Ravensdene Court

n the faces of all three men. It was evident that they were thinking the sam

f this morning. No ordinary crime, that, gentlemen! When two brothers are murdered on the same night, at places hundr

ioned in some paper you foun

e Admiral Parker, Haulaway Street, Devonport. I wired to the police authorities there, telling th

es," observed Mr. Cazalette suddenly. "Ay

rned nothing. It's a queer thing, but we haven't come across anybody who saw this man after he left you, Mr. Middlebrook, yesterday afternoon. You say he turned inland, towards Denwick, when he left you after coming out o

eard at the Mariner's Joy-the man who, like himself, was asking for informa

r. "He's told us of his meeting with such a man, a night or two ago. But we can't get any information o

along this coast where a m

?" put in M

inspector. "Of course I sha

g here or there in a cave, or some out o' the way place, of which there's plenty in this part, till he did the deed, but

ued, turning to Mr. Raven, and nodding sidewise at Mr. Cazalette, "that this gentleman hits the nail on the head when he says it's to De

n more about Salter when ye hear more about Noah. And it's a

he affair there," said the inspector. "No doubt I sha

ceedings, and that a telegram was received from the police at Devonport in which it was stated that they were unable to find out if the two brothers had any near relations-no one there knew of any. Altogether, I think, nothing was revealed that day beyond what we knew already, and so far as I remember matters, no light was thrown on either murder for some time. B

tention to business; a steady, sober man, keen on money matters. He was a bachelor, keeping an elderly woman as housekeeper, a couple of stout women servants, a barmaid, and a potman. His house was particularly well-conducted; it was mentioned at the inquest on him that the police had never once had any complaint in reference to it, and that Noah, who had to deal with a rather rough class of customers, was pec

is residence at the Admiral Parker, and he and Noah evidently got on together very well: they were even affectionate in manner toward each other. They were often seen in Devonport and in Plymouth in company, but those who knew them best at this time noted that they never paid visits to, nor receive

date, Salter Quick, who had a banking account at a Plymouth bank (to which he had been introduced by Noah, who also banked there), cashed a check for sixty pounds. That was in the morning-in the early afternoon, he went away

n, on the evening of the 9th of March (the very day on which I met Salter Quick on the Northumbrian coast), Noah told his housekeeper and barmaid that he had to go over to Saltash, to see a man on business, and should be back about closing-time. He went away about seven o'clock, but he was not back at closing-time. The potman sat up f

ead of the queer old village: there he went into one of the inns, had a glass of whisky at the bar, exchanged a word or two with some men sitting in the parlour, and after awhile, glancing at his watch, went out-and was never seen again alive. His dead body was found next morning at a lonely spot on an adjacent creek, by a fisherman-like Salter, he had been stabbed, and in similar fashion. And as in Salter's case, robbery of money and valuables had not been the murderer's object. Noah Quick, when found, had money on him, gold, silver;

the Mariner's Joy; no one knew where Noah Quick went when he walked out of the Saltash inn into the darkness. At each inquest a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown was returned, and the respective coroners uttered some platitudes ab

Quick were in posse

en who wished to get posse

ers were probably tw

ge, and, if they had secured possession of

what I had seen. Nor for some time did he mention his tobacco-box labours-indeed, I don't remember that he mentioned them directly at all. But, about the time that the inquests on the two murdered men came to an end, I observed that Mr. Cazalette, most of whose time was devoted to his numismatic work, was spending his leisure in turning over whatever

hat poor man mentioned to you as you talk

aid I. "That was

Netherfields buried

d or other," I answered. "

pinch of snuff, as if

t at the time of the inquest nobody ever thought of in

you suggest

t I've looked through every local history there is-and I think the late John Christopher Raven collected every scrap of pr

gisters?"

dlebrook, I'm more than ever convinced that yon dead man knew what he was talking about, and that there's dead and gone Netherf

ked at me as if to find out whether or no I

from your photographic work on that tobacc

shment, he turned

at matter, yet," he answ

She and I were often together in the library;

the tobacco-box?" she asked. "Anythin

" I replied, "but there were certainly some marks, s

gain, "did Mr. Cazalett

"Some deep and dark clue t

obacco-box," she remarke

he rest of Quick's belongings. If we walked over to the pol

feeling something of the fascination which is exercised upon

n," she said. "

s photographic experiments, made me inquisitive. So after lunch that day Miss Raven and I walked across country to the police-station,

e. "Miss Raven, like most ladies, is not devoid of curiosity. She wi

pector

azalette?-was so keen about photographing. Why, I don't know-I saw nothing b

s a strict silence on that point. He is very mysterious about the matter

efore the coroner." He unlocked a cupboard and pointed to two bundles-one, a large one, was done up in linen; the other, a small one, in a wrapping of canvas. "That," he continued, pointing

uch trouble," said Miss Raven.

ne up, were the dead man's effects, even down to his pipe and pouch. His money was there, notes, gold, silver, copper; there wa

exclaimed the insp

that, evidently vexed and perplexed, he rang a bell and asked for a particular c

emanded. "They were all lying on the table at the inquest-we showed th

the table, at once. The package was never out of my hands till I got it

inspector. "But there's a metal box-a t

plied the constable. "I packed

we were alone again, he turned to Mis

d at the inquest!" he said,