by John Rhode
‘But, Professor, this is pure conjecture!’ exclaimed Denbigh. ‘I gather that a bale of some kind, which might have contained a body, is said to have been delivered at Riverside Gardens that evening, and that it is also said to have mysteriously disappeared. I see no facts to connect this bale with the man Merefield found in his rooms.’
‘In a matter such as this it is frequently necessary to proceed by the method of trial and error,’ replied the Professor gravely. ‘In other words, to select theories in turn, and to apply to them the test of known facts, accepting only the one which successfully survives this test.’
The Professor drew out his watch, and held it in the circle of light thrown upon his desk. ‘We still have a little time before us,’ he said. ‘Shall we apply this method to Mr Boost’s bale?’
‘Rather, Daddy!’ exclaimed April. ‘Fire away! This is a branch of mathematics which has never occurred to me before. Makes me wish I had been better at sums at school.’
His audience settled themselves more comfortably into their chairs, and the Professor proceeded.
CHAPTER XIII
‘VERY well, then,’ said the Professor, settling himself down once more to the didactic style. ‘Let us proceed to a consideration of the circumstances surrounding this bale of Mr Boost, of which, as Denbigh points out, we have only hearsay evidence.
‘It is stated that a bale, said to contain the case of a grandfather clock and certain other articles, none of which were of any obvious value, and none of which were of a nature to tempt an ordinary thief, was collected on the afternoon of the day with which we are concerned, and delivered to Mr Boost’s address. The people concerned in this transaction, so far as we know, are, a man called Samuels and his nephew, a carter whom we know as George, and Mr Boost himself. Of George we know nothing beyond his Christian name, and the fact that he had performed similar services for Mr Boost on other occasions. Mr Boost is known to us as Harold’s landlord, as the proprietor of a second-hand furniture business, and as an avowed Communist. In the latter capacity he has a distinct aversion for the police. This point is of interest in connection with the disappearance of the bale, for it is extremely unlikely that he would report its loss to the authorities, a factor which may well have been taken into account by the thief, if we admit the truth of Mr Boost’s statement.’
‘As a matter of fact, I suggested that he should communicate with the police as soon as he told me about it,’ put in Harold. ‘As you say, sir, he scoffed at the idea.’
‘Exactly,’ assented the Professor. ‘Now, Inspector Hanslet told me something of this man Boost. He is what I may term an idealistic Communist, one who thoroughly believes in the holiness of his cause, and allows no consideration of personal gain to vitiate it. In Inspector Hanslet’s own words, he is considered “Straight,” and is a man whose word may be safely accepted. I, personally, therefore, am inclined to accept his statements as correct, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary.’
‘I agree with you there, sir,’ said Harold, in response to a glance from the Professor in his direction. ‘I’ve always found him perfectly honest, in spite of his extraordinary theories.’
‘Accepting Mr Boost’s statements, then, this bale was placed in the porch of Number 16, Riverside Gardens, some time between Harold’s departure that evening and his return. We have, I admit, no confirmation of his statement, although we have corroborative evidence of the bale leaving the address in Camberwell from which it was despatched.’
‘May I make a suggestion?’ said Denbigh, as the Professor paused. ‘I am prepared to accept Mr Boost’s word, and to admit the validity of this corroborative evidence, since it satisfies you. But even so, Mr Boost never saw the bale, he only had this man George’s word that it was delivered. In fact, we really know nothing of the bale from the time it left Camberwell, or wherever it was. What was to prevent its being tampered with or even stolen on the journey, either with or without George’s connivance? In order to cover himself, George may have declared that the bale was delivered. He can produce no signature for it.’
‘Here, I admit, we have no facts to guide us,’ replied the Professor quietly. ‘You will remember my warning, that we are only constructing theories which must be submitted to the test of facts. If necessary, I think we can secure the facts we require to confirm George’s story. You know the topography of Riverside Gardens. I understand that you have visited Harold there. It is a cul-de-sac, narrow and ill-paved. The arrival of any vehicle capable of transporting such a bale as has been described to us can hardly have failed to cause sufficient stir to attract the attention of some, at least, of its inhabitants. If we find it necessary to confirm George’s story, we should have no difficulty in securing the necessary evidence.’
‘Oh, yes, let’s believe in this bale, it makes the story much more exciting!’ exclaimed April. ‘I’d just as soon believe George the carter as I would George Washington. Fire away, Daddy.’
Professor Priestley, thus exhorted, continued. ‘Now, turning from this man George, let us consider the source from which this bale originated. We are immediately struck by the remarkable similarity between the source and the destination. In each case we have a second-hand furniture business. Nothing could be more likely than that one second-hand dealer should have business transactions with another. Mr Boost was in no way surprised that his colleague should send him such a bale; we may infer from his attitude that such transactions were by no means uncommon. But there is a further point of interest. We are told that Mr Boost’s colleague, Samuels by name, was also a communist. But here the resemblance ends. This Samuels, whose real name we believe to be Szamuelly, was a communist of quite a different type from Mr Boost.
‘You may remember the six months’ Bolshevist ascendancy in Hungary under the régime of Bela Kun, in which a man of the name of Szamuelly played a notorious part, and finally committed suicide in order to avoid capture. Mr Boost believes this man to be a connection of Samuels, the second-hand dealer. Now the Communists of Bela Kun were anything but idealists. They were merely brigands whose object it was to snatch advantage for themselves out of the general state of disorder produced by their régime. Samuels is undoubtedly a man of this type. He seems, according to Mr Boost, to be suspected of betraying his comrades, and to bear an evil reputation in consequence. In fact, I dare say we should not be far wrong in assuming him to be a man who has amassed a certain sum of money by playing a double game, by insinuating himself into favour with various parties, and acting treacherously towards them in turn. You will admit that such an assumption is permissible, Denbigh?’
Denbigh, thus suddenly appealed to, moved restlessly on the sofa. ‘Really, Professor, I can hardly say,’ he replied. ‘I can see no reason to doubt it; such men do exist, I suppose. I expect the police know all about him.’
‘Undoubtedly they do,’ agreed the Professor. ‘Inspector Hanslet will perhaps be able to supply us with facts in this direction, should we decide to apply to him. But for the present let us form a mental picture of this man. Again, we have only hearsay evidence about him; so far as we know, none of us have ever seen him. According to the description of Mr Boost and others, he is an old man, of irritable temperament, suffering apparently from some bronchial affection which produces difficulty in breathing, and of remarkably slovenly appearance. His hair is always untended and is allowed to grow as it pleases, he is never known to have shaved, and his clothes appear to have been selected at random from the unsaleable stock of his shop. His only acknowledged relative is a nephew who occasionally assists him in his business. Harold has actually seen that nephew, whose name is said to be Isidore. Can you describe him, Harold?’
‘No, sir, I can’t say that I can,’ replied Harold. ‘I only saw him for a minute or two, and the shop was almost completely dark at the time. He seemed to be of medium height, and he stooped and shuffled as he walked. He talked in a husky sort of a whisper, and rambled as though he were half daft. From what I could see of his fac
e, I got the impression that he had a tendency towards the same shagginess as his uncle. I fancy I should know him again if I saw him.’
‘Would you, I wonder?’ said the Professor, reflectively. ‘Recognition of a man only seen in the circumstances you describe is usually very difficult. The light of day often produces an entirely different impression. However, that is immaterial. You saw this nephew Isidore some days after the disappearance of the bale from the porch of Mr Boost’s shop. He informed you, I understand, that he packed the bale according to his uncle’s instructions, and delivered it personally to George the carter. That is correct, is it not?’
‘Quite, sir,’ replied Harold. ‘As soon as I learnt that, which was what I had come to find out, I left the place. I’m afraid I didn’t take any more notice of the fellow.’
‘Naturally,’ said the Professor. ‘You had, in fact, done all that was expected of you. You did not see the uncle on this occasion, I understand?’
‘No, sir, he was ill in bed,’ replied Harold. ‘He was in a room which led off the shop. I could hear him wheezing and coughing and grumbling at his nephew before Isidore came into the shop in reply to my knocking. I must say he sounded a remarkably unpleasant old man.’
‘No doubt, no doubt,’ agreed the Professor. ‘Even Mr Boost appears to have been reluctant to brave his tongue. Now, as to this difficulty in breathing which you describe. I imagine that such a condition is typical of a certain type of disorder, is it not, Denbigh?’
‘Most certainly,’ replied Denbigh readily. ‘An asthmatic affection of almost any kind would produce the symptoms Merefield describes. If it is correct that he was having an altercation with his nephew, the effort involved would account for a considerable degree of such wheezing and coughing. I daresay that if he kept quiet, he would find considerable relief. For instance, while his nephew was with you and he was left alone, I expect that the symptoms abated?’
‘As a matter of fact, I don’t remember hearing him then,’ said Harold. ‘It may have been that I wasn’t listening, though.’
‘Ah! My diagnosis is correct,’ replied Denbigh in a tone of satisfaction. ‘I think we may safely add to our list the fact that Mr Samuels suffers from asthma, if that is of any use.’
‘All facts are of value, whether we recognise that value or not,’ said the Professor, gravely. ‘But to proceed. We are faced with a difficulty which it must be our business to solve. According to the statement of Isidore Samuels, a bale left Inkerman Street, Camberwell, containing the case of a grandfather clock and certain other articles. According to the theory I have already explained to you, a similar bale, purporting to be the same, but containing an unidentified corpse, was unpacked some hours later by the second man concerned in the entry to Harold’s rooms.
‘Now there are two theories which may be advanced to account for this difficulty. In the first place, two bales may have existed, one containing a grandfather clock, the second a human body. The description of the bale given by George the carter may apply to either or both, the weight and the dimensions in each case would be approximately the same, taking into consideration the statement that with the clock case were packed a number of solid statuettes. In this case the body bale must have been substituted for the clock bale either at some point during the journey between Camberwell and Riverside Gardens, or after its delivery at the latter address. In the second place, one bale only existed. In that case, either my theory falls to the ground, and we have to account for the disappearance of a bale containing a clock case and some statuettes from the porch of Mr Boost’s shop some time in the evening, or the bale collected by George from Inkerman Street actually contained, not a clock, but a body.’
‘Daddy dear, your logic is unassailable!’ interrupted April. ‘But surely the Samuels family could find a simpler method of disposing of the bodies of their victims than dumping them on Harold’s bed for all the world to see? Think of the danger of the corpse being recognised!’
‘Not so fast, my dear,’ replied the Professor indulgently. ‘Let us examine these theories in turn. I confess that the probability of two bales having existed does not appear to me to be very great. You will allow that if the exchange was effected before the delivery to Riverside Gardens, it would hardly have been without the connivance of George. Now, again according to Mr Boost, it was George himself who first drew Mr Boost’s attention to the existence of the bale. But for George, it might have been some considerable time before he became aware of it. If George were implicated, it seems unlikely that he would deliberately call attention to the matter. If, on the other hand, the exchange was made after the delivery of the bale, whoever made it must have incurred considerable risk of detection. The same remarks that I made as to the stir caused by the arrival of the first bale apply with equal force to that of the second. Again, why should the first bale have been removed or in any way interfered with? The theory of the existence of more than one bale offers, on the whole, more difficulties than it would appear to solve.
‘I am, therefore, inclined to turn my attention to the probability of only one bale being involved in the matter. In that case, if my theory that the bale contained the body found by Harold is correct, it must have contained it when it left Inkerman Street. In other words, the body originated in or passed through Samuels’ shop.’
‘Then old Samuels must have been the murderer!’ exclaimed Harold. ‘I shouldn’t be surprised, from all I’ve heard of him. Besides, that would explain his sudden departure. But I wonder who the fellow was that was killed!’
‘You and April are alike in jumping too quickly to conclusions,’ said the Professor with a smile. ‘In the first place, the verdict of the inquest tells us that there was no murder, that the old man, whoever he was, died a natural death. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, we are bound to accept that conclusion. In the second place, why should Samuels be any more likely to be guilty than his nephew? If it is correct, as you say, that the old man was bedridden, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that Isidore disposed of the body by this means without his uncle’s knowledge. But remember that we have no evidence, merely a suspicion that one of these two knew of the existence of the body.
‘With that warning, consider the matter from a new angle. One of the Samuels has a body to dispose of, no matter for the moment under what circumstances. Suppose, if you like, that one of their associates died at Inkerman Street. The Samuels family, in common with Mr Boost, have an understandable reluctance to calling the attention of the authorities to their affairs. It occurs to them to wrap the body up in a bale of sacking, with no doubt a suitable stiffening to disguise the nature of the package, and to dispatch it to Mr Boost’s address, knowing that individual to be away. I imagine that to have been the form in which the idea first occurred to the man who carried it out. The perfecting of the idea may have come later. One of the Samuels recollected that he had means of access to Mr Boost’s house. We can believe that, at one time, a certain intimacy existed between the comrades, and possibly Samuels possessed a key. If this were the case, everything becomes clear. Either Samuels or his nephew was the second man concerned in entering Harold’s room that night.’
‘It must have been young Isidore, then!’ exclaimed Harold excitedly. ‘I thought he wasn’t such a fool as he looked when I heard how neatly he had disappeared the other afternoon! It can’t have been the old man, he wouldn’t have had the strength to carry the body upstairs. Why on earth didn’t I think of all this when I saw him?’
‘You would have had no evidence,’ replied the Professor. Then he turned towards Denbigh, half apologetically. ‘You will realise that so far I am only propounding theories,’ he said. ‘There is no evidence against Isidore Samuels, either that he was responsible for the death of the man or the disposal of the body. But I think you will agree that the laws of probability point to his being in some way involved.’
‘Perhaps so,’ replied Denbigh, quietly. ‘But surely, Professor, the best way of ascertai
ning the truth of the matter is to put the police on his track?’
‘On what charge?’ retorted the Professor, swiftly. ‘Murder? The man died a natural death, we are told, and I doubt whether exhumation and a second examination would result in any other verdict. Housebreaking? I fancy Inspector Hanslet would want more tangible evidence before issuing a warrant upon such a charge. No, there may be a method of dealing with Isidore Samuels, but that is not it. Besides, I understand that he has disappeared. For the present, at all events, I should prefer to act somewhat differently. Remember, the main object of my investigation into this matter is to restore Harold to his former position, to clear him of any complicity in the matter. Indeed, so indifferent am I to the technical morality of the case, that, were I in a position to confront this nephew and obtain an account of his actions, I should be fully satisfied, without any resource to the authorities.’
‘Isn’t that what’s called being an accessory after the fact?’ enquired April. ‘Upon my word, Daddy, I didn’t think it of you! Now go on, there’s a dear, and deduce for us who the man was that Harold found.’
‘My dear, when you reach my age you will realise that the attraction of a problem lies purely in its solution, and not in any consequences which that solution may have. But you mention a very interesting point—the identity of the dead man. Let us consider it for a moment. We have, then, a corpse, which, before the verdict of the coroner’s jury, the police were very anxious to identify. Inspector Hanslet has informed me of the methods which they have at their disposal. In addition to these methods, a description and photograph of the dead man was published in the Press and at every police station. Yet nobody came forward who could identify him. There were, of course, the usual number of applicants to see the corpse, some impelled, no doubt, by curiosity, others by the fear or hope of recognising a missing relative or friend. But none of them could name the man they saw.
