Samuel Boyd of Catchpole Square: A MysteryFarjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
General
Samuel Boyd of Catchpole Square: A Mystery
Farjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
Detective and mystery stories; London (England) -- Fiction
Dick finds no further incriminating evidence against Reginald than
that which he appropriated on his last visit. He makes, however, a
curious discovery. He has examined every room with the exception of a
small room on the same floor as the office, against the outer wall of
which is placed the grand piano. The door of this room opens into the
passage, and it is locked. His diligent search is rewarded by finding
the key of the door, which he opens. The room is simply furnished, a
table and two wooden chairs being all that it contains. A large
cupboard with folding doors is fixed to the wall, and by pressing a
spring he loosens one of these doors. The cupboard is bare of shelves,
and affords ample space for a man to stand upright in. There is a
sliding panel at the back, about three feet from the floor, and just
wide enough for a man to squeeze through. He is surprised to see that
the sliding panel leads to the interior of the grand piano, which is
quite hollow and contains no wire or wood-work of any kind. The open
space is large enough for a man to lie down in, though not without
discomfort. The key of the piano is in the inner part of the lock, and
by removing this any person concealed there could see into the office,
and could certainly hear any sounds of voices or movements made
therein, the watcher being so shrouded in darkness as to be quite safe
from observation. "Another of Samuel Boyd's tricks," thinks Dick, "for
spying upon his clerks." To verify this he returns to the office, and
satisfies himself that he has arrived at the correct explanation.
As he stands pondering over this curious discovery, which in the end
he dismisses from his mind as of no importance, he finds himself
mechanically counting the bottles of wine stacked against another part
of the wall. It is done idly, and without meaning, but he does not
forget that there are seventy-six bottles, with the crusted dust of
years upon them. "Port wine, I should say," he thinks. "I should like
half a pint." But he does not yield to the temptation.
At three in the morning his search is at an end. He can do nothing
more. He has met with no traces of Abel Death, and he has not found an
additional clue.
"I must keep my own counsel," he mutters. "If Abel Death turns up will
it be for good or ill? His absence lays him open to suspicion, but it
is altogether a case of circumstantial evidence. Supposing him to be
caught, tried, and convicted, and he an innocent man----!"
He cannot pursue this supposition to its just conclusion. The image of
Florence presents itself, her hands stretched out, appealing to him to
save Reginald.
With a sinking heart, and using every precaution to escape
observation, he succeeds in getting out of the office by the front
entrance. Oppressed by the conviction that he must now wait for the
course of events, and that he is powerless to direct them, he is
walking out of Deadman's Court when the voice of Constable Applebee
falls upon his ears.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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