[00:00.36] Chapter one.
[00:02.11] An ordinary crime?
[00:04.97] My name is Dr. Watson, and I have the good fortune to be the friend and companion of Sherlock Holmes.
[00:13.38] I try to keep a record of the cases he has solved.
[00:17.79] I have been with him many times when he has solved cases with just a few clues and his powerful brain.
[00:25.83] One such case was the Boscombe Valley Mystery.
[00:31.64] I knew nothing about it until I got a telegram early one morning at home.
[00:39.52] It was from Holmes, asking me to go with him to the West of England.
[00:45.89] My wants are few and simple, so I very swiftly packed a case, said farewell to my wife, and was at Paddington in less than an hour.
[00:57.16] Holmes was pacing up and down the platform.
[01:01.71] He was instantly recognizable.
[01:05.89] Tall and gaunt, and dressed in his long gray cloak and deerstalker hat.
[01:13.19] It is really very good of you to come, Watson.
[01:16.99] I need someone I can rely on.
[01:23.99] We had the carriage to ourselves, and Holmes spent the time reading through a huge pile of newspapers.
[01:31.63] Now and then he stopped to make notes and to think.
[01:37.82] Finally, he rolled the papers into a ball and threw them onto the luggage rack.
[01:44.60] "Have you heard anything of the case?" he asked.
[01:49.47] "Not a word.
[01:51.40] I've not seen a paper for days."
[01:55.51] "Hmm," said Holmes.
[01:59.97] "It's one of those simple cases which are so extremely difficult."
[02:08.22] "What do you mean?"
[02:10.53] "The more ordinary a crime seems to be, the more difficult it is to see the solution.
[02:19.42] It is the unusual which makes things easy."
[02:23.84] "What kind of crime are we dealing with?"
[02:28.98] "Murder, Watson.
[02:33.16] A serious case has already been made against the son of the murdered man.
[02:39.87] It happened in Boscombe Valley, near Hereford.
[02:45.85] The owner of much land in that area is a Mr. John Turner.
[02:52.33] He came back from Australia a few years ago and settled here.
[02:58.39] Made his fortune, did he?"
[03:01.60] "Enough to buy several farms.
[03:06.10] One he let out to another Australian, Mr. Charles McCarthy.
[03:13.11] McCarthy has a son of 18 called James."
[03:19.23] "Are there no wives?" I asked.
[03:23.92] "Neither of the wives is still living, but Turner has one daughter of similar age to James."
[03:32.76] "And the murder?"
[03:35.47] "It seems that last Monday, McCarthy left his house at Hatherley at about 3:00 in the afternoon.
[03:45.17] He walked down to Boscombe Pool, a small lake at the end of Boscombe Valley.
[03:53.03] He told his servant that he had an appointment at 3:00.
[03:59.32] He never came back alive.
[04:04.82] McCarthy was seen walking towards the pool by two people.
[04:09.74] Both say he was walking alone.
[04:13.93] The gamekeeper also says that a few minutes later, James McCarthy went the same way, carrying a gun.
[04:24.05] He thought the son was following his father."
[04:29.99] "And was the father shot?" I asked.
[04:34.83] "Oh, no," replied Holmes.
[04:39.77] "Please wait.
[04:42.20] There was another witness.
[04:47.59] Patience Moran, daughter of the lodge keeper on the Boscombe Estate, was picking flowers in the woods.
[04:57.85] She says that she saw James and his father having a violent quarrel.
[05:05.09] She heard Charles McCarthy using strong language to his son, and she saw the son raise his hand as if to strike his father."
[05:17.11] Holmes continued, "She ran away and told her mother.
[05:23.00] Almost as soon as she had finished telling her story, James McCarthy ran up and said he had found his father dead.
[05:34.03] They followed him and found the body by the side of the pool.
[05:39.65] The head had been beaten in by blows from some heavy and blunt weapon.
[05:49.33] Such as the butt end of a gun?" I asked.
[05:53.85] "Exactly.
[05:58.18] Anyway, Watson, James McCarthy has been arrested and charged with his father's murder.
[06:06.84] It looks exceedingly grave against the young man."
[06:12.75] "Has he said anything?"
[06:18.42] "Indeed he has, and it makes an interesting case.
[06:24.77] According to James McCarthy, he had been away in Bristol for three days.
[06:31.36] He came back to find his father out.
[06:37.20] He set out to do some rabbit shooting at the other side of Boscombe Pool.
[06:44.28] About a hundred yards from the pool, he heard a cry of Cooe, which was the usual signal between him and his father.
[06:58.53] His father was surprised to see him.
[07:02.67] For some reason, an argument took place, and James walked off.
[07:10.51] He had not gone far when he heard a dreadful cry.
[07:18.24] According to his story, he returned and found his father dying.
[07:24.55] He held him in his arms, but he could do nothing.
[07:29.19] He then ran off to the lodge keepers for help."
[07:36.55] "Is there nothing else to go on?" I asked.
[07:41.38] "Two things which may turn out to be important," said Holmes.
[07:47.76] "James heard his father speak before he died.
[07:52.35] He said he spoke about a rat."
[07:57.30] "A rat?"
[07:59.74] "Precisely, my dear Watson, and the other matter was the subject of the quarrel."
[08:08.85] "Which was?"
[08:14.24] "James McCarthy refused to tell the coroner what they quarrelled about.
[08:22.29] Refused?"
[08:26.32] "Quite so."
[08:32.53] Holmes looked up at me, raised his eyebrows and smiled.
[08:41.05] "You see why I am interested, Watson.
[08:45.97] This is not such a simple case as they would have us believe."