Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-01

ing my wife and I. when the maid proue ~
in a telegram. II was from
Holmes. and ran in this way:
"Have YOU a couple of days to spara!
Have lust been wired for from the west VI
England In connection with Boscompe Val-
lev tragedy. Shall be glad IL you VIII come
with me- Air and scenery perfect. Leave
Paddington by the HE
what do. you say, dear?" said my WIFE,
locking across at me. "Wir you go?'
Il really don't know what to say. have
a fairly long list at present"
.Oh. Anstruther would do your work for
YOU You have been looking little pale
lately. 1 think that the change would 90
YOU good, and you are always so interesteo
ia Mr. Sherlock Holmes cases"
Il should be ungrateful if were not. see
ing what | gained through one OF theii,
answered. but II / am to go, must PACK
at once for have only half an hour
My experience of camp life in Afghan
istan had at least had the effect of making
a prompt and ready traVeier: -hs
wants were few and simple, so that IN less
than the time stated l was in CAP WIN
my valise rafting away to paddlnston
station. Sherlock Holmes was pacing up
and down the platform, his tan. Saul.
figure made even gaunter and taller by ms
long gray travelling cloak and close-httlhs
cloth cap.
1T is really very good of you to come,
Watson" said he. "It makes a considera-
dble difference to me, having some one with
me on whom / can thoroughly rely. Local
aid is always either worthless or else Dl-
ased. If you will keep the two corner sea :
| shall get the tickets"
We had the carriage to ourselves save FOR
an immense litter of papers which Holmes
had brought with him. Among these ne
rummaged and read. with intervals of note
taking and of meditation, until we Were
past Reading. Then he suddenly rolled
them all into a gigantic Dall, ana tosseu
them onto the rack.
Have you heard anything of the casey
he asked.
for some days
"The london press has not had very :ulI
accounts. I have just been looking through
all the recent papers in order to master
gather, TO be one of those simple cases
which are so extremely difficult
THAT sounds a little paradoxical.'
But it is profoundly true. Singuiarity
is almost invariably a cleW. The more
featureless and commonplace a crime is-the
more difficult is it to bring it home. ln-this
case. however they have established a very
serious case against the son of the muir
dered man"
1T is a murder, them
We'll, it is conjectured to be so. 1 shall
take nothing for granted until l have the
opportunity of looking personally into It.
will explain the state of things to you,
as far as L have been able to understand
it. in a very few words.
'Boscombe valley is a country district
not very far from Ross, in Herefordshire.
The largest landed proprietor in that part
is a Mr. John Turner, who made his money
in Australia, and returned some years ago
to the old country. One of the farms which
he held, that of Hatheriey, was let to Mr..
Charles Mccarthy, who also an eX-
Australian. The men had known each other
H. .
natural that when they came to settle
down they should do so as near each other
as possible. Turner was apparently the
richer man, so Mccarthy became his ten
ant, but still remained, 1t seems. upon terms
of perfect equality, as they were frequently
together. Mccarthy had one son, a lad of
and Turner had an only daughter
of the same age, but neither of them had
wives living. They appear to have avoided
the society of the neighboring English fam
lies, and to have led retired lives, though
both the McCarthys We're fond of sport,
and wera frequently seen at the race meet
ings OF the neighborhood. Mccarthy kept
TWO servants-a man and girl. Turner
had a considerable household. some half
dozen at the least. That is as much as I
have been able to gather about the families
Now for the facts:
ION June 3. that is, on Monday last. Nc
Carthy left his house at Hatherley about
o'clock in the afternoon and walked down
to the BOscombe pool which Is a small
lake formed by the spreadin out of the
stream which runs down the Boscombe val
ley. He had been out with his serving-man
In the morning at Ross, and he had told
the man that he must hurry, he had an
appointment of Importance to keep at g.
From that appointment he never came back
alive.
From Hatherley farmhouse to the Bos-
combe pool is quarter of a mile, and two
people saw him as he passed over this
ground One was an old woman whose
name is not mentioned. and the other was
William Crowder a gamekeeper in the en-
ploy of Mr.. Turner. Both these witnesses
depOse that Mr.. Mccarthy was walking
alone. The gamekeeper adds that within a
few minutes of his seeing Mr.. Mccarthy
pass he had seen his son, Mr.. James Nc
Carthy, going the same way with a gun
under his arm. To the best of his belief
the father was actually i'm sight at the
time, and the son was following him He
thought no more of the matter until he
heard in the evening of the tragedy that
had occurred.
The two McCarthys were seen after the
time when William Crowder the game
Keeper lost sight of them. Boscombe Pool
Is thckly wooded round, with just a fringe
OF grass and of reeds round the edge.
girl of fourteen, Patience Moran who is
the daughter of the lodgekeeDer of the
Roscombe Valley estate was in one OF the
woods picking flowers. She states that
while she was there she saw. at the border
OF the wood ana close by the lake Mr.
Mccarthy and his son. and that they an
peared to be having Il violent quarrel She
heard Mr.. Mccarthy the elder using very
strong language to his son, and she sa "
the latter raise up his hand as If to strike
his father. She was so frightened by their
violence that she ran away and told her
mother when she reached home that she
had left the two McCarthys quarreling
near Boscombe Pool. and that she was
afraid that they were going to fight She
mad hardly said the words when young Mr.
Mccarthy came running up TO the lodge
10 say that he had found his father dead
IN the wood, and to ask for the help of
the lodgekeeper. He was much excited
without either his gun or his hat and his
right hand and sleeve were observed to be
stained with fresh blood. On following
him they found the dead body stretched
out upon the grass beside the pool The
head had been beaten in by repeated blows
OF some heavy and blunt weapon. The in
turies Were such as might very well have
been inflicted by the butt end of his sons
gun. which was found lying on the grass
within few PAGES OF the body Under
these circumstances the young man was
instantly arrested, and verdict or will
rul murder having been returned at the In
quest on Tuesday he was on Wednesday
brought before the magistrates at Ross
who have referred the case TO the next
asslzes. Those are the main facts of the
\ q nf.r9, ont Haf.