[00:00.55]Chapter three.
[00:02.63]The scene of the crime.
[00:06.63]The following morning, we set off for Hatherley Farm and the Boscombe Pool.
[00:12.30]As the carriage bounced down the country lanes, Holmes turned to me.
[00:17.88]One other interesting fact, Watson.
[00:21.96]Mr.
[00:22.89]McCarthy lived at Hatherley Farm rent free.
[00:28.59]How very generous of Mr.
[00:31.00]Turner, I replied.
[00:33.48]But then, they were friends from Australia.
[00:40.74]Does it not seem odd, though, McCarthy, who had so little of his own, talked of marrying his son to Turner's daughter.
[00:50.85]He talked of it in a very confident way, but I have discovered that Turner himself was against it.
[00:59.47]It did seem odd, but I could deduce nothing from it.
[01:04.75]We soon arrived at the farm, a comfortable looking two-story building.
[01:11.91]The maid, at Holmes's request, showed us the boots McCarthy had been wearing.
[01:18.14]She also found a pair of his son's boots.
[01:22.84]Holmes measured them all very carefully and then set off to the pool.
[01:29.87]It was damp, marshy ground, and there were marks of many feet on the path and on the short grass beside it.
[01:39.09]How simple it would have been, exclaimed Holmes, if I had been here before they came, like a herd of buffalo.
[01:49.01]Many of the important tracks have been obscured.
[01:53.18]He peered at the ground, then cried, "Aha!
[01:58.70]Here are three separate tracks of the same feet.
[02:05.81]He took out a lens and lay down to get a better view, all of the time talking to himself.
[02:13.72]These are young McCarthy's feet.
[02:18.13]Twice he was walking and once he ran swiftly.
[02:24.93]The souls are deeply marked, but the heels hardly visible.
[02:29.99]That bears out his story.
[02:33.80]Here are the father's feet as he paced up and down.
[02:39.39]Ha, what have we here?
[02:43.79]Tiptoes.
[02:47.99]Tiptoes, square too, quite unusual boots.
[02:55.35]Now, where did they come from?
[03:02.91]Holmes paced up and down, sometimes losing, and sometimes finding the track.
[03:11.78]He stopped in the edge of the wood, and under the shadow of a great beach tree, he lay down again.
[03:19.89]He stayed there a long time, turning over leaves and dry twigs.
[03:25.87]A jagged stone was lying among the moss.
[03:30.33]He picked it up and examined it carefully.
[03:36.31]Then he got up and followed a pathway through the woods which led to the main road, where he stopped.
[03:46.53]He showed me the stone.
[03:49.79]This may interest you, he said.
[03:55.00]If I am not mistaken, the murder was done with it.
[04:02.79]He did not sound as if he expected to be mistaken, but I had to ask.
[04:08.52]How can you tell?
[04:11.38]There are no marks on it.
[04:16.36]The grass was growing under it, so it had only been there a few days.
[04:23.69]It matches the injuries and there is no sign of another weapon.
[04:30.95]And the murderer?
[04:35.89]The murderer is a tall man, left-handed.
[04:43.06]He limps with the right leg and wears thick-sold shooting boots.
[04:51.52]He smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar holder, and carries a blunt pen knife.
[04:59.85]There are several other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our search.
[05:08.52]Holmes was silent for a long time, and we did not speak again until we were back at the Hereford arms.