The Mystery is Solved

Chapter five

The next morning, the detectives were trying to find the owner of the bicycle.

'Any luck?' asked Holmes.

'Well, so far, we have reports of a man in a yellow coat in Leicester, Nottingham, Southampton and Liverpool. The country seems to be full of people in yellow coats,' replied MacDonald. 'What about you? Did you find out anything last night?' 'I can't really tell you at the moment. However, I have found out that Charles I was once hidden in this house for several days during the Civil War,' said Holmes. 'I don't see what that has to do with this case,' said Mason. 'Well, I want to give you both some advice. I can't tell you everything that I know yet, but my advice to you is to abandon the case for today. Meet me here this evening and things will become clear.' The detectives were not very happy about this but eventually agreed.

'One more thing, I want you to write a letter to Mr Barker. Write this down. "Dear Sir, we have decided to drain the moat in the hope that we may find some-"' MacDonald interrupted. 'It's impossible. We've already made inquiries.' '"- in the hope that we may find something which will help in the case. I have made arrangements and the workmen will begin tomorrow morning." Now sign that and deliver it this afternoon. Then meet me here when it gets dark.' The detectives were obviously annoyed but agreed to do as Holmes asked.

Later that evening, Holmes took us outside into the grounds of the Manor House. We stopped opposite the windows of the study. 'Now what?' asked MacDonald.

'We must wait,' said Holmes. 'We need to be patient.' We waited and waited.

'What exactly are we waiting for?' asked MacDonald finally. 'And how much longer do we have to wait?' 'I don't know how long we'll have to wait but I can tell you what we are waiting for. Look - that's what we're waiting for!' As he spoke, we saw a man open the window of the study. We heard the splashing of water as the man searched for something. Then suddenly we saw him raise a large round object from the moat and take it into the study.

'Now!' shouted Holmes. 'Now!' We all jumped to our feet and ran into the house and into the study: there was Cecil Barker.

'What do you want?' he said.

'That's what we want,' said Holmes. 'That package, weighted with the dumbbell that you have just pulled from the moat.' 'How do you know about it?' 'Well, I put it there,' said Holmes, 'or, rather, I "replaced" it there after hooking it out last night with the handle of Watson's umbrella.' He opened the package. Inside was a pair of boots, a grey suit, a yellow coat and a dangerous-looking knife.

'The label in the coat is from Vermissa, USA. Earlier today, I found out that Vermissa is a mining valley. Perhaps the V.V. on the card might stand for Vermissa Valley and may even be the Valley of Fear, I think. This seems clear. Perhaps you could explain further, Mr Barker?' asked Holmes.

Barker did not know what to say. Eventually he said, 'Well, if you know such a lot, Holmes, why don't you tell us?' Mrs Douglas came in. She had heard everything. 'You have done enough for us, Cecil. Whatever happens in the future, you have done enough.' 'More than enough,' said Holmes. 'Now I think it is time to hear the truth from Mr Douglas himself.' We were all astonished at Holmes's words. As he spoke, a man seemed to have come out from the wall in a dark corner of the room. Mrs Douglas turned and put her arms around her husband.

'I'm sure it's best this way, John,' she said. The man looked at us. He came to me and gave me a package.

'I've heard of you,' he said. 'Well, Doctor Watson, you've never heard a story like this one. Tell it your own way, but these are the facts. I've been hiding in there for two days and I've written it all down. This is the story of the Valley of Fear.' MacDonald was staring at John Douglas in amazement.

'Well, if you're John Douglas, whose murder have we been investigating for the past two days? And where did you just come from?' 'Don't you remember me telling you that Charles I was once hidden in this house?' Holmes reminded him. 'When I found the clothes in the moat, it became clear that the body was not that of John Douglas, but must be the body of the cyclist from Tunbridge Wells. So, then I had to find out where Mr Douglas was hiding.' 'He's right. I won't start at the beginning,' said John Douglas, 'but there are some men who won't leave me alone until I'm dead. They forced me out of America. I wanted to spend my last years here in peace. I never told my wife how things were because I didn't want to worry her. 'I was in Tunbridge Wells the day before these events, and I saw a man in the street who I recognised immediately. He was my worst enemy, so I knew that there was trouble coming. I came home and prepared myself. All day I was nervous but when the drawbridge was up I felt safe. Then, when I was checking the lights before going to bed, I saw his boot under the curtain. I put down the candle and he jumped out at me and got the gun from under his coat. We were fighting and I was trying to take the gun out of his hands before he could fire.

'Maybe it was me that pulled the trigger or maybe it just went off in the fight. Anyway, he took the shot full in the face. I was looking at all that was left of Ted Baldwin. I was in shock when I heard Barker and my wife coming. I ran to the door and stopped her. We thought that the servants would be there any minute. But they didn't come. They hadn't heard anything. That was when I thought of the plan.

'The man has the same mark as I have, the mark of the lodge. He was also about the same height and size as me. His face was unrecognizable. We tied his clothes to the dumbbell and threw them out of the window. Then we put my clothes on him. The card that was meant for my body was lying by his and we put my ring on his finger. I didn't want to part with my wedding ring, but as you can see, I can't get it off anyway. I put a plaster on his chin where I have one myself at the moment.

'I thought that if I could hide for a while, we might, at last, have a chance to live the rest of our lives in peace. So, I hid in the hiding place and Barker did what he had to do. He made the mark by the window and then, when everything was fixed, he rang the bell for the servants. That's the truth.' Holmes looked serious. 'I don't think this story is over yet, Mr Douglas. I see trouble ahead.' And now, let us go back twenty years in time and travel thousands of miles to the west, so that I can tell you the beginning of this terrible story of John Douglas. And then, we will meet in the rooms of Baker Street once more to hear how it ends.