第49章 The Adventure of Black Peter(2)

In ordinary life he was a strict Puritan -- a silent, gloomy fellow.His household consisted of his wife, his daughter, aged twenty, and two female servants.These last were continually changing, for it was never a very cheery situation, and sometimes it became past all bearing.The man was an intermittent drunkard, and when he had the fit on him he was a perfect fiend.

He has been known to drive his wife and his daughter out of doors in the middle of the night, and flog them through the park until the whole village outside the gates was aroused by their screams.

"He was summoned once for a savage assault upon the old vicar, who had called upon him to remonstrate with him upon his conduct.In short, Mr.Holmes, you would go far before you found a more dangerous man than Peter Carey, and I have heard that he bore the same character when he commanded his ship.

He was known in the trade as Black Peter, and the name was given him, not only on account of his swarthy features and the colour of his huge beard, but for the humours which were the terror of all around him.I need not say that he was loathed and avoided by every one of his neighbours, and that I have not heard one single word of sorrow about his terrible end.

"You must have read in the account of the inquest about the man's cabin, Mr.Holmes; but perhaps your friend here has not heard of it.He had built himself a wooden outhouse -- he always called it `the cabin' -- a few hundred yards from his house, and it was here that he slept every night.It was a little, single-roomed hut, sixteen feet by ten.He kept the key in his pocket, made his own bed, cleaned it himself, and allowed no other foot to cross the threshold.There are small windows on each side, which were covered by curtains and never opened.

One of these windows was turned towards the high road, and when the light burned in it at night the folk used to point it out to each other and wonder what Black Peter was doing in there.

That's the window, Mr.Holmes, which gave us one of the few bits of positive evidence that came out at the inquest.

"You remember that a stonemason, named Slater, walking from Forest Row about one o'clock in the morning -- two days before the murder -- stopped as he passed the grounds and looked at the square of light still shining among the trees.He swears that the shadow of a man's head turned sideways was clearly visible on the blind, and that this shadow was certainly not that of Peter Carey, whom he knew well.It was that of a bearded man, but the beard was short and bristled forwards in a way very different from that of the captain.So he says, but he had been two hours in the public-house, and it is some distance from the road to the window.Besides, this refers to the Monday, and the crime was done upon the Wednesday.

"On the Tuesday Peter Carey was in one of his blackest moods, flushed with drink and as savage as a dangerous wild beast.

He roamed about the house, and the women ran for it when they heard him coming.Late in the evening he went down to his own hut.

About two o'clock the following morning his daughter, who slept with her window open, heard a most fearful yell from that direction, but it was no unusual thing for him to bawl and shout when he was in drink, so no notice was taken.On rising at seven one of the maids noticed that the door of the hut was open, but so great was the terror which the man caused that it was midday before anyone would venture down to see what had become of him.Peeping into the open door they saw a sight which sent them flying with white faces into the village.

Within an hour I was on the spot and had taken over the case.

"Well, I have fairly steady nerves, as you know, Mr.Holmes, but I give you my word that I got a shake when I put my head into that little house.It was droning like a harmonium with the flies and bluebottles, and the floor and walls were like a slaughter-house.He had called it a cabin, and a cabin it was sure enough, for you would have thought that you were in a ship.

There was a bunk at one end, a sea-chest, maps and charts, a picture of the SEA UNICORN, a line of log-books on a shelf, all exactly as one would expect to find it in a captain's room.

And there in the middle of it was the man himself, his face twisted like a lost soul in torment, and his great brindled beard stuck upwards in his agony.Right through his broad breast a steel harpoon had been driven, and it had sunk deep into the wood of the wall behind him.He was pinned like a beetle on a card.

Of course, he was quite dead, and had been so from the instant that he had uttered that last yell of agony.

"I know your methods, sir, and I applied them.

Before I permitted anything to be moved I examined most carefully the ground outside, and also the floor of the room.

There were no footmarks."

"Meaning that you saw none?"

"I assure you, sir, that there were none.""My good Hopkins, I have investigated many crimes, but I have never yet seen one which was committed by a flying creature.

As long as the criminal remains upon two legs so long must there be some indentation, some abrasion, some trifling displacement which can be detected by the scientific searcher.It is incredible that this blood-bespattered room contained no trace which could have aided us.I understand, however, from the inquest that there were some objects which you failed to overlook?"The young inspector winced at my companion's ironical comments.

"I was a fool not to call you in at the time, Mr.Holmes.

However, that's past praying for now.Yes, there were several objects in the room which called for special attention.

One was the harpoon with which the deed was committed.

It had been snatched down from a rack on the wall.

Two others remained there, and there was a vacant place for the third.On the stock was engraved `Ss.SEA UNICORN, Dundee.'