The Markenmore MysteryFletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
General
The Markenmore Mystery
Fletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
Detective and mystery stories; Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
“That very man!” affirmed the Professor solemnly. “Good Lord! What
does all this mean?”
Blick suddenly dropped on his knees by the dead man’s side and
abruptly plunged a hand into an inner pocket of the clothing—into a
second—a third. Just as suddenly he produced a letter-case, and from
it drew out a wad of bank-notes and two papers. He dropped the notes
unconcernedly on the stones, and hastily unfolded the papers; a
second later he thrust these into the Professor’s hand.
“That’s what it means!” he said quietly. “There’s Spindler’s formula,
and there’s your opinion about it. And—this is the chap who killed
Guy Markenmore!”
Then he looked round at the three men. The Professor was staring
blankly at the papers just handed to him; Mr. Fransemmery was staring
at the Professor; Harborough, anxious and puzzled, was looking
doubtfully at the dead man. It was he who spoke first, turning to the
detective.
“You think he—that he killed Guy Markenmore in order to get
possession of—those?” he asked, in a low voice.
Blick rose from his knees.
“What else?” he said calmly. “I see the whole thing now! Sir Thomas,
there, and I already know something of it, but up to a few minutes
ago I didn’t suspect this man. But, as I say, now I see it—clearly
enough. This man, whom I met a few nights ago at the Sceptre, posing
as Crawley, a holidaymaker, taking a walking tour round this country,
is in reality Carter, an assistant of Sir Thomas’s at his laboratory
at Cambridge. It was he to whom Sir Thomas entrusted a sealed packet
for direct conveyance to Guy Markenmore in London; he, Carter, was
passing through London on his way here for his holiday. Now, although
Carter did not know the nature of the precise contents of that
packet, he had learnt from Sir Thomas that they were of immense
scientific and monetary value. He was charged to put the packet into
Guy Markenmore’s own hands. He did so. Later that day Guy Markenmore
travelled down here. So did Carter. Probably they met on the train;
probably they travelled in company. But, at any rate, Sir Thomas and
I have just found out that Guy Markenmore and Carter were together on
these downs late that night, talking confidentially. Now from what
I’ve learned about him, Guy Markenmore was a talkative, free-and-easy
sort of a man, open and candid; probably, knowing that Carter was Sir
Thomas’s assistant, Guy took Carter into his confidence about the
secret. And Sir Thomas and I have just ascertained that Guy told
Carter that he would be at or about Markenmore Hollow at a very early
hour next morning. What does Carter do? He forms the plan of hanging
about all night—a warm night, mind!—waylaying Guy early in the
morning and murdering him for the secret and for the money which was
to be put together for it that night by Guy, Lansbury, and Baron von
Eckhardstein. And—he carries all this into execution. What does he
do, then? Goes quietly away amongst these hills and woods on his
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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