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Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes
The Boscombe Valley Mystery
Capítulo 4, Página 3
“Boscombe
Valley
is
a
rural
area
near
Ross,
in
Herefordshire.
The
largest
landowner
there
is
Mr.
John
Turner,
who
made
his
money
in
Australia
and
returned
to
England
years
ago.
One
of
his
farms,
Hatherley,
was
rented
to
Mr.
Charles
McCarthy,
also
an
ex-Australian.
They
knew
each
other
from
the
colonies,
so
it
wasn’t
surprising
that
they
settled
near
each
other.
Turner
was
the
richer
man,
so
McCarthy
became
his
tenant
but
they
remained
equals,
often
spending
time
together.
McCarthy
had
a
son,
eighteen,
and
Turner
had
a
daughter
the
same
age,
but
neither
had
a
living
wife.
They
seemed
to
avoid
local
English
families
and
led
quiet
lives,
though
both
McCarthys
enjoyed
sports
and
were
often
seen
at
local
races.
McCarthy
had
two
servants—a
man
and
a
girl.
Turner
had
a
larger
household,
at
least
six
people.
That’s
all
I’ve
learned
about
the
families.
Now
for
the
facts.”
“On
June
3rd,
last
Monday,
McCarthy
left
his
house
at
Hatherley
around
three
in
the
afternoon
and
walked
to
Boscombe
Pool,
a
small
lake
formed
by
a
stream
in
Boscombe
Valley.
He
had
been
out
with
his
servant
in
the
morning
at
Ross,
and
he
told
the
man
to
hurry
because
he
had
an
important
appointment
at
three.
He
never
returned
alive
from
that
appointment.”
“From
Hatherley
Farmhouse
to
Boscombe
Pool
is
a
quarter
of
a
mile,
and
two
people
saw
him
walking
that
way.
One
was
an
old
woman,
whose
name
isn’t
mentioned,
and
the
other
was
William
Crowder,
a
gamekeeper
working
for
Mr.
Turner.
Both
witnesses
say
Mr.
McCarthy
was
walking
alone.
The
gamekeeper
adds
that
a
few
minutes
after
seeing
Mr.
McCarthy,
he
saw
his
son,
James
McCarthy,
going
the
same
way
with
a
gun.
He
believes
the
father
was
in
sight,
and
the
son
was
following
him.
He
thought
nothing
more
of
it
until
he
heard
about
the
tragedy
that
evening.”
“The
two
McCarthys
were
seen
after
William
Crowder
lost
sight
of
them.
Boscombe
Pool
is
surrounded
by
thick
woods,
with
just
a
fringe
of
grass
and
reeds
around
the
edge.
A
fourteen-year-old
girl,
Patience
Moran,
the
lodge-keeper’s
daughter,
was
picking
flowers
in
one
of
the
woods.
She
says
she
saw
Mr.
McCarthy
and
his
son
near
the
wood
and
the
lake,
having
a
violent
argument.
She
heard
Mr.
McCarthy
using
strong
language
towards
his
son
and
saw
the
son
raise
his
hand
as
if
to
hit
his
father.
She
was
so
scared
by
their
argument
that
she
ran
home
and
told
her
mother
she
left
the
McCarthys
fighting
near
Boscombe
Pool
and
feared
they
were
going
to
fight.
She
had
hardly
said
this
when
young
Mr.
McCarthy
came
running
to
the
lodge,
saying
he
found
his
father
dead
in
the
wood
and
asking
for
the
lodge-keeper’s
help.
He
was
very
upset,
without
his
gun
or
hat,
and
his
right
hand
and
sleeve
were
stained
with
fresh
blood.
When
they
followed
him,
they
found
the
dead
body
on
the
grass
beside
the
pool.
The
head
had
been
beaten
with
a
heavy,
blunt
weapon.
The
injuries
could
have
been
made
by
the
butt
of
his
son’s
gun,
which
was
found
on
the
grass
near
the
body.
Under
these
circumstances,
the
young
man
was
immediately
arrested,
and
after
a
‘wilful
murder’
verdict
at
the
inquest
on
Tuesday,
he
was
brought
before
the
magistrates
at
Ross
on
Wednesday.
They
have
sent
the
case
to
the
next
Assizes.
Those
are
the
main
facts
as
presented
to
the
coroner
and
the
police-court.”
“I
can
hardly
imagine
a
more
damning
case,”
I
remarked.
“If
circumstantial
evidence
ever
pointed
to
a
criminal,
it
does
here.”
"Circumstantial
evidence
can
be
very
tricky,"
Holmes
said
thoughtfully.
"It
might
seem
to
point
clearly
to
one
thing,
but
if
you
change
your
perspective
a
bit,
it
could
point
just
as
clearly
to
something
else.
However,
the
case
does
look
very
serious
against
the
young
man,
and
he
might
be
guilty.
But
some
people
in
the
area,
including
Miss
Turner,
the
daughter
of
a
nearby
landowner,
believe
he
is
innocent.
They
have
hired
Lestrade,
whom
you
may
remember
from
the
Study
in
Scarlet,
to
help
him.
Lestrade,
being
a
bit
confused,
has
asked
me
to
look
into
the
case.
That
is
why
we
are
traveling
west
at
fifty
miles
an
hour
instead
of
having
breakfast
at
home."
"I'm
afraid,"
I
said,
"the
facts
are
so
clear
that
you
might
not
gain
much
credit
from
this
case."
"There's
nothing
more
misleading
than
an
obvious
fact,"
he
laughed.
"Besides,
we
might
find
some
other
obvious
facts
that
Lestrade
missed.
You
know
me
well
enough
to
know
I'm
not
boasting
when
I
say
that
I'll
either
confirm
or
destroy
his
theory
with
methods
he
can't
use
or
understand.
For
example,
I
can
see
that
your
bedroom
window
is
on
the
right
side,
yet
I
doubt
Lestrade
would
notice
even
something
so
obvious."
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Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes — B1 Inglés | Cuentana