DarqueDante/test2 · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 0 74
the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury, having regard to
his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who
knew how he winced from the very thought of death, had much ado to
persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The
matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession of the
estate, and of some £14,000, which lay to his credit at the bank."

"One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, one
of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me have the
date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and the date of
his supposed suicide."

"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks
later, upon the night of May 2nd."

"Thank you. Pray proceed."

"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request,
made a careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked
up. We found the brass box there, although its contents had been
destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label, with the
initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and 'Letters, memoranda,
receipts, and a register' written beneath. These, we presume,
indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by
Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance
in the attic save a great many scattered papers and note-books
bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of them were of the war
time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the
repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during the
reconstruction of the Southern states, and were mostly concerned with
politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the
carpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the North.

"Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at
Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January
of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a
sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table.
There he was, sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and
five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one. He
had always laughed at what he called my cock-and-bull story about the
colonel, but he looked very scared and puzzled now that the same
thing had come upon himself.

"'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered.

"My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I.

"He looked inside the envelope. 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are the
very letters. But what is this written above them?'

"'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, peeping over his shoulder.

"'What papers? What sundial?' he asked.

"'The sundial in the garden. There is no other,' said I; 'but the
papers must be those that are destroyed.'

"'Pooh!' said he, gripping hard at his courage. 'We are in a
civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. Where
does the thing come from?'

"'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark.

"'Some preposterous practical joke,' said he. 'What have I to do with
sundials and papers? I shall take no notice of such nonsense.'

"'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said.

"'And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.'

"'Then let me do so?'

"'No, I forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such nonsense.'

"It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate man. I
went about, however, with a heart which was full of forebodings.

"On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from
home to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is in command
of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad that he should
go, for it seemed to me that he was farther from danger when he was
away from home. In that, however, I was in error. Upon the second day
of his absence I received a telegram from the major, imploring me to
come at once. My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits
which abound in the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a
shattered skull. I hurried to him, but he passed away without having
ever recovered his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been
returning from Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was
unknown to him, and the chalk-pit unfenced, the jury had no
hesitation in bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental
causes.' Carefully as I examined every fact connected with his death,
I was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of murder.
There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no robbery, no record
of strangers having been seen upon the roads. And yet I need not tell
you that my mind was far from at ease, and that I was well-nigh
certain that some foul plot had been woven round him.

"In this sinister way I came into my inheritance. You will ask me why
I did not dispose of it? I answer, because I was well convinced that
our troubles were in some way dependent upon an incident in my

the water was but two feet deep, so that the jury, having regard to

his known eccentricity, brought in a verdict of 'suicide.' But I, who

knew how he winced from the very thought of death, had much ado to

persuade myself that he had gone out of his way to meet it. The

matter passed, however, and my father entered into possession of the

estate, and of some £14,000, which lay to his credit at the bank."

"One moment," Holmes interposed, "your statement is, I foresee, one

of the most remarkable to which I have ever listened. Let me have the

date of the reception by your uncle of the letter, and the date of

his supposed suicide."

"The letter arrived on March 10, 1883. His death was seven weeks

later, upon the night of May 2nd."

"Thank you. Pray proceed."

"When my father took over the Horsham property, he, at my request,

made a careful examination of the attic, which had been always locked

up. We found the brass box there, although its contents had been

destroyed. On the inside of the cover was a paper label, with the

initials of K. K. K. repeated upon it, and 'Letters, memoranda,

receipts, and a register' written beneath. These, we presume,

indicated the nature of the papers which had been destroyed by

Colonel Openshaw. For the rest, there was nothing of much importance

in the attic save a great many scattered papers and note-books

bearing upon my uncle's life in America. Some of them were of the war

time and showed that he had done his duty well and had borne the

repute of a brave soldier. Others were of a date during the

reconstruction of the Southern states, and were mostly concerned with

politics, for he had evidently taken a strong part in opposing the

carpet-bag politicians who had been sent down from the North.

"Well, it was the beginning of '84 when my father came to live at

Horsham, and all went as well as possible with us until the January

of '85. On the fourth day after the new year I heard my father give a

sharp cry of surprise as we sat together at the breakfast-table.

There he was, sitting with a newly opened envelope in one hand and

five dried orange pips in the outstretched palm of the other one. He

had always laughed at what he called my cock-and-bull story about the

colonel, but he looked very scared and puzzled now that the same

thing had come upon himself.

"'Why, what on earth does this mean, John?' he stammered.

"My heart had turned to lead. 'It is K. K. K.,' said I.

"He looked inside the envelope. 'So it is,' he cried. 'Here are the

very letters. But what is this written above them?'

"'Put the papers on the sundial,' I read, peeping over his shoulder.

"'What papers? What sundial?' he asked.

"'The sundial in the garden. There is no other,' said I; 'but the

papers must be those that are destroyed.'

"'Pooh!' said he, gripping hard at his courage. 'We are in a

civilised land here, and we can't have tomfoolery of this kind. Where

does the thing come from?'

"'From Dundee,' I answered, glancing at the postmark.

"'Some preposterous practical joke,' said he. 'What have I to do with

sundials and papers? I shall take no notice of such nonsense.'

"'I should certainly speak to the police,' I said.

"'And be laughed at for my pains. Nothing of the sort.'

"'Then let me do so?'

"'No, I forbid you. I won't have a fuss made about such nonsense.'

"It was in vain to argue with him, for he was a very obstinate man. I

went about, however, with a heart which was full of forebodings.

"On the third day after the coming of the letter my father went from

home to visit an old friend of his, Major Freebody, who is in command

of one of the forts upon Portsdown Hill. I was glad that he should

go, for it seemed to me that he was farther from danger when he was

away from home. In that, however, I was in error. Upon the second day

of his absence I received a telegram from the major, imploring me to

come at once. My father had fallen over one of the deep chalk-pits

which abound in the neighbourhood, and was lying senseless, with a

shattered skull. I hurried to him, but he passed away without having

ever recovered his consciousness. He had, as it appears, been

returning from Fareham in the twilight, and as the country was

unknown to him, and the chalk-pit unfenced, the jury had no

hesitation in bringing in a verdict of 'death from accidental

causes.' Carefully as I examined every fact connected with his death,

I was unable to find anything which could suggest the idea of murder.

There were no signs of violence, no footmarks, no robbery, no record

of strangers having been seen upon the roads. And yet I need not tell

you that my mind was far from at ease, and that I was well-nigh

certain that some foul plot had been woven round him.

"In this sinister way I came into my inheritance. You will ask me why

I did not dispose of it? I answer, because I was well convinced that

our troubles were in some way dependent upon an incident in my