In this captivating episode of CS Radio Mystery Theater, we delve into the intriguing world of Sherlock Holmes with "The Bascom Pool Mystery." Hosted by EG Marshall, the episode explores the lesser-known aspects of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's life, including his medical career and his creation of the iconic detective duo, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The story unfolds with Holmes and Watson embarking on a journey to the West of England to investigate the murder of Mr. McCarthy, a case that seems straightforward yet is fraught with complexities. As Holmes employs his legendary deductive skills, listeners are treated to a classic tale of mystery and suspense, complete with unexpected twists and turns.
The episode not only highlights Holmes' unparalleled detective prowess but also delves into the personal lives and motivations of the characters involved. With a backdrop of familial tensions, hidden pasts, and the quest for justice, "The Bascom Pool Mystery" offers a rich narrative that keeps the audience engaged from start to finish. As Holmes unravels the mystery, listeners are reminded of the timeless appeal of Conan Doyle's creation and the enduring legacy of Sherlock Holmes in the world of detective fiction.
(00:30) Introduction to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
(02:14) The Bascom Pool Mystery Begins
(03:20) The Telegram and the Journey
(07:05) Lestrade's Theory and Holmes' Doubts
(13:16) Holmes Visits James McCarthy
(21:28) Holmes' Deduction and Miss Turner's Involvement
(26:11) The Scene of the Crime
(31:30) James McCarthy's Secret
(36:32) Turner's Confession
(41:22) Conclusion and Reflections
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Unknown:
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CS Radio Mystery Theater presents Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. Everyone knows that sir Arthur Conan Doyle started in life as a doctor, not a writer. But how many of us know what type of medicine he specialized in or where his real medical offices were located? For your information, doctor Arthur Conan Doyle opened his office at 2 Devonshire Place near Harley Street in 1891. He was an eye specialist. While he waited for the patients that never came, he created the unforgettable characters of Sherlock Holmes and doctor Watson.
Watson, you know my method is founded upon the observation of trifles. But but but the cigar, Holmes. Once having located the tree behind which the killer stood, It was child's play to find a cigar stump where he had tossed it. The end had not been in his mouth, therefore he used a holder. The tip had been cut, not bitten off, but the cut wasn't a clean one. Hence,
[00:01:57] Unknown:
the pen knife. Oh, so don't you you've drawn a net around this man from which he cannot escape.
[00:02:03] Unknown:
How do you do it? Elementary, my dear Watson. Our mystery drama, The Bascom Pool Mystery, was based on the Sherlock Holmes classic and adapted especially for the Mystery Theater by Murray Burnett. It stars Kevin McCarthy. It is sponsored in part by ARM, allergy relief medicine, and Buick motor division. I'll be back shortly with act one. It's a singular fact that we know more of Sherlock Holmes than we do of his creator, sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course, we all know he was a doctor and that he believed in spiritualism, but most of us are unaware that he was also a whaler, athlete, speculator, historian, dramatist, war correspondent, and ever and always the champion of the underdog as is so well illustrated in the mystery which follows.
[00:03:21] Unknown:
One morning when my wife and I were seated at breakfast, the maid brought in a telegram. I slid it open, read it to Mary. Have you a few days to spare? Have just been wired for from the West Of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. Should appreciate your coming with me. Leave Paddington by the 11:15.
[00:03:46] Unknown:
Well, darling, you'll need some time and so I shall help you pass. I'm I'm not at all sure that I should go. I've I've a fairly long list of patients. Oh, Anne Stott will handle those for you. I think the change will do you good. And you know how interested you are in all of Sherlock Holmes' cases. Oh, well, I should be an ingrate if I weren't.
[00:04:06] Unknown:
But I I met you through one of them.
[00:04:10] Unknown:
Now you finish our coffee while I go and get you packed.
[00:04:16] Unknown:
And so within a very few minutes, I was in a cab rattling away to Paddington Station. After paying the cabby, I I spotted the tall gaunt figure of Holmes facing up and down the platform.
[00:04:30] Unknown:
As he saw me, his face lighted up with one of his rare smiles, and he said, very good of you to come, Watson. Oh, well, it makes a considerable difference to me having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely. If you'll keep the two corner seats, I'll get the tickets.
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We had the compartment to ourselves and a batch of newspapers Holmes had brought along with him.
[00:04:56] Unknown:
As we settle down for the journey, Holmes asked Have you heard anything about the case? Well, I I I haven't seen a paper till some days. It's just as well. The London press hasn't had rather complete accounts and that's why I brought these these local papers along. I've already read through them and I gather it's one of those simple cases which are so extremely difficult. Really, isn't that paradoxical? Of course. And profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more commonplace a crime, the more difficult it is to bring home. In this instance, however, the police seem to have established a very serious case against the son of the murdered man. Oh, it is a murder then. According to our old friend, Lestrade, it's not only murder, but he has the guilty man under lock and key.
What brings you into it then? An appeal for help from a young lady and a feeling that all isn't as simple as it seems on the surface. I know Lestrade's theory of crime, and I shall either confirm or destroy it by means which he refuses to employ. Refuses and or is unable to. Nonsense, my dear Watson. Anyone with eyes can use my methods. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly perceive that in your bedroom, the window is on the right hand side.
[00:06:16] Unknown:
Oh, my. But, Holmes, you've you've never visited us. How on earth would you My dear doctor,
[00:06:22] Unknown:
I know the military neatness which characterizes you. You shave every morning, and in this lovely spring, you shave by sunlight. But since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side and it becomes positively slovenly as we get around the angle of the jar, it's obvious that that side is less illuminated than the other. Well, you you never cease to amaze me. That's only an elementary example of observation and inference, my dear chap. Now I suggest that you devote your time to these newspaper accounts and see if you can reach the same conclusions as I have.
[00:07:05] Unknown:
On my word, mister Holmes, I do believe you've got a real streak of the romantic in your makeup. Why do you say that, Vosnoy? Oh, for wasting your time and coming all the way down here in answer to the please of a moonstruck, mate. It's your opinion that I'm wasting my time. If you'll allow me to recount the facts, I think you'll agree. Delighted. Go ahead, Lestrade. Let me just use these notes to keep me on the track. Let me see. That's just a way. Now on Monday last, mister McCarthy left his farm in Adelaide about three in the afternoon and walked down to Bascom Poole, a distance of above a quarter of a mile. He never came back alive. That is a fact I must concede.
You'll also have to concede that we have two witnesses who saw him on his way, and one of them, William Crowder, a gamekeeper in the employ of a mister Turner, saw McCarthy's son following him with a gun over his arm. That was all in the papers. Oh, there's more. A girl of 14, Patience Moran, who's the daughter of the lodge keeper of the who's the daughter of the lodge keeper of the Boscombe Ferry Estate, was in the woods near the pool picking flowers. While she was there, she saw the elder McCarthy and his son, James, in the midst of a violent quarrel. She even testifies that she saw the son raise his hand as if to strike his father.
It so frightened her that she ran away and told her mother about it when she reached home. A pity she didn't stay and see what happened. Come now, mister Holmes. We are pretty sure of what happened. I mean, McCarthy died of injuries to the air inflicted by some blunt weapon, which might very well have been the butt of the gun. And the son's rifle was found near the body. Mister Holmes, you'll have to admit that many men have been hanged on far less evidence. Sure they have.
[00:09:03] Unknown:
And many men have been wrongfully hanged. True. But but if ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal, it does so here. Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing, but I must confess, however, that the case looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it's possible that he may be guilty. Come in.
[00:09:27] Unknown:
You must be mister Sherlock Holmes. I'm Susan Turner. I want to thank you for coming, and I've driven down here to the end to welcome you and help you in any way I can to prove that James is innocent.
[00:09:39] Unknown:
Well, I sincerely hope we may clear the young man, miss Turner. You may rely on me to do all I can. I know that James didn't do it. I know it, and I want you to know it before you start working on the case. My dear young lady, your loyalty to James McCarthy does you credit, but I know nothing before I complete my investigations.
[00:09:59] Unknown:
First, may I see your father if I call tomorrow? I'm afraid the doctor won't allow it. The doctor? Yes. Father has been ailing for some years, but this has broken him down completely. Doctor Willow says that his nervous system is completely shattered.
[00:10:16] Unknown:
Then your father and the elder McCarthy were
[00:10:19] Unknown:
close friends. Oh, yes. Indeed. Mister McCarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the old days in Victoria.
[00:10:27] Unknown:
At the gold mines where the papers say your father made his fortune. That's it. Thank you, miss Turner. But
[00:10:34] Unknown:
is that all?
[00:10:35] Unknown:
I've read of your other cases and I had my carriage wait to take you to the scene. I shall certainly want to go there at some time, miss Turner. But the barometer holds steady. I don't understand. My dear young lady, you must allow me to pursue my inquiries as I think best. Oh, I will. I will.
[00:10:53] Unknown:
I know you've read the evidence in the paper. You must have discussed the case with the inspector. Do you see some flaw? Don't you think that he's innocent?
[00:11:02] Unknown:
I think that that is very probable.
[00:11:05] Unknown:
Bear now, inspector. You heard. Mister Holmes gives me hope.
[00:11:10] Unknown:
Well, now I'm afraid, miss Turner, that my colleague may have been a little lacy informing his conclusions. Oh, with a final brilliant smile of thanks, our young lady is swept to the door and left. Oh, Holmes. I'm ashamed of you. Why should you raise our hopes when you're bound to disappoint her? I'm not a sentimentalist,
[00:11:36] Unknown:
but I call it downright cruel. I think, Lestrade, that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy. Have you in order to see him in prison? Of course. Then we still have ample time to take a train to Hertford and see him tonight. We can go, of course, but in my opinion, it's a waste of time. I don't know whether or not you've been informed of the,
[00:11:58] Unknown:
the remark he made when the local constable informed him that he was under arrest. Mhmm. What was that? He said, I'm not surprised to hear it. It's no more than I deserve. Good lord, Holmes. That's a confession. Not at all, doctor. Not at all. That was later followed by a protestation of innocence. With all the other evidence, mister Holmes, don't you consider that a most suspicious remark?
[00:12:24] Unknown:
On the contrary, Lestrade. It's the brightest aspect of the case pointing to his innocence. Every one of the great detectives of fiction can be compared to magicians and their love of mystification. But with Holmes, there's a large difference. Many of the others love to mystify simply for the sake of mystification, whereas Holmes refused to divulge his thoughts until he checked to be sure that there was no other possible interpretation. We'll be back shortly with act two. A little earlier, I mentioned that, Sherlock Holmes was the champion of the underdog, and I suspect that this was an added factor in the endless popularity of a Conan Doyle's creation.
Now we have Holmes rushing off to the West Of England to save a man not only suspected of murdering his father, but sitting in Hereford Prison waiting to be tried for that
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crime. When we entered James McCarthy's cell, I I could understand miss Susan Turner's feelings for the young man for he was indeed handsome with a frank open countenance that cried out for belief. But I remembered other criminals with handsome faces
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and listened avidly as Holmes began to question him after we were introduced. I understand, mister McCarthy, that you're an only child. That's right. Now I believe you testified before the coroner's jury that you had been away from home for three days and returned only on the day your father was killed. So I did. Mhmm. Where were you for those three days? In Bristol. Do you have business there? What's in Bristol has absolutely nothing to do with my case. Once again, I'll have to I'll say no more about it. Very well.
Now when you returned, did you see your father?
[00:14:40] Unknown:
No. He wasn't home. I was upstairs in my room when I saw him drive his trap into the yard, get out, and walk very rapidly out of the yard.
[00:14:50] Unknown:
Mhmm. So you saw in which direction he was going? It's all down in the records of the coroner's jewelry. I've read them. I'd still like to hear it in your words. Very well. This is the way it was. I'll try to let you hear what I said exactly as I said it. And now,
[00:15:08] Unknown:
mister McCarthy, you say you weren't aware in which direction your father was going when he left the yard? Right. You'd been away for three days. Did it not occur to you to seek out your father
[00:15:23] Unknown:
and tell him you were back or were you on bad terms? We got along alright.
[00:15:29] Unknown:
You don't deny quarreling with him at the pool? No.
[00:15:33] Unknown:
You must have followed him there, did you not? I told you I had no idea where he was heading. I took my gun and set off for the rabbit warren, and the games keeper saw me as he said. But I wasn't following my father. I had no idea he was in front of me.
[00:15:50] Unknown:
Yes. Just so. And how then did you meet at the pool?
[00:15:55] Unknown:
I was about 50 yards from the pool on my way towards the Warren when I heard a cry of hooey, which was a usual signal between my father and myself. I turned and went to the pool. Yes. And? My father was surprised to see me. He thought I was still in Bristol. He asked me rather roughly what was I doing
[00:16:17] Unknown:
there. You said you were on good terms with your father. Did you not find the attitude you describe rather strange
[00:16:24] Unknown:
when you returned from a three day absence? Those who knew my father will back me up when I say he was a cold and forbidding man of a violent temper. But you're his son. We had a disagreement of long standing. Oh, indeed. About what? I'd rather not say. I've already told you about my father's temper. That's why I left him, to avoid blows. And how long were you gone before you claim you heard this hideous outcry? I don't exactly know how long, but I couldn't have been more than 150 yards away. And then? I ran back, found my father lying on the ground with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun, held him in my arms, but he died almost instantly.
Did your father say anything before he died? He mumbled a few words, but all I could understand was something about a rat. A rat? What did you take that to mean? Nothing. I thought he was delirious. I understand that the cry cooie was a common signal between you and your father. It was. Well, can you explain then
[00:17:38] Unknown:
that he used it before he saw you and indeed before he even knew you'd returned from Bristol?
[00:17:45] Unknown:
I can't understand that myself.
[00:17:48] Unknown:
When you returned and presumably found your father fatally injured, did you see anything which looked
[00:17:57] Unknown:
strange or suspicious? There's only a vague impression in my mind of something lying on the ground to the left of me, so I tried to help my father. Can you be more specific? I'll try. But you must understand it was only an impression. I think it was a coat of some sort. Gray perhaps or a plaid.
[00:18:21] Unknown:
Well, how is it that none of the officers examining the scene mentioned this,
[00:18:26] Unknown:
thing? When I rose from my father, I looked around for it, but it was gone.
[00:18:31] Unknown:
Do you mean it disappeared before you went for help? Yes.
[00:18:36] Unknown:
And you don't have any idea what it was? No. Just a feeling that something was there. How far from the body? About a dozen yards.
[00:18:47] Unknown:
And how far from the edge of the wood? About the same. Well, then if there was something there, it must have been removed while you were within a dozen yards of
[00:19:01] Unknown:
it. Yes. But with my back towards it. Thank you. That will conclude your examination.
[00:19:09] Unknown:
I will address the jury about arriving into verdict.
[00:19:13] Unknown:
Of course. I suspected pretty much what the verdict would be after the coroner's charge, so there wasn't any shock when they came back and said I should be held on a murder charge.
[00:19:30] Unknown:
When we left James McCarthy and we're on our way back to the inn by train, Sherlock Holmes was in high spirits. Although for the life of me, I I could see nothing in what we just heard, which pointed to the innocence of young James McCarthy. Ernie Lestrade, of course, said as much as we rode along.
[00:19:51] Unknown:
I see by your expression, mister Holmes,
[00:19:54] Unknown:
that you're down to the deductions and inferences.
[00:19:58] Unknown:
As for me, I fight it hard enough to tackle facts without chasing after theories. Very well, inspector. Here's a fact for you to ponder. We all agree that McCarthy senior met his death at the hands of a blunt instrument. Do we not? Well, cool. It's also a fact that young McCarthy's rifle was examined and found to be free of blood, hair, or any signs that had been used as a weapon. Isn't that so? Absolutely. And you don't find it at all strange. In the heat of a violent quarrel, the son lays down the rifle that he has in his hand and searches for a rock or some other suitable weapon with which to strike his father?
[00:20:40] Unknown:
Well well, I believe, that'll come out when he confesses. It'll all be explained. My dear Lestrade,
[00:20:47] Unknown:
you'll be sorely disappointed if you pin your hopes upon a confession. First, because the young man, although not very bright, isn't the type to confess. And secondly, because he can't confess to a crime,
[00:21:01] Unknown:
he didn't commit. Oh, come now, Holmes. The coroner's jury came in with the charge not because of me, but because the coroner very correctly pointed to the discrepancies of his story about the father having signaled to him before seeing him and his strange account about his father's dying words and his refusal to give the details of the quarrel with his father. Both you and the coroner don't blink an eye at young McCarthy's ability to come up with a fantastic tale about his father's strange dying words and popping a rat and mysterious disappearance of some kind of gun. I don't know where you do have a way of looking at things, mister Holmes. But if you don't mind my saying so, they're kind of wrong side up. Like the way you took his saying when he was arrested, that it was no more than he deserved as a a sign of his innocence. Most certainly, Lestrade.
[00:21:53] Unknown:
Had he appeared surprised when he was arrested or loudly proclaimed his innocence, I should have looked upon it as highly suspicious. May I ask why? But however innocent he might be, he cannot be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that circumstances look very black against him. His honest acceptance of this plus his undoubted self reproach for his quarrel with his father bring out the words, it's no more than I deserve.
[00:22:29] Unknown:
Miss Stroud left us to write a report to the yard, and Holmes insisted that we visit Susan Turner. Accordingly, we drove to Boscombe Hall,
[00:22:39] Unknown:
a large house located in the center of the considerable holdings of mister John Turner. Miss Turner, do you have any idea what caused the quarrel between James and his father on the day he was killed? You've seen James. How is he? Did you tell him I believed in his innocence? He didn't need to be told. He seems in his good spirits as one could expect, but you haven't answered my question. I know.
[00:23:05] Unknown:
I'm just trying to think whether James would want me to tell you since I am involved in it, and that's the reason he wouldn't tell the coroner. Now, miss Turner, this is no time
[00:23:16] Unknown:
for concealing things that might well be vital to the investigation.
[00:23:20] Unknown:
Oh, you're right. Of course. It's no time to hide anything. James and his father had many disagreements about me. Mister McCarthy was very anxious that there should be a marriage between us.
[00:23:34] Unknown:
And you're telling me James objected? Mister Holmes,
[00:23:38] Unknown:
James and I have always loved each other as brother and sister, but, of course, he's young and he just isn't prepared to undertake marriage just yet. And I'm sure there were many quarrels between them over this. And your father,
[00:23:51] Unknown:
did he favor such a marriage? No. He was averse to it also.
[00:23:55] Unknown:
No one but mister McCarthy was in favor of it at this time.
[00:24:00] Unknown:
Did your father ever give you any reason for his objecting?
[00:24:03] Unknown:
As I told you, mister Holmes, my father hasn't been well for some time, and I would never think of discussing anything with him that I felt might cause him distress.
[00:24:15] Unknown:
At dinner, that night at the end, Holmes was thoughtful and less buoyant than he'd been earlier in the day. Lestrade joined us at coffee.
[00:24:27] Unknown:
Mister Holmes. Have you come up with any more fancy deductions and inferences? No. As a matter of fact, Lestrade, I have only a few interesting questions. Perhaps you can help me with one of them?
[00:24:40] Unknown:
Oh, glad to do it. I can.
[00:24:42] Unknown:
Can you tell me the relationship between mister Turner and the senior McCarthy?
[00:24:48] Unknown:
Word. Of course. They were the best of friends. He even gave McCarthy, Katharine Farm, rent free. They went to the races together. Indeed. And furthermore, this business has had a very bad effect on him. You know, he's in his sixties and hasn't been in good health for some time. But now it's said that because of this, his life is really in danger. It, must have been a great blow to him. Well, does does that help you at all, mister Holmes?
[00:25:17] Unknown:
Insofar as it poses two other interesting questions, the answer is yes. Well, then perhaps I can answer those for you also. Not unless you happen to have a map of Australia and know exactly what young James McCarthy was doing in Bristol for three days. The city of Bristol is noted for its extensive port facilities, its leadership and engineering, and the fan vaulted ceiling of the famed church of Saint Mary Radcliffe. But I doubt if it was for any of these that young James McCarthy spent three days there. We'll find the answer to that together with Sherlock Holmes when I return with Act three.
I'm not in the travel business, but I was struck with the notion that perhaps England will find it profitable to offer a Sherlock Holmes tour, one that would include visits not only to his famous headquarters at Baker Street, but would include visits to all of the places where he and doctor Watson worked that particular brand of detection. Now if we can imagine ourselves on one of these tours, then we'd find ourselves in the West Of England at a pool in the Bascom Valley, the site of a murder. Tell me, Lassard.
[00:26:48] Unknown:
What did you go into the pool for? Oh, I was fishing about with a rake looking for some whip or the rubber.
[00:26:54] Unknown:
How on earth did you know that? Tut tut. I have no time. Footprints can be easily read on this marshy ground, and that left foot of yours with its inward twists is all over the place. Oh, of course. Now I understand why you said you'd wait until today to examine the scene of the crime because of the barometer. The glass was steady. You knew it wouldn't rain and the tracks would still be here. Upon my word, Lestrade, you're actually employing the science of deduction. Congratulations. Now, Watson, would you be kind enough to let me have your waterproof? Of course. I warned you, I'm gonna place it on the ground and lie upon it so that I can get a better view of these very interesting prints.
It's yours, my friend. Thank you. Let's see. These are young McCarthy's feet and here, twice he was walking. And here, once he ran swiftly. Soles are deeply marked and the heels barely visible. That would bear out his story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Now here the elder Maccage's feet pacing up and down. He seems to have been impatient. Then what's this? What's this? The butt end of the gun as the son stood listening. And what have we here? Other prints. Square. Quite unusual boots. They come. They go. They come again. Of course, that was for the cloak or the coat that the son mentioned in his testimony.
Now, where did they come from? Oh, now come along, Holmes. There are a great number of footprints here. Some of them may well have been made by local police or even sightseers. I cannot accept your inferences and deductions as facts. That is your privilege, Lestrade. Now if you'll excuse me, I go to search for more concrete evidence that may change your mind. Oh, and where do you expect to find that? Under the trees that line this pool and on a map of Australia.
[00:29:11] Unknown:
When Holmes rejoined me, he he was cradling a large stone in the crook of his elbow. I saw he was trying to suppress a smile of triumph. As he near at me, he said,
[00:29:23] Unknown:
I believe the time is now right for another visit to young James McCarthy.
[00:29:32] Unknown:
I hope you're bringing me good news, mister Holmes.
[00:29:35] Unknown:
If you consider the fact that I believe your story to be absolutely true in every detail good, then I am the bearer of good news. That's marvelous.
[00:29:43] Unknown:
Marvelous. When can I hope to be released?
[00:29:47] Unknown:
That's another matter. My knowing that you're innocent is one thing. Proving it to the authorities is quite another. Now, miss Turner has told us about your father's wish that you and she should marry. And I think it's imperative that you tell me now the reason for your trip to Bristol. That has nothing to do with the killing of my father. Possibly not. But it has everything to do with my being able to free you.
[00:30:11] Unknown:
Then I'll have to take my chances. It must be something of which you're bitterly ashamed. Look, mister Holmes. I'm not ashamed. Anyone can make a mistake. I made one. But it's over now. And I'm not going to say anymore. Because of Miss Turner? Keep her out of it.
[00:30:28] Unknown:
Do you really think she can be? If I have anything to say about it, she will be. You sound as if you really care for her. I love her. Do you understand?
[00:30:37] Unknown:
I love her and that's why You refused to marry her? I was already married. But of course, your father didn't know. No one knew. The young lady lives in Bristol. She's a brame. I was I was younger. And somehow we ended up married.
[00:30:56] Unknown:
But now you say you're not. I believe you used the word was.
[00:31:01] Unknown:
I received a letter from her the day after I was arrested. It seems I never was married. Mhmm. She'd had a husband, a sailor. And now that I was accused of murder, she let me know that she wanted nothing to do with me.
[00:31:17] Unknown:
And you're afraid to tell, miss Turner? If she knew, she'd never consider marrying a fool like me. I'm sure you're mistaken. But now that I know the facts of the matter, perhaps it won't have to be brought out in court. Come, Watson. We must have a chat with Lestrade. This may interest you, Lestrade. It is the murder weapon. This stone? Really? I I see no marks. There are none. Why then do you describe it as the murder weapon? The grasp was growing under it. It had lain in that place only a few days. It corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other weapon.
I see. And perhaps then you can describe the murder. Certainly. He's a tall man, left handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick soled shooting boots and a gray cloak, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar holder, and carries a blunt pen knife in his pocket. There are several other indications, but, these should be enough to point us to the murder. We'll point you perhaps, but we still have to deal with a very hard headed British jury. Lestrade, doesn't it strike you as curious that McCarthy, living rent free at Turner's expense and thus under great obligation to Turner, should seem so certain that a marriage between miss Turner and his son would be appropriate?
Well, it might have if I hadn't seen the young lady. I mean, she's head over heels in love with that boy. Then if this isn't enough to move you in the proper direction, there's nothing more I can do. Watson, look up the timetables and tell me the next train to London will walk. Now that you're you're going back to town leaving the case unfinished? My dearest fraud, you have your man and cannot be moved. And as for me, the case is quite complete. But but there are still some unanswered questions. Not for me. I've described the murderer to you. But who is he? Can you put a name to him? Well, surely, it shouldn't be too difficult to find out. I've discharged my duty.
The rest is up to you. After Lestrade left, Holmes lit a pipe. Well, I could see from his expression that he was troubled. Look here, Watson. I am in a bit of a dilemma. Oh, I I don't see how. You've done all you could. Not quite. I believe I can name the murderer.
[00:33:51] Unknown:
Well, surely, then the dilemma is solved.
[00:33:54] Unknown:
All you have to do is, come in.
[00:33:58] Unknown:
Oh, mister Holmes. I'm so glad you're still here. I can't believe what I heard about your going back to London is true. I'm afraid it is, miss Turner. Come in and close the door. But Inspector Lestrade said you were convinced that James is innocent. Patience, miss Turner.
[00:34:17] Unknown:
Patience. In considering this case, there were two points that struck me instantly. One was that his father should cry cooie before seeing him. Well, no. That that's only according to his story, hon. Which I've already told you, my dear fellow. I choose to believe. And the second? The father's singular dying reference to a rat. I say that if we presume both to be true, we come up with some strong presumptions. The father thought his son was in Bristol. The CUI was meant for someone else. That is a distinctly Australian signal. Therefore, I deduce that the person McCarthy expected to meet at Boscombe Pool was someone who had been in Australia.
And and and the reference to the rat. This is a map of the colony of Victoria, the one I told you I wired for last night. Now, I place my hand over part of this map. And what do you read, Watson? A rat. And now, when I raise my hand Who? Balarat. Quite so. That was what the elder McCarthy was trying to tell his son. The name of the murderer. So and so, a Ballarat. Who? By the way? The possession of a gray garment was a third point bringing us to a definite conception. We are looking for a person from Australia, from Ballarat, with a gray cloak.
What is an astounding hoax? You applaud my performance before I finish. We can further deduce that this person is one who is native to this district because the pool can only be approached by the farm or by the estate, or a stranger would, well, hardly wander without being certain to attract attention. I have other evidence, but it all points in the same direction. The direction of a left handed man with a limp who smokes Indian cigars. Yes, sir. But you told Lestrade he used a cigar holder. He does. The cigar stump I found clearly showed that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore, he used a holder and the tip had not been bitten off but cut.
The cut was not a clean one, so the deduction is clear that he must have used a blunt pen knife. I don't want to hear anymore.
[00:36:39] Unknown:
Mister Holmes and doctor Watson, you must forgive me, but I cannot say. I have
[00:36:46] Unknown:
Susan. Oh,
[00:36:48] Unknown:
good lord. I never expected you to be here. Susan, mister Holmes, your note said I apologize, but there was no way of avoiding this issue. No. I suppose not. And I assure you, I would have spoken before now if it weren't for Susan. She's Father, I don't think you should say anymore. No. No. It's too late, my dear. I have a great deal more to say. And it's best now that you hear it all. It cannot be arrested.
[00:37:16] Unknown:
I will not have him arrested.
[00:37:18] Unknown:
I sincerely, mister Holmes, and I can send you away. There may be no arrest. Oh, but Holmes We are not police officials, Watson. I came here at miss Turner's request as she says. However, an innocent man must not be allowed to suffer. I, I have had diabetes for years and my doctor says now that it's only a question of a month or two before I before I die. But I tell you no one knew the true character of that dead man. He was a devil incarnate and his grip has been upon me these past twenty years. It stems from Australia. Yes.
Back in the early sixties, I went to Australia to make my fortune. I failed at my diggings, fell among bad companions. Oh, I was hot, duddied and reckless. I took to the bush and became in chalk. Nothing better than a highwayman. There were six of us and we had a wild, free life. Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under. And we're still remembered out there as the Ballarat gang. And then, one day we heard of a gold convoy coming from Ballarat to Melbourne. The escort troopers out boys, while I climb up and get them to help me unload the gold. Or do you want me
[00:38:46] Unknown:
to
[00:38:51] Unknown:
We got away with the gold. But the driver of that coach was this Sam McCarthy. I wish I'd shot him in. But I gave it no thought. And how many years later did he find you? Some eleven or so. I suppose it was a punishment God laid on me despite the fact that I turned over a new leaf and tried to make up for my past. I'd gone to London about an investment when I met him in Regent Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot. But he'd be tracking you? Well, he must have been because he knew I didn't live in London. He touched me in the arm.
And I'll never forget his words. Well, here we are Jack, he said. We'll be as good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son. And you can have the keeping of us. If you don't, well, England's a fine law abiding country and there's always a policeman nearby. And so you've been supporting him ever since. Whatever he wanted he got without question. Land, money, houses. But then he went too far. He wanted his son to marry Susan. And the boy seems a nice enough land. Oh, I had no objection, sir James. But as you know, I, I don't have long to live.
And he grinningly told me it was only his just due that he should step into the whole property as Susan's father-in-law. Oh, I drew the line at that. So we were we were to meet at the pool for the final talk. Mhmm. And why, after all these years, did it end violently? Because he threatened to tell Susan, and suddenly I saw red. I stooped. I picked up a stone, and I
[00:40:57] Unknown:
I took him down.
[00:40:59] Unknown:
His cries brought back his son, but I had gained the cover of the wood. Although, I was forced to go back for my cloak. Now, mister Holmes, that's that's the true story.
[00:41:22] Unknown:
Alexander Turner died less than a month after he'd given us his confession in the eve of Hereford. With Holmes feeding young McCarthy's counsel ammunition with which to shoot down the case for the prosecution and with the young man revealing the reason for his Bristol visit, he won an acquittal. That very night, Holmes and I sat before a fire in our Baker Street flat
[00:41:47] Unknown:
watching Turner's confession turn to cinders in the crackling flames. My dear Watson, don't fret too much about my not being able to take credit for solving the Boscombe Pool mystery. How the devil did you know? I'm sure that after the passage of time, you'll write it in those memoirs you're working on. And don't forget to point out that the one person everyone tried to protect, Susan Turner, knew the whole story, while James McCarthy was spared the knowledge that his father was a blackmailer and his father-in-law a murderer.
Sherlock Holmes once remarked that art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms. And Holmes' creator, A Conan Doyle, proved it by permitting the stolid Doctor Watson to become mischievous about the stories that were supposedly too delicate to open to the public. And here, Doyle let Watson's imagination run wild as he mentions the fact that he could never, never tell us the story of the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant. A mischievously intriguing title that there ever was one. I'll be back
[00:43:10] Unknown:
shortly.
[00:43:17] Unknown:
When I mentioned that we could never read any of the unrecorded adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I neglected to tell you that Doyle's son and famed mystery story writer John Dickson Carr did collaborate on a volume which included some of them. They were interesting, but, as the authors themselves would be the first to admit, lacked the master's touch that made a Conan Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes world famous. But they never dared to tackle the story of the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant. Our cast included Kevin McCarthy, Court Benson, Patricia Elliott, Ian Martin, and Dennis Koch. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
And now a preview of our next tale a world I made all by myself Smith's World that's right it's a small planet created out of an artificial cosmos. Right now, its heat intensity is almost breaking up to shatter the retaining glass. So we'll, we'll have to start the cooling process. He tugged at a switch in the panel, but I could see it once that something was wrong. It's not moving. The refrigeration
[00:44:38] Unknown:
switch is jammed. Something's wrong. I The strange mud brown sphere in the cabinet was still growing in size and now it began to glow with its own heat. Get out of here. Get everyone out of the building, Luke. Suddenly Smith seemed like nothing more than a frightened child. I told him that we were alone in the building and he pleaded with me to leave while he wrestled with the dials and switches in an attempt to stop the terrible process that was taking place. Get out of here, Luke. There isn't much time.
[00:45:03] Unknown:
Radio Mystery Theatre was sponsored in part by True Value Hardware Stores and Buick Motor Division. This is E. G. Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theatre for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time. Pleasant dreams.
At ADP, we work with more than 860,000 companies worldwide. That gives us a pretty good idea of how to help businesses grow stronger, whether it's through data insights that help you make informed decisions about building a team that works better as a team, or by keeping you ahead of thousands of changing regulations so you can keep ahead of everything else, like building that better team. Grow stronger with ADP, HR talent, time, and payroll.
[00:00:30] Unknown:
CS Radio Mystery Theater presents Come in. Welcome. I'm EG Marshall. Everyone knows that sir Arthur Conan Doyle started in life as a doctor, not a writer. But how many of us know what type of medicine he specialized in or where his real medical offices were located? For your information, doctor Arthur Conan Doyle opened his office at 2 Devonshire Place near Harley Street in 1891. He was an eye specialist. While he waited for the patients that never came, he created the unforgettable characters of Sherlock Holmes and doctor Watson.
Watson, you know my method is founded upon the observation of trifles. But but but the cigar, Holmes. Once having located the tree behind which the killer stood, It was child's play to find a cigar stump where he had tossed it. The end had not been in his mouth, therefore he used a holder. The tip had been cut, not bitten off, but the cut wasn't a clean one. Hence,
[00:01:57] Unknown:
the pen knife. Oh, so don't you you've drawn a net around this man from which he cannot escape.
[00:02:03] Unknown:
How do you do it? Elementary, my dear Watson. Our mystery drama, The Bascom Pool Mystery, was based on the Sherlock Holmes classic and adapted especially for the Mystery Theater by Murray Burnett. It stars Kevin McCarthy. It is sponsored in part by ARM, allergy relief medicine, and Buick motor division. I'll be back shortly with act one. It's a singular fact that we know more of Sherlock Holmes than we do of his creator, sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Of course, we all know he was a doctor and that he believed in spiritualism, but most of us are unaware that he was also a whaler, athlete, speculator, historian, dramatist, war correspondent, and ever and always the champion of the underdog as is so well illustrated in the mystery which follows.
[00:03:21] Unknown:
One morning when my wife and I were seated at breakfast, the maid brought in a telegram. I slid it open, read it to Mary. Have you a few days to spare? Have just been wired for from the West Of England in connection with Boscombe Valley tragedy. Should appreciate your coming with me. Leave Paddington by the 11:15.
[00:03:46] Unknown:
Well, darling, you'll need some time and so I shall help you pass. I'm I'm not at all sure that I should go. I've I've a fairly long list of patients. Oh, Anne Stott will handle those for you. I think the change will do you good. And you know how interested you are in all of Sherlock Holmes' cases. Oh, well, I should be an ingrate if I weren't.
[00:04:06] Unknown:
But I I met you through one of them.
[00:04:10] Unknown:
Now you finish our coffee while I go and get you packed.
[00:04:16] Unknown:
And so within a very few minutes, I was in a cab rattling away to Paddington Station. After paying the cabby, I I spotted the tall gaunt figure of Holmes facing up and down the platform.
[00:04:30] Unknown:
As he saw me, his face lighted up with one of his rare smiles, and he said, very good of you to come, Watson. Oh, well, it makes a considerable difference to me having someone with me on whom I can thoroughly rely. If you'll keep the two corner seats, I'll get the tickets.
[00:04:49] Unknown:
We had the compartment to ourselves and a batch of newspapers Holmes had brought along with him.
[00:04:56] Unknown:
As we settle down for the journey, Holmes asked Have you heard anything about the case? Well, I I I haven't seen a paper till some days. It's just as well. The London press hasn't had rather complete accounts and that's why I brought these these local papers along. I've already read through them and I gather it's one of those simple cases which are so extremely difficult. Really, isn't that paradoxical? Of course. And profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more commonplace a crime, the more difficult it is to bring home. In this instance, however, the police seem to have established a very serious case against the son of the murdered man. Oh, it is a murder then. According to our old friend, Lestrade, it's not only murder, but he has the guilty man under lock and key.
What brings you into it then? An appeal for help from a young lady and a feeling that all isn't as simple as it seems on the surface. I know Lestrade's theory of crime, and I shall either confirm or destroy it by means which he refuses to employ. Refuses and or is unable to. Nonsense, my dear Watson. Anyone with eyes can use my methods. To take the first example to hand, I very clearly perceive that in your bedroom, the window is on the right hand side.
[00:06:16] Unknown:
Oh, my. But, Holmes, you've you've never visited us. How on earth would you My dear doctor,
[00:06:22] Unknown:
I know the military neatness which characterizes you. You shave every morning, and in this lovely spring, you shave by sunlight. But since your shaving is less and less complete as we get farther back on the left side and it becomes positively slovenly as we get around the angle of the jar, it's obvious that that side is less illuminated than the other. Well, you you never cease to amaze me. That's only an elementary example of observation and inference, my dear chap. Now I suggest that you devote your time to these newspaper accounts and see if you can reach the same conclusions as I have.
[00:07:05] Unknown:
On my word, mister Holmes, I do believe you've got a real streak of the romantic in your makeup. Why do you say that, Vosnoy? Oh, for wasting your time and coming all the way down here in answer to the please of a moonstruck, mate. It's your opinion that I'm wasting my time. If you'll allow me to recount the facts, I think you'll agree. Delighted. Go ahead, Lestrade. Let me just use these notes to keep me on the track. Let me see. That's just a way. Now on Monday last, mister McCarthy left his farm in Adelaide about three in the afternoon and walked down to Bascom Poole, a distance of above a quarter of a mile. He never came back alive. That is a fact I must concede.
You'll also have to concede that we have two witnesses who saw him on his way, and one of them, William Crowder, a gamekeeper in the employ of a mister Turner, saw McCarthy's son following him with a gun over his arm. That was all in the papers. Oh, there's more. A girl of 14, Patience Moran, who's the daughter of the lodge keeper of the who's the daughter of the lodge keeper of the Boscombe Ferry Estate, was in the woods near the pool picking flowers. While she was there, she saw the elder McCarthy and his son, James, in the midst of a violent quarrel. She even testifies that she saw the son raise his hand as if to strike his father.
It so frightened her that she ran away and told her mother about it when she reached home. A pity she didn't stay and see what happened. Come now, mister Holmes. We are pretty sure of what happened. I mean, McCarthy died of injuries to the air inflicted by some blunt weapon, which might very well have been the butt of the gun. And the son's rifle was found near the body. Mister Holmes, you'll have to admit that many men have been hanged on far less evidence. Sure they have.
[00:09:03] Unknown:
And many men have been wrongfully hanged. True. But but if ever circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal, it does so here. Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing, but I must confess, however, that the case looks exceedingly grave against the young man, and it's possible that he may be guilty. Come in.
[00:09:27] Unknown:
You must be mister Sherlock Holmes. I'm Susan Turner. I want to thank you for coming, and I've driven down here to the end to welcome you and help you in any way I can to prove that James is innocent.
[00:09:39] Unknown:
Well, I sincerely hope we may clear the young man, miss Turner. You may rely on me to do all I can. I know that James didn't do it. I know it, and I want you to know it before you start working on the case. My dear young lady, your loyalty to James McCarthy does you credit, but I know nothing before I complete my investigations.
[00:09:59] Unknown:
First, may I see your father if I call tomorrow? I'm afraid the doctor won't allow it. The doctor? Yes. Father has been ailing for some years, but this has broken him down completely. Doctor Willow says that his nervous system is completely shattered.
[00:10:16] Unknown:
Then your father and the elder McCarthy were
[00:10:19] Unknown:
close friends. Oh, yes. Indeed. Mister McCarthy was the only man alive who had known dad in the old days in Victoria.
[00:10:27] Unknown:
At the gold mines where the papers say your father made his fortune. That's it. Thank you, miss Turner. But
[00:10:34] Unknown:
is that all?
[00:10:35] Unknown:
I've read of your other cases and I had my carriage wait to take you to the scene. I shall certainly want to go there at some time, miss Turner. But the barometer holds steady. I don't understand. My dear young lady, you must allow me to pursue my inquiries as I think best. Oh, I will. I will.
[00:10:53] Unknown:
I know you've read the evidence in the paper. You must have discussed the case with the inspector. Do you see some flaw? Don't you think that he's innocent?
[00:11:02] Unknown:
I think that that is very probable.
[00:11:05] Unknown:
Bear now, inspector. You heard. Mister Holmes gives me hope.
[00:11:10] Unknown:
Well, now I'm afraid, miss Turner, that my colleague may have been a little lacy informing his conclusions. Oh, with a final brilliant smile of thanks, our young lady is swept to the door and left. Oh, Holmes. I'm ashamed of you. Why should you raise our hopes when you're bound to disappoint her? I'm not a sentimentalist,
[00:11:36] Unknown:
but I call it downright cruel. I think, Lestrade, that I see my way to clearing James McCarthy. Have you in order to see him in prison? Of course. Then we still have ample time to take a train to Hertford and see him tonight. We can go, of course, but in my opinion, it's a waste of time. I don't know whether or not you've been informed of the,
[00:11:58] Unknown:
the remark he made when the local constable informed him that he was under arrest. Mhmm. What was that? He said, I'm not surprised to hear it. It's no more than I deserve. Good lord, Holmes. That's a confession. Not at all, doctor. Not at all. That was later followed by a protestation of innocence. With all the other evidence, mister Holmes, don't you consider that a most suspicious remark?
[00:12:24] Unknown:
On the contrary, Lestrade. It's the brightest aspect of the case pointing to his innocence. Every one of the great detectives of fiction can be compared to magicians and their love of mystification. But with Holmes, there's a large difference. Many of the others love to mystify simply for the sake of mystification, whereas Holmes refused to divulge his thoughts until he checked to be sure that there was no other possible interpretation. We'll be back shortly with act two. A little earlier, I mentioned that, Sherlock Holmes was the champion of the underdog, and I suspect that this was an added factor in the endless popularity of a Conan Doyle's creation.
Now we have Holmes rushing off to the West Of England to save a man not only suspected of murdering his father, but sitting in Hereford Prison waiting to be tried for that
[00:13:42] Unknown:
crime. When we entered James McCarthy's cell, I I could understand miss Susan Turner's feelings for the young man for he was indeed handsome with a frank open countenance that cried out for belief. But I remembered other criminals with handsome faces
[00:14:01] Unknown:
and listened avidly as Holmes began to question him after we were introduced. I understand, mister McCarthy, that you're an only child. That's right. Now I believe you testified before the coroner's jury that you had been away from home for three days and returned only on the day your father was killed. So I did. Mhmm. Where were you for those three days? In Bristol. Do you have business there? What's in Bristol has absolutely nothing to do with my case. Once again, I'll have to I'll say no more about it. Very well.
Now when you returned, did you see your father?
[00:14:40] Unknown:
No. He wasn't home. I was upstairs in my room when I saw him drive his trap into the yard, get out, and walk very rapidly out of the yard.
[00:14:50] Unknown:
Mhmm. So you saw in which direction he was going? It's all down in the records of the coroner's jewelry. I've read them. I'd still like to hear it in your words. Very well. This is the way it was. I'll try to let you hear what I said exactly as I said it. And now,
[00:15:08] Unknown:
mister McCarthy, you say you weren't aware in which direction your father was going when he left the yard? Right. You'd been away for three days. Did it not occur to you to seek out your father
[00:15:23] Unknown:
and tell him you were back or were you on bad terms? We got along alright.
[00:15:29] Unknown:
You don't deny quarreling with him at the pool? No.
[00:15:33] Unknown:
You must have followed him there, did you not? I told you I had no idea where he was heading. I took my gun and set off for the rabbit warren, and the games keeper saw me as he said. But I wasn't following my father. I had no idea he was in front of me.
[00:15:50] Unknown:
Yes. Just so. And how then did you meet at the pool?
[00:15:55] Unknown:
I was about 50 yards from the pool on my way towards the Warren when I heard a cry of hooey, which was a usual signal between my father and myself. I turned and went to the pool. Yes. And? My father was surprised to see me. He thought I was still in Bristol. He asked me rather roughly what was I doing
[00:16:17] Unknown:
there. You said you were on good terms with your father. Did you not find the attitude you describe rather strange
[00:16:24] Unknown:
when you returned from a three day absence? Those who knew my father will back me up when I say he was a cold and forbidding man of a violent temper. But you're his son. We had a disagreement of long standing. Oh, indeed. About what? I'd rather not say. I've already told you about my father's temper. That's why I left him, to avoid blows. And how long were you gone before you claim you heard this hideous outcry? I don't exactly know how long, but I couldn't have been more than 150 yards away. And then? I ran back, found my father lying on the ground with his head terribly injured. I dropped my gun, held him in my arms, but he died almost instantly.
Did your father say anything before he died? He mumbled a few words, but all I could understand was something about a rat. A rat? What did you take that to mean? Nothing. I thought he was delirious. I understand that the cry cooie was a common signal between you and your father. It was. Well, can you explain then
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that he used it before he saw you and indeed before he even knew you'd returned from Bristol?
[00:17:45] Unknown:
I can't understand that myself.
[00:17:48] Unknown:
When you returned and presumably found your father fatally injured, did you see anything which looked
[00:17:57] Unknown:
strange or suspicious? There's only a vague impression in my mind of something lying on the ground to the left of me, so I tried to help my father. Can you be more specific? I'll try. But you must understand it was only an impression. I think it was a coat of some sort. Gray perhaps or a plaid.
[00:18:21] Unknown:
Well, how is it that none of the officers examining the scene mentioned this,
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thing? When I rose from my father, I looked around for it, but it was gone.
[00:18:31] Unknown:
Do you mean it disappeared before you went for help? Yes.
[00:18:36] Unknown:
And you don't have any idea what it was? No. Just a feeling that something was there. How far from the body? About a dozen yards.
[00:18:47] Unknown:
And how far from the edge of the wood? About the same. Well, then if there was something there, it must have been removed while you were within a dozen yards of
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it. Yes. But with my back towards it. Thank you. That will conclude your examination.
[00:19:09] Unknown:
I will address the jury about arriving into verdict.
[00:19:13] Unknown:
Of course. I suspected pretty much what the verdict would be after the coroner's charge, so there wasn't any shock when they came back and said I should be held on a murder charge.
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When we left James McCarthy and we're on our way back to the inn by train, Sherlock Holmes was in high spirits. Although for the life of me, I I could see nothing in what we just heard, which pointed to the innocence of young James McCarthy. Ernie Lestrade, of course, said as much as we rode along.
[00:19:51] Unknown:
I see by your expression, mister Holmes,
[00:19:54] Unknown:
that you're down to the deductions and inferences.
[00:19:58] Unknown:
As for me, I fight it hard enough to tackle facts without chasing after theories. Very well, inspector. Here's a fact for you to ponder. We all agree that McCarthy senior met his death at the hands of a blunt instrument. Do we not? Well, cool. It's also a fact that young McCarthy's rifle was examined and found to be free of blood, hair, or any signs that had been used as a weapon. Isn't that so? Absolutely. And you don't find it at all strange. In the heat of a violent quarrel, the son lays down the rifle that he has in his hand and searches for a rock or some other suitable weapon with which to strike his father?
[00:20:40] Unknown:
Well well, I believe, that'll come out when he confesses. It'll all be explained. My dear Lestrade,
[00:20:47] Unknown:
you'll be sorely disappointed if you pin your hopes upon a confession. First, because the young man, although not very bright, isn't the type to confess. And secondly, because he can't confess to a crime,
[00:21:01] Unknown:
he didn't commit. Oh, come now, Holmes. The coroner's jury came in with the charge not because of me, but because the coroner very correctly pointed to the discrepancies of his story about the father having signaled to him before seeing him and his strange account about his father's dying words and his refusal to give the details of the quarrel with his father. Both you and the coroner don't blink an eye at young McCarthy's ability to come up with a fantastic tale about his father's strange dying words and popping a rat and mysterious disappearance of some kind of gun. I don't know where you do have a way of looking at things, mister Holmes. But if you don't mind my saying so, they're kind of wrong side up. Like the way you took his saying when he was arrested, that it was no more than he deserved as a a sign of his innocence. Most certainly, Lestrade.
[00:21:53] Unknown:
Had he appeared surprised when he was arrested or loudly proclaimed his innocence, I should have looked upon it as highly suspicious. May I ask why? But however innocent he might be, he cannot be such an absolute imbecile as not to see that circumstances look very black against him. His honest acceptance of this plus his undoubted self reproach for his quarrel with his father bring out the words, it's no more than I deserve.
[00:22:29] Unknown:
Miss Stroud left us to write a report to the yard, and Holmes insisted that we visit Susan Turner. Accordingly, we drove to Boscombe Hall,
[00:22:39] Unknown:
a large house located in the center of the considerable holdings of mister John Turner. Miss Turner, do you have any idea what caused the quarrel between James and his father on the day he was killed? You've seen James. How is he? Did you tell him I believed in his innocence? He didn't need to be told. He seems in his good spirits as one could expect, but you haven't answered my question. I know.
[00:23:05] Unknown:
I'm just trying to think whether James would want me to tell you since I am involved in it, and that's the reason he wouldn't tell the coroner. Now, miss Turner, this is no time
[00:23:16] Unknown:
for concealing things that might well be vital to the investigation.
[00:23:20] Unknown:
Oh, you're right. Of course. It's no time to hide anything. James and his father had many disagreements about me. Mister McCarthy was very anxious that there should be a marriage between us.
[00:23:34] Unknown:
And you're telling me James objected? Mister Holmes,
[00:23:38] Unknown:
James and I have always loved each other as brother and sister, but, of course, he's young and he just isn't prepared to undertake marriage just yet. And I'm sure there were many quarrels between them over this. And your father,
[00:23:51] Unknown:
did he favor such a marriage? No. He was averse to it also.
[00:23:55] Unknown:
No one but mister McCarthy was in favor of it at this time.
[00:24:00] Unknown:
Did your father ever give you any reason for his objecting?
[00:24:03] Unknown:
As I told you, mister Holmes, my father hasn't been well for some time, and I would never think of discussing anything with him that I felt might cause him distress.
[00:24:15] Unknown:
At dinner, that night at the end, Holmes was thoughtful and less buoyant than he'd been earlier in the day. Lestrade joined us at coffee.
[00:24:27] Unknown:
Mister Holmes. Have you come up with any more fancy deductions and inferences? No. As a matter of fact, Lestrade, I have only a few interesting questions. Perhaps you can help me with one of them?
[00:24:40] Unknown:
Oh, glad to do it. I can.
[00:24:42] Unknown:
Can you tell me the relationship between mister Turner and the senior McCarthy?
[00:24:48] Unknown:
Word. Of course. They were the best of friends. He even gave McCarthy, Katharine Farm, rent free. They went to the races together. Indeed. And furthermore, this business has had a very bad effect on him. You know, he's in his sixties and hasn't been in good health for some time. But now it's said that because of this, his life is really in danger. It, must have been a great blow to him. Well, does does that help you at all, mister Holmes?
[00:25:17] Unknown:
Insofar as it poses two other interesting questions, the answer is yes. Well, then perhaps I can answer those for you also. Not unless you happen to have a map of Australia and know exactly what young James McCarthy was doing in Bristol for three days. The city of Bristol is noted for its extensive port facilities, its leadership and engineering, and the fan vaulted ceiling of the famed church of Saint Mary Radcliffe. But I doubt if it was for any of these that young James McCarthy spent three days there. We'll find the answer to that together with Sherlock Holmes when I return with Act three.
I'm not in the travel business, but I was struck with the notion that perhaps England will find it profitable to offer a Sherlock Holmes tour, one that would include visits not only to his famous headquarters at Baker Street, but would include visits to all of the places where he and doctor Watson worked that particular brand of detection. Now if we can imagine ourselves on one of these tours, then we'd find ourselves in the West Of England at a pool in the Bascom Valley, the site of a murder. Tell me, Lassard.
[00:26:48] Unknown:
What did you go into the pool for? Oh, I was fishing about with a rake looking for some whip or the rubber.
[00:26:54] Unknown:
How on earth did you know that? Tut tut. I have no time. Footprints can be easily read on this marshy ground, and that left foot of yours with its inward twists is all over the place. Oh, of course. Now I understand why you said you'd wait until today to examine the scene of the crime because of the barometer. The glass was steady. You knew it wouldn't rain and the tracks would still be here. Upon my word, Lestrade, you're actually employing the science of deduction. Congratulations. Now, Watson, would you be kind enough to let me have your waterproof? Of course. I warned you, I'm gonna place it on the ground and lie upon it so that I can get a better view of these very interesting prints.
It's yours, my friend. Thank you. Let's see. These are young McCarthy's feet and here, twice he was walking. And here, once he ran swiftly. Soles are deeply marked and the heels barely visible. That would bear out his story. He ran when he saw his father on the ground. Now here the elder Maccage's feet pacing up and down. He seems to have been impatient. Then what's this? What's this? The butt end of the gun as the son stood listening. And what have we here? Other prints. Square. Quite unusual boots. They come. They go. They come again. Of course, that was for the cloak or the coat that the son mentioned in his testimony.
Now, where did they come from? Oh, now come along, Holmes. There are a great number of footprints here. Some of them may well have been made by local police or even sightseers. I cannot accept your inferences and deductions as facts. That is your privilege, Lestrade. Now if you'll excuse me, I go to search for more concrete evidence that may change your mind. Oh, and where do you expect to find that? Under the trees that line this pool and on a map of Australia.
[00:29:11] Unknown:
When Holmes rejoined me, he he was cradling a large stone in the crook of his elbow. I saw he was trying to suppress a smile of triumph. As he near at me, he said,
[00:29:23] Unknown:
I believe the time is now right for another visit to young James McCarthy.
[00:29:32] Unknown:
I hope you're bringing me good news, mister Holmes.
[00:29:35] Unknown:
If you consider the fact that I believe your story to be absolutely true in every detail good, then I am the bearer of good news. That's marvelous.
[00:29:43] Unknown:
Marvelous. When can I hope to be released?
[00:29:47] Unknown:
That's another matter. My knowing that you're innocent is one thing. Proving it to the authorities is quite another. Now, miss Turner has told us about your father's wish that you and she should marry. And I think it's imperative that you tell me now the reason for your trip to Bristol. That has nothing to do with the killing of my father. Possibly not. But it has everything to do with my being able to free you.
[00:30:11] Unknown:
Then I'll have to take my chances. It must be something of which you're bitterly ashamed. Look, mister Holmes. I'm not ashamed. Anyone can make a mistake. I made one. But it's over now. And I'm not going to say anymore. Because of Miss Turner? Keep her out of it.
[00:30:28] Unknown:
Do you really think she can be? If I have anything to say about it, she will be. You sound as if you really care for her. I love her. Do you understand?
[00:30:37] Unknown:
I love her and that's why You refused to marry her? I was already married. But of course, your father didn't know. No one knew. The young lady lives in Bristol. She's a brame. I was I was younger. And somehow we ended up married.
[00:30:56] Unknown:
But now you say you're not. I believe you used the word was.
[00:31:01] Unknown:
I received a letter from her the day after I was arrested. It seems I never was married. Mhmm. She'd had a husband, a sailor. And now that I was accused of murder, she let me know that she wanted nothing to do with me.
[00:31:17] Unknown:
And you're afraid to tell, miss Turner? If she knew, she'd never consider marrying a fool like me. I'm sure you're mistaken. But now that I know the facts of the matter, perhaps it won't have to be brought out in court. Come, Watson. We must have a chat with Lestrade. This may interest you, Lestrade. It is the murder weapon. This stone? Really? I I see no marks. There are none. Why then do you describe it as the murder weapon? The grasp was growing under it. It had lain in that place only a few days. It corresponds with the injuries. There is no sign of any other weapon.
I see. And perhaps then you can describe the murder. Certainly. He's a tall man, left handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick soled shooting boots and a gray cloak, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar holder, and carries a blunt pen knife in his pocket. There are several other indications, but, these should be enough to point us to the murder. We'll point you perhaps, but we still have to deal with a very hard headed British jury. Lestrade, doesn't it strike you as curious that McCarthy, living rent free at Turner's expense and thus under great obligation to Turner, should seem so certain that a marriage between miss Turner and his son would be appropriate?
Well, it might have if I hadn't seen the young lady. I mean, she's head over heels in love with that boy. Then if this isn't enough to move you in the proper direction, there's nothing more I can do. Watson, look up the timetables and tell me the next train to London will walk. Now that you're you're going back to town leaving the case unfinished? My dearest fraud, you have your man and cannot be moved. And as for me, the case is quite complete. But but there are still some unanswered questions. Not for me. I've described the murderer to you. But who is he? Can you put a name to him? Well, surely, it shouldn't be too difficult to find out. I've discharged my duty.
The rest is up to you. After Lestrade left, Holmes lit a pipe. Well, I could see from his expression that he was troubled. Look here, Watson. I am in a bit of a dilemma. Oh, I I don't see how. You've done all you could. Not quite. I believe I can name the murderer.
[00:33:51] Unknown:
Well, surely, then the dilemma is solved.
[00:33:54] Unknown:
All you have to do is, come in.
[00:33:58] Unknown:
Oh, mister Holmes. I'm so glad you're still here. I can't believe what I heard about your going back to London is true. I'm afraid it is, miss Turner. Come in and close the door. But Inspector Lestrade said you were convinced that James is innocent. Patience, miss Turner.
[00:34:17] Unknown:
Patience. In considering this case, there were two points that struck me instantly. One was that his father should cry cooie before seeing him. Well, no. That that's only according to his story, hon. Which I've already told you, my dear fellow. I choose to believe. And the second? The father's singular dying reference to a rat. I say that if we presume both to be true, we come up with some strong presumptions. The father thought his son was in Bristol. The CUI was meant for someone else. That is a distinctly Australian signal. Therefore, I deduce that the person McCarthy expected to meet at Boscombe Pool was someone who had been in Australia.
And and and the reference to the rat. This is a map of the colony of Victoria, the one I told you I wired for last night. Now, I place my hand over part of this map. And what do you read, Watson? A rat. And now, when I raise my hand Who? Balarat. Quite so. That was what the elder McCarthy was trying to tell his son. The name of the murderer. So and so, a Ballarat. Who? By the way? The possession of a gray garment was a third point bringing us to a definite conception. We are looking for a person from Australia, from Ballarat, with a gray cloak.
What is an astounding hoax? You applaud my performance before I finish. We can further deduce that this person is one who is native to this district because the pool can only be approached by the farm or by the estate, or a stranger would, well, hardly wander without being certain to attract attention. I have other evidence, but it all points in the same direction. The direction of a left handed man with a limp who smokes Indian cigars. Yes, sir. But you told Lestrade he used a cigar holder. He does. The cigar stump I found clearly showed that the end had not been in his mouth. Therefore, he used a holder and the tip had not been bitten off but cut.
The cut was not a clean one, so the deduction is clear that he must have used a blunt pen knife. I don't want to hear anymore.
[00:36:39] Unknown:
Mister Holmes and doctor Watson, you must forgive me, but I cannot say. I have
[00:36:46] Unknown:
Susan. Oh,
[00:36:48] Unknown:
good lord. I never expected you to be here. Susan, mister Holmes, your note said I apologize, but there was no way of avoiding this issue. No. I suppose not. And I assure you, I would have spoken before now if it weren't for Susan. She's Father, I don't think you should say anymore. No. No. It's too late, my dear. I have a great deal more to say. And it's best now that you hear it all. It cannot be arrested.
[00:37:16] Unknown:
I will not have him arrested.
[00:37:18] Unknown:
I sincerely, mister Holmes, and I can send you away. There may be no arrest. Oh, but Holmes We are not police officials, Watson. I came here at miss Turner's request as she says. However, an innocent man must not be allowed to suffer. I, I have had diabetes for years and my doctor says now that it's only a question of a month or two before I before I die. But I tell you no one knew the true character of that dead man. He was a devil incarnate and his grip has been upon me these past twenty years. It stems from Australia. Yes.
Back in the early sixties, I went to Australia to make my fortune. I failed at my diggings, fell among bad companions. Oh, I was hot, duddied and reckless. I took to the bush and became in chalk. Nothing better than a highwayman. There were six of us and we had a wild, free life. Black Jack of Ballarat was the name I went under. And we're still remembered out there as the Ballarat gang. And then, one day we heard of a gold convoy coming from Ballarat to Melbourne. The escort troopers out boys, while I climb up and get them to help me unload the gold. Or do you want me
[00:38:46] Unknown:
to
[00:38:51] Unknown:
We got away with the gold. But the driver of that coach was this Sam McCarthy. I wish I'd shot him in. But I gave it no thought. And how many years later did he find you? Some eleven or so. I suppose it was a punishment God laid on me despite the fact that I turned over a new leaf and tried to make up for my past. I'd gone to London about an investment when I met him in Regent Street with hardly a coat to his back or a boot to his foot. But he'd be tracking you? Well, he must have been because he knew I didn't live in London. He touched me in the arm.
And I'll never forget his words. Well, here we are Jack, he said. We'll be as good as a family to you. There's two of us, me and my son. And you can have the keeping of us. If you don't, well, England's a fine law abiding country and there's always a policeman nearby. And so you've been supporting him ever since. Whatever he wanted he got without question. Land, money, houses. But then he went too far. He wanted his son to marry Susan. And the boy seems a nice enough land. Oh, I had no objection, sir James. But as you know, I, I don't have long to live.
And he grinningly told me it was only his just due that he should step into the whole property as Susan's father-in-law. Oh, I drew the line at that. So we were we were to meet at the pool for the final talk. Mhmm. And why, after all these years, did it end violently? Because he threatened to tell Susan, and suddenly I saw red. I stooped. I picked up a stone, and I
[00:40:57] Unknown:
I took him down.
[00:40:59] Unknown:
His cries brought back his son, but I had gained the cover of the wood. Although, I was forced to go back for my cloak. Now, mister Holmes, that's that's the true story.
[00:41:22] Unknown:
Alexander Turner died less than a month after he'd given us his confession in the eve of Hereford. With Holmes feeding young McCarthy's counsel ammunition with which to shoot down the case for the prosecution and with the young man revealing the reason for his Bristol visit, he won an acquittal. That very night, Holmes and I sat before a fire in our Baker Street flat
[00:41:47] Unknown:
watching Turner's confession turn to cinders in the crackling flames. My dear Watson, don't fret too much about my not being able to take credit for solving the Boscombe Pool mystery. How the devil did you know? I'm sure that after the passage of time, you'll write it in those memoirs you're working on. And don't forget to point out that the one person everyone tried to protect, Susan Turner, knew the whole story, while James McCarthy was spared the knowledge that his father was a blackmailer and his father-in-law a murderer.
Sherlock Holmes once remarked that art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms. And Holmes' creator, A Conan Doyle, proved it by permitting the stolid Doctor Watson to become mischievous about the stories that were supposedly too delicate to open to the public. And here, Doyle let Watson's imagination run wild as he mentions the fact that he could never, never tell us the story of the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant. A mischievously intriguing title that there ever was one. I'll be back
[00:43:10] Unknown:
shortly.
[00:43:17] Unknown:
When I mentioned that we could never read any of the unrecorded adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I neglected to tell you that Doyle's son and famed mystery story writer John Dickson Carr did collaborate on a volume which included some of them. They were interesting, but, as the authors themselves would be the first to admit, lacked the master's touch that made a Conan Doyle and his Sherlock Holmes world famous. But they never dared to tackle the story of the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant. Our cast included Kevin McCarthy, Court Benson, Patricia Elliott, Ian Martin, and Dennis Koch. The entire production was under the direction of Hyman Brown.
And now a preview of our next tale a world I made all by myself Smith's World that's right it's a small planet created out of an artificial cosmos. Right now, its heat intensity is almost breaking up to shatter the retaining glass. So we'll, we'll have to start the cooling process. He tugged at a switch in the panel, but I could see it once that something was wrong. It's not moving. The refrigeration
[00:44:38] Unknown:
switch is jammed. Something's wrong. I The strange mud brown sphere in the cabinet was still growing in size and now it began to glow with its own heat. Get out of here. Get everyone out of the building, Luke. Suddenly Smith seemed like nothing more than a frightened child. I told him that we were alone in the building and he pleaded with me to leave while he wrestled with the dials and switches in an attempt to stop the terrible process that was taking place. Get out of here, Luke. There isn't much time.
[00:45:03] Unknown:
Radio Mystery Theatre was sponsored in part by True Value Hardware Stores and Buick Motor Division. This is E. G. Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theatre for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time. Pleasant dreams.
Introduction to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Bascom Pool Mystery Begins
The Telegram and the Journey
Lestrade's Theory and Holmes' Doubts
Holmes Visits James McCarthy
Holmes' Deduction and Miss Turner's Involvement
The Scene of the Crime
James McCarthy's Secret
Turner's Confession
Conclusion and Reflections
