Sherlock Holmes picked them up one by one, and laid them along the edgeof the table. Then he reseated himself in his chair and looked them overwith a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes.
"These," said he, "are all that I have left to remind me of theadventure of the Musgrave Ritual."
I had heard him mention the case more than once, though I had never beenable to gather the details. "I should be so glad," said I, "if you wouldgive me an account of it."
"And leave the litter as it is?" he cried, mischievously. "Your tidinesswon't bear much strain after all, Watson. But I should be glad that youshould add this case to your annals, for there are points in it whichmake it quite unique in the criminal records of this or, I believe,of any other country. A collection of my trifling achievements wouldcertainly be incomplete which contained no account of this very singularbusiness.
"You may remember how the affair of the _Gloria Scott_, and myconversation with the unhappy man whose fate I told you of, first turnedmy attention in the direction of the profession which has become mylife's work. You see me now when my name has become known far andwide, and when I am generally recognized both by the public and by theofficial force as being a final court of appeal in doubtful cases.Even when you knew me first, at the time of the affair which you havecommemorated in 'A Study in Scarlet,' I had already established aconsiderable, though not a very lucrative, connection. You can hardlyrealize, then, how difficult I found it at first, and how long I had towait before I succeeded in making any headway.
"When I first came up to London I had rooms in Montague Street, justround the corner from the British Museum, and there I waited, filling inmy too abundant leisure time by studying all those branches of sciencewhich might make me more efficient. Now and again cases came in my way,principally through the introduction of old fellow-students, for duringmy last years at the University there was a good deal of talk thereabout myself and my methods. The third of these cases was that of theMusgrave Ritual, and it is to the interest which was aroused by thatsingular chain of events, and the large issues which proved to be atstake, that I trace my first stride towards the position which I nowhold.
"Reginald Musgrave had been in the same college as myself, and I hadsome slight acquaintance with him. He was not generally popular amongthe undergraduates, though it always seemed to me that what was set downas pride was really an attempt to cover extreme natural diffidence.In appearance he was a man of exceedingly aristocratic type, thin,high-nosed, and large-eyed, with languid and yet courtly manners. He wasindeed a scion of one of the very oldest families in the kingdom,though his branch was a cadet one which had separated from the northernMusgraves some time in the sixteenth century, and had established itselfin western Sussex, where the Manor House of Hurlstone is perhaps theoldest inhabited building in the county. Something of his birth placeseemed to cling to the man, and I never looked at his pale, keen faceor the poise of his head without associating him with gray archways andmullioned windows and all the venerable wreckage of a feudal keep. Onceor twice we drifted into talk, and I can remember that more than once heexpressed a keen interest in my methods of observation and inference.
"For four years I had seen nothing of him until one morning he walkedinto my room in Montague Street. He had changed little, was dressed likea young man of fashion--he was always a bit of a dandy--and preservedthe same quiet, suave manner which had formerly distinguished him.
"'How has all gone with you Musgrave?' I asked, after we had cordiallyshaken hands.
"'You probably heard of my poor father's death,' said he; 'he wascarried off about two years ago. Since then I have of course had theHurlstone estates to manage, and as I am member for my district as well,my life has been a busy one. But I understand, Holmes, that you areturning to practical ends those powers with which you used to amaze us?'
"'Yes,' said I, 'I have taken to living by my wits.'
"'I
am delighted to hear it, for your advice at present would beexceedingly valuable to me. We have had some very strange doings atHurlstone, and the police have been able to throw no light upon thematter. It is really the most extraordinary and inexplicable business.'
"You can imagine with what eagerness I listened to him, Watson, forthe very chance for which I had been panting during all those monthsof inaction seemed to have come within my reach. In my inmost heart Ibelieved that I could succeed where others failed, and now I had theopportunity to test myself.
"'Pray, let me have the details,' I cried.
"Reginald Musgrave sat down opposite to me, and lit the cigarette whichI had pushed towards him.
"'You must know,' said he, 'that though I am a bachelor, I have to keepup a considerable staff of servants at Hurlstone, for it is a ramblingold place, and takes a good deal of looking after. I preserve, too, andin the pheasant months I usually have a house-party, so that it wouldnot do to be short-handed. Altogether there are eight maids, the cook,the butler, two footmen, and a boy. The garden and the stables of coursehave a separate staff.
"'Of these servants the one who had been longest in our service wasBrunton the butler. He was a young school-master out of place when hewas first taken up by my father, but he was a man of great energy andcharacter, and he soon became quite invaluable in the household. He wasa well-grown, handsome man, with a splendid forehead, and though he hasbeen with us for twenty years he cannot be more than forty now. Withhis personal advantages and his extraordinary gifts--for he can speakseveral languages and play nearly every musical instrument--it iswonderful that he should have been satisfied so long in such a position,but I suppose that he was comfortable, and lacked energy to make anychange. The butler of Hurlstone is always a thing that is remembered byall who visit us.
"'But this paragon has one fault. He is a bit of a Don Juan, and you canimagine that for a man like him it is not a very difficult part to playin a quiet country district. When he was married it was all right, butsince he has been a widower we have had no end of trouble with him. Afew months ago we were in hopes that he was about to settle down againfor he became engaged to Rachel Howells, our second house-maid; but hehas thrown her over since then and taken up with Janet Tregellis, thedaughter of the head game-keeper. Rachel--who is a very good girl, butof an excitable Welsh temperament--had a sharp touch of brain-fever,and goes about the house now--or did until yesterday--like a black-eyedshadow of her former self. That was our first drama at Hurlstone; but asecond one came to drive it from our minds, and it was prefaced by thedisgrace and dismissal of butler Brunton.
"'This was how it came about. I have said that the man was intelligent,and this very intelligence has caused his ruin, for it seems to haveled to an insatiable curiosity about things which did not in the leastconcern him. I had no idea of the lengths to which this would carry him,until the merest accident opened my eyes to it.
"'I have said that the house is a rambling one. One day last week--onThursday night, to be more exact--I found that I could not sleep,having foolishly taken a cup of strong cafe noir after my dinner. Afterstruggling against it until two in the morning, I felt that it was quitehopeless, so I rose and lit the candle with the intention of continuinga novel which I was reading. The book, however, had been left in thebilliard-room, so I pulled on my dressing-gown and started off to getit.
"'In order to reach the billiard-room I had to descend a flight ofstairs and then to cross the head of a passage which led to the libraryand the gun-room. You can imagine my surprise when, as I looked downthis corridor, I saw a glimmer of light coming from the open door of thelibrary. I had myself extinguished the lamp and closed the door beforecoming to bed. Naturally my first thought was of burglars. The corridorsat Hurlstone have their walls largely decorated with trophies of oldweapons. From one of these I picked a battle-axe, and then, leaving mycandle behind me, I crept on tiptoe down the passage and peeped in atthe open door.
"'Brunton, the butler, was in the library. He was sitting, fullydressed, in an easy-chair, with a slip of paper which looked like amap upon his knee, and his forehead sunk forward upon his hand in deepthought. I stood dumb with astonishment, watching him from the darkness.A small taper on the edge of the table shed a feeble light whichsufficed to show me that he was fully dressed. Suddenly, as I looked,he rose from his chair, and walking over to a bureau at the side, heunlocked it and drew out one of the drawers. From this he took a paper,and returning to his seat he flattened it out beside the taper on theedge of the table, and began to study it with minute attention. Myindignation at this calm examination of our family documents overcameme so far that I took a step forward, and Brunton, looking up, saw mestanding in the doorway. He sprang to his feet, his face turned lividwith fear, and he thrust into his breast the chart-like paper which hehad been originally studying.
"'"So!" said I. "This is how you repay the trust which we have reposedin you. You will leave my service to-morrow."
"'He bowed with the look of a man who is utterly crushed, and slunk pastme without a word. The taper was still on the table, and by its lightI glanced to see what the paper was which Brunton had taken from thebureau. To my surprise it was nothing of any importance at all,but simply a copy of the questions and answers in the singular oldobservance called the Musgrave Ritual. It is a sort of ceremony peculiarto our family, which each Musgrave for centuries past has gone throughon his coming of age--a thing of private interest, and perhaps of somelittle importance to the archaeologist, like our own blazonings andcharges, but of no practical use whatever.'
"'We had better come back to the paper afterwards,' said I.
"'If you think it really necessary,' he answered, with some hesitation.'To continue my statement, however: I relocked the bureau, using the keywhich Brunton had left, and I had turned to go when I was surprised tofind that the butler had returned, and was standing before me.
"'"Mr. Musgrave, sir," he cried, in a voice which was hoarse withemotion, "I can't bear disgrace, sir. I've always been proud above mystation in life, and disgrace would kill me. My blood will be on yourhead, sir--it will, indeed--if you drive me to despair. If you cannotkeep me after what has passed, then for God's sake let me give younotice and leave in a month, as if of my own free will. I could standthat, Mr. Musgrave, but not to be cast out before all the folk that Iknow so well."
"'"You don't deserve much consideration, Brunton," I answered. "Yourconduct has been most infamous. However, as you have been a long time inthe family, I have no wish to bring public disgrace upon you. A month,however is too long. Take yourself away in a week, and give what reasonyou like for going."
"'"Only a week, sir?" he cried, in a despairing voice. "A fortnight--sayat least a fortnight!"