The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes 7)

"The candle shows that," said Holmes.

"Exactly. The candle, which was a new one, is not burned more than halfan inch. He must have placed it on the table before he was attacked;otherwise, of course, it would have fallen when he fell. This showsthat he was not attacked the instant that he entered the room. When Mr.Barker arrived the candle was lit and the lamp was out."

"That's all clear enough."

"Well, now, we can reconstruct things on those lines. Mr. Douglasenters the room. He puts down the candle. A man appears from behind thecurtain. He is armed with this gun. He demands the wedding ring--Heavenonly knows why, but so it must have been. Mr. Douglas gave it up. Theneither in cold blood or in the course of a struggle--Douglas may havegripped the hammer that was found upon the mat--he shot Douglas in thishorrible way. He dropped his gun and also it would seem this queercard--V. V. 341, whatever that may mean--and he made his escape throughthe window and across the moat at the very moment when Cecil Barker wasdiscovering the crime. How's that, Mr. Holmes?"

"Very interesting, but just a little unconvincing."

"Man, it would be absolute nonsense if it wasn't that anything else iseven worse!" cried MacDonald. "Somebody killed the man, and whoever itwas I could clearly prove to you that he should have done it some otherway. What does he mean by allowing his retreat to be cut off like that?What does he mean by using a shotgun when silence was his one chance ofescape? Come, Mr. Holmes, it's up to you to give us a lead, since yousay Mr. White Mason's theory is unconvincing."

Holmes had sat intently observant during this long discussion, missingno word that was said, with his keen eyes darting to right and to left,and his forehead wrinkled with speculation.

"I should like a few more facts before I get so far as a theory, Mr.Mac," said he, kneeling down beside the body. "Dear me! these injuriesare really appalling. Can we have the butler in for a moment? . . .Ames, I understand that you have often seen this very unusual mark--abranded triangle inside a circle--upon Mr. Douglas's forearm?"

"Frequently, sir."

"You never heard any speculation as to what it meant?"

"No, sir."

"It must have caused great pain when it was inflicted. It isundoubtedly a burn. Now, I observe, Ames, that there is a small pieceof plaster at the angle of Mr. Douglas's jaw. Did you observe that inlife?"

"Yes, sir, he cut himself in shaving yesterday morning."

"Did you ever know him to cut himself in shaving before?"

"Not for a very long time, sir."

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"Suggestive!" said Holmes. "It may, of course, be a mere coincidence,or it may point to some nervousness which would indicate that he hadreason to apprehend danger. Had you noticed anything unusual in hisconduct, yesterday, Ames?"

"It struck me that he was a little restless and excited, sir."

"Ha! The attack may not have been entirely unexpected. We do seem tomake a little progress, do we not? Perhaps you would rather do thequestioning, Mr. Mac?"

"No, Mr. Holmes, it's in better hands than mine."

"Well, then, we will pass to this card--V. V. 341. It is roughcardboard. Have you any of the sort in the house?"

"I don't think so."

Holmes walked across to the desk and dabbed a little ink from eachbottle on to the blotting paper. "It was not printed in this room," hesaid; "this is black ink and the other purplish. It was done by a thickpen, and these are fine. No, it was done elsewhere, I should say. Canyou make anything of the inscription, Ames?"

"No, sir, nothing."

"What do you think, Mr. Mac?"

"It gives me the impression of a secret society of some sort; the samewith his badge upon the forearm."

"That's my idea, too," said White Mason.

"Well, we can adopt it as a working hypothesis and then see how far ourdifficulties disappear. An agent from such a society makes his way intothe house, waits for Mr. Douglas, blows his head nearly off with thisweapon, and escapes by wading the moat, after leaving a card beside thedead man, which will when mentioned in the papers, tell other membersof the society that vengeance has been done. That all hangs together.But why this gun, of all weapons?"

"Exactly."

"And why the missing ring?"