The Valley of Fear (Sherlock Holmes 7)

"And it arrived very speedily?"

"Within a minute or so."

"And yet when they arrived they found that the candle was out and thatthe lamp had been lighted. That seems very remarkable."

Again Barker showed some signs of indecision. "I don't see that it wasremarkable, Mr. Holmes," he answered after a pause. "The candle threw avery bad light. My first thought was to get a better one. The lamp wason the table; so I lit it."

"And blew out the candle?"

"Exactly."

Holmes asked no further question, and Barker, with a deliberate lookfrom one to the other of us, which had, as it seemed to me, somethingof defiance in it, turned and left the room.

Inspector MacDonald had sent up a note to the effect that he would waitupon Mrs. Douglas in her room; but she had replied that she would meetus in the dining room. She entered now, a tall and beautiful woman ofthirty, reserved and self-possessed to a remarkable degree, verydifferent from the tragic and distracted figure I had pictured. It istrue that her face was pale and drawn, like that of one who has endureda great shock; but her manner was composed, and the finely moulded handwhich she rested upon the edge of the table was as steady as my own.Her sad, appealing eyes travelled from one to the other of us with acuriously inquisitive expression. That questioning gaze transformeditself suddenly into abrupt speech.

"Have you found anything out yet?" she asked.

Was it my imagination that there was an undertone of fear rather thanof hope in the question?

"We have taken every possible step, Mrs. Douglas," said the inspector."You may rest assured that nothing will be neglected."

"Spare no money," she said in a dead, even tone. "It is my desire thatevery possible effort should be made."

"Perhaps you can tell us something which may throw some light upon thematter."

"I fear not; but all I know is at your service."

"We have heard from Mr. Cecil Barker that you did not actuallysee--that you were never in the room where the tragedy occurred?"

"No, he turned me back upon the stairs. He begged me to return to myroom."

"Quite so. You had heard the shot, and you had at once come down."

"I put on my dressing gown and then came down."

"How long was it after hearing the shot that you were stopped on thestair by Mr. Barker?"

"It may have been a couple of minutes. It is so hard to reckon time atsuch a moment. He implored me not to go on. He assured me that I coulddo nothing. Then Mrs. Allen, the housekeeper, led me upstairs again. Itwas all like some dreadful dream."

"Can you give us any idea how long your husband had been downstairsbefore you heard the shot?"

"No, I cannot say. He went from his dressing room, and I did not hearhim go. He did the round of the house every night, for he was nervousof fire. It is the only thing that I have ever known him nervous of."

"That is just the point which I want to come to, Mrs. Douglas. You haveknown your husband only in England, have you not?"

"Yes, we have been married five years."

"Have you heard him speak of anything which occurred in America andmight bring some danger upon him?"

Mrs. Douglas thought earnestly before she answered. "Yes." she said atlast, "I have always felt that there was a danger hanging over him. Herefused to discuss it with me. It was not from want of confidence inme--there was the most complete love and confidence between us--but itwas out of his desire to keep all alarm away from me. He thought Ishould brood over it if I knew all, and so he was silent."

"How did you know it, then?"

Mrs. Douglas's face lit with a quick smil

e. "Can a husband ever carryabout a secret all his life and a woman who loves him have no suspicionof it? I knew it by his refusal to talk about some episodes in hisAmerican life. I knew it by certain precautions he took. I knew it bycertain words he let fall. I knew it by the way he looked at unexpectedstrangers. I was perfectly certain that he had some powerful enemies,that he believed they were on his track, and that he was always on hisguard against them. I was so sure of it that for years I have beenterrified if ever he came home later than was expected."

"Might I ask," asked Holmes, "what the words were which attracted yourattention?"