[00:01.47] Chapter 2.
[00:03.19] A blow from behind.
[00:07.61] We arrived at the Hereford Arms in Ross at half past four.
[00:12.51] We were sipping our tea when the door burst open, and in rushed one of the loveliest young women I have ever seen.
[00:20.86] Oh, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, she cried.
[00:26.61] I am so glad you have come.
[00:29.84] I know that James didn't do it.
[00:33.85] We have known each other since we were children.
[00:37.80] He is too tenderhearted to hurt a fly.
[00:43.43] You may rely on my doing all that I can, replied Holmes, deducing correctly that the lady was Mr. Turner's daughter, Alice.
[00:53.63] James never did it, she repeated.
[00:59.27] And about his quarrel with his father, I am sure he refused to speak of it because it concerned me.
[01:06.81] In what way?
[01:11.70] Mr. McCarthy wanted James to marry me.
[01:17.31] We have always loved one another like brother and sister, but James is so young, and he is not willing to commit himself to such a step.
[01:27.24] She blushed, and I deduced that she would not object to marrying him, however.
[01:36.00] Thank you, said Holmes.
[01:39.53] And may I see your father tomorrow?
[01:45.42] I am afraid the doctor won't allow it.
[01:49.12] The doctor?
[01:53.48] Have you not heard?
[01:56.55] Poor father has not been strong for years, but this has made him quite ill.
[02:02.96] He was such a strong man once when he was in Australia.
[02:09.25] Mr. McCarthy was the only man who knew him in those days.
[02:15.17] Really? said Holmes.
[02:20.09] That is interesting.
[02:23.95] Thank you, Miss Turner.
[02:26.36] You have been a great help.
[02:29.91] She smiled gratefully at him.
[02:32.66] I must go home now.
[02:35.54] Father misses me so if I leave him.
[02:41.73] She hurried from the room as impulsively as she had entered.
[02:48.22] Holmes decided to set off for Hereford immediately to see James McCarthy.
[02:54.77] And while he was away, I pondered the details of the murder.
[03:01.97] The local paper had the full inquest report, which included the surgeon's description of the injuries.
[03:11.19] The bones on the left-hand side of the skull, at the back, had been shattered by a heavy blow.
[03:21.46] This gave me pause for thought.
[03:25.38] Such a blow must have been struck from behind, which is not what you would expect in a face-to-face argument.
[03:35.11] Then there was the matter of the man's dying words, A rat.
[03:45.86] What could it mean?
[03:49.64] Holmes returned late without much more information.
[03:55.11] He had found out, though, the truth about James's feelings towards Miss Turner.
[04:02.34] He is madly in love with her, remarked Holmes.
[04:08.21] Then why argue with his father about the match?
[04:14.45] Because, Watson, he is already married.
[04:22.09] Great heavens, Holmes, he is hardly more than a boy.
[04:29.21] And he was even more of a boy when he got himself into the clutches of a barmaid in Bristol.
[04:38.13] He married her secretly over a year ago, when Miss Turner was away at boarding school.
[04:46.22] So he is being scolded for not doing what he would love to do.
[04:52.18] How maddening.
[04:57.11] Quite so.
[05:00.35] However, good may come of this evil.
[05:06.54] It seems that the barmaid found out he was in serious trouble.
[05:12.83] She has thrown him over.
[05:16.57] She has written to say that she has a husband already in the Bermuda dockyard.
[05:25.65] So there is no tie between them.
[05:29.52] Happily so, but a small comfort for being in prison on a murder charge.
[05:38.66] But if he is innocent, who has done it?
[05:44.75] Let me draw your attention to two things, Watson.
[05:51.03] First, the murdered man had an appointment with someone.
[05:57.98] That person could not have been his son.
[06:02.46] His son was away, and he didn't know when he was returning.
[06:10.23] Of course.
[06:13.13] And the second thing?
[06:17.72] The murdered man was heard to cry Cooe before he knew his son was anywhere near.
[06:26.53] The case depends upon such things.
[06:31.55] Holmes closed his eyes and would say no more.