”Youtoldmethatyouhadbachelorquartersforone，andIseethatyouhavenogentlemanvisitoratpresent。Yourhat-standproclaimsasmuch。””Ishallbedelightedifyouwillstay。””Thankyou。I’llfillthevacantpegthen。Sorrytoseethatyou’vehadtheBritishworkmaninthehouse。He’satokenofevil。Notthedrains，Ihope?””No，thegas。””Ah！Hehaslefttwonail-marksfromhisbootuponyourlinoleumjustwherethelightstrikesit。No，thankyou，IhadsomesupperatWaterloo，butI’llsmokeapipewithyouwithpleasure。”
Ihandedhimmypouch，andheseatedhimselfoppositetomeandsmokedforsometimeinsilence。Iwaswellawarethatnothingbutbusinessofimportancewouldhavebroughthimtomeatsuchanhour，soIwaitedpatientlyuntilheshouldcomeroundtoit。”Iseethatyouareprofessionallyratherbusyjustnow，”saidhe，glancingverykeenlyacrossatme。”Yes，I’vehadabusyday，”Ianswered。”Itmayseemveryfoolishinyoureyes，”Iadded，”butreallyI
don’tknowhowyoudeducedit。”
Holmeschuckledtohimself。”Ihavetheadvantageofknowingyourhabits，mydearWatson，”saidhe。”Whenyourroundisashortoneyouwalk，andwhenitisalongoneyouuseahansom。AsIperceivethatyourboots，althoughused，arebynomeansdirty，Icannotdoubtthatyouareatpresentbusyenoughtojustifythehansom。””Excellent！”Icried。”Elementary，”saidhe。”Itisoneofthoseinstanceswherethereasonercanproduceaneffectwhichseemsremarkabletohisneighbor，becausethelatterhasmissedtheonelittlepointwhichisthebasisofthededuction。Thesamemaybesaid，mydearfellow，fortheeffectofsomeoftheselittlesketchesofyour，whichisentirelymeretricious，dependingasitdoesuponyourretaininginyourownhandssomefactorsintheproblemwhichareneverimpartedtothereader。
Now，atpresentIaminthepositionofthesesamereaders，forIholdinthishandseveralthreadsofoneofthestrangestcaseswhicheverperplexedaman’sbrain，andyetIlacktheoneortwowhichareneedfultocompletemytheory。ButI’llhavethem，Watson，I’llhavethem！”Hiseyeskindledandaslightflushsprangintohisthincheeks。Foraninstantonly。WhenIglancedagainhisfacehadresumedthatred-Indiancomposurewhichhadmadesomanyregardhimasamachineratherthanaman。”Theproblempresentsfeaturesofinterest，”saidhe。”Imayevensayexceptionalfeaturesofinterest。I
havealreadylookedintothematter，andhavecome，asIthink，withinsightofmysolution。Ifyoucouldaccompanymeinthatlaststepyoumightbeofconsiderableservicetome。””Ishouldbedelighted。””CouldyougoasfarasAldershotto-morrow?””IhavenodoubtJacksonwouldtakemypractice。””Verygood。Iwanttostartbythe11。10fromWaterloo。””Thatwouldgivemetime。””Then，ifyouarenottoosleepy，Iwillgiveyouasketchofwhathashappened，andofwhatremainstobedone。””Iwassleepybeforeyoucame。Iamquitewakefulnow。””Iwillcompressthestoryasfarasmaybedonewithoutomittinganythingvitaltothecase。Itisconceivablethatyoumayevenhavereadsomeaccountofthematter。ItisthesupposedmurderofColonelBarclay，oftheRoyalMunsters，atAldershot，whichI
aminvestigating。””Ihaveheardnothingofit。””Ithasnotexcitedmuchattentionyet，exceptlocally。Thefactsareonlytwodaysold。Brieflytheyarethese：”TheRoyalMunstersis，asyouknow，oneofthemostfamousIrishregimentsintheBritisharmy。ItdidwondersbothintheCrimeaandtheMutiny，andhassincethattimedistinguisheditselfuponeverypossibleoccasion。ItwascommandeduptoMondaynightbyJamesBarclay，agallantveteran，whostartedasafullprivate，wasraisedtocommissionedrankforhisbraveryatthetimeoftheMutiny，andsolivedtocommandtheregimentinwhichhehadoncecarriedamusket。”ColonelBarclayhadmarriedatthetimewhenhewasasergeant，andhiswife，whosemaidennamewasMissNancyDevoy，wasthedaughterofaformercolor-sergeantinthesamecorps。Therewas，therefore，ascanbeimagined，somelittlesocialfrictionwhentheyoungcouplefortheywerestillyoungfoundthemselvesintheirnewsurroundings。
Theyappear，however，tohavequicklyadaptedthemselves，andMrs。Barclayhasalways，Iunderstand，beenaspopularwiththeladiesoftheregimentasherhusbandwaswithhisbrotherofficers。Imayaddthatshewasawomanofgreatbeauty，andthatevennow，whenshehasbeenmarriedforupwardsofthirtyyears，sheisstillofastrikingandqueenlyappearance。”ColonelBarclay’sfamilylifeappearstohavebeenauniformlyhappyone。MajorMurphy，towhomIowemostofmyfacts，assuresmethathehasneverheardofanymisunderstandingbetweenthepair。Onthewhole，hethinksthatBarclay’sdevotiontohiswifewasgreaterthanhiswife’stoBarclay。Hewasacutelyuneasyifhewereabsentfromherforaday。She，ontheotherhand，thoughdevotedandfaithful，waslessobtrusivelyaffectionate。Buttheywereregardedintheregimentastheverymodelofamiddle-agedcouple。Therewasabsolutelynothingintheirmutualrelationstopreparepeopleforthetragedywhichwastofollow。”ColonelBarclayhimselfseemstohavehadsomesingulartraitsinhischaracter。Hewasadashing，jovialoldsolderinhisusualmood，buttherewereoccasionsonwhichheseemedtoshowhimselfcapableofconsiderableviolenceandvindictiveness。Thissideofhisnature，however，appearsnevertohavebeenturnedtowardshiswife。Anotherfact，whichhadstruckMajorMurphyandthreeoutoffiveoftheotherofficerswithwhomIconversed，wasthesingularsortofdepressionwhichcameuponhimattimes。Asthemajorexpressedit，thesmilehadoftenbeenstruckfromhismouth，asifbysomeinvisiblehand，whenhehasbeenjoiningthegayetiesandchaffofthemess-table。Fordaysonend，whenthemoodwasonhim，hehasbeensunkinthedeepestgloom。Thisandacertaintingeofsuperstitionweretheonlyunusualtraitsinhischaracterwhichhisbrotherofficershadobserved。Thelatterpeculiaritytooktheformofadisliketobeingleftalone，especiallyafterdark。
Thispuerilefeatureinanaturewhichwasconspicuouslymanlyhadoftengivenrisetocommentandconjecture。”ThefirstbattalionoftheRoyalMunsterswhichistheold117thhasbeenstationedatAldershotforsomeyears。Themarriedofficersliveoutofbarracks，andtheColonelhasduringallthistimeoccupiedavillacalledLachine，abouthalfamilefromthenorthcamp。Thehousestandsinitsowngrounds，butthewestsideofitisnotmorethanthirtyyardsfromthehigh-road。Acoachmanandtwomaidsformthestaffofservants。ThesewiththeirmasterandmistresswerethesoleoccupantsofLachine，fortheBarclayshadnochildren，norwasitusualforthemtohaveresidentvisitors。”NowfortheeventsatLachinebetweennineandtenontheeveningoflastMonday。””Mrs。Barclaywas，itappears，amemberoftheRomanCatholicChurch，andhadinterestedherselfverymuchintheestablishmentoftheGuildofSt。George，whichwasformedinconnectionwiththeWattStreetChapelforthepurposeofsupplyingthepoorwithcast-offclothing。AmeetingoftheGuildhadbeenheldthateveningateight，andMrs。Barclayhadhurriedoverherdinnerinordertobepresentatit。Whenleavingthehouseshewasheardbythecoachmantomakesomecommonplaceremarktoherhusband，andtoassurehimthatshewouldbebackbeforeverylong。ShethencalledforMissMorrison，ayoungladywholivesinthenextvilla，andthetwowentofftogethertotheirmeeting。Itlastedfortyminutes，andataquarter-pastnineMrs。Barclayreturnedhome，havingleftMissMorrisonatherdoorasshepassed。”Thereisaroomwhichisusedasamorning-roomatLachine。Thisfacestheroadandopensbyalargeglassfolding-doorontothelawn。Thelawnisthirtyyardsacross，andisonlydividedfromthehighwaybyalowwallwithanironrailaboveit。ItwasintothisroomthatMrs。Barclaywentuponherreturn。Theblindswerenotdown，fortheroomwasseldomusedintheevening，butMrs。Barclayherselflitthelampandthenrangthebell，askingJaneStewart，thehouse-maid，tobringheracupoftea，whichwasquitecontrarytoherusualhabits。TheColonelhadbeensittinginthedining-room，buthearingthathiswifehadreturnedhejoinedherinthemorning-room。Thecoachmansawhimcrossthehallandenterit。Hewasneverseenagainalive。”Theteawhichhadbeenorderedwasbroughtupattheendoftenminutes；butthemaid，assheapproachedthedoor，wassurprisedtohearthevoicesofhermasterandmistressinfuriousaltercation。Sheknockedwithoutreceivinganyanswer，andeventurnedthehandle，butonlytofindthatthedoorwaslockedupontheinside。Naturallyenoughsherandowntotellthecook，andthetwowomenwiththecoachmancameupintothehallandlistenedtothedisputewhichwasstillraging。Theyallagreedthatonlytwovoicesweretobeheard，thoseofBarclayandofhiswife。Barclay’sremarksweresubduedandabrupt，sothatnoneofthemwereaudibletothelisteners。Thelady’s，ontheotherhand，weremostbitter，andwhensheraisedhervoicecouldbeplainlyheard。’Youcoward！’sherepeatedoverandoveragain。’Whatcanbedonenow?Whatcanbedonenow?Givemebackmylife。Iwillneversomuchasbreathethesameairwithyouagain！Youcoward！YouCoward！’Thosewerescrapsofherconversation，endinginasuddendreadfulcryintheman’svoice，withacrash，andapiercingscreamfromthewoman。Convincedthatsometragedyhadoccurred，thecoachmanrushedtothedoorandstrovetoforceit，whilescreamafterscreamissuedfromwithin。Hewasunable，however，tomakehiswayin，andthemaidsweretoodistractedwithfeartobeofanyassistancetohim。Asuddenthoughtstruckhim，however，andheranthroughthehalldoorandroundtothelawnuponwhichthelongFrenchwindowsopen。Onesideofthewindowwasopen，whichIunderstandwasquiteusualinthesummer-time，andhepassedwithoutdifficultyintotheroom。Hismistresshadceasedtoscreamandwasstretchedinsensibleuponacouch，whilewithhisfeettiltedoverthesideofanarm-chair，andhisheaduponthegroundnearthecornerofthefender，waslyingtheunfortunatesoldierstonedeadinapoolofhisownblood。”Naturally，thecoachman’sfirstthought，onfindingthathecoulddonothingforhismaster，wastoopenthedoor。Buthereanunexpectedandsingulardifficultypresenteditself。Thekeywasnotintheinnersideofthedoor，norcouldhefinditanywhereintheroom。Hewentoutagain，therefore，throughthewindow，andhavingobtainedthehelpofapolicemanandofamedicalman，hereturned。Thelady，againstwhomnaturallythestrongestsuspicionrested，wasremovedtoherroom，stillinastateofinsensibility。TheColonel’sbodywasthenplaceduponthesofa，andacarefulexaminationmadeofthesceneofthetragedy。”Theinjuryfromwhichtheunfortunateveteranwassufferingwasfoundtobeajaggedcutsometwoincheslongatthebackpartofhishead，whichhadevidentlybeencausedbyaviolentblowfromabluntweapon。
Norwasitdifficulttoguesswhatthatweaponmayhavebeen。Uponthefloor，closetothebody，waslyingasingularclubofhardcarvedwoodwithabonehandle。TheColonelpossessedavariedcollectionofweaponsbroughtfromthedifferentcountriesinwhichhehadfought，anditisconjecturedbythepolicethathisclubwasamonghistrophies。Theservantsdenyhavingseenitbefore，butamongthenumerouscuriositiesinthehouseitispossiblethatitmayhavebeenoverlooked。Nothingelseofimportancewasdiscoveredintheroombythepolice，savetheinexplicablefactthatneitheruponMrs。Barclay’spersonnoruponthatofthevictimnorinanypartoftheroomwasthemissingkeytobefound。ThedoorhadeventuallytobeopenedbyalocksmithfromAldershot。