Detective and mystery stories; England -- Fiction; Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction
The Coroner gave instructions that Mr. Clarke should be called as a
witness, since this had not been done. Meanwhile, Clarice Baird
deposed that the deceased was her guardian, and had been ill with some
mysterious disease for ten years, more or less. Usually, he was good
tempered. She did not see him on the evening of the crime, as he
refused to receive her, being out of temper. Dr. Jerce had told her
that Mr. Clarke had seen deceased, and Dr. Jerce was vexed, as he did
not wish deceased, in his bad state of health, to be worried with
business. Witness also stated how she had found the gold box, and had
handed it to Dr. Jerce, who had taken it, along with the picture of
the Purple Fern and the letter given to him by the sick man of Tea
Street, Whitechapel, to Scotland Yard. Deceased had seemed much
agitated when he found the picture of the Purple Fern in the
unaddressed envelope outside his window, but had never gone into
details about the matter, and she had not found an opportunity of
speaking to him on the subject. As a matter of fact, deceased had
fallen asleep while talking of the picture of the fern, and witness
had picked it up. Beyond that he was agitated, witness had no reason
to believe that Mr. Horran expected to be murdered. Still, since the
other seven deaths, connected with the Purple Fern, had always been
preceded by the same warning, it was possible that Mr. Horran was in
dread of a violent death. Witness also stated, that she had heard no
noise or cry during the night, and, indeed, had known nothing of the
crime, until Chalks, the valet, came up to lead her down to the scene
of the tragedy. From the disposition of the bedclothes, she fancied
that deceased must have been stabbed in his sleep, before he had time
to wake or call out. Witness had told the valet to leave the room
exactly as it was, when found by him, and had then sent for the
police.
Coroner: "When you found the box, did you see deceased about it?"
Witness: "No, sir! Mr. Horran was asleep for hours and hours, and I
had no opportunity."
Coroner: "Would you have done so had deceased been awake?"
Witness: "Certainly!"
Dr. Jerce, re-called, said that he had not related the finding of the
gold box to deceased, since he was already in a state of nervous
excitement, owing to the visit of Mr. Clarke. Witness intended to wait
until Mr. Horran was more composed, and then it was his intention to
tell him about the golden box, and about Osip--that is, such details
as were in the letter given to him by the young man who died in Tea
Street. Dr. Jerce stated that he had placed all evidence in the hands
of the Scotland Yard authorities on the same night that he went up,
and that he had intended to come down next day and relate everything
to deceased, whom he hoped to find more composed. "But when I arrived
at the Crumel railway station," ended witness, "I found that my poor
friend had been murdered."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account