haggard with anxiety.
"we have let this affair go far enough," said he. "is
there a train to north walsham to-night?"
i turned up the time-table. the last had just gone.
"then we shall breakfast early and take the very first in
the morning," said holmes. "our presence is most urgently
needed. ah! here is our expected cablegram. one moment,
mrs. hudson; there may be an answer. no, that is quite as
i expected. this message makes it even more essential that
we should not lose an hour in letting hilton cubitt know
how matters stand, for it is a singular and a dangerous web
in which our simple norfolk squire is entangled."
so, indeed, it proved, and as i come to the dark conclusion
of a story which had seemed to me to be only childish and
bizarre i experience once again the dismay and horror with
which i was filled. would that i had some brighter ending
to communicate to my readers, but these are the chronicles
of fact, and i must follow to their dark crisis the strange
chain of events which for some days made ridling thorpe
manor a household word through the length and breadth of
england.
we had hardly alighted at north walsham, and mentioned the
name of our destination, when the station-master hurried
towards us. "i suppose that you are the detectives from
london?" said he.
a look of annoyance passed over holmes's face.
"what makes you think such a thing?"
"because inspector martin from norwich has just passed
through. but maybe you are the surgeons. she's not dead --
or wasn't by last accounts. you may be in time to save
her yet -- though it be for the gallows."
holmes's brow was dark with anxiety.
"we are going to ridling thorpe manor," said he, "but we
have heard nothing of what has passed there."
"it's a terrible business," said the station-master. "they
are shot, both mr. hilton cubitt and his wife. she shot
him and then herself -- so the servants say. he's dead and
her life is despaired of. dear, dear, one of the oldest
families in the county of norfolk, and one of the most
honoured."
without a word holmes hurried to a carriage, and during the
long seven miles' drive he never opened his mouth. seldom
have i seen him so utterly despondent. he had been uneasy
during all our journey from town, and i had observed that
he had turned over the morning papers with anxious
attention; but now this sudden realization of his worst
fears left him in a blank melancholy. he leaned back in
his seat, lost in gloomy speculation. yet there was much
around us to interest us, for we were passing through as
singular a country-side as any in england, where a few
scattered cottages represented the population of to-day,
while on every hand enormous square-towered churches
bristled up from the flat, green landscape and told of the
glory and prosperity of old east anglia. at last the
violet rim of the german ocean appeared over the green edge
of the norfolk coast, and the driver pointed with his whip
to two old brick and timber gables which projected from a
grove of trees. "that's ridling thorpe manor," said he.
as we drove up to the porticoed front door i observed in
front of it, beside the tennis lawn, the black tool-house
and the pedestalled sun-dial with which we had such strange
associations. a dapper little man, with a quick, alert
manner and a waxed moustache, had just descended from a
high dog-cart. he introduced himself as inspector martin,
of the norfolk constabulary, and he was considerably
astonished when he heard the name of my companion.
"why, mr. holmes, the crime was only committed at three
this morning. how could you hear of it in london and get
to the spot as soon as i?"
"i anticipated it. i came in the hope of preventing it."
"then you must have important evidence of which we are
ignorant, for they were said to be a most united couple."
"i have only the evidence of the dancing men," said holmes.
"i will explain the matter to you later. meanwhile, since
it is too late to prevent this tragedy, i am very anxious
that i should use the knowledge which i possess in order to
ensure that justice be done. will you associate me in your
investigation, or will you prefer that i should act
independently?"
"i should be proud to feel that we were acting together,
mr. holmes," said the inspector, earnestly.
"in that case i should be glad to hear the evidence and to
examine the premises without an instant of unnecessary
delay."
inspector martin had the good sense to allow my friend to
do things in his own fashion, and contented himself with
carefully noting the results. the local surgeon, an old,
white-haired man, had just come down from mrs. hilton
cubitt's room, and he reported that her injuries were
serious, but not necessarily fatal. the bullet had passed
through the front of her brain, and it woul
本文链接:
http://m.picdg.com/38_38018/5748750.html