Four INSPECTOR¹ NARRACOTT
It was the morning after the tragedy, and two men were standing² in thelittle study of Hazelmoor.
Inspector Narracott looked round him. A little frown appeared upon hisforehead.
“Ye-es,” he said thoughtfully. “Ye-es.”
Inspector Narracott was a very efficient officer. He had a quiet persist-ence, a logical mind and a keen attention to detail which brought him suc-cess where many another man might have failed.
He was a tall man with a quiet manner, rather faraway grey eyes, and aslow soft Devonshire voice.
Summoned from Exeter to take charge of the case, he had arrived on thefirst train that morning. The roads had been impassable for cars, evenwith chains, otherwise he would have arrived the night before. He wasstanding now in Captain Trevelyan’s study having just completed his ex-amination of the room. With him was Sergeant⁴ Pollock of the Exhamptonpolice.
“Ye-es,” said Inspector Narracott.
A ray of pale wintry sunshine came in through the window. Outside wasthe snowy landscape. There was a fence about a hundred yards from thewindow and beyond it the steep ascending⁵ slope of the snow-covered hill-side.
Inspector Narracott bent⁶ once more over the body which had been leftfor his inspection⁷. An athletic⁸ man himself, he recognized the athlete’stype, the broad shoulders, narrow flanks, and the good muscular develop-ment. The head was small and well set on the shoulders, and the pointednaval beard was carefully trimmed. Captain Trevelyan’s age, he had ascer-tained, was sixty, but he looked not much more than fifty-one or two.
“Ah!” said Sergeant Pollock.
The other turned on him.
“What is your view of it?”
“Well—” Sergeant Pollock scratched his head. He was a cautious man,unwilling to advance further than necessary.
“Well,” he said, “as I see it, sir, I should say that the man came to thewindow, forced the lock, and started rifling the room. Captain Trevelyan, Isuppose, must have been upstairs. Doubtless the burglar thought thehouse was empty—”

分享到：