Produced by Suzanne Shell, Andrea Ball and the Online DistributedProofreading Team.
MARTIN HEWITT, INVESTIGATOR.
ByArthur Morrison
1894
CONTENTS.
I. THE LENTON CROFT ROBBERIES
II. THE LOSS OF SAMMY CROCKETT
III. THE CASE OF MR. FOGGATT
IV. THE CASE OF THE DIXON TORPEDO
V. THE QUINTON JEWEL AFFAIR
VI. THE STANWAY CAMEO MYSTERY
VII. THE AFFAIR OF THE TORTOISE
MARTIN HEWITT, INVESTIGATOR.
I.
THE LENTON CROFT ROBBERIES.
Those who retain any memory of the great law cases of fifteen or twentyyears back will remember, at least, the title of that extraordinary willcase, "Bartley _v_. Bartley and others," which occupied the Probate Courtfor some weeks on end, and caused an amount of public interest rarelyaccorded to any but the cases considered in the other division of the samecourt. The case itself was noted for the large quantity of remarkable andunusual evidence presented by the plaintiff's side--evidence that took theother party completely by surprise, and overthrew their case like a houseof cards. The affair will, perhaps, be more readily recalled as theoccasion of the sudden rise to eminence in their profession of Messrs.Crellan, Hunt & Crellan, solicitors for the plaintiff--a result dueentirely to the wonderful ability shown in this case of building up,apparently out of nothing, a smashing weight of irresistible evidence.That the firm has since maintained--indeed enhanced--the position it thenwon for itself need scarcely be said here; its name is familiar toeverybody. But there are not many of the outside public who know that thecredit of the whole performance was primarily due to a young clerk in theemploy of Messrs. Crellan, who had been given charge of the seeminglydesperate task of collecting evidence in the case.
This Mr. Martin Hewitt had, however, full credit and reward for hisexploit from his firm and from their client, and more than one other firmof lawyers engaged in contentious work made good offers to entice Hewittto change his employers. Instead of this, however, he determined to workindependently for the future, having conceived the idea of making aregular business of doing, on behalf of such clients as might retain him,similar work to that he had just done with such conspicuous success forMessrs. Crellan, Hunt & Crellan. This was the beginning of the privatedetective business of Martin Hewitt, and his action at that time has beencompletely justified by the brilliant professional successes he has sinceachieved.
His business has always been conducted in the most private manner, and hehas always declined the help of professional assistants, preferring tocarry out himself such of the many investigations offered him as he couldmanage. He has always maintained that he has never lost by this policy,since the chance of his refusing a case begets competition for hisservices, and his fees rise by a natural process. At the same time, no mancould know better how to employ casual assistance at the right time.
Some curiosity has been expressed as to Mr. Martin Hewitt's system, and,as he himself always consistently maintains that he has no system beyond ajudicious use of ordinary faculties, I intend setting forth in detail afew of the more interesting of his cases in order that the public mayjudge for itself if I am right in estimating Mr. Hewitt's "ordinaryfaculties" as faculties very extraordinary indeed. He is not a man who hasmade many friendships (this, probably, for professional reasons),notwithstanding his genial and companionable manners. I myself first madehis acquaintance as a result of an accident resulting in a fire at the oldhouse in which Hewitt's office was situated, and in an upper floor ofwhich I occupied bachelor chambers. I was able to help in saving aquantity of extremely important papers relating to his business, and,while repairs were being made, allowed him to lock them in an oldwall-safe in one of my rooms which the fire had scarcely damaged.
The acquaintance thus begun has lasted many years, and has become a ratherclose friendship. I have even accompanied Hewitt on some of hisexpeditions, and, in a humble way, helped him. Such of the cases, however,as I personally saw nothing of I have put into narrative form from theparticulars given me.
"I consider you, Brett," he said, addressing me, "the most remarkablejournalist alive. Not because you're particularly clever, you know,because, between ourselves, I hope you'll admit you're not; but becauseyou have known something of me and my doings for some years, and havenever yet been guilty of giving away any of my little business secrets youmay have become acquainted with. I'm afraid you're not so enterprising ajournalist as some, Brett. But now, since you ask, you shall writesomething--if you think it worth while."
This he said, as he said most things, with a cheery, chaffing good-naturethat would have been, perhaps, surprising to a stranger who thought of himonly as a grim and mysterious discoverer of secrets and crimes. Indeed,the man had always as little of the aspect of the conventional detectiveas may be imagined. Nobody could appear more cordial or less observant inmanner, although there was to be seen a certain sharpness of theeye--which might, after all, only be the twinkle of good humor.
I _did_ think it worth while to write something of Martin Hewitt'sinvestigations, and a description of one of his adventures follows.
* * * * *
At the head of the first flight of a dingy staircase leading up from anever-open portal in a street by the Strand stood a door, the dustyground-glass upper panel of which carried in its center the single word"Hewitt," while at its right-hand lower corner, in smaller letters,"Clerk's Office" appeared. On a morning when the clerks in theground-floor offices had barely hung up their hats, a short, well-dressedyoung man, wearing spectacles, hastening to open the dusty door, ran intothe arms of another man who suddenly issued from it.
"I beg pardon," the first said. "Is this Hewitt's Detective AgencyOffice?"
"Yes, I believe you will find it so," the other replied. He was astoutish, clean-shaven man, of middle height, and of a cheerful, roundcountenance. "You'd better speak to the clerk."
In the little outer office the visitor was met by a sharp lad with inkyfingers, who presented him with a pen and a printed slip. The printed sliphaving been filled with the visitor's name and present business, andconveyed through an inner door, the lad reappeared with an invitation tothe private office. There, behind a writing-table, sat the stoutish manhimself, who had only just advised an appeal to the clerk.
"Good-morning, Mr. Lloyd--Mr. Vernon Lloyd," he said, affably, lookingagain at the slip. "You'll excuse my care to start even with myvisitors--I must, you know. You come from Sir James Norris, I see."
"Yes; I am his secretary. I have only to ask you to go straight to LentonCroft at once, if you can, on very important business. Sir James wouldhave wired, but had not your precise address. Can you go by the nexttrain? Eleven-thirty is the first available from Paddington."
"Quite possibly. Do you know any thing of the business?"
"It is a case of a robbery in the house, or, rather, I fancy, of severalrobberies. Jewelry has been stolen from rooms occupied by visitors to theCroft. The first case occurred some months ago--nearly a year ago, infact. Last night there was another. But I think you had better get thedetails on the spot. Sir James has told me to telegraph if you are coming,so that he may meet you himself at the station; and I must hurry, as hisdrive to the station will be rather a long one. Then I take it you willgo, Mr. Hewitt? Twyford is the station."
"Yes, I shall come, and by the 11.30. Are you going by that trainyourself?"
"No, I have several things to attend to now I am in town. Good-morning; Ishall wire at once."
Mr. Martin Hewitt locked the drawer of his table and sent his clerk for acab.
At Twyford Station Sir James Norris was wa
iting with a dog-cart. Sir Jameswas a tall, florid man of fifty or thereabout, known away from home assomething of a county historian, and nearer his own parts as a greatsupporter of the hunt, and a gentleman much troubled with poachers. Assoon as he and Hewitt had found one another the baronet hurried thedetective into his dog-cart. "We've something over seven miles to drive,"he said, "and I can tell you all about this wretched business as we go.That is why I came for you myself, and alone."
Hewitt nodded.
"I have sent for you, as Lloyd probably told you, because of a robbery atmy place last evening. It appears, as far as I can guess, to be one ofthree by the same hand, or by the same gang. Late yesterday afternoon----"
"Pardon me, Sir James," Hewitt interrupted, "but I think I must ask you tobegin at the first robbery and tell me the whole tale in proper order. Itmakes things clearer, and sets them in their proper shape."
"Very well! Eleven months ago, or thereabout, I had rather a large partyof visitors, and among them Colonel Heath and Mrs. Heath--the lady being arelative of my own late wife. Colonel Heath has not been long retired, youknow--used to be political resident in an Indian native state. Mrs. Heathhad rather a good stock of jewelry of one sort and another, about the mostvaluable piece being a bracelet set with a particularly fine pearl--quitean exceptional pearl, in fact--that had been one of a heap of presentsfrom the maharajah of his state when Heath left India.
"It was a very noticeable bracelet, the gold setting being a merefeather-weight piece of native filigree work--almost too fragile to truston the wrist--and the pearl being, as I have said, of a size and qualitynot often seen. Well, Heath and his wife arrived late one evening, andafter lunch the following day, most of the men being off bythemselves--shooting, I think--my daughter, my sister (who is very oftendown here), and Mrs. Heath took it into their heads to gowalking--fern-hunting, and so on. My sister was rather long dressing, and,while they waited, my daughter went into Mrs. Heath's room, where Mrs.Heath turned over all her treasures to show her, as women do, you know.When my sister was at last ready, they came straight away, leaving thethings littering about the room rather than stay longer to pack them up.The bracelet, with other things, was on the dressing-table then."
"One moment. As to the door?"
"They locked it. As they came away my daughter suggested turning the key,as we had one or two new servants about."
"And the window?"
"That they left open, as I was going to tell you. Well, they went on theirwalk and came back, with Lloyd (whom they had met somewhere) carryingtheir ferns for them. It was dusk and almost dinner-time. Mrs. Heath wentstraight to her room, and--the bracelet was gone."
"Was the room disturbed?"
"Not a bit. Everything was precisely where it had been left, except thebracelet. The door hadn't been tampered with, but of course the window wasopen, as I have told you."
"You called the police, of course?"
"Yes, and had a man from Scotland Yard down in the morning. He seemed apretty smart fellow, and the first thing he noticed on the dressing-table,within an inch or two of where the bracelet had been, was a match, whichhad been lit and thrown down. Now nobody about the house had had occasionto use a match in that room that day, and, if they had, certainly wouldn'thave thrown it on the cover of the dressing-table. So that, presuming thethief to have used that match, the robbery must have been committed whenthe room was getting dark--immediately before Mrs. Heath returned, infact. The thief had evidently struck the match, passed it hurriedly overthe various trinkets lying about, and taken the most valuable."
"Nothing else was even moved?"
"Nothing at all. Then the thief must have escaped by the window, althoughit was not quite clear how. The walking party approached the house with afull view of the window, but saw nothing, although the robbery must havebeen actually taking place a moment or two before they turned up.
"There was no water-pipe within any practicable distance of the window,but a ladder usually kept in the stable-yard was found lying along theedge of the lawn. The gardener explained, however, that he had put theladder there after using it himself early in the afternoon."
"Of course it might easily have been used again after that and put back."
"Just what the Scotland Yard man said. He was pretty sharp, too, on thegardener, but very soon decided that he knew nothing of it. No strangerhad been seen in the neighborhood, nor had passed the lodge gates.Besides, as the detective said, it scarcely seemed the work of a stranger.A stranger could scarcely have known enough to go straight to the roomwhere a lady--only arrived the day before--had left a valuable jewel, andaway again without being seen. So all the people about the house weresuspected in turn. The servants offered, in a body, to have their boxessearched, and this was done; everything was turned over, from the butler'sto the new kitchen-maid's. I don't know that I should have had thiscarried quite so far if I had been the loser myself, but it was my guest,and I was in such a horrible position. Well, there's little more to besaid about that, unfortunately. Nothing came of it all, and the thing's asgreat a mystery now as ever. I believe the Scotland Yard man got as far assuspecting _me_ before he gave it up altogether, but give it up he did inthe end. I think that's all I know about the first robbery. Is it clear?"
"Oh, yes; I shall probably want to ask a few questions when I have seenthe place, but they can wait. What next?"
"Well," Sir James pursued, "the next was a very trumpery affair, that Ishould have forgotten all about, probably, if it hadn't been for onecircumstance. Even now I hardly think it could have been the work of thesame hand. Four months or thereabout after Mrs. Heath's disaster--inFebruary of this year, in fact--Mrs. Armitage, a young widow, who had beena school-fellow of my daughter's, stayed with us for a week or so. Thegirls don't trouble about the London season, you know, and I have no townhouse, so they were glad to have their old friend here for a little in thedull time. Mrs. Armitage is a very active young lady, and was scarcely inthe house half an hour before she arranged a drive in a pony-cart withEva--my daughter--to look up old people in the village that she used toknow before she was married. So they set off in the afternoon, and madesuch a round of it that they were late for dinner. Mrs. Armitage had asmall plain gold brooch--not at all valuable, you know; two or threepounds, I suppose--which she used to pin up a cloak or anything of thatsort. Before she went out she stuck this in the pin-cushion on herdressing-table, and left a ring--rather a good one, I believe--lying closeby."
"This," asked Hewitt, "was not in the room that Mrs. Heath had occupied, Itake it?"
"No; this was in another part of the building. Well, the broochwent--taken, evidently, by some one in a deuce of a hurry, for, when Mrs.Armitage got back to her room, there was the pin-cushion with a littletear in it, where the brooch had been simply snatched off. But the curiousthing was that the ring--worth a dozen of the brooch--was left where ithad been put. Mrs. Armitage didn't remember whether or not she had lockedthe door herself, although she found it locked when she returned; but myniece, who was indoors all the time, went and tried it once--because sheremembered that a gas-fitter was at work on the landing near by--and foundit safely locked. The gas-fitter, whom we didn't know at the time, but whosince seems to be quite an honest fellow, was ready to swear that nobodybut my niece had been to the door while he was in sight of it--which wasalmost all the time. As to the window, the sash-line had broken that verymorning, and Mrs. Armitage had propped open the bottom half about eight orten inches with a brush; and, when she returned, that brush, sash, and allwere exactly as she had left them. Now I scarcely need tell _you_ what anawkward job it must have been for anybody to get noiselessly in at thatunsupported window; and how unlikely he would have been to replace it,with the brush, exactly as he found it."
"Just so. I suppose the brooch, was really gone? I mean, there was nochance of Mrs. Armitage having mislaid it?"
"Oh, none at all! There was a most careful search."
"Then, as to getting in at the window, wo
uld it have been easy?"
"Well, yes," Sir James replied; "yes, perhaps it would. It was afirst-floor window, and it looks over the roof and skylight of thebilliard-room. I built the billiard-room myself--built it out from asmoking-room just at this corner. It would be easy enough to get at thewindow from the billiard-room roof. But, then," he added, "that couldn'thave been the way. Somebody or other was in the billiard-room the wholetime, and nobody could have got over the roof (which is nearly allskylight) without being seen and heard. I was there myself for an hour ortwo, taking a little practice."
"Well, was anything done?"
"Strict inquiry was made among the servants, of course, but nothing cameof it. It was such a small matter that Mrs. Armitage wouldn't hear of mycalling in the police or anything of that sort, although I felt prettycertain that there must be a dishonest servant about somewhere. A servantmight take a plain brooch, you know, who would feel afraid of a valuablering, the loss of which would be made a greater matter of."
"Well, yes, perhaps so, in the case of an inexperienced thief, who alsowould be likely to snatch up whatever she took in a hurry. But I'mdoubtful. What made you connect these two robberies together?"
"Nothing whatever--for some months. They seemed quite of a different sort.But scarcely more than a month ago I met Mrs. Armitage at Brighton, and wetalked, among other things, of the previous robbery--that of Mrs. Heath'sbracelet. I described the circumstances pretty minutely, and, when Imentioned the match found on the table, she said: 'How strange! Why, _my_thief left a match on the dressing-table when he took my poor littlebrooch!'"
Hewitt nodded. "Yes," he said. "A spent match, of course?"
"Yes, of course, a spent match. She noticed it lying close by thepin-cushion, but threw it away without mentioning the circumstance. Still,it seemed rather curious to me that a match should be lit and dropped, ineach case, on the dressing-cover an inch from where the article was taken.I mentioned it to Lloyd when I got back, and he agreed that it seemedsignificant."
"Scarcely," said Hewitt, shaking his head. "Scarcely, so far, to be calledsignificant, although worth following up. Everybody uses matches in thedark, you know."
"Well, at any rate, the coincidence appealed to me so far that it struckme it might be worth while to describe the brooch to the police in orderthat they could trace it if it had been pawned. They had tried that, ofcourse, over the bracelet without any result, but I fancied the shot mightbe worth making, and might possibly lead us on the track of the moreserious robbery."
"Quite so. It was the right thing to do. Well?"
"Well, they found it. A woman had pawned it in London--at a shop inChelsea. But that was some time before, and the pawnbroker had cleanforgotten all about the woman's appearance. The name and address she gavewere false. So that was the end of that business."
"Had any of the servants left you between the time the brooch was lost andthe date of the pawn ticket?"
"No."
"Were all your servants at home on the day the brooch was pawned?"
"Oh, yes! I made that inquiry myself."
"Very good! What next?"
"Yesterday--and this is what made me send for you. My late wife's sistercame here last Tuesday, and we gave her the room from which Mrs. Heathlost her bracelet. She had with her a very old-fashioned brooch,containing a miniature of her father, and set in front with three veryfine brilliants and a few smaller stones. Here we are, though, at theCroft. I'll tell you the rest indoors."
Hewitt laid his hand on the baronet's arm. "Don't pull up, Sir James," hesaid. "Drive a little farther. I should like to have a general idea of thewhole case before we go in."
"Very good!" Sir James Norris straightened the horse's head again and wenton. "Late yesterday afternoon, as my sister-in-law was changing her dress,she left her room for a moment to speak to my daughter in her room, almostadjoining. She was gone no more than three minutes, or five at most, buton her return the brooch, which had been left on the table, had gone. Nowthe window was shut fast, and had not been tampered with. Of course thedoor was open, but so was my daughter's, and anybody walking near musthave been heard. But the strangest circumstance, and one that almost makesme wonder whether I have been awake to-day or not, was that there lay _aused match_ on the very spot, as nearly as possible, where the brooch hadbeen--and it was broad daylight!"
Hewitt rubbed his nose and looked thoughtfully before him. "Um--curious,certainly," he said, "Anything else?"
"Nothing more than you shall see for yourself. I have had the room lockedand watched till you could examine it. My sister-in-law had heard of yourname, and suggested that you should be called in; so, of course, I didexactly as she wanted. That she should have lost that brooch, of allthings, in my house is most unfortunate; you see, there was some smalldifference about the thing between my late wife and her sister when theirmother died and left it. It's almost worse than the Heaths' braceletbusiness, and altogether I'm not pleased with things, I can assure you.See what a position it is for me! Here are three ladies, in the space ofone year, robbed one after another in this mysterious fashion in my house,and I can't find the thief! It's horrible! People will be afraid to comenear the place. And I can do nothing!"
"Ah, well, we'll see. Perhaps we had better turn back now. By-the-by, wereyou thinking of having any alterations or additions made to your house?"
"No. What makes you ask?"
"I think you might at least consider the question of painting anddecorating, Sir James--or, say, putting up another coach-house, orsomething. Because I should like to be (to the servants) the architect--orthe builder, if you please--come to look around. You haven't told any ofthem about this business?"
"Not a word. Nobody knows but my relatives and Lloyd. I took everyprecaution myself, at once. As to your little disguise, be the architectby all means, and do as you please. If you can only find this thief andput an end to this horrible state of affairs, you'll do me the greatestservice I've ever asked for--and as to your fee, I'll gladly make itwhatever is usual, and three hundred in addition."
Martin Hewitt bowed. "You're very generous, Sir James, and you may be sureI'll do what I can. As a professional man, of course, a good fee alwaysstimulates my interest, although this case of yours certainly seemsinteresting enough by itself."
"Most extraordinary! Don't you think so? Here are three persons, allladies, all in my house, two even in the same room, each successivelyrobbed of a piece of jewelry, each from a dressing-table, and a used matchleft behind in every case. All in the most difficult--one would sayimpossible--circumstances for a thief, and yet there is no clue!"
"Well, we won't say that just yet, Sir James; we must see. And we mustguard against any undue predisposition to consider the robberies in alump. Here we are at the lodge gate again. Is that your gardener--the manwho left the ladder by the lawn on the first occasion you spoke of?"
Mr. Hewitt nodded in the direction of a man who was clipping a box border.
"Yes; will you ask him anything?"
"No, no; at any rate, not now. Remember the building alterations. I think,if there is no objection, I will look first at the room that thelady--Mrs.----" Hewitt looked up, inquiringly.
"My sister-in-law? Mrs. Cazenove. Oh, yes! you shall come to her room atonce."
"Thank you. And I think Mrs. Cazenove had better be there."
They alighted, and a boy from the lodge led the horse and dog-cart away.
Mrs. Cazenove was a thin and faded, but quick and energetic, lady ofmiddle age. She bent her head very slightly on learning Martin Hewitt'sname, and said: "I must thank you, Mr. Hewitt, for your very promptattention. I need scarcely say that any help you can afford in tracing thethief who has my property--whoever it may be--will make me most grateful.My room is quite ready for you to examine."
The room was on the second floor--the top floor at that part of thebuilding. Some slight confusion of small articles of dress was observablein parts of the room.
"This, I take it," inquired
Hewitt, "is exactly as it was at the time thebrooch was missed?"
"Precisely," Mrs. Cazenove answered. "I have used another room, and putmyself to some other inconveniences, to avoid any disturbance."
Hewitt stood before the dressing-table. "Then this is the used match," heobserved, "exactly where it was found?"
"Yes."
"Where was the brooch?"
"I should say almost on the very same spot. Certainly no more than a veryfew inches away."
Hewitt examined the match closely. "It is burned very little," heremarked. "It would appear to have gone out at once. Could you hear itstruck?"
"I heard nothing whatever; absolutely nothing."
"If you will step into Miss Norris' room now for a moment," Hewittsuggested, "we will try an experiment. Tell me if you hear matches struck,and how many. Where is the match-stand?"
The match-stand proved to be empty, but matches were found in Miss Norris'room, and the test was made. Each striking could be heard distinctly, evenwith one of the doors pushed to.
"Both your own door and Miss Norris' were open, I understand; the windowshut and fastened inside as it is now, and nothing but the brooch wasdisturbed?"
"Yes, that was so."
"Thank you, Mrs. Cazenove. I don't think I need trouble you any furtherjust at present. I think, Sir James," Hewitt added, turning to thebaronet, who was standing by the door----"I think we will see the otherroom and take a walk outside the house, if you please. I suppose, by theby, that there is no getting at the matches left behind on the first andsecond occasions?"
"No," Sir James answered. "Certainly not here. The Scotland Yard man mayhave kept his."
The room that Mrs. Armitage had occupied presented no peculiar feature. Afew feet below the window the roof of the billiard-room was visible,consisting largely of skylight. Hewitt glanced casually about the walls,ascertained that the furniture and hangings had not been materiallychanged since the second robbery, and expressed his desire to see thewindows from the outside. Before leaving the room, however, he wished toknow the names of any persons who were known to have been about the houseon the occasions of all three robberies.
"Just carry your mind back, Sir James," he said. "Begin with yourself, forinstance. Where were you at these times?"
"When Mrs. Heath lost her bracelet, I was in Tagley Wood all theafternoon. When Mrs. Armitage was robbed, I believe I was somewhere aboutthe place most of the time she was out. Yesterday I was down at the farm."Sir James' face broadened. "I don't know whether you call those suspiciousmovements," he added, and laughed.
"Not at all; I only asked you so that, remembering your own movements, youmight the better recall those of the rest of the household. Was anybody,to your knowledge--_anybody_, mind--in the house on all three occasions?"
"Well, you know, it's quite impossible to answer for all the servants.You'll only get that by direct questioning--I can't possibly rememberthings of that sort. As to the family and visitors--why, you don't suspectany of them, do you?"
"I don't suspect a soul, Sir James," Hewitt answered, beaming genially,"not a soul. You see, I can't suspect people till I know something aboutwhere they were. It's quite possible there will be independent evidenceenough as it is, but you must help me if you can. The visitors, now. Wasthere any visitor here each time--or even on the first and last occasionsonly?"
"No, not one. And my own sister, perhaps you will be pleased to know, wasonly there at the time of the first robbery."
"Just so! And your daughter, as I have gathered, was clearly absent fromthe spot each time--indeed, was in company with the party robbed. Yourniece, now?"
"Why hang it all, Mr. Hewitt, I can't talk of my niece as a suspectedcriminal! The poor girl's under my protection, and I really can'tallow----"
Hewitt raised his hand, and shook his head deprecatingly.
"My dear sir, haven't I said that I don't suspect a soul? _Do_ let me knowhow the people were distributed, as nearly as possible. Let me see. It wasyour, niece, I think, who found that Mrs. Armitage's door was locked--thisdoor, in fact--on the day she lost her brooch?"
"Yes, it was."
"Just so--at the time when Mrs. Armitage herself had forgotten whether shelocked it or not. And yesterday--was she out then?"
"No, I think not. Indeed, she goes out very little--her health is usuallybad. She was indoors, too, at the time of the Heath robbery, since youask. But come, now, I don't like this. It's ridiculous to suppose that_she_ knows anything of it."
"I don't suppose it, as I have said. I am only asking for information.That is all your resident family, I take it, and you know nothing ofanybody else's movements--except, perhaps, Mr. Lloyd's?"
"Lloyd? Well, you know yourself that he was out with the ladies when thefirst robbery took place. As to the others, I don't remember. Yesterday hewas probably in his room, writing. I think that acquits _him_, eh?" SirJames looked quizzically into the broad face of the affable detective, whosmiled and replied:
"Oh, of course nobody can be in two places at once, else what would becomeof the _alibi_ as an institution? But, as I have said, I am only settingmy facts in order. Now, you see, we get down to the servants--unless somestranger is the party wanted. Shall we go outside now?"
Lenton Croft was a large, desultory sort of house, nowhere more than threefloors high, and mostly only two. It had been added to bit by bit, till itzigzagged about its site, as Sir James Norris expressed it, "like a gameof dominoes." Hewitt scrutinized its external features carefully as theystrolled around, and stopped some little while before the windows of thetwo bed-rooms he had just seen from the inside. Presently they approachedthe stables and coach-house, where a groom was washing the wheels of thedog-cart.
"Do you mind my smoking?" Hewitt asked Sir James. "Perhaps you will take acigar yourself--they are not so bad, I think. I will ask your man for alight."
Sir James felt for his own match-box, but Hewitt had gone, and waslighting his cigar with a match from a box handed him by the groom. Asmart little terrier was trotting about by the coach-house, and Hewittstooped to rub its head. Then he made some observation about the dog,which enlisted the groom's interest, and was soon absorbed in a chat withthe man. Sir James, waiting a little way off, tapped the stones ratherimpatiently with his foot, and presently moved away.
For full a quarter of an hour Hewitt chatted with the groom, and, when atlast he came away and overtook Sir James, that gentleman was aboutre-entering the house.
"I beg your pardon, Sir James," Hewitt said, "for leaving you in thatunceremonious fashion to talk to your groom, but a dog, Sir James--a gooddog--will draw me anywhere."
"Oh!" replied Sir James, shortly.
"There is one other thing," Hewitt went on, disregarding the other'scurtness, "that I should like to know: There are two windows directlybelow that of the room occupied yesterday by Mrs. Cazenove--one on eachfloor. What rooms do they light?"
"That on the ground floor is the morning-room; the other is Mr.Lloyd's--my secretary. A sort of study or sitting-room."
"Now you will see at once, Sir James," Hewitt pursued, with an affabledetermination to win the baronet back to good-humor--"you will see at oncethat, if a ladder had been used in Mrs. Heath's case, anybody looking fromeither of these rooms would have seen it."
"Of course! The Scotland Yard man questioned everybody as to that, butnobody seemed to have been in either of the rooms when the thing occurred;at any rate, nobody saw anything."
"Still, I think I should like to look out of those windows myself; itwill, at least, give me an idea of what _was_ in view and what was not, ifanybody had been there."
Sir James Norris led the way to the morning-room. As they reached the doora young lady, carrying a book and walking very languidly, came out. Hewittstepped aside to let her pass, and afterward said interrogatively: "MissNorris, your daughter, Sir James?"
"No, my niece. Do you want to ask her anything? Dora, my dear," Sir Jamesadded, following her in the corridor, "this is Mr. H
ewitt, who isinvestigating these wretched robberies for me. I think he would like tohear if you remember anything happening at any of the three times."
The lady bowed slightly, and said in a plaintive drawl: "I, uncle? Really,I don't remember anything; nothing at all."
"You found Mrs. Armitage's door locked, I believe," asked Hewitt, "whenyou tried it, on the afternoon when she lost her brooch?"
"Oh, yes; I believe it was locked. Yes, it was."
"Had the key been left in?"
"The key? Oh, no! I think not; no."
"Do you remember anything out of the common happening--anything whatever,no matter how trivial--on the day Mrs. Heath lost her bracelet?"
"No, really, I don't. I can't remember at all."
"Nor yesterday?"
"No, nothing. I don't remember anything."
"Thank you," said Hewitt, hastily; "thank you. Now the morning-room, SirJames."
In the morning-room Hewitt stayed but a few seconds, doing little morethan casually glance out of the windows. In the room above he took alittle longer time. It was a comfortable room, but with rather effeminateindications about its contents. Little pieces of draped silk-work hungabout the furniture, and Japanese silk fans decorated the mantel-piece.Near the window was a cage containing a gray parrot, and the writing-tablewas decorated with two vases of flowers.
"Lloyd makes himself pretty comfortable, eh?" Sir James observed. "But itisn't likely anybody would be here while he was out, at the time thatbracelet went."
"No," replied Hewitt, meditatively. "No, I suppose not."
He stared thoughtfully out of the window, and then, still deep in thought,rattled at the wires of the cage with a quill toothpick and played amoment with the parrot. Then, looking up at the window again, he said:"That is Mr. Lloyd, isn't it, coming back in a fly?"
"Yes, I think so. Is there anything else you would care to see here?"
"No, thank you," Hewitt replied; "I don't think there is."
They went down to the smoking-room, and Sir James went away to speak tohis secretary. When he returned, Hewitt said quietly: "I think, SirJames--I _think_ that I shall be able to give you your thief presently."
"What! Have you a clue? Who do you think? I began to believe you werehopelessly stumped."
"Well, yes. I have rather a good clue, although I can't tell you muchabout it just yet. But it is so good a clue that I should like to know nowwhether you are determined to prosecute when you have the criminal?"
"Why, bless me, of course," Sir James replied, with surprise. "It doesn'trest with me, you know--the property belongs to my friends. And even ifthey were disposed to let the thing slide, I shouldn't allow it--Icouldn't, after they had been robbed in my house."
"Of course, of course! Then, if I can, I should like to send a message toTwyford by somebody perfectly trustworthy--not a servant. Could anybodygo?"
"Well, there's Lloyd, although he's only just back from his journey. But,if it's important, he'll go."
"It is important. The fact is we must have a policeman or two here thisevening, and I'd like Mr. Lloyd to fetch them without telling anybodyelse."
Sir James rang, and, in response to his message, Mr. Lloyd appeared. WhileSir James gave his secretary his instructions, Hewitt strolled to the doorof the smoking-room, and intercepted the latter as he came out.
"I'm sorry to give you this trouble, Mr. Lloyd," he said, "but I must stayhere myself for a little, and somebody who can be trusted must go. Willyou just bring back a police-constable with you? or rather two--two wouldbe better. That is all that is wanted. You won't let the servants know,will you? Of course there will be a female searcher at the Twyfordpolice-station? Ah--of course. Well, you needn't bring her, you know. Thatsort of thing is done at the station." And, chatting thus confidentially,Martin Hewitt saw him off.
When Hewitt returned to the smoking-room, Sir James said, suddenly: "Why,bless my soul, Mr. Hewitt, we haven't fed you! I'm awfully sorry. We camein rather late for lunch, you know, and this business has bothered me so Iclean forgot everything else. There's no dinner till seven, so you'dbetter let me give you something now. I'm really sorry. Come along."
"Thank you, Sir James," Hewitt replied; "I won't take much. A fewbiscuits, perhaps, or something of that sort. And, by the by, if you don'tmind, I rather think I should like to take it alone. The fact is I want togo over this case thoroughly by myself. Can you put me in a room?"
"Any room you like. Where will you go? The dining-room's rather large, butthere's my study, that's pretty snug, or----"
"Perhaps I can go into Mr. Lloyd's room for half an hour or so; I don'tthink he'll mind, and it's pretty comfortable."
"Certainly, if you'd like. I'll tell them to send you whatever they'vegot."
"Thank you very much. Perhaps they'll also send me a lump of sugar and awalnut; it's--it's a little fad of mine."
"A--what? A lump of sugar and a walnut?" Sir James stopped for a moment,with his hand on the bell-rope. "Oh, certainly, if you'd like it;certainly," he added, and stared after this detective with curious tastesas he left the room.
When the vehicle, bringing back the secretary and the policeman, drew upon the drive, Martin Hewitt left the room on the first floor and proceededdown-stairs. On the landing he met Sir James Norris and Mrs. Cazenove, whostared with astonishment on perceiving that the detective carried in hishand the parrot-cage.
"I think our business is about brought to a head now," Hewitt remarked, onthe stairs. "Here are the police officers from Twyford." The men werestanding in the hall with Mr. Lloyd, who, on catching sight of the cage inHewitt's hand, paled suddenly.
"This is the person who will be charged, I think," Hewitt pursued,addressing the officers, and indicating Lloyd with his finger.
"What, Lloyd?" gasped Sir James, aghast. "No--not Lloyd--nonsense!"
"He doesn't seem to think it nonsense himself, does he?" Hewitt placidlyobserved. Lloyd had sank on a chair, and, gray of face, was staringblindly at the man he had run against at the office door that morning. Hislips moved in spasms, but there was no sound. The wilted flower fell fromhis button-hole to the floor, but he did not move.
"This is his accomplice," Hewitt went on, placing the parrot and cage onthe hall table, "though I doubt whether there will be any use in charging_him_. Eh, Polly?"
The parrot put his head aside and chuckled. "Hullo, Polly!" it quietlygurgled. "Come along!"
Sir James Norris was hopelessly bewildered. "Lloyd--Lloyd," he said, underhis breath. "Lloyd--and that!"
"This was his little messenger, his useful Mercury," Hewitt explained,tapping the cage complacently; "in fact, the actual lifter. Hold him up!"
The last remark referred to the wretched Lloyd, who had fallen forwardwith something between a sob and a loud sigh. The policemen took him bythe arms and propped him in his chair.
* * * * *
"System?" said Hewitt, with a shrug of the shoulders, an hour or two afterin Sir James' study. "I can't say I have a system. I call it nothing butcommon-sense and a sharp pair of eyes. Nobody using these could helptaking the right road in this case. I began at the match, just as theScotland Yard man did, but I had the advantage of taking a line throughthree cases. To begin with, it was plain that that match, being left therein daylight, in Mrs. Cazenove's room, could not have been used to lightthe table-top, in the full glare of the window; therefore it had been usedfor some other purpose--_what_ purpose I could not, at the moment, guess.Habitual thieves, you know, often have curious superstitions, and somewill never take anything without leaving something behind--a pebble or apiece of coal, or something like that--in the premises they have beenrobbing. It seemed at first extremely likely that this was a case of thatkind. The match had clearly been _brought in_--because, when I asked formatches, there were none in the stand, not even an empty box, and the roomhad not been disturbed. Also the match probably had not been struck there,nothing having been heard, although, of course, a mistake in this m
atterwas just possible. This match, then, it was fair to assume, had been litsomewhere else and blown out immediately--I remarked at the time that itwas very little burned. Plainly it could not have been treated thus fornothing, and the only possible object would have been to prevent itigniting accidentally. Following on this, it became obvious that the matchwas used, for whatever purpose, not _as_ a match, but merely as aconvenient splinter of wood.
"So far so good. But on examining the match very closely I observed, asyou can see for yourself, certain rather sharp indentations in the wood.They are very small, you see, and scarcely visible, except upon narrowinspection; but there they are, and their positions are regular. See,there are two on each side, each opposite the corresponding mark of theother pair. The match, in fact, would seem to have been gripped in somefairly sharp instrument, holding it at two points above and two below--aninstrument, as it may at once strike you, not unlike the beak of a bird.
"Now here was an idea. What living creature but a bird could possibly haveentered Mrs. Heath's window without a ladder--supposing no ladder to havebeen used--or could have got into Mrs. Armitage's window without liftingthe sash higher than the eight or ten inches it was already open? Plainly,nothing. Further, it is significant that only _one_ article was stolen ata time, although others were about. A human being could have carried anyreasonable number, but a bird could only take one at a time. But whyshould a bird carry a match in its beak? Certainly it must have beentrained to do that for a purpose, and a little consideration made thatpurpose pretty clear. A noisy, chattering bird would probably betrayitself at once. Therefore it must be trained to keep quiet both whilegoing for and coming away with its plunder. What readier or more probablyeffectual way than, while teaching it to carry without dropping, to teachit also to keep quiet while carrying? The one thing would practicallycover the other.
"I thought at once, of course, of a jackdaw or a magpie--these birds'thievish reputations made the guess natural. But the marks on the matchwere much too wide apart to have been made by the beak of either. Iconjectured, therefore, that it must be a raven. So that, when we arrivednear the coach-house, I seized the opportunity of a little chat with yourgroom on the subject of dogs and pets in general, and ascertained thatthere was no tame raven in the place. I also, incidentally, by getting alight from the coach-house box of matches, ascertained that the matchfound was of the sort generally used about the establishment--the large,thick, red-topped English match. But I further found that Mr. Lloyd had aparrot which was a most intelligent pet, and had been trained intocomparative quietness--for a parrot. Also, I learned that more than oncethe groom had met Mr. Lloyd carrying his parrot under his coat, it having,as its owner explained, learned the trick of opening its cage-door andescaping.
"I said nothing, of course, to you of all this, because I had as yetnothing but a train of argument and no results. I got to Lloyd's room assoon as possible. My chief object in going there was achieved when Iplayed with the parrot, and induced it to bite a quill toothpick.
"When you left me in the smoking-room, I compared the quill and the matchvery carefully, and found that the marks corresponded exactly. After thisI felt very little doubt indeed. The fact of Lloyd having met the ladieswalking before dark on the day of the first robbery proved nothing,because, since it was clear that the match had _not_ been used to procurea light, the robbery might as easily have taken place in daylight asnot--must have so taken place, in fact, if my conjectures were right. Thatthey were right I felt no doubt. There could be no other explanation.
"When Mrs. Heath left her window open and her door shut, anybody climbingupon the open sash of Lloyd's high window could have put the bird upon thesill above. The match placed in the bird's beak for the purpose I haveindicated, and struck first, in case by accident it should ignite byrubbing against something and startle the bird--this match would, ofcourse, be dropped just where the object to be removed was taken up; asyou know, in every case the match was found almost upon the spot where themissing article had been left--scarcely a likely triple coincidence hadthe match been used by a human thief. This would have been done as soonafter the ladies had left as possible, and there would then have beenplenty of time for Lloyd to hurry out and meet them beforedark--especially plenty of time to meet them _coming back_, as they musthave been, since they were carrying their ferns. The match was an articlewell chosen for its purpose, as being a not altogether unlikely thing tofind on a dressing-table, and, if noticed, likely to lead to the wrongconclusions adopted by the official detective.
"In Mrs. Armitage's case the taking of an inferior brooch and the leavingof a more valuable ring pointed clearly either to the operator being afool or unable to distinguish values, and certainly, from otherindications, the thief seemed no fool. The door was locked, and thegas-fitter, so to speak, on guard, and the window was only eight or teninches open and propped with a brush. A human thief entering the windowwould have disturbed this arrangement, and would scarcely risk discoveryby attempting to replace it, especially a thief in so great a hurry as tosnatch the brooch up without unfastening the pin. The bird could passthrough the opening as it was, and _would have_ to tear the pin-cushion topull the brooch off, probably holding the cushion down with its claw thewhile.
"Now in yesterday's case we had an alteration of conditions. The windowwas shut and fastened, but the door was open--but only left for a fewminutes, during which time no sound was heard either of coming or going.Was it not possible, then, that the thief was _already_ in the room, inhiding, while Mrs. Cazenove was there, and seized its first opportunity onher temporary absence? The room is full of draperies, hangings, and whatnot, allowing of plenty of concealment for a bird, and a bird could leavethe place noiselessly and quickly. That the whole scheme was strangemattered not at all. Robberies presenting such unaccountable features musthave been effected by strange means of one sort or another. There was noimprobability. Consider how many hundreds of examples of infinitely higherdegrees of bird-training are exhibited in the London streets every weekfor coppers.
"So that, on the whole, I felt pretty sure of my ground. But before takingany definite steps I resolved to see if Polly could not be persuaded toexhibit his accomplishments to an indulgent stranger. For that purpose Icontrived to send Lloyd away again and have a quiet hour alone with hisbird. A piece of sugar, as everybody knows, is a good parrot bribe; but awalnut, split in half, is a better--especially if the bird be used to it;so I got you to furnish me with both. Polly was shy at first, but Igenerally get along very well with pets, and a little perseverance soonled to a complete private performance for my benefit. Polly would take thematch, mute as wax, jump on the table, pick up the brightest thing hecould see, in a great hurry, leave the match behind, and scuttle awayround the room; but at first wouldn't give up the plunder to _me_. It wasenough. I also took the liberty, as you know, of a general look round, anddiscovered that little collection of Brummagem rings and trinkets that youhave just seen--used in Polly's education, no doubt. When we sent Lloydaway, it struck me that he might as well be usefully employed as not, so Igot him to fetch the police, deluding him a little, I fear, by talkingabout the servants and a female searcher. There will be no trouble aboutevidence; he'll confess. Of that I'm sure. I know the sort of man. But Idoubt if you'll get Mrs. Cazenove's brooch back. You see, he has been toLondon to-day, and by this time the swag is probably broken up."
Sir James listened to Hewitt's explanation with many expressions of assentand some of surprise. When it was over, he smoked a few whiffs and thensaid: "But Mrs. Armitage's brooch was pawned, and by a woman."
"Exactly. I expect our friend Lloyd was rather disgusted at his smallluck--probably gave the brooch to some female connection in London, andshe realized on it. Such persons don't always trouble to give a correctaddress."
The two smoked in silence for a few minutes, and then Hewitt continued: "Idon't expect our friend has had an easy job altogether with that bird. Hissuccesses at most have only been three, and I suspect
he had many failuresand not a few anxious moments that we know nothing of. I should judge asmuch merely from what the groom told me of frequently meeting Lloyd withhis parrot. But the plan was not a bad one--not at all. Even if the birdhad been caught in the act, it would only have been 'That mischievousparrot!' you see. And his master would only have been looking for him."
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