"Mrs. Barclay, your tea." "How could you do such a thing?" "Your tea, madam." "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." "Your tea, madam." "You betrayed him." "Mrs. Penning" "What's happened, what is it, child?" "It's madam and the Colonel, something awful is going on and I can't open the door." "Here, let me try." "Stop him, both of you" "Mrs. Barclay." "Mrs. Barclay, open the door." "Mrs. Barclay, open the door." "The door is locked on the inside as well, and there's no key." "I'm going out for a doctor, and the police." "There's quite a few of them when I sailed home wounded." "Had a good record out in India, did wonders during the Mutiny." "I'm sure you won't regret taking the case." "Ah, sentry." "Dr. John Watson, formerly medical officer attached to the Royal Berkshires." "Now in civilian practice." "Murphy, second in command, temporarily in charge of the Royal Mallows, following the, tragedy of our Colonel's death." "And this will be Mr. Holmes?" "Please." "It's good of you to come so swiftly." "Not at all." "I have explained to Holmes how concerned you must be about the possibility of a scandal." "Thank you." "The honor of the regiment is in my care." "And yet, the newspapers report suggest that a scandal is inevitable." "Surely not." "I've done my utmost to make sure that reporters were kept as far away as possible." "Exactly, and that is what has made them suspicious." "They scent a mystery, that much is clear from the little they have been able to say." "Surely, it would be wrong to repeat, to draw attention to..." "Quite." "You see how much we need your help, Mr. Holmes." "What do you say, Holmes?" "What can I say?" "Major Murphy, you have told me nothing." "I have come down here after persuasion from my friend, to Aldershot, who has more interest in military matters than I." "Now that I am here, please tell me the facts." "The commanding officer of this regiment," "Colonel James Barclay, was found dead in his villa at about 1 0 o'clock the night before last." "The body was found by Private Bates, his batman, lying in the morning room." "There was a ragged cut, two-inches long, on the back of his head, which had evidently been caused by a violent blow from a blunt instrument." "And upon the floor by the body was a singular hand-carved wooden club." "Also, stretched out on the sofa lying in a dead faint, was Nancy Bar - Mrs. Barclay." "Please continue, Major Murphy." "The servants had been alerted to the tragedy by the sounds of a quarrel between the Colonel and Mrs. Barclay." "They tried to enter the morning room but found it locked." "Bates had to go around by the garden and get in through the French windows." "And now you suspect Mrs. Barclay?" "Yes." "But she is quite incapable of such a dreadful act." "I have been the late Colonel's second in command for a number of years." "I've come to know Nancy Barclay well." "Of course." "Tell me about Colonel Barclay." "Was he highly regarded by the men under his command?" "Considering his background, remarkably so." "His background, why, was he ever disgraced?" "No, but it's not generally known outside that Jim Barclay began his career as a private soldier in the Mallows." "Did he, indeed?" "From private soldier to commanding officer in the same regiment, that's a rare achievement." "I was his gallantry in the Indian Mutiny that got him his commission, and then quite rapid promotion over the years," "more rapid than mine, for instance." "Impressive." "And I suppose the unfortunate Mrs. Barclay is in custody?" "No, not exactly, no." "She's in hospital, being looked after, with a police constable standing by." "Nancy Barclay is a handsome woman now, but you should have seen her as a young girl in India, 30 years ago." "She was a daughter of the regiment." "Her father was the Regimental Sergeant Major, RSM Devoy, and therefore quite a formidable father-in-law for any soldier." "I remember that all the men in my company thought her quite the prettiest girl in the garrison." "As a junior officer I had little to do with her, but I was aware that she was a most charming, most vivacious and spirited girl." "It was quite understandable that Barclay was not the only man in the regiment who sought her hand." "But, in the end, he was the one she chose" "They were married at Bhurtee, not far from Cornpor a few months after the besieged garrison there was relieved by General Neill's column in the summer of 1 858," "Shortly after the marriage," "Sergeant Barclay got his commission, as expected." "It must have been difficult for the Barclays at first," "NCO, promoted from the ranks, married to a regimental Sergeant Major's daughter?" "Yes, I believe there was some little social friction." "But, Nancy carried it off with dignity and charm, and they gained acceptance in no time." "Barclay's career flourished, and the regiment returned from India some five years ago." "Barclay was then appointed to commanding officer." "And the marriage continued to be a happy one?" "It appeared to be so." "Appeared?" "Most people believe the marriage to have been a uniformly happy one." "And what do you believe, Major Murphy?" "My position as second in command often took me to the Barclay's house." "I saw a different side to the marriage," "The truth is more important than loyalty to your late commander." "One night I had been dining at the Barclays." "It wasn't until I reached the end of the drive that I realized I'd left my cigar case in the dining room." "I went back, the front door was still open." "Jane, the maid, was in the hall." "I'm glad you're still here, I left my cigar case on the table." "I think the Colonel and Mrs. Barclay have gone to bed, sir." "Oh, for goodness sake, James." "Confess then, who is it, who?" "Llet go of me, you're hurting me." "Tell me you love me then, me and nobody else." "Do you hear, do you hear me?" "Oh, would I have married you if I didn't?" "I don't know, sometimes I wonder." "And this expression of jealousy occurred within seconds of you Major Murphy, leaving the Barclays' house." "Tell me about the Colonel, was he a violent man in any way?" "On occasion." "He could be most vindictive towards young subalterns." "But he'd clawed his way to the top." "You need to be ruthless to do that." "Surely he didn't still feel out of place as an officer?" "No, I don't think so." "But he was subject to a peculiar form of depression." "The Queen." "Sometimes when we were discussing old campaigns, the premier, the Mutiny, Afghan War," "the smile would often be struck from his mouth as if by some invisible hand." "Yes, long service in India can have that effect." "I saw that when I was in the Berkshires." "You mentioned a carved wooden club found by the body, one of the Colonel's Indian souvenirs?" "I believe the servants deny ever having seen this club before." "Certainly I've never seen it on any of my visits. it was quite long" "And the police, I suppose, have retained it for examination?" "Yes." "They believe it to be the murder weapon." "Do they, indeed?" "I think we should begin by visiting the Barclays' house, unless, of course, it is possible to interview Mrs. Barclay?" "I'm afraid she's still unconscious." "I thought as much." "David, David." "What a beautiful morning!" "Holmes, suppose Mrs. Barclay had a lover and the Colonel had found out?" "Major Murphy seems to have been rather close to her." "You know, mild adultery has always been commonplace among officers and their wives serving in hot climates." "Thank you, Watson, for educating me in military morality." "If there had been anything between Major Murphy and Mrs. Barclay, would he have related the incident of his forgotten cigar case?" "It was about half past seven, sir, and I was waiting a table." "Once a month, Mrs. Barclay spent the evening doing charity work in Aldershot." "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" "Well, the distribution of old clothing starts at 8 o'clock, and I promised Ann Morrison." "I'd be at the mission hall on time." "Well, if you want to catch some filthy disease with a lot of flea ridden down and outs, I suppose that's your affair." "I believe in putting back into life as much as one gets out of it." "We've been fortunate with our lot," "others haven't been so lucky." "Don't be late back." "Of course not." "Mrs. Barclay must have returned about quarter past nine, sir." "I was in the kitchen helping the cook with the dishes." "There was thunder in the distance and I was just saying to Mrs. Penning that there was a storm brewing when the morning room bell rang," "I came up here to find that Mrs. Barclay had returned." "She was walking up and down this room, sir, very pale, upset." "She looked awful, sir." "You rang, madam?" "Yes, Jane, bring me some tea, will you?" "Of course, madam." "Jane, is that you?" "Yes, sir." "Did I hear Mrs. Barclay come in?" "Yes, sir, she's in the morning room." "The morning room?" "Yes, sir." "I'm just about to take her a pot of tea." "Tea?" "What does she want tea for at this hour?" "And that, presumably, was the last time that anyone saw Colonel Barclay alive?" "Yes, sir." "Can you think of any reason why your mistress came into this morning room at that time of night, when the fire was unlit?" "No, sir." "Did she often make a point of purposely avoiding the Colonel?" "Had you ever heard them arguing before?" "Not to my knowledge, sir." "When you returned from the kitchen with Mrs. Barclay's tea, you found the door locked, and you heard voices raised." "Now, what exactly did you hear?" "They were arguing, sir." "Mrs. Barclay called the Colonel a coward." "She said you have ruined my life all these years." "Mrs. Barclay shouted the name "David,"" "she said it twice." "David?" "Could you swear to that?" "I was perfectly clear, sir." "But the Colonel's name was James." "Have you ever heard, Mrs. Barclay refer to anyone called David?" "No, sir, I don't think she or the Colonel knew anyone by the name of David." "And Major Murphy's Christian name is Patrick." "Had they had any visitors recently by the name of David?" "I don't think so, sir." "The club that was found by Colonel Barclay's body." "Had you seen it before?" "No, sir." "The Colonel had several trophies from India, but nothing like that club." "Are you sure of that, Miss Stewart?" "Yes, sir. I don't know where it came from." "Thank you, that is all." "Oh, no, there is just one last thing." "Major Murphy once left his cigar case here." "Did you manage to find it?" "Yes, sir." "The Colonel was lying down here, sir." "With his head by the fender?" "Yes, sir." "You can see the mark of the blood still." "But the most frightening thing of all, sir, was his face." "His face?" "When I rolled him over, I almost fainted away to look upon it." "It was all contorted, screwed up with the most horrible look of fear and terror." "As if he'd foreseen his own death?" "Quite possible, sir." "Thank you, Bates." "What apparition, what monster was it that could have frightened the Colonel so." "Not Nancy Barclay, for sure." "This door was locked shut, sir, and what's more, the key was missing." "Missing?" "Yes, in the end we had to send for a locksmith to open it," "You have made a thorough search for the key?" "We searched high and low." "Mrs. Barclay hadn't got it. and it wasn't in the Colonel's pocket, sir." "Thank you, Mrs. Penning." "Watson, if the key was not in the door, and neither Mrs. Barclay nor the Colonel had it, then" "Then there must have been a third person." "Exactly." "Who either entered or left through those windows." "These are Bates' footprints." "But these, are the footprints of someone else." "Someone has recently crossed this lawn, the marks are just visible." "He entered and left through those windows, Watson, we're on the right search." "Watson, look at this." "What is it?" "Our entrant had a somewhat unusual companion." "It's a dog, isn't it, somebody's dog?" "Whoever heard of a dog running up a curtain." "What about a cat then?" "These claw marks are not those of a cat, nor of a monkey, nor of any creature that we are familiar with." "I would think from hind foot to forefoot at least 1 5 inches." "Add to that the length of neck and head, you have a creature no less than two feet, more if there's a tail." "The length of its stride is odd, it indicates a creature with a long back and short legs." "Something like a stoat or a weasel?" "We also know that it is carnivorous." "How can you tell that?" "Well you see what made it run up the curtain." "The canary." "Exactly." "Then what was this beast?" "No, I can't, I cannot betray a friend, please don't ask me to." "Miss Morrison, when Mrs. Barclay left her house to come here two nights ago," "she was happy and content." "When she returned two hours later, she was a changed woman." "Now the police suspect her of murder." "You owe it to your friend to clear her name." "You must tell me what happened last night that so changed her." "Vvery well, I shall break my promise of silence if what I can say can really help her." "So there was something." "It was most bizarre, I should explain that we come across all sorts of conditions of men here." "Yet, the other night, I saw the most extraordinary creature I have ever seen." "Not only had he a crooked back, but he was lame... and walked with his knees bent." "His face was darkly tanned, crinkled and puckered like a withered apple." "I thought to myself that truly there are some of us on this earth who are burdened with more than their fair share of misfortune." "This vision was made more unusual by the oriental garb the man was wearing." "I pointed this person out to Nancy as someone especially deserving of help." "Nancy had indeed been in good spirits that evening, and I saw her go towards the man and ask him if he needed assistance." "It was now that a change came over Nancy." "She had begun a conversation with the man when suddenly all the colour drained from her face." "She looked as though she had seen a ghost." "The man, too, seemed to be strangely affected by the sight of her." "and I saw him gesticulating wildly." "Well, Nancy and the man went to a quiet corner of the hall and they talked together or a few moments or so before I heard an angry shout from the man and saw him storm out, waving his fists in the air." "Nancy, what is it?" "Are you all right?" "Who was that poor creature?" "It's an old acquaintance of mine fallen on hard times." "Promise me, Annie, you won't say anything about this to anyone, promise me." "Of course, I promise, if you so wish." "And the identity of this man?" "I thought you might ask me that." "Well, after this terrible happening, Nancy left." "I naturally made a few inquiries among some of the regulars such an unusual looking creature has of course attracted attention." "It appears he is an old soldier recently back from India, and no one knows anything else about his background except that he makes a living by entertaining the troops," "conjuring tricks, that kind of thing." "And did you tell the police about him?" "Of course not, a promise is a promise." "Yes, of course." "Thank you, Miss Morrison." "That is our intruder's four-footed companion." "It's a mongoose." "I think we've found our man." "Mr. Henry Wood, I believe, late of India." "May I have a word?" "What about?" "A little matter of Colonel James Barclay's death." "She's innocent, you can take my word for it." "Then you are guilty." "No, I am not guilty." "Then who struck the Colonel down?" "It was a just Providence that killed him, his own guilty conscience." "I think you'd better explain." "My God, if I had smashed his head in as it was in my heart to do, he would have got only what he deserved from me." "No, I never laid a hand on him," "I was spared the trouble." "I'll tell you my story." "There is no cause for me to be ashamed of it." "You see me now with my back like a camel, my ribs all awry," "but there was a time when Corporal Henry Wood was the smartest man in the Royal Mallows." "You were in the same regiment as Colonel Barclay?" "Oh, yes, but he was Sergeant Jim Barclay then." "We were in the same company, and we had something else in common," "we were both in love with the same woman, Nancy Devoy." "Who was the daughter of the Regimental Sergeant Major." "There were two men who loved her, but" "only one whom she loved," "She... you'll laugh when you look at this poor thing huddled in front of the fire" "and hear me say that it was for my good looks that Nancy loved me." "I was the one she loved all along." "But although I had her heart, her father didn't approve of me." "I was a harum-scarum, reckless sort of lad, but I was always honest and plain dealing as well." "Oh, Nancy's father wanted her to marry Barclay." "He was careful to keep out of trouble, always did the right thing." "Not like me who took Nancy to places her father didn't like." "Besides, Barclay had had an education, he was already marked for the sword-belt." "RSM Devoy naturally thought Barclay the better match for his daughter." "But she remained true to me, and we would have married had it not been for the Mutiny." "Why did Nancy Devoy not marry the man she loved?" "It was monsoon time in 1 857, when the Sepoys rose up against the British." "The regiment was shut up in Bhurtee." "There were 1 0,000 rebels round us, pinning us down like terriers round a rat cage." "We'd run short of food and ammunition, we had to communicate with General Neill's column that was moving up-country." "It was our only chance to get help." "Our company commander had asked for a volunteer, a fit, strong soldier to slip out of the garrison at dead of night and make contact with the relief column out on the plain beyond." "Llike a fool, I volunteered." "It was a dangerous mission all right, there were a 1 ,000 lives in peril." "But I was thinking of only one of them..." "Nancy Devoy, the woman I loved, and the finest girl that ever had the breath of life between her lips." "Saying goodbye to her was the hardest thing." "As we exchanged mementos, I never thought that" "I was saying goodbye to her for 30 years." "It was my rival for Nancy's hand who saw me off on my journey through the enemy lines that night," "Sergeant Barclay." "He said he knew the lie of the land around the garrison better than any other." "While I volunteered to make the journey," "Jim Barclay volunteered to advise me on the best route to take." "So, just after then, while my comrades gave me covering fire, I set off." "Barclay had told me to follow a stream which would lead to a gully." "This, he said, was the safest way downhill." "His directions were perfect, and soon I was wading through icy water that only the day before had been snow in the Himalayas." "I could see the lights and fires in the rebels' camp but I kept wading down, out of sight of their sentry posts." "I came to the gully and thought I was safe." "But then it happened, I was attacked." "Something hard cracked down on my head and everything spun around." "When I came to, I was trussed up like a chicken and hanging from a tree." "My arms felt as though they were being wrenched out of their sockets." "I didn't mind the pain, but I was sick at heart for having failed in my mission." "What would be the fate of those I had been trying to save?" "But the biggest blow came as I listened to what I could understand of a rebels' talk." "I heard enough to realize that I had been betrayed." "The very man who had shown me the way to take had betrayed me to the enemy," "Barclay had got rid of me to make sure he could have my girl." "Now, you know what James Barclay was capable of." "Well, it turned out that General Neill's column was already on its way to relieve Bhurtee." "The rebels retreated, they dragged me away with them." "I was tortured." "I tried to escape, I was tortured again." "It was to be many a long year before I saw another white face." "My captors fled north, further into the hills, and used me as a sort of slave." "I was treated worse than a dog and they damn near broke every bone in my body." "Sometimes I'd wish they'd just killed me, but my thoughts of hatred and loathing for the man who destroyed my life kept me going." "I dreamed of revenge on Barclay." "One day some Afghan tribesmen murdered the rebels that held me prisoner." "They left me for dead, too." "But by a miracle, I still lived." "So, I had my revenge on my torturers, but Barclay was beyond my grasp." "And what of Nancy." "I had no means of knowing whether she was alive or dead." "I wandered back to the Punjab, and lived among the natives, picking up a living by the conjuring tricks I'd learned from the street magicians." "What use was it for me, a wretched cripple, to get passage back by ship to England and make myself known to my old comrades in the regiment?" "Even my desire to have my revenge on Jim Barclay didn't make me go." "You know why?" "I'll tell you straight." "I preferred my Nancy and my old pals in the Royal Mallows to go on believing that Harry Wood died a hero's death with a straight back, than see him crawling about the world more like a chimpanzee than a human being." "But you did return, and to Aldershot where your old regiment was stationed, why?" "I just wanted to see the old country once more before I died." "I saved what I could and eventually I got a ship." "I didn't know the regiment was stationed here in Aldershot," "I just wanted to be where there were soldiers." "I could earn my keep going around the canteens doing my tricks to entertain them." "I no longer wanted to kill Barclay, the fires of revenge had burned low over the years... until" "I saw her." "I thought I'd better get some English tongs, I looked comical enough without wearing these foreign clothes the whole time." "At first, I was more interested in finding a thick overcoat than looking at the charity ladies who were doling them out." "Then one of them came over, I recognized her at once." "She'd hardly changed, still beautiful." "What's more amazing is she..." "she seemed to know me." "Good evening, can I help you?" "Have you been able to find anything that... I'm sorry, I thought I..." "Nancy, it is me, Harry." "Don't be afraid." "I thought you had been dead these 30 years." "I have been... I thought I would never see you again." "We spoke for a moment or two together." "I told her some of my story." "I should have spared telling her that her husband was a traitor but it all came pouring out of me, 30 years of hate." "She was so effected by what I said," "I couldn't stand it, I went outside," "then I saw her come out of the mission and I followed her home." "I saw her go into the house, a light came on." "I saw her sitting in a chair." "And then he came into the room." "James, I have to talk to you." "Why are you locking that door." "Don't be back late, I said, don't be back late, didn't I?" "You've been with someone." "You have been with someone." "Who is it?" "You've ruined my life." "All these years, all these years." "Oh, how could you do such a thing, it was evil." "Now, I hate you, I hate you." "I hate you, I hate you." "To see him lay a hand on her made me mad with anger." "My feelings overcame me." "David." "David, you betrayed him." "It's not true." "But he's alive, I tell you I've seen him." "You're lying, you're mad." "He looked as I have never seen a man look." "I read death on his face as plain as anything." "The bare sight of me was like a bullet through his guilty heart." "Mrs. Barclay, Mrs. Barclay, open the door." "He smashed onto the fender." "He was dead before he fell." "Mrs. Barclay, Mrs. Barclay, open the door." "I took the key to the door from Nancy's hand, intending to open it and get help, I thought I'd better get away or things might look black against me." "In haste, I thrust the key into my pocket whilst I was chasing Teddy who'd escaped from his box and run up a curtain." "Teddy." "So, the Colonel died before he struck his head on the fender?" "An apoplectic fit, brought on by shock." "Mr. Wood, provided the coroner reaches the same conclusion, Mrs. Barclay..." "Nancy." "will be free." "I trust you would have no objection to repeating your story to the police, should the need arise?" "Mr. Holmes, how is Nancy?" "She's in hospital." "I understand in time she should make a complete recovery." "Thank God." "Oh, Annie, how lovely to see you." "Yes, I'm much better." "Holmes, there's just one thing I don't understand." "If the Colonel's name was James, and Wood was called either Henry or Harry, then who the deuce was David?" "My dear Watson, that name David should have told me the whole story had I been the ideal reasoner, which you are so fond of depicting but alas, my powers of deduction failed me." "You see, David, in this case, was evidently used as a term of reproach." "Reproach?" "Don't you remember how King David sent Uriah the Hittite into the forefront of the battle to die so that he might steal his woman, Bathsheba?" "I think you will find the story in the first or second book of Samuel." "My old testament is a little rusty." "You're quite right, Holmes, ll Samuel, 1 1 :1 4-1 7." "You appear to have looked it up yourself, since we returned home from Aldershot." "How did you know?" "You used this bill for our meal at Waterloo as a bookmarker, did you not?" "Excellent, Watson." "Elementary, my dear Holmes." "Goodnight, old fellow."