THE MOREHAMPTON MYSTERY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 53, 27 March 1909, Page 4

THE MOREHAMPTON MYSTERY.

HOW SI'iXTON BLAKK JJKSTI2D A BAXIi-BKSTEK.

X. Ralph Carter was a clerk in the employ incut of the National -Prudential Hank, ile was thirty years of aj,'e, I bachelor, and lived in rooms in liavelock fttrevt, .Morehampton. Oil lour days of the week he performed the duties of assistant-eashici at the district head ollice of the bank at 'M;Orehani[)ton. On Mondays and Fridays he liad charge at Cronfield of a , small suVlmmeJi, which was only open on those days, and which was located | in the front sitting-room of a. -private house. Oronlield was a busy little market town about ten miles from Morehanrpton. It was Carter's custom, on Mondays and Fridays. to ,- r ° down by thp train which loft .Morehamptou at halfpast nine in the morning, anil to return I»y tin* train which left Cronlield ai ; ;)Ji) in the evening. \Wien he relumed ] he had seldom le-s than lifteen hundred I pounds in hi« ba«i. and ot'lea over two thousand. As a precaution against \ thieves he always carried a revolver with him on 'hi* journeys to and from 1 the little town. On the dav when this ihinjr happeiie-l ~i\. jrlooinv Kridav towards the end of December-->he arrived at CrouiieM. as usual, at I«»'n minuti's tu ten in the morning Me was then weaving a loajr dark overcoat and a ibowler hat. In

addition to bis bag, In. l carried an um- | brella. <>u I lie han<ilo of which was a ' narrow silver band his nam'' ■ mid address. I He opened ihe branch at ten ocloekJ and from that liciui' until four in the aftLTiionn. willi an interval for lunch lit one. In- was nunc <ir less busily enoriiiroil in paying out and lccciving 'niouev. At lnur lie closed, and proceeded lo lialance hin "books. 'At quar-ter-past live lie packed u|) his ling, lUi'iiueil his hat and overcoat, and started out for the station to catch tile 0.40. On liis wav to the station lie called at a "ainc-dealer's shop and purchased a pair of plioasants. which he had ordered ou the 'previous Monday, and which were intended, 'he explained;, foi a present, tor one of hi* Morehampton friends, lie reached the station just as the train steamed in. and took his seat in a liri-t-elass compartment near the middle. As afterwards transpired, neither the stationinaster nor any ot the porters noticed if there was any bodv in the compartment wben Carter imt in. uv if anyliody got in after him. " The line from Oronlield to jMorelmniptnn runs tliroiifrh the famous llorstad tunnel, which is over two unit's lonp, and almost immediately afterwards it is carried over the river More liy means ot ail iron InidfH'. There are two station* lietweeii Oronlield and the tunnel, lint the 5.40 does not stop at either of thorn. There is no station between the tunnel and iMorehanipton, for the simple reaHnii that Morehanipton station is oillv about three-quarters of it mile from the bridge, which is less than fifty yards from Hie mouth of the tunnel. Whilst the train was clattering throiiL'li the tunnel, one of the hrst-c|a-s Captain llardv, fancied he heard it revolver-shot in the nest rompartnient. He mentioned the niatt,.r |„ liis wife, who was with him; Hint shi'. not having 'heard aiijUlunfr. iiooh-ponlied the idea. _ A feiv seconds after cm.'i«riii- from the tunnel the train rattled on to the I,ride, which crosses the More. At that : Hioiuciil a laborer named Jlaedoujsill. who was walking along the riverside, 'happened to he passing underneath tile hriil.'c. It was then quite dark, of course, and a thin drizzle 01 ram was 'falliii". H.v the iitl'nl illumination cast bv the lightH of the train, however, '.\iac<Unij»,i!l dimly but nnduu'btedly „aw a dark and shapeless object shoot over I lie parapet of the bridge and drop into tin* river. Shortly after crowing the bridge the train began to slow down, preparatory to entering Morehampton station. At or about the sanu- time a third-class passenger named .Bowman lowered thf window of his compartment and put out his head, to see if it had stopped raining'. As he did so, lie was astounded to sec a man open the door of a iiistclansj compartment near the iniddk* of the train, step out on to the footboard. >wi'ng himself oil', run down the embankment, and disappear into the wood which al thi* point borders the line.

Mr. Bowman did not .see the man (sufficiently distinctly to be able to describe iiini with any approach to minuteness. All he could say 'was that the ma!i appeared to be of Medium height and ibuiid. and wore a cap. lie thought, he ■had a beard and. moustache, and was quite sure h j (. had a bag in hits hand when he ran down the embankment.

When tiie trahi pulled up in Morehamptoii station. Mj\ Bowman called Uhe guard and told him what lie had

seen. .Meanwhile. however. one of tilt- 1 porters liatl noticed tlie open carriage door. tinil tie; startled shout of horror '■wiliich burst 1 rum hi* lips wlien bo glanced into tile compartment brought I lie guard mill cvcrv'bodv else in the Million, including Captain llanly ami .Mr. I!i>'\vin:in, running up in a state of inilcscriliahlc excitement. What, a seene mel their horrilied gaze! The interior of the eoiiipartnient ■ was like a .shambles. There was lilood On the lloor, on the cushion*, on the doors, everywhere, due window was cracked. and another had been pi erred by a bullet. On Hie lloor was a bloodstained knife, and on one of the seats was a revolver conlainiiiff live full cartridges iiiid one empty one. In o:ie corner was a battered and crumpled bowler, and on the rack was an umbrella. on (he silver band of which was enjrra veil, "1!. Carter, lli, llavelock Street. MorchainpUm." The police were quickly on the Beetle, mill after Inspector Walsh had made Jiotes of Captain Hardy and All'. ]!ownian's statements. and had taken their names and addresnes, the earringc was II neon pled from the train and shunted into a hilling. Thanks to the inscription on the umbrella, Carter's identity was *pei'ililv established: and. after an interview 'with .Mr. Penrose, the district head manager of the bank, (lie inspector went down to Cronlielil, and obtained those particulars which have already been given of CarterV movements during Ihe (lay. It was lialf-'pasl, ten when the inspector relumed to Morrhainptoii. Bv that, time .Macdougall, the laboring man referred t(i above, had read, an account of the all'air in the evening paper; and when the inspector reached flic police station 'lie found Macdougall there, ill the act of describing what he had seen whilst, passing the railway bridge.

"That clinches tlie matter." said the .inspector, when .Macduugall had 1 old his story. "There can now no longer be any doubt as to what has happened.

"Some tjcoumlri'l. who was evidently •well acquainted wit'h Carler's habits. ,r lie continued, "trot into the same comparlnient as Carter ill Cronlield station, Whilst tlie* train wa«* passhiy thronoh M'orshead tunnel, lie attacked Carter with Hie knife thai was found. Carter defended himself willi his revolver; lint his assailant ultimately murdered liiui. and throw* his bodv into tlio river whiUi Oie train was on the hrids"Then, having secured the lia.tr, the miscreant waited until the train ben-an to slacken speed, when lie stepped out lo the footboard, jumped of)', and made his crea pe.' }

fie repeated this theory to Mr. Penrose. who came to tile police station about eleven o'clock to learn the latest '■rm afraid your explanation only 100 true," said Mr. Penrose. ''What a pity nobody at Cronfbld station noticed the man. who must, a* you say. have got into jhe same compartment as Carter."

"A thousand pities," agreed the in#pi'ctor. "Of comve, we have .Mr. Wrwnnm's description of the man. which I have circulated throughout the town and disfrici; flint it's such a meagre doseripliou that 1 have little hope of its enabling us to trace ihe scoundrel!"

'"'You have searched the 'tunnel?" "Yen; but we have been unable to discover an ..-thin* of import.,™." "Will von tin- rivi'i";'

"Of conrsp. As a mutter (if fan .. [ l vr nlnwlv miulc i'or tin 1 •work in In' lii'trun at diiyliroitk tnMiorrow niiii'iiinii."

"In the meantime." said Mr. Penrose, "would you mind };ivin«- nn> a copy of your report, ineliidiii» the statements of Hardy. Bowman, and ManlouiiaM'! I wired to Iboril llilltmvn - h''s the ehairiuan of our London board of directors. you know - informbiL' him of Carter's ili.sa]ipearanee; ami his lordship has wired hack, asking me to send liim Hie fullest possible particulars of vhat the police have done and discovered." The inspector good-naturedly gave liiin a copy of his ollicial report, and of the three statements referred to, which Mr. Penrose despatched to London l>y the midnight post. And that was liow matters stood when Lord Millfown. at eight o'clock on Saturday morning, routed Sexton lilake out of bed. gave him the papers, and in-itructed liim to go down to iloro-

hanipton by tli'j next train and gate the case on behalf of the bank. Ji. Leaving London at eight, the detective arrived at MoivhainpLon a few minutes before ten. lie was met at the station by Mr. Penrose andjnspeetoj- WaNh, the latter of whom, so far from reseating Sexton Blake's int<Tferenee, welcomed hi" assistance. "I've read your very lucid and com- 1 plote report," said Sexton Blake to ihe inspector, after shaking hands with the two men. "I know everything that was known up to elevea o'clock last, night, 'lias anything fresh been discovered 1 since?"

"One small item," »uid the inspector. ''Carter's overcoat. wa-> lished out id the river this morning, iilliout hall' a mile below the bridge. Jt was cut and •shushed in several places., and bore innumerable bloodstains.''

"The river has 'been dragged?" "They're draggi'ng it now." "So no iracu of tin* body has been found np to the present?"

"None.'' "Is the carriage still there in which the crime was committed?" "Ve.>. Like to see it ?" "Naturally!"

The inspector led the way to the siding in which the carriage stood, guarded by a countable. The detective made a ioug and' careful examination of the interior 01 the compartment, i"i which Carter had travelled, and seemed .specially interested in the numerous , pooU and >plashe> of 'blood.

Presently he walked to the door of' the compartment ami pointed to a building on, tho Other side of the street outside the station. "That's the hospital, isn't it?" he asked. "Ye*." said the inspector. in surprise. The detective scribbled a note and handed it to the constable.

"Take that to the. hospital and give it to the house-surgeon/' lie said. "Wail for an answer." The constable departed, ami presently returned, bringing with him a mahogany box containing a microscope, some slides and cover-glasses, and a llask of water.

"I'm now going to give yon two an elementary lesson in physiology," lie said, with a light laugh. With the point of his penknife he picke»f up a tiny clot of blood from the carriage lloor and placed it hi the centre of one of the slides. lie moistened it with a drop of water, pressed a coverglass on the top of it, and placed it under the microscope, lie examined it, and nodded his head. "Just as I thought." he murmured. lie invited .Mr. Penrose and the inspector to "take a squint." They did so, but were apparently no wiser. "What, do you isee?" asked Sexton Blake, addressing the inspector. "A lot of little oval discs." said the inspector, "reddish in color, with a black dot. in the iniddlu 01 each of them."

lie looked up from the microscope, and gazed blankly at Sexton Blake. ''But what has that to do with the murder of l»a!ph Carter?" he asked. By way of reply, the detective pricked his linger, squeezed out a drop of blood, placed it On another .slide, covered it with a cover-glass, and placed it under the microscope. "Now look at that, and tell me what von .see!" lie said.

"Saine as before." said the inspector, "only the discs are round, instead of oval, and they haven't a«iy l)lack spot in I he centre. 11 "Imoiii wliidi you will gather, M said Sexton lllakc, "t'lial theliloud which is spattered about I his carriage is not the :-aii)c kind of blood as (low* in my arteries. That is lo *ay, it isn't human blood." "Xol human blood!'' i-ried the inspector. "Most certainly not." Setxon Blake. "In all human 'blood, and in the blood of all manifnaUa except the camel tribe, those little discs—or corpuscles, as they are. called--a re circular in shupo, and have no dark spot in the centre. In bird* they are oval, and have a eontivil dark 'nucleus.

"A< soon H.S I entered the eomparl--1110111." he said. "1 suspected, from the color and the odor of these stains, that they were not human blood. AYlum I eanic to examine the stains more closely my suspicions were conlirmed. The microscope has settled the matter. This is -pheasant's 'bloo.d!'' ••Pheasant's blood!" gasped the inspector ami Mr. Penrose in the same breath.

The detective nodded. Mr. Penrose made a gesture of despair: but the inspector was more quick-witted. "By .love!" lie exclaimed, as a sudden lighl Jrrokc on. him. "You think " "I do." said Sexton Wake, "hi fact, I'm sure of it!" lie turned to Mr. Penrose. "When Carter purchased that bpu-e of pheasants .al C'ronlield yvsterday." he said, "'lie didn't buy them to give to a friend, as he stated, but in order io inak'.* use ot them as part of a cunning scheme lo rob the bank. What he did, I imagine, is thU:

"He got into an eniptv com* partincnt at Cronlichl. ' As soon as tliu train was dear of the station, lie slashed at the pheasant* with it knife and scattered the blood all over the compartment, lie splashed .some 0-, i his overcoat, iinil ran the. knife through the cloth to make it appear that he had been stabbed. "Whilst the train was in the tunnel lie cracked one of the windows and iircj a bullet through the other. Then, after trampling on his bowler, he opened the window; and when the train was on the bridge he threw bin overcoat and the mangled -pheasants into the river. lie knew the birds would sink, hut he calculated that the coal would float «n<> would ultimately be picked up and lend added color to the theory that ho had been murdered and thrown into the river.

"Doubtless die had a false heard and a cap in his bag. Donning these, he waited natil I lie Ira in began lo s'"w down; then, leaving the knife and the revolver behind liiui. but (aking the bag of luonev with him. lie jumped out as described ibv Mr. Bowman, and took to his heels."

"And we shall never see liilll or hear of iliim .again!" groaned Mr. Penrose, tion for the skill with 'which Se\ton Blake had. solved Hie myslery. hut of grief for tile loss of the money oi the hank.

"Perhaps not." said Ncxlnn Blake. "At the same time, I mean to have a try lo trace liiin." "Ilut how 7 What can von do»"

T.lie detective scribbled another not", and handed il. with a shilling, to the constable.

''Take thai to the nearest telegraph olliee." lie said, "and see that il is sent oil' at once." Jlr. Penrose looked more puzzled lliaii ever. But again the inspect or's wits enabled him to tin' truth, lie said. ••Yes." siiil Si'\(o;i Hlake. "I've wired to Tinker in -end Pedro down by the next train."

IVdro. the detective's famous bloodhound. arrived two hours later, and was taken ;at once to the spot where -Mr. Itowman had seen Carter run down the embankment. He was allowed to snilV at Carter's battered, bowler, and thou the hunt bej>an.

As events turned m{. it \\\as nol a, long hunt. After bailing Sexton Blake and the injector •through the wood and across a couple of fields, the bloodhound linally came to a hall on the edge of a disused (jnarry. Aad 'when the two men peered over the edge of the ipiarrv, tliev perceived Ualph Carter's body lying in' a huddled heap .at. the font of the declivity, with a false 'beard hanging liinplv round his neck, and his right luind si ill tightly grayling a brown-leather bag. No great, acumen was needed to guess What had happened. Carter had evidently been taking n short, out across Hie livid*- probably with the intention of making for the Loudon and NorthWest station and taking train ior Liverpnol 'but had lost lii« way in the darTclies« mid stumbled into the (pliirry. At first they thought he wa.s dead, but on elimhnig down into the (piarry they 'found t bit he wa- only uncoilscions. As <|uiikly a* pvWilde he \va« removed to the hospital, wlierc he soon recovered; and at the pre>ent moment he is serving a sentence of three years' penal servitude.-—'•Answers.' 1