disproof of identity. But here we are in the middle of the room where we are. He inserted the key into the wicket of the large gate and when we had stepped through into the covered way he locked it from the inside. Why have you locked us in? I asked, seeing that the wicket had a latch. Because he replied, if we now hear anyone on the premises we shall know who it is. Only one person besides I stopped and looked at him. That is a quaint situation, Thorndike. I hadn't thought of it why she may actually come to the house while we are here. In fact, she may be in the house at this moment. I hope not, said he. We don't particularly want Mr. Weiss to be put on his guard. For I take it he is a pretty wide awake gentleman under any circumstances. We had better keep out of sight. I think we will look over the house first. That is of the most interest to us. If the lady does happen to come while we are here she may stay to show us over the place and keep an eye on us. So we will leave the stables to the last. We walked down the entry to the side door at which I had been admitted by Mrs. Shelleybaum for the occasion of my previous visits. Thorndike inserted the latch key and as soon as we were inside shut the door and walked quickly through into the hall whither I followed him. He made straight for the front door where having slipped up the catch of the lock he began very attentively to examine the letter box. It was a somewhat massive wooden box fitted with a lock of good quality and furnished with a wire grille through which one could inspect the interior. We are in luck, Jervis, Thorndike remarked. Our visit has been most happily timed. There is a letter in the box. Well, I said, we can't get it out and if we could it would be hardly justifiable. I don't know, he replied, that I am prepared to ascent offhand to either of those propositions. But I would rather not tamper with another person's letter even if that person should happen to be a murderer. Perhaps we can get the information we want from the outside of the envelope. He produced from his pocket a little electric lamp fitted with a bull's eye and pressing the button threw a beam of light in through the grille. The letter was lying on the bottom of the box face upwards of the red. Heron Doctor H. Weiss, Thorndike read aloud. German stamp, postmark, apparently Dammstadt. You notice that the Heron Doctor is printed and the rest written. What do you make of that? I don't quite know. Do you think he is really a medical man? Perhaps we had better finish our investigation in case we are disturbed and discuss the bearings of the facts afterwards. The name of the cinder may be on the flap of the envelope. If it is not, I shall pick the lock and take out the letter. Have you got a probe about you? Yes, by force of habit I am still carrying my pocket case. I took the little case from my pocket and extracting from it a jointed probe of thickish silver wire screwed the two halves together and handed the completed instrument to Thorndike who passed the slender rod through the grill and adroitly turned the letter over. Ah, he exclaimed with deep satisfaction as the light fell on the reverse of the envelope. We are saved from the necessity of theft or rather unauthorized borrowing. Johann Schnitzler, Dammstadt, this is all that we actually want. The German police can do the rest if necessary. He handed me back my probe, pocketed his lamp, released the catch of the lock on the door and turned away along the dark musty smelling hall. Do you happen to know the name of Johann Schnitzler, he asked? I replied that I had no recollection of ever having heard the name before. Neither have I, said he. But I think we may form a pretty shrewd guess as to his avocation. As you saw the words Heron Doctor were printed on the envelope leaving the rest of the address to be written by hand. The plain inference is that he is a person who habitually addresses letters to medical men and as the style of the envelope and the lettering which is printed, not embossed is commercial. We may assume that he is engaged in some sort of trade. Now, what is a likely trade? He might be an instrument maker or a drug manufacturer, more probably the latter as there is an extensive drug and chemical industry in Germany and as Mr. Weiss seemed to have more use for drugs than instruments. Yes, I think you are right but we will look him up when we get home and now we had better take a glance at the bedroom, that is, if you can remember which room it was. It was on the first floor, said I and the door by which I entered was just at the head of the stairs. We ascended the two flights and as we reached the landing I halted. This was the door, I said and was about to turn the handle when Thondike caught me by the arm. One moment, Jervis, said he, what do you make of this? He pointed to a spot near the bottom of the door where on close inspection four good-sized screw holes were distinguishable. They had been neatly stopped with putty and covered with knotting and were so nearly the color of the grained and varnished woodwork as to be hardly visible. Evidently I answered there has been a bolt there though it seems a queer place to fix one. Not at all, replied Thondike. If you look up you will see that there was another at the top of the door and as the lock is in the middle they must have been highly effective. But there are one or two other points that strike one. First you will notice that the bolts have been fixed on quite recently for the paint that they covered is of the same grimy tint as that on the rest of the door. Next they have been taken off which seeing that they could hardly have been worth the trouble of removal seems to suggest that the person who fixed them considered that their presence might appear remarkable while the screw holes which have been so skillfully and carefully stopped would be less conspicuous. Then they are on the outside of the door an unusual situation where the holes have been very thin bolts and were of considerable size. They were long and thick. I can see by the position of the screw holes that they were long but how do you arrive at their thickness? By the size of the counter holes in the jam of the door these holes have been very carefully filled with wooden plugs covered with knotting but you can make out their diameter which is decidedly out of proportion for an ordinary bedroom door. Let me show you a light. He flashed his lamp into the dark corner and I was able to see distinctly the potentially large holes into which the bolts had fitted and also to note the remarkable neatness with which they had been plugged. There was a second door I remember said I let us see if that was guarded in all manner. We strode through the empty room awakening dismal echoes as we trod the bare boards and flung open the other door. At top and bottom similar groups of screw holes showed that this also had been made secure and that these bolts had been of the same very substantial character as the others. One night turned away from the door. If we had any doubt said he as to what has been going on in this house these traces of massive fastenings would be almost enough to settle them. They might have been there before Weiss came I suggested he only came about seven months ago and there is no date on the screw holes. That is quite true but when with their recent fixture there are a couple of facts that they have been removed that very careful measures have been taken to obliterate the traces of their presence and that they would have been indispensable for the commission of the crime that we are almost certain was being committed here it looks like an excess of caution to seek other explanations. But I objected if the man Graves was really imprisoned could not he have smashed the window looks out on the yard as you see but I expect it was secured too. He drew the massive old fashioned shutters out of their recess and closed them. Yes here we are he pointed to four groups of screw holes at the corners of the shutters and once more producing his lamp narrowly examined the insides of the recesses into which the shutters folded. One of the fastening is quite evident said he an iron bar passed right across at the top and bottom and was secured by a staple and padlock. You can see the mark the bar made in the recess when the shutters were folded when these bars were fixed and padlocked and the bolts were shot this room was as secure for a prisoner he looked at one another for a while without speaking and I fancy that if Mr. H. Weiss could have seen our faces he might have thought it desirable to seek some retreat even more remote than Hamburg it was a diabolical a fair gervis thondike said at length in an ominously quiet and even gentle tone assorted callous cold blooded crime of a type that is to me unforgivable and incapable of extinuation of course it may have failed Mr. Graves may even now be alive I shall make it my very a special business to ascertain whether he is or not and if he is not I shall take it to myself as a sacred duty to lay my hand on the man who has compassed his death I looked at thondike with something akin to awe yet unemotional tone of his voice in his unruffled manner and the stony calm of his face there was something much more impressive, more fateful than there could have been in the fiercest threats or the most passionate denunciations I felt that in those softly spoken words he had pronounced the doom of the fugitive villain he turned away from the window and glanced round the empty room that our discovery of the fastenings had exhausted the information that it had to offer it is a thousand pities I remarked that we were unable to look round before they moved out the furniture we might have found some clue to the scoundrel's identity yes, replied thondike there isn't much information to be gathered here I am afraid I see they have swept up the small litter from the floor as there seems to be nothing else and then look at the other rooms he raked out the little heap of rubbish with his stick and spread it out on the hearth it certainly looked unpromising enough being just such a rubbish heap as may be swept up in any untidy room during a move but thondike went through it systematically examining each item attentively even to the local tradesman's bills and empty paper bags before laying them aside another rake of his stick scattered the bulky masses of crumpled paper and brought into view an object which he picked up with some eagerness it was a portion of a pair of spectacles which had apparently been trodden on but the sidebar was twisted and bent and the glass was shattered into fragments this ought to give us a hint said he probably have belonged either to wife's or grave's as Mrs. Shelleybaum apparently did not wear glasses let us see if we can find the remainder we both groped carefully with our sticks amongst the rubbish spreading it out on the hearth and removing the numerous pieces of crumpled paper our search was rewarded by the discovery of the second eye piece of the spectacles of which the glass was badly cracked but less shattered than the other I also picked up two tiny sticks at which Thondike looked with deep interest before laying them on the metal shelf we will consider them presently said he let us finish with the spectacles first you see that the left eye glass is a concave cylindrical lens of some sort we can make out that much from the fragments that remain and we can measure the curvature when we get them home although that will be easier if we can collect some more fragments and stick them together the right eye is plain glass that is quite evident then these will have belonged to your patient service you said that the tremulous iris was in the right eye I think yes I replied these will be his spectacles without doubt they are peculiar frames he continued if they were made in this country we might be able to discover the maker but we must collect as many fragments of glass as we can once more we searched amongst the rubbish and succeeded eventually in recovering some 7 or 8 small fragments of the broken spectacle glasses which Thondike laid on the metal shelf beside the little sticks by the way Thondike I said taking up the ladder to examine them what are these things can you make anything of them he looked at them thoughtfully for a few moments and then replied I don't think I will tell you what they are you should find that out for yourself and it will be well worth your while to do so they are rather suggestive objects under the circumstances but notice their peculiarities carefully both are portions of some smooth stout reed there is a long thin stick about 6 inches long and a thicker piece only 3 inches in length the longer piece has a little scrap of red paper stuck on at the end apparently a portion of a label of some kind with an ornamental border the other end of the stick has been broken off the shorter stouter stick has had its central cavity artificially enlarged so that it fits over the other stout reed make a capital note of those facts and try to think what they probably need what would be the most likely use for an object of this kind when you have ascertained that you will have learned something new about this case and now to resume our investigations here is a very suggestive thing he picked up a small wide mouth bottle and holding it up for my inspection continued observed the fly sticking to the inside and the name on the label Fox, Russell Street, Covent Garden I don't know Mr. Fox then I will inform you that he is a dealer in the materials for make up theatrical or otherwise and will leave you to consider the bearing of this bottle on our present investigation it doesn't seem to be anything else of interest in this El Dorado accepting that screw which you notice is about the size of those with which the bolts were fastened on the doors I don't think it is worthwhile to unstop any of the holes to try it we should learn nothing fresh he rose and having kicked the discarded rubbish back under the grate gathered up his gleaning from the mantelpiece carefully bestowing the spectacles and the fragments of glass that he appeared always to carry in his pocket and wrapping the larger objects in his handkerchief a poor collection was his comment as he returned the box and handkerchief to his pocket and yet not so poor as I had feared perhaps if we question them closely enough these unconscited trifles may be made to tell us something worth learning after all shall we go into the other room we passed out on to the landing and into the front room where guided by experience we made straight for the fireplace but the little heap of rubbish there contained nothing that even Thorndyke's inquisitive eye could view with interest we wandered disconsolently around the room peering into the empty cupboards and scanning the floor in the corners by the skirting without discovering a single object or relic of the late occupants in the course of my perambulations I halted by the window and was looking down into the street when Thorndyke called me sharply come away from the window, Jervis have you forgotten that Mrs. Shelleybaugh may be in the neighborhood at this moment as a matter of fact I had entirely forgotten the matter nor did it now strike me as anything but the remotest of possibilities I replied to that effect I don't agree with you, Thorndyke rejoined we have heard that she comes here to look for letters probably she comes every day or even oftener there is a good deal at stake, remember and they cannot feel quite as secure as they would wish Weiss must have seen what view you took of the case and must have had some uneasy moments thinking of what you might do in fact we may take it that the fear of you drove them out of the neighborhood and that they are mighty anxious to get that letter and cut the last link that binds them to this house I suppose that is so I agreed and if the lady should happen to pass this way and should see me at the window and recognize me she would certainly smell a rat a rat, exclaimed Thorndyke she would smell a whole pack of foxes and Mr. H Weiss would be more in his god than ever let us have a look at the other rooms there is nothing here we went up to the next floor and found traces of recent occupation in one room only the garrets had evidently been unused and the kitchen and ground floor rooms often nothing that appeared to Thorndyke worth noting then we went out by the side door and down the covered way into the yard at the back the workshops were fastened with rusty padlocks that looked as if they had not been disturbed for months the stables were empty and had been tentatively cleaned out the coach house was vacant and presented no traces of recent use accepting a half balled spoke brush we returned up the covered way and I was about to close the side door which Thorndyke had left a jar when he stopped me we'll have another look at the hall and he said he and walking softly before me he made his way to the front door where producing his lamp he threw a beam of light into the letter box any more letters I asked any more he repeated look for yourself I stooped and peered through the grill into the lighted interior and then I uttered an exclamation the box was empty Thorndyke regarded me with a grim smile we have been caught on the hop-jerb as I suspect said he it is queer I replied I didn't hear any sound of the opening or closing of the door did you? no, I didn't hear any sound which makes me suspect that she did she would have heard our voices and she is probably keeping a sharp look out at this very moment I wonder if she saw you at the window but whether she did or not we must go very warily neither of us must return to the temple direct and we had better separate when we have returned the keys and I will watch you out of sight and see if anyone is following you what are you going to do if you don't want me I shall run over to Kensington and drop into lunch at the hornbees I said I would call as soon as I had an hour or so free very well do so look out in case you are followed I have to go down to Guilford this afternoon under the circumstances I shall not go back home but send Pult in the telegram and take a train at Vuxhall and change at some small station where I can watch the platform be as careful as you can remember that what you have to avoid is being followed to any place where you are known and above all revealing your connection with number 5A Kings Bench Walk having thus considered our immediate movements we emerged together from the wicked and locking it behind us walked quickly to the house agents where an opportune office boy received the keys without remark as we came out of the office I halted irresolutely and we both looked up and down the lane there is no suspicious looking person inside at present though and like said and then asked which way do you think of going it seems to me I replied that my best plan would be to take a cab or an omnibus so as to get out of the neighborhood as quickly as possible if I go through Ravenston Street into Kinnington Park Road I can pick up an omnibus that will take me to the mansion house where I can change for Kensington I shall go on the top so that I can keep a look out for any other omnibus or cab that may be following yes said though and like that seems a good plan I will walk with you and see that you get a fair start we walked briskly along the lane and through Ravenston Street to the Kinnington Park Road an omnibus was approaching from the south at a steady jog trot and we halted at the corner to wait for it and it asked us in different directions but none seemed to take any particular notice of us but we observed them rather narrowly especially the women then the omnibus crawled up I sprang on the footboard and ascended to the roof where I seated myself and surveyed the prospect to the rear no one else got on the omnibus which had not stopped and no cab or other passenger vehicle was in sight I continued to watch Thawndike as he stood sentinel at the corner and noted that no one appeared to be making any effort to overtake the omnibus presently my colleague waved his hand to me and turned back towards Vauxhall and I having satisfied myself once more that no pursuing cab or hurrying foot passenger was in sight decided that our precautions had been unnecessary and settled myself in a rather more comfortable position End of Chapter 9 Recording by James O'Connor Randolph, Massachusetts April 2010 Chapter 10 Part 1 of the Mystery of 31 New Inn This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Mystery of 31 New Inn by R. Aston Freeman Chapter 10 The Hunter Haunted Part 1 The omnibus of those days was a leisurely vehicle its ordinary pace was a rather sluggish trot and in a thickly populated thoroughfare its speed was further reduced by frequent stoppages Bearing these facts in mind I gave an occasional backward glance as we jogged northward though my attention soon began to wander from the rather remote possibility of pursuit to the incidents of our late exploration It had not been difficult to see that Thondike was very well pleased with the results of our search but accepting the letter which undoubtedly opened up a channel for further inquiry and possible identification I could not perceive that any of the traces we had found justified a satisfaction There were the spectacles for instance they were almost certainly the pair worn by Mr. Graves but what then it was exceedingly improbable that we should be able to discover the maker of them and if we were it was still more improbable that he would be able to give us any information that would help us Spectacle makers are not usually on confidential terms and make nothing of them The little sticks of reed evidently had some use that was known to Thondike and furnished by inference some kind of information about Weiss, Graves or Mrs. Charlie-Bohm but I have never seen anything like them before and they conveyed nothing whatever to me then the bottle that had seemed so significant to Thondike was to me quite uninforming it did indeed suggest that some member of the household might be connected with the stage but it gave no hint as to which one certainly that person was not Mr. Weiss whose appearance was as remote from that of an actor as could well be imagined at any rate the bottle and its label gave me no more useful hint than it might be worthwhile to call on Mr. Fox and make inquiries and something told me very emphatically that this was not what it had conveyed to Thondike these reflections occupied me until the omnibus having rumbled over London Bridge and up King William Street joined the converging streams of traffic at the mansion house here I got down and changed to an omnibus bound for Kensington on which I travelled westward pleasantly enough looking down into the teeming streets and wiling away the time by meditating upon the very agreeable afternoon that I promised myself and considering how far my new arrangement with Thondike would justify me would be one of the commitments of a highly interesting kind what might have happened under other circumstances it is impossible to tell and useless to speculate the fact is that my journey ended in a disappointment I arrived all agog at the familiar house in Ensley Gardens only to be told by a sympathetic housemaid that the family was out that Mrs. Hornby had gone into the country and would not be home until night and which mattered a good deal Mrs. Juliet Gibson had accompanied her now a man who drops into lunch without announcing his intention or previously asserting those of his friends has no right to quarrel with fate if he finds an empty house thus philosophically I reflected as I turned away from the house in profound discontent demanding of the universe in general why Mrs. Hornby need have perversely chosen my first free day to go gadding into the country just need spirit away the fair Juliet this was the crowning misfortune for I could have endured the absence of the elder lady with commendable fortitude and since I could not immediately return to the temple it left me a mere wave and stray for the time being instinct of the kind that manifests itself especially about one o'clock in the afternoon impelled me in the direction of Brompton Road and finally landed me at a table restaurant apparently adjusted to the needs of ladies who had come from a distance to engage in the feminine sport of shopping here while waiting for my lunch I sat idly scanning the morning paper and wondering what I should do with the rest of the day and presently it chanted that my eye caught the announcement of a matinee at the theater in slow and square it was quite a long time since I had been at the theater and as the play seemed likely to satisfy my not very critical taste I decided to devote the afternoon to reviving my acquaintance with the drama accordingly as soon as my lunch was finished I walked down the Brompton Road stepped on to an omnibus and was duly deposited at the door of the theater a couple of minutes later I found myself occupying an excellent seat in the second row of the pit oblivious alike of my recent disappointment and of Thorndyke's words of warning I'm not an enthusiastic play-goer through dramatic performances I'm disposed to assign nothing further than the modest function of furnishing entertainment I do not go to a theater to be instructed or to have my moral outlook elevated but by way of compensation I'm not difficult to please to a simple play adjusted to my primitive taste I can bring a certain bucolic appreciation that enables me to extract from the performance the maximum of enjoyment and when on this occasion the final curtain fell and the audience rose I rescued my hat from its insecure resting place and turned to go with the feeling that I had spent a highly agreeable afternoon emerging from the theater born on the outgoing stream I presently found myself opposite the door to a tea shop instinct, the five o'clock instinct this time guided me in for we are creatures of habit especially of the tea habit the unoccupied table to which I drifted was in a shady corner not very far from the pay desk and here I had been seated less than a minute when a lady passed me on her way to the farther table the glimpse that I caught of her as she approached it was but a glimpse since she passed behind me showed that she was dressed in black that she wore a beaded veil and hat and in addition to the glass of milk and the bun that she carried she was encumbered by an umbrella and a small basket apparently containing some kind of needlework I must confess that I gave her very little attention at the time being occupied in anxious speculation as to how long it would be before the fact of my presence would impinge on the consciousness of the waitress the exact time of the clock on the wall was three minutes and a quarter at the expiration of which an anemic young woman sauntered up to the table and bestowed on me a glance of sullen interrogation and was mutely demanding what the devil I wanted I humbly requested that I might be provided with a pot of tea whereupon she turned on her heel which was a good deal worn down on the offside and reported my conduct to a lady behind a marble topped counter it seemed that the counter lady took a lenient view of the case for in less than four minutes the waitress returned and gloomily deposited on the table before me a teapot, a milk jug, a cup and saucer a jug of hot water and a bowl of milk then she once more departed in dudgeon I had just given the tea in the pot a preliminary stir and was about to pour out the first cup when I felt someone bump lightly against my chair and heard something rattle on the floor I turned quickly and perceived the lady whom I had seen enter stooping just behind my chair it seemed that having finished her frugal meal she was on her way out when she had dropped the little basket that I had noticed hanging from her wrist which basket had promptly discouraged its entire contents on the floor now everyone must have noticed the demon of agility that seems to enter into an inanimate object when it is dropped and the apparently intelligent malice with which it discovers and rolls into the most inaccessible places here was a case in point this particular basket had contained materials for oriental beadwork and no sooner had it reached the floor than each item of its contents it was required to become possessed of a separate and particular devil impelling it to travel at headlong speed to some remote and unapproachable corner as distant as possible from its fellows as the only man and almost the only person near the duty of salvage agent manifestly devolved upon me and down I went accordingly on my hands and knees regardless of a nearly new pair of trousers to grope under tables chairs and settles in reach of the scattered treasure a ball of the thick thread or twine I recovered from a dark and dirty corner after a brief interview with the sharp corner of the settler and a multitude of the large beads with which this infernal industry is carried on I gathered from all parts of the compass coming forth at length quadrupedally with a double handful of the treasure trove and a very lively appreciation of the resistant qualities the owner of the lost and found property was greatly distressed by the accident and the trouble that it cost me in fact she was quite needlessly agitated about it the hand which held the basket into which I poured the rescued trash trembled visibly and the brief glance that I bestowed on her as she murmured her thanks and apologies with a very slight foreign accent showed me that she was excessively pale that much I could see plainly in spite of the rather dim light of the shop and the beaded veil that covered her face and I could also see that she was a rather remarkable looking woman with a great mass of harsh black hair and very broad black eyebrows that nearly met above her nose and contrasted strikingly with the dead white of her skin but of course I did not look at her intently having returned her property and received her acknowledgments I resumed my seat and left her to go on her way I had once more grasped the handle of the teapot while I made a rather curious discovery at the bottom of the teacup lay a single lump of sugar to the majority of persons it would have meant nothing they would have assumed that they had dropped in and forgotten it and would have proceeded to pour out the tea but it happened that at this time I did not take sugar in my tea once it followed that the lump had not been put in by me assuming therefore the waitress I turned it out on the table filled the cup added the milk and took a tentative draft to test the temperature the cup was yet at my lips when I chanced to look into the mirror that faced my table of course it reflected the part of the shop that was behind me including the cashier's desk at which the owner of the basket now stood paying for her refreshment between her and me was a gas chandelier but with standing I could see that she was looking at me steadily was in fact watching me intently and with a very curious expression an expression of expectancy mingled with alarm but this was not all as I returned her intent look which I could do unobserved since my face reflected in the mirror was in deep shadow I suddenly perceived that that steady gaze engaged her right eye only the other eye was looking sharply in short she had a divergent squint of the left eye I put down my cup with a thrill of amazement and a sudden surging up of suspicion and alarm an instant's reflection reminded me that when she had spoken to me a few moments before both her eyes had looked into mine with that the slightest trace of a squint my thoughts flew back to the lump of sugar to the unguarded milk jug and the draft of tea that I had already swallowed and hardly knowing what I intended and turned to confront her but as I rose she snatched up her change and darted from the shop through the glass door I saw her spring onto the footboard of a passing handsome and give the driver some direction I saw the man whip up his horse and by the time I reached the door the cab was moving off swiftly down slowain street I stood irresolute and could not run out of the shop without making a fuss I had to be followed but I had no fancy for the task if the tea that I had swallowed was innocuous no harm was done and I was rid of my pursuer so far as I was concerned the incident was closed I went back to my seat and picking up the lump of sugar which still lay on the table where I had dropped it put it carefully in my pocket but my appetite for tea was satisfied for the present and I feared accordingly I obtained my check handed it in in the cashier's desk and took my departure all this time it will be observed I had been taking it for granted that the lady in black had followed me from Kensington to this shop that in fact she was none other than Mrs. Charlie Baum and indeed the circumstances had rendered the conclusion inevitable in the very instant the displacement of the left eye complete recognition had come upon me when I had stood facing the woman the brief glance at her face had conveyed to me something dimly reminiscent of which I had been but half conscious and had instantly forgotten but the sight of that characteristic squint had at once revived and explained it that the woman was Mrs. Charlie Baum I now felt no doubt whatever nevertheless the whole affair was profoundly mysterious the change in the woman's appearance there was little in that the coarse black hair might be her own dyed or it might be a wig the eyebrows were made up it was a simple enough proceeding and made still more simple by the beaded veil but how did she come to be there at all how did she happen to be made up in this fashion at this particular time and above all how came she to be provided with a lump of what I had little doubt was poisoned sugar I turned over the evens of the day the more I considered them the less comprehensible they appeared no one had followed the omnibus either on foot or in a vehicle as far as I could see and I had kept a careful look out not only at starting but for some considerable time after yet all the time Mrs. Charlie Baum must have been following but how if she had known that I was intending to travel by the omnibus she might have gone to meet it and entered before I did to meet the omnibus for we watched it approach from some considerable distance I considered whether she might have been concealed in the house and overheard me mention my destination to Thorndike but this failed to explain the mystery since I had mentioned no address beyond Kensington I had indeed mentioned the name of Mrs. Hornby but this opposition that my friends might be known by name to Mrs. Charlie Baum or even that she might have looked but if I reached no satisfactory conclusion my cogitations had one useful effect they occupied my mind to the exclusion of that unfortunate draft of tea not that I had been seriously uneasy after the first shock the quantity that I had swallowed was not large the tea being hotter than I cared for and I remembered that when I had thrown out the lump of sugar I had turned the cup upside down on the table so there could have been nothing solid left in it and the lump of sugar was in itself reassuring for it certainly would not have been used in conjunction with any less conspicuous but more incriminating form of poison that lump of sugar was now in my pocket reserved for careful examination at my leisure and I reflected with a faint grin that it would be a little disconcerting if it would turn out to contain nothing but sugar after all End of Chapter 10 Part 1 Chapter 10 Part 2 of The Mystery of 31 New Inn This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Mystery of 31 New Inn by R. Austin Freeman Chapter 10 The Hunter-Hunted Part 2 On leaving the tea shop I walked up Slow Inn Street with the intention of doing what I ought to have done earlier in the day I was going to make perfectly sure that no spy was dogging my footsteps but for my ridiculous confidence I could have done so quite easily before going to Ensley Gardens and now made wiser by a startling experience I proceeded with systematic care it was still broad daylight for the lamps in the tea shop had been rendered necessary only by the faulty construction of the premises and the dullness of the afternoon and in an open space I could see far enough for complete safety Arriving at the top of Slow Inn Street I crossed Knight's Bridge and entering Hyde Park struck out towards the serpentine Passing along the eastern shore I entered one of the long paths that lead towards the marble arch and strode along it at such a pace as would make it necessary for any pursuer to hurry in order to keep me inside Halfway across a great stretch of turf I halted for a few moments and noted the few people who were coming in my direction then I turned sharply to the left and headed straight for the Victoria Gate but again, halfway I turned off among a clump of trees and standing behind the trunk of one of them took a fresh survey of the people who were moving along the paths all were at a considerable distance and none appeared to be coming my way I now moved cautiously from one tree to another and passed through the wooded region to the south crossed the serpentine bridge at a rapid walk and hurrying along the south shore left the park by Apsley House from hence I walked at the same rapid pace along Piccadilly insinuating myself among the crowd with the skill born of long acquaintance with the London streets crossed amid the seething traffic at the circus darted up Windmill Street and began to zigzag amongst the narrow streets and courts of Soho crossing the seven dials and dreary lane I passed through the multitudinous back streets and alleys that then filled the area south of Lincoln's Inn came out by Newcastle Street Holywell Street and Half Moon Alley into the Strand which I crossed immediately ultimately entering the temple with the precautions from one court to another I passed quickly loitering in those dark entries and unexpected passages that are known to so few but the regular Templars and coming out into the open only at the last where the wide passage of King's Bench Walk admits of no evasion Half way up the stairs I stood for some time in the shadow watching the approaches from the staircase window and when at length I inserted my key and let myself into our chambers Thorn Dyke had already arrived and as I entered he rose to greet me with an expression of evident relief I'm glad to see you, Chervis he said I have been rather anxious about you Why? I asked for several reasons one is that you are the sole danger that threatens these people but we made a most ridiculous mistake we overlooked a fact that ought to have struck us instantly but how have you feared? better than I deserved that good lady stuck to me like a burr at least I believe she did I have no doubt she did we have been caught napping finally Chervis how? we'll go into that presently let us hear about your adventures first I gave him a full account of my movements from the time to that of my arrival home omitting no incident that I was able to remember and as far as I could reconstituting my exceedingly devious homeward route your retreat was masterly he remarked with a broad smile I should think that it would have utterly defeated any pursuer and the only pity is that it was probably wasted on the desert air your pursuer had by that time become a fugitive but you are wise to take these precautions this might have followed you but I thought he was in Hamburg did you? you are a very confiding young gentleman for a budding medical jurist of course we don't know that he is not but the fact that he has given Hamburg as his present whereabouts establishes a strong presumption that he is somewhere else I only hope that he has not located you and from what you tell me of your later methods I fancy that you would have shaken him off and started to follow you from the tea shop I hope so too but how did that woman manage to stick to me in that way? what was the mistake we made? Thorndike laughed grimly it was a perfectly asinine mistake service you started up Kennington Park Road on a leisurely jog trotting omnibus and either you or I remembered what there was underneath Kennington Park Road underneath I exclaimed completely puzzled for the moment then suddenly realizing what he meant of course I exclaimed idiot that I am you mean the electric railway yes that explains everything Mrs. Schallibau must have watched us from some shop and quietly followed us up the lane there were a good many women about and several were walking in our direction there was nothing to distinguish her from the others unless you had recognized her which you would hardly have been able to do if she had worn a veil and kept it a fair distance at least I think not no I agreed I certainly should not I had only seen her in a half dark room in outdoor clothes and with a veil I should never have been able to identify her without very close inspection besides there was a disguise or makeup not at that time she would hardly come disguised to her own house for it might have led to her being challenged and asked who she was I think we may take it that there was no actual disguise although she would probably wear a shady hat and a veil which would have prevented either of us from picking her out from the other women in the street and what do you think happened next I think that she simply walked past us probably on the other side of the road as we stood waiting for the omnibus and turned up Kennington Park Road she probably guessed that we were waiting for the omnibus in the direction in which it was going presently the omnibus would pass her and there were you in full view on top keeping a vigilant look out in the wrong direction then she would quicken her pace a little and in a minute or two would arrive at the Kennington Station of the South London Railway in a minute or two more she would be in one of the electric trains whirling along under the street on which your omnibus is crawling she would get out at the borough station or she might take a more risky chance but in any case she would wait for your omnibus hail it and get inside I suppose you took up some passengers on the way oh dear, yes we were stopping every two or three minutes to take up or set down passengers and most of them were women very well then we may take it that when you arrived at the mansion house Mrs. Charlie Baum was one of your inside passengers it was a rather quaint situation I think there were a couple of noodles she must have thought us no doubt and that is the one consoling feature in the case she will have taken us for a pair of absolute green horns but to continue of course she travelled in your omnibus to Kensington you ought to have gone inside on both occasions so that you could see everyone who entered and examine the inside passengers she will have followed you to Ensley Gardens and probably noted the house you went to then she will have followed you to the restaurant it is quite possible said I there were two rooms and they were filled principally with women then she will have followed you to Slowaine Street and as you persisted in riding outside she could easily take an inside place in your omnibus as to the theatre she must have taken it as a veritable gift of the gods an arrangement made by you for her special convenience why my dear fellow I want you to follow you in and see you safely into your seat and there you were left till cold for she could then go home make up for her part draw out a plan of action with the help perhaps of Mr. Weiss provide herself with the necessary means and appliances and at the appointed time call and collect you that is assuming a good deal I objected it is assuming for instance that she lives within a moderate distance of Slowaine Square exactly that is why I assume it you don't suppose that she goes about habitually with lumps of prepared sugar in her pocket and if not then she must have got that lump from somewhere then the beads suggest a carefully prepared plan and as I said just now she can hardly have been made up when she meant us in Kennington Lane from all of which it seems likely that her present abode is not very far from Slowaine Square at any rate taking a considerable risk I might have left the theatre before she came back yes Thorndike agreed but it is like a woman to take chances a man would probably have stuck to you when once he had got you off your guard but she was ready to take chances she chanced a railway and it came off and she chanced your remaining in the theatre and that came off too she calculated on the probability of your getting tea when you came out and then she took one chance too many she assumed that you probably took sugar in your tea and she was wrong we are taking it for granted that the sugar was prepared I remarked yes our explanation is entirely hypothetical and maybe entirely wrong but it all hangs together and if we find any poisonous matter in the sugar it will be reasonable to assume that we are right the sugar is the experimentum cruces and if we get it over to me we will go up to the laboratory and make a preliminary test or two I took the lump of sugar from my pocket and gave it to him and he carried it to the gas burner by the light of which he examined it with a lens I don't see any foreign crystals on the surface said he but we had better make a solution and go to work systematically if it contains any poison we may assume that it will be some alkyloid though I will test for arsenic too but a man of wisest type could almost certainly use an alkyloid on account of its smaller bulk and more ready solubility you ought not to have carried this loose in your pocket for legal purposes that would seriously interfere with its value as evidence bodies that are suspected of containing poison should be carefully isolated and preserved from contact with anything that might lead to doubt in the analysis it doesn't matter much to us as this analysis is only for our own information and we can satisfy ourselves as to the state of your pocket but bear the rule in mind another time we now ascended to the laboratory where thondak proceeded at once to dissolve the lump of sugar in a measured quantity of distilled water by the aid of gentle heat before we add any acid said he or introduce any fresh matter we will adopt a simple preliminary measure of tasting the solution the sugar is a disturbing factor but some of the alkyloids and most mineral poisons excepting arsenic have a very characteristic taste he dipped a glass rod in the warm solution and applied it gingerly to his tongue ha! he exclaimed as he carefully wiped his mouth with his handkerchief simple methods are often very valuable there isn't much doubt as to what isn't that sugar let me recommend my learned brother to try the flavour but be careful a little of this will go a long way he took a fresh rod from the rack and dipping it in the solution handed it to me I cautiously applied it to the tip of my tongue and was immediately aware of a peculiar tingling sensation accompanied by a feeling of numbness well said thondak what is it? aconite I replied without hesitation yes he agreed aconite it is or more probably aconitine and that I think gives us all the information we want now to make a complete analysis though I shall have a quantitative examination made later you note the intensity of the taste and you see what the strength of the solution is evidently that lump of sugar contained a very large dose of the poison if the sugar had been dissolved in your tea the quantity that you drank would have contained enough aconitine to lay you out within a few minutes which would account for Mrs. Shalybaum's anxiety to get clear of the premises she saw you drink from the cup and she had not seen you turn the sugar out no I should say not to judge by her expression she looked terrified she is not as hardened as a rascally companion which is fortunate for you Jervis if she had not been in such a fluster she would have waited until you had poured out your tea which was what she probably meant to do or have dropped the sugar into the milk jug in either case you would have got a poisonous dose before you noticed anything amiss they are a pretty pair thondike I exclaimed a human life seems to be no more to them than the life of a fly or a beetle no that is so they are typical poisoners of the worst kind of the intelligent, cautious, resourceful kind they are a standing menace to society as long as they are at large human lives are in danger and it is our business to see that they do not remain at large a moment longer than is unavoidable to the point you had better keep indoors for the next few days oh, nonsense I protested I can take care of myself I won't dispute that said thondike although I might but the matter is of vital importance and we can't be too careful yours is the only evidence that could convict these people they know that and will stick at nothing to get rid of you for by this time some value to you and to another person whom I could mention but apart from that you are the indispensable instrument for ridding society of these dangerous vermin moreover if you were seen abroad and connected with these chambers they would get the information that their case was really being investigated in a business like manner if wise has not already left the country he would do so immediately and if he has Mrs. Charlie Baum would join him at once you must stay indoors out of sight and you had better write to Mrs. Gibson and ask her to warn the servants to give no information about you to anyone and how long I asked am I to be held on parole not long I think we have a very promising start if I have any luck I shall be able to collect all the evidence I want in about a week but there is an element of chance in some of it but that I shall be able to tell you better in a day or two and I suppose I said gloomily I shall be out of the hunt altogether not at all he replied you have got the blackmore case to attend to I shall hand you over all the documents and get you to make an orderly digest of the evidence you will then have all the facts and can work out the case for yourself also I shall ask you to help Paulton in some little operations which are designed to throw light and people find both entertaining and instructive supposing Mrs Hornby should propose to call and take tea with us in the gardens I suggested and bring Miss Gibson with her thorn-dike added dryly no chervice it would never do you must make that quite clear to her it is more probable than not that Mrs Shalibong made a careful note of the house in Ensley Gardens and as that would be the one place actually known to her she and Weiss if he is in England she and Weiss if they should succeed in connecting that house with these chambers a few inquiries would show them the exact state of the case no we must keep them in the dark if we possibly can we have shown too much of our hand already it is hard on you but it cannot be helped oh don't think I am complaining I exclaimed if it is a matter of business I am as keen as you are I thought at first that you are merely tomorrow morning I shall give you my notes on the blackmore case and the copies of the will and the depositions from which you had better draw up a digest of the evidence with remarks as to the conclusions that it suggests then there are our gleanings from new in to be looked over and considered and with regard to this case we have the fragments of a pair of spectacles which had better be put together into a rather more intelligible form that will keep you occupied for a day or two together with some work appertaining to other cases and now let us dismiss professional topics you have not dined and neither have I but I dare say Poulton has made arrangements for some sort of meal we will go down and see we descended to the lower floor where thontics anticipations were justified by neatly laid table to which Poulton was giving the finishing touches end of chapter 10 part 2