A Warning

PART ONE

CHAPTER ONE

A letter arrived for Sherlock Holmes. We were sitting in our rooms at 221b Baker Street. 'It's Porlock's writing,' he said. 'It must be very important.'

'Who is Porlock?' I asked.

'Porlock is just a name: it's not his real one. He is a man who is in touch with the great criminal mastermind, Professor Moriarty. You've heard me talk about him?'

'Yes, he's famous among criminals but unknown to the public.'

That's right. He's the "brain" that controls all crime; we'll catch him one day, Watson.'

'Anyway, what about this letter and Porlock?'

'He works for Professor Moriarty. He has sent me information twice before which has helped to prevent crimes.'

Holmes opened the letter and read it. The message said that a man called Douglas at Birlstone Manor House was in great danger.

There was a knock at the door and Inspector MacDonald of Scotland Yard walked in. Holmes looked pleased to see him.

'You're out early,' he said.

But the inspector had stopped suddenly. He was staring at the message.

'Douglas! Birlstone? What's this, Mr Holmes? Magic? How did you get those names?'

'Why?' asked Holmes. 'What's wrong with those names?'

'Mr Douglas of Birlstone Manor House was murdered this morning.'

Sherlock Holmes explained to the inspector how he had just received the letter.

'I was on my way to Birlstone,' said the inspector. 'I came to ask if you and Doctor Watson wanted to come with me but, from what you say about this Porlock, we'll find out more in London.'

'I don't think so,' said Holmes.

'Well, if there's a man in London who knew about the crime before it happened, then we need to find him!'

'And how do you suggest we find Porlock?' asked Holmes. 'I don't know him, I've never seen him, I don't know where he is and, what's more, I know that Professor Moriarty is involved. We'll find nothing in London, MacDonald, we must go to Birlstone to solve this crime.'

The inspector stood up.

'Let's go. Can you be ready in five minutes?'

On our way down to Birlstone, the inspector told us what he knew about the case, which was not very much. John Douglas of Birlstone Manor House was shot in the head with a shotgun. It happened at around midnight the night before. The police had not yet arrested anyone.

Birlstone was a small village in Sussex. About half a mile from the village was the Manor House of Birlstone. It was a very old house, built in the seventeenth century. A moat surrounded the house. The only way to get into the house was over the drawbridge. This drawbridge was raised every night and lowered every morning by the owners of the Manor House. This meant that the house was like an island during the night. This was a very important fact in the mystery at Birlstone.

The owners were Mr John Douglas and his wife. Douglas was a handsome American man about fifty years old. He was popular in the village because he was friendly and also rich. He had earned his money in California, then came to live in England, where he met his wife.

Mrs Douglas was a beautiful woman, about twenty years younger than her husband. They were very happy together, although it seemed that Mrs Douglas did not know everything about her husband's past.

There was one other person who often stayed with the couple and was also at the Manor House at the time of the murder. His name was Cecil Barker. He was a good friend of John Douglas and was the only person from Douglas's unknown past life. Although Barker was English, he had met John Douglas in America. Barker was friendly with both Douglas and his wife. Sometimes his friendship with Mrs Douglas seemed to irritate John Douglas. The other people who were in the house at the time of the murder were Ames the butler and Mrs Allen the housekeeper.

It was at eleven forty-five at night on 6th January that Cecil Barker told Sergeant Wilson at the local police station that someone had murdered Mr John Douglas.

When he reached the house, Sergeant Wilson found the drawbridge down and everyone was confused and alarmed. Only Cecil Barker seemed calm and in control.

The dead man was in the center of the room, lying on his back. The shotgun was lying on his chest; the end of the gun was sawn off. The murderer had fired the gun very close to his victim and the shot had almost blown his head to pieces. The doctor was called but he knew there was nothing he could do.

The country policeman was not used to such serious crime.

'We won't touch anything until the officers from London arrive,' he said.

'I haven't touched anything,' said Cecil Barker. 'This is exactly as I found it. It was just after half past eleven and I was sitting in my bedroom when I heard the shot. It wasn't very loud. I rushed down.'

'Was the door open?'

'Yes, it was open. Douglas was lying just as you see him now. There was a candle burning on the table. I lit the lamp.'

'Did you see anyone?'

'No, I heard Mrs Douglas coming down the stairs behind me and I rushed out to stop her from seeing this terrible sight.'

'But wasn't the drawbridge raised as usual?'

'Yes, it was up until I lowered it,' said Barker.

'Then how could the murderer have got away?'

'Look.' Barker pulled back the curtain. One of the windows was wide open. 'Look at this.' He pointed to a blood stain that was shaped like a footprint. 'Someone has climbed out here.'

'You think that someone waded across the moat?'

'Exactly.'

'Well, you were in the room half a minute after the murder, so this means that he was in the water then.'

'I know. I didn't know the window was open because it was hidden by the curtain.'

The policeman was thinking.

'You're saying that the man escaped by wading across the moat. But how did he get into the house if the drawbridge was up?

'That's a good question,' agreed Barker.