Detective and mystery stories, English; Horror tales, English
Suspicion could only turn in one direction, and Arthur Morton, the
young squire, was immediately arrested. The evidence against him was
circumstantial, but damning. He was devoted to his sister, and it was
shown that since the rupture between her and Dr. Lana he had been heard
again and again to express himself in the most vindictive terms towards
her former lover. He had, as stated, been seen somewhere about eleven
o'clock entering the doctor's drive with a hunting-crop in his hand.
He had then, according to the theory of the police, broken in upon the
doctor, whose exclamation of fear or of anger had been loud enough to
attract the attention of Mrs. Woods. When Mrs. Woods descended, Dr.
Lana had made up his mind to talk it over with his visitor, and had,
therefore, sent his housekeeper back to her room. This conversation
had lasted a long time, had become more and more fiery, and had ended
by a personal struggle, in which the doctor lost his life. The fact,
revealed by a post-mortem, that his heart was much diseased--an ailment
quite unsuspected during his life--would make it possible that death
might in his case ensue from injuries which would not be fatal to a
healthy man. Arthur Morton had then removed his sister's photograph,
and had made his way homeward, stepping aside into the laurel bushes to
avoid Mrs. Madding at the gate. This was the theory of the
prosecution, and the case which they presented was a formidable one.
On the other hand, there were some strong points for the defence.
Morton was high-spirited and impetuous, like his sister, but he was
respected and liked by everyone, and his frank and honest nature seemed
to be incapable of such a crime. His own explanation was that he was
anxious to have a conversation with Dr. Lana about some urgent family
matters (from first to last he refused even to mention the name of his
sister). He did not attempt to deny that this conversation would
probably have been of an unpleasant nature. He had heard from a
patient that the doctor was out, and he therefore waited until about
three in the morning for his return, but as he had seen nothing of him
up to that hour, he had given it up and had returned home. As to his
death, he knew no more about it than the constable who arrested him.
He had formerly been an intimate friend of the deceased man; but
circumstances, which he would prefer not to mention, had brought about
a change in his sentiments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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