The Middle Temple Murder J. S. Fletcher (the reading strategies book .txt) š
- Author: J. S. Fletcher
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āAnd now, Mr. Quarterpage,ā concluded Spargo, āthis is the point Iāve come to. I believe that the man who came to the Anglo-Orient Hotel as John Marbury and who was undoubtedly murdered in Middle Temple Lane that night, was John Maitlandā āI havenāt a doubt about it after learning what you tell me about the silver ticket. Iāve found out a great deal thatās valuable here, and I think Iām getting nearer to a solution of the mystery. That is, of course, to find out who murdered John Maitland, or Marbury. What you have told me about the Chamberlayne affair has led me to think thisā āthere may have been people, or a person, in London, who was anxious to get Marbury, as weāll call him, out of the way, and who somehow encountered him that nightā āanxious to silence him, I mean, because of the Chamberlayne affair. And I wondered, as there is so much mystery about him, and as he wonāt give any account of himself, if this man Aylmore was really Chamberlayne. Yes, I wondered that! But Aylmoreās a tall, finely-built man, quite six feet in height, and his beard, though itās now getting grizzled, has been very dark, and Chamberlayne, you say, was a medium-sized, fair man, with blue eyes.ā
āThatās so, sir,ā assented Mr. Quarterpage. āYes, a middling-sized man, and fairā āvery fair. Deary me, Mr. Spargo!ā āthis is a revelation. And you really think, sir, that John Maitland and John Marbury are one and the same person?ā
āIām sure of it, now,ā said Spargo. āI see it in this way. Maitland, on his release, went out to Australia, and there he stopped. At last he comes back, evidently well-to-do. Heās murdered the very day of his arrival. Aylmore is the only man who knows anything of himā āAylmore wonāt tell all he knows; thatās flat. But Aylmoreās admitted that he knew him at some vague date, say from twenty-one to twenty-two or three years ago. Now, where did Aylmore know him? He says in London. Thatās a vague term. He wonāt say whereā āhe wonāt say anything definiteā āhe wonāt even say what he, Aylmore, himself was in those days. Do you recollect anything of anybody like Aylmore coming here to see Maitland, Mr. Quarterpage?ā
āI donāt,ā answered Mr. Quarterpage. āMaitland was a very quiet, retiring fellow, sir: he was about the quietest man in the town. I never remember that he had visitors; certainly Iāve no recollection of such a friend of his as this Aylmore, from your description of him, would be at that time.ā
āDid Maitland go up to London much in those days?ā asked Spargo.
Mr. Quarterpage laughed.
āWell, now, to show you what a good memory I have,ā he said, āIāll tell you of something that occurred across there at the āDragonā only a few months before the Maitland affair came out. There were some of us in there one evening, and, for a rare thing, Maitland came in with Chamberlayne. Chamberlayne happened to remark that he was going up to town next dayā āhe was always to and froā āand we got talking about London. And Maitland said in course of conversation, that he believed he was about the only man of his age in Englandā āand, of course, he meant of his class and meansā āwhoād never even seen London! And I donāt think he ever went there between that time and his trial: in fact, Iām sure he didnāt, for if he had, I should have heard of it.ā
āWell, thatās queer,ā remarked Spargo. āItās very queer. For Iām certain Maitland and Marbury are one and the same person. My theory about that old leather box is that Maitland had that carefully planted before his arrest; that he dug it up when he came put of Dartmoor; that he took it off to Australia with him; that he brought it back with him; and that, of course, the silver ticket and the photograph had been in it all these years. Nowā āā
At that moment the door of the library was opened, and a parlourmaid looked in at her master.
āThereās the boots from the āDragonā at the front door, sir,ā she said. āHeās brought two telegrams across from there for Mr. Spargo, thinking he might like to have them at once.ā
XXI ArrestedSpargo hurried out to the hall, took the two telegrams from the boots of the āDragon,ā and, tearing open the envelopes, read the messages hastily. He went back to Mr. Quarterpage.
āHereās important news,ā he said as he closed the library door and resumed his seat. āIāll read these telegrams to you, sir, and then we can discuss them in the light of what weāve been talking about this morning. The first is from our office. I told you we sent over to Australia for a full report about Marbury at the place he said he hailed fromā āCoolumbidgee. That reportās just reached the Watchman, and theyāve wired it on to me. Itās from the chief of police at Coolumbidgee to the editor of the Watchman, London:ā ā
āJohn Marbury came to Coolumbidgee in the winter of 1898ā āā 9. He was unaccompanied. He appeared to be in possession of fairly considerable means and bought a share in a small sheep-farm from its proprietor, Andrew Robertson, who is still here, and who says that Marbury never told him anything about himself except that he had emigrated for health reasons and was a widower. He mentioned that he had had a son who was dead, and was now without relations. He lived a very quiet, steady life on the sheep-farm, never leaving it for many years. About six months ago, however, he paid a visit to Melbourne, and on returning told Robertson that he had decided to return to England in consequence of some news he had received, and must therefore sell his share in the farm. Robertson bought it from him for three thousand pounds, and Marbury shortly afterwards left for Melbourne. From what we could gather, Robertson thinks Marbury was probably in
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