The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place by A. Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes looked impatiently at his watch.

‘I am waiting for a new client,’ he said, ‘but he is late. By the way, Watson, do you know anything about horse-racing?’

‘Yes, I do,’ I answered. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘I should like to know something about Sir Robert Norberton. Does the name tell you anything?’

‘Well, yes,’ I answered. ‘Sir Robert Norberton lives in Shoscombe Old Place. He is the most daredevil rider in England. He is also a boxer and an athlete. But people say he is a dangerous man.’

‘How is that?’ said Holmes.

‘Everybody knows that he horsewhipped Sam Brewer once. He nearly killed the man.’

‘And who is Sam Brewer?’

‘Sam Brewer is a well-known money-lender,’ I said.

‘Ah,’ said Holmes, ‘that sounds interesting. Now, Watson, can you give me some idea of Shoscombe Old Place?’

‘Only that it is in the center of Shoscombe Park and that the famous Shoscombe stud and training quarters are there.’

‘And the head trainer,’ said Holmes, ‘is John Mason. Don't look surprised at my knowledge, Watson, for this is a letter from him which I have in my hand. But let us have some more about Shoscombe.’

‘There are the Shoscombe spaniels,’ I said. ‘You hear of them at every dog show. The lady of Shoscombe Old Place is very proud of them.’

‘The lady of Shoscombe Old Place... Sir Robert Norberton's wife, I suppose,’ Sherlock Holmes said.

‘No,’ I said. ‘Sir Robert has never married. He lives with his widowed sister, Lady Beatrice Falder. The place belonged to her late husband, but when she dies it will go to her husband's brother. Norberton has no right to it at all. His sister draws the rents every year...’

‘And brother Robert, I suppose, spends the money?’ asked Holmes.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘He gives her a lot of trouble, and still I have heard that she is very fond of him. But why do you ask me all these questions? What is wrong at Shoscombe?’

‘Ah, that is just what I want to know. And here, I think, is the man who can tell us.’

The door opened and a tall, clean-shaven man with a firm, serious expression came in. He bowed coldly and calmly and seated himself upon the chair which Holmes pointed to.

‘You had my note, Mr. Holmes?’ he said.

‘Yes, but it explained nothing.’

‘It was too difficult for me to put the details on paper,’ said the man. ‘It was only face to face I could do it.’

‘Well, we are at your service.’

‘First of all, Mr. Holmes,’ went on the man, ‘I think that my employer, Sir Robert, has gone mad.’ Holmes raised his eyebrows. ‘I am a detective, not a doctor,’ he said. ‘But why do you think so?’

‘Well, sir, when a man does one queer thing, or two queer things, there may be a meaning to it. But when everything he does is queer, then you begin to wonder.’

‘What is wrong with your employer?’ asked Holmes.

‘I'll tell you everything, Mr. Holmes,’ said the horse trainer. ‘I know you are gentlemen of honor, and I know that it won't go beyond the room. Sir Robert has got to win this Derby. You see, he is up to the neck in debt, and it's his last chance. He thinks of nothing but the Derby and his young horse — Shoscombe Prince. His whole life depends on it. If the horse wins the race, he is saved. If Shoscombe Prince does not win — his moneylenders will tear him to pieces.’

‘It seems really a difficult situation,’ said Holmes. ‘But why do you say he is mad?’

‘Well, first of all, you have only to look at him. I don't believe he sleeps at night. His eyes are wild. And then he behaves very strangely to Lady Beatrice.’

‘And how is that?’

‘They have always been the best of friends. The two of them liked the same things, and she loved the horses as much as he did. And above all, she loved the Prince. But that's all over now.’

‘Why?’

‘Well, she seems to have lost all interest in the horses and never goes to the stable any longer.’ ‘Do you think there has been a quarrel?’ asked Sherlock Holmes.

‘I am sure they have quarreled. If they had not, he would never have given away his sister's favorite spaniel. He gave it a few days ago to old Barnes, who keeps the "Green Dragon" inn three miles away.’

‘That certainly does seem strange.’

‘She couldn't go out with him because she was an invalid, but he spent two hours every evening in her room. That's all over, too, now. He never goes near her. And she takes it to heart. She is drinking like a fish now, Mr. Holmes.’

‘Did she drink before this quarrel?’ asked Holmes.

‘Well, she drank her glass of wine, but now it's often a whole bottle an evening. The butler told me. But then, again, what is Master doing down at the old church crypt at night? And who is the man that meets him there?’

‘Go on, Mr. Mason,’ said Holmes. ‘You get more and more interesting.’

‘It was the butler who saw him go,’ the horse trainer went on. ‘It was twelve o'clock at night and raining hard. So next night I went up to the house and the butler and I went after him. We were afraid to get too near him. If he had seen us, it would have been a bad job, for he is a terrible man when he starts fighting. It was the church crypt that he was making for. And there was a man waiting for him there.’

‘What is this church crypt?’ asked Holmes.

‘Well, sir, there is an old church in the park, and under this church there is a crypt which has a bad name among us. It's a dark, damp, lonely place by day, and there are few people who would not be frightened to go near it at night. But Master is not afraid. He never feared anything in his life. But what is he doing there in the night-time?’

‘Wait a bit!’ said Holmes. ‘You say there is another man there. It must be one of your own stablemen or somebody from the house. I’m sure you have only to find out who it is and question him.’

‘It's no one I know.’

‘How can you say that?’

‘Because I saw him, Mr. Holmes. It was on that second night. Sir Robert turned and passed us, while the butler and I were hiding in the bushes like two rabbits, because the moon was shining that night. But we could hear the other man going behind. We were not afraid of him. So we got up when Sir Robert had passed us. We pretended that we were just having a walk in the moonlight. We went straight towards him. "Oh, hello," said I. "Who may you be?" I don't think he had heard us coming. So he looked over his shoulder with a face as if he had seen the devil himself... He gave a loud cry and ran away as fast as he could in the darkness. Oh, yes, he could run! In a minute he was out of sight and hearing... And who he was or what he was, we never found.’

‘But did you see him clearly in the moonlight?’ asked Holmes.

‘Oh, yes, I would recognize his yellow face again. What could he have in common with Sir Robert?’

Holmes sat for some time, thinking hard.

‘Who sits with Lady Beatrice?’ asked Holmes.

‘She has a devoted maid, who has been with her for five years."

There was a pause.

‘And then,’ began Mr. Mason again. ‘Why should Sir Robert want to dig up a dead body?’

Holmes sat up quickly.

‘We only found it out yesterday — after I had written to you. Yesterday Sir Robert went to London, so the butler and I went down to the crypt. It was all in order, sir, except that in one corner there was a bit of a human body.’

‘You informed the police, I suppose?’

‘Well, sir,’ answered the man with a grim smile, ‘I don't think it will interest the police. It was just the head and a few bones of a mummy, maybe a thousand years old. But it wasn't there before. That I'll swear, and so will the butler. It had been hidden away in a corner and covered over with a board, but that corner had always been empty before.’

‘What did you do with it?’ asked Holmes.

‘Well, we just left it there.’

‘That was wise,’ said Holmes. ‘You say Sir Robert was away yesterday. Has he returned?’

‘We expect him back today.’

‘When did Sir Robert give away his sister's dog?’

‘It was just a week ago today. The dog was howling, and Sir Robert got very angry. He caught it up, and I thought he would kill it. Then he gave it to Sandy Bain, the jockey, and told him to take the dog to old Barnes at the "Green Dragon," for he never wished to see it again.’

Holmes lit his pipe and sat for some time in silent thought.

‘It's not clear to me yet what you want me to do in this matter, Mr. Mason,’ he said at last. ‘Can't you make it more definite?’

‘Perhaps this will make it more definite, Mr. Holmes,’ said our visitor.

He took a paper from his pocket and, unwrapping it carefully, showed us a burned piece of bone.

Holmes examined it with interest.

‘Where did you get it?’

‘There is a central heating furnace in the cellar under Lady Beatrice's room. The boy who runs the furnace came to me this morning with this thing. He had found it in the furnace. He did not like the look of it.’

‘Nor do I,’ said Holmes. ‘What do you make of it, Watson?’

‘It is burned black,’ said I. ‘But there's no doubt that it is part of a human leg bone.’

‘Exactly!’ Holmes became very serious. ‘When does the boy who runs the furnace leave the cellar?’

‘He leaves it every evening,’ said Mr. Mason.

‘Then anyone could visit it during the night?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Can you enter it from outside?’ asked Holmes again.

‘There is one door from outside. There is another which leads up by a stair to the floor in which Lady Beatrice's room is situated.’

‘You say, Mr. Mason, that Sir Robert was not at home last night?’

‘No, sir, he wasn't.’

‘Then whoever was burning bones in the furnace, it was not he,’ said Holmes.

‘That's true, sir,’ said the horse trainer.

‘What is the name of that inn you spoke of?’

‘The "Green Dragon".’

‘Is there good fishing in that part of the country?’ The honest trainer showed very clearly upon his face that he was sure that Sherlock Holmes had gone mad, too.

‘Well, sir,’ he said, ‘I've heard there are fish in the river not far from the "Green Dragon" and in the Hull lake. It's in Shoscombe Park.’

‘Very good! Watson and I are famous fishermen. Are we not, Watson? We shall reach the inn tonight. Of course, I needn't say that we don't want to see you, Mr. Mason. But a note will reach us, and I'm sure I can find you if I want you.’

On a bright May evening, Holmes and I were discussing our plans for fishing with Mr. Barnes, the innkeeper.

‘What about the Hull lake?’ asked Holmes. ‘Are there many fish in it?’

‘Don't fish there, sir,’ answered the innkeeper. ‘You may find yourself in the lake before you have finished.’

‘How is that?’

‘It's Sir Robert, sir. He doesn't want any strangers to come near his park. Sir Robert is the sort that strikes first and speaks afterwards. Keep away from the park.’

‘Of course, Mr. Barnes,’ said Holmes. ‘We certainly shall. By the way, you have a beautiful spaniel here. We saw it in the hall.’ ‘You are quite right, sir. There aren't any better in England. It was Sir Robert himself who gave it to me. I have to keep it on the lead. It would run back to Shoscombe if I let it run about.’

‘We are getting some information, Watson,’ said Holmes, when the innkeeper had left us. ‘By the way, Sir Robert is still in London, I hear. Let's go to Shoscombe and try to get some more information there.’

‘Have you any theory, Holmes?’ I asked him.

‘Only this, Watson, that something happened a week or so ago which has changed the life at Shoscombe Old Place. What is that something? Let's consider the facts. The brother no longer visits his dear invalid sister. He gives away her favorite dog. Her dog, Watson. The lady keeps her room. She has lost interest in the horses and never goes to the stable any longer. She also drinks like a fish now.’

‘How will you explain the crypt?’

‘Now let's consider the facts about Sir Robert himself,’ went on Holmes, without answering my question. ‘He is mad keen upon winning the Derby. He is in the hands of the moneylenders. At any moment, his horses and his racing stables may be seized by his creditors. He is a very brave man. He lives on his sister's money. And how will you explain the crypt?’

‘Ah, yes, the crypt. Let us suppose, Watson, it's only a hypothesis that Sir Robert has killed his sister.’

‘My dear Holmes, it is out of the question,’ I cried.

‘Very possible, Watson,’ he said. ‘But I think that we may try a small experiment tomorrow. In order to throw light on the matter. And now, let's go to bed and have some rest.’

About eleven o'clock in the morning, we started for a walk and took the black spaniel with us. When we came to the gates of Shoscombe Park, Sherlock Holmes said, ‘Let's wait here. Mr. Barnes tells me that Lady Beatrice takes a drive at this time of day. When her carriage comes to the gates, it must go slowly while the gates are being opened. When it comes through them, I want you, Watson, to stop the driver with some question. And I shall stand behind this bush and see what I can see.’

We did not wait long. In a quarter of an hour, we saw a big open carriage coming through the park to the gates. Holmes hid himself behind his bush with the dog. While a servant was opening the gates, I was able to get a good look at the people in the carriage. A young woman with red cheeks and light hair sat on the right. At her left was an old woman. Her face and shoulders were wrapped in a shawl. I held up my hand and asked the driver if Sir Robert was at Shoscombe Old Place. At the same moment, Holmes rose and let the spaniel out of his hands. With a joyous cry, the dog ran forward to the carriage and jumped up on the step. Then, in a moment, its joy changed to rage, and it bit at the black skirt of the invalid. ‘Drive on, drive on!’ cried the old woman. The driver whipped up the horses, and we were left standing in the roadway.

‘The spaniel thought it was his mistress,’ said Holmes. ‘And he found it was a stranger.’ ‘Dogs don't make mistakes.’

‘But it was the voice of a man,’ I cried.

‘Exactly,’ said Holmes. ‘It was the voice of a man.’

Holmes had nothing further to do that day, so we went fishing and had fish for our supper. After supper, we went out for a walk once more.

We went along the same road as in the morning, and we came to the park gates again. A tall, dark figure was awaiting us there. It was our London visitor, Mr. Mason, the trainer.

‘Good evening, gentlemen,’ he said. ‘I got your note, Mr. Holmes. Sir Robert has not returned yet, but I hear that he is expected tonight.’

‘How far is this crypt from the house?’ asked Holmes.

‘A good quarter of a mile.’

‘You can show us the crypt, Mr. Mason, and then leave us,’ said Holmes.

At first, we could see nothing in the darkness when we came to the melancholy place. Then Holmes lit his lantern, which threw its yellow light upon stone walls and stone coffins.

‘You spoke of some bones, Mr. Mason,’ said Holmes. ‘Could you show them before you go?’

‘They are here in the corner.’ The trainer walked across the crypt and then stood in silent surprise. ‘They are gone,’ he said.

‘So I expected,’ said Holmes. ‘They were taken away and burned in the furnace.’

‘But who could want to burn the bones of a man who has been dead a thousand years?’ asked John Mason.

‘That's what we are here to find out,’ said Holmes.

When John Mason left us, Holmes set to work. He made a very careful examination of the coffins. An hour or more passed before Holmes came to a coffin standing beside the entrance to the crypt. With his lens, he carefully examined the heavy lid of the coffin. He seemed to be satisfied with his results. Suddenly, he stopped working and listened.

Someone was walking in the church above. Then a light came down the stairs. And a few seconds later, a man came in.

A large, stable lantern, which he held in front of him, shone upwards on his strong face and angry eyes. He stared at my companion and myself. ‘Who the devil are you?’ he thundered. ‘And what are you doing here?’

Then, as Holmes did not answer, he took a few steps forward and raised a heavy stick which he carried. ‘Do you hear me?’ he cried. ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’

Holmes was not frightened. He stepped forward to meet him.

‘I also have a question to ask you, Sir Robert,’ he said very seriously. ‘Who is this and why is it here?’ He turned and opened the coffin lid behind him. In the light of the lantern, I saw a body wrapped in a sheet from head to foot. I also saw a yellow face, all nose and chin.

Sir Robert gave a cry and stepped back. ‘How did you come to know of this?’ he cried. And then his courage returned to him and he said, ‘What business is it of yours?’

‘My name is Sherlock Holmes,’ said my companion. ‘Possibly you have heard of me. In any case, my business is to support the law. It seems to me you have much to answer for.’

Sir Robert stared angrily for a moment, but Holmes' quiet voice and calm manner had their effect. ‘Believe me, Mr. Holmes,’ he said. ‘I could do nothing else, but I have not done anything criminal.’

‘I should be happy to think so,’ said Holmes. ‘But I fear your explanations must be before the police.’

‘Well, if it must be, it must,’ said Sir Robert. ‘Come to the house and you can judge for yourself how the matter stands.’

A quarter of an hour later, we found ourselves in one of the rooms of the old house. Here Sir Robert left us for a few moments.

When he returned, he had two companions with him. One of them was the young woman whom we had seen in the carriage. The other was a small man with a face like a rat. They looked surprised, which showed that Sir Robert had not yet had time to explain to them what had happened.

‘There,’ said Sir Robert, pointing to them with his hand, ‘are Mr. and Mrs. Norlett. Mrs. Norlett has been my sister's maid for five years. I have brought them here because I want to explain the true position to you. And they are the only two people upon earth who can support what I say.’

‘Is this necessary, Sir Robert?’ cried the woman. ‘Have you thought what you are doing?’ ‘I know what I am doing,’ said Sir Robert. ‘Now, Mr. Holmes, listen to the facts.’

‘You know so much that I think you know I am going to run a young horse at the Derby, and everything depends upon my success. If I win, I am saved. If I lose — well, I do not dare to think of that.’ ‘I understand the position,’ said Holmes.

‘I depend upon my sister, Lady Beatrice, for everything,’ Sir Robert went on. ‘That is well known. It is also well known that, when she dies, the place will go to her late husband's brother. Now I am deeply in the hands of the moneylenders. I have always known that, if my sister died, my creditors would be here immediately. They know that no one will keep me with money after her death. Everything would be seized — my stables, my horses, everything. And my worst creditor is my worst enemy, Sam Brewer, whom I had to horsewhip once. Well, Mr. Holmes, my sister did die just a week ago.’ ‘And you told no one?’ ‘What could I do? If I did, I should be a ruined man. And the race was to take place in three weeks. So I decided to conceal my sister's death for the next three weeks. It came into my head that her maid's husband — this man here — is an actor and could play the role of my sister for that period. He had only to appear daily in the carriage, and for the rest of the day he could stay in my sister's room and drink wine that his wife brought him. No one need enter it except the maid.’ ‘Go on, Sir Robert,’ said Holmes. ‘What did you do? The body could not remain there.’

‘Nor did I carry it to the old crypt. But we were followed by my sister's spaniel. After that, the dog remained at the door of the church and howled all the time. So I got rid of the spaniel.’ ‘I don't think, Mr. Holmes, that I have done anything wrong.’

‘I don't think it was very noble to do what you did,’ said Holmes.

Sir Robert shook his head immediately. ‘I am sure,’ he said, ‘you would have felt differently if you had been in my position. I don't think that I have wronged the dead. We put her in one of the coffins of her husband's ancestors. But we could not leave the bones on the floor of the crypt. Nor did I bring them to the central furnace of the house and burn them there. There is my story, Mr. Holmes.’ ‘Well, Sir Robert,’ said Holmes, rising. ‘This matter must, of course, be brought before the police. It was my duty to bring the facts to light, and there I must leave it. It is nearly midnight, Watson, and I think we may make our way back to the "Green Dragon".’

It is now known that this episode ended for Sir Robert more happily than he deserved. The police were kind to him and kept his secret until the race was over. Shoscombe Prince won the Derby. His owner got £80,000 and paid his creditors in full. But still, there was enough money left to last Sir Robert Norberton to the end of his life.