1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:06,919 The Blue Sequin by R. Austin Freeman. Thorndyke stood looking up and down 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:11,519 the platform with anxiety that increased as the time drew near for the departure of 3 00:00:11,519 --> 00:00:16,640 the train. This is very unfortunate, he said, reluctantly, stepping into 4 00:00:16,679 --> 00:00:21,239 an empty smoking compartment as the guard executed a flourish with his green flag. 5 00:00:22,199 --> 00:00:26,079 I am afraid we have missed our friend. He closed the door, and 6 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,440 as the train began to move, thrust his head out of the window. 7 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,119 Now, I wonder if that will be he he continued. If so, 8 00:00:34,679 --> 00:00:37,880 he has caught the train by the skin of his teeth and is now in 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:44,880 one of the rear compartments. The subject of Thorndyke's speculation was mister Edward Stopford 10 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:50,560 of the firm of Stopford and Myers of Portugal Street Solicitors, and his connection 11 00:00:50,679 --> 00:00:54,640 with us at present arose out of a telegram that had reached our chambers on 12 00:00:54,679 --> 00:01:00,119 the preceding evening. It was a reply paid and ran, thus, when 13 00:01:00,119 --> 00:01:06,439 you come here tomorrow to direct defense important case, all costs undertaken by us 14 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:12,000 Stopford admirers. Thorndike's reply had been in the affirmative and early on this present 15 00:01:12,079 --> 00:01:18,560 morning, a further telegram, evidently posted overnight, had been delivered. Shall 16 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,439 leave for Woolhurst by eight twenty five from charing Cross. We'll call for you 17 00:01:23,519 --> 00:01:29,400 if possible, Edward Stopford. It had not called, however, and since 18 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,359 he was unknown personally to us both we could not judge whether or not he 19 00:01:33,359 --> 00:01:38,239 had been among the passengers on the platform. It is most unfortunate, Thorndyke 20 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,200 repeated, for it deprives us of that preliminary consideration of the case which is 21 00:01:42,239 --> 00:01:48,480 so invaluable. He filled his pipe thoughtfully, and, having made a fruitless 22 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,480 inspection of the platform at London Bridge, took up the paper that he had 23 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,040 bought at the bookstall, and began to turn over the leaves, running his 24 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,239 eye quickly down the columns, unmindful of the journalistic bates paragraph or article. 25 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:06,519 It is a great disadvantage, he observed, while still glancing through the paper, 26 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:10,960 to come plump into an inquiry without preparation, to be confronted with the 27 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,680 details before one has a chance of considering the case in general terms. For 28 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:22,280 instance, he paused, leaving the sentence unfinished, and as I looked up 29 00:02:22,319 --> 00:02:25,680 inquiringly, I saw that he had turned over another page and was now reading 30 00:02:25,719 --> 00:02:31,039 attentively. This looks like our case, Jervis, he said, presently handing 31 00:02:31,039 --> 00:02:36,280 me the paper and indicating a paragraph at the top of the page. It 32 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:40,560 was quite brief and was headed terrible murder in Kent, the account being as 33 00:02:40,599 --> 00:02:46,400 follows, A shocking crime was discovered yesterday morning at the little town of Wolhurst, 34 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:52,639 which lies on the Branch line from Howbury Junction. The discovery was made 35 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,599 by a porter who was inspecting the carriages of the train which had just come 36 00:02:55,639 --> 00:03:00,319 in. On opening the door of a first class compartment, he was horrified 37 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:06,560 to find the body of a fashionably dressed woman stretched upon the floor. Medical 38 00:03:06,599 --> 00:03:09,960 aid was immediately summoned, and on the arrival of the Divisional Surgeon, Doctor 39 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:14,680 Morton, it was ascertained that the woman had not been dead more than a 40 00:03:14,719 --> 00:03:17,960 few minutes. The state of the corpse leaves no doubt that a murder of 41 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:23,159 a most brutal kind has been perpetuated, the cause of death being a penetrating 42 00:03:23,199 --> 00:03:29,000 wound of the head inflicted with some pointed implement, which must have been used 43 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,240 with terrible violence, since it has perforated the skull and entered the brain. 44 00:03:34,319 --> 00:03:38,159 That robbery was not the motive of the crime is made clear by the fact 45 00:03:38,439 --> 00:03:43,000 that an expensively fitting dressing bag was found on the rack, and that the 46 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,759 dead woman's jewelry, including several valuable diamond rings, was untouched. It is 47 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:53,080 rumored that an arrest has been made by the local police. A gruesome affair, 48 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:58,120 I remarked as I handed back the paper. But the report does not 49 00:03:58,199 --> 00:04:02,159 give us much information. It does not. Thorndyke agreed, and yet it 50 00:04:02,159 --> 00:04:08,759 gives us something to consider. Here is a perforating wound of the skull inflicted 51 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,800 with some pointed implement. That is, assuming that it is not a bullet 52 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,480 wound. Now what kind of implement would be capable of inflicting such an injury? 53 00:04:17,199 --> 00:04:21,079 How would such an implement be used in the confined space of a railway 54 00:04:21,079 --> 00:04:25,959 carriage, and what sort of person would be in possession of such an implement. 55 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,399 These are preliminary questions that are worth considering, and I commend them to 56 00:04:30,439 --> 00:04:35,000 you, Together with the further problems of the possible motive, excluding robbery and 57 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:41,720 any circumstances other than murder which might account for the injury, The choice of 58 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:46,079 suitable implements is not very great, I observed, it is very limited, 59 00:04:46,319 --> 00:04:49,680 and most of them, such as a plasterer's pick or a geological hammer, 60 00:04:49,959 --> 00:04:56,439 are associated with certain definite occupations. You have a note book, I had, 61 00:04:56,759 --> 00:05:00,120 and, accepting the hint, I produced it and pursued my further the 62 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,560 reflections in silence, while my companion, with his note book also on his 63 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:09,600 knee, gazed steadily out of the window, And thus he remained wrapped in 64 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,680 thought, jotting down an entry now and again in his book until the train 65 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:16,519 slowed down at Halbury Junction, where we had to change on to a branch 66 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:23,240 line. As we stepped out, I noticed a well dressed man hurrying up 67 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:27,839 the platform from the rear and eagerly scanning the faces of the few passengers who 68 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,199 had alighted. Soon he espied us, and, approaching, quickly asked as 69 00:05:32,199 --> 00:05:38,399 he looked from one of us to the other. Doctor Thorndyke Yes, replied 70 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:42,519 my colleague, adding, and you, I presume are mister Edward Stopford. 71 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:47,279 The solicitor bowed. This is a dreadful affair, he said in an agitated 72 00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:53,040 manner. I see you have the paper. A most shocking affair, I 73 00:05:53,079 --> 00:05:57,079 am immensely relieved to find you here. Nearly missed the train and feared I 74 00:05:57,079 --> 00:06:00,240 should miss you. There appears to have been an arrest. Thorndyke began, 75 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:06,000 Yes, my brother, terrible business. Let us walk up the platform. 76 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:12,000 Our train won't start for a quarter of an hour. Yet we deposited our 77 00:06:12,079 --> 00:06:16,639 joint Gladstone and Thorndyke's traveling case in an empty first class compartment, and then, 78 00:06:17,079 --> 00:06:21,160 with a solicitor between us, strolled up to the unfrequented end of the 79 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:28,240 platform. My brother's position, said, mister Stopford fills me with dismay. 80 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,319 But let me give you the facts an order, and you shall judge for 81 00:06:30,399 --> 00:06:35,959 yourself. This poor creature who has been murdered so brutally was a miss Edith 82 00:06:36,079 --> 00:06:41,800 Grant. She was formerly an artist's model, and as such was a good 83 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:46,000 deal employed by my brother, who is a painter. Harold Stopford. You 84 00:06:46,079 --> 00:06:50,360 know Ara now, I know his work very well, and charming work it 85 00:06:50,439 --> 00:06:56,040 is, I think so too well. In those days he was quite a 86 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,800 youngster, about twenty, and he became very intimately Miss Grant in quite an 87 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:03,839 innocent way, though not very discreet. But she was a nice, respectable 88 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:08,800 girl, as most English models are, and no one thought any harm. 89 00:07:09,079 --> 00:07:12,920 However, a good many letters passed between them, and some little presence, 90 00:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,480 amongst which was a beaded chain carrying a locket, and in this he was 91 00:07:16,519 --> 00:07:23,240 fool enough to put his portrait and the inscription Edith from Harold. Later on, 92 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,759 Miss Grant, who had a rather good voice, went on the stage 93 00:07:26,839 --> 00:07:31,319 in the comic opera line, and in consequence her habits and associates changed somewhat. 94 00:07:31,839 --> 00:07:36,040 And as Harold had meanwhile become engaged, he was naturally anxious to get 95 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:42,319 his letters back, and especially to exchange the locket for some less compromising gift. 96 00:07:43,319 --> 00:07:46,639 The letters she eventually sent him, but refused absolutely to part with the 97 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:50,759 locket. Now. For the last month Harold has been staying at Hawbury, 98 00:07:51,279 --> 00:07:57,319 making sketching excursions into the surrounding country, and yesterday morning he took the train 99 00:07:57,399 --> 00:08:03,480 to Shinglehurst, the third station from here and the one before Wolhurst. On 100 00:08:03,519 --> 00:08:07,240 the platform here he met Miss Grant, who had come down from London and 101 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:11,600 was going on to Worthy. They entered the branch train together, having a 102 00:08:11,639 --> 00:08:15,720 first class compartment to themselves. It seems she was wearing his locket at the 103 00:08:15,759 --> 00:08:18,600 time, and he made another appeal to her to make an exchange, which 104 00:08:18,639 --> 00:08:24,399 she refused. As before, the discussion appears to have become rather heated and 105 00:08:24,519 --> 00:08:28,399 angry on both sides. For the guard and a porter at Munsden both noticed 106 00:08:28,439 --> 00:08:31,960 that they seemed to be quarreling. But the upshot of the affair was that 107 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,799 the lady snapped the chain and tossed it together with the locket, to my 108 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:41,399 brother, and they parted quite amiably. At Shinglehurst where Harold got out. 109 00:08:41,279 --> 00:08:46,799 He was then carrying his full sketching kit, including a large Holland umbrella, 110 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:50,120 the lower joint of which is an ash staff fitted with a powerful steel spike 111 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:56,200 for driving into the ground. It was at about half past ten when he 112 00:08:56,279 --> 00:09:00,720 got out at Shinglehurst. By eleven he had reached his pit and got to 113 00:09:00,759 --> 00:09:03,879 work, and he painted steadily for three hours. Then he packed up his 114 00:09:03,919 --> 00:09:07,399 traps and was just starting on his way back to the station when he was 115 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:15,440 met by the police and arrested, and now observed the accumulation of circumstantial evidence 116 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,639 against him. He was the last person seen in company with the murdered woman, 117 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,759 for no one seems to have seen her after they left Munsden. He 118 00:09:22,799 --> 00:09:26,440 appeared to be quarreling with her when she was last seen alive, and he 119 00:09:26,519 --> 00:09:31,519 had a reason for possibly wishing for her death. He was provided with an 120 00:09:31,519 --> 00:09:35,360 implement, a spiked staff capable of inflicting the injury which caused her death, 121 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,679 and when he was searched there was found in his possession the locket and broken 122 00:09:39,759 --> 00:09:46,120 chain, apparently removed from her person with violence. Against all of this is 123 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:50,600 of course his known character. He is the gentlest and most amiable of men, 124 00:09:50,159 --> 00:09:54,360 and his subsequent conduct imbecile to the last degree if he had been guilty. 125 00:09:54,759 --> 00:09:58,240 But as a lawyer, I can't help seeing that the appearances are almost 126 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:03,080 hopelessly again against him. We won't say hopelessly, replied Thorndyke, as we 127 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:07,960 took our places in the carriage, though I expect the police are pretty cock 128 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:13,120 sure. When does the inquest open to day at four? I haven't obtained 129 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,720 an order from the corner for you to examine the body and be present at 130 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:22,240 the post mortem? Do you happen to know the exact position of the wound? 131 00:10:22,919 --> 00:10:26,600 Yes, it is a little above and behind the left ear, a 132 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,919 horrible round hole with a ragged cut or tear running from it to the side 133 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:35,200 of the forehead. And how is the body lying right along the floor with 134 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,600 the feet close to the off side door. Was the wound on the head 135 00:10:39,639 --> 00:10:45,120 the only one? No, There was a long cut or bruise on the 136 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,360 right cheek, a contused wound, the police surgeon called it, which he 137 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:52,799 believes to have been inflicted with a heavy and rather blunt weapon. I have 138 00:10:52,879 --> 00:10:58,039 not heard of any other wounds or bruises. Did anyone enter the train yesterday 139 00:10:58,039 --> 00:11:03,960 at Shinglehurst, Thorndyke asked. No one entered the train after it had left 140 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:09,480 Halbury. Thorndyke considered these statements in silence, and presently fell into a brown 141 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:13,559 study, from which he roused only as the train moved out of the Shinglehurst 142 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:18,240 station. It would be about here that the murder was committed, said mister 143 00:11:18,279 --> 00:11:26,320 Stopford, at least between here and Wolhurst. Thorndyke nodded rather abstractedly, being 144 00:11:26,399 --> 00:11:30,639 engaged at the moment in observing with great attention the objects that were visible from 145 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:35,360 the windows. I notice, he said, presently, a number of chips 146 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,279 scattered about between the rails, and some of the chair wedges looked new. 147 00:11:39,159 --> 00:11:43,480 Have there been any plate layers at work lately? Yes, answered Stopford. 148 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:48,000 They are on the line now, I believe at least. I saw a 149 00:11:48,039 --> 00:11:52,879 game working near Woldhurst yesterday, and they are said to have set a rick 150 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,440 on fire. I saw it smoking when I came down. Indeed, and 151 00:11:56,519 --> 00:12:01,200 this middle line of rails is I suppose a sort of sighting. Yes. 152 00:12:01,639 --> 00:12:05,559 They shunt the goods train and empty trucks onto it. There are the remains 153 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:11,879 of the wreck still smoldering, you see. Thorndyke gazed absently at the blackened 154 00:12:11,919 --> 00:12:15,639 heap until an empty cattle truck in the middle track hid it from view. 155 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,720 This was succeeded by a line of goods wagons, and these by a passenger 156 00:12:20,799 --> 00:12:26,519 coach, one compartment of which first class was closed up and sealed. The 157 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,600 train now began to slow down rather suddenly, and a couple of minutes later 158 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,399 we brought up in Woldhurst station. It was evident that rumors of Thorndyke's advent 159 00:12:35,519 --> 00:12:41,159 had preceded us. For the entire staff. Two porters, an inspector and 160 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:46,440 the station master were waiting expectantly on the platform, and the latter came forward, 161 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,919 regardless of his dignity, to help us with the luggage. Do you 162 00:12:50,919 --> 00:12:54,919 think I could see the carriage, Thorndyke asked the solicitor. Not the inside, 163 00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:58,679 sir, said the station master, on being appealed to the police of 164 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:03,720 fielded up. You would have to ask the inspector. Well, I can 165 00:13:03,759 --> 00:13:07,000 look at the outside, I suppose, said Thorndyke, And to this the 166 00:13:07,039 --> 00:13:13,480 station master readily agreed and offered to accompany us. What are their first class 167 00:13:13,519 --> 00:13:18,159 passengers? Were there? Thorndyke asked, none, sir, There was only 168 00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,679 one first class coach and the deceased was the only person in it. It 169 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,080 has given us all a dreadful turn, this affair has, he continued, 170 00:13:26,519 --> 00:13:30,000 as we set off up the line. I was on the platform when the 171 00:13:30,039 --> 00:13:33,759 train came in. We were watching a rick that was burning up the line 172 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,320 and a rare blaze it made too and I was just saying that we should 173 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,720 have to move the cattle truck that was on the mid track, because you 174 00:13:41,799 --> 00:13:45,559 see, sir, the smoke and sparks were blowing across and I thought it 175 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:48,879 would frighten the poor beasts. And mister Felton, he don't like his beasts 176 00:13:48,879 --> 00:13:54,279 handled roughly. He says it spoils the meat. No doubt he is right, 177 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:58,080 said Thorndyke. But now tell me do you think it is possible for 178 00:13:58,159 --> 00:14:01,919 any person to board or leave the train on the off side unobserved? Could 179 00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:05,440 a man, for instance, enter a compartment on the off side at one 180 00:14:05,519 --> 00:14:09,559 station and drop off as the train was slowing down at the next without being 181 00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:16,159 seen? I doubt it, replied the station master. Still I wouldn't say 182 00:14:16,159 --> 00:14:20,919 it is impossible, thank you. Oh, and there's another question. You 183 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:24,000 have a gang of men at work on the line, I see now. 184 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:28,279 Do those men belong to the district? No, sir, they are strangers 185 00:14:28,279 --> 00:14:31,080 everyone, and pretty rough diamonds, some of them are. But I shouldn't 186 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:35,440 say there was any real harm in them. If you are suspecting any of 187 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,960 them being mixed up in this, I am not, interrupted Thorndyke rather shortly. 188 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:43,679 I suspect nobody, but I wish to get all the facts of the 189 00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:48,720 case at the outset. Naturally, sir, replied the abashed official. And 190 00:14:48,759 --> 00:14:52,799 we pursued our way in silence. Do you remember, by the way, 191 00:14:52,919 --> 00:14:56,639 said Thorndyke, as we approached the empty coach whether the off side door of 192 00:14:56,679 --> 00:15:01,519 the compartment was closed and locked when the body was discovered, It was closed, 193 00:15:01,519 --> 00:15:05,279 sir, but not locked. Why, sir, did you think nothing? 194 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:11,000 Nothing? The sealed compartment is the one, of course. Without waiting 195 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:15,279 for a reply, he commenced his survey of the coach, while I gently 196 00:15:15,279 --> 00:15:18,039 restrained our two companions from shadowing him, as they were disposed to do. 197 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,519 The off side footboard occupied his attention specially, and when he had scrutinized minutely 198 00:15:24,559 --> 00:15:28,799 the part opposite the fatal compartment, he walked slowly from end to end, 199 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,440 with his eyes but a few inches from its surface, as though he was 200 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,360 searching for something Near what had been the rear end. He stopped and drew 201 00:15:37,399 --> 00:15:41,399 from his pocket a piece of paper. Then, with a moistened fingertip, 202 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:46,720 he picked up from the footboard some evidently minute object, which he carefully transferred 203 00:15:46,759 --> 00:15:50,480 to the paper, folding the ladder and placing it in his pocket book. 204 00:15:52,679 --> 00:15:56,200 He next mounted the footboard, and, having peered in through the window of 205 00:15:56,200 --> 00:16:00,840 the sealed compartment, produced from his pocket a small in suff later or powder 206 00:16:00,879 --> 00:16:06,879 blower, with which he blew a stream of impalpable smoke like powder onto the 207 00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:11,159 edges of the middle window, bestowing the closest attention on the irregular dusty patches 208 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:15,799 in which it settled, and even measuring one on the jam of the window 209 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,759 with a pocket rule. At length, he stepped down, and, having 210 00:16:18,799 --> 00:16:22,919 carefully looked over the near side footboard, announced that he had finished for the 211 00:16:22,919 --> 00:16:27,960 present. As we were returning down the line, we passed a working man 212 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:33,559 who seemed to be viewing the chairs and sleepers with more than casual interest. 213 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:37,000 That I suppose is one of the plate layers, Thorndike suggested to the station 214 00:16:37,159 --> 00:16:42,080 master. Yes, the foreman of the gang. Was the reply, I'll 215 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,600 just step back and have a word with him, if you will walk on 216 00:16:45,679 --> 00:16:49,440 slowly, and my companion turned back briskly and overtook the man, with whom 217 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:55,639 he remained in conversation for some minutes. I think I see the police inspector 218 00:16:55,679 --> 00:17:00,480 on the platform, remarked Thorndyke as we approached the station. Yes, there 219 00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:03,399 he is, said our guide. Come down to see what you are after, 220 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:07,559 sir, I expect, which was doubtless the case, although the officer 221 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:11,559 professed to be there by the merest chance, you would like to see the 222 00:17:11,559 --> 00:17:15,119 weapon, sir, I suppose, he remarked, when he had introduced himself 223 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,839 the umbrella spike. Thorndyke corrected, yes, if I may. We are 224 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:22,599 going to the mortuary now, then you'll pass the station on the way, 225 00:17:22,759 --> 00:17:26,480 so if you care to look in, I will walk up with you. 226 00:17:26,759 --> 00:17:32,480 This proposition being agreed to, we all proceeded to the police station, including 227 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:37,319 the station master, who is on the very tiptoe of curiosity. There you 228 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:41,279 are, sir, said the inspector, unlocking his office and ushering us in. 229 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:45,240 Don't say we haven't given every facility to the defense. There are all 230 00:17:45,279 --> 00:17:49,160 the effects of the accused, including the very weapon the deed was done with. 231 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:55,839 Come, come, protested Thorndyke. We mustn't be premature. He took 232 00:17:55,880 --> 00:18:00,279 the stout ash staff from the officer, and, having examined the formidable spike 233 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,680 through a lens, drew from his pocket a steel caliper gage, with which 234 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:07,519 he carefully measured the diameter of the spike and the staff to which it was 235 00:18:07,559 --> 00:18:11,440 fixed. And now, he said, when he had made a note of 236 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,680 the measurements in his book, we will look at the color box and the 237 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,880 sketch. Hah, a very orderly man, your brother, mister Stopford, 238 00:18:19,759 --> 00:18:25,200 tubes in all their places. Pallet knives wiped clean, pallet cleaned off and 239 00:18:25,279 --> 00:18:29,480 rubbed. Bright brushes wiped. They ought to be washed before they stiffened. 240 00:18:30,039 --> 00:18:34,000 All this is very significant. He unstrapped the sketch from the blank canvas to 241 00:18:34,039 --> 00:18:37,960 which it was pinned, and, standing on a chair in a good light, 242 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:41,119 stepped back to look at it. And you tell me that is only 243 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:45,039 three hours work, he exclaimed, looking at the lawyer. It is really 244 00:18:45,079 --> 00:18:51,920 a marvelous achievement. My brother is a very rapid worker, replied Stopford dejectedly. 245 00:18:52,839 --> 00:18:56,559 Yes, but this is not only amazingly rapid, it is in his 246 00:18:56,759 --> 00:19:00,200 very happiest vein, full of spirit and feeling. But we mustn't stay to 247 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:04,559 look at it longer. He replaced the canvas on its pins, and, 248 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:08,240 having glanced at the locket and some other articles that lay in a drawer, 249 00:19:08,799 --> 00:19:14,359 thanked the inspector for his courtesy, and withdrew. That sketch and the color 250 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:18,160 box appear very suggestive to me, he remarked. As we walked up the 251 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:22,720 street to me, also said Stopford gloomily, for they are under lock and 252 00:19:22,799 --> 00:19:26,240 key like their owner, poor old fellow. He sighed heavily, and we 253 00:19:26,279 --> 00:19:32,400 walked on in silence. The mortuary keeper had evidently heard of our arrival, 254 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:34,799 for he was waiting at the door with the key in his hand, and, 255 00:19:34,839 --> 00:19:38,839 on being shown the coroner's order, unlocked the door and we entered together. 256 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:44,880 But after a momentary glance at the ghostly shrouded figure lying upon the slate 257 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,480 table, Stopford turned pale and retreated, saying that he would wait for us 258 00:19:48,519 --> 00:19:53,680 outside with the mortuary keeper. As soon as the door was closed and locked. 259 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:59,640 On the inside, Thorndyke glanced curiously round the bare, whitewashed building. 260 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:04,039 A stream of sunlight poured in through the skylight and fell upon the silent form 261 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:10,279 that lay so still under its covering sheet, and one stray beam glanced into 262 00:20:10,279 --> 00:20:12,480 a corner by the door, where on the row of pegs and a deal 263 00:20:12,599 --> 00:20:18,720 table, the dead woman's clothing was displayed. There is something unspeakily sad in 264 00:20:18,759 --> 00:20:22,680 these poor relics, Jervis, said Thorndyke, as we stood before them. 265 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,799 To me, they are more tragic, more full of pathetic suggestion than the 266 00:20:27,839 --> 00:20:33,279 corpse itself. See the smart jaunty hat, and the costly skirts hanging there 267 00:20:33,319 --> 00:20:38,960 so desolate and forlorn, the dainty lingerie on the table, neatly folded by 268 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:45,000 the mortuary man's wife. I hope the little French shoes and open worked silk 269 00:20:45,079 --> 00:20:49,079 stockings, how pathetically eloquent they are, of harmless womanly vanity, and the 270 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,279 gay, careless life snapped short at the twinkling of an eye. But we 271 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:57,240 must not give way to sentiment. There is another life threatened, and it 272 00:20:57,279 --> 00:21:02,880 is in our keeping. He lifted the hat from its peg and turned it 273 00:21:02,920 --> 00:21:06,519 over in his hand. It was, I think, what is called a 274 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:11,119 picture hat, a huge, flat, shapeless mass of gauze and ribbon and 275 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:15,079 feather, spangled over freely with dark blue sequins. In one part of the 276 00:21:15,079 --> 00:21:19,079 brim was a ragged hole, and from this the glittering sequence dropped off in 277 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:23,680 little showers. When the hat was moved. This will have been worn tilted 278 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,440 over on the left side, said Thorndyke, judging by the general shape and 279 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:32,319 the position of the hole. Yes, I agreed, like that of the 280 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:37,880 Duchess of Devonshire in Gainsborough's portrait exactly. He shook a few of the sequins 281 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,200 into the palm of his hand, and replacing the hat on its peg, 282 00:21:41,559 --> 00:21:45,920 dropped the little disks into an envelope on which he wrote from the hat and 283 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:51,599 slipped it into his pocket. Then, stepping over to the table, he 284 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:56,359 drew back the sheet reverently and even tenderly from the dead woman's face, and 285 00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:00,880 looked down at it with grave pity. It was a comely face, white 286 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:06,119 as marble, serene and peaceful in expression, with half closed eyes, and 287 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,440 framed with a mass of brassy yellow hair. But its beauty was marred by 288 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,880 a long, linear wound, half cut, half bruise, running down the 289 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,119 right cheek from the eye to the chin. A handsome girl, Thorndyke commented, 290 00:22:19,559 --> 00:22:23,440 a dark haired blonde, What a sin to have disfigured herself so with 291 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:29,519 that horrible peroxide. He smoothed the hair back from her forehead, and added, 292 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:33,039 she seems to have applied the stuff last about ten days ago. There 293 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:37,319 is about a quarter of an inch of dark hair at the roots. What 294 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,480 do you make of that wound on the cheek. It looks as if she 295 00:22:41,519 --> 00:22:45,559 had struck some sharp angle in falling, though as the seats are padded in 296 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,359 first class carriages. I don't see what she could have struck. No, 297 00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,200 and now let us look at the other wound. Will you note down the 298 00:22:53,279 --> 00:22:57,960 description? He handed me his notebook, and I wrote down as he dictated. 299 00:22:59,519 --> 00:23:03,480 A clean punched circular hole and skull an inch behind and above margin of 300 00:23:03,559 --> 00:23:11,079 left ear diameter an inch in seven sixteenth starred fracture of parietal bone, membranes 301 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:18,440 perforated and brain entered. Deeply ragged scalp wound extending forward to margin of left 302 00:23:18,519 --> 00:23:22,160 orbit. Fragments of gauze and sequins and edges of wound. That will do 303 00:23:22,279 --> 00:23:26,200 for the present. Doctor Morton will give us further details if we want them. 304 00:23:27,519 --> 00:23:32,799 He pocketed his calipers and rule drew from the bruised scalp one or two 305 00:23:32,839 --> 00:23:36,599 loose hairs, which he placed in the envelope with a sequence, and, 306 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,200 having looked over the body for other wounds or bruises, of which there were 307 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:45,119 none, replaced a sheet and prepared to depart. As we walked away from 308 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:51,000 the mortuary, Thorndyke was silent and deeply thoughtful, and I gathered that he 309 00:23:51,079 --> 00:23:55,759 was piecing together the facts that he had acquired at length. Mister Stopford, 310 00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:00,079 who had several times looked at him curiously, said, the post morte Wali 311 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,200 take place at three, and it is now only half past eleven. What 312 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:07,920 would you like to do next? Thorndike, who in spite of his mental 313 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:12,680 preoccupation, had been looking about him in his usual keen attentive way, halted. 314 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:18,480 Suddenly, your reference to the post mortem, said, he reminds me 315 00:24:18,559 --> 00:24:22,200 that I forgot to put the ox gall into my case. Ox Gall, 316 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:29,160 I exclaimed, endeavoring vainly to connect this substance with the technique of the pathologist. 317 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:33,400 What were you going to do with but here? I broke off, 318 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:38,640 remembering my friend's dislike of any discussion of his methods before strangers. I suppose, 319 00:24:38,720 --> 00:24:42,240 he continued. There would hardly be an artist's colorman in a place of 320 00:24:42,279 --> 00:24:47,799 this size, I should think not, said Stopford. But couldn't you get 321 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,200 the stuff from a butcher? There's a shop just across the road, so 322 00:24:52,319 --> 00:24:56,720 there is agreed Thorndyke, who had already observed the shop. The gall ought, 323 00:24:56,799 --> 00:25:00,319 of course to be prepared, but we can filter it ourselves. That 324 00:25:00,519 --> 00:25:03,680 is, if the butcher has any we will try him at any rate. 325 00:25:03,799 --> 00:25:07,680 He crossed the road towards the shop, over which the name Felton appeared in 326 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,799 gilt lettering, and addressing himself to the proprietor who stood at the door, 327 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:18,960 introduced himself and explained his wants. Ox Gall said the butcher, No, 328 00:25:18,079 --> 00:25:22,519 sir, I haven't any just now, but I am having a beast killed 329 00:25:22,519 --> 00:25:26,440 this afternoon, and I can let you have some then. In fact, 330 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:30,279 he added, after a pause, as the matter is of importance, I 331 00:25:30,319 --> 00:25:33,160 can have one killed at once if you wish it. That is very kind 332 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,759 of you, said Thorndyke, and it would greatly oblige me. Is the 333 00:25:37,799 --> 00:25:41,640 beast perfectly healthy. They're in splendid condition, Sir. I picked them out 334 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:45,559 of the herd myself. But you shall see them hi, and choose the 335 00:25:45,559 --> 00:25:51,000 one you'd like killed. You are really very good, said Thorndyke warmly. 336 00:25:51,519 --> 00:25:55,119 I will just run into the chemists next door and get a suitable bottle, 337 00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:59,920 and then I will avail myself of your exceedingly kind offer. He hurried in 338 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,559 the chemist shop, from which he presently emerged carrying a white paper parcel, 339 00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:07,200 and we then followed the butcher down a narrow lane by the side of his 340 00:26:07,279 --> 00:26:12,039 shop. It led to an enclosure containing a small pin, in which we 341 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:18,119 can find three handsome steers, whose glossy black coats contrasted in a very striking 342 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:23,920 manner with their long, grayish white, nearly straight horns. These are certainly 343 00:26:25,039 --> 00:26:27,880 very fine beasts, mister Felton, said Thorndyke, as we drew up beside 344 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:33,880 the pin, and in excellent condition too. He leaned over the pin and 345 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:37,799 examined the beasts critically, especially as to their eyes and horns. Then, 346 00:26:37,839 --> 00:26:42,559 approaching the nearest one, he raised his stick and bestowed a smart tap on 347 00:26:42,599 --> 00:26:47,519 the underside of the right horn, followed by a similar tap on the left 348 00:26:47,519 --> 00:26:52,880 one, a proceeding that the beasts viewed with stolid surprise. The state of 349 00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,279 the horns, explained Thorndyke, as he moved on to the next steer, 350 00:26:56,039 --> 00:27:02,640 enables one to judge to some extent of the bee health. Lord bless you, 351 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:06,839 sir, laughed mister Felton. They haven't got no feeling in their horns. 352 00:27:07,079 --> 00:27:10,839 Else, what good of their horns be to'em? Apparently he was 353 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:14,920 right, for the second steer was as indifferent to a sounding rap on either 354 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:19,720 horn as the first. Nevertheless, when Thorndyke approached the third steer, I 355 00:27:19,799 --> 00:27:25,759 unconsciously drew nearer to watch, and I noticed that as the stick struck the 356 00:27:25,799 --> 00:27:29,599 horn, the beast drew back an evident alarm, and that when the blow 357 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:34,079 was repeated it became manifestly uneasy. He doesn't seem to like that, said 358 00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:41,599 the butcher. Seems as if hello, that's queer. Thorndyke had just brought 359 00:27:41,599 --> 00:27:45,680 his stick up against the left horn, and immediately the beast had winced and 360 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,920 started back, shaking his head and moaning. There was not, however, 361 00:27:49,279 --> 00:27:52,559 room for him to back out of reach, and Thorndyke, by leaning into 362 00:27:52,599 --> 00:27:56,880 the pin, was able to inspect the sensitive horn, which he did with 363 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:03,319 the closest attention, while the butcher looked on with obvious perturbation. You don't 364 00:28:03,319 --> 00:28:04,880 think there is anything wrong with this beast, I hope, said he. 365 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,559 I can't say without a further examination, replied Thorndyke. It may be the 366 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,359 horn only that is affected. If you will have it sawn off close to 367 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,799 the head and sent up to me at the hotel, I will look at 368 00:28:18,839 --> 00:28:22,799 it and tell you, and by way of preventing any mistakes, I will 369 00:28:22,839 --> 00:28:26,079 mark it and cover it up to protect it from injury. In the slaughter 370 00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:30,759 house, he opened his parcel and produced from it a wide mouthed bottle labeled 371 00:28:30,839 --> 00:28:36,079 ox gull, a sheet of gut of perch, a tissue, a roller 372 00:28:36,119 --> 00:28:40,799 bandage, and a stick of ceiling wax. Handing the bottle to mister Felton, 373 00:28:41,319 --> 00:28:45,000 he encased a distal half of the horn in a covering by means of 374 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:48,599 the tissue in the bandage, which he fixed together with the ceialing wax. 375 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:52,960 I'll saw the horn off and bring it up to the hotel myself with the 376 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,559 ox gull, said mister Felton. You shall have them in half an hour. 377 00:28:57,039 --> 00:29:00,200 He was as good as his word For an half an hour. Thorndyke 378 00:29:00,319 --> 00:29:04,079 was seated at a small table by the window of our private sitting room in 379 00:29:04,119 --> 00:29:10,200 the Black Bull Hotel. The table was covered with newspaper, and on it 380 00:29:10,279 --> 00:29:15,839 lay the long gray horn and Thorndyke's traveling case, now open and displaying a 381 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:21,200 small microscope and its accessories. The butcher was solidly seated in an armchair, 382 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:26,039 waiting with a half suspicious eye on Thorndyke for the report. And I was 383 00:29:26,119 --> 00:29:32,119 endeavoring by cheerful talk to keep mister Stopford from sinking into utter despondency. Though 384 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:37,400 I too kept a furtive watch on my colleague's rather mysterious proceedings. I saw 385 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:41,839 him unwind the bandage and apply the horn to his ear, bending it slightly 386 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:47,480 to and fro. I watched him as he scanned the surface closely through a 387 00:29:47,559 --> 00:29:52,519 lens, and observed him as he scraped some substance from the pointed end onto 388 00:29:52,519 --> 00:29:56,880 a glass slide, and, having applied a drop of summery agent, began 389 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:00,720 to tease out the scraping with a pair of mounted needles. Presently, he 390 00:30:00,759 --> 00:30:04,799 placed a slide under the microscope, and, having observed it attentively for a 391 00:30:04,839 --> 00:30:10,640 minute or two, turned round sharply, Come and look at this, Jervis 392 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:15,680 said he. I wanted no second bidding, being on tenter hooks of curiosity, 393 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,680 but came over and applied my eye to the instrument. Well, what 394 00:30:18,839 --> 00:30:26,039 is it, he asked? A multipolar nerve corpuscle, very shriveled but unmistakable. 395 00:30:26,839 --> 00:30:30,759 And this he moved the slide to a fresh spot. Two pyramidal nerve 396 00:30:30,799 --> 00:30:36,559 corpuscles, and some portions of fibers. And what do you say the tissue 397 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:41,079 is cortical brain substance. I should say, without a doubt, I entirely 398 00:30:41,119 --> 00:30:45,640 agree with you. And that being so, he added, turning to mister 399 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,599 Stopford, we may say that the case for the defense is practically complete. 400 00:30:51,799 --> 00:30:56,720 What in Heaven's name do you mean? Exclaimed Stopford, starting up, I 401 00:30:56,839 --> 00:31:00,920 mean that we can now prove when and where and how Miss Grant met her 402 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,839 death. Come and sit down here and I will explain. No, you 403 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:08,279 needn't go away, mister Felton, we shall have to subpoena you. Perhaps, 404 00:31:08,279 --> 00:31:11,759 he continued, we had better grow over the facts and see what they 405 00:31:11,799 --> 00:31:15,799 suggest. And first we note the position of the body, lying with the 406 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:21,160 feet close to the off side door, showing that when she fell, the 407 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:26,200 deceased was sitting or more probably standing, close to that door. Now there 408 00:31:26,279 --> 00:31:30,200 is this, He drew from miss pocket, a folded paper which he opened, 409 00:31:30,519 --> 00:31:33,759 displaying a tiny blue disc. It is one of the sequins with which 410 00:31:33,759 --> 00:31:37,559 her hat was trimmed. And I have in this envelope several more which I 411 00:31:37,599 --> 00:31:42,799 took from the hat itself. This single sequin I picked up on the rear 412 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:48,440 end of the off side footboard, and its presence there makes it nearly certain 413 00:31:48,759 --> 00:31:51,839 that at some time Miss Grant had put her head out of the window on 414 00:31:51,920 --> 00:31:56,200 that side. The next item of evidence I obtained by dusting the margins of 415 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,440 the off side window with a light powder, which we made visible a greasy 416 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,839 impression three and a quarter inches long on the sharp corner of the right hand 417 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,960 jam right hand from the inside. I mean, and now as to the 418 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:15,519 evidence furnished by the body. The wound in the skull is behind and above 419 00:32:15,559 --> 00:32:21,680 the left ear is roughly circular and measures one inch and seven sixteenth at most, 420 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,160 and a ragged scalp wound runs from it toward the left eye. On 421 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:30,559 the right cheek is a linear, contused wound three and a quarter inches long. 422 00:32:30,839 --> 00:32:35,519 There are no other injuries. Our next facts are furnished by this. 423 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,119 He took up the horn and tapped it with his finger, while the solicitor 424 00:32:39,119 --> 00:32:44,640 and mister Felton stared at him in speechless wonder. You notice it is a 425 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:49,079 left horn, and you remember that it was highly sensitive. Now, if 426 00:32:49,119 --> 00:32:51,920 you put your ear to it while I strain it, you will hear the 427 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,960 grating of a fracture in the bony core. Now look at the point at 428 00:32:55,039 --> 00:33:00,920 end, and you will see several deep scratches running lengthwise. And where those 429 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:04,720 scratches end, the diameter of the horn is, as you see by the 430 00:33:04,759 --> 00:33:09,759 caliber gage, one inch and seven sixteenth. Covering the scratches is a dry 431 00:33:09,799 --> 00:33:15,039 blood stain, and at the extreme tip is a small mass of a dried 432 00:33:15,079 --> 00:33:20,480 substance which doctor Jervis and I have examined with the microscope and are satisfied as 433 00:33:20,559 --> 00:33:25,039 brain tissue. Good God, exclaimed Stopford. Eagerly you mean to say, 434 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,279 let us finish with the facts, mister Stopford, Thorndyke interrupted. Now if 435 00:33:31,279 --> 00:33:35,799 you look closely at that blood stain, you will see a short piece of 436 00:33:35,839 --> 00:33:38,680 hair stuck to the horn, and through this lens you can make out the 437 00:33:38,759 --> 00:33:43,319 root bulb. It is a golden hair, you notice, but near the 438 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,599 root it is black, and our caliber gage shows us that the black portion 439 00:33:46,759 --> 00:33:52,720 is fourteen sixty fourths of an inch long. Now in this envelope are some 440 00:33:52,839 --> 00:33:57,000 hairs that are removed from the dead woman's head. They are also golden hairs, 441 00:33:57,319 --> 00:34:00,759 black at the roots, and when I measure the black pors, I 442 00:34:00,839 --> 00:34:05,200 find it to be fourteen sixty fourths of an inch long. Then finally there 443 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,800 is this. He turned the horn over and pointed to a small patch of 444 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:15,480 dry blood. Embedded in it was a blue sequin. Mister Stopford and the 445 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:20,039 butcher both gazed at the horn in silent amazement. Then the former drew a 446 00:34:20,079 --> 00:34:23,800 deep breath and looked up at Thorndyke. No doubt, said he, You 447 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:28,960 can explain this mystery, But for my part, I am utterly bewildered. 448 00:34:29,159 --> 00:34:32,440 Though you are filling me with hope, and yet the matter is quite simple, 449 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:37,960 returned Thorndyke, even with these few facts before us, which are only 450 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:40,920 a selection from the body of evidence in our possession. But I will state 451 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,639 my theory and you shall judge. He rapidly sketched a rough plan on a 452 00:34:45,639 --> 00:34:51,719 sheet of paper and continued. These were the conditions when the train was approaching 453 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:55,880 Walhurst. Here is the passenger coach, here is the burning rick, and 454 00:34:55,960 --> 00:35:00,440 here was a cattle truck. This steer was in that truck. Now, 455 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:05,519 my hypothesis is that at the time, as Grant was standing with her head 456 00:35:05,599 --> 00:35:09,440 out of the off side window watching the burning rick, her wide hat worn 457 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:14,119 on the left side hid from her view the cattle truck which she was approaching, 458 00:35:14,599 --> 00:35:17,480 and then this is what happened. He sketched another plan to a larger 459 00:35:17,519 --> 00:35:22,760 scale. One of the steers, this one had thrust its long horn out 460 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:28,719 through the bars. The point of that horn struck the deceased head, driving 461 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:32,599 her face violently against the corner of the window, and then, in disengaging, 462 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:37,039 plowed its way through the scalp and suffered a fracture of its core from 463 00:35:37,039 --> 00:35:43,360 the violence of the wrench. This hypothesis is inherently probable. It fits all 464 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:49,320 the facts, and those facts admit of no other explanation. The solicitor sat 465 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:53,159 for a moment, as though dazed. Then he rose impulsively and seized Thorndyke's 466 00:35:53,199 --> 00:35:57,679 hands. I don't know what to say to you, he exclaimed, huskily, 467 00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:00,519 except that you have saved my brother's life, and for that may God 468 00:36:00,559 --> 00:36:06,719 reward you. The butcher rose from his chair with a slow grin. It 469 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:10,239 seems to me, said he as if that ox gall was what you might 470 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:16,599 call a blind eh sir, and Thorndyke smiled an inscrutable smile. When we 471 00:36:16,679 --> 00:36:21,519 returned to town on the following day, we were a party of four which 472 00:36:21,519 --> 00:36:27,639 included mister Harold Stopford. The verdict of death by misadventure, promptly returned by 473 00:36:27,639 --> 00:36:30,960 the coroner's jury, had been shortly followed by his release from custody, and 474 00:36:31,039 --> 00:36:36,760 he now sat with his brother and me, listening with rapt attention to Thorndyke's 475 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:42,159 analysis of the case. So you see, the latter concluded, I had 476 00:36:42,239 --> 00:36:45,159 six possible theories of the cause of death worked out before I reached Hawbury, 477 00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:50,480 and it only remained to select the one that fitted the facts. And when 478 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,679 I had seen the cattle truck, had picked up that sequin, had heard 479 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:58,400 the description of the steers, and had seen the hat and the wounds, 480 00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,960 there was nothing left to do but filling in of details. And you never 481 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:07,480 doubted my innocence, asked Harold Stopford. Thorndyke smiled at his quondam client. 482 00:37:08,639 --> 00:37:13,159 Not after I had seen your color box and your sketch, said he to 483 00:37:13,239 --> 00:37:19,119 say nothing of the spike end of the blue Sequin