Episode III - Alone with the Crooked Man

Could a single name uttered in an argument hold the key to unlocking a mystery over a century old? This episode takes listeners on an exploration of the puzzling case of Colonel James Barclay's death in the early 1890s. Colonel Barclay's life appeared idyllic with his wife, Nancy Devoy, until an evening shattered by a quarrel and a mysterious utterance of the name "David." We examine the curious disappearance of a door key, baffling footprints, and the presence of an unusual animal, all of which suggest that a third party may have played a role in the colonel's demise.

Listeners will be gripped by the enigmatic tale of Henry Wood, a man whose life is intertwined with that of the Colonel and his wife. As we unravel Wood's haunting past in India, themes of love, betrayal, and loyalty come to the fore. Jane Stewart, the housemaid, provides poignant insights into the Barclay household, adding depth to the narrative as we examine the underlying tensions and disbelief surrounding the Colonel's untimely end.

Our discussion takes a profound turn as we draw parallels between the story of King David and Bathsheba and the unfolding drama in the Barclay household. Just as King David's desires led to a tragic chain of events, so too did Barclay's own actions set the stage for his downfall. This episode promises an engaging exploration of human desires and ethical dilemmas, leaving listeners questioning the true nature of betrayal and consequence. Join us as we piece together the fragments of an extraordinary mystery that continues to captivate the imagination.

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:08

Sherlock Holmes Alone, episode 3, alone with the Crooked man, brought to you by Credanthe Audio Theatre. There are times when the reasoner can produce an effect which seems remarkable to his neighbor because the latter has missed one little point which is the basis of the deduction. And there have been times when I myself have found that I was missing a point or two which would be key to unravelling a mystery. As I sit here in the great garret of my Sussex home, surrounded by my books and the records of my cases, I think back to 1892. Or was it 93? At the time I found myself holding in my hand several threads of one of the strangest cases which ever perplexed a man's brain. And yet I lacked one or two which were needful to complete my theory. But I knew I would have them. The problem presented features of interest, I may even say exceptional features of interest. I had looked into the matter and had come, as I thought, within sight of my solution.

Speaker 1 1:31

The case centred around the supposed murder of Colonel Barclay of the Royal Munsters at Aldershot. The facts were these the Royal Munsters was one of the most famous Irish regiments in the British Army. It did wonders both in Crimea and the Indian Mutiny and had since that time distinguished. The Royal Munsters was one of the most famous Irish regiments in the British Army. It did wonders both in Crimea and the Indian Mutiny and had, since that time, distinguished itself upon every possible occasion. It was commanded by James Barclay, a gallant veteran who started as a full private, was raised to commission rank for his bravery at the time of the Mutiny and so lived to command the regiment in which he had once carried a musket.

Speaker 1 2:05

Colonel Barclay had married at the time when he was a sergeant, and his wife, whose maiden name was Miss Nancy Devoy, was the daughter of a former colour sergeant in the same corps. There was therefore, as you can imagine, some little social friction when the young couple for they were still young found themselves in their new surroundings. They appear, however, to have quickly adapted themselves, and Mrs Barclay had always been as popular with the ladies of the regiment as her husband was with his brother officers. I may add that she was a woman of great beauty and that when she had been married for upwards of thirty years, she was still of a striking and queenly appearance. Colonel Barclay's family life appeared to have been a uniformly happy one, major Murphy, to whom I owed most of my facts assured me that he had never heard of any misunderstandings between the pair. On the whole, murphy thought that Barclay's devotion to his wife was greater than his wife's to Barclay. Barclay was acutely uneasy if he were absent from his wife for a day. Mrs Barclay, on the other hand, though devoted and faithful, was less obtrusively affectionate, but they were regarded in the regiment as the very model of a middle-aged couple. There was absolutely nothing in their mutual relations to prepare people for the tragedy that was about to follow.

Speaker 1 3:23

Colonel Barclay himself seems to have had some singular traits in his character. He was a dashing, jovial old soldier in his usual mood, but there were occasions on which he seemed to show himself capable of considerable violence and vindictiveness. This side of his nature, however, appears never to have been turned towards his wife. Another fact which had struck Major Murphy and three out of five of the other officers with whom I conversed was the singular sort of depression which came upon Barclay at times. As Major Murphy expressed it, the smile had often been struck from Barclay's mouth, as if by some invisible hand, when he had been joining in the gaieties and chaff of the mess-table For days on end when the mood was on him, he was sunk in the deepest gloom. This and a certain tinge of superstition were the only unusual traits in his character which his brother officers had observed. The latter particularly took the form of a dislike to being left alone, especially after dark. This puerile feature in a nature which was conspicuously manly had often given rise to comment and conjecture.

Speaker 1 4:27

The first battalion of the Royal Munsters had been stationed at Aldershot for some years. The married officers lived out of barracks, and the Colonel had, during all this time, occupied a villa called Lachine, about half a mile from the North Camp. The house stood in its own grounds, but the west side of it was not more than thirty yards from the high road. A coachman and two maids formed the staff of servants. These, with their master and mistress, were the sole occupants of Lachane, for the Barclays had no children, nor was it usual for them to have resident visitors.

Speaker 1 4:58

Now for the events at Lachane between nine and ten on that fateful evening. Mrs Barclay was a member of the Roman Catholic Church and had interested herself very much in the establishment of the Guild of St George, which was formed in connection with the Watt Street Chapel for the purpose of supplying the poor with cast-off clothing. A meeting of the Guild had been held that evening at eight and Mrs Barclay had hurried over her dinner in order to be present at it. When leaving the house she was heard by the coachman to make some commonplace remark to her husband and to assure him that she would be back before very long. She then called for Miss Morrison, a young lady who lived in the next villa, and the two went off together to their meeting. It lasted forty minutes and at a quarter-past nine Mrs Barclay returned home, having left Miss Morrison at her door as she passed.

Speaker 1 5:47

There is a room which is used as a morning-room at Lashane. This faces the road and opens by a large glass folding door on to the lawn. The lawn is thirty yards across and is only divided from the highway by a low wall with an iron rail above it. It was into this room that Mrs Barclay went upon her return. The blinds were not down, for the room was seldom used in the evening, but Mrs Barclay herself lit the lamp and then rang the bell asking Jane Stewart, the housemaid, to bring her a cup of tea, which was quite contrary to her usual habits. The Colonel had been sitting in the dining-room, but hearing that his wife had returned, he joined her in the morning-room sitting in the dining-room. But hearing that his wife had returned, he joined her in the morning-room. The coachman saw him cross the hall and enter it. He was never seen alive again.

Speaker 1 6:35

The tea which had been ordered was brought up at the end of ten minutes, but the maid, as she approached the door, was surprised to hear the voices of her master and mistress in furious altercation. She knocked without receiving any answer and even turned the handle, but only to find that the door was locked upon the inside. Naturally enough, she ran down to tell the cook, and the two women with the coachman came up into the hall and listened to the dispute which was still raging. They all agreed that only two voices were to be heard, those of Barclay and of his wife. Barclay's remarks were subdued and abrupt, so that none of them were audible to the listeners. But the ladies, on the other hand, were most bitter, and when she raised her voice she could be heard plainly saying you, coward, what can be done now? What can be done now? Give me back my life. I will never so much as breathe the same air with you again. You coward, you coward. Those were scraps of her conversation ending in a sudden dreadful cry in a man's voice, with a crash and a piercing scream from the woman.

Speaker 1 7:41

Convinced that some tragedy had occurred, the coachman rushed to the door and strove to force it, while scream after scream issued from within. He was unable, however, to make his way in, and the maids were too distracted with fear to be of any assistance to him. A sudden thought struck him, however, and he ran through the hall door and round to the lawn upon which the long French windows open. One side of the window was open, which I understand was quite usual in the summertime. His mistress had ceased to scream and was stretched insensibly upon a couch while, with his feet tilted over the side of an armchair and his head upon the ground near the corner of the fender, was lying the unfortunate soldier, stone dead in a pool of his own blood.

Speaker 1 8:26

"'naturally, the coachman's first thought, "'on finding that he could do nothing for his master, "'was to open the door, "'but here an unexpected and singular difficulty "'presented itself "'The key was not on the inner side of the door, "'nor could he find it anywhere in the room. "'he went out again, therefore, through the window, "'and having obtained the help of a policeman and of a medical man, he returned. The lady against whom, naturally, the strongest suspicion rested, was removed to her room, still in a state of insensibility. The colonel's body was then placed upon the sofa and a careful examination made of the scene of the tragedy. The injury from which the unfortunate veteran was suffering was found to be a jagged cut, some two inches long, at the back part of his head, which had evidently been caused by a violent blow from a blunt weapon. Nor was it difficult to guess what that weapon may have been. Upon the floor, close to the body, was lying a singular club of hard-carved wood with a bone handle.

Speaker 1 9:22

The colonel possessed a varied collection of weapons, brought from different countries in which he had fought, and it was conjectured by the police that this club was among his trophies. The servants denied having seen it before, but among the numerous curiosities in the house, it is possible that it may well have been overlooked. Nothing else of importance was discovered in the room by the police, save the inexplicable fact that neither upon Mrs Barclay's person, nor upon that of the victim, nor in any part of the room was the missing key to be found. The door had eventually to be opened by a locksmith from Aldershot. That was the state of things when, upon the following morning, I, at the request of Major Murphy, went down to Aldershot to supplement the efforts of the police. The problem was already one of interest, but my observations soon made me realize that it was in truth much more extraordinary than would at first sight appear. Before examining the room, I cross-questioned the servants, but only succeeded in eliciting the facts which I have already stated.

Speaker 1 10:21

One other detail of interest was remembered by Jane Stewart, the housemaid. She was the servant who, on hearing the sound of the quarrel, descended and returned with the other servants. On that first occasion, when she was alone, she says that the voices of her master and mistress were sunk so low that she could hear hardly anything, and judged by their tones rather than their words that they had fallen out. On my pressing her, however, she remembered that she heard the word David uttered twice by the lady. The point is of utmost importance as guiding us toward the reason of the sudden quarrel. The Colonel's name, of course, was James.

Speaker 1 10:58

There was one thing in the case which had made the deepest impression upon both the servants and the police. This was the contortion of the Colonel's face. It had set, according to their account, into the most dreadful expression of fear and horror which any human continence is capable of assuming. More than one person fainted at the mere sight of him, so terrible was the effect. It was quite certain that he had foreseen his fate and that it had caused him the utmost horror. This, of course, fitted in well enough with the police theory if the Colonel could have seen his wife making a murderous attack upon him. Nor was the fact of the wound being on the back of his head a fatal objection to this, as he might have turned to avoid the blow. No information could be got from the lady herself, who was temporarily insane from an acute attack of brain fever. From the police I learned that Miss Morrison, who went out that evening with Mrs Barclay, denied having any knowledge of what it was which had caused the ill-humour in which her companion had returned.

Speaker 1 11:59

Having gathered these facts, I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which were merely incidental. There could be no question that the most distinctive and suggestive point in the case was the singular disappearance of the door-key. A most careful search had failed to discover it in the room. Therefore it must have been taken from it. But neither the Colonel nor the Colonel's wife could have taken it. That was perfectly clear. Therefore, a third person must have entered the room, and that third person could only have come in through the window.

Speaker 1 12:32

It seemed to me that a careful examination of the room and the lawn might possibly reveal some traces of this mysterious individual. There was not one of my methods which I did not apply to the inquiry, and it ended by my discovering traces, but very different ones from those which I had expected. There had been a man in the room and he had crossed the lawn. Coming from the road, I was able to obtain five very clear impressions of his footmarks one in the roadway itself at the point where he had climbed the low wall, two on the lawn and two very faint ones upon the stained boards near the window where he had climbed the low wall, two on the lawn and two very faint ones upon the stained boards near the window where he had entered. He had apparently rushed across the lawn, for his toe-marks were much deeper than his heels. But it was not the man who surprised me, it was his companion. I found foot-marks of some small animal clearly outlined in the pile of the carpet—five well-marked footpads an indication of long nails, and the whole print may have been nearly as large as a dessert spoon.

Speaker 1 13:31

I found distinct traces that the creature ran up the curtain. It was neither dog nor cat, nor monkey, nor any creature that I was familiar with. I tried to reconstruct it. From the measurements. There were four prints where the beast had been standing motionless. These indicated that the creature was no less than fifteen inches from forefoot to hind. Added to that would be the length of a neck and head, making it a creature of not much less than two feet long, probably more if there was any tail. The animal had been moving and I had the length of its stride. In each case it was only about three inches. This was an indication of a long body with very short legs attached to it. It had not been considerate enough to leave any of its hair behind. I had the creature's general shape. I knew it could run up a curtain and that it was carnivorous. I deduced that the animal had been carnivorous because there was a canary's cage hanging in the window and the root up the curtain would have led the beast directly to the bird. I could not give the animal a name. On the whole, it seemed to be some sort of creature of the weasel or stoke tribe, and yet it was larger than any of these that I had seen.

Speaker 1 14:46

"'as to what the animal in question had to do with the crime was still obscure. "'but I had learned a good deal. "'i knew that a man stood in the road looking at the quarrel between the Barclays, "'the blinds were up and the room lighted. "'i knew also that he ran across the lawn into the room, accompanied by a strange animal, "'and that he either struck the Colonel or, as it is equally possible, "'that the Colonel fell down from sheer fright at the sight of him and cut his head on the corner of the fender. Finally, I had the curious fact that the intruder carried away the key with him when he left.

Speaker 1 15:19

My discoveries seemed to have left the business more obscure than ever. They undoubtedly showed that the affair was much deeper than was first conjectured. I thought the matter over and I came to the conclusion that I must approach the case from another aspect. Back at Aldershot, it is quite certain that when Mrs Barclay left the house at half-past seven, she was on good terms with her husband. She was never, as I understood, ostensibly affectionate, but she was heard by the coachman chatting with the Colonel in a friendly fashion. Now, it was equally certain that immediately on her return, she had gone to the room in which she was least likely to see her husband, had flown to tea as an agitated person will and finally, on his coming into her, had broken into violent recriminations. Therefore, something had occurred between seven-thirty and nine o'clock which had completely altered her feelings towards him. But Miss Morrison had been with her during the whole of that hour and a half. It was absolutely certain, therefore, in spite of her denial, that she must know something of the matter.

Deformed Man's Involvement in Murder

Speaker 1 16:25

My first conjecture was that possibly there had been some passage between this young lady and the old soldier, which the former now confessed to his wife. That would account for the angry return and also for the girl's denial that anything had occurred. Nor would it be entirely incompatible with most of the words overheard, but there was the reference to David and there was the known affection of the Colonel for his wife to weigh against it, to say nothing of the tragic intrusion of this other man, which might of course be entirely disconnected with that which had gone before. It was not easy to pick one's steps, but on the whole I was inclined to dismiss the idea that there had been anything between the Colonel and Miss Morrison, but more than ever convinced that the young lady held the clue as to what it was which had turned Mrs Barclay to hatred of her husband. I took the obvious course, therefore, of calling upon Miss Morrison, of explaining to her that I was perfectly certain that she held the facts in her possession and of assuring her that her friend Mrs Barclay, might find herself in the dock upon a capital charge unless the matter were cleared up. Miss Morrison was a little ethereal slip of a girl with timid eyes and blonde hair, but I found her by no means wanting in shrewdness and common sense. She sat thinking for some time after I had spoken and then, turning to me with a brisk air of resolution, "'she broke into a remarkable statement "'Oh, mr Holmes, I promised my friend "'that I would say nothing of the matter, "'and a promise is a promise. "'but if I can really help her "'when so serious a charge is laid against her, "'and when her own mouth, poor darling, is closed by illness, "'then I think I am absolved from my promise.

Speaker 1 18:11

I will tell you exactly what happened upon Monday evening. We were returning from the Watt Street mission about a quarter to nine o'clock. On our way we had to pass through Hudson Street, which is a very quiet thoroughfare. There is only one lamp in it upon the left-hand side, and as we approached this lamp I saw a man coming towards us with his back very bent and something like a box slung over one of his shoulders. He appeared to be deformed, for he carried his head low and walked with his knees bent. We were passing him when he raised his face to look at us in the circle of light thrown by the lamp, and as he did so he stopped and screamed out in a dreadful voice my God, it's Nancy.

Speaker 1 18:56

Mrs Barclay turned as white as death and would have fallen down had the dreadful-looking creature not caught hold of her. I was going to call for the police, but she, to my surprise, spoke quite civilly to the fellow. I thought you had been dead these thirty years, henry. So I have. It was awful to hear the tones that he said it in. He had a very fearsome face and a gleam in his eyes that comes back to me in my dreams. His hair and whiskers were shot with grey and his face was all crinkled and puckered like a withered apple. But Mrs Barkley had no fear of him and actually wanted to speak to the man.

Speaker 1 19:33

"'just walk on a little way, dear. I want to have a word with this man. There is nothing to be afraid of'. She tried to speak boldly, but she was still deadly pale and could hardly get her words out for the trembling of her lips. I did as she asked me and they talked together for a few minutes. Then she came down the street with her eyes blazing and I saw the crippled wretch standing by the lamppost and shaking his clenched fists in the air as if he were mad with rage. She never said a word until we were here at the door when she took me by the hand and she begged me to tell no one what had happened. It is nothing to worry about, my dear, it is an old acquaintance of mine who has come down in the world'. "'well, mr Holmes, when I promised her I would say nothing, she kissed me and I have never seen her since. Oh, mr Holmes, I have told you now the whole truth, and if I withheld it from the police it is becauseI did not realize then the danger in which my dear friend stood. I know that it can only be to her advantage that everything should be known, and that was her statement. It was like a light on a dark night. Everything which had been disconnected before began at once to assume its true place, and I had a shadowy presentiment of the whole sequence of events.

Speaker 1 20:54

My next step, obviously, was to find the man who had produced such a remarkable impression upon Mrs Barclay. If he was still in Aldershot, it should not be a very difficult matter there are not such a very great number of civilians, and a deformed man was sure to attract attention. I spent a day in the search and by evening I had run him down. The man's name was Henry Wood and he lived in lodgings in the same street in which the ladies had met him. He had only been five days in the place In the character of a registration agent.

Speaker 1 21:27

I had a most interesting gossip with his landlady of a registration agent. I had a most interesting gossip with his landlady. The man was, by trade, a conjurer and performer, going round the canteens after nightfall and giving little entertainments at each. He carried some creature about with him in a box about which the landlady seemed to be in considerable trepidation, for she had never seen an animal like it. He used it in some of his tricks, according to her account. So much the woman was able to tell me, and also that it was a wonder that the man lived, seeing how twisted he was and that he spoke in a strange tongue sometimes, and that for two nights previous she had heard him groaning and weeping in his bedroom. He was all right as far as money was concerned, but in his deposit he had given her what looked like a bad florin. She showed it to me and it was an Indian rupee. It was perfectly plain that after the ladies parted from this man, he followed them at a distance, that he saw the quarrel between husband and wife through the window that he rushed in and that the creature which he carried in his box got loose. That was all very certain, but he was the only person in this world who could tell me exactly what happened in that room.

Speaker 1 22:40

Once I had tracked Henry Wood, I was sure to take some precautions. I had young Simpson, one of my Baker Street irregulars, the group of young street urchins whom I sometimes hire for errands and, of course, for a little spying from time to time I had him mount a guard over Wood. I knew Simpson to be very tenacious and I knew that he would stick to Henry Wood like a burr, go where he might. I knew I would find him in Hudson Street, and so I headed to Hudson Street and met young Simpson, who had stationed himself near Wood's dwelling. I must admit that I was in a state of suppressed excitement. What say you Simpson? He's in all right. Mr Holmes Hasn't been out at all. Ah, very good, simpson.

Speaker 1 23:25

I sent in my card with a message that I had come on important business, and a moment later I was face to face with the man whom I had come to see. In spite of the warm weather, he was crouching over a fire and the little room was like an oven. The man sat all twisted and huddled in his chair in a way which gave an indescribable impression of deformity. But the face which he turned towards me, though worn and swarthy, must at some point have been remarkable for its beauty. He looked suspiciously at me now, out of yellow-shot, bilious eyes and, without speaking or rising, he waved toward a chair. Late of India.

Speaker 1 24:07

I believe I've come over this little matter of Colonel Barkley's death. What should I know about that? That is what I want to ascertain. You know, I suppose, that unless the matter is cleared up, mrs Barkley, who is an old friend of yours, will in all probability be tried for murder. The man gave a violent start. I don't know who you are or how you come to know what you know, but will you swear that this is the truth you're telling me? I can tell you that they are only waiting for Mrs Barclay to come to her senses in order to arrest her. My God, are you the police yourself? No, what business is it of yours then? It is every man's business to see justice done. You can take my word that she is innocent. Then you are guilty. No, no, I am not who killed Colonel James Barclay. Then it was a just Providence that killed him. But mind you this if I had knocked his brains out, as was in my heart to do, he would have had no more than his due from me. If his own guilty conscience had not struck him down, it is likely enough that I might have had his blood upon my soul.

Speaker 1 25:28

You want me to tell my storyWell, I don't know why I shouldn't, "'for there's no cause for me to be ashamed of it. "'it was in this way, sir. "'you see me now with my back like a camel "'and my ribs all awry "'But there was a time "'when Corporal Henry Wood was the smartest man in the 117th Foot. We were in India, then in cantonments, at a place we'll call Bertie Barclay, who died the other day. He was sergeant in the same company as myself. "'and the belle of the regiment, aye, aye. "'the finest girl that ever had breath of life between her lips "'was Nancy Devoy, the daughter of the colour sergeant. "'there were two men that loved her and one that she loved "'And you'll smile when you look at this poor thing huddled before the fire and hear me say that it was for my good looks that she loved me. Well, though I had her heart, her father was set upon her, marion Barclay. I was a harum-scarum, reckless lad, and he had had an education. It was already marked for the sword-belt, but the girl held true to me and it seemed that I would have her.

Speaker 1 27:02

When the mutiny broke out and all hell was loose in the country, we were shut off in Bertie, the regiment of us, with half a battery of artillery and a company of Sikhs and a lot of civilians and womenfolk. There were ten thousand rebels around us, and they were as keen as a set of terriers round a rat cage. About the second week of it, our water gave out, and it was a question of whether we could communicate with General Neil's column, which was moving up country. It was our only chance, for we could not hope to fight our way out with all the women and children. So I volunteered to go out and go warn General Neil of our danger. "'general Neil of our danger' "'My offer was accepted, "'and I talked it over with Sergeant Barkley, "'who was supposed to know the ground better than any other man "'and who drew up a route by which I might get through the rebel lines.

Speaker 1 28:02

"'at ten o'clock same night "'I started off upon my journey. "'there were a thousand lives to save "'But it was of only one that I was thinking when I dropped over the wall that night, and that was the life of Nancy Devoy, my Nancy. My way ran down a dried-out watercourse which we hoped would screen me from the enemy's sentries "'But as I crept round the corner of it "'I walked right into six of them, "'who were crouching down in the dark waiting for me. "'in an instant I was stunned with a blow, "'and bound hand and foot. "'but the real blow was to my heart, not to my head "'For as I came to and listened to as much as I could understand of their talk, I heard enough to tell me that it was my comrade, the very man who had ranged the way that I was to take, that had betrayed me, by means of a native servant, into the hands of the enemy' "'Colonel Barclay indeed'. "'well, there's no need for me to dwell on that part of it. "'you know now what James Barclay was capable of.

Speaker 1 29:21

"'bertie was relieved by Neil next day, "'but the rebels took me away with them in their retreat, "'and it was many, a long year before I ever saw a British face again. "'i was tortured and I tried to get away and was captured and tortured again. You can see for yourself the state in which I was left. Some of them that fled to Nepal took me with them, and then afterwards I was up past Darjeeling. The hill folk up there murdered the rebels who had me, and I became their slave for a time until I escaped. But instead of going south, I had to go north until I found myself among the Afghans. There I wandered about for many a year and at last came back to the Punjab where I lived, mostly among the natives, and picked up a living by conjuring tricks that I had learned. And picked up a living by conjuring tricks that I had learned.

Speaker 1 30:17

What use was it for me, a wretched cripple, to go back to England or to make myself known to my old comrades? Even my wish for revenge would not make me do that. I had rather that Nancy and my old pals should think of Henry Wood as having died with a straight back than see him living and crawling with a stick like a chimpanzee. They never doubted that I was dead and I meant that they never should. I heard that Barclay had married Nancy and that he was rapidly rising in the regiment. But even that did not make me speak. But when one gets old one has a longing for home. For years I have been dreaming of the bright green fields and hedges of England. At last I was determined to see them before I died. I saved enough to bring me across and then I came here where the soldiers are, for I know their ways and how to amuse them, and so to earn enough to keep me' "'Your narrative is most interesting, mr Wood.

Speaker 1 31:24

I have already heard of your meeting with Mrs Barclay and your mutual recognition. You then, as I understand, followed her home and saw through the window an altercation between her and her husband, in which she doubtless cast his conduct to you in his teeth. Your own feelings overcame you and you ran across the lawn and broke in upon them. I did, sir, and at the sight of me he looked as I have never seen a man look before and over. He went with his head on the fender, but he was dead before he fell. I read death on his face as plain as I can read that text over the fire. The bare sight of me was like a bullet through his guilty heart.

Speaker 1 32:09

And then what happened, mr Wood? Then Nancy fainted and I cut up the key of the door from her hand, intending to unlock it and to get help. But as I was doing so, it seemed better to me to leave it alone and get away, for the thing might look black against me. And anyway, my secret would be out if I were taken. In my haste, I thrust the key into my pocket and dropped my stick while I was chasing Teddy, who had run up the curtain when I got him into his box, from which he had slipped. I was off as fast as I could run.

Speaker 1 32:48

Mr Wood, who is Teddy, the man, leaned over and pulled up the front of a kind of hutch in the corner. In an instant, out there slipped a beautiful reddish-brown creature, thin and lithe, with the legs of a stoat, a long, thin nose and a pair of the finest red eyes that I ever saw in an animal's head. It was a mongoose. "'some call them mongoose and some call them Ichneumon Snake-catcher's what I call them mongoose, and some call them itch-ne-human Snake-catcher's what I call them. And Teddy is amazing quick on the cobras. I have one here without the fangs and Teddy catches it every night to please folk in the canteen.

Speaker 1 33:27

Any other point, sir? Well, mr Wood, I may have to apply to you again if Mrs Barclay should prove to be in serious trouble' "'In that case, of course, I'd come forward' "'But if not, your secret will be safe. "'and after all, there is no object in raking up this scandal. "'against a dead man, foully as he acted, "'you have at least the satisfaction of knowing that for thirty years of his life, his conscience bitterly reproached him for his wicked deed. Ah, there goes Major Murphy on the other side of the street. Good-bye Wood. I must catch the Major. I want to learn if anything has happened since yesterday. I was in time to overtake the Major before he reached the corner. "'ah, mr Holmes, I suppose you've heard that all this fuss has come to nothing'. "'what then'? "'the inquest is just over.

Speaker 1 34:24

The medical evidence showed conclusively that death was due to epilepsy. You see, it was quite a simple case after all. It was evident that I was no longer needed at Aldershot. But there was one more little point to clear up. If the husband's name was James and the other Henry, what was this talk about? David, david, that one name should have told me the whole story. Had I been the ideal reasoner people assume me to be, it was evidently a term of reproach.

Speaker 1 34:58

The biblical David strayed a little occasionally, and on one occasion in the same direction as Sergeant James Barclay. I remembered the small affair of Uriah and Bathsheba. The biblical story is to be found in the first or second book of Samuel. King David desired Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. Uriah was one of King David's loyal and dedicated mighty soldiers. In order to fulfill his desire for Uriah's wife, david sent Uriah into battle and ordered that he be left on the front line as the army withdrew, thus resulting in Uriah's death. King David then married Bathsheba, uriah's wife, sherlock Holmes Alone, produced by Agnes McVie, recorded by Lester P, adapted and performed by JP Winslow, based on the original writings of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. ©. Transcript Emily Beynon.