The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-02-26
SECTION THREE.

Then you must have important evil
dsence, OF which we are ignorant, for
they We're said to be a most united
couple"
II have only the evidence of the dam
cling men," said Holmes. It viii ex-
plain the matter 10 YOU later Mean
while. since il is too late to prevent this
tragedy. 7 am very anxious that /
should use the knowledge which L pos
sess in order TO insure that justice be
done VIII You associate me in your
investigation, or viii you prefer that
should act Independently"
I should be proud 10 feel that We
we're acting together. Mr.. Holmes"
said the inspector, earnestly
In that case ! should be glad to hear
the evidence and 20 examine the prem
ises without an instant of unnecessary
delay"
Inspector Martin had the good sense
to allow my friend to do things in his
own fahsion, and eontented himself
with carefully noting the results The
local surgeon. an old. white-haired man,
had just come down from Mrs. Hilton
Cubitt'S room, and he reported that her
injuries were serious but not ueces-
sarily fatal. The bullet had passed
through the front Of her brain. and IL
would probably be some time before
she could regain consciousness. On the
question of whether she had been shot
OF -ndu SLOL herself ne WOULD not ven
ture to express any decided opinion
Certainly the bullet had been dis
charged at very close quarters. There
was only the one pistol found IN the
room. two barrels Of which had been
emptied. Mr.. Hilton Cubitt had beer
shot through the heart II was equal
ly conceivable that he had shot her and
then himself. or that she had been the
criminal, for the revolver lay upon the
floor midway between them
I'VE have moved nothing except the
lady. We could not leave her lyme
wounded upon the floor"
How long have you been here, doc
tor?'
Since 4 O'clock"
Any one else?"
Yes, the constable here"
And you have touched nOthing?'
Nothing"
You have acted with great disere-
ton. Who sent for yOu?''
The hOusemaid. Saunders
Was it she who gave the alarm
She and Mrs. King. the cook"
Where are they nOw2''
In the kitchen, I believe"
Then I think we had better hear
their story at once"
The old hall, oak-panelled and high
Widowed. had been turned into
court of investigation Holmes sat in
a great, Old-fashioned chair. his in
gard face. I could read in them "A set
purpose to devote his life to this quest
until the client whom he had failed 10
save should at last be avenged The
trim Inspector Martin, the Old, grey
headed country doctor. myself and a
stOlid village policeman made up the
rest of that strange company.
The two women told their story
clearly enough They had been aroused
from their sleep by the sound Of an
explosion. which had been followed
minute later by a second one They
slept in adjoining rooms, and Mrs.
King had rushed in to Saunders. To
gether they had descended the stairs
The door of the study was open, and q
candle was burning upon the table.
Their master lay upon his face IN the
centre of the room He was quite
dead. Near the window his wife was
crouching, her head leaning against
the wall. She was horribly wounded.
and the side Of her face was red with
blood. She breathed heavily, but was
Incapable Of saying anything The
passage. as well as the room, was full
of smoke and the smell OF powder,
The window was certainly shut and
fastened upon the inside Both women
were positive upon the point They
had at once sent for the doctor and for
the constable. Then, with the aid Of
the groom and the stable boy. they
her room. Both she and her husband
had occupied the bed. She was clad in
her dress-he in his dressing gown.
over his night clothes Nothing had
been moved in the study So far as
they knew. there had never been any.
quarrel between husband and wife.
They had always looked upon them as
q very united couple.
These were the main points of tre
servants evidence In answer to m
spectOr Martin, they were clear that
every door was fastened upon the IN
side and that no one could have
escaped from the house. In answer to
Holmes, they both remembered that,
they were conscious OF the smell OF
powder from the moment that they ran
out of their rooms upon the top f7OOn.
Il commend that fact very carefully
to your attention" said Holmes to his
professional colleague And now
think that we are in position 20
undertake a thorough examination OF
the ROOM"
The study proved to be a small
chamber, lined on three sides with
books. and with a writing table facing
an ordinary window, which looked out
upon the garden. Our first attention
was given to the body of the UnfOrtun-
ate squire, whose huge frame lay
stretched across the room His dis
ordered dress showed that he had been
hastily aroused from sleep The bullet
and been fired at him from the front.
and had remained in his body after
penetrating the heart Bis death had
certainly been instantaneous and pain
less. There was no powder marking
either upon his dressing gown or on his
hands. According to the country sur
geOn, the lady had stains upon her
face. but none upon her hand.
1.-The absence OF the latter means
nothing. though its presence may mean
everything" said Holmes. Unless
the powder from a badly fitting cart
ridge happens to squirt backwards one
may fire many shots without leay iGg a
sign ] would suggest that Mr. Cub
tits body may now be removed
suppose. doctor, you have not re-
covered the bullet which wounded the
lady?"
a serious operation viii be neces-
sary before that can be done But
there are still four cartridges in the
revolver. Two have been fired and two
wounds inflicted, so that each bullet
can be accounted for.
so it would seem" said Holmes
Perhaps you can account also for the
bullet which has so obviously struck
the edge Of the window"
He had turned suddenly. and his
long. thin finger was pointing to hole