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"What
other evidence do you refer to, Holmes?"

"Possibly,
the papers you read stated there were two occupants in the Trelawney
household. The
cook and maid were not in
residence and left, as
was their custom,
at seven. However, one of the papers, the
Ross
Inquirer
,
I believe, was more complete and
noted the presence of a third occu
pant."

I
registered amazement. "How could this fact go unrecorded
elsewhere?"

"Ezariah
Trelawney had a dog, Lama by name. The animal and the banker were
inseparable. The
old gentleman even took
him to his bank office with
him. Now I
understand Constable Bennett's ref
erence
to the Silver Blaze affair."

"Of
course," I said, with a flood of understanding.
"The
dog that didn't bark in the night."

"Dear
me, Watson, that was but a trivial example
of
observation and inference. By the time you finished making our
racehorse adventure public, you had it sounding like a veritable
triumph of
deductive reasoning."

This
mild chastisement bothered me not at all.
Holmes
consistently contended that I tended to
over-dramatize
his superb reasoning powers. How
ever,
I knew that he secretly was delighted at
having
his
m
é
tier
appreciated and applauded.

"May
I remind you, my dear Holmes, that no one
else
drew the inference that you did from the dog's
behavior?
Had you not, the great Silver Blaze
might
never have been found. But to return to the
Trelawney
affair, I see the similarity now. Since the
dog,
Lama, and his master were constantly to
gether,
no doubt the canine was in the murder
room."

"He
was. You will recall that the banker was
seated
and struck from behind. The outer doors to
the
house were not locked. Anyone might have entered, and the elderly
gentleman could well have
been dozing in
his chair. But the prosecution will
contend
that had a stranger entered the house, the dog would have certainly
alerted his master to the
fact. However,
Charles Trelawney was no stranger.
Hence,
it is the dog that may weave the rope that
hangs
him for murder."

This
puzzled me. "My dear Holmes, instead of
enjoying
a quiet dinner we have two middle-aged
men
flying westward on what seems to be an open-
and-shut
case."

"Ah,
but there is always a little more than meets
the
eye. I deduce this partially from items in the
news
accounts and also from the fact that Constable Bennett sent a
plea for assistance. John
Bennett,
though buried in a backwater village, has
carefully
schooled himself in the latest methods of
crime
detection. I have carried on an intermittent
correspondence
with him for some time. He is alert
and
efficient. If he feels there are doubts and
unresolved
elements relative to this homicide, I am
prepared
to trust his instincts. Also, it would seem
that
the peaceful hamlet of Shaw was, in times
gone
by, the scene of deep-seated enmities and
bloodshed.
But these facets will be polished for us
by
the good constable upon our arrival."

When
the train halted at the small station of
Shaw,
we were the only travelers to alight. A tall individual in a
square-cut uniform coat with hat, who had been pacing the station
platform, hurried
to our side.

"Mr.
Holmes," he said. "It is certainly a plea
sure."

"It
has been a while, Bennett," stated Holmes.
"This
is my associate, Dr. Watson."

Shaking
hands with the constable, I wondered
under
what circumstances this country policeman
and
Holmes had met previously.

"I
have rooms for you at the Queens Arms, which
is
our only inn hereabouts. It is but a short distance
from
here. The proprietor's wife is laying out a cold
supper.
Considering the time of your departure
from
London, I would imagine you could both do
with
a bite."

Bennett
took the larger suitcase from me and led
us
down the street. In a short time we were in a
pleasant
room in the inn enjoying some excellent
cold
roast beef and a very tasty game pie.

Constable
Bennett joined us in a yard of stout
and
lit up a cigar
.
As
he ignited it and drew a first puff, he snatched the cigar from his
mouth with an
exclamation of surprise.

"How
strange that I should decide to smoke this
at
such a time since it was a gift from the murdered
man!"

"An
Indian cigar," commented Holmes, "of the
type
rolled in Amsterdam."

"As
to the murder, gentleman," said Bennett, "I trust the
journals I sent provided some informa
tion."

"In
outline form," was Holmes' response. "I was
immediately
intrigued by the fact that you were
able
to establish the time of death as between eight
and
ten on the fatal night."

"Fortunate
happenstance," replied the constable.
"At
eleven, young Charles Trelawney came bolting
out
of his adopted father's house and almost ran
into
my arms. I was making a final round of the
night
just to make sure things were in order. I had
just
seen Dr. Devon Almont right here in the
Queens
Arms in the pub."

"Almont?"
I asked with considerable surprise.

"He
retired two years ago and came to live here,"
explained
Bennett.

"I
didn't know that. Naturally, I've read his
articles
in
Lancet
with
great interest."

"You
were fortunate, Bennett," stated Holmes, "to have one of
the foremost pathologists in the
world
at your beck and call."

"I
certainly beckoned," replied Bennett. "When
young
Charles told me that he had found Ezariah Trelawney with his skull
crushed, I hightailed it
over here and
got Dr. Almont. Then the three of us
returned
to the Trelawney house. Doctor Almont
checked
the coagulation of blood on the back of the
murdered
man's head and tested the rigidity of the
body
and delivered the opinion that the murder
had
been committed between eight and ten."

"Almont's
opinion would be accepted by any
jury.
In conjunction with Alexandre Lacassagne of
France,
he has made considerable contributions to
the
advancement of forensic medicine." Holmes
thought
for a moment. "If young Trelawney had
just
arrived from Hereford, he is in the clear, but I
understand
the stationmaster contested this."

Bennett
nodded. "Pierce is a friend of young Charles, who is well liked
by one and all. He saw
the boy get off
the last carriage of the six o'clock. A
redheaded
stranger and Charles were the only ones who got off the train. It
meant nothing to him at the
time, but at
the inquest he had to tell what he had
seen."

"Unwillingly,"
said Holmes. "That lends all the
more
credence to his words. Perhaps you had better
relate
what occurred, Bennett."

The
constable's eyes narrowed, as though he did
not
wish to overlook a single fact.
"Charles
was in a state of semi-shock, but after
discovering
the body, he had the presence of mind
to
close the door to the study before leaving the
house.
As I mentioned, the three of us returned
there
promptly. Upon opening the study door, we found everything as Charles
had hastily related to
me. Ezariah
Trelawney was slumped in his chair in
front
of the fireplace. The right side of his skull was
a
sight indeed."

"The
back of the skull, according to the newspa
pers,"
mentioned Holmes.

"'Twas
the back that got hit, but on the right
side."

I
shifted impatiently in my chair for it seemed
they
were splitting hairs.
"And the dog,
Lama? He was still in the room?"

This
point seemed of special interest to Holmes.

"Yes,
sir," responded Bennett. "When Charles
closed
the door behind him, how could the little fellow get out?"

"That
is my point, or at least a point of puzzle
ment."
My friend chewed reflectively on a piece of
beef.
"Charles Trelawney testified that when he
returned
to his home, he found the door to the
study
closed. For his own sake, he might have said that the door was open.
Had this been the case, the
possibility
could have existed that the dog was in
some
other part of the house when the fatal blow was struck."

"That
bothered me also," replied the constable.

"Another
thought," continued Holmes. "From
your
description and that in the papers, Trelaw
ney's
skull had been shattered from behind very
severely.
Would not a blow of such strength have
driven
the body from the chair?"

"Not
necessarily," I stated automatically. "It was
mentioned
that the corpse was well beyond the
three
score and ten. At that age, bones tend to
become
more fragile. The blow need not have been
delivered
with great strength."

"A
good point, my dear Watson."

Bennett
continued: "Whatever the weapon was,
we
did not find it. After inspecting the wound in
greater
detail, Dr. Almont delivered the opinion
that
it was caused by a club or stave perhaps, but
definitely
of wood. Lama was very nervous and
whining,
but Charles was able to quiet him. A book
was
on the floor, open, as though it had fallen from
Ezariah's
hands."

"Which
it probably had," reflected Holmes.
"There
was a half-consumed cigar in a tray by the chair. I believe that it
was in the tray and lit
when Ezariah was
killed. It looked like it had gone
out
of its own volition."

"Now
that is interesting," said Holmes. "I should
have
guessed the victim was a smoker since he
made
you a gift of a cigar."

"'Twas
the same type that I'm smoking right
now,"
replied Bennett. "Ezariah had them sent
to
him from Amsterdam, as you divined, Mr.
Holmes."