Holmes Boscombe

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Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

THE BOSCOMBE VALLEY MYSTERY

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We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and I, when the maid brought in a telegram. It was from

Sherlock Holmes and ran in this wayHa!e you a cou"le of days to s"are# Ha!e $ust been wired for from the west of %ngland in connection with

&oscombe 'alley tragedy. Shall be glad if you will come with me. Air and scenery "erfect. (ea!e )addington

by the ***+.

What do you say, dear# said my wife, looking across at me. Will you go#

I really dont know what to say. I ha!e a fairly long list at "resent.

h, Anstruther would do your work for you. /ou ha!e been looking a little "ale lately. I think that the

change would do you good, and you are always so interested in 0r. Sherlock Holmess cases.

I should be ungrateful if I were not, seeing what I gained through one of them, I answered. &ut if I am to

go, I must "ack at once, for I ha!e only half an hour. 0y e1"erience of cam" life in Afghanistan had at least

had the effect of making me a "rom"t and ready tra!eller. 0y wants were few and sim"le, so that in less than

the time stated I was in a cab with my !alise, rattling away to )addington Station.Sherlock Holmes was "acing u" and down the "latform, his tall, gaunt figure made e!en gaunter and taller

by his long gray tra!elling-cloak and close-fitting cloth ca". It is really !ery good of you to come, Watson,

said he. It makes a considerable difference to me, ha!ing someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely.

(ocal aid is always either worthless or else biassed. If you will kee" the two corner seats I shall get the tickets.

We had the carriage to oursel!es sa!e for an immense litter of "a"ers which Holmes had brought with him.

Among these he rummaged and read, with inter!als of note-taking and of meditation, until we were "ast

2eading. 3hen he suddenly rolled them all into a gigantic ball and tossed them u" onto the rack. Ha!e you

heard anything of the case# he asked.

4ot a word. I ha!e not seen a "a"er for some days.

3he (ondon "ress has not had !ery full accounts. I ha!e $ust been looking through all the recent "a"ers inorder to master the "articulars. It seems, from what I gather, to be one of those sim"le cases which are so

e1tremely difficult.

3hat sounds a little "arado1ical.

&ut it is "rofoundly true. Singularity is almost in!ariably a clue. 3he more featureless and common"lace a

crime is, the more difficult it is to bring it home. In this case, howe!er, they ha!e established a !ery serious case

against the son of the murdered man.

It is a murder, then#

Well, it is con$ectured to be so. I shall take nothing for granted until I ha!e the o""ortunity of looking

"ersonally into it. I will e1"lain the state of things to you, as far as I ha!e been able to understand it, in a !ery

few words.

&oscombe 'alley is a country district not !ery far from 2oss, in Herefordshire. 3he largest landed

"ro"rietor in that "art is a 0r. 5ohn 3urner, who made his money in Australia and returned some years ago to

the old country. ne of the farms which he held, that of Hatherley, was let to 0r. Charles 0cCarthy, who was

also an e1-Australian. 3he men had known each other in the colonies, so that it was not unnatural that when

they came to settle down they should do so as near each other as "ossible. 3urner was a""arently the richer

man, so 0cCarthy became his tenant but still remained, it seems, u"on terms of "erfect e6uality, as they were

fre6uently together. 0cCarthy had one son, a lad of eighteen, and 3urner had an only daughter of the same age,

but neither of them had wi!es li!ing. 3hey a""ear to ha!e a!oided the society of the neighboring %nglish

families and to ha!e led retired li!es, though both the 0cCarthys were fond of s"ort and were fre6uently seen at

the race-meetings of the neighborhood. 0cCarthy ke"t two ser!ants7a man and a girl. 3urner had a

considerable household, some half-do8en at the least. 3hat is as much as I ha!e been able to gather about thefamilies. 4ow for the facts.

n 5une 9rd, that is, on 0onday last, 0cCarthy left his house at Hatherley about three in the afternoon and

walked down to the &oscombe )ool, which is a small lake formed by the s"reading out of the stream which

runs down the &oscombe 'alley. He had been out with his ser!ing-man in the morning at 2oss, and he had told
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the man that he must hurry, as he had an a""ointment of im"ortance to kee" at three. :rom that a""ointment he

ne!er came back ali!e.

:rom Hatherley :arm-house to the &oscombe )ool is a 6uarter of a mile, and two "eo"le saw him as he

"assed o!er this ground. ne was an old woman, whose name is not mentioned, and the other was William

Crowder, a game-kee"er in the em"loy of 0r. 3urner. &oth these witnesses de"ose that 0r. 0cCarthy was

walking alone. 3he game-kee"er adds that within a few minutes of his seeing 0r. 0cCarthy "ass he had seen

his son, 0r. 5ames 0cCarthy, going the same way with a gun under his arm. 3o the best of his belief, the father

was actually in sight at the time, and the son was following him. He thought no more of the matter until he

heard in the e!ening of the tragedy that had occurred.3he two 0cCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder, the game-kee"er, lost sight of them.

3he &oscombe )ool is thickly wooded round, with $ust a fringe of grass and of reeds round the edge. A girl of

fourteen, )atience 0oran, who is the daughter of the lodge-kee"er of the &oscombe 'alley estate, was in one of

the woods "icking flowers. She states that while she was there she saw, at the border of the wood and close by

the lake, 0r. 0cCarthy and his son, and that they a""eared to be ha!ing a !iolent 6uarrel. She heard 0r.

0cCarthy the elder using !ery strong language to his son, and she saw the latter raise u" his hand as if to strike

his father. She was so frightened by their !iolence that she ran away and told her mother when she reached

home that she had left the two 0cCarthys 6uarrelling near &oscombe )ool, and that she was afraid that they

were going to fight. She had hardly said the words when young 0r. 0cCarthy came running u" to the lodge to

say that he had found his father dead in the wood, and to ask for the hel" of the lodge-kee"er. He was much

e1cited, without either his gun or his hat, and his right hand and slee!e were obser!ed to be stained with freshblood. n following him they found the dead body stretched out u"on the grass beside the "ool. 3he head had

been beaten in by re"eated blows of some hea!y and blunt wea"on. 3he in$uries were such as might !ery well

ha!e been inflicted by the butt-end of his sons gun, which was found lying on the grass within a few "aces of

the body. ;nder these circumstances the young man was instantly arrested, and a !erdict of wilful murder

ha!ing been returned at the in6uest on 3uesday, he was on Wednesday brought before the magistrates at 2oss,

who ha!e referred the case to the ne1t Assi8es. 3hose are the main facts of the case as they came out before the

coroner and the "olice-court.

I could hardly imagine a more damning case, I remarked. If e!er circumstantial e!idence "ointed to a

criminal it does so here.

Circumstantial e!idence is a !ery tricky thing, answered Holmes thoughtfully. It may seem to "oint !ery

straight to one thing, but if you shift your own "oint of !iew a little, you may find it "ointing in an e6uallyuncom"romising manner to something entirely different. It must be confessed, howe!er, that the case looks

e1ceedingly gra!e against the young man, and it is !ery "ossible that he is indeed the cul"rit. 3here are se!eral

"eo"le in the neighborhood, howe!er, and among them 0iss 3urner, the daughter of the neighboring

landowner, who belie!e in his innocence, and who ha!e retained (estrade, whom you may recollect in

connection with A Study in Scarlet, to work out the case in his interest. (estrade, being rather "u88led, has

referred the case to me, and hence it is that two middle-aged gentlemen are flying westward at fifty miles an

hour instead of 6uietly digesting their breakfasts at home.

I am afraid, said I, 3hat the facts are so ob!ious that you will find little credit to be gained out of this

case.

3here is nothing more dece"ti!e than an ob!ious fact, he answered, laughing. &esides, we may chance to

hit u"on some other ob!ious facts which may ha!e been by no means ob!ious to 0r. (estrade. /ou know me

too well to think that I am boasting when I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his theory by means which

he is 6uite inca"able of em"loying, or e!en of understanding. 3o take the first e1am"le to hand, I !ery clearly

"ercei!e that in your bedroom the window is u"on the right-hand side, and yet I 6uestion whether 0r. (estrade

would ha!e noted e!en so self-e!ident a thing as that.

How on earth7

0y dear fellow, I know you well. I know the military neatness which characteri8es you. /ou sha!e e!ery

morning, and in this season you sha!e by the sunlight< but since your sha!ing is less and less com"lete as we

get farther back on the left side, until it becomes "ositi!ely slo!enly as we get round the angle of the $aw, it is

surely !ery clear that that side is less illuminated than the other. I could not imagine a man of your habits

looking at himself in an e6ual light and being satisfied with such a result. I only 6uote this as a tri!ial e1am"leof obser!ation and inference. 3herein lies my metier, and it is $ust "ossible that it may be of some ser!ice in the

in!estigation which lies before us. 3here are one or two minor "oints which were brought out in the in6uest,

and which are worth considering.

What are they#


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It a""ears that his arrest did not take "lace at once, but after the return to Hatherley :arm. n the ins"ector

of constabulary informing him that he was a "risoner, he remarked that he was not sur"rised to hear it, and that

it was no more than his deserts. 3his obser!ation of his had the natural effect of remo!ing any traces of doubt

which might ha!e remained in the minds of the coroners $ury.

It was a confession, I e$aculated.

4o, for it was followed by a "rotestation of innocence.

Coming on the to" of such a damning series of e!ents, it was at least a most sus"icious remark.

n the contrary, said Holmes, It is the brightest rift which I can at "resent see in the clouds. Howe!er

innocent he might be, he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that the circumstances were !eryblack against him. Had he a""eared sur"rised at his own arrest, or feigned indignation at it, I should ha!e

looked u"on it as highly sus"icious, because such sur"rise or anger would not be natural under the

circumstances, and yet might a""ear to be the best "olicy to a scheming man. His frank acce"tance of the

situation marks him as either an innocent man, or else as a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness. As

to his remark about his deserts, it was also not unnatural if you consider that he stood beside the dead body of

his father, and that there is no doubt that he had that !ery day so far forgotten his filial duty as to bandy words

with him, and e!en, according to the little girl whose e!idence is so im"ortant, to raise his hand as if to strike

him. 3he self-re"roach and contrition which are dis"layed in his remark a""ear to me to be the signs of a

healthy mind rather than of a guilty on.

I shook my head. 0any men ha!e been hanged on far slighter e!idence, I remarked.

So they ha!e. And many men ha!e been wrongfully hanged.What is the young mans own account of the matter#

It is, I am afraid, not !ery encouraging to his su""orters, though there are one or two "oints in it which are

suggesti!e. /ou will find it here, and may read it for yourself. He "icked out from his bundle a co"y of the

local Herefordshire "a"er, and ha!ing turned down the sheet he "ointed out the "aragra"h in which the

unfortunate young man had gi!en his own statement of what had occurred. I settled myself down in the corner

of the carriage and read it !ery carefully. It ran in this way

0r. 5ames 0cCarthy, the only son of the deceased, was then called and ga!e e!idence as follows

I had been away from home for three days at &ristol, and had only $ust returned u"on the morning of last

0onday, the 9d. 0y father was absent from home at the time of my arri!al, and I was informed by the maid

that he had dri!en o!er to 2oss with 5ohn Cobb, the groom. Shortly after my return I heard the wheels of his

tra" in the yard, and, looking out of my window, I saw him get out and walk ra"idly out of the yard, though Iwas not aware in which direction he was going. I then took my gun and strolled out in the direction of the

&oscombe )ool, with the intention of !isiting the rabbit warren which is u"on the other side. n my way I saw

William Crowder, the game-kee"er, as he had stated in his e!idence< but he is mistaken in thinking that I was

following my father. I had no idea that he was in front of me. When about a hundred yards from the "ool I

heard a cry of Cooee= which was a usual signal between my father and myself. I then hurried forward, and

found him standing by the "ool. He a""eared to be much sur"rised at seeing me and asked me rather roughly

what I was doing there. A con!ersation ensued which led to high words and almost to blows, for my father was

a man of a !ery !iolent tem"er. Seeing that his "assion was becoming ungo!ernable, I left him and returned

towards Hatherley :arm. I had not gone more than *+> yards, howe!er, when I heard a hideous outcry behind

me, which caused me to run back again. I found my father e1"iring u"on the ground, with his head terribly

in$ured. I dro""ed my gun and held him in my arms, but he almost instantly e1"ired. I knelt beside him for

some minutes, and then made my way to 0r. 3urners lodge-kee"er, his house being the nearest, to ask for

assistance. I saw no one near my father when I returned, and I ha!e no idea how he came by his in$uries. He

was not a "o"ular man, being somewhat cold and forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as I know, no

acti!e enemies. I know nothing further of the matter.

3he Coroner Did your father make any statement to you before he died#

Witness He mumbled a few words, but I could only catch some allusion to a rat.

3he Coroner What did you understand by that#

Witness It con!eyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was delirious.

3he Coroner What was the "oint u"on which you and your father had this final 6uarrel#

Witness I should "refer not to answer.3he Coroner I am afraid that I must "ress it.

Witness It is really im"ossible for me to tell you. I can assure you that it has nothing to do with the sad

tragedy which followed.

3he Coroner 3hat is for the court to decide. I need not "oint out to you that your refusal to answer will


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"re$udice your case considerably in any future "roceedings which may arise

Witness I must still refuse.

3he Coroner I understand that the cry of Cooee was a common signal between you and your father#

Witness It was.

3he Coroner How was it, then, that he uttered it before he saw you, and before he e!en knew that you had

returned from &ristol#

Witness ?with considerable confusion@ I do not know.

A 5uryman Did you see nothing which aroused your sus"iclons when you returned on hearing the cry and

found your father fatally in$ured#Witness 4othing definite.

3he Coroner What do you mean#

Witness I was so disturbed and e1cited as I rushed out into the o"en, that I could think of nothing e1ce"t

of my father. /et I ha!e a !ague im"ression that as I ran forward something lay u"on the ground to the left of

me. It seemed to me to be something gray in color, a coat of some sort, or a "laid "erha"s. When I rose from my

father I looked round for it, but it was gone.

Do you mean that it disa""eared before you went for hel"#

/es, it was gone.

/ou cannot say what it was#

4o, I had a feeling something was there.

How far from the body#A do8en yards or so.

And how far from the edge of the wood#

About the same.

3hen if it was remo!ed it was while you were within a do8en yards of it#

/es, but with my back towards it.

3his concluded the e1amination of the witness.

I see, said I as I glanced down the column, 3hat the coroner in his concluding remarks was rather se!ere

u"on young 0cCarthy. He calls attention, and with reason, to the discre"ancy about his father ha!ing signalled

to him before seeing him also to his refusal to gi!e details of his con!ersation with his father, and his singular

account of his fathers dying words. 3hey are all, as he remarks, !ery much against the son.

Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out u"on the cushioned seat. &oth you and thecoroner ha!e been at some "ains, said he, to single out the !ery strongest "oints in the young mans fa!or.

Dont you see that you alternately gi!e him credit for ha!ing too much imagination and too little# 3oo little, if

he could not in!ent a cause of 6uarrel which would gi!e him the sym"athy of the $ury< too much, if he e!ol!ed

from his own inner consciousness anything so outr as a dying reference to a rat, and the incident of the

!anishing cloth. 4o, sir, I shall a""roach this case from the "oint of !iew that what this young man says is true,

and we shall see whither that hy"othesis will lead us. And now here is my "ocket )etrarch, and not another

word shall I say of this case until we are on the scene of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that we shall be

there in twenty minutes.

It was nearly four oclock when we at last, after "assing through the beautiful Stroud 'alley, and o!er the

broad gleaming Se!ern, found oursel!es at the "retty little country-town of 2oss. A lean, ferret-like man,

furti!e and sly-looking, was waiting for us u"on the "latform. In s"ite of the light brown dustcoat and leather-

leggings which he wore in deference to his rustic surroundings, I had no difficulty in recogni8ing (estrade, of

Scotland /ard. With him we dro!e to the Hereford Arms where a room had already been engaged for us.

I ha!e ordered a carriage, said (estrade as we sat o!er a cu" of tea. I knew your energetic nature, and

that you would not be ha""y until you had been on the scene of the crime.

It was !ery nice and com"limentary of you, Holmes answered. It is entirely a 6uestion of barometric

"ressure.

(estrade looked startled. I do not 6uite follow, he said.

How is the glass# 3wenty-nine, I see. 4o wind, and not a cloud in the sky. I ha!e a caseful of cigarettes

here which need smoking, and the sofa is !ery much su"erior to the usual country hotel abomination. I do not

think that it is "robable that I shall use the carriage to-night.(estrade laughed indulgently. /ou ha!e, no doubt, already formed your conclusions from the news"a"ers,

he said. 3he case is as "lain as a "ikestaff, and the more one goes into it the "lainer it becomes. Still, of course,

one cant refuse a lady, and such a !ery "ositi!e one, too. She has heard of you, and would ha!e your o"inion,

though I re"eatedly told her that there was nothing which you could do which I had not already done. Why,


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bless my soul= here is her carriage at the door.

He had hardly s"oken before there rushed into the room one of the most lo!ely young women that I ha!e

e!er seen in my life. Her !iolet eyes shining, her li"s "arted, a "ink flush u"on her cheeks, all thought of her

natural reser!e lost in her o!er"owering e1citement and concern. h, 0r. Sherlock Holmes= she cried,

glancing from one to the other of us, and finally, with a womans 6uick intuition, fastening u"on my

com"anion, I am so glad that you ha!e come. I ha!e dri!en down to tell you so. I know that 5ames didnt do it.

I know it, and I want you to start u"on your work knowing it, too. 4e!er let yourself doubt u"on that "oint. We

ha!e known each other since we were little children, and I know his faults as no one else does< but he is too

tenderhearted to hurt a fly. Such a charge is absurd to anyone who really knows him.I ho"e we may clear him, 0iss 3urner, said Sherlock Holmes. /ou may rely u"on my doing all that I

can.

&ut you ha!e read the e!idence. /ou ha!e formed some conclusion# Do you not see some loo"hole, some

flaw# Do you not yourself think that he is innocent#

I think that it is !ery "robable.

3here, now= she cried, throwing back her head and looking defiantly at (estrade. /ou hear= He gi!es me

ho"es.

(estrade shrugged his shoulders. I am afraid that my colleague has been a little 6uick in forming his

conclusions, he said.

&ut he is right. h= I know that he is right. 5ames ne!er did it. And about his 6uarrel with his father, I am

sure that the reason why he would not s"eak about it to the coroner was because I was concerned in it.In what way# asked Holmes.

It is no time for me to hide anything. 5ames and his father had many disagreements about me. 0r.

0cCarthy was !ery an1ious that there should be a marriage between us. 5ames and I ha!e always lo!ed each

other as brother and sister< but of course he is young and has seen !ery little of life yet, and7and7well, he

naturally did not wish to do anything like that yet. So there were 6uarrels, and this, I am sure, was one of them.

And your father# asked Holmes. Was he in fa!or of such a union#

4o, he was a!erse to it also. 4o one but 0r. 0cCarthy was in fa!or of it. A 6uick blush "assed o!er her

fresh young face as Holmes shot one of his keen, 6uestioning glances at her.

3hank you for this information, said he. 0ay I see your father if I call to-morrow#

I am afraid the doctor wont allow it.3he doctor#

/es, ha!e you not heard# )oor father has ne!er been strong for years back, but this has broken him down

com"letely. He has taken to his bed, and Dr. Willows says that he is a wreck and that his ner!ous system is

shattered. 0r. 0cCarthy was the only man ali!e who had known dad in the old days in 'ictoria.

Ha= In 'ictoria= 3hat is im"ortant.

/es, at the mines.

Buite so< at the gold-mines, where, as I understand, 0r. 3urner made his money.

/es, certainly.

3hank you, 0iss 3urner. /ou ha!e been of material assistance to me.

/ou will tell me if you ha!e any news to-morrow. 4o doubt you will go to the "rison to see 5ames. h, if

you do, 0r. Holmes, do tell him that I know him to be innocent.

I will, 0iss 3urner.

I must go home now, for dad is !ery ill, and he misses me so if I lea!e him. ood-bye, and od hel" you

in your undertaking. She hurried from the room as im"ulsi!ely as she had entered, and we heard the wheels of

her carriage rattle off down the street.

I am ashamed of you, Holmes, said (estrade with dignity after a few minutes silence. Why should you

raise u" ho"es which you are bound to disa""oint# I am not o!er-tender of heart, but I call it cruel.

I think that I see my way to clearing 5ames 0cCarthy, said Holmes. Ha!e you an order to see him in

"rison#

/es, but only for you and me.

3hen I shall reconsider my resolution about going out. We ha!e still time to take a train to Hereford andsee him to-night#

Am"le.

3hen let us do so. Watson, I fear that you will find it !ery slow, but I shall only be away a cou"le of

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I walked down to the station with them, and then wandered through the streets of the little town, finally

returning to the hotel, where I lay u"on the sofa and tried to interest myself in a yellow-backed no!el. 3he "uny

"lot of the story was so thin, howe!er, when com"ared to the dee" mystery through which we were gro"ing,

and I found my attention wander so continually from the action to the fact, that I at last flung it across the room

and ga!e myself u" entirely to a consideration of the e!ents of the day. Su""osing that this unha""y young

mans story were absolutely true, then what hellish thing, what absolutely unforeseen and e1traordinary

calamity could ha!e occurred between the time when he "arted from his father, and the moment when drawn

back by his screams, he rushed into the glade# It was something terrible and deadly. What could it be# 0ight

not the nature of the in$uries re!eal something to my medical instincts#I rang the bell and called for the weekly county "a"er, which contained a !erbatim account of the in6uest. In

the surgeons de"osition it was stated that the "osterior third of the left "arietal bone and the left half of the

occi"ital bone hail been shattered by a hea!y blow from a blunt wea"on. I marked the s"ot u"on my own head.

Clearly such a blow must ha!e been struck from behind. 3hat was to some e1tent in fa!or of the accused, as

when seen 6uarrelling he was face to face with his father. Still, it did not go for !ery much, for the older man

might ha!e turned his back before the blow fell. Still, it might be worth while to call Holmess attention to it.

3hen there was the "eculiar dying reference to a rat. What could that mean# It could not be delirium. A man

dying from a sudden blow does not commonly become delirious. 4o, it was more likely to be an attem"t to

e1"lain how he met his fate. &ut what could it indicate# I cudgelled my brains to find some "ossible

e1"lanation. And then the incident of the gray cloth seen by young 0cCarthy. If that were true the murderer

must ha!e dro""ed some "art of his dress, "resumably his o!ercoat, in his flight, and must ha!e had thehardihood to return and to carry it away at the instant when the son was kneeling with his back turned not a

do8en "aces off. What a tissue of mysteries and im"robabilities the whole thing was= I did not wonder at

(estrades o"inion, and yet I had so much faith in Sherlock Holmess insight that I could not lose ho"e as long

as e!ery fresh fact seemed to strengthen his con!iction of young 0cCarthys innocence. It was late before

Sherlock Holmes returned. He came back alone, for (estrade was staying in lodgings in the town.

3he glass still kee"s !ery high, he remarked as he sat down.

It is of im"ortance that it should not rain before we are able to go o!er the ground. n the other hand, a

man should be at his !ery best and keenest for such nice work as that, and I did not wish to do it when fagged

by a long $ourney. I ha!e seen young 0cCarthy.

And what did you learn from him#

4othing.Could he throw no light#

4one at all. I was inclined to think at one time that he knew who had done it and was screening him or her,

but I am con!inced now that he is as "u88led as e!eryone else. He is not a !ery 6uick-witted youth, though

comely to look at and, I should think, sound at heart.

I cannot admire his taste, I remarked, If it is indeed a fact that he was a!erse to a marriage with so

charming a young lady as this 0iss 3urner.

Ah, thereby hangs a rather "ainful tale. 3his fellow is madly, insanely, in lo!e with her, but some two

years ago, when he was only a lad, and before he really knew her, for she had been away fi!e years at a

boarding-school, what does the idiot do but get into the clutches of a barmaid in &ristol and marry her at a

registry office# 4o one knows a word of the matter, but you can imagine how maddening it must be to him to

be u"braided for not doing what he would gi!e his !ery eyes to do, but what he knows to be absolutely

im"ossible. It was sheer fren8y of this sort which made him throw his hands u" into the air when his father, at

their last inter!iew, was goading him on to "ro"ose to 0iss 3urner. n the other hand, he had no means of

su""orting himself, and his father, who was by all accounts a !ery hard man, would ha!e thrown him o!er

utterly had he known the truth. It was with his barmaid wife that he had s"ent the last three days in &ristol, and

his father did not know where he was. 0ark that "oint. It is of im"ortance. ood has come out of e!il, howe!er,

for the barmaid, finding from the "a"ers that he is in serious trouble and likely to be hanged, has thrown him

o!er utterly and has written to him to say that she has a husband already in the &ermuda Dockyard, so that there

is really no tie between them. I think that that bit of news has consoled young 0cCarthy for all that he has

suffered.

&ut if he is innocent, who has done it#Ah= who# I would call your attention !ery "articularly to two "oints. ne is that the murdered man had an

a""ointment with someone at the "ool, and that the someone could not ha!e been his son, for his son was away,

and he did not know when he would return. 3he second is that the murdered man was heard to cry Cooee=

before he knew that his son had returned. 3hose are the crucial "oints u"on which the case de"ends. And now


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let us talk about eorge 0eredith, if you "lease, and we shall lea!e all minor matters until to-morrow.

3here was no rain, as Holmes had foretold, and the morning broke bright and cloudless. At nine oclock

(estrade called for us with the carriage, and we set off for Hatherley :arm and the &oscombe )ool.

3here is serious news this morning, (estrade obser!ed. It is said that 0r. 3urner, of the Hall, is so ill that

his life is des"aired of.

An elderly man, I "resume# said Holmes.

About si1ty< but his constitution has been shattered by his life abroad, and he has been in failing health for

some time. 3his business has had a !ery bad effect u"on him. He was an old friend of 0cCarthys, and, I may

add, a great benefactor to him, for I ha!e learned that he ga!e him Hatherley :arm rent free.Indeed= 3hat is interesting, said Holmes.

h, yes= In a hundred other ways he has hel"ed him. %!erybody about here s"eaks of his kindness to him.

2eally= Does it not strike you as a little singular that this 0cCarthy, who a""ears to ha!e had little of his

own, and to ha!e been under such obligations to 3urner, should still talk of marrying his son to 3urners

daughter, who is, "resumably, heiress to the estate, and that in such a !ery cocksure manner, as if it were

merely a case of a "ro"osal and all else would follow# It is the more strange, since we know that 3urner himself

was a!erse to the idea. 3he daughter told us as much. Do you not deduce something from that#

We ha!e got to the deductions and the inferences, said (estrade, winking at me. I find it hard enough to

tackle facts, Holmes, without flying away after theories and fancies.

/ou are right, said Holmes demurely< /ou do find it !ery hard to tackle the facts.Anyhow, I ha!e gras"ed one fact which you seem to find it difficult to get hold of, re"lied (estrade with

some warmth.

And that is7

3hat 0cCarthy senior met his death from 0cCarthy $unior and that all theories to the contrary are the

merest moonshine.

Well, moonshine is a brighter thing than fog, said Holmes, laughing. &ut I am !ery much mistaken if this

is not Hatherley :arm u"on the left.

/es, that is it.

It was a wides"read, comfortable-looking building, two-storied, slate-roofed, with great yellow blotches of

lichen u"on the gray walls. 3he drawn blinds and the smokeless chimneys, howe!er, ga!e it a stricken look, as

though the weight of this horror still lay hea!y u"on it. We called at the door, when the maid, at Holmessre6uest, showed us the boots which her master wore at the time of his death, and also a "air of the sons, though

not the "air which he had then had. Ha!ing measured these !ery carefully from se!en or eight different "oints,

Holmes desired to be led to the court-yard, from which we all followed the winding track which led to

&oscombe )ool.

Sherlock Holmes was transformed when he was hot u"on such a scent as this. 0en who had only known the

6uiet thinker and logician of &aker Street would ha!e failed to recogni8e him. His face flushed and darkened.

His brows were drawn into two hard black lines, while his eyes shone out from beneath them with a steely

glitter. His face was bent downward, his shoulders bowed, his li"s com"ressed, and the !eins stood out like

whi"cord in his long, sinewy neck. His nostrils seemed to dilate with a "urely animal lust for the chase, and his

mind was so absolutely concentrated u"on the matter before him that a 6uestion or remark fell unheeded u"on

his ears, or, at the most, only "ro!oked a 6uick, im"atient snarl in re"ly. Swiftly and silently he made his way

along the track which ran through the meadows, and so by way of the woods to the &oscombe )ool. It was

dam", marshy ground, as is all that district, and there were marks of many feet, both u"on the "ath and amid the

short grass which bounded it on either side. Sometimes Holmes would hurry on, sometimes sto" dead, and once

he made 6uite a little detour into the meadow.

(estrade and I walked behind him, the detecti!e indifferent and contem"tuous, while I watched my friend

with the interest which s"rang from the con!iction that e!ery one of his actions was directed towards a definite

end. 3he &oscombe )ool, which is a little reed-girt sheet of water some fifty yards across, is situated at the

boundary between the Hatherley :arm and the "ri!ate "ark of the wealthy 0r. 3urner. Abo!e the woods which

lined it u"on the farther side we could see the red, $utting "innacles which marked the site of the rich

landowners dwelling. n the Hatherley side of the "ool the woods grew !ery thick, and there was a narrow beltof sodden grass twenty "aces across between the edge of the trees land the reeds which lined the lake. (estrade

showed us the e1act s"ot at which the body had been found, and, indeed, so moist was the ground, that I could

"lainly see the traces which had been left by the fall of the stricken man. 3o Holmes, as I could see by his eager

face and "eering eyes, !ery many other things were to be read u"on the tram"led grass. He ran round, like a dog


8/11

who is "icking u" a scent, and then turned u"on my com"anion.

What did you go into the "ool for# he asked.

I fished about with a rake. I thought there might be some wea"on or other trace. &ut how on earth7

h, tut, tut= I ha!e no time= 3hat left foot of yours with its inward twist is all o!er the "lace. A mole could

trace it, and there it !anishes among the reeds. h, how sim"le it would all ha!e been had I been here before

they came like a herd of buffalo and wallowed all o!er it. Here is where the "arty with the lodge-kee"er came,

and they ha!e co!ered all tracks for si1 or eight feet round the body. &ut here are three se"arate tracks of the

same feet. He drew out a lens and lay down u"on his water"roof to ha!e a better !iew, talking all the time

rather to himself than to us.3hese are young 0cCarthys feet. 3wice he was walking, and once he ran swiftly, so that the soles are

dee"ly marked and the heels hardly !isible. 3hat bears out his story. He ran when he saw his father on the

ground. 3hen here are the fathers feet as he "aced u" and down. What is this, then# It is the butt-end of the gun

as the son stood listening. And this# Ha, ha= What ha!e we here# 3i"toes= ti"toes= S6uare, too, 6uite unusual

boots= 3hey come, they go, they come again7of course that was for the cloak. 4ow where did they come

from# He ran u" and down, sometimes losing, sometimes finding the track until we were well within the edge

of the wood and under the shadow of a great beech, the largest tree in the neighborhood. Holmes traced his way

to the farther side of this and lay down once more u"on his face with a little cry of satisfaction. :or a long time

he remained there, turning o!er the lea!es and dried sticks, gathering u" what seemed to me to be dust into an

en!elo"e and e1amining with his lens not only the ground but e!en the bark of the tree as far as he could reach.

A $agged stone was lying among the moss, and this also he carefully e1amined and retained. 3hen he followeda "athway through the wood until he came to the highroad, where all traces were lost.

It has been a case of considerable interest, he remarked, returning to his natural manner. I fancy that this

gray house on the right must be the lodge. I think that I will go in and ha!e a word with 0oran, and "erha"s

write a little note. Ha!ing done that, we may dri!e back to our luncheon. /ou may walk to the cab, and I shall

be with you "resently.

It was about ten minutes before we regained our cab and dro!e back into 2oss, Holmes still carrying with

him the stone which he had "icked u" in the wood.

3his may interest you, (estrade, he remarked, holding it out. 3he murder was done with it.

I see no marks.

3here are none.

How do you know, then#3he grass was growing under it. It had only lain there a few days. 3here was no sign of a "lace whence it

had been taken. It corres"onds with the in$uries. 3here is no sign of any other wea"on.

And the murderer#

Is a tall man, left-handed, lim"s with the right leg, wears thick-soled shooting-boots and a gray cloak,

smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar-holder, and carries a blunt "en-knife in his "ocket. 3here are se!eral other

indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our search.

(estrade laughed. I am afraid that I am still a sce"tic, he said. 3heories are all !ery well, but we ha!e to

deal with a hard-headed &ritish $ury.

4ous !errons, answered Holmes calmly. /ou work your own method, and I shall work mine. I shall be

busy this afternoon, and shall "robably return to (ondon by the e!ening train.

And lea!e your case unfinished#

4o, finished.

&ut the mystery#

It is sol!ed.

Who was the criminal, then#

3he gentleman I describe.

&ut who is he#

Surely it would not be difficult to find out. 3his is not such a "o"ulous neighborhood.

(estrade shrugged his shoulders. I am a "ractical man, he said, And I really cannot undertake to go about

the country looking for a left-handed gentleman with a game leg. I should become the laughing-stock of

Scotland /ard.All right, said Holmes 6uietly. I ha!e gi!en you the chance. Here are your lodgings. ood-bye. I shall

dro" you a line before I lea!e.

Ha!ing left (estrade at his rooms, we dro!e to our hotel, where we found lunch u"on the table. Holmes was

silent and buried in thought with a "ained e1"ression u"on his face, as one who finds himself in a "er"le1ing


9/11

"osition. (ook here, Watson, he said when the cloth was cleared $ust sit down in this chair and let me "reach

to you for a little. I dont know 6uite what to do, and I should !alue your ad!ice. (ight a cigar and let me

e1"ound.

)ray do so.

Well, now, in considering this case there are two "oints about young 0cCarthys narrati!e which struck us

both instantly, although they im"ressed me in his fa!or and you against him. ne was the fact that his father

should, according to his account, cry Cooee= before seeing him. 3he other was his singular dying reference to a

rat. He mumbled se!eral words, you understand, but that was all that caught the sons ear. 4ow from this double

"oint our research must commence, and we will begin it by "resuming that what the lad says is absolutely true.

What of this Cooee= then#

Well, ob!iously it could not ha!e been meant for the son. 3he son, as far as he knew, was in &ristol. It was

mere chance that he was within earshot. 3he Cooee= was meant to attract the attention of whoe!er it was that

he had the a""ointment with. &ut Cooee is a distinctly Australian cry, and one which is used between

Australians. 3here is a strong "resum"tion that the "erson whom 0cCarthy e1"ected to meet him at &oscombe

)ool was someone who had been in Australia.

What of the rat, then# Sherlock Holmes took a folded "a"er from his "ocket and flattened it out on the

table. 3his is a ma" of the Colony of 'ictoria, he said. I wired to &ristol for it last night. He "ut his hand

o!er "art of the ma". What do you read#

A2A3, I read.And now# He raised his hand.

&A((A2A3.

Buite so. 3hat was the word the man uttered, and of which his son only caught the last two syllables. He

was trying to utter the name of his murderer. So and so, of &allarat.

It is wonderful= I e1claimed.

It is ob!ious. And now, you see, I had narrowed the field down considerably. 3he "ossession of a gray

garment was a third "oint which, granting the sons statement to be correct, was a certainty. We ha!e come now

out of mere !agueness to the definite conce"tion of an Australian from &allarat with a gray cloak.

Certainly.

And one who was at home in the district, for the "ool can only be a""roached by the farm or by the estate,

where strangers could hardly wander.Buite so.

3hen comes our e1"edition of to-day. &y an e1amination of the ground I gained the trifling details which I

ga!e to that imbecile (estrade, as to the "ersonality of the criminal.

&ut how did you gain them#

/ou know my method. It is founded u"on the obser!ation of trifles.

His height I know that you might roughly $udge from the length of his stride. His boots, too, might be told

from their traces.

/es, they were "eculiar boots.

&ut his lameness#

3he im"ression of his right foot was always less distinct than his left. He "ut less weight u"on it. Why#

&ecause he lim"ed7he was lame.

&ut his left-handedness.

/ou were yourself struck by the nature of the in$ury as recorded by the surgeon at the in6uest. 3he blow

was struck from immediately behind, and yet was u"on the left side. 4ow, how can that be unless it were by a

left-handed man# He had stood behind that tree during the inter!iew between the father and son. He had e!en

smoked there. I found the ash of a cigar, which my s"ecial knowledge of tobacco ashes enables me to

"ronounce as an Indian cigar. I ha!e, as you know, de!oted some attention to this, and written a little

monogra"h on the ashes of *> different !arieties of "i"e, cigar, and cigarette tobacco. Ha!ing found the ash, I

then looked round and disco!ered the stum" among the moss where he had tossed it. It was an Indian cigar, of

the !ariety which are rolled in 2otterdam.

And the cigar-holder#I could see that the end had not been in his mouth. 3herefore he used a holder. 3he ti" had been cut off, not

bitten off, but the cut was not a clean one, so I deduced a blunt "en-knife.

Holmes, I said, /ou ha!e drawn a net round this man from which he cannot esca"e, and you ha!e sa!ed

an innocent human life as truly as if you had cut the cord which was hanging him. I see the direction in which


10/11

all this "oints. 3he cul"rit is7

0r. 5ohn 3urner, cried the hotel waiter, o"ening the door of our sitting-room, and ushering in a !isitor.

3he man who entered was a strange and im"ressi!e figure. His slow, lim"ing ste" and bowed shoulders ga!e

the a""earance of decre"itude, and yet his hard, dee"-lined, craggy features, and his enormous limbs showed

that he was "ossessed of unusual strength of body and of character. His tangled beard, gri88led hair, and

outstanding, droo"ing eyebrows combined to gi!e an air of dignity and "ower to his a""earance, but his face

was of an ashen white, while his li"s and the corners of his nostrils were tinged with a shade of blue. It was

clear to me at a glance that he was in the gri" of some deadly and chronic disease.

)ray sit down on the sofa, said Holmes gently. /ou had my note#/es, the lodge-kee"er brought it u". /ou said that you wished to see me here to a!oid scandal.

I thought "eo"le would talk if I went to the Hall.

And why did you wish to see me# He looked across at my com"anion with des"air in his weary eyes, as

though his 6uestion was already answered.

/es, said Holmes, answering the look rather than the words. It is so. I know all about 0cCarthy.

3he old man sank his face in his hands. od hel" me= he cried. &ut I would not ha!e let the young man

come to harm. I gi!e you my word that I would ha!e s"oken out if it went against him at the Assi8es.

I am glad to hear you say so, said Holmes gra!ely.

I would ha!e s"oken now had it not been for my dear girl. It would break her heart7it will break her heart

when she hears that I am arrested.

It may not come to that, said Holmes.What#

I am no official agent. I understand that it was your daughter who re6uired my "resence here, and I am

acting in her interests. /oung 0cCarthy must be got off, howe!er.

I am a dying man, said old 3urner. I ha!e had diabetes for years. 0y doctor says it is a 6uestion whether

I shall li!e a month. /et I would rather die under my own roof than in a $ail.

Holmes rose and sat down at the table with his "en in his hand and a bundle of "a"er before him.

5ust tell us the truth, he said. I shall $ot down the facts. /ou will sign it, and Watson here can witness it.

3hen I could "roduce your confession at the last e1tremity to sa!e young 0cCarthy. I "romise you that I shall

not use it unless it is absolutely needed.

Its as well, said the old man< Its a 6uestion whether I shall li!e to the Assi8es, so it matters little to me,

but I should wish to s"are Alice the shock. And now I will make the thing clear to you< it has been a long timein the acting, but will not take me long to tell.

/ou didnt know this dead man, 0cCarthy. He was a de!il incarnate. I tell you that. od kee" you out of

the clutches of such a man as he. His gri" has been u"on me these twenty years, and he has blasted my life. Ill

tell you first how I came to be in his "ower.

It was in the early E>s at the diggings. I was a young cha" then, hot-blooded and reckless, ready to turn

my hand at anything< I got among bad com"anions, took to drink, had no luck with my claim, took to the bush,

and in a word became what you would call o!er here a highway robber. 3here were si1 of us, and we had a

wild, free life of it, sticking u" a station from time to time, or sto""ing the wagons on the road to the diggings.

&lack 5ack of &allarat was the name I went under, and our "arty is still remembered in the colony as the

&allarat ang.

ne day a gold con!oy came down from &allarat to 0elbourne, and we lay in wait for it and attacked it.

3here were si1 troo"ers and si1 of us, so it was a close thing, but we em"tied four of their saddles at the first

!olley. 3hree of our boys were killed, howe!er, before we got the swag. I "ut my "istol to the head of the

wagon-dri!er, who was this !ery man 0cCarthy. I wish to the (ord that I had shot him then, but I s"ared him,

though I saw his wicked little eyes fi1ed on my face, as though to remember e!ery feature. We got away with

the gold, became wealthy men, and made our way o!er to %ngland without being sus"ected. 3here I "arted

from my old "als and determined to settle down to a 6uiet and res"ectable life. I bought this estate, which

chanced to be in the market, and I set myself to do a little good with my money, to make u" for the way in

which I had earned it. I married, too, and though my wife died young she left me my dear little Alice. %!en

when she was $ust a baby her wee hand seemed to lead me down the right "ath as nothing else had e!er done. In

a word, I turned o!er a new leaf and did my best to make u" for the "ast. All was going well when 0cCarthylaid his gri" u"on me.

I had gone u" to town about an in!estment, and I met him in 2egent Street with hardly a coat to his back or

a boot to his foot. Here we are, 5ack, says he, touching me on the arm< well be as good as a family to you.

3heres two of us, me and my son, and you can ha!e the kee"ing of us. If you dont7its a fine, law-abiding


11/11

country is %ngland, and theres always a "oliceman within hail.

Well, down they came to the west country, there was no shaking them off, and there they ha!e li!ed rent

free on my best land e!er since. 3here was no rest for me, no "eace, no forgetfulness< turn where I would, there

was his cunning, grinning face at my elbow. It grew worse as Alice grew u", for he soon saw I was more afraid

of her knowing my "ast than of the "olice. Whate!er he wanted he must ha!e, and whate!er it was I ga!e him

without 6uestion, land, money, houses, until at last he asked a thing which I could not gi!e. He asked for Alice.

His son, you see, had grown u", and so had my girl, and as I was known to be in weak health, it seemed a

fine stroke to him that his lad should ste" into the whole "ro"erty. &ut there I was firm. I would not ha!e his

cursed stock mi1ed with mine< not that I had any dislike to the lad, but his blood was in him, and that wasenough. I stood firm. 0cCarthy threatened. I bra!ed him to do his worst. We were to meet at the "ool midway

between our houses to talk it o!er.

When we went down there I found him talking with his son, so smoked a cigar and waited behind a tree

until he should be alone. &ut as I listened to his talk all that was black and bitter in me seemed to come

u""ermost. He was urging his son to marry my daughter with as little regard for what she might think as if she

were a slut from off the streets. It dro!e me mad to think that I and all that I held most dear should be in the

"ower of such a man as this. Could I not sna" the bond# I was already a dying and a des"erate man. 3hough

clear of mind and fairly strong of limb, I knew that my own fate was sealed. &ut my memory and my girl= &oth

could be sa!ed if I could but silence that foul tongue. I did it, 0r. Holmes. I would do it again. Dee"ly as I ha!e

sinned, I ha!e led a life of martyrdom to atone for it. &ut that my girl should be entangled in the same meshes

which held me was more than I could suffer. I struck him down with no more com"unction than if he had beensome foul and !enomous beast. His cry brought back his son< but I had gained the co!er of the wood, though I

was forced to go back to fetch the cloak which I had dro""ed in my flight. 3hat is the true story, gentlemen, of

all that occurred.

Well, it is not for me to $udge you, said Holmes as the old man signed the statement which had been

drawn out. I "ray that we may ne!er be e1"osed to such a tem"tation.

I "ray not, sir. And what do you intend to do#

In !iew of your health, nothing. /ou are yourself aware that you will soon ha!e to answer for your deed at

a higher court than the Assi8es. I will kee" your confession, and if 0cCarthy is condemned I shall be forced to

use it. If not, it shall ne!er be seen by mortal eye< and your secret, whether you be ali!e or dead, shall be safe

with us.

:arewell, then, said the old man solemnly. /our own deathbeds, when they come, will be the easier forthe thought of the "eace which you ha!e gi!en to mine. 3ottering and shaking in all his giant frame, he

stumbled slowly from the room.

od hel" us= said Holmes after a long silence. Why does fate "lay such tricks with "oor, hel"less

worms# I ne!er hear of such a case as this that I do not think of &a1ters words, and say, 3here, but for the

grace of od, goes Sherlock Holmes.

5ames 0cCarthy was ac6uitted at the Assi8es on the strength of a number of ob$ections which had been

drawn out by Holmes and submitted to the defending counsel. ld 3urner li!ed for se!en months after our

inter!iew, but he is now dead< and there is e!ery "ros"ect that the son and daughter may come to li!e ha""ily

together in ignorance of the black cloud which rests u"on their "ast.

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Holmes Boscombe