"I examined the ground carefully in the hope of finding it," said theInspector.
"It was torn out of the dead man's hand. Why was some one so anxious toget possession of it? Because it incriminated him. And what would he dowith it? Thrust it into his pocket, most likely, never noticing that acorner of it had been left in the grip of the corpse. If we could getthe rest of that sheet it is obvious that we should have gone a long waytowards solving the mystery."
"Yes, but how can we get at the criminal's pocket before we catch thecriminal?"
"Well, well, it was worth thinking over. Then there is another obviouspoint. The note was sent to William. The man who wrote it could not havetaken it; otherwise, of course, he might have delivered his own messageby word of mouth. Who brought the note, then? Or did it come through thepost?"
"I have made inquiries," said the Inspector. "William received a letterby the afternoon post yesterday. The envelope was destroyed by him."
"Excellent!" cried Holmes, clapping the Inspector on the back. "You'veseen the postman. It is a pleasure to work with you. Well, here is thelodge, and if you will come up, Colonel, I will show you the scene ofthe crime."
We passed the pretty cottage where the murdered man had lived, andwalked up an oak-lined avenue to the fine old Queen Anne house, whichbears the date of Malplaquet upon the lintel of the door. Holmes andthe Inspector led us round it until we came to the side gate, which isseparated by a stretch of garden from the hedge which lines the road. Aconstable was standing at the kitchen door.
"Throw the door open, officer," said Holmes. "Now, it was on thosestairs that young Mr. Cunningham stood and saw the two men strugglingjust where we are. Old Mr. Cunningham was at that window--the second onthe left--and he saw the fellow get away just to the left of that bush.Then Mr. Alec ran out and knelt beside the wounded man. The ground isvery hard, you see, and there are no marks to guide us." As he spoke twomen came down the garden path, from round the angle of the house. Theone was an elderly man, with a strong, deep-lined, heavy-eyed face; theother a dashing young fellow, whose bright, smiling expression and showydress were in strange contrast with the business which had brought usthere.
"Still at it, then?" said he to Holmes. "I thought yo
u Londoners werenever at fault. You don't seem to be so very quick, after all."
"Ah, you must give us a little time," said Holmes good-humoredly.
"You'll want it," said young Alec Cunningham. "Why, I don't see that wehave any clue at all."
"There's only one," answered the Inspector. "We thought that if we couldonly find--Good heavens, Mr. Holmes! What is the matter?"
My poor friend's face had suddenly assumed the most dreadful expression.His eyes rolled upwards, his features writhed in agony, and with asuppressed groan he dropped on his face upon the ground. Horrifiedat the suddenness and severity of the attack, we carried him into thekitchen, where he lay back in a large chair, and breathed heavily forsome minutes. Finally, with a shamefaced apology for his weakness, herose once more.
"Watson would tell you that I have only just recovered from a severeillness," he explained. "I am liable to these sudden nervous attacks."
"Shall I send you home in my trap?" asked old Cunningham.
"Well, since I am here, there is one point on which I should like tofeel sure. We can very easily verify it."
"What was it?"
"Well, it seems to me that it is just possible that the arrival ofthis poor fellow William was not before, but after, the entrance ofthe burglar into the house. You appear to take it for granted that,although the door was forced, the robber never got in."
"I fancy that is quite obvious," said Mr. Cunningham, gravely. "Why, myson Alec had not yet gone to bed, and he would certainly have heard anyone moving about."
"Where was he sitting?"
"I was smoking in my dressing-room."
"Which window is that?"
"The last on the left next my father's."
"Both of your lamps were lit, of course?"
"Undoubtedly."
"There are some very singular points here," said Holmes, smiling. "Isit not extraordinary that a burglar--and a burglar who had had someprevious experience--should deliberately break into a house at a timewhen he could see from the lights that two of the family were stillafoot?"
"He must have been a cool hand."
"Well, of course, if the case were not an odd one we should not havebeen driven to ask you for an explanation," said young Mr. Alec. "But asto your ideas that the man had robbed the house before William tackledhim, I think it a most absurd notion. Wouldn't we have found the placedisarranged, and missed the things which he had taken?"
"It depends on what the things were," said Holmes. "You must rememberthat we are dealing with a burglar who is a very peculiar fellow, andwho appears to work on lines of his own. Look, for example, at thequeer lot of things which he took from Acton's--what was it?--a ball ofstring, a letter-weight, and I don't know what other odds and ends."