The Red House Mystery

he would pause and gaze out of the window, sometimes smiling to himself, sometimes frowning, as he turned over in his mind all the strange things that he had seen that day.

, old boy, I'm

ng himself and looked

Mark?"

ou mean

't be a moment, Bill." He got up from the bed and went on briskly with his dressing. "Oh, by

ow do y

asses not to have thought of it when we came in. The l

, I

ppose you did th

said Antony a

ten. Well, that knocks your t

, it would probably mean that the office key was outside, an

ere you are. It makes it much less exciting. When you were talking about it on the lawn, I

as he transferred his pipe and tobacco into the pocket o

as to the guest's comfort, and the three of them fell into a casual

less able than the other two, perhaps because he was younger than they, t

aid Cayle

whether they were

doors, and then smiled in a friendly way at Antony. "We both seem

st wondered, you know. I tho

convinced me, you know. Just as El

Antony looked inquiringly at

she told the Inspector? Of course, as I told Birch, girls of th

s it?" s

lsie had heard through the

ony, rather to himself than to the other. "She migh

atiently, "It was accidental. I know it was accidental. What's the good of talking as if Mark was a murderer?" Dinner was

ll's great disappointment they talked

natural. Bill would look after his friend. Bill was only too willing. He offered to beat Antony at billiards, to

e," he said piously. "I co

ite warm. Somewhere where we can sit down, rig

at about the

yhow, weren't you? Is it somewhere wher

ideal place

way they were going now would take them out at the opposite end of the park, on the high road to Stanton, a country town some three miles away. They passed by a g

oonlight on either side of the drive, wearing a little way ahead of the

bsurd place for a bowling green,

It's short enough for go

there in front of them was the green. A dry ditch, ten feet wide and six feet deep, surrounded it, except in the one place where the p

nicely," said Antony. "Wh

ummer house pla

til they came to it-a low wooden bunk whic

Jolly

lau

's just for keeping th

"Just in case anybody's in the ditch," sa

Bill, "We are a

ttle. Then he took his pipe out of

to be the complete

tso

to ask futile questions, to give me chances of scoring off you, to make brilliant discoveries of you

e from the strawberry-mark on your shirt-front that you had strawberries for dessert. Holmes, you astonish me. Tut, tut, yo

After waiting hopefully for a minut

to ask you if you have deduced an

began t

nteen. And that was supposed to be the difference between observation and non-observation. Watson was crushed again, and Holmes appeared to him more amazing than ever. Now, it always seemed to me that in that matter Holmes was the ass, and Watson the sensible person. What on earth is the point of keeping in your he

y couldn't,

y, with a sudden change of voice, "I could find out for

out the club steps, but he felt it his duty to

d Antony. "I

sed hi

m. One-two-three-four-five-six, then a broad step; six-seven-eight-nine, another broad step; nine-ten-eleven. Eleven-I'm inside. Good morning, Rogers. Fine day again." With a little start he opened

istinctly

r hot," he sa

of small objects for three minutes, and then turn away and try to make a list of them. It means a devil of a lot of concentration for the ordinary person, if he wants to get his list complete, but in some odd way I manage to do

ift for an amateur detective. You ought

surprising, you know, to a stranger. L

ow

oked at Bill comically, "let's ask him what

Bill did no

on't mean-Tony! What do you mean? Good God!

t to know-but I'm quite certain that he hasn't got the

you s

ui

d at him w

t tell me that you can see into people's p

d and denied

ow do y

apter, but I always think that that's so unfair. So here goes. Of course, I don't really know that he's got it, but I do kn

you've only just remembered it-reconstructed

did see something. I saw th

he

e billiard-

was inside when w

act

ut it

usly C

ut

of the room next to it would fit. Something like that, I daresay. Well, when I was sitting out by myself on that seat just before you came along, I went over the whole scene in my mind, and I suddenly saw the billiard-room key the

Jo

sometimes. But I piled it on, and pretended that it was enormously important, and quite altered the case altogether, and having got Cayley thoroughly anxious about it, I told him that we should be well

as still outside. Why

ctor had been in the library, and might possibly have

l, after waiting

at he had been careless, and he hadn't got time to think it all over. So he didn't want to commit himself definite

said Bi

ey was much of a hand at joking. Bill had helped him to sausages, played tennis with him, borrowed his tobacco, lent him a putter.... and here was Antony saying that he was

Antony suddenly. "It's

, do you rea

n wh

t Cay

I said, Bil

t does it

ternoon, and that Cayley knows exactly how he died. T

Bill gave a sigh of relief. "H

won

hat the simple

d of Cayley and want to let him down

it simple

e to give you a simpler one afterwards. Go on. Only remem

t as Cayley was saying. Cayley hears the shot, and in order to give Mark time to get away, locks the door, p

, Watson,

hy

is Mark who has shot Robert,

or a moment, "All right. Say that Cayley has gone

el

there y

e afternoon; and could he lend him a pocket-ha

ose he asks what happene

t does M

lver went off accidenta

ouraging him to do the damn silliest thing that any ma

ught again. "Well," he said reluctantly, "suppos

ory is this. Mark confesses to Cayley that he shot Robert on purpose, and Cayley decides, even at the

nod

urder-a murder that puts the rope so very tightly round his neck? Secondly, if Cayley is prepared to perjure himself for Mark (as he has

carefully, and then

on is a wash-out," he sai

He had begun to think about